CHAPTER 10

:Plans:

Thorn rang the bell to her old apartment.

She couldn't believe her day. It seemed impossible yet it had happened. Gevanni had actually kissed her. She remembered his car being parked outside Yamamoto's house. As usual she had been trying to get the last word and of course, like always, Gevanni had refused to let her. She hadn't noticed how close they were until he was able to touch her lips with his own.

Thorn involuntarily touched her lips as she waited for Light to answer the door.

She had kissed him back. Three months ago, if he or any guy, had tried to pull that stunt, she would have punched them. However, she supposed living with a handsome man for two months and then having a boyfriend made her yearn for something. It just so happened that Gevanni, the man trying to find evidence on her, satisfied that yearn for some unfathomable reason. Thorn wondered if Gevanni had developed a real interest in her or was pretending. He did start the kiss. If he was just pretending, she would be upset because she actually liked the guy. She sighed. She couldn't tell Light; he would kill Stephen Gevanni on the spot.

The door opened and Thorn stared at Light. "Hello, Yagami."

"Hello, Thorn," Light greeted as he moved aside. The moment she was inside, he closed the door and locked it.

Thorn removed her shoes and dropped her bag of clothes onto the floor. "I told Shinsuke that I was staying at a friend's house."

"He doesn't mind?"

"No. He has to pull an all-nighter for the Kira case." Thorn reached into her bag and pulled out a red apple. She threw the apple into the air. Like she had expected Ryuk appeared and caught it. Thorn closed her bag and removed her jacket. She threw it carelessly onto the couch and said, "Hello, Ryuk."

The shinigami grinned. "I'm glad you remembered."

"I wouldn't have forgotten it," Thorn stated before looking at Light. "What is it that you want to tell me?"

Near came to Task Force Headquarters to discuss with Aizawa, Mogi, Matsuda, and the other Task Force members what he had discovered. The last time Near had called such a meeting was a month ago. He had these meetings sparingly, in case Light used one of the Task Force members to try to kill him. Gevanni and Rester were there with him, in case anything went wrong.

"We have a lead?" Matsuda asked in shock. Near nodded. "Unbelievable! I knew we would get somewhere with Near's help!"

"I'm eighty-five percent sure that Yamamoto's 'girlfriend' is the second Kira," Near said.

Yamamoto went onto the defensive. "There's no way she could be the second Kira! She's too nice and sweet and loving and—!"

Near sighed loudly in an annoyed way, cutting the man off.

Near had a feeling there might be some opposition to this theory. Even Mogi and Aizawa seemed unsure about the idea of 'Hisano Takahashi' working with Light Yagami. The only two who didn't seem unfazed by this turn of events were Rester and Gevanni. Near had came prepared. He took out a tape recorder and rewind it before pressing 'Play'. The whole room remained silent as they listened to her and Gevanni's conversation. When the conversation ended, Near stopped playing the tape. "The link 'Hisano' refers to, I looked it up. The criminal only had three victims: one middle-age woman and two others who would be around the age 'Hisano' is now. As I had suspected, none of their names are 'Hisano Takahashi'."

"Wait, then wouldn't that mean that my girlfriend is not the second Kira?" Yamamoto questioned. "If the names don't match up, then surely—!"

"Not necessarily," Near said, glancing up. "Your girlfriend, if that what she really is, could be using a false identity."

Rester took out two pictures and put them on the table so all of them could see. "The woman on the left is Amaya Kusonoki," he explained. "The one on the right is Yumi Mikimoto."

Yamamoto studied the pictures. The woman, Amaya Kusonoki, looked almost unemotional. She was wearing a lot of dark make-up: black eye liner, dark mascara, black eye shadow, dark lipstick. In addition, Kusonoki was wearing black except for the purple scarf around her neck. She was the complete opposite of the woman he was dating. The other woman, Yumi Mikimoto, had brown hair and light brown eyes. Yamamoto knew that Hisano's eyes were a very dark brown and that she didn't wear contacts or glasses. Also, Mikimoto had on so much jewelry and Hisano hardly wore any. There was no way that Hisano could be either of these two women. Hisano was so different from them.

