Why did shit always go down when I was hungover?

The ride to the crime scene all the way over in Ujitawara was not pleasant. We took two police cruisers, so I purposely chose to ride in the opposing car to L. I then spent the entire journey with my eyes shut tight, willing my stomach to settle.

I was hoping that my self-pity would keep me detached enough so that I wouldn't freak when I saw the body of the victim. I'd never done a crime scene whilst hungover before and I definitely didn't need anything else to turn my stomach.

To avoid L meant not being in the same car as Gibson, which was a shame because he already knew more details about the victim. All Kenichi was able to tell me was that the victim was female and that the scene was more similar to the last one we'd encountered near Wazuka. That wasn't a comforting thought.

The other cruiser got there first. I didn't know who had called in the murder in the first place, but when we got to the house in question, there wasn't anyone else around. Chad was the only one stood outside. He looked grim.

"You sure you wanna go in, Gee?" he asked tentatively. "It's pretty bad."

To bring down happy-go-lucky Chad, it had to be. It didn't exactly fill me with confidence, but I still nodded. "I can handle it. I'm pretty sure there's nothing left in my stomach to lose right now."

Even so, I let Kenichi go first and followed him through. Hey, my bravery wasn't endless. I immediately regretted my decision though, as soon as we entered the house. The ripe stench of decay filled the air. Feeling my stomach turn over, I quickly switched to breathing through my mouth. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this particular victim hadn't been discovered for a while.

"Which room?" I asked. I realised quite quickly that I probably wasn't going to be able to hold out in here for long.

"This way." Kenichi jerked a thumb towards one of the doors.

I didn't bother asking how he knew. He was probably braving the smell and could tell where it was coming from. Everything was eerily quiet, making me wonder if Gibson and L were even still in the house.

Nope. They were here. They both turned to look as Kenichi opened the door. From where we were, we couldn't see the body – the breakfast bar was blocking it from view. I took a deep breath through my mouth before stepping around it to get a better look.

Oh god... It was even worse than I'd expected. Like last time, the victim's face had been completely mangled beyond recognition. The face matter had all congealed in an ugly dark mess and the floor was coated in pools of dry brown blood. Flies were starting to buzz around the kitchen, attracted by the smell.

I caught a vague glimpse of where everyone was standing before my head span and my vision started to blur. Bile rose in my throat. I'd said I had nothing left in my stomach to throw up, but now I wasn't so sure. I had to get out. I didn't care what dignity it cost me – it wasn't like I had a lot of that left either.

"Excuse me," I managed to say, attempting to push past Kenichi.

I stumbled, the dizziness in my head taking over. I was aware of a firm hand seizing my arm and leading me back out of the house, half holding me upright. The hand released me once we were outside and I leant heavily against the wall with my eyes shut, praying I wouldn't throw up again.

"Maybe one of us should take you back to the hotel," offered Kenichi gently. He was the one who'd brought me outside.

I shook my head. "No, I'll stay. I just... I don't think I can go back in there."

I hated that they were giving me sympathy over this. It was all my fault – I should never have let myself get so drunk whilst I was on a case. I couldn't even work in this state. What kind of detective was I?

"Don't worry about it; nobody's going to blame you for that," Chad reassured me. He was still outside, making sure there'd be no interruptions from civilians. "We've got enough people here to do this. You can go back in, Ken. I'll stay out here with Gee."

From what I could tell with my eyes shut, Kenichi didn't even react to being called Ken. He patted me on the shoulder and I heard him step back inside the house.

"You should blame me," I said quietly, still dwelling on what Chad had just said.

"Don't be stupid," said Chad, sounding surprised. "Gee... What's inside that house is enough to turn anybody's stomach. You can't hold that against yourself."

"I wouldn't have been as bad if I hadn't let myself get into this state in the first place," I argued.

"Do you really think you'd have been able to stay in that room even if you weren't hungover?" Chad pointed out.

I thought about it. He was right. This was so, so much worse than the last time, whether I was hungover or not. I'd seen a lot of bad things in this line of work. Rotting bodies were definitely one of the worst. It had been hard enough making myself examine the last victim – without the level of decomposition – but I still had and I'd even given L the chance to escape having to do it too. Now he was the one who was in there with the rotting corpse whilst I was the one ready to bolt.

"The others are still in there though," I said miserably.

"Gibs has no choice. It's his job," Chad reminded me. "And we've always said that Kenichi's got nerves of steel."

