Dreaming of Death Note: 13 - Altering Reality

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Shikako stepped into the dark room silently, and observed a conversation in progress. Watari was standing at a computer console, the wide and tall wall of screens illuminating the darkened room painfully. She wondered how he didn't hurt his eyes like that. A familiar voice filtered in through a speaker system overhead, "Yes, we've made much progress. Progressing backwards. The girl invites herself in to the task force, usurps my command center, and turns every assistant I have in my employ toward irrelevant tasks that accomplish nothing in the long run. Everything has devolved into a snail's crawl.

"She started a wild goose chase. They look where she points. It is expected, but frustrating none the less that the interference occurred, but to have such far reaching and lasting consequences... What I mean to say, Watari, is that long after she left, they are still doing it."

Watari nodded, though Shikako was certain he could not be seen doing so, "Yes. It was something you disagreed with."

The voice continued, "I know I initially allowed it, so they could get it out of their systems and show that there is no benefit to that angle... but it has been days. They are still looking fruitlessly.

"The police working with me are convinced that Shikako's idea of prison staff workers as suspects is valid enough to merit thorough investigation and aren't looking elsewhere, no matter how I hint or prod or ask." The voice filtered into the room through what she recognized as the speaker phone. The image on the screen was that of a familiar dark haired man in his customary crouched position in yet another stylized wing-backed chair, pressing a corded phone to his ear with two fingers holding it up as if it were tainted. His deep voice barely held any inflection, and the tone never wavered.

Shikako recognized it as Ryuzaki, L. He was complaining about her own, in her opinion, 'bright idea' and the impact it had on the Kira investigation. She didn't intend to usurp his investigation and throw everything into chaos, and he clearly stated he believed that to be her intent. It was really just a happy side effect, now that her suspicions had veered into uncomfortable territory. With him assuming her to be either Kira himself or an accomplice of Kira, she supposed it shouldn't be unexpected as well that he would take anything she says with a grain of salt and a wary nonacceptance. Even with that thought, his petulant attitude was getting on her nerves.

The man continued, "It is clear to me that Kira is a student, following a strict schedule, despite the fact he has blatantly spaced out his killings as if to contradict that, or to say, 'So what?' and with the investigation turning directions I did not direct, I feel I've lost control here."

Hearing enough, Shikako cleared her throat. L continued to rant to himself in the background. Watari jumped, spun in place, and then placed a hand to his chest. "Oh, hello! How did you get in here?" Shaking his head, he turned back to the microphone sitting on the console before him, then continued speaking- but not to her, interrupting L's complaints, "I see, Ryuzaki. I need to put you on hold for a moment. Miss Shikako has arrived at the facility and I will be taking her through the initial introduction to the building now. This may take half an hour, we can talk again later."

"Ah, yes. Good. I was looking forward to her arrival. Light and Sora should be here shortly as well. Allow her to enter the building, then bring her in," he ordered, as if he hadn't just been complaining about her intervention irritating him in the past.

"She... is already inside. Standing behind me." Watari's voice held a warning tone oddly mixed with a bit of awe as he told his employer this tidbit. Shikako leaned against the doorway, crossing her arms, amused.

"I... hmm." was all L had to say before the man hung the phone up gingerly with his two fingers splayed around the cradle and the vocal line went dead. Observing him on the monitor, she saw he bit his lip and chewed on it thoughtfully, while wiggling his toes. His fingers tapped the knobby tops of his jean-clad knees, eyes wide and unfocused.

"Sorry to interrupt?" She asked, not really sorry to have learned that what she'd assumed to be a good idea to investigate the Kira angle was still being taken as 'a plan to overthrow the brilliant detective by the evil prime suspect'. Her plans for the day were going to make this even more interesting, she was certain.

Watari gave her a grandfatherly smile, "You, Miss Shikako, have a way with the silence."

She didn't know what to say to that, so said nothing, leaning her weight from foot to foot, waiting for him to continue.

