XLII – Spared
It was already New Year's Eve. For Light, the past two weeks had been passing him by like they would in a movie. He felt completely absent-minded when he carried out his plan and tricked Pember into killing his colleagues and himself. He almost felt like a spectator when he turned the clocks back by one hour everywhere in his house and even on Midori's phone, only to reset them all at the real time once the agents were ruled out. Midori, as well as his family, could have sworn that Light had been at home, in his room during the time when Pember died. Nobody noticed his trick, but somehow, he still couldn't set his mind at ease.
Even today, he had to make sure he covered all of his tracks. When he accidentally came upon Pember's fiancée, he set the scene up for her suicide – the only way he could shut her up before she spoke to an actual policeman. Coming back home, he still felt some heavy weight of uncertainty hanging from his neck. It was almost choking him at times.
Was he really turning into the Snake? That disgusting criminal with a sick, twisted sense of reality? The Snake, who he always despised and considered only a parasite of their society? Although his cheek had long lost its burning redness and the inside healed from the minor bruises it suffered when she slapped it between his teeth, he still felt the shock and the numb pain that followed. He almost missed the salty-sweet, metallic taste in his mouth.
Light pretended to have caught a cold, amplifying his usual evening tiredness. He quickly excused himself from the dinner table and climbed to his room.
'Are you alright, Light?' the shinigami asked.
Sighing, he threw himself on the bed. "…Do I look alright?"
'I don't know. Probably not. What's wrong?'
Light kept staring at the ceiling. "Everything. I haven't heard from L in a while, but I'm sure he's working on the case. Vitto disappeared, yet he's still in town. I don't know if Caterina told anyone about Kira, or if she's even thinking about me at all. Should I kill her, too? I don't want to… I don't want her to die, just in case she comes back to her senses and returns to me. But I can't trust her to keep quiet forever. Besides, perhaps that would be unnecessary. Ruyk, am I turning into the Snake? Can I possibly become so rotten? I, the God of the New World?!"
He sat up, holding his head in his hands and pushing his hair back. It was a desperate attempt to order his mind, as if it had anything to do with his hair. Even so, it helped him calm down and see things more clearly when Caterina did it and perhaps, there was a distant time in his childhood when his mother used to do that, but he couldn't be certain. Light never was close to his family. He respected his father, he had some dose of gratefulness and respect for his mother and he tolerated his sister, but he couldn't say he loved any of them – not really. This thought made him wonder if he had ever loved anyone…
'Do you really want the answer to that?' the shinigami laughed. 'Because I don't really care. But you're not as entertaining when you're lying in bed, pretending to be sick.'
Light chuckled. He was bitter, tired, and borderline depressed. "…I should've known. It's all entertainment to you, isn't it?" Light reached for the bottle of water he had been keeping by his bed for years, constantly replacing it every time it emptied. He twisted the cap and broke the seal. Whoever said that water was tasteless had never drank water from a plastic bottle – it was always tastier when fresh, only to become disgusting if left unsealed for too long.
It made him think about Kira's identity as he drank some water. Was Kira slowly changing his identity by adopting a few unorthodox ways? His goal had remained unchanged, so then should he even worry about the means? And, of course, there was Ryuk with his comments…
'Shouldn't you be celebrating, or something?'
"Celebrate what?"
Ryuk was laying on his side in thin air. 'Oh, you know… Police officers butting out of the investigation, the agents being dead, that woman not talking to the police…'
Light sighed heavily as he looked away. "I can't. It's just a battle won, not an entire war. I can still lose everything in the blink of an eye, just like-!" Choking on his words, he stood up and went to look over the street from his window. "Never mind."
'Just like your girlfriend?' the shinigami asked, sounding rather amused.
"I don't have a girlfriend."
'Because she left you, right?'
Shooting him a murderous look, Light almost growled as he answered. "She did not. I left her." He had heartlessly shoved Midori off as soon as she served her purpose. Once the agents were dead and she had confirmed his alibi, he took her out again and told her… "I don't have the time for this. I'd rather focus on more important matters."
