Hey people! As I said yesterday – I think – this will probably be the last chapter for a while. I'm going on holiday Friday the 18th and I return Monday night, or Tuesday early in the morning. Then I have a few days for homework and then Christmas and then I'm going on vacation again. So… yeah. A new chapter will probably be up in 2016 so, I wish you an early, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and all that cheesy stuff. Maybe I'll update before then, but just in case.

**I don't own Death Note. Never have, probably never will. Also, I make typos. And I am often too lazy to correct them, so if you hate reading stories with typos, you've been warned.


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12. Voice & Reversal

Chief Yagami had a meeting with the ICPD about what to do about "Kira's" message. Apparently, while I wasn't watching, Kira II had requested L to appear on television and L had already predicted that the ICPD would want L himself to do just that. And L wouldn't have been L if he hadn't been correct.

'It is as you predicted, Ryuzaki,' chief Yagami explained as he sat down. I kind of felt sorry for him these days. His son has a suspect, he had a lot of stress and he wasn't even out of the hospital before all sorts of problems came up. 'Everyone in the ICPD agreed that they want you to appear on television in person. No tricks.' He looked a bit pissed, to be honest. 'They didn't do anything to help before and now they aren't bringing up any good counter-strategies… they're all being pulled around by Kira.'

Well, that would explain why Yagami was so annoyed. And why the ICPD wasn't doing its job properly. Protect all citizens, people. That includes the criminals and the detectives of the world.

'They made the logical choice,' Ryuzaki said, the teacup by his lips, without drinking from it. He put it down again without drinking anything. 'The police will never cooperate with Kira and if they have to choose between chief of police or me, they'll choose to sacrifice me. Especially since I was the one who taunted Kira on tv. I believe they made the right decision.'

No. They did not. There were more than enough policemen in the world. There was only one L. True, that wasn't a reason to sacrifice a policeman, but there should be alternatives. They made it sound like we didn't have any other choice.

Matsuda almost seemed more upset than I was. 'But then L– I mean, Ryuzaki, you might...'

'No,' Ryuzaki said before Matsuda could even finish what he was trying to say. Although we could all predict how that sentence was going to end. 'Even if I show myself on tv, if Kira II – or Kira, for that matter – does not know anything about me, then he may not believe that I am really L.' He put his fork with cake in his mouth while speaking. I wondered if his parents never taught him that he shouldn't speak with his mouth full.

'That's true,' Matsuda realised, his face clearly showing that he was deep in thought.

'Though I will try my best to convince him if it comes to that,' Ryuzaki assured us, as if we would be happy to hear that. 'Because if he doesn't believe me, many policemen in the world will pay the ultimate price. Though regarding how I can prove I am L… that is a rather difficult question.'

Well, yes, but this second Kira seemed pretty stupid to me, so I doubted that she would even consider the fact that he might not be the real L.

Ryuzaki grabbed another bite of cake on his fork and brought it to his mouth. 'Oh well, we still have two days so we have plenty of time to come up with a counter measure.' Then he looked up from his cake and gave us a small – almost unnoticeable – smile. 'Don't get me wrong, I don't have death wish. Besides…' his smile faded and he became deadly serious. 'If I have to die, I would rather die by Kira's hand instead of the hand of someone used by Kira.'

There was a sort silence in which one no was sure what to say. Then Ryuzaki continued. 'There were fingerprints found on the tapes, together with some materials, both didn't lead to much at this point of the research, but we're not giving up yet. Also, if the two Kira's haven't found each other yet, it's our priority to make sure that they don't meet. This is a battle between the real Kira and us to find the false Kira. And there is a chance that we will capture the real one in the process.'

Again silence, as everyone had become more serious and focused on the subject.

The silence was once again broken by Ryuzaki. 'Chief Yagami, is it possible to ask your son to help us whenever he can?' he asked, a question that came literally out of nowhere.

I almost rolled my eyes. Of course. Asking his son to help, so that you could keep an eye on him, making sure that his main Kira-suspect doesn't meet the second Kira. Even though he had terrible social skills, he was pretty good at manipulating people. If he phrased it like this, Yagami probably wasn't going to say no.

