Disclaimer: Death Note is owned by Tsugumi Ooba, Takeshi Obata and whoever else owns it. I in no way claim it as my own; I just like to abuse the characters more than the Joker likes smiles. Any new characters are mine and any other new stuff is mine. I make no profit off of this silly fanfic and I don't intend any harm from it. No sue me, plz?
A/N: This chapter turned out pretty long. Finally, huh?
As a note, to support the background I have for L and Nyoko, I removed the "five years" piece L says about when he lived in England. I did so because I'm not sure if it coincides with my background for them. I can't figure it out 'cause it involves math and my brain honestly doesn't comprehend numbers correctly, as a psychologist has told me. Sorry. I'll just have to invoke the right of AU-ness here.
Angel of Death I: In The Cards
by KuroShinigami13
Chapter Nine - Jack of Hearts (Jealousy)
Death Note
How to Use It
- The human who touches the Death Note can recognize the image and voice of its original owner, a god of death, even if the human is not the owner of the note.
"I have to admit, I was surprised, Ryuuga," Light Yagami said as he and 'Hideki Ryuuga' stood on the tennis court, getting ready to play a match. "I never thought you'd ask me to play tennis as a way to get to know each other."
Musiko sat on the bench near Light's duffel bag, watching the two. She was once again wearing her black sneakers and a pair of black jeans with a chain going from a front pocket to a back pocket. This time, however, she wore a black, long-sleeved shirt under a white, short-sleeved shirt with print on the front. In bold letters at the top, it read in capitals: "I'm not short." Below that, in normal font and capitals, it read: "I'm built low to the ground for speed and accuracy."
Although five five was normal for a woman, Musiko usually worked with men who were taller than her, thus her choice of shirt, the negotiator watching Light carefully. She did feel rather short between L and Light's five ten height.
"Is it a problem for you?" Ryuuga asked, staring back at Light.
"Not at all," assured Light, the two heading toward their court and leaving Musiko behind, "but when you first invited me to play, did you know how good I was?"
Ryuuga replied with little emotion, "Yes. I'll be fine, though. It's been a while, but at one time, I was actually the British junior champion."
'If I ask him if he's British, would he think I'm trying to find out more about him because I'm Kira?' Light wondered. 'Oh, well. Can't hurt to try.'
"Ryuuga, were you raised in the UK?" he asked, looking over to Ryuuga.
"I lived in England for a time when I was younger, but save your breath," the raven-haired man replied. "Nothing in that story would reveal L's true identity; I promise you."
'Oh, is that so?' thought Light derisively.
Meanwhile, Musiko muttered to herself, "Why did L drag me out here again? I seem to recall saying 'no' rather adamantly."
Kuro, who stood behind her, chuckled and answered, "L promised to have some of those hot fries you have an addiction to imported from America if you would analyze the one he calls Light."
"Oh, right," she mumbled, leaning back against the bench. "I knew there was a good reason."
"Well, since it's our first match," Ryuuga said to Light, "why don't we just play a single set? First one to... six?"
"That's fine by me," Light agreed easily.
Ryuuga bounced the tennis ball up and down as he thought, 'This is just a friendly game of tennis - nothing more. In and of itself, it won't determine if Light is Kira, but I know Kira hates to lose.'
Tossing the tennis ball into the air, he struck it hard, the ball whirling forward. It hit Light's side of the court before zooming past him, Ryuk dodging the ball as it hit the wire fence behind them.
"Fifteen love," Ryuuga called it.
Light stood from his stance, "Whoa, Ryuuga, you sure don't mess around."
"He who strikes first wins," replied Ryuuga, glancing over toward where Musiko had been left to watch them.
There was a small crowd of people surrounding her.
"It seems Miss Hanabi has been discovered," he announced, Light following his gaze.
"Discovered?" Light echoed in question.
Ryuuga looked to him, answering, "Musiko was once a somewhat famous teen idol singer. It appears that some people still remember her previous career..."
Musiko climbed to a stand on her bench, "I'm not doing autographs! I'm trying to watch a tennis match like a normal, non-famous human being! ...Go away!"
She then proceeded to make shooing motions at the crowd.
One of the girls around her asked, "Will you ever make a new album, Musiko?"
"Aren't two albums full of stupid love songs enough?" Musiko asked with annoyance, hands to her hips. "The subject of all of my songs is no longer a point of inspiration."
"Who was your inspiration?" another woman in the crowd inquired with interest.
The ex-teen idol frowned down at her, saying, "I don't want to get him involved in these types of encounters... Now, if you would all stand near me and out of my way so I can watch Ryuuga and Light's tennis match, I'll answer questions and give autographs after their game."
