Uhum. I have been gone for over a month. Yes. I am sorry. I honest to God do not know how that happened, but I had to film, like, five movies, edit some of them, write a few scripts, see old movies, study for tests, go to a few concerts and before I knew it I happened updated in… forever! I am not really angry at myself, but I totally understand I did not have the time, but I'm sorry that I've been gone for so long and without warning, at that! But, here I am! Back and breathing and my heart still beating. Okay. That was cheesy. I'll stop.

DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I still do not own Death Note or any of its original characters or plotlines. But my OC's are mine. Also, I am a typo manic, so I would not recommend my stories if you are against those.

XxX

11. Do I Know You?

Ryuzaki should have been fairly impressed by the fact that Mishima had even thought about bringing a gun. But something about this man made Ryuzaki… not impressed. It was a feeling similar to boredom, only did boredom not have such a clear objective.

'I could ask you not to shoot, but I already know full well that you are not going to.'

'L,' he breathed, stating the obvious.

Ryuzaki turned his chair away from the screen and walked over to the glass table, files of the entire Kira Investigation team were laid out there, both new and old. 'Ryo Nakagami,' Ryuzaki read from the file he had already seen a couple of times. Out of curiosity. Because of Allison's particular dislike of this young man. 'I must admit, you have done fairly well. So young, yet pretty well informed regarding the Death Notes.'

Ryuzaki looked at his eyes for the first time then and saw that they weren't as determined as the rest of the man seemed to be. As if his whole body was made of stone, but his eyes, his eyes were glass.

Ryuzaki held up a hand. 'May I?'

It took a while for Mishima to register what Ryuzaki was asking. Then he handed Ryuzaki the gun, who lazily threw it across the room into a waste bin.

Immediately, Mishima began to protest. 'What do yo—'

'I want to ask you for your assistance, Mishima,' Ryuzaki interrupted.

Mishima blinked. 'Why?'

'Because you seem to me like a decently sharp human being,' Ryuzaki explain, sticking his hands in his pockets. 'Which also explains why you are here.'

'The site, with the hidden message. We can end this together. You can only finish a game if you have the last Death Note.'

'You see? Sharp.' Ryuzaki his eyes fell back to the file as he felt something similar to anger creep under his finger nails. 'Isn't that why you said that to her?'

When Ryuzaki looked up at Mishima, he was still blinking. As if he could blink the words into understanding. 'What?'

'Did you not offer to take my place in her life because you thought I was a traitor?'

'Well… I— No,' he replied, struggling for words. 'Though I do find it highly suspicious.'

The grin on Ryuzaki's face felt fake, even for him. 'But, you see, you are mistaken. I did not program the site. A… colleague of mine did. Who I fired for that little stunt, by the way.'

Mishima did not seem to understand. Or, if he did, he seemed to not believe a word Ryuzaki had said. 'What are you planning?'

'Cooperation, obviously.' Even though it failed miserably the first time he'd tried.

'Show me the Death Note,' Mishima ordered.

Ryuzaki his grin felt real now. 'No, I do not think that I will. It's not mine to show, anyhow.'

Mishima's face fell. And Ryuzaki saw, saw, that he understood. He had been right, this man was sharp. But only if it was about thing that he particularly cared about. Still, he asked: 'What do you mean?'

'I don't believe it matters much,' Ryuzaki said with a shrug, 'since we will not rely on any Death Note to solve the case. So it does not matter whether you see the Death Notes, or whether they are currently in my possession or not. As long as no one is using them to harm others. That is the only thing that matters.'

Mishima just stood there, without a gun, without a plan. Just staring at the greatest detective alive. Ryuzaki wondered, for a short while, about what that must feel like.

Then he got bored, and went on. 'Neo Kira won't still until he has all the Death Notes. We need to lure him with our Notes in order to get his. That's the only way we can secure all six of them.'

Mishima's forehead wrinkled as he frowned. 'But, in order for you to do that… You'll need the Death Note the police has.'

'I'm prepared to… borrow it from them because of the dire situation,' Ryuzaki admitted, though his head hurt thinking about resorting to such a low crime as stealing. 'I plan to do it tomorrow at noon.'

