- Aizawa PoV -
"So how was it with Near?"
I am talking to Mogi who is intent at reading the report on the developments of the case.
He has spent four days restrained by that boy.
It was enough for Near to bluff saying that Kira killed Mogi and I was ready to let my doubts on Light take on me.
"They were nice. For how nice it can be being restrained, but still, they tried to make me feel at ease"
"I am very happy that you are still alive"
"That boy is devilish. He planned it all to make you guys suspect Light"
"And I believed him...I went all the way from Los Angeles to New York to give him my collaboration"
"Anyway... If you did that is because, deep down, you already had your doubts. It's for the best to work together at this point, even if I really hope that Light is innocent"
"You are right, but as Near said, Mello used the notebook and didn't die after thirteen days. That means some of the rules we know are wrong and we must rethink all the conclusions we drawn on Light"
"The first L suspected Light as well. Maybe we are influenced by that. But, anyway, it's ligit to have suspects at this point. Too many coincidences are against him"
That's right. For years, for nearly six years, I have been sure that Ryuzaki was wrong. But now it's just impossible for me to not consider the possibility that the one mistaken was me.
Despite that, I hope with my entire heart that Light is innocent, that I am just getting paranoid.
It would be very sad if Soichiro's son was Kira. The son of the man who devoted his life to catch that monster.
"MOMMY I AM HUNGRY! I DIDN'T HAVE BREAKFAST!"
"The plane just took off. You must wait for the hostess to serve lunch, Raye"
"I AM HUNGRY TOO! LEMME ASK THE BLONDIE GIRL A CAKE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!"
"Be quiet, you cannot eat now! You can share my portion later!"
"BUT I AM HUNGRY NOW!"
"...Damn"
The last thing I wish for right now is to spend five hours in the same airplane with two screaming kids. They are yelling like they are about to die. I have kids myself, but sometimes children are a real nuisance. Whoever are the parents of those two, I just beg that they will shut their noisy mouths... filling them with food, with socks, knocking them out. Anything.
"Aizawa relax, they are just kids!"
I glare at Mogi, which is mocking me. Who cares if my expression shows my annoyance. I am not in the mood to take five hours of screams!
"Why are we on a plane again? I am tired of moving left and right mom..."
"We are going back to LA"
"NOO! MOMMY I WANNA STAY WITH UNCLE MIHEAL! IS HE COMING? HE IS COMING TOO RIGHT?!"
"HE IS COMING WITH THE NEXT FLIGHT WITH GRANNY, NOW BE QUIET AND QUIT YELLING AND COMPLAINING CANDY!"
Good job mommy. Make her stop whining.
"I AM STARVING! I AM GONNA DIE STARVING!"
"RAYE I SINCERELY DOUBT YOU ARE GOING TO DIE FOR SUCH A REASON. THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WANNA HEAR YOU TWO SCREAM OK?! LOWER YOUR VOICES!"
Same here. Why the heck that blonde hostess can't just help out this woman and give her a couple of cookies? Gosh if they are stressing me out...
"Mogi, I am losing it. Do you still have the chips you bought at the duty free?!"
"Yes. Just be polite ok?"
"Whatever I can't take it anymore!"
I grab the packet Mogi thankfully saved for the journey and try to locate the seats of the two pests.
They are few rows ahead of us.
"Ehi. Would you like some chips? My colleague is fat enough to live without it"
I show the packet to the kids and they struck dumb the moment they set their eyes on the food.
"Can I give them the chips? Sorry but it sounds like you need a hand"
I try to joke with the mother of the kids, but she is just staring at me wide eyed. I cannot understand if she is embarrassed or angry at me.
"I... I didn't mean to be awkward ma'am. Any way you can take the chips, if you want"
"Thank you, but I won't accept food from a stranger"
She says that keeping her gaze locked on me.
I cannot figure out why she is giving me this strange feeling. As if I should have known better than talking to her.
"Excuse me Mister...do you have anything sweet?!"
The little girl addresses me with a childish grin. She must be around five years old. A cute kid with blue eyes and back hair, collected in a messy ponytail.
"Sorry kid. I'm afraid you must wait lunch for dessert"
"Thank you bear man! I was very very hungry!"
"...Bear man?"
I look at the other kid, jumping out of his chair and quickly stealing the chips from my hands.
This one has red hair, somehow even messier than his sister's.
I have that strange feeling again and I look back at the woman, paying a little more attention to her. She's very young and quite attractive. Not the regular kind of beauty.
This woman...
The way the kid called me switched something on inside my brain.
Bear man. I knew someone that used to call me like that.
And the little girl. Candy. Her name...
Oh...Shit!
"...Reel?!"
I murmur it, more to myself than to her.
She is still staring at me with her piercing eyes, trespassing me like blades.
Now I recognize the weird feeling.
Hate.
"Hello Aizawa"
I look at the girl I used to befriend.
She is a totally different person. Her looks are just like I remember them, but...there's not a shadow of trust in her eyes. Not a sign of wanting anything to do with me.
"Hi...Have a nice journey..."
I say it half breathed. I have nothing to be ashamed of, I did nothing wrong. But her glare is really killing me. I cannot stay next to her.
I go back to my seat and I hold my forehead to calm down.
"Ehi. What's wrong mate?"
"I had an unpleasant rendez vous"
"What do you mean?"
If we must investigate on Light all over again, I cannot let Mogi out of this. If she is on this plane, it must be because she is keeping an eye on our moves. Maybe she knows that we met Near. Maybe she knows more than I can imagine...