Obediently, the women moved away so she could see, Musiko sitting back down to see Light and Ryuuga begin their match.
Ryuuga and Light's match was well on its way, the two furiously hitting the tennis ball back and forth as crowds gathered to watch. Musiko still sat on her bench, guarding Light's bag dutifully, while her small gathering of fans watched the match with her.
'Will Lawliet let Kira win... or will he make sure to win himself?' pondered the negotiator, fingers playing with her bottom lip. 'He knows Kira hates to lose, but... Well, the outcome should be interesting.'
Hitting the ball back to Light, Ryuuga thought, 'Relax, Light. While it's true that Kira hates losing, it's also true that most people would rather win than lose; it's human nature.'
'Is he going to think that I'm Kira if I go for the win?' Light wondered after hitting the ball back to Ryuuga. 'I suppose I could just lose on purpose, but if I do, it could work against me. Since he'd expect Kira to want to win, he might also expect me to throw the match to avoid suspicion. '
'I don't see any way that he can profile me based on a tennis match, so... I have to assume he has some other goal in mind,' he reasoned. 'Either way, I'm not going to let him win.'
With that thought issued, the brunette struck the ball as hard as possible, Ryuuga running for it on his side, but missing.
Ryuuga breathed heavily, turning his sights on Light, 'Look at that. He's going for the win.'
"That's four games all," the newly acquired umpire called. "Light Yagami to serve."
Ryuk chuckled, "And just like that, we've got an umpire and a line judge..."
One of Musiko's fans turned to her, asking, "Who do you want to win, Musiko?"
Musiko smiled a little, "Well, I'm friends with Ryuuga, so I suppose I have to side with him. However, I don't think he's going to win."
"Oh? Why not?" another questioned.
"Because this is more than a tennis match, yet merely a tennis match," Musiko replied, smirking to herself. "They're not just playing tennis; they're testing each other."
"Testing each other?" the woman echoed curiously.
"They both scored perfectly on the entrance exams; that fact alone makes them natural rivals," the negotiator explained to her.
'Plus, there's the fact that Ryuuga is the famous detective L and Light is the infamous killer Kira,' she thought to herself, holding back a laugh.
Meanwhile, the game was back in full swing, Ryuuga moving to strike the tennis ball.
'I can see the wheels turning, Light Yagami,' he thought. 'I'm already in your head.'
The raven-haired young man then swung, sending the ball back into Light's court.
'There's no way this tennis match will deepen our friendship,' Light thought, moving to intercept the ball. 'This is a token gesture - an elaborate act we'll go through so we can say we're closer.'
Hitting the ball, he sent it back into Ryuuga's court.
Ryuuga ran to intercept it, thinking, 'Because I wanted to play tennis with you, you'll assume that I'm preparing to take a step closer, laying the groundwork to get to know you better.'
The ball crashed into the net of his racket, charging back toward Light.
'And then you're going to try and trap me by getting me to say something that only Kira would know,' Light reasoned, running to intercept the ball and sending it back.
'However, I'm sure you'll tell me you need to know if you can trust me first,' thought the detective, running to hit the ball. 'And, of course, the only way to win your trust will be to share what I know about Kira.'
Ryuuga then sent the ball back toward Light's court.
'If you want me to discuss Kira with you,' Light thought to himself, running for the ball, 'it only makes sense that I'd want to ask for proof that you are in charge of the investigation and, more importantly, that you are really L as you say you are.'
The ball whirled back toward Ryuuga after another hard strike by Light, the raven-haired detective thinking, 'So it goes without saying, the first thing you're going to want from me is--'
The ball headed his way, Light running to intercept it once again and striking it, '--some kind of confirmation from a third party that you really are L...'
'Which means--' Ryuuga carried on their mutual thoughts, striking the ball back to Light.
'--we'll have to go to task force headquarters,' the two thought in harmony.
'In all things, one cannot win with defense alone,' Light thought, running toward the net to strike the ball. 'To win, you must attack!'
Though Ryuuga valiantly lunged forward to intercept the ball, it bounced under him, effectively escaping his tennis racket, the umpire calling out Light's win.
Musiko smirked at Light's triumph.
"Told you so," she said to the others, all of them surprised before they began clapping for Light.
'I wonder when those two will realize that they're evenly matched in so many ways, if they haven't figured that out already,' she thought. 'I'm sure Lawliet would probably die before revealing Light as Kira, though, because Light definitely has more working in his favor...'
