A/N... I do not own Death Note and only take credit for the character E.
"Ryuk," Light drawled thoughtfully in the safety of his own room, "do you have any idea what E wants to talk to you about?"
The Shinigami shrugged, "Maybe." Light racked his brain for anything that could possibly lead the woman to Ryuk. It was most likely something to do with the fact that she could see him without ownership of a Death Note.
"Can I assume that you wouldn't tell me about the conversation?" Light questioned, planning silently.
"Probably."
Misa's capture had put him in quite a predicament. Any move he made now had to be twice as cautious as any previous action he had taken. E was a wild card. She had proved that by siding with L against himself and Misa.
But the favor she had requested… how did that fit in? Light sat in front of his computer, wondering what she was up to. Maybe this was E's first move. If she were alone with Ryuk, maybe she would try to turn him against Light.
It's… a personal matter.
Light recalled what she had said. What kind of personal business could she have with Ryuk? It didn't make sense to him. There was nothing other than the mere fact that she could see the shinigami…
"Hey, Ryuk," Light began, an idea forming in his mind, "you still don't know how E can see you, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Light smirked, Perfect. "I need you to do something for me…"
{E.B.}
I was seated in one of the Wammy's House classrooms. On the green board was a sketch of Ryuk with labels pointing to body parts. Beyond sat with his knees drawn up, one arm wrapped around them, and the other hand held a jar of strawberry jam.
"Welcome to class, Essie," he greeted.
"What is this?" I demanded, looking at the setting. This was not the eerie atmosphere and cryptic conversation I was familiar with. This almost felt light, maybe even playful. It was like being a child and playing school.
"An anatomy lesson," Beyond stated with a grin. "Can you tell me what this is?" He pointed a slimy, jam covered finger at the shinigami's head.
"Its head," I answered dryly.
"Very good," he replied patronizingly. "What about these?"
"Its eyes."
"And can you tell me what they do?"
"They function like a human's eyes," I stated, irritation beginning to set in, "but the shinigami see the names and lifespans of humans. What does this have to do with anything?"
"And what, Essie, do these do?" Beyond dramatically waved his index finger around until it pointed at his own eye.
"They see lifespans."
Beyond smiled as if he was proud of my statement. It was all ridiculous, a shinigami was a shinigami. It wasn't a documented specimen that I could research and know all about after reading on the topic. I had to assume that our eyes were similar in all aspects to those of a shinigami. It gave me something, even something miniscule, to go on.
"What else do Shinigami have, Essie?"
"Ryuk has a nose, a mouth, arms, a torso, legs, and wings," I listed. In most ways, he was humanoid. "I don't see how this is useful."
"You wanted to talk to the death god," Beyond reminded me, his tone instantly conveying seriousness. "Now, you have to ask it the right questions."
The scene shifted, and we were in an interrogation room. I was seated with my hands cuffed to the table. Beyond stood in front of me wearing a suit and tie. The atmosphere returned to that of my previous dreams. Dangerous and creepy.
"What is this?" he questioned, holding an item in front of my face.
"It's a rattle," I stated.
"Whose rattle?"
"I don't know," I answered.
A hand came down on the table. "No! I know you know. Think," he demanded.
I thought. The rattle was small and meant for a young child, maybe one of four months. It was pink and decorated with small hearts and bunnies. "I don't know," I repeated with more force.
"Yes, you do," he said insistently. "Come on, Essie, you just have to try harder!" With that, he disappeared. The interrogation room vanished, and everything went dark.
Then, there was a melody.
It seemed to fill the entire dream, like the laughter before my eyes opened, and I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.
Then, I saw a spotlight.
There was a woman. She was swaying from side to side, cradling a bundle in her arms. Her hair was long and a rich brown color. She wore a long orange skirt with a purple shirt with quarter sleeves.
The melody was coming from her. The sound shifted so that it sounded as if she was actually humming, and the sound of a baby crying filled my ears.
I moved closer, and over her shoulder, I looked down at the child.
It wasn't a human baby.
It was a shinigami.
{E.B.}
I woke to the sound of my phone receiving a message. My eyes adjusted to the light from my phone, and I crawled out of bed. That was by far the worst dream I had had in days, maybe even weeks, and I had no idea what to make of it. Shinigami, anatomy, that song, and babies. How the hell did it have anything to do with Ryuk and what I had to discuss with him?
