Why is there no end to the number of Kiras out there?

Now, there was another one to track down. They'd figured that this one was an employee at Yotsuba, and she'd guessed that Rem (the Shinigami who liked popping up every now and then to attempt to make (Y/n) fall into cardiac arrest) had probably selected the third Kira.

This one's MO was different from Light's, so it couldn't have been her brother who chose. This Kira didn't just target 'criminals' as Light defined them. The motives also seemed a little more selfishly inclined.

And she'd said as much when L asked for her opinion, making him shoot her an approving look. Something he'd taken to doing since it had been made clear that she didn't absolutely hate him.

She guessed he was making an effort to approach a middle ground between them, and (Y/n) could appreciate that.

It was also a wonderful thing to see Light's vaguely constipated look every time he caught any semblance of an amicable interaction between them.

Although, (Y/n) could do without having Misa read into everything more than necessary.

Like right then for instance, when the blonde had the profiler captive in her room as she insisted on spending quality time with her boyfriend's sister.

"Have you ever spent down time like this with your girl friends in America, (Y/n)?" Misa asked, skillful fingers busy with (Y/n)'s hair, attempting to twist the strands into some fancy hairstyle.

The elder woman hummed. "We do get together every once in a while to get a meal." And a drink or two, but she doubted her father would appreciate that detail, so she kept it to herself. "Not too often, though. A few of my colleagues have children and families to spend time with too, and given how few and short-lived our days off tend to be, they put family first."

Misa sighed. "That's so sad. It must put a lot of strain on them, right?"

"It does," (Y/n) agreed. "Being single is extremely convenient in these situations."

Giggling, Misa shook her head. "But being in love is so wonderful!" she exclaimed, and (Y/n) could practically see Light squirming uncomfortably from the main room. "You just have to find the right person who'd be willing to put up with all the workload and inconveniences of your job. Did you go on a few dates at least?"

"I mean, yeah, but none recently. My job is extremely demanding, Misa. And we put it above all else. There was an oath and everything. It's what is expected of us as federal agents," (Y/n) reminded, closing her eyes against the pleasant feeling of having someone play with her hair.

Misa made a soft sound of awe. "You sounded super cool just then," she informed. "You know, if you were in the entertainment industry, you'd be awesome with a girl crush concept! I mean, I'm totally in love with Light, but even I have a girl crush on you. You're so badass, you know? But also, like, a really good friend. Light is so lucky to have you as a sister. I'm jealous!"

Puzzled, she turned her head slightly to look at Misa. "Thanks?" she offered uncertainly, and Misa giggled as she turned the profiler's head back to face forward so she had access to her hair once again.

"You're welcome," the model chirped. "But, don't worry. Girl crushes are entirely platonic. I won't try to steal you away from Ryuzaki."

That made (Y/n) snort. "Ryuzaki and I really don't have that type of relationship, Misa. We're colleagues. Maybe even friends if I'm feeling particularly generous."

"For now," Misa said, and the devious grin was evident even in her voice. "You guys just feel like you'd be good together, and that's probably super rare given Ryuzaki's...lackluster personality. You just have to give it a chance, (Y/n)!"

Eyebrows rising in amusement, the elder woman smiled indulgently. "I wonder about that."

She also wondered what Misa would do if she found out that L had kissed (Y/n) only three nights prior. (Y/n) was unsure of their current status, but she didn't really care and neither did L, so it really wasn't a big deal. Neither of them were the dating type anyways.

But it would entertaining to see the blonde's reaction. (Y/n) would've done it, but she thought Light might suffer an aneurysm if he were to have to listen to that. Aizawa was probably already fighting the urge to murder (although that seemed to have become the man's default mood at this point), and Matsuda was probably equal parts uncomfortable and interested. Soichiro's lifespan must be shortening by the minute.

L, however, was probably enjoying this. The little shit.

"Hate to cut this short, Misa, but I really need to get back to work now," (Y/n) reminded, her tone gentle and patient in an emulation of a typical kindergarten teacher. When Misa pouted, she added, "You promised you'd only take up half an hour of my time. If you don't keep to your word, you know it'll be hard to hang out again."

Relenting with a sigh, Misa quickly perked up again. "Oh, but we should totally do this again! It's so relieving to have another girl around, and I'm really glad it's you. You gotta promise, okay?"

Already making for the door, (Y/n) tossed a careless smile over her shoulder and nodded. "Yeah, okay," she agreed, adding a wave in goodbye as she stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the floor the main work room was on.

Sure, she was somewhat fond of Misa, but spending extended periods of time with her could be taxing given how upbeat the blonde's personality constantly was. Nevertheless, (Y/n) didn't want to blow her off, especially when Misa was surrounded by men she'd never met before and one who was no longer the way she'd known him to be. It would be scary for just about any female, let alone one who was also being accused of heinous crimes. (Y/n) had made a promise to look after Misa, after all.

