Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note


"I told you. I'm not changing into your dancing outfits." L explained with annoyance for the thousandth time. "They're ridiculous, I'm here for a week and that's it. I don't need to wear it."

"It'll help with your lessons, everyone wears them." The teacher insisted.

Sighing, L tried one more time, "I'll pay you double for not wearing it."

"Done!"

"Finally." L ruffled his hair and stepped into the dancing studio. There were no other students there, though it didn't make him feel much better. "This is so not in the job description…" he murmured to himself and stood in the last row.

"Great." The teacher stood in the front of the studio, in front of the mirrors. "Another student should be joining us soon, I've just finished off last semester and you guys are probably the only students I have for this class." She explained, "We'll just wait till she gets here, then get into pairs, we're learning waltz today."

L wasn't surprised when she explained, who would want to go to this class and wear those tight out fits anyway? Frowning, he turned away from the mirrors. "Dancing is ridiculous." He mumbled under his breath.

"Sorry I'm late." A voice only too familiar came from the door, "There was a bit of a traffic…jam." Anna finished shakily. L's taking dance lessons? But didn't people of higher status like him already know how to dance?"

"That's fine. Your name?" The teacher asked," I'm Sayuri sensei."

"Anna. I'm pleased to meet you." Anna said, still keeping L in the edge of her vision. "I'm here for the week course."

"Whoa." Sayuri took one look at Anna's eyes and exclaimed, "You've got some bags under your eyes there."

Anna rubbed them sleepily, "I didn't sleep too well, and I had finals to prepare for."

Sayuri nodded, "Well don't worry about being late; you're right on time, go change into your dancing outfit."

Anna took one look at the tight clothing the teacher held and tensed, "I refuse." She said quietly, though with a glare that sent shivers down the teacher's back.

"Fine, fine, go pair up with that guy over there, we're studying waltz today." She waved her away, "His name is Ryuuga."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Anna." Anna introduced herself and sent an astonished glance to L, which he replied with a shrug.

"Ryuuga." L said simply.

The teacher coughed to get their attention, "Thanks, now, you guys are either lucky or the only ones naive to actually believe i was telling the truth about the one week thing. I was telling the truth, but normal people would never believe it. So I have no other students, and I'll be focusing all my attention on you two, come up to the front."

Anna wanted to say something, but L grabbed her hand and signaled for her to shut up before leading her up to the front of the class.

Sayuri smiled, "At least you know how to get on stage."

"I've sort of had to do this once." L replied dryly, and Anna looked at him with widened eyes.

"Good, show me how much you know." She continued on, "the basic form for waltz."

(I know absolutely nothing about waltz by the way.)

Dropping one of Anna's hands, he raised the other at shoulder height. After making sure Anna has no complaints, he gently placed her other hand on his shoulder while placing his own on her waist.

"Not bad…" the teacher commented, and L sighed in relief. Then as sudden as the relief had come, it was whisked away by a pressure on his back as the teacher pushed them both, hard, causing both of them to take a small step forward; closer to each other. "Don't be shy, it's just practice." She smiled playfully. "And your hand…" she plucked L's hand from Anna's waist, "Can go a little lower." She placed L's hand back about two inches lower, right above Anna's hips.

Getting more uncertain by the second, he looked to Anna to apologize, though she evaded his gaze and sighed silently. Noticing the tense atmosphere, Sayuri grabbed both their chins and turned them so that they faced each other. "Look at each other when you're dancing." She explained, and then turned to L, "Won't want your date to think you're looking at some other girl right?"

"Yes ma'am." L answered, boredom in his voice.

"Good, now, the steps are like this…."

L let go of one of Anna's hands and she spun gracefully over the dance floor before stepping lightly under one of his arms and spinning into his arms, joining her hand back in his. Next their positions were reversed, and Anna sent him a teasing look, telling him he better not mess up.

Of course, this was always the part where he did something wrong. Not being an expert martial artist or assassin like Anna, L didn't learn as fast. While she gracefully amazed both he and the teacher by taking control of the dance, L could only try to keep up.

To his relief, it went quite well, though he spun a little fast and Anna gently pulled on his hand to keep him in control. L steadied his footing and tried to spin in. Quite proud of himself so far, L released the breath he's been holding and locked his eyes with Anna's amber eyes.

