Justice and Vengeance
Author: Qaddafi the Ripper
Summary: AU: Light misses running into Misora Naomi, and she is able to tell L what she knows about Kira. Working together, can Naomi and L catch Light?
Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Ooba and Obata.

Part 5: Two

Yagami raised a trembling hand while his eyes were fastened to the monitor. L held up the Death Note for him, and Yagami finally touched it. He didn't scream, like everyone else except L had. He merely drew in a slow, agonized breath as he stared at the reaper. "Light..." he whispered in anguish. He turned from the screen, letting his hand slip off the Death Note, and wandered aimlessly back to the chair he usually sat it. He slumped once he was seated, all the strength going out of him. Matsuda, watching him in concern, made as if to go to him, but L stopped him.

"What would you do, Matsuda-san?" he inquired quietly. "You can't know how he's feeling. Leave him be." Matsuda sighed in regret, but obeyed. They had all touched the note by now and could see the monster. It hadn't moved much, staring around the room Light was confined in, but making no attempt to leave. It chuckled periodically, but it hadn't said anything. In the five hours since Light had been brought to the room and constrained, he hadn't said anything either. Naomi wondered what he was playing at.

The night progressed slowly with them taking turns watching Light through the screen, L never leaving his own post. Naomi had caught maybe four hours of sleep, and was definitely not feeling at her best. She was so tired, that even the cake on the table seemed an appetizing breakfast. The food was for everyone, even if the sweets were mostly consumed by L, so she helped herself to a large piece. She sat down next to L with the plate and a fork. "Has he said anything?" she asked.

"No," L murmured, taking a bite of his own piece of cake. "Mogi-san told him he was being arrested for being Kira, so he knows why he's here."

Naomi glared at Light through the screen. Even with his eyes covered, it was still obvious that he was a very handsome young man. She hated him for it, as she hated him for his intelligence. "Then maybe we should start asking him questions," she suggested.

L finished off his piece of cake and nodded. He hit the switch on the board in front of them, which would allow them to talk with the prisoner. "Yagami Light," he said through the speaker. Light roused himself and cocked his head, letting them know he was listening. "Do you know why you are here?"

"Yes," Light answered calmly. He didn't sound tired, and Naomi wondered if he had fallen asleep sometime during the night. She hated him for that, too. "You arrested me because you thought I was Kira. But you're mistaken," he added with force in his voice. "I am not Kira."

"You are not Kira?" L asked.

Light shook his head. "No, I'm not. How could I be?" He sounded so innocent.

"Very well then," L murmured. "Would you be willing to introduce the reaper standing behind you?"

Naomi let a vicious smirk cross her face when Light stiffened. The god of death chuckled and said, in an eerie, rumbling voice, "They found your Death Note, Light." The voice sounded vaguely masculine, and Naomi was surprised the creature spoke Japanese when the instructions in the note had been written in English.

"We found the Death Note in the upper right hand corner of Yagami-kun's desk," L confirmed. "So, do you have a name, Reaper-san?"

The reaper chuckled a few more times while Light started to sweat. "I'm Ryuk," the monster offered with its broad grin. "Is this L?"

L nodded to himself, as if he wasn't surprised the monster – Ryuk – had guessed who he was. "I am L. Have you been following the investigation?"

"Yes," Ryuk said. "You humans are so very amusing. Being with Light is so much more interesting than the Shinigami world."

Naomi frowned. If there was an entire world of shinigami, that meant there was more than one. And multiple reapers could mean multiple Death Notes, couldn't it? "You enjoy being with Yagami-kun?" L asked. "Are you planning on helping him escape, by killing me perhaps?" He didn't sound worried, alluding to his own death.

"Light might be the best person to have found my Death Note, but I'm not on anyone's side," Ryuk told them. "Whoever wins, this is fun."

L might not have feared death, but Naomi could still see that he was relieved by the reaper's answer. One less enemy to worry about. After all, they might be able to catch and try Kira, but how could one catch a god of death? L asked again whether Light was Kira, and this time he didn't say anything. His lips were pressed together tight and sweat stood out clearly on his face, but he said nothing. After a few minutes, L turned off his speaker and sat back. "We will wait," he told Naomi, "and see if the criminals stop dying. If not, there might be another Kira at work." She nodded and turned back to keep watching Light, letting herself hate him for every breath he took. L had also understood the significance of there being more than one god of death.

Over the next few days, no criminals died of heart attacks, and people began to panic. Kira might not have been around for long, but people had gotten used to him, and many people had supported what he had been doing. Naomi felt nothing but contempt for those who did support Kira, though, in all fairness, the general public didn't know that Kira had killed anyone other than criminals. Kira's opponents rejoiced across the media and many people suggested that L had finally caught Kira. It was four days after capturing Light that Interpol contacted Watari, asking if L really had captured Kira. L replied to them that he did have Kira, but was still investigating the source of Kira's power, so he couldn't be turned over for justice just yet.

