The Human Stains

by Claudaujay

Yukinoshita Yukino was just a teenager before she discovered the Death Note. Now, she is Kira: the God of a brave new world. Or she will be, unless two other Sobu High students, calling themselves H, have something to say about it...

2. Stalemate

Author's Note: Thanks for all your responses to the first two parts of the story! I really appreciate that people seem to be enjoying it. It's equally enjoyable to write, although it can be pretty time consuming considering the length of the project, but oh well. :P Here's Part Three of The Human Stains, which racks up over 15,000 words. O_O

UPDATE: This section has been revised- mostly just proofreading revisions. New updates coming soon.

---

The Human Stains

Act Three: Stalemate

It only took Yukinoshita Yukino a couple of days to return to the state of relative ease that she had been in before the appearance of H. It took far less time for her to realise that she hugely disliked having to be more careful, and to censor her activities somewhat. Not necessarily because it meant that she wasn't quite as in control of the Kira situation as she had assumed (although this was definitely a source of annoyance, albeit partial); more so, it could be attributed to the fact that it was simply inconvenient. All of a sudden, she found herself enforcing a series of additional safety precautions, in addition to the logical ones that she had already made before progressing with the murders.

Many of these came about as a result of her experiments with the Death Note, which she'd been performing, one or two every night, since the first Saturday after its discovery. These had led to several findings which Yukino was certain would come in handy at some stage, and she had been proven right: the Death Note, in addition to the method by which someone died, could be used to control the time and place of a kill as well. What's more, Kira discovered that any part of the notebook, even if ripped off, assumed the same power as the rest of it. She used this to her advantage- from now on, Yukino would keep a slip of the Death Note on her person at all times, kept hidden within a secret inside pocket of her school blazer. If H revealed themselves intentionally or unintentionally, then she could bring about their fate at a moments notice, and in a fashion that didn't implicate either her school persona or Kira. A car accident, perhaps.

Those these changes may have been arbitrary, Yukino conceded that she was also somewhat grateful for them, and by extension, H. They ensured the continuation of her operations in the future, and helped her to realise and amend the few mistakes that, previously, she had overlooked. She exploited her ability to alter the time of death so that criminals died throughout the school day instead of in bursts between 4 and 6 o'clock, which might have given H a clue that was a high school student. However, Yukino found herself at loss, even after much deliberation, as to how H could possibly have figured out she was attending Sobu High. There was the possibility that someone had picked up the Death Note before her, as she recalled that it appeared to have been thrown into the bushes by the school gates, but if so, why had they taken so long to react to her actions as Kira? To surprise her when they did confront her? Surely that was too intricate. In addition, they would probably have to be another member of Sobu High for that to be the case, and she thought it unlikely that someone else of her age group would be capable of such a daring manipulation.

They would have to be as intelligent, if not more so, than her. It may have been arrogant, but Yukino wasn't ready to accept that. Her grades were higher than anyone in her year, and indeed higher than anyone in the year above. She had gone as far as to double check, just to be sure.

A secret genius, perhaps? Maybe, but Yukino didn't want to jump to conclusions. There was still a chance that H didn't exist, and the fuss she was making over the poster was futile. She refused to let herself- a God, a divine entity- be intimidated by a mere mortal.

It still bothered her though. She was sat on her chair in the Service Club room, iPhone in hand, using it track the latest press releases on the kills of yesterday. It was Wednesday, marking the second day throughout which her thoughts had been troubled. Though Kira's retribution was obviously a far higher priority for Yukino, she still considered the aim of the Service Club to be a valid one. Those that were well meaning, upstanding citizens in this world were the very same that she wished to inhabit her own. When she was ruler, she intended to help them to improve themselves, and become as virtuous as they could be; this was as good a place as any to start.

She reached over to the table and picked up her perfectly brewed mug of green tea. If these people knew that I was Kira, they would be lining up for my wisdom, she mused, sipping it idly.

A knock sounded on the door, and then it slid aside, much to Yukino's surprise. The face of another student appeared in the frame. Yukino recognised her (she had made a habit of memorising the faces of most in her year) as Yuigahama Yui, of Class 2F. The girl had short hair dyed a controversial shade of pink, rather disorganised school uniform which only helped to emphasise her generous bust, and an expression of clear nervousness.

