Death Note (c) Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Why Do Cats Sulk? (c) Arline Bleecker

Recap:

But what Kat did not realize that it was something more conflicting all together. The detective sat down on the bed, pulling the laptop on the desk towards himself. He had been researching for sometime about why he suddenly felt like this and when he was teen, that was there too.

"That" being the odd feeling that he got when he saw Kat. At first, he labeled it his sisterly affection towards her (having no siblings, it took a while for that conclusion to come out) but now he comprehended that it was certainly not. Everything she did seemed to start to hinder his deductive reasoning and replace it with worry and such, but he was unsure if Kat felt the same way.

He understood that Kat was very much oblivious to human emotions but it an enigma to him, whether or not the inquisitive feline girl was more in tune to her cat side or her human side. That remained to be a mystery, the multiple personalities contradictory with his inferences.

All Kat did was remain blank, refusing to move from her place as she stared blankly out the window now, neon eyes cornering over to Lawliet. It was…uncomfortable, to think that Lawliet had suddenly started feeding so many fibs to her.

All was quiet and solemn, both geniuses pondering about two very contrary topics.

A few minutes later, a wave of fatigue hit Kat and she slowly nodded off to sleep.

Lawliet looked at her after an hour, only barely hearing the slight pur she made as she breathed in and out.

Chapter 19

Her eyes fluttered open, the alien feeling of grogginess over taking her. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up, acutely aware of her raven haired companion's presence in the atrociously scarlet room.

"Good morning, Ryuuzaki," She said, the usual quiet tone in her voice more airy and light than usual.

Lawliet merely, gave her a curt "morning" before returning to his 'research.' (a/n: my, oh my, that sounds perverted! ;p) He was still confused, almost to the point where he had resorted to researching the personalities, body language and mind of cats through a draft of some book called "Why Do Cats Sulk?"

He found it almost uncanny how accurate the information was. It clearly explained why Kat seemed to shy away from compliments and tended to find those that were indifferent to her; it seemed that it was natural for a cat to feel insecure when being praised and therefore heads for the person that is not complimenting and or complaining about her. (It certainly explained why she had run to Lawliet instead of any of the adults when they were younger!)

Some of it was completely disgusting, the fact that female cats ovulated only when mating. But he had to admit, he was thankful that he needed not to worry about her swinging from mood to mood just about as much as she tended to switch personas, not to mention that the sanitary pads and "tampons" advertised on television simply revolted him to no end. He had no intention of ever going near them as long as he was the top three detectives in the world!

And, on occasion, he came upon something interesting like the part that said, word for word:

Why does catnip flip out your cat?

When your cat sniffs catnip, that wacky, day-dreamy state she immediately enters is actually a response to the herb's powerful chemical, transnepetalactone. It's almost identical to the essence excreted by the female cat, which is why tom-cats are said to love catnip the most. However, this doesn't explain why females love it.

Once, catnip was thought to be an aphrodisiac, but scientific tests squelched that theory. (By the way, cats aren't attracted to it until they're at least two months old.)

If you're out of catnip and kitty's got a craving for the stuff, look in your spice rack. The herb, valerian, will give cats that same sense of ecstasy. Valerian is a mild stimulant and, though it doesn't do any harm, it shouldn't be offered to cats with kidney ailments.

Both catnip and valerian produce ecstasy through the odor, not the taste.

He pondered over cats reaction to asking Watari to buy some of those cat toys that had catnip inside, the outcome practically playing before his eyes.

-Kat runs into the room, huffing slightly from the urgency in Lawliet's words when he told her to come. She would wonder frantically why he was so adamant in her presence, asking what was wrong before the smell slowly wafted over to her. She would freeze, and then turn her neon eyes to the toy mouse hanging from a string that was attached to a pole. The thing would have gray fabric with yarn for eyes and a pink tail. At least, that is how he envisioned it.

She would freeze momentarily, then, in an instant, pounced, pawing the air for the mouse as he pupils dilated wildly from the ecstasy caused by the catnip.

She would then run around in a trance like state, pouting adorably and complaining slightly when Lawliet would make the task of retrieving the mouse impossible.

