Hate Me Not

    "Have you noticed Matsuda acting strangely?" Light didn't look up from his computer when he asked his chained companion. He waited a few seconds, reading over another paragraph of a site dedicated to Kira's reign and supremacy, but it became apparent that he was not going to answer. "Ryuuzaki."

    L sat upon his chair in his usual manner with a thumb dangling from his lips. His rotund eyes glued to an article of Kira in Russia. The way he was so intently reading, one would think he had just stumbled upon Kira's identity and whereabouts. Light was about to repeat the question when L spoke.

    "I do not really know him personally so I cannot confirm your question." He clicked out of the window and brought up another in the same language.


    Light looked over his page and realized he had reread the same paragraph twice. "It feels like he's been giving me the cold shoulder."

    "Have you done something to upset him?" L turned his head toward the brunet like an owl, wide eyes never blinking. "Did you perhaps kill someone close to him?"

    Light glared. "I have never killed anyone."

    "Then I cannot think of any other reason for him to ignore you."

    "It's not that he's ignoring me. It's more like..."

    His sentence was cut short when Matsuda came in holding two steaming cups of coffee. It was nearly noon but coffee had become every one's drink of choice. Light's was pure black and L's was a creamy brown color, loaded down with sugar and cream; no matter how sweet it was made, he would always make it sweeter. The drinks were sat down next to them on coasters. They said their thanks to Matsuda (who noticeably only welcomed L) and drank their coffee simultaneously.

    Light's face contorted and he spat his mouthful back into his mug.

    "Something wrong, Light-kun?" L asked, stirring slowly melting sugar cubes into his cup, "Would you like some sugar?" He held up a sugar cube for Light to take.

    The teenager shook his head. "I'm fine." He dropped his voice so only L could hear him. "I think Matsuda put salt in my coffee."

    "That is strange."

    Light nodded. "I know."

    "Even Matsuda should be able to tell the difference between sugar and salt. They are in separate containers."

    "Not that!" Light hissed. L's sarcasm was always one to grate on Light's nerves, his sanity even. "I really think Matsuda hates me for some reason but I don't know why."

    L clicked print for the document he was reading. The printer hummed and buzzed. "If it is bothering you so much, why don't you just ask him? Matsuda-san," L called out to the police officer when two pairs of hands suddenly covered his mouth. Baffled and surprised, he scratched at the pair of hands over his mouth and glared at the offender when his chair was spun back around.

    "Sorry Matsuda," Light said, "Ryuuzaki is just being sardonic. Just ignore him."

    Matsuda watched the two's strange squabble and nodded. Then he walked over toward Mogi and Ide. Light and L (with his mouth still covered) watched the man sit down at the table of assorted papers that L had printed off. They looked back at each other.

    "Do you see what I mean now?" Light turned his chair back to his computer and pretended to read the same article again.

    "He is acting peculiar." L did not turn back but continued to watch the odd man. Sensing something, Matsuda lifted his head and looked at L then adverted his gaze. 'Strange', the detective thought, 'Embarrassed?'

    He turned his swivel and looked at his suspect. "Perhaps you may have hurt the feelings of a family member of his."

    Light's eyebrows slightly curved. "You think I slept with someone in his family?" It was a preposterous question.

    L cocked his head, thumb still being slightly nibbled. "Is it completely impossible?"

    "Of course! I know all I can get from any woman I'm with, and though you may have poor judgment of me and think I'm a hussie, I have not been with that many women."

    "I'm just simply stating that you could have easily overlooked a slight detail. Or perhaps you with a friend of his."

    "I don't overlook details or make any mistakes."


    "No one is perfect, Light-kun. Not even Kira."

    "I told you. I'm not..."

    "Do you use protection?"

    "What? Yes!"

    "Perhaps you got someone he knows pregnant."

    Light stared at the odd detective with an incredulous, angry look. He was going to hurt him.


    "However," L suddenly stated quite loudly, "We have work to do. We'll continue our conversation at another more disclosed time."

    The two obediently looked back onto their computers. With their minds whirling over the case, Light easily pushed Matsuda's ordeal in the back of his head. He worked adamantly alongside L with little talk except for a few "Look here" and "Do you want me to print this?". The strange one-sided situation between Matsuda and Light seemed to have dissolved until Light saw Matsuda's reflection in his computer monitor. He had opened a YouTube video of a Kira support group rally and had yet to watch the video so the screen was still black. In its reflection, he could see Matsuda sitting at the table behind him, watching him. No, glaring at him. His eyes were as tiny as a snake's, hatred leering into the back of Light's head, and for the life of him he had no idea what the problem was!

    "Oh. Matsuda-san," L called back without tearing his eyes away from a news video.

    The glaring ceased and Matsuda looked up obedient as a puppy to L. "Yes, Ryuuzaki?"

    "You have a niece, correct?"

    "Uh, yes."

    Light's stomach gave a lunge. Could Ryuuzaki have been right and had courted a family member of his teammate? He went over the mental list of women in his head and looked back on their history. His list of women he had actually bed with was small but the list of girlfriends and dates was astronomical. He had been very careful of the girls he chose but was it slightly possible that he had, just as L had said, overlooked a minor detail? Or perhaps did Matsuda meet one of his ex-female companions?

    "Your sister's, right?" L continued to ask, unknowing that beside him his partner/suspect was reeling back the mental Roll-a-Dex of ex-girlfriends.

    "Yes," Matsuda answered enthusiastically, "Her only child, too."

    Light felt nausea. He couldn't have...with Matsuda's niece...?

    "How old is she?"

    "My sister?"

    "Your niece."

    "Oh. She's four."

   The younger Yagami withheld from sighing with relief. Other than his sister and niece, there were no other women in Matsuda's immediately family. But why then was he so angry? What could Light have done to piss off his co-worker?

    "Okay."

    "....Um. Why did you want to know?"

    "Just confirming background checks."

    The day turned into night and the room filled with smothered yawns and squeaky chairs as limbs needed to be stretched. L tugged on the chain to get Light's attention and rose from his chair.

    "We will call it a day, gentlemen," he announced, "Be well rested tomorrow morning."

    The men began to depart but one of them, Matsuda, did not follow as quickly. "If you want me to, Ryuuzaki," he requested timidly, "I can organize the folders for tomorrow before I leave."

    "That is okay," L replied from the top of the stairs, "Everything is where I know it is. It will be a waste of time for me to have to search for them tomorrow."

    Disappointment was patently noticed in Matsuda's expression but L still continued to climb the stairs. Then Matsuda nodded and briskly walked out all the while Light was observing him. It became very apparent then that the mean looks he had been receiving from his usual happy-go-lucky co-worker was not that of hate but of jealousy. And it was also very clear of why he was jealous as Light's eyes followed the chain from his wrist to the wrist of his captor.

    Matsuda reminded everyone of a puppy, and just like a puppy, he was jealous when his master's attention was on another pet.

    "Are you coming, Light-kun?" L asked when Light did not follow after him and the chain grew taut.

    "Hai."