Hmmm… I wonder how long it'll take for me to write another chapter…? Not too long, I hope… I quite like the ideas rolling in my head and hope that I am able to finish this quickly… -cough- Though, knowing me, I highly doubt this'll be done before the year 2009. -.-
Disclaimer: …-sigh- It there any point behind even writing this? I assure you that if I owned death Note, L would take a permanent vacation away from working. He would also take up a new residence. With whom, you ask? …Isn't it obvious? Me, of course:D (Sorry, Light, but we can share, ne?)
"On this bed I lay, losing everything
I can see my life passing me by
Was it all too much?
Or just not enough?
Wake me up--I'm living a nightmare"
--"In My Time of Dying," Three Days Grace
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Chapter Two: Boredom
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Light rolled over onto his stomach and winced before quickly flipping over again. That had most definitely not helped his wounds whatsoever. His fingers gently traced the bandages that covered part of his torso lightly. Small sparks of hot pain flooded the area, triggered by his touch.
But, for some strange reason, the pain seemed to make his brain work as he had hoped. The first thing that came to him was his encounters with Ryuuzaki. He couldn't help but feel a smidgen guilty about how he had talked to Ryuuzaki. At the time, he had thought nothing of it and had almost enjoyed snapping at the other man. Now, however, he couldn't help but wonder if it had actually been him speaking.
Light sighed softly. His predicament was not one he enjoyed being in, but he also doubted that Ryuuzaki was enjoying this, as well. And that brought another question to mind.
Just why had Ryuuzaki brought Light to his home?
Light was sure that it would have been a lot easier and quicker to leave a strange, beaten, bleeding boy in the care of a hospital than lug him home. It would have been a lot less work on Ryuuzaki's part, in fact, because now not only did Ryuuzaki have to care for Light, he also had to feed and clothe him--
Ah, yes. Speaking of clothes, just why hadn't anyone bothered to bring any for him to change into yet? Light was still walking around in nothing but his boxers. A shower would also be nice at this point, too. His eyes flicked over to the clock and he saw that it was just a few minutes before 7 p.m. He had been awake for nearly a half an hour…
There was a rap at the door before it opened and Watari came in. The man's eyes flicked to the bed but otherwise said nothing on its current state. Light was a little grateful that Watari didn't find the need to inquire as to the rooms condition. "I have brought you some dinner. Also, I bought you some clothes to wear."
Light blinked in surprise, quickly jerking upright--and winced when a small fire erupted under the bandages on his stomach. "You… bought me clothes?" he echoed, ignoring the persistent pain.
"Isn't that what I said?"
"Yeah, but…" But for some reason he felt a little guilty that Watari had to go out and buy it… "Wasn't there anything already here that I could've worn?"
Watari paused to give him a calculating look before he gave a long suffering sigh. "No," he admitted finally. "Ryuuzaki is too thin for his own good, and while he prefers to wear things that are baggy, you would've found yourself in for a tight squeeze had you worn anything of his. And I highly doubt you would've liked to wear anything of mine."
Light examined the suit that the elderly man was sporting and mentally agreed.
Watari placed the outfit and silver tray that bore his dinner on a stand that was near the bed before giving a small bow and turning to leave.
Light's cinnamon-brown eyes flicked over to the silver tray before then sliding to the black pants and matching shirt. He couldn't help but momentarily wonder why they were black before shoving the thought away, deeming it stupid and unimportant. There was something else at hand that was more important…
"Wait," Light called.
Watari stopped, one hand resting on the doorway, and looked over his shoulder. "Yes?"
"I think I owe you an apology… It wasn't polite of me to snap at you like that. I… suppose I should be grateful to you for doing all this for me…" While a part of him shuddered and felt disgusted at having to actually apologize, a larger part of him felt that he owed the man that much, seeing as he was keeping Light alive currently. Also, he did have a genuine teensy, tic-tac sized feeling of both guilt and appreciation, even if he was doing his best to ignore that fact.
