Author's Note

I tried so hard to get this out before midnight. It's 12:09 AM on December 15 as I type this. I missed it by 10 minutes. Yesterday was Matsuda-sempai's birthday.

Happy belated, Sempai!!

======

Great Progress, Great Risk

====

"Good morning, Ide!" [Y/ N] called out with a grin, stopping by the man's desk to greet him.

By this time she had been working for the NPC for a little more than a month, and had begun to get the hang of how the office worked. She rarely stuttered around her squad mates, unless something happened to cause particular distress.

This issue came up most often with one particular man.

"S-sempai!" The sole female member of the team had turned away from Ide only to nearly collide with Matsuda; bringing her far to close to him, "S-s-ryoy!"

And with that she darted to her desk to wait for a hole to swallow her up.

"Why does she only still do that around me?" Matsuda sulk, scratching his head, "I'm supposed to be her mentor...right? And we get along alright, right? So why does she freak out like that?"

Ide stared at Matsuda like the younger officer was an idiot (which actually, he was), "I have no idea"

As [Y/ N]'s confidant within the office, Ide had heard the other end of this story. And even if she didn't admit it, he was fairly certain she had developed feelings for Matsuda. But he wasn't going to interfere. He sighed and looked at some paperwork on his desk. She would be really mad if he spilled her secret before she even had a chance to be honest with herself.

"Don't you have work to do?" Ide muttered.

"Yeah," Matsuda sighed, "If she says anything, let me know."

And the fool walked over to his own desk .

"They're both idiots." Ide sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose..

Mogi merely grunted an agreement, the noise a reminder to anyone who may have forgotten he was present.

====

"Hey, [Y/N]," Ide called from across the room, "Do you have the files on that missing persons case from last week?"

"Yeah," The young officer called back, "The young mother and her little boy? I'm thinking maybe the boy's dad's family? There is no mention of a father or his family in any of the news articles...I mean if the father passed away and there is a family dispute"

"Or if it's an illegitimate child?" Matsuda piped from nearby, "I don't think I ever heard she was married..."

"Oh..." The woman fell silent a second, "I mean, th-there isn't anysing wr-wrong witch that, says course these of. Lust jove pannehs!  Telp ant tinc hewn oun loui laffy! Up own lIl tush ..."

With a bright blush she hid her face behind the papers she had been reading, wondering if it was possible to die of embarrassment.

A poorly stifled laugh from nearby caught her attention, and she glanced towards the source just in time to see Matsuda look back at his own papers. A smile clearly reached his eyes. It was quite possibly the brightest smile she had seen as of yet, and all she could see of it was sparkling brown eyes.

She found herself staring, unable to go back to focusing on the case she had been researching.

Eventually, Matsuda seemed to have under the pressure of that gaze. Silent laughter radiated from his grin, "Okay, Okay. I'm sorry! Just stop staring like that. The intensity in those eyes could be an interrogation technique, hahaha."

Unable to reply for fear of making a fool of herself, [Y/ N] could only think about how the brightness of his smile could be used to light the room. A thought that was immediately followed by self ridicule over sounding like some cheesy love struck girl.

""W-w-well, y-you should b-be!" She spluttered, though her words were at least coherent, "La-laughing a-at m-m-me was rude, S-sempai!"

With a playful pout she buried her face in her work once more, this time to hide a rosy tint in her face.

"You're just pretending to be mad, right?" Matsuda smiled from his desk. No answer, "H-hey? You aren't actually mad at me, are you? You can't ignore me, I'm your mentor!"

At that, [Y/ N] finally broke into laughter of her own.

In the background, Ide and Mogi muttered a unified, "Idiots."

At that moment Aizawa appeared from the direction of his office, his expression and demeanor serious, "I'm afraid I need to ask for everyone's attention."

The laughter stopped quickly ceased at the change in the atmosphere of the room.

«Good. Thank you Aizawa. Now, is there a more secure room where we can talk?»

The voice came from Aizawa's phone. It was garbled with electronics, but the men's eyes went wide with recognition.

Matsuda's entire body tensed. His teeth ground against each other. His hands clenched at his sides. His feet shifted, ready (for fight or flight [y/ n] couldn't be sure). His eyes were wide, pupils dilated. Every minute expression on his face was so tense it twitched like a spring loaded trigger.