'Y- yahallo,' she said, glancing from side to side. 'Is this the Service Club?'

The raven haired girl faced remained as cool as ever, but she couldn't deny the tiniest flutter of excitement in her stomach. It had been several months since Hiratsuka-sensei had established the Service Club, and not once in that time had they received a client. Her objective as Kira was to help and change the world. To make a difference. To do that as Yukinoshita Yukino, regardless of the much reduced scale, regardless if that help was just for one individual, was still a privilege.

Besides, she thought she could safely conclude that someone of Yuigahama Yui's evident lack of intelligence was not H.

'Yes,' she answered clearly, switching off her iPhone. 'My name is Yukinoshita Yukino; I'm the Service Club president.'

'Are you the only member?'

'Thus far, yes. You're Yuigahama Yui-san, if I'm not mistaken?'

She seemed a little surprised that Yukino knew who she was, but nodded. She closed the door behind her and stepped inside.

'I- is there anywhere I can-'

'Bring a chair over,' the Service Club president said smoothly, hoping to soothe her nerves. 'I assume Hiratsuka-sensei briefed you of this club's purpose?'

'Yes, but... how did you know that Hiratsuka-sensei sent me?'

'You happen to be our first ever request. I suspected it would be my co-founder that finally encouraged someone to come.' She tucked a free strand of hair behind her ear. 'So, did she inform you?'

'She said that you would grant student's wishes...?'

'Wrong. The Service Club is not a genie that caters for your every whim. Instead, we teach you so that you need never wish again.'

Yui seemed a little daunted by her brusque words. Yukino reminded herself that she needed to be gentler with simpletons.

'But please, do sit down. I'd be very interested to hear why you've come.'

'Alright.'

Once they were both seated, Yukino placed both her hands on her lap primly. 'So, why were you directed here, Yuigahama-san?'

She hesitated. 'Um, sorry Yukinon- I can call you Yukinon, right?'

'It's a little... perky, but I suppose if you're comfortable with it, then yes.'

'Well Yukinon, it's a bit embarrassing, y'know, so...'

'Of course. Take all the time you need.'

Yuigahama fiddled with her skirt a little. 'Um, how long have you been doing this Service Club thing?'

'Several months, now.'

'Everyday?'

'Unless I have schoolwork to complete, then yes.'

'Oh yeah, you're like, top in every subject. And you'd head home at 5pm, like all the other clubs, right?'

'Yes, although I fail to see how that's relevant. I would appreciate it if we could stay on subject.'

'O- oh, yeah, of course. About my request, then...'

Yukino frowned. She supposed being in the presence of someone as perfect as her could be a little unsettling, but she couldn't see how she'd been anything but hospitable. Yuigahama was either a nervous person in general or just lacking confidence socially.

The girl in question interlocked her fingers. 'I actually came about a boy that I like. I've been into him for awhile, but I always clam up whenever I'm talking to him, and I don't want to suffer in silence without ever telling him my feelings.'

She had anticipated it would be something along these lines. 'Have you considered baking him cookies, or something else in that vein?'

'That was what I wanted to do, but when I tried at home they, uh, kinda ended up burned.' She reddened. 'I'm not the best at baking, but... I thought maybe you could help me with it?'

'That would be permissible,' Yukino replied, standing up. 'I happen to be rather practised at making cookies.'

'Oh? H- have you got a boyfriend, or maybe just someone you like?'

'No. I find the boys in our year to be laughably immature.'

'Then why would you be practised-'

'Yuigahama-san? Perhaps we should head over to the home economics room for this request? Although the recipe for cookies is easy to remember, I feel it may help to take you through it step by step.'

She saw no reason why she should have to linger on a subject that made her uncomfortable, even if Yuigahama had brought it up innocently. Yukino used to make cookies every year, from the first of elementary until half way through middle school for the two individuals that, in her naivety, she had considered to be the closest to her. Once, she had seen them as pillars in her life, supporting her when the torment of those in her class became too great.

Their betrayal had stung bitterly, like pouring salt into an open wound. It was around that time that she had first dreamt of changing the world.

