Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, if I did, L wouldn't have died. I also do not own any tv shows, video games, books, or movies to which I will most likely make a reference to in this fic.
Vision 26: Getting Back in the Game
So here we are, the Travelers Three (plus the Invisible Woman who has it in for the Two-Faced Liar over there . . .), making our way back to the Japanese police headquarters. Light's mind was working furiously as he tried to figure a way out of the dire situation he was in.
'If this woman makes it to the police station and someone from the Task Force has returned by then, I'm done for.' He thought.
'If I can't figure out her real name, I can't kill her . . . It's already less than 3 minutes 'til we reach the station . . . there's no time . . . if this goes on . . .'
He stopped for a few moments, and then made his decision.
'. . . alright.' He walked over to Naomi.
"Oh? Whatcha doin'?" Ryuk asked.
"Um . . . excuse me" Light started.
"Yes?" Misora asked, turning around.
"There's something I should probably tell you . . ." Light said reluctantly.
"Okay."
"The thing is, it'll be impossible for you to contact any one from the Task Force directly."
"Huh?"she asked in confusion.
Ugh, oh boy, I already knew what was coming . . . come on, woman, couldn't you at least attempt to defy fate? Then again, you can't fight what you can't see, so . . .
I sighed, stretched out my arms and legs and then floated on my back, with my hands clasped behind my head.
Light, meanwhile, was still a bit on edge.
'That's right' he thought ' . . . Keep the conversation going: I just need to find something that she can latch onto and I got her! Once she's comfortable, I can get her real name . . . I can do this.'
"I can't contact anyone? Why not?" Misora asked a little indignantly.
"Didn't you think it was a little odd that there was nobody at the headquarters?" Light asked.
"Well, yeah, I did, but . . ."
"Let me explain: the Kira case investigators have been organized so that its' members can't be identified and nobody on the outside knows who's in charge."
Naomi Misora wore a severe expression on her face as she took in this new information.
"If the members' names were ever made public, or the structure of the task force was ever revealed, there might be more victims like your husband."
That one took her aback somewhat. The pain from losing the love of her life must have been a little fresh, still.
"I understand." She answered morosely.
"That's why they said there wasn't anybody at the headquarters." Light went on, "You'll never be able to contact them directly. The police won't allow it."
Naomi stayed silent for a few moments, thinking . . .
"Hehe, Raito, you're such a smooth talker!" Ryuk laughed.
'I'm trying to make her reveal her name, it's a crucial moment right now, so would you just shut it for a second, Ryuk!' Light thought angrily.
Why should he? I don't have a problem with it, do you? I don't! Nope!
. . . I wonder how Light manages to keep a straight face under all the stress, hmmm . . . ah, screw detective work, the guy should have picked up a career in acting! At least then, he'd do the world a whole lot better good.
"If this is supposed to be a secret, then how do you know so much?" Naomi asked at last, staring him down with grim eyes.
"Whoops, guess I spoke too soon!"
Light didn't say anything for a few moments, then began ". . . that's because . . ."
He sighed.
"I guess I'll just have to tell you . . ." he said, "giving in".
Light looked her right in the eye and said
"It's because I'm a member of the investigation team."
"Huh?" Ryuk asked in confusion.
Yeah, you heard him.
Both Ryuk and Naomi were completely floored by this.
"What? You're a member?"Naomi asked in shock.
"Yes" Light answered, "L is in charge right now and he's leading our investigation."
"Yes, no surprise there." Naomi said.
"L has been troubled by the lack of progress lately, mostly because many investigators had quit out of fear of Kira." Light continued.
"Even though I'm still in high school, I've solved many difficult cases before, so, L decided to have me on board."
DON'T INSULT ME!
I glared angrily at the back of Light's head.
"So, L trusts you then." Naomi mused, ". . . and, talking to you would be like talking to the investigatio-, no, L . . ."
Uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"Yes. I can go to the Task Force headquarters whenever it suits me, and I'm allowed to investigate freely as I see fit. You see, these days the Task Force is made up of a chosen few, an elite group of people handpicked for the job by L.
