Alright, so it's been some time since I've looked at the reviews, and… it looks like I've got another question for the Q&A from Alexis Vance, along with some other stuff:

I hope you don't just copy-Paste characters with changed names. Every character should be as unique as your main character, I might add.

This was one of the first things Mizu-sensei taught me, and it's an aspect of my writing that I take VERY seriously. In fact, I'd say some of the characters already have more complicated backstories and personalities than Chris himself! Even the namesare all original, the exceptions being canon DN characters, real people or OCs related to real people and the four agents known as Marco, Maes, Clovis and Red, all of whom I deliberately named after four different anime characters with one foreshadowing trait in common.

I thought the M rant in last chapter was a parody of Der Untergang, which it is, which is a meme.

I'm glad someone saw that, tbh I was expecting it to go unnoticed for a much longer time, much like all the countless similar things I've scattered over the last 21 chapters which no-one has caught onto yet.

The Apple Watch idea is really interesting, I thought of different ones but never thought something like that.

Yeah, I'll be honest, this was one of the harder parts to make, since Luci knowing what Light did kind of takes out all Chris' easy options.

(Dimina's POV)

Well, this has been a shit start to the day. It appears some of the others are blocking the way to the nearest observation orb, and the last thing I want is to get caught up in a meaningless conversation with them. Luckily, I can go around them without being seen. After silently darting behind the first of several small boulders, each just tall enough to hide behind without crouching, I take a break to listen to what they're actually saying.

'There's lotsa guys looking down real hard at one of the human worlds these days. What's that all about?'

'I heard Rugo's been turned into some human's pet or something.'

'What the hell's he thinking?'

Hmm, so they're talking about Rugo. I jump behind the next rock and pause again.

'Guy probably missed out on seeing what happened all those years ago. Of course, if that were the case he'd be going into the world where that all took place, not his original one.'

'Actually, I was talking about the human.'

'Hmm?'

'Who'd want Rugo for a pet? He ain't cute or nothin'.'

'Kek kek, you're right about that.'

WHAT DID ZELLOGI SAY ABOUT MY RUGO?! I'LL… no, I shouldn't get involved. I'll just stay behind this rock and listen to how to conversation progresses.

'So what kind of human is it? Is it a male like last time?'

'I dunno.'

'I'm going for a look-see myself.'

'Oh, be careful not to bump into Dimina while you're there. She's been getting more and more erratic and trigger-tempered these last few days.'

'THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT ME?!'

'Oh shit where did you come fr-'

*KICK*

*SLAP*

*PUNCH*

*KARATE CHOP*

*ONOMATOPOEIA*

…

…

With everyone sprawled over the stony ground, Calikarcha is the first to speak.

'See what I mean? Her attitude problem is-'

'I DON'T HAVE AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM! YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY ATTITUDE AND THAT'S NOT MY PROBLEM!'

'You know, it's amazing how so much rage can fit inside such a small-'

*KICK**PUNCH**KICK**PUNCH**KICK**PUNCH**KICK**PUNCH*

'DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME SMALL! OR CUTE! OR TINY! OR ADORABLE!'

*KICK**PUNCH**KICK**PUNCH**KICK**PUNCH**KICK**PUNCH*

Now that everyone's sufficiently unconscious, or at least too scared to stop pretending to be, I'll be on my way-

'I'm impressed. Although I must ask: At what point would you like me to save you from yourself?'

I whip around to see the same Shinigami I briefly encountered in November last year, the one who won't tell me anything about him. Ever since then, no, even before then I'd caught a few glimpses of him, but aside from that, nothing. And what about the vague question he asked just now?

'What's that supposed to mean? And how long have you been there?'

Under his breath I hear him mutter in a familiar eastern language: 'This'll be difficult…'

'I HEARD THAT!'

'Hm, really? I was actually unaware that you knew Japanese.'

'I'm over half a millennia old, it goes without saying that I should know a few languages.'

'That makes sense.'

'…You still haven't told me who you actually are.'

'I don't see why it matters. What does, though, is what's going on down there, in Rugo's human world that is.'

'How much do you know about that?'

'…I know enough. But what about you? How would you describe the situation?'

