Dangerous Wishes (Death Note)

マツ - Matsu

"This is the life, isn't it Temari?" Matsuda said and took a long sip of his coffee.

Temari groaned and put her head between her hands, "I guess."

Being Misa's manager was one of the most boring things in the world. All they did was either get her stuff or watch the photoshoots. Neither immensely interested Temari.

"Hey, isn't that Yotsuba's main building over there?" Matsuda looked in the direction of a tall skyscraper that seemed to be a few kilometers away.

"How should I know?" Temari snapped. This sucked. She would so much rather in the investigation room with the rest of the task force, "And don't get any bright ideas about going over there. I don't want to be the one bailing your sorry butt out."

"Jeez, you're really angry today." Matsuda remarked and pulled a few bills out his pocket, "Go take this and buy yourself some food or something. I bet you're just hungry. You haven't eaten since lunch and it's almost 18:00."

Temari simply said nothing and accepted the money. She did feel slightly guilty about the way she spoke to her coworker. Maybe Matsuda was right, a little food in her stomach should do her some good. Since the Pink Velvet Bakery was only four blocks away, Temari decided to grab a bite to eat there. She was also hoping that Shikamaru was working.

For the past few weeks she had made it a point to stop at the bakery in the mornings before the rest of the task force came to work. It required waking up an hour earlier but it was worth it. Watari would always set aside a few thousand yen for her so she could get some of Ryuzaki's beloved shortcake and some other sweets for the day. Besides, she would get to see Shikamaru. That alone was her main motivation for going.

The little bell rang as Temari opened the door to the shop. She looked around for Shikamaru, but he was nowhere to be seen. The only person working the front counter was a woman in her forties. Maybe she was his mother?

"What can I help you with?" The woman said with cheerful hospitality.

"Uh, is Shikamaru here?" Temari asked, hoping that he was in the back of the store so that this interaction wouldn't be more awkward than it already was.

The woman shook her head, "I'm afraid he's upstairs studying for his entrance exams. I'm Yassu, Shikamaru's mother. Are you a friend from school?"

"Uh, not exactly." Temari started. She wasn't quite sure how to explain her relationship with Shikamaru. If she lied and said that she was a friend from school Yassu would surely ask Shikamaru about her and the truth about that matter would definitely be discovered. Temari didn't want the embarrassment from that.

"Hey! Temari!" A familiar dark haired boy holding a doughnut popped out from the back of the store.

"Shikamaru, you should be studying." His mother reprimanded him, "This young lady was just asking for you."

Temari's cheeks turned a light shade of red, "No I wasn't! I mean, I was, but I just wanted to say hi." She looked to the ground and internally kicked herself.

"Well, hi!" Shikamaru said cheerfully, "Did you come to get some more cake for Ryuzaki?"

"No, I'm on my own today. The case I've been working on had a break and I thought I'd just come down and see if you wanted to hang out or something."

"Case?" Shikamaru looked confused, "What do you mean by case?"

Now Temari felt like throwing herself off a bridge. She just accidently blew her own cover.

"I'm kind of a police officer." Temari explained quickly, "Well, not technically, but I help out and have found a few leads. But you can't tell anyone."