Ah... Monday. My last Monday of school - yes!
...Anyway, time for my beloved anonymous reviewers~
Justmeagain123: Well, I'm glad you like it! And the sad thing is, I actually do act like that with caffeine... xD Yeah, Sam is awesome, too, and it's cool that you can connect to her character. She's very... likeable. :D And she's actually the next one to get a big part in this story~
...Yeah. And also, people noticed that I have a lot of canon scenes, and I'm afraid that may get a bit dull. I'd just like to say here that I can assure you that, right after the whole 'Save L' plan goes down, a lot more original scenes will come in for sure.
Also, in this chapter, I'm just kinda worried that the flow is off... Oh well, hope you don't notice it. Enjoy the long chapter~
Ah, I thought, it's back to the action. And soon, my plan will take place, and this world will be rid of Kira. We had just discussed with Aizawa the theory I had brought up, and people were beginning to do their own thing while we waited for Soichiro to arrive. Aizawa went to research the organizational background of the Yotsuba Company, Light went to try and hack into Yotsuba's computer network, and Matsuda and I… were unsure of what to do next.
Well, while the task force puttered around, finally back to work (Yes, finally! A lead!), Anna, Sierra, and Sam were still left in the room somewhere above us with nothing to do. "When are we getting involved again?" Anna asked dully, idly playing with a pen, taking it apart and putting it back together. "I'm bored. Really bored."
"Eh… I know…," Sierra responded with a little whine.
"D'ya think they're making any progress yet?" Sam mused aloud, brushing off the eraser shavings from her drawing of L. "I hope so."
"I wonder if we'll have another conversation with L before this whole plan goes down," Sierra remarked.
"We'd better," Anna huffed. "We only saw L that one time, and it wasn't exactly a conversation. It's stupid."
"What do you say we go down there, right now, and yell at all of them that Higuchi's Kira?" suggested Sam. "Can we do that?"
"Um… no… I don't think so…," Sierra responded, scratching the back of her head.
"Why not?" Anna protested, crossing her arms. "I want to do something. Can I go down and hug Matsuda, at least? Or Light?"
Sam cocked an eyebrow at the mention of hugging Light, as if to ask why the hell she would want to in the first place.
Sierra hesitated. "…No… I don't think we should go down there at all…."
"Can we find Misa?" Anna asked, perking up at the thought.
Sam grimaced. "Why?"
"Because… Misa's nice…. And she's funner than just sitting here all day!" Anna answered indignantly.
"I guess…," Sam mumbled, then sighed, laying back on the bed and setting her sketch pad beside her. "You know, I keep getting this horrible feeling that this plan isn't going to work."
"Of course it'll work!" Anna snapped.
"I know," Sam said, looking at the seven-year-old, "but it's just a feeling." A pause. "…I really want to go down there."
"I think we all do," Sierra muttered, running her hand through her hair.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Sam called, not shifting position, and Watari opened the door and pushed in a cart of food, namely sweets.
"Hi, Watari," Anna grinned, jumping up to snatch a donut from the cart.
Watari looked down at her as Sierra and Sam stirred, getting to their feet to get the sweets while they could. "Watari?" Watari repeated. "Who ever told you I was Watari?"
Watari had come in every so often the past months that they had lived there, and Sierra had told them not to call him Watari, because they weren't supposed to know that was who he was. So he'd come in, and they'd take some sweets, being polite and all that. In their boredom, they'd actually convinced him more than once to stay awhile, and because of that, they were rather well acquainted. Despite this, though, he had told them that he was only an old man that served the food and occasionally helped with the case, nothing more. They supposedly didn't know he was Watari. But Anna had forgotten about this, unfortunately.
"Oh," said Anna nervously. "I didn't mean—I mean, you—remind me of him…?"
"Who else would be serving food in L's headquarters?" Sam asked, covering for her. "I mean, they always say it's never right to assume, but whatever."
"Are you Watari, then?" Sierra squeaked.
"No," Watari smiled.