L constantly asked Light questions, but he almost never answered. When he did say something, it was to affirm his own innocence. After a few minutes, L would calmly start ignoring Light in favor of asking Ryuk questions. The god of death answered whichever questions he felt like answering, no more and no less. The one time the reaper had asked his own question had struck fear into Naomi's heart. He had asked if L intended to test out the Death Note, to make sure it was real. L hadn't answered, and Naomi was left with nothing but worries. L couldn't use the Death Note, no one could. It was totally evil, and should be destroyed as soon as possible. Surely L wasn't the sort of person who would go ahead and test out the Death Note. Right?

It was seven days after Light had been captured, seven days during which Light said almost nothing and Yagami even less, when criminals suddenly started dying again.

The deaths took everyone by surprise. All the criminals were Japanese, most from the Kanto area, and all died of heart attacks. More, minor criminals died too, those who had committed far less sever crimes than Kira had punished for. They checked the Death Note again, but none of these names were written in. Checking had been mostly a formality, as most of the criminals didn't commit any crime until after Light had been captured. The number of any type of criminal had increased exponentially after the media started talking about Kira being gone, and these criminals were among those freed from fear of Kira. Or they had thought they had nothing to fear.

The chaos all over the world because of the sudden new deaths was mirrored by the chaos in the investigation team. "Maybe Light-kun wasn't Kira after all," Matsuda suggested awkwardly. He glanced over to Yagami, but it had been days since the chief had responded to anything or anyone.

"No," L said, not looking at Yagami. "There is no doubt that Yagami-kun is Kira. But Ryuk-san spoke of a shinigami world. He never said so, but there are probably other reapers. And, if there are other reapers, there are other Death Notes, and another could have reached the human world. It isn't impossible for there to be a second Kira."

Naomi nodded; she had thought the same thing herself earlier, although the idea of another Kira terrified her as few other things could. "And this one is willing to kill more criminals than the first did," she added. She didn't say Light's name. These days, she only ever called him Kira. Raye's murderer, Kira. "Some of the people killed had only committed minor crimes: shoplifting, taking illegal drugs, and extortion to name a few."

"So, if this is another Kira, how to we catch him?" Ukita asked, scratching his head with a pencil. L frowned and stared off into space, distractedly pilling more sugar cubes into his cup of coffee. Before he could say anything, his cell phone went off. He listened for a moment, then told them to turn on Sakura TV.

Ukita turned on the television while Naomi frowned. Why Sakura TV? The network was a joke, always making up stories about Kira and interviewing people about Kira. It was one network that insisted Kira was not captured or dead, merely taking a short break. When she saw what was on Sakura TV, she caught her breath.

A video message from Kira? She held her breath as the tape began to play. The words "Kira 2" were printed in the same font that L used, and the voice-over was impossible to identify. "I am another Kira," the voice announced. "I am not the Kira you know, but I am his ally and I share his powers. I know that the police have captured the first Kira, and I want them to let him go. Many people are saying that Kira being gone is a good thing, but those people are wrong. If this video was played at exactly 17:59, then switch channels to Taiyo TV. Hibima Kazuhiko-san has constantly referred to Kira as 'evil', and he will now die to pay for his crime."

"Turn another TV to Taito," L said quickly. Ukita jumped up and switched one of the monitors. Taiyo came up, and Naomi felt bile rise in her throat when he saw the anchorman slumped across the desk, with the other reporters screaming around him. He was really dead.

"But one demonstration alone does not serve as proof that I have the power of Kira. So I will present another, a commentator who has constantly condemned Kira and who is glad that Kira is gone. He too will suffer for his crime," the Kira video continued.

"Go to channel twenty-four," L said quickly.

Ukita turned on a third screen to show another anchorman dying as they watched. "Shit," Ukita muttered. "This is serious! I've got to stop the broadcast right now!" He turned and ran out of the hotel room, the door slamming loudly behind him.

"Kira is just," the video continued. "L and the police who captured Kira are the ones who are wrong. And with Kira away, I will take over his divine mission. But Kira is the only one who should punish criminals, which I why I want the police to let Kira go."

Matsuda, Aizawa, and Naomi jumped. "He's joking, right?" Aizawa asked weakly. "As if we'd just let Kira go."

"If that happened, the two might team up!" Matsuda added, frightened. Naomi shivered at the thought, and glanced at L. He was hunched over, biting his thumb again. He was clearly worried.

The Kira video continued, saying that this Kira would punish criminals for the original Kira, and the whole world would be happy. Naomi only listened with half an ear, watching another screen that showed the outside of the Sakura TV building. Moments later, Ukita showed up on the screen, running for the doors. But he stopped before he could get there, clutching his chest. Then he slumped to the ground, and the reporters at that station began to scream. Aizawa swore and jumped to his feet. "Stop," L said firmly.

Aizawa whirled around, his eyes wild. "Are you crazy?" he demanded. "Ukita's in trouble! I can't just stay here and let him get killed!"

