"Ryuzaki, what are you saying?" The group of police officers stood around a computer monitor waiting for the infamous L to explain what they were seeing.

"This here," he said, "and these- the pattern doesn't fit Kira. He's never killed this many American criminals at once."

"Could it be the second Kira?" Matsuda piped up from behind the chair.

"It doesn't fit the second Kira either. First, besides the fact that they're all American, all of the criminals were fairly petty criminals from the area of New York City. And the second Kira only follows the first Kira's wishes, so it doesn't make much sense for them to be killing small time criminals on the other side of the world."

"Are you saying there's a third Kira? An American one?" Ryuzaki finished off his cup of tea and nodded.

"Precisely."

"So what are we going to do about it? Notify the American authorities?" the elder Yagami grumbled.

"I've already had Watari do so. Apparently this has been an ongoing problem for them for a while now, and they were about to come ask me- us for help anyway."

"But Ryuzaki, there's no way we can handle three Kiras! Especially if one of them is all the way in New York!" Raito finally spoke up from his seat a few feet away.

"I have an idea." The group turned and looked at him, Ryuzaki getting up and assuming his normal position on the couch next to Light.

"What is it. Raito?"

"Father, do you remember Hitomi?"

"Ooka-chan? What about her?" Before Raito could reply, Ryuzaki cut in.

"What does this Hitomi girl have to do with our investigation, Raito?"

"She was my girlfriend until her parents moved to the US two years back. We've kept in touch a little, and as luck would have it, I think she's going to a college somewhere in New York."

"And?" Ryuzaki asked.

"And she's just as brilliant as my son here. If not more so." Soichiro finished.

"Dad, honestly, you're making it sound as if I were a dimwit," Raito commented. His father waved him off, and the room fell silent as L thought, and after a few minutes, he spoke in a very careful voice.

"A contact near the third Kira is a good idea... of course I already suspect her to be Kira, being a friend of yours, Raito... I suppose that's the only solution..."

"Ryuzaki?" Matsuda asked. Ryuzaki pulled his phone out and flipped it open, dialing quickly.

"Watari? Yes. Schedule a flight to New York immediately. Yes. For two. Right. Yes, that would be excellent. Make whatever arrangements are necessary. Right." He hung up then turned to the plate of donuts on the small table, picking one up and licking a bit of the icing off. "Raito, get in contact with this friend of yours and tell her we're coming to pay her a visit."

The sound of 'pretty handsome awkward' came incessantly from her jeans pocket until she pulled out the little black phone and flipped it open. "Moshi moshi?"

"Hitomi-chan? It's Raito."

"Raito-kun? It's been a while, how are you?" she paused. "Oh, gomen, did you want to use japanese?" The boy laughed.

"No, it's fine. I've improved my english since the last time we talked, believe it or not."

"Of course you did, you're always working hard at something. So... what's up?"

"Actually, Hitomi-chan, I need to ask you a favor. A friend and I are coming to New York for a bit, and-"

"Of course you can stay at my place, Raito-kun! You're a friend, you don't even need to ask!"

"Hitomi-chan... I only wanted to ask if you would pick us up from the airport... but we'd be honored to stay with you." She giggled and said,

"Oh. When are you coming in?" His voice faded for a minute, talking to someone else in the background, then returned.

"The day after tomorrow. We'll be getting in at eight pm." The line was silent for a minute, and she sighed,

"Gomen, Raito-kun, but I have to work that night. I can't pick you up... is it okay if I send a friend to get you guys?" He discussed this with the other person, then came back again.

"Sure, that's great."

"Great! Umm, I'll have Karen-chan come get you, she's kind of short, she's got really blond hair and wears a lot of really bright colors. And she kind of has this accent... she's from the south here. I'll tell her to keep an eye out for you at the terminal. She'll bring you up to my place and let you get settled in, and I'll be able to see you as soon as my shift is over."

"Right. Well, I have to go. I'll see you when we get there."

"I can hardly wait." He laughed again.

"Sayonara, Hitomi-chan."

"Ja-ne, Raito-kun." The both of them hung up, and Raito turned to the young man next to him.

"Well, Ryuzaki, it's all set. She asked us to stay with her, just like we thought she would. Her friend is picking us up and taking us to her home, you'll be able to meet Hitomi once she gets home from her job."