Maybe she is even working with Near or Mello...
No. Near wouldn't need any information from me if she was working with him.
She teamed up with Mello only. M. As uncle Mihael. The kid said that name. She allied to another criminal.
"Aizawa...what happened?!"
"Mogi. Keep quiet about this. There are things regarding L you never knew about"
"L? Do you mean Light?"
"No. I mean the first L. I just run into his wife"
"What...was he married? Is the woman with the kids?!"
"Yes. I fear that she is stalking us"
"Is she allied to Near?"
"I suppose she is more likely to be allied to Mello"
"Why?!"
"She is a hacker known as Irish Reel. Think about it...she must have been the one helping Mello to maneuver that damn rocket"
"Are you serious about this? What are we going to do?!"
"Aizawa?"
I rise my head in surprise and stare at Reel, standing right beside my seat.
"What...?"
"Nice to meet you Mr. Mogi. I'm L's wife"
"..."
"We must talk"
"...what do you want?"
Again that glacial stare.
Her face is not showing any emotion. She's a completely different being.
I cannot believe that the girl in front of me is not going to behave like five years ago. She is not going to cry. She is not going to laugh nor ask me to make peace. She is not going to slap my cheek.
"I just wanna talk. Can I seat?"
I let her settle herself in the empty seat next to me and study her movements.
She is cold, but firm. Like a mercenary ready to sell his services for the highest payroll.
"I want to apologize for what happened in LA. Mello told me about the chief"
"As usual you like to give out the most important information first. We were indeed wondering who do you work for"
"I don't work for anyone. Mello is a dear friend. Now let's get down to business Sirs"
"Fine. Why are you coming back to us after five years?"
"Maybe because are you reconsidering my husband's suspects after five years? I know why you met Near. I supposed you were sure that Light is not Kira..."
"Are you here to say that L told us so?"
"Correct. He always told you so. However, the day he released Light and Misa, I saw you toasting to his stupidity for suspecting them"
I didn't expect this. A toast? I really did that?! I recall that night we were celebrating, but I might have said any sort of thing back then and I don't remember.
"I am sorry, I don't remember such event..."
"But I do. It hunted me for five years"
Damn. Now I understand why she looked at me that way. If Light really is Kira, we celebrated the event that probably killed her husband and laughed at it in her face.
"Reel...I apologize. I was the stupid one. I couldn't see things clearly back then, forgive me"
"Sorry but forgiveness it's not in me anymore. I'll never see L anymore. Just tell me what's your plan if you are going back on this track"
"I don't know. Keep an eye on Light and Misa maybe"
"No maybe. Don't screw things up. If you suspect Light, state it out or you are going to die. You are talking about a man who used his own father as a weapon"
"What's the good outcome in stating it out?"
"If you do so, your death would prove everyone that he is Kira. He won't harm you in such circumstances"
"Can I ask a question?"
We turn to face Mogi, who remained silent since when Reel introduced herself.
"What if Light is innocent. What if he is not Kira?"
I take a breath waiting Reel's response. Sure thing Mogi still has to learn that this girl is not to be contradicted lightly.
"If my suspects have always been wrong, it means that Watari and L died because of stress, Mr. Mogi. If you want my support beware that I do not take complaints nor ifs"
"MOMMY!"
Reel turns to listen to the little girl running our way.
Aside the eyes, her traits really resemble L.
"What's going on sweetie, I am talking to these persons right now"
"The Japan police? Whatever...can I really take your share of cake? The hostess is passing by..."
"I don't mind. But give some to Raye"
"Ufff. Fine..."
I focus on my knees as the little girl focuses on me. I can't understand why, but her presence makes me feel uncomfortable. Maybe just guilty.
"Mr. Cop?! Can I ask you something?"
"Uh..?! W-what?"
"Can you give me your desserts please? You can exchange it with my sandwich!"
"Candy go back to your seat, eat like a normal person and don't stress these gentlemen"
"But it's full of salad and tomatoes and that green stuff I don't like!"
"Candy! Just eat it!"
I laugh looking at the kid putting on a sulky face. She really is L's kid.
"I got them sis'!"
I jump as the red haired boy springs out of the seat in front of us and steals our cakes.
"Ahahaha!"
"RAYE! PUT THEM DOWN!"
The boy runs away laughing like a little elfin, soon followed by the girl.
"Geez. Here, it's a safe line. If you want my support use it to keep in touch. I gotta catch those cake thieves"
I grab the mobile Reel offers me and have a little laugh.
"They can keep them, it's fine"
"They sure have eaten up the cakes and their whole package already but at least they gotta stop running up and down the airplane"
"Reel..."
"Yes?"
"The notebook we retrieved. The reaper took it back to his world. It's not in Kira's possession anymore"
"...that's for the best"
I observe Reel running behind the kids and I feel a little better. She still is the nutshell I used to know. A little bruised and hardened but still the same.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Nothing special. I'm just relieved that she is doing good"
"She is a bit bitchy to be honest"
"She is a super bitch believe me. But it's fine, if she says that she is on our side we can trust her. Actually, I was afraid she wanted to chop my head..."
"I thought the same, but it seems like you are going to be ok"
"I deserved to shit in my pants, I guess"
"Will you call her?"
"Of course. I trust her a thousand times better than Near"
"You seriously are friends...this is unexpected"
"Looks like that uh?"
Hi all! Next week the final chapters of the regular story! Keep reading for the sequel 😊
Thank you!