Happy Valentine's Day! Or Singles' Awareness Day, whichever you celebrate, dearest readers. I dedicate this chapter to all of you wonderful individuals, old and new, who've found this story by some stroke of luck and graced me with numerous views, reviews, favorites, follows, and PMs. You all brighten my day so much, so thank you. Consider this my present to you all. :)

Wow. It took me MONTHS to get this out, and even then, I didn't realize until a few weeks ago that I had been writing the wrong chapter altogether. XD On the bright side, what happens three chapters from now has already been typed and just needs editing/adjusting. I guess that'll pay off in the long run. Also, Ryuk and B's bromance is beginning to grow on me, almost as much as how I write L and Light. Still - trying to go back and write this chapter was the equivalent of pulling teeth. -_- Sigh. But in all honesty, this chapter was well worth writing. The name alone just brightens my day.

WildfireDreams: Hopefully this makes up for the long way!

Guest: I wish I had your willpower. If I did, I could make it through all of my required university readings in one go. But that is fantastic! Welcome aboard the crazy train. :)

Seirra32: The literal translation reads, "Please don't worry about your children; I'm okay," but it's meant in the non-literal sense. Basically, KC is telling them not to worry because she has it covered. KC is comparing their problems to children and herself to a mother, and thus she's saying that she's well-equiped to handle anything that gets thrown at them because she's physically and mentally capable, like how a mother must be flexible to deal with the many problems of child-rearing.

I do not own Death Note, for that would be a fate I would not even wish upon my nemesis.


Tense, Tension, Intense

L did not know what to make of this. In anticipation of Light's constant presence, the detective had taken it upon himself to immerse himself in every aspect of Backup's case with the intention to memorize all of the details. He never could have imaged this.

The Wammy House had incomplete records.

According to the recordings from the security cameras, Beyond Birthday left the Wammy House the day after Alternate committed suicide, but accounts taken from a few of the orphans placed Backup right back where he had been. Furthermore, there were no witnesses to when Backup had left. When L questioned him over the phone, Rodger seemed puzzled by L's actions and swore that the second potential successor had left "at some point." To further increase the inconsistencies, L found it difficult to read over reports drawn up from some of the children around the four years after Alternate's passing.

And then there was Backup's own records. L's math wasn't wrong, but every time he tried to calculate Backup's age, the detective came up with conflicting answers. Backup should have been sixteen when he committed his first murder, but sometimes, the number came up seventeen.

Chief Yagami had been in two places at once. Satou and Backup had been able to elude him for an unknown length of time—for the records kept at the prison and asylums were also unable to conclude exactly when Beyond Birthday had left their custody. Satou and her apprentice were victims of a sort of time lapse. Kira's power (or influence) appeared to have left Misa and Light.

L did not know what to make of any of this.


The Task Force and I had been locked out of L's room as soon as the detective concluded his business with the chief, his son, and Misa.

All I knew was that I had approximately three hours to pull a load of bull out of my rear and make it seem plausible.

Why did I think it was a good idea to approach Misa Amane back at Note Blue?

Despite sweating bullets, I managed to appear calm (for the most part) as Autumn began to rush around the hotel room(s), preparing for school. At first, the girl had been shocked to hear about getting thrust into such a fast-paced learning environment, but that had faded within minutes. Now, Autumn bounced all over the place, yammering incoherently about her first time in public school. In any other situation, I might have been happy for her.

But I was still wigging about Misa.

Beyond and I had come to her under the guise of siblings seeking Kira. With any luck, Misa would remember the 'don't tell anyone' part of that conversation and wouldn't throw me under the bus. However, I could work damage control from that angle. The real problem would arise if she mentioned my "brother" in the presence of the Task Force. I didn't know how much the others knew—if they knew anything at all—and I wasn't too thrilled about having Misa potentially let something slip. There were just some questions I wasn't too thrilled to have to answer.

Questions involving my mind-amoeba were ranked pretty high on the list, right above why I didn't like to sit, but below where I saw myself in five years.

"Ishi-chan, what's school like?" Autumn asked excitedly, skidding to a halt in front of me.

"Um, crowded...?" I offered, but the girl had already bolted across the room. Heaving a sigh, I risked a glance at the trio of police officers and asked in Japanese, "Would the parents in the room mind offering me some advice?"

