Author's note:
There has been an update before this. Because it was an edit, it was not shown as an update. If you haven't already, go read the previous chapter. Thank you!
LIV - Confessions
The news had certainly become more interesting overnight. Light was in his room, watching, as he kept scheduling the deaths of those exposed. They were to fall one after the other, by the day, between 4 and 5 P.M., each suffering some accidental cause of death. He had made a deal about this with Caterina long ago. When she would begin exposing the rotten of the system, those preventing criminals from being caught, he would eliminate them in more creative ways than his signature heart attack.
Suddenly, his phone rang. It was his father's number.
"Yes, father?"
'Light, I need you to come to this address. L wants you to join the investigation on Kira.'
"I'll be on my way!"
His eyes were wide with excitement, but he had to remain grounded and level-headed. If L really did invite him, there was something seriously wrong going on. Could he have found out about Caterina? Was he suspecting him of being Kira? Did he have any incriminating evidence on this? Light couldn't think of any major mistake he might have committed, but maybe he missed something. L was brilliant, so there was a small chance he might have picked up some detail that escaped his memory.
Ryuk was floating behind him as Light changed into a suit and combed his hair in place.
'Ooh! Finally, something exciting involving you! Don't get me wrong - it's nice watching Caterina at work, but you were slacking off too much, don't you think?'
Light sighed. "Can you cut it out just for a minute? You're tiring."
'Alright then, I won't tell you what I know...'
"Stop playing games, Ryuk. If you have something useful to say, I'll buy you some apples."
The shinigami turned on the spot and floated back behind Light.
'Apples, you say? How many?'
Once he arrived at the address, Light was faced with a very good-looking hotel in the wealthy part of Tokyo. Just like Ryuk had warned him, Caterina was there as well. Light recognized Namikawa's car in the parking lot - it had appeared so many times on the TV during the slave labor scandal, that it was probably known by most of Tokyo's population by that point.
Kira walked inside and presented his ID at the reception, as instructed. A few minutes later, the receptionist told him to take the elevator to the 11th floor. Following instructions and with Ryuk tailing him silently, Kira reached the correct floor and was greeted by his father.
"Right this way, Light," his father said with a serious expression. The man looked quite nervous.
Light followed him into an apartment and soon, he came face to face with a very... peculiar individual. Barefoot, wearing a pair of loose and slightly oversized jeans and a plain white blouse, the young man looked like something straight out of a horror show. He was hunched over, sickly pale, with incredibly large black eyes and worrisome bags underneath them. Even his lips appeared to blend into the papery complexion. His hair seemed rather unkempt and wild, growing in all directions, dark and unpredictable like the dead of the night.
"Hello, my name is Light," he presented himself first.
The stranger extended one hand. "Ryuzaki, nice to meet you." Right after shaking Light's hand, he wiped his off with a napkin. "Have you told him about the introductions?"
Soichiro shook his head. "I haven't mentioned anything."
"Good..." L mumbled. Light was even more suspicious just by this simple detail.
Following the two inside the apartment's living room, Light had his suppositions about what was going on but decided to ask anyway.
"What was that earlier?"
"When your father and the rest of the team presented themselves, they gave their full names. I told them that if I were Kira, they'd be dead that very moment. This information had leaked into the media since then anyway, but it's suspicious that you presented yourself the way you did."
Light sat on L's right, on a couch, as the detective took the armchair and his father sat across from Light, on a different couch.
"I just assumed that since my father called me to join the investigation, you already knew my name, so I was just being polite and casual at the same time," Light explained himself.
"Hm... that's possible, yes," L muttered. "I want you to meet someone, though I suspect you may already know each other."
At that moment, Aizawa dragged along Caterina from another room. She was in a suit perfectly tailored to fit her body, the jacket unbuttoned and revealing a silk top in her long time favorite shade of burgundy. Her hands were handcuffed in the front, which both she and Light knew would leave her enough freedom of movement to take a man on her own in close combat.
