Crime Companions

Team Trio

Before Light could stand to go venture out some food, or more likely, a cup of old coffee, Amane poked his side, smiling shyly at him. “Hey, since we’re going to be working together from now on, you wanna go to lunch together?”

He glanced back at Ryuuzaki, wondering if they should extend the invitation to him as well. He had been the one to suggest adding Light to the case. The ungroomed man was licking the tin foil seal from a yogurt, and their eyes met for a second and Light quickly returned his attention to Amane.

“Yeah, sure, it probably beats old coffee.”

“Of course it does,” Amane says. She pulls her purse on up over her shoulder, and smiles wide. It's then that he takes in the entirety of her appearance - bleached blonde hair, sparkling eyes, a perfect hourglass figure. Everything from her meticulously painted nails to the dark lipstick suddenly made him realize who she was.

“You're Misa-Misa, aren't you?” He asked. “The model?”

Amane smiles. “And here I was hoping no one would notice.”

“You're in a room full of detectives. I'm sure at least half of them have daughters who wanted to be you.”

“And yet, you're the only one to have said anything,” Misa replies. She begins scrolling through her phone as she walks, partially ignoring him. “Besides, I'm not a model anymore, so there's no reason to refer to me by that name.”

Light hums in agreement, and they walk side by side in relative silence - Misa scrolling through her phone, and Light observing his surroundings. Since the conference room was on the second floor of the West building, there was a long walk back to the entrance, and multiple things to keep him occupied. From the high ceilings to the wide windows, Light drank in everything the building provided, already mapping it out in his head, for future purposes.

It wasn't until they crossed over from the West building to the East that Light realized they were being followed. He wasn't sure if Misa had picked up on it, absorbed in a fashion article. Trying not to be so obvious, he glanced behind him, finding Ryuuzaki trailing behind them, hands stuffed in his pockets, and stepping on the cuffs of his oversized jeans.

Light let out a sigh. He shouldn't have been so wary, it was entirely possible that Ryuuzaki was just following him because he was going out to eat as well, although he had been licking yogurt from a cup before they left. He has no reason to believe Ryuuzaki was being a creep, and he didn't necessarily need to believe that they needed to include him, either. He hadn't said a word to him, and Light wasn't going to the one to start the conversation.

That didn't stop Misa, however. “Oh, Ryuuzaki, I hadn't even noticed you there! Are you going out for lunch too?”

“I am.”

“Would you like to join us?” Misa asked. Light didn't want to be the one to tell her that he didn't want to dine with Ryuuzaki, especially over something so shallow as the man's appearance, so he hoped that at the very least Ryuuzaki could sense the discomfort brewing in Light and would turn Misa down.

“I would enjoy that very much, where are you two headed?” Ryuuzaki asked. Light cursed Misa and the awful man. He trailed behind them a bit, still listening to the conversation, but pretending to be interested in his phone rather than converse with the two of them.

“I was thinking the ramen shop I saw on my way here, it's pretty close. Do you like ramen, Light?”

It takes him almost a full minute to realize that Misa is looking at him, expecting an answer. He simply nods, allowing Misa to lead them to the entrance. As they approach it, he wonders if Ryuuzaki’s feet would be cold, since he was very obviously not wearing shoes early. It was only snowing a little now, but it was still awfully cold, especially on cement sidewalks. Perhaps Ryuuzaki really was a hobo who had walked into the wrong room.

But then, why would the director call on him to assign him to L’s case? And cite him as the detective who solved the Kira case? Staring at the back of Ryuuzaki’s head, Light couldn't help but wonder what exactly the man was keeping from them. No one so weird and detached could possibly be a detective, could they?

They arrive at the ramen shop, and sit around a table near the back. Light assumes Misa picks it for the privacy, but Ryuuzaki perches himself in the chair on his feet, leaning forward like a gargoyle. Light is too shocked to even tell him off, and Misa only stifles a laugh.

“You weren't sitting like that in conference room!” Light says. He tries to restrain himself from yelling and making a bigger scene. Surely Ryuuzaki was just messing with him now, simply seeing how uncomfortable he could possibly make him.

“Of course not, I didn't need to use my deductive skills in that morning conference.”

“And you need to use them in a ramen shop?”

Ryuuzaki nods, his facial expression giving away nothing. When a waitress comes to ask for their orders, he orders Green Matcha ice cream and a sweet tea. Misa orders for both her and Light, handing the menus back to the young woman.

“I figured the reason the two of you went off together was to discuss the case, so of course I followed,” Ryuuzaki explained. He took a sip of the drink the waitress brought, watching her set coffee in front of Light, and a lemonade for Misa. “Was I incorrect?”

Misa pursed her lips. “Well, we can't really discuss it without L, we are on his task force after all.”

“Oh, well, I'm L,” Ryuuzaki replies in a deadpan voice. He stares blankly at Light, as if tempting him to challenge his statement.

Light quickly rises to it. “No, you're not. I've seen L in press conferences, you look absolutely nothing like him.” He looks towards Misa, hoping she is in agreement with him, but she seems thoughtful to Ryuuzaki.

Ryuuzaki waves Light’s off. “He is a figurehead to ensure my safety. I have several aliases, and several people who pose as each of them, it's how I manage to avoid dying.”

“I don't believe you for a second,” Light says.

“Well, then how would we know you're the real L, and not some model? Or a fake alias to make us believe that we are in safety and only being lured toward a trap?” Misa asks.

He sighs, looking bored at the two other detectives, and then slowly takes another sip of his tea again. “There's nothing I could say to convince you - my real name is Lawliet, my alias is L, Mihael Keehl acts as the man behind L. Ryuuzaki is a simple detective stationed in Kawasaki, who I use as a fourth alias to throw assassins off.”

“A fourth-?” Light started, bemused. Who needed upwards of four aliases?

Misa bit her lip. “Suppose we believe you-” Light glared at her. “Why would you allow yourself to be chosen for a task force assigned to L?”

“Simple - there was no third member that could be a stronger detective than myself.”

Their food arrives, and Ryuuzaki picks up a spoon and immediately digs into his ice cream, caring little for how disgusted the other two are. “So, what do you say - ready to be part of my group?”

Misa nods vigorously. Light would bet money should would have believed Ryuuzaki even if he hadn't provided all the info he had.

“Light?”

He sighs, like it hurting him, and then gives a short nod.