Chapter 10: Difficulty

Next Morning, Approx 630am

Mishca waited as the elevator climbed 3 floors, she hadn't slept and couldn't sit around doing nothing anymore. It may be too early for the others, but if L is anything like B, he'd be up working away – She was willing to take the chance since she was ready to get started on the case, regardless if L thought she was the culprit or not. The elevator doors slid open and she inhaled deeply, 'maybe this isn't such a good idea… coming alone…' she pushed the thought aside and reached L's door, knocking a few times. A moment passed and Watari appeared – "Good morning Mishca, it's a bit early, you don't have to be here for another two hours."

She smiled and looked towards the floor "Did I wake you? I'm sorry… it's just that, I can't sleep and I'd rather get working instead of sitting around twiddling my thumbs."

Watari laughed softly "Ryuzaki and I have been up for quite some time, please, come in." He opened the door wider to let her enter.

She heard Watari click the door shut behind her and saw L standing at the window with a bowl of strawberries. "I trust you slept well Mishca?" Came his smooth voice.

When she didn't answer he turned to face her. "Watari, do you have her items ready for her?"

"Yes.. but are you sure you don't want to wait for the others?"

He popped a strawberry in his mouth "Mmmm.. now is as good a time as any other…"

"Of course, Mishca, if you would follow me please"

She did as he asked, following him to a brief case at the other end of the room. "Here you are my dear, please wear this watch at all times, it will let us know where you are, and if you press the blue button here twice, my cell phone will ring. Please use this for emergencies as well."

She eyed the brief case as he spoke, the other items were leather belts. 'Why am I the only one that gets a watch?... and I don't really need him knowing my whereabouts every second of the day… ugghhhh'

She took the watch from Watari and examined it, it was quite beautifully crafted with diamonds and blue sapphire jewels. "This is a bit extravagant, don't you think?" She asked as she looked at Watari.

L turned to her and raised an eyebrow "It fits you… do you not like it? We can have another crafted."

Confused as to what he meant by it, she shook her head "That won't be necessary, it's quite a beautiful watch, but I was more interested in why everyone else gets a belt and not a watch…"

"A belt simply will not do. That is why."

Utterly confused, she placed her attention back to Watari who was handing her an ID badge. She looked at it, "Veronica Smith?... Seriously? I don't think so, I'm not using this."

L wrinkled his forehead and looked at her harshly "Fake IDs are necessary, each member will be receiving one in order to protect their identity, why do you refuse?"

He seemed mad that she was disobeying him, but she didn't care, she wasn't going to do this. She walked up to him as she threw the ID on the couch.

"For one, I rarely give my name out to anyone as it is, secondly when I have, I only ever give out a first name and finally.." she inched closer, visibly irritated, the closeness shocked L and he moved back a step, "What makes you think the name I've given is even real? Do you think me that ignorant?"

Her eyes were piercing his again and L gulped. He eyed her cautiously, taken aback by her boldness, 'Would anyone else be so bold as to react that way?' he thought. "Ignorant? No, that is definitely not how I would describe you." He retorted, not knowing what he even meant, but hoped it would satisfy her inquiry.

"Good" she said as she stepped back, but not before swiping his last strawberry and popping it in her mouth. L's mouth gaped open and his eyes widened "That was the last strawberry!" he breathed showing his annoyance.

Mishca laughed, "That's too bad, it was quite delicious I might add." She walked towards the couch eyeing the documents laid out on the table, she couldn't help but feel victorious at how she acted. She showed no sign of her true feelings but allowed herself to take some frustration out on him. She smirked at this and sat down 'Maybe this won't be so difficult after all,' she brought her legs up and intertwined them together so she sat Indian style.

L watched her in amazement; the audacity of this girl was irritating, but intriguing at the same time. She leaned forward to examine the documents, her hair falling forward as she did so. L couldn't help but notice how soft it appeared. He walked over to where she sat and jumped in his usual chair. He watched as she tucked the locks of hair behind her ear and pushed the sleeves of her shirt up so she could work with the documents easier. She took her right index finger and slid a paper down the table to get a better look at it.

Seconds later L dashed forward grabbing her right wrist and pulled it gently towards him. He tilted his head as she stared at him, now she was the one taken aback. "What is this?" He asked as he eyed her burn scar. She stared him down, "It's a burn, but I'm sure you knew that." She said sarcastically. His eyes were focused intensely on the area, "But how did it get there?" She was quickly getting annoyed at his close proximity, she couldn't take it… he smelled like sugar and strawberries, it was too much. "I burnt myself." He took his other index finger and glided it across her scarred skin and softly spoke "but HOW?" She had had enough and yanked her arm back "With a stove, are you done?" He quickly moved back to his awkward sitting position as she stared at him. 'Did I say maybe this wouldn't be difficult? Who was I kidding?' "Sorry" She heard him speak softly.

Her gaze softened. "Never mind that L, but it would be best for you not to focus on my scars. Just leave it be." She went back to examining the FBI agents' files on the table.

He watched her silently as he placed his index finger in between his teeth. 'Scars? So there's more than that one? And she called me L….she hasn't called me Ryuzaki once… this one is going to prove difficult, she refuses to obey anything!' He jumped up from his seat and walked into the bedroom "Watari" he said, signaling for him to follow.

Mishca watched as the two disappeared behind closed doors.

"What is it Ryuzaki? Is everything alright?"

He was pacing the floor… "Why must she be so difficult?"

"Difficult?"

"She makes no sense…. She refuses to follow any orders so far and she's completely rude and audacious!"

"Why may I ask, is this so important?"

L stopped pacing, his back towards his handler, he didn't say a word, he didn't even know what to say… there was no answer to that question… he had nothing, mind completely blank.

