Misora Naomi was sure of two things-one that her Fiance had met Kira and that Kira could kill with more than just a heart attack. With these two things in mind she set about trying to confirm her suspicions and find some way to contact L. Ever since Raye's death Naomi had been ignoring calls from close friends and family but she kept the device on at all times under the hope that L would contact her again.

She'd noticed that she had a missed call from a fellow FBI agent but she didn't bother to do anything with it as she assumed it was more sympathy calls. She didn't know if she could stand another sympathy call. She got up early on New Years Eve and was in the middle of getting dressed after having taken a morning shower when there was a very insistent knock on her door. She thought very strongly about ignoring it but the person on the other end was so determined to get her attention that she finally gave in and pulled the door open.

At first, it seemed as though no one was there but a quick look down and she met eyes with a small child with dark hair and over-sized glasses. He was wearing a miniature letterman's jacket with a 'K' on the side. Was he lost? He didn't look lost.

"Hello!" He smiled brightly at her. Naomi glanced right and left in search of the child's parents. She didn't see them.

"Hello." She finally responded, watching him closely. "Can I help you?"

"Misora Naomi-san, right?" He asked. Naomi raised an eyebrow. How did this kid have her name and how did he find her? "I'm Edogawa Conan."

"Yes." She answered curtly, not sure she was in the mood to deal with this kid. She had things to do that didn't involve lost six year olds. Although now that she knew he'd been looking for her specifically she couldn't help but wonder: Would L send a child to establish contact? "If you don't mind my asking, who sent you here?"

"Agent Starling." She hadn't expected that answer. That missed call from Jodie must have been to warn her that she'd be receiving a small visitor. Why would she send a child though?. Was it to keep her from going after Kira herself? "She said that you were engaged to one of the agents that Kira killed."

"That's correct." This child had no tact and Jodie needed to avoid telling a six year old that kind of information. "Did Jodie-san send you here to deter me?" She asked. To her surprise, the boy-Conan-shook his head.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Mr. Penbar." He said nonchalantly. "I wanted to know if he'd done anything unusual right before his death." Naomi considered turning the child away but ultimately let out a sigh and grabbed her purse, stepping out of the room and letting the auto-lock click behind her.

"Since it's a hotel, there's nothing to eat so why don't we go to a diner?" She offered. He gave her an enthusiastic nod and once again she had to wonder what Jodie had been thinking to send a child to her. She started down the outside hallway and Conan followed after her.

They walked in silence to a little café not far from the hotel Naomi had been staying at. Conan order an orange juice and Naomi ordered a single cup of coffee. Conan fidgeted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the silence where there were things to discuss. Where exactly did Jodie find this kid?

"The truth is that I was on the bus that day." Conan confessed. He was? Naomi had asked the bus driver about the incident but the only thing he'd been able to confirm was that Raye was on the bus. "I was a little distracted by what was happening at the time but I thought it was an odd coincidence since most of Osoreda-san's actions that day don't make any sense."

Osoreda was the name of the bus hijacker that died in the incident and a possible Kira victim if her theories were correct. Was this child about to confirm that theory? She waited on him to clarify but he seemed to be thinking everything over in his head again.

"...He wanted the financial report of Tropical Land's profits the day previous, Osoreda did. That's not something you would think an amateur would ask for. He couldn't get money from the report alone right? And asking for the report in exchange for hostages is drawing attention to the fact he might try to rob Tropical Land later." Conan explained, poking at the ice in his glass of juice. "So his demands seemed kind of odd."

"That's why I think it must be that Kira can kill with more ways than just heart failure." Naomi admitted. "My Fiance told me that he'd had to show someone his badge that day and if that person were Kira-!"

"Maybe…" Conan seemed to be rolling the thought around in his head. "But that suggests that Kira can control a person up to the time of their death and that's the kind of deduction I have difficulty making." Well, at least he bothered to listen to her theory. "Although, to be honest I was thinking the only way Kira would know the FBI was in Japan is if he'd seen a badge. If Mr. Penbar unwittingly showed his badge to Kira then it fits-but then how did Kira get the names and faces of the other FBI agents? Despite what movies and television want you to think it's not that easy to hack into the FBI database undetected."

"That's why I think it might be possible that Kira can control people before their time of death-Raye would have been able to request the file that was sent to all the FBI agents." Naomi stated. Again, Conan frowned in consideration.

