This is my longest chapter yet but it has definitely been the most fun one to write so far. It's based off of my favourite ever episode of Death Note - Frenzy (ep 23). There are so many funny moments in it that I was actually able to use a few word-for-word without changing anything.

Enjoy ^-^ I should have another one for you in 2 weeks. By then I should have tied up all the loose strings I'm currently working on for the final chapters...

Arrest

"FOR RENEWALS, UPGRADES and other exclusive offers from Yotsuba, please visit our website. Thank you for your patience. You are our next caller."

Matsuda scuffed his shoe against the wall as elevator music echoed from the phone's loudspeaker. It was a complex contraption, habitually used by L, consisting of a black box with half a dozen switches and long wires which trailed beneath the row of work desks. The former detective's head jerked up at the sudden interruption of a human voice, but it was only the loop of pre-recorded audio beginning again. Matsuda sighed, raised his leg and pushed off against the wall, sending his office chair spinning around idly.

x-x-x

"So glad that you're a regular Pothead now, Tori! I'm off til Friday but catch you at work next week?" Hatori waved at the young woman's retreating form. He looked about the small group of pottery enthusiasts as they left the leisure centre before smiling down at his own misshapen mug. The freshly-applied glaze glimmered in the dim afternoon light. The departure of September had not gone unnoticed by the weather, and so Tokyo's extended summer had been swallowed by weeks of seemingly endless rain and darkness. At his car, Hatori's keys swung from his mouth as he fumbled with his bag and cell phone. Once the passenger door was opened, he tossed the other items down and placed the little cup upon his dashboard with care. It was in no way symmetrical enough to present to Shimura. He scrutinised the perilously thin handle, wondering whether he could imagine Misa holding it delicately to her lips. A shrill ringtone interrupted his musings. Wriggling ungracefully across the seats, Hatori retrieved his cell.

"This is Hatori!"

"Mr Hatori, are you alone?"

Hatori started at the unfamiliar voice. With almost theatrical exaggeration he stepped inside, closed the door and looked around the interior of his vehicle. From the backseat, Rem stared at the businessman with all the quiet resentment of a dog having been left in a car.

"Yes...?" Hatori replied with uncertainty.

"This is Coil." Hatori gave a little gasp and brought the phone even closer to his ear.

"I've been trying to reach your associate Mido," Coil continued. "He's been my usual point of contact. However, this matter was too important to wait." Hatori looked back over his shoulder at Rem in fright.

"What is it?" Hatori whispered. "Maybe if I called him-?"

"No, there's no time for that." Coil's tone felt clipped and impatient. "Now, I am going to pass all the information I have onto you. What you do with it is your choice."

"O-okay…" Hatori stammered. He could feel droplets of sweat breaking out across his forehead.

"I have been unable to track down L, but I have got valuable intel on a close associate of his. Based on the movements of this man, it strongly suggests that L has been investigating Misa Amane as a suspect in the Kira Case."

"What?" Hatori exclaimed. "No! Misa isn't Kira! Why would he think that?"

"That's not for me to say, Mr Hatori," Coil continued. "But I can tell you that L brought Misa Amane in for questioning four months ago. The man who is currently working for L has been positioned close to her."

"Who is this guy?!" Hatori roared, all earlier concerns for his movements forgotten.

"It's not wise to say more here," Coil's voice came darkly. "My calls can't be traced by conventional methods but you won't believe the lengths that someone like L would go to to stop me…" Hatori wiped his damp forehead with his hand.

"How do I find out then?"

"An associate of mine has all of the information in a file. The man's name, address… everything you would need. Meet him at the back of the Toyo Car Max Parking Lot. The one by the convenience store."

"I-" Hatori rubbed at his face more fervently. "I- I need to warn Misa. I have to call-"

"Do you want this information or not?" Coil snapped, causing Hatori to stammer wordlessly. "We're on the clock here. Once L knows that his operation has been infiltrated…"

It was with a trembling hand that Hatori lowered his cell phone to his lap. The thought of L circling Yotsuba had thrown the business executive into a blind panic. And yet, amidst the fears for himself and the company, Hatori's mind was consumed with Misa. He clicked to speed dial her number but when he brought the phone to his ear, there was only the dial tone followed by a generic voicemail recording.

