Author's Note: This fic was originally written for the LiveJournal community of 30 Kisses. We could all use some L/Misa love, let's be honest. This is an alternative timeline (I really can't justify the "AU" label anymore.), and dabbles with the idea of Misa meeting L before Light. Mature reviews are always appreciated.
Rewrite
Theme 9: Dash
To her surprise, Misa found herself feeling numb over what had transpired on Sakura TV. It wasn't that she was unaware of what she'd done; she knew it had been her responsibility from beginning to end. It was almost as if there was some secret barrier in her mind that determined that she could handle only so much at once, and forcibly cut off any emotional connections she might've had toward the incident.
And honestly, Misa was glad for it.
She had no time to regret or think too hard on what was past. She had put her plan in motion, and now was the time to follow through. At the very least, the only thing she could do at the moment was wait and see what the police's response would be.
She doubted that they'd agree to her demands. In fact, she had almost bet against it once she'd seen the truck go hurtling through the front doors of Sakura TV. She didn't want to admit it out loud, but Misa had been impressed with the courage of whoever it was driving the vehicle. So much so that she might have even let him live even if she had seen his face. Maybe. However, she never got that chance, thanks to the police barricade.
And sure enough, after the four day time limit, the police had released her tape of them rejecting the offer to work with "Kira," with the ultimatum being the NPA director-general or L's life in exchange for their refusal. Well, that was fine with her. She hadn't wanted them to agree to her demands, which is why she'd made them so ridiculous in the first place.
The goal, after all, wasn't for Kira and the police to work together. It was for her to meet Kira, and to kill L for him.
Misa had left Rem mostly out of the loop of this plan, much to the shinigami's chagrin. However, that all changed the day before L was supposed to appear on television for her to do away with him.
Misa turned on the news just in time to watch the message air, all sparkling letters and distorted voice. Far more impressive than hers had been.
"I am Kira. I am the true Kira..."
"Yay!" Misa clapped her hands eagerly, thrilled at the unexpected event. This changed things, but made them easier at the same time.
"...However, killing and threatening the lives of innocent police officers goes against my will..."
And that was really all Misa needed to hear. She was already rummaging around for her video camera.
"What are you going to do?" Rem asked, hovering over her with a confused expression.
Misa rolled her eyes. "Obviously, I'm going to send Kira a reply!"
Rem frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea? How do you even know it's really Kira?"
"He replied to Misa, didn't he?" the girl asked, once she pulled out her camera.
"So? You made the original tape, and you're not Kira," Rem challenged.
Misa opened her mouth to respond, before slowly closing it and pouting. The death god did have a point.
"This could just be a trap by the police to save the NPA director-general and L," Rem said.
Taking a deep breath, Misa shook her head. "I'll take that chance. It really might be Kira, and I wouldn't want to upset him. Besides," she added, "even if it isn't Kira, it gives Misa a better chance to meet Kira before she kills L. Which will make things a lot easier."
"I just don't understand, Misa," the shinigami admitted. "If Ryuuzaki is on the taskforce, why kill L? Why not Kira?"
"Misa already told Rem that Kira is Misa's hero!" the idol snapped, offended. "I couldn't possibly kill him. Anyway, Misa's plan is very good.
"I was originally going to have L appear on TV and get his name then, and wait. Eventually, Kira would have to find Misa in order to get L's name. Just having his face on TV wouldn't be enough, because L is obviously a fake name, and Kira doesn't have the shinigami eyes like Misa does."
"You're sure about that?"
"Yes. Misa has noticed the trend in her scrapbook. Any criminal Kira ever killed had both his name and face on television or the newspaper before they were killed. If Kira had the eyes he wouldn't have had to wait." Misa grinned. "I knew my scrapbook would be useful. Misa can be very smart sometimes, even when she's not trying!
"And, since Kira is very smart, too, he's probably already figured out that the fake Kira does has the eyes. So, he'll know that I have L's real name, and will go looking for me when L's death is not immediately announced. He wants L dead even more than Misa, so he'll definitely go searching for me. Like a prince looking for his princess!" she giggled, delighted.
"But, why kill L?" Rem repeated, still not following.
"Because, Misa can't kill Kira," Misa explained. "And Kira might kill Ryuuzaki-san as long as L is alive. So, when Misa meets Kira she'll make a deal."
