The Enemy, My Wife- Chapter forty-nine.

Okay, enough fillers. Back to the plot. Special; need I say it? Twice as long, Loves.


Chapter forty-nine- The game.

Misa entered taskforce headquarters silently. The older policemen and Light looked from what they were doing as she walked in. Matsuda blushed when he saw her. He wasn't only one either. The taskforce- including Light- did too. The latter frowned at what she was wearing.

"Don't you think that's a bit too revealing for work, Misa?" He pointed out. "You are working here, I mean. People would treat you with more respect if you dressed the part."

She glanced down at what she was wearing and her eyes just about popped out of her head. She was now noticing it for the very first time. The dress she had on was ripped and torn, barely covering her legs. It was as if someone had taken a pocket knife to it. It look more like lingerie than anything else.

Her cheeks flared bright red. L and Watari remained absolutely silent. They feared her wraith with proper reasoning. She turned around slowly and narrowed her eyes at Ryuuzaki. He blinked boredly and awaited her rage.

"What the heck is wrong with you, you pervert!" She shrieked. "You didn't even think to tell me that I look like I was just murdered?!"

He shrugged. "We were all so busy figuring out what happened last night, I guess it never really came up. But I hardly doubt Light wants you to change for merely professional purposes. Rather, I speculate he wishes the reminder of your prior relationship to cease. That, or quite possibly, he's worried that your wear should distract him, as he is a heterosexual male who was once intrigued by your very presence." He turned his attention to the murderer in question. "Am I correct in this assumption?"

Light's fists clenched unwillingly under the table. He forced a carefree smile to his face. Smart move, L. Trying to pit Misa against me like this. I wonder what your next move will be, Light surmised. If it's as I think it to be, I may be in trouble. Misa's too valuable an asset to lose. However, Takada may be able to do for now. He said aloud, "Of course not. It's as I said before. Misa is a part of this team. She should act like it."

Misa huffed softly. "It's a bit too late for that already, isn't it? I'm here and I don't have a spare. And I won't be distracting. You've already said so yourself," she countered.

"Yes," L agreed readily. "You did say that, Light. You can't go back on your word now. You've already led her on."

Dang it, L! Where's this coming from?

Ryuk laughed from the safety of everyone's eyes. "He's really pinning her against you, isn't he?" The shinigami cackled. "You'd almost think he knows I'm here."

This only added to Light's anger. Yeah, I know that. "Led her on? I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that, L. I've never once played with a woman's emotions. It is a truly despicable thing to do."

Misa looked between both males. Light's eyes were narrowed and his hands visibly clenched. A faraway look stole over the detective's eyes. He seemed lost in a mass of thoughts. "We'll see," he murmured finally, returning to their reality.

Light stood up and punched his rival right in the face. Misa screamed and closed her eyes. She slowly opened them and stared at her ex for a moment in horror. She'd never seen him act so violent.

"An eye for an eye," L muttered against Kira's fist, smacking him back. They both were sent airborne before finding a nice landing on the hard floor.

"Get this through your mind, L, I would never hurt a woman intentionally!" Kira himself snarled from the place he had landed.

Misa gasped softly and groaned as she clutched her head, closing her eyes against the pain. Something seemed to be trying to claw it's way to the surface. Something so familiar. She gasped again when she felt a sudden touch on her forehead. L looked at her with a mixture of concern and irritation. "Can't you keep yourself from getting hurt for five minutes?" He teased.

"You're one to speak," she gestured to his nose, which was now bleeding, courtesy of Light. "He got you pretty good. Are you always this violent to each other?"

He shrugged. "Worse, but only when the police aren't here to break us up."

She bit her lip and shook her head. "You two really do put Mr. Yagami through a lot. I wonder how he feels about babysitting a genius eighteen year old and a very immature twenty-four year old."

Light stared at her in shock. He instantly contemplated, Of course she'd know my age; we dated. But L's never told her his. Or has he? As Ryuuzaki, of course. His eyes widened. Oh... She's remembering him. I must be careful of the signs.

"Miss Amane," L chastised formally, "I have no reason to question how you know Light's age, but mine has been kept a secret. You don't know it, so why bother guessing?"

A confused look overtook her. "I-I'm sorry. I think I must have mixed you up with Ryuuzaki again," she stuttered out. "I guess I concluded that from his age and your comment that you guys are like twins, that you are the same age."

Matsuda glanced at the the chief who returned the grave expression. This did not sound good to either of them. What L did next assured them otherwise.