Checking the I.D. on my phone, I answered, "Yes, Light?"
"You can talk to Ryuk," he stated, "but only for fifteen minutes. You can find him on the roof of your hotel."
"Thank you," I said, my voice and mind clear of sleep's grogginess. "Are you going to tell me why you're allowing this?"
"Not yet, E," he replied. "After all, I don't really trust you right now. Just know that I don't like how you've been cooperating with L."
"Fair enough. I'll go meet him, then. Goodnight, Light," I bid before hanging up. I pulled on a sweater and slid my feet into my ballet flats before quietly opening and closing the door to my room. L and the Task Force were still watching footage of Amane. I hadn't left my room since my time spent in Amane's cell. I thought that it would be best to put some distance between my comrades and myself.
"Everest," L's voice rang out clearly, without any consideration for Matsuda, who had fallen asleep on the couch, "it's awfully late, isn't it?"
I tossed my phone to him as I passed, "I got a call from Light Yagami." Mr. Yagami's attention quickly left the woman in confinement. "Nothing about the investigation, though. He hasn't said anything incriminating, Mr. Yagami." He seemed satisfied, and left us to our semi-private conversation. "I just want to go up to the roof, L. I need some time to clear my head, and I don't want you or anyone to follow me. My laptop's in my room, and you can hold on to my phone. Just give me fifteen minutes."
L eyed my phone before nodding, "Very well. Fifteen minutes."
When I opened the door into the cool night, I found Ryuk sitting on the highest point of the roof. "So, what'd you want to talk about?"
"If Light sent you here to try to convince me to play on his side, you can save it," I stated immediately. There was only one reason why Light would give me this opportunity, and it was because he wanted to manipulate me. He would anticipate what I wanted to discuss with Ryuk, and he would supply Ryuk with the answers he wanted me to have.
"Figured it out already?" Ryuk asked in a very Beyond-like manner. It was almost unnerving how similar the two seemed in that moment.
"I'm not stupid," I scoffed. "This isn't about Light or the Kira case. I want to know why I can see you and why I can see the names."
"Eh, well, I can't say I know," the lanky creature stated.
"But you have theories," I pressed.
"Yeah, sure," Ryuk confirmed. "I have a couple of guesses."
"What are they?"
"Well, I guess a shinigami could have dropped its eyes into the human realm, and you could have them."
"This is a family matter," I confessed to the supernatural being in front of me. "If I have one of the eyes, then I know who has the other. I know that you can't see my name."
"Really? How'd you find out?"
"Amane's reaction when she saw me," I half-lied. I couldn't trust that Ryuk wouldn't go to Light with anything I said. "Would having a shinigami's lost eyes cause that?"
"Nah, I don't think so. Well, this is interesting," the shinigami laughed. "Hey, do you have any apples?"
"We don't really have fruits here," I apologetically informed him. "What are your other ideas?"
"You might not like this one," Ryuk warned.
"It's better than nothing."
The shinigami cackled, "Okay. It's possible… that… you might not be human."
He said it so quickly that I thought I misheard him. "What?"
"Well, I'm not sure, so I'm only guessing here, but you might not be human. Maybe not completely."
I would have written it off as a joke or the ramblings of a mad person, but this wasn't a person. This was a shinigami, invisible to everyone except holders of the Death Note and me. "If I'm not human, then what am I?" I questioned.
"Beats me," Ryuk responded.
I thought back to my dream about the shinigami baby. "Is it possible," I began slowly, "for shinigami to have children?"
"Eh? No. Shinigami can't reproduce."
Well, there went that possibility.
{E.B.}
"Ryuzaki," Watari's electronic voice sounded on the speakers, "Amane is talking." That was all it took for the Task Force to spur into action, and by the Task Force, I mean L.
"Quickly, get me a visual and audio," L instructed, prancing to the screens while the others slowly roused themselves.
"Finally, after three days of this," the disgruntled officer groaned.
