You guys are awesome, I'm quite chuffed at all of the love you guys are giving this story. Detailed AN on why I haven't updated in months is at the bottom. :)

Chapter Four:
Friends Forever

Claire's smile dipped slightly as she straightened her clothes and buttoned the shirt. She could only imagine the impression she was giving off coming from L's private room. The air seemed more tense than she remembered before she took her nap, though it was clear everyone was trying to ignore the awkward greeting that had spilled from her mouth. Light stood in the very centre, and once more, Claire was rendered starstruck.

'And so the villain arises...'

His shoulders back, his head held high, chin up; Light had an aura about him, as if he believed the world rotated for his very being. She wanted to make a childish gagging noise at the ego that threatened to choke her. His eyes trailed her form. Cinnamon was a warm colour; it reminded her of the holidays she used to spend with her family full of joy and love—Light's eyes were cinnamon, and they were the coldest eyes she'd ever seen.

The heated gaze continued to pierce her, as if he were reading her entire life just by looking at the wrinkles on her clothing. It was unnerving. Outwardly, he seemed cool and collected, but inside she could practically hear the questions as if he were yelling them. It was apparent just how much he was like L in that aspect; always trying to deduce something. It was a quality evident any time you looked either man in the eye.

Light's expression suddenly changed to what seemed to be genuine curiosity. "Is this the girl from—"

L, ever so blunt, cut him off. "Yes it is. Lloyd this is Light"

It was as if her mind was a whiteboard and someone had just swiped away all of the words that she wanted to say. Finally, she ran a hand through her hair and shrugged, nervously. "I guess I'm the other suspect. Nice to meet you," she lied.

Light's eyes remained narrowed and sceptical despite the charming smile on his face. He inched forward, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you as well. It's a shame it's not under better circumstances."

Had Claire been anyone else, she'd have easily fallen for that smile of perfectly straight white teeth. Eyeing him herself, she noticed he did look like a model of some sort. He had an even complexion that she had never been graced with in her teens, his nose was straight, his chin jaw broad and his hair was styled strategically so not a single lock was out of place. God had clearly blessed him with the gift of sex-bomb good looks, even if the poor guy was missing a few screws in the compassion department.

"Anyway, don't mind me. I'm just going to get something to eat," she declared. The open room was adjacent to a small kitchenette and she made a beeline to the fridge, which was filled with cakes, cookies, and the occasional piece of fruit; not a vegetable in sight.

Light watched her turn and then glanced back to L. "You don't think she's Kira," he observed.

"She is a suspect, Light-kun, and will remain so until Kira is caught."

Claire stole a glance at L before reaching in the refrigerator and picking up the abandoned slice of chocolate-strawberry cake from earlier. It was then that she heard it; a raspy chuckle, far too inhuman to have come from anyone in the room. The plate almost fell from her hands as she heaved in a breath and held it to avoid gasping. What the bloody hell was Ryuk doing here and why could she hear him? The grasp on the plate tightened as she turned and tried to pretend nothing was out of the ordinary.

The conversation between Light and L continued as Claire peeked up from under her fringe to look at the shinigami for the first time. This time she couldn't swallow the gasp in time. The two men looked at her curiously and she shoved a fourth of the cake into her mouth, making her look rather chipmunk-like. She glanced again at the Shinigami, who looked more grotesque than she could've ever imagined, before swallowing. "Damn this cake is good," she exclaimed, hoping the lie was convincing.

L stared at her with his owlish eyes before glancing at the cake mournfully. "I was going to eat that," he commented lowly.

Claire frowned and jabbed her thumb in the refrigerator's direction. "But there's plenty more in there."

He sighed longingly with one last mournful glance at the cake. "Back to the matter at hand," L continued, moving the topic back to it's root nature. "We should secure Second Kira before targeting the original. It's obvious he'll obey any demands that come from Kira; in this instance, that works in our favour."

Glancing at Claire, who was studying her cake with rapt attention, Light crossed his arms. "If this new Kira truly idolizes the original, what's stopping her from doing whatever it takes to get to him regardless of if it was ordered or not? If she thinks she may be of use, I can't imagine she would hesitate to aid him."

Following Light's train of thought, L tapped his thumb to his lip in consideration. "It would be plausible. If Lloyd is, in fact, Second Kira, she could very well go through any lengths to get to her obsession. The fastest way to Kira however, is not through me. There are ways of finding him on her own if that were the case."

"Yes, but we have already established that this Second Kira is not exactly smart in terms of strategy."

"True," L replied then seemed curious. "Light-kun, do you think Kira would purposely seek me out if he knew Lloyd was the Second Kira?"

Light's response was slow but confident. "No, I think he would know better, but he would try to contact Lloyd when she was alone. She's close enough to L that she would have his name assuming she was really Second Kira, whom we've already determined can kill with simply seeing a person's face."

L's thumb settled loosely between his lips. What an unsettling thought, and not one that L could quickly disregard without contemplating the statistics. "Light, I would like you to pose as Kira and respond to the messages. You seem to understand how he would reply better than I."

The teenager's eyes narrowed. "Because you suspect I am Kira?"

"Of course," replied L without missing a beat.

Across the room, Ryuk was steadily hovering over Claire, who was doing everything within her power to ignore him. He danced about, sticking his head in places where it should not be; the oven and out of the dish drain for example. She had lost her appetite due to the strange and dead-goblin-like-gross physical appearance. At least he didn't smell as horrific as he looked. For that she could count her blessings.

"You're interesting," Ryuk said finally. "I hope you're as fun as Light."

Claire's fists balled up beside the plate determined not to let him effect her. At least he didn't know she could hear him.

"Hey... Hey!" Ryuk chanted lowly. "I know you can hear me."

Claire's eyes widened. Her fists clenched so tight around her fork that the metal was making indentations in her palm. Ryuk, she was finding out, seemed to be as annoying as a gnat—like the ones that fly into your eyes because you ignored them for too long. Ryuk hated to be ignored, and she knew it, but it wasn't exactly like she could speak freely to him. It would be the equivalent of jumping up from her seat and preforming a musical dance number; cartwheels and minor acrobatics included. Besides, she was a terrible dancer and had never been successful in the tumbling classes she'd attended as a child.

"How?" she whispered to herself, her eyebrows coming together in confusion.

Ryuk drifted through the table and shrugged. "That is what's so interesting!" he rasped before floating over to where L and Light were still talking.

Claire didn't get it, just what was so interesting?

Why of all things was she able to see Ryuk or speak to him or hear him? Was it because she didn't truly belong in this world? If that had changed what else had? Maybe this proved the theory that she was already dead... Did dying people see shinigami's in their last moments of life? For some reason she didn't think so. Did she unknowingly touch a death note at some point? Was she asking too many questions? 'Clearly I am.'

