A/N: I couldn't wait until tomorrow to get this up...seriously, I love the next chapter and I want you guys to read it right away so I'm posting this one now and then the next one tomorrow, before I leave for school. Please review!

Chapter 18: Idiot

About an hour later, Miya finally made her way back downstairs to where the other task force members were. She wasn't exactly sure what she would tell them to explain her sudden reappearance on the case, but she figured she'd make it up as she went along.

She was relieved, though, that she didn't have to come up with the reason of why she was staying when she made such a big deal about leaving, because it seemed Light had found something important.

"I just found another one," Light said, looking at his computer screen. "A general manager of a bank, Yotsuba's biggest competitor. On September 7th, he slipped, fell from the front steps of his house and died instantly."

"September the 7th was a Friday, wasn't it?" Mr. Yagami asked. He was looking over several papers and he appeared to have stumbled upon something very important. Miya made to stand next to L as Mr. Yagami continued speaking. Matsuda noticed this and tried so hard not to grin, knowing it was all thanks to him. Oh yeah, he was good! "After going over this again, I noticed something. All the deaths which are beneficial to Yotsuba are concentrated around the weekends."

This brought Matsuda back to the task at hand. "Huh? On the weekends?"

"With the first few victims, the time of death appears to have been random. More recently, they all take place between Friday night and Saturday afternoon."

Matsuda stared up at Mr. Yagami in admiration. "I'm amazed that you even noticed that chief."

"Matsuda, I thought I told you not to call me chief!" He glared at the young man.

Matsuda smiled. "I'm sorry, but you'll always be the chief to me." Miya smiled slightly. It was nice to see how much respect Matsuda held for Mr. Yagami, whom she was certain had a hard time leaving the title of chief behind no matter how well he hid it.

"This is a really important clue, Dad. Nice work," Light said. He was looking proudly at his father, just like Matsuda had. Miya didn't find this as sweet, but she ignored her thoughts as she nodded.

"Yeah, why didn't any of us notice that by now?"

"Well, you know I can't let myself fall behind you, Ryuzaki, and Miya. After all, the last thing I want is to be dead weight."

"…dead weight?" Matsuda asked. No one was listening to him though.

L faced the computer screen and placed his finger to his lips in thought, like he usually did. "Is Kira someone from Yotsuba or is Kira simply using Yotsuba? I haven't figured that out yet but we'll proceed under the assumption that this is Kira's doing. We will focus on Yotsuba."

Mogi came in, holding an extremely large stack of papers. "This is all of the Yotsuba Group's employees. Here."

"Thank you very much," L said, grabbing the stack and bringing it closer to himself.

Light looked surprised. "That's 300,000 people! How did you put this all together so quickly? That's amazing Mogi!" Miya was in shock too, partly because of the amount of work he had done and partly because he had carried that stack of papers without dropping the sheets everywhere like Miya was sure she would have done.

"He's been incredibly efficient from the start," L said simply.

"Ryuzaki," Matsuda stood up abruptly. "Please tell me, is there anything I can do to help with the investigation? Besides the manager thing."

L didn't move his head but looked at him from the corner of his eye. "So, you really wanna be useful?"

"Yes!" Matsuda was determined now.

"Then...could you give me another cup of coffee?"

Matsuda looked surprised. He hadn't been expecting that at all and felt disappointed. Miya was feeling a little bad for him, but L's voice caught her attention.

"And for our guests over there as well," L continued pointing in the direction of two people sitting on the couch. Miya's eyebrows furrowed. How long had those two been there and why had no one noticed them before?

"Who are they?" Matsuda asked.

"Hold on a sec," Light said. "Who let them in?"

"Those two are the newest members of the task force," L said easily.

A man with blonde hair faced them all. He looked to be in his forties and seemed very friendly. "The name's Aiber. I'm a conman. How's it going?"

"Are you kidding me?" Miya said unexpectedly. It was a rather loud comment and the others looked at her. She instantly blushed. "I'm sorry...did I just say that out loud…?" She hadn't meant to react so dramatically, but a conman? That was unexpected…

"I'm Weddy," the other person introduced. She was a beautiful woman with blonde hair that reached her shoulders. The fancy clothing she sported only added to her good looks, and Miya felt jealous again. What was it with these glamorous people always showing up? "And I'm a thief by trade." Miya felt surprised again, but she controlled herself and kept quiet this time. A conman and a thief? What on earth was going on? She apparently wasn't the only one wondering, as Mr. Yagami was clearly unsatisfied with these people as he spoke.

"Oh, a conman and a thief."

"That's right," L said getting up from his chair. "Aiber is a life-long conman. His unparalleled social skills allow him to befriend and gain the trust of any target. We will use him for infiltration. As for Wedy, she's a thief who specializes in cracking high-end security systems. As proof of that, she was able to enter the building without setting off a single alarm."

