Good Memories and Nightmares

Chapter four


26th of November, 2012.

New York

"Who leaves keys under a doormat in New York?" Matt asked as he unlocked the door of the apartment girls bought.

"They must be nearby." Mello retorted, taking off his hood and looking around.

"All this is happening too soon, don't you think? Didn't Jade say she'll sign the papers today? How come they already moved in?"
"Welcome to the real world, Matt." Matt wanted to snap back a comment but stopped as he entered the apartment.

Four big windows going down the whole length of the wall shined sun rays directly in Matt's eyes, making him pull down his goggles. As they stepped directly into the living room, two sofas with a coffee table came into their view, TV on the right side of the doors. A desk with computer equipment lined on it was in-between living room and dining room, separating round table and four set of chairs from the sofas.

"And that's why I had blinds pulled over the windows." Mello rolled his eyes, stepping away from the door. There was a closed kitchen opposite of the dining room, then a long hallway, counting five doors.

"Though it is nicer. That I must admit."

"At least now we can open up a window once it becomes suffocating."

"Ha ha." Matt walked around the place, hands on the back of his head. "It will be a drag to bring all my equipment here."

Just as he had said that, doors of the apartment swung open, revealing Kim and Jade.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. I see sun blazing through the windows and when I go outside I freeze my ass off." Kim said, unbuttoning her army green jacket, sunglasses covering her eyes.

"I keep telling ya, sun in New York doesn't mean shit if it's winter." Jade said, her leather jacket unzipped, eyes covered in sunglasses focused on small book in her right hand.

"It's not winter yet."

"Close enough."

Then Kim took off her sunglasses, noticing Mello near the kitchen doors.

"Oooh. I thought you'd be here later, but-" Her eyes soon found Matt as well. "Hi!"

"What?" Jade asked, following Kim's stare.

"Oh..yeah..hi."

"Hi." Matt said it too, almost laughing out loud, and Mello rolled his eyes.

"Khm..awkward." Jade muttered, going to the table to leave the plastic bag she was carrying.

"Did you bring your stuff with you?" Kim asked, taking off her jacket. "Jade and I already claimed rooms on the right. You have two free rooms on the left. First door on the left is the bathroom."

"No, we wanted to check the place out first." Mello answered.

"So, what do you think?"

"It's nice. But too many windows for my taste." Matt answered.

"And considering we didn't get any blinds, they ripped us off." Jade added, opening a box of donuts and taking one. "Anyone hungry?"

"Don't mind if I do." Matt sat down, followed by Kim and Mello.

"I don't think they ripped us off. It's the biggest place we've got so far."

"Took ages to find it." Jade said, putting away her book.

"What are you learning Japanese for?" Mello asked, noticing blue letters spelling 'Basic Japanese Phrases'.

"There is a big possibility we might go to Japan. So..why not be prepared?" She looked at him, but quickly moved her stare away.

"So..." Kim trailed off, her eyes meeting with Jade's. None of them had a clue what to talk about, much less how to break the tension and the awkwardness. So each of them nudged the other to talk, and if it weren't for Matt finally breaking the silence, they would have started kicking legs under the table.

"When did you move in? I thought you were just signing the papers today."

"We got up early. It was eight when Jade signed them and the guy said we can move in right away. So we did. We have a couple of things left to bring here. Mostly my equipment. There's just too many chords, I'll go nuts."

"Tell me about it."

"Plus I can't carry some things all the way from the third floor to the car. And Jade is too lazy to help me."

"I've been going up and down the entire morning!"

"Yeah yeah, poor you."

"Ask Matt to help you, he has his own equipment to carry so you could help him back. And that way you could leave me alone."

"Yeah I can help you." Matt shrugged.

"Really? That's great!" Kim grinned but immediately looked back at Jade, this time with her eyes narrowed. "And I trust you won't be leaving the apartment while I'm gone?"

"Nope."

"Aha. Good thing Mello will stay here to babysit you."

"What?"

"I don't need a babysitter!"

"Well, do you have somewhere to be?" Kim turned to Mello.

"No."

"Then you two stay here."

"You can tell her about the Kira case." Matt chimed in.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Jade nodded.

"Fine, whatever. But I won't be telling the story twice."

"As long as Jade remembers it we'll be fine."


SPK Headquarters

"Considering all that you've told me, you suspect second L of being Kira?" Idri asked, playing with the end of her braid and occasionally glancing at motionless Mogi sitting across the room. Right now both Lidner and Rester were trying to interrogate him, while Gevanni continued to set up the network.