"I will get you registered in the computers, properly. Fingerprints and retinal scans. I have some things to give you, for identification purposes, and communication, though until you get a phone, you might find part of it useless."

"Sorry?" She asked. "Mine is still in lockup?"

"Nonsense, we can provide you with that tool, as well."

"Uh, thanks, I guess."

'Yes, give me a bugged phone, why don't you.'

"One quick question, Miss Shikako? How did you get into this secure building? It was constructed so that no one could simply enter unwanted..." the old man raised his bushy grey brows at her.

"I, uh... Walked in? With Agent Rei, who told me we would be meeting here from now on since you texted her to bring me here?" She stated it as a question, not certain why this man wouldn't remember telling them to do that. Perhaps it had been L's instructions and Watari hadn't heard?

"...I see. Yes. My mistake. She has clearance to open the doors already. I overlooked that."

"She let me in. Was she not supposed to?"

"No, no, that is fine. I just... ah, nevermind. I'm an old man, sometimes my mind plays tricks on me."

'The mind plays tricks on you, huh? It gets better than that, old man.'

There was one thing left to do, to guarantee that things worked in her favor. She just had to convince L of the truth, and to make it happen. This was going to be something to change how the world saw itself.

'I've been going about this all wrong. It's time to toss out the story line whatever it may be, because from here on out,' she thought, 'I'll make my own.'

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"You may call me Ryuzaki. Oh, and that's not my real name, for obvious reasons." The man at the computer stated, watching Light intently. Light gave him a polite smile and a raised brow, nodding his head in agreement. He understood the need for secrecy, and knew everyone else present by their actual names, from the police headquarters. The two new arrivals stepped into the room, announcing their presence.

"Sis! You're here, too? They let you onto the team?" Light looked up, surprised to see Michiko walk into the room following Watari, who Light did not recognize as he had never met him yet. It had been Ukita whom had walked him through the entrance and gotten him registered at the door. Watari was pushing a cart with fresh tea in kettles and mugs on it. He bowed to Light, saying, "I am Watari, good to meet you." Light bowed back, then turned to inspect his sister's new accessory.

Shikako was wearing one of the belt buckles they'd all been given, the ones with the emergency tracking signals on them, since she couldn't argue a way around not having one on her and get away with the excuse. She had wondered why they hadn't insisted on one before now. She was closing a brand new flip phone, to slip it into her pocket. The small, thin belt she was given matched her outfit, her new winter coat and blue jeans with black shoes. The phone, however, was a garish neon pink with hand glued glitter sparkles shaped like a deer on its protective case. The deer looked oddly familiar, like it had been posed the same as one of her deer figurines on the shelf in her room at home. She assumed this was someone's idea of a joke since the phone's protective case, which was see-through with a decorative paper insert, seemed to be purchased and decorated with her in mind. She had filed that away under the thought of 'L being weird' or maybe the man had too much time on his hands.

Light had just been introduced to the task force, and had been scrutinizing the odd looking man who had thus far sat quietly at a computer console in an odd position, with his knees drawn up and feet in the chair. He believed it looked ridiculously uncomfortable but kept the thought to himself. Aizawa was currently manning the desk at the station, but he'd met him before, too.

"I've been with the investigation team for a while now." she admitted, meeting his suddenly assessing gaze. She looked between him, and the man with rings around his eyes, then gave him a small smile.

"I feel so left out." Light complained, glancing between his dad and his sister with a semi-pout on this face.

"I'm sorry, Light." Soichiro said, "You've only just been given clearance to enter the building and join the investigation. This building is, actually, our newest addition. It's been around for a while, but we're only just using it as our new headquarters. We're all getting used to it. I guess by now you've realized that Agents Sora and Rei work for L?"

"Yes, I kinda figured that the moment I was told they were to follow us for our own protection. That sounded wrong to me. How could they save us from Kira? I mean, if Kira really wanted to kill us, we'd simply die of a heart attack. So in that way, I don't know what L was thinking." Light scrutinized the two of them, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, that was kinda obvious." his father said with a sigh.

