Chapter 20: Reunion

Early September

Monday was a busy time at headquarters. They spent about an hour filling Aya in on the Yotsuba investigation. Another businessman had died on Sunday, which convinced everyone that the secret meeting was connected with the 3rd Kira. Aya was shown the footage of the men going into the conference room, which started their discussion on the backgrounds of the eight suspects.

"I think we can eliminate Hatori right now," L said, pointing to the man with bleached hair. "He's the illegitimate son of the president. Since he has nepotism on his side, there's no need for him to scramble up the ladder like the others."

"That's true," Chief Yagami agreed. "The 3rd Kira is probably one of the younger members. The two megane's, Mido and Kida, should be high up on the list of suspects along with Higuchi and Namikawa."

"My bet's on Mido or Namikawa," Matsuda said.

"Is Namikawa the shogi player?" Aya asked, leaning over L's shoulder to see the pictures on the screen.

"Yeah, this one here," L pointed to the long haired man. "I don't think it's Namikawa. He's the youngest of them, but he's risen high in only a few years. He knows how to play the game in order to get promoted."

Matsuda folded his arms across his chest. "What about Mido?"

"Mido is in charge of two divisions, so he's already successful," L replied. "If he were the 3rd Kira, I think he'd be the type to act alone."

"Higuchi seems a likely candidate to me," Aizawa broke in. "According to his file, he was demoted in the past."

"Good point, Aizawa-san. Higuchi would definitely have a lot to gain by using the Death Note. I'm not ready to dismiss Kida, Ooi, or Shimura though." L touched his lip. "Lets reserve judgment for now until we're able to observe them. Weddy's working on bugging their houses, so we should have a clearer idea of who these men are by the end of the week."

. . .

L went back to Aya's apartment after dinner so they could watch a movie together.

"I have to unpack my suitcases first though," she told him as she opened the door.

"Mind if I come with you?"

Aya gave him a smile over her shoulder. "You can if you like."

"I didn't want you to sleep on dusty sheets, so I had Watari wash your bedding," he said as he walked into her room.

"That's very thoughtful, Ryuuzaki. Please thank Watari for me too."

He sat down on her bed and ran his hand over the soft fleece blanket. Aya unzipped her bag and took out the stuffed penguin he had given to her as a birthday present.

"You brought that with you?" he asked as she put it down on her pillow.

"Yeah. I sleep with it."

L picked up the penguin. "Do you hug this to your chest and pretend that it's me?" he asked with a smirk.

"I'm not telling," she replied secretively.

"Why not?"

"Because you'd never admit to something like that."

He put down the stuffed animal. "Then let me show you." L pulled one of her bed pillows to his chest and curled up on his side. He closed his eyes and said, "This is how I sleep. It's warm, but probably not as warm as a real person." When he opened his eyes, Aya was looking down at him. He gave her a little smile.

"I think you've become even cuter since I've been gone," she said.

"If that's true, then why haven't you hugged me yet?"

L could see that she was flustered.

"Because I have to put my clothes away first." Aya turned away from him and opened up her dresser drawer.

He let go of the pillow and sat up so that he was kneeling on the bed. "You're angry because I didn't tell you about Yotsuba right away, aren't you?"

She shook her head and he watched as her hair moved across her back. "I'm not angry. I'm just upset about the whole situation."

"Aya, come here. Your clothes can wait for a minute." She wasn't moving so he added, "Please" in a softened tone.

After a moment, she sat down on the edge of the bed. L slid across so that he was kneeling behind her. He reached out a hand to touch her hair. "Will you turn around and look at me?"

"I don't want you to see me crying," she said in a wavering voice.

"I won't look then." L sat back on his heels and shut his eyes. "You can turn around now. My eyes are closed."

A few seconds later, he felt Aya's hands on his shoulders and a slight pressure against his chest which he assumed was her forehead. L wrapped his arms around her trembling back and stroked her hair in what he hoped was a soothing way. He wasn't sure how long she cried, but eventually her body stilled and she grew quiet. Aya's right hand was now resting over his heart and the left was pulling off her glasses and wiping her eyes.

"I'll just go wash my face," she murmured.

L reluctantly let go of her. *I didn't help Aya at all… I think I made her feel worse,* he thought as she left the room. L stood up and draped her fleece blanket around his shoulders. He headed for the kitchen to find the box of chocolates that he had Watari leave on the counter for her. L carried it over to the couch and set it down on the coffee table.

