A/N: Hi, friends…

So…

Remember when I said that I'd be leaving for Michigan soon?

Like…Next week?

And that I'd be able to keep you updated?

And that we'd be alright here?

…I lied.

Look, this is why. I've been in a constant state of stress for the last week and a half. I've been dealing with the kids. I've been dealing with the stress of me not having anything done on time. I've just been…A mess. I'm sorry. But it's true. So, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait an extra week before you get the ending. Because we're coming up on the ending very soon…Like…In a couple chapters. And I love you, but I couldn't do it. I tried. Dammit, I tried. But alas…Here we are. So, I'm going to leave you with this. And a hug. And a forehead smooch. And all my love. And me not crying because God forbid Lumi gets any free time that's not automatically taken away from her. I'm going to stop bitching now and let you get into this week's chapter, ok? I'll be back in August. Love you x

There were few things in this world that could truly set Light Yagami off. Assholes on the street, stupidity, things of the like. However, only one could truly break his heart. And the sobs coming from the other end of the phone were it. Especially when he knew how far the other end of the phone was. And he couldn't do a thing about it. Light knew L was going to be in bad shape. And he hated L's stubbornness by making him stay home.

"I'll be on the next flight to Washington DC," Light decided.

"No, no," L stopped him, "I know you're trying to help, Light. And I really do appreciate the sentiment, but…Please. You need to stay there. You need to take care of things while I'm gone. If you don't, then there's no one there I fully trust to run the investigation. And that includes the entirety of the task force. Not the way I would anyway. Please. Don't come here. I know it sounds strange, but stay where you are."

It killed Light to not be able to go, but he understood, "How long until you're here again?"

"I have a few loose ends to tie up," L pulled himself together, "I'm seeing Naomi's sister in the morning. Because if I was this close and didn't say hi, I'm sure Nina would find out somehow and hunt my ass down. Even to the ends of the Earth if she had to."

"She sounds like a bundle of joy," Light giggled a bit.

"She really is a sweetheart," L admitted, "A little more outgoing than her sister was. But I'll be flying back to Japan tomorrow night. Well…My tomorrow night."

"Have you adjusted yet?" Light asked.

"Not quite," L thought, "I still feel like I'm running on your local time."

"At least it won't be too early morning of a flight," Light knew how L handled early morning flights. He carried a reminder of how L did with early morning flights in his pocket. And had said reminder in his hand. The sooner you come home, the better, "I miss you."

"And I you," L felt an ache in his chest. And not like the same one he had since he left Naomi. A different one. A pull at his heart he didn't ever think he'd have. Let alone have it brought on by another person like this, "Don't worry, Light. I'll be home soon. And when I get home, we'll make up for lost time. I promise."

"I love you…"

"I love you, too," L hung up his phone and tossed it on the nightstand. As he sat in his hotel room overlooking the city, he knew his chances for sleep were nonexistent. Instinct told him to reach for the ice cream he kept in his mini freezer for such an occasion, but the knots in his stomach and his stunted appetite said otherwise. So, instead of gorging himself on rocky road, L decided a walk would be better instead.

He just wanted to help. He always does. It's hell doing this on my own, but it needs to be done. I can get through this. It'll be maybe an hour or two at Nina's tomorrow and then, it's the next flight to Japan. If I can get a direct flight, I'll be happy, but I know that's a pipe dream. Unless I fly privately. But that means calling Watari to set up one of the planes and that would take longer. I need to get back to him. There's no telling what's going on with the investigation. I told Watari to keep me out of the loop for a while. And it's not that I don't trust that Light knows what he's doing. Far from it. Professional curiosity.

On L's walk around the block, something shiny caught his eye in a jewelry store window. And it made him smile for a change. How fitting. It is how we started. Maybe looking around wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I might not have the black card, but that doesn't mean I don't have its brothers. L knew he was leaning on his bank account as a crutch, but when matters of the heart got to be too much for him, maybe they could be better handled by his wallet.

"Can I help you, sir?" a woman came outside, "I was just about to close up for the night."

"Maybe you could," L made his snap decision, "Do you think I could see your diamond section please?"

"Diamonds, huh?" she let L in the store, "Sure. Is there a special lady in your life you're shopping for?"

"No," L shook his head. I just saw the special lady in my life. I don't have one of those anymore, "Special gentleman, actually. He's on the other side of the world and I'm thinking about surprising him."

"That's so sweet," she awed, "What did you have in mind?"