"It was a strange explanation, but at least mom and Sayu were comforted by the thought. I don't see the point in sending them to stay with us though. What was the reason? If you had this big building, then surely it wasn't for lack of room? I had assumed that was why, actually, but this disproves it. Having them follow us everywhere just seemed kind of paranoid." he said with a rather exaggerated shrug.

Shikako scowled, "We're the prime suspects."

"We have to keep an eye on you, so that's why we follow you around. Otherwise we'd be taking you in." Agent Sora stated. He was seated at one of the computer chairs, with his back turned to the computer console, legs crossed at the knee.

"I'm pretty certain you'd have to have an arrest warrant charging us with a specific crime to take away our freedoms, wouldn't you? And at any rate, you have no right to follow us everywhere we go, just because dad agreed to it, doesn't mean that we also have to. Maybe I like my privacy and have a right to it." said Light as he eyed everyone in the room.

"That can easily be obtained," Ryuzaki said in an off-handed manner. He then continued, in a quieter tone, "For any country, really. We have connections."

"It's the only way to ensure our investigation isn't compromised, while still allowing you your freedoms." Said the woman who Light recognized as Agent Rei as she walked up behind his sister.

Michiko suddenly smirked mischievously, "Join the ambiguously dark side; we have tea, and cookies." She grabbed a tea cup off the cart and filled it with black tea while she joked, looking around exaggeratedly, "Wait, where's the cookies, Watari? Aaw, they were so good they're all gone. We had cookies. Excellent cookies. Which was the whole draw in the first place. Now we need a new recruiting gimmick. Hm... well, we can teach you to make excellent cookies."

Shikako offered the tea to the woman standing beside her, who accepted with a small smile, saying, "That might do it." Light rolled his eyes at his sister as Matsuda chuckled at her joke.

"Yes, I could go for some cookies right about now." The man at the computer agreed, looking up from a paper he was perusing, held up between two pinched fingers, and glancing back at them over his shoulder with hopeful eyes, "With chocolate frosting."

"Ah, I can fetch some..." she looked up in surprise as the old man actually walked out of the room to do so.

She laughed, "I was joking but... ok!"

"Any bets it's a long wait because he's decided to bake them himself? He did that before, ya know." Matsuda said. "Oh, I bet he needs help!" he then made to follow after the older man, eager to help with the cookies. Sugary substances were apparently a big draw, today.

"Don't forget to tell him, chocolate frosting, Matsu." the man ordered.

"Right, Ryuzaki!" said Matsuda as he headed out of the room. Mogi took over manning the cart, pouring cups of tea for everyone.

Light hesitantly turned to his sister, shifting gears, "Prime... suspects? So, earlier, when you asked me if I was Kira, Michiko...?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to see your reaction." His sister said as she got herself a cup of tea and sat on the couch across from her brother's chair. "Of course, if you really are Kira, then you have given nothing away. But I personally doubt it. Not just because you're my baby brother, but because you're too good of a person. It's not in your nature, and you just wouldn't do something like that. So, I asked." she gazed at him through hooded lashes, her eyes narrowing, almost like she wanted him to deny it.

"We raised you better." Soichiro stated proudly.

"I see. She took me by surprise with that one. I never would have expected something like that, especially coming from her." Light closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, looking tired. "Or that my older sister is already working on the investigation! I admit, I'm jealous that I wasn't involved."

"And by the way, we're using fake names because of Kira. I'm Shikako Nara." she told him, nodding and pointing to herself.

"Ah, should I use a fake as well? What should it be? Since we're siblings, should I choose a Nara name? Oh, and Shoko Maki, you're an agent, so I bet that's not your real name, is it? I bet Rei isn't your name either, then." Light turned to face Rei, who nodded in agreement.

'Naomi Misora.' Shikako thought, thinking back on what Dan had told her. She'd told Light a fake name all along, this Shoko Maki, back when he had allowed her to borrow his cell phone to contact their father at their first meeting. Had the agent suspected him, even back then? Probably just being cautious.