"Hey! Watch your footing!" Sayuri hollered in warning. L snapped awake, and tried to pull on Anna's hand for balance.

"Wha-" Anna mumbled as she was caught off guard, and closed her eyes as she fell forward in a heap on top of L, their faces just inches apart.

Unable to control herself, Sayuri watched the clumsy partners on the floor and burst out laughing, "You guys are the most hilarious pair yet." She sat down on the floor beside them, "That's quite impressive, Ryuuga, not only is your dancing in sync but your falling techniques are also quite romantic."

Anna blinked twice, and quickly stood up, lending L a hand. "You're such a klutz, Ryuuga." She smiled, "I thought you'd do better than falling asleep in the middle of a dance, or am I just that boring of a partner?"

L took Anna's hand gratefully and pretended to pout. "Alright, I get it. I won't mess up again."

Beeeep……Beeeeep

"Oh sorry, my cell phone." Sayuri stood up and answered the phone, "What?" she said after a while, "Okay, alright, I'll be right there." She flipped off her cell phone and turned around with a sorry expression.

"My grandmother just had a heart attack." She said hastily, packing up her clothes, "However," she looked at Anna, "since you did pay and the other guy paid double to not wear the outfit…I'll leave you guys the keys." She handed a pair of keys to L and started for the door, "Stay as long as you like to practice, I'm leaving the radio here anyway, just lock up when you leave. Give the key to me tomorrow, I've got a spare."

"Um…uh." L protested, but was cut off by a bang of the door.

"I'm tired to death." Anna complained and sat of the floor and closed his eyes, "Let's take a break, how long can you stay for, L?"

"We have got around another thirty minutes. Come on Anna, don't be lazy." L tugged at Anna's sleeve, "Anna?"

L got no response, after waving his hand in front of Anna's face several times. "She's asleep." He whispered to himself, and sat on the ground beside her, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. Cautiously, L lightly touched the bags under her eyes. "Haven't slept well…" he sighed, "Between getting to know Light, following Misa and searching through piles of information every day and night you haven't slept at all have you?"

On the other hand though, the investigation team members will be getting worried if I don't get back soon. L thought, what a time for Anna to fall asleep. L laughed inwardly to himself, bet she's late catching up on some sleep anyway. Come to think of it, he hasn't slept for…a few days either, but he's got sugar to keep him going. If Anna wants to become an assistant on his cases, she's really got to work up a more sugary diet.

L reached up to the light switch behind him, and with a flicker of his long pale finger, shut it off. Ah well…he thought, it's his fault for putting so many burdens on a single person. Let her sleep, after all, he's been pretty dependent on Anna's reports these past few days.

A few hours later, after staring into intense darkness for a while, L felt a tight grip on his arm, and turned around to find Anna clutching his arm in her sleep. "Ouch…tight grip you've got there." He whispered, and brushed away a few strands of hair from her face. Her expression was tense, and there were tears in the corner of her eyes. "Nightmares?" he asked the sleeping girl beside him with a frown, and wiped away her tears. "I thought you weren't a kid anymore, Anna."

Her grip tightened again, and L placed his other hand on her fingers, which were white from the strain, in a futile attempt to loosen her grip. "Hey, that hurts you kno-"

"Don't die…" she whispered in her sleep, "Please don't die…L."

L's eyes widened and he frowned. "Stop cutting me off in the middle of my sentence." He mumbled quietly to himself, "It's rude you know…even if you're asleep."

"I won't let you die!" she cried in her hoarse voice, with tears flowing from her still closed eyes.

The girl can get quite dramatic in her sleep it seems. L smiled, and patted Anna's head as if she were a little girl. "Alright…I get your point, I promise you I won't die."

Instantly, Anna's fingers loosened around his arm, as if his voice reached her in her dreams. Slowly, her breathing became soft and regular. L gently touched her on the side of her neck. "She recovers quickly too huh?" he whispered, "Her heartbeat's slowing down already."

But you're right Anna. L thought, I will probably die soon. The closer I get to Light's real identity, even using you, he gets closer to mine. If Light is Kira…I will probably be judged soon. And I don't know if I can evade death. L heaved a heavy sigh, a frown creasing his brow, I don't want to die.

