It was incredible Eri had even managed to finish her test before the time ran out. Considering how unfocused she was.

Ryuga had finished the test in what seemed like minutes. Breezing past everyone (including Light) and spending the rest of the time waiting out the clock and staring intently at her friend with those wide, dark eyes of his. Eri had tried to resist turning to look at him, but the sheer oddity of his presence in the room drew her eyes back to where he sat, couched in his seat, thumb toying at his bottom lip. They made eye contact only once, on the second time she'd dared to take her eyes of the test to sneak a peek, and Eri had felt instantly pinned down under his gaze.

She didn't look again after that. Forcing herself to work through To-Oh's assortment of mind-bending entrance exam questions and ignore how stifling the room had become.

It was the longest 90 minutes of her life.

When the buzzer went off and the To-Oh hopefuls began filing out Eri looked frantically for Light. When the alarm had sounded, he'd been the first out the door, not sparing a second as he packed up his things and nearly bolted from the room. Throughout the test, Light had seemed his usual unflappable self to the untrained eye, but Eri had noticed the tightness about his shoulders and the way he held his pencil. He had definitely noticed Ryuga's staring, even if he didn't make a big deal out of it.

'I wonder if they know each other…?'

That could be it. Light had plenty of admirers, if not a lot of genuine close friends. Maybe Ryuga was one of those?

Possible, but not probable.

After several fruitless minutes, it became evident that Light had already left. Annoying, but not unusual. He probably wanted to unwind after the test. She could, of course, just text him later. But somehow, she doubted she'd get a response.

'Hedeki Ryuga…'

The name had sounded familiar, so she'd looked him up after the exam. Hedeki Ryuga was a pretty famous pop star, tall and statuesque with starry eyes and gorgeous hair. Sayu was a huge fan and had loads of his merch, and Momoka still had a poster of him shirtless from 10th grade (now condemned to the back of her closet, but never thrown out). Recalling the Ryuga she knew, with his awkward speech and disheveled looks, Eri couldn't help but think the name didn't suit him.

She took the train home. Too tired to walk and assuming Light would want to be alone to decompress. She arrived in the weed-covered front yard a little after dark, and was surprised to see that the lights were on in her aunt's room. Isuzu was prone to falling asleep in front of the TV in the mid afternoon. Eri wasn't sure when she'd last seen her up this late. Curious, she paused in the yard, watching the yellow square of light and the stick thin silhouette it framed. Her aunt wasn't only awake, she was… animated. Her hands fluttering around as if gesturing to emphasize a point. Like she was… talking to someone.

Eri didn't waste another second after that, and resigned herself to either an awkward encounter or a trip to the emergency room, crossing the yard and walking swiftly upstairs to Isuzu's room. Luckily, the door was ajar, so she didn't feel as if she was overtly intruding.

As she had suspected, the room was empty except for Isuzu herself, who froze in her position by the window upon Eri's entry. She looked almost comical standing there, her mouth still open and her pale hands still hanging in the air. But Eri had stopped finding her aunt funny a long time ago.

"Isuzu?" she said gently, "Everything alright up here? You seem a little… excited."

There was something strange about the way her aunt looked at her then. As if she was seeing her. Really seeing her. Not just staring through her. Isuzu's eyes seemed clearer than Eri had seen them in years. It was a bit unsettling, if she was completely honest.

"You're home…" Isuzu breathed, thin voice cracking. "We've been talking, and it makes sense now. It all makes sense."

Ok. Clearly this was not going to be one of her aunt's better nights. Eri stepped forward to take her arm. "Well that's-"

Suddenly, with a speed Eri hadn't known she still possessed, Isuzu's hands shot out to rest against Eri's cheeks, startling her into silence. Isuzu was quiet for several beats, letting her eyes flicker over Eri's face with something akin to awe.

"Look at you, he was right. Look at your face, so free. Freer now than you'll ever be…."

She trailed off, letting her hands slide from Eri's face. The energy behind her eyes fading, but the unusual clarity continuing to shine through.

