Matsuda’s POV:

“I love you,” the male actor, Hideki Ryuga, professed to Misa. “So, please, don’t tell me you’re going home now. Instead, say you’ll stay by my side.”

Hideki Ryuga’s hands found their way to Misa’s shoulders. He started to lean in for the kiss when, all of the sudden, the blonde turned her head towards the camera crew, “uh, hey, Mr. Director, I can’t do this! There’s someone I love, Light Yagami! Can we maybe cut the love scenes, please?”

“Wha-? Wait a second!” the director’s eyebrows furrowed together, “where is this coming from all of the sudden?!”

“Can’t we just, like, fake kiss or something?” Misa whined.

The director threw his hands into the air, “you’re kidding! You can’t expect us to make a movie like that!”

“But, if I say no, then it’s a no. Okay?”

Matsuda closed his eyes a moment. Admittedly, he was only half listening to Misa’s antics. He was mostly focused on the fact that the Yotsuba Group’s Tokyo office was only a block or so away from where they were filming Misa’s movie. They had been filming for several days already, and all he could think about was, if only he were more brave, he could directly attempt to infiltrate the building.

All I want to do is help the investigation....

The young policeman let out a depressed sigh, thinking back to when he had attempted to lift the tension in the room during the double date.

“It’s nothing. Matuda’s being stupid again.”

“That’s his speciality.”

He hung his head, I want to help the investigation, but so far, I haven’t been able to do very much…

No, Touta Matsuda! You can’t think like that! And today’s Friday!

He thought back to the chief’s words, “...I noticed that all the deaths that are beneficial to Yotsuba appear to be concentrated around the weekend...they all seem to take place between Friday night and Saturday afternoon.”

The chief said he didn’t want to be dead weight...well, like the chief, I also don’t want to be dead weight, either! No, I can’t be dead weight! I want Ryuzaki and the others to see how beneficial to this case I can be! I don’t want to just do coffee runs and file papers for them. Matsuda took another sip of his coffee, Light and Keiko are both younger than me, but yet they’ve been able to contribute so much more to the case than me. They’re younger and a lot more talented than I am...no! Again, you can’t think like that! It’s time to stop moping around, Touta Matsuda! If you want to show your skills, you can’t do that sitting down. It’s time to take matters into your own hands!

Matsuda jumped from his spot on the park bench. He dumped his empty coffee cup into the nearest trash can, then took off in a sprint towards the Yotsuba building.

You can do this, Touta Matsuda! You can prove your worth!

/meanwhile/

Light’s POV:

Would I really punish evil-doers if I could kill just by seeing a person’s face and name? Is that what I would do if I had that sort of power? I admit, there are a lot of people that the world could frankly do without, but...I don’t think I’d become a murderer just to change the world...surely, I wouldn’t do that, right? No! Light, you’re thinking too hard about this. There’s no way one could murder so many people and not have any memory of it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Keiko running a hand through her hair. He looked over at her, watching as she read over the paper in front of her, and attempted to ignore the pang in his heart. There was no denying that he missed her.

But...because of Misa, my relationship with her was ruined...she caused a misunderstanding and messed things up between us. Keiko breaking with me might have hurt, but the fact that she no longer trusts me, thanks to Misa and this whole ongoing investigation, hurts me the most...and L.

Light looked over at the raven haired detective, L was dangling her right in front of me during that stupid date I was forced to go on. Knowing L, he’s can’t be romantically interested in her...so what was his motive? Was it all just a test? Well, that wouldn’t be too surprising, but if it was a test, it was a rather cruel one. Though, I suppose if his goal was to find out how I truly feel about Keiko, he surely accomplished that. well….I suppose it makes sense he’d want to test me on that. He wants to know if I truly loved her or if I was merely using her. I can understand that. But even so, Light thought back to the way L had intimately placed his hand on Keiko’s chin and let out a sigh.

Why would he touch her like that?! Logically, I know there’s no way that L would ever gain feelings for anyone, and I know that Keiko would never fall for someone as weird as him, but still, thinking about the two of them together upsets me. I don’t even want to think about that, not even hypothetically, it’s crazy and-

“What’s wrong, Light-kun?” L questioned, breaking through Light’s thoughts.

“H-huh?”