"Had fun?" Light asked the moment she stepped out, and she shot him a quick smile before dropping into the chair available on L's other side.

"Sure did. I might end up stealing your girlfriend shortly at this rate," she informed sarcastically.

Briefly, Light looked like he wanted to tell her to go ahead, but he swallowed the impulse for the sake of being polite and only smiled (albeit in a strained manner) at her.

L took this as his cue to cut in. "Your hair looks nice like this, (Y/n)," he complimented, likely getting a kick out of the way Light's eye twitched. "You should wear it like this more often."

"Really?" She hummed, agreeing that the hairstyle did work well for her from what she'd seen of it in the mirror in the elevator. "I could never do something so intricate on my own, though."

Behind them, Aizawa cleared his throat pointedly and the trio lapsed into a silence as they went back to their respective tasks, but not before (Y/n) exchanged amused looks with the detective beside her while Light looked less than pleased at the interaction.

Time passed, however, and Matsuda and Misa left soon after because the blonde did have a job to get to and the former was her 'manager' which led to the requirement of his presence (much to his chagrin).

(Y/n) couldn't say that she hadn't noticed Matsuda's rising frustration at the lack of importance given to him. His seniors tended to treat his inexperience as incompetence, and it probably took a toll on his already low self-esteem. It's not that he was incapable, but more that people tended to be unwilling to give him a chance. She tried to work with him, but he'd never studied criminal psychology and so he tended to feel out of the loop since most of her tasks related to either programming or profiling.

Honestly, she shouldn't have been surprised that it ended in something like this happening.

Following their confirmation of Yotsuba Corp. being affiliated with the newest Kira, the group was alerted to Matsuda's distress signal, tracing his location to the Yotsuba HQ and the prompt conclusion that he'd gone off to do some recon of his own, while leaving Misa unattended.

"Why am I not surprised?" (Y/n) sighed, watching L pose as Matsuda's drinking buddy to confirm via code that the young man was, in fact, in trouble.

Next to her, Light hummed. "He has a bit of an inferiority complex, right?"

She nodded. "It's not just that, though," she added. "He's constantly exposed to you and your potential, and is probably hyper-aware of the fact that even though you are younger than he is and are still a student, you're more imperative to the case than he is. Not to mention how much everyone overlooks him. He was bound to pull a stunt to try and prove his worth sooner or later."

"It's not like Matsuda's an idiot," Light sighed. "He's clumsy and often simple-minded, yes, but he's pretty reliable when it comes down to it. Or, at least, Dad says so."

She smiled wryly. "Unfortunately, he's never said it to Matsuda himself."

Having listened in on the siblings' discussion, L interjected, "I don't see why he feels the need for validation from others though. Now he's jeopardized this entire operation." Despite the lack of obvious emotion in his tone, L's annoyance was evident even to the untrained eye.

"I can't defend him saying he hasn't put all of us at risk," she conceded, "but I understand why he did it. Matsuda isn't like us. We're all fairly close in age, but while the three of us are what society deems as intellectually gifted or 'geniuses', Matsuda's a regular guy who's only capable of regular things and that gap in ability has been eating away at him. He needed to prove that he can carry his own weight so he acted instinctively to attempt to benefit the case."

"Except it backfired, and now we're here," Light finished, sounding tired. "Now I feel kind of bad for him."

L snorted under his breath. "Then you can let him know after we've rescued him. Someone get Amane on the line. Watari, could you please contact Aiber and Wedy? And we'll need a giant mattress, a really heavy bag, and an ambulance."

(Y/n) gently pulled on L's sleeve, bringing his attention back to her. "Don't go too hard on him immediately. It'll only be counterproductive today."

For a moment, the raven-haired detective stared at her. "Do you, perhaps, care for Matsuda, (Y/n)?"

She blinked. "Of course, I do. While you might think of him as a bumbling fool, Matsuda's someone I think of as a friend."

This seemed to momentarily surprise L, who probably couldn't comprehend why two people having such different thought processes would be friends. But (Y/n) thought he had a lot to learn, in that sense, about human relationships and attachments. It really wasn't so hard for widely different people to come together and bond.

After all, (Y/n) spent time with Misa and Matsuda who were both far from the type of people one would expect her to be around. But to flourish in society, it's best to be adaptable and open to all sorts of people. Probably why L didn't get out much.

"A friend, huh?" L murmured to himself before turning to her again. "Well then, let's go save your friend before anymore time is wasted, shall we?"

Her eyes narrowed for a second, trying to catch any condescending undertone to his words, and she shot him an impressed look when she found none.

Did he just make an effort to respect my opinion? Well done, L.

L's lips curved upwards in the smallest hint of a smile, and (Y/n) flicked the edge of his sleeve that was still in her hold.

"Alright, let's go save Matsuda before he gets killed. What's the plan?"

"We'll have him fake his death."

"Fantastic."