Best Laid Plans, Chapter 6
Title: Best Laid Plans
Chapter: Prologue, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Rating: R
Summary: On November 5, 2004, L saw the trap Light set with Misa and Rem and narrowly sidestepped it. What followed was a series of plans to expose Light as Kira and turn a key tool against him, though escaping the specter of death would be a difficult proposition.
Characters: L, Misa, Light, Ryuk, and references to Mogi, Watari, and Yotsuba.
Word Count: 3,315
Disclaimer: Death Note and recognizable characters belong to Ohba/Obata. This story contains details and background stories I have given to individual characters. As a result, any character details that differ from canon is the result of my background stories and not a lack of knowledge about canon. Any comments correcting me or debating with me on this will be deleted without reply.
Author's Note: This chapter was supposed to have more in it, but I realized at the last minute it was already pretty long. This is a good transition into some bigger stuff I want to get into next chapter.
Chapter 6: With enemies like these…
November 10, 2004
Tokyo
8:46 p.m.
Misa tapped a fingernail on the desk in synch with the blinking cursor that rested beside the word “Lolier.”
She blinked a few times and managed to pry her gaze away from the name in the field to look down at the clock. Doing so, however, would mean she would have to skim over the latest page of useless search results. She had processed through pages and pages of these and was only now realizing this stupid task had gone on for the past several hours; save for one hour of crying hysterically after the video and the hour she spent getting coffee just to clear her head.
That little excursion around the block, which became 10 blocks, ended less than an hour ago. By then she had returned to her apartment with headache minimized and eyes stinging a little less ready to begin the search anew with a few more ideas and a clearer perspective. This was the most authentic sounding spelling she could come up with. This should have worked.
The clock said 8:46, half an hour since the last time she looked at it yet she had not done anything else since but look at that last page of search results.
That was it. She wanted to hurl the laptop but was too exhausted to do anything but fall back against bed with a high-pitched groan.
“Just what the hell does he want me to do!” she said yelled, voice on the edge of a sob but she was done crying over this.
She grabbed a pillow and chucked it. Ryuk took a few steps closer at the right moment for the pillow to go through his chest and onto the floor. Ryuk looked down for a moment before cautiously looking at Misa.
“I’ve looked everywhere for these people, every website, every crime info database,” Misa said.
“This sounds like quite a puzzle,” Ryuk said, ducking as another pillow went past his head.
“I’ve done all I could,” Misa said, rolling over on her stomach and burying her face in the pillow. “I know he wants me to find out about these people, but why? Does he want me to find who killed them? Does he want me to find who they were? I know he wants me to do something with this, but I’m so stupid I just can’t figure it out.”
Misa hit the sides of the mattress with her fists, then suddenly stopped.
“No, I’m not stupid. He’s being a jerk,” she said. “I don’t know how to do smart things like hack into stuff. Does he want me to go all the way to Canada to find this out, and write names down at the same time? Yeah right! He doesn’t even call me, just gets Ryuzaki to send me a weird message. That was five days ago!”
She punched the pillow a few times for good measure before sliding to her side and slowly pulling herself to a sit.
“I don’t know what he expects me to do with this and I don’t care,” she said. “He’s going to have to send me another one of these stupid things because I’m not moving until he does!”
“Knowing Light, I’d guess he has a few more tricks up his sleeve than this,” Ryuk said, cautiously walking forward. “I don’t think he would set this up just to send out two of those discs and have that done with. That guy’s working on something.”
Misa gave a hard grunt and crossed her arms. Ryuk was right; Light had elaborate plans for everything. This seemed too incomplete to go by alone.
This whole thing was shaking her to the core. This was a duty given to her from Light; a puzzle she would need to decipher but she had made no progress. This was also a story of three children who were orphaned in a heinous crime. Such murderers were usually on her top priority list for having their names written down, but here she had no names. It was all one big question shoved in her face; she didn’t like questions.
Misa took a few deep breaths, slowly channeling her frustration.
