Last time on No Matter What
L found himself back in his current predicament, waiting for Sunny to arrive with Watari. He looked around at the cold walls before his gaze dropped to his bare feet.
'Sunny... you said that you would protect me, no matter what, but today... I failed to protect you.'
Sunny was screwed. She knew she was screwed the moment the Chief asked to talk to her "dad". Though now that she thought about it, she might've been screwed from the moment she started to talk about her job; Heaven knows she could go on forever on that topic.
She also knew that L was mad at her, seeing as he didn't even tell her that Watari was coming to pick her up as a "family friend". She had to hear that from Watari himself when he walked in the door. And then when she had asked where her "dad" was (meaning: why didn't Watari pose as her father?), Watari had given her a you-should-know-this look before saying, "Sanae-chan, remember your dad's heart condition?"
'Well, no, how can I remember something I didn't even know about in the first place?!' Of course, she hadn't said that; instead, she had faked shock and had asked if her "father" was ok, to which Watari had replied with yes, and had said that he didn't come because he felt weak. Yup, L was definitely mad at her.
After that whole near-fiasco, Sunny and Watari left with a "Be careful Dr. Kobayashi," and a "Stay safe, Sanae-chan!" Watari had driven the "normal" car to pick up Sunny, and honestly, she was relieved. The limo always made her feel slightly uncomfortable, and though she didn't mind using the amenities it possessed, she had always felt that it stuck out like a sore thumb, and she didn't much like the feeling of standing out. She preferred to stay in a corner and observe.
Sunny opened the door closest to the curb, sat down, and buckled up as Watari did the same right in front of her. As the car slowly pulled away from Yagami residence, Sunny took off her shoes and pulled her legs up with a tired sigh.
Watari looked at Sunny through the rear-view mirror. "Is everything alright?"
Sunny looked out the window and answered with a question of her own. "How is he?"
There was a moment of silence before Watari sighed, and answered, "That... was the angriest I've ever seen him be."
They didn't speak, and the words sank into the tired atmosphere. As Sunny gazed out the window, she felt herself drifting off. Her last thought before her head hit the cold windowpane was,
'Angriest he's ever seen him be, huh.'
5 MINUTES LATER
Sunny was jolted from her short slumber when the car stopped moving. She quickly fought off the drowsiness that came from waking up only to find a bone-deep weariness pressing down on her. She sighed as she opened the car door and stretched out the kinks in her joints. She was definitely not ready to deal with an angry L right now.
She walked into the building and held the door open for Watari, who came in nary a second later. He nodded gratefully, and the two continued inside to where the elevator was.
It was a long, silent ride up to the top floor. As each floor passed, Sunny felt her dread and exhaustion mounting. By the time they reached the top floor, Sunny was all for turning around and going back to the Yagamis'. Maybe they'd let her stay for the night.
Watari, sensing that Sunny was having second thoughts, placed a firm hand on Sunny's shoulder, though he maintained a gentle grip. This brought Sunny back from her thoughts of escape. She looked up at Watari's determined face, then down at the unwavering hand at her shoulder, and sighed in defeat. She was going to have to go through with this after all.
Watari took his hand off of Sunny's shoulder, and the two stepped out of the elevator and towards the door of the condo.
Watari hung back as Sunny opened the door, and Sunny understood he was going to let her and L figure out their own baggage before coming in with his views. To be honest, she would've felt better had the fatherly figure stayed in the room while she and L "talked", but she really couldn't be picky, especially as it was her lack of vigilance that landed her into the situation at hand.
She threw a last, desperate look at Watari for help, and when she realized she'd get none, she turned back around. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and walked in.
The condo was dark, no surprise there. She closed the door as softly as possible, though in the permeating silence, it sounded more like a thunderclap. She winced at the noise and blinked at the heavy darkness, eyes trying to shape outlines and figures. Before she could get adjusted, however...
"Sunny."
The voice was right in front of her. She tripped backwards with a small scream that sounded strangled even to her. Fearfully, she looked up, and she had to clap her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming any louder.
In front of her stood a dark, hunched silhouette with spiky hair. Logic told her that it was just L, just Ryuu... but she'd been through too much tonight to listen to logic, and fear overruled calm reasoning.
She started to hyperventilate, her breaths heavy and quick in the dark air. Her eyes widened in terror, and tears began to form. The shadow in front of her reminded her too much of the shadows from another time, that time, when flames licked the air instead of a cold, oppressive silence...
And then suddenly, she was shutting her eyes in pain as the lights were flicked on. Her breaths slowed down though until finally, with one shaky, long, drawn out breath, they were back to normal. She opened her eyes and started to blink away the tears. Slowly, but surely, the tears went away, and she could see a pale, slender hand outstretched in front of her. She didn't need to look up to realize it was his, and she blinked in numb, detached amazement. He scared her to the point where she lost her composure, but then he was offering a hand up? Well, but he didn't know that she could be scared like that, so she guessed it was alright.