'Having said that, I guess I have to choose sides,' the negotiator concluded.
Light and Ryuuga headed over to where Musiko had been left to guard Light's bag, but the crowd of women from earlier were now gathered off to the side. The two men exchanged a glance before Light picked up his bag, both of them heading to the crowd. They looked into the middle to see Musiko posing for a photo in front of one of the women's cell phones.
One hand lightly resting on her shoulder as if in mid-flip of her hair, Musiko smiled and winked. She then moved to pose for another camera, pursing her lips, hand outstretched before her face, making her look as if blowing a kiss. Again, once that picture was done, she moved into another pose, giving the peace sign, winking and sticking out her tongue.
Once all the photos were taken, she heaved a sigh of relief, noticing Ryuuga and Light.
"Oh, hey, guys. Good game," she praised with a smile. "Congratulations on the win, Light."
"Thank you, Musiko," Light replied politely, growing curious about the woman.
He thought she looked more like a model than a previous teen idol singer. Although, as far as models went, she would have been rather short at her staggering height of five five.
"Musiko," a raven-haired woman with dark eyes and glasses said, gaining Musiko's attention.
She had recently walked over and Musiko recognized her as the girl named Kyoko she'd sat next to at the entrance ceremony.
"Is it true that you scored third on the entrance exams?" Kyoko questioned with interest.
"Yes, actually," the ex-idol replied.
She smirked, adding, "You look surprised about that, but I guess it does break the stereotype that teen idols are notoriously lacking by way of IQ."
"Well, judging from your bubbly, cheesy lyrics, this is the last place I'd expect you to be," the woman quipped, smirking back.
Musiko shrugged, grinning at Kyoko as she replied, "Then you obviously don't understand the entertainment industry and the fact that my music catered to younger audiences specifically."
The brunette, who was usually found with Kyoko, walked over, wearing her tennis outfit.
"Musiko, I'm Ryoko Suzuki," the woman greeted. "How about a tennis match?"
Musiko grinned, asking, "Are you sure you want to play against me?"
"She sure sounds confident," Light muttered to Ryuuga.
Ryuuga didn't reply, knowing Light would get to see exactly why she was confident if Musiko accepted the brunette's challenge. Knowing Musiko, she would accept it, even if only to catch Light's attention.
"I'm sure," Ryoko replied with a confident smile of her own. "The first one to miss wins. Are you up to it?"
"Of course," answered Musiko, holding out a hand expectantly. "Someone fetch me a racket and I'll be set."
Musiko stood on one side of the court, twirling her racket around; the ball was hers to serve and she was hoping this Ryoko woman would be decent competition. On the bench Musiko had been sitting on earlier, Ryuuga and Light sat, watching the scene as Musiko's fans and Kyoko stood around them, waiting for the match to begin.
Tossing the ball into the air, one leg lifted as she perched on the toes of her other foot, Musiko struck both the pose of a dancer as well as the ball.
"I've never seen a serving pose like that before," one of Musiko's fans said, hands to her cheeks.
Another nodded, watching Musiko carefully, "Isn't she just so graceful?"
Ryoko struck the ball back to Musiko, the negotiator swaying to it and hitting it back.
"Are you playing tennis," Ryoko began before striking the ball, "or dancing?"
"You'd be surprised how well the two work together, Miss Suzuki," replied Musiko, gracefully striking the ball back.
"Every sport can be played as if in a dance; some are just more," she began, having to strike the ball back before finishing her thought, "apparent than others. Say, for instance, soccer and boxing."
"Is that your athletic philosophy?" Ryoko questioned the ex-idol, hitting the ball back with all her strength.
Musiko smiled, striking the ball back with a move based on a pirouette.
"Ballet, jazz, even tap - all of these dances contain moves than can help you athletically," she explained, confident in her philosophy and hitting the ball back to Ryoko's court once more. "Even ballet moves like fouette' turns can be used, but it's best to keep to simple, rhythmic movements when you're a beginner or have little time to move."
"I see," Ryoko replied, slamming the ball back with surprising speed.
Unfazed, Musiko preformed a quick reverse leap, effectively moving her from one side of her court to the other where she struck the ball.
"How did you learn to dance so well?" inquired Ryoko, hitting the ball back to her.
"Because of my previous career as a singer, my manager signed me on to learn lots of dance techniques for my music videos," Musiko replied, moving into another move based on a pirouette to strike the ball back. "I keep in practice as much as possible."
The moment Ryoko's net moved to hit the ball, Musiko preformed an attitude leap by going forward, and met the ball near the net, striking hard. Ryoko ran for the ball, but missed it by a few inches.