Would she still be moving forward with her schemes as Kira if those pillars had not come crumbling down? Perhaps not.

Yukino wasn't entirely sure what to make of this thought, so she pushed it from her mind.

---

Twenty minutes later, and the pair of them had set up in the home economics room. The aroma of freshly baking cookies filled the air, wafting out into the corridor through the door, which stood ajar. Yukino was beginning to get a good impression of the kind of person Yuigahama Yui was; primarily, she never stopped talking. During the short trip to get the key from the staff room, she was bombarded by longwinded stories about social relations which she honestly could not care less about. It wasn't as if this was ill-intentioned, or that Yui was incapable of talking about anyone except herself. The problem lay in the fact that, even though she spent a great amount of time elaborating on her friendship group, a clique essentially governed by Miura Yumiko, she didn't seem to be particularly invested in what she was saying. It always had an edge of half-heartedness. Of reluctance. As if she was far more concerned with Yukino's life, despite them having just met, than her own.

At several points, Yukino found herself having to steer the conversation back in Yuigahama's direction when she was sent another question that, despite not being impolite, was certainly bordering on intrusive. For someone allegedly part of the popular clique, she really is socially inept, she mused.

'Now,' Yukino said, stepping back from the oven. 'I trust you were paying attention?' They had both agreed it would be helpful for the Service Club president to bake an example batch, so Yui could get a feel of the basics.

'Yeah,' Yui said enthusiastically, nodding. 'You're like, amazing at this! Are you sure you didn't take lessons, or something?'

'Of course not. That would be a complete waste of time.' She gestured towards the recipe book, propped up to the side. 'Baking is very self-explanatory. All you need to do is follow the steps.'

'Are you sure?' Her voice was doubtful. 'Aren't you just, y'know, naturally talented? It looks pretty difficult...'

It most certainly wasn't difficult. Yukino had to conceal the scorn she felt at Yuigahama's comment. Baking cookies was just about one of the most simplistic cooking tasks in existence, and Yui's words, though they could be interpreted as merely defeatist and an indication of her lack of confidence, suggested to her a lack of determination to succeed. Yukino had, over her years of education, derived several beliefs about humans that she still thought perfectly valid when nearing the end of her second year at high school. As a naturally talented student, she found it impossibly grating when others took that talent as an excuse for them not to persevere. Just because she could do it with little effort did not mean that they could not if they put their mind to it.

She was tempted to scold Yuigahama. Yukinoshita Yukino might have done so. But, Kira had just a little more tact than that.

'Perhaps it would look difficult to someone who had never attempted to bake before,' she said. Her voice was smooth as silk, betraying none of her impatience. 'But, those who don't have the drive to improve themselves have no right to envy the gifted. So...' She turned off the oven and reached inside it with a pair of oven gloves, removing a batch of almost freakishly perfect cookies. 'I suggest you get practicing if you want to impress this crush of your's.'

Yuigahama's eyes widened at the sight of them. 'That's... I guess that's true.' She carefully picked up one of the cookies and took a bite, gasping a little. 'So good!'

'Indeed.'

'Aren't you going to have one?'

'No,' Yukino answered, shaking her head cooly. 'I'm not very partial to sugar.'

'Then can I have a few mo-'

'Go ahead.'

As the pink-haired girl wolfed a couple more of the cookies down, Yukino reached over to the half finished bento box that she had made for herself. Though such matters as class and status had never been of much interest to her, she had always known it was important to maintain the image of a perfect student, and thus was very careful about how much she ate.

She took the apple that she had chosen that morning and bit into it slowly, savouring the flavour. It tasted oddly sour.

After a moment, Yuigahama set about making her own batch. Yukino watched, ever so slightly horrified, as a legion of unforgivably obvious mistakes unfolded in front of her. She set about correcting them as gently as she could, but once again, she noted that the Service Club's client seemed distracted.

'Your prospective boyfriend can't be all that precious to you if these preparations are any indication,' Yukino said, pinching the bridge of her nose as Yuigahama poured even more milk into the globulous mixture. 'Would you please at least try to listen to my advice?'

