"Ryu-kun!" you shouted, distraught, "How can you do this to them? It's one thing to keep them confined, another to threaten them with death!"
"Please quiet down, Ahiru-chan, this is the only way to prove their innocence," L said, not taking his eyes off the screen showing the inside of the car.
"But this is cruel, Ryu-kun…I can understand your plan, but surely there's a better way?" you pleaded, tugging on L's sleeve.
Your pleas finally attracted his attention and he looked up at you, his eyes wide. "Ahiru-chan…please understand this. There is no other way."
Your gray eyes stared into his blue ones, both of two imploring the other to see the situation from their perspective. Screaming reached your ears and your gaze focused in on the screen. Yagami was aiming a gun at his son's head at point blank range. Amane Misa was screaming, tears streaming down her cheeks. The expression on Light's face was horrifying, his eyes were wide in disbelief at what his father was about to commit. You stared at the screen, shock coursing through your body. "He's…he's really going to shoot him! Are you positive that the bullet is blank? If you're not 100 certain-"
"Stop worrying, Ahiru-chan. This is Ryuuzaki, after all. If there's anyone you can trust, you can trust him," Aizawa said, his faith absolute.
You closed your mouth and watched in silence by L's chair, no longer wanting to cause a commotion. As Yagami's grip tightened on the trigger, you closed your eyes to block out their terrified expressions. Misa's high-pitched shriek pierced your eardrums, and your hands automatically covered your ears and you crouched down, trying to think of anything other than the situation on the screen. A hand reached down and grasped your own, and you looked up, startled. Your scared, childish eyes met with collected, soft blue irises and you felt your fear slowly ebb away. However, before the contact could create meaning, a shot was fired and L was immediately tapping with both hands on the keyboard. "Hai. It was a very realistic performance…" was the last thing you heard before moving away to sit at where you had worked for so many nights months ago.
You stared at the chain joining the two geniuses together, wondering about the logic that led to this situation. 'Is L getting this desperate about finding Kira that he'll willingly join himself to Light? But he wouldn't have done this if he weren't still suspicious…and Misa, where does she fit in with this all?'
Watching the situation from your workstation, you watched Misa, trying to place her in a mental file. 'Is she…acting or is she really that… ignorant? Why is she so attached to Light as well? I can understand that she'd be physically attracted to him, but to form an infatuation that quickly, it must be something deeper. I must find out what caused this…'
"So Misa, you're living here as well?" you asked, prodding for more information from the blonde idol.
"Yep. Misa would never leave her Light-kun!" she replied, her bubbly voice causing your eyebrows to raise.
"Where is he anyway?" you asked, looking around Misa's floor.
Misa realised that Light was no longer in grasping reach and quickly left the room calling for her stealthy boyfriend.
You sighed, noticing that you were alone again. Making your way to the central headquarters, you weren't surprised to see the duo side-by-side working at computers. "Misa's looking for you…again," you warned Light, sitting down at your computer.
His eyes widened and he looked around as if expecting the blonde-haired woman to appear behind him. "Women can be nuisances," L commented, his mind barely focused on the conversation.
Your eye twitched in annoyance, and you went to stand behind his chair, an aura of blackness surrounding you. "Women are what, Ryu-kun?" you snapped, angered by his rash statement.
He swiveled around in his chair, obviously unaware of the comment he made. "What is it Ahiru-chan?" he asked, genuinely confused.
Your anger flared up even more that he had made such a sexist statement without noticing, but you realised that he was merely making an observation and had not intended to insult. "I-It's nothing…keep working, Ryu-kun…maybe we'll find something soon," you panned, slumping back to your chair.
L's curious eyes followed you, confused as to the reason behind your actions.
"Liiggghhhttttttt-kkkuuunnnn!!" squealed a high-pitched voice from the doorway.
Your eyes widened as the blonde launched herself at Light's unprotected back. "Misa?" Light choked, barely able to breath with tight arms blocking his airways.