Just like Midori couldn't believe him, Ryuk was doubting his answer – except instead of crying, he was chuckling. 'You don't even believe yourself.'
"Of course I do! And I am perfectly correct. There are more important things I could be doing instead of babysitting a little girl looking for attention." Just the thought of Midori talking for half an hour about types of sushi and condiments used made his blood rush faster in annoyance, slowly turning into anger. He even began to wonder if he wanted to hate the girl, or if it was just Caterina's ghost in the back of his mind constantly throwing dirt at Midori's image.
'I wasn't talking about Midori,' Ryuk suddenly pointed out, shuttering Light's anger in a second.
"…She will return to me, eventually. It's only a matter of time."
'You don't even say her name anymore. I don't get it – why does it affect you so much? You don't sleep, you barely eat, you write half as much; it's like your new goal is to break the record for lying in bed and pretending you're sick. I don't understand why.'
Sitting at his desk again, Light began to write. "You want me to write? Watch as I'm filling the pages." He had a list of criminals in front of him on the computer left on since earlier that evening. "It gives me no satisfaction, for some reason…" he mumbled.
'What I don't understand is why?!' Ryuk asked again, but Light only sighed. At the same time, Vitto was in a similar situation.
"I must've told you a thousand times already – I changed my mind!" he shrugged, reaching for his glass. Its contents were still warm, filling the man's nose with a familiar scent before he took a sip. "Do you need a translator for that?"
'I'm not joking here, Vitto! We made a deal!' Ross was boiling with anger. He felt himself betrayed by the Italian's sudden change of heart.
"And just like the huntsman, I'm going to bring you the heart of a deer instead. Let her go – what do you care? You have many beautiful girls there – gorgeous, I must say! And very sweet, as well. I could send you ten from Moldova, they're already in the system since last month. Very beautiful, very obedient… They don't know Italian or English, but they don't need to know for this job, right?"
Ross slammed his hands on the table so hard, Vitto could see the laptop's camera shaking. 'I don't need any more prostitutes! I want that one girl! Do you understand?! I'll let you have 60% of the Dragon's fortune if you bring me his goddamned girl!'
With a shrug, the Italian rubbed his forehead. "Look – there's nothing you could give me that will ever make me interested in this deal again. Just because her mother didn't choose you and ran off with the Dragon doesn't mean you must go after the daughter. It's absurd – listen to yourself."
'I didn't ask you for a history lesson! I asked you for that girl! And you're fucking useless! You incompetent! I helped you make it out of that filthy countryside motel!'
"Perdona, that was a four-star hotel with a restaurant. Your home is closer to resembling a 'filthy motel' than my first workplace," Vitto pointed out. "Dear Lord, I feel a headache coming…"
'You'll soon feel a bullet coming if you don't deliver the girl in three days!' the American growled, leaning closer to the camera.
Even so, the Italian shook his head. "Three days, you say? I'll think about it! Why don't you drink a glass of wine and smoke something of decent quality until then? It's not like you have anything better to do with your time, anyway."
'Why, you-!'
"Because I know it works. Now if you don't mind, I must go to a very important meeting. Don't give yourself a heart attack in the meantime – I'm going to enjoy watching your execution." Vitto disconnected the laptop from the network so Ross would be left with no possibility of calling again or tracking down the device. He finished the drink from his glass and approached the girl his men had brought him this time.
She was healthy and well developed – not exceptionally beautiful, but strong. Tied to a chair and a little dizzy, the girl had a deep cut over her left wrist that had been cleaned and covered in bandages to stop the bleeding and give her some time to recover. She was just waking up, looking around in confusion.
"Hello, my sweet, sweet lady. What's your name?" the man asked her. He bent down to see her better. She had a pair of beautiful black eyes – such a shame her face was a bit too round with too many black spots and a huge nose. Her body was way stronger than the average built of a prostitute – or at least, of those that Vitto preferred. Some he saved from the 'donor's chair', but those were few. Most girls only left the chair when their ability to regenerate was overwhelmed by Vitto's thirst.