L gently rested his head on his free arm, "How pathetic…being afraid of death." He breathed, and dozed off to sleep.

Anna opened her eyes to nothing but darkness, and raised her head. Following her instincts, she didn't make any sudden movements, but waited patiently as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. "We're still in the studio?" she whispered, and for the first time, noticed the sleeping L beside her. It was her first time seeing L asleep. His pale features seem even more still and mysterious when he's sleeping.

Awkwardly, Anna removed her hand from his arm, and L woke with a slight groan, his eyes already shining in the darkness. "I see you finally got up, sleepy head." He said tiredly, and glanced at his watch. "Good job dozing off after Sayuri left. It's two in the morning."

"Was I…sleeping on your shoulder all this time?" Anna whispered.

"Yeah." Was L's simple reply.

"Sorry, I must've delayed you." Anna said again, even quieter this time.

Sighing loudly, L got up and sat across from Anna. He roughly grabbed her face and stared dead into her eyes. "I don't ever want to hear you say 'sorry' again. It seems to be all you've ever said to me the past few days, and I've had enough of it." He said icily, his patience worn. "I already told you a hundred times, I don't really care. The only thing you could ever do to piss me off is kill somebody, and you've promised me, you promised me that you would never kill anybody again, isn't that right?"

"Yes." Anna answered, and tried to avoid his piercing gaze.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." L found her eyes again, though his voice is softer, "Just be yourself, I don't blame you. I won't blame you for anything, especially not falling asleep after pulling a few all-nighters in a row." L released her from his grip and pulled to her feet, "You're losing your sharp edge Anna; where's all that fire you radiated from when I first met you, the girl who would jump in front of bullets and take me hostage?"

Anna got quietly to her feet and smiled, "Thanks you." She stepped forward and hugged L tightly, "Thank you for helping me pull myself back together."

L sighed and returned the embrace before stepping away and patting her on the head, "Good girl," he said, amusement in his tone though his face is impassive as ever. "Now cheer up, we're getting some ice cream."

"I-ice cream?" Anna stuttered, but was pulled along by L out the door. "Is there something about ice cream that you know that I don't?" Anna asked while L locked the door and dropped the keys in his pockets.

"Yes." L explained as they walked down the silent street together. "I was several years older than both Near and Mello." He laughed a little at the memory, "Believe it or not, they're actually both quite immature back then, especially Mello. He loved to compete with Near, and when he lost…he would sometimes cry."

Anna smiled and imagined a crying Mello, "So what did you do?" she asked.

"I'd buy him chocolate ice cream, and it'll work every single time." L answered, "Ice cream is among one of the most wonderful inventions humans every came up with." L said, gazing emptily into the night, "And among one of the only ones that were actually worth it, it cheers people up, a wonderful yet mysterious thing."

"Thanks for buying me ice cream." Anna replied sadly, her gaze upon the ground.

"There's something wrong isn't there?" L asked, his eyes flickering down to Anna. "I can tell, I'm good at reading people remember?"

"Who…who's that person you had to dance with before? You said you've sort of had to dance once before once right?" Anna murmured quietly.

L bent down and observed her face for a second before continuing to walk, "Not jealous are we?" he said, and stuck his thumb in his mouth.

"Of course not!" Anna pulled his thumb out of his mouth, "Just curious."

"I see." L mused, "Well, it was a girl; she admired me quite a lot. I remember buying her ice cream too." He paused for a second to sneak a look at Anna before continuing, "To answer your question, it was her birthday. She was around Mello and Near's age, another admirer. She was ten, two years younger than me. Same as you actually, she requested that for her birthday, I'd dance with her, and I did, so I kind of learned how to dance, at the orphanage."

"How about when you bought her ice cream?" Anna pursued, "Why was she sad?"

L sighed, an expression of pain creasing his features, "It was because I was leaving the orphanage, to become a detective." He answered, "She cried so hard, grabbing my hand and not letting me go. So in the end I took her to an ice cream shop and sat there with her while she cried, until she fell asleep."

"Then you left…" Anna whispered, "Where is she now?"

L stopped in his tracks, "No one knows. She ran away from the orphanage a few days after I left. However, given her condition, she's most likely dead."

"Condition?"