Maybe Light was trying to teach her patience. He had been on the receiving end of more than a few moments of her losing her cool. Light was always so calm and came up with solutions and ideas so quickly. Maybe this was a way for Light to show her how to be more like him. She was receiving an important lesson; maybe that was the overall purpose of this.
Soft electronic music suddenly broke the quiet; the happily familiar sound of her favorite Nightmare ringtone. Misa jumped from her bed and practically ran over to the table.
“Light!” she squealed.
She ripped open her purse and pulled out her phone. The number wasn’t listed, but it wouldn’t have been. Her hand was shaking so hard that she almost missed the green button.
“Hello,” she practically yelled into the phone.
“Amane-san, it’s Ryuzaki.”
She yanked the phone from her ear and shook her fists hard, stomping a few times and gritting her teeth to keep herself from screaming. Misa took a few breaths to calm herself and put the phone back up.
“Oh hi Ryuzaki,” she said in her sweetest voice, even if it was faked. She was an actress after all. “You’re calling to tell me I can have my boyfriend back, right?”
“I wish that were the case,” the troll on the other end said. “The threat to the police has not passed, unfortunately it might be a bit more serious than we originally thought.”
Misa furrowed her eyebrows a little.
“Light’s still ok, right,” she said.
“I assure you he is safe at the moment and working diligently to isolate the threat,” Ryuzaki said. “In the meantime I have managed to secure a safe line so you can communicate with him. It will have to be by text message only for the time being, voice messages will still be too risky at this moment. I am talking to you from a temporary connection that I will have to shut down in a few minutes, but I will send you a text with the secure number. Relay all text messages to Light there.”
“And is Light the only one who will access this,” Misa said, realizing her calm façade was breaking apart. “I don’t want you reading our love letters, you pervert.”
“I assure you, they will go to him and him alone,” Ryuzaki said. “Misa, I know this is difficult but Light told me he doesn’t want you in any danger.”
Misa’s hands shook a little harder.
“He said that?” she said.
“He told me once the danger has passed and the threat has been eliminated, he will call you right away,” Ryuzaki said. “In the meantime send only important messages to this number. He may not be able to reply immediately but he will reply.”
“Yeah well I’ve got a message for my boyfriend; tell him he’s doing a great job scaring his girlfriend and he needs to get back to her right away,” Misa said.
“I will certainly relay the message,” Ryuzaki said, a sigh sneaking out. “Another thing, Misa; if you feel threatened or are contacted by any suspicious parties you need to notify the police immediately.”
A fresh coating of sweat formed on the phone.
“This is major reason why Light and the rest of the Taskforce are isolated right now, it is a possibility this threat might target family members and significant others,” Ryuzaki continued.
“Ok, could you tell me just what the hell this ‘threat’ is.”
“I still cannot say anything and I will have to close this line in the next 60 seconds. But I will say the threat to the police means that Mogi will also be unavailable to serve as your manager.”
“Oh…yeah I guess that means that”
She had forgotten about that detail, there were other more important things to deal with at the moment.
“I have worked out an arrangement with Hayashi Models, they are a very reputable company and are excited to take you on for as long as Mogi is unavailable. They will be contacting you soon.”
Misa recognized the name of the agency, but anything Ryuzaki was saying grated on her last nerve.
“That’s great,” she said not too enthusiastically.
“Misa, as a friend, I just ask that you please be careful,” Ryuzaki said.
“Wow, Ryuzaki, I might think you actually care about me. But I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself!”
“I don’t doubt that. I will send you that number and you will hear from someone soon.”
The line went dead. She tossed the phone on the bed with a grunt. A few electronic beeps went off almost in response; the text from Ryuzaki with the “safe number.”
“Stupid Ryuzaki!” Misa spat. “Enjoy being a jerk while you can.”
----------
8:55 p.m.
The bar of soap passed under his arms and over his chest repeatedly. It had been two days since his last shower and Light couldn’t scrub the sweat and grime off his body fast enough. Two days meant two days of stewing under those fluorescent lights immersed in a roomful of bodies working at all hours and sweating with the heat and stress of simple words on paper and computer screens.
