+Part 20+

December 21, 2009

6:07 p.m.

For the next several days, Matt and I stalked Kiyomi Takada's every single move. From morning to night we were close behind her, and there wasn't a single public act she took that hadn't been observed and documented by me. Of course, I would have liked to observe her from an even closer distance, but that was virtually impossible. Just as I was never far from Takada, her bodyguards were never far from her. At home, her personal female armada was at hand, and anytime she left her apartment, her swarm of black-clad armed forces was surrounding her. She never took a step by herself, and I couldn't risk being caught by them at this stage.

I did notice two very crucial things in that time, however: one, that she still met regularly with Light Yagami at the same hotel; and two, that she seemed to have taken a strong liking to Halle. No matter where Takada went or what she did, Halle was always within arm's reach. She was the newswoman's closest companion by far. Rather shallow of Takada, to have chosen the most attractive female out of the bunch to confide in. Or perhaps Kira had warned her that a member of the SPK was among her guards, and Takada had been smart enough to pick her out. Why keep her so close at hand then? Was it to leak hints at Near and guide him the way Kira wanted? Would Kira really trust that smitten newswoman to handle such a challenge for him? It remained to be seen.

Late in the evening, once Takada had finished up with News 9, Halle escorted her into a car and then got behind the wheel, something she didn't usually do. Of course a couple cars full of her muscular bodyguards followed behind. I tailed them on my motorbike to a quaint, private vacation hotel. To my surprise, Mogi was there waiting outside of a car. Mogi was Misa Amane's—the former Second Kira's—guard/manager. So Takada and Amane were meeting? But why? I watched from a safe distance as only Halle and Takada entered the hotel. So Halle would be sitting in? That meant I could ask her what was transpiring tonight.

I remembered what Matt said about trusting her too much. He was right, and I couldn't put all my faith in her word, but I had no other window into Takada's private life. I would need to call her soon, perhaps right after Takada went home for the night, that way she wouldn't have any time to come up with an adequate lie. I could confirm her information later, and then proceed.

Not even an hour had passed before Takada left in a huff with Halle close by her side. They drove off and her army of bodyguards followed. A couple minutes later, Misa Amane came staggering out with a bottle of wine in one hand and her purse in the other. Mogi attempted to aid her with both arms outstretched, asking if she was okay.

"Of course I am! I won!" she announced in a slurred voice.

"You won?" he questioned.

"Yeah, piece of cake."

What the hell was she talking about? Mogi guided her into the car and they left, and then the parking lot was practically empty except for me.

December 22, 2009

12:39 a.m.

An hour after Takada and Amane had gone home, I called Halle's cell. It took her a while to pick up, and when she answered, she was whispering. "Mello, what's the matter?"

"What were those two talking about?" I said quietly.

"…What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me at this point in the game. Misa Amane and Kiyomi Takada—what were they doing meeting with each other?"

"…So you've been spying on Takada."

"You knew that already, now stop being coy. It won't work on me."

"…I'll have to be quick, because Takada is sleeping in the next room. I hardly ever get any time alone anymore. This woman is busy and popular…and very demanding." I heard a brief shuffle of cloth and she exhaled. "A few days ago, Amane was at NHN discussing plans for her comeback performance, and she and Takada had a bit of a tiff. I had to restrain Amane in order to prevent her from assaulting Takada, but then Takada insisted Amane was her good friend and didn't want her to be treated that way. Today, Takada had me call Amane's stand-in manager, Mogi, and request that they have dinner together. Amane complied and they had dinner at that hotel. I thought it might be something of interest since Takada insisted I come along too, but they pretty much spent the entire time arguing over which one of them was Light Yagami's girlfriend."

"That's all they spoke about?" I sneered.

"Amane ended the conversation by telling Takada that Light would eventually catch Kira, and then she would get the death penalty. Takada seemed very shaken by that statement, and got up to leave, telling me to keep the conversation confidential or else Amane might be killed by one of the Kira worshippers. That comment struck me the most. I wasn't aware Takada could be so vindictive."