“You were staring at me,” L replied matter-of-factly. He was nonchalant, holding a plate of strawberry cake out in front of him. “Wait a moment, you’re annoyed because I’m the only one eating cake at the moment, aren’t you?”

“What?” Light was aghast. “No, that’s not it.”

What the-? Where’s this coming from? He had to know that I was thinking about him. Surely he’s just trying to annoy me on purpose right now.

“Here,” the detective held his plate out in front of Light. “I didn’t touch it yet. You can have it, if you’d like.”

Light shook his head, holding his hand out in front of him, “no thanks. That’s really not it, Ryuzaki-san.”

L sighed, “fine. It’s your loss, really.”

He was about to take a bite when his computer screen lit up with the letter ‘W’.

“Ryuzaki-san,” Watari called out.

Keiko’s POV:

Keiko, who had been trying to tune out L’s latest antics, gave up once she heard Watari’s voice projecting into the room.

“Yes?” L answered, “what is it, Watari-san?”

“Detective Eraldo Coil has just received a private request to investigate and reveal the identity of L.”

Eraldo...Coil? I remember hearing that name before...wait a moment…

“Wait a moment, isn’t Eraldo Coil the man who’s supposed to be the next greatest detective after L?” Keiko wondered out loud as she stood up from her chair. She walked over to where the monitors were sitting, taking a spot near L.

I’m still a bit upset with him...but I want to know what’s going on...once again, there goes my pride…

Light’s father crossed his arms, “who on earth would send such a request?”

“The man who sought out Coil’s services was identified as Masahiko Kida. Kida is the vice president of the rights and planning department of the Yotsuba Group,” Watari announced.

“So it is Yotsuba…” the chief muttered.

“If they want to know L’s identity then…” Keiko started, then she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

Light, however, finished the sentence for her, “if they want to know L’s identity then they probably want to kill him...they just need the name and face to do it.”

I couldn’t imagine a world without L, Keiko looked over at the raven haired detective. She bit her lip, deep in thought, despite how much he teases and frustrates me, I can’t deny that I have feelings for him. I wouldn’t want to live in a world without him around...personal feelings aside, he makes things more interesting. And, through working with him, I’ve managed to improve on my own investigative skills. Whether he realizes it or not, he’s taught me quite a bit.

“This isn’t good,” the chief let out a sigh, “we’re already shorthanded...and now we have to worry about Coil, too?”

L swiveled his chair around to face the rest of the Task Force. He glanced at everyone in the room, his gaze lingering a little while longer on Keiko as he said, “it’s alright...you don’t have to worry about that.”

Don’t worry?! How in the world can he say something like that? Kira’s going to great lengths to try and kill him! I might ‘hate’ him, but I certainly don’t want to lose him!

“The detective known as Eraldo Coil...is me.”

Keiko’s eyes widened at his sudden confession, what?!

“It’s quite simple, really,” L started, through bites of his cake. “Three of the world’s greatest detectives, L, Coil, and Deneuve….they’re all actually me. It’s been in my experience that people who try to find me usually fall for this.”

They’re all him? That’s impressive, you never cease to amaze me. Keiko almost smiled, then remembered she was supposed to be mad at the detective. Dammit! This is exactly it! He frustrates me, then makes it impossible for me to stay mad at him for very long...but that being said, I suppose it won’t be too long before he annoys me yet again...

“As expected, you’re always a few steps ahead of everyone else,” Light commented.

L picked the strawberry off his cake, “I’ll give you this strawberry if you keep this a secret.”

When no one took the strawberry from him, the detective turned towards Keiko, extending the strawberry towards her.

“For you,” he said simply.

Why’d he decide on me? Keiko wondered, a blush filling her cheeks, but she took the strawberry from him anyway. I almost doubt it, but...if this is some form of a late apology from him about the double date fiasco, I’ll take it. Though, he still has a long way to go to fully apologize.

/short timekskip/

“...and that’s what I was thinking as far as a game plan,” the detective announced.

“Alright,” the conman, Aiber, said after a moment. “So you just want me to get close to him? Well, leave that to me.”

The woman, Wedy, took a drag of her cigarette, “and you wanted me to breach the security systems and override the surveillance for Yotsuba’s Tokyo branch?”