"Aw…," Sierra sighed. Too bad he won't tell us who he is…, she thought.
"Mr. sweets-man," Anna implored, "could you please stay?"
"We're bored," Sam told him dully.
Sierra gasped. "Yeah! Stay here for a while!"
"I don't think I can," Watari told the three regretfully. "The Kira task force has hit upon a lead, and I can't be off somewhere else when they need me."
"They did?" Sierra asked excitedly.
"Yes. Things may actually progress now," Watari informed her.
"Still!" Anna insisted.
"Come on!" Sam cried.
"No, no… I don't think so," he refused apologetically. "Not this time."
"Please?" Anna pleaded, giving him her puppy dog eyes.
He chuckled and said, "I do love children, but I'm afraid that I've become impervious to that look."
"Psh, children?" scoffed Sam. "I'm fourteen!"
"Of course," Watari smiled. There was a pause. "I suppose I could stay for a little while…."
"Yay!" Sierra squeaked, glomping him.
And when I came back to the room to turn in for the night, I found the four of them still there, all playing a game of cards together. "You know," said Sam, throwing down a card, "I respect you. Just so you know. You're awesome."
"Yeah," Anna beamed, and Sierra squeaked in agreement. Sierra squeaks a lot….
"Awesome, am I?" asked Watari, then looked up to see me standing at the door. He stood. "Ah, Miss Matsuo." He bowed slightly. "I apologize for intruding, but I happened to be invited in. I couldn't refuse."
Anna giggled, and I grinned. "No," I responded. "I'm sure they need more fun in this private room they can't leave. I bet they're bored as heck, just sitting around all day."
He smiled politely. "I'm sure that's so. I should be leaving now." And Watari left, taking his cart along with him. I gazed after him, all the while thinking about how happy I was that I could save him….
Once Soichiro and Mogi got back to the building the next day, it was discovered the police had yielded to Kira, and those who continued the investigation would lose their jobs, and then there was that whole scene where Watari told everyone they had a life benefit but L was testing them and Aizawa got mad and left the force. So… it was just the five of us after that: me, Light, L, Matsuda, Soichiro, and Mogi. Then there were six if you counted Watari. There were only four computers, though, which was pretty unfortunate, but luckily L was able to have a laptop with most of the same functions handy. Matsuda ended up with this laptop, much to his disappointment. Two days passed, and more deaths were discovered, and Soichiro found that most of the deaths had happened on weekends, particularly Fridays. Watari, meanwhile, would visit my three lonely friends once a day, but by this time he could never stay very long, what with the case actually moving forward.
Three more days, and Weddy the burglar and Aiber the con artist were introduced to the investigation. Before I knew it, we were planning a plan involving secrecy and stuff that I really did not remember from the manga or anime. Did I figure it out too early? I thought worriedly. Has everything from here on been slightly altered? I really hope it wasn't….
"We must investigate carefully so as not to be found out," L explained. "Moreover, we must catch that person in such a way that we have concrete proof of the person having the power and proof of them killing people. And from now, don't move on your own or deviate from the plan. In order to escape notice, Aiber and Weddy—"
"…Ryuuzaki," Watari interrupted.
"What is it, Watari?"
"Matsuda has sent out the distress signal from his belt."
I caught myself from sighing in relief. For a second there I thought I was in trouble. Just think about it… a whole new plan would mean a whole new way of catching Higuchi… and if that were to happen, then I'd have to improvise if I wanted to keep Light away from the notebook. No, I didn't trust that plan….
"…From where?" asked L with a tone and expression that made me amused. He seemed a little bit annoyed.
"Well, it appears to be from inside the Yotsuba Tokyo Main Office…."
"Wh-what is he doing?" asked Soichiro. "…What if he got caught…?"
"Then he'd be caught," I shrugged. "And then they'd be out to kill him, and we'd have to save him."
"No… the distress signal probably means he already got caught," said Light.
"If that's true," sighed Aiber, "then he will probably be killed."
