Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugami Ohba and Takeshi Obata, and Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Casesbelongs to Nisio Isin.
/AN: Once again I must apologise for the late update, it's been a busy week for me. The good news is that I'm on holiday now, which means I have much more time to dedicate to this story. Thank you for reading and reviewing so far. I think that this is my favourite chapter so far... /
"I thought that you said we were short on time?" Light asked, grimacing at the sight of the hideous orange couch that he currently occupied with a slouched, pale detective, who as usual was sitting on the balls of his feet, knees pulled tightly to his chest like an insecure child.
"We are indeed Raito-kun."
"Does that mean I can-"
"No."
"Can I at least have a laptop?"
"Out of the question," L replied, reaching for his tea, "I believe that you promised Misa a date if she left you alone for seventy two hours."
Running a hand through his brown hair with an audible sigh, Light shifted slightly in his seat, gazing longingly at the closed door preventing his escape. During the past few minutes he'd thought more than once about making a break for it, however it certainly wouldn't be an easy task dragging Ryuzaki along behind him. The man was certainly heavier than he looked, despite his skinny appearance.
It was almost like waiting to be interrogated. The brunette wasn't sure what he found more daunting, the thought of being a Kira suspect or being forced on a date with the one and only Misa Amane.
He'd only mentioned the idea briefly to get some peace and quiet, and that had been more than enough to get the model fidgeting with excitement for three days. Three whole days, which in Lights opinion had gone far too quickly. Now he was back to being pestered again...
Despite her irritating whining and clinginess, Misa was tolerable somehow. He'd met more irritating girls at university, and it wasn't as if he saw her very often anymore, not since being handcuffed to L. In a way, he was relieved that he'd managed to pry her from his side even for a short while; after all, the Yagami wasn't an entirely affectionate person. He liked his space, which wasnt at all practical given his current circumstance.
Each room was swarming with cameras. Whoever was taking watch right now was probably observing Light from several different angles, and if that was not off putting enough he had a detective chained to his arm for twenty four hour surveillance.
Privacy no longer existed, and the teenager found himself missing it greatly, like a part of him that had been severed ruthlessly.
Watching L from the corner of his eye, it was quite clear to the teenager that the man didn't appear fazed in the slightest. The raven was attempting to occupy himself by building a tower of sugar cubes, biting his lip in concentration as if it were the most important item on his agenda. Perhaps, Light thought to himself with a supressed shiver, the detective was slightly too comfortable with the handcuff arrangements.
Taking another cube from a small bowl, he paused, examining the sweet lump with a pair of curious grey eyes. After a brief second (much to Lights disgust), the detective proceeded to bite it in half, almost as if he were taking a bite out of a juicy apple. In a matter of minutes, L's tower of cubes began to decline rather quickly, and soon he began to take another handful from the half empty bowl, a bored expression dominating his features.
"Do you have any fillings Ryuzaki?"
"No."
"I find it difficult to believe that. Your diet consists of nothing but sugar."
...
"Are you nervous Raito-kun?" The detective asked, watching Light wring his hands unconsciously.
Light shifted in his seat and frowned.
"Shut up Ryuzaki..." He definitely wasn't in the mood to argue with L, although judging by their lack of decent conversation so far, it wouldn't be much longer until he completely lost his temper.
He'd never seen L angry before, and thinking about it, L was never one to possess much emotion at all, or at least he didn't display it clearly like most people. Ryuzaki always obeyed the first rule of being a detective, avoiding personal feelings when it came to solving cases. He also used this rule when he worked with the taskforce members, something which Light wasnt so sure was in the rulebook...
Occasionally he would release a small laugh or a discontented sigh, nothing more or nothing his sullen looking appearance, his eyes were always filled with curiosity; today however he was lacking his usual enthusiasm. Today, his spark was missing like an extinguished fire; his usual passion had completely dwindled to ash.
He looked lost.
"Is this your first date Yagami-kun?"
"Does it matter?"
"I was merely curious, and I'd say that you're nervous."
"And I'd say that you're delusional. Besides, you already know enough about me, how about you, is this your first date?"
"I am afraid that I cannot disclose such information to a suspect."
"Whatever." The brunette muttered in irritation, tapping his fingers idly on his the room for a clock, Light soon found that there wasn't one. How long had he been waiting now? An hour? However long it had been, it was long, far too long, although admittedly he was enjoying his brief break from the Kira investigation. It made a change to occupy a room without a bulky computer- he was beginning to take a dislike to the blasted machines.