OH, BITE ME, WILL YOU! Egotistic, psychopathic, pompous, homosexual-embarrassment-to-the-world freak job nut ASSHOLE! *grumbles*
"All are highly skilled, well respected, and above all, trustworthy."
I could kill you right now . . . I really could.
. . . . Why am I not killing you again? Ugh.
'That's amazing' Naomi thought wonderingly, a little in awe of him, ' . . . this should enough then . . . I've told "L" everything I know . . . yet . . .'
And yet . . . something didn't seem right.
Suspicious, Naomi looked away from him, saying "Thanks for explaining, but just to be safe, I'd like to try to visit the task force headquarters again."
YES! PRAISE TO THE NONBELIEVERS!
Naomi, I was totally wrong about you, I apologize, you rock!
"Huh?" Light said, confused.
"Goodbye." She turned away.
'Not yet . . .' Light seethed, 'I don't know your name yet!'
"Uh, please! Wait a second!" He called, going after her.
Just keep walking, just keep walking . . .
"It's like I just told you: they won't let you talk with anyone!"
Keep walking, keep walking . . . oh hell with it, RUN WOMAN! DON'T MAKE ME HAVE TO SAVE YOU!
"I know," Misora answered, unwavering. "But I was hoping I could speak to L directly."
"Miss Maki! Please, wait a second!" Light insisted.
'Sounding a little desperate there, Light!' I thought, raising an eyebrow.
At this point I had rolled over onto my front, and was staring after them with my chin resting on my hands as I floated after them.
"It's literally impossible to meet L! This is pointless!" Light walked around Naomi so that she faced him.
Go to hell.
You may as well, Light, after all, it is your birthright . . .
"You may be right . . .' Naomi acquiesced, "but I think there's a chance he'll meet with me."
I grinned.
'So do I!'
"You see, I worked under L to solve a case two years ago in the states. Although the only contact I've had with him was following orders through a computer . . . I think he might remember who I am. I also believe that there is no case that L cannot solve."
Yup!
Light nearly did a double-take as he said "Seriously? You worked under L?"
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
(Finger-pointers, POINT!)
"Yes." She answered, " I didn't tell you this earlier, but . . . I used to be an F. B. I. agent until 3 months ago"
Light blinked in surprise.
Inyourface!Inyourface!Inyourface!Inyourface!Inyourface!INyourFACE!
'. . . . this . . . I'll use this . . .' he thought malevolently.
Inyourface!Inyourface!Inyourface! . . .wait, WHAT?
"No wonder, the way you handle Kira's case is very professional." He complimented, smiling warmly at her. "You're very cautious, and you seem to have a gift for getting to the heart of the matter." If I could, I'd like to learn from you, Miss Maki."
Kick.
"Huhuhuhuhuhuh! One lie after another, you make it look easy!" Ryuk grinned . . . that is, if he could actually grin at all with that shark-toothed, bear trap of a mouth of his.
I rolled my eyes.
"From the beginning I knew I had to do things outside of the regular channels" Naomi said, "Because, from my perspective, both the police and the members of the Task Force were suspects. But . . ."
"I'm certain that I can trust L." She finished, wearing the same expression Mr. Yagami had when he finally decided that L was really L. That strange look of happiness, relief, and . . . peace.
What she'd said surprised me for a bit, but afterwards, I started grinning. 'Cause, really, who would disagree with that?
'Yes.' I thought.
"Maybe it's unrealistic," Not really. "But I think that if I go to headquarters and give them my name, there's a chance they'll let me speak with him directly."
"I see . . . ." Light replied, "But, why would you tell me all the things that you're going to tell him?"
At first, Naomi didn't answer, but then . . .
"I suppose I was upset that they wouldn't allow me to see anyone from the Task Force" she reasoned, ". . . and then you came along, claiming to be the son of the lead detective and . . . no, that's not it . . . I . . ." She broke off, shaking her head.
"I'll be honest with you" She said, "It's because . . ."
"You remind me of L."
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!
"There's something about you that's . . . just like him."
ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? DON'T YOU DARE INSULT ME, WOMAN!
