I was typing away on a computer for a good while now while L just crouched backwards in his chair, more or less peaking over the back.
"Ryuzaki, I know you're not feeling up to it, but come over here for a second." I said, so he slid his chair over to look at what I'd found. "Take a look at this. It can't be a coincidence."
"Huh?"
"All of them were prominent Japanese businessmen. CEO's whose companies are leaders in their respective industries. In just over a month, they've all died of heart attacks. As expected, there's been a general down-turn in the market, with the exception of Yotsuba. In other words, their deaths have worked in Yotsuba's favour. Looking back, there have been thirteen similar deaths in the past three months. Your thoughts? Based on this, I can only conclude that Kira is supporting Yotsuba."
"Could be. But if what you're saying is true, we can assume that punishing criminals is not this Kira's real intent."
"Right. Punishing criminals is a diversion for him. It obscures the fact that he's actually killing people for the benefit of his company." I smiled and looked at L. "Are you feeling a bit more motivated now?"
Well, after getting L motivated, I decided I was more than overdue for a gaming break. L said fifteen minutes, but he didn't say anything when I was pushing an hour. Instead, it was Aizawa who yelled at me.
"Why don't you do some work?!"
"I'm saving Tokyo right now." I responded absently, continuing to play my turn-based RPG.
"That's just a game! We have a real world you could be helping!" He yelled.
I sighed, saving and turning off the game before setting it down and slowly turning to Aizawa.
"I found out Kira's connected to Yotsuba, so why don't you just let me play one game to make up for all that time I was picking up his slack, huh?" I asked, motioning to L.
He was about to continue chewing me out when Dad and Mogi walked in.
"Chief, Mogi! I've got some great news! This is amazing! I'm not even sure how she figured it out, but Light has a theory that Kira is somehow involved with the Yotsuba group." Matsuda told them. "Can you believe it?"
"Yotsuba?" Dad asked.
"Yes."
Dad put a hand on Matsuda's shoulder. "That's probably it. Good work."
"Huh?" Matsuda seemed a bit surprised by the praise.
"We just spoke to the director and it seems Kira's offered bribes to a number of politicians." Dad said. "So, that's that. The police caved into him."
"Huh?" A collective surprise got me on my feet.
"Mogi and I have already made up our minds on this." Dad continued. "Aizawa, Matsuda, if you wish to continue working this case, you'll have to hand in your letter of resignation to the NPA, just as Mogi and I are going to do. Like it or not, you cannot pursue Kira as a member of the police force anymore."
"H-Hold on a second, Chief." Aizawa started.
"They made it quite clear. If you continue to work with L, you'll be fired. That's all there is to it."
"So then, Chief, you're gonna…" Matsuda said.
"In a few hours, I'm no longer going to be your chief. However, we all have our own lives. So think it over carefully."
"That's true, chief. Especially if you've got a family to support."
"If you want my opinion, you'd be better off as police officers." L said, his back to them. "I was alone when I started this case. And although I am grateful to all of you for staying with me as long as you have, I know that I can do this by myself. I'll be sure to visit you at the department and bring you Kira's head as a reward for all you've sacrificed."
"Ryuzaki, as long as I'm alive, you won't be working alone. You have my word on that." I told him, although my chest constricted painfully for some reason. Why does that keep happening?
"That's right. I'll have Light working with me until I catch Kira, so I won't be alone after all. But as I said, I think the rest of you should remain as police officers."
"But when you first contacted us, you said that you would need the help of the police in order to solve this case." Dad said.
"That's because the police as an organization were still hoping to arrest Kira. They weren't bowing to him. Besides, with all due respect, there's a big difference between the help of two or three civilians and the police as an organization." He ate some cherries. "And as you said, the police have made it clear they don't want to catch Kira, so let's just leave it at that."
"Well, I suppose what you're saying makes sense. If we're not police officers anymore we won't be of much use to you. However, we're all personally involved in this. All of us have risked our lives to catch Kira. Doesn't that give us, the right to decide whether we stay here or return to the police force?" Dad said with determination.
L took a tied cherry stem out of his mouth and I had to hold back a laugh at how unfitting his behaviour could be. "Good point. Then, by all means, please make your decision." He didn't sound interested at all.
"But chief, wait." Aizawa spoke up again. "If you quit your job with the police force you'll be unemployed. Even if we do catch Kira, what are you gonna do after that?"
"After that? I hadn't really thought of it." Dad responded. "But I suppose after we catch Kira, I'll have to dust off my resume." He smiled.
"Count me in! I'm gonna quit the police and chase Kira too, chief!" Matsuda said. "And I still have my job as Misa-Misa's manager. Besides, if I stayed-"
"Matsuda, stop talking and think about it." I called, looking at Aizawa's back as I remembered what was going to happen now. Well, if it was anything like the male version of me's story that I saw.
"Is there any way I could still keep my job and help you in my spare time?" Aizawa asked L.
"There isn't. If you remain a police officer, then please don't come back here."
"But you know I won't leak any information-"
"I won't be sharing any of our information." L responded coldly. "You're free to pursue Kira on your own, if you want to. But I don't think it's fair to your families to burden them by giving up your livelihood just to continue this. I can't see how that's a good idea."
"It's as Ryuzaki says. No one here is going to blame you for quitting." Dad said.
"Yeah. Right. We all understand why you gotta do this." Matsuda said.
"But the chief has a family too." Aizawa said.
"Our situations are completely different." Dad told him as I turned and sat back down in my chair.
I picked up my game system and tuned out Aizawa's yelling. But, before I could turn on my game, a "w" appeared on the screens and Watari started talking.
"Ryuzaki, earlier in the investigation, you specifically told me that if a Task Force member were to lose their job under any circumstances, I should make preparations to ensure that their family's financial future was secure. If you recall, a trust was set aside for that very purpose. I'm a little curious as to why you're withholding this information."
Ah, that old man had a heart of gold. I smiled at the screen and watched L out of the corner of my eye.
"This is not the time or place, Watari." L seemed annoyed, but didn't really change at all.
"I'm sorry."
"No way! So all this time, we had nothing to worry about?" Matsuda speaking up made L's face go sour. "I can't believe you did that! There you go, Aizawa! Isn't that great news?"
"Ryuzaki," Aizawa sounded pissed. "I assume that was some kind of test to determine how committed I was to this Task Force."
"I-It's not like that, Aizawa." Dad jumped in to try and defuse the situation. "Ryuzaki's just not the type to say things directly, you should know that by now."
"Yeah, that's right." Matsuda said.
"No." L spoke up. "I was testing you. I wanted to see which one you would chose."
"Ryuzaki," Dad said.
"Fine then." Aizawa sounded even more pissed now. "If I wasn't sure before, I am now."
"But, Aizawa-" Matsuda tried.
"Let's face it, I wasn't able to decide right away like you guys. I was leaning towards going back to the police."
"Come on, Aizawa. Don't be so stubborn-"
"No! I quit! Now I know this for sure. I've always hated Ryuzaki. I hate him and his way of doing things!" I heard Aizawa turn to leave.
"That's too bad. Because I like you, Aizawa." L said.
"I also hate the way you've always gotta have the last word! You insult me, now you say something like that?! That's it, I'm outta here!"
"Thank you for everything."
Once Aizawa left, I looked at L out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn't see his face. So, I looked back at the blank screen of the game system I was holding and turned it on. I didn't need to be apart of that.