Kay was a wreck, constantly looking over her shoulder in fear of being watched. She honestly didn't know if she'd even be able to see Ryuk if the shinigami was nearby. She had no job to occupy her mind nor did she really have a family to make her feel at ease. Soichiro, Nozomi, and the baby were all dead, Sayu was still catatonic, Light was...less appealing company than whatever deity ruled over the universe. Sachiko was acting as Sayu's caretaker, so Kay usually left the older woman to whatever peace of mind she could find. So, Kay was alone with nothing but her thoughts.
No one from the Task Force or the SPK visited or made any contact with her, and a maddening feeling that everyone was dancing around her clicked away at the back of Kay's head. She had no way of knowing if Aizawa passed along the message or even if he went out to get it himself. Not knowing was such a pain in Kay's ass that she scowled, even when in the company of the only person she talked to anymore; Sachiko actually held up conversations most of the time while Kay just listened.
Finally, after a week of silence, Aizawa passes Kay on the street while she was going to the store, and he slips a piece of paper into her hand in passing, just as she had done for him. She did not dare read it while out and about, in the open for anyone to see and grow suspicious of.
When she returned home, she held it close to herself as she read it in her room, after locking the door and checking every nook and cranny for a camera or person. In the letter was a garbled message of jumbled letters. At first, she had no idea what to make of it, as the characters were also that of the English alphabet. It frustrated her to gaze at it, it looking like chicken scratch to her. Then, the idea came to her that they may be code for coordinates based on their spacing and format. Mentally creating a code with the 26 letters lined up with their corresponding number, Kay slowly began translating the message, shaking her head and starting over again and again as she lost her train of thought. Finally, she was able to get what Aizawa was telling her. There were coordinates, a date, and a time. Not daring to look up the coordinates on the computer, Kay wracks her brain for a solution as she wouldn't dare go to a library, a place so open and with so much traffic. However, the one idea she can think of makes her stomach twist and churn.
Kay waits until nightfall before begrudgingly going up to the attic, where she knew Soichiro's things sat in boxes, out of sight but close nearby. The beam of her flashlight moved over the open area as she ignored the chill running through her relentlessly. Quietly, she pulls at the flaps of one of the boxes, peering inside before sifting through with her free hand. She couldn't find what she was looking for, but she did flinch and jerk her hand back when it brushed against what she recognized as her own adoption papers. It felt bizarre to look at it now, after so many things have happened since it was signed.
Closing the box, she moves on to another, then another, then another. Sighing in defeat, Kay shifts one of her legs to return to a standing position when her flashlight catches a folded-up, large piece of paper that looked worn from use. Picking it up, she props her flashlight between her cheek and her shoulder as she unfolds the map, recognizing the Kanto region of Japan easily. She also noticed the small holes scattered around the map, where she was sure pins once pierced the parchment in marking locations. Dust drifted down through the air, settling around her as the room became still. Her eyes drifted back and forth over the map, analyzing it. Pinpointing where Aizawa was telling her to go, she memorizes a route to get there, committing it to memory before folding the map back exactly how it was before she touched it, putting it back inside the box exactly where she picked it up, and closed it before climbing down from the attic, closing the trapdoor as quietly as she could so as not to cause Sayu or Sachiko to stir. Returning to her room, she also memorizes the exact time she needed to be there before taking the paper into the bathroom and shredding it before washing it down the sink, watching the ink be smeared to incomprehension.
Knowing what time she was supposed to be there, she didn't bother going to sleep. Instead, she stood and stared out her bedroom window until 2 AM, at which point she silently left the house. Going on foot, Kay navigates her way through the streets. For two hours, she travelled through the route she memorized. Then, at 4:23 AM, Kay was on the Akigawa Bridge, watching the water flow by in the darkness, her eyes having already adjusted in her journey there. She stood in the open, her hands clasped behind her back, her stance relaxed. No one else was around, not until someone walked up. Kay heard the footsteps behind her but made no movements.
"Do not turn around yet. My name is Gevanni, and I am from the SPK."
"Prove it," Kay says, tilting her head while keeping her eyes trained forward, "As far as I know, you're one of Kira's accomplaces."
"If you really thought that, then you wouldn't be so calm, would you?"
"You'd be surprised. The things I've been through have taken the edge off a lot of things."
"I see. What kind of proof would you like? I can't completely show my face or reveal my full name, as you know."