"Is the cake not good?" L asked so suddenly that Claire nearly fell off of the stool in surprise. Not waiting for a reply, he reached over to pluck a strawberry from the chocolate icing.

Shaking her head she turned to look over her shoulder at him, unaware of how close they were. She licked her bottom lip before sliding the plate in his direction. "I'm just not as hungry as I thought I was," she murmured while staring at his lips. They were fuller than she had imagined... but then again, animé characters rarely had lips at all. The ones that did, tended to look like carp fishes in her honest opinion—only a few characters were exempted. His lips in reality were so much better; so kissable.

L leaned forward and Claire's eyes widened as his face grew closer to hers. Her eyes closed as the corner of her lip turned up smugly. He turned last second, having lustful eyes solely for the chocolate-strawberry cake that had been abandoned. Her shoulders slumped instantly. 'This world is a cruel, cruel plane of existence.'

"I'm like a full on criminal now, aren't I?" she wondered aloud as she watched Light scribbling away on a sheet of paper. She could have rolled her eyes at the serious act he was putting on. He was a true actor and Clare was half expecting his Oscar to arrive in the mail any day.

She glanced at L who just stared at her in a way that made her want a tinfoil hat or a metal helmet like Magneto. It felt like he was reading her mind, and her mind could be a scary place. Hell, even she got lost in there sometimes.

"Are you?" he asked, chewing softly.

"No," she said honestly, then thought about the time she stole a candy bar from a fill in station. If memory served correctly, she cried the entire way home due to the guilt. Really, she had felt so bad she asked her mother to take her back so she could apologize and begged her not to call the coppers in to take her away. "The accusation doesn't hurt any less."

L didn't respond, when she looked over she noticed him staring hard at Light. It was best to just leave him to his thoughts, and she made her way over to Matsuda. Her hands were shoved in her back pockets as she slid next to him. "Hi! We didn't really get a chance to meet... I'm Lloyd." She scratched her head. It was easy to forget she hadn't really met anyone formally when she already knew far too much about them already.

Matsuda blinked, his warm brown eyes widening before he smiled. "Matsuda," he replied with a small bow which Claire kind of sort of returned with a head nod. "Yeah, you seemed pretty anxious to talk to L. Did everything go well?"

Claire reached over for the sugar and creamer, just to have something to do with her hands. "There were some things I had to explain about what happened. I'm still not sure if we finished our conversation, I kind of passed out on him mid interview... What does everyone take?" She gestured to the coffee cups on the table that were steadily being poured and Matsuda listed off what everyone liked in their coffee.

"But you don't have to. I've gotten pretty skilled at making coffee lately."

Claire shrugged. "I don't mind. I don't exactly have anything to do either," she replied, filling the cups with the required sugar and creamer before passing the mug to Matsuda who filled it and stirred the sugar until dissolved. When the last mug was left she simply turned the sugar bowl over until it filled half the mug, added two creamers and handed the mug to the young man. He watched her in confusion but she walked away before he could ask her anything about L's coffee or how she knew what he liked.

She passed the tray out accordingly, earning 'thank yous' and appreciative nods. Even Light seemed to respectfully accept the coffee, though a part of Claire wished she had thought to spit in it... just to be a little spiteful. With nothing else to do she simply sat one one of the sofas and waited for things to settle down. She didn't even notice the moment her eyes began to droop and she leaned back to get more comfortable.

L closed the door after the last member of the task force left and turned to see Lloyd sleeping once more on the sofa. He walked over to the small intercom box and pressed the button with the very tip of his finger. "Watari, was there anything of interest that happened during Lloyd's nap?"

The fuzzy voice responded, "No, L. She did nothing more than sleep, but I will send over the tapes to your computer now." Sighing, L tapped the button once more to sever the connection. He traced his lower lip in thought before moving to the pink wing-back chair that was adjacent to the sofa where Lloyd snored lightly.

It was clear that Light wanted him to believe Lloyd may be the newest Kira. Light should know better. L was sorely disappointed that the young teen didn't realize he was already researching into Lloyd's past regardless of if she was a Kira suspect or not. Did Light truly believe his skills to be so narrowed that he couldn't take on multiple tasks at one time? Of course he could search for Lloyd's past at the same time, though, perhaps not as intently as he would be able to if he weren't on the Kira case.

L wasn't so foolish as to blindly believe his theory. After thinking it through and processing the given data on what he knew of Lloyd, it didn't seem valid that Lloyd would kill multiple anchormen simply to save a task force member, unless of course she had baited him purposely knowing that Light was Kira all along. It didn't quite line up that she hadn't even spoken to him unless engaged. Somehow, L couldn't believe her to be that good of a liar and decided that there was a very low percentage of her being Second Kira.

A soft moan came from the figure on the bed and L looked at Lloyd from the corner of his eye, intrigued by the sound. He rarely got to watch people sleep and found himself fascinated by the incoherent mumbles that were spilling from her lips only to be muffled by the sofa cushions.

Soon, L realized Lloyd was being plagued by a nightmare. Whether or not it were one of those so-called visions that she claimed to have or if it were something entirely different, he didn't know. He had never met someone who was believed to have ESP. It was a highly taboo theory among many scientists, some of whom dedicated their life to disproving the existence of paranormal powers. There were still high doubts, and until proven otherwise, L would straddle the line of belief and disbelief.

Claire moaned again, and thoughts of Kira and ESP and sugar swerved onto a different path in his mind and seemed to merge into curiosity over Lloyd's dreaming.

"Kira no..."

L blinked and leaned forward so that his face was hovering over Lloyd's, straining to hear her mumbles. He could only hear a few select words and fought to string them together into a rational sentence.

"...kill ...him ...stop!" She rolled over once more before letting out a whimpering sound that almost sounded like crying. "...NO!"

L didn't move out of the way fast enough as Lloyd sat up with a gasp and bumped her head on his chin. He toppled over, falling to the floor to look up bewildered at the now groaning girl.

"Ow, bloody fucking hell!" Claire growled in English, holding a hand to her forehead. The pain lulled into a mild throb rather quickly and she turned to look at the man who was still sitting on the floor with his head tilted. Despite nearing his mid twenties, he still reserved a great deal of boyishness and it was showing fully in his dark grey eyes full of wonder and curiosity. 'Damn you for being so endearing,' she thought to herself.

"Were you watching me sleep?" she asked with furrowed brows. Claire couldn't imagine what would be so interesting about watching someone sleep, but again, L was the Webster definition of odd. She smiled and entertained the idea that he had been watching because he found her cute. Then another thought occurred to her, one that caused a small heat to well up in her cheeks.

