Chapter Nine: The Meeting

xxx

"Here, you'll need this."

Naomi looked down at the gun L was handing to her. It was a standard nine millimeter, black with silver plating on the handle, much like the one Naomi had possessed when she'd been a member of the FBI.

"This is illegal in Japan," Naomi said, taking the gun and trying not to look repulsed. She still carried some aversion to firearms. L shrugged. "I'd feel better if you had this on you at all times when in Kira's presence," he told her. Naomi nodded. Still, it was hard for her not to feel awkward with the firearm in her grip. It had been years now since she'd been in possession of a gun, and she had never had to use one on anything but a paper target at a firing range.

But in this instance, in the event that she may have to use the weapon to stop Kira- to stop Light and the mystery Second Kira,- she could make an exception. Light had killed her fiancé (there was no doubt in her mind), and he was set on killing herself and on killing L. Earlier, during a long discussion with L concerning strategy, she and the detective had decided that Kira was causing a mass genocide. That Light was causing a mass genocide. So she would be able to use this gun, this weapon of death. Of that there was no doubt in her mind. She would use it to save herself, to save L, and to save anyone else that may fall victim if Light continued on his path of eradication.

L had, of course, made her swear not to shoot Light on sight. She'd acquiesced, though grudgingly.

"Do you have a holster?" Naomi asked.

L reached into the duffel bag he'd brought with him and extracted a black webbed holster. It was nylon, sturdy, and went around the waist. It also came with various pouches that already possessed two sets of hand cuffs and a very potent defense spray.

"Thanks," Naomi told L as she took the holster from the tips of his fingers. She set the gun on her nightstand while she belted on her holster over her blue jeans, then she placed the gun in its respective position on her right hip. It felt disturbingly appropriate there, like it was always meant to be at hand. She pulled the gun from the holster and made sure the safety was on. She sighted at her lamp, the picture on her wall, the peep hole on her door at the other end of the room. She moved around the space, getting the feel of the guns weight. Finally she reached L, who looked at her blankly, before she lowered the gun and replaced it in the holster.

"Thinking of shooting me for locking you in here yesterday?" he asked blandly.

She gave him a sarcastic smile. "Shooting you would be much too quick."

There was a light in her eyes, a teasing that made L's lips twitch. The joke was there in Naomi's voice, but death loomed too closely to both of them that she suddenly felt uncomfortable. Smile waning, Naomi sighted her black high top boots in the corner of the room and went to them, sitting in a nearby chair and pulling them on.

L watched her thoughtfully. Black, he noted, seemed to be the theme of the day. Black boots, a thick black belt, a black cotton top covered by a worn black leather jacket. The only bit of color that stood out on her was the bright blue of her jeans. He wondered if this was her version of intimidating, or if perhaps she'd dressed so solemnly without meaning to do so.

"You look… grim, Naomi-San. Perhaps a bit of color in your outfit may make you less… hostile."

Naomi raised perfectly arched brows. "Perhaps hostile was the effect I was going for?"

L smiled at her, not hugely as he'd been known to, but a small upward motion of his lips. Naomi felt the shock of it had dulled, and this perhaps shocked her even more. He was smiling at her, often enough now that it no longer looked as though the action was forced or an oddity on his face. It just seemed… right. For him to smile at her was anticipated, welcomed, and no longer astounding - that in itself was a shock.

"… You look as though you have just thought of something important- Naomi."

That shock- the use of her name with no honorific, had still not left her. It made Naomi's toes curl, her body tighten.

"Truth between us?" she questioned but simply continued without a reply, "You smile at me, and I don't think it's odd, anymore."

The way she said it made heat rush to her cheeks. Why had she worded it that way? "What I mean is," she struggled to find her footing in this lost path of dialogue, "that when you smile at me, I… enjoy it?" Her cheeks burned redder, and heat crept up her neck. L's eyes had become very wide during her maladroit explanation and wider still when he noticed her blushing.

"You've now added color to your wardrobe, Naomi," he said awkwardly, motioning at the fierce blush on her cheeks. Pointing it out, however, seemed to make it worse.

"Also that," Naomi began, avoiding his eyes and staring resolutely at the floor, "When you say my name like that. It's unnerving."

L took a step away from her. "I will stop, Misora-San."

"No!" Her protest was quick and her eyes round with worry. "I didn't mean you insult me, you honor me. I just mean…. I just mean…" she trailed, because she did not know what she meant. It had taken Raye months upon long months to forego the honorific of her name- and they'd been in America where such things were considered a peculiarity. Here, where she was home, this man called her Naomi, and the feel of it was agreeable.