She lifted her hand, and then stopped in midair. What if this was a test to see how much caution and vigilance she lacked? If she accepted the hand after what had just transpired, L would assume that she might do this with everyone. That is, accepting an offering of trust even after being put in danger. And if he assumed that, then he might not trust her to get into trouble anymore, and therefore might take her off the Kira case. No, she couldn't accept his hand; she had to get up on her own.
She took the hand that had been about to accept his and instead placed it flatly against the wall of the short corridor. The same was done with her other hand. Using the walls as support, she slowly stood up on shaky, tired, unsteady feet. So immersed was she on keeping steady that she didn't notice the minute flash of disappointment that crossed L's eyes. It was barely there in the first place, and by the time Sunny looked up, it was gone totally, replaced with his default expression.
When she was finally done steadying herself, she carefully took her hands off the walls and look up at L, who was staring at her with his trademark, indifferent look. She somehow managed a small, if somewhat off-kilter, smile at him. "Hey Ryuu."
"Sunny." L said again. And then there was nothing to say. The silence came back, only this time, it was heavier, and there were too many things left unsaid as the two merely stared at the other, trying to figure out the questions that hung in the tense air. It was a stalemate, and it seemed like it would continue forever until...
Sunny sighed and bent down to gather her bag and her binder, both of which had fallen from her hands when she'd tripped over. When she had finally done so, she shouldered her bag, lifted her binder in her left hand, and gave L a rather flippant, "G'night Ryuu," before walking past him to her room.
"I'm taking you off the Task Force."
Sunny stopped. She whipped around, eyes narrowed in disbelief. "What... did you just say?"
L stood there, seemingly unaffected by the danger in her tone. "Tomorrow. They should give you enough time to get your things. If they don't, just call me and-"
"Wait, hold up." Sunny raised her right hand to stop him. "So, you're really taking me off the Task Force?!" Sunny glared, daring him to confirm her question.
L, nonchalant as ever, simply said, "Yes."
Sunny gaped, too disbelieved for words at first, before finally getting a grip and asked lowly, "Why?"
L started to walk past her to his computer room. "Because I don't think you have the capabilities to handle this case anymore while on the Task Force."
As L walked past her, Sunny shot out her right hand and grabbed his shoulder. L stopped immediately, not because Sunny was strong (she was actually really weak, physical strength had never been her forte), but because he was curious as to what Sunny had to say. He almost flinched when he turned and looked at her because he could see, without a doubt, that Sunny was mad.
Actually, to say "mad" would've been an understatement, seeing as Sunny was really fire-breathing furious. He had seen this side of her before, twice actually, at Wammy's, but it had always been at someone else, never him. She had never been mad at him, ever. Suffice to say, he was extremely shocked, and not overly certain on how to proceed.
But then his gaze leveled out with hers, and as it did so, he narrowed his eyes just a tad bit. Sunny might've been angry with him, but he'd been expecting this. He'd known right when he'd made the decision to take her off the Task Force that she would've been mad at him. He could deal with her. Besides, he thought, I'm quite angry with her too.
As Sunny glared at him, she noticed the change in him, from an almost uncertainty to a sureness that could not be rivaled. He was going to stand his ground, and, as she processed how he tensed up underneath her hand, he was going to give her a piece of his mind as well.
When she was sure that he wouldn't run away, she took her hand off of his shoulder slowly, finger by finger. Never once did she take her gaze off of him. When her hand finally reached her side, she gestured to the sofas with her chin and said, "Have a seat, Ryuu. We have a lot to discuss."
L's eyes became harder, making his usually glazed eyes seem polished. "Yes, it appears so..." he whispered.
When neither of them made a move for the chairs, Sunny took the initiative and dumped her stuff on the table near the closest sofa. This movement also broke L out of their little impromptu staring match (the second one that night), and he went to sit down in the sofa across from the one Sunny was now sitting in.
"Comfortable?" Sunny asked, though it didn't look like she cared.
L's reply was swift and clipped, his tone as crisp as a fresh apple. "Quite." And with that, their first argument since they'd known each other began.
"So," Sunny shifted slightly, pulling her legs up and to her right, "Explain."
L did not have to be told what she was talking about. "Due to your recent actions, I didn't and I still don't think you have the capability to handle working on the Task Force any longer. Therefore, I'm taking you out of the Task Force as soon as possible, which happens to be tomorrow."
"I've been on many Task Forces before this one, and this is the first time an event like this has occurred. Why are you taking me out now instead of giving me another chance?"