Watari coughed uncomfortably, "You said she was the 4th greatest detective, am I right?"

L turned to face him, "Yes, that is correct."

"You demand respect from her, is that also correct?"

"Yes"

Watari smiled, "I doubt she will ever show you the level of respect you desire, without you yourself showing her some respect."

L's eyes widened at the statement

"Ryuzaki, she is also a great detective – or was, either way, it seems she does not view you as superior, not someone who merits respect just because of position."

"So, she thinks I'm inferior to her?" He was even angrier now.

"Not quite. I believe she sees you as an equal, someone who should be giving her respect instead of demanding it of her."

He stood there, unsatisfied. "That still doesn't explain why she refuses to obey anything!"

Watari smiled, "I'm sure she has valid reasons that will come to light eventually."

"So, you suggest I wait to see what these reasons are?"

"Certainly"

"But I shouldn't have to wait!" His childish stubborn streak shown through.

Watari smiled as he retreated back to the door, "I'm sure, waiting for reasons from someone who is obviously tremendously challenging to solve by the great L, will be well worth it." At this, Watari left the room, leaving L standing there in shock. He was right, he couldn't solve this one, and it infuriated him to no end.

L slowly exited the room, and went to find more cake.

Mishca stood; bored with the documents she reviewed. She walked towards the bedroom and disappeared to the balcony deck, she was sure to close the glass behind her, knowing the cold breeze would probably not be welcomed by the others.

Back to L –

"Ryuzaki – the others have arrived."

"Good, have them sit, I will be right in."

Moments later L returned to the sitting area and sat in his chair, noticing Mishca's lack of attendance, which further irritated him. Deciding not to wait, he began.

"Thank you all for your patience. I'm very sorry for interrogating each of you like that yesterday, but now I can say that KIRA is not among us."

A sigh of relief could be heard from everyone besides Tatum who looked worried at the absence of his colleague.

"Watari, could you please hand out the materials?"

"Of course"

As Watari did so, L stood and walked towards the bedroom to retrieve his special candy dish. He laid eyes on it as soon as he entered. Impatiently, he attacked the bowl and ripped open 3 candies and popped them in his mouth.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He sighed heavily, enjoying the flavors mixing together in his mouth. His eyes shot open when he heard a loud gust of wind. Looking towards the source, he saw Mishca out on his balcony leaning over the side as her hair blew in the cold wind. Not thinking twice, he grabbed an extra blanket from the bed and opened the balcony door, she didn't turn around at the noise he made, she looked to be in deep thought… 'I'd give anything to be inside that head right now… what goes on in there?'

He quietly stepped towards her and placed the blanket around her, he heard her gasp as she twirled around… the touch had obviously startled her. Her icey blue eyes stared into his and he found it hard to grasp for words "uhm… my apologies… I didn't mean to frighten you, but you seemed cold" he said as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets. She held on to the blanket and thanked him, a warm smile coming over her face. "You're welcome" he said softly, as he returned the smile, but not knowing why he had even cared that she was cold.

He walked towards the edge of the balcony and looked out "Why do you like these so much anyway Mishca?" She turned back to the view, neither of them realizing how close they were to each other. She sighed, "It's right in front of you L" He squinted his eyes in confusion and looked at her, "I don't follow". "Look at everything in front of you, the busy city below where you can see happy people going through out their daily lives and then the tree lines, and the sky… and we're so high up, we can see just about everything, don't you see how beautiful it all is?"

L was quiet for a while, he looked at the view and then back to her. He took a moment to take in the sight of her, finally realizing why he had previously focused so much on her features. "…Yes… I can see why some… would think certain things are beautiful" he said softly as he gazed at her. She turned to him and smiled, it made him feel awkward so he looked away. "L! you still aren't wearing any shoes!"

"Hmm? Oh yes.. well.."

"You must be freezing, come on, let's go back inside." She led him back inside the room… 'There she goes again… why is my state any concern of hers?'

"L?" She asked

He'd given up, there was no way she was ever going to use his alias. "Yes?"

"If you think I'm KIRA, why did you put yourself in a situation where you'd be alone with me?"

He was caught, she doesn't miss anything, does she?

"Although I find you exceedingly suspicious, there is no way you are KIRA. Your characteristics don't fit"

"I see" she said as she placed the blanket back on the bed. She exited the room to meet up with the other members, leaving L behind.

"Hey! So you are here! Where have you been hiding?" Matsuda exclaimed

"Oh, hey Matsu… I needed some fresh air, I didn't realize how long I was out there"

"So was Ryuzaki totally mad? You missed the whole thing, look, we get these cool belts and fake IDs!"

Mishca laughed at this, "I know, I was already briefed on that."

She walked over to Tatum and sat next to him, placing her head on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah. But this is getting more difficult for me by the minute."

"Anything I can do?"

"Not really."

L walked in and saw Matsuda's excitement over the belt, and how the two on the couch were sitting. He eyed them curiously, not knowing what he was feeling.

"That's it for today. Please spend the next couple of days getting used to your new names and tracking down all the video tapes you can on these agent's deaths." L spoke finally.

"Right away Ryuzaki, you heard the man, let's get moving" Chief Yagami instructed.

The Japanese police force exited quickly and L watched as Mishca and Tatum slowly walked to the door, laughing and smiling at each other as they left.

He blinked at the sight as Watari just shook his head.

As the door shut, Watari stepped closer to L. "What's the matter Ryuzaki?, you are not acting yourself."

L looked at the floor, slouching his shoulders even further as he stuck his hands back in his pockets. "I truly do not know, Watari."

He sighed as he thought 'she is making this investigation exceedingly more difficult for me… why am I being affected like this?'

He couldn't find an answer, he was getting sick of not knowing, he was L for god sake! He should be able to figure this out…