A/N... I do not own Death Note.

I watched the display from the comfort of our living room with the rest of the task force, a bag of chocolate covered cherries in hand. It was such an extreme course of action, even by my standards. L had really outdone himself with this one. Soichiro Yagami had aged ten or twenty years in that car, and I really couldn't help but feel bad for the older man.

"Yes," L said in response to Mr. Yagami's tired voice, "it was a convincing performance. If Amane were the second Kira who only needs to see a person's face to kill them, there is no doubt she would have killed you before you had the chance to fire your weapon. Also, if Light was in fact Kira, the Kira I know wouldn't hesitate to kill even his own father to save himself. With Light in particular, I cannot rule out the possibility that he may have seen through our act at some point. However, as we agreed, I will end their confinement immediately, and as we discussed, Amane will remain under surveillance until Kira is apprehended. Although, she insists the tapes we found were just occult videos, the physical evidence we have plus her confession suggests otherwise."

"Hey, no fair!" Misa protested. "You still suspect me?"

"On adequate grounds," I took control of the microphone. "Even if you didn't kill Mr. Yagami, that doesn't necessarily clear you. For all we know, you could have restrained yourself in this moment having realized a greater purpose than being Kira's lackey. Besides, it's like he said, we still have a substantial case against you."

"If I were you, I wouldn't complain," Mr. Yagami advised. "You get to go back to your normal life. If you're innocent, the surveillance shouldn't be a threat to you. Think of it as complimentary police protection."

"Oh, I get it. Since I'm not the second Kira, it'll be kinda like having my very own private body guards." I latched on to her phrasing. It was so certain and without guilt. Yet, I knew she was the second Kira, and if she wasn't anymore, that didn't erase the fact that she had been.

"As for your part in this agreement, Light," L drawled. "You and I will be together twenty four seven, and that's how we will remain until we've brought Kira to justice."

I waited for that shift. The one I attributed to Kira's active, calculating mind. The perfect mask that never came. "Fine by me. We'll catch Kira, together."

"Yes," L confirmed, "I look forward to working with you." He ended the transmission there. I popped more candied fruits into my mouth and chewed while analyzing what had just happened. It wasn't Light. It was some child taking up his civic duty. A brilliant child, but a child nonetheless. Bright eyed and ready to take on Kira.

I scowled. I had gotten so close to Beyond's killer. Now what could I do? Even if I were to take everything into my own hands, it wouldn't be right. Light had to know why he was falling from grace. He had to remember what he had done, take responsibility for it, and suffer the consequences. If he had nothing tying him to the death of my brother, then it meant nothing.

Additionally, L had roped me into his little around the clock surveillance of Amane and Light. If he had to be around Light, I had to be around Misa. I supposed it was fitting. The original Kira paired with the original L, and the second Kira paired with a candidate for L's replacement. I didn't expect anything to come of this, at least not until I could find that Death Note.

My priorities had shifted since the third Kira's appearance and my most recent encounter with Beyond. I had to find those shinigami.

{E.B.}

Light was like an entirely different person. One with morals and legitimate respect for life and the rights of others. He was noble. It was the exact façade he had used to mask his identity as Kira, but it felt authentic. I manipulated people, and I manipulated the truth. That was the art of disguise, but I was never artificial. Everything was honest about me, and now, this was the honest Light. A different truth than the one I had come to know, but a truth nonetheless.

"Reika," Light sat beside me as I compiled my notes regarding the stressful charade L had orchestrated in Mr. Yagami's car, "can we talk?"

I looked up from the screen and scrutinized that earnest face of his. A pit seemed to form in my stomach from that innocent honesty. It was strange. This face didn't seem to belong to Light, but it did. It was fitting but unsuitable. I shut my laptop and offered him a seat on the couch, "I'm guessing this has something to do with earlier," I wagered a guess.