"I'm fine, Eriko, there is no need to call for a doctor. Please, go to sleep. The exam must have been difficult."

Eri was dumbfounded, and simply gaped at her aunt before nodding and turning on her heel to put as much distance between her and Isuzu as possible. She was done with weirdness today.

She didn't even bother texting Light when she reached her room, instead feeling herself drift away as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The To-Oh Address Ceremony was an intimidating affair. The auditorium was huge, and filled to the brim with students, alumni, faculty, and parents. Eri would have felt uncomfortable in the crowd regardless, even if she were not wearing makeup, a pencil skirt, and a pair of low (but still uncomfortable) heels. Mrs. Yagami had insisted upon dressing both her and Light up for the Address (gushing all the while about Light being the one giving it) and Eri had to admit, she'd done an excellent job. But even dressed to the nines with her hair brushed and pinned, Eri felt uncomfortably out of place, like a little girl trying on the dresses in the back of her mom's closet.

'Well, at least no matter how out of place I feel, there's no way I beat Ryuga.'

Ryuga and Light had apparently both gotten the top score this year, and thus were condemned to share the honor of making the Freshman Address. Ryuga clearly hadn't even attempted to clean up for the ceremony, standing on the stage next to a resplendent Light. In his usual ill-fitting shirt and jeans, he looked more like a homeless kid who'd wandered in off the street than a brilliant academic. It was almost endearing, in a way, and Eri had to keep herself from smiling during his strange, halting speech.

Clearly, some people agreed with her.

"I think I like the little one on the right." One of the girls behind Eri whispered.

"What?! You're so weird Kyoko! Look at how he's dressed!" Her friend replied.

The speeches went by quickly, more of a formality than anything, and soon the students began filing back to their seats. Eri kept her eyes trained on Light and Ryuga, who seemed to be… talking? She wasn't sure. Ryuga seemed to be talking, while Light was just listening with a vaguely annoyed expression. They took their seats, and Eri found herself wishing she'd been one of the top ten on the test, if only so she could hear what they were saying.

Suddenly, Light's demeanor changed from relaxed to tense and Eri felt as if a chill had suddenly fallen over the room. To the untrained eye, nothing had changed, but Eri had known Light long enough to tell that whatever Ryuga had said, had shocked her friend. Big time.

She was about to whip out her phone to try to discreetly text him, when somebody poked her hard in the shoulder. She turned to see one of the girls behind her holding out a scrap of paper, pouting slightly.

"For you. From the weird one." she whispered.

Thoroughly confused, Eri took the paper and mouthed 'thanks'. She couldn't begin to figure out when exactly Ryuga had started to pass this back. She was rows behind him and Light, and they'd just sat down a few minutes ago.

She unfolded the paper to find a short message written in cramped script:

Limo outside Shiro Hall. Much to discuss. Please be discreet.

Just. Freaking. Perfect.

Eri sometimes wondered if she had a death wish.

Sitting awkwardly in the back of a limo belonging to a man she'd talked to for all of 10 minutes may not be the most dangerous thing in the world, but if Momoka had been here, Eri could bet she wouldn't have approved.

'This is how curious girls die, Yamazaki. Better hope whatever he has to say is worth it.'

The chauffeur hadn't said a word when she's approached the limo, simply opening the door for her and sitting in silence with the engine running, assumedly waiting for Ryuga. Thankfully they didn't have to wait long, and soon he emerged, Light at his side. They seemed to exchange some sort of awkward goodbye, and Ryuga opened the car door to enter the Limo, allowing Eri to catch a brief glimpse of her friend's face before they drove off.

She'd never seen a smile slide of someone's face faster than Light's did when he saw her sitting in the back seat.

Eri honestly didn't even know where to begin with Ryuga. He sat across from her in that strange way of his, staring at her. If anything he seemed almost shy. Somehow, Eri got the feeling that even though they'd met before, he wasn't used to talking to girls. Finally, if only to break the tension, she spoke:

"Where are we going?"