"Take your hand off me! Your life is worth less than my clothes!" the girl threatened. "I'll sue you and your entire family into bankruptcy!" As soon as she saw Light and his father though, she stopped abruptly.
Ryuk grinned in amusement. 'Hey...'
Aizawa led her to sit down next to the elder Yagami, which she accepted with a bit of hesitation. Both Caterina and Light had the same facial expression, the kind that reads 'what are you doing here?', so L decided to answer it. Before though...
"Mr. Yagami, Aizawa, I think it would be less tense if you two left us alone."
Aizawa hesitated. "Are you sure about this?"
"Positively," L answered.
As the two were leaving, Light couldn't help but stare. This peculiar character was sitting hunched over his knees. If that was his usual pose, no wonder he was unable of straightening his back anymore. It was far from healthy and looked quite uncomfortable as well, but L seemed to enjoy it.
"Now, you're probably wondering why I've brought you two here..." L said as he picked up a cup of tea in front of him and added eight cubes of sugar. "That's very simple." The detective stirred his tea and then pointed his teaspoon at them. "You're Kira, and you're supporting him."
Light seemed surprised and slightly amused at the same time. "...Me?! Kira? What makes you say that?"
At the same time, Caterina rolled her eyes while shaking her head. "Okay, you know what? I'm done wasting my time on you. If you need my help, which I've offered, let me know. Regardless, I have better things to do than being accused of such nonsense!"
L sipped his tea, only to add another few cubes of sugar. "If you want, let's start from the beginning. You two know each other well, right?"
"Yes, we've been together for a while," Light answered his question.
"And you've been involved in a series of less than fortunate coincidences, correct?"
Caterina sighed. "We've already been over this. I was the daughter of the Dragon - there was a pretty huge target on my back whenever I went. We both knew this."
"That's correct. She told me about her family."
"What exactly did she tell you?" L continued.
Light tried to remember everything. "Well... that her mother was a designer, and that they had a very suspicious butler, and that her father owned the Yotsuba corporation and some other business across the world, that they were from Italy, staying in Japan with business..."
"What exactly did she tell you about their butler?" Once again, L was addressing Light.
"She said that he was very unpleasant and rude whenever he was out of the sight of her father and that he was manipulative towards her mother."
"He killed my mother," Caterina added.
L nodded slowly as he sipped some more of his tea, finally pleased of its sweetness. "Do you have any proof?"
"We were four people on a yacht in the middle of the Yellow Sea. My father and I were swimming at the time. My mother, who could not swim, was alone with the butler, who slashed her throat on the deck and threw her overboard. My father managed to locate the yacht in Taiwan a month later and recovered the security footage."
"What happened to the butler afterward?" L continued.
"He died," came Caterina's simple answer. "His plane exploded."
"Is that so...? Another misfortunate coincidence," L added.
The girl leaned into her seat and crossed her legs. "I suppose. My father was mad because he couldn't put this man in jail, but that's life for you, I guess."
"How were you involved in this?" L turned to Light.
"When I couldn't reach Caterina, I went to my father and had him open an investigation. After they came back to Japan, her driver was followed and somebody tried to kill him, or maybe just to capture him for interrogation. He was very close to the family."
"Have you met him?" L continued.
"No, but Caterina told me about him. He was one of their most trusted people. He had a car accident, but he survived that."
Caterina took over from there. "He was in the hospital while my father was trying to get the police to do anything for us at all. We were receiving threats for a few months when this was happening, but the police ignored us. Them not doing their job is the reason why my mother and the driver are dead right now, and quite possibly my father. If they would have admitted us in a witness protection program, we may have avoided all this. So, you see... this is why I've been turning to you, in hopes that you won't be such an incompetent as the police here in Japan. It seems to me like I was wrong."
"That's a very ambitious claim, that the police were incompetent, but I can understand your simple reasoning. That gives you a reason to support Kira, being given his declared purpose and detachment from any organization or institution."
