A/N: Okay, I try to make these things as funny as I can without it sounding completely stupid and outlandish. So if nothing in this story is funny, I'm sorry, but I tried. Get over it.

Part 2 "So, How's Life?"

Matsuda sat on the side of his bed in his apartment at eleven in the morning, the phone in one hand and Dizzy's number in the other. His thumb hovered over the first number, the nine, shaking ever so slightly and ready to crash down on the button and begin dialing her phone number.

He had decided that he would try and keep Dizzy a secret from the rest of the task force and especially L. If L discovered that he had let slip his name to a complete stranger and had let her in to his life, the detective would become suspicious of her and most likely yell at him for being a complete idiot. Matsuda decided it was best to keep her hidden from the others for a while until they had gotten to know each other better; maybe after a month or two he would tell the group about her.

It would not be easy keeping her a secret for long, however. The night before, when he had returned from getting the coffee, he remembered how difficult it was just to try and act normal. Twice he had almost dropped the coffee while handing it out, had actually spilled some of it by accident on poor Mogi and when Chief Yagami suddenly asked him if he was alright after Matsuda had been sitting in secluded silence for some time, he jumped from surprise and knocked over his half-drunk cup of coffee. Even when he had returned to the hotel, he was still shaken up from Dizzy's forwardness.

Taking a deep breath, he decided that he would just plunge forward into his doom and dial Dizzy's number. His thumb moved slowly over the keys on the phone as he read the numbers off aloud. "Nine, six, one. Seven, zero, three, five." Placing the receiver to his ear, he held his breath as he heard the other line begin to ring.

--

Dizzy lay in bed, half asleep and only vaguely aware of the phone ringing. She wondered why Soi did not answer it as she was normally awake at eight in the morning, regardless of how late she was up the night before, and then she realized that her best friend had gone out with her fiancée for a brunch date so Dizzy was home alone. Damn, she thought groggily. Why me? She rolled over with the intention of looking at the clock and grabbing the phone that sat right next to her bed, but halfway through her roll, suddenly there was no mattress underneath her body and she dropped to the floor with an audible thump.

The contact between her head and the hard wood floor was enough to wake her and she jumped up, startled and fully alert to the loud and annoying ring the phone was giving off. Dizzy lazily reached for the telephone, took it off the hook and placed it to her ear. "Hello?" she asked, sounding more tired than she was.

"Dizzy? This is Matsuda," came the voice on the other line. The young girl felt a big smile begin to creep up on her. So he actually called as he said he would.

"Hello, Matsuda. How are you this lovely morning?"

He did not answer her question but instead asked a question of his own. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

Dizzy let out a small giggle. "Yes, but I'm glad you did, otherwise I would have slept all day."

She heard a sigh come from the other side of the phone and then, "I can't make dinner tonight, I have to work, but maybe we could get a late lunch?"

Awesome! She thought. The sooner I get to see his adorable face, the better."Lunch would be good, considering I just woke up."

"Great! I was thinking around three o'clock at the small restaurant on Tenth Street."

"You mean Tatsuya's? I've been dying to try that restaurant for ages, how did you know?"

Dizzy heard him sigh again. "I didn't. I just wanted to eat there."

She smiled. This guy was amazing! "Alright, Tatsuya's it is. But how about we do one o'clock instead; if I eat breakfast now, I won't be hungry at three so we can consider this lunch my breakfast."

"Okay. One o'clock then." There was a pause before Matsuda spoke again. "Shall I pick you up?" Aww, what a gentleman. Dizzy complimented in her head. She was beginning to like Matsuda more and more by the minute.

"That would be sweet, yes." She spent the next few minutes telling the young agent how to get to her apartment. He had to ask her to slow down a few times and asked her to repeat herself once but he was able to get everything written down in the end.

"Alright, Mister Touta, see you at one," Dizzy said before she hung up the phone. She heard him say goodbye rather nervously right before the line was cut off. Placing the phone pack on its hook, she stood up, stretched, and walked over to her bathroom to take a shower. "I can't wait to see you again, Matsuda," she hummed to herself happily.

--

Dizzy heard a knock at her door and quickly checked how she looked in the mirror before heading out of the bathroom to answer it. She wore a perfectly fitted denim jacket with a light brown tank-top and a dark purple plaid skirt that reached down to the middle of her thighs. On her feet, she wore knee-high boots with half-inch heels. Dizzy hated high heels; they hurt her feet if she stood on them for more than fifteen minutes and if she walked around for a whole day in heels, she could seriously screw up her knees as she had done when she was younger. She also thought that she was tall enough without them; if she wore heels, she might surpass poor Matsuda in height. Her hair she wore down with her favorite Yamaha motorcycle cap on top. She loved that hat. She had received it as a door prize at a motorcycle show her dad had entered in Roswell, New Mexico her freshman year of high school. After that, she had never stopped wearing it; placing it on her head wherever she went, no matter how formal.