The man remainedunmoved for several seconds before giving a nod. "I also owe you an apology," he admitted. "I suppose that my brash behavior was a surprise to you. That may also be part of the reason behind your curt response to me. But I will tell you this, and please take no offense: It was a mistake bringing you here. It's dangerous for both Ryuuzaki and I… and maybe even you could be in danger now. Though I hate to admit it… I think Ryuuzaki acted on impulse instead common sense for once in his life… and I just hope we don't all regret it."
Well that wasn't something Light had expected him to say. "How so?"
Watari shook his head. "I've already said a little more than I should have. If you want to know anything else, you'll have to see if Ryuuzaki will tell you."
The older man was once again about to leave when Light called out again. "Wait."
"Yes?"
"Is there… any way I can take a shower?" Light's cheeks warmed ever-so-slightly at having to ask for something so stupid.
The man looked at him, presumably to see if Light was being serious or not. "Are you unable to bathe yourself?"
That earned a blink out of the younger boy. "What?" was his ever-so-intelligent reply.
"There is a bathroom attached to this room because it's the master bedroom. Surely you have seen it?" His tone wasn't curt or rude, but it was a little amused.
"Yeah." Light knew it was there, but he had not seen--
"There is a shower in there."
And despite the fact that he knew he'd look stupid for saying it, he did it anyway. "There is?"
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Light was sitting cross-legged on the bed, toweling his hair into a semi-dry state, now fully clothed, fed, and showered to perfection, when he realized that he was most likely going to be staying here at Ryuuzaki's for a few more days. He wasn't sure how this sudden epiphany was born, but he knew he didn't like it all too much. The other man seemed… weird, for lack of another word. While Light hadn't seen any obvious displays that told him this, he just had this feeling that Ryuuzaki wasn't normal.
That and the fact that Light felt a little… different--for lack of a better word--when around him.
Deciding he no longer wanted to be having these thoughts, he eased himself onto his back and relaxed against the mattress.
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The door made a sound as it opened and Light opened his eyes only to realize that he had dozed off. Well, dozed was putting it lightly, since Light saw that the alarm nearby bleared 3:56 in the darkness.
He squinted into the dimly lit room to see who it was that was making a late-night visit.
Maybe it was that darn--Light blinked suddenly when an image of a tall, dark silhouette flashed through his mind. Whoever it was had long arms that went almost down to their knees. The figure was slightly hunched, but that didn't take away from its overall height…
"Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk. You really are a genius, aren't you? Humans really are fun to watch! Hyuk, hyuk! Such interesting creatures."
"Yagami-san?"
And his mind sharply returned to the present. The image shattered in his mind and no matter how he desperately tried to find the pieces and arrange them, he couldn't force it back. Finally, he gave up and replied, "Yes, Ryuuzaki? You do realize what time it is, cor--" Light's sentence was cut off as the light switch was flipped on, illuminating the room. His eyes slammed shut and immediately hoped that his hint would be taken seriously and the light turned back off. Ryuuzaki did noting of the sort, however, and Light was forced to slowly adjust his burning corneas.
"Of course I am aware of what time it is," came the slow reply.
Light narrowed his eyes now that it didn't feel like some sharp creature was trying to rip into them and saw that Ryuuzaki's dark orbs were slowly roaming through the room before stopping on Ratio.
Like Watari, Ryuuzaki was not likely to keep his trap shut about the room since it was his room. But, like usual, Light had prepared an excuse and patiently waited for the man to speak.
Three, two, one and--
"And would Yagami-san like to enlighten me as to why the pillows are all crammed under the bed and beneath the dresser?"
--Bingo.
"I am afraid that these pillows are polyester." That was all he said. He wanted to see Ryuuzaki's reaction before proceeding.
Much to his displeasure, the man remained unmoved and Light had absolutely no hint as to what was running through the other's head. So he continued, praying that Ryuuzaki wasn't as smart as Light was starting to think he was…
"Polyester makes me highly uncomfortable. I do not like that type of pillows. As I was resting, they continually got in my way. So, of course, I decided to rid myself of the problem completely."
There was a two second pause before Ryuuzaki replied, "So Yagami-san decided to shove them under the bed and dresser?"
