Author's Note: Alright, this chapter was a little tedious and took me a while to get out. I might go back and refine the writing a little at some point.

Thanks to UmiNight Angel Neko and Guest for your reviews! Don't you guys worry, there's plenty more angst coming.

Chapter 10

April 16, 2004

Light isn't Kira.

"Are you going to say anything?" Light asked timidly, trying to lower his head and meet Eva's gaze. She kept her sullen eyes on the coffee cup in front of her. Her thumbs traced the edges of the cardboard sleeve and she sighed. A small frown appeared on her pink lips.

"I don't know what to say. He really thinks you're Kira?" She glanced up at Light. He nodded. "I thought he was smarter than that." she grumbled.

"Yea, me too." Light admitted. "I guess the real L doesn't meet the hype."

"I don't understand why he would think that…." Light wasn't sure if Eva was talking to him or just thinking out loud, but he let her continue. "I mean…it doesn't make any sense. You wouldn't hurt a fly. Not to mention he said you were a great guy."

"He said that?" Light asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yea, when we were talking the day before your dad was admitted into the hospital. I told him how much you help me, and he said you sounded like a great guy. I just don't get it."

"Well, try not to worry about it." Light smiled and took her hand. "I'm joining L's investigation, and when I find Kira, he'll have to admit he was wrong to suspect me." Eva quickly snatched her hand away and crossed her arms childishly over her chest. She gave him an angry pout.

"And just how is that supposed to make me feel better?" Light's eyes widened in surprise.

"I thought you'd be happy that I'm investigating Kira!" he defended. Eva bit her lip nervously and blinked back tears. "Eva…what's wrong?"

"Mom's L's attorney, dad's calling contacts at the CIA for help, you're investigating with the Japanese police…and Kira's proven that he'll kill anyone investigating him or standing in his way. What if he starts targeting you guys next? What if something happens to you?" Her voice broke and she looked down, trying to hide her tears.

"Hey…don't be sad." Light left his place across the table from her and slid into her side of the booth. He wrapped her up into a tight hug and she gladly took the opportunity to rest her head on his shoulder. "I swear, nothing will happen to us, so there's no need for you to worry, okay?" Eva nodded, letting out a small unconvinced laugh.

"You could only promise me that if you were Kira." It was a joke when she said it, but when Light failed to respond, she pulled away from the hug and looked up at him. He kept eye contact with her, opening his mouth a bit to say something but falling short. They stared at each other for a moment. "Light?"

"Would you hate me if I was?" he suddenly asked. She tried to read the look on his face. Was he joking? It was a strange expression, one that she hadn't seen before. Eva tilted her head and squinted her green eyes at him. It was like his confidence was wavering. She had never known him to be unsure of himself before.

"Why would you ask me that?" she replied. It came out as a meek whisper. Light smiled, exhaling through his nose in a small huff.

"It's just a hypothetical." Light assured. He stood and offered her his hand. "C'mon, we should get home before it gets too dark." Eva nodded and let him help her stand. They left the coffee shop in silence. As they walked home, she found herself clinging tighter and tighter to Light's arm. Would she hate him if he were Kira? It was a difficult question to answer, and she was beginning to dislike him for even making her think about it. "Good night." She snapped back to reality, suddenly realizing that they were already standing in front of her house. Light gently pulled his arm away and began to head home. Eva watched him walk with slouched shoulders. He never slouched. She watched his feet drag a bit and his head lazily tilt to one side. The only thing Eva hated was seeing him like this. She mustered up her strength and ran toward him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his back.

"I would never hate you…no matter what." Her voice was muffled by his jacket, but Light understood her. He turned around to embrace her properly and she smiled up at him with nothing but admiration in her eyes. "But it doesn't matter because you're not Kira. I know you, Light. You could never hurt someone." She watched him closely for a response.

"Yea." he stated simply with a feeble smile. It wasn't very convincing. It made her uneasy. Even when she was back in the safety of her room, the chill that initially crept down her spine when Light asked that horrid, dreadful question still remained. She picked up L's journal and frowned.

"Light's not Kira." she mumbled to the notebook. As much as she wanted to say that it was just a verbal affirmation of what she truly believed, Eva knew it was something that she needed to hear out loud. Doubt was beginning to take hold of her, and for a moment, she thought maybe L did have some insight into her best friend that she didn't.

April 18, 2004

In law class, we learned about this phenomenon called the copycat effect. When a crime is sufficiently sensationalized, there's often imitation. The easier to commit crimes are imitated at higher rates. These would be crimes like creating and distributing drugs. There's a fairly low barrier for entry, and most of the stuff you need you can buy at your local grocery store. The harder to commit crimes are imitated at lower rates. These would be crimes like killing someone in a manner not yet known to law enforcement.

This Sakura TV Kira seems…cheap. Like a bad copycat. I'm willing to bet there's some physical evidence that can be traced back to him.

Light doesn't believe me. He thinks I'm just overthinking things. He's calling it the med-school effect. You know, the one where every new disease studied sounds like a diagnosis of yourself. He thinks I'm just excited to use a new piece of information I learned. I really think I have good reasons, though….

