Sachi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She should have been able to ease right into Dreamland because she was so tired. Perhaps too tired. Grumbling to herself, she got out of the bed, retrieving one of the thick white terrycloth robes from the bathroom to put on over her new red silk nightgown. She knew L would be awake but she did not expect any of the other police officers to be awake. Two other men were sitting in the control room working at their computers. One she had not seen yet. He must be the Chief.
"Oh, so this is the lovely lady I've heard so much about," he said, standing up to greet her. "I'm Soichiro Yagami. You're Sachi Tokuguchi?"
"Yes, sir. Pleased to meet you," she responded, shaking his hand and bowing slightly. "Yagami? Are you Light Yagami's father?"
"Yes, I am," he answered abruptly.
What the hell is going on here? Sachi was getting more confused as time went on. She was beginning to wish the dark haired, panda eyed genius had never walked into her workplace.
"Do you know what you've gotten yourself into here, Miss?" he inquired in a fatherly manner.
"No, sir. I assure you that I don't," she replied honestly. "I thought I was going out on a date with a fascinating man and that was it. I never meant to get into anything."
"L, why don't you take care of your girl here?" the Chief suggested before returning to his chair.
Your girl. Interesting choice of words. Sachi sat down beside L who was mesmerized by something on his computer screen. She questioned if he had heard Mr. Yagami at all. Laying her head on his arm barely captured his attention either.
"What's wrong?" he inquired distractedly, pressing a few buttons on the computer keyboard. He typed as if he were afraid the keyboard would bite him. With a forefinger carefully poised in a straight down position he jabbed the keys in a singular, decisive fashion.
"Honey, you're so weird," she snorted, stifling a giggle as she watched him.
"You've told me that before. You don't have to call me honey. There's no one we have to put on a show for here," he reminded her.
Sachi felt like a balloon that had been popped. As the air escaped her ego, she remembered that their relationship was nothing but an act. She had gotten too caught up in the whole pretense of being girlfriend/boyfriend over the course of the evening. Fatigue was also preventing her from keeping her grip on reality as well.
"I like calling you honey. You're sweet. We're friends at least, right?" she asked, looking at him as he chewed on his thumb and read the words on the computer screen.
"Of course. I wouldn't lick the face of a girl I didn't like. Want me to do it again to prove it?" he inquired, shifting her off his arm. He grabbed her face in his soft hands and leaned toward her.
"No!" she screeched as he stuck out his tongue. Dissolving into giggles, she wiped her cheek as if he had licked her when he let her go. "I believe you when you say you like me."
L stood up, taking her by the hand. "Come on, you need sleep. I'll tuck you in."
"Mmmm," she rumbled deep in her throat. She was in fact exhausted. "Lead on, Quasimodo. Put me to bed."
Sachi took off the robe laying it at the end of the bed. She had completely forgotten she was wearing nothing but the barely there short gown. Too tired to notice his stunned reaction, she simply got into the bed and began pulling at the tangled sheets and comforter in an attempt to cover herself. She lay back on her pillow when he wordlessly took the fabric out of her hands. Her eyes remained on his face as she watched him patiently straighten out the sheet then lay it over her. Next came the comforter which he literally did tuck under her side. She grabbed his hand when he was about to leave. Biting her lip nervously, she remained silent as he stared at their hands that were clasped together before moving his eyes to hers.
"Will you stay with me? Until I'm asleep?" she added to make sure he understood she was not hinting at anything physical.
"Sure," he responded with a blank expression.
"Light recognized me. He remembered me from school," she told him.
It had not seemed to effect Light really that he had recognized her, but it bothered her. She pondered if this would throw a kink in their plans. Maybe it would help. Who the hell knows? This whole thing was a bad idea but somehow she knew that L would not take an uncalculated risk. She heard him spout off endless percentages and facts so there was some kind of method behind his madness especially when dealing with the unpredictability of humans. She trusted there was anyway.
"Everything will be fine. It is possible that his remembering you will work out to our advantage. I took this into account as a premeditated possibility. There's a sixty-four percent chance that you piqued his curiosity which will actually make him more interested in getting to know you. The fact that he completely passed you over and barely acknowledged your existence in high school might also stir up a sense of guilt that will prompt him to learn about you," he stated with clinical indifference.
L was a real self-esteem builder reminding her of the emotional horror that was Light Yagami. It was a given that by the time this screwed up situation was over all of her self-confidence problems would be worked out. A relationship with L was better than visits to a therapist to fix self-image issues.
"The first probability is our only hope. Light is incapable of feeling guilt or remorse. You should know that. He always has been. I watched him stomp on people's self-esteem and crush the hearts of lovesick girls for years. I always stayed as far away from him as possible. I never knew he hated me until tonight, " she mumbled drowsily. She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. Pushing the comforter down, she lay her arm on top of it which revealed her body to below her breasts.
"By the way, I really like this," L said, sliding his finger under the tiny spaghetti strap of her nightgown. "What else did I buy you?"
"Don't worry. You'll see it all eventually." She yawned again, feeling very relaxed and sleepy now. Closing her eyes, she turned onto her side and snuggled into her pillow.
"All?" he inquired leering down at her. He knew she had bought new underwear and bras.