It was almost as if L knew what she was going to ask. He didn't even miss a beat as he responded with a, "Because this is not any other case. If it was any other case, I'd give you the benefit of the doubt. However," he leaned forward on his knees, and his eyes bore into her, "this is the Kira case, and we cannot afford any slip ups. Do I need to remind you that the world may be at stake here?"
"My slip up wasn't even related to Kira. It was because of a momentary lapse of vigilance that I have learned from," Sunny countered.
"All the more reason to take you off," L replied swiftly, "Your slip up this time was disastrous, and it wasn't due to Kira. Therefore, I took you off assuming that if your lapse of caution and vigilance continues, when something does come up with Kira, your slip up would not even be considered disastrous, and it might even be fatal."
"Y-you can't take me off the Task Force!" Sunny blurted out suddenly.
If L had eyebrows, he would've raised one of them right now. As it was, he merely asked, "Why not?"
"Because," Sunny racked her tired brains trying to find a good enough reason to convince L, "Because you need me to gauge the Task Force's mood towards you." There, that should be good enough, she thought in triumph.
L seemed to consider this, but then he shook his head almost imperceptibly and said, "While I will regret the loss of information, I think we have enough data to go on from."
In a last-ditch effort, Sunny desperately said, "If you take me off the Task Force now, then their opinion of you, which is already low, will go down even further."
"Well then, that will just be a risk I'll have to take." Slowly, he put his legs down and stood up. "Now get some rest," he said, not unkindly, "you'll have a very busy day tomorrow."
Sunny's body froze, and her eyes widened. She felt like a cold bucket of water had been dumped over her, so harsh was the reality of not being in the Task Force. She almost couldn't believe it, it was so sudden. But then she remembered L's cold, polished eyes, and she knew it was over.
A hot wave of shame passed through her, followed by a hotter, more permanent wave of anger. Why should she have to step down because of one silly mistake that she had learned from already? It was not fair, and she felt the injustice keenly.
Her temper only grew when she saw L's hand reaching out for her. He had noticed that she wasn't moving, and, like a concerned friend, had outstretched his arm for her to take it. But she did not see the worry in his eyes, and nor did she see the friendliness and reconciliation in the gesture. And so, repeating one of the night's earlier events, she refused his hand yet again.
"Good night Ryuu," she said icily, gathering her things and storming off silently to her room, missing L's resigned look as she did so.
When she reached her room, her anger went away abruptly, leaving only numbness and weariness behind. Unenthusiastically, she dumped everything to the ground, too tired to even yawn or sigh. With a groan, she flopped on her bed, and instantly fell asleep.
That night, her nightmares were worse than ever, and the shadows featured their new hunched, spiky-haired companion.
2 AM- IN THE COMPUTER ROOM
Watari stepped into the room with a cup of tea and a bowl full of sugar. As he walked over to his charge, he noticed that L had up the same screen he had when he had first asked for tea. When he looked at L finally, it all made sense. His eyes were distant, more so than usual, and Watari knew that he was thinking of Sunny.
Watari sighed. Even though he'd more or less told Sunny he'd wait outside, he hadn't, and as soon as they had moved away from the door, he had come in. Both of them had been so caught up in their argument that they hadn't noticed, and so he had seen and heard everything. It broke his heart to see them fighting like that, especially when Sunny had walked away, leaving a defeated L behind. He had sighed then too, and had laid his hand on L's shoulder as if to comfort him. L had looked up, and, for the first time in a long time, Watari had been shocked. Never before had he seen L look so tired, so beaten, so... small.
And now L was thinking of Sunny again. Unconsciously, he closed in on himself, making him seem like an armadillo trying to protect itself from danger. Like a child curling in and away from the world.
Watari sighed again. What to do, what to do... At this rate, L would be sulking until morning came around, and by then Sunny would wake up and the whole cycle would start all over again... No, he couldn't let that happen.
With determination burning in his eyes, he quietly made his way to where L sat and gently laid down the cup of tea and sugar bowl. L didn't even acknowledge that the tea and sugar were given to him, a sure sign that he was out of sorts.
It was now or never. Watari cleared his throat loud enough that it got L's attention.
"Hm?" L looked up to see Watari staring down at him. "I'm sorry, Watari, did you need anything?"
Watari looked down at L, and his eyes softened. Although he was infinitely better than earlier tonight when Sunny had stormed off, L's eyes were still blanker than usual, and the hunch of his shoulders were more pronounced.
"L," Watari began, "You did the right thing by taking Sunny off the Task Force."
L dropped his eyes from Watari and stared at his computer screen. He placed his thumb to his lips and absentmindedly whispered, "Did I now?"