"What about L?" I pointed out stubbornly. "He's still in there too."

"You clearly didn't get a good look at his face."

I opened my eyes in surprise. His face? I tried to remember seeing L in the kitchen before I'd bottled it. Thinking about it made the image clearer – I hadn't quite been able to process it at the time. But I could recall how he'd been stood in the furthest corner of the room from the body, not as hunched up as usual, but standing straight and tense.

He really was just as human as the rest of us. Nobody could deal with seeing that without being affected.

"He still stayed though," I said. Although this time, I felt more proud than resentful. "He didn't have to run out in case he threw up."

"He didn't have a shitload of alcohol in his system," said Chad, a small sympathetic smile on his face.

"You're not supposed to be nice to me about it," I grumbled. It was harder to be annoyed with myself when everyone else was busy being nice.

Chad just laughed. "Do you want me to be nasty instead? It happens to the best of us, Gee. Don't beat yourself up over it." He then hesitated before adding, "Ryuzaki didn't want you to come here, y'know. But Gibson thought otherwise."

I sighed. That didn't surprise me after the way I'd been behaving. "Of course, he didn't." Aside from throwing myself at him last night, I really wasn't making a very good example of myself as a detective.

"Actually, I think he was more concerned that this would happen," said Chad, gesturing his hand towards me.

"He was worried that I'd bail?"

"He was worried that you'd make yourself more ill."

"Huh?" I stared at Chad, who had now pulled his lighter out of his pocket and was turning it over between his fingers. I knew it wouldn't be long before he started flicking the lid open and closed, but for once, I didn't chastise him for it.

"You're already ill, whether it's self-inflicted or not," Chad continued. "There's no need to make it worse."

My mind was still reeling from what he'd said about L. Surely L didn't care about me? That was absurd. He'd probably just been worried that I'd puke and contaminate the crime scene.

Still, I pushed it all to the back of my mind so that I could register what Chad had just said. "I didn't wanna get left behind," I said lamely.

"Gee, you're ill. You're allowed days off sick, y'know," said Chad. "You can count on these guys to fill you in on every last detail."

"You're still treating me like I'm actually ill," I said, almost accusingly.

"And you're still feeling guilty that you went out and enjoyed yourself last night," replied Chad. "Gibson okayed it, so why are you worrying? You still have to let your hair down once in a while. You'd go crazy on this job if you didn't."

It was true. Gibson had been all for me having a night out, especially after recent events with Kyo. It wasn't like I'd been out of line and just gone off partying without consent. Maybe I really was being too hard on myself.

I gave Chad a rueful smile. "When did you get so wise?"

"Hell if I know," he grinned.

Both my mind and my stomach eased up the longer I stood outside, though I still couldn't quite brave going back into the house again. I offered to stand guard myself, but Chad said he was happy to stay out and keep me company. It made me wonder just how much this scene was affecting him too. But after he'd been so nice to me, I could hardly point it out. I'd let him keep his dignity.

Eventually, the others finished up and joined us outside. I'm not sure if it was because I was looking for noticeable signs of shock, but L seemed paler than usual. Though besides that, he was still wearing his usual poker face.

Great. So he could witness a murder scene as gruesome as this and still appear virtually unfazed, but one drunken kiss from me and he was traumatized? It seemed a little harsh on my skill really.

Kenichi had offered to be the one to wait to hand the scene over to forensics, since Gibson looked like he was in dire need of coffee. It was super nice of him – I knew that I couldn't wait to get away from this place.

The rest of us filed into Gibson's car. Since I was the 'invalid', I got to ride up front. Yippee. I was happier about the fact that it meant I didn't have to sit in the back with L. I still wasn't ready for that, though I knew I was going to have to apologise for my behaviour sooner rather than later.

By the time we got back to the hotel, the effect of Chad's cheery advice was wearing off and I was starting to feel stupid again. Today was a pretty low point for me. I'd never had to run out of a crime scene before. I'd probably never live that down.

I decided to retire to my room for a bit and do some more reading to keep my mind distracted. I was still feeling a little iffy. Gibson had said that they'd run through everything with me once Kenichi was back.

I must have fallen asleep, because when somebody knocked on my door, I realised that my book was resting flat open on my face. Clearly sleep was good for me though – my stomach felt a lot more settled as I sat up.

"You can come in," I called, confident that it wasn't L, since he wouldn't have knocked.