He would then pull it over his head, she would tackle him to the floor, and they would be lying on the ground, staring at each other awkwardly and…-

Where the bloody hell did that come from? He asked himself, (a/n: incredibly smexy and yummy) British accent leaking through his thoughts.

Kat gave him a queer glance, wondering why Lawliet seemed to be battling with himself according to his eyes.

Though her attention quickly shifted as the wonderfully decadent smell of syrup and sweet bread came to her, mouth watering at the prospect of slathering one of the edible disks with syrup, jam and anything she could get her hands on.

Mr. Wammy, of course, chose to amble in at that moment, holding an exaggerated stack of pancakes on a plate.

It was almost too easy for both geniuses to divert their interests towards the sugary breakfast being brought to them. And, ironically, it was then that both their stomachs chose to voice their opinions in the form of growling.

Kat turned to Lawliet, head tilted. "You, L Lawliet," She pointed to him, exaggerating her point. "Are hungry when you eat every few seconds?"

This revelation came to her since he usually was not hungry because of his sweet fetish, always eating…But then, technically, it is a moot point.

"Since you decided to bloody go comatose for days on end, Kat," He muttered, eagerly taking the plate and stuffing a pancake in his mouth as is. Kat held in a giggle, he resembled so much like a squirrel or chipmunk!

She dug into the pancakes her self, daintily taking a bite out of her own breakfast. "Mm. thank you Watari, delicious as always!" She swallowed than beamed at him, flashing all her pearly whites.

He gave her a nod. "You welcome, Kokoro, but might I suggest something for today? Perhaps it would be prudent if you took a break from the case?"

Kat paused, looking at the ceiling in sincere contemplation. Lawliet was actually already nodding in approval of the proposition.

"That seems…improbable," She stated bluntly, resuming the consumption of the pancakes, taking a sip of her milk.

Lawliet was unshakeable as he gave her an even stare, setting his food down (an amazing feat in itself) and leaning forward in his precarious position to look Kat straight in the eyes. "And why might it be improbable?"

Mr. Wammy just stood by, looking at them both with indifference even if he, too, wanted to hear her out.

"Well, even if I do take a break, which is a confusing phrase by the way, no, Ryuuzaki, I know that it means a period of rest between things." She stopped him right before he opened his mouth. "What I meant by 'improbable' is that I tend to orient myself around you two, however depressing it may sound, both of you are some of the only persons worth conversing with and whom will speak to me with intelligence. And not thinking of the case is impossible. If I do not think of it then my mind will most likely turn down more painful avenues or try and work out the whole mess that is the Kira case all by myself."

She looked irate for a moment, tilting her head as if listening to someone. "Yes, yes, I know that already Kit, please stop rambling, you are going to give me a headache," She muttered, placing a hand on her forehead as if to prove it to the little voice. "Oh, damn! Quit yelling, I can bloody well hear you fine, K!" Kat seemed to be losing her temper, something that did not happen very often…usually it was K.

Lawliet placed his thumb to his lips, a small grin trying to burst through. Of course, that side of him that was utterly confused chose to think she looked so delightfully charming when her garbled accent spilled from her own lips.

"Oh fine! Just quit breathing down my goddamn neck!...Huh? What?! That is completely unfair! K says it all the time! And I am twenty five!...What? Oh sure! Just rub it in why do you not!" She huffed, crossing her arms.

A long silence ensued, in which a look of mild tranquility filled Kat up.

"What was that?" Lawliet asked bluntly, unconsciously letting his legs drop from his signature thinking pose.

Kat flopped backwards onto the bed, folding her hands over her exposed stomach. "Just K, Kew and Kitten deciding to simultaneously mentally assault me because I was going to confine them inside again…sometimes I do not understand them…I am in my teens for god's sake." She muttered the last part so low that Lawliet missed it.

"They apparently think I should either go out with Maria Johnson or some other 'productive' way to spend my time. Kitten even piped in saying she wanted to go to the zoo of all places…" She muttered darkly, glaring at the ceiling in contempt.

"Well, I suppose they would like to actually breathe fresh air for something other than the purpose of tracking a criminal down or spying…" Lawliet added helpfully, averting his eyes away from her porcelain stomach, hair falling into his eyes so that you could not see how they were closing tightly.

