A/N... I don't own Death Note. (Updating this chapter due to a minor canon inconsistency)

She was a victim. Not of Kira's, though. Her family had been murdered a year ago, and Kira killed the man who had done it. Her name was Misa Amane, a popular model and likely the second Kira. That would explain the adoration.

I suppose I could understand.

Perhaps she felt for the man in custody what I felt toward Light. Maybe she hated him as much as, if not more than, I hate Kira. So, if our situations were parallel, did that mean that L was my Kira? If L killed Light, would I be eternally grateful to him?

Would I become a puppet for him?

Shaking my head, I closed the images of the blonde, keeping and minimizing one as I compiled a file. I can't even stand being second best to someone like L. There's no way in hell I'd ever be his puppet. First of all, I'd be pissed that he took away the revenge that was rightfully mine.

I made the decision to hold back on accusing Misa Amane until solid evidence showed up. I couldn't just tell L that I suspected a celebrity just because she was there, in disguise, and had a shadow lurking over her. I had to investigate her further.

Amane's presence would explain why Light was suddenly with Takada so often. If he was trying to throw us off his trail, then it all made sense. The more girls he was with, the less suspicious it would be for him to be seen with Misa Amane.

From my five o'clock, the clearing of a throat sounded. I swiveled in my chair and found L standing with two wine glasses filled with chocolate mousse. One was topped with a chocolate covered strawberry and the other with a cherry. Watari had told him to bring me mine, that much was obvious.

"Are you planning to stay?" I asked him. I admit that I feel underappreciated by my colleague, and I do use the term loosely. So what if my feelings toward L weren't all that pleasant? We had been on good terms once, and now, it seemed as if a wedge was being driven between us.

"If you'll allow me," he replied wisely.

I observed the detective for a moment before nodding, giving him permission to enter. I admit that it's my goal to bring down the people responsible for Beyond's death, but that didn't mean that I couldn't be nostalgic. I took the cherry-topped mousse from L, "You wanted to talk about something."

Why else would he have made his presence known instead of just dropping off the dessert and leaving?

"I believe I may have given you the wrong impression," L began.

Scooping a spoonful of mousse, I stated, "You don't trust me, L. There's nothing wrong with that." It stung a little bit, but it was true. Wammy kids don't believe in blindly trusting other people. Maybe it's because of previous experiences before the House, or maybe it was because so many of us were exposed to the folly of mankind at such early ages while we were under Mr. Wammy's care.

Besides, he was right not to trust me.

"Well, yes, there's that," he said, stirring the airy dessert, "but, I want you to know that I do consider you a friend, Ever."

For some reason, I was pleased with this response. I'd like to believe that it was the remnants of feelings from before BB and Kira, but in all honesty, I wasn't too certain. "I consider you a friend, too," I informed him.

"I find it odd," he mused, "that my only friends are the people who pose the greatest threats to me."

I paused in my inhaling of the dessert, "I wish that the circumstances were different." I really, honestly did, but there's no point in wishing for the impossible. What's real is real, no matter how strange it may be. Turning to my computer screens, I pulled up the file I had been compiling on Misa Amane. "I have reason to believe that Misa Amane's the second Kira," I informed him. It wasn't much of a peace offering, but I think L deserved it. "She was there at Aoyama in disguise, and she has the motive to back it up. I don't have any physical evidence, but I'm sure we'll find it. She's not exactly a criminal mastermind."

"Alright," L drawled, "I'll wait for the physical tests to come in, but thank you. Here." By his fingertips, L was offering me his strawberry.

"I hate strawberries," I reminded him, eyeing the fruit critically, trying to focus on its berry red hue instead of the rich coat of chocolate.

"Yes, but I recall you're fond of the ones dipped in chocolate."

For once, I couldn't catch myself, and a small laugh managed to escape, "Thank you." I accepted the strawberry and finished it off. Then, it seemed as if our moment ended with our sweets. L retrieved the empty glasses and shuffled to the door. Before he parted, I offered him a statement that I hoped he would keep in mind.

"I'm not your enemy, L," I told him honestly. He watched me with large panda eyes, and I met his gaze evenly. I knew that he was gauging my delivery of the sentence, and once he had come to a conclusion, he nodded and disappeared.

I needed L to trust me, and I needed Light to trust me. I wasn't going to support one over the other, but I was going to aid both of them in a way that involved as few innocents as possible. Neither of them would win this game of life and death, I knew that much because I would ensure that.