Frowning, the girl tried to move. She still had the strength to make the chair wiggle a little bit. "Where am I…?" Her arm hurt and she could see her wrist bandaged.
"Your last destination, I'm afraid. You may consider this some sort of… purgatory, if you will," he smiled. "How are you feeling? Are you nauseous, or does your head ache?"
The girl thought for a moment. "My arm hurts. I'm numb…"
"Does it, now?" Frowning, he looked almost genuinely sorry for her. "I told them not to hurt you so badly. Do you need a painkiller?"
She slowly shook her head. "Why am I here?"
"Initially, you must have caught the attention of one of my men. Do you remember someone putting you to sleep?"
After a few moments, she began to remember flashes of her most recent memories. "…My sister's boyfriend? But they've been together for… one year?"
Vitto shrugged. "Possibly. I paid for you, so now you're mine. Do you understand? The drug he gave you has been out of your system for an hour now. I'm surprised you've woken up so soon – others take at least three hours."
"I don't understand…" she mumbled.
"You will, eventually. Please answer me this – if you have a young, inexperienced subordinate who makes a mistake that generates a cost, but his mistake is because of a client's spoiled child, what do you do?" He spoke calmly, patiently, articulating each word individually. Usually, he didn't bother asking because most looked too distracted by other things, like their surroundings. This girl, however – she didn't rush to call him names or try to scream for help. No… This girl was analyzing her situation.
"…Give me a concrete example. What kind of client?"
"Say, you're opening a restaurant. Your subordinate is a waiter – very hardworking and eager to learn, a great acquisition, but inexperienced and easily intimidated. Your client is a business partner, a loyal costumer, whose child managed to make the new waiter commit a mistake. Let's say that… he stumbled and dropped a tray full of plates, glasses and silverware, spilled the food and made a scene."
"It's the child's fault…" the girl began, "but if the parent allowed the child to behave that way, they are not going to correct the child anytime soon. Besides, I depend on the client. On the other hand, the waiter represents good working hand, and so if I fire them, another restaurant could hire them, treat them better and in a few months, make an excellent waiter out of him, which will mean I will be at a loss. I can't give away a certain worker for some uncertain replacement. I would ask him to clean up after himself, charge the entire company with the accidental cost so that everyone pays an insignificant part of the sum, and apologize to the client in a way that would make my restaurant look better than others."
"How?" Vitto was smiling. The girl thought well – better than some who already worked for him. She thought like he did.
"We – those running the restaurant – aim to take young waiters that we train ourselves, based on the restaurant's principles and based on our culture. This way, we create loyal professionals, who we always encourage to evolve, to perform better. Those who can make it through our gradually higher expectations are going to be promoted and rewarded, while those who make mistakes will be sanctioned. The waiter will stand some consequences, of course, but those are not to be known outside the company – just like the rewards."
"Very well! I like it." Vitto left his glass on a small round table beside the girl's chair. "Are you thirsty, my dear? Or hungry?"
"Both." The girl was hoping that maybe, while she's alone, she could knock off the glass from the table, fall with the chair and use a shard to cut the ropes holding her still.
"Will you tell me your name?"
Instead of an answer, she looked away. The girl was almost expecting him to get mad at her – maybe even to hit her – but Vitto did none of that. He stood up straight and sighed. "Fine, then. Be that way. But let me assure you that I still own you and that your life depends on me." The Italian turned his back on her.
"…Wait," the girl eventually said. "You still didn't tell me why am I here."
"To satisfy my thirst, of course," he walked out the door. Soon, two bodyguards entered the room to guard the girl. She had no chance of doing anything.
In a way, Caterina felt the same way. There was an auction on the third day of the year where Vitto was going to sell the puzzle he received from Namikawa's employee to the one capable of solving it. Everyone who wanted to try for two minutes had to pay one thousand dollars.
"An insignificant sum for a priceless occasion, let me assure you. I believe everyone can see this. Of course, for those of you who want to stand a better chance – you can buy yourselves ten minutes for just four thousand." Vitto couldn't believe the money he was making just ten minutes before he will announce the start of the contest.