"A deal?"
"Yes. I'll offer to be Kira's eyes. I'll kill L for Kira in exchange for being his eyes whenever he wants me to. That way, Kira can have the shinigami eyes without having to make the trade himself."
"But," Rem frowned, "how will that save Ryuuzaki?"
"Think about it," Misa waved a hand. "With L dead, the NPA will definitely disband the taskforce. L is the world's greatest detective! If Kira manages to kill L, the NPA wouldn't dare continue to go after him. Especially after 'Kira' threatened the director-general's life. So, Ryuuzaki-san will be off the case then. And since he's a good detective himself, he'll probably be given another case right away.
"Kira won't ever see who's on the taskforce, so he won't bother asking Misa to kill them, too. Ryuuzaki-san will be perfectly safe."
"I see." Rem looked far from convinced.
"It's just what I want. L will be dead, I'll help Kira whenever he needs me, and I'll be able to be with Ryuuzaki-san, too. Happy ending for Misa!" she grinned and flashed a victory sign at her partner.
"Misa, what if... " the death god looked away, hesitant. "What if Kira decides to kill you after you kill L?"
Misa looked taken aback. "He wouldn't do that! Kira is very kind to people who believe in him, Misa is sure."
"But, what if he does?" Rem insisted. "He's survived this long by making sure no one knows who he is. If you meet him, that security is gone. You'll be just as much of a threat to him as L is now."
"That's not true!" Misa fumed. "I would never do anything to hurt Kira. He's my precious hero. I'm doing this not just to save Ryuuzaki-san, but to protect Kira, too. Misa wants to save them both."
"Impossible."
The girl glared at the monster in front of her with anger and shock rushing through her. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, but found herself unable to say anything.
"Misa," Rem began, the kindness usually in her deep voice gone, "if you keep this up, one of them is bound to die."
"Rem doesn't know anything!" Misa cried, pushing herself off her bed, and storming away from the shinigami. "Rem is just saying this because she wants Ryuuzaki-san dead anyway, because she hates him!"
"You're right that I hate him," Rem agreed. "I hate him because you care enough to sacrifice half of your remaining life for him. I don't see how he can be worth it. But, I care for you more than I hate him, Misa. Enough to know that if Kira does make an attempt on your life, I'll kill him myself."
Misa spun around. "Rem!"
"I won't do it before he makes his move," Rem assured her. "If you meet him, let him touch your Death Note. Let him see me. I'll give him the warning then. I find him to be a bit of a coward with all his hiding. My threat should be enough to keep you alive and safe. I most likely will not have to kill him."
"So, Rem will just bluff?" Misa asked, her anger dissolving.
"No. I'll definitely kill him if he takes your life," stated Rem. "However, I doubt he'll have the courage to consider it after I warn him of the consequences."
Misa didn't think Kira was as weak as her partner believed, but she decided not to argue the point. "But see, Rem? That makes everything okay. Kira, Ryuuzaki-san, and Misa will all be safe."
"...I wish you would reconsider this, Misa," said Rem. "Just think about it."
"What are you talking about? Misa has thought about this a thousand times! Misa's plan is perfect, you'll see," the girl smiled. And with that, Misa set up her camera, preparing to re-dub a tape in response to Kira.
The shinigami's silence, as well as her sad look went unnoticed by her partner.
---
When Misa's second tape wasn't responded to, she began to worry. She thought for sure that Kira would figure out a way to contact her. Maybe he thought that another taped message would be too dangerous, or maybe Rem had been right, and the first recording hadn't been the real Kira, at all. Either or, Misa decided to take matters in her own hands. After all, the police had no real leads against her, so another tape wasn't much of a threat to her safety.
But another tape wouldn't be any good in the end. Anything she put in it to help Kira meet her would certainly be caught by the investigation team. So, Misa decided she'd have to try a different tactic.
The idea of adding in a piece of a diary had been easy. She'd actually had one when she was younger, and she still kept a day planner to keep track of all her interviews and photo shoots. The only difficult part was to think of things to write in that would throw the police off.
