Disclaimer: Death Note is not mine at all, nor is anything but this laptop on which I'm writing this, an old car, and a can of Diet A&W beside me.
EDITED!! NOW IN 3rd PERSON POV!!
CHAPTER 14 - SPANISH INQUISITION REDO
"I want to know what the task force has been doing."
"Still on about that, eh?" Keiko wondered idly, looking bored and resigned. "I thought I told you, Light, I can't tell you."
"Oh, come on."
She raised an eyebrow at him warily. "What are you, trying to recreate the Spanish Inquisition?" At the look of persistence on his face, she sighed heavily. He folded his hands together, looking at her intently—like he was testing her (Keiko rolled her eyes). "All right, all right. If you really want to know about the case… tell me what you do know. I can't hide from you what you've already learned."
"Okay… You've sent out more than one person known as 'L,' correct?"
Keiko blinked. "You're well-informed."
"And right now, I'm considered the top suspect in the Kira case."
"Yup."
"So is this an official interrogation or is this off the record?"
Keiko shook her head at his question. "Light, you should know by now that nothing is ever 'off the record' for a detective. Everything is fair game."
He sighed. "I should've known. In that case… why do you think I'm Kira?"
"It's nonsense to explain 'why' to a suspect!" she protested loudly. "What do you think I am? Ryuzaki—I mean, Ryuga—would have a fit if he found out I was even discussing this with you." Keiko paused, trying to organize and rephrase her thoughts in a reasonably acceptable manner. "You could learn from your mistakes and then end up on top, and we definitely don't want Kira to do that."
"No, indeed," he murmured pensively. He had an air of falseness about him that she couldn't quite place. Seeing his slightly stiff mask, Keiko's heart sank a few notches. Even though this was Light-o, her long-time friend and ally, it was looking more and more like he really was Kira… and the thought didn't at all appeal to her. Keiko could see one side of why Ryuzaki stayed holed up in his room all the time… never meeting anyone would inevitably mean no heartache when something happened to someone—when someone turned out to be entirely different from what one previously thought. "But then, you could be a prime candidate, too," he said at last. "For Kira suspect."
"Do tell," Keiko prodded, all ears.
"Well, the part that stands out to me the most is your repeated failure before L on the cases you've had with him—granted, you've been successful with your legwork and your headwork—"
"And my elbowwork, and my Achilles tendonwork..." she added flippantly.
Light rolled his eyes, but gave a smirk of amusement. "But... the times when you tried to lure a killer somewhere, you failed miserably in defending yourself, and thus received unnecessary injuries. Not only this, but you are always in second place—except psychology, that is. It could be from a battered pride that you want to incapacitate killers before you have to do anything with them yourself—a sort of proof that you are, in fact, competent." He paused to gather his thoughts. "You typically only deal with criminals who'd end up with the death sentence, anyway, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think, 'with this new power, I won't have to work as hard. I'll just be taking care of things more efficiently'."
"Except for the fact that the justice system is chucked out the window, by that point," she noted dryly.
"Ah, but not if you have enough evidence to pin on them already. If you think about it, most of them are condemned already, so why waste time and tax money on dragging them through the courts?" Light looked a heck of a lot more serious by now, and stared at Keiko with a fiery intensity that scared her… the recent dream came to mind…
.:FLASHBACK MODE:.
"If he's the world's greatest detective, I can surpass him…"
"Light-o…"
His eyes glowed orange, evilly glinting at you. He pulled out a black notebook. "Tell me, what's L's real name…?"
"I—I don't know that, Light-o!" You gave a nervous laugh. This kid wasn't Light-o anymore… he was scary… "What are you talking about?"
"I am Kira," he said softly.
.:END FLASHBACK:.
Keiko shook off the unpleasant memory. "Um… I'm a cop. It's my job to nab the killers, not kill them myself."
"But it is Kira's job to kill the killers before they can kill anyone else. And Kira's killed no police yet, so it stands to reason that Kira would have a close relative in the NPA, or would possibly be a member of the NPA him- or herself."
"Oooh, you think Kira might be a girl?"
"Perhaps."
"Does it matter?"
"Perhaps." He smiled slightly. "I'm thinking you might be Kira. You're smart enough, you have access to the task force data, you're in the NPA, and you have more than enough motive. Only thing is, you don't know L's name."