He had organized a ball where he invited the wealthiest families of the world, the single percent of the planet's population who owned over ninety percent of the world's riches. They were from all over Europe, from the American continents and from the developed parts of Asia – so many, Vitto had to rent an entire hotel for them. It was amazing to see them all gathered in one place – in one building! His blood was running faster just from trying to estimate how much the lives of those on one floor were worth. Vitto couldn't count that far!
"Moreover, all of these gorgeous paintings that you can see around you and all of these splendid marble statues are all for sale. If you will stay with me until January the 6th, I'm going to organize a very special evening for a priceless diamond."
He had bodyguards guarding absolutely everything. They were among those invited, they were posing as personnel of the hotel, as well as wearing their uniforms and openly showing themselves as security guards. Nothing had to be stolen and no one had to die – any minor incident would stain his image for the rest of his life.
Of course, Caterina and Namikawa were invited as well – only for the first night, when the puzzle will be discussed. Still, they had their own table from where they could watch everyone interested as they paid their failure to solve the puzzle. The one they were supposed to solve was a fake – a wooden box with pieces glued in place so no one would be ever capable of solving it. Vitto was fooling everyone and vacuuming their pockets with an illusion.
"I still can't believe it's happening," the girl said as she was holding her hands on the table. She was shaking, feeling electric chills running through her entire nervous system. Her palms were tingling in excitement.
Namikawa was calm. He smiled softly as he reached out for her hand over the table. "You should. This auction is going to seal your first contract with one of your father's enemies. He is now on your side, and the best part is that you aren't the one paying him – they are."
Caterina shook her head. "He's on our side. All I did was talk, and even that was your work – you told me everything I needed to know in order to convince him that the deal is real."
"You convinced him, in the end. It's an important contribution, you'll see. Many pay others very generously exactly for this kind of jobs. Persuading others is not a piece of cake – the only reason it looked easy is because you were the one doing it."
She chuckled softly and looked away. "It's not my contract, it's ours." The moment of silence that followed could be taken as a mutual agreement. "Even so, Namikawa… What about Robert?" Caterina continued to use the same alias for Ross. "Certainly, he must have found out about this. He's the most dangerous of Padre's enemies, vicious and vengeful."
The man nodded slowly, thinking and calculating their new situation. "The last we heard of any contact between him and Victor was before Christmas. A lot could have happened in two weeks… When did you last hear about your contact on American soil? The one with the little boy with him, travelling…"
"Kane," the girl quickly found an alias for the King. "It was… December the 17th, or maybe the 18th. He said it would be too dangerous to help…" she waited for Namikawa to sign her that he understood she was referring to Light and herself, "because there was a suspicion that the FBI had gotten themselves involved. He said he didn't have enough resources to cover the risks."
"Do you think you can reach him? I believe it would be a good moment to start gathering everything you have. Everything we have, if you would refer to yourself and I as… not necessarily a couple, but perhaps a team. We are on the same side, after all."
A waiter approached them and took their order. Both of them stopped talking about anything important until the waiter was at least five meters away. The music will cover their conversation by then, making it safe to go on.
"How close do you think he is? Robert, I mean…"
Namikawa had to admit that he didn't have all the answers. "He could be anywhere, but you said it yourself that travelling is not his style. I think it's more probable for him to send other people ahead. Now, from what you said about him, he's very aggressive… Perhaps it would be a good idea to stay as close as possible in the following weeks. I'll see if you could come to the office with me. You don't have to stay with me personally, but that entire building is one of the safest in all of Japan."
To him, it was a surprise that she didn't reject the idea. To her, it was a perfectly rational decision. "Of course. If it won't be too much, I'd like you to show me around. I want to see what Padre left me. In the meantime, I'll get in touch with Kane and Junior and try to track down… the Spider," she almost whispered the name of the hacker.
He agreed with a soft smile. "I'm glad you think this way."