Rei took a seat near Sora in one of the chairs at the back of the room. "Nor is Sora my real name, not that you need to know my real name." 'Ray Penber, Dan said. Right.'

"Feel free to think on it and come up with one later, Light." Ryuzaki suggested as Mogi approached him with a saucer and cup of tea. Shikako smirked and waved her hand in a strange motion.

The boy nodded in turn, "Right. I will... Ryuzaki." Light eyed the older man strangely as Ryuzaki took five sugar cubes and dropped them all into his cup of tea that Mogi had just served him. He kept his own dish of sugar in front of him at his computer, and had been stacking them precariously, repeatedly, on the desk as he read from a small pile of papers. Three more of them made their way into the teacup before Ryuzaki even looked at it. Ryuzaki lifted the cup to his lips, and paused.

"Did I drink all of the tea? I did, didn't I?" his pursed lips perched on the edge of the cup. "I must have been preoccupied." He stared into the cup, incomprehension written into the faint lines on his face as he frowned.

"No, you didn't. You hadn't drank any at all." Light pointed out, having just been watching him and his odd sugar cube habit the entire time.

"But... my tea is gone." Ryuzaki blinked in surprise.

"I'll pour you some more!" Mogi offered. He walked over with the teapot off of the cart once more, and refilled Ryuzaki's cup.

Watari chose that moment to return, with Matsuda in tow, carrying a plate each piled high with chocolate frosted cookies. They set them on the cart and offered cookies to everyone. They must have been keeping quite a few in stock, to have gathered them so fast.

Ryuzaki picked up his cup, noticing a motion out of the corner of his eye, then stopped with it touching his lips once more. He held it up, and then turned it upside down, dropping all of the still solid sugar cubes onto the surface of the desk before him. They crumbled on impact, making small piles of sugar on the desktop.

"It- It happened once more!" Mogi gasped at the empty cup, having seen it filled with his own eyes twice.

"But where has all the tea gone?" Shikako smirked as she said it, mimicking 'Pirates of the Caribbean'. No one caught that, though, as they were too startled by the odd development. Her hand moved quickly, but no one seemed to notice.

"Exactly. It's simply gone. I poured it myself." Mogi stated, staring into the tea cup with a bemused expression. It was completely devoid of liquid, again.

"My cup is empty." Ryuzaki announced with awe in his voice as he pondered the situation.

"You're drunk, Ryuzaki." Shikako said, sipping her steaming cup of hot orange pekoe black tea. She may have been having too much fun with this.

"No, I am not. I have not been drinking... I actually haven't been drinking any substance at all, as it keeps vanishing." He held his cup upside down in front of his nose for emphasis.

"You're drunk. Go home." she suggested, eyes narrowed in his direction, tea cup held in front of her smirk, steam coming out in warm drafts before her face.

He placed a finger in his mouth, biting it. Eyes wide, he spun to focus on her in an alarming manner, like an owl spotting a mouse, "At present, this is my current residence."

"Good, you made it home safe. I'm proud of you. You're still drunk, though." She continued to sip her tea, not even looking at him. The other men in the room picked up their tea cups, wondering why there was no longer any tea in them. If they had added sugar, the sugar was still in a solid, dry cube. Light held his up carefully, examining the empty cup, then setting it back on the tray before him. It had had liquid in it before, he was absolutely positive. He had even tasted it. Agent Rei sipped from her own cup which Shikako had given her, considering the rest of the room with a curious gaze. There was nothing wrong with her tea. But she hadn't seen them all drinking it, either.

"I'm beginning to think you don't listen. Or simply don't hear. Or perhaps don't comprehend. Well, either one is a possible option." Ryuzaki was glaring into his cup once more, holding it sideways in front of his nose, sniffing it. "Though perhaps you do that to make me question your intelligence. Or sanity. Then again, this makes me honestly question my own."

"I heard you. You drank all the tea. By yourself. None for us. Greedy man, Ryuzaki." she said, setting her own cup down on the saucer in her hand and giving him a stern glare. She had been raising the cup to occasionally drink then setting it down on the saucer resting on her lap repeatedly, and making odd hand gestures in between those actions, for some time. Still, she said this, fully knowing that she and Rei were the only ones in the room who still had tea.