"Of course," Kay muses, looking up at the stars that had not yet been consumed by the rising sun, "I'm correct in assuming that you are capable of calling Aizawa for confirmation on who you're saying you are, yes?"
Gevanni says nothing, and Kay gets her response, instead, via the recognizable tone of a phone dialing. After a moment, the other end crackles to life.
"Yes?" Aizawa says, in a low tone.
"That's all I needed," Kay says, loud enough so she knows Aizawa will hear.
Gevanni closes his phone, putting it away.
"Okay, I trust you. I imagine that the feeling isn't mutual."
"Yes...I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to put these on."
A hand reaches around Kay, holding an object out to her. She takes it, and the hand retracts, though she knows Gevanni is still standing close behind her. She holds the object up to the moonlight examining it.
"An over-glorified blindfold, eh? Is there a locking mechanism where I can only take it off by the push of a button I have no access to?"
"You think quickly. No, it just makes a loud clicking noise, so I'll know if you take it off."
Kay hums in response before putting them on. There's a startling clicking sound right by both of her ears, and she jumps slightly. Turning around, Kay faces Gevanni, though she can see nothing. He reaches out to grab her so that he can guide her, but she steps away from his touch.
"Lead the way," she says blankly.
"Of course. My car is at the end of the pathway that you went up."
Kay hears him begin moving, and she follows a few paces behind so as to not bump into him.
"You watched me arrive?"
"I had to make sure the area was secure before approaching you."
The conversation ends at that, Kay straining to focus on the sounds of Gevanni's movements, following them as best as she can. After what feels like far too long for them to have been travelling the path she had gone on, she hears a car door open. She holds her hands out, and feels her way inside, noticing that she's in the backseat. Gevanni closes the door behind her, and she buckles herself in as he makes his way around the car to get into the driver's seat, diagonal to Kay's.
The car starts near-silently, and it hardly lurches forward as it is put in drive.
'If I know N's way of thinking, which I can't say that I do nearly enough to be comfortable with this, my guess is that they're also going to try to skewer my sense of direction so that I won't be able to find their new headquarters after I leave...if they let me leave. They may keep me like I know they kept Mogi for a while.'
For almost two hours, they drove around, and Kay didn't bother trying to imagine where they could be. Maybe she was wrong in her assumption, and she was very far away from home now. Then, the car stops. Gevanni's door opens and closes, then her door opens as well. She carefully gets out, unsure whether her blindfold would be taken off at this point. It isn't, and she feels Gevanni's hand on her back.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to walk in front of me now," he says bluntly.
Kay doesn't respond, and she lets him push her forward into a building. Down a hallway, then another, before she takes a step forward and notices that Gevanni's hand is no longer on her. She stops just in time to hear a clanking noise directly in front of her. A gust of wind hits her face, and she knows a reinforced door was just opened. Gevanni's hand returns, and she is guided into another room. They stop again just a few feet ahead, and the room is silent for a moment. She has no idea who else is in the room besides her and Gevanni and possibly someone who opened the door, if it wasn't automated.
"Nice to meet you, Kay. I'm Near."
"Near?"
"Oh. I guess you wouldn't know me beyond N."
Near sounded young, though disinterested. Kay imagined a little boy, maybe a young adolescent, standing in front of her.
"If you want, we can take that blindfold off after a few questions."
Kay swallows, clenching her jaw. Cold sweats ran down her back, adding to the feeling of discomfort. When she doesn't respond, Near continues.
"Aizawa informed us that you suspect the new L, Light Yagami, to be Kira. Can you tell me why?"
"Since Light took over as L, the Task Force has made no progress in finding Kira despite him being L for five years now. Also, it is highly suspicious that the Task Force still has a Death Note. It doesn't make sense for Kira to not have retrieved it."
"Have you read the Death Note? Are there any rules that stand out to you?"
Kay pauses, furrowing her eyebrows as she thought about what rules she remembered, both before and after her memory was wiped.
"If, by 'stand out', you mean 'seem suspicious', then my guess is that you're trying to get at the '13-day' rule."
"I am. What are your thoughts on it?"
Again, Kay paused to think, not wanting to risk revealing herself.
"The rule could be fake, possibly put in by Kira himself to throw the Task Force and the SPK off. If so, then the argument that cleared me, Light, and Misa Amane of suspicion after our confinement is invalidated, which would make us suspects once again."