He wanted to shoot him. Ryuzaki could tell. Mishima gave a longing glance to the bin and Ryuzaki just knew that Mishima felt the urge to put his gun against Ryuzaki's head. Maybe not even shoot. Maybe just the fact that he could threaten L, have a little revenge. Maybe Mishima was more like other humans than he cared to admit.

After what felt like hours, Mishima took a ragged breath and said: 'I will trust L.' Then he looked back, his eyes now stone as his face had fallen. 'But I will be there every step of the way. Watching you.'

'That's fine,' Ryuzaki agreed as the phone in his pocket vibrated.

'And when are we going to—' Ryuzaki held up one finger to instruct Mishima to be silent and checked it.

Allison had sent a photo, with underneath a cryptic message. Can you try to find any matches?

I will try. Would you let me know why?

Let's have a meeting tomorrow? The question mark in het response confused him. As if she needed to ask him if it was alright. As if he did not want to meet her.

10:00, Ryuzaki sent, after which he put his phone away. Then he looked back at the young man, who had listened to silent his request remarkably well. Perhaps he really was more useful than Ryuzaki had realised. 'We will meet back here at ten, two hours before the mission. You don't need to bring a gun, I have one for you.' Ryuzaki nodded towards the bin. 'And don't tell anyone about your activities.'

XxX

I had a few options.

The first one was probably the most impulsive one and also, probably, the most stupid. I could run downstairs and try to catch him right now. I had not brought a gun with me, but maybe I would be able to tackle him or hold him long enough for someone to walk by and call the cops.

The second option was to just look, as to not raise suspicion, and try to describe his face to Ryuzaki when the time came. Probably the safest option, although not the most functional one.

The third option seemed to be a combination of the two previous options. And it was the one I went for. With my phone out of sight, I stared back at the man as I unlocked my phone and zoomed in. Then, when the camera on my phone was fully zoomed in, I pretended to quickly check it.

The moment his face came into view, I clicked.

And not even one second later, he was gone.

Would he find that suspicious? Surely, anyway as cornered as he was would see anything as suspicious.

As if I wasn't already suspicious in his eyes. I was suddenly staying in Misa's apartment. He had been keeping an idea on Misa's apartment.

What did that mean?

Misa had been strange when I saw him, clearly hiding something. Did this have anything to do with it? What would I do if I figured out that Misa was actually working with Neo Kira? Ryuzaki was not going to let her go twice, that was easy enough to guess. And I wasn't sure if I wanted her to get away a second time, either. If she really, really, was helping Neo Kira, maybe she was too damaged. Beyond saving. Maybe Ryuzaki had been right from the start.

I shut my eyes and ripped the curtains closed, leaning against the soft fabric with my forehead. I wanted to slam my head through the wall. I had come here to think, not to find a new problem.

With a sigh I looked at the picture. His face was way too hidden to definitely determine who it was, but it was the best thing we had and it was pretty much a full on description of Neo Kira, or at least is accomplice. I sent the photo to Ryuzaki with as little information as possible, since we were currently communicating over the phone and that wasn't always safe, not even for us.

Can you try to find any matches? I asked, the message along with the photo vague.

His answer came almost immediately. I will try. Would you let me know why?

"Would". Not "will". That was a step forward. Let's have a meeting tomorrow? I replied.

His only response was: 10:00.

XxX

I wish I could say I slept amazing in Misa's gigantic bed and that I enjoyed the insanely equipped shower, but it would be a lie. I couldn't fall asleep and it took hours before I finally understood the actual shower. And I didn't even wanted to get started on that kitchen, so I grabbed a coffee and a bagel from a coffeeshop instead.

I could ask Watari to take me to the headquarters, but since I had left way too early, too uncomfortable to stay in that apartment, I decided to take the underground. The large number of people also made me feel a bit less paranoid, since I still felt eyes on me, as if the man from yesterday never left.

Before I could reach the station, something appeared before me, pushing me back into a narrow alleyway. I hated admitting it, but I had nearly forgot about my last conversation with Arma and how we got interrupted. 'Do you have time to talk now?' she asked, an annoyed edge in her voice I had never heard before.