The sounds of Misa's breathing indicated exhaustion or fear, and her voice shook, "I can't take it anymore. Kill me." The men gasped. It wasn't unexpected. She was a prime suspect, locked away, and essentially tortured. She was going to break at some point; I just thought it would happen sooner. "Please, just kill me."
"I don't know, maybe this was all just too much for a young girl to take."
"He's right," Matsuda agreed, "we've pushed her too far."
"Need I remind you that this is the person who killed Mr. Ukita?" I snapped, my patience wearing thin with the officers. It was more likely that she wanted to die in order to preserve her secrets rather than escape torment.
"Misa Amane," L spoke into the microphone, "can you hear me?"
"I hear you," the model responded tiredly. "Please just kill me now."
"Does this mean you admit to being the second Kira? Is this the reason you wish to die?"
"No," Amane protested, "I don't know anything about this second Kira. I really can't take this anymore. I'd rather be dead. Now hurry up and kill me if you want to!" Her voice projected a strength that contrasted with her prior feeble plea for death. "You can kill me right now, couldn't you?"
She wasn't talking to L. I could see it hovering beside her, pixelated by the camera. There was a Shinigami beside her. The same one from Aoyama. I recognized its eyes. Misa had said yes, but it was definitely a conversational yes. One that would be a response to a question, and L hadn't asked anything.
Misa had continued speaking, but at this point, it was irrelevant. L ordered Watari to prevent her from biting her tongue, and the caretaker rushed to gag her.
"Is it possible that this behavior could be attributed to Kira controlling her actions before death?" L questioned nobody in particular.
I watched Misa struggle, shaking her head as if in protest. To the others, she must have seemed demented. Then, she stilled, nodded, and let tears slide down her cheeks. L saw it, I could tell. It was just a small action, but it was a mistake the Shinigami should have never made.
Neither L nor I moved from our positions on the couch. It was a critical time in the case of the second Kira, and nothing could be missed or taken for granted. And then, her behavior took a turn.
Watari had removed her gag, and she was free to speak. Her first sounds were feeble indications of fear, and that was the one thing I had never witnessed from Misa Amane. "Mr. Stalker?" she questioned, "Hello, Mister? Where are you right now?" Panic seemed to be seeping into her tone as she took on a strained smile, "D-do you think we could stop this game?"
"Huh?"
"Stalker?"
"Where'd she get that? What's with the new attitude all of a sudden?"
It was a complete divergence from her previous attitude. There was no logical explanation to this other than some sort of induced amnesia or incredible acting talent. She had gone from uncooperative to suicidal to this. It could have been a new kind of approach into appearing innocent.
"Mr. Stalker, this is illegal you have to stop."
Since when does she care about legality?
"Okay? Come on, please?"
"She's been acting like this ever since she regained consciousness," Mr. Aizawa noted.
"Seriously, does she think she can get out of this just by playing dumb?" Matsuda wondered.
"If we can't get any confessions out of her, she just might," I responded, twirling my hair around my finger.
"Okay, how about this?" she bargained, an approach completely inconsistent with her previous behavior. "You could at least take off my blind fold, don't you think? It'll be nice to see what you look like."
"Matsuda, call Mogi for me," L held out his hand to the young man.
"Just a second," the officer responded, taking out his phone.
"Mr. Mogi, when you apprehended Misa Amane, you made it clear that she was a suspect, am I correct?"
Of course, I acknowledged L's need to confirm that Misa was aware of the circumstances. "What if I gave you an autograph or shake your hand? I know! I can give you a kiss on the cheek if you want! Oh, come on, I won't run away, I promise."
"She sounds like an entirely different person," I noted. "There's no way she could have thrown this scenario together like this. Not under these conditions."
"Misa Amane," L began.
"Huh? What's that? Mr. Stalker, are you planning to release me?"
"Before you passed out, you barely spoke, and you even asked me to kill you. And, now, you're claiming ignorance?" L questioned.
"Hmm? I don't understand. I mean, you're the one who knocked me out and brought me here, remember? Wait, I get it! This is some kind of Misa Amane interrogation fantasy, right?"
"She's trying to reason her situation," I realized. "L, think about this as if she had no idea why she was restrained and blindfolded. As if she were innocent. She'd assume it was because of her fame."
"Do you know why I'm detaining you here?" L questioned, "You must have some idea."