She shrunk a little. 'S- sorry... it's just... maybe I'm not cut out for thi-'

'Either you try and find out whether this boy likes you or, as you put it yourself, suffer in silence. Which is it going to be, Yuigahama-san?'

There was a moment of silence. Yukino cursed herself under her breath. She was being too forceful. The girl she was dealing with was, to all intents and purposes, incompetent. But, the only chance she would have of improving was the aid of a soft word or two.

'Stop what you're doing a moment, please.'

She did so. Her deep brown eyes were full of uncertainty.

'Perhaps you could elaborate on your reasons for liking this boy?' She wouldn't force Yuigahama to tell her a name if she didn't want to.

'Why I like him?' The fingers of her right hand neared the blazer of her left. 'Do... do you have to ask such an embarrassing question?'

'Yes, if it means we see a marked improvement.'

'... Alright.' She paused, considering her argument. 'He's- he's kind, I guess. And good-looking... well, not good looking exactly. He's... um...' She trailed off.

'Is that it?' Surely high school crushes weren't as perfunctory as this, considering the excitement with which they were spoken of?

'No. Sorry Yukinon... just give me a moment...' She inhaled slowly, gathering herself. 'You see, on the first day of high school, he was in this ac- accident. And it was my fault. I was walking my dog before getting ready, and I let go of the leash, just as I was nearing the road. Sable- my dog, I mean- ran straight out in front of this big white limousine. And the boy, just as I thought Sable was going to be run over... he cycled his bike right in front of it and saved my stupid dog, just like that. Without even thinking about it.' She shuffled her feet. 'Ever since that day, I've... I've wanted to thank him. And I liked him, I guess. I know it's weird, considering we've barely spoken but...'

Yukino's lips had thinned when the girl finished speaking. Suddenly, the memories flooded back. Suddenly, she could recall the face of Yuigahama Yui, a face she hadn't recognised when she first walked through the door to the Service Club. The girl whose dog had run in front of her family's limousine had brunette hair, instead of the bright pink that she now saw before her.

It hadn't been her fault. Yukino was only a passenger in the limousine, and didn't even see the boy on the bike until the car had ground to a halt, and his face was sprawled on the tarmac. Her driver requested that she stay in the vehicle, so she had only watched as the brunette clutched her straying dog and cried, terrified, as the ambulance arrived and carried the boy off to the hospital. That hadn't discouraged the guilt that had swamped her throughout the next few weeks. Weeks where, out of some disgusting cowardice, Yukinoshita Yukino hadn't bothered to find out the identity of the boy and girl whose high school lives she had ensured would set off on the wrong foot.

She couldn't see much of a point in rubbing the now two year old scars, and so continued with her original intentions.

'It seems to me that this boy performed a great service to you, and is fully deserving of these cookies. I'm sure that I'd appreciate them more if the effort put into them was obvious...?'

Yuigahama didn't say anything, and instead turned back to the bowl.

She frowned, taken back by the tension ridden atmosphere that her words had created.

'Yukinon?'

'Yes, Yuigahama-san?'

'Could we be friends?'

Yukino's eye brow rose. Where has this come from?

'I see no reason why not,' she replied, not very enthused.

'Yay!'

Yuigahama didn't seem to share her unease, as suddenly Kira, the God of a brave new world, was enveloped in a spine shattering hug. She froze up, unused to and not exactly welcoming of the close contact. Yui didn't seem to notice, looking up at her with big, glimmering eyes and a smile so wide it appeared almost manufactured.

The conversation slowed to a trickle afterwards, partly because Yukino had been so stunned by this new found "friendship", and also because Yui's concentration levels had taken a much needed hit. Suddenly, the old cookie dough, if they truly had to disgrace the name of cookie dough by referring to it as that, had been thrown out and the second attempt was under way. It still wasn't close to being on par with Yukino's, but was definitely the marked improvement that she had been in dire need of.

'Yukinon... you know the person who was in that car never even apologised?'

She winced, but didn't show it. 'I can't imagine the kind of person who would do that.'

'Yeah. I think they might even be going to Sobu High, like us.'

'Well, people are inherently unpleasant. This is yet more evidence of that.'