'I'm not saying any more until you tell me who you are.'

He doesn't respond. After staring him down for what feels like the longest of times, I hear a faint, crackled voice behind me.

'Rugo, or rather his human, has gotten himself into a pretty dangerous situation. Now Dimina's worried and she's acting up because she can't go down to protect him.'

'SHUT UP GOOK! I'M NOT ACTING UP!'

'Well in my opinion that's what you're doing.'

'BUT MY OPINION'S THE CORRECT ONE!'

The Shinigami in front of me breaks his silence with, 'Heh, you sound a lot like me when I was a little younger.'

'SHUT UP! HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE SOMEONE YOU LOVE FORCED INTO A DANGEROUS, POSSIBLY DEADLY SITUATION WHERE THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP THEM?!'

'I CAN BECAUSE I'VE BEEN THROUGH EXACTLY THAT!'

'…Huh?'

'Never mind, you wouldn't understand.' The god of death turns away.

'No, tell me, I'm curious now.'

'Well, you see, back when I was a human, there was a girl who I fell for, while simultaneously putting on a façade of unemotional manliness, which was difficult but manageable. But then, before I knew it she was kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured and threatened with imminent death.'

'Oh …I, I didn't know...'

'But did I sit back and let her die? Fuck no! I did what any caring Kira would do, and I saved her! Granted, it took time, but it worked, and you can do the same if you start thinking less with your heart and more with your brain! Is your inability to protect your comrades that terrifying to you? If you are afraid to lose, then get stronger and smarter. If you want to protect those you love, then do what you have to do to protect them. Even when no one else in the world believes in you, stick out your chest and scream in defiance. The Dimina I know is that kind of woman!'

'Alright! But I'm curious, why do you care so much about this?'

'Because there's a lot more at stake here. At times the life of a single man is worth more than that of a million, I thought it'd be common sense to you. And as you know, there just happens to be one such man down there…'

(Chris' POV)

It isn't too far of a walk to the scheduled meeting place, and even in the midnight darkness it's easy to find the abandoned warehouse as I pass by it every time I go to and from the train station. As I enter the large, dark empty space, I noticed that neither of them have shown up yet.

'They said they'd be here. You think it's a trap?'

Even though this place looks abandoned as always, I still perform my standard precaution of faking a phone call.

'Ne ne pa-'

-Beep-

'Hello?' I begin, which informs Rugo that I'm answering. 'No, I actually arrived early. But to say that I'm on high alert would be an understatement. After all, this is perhaps the most suspicious "secret meeting" I've ever been called to by a classmate, and the fact the two who simultaneously asked me to come here haven't even been known to speak to one another until now is… strange, to say the least. In other news, it's good to know that we've now got a few nations that accepted the deal I offered them back in December.' I'm still keeping my voice really soft in case someone's trying to listen.

'Huh? When did this happen? I've been right by you all this time and I didn't hear anything like that.'

'Wait, you didn't read what I'd added to the missile payloads? Alright, I'll catch you up. Right now there isn't a single nation with a Kiran approval rating above 35%, so if any country announces their acceptance of me, it would immediately lead to riots, mass protests, and in some cases even civil war. So I had each country make a symbolic move that only I would be able to interpret as a response. For example, rather than say anything even related to Kira, I had Germany, Croatia, Iceland and Greece leave NATO, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines end their defense agreements with America, and East Timor, Haiti, India and Sweden denounce their recognition of Israel as a sovereign state while Mexico and Panama announced their recognition of Palestine. I also had the Democratic Republic of the Congo start a major leadership reshuffle that'll hopefully make the country more democratic, Russia announced that they'll hold a referendum on same-sex marriage, and finally I had El Salvador and Malaysia abandon their Rothschild-run central banks and switch to a system resembling Iran's or Russia's.'

'So that's… seventeen nations that accepted, out of the 24 we shot missiles at?'

'Well remember, the one inbound for Canada got shot down. But hey, look on the bright side, we now have at least one ally on every continent!'

'What about Antarctica?'

'Except Antarctica.'

'What about South America?'

'That's not even a real place!'

'Uuh, yes it is.'