Despite all that, I knew that L was the lesser of two evils, and although I had a duty to the deceased, I also had a duty to the living. One that I had actively avoided. If I had to put aside my personal vendettas for the greater good, I would tip the scales, but only if I absolutely had to.

After all, it was me against the world.

Everest was dangerous. L had always known that, and as he returned the two glasses to Watari, he considered just how dangerous she was.

E, otherwise known as Everest, was first and foremost a master of deception. She could twist any truth to suit her, and she was so good at it that almost nobody knew whether or not she was being honest or not.

Secondly, she specialized in decoding. While every child at Wammy's had their fortes, this was hers. No matter what the encryption presented to her was, she could decipher it and take it apart so thoroughly that there were times when she could determine the innermost workings of the code's creator.

Third, like B, she excelled in disguise. Unlike L and the others, E retained some physical semblance to the average. She blended in and disappeared without a trace.

Finally, she was an expert marksman. L had never seen her miss a target.

All in all, she was no more talented or prodigious than any of the others. In fact, L knew that her number of abilities was the norm in comparison to many of the Wammy's students.

She was intelligent, not in a way that could compare to L's genius, and he knew both of these observations were fact. E's intelligence derived from careful nurture under Wammy's supervision, but her mental abilities were incredibly capable.

But none of that was what made her dangerous.

L paused in front of Ever's room as he passed on the way to his own. The open door revealed to him that she had fallen asleep at her desk in front of the computer screens. Her curly and tangled chocolate-colored hair settled around her shoulders. She seemed peaceful. Admittedly, L found her to be lovely.

And that was why she was so dangerous to him.

L had, unintentionally, formed an attachment to Everest. It had happened years ago, when her hair was still straight and short, and B was still among them. Now, with the situation they were in, L wasn't sure what to do about a participant who was neither on his side nor against it.

Silently, he left the room and returned to his work.

My central computer screen projected the image of B as if we were on a video chat, and everything else in the room was just as it was in real life. "What are you going to do now?" he asked, sounding somewhere between interest and amusement.

"I'm going to keep doing what I've been doing," I informed him.

Reaching through the screen, Beyond flicked me on the forehead, "You've been doing almost nothing."

"What would you have me do?" I demanded. "Dress up in Wammy's stakeout jammies and shoot all of them in the head?" And while I was capable of doing that, it was not my way of conducting things. I wasn't a murderer, and I wasn't going to have blood on my hands for the sake of revenge.

"Well, yes, actually," he sassed.

If all went well, L and Light would end up killing each other, and I wouldn't have to lift a finger.

It may seem strange that a person can think so easily about her associates' deaths as a good thing.

Well, the hard truth is that people die.

Although, apparently, some people can't stay dead.

Generally, though, people die and that's that. In the type of work I was immersed in, we had to accept that death was right around the corner. Presently, L and Light were running out of time, and I didn't need to see their lifespans to know that. I was making sure it happened. Whatever time I had left with them, I was going to experience as someone who wasn't their enemy. The long-term goal didn't necessarily have to interfere with the present.

It was most likely that L would die before me. It had always been that way, and I had already decided years ago that, if I outlived L and all the other people I cared about, I wouldn't let their deaths stop my life.

Coming from me, one might be skeptical. The whole reason I was on this case was to avenge someone who had died because of Kira.

Death itself wasn't what drove me to seek vengeance. It wasn't that I felt as if I had lost Beyond, either. The man I had known my entire life was lost to me the moment he left Wammy's.

No, what pushed me to pursue Kira was simply the fact that somebody had killed my brother.

"What's going on in that little head of yours, Essie?" Beyond tilted his head to the side questioningly, but the look on his face made it seem as if he already knew.

"Light killed you," I stated.

A sour look crossed his face, "I'm aware." He wanted me to kill them myself. It would save everyone the trouble of the Kira case, but that was vigilante justice. That was what Light did.

I didn't kill for personal purposes, and revenge was as personal as it got.

"I thought you would prefer it this way," I said lightly. "It's a game, Beyond, and we're winning."

"Yes, I suppose we are."

L and I pored over information about Misa Amane, determining what kind of person she would be and how we would handle her. We knew her as the second Kira, but what we needed was to know her as the woman behind the audio.