Seeing her win, Musiko did a side degage position, then a demi-plie, one arm curved above her head as the other curved over her stomach. After moving out of position, she fell into her usual, relaxed stance and twirled her tennis racket.
"Good game, Miss Suzuki," she complimented politely, but honestly, walking back to where her fans, Ryuuga and Light were waiting.
"Congratulations on the win, Musiko," Light congratulated the negotiator as she neared them, Musiko giving her racket to one of her fans.
Musiko shrugged it off as if it were nothing, replying simply, "Thanks."
"Just as I expected, you beat me," said Ryuuga as he and Light Yagami walked side by side, Musiko trailing behind them and talking on her phone quietly.
"It's been a while since I had to play that hard," Light replied honestly.
"Ryuuga," Musiko spoke up, catching their attention. "I'll be leaving now. Something... came up."
Ryuuga narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering who had called her.
"I see," he replied.
Light turned to face Musiko as she put away her cell phone.
"It was nice seeing you again, Musiko," he said, smiling, both the detective and negotiator noticing his smile to her was now genuine.
"Likewise, Light," she replied with a smile in return, bowing her head slightly before turning and heading in the other direction.
The two then turned and continued walking, Light asking, "How long have you known Miss Hanabi?"
Ryuuga looked ahead, thinking to himself, 'He's already forming an interest in her... But she hasn't actually attempted to befriend him... Interesting...'
He quickly answered, "I met her in England where we grew up together for a time. I re-established contact about... three or four years ago."
"I see," Light replied as he looked forward, retreating into his own thoughts.
'The way she moves is graceful... And her tennis match was like a dance... Her name sounds vaguely familiar, though.'
"Why do you ask?" the detective finally inquired.
Light looked to him, smiling a little, obviously finding Ryuuga a little strange for having to ask.
"Isn't it normal for me to be asking about a beautiful woman?" the brunette asked, chuckling.
"Hm... I suppose so," Ryuuga conceded easily, hands digging deeper into his pockets.
"Hey. I'm kinda thirsty... Plus, there's something I wanted to ask you about," Light changed the subject. "You wanna go somewhere for a drink?"
Ryuuga answered, looking over to Light, "You humored me with a tennis match; the least I can do is answer some of your questions... But, before this conversation goes any further, there's something I must tell you."
"And what's that?" the younger man asked.
Ryuuga peered into his eyes as he answered, "I suspect that you, Light Yagami, are, in fact, Kira."
He let the thought sink in a moment before continuing, "Now, if you still want to ask me something, then please go ahead."
Light stopped walking, Ryuuga stopping a few feet ahead and turning around to look at the younger man.
Laughing out of surprise which Ryuuga was sure had been feigned, Light replied to his accusation, "You think I'm Kira?"
"Well, when I say I suspect you, it's only a one percent possibility," Ryuuga asserted. "That aside, I don't mind telling you that once I'm sure you aren't Kira and I can verify that your deductive skills are as strong as I think they are, I'd like nothing more than to have you work with me on this investigation."
With that said, he turned and continued walking.
Moments later, Light continued walking as well, thinking, 'One percent, huh? That was well worded because no matter how little he says he suspects me, it means he has grounds to prevent me from meeting anyone on the task force... Quite the preemptive move on his part. He got me.'
After hailing a taxi, Musiko got in the back and gave the driver directions before slipping her phone out of her purse. She dialed in a number and waited for an answer.
In a hidden location in England, Near sat in a swivel chair, knees up to his chest, in front of a desk, one finger twirling a strand of his snow white hair as he stared at his phone, waiting for a call. When it suddenly came on and his ring tone for Nyoko Kurogawa - "Ryoujoku No Ame" by Dir En Grey - began to play, he picked it up, flipping it open.
"Where are you?" he asked immediately.
"I'm in a taxi at the moment," came Muskio's reply. "What is it you need?"
"I want information on the Kira investigation," answered Near, his finger twirling his strand of hair once more.
"You want me to leak information to you without telling Ryuuzaki?" her voice asked. "At least tell me why you want to know about this case."
"I suspect L has already asked you to help his successor," he speculated, Musiko unsurprised by his uncanny accuracy. "I also suspect that L will die in this investigation and because of his focus on this case, he will likely never choose a successor. Because of this, I want to be updated on the situation as often as possible as not to waste time catching up later."
