11

Under stricter policies, everyone was able to focus more and get more work done. Watari looked satisfied at the effects of this, and did not bother L anymore with his lectures. L however, still felt depressed at the situation. From what he had deduced Kira might really be able to transfer his powers on just about anyone, so potentially there might be more than one Kira at a given time. If he were to accept that, then the next logical conclusion would be that Misa Amane really was the second Kira, whose memories were erased just when she was about to be incriminated. It was more than a possibility then, that Light could be the original Kira. In L's head, it all made sense. Misa's unexplained infatuation to Light was because somehow she found out that he was indeed Kira, the person responsible for killing her parent's killer. That all falls into place. Light volunteered at that time too, when they were trying to communicate with Misa, and all of a sudden they were dating. This was more than just a coincidence. Light was indeed Kira.

But here is the catch: L could no longer deny his feelings for Light. He could even say that he actually loves him. More than anything, he wanted to prove Light's innocence somehow, so that once they find the actual Kira, they can finally be together without any objections from anyone. But the more he thought about it, the more it was clear that there was no other person who could be Kira other than Light.

Of course, it could be that this obsession with Light being Kira is blinding him to look for other clues, to look for other possible suspects. L unconsciously set a high bar for anyone who could be Kira, that it was only Light who can logically meet it. He wanted to think of other leads, anything, just to convince himself that there may be other people who might be Kira, but L admitted that his stubbornness was preventing him from doing so. The only thing he can do at this point is to sit still and do nothing. It is better to stay in this status quo, to not stir the pot. Honestly if L can stop time, he would do it now.

Fortunately for the task force, the strict policies were having a better effect on Light. He was no longer distracted, and was able to focus more. He wanted more than anything to prove his innocence once and for all, and to be able to take revenge on the person who framed him. He would regularly check every news source, take note of any patterns, and listen to the members of the task force for any ideas. He would fervently write down his thoughts, leave no information untouched. Sometimes L would have to forcibly stop him at the end of the day so that he can rest, and not overwork himself.

In about a month of this, Light noted a death that seemed a bit peculiar. A promising young executive which has been expected to lead this certain big shot company has been found dead in his apartment complex. While it is not unusual for executives to die from stress in the corporate world, it still seemed odd. Checking the articles about him, there was no signs of him having depression, and was actually living a clean, happy life. He had a lot of plans to make his company more successful than it was, and in fact has a couple of joint ventures that is said to be under way. With him gone, this will all be cancelled, most likely. The chances of him dying from stress is still not out of the picture, but for now, Light has to take a note of it.

"Have you found something yet, Raito-kun?" L hovered over his shoulder, clearly bored of the day to day tasks by now. Light was about to say something when L continued. "He looks handsome, is he by chance your type?"

"Stop fooling around, L!" Light said irritably. "This man was found dead just this morning"

"A victim of Kira, perhaps?" L inquired.

"I am not yet sure. This has been clearly a shock in the corporate world. He has helped a lot and is actually one of the few people who actually care about the environment" Light explained. "I don't think Kira would kill him if that was the case"

"Oh, so another millionaire died, huh?" L became disappointed again. "I thought you were about to have a lead or something"

"Why are you being irritable, Ryuuzaki?"

L looked at him.

"Aren't you the one who keeps being irritated, Raito-kun?" L asked back. "I only asked a simple question"

"Why don't you just do your job or something? I've had enough of your attitude today!" Light was looking red in the face.

"Please guys, stop fighting." Matsuda pleaded, being the voice of reason for once. "I know we are all tired"

"How can he be tired if he's hardly done any work?" Light snapped back.

"I just don't want to engage myself in pointless things, Raito-kun" L explained. "No one can differentiate what is work anymore around here anyway."

"What are you implying? That we are just wasting our time in all of this? Well at least we are doing something!"

"Guys! Seriously. This is not the time to act like this"

"Shut up Matsuda!" Light said in the heat of the moment before realizing what he did. Suddenly his face flushed, and he looked a bit remorseful.

"I'm sorry for directing my anger towards you, Matsuda. I meant no disrespect" Light apologised.

Matsuda sheepishly laughed.

"As long as you didn't mean it, then it's fine", Matsuda replied. "Maybe Ryuuzaki was right, you are being a bit irritable lately"

"Thank you for agreeing with me, Matsuda" L added. "Maybe you are too stressed from work, and this is not good"

"I-I…just want to solve this case as soon as possible"

"Rushing something is not a good habit, Raito-kun. There might be a lot of things that can be overlooked in the process" L lectured. "Perhaps we should call it a day we'll find a way to de-stress"

All the members of the task force agreed. They had not took a day off in about a month.

Before they all left, Matsuda patted Light's shoulder.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Light!" He encouraged "Let's meet each other tomorrow hopefully in a better mood"

"Sorry again, Matsuda"

"I'll tell the chief that we are all dismissed" he offered.

Light's father was in the police headquarters today, for his monthly reporting.

L started walking towards their room, as Light hesitantly followed.