"She's cute," I stated. In return, L gave me an unamused glance for stating the obvious. "I meant as a personality trait," I explained with a slightly defensive edge. "As a model, she has an image to maintain. You know as well as I do that image and character go hand in hand." It's true that you can't trust appearances wholly, but you can't write them off. No matter how hard one tries, his or her personality always seeps through the cracks.

Which is why, as a disguise artist, you have to manipulate the truth.

"You make a point," L acknowledged. "Communication. She'll crave it."

"Phones," I agreed. It was the safest way for her to interact with Light, but knowing him, he wouldn't have it. Light would never use his own cell phone or home phone knowing that the Task Force suspected him. I reached for her phone records, "How many numbers are registered under her name?"

"Three."

I could imagine what someone would need three cell phones for, and it was suspicious. She would have given one to Light, and that would practically ensure his identity as Kira if L could get the proof. "We could catch both of them," I stated casually as I shifted through the papers.

I heard L hum thoughtfully. He knew that it was possible, and we would just have to act at the right time.

When we take action against Misa, Light would be next. If Light knew that he was in danger, he would have to act. I presume he would do something to clear his name. With Light Yagami, it would be an incredible show, or it would be simple brilliance. There was no middle ground with that man.

"It's a dangerous move," L said warningly, anticipating my thoughts.

"Would that stop you?"

Silence fell as he processed my challenge. He knew that I was right, and an alliance between Kira and the second Kira would mean that they were closer to being on our level. We couldn't afford to let them catch up, even if that meant taking a few extraordinary risks.

"No," he concluded. "Not at all."

Moments later, Watari delivered the results from the forensics lab. It seemed we had enough evidence to build a case against Misa Amane. The other members of the Task Force joined us later in the morning to analyze the results.

Between his index fingers, L held a piece of contained evidence to the light. "Hair," he drawled. The master detective was examining every result from the second Kira's deliveries while the rest of us sat in wait. The Task Force members sat silently on the couches, and I was curled up with the written report from the evidence lab and my laptop at the base of L's chair in a beanbag chair provided by Watari.

The only sound in the sitting room was L shuffling through the plastic containers and mumbling. "Hair," he repeated on inspecting another small plastic bag. "Mr. Yagami," he spoke up, "If I die within the next few days, your son is Kira." Without so much as glancing away from his work, L mumbled something about another hair. It was ridiculous how much physical evidence we had.

"What did you just say, Ryuzaki?" Mr. Yagami demanded, rising to his feet in anger.

"Exactly," Matsuda agreed. "What are you talking about anyway?"

"If anything happens to me," L replied evenly, "I've asked Watari to make himself available to you, so I'm counting on you. And I'm sure with me gone, E would have no problem stepping up. Nineteen…"

Glancing up from the folder, I had to silently admit that he had a point. If he were to die before Light, I would take over the case without complaint. Mr. Yagami on the other hand, would not be able to reach his full potential while he believed in his son so much. "Ryuzaki, you said he was almost cleared, and now this? Honestly, how much do you suspect my son?"

"The truth is, I don't even know what to think anymore," he said without turning back. It was slightly disturbing to hear L sound so tired. "I've never been in a situation like this. If Kira and the second Kira are working together right now, things are not looking good for me. Given that, I may not be thinking as clearly as I normally do, so I could be wrong."

I startled slightly at hearing him say that. I wasn't quite sure whether or not he was telling the truth. It wasn't unlike L to be dishonest when he needed to make a point, but something about what he was saying struck me as entirely true. Maybe not all of it, but parts were true.

He took a loud slurp of coffee as everyone watched him carefully. "Maybe I still consider him a suspect only because we don't have anyone else. Other than Endo," he mused, and just like that, I felt as if the atmosphere in the room had returned to normal. We weren't backed into a corner, not yet anyway.

"You do realize that it is characteristically impossible for me to be Kira, right?" I countered smoothly.

"But still, if I do happen to be killed soon, Mr. Yagami, please assume that your son is Kira."

All of the other members of the Task Force had risen to their feet, but neither L nor I had moved. No matter how skilled either of us – L more so than I – were at gauging probability, that's all it was. Probability. We could assume behaviors and anticipate actions and predict outcomes, but we can never disregard the fact that nothing was for certain.

"I would like to conduct an investigation into Misa Amane," L declared.

"Misa Misa?" Matsuda questioned, taken aback by the statement.

"We have our suspicions about her identity as the second Kira," I elaborated. "Would it be possible for us to acquire a warrant and search her home by…" I turned my head questioningly to L.