Silence.

Wow. Tough crowd.

Matsuda met my eyes with a slightly sheepish expression. I couldn't keep a wry smile off of my face; this seemed to appease him.

Aizawa still looked ready to strangle me. Mogi idly perused the daily paper.

The door exploded inwards.

Now it begins, I thought reluctantly, though to whom, I had no idea.

"Wow, this place is pretty!" Misa gushed. The blonde sported a different outfit than what she had been wearing on the screen a few hours ago. A pin-striped dress covered the majority of a thin, black sweatshirt, suspenders securing lacy tights. Heavy combat boots clunked across the carpeted floor as she pranced into the room, Chief Yagami and Light following at a more steady pace.

Then her eyes locked with mine and I swallowed thickly.

"Ishi-san!" Misa cried. Suddenly, I was enveloped in a tight hug. "Wow, Misa didn't know you were going to be here!"

"I could say the same thing about you, Misa-chan," I said with a hint of a chuckle. "What brings you to the Kira Investigation?"

"Misa's Light is going to help catch Kira!" Misa drew away with an animated grin. "How's Yuki?"

Yuki? Oh, right. My fictional husband.

"He stole my brother for a business trip, so I like to think he's fine," I replied with a nonchalant shrug. "You know men."

Crisis successfully adverted. To anyone else, it would look like we were making small talk, catching up. Sure, it would be suspicious as all get-out for Misa and I to be familiar with one another, but letting on that my supposed sibling was the same person I was here to track down would be a little more difficult to explain.

Misa giggled. "Misa does, thanks to you. If you hadn't introduced her to Light, they never would have started dating!"

It was at this moment that L chose to emerge from his Bat Cave. He was so quiet that I might not have noticed him had the door not been directly behind Misa.

Hold on. What did Misa say?

Misa pranced over to Light's side and latched herself to the man's arm. "Light-kun is a perfect boyfriend!"

Light in question met my eyes with a bemused expression. The rest of the Task Force stared. Even Matsuda seemed intrigued by this development.

And L.

If I hadn't been convinced that the detective and Beyond were very similar at times, I was certainly convinced now, because I had never seen a more bloodcurdling look on anyone else's face. L wasn't even bothering to hide it.

"Ishi-san introduced Misa-san to Light-kun?" mused L, thumb probing his mouth. I desperately tried to ignore the way the corners curled up into a fascinated grin.

What the hell was Misa on about? We had never approached Light!

"Ishi-chan, what's going on?" Autumn spontaneously appeared at my side, laptop in hand. "Who are they?"

"Of course!" Misa said, somewhat defensively. "Ishi-san knows Light very well!"

"Kyona-chan, this is Light Yagami and his father, Soichiro, the chief of police. The woman is Misa Amane," I explained in a quiet voice to Autumn.

The girl instantly went white as a sheet.

L's eyes wandered from me to Autumn and his grin widened.

Schist.

"Hold on-!" Misa whirled around and jabbed a finger at L. "You're that funny friend of Light's! Ryuga-kun!"

"I only go by that name in public when attending To-Oh University," L said without looking away from Autumn. The girl in question ducked behind me, as though trying to hide from the man's prying eyes. "Please refer to me as Ryuzaki from hereon out."

It was then that I noticed something else different about the world's greatest detective: he wore a handcuff around his right wrist, the chain disappearing into the pocket of his pants.

What?

Unable to stay quiet any longer, Matsuda jumped to his feet and said, "Misa-Misa, it is an honor to finally meet you! My name is Matsui Taro! I'm a huge fan!" He bowed so low that it looked like he could break in half at any moment.

Ignoring Matsuda's outburst, L crossed the room in a few strides until he stood a mere inches away from Light. "As promised, Light-kun will work along the Task Force under my supervision. Also as promised, I will not allow him to leave my sight until this investigation is concluded." Then L tugged on the chain and a second cuff was pulled into view. Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath collectively as the detective clamped the other end of the handcuffs to Light's left wrist.

What?!

To everyone's shock, Light only sighed and asked, "Is this really necessary, Ryuzaki?"

