Chapter 20: Boyfriend
Miya grumbled as she made her way to Misa's room. She just couldn't believe L had sent her away to talk to the model when things were finally getting good. He had sent Weddy to put cameras in the Yotsuba head office and she wouldn't be able to hear their meetings! She really wasn't looking forward to listening to Misa gush about Light some more and she found herself hoping desperately that maybe the blonde would have something new to talk about.
"Miya!" Misa said excitedly when the brunette walked in. "I'm so glad you're here! I was getting bored."
"Well, I guess it's kinda nice that you enjoy hanging out with me." Kinda…
"There's no one else to talk to," Misa said bluntly. "Except for Light, of course." Well, two seconds, and Light's name had already come up. The little glimmer of hope died as Miya took a seat across from the blonde.
"So, what do you want to do?"
"Aside from seeing Light? Nothing really. I wish I could get out of here and Light wasn't handcuffed to Ryuzaki. Then we could go on dates all the time!"
"Right…" Miya was already ready to go back downstairs. These talks never went anywhere. At this rate, she would never get information about the second Kira.
Miya picked up the October issue of Eighteen magazine and began flipping through it. There wasn't anything interesting at first, just interviews with select celebrities, including Misa, and a few diet articles. When her eyes landed on the editorial on page one-nineteen, however, she was suddenly interested.
'What His Kiss Really Means. Want to know what he's thinking as you're kissing? Now you do!'
"Hm…" Miya wondered aloud.
"What is it?" Misa asked. She eyed the magazine in her hands and got excited. "Are you doing those dating quizzes? Test me!"
"No, it's an article on what your guy's kiss means," Miya explained.
"Um, why would you be interested in that article? It's not like you have a boyfriend anyway."
Miya closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She wanted nothing more than to tell her that, not only did she have a boyfriend, but he loved her back. It was against her better judgment to say anything like that but the girl was annoying her so much, she just couldn't help it. "Actually, I do have a boyfriend." Miya figured as long as Misa didn't know it was L, then there was no harm.
"Really?" Misa asked, not really believing it.
"Yep," Miya nodded. "I love him just as much as you love Light."
"Wow, you must really love him…"
"Okay, let's see what the magazine has to say…" Miya began reading the chart out loud to Misa. "If he slowly kisses you neck, he's trying to impress you." Miya paused. L was kissing up and down her neck last night. So he was trying to impress her…it was the first time he took charge with anything physical. "If he gives you a peck on the cheek, you make him nervous. If he sucks on your bottom lip, he feels comfortable with you. If he holds your chin, he's not that into it." Miya looked up at Misa after reading this. "Has Light kissed you yet?"
"Of course he has!" Misa defended, crossing her arms.
"So…how does he kiss you?" Miya asked with a smile. Miya didn't believe for a second that Light had kissed her. He didn't seem to like her at all, and they never had a moment alone these days.
"None of those, if that's what you're wondering. He's kisses kinda forcefully. Just the way I like it. What about you and your imaginary boyfriend?"
"I'm just going to ignore that "imaginary boyfriend" comment and tell you that he slowly kisses my neck. It's the best when we make love." Miya probably shouldn't have added that last part but she wanted to rub it in Misa's face that she had someone who loved her and had a chance to make love without being watched…of course it was with L so he wasn't exactly watching.
"Really?" Misa asked slowly, not sure if she should believe Miya or not.
"Okay, what others quizzes do we have?" Miya said, changing the subject. She flipped a few more pages but couldn't find anything interesting or anything to else to taunt Misa with.
"Here, let me look," Misa offered. She opened up another magazine and began flipping through it as the door to her room opened. Light and L stepped in through the doors, L with a determined look on his face and Light looking slightly annoyed.
"Light! I didn't know we were supposed to have a date!" She then noticed L standing there with his hands in his pockets and looked disappointed. "Oh right, I should have known."