'Unpleasant? I suppose so... you wouldn't say they were evil, thou-'

'Not all of them. I believe humans, or at least the overwhelming majority of them, want to be good. We take comfort in that, but really, it's a fickle comfort. The evil may be in a minority, but it still exists.'

'As in criminals? Like, murderers and rapists and stuff...'

'Yes. In my eyes, they would definitely constitute evil, but could you please concentrate on the dough, Yuigahama-san? It needs more flour.'

She added the lacking ingredient, glancing at Yukino as she did so. 'So you think that Kira is evil too, then?'

'Kira ia a murderer.'

'... So yes?'

She sighed. 'Must we talk of such matters? We're here to bake cookies, not pass judgement on dangerous serial killers.'

This was merely a front, of course. In truth, Yukinohita Yukino found it hugely enjoyable when people insisted on discussing Kira. Gratifying, even. It was another sign that her work was making an impact. She wondered what Yuigahama Yui's reaction would be if she knew that the killer she spoke of was actually standing right beside her.

'I just think it's an interesting topic. No one in class ever wants to talk about it, but...' She blinked shyly. 'You don't seem like the kind of person to dance around a point, Yukinon.'

She pondered it for a moment, then shrugged. 'If you really wish to discuss Kira, then feel free. Just don't lose focus on the task at hand.'

Yuigahama picked up the whisk and began to churn the dough. 'I just... I know it's probably, like, frowned upon to say this in public, but sometimes, I can't help but think Kira is doing some good. Yesterday, it said on the news that the crime rates across Japan were definitely falling; but on the other hand, isn't that just because people are scared? Ridding the world of evil is a good thing, but to do it with fear and violence...'

Yukino couldn't help but feel surprised. She hadn't expected Yui to speak of Kira with such transparency, or to raise such mature and noteworthy points. She disagreed with many of them, but they were mature nonetheless. It hardly mattered the means by which Yukino rid the world of evil, as long as she achieved that objective. Her words contradicted the impression of an airhead that she had built up of Yui so far.

If someone was on the border about Kira, and only needed the slightest of pushes to be fully persuaded of her good intentions, then it seemed to Yukino logical that she should provide that push.

She opened her mouth.

Then stopped.

Wait a minute...

She replayed the Service Club request from the start. Yuigahama had entered and, after some strained small talk, they had made their way to the home economics room. The chatter between them had halted and resumed throughout, but it hadn't been discordant. To an untrained eye, they would seem like two high school students going about their business. But Kira was no high school student. She was used to mind games. To verbal spars. To manipulation. The only difference here was that, usually, it was she who was doing the manipulation.

Two days ago, Yukino had also been manipulated. Played like a marionette on strings by a puppet-master calling themselves H. She had prepared for their next encounter, if it ever came, but... was there a chance that she had still been caught out? Why should her first ever Service Club request only come after the appearance of that poster on the front doors of the school? It was very quickly becoming apparent to Yukino that, from now on, she couldn't put anything down to coincidence. All the time while they had been talking, Yuigahama had confronted her with questions. Questions about what she did after school. Questions about how she spent her Service Club sessions. Questions about her thoughts on good and evil. Questions about Kira that encouraged her to put forth her own opinion.

Questions that, in hindsight, might have been interrogative.

Yukino wanted to clench her fists together. Could this all be a sham? A ploy to tempt her into accidentally proving that she was Kira, orchestrated by the orchestrator in chief-

H... how dare you. Who the hell do you think that you are?! Do you really think that you can challenge me? I am Kira! I am the orchestrator! You, H, are nothing but a pawn upon my board.

She highly doubted that Yuigahama herself was H. H had proven themselves to be, at the very least, intelligent. If there was even a chance that Yukino would discover them, they wouldn't risk it. Was Yuigahama their pawn? Or were they just foolish?

Or... maybe she was just being temperamental. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions...

Either way, she couldn't second guess herself. She had to trust her instincts. Kira would find out whether her hunch was founded upon truth, or whether she was over-reacting, first. If it was the former, then Yuigahama Yui wouldn't see the light of day again.

'I... believe that you may be onto something there, Yuigahama-san.'

She looked up, surprised. 'Really?'

