Chapter 11

Begining


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Punching the tree was not one of Light's best decisions. He swore, shaking his hand and hissing. Ryuk started to laugh hysterically, clearly amused by the human's frustration.

"Who was it?" Light asked through a growl, spinning back around and reclining against the tree he just assaulted. "L? Four? Someone else?" He carded his fingers through his hair, calming his racing heartbeat. "It can be L. L was the one that woman wanted to get in contact with. It was Four who called, who knew 'Shoko Maki' was at risk because of what she knew. Damn him and his timing…"

Ryuk only continued to chuckle, his deformed shoulders bouncing with delight.


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Naomi… wasn't sure about Light Yagami. Sure, he was the police chief's son—that was confirmed by the receptionist's reaction to him—but there was something off about the boy. A certain glimmer in his brown eyes that declared intelligence beyond what he let on. And the way he talked to her? Like he was speaking to a child whose hand needed to be held lest they run away.

It was strange, to say the least. His interest in the Kira case and what she had found out while conducting her private investigation was also… strange. Even after she'd said that she would be fine by herself, here he was, claiming to have more to tell her.

She didn't really mind his eccentricity, though; his dad could open the door for her into the investigation. If he was going to keep following her around all day, all she had to do was wait for Light's phone to ring. Once it did, she could talk to Chief Yagami herself. Possibly L, too, if he was with him.

"Oh." Her phone. It rang once over, buzzing gently against her side. She retrieved it from the coat pocket to check the caller ID, but it wasn't displayed. She ignored the call. "Sorry about that."

"No worries," Light replied, his smile wider than ever. "I hope it wasn't anything important." He said it like a statement but it rolled off his tongue like a question.

"It was probably a telemarketer," Naomi said, too tense to shrug. "You… were saying?" She did manage a smile, hoping it wouldn't come off as too desperate for information. Her curiosity tended to seep into her voice no matter what she did, but until she knew this boy better she would try to keep her emotions hidden.

"Right," Light continued. "Anyways, it's impossible to contact anyone directly in headquarters right now." His eyes scanned her face yet seemed to look almost through her.

What did he mean by that? Were they somewhere besides the headquarters? Could they only be reached by cell? If that was the case, then why? "What do you mean?" Naomi pressed.

"Don't you think it's odd that—"

Once again Naomi's phone rang, interrupting Light before he could go any further. She felt terrible and bowed her head, retrieving the small device with an apologetic smile. Unknown caller ID. Again. With a sigh, she flipped it on silent and put it into her purse.

"Telemarketer again?" Light asked, to which Naomi shrugged. She didn't know for sure if it was or not, but everyone she knew had a contact stored in her phone. Who else could be trying to get ahold of her? Unless—

Her purse started to buzz. She saw Light's earnest expression waver. "I'm really sorry. Maybe it is someone I know… Please excuse me. I'd like to take this in private."

"It's no problem. I'll be here." It was—the annoyance was plain on his face now—but he was better at keeping things under wrap than Naomi. Her cheeks were brightening already.

Naomi bowed for the final time, hurrying away with a wave of her hand. She answered her phone as she moved, analyzing the stores and restaurants around her for someplace quiet to be. "Hello," she said, craning her neck to check behind her. "I'm sorry for not answering the first time around, but I'm alone now."

"What are you doing right now?" the robotic voice over the phone asked her, sharp and to the point. Panic hit her stomach.

"I'm sorry, I know you told me to wait, that you were going to handle it and tell L, but I really… I thought the sooner I told someone on the task force the sooner I could relax." Naomi bit her lip and pressed her back against the wall of the alleyway.

There was a pause, but although it wasn't long, it felt like entire minutes ticked by. "Can you come to CAFEEL—the one next to To-Oh University? Now?"

"Huh?" Naomi said dumbly. It was also a little louder than she expected it to be.

"I know something not even L does, and I'd like to cooperate with you on the matter. Face-to-face." Naomi's jaw loosened, her lips parting into a distinct 'o'. "Can you?"