L nodded, “yes. At this point, it’s safe to assume that Kira and Yotsuba are connected in some way. We are going to investigate Yotsuba to determine who currently holds Kira’s power, and if there’s more than one person who possesses this ability...the most important thing is that we cannot let anyone from Yotsuba figure out that they are being investigated. That being said, it would be wise not to act impulsively out of panic or haste. And definitely don’t take matters into your own hands.”

“Ryuzaki-san,” Watari’s voice cut through the room for the second time that day, “I have just received an emergency signal from Matsuda’s belt.”

L closed his eyes a moment. “Where is he?”

“It appears that the signal is coming from within the head office of the Yotsuba Group.”

“Well, I’m disappointed, but not surprised…Matsuda-san, you idiot,” Keiko heard the detective mutter. He turned around to face the rest of the Task Force, “alright...well...looks like I need to rethink our strategy so please, disregard everything I just said.”

“Mogi-san,” the detective looked over at the policeman, “may I borrow your cell phone, please? Yes...thank you very much.”

Keiko watched as L dialed Matsuda’s phone number then placed the cell phone on speakerphone.

“H-hello?” Matsuda tentatively responded.

“Yo! Matsui! It’s me, Asahi! It’s been a while, buddy!”

Uh. What? Am I hearing correctly? Did...did...the detective...just say yo? And...buddy?

“Oh, yeah. Uh, it sure has, Asahi!”

“It doesn’t sound like you’re out right now. Come on, it’s Friday night! Are you really home already?”

“Yeah, I’m home already…”

“So, you by yourself, then?”

“Yeah, I’m by myself...what’s up?”

The detective held the phone by his chest for a moment whispering, “it sounds as though Matsuda was acting alone...Misa Amane must not be with him.”

“Sooo,” the detective started, talking to Matsuda once more, “dooo you wanna, like, go out drinking tonight?”

Keiko had reached her limit. Despite the situation, the girl had to stifle a giggle at the ridiculous way that the detective was talking.

I know this isn’t the time or the place...but...he’s always so serious all the time...and to hear him talk like that...it’s hilarious. I doubt I’ll ever hear him speak those words again.

“Huh, right now? Oh, sorry. I’ll have to pass on that for tonight.”

“What? What’s the matter? Don’t tell me your wallet’s in trouble again.”

“Yeah, that’s right, haha. I’m in big trouble with money, you know me way too well, Asahi. I’m totally broke right now.”

Upon hearing that Matsuda was in trouble, Keiko sobered up, Matusda...what’re you doing right now?! We leave you alone with Misa Amane to shoot a movie for only a couple days...and you get yourself in trouble...

“That’s too bad. Guess I’ll just have to drag you out some other time, then. See ya, buddy. Speak soon.”

With that, L hung up. He turned towards Light, “could you please call Amane-san?”

“What are you planning on doing, Ryuzaki-san?” the chief questioned.

“Well…worst case scenario, if Masuda-san dies, our suspicions against Yotsuba Group would be confirmed...however, I don’t think they’ll kill him right away. That being said, let’s just watch the situation for a while.”

/slight timeskip/

The ringing of Light’s cell phone broke through the silence. Light fished the phone out of his pocket, “it’s Misa…hello, Misa-chan...wait...listen to me. You’re not with Matsuda-san at the moment, are you?...I figured as much…h-huh?”

Light removed the phone from his ear a moment, “she said she's getting a call on her work phone from Matsuda-san!”

The detective glanced over at Keiko’s ex-boyfriend, “please, tell her to place the phone so that we can listen in as well.”

Light nodded, instructing Misa to do as L said.

“Misa Misa!” Matsuda’s voice filled the room, “when you’ve finished filming, please come over to Yotsuba Group’s main Tokyo office! It’s still tentative, but there’s a chance you may be able to appear in their commercials!”

“What?” was Misa’s rather shrill reply, “are you for real?! That’s amazing, Matsui-san! So that’s what you’ve been up to. Don’t worry, we’re wrapping up filming soon…”

“Great!” Matsuda replied, “it’s just a short trip by taxi.”

With that, Misa’s phone call with Matsuda was finished, and Light hung up the phone with Misa as well. The Task Force, Keiko included, looked over at L, who was deep in thought.

“We may be able to save Matsuda-san,” the detective announced after a moment, “however, we won’t be able to do it unless we have Misa Amane’s help...Light-kun, I’m sure she’ll listen to you, right? She did say she was willing to do anything for you. And…” L’s dark eyes met Keiko’s, “Kagami-san, we’ll need your skills as well.”