"I see now why the former L liked you so much; you think just like him, just like me. Gevanni, remove her blindfold, please," Near says.
Kay winces at the lights, her vision blurry before it focuses. She sees Gevanni to her right, a well-built man to her left, a woman sitting in a chair at a desk in front of her and to the left, and, directly in front of her, a figure sat in a chair with his back to her. He seemed small, though his hair was white.
"Tell me what else you know, whatever information you may think I might find valuable. Do not hold back what you think I may already know," the figure, who she finds to be Near, says.
"Since you already knew that Light Yagami is the new L, then I'm sure that you knew before I said anything that Misa was thought to be the Second Kira, at least, while she was alive."
"That's correct."
"Though I'm not certain how you came to that conclusion, I get the feeling that it had to do with our confinement, specifically our release from it after 50 days."
"That is also correct."
"And, by you not reacting to my use of the word 'our', then you know that I was suspected by the former L to be Kira, enough so to confine me."
"You're very attentive, Kay."
"I try to be. Are you aware that, for a couple of months after we were released but before Higuchi was captured as a Kira, Light and I were both cuffed to the former L 24/7?"
"I was not. I find that interesting. Why did it stop before Higuchi was caught?"
"I had my daughter, Nozomi. At that point, L allowed Light and me to live with our daughter in a monitored-unit inside the building that we were using as headquarters at that time."
"You have a child with Light Yagami, and yet you suspect him of being Kira enough to go to the possible enemy?"
"I had a child with Light, but she was kidnapped and eventually fatally shot by one of the mafia members that Mello controlled," Kay said, unable to hold the venom from her voice, and she felt as if she were frothing at the mouth.
"I see."
"That day has haunted me for months, but it has allowed me to pick at the memories."
"Oh?"
"The fact that Light was able to get Nozomi and Sayu despite having handed over a fake notebook is suspicious. I imagine that Mello isn't naive enough to allow the trade to happen without having tested the notebook."
"Are you suggesting that Light may have used the notebook to deceive Mello's henchman?"
"I don't know what the exchange looked like, but Light may have had the time to write whatever name he may have seen the mafia member tested the notebook on, allowing the facade to hold up."
"This is very valuable, but it is just an assumption."
"Of course, so it's a good thing that that information is not why I requested to speak with you."
"It's not?" Near asks, still not showing his face to Kay.
"No. If it was, that would seem like a rather waste of both of our times. I've answered several of your questions, so now it's my turn to ask a few of my own."
Near pauses before fidgeting with whatever was in front of him.
"Yes, go ahead."
"Under the assumption that Light is Kira, which I find to be near-certain now that the facts are laid out, then you are aware that he has someone else working as Kira since he is currently under your scrutinizing eye, right?"
"Yes. X-Kira."
"You know who it is, too, don't you?"
"I have a suspicion and a few leads."
"This can't work if you don't trust me, Near. If you have already entertained the idea of yet another Kira and if you're anything like the L you're supposed to be the prodigy of, then you already have it zeroed down to one person and are confident about your assumption."
"You sure are talkative," Near says, sounding annoyed.
"I understand your hesitance, but, based on you building up a large case against Kira, you and I want the same thing."
"And what is that?"
"To rub it in Kira's face when he's caught."
Near doesn't respond, and a beat of silence falls over the room before Kay breaks it.
"I know how to do it, but I need your cooperation."
Kay's knuckles collided with the door three times before her hand dropped to her side as she waited. When the door opened, she was face-to-face with Light Yagami, who disguised his surprise under indifference.
"Kay?"
"Can we talk?" Kay asks, peering over Light's shoulder to see the empty house, "It's important, and I think I've waited long enough."
Light hesitates, gazing into her eyes as he analyzes her and tries to figure out what she was planning. Relenting, he steps back, letting her inside the house that she used to live in as well. When he closes the door behind her, he wastes no time in confronting her.
"Why are you here?" he asks in an accusatory tone before being cut off by Kay throwing herself at him, pressing her lips against his as she wraps her arms around his neck. He leans back, though he doesn't push her away.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm so sorry for deceiving you for so long," she breathes, looking down.
Light lifts Kay's arms off of him before stepping back. However, he doesn't say anything, so Kay continues.
"It worked, but I'm so sorry I had to hurt you so much in the process."
"What worked? What are you talking about?"