"Hang up..." He uttered quietly.

"Matsuda," Aizawa reasoned, "You know if he's calling us there's a -"

"I don't care! Hang up!" Matsuda was shouting now, something in him boiling into a rage like [y/ n] had never seen, "All those lunatics do is put people in danger!"

«A bit of risk is required to win the game» A clacking sound garbled through, «But a bit of risk is taken every day. We are the ones willing to use that risk for the sake of good.»

"Chief would agree," Aizawa stated firmly, invoking the greatest hero Matsuda knew to quell his anger.

"Well..."Matsuda seemed to wilt, "Maybe he would...but look where these guys got Chief..."

«I never met Yagami Soichiro, but he seemed like a man worth admiring.»

Matsuda was silent.

"Hey," The woman finally spoke up. The reaction Matsuda had had to the voice caused her some hesitation, but the need to defend her Sempai's state of mind gave her courage. He must have seen horrible things at the hands of the people behind this voice, "S-so...Voice-san? U-um...I'm guessing y-you're from the case that should not be named...

"And, I don't really know about the details, it can't be named, you know...now talking about it," Not stumbling was easier as she realized there wasn't a physical person to be intimidated by, "But I know it hurt Matsuda-Sempai. So, whatever he says, I believe."

«Are you done?» Even with the warping of the electronics, the voice sounded monotone.

"Um...Y-yes?" The female officer wasn't sure what else to say.

«Name: [L/N] [Y/ N] ; Date of birth: [Month/day] 1993 ; Daughter of : [F/N] and [M/N] ; Joined the NPA one month ago after receiving a criminology degree. Your background shows no significant incidents of any connections to criminals, but there is a link to Kid a through a man later proven innocent of suspected crimes.»

"Thats...how did...know you ...one no that posed...sedia mocial neva ton no!"

«Yes...there is the slight problem of that habit...but we will need a woman on your team this time, so I suppose you're the only appropriate choice.»

=====

In a location kept well under the radar, a young man with pale skin and paler hair sat slouched in front of a laptop computer.

He had multiple chessboard around him, but only one set of pieces out thus far that piled on the floor.

On the screen shown a gothic stylized N, honoring his predecessor's L logo. It wasn't long before he had access to the phone and computer of the man he wanted.

His voice carefully masked, though he knew the one hearing it would have already heard his real voice, "Aizawa, it's been awhile"

'You..." The reply was wary, 'So, to what do I owe this call, N?'

"You currently have a missing persons case. A mother and her son. The boy is in Las Vegas, USA. His mother was bound to New York, after a stop in Africa. She made it, but the diamond she was forced to swallow did their damage," He paused, placing two pawns on opposite ends of one of the boards, and a third pawn on another board, with a final pawn a fourth board, "These a traffickers who deal in anything and everything. It makes their activity hard to track and find patterns in. I can do it, but I need help in the field. I know I can trust you and your team, all five of you."

'N, this is something big. You should know I - Oh," Aizawa cut himself off as Near seemed to already know what he had been about to say, "I can't say yes to this unless the team agrees.'

"I understand. But they will agree," Near picked up a finger puppet that bore a resemblance to Aizawa  and set it on one of the boards that had just one pawn, "Go talk to them now, I can stay on the line to clear up details."

As soon as Aizawa had everyone's attention, Near spoke, "Good. Thank you, Aizawa. Now that we have everyone's attention, is there a secure room where we can talk?"

Matsuda threw a childish tantrum, not unexpected. Near tolerated it as best he could. He was only mildly surprised when a female voice came to her senior officer's defense. He had known about their working relationship, but had assumed she would show more anxiety speaking to what she must view as Matsuda's enemy.

It wasn't unpleasant to see her stuttering was minimal, or that she was at least capable of enough logic to infer that he was from the Kira case.

Near tilted his head, picking up a finger puppet with an eerie resemblance to [y/ n] between two fingers as he wound a lock of white around his other hand's index finger.

He flexed his fingers against the puppet, beginning to recite some of what he had found out during his background check on her. That was enough to bring out her peculiar habit, allowing him to hear it for himself for the first time.