. . .

Aya heard the TV and went into the living room. L was wrapped up in her blue-green blanket.

He glanced over at her and said, "I probably just made you more miserable, so I'll make it up to you now." His right hand emerged from the blanket and he pointed at a box of chocolates. "Did you know that eating dark chocolate increases serotonin levels in your brain?" He held open his blanket. "And cuddling releases endorphins and oxytocin."

She smiled at him. "I see you've been doing research while I've been gone." Aya picked up the box from 'Choco la Vie' before sitting down next to L. He secured the blanket around her shoulders.

"It's kind of amazing how many health benefits there are just from being close to someone."

"If you had known about it before, would you have hugged more people in the past?" she asked, meeting his eyes.

"No. I've never liked anyone enough to do that."

She looked away and focused on taking the lid off the box. *He just indirectly admitted to liking me,* she realized in relief. Aya felt all the tension leave her body. She chose a chocolate with a piece of candied orange peel on top.

She offered the box to him and he selected one, putting the whole piece into his mouth. Aya took a small bite of her chocolate and let the orange flavor fill her mouth. They ate quietly together, feet propped up on the coffee table with the box of chocolates resting on their laps.

When they had enough, L moved the box to the table behind the couch. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yes, much better. Thanks for the chocolates," she said, giving him a little smile.

"You're welcome." He started flipping through the channels. "Laughing is a mood enhancer so I'll find a funny movie for us to watch."

Aya reached into her pocket and got out her chap stick. Her lips always got dry after eating. She applied some and was getting ready to put the cap back on when L touched her wrist.

"Can I use that? I've lost mine."

She looked at him with widened eyes. "But you'll get my germs."

"I don't care about that anymore," he replied, taking the tube out of her hands.

Aya watched as L ran her cherry flavored chap stick over his full lips. He pressed them together and said, "It doesn't taste as good as the strawberry one, but it's not bad."

He held out the tube for her, but Aya was still staring at his mouth. *I want to kiss him... I really want to kiss him.*

"Aya, aren't you going to take it?"

"What? Oh yeah." Their fingers touched and Aya felt an electric jolt run through her body. She hurriedly replaced the cap and shoved it back into her pocket. *This isn't good. I might end up attacking Ryuuzaki if I don't get away from him right now.*

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked throwing off the blanket and standing up.

"Sure."

Aya found some bottled water in the fridge and brought it back. L had removed the blanket from around his shoulders and put it over his lap instead.

"Here you go," she said, handing him the water. As Aya sat back down, she left a space between them.

"Thanks." He took a small sip and then set the bottle on the table.

*He looks so relaxed… I guess he wasn't affected by me.*

They watched some mindless comedy and soon Aya was laughing and no longer thinking about what happened between them earlier.

"I'm going to get a hoodie," she announced when a commercial came on.

"Are you cold?"

"A little."

"Then come here and share my blanket again." Aya hesitated slightly and L added, "You said you would cuddle with me on the phone, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well you can't go back on it now," he said with a little smile. "Here, I'll put the blanket the way it was before."

L stood up and threw it over both of their shoulders. Then he guided her over to the couch and they both sat down. His hand brushed against hers under the blanket.

"Woah, it's like an ice cube!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry. My hands are usually cold. I must have poor circulation or something."

"Here, let me warm it up for you."

Aya felt his big hand envelope hers. She was glad that their close proximity prevented them from looking at each other. *As long as I don't meet his eyes, I should be fine. I'll stay in control of myself that way.*

. . .

When L returned back to his apartment just before midnight, Ryuk wasn't inside. It reinforced his belief that he had been spying on them. *What if he's still there, watching Aya? He was disturbed and angered by the thought. L didn't trust the shinigami at all. He might claim to be an indifferent party, but I don't believe that. This is all a game to him, far more than it is to me. What's going to happen when he gets bored? Will he set Raito free and give him the Death Note? And if he doesn't, will he prevent me from destroying it and sending him back to the shinigami realm? L couldn't predict the actions of an inhuman creature and this uncertainty greatly unsettled him. The closer we get to solving this case, the more worried I feel.*

L went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Before changing into his pajamas, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his chap stick. The lie had been an impulsive one based on his own desires at the time. What L had really wanted was to kiss Aya, but his conscience prevented him from doing so.