"After very obviously separating myself from you, I was able to gain enough of Near's trust that, when I requested it, he allowed me to speak to him, in person."
"What?" Light spits, not believing her and angered by it.
'Yes, Near did say that he was in Japan. Could one reason why he came here was so that he could get to Kay?'
"I guess I should explain," Kay begins, sounding guilty, "When N first popped up, I knew that he had to be taken care of, but that there was nothing you could do that wouldn't seem suspicious. But, since I was already separated from the Task Force before the SPK even formed, I wouldn't be watched as much.
"I knew that, if Near was anything like L, then he would be very smart and be able to deduce fairly quickly that the new L and Kira were one and the same, and I was right. So, I had to separate myself from you so that it would be obvious that you and I weren't conspiring together, working as one unit."
Light still stayed quiet, listening carefully.
"However, he doesn't know that you have another Death Note at play. He assumes that the second Kira is killing people while you're acting as L."
"I don't understand how this changes anything."
"This new person you've chosen, he has the eyes, right? Well, if I can show Near that I trust this new Kira, then he may as well, and I may be able to get the two close enough that the new Kira will be able to see Near's face and his real name, and then he'll be able to kill him."
Light's expression was still cold, unfeeling, though his mind was reeling and different thought processes were shooting out, jumbling his mind.
'God, I want her to be telling the truth. That way, I would be so much closer to being able to freely act as Kira without having to worry about Near, and...and I would have Kay back. But, I can't trust her. Not yet. She very well could be double-crossing me rather than double-crossing the SPK. Steady...I must be ever so careful…' Light thought to himself.
"I know you can't trust me yet, and I get that," Kay said with a defeated tone as her hands slid to rest on Light's chest, "I wouldn't trust me, either."
Kay paused, forcing her eyes to water slightly as she looked up at Light, discreetly biting her lip in a way that she knows he will notice.
"But I can't wait until you kill Near, Mello, and everyone else that challenges Kira! I need you, Light!" she exclaims, making her voice crack and tremble, sounding as genuine as she could possibly be while internally retching.
"Kay…"
She rests her head on his chest as well, looking down at the floor again.
"I won't lie to you; I'm still so afraid, afraid that I'll lose everything like I lost Nozomi, and that fear makes me want to push you away again so that nothing can hurt me."
Tears dripped out of Kay's eyes onto the floor, forming tiny puddles of droplets.
"But," she continued, forcing herself to look at Light again, "I don't want to be afraid anymore."
Light still hasn't touched her, and there's evident distrust in his eyes, but there was something else in them, too; something that made Kay want to bolt.
"Don't lie to me."
His tone wasn't accusatory, but authoritarian, like he was commanding Kay.
"I won't."
"Tell me, then, that you agree with the ways of Kira; that you are a worshipper, might I say."
He was trying to trip her up, and she knew that every micromovement of hers was being scrutinized. She wipes her tears away, her face hardening.
"I can't," she says bluntly, "because I don't. I still don't believe that death is a proper punishment for evil, whether it's too much or too little in retrospect of the crime committed."
Light begins to scoff, but she cuts him off.
"But that doesn't mean that I don't want the world that Kira is driving towards; a world so free of crime and corruption that no one will need to face judgment. That's what I want and what I want to work towards, with you," she says, testing her luck by wrapping her arms around Light's neck once again, "if you'll let me, if you'll forgive me for betraying you."
Light stayed silent, thinking.
'I don't get why Kay would say that she didn't agree with Kira's methods unless she really was being completely honest. If Kay's pledging herself to me, then I need something to prove her loyalty, something that she wouldn't do unless she was with me and not Near and the SPK…'
"Have you been paying attention to news outlets, as of late?"
'Surely, he's now thinking of a way to test me. Until I can figure out what that is and plan my next move, I should just play along. I know with certainty that Light saw Misa as below him; I can't let him have that mindset with me. I can't have him underestimating me, so it'll be best for the time-being to convince him that I will not be a hindrance and that I'm of equal-mind to him.'
"Old habits die hard. I'll assume that what you're trying to get at is Takada being Kira's new spokesperson. As it's highly possible that your relations with her in college are on records, I can't imagine that you chose her yourself. And, since you're under the watchful eye of the Task Force, you can't get in contact with whoever has the Death Note that isn't locked away. My guess is that your proxy chose Takada without consulting you. Bold, but I don't see a way that it's negatively affected you thus far."