Grrrrrrrrrrrrg . . . uuuuuuugggggghhhhh . . . . grrrrrrrrrrr . . . . .
Finally, I took in a deep breath and let it out, and managed to calm myself a bit.
Okay, so maybe I've noticed a few similarities between L and Light myself, but that doesn't mean I like anybody else comparing the two. Everytime I hear something like that . . . it's almost like they're praising Light, putting him on the same level as L . . . when in actuality he's NOT!
That aside, even Light was a little taken aback from Naomi's statement, but quickly collected himself.
After a few moments, he spoke.
"Let's work on this case together."
LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGHHHHHHT! ARE YOU DOING WHAT I THINK YOU'RE DOING?
"What?" Naomi asked.
OOOOOOHHHH! If that guy so much as even thinks of telling the woman that he's L . . . I'm gonna do bad things to him. VERY! BAD! THINGS!
Screw the "I-gotta-stay-outta-this" Rule, THAT IS FREAKING CROSSING THE LINE!
And you know what, after I'm done, I'm gonna call up a few friends of mine and let THEM have their way with HIM!
Tell me, are you familiar with Freddy Krueger? Well, he's a VERY good friend of mine (we're best friends actually . . . best friends who like to try to kill each other . . . one of whom likes to stick the other in a cage until such time arrives when I'm completely bored to living death and wanna shoot/slash/maim something . . . ooooohhhh, I'm tempted!) . . . . I think Light would like him! Don't you? Oooooh! And maybe I could invite John over too! I bet they'll have LOADS of fun together!
(I can't wait to watch! XD)
"Become a member of our team." Light explained.
"This way, you can speak directly with L. No, you can catch Kira yourself." He extended a hand towards her in offering.
Woah, wait, what?
"My dad recommended me for the team because I wanted to help in the investigation. Since the team needed more people, and I happened to be qualified . . . we need someone like you."
. . . . So, he's not gonna tell her he's L . . . Well that just kills it for me!
"You're not just an investigator, you've worked in the F. B. I. You are more than qualified for this team. In fact, it wouldn't be that hard for you to join. All you'd need is some valid and secure identification, a recommendation from a member already on the team, and, of course, L's approval." Light's voice grew more and more excited with every word.
"I can't help but think that Fate wants you to be on the team!" Light finished enthusiastically, "I'd like to be the one to recommend you!"
You know what? I'm still going to haunt his dreams tonight! You wanna know why, Light? BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE YOU!
"Hoho, amazing, Light" Ryuk sniggered, "Human females can't resist the allure of "Fate""
I'm not gonna respond to that.
I'm a little insulted, yes, but I'm not gonna respond to that.
Ugh, anyway . . . "pause for effect!" . . . .
". . ."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Light said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head in "embarrassment"
"I guess I got a little bit too excited."
"I-it's okay!" Naomi said a little breathlessly.
"I mean, even if you acted as a consultant on this investigation, which would be a great help, it may be difficult for you, I'm sure you have personal obligations to attend to." Light mused, raising a hand to his mouth. "You live in the United States, right?"
"That's true," Naomi said, dejectedly "We were planning to get married this spring and move to America afterwards . . . but now he's gone, and now, I'm not sure what to do anymore."
'Good, just a bit further . . .' Light thought deviously.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"But you're young and beautiful, and you've got your whole life ahead of you!" He said, trying to 'cheer her up', as if he were actually worried for her best interests.
"Why put it all in danger for this?"
"No!" Naomi protested, "Now that Raye's gone, I've got nothing to lose anymore!"
Except your life . . . Misora, don't ruin my recently earned respect for you.
"I'd give anything to catch Kira!"
. . . . . . . . do I have to say it?
"It's all I wanna do . . . I have no regrets." You will in a minute . . .
"I want to join the team . . . please, let me . . ."
Hook, line, and sinker. Miss Naomi Misora, you, madam, have been defeated.
All this was to much for Ryuk. He broke down and cracked up so hard, I thought he was going to hurt himself.
At that moment, I felt my disposition become as cold as ice, while, at the same time, just simmering beneath the surface, I boiled in rage.
