Well, first of all, I want to thank blackphoenixXIII for giving me that last little push that I needed to finish this chapter, which has been sitting unfinished for a couple weeks now. Between JROTC, band, and having writer's block (Lol), it seemed like I didn't have the time (or motovation) to finish this chapter. Luckily, I obviously finally did. As always, the standard disclaimer applies. I don't own Death Note, or any of the characters except Kotone and her family...Yadda yadda... Okay! We can read now.

It never, ever failed her. Every night, the same dream would come to her. And up until now, she'd reacted the same way to each and every death. She would be filled with sorrow, and morbid horror, until her father fell. Then she'd feel sick to her stomach.

But this night, it was different. Her father dropped into the light as usual. Her throat was set aflame with the same unshed tears, the same ones that pricked at her eyes. And then Ryuzaki collapsed. He laid, stone cold beside her, and when she turned to look at him, she felt a pain wash over her being. It wasn't like the pain that she'd felt towards her father. That pain was natural. The feelings she had for Ryuzaki were completely unnatural. It hurt her in a different way, though she couldn't quite pin words onto her emotions.

It started in her toes, making them curl. The pain then worked its way to her abdomen, where it seemed to linger for an eternity before it snaked its way up her spine, then clutched at her chest. This feeling stopped her breath in her chest, making it a near impossibility to even breathe. Finally, her throat burned, set on fire.

"Ryuzaki!!"

"Though I'm flattered you dream about me... If such nightmares keep occuring, I would suggest you see a therapist."

Kotone's brow knitted together, her eyes still closed, and it took her a while to register who the speaker was that shattered her oh-so plesant dream state. When both the bored voice and apathetic attitude found its place in her mind, she just barely peeked out from under her eyelids. He was squatting over her, his legs on either side of her waist, just like the morning before. Minus the animal shapen crackers. Today it was a large chocolate chip cookie.

Her irises flitted from the bedsheets, to the sweets in L's hand, to the alarm clock on the stand beside her bed that she seemed to almost always wake up before. Once again, she reached slowly over and clicked the alarm off. Her hand fell lazily on her chest, where the remnants of the pain that used to be there still tingled. It was like a nightmare she'd had as a child, where she dreamt that a man had sawed off her left leg. When she awoke the next morning, that leg tingled almost painfully where the saw had pierced her skin. And man, was she scatter-brained this morning. Her thoughts were going everywhere, and she didn't even really care. Kotone didn't even mind that Ryuzaki was still stradling her sides.

She lifted her chin to look back at up at him, her eyes barely open. He gazed back intently, thumb at his lips, awaiting her usual sarcastic reply. Kotone could see the wheels turning in his own head, already fomulating a sly comeback of his own that he wouldn't have a chance to use because she had no intention of answering. Her head hit the pillow again, so tired, yet so afraid to fall back asleep. When was the last time she felt like this? She was typically a decent morning person, very "up-and-at'em". This morning, she was simply too drained to care about much.

She closed her eyes again, despite the fear of what waited in her personal darkness. But her consciousness was here to stay. The bed shifted, and she felt a weight set itself on her legs, pinning her down. She could feel it shift forward, and a shadow crossed her eyelids. Curiousity won the best of her, and she peeked again through the slit of her eyes. L was sitting on her legs, his back turned to her as he chewed on his cookie. Kotone ran her fingers through her hair, curling small locks of hair around her finger then watching the strands fall as they came loose.

"Today... Is Thursday, isn't it?" She whispered softly.

"Yes," L replied.

He swallowed the bite in his mouth, then gazed back over his shoulder at her. The detective licked his thumb, then ran it swiftly around his lips to catch any stray crumbs.

"Do you still want to observe the Yagami household?"

"Huh?"

"The wire taps. Today is the first day with them installed inside The Yagami household."

"Oh, right...."

She dropped her hand on her forehead, turning her head to the side to the side and watched the seconds tick on the clock, when something struck her as odd.

"Wait... Ryuzaki?"

"Hm?"

"... How'd you know I was having recurring dreams?"

L licked his lips, and stared up at the ceiling.