Of course she was, because she knew Light was Kira. But considering Amane's behavior…it was almost 100% certain that Kira had ordered her to give up her ownership of her Death Note, thus relinquishing her memories of it. Kira had literally rendered her innocent, as she had no idea of her own crimes any longer. No wonder spying on her had given me zero information. But now I could be sure Takada was obsessively devoted to Light, and thus to Kira—making her more dangerous than I had originally assumed. Of course, I would need some kind of solid confirmation. I couldn't simply go by Halle's word anymore, even though she was my only lead.

"…Mello? Are you there? Are you alright?"

I hung up on her and returned to the apartment, parking my motorcycle next to the Godforsaken Camaro. Matt had spent two straight days overhauling the engine, I suppose still semi-self-loathing over the fact that I'd nearly gotten my throat cut because the engine failed. I had observed him now and then through the window as he removed the engine and took it apart piece-by-piece, tweaking and cleaning and reworking it, and then putting it all back together again. His focus was undeniable since he didn't even listen to any music while he worked. When he finished he'd assured me that we'd never have problems with it again. I believed him, but I still wished he had just picked up a new car so we could avoid the problem entirely.

I carried my helmet up the stairs and even before I'd stepped onto our floor I could hear a pounding bass of music. I took a deep breath and hoped it wasn't from our apartment, but the closer I became, the more my hopes died. I stuck the key in the lock and the moment I opened the door, my eardrums were assaulted with a crashing din of heavy metal music. I slammed the door and gritted my teeth as I stomped into the living room, finding him standing in front of the television slamming away at a plastic guitar. His fingers raced up and down across the buttons on the neck, clicking them rapidly as his other hand strummed manically. Colored notes swam down the screen according to the music, and he was bobbing his head to the beat as well, a cigarette clenched in his lips.

I tossed off my jacket and held my hands to my ears as I searched around for the remote. I finally found it under about six chocolate snack wrappers and turned the television off.

Matt jerked forward and threw his hands out. "NO!" he hollered. "No, no, no! What the fuck?" He looked over and saw me there with the remote. "Mello, I was pwning on EXPERT!"

I jammed the remote into his chest. "You won't be doing fucking anything unless you TURN IT DOWN."

"But it's no fun if you can't hear it..."

"Can't HEAR it? The whole goddamn building can hear it! We are trying to keep a low profile, so turn it the fuck down!"

"Okay, okay!" He turned the TV back on to see that he'd failed the song. He lowered the volume not quite halfway and then hit the retry option. "I had a perfect score going, y'know—on EXPERT," he insisted, as if that would matter to me in any way.

"I could care less about your little kid games."

"Kid game? Ha, I'd like to see YOU pwn on expert. Don't think so." He began to throttle the plastic guitar again as the notes flew down the screen, almost too fast to keep track of, and also very tiny. But somehow Matt was hitting every single one. At least it wasn't making my ears bleed anymore. I grabbed a bar of chocolate and sat down in my chair, watching him for a few minutes just to calm myself down. When he finished the song he threw his fists forward. "Fuck, yeah! 100%!" He grinned over at me. "Flawless!"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Since when did you have this game? I don't remember packing that guitar controller."

"Oh, if you disconnect the neck you can store it easier so I had it in my suitcase. I got another one if you wanna play."

"No."

"C'mon, you can customize your players and I actually made some that look like us. Come and play as yourself."

I rubbed my eyelids. "Not now, Matt. Just play on your own."

He paused his game and snuffed out what was left of his cigarette. "Something up, Mello?"

"I'm just fed up with sitting around and waiting for something to break in this case. Sitting and waiting is what Near is good at and I hate it."

"I know how you feel, dude." He started another song.

"I just followed Takada to a dinner meeting with Misa Amane, and she had Halle sit in."

"Man, sounds like a skank convention."

I ignored that. "I thought the conversation might actually be worth knowing, but according to Halle they spent the entire time arguing over which one of them was Light Yagami's woman."

Matt chuckled. "That guy makes me jealous," he joked.

"It's irritating, to say the least."

"I guess there's really nothing else we can do for now though, unless we wanna make a move first. Like I said, I can bug her."

"It's too dangerous to approach her in person," I told him. "I can't take a chance that big."

"Okay…" He spoke as he played. "I suppose even if we figured out what room they were staying in so I could intercept their signal, it'd be too risky."

I lowered my chocolate from where I was about to bite it. "What did you say, Matt?" I demanded, bolting up in my chair.