"I'm not doing this because I want to," L intoned, the demented smile melting off of his face as he stepped back.

Naturally, Misa had something to say about this.

"This is what you meant by being together twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week? Two guys chained together is totally gross! I didn't think you were on that side of the fence, Ryuzaki!"

It all kinda went downhill from there.


During the three days between Light's induction into the Task Force and when L planned to move into his fancy glass building, Autumn went to school, Misa went to work, the Task Force took turns shooting me suspicious glances, and L cornered me.

Not necessarily in that order.

I had been minding my own business, wandering the entire floor of another random hotel that L had claimed and debating how to weasel my way out of the current situation, when the detective sneaked up behind me and almost gave me a heart attack. Hand flying to my chest, I tried to steady my pounding heart and hissed, "Surely somebody's called you out on this jump-scare mentality."

Light shot me an apologetic look over L's shoulder. Frankly, if the chain's tickling hadn't alerted me to the duo's presence, I wouldn't have noticed them until L was breathing down the back of my neck—not that my attention would have deterred him anyways.

"Miss Amane seems quite convinced that she has you to thank for her relationship with Light-kun," L said, and I could see a hint of the demented smile as it threatened to return.

"I also thought that the meeting on the twenty-second in Aoyama could have been a plausible meeting place and time for the two Kiras. I went to investigate, which is when I ran into Misa," I answered honestly. It was easier than making up some outlandish story.

"Light-kun claims to have no memory of encountering you before yesterday."

"He's correct. We didn't meet until yesterday."

L took a step closer, eyes boring into my own. "I wonder why Misa-san's story is different... and why Ishi-san chose to approach Misa on this day."

Because Beyond noticed that Misa didn't have a lifespan. Not that I could come out and say this.

My eyes flickered to Light. "If you two are going to be together until we solve this case, does this mean that he gets to know?"

L froze. L froze, and I noticed.

Apparently, Light noticed too, because the boy sidestepped around L so as to look the detective in the eye. "Ryuzaki, what are you hiding from me? I thought that we were going to share any and all information regarding the Kira case. If we don't, it'll be significantly harder since we aren't going to have any privacy."

"This information does not pertain to the Kira case," L replied without hesitation, but there was a flicker of emotion behind his eyes.

"Ryuzaki..."

Light's warning tone seemed to draw the detective from his thoughts. L turned and fixed his unblinking sights on the boy. "If Light-kun wishes to know about my other case, he must never speak of it in front of the Task Force, including his father."

"Other case?" Light's eyes narrowed. "Ryuzaki, Kira is killing criminals left and right. What could possibly be more important than bringing him to justice?"

Again, L paused.

It wasn't my imagination. L really did falter when it came to Beyond. Not only was he willing to keep Autumn and myself around for no [worthwhile] reason, but now he was about to spill the beans to his main suspect in another case.

If only it had been me to look inside of Beyond's mind instead of the other way around. Knowing exactly what had happened between the two in the past might have given me an inkling as to how I was supposed to handle myself in this situation.

"I won't speak a word, Ryuzaki," Light promised. "Not even to Dad."

"If Light-kun is Kira—no. If Light-kun was Kira, then this information could give him information crucial to beating me."

Was L... scared?

I don't know exactly when the tables turned, but I found myself speaking before I figured it out. "Light, it isn't a question of your loyalty, or even your intelligence, but information this sensitive could very well cost L his life. If this information is mishandled in any way... it may also lead to a fate worse than death."

For a genius, Light had a better grasp of social formalities than L and Beyond combined. As soon as I spoke, he met my eyes, and when I finished, he closed his eyes in order to mull over his thoughts. In a soft tone, Light said, "Ryuzaki, you brought me onto this case because you suspected me of being Kira but also want to put my mind to use capturing Kira. If you believe that sharing information pertinent to another case will endanger yourself or the people around you, you need to decide what's more important: catching Kira quickly and efficiently, or protecting the face of justice. We're all risking our lives to catch Kira, but if including me in this second investigation will put you in unnecessary danger, I trust you to make the appropriate decision."

"There was an eighty-four point three percent chance that Light-kun would say that," L admitted, shifting his gaze from Light to me and back again. "But as long as the chain connects us, Light-kun will share my fate."