'Prove it, then! Have you ever seen South America?! Think of everyone you know who's from South America, is it just a coincidence that they're all actors?'

'Chris, you are the dumbest smart person I have ever met.'

The sudden sound of two sets of rapidly approaching footsteps postpones my counter-insult for later. Sliding my phone back into my pocket I see two familiar faces entering the building, lit only by the moon overhead.

…

…

'So, now that you two are here, are you going to tell me what's so important that you have to tell me in an abandoned warehouse at 1AM in the morning?'

'Connor, do you want to tell him or should I?'

'No, Kallet, you tell him.'

'No, I think he'd be more likely to believe you.'

'No, I-'

'OH MY GOD CAN BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP AND TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!'

'WE THINK L LAWLIET IS THE DETECTIVE L!' They both scream at once.

'…Go on.' I really need to know more before I can jump to any conclusions. Connor answers first.

'It all started when school began yesterday. You see, at different points in the day the new kid approached each of us individually, getting us into an isolated place before announcing "I'm L!". And from the tone of his voice, he wasn't kidding either! Now, when he told me, my first instinct was to ask Kallet what was going on, since I figured she was more likely to be involved with L than anyone else, but she was just as frightened and confused as I was! So we then turned to your sister since she was friends with Viper, who as we all know is the only Kira-related death at Forbes High School so far, and she told us to tell you about it, ideally in a place like this.'

'…Why did she tell you to come to me for help?'

'Dunno. She didn't say.'

Well, it's certainly a relief to know I'm not the only suspect. But right now I think they'll be suspicious of me if I say I wasn't approached like they were, so the best way to prevent that is to honestly share my experience.

'The same thing happened to me at lunchtime. He got me behind the main building and told me he was L, and then…'

'He said you were under suspicion for being Kira? Same with us.'

'Exactly.'

'So what do we do now? I know I'm not Kira, and I'm pretty sure neither of you are, so is this kid for real?' By now Connor's starting to sound nervous, and from the looks in both their faces they're assuming I know what to do. I guess I'll have to come up with something, even if I'm making it up as I go along.

'…Alright, here's what we do going forward. Every day or so the three of us meet up and share any new information or deductions relating to "L Lawliet". Without heavy modification, all electronic forms of communication can be tracked and spied on, so when we communicate it'll have to be in person. Our main priorities will be to find out: Is L Lawliet really L, are we really under suspicion for being Kira, are we the only suspects and if not, how many are there, and how can we protect ourselves from L and the Task Force?'

'Sounds good to me.'

'Agreed. But Chris… L or not, if the new kid so much as touches you wrongly I'll end him without hesitation.'

'What? NONONONO! That is NOT what I'm saying! Kallet, if you kill the new kid, he'll die! And if he actually is L, or anyone on the Task Force for that matter, then his death will be as good as a fingerprint, whether it's a heart attack or not. And if they come to the conclusion that one of us is Kira, then your knives and guns won't do shit against what they'd throw at us. The world would target us in a way that would make Osama Bin Laden's manhunt and execution look like-'

'Alright, alright, I get it, I'm sorry.'

'Don't be. The only times you have to apologize are when you intentionally punch me, and that's only ever happened once so it's okay. For now, like I said, we just need to regularly meet up and share information.'

'Hey, Chris, maybe we'll even get to meet Kira and join his squad! That would be awesome!'

…If only he knew that he's known Kira for years now and is currently looking straight at him... perhaps I actually should let him into my "squad". I mean, however gifted I am I alone can't change the world. But do I trust him enough? Probably not. Although I am curious about one thing…

'Connor, how do you suppose we go from being in the same class as someone who may or may not be on the Task Force, to meeting Kira in person?'

'Well we just somehow use L Lawliet to find out what the investigators know already, and we just continue where they left off!'

'That would require us to be able to investigate faster than a whole team of highly trained professionals, if you plan on us beating them to Kira.' Kallet objects in a very disappointed-sounding tone.

'Well, that doesn't mean we can't pull it off.'

'In any case, what the hell do you think is "awesome" about Kira? Perhaps it's just the result of indoctrination, but I for one hate the bastard, and if I had the chance I'd gladly kill him. And I'm sure Chris here agrees, right?'