Rushing to the door after grabbing her wallet and placing it in the back pocket of her skirt, she looked through the peep-hole in the door and, seeing it was Matsuda, opened it and greeted him warmly. "Good afternoon, Matsuda!" He blushed a deep red and smiled sheepishly.

"H-hey, Dizzy," he said. "Ready to go?" Dizzy smiled and nodded. Seeing this, Matsuda shyly offered his arm to her; she took it gladly and followed him downstairs after she had shut and locked her apartment door.

--

They pulled up beside the restaurant and Matsuda got out and helped Dizzy out of the passenger side. She smiled at him, which made him blush again but he stayed strong and did not let his nervousness show too much.

A young hostess immediately approached them when they entered the restaurant asking them if they wanted a table or a booth.

"A table, please," Matsuda answered. The hostess nodded and bid them to follow her. She led them to a nice table by a window that viewed out into the street. It was a sunny day in December and the sun shining through the glass warmed the two of them as they sat down and looked at their menus.

"Would you like anything to drink?" their waiter asked when he came by right after they had been seated. Immediately, both Dizzy and Matsuda flipped to the beverage page of the menu to see what they wished to order.

"I'll just have an iced raspberry tea, please," Dizzy said as she removed her Yamaha cap and hung it on the back of the wooden chair she sat on. The waiter quickly jotted down her order before turning to Matsuda, who was still engrossed in his menu. He did not seem to notice that he was being waited upon until Dizzy notified him. "Matsuda, you're drink."

He looked up, and then at the waiter, his face changing from serious concentration to utter embarrassment. "Sorry," he said bashfully, scratching the back of his again. How cute, Dizzy thought, smiling. Matsuda looked back at his menu then ordered the first thing that came to his mind. "Umm, I'll have a lemon water." He set the menu down on the table and smiled at the waiter as he wrote down the order and walked off stating that he would return with the drinks. A few minutes later, the waiter remained true to his word by returning with two drinks, one in each hand. He handed the darker one, the raspberry tea, to Dizzy and the clear one, the lemon water, to Matsuda.

"Are you two ready to order?" he asked politely.

"I am!" Dizzy said excitedly, raising her hand in the air like a child in school. "What about you, Matsuda?"

The young agent sighed. "Yes, I am." He picked up his menu again and glanced over it. "I'd like the Sake Steamed Shrimp with a side of rice and a small salad."

"What kind of dressing would you like on it?" the waiter asked.

Matsuda seemed to pause, thinking, and then answered, "No dressing, thank you."

Dizzy leaned across the table to stare at him strait in the eyes. "No dressing?" she asked mischievously. "My, you are boring." She laughed at her comment and leaned back in her chair.

Matsuda looked at her nervously. He did not know what it was, but something about her made him lose all his courage whenever he looked at her or she spoke to him. Heck, he got nervous when she was in his general vicinity.

The waiter now turned to the girl in question. "And what would you like to eat?"

Dizzy pretended to mull over the menu before answering. "How about some Chicken Teriyaki with Negi green onion." She scanned the menu again as she spoke. "And how about some Mochi rice cakes on the side."

Nodding, the waiter recorded her order on his notepad and left for the kitchen, leaving poor Matsuda alone with Dizzy and scared out of his mind. It was silent between the both of them for some time until Dizzy decided to cut the air.

"So," she began. "What do you do for a living?"

Matsuda looked up from staring at a fixed spot on the table and stared into Dizzy's joyful eyes. As soon as they made eye contact, his insides jumped, not from nervousness, but just from the fact that she was looking right at him; he did not like it yet it felt oddly comforting to have her warm eyes on him. He scratched his chin, thinking over the best way to answer her question. He could just tell her he was a cop, but then she might dig deeper and ask what kind of police work he did and could eventually lead to him accidentally letting slip that he was working on the Kira case. He certainly did not want anyone outside the NPA to know that he was aiding in the race to catch Kira. Finally, after thinking about all the possibilities his brain could muster out, he decided to take a leap of faith and just tell her.

"I'm a police officer, working for the NPA," he replied, a slight hint of uneasiness in his voice. There, he thought. That should satisfy her curiosity.

"Really?" she asked. She seemed to be intrigued by his answer. "What kind of police work do you do?" Damn.

Matsuda anxiously tapped his finger on the table top. "I investigate criminal cases such as murders and theft with a team of others." Crap, why did I have to mention that I work in a team?

"Cool! Are you on a case right now?"

Matsuda suddenly answered her without thinking. "Yes, I am."

Dizzy jumped in her chair with excitement. "You are!" She leaned on the table with her elbows. "What are you investigating?" she asked, completely enthralled.

