Disclaimer: Death Note is owned by Tsugumi Ohba, and Takeshi Obata. Neither of whom are me.

Author's Note: This fic was originally written for the LiveJournal community of 30 Kisses. We could all use some L/Misa love, let's be honest. This is an alternative timeline (I really can't justify the "AU" label anymore.), and dabbles with the idea of Misa meeting L before Light. Mature reviews are always appreciated. Sorry for not posting this sooner. I would've (it's already on LJ). However, sick Kat is very sick. Trick or treat, indeed. Well, my trick. However, your treat (so to speak?), is that you might want to go back to chapter 26, since I extended the ending a bit. It flows and ends a bit smoother to me now.

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Theme 25. Fence

When Light told Misa that Ryuuzaki would not be happy, she had no doubt. But her idea of him unhappy mainly consisted of him calling her, and giving her a rather stern talking to over the phone. Maybe even giving her an extra bodyguard.

It did not include Ryuuzaki actually showing up at her apartment with an extremely perturbed look on his face, telling her that they needed to talk.

And it certainly didn't include the clear irritation that laced his usually gentle tone. "Misa-san," he looked down at her, for once not settling on her couch but opting to stand, "do you have any idea of the stunt you pulled yesterday?"

Misa feigned nonchalance, shrugging. "Misa only went out for a little bit."

"You did not." He frowned. "You deliberately evaded the two men I hired to protect you, and disappeared for nearly four hours."

She sighed, sitting on her couch with a mug of tea in her hands. "I don't like them. They're stifling."

"It's not a matter of you liking them," Ryuuzaki countered. "You have them because you need them."

"Misa doesn't think so," she muttered.

"You seem to have forgotten the cameras that were housed here," he said.

"I didn't forget," she huffed. "I just don't think we need to go so far as bodyguards."

"And what would you have, then?" Ryuuzaki challenged.

"Well, Misa isn't sure," she admitted, taking a quick sip of the hot liquid to settle her jittering nerves she was trying not to show.

"That would be because my plan is best," he said. "A plan that would work better if you followed it."

"I already told you, I don't want that protection!" Misa yelled.

"You can't always have what you want, Misa-san," he shoved his hands in his pockets with force, as if trying to hold back. "You have to accept what you need."

"I don't need bodyguards, then!"

He actually seemed to twitch. "Misa-san, you have a stalker. Bodyguards are the least you need."

"Misa will get a dog, then," she said. "A big, mean dog who will bark and scare people away."

"You don't like dogs," he told her. "And would you really be able to take care of something like that with your schedule?"

She frowned, not liking his point. "Misa will think of something else. But not a bodyguard."

He sighed. "For the last time, you need them."

"Misa doesn't want them!" she repeated, heatedly.

"You're acting like a child!" His voice was actually beginning to raise.

"I am not! You're being too stubborn!"

"I'm being stubborn? You're being entirely unreasonable!"

"Misa is not! It's Misa's life, and she should be able to choose what she does and does not want. Misa doesn't understand why Ryuuzaki-san is trying to force them on her, anyway."

"Because I'm trying to protect you!" he shouted, leaning down to grip her shoulders, nearly spilling her tea in the process. "I'm trying to protect you the way I know best. Why won't you let me do it?"

Misa blinked a few times, shock taking away her ability to speak. Ryuuzaki had never yelled at her before. Had never even gotten angry at her before. He was always in such perfect control of his faculties. She didn't know how to respond to this sudden, unreal outburst.

Ryuuzaki himself seemed to realize just how he was behaving, and released his hold, backing away a little. He shook his head, expression befuddled. "This... is a very odd situation, Misa-san," he finally said, sounding much more like himself as he started chewing on the end of his forefinger.

"O-odd?" she parroted after finding her voice again.

"I don't really have arguments," he admitted. "At least, not angry ones."

She looked at him skeptically. "Ryuuzaki-san has never gotten angry?"

"Oh, I get angry at times. But I never yell," he explained. "I find it counterproductive."

"You yell at Misa just fine," she pouted.

"You make it easy," he retorted. "Though, it's still rather unsettling."

"Yelling at Misa is unsettling for you?"

"Yelling at all is unsettling. I already told you, I do not see the point in raising my voice, when keeping a calm tone and speaking rationally gets the job done much better." He looked at her, finger now tapping his chin. "But you make me... " He suddenly stopped himself, hands back in his pockets. "The bodyguards stay."

Misa slammed her free hand down onto the cushion she sat on. "Ryuuzaki-san!"

The doorbell ringing made her already frayed nerves go completely undone for a moment, and Misa jumped at the sound. with a bit of a huff, she went to see who was at the door. She'd never had anyone visit at the same time as Ryuuzaki. Perhaps it was simply a delivery.

However, Misa found it wasn't even close to as mundane as that, as she looked through the peephole and saw Mamori on the other side.

She turned to Ryuuzaki, paling a little as she whispered, "It's Misa's sister."

"Oh," he said, dully.

She frowned at his lack of reaction. Didn't he know what this meant?

"Misa?" Mamori called from the other side, ringing on the bell again. "Misa, are you home?"

Misa looked to the door, and back at Ryuuzaki. "What should Misa do?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. "It's your sister, isn't it? You should answer her."

She stared blankly at him for a moment, not quite understanding his indifference. Then, deciding that ignoring her sister wasn't really an option, Misa opened the door.

"Ah, there you are," Mamori said. "I was wondering if I had stopped by at a bad time."

"It's never a bad time for Mamori," Misa offered a shaky smile, giving her sister a quick kiss on the cheek. "Come in."