"Hey, yeah, my tea is gone too!" Matsuda chimed in, holding his own cup upside down. It didn't even drip, as if it had never had liquid in it.

"As is mine, Ryuzaki!" Soichiro stated in confusion.

"It... I haven't drank that much yet, but my cup is empty. Watari?" Light asked, glancing at the old man questioningly.

Watari shook his head sadly, "The teapot is likewise empty. Dry, even. I made it fresh, myself, moments prior. It is not even warm."

The investigation squad was beginning to get restless, and looked at each other with hesitant glances, all of them at a loss. The only two people in the room who managed to keep actual tea in their tea cups were Shikako and Agent Rei, and only because Shikako was the one pouring the tea for the two of them. After she did so, no one could seem to locate the teapot Shikako had used. It was like it vanished from sight.

Sora noticed a quiet snickering in the room, and tried to find the source of the noise.

"Have you considered that your habit of not sleeping is becoming a problem?" Shikako asked in apparent concern a she eyed Ryuzaki's hunched form. Well, mock concern. She knew damn well why the tea kept vanishing. She was the one doing it. No one else in the room could cast an area-of-effect genjutsu, and while it was draining to do so, she believed it was worth it to drive the point home.

"I've been sleeping, though!" Matsuda stated, "And I'm seeing it- or not seeing it, now."

"What is going on here!?" Ukita asked, his voice raised in panic as he looked at his yet again empty teacup, moments after Watari had poured him a fresh mug.

Watari was still puzzling over the idea that the teapot seemed to have filled itself again, and would pour tea when he tried to use it, only to have the tea vanish when he looked inside it. "This isn't natural!"

"You're right, it isn't. It's supernatural." Shikako laughed. She leaned back and crossed her legs. Everyone looked in her direction for an explanation.

"Supernatural? What do you mean by that?" Mogi inquired. He tapped his hand against his mug, "You mean like magic?"

"Well, that's the closest explanation, yes." Shikako nodded at him.

"Magic doesn't exist, sis. Even little children know that." Light told her in a condescending tone, though his eyes never left his empty tea cup.

"You're right. It's like a magic trick, but not quite. Now you see it," For emphasis, she pointed at Light's cup, and with a quick hand motion that she had been making as if it were nervous gestures throughout the evening, the cup filled with tea in front of everyone's eyes. Every last person in the room stared at the teacup, crowding around the couch and loveseat, watching as it filled itself. Her father let out a breath he had been holding, sounding as if he were gasping. His face took on a mortified expression as he looked at his daughter, then over to Ryuzaki.

"Now, you don't." with another hand sign, the tea vanished.

Ryuzaki stood, stared at the once again empty tea cup, then dropped his own tea cup, losing his two-fingered grip. It crashed against the tile and shattered into many sharp, minuscule pieces. He was looking at her hands in understanding.

'He noticed? He knows?'

"I know what you are doing." He said, eyes wide, as a smile broke out on his face. "I've seen that. I know this. Now it all makes sense. That name you chose, as well. Nara. It's from Naruto. So are those hand signs, that... that was a genjutsu. You are using chakra? Does that even exist?" the last bit he seemed to be asking himself, gaze turning inward, a finger to his lips once more. "The pictures on your wall and mirror. Characters from that series. Or... of course you'd have a fascination with it, if you could do something similar yourself. It makes me wonder how much in the realm of manga is based on reality, now..."

"That's ridiculous!" Mogi claimed. He stood behind the couch next to Soichiro, still eyeing the tea pot, which Watari now held upside down, warily. "Magic, like from a cartoon?"

"Ryuzaki! What are you saying?" Light asked. He looked askance at the sunken-eyed man, then back at his sister, who just smiled and nodded. The confirmation made him blink stupidly, mouth gaping like a fish. Shikako didn't often see such a stupefied look on her little brother's face. She couldn't help it and broke out laughing at the sight.

