Sorry!! I know you all probably thought I had gone and died somewhere… But no, I'm still alive. And kicking, I might add. I just got caught up in this thing called life… I'm sure you can all relate. But enough of my making excuses. I've taken advantage of my absence, and I have a solid idea of what I want to do for many, many chapters to come, and even know what I want to do for a sequel once this series is over… Given, you guys want a sequel. Let me know, please. Also, my idea is not set in stone, so if you have any ideas or anything you'd like to see or like to change, please, by all means feel free to speak your mind. I would greatly appreciate it. Although I really love to get reviews saying that I've captured so-and-so's personality brilliantly, or that they like where the story is going, getting more constructive feedback is where my writing really flourishes.

"…Ryuzaki."

"Yes?"

"The embezzler and purse snatcher from the other day… there was no way my family could have known either of them. Shouldn't they… be in the clear?"

L brought a fork to his mouth, gazing almost absentmindedly at the array of screens before them. At first, it seemed he hadn't heard the chief speak.

"That's right…" He replied dully, gnawing subtly on the prongs of the instrument.

"Even though Kira can control the time of death, I can't imagine he could specify a death as happening before the broadcast was—"

His voice trailed off, and Kotone's eyes traveled to one of the many television screens, placing her cello, obedient to L's request, beside her on the couch.

"Your son's come home again…"

Light walked into his room, sat down at his computer desk… and flipped on the TV. He watched the news for a about an hour and a half, then slipped his jacket over his shoulders and headed back outside. Kotone reached for her instrument again, furrowing her brow as she noticed an imaginary smudge. Snatching the soft velvety cloth from its case at her feet, she rubbed furiously at the wood finish. She had been so into her "work", that she jumped when L turned off all the screens rather abruptly and announced,

"I'd like to go to the Ide household, please. Mr. Yagami, Kotone… please gather what you've brought with you today and let us be on our way."

Kotone pursed her lips angrily.

"And after he asked me to lug this heavy ass cello with me today… Damn him!"

But, instead of striking up an argument, she nodded, replacing the instrument inside its case and snapping it shut. Shoichiro Yagami rose and headed for the door, fishing in his pocket for his keys. It was still a habit for him, as it was for Kotone as well. It didn't feel right, not having your car keys on you after you'd carried them around for years. A look of astonishment crossed his face as the thought of losing his car keys ran through his mind, when it occurred to him that Ryuzaki had them. He shuffled his feet sheepishly, returning to the detective.

"Ryuzaki, I—"

"We'll all be riding together in pairs, if you don't mind. Yagami-san, you and Watari will leave immediately. Kotone and I will leave exactly one hour from your departure."

"But Ryuzaki, what is the point of—?"

"As not to arouse suspicion," L answered blatantly, as if it was utterly obvious.

"Uhm… Yes, alright."

No sooner than the door had closed behind Watari, L propped his foot on the couch beside of Kotone. Her nose instantly scrunched up in disgust, her eyes narrowing and her lips curving to a slight frown.

"Do you mind?"

"You're an attractive woman, Kotone."

"Excuse me?" She demanded, immediately sliding as far away from him as the sofa would allow.

"You shouldn't make such faces. You're an attractive woman," He repeated.

"You should try to convey yourself as such, be more ladylike, and not make such gruesome expressions."

It took nearly all of her willpower not to burst out laughing, both in relief that that hadn't been a crude attempt at hitting on her, and in the sheer "wierdosity" of his words.

"Gruesome, you say?"

"Not as ugly as when you first wake up in the mornings, but yes, still gruesome."

Kotone bristled. Her frown deepened, almost seeming to be etched eternally into her features. Was he trying to tease her? The lecher. She couldn't help but rise to the bait, and L had known that all too well.

"Ha ha, you're absolutely hilarious, Ryuzaki. Do you own a mirror?"

"…!?"

"You are the epitome of gruesome."

L blinked at her, almost as if dazed, and she laughed maniacally on the inside. She was positive that she'd just burned him to a degree of no return. Instead, the ghost of a grin crossed his lips, but it was gone almost as soon as it had come. Kotone was too busy relishing in her victory to notice such a spectacle.

"… Play me a song."

"Hunh?" Kotone grunted, caught off guard.

L pointed to the cello case.

"If you would, please."