"Wow, that's amazing," Miya said thoughtfully. Amazing, but also creepy. She really hoped that this Wedy woman wouldn't be so sneaky as to just appear out of nowhere on a regular basis. That was sure to catch people by surprise, and there were enough heart attacks going on with Kira on the loose.

"You expect us to work with criminals?" Mr. Yagami asked.

"Yes, that is correct. However, these two have never once been caught, so it's unlikely they'll be killed by Kira. Think of them as professionals of the Underworld."

Light faced L. "I understand. To investigate Yotsuba, we're gonna need the help of people like this. Let's all do our part and make this happen, okay?"

"Yeah!" Matsuda agreed enthusiastically. Miya accepted this like a normal person while Mr. Yagami was reluctant in his agreement. But it was decided. These two were the new members of the task force.

The next day, Miya paced around the living room as Noah sat on the couch, attempting to watch TV as he clutched onto Panda.

"Mommy, I can't see when you walk in front of the TV."

Miya stopped short. "Oh, I'm sorry sweetie." She then moved from in front of the television and sat next to him on the couch. "I just don't know what's taking Matsuda so long. He told me he was going to watch you today."

"If he doesn't come, does that mean I get to be with the detectives today?" Noah asked hopefully.

Miya eyed him. "I'm not sure if that's the best idea. I think you're too young to see what's going on." Noah was aware that his mother was involved with a group of detectives. In fact, he was ecstatic about it. And though there had been light talk of catching Kira around him, he didn't know that they were seriously investigating one of the most dangerous criminals in recent history, and Miya was hoping to keep it that way if at all possible.

"Pwease mommy? I'll be good! I won't get in the way!" He was looking at her with his big puppy dog eyes, and Miya sighed as she thought this over. Matsuda hadn't shown up to watch Noah like he promised and Miya really did want to go downstairs to see if they had discovered anything else. They hadn't been watching anything too scary that would frighten Noah and she figured he wouldn't understand any of the conversations going on anyway, so, against her better judgment, Miya agreed and they both made their way downstairs. Noah brought his small blue backpack full of toys to entertain him so Miya would be allowed to work.

When they were finally downstairs, the first thing Miya noticed was that Light and L were having a sort of staring contest. She wasn't exactly sure what that was about, and she found herself vaguely wishing they would fight again so Miya could see L unleash his unexpected fighting skills again. However Miya figured this was unlikely so she instructed Noah to sit on the couch as she went to investigate.

"What's wrong?" L asked Light. "You've been staring at me for the last two minutes. Wait, lemme guess. You must be annoyed because I'm the only one eating cake at the moment, am I right?" Miya couldn't help but think this was probably the worst deduction L had ever made, as Light clearly wasn't in envy of cake.

Light was brought back into reality as he answered, "Uh, no that's not it."

"Here," L offered holding out his plate of cake to Light. Miya rolled her eyes at his random bought of cluelessness as Light continued.

"Really. Don't worry about it." Miya wondered what he could have been thinking about as she opened her mouth to tell L about Noah and Matsuda. However, Watari interrupted before she'd even gotten a word out.

"Ryuzaki."

"Yes, what is it?" L asked, facing the computer.

"Detective Eraldo Coil has just received a private request to investigate and reveal the identity of L."

Mr. Yagami and Mogi joined in on the conversation now. "Isn't Eraldo Coil supposed to be the second greatest detective in the world? After L himself? Who on earth would send such a request?"

Watari continued. "The man who sought out Coil's services is Masaoto Kita. The head of the rights and planning department of the Yotsuba Group headquarters in Tokyo."

"So it is Yotsuba." Mr. Yagami confirmed.

"We know that Yotsuba must be linked to Kira," Light said in thought. "If they're trying to find out L's identity it's probably because they want to kill him and need that information to do it." Miya didn't like where this conversation had gone and she found herself growing worried.

"This isn't good," Mr. Yagami interrupted. "We're already shorthanded enough as it is. And now we have to worry about Coil too."

"It's quite alright," L said. He didn't seem at all worried. "The detective known as Eraldo Coil is me. It's quite simple really. Three of the greatest detectives in the world: L, Coil and Denueve. They're all actually me. It's been my experience that people who try to find me usually fall for this." Miya was extremely surprised by this information as her worry subsided. L had never told her that before, and she was suddenly slightly overwhelmed by the fact that she was dating not only the world's greatest detective, but the world's second and third greatest detectives as well. She was suddenly less overwhelmed, however, when the adorable weirdo that was L lifted a strawberry from his plate and handed it over to Mogi. "I'll give you this strawberry if you can keep it a secret, okay?" Miya cracked a slight smile, which quickly faded into confusion as Mogi took the fruit and placed it in his…pocket? Miya wasn't sure what that was about, but she sure hoped he didn't sit on it later.