It was Gibson. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," I said gratefully. "Is Kenichi back yet?"

"He literally just walked in."

"Great. Let's get this show on the road then," I enthused, ready to try and prove my worth again. So far today I'd just been a total dead weight on the team.

"Can I talk to you first?" requested Gibson hesitantly.

I'd just started to get up, but I sat back down again. "Um, sure. What's up?" Uh oh... Did this mean that I was in trouble again?

Gibson looked uncomfortable, like it was something he didn't want to bring up. "Is there something going on between you and Ryuzaki?"

Shit. I fought hard to keep my face blank. "What do you mean?" Had L told him about last night? Oh crap, I was hoping like hell that he hadn't.

"Well, you kinda seem like you've been avoiding each other today," said Gibson. "I was wondering if you guys had had a fight or something."

Okay. That wasn't what I'd expected. I felt quite relieved. "No, nothing like that. I didn't even realise I was doing it," I lied. Poor Gibson – he really was as sharp as ever.

"Oh, that's good," he said. He never liked to have trouble amongst his team. "But there's, err... just one more thing."

"What is it?" I asked suspiciously. He now looked shiftier than ever.

"Erm, well the rest of us had kinda been wondering about his black eye..."

Oh, hell. I'd been hoping nobody would mention that. I'd been trying not to think about it myself every time I looked at L. I still felt kinda guilty that I'd hit him so hard. I couldn't believe they thought I'd done it on purpose.

"Okay, that was an accident..." I said, starting to defend myself. I didn't get any further, because Gibson suddenly started laughing.

"I knew that was you! Are you sure you weren't just fighting over who was the best detective?" he teased.

"No way!" I protested. "He came into my room without knocking and scared the crap out of me! I didn't mean to hit him - it was just instinct!"

Of course, that just made Gibson laugh even more. "I'm sorry, Gee," he said eventually, still chuckling. "But I had to ask. You know I don't want any trouble amongst the ranks."

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about that," I grumbled. The sad truth was that what he'd actually have to worry about was me being too friendly.

After a few more jokes at my expense, we went to join the others so that they could all give me a rundown of what they'd concluded from the crime scene. It wasn't a very long rundown. The victim was a middle-aged woman called Mayu Ohba. No immediate family, only a small circle of friends, average job... I was starting to get bored of hearing the same statistics over and over.

The only difference with this woman was that she'd been quite a bit wealthier than all of the previous victims. Most of her identification was missing, like the last time, but forensics had managed to find an old loyalty card for her local supermarket and had been able to identify her straightaway.

They'd also concluded that she'd died from stab wounds to the chest and that the face trauma had been inflicted afterwards. It was starting to sound more and more like an extreme attempt at identity theft and Gibson made sure that her name was listed with the fraud department. He'd also started compiling a small list of people that we could interview.

Besides that, there wasn't really anything else we could do. Again.

I stayed up quite late that night in the main room, reviewing everything that we'd investigated so far. I'd slowly been munching my way through some cold toast. Even though my stomach had settled long ago, I wasn't quite brave enough to try anything more adventurous than that.

Everyone else had already retired for the night. Or so I'd thought.

"It's very late, you know."

I jumped and sent several of my papers flying. "I thought you were asleep!" I accused.

"I told you. I don't sleep much," said L blankly.

Please don't sit down, please don't sit down, I thought to myself. But to my dismay, he climbed onto the chair opposite me. Hell. I wasn't sure I was ready to deal with this just yet. Sighing, I leant down to collect the papers I'd dropped.

"Surely you could do with a good night's sleep," said L.

"Sleep's not really on the cards. Right now, I just want to do something useful," I replied truthfully, shuffling my papers back into order. The implication about last night hung in the air and I was trying to ignore it.

"I don't think you have to prove yourself here."

I bit my lip. I didn't agree. I stared at the front paper without really seeing the words on it. "Yeah, I do... I'm a really shit detective... Aren't I?"

"No. I don't think you are," replied L monotonously.

As always, his expression gave nothing away, but I still gave him a scrutinising look. "Everyone's being too nice to me about this."

"Surely you don't want to be punished instead?" said L.

"Not really. I think my stomach's already punished me enough," I said ruefully.

The slightest ghost of a smile crossed L's face. "There you go. This is clearly just your way of blowing off steam. Everybody's entitled to their own vices."