Ryuzaki turned to Light, his voice even and sincere, "Your sister is psychic. Which backs my theory. No one else believed it, though. In fact, I remember she herself scoffed at the idea of psychics, didn't you? I suppose that's to be expected if you were intent on hiding it. Why expose it now?" He turned back to her, still thumbing at his lip.

Her laughter died down as the became serious once more, "About that, there's a few very good reasons why I am showing you this. It was something better left secret, but that's not in my hands now. One, I want to trust you. Two, the world is going to have official proof of psychics, soon. We need to control how that happens, because it will happen either way. Three, you uniquely are in a position to do something to help many people, so I bring this matter to you. I showed you my specific power, because I needed you to understand. I am psychic, having been making things disappear- but I am not Kira. I don't use psychic powers to make people die of heart attacks. I still don't know why, but it feels like Kira isn't a psychic to me. Call it a hunch."

Almost everyone in the room was staring at Shikako with a new perspective, some merely assessing, like Mogi and Ukita, and others a bit frightened, like her own family. Matsuda frowned, staring at the floor. Agent Rei had leveled a hard gaze in Shikako's direction, probably going over every moment they'd spent together up until then in her mind. Sora had his eyes closed, arms crossed. L, meanwhile, had a wide-eyed gaze, and an accompanying smile like a happy kid in a candy store, promised as much of his favorite treat that he could carry. Watari had backed away, watching warily.

"You yourself are psychic, yet you think Kira isn't? Intriguing. Why?" Ryuzaki asked her.

After taking a sip, she set her tea cup down on the table once more, "While there are different kinds of psychics, most are not able to harm others. Psychic doesn't just mean dangerous. The vast majority of psychics aren't able to influence others like that! You can help them, though, and they will need help soon."

She had intended to show her 'psychic powers' in her own way, rather than letting Dan call the shots, but hadn't expected any of them to connect it to the Naruto-verse. That the detective had done it accurately and so quickly was actually impressive. And more than a bit troublesome. She did not want to explain that part. Most people wouldn't have paid much attention to her quick motions, or might not have connected them to the manga. (Clearly Ryuzaki had read the Naruto mangas.)

Ryuzaki pondered her statement, "How so?"

"There's nothing we can do about Kira alone, obviously. Whatever he's doing, he isn't just going to stop because we ask. There is someone else though, a man known as Dan, that is about to reveal psychic powers to the world. That's why I've brought this to you, otherwise I'd have kept it to myself. It's the manner that he will do so which is the problem. This will create a dramatic shift in how the world functions, when people realize it's real and not just a television show. Think of the old 'War of The Worlds' radio broadcast, but for real." She knew this had been a thing in this world, so referenced it easily. "It's the equivalent of a world-wide terror attack, really. It would turn families against themselves, neighbors against each other, even just the suspicion would do that, if it is instantly connected to something like a mass murderer. This man claims that Kira is working with him, to provide 'divine justice' but I believe that part is not true. He intends to use it as a means of control."

Ryuzaki nodded, "It would be an effective and efficient one."

"If people know for an absolute certainty that psychics are real, it will have long reaching consequences. Dan wants to use it to control the world with fear of psychic retaliation. Aside from what Kira has already done to the world, which could always be explained with something more mundane like a virus spreading through a population or something like a biological weapon at his disposal, but since there's a more than likely chance that people will see through that, it probably wouldn't hold water. You have a chance to stop the worst of it from happening, with your international and government connections. You probably can't stop Dan's broadcast before he manages to hold the world hostage."

"Oh, I get it!" Matsuda chimed in, having calmed down enough while listening to Shikako, "If you can get the governments to back you, they can create safe zones for psychics and fair treatment laws concerning them!"

"That's right." She agreed, nodding in his direction. He smiled widely in turn. "They need to address it, and fast, because Dan is moving on this tomorrow. Dan has many people, infinite outlets, and we have no way of predicting when or how it will happen, so we have to be prepared and head him off first. That's why I bring this to you, L."