Oh dear, Matsuda thought, mentally punishing himself. I've backed myself into a corner, haven't I? Well, might as well come right out with it, but I've got to make sure no one else can hear when I tell her. Here goes nothing. "Lean closer and I can tell you." She moved her head closer to him but he stopped her almost immediately. "Before I tell you, you must know that you cannot tell anyone about this, in fact, I should not even be telling you this because I barely even know you. Do not tell anyone that I told you this, it must be kept secret." Dizzy nodded in understanding and he moved his lips to her ear and whispered, "I'm working on the Kira case." Dizzy drew back in surprise and stared at him in shock.

"You serious?" she asked, bewildered.

Reluctantly, Matsuda nodded. Dizzy's reaction to his voiceless yes was definitely not what he was expecting.

"That's awesome!" she said excitedly. Matsuda's head shot up from looking at his feet, his face showing obvious signs of surprise. "I'm one of the people who don't support Kira and it's not every day that I get to meet someone like you. I bet you are in constant danger of being found out by Kira." She paused, as if coming to a sudden conclusion. "But why did you tell me your name? If Kira only needs a name and a face to kill, why did you give me yours when I first met you? If I was Kira, then you would be dead right now."

Matsuda suddenly found great interest in his toes. "Well, Dizzy. The truth is, I'm not very experienced in police work. I'm fairly new and tend to not think before I speak."

"Inexperienced, huh?" Dizzy sat against the back of her chair, tapping the table in thought. "How old are you, then?"

Without looking up, Matsuda answered so quietly that she had to strain her ears to hear him. "I'm twenty five." He began to nervously twiddle his thumbs in front of him. "Sometimes I feel like my inexperience in hindering the investigation. I'm totally useless, really."

Dizzy noticed the edgy way his thumbs moved and reached across the table, touching her hands with his. Matsuda looked up, astonished at the touch. She looked him strait in the eyes and spoke softly. "No one in this world is a hindrance. I'm sure you help in your own way and you will be of even greater help later on, I know it."

Matsuda felt his cheeks growing warmer by the second. He now realized that he enjoyed her company but some of the things she did made him tense. He could not decide which feeling was more dominant in this situation. He opened his mouth to say something but at that time, the waiter returned with their food. Dizzy drew her hands back and allowed the waiter to place her plate in front of her, sniffing at the food as he did so.

"Yum, smells delicious," she said as the waiter placed Matsuda's food in front of him. She picked up her chopsticks and began to shovel the teriyaki chicken into her mouth. "Tastes delicious, too!" she said between mouthfuls.

Matsuda sighed and picked up his own chopsticks. He grabbed one of the shrimp off his plate and stared at it for a few seconds before popping it into his mouth. He chewed rather slowly, savoring the taste of the sake combined with other spices. This is rather good, he thought after swallowing. He looked up at Dizzy, who was busily trying to stuff a whole mochi rice cake into her mouth. By the looks of things, it was not fitting too well. Clearing his throat to get her attention, she stopped attempting to fit the whole thing in and spit most of it out, chewing what she had and swallowing before she said anything.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Um," he did not know how to begin but in the end decided to just wing it. "Your name, it sounds more American than Japanese, and by your looks, I'd say you're not Japanese either." Matsuda did not know where he was taking this, but he thought it was best to try anyway.

Dizzy set down her chopsticks and sighed. Uh oh, Matsuda thought. Did I say the wrong thing? "It's true," she said without emotion. This was not a touchy subject to her but she was just tired of people bringing it up all the time. "I'm not Japanese but I was born here therefore I have dual citizenship with Japan and America. However; I lived most of my life in America and am a cross between German, Italian, and British. I graduated from UCLA only recently and then decided to come back here because I love it so much."

"So if you just graduated, then…" He paused, not sure if he should finish his sentence or not.

"How old am I?" she finished for him. Matsuda nodded, his face red. She smiled warmly, causing a small portion of his fear to dissipate. "I'm twenty three; I'll be twenty four next month." Matsuda let out all the breath that he did not know he was holding in. Any normal girl would be insulted if he had asked that question. Luckily for him, Dizzy was not like other girls. She was very open and enjoyed it when a man was completely honest with her. If she asked Matsuda if she looked fat in a pair of jeans and he said yes, she would have thanked him. To her, it was just a question that deserved an answer. She did not even have an ounce of self consciousness in her.

They continued their lunch while changing the subject of their conversation several times. As their date dragged on, Matsuda found himself growing more comfortable with Dizzy. At times when she said something funny, he actually laughed instead of giving off a small, nervous chuckle. They talked about many things, hobbies, family, movies they did or did not like, and many other things. Dizzy's parents live in Southern Florida and her older brother lives in Los Angeles. Matsuda had no siblings but his father was a cop who helped get him his job at the NPA and his mother was a housewife.