'How much have you figured out, Kay? Maybe it's good that I reign her in and keep an eye on her. With how much she's able to figure out, I don't want her to possibly relay this information to Near…'
'He's not dismissing me. That's very good. My move again, Light.'
"And, am I right in my assumption that you're the one having meetings with Takada? The ones that lead to a reporter who tried to investigate being killed?"
'...'
"Yes."
"Knowing you, you've already found a way to use her to get in contact with whoever you gave the Death Note to. That's the only reason you're bothering with her, at least, I hope. I won't deny that I've seen Kira supporters refer to her as Kira's goddess."
'Kay's not the jealous type, and I don't think she preferred me referring to her as a goddess, not like Takada has soaked it up. So why would she mention it?...'
"Does she know that you and I are married but separated?"
"She knows that we're married, but I didn't go into detail about anything. Though, I am in a relationship with her as it keeps her close to me."
"Only you could manipulate people so well," Kay jabbed, though she knew it would be perceived as a compliment.
'To what extent will Kay let me use her? I doubt I'll be able to manipulate her like everyone else; she's too in-tune with me.
'By her phrasing, I don't think she's put it together that I've employed Mikami to execute criminals for me, which means that Near probably hasn't, either. Would it seem suspicious on Kay's end for her to press on what all Near knows? With Aizawa and Mogi investigating me again and conspiring with the SPK, I really don't know with certainty what information Near has. Maybe I can use Kay to fill in some of those gaps, which will bring me one step closer to taking Near down.'
Light's thoughts were still running rampant, and he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"It'll be too suspicious if you moved back in right away."
"I know."
"Did Near suggest that you openly try to get back together with me?"
"No, but I wouldn't have listened to him if he had."
Light suppressed a smirk, then something occurred to him.
"Wait, did you see his face?"
'If Near trusts Kay enough to let her see him, then she could make a trade for the shinigami eyes and kill him herself.'
"No. He had his back to me the entire time. In fact, with the way he was curled up in his chair, I wasn't able to see anything of him, hindering me from even being able to identify him if our paths were to cross again. My guess is that this safety net won't be removed until either he or Kira is dead."
Light turned his back on Kay, walking away to his desk and turning on the monitors tuned to several news stations, including NHN and Sakura TV. Kay hesitated before following him, noticing how much more the Task Force's equipment has taken over the house.
"Where are the others?"
"Aizawa and Mogi are booking a hotel room for my meeting with Takada tonight while Ide and Matsuda are making a supply run. Do you think that Aizawa is aware of your meeting with Near?"
"Near mentioned that he had someone also speaking to him from within the Task Force, so I'm guessing it's Aizawa that's investigating you again?"
'Damnit. I really need to pinpoint exactly what all Kay knows.'
Light doesn't respond or turn to look at her, and Kay smiles to herself.
"To answer your question, I don't think so," she lied.
Then, Kay tries something bold.
"I'm not going to ask to join the Task Force again, so instead I'm going to apply to another law firm. I wouldn't want your proxy seeing that I'm unemployed and deciding that I'm just as sinful as a criminal."
'Don't trip up, Light, or I may just be given the leverage to rub it in your face that the person you chose isn't as much of the puppet that you thought he was.'
Kay stepped forward, embracing Light from behind while he was still sitting in his chair, burying her face in his neck.
"I stepped away, and yet you're still so close to creating a perfect world. I don't know how to help, so I need you to tell me what to do," she murmured, closing her eyes, "All I ask is that I don't have to kill anyone."
'I need to figure out who this proxy Kira is. I haven't been in contact with Near since we first met, so I don't know if he's figured it out already. Would he even tell me if he did?'
Kay sat on her bed in the dark with her laptop in front of her as she wore headphones and clicked through different tabs of recorded news segments that Takada had been in, trying to work backwards to find who had chosen her. She was also working from who Light might have chosen. She knew he wouldn't dare pick someone he actually knew, so it had to be someone he'd seen on television. Another clue she was using was location. Not only are the killings still, for the most part, based in Japan, but so is Takada, which means that so is the proxy Kira.
'There are so many puzzle pieces that I have access to, but I just can't figure out how they fit together.'