What if she had been having a naughtier dream—likely staring him—and he was watching her in some sort of perverted voyeur? Was it so bad that she didn't really hate that idea? She let out an embarrassing gurgle of joy until she remembered that she often woke up with drool spots on her pillow. How was that for cute and sexy?

L stood lazily. "Who were you asking Kira to murder?"

That threw Claire for a loop. "What? I wasn't... I mean... What?"

"You asked Kira to kill someone in your sleep," L repeated with accusing eyes despite his casual tone. She realized she was quickly becoming more of a suspect by the hour.

Claire thought back and shook her head in refusal. "L, I asked him to stop killing. Why would I ever ask him to kill someone? That's exactly the kind of shit I was put here for... I think."

L walked over to his thinking chair—as Claire liked to call it in her mind. "You were put here," he murmured to himself before evaluating Lloyd. "Who sent you here?"

This angered Claire. She stood and started to pace in front of L, pointing a small finger right into his chest—his deliciously lovely chest. "No one sent me here— I mean I sent myself here. I don't know why, but I wish I did. It just doesn't make sense. I was a perfectly normal girl until recently—doing normal things like playing Halo and buying smokes for my mates and washing my car. Then you have to ruin it by bringing me here to save your slouchy arse before you do something stupid, like get yourself killed!"

She should have stopped there, really she should have, but Claire seemed to have suffered from perpetual word vomit. He simply stared and for some reason that angered her further. Her hands went into the air in exasperation. "I mean it's one thing to be oh-so noble and sacrifice yourself, but do you honestly believe that your successors can handle this?"

L was in front of her face faster than she thought humanly possible and she stepped back with wide eyes. His eyes were narrowed as he leaned in; in a way that was a blatant disregard for her personal space. A part of Claire was greatly intimidated while the other half was thrilled. His mind was filled with the three young boys waiting for his call at Wammy's Orphanage. At this point, L had reworked the data given and was so close to being sure Lloyd wasn't Kira. Neither Kira would know of his successors...

L had made sure all data on him and his association to Wammy's had been destroyed. No, Lloyd might not be Kira—if anything, she was more of a threat to him. His name had a large bounty and there was no depth to the amount of damage that could be caused if he was traced back to the orphanage.

"My successors," he rasped, taking a step forward and watching as Lloyd's knees hit the sofa. She fell with a startled expression. L pressed forward, throwing his arm out to the back of the sofa. Lloyd was successfully trapped as he leaned in, watching her eyes for any trace of a lie. Up until recently he had let her aloof answers slide, but he needed to know what she had seen, how, and why.

"I enjoy defining that which can't be explained normally, but you know something that surpasses logic. I need you to answer me honestly, Lloyd. What do you know of my successors?"

Claire shrugged lightly trying to keep everything casual, but sweat was quickly forming on the back of her neck and over her brow. She had never known L could be so scary. "Matt sneaks cigarettes. Mello likes chocolate. Near twirls his hair."

Those were, of course, traits he was already aware of, so he knew she was telling the truth. He could also see mild twitch in her eye that proved she knew more than she was letting on. "What happens to them?" he whispered lowly and was, indeed, very surprised when she looked up with determination in her oddly-coloured hazel eyes.

"Nothing if I can help it."

L looked at her for a few more moments seeing the honesty in her statement. He didn't ask why or how, knowing she wouldn't answer him and he was never one for physical torture. Knowing he couldn't get it out of her just yet, he simply moved away before walking towards the kitchen. "More cake?"

Claire had the creepy feeling of whiplash from L's sudden mood swings. She merely stared blankly as he rummaged through the refrigerator. "Erm... nah I'm good," she replied once her heart slowed.

Over the course of the next few days, Claire respectfully kept her distance from L. They hadn't really spoken much, even though she wanted nothing more than to bombard him with questions that she had never gotten answers for. He let her sleep in his room. It wasn't as if he slept anyway, so the situation worked well for them. Of course, he still watched her like a hawk, and she was most positive that he made sure to review the bedroom tapes at night. Claire still wasn't sure how she felt about that. Hopefully she hadn't said anything too embarrassing in her sleep.

As much as she hated to admit it... the in-between days, the ones where nothing significant happened were completely, utterly boring. Watari, being the wicked grandpa-figure that he was, had dropped off a few extra things. Though, she suspected it was something L had requested just to keep her out of his hair. She certainly wasn't complaining with the hand held gaming device that had been in the large box of stuff, even if it was outdated by her standards. As long as she wore headphones, L was just as content to leave her be.

There was a knock on the door and she looked at L from the corner of her eye before remembering she had silently become the head-quarter's personal door greeter at some point. Sluggishly, she stood and padded over the soft carpet to open the door, moving to the side quickly to avoid getting trampled as the officers spilled in.

"You're looking particularly casual today," Ukita commented, eyeing her knit bottoms and baggy t-shirt with a small grin as he passed.

Claire scowled. "Yeah well, I don't exactly get the chance to go out anyway. Why would I not want to be in pyjama mode twenty-four seven?"

She heard a laugh and looked towards the door where Light was also entering. "I can't think of anyone who wouldn't want to be in pyjama mode if they had the choice."

Light had been trying to be overly polite since the first time she'd met him, almost as if he expected her to fall on the ground and kiss his feet—Claire would much rather he lean down and give her arse a nice long smooch. It was hard not to sneer at him as he passed. In Claire's world, it wasn't difficult to think of Light as a fictional murderer. Seeing him in person, knowing how casually he was able to take away a life... there was just something about it that made her queasy to the stomach.

Should her stomach follow through with the nausea, she'd aim straight for his polished shoes.

When everyone passed, Ryuk was the last one to enter, opting to float down from the ceiling of all places and pass through her. Claire shivered at the cold that flowed through her body. "Nice to see you again, too," she grumbled before shutting the door.

"Say, do you have any apples to give me?" Ryuk hissed in her ear, spooking Claire into yelping loudly.

Everyone looked at her quickly and she bent over at the stomach. "Oh, ouch... Erm... I mean... Owwww."

Matsuda stood up. "Are you okay?" he asked shrilly with worry.

Claire waved a hand at him dismissively and even tried to look sheepish and embarrassed. "Y-yeah," she whimpered. She continued her act by announcing she had period cramps and rushed off towards the bathroom, but not before seeing a few of the task members tense or shift uncomfortably. She caught Ryuk's eye before entering the door, baiting him. Once in the small bathroom, she locked the door and pretended to wash her hands.

"What is a period?" Ryuk asked, sticking his head through the wall.