"Well, I… I suppose I can do that." She was hung up on, but that action didn't offend her in the slightest. Having now acquired a lump in her throat, she massaged the bridge of her nose. Her eyes watched the time on her watch tick by for another minute or two before she shook herself off and left the alley.

Light had stayed true to his word, eyes closed and head lowered in the same spot she'd left him in. What teenaged boy had that much patience? He looked up the moment she approached him, that same smirk still in place. "That wasn't a very long call," he noted casually, clearly curious. "A friend?"

Naomi smiled at him, feeling much more at ease. "Yes. A very good friend. If you don't mind now, I have to be going." Think, Naomi. Think. "She locked herself out of her apartment again. I have a key on me, so I'm going to let her in."

Light seemed to buy it, his head nodding in understanding. "It's alright. Goodbye, Shoko Maki." Naomi replied in kind, turning to walk in the opposite direction he did. She was grateful he didn't follow her this time; it would've been a pain to try and lose him at this time of day. Civilians were small in number in this part of town.

Was this excitement or anxiety she was feeling? Her feet were heavy against the sidewalk but she held herself tall, fingers wrapped tightly around her purse. A bit of both? God, what was she, a child? She scolded herself and yet kept grinning, twisting the purse strap this way and that.

She had been to this CAFEEL branch store once or twice, long before she moved to America to start her career. It was surprising to see the coffee shop still there, although heavily renovated.

...she wished she could've brought Raye here.

The cafe walls were painted a muddy yellow with brown board and batten. There were a few people inside, clustered amongst several tables and talking excitedly amongst each other. Naomi ignored them and beckoned over a waitress.

"Hi, I'm here meeting up with a friend of mine. Is he here already?" she asked. The waitress pursed his lips in thought before gesturing to the left side of the cafe. Naomi smiled in thanks and headed over, her steps slow and hesitant.

Around the corner of the left side was a smaller area, the section empty of people except for one. He wore far more layers than she thought necessary indoors, but it was reasonable considering they kept his face covered. Taking in a deep breath, she headed over to his table, sitting herself down. She racked her brain for clever greetings but found none that were worth saying. Thankfully, she didn't need to.

"Hey, Naomi Misora," the man said, looking up to acknowledge her. Naomi's heart jumped at the sound, only now realizing the weight of all this. This was actually Four, sitting across from her at CAFEEL, no tricks, no gimmicks. She could've sworn that he would send a stand-in, but there was no mistaking the voice as belonging to the person she'd spoken with over the phone.

"Hello." Naomi fiddled with her hands, unsure if she should take her coat off or leave it on—a silly thing to have her mind stuck on, but she couldn't do much to help it. It was either that or stare at Four and try to identify his face underneath that scarf and cap, and that would just be… rude.

Four seemed to see what she was trying to do, as he pulled his scarf up further before speaking. "I'll be honest with you: I don't actually have information that L doesn't. But I would like to collaborate with you if you'll let me."

Opening and closing her mouth a few times, Naomi struggled with finding the right words with which to respond. One word, in particular, was nagging the back of her mind, begging to be said aloud. "Why?" she breathed, brows furrowing. "I know I had some theories going, but—"

"Your theories are exactly why," Four continued, shrugging as if that was obvious. "I don't want you wandering the streets while knowing so much. You need to be with someone. And why not let that someone be me?"

The waitress stopped by, setting down to plain coffees upon the table. Cream and sugars were also supplied. Naomi took hers straight up, however, not having the mindset to focus on how much sugar she wanted. Four didn't touch his. She wondered if it was just for show.

Once the waitress left, Four took out a small scrap of paper. On it was a scribbled down address. "An apartment," Four explained, answering Naomi's unsaid question. "You can't stay at your old place anymore; it's too risky. We will live together from now on at that location."

"Together?" Naomi's brows furrowed, a look of bewilderment stretching across her features. "I can't just—"

"I will provide you with direct communication to L." This had Naomi's mouth snapped shut. "We can investigate together, in a safe enviornment. Any discoveries made will be relayed to L and the task force he's working with."