"Yes. Sunny might not thank you for it now, nor ever, but you did the right thing, no matter how much you might doubt yourself. And, if you didn't take her out now, it might put you and her in an awkward position when you finally do meet with the Task Force."
L pressed the pad of his thumb flat against his teeth. "I suppose..."
Watari sighed upon seeing that L was not convinced. "We all have to make sacrifices, L. Especially for cases like these. Even if it's regarding the one we love..."
At that, L abruptly took his thumb out of his mouth, though he maintained a neutral expression. "Sunny is a friend and a partner, Watari. Please do not think of us as anything more."
Watari raised his eyebrows in mild disbelief and amusement. "Of course. My apologies."
"Hm," L took a sip of the tea, and promptly added 4 sugar cubes to make the tea sweeter. "Thank you... for the tea."
Watari smiled slightly. "You're welcome."
THE NEXT DAY
It was her favorite type of morning, the ones where the warm sun spilled through the blinds like ribbons and criss-crossed the room. Mornings like these usually made her smile lazily and stretch like a well-rested cat, no matter if the nightmares had come for her the night before. However this morning...
If anyone had peeked into the room, they would've seen only a lump on the bed, an unmoving, seemingly lifeless lump. However, it was something more significant. It was this lump of bed sheets that the ex-Task Force member Sanae Kobayashi, AKA Sunny, lay under this morning.
She had woken up not long ago, and she was now wiping away the residue tears and major tearstains that had been on her grubby cheeks when she had woken up from her nightmares. As she wiped away the tears, her internal turmoil calmed down, and she stared ahead, her mind clear and her vision set.
If anyone had peeked into the room, they would've seen only a lump on the bed, an unmoving, seemingly lifeless lump. However, it was something more significant. It was this lump of bed sheets that the ex-Task Force member Sanae Kobayashi, AKA Sunny, lay under this morning. And it was under this lump of bed sheets that the former Task Force member made her decision.
I will find Kira by myself, and I will never, ever let Ryuu look down on me and my abilities again!
AN: Aaaaaand that's a wrap for this arc folks! So, here's a little insight to where I'm gonna go with this story. I'm going to have Sunny under go an investigation of her own (how I don't really know... any ideas?), and yes, SHE IS GOING TO HOLD A GRUDGE AGAINST L. It will end eventually, but Sunny will never really forget the injustice done to her in this chapter, so yeah...
In any case, this chapter was really fun to write, especially at the actual argument segment. A little fun fact about this chapter: I wrote most of it, including the argument, at 3 am while listening to the 10 hour version of Nyan Cat. The reason I decided to listen to Nyan Cat was because I watched Oculus quite recently, and now I'm kinda paranoid about a weird ghost woman coming after me at night so...
Please tell me if you think L or Watari are terribly OOC. I tried to make them as in character as possible, especially L, but I honestly think L would act that way if faced with a situation like this. Sunny's his best (and only) friend, and up until this point, they've never fought before.I tried to make his emotions as "watered down" (not shown on his face) as much as possible, but I had to go into L's insight and use SOME emotions. As to why L is pulling Sunny out of the Task Force, well, if you're really wondering that, go back and read the chapter and possibly the chapter before, and then PM me if you have any more questions.
Alright, so I know I said I'd be publishing a new story soon (Kuroshitsuji Sebastian x OC), but that's gonna have to wait a while. Things are REALLY chaotic over the summer; I'm moving, transitioning into high school, taking a few online classes, going to 2 summer camps blah blah, you get the gist. I've already got my hands full with this story, and one of my good friends is expecting a Tris x Four oneshot/story where Tris survives so "Trust Me" (working title) is just going to have to wait a while. I'll definitely have it up by the end of this year (long deadline, I know, but life). Hopefully, it'll be more than just one chapter that'll be up. No promises (I need an emoji but I don't know which one)!
The same things I said above more or less apply for this story, which I am hopefully going to update sooner. Key word is "hopefully". Screw life and its waywards lemons!
Meh, I think that's it. Oh right, this chapter was un-beta'ed so... he he, don't kill me if there's a lack of quality. I was just really excited about this chapter that I decided to update the story w/o consulting my lovely bet, CJ. Sorry CJ! I'm also going on vaction as of tomorrow, though I will be back by the 1st week of June, so I thought, eh, why not post a new chappie? If you guys think it sucks, I can always take it down and fix it.
Hoo boy, this is one long AN! It was required though, for everything I had to say. Finally, please remember to review. Reviews are what make this story better. No joke. Thanks to WildfireDreams who has always been there and reviewed from the time this story started. You get a choice of a virtual hug, cookie, popcorn, a combination of 2 of these, or all of them.
Welp, bye for now!
Rafa-chan
P.S. I'm actually listening to Nyan Cat right now as I upload this chappie...