"What do you mean?" Amane responded, her voice fighting to stay light. "Because I'm a celebrity, obviously. But you're definitely the first stalker who's ever gone this far, and you're starting to scare me."
"Hey, Amane!" Matsuda took the microphone, "Nobody's buying this, so cut it out!"
"Oh, this is scary," she said, subtly withdrawing into herself. "What's going on? I can't stand it anymore, please let me go!" She began to struggle. "You have to let me go! I-I have to go to the bathroom. I have to go to the bathroom again, okay."
"It's only been four minutes since you last went to the bathroom," L informed her, retrieving the microphone from Matsuda. This was beginning to bother me. It wasn't as if I was looking at a serial killer. This person was acting like an innocent teenager who had been abducted. "I'm afraid you'll have to hold it."
"You have to! It's the only time you'll untie me and let me move," Misa said. "Plus, you'd be able to watch. Isn't that what you want? Isn't it, you pervert?" She was frantic. Tears streamed down her face, and she had grown confrontational.
"I'm a pervert?" L muttered.
"Well, you did touch her butt at school," I pointed out, winding my fingers through a rubber band.
He sent me an unamused glare and turned back to the screen, "Amane, let's get back to the conversation we were having before you lost consciousness. First of all, do you know who Light Yagami is, and, if so, why did you approach him?"
"Huh? What do you mean? How could I not know my own boyfriend?"
It wasn't making sense. Misa Amane was giving away information. It wasn't much information, but it was still a response. "Where is this coming from?" Matsuda exclaimed.
Then, L's phone began to ring. "Good timing, it's Light," he stated. "Please turn the video and audio off." He answered the phone and responded in his usual indifferent manner.
"Are you saying my son's coming here?" Mr. Yagami spoke, for the first time in hours. The room was silent as we awaited Light's arrival.
"Ryuzaki," Light began while we listened in silence, "like I said over the phone. I could be Kira."
The rubber band in my hand snapped. Mr. Yagami gasped, and I feared he would have another heart attack. He rushed to take his son's shoulders, "No, Light, what are you talking about? Why would you even say something like that? Why?"
"Look, Dad," Light assumed a sullen expression, unable to meet his father's gaze, "if Ryuzaki is L, then it's safe to say he's the world's best detective, and right now, he seems pretty sure that I'm Kira. We know L's never been wrong before."
This was uncharacteristic of Light Yagami. It was a ruse. We had made our move against him, and now he was making his. Mr. Yagami continued to protest and process his son's actions, but it was futile. Mr. Yagami, as great a man as he was, was an average man. He would never be able to fully understand.
"What about that FBI agent, Ray Penber? It was me he was investigating immediately before he died, and I was in Aoyama on May 22nd. Also, I'm the first person in the Kanto region that Misa, the alleged second Kira, approached. It's all been me. If I was in L's place, I would have come to the same conclusion. You see, subconsciously, I might be Kira. If that was the case, I could be him and not even know it."
This was getting dramatic. I had no idea how Light thought this would help his case or throw L off his scent. Light was Kira, and he knew it. This, all of this, was as if he knew about Misa's condition, and now both Kiras were completely disproving their profiles. First, amnesia, now unconscious action?
"I-I'm not sure of anything, anymore. I'd never kill someone, but unconsciously, who knows what I'm capable of. Another me could be killing people as I sleep."
"I'm afraid that's not possible," L stated.
"Huh? Not possible? What do you mean?"
"Well, I never mentioned this to you, but at one point, I had hidden surveillance cameras installed in your room for five days," L informed him.
"Cameras?" Light's wide-eyed expression almost seemed shocked.
"Yes, every single night, you slept normally. Criminals whose names were broadcast were still dying, even though you would've had no way of knowing about them. But this didn't prove your innocence to me. All it proved was if you were Kira, no amount of camera surveillance would reveal that fact."
"Wouldn't reveal that fact?" Light repeated. "I-I don't know. It could be true. I have to admit. Reika, you told me before that you knew I was Kira, and right now, I-I can't even look at you and tell you that I'm not him. I've found myself thinking that some criminals deserve to die. If I can think like Kira, then how can I be sure that I'm not actually him?"