Naomi was silent, hands still wrapped around her mug despite the burning sensation against her hands. She watched the black liquid swirl as she bit her lip. "Why?" she asked again. "Why me? Why now?"

"Because," Four began, sliding out from the booth and standing up, "I felt something bad was going to happen to you. You're a good woman, Naomi." With that, he left. Naomi's eyes followed him until he rounded the corner, disappearing off to who knew where.

Sighing, she twirled the piece of paper around, knowing that despite all her concerns, her disbelief, she was going to agree. Kira had to be caught. Her husband had to be avenged. She wasn't just about to pass up an opportunity like this.

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"So, what're you up to?" Dai asked for the seventh time. Light was starting to grit his teeth every time the deity spoke up. "Why won't you tell me?" He didn't even have it all figured out himself, yet, so why the fuck did Dai keep asking? "I'm curious."

"You're annoying," Light spat, then realized he had to keep his voice down. He didn't need the waitress to come back over and check on him only to see him yelling at a voice in his head. "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know why I'm doing it. Do you know how much I hate that? Not knowing? It sucks. But I just feel like I have to do this."

Dai hummed, long and vexatious. "Why?"

Light wanted to slam his head on the table. He just said he didn't know. A better question would be why Dai had chosen now to be so infuriating. "If I answer you now, will you be quiet when Naomi arrives?" He took Dai's silence as a yes. "Just… Maybe some people don't need to die in this. Maybe they deserve to live and… realize my vision. Something like that."


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The apartment was nice. Really nice. In fact, Naomi was sure it shouldn't be so cheap. Perhaps Four had done some sweet-talking? Regardless, she had no complaints about paying for it, despite the fact that she knew full well it could be paid for her. Four no doubt had plenty of money.

She wondered if the reason he had her rent the place herself was to get her out of that old apartment, the one she used to share with Raye. Could that be it, or was he reading into things? It was a sweet thought.

Rubbing at her tired eyes, Naomi plopped several grocery bags onto the counter. The rest was carried into the first bedroom. Her stuff was discarded on the floor as she flopped against the bed, exhausted. She'd spent the entire day packing up whatever she could take on her own. Now, after talking to the landlady, here she was.

There was still some stuff back at home… well, not home, but… she was too tired to think about that. She figured she could use some rest. Rolling over, she buried her head into the clean pillow. Just a short nap. Just a short...

Something was burning. That was the first thing that occurred to Naomi as she opened her eyes. Rolling over in the bed, she sat herself up, yawning and stretching. She'd slept in her clothes. Judging by the light streaming in through the curtains, she'd also slept for much longer than intended. That didn't matter to her now, though. She was far more concerned with the smell of smoke and the sound of arguing.

Opening her door, she poked her head out into the joint living room and kitchen. A man stood in front of the sink, flushing something inside of a pot with obscene amounts of water. He was cursing, yelling and waving at the air. Brown hair, flawless skin… If only his back wasn't turned towards her.

"Uhm…" Naomi started to make her way over to the kitchen. The man didn't notice her, too invested in his strange, very concerning argument. "Hello?" she tried again, this time obtaining his attention.

"Well, hi," he said after a moment, freezing up his movements. Naomi recognized that voice. Four? She knew he said they'd share the apartment, but… "Sorry if I woke you up. I was cooking. Trying to cook, anyway. I thought I could handle it but it's pretty hard when you have… Nevermind."

Raising her eyebrows, Naomi took another step forward. "Four? I guess this settles things, then." She really just wanted him to turn around already. The curiosity was too much for her to handle. There was also the worry that he was slightly psycho (perhaps even delusional considering the fact that he was yelling at himself), but that could wait until later.

She got her wish. Four turned around, his hands and the front of his shirt soaking wet. He was not who she thought he was.

"Light Yagami?" Eyes wide, Naomi pointed at him, analyzing his features. "Wait, no…" He was too old to be Light. His chin was sharper, his eyes narrower, his cheekbones more distinct. Still, the familiarity was too strong to be coincidental. Right?

