Last chapter...
L met with the author and witness of the Jeff the Killer story and began to deepen his investigations. Meanwhile, Kairi interrogated former film actress and old classmate, Gyumi Naomi, who turned out to be an accomplice of Kira.
(Near's POV)
Kairi returned to my room about an hour later, sitting down next to me at the desk. "You took a long time."
"I got everything I could out of her. When she found out who I was, she told me everything."
"You told her who you were?"
"You said you didn't care how I got the information. I simply did my job."
She was correct, but I had truly expected her to be smarter. "That is your life to risk."
"My 'life' is assumed dead," she stated. "I used an alias." That seemed to make much more sense. "It would probably be best that you use it as well."
"Madoka Mika," I said, and she nodded in confirmation. "I suppose you haven't created a back story yet?"
"As to how we met?" she asked, "Because that is classified, if I remember anything about assisting a detective. As for going out in public, I will only do so if necessary. And there is no reason for me to tell a complete stranger about myself."
"Very well," I replied dismissively. She seemed confident she could pass with this alias.
"If you are assuming a new persona, and Kira believes that Tagoku Kairi is dead, then you should consider a different look. And continue to cover most of your face to prevent the Shinigami Eyes from working." She gave her own nod, and I moved on with my own plans for the evening; testing the razor blade in my possession for DNA matched to Yagami Raito and Tagoku Minato. Although Ryuuzaki would disagree, her self-harm was a slight advantage. I would be able to get him his information without any suspicion from Kairi.
While she began to do more research on her laptop, I left the room and went to my own, giving Nemura the razor and instructing him to run the tests. When I returned to the room, she was still typing away on her computer, though she seemed to be doing so at a faster pace than before. Her bag seemed to have been rummaged through as well, meaning she probably was looking for something. "You found it, didn't you?" she asked.
"Found what?" I replied, tilting my head. She scanned my face for a moment; I made sure I seemed clueless as to what she was referring to, and she seemed to believe it.
"My journal. It's not in my bag." She looked back to her screen as she spoke. I hummed and sat down at my desk, looking around the few stacks. I didn't see any sort of journal.
"Perhaps you left it in America," I suggested.
"Wrong; I wrote in it earlier today. It's not a big deal. I took the notes from my interrogation in it."
"Ah, that one. Are you sitting on it?" I asked. She gave me an ambivalent expression before raising her eyebrows in what seemed to be realization. For a moment I thought I was right, but she stood up and walked over to the shelf above my desk and grabbed a book sitting atop. Her left sleeve fell enough for me to see that her wrist was unmarked. I couldn't necessarily check further up her arm without directly confronting her. "When did you put it there?"
"When you left, I set it there while I grabbed my computer."
I let it go and nodded, curious if that was the truth or if she deliberately put it there. She might have been looking for her razor and realized that it wasn't there, putting the journal up high so that I would see her fresh, uncut skin and believe she hadn't done anything. Either one was possible, but I would know soon enough if the blood was truly Kairi's. Why would she have a razor with someone else's blood on it? And if she were truly innocent, she could simply talk to me about it. There would be no reason to hide it if she wasn't participating in it.
I returned to my research, checking my emails and reviewing her recording of the interrogation. "What are you doing, Kairi?"
"Writing up a few responses to Kira's recordings that might force him to speak on his own. If I can stump him by shooting unexpected yet relative responses, he won't have a recorded answer." It was a reasonable pursuit. "Do you need something?"
"An answer."
"Ask away."
"How did your father die?" She was silent, and I turned to look at her.
(Kairi's POV)
I couldn't believe he would ask such a thing from me. I could tell the story, but if I did, he would grow suspicious as to why I didn't feel any remorse for my father. I sighed softly and closed my laptop, setting it atop my bag. "My father was killed by the second Kira, Misa Amane. It was a simple heart attack...but I was there. I tried to catch him as he fell, but I was too weak and fell with him landing on my lap. He clung to my shoulders and begged for help. He..." I bit back tears, breathing slowly through my nose in attempts to stay calm. "He told me to run."