Ryuga nibbled on his thumbnail, seemingly considering her question. "Going? Um, nowhere really. I've instructed the driver to go around the block for a while, to give us a chance to talk. After that I'll have him drop you off at your home."

God he was weird. Everything about him was weird.

"What did you say to Light? After the Freshman Address, you said something to him that threw him off. What did you say?"

Ryuga smiled slightly, "You're more perceptive than you look, you know that?"

Eri felt a twinge of annoyance at that. "Gee, thanks."

Ryuga leaned forward slightly, his face once again unreadable. "To answer your question, I have information that may be of great interest to Light Yagami and to yourself. It concerns the Kira Case, and if I can count on your discretion in this matter, I'd like to share it with you."

Eri wasn't sure whether to laugh or not. For some reason, this strange boy having any information on the Kira Case seemed like the funniest thing she'd heard in awhile. It just didn't seem plausible. But, he was giving her a ride home, so she supposed there was no harm in hearing him out.

"Ok. Shoot."

"I am L."

It was suddenly so quiet in the limo that even the sounds of the engine seemed to have disappeared. Or maybe it was being drowned out by Eri's own pounding heartbeat. She opened her mouth to say something smart, something clever that would put her on equal footing with him, but all that came out was:

"Are you fucking stupid?"

L, if that's who he truly was, seemed surprised. Whatever response he'd been expecting, that certainly wasn't it.

"Um… no, I-"

"I mean," Eri said, unable to stop the flow of words from her mouth, "If you really are L, and I'm not saying I believe that, the only reason we'd have to be talking is if you think I'm Kira, and I assume the same goes for Light. It's already fairly common knowledge that Kira needs a face to kill, so why the hell would you show yours to a suspected serial killer?!"

L shrugged. "I mean, if I turn up dead after this meeting, at least the remaining members of the task force will have a pretty good idea of Kira's identity."

He had a point. He was clearly crazy, but he had a point.

"The reason I chose to reveal my identity to Light, and the reason I am choosing to reveal it to you now, Is because I believe you and Light may be of help in the Kira investigation. Both of you have shown to have excellent deductive skills and have already assisted the NPD on several cases. I believe you could be a valuable asset on the Kira taskforce."

Eri felt lightheaded. This was a lot to take in. "You want me and Light, the two people you suspect of being Kira, to work on the taskforce designated to catch him?"

"That is the jist of what I said."

"Do you have any other suspects?"

"None with a higher possibility of being Kira."

"You think Light is Kira?"

"Possibly. There's only about a 1% chance of course but the possibility remains."

"And me?"

"0.5%. But I haven't ruled out the possibility you're working together.

"And what's the percentage on that?"

"Hm. Haven't decided yet. We can discuss that at our next meeting."

Eri started at that. "Next meeting?"

L nodded, "I imagine this is a lot to take in. I assure you, I am L, and the offer to come work with the task force is very much real. However, I understand if you need time to consider it. Do you like tennis?"

Eri felt like she'd been transferred to some kind of parallel universe where nothing made sense anymore. "What?"

"Tennis." He repeated, "I'm planning to ask Light if he'd like to have a match tomorrow, we can talk more then. Do you have a friend who can play?"

"Er, I guess I could ask Momoka if she'd be willing to go…" Eri said weakly, feeling as if she'd thoroughly failed to hold her own in the conversation.

"Perfect. We can play doubles then. Please, consider what we've said here today."

The limo came to a stop, and Eri looked out the window to see they had somehow arrived at her house. She didn't want to think about how L already knew where she lived. The chauffeur got out and opened the door, and Eri moved to leave before she felt L's cool hand on her wrist. She turned back to face him.

"Eri, I understand you and Light Yagami are close."

She felt a bit of her courage return, enough to reply with conviction. "He's my best friend."

"Then please consider this: You have a much better chance of clearing his name and your own by working with me than you would independently. This may be the best way to help Light, help yourself, and help the world. It's not likely a better opportunity will present itself."