True. But why was it just me who seemed to be doing it? "So what do you do to blow off steam?" I could envision him saying something like chess or solitaire so I purposely added, "Y'know... Like something physical."

If I'd asked anyone else that, I would have received some kind of innuendo in response. I was pretty certain that it wouldn't be a problem with L.

The question actually seemed to make him stop and think. "Something physical?" He chewed thoughtfully on the tip of his thumb. "I guess I quite like tennis."

Okay... Last answer I could have possibly imagined. "Um, really?"

Luckily, he didn't seem to notice my disbelief. "Yes. I was actually once the British junior champion."

I wasn't sure which I was more surprised at – the possibility of him being British or the fact that he was a champion at tennis. I decided to voice the one where my disbelief wouldn't sound offensive. "You've lived in Britain?"

"I have. As have you," L pointed out.

"Yeah, I... Wait, how did you know that?" I asked in surprise.

"It's a fair assumption," replied L. "Your accent is very different from most Japanese citizens. And I know that Georgia is a name of Irish descent."

So it was. My dad's side of the family was half English and half Irish. My accent had been moderately influenced by my crazy Auntie Maggie whilst I'd been growing up. Score two brownie points for L. "Huh. You're right."

"Of course," said L simply. He didn't seem smug about it, but he wasn't unsurprised either. "So do you like tennis?"

"Erm... Well, I can't say I've played since high school," I admitted. "I remember the rules though. I guess I could pick it up again if I wanted." I hesitated. "You know... If you wanted to play some time."

"Yes. That would be fun," agreed L, still completely deadpan. But hey, it was a start.

The only thing was that I really didn't feel I deserved him being nice to me. I was going to have to apologise now if I wanted to stop feeling so damn guilty. "L, I'm really sorry about last night," I blurted out before I could change my mind. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

And just like that, the mood changed. "It's fine," said L briskly, straightening up as he stepped down from the chair.

I could tell from his sudden desire to leave that it definitely wasn't fine. Maybe bringing up last night wasn't the best idea after all, I thought miserably to myself. L stopped as he passed by my seat and I cringed, wondering what else he was going to say.

Then to my absolute surprise, he very gingerly patted me on the head. "Goodnight Gee. Don't stay up too late."

And of course, I just sat there gaping like an idiot. L didn't say any more than that and I stared after him in shocked silence as he left the room. What had just happened?

I ended up taking his advice and packed my stuff up soon afterwards so that I could retire to bed. But once again, my mind was in turmoil and it was a long time before I actually slept.

XXX

It was becoming harder and harder for me to get a read on L and it was starting to really irritate me. I'd always been very perceptive and good at judging people, so how could one person manage to elude me so completely?

Don't get me wrong; I was glad he wasn't holding it against me that I'd thrown myself at him the other night. But once again, things weren't going my way and I could feel myself reverting back to my doom and gloom mode that seemed to have taken over a lot more than usual whilst I'd been on this case. Though I think that was mostly due to how slow-going the whole thing had been.

And it didn't really help that we still didn't have any new leads. Personally, I was just proud that I wasn't screaming my head off from frustration yet.

Another thing that had succeeded in irritating me further was that I'd left one of my new Georgina Kincaid books back at my apartment. The worst thing was that it was one from the middle of the series, so now I couldn't read the two that followed after it either.

This probably wouldn't have bothered most people, but when I start something I like to finish it. I can't branch off and start on something else – whether it's books, TV shows or even cases. I like to get stuck into one thing at a time and it was now extremely frustrating that my habit was being challenged.

Gibson had made it perfectly clear that my office was a no-go zone after I'd first been escorted by Chad to pick up what I'd needed. He'd also said that if I needed additional clothes or toiletries, I'd just have to buy more. So I highly doubted I'd be allowed back for just one book.

I'd been so annoyed that I'd even checked the library and the local bookstore. Neither of them had the book I wanted. My only option was ordering it online, but none of the websites offered a delivery date that was less than a week away. I didn't want to wait that long.

Of course, this then led me to come up with the idea of quickly popping back to my place without telling anyone. It would only take me a few minutes to get in and get the book I needed. And I could take my gun just to be on the safe side. Nobody would have to know.

I knew it probably wasn't the smartest idea, considering everything that had happened. But really... What could possibly go wrong?

Unfortunately, things started to go wrong before I could even put my plan into action. When I left the hotel, I told Gibson and the others that I was just going to see Johnny. It didn't seem to have aroused any suspicions. Easy.