Damn. Ryuuzaki wasn't taking it… That was not good. Light hated looking like a fool.
"Yes. I wanted them off the bed… and rather than just haphazardly throw them onto the floor to be even more of a problem…"
"Yagami-san decided to shove them out of sight?"
"I did not 'shove' them anywhere. I merely placed them where I thought they would be neatly tucked away and easy to access."
"But of course." His tone was impassive, leaving Light wondering what the older man was thinking. It was impossible to tell whether or not the man believed him or not. "But I did not come here to chat with you. Yagami-san should still be asleep."
"First off, I've been sleeping all day off an on and I now feel restored and thus there is no way I'll be able to fall sleep again anytime soon. Second, you do realize you are making yourself out to be a hypocrite by telling me this? Are you just now coming to bed?"
Ryuuzaki blinked slowly. "No. I am here to get clean clothes. Then I will be leaving."
"Ah, so then you just woke up?"
"I didn't say that."
"So… you're a full-time insomniac, then?"
Ryuuzaki did not answer, but instead made his way over to his dresser, pulled a drawer open, and pulled from within a clean plain white shirt and baggy blue jeans. Exactly what he currently wore, only clean, neat, tidy, and semi-folded. Light, for some reason, wasn't entirely surprised.
After he had shut the drawer and turned to face Light, Ryuuzaki said, "I actually did some light research into you. Yagami Raito; twenty years old; currently attending Tokyo University with superb top marks; has one younger sister, Yagami Sayu; an in-home mother, a father who is the head of the police department in Tokyo."
"See, this is information I already know so it is of no help to we in any way--"
"That the basics, Yagami-san. There is more I could tell you, but as you just said, you already know it all."
Everything was like a puzzle in a way. Light just so happened to be a master at putting puzzles together. He also was a master at figuring things out and looking a little deeper than most people do to find an answer.
And this puzzle was simple: Ryuuzaki was testing Light; he was testing to see just how smart Light really was.
Light nearly had the urge to smirk. "It seems that you know your way around a computer. I take it that that's not all you know about me?"
A hint of a smile ghosted across ghastly pale lips. "Of course not; that was merely the basics of the basics."
From that reply, Light could tell he had passed Ryuuzaki's test.
"Anyway, how long am I going to be here?"
Obsidian eyes locked onto his light brown and slowly blinked. "Yagami-san had better rest some more. The sun has yet to rise. Your body's hormones still resemble that of a teenager, and teenagers like to sleep, no?"
Light was going to protest that if he got any more sleep, he'd also most likely turn to insomnia when the older man turned and left, silently closing the door behind him. There was a three second pause before the door opened again and Ryuuzaki's head peeped in. "Also, next time I see my room in person, I expect the pillows to be where they originally were and belong." With that, the head disappeared.
Light scowled in response before his mind started doing what it always did--scrutinize any new information it had been given.
Ryuuzaki was a genius.
He had amazing computer skills.
He was impossible to read or even predict.
He seemed like someone who could keep a huge-ass secret and not even let on.
In fact, Light wouldn't put it passed the man if he was part of the mafia and was plotting the end of a country… like Russia, maybe. But Russia was a nice country in Light's mind. It had advanced nuclear power for its struggling economy. If there was any country that Ryuuzaki had to take out it would have to be--
Light blinked and abruptly the thought was cut down and killed immediately. To be honest, absurd thought-tangents filled his mind several times a day; but only when he was bored.
And gods, how Light could get bored.
And Light just-so-happened to do some things he might regret later when he was bored.
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Only once before had L regretted a decision he made, and that was a long, long time ago, so it didn't count in his mind. He was always able to work a disadvantageous situation into his favor, no matter the odds, and that was something he secretly took pride in.
So he would find a safe way out of his whole "Raito Yagami" rut.
Maybe brining the boy into his home hadn't exactly been… the smartest thing for him to do, but what was done was done and even he, L, couldn't do anything about that. But he could weave a way out of this situation without risking anything.
He just had to think it out.