"I just mean… that these changes in you… this friendship… I am honored by it." It was a part truth, so it did not sting like a lie. But the pleasure it caused for her name to be uttered form his lips was left unsaid. She did not want him to know, she did not even want to acknowledge it herself. The image of Raye just kept returning to her- in the forefront of her mind as a constant reminder of what was. His death, it plagued her with regret of a life that had died with him, a life she was supposed to be living now.

L frowned at her use of the word friendship, but his lips became neutral when he saw that her blush still remained. She was… embarrassed. It caused an unexpected thrill to course through him, that she could be so unraveled by her admission that she enjoyed his ease around her. And that she blushed gave her away. It meant more than friendship, of that he was decidedly sure. But still she fought it, and still he did not push the subject. She was in mourning, and would be for some time. L thought that the waiting would bother him more than it did, but he currently felt that the friendship was worth more than pushing Naomi into something that she would not be ready for. He wasn't even sure he was ready for whatever it was they were heading towards. His experience at this sort of thing was… limited.

L cleared his throat and motioned towards the door. There was no time to ponder this, no time to analyze it further. Naomi was not ready, and L did not think that he was either. As much as he enjoyed her and the strange and foreign thoughts that seemed to plague him recently, there was nothing for it. She was still in love with Raye, refusing to let go- and understandably so. For now, it was time to see Light. It was time for Naomi to prove herself as the capable person he knew her to be.

xxx

Light watched the figure of Shoko Maki follow L around the small hotel living space as though she were his shadow. She had made no move to acknowledge him- even when their eyes had met and Light had nodded and formally greeted her. She had just stared at him, her cold eyes boring in to his until he'd been forced to look away. Her lips were set in a perpetual frown, her lips stiff and frowning and her jaw twitching as she clenched her teeth every time he spoke. When L had read the letter he'd produced as the "real" Kira and pointed out that he'd still demanded for L's death, she'd actually placed a light hand on the holster of her gun. And then she'd closed her eyes, and Light could swear that she'd counted to ten in an effort to calm herself.

It was impossible not to be distracted by her mere presence. Every movement he made that was meant to be casual, every word he spoke that was supposed to carry the air of innocence, was marred by the glowering presence of Shoko Maki, watching him with cold black eyes.

Ryuk did much hyuking and hawing over her presence, and it took the use of Light's entire finesse not to outwardly show sign of the shock that had run through him with the Shinigami had said, "That woman in black will be your death, Light."

Instead, feeling as though this was another of L's traps, Light forced himself to look at her and say, as pleasantly and inoffensively as he could, "Hello again, Mrs. Maki. … I can't help but think that perhaps you are not happy with my presence."

The response he'd gotten had been a deep scowl. "How very odd that you might think that," she had said, and her voice had been cold and full of dark sarcasm.

Befriending her was going to be somewhat a trial, he realized. A minor roadblock maybe, it was clear that she thought of him as Kira, that his guilt was already decided in her mind. That the only reason he didn't have a bullet between his eyes was because L had demanded a semblance of good behavior from her. That L, perhaps, even wanted her to behave this way. That he hoped her hostility would cause him to slip in some way and revel himself as the true Kira.

This made Light all but smirk. 'No way, L,' he thought. 'That's not going to happen. This woman is going to be your downfall. Your Trojan Horse is going to backfire. I'll use her to my advantage- you'll see.'

And then his message as the "fake" Kira had aired, and he'd been allowed to return home with his father, L thanking him quietly for his help in the matter, and Shoko Maki glowering just behind him, her hand once again resting on the holster of her firearm. He'd smiled at her before he'd left, projecting towards her a friendly air that had made her grip her weapon even tighter.

The car ride home had been a quit sort of undertaking, his father saying very little other than to tell him that he had done well. When he'd finally collapsed onto his desk chair he glared severely at Ryuk.

"I suppose you can't help all your laughing, can you?"

Ryuk grinned wide and toothy. "This is fun, Light. And so interesting… You humans are so complex sometimes. Really, I'm surprised she didn't just shoot you. It's obvious she hates you."

Light rolled his eyes at the Shinigami. "She can't kill me," he explained, "because L- Ryuzaki- told her not to. He either wants to try and catch me the right way, or he still isn't completely convinced that I'm Kira."

Light swiveled in his chair, leaning back and staring at the ceiling as he contemplated the night's events.

"This… is going to be easier than I thought," he said finally.