Eri swallowed, "I understand."

"Good."

He relinquished his grip and let her exit the car. He spared her one final piercing look, a look like her aunt would give her during one of her worse 'episodes', as if she was staring right through Eri's skin and into her soul. For obvious reasons, it was more unsettling on L.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now. It was nice seeing you again, Eriko."

Eri failed to hold back an incredulous laugh. "It was nice to see you too…?"

"Ryuga." he said in response to her unasked question. "That should do for now."

Eri stepped back and watched the limo until it turned right at the end of her street and disappeared from view, numbness creeping over her in the way it does when one is unsure whether or not what one is seeing is real. She had just met the world's greatest detective (officially, this time) been complemented, been insulted, been accused of being a serial killer, and invited to join the taskforce to catch said serial killer, all in under 20 minutes.

And now, they were apparently going to play tennis, as if they were normal college students and this whole thing wasn't completely batshit insane. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out to reveal seven texts from Light and five missed calls. She deleted them without looking, determined to avoid anything that might push her already fragile-feeling mind over the edge.

It occurred to Eri belatedly that she had no idea where her racquet was.

'Fuck.'

The next day, nothing was clearer, but Eri had managed to compartmentalize the events of the day before enough so that she no longer felt like she was going crazy whenever she thought about it. When she and Momoka arrived at the To-Oh tennis courts, her eyes were shadowed and her hair held back even more sloppily than usual, but she was outwardly calm.

She had agonized for hours the night before over whether or not to call Light. He was her best friend, and despite his flaws, he was the only person Eri felt she had a genuine connection with. They understood each other on a fundamental level, and if there was anyone who'd be able to talk her through the absolute shitstorm they both seemed to have stumbled into, it would be Light. But every time her fingers hovered over his contact, she chickened out, remembering her friend's shocked face framed by the limos window.

'My best friend is being accused of perpetrating the largest mass-murder in recent history, and I can't even bring myself to text him and see if he's alright.'

As if summoned by her guilty thoughts, she spotted Light at the other end of the court, L (or Ryuga, or whoever he was) standing beside him. Light looked good for someone who must have just recently discovered he was the prime suspect in the murder case of the century. Then again, Light always looked good. L on the other hand… didn't seem dressed for a tennis match. He didn't even really seem dressed to be outside, though he was at least wearing shoes. Eri was still struggling to get her head around the idea that this guy was the world's greatest detective.

Momoka (who had agreed to play only on the condition she play against Light) let out a little gasp upon seeing the divergent duo. "That's the Ryuga guy you were telling me about?!"

"Yup." Eri replied.

"Does he always look like that?"

"All the times I've seen him."

"Weird…" she murmured thoughtfully, before fixing Eri with a wicked grin. "Kinda cute though."

Eri stared at her as if she'd grown another head. Momoka may not have known who Ryuga really was, but thinking of L as 'cute' just seemed wrong somehow.

"Eri! Over here!"

She was saved the trouble of responding by Light, who waved them over in a manner so disgustingly friendly and normal, one could have been forgiven for thinking nothing was amiss. But Eri noticed a hollowness about his eyes that could only mean one thing. They needed to talk, and soon.

L nodded to Momoka, "You must be Eri's friend… Momoka, right? I am Hideki Ryuga, thank you for agreeing to play with us."

Momoka giggled, clearly charmed by his awkwardness rather than repelled. "Oh I know who you are, and there's no need to thank me. Eri's told me you're good and I never pass up a chance to show up Eri and Light." She let her eyes flicker momentarily over the other boy. "I have to warn you though, when those two get together, it's like an unstoppable force. One wrong move and you're dead."

She was joking, of course, but Eri still felt nervous at the reaction her words provoked in Ryuga, who cocked his head like a dog who'd caught a scent.

"Is that so… Well, I look forward to seeing you two work together."

He turned towards the court and they followed, and Eri got the distinct impression she wasn't about to enjoy a game as much as she was about to undergo an exam.