M-me?! Keiko’s heart pounded in her chest.

“I know you’re probably still upset with me, Kagami-san...and I’m truly sorry for upsetting you...but we really need your help...I really need your help. You’re the best person to oversee the task I have in mind. I need your skills...perhaps….can I count on you?”

He’s….sorry? He...needs my help? The world’s greatest detective is counting on me? And he apologized? She carefully inspected him, he’s serious...I haven’t seen L looking this serious in a while...

Keiko nodded, looking into the detective’s eyes once more, “yes. You can count on me, Ryuzaki-san.”

/timeskip/

Keiko tugged down on her mini skirt for what she felt like was the hundredth time that night. Unfortunately for her, the reception party had yet to even start. To make matters worse, the crop top she was wearing was showed far too much cleavage for her taste. With her midriff and long legs exposed, the girl felt like she was almost naked.

This is probably the most scandalous outfit I’ve ever worn in my life! And to think, it’s for something like this...

Upon hearing the door starting to open, Keiko got in position with the other girls from Misa’s agency.

Looks like it’s go time! She plastered a smile on her face, Keiko Kagami, you can do this! L’s counting on you to make sure everything tonight runs smoothly...

“Good evening!” The girls from Misa’s agency, and Keiko, chimed once the men from Yotsuba had entered the room. Keiko noted that there were eight of them in total, all dressed to the nines in black business suits.

Eight executive members...if Kira is truly someone from Yotsuba Group, then it’s highly likely that it’s one of them...

“We’re all very pleased to meet you all,” Misa walked over to the group of men, a wide grin on her face, “tonight we’ll all be entertaining you. There’s food and alcohol served on the living room table. I hope you guys will let loose and enjoy yourselves.”

Matsuda gave an awkward laugh, running a hand through his dark hair, “y-yes. Please have fun everyone!”

L’s POV:

L surveyed the scene through the hidden cameras, all according to the plan so far…just a little while longer, and it should be time for Matsuda to be getting a hold of me...

He watched as Misa leaned over, whispering something to the man sitting beside her. The detective identified him as Reiji Namikawa. On the other side of Misa sat Suguru Shimura, who took another swig of alcohol.

“Man, Suguru started, leaning in towards the blonde, “you girls really know how to throw a party, this is heaven.”

“Hmm,” L muttered to himself as Misa gave Suguru a flirty grin, “she appears to be pretty good at this out of thing.”

However, how’s Keiko holding up?

The detective scanned the room for the girl, who was sandwiched between a pensive-looking Shingo Mido and Kyosuke Higuchi, who had been raving on about their company’s previous successes.

“Oh, wait,” Keiko started, taking an empty cup out of Higuchi’s hands, “before you go on, this is a celebration, you should have more to drink.”

“Thank you,” Higuchi winked at the girl, his hand finding its way to her inner thigh. He rested it there while she refilled his drink. “If a pretty lady tells me I should drink some more, I’ll certainly do it.”

Upon seeing this, L’s eyes narrowed at the man, anger burning through him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Light stiffening up as well.

I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Kyosuke Higuchi...you’d better watch yourself. If you attempt to go any farther, I’ll somehow make you pay for it later on.

Although it was only for a brief second, the detective had noticed how Keiko froze up at Higuchi’s touch. However, she had quickly regained her smile, pretending that all was well.

Despite the front you’ve put up, I can tell you’re more than uncomfortable with the situation...I’m so sorry to be putting you through this, Keiko Kagami, but you’re the only one available with my trust that fits the role and can make sure that the plan runs smoothly. Please be patient, it’ll only be a little while longer.

As if on cue, Matsuda slipped up from his spot on the couch. He slid with drunken steps towards the door, slipping Misa’s cell phone off of the table and into his pocket, “‘s’cuse m-me, I need to go to the restroom.”

Despite his sudden announcement, the room continued on with mindless chatter. No one was paying any attention to Matsuda. The detective watched as Matsuda took his chance to leave the room. He ran down the hallway into the bathroom, locked himself inside a stall, and then punched in the number for the Task Force.

“Ryuzaki-san,” Matsuda said through the phone, are you watching?”

“Yes.”

