I don't own Inuyasha or Death Note

It was a weird morning.

No, Light corrected himself; in fact the entire week had been weird. It was only logical that the weirdness didn't stop now.

With the second Kira's video, his father, already weakened by an heart attack, risking his life to stop the diffusion of said video, and L who didn't come in class anymore, with the effect of making the university completely dull and boring (after all, what was calculus when the most mundane thing in your everyday life was a huge Shinigami following you around and whining for apples?), the rules changed too quickly for Light to be comfortable with.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, he mused. Falling into a routine would make it easier for L to trap me.

Stifling a yawn, he sat or rather nearly collapsed on a bench outside to rest a few minutes before his next class. The previous night had been almost completely sleepless: he hadn't been able to quiet his mind long enough for him to fall asleep, as he was thinking about a plan to contact the second Kira. The effort had been fruitless and, since it wasn't his first sleepless night this week, he was becoming more and more tired.

The fact that he was moving in a kind of fog probably explained the upsetting feeling that didn't leave him all morning.

The feeling that he was being observed.

Was L making someone follow him again? Could the video have made him that nervous? Maybe he was hoping to catch him in the act sending another video to Sakura TV. Or surprise him killing criminals? Or…

Light sighed and closed his eyes, feeling completely foolish. Or I could be becoming paranoid because of lack of sleep and too much pressure.

Eyes still closed, he didn't notice someone was approaching until he heard a feminine voice call his name shyly.

"Light-kun? Err…"

Then, another voice said:

"Do you think he's sleeping?"

Opening his eyes grudgingly, he saw three girls watching him anxiously. He recognized them: they were in his class, and he saw them often with Tomoyo.

Seeing he was awake, the smallest girl- Nagisa, maybe? - took a deer-in-the-headlights expression, while one of the others gulped and spoke:

"Hi, Light-kun!" Her voice was a bit too high-pitched. She coughed a little and resumed more calmly: "I, well we, wanted to ask you a question. Well it's more like a service, in fact… And we preferred to talk to you when you were alone, because it's a bit of a sensitive matter. Well, no, not really, but… Err, you see?"

Light wanted to laugh. Not because of her completely incoherent and incomprehensible speech, but they were the one who had watched him this morning. No FBI agents this time, Light, only a bunch of young girls. Not sure if that's less dangerous, though.

Feeling both amused and a bit miffed for panicking for so little, he arched an eyebrow.

"No, I really don't. What can I do for you?" He smiled to put his interlocutors more at ease, and if he was lucky, to finish this conversation faster.

The trio glanced at each other before the tallest girl spoke:

"It's about Tomoyo-chan…"

"What about her?"

"You probably noticed, but she didn't come in class for four days. We tried to join her, impossible."

He blinked, surprised. Yes, now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen the energetic girl for a while, even though she made sure to at least tell him hello every day. Truth to be told, her sudden disappearance should have jumped out at him, but he had been too distracted by the second Kira to pay enough attention.

"Is she sick?"

"Impossible to know, she doesn't answer our messages and we don't know where she lives. We were hoping you would know how to contact her."

"Oh." Of course. "No, I only have her phone number."

"Okay." They didn't look too disappointed, as if they were expecting this answer. "And Ryuuga-kun?" resumed the girl. She seemed to be she spokeswoman of the group. "Do you know where to find him?"

"Ryuuga?" What could L possibly have to do with this conversation? Cautiously, he asked: "Maybe, but I don't think he'll answer my calls, to be honest. Why?"

As far as he knew, L wasn't really close to them. Hell, he doubted the detective had spoken to anyone here other than him and Tomoyo. Those girls didn't have any reason to worry about his absence.

This time, it was another girl who answered. He vaguely recalled having once mentally compared her to what Tomoyo could be if she had too much coffee. But here and now, she didn't look like her usual overly-energetic self. She shrugged and said:

"He walked her home at least once. Didn't you know that? And…"

"And we didn't have time to properly tease her about that, can you believe it?" Hana interrupted. "The important thing is, he knows where she lives, and we don't. We can either ask him to help us, or simply wait until Tomoyo-chan comes back at college. So I'm asking you again: can you contact him?"

Light was somewhat surprised by how she was pressing the matter, but also curious: they had been about to let something secret (therefore interesting). His interest picked, he answered:

"Sure, I should be able to."

The three girls seemed relieved. "Great," said Hana. "We're counting on you then. Just tell her we would like her to answer us, even if it's just to get copies of the classes she missed, please."

Damn, thought Light, what did I say? I'm not even sure I can contact L. But he walked Tomoyo home? I didn't know they were that close. Or could he be planning to use her to trap me? If he is, these girls gave me a valuable heads up.

