Adila was in her room going over her notes. She had been here nearly three months and felt like she had gotten nowhere. Sometimes she wondered if her view had not been tainted from the beginning. She had second guessed herself time and again about the profile. Did she form her profile objectively? In her effort to support L had she purposely twisted the profile to make all indicators point to Light Yagami? She believed L when he told her his suspicions and why he believed Light was without a doubt Kira. Had she allowed his beliefs to cloud her mind? She no longer knew. Tossing the pile of notes onto the table, Adila sighed heavily. Her eyes burned and her head ached. She had not slept at all last night because she could not stop thinking. Something was wrong. They were spinning their wheels and getting nowhere with the case. What were they missing?

There was a knock on the door. Adila sat perplexed by the sound as if her muddled brain could not comprehend she was supposed to get up and answer the door. L roamed in and out of her room at will without knocking. Who could that possibly be? Only one way to find out. She slowly stood up as the sound came again just before she opened the door. Her eyes met the pale face and terror filled eyes of Shuichi Aizawa.

"What is it?" Adila asked, moving back to allow him to come in.

"Ukita is dead," he stated in a shaky voice, walking past her swiftly into the room.

'Why did you come to me? Why aren't you still upstairs with everyone else?' she almost questioned him.

"I want you to leave. If Kira is going to start killing members of the task force, you need to go home," he said, grabbing her upper arms.

"No. I won't," she refused, crying out when his grip tightened to a bruising strength.

"Adila, please! I've already lost my family! I can't lose you too!" he yelled, crushing her against his chest.

"Shuichi! Stop it!" she cried out, struggling against him.

"Go. Go home," he begged without loosening his grasp.

"No," she stubbornly persisted.

"Dammit, Lala," he muttered, relaxing his hold on her but not letting her go. "You never should have come here. I don't know what the hell is going on. It's scary as hell. I've never felt so helpless, and I hate it."

Adila would agree with his sentiment; particularly his opinion on her coming here. It had not been her intention to restart her fling with L, and it had certainly never occurred to her that she would see Shuichi again. She now felt like she was wearing a target on her back along with everyone else involved in the investigation. They had nowhere to hide from the phantom killer they could not identify. They did not even know how this so-called Kira actually murdered people.

"What else happened tonight?" she asked, pulling him to the couch to sit down with her.

Adila listened intently, taking notes, while he recounted the night's events beginning from the broadcast of the Kira tape on Sakura TV to when Chief Yagami crashed into the front doors of the television station with a police van. Kazuhiko Hibima, a newscaster from competing station Taiyo TV, was killed during a live broadcast. Ukita's death occurred soon afterward which had caused the panic to storm the TV station in an attempt to stop their broadcast of the tape and whatever the hell was going on. Both men had appeared to die of heart attacks like most of the others. How? How was Kira doing it?

"Kira stated on the video that Hibima was killed for referring to him as a 'devil' during broadcasts," he noted while she continued to jot down the information.

"That doesn't make sense," she muttered, standing up to pace the floor. "Kira was killing criminals but has now devolved into murdering those who mock him?"

"There are two," L announced, walking into the door without knocking per his usual manner.

"Two what?" Adila and Shuichi inquired in unison.

"Two Kiras," he answered, before turning his dark eyes on the man who had been alone in the room with her until now. "If you had been upstairs like you were supposed to be you would know that. Why are you here anyway?"

"Send Adila home. She doesn't need to be here. Her usefulness to you on this case has already run its course. At this point, she would only be in the way and a hindrance," Shuichi said, diverting his eyes to glimpse at Adila. "She's a needless distraction."

"To me or to you, Mr. Aizawa?" L queried calmly, giving the man his patent self-righteous smirk. "Shouldn't you be more worried about what's going on with your own relationship with your wife than with mine?"

"L! Stop it! That's unnecessary!" Adila yelled, moving between the men as they converged on each other. Her eyes drilled into Shuichi's furious brown ones. Barely above a whisper, she ordered him, "Get out."