She was right. It wasn't a game, and it wasn't even really fun. But it was challenging.

If Eri had any doubts about Light knowing L's true identity, the way he played during the match completely erased them. Light had alway been a phenomenal tennis player, but today he played like a man possessed, never letting his eyes stray from L for an instant and moving faster than seemed possible to counter the shorter man's strikes. Eri felt almost as if she was intruding on something distinctly private. L on the other hand, was an even bigger surprise, holding his own against them effortlessly, and slipping into step with Momoka so easily one would think they'd been playing together for years. Had he not been so focused on countering Light, and had Momoka not failed to block Eri's final shot, he likely would have won.

Whatever the case, L didn't seem upset about the loss. On the contrary, he seemed to have expected it. He told them as much, after thanking Momoka and shepherding Eri and Light away from the courts to a more secluded area of campus.

"You beat me. I expected as much."

Light chuckled, "It's been awhile since I had to play that hard, and I know Eri is probably wiped out."

"Hey!"

Light smiled at her protests, but turned back to L, "I'm feeling kinda thirsty, and Eri needs some kind of fluid or she'll probably pass out. Plus, there was something I wanted to ask you about. Wanna go somewhere for a drink?"

"You humoured me with the tennis match, the least I can do is answer some of your questions. But before this goes any further, there's something I must tell you."

Light stiffened at that, eyes flickering to Eri. "Oh, well in that case, Eri if you'll give us a min-"

"She already knows. In a way, this concerns her as well." L cut him off smoothly, as if he'd been anticipating the attempted dismissal. "I suspect that you, Light Yagami, are in fact Kira. Now, if you still want to ask me something, please go ahead."

Light stopped walking so abruptly Eri nearly crashed into him. She held her breath, waiting for her friend's response.

Light laughed, which, considering what L had just said, was as reasonable a reaction as any.

"You think I'm Kira?"

L shrugged imperceptibly, eyes flickering from Light's face, to Eri's, and back to Light. Gaging their reactions. "Well, when I say I suspect you there's only about a 1% possibility."

Light raised an eyebrow, "And Eri is involved with this how?"

"I suspect she might also be Kira, or that the two of you may been working together to some extent. Though the likelihood of that is just under .5%..."

"So you think Eri might be Kira?"

L nodded. "Yes. It's possible, if not probable. That aside, I don't mind telling you that once I am able to verify that both of you aren't Kira, and that your deductive skills are as strong as I think they are, I would like nothing more than for both of you to work with me on this investigation."

He turned and began to walk towards the campus gate gesturing for them both to follow.

The coffee shop was warm and relatively empty, but to Eri, it felt stifling. She and Light had visited the place dozens of times due to it usually being less crowded than the average trendy hangout spot, so it seemed the natural choice for a clandestine conversation.

The rest of the walk had been silent, L walking ahead and Light not speaking to her or even making eye contact; everyone in their own little worlds. They'd picked out their customary booth near the back and ordered coffee, black with one sugar for light, cream and two sugars for Eri. L had ordered his black, then proceeded to dump in four containers of cream and six sugars. Eri could practically taste the overwhelming sweetness as she watched him.

"Thanks for showing me this place." L said, sounding sincere.

Light nodded, "No problem, this coffee shop is an old favorite of ours, and if we sit here, there's no chance of anyone overhearing us. Not to mention we're so out of the way here no one's going to give you a hard time about the way you sit."

That was so Light, playing the gracious host even when accused of murdering hundreds of people.

L placed his thumb in the corner of his mouth, looking slightly annoyed "I don't sit like this because I want to, I have to sit like this. You see, if I were to sit normally my deductive skills would be reduced by roughly 40%."

He paused to take a sip from his overly-sugared cup. "So, what was it you wanted to ask me?"

Light smiled warmly, "Right, I'm sure that can wait until you're convinced that Eri and I are not in any way connected to Kira. Until then, we can talk about whatever you want."

