The next day went by in a blur, L mostly hanging back in the car or somewhere unseen. Hitomi was rather relieved by this at first, having woken up regretting the impression she must have made on the detective. After all of her defenses, all of her trying to make sure L knew she wasn't attached to him, to fall into his arms like that was... well, embarrassing, for one. But she had other things to think about, like dealing with what of the family had flown out for the funeral. Of course, there was no burial here, she was being sent back with one of the relatives to the family plot. The the argument was still raging between an aunt who insisted on keeping her with father and one who would accept nothing but taking her back to Yamagata when Hitomi finally excused herself, leaving the restaurant everyone had gathered at.

L was sitting in the car as he had been, slumped down in the back seat, asleep. He was too tall to lay down, and as she peered in the window she couldn't help but smile a little at the sight. She climbed in as quietly as possible, but within a few miles she was feeling her own eyes begin to droop, so she pulled into a small roadside motel, parking and turning to the back of the car.

"L-san. Wake up." He sat up immediately, never letting on that he'd been dead asleep only moments before.

"This isn't the city."

"I know. I'm too tired to drive. I thought we could stay the night here, and drive back in the morning." He looked at her for a few seconds as if he wanted to say something, then thought better of it and popped the door open, stretching to his normal height in the parking lot. She wasn't surprised when he simply waited for her to go into the office and request a room.

L stood awkwardly by the door as Hitomi got settled in, sitting on the bed and turning the small television on. She reclined back against the headboard to watch, glancing over at him after a few minutes.

"You know, you can sit down or something."

"I thought you were tired."

"Well, I thought you were, too. I was going to take a shower first..." she trailed off, distracted by his unwavering stare.

"Hitomi." She snapped back, standing up quickly and smoothing out her dress.

"Right. Like I said... A shower." She slipped her heels off and sat back down as she stripped off the thigh high nylons she'd donned that morning. "Unless you want to go first." Finally L moved into the room, sitting in the uncomfortable looking chair in the corner.

"By all means, ladies first." She eyed him skeptically, but eventually turned and made for the bathroom. As she stood under the near scalding water, trying to clear her head, she couldn't help but wonder a little what was making him act so strangely. She'd barely had time to come out of the bathroom when L closed himself in, apparently intent on taking a shower himself. Feeling only slightly refreshed, Hitomi put back on her bra and underwear, saving the dress from getting too wrinkled, and settled down under the covers.

The sound was low on the TV when he emerged from his own shower, fully dressed. Hitomi was laying on her side, facing away from him, either asleep or very close to it. She had clearly left half of the bed for him, so he carefully sat down, bringing his knees to his chest. He intended to wait until he was sure she was asleep, then check her car for the file she'd promised him, thinking she might have brought it along. But he was surprised when she rolled over and looked directly up at him, quite awake.

"You might as well lay down, it's not in the car." Feeling suddenly awkward that she'd so easily guessed his plan, he didn't reply, looking away from her and to the TV instead. He could tell she was watching him, her eyes practically burning a hole in him, but he managed not to look back until she spoke again.

"Let's have sex." He stared now, shocked at how blunt Hitomi had been, something quite unlike her, in the bedroom at least.

"I don't think so."

"Why not?" she sat up on one elbow, looking at him with a pout only visible in her eyes.

"People are full of emotions after funerals. Emotions they cannot always control. You clearly aren't making a rational decision-"

"Since when has any of this been rational?" He paused for a second, considering the truth of that statement until he felt he hand on his chest. "Besides, I'm not claiming to be rational. What I am is... well, I think you know." She moved up closer to him until he could feel her breath on his face as she held his gaze.

"I still don't think-"

"Then don't," she whispered, and kissed him. Before her kisses had been soft, or teasing, full of lust or even anger, but now all L could feel was unbridled passion, a dark, hungry need coming from her. He was ninety percent sure that even if he pulled away now, Hitomi wouldn't take no for an answer. Besides, this was a new side to the girl, a side perhaps he would like to see before they parted ways. Resolving to fully investigate this development, he returned the kiss, opening his mouth slightly and letting Hitomi gain dominance.

He glanced over at her as they lay on their backs, still panting for breath. Her skin had a sheen of sweat to it, contrasting with the gooseflesh that had sprung up in the chilly air of the motel room. There was a deep red mark on the junction of her neck and shoulder, and as he moved to sit up, he winced at what would shape up to be welted scratch marks on his back.

'How cliche,' he thought, running a hand through his hair as he climbed to his feet. Hitomi did the same, avoiding looking at him as always. He wondered for a moment when exactly they'd made it to the floor, and why she never looked at him when they were done, but Hitomi breathed out with a hiss as she slipped her underwear back on.

"Are you alright?" L asked in a low voice, graveled by fatigue mixed with not quite sated lust. When she replied, her own voice held a hint of scratchiness. Raw from shouting, he mused, rather self-congratulatory.

"Yeah." She winced again as she continued facing away from him, hoping he wouldn't press the matter with his questions. They always had a way of cutting to the quick, embarrassing her with their blunt manner.

"You're sure?" He was close behind her now, hands overtaking her own as she fumbled to fasten her bra. His lithe fingers seemed to do the task expertly, but he didn't move away. She nodded, slowly lifting her increasingly sore body and crawling to the far side of the bed. After collapsing there she finally looked up at him, eyes already heavy with sleep. As always, he studied her for a few seconds before moving, pulling the tangled covers up and over them as he laid down.

