So, nothing from AV this time. That's a shame. Anyway, shoutout to eNervFlinC for following 私は、キラ / I, Kira.

(Chris' POV, 00:56, July 15)

Lauren pulls another card out of the deck.

'Okay, this is a good one: Summarize the plot of Dragonball Z in five words.'

'Grunt, grunt, grunt, fight, grunt.'

'That's… actually kinda accurate.'

'Can we play another game? This is getting boring.'

'Okay, Rugo. How about scrabble?'

'Ja, that sounds fun.'

Plonking down the dusty box, Lauren opens the scrabble set and unfolds the board as the four of us take our positions.

'So are we going to do this clockwise or…'

'Sure. Dimina can start.'

'…I will put down my A to make "A".'

'I will add onto your "A" to make "At".'

'I will add onto your "At" to make "Rat".'

'I will add onto your "Rat" to make "Biostratographic".'

*SMASH*

'Oh no! Tidal wave!'

'Sore loser.'

'The fuck did you just say, Chris?'

'I called you a sore loser, because that's what you are.'

'Hey, you can call me whatever you want, just don't call me late for dinner.'

'So, what can we do now?'

'How about we play spin the bottle, except instead of kissing each other you fight?'

'Nah, that sounds dumb.'

'How about, I dunno, truth or dare?'

'Sure, let's go with that. Chris can start.' Rugo suggests.

'Alright, Rugo… truth.'

'What's the strangest pet you've ever had?'

'You.'

'Hey, Chris, wanna see something cool?' I hear behind me. Turning around I see Lauren leaning her head in through the doorway, and turning back I see the empty spot where she was sitting less than a minute ago. How did she get from there to there without me noticing?

'Okay. What is it?' I ask, receiving no immediate answer as I follow her down the stairs and outside. When she stops walking I follow her gaze upwards, to be confronted by a vast sea of stars.

'Holy shit… well, I guess it's to be expected, since we're so far from the city and as such there's a lot less light pollution.'

'Still, it's pretty cool, right Chris?'

'Indeed. And just think, in those clouds of stars, 300 billion of them in total, there could be dozens of millions of them with worlds capable of supporting human life. Countless new worlds humanity might someday inhabit-'

'I thought you were gonna mention something about aliens.'

'Oh, yeah, that too…'

'…'

'…'

'Chris, do you ever still think about that day, more than two years ago?'

'Sometimes. I know I could've done more, I… I should've done more.'

'Don't worry about it. What's happened has happened. And at least you managed to save my brother and I. You know, two years ago, I was a fucking mess. Now I'm still a fucking mess but I'm at peace with it and I have a slightly better fashion sense… What are you doing?'

'It's cold. You're warm. So I'm hugging you.'

'Thanks. You know, I very strongly admire you for the effort you're putting into all of this Kira stuff.'

'Really? Thank you. I'm glad you don't think I'm careless, 'cause a lot of people think that about me.'

'How could people think you're careless?'

'I don't know… listen, it actually is a bit cold. Let's get back inside.'

Back in the control tower, I take a seat on one of the UAV command station's swivel chairs and glimpse over the various maps displayed on the screen, showing the positions of each missile launched.

'Alright, it looks like the Palestinian Resistance is about to receive its payload. No doubt the western media will use this against me when they find out. Sure, damn Israel can spy on and attack countless countries, take billions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars from countless more countries and commit war crimes and genocides too numerous to count, but apparently we can't say anything about that or else they call us anti-Semitic and fear-based propaganda scares the public away from looking. Well, fuck them! You know, some of Connor's relatives are Jewish, and they all agree that true Judaism rejects Zionism, and the rest of that crazy Middle Eastern regime. Of course, that doesn't get the resistance or their allies off the hook either, and in my message I've made it clear that they need to get their act together if they want my help. Interestingly, it is said that Mohammed once wrote an open letter to Christians that declared their right to self-governance, protection for churches and monasteries, and freedom to practice their religion openly is Muslim-controlled areas. Muslims are supposed to follow this until the end of time, although we can see how well they've done that.'