While he was watching TV, L had been able to rationally analyze the situation. The conclusion that he reached was this: If something were to happen between myself and Aya tonight, she might come to regret it later. She might think I took advantage of her emotionally vulnerable state, which would partially be true. I can't hurt her like that… I can't do something that would make her hate me.

The temptation of the chap stick had been too much for his will power though. If he couldn't kiss her, he wanted something that her lips had touched. L now placed Aya in the same category as himself; their germs were not disgusting, but everyone else's were.

L washed his face and brushed his teeth. By the time he got out of the bathroom, Ryuk had returned.

"How was your date?"

"Good," L replied as he went into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. "I'm sure you were watching though."

"Not really. I left headquarters for a while to get some fresh air."

He looked over his shoulder at the shinigami. "You've been going places on your own lately. What are you up to?"

Ryuk cackled. "Oh, are you worried?"

L ignored his question. "You told me before that you're always supposed to be with the owner of the Death Note."

He scratched his head with his long claws. "Well that was kind of a lie. Shinigami are under no obligation to stay with the current owner. Since you've never actually used the Death Note, there's less of a link between us."

"So you've been sticking to me like glue just to annoy me?"

Ryuk laughed again. "Sort of, but I stayed around mostly because I was interested in your investigation." He walked towards him. "Are you pissed off right now?"

L took a sip of his water. He was pissed off, but he didn't want to show it. "You can do whatever you want. I'm not going to complain about having privacy."

"Does that mean you made progress while I was gone?" he asked, grin going wider.

"That's none of your business," L replied, walking past the shinigami. "Did you go and see Rem tonight?"

"I knew that you were worried!" he exclaimed gleefully. "I already told you before that I wouldn't interfere. I want to see for myself if the great detective L can win this game."

*No matter what he says, I can't let my guard down,* he told himself as he went back into the bathroom. L opened up the medicine cabinet and got out a sleeping pill. He popped it in his mouth and drank down the rest of his water.

"Since I just told you the truth, now it's your turn," Ryuk said from the hallway. "What happened with Aya tonight?"

L closed the medicine cabinet and went into his room. "Nothing. It was the same as it always is when I'm with her."

Ryuk followed after him. "Liar. She was crying on you."

"So you were watching," he stated.

"That's all I saw before I left. It seemed like a good atmosphere though. You know, comfort the girl who is so grateful that she gives you something in return."

L crawled under the covers. "Well it didn't happen."

"I'm sure you wanted it to though."

"Yeah, but I held back."

Ryuk let out a loud laugh. "Ryuuzaki has become a moral gentleman like Matsuda."

"No I haven't, but at least I'm not the cold-hearted bastard I used to be." L reached over and switched off his bedside lamp. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like some time to quietly contemplate before this pill knocks me out."

. . .

They didn't have a lot to do the next few days because Weddy was still trying to hijack the home security systems of the eight suspects. Monitoring the other employees felt like a waste of time to L, but they continued to watch the video surveillance anyway.

"I'm glad I never had to work in an office," he said to Aya when they were upstairs taking a tea break. "It's boring enough just watching what goes on there."

"Yeah it's probably not very exciting." She covered her mouth to shield a yawn.

"You seem tired lately. You're not sleeping well?"

"No. It takes me a long time to fall asleep now. I just lay there, thinking about everything." She took a sip of her tea. "And when I do manage to fall asleep, I wake up constantly because of nightmares."

"Maybe you should take sleeping pills like I do."

Aya looked up at him. "Those things actually work?"

"Yeah. Do you want to try one and see if it helps you tonight?"

"I guess so." She put a caramel glazed cream puff on her fork and took a bite. "Are these from the patisserie we went to?"

"They are. Do you like them?"

She nodded. "I've only had croquembouche a few times, but these are definitely the best ones I've eaten before."

They talked a bit about patisseries in France and how they differed from Japanese ones.

"Someday I want to go to a patisserie in Paris," Aya commented.

"I'll take you to one."

A happy expression appeared on her face. "You promise?"

"Yes."

She held her pinky out across the table. L looked at her in confusion.

"Oh you've probably never done this before. Well when you make a promise, you link pinkies together. There's a song too, but I can't remember it. Something about eating a thousand needles and cutting off your finger if you go back on your word."

"Wow, how morbid." L held out his pinky and she wrapped hers around it. "I promise to take you to Paris in the future," he said in a solemn tone.

