When Phoenix had first stumbled his way over to Matsuda, the detective never would've guessed that they would get along so well, considering the lawyer probably shouldn't have even been outside. But it had gone pretty well, really. And they were even having fish for lunch, to top it off. He preferred it not covered in batter, but fish was fish. They weren't exactly able to be picky here.

On the way inside, though, he checked the board to find that both Mello and Near were supposedly gone, too. All the geniuses that he knew were devoted to catching Kira were gone, leaving him with just Naomi to rely on. He was going to have to confront Mikami sometime soon, to put an end to this.

He couldn't let this get him down...he had to keep at it, for their sakes. It was something he repeated over and over in his mind as he went through the cafeteria line, grabbing several fillets and some dipping sauce before going to take a seat. Maybe if he repeated it enough, it would stick.