"Your behaviour."

Kotone's face began to flush, and she changed the subject before he could begin to list the symptoms on her.

"I do still want to observe the Yagami household..."

"In that case, please get up and get yourself dressed."

She blinked, and leaned forward, propping her body back on her elbows.

"Have they even left the house...?"

"Yes."

"So, then why do-?"

Her voice trailed off. She shook her head, not in the mood to start an arguement. She barely laid her palms on Ryuzaki's back to push him off of her legs, before he was climbing off and headed for the door.

2:15:36.

"I'm home," Chief Yagami's son announced as he stepped inside his family home.

Kotone, Chief Yagami and L sat on the couch, watch the live recording wordlessly. The son walked upstairs and to the door that Kotone assumed was his room, and paused for a split second, before walking on in. Thier eyes shifted to the screen linked to the son's room. He walked into his room, took off his backpack and laid down on his bed, hands folded behind his head. After only a moment, he stood back up and went to his closet. After pulling on his jacket, he left his room, stopping only to replace the slip of paper back between the door and its frame.

"I don't believe it," Chief Yagami mused aloud as he watched his son's suspicious behaviour.

"I never knew he went to such great lengths. What could he be hiding in there that he doesn't want anyone else to see?"

"For a seventeen year old kid, I wouldn't say this kind of behaviour is particularly abnormal. When I was his age, I did strange things, too."

He paused, then asked,

"Have you ever talked to your son about the investigation?"

"Of course not! I've never once revealed classified information to my family!"

Hesitant, the Chief adjusted his glasses, then added,

"Besides... I never get to see them too often these days, and when I get home, it seems all I can do is sleep..."

"I understand," L added, almost with a tone of sympathy.

Kotone shuffled her feet, staring at her socks. Her eyes flickered to L, squatted on the couch.

"After this, does he still think that I am Kira...?"

Yagami's son left the household, and all fell silent on the tape as the minutes passed by soundlessly. If there were any questions on her mind, she dare to voice them, as if for fear of breaking the silence was somehow forbidden.

The son of the Chief reached into his coat pocket when he was safely back into the comfort of his room, and pulled out a rectangular package. The first thing that crossed Kotone's mind was "book", but she was rudely corrected when he laid down on his chest on his bed, and cracked open a perverse "magazine". He flipped through the first few pages on bronzed bikini-bodies, untill his attention was caught by a brunette lying arched on ruffled sheets, clad in nothing but a skimpy pink bra and underwear. Thinking of how she'd never reveal herself publically like this, Kotone's cheeks flushed, and she turned her head to L. Both his and the Chief Yagami's eyes remained glued to the screen.

"Perverts..." She murmured under her breath.

"Hm? Did you say something?" The detective asking quietly, his attention never swaying from the picture on the tape.

"Not at all," She lied.

"I- I can't believe my son is looking at those magazines!"

L's thumb slipped from his lips, and he gazed at Chief Yagami from the corner of his eye.

"It's normal for a seventeen year old boy."

Kotone was about to scoff, when he added,

"But, to me, it seems like he's trying to make it apparent that it is because he has books like this, that he booby trapped his room so that he could tell when someone went in."

Kotone was impressed, but the same couldn't be said about the Chief.

"That's impossible, Ryuzaki! Do you suspect my son?"

The detective's thumb returned his his lips.

"Yes, I suspect your son. That's the whole reason of our installing bugs and cameras in your home and the home of the assistant director."

The Chief fell silent. His son on the tape turned a few more pages before sitting upright and closing the magazine. He stood up from the bed, and pulled what would seem to the naked eye to be a textbook... But he turned it over, and inside, other magazines of the same nature were hidden.

"Liiiight!!" A young female's voice called.

Light replaced his stash back into the bookcase, and stood back up to face the door.

"Dinner's ready!"

Dinner at the Yagami household wasn't particularly out of normal boundaries.

"I... love you."

"Ooooooh!" Sayu swooned.

She knelt down in front of the television, eyes wide and jaw agape.

"You're too great, Hideki Ryuga! There's no one in my class who even comes close to you!"