"I understand," she returned, ignoring his rather hurtful assumption that L would die as she couldn't rightfully speak against it, the negotiator knowing it was likely to happen. "But what I don't understand is why you didn't email me about this rather than discussing it over the phone. I was actually with L and Light Yagami, our Kira suspect, when you called."
His twirling finger paused momentarily, Near smiling slightly to himself before it continued its motions.
"I hadn't heard your voice in over a month," he informed her. "I was checking to see if you were really still alive."
"Uh-huh, sure," Musiko replied, Near certain she'd rolled her eyes and brushed back her hair.
She then teased him in a baby talk voice, "Little Near just wanted to hear Musiko's voice, didn't he? Awww."
Laughing lightly, she spoke normally, "You know, you can always call just to say 'hello' sometimes."
Near's finger pulled at the strand of hair as he replied hesitantly, "I suppose... I could do that."
"Well, god, don't make it sound like it'd kill you," Musiko retorted, but laughed, assuring him she was in no way mad.
"It might," he replied in a serious tone, Musiko chuckling.
"Later, Near," she said before the line went dead.
Near closed his phone, setting it on the desk before him.
'But knowing you, you'll stop at nothing to protect L... You still love him, don't you?' he thought with a melancholy frown. 'Even after he left you, you still want him to be the one who loves you... Nyoko.'
Near watched from a window on a rainy day as L left behind the girl he claimed to love. He knew L would promise her he'd come back, but Near doubted he would. Why would he when he became the famous detective bred to solve dangerous cases around the world? Near reasoned that L would either forget her or stay away from her to protect her from his work.
After L was gone, Near went down to the front door, walking out into the pouring rain toward Musiko, who had fallen onto her knees, crying. Lifting his jacket over his head, he kneeled down beside her, one arm dragging her up as gently as she would allow. Once she stood, head under his jacket, he turned them both toward the door to the orphanage, leading her inside.
Since then, Near stayed with her as often as possible, having to force her out of bed on most days because she'd become deeply depressed. It took all his strength not to get annoyed when she wouldn't eat or move from one spot, but he remained patient, slowly helping her recover.
He didn't know why love was such a good thing if it left a normally happy girl like Musiko completely depressed and even suicidal, but he knew that he hated seeing her upset. He also knew that she never blamed L for leaving her, but Near believed it to completely be L's fault once the older boy never fulfilled his promise of visiting her.
Left to put the pieces of Nyoko's puzzle back together, Near realized that he normally would have turned a cold shoulder on someone suffering in such a pathetic manner; yet, with Musiko, Near saw an innocent girl completely shatter and he wanted nothing more than to help her.
After those days, once she was reasonably well again, she and Near spent most of their time together. While he would work incessantly on the same puzzle, she would sit nearby and read or play with the toys he would give her. He didn't exactly know why he gave her those things, but he reasoned with himself that seeing her smile instead of looking depressed was an improvement.
Her only other friend, Mello, became distant once she seemed to prefer Near's company, but Near didn't mind the fact. Near believed Mello was too emotional to take care of her anyway, so he kept them separated as much as possible.
When she started talking to other people again, however, he separated her from them as well, reasoning that anyone else would hurt her, though the fact of the matter was that he was jealous. Obediently, she strayed from talking with anyone else, Near satisfied with the thought that no one would hurt her again like L did.
Somewhere along the way, he had fallen in love with her.
"This coffee shop is one of my favorites in the area and if we sit here, there's no chance of anyone overhearing us," Light explained to the older man, he and Ryuuga sitting in booths facing one another before a table, plants surrounding their seats.
"Thanks for showing me this place," Ryuuga replied. "I can see why you like it."
Light smiled at him, chuckling as he spoke, "Not to mention, we're so out of the way here, no one's gonna give you a hard time about the way you sit."
The raven-haired detective spoke around his thumb, "I don't sit like this because I want to; I have to sit like this. You see, if I were to sit normally, my deductive skills would immediately be reduced by roughly forty percent."
Light pondered on his statement, thinking, 'Why does the way he sits determine the percentage of his deductive skills? He certainly is... eccentric.'
"So, what was it you wanted to ask me?" Ryuuga inquired, breaking Light from his thoughts.
"Right. I'm sure that can wait until you're convinced that I'm not Kira, so, please, let's talk about whatever you want to," replied the brunette, taking a sip of his tea.
"You're under no obligation to do this, but... would you mind submitting yourself to a test of your deductive reasoning skills?" Ryuuga questioned his suspect.
Before him sat a cup of tea with four creams stacked one on the other beside it, though it seemed not to be enough for the raven-haired detective.
"Sure," Light allowed. "Why not? Sounds like fun."