'Does that mean my son is free of suspicion?' Yagami asked, surprised, but also hopeful.

But there came the thing that made L more likable than any other manipulator. He gave you enough truth to believe his words, enough truth to trust him, but he just didn't explain the reasoning behind his words. That's why I wasn't surprised when Ryuzaki answered in all honesty: 'No, not yet. But your son's profiling ability is very promising and I think that your son will be very helpful in capturing the second Kira.'

You mean, he will be very helpful in leading you to the second Kira.

Yagami closed his eyes for a few second, clearly in deep thought. Then he opened them again and said: 'I you want my son to help, I won't object to it.'

'It's okay with us, too,' Matsuda immediately said, making me smile. As if he knew what everyone in the Task Force wanted. Well, maybe he did know. He was very good at asking questions, so maybe he'd asked this to the others while I wasn't around.

'You son has a high sense of justice and duty. He will definitely help us. However,' Ryuzaki brought his hand to his mouth and put the thumb against his lips, 'please don't tell him about the existence of the second Kira and act like there is only one. Olivia,' he then said, quickly moving on to the next subject, 'your computer has been installed, with the programs you requested. How long do you think it'll take?'

Now the other members of the Task Force looked confused. So he hadn't told them that yet. I wasn't completely sure how I felt about that.

'Thank you, I think it will take around a full day of work of two days of work if I keep helping with the regular duties of the Task Force as well, which I would prefer,' I told him.

Ryuzaki thought about that for a moment. 'Very well. Can you explain how you're going to restore the distorted voice back to its original state?'

Ah, that was an answer in a question. Everyone in the Task Force knew what we were talking about now. Pretty smart. 'I'll record myself and try to create the same effect that he second Kira used. After it sounds alike, I'll try to restore my own voice back to its original state and then apply those exact steps on the second Kira's audio file. If my voice doesn't work, I'll try again with a male voice, but I'm almost certain my voice will do.'

'And you have experience with this tactic?' Ryuzaki asked then, still seeming deep in thought.

I nodded. 'I've done it a few times while in training. I tried it with audio files I could find of you, too, but you're impossible.'

An almost smug smile appeared on Ryuzaki's face. 'I'm just careful.'


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I recorded my own voice and Matsuda's voice to be save. Ryuzaki had offered to record as well, but I told him that his voice was too… unique for the test. I was allowed to help with almost every task of the Task Force, the only things I wasn't allowed to help with were the things regarding Light. Ryuzaki made it seem like this was about time, but my theory was that he didn't want his two main suspect to be together. So I was basically locked up in my room while Yagami called Light to come over. I heard the door open, I even heard them talking – even though I couldn't make out what they were saying because I had headphones on and the room was almost sound proof.

Watari released me after about three hours, saying that I was allowed to join the others for a while. Which I of course did almost immediately. I hadn't heard Light leaving, which meant that he was still here. And even though that guy was strange and way too perfect, I had gotten kind of used to him, since I had spent so much time with him on campus. We weren't best friend and I sure as hell didn't trust him, but I understood him just a tiny bit better now.

I came in with both L and Light sitting with their backs facing me, meaning that they wouldn't see me. I approached as silently as I could and attacked Ryuzaki by putting my elbows on his shoulders and my chin on his head. I felt him shudder and then freeze under my touch, clearly I'd surprised him, which had been my goal. 'What're you reading?' I asked sweetly. When I didn't receive an aswer, just as I'd expected, I looked over at Light. 'Hey, Light. I'm so happy to see you're joined us. We need more youth here.'

I heard Matsuda yelling 'hey!'.

Light smiled. 'Hey, Olivia. Glad to see you're still alive.' The joke had a strange kind of bad aftertaste that always came with fake, forced jokes. Light observed Ryuzaki for a few more seconds before asking. 'Is that good enough? I wrote it as if I were Kira.'

"Hehe."

Now I was the one who froze. I stared at the empty spot next to Light on the couch, it clearly was empty. But I swear to god I heard a noise coming from there. And the way the light fell there seemed off, too.