He nodded, an odd look on his face, twisted as if he was having trouble with what was on his mind. "I owe you an apology. The things I said about how exploiting another person's feelings is unforgivable were inconsiderate, and while I honestly feel that way, I never meant to offend you in any way."

I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was such a ridiculous little thing. Of course, I knew that what I had done to Light was wrong by most people's standards, but I struggled to even see Light as another person. He was a mark, a person yet somehow less than a person. "Don't compromise your principles for my sake," I waved away his apology.

"No!" he protested vehemently, taking one of my hands in his, "E, I've forgiven you. I forgave you a long time ago! What I said back there… it had nothing to do with what I think of you. It's just that L trying to coerce me into saying that I'm Kira has me so wound up." He buried his face in his hands and groaned in frustration. "I know that you don't believe me, but I promise you I'm not Kira. What Kira's done to you, personally, sickens me. I never want you to hurt so much, Reika."

Hurt? Since when did Light care about whether or not I was hurt? We had agreed to use each other, not in so many words, but it was understood. Almost every conversation we had went back to the Kira case, and I had known from the beginning that he was Kira. I was almost positive that he wanted to kill me, too, so where was this coming from?

"Light," I raised my hand to his face, resting it on his cheek with my fingertips just a breadth away from the corners of his eyes. I was intrigued. I wanted to know. Where was this honesty coming from? "Tell me the truth. Are you Kira?"

Light's eyes widened in surprise, a response so different from when I first accused him of being Kira. I named the emotions that flittered through Light's eyes – surprise, hurt, sadness, and determination. He shook his head, never violently enough to shake my hand from his face, "No. No, Reika, I promise. I'm not Kira. Look at me. Do you believe me?"

I did. Inexplicably, I believed him, moreso than when he was in possession of the Death Note. Somehow, I believed this as much as I believed that he was Kira. "I don't understand," I mused aloud. He didn't remember. It had to be part of some grander scheme, there was no other explanation. I realized, in that moment, I was the only one who still remembered. Nobody knew about the Death Note.

"Reika," Light's voice sounded in a whisper. His eyes burned with determination as he held my gaze, and a part of my mind vaguely realized how close we were to each other on the hotel couch. I couldn't process that information, though, with the questions spiraling in my head.

Suddenly, every thought came to a dead stop as Light pulled me closer to him by my waist and caught my lips with his. I read his actions, felt his effort to convince me of his honesty. It was odd, but somehow, this felt real. This kiss with a man I barely knew yet knew too well felt real and sincere.

With my confusion and frustration, and everything I had felt in the past forty days, I kissed him back.

{E.B.}

"Do you believe me?" Light asked again, softly. He had drawn away from Reika just enough to rest his forehead against hers. He wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow, Reika Endo invaded his thoughts. Every memory he had of the Kira case seemed to go back to her, and he identified his anger and betrayal at her deception. He remembered her beautifully intelligent mind and fearlessness. He remembered kissing her outside of his neighborhood. There were blank spots that he couldn't remember so well, but he knew one thing.

He was in love with Reika Endo. The tech savvy cryptographer-detective E.

He just couldn't remember when or how it happened.

"I believe you," she replied. Her electrifying blue eyes regarded him evenly, and he didn't doubt her.

He sighed in relief and smiled at her, "That's fantastic. Actually, there was one more thing I wanted to talk about." She regarded him curiously, not saying anything yet somehow getting him to keep talking. "Now that I know I'm not Kira, can we try to have a relationship? A real one?"

She stiffened in his arms, and Light's chest constricted, anxiously anticipating her answer. The thudding in his ribcage seemed to grow louder the longer he waited. Light thought that maybe Reika responded this way because of her occupation. He couldn't imagine L forming such a commitment to one person or place, and maybe Reika had been like that at some point, too.

"What about Misa?" Reika asked.

Light shook his head, "She's not my girlfriend, Reika. No matter what she says, it's not like that." Those girls – Kiyomi and Misa – were interested in him, but all he knew was that Reika was much more to him than them.