"Alright, then," Ryuuga said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling something out. "We can begin by taking a look at these."
He then set three photographs on the table, explaining, "Photographs of three notes written by prison inmates while under Kira's control just prior to their deaths; none of this information has been made public."
Light leaned forward, taking the photographs for a closer look.
"You can take as long as you want to look them over," said Ryuuga as he watched Light carefully. "Please let me know what you think."
Light looked over the all too familiar notes, replying, "Very interesting."
'Come on; this is child's play,' he thought, pretending to study the photos. 'There's a print number on the back of each of these photographs... If I ignore this fact and was still able to come up with the phrase 'L do you know gods of death love apples', what would that mean? Clearly, if I read it the way Kira intended on my first attempt, I'd only look more suspicious. But the fact that I'm able to solve this silly code on its own isn't enough to prove that I'm Kira.'
"It would be quite amazing to learn that not only could Kira kill others, but could also control his victim's actions," Light mentioned, moving the photos into one hand and looking up at Ryuuga. "I think Kira wrote these and it seems he's encoded a message for you as well - almost as if he's mocking you."
He then set the photographs back down on the table, saying, "If you line these notes up side by side and take a look at the first letter of every line, it reveals a message."
Moving the photographs, he explained, "Rearranging it like this gives you 'L do you know gods of death love apples'. But there are obvious print numbers on the back of all these photographs. Arrange it in that order and we get 'L do you know love apples gods of death'."
Chuckling lightly, he concluded, "That doesn't sound right. And based on that, it's hard to believe that Kira would have wanted you to read it this way."
"That's incorrect," Ryuuga replied.
"Huh?"
Pulling out another photograph from his back pocket, the detective explained, "The thing is, there were actually four photographs."
He then laid it down with the others, saying, "When we add this one, it reads 'L do you know gods of death who love apples have red hands'."
'It's a fake!' Light thought, staring at the fake photograph. 'I never made any criminal write the letter in this fourth picture... Is he stupid?'
"But seeing as I only had three photographs to work with, my deduction was perfect," the younger man protested, looking back at Ryuuga.
"No, it wasn't," Ryuuga corrected. "The truth is, there were four of them. If you'd figured that out, it would have been perfect... Even though you knew the message was incomplete, you decided that there were only three notes. You never even considered that there might be a fourth... What do you make of that?"
'Damn him!' Light cursed him in his thoughts, seething at another of the detective's tricks. 'This wasn't just about gauging my deductive reasoning skills; he wanted to see what my reaction would be. If I keep falling for his tricks, I'll be playing right into his hands.'
"Hm... Well, you got me there; I didn't think of that," he made his confession, hands in his pockets.
"In any case, the likelihood this message will lead you to Kira is not very great," Light reasoned, reaching out to take his cup by the handle. "Besides, we all know gods of death don't exist."
He then took a drink of his tea, wondering what Ryuuga would say next.
"If you were me, faced with someone who might be Kira, how would you go about establishing this person's innocence or guilt?" the raven-haired detective inquired before stressing a point. "You'd need to be absolutely sure."
"I would probably try to get him to say something that was never made public in any way - something that only Kira could know," Light answered without hesitation. "Kinda like what you were doing just now."
"Truly amazing," marveled Ryuuga, staring back at the younger man with his onyx eyes. "What's incredible is that I've asked countless detectives that same question and it took most of them minutes to even come up with an answer. But you - you immediately thought of a scenario in which Kira is speaking directly to the investigator."
"I'm impressed," Ryuuga praised. "You'll make a fine detective, Light."
Light laughed lightly, pointing out, "But... it's a bit of a double-edged sword. The more impressive my answers, the more of a suspect I become."
"Yes," Ryuuga agreed as Light took a sip of his tea. "It's about three percent now... However, it's made me that much more determined to work with you on this investigation... You see, I'm in a position where even if you are Kira, it would still be to my benefit to have you working alongside us."
"You know why I say that?" the raven-haired detective questioned the younger man, his black eyes staring back at Light unnervingly.
"If I cooperate with you, there's a chance I can help the investigation to move forward," the brunette high school student answered.
"And if I'm Kira, I might reveal myself," he added, setting down his cup. "In other words, whether I'm Kira or not, you stand to gain either way... It's a very smart move on your part."
"But I think you might be getting the wrong idea," he amended quickly. "It's true that I do have an interest in the Kira case, and, yes, detective work is a hobby of mine... but I know that I'm not Kira and I certainly don't want to be killed by him."