"Oh, I don't know what to do!"

Hatori frowned at his cell phone as he placed another call. Then, swearing under his breath, he dropped the device upon the passenger seat and drove on.

x-x-x

"Thank you for holding," came the tinny, automated voice at the other end of the line. "Please note, due to Kira we have fewer operators available to take your call."

Matsuda was slumped forward in his chair, staring at the phone. He had little choice about it, for his eyes were peeled open with strips of scotch tape. Lifting a lazy hand, Matsuda tore off a third strip and taped it to his nose so that it was squashed upwards like a pig's.

x-x-x

Hatori parked on his own driveway and dashed inside. By the time he left his house, the businessman had returned with what he considered suitable covert attire - a dark beanie hat, grey tracksuit and a sports bag. He drove until he had pulled up in a small side road which ran around the back of the car park. There Hatori sat for several minutes before turning his headlights off in sudden realisation.

Almost a quarter of an hour had passed before a car pulled up beside him. In sheer relief, Hatori waved at the unknown driver. He clutched the door's handle when the tinted window of the other car opened and a plain envelope was thrust at him.

"Wait!" Hatori stood in the fine, early evening rain, watching as the other vehicle screeched away. The envelope lay at his feet.

Inside his car, Hatori nervously tore open the strip. What he read made him curse aloud.

"I can't believe that - that lying son of a-!" He was glaring at the typed print bearing the name Taichiro Yamashita (known alias: Taro Matsui) with an apartment near the city centre listed as the address.

"I thought he was my friend! I defended him even when everyone asked me 'why was Misa's manager sneaking around the office?' or 'what is it with that guy turning up everywhere...?'" Hatori's body slumped forwards so that his head rested in his hands. "Wh-what if he's got Misa already? Is that why she's not answering? Oh God!" At this, he shifted so that he was sitting upright and threw a panicked look in Rem's direction.

"No offence, Miss Rem!"

"None taken," Rem replied blandly. "So what now?"

In answer Hatori turned the key in the ignition and set off once more. He flew down a wide avenue, attracting the attention of a nearby police vehicle. His hands moist with sweat, Hatori struggled to pull the car over towards the curb. Frantically he swept the envelope beneath the passenger seat.

"O-Officer…!" the businessman cried as a face appeared at his window.

"Did you know that it is an offence to drive at night without your headlights on?"

Hatori almost collapsed in relief.

"Oh! I'm so-sorry officer. I wasn't thinking, you see my wife-"

But the police officer had already turned away, shaking his head. As soon as he was out of sight, Hatori drove on.

The address brought Hatori to a gated complex containing several low rise apartment blocks flowered with decorative shrubs. He pulled into a side road and cut the ignition.

"Okay, I'd better go check… says he's on the second floor…"

With a click of his key, the car's locks slid into place. Rem watched from the passenger window as Hatori stalked quickly into the building's shadow. Several minutes later he returned, sliding into the front seat with a grunt of effort. Reaching into his sports bag, Hatori withdrew a pen and notebook. He carefully wrote out the true name of his former friend before pocketing the pen. There Hatori sat in quiet contemplation, staring at his cell phone screen for almost a full minute.

"That ought to do it."

This time it wasn't long at all before Hatori reappeared beside his car, cursing even more animatedly.

"He didn't die! I could see him up there!" Hatori clutched at his perspiring head and rocked back and forth in agony. "Oh, Miss Rem, is this a trick? What would you do?"

"Me?" Rem was perfectly still, yellow eyes gleaming like great headlamps. "I honestly couldn't tell you."

"Don't be like that," Hatori twisted around to face her. "You always say you don't want to get involved but I think you do really. Please tell me what to do." The shinigami bore her strange, discoloured fangs.

"You won't like it but here it is," Rem began grimly."If you really love Misa, then you should be prepared to kill for her, regardless of what will happen to you."

Hatori gulped at the pale, spindly finger which the shinigami had extended towards him.