"You're so positive," I remarked. I was starting to talk more, regardless of the fact no one paid any mind to what I said unless it actually held worth. I blame my age. …And my tendency to not listen, which probably didn't help with the way people like Aizawa and L and Mogi thought of me.
"Please forget everything I said up to now…," said L, sounding (and looking) very irritated. "We need to rethink our strategy…. ...Matsuda, you idiot…."
I sighed. "Something tells me this new plan will involve extreme things like falling off of buildings."
Everyone glanced at me, then continued with their conversation. "Matsuda is supposed to be keeping an eye on Amane," said Soichiro. "Does that mean she's with him in the Yotsuba building?"
"I don't think the film director would let her leave, so I doubt it," I replied.
"Well, we can't tell for sure when it comes to Matsuda…," said Light.
"The only items Matsuda is supposed to have on him when he goes out are the identifications of Taro Matsui as the manager of Misa Amane, am I correct?' asked L.
"Mm-hm," I responded with a nod.
"Yes," said Soichiro. "I told him to stick to it strictly."
"Yagami, please make a call to the mobile of manager Matsui."
"…Okay."
"Ryuuzaki," said Light, "isn't that a bit risky?"
"Sure," I answered, "but I'm sure L knows what he's doing."
"Yes," agreed L, "I'll play my cards right." There was a pause as we waited for Matsuda to answer. "Yo, Matsui, it's me, Asahi," said L.
My hands flew to my mouth to stop from laughing. He sounds… hilarious...
"How ya doin' my man? …Er, are you indoors? You at home? …You alone, man?" L covered the speaker. "Matsuda is not with Amane, he is at Yotsuba on his own," he told us. "Hey," he said into the phone, "wanna hit the bars tonight? …Why not? Financial situation in a tight spot again?" There was a pause, and he covered the speaker again. "Matsuda is in a tight spot," he told us, then returned to the phone. "Oh well, maybe some other time then. See ya 'round." He closed the phone and gave it back to Soichiro.
"For the record, Ryuuzaki," I said, "you're awesome at acting. Or at least speaking."
"Thank you. Light, could you make a call to Misa's private mobile?"
"Alright." Light called her, then said, "No good, it's on the answering service. She must still be in the middle of shooting. …Misa, it's me. Please call me back as soon as you can. I'll have my cell switched on for you." He closed his phone.
"What should we do, Ryuuzaki?" asked Soichiro. "Matsuda is on his own at Yotsuba and the way he sounded on the phone, someone must have been with him, listening to the conversation. The situation he's in isn't good."
"Look on the bright side!" I cried. "If Matsuda dies, then our suspicions on Yotsuba are confirmed. If not, then we just saved a life!"
There was a pause, where everyone just sorta looked at me oddly.
"…That is true...," L conceded, breaking the silence. "If we try to make our move, they might be alerted. For the time being we'll stand by and see what happens."
"…Y…yes, that seems to be our only choice…," agreed Soichiro.
Well, Matsuda did the whole 'fall off the building and pretend to die' thing, and we were able to watch the group's secret meetings. The gist of what was happening in my head was simple: one, I was excited to know the Higuchi chase was coming up. Two, I was bored because I'd never liked the Yotsuba group. Three, I noted that everything seemed to go very fast after a few months of nothing.
The poor three forgotten ones were still living in a time of great slowness. Although, Sam did finally convince the others to get out of that stupid room to explore. "I wanna find Misa," said Anna, pulling on Sam's sleeve. "Do you think we'll find Misa?"
"Uh… I hope not…," Sam replied.
"Considering they're private rooms, and we shouldn't technically leave them… we probably won't be seeing Misa," said Sierra.
Sam sighed. "Well, that sounds good."
"Race you to the end of the hallway!" Anna yelped, then took off.
"Hey!" Sierra cried, then ran after her. Sam laughed.