Kay hunched even further forward, not caring that the position put strain on her back. Currently, she was watching an episode of Kira's Kingdom that Takada had been in. When her eyes flick over a man with glasses and long, spikey, black hair, she gasps, pausing the video. Clicking through the dozens of other tabs, she finds videos that this man had also been in.
"You...Who are you?" Kay mumbled to herself.
Through more searches through Sakura TV's archives, she found his name to be Teru Mikami and that he had spoken in favor of Kira many times before. But, what Kay found most interesting was the segment where Teru spoke about wanting to hear Kira's voice.
'This is from three days before Takada was chosen to be Kira's new spokesperson!'
Now, she looked into more about Mikami. He was an attorney, and, though it seemed rather irrelevant, he was an orphan via a car wreck.
'Sounds familiar,' Kay thought to herself, chuckling quietly at her own joke.
Closing her eyes, she ran through her thoughts, as if she were mentally using pins and strings to provide links to suspects.
'As Mikami is the only possibility I have so far, I'll work based on the belief that he is 100% Light's proxy. As Teru is a government agent, an attorney, his contact information would be public and easily attainable without having to do extensive searching, which would have looked highly suspicious if caught. Not only that, but he frequented Kira's Kingdom, something that I know Light watches due to Matsuda's liking of the program. His career as someone who seeks justice, as well as proving to be supportive of Kira's cause, would pique Light's interest. Of course, how rashly Light was thinking at the time could play a role in his decision-making skills. This proxy almost-certainly has the eyes, so Light was probably moving so as to replace Misa.
'Misa died on the 27th of October. On the 5th of December, Takada was chosen as Kira's spokesperson. That leaves a 40-day window for Light to have chosen the proxy, though I don't think Light would have chosen someone so egocentric as to choose a spokesperson as soon as they gained the Death Note, so I think it's less than that. I also don't think that Light chose someone immediately after the death of Misa as he was under watchful eyes due to-'
Kay's thoughts snag as her eyes shoot open, and her face twitches as tears blur her vision before she blinks them away, not allowing herself to spiral again.
'However large the window was, Mikami was definitely on Kira's Kingdom within it, so it doesn't really matter what the actual time frame was,' she thought as she cross-examined the dates of the broadcasts that Mikami appeared in the program.
'It's also traceable that Mikami knew of Takada personally, since she wasn't nearly as popular of an anchor as she is now, though evidence of their interactions are limited to putting pieces together myself based on breaks in timelines and recordings of them being in the same area at the same time.'
Kay's eyes focus on the still-image of Mikami, and she looks at his eyes, which glare over his spectacles.
'Having Shinigami eyes aren't visible to humans, so that's not what I'm seeing...He has the same grimace that Light does, the self-righteous, deluded perspective of being a hero but having to hide it.'
Her fingers slowly curling into fists, Kay glared back at the screen, anger making her breathe heavier as she clenched her jaw to the point of having a headache. She cleared the tabs and her history before stashing both her laptop away, thinking about how to get in contact with Near again to tell him her findings as she went to sleep, sure now that Mikami was just like Light, and so Light would have chosen him to be his proxy, without a doubt in her mind.
Rest was short-lived and haunted by nightmares, and the morning came sickeningly soon for Kay. Sneaking out of the house before Sachiko could stop her, Kay made her way to the Task Force's headquarters, to Light. She knew he would be awake just as she knew he would let her inside again. What she wanted to find out was whether Aizawa was there or not. If he wasn't, then she would call him to request another meeting with Near.
'I could happen to be in the room when Light called Near or vice versa, and then I could say something and discreetly deliver the message. But how, and would he even get it? There's just no way to slip Mikami's name and not raise red flags for Light, so a blunt message is out of the question. I need to think like both Near and Light at the same time and figure out what one would get without the other noticing or, at least, not being able to figure it out. It'll be difficult since they are almost identical in mindframes…'
Kay had to rip herself away from her thoughts and back to reality as she walked up the steps and knocked on the door. It took a few moments, but the door was opened for her, and Aizawa himself was on the other side, looking surprised. She quickly held a finger to her lips, signaling for him to not say anything.
"Tell the others that a solicitor trying to offer lawn services was at the door, and ask Near for me if he knows that Kira officially has a trademark, okay?" she whispers.
Confused, Aizawa sighs, closing his eyes before nodding. Kay does the same before turning and leaving, going further into town rather than back home.
