Light silently observed C as she drove through Tokyo's busy center using the car's state-of-the-art GPS system. She kept a serene expression on her face, like she hadn't just pulled an incredible stunt by incapacitating L the way she had. He was absolutely mesmerized by her. She was unlike so many of the girls at the university, and definitely a lot better than Misa Amane. Unreal was the word he would best describe her with. Ironically, that fitted her to a T, considering she was, technically, unreal.
Though C had her own consciousness and was, for all intents and purposes, responsible for her own actions, she did not officially exist. She hadn't been born in the way humans normally were, but just appeared one day as a manifestation. The trauma Cassia had suffered must have been severe if her mind had created such a strong persona.

I wonder if whatever happened to her is how she met L, mused Light. If C truly is a protector, then the most likely scenario would be something linked to abuse. A violent home situation could have been a potential trigger, though I think it may be closer to a kidnapping, possibly from a sexual predator or stalker. I don't immediately see any other way L could have gotten involved. Not unless someone hired him to find her, but the guy doesn't just take on any case. Whichever way they met, it's evident he's as fascinated by her as I am, else he wouldn't have stayed in touch. Oh, but...

Light narrowed his eyes, brow furrowing as a singular thought struck him. Could C — or Cassia — be more to L than just a work partner? It was a far stretch considering L's character, but it would explain certain things.

L said he hadn't seen C this morning, but she knew what he had for breakfast, suggesting she was in his room at some point. Could they have eaten together? Or maybe... No, I'm overthinking this. L doesn't seem like the type to have a girl- or boyfriend. There's no way they spent the night together. But... the way C and Cassia speak to him... They care for him, each in their own manner. It's the one thing they share. So maybe —

"You're gonna get wrinkles."

Light blinked at the sound of C's amused voice. She flashed him a grin, briefly locking eyes with him before concentrating on the road again.

"I can hear the radars of your mind working all the way from here, Light," she said. "If there's something you wanna ask me, just ask."

"No offence, but even if I were to actually interrogate you, I doubt you'd speak the truth."

Laughter filled the car. Light had never heard such a wonderful sound before.

"Look at you, Mister Holmes," C quipped. "You're right, of course. There are some things I can't tell you about for Cassia's privacy and security, but I'll do my best to answer your questions. Tell you what, why don't we play twenty questions? Or whatever amount of questions we'll get to until we're at the morgue. Sound good?"

"Um —"

"Great, you can go first. Go on, ask me whatever you were thinking about just now."

Light stared at her. He didn't trust C would ever tell him the truth. Not for one second. But this was the first time he was alone with her, and he couldn't miss his chance of learning more about her. Even if she lied with her words, she might not with her body. There lay valuable information in the unspoken, so he was sure to pay close attention to her.

"All right then," agreed Light. "Well, I suppose my first question is, how do you know L? When and where did you meet, and what were the circumstances of your meeting?"

"Technically, those are four questions, but I'll allow it since they're all related," said C. "We met during one of his cases a couple of years ago in Europe. He interrogated me, or rather Cassia, as a witness, and I came out when he pushed her a bit too far. Okay, my turn!"

"Hang on, I have a follow-up question."

"I already allowed you the four questions at once, so you'll just have to hold that thought. Now, tell me; what's the deal between you and Misa? Because I'm not buying that you two are an actual couple."

Light huffed and sat back in the passenger seat. He crossed his arms and stared out the window as they rode over the bridge. What was the deal? He wasn't sure himself. Misa had just shown up on his doorstep one day, and they just... became an item. Kind of. But why would that be of any interest to C?

I shouldn't be surprised that she would take this opportunity to question me if she shares L's theory about me being Kira. And considering I'm doing the same and asked her about her relationship with L, it's only fair I answer the question. However, I'm under no obligation to tell her everything.

"To be honest, it's one-sided," Light said. "She's head-over-heels for me, but I don't feel that same way for her. She's been through a lot, though, so I guess I... I'd feel guilty about ending things right now with everything that's going on."

C hummed at his answer. He snuck a peek at her from the corner of his eye. She kept a perfect composure, making it hard for Light to read her. In fact, he couldn't get a read on her at all. He had witnessed some intense interrogations at the NPA and had gotten fairly good at picking up micro-expressions. Yet the woman sitting beside him was a blank page in that regard. It was another significant difference with Cassia. Perhaps he was focusing on the wrong person, but he couldn't falter now. Even the slightest hint could be important. He had to see this through.