"That would be the Cheif's son? I can see where you might be confused. I guess I do look a lot like him," Four said, shaking the water off his hands. "You may call me Aru Yoru. I look forward to working on the Kira case with you." He looked back at the mess in the sink. "And I apologize for all this. Things have not been going my way lately."

Naomi nodded. "The resemblance is creepy," she noted, then scolded herself for such an offhand comment. Luckily Four—Aru—laughed, if only a little awkwardly. "What were you trying to do?" she asked instead, trying to get a look at whatever he'd been extinguishing.

"I was trying to make a cake. It was… a dare. From a friend. I also used up some of the groceries you brought. Sorry." Aru gestured to the plastic bags on the counter. Naomi waved dismissively, piecing together the situation.

"So, you can't cook?" she asked. It was a rhetorical question, but saying it aloud helped her understand her thoughts. She supposed it made sense someone like Aru didn't know how to cook or bake. He was probably wrapped up in cases all day and had someone do those things for him. Now, it looked like that would become her job.

"No, no I can't," Aru agreed. "I don't know why I let Dai talk me into this." He scowled, rummaging around through the drawers from a dishrag. Finding none, he settled with using his pants instead. "I followed the recipe down to the nail yet it caught on fire."

Naomi lolled her head to the side, frowning. "...Topic? What are you talking about?" Aru's head turned to stare at her, then he shrugged.

"My friend. The one who dared me. They have a pretty weird name, huh?" he chuckled, turning back on the water on the sink again. "Dai. Kinda like the English word 'day'." There was a pause, both of them feeling awkward in the silence. "Speaking of days, today is New Year's Eve."

"Oh," Naomi replied. She'd forgotten, what with everything that's been going on.

She helped Aru clean up the kitchen. The cake really had burned up and was now charred, soggy, and disturbing to look at. Beyond that, though, it turned out she'd slept through most of the day. A televised celebration for the New Year was broadcasting, which she turned on to have running in the background while she wiped down the counters.

Just as Naomi finished up, her phone rang from her room. She shared a look with Aru before rushing to grab the device before whoever was calling had to leave a voicemail. Finding the phone on the nightstand, she picked it up.

"Naomi Misora." For the second time in the past twenty-four hours, her heart did a backflip. "This is L. I was told by Four that you had some interesting information regarding the Kira case that you would like to share. Please, do so."

Naomi did. She described everything she'd investigated since Raye's death, from the bus jacking incident to her theory of Kira being able to kill in more ways than one. L listened to her, his scrambled voice not once speaking up to interrupt her like she expected.

"Thank you," L said after she had finished. Feeling good about herself, she took in several deep breaths, a smile on her face. "Mrs. Misora, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell me where you are at this very moment?"

The question was unexpected, but she answered anyways. "I'm… with Four." L hummed in response, curiosity hidden under the many jumbled layers.

"Could you put him on the phone, please?" Hearing this, Naomi turned around to head out of her room, but stopped before she could start. Aru was positioned in the doorway, leaning against the frame. He smiled, like he knew what L had asked, and then shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but he declines," Naomi spoke into her phone. She gave Aru a meek thumbs-up, unsure if he would appreciate such a playful gesture. Although he didn't return it, his smile didn't waver, which she took as a good sign.

"Very well then," came L's reply. "Thank you for your work, Mrs. Misora." He hung up, which Naomi expected. She wasn't offended in the slightest, though. With the things she'd found out, hopefully, the investigation will proceed faster. Would Raye be proud to know she'd helped?

Bowing her head, she thanked Aru for getting her in contact with L. He shrugged before turning back into the joint living room and kitchen. Naomi followed, watching as he sat down at the couch and turned up the television's volume.

Right, New Year's Eve. She sat down in the armchair, feeling lighter than she had yesterday. "Happy New Year," she muttered under her breath.

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Panda (11:58 pm)

To the New Year and a chance to catch Kira.

You (11:59 pm)

To you getting some sleep for once in your life?

Panda (12:00 am)

Maybe next year.