But as I headed down towards my car, I sensed somebody following me. I'd learnt to never deliberate over the possibilities of friend or foe, so I whirled round with my hand up and ready to strike.

L grabbed my wrist before I could do any damage. It didn't surprise me that his reflexes were better after he'd already been hit by me once. And it didn't entirely surprise me that he was the one who was following me either.

I sighed and pulled my arm away. "Why are you following me?"

"Because I know that you're lying," replied L, completely deadpan.

"About what?" I said, putting on my best innocent expression.

"You're not going to visit your friend; you're doing something you shouldn't be," said L.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, my innocent act slipping a little.

"Because I can tell when people are lying," said L simply. "When you deal with deceit as much as I do, you become quite good at recognising it."

I scowled. I clearly wasn't fooling him. "Well, either way, it's none of your business so just go back to the hotel."

"It is my business if you could be jeopardising the case," L pointed out smoothly.

"I'm not jeopardising anything!" I protested. "There's just something I need to get..."

L regarded me carefully. "You're going back to your apartment, aren't you?" I didn't say anything. "What's so important that you need to get?"

"I told you it's none of your business," I repeated.

I couldn't possibly tell him now that it was just for a book – it would sound so childish. It wasn't supposed to be this difficult. I'd intended to be in and out of my apartment within minutes, but I still hadn't even left the damn parking lot yet.

"Then get Mr. Gibson or one of the others to accompany you," said L.

"They won't," I replied bluntly. Even though Gibson had a vague idea of how many times I'd read Dracula, he still didn't quite understand my obsession with books. He certainly wouldn't risk anything for one.

"So you're going to go off on your own on another vigilante mission?" asked L condescendingly.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child," I said hotly. "I don't need a bodyguard."

"That's good, because I wouldn't say I'm exactly bodyguard material," said L.

"Excuse me?"

"You know I'm going to go with you."

"Like hell you are!" I objected.

L looked slightly exasperated. "Look, Gee... We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either accept that I'm going with you or I'll have to tell Mr. Gibson what you're doing."

I glared at him. I was feeling an annoying sense of déjà vu here. "Why does it matter to you whether I go alone or not?"

"I don't think Mr. Gibson would be very happy with me if he knew I'd willingly let you go alone," replied L.

What a great answer. I scowled again. Like before, I knew I had no choice. I wasn't going to be able to get rid of him. "Fine. Just get in the car," I said between gritted teeth. Even if I did think he was kinda cute, it didn't make him any less aggravating.

The drive back to my place wasn't pleasant. L remained his usual silent self, whilst I was still irritated that he'd managed to bribe his way into babysitting me again. For god's sake... All I wanted was one book!

The silence did turn out to be a good thing though. It gave me time to think things through. So when I pulled up a road away from my place – just to play it safe and keep my car from being spotted – I had a plan fully formed in my mind.

I purposely left the key in the ignition with the engine running. "You're gonna have to stay here," I told L shortly.

L's face didn't change. "That wasn't what we agreed on."

"The less people that show up at my office, the better. One person isn't going to be as noticeable," I countered. "Plus I'm in a no parking zone here, so I've gotta keep the engine running." Okay, I'd done that part on purpose to back up my plan.

It didn't look like L was impressed with my thinking ahead. "Ten minutes."

"A second more and you're free to follow," I promised. No way would it take me that long.

"Fine," agreed L. He didn't sound happy about it. Oh well.

I jumped out of the car and gave him the thumbs up. "Ten minutes," I repeated. I didn't want him following me early and leaving my car in a no parking zone. I knew it wouldn't take me ten minutes to get back.

I hurried down the road to conserve my time even more. I felt a pang of sadness when I reached my office and saw the boards that had been put up to block the empty pane in the door. With the blinds closed as well, it felt even more claustrophobic once I was inside.

Never mind... That wasn't important right now. What I needed to concentrate on was getting my book and getting back out as quickly as I could to prevent the risk of L throwing a strop. I hurriedly unlocked the door to my apartment and rushed upstairs. I found my book in record time – as well as another unread series I had by the same authoress. I threw them all into a plastic bag that I'd grabbed from underneath the sink in the kitchen. I couldn't think of anything else that I needed.

As I was heading back downstairs, I heard my office door open. It couldn't be L – I hadn't even been gone for five minutes yet. Did that mean I had a client? Now? You had to be kidding... I'd have to try and fob them off quickly without being rude if I wanted to make it back to my car within my allocated ten minutes.