I really don't think I'm wrong about this.

Maybe a third party consultation is in order.

Eva's eyes filled with hatred and disgust. A better world? A kinder world? Like this? Through death and fear? Her body was shaking with anger.

"Eva…you shouldn't be watching this." her mother said gently. Liliana reached for the remote and Eva quickly grabbed it.

"No! You, dad, Light, L, you're all involved in this investigation somehow. I need to know what's going on." She looked down at her hands, passing the remote from one to the other. "…I don't want to lose one of you. I don't want to lose one of you and not even know why."

"You're right." Liliana agreed, scooting closer to her daughter on the couch and wrapping an arm around her. "You deserve to know what's happening just as much as anyone else." Liliana planted a soft kiss on the top of Eva's head.

"Thanks, mom." They returned their attention to the crudely written letters that spelled out 'Kira' on the television screen. The hostage tape continued to play on Sakura TV. The scrambled voice continued to lament about what a terrible, cruel world this was and how he could make it better. Perhaps what disgusted Eva the most was the blatant plagiarism of L's style.

"I'll now need a response from the police." said the low-quality, scrambled voice. "They must decide whether or not they'll help me create a better world for all of us." Eva stuck her tongue out at the TV. Liliana took the more adult approach of holding out her middle finger to it. "Please announce your decision on the six-o-clock news in four days. I've prepared two videos: one to be aired if the answer is yes and another if the answer is no." The diatribe continued for a few more minutes before the broadcast was suddenly dead air.

"What happened?" Eva asked.

"Give me the remote." Liliana grabbed the remote from Eva's hands and began flipping through the channels until she landed on a live report. The front of Sakura TV Station was completely smashed open. Glass lay scattered on the ground and could be heard under the tires of an approaching police car.

"Wow, it looks like a bus drove through there." Eva mumbled. The camera switched to a different angle, indeed revealing a bus sitting in the lobby of the station.

"Good eye." Liliana complimented her daughter. The police officer on the screen exited his vehicle and nearly immediately dropped to the ground, clutching his heart. "What the hell?"

"Kira?" Eva whispered.

"Shit, I have to call L." Liliana replied, throwing off the blanket on her lap and heading into her office. Eva remained on the couch and watched the scene unfold. More officers began showing up in riot gear. They created a blockade around the building and Eva smiled.

"I guess that's your answer, Kira. You won't have to wait four days." she mumbled to herself. Eva stretched out on the couch, fully intending to take a nap, but something wasn't sitting right with her. Why go through the trouble? She propped herself up on her elbows and frowned. "Why risk being discovered through such a sloppy means of communication? For what?" She threw the blanket off her legs and sped up the stairs, straight into her room. She opened her window and reached across the back alley, tapping on Light's glass. Just when she was about to give up, Light opened the window and leaned out.

"I'm assuming you saw the broadcast?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yea…are you busy?"

"No, come over." He reached out his hands for her and she took them, sliding into his room.

"I think this is a copycat Kira." Eva came out strong with the accusation, causing Light to lean back and raise his eyebrows in surprise as if he had been physically impacted by the force of her words.

"Wow. What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Because none of this lines up with Kira's previous patterns of behavior. If he was so worried about the impact law enforcement could have on him, why wouldn't he have made this announcement when the FBI was in Japan investigating him? It would have been a pretty good public relations move from an objective perspective. Sure, he could've lost some support, but Kira could have shaken the public trust in the police, exposed the FBI agents, and gained some level of cooperation. Instead, Kira just silently killed the FBI agents. Why do that?" Light opened his mouth to answer, but Eva cut him off, answering her own question. "Well, it kind of seems like Kira doesn't want to shake the public's trust in the police. It seems like he's plenty capable of taking care of external threats, like law enforcement investigating him, on his own. In fact, it kind of seems like he prefers to keep that battle on the down low. After all, it wouldn't be in the best interest of Kira's public image if people knew he was slaughtering law enforcement left and right. The quieter that stays, the easier it is for people to support him. There's no moral or ethical issue. Plus, why risk involving more people? Kira would have either had to deliver or mail the tapes to Sakura TV. That street is riddled with cameras. It seems stupid to risk going there in person. Mail can be tracked through the post office. DNA can be collected from the envelopes. Even if Kira had someone else do it for him, that's still a risky involvement of another person." Light placed his hand over Eva's mouth to keep her from rambling on any longer.

"That's a lot of speculation." he corrected her. Eva nodded and pulled his hand down off her mouth.

"I know! But don't you think there's a chance?"

"A copycat crime of a regular murder is one thing, but a copycat crime of a Kira murder is an entirely different thing. How many people do you think have that ability?"

"Two or more." Eva stated plainly. Light shook his head at her.

"This is a zebra." he chastised.

"It is not!" Eva defended.

"Yes, it is, Eva. You heard hoof beats and you thought zebra when you should have thought horse. It's probably more likely that the stress is getting to Kira." Light sat down in his chair and crossed his arms. "You're like those med students who diagnose themselves with every disease they read about." Eva frowned at his dismissive attitude. Why wasn't he taking her seriously?