"But we've only been on two dates…" he managed in a small voice. Hatori heaved a great, shuddering sigh. "Oh, I'd rather stop all these murders, if I could. Maybe Matsui can be the last one. I'll do it… for Misa." The Yotsuba executive squeezed his eyes shut as though he had been struck with excruciating pain. Then, with grim determination, he removed the notebook once more and tore a page from within.

"Miss Rem, I'd like to make the deal now if that's okay?"

x-x-x

"Who is this Rem he keeps talking to?" Light erupted impatiently. He and L had uncharacteristically swapped their usual seats in the central control room. The pair sat before the wall-mounted monitor, transfixed by the view of Hatori and the interior of his car. Misa hovered excitedly between them whilst Matsuda, to Light's left, was carefully placing a sugar cube upon the end of his spoon.

"Thank you for your patience. You are our next caller."

With fingers clenched together and palm perfectly flat, Matsuda chopped the utensil. Far from sending the sugar cube catapulting across the room, Matsuda flung both cube and coffee cup over his head. There came the shattering of china.

"Ah-are you sure there's no one else in the car?" the former detective faltered as he stooped to clear up the mess. Light scrutinised the monitor carefully as though half expecting another person to suddenly climb out of Hatori's glove compartment.

"No…" the student sighed in defeat. "I mean, did we hear him right? Do all these wiretaps of Wedy's even-?"

"There's nothing wrong with the wiretaps," L quipped, "I heard it as well as you. Hatori isn't insane so he must be talking to someone." The detective pressed his thumb into his lower lip, deep in contemplation as he studied the screen.

"Unless his invisible friend is actually a shinigami...?"

"Good one!" Light sighed in contempt. Behind him Misa emitted a high, nervous laugh.

"But seriously, something's not right here…" L frowned into space as he continued reasoning aloud. "Once Hatori had received the envelope from Aiber he should have tried to kill Matsuda right away. He went to the address as anticipated, yet all he did was write something down. Surely that can't be how he kills? It would be so disappointing."

"He did just mention a deal but…" Light was wearing a similar frown as he watched Hatori climb out of his car. "...who knows?" Beside him, L turned his head.

"You should."

"Ryuzaki! Kira Jar!" Light commanded fiercely, sending the handcuffs' chain rattling with a sweep of his hand. A labelled glass jar, half-way full with wadded yen notes, had been placed beside L's usual computer.

"There's no time for that," L spoke impatiently, swivelling his chair back round to the monitor. "Light, switch the audio and visual channels to the apartment." With begrudging obedience, Light clicked away furiously as L began speaking into his microphone.

"Mr Yagami? Hatori is on his way up as we expected. Apprehend him there. We'll have to interrogate him about his methods afterwards." Rolling her own chair between the two young men, Misa angrily puffed out a mouthful of air.

"What, are you gonna have Watari torture him with running water until he nearly pees himself on camera too?"

"Perhaps." L swung his chair around, looking expectantly to his left. When he spoke again there was a purr to the detective's voice, almost as though he was tempting Light to a secret midnight feast.

"So, Light... do you want to join in the fun...?"

"...yeah," the student replied throatily, eyelids lowered.

"Me three!" cried Misa. Before Light could argue with her, L had pointed up to the wall-mounted monitor.

"Actually Misa, I need you to look closely here-" As the model glanced upwards L made a rapid motion with his hands; unnoticeable but for a flash of silver and a metallic clink.

"Exsqueeze me?" Misa struggled, her wrist bound by a handcuff, the other end of which had been attached to the armrest of her office chair. The model yanked her arm with force as L stood tucking the key into the pocket of his jeans.

"My apologies Misa but with Matsuda concentrating on the phone, there's no one to supervise you." He gave an apologetic shrug, despite his self-congratulatory air. "Please try to relax. Those are trick cuffs, not police-issue ones."

"Trick cuffs…!" Misa twisted round to fume at the detective. "Ugh! I could've guessed you were not-so-secretly into bondage!" Apprehensively, Light glanced between L and the cuff which bound his own wrist.

"That's neither here nor there," L replied calmly as he knelt down to loop a further two feet of chains around Misa's ankles. The latter shrieked, aiming a swift kick at L's head.