"Why should you run?"
"I don't know. But the cops showed up after a while, and I didn't know what to do, so I did run." I looked up at Near, letting out a small breath. "Ryuuzaki found me a few days later when I returned to the house."
"Why did you go back?" he asked. I gave him an incredulous look.
"What do you expect a newly orphaned girl to do? I had nowhere else to go. I went home to see if the cops were gone. My dad's body was covered up, so I uncovered it and paid my respects. That's how Ryuuzaki found me." I smiled slightly, looking down. "He treated me like his own daughter, and I could never be more thankful."
Near nodded and turned back to his computer. My phone started ringing, causing me to jump. I looked at the screen. It was Sayu. "Sayu is calling me."
"She most likely heard the broadcast. If you answer, she will want an explanation. If you don't..."
"She will think I'm dead." I couldn't just let her think I was killed. She will never recover, especially since we just met again. "I am answering. I need about thirty minutes." He gave me a small nod, so I left to my private room and sat down on the bed. I opened my phone and put it up to my ear. "Hello?"
"Kairi?" I could already tell she had been crying. "I thought that Kira had killed you."
"I'm fine, Sayu. It was just a threat to get N to respond. I'm alive and well," I explained, smiling a little.
"I can't deal with this anymore, Kairi. I can't lose anybody else to Kira. I already lost Raito, and Father..." She started to cry again. It pained me to hear her so broken. "I can't lose you, Kairi. You're the last person I have."
"You have your boyfriend," I added.
"Kairi," she drawled, and I realized just how serious she was. "Kairi, I can't."
"What do you mean?" I asked, growing a bit worried.
"I can't handle losing someone again. I'm leaving."
"No, no wait," I said, furrowing my eyebrows. "You can't, don't do this to me."
"Kairi, I know you can make it without me. You did it all these years. But I was miserable all on my own. I don't want to feel that pain anymore."
"Sayu you are not going to do this to me!" I said firmly, forcing back tears. "I know what you are feeling, but you are wrong. I've been miserable ever since I left Japan. I'm here now, and you aren't going to lose me. I'm not going to lose you."
"Kairi I-"
"You can't even say it, Sayu. You wouldn't have called me if you didn't want me to know. I'm coming over."
"You can't! Kira will kill you!" she cried, and my eyes brimmed with tears.
"He's killing you," I said, my voice growing unstable. I knew that Kira was capable of manipulating anyone before their final death. "I'm coming over right now."
I stood up and left my room, keeping my phone to my ear as I dressed and hid my face. I muted the phone for a moment as I addressed Near. "I'm going to Sayu's house. I will be back."
"You aren't allowed to leave."
"Kira is killing her! I can't let her die alone."
"I will send Manhou to her. He will bring her here." I groaned in frustration, walking back to my room and throwing my hat at the bed. I locked the door and finally let my tears fall.
"Sayu, please don't hang up," I said softly, hearing her crying as well.
"Kairi-chan, I'm scared." I leaned against the door, covering my face. "I don't want to die."
"Then don't," I replied, not caring that my voice was cracking. "You don't have to die. You don't have to worry about me. I'm in safe hands under a lot of protection. I promised that we would keep in touch, and I meant it."
"But you could be killed."
"So could you! You are the last family member I have left, Sayu. I don't have a boyfriend to love me, I don't have a normal life in college. I have my cousin and a job with people that could care less if I die or not," I said. She seemed to be crying less. "I want you to listen to me: No matter what happens with this Kira, I will never leave you alone in this world. Believe me."
"Kairi-chan?" she asked. I hummed in response. "Manhou-kun is here. He says that I am going to a safe place."
"I will find a way to visit you, Sayu-chan," I replied, a relieved smile meeting my lips. "Go with him. I will talk to you soon." We said our goodbyes, and I hung up, sliding down to sit on the floor. I set the phone down and pulled my knees up, tugging my sleeves down around my wrists. I felt the sudden urge to return to what I had been trying to leave behind. I didn't want to kill myself. It was simply a way for me to vent out my frustrations.