"I need a profile on the second Kira," L commanded her coldly while the other man vacated the room. "I'll send the copies of the news broadcasts to your computer."

"L!" she shouted at him before he walked out of the door. She paused to see how long he would stand there before advancing. When he did not move for a long moment, keeping his stiff but humped back to her, she continued, "Don't come back here tonight."

"I wasn't planning on it. There's too much work to do. You are the profiler. I need you to profile our perpetrator," he told her, walking out and closing the door softly behind him.

That low click might as well have been a shotgun for the effect that it had on her. Adila jerked as if she had been hit by a bullet. She leaned her head back, closing her eyes. She would cry if she were not already exhausted. There was more work to be done, and there was no time for it. It was time to get serious and do what she came here to do which was to be the psychologist. It was her job to get into this psychopath's mind and skulk around until she came up with a clear picture of who he is, what he wants, and how they can catch him.

Trudging to the kitchen, Adila began the preparation for making tea. Maybe it was the ceremonial nature of the preparation that made it such a soothing ritual for her: setting the water to boil, picking out a flavor of tea, gathering the accompaniments of sugar and cream, and choosing a cup and saucer. Thanks to Watari's incredible thoughtfulness, she was provided with an array of dainty, beautiful chinaware to choose from. While waiting for the kettle to boil, she heard a knock on the door. Debating whether or not she should answer it, her feet moved her toward the door as if drawn by the incessant request for entry that hammered on her skull from the sound.

Adila opened the door, standing behind it so Shuichi could come in. She already knew who would be there because the rapping had sounded exactly the same from when he was there earlier. It did not surprise her that he had come back so quickly either. It was a good thing he would never be a criminal; he was just too predictable. The only thing she speculated about was if he had returned of his own volition or by L's bidding. She closed the door and walked back to the kitchen without a word. She rearranged her tea tray and added another cup and saucer. It was brown with orange and yellow maple leaves in a random pattern on the cup and lining the edge of the saucer. Hers was pink and white with an elegant, detailed single cherry blossom adorning both cup and saucer.

"You shouldn't have come back," she told him, pouring the water in the clear glass teapot.

"I couldn't stay away," he replied, sitting on the couch to watch her.

"This will probably end in disaster. It already has once," she reminded him, adding the dried flower blossom to the steaming teapot. She stood transfixed as she observed the green leaves rehydrating and spreading, moving as if it was a leaving breathing creature. A lovely dark pink flower had been nestled in the middle of the leaves and rose to float above the green mass as it was coaxed to life by the hot water. Picking up the tray, she carefully transported it to the coffee table to sit it down in front of him.

"What is that?" Shuichi asked, leaning forward to examine the gorgeous flowering foliage in the teapot.

"It's Chinese Blooming Tea. The flower has been dried then blooms again in the hot water while flavoring your tea. It's beautiful isn't it?" she inquired, still mesmerized by the pretty display.

"I suppose sometimes all something needs to live again is the right incentive," he said, his lips disturbingly close to her ear as he spoke the words.

"Are you saying that all you need to stir something up is to make it wet?" Her eyes glinted mischievously as she turned to look at the blushing man beside her, almost touching his lips with hers.

"That was really dirty, you know," he returned, unable to keep a straight face. He smiled while his blush deepened.

Perhaps it was the unrelenting stress of the investigation. It could possibly be the emotional wounds of the hurtful words that had passed between them. Without a doubt it was their past linking them, but something had taken place in that moment to bring them together. They both blushed an attractive shade of crimson and chuckled self-consciously from the two double entendres they had used in the verbal jousting match.

Adila did not care about the cameras. L could damn well watch all he wanted and think what he would. She poured their tea and they began to discuss details of the recent events making sure nothing had been left out or overlooked. Handing him her notes from their previous discussion, she permitted him to look them over while she moved to the bedroom to the computer to pull up the news broadcasts. She was watching the videos when he joined her moments later.

"I assume you watched all of this while it was live?" She heard the bed creak when he sat down on the corner of it behind her.

