Watari slices up the fruit while L watches with wide eyes. Kiwi is packed with vitamin C and beta-carotene, its antioxidant properties still not fully understood by scientists. Watari has been taking steps to improve his boss's diet, but L mostly eats kiwi for the sugar high.

"Thank you, Watari," L says, prodding one piece with his finger and licking off the juice. L pulls his legs close to his body and balances the plate on his knees.

"Your socks don't match," Raito tells him, looking pinched and uncomfortable in the overstuffed hotel armchair. He sits with his spine straight and his arms crossed, legs pressed tightly together.

"Ah, Yagami-kun! I didn't see you there." Raito has been sitting there for eight minutes, twenty-seven seconds. "I'm wearing socks?" L doesn't usually, so he can better pick things up with his toes.

L wiggles his feet. Sure enough, he meets cotton resistance. He stretches out his legs and looks at his socks, nearly overbalancing the kiwi. One black, one white -- what's the problem? They match the rest of him, even if he can't remember putting them on. Maybe Watari has put him on a healthy food and warm body program.

He shrugs and settles back in his chair, picking up a slice of kiwi and sliding it between his lips. It's sweet and sticky, and L is sucking enthusiastically on his middle and ring fingers when Raito interrupts again. "That's obscene."

"Hmm?" L looks up, mid-lick. "Did you want a piece, Yagami-kun?"

"No," says Raito tersely. If anything, he now looks even more uptight. Raito crosses his legs. "You're a disgrace. I can't believe you're in charge of the Kira case."

L tilts his head. "Do you doubt my competence?"

"You're out of your mind."

"Do you doubt my intelligence? We both scored perfectly on the entrance exams."

Raito narrows his eyes.

"You know what I think?" L says, popping three pieces of kiwi into his mouth all at once. L chews and swallows slowly while Raito stares. "I think that Kira would be very interested in getting the lead investigator removed from his case."

"That's an interesting theory, Ryuzaki-san."

L eats the last piece. "17%."

Raito doesn't reply. His face reveals nothing. L licks his plate, humming to himself.

"Although if you were really Kira," L says once his plate is devoid of all sugar, "I doubt you'd try to get me fired over something as stupid as kiwi."

Raito snorts and walks over to the bank of computers. "But I suppose I'll need more than stupidity to clear my name." He logs on, breaking through L's encryption in a matter of seconds. Such a polite, handsome boy, and so intelligent, too. L enjoys having him around so much that it almost doesn't matter that he's probably a mass murderer.

"Hmm," says L, letting his plate clatter onto the coffee table. "Yagami-kun."

"Yes, Ryuzaki-san?"

"Do you know the nutritional content of kiwi fruit?"

"A good source of vitamins A and C, thought to prevent free radicals from attacking the immune system, providing a natural, unprocessed form of sugar," Raito recites dutifully, still facing the monitor. "For those that enjoy that sort of thing."

"Exactly," L says. He lopes over to the computers and leans over Raito's shoulders. "Watari has me thinking about nutrition lately. Isn't that interesting?"

Raito nods once as L leans forward and taps on a couple of keys.

"I've deduced that any potential Kira would worry obsessively about his health, taking any and all precautions to extend his lifespan as long as possible. If he's working alone, which he almost certainly is, he will need a long lifespan in order to carry out his mission. He probably eats lightly, doesn't drink or smoke, and plays a sport. Tennis, maybe. Wouldn't you agree?"

"You have interesting ideas." Raito knocks L's hand off the keyboard and clicks the mouse. Fifteen shell sessions appear.

"Do I?" L is genuinely pleased. "I only think that when in Rome--"

"You eat fruit," Raito deadpans. "I get it."

"Of course you do. Fruit provides many essential vitamins. But there are other important nutrients, too." L spins around and splays himself across Raito's lap, not giving Raito time enough to conceal his shock. Up close, L can see that Raito's tie doesn't exactly match his dress shirt. He reaches up, patting the side of Raito's face. "Does Yagami-kun have any ideas about how I could up my protein intake?"

L soon learns that Raito tastes sweet in his own way. And kiwi has never made those squeaking sounds.

END.