"Hold on Light," Matsuda spoke up… again. "I feel exactly the same way. I found myself thinking before that some people would be better off dead, but still, that doesn't mean we're gonna go out and kill people. Isn't that right? Besides, criminals were still being killed even when you had no knowledge of them. I mean, the surveillance cameras proved it didn't they?"
"Get a hold of yourself, Mr. Matsuda," I instructed him blankly. "This is an investigation. Don't let your opinion of Light cloud your judgment. We're here to look at facts and keep those facts separate from feeling. Now, is the footage from video surveillance reliable?" It was beginning to make sense. Light wanted to be imprisoned, along with Misa. With both Kira's under surveillance, he'd be able to prove his innocence. So, he wouldn't have the Death Note on his person, but he wouldn't just leave it lying around.
"Well, no, because we were short of investigators then, we only watched him while he was at home," Mr. Aizawa responded. "Truth is, we weren't able to watch him every hour of the day. It's possible he could have found some way to kill those criminals while he wasn't at home."
"Honestly, I don't like the way this is going at all," L admitted. "But what choice do I have? Let's do it. I need you to fully restrain Light Yagami and place him in solitary confinement."
"What?" Mr. Yagami exclaimed, "You can't!"
"You want us to confine him, seriously?"
"If we're going to do this, then it has to happen immediately," L stated. "From this point on, you can't be allowed to go anywhere I can't see you."
"This is crazy!" Mr. Yagami declared. "There's no way my son could be Kira. My son's not capable."
"It's okay, Dad," Light placated his father.
"Stop this, Light."
"Listen, something has to be done about this. As long as I'm having these doubts, I can't work with you to catch Kira. But, Ryuzaki, promise me this. Until you can say with absolute certainty that I'm not Kira, you cannot set me free, no matter what I might say or what condition I might be in."
"You have my word. Mr. Yagami, can you come up with some sort of excuse for Light's absence? Something to tell your family, and, please, do it now."
"But… this is all so sudden," Mr. Yagami protested. "What should I say? And, then, I see no reason why he should be in prison."
"Let it go, Dad. If I don't do this, I won't be able to live with myself."
"But, son, do you really mean that?"
"Yeah, I believe that by giving up my very freedom, I'll defeat this fear that Kira lurks within me." Lurks? I thought to myself. Kira didn't lurk in Light. Kira and Light were one and the same. There was no separating one from the other at this point. They were just names, and the characters above his head might as well have spelled Kira instead of Light.
"Aizawa, please take him away," L instructed after blindfolding and handcuffing Light. L refused to allow any of us to interact with Light while he was in confinement. We continued to watch from the hotel room as Misa and Light were detained.
"Ryuzaki," Mr. Yagami approached after we attained visual on the two cells, "I'd like to request you take me off this investigation." His comrades expressed their dissent while L and I listened. "I thought about it, and the fact is, we're holding my son, Light, as a prime suspect, given that, it's not appropriate for me to be here. When we spoke earlier, my feelings got in the way. It's impossible for me to be objective in this situation."
"I agree with you," L said. "We can't let personal feelings get in the way."
"And, in truth," Mr. Yagami continued, "if the Task Force concludes that my son is Kira, I don't know what I'd be capable of."
"Yes, I'll agree with you there. To be honest, I wonder what you might do. I believe you'd kill your son and then yourself. I also agree that it's best we don't have you working here for now," L slurped a piece of papaya.
"Ryuzaki, I will ask that you confine me as well. At the moment I'm calm, but to be honest, I'm not sure how much more of this I can take."
"I thought you might say that," L informed him, "so I spoke with Watari, he's made arrangements. But, your confinement will be different. You will keep your cellphone turned on and maintain regular contact with family and friends. You won't tell Light about this. If he does call you at some point, he must be made to believe that you're still at headquarters. While you're in confinement, we'll be giving you continuous updates on the investigation, so you'll know what's happening. So, how does that sound to you?"
"I'm grateful. Thank you."
{E.B.}
"Endo," Mr. Yagami began as I escorted him to his cell, "what do you think of my son?" He sounded tired, as if he had aged decades during this case.
"He's a very complex young man," I responded as I locked him in. "Brilliant by every standard. I apologize, Mr. Yagami, but I don't believe you'll ever be able to fully understand him."