The detective watched as the young policeman breathed a deep sigh of relief, “look I’m so sorr-”

“That’s not important right now, Matsuda-san.”

“You’re right...listen to me, the eight men who came here had a meeting to determine who they would get Kira to kill for them.”

At this, L heard a gasp from Light’s father. Both the detective and Light, however, remained expressionless.

“I heard them say it clearly,” Matsuda went on, “there’s no doubt in my mind, they’ve gotta be behind this. One of them is more than most likely Kira.”

“Yes, you’re probably right...but, if you overheard them, then they should be trying to kill you.”

“I-is there anything I can do?” Matsuda stuttered out.

“Luckily for us, you’re still alive. I believe that there is a way to save you...but listen to me very closely, you must die before they kill you,” the detective announced.

“What?! R-Ryuzaki-san-!”

“As I said,” L interrupted, “listen to me very carefully…here’s what you’ll have to do…”

Keiko’s POV:

“...and that’s how our company is still expanding, even today.”

Keiko internally gagged, how much longer is he going to talk about himself and the company? How big is his ego?

Luckily for Keiko, Higuchi had removed his hand from her thigh as soon as she handed him back his cup. However, he still made it a point to unnecessarily brush up against her while going on and on about Yotsuba.

He’s absolutely disgusting and full of himself, but I can’t break character despite how uncomfortable I am...L and the others are watching from afar. I can’t let them down, she looked over at Misa, who appeared to be having fun herself, how does she do it? I have to admit, Misa’s a natural at this...I’ve been having to follow her lead this whole time.

The sound of someone slamming the door open interrupted her thoughts. Keiko looked over towards the source of the sound.

It’s Matsuda! He’s back! Thank goodness! That must mean that it’s time to put the plan into action!

Keiko watched as the young policeman stumbled back into the room, his face flushed and his speech slurred, “heyeveryone. Maaaaan, I’m sodrunk.”

He commanded the attention of everyone in the room, waving his hands around as he walked towards the balcony, “is everyone havin’ fuuun? ...thass great, I’mso glad.”

“What’s he doing?” someone called out as Matsuda slid the sliding door, stepping out into the cool night.

“I have it! The thing you’veall been waiting for! It’s the Taro Matsui show!”

With that, Matsuda started to position himself on the ledge of the balcony.

“What’re you doing?! Suguru called out, jumping off from his spot on the couch in concern,“get offa there!”

“He’s insane!” another Yotsuba executive chimed in as Matsuda fully stepped up on the ledge.

“Yaaay!” Misa’s shrill voice rang out against the crowd forming by the balcony, “you can do it! Go Matsu!”

“Yeah, go Matsu!” Keiko cried out as well, though her heart was pounding like crazy in her chest.

I know I have to trust L but...what if something goes wrong? No, no, you can’t think like that. Everything will be okay.

“But he’s drunk!” Reiji motioned towards where Matsuda was currently balancing, “and that’s dangerous!”

“Iss alright,” Matsuda shot everyone a grin, “Ialwaysdothis.”

That being said, the young policeman took a couple drunken steps forwards, arms balancing him out at his sides. Once that was done, he attempted to balance himself, hands first, on the ledge. He was only successful for a couple of seconds before plunging down into the dark of the night, letting out a scream as he did so.

As soon as Keiko heard the thud on the ground, she scrambled towards the window, double checking to make sure everything went according to plan. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she noticed that the body laying on the ground didn’t quite fit Matsuda’s body type.

Thank goodness. It isn’t him...which means everything went according to plan...now it’s time for phase two.

Everyone around her was in a frenzy, but Keiko and Misa headed towards the middle of the room, ready to command their attention.

Misa cupped her hands around her mouth. “It’ll be okay!” she announced, “the agency will take care of this.”

“What? But-” Reiji started.

“Just leave this for us to take care of,” Keiko interrupted, “as Misa-chan said, the agency will take care of this. You should go, everyone.”

“It’ll be okay,” Misa repeated, “we’ll handle this. But, please, still be sure to consider me for the commercial!”

“You don’t need to tell me again,” Mido said, walking over towards the door, “if they say they’ll handle it then we shouldn’t worry. Anyway, we really should get going. Just think, if the press sees this, they’ll have a field day. It’ll be bad news for the company’s stocks.”

With that, the executives of Yotsuba took their leave and Matsuda’s life had been saved.