And that was exactly what he had been doing since he had left the bedroom early that morning after coming into what had to be the messiest room in the house--his study--and taking his place at his desk. He still had work to do, no matter his situation. What he had come up with was this: If he made sure Raito Yagami stayed in the bedroom during his stay, not seeing any part of the house besides that room and the bathroom, then when he was better and fit to leave, Watari could force chloroform on Yagami-san and drive him to his house. Once there, Watari could wait for Yagami-san to wake up before helping him inside.
Yes, it sounded a little animalistic if you were a kind spirit, but it was the best way to handle the problem. Yagami-san was a genius, and if he was conscious while being driven home, even if blinded, he could listen to the car and figure out how to return. All it took was concentration to hear when a car slowed down, turned, or whatnot. And L wouldn't put it passed the boy to do something of the sort.
And while the Yagami boy didn't know that he was L, the detective working on the Kira case, L had a tendency to act paranoid and took every precaution possible.
It came with the job.
L was a hundred percent positive it would work; all he had to do was make sure the Yagami boy never left his room. Giving a half-nod in affirmation, L moved on to his next problem:
Kira.
That low-down, self-proclaimed god had--for lack of a better word--vanished; vamoose. The last Kira killing had taken place almost five days ago. Not one since.
Strange?
Very.
That was why L was starting to wonder if Kira himself had been killed or hurt in some fashion. Either that, or he was scheming something and planning his next attack very carefully. L wouldn't put it passed the bastard, but… Five days? Kira killed over a hundred people a day and every second wasted was precious to the "god," so to wait this long was a little out of character…
Which made L wonder if maybe Kira had been injured…
"You sure don't like to keep things tidy, do you?"
L slowly blinked before his gaze flicked over to the top right corner of his laptop that he had placed beside him as he browsed through volumes of information. In the corner was a screen that showed the bedroom, accessible from every angle.
Currently the room was empty.
…He had locked that door…
"I admit I do not, Yagami-san," he replied in an apathetic voice before finishing the paragraph, marking his page, and taking his time to turn to face the boy.
…And he had made sure to leave nothing in the room that could be used to pick locks…
Light's nose wrinkled as he looked around with a hint of distaste etched across his features. "Your room was clean… though I suppose Watari is the one who made sure of that?"
L did not reply to that for while the statement was intended to be a question, he could tell Light already knew the answer.
"Would Yagami-san like to enlighten me as to why he has left his room?"
Light looked around for a second before nodding to himself and focusing his attention on L. "I suppose it's no surprising, really."
L carefully studied the boy. It was obvious that he wasn't answering L's earlier asked question. "What's surprising?"
Light met his gaze and smirked. "That you're a detective."
Oh? So Light figured it out?
Light continued, "From the way you presented yourself earlier, I could tell that you weren't a person with an average IQ. A little digging in your room gave me more clues. I found an old graph notebook in a locked drawer. While it didn't have your name in it, it was pretty obvious it was your's. I found some problems that, to a normal human would seem… difficult. Also, there were a few books lying around that were all either classics, poetry, and I even saw some psychological reads, too. Many who take up a career that revolves around criminals and police favor these types of reads to others. While this may be taken as normal every-day things, who places security cameras in their room? Not even the most paranoid of people would take such an extreme seeing as how it would cost a pretty penny to set everything up. However, a detective may find use of setting up cameras in every room. After all, they have to be careful that any and all angry avengers that come seeking retribution are stopped."
L blinked before tilting his head slightly. "While that makes sense, you don't have enough to back that theory up."
Light's brow rose. "As it turns out, many people who have genius minds tends to be sloppy in their home or work space. Observe." Light gestured around the room.
"However you deduce the situation, if you were to bring this as a case before court and a judge, they would want more than that as proof to fall back on. These are merely coincidences. Has that thought ever occurred to you?"
Light nodded easily. "I thought it possible that it was merely a coincidence, but that doubt was erased when I came in here."
L gave him a look that meant for him to continue.
"There seems to be a file on your desk and your computer screen had some hard-to-find files on top-notch criminals that are at large. Some of those files you were looking at were top-secret; which means you either hacked into the FBI's computer system or they gave you permission to go into their system. I highly doubt you'd hack for something like files on criminals, judging from what I've seen of you so far. So that leaves just one factor: you're a detective digging into a criminal's record for reference."
