A/N — Y'know the drill. Chapter is unedited, writing is crap, I'm too lazy to do something about it lol. If you see a mistake, just point it out and I'll fix it (but don't be too rude about it please and thank you!) >o<

_________________________________________

"He's dead."

You swallowed hard at those words, drawing out a long breath that depleted most of the oxygen in your lungs. "Thank you, Light. Thank you, thank you."

"Car accident," he added, setting down his pen and shutting the notebook. Death Note. A bringer of death. "So he isn't so obviously linked to Kira." He swivelled round his chair to face you, lifting his lips into a half-hearted smirk. "Who would have thought [L/N] [F/N] would be asking me to kill a man."

You looked down at your hands, hands that were now covered in the blood of a man. You and Kira shared the blame on this one. But you liked to think the fault was on the man, for his crime. This was his retribution. He had it coming to him when he made the wrong choice. You felt a spark of guilt press against the back of your eyes, and then it was gone. And that was the end of it.

"Are you sure you don't mind me staying over again?" You asked, fiddling with the strap of the bag you'd brought along from your house.

"Not at all. I'm sure you don't want to be alone tonight," he said before adding: "I don't want you to be alone."

You dropped your bag and fixed him with a hard look. "What are you doing, Yagami?" You said abruptly.

"What do you mean?"

"The kiss. Acting like you really give a shit about me."

His response was quick, smooth. "I do give a shit." He stood up, his hip knocking the desk, making the pen pot rattle, and walked across to the bed. He sat down next to you, his leg pressed against yours, but you didn't have the will to draw away. "Why else did I tell you? Nobody else but you knows my secret."

"Misa does," you corrected, never taking your eyes off his. He was so close you could see the shallow dimples by his eyes and the freckles peppering his nose.

"Misa figured it out herself."

He was getting closer but you still couldn't pull away. Your eyes fell to his lips then went back up to his eyes. "She's a smart girl."

"Not as smart as you."

Then he had his hand against the back of your head and his lips on yours for the second time that evening. You wanted to pull away, push him off, you knew you should, but those lips were so addictive in a way that was wrong and you knew it. Like cigarettes. Knowing that one day they're going to kill you yet you keep going back for more.

Light held your fate at his fingertips, at the tip of a pencil, he could kill you by scribbling down your name in a notebook. And yet you couldn't keep away, couldn't get away.

Your hands went to his hair, his went to your waist. He pulled you closer, you tried and failed to pull apart.

And then you stopped because someone was at the door.

"Light-Kuuuuun, why's your door locked?" A familiar voice said, and you felt a stab of guilt.

"Crap," Light muttered, standing up and smoothing back his hair from where you'd messed it up with your fingers. Without glancing back at you. he twisted the lock and opened the door, fixing a smile on his face. "Misa. What are you doing here?"

She pushed her way into the room and froze when she saw you sitting on the bed. You gave her a weak smile.

"Oh. W-what are you doing here?" She asked, her head tipping to the side, like a wilting flower. Her eyes were narrowed.

Before you could open your mouth, Light smoothly intervened, dropping his hands on Misa's shoulders and turning her to face him. He towered well over her. "Her mum's in hospital," he said truthfully, keeping his eyes on his girlfriend. "She didn't want to be alone tonight so I'm letting her stay here."

"In your room?" Misa challenged.

"No, in the spare room," Light corrected her, his hands going around her waist. You turned away, still feeling his touch on yourself. "We were just talking."

Misa harrumphed. "Okay, but Misa still doesn't like her Light being with other girls." Your throat clenched, unclenched. "So... can I stay here tonight too?"

"Misa," Light started, sighing. He took her arm and pulled her to the other side of the room, muttering something in her ear which was obviously not intended for yours.

"But Light-"

"Sorry Misa. Another time okay?"

The blonde girl turned back to face you and you offered a wan smile. "Sorry to mess up your plans."

She waved you off, but her lips were still bunched up into a pout that clearly suggested she wasn't pleased. "Sorry about your mum. Maybe Kira will punish the person who did this," she added, her eyes turning glazed and dreamy.

He already has, you thought, but merely nodded. Light had instructed to you to keep your mouth shut about knowing her and Light's secret, unsure of how she might react to him telling you.