A little while later on the other side of the world, Light was pulling himself together, looking for some semblance of breakfast, still not fully awake. He could feel it. The same ache in his chest L had. Only Light's pain was a bit stronger. He worried about L when L was in the next room. After that phone call, Light just wanted to go numb for a while. However, he knew he had work to do and he couldn't let the investigation slip like that. Fortunately, he wasn't alone. He had a watchful eye on his shoulder. And in his kitchen. Well…Technically, L's kitchen, but semantics.

"Good morning, Light," Watari sat at the island, coffee already brewing in the pot.

"Morning," Light shoved his fist in his eye, "How long have you been here, Watari?"

"Not very," Watari told him. Long enough, "I'm assuming that was L on the phone."

"Yeah…" Light got a cup from the cabinet and made his coffee, "I miss him."

"I miss him, too," Watari agreed, "I hope he's doing well."

"You haven't heard from him?" Light wondered.

"Not since he left," Watari admitted, "It's strange…He never goes this dark for this long. Not from me."

Damn…I came before Watari? Light wasn't sure if he should be concerned or incredibly flattered. I didn't realize how high a pedestal L had me on, "He told me he was going to bed. And he'd be seeing Nina in the morning."

Light dropping Naomi's sister's name so casually was a punch to the stomach Watari wasn't expecting from him. That's what I thought you were leaving for, Lawliet…Whether I wanted you to or not, "Is he alright? How did he seem when you spoke to him?"

"Not exactly ok," Light kept it cryptic. Even though it was Watari, he didn't want to make him worry, "But he could've been worse."

He went to see Naomi. I have no doubt in my mind he went to go see Naomi. I never thought him to be much of the spiritual type, but I'm not surprised, "Are you sure he was going to be ok?"

"I'm pretty sure," Light nodded, sipping from his coffee, "So, what brings you by this morning, Watari? Not that I'm complaining. The company's appreciated."

"Unfortunately," Watari began, "This isn't a social call. Yes, I wanted to make sure you were doing ok, but more importantly, an envelope from the forensics lab came in this morning."

"The forensics lab?" Light wondered, "I thought we weren't going to get anything from them until next week at the earliest."

"That might be the local forensics lab," Watari smiled a bit, "L's network is a little more extensive than you think it is, Light. Where the NPA's forensics team is working on several cases at once, L's forensics team is only working on one. Until we send them something, they sit around and twiddle their thumbs. It's much quicker and much more efficient."

"Send them my regards," Light applauded, "What did they say?"

"The envelope is sitting on his…your desk," Watari corrected himself, his eyes falling to the floor.

"Thank you," Light grabbed his coffee and started heading downstairs.

"Light…" Watari stopped him, "I suggest you be careful when you open that envelope."

"Why?" Light asked, "It's forensics. It's not like it's going to be laced with something."

"That's not what I mean," Watari clarified, "The contents of that envelope…I suggest bracing yourself for them."

"Did you already look in them?" Light figured.

"Yes," Watari nodded, "Mostly to make sure they weren't laced with anything in transit. But…Please…Tread lightly."

"Ok…" Light rarely ever saw Watari nervous. Normally, when Watari got nervous, Light knew it had to be bad. Or it had something to do with L. Considering he just got off the phone with L, he knew L was ok. Well…Ok for L's standards. As ok as he was going to be for the time being. Still, Light couldn't help but be a little worried.

When he got downstairs, the entire task force was already there. Including a very weepy Matsuda. Any other day, Light would've written Matsuda's weeping off as something stupid. After all, it was Matsuda. But given the circumstances, the sweat on Watari's forehead, and the mysterious contents of the envelope, Light wasn't going to risk taking any chances. Everything, no matter how small (and possibly pointless), was under the microscope.

"What's Matsuda's problem?" Light brushed him off, not letting the others see him sweat.

"Some hair from the last few crime scenes came back," Soichiro filled him in, also harboring that same sense of worry Watari had, "Several strands from the victims' bodies."

"Ok…?" Light still wasn't following, "And why would that have Matsuda crying?"

"The results are in the envelope," Soichiro nodded toward L's empty desk, "Be careful, Light. They might be…a little much for you to handle."

"Dad, I'm fine," Light rolled his eyes, "Honestly, you're the second person to tell me that today. What does this envelope have in it that's got everyone so jumpy today?"

"You know who that hair belonged to, Light," Soichiro confessed, "The only reason Matsuda saw it was because he was next to me when I opened the envelope. Please…Tread lightly."