There was a long pause before a small smile ghosted L's lips. "That is very clever of you to deduct, Yagami-san. Yes, I am a struggling detective." L found it quite amusing that Light had a cocky, confident smirk in place and reeked of pride. The moment L had confirmed Light's suspicion, that smirk grew even larger. "You find something amusing?"
"A struggling detective?" Light echoed. His tone told L that he wasn't fooled in the slightest by the statement.
Hm. Maybe Light was a little too sharp.
"For some reason I highly doubt that," he continued. "Had you been a struggling detective, as you claim, there is a slim chance that any agency would allow you to view their files since they wouldn't want someone with a low status who isn't worthy of trust to view private files such as the ones you were perusing."
Ah, yes, Light Yagami was way too smart for anyone's good. It looked like L was going to have to be extra careful around him--not that L ever acted carelessly.
Not wanting to directly give Light an answer, L did what he did best. He changed the topic. "Yagami-san seems very cunning. How did you get out of my room?"
Light crossed his arms slightly and leaned back against the wall--maybe he thought he looked cool when he took that pose?
"I wasn't aware that I was a criminal."
"You're not."
"Then why did you lock the door?"
L gave a slight shrug. "Yagami-san is bright--tell me why you think I did that."
Light sighed. "Obviously you can not have anyone exploring your home, browsing through personal belongings that could allow someone to find your weakness or exploiting who you are. Also, you can't have someone you don't know or trust able to catch you when you're off guard and hurt or kill you. It would make sense that you lock the door."
L blinked slowly before tilting his head in response. "Why did you bother to ask if you already knew the answer?"
Light gave a slightly annoyed grunt. "You… rescued me so then why be so cautious around me, too? What can I do to you to hurt you? There are no weapons of any kind in the bedroom and I don't think I could easily get my hands on anything that could be harmful."
"I always take pre-cautions. It comes with the job."
Light rolled his eyes slightly. "Of course."
"But you still haven't answered my earlier question."
"Ah, yes. I used some magnets I that I took out of your radio."
"Yagami-san has some strange ways to escape," L commented.
"Well, I was bored."
That gave the oh-so-magnificent detective pause. "…Yagami-san broke apart my radio and extracted the magnets inside of it and broke out of his room because he was bored?"
Light mentally huffed. "I get a little… eccentric when I'm bored."
L sighed before standing up. "I'll escort you back to your room."
The younger boy blinked once in surprise. "What? I don't get dinner or anything now that I'm out?" He had to tell himself that he was not whining, he was merely reminding the detective that there was such a thing as common courtesy as he followed the man.
L gave him a blank look. "Watari is due with your meal in a little while."
"…Of course." Light made sure his tone was as nonchalant and indifferent as the older man's was.
"Yagami-san?" L stopped at his open bedroom door and stared at it.
"Yeah?"
"…Now where did my pillows go to?"
"They're in the closet," the brunet answered as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Would Yagami-san like to enlighten me as to why they are in there instead of on the bed?"
Light frowned. "You said you didn't like them being placed on the ground so I decided to neatly stack them on a shelf in the closet."
L's dark eyes wandered over to the closet door before going back to the boy. "I'm sure I told you I wanted them to be put back where they belonged."
Light shrugged. "In my mind, they belong in the closet, on that shelf. Isn't this all a matter of opinion?"
L stared at Light blankly for a few more seconds before turning. "I have work to do. Please stay in here this time and be sure to rest." As he passed his hand-held radio, he picked it up and slipped it into his pocket--the one that the boy had picked for his means of escape.
Light scowled, a small wrinkle forming on his forehead. "You know, I wouldn't have 'broken out' if I had something to do."
L paused. "What are you implying?"
The brunet blew a stray lock of hair off his forehead. "Isn't there anything you could let me borrow so I could keep busy?"
The detective looked over his shoulder at Light. There was a pause before, "I'll be sure to find something as long as you promise that you won't try to break out again."