"Yes. After Mello shared with me the existence of Shinigami's and two fake rules, it didn't take while to narrow it down to thirteen day rule."

"If the user of the Death Note fails to consecutively write names within 13 days of each other, then the user will die." Idri recited. "Out of all the rules in the notebook, this is the only one that could prove a person's innocence." She held her right hand in the air, following Near's movements as he assembled his robot army.

"Exactly. If the suspect who's closely monitored doesn't die after thirteen days then he or she would prove their innocence."

"Convenient, don't you think?"

"Very."

"You haven't checked with Mello?"

"No." Idri exhaled, leaning on her chair.

"I called Second L to discuss this information with him. He confirmed the existence of Shinigami's but didn't know anything about fake rules. They never bothered to check any of them. I asked for his opinion on the fake rule. He said the thirteen day rule. But then he asked the Shinigami and the Shinigami denied the existence of fake rules."

"Shinigami is with the Task Force?" Idri looked at Near.

"Mello mentioned that Shinigami haunts the notebook. They have other use for it than we do."

"There is only one use for such a notebook. I think it depends on the user."

"Then what would you do with the notebook?" She looked at the ceiling, well aware of Near staring at her.

"I would read the rules. Then I would find the thirteen day rule and give up any attempt of trying the notebook myself."
"You would have someone else test it?" Idri looked at him.

"You think Mello tested the rule?"

"Absolutely. Even if the rule isn't fake, he would want to make sure. Mafia is a perfect place for such a scheme." Near continued to line up his toys.

"Maybe if you ask him nicely he might share the results?"

"He doesn't want to work with me on this."

"Right. Never mind." She sighed. "What else did you say to Second L?"

"I asked whether they've seen L's real face."

"And?"

"They did."

"But if Kira killed L, why would he keep them alive?"

"Because Kira is in the Task Force."

"Hmm...Or maybe Kira kept them hostage? I will kill you unless you continue with the investigation, even though it will never lead you to my arrest."

"Possible. But if Kira was in the Task Force he could have done all that without blackmailing or taking anyone hostage." She smiled. "He would be able to do all that if he was put in the position of Second L. I get it. Nice one, Near."

"Second L said that the entire Task Force thinks Kira somehow got a hold on L's personal details and used that to kill him. He said Shinigami denies the existence of fake rules."

"And?"

"I trust Mello more than I trust a Shinigami. I think that's reasonable. If I consider my assumption to be correct, that the thirteen day rule is the fake rule, then someone in the Task Force is Kira and he told Shinigami to lie."

"Bold of him to do so. You think Shinigami would have listened?"

"If we consider Shinigami's to be similar to humans in character, there must exist a Shinigami who's easily manipulated."

"Everyone will lie for a certain price. That's also in human character." Near looked at her.

"Funny of you to say that."

"Yet none of us is laughing." She sighed. "Okay, let's say Kira is in the Task Force and ordered Shinigami to lie. Then what?"

"I said that I would like to check the rule myself. I will write Mello's name in the notebook, considering they acquired it, they have to check if it's really Mello and if I die after thirteen days, Kira is the winner."

"They acquired Mello's name?"

"I believe so. He had to come here for his photograph, now that it endangers his life. He was also quite wary of security cameras."

"Yet you didn't ask him about that either."

"No."

"All this would be so much easier if you two shared information. Clues here and there don't really benefit the investigation, it makes it more time consuming than it could be."

"They declined. They refuse to kill with the notebook." Near continued, not answering Idri's questions which only made her press her lips tightly together.

"Would you really write Mello's name?"

"I doubt they would let me do so. It's important not to prove that thirteen day rule is fake."

"That didn't exactly answer my question." Idri looked at Near's toys. "Then what?"

"Mello lead Mr. Mogi here. I hoped Kira would kill Mogi just to confirm Kira is in the Task Force, but nothing happened. And since Mr. Mogi was silent we naturally turned suspicious, thinking Kira is already controlling him, with or without the notebook. Mello added he tested the thirteen day rule and it turned false, but since it was Mello who said it, I don't think anyone believed him. Two days later we were attacked, which only confirmed my suspicions. Kira is in the Japanese Task Force."

"And more so, he's the Second L. In position that can easily sabotage any real search for Kira, get rid of evidence, and use the position for Kira's benefit, not L's. Kira is smart, we know so because he managed to beat L. If he succeeded in that, acquiring his position as the Second L must have been part of his plan. It's the perfect plan, actually."

