Shadow of Doubt

Summary- Ryuuzaki is, with out a doubt, the most aggravating bastard Light has ever known.

Written By: Necury

Rated: K

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish otherwise, Death Note will never belong to me.

Genre: General

Warnings: None

Author's Note: Um. . . I hope you enjoy? :D

Light stared blankly at the screen in front of him. They hadn't gotten any new leads on any of the Kiras for days, and Light figured it would probably go on as such for a long while. He could just feel it. Whoever they were, the original Kira was very thorough in covering their tracks. And the tracks of the 2nd and 3rd Kiras, as well. Because, according to L, the original was the ringleader in their circus of death. Which made perfect sense to Light, seeing how clever and precise Kira seemed to be.

The college student raked his hands through his hair, groaning loudly in frustration. This whole thing was stupid!

"Is Light alright?"

Light glanced to his left, catching sight of his almost friend. "Yes, Ryuuzaki. I'm fine." He said, sitting up straight again and rubbing his eyes wearily. "I'm just a little stressed, is all."

L gave him a half-smile of understanding. "Ah, yes. Stress is getting the better of us all." But Light heard the undertone of his words, 'I wish this case would end', as clear as day. He actually felt a little sympathy towards the scrawny detective. The ever-present dark circles under his wide, black eyes had become even larger and his skinny body was even thinner, regardless of his sugar intake. Which brought Light's musings over to his own appearance. He, too, had lost a little weight from not being able to eat due to exhaustion. In fact, all the Task Force was pretty worse-for-wear. They'd taken to staying the night at headquarters for the last week, instead of going home. They were intent on finding a lead, a trace, something that would be of any use. But, so far, all they'd been able to produce were migraines and frayed nerves.

Light sighed and turned his gaze back towards the computer. For a few minutes, he glared half-heartedly at its screen, willing something to pop up, only to be mildly disappointed when the screen remained stubbornly useless. Sighing again, he allowed his attention to wander while idly twirling a pen between his fingers. After a while, he found himself humming quietly, tapping the pen along to the beat.

"Light is bored." L observed, gnawing on his thumb lazily.

"Yes." Light said. "Aren't you?"

L cocked his head, a look of idle indifference settling on his face. "Yes. But there is nothing we can do but deal with it." This L-esque remark forced Light to roll his eyes. That was predictable. "I'm aware of that fact, Ryuuzaki. However, am I not entitled to a little impatient fiddling?" L narrowed his eyes, almost unnoticeably. "I suppose so. . ." He trailed off and Light nodded in agreement to that. "After all, we've been at this all week." The brunette continued. "Every day ending the same. It gets a bit old after a while. Don't you agree, Ryuuzaki?"

"7 percent, Light."

Light's face blanked. "Why did it rise? What did I do now?"

"First of all, Light commented on how little result we're getting from our investigation. That is akin to Light complementing his own cleverness on how good he is on covering his tracks."

"What-?" Light started, disbelief written all over his face. However, before he could finish, L interrupted.

"Furthermore, by asking me my opinion on the subject would indicate that Light was attempting to find a common ground with me. Which means that he is trying to gain my trust by appearing to have similar thoughts as me. And by gaining my trust, Light will attempt to get me to drop my accusations on him being Kira."

As L spoke, Light could vaguely feel his mind numbing with exasperation. "Hold on, Ryuuzaki. That doesn't even make sense! All I did was ask you a simple question! That shouldn't increase the probability of me being Kira."

"Ah, maybe not. However, if you read between the lines, Light, the implications are there." L huffed, rather indignantly.

"I think you're reading to much in to this. It was a simple question. That's all. No ill intentions were hidden beneath it, I swear." Light said. L looked contemplative for a moment before he turned back to his computer with a shrug. "Perhaps you are right, Light. Forgive me."

Light smiled. "It's alright, Ryuuzaki. The case is getting to you. I understand." He was just about to turn back to his own computer, when a muttered accusation caught his attention. "What was that?" He asked, sharp brown eyes narrowing.

"9 percent."

"What? Why?"

"One, because Light was arguing so intently. That would naturally cause me to suspect that he was trying to lead me away from my assumption. Also, he was showing understanding to my condition. That, as I said earlier, would be an attempt to get closer to me, thus forcing me to drop my suspicions."

Light rolled his eyes, yet again. "Did you ever consider that perhaps, Ryuuzaki, I was merely trying to be a good friend?"

L paused for a moment, mulling that over. Then, with an audible crunch, the skinny maverick bit into a techni-coloured piece of candy. "That's quite ridiculous, Light. I happen to know very well that you are incapable of such actions."

Light groaned, burying his face in his hands in utter defeat.

There was just no winning with this guy!

Yea, I know it sucks. I just wanted to make my debut in the fandom of Death Note, yanno? And I tried to get them as in character as possible. But I probably failed. . . D':

Till next time!

-Necury