'Will Near be able to decipher what I said? I had to think on the spot as I wasn't expecting to come face-to-face with Aizawa like that, so I can only hope that he does. Trademark, shortened to TM in writing. In Japan, that means nothing. But, for English-speakers, like Near, it could also look like initials. When Teru's name is written with characters from the English alphabet is also TM. Kira got TM. My message can only possibly work if Near also suspects Mikami, but I'm sure he does if he's anything like the L he's supposed to be the prodigy of. While I wait for a response, if I even get one, I'm going to track Mikami for myself. As we share professions, it won't seem blatantly obvious that I'm trailing him for an investigation, though it'd be ignorant of me to trust him to not kill me.'
Kay's eyes were glazed over as she waited for the light to change so that she could cross the road with a group of people commuting by foot to work. She already knew the address of Mikami's firm, and she had memorized it before leaving, as well as putting on a black blazer over a white shirt that was tucked into her black skirt. In her hands, she held a brown briefcase that had been gifted to her upon graduation from university, filled with her birth certificate, a picture ID, references, law degree diploma, and résumé.
'As I am applying with a commendable résumé, it shouldn't take long for me to be able to be accepted into Mikami's firm. Then, I'll be able to keep an easy watch on him. I can even do so today as my interview isn't scheduled for another few hours, which will allow me to explore the building without too much suspicion. Since I know what Mikami looks like, I'll be able to recognize him if we happen to cross paths. Whether I approach him or not will depend on when and if the moment arises. I could take on a bubbly-but-nervous approach and move under the impression that I just want to build connections at where I am hoping to work. It may be difficult if he brushes me off, but it won't really matter at that point. As long as I don't behave as if I already know who he is, he'll just remember me as someone who exists around him and that's it.'
Entering the building of the law firm, Kay briskly walks up to reception, announcing that she arrived early for her interview so that she may get a look around the space.
Just as she predicted, she got a call on the 26th of January, just four days after her interview, that she had been accepted and could start that very day if her schedule allowed. She accepted, and was unpacking what few things she had kept from her previous job onto her desk neatly, though she didn't really care about what her work-space looked like. She had also been lucky on the day of her interview, as she had, indeed, bumped into Mikami on his way up to the roof of the building to eat his lunch just as she was leaving a conference room after completing her interview. Their conversation had been brief, with her apologizing for bumping into him and explaining that she wasn't used to the layout of the building, but that she hoped to grow to know it if she was accepted to work there.
Now, she only had to wait until lunch time rolled by once again so that she could approach him again, saying that she remembers him and saying that she had gotten the job. She knows he won't care, but she'll deliver like she doesn't.
'I shouldn't come off as too overeager; that'll just annoy him and associate me with that feeling. I highly doubt that I'll be able to crack him down to the point of him associating me with a positive feeling, so I have to aim for maintaining an indifference. Would it actually be better for me if I confess to him who I really am? If I'm able to prove that I am with Kira, he may show loyalty to me, as well. Of course, that could backfire in so many ways that it almost seems like a ridiculous tactic. But, if it goes smoothly, I'll have him under my thumb.'
However, with the passing of time, Kay would come to realize that no approach would come to fruition, as she spotted Mikami quickly making his way towards the front door. Suspicious, she follows, determined to not lose track of him. She follows Teru through the streets, not being able to help but notice large screens reporting the kidnapping of Takada.
'What the hell?' she thought, though she shook her head, removing herself from the distraction and instead continuing to trail Mikami.
She followed him all the way to another building on a busy street, one that appeared to be a bank. She stopped short and waited to closely follow someone else inside. When she got inside, she saw Teru quickly moving ahead, towards the safe boxes housed inside the large vault. As she wasn't a part of this bank, she knew that she wouldn't be able to follow him further. Resigned, she decides to leave, instead to go investigate what was happening with Takada.
While on the streets, she notices a group of people in black, all moving quickly towards the direction that would lead them out of the city. Amongst the group, she notices a woman that she had taken note of when watching a news broadcast.
'That's the FBI agent that's one of Takada's guards. She was also with the SPK when I went to meet Near.'
Quickly, she sticks out her hand, snagging Hal by her arm and yanking her away from the group. Immediately, the one pins her arm behind her back and bends Kay over uncomfortably, making her yelp.
"Nice to see you too," Kay spits out, still wincing in pain.
"You," Hal addresses, letting go of Kay.
"We need to talk. Right. Now."