"Besides," he said, staring back at the detective, "what proof have you been able to give me that you yourself aren't Kira? I mean, it hardly seems fair for just one of us to be investigated, wouldn't you say?"
"At this point, neither of us can prove that we're not Kira," Light went on to say in his lengthy speech, his arms crossed. "However, if you are, in fact, L, I don't imagine it would be that hard for you to prove it to me. I think I'd be convinced if, say, my father or... someone else from the task force headquarters was able to confirm your identity."
"If you can't do that, then I'm afraid I just won't be able to help you," Light concluded at last.
'You sure talk a lot, don't you, Light? Even more than Nyoko,' thought the young detective, slightly amused by that fact. 'Typical for someone who hates losing... Make that seven percent. Could it really be him?'
"I don't remember saying you couldn't meet anyone from task force headquarters to verify my identity," Ryuuga retorted to Light's speech. "I'm currently working alongside your father as well as several other senior detectives from the NPA... Now, if I understand you correctly and I take you to task force headquarters, you'll help us with the investigation."
"Am I safe in making this assumption?" the detective inquired.
'Does this guy have a death wish?' Light thought, slightly confused. 'I don't understand. What's he thinking?'
A phone ringing brought Light out of his thoughts, Ryuuga reaching into his back pocket which seemed to be the location of his hammerspace.
"Excuse me," the detective said to Light.
Suddenly, Light's phone began to ring.
"Oh, there goes mine," he commented, moving for it.
"Yes?" Ryuuga asked his caller.
"Ryuuzaki, I have some bad news," Watari's voice said on the other end of Ryuuga's line.
"Light," Light's mother said on the other end of Light's line, sounding very distressed, "your father has--"
"Light, it's your--" L began, though Light looked up, eyes wide.
"My father," Light said, shocked. "He had a heart attack."
"So the doctors think stress was the only cause?" Light inquired of his father, sitting in a chair beside Soichiro's hospital bed.
Ryuuga sat to his right, Musiko, who had been summoned by Ryuuga, standing near the detective.
"Yeah," Soichiro replied wearily. "To be honest, I thought it was Kira when I first collapsed, but I'll be alright. It seems I've been pushing myself a bit too hard lately."
"Indeed," agreed the young detective. "It must've added to your stress knowing that Light is a suspect in this investigation."
"You actually told my father that?" Light asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Ryuuga replied. "In fact, I've told him everything... It's true; he even knows that I am L."
"That's correct," Soichiro confirmed the young man's words, looking to his son. "This man is L. To protect his identity, we on the task force refer to him as Ryuuzaki, but make no mistake, it's him."
'This guy is the real L,' thought Light silently. 'My father wouldn't lie. The very same man who's been controlling the police up to this point; if I get rid of him and the rest of the investigative team... No. No, let's face it; it wouldn't be that simple. There's no need to rush. I have time to sit back and watch. But for now, I'm the Light Yagami who's worried for his father.'
While Light had an inner moment of surprise, Musiko's phone went off, the ringtone a siren.
"Oh, shit. It's Yuki. Gotta take it," Musiko muttered, the others looking to her as she answered her phone.
"Talk to me," she demanded of her caller, listening intently.
"What? He wants what?" the negotiator asked, a hand to her forehead. "You expect me to negotiate with impossible demands?"
Sighing, she gripped the phone tightly.
"What does she look like? I can cut my hair - restyle it - whatever. I'll look like her, go in, play off his signals, plea for the hostages' release, then kick the fucker's ass."
Light's eyes widened at her language, his father groaning.
"She was flat-chested?" Musiko asked with annoyance seeping into her tone with every quickly spoken word. "Well, I don't think I have enough time to get a breast reduction, Yuki, so get with the program!"
Angrily, she stormed off, leaving the room.
In the hall, Musiko continued her conversation, pacing back and forth as she concluded, "I'll take the job, but you have to drive down here and pick me up since I took a taxi."
After giving Yuki her location, she hung up, sticking her phone in her pocket and heading back into Mr. Yagami's hospital room.
"Sorry about that," she apologized, bowing slightly.
"What happened?" asked the young, raven-haired detective, looking up at her as he chewed his thumb.
"Some nutcase has six hostages and is demanding both a helicopter and his dead girlfriend whom he killed, though in Mr. Imamura Land, she's still alive and well," Musiko informed them, one hand on her hip and the other to her head as it shook in disbelief.
"What do you intend to do?" L questioned the aggravated negotiator, watching her closely.
"Well, either I go in there with cropped hair and brown contacts, pretending to be his girlfriend with a boob job," she began sarcastically, weighing the option with one hand, "or I go in there alone with no police backup on the block and without a gun to... to, to, to..."