"Fine." He licked a little more of the icing off of the donut, leaving time for Soichiro to speak up again.

"What reason are the two of you going to give for being in New York?"

"He's right, Ryuzaki," Raito said. "It'll seem suspicious if we just show up and start asking about Kira." Between tiny licks of the sweet in his hand, L answered.

"I've already thought of that. Watari is making the arrangements for the immediate transfer of our student files to the same college your friend Ooka Hitomi attends. We'll be there as exchange students abroad from Japan."

"Good idea, Ryuzaki. Staying with Hitomi is only going to reinforce that thought. And living with her will give the three of us more time to work on the case." He paused and looked sideways at L, who was studying the donut intensely, biting his thumb as always. "I think you'll like her, Ryuzaki, the two of you have a lot in common. I never thought I'd see someone who ate as much junk food as her until I met you. Her place is sure to be stocked full of sweets for the two of you to share."

Raito was slightly disappointed when L didn't so much as glance in his direction, he'd been hoping to at least get the detective to have a reaction from the mention of a girl. He'd been doing so since his little move on Misa when she'd visited campus a few weeks back. But no matter what he did, Ryuzaki remained the stolid figure of commitment to the finding of Kira above all else.

"Excellent," L broke into Raito's thoughts. "I suspect that we have a seventy percent chance of finding the third Kira with your friend's help, Raito, if your father and you are correct about how perceptive she is. And if she's not Kira herself." No one said anything to this, and in the silence that filled the hotel suite, L bit into the donut he'd been picking at apprehensively for the past few minutes.

"Hey there, I'm Karen!" the cheery girl said, giving both Raito and L a hug that almost made them drop their bags. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I talkin' too fast? Hitomi told me y'all spoke english."

"Not at all," L said quietly. "Please continue, Karin-san."

"Ohh, honey, I'm flattered, but my name's not quite so exotic. Just Karen, okay? Don't worry about it though." They stepped out of the terminal and onto a sidewalk lined with taxis and cars waiting for people. Karen hailed one and the three of them piled in the back seat, Karen smushed happily between the two boys. As they pulled away, L spoke again.

"Please, tell me all that you know about Ooka-san."

"Well, let's see. She's the smartest girl I've ever met, and she's really popular and so cute I can hardly stand it! We've been best friends since she moved here from Japan a few years back, and she insists on working for her tuition and everything, she's such a hard worker... and-"

"How does she feel about criminal punishment?" Karen stopped and looked at L with her eyebrows raised.

"I- I really don't know, we've never really talked about it. I'm sure you can ask her yourself, since you two are staying with her."

"I'm sure we will," Raito cut in, trying to keep the conversation somewhat normal. "Karen, can you tell us what the college that the two of you attend is like? We're actually studying abroad here for a while, and I'd like to prepare for classes."

"Oh, honey, I'm afraid you were told wrong, it's almost spring break, we've only got like two days left of class. I guess you'll get a vacation to spend with Hitomi, and she'll tell y'all about school."

"You can't tell us?" L asked.

"Well, we're actually here, and as soon as I let you guys in, I've got to get going, I'm flying back home for break." The cab pulled to a stop and the three of them got out, Karen paying the driver then herding the boys into the building they'd stopped at. The peppy girl lead the way six floors up the staircase and unlocked a modest door at the end of the hallway, swinging it open and letting the other two go in ahead of her.

"Here we are!" She checked her watch and squealed, "Oh! I really have to go, I'm gonna be late! You two just amke yourselves comfortable, and Hitomi'll probably call in a while to check up on you!" She practically ran back down the hall and disappeared, and Raito closed the door, a slightly amused look on his face. When he turned back L had already taken up his normal position, sitting curled up on one end of the couch, and Raito sat down next to him.

"So, what do you suggest we start with, Ryuzaki? Search everything? Cameras?" L looked at his companion boredly.

"I don't see why we shouldn't go and get something to eat."

"Of course," Raito chuckled a little. "I meant with the investigation. We will want to clear Hitomi-chan as quickly as possible so that she can begin to help us, right?"

"Right. I'll tell you what. You can set up the cameras, and I will go get something to eat." L stood and crossed to the door, slipping his shoes back on reluctantly. "Shall I bring anything back for you?"