"I can't promise you anything," Reika began softly, peering up at him through thick, dark eyelashes, "but maybe."

Light couldn't fight the smile expressing the swelling of his heart. He was overjoyed and hopeful that, maybe, he and Reika would finally have a real chance. Light wondered how it was possible for him to have not done this ages ago.

{E.B.}

L observed from the doorway to the kitchen. Everest, held against Light's chest, their foreheads touching, lips just close enough to brush against each others'. He had known Everest at Wammy's, but he had never considered her other interpersonal relations. As far as he was concerned, there hadn't been any. Wammy's kids didn't do things like form attachments, not even to the House. They were all destined to leave someday. Yet, L himself had been inexplicably drawn back to Wammy's by a short haired brunette with startling blue eyes. Consistently. Constantly.

Even if it was just a part of her deception, another mask constructed by another skilled Birthday, L couldn't ignore that discomfort in his gut. The feeling he got when he knew something wasn't quite right, so he turned around and prepared a strawberry sundae in the kitchen, attributing the feeling in his stomach to a need for food.

She joined him later. Briefly, she regarded the empty glasses and plates littered on the table before him before reaching into the freezer for her own sugary fix. L watched her as he had countless times before.

"Are you falling in love with Light?" he asked out of a detective's curiosity.

She paused with a scoopful of ice cream hovering above a delicate bowl, "Don't be ridiculous."

He was almost relieved. E was a detective, an unattached wanderer who couldn't afford luxuries like love and home. Out of necessity and performance, she couldn't be distracted. He feared that she had forgotten that, as it was so easy to do so when wearing the guise of normalcy. Yet, that didn't quite encompass the depth of his reasoning.

"Good," he said simply, "be sure that you don't."

"Because he's still a suspect?" she teased. He reamined silent, but still, Everest knew what he would have responded with. That silent confirmation easily marked the end of that conversation. The atmosphere of the kitchen remained light and comfortable, as if the stakes of life and death didn't hover over every move they made. The silence was companionable.

L watched her drop two scoops of ice cream into the bowl and top it with whipped cream. He watched her stretch to reach the cabinet, her loose sleeve of her cardigan slipped down her slender arm as she did. She retrieved a the jar of sweetened cherries and twisted it open with a pop. With a spoon she added four cherries to her sundae. Replacing the jar, she finished preparing her creation. Satisfied, Everest began to leave the kitchen.

"You're better than Light Yagami," L informed her, never raising his voice or looking up from his own desserts. She didn't stop to acknowledge what he had said, but he knew she had heard him. He knew because of a small smile that graced her lips as she disappeared from his view.

Stabbing a cake, L thought that he should have forced her onto a plane back to Wammy's the moment he laid eyes on her.

{E.B.}

Beyond laughed wildly at his sister's audacity. "Essie, you're despicable," Beyond howled with laughter. His eyes gleamed with delight. The hedge surrounding his sister only grew more and more complicated as she searched for her way out. The game was just getting started, and little by little, Beyond's sister was becoming just like him.

{E.B.}

"Are you sure this is necessary, Ryuzaki?" Light asked after arriving to the hotel and promptly receiving a metal cuff slapped onto his wrist, chaining him to L.

"This is as difficult for me as it is for you," L informed him.

"So is this what you meant by being together twenty four hours a day with him?" Misa questioned. We had gotten out of such a close arrangement due to Misa's responsibilities as a popular culture figure. I had opted for the modern method of tracking convicts via computer chips. "Looking at you I never would've guessed. Are you on that side of the fence, Ryuzaki?"

"I told you I'm not doing this because I want to," L reminded her, "okay?"

"But Light belongs to me," the model's high pitched voice declared, and I swore I could feel the beginnings of a headache. "I don't want to share him with you. If you're with him twenty four seven, then how are we supposed to go on dates together?"

She was like a child. A possessive, loud child. Killers these days. "Oh, you can still go on dates," L assured her, unaffected by her tantrum, "but it'll have to be the four of us. I believe that's called a double date, right?"