Eri frowned at her friend. He was acting weird for a guy who by all rights should only want to talk about one thing. "Uh, Light? Not trying to step on your toes or anything, but there's really only one reason for all of us to be talking, and only one topic to talk about. Can we maybe skip the smalltalk?"

She could have sworn L smiled a bit at that, though it was hard to tell with him.

"I have a suggestion; would either of you be opposed to submitting to a test of your deductive reasoning skills?"

Light looked at Eri and some sort of unspoken agreement passed between them. "Sure, sounds like fun."

"Good." L reached into his pocket and removed several scraps of paper, spreading them out on the table in front of the two. "Why don't you start by taking a look at these? Photographs of three notes written by prisoners under Kira's control just prior to their deaths. None of this information has been made public. You can take as long as you want to look them over, please let me know what you think."

Peering over at the photographs, Eri found herself slightly disappointed. There were print numbers on the back or each photo, but even with that to trip her and Light up, it was easy to tell that by using the first letter of each note, one could read a clear message.

"L... do you know? Gods of death love apples…."

She didn't know she'd spoken aloud until she was snapped out of her revery by L awkwardly clearing his throat.

"Well… that was fast."

Eri felt herself flush slightly, "It's not like it was hard. It's not even really a proper code, just a showy trick to make the words have more impact." she gestured weakly to the photographs "It's a taunt. The point of a taunt is for the victim to get it and feel angry about it, there's no reason to be overly complicated."

"I agree," Light said, " It's set up as a message for you, almost as if Kira were mocking you. Of course, there are obvious print numbers on the back of these cards, and if we arrange them in that order we get 'L, do you know? love apples Gods of death.'. That doesn't sound right, and I find it hard to believe Kira would have wanted you to read it that way."

L surveyed them both, nibbling on his thumbnail pensively. "Good analysis, both of you, but that's incorrect. You see, there are actually four photographs. When we add this one it reads 'L, do you know? Gods of death who love apples have red hands"

Eri was surprised, Light seemed almost offended.

"But seeing as we only had three photographs to work with, my deduction was perfect!"

Eri laughed, "It's a test Light, not a debate. You can't argue your way into some kind of win.'

"Your deduction would have been perfect had you considered the possibility of a fourth photograph. It never even crossed either of your minds… what do you think of that?"

Eri frowned, feeling altogether feed up with tests. "I feel like you're reaching, Ryuga. Assuming guilt based on the fact we didn't think there was another photograph? I may not know as much about criminal law as you, but I know that wouldn't hold up as evidence."

"I'm not assuming anything." he replied."I just wanted to see how you would react."

Damn. He was good.

L took a long drink from his coffee cup, and fixed them both with one of his wide, dark stares. "Light, Eri, tell me this; if you were me, faced with someone who might be Kira or might somehow be allied with him, how would you go about establishing this person's innocence or guilt? You'd have to be absolutely sure…"

Light considered the question, then spoke, "I would probably try to get him to say something that was never made public in any way, something that only Kira could know."

L looked at Eri pointedly. "And you Eriko?"

"Well…" Eri began haltingly, "The one thing that confuses me the most about Kira is how he kills. I mean, he's killed people thousands of miles away, people that no person should be able to access. There's no way someone just has that power, it has to come from somewhere...I guess I would search my subject's persons, making sure they didn't have anything on them I didn't authorize. At any given time, and maybe… I don't know, do the same thing to their houses? There's no way this power is innate, right? So eventually Kira would have to find a way to return to that source. Mass murderers usually aren't super patient so…"

She trailed off, letting her head droop into her hands "I don't know. Aren't you supposed to be the famous detective? I'm sure whatever you're thinking is leagues ahead of anything we could dream up."

L considered their responses, then turned to Light. "Interesting. You, Light, managed to do what many seasoned detectives could not; imagine a scenario in which Kira is speaking directly to the investigator. As for you Eri…" he fixed his gaze on her, "You brought up an idea I had previously toyed with. That Kira's ability to kill is not innate, and that it may be something he can be effectively cut off from."