Claire jumped, but thankfully didn't make any sound. "I wonder if there are any cameras in here," she whispered with meaning and rose an eyebrow in the shinigami's direction. She faked a shudder. "Or microphones, I swear if L can hear me using the bathroom I'm going to flip out. That's just creepy." She doubted there were cameras, but with L you could never really be sure. Better to be safe than sorry, right?

Ryuk's raspy chuckle drifted into her ears. "What do I get for looking?"

A small sigh left her lips. "It's so boring when you're ignored and can't do anything about it," she lamented as she washed her hands a second time. If Ryuk didn't hurry up and there were cameras, she was going to look very suspicious on tape. Funny enough, she hadn't thought to check over the last few days. If there were really cameras, she'd certainly have a little chat with the head sleuth.

Ryuk was silent as he scratched his cheek. "So no apples?" Claire faked a yawn. "Hmm. Fine if it means you will talk to me... Light never talks to me unless he wants to know something about the death note."

Claire's fingers were going to wrinkle soon if she didn't stop washing them and she simply moved to sit on the edge of the tub and pretended to be dealing with her cramps. Thank god she wasn't due for another period for a few weeks, she wasn't sure L was ready for her PMS just yet.

Finally, Ryuk floated before her and stilled. "None," he announced proudly before hovering over the tub.

Thankful, Claire smiled lightly and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ryuk."

Ryuk stared at the hand with peculiar expression for a moment. Then, with his Cheshire grin glued to his face, he extended a black, clawed hand to grasp hers. "Say, Lloyd... is that really your name?"

Dropping her hand, Claire froze. "Wait, why are you asking me that? You of all people should know it is."

Large feathery wings spread as Ryuk stretched lazily and Claire was tempted to touch them and see if they were as soft as they looked. "Nah, you have no name... do you think you could hide some apples in here for me? I keep asking Light but he just ignores me uses them to bribe me. I'd love to see his face when I decline a bribe for once."

"Yeah sure," Claire said slowly before holding up a finger, "but what about my name!?"

Ryuk shrugged. "Never met someone with no name before."

"Ryuk," Claire hissed with a deep scowl. "Ryyyyuuuk! Don't leave when I'm speaking to you."

But it was too late, Ryuk was already drifting out of the room. Her anger at Ryuk quickly dissipated when there was a curt knock at the door. Lifting herself out of the tub, she realized it must be Watari. Her heart softened when she opened the door to find the older man standing there with a few bags. He held them out, the smile in his eyes were soft and polite.

"L said you'd be needing these. There is an extra change of clothes in there as well."

Claire took the bags and felt guilty about making him walk to the store because of her lie. "Thank you, Wammy," she whispered, smiling as his eyes widened a fraction. She winked at him before closing the door. She stared at the clothes and shrugged figuring she may as well take a shower.

Did that mean she truly didn't exist in this world if she had no name? She wondered if the Death Note would do any good if she didn't have a name. Maybe, that meant she didn't have a life line either. If that was the case, then when exactly would she cease to exist... assuming Ryuk wasn't pulling a joke on her, that is. She refused to believe she was immortal.

She had just finished rinsing the suds from her hair when a loud pounding came from the door. "Lloyd! Are you almost finished in there?" the voice that she recognized as Matsuda yelled.

She jumped out and hastily dressed, not bothering to put on a bra as she grabbed her bags and opened the door. The sight left her sniggering as Matsuda was hopping from one foot to the other clutching his groin.

"Oh shit," she breathed, her eyes shining with amusement. "I didn't realize I was causing that much of a hold up." He nodded and dashed past her as she jumped out of the way before the door could be slammed into her. She was still laughing as she walked towards her sofa, only to find Light casually drinking tea while sitting on her designated spot. Sighing, she looked and noticed nowhere else to sit before settling for the floor beside L's chair.

Glancing up, she could have sworn she noticed Light's eyes narrow before opening innocently. "Lloyd, you don't need to be so shy. You can sit next to me if you like."

'I really don't like,' Claire replied in her mind before moving to sit beside Kira.

She was stiff and Light easily picked up on it. He leaned over. "I don't bite, Lloyd. I mean perhaps if you ask me nicely," he replied with what he must have thought to be a seductive purr, and Claire begrudgingly admitted it did have a rather seductive quality to it.

When he winked, Claire nearly lost the breakfast she'd eaten only an hour before. "I think I'll pass..."

He glared for a second when they were interrupted by Watari. Claire had been waiting for this moment for the last four days. Misa had finally left a reply for Kira and they were all about to watch it. There was something so wrong about feeling excited about this.

Everyone quickly abandoned their current tasks to crowd around L's small laptop. "Kira-san, thank you for your response. I will do as you ask."

Claire looked at Light from the corner of her eye, ignoring the cheers that went off in the room. She could see the wheels turning in his head and already knew his thoughts as his narrowed eyes bored into the laptop screen so intently she thought it'd combust.

"I want to meet you Kira-san. I don't believe that you have the eyes, but don't worry, I won't kill you."

Light jumped as he looked from side to side and she whistled lowly. He caught her stare, and she knew he was freaking out mentally; for some reason, this made her feel insanely giddy. "This person's clearly not of the brightest breed," Claire whispered and enjoyed the way Light's eyes widened with panic before he quickly hid it.

"I don't believe you have the eyes... What's that supposed to mean?"

Claire stood and slid between Ukita and Aizawa to stand directly behind L. She knew his eyes were wide and he was likely spooked by the message. Her hand jetted out to touch his shoulder and he started. "Calm down," she whispered, leaning down.

"Please think of a way that we can meet without the police finding out. Once we meet, we can confirm our identities by showing each other our shinigami! "

"S-shinigami!?"

Claire was prepared as L gasped along with everyone else and started to jerk out of his seat if she hadn't know better she really would have thought he were having a heart attack. She dug her fingers into his shoulder, to keep him upright as his chair tilted to the side. When it was clear his chair was going to fall she quickly shoved her knee on the armrest, making it fall back with a large thud.

Unfortunately, L couldn't maintain his gargoyle position and slammed his bum into the cushion looking at the screen in horror. Claire fell over in an awkward sprawl on top of him. "Are you trying to tell me shinigami really exist?!" he gasped. She couldn't ignore the feeling that he were really asking her. It was difficult, but she wisely chose not to confirm as she regretfully removed herself from his lap.

"M-maybe it's code. Something only Kiras would know about," Matsuda supplied.

L shook his head, but Light seconded the theory. "There's no way shinigami actually exist," he said seriously as L used the armrests to lever himself back into his standard position.

Claire could have laughed at the tone of Light's voice and wondered how he could keep his cool when lying. Especially considering Ryuk was chuckling gleefully over his shoulder. She wanted to grab Ryuk's notebook and pass it around just to be done with everything, but she knew it'd never happen that way. She stayed silent as the conversation continued around her and clenched her nails into her palms to remind herself to stay quiet.