Thank God no one caught them running around the headquarters. I wouldn't want to be kicked out, honestly…. Looking back, though, I feel kinda bad for these three, living through months of boredom before their part in this finally came into play, one by one….
But we're not there yet, so let us carry on.
"Actually," said L, plopping a cube of sugar into his tea. "I'm going to pursue Kira on my own."
Damn it, I thought, I zoned out again. We're finally back in action, and all I can do is zone out again! What good it that? If I zone out at a vital moment… that'd be disastrous! I have to exercise my attention span…. I need to learn to concentrate. I've always been that sort of person, detached from reality, but now I have to be as connected to it as possible! If not, the results would be horrible. Just think, if I, say, zoned out during gunfire, I could very well get shot, or worse – someone would protect me and they would lose their life! That'd be horrible….
"However," said Soichiro, "if there is a possibility of being able to stop it, we should do what we can to prevent the murders before they happen."
…I just zoned out, I thought to myself. Fail, Natalie.
"Yes, I believe Mr. Yagami's way of thinking is the most correct," L agreed.
You know, I thought, maybe it wouldn't be all that bad to zone out right now. I don't really need to be involved, so…. But then again, it's good to practice, 'cause then if I'm not paying attention at the wrong time, well, that'd be very bad in a bad way.
…So shut the hell up and listen, Natalie!
"…Then what I think is that we should conclude this with those seven," said L, and got to his feet. "I am against the arrest of those seven, so, if you are to do it, then it is Mr. Yagami's responsibility." He began walking away towards the elevator, pulling Light along with him. "I will pursue Kira on my own. The time limit is one month…. It all depends on whichever side is faster."
Oh, shoot. I don't want to be stuck here.
"R…Ryuuzaki," said Light, who was currently being pulled along.
"Um, Ryuuzaki?" I asked hesitantly. Matsuda and Soichiro looked at me. At least, I was pretty sure this was the right time to talk. Right? I'd zoned out, I wasn't so sure….
"Yes, Natsumi?" he asked, stopping abruptly and turning to look at me. Light also looked back.
"Would… would you mind some help? I mean, I know you probably want to work alone, but… I take your side, and want to help."
He looked up the ceiling, as if to think. "…No thank you, Natsumi," he said eventually. "You stay here." And then he continued walking.
I heaved a sigh. Well, that was great. So much for staying where the action was, where I knew what was going on. I looked around, feeling a little awkward. "So, guys…."
"It's okay, Natsumi," said Matsuda. "I was on L's side too." He paused. "Oh, um, no offense, Chief…."
Soichiro grunted, and we got to work. And I had to actually pay attention. Yay…. Hey, that didn't matter, really, though, right? After all, soon we'd be chasing Higuchi, and the moment that came, I would save L. I looked forward to that moment very much.
And so, L's plan was… well, planned, and soon was put to action since Soichiro's plan didn't work out as well as he'd hoped. "Matsuda," I said flatly to the pacing man, "calm down. Misa's fine." I took a sip of tea. Normally, I didn't like tea, but apparently some things are much more edible with sugar added. I learned this from L, obviously….
"But she's late!" Matsuda cried.
Soichiro and L were arguing again, meanwhile.
"Late, sure. I've been late for a lot of things," I said. "But Matsuda, you should be looking on the bright side. It's most likely, as Ryuuzaki said, that the group is asking a lot of questions. Or perhaps one of the group was late, therefore causing her to be late. Or maybe she and Mogi have come across traffic."
"But…."
"Matsuda, go to your computer and work, please…."
"I wonder, though, how things are going…. Natsumi, she's in a room that might have Kira in it; she really is in danger, here…. The Chief and Light had a point—"
"Misa's back," I commented. Then my expressionless demeanor was broken when I choked on my tea.
"Phew…," Misa sighed, stretching, as she walked in with Mogi. "So tired!"
"H—hey—Misa," I coughed.
"Jeez, Natsumi, are you alright?"
"Just fine…."
"Ryuuzaki," said Mogi, "Yotsuba agreed to take Misa on board for their adverts and promotions."