Maybe placing the word 'shinigami' in it was a little too obvious, but that really didn't matter. As long as 'notebook' didn't catch their eye, she didn't care what the police thought of her intelligence. They didn't know the context, so Misa would easily outsmart them while they underestimated her. And the Note Blue in Aoyama was the perfect location. Dark and busy, it would be easy to find Kira without anyone noticing her in the crowd.
All the while, Rem would ask Misa to stop her plan, and let it go. To let the Kira investigation just go forth. But that didn't suit Misa. If she did that, either Kira or Ryuuzaki would surely die, and she couldn't bare the thought. Why Rem didn't want her to be happy was something Misa couldn't understand.
Obviously, going to Aoyama as Misa-Misa was a bad idea. Even if she wasn't a celebrity, Misa knew it would be a mistake to walk out in the open in a place where the police might be looking for Second Kira. And she had to make the assumption that they might be. Ryuuzaki was on their team, so he probably figured out that they should go to any place that was mentioned on the specified days.
She wondered briefly if the taskforce itself were to go to the cities she had written in the diary, if Ryuuzaki would be one of them. That would be a disaster, since Misa wasn't too sure Ryuuzaki wouldn't be able to recognize her even with a disguise. However, Misa doubted he'd go since he didn't seem to like being in public much, and he stood out horribly. He'd probably talk his way out of going, if the rest of his teammates didn't outright insist that someone as odd looking as Ryuuzaki would blow their cover.
Deciding that Ryuuzaki would most likely not be there, Misa went about acquiring her disguise. Getting a school uniform from a thrift shop was easy enough, and buying the wig even easier.
The hard thing, Misa found, was getting up in time for her train.
She had been positive that she'd turned her alarm clock on the night before, but when she had woken up groggily, the digital red text alerted her that it was already a quarter past ten. Squealing at the top of her lungs, Misa rushed past a surprised Rem and practically threw herself into the shower.
She completely failed to spot the look of satisfaction on Rem's face.
With loud grunts, and whispered curses --because idols should never really curse, no matter how upset they are-- Misa scrambled to get her clothing on, and put her thick hair underneath her short wig. The bobby pins felt like they were trying to dig into her skull, but at least it looked natural, and that was good enough.
Misa ran out of her apartment, hailing a cab the best she could. Much to her dismay, her new mousy appearance did wonders to make her blend in, but also made her invisible to taxi drivers who would normally stop for her when she had her short skirts and blonde hair out.
When she finally did get a cab, Misa forced herself to relax. She'd arrive in Aoyama much later than she'd hoped; the train ride from her apartment to her destination was about six hours long, including transfers. However, there would still be daylight and hopefully enough time to find Kira, even if it was only a couple hours. Certainly, if he was there he'd spend as much time as he could until nightfall. This was the best chance either of them had to meet each other. He wouldn't risk the opportunity.
Getting to the station, Misa glanced at her watch to notice she had only five minutes before her train arrived. It would be a pinch, but she'd make it in time. She hurriedly walked over to get a ticket, only to have her cell phone ring.
Thinking it was her manager telling her about her next shoot, Misa answered it brusquely. "Yoshi, can you call Misa back later? She's busy."
"...Misa-san?"
It seemed to Misa as if her heart stopped the same time as her legs did. "Ryuuzaki-san?"
"Did I call at a bad time? I'll hang up if-"
"No, no!" Misa frantically waved her free hand in front of the receiver, as if he could see it. "Misa always has time to talk to Ryuuzaki-san. Especially when he barely calls her," she stressed the last sentence.
"I apologize, Misa-san," he said, sounding genuinely sorry. "I'm afraid I've been even busier as of late."
She didn't doubt that, considering the circumstances. "Will Ryuuzaki-san not be able to speak to Misa long?"
"Actually, I'm by myself today," Ryuuzaki admitted. "So, I can stay on for however long you want, I suppose."
Well, that proved her theory about him not showing up in Aoyama. "Does that mean you can visit? Oh! Oh, wait," Misa pouted. "Misa won't be at her apartment today."
"Do you have another photo shoot? I got the latest one in 'Eighteen.' Why are you wearing wings?"
"Misa told you that Shibasaki-san took horrible photos! I wish you wouldn't look at them," she said. "Misa looks ugly in them."
"Misa-san never looks ugly."
It was a throwaway sentence for Ryuuzaki; said in the same tone he used whenever he was stating a fact. It was not intended to be a compliment, and she knew it.