"Sayu!" Her mother scolded.

"Eat your dinner!"

"Later!"

L lifted the phone from his lap to his ear, pinkie stretching towards the sky as always.

"Aizawa, is the Kitamura family watching television right now?"

"Yes," Kotone heard Aizawa reply.

"They are all watching tv together as they eat. Channel four."

L hung up the phone, placing it back onto the arm of the couch.

"Watari. Please have them run that banner on both channels now."

"Understood."

Almost immediately, a reaction was displayed iat the Yagami household.

"Ehh, what?" Sayu groaned, upset from being inturrupted from her show.

Her eyes lit up again almost instantly as she recited the message.

" 'The ICPO announces that it is dispatching 1,500 detectives from the world's leading nations for the Kira investigation'."

"1,500 agents!" She mused aloud.

"Wow!"

"The ICPO are a bunch of idiots," Light commented.

"What?" Sayu gasped, turning to her older brother.

"It's pointless if they announce it like that," He explained.

"If they plan to send people in, they should do it secretly."

L crossed his arms across his knees.

"After all, FBI agents, whose investigations were all top secret, all got killed. This'll just fail in the same way. So, this must be a police tactic- broadcast ezaggerated numbers to scare Kira. But, I think Kira will see right through it."

L's thumb went back to his mouth.

"He's clever, isn't he? Your son..."

"Hm? Well, yes..."

"Thanks for dinner, mom," Light said, clearing his plate. He opened the cupboard door, and his sister giggled.

"Potato chips right after eating dinner? That'll wash your good looks right down the drain!"

"It's a midnight snack to help me study," He replied, before getting a drink and retreating back to his room.

He sat down at his desk, making ocassional work-related comments to himself, but overall nothing unusual. He opened the potato chip bag, and made no further personal comments.

"Your son has been studying ever since dinner, without turning on a tv or computer," L remarked.

"That's because there is less than ten days before his final exam," Soichiro responded.

Minutes passed, without anything being said. Light threw away his potato chip bag, then Watari came up behind L.

"Ryuzaki..."

"What is it, Watari?"

"A little while ago, a banker who was under investigation for embezzlement, and a purse snatcher who was in custody, both died of heart attacks. Today's 9 o' clock news was the first time that they had appeared in the media."

"It's Kira!" The Chief exclaimed, rising to his feet.

"At that time, in the Yagami household, Mrs. Yagami and her daughter were watching a drama on tv," Kotone recited.

"When the show ended, they turned off the television and didn't watch anymore after that. The son has done nothing but study from seven-thirty to now, eleven o' clock."

She turned to L, awaiting his explaination.

"For Kira to kill, he needs both a name and a face. So, anyone who didn't see that report isn't Kira... right?" He answered.

It was the first time she'd seen L look so uncertain.

"With this, my family should be in the clear!" Soichiro announced.

"Today, Kira killed people with relatively light crimes immediately after they first appeared on the news," L began.

"And, even though today was the first day after the cameras were installed, the Yagami family was almost suspiciously innocent."

Soichiro fell silent once again, defeated. Kotone glanced at the wrist-watch on Soichiro's arm. Eleven thirty-three. She suppressed a yawn, but her flared nostrils ultimately gave her away.

"You've done enough for today," L assured her in a soft, almost inaudible voice.

"Everyone is going to bed now, and it's not likely anything will happen. In the scenario that something does occur, the Chief and I will be here, and will contact you. So if you'd like to go home and rest, that won't be a problem."

"No, I'd rather not," Kotone replied quickly.

"Or you can rest here."

She was almost tempted by the offer. If it wasn't for fear of her recurring dreams, she would have pulled up a blanket right then and there.

"I can call your father and ask him to bring you something more comfortable to sleep in."

Oh, yes. Her father would just love being called at nearly midnight by his favorite person in the world.

"That's really not-"

"I think I'm going to go home in a few minutes, if Kotone and Ryuzaki are going to stay," Soichiro announced.

"That's fine," L replied, rising to his feet.