"No one does, I don't think," Keiko retorted. "I don't even think L himself knows it anymore, he's changed his freaking alias so many times."
Light chuckled at that. "But perhaps you're not… you know how to manipulate others, and as Ryuga is a guy, then if you were Kira, you could easily seduce him and trick him into giving you his name. You are an actress."
Keiko's jaw dropped in surprise. "I can't believe you just said that, Light-o! Ugh!"
"But then, it's not like you to forcibly manipulate others into things that huge… so maybe not…"
"So I'm still a suspect, you're saying?"
"Yup."
"Well, so are you, Light-o. And Ryuga hasn't investigated me yet, may I remind you."
"But he has no need to. He's works with you."
"Good point." Keiko paused, turning on the offensive. "But hey, you're still suspect because you also have access to NPA files—you can hack—and you also have someone close in the NPA, you also are smart enough, and you also have ample incentive to kill criminals."
"And enlighten me: what are those motives?"
"Fear that your father will die in the line of duty. Hatred of immoral people. Love of justice. Showing the world that you've got a mind of your own and can think and act for yourself, as in, tired of being a stereotype. I can keep going, if you want..."
He didn't say anything, but just pondered this for a few moments, until Sayu stuck her head in the door. "Hey, you coming back down, Keiko-chan?"
She turned around. "Oh, yeah! Be right there." After Sayu left, Keiko turned back to Light a little ruefully. "Well, Light, guess I'll see you in the morning."
He nodded and stood to open the door for her like a gentleman. "Good night, Keiko-chan…"
Ryuzaki was sulking.
He'd been so sure that Keiko was attracted to him… and the sudden possibility that she wasn't… well, he was rather miffed. Not to mention upset. He kept telling himself that the whole thing was ridiculous (his ever-growing fondness for her, the fact that he was upset over her absence, and her desire to be under the same roof as Kira), but he could not shake the feeling of worry he got from the knowledge that Keiko and Light were together.
Not with him. Not under his supervision. Not with him…
You are an idiot, he told himself silently as he played with his lower lip. A fool for thinking that you could possibly develop feelings for someone… A fool for thinking that someone could love you back…
"Ryuzaki." Watari's voice came from across the room as the older man crossed over to the dispirited detective. "There is a call from Keiko-chan…"
Instantly, he perked up, and snatched the proffered cell phone from Watari's grasp. Watari chuckled silently at Ryuzaki's blatant show of affection, backing away to give him some privacy.
"Ye-e-e-es?" he said slowly, unable to hide a trace of playfulness from his tone. Why his mood had changed so suddenly, he wasn't sure.
Keiko's amusement could be heard as she chuckled. "You're in a surprisingly good mood. I didn't think you'd want to talk to me."
"Why wouldn't I want to talk to you?"
She waited a few seconds.
"Mm, yes… I seem to recall you thinking that I was sulking like a baby." Ryuzaki slumped forward just slightly. "Where are you, currently?"
"On the porch. Everyone else is asleep."
Ryuzaki glanced up at the clock to see that it was after midnight. "I see. And why aren't you asleep?"
Keiko sighed into the phone. "For one, I don't have to wake up early tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep in. Second, I couldn't sleep. Third, I thought you'd want to know that I'm not dead. Fourth, because… I just wanted to talk. Are those good reasons?"
He paused. "You're very thorough."
"Am I right, though? On reason three, I mean."
"…Yes, you are." He gave a tiny smile. She knew him well… not that predicting that particular desire was very difficult… "About what do you wish to talk?"
Keiko giggled on the other end. "So formal…" But she smiled to herself. As much as she loved Yagami and his family, she sort of missed the hunchbacked detective. She looked forward to Monday, when she'd see him again…
That Tuesday...
Keiko leaned against a wall, wondering exactly what to do. Naomi had been missing for months, now, and Keiko was, needless to say, quite worried. Of course, this was added to her already-growing pile of mental stress from being on the Kira case, constantly holding back her feelings for L, Yagami's recent heart attack, and her no-electricity situation (Keiko had elected to stay with Ryuzaki since the weekend, a fact which made him seem a little more upbeat, she noticed with amusement).