He sighed heavily, "You're right, but that's an obstacle every parent must face. Someone like you must…"
"Mr. Soichiro," I interjected gently, not wanting to trouble the man with the train of thought he was following, "My understanding of Light matches that of any investigator studying a suspect."
"Right. I'm sorry, Endo. It's..." speaking seemed to pain him.
"Difficult, I understand," I completed for him. "May I tell you something, sir?"
"Yes, of course."
"I know what it's like to have family suspect in an investigation. I understand what you're going through, how difficult it is to face the impending decision of whether or not he's guilty. I'm not like you, sir. I didn't doubt his guilt. He was more like L than he was like me. I knew what he was capable of, and I never questioned whether or not it was he. L and I… we just knew."
"So, you've never been wrong before," it was a question that came out as a statement, and he sounded dejected.
"Never," I confirmed, "but that just made it harder, knowing that we were always right. He was one of us, and I don't think either of us was ever able to really see him as the enemy. I was furious with him, but he was family, through and through. That never changed."
"How did you manage it?"
"It's different for people like L and I, sir. I made a choice."
"What did you choose?"
"I chose to walk away," I replied simply. "The reality was that my only living relative was a serial killer, and we had to enforce justice. Mr. Yagami, I know it isn't helping you, but I just want you to know that I can sympathize with what you're going through."
"Thank you, Endo," Mr. Yagami said listlessly as I walked away.
The hours turned into days. Misa continued to make requests of her captors, Mr. Yagami had barely spoken, and Light shifted about his cell every so often. I figured that with Light and Misa in captivity, L could manage on his own. So, I went back to school. It was abnormally normal. I had friends and people I avoided; I passed tests and failed assignments. I imagined that this was what it would be like if I really had managed to evade Wammy's.
After five days, the routine became established. Misa, Light, and Mr. Yagami had provided their baselines for regular behavior in captivity. Invisible to the others, Ryuk seemed to be struggling the most with confinement. "Mr. Yagami looks pretty bad," L noted, watching the screens. "I think he's taking this harder than Light or Misa."
"What do you expect?" Matsuda countered, "It's been five days since Light was put in prison, and look, not a single criminal whose name has been broadcast was killed. In these situations, I think the parents must suffer a lot more than the accused."
"No kidding," Aizawa agreed, "especially now that we're seeing proof that Light is Kira."
"Mr. Yagami," L spoke to the cell.
"What is it?" Mr. Yagami demanded, leaping to his feet. "Is it good news? Is it bad news?"
"No. I wanted to tell you not to worry so much," L informed the troubled man. "It doesn't matter how much time you devote to worrying about this. The outcome will be the same. This could go on for quite some time. Perhaps you should rest in a more comfortable place."
"Impossible! What makes you think I care where I am? It won't change anything. With the state I'm in now, it's the best place for me, and no matter what the results, when I leave here, it's going to be with my son!"
"I understand," L stated with his usual blank expression. Mr. Yagami settled on the cot with his eyes glued to the ground, and he stayed in that position for hours. "Is this too difficult for you, E?" L questioned while the others were in the kitchen for lunch.
"Hmm? Why do you ask?" I knew what he was asking, but I never gave any indication that I was troubled by the recent events.
"Well, the similarities between the Yagamis' condition with your own are about twenty-seven percent. I wouldn't want the situation to compromise your judgment."
"I'm not an amateur, L," I reminded him with some irritation. "My experience doesn't affect my work."
"Of course, I'm just saying that seeing Mr. Yagami like this might remind you of the time…"
"Stop it," I cut him off quietly. "Don't make it sound as if I ever forgot, for even a moment, what it was like. You remember just as well as I do, and you feel it just as much as I do."
At that moment, Matsuda and Aizawa re-entered the room. "I-is now not a good time?" Matsuda questioned awkwardly.
"It's fine," I stated stonily, falling silent as I watched the three people on the screen.
A/N... Wow, over a year. I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS HAS TAKEN SO LONG. Honestly, I'm terrible. I'm going to try to get back into writing. This chapter has been sitting on file for the longest time! Hopefully, it won't take so long for the next update. I hope this was enjoyable!
