It was a warm, sunny Monday when Raito first put his plan into action. All morning he'd been waiting, and finally, in the break period before their Language Arts class, he found L outside, sitting on a bench under a tree and reading what appeared to be an old English novel.

"Hey, Ryuuga," he hailed calmly.

L blinked at him, then held up one pale hand. "Yagami-kun. How are you?" Raito grimaced inwardly. She was acting as if nothing strange had happened at all.

"Alright, I guess...I did want to apologize for freaking out the other day. I'm sorry."

"Not to worry, Yagami-kun. In fact, I've already forgiven you." Raito gave a soft sigh of relief, but L kept her eyes on him. "Let's not let it happen aagin, though.

Caught off-guard, Raito chuckled awkwardly. "Sure."

The following afternoon, they met there again, L reading the same book in the same bench under the same tree. They spoke about trivial things; the weather, their classes, that book of L's; Raito's observaoty skills on alert the whole time.

Friday came, and it was time to strike. L was perched on the edge of the bench, hardback book held open by one hand, and Raito sat next to her, apparently in thought.

"H-hey, Ryuuga...?"

L looked at him without moving her head or body. "Yes?"

"Um...never mind."

"Take all the time you need to gather your thoughts, Yagami-kun." L returned to her book. The shy act, Yagami? Please...What are you planning...?

Huh. Guess I should just do it...Raito thought.

"Do you want to get some cake or something later?" he spluttered, then looked over in surprise at the sound of a book hitting the ground. L was staring at him. "Ryuuga...?"

L leaped to her feet, grabbed the book and her ratty tennis shoes, and bowed a bit to Raito. "I'll see you, yagami-kun."

"Ah-wait a--" The sounding bell drowned out his message as L vanished into the crowd.

"Damn," Raito muttered, and headed off to class.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

L ignored him the entire period. He did every possible (subtle) thing he could do to get her attention, but she faked oblivion surprisingly well.

It was only when the final bell rang and Raito pressed his face into the cool, flat surface of his desk that she spoke to him again. A light tapping on the back of his chair made him sit up. L was looking down at him, expression unreadable, and when she spoke, her voice was a bit higher and softer than he was used to.

"Are we going?"

Raito blinked, then smiled. "Yeah."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"So, I never would've guessed that you were...uh, you know."

"No need to speak so quietly, Raito-kun. As I've said before, no one can hear us back here."

"Y-yeah, right."

"But yes. There is only one besides yourself who knows, and you must tell no one."

One other...? "B-but why?"

For the first time since he'd known her, Raito noticed just how weary L looked.

"Because, Raito-kun, if everyone knew that the smartest man in the world was a woman, well..."

"What difference does gender make?"

Raito watched in awe as L scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Come now, Raito-kun. You can't tell me that when you first found out you didn't have your doubts."

"Well..."

"Exactly. Promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Okay, I promise." Raito gazes sincerely across the table at L, who regarded him like a beaten dog confronted by its old master. He reached for her hand, which was quickly yanked from his grasp. He shook it off. "You can trust me."

"Can I, Raito-kun?" L breathed, a visible shudder running through her crouching form.

"Yes," Raito whispered back.

"What can I get you folks?" a bubbly young waitress asked, tearing the duo's attention away from one another. L curled tighter into a ball, nibbling a thumbnail, so Raito ordered first.

I've already won, L.