"Misa Amane," L said. He marched forward into the room and crouched on the arm of the chair, getting close to Misa's face. She jumped back in surprise however; having him that close to her was slightly unnerving. "Tell me, do you love Light from the bottom of your heart?"
"Huh? Yeah, of course I do!"
"But you also worship Kira, don't you?"
"Well yeah," Misa replied.
"Ryuzaki, what is this about?" Miya asked. Her question went unanswered.
"So then," L continued as if he hadn't heard anything. "If you had to choose between Light and Kira, who would you pick?"
"What? That's obvious. Of course it's gonna be Light!" She jumped up from the couch and clung on to Light's arm. "I'm really grateful to Kira and want to meet him one day in person, but that's not true love. I definitely choose Light." Miya rolled her eyes. The model had somehow managed to make herself blissfully unaware of Light's obvious dislike of her, or at least disinterest. It was clear from the expression on his face.
L turned his head so that his eyes could see Misa from his peripheral vision. "But your precious Light is planning to catch Kira, isn't that right?"
Light was caught off guard for being introduced into the conversation. "Well yes, of course I am."
"He says he wants to catch Kira. Now what will you do?" L asked.
"Well, if that's what Light says, then I'm gonna support him no matter what!"
"I see," L said thoughtfully. "So if you were given the opportunity to work with Light on this investigation, would you take the offer?"
Light didn't like where this conversation was going. "What? Ryuzaki-!"
Miya wished she knew what was going on. She felt completely out of the loop and ignored as she sat on the couch, watching the conversation continue.
"Yeah! Of course I would! I'd do anything I could to help Light!" Misa said enthusiastically.
"Wait, hold on second!" Light interrupted. "Where are you going with this?" Miya was glad when finally an explanation started to unfold.
"I'm planning to have Aiber pose as Eraldo Coil again," L explained. "He'll tell the Yotsuba members that while he was investigating L, he discovered that Misa Amane might know who he is. He'll also tell them L brought her in for questioning on suspicion that she was the second Kira."
"That part is true," Misa interjected.
"If the Yotsuba Group believes that Misa could be their lead to finding L, then they'll say that they want to meet her to discuss their advertising campaign. They'll use that opportunity to question her. Thanks to Matsuda's screw-up they might already be considering Misa as their spokesperson so this could work."
"Yeah, right!"
Light was adamant with his decision. "We can't do that."
"Why not?" Misa asked. Miya had the feeling she was getting annoyed with his stubbornness as well. Though she wasn't entirely sure if the model had the ability to be annoyed with Light in the first place.
"This plan is too risky," Light explained. "Who knows what could happen to you." Miya furrowed her eyebrows slightly. Sure Light had stated in the past that he wouldn't manipulate the girl's feelings, but he was sounding now as if truly did care about Misa in this situation.
"Oh wow!" Misa had a dreamy look on her face now. "Does that mean you're worried about me? Yay! But don't worry, I don't mind doing something like this if it's for you Light." Her tone was so worshiping, it was a little sick.
"Listen Misa," Light grabbed onto Misa's shoulders so she could look into his eyes, "if they suspect that you know who L really is, we don't know how far they are willing to go to get that information."
"No problemo!" Misa said confidently. "I promise I won't say anything! Even if they torture me!"
"I can attest to that," L added as he casually strolled through the room.
Light wasn't letting this go. "But Kira can control his victim's actions before their death. There's a good chance he might be able to manipulate her into revealing what she knows and then kill her. Also, if he does manage to kill L he won't have any use for Misa. He'd kill her to keep her silent."
The model was suddenly looking reluctant. "Uh, I don't like the sound of that…"
L held up his index finger and shook it to catch the young man's attention. "Light, you forget that if we win against Kira, Misa won't die. Besides, as long as we're handcuffed together," he held up his arm to show the long chain that connected the two of them, "you and I share the same fate. If I die, so will you. If that happens, Misa is the one who would grieve most of all." Miya had disagree. She knew L didn't mention her for obvious reasons, but she really didn't know what she would do if L were to die. Grieving probably wouldn't even begin to cover the pain she would feel. "Either we lose and both die together or we successfully catch Kira." L then turned to Misa and asked, "Which is it?"