Matsuda and Aizawa came into the breakfast room a few minutes later, but they sat at another table to eat. Aya got up to pour herself another cup of tea. When she returned, L was replacing the cap on his chap stick.

"I thought you lost that?" she asked.

"I found it under my bed last night."

She raised the cup to her lips and blew on the hot tea. "I guess you won't need to use mine anymore then."

"Hmm, well that's no good. I'll just have to lose it again," he said slyly.

Aya laughed and said, "You're like a naughty little boy."

"You don't mind though, do you?"

She gave him an indulgent smile. "No, I don't."

. . .

Cameras and microphones were successfully placed in the homes of five of the suspects by Thursday. The three that remained unmonitored were Higuchi, Mido, and Namikawa because they had more sophisticated security systems than the others. Higuchi even had a room in his basement that blocked electric waves.

"It's got to be Higuchi," Aizawa announced. "That's probably where he hides the Death Note."

Chief Yagami ran a hand through his hair. "But why go to such extremes? Just having a safe would be security enough for most people. That room in the basement could be for something far more sinister."

"Do you mean a torture room?" Aizawa asked with a disgusted look on his face.

"There's that or maybe he just wants to hide his porn," L added indifferently.

"Ryuuzaki!" Matsuda exclaimed, "Don't say things like that around a young woman."

"It's alright, Matsuda-san. I was actually thinking the same thing." Aya pushed up the side of her glasses. "Higuchi looks like a pervert to me. He could be into S&M."

Ryuk let out a loud laugh. Matsuda turned red and the other task force members (except for L) looked equally uncomfortable.

Chief Yagami coughed. "Yes, it's possible. The room alone doesn't ensure that he's the 3rd Kira."

L popped a sugar cube in his mouth. "If we are going under the assumption that the 3rd Kira is intelligent, then he would know that having such a room would draw unnecessary attention to himself and make him look more suspicious. However, I am not convinced that we are dealing with an intelligent man. It's not a good idea to have even one accomplice, never mind having seven. Personally I find that incredibly foolish."

. . .

Everyone was restless on Friday. Aya kept looking at the clock, willing time to move faster. The day seemed twice as long as usual while they waited for evening to arrive. The big screen was showing the empty conference room. There were eight individual desks placed together to form an octagon.

At 6:45 PM, the first suspect arrived in the room. It was Ooi, an imposing bald man who wore strange tinted glasses. Shimura and Mido were next, followed closely by Kida, Namikawa, and Hatori. The last two were Higuchi and Takahashi. The meeting began at precisely 7 PM.

"As all of you know, everything went well last Sunday. K Group's stocks have already fallen," Ooi began in his deep voice. "Because we proposed a few deaths last week, I thought we'd hold off on that this time and address two concerns we're currently facing."

He folded his pale hands together and leaned his elbows on the desk. "What is to be done about the Japanese Police and the Kira investigation being led by L?"

"It's all true, just as we thought!" Matsuda yelled excitedly.

Aya's pulse started racing and she gripped her pants tightly.

"What do you mean?" Hatori asked in a bored tone. "They're not a threat to us."

"I don't know why you're so complacent," Mido said, a frown crossing his boyish face. "Even now they're trying to discover the identity of Kira."

Takahashi ran a hand through his chin length, brown hair. "Yes, but we've been careful to spread out the deaths. The previous Kira is the only one who knows how the Death Note works. Based on that, the police won't be able to link non-heart attack civilian deaths back to us."

"The police might not, but there's a chance that L will," Namikawa replied in a soft, indifferent sounding voice. "Those heart attacks could be enough of a pattern for him."

"Yes, the real problem is L," Ooi continued. "He needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to accomplish this?"

There was a brief moment of silence as the men assembled thought of a solution.

"We could hire another detective to find out L's identity," Kida said, adjusting his severe looking glasses. "He's got a few rivals who probably want to see him dead as much as we do."

Ooi nodded. "Excellent. You take care of contacting one of them, Kida."

Aya glanced over at L, who was touching his lip and smiling. *Why does he look so happy about that?* she wondered, turning back to the screen.

"What about the police?" Shimura asked, eyes shifting around nervously.

Higuchi crossed one of his legs over his knee. "That's easy. We threaten or bribe some politicians."

"What's that going to do?" Takahashi asked.

"The politicians control the police." Higuchi tapped the side of his head. "Use your brain, Takahashi, and stop acting stupid."