Light Yagami was hardly technologically retarded; however it was almost as if the machines were taking an immediate dislike to him. The keys would stick, the screen would freeze, it would take several minutes or more to load a single document, and Ryuzaki's security precautions weren't helping either.
He wasn't impatient. Well, not really...
"It appears that my assumptions were incorrect." L said, removing his thumb from his mouth.
"Wrong?" Light replied, 'About me being Kira?' he thought.
"I always assumed that you were a ladies' man Raito-kun." The raven replied, restraining a small smile.
"Ryuzaki?"
"Yes Raito-kun?"
"Could you do me a favour?" The teen asked with a small smile.
"What would that be Raito-kun?"
"Shut up."
Before L could utter a response to his rude colleague, he was interrupted by the sound of a loud telephone ringing. Reaching for the shrieking device, the detective held it reluctantly to his ear.
"Yes?"
"Good morning Ryuzaki, and yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking!"
"Is this important B?"
"Well that depends. Do you value your hearing?"
"Is this a joke?"
"Answer the damn question!"
"Yes I do, although this is hardly-"
"Great! Now hang up and stick your fingers in your ears."
"Excuse me?"
"You might want to hurry; you only have ten seconds left."
"Very funny B, you do have a bizarre sense of humour."
"Just trust me, and don't tell Light."
Placing the phone back on the small coffee table, L reluctantly did as he was told and promptly stuck a finger in each ear, much to Lights and his own utter confusion.
"Ryuzaki, what are you-"
"LIGHTTTTTTTTTTTT!" Misa screamed, throwing open the door with immense enthusiasm, "Did you miss me?"
"I-"
"Oh I knew you would!"
Before the brunette could brace himself the blonde threw her slender arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug. Light gingerly patted her on the back as she continued to squeeze the life out of him, and when the model finally pried herself from her boyfriend she smiled, taking a seat on the opposite couch with a warm smile.
Soon enough, the genuine smile gracing Misa's lips faded to a long frown.
"Did you have to come too?" She asked Ryuzaki, pouting. "This doesn't feel like a date at all."
"Pretend I'm not here." Came the muttered reply.
L retrieved a fork from the table and took a small mouthful of chocolate cake, the same one he'd been eyeing longingly during the past five minutes. It was absolutely true that the detective was partial to a slice of cake; in fact it was a rare sight to see him in a room without a slice nearby. He always insisted that sugar no longer affected him. According to Ryuzaki, his insomnia was not connected to his sugar based diet, and his lithe, skinny frame had absolutely nothing to do with his lack of nutrition.
He considered himself lucky to be so miraculously healthy, and had L been religious perhaps he could have held God responsible for his good fortune.
Lawliet could always remember having a sweet tooth, and as a child he'd been forced to eat 'proper' food. Fortunately those days were long behind him, and now he could indulge as much as he liked without gaining a single pound. Unlike his own dull appearance, Ryuzaki found that most confectionary was remarkably colourful compared to his sickly pale complexion. The brighter it was, the better it tasted, a motto that the detective would happily abide by for the rest of his life.
"By the way," the raven asked, "will you be eating that cake?"
Misa glanced to the plate beside her and shook her head with certainty.
"No thanks."
"I'm surprised that you manage to stay so skinny considering all the sugar that you eat," Light said, folding his arms, "you must have a fast metabolism or something."
"If you use your head you can eat sweets without gaining weight. That is my theory."
"And how many people did you base this theory on exactly?"
"Myself."
Taking one last mouthful of chocolate cake, L prodded the remaining morsel of sponge with a frown. When Light raised a brow in question the raven merely muttered, "Not sweet enough."
As the brunette watched his colleague toy with his food he finally decided that this was the final straw. From that moment on, Light decided that he would no longer hold himself responsible for his own actions.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Light asked, "Show some energy!"
"I'm a little depressed Raito-kun."
"Depressed?"
"Yes, quite depressed. For a long time I was convinced that you were Kira. No- you were definitely Kira at some point. There's no mistaking that you and Amane once possessed Kira's powers, whether you were conscious of it or not."
"And the handcuffs?"
"I still suspect you, although it is clear that someone else currently possesses Kira's power."
"Kira's power passes from person to person, is that what you're saying?"
Ryuzaki nodded slowly and held the rim of the teacup to his lips briefly before taking a small sip of the steaming liquid.
He frowned.
It was cold.
Staring into the cold, swirling liquid with a pair of cloudy grey eyes, the raven asked himself, 'Why do I bother?'