"You're correct," I confirmed at the same time that Misa violently drew back from my associate.

"No way! Are you telling me we have to kiss in front of you and stuff?" the Japanese girl demanded. Her gaze flickered to me, perhaps remembering what I had said to her during her confinement. "And I don't want her anywhere near my Light!"

"I'm not telling you to do anything," L said as if he were talking to one of the small children back at the House, "but yes, I suppose I would be watching." Misa pouted.

"Privacy's overrated anyway," I stated, testing the gps and camera on Misa's tracking bracelet with my computer.

"Ew!" Misa shrieked, "Are you some kind of exhibitionist, Endo? I didn't peg you as someone with such a weird fetish. That's so inappropriate, something my Light would never be okay with."

"You would say that," L commented simply.

"It's true," I returned.

"That's so gross!" Misa continued over us, "You really are perverts aren't you?"

"Light," L addressed the other man, "please make Misa stop talking now."

Light looked down at the woman beside him and complied firmly, "Listen, Misa, that's enough. The police have already established that it was you who sent those tapes, so you're lucky to even be here right now. They have every right to keep you in prison."

I paused with my fingers on the keyboard of my laptop and watched the interaction between this couple. "Huh?" Misa turned to her boyfriemd, "How could you even say that, Light? Is it her? In case you forgot, I'm your girlfriend. Don't you trust your own soul mate?"

Her aggressive questions and intense choice of words caused Light to lean away uncomfortably. I didn't miss the slip of his attention from Misa to myself. For a second, it was almost like the entrance exam. L watched Light, watching me. Just for a moment. "What do you mean soul mate?" Light questioned, "You're the one who said you fell in love with me at first sight, Misa."

Misa recoiled in shock and horror with fat tears building in her eyes, "So why would you kiss me if you didn't have feelings for me? You took advantage of me?" She wailed and began pounding her fists on Light's chest repeating her insults almost comically.

Actually, it was comical.

I laughed. Once. Quietly. I didn't even mean to. Still, it caught her attention. The psychotic blonde rounded on me. "You! What's so funny? Just because you kissed him, too, doesn't mean that he doesn't have feelings for me! What we have, Light and I, it's real!" Somehow, I doubted that sincerely. I shrugged in response to her outburst. I'm sure it would have continued if L hadn't taken the opportunity to speak.

"About this love at first sight," L questioned, "it happened in Aoyama on May 22nd, didn't it?"

"So what?" Misa questioned.

"Why did you choose that day to go to Aoyama, and do you remember what you wore?"

Misa pivoted from her place clutching to Light's shirt angrily, "It's like I told you, I just happened to go there. I don't know why, I don't remember how I felt, and I don't even know what I was wearing. Anyway, since when do I need a reason to hang out in Aoyama? Huh?"

Strange that a model couldn't remember what she was wearing on a day out in public where fans and the press could easily identify her. Regardless, I knew the truth. I had seen the shinigami.

"And somehow, when you came back from Aoyama, you knew you were in love with some guy and that his name was Light," L continued skeptically.

"Yes!"

"And, yet, you yourself have no idea how you came to know his name?"

"Yeah? So what?" Misa demanded pushing her face close to L's, challenging the detective.

As expected, L wasn't perturbed by her nearness at all. "Tell me, what if Light was Kira, how would it make you feel?"

"Huh?" Misa startled at the question. "How would I feel if Light was Kira?"

"That's right," L confirmed.

Misa inhaled shakily and latched onto Light's arm, "That would be wonderful, I mean, I've always been grateful to Kira for punishing the man who murdered my parents, so if I found out Light was actually Kira, that would be like a bonus for me. If anything it would make me love him even more. Even though it's, like, practically impossible to love him even more than I already do! Which is why Endo doesn't stand a chance against me."