By any one else’s standards, he was perfectly clean; a little disheveled maybe but completely passable in polite society. By his own standards he was a mess. Going this long without showering was unacceptable; though sometimes shallow diligence had to slip in favor of more important matters.
It also provided him with a good excuse to pry himself away from L. He needed to keep constant watch on him, but if he lingered too long L would definitely get suspicious. Light knew he would be lucky if going this long without bathing had escaped L’s notice. When they were chained together, he and L bathed at least once a day in a locker-room style shower. Despite his otherwise slovenly appearance, L was also a creature of cleanliness and almost certainly noticed Light’s habits to that end as well.
This would all have to be a delicate balancing act; keeping an eye on L while trying to look natural. This was even more pressing with the fact L clearly suspected him already; dammit why didn’t Rem write his name down before!
A shadow passing by the shower stall made Light freeze. This was essentially a private room; at least seven of these small bathrooms were placed on this floor within a short walk of the main control area. It had been enough to accommodate everyone working on the Taskforce to do their business in private. There were probably cameras in here, but Light had gotten used to this by now.
Someone was in here now. Maybe someone wanted to talk with him in private, or maybe someone was sent to spy on him, though there could be a worst case scenario to this. Light resumed his bathing, though did so at a more purposeful pace. He didn’t want to appear suspicious here either.
The shadow moved a little, though seemed to just walk into the room casually. Light rinsed himself off while keeping an eye on the shadow. At last he finished and turned the shower off, opening the door and stepping into the stall, grabbing his towel. He heard another noise in the room; the sound of someone using the urinal. It was probably someone who wanted to speak with him; a spy or assassin wouldn’t be as obvious. No, there was one person who would be this obvious.
Light put the towel around his waist and slowly pulled the curtain back. Ryuzaki’s usual slouching form was planted right in front of the urinal, back turned and doing the usual act.
“Light-kun,” L said, finishing his business. “Pardon the intrusion, but I wanted this to be in private.”
Light rolled his eyes as L zipped his jeans and turned around, stepping over to the sink.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something, mostly concerning Misa,” L said, stepping up to the sink and pressing the soap pump several times before turning on the tap.
If only Shinigami could be called over with a thought, even a whistle would have been convenient.
L washed his hands, saying nothing further; the sound of the water only marking the tension. He finally turned the water off and grabbed the small cotton towel from the rack on the wall, drying off every bit of water on his hands without saying a word.
“Though I suppose this is actually more concerning you,” L finally said, folding the towel with the first fingers of each hand and delicately putting it back on the rack.
He turned around, walking directly up to Light a little closer than Light would have liked.
“While Misa has been cut off from communication, I think it is best if she does keep herself occupied,” L said. “Mogi was acting as her manager during the Yotsuba investigation, but obviously that is something that cannot happen now.”
Light remained calm, though was a little taken aback by the direction this conversation was going in.
“You think she needs a new manager,” Light said. “Get her some modeling jobs so she stays distracted.”
Some clouds lifted in a part of his brain; maybe this would lead to an opportunity, though he doubted L would let him that far.
“Communications have been made with one agency I know of and Misa should have been contacted by now,” L said. They will tell her that Mogi is unavailable and he told them to manage her affairs on a temporary basis. This should throw off any suspicion; she should figure this is business as usual for us without tipping her off.”
Of course. L didn’t say who contacted the agency, though he probably didn’t need to. In fact he was making a point not to name the agency. Odds were he contacted Watari through highly secret means, who contacted another one of L’s well-paid or well-blackmailed cronies to do it or talk to someone who would. L wouldn’t do something so openly; Light had to be aware of this. The fact he was even bringing this up could have been a smokescreen for the fact Misa had actually been arrested in secret. No, even this was a little too blatant for that.
“I will inform you my instructions included telling Misa that you encouraged this,” L said. “It was the only way I could ensure she would cooperate and not suspect anything.”
