"I think after going through everything, multiple times, the best decision would to be act as if the Sakura TV deaths and the deaths being reported by the news are in fact by two different Kiras."

After forty hours of all-nighters and the same damn five videos that Chief Yagami had brought back from the Sakura station, this was all we had to show for it.

I wasn't sure if I was just in a bad mood because of the lack of sleep and actual food or what, but it didn't seem enough for all this manpower.

"With that said, the new goal should be not to let the first and second Kiras meet up. Chief Yagami, I would like for you to arrange a time for your son, Light, to come down."

I hadn't looked away from L, but I still could feel the shift of eyes and the hesitation from the Chief.

"The sooner the better, oh, and don't mention anything we've talked about. "

He excused everyone for the night, and I waited patiently before speaking frankly.

"I get it, you're testing him. However, inviting the possible first Kira here. Face to face feels like a god-awful move on our part."

"Shouldn't be a problem as long as we keep the two from the meeting."

Rubbing the dull throbbing taking place at my temple, I let out a soft sigh.

"How do you know father won't inform son of anything?"

In between bites of ice cream, L looked at me.

"He's a man with a strong sense of justice, I don't believe he'd do anything to hinder my request."

"He's also a man with a strong sense of family, and you've already pointed the finger at his son once. I'm just saying be careful."

Against my gut feeling of something being off, the next evening's test went without problems. The others acted as if the cloud of suspicion has been lifting completely off of Light Yagami after agreeing to the idea of a second Kira, but I wasn't buying it. If Light was Kira and pulled off the trick of murdering twelve FBI agents, then noticing a copycat Kira shouldn't be a stretch for him.

Nonetheless, we moved on with the agreed-upon plan to send a fake reply to the new second Kira as the first. Though L and Light worked on it by themselves, the rest of the group watched it on the evening news later that day. I applaud their hard work but had my inner doubts.

Close to a week later, the reply came for our review.

Once Light was called back in, we all circled behind L's chair to watch from L's computer screen.

"Kira, thank you for your response."

It started, in the same computerized voice and handwritten Kira from the Saruka tapes.

"I will do as you ask. I want to meet you, Kira. I don't think you have the eyes, But, I won't kill you."

Eyes? What the hell did they mean by eyes? The tiniest taste of pennies touched my tastebuds, awakened me from my thoughts, and broke my teeth off of my lower lip.

"Please think of a way to meet without the police knowing. We can confirm each other when we meet by showing our Shinigami."

My warm tongue slithered around to dampen my dried mouth while thinking about that word.

Shinigami.

Even though I studied it a bit during my early twenties, my knowledge of Japanese folklore wasn't up to par. It normally didn't come up in everyday conversation or readings for work.

I felt the room's foundation shake under me, the chair in front of me fell to its side and its occupant landed as gracefully as one can on their back. Standing on the end beside Light and his father, I was the closest to L, who had fear written all over his face.

" 'L, do you know gods of death love apples?' "

The words came out trembled, and the seriousness of the situation playing in front of my eyes forced my legs and arms to move without a direct order. The phrase he was repeating to himself didn't ring anything to me, but it could have been before I joined the Kira case. At first, I only reacted to leaning his chair back into place but instead found myself wrapping an arm around his to pull him up to his feet. Unfortunately, just the connection of skin was enough to send butterflies all through my system. I had to work hard to keep neutral body language for those tiny few seconds.

I made sure not to give too much eye contact as L pulled himself together.

These undigested feelings were going to kill me.

"Maybe, we should assume this is the same Kira after all since both have used the same word?" Chief Yagami said, bringing the meeting back to its original focus point.

That evening felt like it drug on way longer than it did, and I was dead tired when we wrapped up with the task force for the time being.

Being alone in the living room I took the time to go through some of the old notes on the case before my time, finding photocopies of notes written by prisoners before dying in different ways.

The shadow feeling of someone reading over my shoulders buzzed through my spine, turning my head to see L with a cake pop stick hanging out of his mouth.

"They're fresh out of the oven, would you like one?"

I smiled to stop a chuckle but kindly declined.

"I should thank you for earlier."

"It's nothing," I said still looking down at my lap where the opened file laid.

"The most logical explanation is that shinigami is just a code word only the two Kiras would understand."

"Right."

The truth was that I wasn't so sure since the first Kira used the shinigami word long before the second Kira appeared. Unless Kira already had information about there being or going to be another Kira, what would be a point in developing a code word at all? This was supposed to be a person somehow playing God.

My brain just couldn't accept it didn't have some underline meaning.

"Next time, Miss. Petrillo, do try to control yourself though. Your affection for me I mean."

I had to swallow the roughness of his words a few times before speaking without yelling.

"I'm certain Light Yagami is Kira, and any information he might pick up here should be the information he is given. If he starts to believe I might have an emotional weakness for you, he'll do everything he can to abuse it."

"It would do him no good. I don't know your real name. I would only die."

I watch the cake pop stick in L's mouth and switch sides in a swift motion.

"It should be fine, Ryuzaki, from an outsider's point of view I'm sure it looked one-sided. Besides, there is nothing truly going on between us."

I felt like I might choke on the words, but said them anyway.

"It's only me who still hangs onto anything."

I felt the cue to look over at him, listening to him drop stick after stick onto the serving tray as no sweet casualties stood in his way. I just couldn't bring myself to answer that call.

Not until a cup of tea was waved in front of my face, raising my lowered head to thank Watari for the thought but looked at both men together. The light burn I'd been secretly nursing on my cheeks turned hotter, as I knew better than to fall for the tea trick.

Watari was always going to be on L's side, and not the mediator I sometimes mistake him for.

"Hmm." L simply said, thumb to lip, and honest to god it felt smug.

"Are you done gawking?" words are spoken through teeth.

"Apologies, I didn't know I was."

"You act so socially inept, but you're enjoying this aren't you?"

L just turned around without an answer, and like it was nothing things went back to the normal silence of work.