And for that reason alone, Misa felt utterly flattered. She blushed and smiled brightly, almost hugging the phone against her cheek.
"Ryuuzaki-san can be very sweet," she told him, face warm.
"Hmm?" He didn't seem to understand exactly what she meant, and Misa's face reddened more because of it.
"So, Ryuuzaki-san thinks Misa is pretty?" she prodded, unable to help herself.
"I think it would be foolish to think otherwise," Ryuuzaki explained, analytically. "You are a model. You'd have be attractive to be in such a business."
Misa huffed. "But you'd say I was pretty even if I wasn't a model, right? Right?" The responding silence made her angry enough to stamp her foot. "Ryuuzaki-san is being mean to Misa again!"
"...Would you want me to say you were pretty, Misa-san?" he finally spoke, and she didn't miss the undertone of amusement in his voice.
"All women like being told they're pretty," she informed him heatedly. "If Ryuuzaki-san was as smart as he thought he was, he'd know that."
"Forgive me, Misa-san," he said. "I guess I just don't know how to act around women. Especially the beautiful ones."
And there it was again, only this time Misa felt like the compliment was deliberate. It still had its desired effect of making her blush for the second time.
"Say... If Ryuuzaki-san is off today, does that mean he might be able to visit Misa tomorrow?" she asked, hopeful.
"No, I'm afraid not," he answered. "I'll have far too much work to do."
Misa realized he was right. The taskforce would most likely meet tomorrow to go over anything that was found in Aoyama. He'd probably be there for most of the day, as they poured through security tapes alone. Aoyama was a rather decent sized neighborhood, and-
"Oh, no!" Realization kicked in, and Misa nearly dropped her phone as she spun around towards the tracks, just in time to see her train leave so she could kiss it goodbye. "I don't believe it! This is the worst!"
"Whoops," Rem said, coming down from the roof of the station.
"'Whoops?'" Misa repeated, hand going over the receiver of her phone, so she could hiss under her breath, "Why didn't you warn me it was leaving?"
The shinigami shrugged. "You seemed to be enjoying your conversation so much, I didn't want to interrupt you."
Misa gave her partner a dark stare, and jutted her jaw out. "Rem could be far more helpful next time!"
"I'll keep that in mind," blithely promised Rem, and Misa didn't really believe it.
"Misa-san?" Ryuuzaki prompted on the other end.
Misa got back on the phone. "I missed my train because of Ryuuzaki-san."
"Me?"
"Yes, you! Misa was so busy talking to you, she didn't notice the train came and went. Now, I have to wait for a whole other hour for another one."
"I didn't mean to make you miss your train, Misa-san," he said. "Should I let you go now?"
"No, you can't," she told him, sitting down on a bench. "Since he made Misa miss her train, Ryuuzaki-san has to stay on the phone until the next train arrives."
"Okay, then. So-"
"And Misa gets to pick the topic."
"You do?"
"Yes. As punishment for making me wait."
"...Fine," Ryuuzaki answered, wary. "What do you want to talk about?"
Misa took a deep breath and leaned back. There were a lot of things she wanted to talk to Ryuuzaki about, but almost all of them would have him hang up and never call back again. Besides, if Misa thought about nothing but Kira right now, she'd become even more upset over the missed train.
So, she decided on a topic that wasn't quite as pressing, but still was important for other reasons.
"Why does Ryuuzaki-san think Misa is pretty?"
"...Misa-san, can't we discuss something- ?"
"Misa picks the topic, and that's that! Ryuuzaki-san has to answer."
"I don't see how that's fair."
"It's not supposed to be fair. That's why it's a punishment."
Rem watched on as her partner continued the conversation for over an hour with no actual answer ever given by the detective on the other end. The shinigami had rather hoped that Misa would somehow miss the second train as well, but luck wasn't on her side this time. She could only hope she had stalled the girl enough for Kira to be long gone by the time she arrived. Because she knew all too well what the consequences of their meeting would be, and it would only lead to Misa's heart breaking.
And Rem had decided that if Ryuuzaki's happiness was Misa's, then Misa's happiness was her own. It was just that the shinigami couldn't figure out a way to guarantee the happy ending Misa so desperately wanted. So for now, all Rem could do was try to delay the inevitable disaster.