Chapter twenty-four- Misa's ring: part two.

The spoon dropped out of his hand as his eyes went wide. He stared in amazement at her, slowly his expression went from quizzical to cold.

"Hm, L am I, to you? Interesting. And here I thought his affections for you were onesided," he teased. "Now, that begs the question: why are you asking for L? Is it from boredom or perhaps, dare I say it, attachment? Or maybe you're wishing that I am L. Well, if that's the case, I'm jealous."

She bit her lip. "I was just kidding!" She groaned. "I know you're not L and I don't want you to be. It's just, you act like him, that's all. And I've decided that whenever you do, I'll call you L to shut you up."

He smirked snidely in the safety of the control room. "Oh, so you do harbor feelings for him?"

Misa's cheeks flushed as her heart sounded in her ears.

"Oh, shut up. L!"

Yes, Love, I'll leave you this final gift.

Ryuuzaki expression softened as he spoke. "I'll leave you some money and let you go out and buy the rings tomorrow, if it so please you."

Misa frowned, feeling her fingernails bite into the skin of her palm. "I can't."

Ryuuzaki froze. "Why not?" He inquired suspiciously.

She sighed like it was obvious (which it was). "I can't buy a wedding ring. The man's suppose to do it. You've got to be the one to pick it, otherwise it's not special."

"Not special? I'm afraid I don't see your point. If I picked it out, you're sure not to like it."

All but another groan escaped her lips. "Well by saying that, you're also saying that you don't know me enough to know what I'd like. You're undermining the time we've spent together."

"Not at all. I'm simply saying that my style is the absolute opposite of your's."

"What are you talking about?! This room is fantasic."

He sighed, frowning and rubbing his face. "Redecoration, Love. Before it was just a plain, white room. Watari had quite the hand in helping me paint it to your liking. And even so, I based it off what you were wearing in my favorite 18 article. The October issue. I don't suppose you remember it?"

Misa felt her teeth grit as her hands clenched. "YOU MEAN THE ONE WHERE THEY MADE ME DRESS LIKE A WHORE?! YOU PERVERT!"

L took no notice of the tone. "Yes, allow me to say: breathtaking. An amazing performance, may I add?"

"Shut up. Just shut up." She frowned. "Besides, aren't we getting a little off topic? So what does you being sorely lacking in the fashion department have to do with anything?"

"Well, I would say 'sorely lacking'. I'm just a bit shy-friendly of the newest trends, that's all."

Misa wasn't buying it.

"Hm, as I was saying, just because you're SORELY LACKING, doesn't mean that you shouldn't pick the ring out. Don't you know that's what makes it so special?"

"I don't follow."

Misa huffed moodily in exasperation. "No, of course you don't. Let's see if I can spell it out for you. Guy meets girl, guy loves girl, girl loves guy-"

"I don't think this is neccessary," Ryuuzaki broke in impatiently.

"Let me finish!" She growled. "Guy proposes to girl, girl accepts said proposal, guy picks out the ring."

Misa waited for the penny to drop. It did with crushing consequences. "So you're... telling me everything I've known for a long time? Next you'll be telling me how babies are made. Sorry, Love, still don't see your point."

Misa broke, clarity dawning on her for the first time in their rather long conversation. There was only one way he'd listen now. "Just do it," she commanded menacingly.

Ryuuzaki shrugged his shoulders and it off. "Fine. Why not. Who knows, maybe it'll be fun. Maybe I'll bring Watari. And L. And the rest of the task force. Yes, Touta would definitely like that."

Misa pressed her lips together in concentration. That name seemed so familiar (Matsu). She managed to keep her voice straight as she asked, "Who's Touta?"

"Oh, a very ditzy friend of mine. He's hardly a genius though."

Hm, sounds like Matsu, she mused, causing a faint blush to rise across her face.

Ryuuzaki smirked. "Heh, someone's thinking a dirty thought about me. Is there a reason for that?" He jeered, not even a tad bit serious.

Misa took it the exact opposite. "You pervert! If I'm thinking a dirty thought, it's about where I'm gonna bury you when I kill you!"

He smirked. Careful, little Kira. Your evil side's showing through. "Ah, Love, that hurts. Play nice, okay?"

She crossed her arms and grumbled to herself under her breathe about idiots who couldn't care less about playing nice or rough. "You're an idiot," she decided finally. "And if it's all the same, I rather like horseplay."

A new spoon dropped out of his hand for the second time that day. The innuendo was not lost on him. The L part of him told him to keep calm and play it through naturally while the Ryuuzaki side begged him to ditch testing the waters and jump in all the way. Heck, he should even do a cannonball, if it so pleased him.

He applauded slowly. "Heh, you dirty, dirty girl. And here I thought Misa-Misa's nothing but innocence. So it's a mask. That's simple, and yet, so effective."

Misa scoffed as Ryuuzaki grinned. Yes, horseplay indeed.