But suddenly, Caterina's face darkened. Some sort of shock and anger were burning in her eyes as she shot someone a glare. "He's one of the guards the Snake used," she mumbled quickly. "I knocked him out and tied his hands with his belt."
Confused, Namikawa followed her glance. "What are you talking about?"
"When we were caught, I tricked the Snake's woman. I told you about that, I stained my hands… I had to go someplace from where I could call for help. He surprised me, I knocked him out, I took his phone and his gun and called Mr. Ooi. He's the one, I'm sure of it." Caterina let go of the man's hand and made an incredibly bold gesture, one that she never thought herself capable of making. Keeping the eye contact, she pointed her finger downwards and tapped the table twice.
The man noticed and became a little agitated. "What are you doing, calling him here? You don't know who sent him here or if he can be trusted or not. I'm begging you, let's keep the path of reason and precaution."
"I'm not like my mother, Namikawa. I won't hide and wait for you to take care of everything – I'll do it myself. Besides, it's a public, crowded place with more security than a royal wedding. He won't be able to do anything. At the same time, he knows that we won't do anything either – it's a clear invitation for dialog. Perfectly reasonable." Although her voice was confident, Caterina had to run the palms of her hands over her forearms to make those annoying little hairs lay flat against her skin again.
The man was just as panicked. He looked around him several times to make sure he was the one who was being called, but the eye contact was unmistakable. The Dragon's daughter not only survived – she seemed to be thriving. It made him afraid, but curious at the same time. The man made his way to her table and bowed his head. "Miss…" he addressed her, since Caterina didn't have a wedding ring on either hand.
"You do remember how I've spared you, correct?" She didn't look at him at all. Instead, she was pretending to have more interesting things to analyze, like the crowd, her hands, or the bracelet around her wrist. She looked at Namikawa briefly – not for approval, but simply to see his reaction. He seemed calm and collected, but he couldn't keep his feet flat on the floor. Caterina felt his agitation underneath the table.
Their guest swallowed hard. He had been spared three times that day – by her, by the Snake and by the one who ordered the attack. "I remember." He decided he should answer her questions the way he would answer in front of the Snake – briefly, consistently, and without hesitation.
"Who sent you here?" she placed her next question.
"Rod Ross, miss."
"Are you working for him?"
"His subordinate, miss."
Caterina threw her partner another look. Namikawa was right in his assumptions –again. "Who?"
"Itachi Kitamura." When he saw Caterina rolling her eyes, he knew he should go on. "Head of the Kitamura family. His godson is the counselor of the national bank's governor, while his younger brother works closely to the chief of the national police."
"Is he here?" she asked, but the guard shook his head. "Why are you working for Ross?"
"The man who spared me the third time that day said he will take me to someone who will help me recuperate my identity. He promised me papers and a way out of Japan in exchange for exemplar behavior. I was to start a new life and-!"
"The essential?"
"I was tricked. You have a traitor among your people, miss. He sold me to Kitamura, who works with or for Ross. I am uncertain."
She nodded towards Namikawa. Ooi will be surprised to hear this and if it proved to be true, it could end in bloodshed. "Are you alone?" she asked, finally looking at the guard.
"No, miss. There are five others – two at the front entrance, two in the back and another one at the kitchen. When the cake is served, the fireworks will be replaced with explosives. Everyone is taken hostage and robbed. That is the order. There may be girls taken, as well as young boys. Back up is currently in this quarter, waiting for the countdown. It will be a fiasco."
Namikawa decided to step into their conversation. "If you wish to prove yourself useful, you will be rewarded generously. We need exactly half an hour before we will leave this building and Ross can carry out his plan."
"But-!" Caterina tried to protest, but Namikawa silenced her with one glance.
"In half an hour, you will help us leave the building unnoticed. I will tell you then where do we meet in order to talk about your reward in three days from now." The man stood up, offered his hand for Caterina to take, then walked past the guard without acknowledging his presence again. "We can take the original puzzle back."
"What about Vitto?" she asked in a hushed voice.