Light leaned back on his hands. "Sure, sure. Just make sure you get me something that's actually interesting and not stupid or pointless, like a game console."
"I would never give you something like that, Yagami-san."
Light scowled deeper in response. "Good."
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Light was just starting to wonder if Watari was, indeed, going to come like Ryuuzaki had said when there was a knock and the door opened.
"Mr. Yagami," the butler greeted as he came in and placed the tray he held on the stand by the bed. He then turned to face the young man. "I heard you had a little escapade earlier."
Light didn't respond to that. "Is that for me?" he asked instead, gesturing to the closed laptop that was placed neatly under Watari's left arm.
"Oh, yes," the butler replied, taking it from under said appendage and holding it out. "Ryuuzaki gave it to me to let you use for a while."
Light accepted the hand-held computer and opened it, pressing the power button. He watched as the screen came to life with hungry eyes. It felt great to come into contact with the electronic device.
"But let me tell you this, Yagami-san. That computer is under watch twenty-four hours of the day. This, of course, is merely a precaution. That means that what you are doing is monitored closely, so don't be doing anything that would get you in trouble and the laptop taken away. Understand?"
Light didn't respond as his brown eyes scanned the screen before he clicked on something- the icon that acted as a shortcut to the Internet. It had to have been set on automatic, for Light didn't have to ask for a username or password or anything like that.
"Yagami-san?" Watari broke into his thoughts, his voice a little sharp.
His eyes flicked up before he finally gave an answer. "Yeah. I got it." His attention immediately went back to the screen.
The butler remained standing there, staring at the boy, for a few moments before he sighed. "I'll leave you be then."
"Mm," Light hummed in response, lifting his hand in a half-hearted wave as his other hand typed in words at a swift rate.
Only a few minutes passed before Light stopped his assault on the keyboard to open the drawers in the stand that his dinner was lying on. He scanned the contents for a pen and paper but settled for a pencil and notepad.
Once he had what he wanted, he scrolled down the web page and scribbled a few things in the notebook. He stopped and blinked down at the paper before looking back up at the screen and sighing before writing one final thing down and circling it. He then clicked on something else before starting the whole process all over again, though he hadn't taken as long this time.
He rubbed his neck as clicked again before remembering he had his dinner.
This is too easy, he told himself as he munched on some chicken.
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Dusk had come quickly. Hours flew by, leaving Light in the dark, the bright screen from the laptop acting as the only illumination in the dim room. He was still at work like he was earlier, scribbling random notes on the paper before writing one last thing and circling it.
It was nearing four in the morning when he sighed and let his hands falling to his sides.
All he had done since he received the device was skim through those Unsolved Mysteries web sites, picking through the story before scribbling down random fact and clues. It took about four to eight minutes for him to figure out who the culprit was--if there was one, one or two looked to be suicide cases that were merely set up to look like murder--before he moved on to the next. He was yet to find a case that was a challenge and he had to admit that this was getting boring.
How troublesome.
He had been searching through some of the local News's web sites, hunting for anything interesting, when he saw the door was opening. He immediately stopped, his eyes darting up to greet the newcomer.
"Ah, Ryuuzaki… have you come in to retire for the night?"
Ryuuzaki, in reply, looked around the room before frowning at Light and heading over to his closet. Light watched as the detective pulled out his pillows and walked over to place them on the bed.
"…You're sleeping on the bed?" Light inquired, his eyebrows lifting slightly.
Ryuuzaki arranged the pillows to his liking before turning and making his way over to his dresser, where he pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and shirt.
Light frowned. "You're changing into clean clothes? Did you fall asleep at the computer?"
Ryuuzaki closed the dresser's drawers before walking passed the bed to the stand that Light's dinner platter had been placed in hours before. He opened one of the lower drawers and rooted through it with a hand.
Light scowled. "Are you planning on answering me?"
Ryuuzaki didn't stop his searching as he answered, "I'll only answer questions that you don't already know the answer to."
Don't already knew the answer to? he mentally wondered before thinking about that.
Ryuuzaki was an insomniac; and for two days now, he had come in the early morning and retrieved clean clothes before leaving.