'Yes.' Yukino fixed her with a stare, trying to judge from her reactions. 'I agree that there's something of a stigma surrounding Kira in public, and that people feel like they can't express their true opinions. Antiquated human perceptions of morality prevent them from being honest... but, I have to say, if I were Kira...'

She hesitated for a moment, as if she was considering whether to continue. In truth, she was watching. Waiting. H had provoked her into a reaction by use of the poster, and in doing so, she had given him (or them?) reason enough to suspect her. She would play him at his own game, and she would win. The outcome was just a formality. Yukino was confident that Kira would prevail. She was smarter. She was better.

But Yuigahama, if she was conspiring with or actually was H, was also a good actor. She blinked, but nothing else. No spark of excitement at the possibility of Kira giving themselves away. No grounds for suspicion thus far.

'If I were Kira, then I could well have made the same choice. If I had the power... if had that incredible, if terrifying, ability to kill with just a thought. If I could take a criminal and rid the world of their evil with a click of a finger- well... to create a world inhabited only by the pure of heart isn't exactly a bad ideal. If it were truly possible to realise an ideal of that colossal magnitude and significance, then would you blame me if I took action?'

She chose her words with a careful intent. It had to seem hypothetical, as if she was just speculating on the moral "dilemmas" raised by the Kira case, while also giving Yuigahama just enough to tease her presumptions. Enough for her to come to the conclusion that H desperately wanted her to come to. That Yukinoshita Yukino, the Ice Queen, was also Kira.

But instead of giving herself away, and effectively signing her death warrant, Yuigahama Yui sighed.

'I see what you mean. Like, I don't think anybody could say that ridding the world of murder and stuff is bad, but like you said... it's just an ideal, y'know? It might be like that political thingy. I can't remember the actual name, but it means that everybody's equal...'

'Communism?'

'Yeah, commu... communi... well, that, however you say it. It's a pretty cool idea, that everybody could be equal, and the whole country would be united and they'd all get the same treatment, but is it really realistic? There's been, like, several communist countries and all of them have ended up failing because of corruption and all that. Kira is pursuing a world without evil, and there's nothing wrong with that in theory, but if you think about it, it's just that. A theory. I... I'm not sure he or her will ever be able to actually to create a world like that.'

Yukino continued to search. Her ice cold eyes flickered over Yuigahama Yui's own, over her cheeks, over the tiny, girlish hint of a pout on her eyes, but there was nothing. She couldn't find it. No evidence that bringing up Kira, or her previous questions on Yukino's personal life, had been instigated by anything other than youthful curiosity. All of a sudden, the seeds of doubt in the Service Club president's mind had opened, and the resultant shoots were growing fast. Was it really fair to suspect that Yuigahama Yui, an obvious airhead of all people, was H? How could someone so evidently lacking intuition and general knowledge, someone who couldn't even pronounce the word "communism" correctly, be a secret mastermind? The girl she saw had to be genuine. She didn't want to admit it, but it seemed more likely this was some kind of paranoid delusion...

Kira just couldn't accept it. She was the God of a brave new world. It wasn't possible for her to be fooled by a human.

She shrugged. 'In the end, discussing Kira's intentions won't affect anything. For all we know, the murder of criminals could just be a front he uses to justify his own bloodlust. And... well, maybe there's a reason your classmates refuse to speak of it. I can't say it's doing wonders for my appetite.'

But, as the pair of them returned to the sorely neglected cookie dough, Yukino still couldn't quite shake the feeling of discomfort in her belly. It frustrated her; taking care of H would, at some point or other, require a decisive action, but so far she had only caught glimpses of an opportunity by which she could exact it. Apart from her own suspicions, which judging from Yuigahama's reaction she couldn't rely on, guessing as to H's identity was like stabbing in the dark. Despite the Death Note, and all the power that it had granted her, H could well have the upper hand over her. If they really knew that she was Kira, at least.

Down by her side, so that Yuigahama Yui couldn't see her, Yukino's finger nails began to dig into her palm. Damn you, H.