He leaned back, surveying them both with a neutral expression. "I'm impressed. You'll likely both make fine detectives someday."

Light chuckled. "But it's a bit of a double edged sword, right? The more impressive our answers are the more likely it seems that at least one of us is Kira."

"Yes," L said, "It's about three percent now."

Eri frowned, "Three percent for which one of us?"

L only shrugged at that, adding another sugar cube to his coffee and taking an experimental sip in lieu of an answer. "However, my resolve to invite you both onto the Kira Taskforce has only been strengthened by this exercise. You see, I'm in a position where, even if one of you does turn out to be Kira, it would still be beneficial to have you working alongside us. Do you know why I would say that?"

"Keep your friends close but your enemies closer?" Eri ventured, a bit more sarcastically then was probably appropriate.

Light smiled, whether as a reaction to what she'd said or to seem non threatening (it was hard to tell when his guard was up). "Eri makes a good point, but essentially, whether one of us is Kira or not we can still help the investigation to move forward, and if one or both of us is somehow involved we might trip up and reveal ourselves..." his eyes flickered to hers momentarily, " or reveal our co conspirator."

Eri felt a chill go down her spine at that, it wasn't clear why.

"But I think you might be getting the wrong idea about us Ryuga. I can only speak for myself of course, but while I am interested in the Kira case and yes, detective work is a hobby of mine, I know that I'm not Kira, and having known Eri almost all her life I can say with confidence I don't think she has anything to do with the Kira case. I don't really like the idea of my best friend or myself getting killed by Kira."

Light's demeanor shifted, into something sharper, the logical honor student in him coming to the forefront. "Besides, what proof are you able to give us that you yourself aren't Kira? It hardly seems fair for only one of us to be investigated. At this point, neither of us can prove we're not Kira, but it wouldn't be that difficult for you to contact someone from the taskforce to confirm you are L. Until I get some kind of confirmation from my father or someone else on the taskforce, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you."

L looked at Eri, "You feel similarly I assume?"

Eri winced at the attention, she hated being put on the spot, and that seemed to be L's favorite thing to do. "I have to agree with Light… to an extent. We need to know you're on the level; obviously we're not asking for a dossier of personal information, considering you think we might be mass-murderers and all. But confirmation you are who you claim to be is crucial if we're going to work together." She smiled weakly at Light, "Though I have to say, I'd be willing to place a substantial bet this guy's not Kira, Light. Waaaaay too overtly weird, he'd be caught in a second."

L actually looked offended at that, but recovered quickly, " I don't remember saying you couldn't meet anyone from taskforce headquarters to verify my identity. I'm currently working alongside your father along with several others from the NPA. Now, if I understand you correctly, if I take you both to taskforce headquarters, you'll help with the investigation. Am I safe in making that assumption?"

THAT was surprising. If L's reputation as a master investigator hadn't preceded him, Eri might have thought he was merely painfully stupid and/or ludicrously reckless, as it was, maybe he was just reckless…

"You do know Light's dad, right?" She blurted, "You know, the cop? And you know, my dad was a cop too? We know people at the NPA, like, on sight. Even if you took steps to conceal their identities, there's a good chance Light and I would instantly recognize them. Doesn't that compromise the safety of the entire team?"

L stared at her, his expression unreadable.

"They are fully aware of the risks Eri. They would not be on this case if they were not."

L was cold in that moment, and Eri suddenly had a better idea of why L was such a controversial figure in the world of law enforcement.

A shrill ring broke the tension in the room, and L paused to pull a nondescript phone from his pocket. "Oh, if you'll excuse me a moment-"

A second ring sounded, this time coming from Light's pocket. Both answered their phones and spoke only long enough to issue a greeting, before both of their faces morphed into twin expressions of shock.

"Light, it's your-"

Light's brown eyes blew wide, his fingers going tight on the phone, "My father… had a heart attack!"

That Death Note remake was so bad it dragged me out of extended hiatus. Here's an extra long chapter to go with my extra long absence, hope you enjoy.