L was still pale as he shook his head again in thought. "Kira used prisoners to write sentences about shinigami."

"If that's true should we consider this to be the work of the original Kira... same words from the same person," the older Yagami said.

"I doubt that, father," Light countered, ready to jump in and dazzle people with his brilliance.

Too bad for him, Claire cut him off... just because she could. "Yeah but the original Kira would have never replied to the fake Kira's message."

Light stepped forward threateningly and Claire hid behind L's chair instinctively. "What makes you think that?" he demanded, coolly.

Claire was more than tempted to stick her tongue out at the prideful arsehole. "Because Kira wants L dead as much as he wants to continue with slamming criminals or anyone that steps in his way. Don't you agree, Light-kun?" she baited. His cold stare made her shiver, but she stubbornly continued. "Kira would never prevent L from going on TV if it meant Second Kira would see his name!"

Ukita looked thoughtful. "Then, there is a possibility that the real Kira and the second Kira may have already joined forces, and are using the term Shinigami to confuse our investigation?"

"No," L replied finally. "Lloyd and Light are right. If Kira was involved, they would keep the videos going until L appeared on TV. Second Kira is acting on their obsession with meeting Kira. As a result they're likely doing whatever it takes to capture Kira's attention."

"Confirm our identities by showing each other our shinigami... Could mean that they will demonstrate their ability to kill," Light offered.

L was quiet for a long time as he considered Light's theory. There was certainly merit. He felt Lloyd shift behind him before feeling her hand on his shoulder once again. He didn't quite like how physical she was today, but soon he brushed the thought away and addressed the task force. "We'll repeat this reply on the 6:00pm news on Sakura TV. The real Kira will be watching to view the interaction between the second and the fake Kira that we've created."

"Maybe we'll get a response from the real Kira!" Claire announced proudly that she could contribute and patted L on the shoulder, ignoring the way he tensed.

"And if we don't?" Light asked.

L scratched his cheek in thought. "Well... I've tried to think of what the second Kira would do in this situation... and they would probably tell the police and the public further information that Kira would not want them to know."

"In other words," Claire chimed in, "Kira would be fucked." The task members seemed surprised at her comment, though she wondered if it were because of the colourful language she used. Maybe girls in Japan weren't so vulgar. If Yuno was anything to go on, they seemed very... docile and timid. At least, they usually seemed that way in most animes.

"This could be very interesting... even more so assuming Kira does fear such a response and sends his own message."

Not long after, when everyone left, Claire leaned against the door. "L that was brilliant! I mean it's one thing to read about this, but to actually see it!" Then she froze, realizing her mistake. Her smile dropping.

"Read?" L echoed, tucking his laptop beneath his arm.

Claire slapped a happy smile to her face. "Yeah, like future readings. Sometimes, I just see things like a book or something, other times it's like a movie," she explained, thanking whoever in her family had given her the quick-wit gene.

"Interesting. Can you read my mind too?" L asked casually while walking towards the bedroom Claire had been sleeping in.

"No, even if I could, I'm not sure would be able to keep up with everything that goes on in that brain of yours." Claire looked in the direction where L had just disappeared behind the door and followed to lean against the door frame. "Ah, L whatcha you doin'?"

L was gathering pillows, fluffing them up before he rummaged through a his suitcase. "I require sleep tonight," he replied and gestured to the pillows as if it were obvious.

"Didn't you get enough sugar today? Are you feeling well?" Had L ever really gotten sick during the entire series? No, he hadn't that she could recall.

"No," he responded with a small head tilt. "I require sleep once or twice a week to refresh my mind."

This surprised her. She never would have thought he actually scheduled his sleeping patterns like this.

He climbed into the bed and glanced up to see Lloyd look down the hall from where the sofa was to the bed. "But why not sleep in there?" She pointed to the other room.

"Sofas aren't suitable for sleeping, otherwise they would be more commonly used as beds," he said and began transferring files to Watari for backup. When he looked up Lloyd was still standing in the doorway looking slightly lost and confused. The girl seemed rather puppy like in that moment, though he had never been particularly fond of animals. Finally, she walked over to the other side of the bed and grabbed a pillow before walking towards the door. Tough break, but at least the sofa wasn't all that uncomfortable.

L's blinked, his onyx eyes wide and curious. "Where are you going?" he wondered.

She scrunched her nose in thought. "Huh... I would have guessed you'd prefer the bed to yourself."

L looked at the large amount of space to his right. Lloyd was small enough, he suspected there was enough room for three people of her size to fit in the bed alongside him. "I don't see why you would think that. The bed is of suitable size. If it bears repeating, sofas aren't for sleeping."

"Oh," she replied dumbly, not knowing what else to say. Eventually she made her way to her own large bag of clothing while her body pulsed with giddy excitement, and realized the only thing she had left for sleeping was a very frilly lavender-coloured nightgown that she'd picked up at that marshmallow shop. She slipped into the bathroom and changed quickly.

Sleeping with L, even in the most literal sense of the word, hadn't been something she had anticipated, though it did make her a little excited. Mentally she was doing a happy dance, outwardly she pretended to be a cool cucumber; until she looked in the mirror and her eyes turned wide as tennis balls. She panicked at the sight of herself.

'I guess that'll learn me to actually look at things before I buy them.'

The nightgown looked so modest on the wrack, but it didn't quite look as humble on her body. Had the neckline always plunged this low or did the gown really have a mind and will of it's own, because it was surely putting up a fight every time she tried to pull the neckline upwards. It didn't look bad on her, exactly, but it wasn't really her. Claire didn't do negligée, she was always a plaid flannel and old t-shirt kinda bird. This was like dressing Barbie in JI Jane's military uniform. It just didn't fit.

She put one arm on the opposite shoulder and it somewhat hid the cleavage, but it just looked silly. Giving up on trying to find some inconspicuous way to hide the dress, she exited the bathroom with some apprehension. At least she knew L to be married to his work. From what she understood, he'd never taken a romantic interest in anyone. For that reason, she always considered him rather asexual, untouchable anywhere other than her dreams.

He didn't take notice until she was nearly to her side of the bed, and when he looked up, he stared blatantly at her taking in all of the lace around her chest. "Are you trying to seduce me?" he quizzed bluntly as he trailed his eyes over the nightgown. She noted with disappointment that he didn't sound very intrigued, merely curious. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline your offer if so. I'm quite busy."

Claire snorted; a sound that was a mix between anger and amusement, as she crawling between the covers. "I really wasn't, but thanks for letting me down easy," she with an amused grin but let herself imagine for a moment what would have happened if he had made a move on her.