"W-why do you even have all of these? Do you just carry them around with you?!" Misa craned her neck to glimpse Light, who was already pulling on a black and white striped cardigan over his shirt. The student offered a small smile.

"Sorry Misa. Besides, there's only room for two in the helicopter."

And, with that, the two men were joined by a camo-clad, sniper-weidling stranger as they strode out towards the lobby.

"Please note, due to Kira we have fewer operators- Yes? This is the front desk?"

Matsuda launched himself at the phone; the handset was thrown into the air. The former detective heard the crack of his teeth connecting with the edge of the desk as he fell to the floor. With a wild wave of his arms, he scrambled up onto his knees and grabbed at the receiver breathlessly.

"Yeth! Yes! This is L!" Matsuda breathed hard into the handset, his frantic speech rendered oddly toneless by the device's voice filter. "...what do you mean prove it? I am L. I'm… I'm watching you through a secret camera and everything." He drew himself up to his full height then, reconsidering this, he hunched his shoulders by a fraction.

"What? No, no wait! I'm not really watching you. You don't need to call the police. Heh heh heh…" Matsuda turned, scratching furiously at the back of his head. "Look, we don't have time for this! I am ordering a full lockdown of your Tokyo Office immediately. The NPA requires your cooperation to ensure the safe arrest of Kira." At this he gave a firm nod.

"Thank you. Er… sure? I guess I can take a customer service survey while I'm waiting?"

x-x-x

A great shadow loomed over the city; a dark, imposing shape which rippled as the craft's blades sliced the damp night air. Rain softly pattered against glass amidst the mechanical roar. Watari had positioned himself by the helicopter's door, shouldering his rifle. Light, who had been adjusting the headset around his ears, found himself distracted by L's hands as they swiftly maneuvered the craft's controls.

"So, you can score a hundred percent on twelve exam papers without studying, play Olympic-level tennis without warming up and now - now you're telling me that you can fly a helicopter without so much as reading a manual?" Light's bitterness was barely contained within his tone of respect.

"Like many skills, you can figure it out through intuition," L replied smoothly as his hand slid down the joystick. He nodded below to the monitor which displayed a blinking dot upon a cross section of roads.

"Hatori's car is still stationary, meaning that he must be inside the apartment by now. Your father, Mogi and Aiber are on the scene. Of course, they all refused to arm themselves so I can only hope that Hatori didn't think to bring a gun."

It was then that L lifted a pistol delicately between thumb and forefinger, holding it out towards Light without so much as a glance at him.

"Take this."

"Are you crazy?" Light's voice seemed to jump an octave. "It's against the law!" L exhaled slowly.

"You just love the law don't you? I wish I shared in this simple, Disney-endorsed ideology of good and evil."

"I don't like Disney!" Light retaliated, "I mean, The Lion King's okay I guess."

"Be that as it may," L continued, the weapon still held aloft as though he were merely offering a candy bar, "the absolutist principles that you and Kira share are too rigid to be applied justly to every situation in our world."

"Kira Jar," Light rounded on him. "- as soon as we get home."

"So Light," L persisted, his focus trained on the neon-lit horizon unfurling before them, "I suppose that means you'll follow the letter of the law even if it means sparing an armed and dangerous criminal?"

"It's not about sparing criminals." Light eyed the gun warily. "It's that I'm just a civilian so-"

"Chief!" came a panicked cry over the craft's radio, drowned out by ear-piercing gunfire.

"You were saying?" L asked imperiously. Then, catching Light's stricken expression, he added into his mic. "Er, I mean, is anyone down?"

"Negative!" replied Soichiro himself, who sounded breathless amidst the echo of his rapid footfalls. "Hatori didn't fall for the cardboard cutout of Matsuda. We're in pursuit. Suspect is armed and making for his car."

Light took the gun from L's hand.

L eased the joystick, bringing the craft into a slant. Dark tower blocks, illuminated signs and patches of colour were all bathed in the beam thrown from the helicopter's searchlight. On the road below, Hatori's car tore down a central avenue, closely followed by a motorbike, unmarked car and a patrol vehicle with its siren wailing.