"Yes, I did. Ukita's death is coming up right after this," he warned her, holding the notebook up so he would not have to watch it all over again.

It had been heartbreaking and fear inducing enough the first time he had viewed the event happening, and he did not want to see it again. He did not want to feel that way again. He had endured the worst possible feeling while observing his comrade dying: that powerlessness and futility of knowing there was not a damn thing he could do about it. All he had been able to do was stand there shaking in his shoes while he stared in dazed horror.

"Oh, my god," Adila gasped, covering her mouth to keep from saying anything else.

It was like watching the proverbial train wreck. She wanted to look away but could not. A man was dying in front of her very eyes, and all she could do was gawk in morbid curiosity. She continued watching right up until the very end when a van crashed through the front doors compliments of Chief Yagami. How could this man's son be Kira? She was beginning to have qualms about her conclusions and their validity, but somehow she could not doubt L.

"Shuichi, would you – " Her words halted in her throat when she turned to see him laid back on her bed with the notebook laying open on his chest. She smiled when he snored lightly. Not having the heart to wake him, she carefully stood up from the chair to try to make him more comfortable. Picking up his feet, she swung them toward the head of the bed. She did not dare to attempt to move his whole body. After putting a pillow under his head, she retrieved an extra blanket from the closet. She decided it would be best to remove his shoes before she covered him up. Not once during all of her fawning over him did he wake up. In fact, he barely moved.

Adila stood over him, looking down at his worn face. She could not stop the noisy sigh that was a mix of annoyance and relief simultaneously. His presence, especially in her bed, was both distressing and consoling at once.

"Good night, Ichi," she murmured, kissing his forehead.

"Lala, I love you," he moaned sleepily, rolling onto his side. "I was a fool for letting you go."

No wonder his wife wanted a divorce if he said things like that in his sleep. Nevertheless, she was sure their problems had nothing to do with her. The main reason for the marital problems had to be because he was stuck here with L twenty four hours a day and seven days a week, having effectually abandoned her and their child to work on this case. Or had the issues begun before that? L had explained to her that he and Chief Yagami both had given the option to every officer of bowing out of the investigation without the threat of any kind of retribution. Most of the detectives had taken the option to leave yet a few, Shuichi being one of them, had stayed behind with dogged determination to solve the mysterious murders even after the dangers of the investigation and details of their quarantine to the hotel had been laid out for them.

Adila reached down and ran her fingers through his hair which was deceptively soft despite its wiry appearance. She pressed another kiss to his forehead and retrieved her notebook that had fallen to the floor. She returned to the computer to watch the videos and begin her outline of the second Kira. In the back of her mind, there was a tiny, strained voice that cautioned her she should have taken Shuichi's advice and left when she could have.

...

Shuichi awoke with a start, instantly coming to complete wakefulness when he comprehended his location. Sitting up, he looked around the room quickly to see her sitting at the computer. He assumed she was asleep by her slumped over posture with her head hanging down. Getting up from the bed, he went to her to lift her out of the chair and lay her on the bed. She had taken care of him last night so it was his turn to take care of her. He pushed the hair out of her face after covering her up.

"She will be leaving soon," L said from the doorway.

Shuichi balked faintly from the other man's sudden statement since he had not detected his presence beforehand. He stood up straight to turn and face the sneaky super detective.

"You were correct in your assessment that her helpfulness has been outlived and she is indeed a diversion. For both of us," he added, giving Aizawa a hard glance. "We both need to be as clear headed and focused as possible for this case. With the emergence of a second Kira, things are beginning to get complicated."

"Beginning to get complicated?" Shuichi repeated in annoyance. The brilliant detective had a talent for the major understatement. He looked down at the sleeping woman, pleased she would be going home. Unfortunately, he would miss her – more than he should.

...

When Adila awoke, she was alone – in the bedroom at least. Listening intently, she could hear the voices of two men and recognized them Shuichi and L's, but she could not understand what they were saying. She got out of the bed, nearly tripping over her suitcases.