"How did it go, MisaMisa?" asked Matsuda.
Let's see here… she acted awesomely, she re-met Rem, and she figured out who Kira was. I'd say it went pretty well. I consoled myself that it was alright if I thought like this because it was like replying to them instead of just plain out zoning.
"What do you mean, 'how?'" Misa replied.
"I mean, what did they ask you? Did any of them act suspiciously?"
"I only report that kind of information to my teammates, Light and Ryuuzaki."
"Well, we all agreed to investigate under Ryuuzaki as one team a few minutes ago," Matsuda told her.
Yes, I thought, and thank goodness for that. I'm back in the realm of knowing what the hell is going on.
"Oh," said Misa, "well then, I let them have my mobile number and e-mail address, and three out of the seven have already contacted me privately, asking me out."
"What?" Matsuda yelped.
"Now I'll reply to those three and investigate them closely. Just as we planned, huh?"
"Looks like that plan has been cancelled, by the way," L came in.
Misa responded by angrily pulling at L's hair. "What?" she cried. "Why the hell not? You better be kidding!"
"It… it was not my idea…."
Light grabbed her hand to stop her. "This plan might put you in danger, Misa."
I sighed. Just let the plan happen so she can get Higuchi to confess and we can do the whole chase scene, mmkay? Yes, I was beginning to get impatient. Even I was getting impatient with all this waiting, especially since I already knew what would happen….
"I'm not telling you to turn down the TV-ad job, but from now on you will deny the story you told them, that you were the second Kira and were restrained by L. Mr. Mogi will be acting as your bodyguard, and you work just as a model."
Misa frowned, then said, "That's okay, if Light says so."
Hm, you'd think she'd argue…. Oh, right, she's planning to do something on her own. I think. Yeah.
"Well," Misa continued, turning away from us, "Misa is tired and has an early location tomorrow. I'm off to bed."
"Good night," I called.
"G'night! Light," she said sweetly from the door, "won't you sleep with me?"
…No comment.
"…Why are you saying that, Misa?" asked Light.
"I know, after we catch Kira, right? Don't be shy, Light!" she called, then left.
"Yes, please don't be shy, Light," said L, bringing a cup of tea to his mouth.
Ha.
"I'm not being shy," Light frowned.
"Don't be so serious about it, either."
I cocked an eyebrow, trying hard not to smile. It wasn't long, though, until it was time for me to turn in for the night. The moment I reached my room I checked the manga to make sure what was going on. Oh my god, in the next chapter the chase is on!
"Where are we?" asked Sam, peeking over my shoulder into the bag that held the manga. I tapped the page and flipped through a bit. "Oh, cool! We're almost to—"
"Remember," I admonished, "we're being watched, so don't make too much of a fool of yourself!" I did this as a reminder to Sam not to reveal anything, in case someone was watching.
"I wasn't doing anything!" Anna protested.
"I'm sure you weren't," I smiled. "I was just reminding you."
"One thing, though, Nata—Natsumi," said Sam. "If this plan to catch Kira doesn't work, I swear…."
I knew she was referencing to the whole 'keep Light away from the Death Note' plan, so I replied, "Sayuri, Kira will be caught. I guarantee it."
The next day, I was having a conversation with Matsuda when we found out Misa was missing. "Matsuda," I said, "I have a feeling that something will go wrong today."
"Eh?" he replied. "Wasn't it you who said to look on the bright side of things?"
"Well, yeah, but I also have a feeling that it'll all work out for the better in the end…."
"Um… alright. But what sort of thing do you think will happen?"
"Ryuuzaki," said Watari from the computer, "Mogi is on the line."
"Yes?" replied L.
"I am so sorry," said Mogi, "Amane tricked me and I lost her at To-Oh Girl's Medical University."
"That sort of bad thing," I told Matsuda, gesturing to L and the computer.
"Oh…," Matsuda replied. "What is she doing?"
"No," said Soichiro, "Mogi; what was he doing?"