"I said I trust you."

"I cannot tell Light-kun the full extent of the dangers in which he will place himself if he joins this case. To tell him would be to reveal the truth."

"Look, either tell me or don't tell me, but every minute we waste debating it, Kira takes another life."

Maybe it was just me, but the atmosphere was so heavy that it could have been cut with a knife. When the two looked at each other, the air almost seemed to crackle with tension. I half expected one of them to throw a punch.

"Light-kun trusts me with his life," L said in a quiet voice.

Light nodded once.

Silence reigned supreme until I could take no more. Coughing lightly, I said, "Do you need more time to-"

"Why did you and Backup approach Misa Amane on the twenty-second of Aoyama?" L interrupted, turning to me.

Well, that answered that.

When did I mention that Beyond was with me at the time? Then again, there was cameras everywhere.

I shot Light one last glance before I said, "First, what do you know about B's eyes?"

"He can tell when a person is destined to die just by looking at them," L replied without hesitation.

L only knew about the lifespans? "Yeah, except that he couldn't do that with Misa," I said, shifting uncomfortably. For some reason, the mere idea of telling L and Light the truth made me cringe, but their intense stares weren't helping. "She didn't have a lifespan."

"Hold up. B?" Light asked.

"Backup," L stated, "was supposed to replace me if something were to happen to me. The life of an international detective can be quite hazardous, and I do not intend to live forever."

So L chose to gloss over the orphanage in Winchester. And the other children. Considering that I wasn't planning on telling either of them about Beyond being able to see names, it seemed fair.

"However, Backup became convinced that I pushed his close friend to suicide. He seeks revenge against me, and will take it in any way he sees fit."

"They assigned us letters to protect our identities. Somehow, our real names always aligned with our letters. I was the second—Backup, B—and the first successor was Alternate. The pressure of succeeding L crushed A, and he committed suicide. I had no desire to succeed L, so I left."

During my second private conversation with him, Beyond had described the first generation of children at the Wammy House. We went all the way to L—Linda, the last child to be brought in before Beyond left. But there was only one child who fit L's vague description.

"A," I murmured.

If Beyond blamed L for A's death... that would certainly explain a lot. And why he claimed to have lost interest in succeeding L and how he ended up behind bars.

Beyond Birthday challenged L to avenge A, and lost.

My vision was suddenly obscured by dark, owlish eyes. Suppressing a yelp, I drew back away from L, eyebrows raised. "Can I help you?" I asked, a bit snappishly.

"You mumbled," L said.

"Ryuzaki." Light's current expression told me just how done he was with this entire situation. I didn't know if it was because of L's childish insistence or his lack of understanding regarding personal space, but Light was done.

"I said, 'A'," I retorted, retreating another step.

To my surprise, L shuffled closer. "And why would you say that?" he asked in a low voice. I tried to ignore the shiver that rippled down my spine when my back knocked against the wall.

"A was the first," I said concisely.

L leaned in so that we were almost nose to nose. Though stooped over and thus slightly shorter than me, L didn't seem any less intimidating when he gazed up at me, unblinkingly. If anything, those unreadable orbs radiated power that paralyzed me where I stood.

"Backup told you."

L, too, was concise, but there was something about the way that he spoke that alluded to something else entirely. As I tried to shy away to one side, L sidestepped to cut off my means of escape, thumb raised to his lips. Expression blank, he leaned closer and raked his gaze over my face with such intensity that I wondered absentmindedly if someone had written the answer to life somewhere on my skin. It took all of my willpower not to shudder again, or shove him down the hall and make a break for it.

"Ishi-san, in terms of percentages, what is your approximation of how much Backup trusts you?" L asked suddenly.

"'Wouldn't trust me as far as he could throw me' doesn't translate into percentages very well."

"Try," he encouraged, and I had to wonder if he was taunting me.

"Twelve," I bit out, mostly because it was hard to think with L so close. I felt cross-eyed trying to look at the guy.

"I believe that that actual percentage is somewhere between eighty-two and eighty-three."

My train of thought ground to a halt.

"Ryuzaki, I don't follow you at all. Are you saying that you associate Ishi-san with Backup?" Light spoke up.

