AN: Hey there!! How're y'all doing?

Um.

Yeah, about not updating for about a month... things have been more than a little hectic around here lately. My school runs by trimesters instead of semesters, meaning the year is divided into three parts instead of two, and that makes all the finals fall right smack in the middle of November. D: NOT cool. There's that, and then I almost failed gym because I didn't attend enough. -.-' Oopsies.

And there was some rearranging of priorities, too. Most of you probably won't believe me when I offer this pitiful excuse, but my writing schedule during September was--and I swear to God that I am not BSing you guys--seriously affecting my health. Really: because I would stay up so late basically every night to type fanfiction, I got about six and a half hours of sleep on average, which is NOT enough at all. I actually got a cold that basically didn't go away for an entire freaking MONTH, if that's any proof of my pitiful health. So now I have to settle for writing in my spare time, which--again--is a pain for both y'all and myself.

Soo... yeah. Those are my two lame-o excuses.

But what the heck, you didn't look this story up to read the Author's Notes, didja??

February 28, 2011
4:45 PM

Mido had had a long day.

He wondered to himself of he was just overreacting a little... But then he thought it through and realized his position was reasonable enough: he'd been studying the bodies from the largest case of mass murder in the history of the planet for the past God-knew-how-many years, and when the murders finally seemed to have stopped--for whatever reason--he gave the go-ahead to bring probably the most important victim back to life. But then, barely four weeks later, the murders started again.

Talk about an exhausting situation: Mido was out of breath, out of reason, and just out of IT in general.

Whoops.

'Whoops' didn't even begin to cover it... and he didn't just think that: he mentally screamed at himself. GOD DAMMIT, WHY??

Leaning against the door in Ryuzaki's "temporary" apartment, he finally managed to slow his erratic breathing down. He just had to look at the situation a little more optimistically. Ryuzaki was smart--hell, he was better than smart, he was a freaking genius! And maybe even better: he had been on the NPA taskforce for catching Kira before his untimely death. If anybody could come up with a good plan, it would be him.

So the doctor became more than a little surprised when Ryuzaki turned to the boy to his left. With a perfectly calm voice, he asked, "I assume you will be taking this case?"

The words didn't seem to register to any of them: Mido had no idea what he was talking about, the boy seemed startled by it, and even Ryuzaki looked surprised by what he had said. Mido probably would have laughed about it if the context of the situation had been a little different, but as it was, he wanted to know what was going on.

And--oh hell, only then did he bother to think over what he had been saying to Ryuzaki with the kid in the room. "I am NOT bringing you back to life again..."

Crap.

"Um, Ryuzaki? Who is this?" he asked cautiously as he eyed the white-haired boy.

Ryuzaki never took his eyes off the kid. "Someone who is very trustworthy, I assure you, Mido-san."

...As if that would satisfy my curiosity.

If Mido showed any physical signs of discomfort, Ryuzaki either didn't notice or ignored him completely. "Well? Are you willing to take it?"

Mido tried getting Ryuzaki's attention again. "Ryuzaki? Take what...? What are you two talking about?"

Again, he was ignored or unnoticed... but if he were to make an educated guess, Mido would have sworn it was the former.

The boy glanced down at his robot uncomfortably. "Is it really mine to take anymore?" he mumbled.

It sounded as though Ryuzaki was talking to the kid as though he was a detective... no, more than that: as though they were both detectives. But that can't be right! Ryuzaki used to be on the investigation team, but this kid...?! He can't be more than fifteen years old!!... No, he's probably even younger than that... Maybe around twelve or so.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't make Mido feel any better that this kid knew what was being said in the conversation, while a doctor at least twice his age was completely lost. "Ryuzaki...!" he muttered again.

Ryuzaki was still making a point of ignoring the doctor. "If it convinces you more," he said to the boy, "it is quite compelling to me, personally. And so many people have died already..."

"What...?" Mido began to sputter before realizing he didn't even know what he planned to ask.

And he was still ignored.