Oh, she would love to see all the things that tongue could do with something other than candy. She battled with her imagination to calm down before she got too worked up, but even while distracting herself with images of fluffy kittens and Brady the halitosis hobo, she still found her thoughts straying back to how L would seduce a girl. Part of the image was incredibly sexy, the other half was merely amusing with his blunt comments of 'I can't wait to engage in coitus with you.' Would he use the scientific terms? Maybe...

L was somewhat mollified but gave her a small shrug. "You're welcome," he replied seriously, but Claire didn't even hear it. He gave her dopey and drooling grin one last befuddled glance before turning back to his laptop.

Claire let herself stare up at the tall, white ceiling with popcorn plaster and tried to make out the shapes that were illuminated by the screen. The sound of his keyboard was quickly lulling her into a sleepy state as her earlier thoughts of seduction promptly faded. "L," she called quietly once she had gotten over her fantasy and his typing stopped. "I won't be much help for the next while—maybe months even. Even if I want to, I can't really tamper too much with your case, so things have to go the way they're meant to for a while. I'm sorry."

L's eyes were glued to the screen, but he had heard every word. By the time he decided to respond, the brunette was already entering stage one of her REM cycle. He sighed and closed his laptop down, shutting the lid and shifting around until he was comfortable enough for sleep.

When Claire woke up, it was likely because some sixth sense had awoken inside of her and she could feel L's stare. She turned her head to yawn before blinking up sleepily at the two grey eyes. "Wow," she breathed. "What is it with you in my face when I wake?" 'I could get used to this', she added in her mind.

"I have to get closer to your mouth to understand what you say," he responded and she could smell cupcakes on his breath.

She muffled another yawn behind her hand, as to not offend him with morning breath, and he moved out of the way so she could sit up. "Do you brush your teeth with frosting or something?"

L watched her stand as he sat on his heels, she noted he was wearing something other than jeans for once thought it looked far more comfortable. "I use children's toothpaste. The flavour is much preferred."

She stretched and walked over to her bag. It turned out she was running out of things to wear in the day time too. She had only bought a few items and all that was left was a pair of cotton shorts and a sleeveless shirt. She wasn't even sure there was underwear in there. "Somehow," she said with a teasing grin. "That doesn't surprise me in the least. Is it the kind with pretty Disney princesses on the tube?"

"It is," he replied unembarrassed and she snorted a laugh. A long, pale digit went to L's mouth. "Who is Teddy?" He watched as Lloyd froze and turned with wide eyes. He blinked at the fear in her eyes. Whoever Teddy was, he couldn't imagine why she would be so afraid of him. She didn't sound scared when she dreamt of him.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes with a small but sad smile. "Teddy was my best friend."

"Was," L repeated, not missing the longing in her voice and found he couldn't relate. He never put himself in the position to miss someone. "Not anymore?"

Then she laughed and he cocked his head to the side. "Teddy... I don't know what happened to him," she admitted before staring out of the large bay window at the sun that was just starting to peek over the horizon. "It's early, normally I'm in until noon."

"You slept for the required seven hours," L pointed out and looked at the waded clothing in her hands. "Do you need Watari to get more things for you?"

Claire considered for a moment. She really was running low on things to wear, but another idea struck her. "Why don't we go out instead? Besides nothing major happens today anyway."

L replayed her words quickly. "But something does happen," he noted and turned to reach for the phone on the night side table.

Claire knew he was about to contact Watari. She jumped onto the bed and tackled him, earning a loud oompf as he hit the mattress. "I'm not exactly one to speak, but you have to let whatever is going to happen in the next few days actually happen! Don't be so impulsive. I promise it won't work in your favour."

L struggled, not used to having anyone pounce on him in such a way, but the tiny brunette was stronger than she looked and eventually moved to sit on top of him. For some reason, despite his distaste of human contact, he let her. It seemed she had forgotten about her state of dress, or lack of it, and he could only feel how warm she was with only a few layers of cloth between them. Truly it was fascinating, if not slightly uncomfortable as well. His arms dropped to his sides as he stared warily and Claire just knew from the look in his eyes, he didn't trust her.

"What percentage?" she asked quietly and his eyes grew innocent. "How close am I to being Kira to you?"

There was a tense, pregnant pause. Slowly, L's arms rose to grip her own. He gently pushed and she slid off of him—regrettably. "Less than one percent," he admitted, sounding almost sad, as if her being Kira would have made life easier on him. "I have spent a large portion of the night analysing the given evidence against you and I find very little of it to be incriminating, but that doesn't make you less of a threat. Perhaps, you're simply more deceptive than I originally believed. I've long since destroyed all of the data on my past, yet all of those things you seem to know anyway... which makes me wonder, just how long have you had these visions of me? If at all."

Lloyd seemed lost and L watched her cheeks puff out with a low blow of air, she appeared to deflate with the action. "A while?" she offered. "I can't explain it in a way that would make sense."

"Try."

Claire wondered how to explain without sounding insane—or how to twist her story into something that made at least some rational sense. There wasn't any way to make a fictional story seem very concrete. Eventually, she realized the half truth would have to do.

"Have you ever read a book?"

L just stared blankly, and it made her feel like an idiot.

"Right, of course you have," she amended with a sheepish grin. "Well you know how you read it enough times you understand everything that happens in that plot. You know things about the protagonist that no one else does, or very few in your case...? Well, that's kind of what it's like. There are things missing. I don't know everything, hell I don't know a damn thing about anything other than this Kira case other than a few things that surround you."

When she looked over, L was gnawing on his thumb in thought. "Like the BB case," he supplied with understanding.

"And your successors. The thing is. I'm not really psychic—or I don't think. I don't know what I am, really."

L tugged the baseball hat to the side earning a sigh from Lloyd. She had managed to drag him out with the surprising aid of Watari who agreed that L should get out more. Claire was so happy, she nearly hugged the older man. Though the detective was still hesitant to go out in case he was seen by someone. She compromised with by letting him wear one of the hats she'd picked up at the marshmallow fluff store. When he complained she just told him to be thankful it wasn't pink, though, she suspected he wouldn't have cared what colour it was.

Claire had never seen L fidget so much. "Are you really that upset to be outside? I thought you wouldn't mind considering you like tennis and stuff like that." As they walked through a small park she noticed L eyed an ice-cream vendor lustfully. "If you stop complaining, I'll buy you some. I'm sure they have strawberry."

She could have sworn she saw his lips twitch into an almost smile. "I accept your bribe."

They sat on a bench together enjoying their treat. Claire closed her eyes, enjoying the light breeze that drifted through the air. It would be turning summer before too long and she knew she'd need some cooler clothing, though she wasn't looking forward to shopping. She never had enjoyed browsing racks endlessly.