"My turn again. What kind of case was L investigating when he met you?"

"A murder most foul," replied C with a sudden grim, diverted undertone. "So, if you don't like Misa, do you perhaps fancy Kiyomi Takada instead?"

Light's head jerked back at C, mouth dropping in shock. How the hell did she know about Kiyomi? He hadn't been at To-oh University for months now. The last time he spoke to his black-haired female classmate was before his confinement. They didn't even text. He wasn't in touch with anyone at school. All of his assignments were sent from and to the professors directly. So just where did C pick up that name?

"L had you watched, remember?" Her haunting eyes taunted Light's incredulity. "Anyone who came into contact with you was under observation for a while. Kiyomi frequently called your her boyfriend in public. So, once again, if you don't like Misa, do you like Kiyomi?"

"N-No." Why was he stammering? "That was nothing. Just a college fling."

"Really? Huh... You don't seem the type to have casual flings. But I suppose a hard-working and straight-A student doesn't have much time for an actual relationship. And a brief release is still better than nothing."

"A brief..." Light's eyes widened when he grasped her meaning. "No, it's definitely not like that!"

"Ah, still a virgin then, huh?"

"That is none of your business!"

"No need to get so defensive." She smirked at his reaction.

Light groaned and buried his face in his hands. He had never been so humiliated in his entire life. Would it be too much to ask for the seat to swallow him up into oblivion? Thank God it was just the two of them in this stupid car. He didn't dare think what the others would say. His father probably wouldn't make a big deal of it, and L wouldn't care, but the inspectors might tease him with this info. And — oh no, Misa! If she found out, she would be all over him!

"Will it make you feel better if I say I am, too?"

He lowered his hands. C's current expression was one he hadn't seen on the young woman's face before. Not when she was in this persona, anyway. It was as if Cassia's tragic personality had slipped through. The dangerously beguiling and unyielding spirit C usually kept up, held a sudden dolefulness that felt out of character for her.

"I entertain myself, of course," she continued, attempting to sound casual, which Light found peculiar as well. "I mean, come on, I do have the same needs as most humans do. But I would never put Cassia in a situation where she could wake up after or, God forbid, in the middle of sex with someone she didn't give her consent to. I'm certain I can maintain control, but it's not something I'm willing to risk. We may share the same body, but that doesn't mean I'll do whatever I want with it. Not with such a personal thing, anyway."

"But isn't it your body too?" asked Light, slightly taken aback at C's willingness to talk about this, yet curious about her answer. "I mean, don't you believe you have the same right to experience intimacy?"

"No, I don't. I already make Cassia go out, wear other clothes, eat other food... And I'm not even gonna talk about my ghostly encounters. She is terrified of what might happen even when I'm on my best behavior, so abstaining from that is the very least I can do to make this easier on her. It's the one thing she knows she doesn't need to worry about. We leave notes to speak to each other, and this is something I continue to assure her of. Not that it matters. After all, who'd want to be intimate with a freak that has to share a body with another personality, right?"

The angry bitterness and guilt that clung to those words didn't go unnoticed. Light hadn't once thought about the ramifications DID had on someone's life. Relations were already so complicated, yet he couldn't even imagine what might happen if one of the two personalities would find someone to love, but the other didn't share the sentiment for that person at all. Or worse, what if each identity fell in love with another person?

No matter what the personas decide, someone will always get hurt, thought Light. Either one of them or the people they're with. The only way to avoid that pain is to allow no relationship to form. Guess I can cross C and L being together off my list of theories.

"We're nearly there." C broke the silence that had descended upon the car. "One more question each, I think. Anything else you would like to know?"

Light considered his options carefully. There were still so many things he wanted to ask, but he had to make a choice right now. Finally, he settled on the one thing that might give him further clues into C.

"When did you come to be?"

"About a decade ago."

"So when Cassia was... thirteen?"

"Yeah, there about. Now, for my last question, I want to know a bit about your little sister. Can you tell me about her?"

"Huh? Why do you want to know about Sayu?" Light found it a curious topic after things got so personal before with his love life.

"Don't laugh, but I see Cassia as my awkward baby sister," she said. "I know that sounds strange, but it's just how I feel about her. As you saw these past few days, she's an introvert and agoraphobic, so we don't go out much, and even if we do, we stay close to home so we can go immediately go back. You're the first person I've met with a younger sister and... I guess I just want to make sure I have the 'older sibling' routine down right. Be there for her in whatever way she needs whenever I can, you know?"