"We catch Kira!" Misa said, completely pumped now. "I would never dream about living in a world without Light!"
"Yes it would be dark," L said. Miya couldn't help but chuckle at his attempt at a joke. She loved it when he tried to be sarcastic.
Light didn't seem to think it was funny however. "Cut it out! This is just crazy!"
"We're running out of time," L said, almost sounding exasperated. "and I'm starting to get desperate. As for Misa Amane, I've turned to her because I know her bravery and love for you is boundless."
Misa looked touched and Miya had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Couldn't she tell that L was just saying that to get her to do what he wanted? Apparently not… "Do you really mean it? Oh no, I think I've totally misunderstood you this whole time! I even called you a pervert! But you actually do understand how I feel, don't you?"
"Yes, Misa is indisputably the most perfect and worthy woman for Light," he said easily.
"Yay! " Misa ran up to L and kissed his cheek hastily before running back to Light.
"You're such a sweetie! Thank you Ryuzaki!"
Miya was okay with that little kiss. It wasn't like it meant anything to either of them. Then Ryuzaki had to ruin it…
"I could actually fall for you…"
"Let's not go that far…"
"Yes Ryuzaki," Miya said through her teeth. "Let's not go that far." L's gaze shifted to her for the slightest second, and a hint of a smile played at the corner of his lip. Miya was certain that if he practiced the habit of blinking, he would have winked at her. But then his expression was blank again as Misa continued.
"But you could maybe be a friend of mine. Would that be ok?" Misa said, clinging onto Light again.
"Yes, so now I've gained yet another friend…" L said pensively.
"Yeah! Of course any friend of Light's is a friend of mine as well. Let's all be friends! And of course I would never think of betraying my friends! With our powers combined, we'll arrest Kira!"
"Glad you're pumped, Misa," Miya commented. She couldn't help but think the model was making this seem like a superhero movie.
"Unfortunately," L started. "Light is taking a different investigative approach from us and will be working with his father and the others. I'm afraid it will just be you and I."
"Wait, what?!" Miya asked suddenly, jumping from the couch. She looked between L and Light in confusion.
"What's up with that?" Misa asked.
"Yeah!" Miya agreed. "I'm up here for an hour and suddenly I miss the biggest change in our investigation? This is ridiculous! No, tell me everything now. I need to choose a side apparently…"
"I've already told you my plan," L said. "Light and the others simply want to contact the soon-to-be victims, which they for some reason can't see it would bring suspicions around them, prolonging the capture of Kira further. So far, Misa is on my side."
"Count me in!" Miya said. "Your plan seems to make more sense." She was certain that if it came down to L's plan vs. Light and the other members, L's was bound to be the most thought out. Besides, she wasn't sure what Light and the others were planning on saying to the potential victims in the first place.
"C'mon L," Light interrupted. "Now you're just playing dirty. You're leaving me with no other choice but to join your-!"
"No, that's quite alright."
"What are you talking about? Of course he'll be joining us!" Misa decided for Light.
"That's not it either! I've been opposed to this investigation since the beginning! It's too dangerous for her!" Light seemed to be at the end of his rope now.
Misa clapped her hands in front of her and stared happily at Light. "Oh, Light. You're so sweet. Thank you for worrying about me, but please let me do this. I wanna be useful to you somehow. If I can be useful, then maybe you'll love me even more. And besides, I would gladly die if it were for you Light." Miya thought Misa was being rather overdramatic, but she chose not to say anything about it. Instead she turned to L and said, "So, it's the four of us then?"
"Maybe, maybe not," L answered mysteriously. Miya had a feeling this conversation was to try to get everyone on his side. She had to admit, the guy was good. But then again she knew that.