"Yeah," he continued. "If I could get a room close enough, like above or below maybe, I might be able to intercept their audio transmission. You said the Japanese taskforce was listening in on Takada and Light, so I could try and find out what they're saying, but you said we shouldn't make any moves like that..." He hadn't taken his eyes off his game and his voice was distracted.

"Could you really do that, Matt? Without being detected?"

"Well, they wouldn't know I was hacking them if that's what you mean. I can't be positive that one of her crazy bodyguards won't see me. I dunno how tight they got the place watched and all... With how popular that chick is they might have business blocked off…"

"But if we could get in and get a room we could listen in on their conversation?"

"Sure, IF they really have the room bugged and IF we can get that close…"

"Matt," I said, going over to the TV and shutting it off again. He was in the middle of the song so he threw up his hands again.

"Weak, Mello! C'mon!"

I grabbed him by his shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me sooner that you could do this?"

"…Because you said it was too dangerous," he mentioned. "You shot me down when I suggested it the first time."

"When you suggested planting a bug ON Takada, not hacking their transmission from a distance!"

"I figured it was off-limits either way." He took his cigarette from his mouth. "Wait, now you're saying you wanna do it?"

"If at all possible, yes! And soon!"

"Uh, okay, no sweat. I'll get some stuff together tonight and then we can figure out how to find out what room to set up in."

I sighed and shook my head. "Why didn't I think of something like this before? Damn it, I'm off my game." I sat back on the sofa beside him. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

Matt sat down next to me. "Well, you did almost get killed, man. And not for the first time. Anyone would be kinda messed up over that."

"Not me," I argued.

"Yeah, Mello, even you." He put his hand on my back. "You're not totally inhuman, okay? I know that better than anyone. It's okay for you to be a little flustered after getting your throat nearly cut. I mean, I kinda still am, and it wasn't even my throat. So just chill a little, okay? We still got time."

"Matt…" I shook my head. "I hate when you get ideas before I do."

"I know," he said, standing up and turning the TV back on. He resumed his game. "But you can't be a super-genius every second of every day or else you'd be a creepy little hobgoblin like Near, and then you'd NEVER get laid." He chuckled and I kicked him in the ass, making him miss a few notes. "Aw, man!"

I sighed and lounged back on the sofa, eating my chocolate again. Finally, I had something to look forward to.

December 22, 2009

8:05 p.m.

That evening, after Matt had packed all the equipment he required in his suitcase, leaving all his clothes and toiletries in the apartment, we drove in our separate vehicles to the Teito Hotel. I parked across the street at the restaurant there and he parked in the lot around the side, mulling about until Light and Aizawa showed up. Once they did, I called him to let him know. He casually got out of the car and entered the lobby a few good feet behind them.

The plan we'd come up with was fairly simple: he would go in to overhear what room they reserved and then see if there was one available nearby. I didn't like him standing so close to Kira himself, but this was the only way to find out what room they were in while avoiding Takada's hardcore bodyguards at the same time. It ruffled my nerves as I watched them in the lobby together through my binoculars, Matt with his hands in his pockets, appearing unassuming as he waited in line behind them. He wandered off to get a drink in the machine just as Light and Aizawa went to the elevator. Matt chugged his drink as he returned to the counter, successfully keeping his back turned, out of Light's view. Jesus, he'd come within three feet of Kira and the maniac didn't even have a clue.

Matt spoke to the woman behind the counter and then handed her some cash and took a key card. He came back outside and went to the car, giving me the thumbs-up as he dragged his luggage inside and got in a different elevator.

I waited about five minutes before my cell phone rang and I answered it. "How's it going?"

"They're setting up in suite 1101," he told me. "I got a room above it… I tried to get one as close as possible, but it seems they got a whole six floors reserved for their meetings, so nobody is allowed anywhere near them. I ended up in 1703… I figured I'd have less chance running into them if I was above and not below."

"Good thinking."

"I don't think you should come up here though. If you ran into them on the stairs or the elevator… And Takada's bodyguards will be here soon and they'll probably be everywhere."

"I know. I can't risk it. I'll have to listen to the recording you make later."

"Okay… I'm not at all sure I can hack the signal from this distance… I mean, I SHOULD be able to, but…"

"Just do what you can and watch yourself. I'll let you know when they leave so don't move from that room until they do."