"I am saying that there is a substantial chance that by freeing Backup from prison, Ishi-san has been earning his trust little by little," L answered calmly. "If he has gone so far as to speak with her regarding private matters, there is an eighty-two to eight-three percent chance that he trusts her immensely."

I wasn't sure who was having a harder time wrapping their head around this: me or Light.

"You freed a criminal from prison?" Light asked, his tone reprimanding but thoughtful.

"He was my means to find L," I said uneasily, still trying to find a way to escape L. "Unfortunately, we parted ways rather abruptly and now we need to find him as quickly as possible. Also, I don't really see myself as having an open invitation to..."

I had started to say "I don't really see myself as having an open invitation to everything Beyond" but that wasn't necessarily true. Beyond had agreed to link our minds via graphire, with very little protest. Even afterwords, he had [mostly] respected my privacy and gone so far as to let me into his head to view the world through his eyes. After our first little tussle with the diamond daggers (and his haircut), Beyond hadn't assumed a defensive position around me, despite knowing that I meant business. He had turned his back to me countless times and gone so far as to save my life.

Oh.

Beyond had saved my life. I had almost forgotten about getting shot. Granted, it was just in the shoulder, but I had been bleeding pretty badly. Naturally, my mind-amoeba had decided that the best course of action would be to knock me unconscious so that I couldn't argue, strap me to a table, and play operation.

...What the hell am I doing? Stupid L, making me overthink things. Beyond only told me as much as I needed to know to show up L; nothing more, nothing less. Trust had very little to do with it.

Right?

Right.

"Luckily" for me, said detective was still waiting for me to finish my sentence and didn't seem to keen on moving anytime soon. Furthermore, Light didn't look as though he was willing to pull the guy off of me. All I knew was that if L didn't back off very soon, I was going to find a very creative way to make him.

"L," I ground out through gritted teeth.

"Yes?" he prompted.

"If you're going to kiss me, you shouldn't leave me in suspense."

L leaned even closer, if that was possible. "I have no desire to kiss you, Ishi-san. Perhaps speaking of Backup in such an intimate manner has aroused feelings of ardor and because of our similarities, you are becoming confused and are projecting these feelings onto me."

I don't know if it was L's words or lack of expression that made me snap. Translating the detective's verbose way of speaking had become second-nature to me by now, so there was no delay between his speech and my actions, but like hell was I about to let him throw around outlandish accusations without repercussion.

Closing the remaining gap between us by thumping my forehead against his, I glowered down at the infuriating detective and all but growled, "Like I would stoop so low as to let my emotions control me to such a ridiculous extent. Of course I can see the similarities between the two of you. That's why you can't give the police his alias or a picture of his face—that and your ego. But there are obvious differences that put you on entirely different playing fields, and to accuse me of being blind to them is the equivalent of discrediting me as a fellow investigator. Also, if I had certain... attachments to B, why would I be here?"

"Your commitment to your apprentice is far stronger than your 'attachments' to Backup," L countered without so much as flinching. "I am your best chance at returning to your own future time."

My breath caught in my throat. I didn't remember ever telling L about our other-worldly problems.

L's stare intensified as his voice lowered almost imperceptibly. "You feel out of place in this world and wish, for the sake of Kyona-chan, to return as quickly as possible and thus require my help. I am far more intelligent than Backup. There was no real choice to be made. Your decision alone accredits my accomplishments and potential to aid your endeavors, whereas Backup was the means that would be later justified by the end. Your ideal is to return, and leave Backup as my problem, but you inhibit yourself, either because you do believe that your debt to Backup has been properly repaid or you are becoming attached to this time and its inhabitants. Your motives are no longer my concern; it is your actions that are now causing problems and you hesitate to clean up after yourself. I hypothesize that this is because, in your own time, you hold of position of great power where such dramatics rarely affect your questionable way of life."

At first, I thought that L was starting to laugh. I felt him trembling, but there wasn't any humor in his words. It took me a moment to realize that I was the one who was shaking. Hands curling into fists at my side, I glared down at the detective who remained unfazed. Heat rose to my face, teeth gritting together so tightly that my jaw ached. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to rear back and sock L right in the kisser.