" Yes...there is the slight problem of that habit..." He maintained his cool monotone, "But we will need a woman on your team this time, so I suppose you're the only appropriate choice."

====

Near knew too much for Matsuda's comfort. These damn geniuses always did! Near knew pretty much his kouhai's entire backstory, and it pissed him off.

And so it was that the agitated Matsuda went with the rest of the team into Aizawa's office.

Not surprisingly, their new chief had developed a need for privacy, and maintained a secure office with no cameras, regular bug checks, and decent sound proofing.

"I know it's a small space, but it's going to have to do," Aizaw sighed as he looked at everyone crammed mind. "Mogi, you sit in the chair...I think that's what's going to free up the most room."

«Aizawa, if you would please turn on your computer, and position it to the end of your desk. I want to address every more directly.»

"You're a letter, what's direct about that?" Matsuda rose a brow and muttered.

Seeing the stylized N on the screen, [Y/ N] stifled a laugh of agreement.

«If you all agree to help me, we can meet, as you did with my predecessor. As I have seen no evidence of Shinigami involvement, I feel it's safe.»

"Shini-...What's that code for?" The rookie looked around the room, but saw nothing but grim seriousness.

"Nothing," Matsuda spoke in barely a whisper, "Hey...should we let her in on the Kira a case, if we are working with one of L's kids again? He's sure not keeping quiet about it!"

«Please do tell her. If she is working with all of us, I see no more reason to keep her in the dark.»

"Good," Matsuda drew a deep breath, and it was he who began to explain "You already know the basic, public, story. That information isn't exactly wrong...it's just not the whole story.

"The whole story is something a lot of people wouldn't believe even if they heard it, honestly. But worse, it's something that would have people looking for their own Kira abilities.

"Shinigami are real, that's the first important thing," Matsuda's eyes were fixed on the wall, staring at nothing in particular. It sent a chill down [y/ n]'s spine. As for Matsuda, he only saw the after image of grotesque Shinigami faces, "We can't see them, unless we touch their Death Note."

Matsuda gulped his voice hoarse, as though every bit of moisture had suddenly evaporated from his throat. The dampened notebook. What would Light have been if he had never found it? Would he have corrupted whatever he became with his evil, or had he been evil because the Death Note corrupted him? "Thats the second important thing. Shinigami kill by writing names in Death Notes. And if a human gets one, then they have that power. That was Kira's secret all along. He could kill without laying a hand on the victim.

"He also managed to keep ahead of us because," his voice cracked and he had to stop with a heavy breath. Soichiro, he had been used by his own son, never suspecting a thing. Had their ever been a moment when Chief had realised what a monster light had become? Tears pooled in his eyes, "Because..."

"Matsuda, one of us can-" Aizawa began, but Matsuda shook his head.

"No...I....I owe her the explanation..." He glanced her way, "As her mentor, she needs to know my demons."

"Alright," Aizawa nodded, knowing Matsuda had just proven himself as very good mentor material.

"Kira's father was part of the NPA," Matsuda refused to let the tears fall, "In fact, Kira was well known to us, he was smart, a genius who had already helped us with cases. So no one batted an eye at him hanging around the investigation. Especially since his father was the chief of the task force."

"Oh!" The woman's hands fluttered over her mouth as she recalled how respected Aizawa's predecessor had been. She had always gotten the feeling he had died in duty, specifically the Kira case. But, Kira was the man's own son?!

"When L (he came before N), asked the task force to join him, he was already suspicious of Chief's son, Light," Matsuda let out a sardonic chuckle, as if the truth should have been obvious even then, "But Chief insisted on surveillance cameras even in Lights room to prove him innocent.

"We didn't know about Death Notes or Shinigami yet, and Light fooled the cameras some how." Matsuda's tone was agitated, he knew these were only excuses, "Always ahead of us, Light worked his way into the investigation, arranging 's death. Even killing Chief.

With N's help, the rest of the team began to have doubts about Light," He paused, self depreciation taking over,  "But not me...He was Chief's son, our new leader...He had to be trustworthy...