"Ten," L stated.

"In two hours, then?" I flashed a grin at the men. "Watari will accompany you, of course."

"You want a search warrant in two hours?" Mr. Yagami exclaimed.

"They're desperate people," I reminded him. "Mention the words 'suspect' and 'Kira', and you'll have them eating out of the palm of your hand."

"Ryuzaki," Watari said from the doorway, "the car is ready."

Turning to the Task Force, L said, "Please go with Watari. Endo and I will wait here, if you find anything incriminating, inform us immediately."

I held out my hand with the folder containing the lab results, "I've listed the details of everything submitted by the second Kira. If you find at least three of these objects or anything else incriminating, we'll have the second Kira in captivity by noon." With their goal in mind, the men paraded out of headquarters, leaving L and me alone.

We were taking an incredibly large risk with the plan that both of us seemed to develop without so much as speaking about it to the other. The probability of success – ending the Kira case once and for all – was less than fifty percent, but it was higher than forty percent. We were hoping to gain the upper hand in what seemed to be an impending stalemate.

"Can I trust you?" L's sudden question drew my attention.

Lowering my laptop screen, I met his gaze evenly. "No," I replied simply. Has he gone mad? I wondered, Trust is a luxury that we can't afford. What did he think these aliases were for?

"Ever," he said sternly, surprising me, "I need to know to what extent I can trust you in these upcoming days."

His life was on the line. I knew that very well. Trust was a luxury that Wammy's children could not afford to have. It was one of the many things unavailable to us. There was only one person who every child at the House trusted with everything, and that person was Mr. Wammy.

L didn't just want to know if I could be trusted. With the gambit we had put into action, he needed someone who he could depend on. One who would not only support him fully, but would not jeopardize the investigation in any way.

Thirty-seven percent. I saw it in the way he held my gaze. He thought that there was a thirty-seven percent chance that I was someone who could be trusted. For him, I would say that number was uncharacteristically high.

"You know better than that," I said quietly, rising from my seat. Suddenly, I felt a pressure on my wrist, and before I could respond, my back was pushed into the chair. Every instinct I had learned to survive in the world kicked in then, and my blood ran cold.

L didn't look away. His eyes were as large and void of emotion as ever, but there was a relentlessness in them, that prevented me from saying anything. "Everest, I'm not a fool. For once, I am the one who requires a straight answer."

"You can't trust me," I stated factually. It was the truth, and it wouldn't change, "and I can't trust you. Be that as it may, you can trust me not to interfere with this investigation. However, should your life come into danger, I won't try to save you, L."

He hovered above me for a moment, measuring my response. It seemed to satisfy him, and he removed himself from me. The detective gave me enough space to signify that he was apologizing for his brash behavior. "I understand. That was a very appropriate response."

I moved to pick up my laptop, which had fallen when L pinned me, and remembered to say, "L, if you ever take advantage of the fact that I'm less familiar with physical combat than you, just remember that I'm more accustomed to firearms."

Physical confrontations were a particular weakness of mine. I couldn't fight well, but I've never felt the need to learn how to fight. It never came to that point. I never allowed a situation to escalate to the point that I had to use my own body as a weapon. The fact that L knew that and pinned me to the chair had me miffed. I could have gotten out of it, though. I'm not entirely inept.

I just wasn't okay with that, and it was unusual for L. Although, the fact that it was spontaneous and unusual made it seem like a very L-like thing to do. Regardless, it wasn't something to be taken personally. It wasn't like L intended to exploit a weakness of mine.

I can't say I've ever really taken anything personally. Nothing could be personal. Everything went back to whatever case I was working on one way or another. Being attacked by an enemy had to do with the side I was on. Forming alliances and establishing friendships stemmed from some kind of gain.

Even when Beyond left, it wasn't because he had anything against me. He had outgrown Wammy's and strayed from the principles that defined us. It had hurt and resulted in my fury, but it was never meant to be personal.

The only thing I have ever taken personally was the murder of Beyond Birthday.

I had perceived it as an insult; as if the killer had found the containment of Beyond Birthday inadequate.

"L," I voiced, still a considerable distance away from him, "do you really believe that I'm capable of killing my own brother?"

"No," he admitted. "Not consciously at least."

I considered my options.

L didn't have to trust me, but as much as I did hate him for what he made us, I didn't want him to believe, to even have a thousandth percent chance, that I may be Kira. I just needed him to understand.