"Got it. I'll call you back."

"Okay." I hung up and waited in the restaurant, eating my food slowly. Aizawa left just before Takada showed up after 9:00. It was about two hours before Takada left with her slew of bodyguards, and then Light followed soon after, getting into a cab in the driveway. I speed-dialed and waited for Matt to pick up. "They're gone," I said.

"Yeah, I figured. I successfully recorded their entire conversation."

"Excellent."

"Should I keep this room so we can listen in on every meeting?"

"…Yes, that's a good idea. Wait another 20 minutes just to be safe and then come back to the apartment. It should be okay if Aizawa happens to see you, but do your best not to let him."

"Okay. I'll leave some equipment here, so I won't have to carry that heavy suitcase in and out and look suspicious. I'll just bring what you need to hear the recording."

"Alright." I hung up and drove back to the apartment. Now that I knew this could work, I wouldn't have to wait outside the hotel every time and put myself at risk. I could just leave it to Matt, whose face was unknown.

December 22, 2009

11:49 p.m.

Matt entered the apartment with just a messenger bag containing his laptop, and he set it up in front of me on the coffee table, smoke billowing off the end of his lit cigarette. He brought up an audio recording and cranked up the volume.

"I don't know how happy you'll be about what they said," he mentioned before he played it.

There was a little static before a male voice spoke. "…Being with you every night like this gives me the feeling that we're already living together." So this was the voice of Kira. He sounded so young and cheerful, but of course I knew it was an act.

"Me too, Light," replied Takada. She babbled something about how he liked his tea and coffee, and then mentioned the fact that she had a private talk with Amane yesterday.

There was a brief silence and then Light said, "About what…?"

"Well, to be exact, Lidner, my bodyguard was there, so there were three of us." There was another silence. "Amane said that she was going to announce her engagement to you at the show." There was a good pause and I felt my teeth grinding together.

"These fucking women," I groaned. "Can't they think about anything else?" Matt shrugged and leaned back on the couch to smoke, propping his feet on the table.

"Well…" Light began. "She's old news to me now, but I just haven't been able to break the news to her yet…"

"Is that so…?" There was a very long pause here…

"Why so many moments of silence?" I questioned aloud.

"Awkward, maybe?" Matt suggested.

"No, not Light. He's Kira, remember? He's too sharp for that, too slick. He couldn't have killed L unless he was a flawless liar and actor. So why then?"

"I dunno…" Matt sat back up and we both listened as Light finally continued.

"Believe me, Takada, you're the only one for me."

"…'You're the only one for me'? That's so cheesy. It's so unlike you, Light." Takada giggled softly, and then there was another long silence.

"You don't think the bastard is signaling her somehow," I deduced.

"Like how?"

"Can you magnify the sounds in the background?" I asked. Matt got to his knees and turned the laptop toward him, clicking around and then replaying a portion of the recording. He toned down the volume of the speaking and amplified the background noise. I could mostly only hear the noise of the heating unit, but there was something else, right after they spoke… There was another sound, a kind of scraping. "There, Matt. Play that part again, louder." He did and I shut my eyes, listening to it again with Matt's enhancements. "Motherfucker!" I declared.

"What?"

"They're passing notes!" I shook my head. "It's so obvious it's laughable! Light isn't even trying to be discreet anymore! In his head, he's already won!"

"Fuck… That means we can't get anything worthwhile out of what they say then, because they're saying all the important stuff on paper…"

"You may be right…but we already knew that going into this. After all, he can't say anything too incriminating while the taskforce is listening in. What we need is a new piece of information that only he and the taskforce know."

"I'll start it where we left off."

Takada was speaking. "Well…it's up to you from now on, Light… But I'll believe you. But if you're lying, you're going to pay. I'll tell Kira, you know."

Light chuckled. "Great joke, Takada."

"I'm not joking… But Kira…"

"I understand that Kira is a necessity to the world right now, but I can't help wondering when I'm going to be able to be together with you… You're getting busier everyday as Kira's spokesperson, and you've even got guards… Living together in peace is nothing but a dream right now… I'm having trouble caring about the world when the most important thing to me right now is being together with you."