"That's a good idea. Controlling the politicians means controlling the police." Namikawa tucked a strand of his sleek black hair behind his ear. "However, Kira should be the one to make the threats. Yotsuba can't be linked to any of this."

"Alright, that should do it for this meeting then. We'll discuss our progress concerning these matters next week. Come prepared with names too," Ooi said, getting up from his chair.

The men followed his example and filed out of the conference room.

"This is bad," Chief Yagami announced. "Bribing politicians? The 3rd Kira is going to have complete control over the Japanese government very soon if something isn't done."

"Chief is right," Aizawa said in agreement. "We need to have these men arrested now before that can happen."

"No. We have to get possession of the Death Note before taking them into custody or the power could be transferred to someone else again," L replied matter of fact.

"But Ryuuzaki, we won't have the police on our side for much longer," Chief Yagami said, raising his voice slightly. "It's imperative that we act now!"

L appeared unaffected by the older man's outburst. "We've never really had the police on our side to begin with." He reached for a white powdered donut. "The people in this room are the only ones who know about the Death Note. We already agreed to keep that a secret. Nothing has changed. We're still going to handle this on our own, just as we have been."

"Ryuuzaki, aren't you worried about your identity being discovered?" Mogi asked, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

"No, because I'm 99% sure they'll contact either Coil or Deneuve so I have nothing to worry about." L took a bite of the donut, getting powdered sugar all over his lips.

"Why aren't you worried? Do they work for you or something?" Matsuda asked with a confused expression on his face.

"Well in a way they do," he replied, mouth full. "Coil and Deneuve are two of my aliases." He swallowed his food and said, "The top three detectives in the world are all me."

Ryuk laughed loudly. "That's a great situation… you get paid by your enemies and then you can mess with them too."

"Precisely. It's very amusing," L said, finishing his donut.

"Do you have someone pose as Coil and Denueve in your place?" Aizawa asked.

L licked his lips to get the rest of the powdered sugar off. "Yes, I have a few people who are good at that type of thing. I think I should contact one of them just in case Yotsuba requests a face to face meeting."

. . .

Aya had stayed quiet the whole time.

L wheeled his chair over. "You okay?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "Yeah. It's just a lot to process."

He held out the box of donuts. "Take one. It will help."

Aya pulled out a cinnamon sugar one and smiled. "You know, you're kind of like a mom offering consolation food."

"It's a fact that every problem can be solved with sweets," he said, putting the box down on the desk.

"So how exactly are we going to get the Death Note from the 3rd Kira?" she asked after a moment.

"I don't know yet. We need to be sure of who he is before taking any kind of action."

"Do you think Weddy should break into their houses and conduct a search?" Aya asked after she finished chewing.

"She could with the single men who don't have families, but I'd rather think up a plan to draw the 3rd Kira out. We'll see though. It all depends on how the next few weeks unfold."

Matsuda walked over and snagged a donut out of the box. "Aya-chan, we should probably leave soon. It's after 7."

"Okay. Just let me finish this and then we can go."

Matsuda walked off and sat on the couch beside Aya's overnight bag.

L turned back to her. "It feels like you just got here and you're leaving again. Does your sister really need you to stay there with her?"

"Yeah she's kind of a wimp about being alone in the house." She ate the last bite of her donut and licked her fingers.

"Instead of spoiling your sister, you should spoil me a little," he said with a pout.

Aya laughed. "You're being cute again."

A thought popped into L's head and he decided to act on the impulse. "You've got something on your face. Hold on."

He used his thumb to wipe away some imaginary cinnamon sugar from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes widened at the touch and L slid his thumb across her cheek, down to her jawbone.

"There, it's gone," he said, dropping his hand from her now blushing face.

"Umm, thanks," she said, stammering slightly.

He smiled. "You're the one who's cute right now." L stood up from the chair, put his hand on her shoulder, and leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear. "See you Monday, Aya."

L shoved his hands in his pockets and headed for the stairs. He needed to ask Watari to contact the con-man Aiber. Ryuk followed after him.

When he was halfway up the staircase, the shinigami said, "You should just kiss her and get it over with."

"The lead up is the fun part, Ryuk." L ran his thumb over his bottom lip and wondered if kissing Aya next week was too soon. *I don't know how much longer I'll be able to wait though,* he added to himself.

A/N: 'Choco la Vie' is a reference to the manga Shitsuren Chocolatier. It's also been turned into a drama starring Jun Matsumoto which is airing now :D