"Do you play tennis?"

She opened her eyes and looked over to see a perfectly pink tongue swirl it's way around the strawberry cone as if it needed to map out every inch. Claire swallowed the saliva that pooled in her mouth. God he didn't even realize how hot that looked, the fact that he seemed so innocent...

"Lloyd?"

Claire blinked at the sound of her surname.

"Huh?" She shook the naughtier thoughts from he mind. "Oh no. I just miss the outdoors strangely enough. I had an old luxury car... though I don't think you could have called her much of a luxury. She was rusted to pieces and the doors squeaked when you opened it, but I still loved to drive with the windows down, feel the breeze and all. It was really the only time I went out... just turned out to be my thing."

L continued to lick his ice cream. His eyes closed to savour the flavour on his tongue and Claire watched the action like a hawk circling prey. When L opened his eyes he looked from her to the ice cream. "I know." He held it out. "You wish you had gotten strawberry too."

Claire stared at it for a few moments before laughing. "You're so far off the mark..." When L appeared more confused she only laughed harder before standing and motioning for him to follow. "Tell me a secret, L," she prompted to fill the silence and he looked at her.

He wondered if she was fishing for information and continued to lick his ice cream. She seemed genuinely interested, but he realized there wasn't very much that he could tell her that she couldn't use against him later. So he settled into a small scowl, half pout. "One condition." Her eyes lit up. "You tell me something about yourself as well. For every question you ask I get to ask two."

Claire didn't hesitate. "Okay!" If it meant she would know more about the famous detective, she would lick pavement to get some answers. "Do we get to decline an answer if we don't want to answer?"

"Naturally." There were things L didn't want to answer either, but of course if it was necessary, he wasn't above lying. "Where were you born? What is your heritage?"

Surprised Claire looked over at him. "North England. My mother was Canadian, my father was Welsh. My dad met my mum on a train where she was headed to visit a friend, my dad was on his way to a conference. I'm told it was love at first sight, but I'm not entire sure I believe in love at first sight."

L licked his ice cream delighted to begin to piece Lloyd's background together. So Lloyd truly was her name, and now he had a general idea of where she was born. This would bode well for him when he finally had time to investigate her more later on. He didn't miss the way she talked about her parents in past tense, meaning they were likely deceased. "Orphan..." he murmured into the strawberry ice cream that was quickly disappearing.

"That's three questions. Wait your turn," she chided gently as she tossed her cone away and L looked at the trash can. "I'm still waiting on that secret, by the way."

"Why didn't you eat the cone?" he asked. "That's one of the best parts after the ice cream."

"There's only two parts to ice cream. I would have given it to you if I'd know you'd be so bothered by it." Claire laughed happily. "L, that's four questions. You really need to learn to control yourself!

He pouted and she nudged him lightly not noticing the way he tensed at the contact. "I don't like black liquorish," he admitted and Claire's head turned to look at him. "You wanted a secret, that's one of mine. I don't like black liquorish."

To say Claire was disappointed would have been a grave understatement. She had hoped for something a little juicer as she considered her next question. "What happened to your parents?"

L froze. At this point he shouldn't have been too surprised that she knew his own parents were dead, but he couldn't help but to feel a little dejected that she had chosen to bring it up. "Is it not my turn? You asked a question already," he finally replied she giggled and he was confused. He replayed the conversation in his mind before sighing. "You requested I tell you something, it was never a question. Very cunning of you, Lloyd."

Claire nodded with a smirk. "You had me worried there. For a second I was worried that you might not be as smart as I thought you to be. Funny enough, people rarely consider me all that smart. Is it bad that I feel a little happy that you almost missed my loophole?"

"On the contrary. I find you to be very intelligent," L admitted, and Claire silently gloated at the compliment. "Not everyone would think to use a mnemonic code for my name nor would they think of one so quickly. Very well. When I was five, a man broke into our house demanding that my father give him money. The man shot my mother in the head before shooting my father three times. I was hiding in my room, but I saw their murder."

Claire was horrified and not just at the way his parents were killed, but in the apathetic tone he held when he spoke of them. She felt guilty for bringing it up, but he didn't seem particularly bothered by it, he simply continued licking his ice cream as if she had asked him his favourite season. Maybe his parent's death explained his strong sense of justice. She was thankful that he didn't become the brains of an underground revenge cooperation. One Kira was enough, but if L really wanted blood from someone, she had no doubt he'd be ruthless in his methods of obtaining it.

"I'm sorry I asked."

He licked his fingers clean, unaware of his companion's eyes before shoving his hands in his pockets. "It's all right. I wouldn't have answered if it had bothered me. I believe it's my turn. Where did you get the money in your wallet, or did you steal it?"

Absent-mindedly, Claire rubbed the ring finger on her right hand with her thumb. Her grandmother's advice had to be always keep it on her finger and due to the paranoia of having it stolen, she obeyed that advice diligently. She had never paid it much attention when it was with her, but now that it had been pawned, she found that with it gone, her hand almost felt heavier.

"I didn't steal it," she said as she turned to walk backwards for a few steps and nearly bumped into a man who was walking. L, thankfully, reached out to pull her out of the way. "My great-grandmother had a diamond ring from the early 1900s that was passed down for four generations until it made it to me. When I found myself in Japan, I realized I didn't have enough money—or any money, really. Currently, it's sitting in a pawn shop a few blocks from the Police station. The owner was really nice, told me he would hold it for a year and wouldn't put it out until then just in case I came back with the money for it. I don't really see that happening since I can't exactly get a job... Oh! That was two questions."

"The later question was joined with the first by a comma and conjunction. If we're speaking in grammatical terms it was only one question with two parts," L argued before asking his question. "When is your birthday."

Suddenly she laughed. "Oh god! I missed my own birthday." It was true. She had burst into the Death Note reality on April 18th, the day of her birthday. In all the madness that had occurred, she hadn't even noticed. Did everyone back home know she was missing? Did they miss her if so? Was Teddy out searching for her, or was it as if she had never existed? She often gave her state in this world thought, but rarely considered what had happened in her old life.

L watched as Lloyd's expression turned from amused to serious in the span of only a few minutes and felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Though, he never celebrated, even he remembered his own birthday. Watari even made him cake with no hidden vegetables once a year and he loved the taste of chocolate cake without the zucchini or carrots hidden in the batter. Not to say he liked the other cakes any less. He loved all of his cake equally.

"My birthday only a week ago on the 18th. I was supposed to have a party, but I guess I missed it to be here for you— I turned twenty-one."