"Yea…maybe." She had given up for the time being. "I have some homework to do." She opened the window and Light grabbed her arm.

"Hey, don't be upset."

"I'm not upset." she lied, hoisting herself through the opening without any help. The thought ate away at her for a while. Even after she had tried to distract herself with a shower and dinner, it lingered in the back of her mind. Eva huffed and picked up her phone, scrolling through her contacts. She landed on Hideki Ryuga and began to compose a text. "Hey, do you have a couple minutes to talk?" she read out loud, wondering if the tone sounded too desperate. Light's laugh echoed in her mind and she suddenly lost the confidence to send the text. She saved it in her drafts and flipped the phone closed. Maybe this was a zebra.

April 22, 2004

I'm really scared for L. What if something happens to him? I don't know what I would do. I think I'd lose hope in bringing Kira to justice.

"The director general or L? Who will pay the price for your refusal to cooperate in the creation of a peaceful world? You have four days to decide." Static replaced the crudely drawn name on the screen and Eva threw a pillow at the TV. Ben turned it off and watched his daughter retreat into the shell of her arms, hugging her knees close to her chest. Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes.

"Why would the police let Sakura TV broadcast this? Don't they realize what a dangerous position they're putting L in?" Her voice was shaking and Ben wished he could do something to comfort her.

"You know your mom wouldn't let that happen. She's probably in that meeting right now raising hell about this." he assured her. Eva nodded meekly. "Hey, did she ever tell you about massive child trafficking case she prosecuted?" Ben smiled when Eva turned to him in interest, if only slightly. "Witnesses were dropping dead left and right, and the district attorney's office thought this previously open and shut case was about to have zero evidence. Your mom grabbed the remaining two witnesses, drove them to some military base, four hours from LA, that had a bunker from World War II. She was on the phone that whole drive coordinating agreements between federal and state agencies, getting warrants signed, and she even organized a few swat raids that captured the two guys who had been assassinating her witnesses."

"Wow…mom did all that?" Eva's eyes were wide with intrigue.

"She sure did. She shouldn't have because she's a terrible driver and I think that was the greatest threat to those witnesses' lives, but she did it." Eva laughed at her father's joke and gave him a hug. "She'll do the same thing for L."

"Drive dangerously with him?" Eva clarified with a smile.

"No, hopefully not that. All the other stuff." Ben replied, giving her a quick pat on the head. "Now go get some sleep." Eva nodded and headed up to her room. As she brushed her hair before bed, she caught a glimpse of her cellphone sitting on her pillow. She stared at it for a moment before scooping it up and opening up her draft text messages. She ran her eyes over the text again and hit send. Five minutes passed. Then ten, then twenty, and after thirty minutes with no response, she closed the phone and set it on her nightstand. A frustrated sigh left her.

"They're probably still in that meeting." she said, trying to comfort herself as she pulled the blankets up over her head. When her phone began to buzz, it was two in the morning. Eva groggily groped the darkness, trying to remember where she had put it. The text reminder went off, vibrating again, and she followed the noise. The light from the screen blinded her when she opened her phone, and the adjustment process was slow to say the least. Her annoyance quickly dissipated when she saw his name and his request for a phone call. She hit the dial button immediately and sat up in bed.

"I expected you to be asleep by now." It was a strange, nontraditional greeting, but Eva didn't mind. She could hardly contain her excitement, and she was sure that he would hear her smiling ear to ear in her responses.

"No, no, I was wide awake." she lied. "I just…I was worried about you." The confession filled her stomach with butterflies. She was being awfully straightforward with him. What was overcoming her?

"Worried?"

"Yea, I saw the Kira broadcast."

"I see."

"Did it seem odd to you?"

"What?" Eva frowned at his straightforwardness.

"The broadcasts."

"In what way?" She paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase her concerns.

"In the way that maybe this isn't the Kira…but a copycat?"

"A copycat? No." Eva felt her heart break at the sudden dismissal of her idea. Light didn't take it seriously, why should L? She was just chasing zebras. "I speculate this is someone who is ideologically aligned with Kira and supporting him." A few seconds passed before Eva fully processed the sentence.

"Wait, so you think this is different from the Kira, too?"

"Yes."

"Did you guess that from the pattern of behavior and the seemingly nonexistent motivations?" Eva leaned forward. She could feel her heart racing with excitement. She and L had independently come to the same conclusion. If the cancer took her right then and there, she would have been fine with it. Her life was very complete in that moment.

"Among other things." Secretive as ever, L. "Regardless, it's an angle that I plan on exploring further. It does give me a bit more confidence, though."

"What do you mean?"

"To have my opinion validated." he clarified.

"I should be saying that to you." She was amused by the idea that the greatest detective in the world would gain confidence in an idea from the musings of a pre-law student.

"Thank you for your concern, Eva. You should get some sleep. I apologize for the late call."

"No, it's no trouble." Eva replied. She expected the call to cut off there, without another word of acknowledgement, and she had planned to not take it personally.

"Let's talk again soon." She heard the click of the phone and her screen flashed, signaling the end of the call. She squealed with excitement. He wants to talk to me again! Soon!