Suddenly Matsuda gasped and pointed at the photo on the left. "Hey, I met her."

Near looked sharply at Matsuda before he glanced at the picture the officer pointed at. "Amaya Kusonoki . . . When?"

"I think I did anyway," Matsuda sheepishly said, realizing his outburst. "I mean, everyone called her Thorn Divine, not by her real name. It just that the two look alike. I met Thorn at the Art Exhibition in Tokyo four months ago. I got her autograph and everything."

Gevanni raised an eyebrow. "A woman called our suspect Thorn."

Matsuda scratched his head. "Maybe she's a big fan and wanted the same nickname?"

Near started to twirl a lock of his white hair. "I doubt it. I'm eighty-nine percent certain that our suspect is the second Kira. But I want more evidence. Until I'm one hundred percent sure, I won't meet her face to face." He looked at Yamamoto, who appeared to be the most upset. "Do you know where 'Hisano' went tonight?"

"She said to a friend's house," Yamamoto muttered. "I trust her."

"She could be using that as an excuse to meet Light," Near considered thoughtfully. "Probably planning my downfall as we speak."

"Are you sure about this, Near?" Ide asked watching Near take out his puppets. The one marked Kira-2 was already dressed like 'Hisano', red hair and all. "I mean, look at Hisano. She doesn't have the personality that is needed to kill people."

"The way she acts around you is not the way she acts around Gevanni. She is also a Kira supporter."

"But what does that matter?" Yamamoto challenged. "There are lots of Kira supporters. That doesn't mean that they're all armed with Death Notes!"

Near sighed. "You weren't here, Yamamoto, but there was a time where most of the Task Force believed that Light Yagami wasn't Kira when he actually was. In a few aspects, your girlfriend reminds me of him."

Thorn sat on the couch, looking down at her hands. Light was sitting across from her, a table in between them. The woman sighed. Where to start? She asked herself. Her eyes landed on him, realizing that in some odd way, she had missed Light. She didn't like acting on her own; she needed his guidance to an extent. His opinion would be nice before she acted. Already she had made one mistake. "Yagami?"

"What?"

"I need to tell you that I screwed up. I think by now Near knows who I am." She waited for Light to scowl, to yell, to show some sign of anger. She waited for him to take his 'competent comment' back. But none of those things happened. He looked too calm. She blinked at him. "Aren't you mad?"

"Don't worry about it," Light eventually told her. "I was worried that you'd screw up so badly that Near would meet you before tonight."

"So you're not upset?"

Light shook his head. "I want to tell you what you should do when that situation arises. But before that, I want to ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

"About the guy that's following you, you're not infatuated with him are you?"

Thorn raised an eyebrow and glanced at a smirking Ryuk. At first she thought that Ryuk had been spying on her the last few days but she quickly dismissed the idea. She was certain that she would have noticed him watching her. Ryuk was too abnormal looking to be not seen. "What do you mean?" Thorn asked Light, trying to make sense of the situation.

Light shrugged. "Are you serious about him?"

"Shinsuke Yamamoto?" Thorn asked, not sure what he expected her to say.

"I know you'd never be interested in that guy. I mean the other one."

Thorn looked away. He knows but he wants me to say it, she thought, slightly annoyed. When Light stood, she quickly glanced at him, feeling wary. He walked around the table and sat on the same couch she was on. She tried to move back and Light grabbed her wrists. Thorn narrowed her eyes, not liking the gleam in Light's eyes. "You have to be a little more specific than that," she stated, doing well to hide her fear.

Ryuk chuckled behind her. "You know who it is. You were just kissing him in his car today."

Thorn was almost at a lost for words. "You mean Stephen Gevanni," she said automatically. Light knows about him? How?

"Yeah," Light responded.

"It was just a kiss," Thorn stated. "It meant nothing."