"I think so too."

"Near, it's no use, Mogi won't tell us a thing." Lidner approached them, followed by Rester.

"If he's not manipulated by Kira, it must be character."

"May I talk to him?" Agents finally acknowledged Idri's presence as she raised her hand.

"He knows I came here only recently. If I talk to him without you or Near listening in, I may be able to get something out of him." Near raised his hand, tugging on the handcuffs.

"You won't remove them even for that?" He kept quiet and Idri rolled her eyes. "Forget it then."

"It doesn't matter, just because Mr. Mogi doesn't want to talk doesn't mean there isn't someone else in the Japanese Task Force willing to talk. Let's try that."

"If any one has had second thoughts on the Kira being present in the Task Force, fake rule triggered it. You plan to divide and conquer?" She asked and corner of Near's lips curled up.

"Yep, you definitely are."


On the other side

Jade's POV

Mello had been talking almost for an hour now. Every detail about the Kira case was important and he wanted to make sure he doesn't miss anything. He also didn't like repeating himself so I had to make sure I hear his every word.

Then came the part where he hid in Halle Lidner's apartment and though I wanted to concentrate only on the part where he finds out Near suspects Second L of being Kira, other questions formed in my brain.

And truth be told none of them were connected to Kira case.

So I kinda kept staring at the table, my lips slightly pursed as I half-listened to Mello.

"When I spoke to Soichiro Yagami he told me the function of Second L had been given to Matsuda Touta. He also told me he's incompetent and does only what the Task Force tells him to do."

How long had he been at Lidner's place? Like..what did they do? I mean, Mello must have been out on errands...and even if he wasn't, she was in SPK all the time. I should ask Idri about it.

"I told Near some of the rules written inside the notebook are fake. The fake rules are, as I said before, the thirteen day rule and the one about damaging the notebook."

I remember Idri said that the current SKP consists of only Near and three other people. She mentioned there was only one female agent, and that she'd previously worked as a bodyguard for the president. She didn't mention how old she is, though.

"I mentioned the Shinigami's too. Later I lead Mogi to their headquarters. He kept quiet the entire time, which made us suspicious about Kira controlling him through the notebook."

I bet she's pretty. Definitely. And...Mello's not a kid anymore. What if they-

"Jade? Are you listening to me?" I snapped back, taking a look at him, "Yeah, you thought he was being controlled by the notebook. Probably by Kira, which would confirm Kira is in the Task Force."

He stared at me.

"Yeah. Since no one else knew he was in the SPK."

"Right. Continue."

"Later Demegawa attacked the SPK headquarters."

"Which proves Kira is in the Task Force." I cut him off.

"It doesn't prove it."

"It's not coincidental they found where the headquarters are without knowing Mogi is in there. Kira who is in the Task Force told them where to go." I shrugged.

"That's only a speculation."

"Everything so far is only a speculation." I sighed, glancing at my watch. Matt and Kim are really taking their time.

"So what do you think will happen now?" I looked back at him.

"It's up to Near to make his move. Then we'll see."

"Wouldn't be easier to just share the information? You both have your own theories, I bet it would be easier-"

"I will not work for Near. He figured who Kira is because of my actions."

I stared at him, my brows furrowed. "What? Isn't that a good thing?"

"He got closer to Kira than I did."

"You got a hold of the notebook, while he didn't." I fired back, thinking how incredibly stubborn they both are. "Are you doing all this to catch Kira or win over Near?"

He didn't answer. Didn't think he would.

"Well I don't care what your priority is, mine is to catch Kira and get this over with. Kira is already aware of you two, but he doesn't know anything about us. If Kira is in the Japanese Task Force, and I think we can all agree there's a great possibility of that being correct, he has a hold on your real name. He doesn't know your face so you're only half-safe."

"Are you saying I should back off this whole thing because there's a chance I'll get killed?"

"Not entirely back off. You could work from the shadows. It's safer for you not to take big risks, especially when it comes to you going out on the field."

"I can get shot and killed, and for that they don't need to know anything about me."

"I'm just saying you should cut off extensive risks."

"I've been taking risks before you even came here."

"Great, back at the 'you disappeared' topic." I exhaled, tapping my fingers on the table.

We remained silent for a while until I decided to try once again.

"Kira doesn't know we're alive. You should use that."

"I'm not backing off." He simply said and I gave up.