I jumped down the last several stairs and pushed through the door into my office with the bag of books in one hand and my keys in the other hand. Sure enough, a young man was hovering inside near the front door.

"I'm sorry, I'm closed right now," I apologised. What were the chances of someone coming by the one time I'd unlocked the door in weeks? "I'm actually going to be away from the office for..."

I stopped dead in my tracks, dropping everything on the floor. I knew this man. I recognised him from the photographs I'd been looking at only yesterday... It was Jin Tanaka.

I grabbed my gun from its holster and swung it upwards in one quick movement. "You've got some nerve showing your face here."

"I can't stop it," he choked out. "I don't wanna do it anymore..."

I hesitated. That wasn't quite the reaction I'd expected. "What are you talking about?"

"I can't do it! I have to stop!" he rambled.

I didn't lower my gun, but this time, I actually looked at him properly. If I hadn't been looking at his photographs just last night, I might not have recognised him. His face was drawn and his eyes were bloodshot and lined with dark shadows behind his long, unkempt hair.

Could he really be our killer? He seemed so... broken. That was the only word I could think of to describe it. But then I guess that being unstable is a common trait among criminals. He was shaking – like he was ready to bolt at any second. No way could I let that happen.

"Are you Jin Tanaka?" I asked. I had to keep him talking and try to calm him down.

"Yes," he replied after several seconds. "You have to help me..."

"Why did you come here?" I cut across him.

"I've been watching..." he said distantly. "I saw you go inside."

That was creepy. How long had he been keeping an eye on my office for? "You have a younger brother called Shou Tanaka. Is that correct?"

"No," he moaned piteously. "Not anymore."

Now that sounded promising. "Did you kill him?"

"You have to help me," he repeated, starting to ramble again. "I can't stop..."

"Did you kill Shou Tanaka?" I demanded.

"I had to!" Jin finally cried out.

Now that was a confession if ever I heard one. It was definitely enough for us to arrest him. But what was I supposed to do? I didn't have any restraints I could use – I wasn't a cop anymore. I could only shoot if it was in self defence.

"You keep saying I have to help you," I said slowly. "What exactly do you need help with?"

"I just want to stop," he groaned, practically pleading with me. He seemed positively deranged. "I don't want to be part of this anymore."

His words didn't make sense. Was he trying to tell me that he was being controlled by someone else? That there was somebody forcing him to kill people? I would have felt a lot safer talking him through this in an interrogation room. If he ran for it, then any passing civilian could be in danger. He wasn't stable – he was behaving like a caged animal. And if an animal is spooked, it can attack.

"If I promise to help you, will you at least sit down?" I said reasonably. If I could just get him away from the door, then maybe I could control the situation enough to call the police.

"You'll really help me?" he asked, staring at me with wild eyes.

"As much as I can," I said. L wasn't the only one who was good at lying.

After what felt like an agonisingly long time, Jin nodded. "Okay."

I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling some of the weight lift from my chest. "Good. Now if you just come and sit over here, I'll lower my gun and..."

I didn't get any further. The door banged open as L stormed in. He came to an abrupt halt, astonished to see Jin there. My stomach flipped over. I knew straightaway that this wasn't going to end well – I could see Jin starting to panic as he looked frantically from me to L.

"You lied to me!" he shouted. "You're not going to help – you're ambushing me!"

"No, we're not! Just calm down!" I attempted to reassure him, feeling my own panic rising. "L, get the hell out of here!"

"You'll get the cops on me! I can't let you leave!" Jin shrieked as he lunged at L with his hands outstretched, going for his throat.

"No!" I cried. I didn't hesitate – I pulled the trigger.

Luckily, L had seen me raise my gun and neatly dodged out of the way. The bullet slammed into Jin's shoulder, knocking him sideways. He howled in pain as he clutched the wound, leaning heavily against the window behind him. He was out of action, for now. Thank god...

It had been a long time since I'd shot anyone. I stared at L, my eyes wide from what had just happened. "How many times have I gotta tell you to use the fucking doorbell?"

XXX

Author's Note!

Since I get so many people asking when the next chapter will be... -head explodes- For deviantART users – I keep a status of how much I've done on the next chapter in Gee's group.

For elsewhere, I'm going to try and post more fanfiction related updates on my Twitter. So you're more than welcome to follow me on there if you like! My username is hamsterpranks

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!