"Wait! What did you say? You mean Ryuzaki is really L?" Light jumped to his feet and stared openly at the hunched figure of the strange man with dark rimmed eyes. His expression hardened, until he turned to his sister once more, gaze softening, "Why hide that? Wait, that was because you think I might be a suspect in this case? I see. So how do you know?"

Shikako let out a put-upon sigh, "Sorry, yeah, he's L. And I guessed."

'If Light couldn't figure that one out on his own, then he's an idiot, and Light is not an idiot. He probably figured that Ryuzaki was L from the beginning, but didn't voice it.'

Ryuzaki stared at the two of them, then scratched at his leg with his bare toes. "You're so quick to out me. I'm hurt. I'm starting to think the two of you are really working together as Kira." he said in a mockingly mournful voice.

"Impossible!" Light protested, waving an arm in front of his face in a cutting motion, signifying a 'no'. "My sister is not Kira, and neither am I!"

"We haven't ruled anything out." Ukita stated, hands gripping the back of the loveseat.

Ignoring her brother's indignation and Ukita's agitation, she continued, wanting to stay on her topic, "There will still be a broadcast as damage control, there's nothing we can do about that, now that Dan's got the idea. No matter how many times we try to control or block it he will get it out there in some form. It will have to be believable, too. So we're going to do it first and cut his false ties to Kira, and change it from a terrorism threat to a simple acknowledgement of a people that have been unseen until now, before he can try to do that. We'll make certain that the initial broadcast will ensure that psychics will be safe from official retaliation, and possibly from individuals acting like vigilantes if we hint that it won't be tolerated. It might keep them safe from being associated officially with Kira, if governments are backing it. You as well as I know that the moment people realize that their neighbors are psychic they will think they are as bad as Kira. It wouldn't be good. You need to do damage control on that fast. We're going to air the message before it happens, I've already got someone working on it, so you might want to get on that and help support them. We're sending out the message tonight. Dan's was planned for noon tomorrow."

"You have people? Hm. How do you know Kira isn't working with him?" Ryuzaki asked, hunched over with a hand in his jeans pocket.

Light ran a hand through his hair, unintentionally mussing it up, and sat back down on the chair he'd occupied moments ago. Shaking his head, he stared at the empty tea cup again, seeing his sister in a new way. This had been shocking, and it was apparent by the distress on the boy's face. He recalled an incident, many years ago, in which the shadows played at her feet. He had wondered if it were true, or just his imagination. Looking back up at his sister, sitting confidently in a room full of people who had just heard she was not 'normal' and looking as if this was a daily occurrence, he wondered just how long she had wanted to tell people about this, and what it would mean for her now. What exactly was her ability? She hadn't been making shadows disappear- only liquids. The shadows had moved. He frowned at her, not knowing what to think. There was more she was hiding. With a sigh, he grabbed a cookie, taking a bite.

"Fair question. I know because I found one of Dan's followers, and he confirmed that the 'divine justice' line is just a ploy to get Kira to come out of hiding and back Dan's proposal." Shikako told them. "Dan is planning on airing his message on the major television stations world wide, tomorrow at noon, as if he already had Kira working with him. He might already know how it could pan out, because Dan seems to be a precognitive psychic. He knows the future, in regards to what happens to himself, so far as we know." She didn't air her concerns about this because she wasn't positive, but there was the chance that there was more to Dan's abilities. Or he had another person who could do more. She would figure that out herself, if she needed to.

"Who is this follower, then?" Mogi asked, falling into a chair in the back of the room. He had grabbed one of the cookies, and was staring at it as if it were alive, still processing the fact that the world was not as it seemed.

"Me!" a disembodied voice chirped loudly throughout the room. Mogi dropped his cookie in startlement. The invisible boy materialized beside Shikako, suddenly appearing seated next to her on the couch, a steaming teapot held carefully in an oven mitt in his hands. There was a loud uproar as everyone in the room gasped or, in Matsuda's case, outright screamed. If the disappearing tea wasn't enough to convince them, the appearing boy did the trick. Rei set her tea down on a nearby table and pushed it away.