"That's when N sprung a trap. Lights wasn't the only Death Note in human hands, and he figured he had N outsmarted when he agreed to meet him. His accomplice was going to write everyone's names and kill us.," Matsuda began shaking, his hands held out in front of him, "Thats another weird detail I won't explain, burn it backfired. Light confessed everything, expecting us to drop dead any moment.

"When we didn't, N revealed he had swapped pages in the notebook while it wasn't watched. He hauled in Lights accomplice," Matsuda could see the red on his hands. Lights blood. He shot Light, would have kept right on shooting, put a bullet in his breaking in cold blood if the others hadn't held him back, "I...shot. I was just so...angry. He used us, me, the task force his own father! The man I admired most in the world was dead because his son wanted to be some kind of a God and used us!

So I shot!" Matsuda's hands flew to his ears. He could hear the gun so clearly. If his hands hand had something else to hold onto, he would have sworn he could feel the recoil, "I shot, and shot, and shot and shot! I would have executed him for what he'd done if I hadn't been stopped!"

T

he warm, wet tracks the tears traced down his face, the look of terror in his eyes. [Y/ N] Had the feeling his trauma wasn't just about being betrayed, or losing people he loved. Matsuda feared himself, and that anger that had overcome him.

Without really thinking, placed a hand on his chest to quietly gain his attention. It was a stupid, dangerous thing to do, not certain how he might react to her touch in his moment of reliving the trauma. He said he owed it to her to tell the tale, she owed it to him then, to be there for him, that was her only line of rationale.

He slowly opened his eyes, breathing heavy, gaze darting about before landing on hers. Everyone else's held what he read only as concern or pity, but his kouhai looked up at him with earnest [e/c] eyes that said she wanted to help.

He felt his breathing calm as her gaze insisted he focus solely on her presence and words. It was like all reminders and stressors were fading. His hands lowered to about shoulder height.

She smiled warmly, "You know you aren't stupid, or an idiot, or any of those other things for wanting to believe in someone, right?  I think you had to trust, for the Chief."

He dropped a hand all the way to his side. His breathing almost even. The woman took his hand in both of hers, maintaining their gaze, "A-and, um...you, you worry you're like him...like....you know, but your not! You did plan and scheme and idolize yourself, sacrificing others for your own gain. You broke in a moment of extreme emotion. So don't worry...I mean...i-if you were."

And that was when Mogi cleared his throat, bursting the fragile bubble of Zen and causing [Y/ N] to quickly drop Matsuda's hand, and shift her gaze as she stepped away.

"Y-you calmer now, Matsuda-sempai seem," She chirped, shifting her focus to N on the screen, "I can see why that's not exactly common knowledge. Thank you for trusting me."

She looked at the guys with nod, "All of you."

«I should fill you in on why I need your help.»

====

After repeating his story about a global scale trafficking ring of, well, everything, Near got right down to the roles he expected them to play, «I cannot trust anyone else in Japan, so obviously I will need you as my ground team there. I already have a similar team in the FBI. I'm hoping to somehow find resources in multiple African countries, and in South American nations like Columbia and Mexico. Other Asian and European nations are involved too. It's a big scheme, it will take more manpower than I'm used to, and since what happened to L, I am cautious.»

"Understandable," Ide nodded, "So what specifically would we be doing?"

"You said you particularly needed a woman on this team?" [Y/ N] reminded him, "Was there a reason?"

«Besides normal investigative skills, I would like to launch an undercover operation. There have been a lot of missing persons lately, and I would like to track the culprit. Since females and children are most often target, a female made the most sense.»

"Of course!" The woman willingly agreed, knowing that other women's lives were at stake. This was why she had joined.

Her answer was mixed with four distinct male voices replying, "I don't think so."

"If any harm comes to her my wife will have my head. Besides, she's just going into her second month on the job!" Aizawa protested rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Exactly. Undercover is a huge job. She's still learning how our general office work is done." Ide commented.

"Did you miss how she stutters when she get put in an awkward situation? Maybe when she completely stops that. I'm her mentor, and I just don't know if she can handle the stress yet..." Matsuda fretted.

Mogi simply nodded his agreement to their points.

«For [L/N]'s safety, we will have a male with her, posing as her lover.» Near informed, «That should