I blinked at her from over my computer screen, "You know that I was with Light in Aoyama on the twenty second, right?" Granted it was part of the investigation, but Misa didn't know that. I admit, I was hostile. I knew Misa Amane because I knew the second Kira. I had deciphered the code and interrogated her. Of course I felt bad for her, but this was just annoying. I had never known anyone so bold and loud. I was annoyed. I was annoyed with her second Kira persona, I was annoyed with her Misa Amane persona, and I was annoyed that one couldn't remember the other.

"It's Kira, though," L corrected. "You'd love him even more for that? I mean, wouldn't you be afraid? What if he tried to kill you?"

"You're talking about Light being Kira?" Misa looked up at Light adoringly, "He wouldn't be scary at all. I'm a supporter of Kira, so if I found out my Light was actually him, I'd think of how I could be helpful." L narrowed his eyes at the motive Misa had just given him, as if he knew that he was close but also acknowledged the unavoidable roadblock in his path.

"Hey, Misa, you shouldn't say things like that," Light chastised his self-proclaimed girlfriend. Over the model's head, he cast me an apologetic look. He remembered what I told him about Kira and why I joined this investigation, but how much he remembered was a mystery to me.

"Why not?" Misa demanded, "If Light were Kira, I'd do everything I could to help him achieve his goal. Criminals are just scum anyway, so what does it matter? We'd just be helping the people like me who are suffering."

"That's very generous of you, but I'm pretty sure Kira doesn't need your help," L's tone had taken on some bite. "Well, Misa, based on what you just told me, there can be no mistake that you are the second Kira, but you've made it so painfully obvious that I don't really want to believe it."

"Just let me book her so that we could stop listening to all this crap she keeps spouting," I groaned.

"Whatever," Misa countered, hopping to hide behind Light. "It's not believable because I'm not the second Kira, okay?" She stuck her tongue out.

"That'll hold up in court," I scoffed, looking back down at my computer screen.

"Anyway, for the time being, you'll remain under surveillance, when you do go out, if needed, you'll be able to contact us using this room's extension. For the most part, your life will return to normal. But from now on, for all private and work related affairs, Mr. Matsuda will be accompanyin g you as your new manager, Matsui. Your agency has been paid to keep quiet, and the police don't know. Don't blow his cover."

"This old guy's my manager?" Misa whined, "Oh, you can't be serious!"

Matsuda deflated, "Oh, come on, what's wrong with me, Misa Misa? Is it the tie? Because I can get ri…"

He was cut off by Aizawa's furious exclamation as the officer launched to his feet, "Would you cut it out with all this dating, kissing, and Misa Misa talk already? This is the Kira investigations. Stop messing around."

"Sorry about that, Aizawa," Matsuda apologized sheepishly.

The man scowled up at his coworker, "No, it's alright. I just figured out what the problem is. Misa Amane, it's time for you to go to your room." Aizawa steered the woman by her shoulders as she questioned him and resisted like a common teenager. "Out you go."

"I wonder if Aizawa has children," I murmured into my computer screen.

Misa was relentless, she burst through the door again and called out, "Hey, Light, let's go on a date, even if it is the four of us."

"Thank you," breathed gratefully as the officer finally managed to shut the door on the idol. He saluted me in response and returned to his place by the chief.

"So, Light," L addressed the man he was chained to, "are you serious about her?"

Light chuckled, "No way. Like I told you earlier, it's completely one sided. I have feelings for someone else, after all." I recalled Kiyomi Takada and scowled. As annoying as Misa may have been, I couldn't stand Takada. Misa, at least, had something in common with me, one small aspect that gave me insight to how she thought.

"Then could you at least pretend to be serious for the sake of the investigation?" L requested. "There are three things I know about Amane for sure. One, that she's involved in this. Two, that she's in love with you, and, three, that she doesn't like Endo."

"You want me to be intimate with her to gather information about the second Kira?" Light asked.

