19

As much as L hated it, he has no choice. For one, Watari was the only one in the building besides him anyway, sooner or later they were bound to suck it up and communicate with each other. The thing was, he just wanted it to be later, so that he wouldn't grind his teeth more.

"What is it Watari?" he asked coldly.

"I was hoping to stay out of your way a bit longer too" Watari seemed to be in agreement that it was way too soon to have a conversation with him again. "But there is a matter that needs your utmost concern"

"I thought there were no countries currently agreeing with our plan?"

"This is a different matter, L"

He opened one of the screens to reveal what looked like the security camera from the entrance.

"She has been there for three days now, and refuses to leave. I had to force her to the innermost room so that people outside won't recognise her and start to make a fuss about it"

L's eyes widened. It was indeed Misa, who they barred from the place in what seemed ages ago, completely dishevelled and miserable, almost unrecognizable even. It looked like she cried the whole time, or had a mental breakdown, because her clothes were torn all over. L wasn't even sure what happened to her, or if it was even possible to be in that state in just three days.

"I tried talking to her to leave, but she wouldn't listen. She also refuses to eat…"

"This is worse that when we abducted her…" L admitted.

"We have to deal with this quickly or else she would die" Watari insisted. "She seems to listen to you more"

Watari sounded like he gave up a long time ago.

Seeing that this is indeed urgent, L agreed and started going downstairs to where Misa was.

"You!" Misa screamed the second he saw L's figure in the distance.

"Give me back my Light!" she shouted again. "You can't take him away from me!"

L stopped at a safe distance, but Misa started going for him, and soon, was holding him by the cuffs of his shirt. He really didn't want to inflict any harm on women if he could help it, so he did nothing.

"I'm sorry, Amane-san, but Light is not here. He left this place three days ago."

"You're lying! He's there somewhere! He's always insisted to be part of the investigation.."

"He already quit the investigation Misa."

"Stop Lying, Ryuuzaki! I….I…"

"And the investigation is currently put on a halt. Even if you check this place there is no one but me and Watari."

"He couldn't just leave! He…he…." Misa started sobbing.

"You can call Yagami-san too. He hasn't been in his house for a while now" L offered him a cell phone.

"I don't believe you! I know you were the one who asked him to…"

"What are you even talking about, Misa?" L was growing impatient that he is close to actually pushing her away.

"He broke up with me! He didn't explain himself he just told me…" Misa started crying, and eventually let go of L, much to his relief. "It must have been you who told him to break up with me, so that he can stay in this investigation longer….that must be it, right?"

"I'm afraid you made the wrong conclusion, Amane-san. As he also left me….left this investigation, this place…"

Misa was bawling. L just stood there as she was crying ugly tears.

"I don't understand why you would direct this anger on me, Amane-san. Raito-kun at least gave you closure. I was left in the dark, on the other hand. No goodbye or anything like that" L knew this wasn't the right thing to say at the moment, but he was getting impatient.

"I thought he loved me!..." Misa was still crying.

L sighed.

"That's what I thought too." he clenched his fists, but didn't do anything else and just let Misa cry it out.

A few minutes later Misa got tired of crying, and instead just sobbed while plopped down on the floor, and much later, they were both just staring into space, not saying anything.

"I'm hungry" Misa said suddenly.

L looked at her and sure enough, it looked like the girl has not eaten anything for a while. He knew this was a bad idea, but it would probably be better than finding the corpse of Misa one of these days.

"Do you want to go out to eat somewhere?" he asked her.

Misa looked at him, trying to figure out if it was a trap or something.

"Can I use your bathroom first?" it looks like she finally calmed down.

"As long as you don't do anything funny on it" L tried to lighten up the mood.

Misa huffed and went her way.

A few minutes after and she looked nothing like the mess she was before. She was wearing shades, and probably asked Watari for a change of clothes while she's at it.

"I'm not supposed to go anywhere in public, so I'll have to choose where we eat" she told him. "And I'll make sure it's gonna be expensive."

"I expect nothing less" L said sarcastically.

…

Misa was not kidding when she said that it would be expensive. She took him to the most exclusive restaurant in Tokyo, which can only be accessed through appointment. Seeing her status in the showbiz industry it was nothing for her than a few phone calls. They got a private room, and even the wait staff were not allowed to come inside, and just leave a service tray near their table.

"Did you go on a date with Raito-kun here?" L curiously asked.

Misa started crying again, much to L's chagrin.

"I was supposed to take him here on our anniversary!" she wailed.

L gave him a napkin, which she took and unceremoniously blew on. He did not hide his disgusted face to her. Fortunately, he found a bottle of whiskey included in the service tray. He popped on open and took a generous amount.

Misa started rambling on about not being given an explanation, and that they were meant to be together, and she just wanted to know why.

"He even kissed me! I thought that he loved me" she went on.

"Did Raito-kun ever tell you that he loved you?" L asked on his fourth shot of whiskey.

That made her quiet.

"But he kissed me!"

L took another shot.

"Well, I have kissed Raito-kun countless times, and there was never a moment when he said he loved me"

Misa was surprised at this revelation.

"Wait…you…kissed him!?" Misa repeated. "When….and how…."

It was amusing to see a sudden revelation shown clearly in Misa's face.

"We were handcuffed together, it was bound to happen, Misa" L didn't care anymore. "And we did more than that, I assure you"

"I don't believe you! And why would you even tell me this? I'm his girlfriend!"

"He dated countless girls behind your back even before, Amane-san" L reminded her. "And I don't even think he officially recognised you as his girlfriend."

"Why do you keep saying that? Are you just here to gloat?"

"I want no such thing, Misa. I just want to point out that Raito-kun is not a saint, and technically he was not cheating on you if you're not officially a couple"

"So what are you saying, huh? That Raito is bisexual and chose to be with you?"

"Maybe he is" L replied. "One thing certain is that he really doesn't like commitments"

"I hate you, Ryuuzaki!" Misa started throwing a fit.

However it lasted a bit shorter than expected.

She started eating quietly after that, deep in thought. L also took a bite or two, followed by another shot of whiskey.

"I don't think I can live without Light", she confessed. "I love him too much…"

L didn't say anything.

"Hey, can we go take a walk near the park somewhere?" Misa suddenly asked.

"Why?"

"Well, you owe me this much for stealing Light away from me" she reminded.

"I didn't steal Light from you."

"You know what I mean! You slept with him behind my back!"

"If I accompany you, will you stop bothering the headquarters?"

"Of course!"

After L paid the bill, they went downtown near one of the shopping districts. It wasn't really L's thing, but he had to put up with it or else Misa will cry again. Luckily, she wasn't as interested in shopping as Light was. Maybe she was maintaining her cover and didn't want to be recognised by fans. Whatever it was, L was thankful. They reached a bridge full of people apparently on dates, as it offers a great view of the lights in the city.

"It's so beautiful," Misa said as she went to the railing to get a closer look. "Hey Ryuuzaki, I'm a bit thirsty. Can you buy me a juice from one of those vending machines?"

"Sure, do you have something you want in particular?"

"Anything is fine"

L should have registered this as some weird request from Misa, who usually is very conscious of her figure and only buys brands she likes. However, L was also quite drunk at the moment and just wanted this date to be over.

He should have paid more attention.

L only walked a couple of steps when he distinctly saw Misa climbing from the railway in an attempt to jump.

"Oh shit!" L dashed to the bridge and grabbed Misa's hand. But it was too late. Regret filled L as he plunged into the river with Misa. Everything felt cold.