Light really didn’t care, Ryuzaki probably never contacted any agency anyway. A caring boyfriend, however, would have been none too happy about the circumstances. He paused for a moment, making himself look like this bothered him on some level though he was handling it stoically.
“That’s fine,” Light said with a sigh. “If it’s going to be best for Misa in the long run, then I’m willing to cooperate.”
Those creepy eyes fixed on his for one painfully silent moment.
“How have you been taking this?” L said, voice softening. “I know you have developed feelings for Misa, and then Kira returns right as you two are free to pursue your relationship. That has to be difficult.”
Light tried not to show his surprise at the question. It was a good moment for him to keep playing the worried boyfriend; make some attempt at looking natural and possibly ease suspicion. Whether L bought it or not was another story, Light just had to look calm.
Light paused for a moment and sighed heavily.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Ryuzaki, I hate this whole thing,” Light said, keeping up an act of looking finally free to speak his mind. “This past week has been really hard. I mean first we think we had Kira, then Kira returns. Now you keep telling me Misa might be in danger; it kills me every time. I trust your deductions, which makes it even worse. I just…” Light balled his fists to his side and gritted his teeth “I just want to have this thing over with once and for all; I want Kira stopped so badly I can taste it. This isn’t just about catching a murderer for me; this is personal now. We need to capture him and his accomplices and make them pay to the fullest.”
L gave him one of those faux-sympathetic looks; eyebrows raised and mouth in a pinched frown.
“I understand,” L said. “Which is why I’m concerned about you.”
Light’s eyes grew wide and he let his hands fall to the side.
“You are a most able investigator and I too trust your deductions,” L said. “You are a competent person and I know you understand the gravity of the situation. Though emotions can overwhelm reason.”
L rubbed his nose to emphasize the point. Light smiled sheepishly.
“You’re afraid I might try something that could compromise the investigation,” Light said. “Something like taking matters into my own hands to protect Misa.”
“Light-kun you do understand why I am isolating her from the Taskforce,” L said.
“Of course I do,” Light said. “Yes it hurts, but it’s absolutely necessary under the circumstances. And I know you’re concerned I might try to contact her or even go see her.”
“Yes,” L said. “My concerns are rather obvious, though they need to be emphasized. As I said, I know you are a competent person and you understand the gravity of the situation; but as I also said, emotions can overwhelm. Light-kun, I am going to keep a closer eye on you and I’m going to ask the others to do the same.”
“It’s completely understandable and I have no problem with it,” Light said. “To be honest, I like knowing that someone’s watching out for me.”
“If I think that you are getting too overwhelmed, I will make you take a time-out from the investigation.”
In other words “I can limit your access with the snap of a finger.” This was a little further than the usual “I’m keeping an eye on you” routine.
“That’s a reasonable plan,” Light said. “Though on the other hand, I know this isn’t easy on you as well.”
L sighed and nodded.
“Yes, it has been rather difficult,” L said. “It seems we have come to know each other rather well.”
“You’re my friend, Ryuzaki,” Light said. “We’ve been through so much together and I like to watch out for my friends. So if I start to see you getting a little overwhelmed, I will say something.”
“I would appreciate that,” L said. “Thank you for this talk.”
L walked toward the door. Light stared daggers into his back.
-----------
November 11, 2004
Tokyo
9:31 a.m.
Misa thought the electronic beeps were part of a dream. She suddenly woke up and reached for the night table, knocking over a few tubes of lipstick before feeling her phone. She picked up the phone and looked, seeing that she received one new message.
Misa leaned her head against the bed frame and pressed a few buttons, trying to wake up enough so she could understand the message. It was an unlisted number, but that really didn’t mean anything. Maybe it was from Light; the thought made her sit up a little more.
She pressed a few buttons and accessed the text.
Misa,
Got your message. I know it’s hard but please be patient. You will get another thing tomorrow. Trust me this will all make sense soon.