"What is wrong, Raito-kun?"

"Well, I only apologised to Matsuda back then but, I am sorry for being irritable at you lately" he started.

"That's okay Raito-kun. I forgive you. Maybe part of it is my fault anyway" L admitted. "And we are not allowed to leave so there is little to do"

Light was still down.

"But maybe we can do something different even if we are only in this building" L suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"I re-negotiated with Watari a couple of weeks ago on the account of us potentially growing insane from being detained here, and yes. It feels like we are detained here sometimes" L explained. "Watari had added a couple of amenities that I think will be to your liking"

"Like what?"

"We now have a sports center here, and a movie theatre, and a library" L continued. "So what do you think, Raito-kun? Are you up for another game of tennis, or just want to chill in say a movie theatre or hit the books?"

"Can we do all of them?" Light asked a bit shyly.

"Of course, Raito-kun"

Needless to say, the de-stress operation was a success. L was planning to let Light win in tennis, but during the middle of the game his competitive spirit kicked in and they both had an intense workout. L tried to keep score during the beginning of the match, but at the end he could no longer tell who was winning. Maybe he purposely forgot, but it was worth it to see Light have that satisfying smile in the end.

"I guess you won, Light"

"Well, no one was keeping score so who can tell?" Light was in a better mood enough to admit defeat.

L was just relieved that the teen finally got his smile back.

They took a quick shower and headed to the newly constructed movie theatre, but it only took ten minutes for Light to pass out and fall completely asleep in L's shoulder.

"I guess there is no point in continuing this horror movie if no one is going to be scared now" L said to himself as he proceeded to carry Light and head back to their room.

He laid Light on the bed and covered him with a blanket, as he sat next to him and watched him for a few minutes before snuggling next to him.

Light had been too focused on the case it seems, that he would often have a headache, and still continue on working albeit the frequent complaining that his head hurts. The effect of that then, would be that Light was often irritated and would always snap at him.

It was a good thing that Watari agreed to the added amenities, as Light really needed it sometimes. He really needed an outlet or else, as L had feared, he might get another mental breakdown. It was the only thing he can do anyway, since because of overworking, Light was often too tired to fool around at night, and would just sleep right after his nightly rituals. Sometimes he could see Light drift to sleep sooner than that, holding a brush in mid-air, eyes closed. It became a habit for L to check on him if he fell asleep somewhere, and take him immediately to bed.

Sometimes, Light would be so stressed that he would throw up, and he would know about this despite how hard Light would hide it from him, because they were unfortunately chained together. He became really concerned about Light at that point that he did everything in his power to make it better, sometimes focusing more on Light's health than the Kira case. They needed that balance, L thought to himself, or else they would either find a dead overworked teenager in their headquarters one of these days, and L would not allow any of that.

L from that point on made sure that Light was taking breaks, and playing tennis every other day, alternating from watching movies or just reading alongside Light. He would sometimes bring a couple of books to their room and read to Light in an English accent, and that would really help calm Light down, and sleep easier. Light managed to get his health back and recover, and has improved his relations with the task force members, even Misa.

There were occasional slip ups where Light would rush to the toilet and throw up, but after that L made sure that he get some rest, and massage his back to calm him down.

He also refrained from certain food near Light, like coffee, which was guaranteed to make the teen sick. Since then the task force are no longer allowed to consume any food in the investigation room, and they had a break room for eating, with Light's break room specifically separated from the rest of the task force members, because surprisingly, he suddenly developed sensitivity to certain food smells.

Those things helped Light significantly, and everyone was in a better mood after that. There were no longer any fights being started and it was generally a good work environment all in all.

The one who is the most thankful is Light, who had been in a better mood ever since they played tennis. Occasionally he would give in to L's nudging, and make out in the privacy of their bedroom, eventually leading to sex.

It took them three weeks to finally get a lead, as Light was reading some of the local business news. There was an unusual rise in the stock prices of the Yotsuba group, and it was all hyped that they would be the next rising star in the corporate world. Light checked his notes, and confirmed some data from the internet. Perhaps there was really something going on with this company. He remembered writing down some young executive's death barely a month ago. Since then that company's stock plummeted from the absence of that man's guidance. He checked more data related to the Yotsuba group. Another rival company who was seen as a threat to the Yotsuba suddenly died from a car accident. Another from a heart attack. There were a few details that were a bit strange, from that one guy who usually has a driver suddenly deciding to drive by himself, to that other guy who went to a bar they didn't really hang out on and just die from a heart attack. There maybe something to this.

"L, would you check this for me?" he needed L's validation first.

The detective looked through all his observations, eyes widening occasionally and growing interested by the minute.

"This is…brilliant, Raito-kun!"

Light felt his face flush as L continued perusing the data that he had compiled in almost two months.

"Really amazing, Raito-kun. We might just have a lead" he confirmed. "Can you also check this for me…"

L gave him a some points to check, and Light could barely contain his smile.

It was the first time L acknowledged him, and he was really happy about his efforts being realised. Thanks to him, they found a lead.