After a few seconds, the white-haired boy's expression changed very subtly. He seemed to grow more conident, somehow, and he began to twirl a strand of his hair around his finger. "Alright then. We shall do it."

"Do what?"

As expected, neither of then noticed him. Again.

Mido wasn't even sure why he was talking anymore.

Ryuzaki eyed the boy for a moment before smiling slightly. "Yes. We."

...Oh, screw this!

"RYUZAKI!!" the doctor said in an obnoxiously loud voice. "Would you mind telling me what the hell you two are discussing?? Not to mention: who is this kid anyway??"

The boy's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at what Mido had said. Ryuzaki didn't change his expression at all. "It's quite alright, Mido-san. We are talking about the Kira case, and he heads a very important U.S. operation that might be able to help us cath Kira."

Mido raised an eyebrow as he glanced the boy over. "You have to be kidding me. Since when do teenagers become government operatives?"

The boy's nose twitched. "Excuse me Dr. Takeshi Mido, but I am nineteen and a half years old, and in the United States I am legally an adult with full rights as a citizen."

An adult...?

...Oops...

Damn, though, that is one... childish adult.

And that was one strange phrase.

"So... He's a nineteen-year-old that heads a government project from the United States that will help the police catch Kira," Mido restated. "Is that right?"

"Essentially."

Oh. Sure, okay.

And he expects me to believe that??

But it was Ryuzaki, after all: the man had so many secrets that even Mido doubted he would be interested in learning them all. As much as it bugged the doctor, he forced himself to focus on the problem in front of them.

Kira.

There has to be something I could contribute...

"You can use it, you know," he suddenly stated.

The boy--the childish adult--looked confused, and even Ryuzaki seemed a little startled.

"The building, I mean," Mido corrected himself. "You need some place to head his whole hoity-toity operation from, and technically it is my building to lend out..."

"When can I move in?" the childish adult asked.

...Well, he certainly didn't beat around the bush.

"...Tomorrow, I sup--"

"Good." The boy turned to Ryuzaki. "I have to leave. My second-in-command, Mr. Rester, will begin to worry if I do not call him very soon, and chances are he will come in holding a gun."

"Yes, you should go."

Without a goodbye or even a glance backwards, the childish adult walked out of the apartment.

Mido turned his attention to Ryuzaki and glared. "Ahem."

Perfectly at ease, Ryyzaki faced him. "Yes, Mido-san?"

"I demand an explaination."

"For what?"

"...How about everything?"

"In time, Mido-san, in time. I promise."

"Oh please, we both remember what happened the last time you promised something."

"Really? I'm afraid I don't remember."

Liar.

Mido sighed. "You were going to come and visit me last week to prove you hadn't gone and died on me again."

"Oh."

"Humor me at least one time," Mido said.

Ryuzaki seemed to think it over for a moment. "Alright then. One question. No more, no less."

Finally, I might get a reasonable answer!! "What was his name?"

"The white-haired boy?"

Mido nodded.

"Near."

Near... Near? Near??

What the hell kind of answer was that??

"But Ryuzaki--!!"

"Nope. One question only." Ryuzaki turned around and began to pick up the apartment. "Would you help me pack up my things?"

...!!

It was official: Mido gave up.

"...What? Where are you going?"

"Well, it appears that I am going to move back into the old investigation building. Even with a whole team of agents, Near will need help catching Kira."

...

Mido got the feeling that his life would, from that point forward, be a long string of headaches.

AN: Here's a really disturbing statistic I learned when doing a report on STDs: out of all the people with HIV, about 75% of them are men. AND (this is the disturbing part) 47% of ALL the people that get HIV are men having sex with men. I am 100% serious.

Just my way of ruining the day of all you yaoi-loving fangirls. (*cough*Nikki!*cough*)

...You know what I just realized? In the Author's Note for the previous chapter, when I mentioned that some people would be happy, some neutral, and at least one person pissed? I didn't mean the return of Kira like most of you said in your wonderful reviews; I meant the return of Mido. But hey, I guess it applies both ways.

To submit other confusing comments for me to interpret, hit that nice little green button below.