"As for Naomi Misora-san…" continued Ukita slowly, gesturing with a half-burned-out cigarette. He stared at the floor in stolid petulance, lost in thought.
"Damn," Keiko whispered into her hand, fixing her gaze on a strange, abstract painting print on the hotel's wall. The bizarre swirls and shapes competed amongst themselves, each vying for Keiko's attention. It was rather ugly and ill-planned, she decided absently… Finally, she mused aloud, "I wonder what could have happened to her… she's smart, strong, and an ex-FBI agent… what could've outwitted her?"
"We only have the hotel employee's statement that she hasn't been back since late at night on December 27…" continued Ukita as he spared a glance at Ryuzaki, hoping for a word of theory on their lost quarry. "Isn't it time we started an official search?"
Ryuzaki sighed. "If we go public saying her disappearance is related to the Kira case, there's a chance Kira would kill her if she's still alive."
"Man," Ukita complained loudly, throwing his hands in the air. "This is really hard. If we don't tie it to the Kira case, people won't be interested. But if we do, they'll be interested all right, but they won't get involved because they're afraid of Kira." He slapped a handful of papers on the table to emphasize his frustration. Grumbling, he pulled a box of cigarettes out of his pocket and headed for the balcony.
"She can't be alive," murmured Aizawa, looking totally bored. Keiko growled to herself over his nonchalance. Her friend was missing, for Pete's sake!!
"Ryuzaki!!" barked Watari as he quickly walked in, scaring Keiko slightly and making everyone else's eyes turn to him. His expression was fixed and urgent… like something terrible was going on… Even Ukita tossed his only half-burned cigarette to the concrete floor of the balcony and came back inside. "Sakura TV, quick… you have to see this!"
A white background popped up on the screen with four black letters… K… I… R… A…
"I am Kira," came a distorted, fuzzy voice.
Keiko bit her thumbnail worriedly as she listened. "The gothic font… it's a blatant mockery of the one used by L… static-y, garbled voice… home-recorded… really cheap and absolutely crappy!" she finally exclaimed. "Is he screwing with us or what?" Ryuzaki gently hushed her so he could hear the rest of the Kira message.
"If this video is aired exactly at 5:59 PM on April 18th," said the Kira voice, "it is now 5:59 and 38, 39, 40 seconds… Please switch the channels to Taiyo TV. The news anchor, Mr. Kazuhiko Hibima, will die of a heart attack at precisely 6 PM."
Ryuzaki's eyes snapped wide open in horror as poor Mr. Hibima met his maker. "We have to make them stop this broadcast or something terrible is going to happen!" he cried urgently.
His words were like a big, red button that started a chain reaction: the task force members currently present sprang into action like busy little ants whose hill had just been knocked over.
"I'll get Sakura's number!" cried Matsuda as he leapt for the phone.
"I've got a friend at Sakura," called Aizawa, but after a few seconds, he cursed and stomped his foot. "He's got his cell off!"
"Every number I've tried in the entire station's busy," wailed Matsuda hopelessly.
"Dammit!" shouted Ukita, enraged. "Then I'm going over there to make them stop it myself!"
Keiko merely stood there, unable to think of anything useful to do, but watch.
"I hate evil and love justice," continued Kira calmly, as though purposefully creating a drastic irony against the scurry and scramble in the room. "I do not consider the police my enemies, but my allies in my fight against evil."
"That jerk," Keiko muttered angrily, pacing restlessly behind the couch, her gaze locked on the television. "Now he'll get people to think that the police created Kira as some plot to take over the world or something!" Watari busied himself with plugging in the TV sets, and Keiko turned her head to stare at the carpet as she proceeded to tread a furrow into the carpet.
"Just imagine it—a world protected by the police and myself… a world with no place for evil…"
"This just in!" cried a voice from the second TV. "Someone is reported to have collapsed in front of Sakura TV!"
It was then Keiko realized it… This isnot the Kira we've been after for the past four months… But she then registered who it was lying before the entrance of Sakura.
"Ukita!" screamed Aizawa. "Oh my… god! Kira got him…?!" He jumped up and headed for the door, but Keiko was there first and aimed a high kick for his head, throwing him to the ground.
