Something had changed.

She didn't know if anyone else on the Task Force had noticed, but she could feel the unsettling shift in her dynamics with L. It was subtle, yes, but still present, and always lingering at the back of her mind while she tried to finish her work.

As her luck would have it, L had finally called her out on simultaneously carrying out her work from the BAU. Now, in such a situation, most people would apologize and put an end to that practice, but given that she rather fancied the idea of maybe inconveniencing L, (Y/n) had taken to doing it more openly.

Pausing in her typing up yet another ghastly boring report on her laptop, she frowned while trying to ignore her father's disapproving stare and L's infrequent blank ones. Honestly, the whole constantly keeping up her manners thing was beginning to get on her nerves. Back in the States, nobody seemed to care long enough to keep up the fake polite appearances as long as it wasn't absolutely necessary, or as far as she could tell. Perhaps it was just the consistently fast-paced life of an agent that had worn down on the nerves of the people she tended to surround herself with, thereby wearing away with their patience to seem polite.

The dark-haired detective who had been stubbornly occupying much of her time as of late was currently sat before the TV screen, a box of doughnuts sat open on the table before him while he waited for the device to process the tape he'd had Watari pop in only moments ago.

Feeling her patience run thin, she saved the unfinished file and promptly shut down her laptop, deciding that she needed a coffee if she was expected to be helpful and cordial for the remainder of her time at HQ for the day.

"Would anyone else like a cup of coffee?" she spoke up, rising from her seat on a sofa and rolling her shoulders in an effort to release some of the tension in them.

Aizawa declined politely, her father following suit with a brief shake of his head, both the older men looking too preoccupied to be bothered with anything else.

"If it's not too much trouble." Matsuda looked up sheepishly, his smile small given his own exhaustion. When (Y/n) assured him with a kind smile that it was no hassle at all, he shot her a relieved look, silently giving his thanks to the young woman.

"I would rather like one as well," L piped up, not looking away from the blank TV screen as she glanced at him over her shoulder on her way to the joint kitchenette. "Oh, and please remember to add si--"

"Six cubes of sugar," she finished for him blandly. "Yes, I know."

L didn't say anything, only turning to fix his mostly unblinking stare on her figure as she lingered in the doorway, meeting his gaze for a moment. When it became apparent that he was in no mood to look away first, she clenched her jaw and turned away, her spine tingling with a discomfort that didn't truly disappear until she was safely hidden away in the kitchen, the coffee machine whirring in front of her.

In the momentary privacy, she took the time to pull a face of irritation, scoffing to herself softly. Something about stupidly persistent detectives and their unreadable searching gazes really got on her nerves in a way that she was largely unfamiliar with. (Y/n) would never admit it to anyone but herself that she was perhaps biased towards disliking the detective because of his insistence in proving that Light was Kira, and the fact that she'd been on her brother's side for as long as she had known him.

Now, with the doubts that constantly demanded for her attention, questioning her loyalty to Light when he was anything but in regards to their family, she was forced to consider her general distaste for all things pertaining to L.

Of course, she doubted that anyone ever truly enjoyed being looked at like they were nothing more than a puzzle asking to be solved. As much as she realized her own hypocrisy given that she more often than not looked at others the same way, (Y/n) found something in the unwavering manner that L watched her in that almost scared her.

What was she afraid of exactly? Maybe that he would figure something out that she wasn't ready to accept.

(Y/n) denied several things for the sake of convenience in her life. She didn't like unnecessary confrontations that brought unneeded emotional baggage with them when she was perfectly fine without.

The machine beeped, calling for her attention, and she blinked at it, having forgotten where exactly she was. Shaking her head to dispel any remaining thoughts, she made quick work of pouring in the coffee.

Black for Matsuda. A spoonful each of cream and sugar for herself. Six freaking cubes of sugar for L.

How the man's body resisted hyperglycemia was beyond her.

Exiting the kitchen with the cups balanced on a tray she'd managed to find, the young profiler gladly left her mental endeavors behind in favor of greeting Light without studying him too closely because as much as it had become a natural tendency to do so for anyone who she didn't trust unquestionably, there was no doubt that he would notice and thus become suspicious of her allegiance.

Apparently, L was in the process of informing her brother that they had received another tape from the second Kira-- the last one, he suspected, and that they were just about to listen to it.

"Your concoction," she stated plainly, setting the cup on the table before him and abandoning the tray there as well. "Six sugars as requested."

In a display of absolute carelessness, the detective reached out and took a sip of steaming liquid, not even flinching even though she suspected he may have burnt his tongue in doing so. "This is perfect." He nodded at her. "Thank you, (Y/n)."

Eyebrow quirking upwards, she tilted her head slightly. "No problem."

She could tell that Light was trying to catch her eye, and that an evident frown made its way onto his face when she ignored his attempts, choosing to look at the screen that now displayed Kira's name in a particularly crude font that had become signature to Misa. Furthermore, she was also aware of the fact that their one-sided interaction hadn't been missed by L, and that it fueled the detective's warped sense of humor considering the barest twitch at the corners of his mouth.