"Yes," L confirmed. "I think you could do it without arousing her suspicions, and Amane would definitely be a valuable source of information for us. Not to mention this is the main reason why I agreed to release the two of you.

"Ryuzaki," Light said seriously, "as much as I want to help you, and as important as the Kira case is to me. I can't manipulate a woman's feelings like that."

L hummed skeptically in response. I knew full well that Light wouldn't mind following through with the manipulation if he was the same person he was fifty days ago. It was a test of L's to gauge Light's compassion and empathy.

"Please try to understand," Light urged him. "To me, exploiting another person's feelings for personal gain is unforgivable, and I won't allow myself to stoop that low." L fell silent, but that intense look in his eyes revealed that this wasn't because he didn't have anything to say. "Hmm? What's wrong Ryuzaki?"

"N-nothing. I suppose you're right, after all. However, considering Misa will have a lot of contact with the public, it would be helpful if you could make sure she doesn't leak information. I don't want to waste Endo's time when we could prevent any circulation of details regarding the investigation."

"By the way, do you think we can come up with some kind of alternative to this system of moving from hotel to hotel every few days?" Light wondered.

"Yes!" L exclaimed enthusiastically, "In fact, I had that very same thought some time ago, and so, I arranged for a facility to be built. Construction started right after my first meeting with Mr. Yagami and the others. It should be finished in a few days. E, would you please?"

I pulled up the satellite image of the site. It was impressive, I admit. Modern and a complete contrast to what we had grown up in. "Twenty three floors above ground, and two below. Although it's impossible to see it from the outside, there are two helicopters hidden on the roof."

"What?" Light gasped, impressed with the structure. "That's amazing."

"Ideally," L continued, "I want all of us to spend as much time here as possible. If the investigation team grows, we can accommodate up to sixty people. Misa shouldn't have any complaints, since she'll have her own floor. Likewise, a media room with wall to wall plasma screening and wireless keyboard as well as a fully stocked artillery room and shooting range have been incorporated into the design for E's benefit."

"This is truly impressive. To go to such lengths," Light commented.

"Hold on a second," Matsuda spoke up. "Where did you find the finances to build this thing?"

"As you can see, it is my intention to solve this case no matter how long it takes. That's how I did," L replied.

Aizawa raised his hand with a dissatisfied expression, "I'm sorry, but how is that an answer?"

"No," Light interrupted in L's defense. "He's right. The mass killings are bad enough already, but personally, I will never forgive Kira for putting my dad and I through this. Not to mention the pain he's put Reika through. I'm gonna solve this no matter what it takes."

I twisted a piece of hair around my finger and noted the look in Light's eye. It was familiar, like that evilly brilliant gleam he would reveal when he plotted as Kira. However, there was no maliciousness, no cruelty in this smoldering determination. Light honestly wanted to capture Kira, and he had no idea what he was saying.

"If you're serious about that," L said, "you should try to get close to Misa and find out about the second Kira."

"I can't," Light said before L could even get the last word out. "That goes against my principles."

"Right," L acknowledged drolly, "you said that. What a shame. Too bad she hates you, E. I know you don't have any qualms about exploiting someone's emotions like that."

"Hey," Light protested sharply.

"Hmm?" I sounded and looked up at Light, whose brows had wrinkled together angrily. "Oh, don't get worked up about it, Light. He's right, after all. It's the technique I used to investigate you." Light's eyes widened as if he had just remembered my act to gain his trust. I suppose he was reconsidering the didactic defense he had used against L just then.

Aizawa stifled a chuckle and answered Mr. Yagami's questioning look, "Oh, nothing. I'm just feeling really motivated right now, chief. Ryuzaki, Endo, Chief Yagami, Light, let's get out of here and bring Kira to justice."

We sounded our agreement as Matsuda stumbled into the conversation. "Excuse me, I can't help but notice you missed my name."

A/N... So many points of view! Thanks so much for the support! Let me know what you think about this chapter and the story as a whole, I love knowing what's going through your head. Until next time!