<3
Misa fell back into bed with a flail and a squeal.
Chapter: Prologue, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Rating: R
Summary: On November 5, 2004, L saw the trap Light set with Misa and Rem and narrowly sidestepped it. What followed was a series of plans to expose Light as Kira and turn a key tool against him, though escaping the specter of death would be a difficult proposition.
Characters: L, Misa, Light, Ryuk, and references to Mogi, Watari, and Yotsuba.
Word Count: 3,315
Disclaimer: Death Note and recognizable characters belong to Ohba/Obata. This story contains details and background stories I have given to individual characters. As a result, any character details that differ from canon is the result of my background stories and not a lack of knowledge about canon. Any comments correcting me or debating with me on this will be deleted without reply.
Author's Note: This chapter was supposed to have more in it, but I realized at the last minute it was already pretty long. This is a good transition into some bigger stuff I want to get into next chapter.
Chapter 6: With enemies like these…
November 10, 2004
Tokyo
8:46 p.m.
Misa tapped a fingernail on the desk in synch with the blinking cursor that rested beside the word “Lolier.”
She blinked a few times and managed to pry her gaze away from the name in the field to look down at the clock. Doing so, however, would mean she would have to skim over the latest page of useless search results. She had processed through pages and pages of these and was only now realizing this stupid task had gone on for the past several hours; save for one hour of crying hysterically after the video and the hour she spent getting coffee just to clear her head.
That little excursion around the block, which became 10 blocks, ended less than an hour ago. By then she had returned to her apartment with headache minimized and eyes stinging a little less ready to begin the search anew with a few more ideas and a clearer perspective. This was the most authentic sounding spelling she could come up with. This should have worked.
The clock said 8:46, half an hour since the last time she looked at it yet she had not done anything else since but look at that last page of search results.
That was it. She wanted to hurl the laptop but was too exhausted to do anything but fall back against bed with a high-pitched groan.
“Just what the hell does he want me to do!” she said yelled, voice on the edge of a sob but she was done crying over this.
She grabbed a pillow and chucked it. Ryuk took a few steps closer at the right moment for the pillow to go through his chest and onto the floor. Ryuk looked down for a moment before cautiously looking at Misa.
“I’ve looked everywhere for these people, every website, every crime info database,” Misa said.
“This sounds like quite a puzzle,” Ryuk said, ducking as another pillow went past his head.
“I’ve done all I could,” Misa said, rolling over on her stomach and burying her face in the pillow. “I know he wants me to find out about these people, but why? Does he want me to find who killed them? Does he want me to find who they were? I know he wants me to do something with this, but I’m so stupid I just can’t figure it out.”
Misa hit the sides of the mattress with her fists, then suddenly stopped.
“No, I’m not stupid. He’s being a jerk,” she said. “I don’t know how to do smart things like hack into stuff. Does he want me to go all the way to Canada to find this out, and write names down at the same time? Yeah right! He doesn’t even call me, just gets Ryuzaki to send me a weird message. That was five days ago!”
She punched the pillow a few times for good measure before sliding to her side and slowly pulling herself to a sit.
“I don’t know what he expects me to do with this and I don’t care,” she said. “He’s going to have to send me another one of these stupid things because I’m not moving until he does!”
“Knowing Light, I’d guess he has a few more tricks up his sleeve than this,” Ryuk said, cautiously walking forward. “I don’t think he would set this up just to send out two of those discs and have that done with. That guy’s working on something.”
Misa gave a hard grunt and crossed her arms. Ryuk was right; Light had elaborate plans for everything. This seemed too incomplete to go by alone.
This whole thing was shaking her to the core. This was a duty given to her from Light; a puzzle she would need to decipher but she had made no progress. This was also a story of three children who were orphaned in a heinous crime. Such murderers were usually on her top priority list for having their names written down, but here she had no names. It was all one big question shoved in her face; she didn’t like questions.
Misa took a few deep breaths, slowly channeling her frustration.