"She's sick with leukemia, a blood cancer." L explained quietly, his expression was impassive and unreadable, but Anna could practically feel the sadness radiating from him.

Anna stepped in front of L and brushed away his bangs to look into his eyes, "I'm sor-I mean, I understand how she feels, she doesn't blame you. She knows that you have your own future out there and she's happy for you. She wouldn't want you to be sad, come on, let's get ice cream."

L shook her hand away and continued walking beside her, "Thanks, but…how would you know how she feels?"

"I guess it's because, it was how I felt after you stopped those people from them from doing experiments on me, and then disappeared from my life forever." Anna answered with a sad smile.

"Really…I suppose I owe you an apology then." L mumbled.

Anna gently shook her head, "You can't stay with every person you save."

L agreed with a subtle nod, "Well, I'm glad the one I got to meet again was you, Anna. Thanks for risking your life to help me on this mission."

"Speaking of which, what are you dressing up as for the dance?" Anna tilted her head to one side and asked.

"Umm… I'll tell you I've been looking at masks." L answered, "Yourself?"

"I've got it quite planned out, it'll be quite simple, but one of a kind." Anna laughed, "I can't wait to see the expression on people's faces."

"Oh really?"

"You're more talkative than you usually are L." Anna said with a teasing expression, "I didn't say anything…weird in my sleep for you to talk like that right?"

"Am I?" L shrugged, "Must be my craving for ice cream." he pointed to a little shop and they walked towards it. Anna had noticed that he changed the subject swiftly, and hadn't really answered her question.

I dreamed about L, dying of a heart attack. She thought soberly, I hope I didn't say anything too embarrassing. Still, L didn't want to talk about it… guess that's fine too. She reached her hand into the freezer and pulled out an orange flavored popsicle, while L chose strawberry. "Sugar helps?" she asked, raising the popsicle to show him.

"Sugar helps." L confirmed, and after paying, they walked out of the shop. "I'll walk you home, and then go back."

"It'll be pretty late then won't it? Sure you don't want to just stay and chat?" Anna licked her ice cream. The cold texture felt wonderful on her tongue and did cheer her up immediately.

Swallowing a chunk of ice cream, L turned to look at her with confused eyes, "You've got school tomorrow, and judging by those bags under your eyes…" he gently wiped the dark circle under Anna's eye, "Light will be asking after them a lot don't you think?" He teased, though Anna thought she detected a hint of sadness in his eyes when he said that. "I think I'll leave you to your beauty sleep." L finished, "I have a theory to work on anyway."

"I won't bother you then," Anna took his hand and lifted it from her eyes, keeping it in her own as they walked, "though I wish you would talk more about yourself, more often, like right now."

"There aren't that many happy memories in my past." L confessed.

"Well you're the only one in mine." Anna challenged, "You don't see me complaining."

L's expression remained unchanged, "Sometimes it's hard for me to visualize how important I am to people." He said quietly after a while.

"Does it help you visualize if I say I won't be alive if it wasn't for you?" Anna said as they walked towards her apartment door.

"I'd rather you don't." L ruffled his hair, "It just puts that much more pressure on me."

"Well I'll thank you for the ice cream." Anna said and stepped inside her door.

"Good night." L said, and patted her on the head. Then his hand slid down to her face, and L had a hard time withdrawing his gaze from her eyes. His heart rate increased dramatically, and L became quite puzzled. "Be good." He said, and allowed his fingers to trail down her face.

"See you." Anna replied, and watched as L slid away into the darkness.


Author's Note: Hey guys...I have bad news...i will be away on a vacation to visit my relatives in another country, so the next update won't be till August :(

I know...cry...it's all okay! Shed your tears of sadness!

And also...i'll be laying off on the romance stuff for a while, let's see Anna in action more often! The school dance will probably take place in chapter 11.

L: Come my fans, weep and give me sugar in Hotori's absence. (It'll make Hotori update faster)

Light: NOOOOO!!!! I'm out of the story! AGAIN!!!!

Hotori: sigh...here are my reasons Light

a) YOu're NOT the main character

b) You don't love L...do you?

c) I hate you

d) Everyone else hates you too

e) You're worthless D

Light:...X.X

L/Hotori: Yup! Go Die!