"What the hell are those doing there?" she pondered aloud, glaring down at them. Her sleep deprived brain gradually made the realization that they must be loaded because they did not tip over when she bumped into them. Rushing into the living room, she demanded, "What's going on? Why are my suitcases packed?"

"You're going home, Adila," L informed her calmly. There was no change in expression on his face and absolutely no emotion in his voice.

Adila stared at him in disbelief. Why was he sending her away? How could he be so cold and callous? She assumed the lack of emotion was part of being a good detective. No – in his case it made him a great detective. She was aware that she allowed her emotions to get in her way, and she understood that barred her from reaching her full potential as an investigator. It had happened to her before on cases, and it had happened again. Her supreme downfall up to this point had been if a case involved children. It had nearly killed her on the BB case which was her first one involving a child and had not gotten much better in subsequent instances. She had now experienced a new emotional interference: how a love interest can hinder and completely ruin her unbiased opinion which was essential to look at all of the evidence and facts objectively to gain insight. What other lessons had to be learned before she could become a better investigator?

Glancing from one man to the other, Adila bowed her head to concede. There was no reason to argue. She understood why she would have to leave. She should have known her views were already contaminated because she believed Raye and Naomi had been killed by Kira.

"I should have never come here. I'm sorry I wasted your time, L," she apologized not knowing what else to say. "I'll go get ready to leave."

"You didn't waste my time, Adila. You offered some very important insights to the investigation. It's just time for you to leave. That's all," he assured her, staring at her back as she stood in the doorway of the bedroom. After she disappeared into the bedroom, he addressed the man standing beside him. "Mr. Aizawa, go with her to the airport. Watari will be waiting for you two downstairs in thirty minutes. The airplane will be ready."

...

Shuichi gave her many sidelong glances on their way to the airport but could not bring himself to break the silence covering them with the stifling intensity of a heavy blanket. As they crossed under the sign pointing toward the terminals, he reached over to take her hand in his. He did not know what else to do and words had long deserted him.

Adila placed her other hand over the top of his as he clasped her hand gently. She understood how he felt because she did not know what she could possibly say to him either. Words had failed her as well. Her good-bye to L had been as low-key as the first one; a simple kiss farewell, and he was gone from her life. Her mind revisited the questions many times of whether she would see him again and if she really wanted to. She was not sure if it was shock or resignation to the inevitable circumstances that kept her from crying. Either way, the tears did not come, and she was thankful for it.

"Ichi, do one thing for me," she said as the car turned onto the side road that led to the hangars reserved for private airplanes. She slid over next to him, giving him a brief kiss on the lips. "Promise me."

"Okay. I promise," he vowed, staring into her bright eyes that bore into his. He had no choice but to look her in the eyes since she had her hands pressed against his cheeks holding his head.

"When the case is over, go home to your wife and try to work things out," she whispered, giving him a feeble smile. The tears were trying to spring to her eyes, but she blinked them back. She did not add that if he could not work things out with his wife to come find her. If she had, he would be less likely to try his best to mend his relationship with his wife.

"I will," he assured her, taking her hand away from his face and kissing the palm. "We're here."

Adila dropped her hands and slid back to her side of the car just before Watari opened her door. She smiled at the pleasant, elderly man when he held out his hand to assist her from the car.

"It was wonderful seeing you again, Miss. Please have a good flight and take care," he told her, bowing slightly when she was out of the car.

Adila took a deep breath and started to walk away. Halfway to the plane, she turned back and gave them both a small wave. After receiving one in return from both men, she whirled around to proceed to the airplane. The tears slowly slid down her cheeks on her journey to the plane. The engines began to hum then whine with a deafening volume which covered her doleful sobs.

The flight attendant on the plane was the same one from before. Offering Adila a sympathetic smile, she helped her into a seat.

"I hope it was not another death this time, Miss," she said, helping her with the seat belt when Adila's hands were shaking too acutely to secure it.

"No. Not this time."