"It still feels like quite a jump in terms of logic."

"Not at all." Naomi assured him. "The station where-Where my fiance died there were four other cases of heart failure on that same day. It can't be a coincidence." Again, Conan seemed to be thinking about it. He seemed more and more convinced but the more convinced he seemed the more it seemed he wanted to deny it.

"In any case, I'm going to find L and let him know my suspicions. It's the least I can do for Raye and help stop Kira." She decided. Conan sipped at his juice and didn't bother to tell her not to. She could tell by the look on his face that he didn't think it was quite time to seek out L with that theory but he didn't know how L worked and she did.

An insistent ringing erupted from the small child's pocket and at least he apologised before answering it. Naomi could hear the stern voice from across the table and deduced that Conan was in trouble. He apologised to his 'Ran-neechan' and hung up before looking up apologetically.

"Unfortunately, I have to head back home. I forgot to leave a note at the agency so Ran-neechan's pretty mad. Thank you for talking with me though!" He chirped, taking a few final sips of his orange juice before sliding out of the booth.

"Thank you." Naomi smiled at the child. He had just helped her investigation a lot.

"Mm! Oh um-it probably goes without saying but you shouldn't give anyone your real name, okay? And don't tell anyone we had this conversation!" He offered a cheerful wave and he was out the door. Of course that went without saying-she already had a fake name ready to use.

oooOOOooo

Yagami Light was sure of two things; one that if there was a God they were clearly on Kira's side, and Two, women were very easily seduced (most of them, anyway). He found his missing loose end practically waiting for him at the police station when it had only been by chance that he offered to take his father a change of clothes in Sayu's place. The 'her' that Penbar had been worried about. If this woman hadn't gotten nosy then he would have left her alone.

It was easy to get her to talk. She'd been so desperate to discuss her theories on the case that just tiny nudge in the right direction was all he needed to get her to spill everything she knew and label herself a high-level risk that needed to be dealt with immediately. The only problem was that now that he was done with her and ready to send her on her way to her death it became apparent that Shouko Maki was not the woman's real name at all.

Ryuk had offered more than once to trade eyes with him and for a moment Light considered it but he refused to give up half his life to kill this one woman. She wasn't worth that. What kind of woman was she? She was small built so it seemed like he could probably take her purse by force if he had to but that kind of desperate thinking was dangerous and could very easily get him trouble. No, he had to take his time and get her to show him her ID on her own. He'd already shut off his phone but that still only left him five minutes before they reached the station. Five minutes to get the woman's real name. He was smart. He'd think of something.

He continued to walk behind her in silence, hands in his pockets and contemplating some way he could convince her to trust him with her name. If this kept up-if she was able to reach the station and contact the investigators it was over. He couldn't kill her without her real name and already it was only about three minutes to the station. He needed to stall her somehow.

"Um-!" He felt his mouth moving.

"Yes?" She stopped to look at him.

"The truth is, it's impossible to contact the investigators." He lied smoothly.

"Oh?" He couldn't act unnatural now, he'd just have to keep her there somehow-nail her down and never let her go. He could do it. It wouldn't be hard.

"Do you think it's weird that there is nobody at the headquarters?" Light asked. The woman paused to think about it.

"Well, it is a bit strange." She stated.

"This is because the Kira Task Force is using the 'empty fort' strategy." The look on her face told him she believed him so he went on. "If we don't use this kind of concealment method there might be more victims like your husband."

"I understand." She responded sullenly.

"That's why they said there's nobody at headquarters. You'll never be able to contact them." He watched the look on her face fall.

"Hehe, Light. You're such a smooth talker." He heard Ryuk chuckling in his ear. The stupid shinigami needed to keep his mouth shut. This was a crucial moment for him.

"How do you know this?" She asked, eying him suspiciously. Light had to think fast.

"That is because… I guess I'll have to tell you… it's because I am a member of that investigation team."

"You're a member?"

"Yes." Light confirmed. "L is in charge now."

"Yes, there's surprise there." The woman stated. He needed to keep talking, to make it seem as though he really was part of the investigation.

"L has been troubled by the lack of progress lately. Mostly because many investigators quit out of fear of Kira." Information he'd only recently gotten from his father. It was good to be able to put it to use. "Even though I'm still in high school, I've solved many difficult cases before. I just haven't been public about it like some of the other detectives. That's why I can casually walk in and out of the head quarters as a person recognised as part of the team."

