Taking another sip out of the root beer bottle, she smirked before pulling the microphone to her lips.

"Listen. You and I both know that we can't stop him alone. Especially since we've got two different heads."

"True." A synthesized voice replied.

"However-"

"I know, L. I know. But, Kira's made this personal now. I had to take care of some bombing attempts today. Two bombs in Aoyma Mall. Seven security guards dead. Seven, L." Another sip of root beer before she continued.

"They wouldn't have been killed if it weren't for Kira. He's gathering supporters. Now supporters are working to distract us."

"Yes, that does seem to be the case. Perhaps your proposal of cooperation will be best, Carlyle." Her eyelids drooped slightly and she yawned.

"You knew that it was going to come to this eventually, L. You and I both knew it."

"What makes you come to that conclusion?"

"You agreed so easily. If you really thought you could take this alone, you would never have agreed for fear that I'd only hold you back. Or that I'd show you up and surpass you. However, I can assure you that I'm not trying to be better than you. If I was, it wouldn't make any sense for me to contact you with this proposal, would it?" Silence.

Sybil took another sip out of her already half empty pop bottle.

"It seems that cooperating with you will be a great benefit."

"Well, we are equals."

"Indeed." L's simple reply was all she needed to make her feel a little better.

"So, does that make it official?"

"I suppose so." More silence.

"Carlyle, we will need to meet face to face if we are to work together." Sybil gaped, rather taken aback.

Then, she smirked again.

"Oh, really? Face to face?"

"Yes."

"You know, you rather surprised me. I didn't expect the great L to be so willing to show his face to Justice so soon. Alright. I agree. So, when do we meet? And where?" She leaned back in her chair and yawned tiredly before taking yet another sip of her root beer.

"You seem to be rather calm about the situation." She leaned forward and returned to speaking into the microphone.

"Through a voice synthesizer, everyone seems calm. Besides, I can't help it. I'm so overwhelmed with emotion that I can't really express it anyway. You'll see when we meet. How's, tomorrow afternoon sound?"

"Frankly, I would prefer our meeting to be within the hour." Sybil sighed.

"I can do that. However, please forgive my exhaustion. I have been running around Aoyma, disarming bombs. I only just got back and I have little energy."

"Understandable. I will meet you at the destination of your choice. Reasonable of course." The woman's cap covered her eyes.

"I've got the perfect place in mind. And, at this time of night, we should be some of the only people there."

***

Wearing a black t shirt over top of a gray long sleeved shirt and a pair of black trouser pants, Sybil walked casually into the coffee shop.

Her black leather cap covered her emerald eyes, which stared ahead of her. She was careful not to trip over her shoelaces as she made her way to the table she had told L she would be seated at.

She folded her hands and laid her chin down upon them, fighting sleep.

She was exhausted. However, it was a feeling she knew well. Anger and hatred were not.

Her cap managed to cover more of her face as she watched a black Mercedes pull up to the coffee shop from the corner of her eye. Then, she watched two men get out of the vehicle. An older man with a bowler's cap and glasses, and a younger man with shaggy black hair and a slouched posture.

The younger man was dressed in a plain white long sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans. His hands were stuffed into his pockets.

A small smirk made its way across her lips as both of the men entered the coffee shop and made their way to her seat.

The younger one hesitated, but sat down anyway. In a, noted, rather peculiar way. But, Sybil wasn't one to judge.

She studied him for a bit longer, also noting that he had rather pale skin. He also looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Bonjour." Sybil managed, stifling back an amused chuckle.

However, her amusement was easily noticed by the young man through her smirk and her eyes. He stared at her.

"Watari?"

"Of course, Ryuuzaki." The old man left the coffee shop, leaving Sybil and the young man alone.

They stared at each other for a few minutes, until a strand of her short red hair somehow managed to make its way in front of one of her eyes. In annoyance, she unfolded her hands and brushed the piece of hair behind her ear.

"You know, it's okay to say it. You weren't expecting me to be a woman." The young man hugged his knees a little tighter to his chest before reaching out across the table to shake her hand.

Sybil pushed her hat up from her eyes before doing the same.

"You picked a rather acceptable meeting place." He murmured.

"Ah. Yes. The Rose Coffeehouse. I often pass it by, but I thought that it would work pretty well for our blind date."

"Yes. I must say, you are looking quite attractive." Sybil blinked.

He was playing along? No. Not just that. He actually meant it. The man in front of her actually meant what he was saying. L meant what he was saying.

"Only words. Flattery won't get you to second base, my friend. And don't even think about third." L smirked.

This young woman was indeed who she claimed to be.

He studied her carefully.

She was an average height. Obviously fit, judging by how well her chosen attire fit her body. Her shirt hugged her every curve.

L then noticed that she wasn't wearing one shirt. She was wearing two. Black over grey. A neutral combination, but still overall interesting.

His onyx eyes moved from her clothes to her face.

It was pale, but her cheeks had a somewhat rosy tint to them. Her red hair matched her fair skin perfectly and her black leather cap matched her red hair perfectly.

After further studying, he discovered that her hair, looking almost orange, was indeed the natural color.

"What do I refer to you as?" He asked quietly.

"Sybil. It's my real name too. Not lying." Sybil made a cross over her heart with her index finger, indicating that she was telling the truth.

L chewed on his thumb.

"I suggest that you go no further than that, Sybil."

"I'm not stupid, Ryuuzaki. I just don't lie to people. It's something my mother taught me a long time ago. Lying is bad." He noted that she had a somewhat carefree tone of voice.

Somewhat carefree. Not totally carefree. It seemed that there was a thread of something else that he couldn't quite make out.

This frustrated L.

This woman wasn't as easy to read as he first thought she would be.

In a way, that was a good thing.

Sybil cocked a brow as L stared at her.

"I know. I'm confusing, but just bare with me, okay? There's more important things to worry about than my personality." He blinked his eyes as her own green ones continued to somewhat mock him with their obvious amusement in his distress and frustration.

Sybil sighed.

"Maybe we should continue our date at your place, huh? Less distracting, maybe?" L smirked at her invitation and forwardness.

She wasn't afraid of anything it seemed. Having her by his side during this case would indeed prove useful.

"That is something I agree with, Sybil. It will be less distracting and more-"

"Comfortable?" She interrupted.

"I would invite you to my place of comfort, but it probably wouldn't be the same amount of comfort for you. Ryuuzaki, let's get out of here and go somewhere more- private." L heard the seduction in her voice, knowing immediately that it was fake.

However, that was only because he knew that she wanted to talk to him about the real issue, just as much as he wanted to talk to her. If he didn't really want to to talk to her about Kira, then he probably would have been completely fooled by her astounding acting skills.

Sybil tilted her cap back down in front of her eyes.

"Just be sure to take me home before ten o'clock. My daddy will be mad if I don't get home in time for curfew."