"I'm impressed as always, Ryuzaki," Light said.

"I wanna strawberry, Mr. Panda!" Noah said running up to the detective. "I can keep it a secret too!" Yeah so much for Noah not listening to their conversations…

L wheeled around in his chair to look down at the young boy. "Noah, what are you doing here?" He then looked up at Miya, wanting to know the reason.

Miya placed her hands on her hips. "Matsuda promised me he'd watch Noah today! He's MIA and I wanted to see what was going on but I couldn't leave Noah by himself. He promised he'd be good, right?" She added, turning to the small boy.

"Right!" Noah smiled a big toothy grin and looked up at Ryuzaki innocently. "Mr. Panda, can I have some cake and strawberries, pwease?"

"I'll have Watari bring you some," L started, apparently alright with the fact that Noah was there. He then glanced up at Miya, "That is, if it's alright with your mother."

"Mommy?!"

Miya sighed. "I guess." Noah clapped happily as she continued, "So where is Matsuda?"

"He's out being Misa's manager right now," Light answered. "She's filming a movie."

"What? But he promised me he'd watch Noah! How can he be out with Misa right now?" She crossed her arms in front of her in a huff. "He's so irresponsible…"

A few hours later, L had come up with a plan that was now being explained to the group.

"Alright," Aiber said. "I just have to get close to him, right?" He was looking at a picture of the Yotsuba manager on L's laptop. "Leave it to me."

"And you want me to make sure we're able to breach the security and override the surveillance cameras of the Yotsuba Group's head office," Weddy confirmed. "Is that all?"

"Yes," L told them. "At this point, it's safe to assume that Kira and the Yotsuba Group are connected in some way. We're going to investigate Yotsuba to determine who holds Kira's power and if there is more than one person who possess this ability. We need a clear understanding quickly. We cannot let anyone from Yotsuba figure out that we are investigating them. Please realize that if they do notice, it means we won't be able to catch Kira. Please be sure not to act impulsively out of panic or haste. And don't take matters into your own hands."

"Ryuzaki," Watari chimed in.

"Yes. What is it?"

"I have just received an emergency signal from Matsuda's belt," Watari informed him.

"Aw, where is he?" L asked, growing more annoyed by the second.

"It seems that it's coming from the head office of the Yotsuba group."

L turned to everyone in the room. "Disregard everything I just said. I'll need to rethink our strategy. Matsuda, you idiot!"

"Well, what are we gonna do about Matsuda?" Miya asked curiously, slightly worried. "I hope he's not in serious trouble."

"If he's been caught, which is the most likely reason why he sent us a signal, then he's in serious trouble." He pulled out his cell phone and began dialing a number.

"Yo Matsui!" L said into the phone. He said it lazily and Miya had to hold in a laugh despite the real seriousness of the situation. "Yeah, it's me Azahi!" Miya mused on how he managed to blurt out these false names so quickly. "It's been a while buddy!" L paused a moment to let Matsuda respond before saying, "It doesn't sound like you're out right now. Don't tell me you're home already. So you by yourself?"

L listened for a second before pulling it away from his ear and covering the speaker. "He's not with Misa Amane right now. Matsuda must be on his own." He put the phone back to his ear. "So do you wanna like, go out drinking tonight?"

Matsuda responded to L. "Aw, what's the matter?" L said. "Don't tell me your wallet is in trouble again." Miya was impressed by how easily L was communicating with Matsuda. She sure hoped he was picking up on the hints.

L covered the speaker again and faced everyone in the room. "Matsuda's saying he's in big trouble." He put the phone back to his ear. "Aw, that's too bad. Guess I'll drag you out some other time, alright? See ya buddy!" After L hung up the phone, Light took his out and dialed a number as well.

"Misa's cell phone is on voicemail right now. I left her a message and told her to get back to me as soon as she can."

"What are you planning to do, Ryuzaki?" Mr. Yagami asked L.

"Well, we have to consider that if Matsuda dies, our suspicions of the Yotsuba Group would be confirmed. Let's just watch the situation for the time being."

"Don't be so heartless, Ryuzaki!" Miya scolded. "I hope Matsuda's okay…"

A couple of hours later, Light's cell phone rang. "Misa? Misa, you're not with Matsuda at the moment are you?"

Misa said something to Light. There was a moment of silence as everyone waited eagerly for any news on Matsuda. What Light said was surprising to everyone.

"Misa's just received a call from Matsuda."

"Tell her to hold her phone so that we can listen in as well," L commanded.

Misa did what she was told and soon everyone could hear Matsuda's voice.

"Misa Misa, when you're finished filming, please come over to the Yotsuba Group head office! It's still tentative but there's a chance you may be able to appear in Yotsuba's commercials. We're working it out now."