"Fine. Do what you want. It'd be smart to remember that we're still here." I stood up. "Want coffee?"

"Didn't Kim forbid you to drink coffee?" I rolled my eyes. "She's paranoid. I get heart palpitations once and she loses her shit."

"Heart palpitations?"

"Yeah. I kinda broke the rule about not having more than two energy drinks a day. I stopped drinking that and instead switched on coffee. Even though nothing happened she thinks my heartbeat will become irregular again just because of caffeine." I shrugged.

"So, you want some?" I asked him again.

"No, I'm good."

"Suit yourself." I went to the kitchen, grabbing my secret stash Kim didn't find yet. I was putting sugar in the mug when I heard a well known snap coming from the dining room.

I absent-mindedly smiled, recognizing the sound of Mello biting his chocolate. Good thing that part of him stayed the same.

I had a lot of questions. I wanted to ask him about five years prior to him joining L.A. mafia. I wanted to ask him about his time in the mafia. Then there was his scar that left me confused because I didn't think a burn could make you look badass. Hell I even had questions about Lidner. Even though I wasn't sure I wanted to know answers to that one.

But most of all I wanted to know just how much he changed. I could see that he did. He was more focused, more driven than before. That much was clear to me. But other parts? I wasn't sure yet.

I was stirring my steaming coffee, thinking about Mello and the Kira case. It was exactly like I said to Kim; they were playing their dangerous game again, and we had to find a way to help them. Except I underestimated how complex the characters had become. As if the game wasn't over complicated enough.

"Jade? We're back!" Kim yelled and I mentally groaned.

"I'm here!" I shouted back, looking at my coffee with regret.

"Come on, I need a hand."

"Coming!"

I sighed, pouring the coffee down the drain.

"You better not be drinking coffee." Kim appeared on the doorway.

"No coffee here."

"No but we really need a hand, Matt has way more stuff than I thought he has."

"Mhm."

"You should have seen their last hideout. Dust all over the place. It was a dead giveaway." I turned to look at her, raising my eyebrow.

"For what?"

"That they're single, obviously." She whispered and I burst out laughing.

"You're insane."

"Yep. Now really, let's go. There's a lot of stuff I need to do if we expect Idri to call us soon." She disappeared from my view and I smiled.

It was interesting how none of the boys thought about us having a little game of our own.


SPK Headquarters

Idri's POV

"Near, we finally have untraceable connection to Watari." Gevanni said and I looked at Near.

"Good, then please contact him at once. Commander Rester, I want you to cover Mr. Mogi's mouth." I raised my eyebrow, trying to predict Near's plan.

"Near, this is L. Is everybody okay?"

"No. Mr. Mogi died of a heart attack." All of the agents looked at Near, and even Mogi looked confused.

"I'll hand over the body to the Japanese Police within the next few days." There was a long pause on the other line and Near waited a moment before continuing.

"To those who are listening to this conversation, and even have the slightest suspicion that Kira might be a member of the Japanese Task Force...Please call the number I am about to give you. It will put you through to me."

I didn't have any doubts someone will call about their suspicions. If Kira is in the Japanese Task Force, and even met L, there is a chance L already suspected that person. Somehow that person managed to outsmart L, and all the evidence pointed to the use of fake thirteen day rule.

We still had to make sure our suspicions were correct. Just because we were sure Second L is Kira, only hard evidence or a confession truly matter.

It took a while before Second L finally responded. Near didn't take off his microphone, but rather continued to twirl a lock of his hair while playing with his toys. The entire headquarters was quiet, only sound was Gevanni's rapid typing.

"Near...No, the members of the Task Force." He spoke and Near and I shared a look.

"Anyone who wants to cooperate with Near may do so."

Interesting.

"I'm not satisfied with continuing on with the investigation in this situation either. I feel that the ideal thing is for us and the SPK to cooperate in a way that will satisfy us both."

Both Near and I knew what was up. He is in L's position, he had to respond in such a way.

Disappointing.

Near took off his microphone, ending the call.

"How long before someone calls you?" I asked.

"A day I'd say."

"And then we will be one step closer to Kira."

"Exactly."


Ha, last day of the month and I'm posting the chapter. I'm not sure I'm satisfied about that, but whatever. I met my deadline.

Though really people, I want to hear your feedback. Story is still new and I'm having a lot of questions and doubts. I'd be nice to hear what you think.

I wanted to say something else but I forgot. Fuck it.

See ya. (And this time I hope it'll be sooner. Whoops.)