Maybe Light was trying to teach her patience. He had been on the receiving end of more than a few moments of her losing her cool. Light was always so calm and came up with solutions and ideas so quickly. Maybe this was a way for Light to show her how to be more like him. She was receiving an important lesson; maybe that was the overall purpose of this.
Soft electronic music suddenly broke the quiet; the happily familiar sound of her favorite Nightmare ringtone. Misa jumped from her bed and practically ran over to the table.
“Light!” she squealed.
She ripped open her purse and pulled out her phone. The number wasn’t listed, but it wouldn’t have been. Her hand was shaking so hard that she almost missed the green button.
“Hello,” she practically yelled into the phone.
“Amane-san, it’s Ryuzaki.”
She yanked the phone from her ear and shook her fists hard, stomping a few times and gritting her teeth to keep herself from screaming. Misa took a few breaths to calm herself and put the phone back up.
“Oh hi Ryuzaki,” she said in her sweetest voice, even if it was faked. She was an actress after all. “You’re calling to tell me I can have my boyfriend back, right?”
“I wish that were the case,” the troll on the other end said. “The threat to the police has not passed, unfortunately it might be a bit more serious than we originally thought.”
Misa furrowed her eyebrows a little.
“Light’s still ok, right,” she said.
“I assure you he is safe at the moment and working diligently to isolate the threat,” Ryuzaki said. “In the meantime I have managed to secure a safe line so you can communicate with him. It will have to be by text message only for the time being, voice messages will still be too risky at this moment. I am talking to you from a temporary connection that I will have to shut down in a few minutes, but I will send you a text with the secure number. Relay all text messages to Light there.”
“And is Light the only one who will access this,” Misa said, realizing her calm façade was breaking apart. “I don’t want you reading our love letters, you pervert.”
“I assure you, they will go to him and him alone,” Ryuzaki said. “Misa, I know this is difficult but Light told me he doesn’t want you in any danger.”
Misa’s hands shook a little harder.
“He said that?” she said.
“He told me once the danger has passed and the threat has been eliminated, he will call you right away,” Ryuzaki said. “In the meantime send only important messages to this number. He may not be able to reply immediately but he will reply.”
“Yeah well I’ve got a message for my boyfriend; tell him he’s doing a great job scaring his girlfriend and he needs to get back to her right away,” Misa said.
“I will certainly relay the message,” Ryuzaki said, a sigh sneaking out. “Another thing, Misa; if you feel threatened or are contacted by any suspicious parties you need to notify the police immediately.”
A fresh coating of sweat formed on the phone.
“This is major reason why Light and the rest of the Taskforce are isolated right now, it is a possibility this threat might target family members and significant others,” Ryuzaki continued.
“Ok, could you tell me just what the hell this ‘threat’ is.”
“I still cannot say anything and I will have to close this line in the next 60 seconds. But I will say the threat to the police means that Mogi will also be unavailable to serve as your manager.”
“Oh…yeah I guess that means that”
She had forgotten about that detail, there were other more important things to deal with at the moment.
“I have worked out an arrangement with Hayashi Models, they are a very reputable company and are excited to take you on for as long as Mogi is unavailable. They will be contacting you soon.”
Misa recognized the name of the agency, but anything Ryuzaki was saying grated on her last nerve.
“That’s great,” she said not too enthusiastically.
“Misa, as a friend, I just ask that you please be careful,” Ryuzaki said.
“Wow, Ryuzaki, I might think you actually care about me. But I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself!”
“I don’t doubt that. I will send you that number and you will hear from someone soon.”
The line went dead. She tossed the phone on the bed with a grunt. A few electronic beeps went off almost in response; the text from Ryuzaki with the “safe number.”
“Stupid Ryuzaki!” Misa spat. “Enjoy being a jerk while you can.”
----------
8:55 p.m.
The bar of soap passed under his arms and over his chest repeatedly. It had been two days since his last shower and Light couldn’t scrub the sweat and grime off his body fast enough. Two days meant two days of stewing under those fluorescent lights immersed in a roomful of bodies working at all hours and sweating with the heat and stress of simple words on paper and computer screens.
