AN: Thanks everyone for the great feedback and alerts and such! Please keep it up! Sorry that this update took a while, but hopefully the next one will be a bit faster:)

Sweets

kagomes-wanna-be

Chapter Six:
Trust Me

There was a nervous twitch in L's hand as he stared at the television screen. He tapped his fingers against his knee, curling and uncurling his toes around the edge of the couch cushion. News reports of the most recent Kira killings flashed before him.

"What is your plan of action?"

L turned off the TV and leaned his head back. "There isn't one."

"There isn't?" Watari asked from where he was standing.

"Not yet."

There was another silence before L moved quickly, picking up the remote and throwing it against the wall. Watari flinched gently at the sudden move but kept himself calm. It wasn't very often that the young prodigy became frustrated, but when he did he could be prone to sudden outbursts of this sort. "You know that you can't just stay here. There must be something that you can do."

"I know," he said with a sigh, sitting down once again, this time pressing his back against the arm of the couch. He stared at his feet as his toes wiggled. "I just don't know what it is yet."

"I believe that you could start with talking to her."

"She won't speak to me. She won't even come out of her room."

It was true. Three days it had been since their fight - since she had come home in that heart clenching fashion - and she had yet to leave her room except for bathroom trips. He had been listening as carefully as possible for any signs of her going up or down the stairs, but there hadn't been. One of the younger girls would bring food to her in the morning before school and in the evening before bed.

"You could open an investigation as L."

"That would be preposterous," he said, quickly dismissing the idea. "L would never help in such a miniscule case. Besides, there isn't even a case open. She hasn't spoken to anyone let alone reported it to the authorities."

"Of course," Watari said with a nod. He stared at the young man for a moment before clearing his throat again. "So what are you going to do?"

L reached forward numbly. He played with his toes absently, not really seeing anything. "I suppose I'll have to take care of it myself."

Watari's eyes widened as he stepped forward. "Are you sure that is a wise choice, sir?"

"What other choice do I have?"

It was barely a question. He stood as he spoke and shuffled over to the door, wrapping himself up in his coat, scarf and gloves while slipping on his shoes.

Watari could only stare at him. He had known L since he was a very small child, but never had he seen him so human. He was an enigma, a being who seemed impervious to the normal confusion of life. It had seemed that he was starting to live now.

"I still believe that talking to her is the best thing for you to do," Watari urged.

There was a pause before L opened the door. "Thank you, Watari. I shall take that into consideration."

The door closed behind him silently, leaving Watari to pray he didn't get in too far over his head.

--

L slammed the door closed hard, but the lump on the bed did not stir. She knew who it was, she didn't have to look.

"You need to speak to me."

"Go away." Her voice was hoarse from the lack of speaking over the last three days. It cracked as she spoke and she cringed at the sound.

"Not until you speak to me, Elizabeth."

"Well I'm not going to, Anderson," she said, before adding bitterly, "Or whoever the hell you are."

He clenched his jaw, his black eyes smoldering in frustration. "I only wish to help you."

"Help me?" she asked, pulling the blanket from over her head to look at him finally. "How in the hell do you plan on helping me? By telling me some unknown fact about myself? Perhaps the country my parents are from, or my blood type would suffice."

"No, nothing of that sort," he said, quickly shaking his head. "I just... I only want to find out what happened to you."

"Nothing happened to me," she quickly retorted, averting her eyes.

There was an edge to her voice that L did not like. He took a step forward, his eyes softening unknowingly. "Elizabeth... you have to tell someone what happened to you or they'll never catch the man who did it."

"Why you then?" she asked as she looked back at him, sniffling and rubbing at her nose. "Why should it be you I tell?"

"Because I can help you."

"How?" she asked incredulously, not able to stop the tears that began to flow down her cheeks.

He stared at her for a moment, finding himself wanting to reach out and wipe the tears from her cheeks. His mind and his heart were torn, each telling him two different things. This was nothing but a pretty girl with a bit of a brain that had him up in arms. He couldn't risk his entire life and reputation on her. But... she was his friend. She cared for him, and no matter what he thought he knew he would always care for her as well. He just wanted to make everything right again.