Her hand waved around as she thought, Musiko suddenly getting an idea, "To tell him his girlfriend is two doors down, playing it safe, and thinks that if he has to take hostages, he should only take one... Five leave, I'm left with Mr. Imamura and his evil henchmen, so I sweetly suggest he go down two doors to reunite with ol' flat-chested what's-her-face while his lackeys guard me and the remaining hostage..."
Pinching the bridge of her nose, she thought hard about the next move.
"...Then I attack and probably get shot in the face," concluded the negotiator, her shoulders slumping and hand falling in defeat.
"Well, it was a good plan up until the last part," Light offered lamely, not even sure it really was a good plan.
"No!" she said, suddenly grinning and holding up a finger. "I had a premonition! One of the lackey's was on the floor, out cold, and it looked like my plan worked... I'll stroll over to the sleeping lackey, pretending to check his pulse, pull a kick at the other and battle it out from there!"
"That was a convenient premonition," commented L.
She frowned, brows furrowed as her finger fell slowly.
"Yes. Yes, it was," Musiko agreed. "But the premonitions are never wrong, so... what could possibly go wrong?"
She then gave a winning smile.
"That was a punchline, wasn't it?" asked L, his blank expression saying to her that her comedic attempts were unpleasant.
"Ah... Yeah, it was," she said, hands on her hips. "Whatcha' gonna do about it?"
The detective sighed, "Please quit pretending that you have a TV audience."
"Then you stop chewing on your thumb like an infant," she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him.
Light laughed a bit, unsurely.
"Don't you have lives to save, Musiko?" L quipped, slightly annoyed.
"Yes, but I took a taxi here, so Yuki's coming to pick me up," she replied with a triumphant smile. "By the way, I don't know if it's okay to mention in front of the Yagami's, but I'm going to anyway because I don't see why it could hurt; Near called me after the tennis match and he wanted me to keep a secret from you."
"What is it?" L asked, looking up at her.
"He wanted me to leak files to him about your current investigation so that when you die, as he so politely speculated, he won't have to play catch up," she replied to the detective. "I didn't tell him I was going to tell you, but I thought it might be slightly interesting if I did. What say you to this?"
"Let him have the files," he replied simply, shrugging slightly.
Musiko frowned, complaining, "Well, that was completely uninterestin-- Heyyy!"
She was cut off by someone pulling her ear from behind, everyone looking to see an agitated little woman.
"I broke the law at ninety miles an hour to come escort you to your job, so you better have a good plan, Miss Negotiator!" Yuki, Musiko's boss, barked, jerking the negotiator away.
"Don't pull me by the ear, Yuki! I'm not the criminal!" Musiko cried indignantly, being dragged out of the room. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"
Light laughed, apparently the only one left in the room who wasn't aggravated by Musiko's behavior, though L was smiling slightly, used to her antics.
"She's a very lively woman, isn't she?" Light asked with an amused tone, looking to Ryuuga.
"Yes," L droned, still smiling a little. "She's a very fickle, moody, eccentric, annoying and lovable person, as I'm constantly reminded by those she encounters..."
Light smiled slightly, thinking the woman did seem to embody all of those traits from what little he knew of her.
"You should tell me more about her sometime," the younger Yagami suggested, intrigued by Musiko's outrageous behavior.
"The one thing those who know her need to know is that Musiko is a paradox wrapped in an enigma and encoded in a dead language on the license plate of a bus traveling at one hundred miles per hour," mused the detective at length, still chewing on his thumb. "If you stand in front of her, she'll knock you down, and no one can ever catch the license plate."
"You sound like you're in love with her," commented Light astutely, slightly surprised by L's musings.
L replied without actually answering his inquiry, looking to Light, "You are free to pursue her."
"No!" Soichiro interrupted quickly. "That woman is highly unstable, Light, and you should be wary of her... Take your father's advice on this."
Light laughed, "Dad, how bad could she be?"
'Actually, if I think about it, she would be an almost perfect candidate to help Kira,' thought the young brunette. 'I have to find out what she truly thinks of Kira... If I can win her to my side, then maybe...'
"Son, she's the kind of woman that will break your heart and she'll have you believing that it's your fault," Soichiro broke through his son's thoughts, the Superintendent sighing deeply. "She's a hurricane."
"A hurricane, huh?" Light echoed thoughtfully, looking determined.
'Then all I have to do,' the younger Yagami began in thought assuredly, 'is stay in the eye of the storm.'