"Kindly release Light-kun, I believe you are choking him, Misa," L said calmly, his careful eyes watching the scene before him.
You stopped your work and stared at the situation, the same confusion from before taunting and teasing your mind. 'What is it that makes her so attached to him? If Light-kun was Kira and Misa was the second Kira…everything would make sense. The only problem is that rule which says that if the person doesn't use it for 13 days…they'll die. So Light and Misa are both innocent…but then…why the sudden change in Light? His eyes are different…if I had to guess…I'd have to say that either Light really isn't Kira…or he has some sort of dark side that receded during his imprisonment and...'
"So will you help me, Ahiru-chan?" a sweet voice trickled through your senses.
"Huh? What?" you stuttered, your train of thought completely broken.
"Will you help Misa bake?" she asked, smiling innocently at you.
You looked down at the floor for a minute before saying, "Sure, it's not like I have anything better to do."
L watched your retreating back as you exited the room.
"What is it, Ryuuzaki?" Light asked, noticing his companion's behaviour.
"Does Ahiru-chan seem kind of…down to you?" the black-haired man questioned.
Light turned at looked at the empty doorway; he looked at the ceiling and then at her workbench, deep in thought. "I think she…is still pained over the Korma incident. Maybe someone should talk to her," Light replied, his eyes looking pointedly in L's direction.
"Hmm…you may be right. I shall book her a session with a psychologist-"
Light sighed loudly, interrupting, "I didn't mean it like that Ryuuzaki. I meant you should go and talk to her."
L's eyes widened in puzzlement. "Why should I be the one?"
'How can you be so smart and so oblivious?'
"You are the closest to her obviously," Light remarked lightly, gesturing with his chained hand.
Blue orbs burned into the side of Light's head. 'I'm the…closest?'
Blaring alarms ripped L from his musings and his head snapped around to see what was causing the commotion. "Watari, Report!"
"I'm afraid the two girls are not having much luck with their baking. They've set off the fire alarm," Watari's voice crackled over the loud speaker.
L quickly switched the monitor to display the interior of Misa's kitchen. "Light-kun…why is the screen gray?"
"The smoke is blocking it…" Light replied, his laughter somewhere between astonishment and amusement.
L turned back to the screen and clicked on the audio to the surveillance camera. "Misa! Where are you? Are you Okay? I don't think the cake should be this black," your voice shouted.
"I think so too…Ahiru-chan, what should we do? Ryuuzaki-kun will be so mad at me when he finds out that I've wrecked his oven," a second voice cried out, equally panicked.
L sighed, before clicking on the two-way speaker. "It's alright. Whatever you have broken can be replaced. Please exit the room before you pass out from smoke inhalation, Misa, Ahiru."
Cheeks red with embarrassment, you followed Misa out into the main hallway, obeying L's instruction. "I'm sorry Misa…we couldn't make your cake for Light," you said sadly, looking down at the carpeted floor.
"It's Okay, Ahiru-chan. We can always try again-"
"And also…Misa and Ahiru are both prohibited from any culinary activities whilst living in this building," L's voice stated over the speaker.
You both sweatdropped. "I guess he heard us. Oh well…we can always buy a cake for Light?"
Misa nodded enthusiastically, trying to seem cheerful. Watari walked past you, armed with a fire extinguisher. You tried to apologise as he went past, but he held up a hand and said, "No need."
Your gaze traveled back to the carpet, and you wished you could just sink into it and forget everything. Your vision suddenly went blurry and you quickly excused yourself from a bemused Misa. Keeping a calm face, you walked straight to the rooftop, the only place you hadn't been able to find any of L's surveillance cameras. Stumbling out onto the roof, your shoes dragged over the coarse cement. Locating your usual place, you brought your arms around your knees and looked out over the brightly lit city. This was the place you normally came to think things over, the hustle and bustle of the city having a calming effect over you. The night shrouded you in darkness, the only light coming from the luminous white orb hanging in the sky. Resting your head on your arms, your mind began to drift. "Am I…a detriment to them? I've been back for a week now and I have yet to do something useful. Maybe…" you trailed off, unsure of whether you wanted to follow where your mind was taking you.