The damn detective hadn't bothered sleeping for the passed two days, had he?
Light frowned at the thought as he voiced his thought. "Why didn't you sleep last night or the night before?"
Ryuuzaki closed the drawer and moved up to the one above it. "I wasn't tired."
The boy's frown deepened. "Well, why weren't you?"
Ryuuzaki looked at him blankly for a second before he resumed his searching. "Why is my notepad full of used pages?"
Light looked down at the said notebook that was almost out of clean sheets. "I was keeping myself occupied," he replied simply.
"I can see that… Would you like to enlighten me as to what you have been doing?" The detective picked the pad up between his index finger and thumb and flipped through a few of the pages. He read through a few of the yellow sheets before looking at the boy again. Without a word, he bent and turned the laptop so he could read he screen. His eyes skimmed through the history before he straightened himself to his semi-upright position. "You've been working on cases?" It wasn't so much a question as a statement.
Light shrugged. "There's nothing else to do, really, besides go through some of those. Either that or look at some sites that have the News."
Ryuuzaki's expression didn't change as he stared down at the notepad. "You certainly are good at solving things… Do these cases not keep you occupied, though?"
The boy shrugged. "Not really, but what else is there?"
Ryuuzaki tilted his head slightly. "Would you rather work on actual cases?"
The other shrugged again. "I guess--if they presented more of a challenge."
"I believe they will." He then resumed his work of searching the drawers.
Light gave the older man a slightly confused and exasperated look. He was tired of beating around the bush "What are you talking about, Ryuuzaki?"
He didn't respond for a few seconds before he pulled out a CD case. He again turned the laptop and opened the CD tray, placed the disk on it, and closed it.
A few seconds passed as the contents of it was loaded before a window popped up with different documents.
Light hesitantly clicked on one.
"They're some cases that I received a few days ago. But they don't interest me. You can work on them if you so wish. They're nothing top-secret and they're fairly simple. The only difference between these and those ones you were working on before is that you'd have to do research for these. That should be more entertaining than just piecing what you've already been given, right?"
Light wasn't sure what to make of it all--it was a little surprising that he was given this. He looked up to thank Ryuuzaki only to see he was almost at the door.
"Hey," he called.
Ryuuzaki stopped and looked back. "What is it?"
Light frowned again, making Ryuuzaki wonder if all the boy did was walk around scowling and glaring at the world.
"You never answered my question," Light told him simply.
"Which one, Yagami-kun?"
For some reason the fact that Ryuuzaki had given him the endearment of –kun made him pause for a second before he remembered that the detective was waiting for his answer. "Why haven't you been tired?" From his tone, Ryuuzaki could tell that the boy did not like to have to repeat himself.
"That's simple-- it's because of a case I'm working on." Upon seeing that Light was going to ask another question, Ryuuzaki continued, answering him before he could ask. "It's perhaps one of the most interesting cases I've gotten in a long time so I find it hard to sleep when I can be working on it."
Light wasn't humored. "That's not healthy for your body, as I'm sure you know."
A small hint of a smile ghosted the older man's lips. "It seems, Yagami-kun, that I've been doing a lot of things lately that aren't healthy for me."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
It took me this long because I now have a job on top of school and I have less free time. Also, I am beta-less (-whispers- Which is code for 'forgive the errors'). Heh. So, if any of you would like to help me out with that, I'd be grateful. If not, then I'm also good on my own. I also know this chapter was a little… bland. Boring and had no humor. I had to set everything up for the story, though, so it kinda had to be like that. Here's a little promise: Next chapter shall be MUCH more interesting and MUCH more amusing!
And to those who were concerned with Light's character: Don't worry, I know he was a little vicious towards L and that he could be classified as OoC. That's because Kira is like that and because Light was still ridding himself of his Kira-ness with his memory loss (yes, he had the Death Note—it's no big secret if you didn't already know), his temperament and Kira's temperament were clashing--but no worries! This is all part of my plot. Light'll be a hundred percent back to normal in the next chap!
Please review! (THANK YOU ever-so much for all your kind words last chap- please keep it up! Reviews are what make me want to write.)
-Sayo-