Ryuzaki stood from his chair, forcing me to let him go in the process. He looked at the paper with great concentration, holding it in front of his face with both of his thumbs and index fingers. He seemed to be holding everything that way. 'It's not bad, but if you don't remove the part which says "it's fine if you kill L", I'm going to end up dead.' He said to it casually that it was almost funny.

Almost funny.

But it made Light laugh like it was the best joke he'd heard in weeks. 'I just thought that Kira would have wanted to make sure L died.' He leaned back on the couch, relaxed, not worried about a thing. 'I was kidding. Feel free to remove it.'

'Alright,' Ryuzaki said. Then he turned to me, holding out the paper to me. 'Olivia, do you mind reading this and telling me your opinion?'

As I took the paper, from the corner of my eye, for a split second, I saw Light looking at me with a look I didn't understand. It wasn't angry, it wasn't happy either. It was almost… wicked. I wasn't sure if there was another word that could describe it. But as soon as I noticed it, it was gone. I read the message Light had written. Clearly they were going to respond to the second Kira with a fake message from Kira himself. And Light had written it. I'd already said it a million times, but I'll probably say it a million times again. Ryuzaki was a genius.

The only part of the message I had a problem with was the "it fine if you kill L". It felt true to the Kira profile, but not to my own mind, so I grabbed a pen from the table between Ryuzaki's chair and the couch Light was sitting on and crossed it out. 'Don't even think about airing that part,' I told Ryuzaki before handing it back. Then I looked at Light, who still looked at me, but now with a neutral expression. Because I didn't know what else to do, I winked.


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Ryuzaki sent me back to my room soon after that, which I would've been fine with if I hadn't felt so strange. Something was following me. A ghost? I didn't believe in those. The ghosts of the past haunted me, yes, but that was my own brain creating hallucinations. They weren't actually there. Was this one of my many hallucinations? Probably. But why now? Because death was approaching? I didn't think so.

I heard Light leaving and less than five minutes after that, Watari told me I was free to go out of the room again.

I walked into the main room, where one television was showing the news. Ryuzaki was sitting once again with his back facing me, so I grabbed his shoulders while screaming: 'Boo!' This time, I got no reaction whatsoever. At least, no reaction I was able to notice. Watari was looking at me with a suspicious expression though.

'How's it going, Olivia?' Ryuzaki asked me, as unfazed as always.

'I've managed to recreate the same effect on my voice as the second Kira, so I'll start reversing the effect soon,' I answered as I stood next to him with one hand still on his shoulder. 'Can I grab something the eat?' I then asked.

'There are cakes in the fridge and fruit on the counter,' Watari answered instead of Ryuzaki. Which was a little bit odd, but not very odd. He walked with me to the 'kitchen', because, you know, I wasn't supposed to go out of Ryuzaki's sight, which apparently included Watari's sight as well.

As I was cutting fruit and putting it in a small bowl, Watari opened his mouth. 'Listen, miss Olivia, I have a question regarding your behaviour.'

I looked up, surprised and curious. 'A question?' I repeated.

'More a remark, really,' he clarified.

'Alright, shoot,' I said as I put the pieces of banana in de bowl and threw away it's peel, looking for a fork.

As I was looking around for a fork, Watari spoke. 'You see, your… behaviour around Ryuzaki might seem like a normal way of interacting for you and… others, but for Ryuzaki, human touch isn't something he's used to.'

Wow. That was not the remark I'd expected. I looked up. 'Sorry, what?' I asked, completely lost.

'Ryuzaki is used to isolation, many people rather stay away from him, as you've probably noticed,' Watari added with a small smile. 'And even though I must say I like the fact that you're treating him so natural, he's not—'

'I'm not,' I admitted, stopping him from saying anything else.

Now Watari was the one that looked confused. 'Pardon me?'

'I'm not treating him natural,' I explained. 'To be completely honest with you, I don't like touching and being touched. But with Ryuzaki, it's easier. Maybe because he's not expecting it. Maybe because he isn't used to touch either.' I shrugged. 'I don't know. But I am sorry if that has caused any inconvenience.'

Watari shook his head slowly. 'No, not at all. I just wanted to warn you that even great minds can get confused sometimes.'