"Light…"

"That guy really is an amazing fucking liar," Matt remarked, grabbing a new PSP, this one red, and starting to play. How many of those things did he have?

"In some ways, I hate Kira for choosing you as a spokesperson… Killing criminals is fine, but we're not criminals… We have the right to pursue our happiness…"

"I want to be happy together…but…that's only possible without Kira…"

"Yeah… If only Kira wasn't around…"

"You're right… Kira should be arrested…?" Takada suddenly sounded unsure of herself. She must've been confused by Light's prompts.

"What?"

"That's right, if we want to be happy, Kira has to be arrested…"

"T-Takada, are you being serious? But that may be possible…"

"Huh? What is?"

"Arresting Kira…"

"L-Light…"

"B-But in order to do that I'm going to need your cooperation, and it's going to be dangerous… I'm going to be going against the police, and you're going to be going against Kira and the whole world…" There was an extremely long silence here.

"L-Light, are you that serious about me?"

"Hmm?"

"That you want to live happily with me…?"

"Yes…of course I'm serious."

"Light…"

"Takada."

"If I'm able to pursue a happy life together by cooperating with you…"

"We'll start off by making comments that will make Kira want to get in contact with you."

"But how would I…"

"Don't worry, I'll think of them."

"Okay."

The remainder of their conversation consisted of hasty ideas and then warm, nauseating goodbyes. Then the recording ended. "The only thing after this was some dishes clanking and someone walking, and then they shut the equipment off," Matt explained. "Told you they didn't say much."

"They said something," I told him. "Did you hear Light guide her where he wanted? Now the taskforce will be thrown off his trail, and Near's focus will shift to Takada... I doubt Near will fall for something like that though, but it might distract him for a while…"

"Damn. And just when we were pwning too."

I sighed. "I assume that means winning."

"Pretty much, but with a lot more enthusiasm."

"Whatever. Let's listen in on a few more of their conversations… Then I can decide from there."

"You think the taskforce knows about the note passing? I mean, you noticed it in like five seconds…"

"I have no idea. Aizawa… He went to Near… It seems like he's the most suspicious and the most diligent—ever since Yagami's death anyway." I cracked off a piece of chocolate after unwrapping a bar. "Chances are at least one of them has figured it out, but can they really do anything about it? Without proof, they're just throwing accusations around. And if they're in contact with Near he's most likely instructed them to stay out of it…"

"Yeah." Matt tapped his thumbs on the buttons of his PSP again, and I heard faint crashing and yelling coming from it. "So Light pretty much has Takada wrapped around his little finger, and she and Misa are cat-fighting, and now Halle is mixed up with Takada… Near is after Light and so is Aizawa, but neither of them can prove he's Kira… And someone is running around Japan with Shinigami Eyes killing people in the name of Kira… This just keeps getting more complicated."

"Yes. The biggest problem is that Light is communicating with his proxy now. We had a better chance when he was left to his own devices and could have slipped up."

"Maybe he still will. I mean, it's not like Light can talk directly to the guy with the hotel room bugged. If he's just passing notes to Takada, that means she's telling the guy later on by phone call, right?"

"Yes. She's far too public to be meeting with him face to face, and that would be just plain stupid of her anyway. If she's obeying Light's orders, she won't make any stupid moves like that."

"Maybe his proxy will get fed up with taking orders from Takada and make a move on his own?"

"It's possible… If I could somehow force him to make an unpredictable move, something Kira hadn't planned on…then maybe… But there's no real way to be sure without finding out WHO he or she is…"

"I guess you're right."

I exhaled through my nose and took another bite of chocolate. "I wonder how Kira went about choosing his proxy when he's been under constant surveillance…"

"You're sure he was under surveillance WHILE he chose the guy?"

"Why else would he choose a new one? Misa Amane could have handled it like she'd been doing up to that point, but he had her relinquish her memories of the Death Note and give it to someone else. That means he had to be under suspicion, and with Amane being his live-in girlfriend at that point, she was definitely under suspicion too. He had no choice but to send the power to someone else, someone free, someone he'd never even met."

"Still seems like a risky move to me."

"Yes, to bestow Kira's powers upon a complete stranger, without even being able to speak with them in person… It was a bold gamble, but proof that he was out of other options. That's why I'm sure I can manipulate his proxy's moves somehow, if even indirectly… If I could just find out who he is…"

"Maybe we'll get some kind of clue from listening to them."