Miya rubbed her throbbing head as she tried to convince her mom that now wasn't a good time for her to visit her home. She wasn't exactly sure how much more of this she could take, and excuses only stretched so far.
"Miya, it's been a few months since you've moved in," her mother said, starting to get annoyed. "I'm sure you're completely unpacked now."
Miya groaned. "It's just not the right time yet, okay? I'm really busy and the last thing I need to worry about is having everything ready for you to visit. I'll invite you when the time is right, okay mom? Promise."
Her mom wasn't satisfied. "You know, Noah told me your boyfriend was staying overnight with you. Do you really think that's the best environment for Noah to be in?"
Miya could just feel her headache increasing. That little traitor had sold her out to her own mother. "We're not doing anything with Noah around, mom. And actually it's great that Ryuga is around Noah because he told me that he wants Noah to be his son someday. He's going to adopt him." Might as well get that out in the open.
Her mother paused a moment. "Is that so? He's willing to take on that kind of responsibility?"
Miya recognized her mother's tone and realized this conversation wasn't going well…and she really wasn't feeling up to talking about it. "Mom, I really don't feel good. I'm going to have to talk to you later."
She eventually hung up with her mother, after much persuasion, and walked into Noah's bedroom to see him lying in bed. He had been sick the past few days, with splitting headaches, vomiting and tiredness. He must have caught a virus from another kid at the day care and managed to pass it on to Miya as well since she was feeling awful. No vomiting yet, but the headache and tiredness was strong.
She lifted the covers of his bed up and over her as she crawled in next to him.
"Mommy, I don't feel good…" Noah mumbled. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slightly irregular, probably trying to overcome his nauseous feeling.
Miya kissed his forehead gingerly. She could feel that he had a fever as well. "I know, sweetie. Just hang in there. It's just a nasty little big. It should go away soon."
"Can Mr. Panda come see me?" he asked softly. Miya could tell he was slowly falling asleep finally. He hadn't slept well the last couple of days because of his illness.
"I'm sorry, baby," she said, snuggling closer to him. "He's really busy right now. Maybe tonight, okay?"
Noah nodded, his breathing was steady as he drifted off into dream world.
At least with this excuse, Miya could get out of spending time with Misa so she wouldn't get sick, but that also meant that she couldn't be around the others either. L's orders, since they all needed to be healthy in order to catch Kira. This stupid virus was bringing her down.
If Miya hadn't felt a hand resting on her forehead, she probably wouldn't have woken up until the next morning. She slowly opened her eyes to see that L was standing over her with his hand on her head.
"You don't seem to have a fever like Noah does," he said quietly. Miya turned over to see that Noah was still soundly asleep. Even though Miya wanted nothing more than to stay there and fall back asleep, she managed to crawl out of bed and drag herself to the living room, L following her.
"I really don't want to kick you out, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here. You might get sick like me and Noah and that could raise people's suspicions of us," Miya explained.
L placed his finger to his lip in thought. "I suppose you're right."
"It shouldn't be long," Miya assured him. "Just a few more days and I should be back to nor-!" She quickly placed her hand over her mouth. L looked at her confusedly before she spun around and ran as fast as she could to the bathroom.
L stood awkwardly in the living room for a few moments before walking to the bathroom as well. He poked his head into the room to see Miya kneeling in front of the toilet, vomiting the contents of her stomach. "Miya, are you alright?"
Miya groaned. "Not really. Noah spent all last night throwing up and now it looks like I'm going to be doing the same thing. I'm not gonna get any sleep tonight."
"Is there anything you would like me to do?"
Miya shook her head. "There's not much you can do. You should probably just go. You can't get sick right now."
"If you're sure…I don't feel comfortable just leaving you here."
"I'll be fine. Really. Don't worry about me."
L was extremely reluctant to leave, but he finally did. Miya really didn't want him to go so soon either, but she couldn't risk the investigation for her selfish needs. She might as well suffer alone for the night. She would get better eventually.