'It also looks like our payload for Cuba should be arriving soon.'

'Ah, yes. That's another important one. If the United States and Canada ever need to be liberated by force, Mexico and the Caribbean will be an extremely vital strategic position to begin from.'

'You know, I once heard that coconuts have only been in the Caribbean for about 500 years. They just… floated over from Asia and took root.'

'Wait, really? I thought they were brought over on purpose.'

'Right? I remember hearing it on a nature documentary. Apparently they're remarkably buoyant and just floated their way across the ocean.'

'ARE YOU SUGGESTING COCONUTS MIGRATE?!' Dimina loudly interrupts.

'Ya, they do.'

'Ya?'

'Ya.'

'Ayaya?'

'Ayaya-'

'Ayaya! Ayaya!'

'Ayaya!'

'AYAYA! AYAYA!'

'…Chris, what the fuck did you put in their drinks?'

'I could ask you the same question, Rugo. Hey Lauren, have you done any of the homework we were assigned this week?'

'AY- Huh? Oh, nope.'

'…I didn't either. Honestly I think the whole education system can go fuck itself. I mean, we're trying to save the world and that's the kind of shit we get in return? And it ain't just us. These days, the only "information" children remember about school are that grades are more important than morals and emotional/physical health, that the truth only comes from authority, that intelligence is only the ability to remember and repeat, that individuality is punishable, and that they'll never amount to anything. And when student's cheat on exams… that is only logically possible if the school system values grades more than the students value learning. In other words, the student isn't the problem there either!'

'Hey, guys, our missile inbound for the Netherlands is about to arrive.' Rugo mentions.

'Oh, great! A good thing about potentially having the Netherlands on our side is that they can use their flooding system to turn Holland into an island, hence giving us a heavily fortified position in Europe… by the way, Lauren, I finished your Kira suit about an hour ago, wanna try it on?'

'Sure…' She quickly locates the aforementioned uniform and leaves the room.

…

'…Do you ever stop and realize that the average person doesn't know what "ship" or "canon" means?'

'Yeah, I guess we kinda just sound like pirates to them sometimes.'

'Actually, most pirates used different words since they usually didn't speak English. I know because I was there. I must say, that was one amazing journey, all those years ago.'

'Dimina, can I ask you something?'

'Go ahead.'

'Do you know how old the origin of the Death Notes and Shinigami is?'

'Not conclusively, but there have been a lot of stories. I've heard rumors that one of the first times a shinigami dropped a Death Note into the human world was around 2000 years ago somewhere in the middle east, but details on what happened there are sketchy at best. Then there was Captain Blackbook, the lesser-known pirate who ruled much of the Caribbean with myself by his side before hiding his notebook with the rest of his treasure shortly before dying. Then there's the infamous case of Jack the ripper-'

'How do I look?'

'Oh, Lauren, that was fast… you look gorgeous.'

'Awwww thanks! But I have noticed one little problem… you forgot to put air holes in my helmet! But aside from that, I like it. And the handgun attached to the belt is certainly a nice addition.'

'He added a handgun? Let me see…'

'Dimina, watch were you're aiming that thing!'

'Hey, don't worry, I just wanna make sure everything's working correctly-'

*BANG*

'Okay, we're good, it worked! Come on, Chris, get up. Don't be such a baby.'

'You fucking shot me.'

'It grazed your arm, you goddamn weakling. Come on, either way it's better than being stabbed.'

'Well, not necessarily. Surviving being stabbed isn't too hard. Just don't remove the knife as it would be partially keeping the blood inside you. If you take it out, you'll bleed out and die. If, one the other hand, you're the one who's trying to kill someone, don't leave the knife in. If you take it out, they'll bleed out and die.'

'You learned that in the mafia, I assume?'

'Yup. You'd be surprised how much random knowledge I got there. For example, if you're ever not sure if a mirror is a one-way window, place your fingernail against the surface. If there's a gap between it and its reflection, it's a regular mirror. If not, it's a one-way window.'