'I have no idea why you think I'd think that way. And to be honest I'm actually kind of surprised you're one of those people.'

'Well right now "those people" make up over two-thirds of the Australian population, so don't talk about me like I'm some kind of minority.'

'Indeed, there are very few people in this world who truly understand the ways of Kira.'

(Luci's POV)

'What do you mean you can't tell me?'

'I beg your pardon, sir, but nobody outside the Task Force, even yourself, sir…'

'I'm not asking for details, I'm just asking for details, what you're doing, where you're doing it, how it's being done, with who you're doing it, why you're doing it, what will it cost, what's the weather like, when will it be over? But that's it!'

In case you can't tell who it is I'm speaking to, let me tell you. On the other side of that desk is one of the most vile, disgusting, horrendous men I have ever known, even by my own standards, and no doubt he's about to give me some kind of ear-bashing (or just normal bashing) over how I haven't wrapped up this case yet. However, as much as I've dreaded this meeting, and as much as I hate him, I also respect him, both for his accomplishments and for the fact that everything from the clothes on my back to my Bilderberg membership to my involvement in the Kira case, even my life in fact, all exists thanks to him and him only. This is my father, Henry Kissinger.

'…well, then. Can you at least tell me how far you've narrowed down the suspects?'

'Unfortunately not.' I'm mostly saying this because if he or anyone else outside the Task Force finds out who the current suspects are, I can easily predict that either he or another one of his allies will order the simultaneous extrajudicial assassination (or at least indefinite detainment) of all of them, despite the fact that by now everyone's aware of Kira's warning about what he'd do if we harm any of the innocent. It wouldn't end well for anyone.

'Luci, it's already been over four months since this case first came to light. The media's saying the police are incompetent, that you are incompetent, and worst of all, more and more people are starting to question the legitimacy of an investigation. They're starting to pay attention to Kira.'

'With due respect, dad! The police are so scared of Kira, they've run from the case! Could anybody call that competent?! If you're so concerned about what the media says, then please make damn sure they don't find out that most of the officers on this case have defected!'

'Luci, can I trust you?'

'…Yes, you can trust me. Every day I'm out there risking my life to solve this case. And when I know who Kira is, I promise you I will recover his weapon or power, whatever it is he uses to kill, and then I'll kill him so hard, he will die to death!'

'Well you better! If not, this weatherman is predicting a 99% chance of shitstorm and it's coming right at ya!' He slams his fist on the extremely expensive-looking wooden desk.

'Ahem, wasn't it YOU who came up with this whole idea in the first place?'

'It was my great idea had you succeeded already, now it's your stupid idea. Got it? I didn't select you for your stupid ideas I selected you because of your Midas touch.'

'Select?! I'm literally the only detective you could've chosen!' As I finish my sentence a crack of thunder shakes the building, a large storm quickly blanketing over the sky.

'…Yeah, you got me there. But in any case, I can only hold off the others for so long from taking military action against Kira. Fear, paranoia and impatience are a very dangerous combination, especially for them. I mean, have you heard what's been happening around the world lately? NATO's lost four members, three of our biggest allies in Asia have gone neutral on us, two more nations have separated their central banking systems from our control Russia-style… the current plan is for us to make an example out of these countries, but if this keeps up-'

'FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME, I'LL DO IT! AFTER ALL, IF HE WINS THEN THAT PUTS ME IN THE SAME SINKING SHIP AS THE REST OF YOU!'

…

…

'…I'll try to give you as much time as a can. Just remember, son, history is written by the victors. If we succeed in capturing and killing Kira, he is evil. If he wins and saves the world, he is justice.'

'I won't let you down… father.'

With that he gestures for me to leave the room, and I do so. He's right, Kira is ruining everything for us and at a much faster pace than we originally predicted. But that only makes me even more determined to win. As I leave the secret headquarters and Q opens the door to the car for me, I look back at the building, the very place where the Bilderberg group will meet again in a few months, and again I will be among them. Let's hope I have good news to share by then.

(Henry's POV)

Wir sehen uns in Valhalla.