"Uh… Sure…"

She flipped the locks on the case open, pulling out the instrument and laying it across her lap. The detective watched her intently, his thumb at his lips, as she reached back down into the case for the bow. She straightened her back, propping the neck of the violin against her shoulder, and L sat down beside her, facing her, bringing his knees to his chest as usual. Her teeth scraped her bottom lip as she racked her memory for a piece to play… Slowly, she balanced the cello between her knees. She wanted something not too slow that Ryuzaki would get bored, but not too fast as to blow his mind, either. Although, she giggled to herself, that might be an entertaining sight…

She brought the bow down across the strings, and L's eyes widened slightly. He edged forward a bit. Kotone would usually need her sheet music with her (she had foolishly forgotten to bring it along with her), but this piece she had committed to memory flawlessly. It was the same piece she had had to memorize and play effectively for her high school band director in order for him to agree to give her a recommendation into To-Oh. He had driven a hard bargain, but it had been worth it… even if her parents had forbid her from claiming her place among the ranks of the ICPO.

Kotone closed her eyes, sliding her fingers up the neck to hit the higher notes of the song. She would have said that the piece was a beautiful one, but the word did not do enough justice for the music. While it hurt her fingers every time she played it, it was always worth the pain. With several high notes and the feeling that was sent through her chest the moment she reached its climax, it was no wonder her mother loved this thing almost as much as Kotone herself did. She wondered if her mother got goosebumps all over her skin like Kotone did when she heard the tune played.

A warm, steady draft of air wafted across her check. Her eyes shot open, and the cello screeched, a sound worse than nails on a chalkboard as she was caught off guard once again. She turned her head, and brushed noses with Ryuzaki. His knees were almost against her arm as he leaned forward. He blinked at her, either oblivious to, or blatantly ignoring the outraged expression on Kotone's face.

"That was nice, but I didn't ask you to stop."

"You—!"

"What was that called? It was Vivaldi, if memory serves me correctly…"

His words had flown over her head, and she raised her free hand, balling it into a fist and bringing it down on his head. Or, at least, it would have landed on his noggin, had he not expertly caught her wrist a millisecond before impact. She blinked, her normally pale face flushing with both anger and shame as he stared her down through his disheveled bangs.

"Please stop trying to hit me. It isn't very ladylike of you."

Kotone pursed her lips, poised for an argument for the ages.

"Then I suggest you stop sneaking up on me like that! You're invading my personal space! Besides, it's creepy as hell!"

L blinked innocently enough at her, but he wasn't fooling her. In any case, she imagined that the "puppy dog eyes" that he made were capable of making a small child cry. Amidst her thoughts, she struggled to smother a potentially loud and obnoxious snicker. Such a bold declaration did not go unnoticed by L.

"You really are the moodiest woman I believe I've ever met."

"That's not saying much, seeing as how you could probably count all of them on one hand," Kotone retorted with a giggle-suppressed grunt.

L frowned, dropping her wrist and resting his hands on his knees. His eyes drooped as he continued to stare at her, and the bags beneath his eyes seemed to be more prominent than normal. Perhaps she'd gone a bit too far… Oops.

It wasn't until this very moment that the young musician realized how much fun she was having, how much delight she got from giving this socially inept man a hard time. No wonder he constantly did it to her. It was very addicting.

"Kotone- 2. Panda Bear- Nada," She chanted to herself absent-mindedly, almost as if giving herself a pep talk.

And then, she twitched as she caught up to what she'd actually just thought.

"Wait… Panda bear…?!"

She took a random curious glance at him. Pale, with dark circles around his eyes. The origin of Panda.

All mental and physical restraint left her being, and she burst into laughter. Ryuzaki's brows knitted together in a combination of what might have been horror and confusion. His eyes turned to saucers as Kotone rose to her knees, convinced she had herself composed, but was horribly wrong, and toppled onto him in another fit of laughter.

Even she realized what had just happened, but it took her almost a full minute to register the position that she was in. She was giggling manically into his shoulder, the rest of her body sprawled over the mountain that was his knees.

"It was you who spoke of their personal space being violated," He reminded her.

She felt every syllable he spoke reverberate off of him, louder and clearer than normal, obviously, as she laid awkwardly. Groaning, she smirked before she lifted herself off of him and retreated to the opposite side of the couch, furiously masking her shame.

"Oh you shush, Panda bear," She murmured under her breath, snickering again.

"What was that?"

By his tone, it sounded like more of a confirming voice than a questioning one.

"Nothing at all."

He was silent for a moment, before he rose to his feet and turned to face Kotone.

"Well, if you're so sure, then we should be going. But first..."

"First?"

He leaned in dangerously close to her face. With a sharp intake of breath, Kotone took several steps backwards, only to be matched toe-for-toe with Ryuzaki.