She mumbled in her sleep, and though L tried to pay attention to it, her sentences faded in and out, most of them incoherent. Besides, he had to struggle to stay awake to hear them, and after a short while he gave up, wrapping an arm around her when she curled into his side.

It was less than an hour later when she woke him. He felt her lips before anything else, tracing his collar bone gently. At first he thought he might be dreaming about her, but her hands roused him. He opened his eyes a little and then she kissed him. There was still a need there, but diminished now, as if she knew it was him she wanted and not just a nameless body. He didn't hesitate this time, his ardor from before easily rekindled. Feeling this, she smiled into the kiss, wrapping her free arm around his neck and rolling onto her back, pulling him on top of her.

L pulled from her kiss, mouth trailing down her neck and chest, pausing for a moment at the spot by her belly button to tease the skin there. She stifled a small laugh, the spot a ticklish one, and he smirked before moving leisurely back up her body. His hands did their own work and soon she was all but writhing beneath him, eyes begging him not to draw things out any more. He was tempted to do just that, to make her beg, but he wasn't sure he wanted to wait that long, either.

Hitomi watched him for a while with her eyes barely open, as L dozed and fell asleep. He'd left an arm out, putting it around her so that they lay close as he slept. She wasn't tired, though, or maybe the thoughts running through her head were just enough to win out over sleep. Since the night she'd almost blurted everything to him on the phone, she'd been on the verge of doing just that, barely able to focus on anything but what she felt she had to tell him. After all, Raito had assumed she'd already made a move to stop him. Even if Lucretia refused to tell her when her life ran out, she already felt as if she might know.

"L-san..." He groaned and opened his eyes, looking over at her.

"Are you going to tell me yet?" She smiled faintly. It seemed he never forgot a loose end.

"I've hidden the report, but I guess you assumed that. I'll tell you where it is on the drive back."

"You'll tell me?"

"I don't want to go back there, to be all alone in that apartment." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, not waiting for him to ask. "Kira knows who I am, that much is clear. I'm... already living on borrowed time. And I'm not going to waste it."

"You're coming back to Tokyo."

"Yes." If he was pleased or surprised by this news, he didn't let on.

"That's not what I was asking you."

"I know." She fell silent and looked away, and he prodded her after almost a full minute.

"Are you going to tell me?" She still avoided him, until her put one finger under her chin and brought her face up to his. Her eyes lingered on his for a few seconds, then she looked away, her cheeks flushing.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I think you know." His hand fell away.

"I warned you about this."

"I know."

"And you said you could handle it."

"... I know." He sat up, putting his feet on the ground and running a hand though his hair. Hitomi didn't move, closing her eyes. She'd known this would happen. It was stupid of her to bring it up in the first place. He stood and began dressing, his movements quick and jerky.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," he spat, shockingly angry.

"Look, just forget I said anything, alright?" He turned to look at her, buttoning his pants.

"How would you suggest I do that?" She sat up now, gathering the sheets around her to hide her nudity. If the ever calm, smartest man in the world, hero detective could overreact, she'd be damned if she wouldn't as well.

"It's not my fault ,you know! It's not like I asked for this!" His voice dropped, seemingly a pattern with him.

"It seems to me that you did."

"Oh, that's just so clever of you. I'm so glad that we can act like adults about this." Hitomi took a deep breath, trying to give him the opportunity to say something else. He didn't fuel her anger further.

"You know something? Maybe I shouldn't go back to Tokyo! It would be bad enough with Raito there with his high and mighty act, but I'd rather die than have to put up with the both of you!" She paused, waiting a couple of seconds before muttering, "I can see why she chose him over you." By the look in his eyes, she thought maybe he would spring across the bed and hit her. She looked at him defiantly, almost daring him to try something, but he showed restraint, staring back at her. He eventually relented, giving her the victory in their battle of wills and turning his back to her.

"Get dressed. We're driving back to New York tonight." She didn't say anything else to him, and he didn't sound angry when he spoke to her, but he may have closed the door a little harder than he needed to on the way out.

She met him by the car several minutes later, exerting an impressive effort to ignore his presence. She unlocked the car and they both got in, sitting awkwardly as she missed the ignition several times in her frustration. But before starting the engine, she stopped, glancing over at him to ask,

"Did you-"

"I paid them for the night." She nodded and looked away quickly, but he'd had enough of a glimpse of her face to see that she'd been crying. L felt a twinge of guilt at how hard the girl had taken things, but it wasn't entirely his fault, was it? He had thought they had an understanding, how could he be to blame if she couldn't handle her end of things? He drove the thoughts from his head, not without some effort, and tried to focus on something else. He didn't recognize the song on the radio, playing just loudly enough for him to tell no one had started to sing yet. It was starting to rain, a cold rain that was just enough to wet the streets and put a chill in the air. But these thoughts were fleeting, always bringing him back around to Hitomi. Maybe thinking about the case would help-

Suddenly her entire body stiffened, her knuckles going white from gripping the steering wheel and the shifter. Her foot slammed the accelerator to the floor, and they jerked forward as the engine responded.

"Hitomi," he began, but when she looked over she had the look of someone who couldn't wake from a nightmare.

"L-san, I have to tell you something." Her voice was a horrified whisper. "I have to- you're going to want to stop me, or ask questions or something, but just let me finish, okay? I don't have much time." L nodded, staying silent in response to the urgency in her voice. She took a deep breath and turned back to look out of the windshield.

"I'm the third Kira."