"Yeah, I think I understand." Light sighed as he thought about his answer. "I'm just not sure what I can say about Sayu that might help you. We don't do that much together, but I help where I can when she asks me to, like, for school. She's a good kid, but can be annoying sometimes when she goes on and on about girl stuff or her favorite TV show. Though, I suppose all that stuff is normal for a fourteen-year-old."

"Would you say that, despite not hanging out a lot, you still have a good bond with her?"

"Hm, maybe. I'm not as close to her as other siblings are since I'm always busy studying, but that doesn't mean I don't care about her. It's my job as her older brother to make sure she stays on the right track. The last thing I'd want is for her to get in trouble or mix in with the wrong people."

"Sounds similar to what I try to do with Cassia. That's a relief."

Light was about to ask if he could ask one more question, but the car pulled up in the hospital parking lot at that moment. It was like C had timed it perfectly to coincide so he couldn't continue their little game. She performed a perfect parking maneuver in less than three seconds and turned to Light after shutting down the engine. The smile on her burgundy-colored lips inexplicably made him feel all warm and fuzzy, but her smoky eyes had quite the opposite effect. The golden hazel, just a few tints lighter than his own honey browns, reminded him of the calculating gaze of a tiger right before it pounced on its prey, while the blue, as dazzling as ice crystals in sunlight, betrayed a different type of predator.

"Thank you for indulging me, Light. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier."

"I-It's fine. Don't worry about it." Light cleared his throat, hoping she hadn't caught the faint tremble in his voice. "So, how do you want to proceed?"

The smile dropped, giving way to a serious expression. Light found that sudden change strange. He cocked his head, waiting for C to reveal her strategy.

"Hospitals aren't a good place for me," she said. "It's full of the dead and dying who ended up there in unexpected ways and have no idea what is going on. If so much as one ghost notices I can see them, I'm gonna be stuck in there forever. I don't have the time to help anyone cross over right now, so I'm going to need you to take the lead on this one until we're in the morgue. I'm assuming it's in the lower levels?"

"Yes, but you can't access it from the main building," said Light. "We have to go up to the third and cross the glass walkway that connects with the annex to get to that part of the complex."

"Damn, that complicates things. Hm, okay, this is what we'll do then. I'm going to put on my sunglasses, and you're going to take me by the arm. It'll give the living the impression that I have trouble seeing, and the dead won't be able to tell if I'm looking at them or just staring into nothing. I'll keep a low profile while we're in the public areas, but take the lead in talking to the staff at the morgue. You have to guide me until then, Light."

It was the first time in his life that Light felt unease brought forth from the terrible notion that he might disappoint someone. From an early age, he had made everyone around him proud, earning their respect with very little effort. But right now, right here, he couldn't bear the thought of letting C down. Why? What was this hold she had over him?

"I won't let you down," he said, trying his best to sound confident.

"All right then. Let's go."

They got out of the car and walked toward the entrance of the hospital. C put on her black shades, and Light let her hook her arm with his. Once again, he was overwhelmed by the scent of her perfume, and even more by her touch. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.
They passed an older couple on their way in. To keep up their ruse, Light pulled C closer to him so they could walk by easily. He heard the elderly woman call him a 'chivalrous young man' for offering assistance to a blind person. A faint blush crept up his cheeks when C put her other hand on his arm.

"You're doing great," she whispered.

They crossed the grand white lobby, not paying any attention to the donated art pieces that others were more than eager to admire before going about their not-so-pressing business, and went straight for the visitor elevators at the very back. A cacophony of sounds resonated around them, working together in an odd, perfect harmony. Staff being paged over intercoms, the whoosh of the automatic door opening and closing every few seconds, the creaking rolls of wheelchairs, patients and their loved-ones talking whilst sitting or strolling around... The vibrant ding of the elevator invited the pair into a brief intermission from the hospital orchestra. Now that they couldn't be overhead, Light dared to remark something that had been bugging him for a while now.

"I find it strange that L or my father haven't called or texted yet. We weren't followed either. I was sure they'd come after us the moment they set L free."

"Why would they risk following us around Tokyo, possibly missing us at every turn, when they know for certain we'll return to HQ? You are under suspicion of being Kira and will be hunted down if you don't go back within a reasonable amount of time, and I have Cassia. We have no choice but to return, and L knows that."

"Huh, I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense when you put it like that."

The elevator opened up to the third floor. Light stepped out. He felt C's hold on his arm tighten. And then all hell broke loose.