"According to this, he's heading back to Yotsuba," Light indicated to the monitor. "It's just as we planned."

x-x-x

Outside the main office, Hatori's car skidded to a sudden halt. He threw his phone down upon the seat, from which the distant, tinny sound of the automated message could be heard.

"Thank you for your patience."

"Wh-why can't I get through to anyone?" Hatori cried, his trembling hands clutching the sides of his head. "Where are they? If I can just get that surveillance footage!" He sprinted up the steps and tugged fruitlessly at the locked entrance doors. Beyond, the building stood dark and silent and empty.

With a half-stifled sob, Hatori turned back to his car, only to be blinded by a wall of light. A line of police cars stood obstructing his escape. Undaunted, Hatori leapt into his seat, turned the ignition and floored the gas pedal. The car was propelled forward into a patrol vehicle's door. There was an agonising crunch of metal as Hatori scraped his way through.

"Hey, it's that idiot with the headlights!" a voice roared from within.

With one wheel on the sidewalk Hatori urged his car onwards, right into the path of a dog-walker. The woman leapt into the bush, abandoning her Dachshund to its inevitable fate. Over the screaming engine came the sound of a startled yelp.

Then a white pillar descended.

A crisp crack echoed overhead. There was the sound of a small explosion; Hatori pawed uselessly at the wheel as the car spun round. In the sky above, Watari took aim again.

As Hatori's second tyre burst, the car slid feebly into a lamppost on the opposite side of the road. The businessman's head smacked into the steering wheel, leaving him blinking dazedly. He could see nothing beyond the dazzle of lights, but the rhythmic thunder of rotor blades was unmistakable.

"Aroyoshi Hatori, come out of the vehicle with your hands above your head!" someone's voice resounded from a megaphone.

Shaking from head to foot, the Yotsuba executive obeyed. He grasped for the handle and wrenched open his warped door. His eyes moved across the line of cars, to where helmet-clad officers were approaching, revolvers raised. Behind stood the helicopter, blades slowing. Clinging to its side, a masked man bore a sniper rifle, taking aim straight at the place where he stood. And, emerging from the grounded aircraft, ducking as they moved-

"Light? Huh? ...Ryuga…?." For that was not the name which now hovered above the young, dishevelled man's head. Hatori's whole body shivered violently. His damp hands clenched into trembling fists. "So you- you betrayed me too? I- I've got no one left… there's no one on my side! No one! But-" His hand dove inside his pocket.

"Look out!" someone called.

L stumbled backwards at the sound of the gunshot, eyes wide with shock. Beside him, Light had one protective hand flung against the detective's chest; his other arm was levelled calmly, the pistol in his grasp.

The car's windscreen exploded into smithereens, glass fragments littering the bonnet. Hatori gave a small 'oh' of surprise and then crumpled to the ground. Amongst the wreckage lay the shattered remains of Hatori's tiny, glazed clay cup.

Light was left to stare down at his hand, realisation dawning upon his face.

"No… he… he was going to...!"

The student whirled round to witness Watari lowering his smoking weapon. A stampede of people swelled around Hatori's car; paramedics, officers. The whites of L's eyes gleamed in the alternating flash of lights.

"Light!" came Soichiro's anguished cry, "are you alright?" Just as the former police chief reached out for the gun, an appalling scream filled the night air. The heads of the three men jerked up to see an officer slumped to his knees.

"Lord have mercy!" the policeman wept, wringing his desperate hands at the black sky above. Mogi, his head concealed within his helmet but still distinguishable by his green tie, stole towards the quaking individual.

"Hey, are you okay? What is it?" He received an item thrust at him from the man's trembling hands, before he too fell to the sodden ground. "Argh!"

"How rude," Rem snarled. "Would you like it if someone reacted to your face like that? It's been a long day and the lighting here is hardly flattering." She lifted her head to observe the helicopter and the huddle of detectives within its shadow.

It was Soichiro Yagami who eventually restored order. "No one else is to touch it! Bring the item over here now. And someone give me an update on Hatori!"