"No, I'll be fine, Ryuzaki. Enjoy yourself." And with that, L was gone, and Raito opened one of the suitcases, setting quickly to work with placing the cameras to view their host.

With a heavy sigh, Hitomi ducked through the back door of the seedy building, nodding to the security guard on her way. She slipped down a crowded hallway and into a small room where a few other girls sat at mirrored vanities. They greeted her as she took her coat off and sat down, setting her bag on the table next to her and turning to change her clothes. When she sat back before the mirror she stared at her reflection for a few seconds as if judging herself in the mirror. iTying her hair up into pigtails, brushing her dark hair until it was smoothed out again.

"Hitomi, come on!" A blonde shouted around the corner. "Apparently you've got another personal customer lined up." She sighed again and stood, following the blonde to the main room of the bar. "He's up in the VIPsection, wants it private or whatever."

"All right. I'll be back in a minute, Beth." She climbed the few steps and peeked around the wall into the private area, where a a man with close cropped brown hair sat waiting with a beer in one hand. He caught sight of her immediately and said happily,

"Are you the schoolgirl?" She nodded and stepped into view, letting him see the uniform she'd used before moving to the United States. "And I suppose you don't even speak no english, huh?" She shook her head so the pigtails would move, putting a cute expression on.

"Not much. I still try to learn." His grin grew even wider, and she crossed near him, bending over at the table with the separate sound system hooked up. The noise from outside was muffled here, and after he'd finished his pleased laugh at the peek of her butt past the shortened skirt, she looked back over her shoulder and asked,

"You know what song you want?"

"Fuck, I don't care, honey. Surprise me." Hitomi pushed a button on the stereo and began the boring job that she'd put up with all night to earn a bit more of her tuition.

Four hours later, a short shift for her, Hitomi was back in her jeans and baggy black sweatshirt, hailing a cab outside the club. Once she was slouched in the back seat, she pulled a notebook from her bag and began to write, passing the time on the way home. About halfway there, she got her cell phone out as well, dialing her house's number. After a short conversation, she hung up and stowed both phone and notebook, stopping the cabbie and climbing the stairs to her apartment.

"Raito-kun? Are you here?" Hitomi called, sneaking around the door of the mostly darkened apartment.

"He's already fallen asleep," an increasingly familiar voice said. She laid eyes on the man for the first time without him so much as glancing up at her, his gaze glued to the screen of the computer resting in front of him on the coffee table. He was wearing baggy jeans and a plain white shirt, his black hair somewhat messy, and the screen casting his pale face and dark circled eyes with a ghostly glow.

"Oh, sorry," was about all she could manage, almost unable to tear her gaze from him. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen more strikingly handsome men before, even in her home, but something about his presense in the room made her want to stare, want to sit down and talk to him or something. She finally did look away when he looked up at her.

"Hitomi-chan. Is something wrong, your cheeks are flushed." His tone was generally uninterested, but when he spoke, her face felt even redder and hotter and she somehow felt ashamed at having been at a less than respectable place that evening.

"No, I'm fine, just tired. Long day at work."

"Of course. You should probably go to bed." She walked toward her room, glimpsing Raito's sleping form on the couch, clutching one of the pillows and covered with his own jacket. Grabbing the two extras from the small hallway closet, she returned and covered Raito up, holding the other one out to L.

"You should too, it's probably been a long day flying out here from Japan." He took the blanket but set it on the arm of the chair, turning back to the computer. "I do have a fold out couch in the other room, if you want. I'd have told you both earlier if Raito-kun hadn't fallen asleep so early. I'll get it out for you if you want." He didn't say anything, so Hitomi turned and stepped into the kitchen, getting a glass of water from the sink and taking a drink.

"It's Ryuzaki, right?"

"Yes."

"So what are you two going to do tomorrow, Ryuzaki-kun? Since I have class and work? The two of you going to hang out here all day, or go sightseeing?"

"Actually, we're going with you. We're enrolled in classes as students abroad."

"Really? How come Raito-kun didn't tell me-"

"Because it's just a cover. We're really here investigating the Kira case. I assume you've heard of Kira. We believe there is more than one Kira, and that one of these killers is in the New York area. Raito-kun and I are here to stop him. This is, of course, all a secret investigation."