L truly was a first class asshole.

"I've decided to stop searching for Kira," the disembodied voice spoke, filtering through the tension in the room. "I would like to thank the police department for their advice, however, I still plan to help Kira and I hope that in time he will come to see me as an ally. I will start by punishing criminals that Kira has yet to judge. Also, I will share my power with whoever is worthy of it and I will encourage them to do the same. Together, we will make the world a better place."

The message having finished, L switched off the TV while a thoughtful silence enveloped the rest of the room. (Y/n) had no doubt that L had already finished drawing his conclusions given the suddenly mechanical and mature tone of voice of their second 'Unsub'. It was enough of a change to figure out something was off.

As an insider, she guessed that Misa was merely parroting what Light may have instructed her to say rather than actually changing the words like he'd most likely meant for her to do. The profiler had no personal animosity towards the blonde model, but she wouldn't sugarcoat the fact that this message had most likely compromised the secrecy of the two Kiras' meeting.

"After hearing this," L began, "I can only imagine that Kira and the Second Kira have managed to make contact."

Instinctively, she glanced at Light, catching his gaze this time. He looked away quickly, narrowing his eyes slightly at L's back instead. "What makes you think that?" he questioned, the challenge evident in his countenance.

"Oh, come on." L turned back to look at her brother almost incredulously (because she assumed that was his version of the expression). "Didn't you sense it? I was sure you'd come to the same conclusion after watching the tape." Deciding to pick on his second favorite victim, he swiveled around to face (Y/n). "Don't you agree, (Y/n)?"

Very classy, L, she thought bitterly. Throw me under the bus, why don't you?

"I could tell the difference between the previous tapes and this one," she admitted almost reluctantly, briefly glancing at Light from the corner of her eye. "They don't really add up."

Matsuda blinked. "What?"

Biting into a glazed doughnut and downing it with a gulp of his equally sweet coffee, L swallowed. "First, consider how determined she was to meet the first Kira. So why the sudden change of heart? And, now, she wants to punish criminals Kira has yet to get to, wanting only for Kira to see her as an ally?" he questioned. "It begs the question: why didn't she do this to begin with? My guess is she didn't think this far ahead. She probably met Kira and was told which criminals she'd be allowed to judge. This message is probably an attempt to disguise the fact that they've already met."

Light exhaled softly, a movement only caught by her carefully watching him. "I see," he relented, "but it's not like Kira to be so careless."

"That's true," L licked his fingers clean of the sugary coating. "But are we to believe that Kira has made a mistake, or is this to let us know that they've made contact as a means of provoking us? The idea of their union is very threatening." Tilting his head up thoughtfully, he continued, "This message does reduce some of my suspicions regarding Light, however."

Soichiro gasped, "Ryuzaki, what do you mean?"

Glancing at the messy-haired detective, (Y/n) wondered the same thing. L had been steadfast in his belief that Light was the prime suspect of the whole investigation, going as far as to even managing to sway her loyalty to her own brother. Now his opinions were being changed by a measly fake message? The idea was honestly derisive, she believed, moving to stand beside Matsuda.

L turned slightly, his eyes finding hers almost searchingly before they shifted over to rest on the Yagami patriarch. "This doesn't seem like something Light would do," he said simply. "No. Light would probably have the second Kira go through with her original plan of having my identity revealed on TV, and have me killed before shifting the blame onto her and denying all responsibility."

Eyebrows rising at the accuracy of the statement, (Y/n) tossed Light an impressed look that he returned with a deadpan stare, evoking a twitch of her lips.

"Ryuzaki," her brother began, "I think you're mistaken. I would never do that."

L licked the chocolate glazing off his doughnut, making her grimace slightly. "Why not?" he questioned indulgently.

"Well, if you're L and I'm Kira, then I'd already know your personality pretty well," the brunet pointed out. "L would never agree to making an appearance on TV-- no matter what threat he was facing, and he wouldn't let anyone else die in his place. The L I know would find some way to escape the situation."

Slowly putting down the doughnut, L turned to face Light. "So you figured it out," he commented quietly.

"Look, Light," Soichiro butt in with a deep sigh, "you've got to stop doing that. I don't like hearing you say things like 'If I were Kira'. Even hypothetically."

Blinking, the youngest Task Force member nodded. "Sorry, Dad. I just wanted Ryuzaki to know exactly what I thought of his plan," he averted his gaze to look at the sofa being occupied by the aforementioned detective. "I posed that scenario because I want to help solve this case. It's the only chance I have to clearing my name. Besides, I feel comfortable saying things like that because I know that I'm not really Kira."

"You're not Kira," L murmured softly, her attention snapping to him instantaneously. "That is, it would be a problem if you were. You see, I feel as though you are the first friend I have ever had."

(Y/n) silently resigned herself to never understanding the ways in which L's mind worked. She was no longer sure that she wanted to know, because it seemed that Light's charm had made his IQ drop much like it had her brother's admirers when he was in school.