His hands went to his pockets immeadiately, and Watari opened the door for the Chief. Ryuzaki walked over to Kotone, and leaned down until his face was inches from hers. She timidly shrank into the cushions.

"Can I... help you, L?"

"Are you hungry?" He questioned.

She bit her tongue in effort to keep from punching him in his jaw. Her stomache betrayed her and growled furiously. What seemed like a smile flitted across the detective's features, then stood up again.

"Watari?"

"Yes."

"Get me a..."

He back looked down at Kotone, now sitting in the fetal position, clentching her jaw angrily.

"What do you want? There are only a few places that are open this late."

"Just a..."

She blinked, and unfurled herself.

"You're buying?"

"Yes."

"Mine too?"

"Yes."

She pointed a finger in his face and stood, lowering her voice.

"If you're trying to seduce me, I swear, you'll- "

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He turned and walked away from her, which only fueled her anger.

"Get a manju cake, and-"

"Tatsuta-age, please, Watari," Kotone inturruputed.

"As she wishes."

Watari nodded, and left wordlessly. L checked the screens to make sure everyone was still asleep, then rounded on Kotone.

"You think I am some pervert."

"Yes."

"Why?"

He analyzed her, his thumb back to his lips. Kotone crossed her arms stubbornly.

"You watch me in my sleep. You try to watch me undress. And you looked at the girl in Light's magazine like she was something to eat."

"All for the sake of the investigation."

"Nice excuse."

L's eyes narrowed, and turned his back on her as he sulked off.

"I have no obligation to explain myself to you."

Kotone scoffed, sitting back on the couch. Her eyes blankly searched the screens for any movements. Sayu moaned in her sleep and rolled over, but that was it. Soichiro had not made it home yet, and the Mrs. was sleeping alone. Kotone repositioned herself so that she was lying down, her head resting on the arm of the couch. She felt sorry for Soichiro Yagami's wife. She'd never thought of getting married, but if one day she did, it wouldn't be to a detective. It had to have been a very stressful, very lonely existance. Maybe marrying a teacher would be a good idea. Someone who was good with kids. Or perhaps an athlete of some sort. Someone who was good-looking with muscles and in perfect shape. That would be nice.

"Ryuzaki, if you were to marry, what type of person would she be?"

The sound of footsteps stopped abruptly. She hated her question the second it had left her tongue.

"Ne- nevermind."

L came slowly around the side of the couch, sitting down at her feet.

"This certainly isn't how I'd plan our next conversation to go."

Kotone's cheeks flushed, and she buried her face into her arms.

"I said nevermind," Came her muffled reply.

After a moment, she peeked at him from under her elbow. His thumb was poised at his lips, as usual, and he was staring up at the ceiling.

"I'd have to say that I'm not quite sure."

She felt her face heat up again just as it was starting to finally cool back down.

"What would a normal man's reply to that question be?"

After an awkward moment, she answered,

"Most men would say something like... 'smart, beautiful, funny'..."

"Yes. That's sounds about right."

He turned to look at her.

"What would your response that that be?"

She rested her chin on her elbow, gazing at the detective now.

"I've never really wanted to get married."

"Neither have I."

Kotone shifted again, pulling her legs underneath her.

"Um.. Well, a guy who's kind, confident and smart is what I'd think to be ideal."

"I'd like a confident wife, too."

A moment passed, before Ryuzaki added,

"Matsuda is a kind guy."

Kotone shook her head violently.

"Why are we having this conversation?!"

"You brought it up."

"Not intentionally!"

She moved once more, facing the screens again.

"You're a moody woman."

Kotone's eye twitched.

"And you're a very blunt and irritating man!"

The door opened on the tape. Soichiro had finally made it home. L and Kotone watched in silence as he went stright to bed, without bothering to change his clothes or use the bathroom, and was asleep in a matter of seconds. Kotone couldn't help but wonder when the last time Mrs. Yagami saw her husband was.

"Tomorrow... bring one of your instruments here from your home."

"What?"

"Please."

Perplexed, Kotone nodded.

"Thank you," L muttered.

"Yeah... no problem."