"Misa, was there anything you actually needed from me?" Light asked, drawing her attention back to him, and you took the opportunity to excuse yourself from the room.

As the door to the spare bedroom shut with a firm click, you dropped your bag to your feet and slid down the wall, you head nestled in the crook of your hands. You weren't sure how long you sat there, blocking out the world, worrying, fretting, thinking about all of those 'what ifs', but you finally stirred once you heard movement outside the door; Light saying goodbye to Misa. I wonder if he'll add a kiss into the mix, you thought bitterly, running your hands through your hair again. Why you were letting him take advantage of you like that was a mystery. Maybe you were taking advantage of him too, to get your mind of your mum, off all the shit that was happening, using him as a distraction. Maybe you were both as bad as each other.

A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door. You climbed stiffly to your feet and let Light in. He looked annoyed.

"Is your girlfriend okay?" You asked, your voice thickly laced with sarcasm.

Light gave you a dry smile. "She's fine. Anyway, the more important question is are you okay?"

Your eyebrows went up at that. "I'm more important than your girlfriend now?"

Light rolled his eyes, ignoring your taunts. "If you need anything, you know where I am," he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "If you can't sleep, I'll probably be awake. Just knock first, okay?"

You felt your cheeks darken involuntarily, but he didn't seem to notice. "Will your parents be happy knowing you have a girl sneaking into your room in the middle of the night?"

"Who said they have to know," he said with a wink, already backing out of the room. "Goodnight-"

He was drowned out by a loud trilling from your pocket, and you fished out the phone with your heart in your throat. Light's face dropped, he looked at you cautiously. "Is it L?"

"I don't know. Maybe. It's an unknown number," you said, facing the screen towards Light. "I'll answer it. Won't cause me any harm, right?

The boy shrugged limply, but you could see he was braced for something bad to happen.

You answered the call and pressed the phone to your ear, biting hard enough on your lip to taste blood. "Hello?"

"Good evening, this is Ibaraki Hospital. I'm calling to let you know that your mother, [M/N] [L/N], is awake and asking for you."

__________

L's P.O.V

"Are you sure about this?" Matsuda asked, rubbing the back of his neck as the others geared up in preparation to leave. "I mean, do you really think she's connected to Kira?"

"She's connected to Yagami-Kun," L drawled, picking up a sugar cube and licking it. "She's been involved in two incidents related to Kira. This last one gives her a direct connection."

"But we can't even be sure Kira killed this one!" Matsuda pointed out. Aizawa gave him a strained looked from across the room, but he ignored it.

"No, we can't," L agreed, now sucking on the sugar cube as he tapped something into the computer and brought up the files that were the cause for their latest connection. "But it's highly likely. This man was arrested for a mugging incident. The woman who was attacked just so happens to be the mother of [L/N] [F/N], the girl who was with Yagami when Raye Penbar tailed him onto a bus that was hijacked, and who has witnessed another death by Kira. When interviewed about such death, she said she had been walking alone after leaving the cinema with an Otsune Fumihiko. When we questioned Fumihiko about this, she had no recollection of ever going to the cinema with a [L/N] [F/N]. So why would she lie? You only lie if you've got something to hide." Matsuda made to interrupt but L quickly cut him off. "Back to yesterday's mugging. The convicted criminal died not even twenty-four hours later. A car crash when being transported to a prison facility. A car crash which resulted in one death and nothing other than minor casualties for the officers. Do you know how likely that is to happen? Not very."

Matsuda swallowed his argument and nodded, stepping back. "So you think she's the Second Kira?"

L cocked his head. "I don't know about that. But she knows something. And she's close with Light Yagami, my number one suspect for Kira," he said loosely. Matsuda shook his head, frustrated. How the hell someone like Light Yagami could be a mass murderer was beyond him. "She's now a suspect in the dealings of Kira," he finished simply.

"So now we're kidnapping her?" Matsuda asked exasperatedly.

L shrugged. "We're not kidnapping her. We're bringing her in for questioning."

"So why the blindfold and handcuffs?"

L picked up another sugar cube. "In case she is the Second Kira. You wouldn't want her to kill us all now, would you?"