Suddenly, Yumi turned towards the other girls and said: "Hey, why don't you go ahead and save us seats for class?" Her friends looked at her dubiously, before a small smile appeared on Hana's face, and she practically dragged Nagisa away, towards the school building.

Light raised an eyebrow. What was that about?

Yumi waved to the retreating girls, and then turned towards him, looking more serious than Light had ever seen her. "Sorry about that, but I have another message for Tomoyo-chan, and they can't know about it, because they would be furious against me, and they would be right to be. Could you keep that secret?"

"You weren't exactly subtle," Light pointed out. "They already know you are keeping something from them."

Yumi smiled weakly. "No, it's okay. They will think I wanted to be alone with you because I want to ask you out. I won't lie to them, but when I refuse to talk about our discussion, they will conclude I chickened out and won't suspect anything." She giggled slightly. "Of course, I'm going to get teased about that for ages, but I can live with that."

Light nodded, vaguely impressed by her scheme. "What was that message you want me to pass?"

Yumi lowered her head, all remaining traces of humor vanishing. "I want her to know I'm sorry for what I said last time we saw each other. I know I've hit a sore spot, and if… If that's why she's not coming back… She's my friend, even if she's not completely honest with us…"

"Not completely honest?" repeated Light.

She panicked and started doing wild gestures with her hands. "Oh, I've already told you too much. Just give her the message, please, Tomoyo-chan and I will have to settle this when she comes back."

The girl seemed on the verge of tears. If he insisted just a little…

"What's wrong? Something is eating you, I can see it. If you want to talk to someone, I'll never repeat a word of it to anyone, I promise." Light used a soft voice and matching expression to put her more at ease.

Yumi looked at him, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away furiously, but others came quickly.

'No, don't worry about that, it's just a stupid argument. I said things I shouldn't have, and she must hold a grudge against me for that. I need to apologize to her, and then learn to shut up rather than saying hurtful things without thinking about it."

"That's why you don't want the others to know? You said something that upset Tomoyo-chan, and you think that's the reason she's not coming to university anymore?" What could she possibly have said to elicit such a strong reaction? Light smiled nicely. "I'm sure you're overthinking this, and it isn't as bad as you think. Look, I'm convinced Tomoyo-chan is simply sick, and she'll come back, energetic as always, and in a few days, you won't even remember you had an argument".

His interlocutor's face fell a bit more. "No, she won't forget, I'm sure of it. I said she was dishonest, that she didn't act natural with us." She burst into sobs and sat on the bench, next to him. "And… And the worst thing is, I know I was at least partially right, and instead of making her see she could trust me, I just threw my observations in her face, and she'll never, never forgive me! She'll never forgive me because I was right!"

Light stared at the crying girl, completely dumbfounded. Yumi's words had opened his eyes to a possibility he hadn't even considered before: could it be that L and Tomoyo were accomplices? That they were working together in order to arrest him?

One part of his mind was telling him that idea was ridiculous: Tomoyo had always been translucent to him. Energetic, intelligent, and hot-tempered, but still innocent and a little naïve.

But even so, it was true she spent a lot of time with L, and the detective seemed to like her company, since he hadn't said or done anything to make her flee.

And now that he thought about it, there was… something in her personality that was… discordant, for lack of a better term. Like the fact that she was usually rather excitable, but sometimes seemed to lack motivation, to just act for her friend's sake. He had always brushed it off, attributing those moments to fatigue or stress, but now…

Light remembered the commencement ceremony, two weeks ago, and how he had been troubled by her gaze for an instant. He had thought she was studying him, searching for his secrets and weaknesses, and now he was wondering if he had been right.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he looked at Yumi, who was still crying hysterically. Hesitantly, he started to pat her back in an attempt to console her, while trying to figure out how many time he had left before the classes began again. His question was answered when the bell rang. Yumi stiffened.

"I can't go to class like that," she whispered.

Light sighed inconspicuously. He tried to smile at her. "If you want, I can tell your friends you don't feel well and wanted to stay outside."

She might have seen his smile was faked, because she chuckled a little through her tears, still trying to calm herself down. "Are you uncomfortable with crying women, Light-kun?" she attempted to tease him, though the effect was somewhat spoiled by her sobs. "It's nice to know you're similar to most men in that aspect."

His imitation of a smile fell and he ran a hand through his hair. "I have to go to class Yumi-chan."

She smiled weakly at him. "Could you tell them I forgot my English book, and went back to my place to get it? I don't care much for History anyway."

"I'll do that," he said.

"Thanks," Yumi replied. "I owe you one."

'No,' he thought as he was walking away from her, his mind reeling with possibilities and suspicions. 'I think I owe you one.'

AN: It's been a long time, hasn't it? Well, don't forget to review, even if it's to tell me how mad at me you are =)