"Well, I'm surprised. You deduced that from a mere comment I said days before? And yes, I agree with your logic. To conclude from my comment that we are close in age was smart calculation on your part. Now if you can give the case the same amount of thought, we'll have quite a valuable member. What do you think, Light? Could Miss Amane be trained as a genius?"

Light glowered at him like he was crazy. One moment ago they were attacking each other, and now he was acting like nothing had happened. He sighed softly. He'd just have to get used to having her here, he concluded. "Yes," he concurred begrudgingly. "If we try a bit harder, Misa can become a very valuable addition instead of the irksome mess she is right now."

"Hey!"

Light pursed his lips while looking Misa up and down to classify her. He sighed deeply at what he saw. "Make that 'trying with everything in our being'," he corrected his latter statement.

L nodded. "Yes, I agree. We both already know that this will be hard, but if we can pull it off, if we get the proper results, we'll have our very own secret weapon against Kira."

Misa stomped her foot to show her annoyance, though to the obvious person, it wouldn't be necessary. "Again; hey! I'm right here, you know!" She cried.

"Oh, Misa," Light frowned at her.

"Miss Amane," L spoke in unison with Light, "I forgot you were here."

She groaned. "I thought as much..."

Aizawa decide to add himself to the conversation. "That's not even possible, is it? You can't make yourself a genius, let alone someone else."

L's gaze met Light's. "Do you want to explain this one?"

He shrugged. "Why not? In theory, yes, it's possible. Geniuses aren't born, they are made. Misa's brain is just the foundation of the blueprint, but if we add more to the structure, she'll be the complete building. She just needs to exert her mind a bit further. L and I have taken it upon ourselves to make sure this happens."

The primary cleared his throat carefully. "Yes, well done, Light. I couldn't have said it better myself," he replied.

There was nothing wrong with the plan- nothing standing in the way of them achieving their objective- nothing but Misa herself. "You're crazy," she decided. "Insane. Senile. Demented. Need more synonyms?"

"Synonyms would be good," L agreed, wondering if she even could off the top of her head.

Her hands clenched briefly before settling onto her waist and giving him a meaningful smirk. "Deranged. Mad. Non compos mentis," she listed off smartly. "Looney. Cuckoo. Menta-"

Light threw his hands up in a "STOP!" fashion. "That's enough, Misa," he said. "We get it. You're great at using your mouth. L, can I talk to you alone for a minute outside?"

The older boy followed him out with a hunch about Light's plan. No doubt he'd try to determine if he really meant to make Misa a genius. He'd have to go about this carefully. Light closed the door behind them. He shot a pointed look at the eccentric genius. "What the heck are you doing? We're trying to catch a serial killer. Trying to make Misa a genius is not high on my to-do list. And even if it was, it would never work. Misa's too stupid."

L crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. "Light, I understand your concern, but Misa Amane is not stupid. She's average. And any tool used to defy Kira can't be a waste of time."

"But she-"

"Light. You said it yourself. Miss Amane would need work, but it's not too impossibly hard. Besides, we need her. She's deadweight the way she is now."

"So remind me why were not cutting her loose again? She's useless. You said so yourself," Light tried to reason with the most unreasonable person in the world.

L narrowed his eyes carefully. Am I right in my assumption that Misa's presence is making him unfortable? Yes, why else would he be twitching? Aloud, he countered, "I also said it was necessary. Kira wouldn't ever expect his biggest fan to turn on him. Why should he? Misa's suppose to be loyal to him until death."

Light got a nasty taste in his mouth. He smooth talked it away. "You make it sound like she's married to him. And here I thought you were only L, the crime investigator,"he joked confidently.

"I am L. You are Kira," L said calmly

Kira's hands clenched and he wanted nothing more than to put his fist in L's face again. But no. That would only add on to the young detective's suspicion. That was the last thing he needed. Instead, he breathed out through his nose peacefully.

"I'm not Kira, L. No matter how hard you want me to be, that simple fact just won't change. Face it, this is the first time you've been wrong. That's tough, but it's selfish to try to continue this same conversation over and over again when we both know the outcome. If I'm Kira, probe it. If I'm innocent, which I am until proven guilty, it will show."

L looked the serial killer straight in the eye. "I will prove you're Kira, Light. That's been my intention the entire time. You and I both know you are not innocent. Misa Amane will soon see that too, along with the rest of the world."