"I am L."

"Who?"

"Don't worry about knowing who I am. I keep myself extremely secret from the public," he quickly explained while sitting on the edge of her bed. "I am known as the world's greatest detective. I work with authorities and governments around the world to solve some of the toughest cases that their top detectives cannot. Currently, I am working on the Kira case."

Elizabeth's eyes widened as she stared at him. "K-Kira? Is that safe? They say that he can kill whoever he wishes!"

"I am quite aware," he assured. "But he does not know who I am, and possibly doesn't even know of my existence. He will soon, though."

The look she gave him told him to continue. "As soon as I turn 18 I will be leaving England for Japan to make my existence public. I will be facing Kira head on. It could very well be the end of me."

She stared at him for a long moment as her eyes widened. "A-Anderson..." she whispered, swallowing as tears came to her eyes. "But... I don't understand. What does this have to do with anything?"

His voice was quiet as he spoke. "I wanted you to trust me again. I wanted to give you a reason for why I had access to all of that information. I just... I wanted you to talk to me..."

Arms wrapped around his form as he stared down at the floor, causing his eyes to widen. "Thank you," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

The nervous twitch in his hand returned as his heart fluttered wildly in his chest. A soft pink tinged his cheeks and he prayed that his long hair was hiding it. "I need you to tell me what happened Elizabeth."

He looked up at her as she pulled her arms from around him. Her bangs fell in front of her eyes and she began to tremble again. "I know that this must be hard for you, but you have to tell me... Did he rape you?"

"N-No," she stuttered out while wiping a tear from her face. "But he tried to... there was a noise from down the alley and he got scared and ran away before he had the chance."

"What were you doing going through the alley at night?" he asked in alarm.

"I don't know. I was just so mad at you that all I wanted to do was get home and go to bed. I knew it was more dangerous, but it was so much faster than taking the streets."

"Did you see what he looked like?"

She looked up at the ceiling for a moment as she thought, tears hanging onto her lashes. "U-Um... not really. It was really dark."

L took a deep breath and turned to face her more, taking her hand in his without even thinking. "Elizabeth, I know it's hard, but you have to think. It's not uncommon for people who have gone through a traumatic event to block out the details."

She nodded her head and closed her eyes. Her lips pressed firmly together as she thought. "Dark hair," she said finally. "Not like yours. A deep brown, maybe. Uh... his clothes were torn and dirty... he smelled like alcohol."

He took in every bit of information, instantly building a profile on the offender. The man sounded like the average nobody, but there were dozens of the kind in the neighborhood. "Were there any distinguishable marks on him that you could see."

"No," she said after a moment's thought. "But he wasn't from around here. I've never seen him and, uh... wh-when he said-" she cut off, taking a moment to get past the memory. "He spoke with a Liverpool accent."

"Okay, he shouldn't be too hard to track down," he said with a nod of his head, his thumb moving awkwardly over the back of her hand. She looked up at him with a soft smile, though her eyes showed only sadness. "I WILL track him down, Elizabeth. He will be brought to justice."

"I don't doubt you, Anderson," she said. "Or L, or whoever you are. If you are who you claim to be, then you have all of my trust."

He didn't understand how he could make her believe him so easily, and neither did she. But she wanted to believe him, to trust him. She wanted him to tell her that everything would be alright. She wanted him to make everything alright.

He nodded his head. "Good," he said, standing up and letting go of her hand. "I should be leaving now."

"Wait!" she said, grabbing his hand again quickly. "Please don't tell anyone... I just... I don't want anyone to know."

Staring down at her, he slowly nodded his head. "I promise," he whispered, squeezing her hand before turning and walking out the door.

AN: I think it's getting interesting:) I hope you guys liked it. And I brought Watari into it! I had to put him in there somewhere:D Please tell me what you guys thought. She knows he's L! But she doesn't know who L is! That's... kinda strange, but I like it. Anyway, plese come back and go read some of my other stories.

Go, be merry, and review.

kagomes-wanna-be