"Deputy director!" hailed a chorus of voices, quite forgetting the man's earlier resignation from his post. Soichiro joined the throng gathered by the car. Mogi, cautiously holding the black-bound notebook like the weapon it was, passed the item gingerly into L's hands. "Take a look for yourself, Ryuzaki."

The detective's fingertips closed upon the corners of the book, L looked over to where curls of steam were drifting heavenwards from the wreck of Hatori's car. A hulking, skeletal figure towered over the scene, its yellow glare sweeping across those who cowered at its knees.

"A shinigami…" L whispered, his voice hoarse with wonder.

"Where? And why aren't you screaming or falling down?" Light's head snapped round, from where L was gaping silently to nothing more than the empty night air.

"I already did that," L's tone had regained its sharpness. The detective remained perfectly still and unblinking, his pale form illuminated by the continued flash of sirens. Beneath the ink-stained sky L's wild hair was plunged to deepest black until it stood out in blue streaks where the light touched it. Internally, he withdrew into the stronghold of his mind.

The shinigami is the link between the human, Kira, and their killing ability. It bestows the power and then the notebook becomes the method of execution. So all Kira has to do is write down names? Is that all? Hmm, that really is disappointing.

"Hey, can I see?"

So we would have been none the wiser if we had simply been watching a business executive like Hatori writing notes in a meeting. ...or if we had, say, observed a student using his notebook to study for university entrance exams. I know I'll have to pay into the jar for that one later, but it was worth it.

"Ryuzaki, would you stop staring like a creep and let me-"

There was a second Kira, so does that mean that there's a second shinigami and a second notebook? Mmm, I'm kind of craving shortcake right now. L blinked, his fingertips clasping nothing more than cool air.

There came a terrible, unearthly sound, like the braying of a wounded animal. Heads snapped around to stare in fright and confusion. Only Rem watched on in expectation.

"Who's making that awful noise?" Soichiro demanded. The former police chief broke into a run, followed by Mogi. The pair edged cautiously to where L was grappling with Light for the notebook now rigidly clutched in the student's stiffened fingers.

"Knock it off!" Soichiro called, as though admonishing a pair of pigeons fighting over a dropped baguette. With a sharp intake of breath, L struck at Light's face with an open hand. Then, all at once, it was over. Light swayed on the spot. Aghast, L stared, the notebook held aloft between his thumb and forefinger.

"Light?"

Light's legs collapsed beneath him. Quite forgetting the notebook, L threw his arms around the student's waist as he slumped backwards into him. Struggling to keep his own balance, L gently lowered Light's body onto the tarmac. The latter looked positively dreadful; his face was covered in a sheen of sweat and his hair was plastered to his forehead. Half-standing, L waded backwards, his hands still firmly clasping the student under the arms. He crouched down, Light's spine resting against his chest. More people were running over by now. Light gave a series of great noisy gulps, his hand clutching desperately at his throat.

"He can't breathe!" someone shouted unhelpfully.

L's arm cradled Light's shoulders. His other hand moved to the opening of his shirt where he yanked the collar open with such ferocity that a button flew off into the crowd of onlookers. There were a few murmurs of interest. Mogi and Aizawa looked to Soichiro nervously. Reaching out, L pressed two fingers into the side of Light's neck.

"My son is having a heart attack!" Soichiro's eyes were barely contained within their sockets.

"It's a panic attack!" L corrected him, before uttering a faint cry as Light clung to the detective's white shirt. "Light, stop that! I would understand if one of us was actually dying, otherwise that kind of display is hardly necessary!"

With impatient hands, L wrenched himself free from Light's grip. He replaced his fingers on Light's neck and began to rhythmically stroke his skin.

"Eh…" Aizawa coughed uncomfortably and chanced a look at Soichiro. "That must be a medical thing, Chief. It's- it's not what you think."

"It's a carotid massage!" L informed him, " I'm trying to slow his heart rate." The detective paused in his efforts, alarm registering upon his features. "But for some reason, his pulse has started racing even faster now! Everyone - the paramedics!"

"L… " Light rasped, his gaze distant and unfocused. Lids slowly lowered over glassy eyes. And, with that, Light lay still. Silent.

"Light?" Horrified, L shook the limp form he now held in his arms. "Light! LIGHT!"