"Uh, can I help you?" She inquired lamely.

"Please don't call me Panda anymore," He droned, his eyes back to their normal, droopy state.

Kotone laughed before she had time to react in any other way. L, however, was not amused. He glowered dangerously at her.

"I meant that."

"Uh-huh, sure. You're just mad that I have one up on you. Two up, actually, to be technical. You can't think of any more smart aleck retorts so you're just trying to play the innocent peacekeeper, at least until you have your dignity and your manhood back."

Much too L's dismay, she laughed again at his expense. Kotone shook her head, amazed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun. Even the trip she'd taken with her mother to Washington D.C. in America three summers ago hadn't been as entertaining as irritating this awkward man.

"I am very much so a man," Ryuzaki declared defensively, his ego bruised.

"I can tell."

"What is that supposed to mean."

The way Ryuzaki phrased his last sentence, Kotone could tell it was a statement, not a question. He was daring her to call him unmanly again. Once again, her pride and ego forbade her to ignore the bait he threw. With a smirk, she placed her hands on her hips.

"I think you know what I meant, Ryuzaki."

"Please clarify."

Well, if he wanted to play hardball, she could play hardball. She had no qualms with that.

"I meant... you're not a real man, Ryuzaki. You're barely a boy, still hanging in with the maturity of a thirteen year old boy, closet-pervert and all."

Blunt as she'd been, she knew he couldn't ignore that. And he did not. In one fluid movement, he was practically on top of her toes, stretching his arms out in an embrace. Without thinking at all, she vaulted over the coffee table behind her and screamed. Ryuzaki's eyes widened, having heard her yell before, but never scream. He lowered his arms, a frown crossing his lips as if she'd done him some horrible, personal wrong.

"What the hell was that?!" Kotone demanded angrily.

"Hmm?"

"That! What you tried just now!!"

"...A hug?"

"Is that what you call it?"

He stared at her, insulted. She bristled, any amusement or fun she'd formerly been having gone out the window. Running a shaking hand through her bangs, her eyes went instantly to L's hands, as if to make sure they weren't having second thoughts about getting familiar with her body.

"A hug, you say? What did I say earlier about my personal space?"

"I thought that ended when you jumped on me."

"Well, you thought wrong. Why were you trying to hug me?"

His next sentence made goosebumps runn the length of her arms, and her hair stand on end. Slyly, a faint smile graced his lips.

"Men always enjoy hugging beautiful women."

Suddenly, it all made sense to her. She'd called him unmanly; he'd tried to amend himself to her by embracing her. Smoothing out the front of her jeans, Kotone pried her eyes away from his hands, and glanced at the clock on the wall.

"I guess we should be going now. It's been an hour and fifteen minutes since they left."

She bent down to put away her cello, snapping the case shut. Throwing the strap across her chest, she turned to the detective. He was still eyeing her like she'd hurt his feelings. She sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

"You're very melodramatic."

"That is the pot calling the kettle black."

"I am not melodramatic!!"

"You said I wasn't a man," He pointed out randomly.

Biting her lip, she stomped furiously on the carpet. Knowing full well she'd kick herself for it later, she opened her arms. L arched a curious eyebrow at her, as if questioning what he thought the gesture might mean, but too afraid of her wrath to jump to conclusions.

"Come on, now. You won't let it drop anytime soon, anyways. Before I change my mind."

The detective needn't to be told twice. He quickly cleared the coffee table seperating them, and wrapped his arms tightly around her stomach. She patted him nervously on the shoulder. After a few seconds, she pushed him away from her.

"Okay okay, you've had you're fun for today. So, are we even now?"

"Not hardly."

"I didn't think so."

Slipping his hands into his pockets, his head cocked to the side, and Kotone could already see the wheels turning in his head.

"What?" She demanded.

He turned away from her, scuffing his bare feet across the carpet to the door. Awkwardly, she stuffed his feet into a pair of worn sneakers on the welcome mat.

"We should get going."

"I tried to tell you that ten minutes ago."

"I was not satisfied with your company then. I am moderately pleased now."

"'Moderately'?" Kotone scoffed.

"You should be downright ecstatic after that."

"I now know what I will demand as compensation for your cruel words from now on," Ryuzaki mused aloud.

Kotone seethed.

"You deserve half the crap you get!"

"What about the other half?"

"You bring it on yourself!"

"I am driving."

"You're not driving my car, with my car keys!"

"More cruel words? I will need another embrace once we reach your home."

"The hell you will!"