Caterina sighed again. "For the last time - I am not involved with Kira! You've already been questioning me for an hour now. This is such a waste of my time! And what's with these, anyway?" she showed up her handcuffs.
"...Precaution," L said simply. "Now, Light, you already knew how the police had failed to conclude these investigations and you were emotionally involved at the time, which gives you a reason to become Kira."
"That's just absurd..." Light tried to laugh. "Following the same logic, there must be hundreds or thousands of people all across the world with the same reason for becoming Kira."
"True, but you happen to match the description." L went on. "Either way, I want you to work with us in solving the Kira case. That's the best way you can prove yourself innocent, wouldn't you agree?"
"It's an honor for me to be admitted," Light said, "I would have worked with you even as a volunteer, even without you suspecting me of being Kira, simply because this gives me a great learning opportunity."
Caterina kept watching L. If looks could kill, the detective would have been in hell long ago.
"Can I leave now? I have a meeting to attend in half an hour!"
After sipping some more tea and humming to himself, the detective shrugged. "Uncuff her!" he yelled.
Aizawa, obviously displeased with his job lately, came out from another room and approached Caterina with the keys. She wanted so badly to punch someone in the face for all this, but remained elegant and simply flexed her wrists.
"Have a nice day with your fantasies, detective."
As she walked away, L looked after her over his shoulder. "...I can see why you like her," he told Light.
"That was only a bonus," Light commented. Although he wouldn't have looked after Caterina in front of his father and his colleagues, Light did sneak a look in the corner of his eye. "I can't seem to find another that can even compare to her personality and her wits..."
"She didn't seem extraordinarily witty to me," L commented.
"You didn't give her the chance. Besides, who wouldn't be mad? Did you really question her for an hour?"
"Maybe..."
"Did you find anything...?"
"Nothing we didn't already know," L sighed.
Just then, Matsuda was coming into the main room with a tray full of coffee, milk, and sugar, only to stumble over the rub and come tumbling down. The detective closed his eyes for a second in silent exhaustion, wondering why was Matsuda still allowed on the team...
The meeting Caterina had mentioned was real, but rather unofficial and private. Mr. Ooi had summoned her and Namikawa into his office for a talk about which they were both informed through an email received that morning from Mr. Ooi's secretary. The girl barely made it there in time, entering the office at 2:59. Namikawa was already there.
Mr. Ooi's office was large and spacious, with dark furniture with glass insertions, contrasting with the white walls and rug. He had a sitting area with a glass coffee table, and a dark brown sofa and two armchairs. He had intentionally set the meeting after the lunch break interval for most of the Yotsuba's committee members, ensuring that there was a calm and quiet atmosphere and that nobody will be able to intervene. He had taken the armchair facing the entrance door, while Namikawa saved the other armchair for Caterina and chose the sofa instead.
"She's not here..." he mumbled, throwing an accusing look at Namikawa, who had been very interested in his phone lately.
"Who isn't here?" Caterina asked as she entered the office. A slight sweat was shining at the roots of her hair, as she had to run from the parking lot to Ooi's office, but other than that, there was no detail betraying that she had been in such a rush.
"You seem to have a habit of popping up last minute," Ooi said with a small and forced smile, trying to look amused and relaxed. He was anything but that.
The girl sat in the power seat across from Ooi and leaned her elbows on the arms of the seat. "Why have you called us both here?"
"I have a proposal for you. Of course, you realize that being in this position, it would be at least suspicious if I were to leave, not to mention that there are currently no possible substitutes for this position into the company and bringing an outsider is a very risky move."
Namikawa shot Caterina a look. "Do you have anything to confess, perhaps, Mr. Ooi?"
The man was grasping his hands together, trying to hide his nervousness. "I've been blackmailed by someone, in the absence of the Dragon."
Caterina tried to look surprised. "Your paycheck is the highest in the Asian branch. Tell me, what was your price?"