Her last statement wasn't as solid as her first. She was sure the kiss meant something because she had felt that so-called "spark" the moment their lips had met. Yet, she had this small doubt telling her that it had no meaning. Whether Gevanni had meant it or not, the kiss had been mind-blowing.

Thorn looked away from Light and repeated her last sentence again. It still did not come out solid as she wished it would. She swung her legs then started to cross and uncross them as she waited for Light to say something.

"Really?" That was all he said.

"Yes."

"Be honest with me. I don't want you to get distracted or anything."

"How do you know about that?" Thorn asked. "Did Ryuk tell you?"

"No. It was—!"

Thorn felt something pointy touch her shoulder, something that felt like a notebook. She looked over her shoulder and saw a new shinigami. The cloak that the shinigami adorned hid its long arms and hunched form. Red, mohawk-style hair and red irises in the center of black pools. His black lips were in a straight line. Thorn eyed the shinigami with mild interest. "Hello," she greeted, not sure what else to say.

The shinigami bowed. "Nice to meet you, Thorn. I'm Milos." The shinigami stuck out his hand. In it was a white Death Note. "This is for you."

Thorn took it, not sure what was going on. She looked at Light, waiting for instruction.

"Do you have any pieces of Ryuk's Death Note on you?"

She nodded.

"Give it to me and take a new piece from Milos' notebook."

Thorn reached into her bra, ignoring the look on Light's face. She found the tiny slit she had made and slipped her fingers into it, removing a folded piece of paper. She handed the piece of paper to Light. Not seeing the point of this, Thorn ripped out a fresh sheet from the white note and placed it into her bra.

Milos bowed again toward Thorn, surprising the woman. "I'm willing to serve you to the utmost fullest." He glanced at Light. "You, too, Light Yagami."

Thorn glanced at Light with a raised an eyebrow. He's serving Light, too? Maybe to spy on me? Her dark eyes landed on the shinigami. "Thank you, Milos."

Light looked at Ryuk. Good job, Ryuk. You found the perfect shinigami for Thorn.

Near was back in his hotel room, eying the TV screens. Rester and Gevanni was there as well. They would have been in their hotel rooms but Near wanted to discuss something with them. They had been waiting for the last five minutes as Near sat in silence. One of the TVs showed Yamamoto entering his house, looking confused and upset. Gevanni couldn't help but feel bad for the man. His girlfriend was being accused of being the second Kira. He wondered how the man would feel if he told him about kissing his girlfriend.

"Gevanni, what's your personal opinion about Hisano Takahashi?" Near finally asked.

Gevanni thought. "Dark, possibly a little bit morbid but honest to some degree. She's not someone who likes to be reveal herself right away."

"Interesting that she could be Light's assistant," Near commented. "Unless she was forced to do it. Then she might be holding a grudge. We can use that to our advantage if she's not in love with him yet."

"Then we should keep an eye on her," Rester suggested. "Keep her away from Light before that happens."

"Right now, assuming she went to meet Light Yagami, that could be happening right now. Now that he has come this far, he wouldn't want to take any chances. To counter that, we can use Gevanni."

Gevanni raised an eyebrow, not sure how he would fit into this puzzle.

Near, almost reading his thoughts, stated, "You kissed her today and she responded in some way."

" . . . Why would you say that?"

"When you came back, you had a little lipstick by the side of your mouth. To make things even stranger, you were in a daze. I just simply put two and two together. So did you initiate the kiss or was it her?"

"It was me," he said after a while.

"Then that doesn't reveal much about her character, does it?"

"I guess it not."

"In the future, don't let your emotions get the best of you, Gevanni. It could cost you your life."

Light glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was only after ten. Then he looked into the kitchen. Thorn was pouring hot water from the kettle into two mugs. Then she reached into the cupboard, pulling out two tea bags from a box labeled 'Green Tea'. He watched as she dipped the tea bags into the hot water, trying o get the flavor. Then she put a teaspoon of sugar in each one.

"Yagami, do you want your tea bag in your tea?"

"Does it make a difference?"

"I don't know. I usually take mine out though."