"Th- then why are you telling me so much about it?"

"Because Raito-kun and Yagami-san seem to think that you'll prove a quite useful ally in the investigation. And of course, because I suspect both you, Hitomi-chan, and Raito-kun to be Kira." Without so much as a slight change in his voice, he finished,

"Like I said, you should go to bed now. You won't have your full reasoning ability if you're tired." She hardly kept a hold on her glass when he told her this, and she was glad that his back was to her so her reaction wasn't seen.

"You're right, Ryuzaki-kun, I'm exhausted. I hope you sleep all right out here... you're sure you don't want the pull out?"

"I'm sure, Hitomi-chan. Sleep well."

"You too." She put the glass down by the sink and headed back toward her room when his voice stopped her again.

"You didn't say anything about me suspecting you and Raito-kun... That leads me to believe that either you are Kira, or that you know Raito-kun is." Seeing his game in this, trying to provoke her, she turned back and stopped next to his chair, sitting on the arm of the couch.

"What about the possibility that I'm not, and I have no idea about Raito-kun? And in the short time I've talked to you I've already decided that there's nothing I could say to convince you?" In the glow of the computer, he smiled a little, clearly pleased she'd seen this.

"Well, there is that. But I'll need proof before I can say that you're not Kira."

"Of course." Hitomi smiled as well. "I'll leave you to your work, Ryusaki-kun, I'm going to bed. Try to get some sleep though, we do have class at eight in the morning." She stood and watched him for a few more seconds, and he murmured past the sucker in his mouth,

"Are you going to change your clothes?"

"Well, yeah, I'm not going to sleep in jeans. Why, is that suspicious?"

"There are cameras in your bedroom. All over the apartment, actually. I have to surveill you for a few days to see if you do anything while I'm not in the room."

"Are you telling me that every move we make is being watched?"

"Does that worry you?" She crossed her arms across her chest.

"How do you suggest I bathe and change clothes, Ryuzaki-kun? I'm afraid I don't know you well enough for you to see me naked."

"I could have Raito-kun watch the videos with me, if that makes you feel better. Since the two of you used to be so close."

"No, it doesn't make it better! It's just two of you ogling me while I'm not around!" He pulled the sucker from his mouth with two fingers and looked at her, eyes roaming from head to toe before meeting her eyes again.

"Who said anything about ogling? This is strictly business, Some luxuries must be sacrificed for the capture of Kira. You understand, right, Hitomi-chan?"

"Then you're watching Raito like this too?"

"He doesn't leave my sight for a moment. If we're not together, I have him on camera."

"And who's watching you? Suppose you were Kira." A slightly amused light played through his dark eyes.

"And if I was, why would I be concerning myself with innocent students like Hitomi-chan and Raito-kun?"

"You yourself said that you heard of how bright we were. If I were Kira, I would be concerned about those who might come to threaten my mission. So you're getting close to us so you can kill us off."

"If I was Kira, I might have already done so, I know enough to have. I do see what you're getting at, though, Hitomi-chan. Would you like to watch the tapes as well, to make sure I'm not killing people in the shower?" Even in the dark he could see the faint blush that stained her cheeks as she broke eye contact with him, and he felt a strange thrill from causing such a reaction in her. She stood and sighed heavily,

"I suppose that accusing you of being Kira doesn't makes me any less suspicious in your eyes, does it?"

"You're starting to catch on, Hitomi-chan." He looked back at the computer, and she shook her head. She disappeared for a minute then came back with a pair of shorts and an oversized t shirt in her hand. She stopped at the far end of the coffee table directly across from L and lifted one foot behind her, pulling her socks off and setting them down. When she undid the button and zipper of her jeans, L looked up and asked,

"What are you doing?"

"I'm changing. I wouldn't want you to miss anything over the video feed." She sounded angry, and this time L broke eye contact as she pulled them off then lifted her shirt over her head and picked up the pajamas. When she was dressed again she took the old clothes and headed to her room again, calling from the hallway,

"Good night, Ryuzaki-kun." He didn't reply until long after she;d gone into her room and shut the door, and then only in a muffled voice past the thumb that had taken the sucker's place as he watched her climb under the covers and lay down.

"Hitomi-chan... I'm sure that means something..."