"Yes . . . of course . . ." Light said gently, "I just need to see your ID first before we proceed."
Oh no.
"Oh . . . Uh . . . that . . ." Naomi said uncomfortably.
"Hmmm . . .?"
"The name I gave you earlier . . . it wasn't my real name." She said guiltily, "I'm so sorry."
"That's fine, don't worry about it." Light answered warmly, "To be honest, I'm impressed by how incredibly thorough you've been . . . you've stayed one step ahead of me. You're even more amazing than I first suspected!"
"So . . . Would my Japanese ID work?"
"Sure"
'Naomi . . . . .' I sighed to myself, ' . . . I'll wait up for you.'
I moved to fly away from the scene, but then stopped, thinking what if she doesn't actually walk away from Light? What if she ends up going the other way?
Agh, dammit, now I'm going to have to stick around . . . and ignore that exceedingly overwhelming urge to kick Light . . . we're going to save the hurting for later, Sen, remember? . . .
Oh, this was going to be painful!
"When did you start working for the F. B. I.?" Light asked casually as he pretended to write her information down.
"From September of 2001 until October of 2003" she answered.
After a few moments, she said "Um . . . If you don't mind my asking . . . why are you always checking your watch?"
"Oh, this?" Light said nonchalantly, "That's because . . ."
Tick . . . tick . . .
"I'm Kira."
A look of some deep-seated horror stole over Naomi's face as she realized the implications of what she had just done. But it was too late for her to take it back.
The clock struck 1:25 PM, and then all emotion seemed to fall away from her, like someone had ripped her spirit straight from her heart.
She turned, and started to walk away.
"What's wrong?" Light asked 'curiously'.
"I have something I must do." Naomi answered, sounding almost like she was in some sort of despair.
Light looked like he was fighting really hard to keep the smirk off his face.
He flipped open his cell.
"Oh, seems like my dad finally called back . . . want to talk to him?"
"No, thank you" Naomi said, a little detached, "There is nothing to talk about."
"Then farewell . . . Naomi Misora."
. . . .
I glared darkly at Light. This guy was such a . . .
. . . You know what, instead of having a hissy fit to myself, I'm . . . just . . . gonna . . .
Scare the living shit out of him.
I landed on the ground and walked up to him. I laid a hand on his right shoulder, and whispered in his ear:
"One . . . two . . . Imma comin' for you . . ."
"Three . . . four . . . Better lock your door . . ."
"Five . . . six . . . grab your crucifix . . ." ******
"Seven . . . eight . . . Gonna stay up late . . ."
"Nine . . . ten . . . Never sleep again."
Light froze stock still as he listened to the disembodied voice whispering in his ear, now echoing inside his head. He looked around quickly, trying to find the source, but he couldn't find anything. The only ones on the street at the moment were him and Ryuk . . .
Ryuk looked questioningly at Light and looked around too, but . . . nothing.
"Uh . . . Light?" he asked, "You ok?"
Light was taking in some deep, heaving breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. First all the stress from the potential possibility of his identity being revealed to the policemen . . . and now he was hearing things? No! He was stronger than that, he was way stronger than that, that's why he took it upon himself to rid the world of evildoers in the first place!
"Light? . . . Liiiiiiiiiggggght! . . . Light?" Ryuk asked, floating around him in circles and peering in at his face.
Not only that, why in the world would he taunt himself with some overdone mockery of a nursery rhyme from some stupid horror movie? No, if he really wanted to torture himself, he could definitely think of a lot better ways of doing it . . . the mind is a sort of prison after all. Also, the voice that sounded in his head . . . it didn't sound like him or anyone else he had ever met . . . yet it seemed oddly familiar . . . wait, had he heard it somewhere before?
. . . . Well, one thing was certain, he had another adversary on his hands . . . one who apparently had the ability to break into his mind . . . there was no other possibility . . . and, with a piece of the Death Note sitting in his pocket, knocking anything related to the supernatural out of the equation was plain stupidity . . . and the worse thing was . . . What with this . . . voice coming out of nowhere, he had absolutely no idea what she was capable of . . . hang on, "she" . . . DAMN IT! Why couldn't he remember where the voice came from!