"This is amazing, and I want to know how you did that. Yet again, Shikako, you out me to someone else. I truly am hurt by this." Ryuzaki said, though his voice gave no indication of any type of hurt, period. If anything, he sounded more amused. "I do understand the consequences such a message could create. We will take steps to control this situation. However, this also means one thing. The probability of you being Kira... has increased by sixty percent."

Light, having been biting into the cookie once more as Ryuzaki said that, began to choke and cough momentarily. Shikako quickly handed him her half-full teacup and as he took a greedy swallow, he glared at the man venomously. "What? Probability? On what are you actually basing this?" Light asked once his throat cleared.

Ryuzaki wiggled his toes as he stepped over the broken shards of his tea cup and walked toward the coffee table between Light's chair and the couch where the vanishing tea had been. Light made a strangled sound as he stared at his sister, coughing a bit more. Hideo leaned forward to refill the cup for him.

"Oh, come on!" she countered, "You're pulling those numbers out of-"

"Michiko!" Soichiro yelled, but there was something wrong with his voice, too high, then breaking suddenly. He wasn't admonishing her, but rather he was reaching a hand towards her, catching himself on the back of the couch behind where she sat. He gasped once again, his other hand moved up to clutch at his arm, while most of his weight fell forward over the back of the couch and shoved forward.

Hideo turned in his seat, eyes startled. The teapot slipped off the oven mitt and splashed all over the table in front of him. "Aah!" he backed away from the hot liquid.

"D-Dad! What's wrong?" Light asked, jumping to his feet, his own distress forgotten.

Soichiro gasped, grasping at his chest, and fell to the floor.

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Author's Note: That took a sudden serious turn. I was originally going to have every single sugary substance in L's building vanish overnight. Without explanation. Brain... best laid plans... where did you two fly off to? Ah, well... it wouldn't have worked so well.

Interesting Name meanings, from what I can tell, and I'm not claiming these to be canon or accurate:

Yagami = Night god, or A god of night.

So that means- "A god of night, Light or moon"= Yagami Light.

Michiko = a beautiful and wise child.

Sayu = Sadness? Feeble? White? Depends on origin.

Sachiko = Child of good fortune/or bliss, Happiness.

Soichiro = First son.

Amane- sound of the heavens

Onni - Happiness/luck

Dan - Judge or Govern (Also can be from Daniel as in One Under God)

Laine - Wave

Yuko- (yu) gentleness, superiority and (ko) child

Hideo is a Japanese name written with the character for "hide" (excel, beauty, excellence) There's a pun in there somewhere if you read that as English instead of Japanese pronunciation. Might have to look for it though. XD

And Wendy of course, came from Peter Pan, though I may have been reading a certain Greg Bear book recently.

Names are strange things. If they mean something else to someone else, that's cool too, but this was what I looked up and thought it was quite fitting and interesting how they had chosen some of the names for this series. Names that wouldn't really exist, but sound like they might. Since I didn't know much about names to begin with, I just chose one for Shikako that I knew was an actual name since I went with traits I figured her family there would focus on.

This series has the strangest 'English' names I've ever seen. "Beyond Birthday" being the more important one. He was the guy that had been born with Shinigami eyes in the BB murders case, the person L got the name 'Ryuzaki' from in case anyone doesn't have that back story, it was sold as it's own written novel starring Naomi Misora.

Why am I going on about names? Eh, someone told me that Nukka (-which is not a name I came up with, as someone from the forum found it and to all of us, it stuck. It's an actual name, probably Inuit or something. I dunno. It roughly means 'little sister' like a sister's little sister.) Well, someone told me that it means something rude in slang. I'd never heard of that. I want to let you all know, regardless of potential slang meanings, this is an actual name and is not anything meant to be offensive. Apparently in Finnish it's something like 'fuzz', if Google is accurate. (When is it ever? I dunno. I Googled all of these names to get these meanings.)

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