"I have been cornered, there's a difference. I did receive payment... but my main reason was that I suddenly found myself alone."
"The Asian branch is doing very well, financially speaking, so even if we were to be cut from the other branches, we could easily adapt to that. Alone or not, as long as the Asian Yotsuba remains strong to its core, there's nearly nothing that could cause serious trouble for us," Namikawa explained. "You, requesting detailed reports from all departments, should know this better than anyone."
"Besides, you were never truly alone. I am the Dragon now, and you knew this."
Ooi hated the way his argument seemed invalid now, but he had just one card to play.
"You are both correct, but regardless, being named administrator until you will have gained your rights," he addressed Caterina, "and with all of the pressure on me... I have to shamefully admit that I did give in."
"How much did you receive and from who?" asked Namikawa.
"Since the death of the Dragon and until three days ago, around two billion."
"American dollars, I suppose? Or Euros?" Namikawa went on.
"Dollars. I had to open an account in California, which I haven't accessed. Everything he paid me is in that same bank account."
"You mean everything that Ross paid you to keep me from reaching my rights," Caterina concluded. "We already knew you two were working together. It was easy to put the pieces together."
Ooi was even more anxious now. He had heard that the Dragon was an absolute sadist with those who betrayed him, but he had no idea what Caterina will do.
"Here's what we'll do. First, Ooi, I want you to train Mido Shingo personally so that the two of you could swap positions in three months from now. Your paycheck will be cut down to 50%, and you must give us every bit of information that you have on Ross. This includes his people as well. I'm especially interested in their crimes, names, and pictures."
Caterina and Namikawa had already discussed this scenario in advance. They figured that Mido would be perfect for this, as Namikawa had to remain by her side and rule the global corporation. It was also a good opportunity to get rid of Ross for good, with the help of Kira.
"I don't know who else works for him! We only met in online conference rooms, with very generic names like Guest1, Guest2 and so on."
"Then find out!" Namikawa shrugged.
"Wait..." Caterina stopped them. "Do you think you can get them all in a conference room together again?"
Ooi froze. "...I suppose, yes, if I have anything good to deliver."
"We'll craft a plan for this, a speech," she began.
Namikawa understood immediately what she had in mind. "Of course! Yes, that's a great lead!"
"I don't think I understand," Ooi said.
"You'll see when the time is right," Namikawa assured him right as he sat up. Extending his hand, he helped Caterina as well. "This meeting never happened. Have a nice day."
Confused, Ooi remained in his seat, watching the pair leave together. What were they thinking? Were they planning on throwing him to Ross?
Usually, he wasn't a man of too many details, but now, it seemed like his life depended on these. Ooi was having a hard time regaining his calm, as a whirlwind of thoughts and questions was spinning in his mind. What will be his fate, now that Caterina knows for sure? They were already suspecting him before, but without proof - the Dragon never acted on suspicion, which may have put him in a safer position ten minutes ago.
Back in their shared office, Namikawa kissed her forehead and held Caterina close.
"What happened? It took you longer than I expected."
She looked away. "L knows something. He handcuffed me and questioned me for about an hour. Now, he has Light working on the investigation, the son of the Police Chief who helped me open the investigations on my mother's murder and our driver's assassination."
"How is this relevant to the Kira case?"
"He thinks I've helped Kira at some point... and I think he suspects that I know who he is."
"Those are all just personal deductions. They won't hold up in court. He can't handcuff to interrogate you based on his suspicions."
The girl nodded. "We need to sue Ooi and L this evening."
"I have to attend a meeting at 4 PM with the Vice Presidents of Sales from Europe and North America, as well as my father. We're going to target the South-American countries next year. I don't think I can skip."
"Right... Then, I'll be here, looking for a lawyer. I'll leave you a text if I go anywhere. We can't postpone this any longer."
Author's note:
Two chapters in two days. I hope you enjoy! Anyway, don't forget to tell me what you think in the review section.