Come to think of it, how was he so sure that this voice was a new adversary? How was he sure that he wasn't just imagining things?
Light narrowed his eyes, clenched his teeth and his fists in frustration and anger.
"Liiiiiiigggght! Yoohoo! Liiiiiggght!" Ryuk tried again, waving his hands in front of Light's face.
"RYUK JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE WILL YOU! WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM!"
Vision 27: Saving the Princess
I probably should have just left the damn thing well enough alone and just went about my "mission", but . . . looking at what Light's done . . . There was no way I could just take that sitting down.
In a way, I was kind of being nice in my not-so-misplaced aggression, because repeating Freddy's calling card almost verbatim was sort of giving me away for what I was going to do tonight. However . . . . well, I have no excuse. I just knew that there was no way I could walk away from there without doing something bad to him.
I moved away from him, and flew after Naomi. If I was right, she probably wouldn't commit suicide anywhere public, so she probably wouldn't be going to any back alleys or whatever . . . but if she did I could always give her some mental prodding to go somewhere else.
I brought out my cell phone and dialed Raye's number.
"Hey boy, what's up?" I asked him when he answered the phone, "Yeah, she and I just left, where are you right now? . . . . okay, so . . ." I looked around for a good spot "Oh, look! There's a coffee shop up ahead! How lucky! You know the one I'm talking about? . . . Good. Just grab yourself a cuppa and we'll meet you there in a few minutes."
I hung up and flew ahead of Naomi, making sure to instill the idea in her head to make a trip past the coffee shop and . . .
.*.*.*.
I leaned back comfortably in my seat, balancing my chair on its hind legs as I propped up my legs on the table in front of me. I held a large cup of some warm, sweet black tea in my hand, which I took frequent sips of as I searched the street in front of me (I was sitting outside the building) for Naomi. Finally, I spotted her walking around the corner.
When I saw the look on her face . . . . it scared me. I never got a really good look of her face when Light was out, acting like he was the Grim Reaper or something (come on, he already thinks he's a "God"! A "Grim Reaper" can't be too far off from where he's at right now!), and I shouldn't have had to, I mean, I'd already read the manga and seen the anime, but . . . it was horrifying, to say the least . . .
. . . She looked dead.
'Crap, better work the magic fast!' I thought, shaking off the shock. I took another drink out of my tea as I watched her moving slugglishly up the road. Finally, when she stood parallel with me on the street I called out cheerfully, "Hi there, miss!" I waved a hand in greeting.
Naomi turned her face towards me, her expression blank. You know, she actually looked a little tired at the moment . . .
Before I could muse on this any further, Naomi turned her head and started walking.
'DAMN IT, WOMAN!' I thought, throwing my legs off of my table and jumping out of my chair. I jogged after her and grabbed her arm. She made a move to brashly throw me off, but I held her fast, gripping both of her arms in my hands as I said playfully into her ear "Aw, come now Miss, that's not nice! We must be polite to strangers we meet on the street, don't chu know?"
Naomi just stared at me listlessly with those lifeless eyes of hers.
I kept my little impish smile plastered on my face as I dragged her over to the coffee shop. "Come on, dah-lin'! You must be freezing to death out here! Let me buy you a nice hot cup of coffee!"
I'm not taking "no" for an answer, lady . . . and, btw, SCREW YOU, FATE! I spit on your graves!
I forced her down into a seat across from mine (I even worked some magic on her that pretty much, more or less, superglued her to her chair), and then walked over to my seat, which, miraculously, hadn't fallen to the ground in my haste. I propped my arms on the table, splaying my palms out on the wood as I smiled warmly at her and said "Now, let's see . . . about that coffee . . ."
I reached out my hand and then waved it across the space in front of her, making a steaming mug of sweet, black coffee appear out of nowhere. Naomi looked down at her drink, although it kind of looked more like she was looking through it (good lord, where was her brain? Did the Death Note come with a brain-eating bonus?), and then she slowly brought her eyes back up to me. No surprise, no emotion at all, not even distrust . . . just a profound feeling of emptiness inside the soul.