By any one else’s standards, he was perfectly clean; a little disheveled maybe but completely passable in polite society. By his own standards he was a mess. Going this long without showering was unacceptable; though sometimes shallow diligence had to slip in favor of more important matters.
It also provided him with a good excuse to pry himself away from L. He needed to keep constant watch on him, but if he lingered too long L would definitely get suspicious. Light knew he would be lucky if going this long without bathing had escaped L’s notice. When they were chained together, he and L bathed at least once a day in a locker-room style shower. Despite his otherwise slovenly appearance, L was also a creature of cleanliness and almost certainly noticed Light’s habits to that end as well.
This would all have to be a delicate balancing act; keeping an eye on L while trying to look natural. This was even more pressing with the fact L clearly suspected him already; dammit why didn’t Rem write his name down before!
A shadow passing by the shower stall made Light freeze. This was essentially a private room; at least seven of these small bathrooms were placed on this floor within a short walk of the main control area. It had been enough to accommodate everyone working on the Taskforce to do their business in private. There were probably cameras in here, but Light had gotten used to this by now.
Someone was in here now. Maybe someone wanted to talk with him in private, or maybe someone was sent to spy on him, though there could be a worst case scenario to this. Light resumed his bathing, though did so at a more purposeful pace. He didn’t want to appear suspicious here either.
The shadow moved a little, though seemed to just walk into the room casually. Light rinsed himself off while keeping an eye on the shadow. At last he finished and turned the shower off, opening the door and stepping into the stall, grabbing his towel. He heard another noise in the room; the sound of someone using the urinal. It was probably someone who wanted to speak with him; a spy or assassin wouldn’t be as obvious. No, there was one person who would be this obvious.
Light put the towel around his waist and slowly pulled the curtain back. Ryuzaki’s usual slouching form was planted right in front of the urinal, back turned and doing the usual act.
“Light-kun,” L said, finishing his business. “Pardon the intrusion, but I wanted this to be in private.”
Light rolled his eyes as L zipped his jeans and turned around, stepping over to the sink.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something, mostly concerning Misa,” L said, stepping up to the sink and pressing the soap pump several times before turning on the tap.
If only Shinigami could be called over with a thought, even a whistle would have been convenient.
L washed his hands, saying nothing further; the sound of the water only marking the tension. He finally turned the water off and grabbed the small cotton towel from the rack on the wall, drying off every bit of water on his hands without saying a word.
“Though I suppose this is actually more concerning you,” L finally said, folding the towel with the first fingers of each hand and delicately putting it back on the rack.
He turned around, walking directly up to Light a little closer than Light would have liked.
“While Misa has been cut off from communication, I think it is best if she does keep herself occupied,” L said. “Mogi was acting as her manager during the Yotsuba investigation, but obviously that is something that cannot happen now.”
Light remained calm, though was a little taken aback by the direction this conversation was going in.
“You think she needs a new manager,” Light said. “Get her some modeling jobs so she stays distracted.”
Some clouds lifted in a part of his brain; maybe this would lead to an opportunity, though he doubted L would let him that far.
“Communications have been made with one agency I know of and Misa should have been contacted by now,” L said. They will tell her that Mogi is unavailable and he told them to manage her affairs on a temporary basis. This should throw off any suspicion; she should figure this is business as usual for us without tipping her off.”
Of course. L didn’t say who contacted the agency, though he probably didn’t need to. In fact he was making a point not to name the agency. Odds were he contacted Watari through highly secret means, who contacted another one of L’s well-paid or well-blackmailed cronies to do it or talk to someone who would. L wouldn’t do something so openly; Light had to be aware of this. The fact he was even bringing this up could have been a smokescreen for the fact Misa had actually been arrested in secret. No, even this was a little too blatant for that.
“I will inform you my instructions included telling Misa that you encouraged this,” L said. “It was the only way I could ensure she would cooperate and not suspect anything.”