The last time someone looked into my head without permission, I did something incredibly stupid. I was tempted to do something equally stupid this time (because this first-year psych student bullshit was starting to piss me off), but I managed to restrain myself because, gosh darn it, I like to think that I learn from my mistakes.

"Could you do it?" I bit out. "Could you find a way to get us home?"

L remained silent for the longest time. Seconds dragged on until I knew that minutes had to have passed. Somehow, Light didn't breath a single word, and had I not been wishing for something, or someone, to break the silence, I might have forgotten that he was even there.

"I could," L replied, noncommittal and monotonous. "Such calculations are not beyond me."

"Would you?" I corrected.

Just another minute. I had to hold out for just another minute. And then, if L was still being an absolute pain, I would beat the crap out of him.

"What would you be willing to do for me in return?"

Of course it would come down to this. I had no money—well, none that could be obtained legally. Other than the graphire and one of the daggers, I had no real possessions, and I was hardly about to hand those over. He was already blackmailing me into helping him catch Beyond. Aside from the aforementioned, there were really only two things I could offer (three, if I was being completely honest, but I wouldn't pick the third option if someone held a gun to my head). Since I kinda wanted to return to my world with Autumn, it wasn't like I could sell my soul to the most aggravating man on the planet and help him solve cases for years to come.

It wasn't much of a choice, but I was making it.

"If you will you help to the best of your abilities, I will teach you technological advancements from my time," I said in an undertone.

"Not good enough," L said instantly.

I think a piece of my soul up and died at that very moment.

"The hell do you mean, 'not good enough'?" I demanded.

"Is your anticipated return really worth so little?" L mused.

Perspiration dripping from my brow flattened L's bangs to our foreheads. This was going downhill quickly. I wasn't going to offer my services. No way in hell. And I certainly wasn't even going to consider that third option an option. I had finally stopped trembling, but that didn't keep me from wanting to melt into a puddle from trying to hold L's gaze for such a long time, or headbutt him properly. If I didn't know any better, I would say that he was the world's greatest starer, not detective.

To my utter shock (and relief), I didn't have to speak.

"Ryuzaki, that's enough." A hand snaked between L and myself, pushing the detective back. Light protectively stepped in front of me, arms crossed. "It's bad enough that you stripped me of all my rights when you began to accuse me of being Kira, but you can't go around terrorizing everyone and claim it's for the greater good."

L peered over Light's shoulder. I knew what that look meant, and L knew that I could read the expression he purposefully plastered on his face, so the detective merely fixed his gaze upon Light, put his thumb back on his lips, and said, "It is very Kira-like to go to extremes to defend others, Light-kun. Seventeen percent."

"Kira's morals probably wouldn't let him defend a criminal, so your argument is invalid, Ryuzaki. I'm not Kira, so I don't have any problem with defending a woman you pinned against the wall and then tried to blackmail," Light retorted stubbornly.

"Perhaps Light-kun is jealous. Misa Amane will be staying with us for the duration of this investigation, so he shouldn't be frustrated for long."

"I told you, it isn't like that! The feelings are completely one-sided."

They continued to bicker as they made their way down the hall, and I was torn between staying put and coldcocking L since his back was turned. The latter would probably get me chained in another basement, so I tried to swallow my rage and not punch the wall as hard as I could.

"This isn't over, Ishi-san."

Didn't I know it.


Ryuk greatly appreciated his new human. Creepy fed him apples whenever Ryuk asked, and he didn't even have to say please or check for bugs or exhibit withdrawn symptoms. Even though he didn't write in the death note, Creepy remained entertaining enough for Ryuk not to be bothered by the particular rule that the previous owner of the death note had to stay with the human who currently possessed its ownership. That one could be a real hassle, but Ryuk hardly ever thought about it. In the few hours the shinigami had spent with his human, Ryuk was beginning to like Creepy more and more. Who knew? Ryuk might even call him by his alias someday.

...Nah. That was pushing it.

"Ryuk, if you wanted to challenge someone to a game of chess, how would you do it?" Creepy asked.

"Uh... 'wanna play chess?'"

Sometimes, Creepy asked weird questions and other times, they were rhetorical. Ryuk never knew which was which. But regardless of how the shinigami answered, Creepy didn't mind explaining his train of thought. If anything, it was a discrete way to be boastful.