I kept the cryptic smile on my face as I assured her "It's not poison, honey, I promise." However, Naomi continued to remain as she was, as is . . . Was it the Death Note magic holding her, or was she really that stubborn? Well, could be the stubbornness, looking at the little "battle of wills" between her and Light. I sighed, and then said, "Look sweetie, I already know that you got someplace to go, it's written all over your face. But . . . well, you look like you could use some cheering up . . . let me guess, bad fall-in with a guy?"
FINALLY! A REACTION! Naomi winced a little and shrunk back into her seat, her gaze trained down. I placed a finger under her chin and gently lifted her face upwards to confront mine.
Even more reaction! Poor thing looked so sad . . .
"Tell you what, if you take my offer" I motioned to the cup, "I will personally drive you to wherever it is you gotta go, even if it's to the middle of nowhere, okay?"
No response . . . . well, at least she actually looked like she was considering it (it's a little hard to tell with a stone face) . . . which was kind of what I was hoping for. Light's Death Note only said that she had to start going somewhere to off herself at 1:25 PM, he never said anything about how long the death itself would actually take . . . Loop-holes, people! They can be your best friend!
I raised my pinky finger in front of her face.
"Scouts honor, and pinky swear, sweetie." I tilted my head to the side, still smiling. Come on, Naomi, please! Don't make me beg!
Instead of taking the pinky, Naomi looked back down at her drink, and slowly brought her hand up to the mug. Holding onto the coffee firmly in her grasp, she lethargically brought the drink up to her lips and took a small sip.
SUCCESS! I grinned, and then sat myself down in my chair. I crossed my arms on the table, and then asked "So, Naomi Misora, how do you feel?"
Naomi blinked several times before her eyes finally came into focus. Startled, she looked around quickly before placing her mug back on the table, and then shakily asked "Wh-what just happened? Who are you? Where am I . . .?" Her eyes flashed in realization as she remembered, "Th-that guy, Light Yagami! He's Kira! And he just . . . Oh God!"
Uh, can I take a message?
Anxiously, she stood up. "I'm sorry, but I have to go!"
"Not right now, you're not!" I said in a hard tone, grabbing her wrist. I looked at her straight in the eyes as I told her "Miss Naomi Misora, you were almost killed today by Kira. On that very same day, you were forcibly wrenched from the edge of the abyss by me, which, I believe, is enough to cause a major whiplash for anyone, especially for someone like you. I understand that you're a little scared, I understand that you're confused, and right now, I'm betting that you're not sure whether or not you should trust me, especially considering what's happened . . . ." Body language 101. Honestly, I think anybody would be able to figure this out with a little empathy and reading the emotions currently playing out across her face . . . plus, I was kind of expecting that.
I closed my eyes and sighed, taking in a deep breath so I could calm down and look at her with more sympathetic eyes.
"However, I can honestly say that you can, in fact trust me. I won't hurt you, and I won't use you for my own evil ends. Even more important than that, in your state of mind, you are in no condition to go racing after anybody just yet, understand?"
Naomi stood petrified in, yes, distrust, shock, and fear, but eventually she calmed down. I don't know what it was, but something in her must have told her that I definitely wasn't lying . . . . I just hope that it wasn't the same voice that told her that she could trust Light. Well anyway, by this point she was trying to analyze her current situation carefully, trying to make sure she wouldn't step into anymore traps . . . at least that's my guess.
After Naomi composed herself and sat back in her chair, I said "Alright Miss, now, before we do anything I want to explain a little bit of what just happened around . . . ohhhh . . ." I checked my watch "Five, maybe eight, minutes ago." At that moment a tall young man with blonde shaggy, shoulder length hair and light-green eyes, and peach-toned skin walked over to our table. He had a strong physique, and a thin-lipped smile that seemed guarded for some reason, and he wore a business suit beneath a beige colored coat.
I looked up at him and grinned. "And, I'm gonna start with this guy!" I waved a hand towards him as he sat down. "This, my friend, is Stephen F. Elumine', a business colleague of mine that I met a few weeks back. Ain't he just the cutest?"