"…Well," said L, "I understand that it must be frustrating for a girl of her age to be under supervision all the time."
"Or—" I said, but I was cut off by Light.
"I hope it's as simple as that, but…," said Light, flipping open his phone. "She switched off the mobile she promised to keep switched on for me to reach her all the time…."
"Well," I said, "my theory is it wasn't just pressure from being under constant supervision…. I think she's gone off to continue that plan."
"Yes, I believe so too," agreed L.
"What?" asked Soichiro.
"Misa's stubborn," I explained bluntly, before L could respond. As much as I loved L, I was beginning to grow tired of his extensively long responses. "She obeyed Light easily last night when he told her to back off. She should have fought. Therefore, this can only mean…." I trailed off, to let someone else finish it.
"…That she's gone on her own to help," finished Light.
"…Yes," L agreed, looking at me.
"But then, now what do we do?" asked Matsuda.
"Well…," I said, "…we wait."
And wait we did. It wasn't long before Misa came into the public entrance and called Mogi, asking for entry. "Light!" she cried as she ran in. "Higuchi is Kira!"
Oh boy… we're really getting down to it, aren't we?
"Listen to this; I recorded it on my mobile. Mobiles are so useful…." She held up her phone.
"Alright," said Higuchi's recorded voice. "From now on I stop punishing criminals to make Misa trust me. Once you are convinced that I am Kira then we'll get married."
I laughed, earning a few odd looks. "Sorry," I giggled. "It's just the sheer unlikelihood that Misa would ever marry him…."
"Well, yeah…," Matsuda agreed. "That'd be… weird…. But if the punishing of criminals does stop," he said excitedly, "then Higuchi is Kira…. It'll put Chief's mind at rest, too. You're amazing, MisaMisa!"
"Indeed," agreed Soichiro.
"Misa…," said Light. "Misa, how did you get Higuchi to say this?"
Aw, he's worried…. He really only cared for himself before…. It's sad, really.
"What?" replied Misa. "Well, he's got a huge crush on Misa, when I said 'I'd marry you if you're Kira,' he said that. And besides, he thinks that Misa's the second Kira."
"You idiot," Light reprimanded.
Aw, you're mean.
"I thought I told you to deny that no matter what. We had agreed on 'I was restrained because I was suspected to be the second Kira, but it was a mistake.'"
"B-but with this we know that Higuchi's Kira, so we just have to arrest him," Misa said like a child apologizing for stealing a cookie from a cookie jar.
"No," Light disagreed, "if the seven of them discuss 'stopping the execution of the criminals to pull Misa, the second Kira, to our side,' we won't know who Kira is…."
I looked at Misa. Don't worry, I thought. I know how you feel. After all, she knew for sure Higuchi was Kira because of her talk with Rem, but no one else had that evidence, so she couldn't prove it, even though she knew it was correct.
"Just ask Namikawa," I said, before complications entered. "Then we'll know."
"That's true…," said Light.
"I agree; that would work," from L.
He opened his mouth to explain, but I cut him off. "If Higuchi's Kira, there's a meeting. If not, he'll have to hold a meeting, and I doubt Kira would follow his wishes." Soichiro began to ask a question, but I continued, trying to save as much time as possible. Yeah, I had really looked over the manga a lot, and I really was tired of listening to the same thing... "And we know he'll tell the truth because we can tell him Higuchi's Kira and he'll stick to L's side because of that. See? Isn't it great without complications?"
"In any case," said L, "if the executions of the criminals stops like this, it's certain that Higuchi has Kira's powers."
"Yeah," Light agreed.
"Yay!" Misa cheered.
"High-five," I grinned, and gave Misa a high-five. You know what? I never thought I'd high-five an anime character…. But then, I never thought I'd interact with them at all.
"Mr. Matsuda, do you think something like this is called a 'feat?'" L asked.
Matsuda smiled weakly.
"We can't let go now, Ryuuzaki," said Light. "Right now we still don't know how the murders are done."
