Part Ten - Contemplation

All was quiet in the lobby where the dark-haired man and sleeping university student resided.

The young detective swiveled around in his seat to check the time on the wall clock: 3:47 a.m. He'd figured as much, but he didn't feel tired at all. He had never really needed that much sleep; well, he needed it, but could never get anywhere close to it. Insomnia, some people would say. Or, for the select few who knew him, it was because of the insanely large quantity of sugar and caffeine he'd consume in one day. There was never a time when he didn't have some various sweet at hand.

As the detective began to face back towards the computer screens, he cast a look to his first suspect, Light Yagami. He was fast asleep, slouched in his chair and head lolling off to the side. The arm that was handcuffed was dangling near the floor, the weight of the chain pulling it even farther down. Thinking back to the moment Adelynn had first noticed this arrangement, L grinned from around his thumb. The first thing that registered on her pale face was shock, followed by a very bad attempt at hiding the humor she'd seen in the situation.

Still grinning slightly, he pulled a lollipop out of his pocket and unwrapped it carefully, placing the wrapper neatly on the desk in front of him, next to his laptop. He was three percent sure that Adelynn was Kira. Even though the suspicion was limited, it's still there. And any lead must be taken seriously. No matter what.

This case was L's most complicated yet; and he'd solved many cases before, earning him worldwide recognition. Nobody had ever seen L; at least, before the Kira case. It was safer that way. He had broken his own rules on safety and caution when he'd invited those few members of the police force to work with him: Chief Yagami, Aizawa, Matsuda, Mogi, and the deceased Ukita. He understood the risks, and that was only one indicator of how determined he was to catch Kira and put him away for good.

L was Kira's main target, the only one standing in his way of creating his whole new world. And even riskier yet was the fact that now he had three Kira suspects, and all of them living in the same building as he.

Misa Amane, famous model and actor, Light's girlfriend, and L's second suspect. The evidence all pointed to her; hair and fingerprints of the young model were found on the envelopes recently sent to Sakura TV; the contents of which were tapes regarding to her being 'Kira'. After arresting and observing her for a while, no evidence was shown, except for the fact that she seemed to have undergone a complete personality change while in containment. This puzzled everyone, yet there was no way they could investigate any further. Not legally, at least, and while the few members of the police force stuck with him, he could do nothing but sit and wait.

Light Yagami had been L's number one suspect, with a resounding seven percent certainty. He was invited to work on the case by L himself, figuring that if Light really was Kira, then one slip up and he'd have him. If he wasn't Kira, then he'd still been a large contributor to the case. Either way, L was determined to find the real Kira. And his latest suspect, Adelynn Jae Christoph.

His thoughts on the eighteen year old wavered, going from completely sure of her involvement to none at all in a matter of seconds. This confused and frustrated him, and something in his gut had told him that she was going to be a large part of this case, Kira or not. And his instincts were never wrong. Her reaction to being a suspect was perfectly predictable, hostile and disbelieving. Almost too predictable, really. And the ease with which she knew he was L was unnerving. She seemed to be a very quick thinker, which could help contribute to the case. Or be an indicator of her identity as Kira. Still, she was only second in suspicion to Light, with a four percent difference.

Four percent could mean the world...

Light shifted into a different position in his chair, mumbling sleepily and pulling his chained arm across his chest, which tugged L's chair a bit farther to his right. This snapped L out of his reverie, and he looked to his laptop.

There was a page up of all the criminals Kira had killed, and next to that was a picture of a pentagram drawn on a prisoner's cell wall in blood, with a message underneath it, "L, did you know death gods only eat apples?" Kira seemed to be taunting him with this message, and L could find absolutely no way to decipher it. If it was meant as a way to throw off the case slightly, it sure worked.

But the presence of a Death God, a shinigami... was impossible. And not to mention, it would make Kira even more elusive and powerful, with a god of death at his side... L shook off the thought, not wanting to believe in such terrifying fantasies.

L stared intently, thoughtfully, at the grotesque picture, and thought back to when he'd shown Light this piece of evidence. He'd been able to come to the same conclusion that L himself had, and in a very short amount of time. Back then, before they'd had an actual headquarters for the case, Light had seemed so cold, calculating. He seemed to know just what moves to make, exactly what words to say, to make it seem as if he weren't Kira. While assuaging his father's and other's fears, it only increased L's suspicion, and made him keep an even more watchful eye on him.