Light really didn’t care, Ryuzaki probably never contacted any agency anyway. A caring boyfriend, however, would have been none too happy about the circumstances. He paused for a moment, making himself look like this bothered him on some level though he was handling it stoically.
“That’s fine,” Light said with a sigh. “If it’s going to be best for Misa in the long run, then I’m willing to cooperate.”
Those creepy eyes fixed on his for one painfully silent moment.
“How have you been taking this?” L said, voice softening. “I know you have developed feelings for Misa, and then Kira returns right as you two are free to pursue your relationship. That has to be difficult.”
Light tried not to show his surprise at the question. It was a good moment for him to keep playing the worried boyfriend; make some attempt at looking natural and possibly ease suspicion. Whether L bought it or not was another story, Light just had to look calm.
Light paused for a moment and sighed heavily.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Ryuzaki, I hate this whole thing,” Light said, keeping up an act of looking finally free to speak his mind. “This past week has been really hard. I mean first we think we had Kira, then Kira returns. Now you keep telling me Misa might be in danger; it kills me every time. I trust your deductions, which makes it even worse. I just…” Light balled his fists to his side and gritted his teeth “I just want to have this thing over with once and for all; I want Kira stopped so badly I can taste it. This isn’t just about catching a murderer for me; this is personal now. We need to capture him and his accomplices and make them pay to the fullest.”
L gave him one of those faux-sympathetic looks; eyebrows raised and mouth in a pinched frown.
“I understand,” L said. “Which is why I’m concerned about you.”
Light’s eyes grew wide and he let his hands fall to the side.
“You are a most able investigator and I too trust your deductions,” L said. “You are a competent person and I know you understand the gravity of the situation. Though emotions can overwhelm reason.”
L rubbed his nose to emphasize the point. Light smiled sheepishly.
“You’re afraid I might try something that could compromise the investigation,” Light said. “Something like taking matters into my own hands to protect Misa.”
“Light-kun you do understand why I am isolating her from the Taskforce,” L said.
“Of course I do,” Light said. “Yes it hurts, but it’s absolutely necessary under the circumstances. And I know you’re concerned I might try to contact her or even go see her.”
“Yes,” L said. “My concerns are rather obvious, though they need to be emphasized. As I said, I know you are a competent person and you understand the gravity of the situation; but as I also said, emotions can overwhelm. Light-kun, I am going to keep a closer eye on you and I’m going to ask the others to do the same.”
“It’s completely understandable and I have no problem with it,” Light said. “To be honest, I like knowing that someone’s watching out for me.”
“If I think that you are getting too overwhelmed, I will make you take a time-out from the investigation.”
In other words “I can limit your access with the snap of a finger.” This was a little further than the usual “I’m keeping an eye on you” routine.
“That’s a reasonable plan,” Light said. “Though on the other hand, I know this isn’t easy on you as well.”
L sighed and nodded.
“Yes, it has been rather difficult,” L said. “It seems we have come to know each other rather well.”
“You’re my friend, Ryuzaki,” Light said. “We’ve been through so much together and I like to watch out for my friends. So if I start to see you getting a little overwhelmed, I will say something.”
“I would appreciate that,” L said. “Thank you for this talk.”
L walked toward the door. Light stared daggers into his back.
-----------
November 11, 2004
Tokyo
9:31 a.m.
Misa thought the electronic beeps were part of a dream. She suddenly woke up and reached for the night table, knocking over a few tubes of lipstick before feeling her phone. She picked up the phone and looked, seeing that she received one new message.
Misa leaned her head against the bed frame and pressed a few buttons, trying to wake up enough so she could understand the message. It was an unlisted number, but that really didn’t mean anything. Maybe it was from Light; the thought made her sit up a little more.
She pressed a few buttons and accessed the text.
Misa,
Got your message. I know it’s hard but please be patient. You will get another thing tomorrow. Trust me this will all make sense soon.
<3
Misa fell back into bed with a flail and a squeal.