'Yes,' I said, a little breathless from shock. 'Go ahead.'

'My ownership,' she responded. 'I can only regain that if the current owner died. Until then, the note will belong to the human world.'

'I was aware,' I said, feeling myself slump. 'And I am sure that Ico can kill the owner when the time comes.'

'You don't know that,' Arma replied. 'You don't know how many lifespans she will save by doing so. A human needs to kill them. Otherwise it could mean death for Ico.'

And we both knew Ico would never risk her own life for someone else, not matter the reason. 'And the Shinigami King—'

'Will not interfere with the human world outside of the power of death he's been given,' Arma said, as if on auto-pilot.

And I knew then. What she was asking me. What she wanted to me to do. 'You're asking me to commit a murder.'

Arma looked down at the floor, as if she was shamed. I could tell that she wasn't. She was trying to soften the blow. For me. And then she nodded.

She nodded.

Because I had made this deal with her. Because it was my responsibility to save her. And because I would have to give up relatively close to nothing.

And I knew, I knew, that any other would be able to accept it. For writing a name down seemed far less like murder than shooting someone through the head would. But just the idea of holding a note with the intent to kill… I felt my stomach twist and turn.

So I pushed the thought away. 'You need to find Ico. Ico has been tailing an accomplice of Neo Kira. Or maybe Neo Kira himself. I ran into her yesterday. I would recommend staying close to either Misa or her apartment. I have a weird feeling she has something to do with it.'

Arma knew Misa, of course, so she nodded, understood. Understood that murder was not something I could mentally deal with right now. Solving the case first. Offering up what was left of my goodness and innocence second.

'And could you check on the other members of the Task Force, see how they're doing? I'm worried about what they will do now that they have been sent home,' I admitted, not looking into those dark shiny eyes now that I knew what those were asking of me. What I needed to do to keep those eyes from seeing.

'I will,' Arma said, her tone light, but heavy with implications. Then, right before she disappeared, she muttered: 'I'm sorry.'

XxX

'Break in?' I repeated, utterly unsure in what kind of conversation I had landed. Usually, it had been me and Mishima always on the brink of a fight. Now I was just sitting behind a table, generally level headed and those two kept making an argument out of everything.

'Why would you break in to get that Death Note? It's not like Neo Kira knows you don't have it,' I said when Mishima had asked why they could not just ask for the goddamn notebook instead of breaking and entering. 'I'm quite sure everyone wants to be rid of it,' he'd said.

And Ryuzaki had basically laughed in his face.

'What is the problem with breaking in?' I asked when no one answered my previous question, trying to get Mishima to communicate in an effective way, since Ryuzaki was clearly not in the mood for communicating efficiently today.

'I… I could lose my job!' he admitted.

'Well, we need you for the security system,' I said, frowning slightly. Why was his job so damn important all the time?

'I could just take you hostage.'

'Hah?' me and Mishima said at the exact same time and the exact same tone. We both looked at Ryuzaki like he might have turned blue with green dots right there.

'Hostage,' Ryuzaki said simply, as if that would solve everything. 'He can get into the building before me, pretending to grab something or another and I will come in later, pretend to take him hostage and take the Death Note.'

'And police won't do anything, you think?' I asked cynically.

'Well, not if they do not know,' Ryuzaki said with a shrug. 'Since I have a very great hacker who can get into the police camera system and make sure that we are not seen.'

'Well then, why take him hostage at all?' I wondered.

'Because in case someone does see us, he will not have to lose his job. People will know he was framed. For example, cameras outside won't show us entering together and it will show him getting into the car with a worried face,' Ryuzaki looked over at Mishima to make sure he got that instruction.

I sighed. 'Sounds like a lot of problems for a note we do not necessarily need.'

'We do,' Ryuzaki said with gleaming eyes. 'Because that is a place Neo Kira knows, too. And I don't trust the police enough to be content with letting it sit there.'