"You misconstrue my meaning, I simply was trying to say that chances are, wherever I go, I either will be thinking of the case or fretting because I have no idea if one of my many enemies chooses to throw the door down and massacre two of the only humans I care about in the world, and K is just giving me an earful about sounding corny and sappy…what does sappy mean? Oh, oh! That. My… do not scream at me, is it my fault we never learned a few things and you tend to memorize the dictionary more than me? Oh, jump off a cliff…I am aware that that would be suicide! Do not ridicule me! Shut up!"

More silence, then Kat smacked her hand over her eyes, a string of vibrant vulgarisms flowing from her lips.

"We have come to an understanding it seems…I go out and do some sort of recreational activity they all enjoy after we apprehend Amane for trying to kill us…assuming we have enough evidence other than her rather obviously failing at murdering me…" Her voice trailed off near the end, she took a deep breath, the feeling of being watch spreading over her. She did not mind, anyone that was foolish enough to be stalking her would most likely end up locked up in a padded cell courtesy of Lawliet and K.

She remained silent for the remainder, listening only when Lawliet asked when the Task Force was arriving. Watari soon left the room and only the two of them were left in the room, a strange tension building.

Lawliet was once again faced with the discomforting fact that he was beginning to feel so odd towards his naïve companion. But he soon, he was confronted with two big neon eyes, warm breaths hitting his face. He was startled, so much so that he practically fell back on the bed, unbalancing it and causing her to come tumbling down with him.

Her hands, though small and seemingly impossibly used for fighting, hand bumped into his chest, knocking the wind out of him consequentially.

She sighed, settling her head on his chest, not allowing him to get up or breathe. "This is what happens when you lie to me so much."

He shifted, "Um, Kat? Do you mind getting off?" Even if I do not mind…but she most likely does not know the connotations related to such an act as she is exhibiting right now…

"No, frankly, this is completely fine with me…" She nuzzled her head into his shirt, her warm breath going straight through his shirt and to his chest. He placed a hand on her back, keeping her there and contradicting what he was asking earlier. Just best friends…

"Are you going to tell me about what you were lying about or will I remain in the dark?" She asked, clenching her hand slightly, noting that she was puny compared to Lawliet, even if she was only three inches shorted, she was certainly slimmer, to the extent that it was almost comical.

"Hmm, I was just researching ways to explain topics to you…I really do not know why I refused to tell you…" He admitted. It was a half lie, but she seemed to accept it, flashing him a brilliant smile.

-

Kat watched the task force from a small distance away, not wanting to see the outcome of Kit possibly coming out and hitting the task force full with her childish banters. Her ears were completely out, twitching when anyone talked.

"Hair," Lawliet stated as he examined one of the many small bags of physical evidence on the table in the hotel room.

"Snack crumbs," He said, holding up another bag. "Yagami-san." he said flatly, as he examined the bag. "If I die in the next few days, your son is Kira." K flinched, she was sure that a blind mutt had more tact than that. "More hair."

"Huh?! What are you saying all of a sudden, Ryuuzaki?" Yagami-san asked in shock.

"If I die, I'm counting on you to keep things together. You can use Watari as you wish." Once more, Kat flinched. "Kokoro might be a different case all together, she might go off on her own." That apparently was to soother Kat. Which it did. "If I die, the only one who will be able to get anything from Kira, meaning Raito-kun, will be you," He said to Yagami-san.

"Ryuuzaki... when my son is here you state that he's mostly been cleared... just how deeply do you suspect him?! Give it to me straight!" Yagami-san demanded.

"Even I... don't know how I truly feel. This has never happened before... if Kira and the second Kira are now working together... I'm in big trouble. So it may be possible that I'm no longer able to think things through calmly." Lawliet said. A sense of mourning. She doubted that he was so ready to die for any purpose as she was. In her eyes, death was just what would end her misery; he actually had something to live for other than his acquaintances.

"It's a fact that my suspicion of your son is logically a very low percentage. And I may be insistent because there's just no other suspect... even so... if I'm killed now…then assume that your son is Kira. I will have Watari do the same." Lawliet ordered.

And of course, thus began everything…