"… Oh?" Ryuk asked, his wings twitching.

"Hmmm… yes. Shoko Maki will trust me. And then, she will give me everything I need. Though, if this second Kira isn't a complete moron he'll still demand L's death and I won't have to worry about it."

He smiled and straightened, pulling out the death note and flipping on his television, preparing to write a new assembly of names judged guilty by Kira.

"You'll see, Ryuk. This isn't going to be nearly as interesting as you might think."

The Shinigami smirked. "We'll see, Light. … We'll see.

xxx

It was late at night, the raspberry filled Manju desserts all but a memory between Naomi and L, the latter who was still licking his fingers clean of the sweet filling.

"Good?" Naomi asked, watching him in faint amusement.

L nodded and hugged his knees. "You are getting better at preparing Japanese deserts, Naomi-San."

She stood and took the plate to the sink, a small smile playing on her lips. "I think it's something I should probably be learning. It doesn't seem as though I'll be back in America any time soon."

L watched her as she rinsed the plate.

"Perhaps… tonight went very well. It was hard to see but… I feel as though Light was very determined to get to know you. This seems to be going according to plan."

Naomi returned to the table, her brows knit with concern. "I'm still not sure about all this, L. I don't know how convincing I'll be at pretending to… like Light," Naomi said this in disgust, as if liking Light was the most abhorrent idea to ever cross anyone's mind. In reality, it truly was to her. She continued, "The hate is easy because it's real… but…"

She left the rest hanging there, not needing to elaborate. When the time came to try and fool Light, Naomi was certain she would not be able to follow through.

L immediately understood what she was trying to say. "Focus for now on making his life harder while he is with us. Moving slow is key. It has to seem like a natural progression… otherwise he may suspect you are being false. …When it comes time to compel him into thinking you trust him… You'll know what to do, Naomi." He said all of this around the tip of his thumb that he bit down on harshly. Naomi had sucked in a little breath at his use of her name, and L would be lying to himself if he did not admit that he'd used it to that end. It was truly juvenile, but he liked the reaction it elicited from her.

"How long do you think before the second Kira responds?" She asked.

L gave a small sigh. "Not long. … This Second Kira… He seems more impulsive. Catching him will be easier, I believe, than catching Light. … He wants to hear from the real Kira. Idolizes him, perhaps. … Things will fall as they should."

Naomi looked at him, her eyes full of worry. "And if he demands your death still? Then what?"

L tramped down the feeling of elation stemmed from her concern for his well-being. "We'll figure something out, Naomi."

The use of her name, while still causing her cheeks to tint the faintest hue of pink, did not deter her from the current line of questioning as he'd hoped.

"This solution doesn't involve you sacrificing yourself, right? Because that would prove nothing."

L studied the heat in her eyes as she spoke, anger and suspicion sparking in them at the musing of his sacrificing himself.

"I will not be doing that, Naomi-San. … As you said, it would prove nothing- nor would it help the situation. ... I do not think that this Kira is smart enough to realize Light would still want me dead. I think the main focus was to get his attention."

Naomi looked unsettled. "… Get his attention for what?"

There was a long stretching silence between them before L answered.

"I do not know, Naomi. … But we will find out soon, I suspect."

Miles away, in the confines of her sweet smelling room, with its Goth décor and its intermingled crucifixes, Misa Amane excitedly composed her reply to Kira.

xxx

Authors Note: So… it's been forever. Years, even. No excuses. And honestly, I can only promise that I'll try to get you guys the next chapter. I'm thinking about a few different things though, and taking my availability to write this into serious thought. I may be eliciting help. A few have reached out, and I've been reluctant to accept because this is my baby… but, with the outpouring of encouragement and pleas for this to continue, I don't know if I'll be able to keep you all from getting the steady updates you deserve, if not from me than- perhaps- from another source. We'll see. Until then - I will promise to keep working on this. And I certainly won't let as much time lapse before another update, one way or another.

There was artwork done as well! I don't know if it's still around (I hope so, it was amazing!) but it was on Deviant Art under user Okaiedi, and depicted L and Naomi's first real hug. Wonderful! Thanks to I Dream Of Utopia for all her advice and the beautiful artwork!

Also thanks to Hello-Sweetie 19 and Goozer, I'll be in touch- I promise. And to everyone else who sent an e-mail or left a review. You have made me fell both elated by your enthusiasm and as equally guilty for leaving this abandoned for so long.

I hope this satisfies for now. As always, ignore spelling errors and such. I'll get to them later. For now, sleep.