He couldn't help but feel lost. He couldn't perform miracles. The Kira case was quickly spiralling out of reach, and for once Lawliet wondered if perhaps he had finally found a case that he couldn't solve.
"If your theory is correct, catching Kira is going to be difficult," Light added, perching on the edge of his seat, "but that's no excuse for you to wallow in your own misery. If you don't show some enthusiasm soon I'll have to beat some sense into you."
"That is very generous of you Raito-kun, although I will have to politely decline your offer."
"Ryuzaki..."
"So many times I thought that I was going to die Raito-kun. Perusing this case will only put us in danger, don't you agree?"
Light Yagami stood and turned swiftly to the detective, a stern expression gracing his flawless features. His hazel eyes flared angrily.
"Ryuzaki..."
When the pale detective turned, he was greeted with a sharp punch to the cheek.
As Misa watched helplessly, the scene escalated quickly. No sooner had the brunettes fist collided with L's bony cheek; the raven was being hurtled across the room, taking Light with him. The chain gave a tug at the teenager's wrist, and Light found himself diving recklessly over the glass coffee table.
SMACK.
"Ouch." Ryuzaki muttered effortlessly as his head collided with the white wall, an angry looking mark began to form on his pale cheek.
"Just because you were wrong, you're just going to give up, after everything that we've done to get this far?"
"I'm merely considering it."
"For a world famous detective you're a hell of a lot dumber that I originally thought!"
The teen grabbed the collar of L's white shirt without an ounce of hesitation. He'd never hit anyone before, and a strange emotion began to reside within him.
Regret?
No.
It felt... good.
"Unless we chase him there's no way he'll stop! How can you sit there and feel sorry for yourself while innocent people are being victimised?"
"I understand what you're saying Raito-kun, however-"
SMACK.
"However I will have you know that I am not as weak as I look."
It was the most unpleasant experience that the Yagami had ever encountered. Of all the things that could have occurred in the situation, he had never expected L to kick him in the face, with his bare foot. After falling head first into a chair the brunette was on the verge of laughter. For a man as skinny as a rake, the raven could sure fight.
"Dammit Ryuzaki!" Light growled, "It's as if you won't be satisfied unless I'm Kira!"
"Yes," L said, peeling himself from the floor, "I think... I think that I wanted you to be Kira."
SMACK.
Lawliet was no doctor; however he was quite certain that Light had caused significant damage to his delicate nose. It was certainly going to bruise in the morning...
"For the son of a police officer your behaviour is rather appalling Raito-kun. Perhaps I should do your father the favour of beating some manners into you."
Beyond Birthday watched in delight as Light received another kick to the face.
At first, he'd been rather unhappy at being left in the main office to observe the date, however after a quick turn of events he soon found himself becoming absorbed in the unfolding scene, as if he were watching an exciting television drama. It took a significant amount of willpower to pry his curious eyes from the enormous screen.
"I'll call the room and stop them." Matsuda frowned, reaching for the phone.
"Matsuda, let them be." Soichiro muttered, frowning as his son sent Ryuzaki hurtling head first into the sofa.
"No, I think I'll-"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Beyond cried, diving out of his seat and snatching the phone from Matsuda. "You almost interrupted!"
"That was the plan..." Matsuda said hesitantly, watching B clutch the phone possessively.
"I'm confiscating this," Beyond muttered, returning to his seat, "back to work. Let me deal with this..."
As L grabbed Light tightly by the collar, the phone began to ring. The detective glanced at the shrieking device, and averted his gaze back to the teenager, who was also holding him by the collar of his shirt.
"Ignore it," the brunette snapped, glaring at the device, "it's probably that annoying bastard B."
"Gladly," L replied, punching him square in the jaw.
For a few seconds the ringing continued, and once the irritating sound has ceased it was replaced with a standard answer phone.
BEEP- "That 'bastard' as you so delicately put it, can hear you Yagami-kun. I will let it slide on this particular occasion; it must be awfully frustrating for a hormonal teenager such as yourself to be deprived of privacy with your girlfriend..."
Misa could feel the warmth gather in her cheeks, flushing in embarassment. Peeking from her spot behind the couch an irritated Light looked back at her, a faint, almost undetectable blush tinting his cheeks.
"B, this is hardly the time for-"
"Ryuzaki... I'm ashamed of you. I thought that it was against your morals to hit girls."
"You know Ryuzaki," Light muttered, "You look a lot like Beyond when you smile like that."
SMACK.
"My nose is bleeding Raito-kun."