Shaking your head in annoyance, your vulnerable mind latched onto another thought. "Obaachan…why did you betray us? We weren't worth enough for you? Really…you killed three people in that fire…Mum, Dad…and me."
"You see yourself as dead?" asked a soft voice from the rooftop entrance, "How odd that our perceptions can be so opposing."
Your eyes narrowed as he invaded your private space and seated himself next to you.
"Light-kun suggested that I come and talk to you. I will try to assist you as much as I can, however, how much help-"
"Just…stop talking, Ryu-kun. I need some quiet…" you cut him off, giving him an apologetic glance.
He nodded in reply, joining you in looking out over the city. 'Why did he come? Is he worried over me? No…Light-kun sent him…but then why would Light-kun send the sweet-loving antisocial genius to come and console me?'
You noticed the clouds were slowly covering the moon, blocking out the main source of light and leaving the rooftop darker and colder.
"Say, Ryu-kun…why did you become a detective?" you asked, breaking the slightly expectant silence.
He looked over at you in surprise before replying, "I have reasons, none of which I am comfortable disclosing."
"Oh…I understand."
"What were your reasons?" he queried, his eyes scanning your face.
You met his gaze, startled that he was curious about you. "Its just…people need someone to protect them…"
"You work to protect people?"
You managed a half-hearted laugh at his response before carrying on, "Not everyone of course. Just the good people."
His dark eyebrows lowered. "You judge the good and bad?"
'Close to the reasoning I would have expected from Kira…'
"I…everyone has different eyes…bad people have bad eyes," you muttered, slightly surprised that you had answered him.
Your companion glanced at you, not having expected such an answer. Feeling embarrassed, you burst out, "Not like…they have bad eye sight or something! I mean…their eyes just scream out at me that this person isn't good…Ahh, I'm not very good at explaining it, just forget it."
"No, please go on, Ahiru-chan. I'm interested," he said, his dark eyes shining with curiosity.
You hesitated before continuing on, feeling extremely self-conscious. "They say a persons eyes are the windows to their soul. I really believe that. Even if you can't see everything about a person…you just get a feeling about them," you explained, hugging your knees tighter, waiting for a harsh remark.
He didn't reply, and you looked over to see him seriously contemplating your idea. "There was a time…where I wouldn't have considered that idea at all. There's no logic behind its existence…but these days, I find myself believing the strangest of things…so until I have evidence to disprove it, I believe you," he said, giving you the smallest of smiles.
Startled, you stared for a second before looking away, blushing slightly. 'There it is…that blush again. Maybe I should call for the doctor-"
"Arigato," you whispered, tilting your head forward to hide your face.
In your peripheral vision, you saw his perplexed gaze turn to you. Recognising his unspoken question, you said, "For believing me…you don't know how much that means to me."
Silence engulfed the two of you, and you began to feel drowsy. You could hear the thunder rolling in the distance, and you briefly registered that the wind was blowing stronger. Your eyelids fluttered closed just as he spoke. "If something should appear to happen to Watari and I, I will make sure that you may live here as we agreed."
Your eyes snapped open just as the first drops of rain began to fall. You openly stared at him, confused about what was going through his head. He met your eyes and both of you froze, the rain drenching you both. "W-what do you mean by that? Ryu-kun, you shouldn't just say things like that," you stuttered, laughing nervously.
"I…" he started, before changing his mind, "I think we should go inside. Your cold might return."
'What was he going to say? And why does he think that he's in danger? The only reason he'd be in danger is if Kira was in his presence…and Light-kun and Misa-chan don't feel bad…what is he thinking? Why won't he open up to me?!'
Feeling colder on the inside, you stood up, your hair covering your face. "I concur. I do not wish to be ill and impose upon you once again."
You could feel the individual raindrops soaking into your already drenched shirt as you calmly walked away from him, leaving him staring after you, wishing he had the courage to tell you everything he needed to say.