There were no more questions after that. L was sadly disappointed because he was curious to know if he could get a name out of the brunette, but he assumed Lloyd was deep in thought and was content to follow behind her quietly as she scanned the shops they had come upon. When she stopped, he did too and he let her choose between the stores. It seemed none of them were quite to her satisfaction because her shoulder slumped and she had a rather prominent drag in her step as she neared one of the buildings.

L frowned at the reaction, he was already feeling the unfamiliar sensation of guilt in his stomach from making her miss her party, though he still wasn't quite sure why she felt she had to be here with him. She wasn't exactly part of the case nor did it really effect her that he knew of. "Watari would not mind buying what you need," he offered for a second time.

"I can't ask him to do that," she said. "He's busy enough as it is, besides we're already here. This kinda stuff just isn't me... and it looks awfully uncomfortable."

He didn't really understand why there was a problem. He followed her into the store. Clothing was nothing more than a means to cover a body. Should it really matter what it looked like? Thinking on it, he did understand the need for comfort. The small skirts and shorts didn't particularly look comfortable to him either. From what he gathered women tended to spend a long time in stores, so he mentally prepared himself for a long wait and stood in a darkened corner. To his surprise, the girl barely gave the clothing a second glance as she threw them over her arm.

Claire was almost finished when she hears a giggle that made her freeze. She quickly looked around for it's owner and noticed the blond who was browsing a rack of clothing not too far away.

"Rem," Misa whispered in a cheerful voice. "Which do you think he'll like more?"

Claire almost dropped her clothes, but recovered quickly. She knew Misa was planning her disguise, she just hadn't expected it to be at this particular store, which didn't have a Gothic Lolita dress anywhere in sight. Then again, that was the point of a disguise, was it not? Without a second thought, she strode across the room and stood in front of L. She slid the changing curtain open and tossed the loot inside carelessly.

L looked over his shoulder to stare at the crumpled clothing then looked at her. "Ryuzaki ," she half hissed, half whispered as Misa's voice neared. "Don't. Move."

She had never once used his alias, and something about the determination on her face made him tense. Lloyd lifted a hand and tilted the bill of his baseball cap down further so his eyes were completely covered before standing on her tip-toes. Her other hand grasped the back of his head and his eyes widened. "I'm not comfortable with this," he stated distantly and swallowed lightly.

She gave him a sheepish grin. "I know," she said softly and he could smell the ice cream on her breath. "Just stay still, please."

Misa continued towards the changing stall and Claire's heart pumped in her chest at an unsteady tempo. Why did time have to feel so slow when a person felt dread settle in? The blond spared them a short glance and giggled before disappearing behind the curtain, leaving Claire to practically slump forward, her ear resting against L's chest. She could hear his heartbeat and feel the heat radiating from his body to warm her already flushed cheeks. If possible his heart sped up even more and Claire looked up at him with worry. It took one glance to know he had put it all together in a matter of seconds and she was terrified at his intelligence in that moment.

"The Second Kira is here," L breathed in astonishment and looked at Lloyd with excitement in his eyes as they darted around the store. "Which one is she?" He started to move forward, but Claire slammed her body into him. He hit the wall and stared at her with a mix of anger, confusion and wonder in his eyes. He tried to move again, but she was determined and rammed herself into him again.

"Please don't," she begged him desperately. If he continued to fight her she knew he'd get what he wanted and there would be no way to stop him. If Rem was here and L tried to apprehend Misa, she had no doubt L would be dead before the night was over. "I know you don't trust me but please, you can't. Please..."

He tried to shrug, but she mistook it as a struggle and just pressed herself into him more. For the second second time in a day, he found himself with the petite brunette's body pressed against his and it was quickly disturbing him how often she threw herself at him. "What would happen if I apprehend her now?" he asked, wondering if he should believe her, but she was openly sobbing.

Claire shook her head. "I don't know. That's why I can't let you do it. I'm sorry. I'm just so fucking sorry, Ryuzaki ."

L was treading into unfamiliar territory. In his mind, he rationalized that Claire was right. Second Kira was nothing more than bait at this point and should he capture her now, it would only take longer to get Kira. Defeated, his shoulders slumped further and he sulked for a moment.

"Hey," Claire said after she realized he was going to listen to her instead of rushing in like a raging bull. She nudged him and he glanced down at her with pitiful eyes. "I've got your back, mate. You should know I'm going to do everything I can to make sure nothing happens to you. I meant what I said, I'm here for you."

Bewildered, L looked at her. "Mate?"

Not following, Claire nodded. "Yeah, buddy, mate, chum... friend..?"

Then it dawned on her. L had no friends to speak of. He had lived a solitary life with Watari as his only companion for years. And to think the first person he called friend was his murder. The thought was mind blowingly tragic. She patted his chest lightly. "Or whatever you want me to be. If you're not ready for a friend then that's fine too—but we really should get out of here," she added with a glance to the curtain where Misa would be emerging any minute.

L still seemed almost in a daze as they walked out of the store with their purchases and back to the apartment. Claire couldn't help but to smile, and there may or may not have been a slight bounce in her step as they entered their shared hotel room.

AN: I know L seems very hesitant around Claire at the moment, but I keep reminding myself that he really has lived a solitary lifestyle as an almost nomad with only Watari. I don't see how he would be quick to have lustful or even friendly thoughts of Lloyd/Claire right away, nor do I think he'd even care all that much about her. I also think physical touch would bother him greatly. I mean, it took months for L to consider Light a friend, and even then it was a pretty fucked up relationship. From my general analysis, I'm more inclined to think L has some form of SPD rather than the slight Autism that many people speculate he has.

Oh and one last thing, I'm really sorry if this chapter came across as Light bashing. Personally, I adore Light. Without a villain there is no story. Claire respectfully hates him based on the things he will do (namely killing L) and not as much for who he is as a person when not in Kira mode. It's hard to like someone who you know for a fact is a murderer.

I feel an explanation is in order. Over the last few months I have sight seeing with my partner in a few countries for a nice bit of travelling to quite a few countries over Europe. (Gotta love the summer music festivals, because there are tons nation wide.)I was thrilled when I finally got home and checked my account email to see just how many people have requested me to continue. Thank you for all of the support guys, and I hope you have all had a wonderful summer as well. For those of you who are back in school, I wish you the best with your courses! As a reward for being so patient, this chapter had a lot of extra length to it. It rounded out to be nearly 11k, and I hope it amends the month long absence. A lengthy chapter for a length wait, yes? I will be starting work soon, but I hope that the wait time for my next upload won't be as suspenseful.

As always, forgive any mistakes. I literally spit this one out as fast as I could go, so I'm sure I've made plenty of errors. If you catch any major ones, please let me know so I can fix them. - Jack