"That's what I'm hoping, but I just don't know. I don't have much to go on at all. If I could figure out HOW Light chose his proxy…maybe I could find him the same way… No, in fact, I'm sure I could."

"Okay, well, WHAT would Light be able to do in front of the taskforce every day without being suspicious?" It was quiet a moment until Matt lowered his PSP and looked over at me, his eyebrows lifting. "Watch TV?"

"Of course!" I cracked off another hunk of chocolate and sat up straight, thinking it through. "Of course, Matt! Even if Light was watching Kira-focused programs all day every day, it wouldn't be suspicious because it would just look like he was investigating! Websites too, possibly, although that might be risky because they could check his browsing history later… But TV, definitely." I glanced at him. "You're sharp lately."

He shrugged. "Thanks, I guess… So Light just happened to notice someone who was nuts for Kira, and took a shot?"

"Come to think of it…" I stood up abruptly. "Sakura TV!"

"Huh?"

"Demegawa was killed live on Sakura TV," I said. "That was the proxy communicating with Kira, telling him he received his powers and understood! Light could never have killed Demegawa while sitting right there in front of the taskforce, so that must have been the proxy's first big move, his initiation. That must have been how Light could tell he could trust in his new proxy. They understand each other. The proxy knew that he could prove himself by killing Demegawa and Light saw his potential once he carried out his wishes without being told. Not to mention, since it happened on live television, some of the suspicion on Light would be lifted, as he obviously couldn't be the one doing the killing."

"Damn," Matt remarked. "Do you think we could find this guy?"

"Matt, I want recordings of every pro-Kira or even remotely Kira-related rally, talk show, interview, and variety program that aired on local stations in Japan from November 11th until the day Takada was chosen as Kira's spokesperson—December 1st…"

"That's a lot of shows, dude."

"I'm aware of that…" I touched my chin. "To narrow it down, cut it back to ONLY those programs that Takada was on."

"I'm on it." He turned off his PSP and set his laptop on his knees, popping his fingers before he began to type and click away. He removed a USB drive from his jeans pocket and plugged it in as he worked. He only paused to light a new cigarette, and I dumped his full ashtray before I set it on the table in front of him. He tapped the end of his cigarette off in it without taking his eyes from the screen. "Hey, Mello, could you grab me a drink…?" he mumbled, already absorbed in his task. I grabbed one of his chocolate sodas and handed it to him after popping it open. "Thanks…" He grabbed his cigarette in one hand and chugged the drink with his other, then set down the can, replaced the cig, and clicked around. Distorted heavy metal music began to pour from his laptop speakers and he turned the volume up.

"How long?" I asked, sitting back down in my chair.

"Not sure," he answered. "That's a lot of programs to sift through…"

"No need to rush. Be thorough, Matt."

"A couple hours then, maybe."

"Alright."

December 23, 2009

2:38 a.m.

"I think I found them all," Matt said a couple hours later. "I even saved a couple freaky game shows that were Kira themed." I came over and he handed me the laptop. "I separated them into folders by air date."

"Good, Matt."

"Want some help looking through them?"

"…It would be good to have a second pair of eyes on these… Tell me if anyone or anything strikes you."

"Got it."

For hours we browsed the pro-Kira or any other interview-based programs, sifting through a seemingly endless loop of drivel and tripe, listening to the different comments made. I found it unlikely Light would choose a talk show host or some other well-recognized public figure to pass his powers to, so I focused more on the guests, or the members of the audiences. I noticed a few individuals who perhaps stood out, whether in intelligence or devotion, or both. Matt even pointed out a few who seemed more reserved, but one could tell they were somehow off, perhaps fanatics, perhaps true pious worshippers. There was definitely a difference between those simply afraid to die and those truly devoted to Kira's will.

I moved the programs that had struck a cord in me to a separate folder, and for another hour I skimmed through them a few times, reviewing, focused, trying to follow my instincts.

"What you got, Mello?" Matt asked.

"There's a few…" I answered absently, and then watched them all again, listening. Matt declined to play any loud games or music while I was doing so, thankfully. I heard him shuffle around in the kitchen, microwaving something, but it was in the furthest corner of my attention. It was more than another hour later before I said, "This man."