"I think I'll be fine." However, when Light opened the manila envelope from L's desk, his stomach dropped into his feet. No…No way…

"Light…?" Soichiro kept his voice down.

"This isn't right…" Light shook it off, "There's some sort of mistake."

"DNA doesn't lie…" Soichiro winced, "I'm sorry, Light, but…It's true. There's no forgery."

So, forensics finds some stray long, blonde hair and figures…No…That's impossible. She couldn't…Could she? Light tried to conduct himself professionally, but he couldn't wrap his head around the name in the envelope. So, that's why they were all so worried about me. Still, he managed, his voice low, "Where is she right now?"

"We have her in custody," Soichiro put a hand on his son's shoulder, "I understand if you don't want to conduct the interrogation."

"Why?" Aizawa wondered with genuine curiosity, "Light doesn't seem like the type to get overly starstruck."

"I'm not," Light assured him. I think the NDA can go out the window at this point, "I dated her for three years. I'll be alright, Dad. I appreciate you trying to protect me, but I can handle it. She doesn't have nearly the hold she had on me anymore. I got it."

"Are you sure?" Soichiro worried.

"I'm sure," Light wasn't sure how sure he was, but he knew he could manage, "Where is she being held?"

"An interrogation room in the basement," Watari came in, "Would you like me to take you to her?"

"Yes, please." I can't believe it. I'm sure this could be chalked up to crimes of passion, but there's no way she was doing this for my attention…Right? She might have been nuts, but would she really go this far just to get my attention? Now that I think about it, this didn't start until after we broke up. And it wasn't very long after we broke up that all of this started. No…I'm overthinking it.

Watari brought Light into a room with a two-way mirror and a microphone. And sure enough, their culprit was bound and blindfolded on the other side of it, "The microphone has a vocal filter on it, Light. She can't hear you unless you press the button. And even when she does, she won't be able to recognize your voice."

"Good," Light relaxed, "But…Is all of…that…really necessary?"

"We can't take any chances."

"Clearly," Light scoffed, "Thank you, Watari. I'll take it from here."

"Are you sure?" he worried, "Your father had a point. I, too, would understand if you didn't want to…"

"I said, I got it!" Light snapped. His sudden outburst took Watari aback. And he quickly realized the error of his ways, "I'm sorry, Watari…I'm just a little on edge. I'll be fine."

"Alright," Watari left Light to his work. I hope you're right.

Light looked over the room, wondering if there were any other listening devices recording what would happen. Then, he looked down at the microphone in front of him. All I have to do is push this button, right? And she'll never know it's me? Light pushed the microphone button, "Hello, Misa."

"Light…" Misa spoke weakly, making Light's heart jump through his chest, "Light…?"

There's no way in hell she knows it's me. I'm speaking through a filter. How would she even know? Light shook her off, "Who is Light?"

"My boyfriend…" she declared, her voice shaking, "He's my boyfriend…Please…Let me see him. Let me see Light…"

"Your boyfriend's not here." Nor is he your boyfriend anymore. We haven't been together in months. I already told her I was in a relationship with someone else. And throughout our entire relationship, she denied my entire existence. And now that she's in a police interrogation, she figures she can name drop me and think it's enough to get her set free? No. I don't think so.

"Please…" Misa begged, "I want to see Light…Light…You'll get me out of this, won't you? Please…I want to see Light…"

"I said he's not here," Light stood his ground. Nor would I ever save you from this. Karma's a bitch, isn't it? Still, Light knew he was there for a reason, "Now, quit talking about Light and tell me how you kill your victims."

"My…what?" she gasped, "No…I didn't kill anyone…"

"Forensics don't lie, Miss Amane," Light held himself together, "How do you do it?"

"Light…" Misa babbled, "Light…Please…Save me…"

"Confess your sins, Miss Amane," Light demanded, "How do you kill your victims?"

"Please…Light…"

Shut up, Misa! Light kept his finger on the button, "HOW?!"

"I…" Misa's head grew heavier by the second, "I…."

Before Light could get anything out of her, Misa had completely passed out. And Light slammed his fists on the desk. Dammit! Well…At least she's here. We can try again later when she wakes up. Light went back to the main room and started heading up the stairs. Of course, he couldn't be left alone. And Aizawa couldn't keep his mouth shut, "Well? What happened? Light?"

"I'll crack her," Light growled, "I swear I'll crack her."