Mamori's own smile seemed to fade the moment she walked in and spotted Ryuuzaki across the room.

"Hello," Ryuuzaki said, twittering his fingers in way of a greeting.

"Um, hello?" Mamori replied, tentatively. Turning to her sister, she asked, "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Oh, well-" Misa fumbled.

"Of course, not," interrupted Ryuuzaki, as he began to walk past them. "Misa-san and I were just saying our goodbyes for the day. Don't mind me."

"Ah. Um, my name is Mamori," she said, moving a little to get in his way. "I'm Misa's older sister. And you might be?"

"Otani Shin'ichi."

The name went past his lips so easily that it was all Misa could do not to scoff outright. It wasn't even the name he was using at the university!

"It's nice to meet you, Otani-san," Mamori smiled. "You're a friend of Misa's?"

"I'm her boyfriend, actually."

Again, said so easily that Misa almost felt the room sway around her.

Mamori herself looked rather stunned. Slowly she faced Misa. "Your secret boyfriend?"

Misa had the urge to run to her room, hide under her covers and wait until it was all over. Instead, she gave her sister her best smile, and nodded. It was all she could do.

One of Mamori's brows raised. "I... see."

"Well, I'll be going now," Ryuuzaki said, casually walking to the door. "I'll talk to you later, Misa-san. Mamori-san, it was a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Mamori replied, perplexed. When he finally did leave,the older Amane descended upon her sister. "That's your boyfriend? No wonder you keep him a secret!"

"Mamori!" Misa pouted. "That isn't very nice."

"Well, I don't mean to be rude, but he's not quite your type," Mamori said. "I expected him to be a bit more... presentable."

"Ry- Otani-san looks fine," Misa replied, recovering the best she could.

"He looks like he hasn't slept in days!"

"He can't help it. He just looks that way," Misa defended, knowing that Ryuuzaki probably could help it if he wanted to.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter," Mamori sighed. "As long as he treats you well."

Misa thought back on their recent argument, how angry and insistent he had been. She also remember the reason as to just why he had been so furious in the first place. She wondered if he had shown that anger back when he had first heard of her little escape. Had she worried him so much that he had been simmering about it all the way until he had shown up on her doorstep? To know that she could actually cause someone who was usually in such control to slip a little made her own stubbornness regarding the situation budge, if just a little.

"Sometimes he's a little pushy," she admitted. "But Misa knows his heart's always in the right place."

Mamori gave her a stern look. "Okay, I'll find that an acceptable answer. For now," she added. "Now then, I had thought just dropping by your apartment would be a big surprise. I just didn't expect a surprise back."

Misa laughed. "Well, Misa is very surprised that Mamori is here. And very happy! This means you're here for a place to live, right?"

"Yes, though it seems you may not want me around very often if when I do move here," Mamori smirked.

The younger girl flushed bright pink. "O-of course, Misa would want Mamori around! Don't think that way! Misa and Otani-san aren't- I mean, we're not... "

"To be perfectly honest," Mamori interjected, "I'd rather not know." A rattling beeping came from her handbag, and she fished out a cell phone, reading the text she'd just received. "Dammit!"

The shout made Misa pull back a bit. "Mamori?"

The ponytailed woman looked up, furious. "I can't believe it. I really can't."

"Misa doesn't understand."

"Kira," Mamori spat. "Kira killed one of the people that was being prosecuted on one of the cases I had. I suppose the defense wasn't quick enough for him."

"Oh. I see."

"This is the fifth time he's done this on a case I've been following!" Mamori fumed. "Does he really think he's helping anybody? How is this true closure for the victims, when the criminal doesn't even get his case finished?"

Misa frowned. "So, Mamori still thinks Kira is wrong?"

"I don't think it. I know it."

"Mamori thinks L is right?"

"Absolutely," Mamori nodded. "Taking the law into your own hands isn't justice, at all!"

"So, you don't think Kira and L could ever get along?" Misa asked.

"Of course they couldn't," Mamori shook her head. "They have entirely opposing views on how justice should be handled. And neither is going to compromise."

Misa's face crumpled a bit. "Do you think Misa is a bad person because she thinks they're both right? That she doesn't want L or Kira to be caught?"

Mamori looked confused. "I don't see how that makes you bad, Misa."

"It's just that Kira made the bad person who killed Mom and Dad go away, so he's my hero. But L is a good person, too," she sniffled a little, trying not to cry. "He punishes criminals, like Kira does. Just differently. They both want justice, so Misa doesn't understand why they can't get along."

"Because Kira's way isn't justice to L," Mamori explained, not understanding why Misa was so upset over the matter. "And to Kira, L's way is too faulty."

"But they're both good people," Misa insisted. "So, they should be friends. Good people shouldn't want other good people to die!"

"It's not that simple," said Mamori, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"It should be! It is to Misa!" the girl cried. "Kira will always be Misa's hero. But now that Misa knows more about L, she knows he's a hero, too. So, they should just realize that they don't need to fight, and then both Misa's heroes would be safe."

Mamori frowned. "Misa, is there something going on that you want to tell me?"

Misa shook her head, frantically, but reached to hug her sister at the same time. "I'm not feeling well. Can you stay the night? Have a sleep over?"

"Sure," the older woman patted her gently on her back. "You know I won't leave my little sister all upset."

"Mamori is a good sister," Misa murmured. "I'll be better tomorrow. Promise."

"Promise?"

"Yes. Because Misa is going to figure everything out tomorrow. You'll see."