"Forget it, Aizawa-san," barked Ryuzaki from his chair. "Where do you think you're going?"
He groaned—growled, rather—and rubbed his chin as his glare turned up to Keiko. "To Ukita, where else?"
"If you go over there now, you'll get yourself killed, you idiot!" she cried, standing over him, eyes full of anxiety and worry. The tiniest hint of bitter sorrow twisted her features; moisture glistened in her eyes as she stared down at him.
"She's right," echoed Ryuzaki.
"You're trying to tell me to sit here and watch television!?"
"I'm trying to tell you to calm down and be realistic," he replied calmly. "I want to stop that video as much as you do."
"But," Keiko added, voice strained, "if Ukita was murdered by Kira, whoever goes out there will die, too. It means either Kira's there, or he's got cameras telling who's there and when."
Aizawa's face grew red with suppressed fury. "Ukita was murdered by Kira!" he bellowed, spraying spittle every which way and lunging for Ryuzaki. He roughly grabbed Ryuzaki's shoulder, gripping him hard with frustration. "I thought we were risking our lives to arrest that bastard!"
"Stop it, Aizawa!" Keiko cried, lashing out with a forceful kick to his chest. When Aizawa didn't go down and instead began to fight back, she quickly aimed another kick at his ankle, throwing him off-balance, then grabbed his wrist and yanked him towards her waist. When he was partway down, she punched him to the ground quickly. It was all over in a matter of three or four seconds. Aizawa lay there on the ground, nursing his jaw.
"Stop, Shintaro-san," said Ryuzaki with unquestionable authority. He was ordering her as a superior, not as a friend. He then turned to Aizawa, voice rough with fury and mingled sorrow. "Risking your life and doing something that could easily rob you of your life are exact opposites." It struck Keiko that he was shaking, clutching his legs in effort to keep his fearful emotions in check. "I understand your feelings," he continued, teeth grinding, "but please—try to control yourself now. If you go over there and lose your life, too, Aizawa-san…"
Instantly, Keiko sat down beside Ryuzaki, biting her lip and gently clutching his shoulder in what she hoped was a consolatory manner. His hand moved up to grip hers tightly, but he didn't give her any other sign of acknowledgement at her presence. His tone made Aizawa and Matsuda stop. They reluctantly stood there, gazing helplessly at the three television sets.
An awkward silence hung in the air for a few moments, broken only when NHN's report exploded with sound as an armored van drove into the glass doors of Sakura TV Studio.
"What the—!?" Keiko exclaimed.
Ryuzaki's eyes went from wide to in danger of falling out of their sockets. "Well… that's certainly one way of entering without anyone seeing your face," he said slowly.
A few minutes of heavy silence passed, and a cop car skidded to a halt next to the wreckage. "We aren't alone in this," murmured Matsuda in awe. "There are other cops who're ready to stand up and fight Kira…"
It was a simple, yet profound, statement. A tiny smile crossed Keiko's lips. "No. We're not alone."
Forty minutes later, Detective Superintendent Yagami walked into the hotel room, supported by Watari. "Chief!" cried Matsuda. "You okay?" Instantly, Keiko whipped out her cell phone and dialed the Yagamis' number.
"I got the tapes," he rasped, holding up a bag, which Ryuzaki took eagerly. "I'm sorry… I couldn't help myself…"
"Lay down and rest, Yagami-san," said Ryuzaki calmly, sounding very slightly relieved. "We will make sure your actions are not in vain."
On the second ring, Light picked up the phone. "Yagami residence," he said quickly, trying to sound calm—but the recent Kira activity on Sakura made him a little stressed, regardless.
"Light-o," Keiko said breathlessly. "Good. Um… has your mom called you yet?"
There was a pause. "Keiko-chan, is that you?"
"Yeah. Long time, no see, huh? Listen Light—your dad is here at the hotel with the rest of the task force. He's okay."
"Why's Dad out of the hospital!?" he said, raising his voice.
"Don't take that tone with me!" she snapped, frustrated. "He went to Sakura to get the tapes Kira sent. I trust you were watching the broadcast…?"
"Of course… so he was in the armored van, then?"
She nodded, though he couldn't hear her, and began idly pacing on the carpet. "Yeah. Anyway, I thought Sachiko—er, your mom—might've called about him being gone from the hospital or something."