I still wasn't entirely sure what he was trying to tell me, but for some reason, his conversation was kind of awkward, so I just said: 'I'll keep it in mind.'

Then Watari handed me a fork and smiled. 'Thank you.'


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We walked back into the main room, only to overhear the news.

'The criminals that have died of a heart attack today are mostly from England, with the most interesting one being—'

The world around me stopped as the photo appeared on screen. The suit, the eyes. The mouth. Even the hair. It was him. He was always there.

And suddenly, he was everywhere. In my ears, in my eyes. I wasn't even sure where I was anymore. 'No… stop…' Hands that grabbed my when I didn't want to be grabbed. My legs that started to bleed as I was grabbed over the ground, the chains – always the chains – but this time, it was not his voice I saw. His hands were there, his eyes, his mouth. That man was in the room with me, screaming that I had to stand up, screaming that I had to get up.

Screaming that I had to love him as much as he loved me.

'Go away! Go away!' I put my hands of my ears, but it was no use. It was like he was in my hears, spreading across my whole body as he murdered me over and over and over and over.

'Olivia?'

Far away. Too far. The help wasn't for me. 'No, not me!' I shouted. 'Not Olivia!' I tried to explain. I was here, in here! Trapped. In a body, in a room, what did it matter, I was dead for the world. Dead because of the awful thing I did.

Rats walked over my body, shouting: "Why won't you kill me, little girl?!"

'Get away!' I shouted. 'Don't touch me!' But the rats wouldn't leave me. The rats suddenly felt like hands as they took away what I was, murdering who I had been. My parents, my school, everything. I was a dead. But somehow, I was still alive. 'Let me go!'

I felt that someone grabbed me and somehow, it felt even more real than before, I started to shout, but then I felt his fist against my face again and I stopped, started to sob as he tried to get not only my body, but also my heart. He wouldn't. I hated him.

Somewhere, far away, a door shut. 'Olivia.' Someone…. It wasn't a question, it sounded like an answer. An answer to what.

'Kill me,' I whispered to the person on the other side while trying to remember who it was I was talking to. Where was I? In the building? In the hospital? The police's headquarters?

No, I always have myself under control at headquarters.

'Please, just kill me.' I grabbed someone, the fabric felt familiar, but also strange.

And then, one simple word cut through all the memories and the hallucinations and it felt like thousands of hands on my body disappeared and I was let go as I fell into the darkness where no one could hurt me and no one could murder me.

'Allison.'

It felt as if I opened my eyes, even though they had been open the whole time. I looked into two dark eyes in a dark room. There was no light, but I still could see his face, could hear his voice. Smelled his scent. Someone I trusted. The first one I trusted after what he'd done to me.

I blinked a few times and I felt tears falling from my eyes. God, I hated crying. 'Ryuzaki?' I asked softly.

He looked at me, his head slightly tilted to the side. He looked… on guard. 'Look, I know that that name probably brought up some memories that you don't want to remember, but I needed to bring you—'

Before he could finish I let go of his shirt, which I had apparently grabbed, and put my arms around in, burying my face in his shirt. This wasn't me looking for human touch. This wasn't me looking for Ryuzaki's touch. This was me trying to find comfort, trying to find prove that I hadn't been murdered. But when I heard how Ryuzaki's heart was racing, something in my brain gave me a signal, telling me that I needed to think about something Watari had said. But there were still too many pictures, feelings and memories in my head to even remember what he'd said to me, so I just closed my eyes and let my tears dry.

It took about ten seconds for Ryuzaki to respond, then he answered my hug in an awkward way, but it was more enough to comfort me, at least a little. 'Call me by my name again?' I asked after a few minutes of just standing there saying nothing.

'Allison,' he said, the word nothing more than a whisper. But it was the most magical thing he'd ever said. So magical that he even said it again. 'Allison.'


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So… that was emotional. Ooh, the drama! xD I had a clear view of how I wanted that last scene to go, but I hadn't thought about it from her point of view, so that was quite hard. Also, I was actually a little bit positive about Light in this chapter. Kinda, sorta. I'm proud of myself.


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