Stephen clasped his hands together on the table, lacing his fingers together as he let himself smile fully at Naomi, who, unfortunately, was still a little bit uneasy. Oh boy, please don't let this end up being harder than I thought it was going to be!
"Hi Naomi," Raye spoke tenderly, a little sheepishly.
If I'd thought that Naomi was going to fall out of her chair in shock, I was dead wrong. Damn it, no comedy relief for me.
She was, however, dumbstruck at hearing the voice of her beloved coming from the throat of some dude that she'd never seen before.
"Raye?"
Naomi moved to get out of her chair again. "No, it can't be . . . you're dead! This has to be a trick, somehow!" she protested.
"Weeeeeeeeelllll, it isn't." I said casually, holding my hand against my cheek. If she was going to go all predictable on my sorry ass, I was going to get seriously bored . . . and I can do some pretty crazy things when I'm bored!
"Your husband, Miss, is alive and well," I continued, "And until the Kira Case is over, this is gonna be his new body. I've already got a new voice arranged for him to use later. Hope you like being Russian-Irish, Raye!" I kicked up my legs back on the table, once more balancing my chair on its two hind legs as I picked up my cup of hot tea and taking a long draft out of it.
Raye gave me an odd look, raising an eyebrow at me right before he shook his head. "Heh, um, sorry about that Naomi, you're going to have to excuse her . . . she can be a little bit out there sometimes . . . not to mention a little bullheaded and unsympathetic." He said, raking a hand through his hair in near exasperation.
"Unsympa- . . . I AM PLENTY SYMPATHETIC THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" I yelled in outrage, glaring at him, "And "bull-headed"? Well, excuse me for being a teenager!"
Raye looked at me and chuckled a little. "A teenager, Sen? I'm sorry, but how old did you say you were again?"
"I TOLD YOU, I LOST COUNT! And that point is completely moot, because, LIKE I TOLD YOU, I have the mindset of an 18-year-old girl! UGH!" I groaned, rolling my eyes upwards towards the gloomy sky.
Naomi looked at the two of us, a hand on the back of her chair. She still looked ready to bolt, but at the same time, she was trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. This had to have been a complete turnaround from what she experienced ten minutes ago . . . and she probably still couldn't find a good reason to believe that this blond-haired man and this hyper and slightly tempermental black haired girl. One the one hand, not a lot of people would look at her with such kindness, love, and familiarity, even if they were lying. That should probably say a lot, I believe, especially considering her little episode earlier with Light. Then again . . . as she had just witnessed . . . some people can be really excellent liars.
Raye, uh, sorry, Stephen, looked up at Naomi with earnest eyes. "Naomi . . . look, it's okay! You can trust her, she's telling the truth! . . . I'm alive, Naomi . . . this is really me under all this . . ." He motioned to his face.
Naomi didn't say anything . . . so, she really was that stubborn before the mind-warp! Then again, if I were actually working for Kira, it would actually be pretty smart of Naomi to be so cautious. Because . . . what was the moral of the story between Light and Naomi, kids? BE CAREFUL OF WHO YOU GO SPILLING OUT YOUR TROUBLES TO! SOME PEOPLE CAN, AND WILL, JUST DECIDE TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF YOU, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE THE KING OF ALL JACKASSES! . . . . . then again, I'm a little biased, so what do I know?
Stephen frowned, and, locking his pale eyes with Naomi's dark, severely. "Naomi . . . I can prove to you I'm not lying. About a week ago, when I came back from the bus-jacking, you were the first one to suggest that Kira may have been behind the whole thing. You were right, but I didn't believe you . . . more to the point, I was afraid to believe you because I was afraid that if I gave you even the smallest bit of leeway, you'd try to find some way to get yourself involved in the Kira Case . . . and, eventually, I feared . . . you'd end up being killed by Kira himself." He paused.
"I told you to forget about the whole thing and just focus on our upcoming marriage, to think of the happy times we were going to have together in the future, just you, me, and a few kids, maybe. We could never really agree on how many children we wanted to have . . . I wanted three or four, but you only wanted one . . . and you would only have a second baby if it was a twin to the first . . ."