They finished their lunch at 2:10 but neither of them wanted to leave. Finally, Matsuda suggested that they had to leave because they were holding up the table.

"Thank you for buying me lunch, Matsuda," Dizzy said as they walked back out to his car after he had paid the bill.

Matsuda blushed and nodded. It was not his idea for him to buy lunch for her; he was just repaying her for paying for the rest of his coffee. However; over the course of their lunch, he was beginning to like her more and more. Then suddenly, as if he were struck by a lightning bolt, he got an idea. He remembered her talking about her favorite movies and remembered that he owned some of them. Before they got back into his car, he made his suggestion.

"Dizzy, would you like to come back to my place and watch a movie?" This sounds pretty dumb considering I just met her but I figured I'd try. "You mentioned that your favorite movies were The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. I own both of them and I don't have to be at work until five, so what do you say?" Matsuda was very anxious at this point and could feel the sweat begin to form at his hairline as she stood next to him, thinking. He held his breath waiting for her answer.

Finally, after a minute or two, Dizzy shrugged and nodded. "Sure! Why the heck not? It sounds good to me." Matsuda released his breath, relieved that she said yes. He opened the passenger side door for her then went into the driver's seat himself. He drove to his own apartment building and took her to the third floor where his apartment was. He unlocked the door and let her enter first. His apartment was cozy, not too big and not too small. It was obviously made to only house one person unlike hers that could house three people at most.

While Dizzy started up the movie, The Mummy, Matsuda busied himself with popcorn. Of course, what is a movie without popcorn? Placing the buttery goodness into a large bowl he walked into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Dizzy. When she laid eyes on the popcorn, she looked at Matsuda and asked quite seriously, "Do you have any soda?"

Matsuda turned pink. How could he have forgotten soda? "What kind do you want? I have Coca Cola, Mountain Dew, and Dr. Pepper." Dizzy pretended to think about it for a moment.

"I'll take a Mountain Dew, please." Nodding, Matsuda got off the couch and headed back to the kitchen to retrieve the sodas. While he was gone, Dizzy pressed the play button on the remote and let the movie run through its usual advertisements of production companies and just as the movie was beginning, Matsuda returned with a Mountain dew for Dizzy and a Coca Cola for himself. The bowl of popcorn was placed in between the two of them but throughout the course of the movie, the bowl was moved onto Dizzy's lap and she moved over closer to Matsuda, eventually resting her head on his shoulder. It was not until she laughed rather loudly at a particularly funny part of the movie that he noticed that she was leaning on him. When he did notice, he immediately flushed but kept his mouth shut.

Finally, after the movie was over, Matsuda looked at his watch and nearly fell off the couch in surprise. The movie had lasted longer than he thought it would. It was now ten minutes till five o'clock. He was going to be late to the hotel that Ryuzaki had specified for them to meet. Boy, was he going to receive a verbal beating when he arrived.

"Sorry, Dizzy, but I've got to go to work now. I'm late enough as it is." He bustled around, grabbing his coat and haphazardly throwing it on; he took his gun and put it in its holster and put his phone in his pocket then ran out the door while asking Dizzy to put the movie away. He would clean up the rest of the mess later.

She watched him run out the door and smiled. He sure was adorable when he was flustered. Then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Looking down on the small table next to his front door, she saw his car keys. Sighing, she grabbed the keys and ran after him. She caught him just as he was getting on the elevator and she followed him on.

"Matsuda," she said as the doors closed and the elevator began its decent. "You forgot your keys." He looked at her, then at his keys and laughed.

"Woops, heh heh." She handed the keys to him and he took them, his hand shaking only slightly. In his haste, he had completely forgotten his keys, only concentrating on what he had to have with him for the case.

"We should do this again sometime," Dizzy suddenly suggested. Matsuda looked at her, surprised. "Of course, I'll need your phone number. Is that okay?"

Slowly, Matsuda nodded and took out a small slip of paper and a pen. He quickly jotted down his number and handed it to her. "Here you go."

She smiled at him after she had read over the contents. "Thank you, Matsuda. I'll call you later then?" He nodded again, his face red, and she beamed.

Just then, the elevator came to a stop with a ding and he stepped out. They waved at each other before he made a mad dash to his car and she continued back up to the apartment to retrieve the rest of her things such as her shoes and her coat. Her apartment building was not too far away from his so she thought it would be okay of she walked back home. Back at his apartment, she grabbed her stuff, turned off the television, then left for the bottom floor of the building. Once on the street and on her way home, she smiled to herself and said, "I really like this guy, I think this is the beginning of something great."

A/N: Okay, cheesy line, I know. But I just could not think of anything else. So, sorry. I hope you all enjoyed! Please review, or, you know, I'll make you WISH you would die painfully.