"You said 'hotel'…" Light began. "Where?"
"That's classified information, Light-o. Can't give it away."
"What?!" He grumbled something.
Keiko sighed and shook her head at his useless consternation. "Anyway, just call your mom and tell her your dad's fine. Well, I'll see you later, Light."
"Bye."
She snapped the phone shut and turned back to reality. Seeing Yagami on the couch, she saw that he looked a little breathless. Keiko instantly hurried to the kitchenette to make a cup of tea for him, all the while thinking on his brave deeds. Sometimes action MUST be taken, she mused silently. Not everything can be solved by thought alone.
Finished, she brought the steaming mug over to the weakened chief. "Thank you," he said gratefully.
"Thank you, Uncle Soichiro," she said softly, giving a wan smile.
"Aizawa-san," Ryuzaki barked suddenly, "could you take these over to forensics?" He handed him the envelope that was in the sack, still staring at one of the tapes.
"Sure. I know a lot of people there. I'm sure they'll do a great job." He rambled on about what the forensics department could divine—most of it useless. He left with Matsuda.
Keiko flopped down on the loveseat, opposite Yagami-san. "Geez, what a night. Now we've got TWO to deal with."
Ryuzaki turned to her abruptly. "Two…? Explain."
She could tell he was merely testing her by the expression on his face. "Shove it, Ryuzaki. You know why," she muttered tonelessly, leaning back into the couch. Testily, Keiko sighed and crossed her arms. "And anyway, we should be thinking of how to use this to our advantage, not how it works."
"But how it works might be crucial to solving this case," he answered, chewing his thumbnail. "Explain. If nothing else, it will be good for your intellect." He shuffled over to sit beside her on the small couch, bringing his index finger up to distort his lips into strange positions.
"Fine. This isn't like Kira… first off, it's far too sloppy. Second, Kira hasn't really done anything like this yet—kill off Kira-haters and police officers, that is, because it ruins his image of a would-be peaceful rule. People will fear and hate him, now. Not only that, but giving it to Sakura TV? That makes sense, given the three victims this Kira specified… I think. Remember those three pop stars with drugs who died of heart attacks two days ago? That's probably the work of this new Kira."
"Yes. That is correct. However…" Keiko rolled her eyes. He ignored this and continued, "we should watch the other tapes to see if we can tell for sure whether this might be a new Kira."
"If it is," she said slowly, "perhaps we should see Light-kun's reaction. It might give us a clue…"
"Even if he is Kira, especially if he is Kira," amended Ryuzaki, thoughtfully snacking on a truffle, "he might act, well, surprisingly."
"If I were Kira," she mused softly, "I'd want to keep the possibility of a second Kira a secret so I could use him to my advantage. This one seems more powerful, but stupid, also. He can kill with just a face…"
"So if he suggests the possibility, we should be less suspicious," declared Ryuzaki.
But Keiko was not so convinced. "No. In fact, I'd not suspect him more or less. Light-kun is brilliant, so he may have some kind of plan, even if it's merely reverse psychology to revert suspicion—in this case, announcing that there is a second Kira. If I were Light-o pretending to be Kira (or actually being Kira, for that matter), I'd tell you all that it was the work of a second Kira, predicting that we'd have figured that out already, and thus diverting possible suspicion."
"But I thought that you said if you were Kira…" Ryuzaki began, but he didn't finish—didn't need to. Instead, he raised his teacup to his lips and drained it, making soft slurping noises.
"Because I'm not as smart as either of you," she finished sagely. "Hindsight is 20/20, and now that I really think about it, that's the sort of thing Light-o would do in Kira's place."
"Hm…" Ryuzaki poured yet himself another cup of tea. "We shall call in Light-kun and observe him. In my mind, he will avoid disclosing knowledge of a second Kira—if he is indeed Kira—and we can still observe his actions afterward when we say there is another at work."
Keiko crossed her arms. "I don't like it. But… you're the expert, I guess." She stood, stretching. "Ah… I'm gonna go take a walk. I need some fresh air."
He nodded and sighed after a second. "See you later, Keiko-chan."
Ooh, the plot thickens!! REVIEW!!