"Leave it." Light heard some muttering from the corner and looked over. The two shinigami were standing there, both staring in his direction. Ryuk was grinning but Milos was frowning. Light quirked an eyebrow, not sure what the shinigami's problem was. Thorn placed the tea in front of Light, disrupting the man from his thoughts.

"Here," she said. The woman took the seat next to Light and drank some of her tea before setting the mug on the center table.

"Thanks," Light said after awhile.

"No problem."

Thorn stared at the man. After all the time she had been gone, she had almost forgotten how handsome he was. But she would never allow herself to fall for him. Light would never return her feelings. He would probably use her to his whims. Gevanni, on the other hand, actually liked her or she hoped he did. She groaned inwardly with herself. She never felt so caught up with men before.

"Is something wrong?" Light asked.

"Yes," she replied. "I have a question about your plan. You told me to give up ownership of the notebook if and only if I got captured. Why? Wouldn't I forget everything?"

"Anything related to the notebook," Light elaborated. "It's just a precaution incase Near decides to torture the information out of you. I don't want you revealing anything. And don't worry. You will get your memories back.."

"How?"

"Don't worry about it."

Thorn narrowed her eyes. Light was smirking as he was drinking his tea. The man actually found it amusing, leaving her in the dark like this. At least Gevanni didn't leave her in the dark. Not really anyway. He told her that he believed she was the second Kira, he told her where their "game" was going. Thorn shook her head at herself. I can't believe I'm comparing Gevanni with Yagami.

Thorn sighed. "I won't worry about it then. I'll trust you on this, Yagami."

"That's all I need from you."

Light heard the shinigami muttering again. He stared at them and thought that Milos looked angry. What the hell? He was beginning to think every time he talked to Thorn, Milos would be jealous. To test his theory, he waited for Thorn to stop drinking her tea. When she finally put the mug down, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward his body. The moment he wrapped his arms around the shocked woman, he heard a growl. Ryuk chose a crazy shinigami.

"What are you doing?" Thorn asked.

"Thanking you," Light lied, glancing at Milos. He must be disappointed that he can't kill me.

"Then you're welcome," Thorn said. "But it's only tea."

"I meant for everything."

"Oh."

Milos glided over to them, casting a foreboding glare in Light's direction. "Thorn, you should prepare for tomorrow. You have to get up early."

Thorn pulled away from Light and picked up her mug. "You're right. But after I finish my tea."

Milos did not move. He stood by Thorn's side, keeping his red eyes on Light Yagami. Light ignored him the best he could but it was starting to get on his nerves. The man heard Ryuk chuckling. It reached the point where Light told Ryuk to leave the room if he wanted to continue his laughter. And poor Thorn did not understand what was going on around her.

It was the next morning.

Thorn was by the door putting on her boots. Light was watching her. "You won't forget, right?"

Thorn looked up as her foot went inside the boot. "You mean when I meet Near?" She got down on one knee and started to strap the both boots.

"Yeah."

Thorn did the last buckle and stood. Then she reached for her coat. "I won't. It's a very important part of your plan," she added as she put on her coat. She reached into her coat pockets, pulled out her gloves, and put them on. Thorn placed her hand on the doorknob. "Take care, Light Yagami."

"You, too."

Milos showed himself. "I'll make sure of that, Light."

Thorn saw Ryuk come out of the kitchen. "Bye, Ryuk."

"You're leaving now, huh? I'll see you in no time. Promise."

Thorn looked at Light and gave a quick bow of the head. With one hand, the woman slung her bag over her shoulder. She then turned the doorknob, pulled the door, and walked out. It was Light who closed the door again.

"What will you do about the Gevanni-issue?" Ryuk asked.

"Nothing. He'll hurt her in the end."

Ryuk grinned. "You always have a backup plan, Light. It's not surprising considering the type of person you are."

"That doesn't matter. I'm more concern about how much longer she will be alive for and if my plan will work. Milos might let her die."

Ryuk chuckled. "He might. He might not. You'll see."