You used to know.
"That's exactly it…. I'd prefer finding out how Higuchi kills before capturing him," agreed L.
You know, it would be so much easier if they decided to just capture him and kill him. Then Light would never be near the notebook again. I sighed.
"And if the executions of the criminals stop," said Light, "we can't see how he does it, right?"
"Yes," L responded.
"What are we going to do? Misa might be killed like this."
"What?" asked Misa.
There was a pause, then, "Misa, how did you make Higuchi think that you're the second Kira?" asked L.
"Uh…," answered Misa. "Um…. I said that I can kill people, and then I said, 'If a guy proves that he's Kira, then Misa will prove it as well, and marry him,' and let my Kira worship side totally hang out…. Then things progressed and Higuchi said this," she said, pointing to her phone.
…I can't wait for the big chase, I thought absently. Once that happens, I can finally put my plan together…. And once that's over, I can relax…. But then, I guess I have to explain to L afterwards why Light can't touch the Death Note…. I guess I'll have to reveal I'm from another world and all that. But then, Light would be known to be Kira… but he'd be innocent, though, right? Considering he isn't corrupted and all…. Though, I do wonder where we'll end up once this plan is over. I mean, L would move on with life, Light would probably go to college, and we'd never meet Mello or Near…. Damn, I just zoned out.
"This won't do," said Light. "We can't be thinking about the killing method. Let's arrest Higuchi."
Ah, if only you did do that, Light. Then things would be so much easier….
"In order to protect Misa?" asked L.
"That's right."
"Light…," said Misa softly.
Okay, screw this, I'm tired of waiting. "Why don't we just put Matsuda on Sakura TV?" I asked.
There was a long pause.
"What?" Matsuda cried.
"Natsumi, why would we—?" Light began, but L cut him off.
"Wait…," he said, gazing at me contemplatively. "Why?"
I swallowed. "Well, if we just had some cameras in Higuchi's car, it would work. I mean, just put Matsuda on TV behind one of those things that only show the silhouette, saying that he knew who Kira was."
"But aren't I supposed to be dead?" Matsuda asked weakly.
"You faked your death," I shrugged. "And then we call Namikawa, and tell him to call Higuchi and tell him that something bad's going on on Sakura TV. Then while he's watching, the silhouette thing would fall, and Higuchi would glimpse his face, so he would know it was Misa's old manager. So he'd call Mogi, and then the guy at the studio or whatever, and we would lure him to Misa's company building whatever thing, and from there he'd eventually go to Sakura TV studios. But we'd replace Matsuda and the interviewer with mannequins. And then, we'd ambush him." I finished there, and nodded to myself. "Yeah."
"U-uh…," Matsuda stuttered worriedly.
"That sounds fun!" Misa beamed. "Matsu!"
"But what if Higuchi has the same power as the second Kira?" asked Light. "Then Matsuda could end up dead."
"It's a risk that would have to be taken, if he's willing," I responded. "It would have to be Matsuda, though, because it has to be someone Higuchi thinks he can kill. So… yeah."
"No, I actually see where you're coming from…," said L, deep in thought. He pressed a few keys, and after a moment a fancy lowercase 'w' appeared on the screen. "Weddy," L greeted, "how are you doing on the surveillance of the Yotsuba group?"
"Well…" she responded, "…it looks like I can use cameras to track seventy percent of the things the seven do inside the company. Outside, it's impossible with only me and Watari."
"And what if you could only concentrate on Higuchi?"
"Higuchi?" she repeated.
"Yes."
"I've only been inside five houses, but Midou, Namikawa, and Higuchi's houses have abnormal security measures, especially Higuchi. Lately he's building an underground room that is shielded from electromagnetic waves and it took even me two days to get in there."
"Yeah," I said. "A little suspicious."
"He is," Soichiro agreed.
"I understand," said L into the mic. "Please plant bugs, transmitters, and cameras inside his cars rather than his house."