"Hopefully, he will suffocate and burn before he is captured. Death is easier than torture." Namikawa pulled Caterina by her hand so she will be standing in front of him. "I need you to convince the guards that Vitto sent you to bring the original for a special client."
Caterina smirked. "Not a problem." She was about to approach them, when one of them suddenly gasped, held his chest and threw his head backwards. He ripped off his shirt to reveal his scars, right before he crumbled to his knees and fell faced down. His colleague was next, clutching his gun and the door frame he was guarding. He groaned in pain, falling on his side and rolling his eyes back. At the other end of the room, another man was acting in a similar way.
This time, she had nothing to do with the timing – it was pure coincidence, right? But Caterina knew it was a unique chance that she had to take. She took advantage of the panic and the confusion setting among the guests to sneak into the room where Vitto said he had hidden the original wooden puzzle and took it from its pillow. When she walked out of the room, the guard grabbed her arm tightly and dragged her along.
"Please, trust me! I know you'd never murder anyone, miss – I believe in your innocence!" The man took her though several rooms until they reached the back exit. He kept hold of her arm and his eyes darkened.
"Make way. I have the girl."
The other two guards looked at each other and at the girl. One of them looked at a photograph before stepping out of their way. The other immediately called someone. "We have the girl, and she's carrying the puzzle… Yes, sir! Understood! We start the countdown, sir!"
The guard kept dragging her along, ignoring her protests for as long as he could. When they were far enough and Caterina was about to kick him, he eventually stopped. "Call your partner. I have a friend who works in the media. I asked him to write about the event tonight, complete with a list of criminals – their crimes, their names and their pictures. I knew Kira would help us, aware or not, because we are innocents! We're good, hardworking, honest people trapped in a web of evil and greed. Kira is our savior and our new God, miss! I'll stay with you until your protector comes."
Her eyes widened in shock. "They know you left with me! They probably called Kitamura, or worse – Ross! Are you insane? This is pure madness!"
A wide smile spread on his face. "It must have been Kira who made it so that I'd be spared three times in one day! Kira is my God, and I'm willing to die for justice. I know he spared me because he knows I am capable of good, and because I've never stolen or killed anyone in my life. Kira helped us earlier – he is on our side. Kira will repay your kindness, miss. We will be the martyrs of the New World!"
In truth, even if it was past midnight, Kira was working harder and harder. He kept turning the pages, filled with names on two columns. He had found an article on the internet talking about the party of the wealthy, along with the criminal record of each. He decided to start with the guards.
The thought that Caterina was there made his blood boil again and he finally felt the will to write. He felt the rush he got every time he cleaned the world of its scum and he wanted to curse his hand for not writing fast enough.
'Back in business, aren't we?'
By the time he was done, Kira had three pages of immediate kills and two more of scheduled heart attacks. He leaned back in his chair with a pleased grin on his face. "Sure looks like it, doesn't it?"
'Yeah, it does. But why now?' Ryuk asked again.
"Isn't it obvious? Caterina will witness my power. Besides, with a bit of luck, I might have saved her life. She will owe me for that." Yawning, Light stood up, rubbed his back and his shoulders, then took off his shirt. He laid in bed, thinking about how he could use a massage at the moment. Sitting at a desk for several hours left him with a very annoying pain in his back and a certain stiffness of his shoulders. "Ryuk, remind me to accept the invitation the next time someone asks me to go play tennis. I could use a few hours of sport…"
'It's not like I never told you that before, but you never listen to me anyway,' the shinigami complained.
Sighing, Light dragged himself out of bed in order to turn off the light. "Perhaps because you always ruin my shortest moments of happiness…"
Author's Notes:
Chapter proofread by AbandonedSock, as usual.
Here's another update. It's still exams season here, and I think I'll focus more on my other stories and take at least one of them off the hiatus list and place it higher on my priorities list. So in case there will be another two weeks or so before the next update, now you know why.
Regardless, I'm still glad to see new people following the story or adding it to their favorites! I'm also looking forward to hearing from you through a review or a PM.