Well, that made sense. Though I could feel Mishima was once again irritated, probably because Ryuzaki spoke negatively about the police. With a sigh, I stood. I had already briefed everything about my situation. Ryuzaki had given me a lost list of files, people who might potentially be the one I was looking for. Still, it was probably smarter to just wait for news from Ico or Arma. But I didn't. Instead, I said: 'I will go and do something useful. If you two are done bickering, get going. We have no time to waste.'

As I walked out of the main room, I felt their eyes poking in my back. But, for some reason, I did not hate the feeling this time.

XxX

De-activating cameras was always something that was supposed to be easy, yet, somehow, I had always been bad at it. But the police's headquarters' computer systems were so familiar, that even I could easily get into it. I replayed 10:00 to 11:00, the halls almost completely empty because of the fired Kira Task Force. Which meant I could not see what Ryuzaki and Mishima were doing. Not fighting, hopefully.

The files next to me on the table were a mess and I had already kind of given up. I needed to see Ico again and then ask for his name. I believed she would give it to me, whether it was against the rules or not.

But since Ico was the only Shinigami following him, did that mean that the young man was not Kira? If he owned so many Death Notes, wasn't he supposed to be surrounded by Shinigami? What was that all about?

Or maybe the Shinigami had spotted Ico and were in hiding, just to keep the game going. Just to keep the fun and games for as long as possible.

I started to gain a severe hatred for most Shinigami.

Ryuzaki had told me that one hour was enough, but I felt like maybe it was too short, or maybe too long. If the security was just a tad bit too good they would see that someone had tinkered with it. And then… what would happen? What identity did Ryuzaki have, what would happen if he were to be caught? What would happen to me?

If I were to murder someone, just to save Arma's life, even though I was in no danger. Even if Neo Kira was surrendering. I still would have to kill Neo Kira, for Arma. Would Ryuzaki arrest me? Would he be able to look me in the eye ever again?

I swallowed hard and tried to distract myself by looking at the wrong camera footage.

'Are you worried?'

Arma was hovering next to me, her black eyes calm, uncaring. Yet her voice was full of kindness. Kindness and worry.

I shook my head, but it was unconvincing.

'You know he has protection. That the Shinigami King maximized his lifespan,' she said softly in an attempt to easy my worry.

'I know,' I admitted, 'but… his maximum lifespan, I don't know what that is. Even if I wanted to, even if I tried to check, I can't see it. His is stuck, like mine.'

Arma breathed in deep. 'I thought Ico had taught you how to block it out.'

'She did. But I can't stay away. I want him so be safe and those numbers… I don't want to see them, but I do.' Ryuzaki hadn't asked me to look, nor did he ever ask anything much about my Shinigami eyes. Too afraid what it would do to me if I were to use them, I had guessed.

'How is the Task Force?' I asked Arma, my fingers at my temples, trying to massage the worry away.

'Ah, yes, speaking about that—'

Right then, Watari came in. 'I came to inform you that we have some guests,' he said, which made me turn around. He was smiling kindly, the kind of smile I had not seen in a long time.

And it made me frown. 'Guests? What are you talking about?'

Arma spoke before Watari could answer: 'They're here.'

But even though she answered before him, I only understood when Watari said: 'The Task Force.'

And just like that, the elevator opened. And Nanase, Kuromoto and Uragami came in, kind smiles on their faces, but sleepy eyes and a worn out look. 'You guys,' I said, slowly getting up from my chair, staring as if I hadn't seen them in months. It felt like it, though it hadn't even been days. 'How did you—' I interrupted myself. And then everyone in the room said the same thing at the same time.

'L.'

XxX

End of the chapter! It's a bit shorter, isn't it? Sorry about that. I will try to update next week, but otherwise, I think I'll be gone again for two/three. Hopefully not a month, though, that's fairy bad, even for me.

Anyway, thank you for reading! Sorry this story takes so long but student life is a bit busier than I expected.

XxX

lunamoon531: running around the school… does not sound fun. My old high school had this thing were every summer we had to run a certain route around the school for an hour and your grade depended on how many laps you did. Yeah, I hated it a lot. I hope your French-thingy went well, I am horrible at French, so I'm not of any help at all, haha. And sorry that it took so long, hope you survived school, especially PE. Until next time!

XxX