I switched my gaze between the two of them. My elbows were on the table, and my chin was resting on my hands, which were currently laced together. I watched the surprise and amazement and shock pass over Naomi's face . . . yeah, we were making a believer out of her yet. Just needed one more thing . . .
"Also . . ." Raye went on, "I asked you to give me a few tips on how to please your dad." He laughed. "I told you that he scared me more than Kira ever could . . . and the funny thing is . . . even though I was nearly killed by Kira himself . . . your dad still scares me!"
Bingo.
Naomi's expression swelled with emotion, and she put a hand over her mouth in an attempt to keep herself from crying. When she removed it, she spoke brokenly "R-Raye!"
The two hugged each other tightly over the coffee table. Raye rubbed soothing circles into Naomi's back as she raggedly sobbed into his coat, her breath catching every few moments. Which was really sweet and all . . . and a little awkward for me . . . but . . .
"Hey! HEY! Break it up you two!" I cut in, pushing them away from each other, "As much as I'd love to witness your joyful and tearful reunion with each other, we got bigger problems on our hands!" I looked at the two of them sternly. "For example . . . you, Naomi" I pointed at her, "Still look like Naomi Misora! If we don't get you out of here soon my plan will most likely get itself screwed majorly! Also, if people figure out that Raye's not really dead, we'll probably be even more screwed! I don't know, but I'm not gonna take my chances! And you know what? The only reason people aren't looking over here and listening in on our conversation is because I gotta freaking magic bubble surrounding this thing!" I kicked a table leg.
Naomi stared at me, rebuked and a little surprised. Raye on the other hand, was raising an eyebrow at me.
"Sen, how much caffeine have you had?"
"You mean tea? One . . . well, three-quarters of a cup." I said looking down. I grabbed my tea and gulped the rest down.
"Okay, one. Also, I had like twenty cans of Diet Coke earlier, why?"
"Your right shoulder's twitching."
I looked. Damn it, it was . . . not a whole lot, it was really only a small shake . . . but the fact that it was visible embarrassed me somewhat.
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little, Sen?" Raye smiled at me, "Didn't you say that your magic was failproof?"
"Technically, you think my magic is failproof."
"So you're creating your own flaws."
"Shut it, Penber!" I glared at him. Stupid F. B. I. agent . . . did I ever think he was useless? . . . even once? Even for a stupid reason? . . . If I did, WHAT WAS I THINKING?
"Look, can we just go? Naomi, I'll lead you to the apartment "Stephen's" staying at. When we get there you can decide what you want to look and sound like and what your new name will be. "Stephen", you explain everything to her on the way."
Naomi, who had been looking back and forth between the two of us in confusion, asked "What? But wait, didn't you say that you were going to tell me what's happened?"
"Well, you already know the most important part: Light Yagami is Kira. Aaaaaaand . . ." I moved out of my chair and turned on my heel. "I kind of don't feel like repeating myself today."
I marched off.
"Either way, it doesn't matter. Neither of you are gonna be able to involve yourselves in the investigation in any way, shape, or form. Basically, your jobs just became mine. I'm gonna be the one helping L to catch Kira. Not you. Let's go!"
"WHAT?"
"What's the matter with these scissors?"
"THE THREAD WON'T CUT!"
- The Three Fates (Hercules, 1997)
Sen's Playlist:
I Put a Spell on You – Hocus Pocus Soundtrack
Oki's Theme – Okami Soundtrack
In the Shadows – The Rasmus
Awake - Godsmack
Death Note - Death Note Soundtrack
*** - And then throw it away, because what is a crucifix in this world other than two pieces of wood that are latched onto each other with pieces of rope and a few iron nails? Not to mention the fact that, long ago, this very thing that many Christians worshipped was actually used as a torture/killing device. Choose your religion wisely, people! I'm not saying that the crucifix itself has no power to speak of whatsoever, I mean, in some of the worlds I've been to, they possessed some pretty kick-ass holy/spiritual powers.