"He is already dead," L stated flatly. "If you go to Sakura TV, then you will die too, and you won't be able to avenge Ukita-san." He stared coolly at Aizawa. With a tortured look on his face, Aizawa finally collapsed into a seat, whispering apologies to Ukita.

Naomi murmured an apology too before turning back to the screens. The Kira video was just concluding: "The police would do well to release Kira. If they don't, I will consider them criminals, and punish them accordingly." On that ominous note, the video reached an end.

The room was silent for a moment, before Aizawa said, "We must go to Sakura TV! We need to get those videos!"

L nodded this time. "Be careful," he warned. Aizawa nodded and left with Matsuda, leaving the room empty of all but Naomi, L, and Yagami, who might as well not be anywhere.

"Will they be alright?" Naomi asked, her voice trembling. Part of her wished she could have gone with. But Aizawa and Matsuda would certainly be calling in other NPA officers to help them, others who would know she did not work for the NPA. It was best for the police not to worry too much about who was working on the Kira case with L. She did still wish she could have gone with. No matter what happened, more people kept dying, people like Ukita or the anchormen who hadn't done anything to deserve being murdered. This second Kira almost made her feel worse than the first. Almost; this new Kira hadn't been the one to kill Raye.

"They'll be sure to cover up their faces," L said. "If they do, they should be fine."

She shivered again. "But to kill people who are just walking past... How could this Kira do that?"

L shook his head. "I don't know, but I suspect there might be a way. Yagami-kun and Ryuk-san probably know how. I wonder if we could get them to tell?" he asked, mostly to himself, chewing the tip of his thumb again. Naomi frowned and turned back to the televisions. The police reached Sakura TV in a few minutes, with an armored car and officers wearing face-concealing helmets. None of them died, and she wondered if it was just that Kira couldn't kill them, or if he'd left the area already. The action lasted for some time, while the networks that hadn't had anchormen die explain what had happened. She felt pleased when more than more channel had announcers declare that they stood against Kira and this second Kira, saying they hoped both were captured and executed for their crimes. The other channels still hadn't calmed down when the police finally left Sakura TV.

It was close to a half hour later when Aizawa and Matsuda came back with Mogi. With Mogi here, Naomi realized with a shock, everyone involved in the investigation except for Watari was here. Their number, small already, had just gone down by one. "We got the tapes from Sakura TV," Aizawa announced. "There are four total. We also got the envelope they were mailed in, and the letter to Sakura TV. I'm sending it all to forensics to examine, but we can watch the duplicate tapes whenever we want." He handed the duplicates to Naomi and then left to help with the forensics. L studied the tape thoughtfully, holding it above his head.

"Can we watch the tapes?" Matsuda asked. "We need to find this second Kira as soon as possible!" L shrugged and popped the first tape in. He played all four tapes through twice without saying a word. Naomi watched the last tape, the one Sakura TV was supposed to play if the police refused to release Kira, with righteous indignation. If Kira was not freed, the last tape announced, police directors across Japan would be killed instead, unless L showed himself, in which case he would be the one killed. Naomi barely stifled a growl at that. There was no way that Light would be released, but there was also no way that the police directors could be risked. But surely L wouldn't show himself to the public, would he? They couldn't afford to lose him, under any circumstances.

"What are we going to do?" she asked quietly when L stopped the tapes. "We're not letting him go." No need to say who he meant. "But if we don't, this Kira will kill innocent people."

L leaned back in his chair, his legs splayed artlessly in front of him, looking awkward. "We will not release Yagami-kun," he agreed. "If it comes to it, I will show myself to prevent the murders of police directors."

Naomi gasped. "You can't!" she exclaimed. She reached out and caught his hand in hers. "I you die, how will we ever find the second Kira? We need you!" Couldn't he see that?

L glanced down at their entwined hands. "You are worried about me, Misora-san?" he asked softly.

She tightened her grip on his hand ever so slightly. For all his genius, he hadn't yet realized that? "Of course I am," she replied gently. "I don't want you to die. You're my friend."

He looked away. "How wonderful," he murmured. "I have so few friends." He slipped his hand out from hers a moment later, and said, "While I do not fear dying, I do not want to die yet. There are many things I still have to accomplish. And I have no intention of letting this second Kira kill me if I can help it."

"Good," she said, smiling. "What do you have planned?"

He reached over to the controls in front of the televisions. The images toggled for a few moments, before once again showing Light in his confinement. "I do not intend to release Yagami-kun," he repeated. "However, we can use the first Kira to catch the second one."

Notes:

Misa is playing Knight In Shining Armor for Light, and I am terribly amused.

A brief Naomi/L moment, which I hope was cute. (Because there are no Light/L moments in this AU.)

A few more lines from the Viz translation. However, I did skim over a lot from the Sakura TV incident. I mostly just wrote the things that were different.

We're almost done now, although, with the ending I have planned, I suppose there is room to write more.