Matt put down his PSP and leaned over to look at the screen. "Did you find him?"

"There's no way for me to be certain," I said, "but something about this man… I recognize him."

"You recognize him? Where else have you seen him?"

"No, Matt, I mean I recognize something about him. His eyes, the way he speaks, the way he moves… The way his mouth is set and how he walks… It's familiar. He's demented, but not insane. He's a killer."

"How can you tell?"

"Because I'm the same way. I recognized it in Light Yagami as well."

"…Oh." He watched the video clip I had pulled up with me. Takada was interviewing him on a special about the rebuilding of Japan, due to the fact that he was a very successful prosecutor. "Yeah, that guy does kinda give me the creeps… I've known YOU since we were kids so you don't bother me, but this guy does seem familiar…like you, like Near, like L… His face seems similar…sorta detached."

I frowned a little at his comment, but overlooked it. He was just telling the truth. "Yes, but he also has a menace in his face… He's deluded. The way he speaks about Kira…is frighteningly committed to the point of blind mania, but even so, he's still very calm and collected. His emotions are blank, but inside he's a murderer… I can tell, trust me."

"So…you think this is the guy?"

"Thanks to this video from "Kira's Kingdom" that took place four days after Demegawa's death, he's on the top of my list."

"Which video?"

I brought up the video of the man volunteering to speak, and turned up the volume before I played it. "I would very much like to hear Kira's voice again. And I intend to follow your ideals. I believe that following your orders and teachings is the quickest way to achieve world peace. Kira, please let me hear your voice. If there are no orders or words from Kira…I believe that I am going to have to judge by myself what Kira's thoughts may be, and put them into action." I stopped it.

"Sorta sounds like he's talking directly to Kira," Matt mentioned.

"Precisely. And four days after this aired, Takada was chosen as the new spokesperson for Kira."

"So this guy has been on more than one show with Takada, right?"

"Yes, he's been on two of them twice, so he would know she was loyal to Kira's ideals. He had personal reference, and could have chosen her with confidence. The fact that Light already knew Takada from college was just a happy coincidence for him." I played the video again on mute, just watching his face. "There are four other possibilities, though. I want you to do a check on all of them. Find out all you possibly can; background, family status, education, prior records, and any detail they provided for Kira programs... Everything."

"By the time I'm done you'll have dental records." He took the laptop and began checking the names of the five people I'd pointed out. It took him a couple more hours, but then he handed me the laptop again. "You got a folder for each person, which includes the videos you noticed them in."

I clicked around, bringing up the first one, which was a young man, perhaps college age, with a sharp sensibility in his speech and a very clear loyalty. Shinji Sagusa was his name, and he lived at home with his parents. The next was an older man, perhaps early 40s, with a fanatical enthusiasm, named Takumi Houji, who was divorced with a few children. The next was a woman who was employed as a social worker, and had to deal with suffering children every day. She was called Yuka Kurosawa, and was a single mother of one. The next was a man who worked in a prison and had been underappreciated his entire life. He went by the name Minoru Shijo, and was single.

And the last man, the top of my list, worked as a legal prosecutor, and was apparently very good at his job. He had no family, no spouse, no children, and no real social relationships at all to speak of. It seemed his work was his life, but I knew in his face I could see more. I could see death. His name was Teru Mikami.

"So it's one of those five, huh?" Matt asked.

"As L would say, I'm over 70% sure it's one of these five… But, of course, that's assuming Light DID use pro-Kira television shows to choose his proxy. These could just be a handful of lunatics that have nothing to do with the case at all… A dead end."

"Nah, Mello, go with your gut." I looked up at him. "We got nothing else to go on, and you haven't seemed this sure about anything in a while. Don't doubt yourself just because of the odds, you never do that. Fuck the odds and let's go with it."

He was right again. He continued to surprise me lately, coming up with ideas before I did and encouraging me when usually he would just nod and consent to anything while offering no insight of his own. Things really had been changing between us ever since I blew the Mafia base, and especially recently. At first I was annoyed at things altering so much so quickly, but I wasn't so sure it was a bad thing anymore. Perhaps I could adapt to this, use it to my advantage.

I nodded. "I will."