"The year was nineteen ninety-two," I stated. "At approximately twenty-three hundred hours, a twenty-eight year old woman was killed in a train accident. Two children were found in her home at 42 Northcap Avenue, a remote street on the outskirts of Presteigne in Powys, Wales. The older of the two was a boy, aged seven, and the other was a girl, aged four and a half."

I watched L as I spoke. His attention never left me. Personal information was never handed out at Wammy's unless absolutely necessary, and I knew that L knew everything that I just told him because he had to know it during the L.A. case. What I was about to say, however, was something else entirely.

"When the girl turned four, she wanted to wander the property. She had gone too far into the woods. The boy tracked her down before their mother realized that the little girl had been gone for almost ninety minutes. The girl wasn't afraid or lost. She wanted to keep exploring. The brother laughed, took her hand, and led her back to the house by taking the long route so she wouldn't notice."

He had been clever, even back then.

"I don't remember very much before Wammy's," I admitted, "but I remember him. He was all that I had. He was a good brother. Nothing could make me forget that."

I never wanted Beyond to die. Not even when I hated him. There had never been any murderous intent. I was jealous, but simultaneously, I had been proud because my brother had been one of the best.

Before he became consumed by his desire to overcome L, Beyond had been a good brother.

"I see," L mused. Thank you for sharing that with me.

The words were unspoken but received just the same. You're welcome, I would have responded verbally. "I should get ready," I announced, "the Task Force will find the evidence in twenty-eight minutes."

"Twenty-five," L corrected as I retreated to my room.

"Show off," I countered, already at my door. I knew that it was a gamble, but the need for firearms was less than fifteen percent. On the other hand, that fifteen percent still existed, and I had to be prepared.

As I concealed the handguns on my person, I thought about what I had told L.

Beyond was a good brother, and even now, in his own twisted way, he still is.

For the longest time, I believed that Beyond was out of his mind. I knew that reality was a terrible, cruel thing. So, I created new ones.

I never imagined that the whole truth was something so otherworldly that it could be classified as myth. Shinigami were real. I could look at anyone in the face and know his or her identity instantly. My brother was communicating with me in death.

And I had no idea why the Birthdays fit into any of it. I needed answers, and I already knew that Beyond wouldn't give them to me. At least, not until I make an acceptable effort to figure it out on my own. Light was just as clueless as me, and L was completely in the dark regarding the supernatural.

The only one who might have an inkling about how my family was involved in all this might be the source of all of this trouble in the first place.

Once we got Light into a corner, I was going to take my questions to Ryuk.

A/N... Cover artist still desired greatly.

And here we see more of the Birthday family background ^.^ There's going to be more on that later. Thanks so much for reading ^.^ and a huge thank you to you awesome people who've followed/favorited/reviewed. It's a bit odd - granted they're odd people - but there was some E/L in here, wouldn't want him to feel left out xD Reviews are highly appreciated for the reader feedback, thanks!

TheRavenSlayer13 : Your reviews are so uplifting and appreciated! Thank you so much! I noticed that there are a lot of L/OC stories out there too, I'm not going to say if I'm slanting to either pair, but I hope that this can eventually top all of them xD Thank you so so much for your support! ^.^

pinkdoughnuts : Thanks for reviewing again! ^.^ I'm really glad you think so about Beyond. I don't really have much to go on about him character wise, so I'm basing a lot of his behavior on both L and Ryuk. I'm so so happy that you like E, it means a lot to me when readers enjoy my characters. I hope you liked this one ^.^ I really hope E wasn't OOC in here because of the family talk, but despite all the craziness, I think that she really loves her family.

FeintIllusion : I'm not sure if this is quite what you were looking for in the E/L front heh heh. I'm struggling a bit to get more romantic moments in with L and E at this point in the plot because of how serious the investigation is. There will definitely be more (better) E/L interactions as the story goes, I promise! Thank you so so much for your support ^.^ I'm so glad E's making a good impression on you!

KpopAnime : I know what ya mean, haha. I've read a couple of fantastic ones myself, but they never seem to end the way I'd like them to xD Thank you, thank you, thank you so very much! I'm so glad you like it. I'm trying very hard to create an individual in the original plot without changing too much, and it really is very difficult to keep the geniuses in character, but I'm so happy that you think I'm succeeding ^.^

So far Light/E is trumping L/E. Once again, thank you everyone for your reviews and support! To every reader, thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying ^.^

Happy fanfictioning~