Of course, she briefly considered the possibility of L trying to manipulate Light, but she was quick to dismiss it. L would have to know that the tactic wouldn't work on Light, and frankly, it was fairly sentimental when considering L's emotional prowess. Then that meant that the detective had actually gone and gotten attached to Light when nothing of the sort should have happened.

So, where did she stand in all this?

Nowhere, (Y/n) concluded, her chin rising slightly with the subtle realization.

She had never stood on any side in this huge game out of her own beliefs. First, she had stood by Light because he was her brother-- he was family and it was a given that she would support him when the siblings had always been admittedly close. Then L came along and tipped the balance, her own uncharacteristically turbulent mind only adding onto it with the doubts that finally made it occur to her that in the face of his own goals, Light wouldn't consider her, Sayu or their parents.

He would go to any lengths to achieve what he wanted.

And that meant that the only one in any position to protect them was her, because nobody else (aside from Light) knew as much of the truth as she did, and she also knew that she wouldn't let Light put their lives in danger. If he turned out to be the price to pay, then so be it.

It was a grim thought for a sister to have pertaining her brother. (Y/n) was a realistic woman, however, and one who believed in the concept of 'An eye for an eye.' If Light was willing to sacrifice their family for the sake of his goals, then she would return the favor if it meant ensuring her adoptive parents' safety.

She'd already lost her birth parents. She wouldn't lose the ones she had now, too.

So, if L was going to play buddy-buddy with Light and be blinded by her brother's charm, then she would watch him fall to his demise without stepping in because she also knew that if things were to proceed like this any further, then L would pay with his life.

Openly playing against Light meant endangering her primary goal-- survival. However, playing for him didn't have outcomes that were satisfactory either. The only way she would truly be content was if she played for herself.

Like she always had. And, perhaps, like she always will.

(Y/n) was selfish, and she admitted this fact to herself. She didn't allow compromises with what really mattered to her. Now, as fate would have it, there were very, very few things out there that she really cared about, but she'd be damned if she let anyone lay a hand on her family.

If Light wanted to do so, then she would cut off that hand of her dear Otouto. Because if he ever did so, then he would no longer be the Light Yagami she loved and grew up with-- he would be a faceless stranger with a God complex, going by the name of Kira.

Snapping her train of thought, Light cleared his throat. "Yeah," he drew out slowly, "I know what you mean. The two of us have a lot in common."

"Oh, boy." Aizawa rolled his eyes, turning away irritably as L placed down his cup of coffee. Matsuda looked on with an awkward tension in his shoulders, a strangely uncomfortable look on his face that made her wonder if he was feeling a little constipated. Even Soichiro looked distinctly thrown off by the sudden turn of conversation.

"Thank you," L murmured softly, looking for all the world like a preteen whose confession just got accepted by his longtime crush.

Light smiled playfully-- a calculated grin that he had probably practiced in the mirror a hundred times to pull off as seamlessly as he could now, having mastered it to a degree of perfection that was honestly a little pathetic. "Besides, I missed having you around at school," he said. "We should play tennis again, sometime soon."

Nodding, L turned away, but not before she caught a crease in his brow that had her narrowing her eyes slightly. "We should," he agreed airily. "That will be all for today, gentlemen. You may head home for tonight. Watari will send you a message regarding what time we will be expecting you back here tomorrow."

Was L feeling alright?

Slightly stunned, the men of the Task Force slowly dispersed to gather their few belongings, Light exchanging a meaningful look with her before following after their father, presumably to inquire about any other developments on the case. Now left alone with the silent detective, she sighed and turned to walk away as well, deciding that she was in no state of patience to put up with him.

But, alas, she was not as lucky, and L was calling her back before she even reached the doorway.

"Not you, (Y/n)," he spoke up. "I would like for you to stay."

Eyebrow quirking, she turned slightly, glancing over at his unmoving form. "Why would I do that?" she questioned rhetorically.

Unfortunately for her, rhetoric was not a word in L's dictionary because he craned his neck to look at her with an utterly blank gaze as he blandly stated, "I do believe that you've been prioritizing your work from the BAU during time at HQ. It is only fair that you make up for it."

Vaguely aware of her father's presence behind her, she felt her eye twitch slightly.

"Now, Ryuzaki," Soichiro began strictly, "I don't think that it's prop--"

"It's fine, Dad," she interrupted, swallowing her annoyance. "This is a matter of professionalism, after all. I'll be alright."

Although he looked just about ready to put his foot down and possibly carry her home, Soichiro relented with a long suffering sigh under the heavy gaze of his eldest child and that of the world's greatest detective. "Don't stay up too late," he reminded. "And call if you have any nightmares," he added in a lower voice, meant only for her to hear.

She understood that her father meant well, but (Y/n) found herself stiffening at the reminder anyways. She nodded mechanically, standing still as he dropped a kiss to the crown of her head before brushing past and heading straight for the door, quickly followed by Aizawa and Matsuda.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Light questioned, throwing a wary glance at L's back over her shoulder before returning his gaze to her own. "I could stay, too, if you want."

Shaking her head,