But after Light came to him and the others one day, asking to be put in isolation and constant surveillance for as long as it took to convince them he wasn't Kira, he had changed. During the first few days of his imprisonment, the murdering of the criminals stopped altogether, and almost everything pointed in Light's direction. But somewhere in the middle of his confinement, Light cracked. He said something about getting rid of his foolish pride, and then begged relentlessly to be let out, for he wasn't Kira. It was quite unnerving, watching him crumble and plead for his release. That was when the murders started back up again, and his innocence was almost completely proven.

But how strange... it was just after he cracked that the murders started again. Almost as if the power to kill as Kira had lifted from him and had been transferred to someone else...

After Light had been released from his confinement, L, still not entirely convinced of his innocence, had made the request to be chained to Light for as long as it took to prove to him he wasn't Kira.

But now, just like Misa Amane, Light is acting almost completely different; no longer the cold, calculating, menacing young man he'd been before. He didn't seem to be feigning interest in the Kira case anymore, he was bent on capturing Kira, just like L. And there was no more caution in his eyes, no more need to prove himself as innocent. He just was. Although, every now and then, L would see a brief flicker of his old self on his face, see a faint shadow of the monster he'd used to be in his eyes. The effect was chilling, though when L was entirely convinced he saw this, Light would turn to him and he'd be changed again, dedicated whole-heartedly to the case.

When Adelynn had first walked into the lobby this afternoon, L was almost positive that she had seen this shadow on his face; for the shock and intimidation had made her avert her eyes and focus on something, anything, but him. Had she registered this consciously? Or had it been some animal instinct, warning her that he was dangerous, not one to be toyed with? Whatever it was, L was sure she'd noticed something not quite right with Light, and he planned on inquiring her about it in the near future.

L was still staring thoughtfully at his laptop's screen when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.

He looked to the many screens he had been using for surveillance, and saw nothing unusual on the largest screen, which was a video of the front of the headquarters. Glancing at the other smaller screens, he noticed nothing out of place, until his dark eyes landed on the monitor showing Adelynn's room. She was lying in the same place that she had been earlier, when he'd spoken to her after her almost-attempted, reckless escape. It had been quite humorous when she'd fallen backwards in shock, cursing loudly and landing rather roughly on her backside. But he hadn't let this show on his face; he just kept on his usual, emotionless mask.

Now, still in the same spot she'd been in so many hours previously, she had fallen asleep, mouth hanging open slightly, and expression peaceful, calm. L had never seen her looking anything but sad, though she tried so hard to hide it, and recently, angry. To put it lightly, she looked... beautiful. L felt something stir within him, but he dismissed it quickly. He wasn't sure how to describe it; so he didn't, figuring it was best left alone. The only thing that mattered to him right now was this case, and getting Kira put away as quickly as possible.

L watched the monitor closely as she unconsciously sensed someone watching her, and saw as she curled up into a fetal position on the floor, arms around her knees that were pulled up to her stomach. She mumbled something unintelligible then, and a flicker of some unpleasant emotion crossed her peacefully sleeping face. L continued to watch her for several more moments, and then noticed she was shivering slightly, cold. It was no wonder, since she had fallen asleep on the cold floor. It could also have something to do with the fact that the air was always unreasonably cool, due to only eight people now living in this twenty-five floor building.

L had a strange impulse to want to go help her; to fetch her a blanket or carry her back to her bed, so as to eliminate her slight discomfort. But even as this emotion came, in seconds it was banished. It wasn't worth having to risk being away from Light, even for the brief amount of time. And it was her own fault, really, for falling asleep there. Why should he care?

'Because she's your responsibility now,' he thought, but felt that wasn't really the reason.

L sat there, watching her sleep for what felt like hours, all the while battling with the urge to go help her. After a few minutes more of this internal struggle, he pressed a button on his desk and said emotionlessly, "Watari?"

There was a pause, then a tired greeting from the elder man.

"Could you fetch some blankets for Ms. Christoph, she seems to have fallen asleep quite uncomfortably on the floor."

He heard an affirmative chuckle, followed by a reassuring 'yes'. L kept his eyes on the sleeping girl until Watari walked into the room and grabbed blanket and pillow off her bed, gently placing the pillow beneath her head and the blanket over her shaking body. He then reluctantly pried his gaze from the monitors and back to his laptop, searching for a way to solve this Kira case as fast as he could.

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A/N: Did you find this believable? In the least? I was actually able to get this up faster than I thought I would; so I hope you had a good time reading it! Thanks for all the new adds and reviews!