"So, talking to you is like talking to the investogatio-no, L." She asked, watching him carefully. If that's what she wanted to hear. "That's enough then, I've told L everything." He couldn't let her leave yet. He still didn't have her name!

"I worked under L to solve a case two years ago in the states. Even though we only communicated through the computer I believe there's no case L cannot solve." She stated. She'd worked under L directly? That was even more reason to get rid of her.

"Working under L?"

"That's because I used to be an FBI agent until three months ago." She revealed. Good. Finally something he could use.

"No wonder. The way you handle Kira's case is very professional. I can learn a lot from you." Light encouraged.

"I've begun to suspect people from within the Japanese police but I believe L will solve this case. That's why I've come here to contact the team." Now that he knew what to say this would be almost too easy.

"I see…" He stated, feigning concern. "But why would you tell me all the things that you're going to tell L?" She was silent a moment, maybe wonder that herself.

"I couldn't see the list of names of the people on the team. You told me you were the chief's son and gave me your name. And…" She paused, considering what she wanted to say. "You give me the same feeling as L." She finally confessed. It wasn't anything Light expected but he could certainly use that to his advantage.

"Let's work on this case together." He offered.

"What?"

"Become a member of our team, this way you can speak directly with L. No, you can catch Kira yourself." He held his hand out to her with a an encouraging smile. She was sure to jump on that offer. "My dad recommended me to the team because I wanted to help with the investigation since the team needed more people and I happened to be qualified.

"We need someone like you. You're not just any investigator you worked with the FBI-you're more than qualified for this team. The conditions to join are a valid and secure identification, a recommendation from a member already on the team and L's approval. Fate must want you to be on the team!" He had her, right where he wanted her. There was no escape now.

oooOOOooo

Kudou Shinichi was sure of just one thing; he officially hated the Kira case. His chat with Naomi had been enlightening but had mainly reminded him just how far out of his depth this case really was. According to her, Kira could control a victim up to the time of their death. He didn't know if he was ready accept that as true or not but he did know that he needed a little more research. If that were truly what was happening here then there should be evidence to support it, right?

Nothing about the case even started to sound logical. It sounded crazy. He was now considering the idea that someone could completely control the actions of another before death. In his experience as a detective he'd come across several cases in which the deceased's actions were predicted but never outright controlled. He took a deep breath to calm himself and looked around the subway station that Raye Penbar had died in. He was supposed to have gone home to the agency but instead he took this detour. He'd apologise later.

He'd asked around already and found that there had been a storekeeper in the area that died of a heart attack. Incidentally one with a criminal record. Misora's theory was starting to hold water. Shinichi wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Assuming that Raye Penbar was the FBI agent that had shown Kira their badge then it left a rather small suspect list as there weren't that many people on the bus that day and even fewer that could be Kira. There was an elderly couple at the front that were exempt simply because Penbar never ventured that far. The only two that could have seen the FBI badge were Yagami Light and his girlfriend, Nakamori Aoko. Could one of them be Kira? The file that the FBI had loaned him had listed the Yagami household as one under surveillance most likely because Kira had to have access to the police database. Following what he had so far it seemed the most likely that Yagami was Kira.

However, it still felt like jumping to a conclusion-and not just jumping this was a running start, giant leap to a conclusion that Shinichi just wasn't comfortable with. Regardless, he'd have to keep some kind of eye on Yagami without anyone noticing. As irritating as the idea of someone with power to control someone before their death was, the idea of the black organisation with that power was terrifying.

A chill shot down his spine and he glanced around as though someone had been watching him. He didn't see anyone and continued down to the very spot that Raye Penbar died right outside the subway. There had to be cameras in the area, didn't there? After all, it was a subway. His gaze looked upwards towards an ideal spot to have a camera and he frowned. How could he get ahold of that security footage? Tell the security guard that Kogoro had asked or possibly call the police as himself and request a favor? Considering the risks, he should probably avoid calling as Kudou. Chiba had already told him that things were a mess and he didn't want to accidentally talk to an organisation member. He could always ask Jodie. The FBI might have even already confiscated the tapes in question.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts he failed to notice the shadow creeping closer until it was hovering right over him. He spun around in alarm but was only met with a blinding pain to the side of his head. He felt his chin connect with the ground and tried to get a glimpse of who had just attacked him but his vision was far too out of focus and quickly darkening.