(Luci's POV, 08:13, July 15)

A gothic-fonted Q appears on my laptop, catching everyone's attention.

'Luci, there's a response video to Kira's response video. Apparently this one entered the TTT building via missile, destroying several rooms in the process. This is getting very absurd. What's wrong with using the mail? The delivery method may have changed in order to bypass our defenses of the place, but judging by the envelope, tape, the way it was sealed, handwriting, and visual quality, there's little doubt it's from the same person. The materials are on the way to you, but I will now send you a copy of what's on the USB.'

By the time everyone's gathered around the screen, the new video has started playing.

'Kira, thank you for your reply. I will do whatever you want.'

They will do as he says, huh? How useless is that?!

'I want to meet you, Kira. I don't think you have my… "additional ability", but that's totally fine because I do!'

Is this person an idiot? Mentioning a detail like that on a video that the whole world will see… quickly glancing around it appears the other Task Force members are clearly more confused than myself. It's probably still better that they haven't seen Death Note yet.

'Please think of a way we can meet without the police knowing. We can confirm each other when we meet by showing our powers. I will never try to kill you, pinky promise! But, if you try to touch me inappropriately I will murder you.'

After the video abruptly ends, the first tense, pale, worried subordinate to speak up is Okada.

'Maybe this "power" term is describing the ability to kill? "Confirming each other by showing our powers." We could think of that as meaning that they will show each other their abilities to kill people.'

'Yes. In any case, we can try to set things up in order to learn more about this.'

'Then we'll try again at sending a fake message from Kira?'

'No, from now on we'll let Kira and the Second Kira handle everything.'

'Let them? Isn't that a completely-'

'Shut up Okada! We can assume that the Second Kira is very happy right now after receiving a reply from Kira. He or she has succeeded in getting Kira's attention. From Kira's view, he'd definitely want to avoid the second Kira getting captured by the police. We also have a strong opportunity to gain physical evidence against one or more Kiras. Closely examine every piece of mail sent to every TV station. If they do receive something from a Kira, I will decide whether they can broadcast it or not. For now, let's gather all the evidence we can on the second Kira.'

As everyone disperses from the screen I feel a soft buzz in my pocket, and I subtly leave the room to see who's calling me. And it is… shit. I'm probably fucked. Well, here goes nothing…

'Hello?'

'Listen, I've just got a call from Israel. Mossad says they've made a couple breakthroughs in the Kira case.'

'Dad? What is it?'

'They won't tell me yet. They want to announce their findings to us in person.'

'You're saying I have to go all the way over to Israel?'

'Yes. It'll be very important, and we'll also begin preparations for a false-flag attack against Kira. They're calling it "Operation Sunset".'

'Makes sense. After all, every time we want to start a war that the people don't want, all we have to do is have some innocent people people attacked, and blame the attack on whoever we want to attack. Just like our classic example, 9/11… Yeah, sure, I'll come. I'm ready to take a few years off my life this weekend.'

'Haha, well I know some of them are still eager to hear about what little progress you've made in the case. Although, obviously, support for you is rapidly fading. In our meetings we're going to be discussing how our money and resources will be allocated in the fight against Kira, and it looks like your operations are going to be the second priority behind M's, and rightfully so.'

'What the fuck! How could I lose to… to… to her!'

'BECAUSE YOU SHOULD HAVE FOUND AND KILLED THE BASTARD MONTHS AGO BUT EVEN NOW YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO HE IS! IF YOU WANT SUPPORT, GET US SOME RESULTS!

…

…

Everything in the world revolves around money. You know that as much as I do. Now if you want us to pour more money into your investigation, show us why we should.'

'I… I won't back down! I will overcome this, using every pawn I can! To change the world into something we want! …Perhaps this is what I was always longing for.'

'Remember, Luci, you shouldn't take anything for granted. After all, in an isolated system, entropy can only increase.'