The Puppeteer

To-Oh University

5th April 2007:

L had woken up quite surprised that day.

Yes, woken up.

It was when Watari had come into his room and shaken him awake that he remembered and realized what had happened the previous night, that he had actually managed to fall asleep all thanks to the main cause of his immense stress. He had been surprised, whether pleasant or not he wasn't sure, to see himself in a highly comfortable position on the bed with pillows stuffed all around him, the air conditioner set at the perfect temperature, and his body tucked into a soft and fluffy comforter, something Watari had told him that he himself didn't do. It was again, all thanks to Kiyo.

Even though he did not have much time to sit and dwell on any of that since he needed to leave for To-Oh University to make the opening speech as Hideki Ryuga, L found himself going back to his and Kiyo's latest encounter no matter how hard he tried to steer his mind away from it.

In fact (although it may have seemed like an act of concern L thought otherwise) he had received a text message from the girl asking him if he 'slept well?' which only further distracted him from what he had planned for that day and brought him back to the cause of his deep slumber.

L was equally intrigued and embarrassed when he recalled all the things his mind had thought of, and quite out-of-character-ly so too. 

He had compared the girl to his favorite wine! Who the fuck does that?! Oh lord, he was so embarrassed, and yet, he found himself thinking that how true the comparison between the two seemed. Both did indeed leave an exceptionally long aftertaste, an aftertaste he wasn't sure if he actually disliked as much as he told himself he did or not.

Watari, on the other hand, was just as excited as he was nervous. He did not know what had exactly gone through in the room, since all he was greeted with when he had pressed his ear to the door was absolute silence, but just as he was beginning to get worried, Kiyo had opened the door and slid out making the least noise possible.

She had seen him looking at her. His face was blank as usual but his eyes held a questioning gaze, and so she walked right up to him to answer the questions he never verbally needed to ask.

"He fell asleep," Kiyo said softly, out of the hearing of all the other task force members in the room that were beginning to get up and pack to leave for their homes.

Watari felt his eyes widen at that. Nothing ever fazed or surprised him anymore, but this? This elicited a reaction out of him.

"What?"  He couldn't help but ask, making the young girl in front of him chuckle.

"Ryuzaki fell asleep, Watari," She repeated slowly for him, "He seemed extremely stressed, so I gave him a magic shoulder massage, and voila! He went to sleep in no time."

It wasn't in 'no time'. L and she may not have realized it, but the girl was with him in that room for about fifty minutes. However, seeing as L quite literally never slept, fifty minutes did seem like no time.

And a shoulder massage? Seriously? The number of times Watari had tried to get L to sleep by giving him one himself was ridiculous, yet somehow, Kiyo's shoulder massage was effective and he was not. 

Watari was going to have a little chat with L when he woke up the next day.

"I suggest you rest for a little while too. I'll be here for another few hours before leaving, so catch up on some sleep, yeah? I'll wake you up before I leave."

It was then Watari realized just how much he had really underestimated Kiyo's stubbornness. The girl couldn't take no for an answer once she was determined enough and Watari ended up being locked up in his bedroom as Kiyo announced that she will only open the door after a few hours. There were CCTV cameras in the living room so if she messed with anything he would instantly know, which is why he wasn't worried and decided to actually utilize his time for some much-needed rest.