But Ryuk had apples, so he put up with it.

They had broken into an empty house and were currently in the process of looting power tools from the garage. Creepy shrugged off his rough leather pack long enough to shove something else in it before shouldering it back on. Every once in a while, he would pause to tinker with some gizmo beyond Ryuk's understanding. Once Creepy had perused the entire garage, he turned to Ryuk and asked, "What's the shinigami realm like?"

"It's a barren wasteland," Ryuk answered honestly. "Boring. The apples taste like sand. My fellow gods of death just want to sit around and gamble all day, not that they have a concept of time. It's always day there, and they only pay attention to time when they remember to write down a name and keep themselves from wasting away."

"How dull," remarked Creepy. "I can't blame you for being bored."

To Ryuk's delight, Creepy pulled a gleaming apple from his pocket and lofted it towards Ryuk. Granny Smith. Ripe. Green. Deliciously sour.

"Not that I care, but why do you need all this?" Ryuk mumbled around the apple as he loudly feasted, the sounds echoing off the tin-plated walls.

"A mechanical device of mine seems to have malfunctioned. Since it is no longer around for me to repair it, I seek other, very similar ways to attain my goals." A devious grin morphed onto the man's scarred face. "My only real trouble comes after I find a way around this impasse. Unlike Kira, I will not be so foolish as to challenge L and use the world as our battlefield. This time, I have no intention of killing innocent people, and though I possess Misa Amane's old death note, there is only one name I would ever consider to write in it."

"So, if you aren't going to kill people and you don't have any desire to kill people, why are you going after L?" Ryuk gulped down the last of the apple and floated after Creepy as the man exited the garage.

"To make a point," Creepy dropped his voice. Ryuk had been with Light long enough to recognize the change. They were technically in public now, so it wasn't wise for Creepy to appear to be talking to himself. "But I must proceed with extreme caution."

As curious as he was, Ryuk didn't ask what Creepy was planning. Most times, it was more fun to sit back and watch the heads roll.

"So you want to challenge L... without putting too much at risk?" Ryuk asked instead.

"There is already too much at risk. I am simply anticipating and calculating how much damage control I am willing to do later on in our little game. The more I prepare now, the more easily pieces will fall into place later on," replied Creepy, ambling down the sidewalk of the residential neighbor. "Besides, L has something that I desire, and at the end of our game, I plan on refuting victory in exchange."

Ryuk had to be thankful that he wasn't prone to getting headaches. Being around all of these geniuses was too much. "I don't get it."

"Instead of accepting L's defeat, I will offer him victory in exchange for his hostage," Creepy said. "I will forfeit winning and every shred of evidence that would support this claim. All I intend to do is approach the brink of winning, to the point where there is no hope that L will surpass me, and then I will rub it in his face by letting him take all of the credit."

Human beings, however fascinating, were also confusing.

As though sensing Ryuk's bemusement, Creepy added, "L's pride as a detective rests in solving the Kira case. As I stand right now, I have enough evidence to lock away both of his main suspects, but that isn't enough. I need an overwhelming amount of evidence—something that every court in the world and even L will not be able to deny. Once I obtain that, I will dump my stock and leave L a profitable man. He has everything to gain from this arrangement, yet if I go public with my claims, he will have everything to lose if he refuses."

Creepy has enough evidence already to lock away Light and Misa? Ryuk was tempted to call his bluff, but decided that there were more important things in life.

"How... interesting," the shinigami practically purred.

"Don't worry, Ryuk. I promised to entertain you, and in three days time, you'll forget what it feels like to be bored," Creepy promised with a smirk.

"Heh heh. I'll hold you to it, Rue."


AN: I wanted to include the next few scenes, since they all kind of relate to one another, but that would put the word count well over 15,000 words and one 11k-word chapter is quite enough for me.

Since the majority of the next few scenes have been drafted (if that's the correct usage of the word... what's the term for having come up with a rough draft?), this story should be updated within a month on the usual Thursday afternoon time (not this weird thirty seconds after midnight on a Sunday). And now, I have to go doodle a picture from the original version of this chapter where KC did headbutt L that second time. The things I must do for plot...