"What?" protested Weddy. "I've come this far…. Do you know how much work it is to get inside their houses? And besides, do you know how many cars Higuchi has?"
"He's got six," L replied promptly.
"…Okay, so I have to prep all of Higuchi's cars, right?"
"Please do that." He disconnected, then looked at me. "His cars are covered." He looked upwards. "My worry is that, the moment we catch him, he won't be Kira anymore…."
It was here that the conversation became white noise again as my thoughts wandered. I can't believe that worked so well…. I just screwed up this scene, but it doesn't matter because the same plan comes out of it. Ha! Well, that certainly helps to speed things along, doesn't it? Yay, I'm so accomplished in life…. And now Ryuuzaki will figure a few things out and smooth out the rough parts of the plan that I didn't clarify, and then it'll happen…. Oh…. I called L 'Ryuuzaki' again. That's so weird. I wonder, did the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases happen in this world? That would be awesome.
"Well, I digress," said L.
I blinked a few times. You know, if I think short little thoughts like that, sometimes it sounds almost like the people around me are answering me…. Why do I zone out so much?
"…We can dare to capture Kira," L finished.
I tilted my head slightly. Alright then. Hm…. Will Sam marry Light?
"Yeah, let's try it," said Light.
Oh my god. I covered my mouth with my hands, trying very, very hard not to laugh. Okay, maybe I should stop doing this now…. If I don't, I'll start laughing randomly and people will either wonder why the hell I'm laughing, or think I have some sort of sick humor.
"Which is it?" asked L.
And yet, it still sounds like he's answering me. Wait… which is what? I wasn't paying attention again….
Light closed his eyes. "With that premise," he said, opening his eyes, "Light Yagami willed it."
Right. The whole thing about if Light had been Kira.
"Yeah, that's what I thought…," said L.
"Therefore," I said, filled with an odd sense of confidence after my first interaction had gone well, "it couldn't be a being from the heavens, or something like that. If it were someone else, controlling people to be Kira, then this case couldn't be solved."
"Exactly," said Light seriously. "And if this being could see things from the heavens, or something along those lines, then he'd know we're discussing this right now."
"Yes," said L. "Even if Light Yagami is Kira… Kira's powers only work if the one with the powers wants it. Thanks, Light. Now I'm ninety-nine percent better."
"Why not one hundred?" I asked without thinking.
He eyed me. "There's always a chance, Natsumi. There are some things that aren't undoubtedly true or definitely false. There are far too many possibilities; too many factors; too many things one doesn't know. …Plus, we still have a plan to carry out, and we still haven't gotten it completely thought through."
I blinked and nodded. I hadn't meant to say that out loud, and hadn't really expected a response anyway.
"So," said L, "we'll use Natsumi's plan, and create a situation where Higuchi can't pass on his powers to someone else." He looked at Matsuda, who still looked a tad bit horrified. Poor guy. "Now we only need Matsuda's consent."
"Although, he will be at risk," I added, rubbing the back of my neck.
"Wee, sounds like fun!" Misa cried in delight.
"Yes," I said with a hint of sarcasm, "because risking your life is always fun."
"Well, if we're going to do that," said Light, "we should tie in the other seven people beforehand by saying that there were seven victims threatened with death if they didn't cooperate. This should prevent the other six people from doing anything that could mess things up."
"Yes, Light's proposal is good," agreed L. "Now… Matsuda, as this is a big decision, it should be good to give two to three days to decide."
There was a pause, and Matsuda looked at L determinedly. "I don't need two to three days," he said decidedly. "Please let me do it."
I smiled. Now, things are really getting started!
Yay! Next chapter, the chase is on! :D And, at last, more original scenes will happen, and people that don't get a part (namely Sam, Sierra, and Anna) will finally be involved!
I'm so happy.
Fun Fact: For the record, this story is already finished. I finished it back in January. I wrote the sequel, too, and now I'm writing the third one. So... I guess you can say you've got a lot to look forward to. Ha.
Review? For L!