Hal stares at Kay with cold eyes, sizing her up.
"As you just displayed, you could easily kick my ass, so I have nothing to hold over you if you choose to not cooperate," Kay says calmly, "What I have to say is important, something that I think Near will take interest in. Take me to him, and it'd be best to not waste time by dissolving my sense of direction beforehand. I know that Near is exposing himself in two days anyway, so it should not be much of an issue, now would it?"
"Why should I listen to you?"
"If I'm right, you no longer have Takada to worry about."
Still glaring, Hal roughly grabs Kay by the shoulder, guiding her away and down several streets. Eventually, they come upon what appeared to be another bank. They went inside, and Kay was able to recognize the turns they made, just as she recognized the vault door that opened for her. Inside, a familiar room awaited.
"Near, tell me what's happening with Takada," Kay says immediately, barging into the room, running off of adrenaline alone.
"Well, hello to you, too, Kay."
"This isn't the time for exchanging pleasantries...Talk."
"If you must so rudely insist, it appears that Miss Takada has been kidnapped by Mello."
"Mello," she repeats, her anxiousness crashing into anger at the mention of the man responsible for the death of Nozomi.
"Indeed. Why? I don't know. It's a very sudden move from him."
"It's not his actions that I have a report on. But, Mikami's, I do."
"You've been following him? That's bold."
"Yes, and, just now, I followed him to the bank where-"
"Gevanni, didn't Mikami go to the bank yesterday, on the 25th."
"Yes, that's right."
Kay turned her head to look at Gevanni, who was looking back at her with cold eyes.
"Even if he went to the bank just yesterday, I think that he went to retrieve something different today."
Near stayed silent, and Kay was unaware that it was because he was rapidly thinking.
"I think that, rather than keeping his Death Note on him or at home, he keeps it in his safe box. He rushed out of work quickly, and I think it was so that he could kill Takada in the wake of her kidnapping."
"And, if I were to tell you that Gevanni, who had been following Mikami up until I called him back after Takada was kidnapped, had observed Mikami using the Death Note outside of the bank, having had it on his person?" Near inquired, testing Kay to see if she was on the same train of thought as he was.
"Observed him using it in person? How? Where was this?"
"On the metro. There was a woman being harassed. Mikami had taken a picture of the man harassing her, did something on his phone, then took out the Death Note and wrote something in it. The man dropped dead from a heart attack 40 seconds later," Gevanni explained.
Kay stared at him in bewilderment, questions whirling by her.
'To be so blatant about it, and in a public place no less, makes it highly suspicious.'
"How did Mikami appear? Did he seem nervous, or was he calm?"
"He was calm."
'Could it be that Light was so cocky as to instruct Mikami to be coy like that? There's no way that Teru would have done that without being instructed to do so. No, what if it was Light throwing Mikami into the hands of the SPK, to make them think that they had everything figured out? But, why would he do that? Unless…'
"Near, what's the likelihood that Mikami had been carrying around a fake Death Note, and had the real one hidden away in the bank's safe?" Kay asks.
"Considering that you came to that conclusion as well, it's now very likely. Gevanni, please go examine Mikami's safe box to see if there is the Death Note in there. With what information Kay has provided us, I do believe that there is cause to Mikami breaking his structure."
Kay watches as Gevanni quickly leaves before whipping her head back to look at the back of the chair that Near was sitting in.
"Structure?"
"Teru Mikami lives on a schedule. He does everything to precision, just as he had done before. Every month, on the 25th, he visits the bank. To have done so on the 26th, and when he had also gone the previous day, is very much out of character for him."
With ties coming together, Kay begins calming down, her breathing growing even.
"If I'm right, then Takada is dead," she says blankly.
"Yes, I'm sure of that, as well."
"Are you still going to meet the Task Force at that warehouse you chose?"
"Yes, there is no reason not to. Unless, Kira cancels the meeting with the loss of Takada."
"He won't. Without Takada, he won't be able to contact Mikami to cancel the meeting. Besides, he will still think that you are operating under the belief that the notebook Mikami has been carrying around is the real Death Note," Kay explains.
"Yes, that is most-likely true."
"Then I guess I answered my own question."
"Yes, and every other answer will be answered in two days," Near says, still not letting Kay see his face.
"I'll see you then," Kay replies, moving to leave as she had no other reason to be there.
"I look forward to it."
