Still don't own Death Note.

This takes place in the hours right before Light comes home from school, where he discovers the surveillance cameras and wire taps.

It's the original chapter 3, more or less, and I thought it was a wee bit relevant. It's shorter than usual, but hey, it's my third update today. -.-

Gimme a break, guys.

I hope you guys enjoy~!

It was a while after the strange phone call that I noticed a slight gloominess that seemed to permeate any room that Ryuuzaki was in.

As a matter of fact, the usual apathy and lack of concern for others that was Ryuuzaki's standard emotional setting was gone, replaced instead by a certain sense of misery.

The others however, seemed not to notice, or pretended not to.

I chose to follow their lead, and ignore the brooding Ryuuzaki, but after a few hours in his presence, I snapped.

This man was supposed to be an invincible superpower; one of the greatest minds of the century, and yet, here he was, showing human weakness. The Great L, (for he had confided in me his secret a few days prior) wasn't supposed to do such things.

It didn't compute.

So I broke, and demanded to know why he was so upset.

Of course, he denied any such thing, but being so well versed in the art of deceit, I call him out for his pitiful lie; which, in retrospect was probably the reaction he had wanted, or at least had anticipated.

"The woman Kira killed was close to me." He told me with certain indifference, his eyes avoiding mine. [1]

"That sucks." What else could I have said? A 'sorry' certainly wouldn't have been appropriate, and I didn't know either Ryuuzaki, or the deceased well enough to say anything in the slightest bit personalized.

"I suppose. We weren't very close."

"… But you just said you'd lost someone close to you." I frowned, trying to make sense of his latest comments.

"Did I? I meant that she was of some importance to me; to say that we were close in the emotional sense would be a far cry from the truth."

"Oh."

"Indeed." He turned away again, his long fingers toying with a small metal fork "In a way, it's a shame she's dead. But as it is, there is no point in lingering over her death: it cannot be changed, and my time and efforts could be much better spent." And with that, he walked away, leaving me to deal with the sense of unwarranted resentment towards this mysterious figure from Ryuuzaki's past.

The sofa creaked and dipped slightly as someone else sat down.

"Any idea what's wrong with him?" It was Matsuda, the friendliest of the surly policement.

I frowned at his question, unsure if I wanted to disclose this precious tidbit of information granted to me by Ryuuzaki.

I decided I didn't. "No, not entirely."

"Damn." He laughed nervously, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck.

"Why do you do that?" I asked aloud, not really thinking.

His hand dropped. "Do what?"

"Scratch the back of your neck like that. You seem to do it all the time."

"Oh, um… It's a habit, I guess." Another laugh, another scratch at the back of his neck.

"Hm. Alright then." It's pointless to mention my general lack of tact, and my ability to make people feel uncomfortable.

"… The weather's been nice lately, hasn't it?" He laughed nervously.

I joined him with little hesitation, glad to be granted a reprieve from what would have undoubtedly been an awkward silence. "I suppose it has, Matsuda. I suppose it has.

"As it is, I should probably go back to the surveillance…" A nervous laugh forced itself out of my throat.

"Y-yeah… Right."

We both rose, and with an awkward smile, I brushed past him, pushing aside the news I had been given, resigning myself to a later examination of the feelings of jealousy that had been brought on Ryuuzaki's words.