"What?! For real?" Misa's excited voice said. "You're amazing Matsu! So that's what you've been up to all this time! Don't worry, we're wrapping up soon."

"Great! It's just a short trip by taxi!"

L suddenly grabbed onto Light's sleeve, catching his attention. "Listen to me Light. There is a chance that we may be able to save Matsuda, but we won't be able to do it without Misa's help. She'll listen to you and do anything you say, won't she?" Miya turned her attention to Light, and for once she found herself hoping he would use Misa's adoration of him for their advantage. It wasn't exactly noble, but if that's what was needed to get Matsuda out of trouble, then so be it.

Thankfully, Light followed L's instruction and told Misa everything that she needed to do. It was an unusual plan, but since L thought of it, Miya was certain that it would most likely work.

"Miya, I have a special mission for you to do as well," L said. "I'm not sure we can trust Misa entirely, so I want you to be there."

Miya nodded. "Okay, what do you want me to do?"

Miya mentally cursed as she tried to pull her yellow mini-skirt farther down. L had asked her to be one of the girls from Misa's agency and keep an eye on Matsuda and Misa. The worst part was that she knew L and the others were watching as well. Her yellow top wasn't any better than the skirt, showing plenty of cleavage and her bare stomach. Misa had curled her hair and placed a yellow head band in it, completing the look.

"Isn't this exciting, Miya?" Misa asked cheerfully. "And you look cute in that outfit!"

"Yeah, thanks…" Miya grumbled. Soon, the "guests of honor", the men of the Yotsuba Group, arrived and Miya unfortunately realized that it was show time.

"Good evening!" the girls from the agency, including Miya, exclaimed. "We're very pleased to meet you!"

"Tonight, I'll be entertaining you as out special guests, along with the girls from the agency," Misa said with a big smile on her face. Miya wondered why on earth Misa enjoyed this sort of thing. The blonde was totally at ease while Miya only grew more and more uncomfortable.

The men argued quietly for a moment and Miya wasn't sure that this plan was going to work. Then, one man said, "Let's just go with it. I'm gonna enjoy myself."

"Well well," L said, watching the party on his surveillance screen with the others. "Misa's pretty good at this sort of thing."

"Doesn't look like Miya's enjoying herself," Mr. Yagami commented. One of the men had his arm around Miya's shoulders. L knew it was all for the investigation, but he felt a stab of what he assumed was jealousy. He had never really experienced that emotion before, but thankfully it quickly subsided, as Miya clearly wasn't interested. She smiled at the man beside her, but when he kept trying to touch her leg, she would roll her eyes and push him away.

"Excuse me guys," Matsuda announced. "I gotta go to the bathroom." No one really paid attention to him, not really caring to acknowledge the bathroom newsflash, but Miya knew he was just going to talk to L on the phone. She understood that the only way to get Matsuda out of this mess was to fake his death. That sounded dangerous and she wasn't sure exactly how Matsuda was going to pull it off.

After a few minutes, Matsuda kicked open the door forcefully. Some girls screamed in surprise while Miya jumped at the sound, turning her head to see Matsuda staggering back into the room.

"I am so drunk!" he announced. His words were slurred and he walked over to the back door. "Hi everyone! Everyone having fun? Good, that's great!" He opened the door and faced everyone with a goofy grin on his face. "Now everyone! The moment you've all been waiting for! The Taro Matsui show!" Miya was glad everyone was buying the whole 'went to the bathroom sober, came out drunk' thing so easily, and her jaw tightened as she focused on Matsuda, knowing now was the moment of truth. This was either going to work, or they were about to have a problem on their hands.

"Hey!" The man holding onto Miya said. He let go of her and got closer to Matsuda. "What are you doing?"

"Yay! You can do it! Go Matsu!" Misa cheered. Miya rolled her eyes. Now was not the time to be stupid…

"Alright, here we go," Matsuda said. He got on the ledge of the balcony and did a handstand.

"Hey! You're drunk! That's way too dangerous!"

"Don't worry. I'm just fine. I do this all the time," Matsuda said. Suddenly, he lost his balance and fell right off the balcony. A thud could her heard and everyone started freaking out. Miya tried not to get nervous along with them but she could feel her heart pounding against her chest. It was all part of the plan, but this was a plan that could easily go wrong.

"Look everyone," Misa said, trying to calm everyone down. "I think you should all just leave this for us to take care of and go home. Don't worry, we will handle it. Just don't forget about me for your next campaign, okay?" Why not squeeze in a little advertising in the midst of a crisis situation? The men didn't even notice, however, deciding it was definitely the best time to leave as they high-tailed it out of there.

"I hope Matsuda's okay," Miya said. Her phone began ringing. "Hello?"

"Just wanted to let you know, the idiot's fine." It was L on the line. Clearly he knew she would be worrying about it, and Miya sighed in relief.

"That's good. I'll be back at headquarters soon."