Sachi opened one eye to look at him. She raised her hand to brush her fingers over his pale cheek. "Well, that would be up to you, wouldn't it?"
"I suppose so. You need sleep. You're talking like a crazy person."
"It must be catching. It's your fault."
~\..'../~
Sachi was awakened the next morning by a room service tray being wheeled into the room. She rolled over, pulling the covers over her head.
"Good morning, my beautiful flower," an unexpected voice declared.
"Damn," she muttered, throwing back the covers to see Light standing there with a single red rose held out to her. L was right; she had ignited his curiosity and he was compelled to sate it. "I'll be damned."
"You certainly will be with a mouth like yours," he rejoined, sitting on the bed beside her.
"Why are you here?" she inquired, covering herself back up. She had forgotten she was wearing the skimpy gown. She pulled the covers to her chin. Surprisingly enough, his eyes remained on her face.
"Your tray was delivered to my room by a disturbingly inept room service employee. Therefore, I thought I would help us both out and bring it to you," he explained like the pompous prick he is.
"Thank you," she returned, forcing herself to be nice.
"You're welcome. This is yours," he said, laying the rose on the pillow. He smiled then stood up. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his khaki pants and walked out of the room.
Sachi stared at his taut round behind as he departed. It was always better to see him leaving a room than entering for several reasons. Lying back down, she turned her back to the door. She settled back into the bed closing her eyes. Her head ached this morning. Whether it was from the few beers or lack of sleep she was not sure. Or maybe she had gotten herself in too deep and did not know how to get out. This was going to be harder and more unpleasant than she thought.
Sachi heard the door open and close but did not hear anything after that. It was obvious L was in the room by the lack of sound alone. The bed shifted under her when he sat down.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm just tired," she answered weakly.
"I did not make a mistake by choosing you. I don't make mistakes," he declared resolutely, not moving from the bed.
Sachi could hear him helping himself to the food that was supposed to be hers. She did not mind. She knew he was trolling for sweets, and she was not hungry anyway.
"You really should eat something. I'm sure your glucose levels are down and your body, especially your brain, will not be working at optimum levels. Come on," L said, pushing back the covers and tapping her on the shoulder.
"I will. Later," she assured him. She just wanted to go back to sleep. His bony finger poked her again, and she rolled her shoulder with a grunt of annoyance.
Every muscle in her body contracted when she felt his fingers drift over her bare back. They left an unmistakable tingle on her skin, and she was sure her back resembled the flesh of a freshly plucked chicken. Trying not to react but failing, she squirmed and moaned. Her protective layer of bed coverings was pushing lower, revealing her backside down to her thighs. Curious as to what he would do next, she lay still. He was right; curiosity was a powerful motivator for people. She bit her lip as his smooth fingertips glided down her spine over the silky fabric of her gown. Down, down, down his fingers wandered until they lost contact at her lower back. Just as she had grown comfortable with the assurance he would not do a thing, a stinging slap was delivered to her behind.
"Ow!" she screamed, shooting straight up to a sitting position. She rolled onto her hip, rubbing her sore butt cheek. Tears formed in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall to maintain a shred of dignity. "Damn you, L. That really hurt."
"I'm sorry," he said, seeing the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. He leaned forward, kissing her on the nose.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she pouted, still massaging her injured behind. That really hurt! Deceptively strong little –
"Want me to help?" he asked, reaching for her butt.
"NO!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs. Her volume and ferocity startled them both. Clearing her throat, she repeated at a much lower volume, "No. You've done quite enough thanks."
"Want me to kiss it and make it better?" he inquired, his intense black eyes boring into her shock widened brown ones.
Sachi was shocked by the statement spoken with so much sincerity it was hard to tell if he was joking. A bubble of giggles crept up her throat and rolled toward her lips. In a futile attempt to stop it, she snorted like a pig which made him smile. She gave in to the laughter, laughing until she literally cried with the tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You should have taken me up on the offer. It will be the only time I ever ask to kiss your ass."
"Oh? Is that so? Aren't there other things you would like to kiss?"
Sachi chewed on her lip as she watched his eyes move to her lips before sliding downward to her breasts. She felt her body trembling when his serious dark eyes flickered back up to hers momentarily and meandered down once more. He paused to peruse her pouty pink lips, then her breasts, and on down they went past her belly.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, kicking him in the butt gently and playfully. "Stop that!"
"You asked."
"You're a manipulator L. Just like Light."
Sachi pressed herself into the headboard when he was suddenly in her face, hovering over her body on all fours. Damn he could move fast. She closed her eyes to keep them from crossing because he was nose to nose with her. His warm breath puffed across her lips, making them prickle with that uncomfortable pins and needles sensation. Yearning - the intense desire awakened and grew within her with such intensity it made her breath come in ragged gasps. For him? She gasped, wincing as if she had been stung when his fingers touched her face with a feather light pressure.
"Don't tell me that you don't like playing games with people. You're playing one right now," L whispered, leaning close enough that his lips would brush hers the next time he spoke. "I told you I chose the right person."
Sachi opened her eyes when his presence swiftly withdrew from her. She watched him shuffle out the door with his humped back to her. What if she meant it? What if she was interested in him? Would he even know or pass it off as some scheme with ulterior motives? And what if she was just losing her mind...