Sweet As Candy

Chapter I

   L glanced at the clock at the wall that read 9:45 pm. They would be here any minute. He had made the bold move to work with the Japanese police face to face but only with a select view. Those he called his task force. It was the first time he had ever done this, and it was for good reason. He hadn't planned on this when he first joined the case but L was a rather impulsive man.
   The knock on the door came and the men walked in not before gawking at the tall, young looking man in front of them. He simply rolled his eyes at how idiotic they were showing their names willy-nilly as they did.

   "Let's try to value our lives." He said with dry wit and lead them into a sitting area he had prepared.

   There they stayed as he explained what he had gathered and it was well into the night, around probably 11:05 pm when quiet sniffling came from around the corner. His head turned sharply at the sound and he stiffened his body. Glancing out the window quickly he realized it had been storming. No.

   "Daddy?" A quiet voice called out, her posh accent very apparent.

   All the attention had been turned to the little girl who stood dressed in a white nightgown, holding onto a stuffed lamb for dear life. The girl looked no older than four years old, her red cheeks stained with tears and her big blue eyes red from the strain. The task force did not move, confused at who this little girl and when they went to look at L, he was gone. He was already up and scooped the child into his arms, carrying her off as quickly as she came.
   L carried the little girl back into her room as she held onto him tightly, her legs wrapped around his waist. She sniffled and cried softly into his shoulder before being placed down on the soft bed. He had forgotten it would storm tonight if he had known that he would never have set up his meeting for tonight.

   "Daddy I'm scared." The girl exclaimed as the cracks of thunder got louder.

   L bent down to her height on the bed, "I know, princess, but it can't hurt you remember? Thunder is only a noise caused by the rapidly heated air. It can't touch you." He explained softly, trying to sooth the little girl. As a quick flash of light illuminated the room, the noise followed and the girl dove into his arms.

  "That can!" She sobbed, holding onto him as tightly as she could.

  "Yes, but Candy, darling, we're inside. The worst that can do is cause a power outage and look," he reached over and grabbed the pink flashlight from the drawer, "you have a flashlight right here and Lamb Lamb to protect you from the dark."

   The little girl sniffled, knowing he was right. "Will you stay until I fall asleep?" She asked quietly, gaining a small sigh from the detective.

  "I can't, I have work that I need to do. Those men out came a long way to work with me." He spoke, placing her down on the bed once more and setting the flashlight on the nightstand. She looked up at him with puppy dog eyes, his greatest weakness and sighed. "Alright, how about this: if I bring you out with me, you have to promise to fall asleep and not make a sound, alright?"

   Candy nodded and with that, the man picked up the little girl and carried her back out with him. He placed an arm under the little girls bottom to keep her supported as he placed her on his hip. He felt her nuzzle her face into his neck and hold onto the lamb with one hand as her arms draped over his shoulders.

  "Sorry about that, now, as I was saying.." He spoke quietly and grabbed the marker off the table and began to write on the window. It wasn't a big deal, it was washable.

   Candy had fallen asleep about ten minutes afterwards but L had become to focused on his work that he kept her on his hip for the rest of the evening. After explaining and barnstorming, they were finally finished for the night. Everyone had taken to speaking quietly as not to wake the little girl on L's hip.

  "L-" Matsuda, the youngest of the task force spoke before being cut off.

"Ryuzaki." L corrected him.

"Ryuzaki," Matsuda continued, "who is she?" He pointed to the little girl.

  "This is Candy, she's my daughter." Not many people knew about Candy, and that's partly why he never worked with anyone before.

  "How old is she?" He asked

  "She's eight."

  "Eight?" Matsuda exclaimed but was quickly scolded by the tall, dark man for doing so. Luckily the girl didn't wake up. "But she looks so little." He said more quietly.

  "I'm aware, she has a growth deficiency." he said calmly, "she's underweight for her age but not for her height so I don't worry about it too much."

  The man nodded, having no further questions about the small girl and no one else was brave enough or dumb enough to ask. L lead them out, watching them leave and then wiped down the windows all with Candy still on his hip. He didn't notice nor did he mind because this wasn't the first time he had been down this road.
   Candy would always be attached to his hip at Wammys when she wasn't off playing. After cleaning he carried her off to bed and placed her under the white covers and tucked her into bed. He smiled as he watched her curl into a ball and hug her lamb tightly. He placed a kiss on her head and walked out, quietly closing the door behind him.