---

Hachiman had never made a secret of the fact that, generally, he disliked people. He disliked almost everyone he met for one reason or another, and often for more reasons than he could count on one hand. However, he is humble, or perhaps self deprecating enough, to concede that this misanthropic streak is more of an instinctive reaction than something calculated, or objective. Those reasons could be applied to any human on Earth, including himself, at some point in their lives. One only needs the right situation, the right combination of danger and threat, to expose the worst in people. He supposed that, although his reasoning for being averse to human interaction were perfectly reasonable, they also served as a defence mechanism. Middle school had drilled into his head that, in simple terms, human interaction equated to humiliation and embarrassment. Thus, it was only natural he should strive to avoid it.

But there are only a very small minority of people he would say he specifically hated. People that actively went out of their way to tease him, or maintained a social facade that was so obviously fake, or used their contrived "popularity" to exploit the people around them. Hachiman didn't believe that a human's personality was set or fixed; it was influenced by their family and their childhoods and their adolescents and so forth. So, even those people that he hated might have turned out a whole lot different if but one of those factors had been altered. Perhaps, in another world, he could have ended up as a riajuu.

Perhaps, in another world, he could have ended up as Kira.

The thought had been pestering him for the past few days. After him and Yuigahama's plan had proved successful in identifying Yukino as Kira (though their evidence wasn't exactly substantial, he was absolutely certain of their conclusion), he had felt the need to try and collect as much information about her as possible. He already knew the basics- that she came from a rich family and was top in her year- but the slightest of pokes beneath the surface revealed things that surprised him. Several local newspaper articles and online blogs hadn't been kind in their portrayal of her family's moral integrity. Quickly, he found himself building up the image of a girl who, despite her beauty and intelligence, was constantly isolated. He had no way of knowing for sure, but it seemed reasonable to him that her cold attitude might have been, before she found the Death Note at least, also a defence mechanism; just like his self proclaimed loner status. If anything, it seemed that her "good points" only contributed to this isolation.

The idea of comparing himself to Kira disgusted to him, but he couldn't deny that there were similarities between them. They were both, for lack of softer words, friendless. They were both perceived by their peers to be inscrutable and unapproachable. This was not to say that he sympathised with her, though. On the contrary. He still thought that Yukinoshita Yukino was evil, and that it was obligatory for him and Yuigahama, H, to hunt her down.

But... that question. How would things have turned out if he had picked up the Death Note in place of her? It was a question that unsettled him; an aimless one that only helped to distract him from more pressing matters. But he couldn't help but ask it anyway. Hachiman desperately wanted to think that he wouldn't have done the same, but truly... could he really ignore the possibility that-

At that moment, he was sitting on a bench in a park just a couple of streets away from his house. It was a tiny dot of green on the canvas of Chiba, the majority of which was painted an overwhelming grey. He used to come here quite a lot in his younger years with Komachi, and so the sight of a mother and her daughter laughing while playing on the climbing frame only about twenty metres away from him felt both distinctly familiar and impossibly faraway. He watched as the daughter nearly fell from the monkey bars only to be caught by her diligent parent, before carrying on as if nothing had happened. The sight of blissful childish naivety summoned a rare smile to his face.

His fingers drummed on the wooden side of the bench. Ever since he and Yuigahama had agreed to assume the figure of H, Hachiman had been constantly reminded of the danger he was in by the fear, crawling in his bones. When it came down to it, H was just a couple of teenagers, in well over their heads, entrusted with a responsibility that should have been reserved for someone far beyond their years. The same could be said with Kira. It was almost funny, if he thought about it. Three teenagers in Japan would, sooner or later, have to fight each other in a battle of wits. The winner or loser of this battle would determine the fate of the entire world as they knew it. A whole planet's lives were depending on him, for he could be sure that criminals wouldn't be the only ones that suffered from Yukinoshita Yukino's glorious new world. A billion mothers and daughters, just like the ones twenty metres away. Relying on him and Yuigahama alone.

He rubbed his eyes with his hands. Hachiman didn't want a reality check. He needed to stay focused on their second plan which, hopefully, would help them onto the road to proving Yukino's guilt. The plan which they were executing at that very moment.

After their scheme with the poster, which could only really be put down as a resounding success, Hachiman had struggled to think of the right way for them to proceed. Yes, they knew who Kira was now, and still had the advantage of her not knowing who they were, but the odds were still in her favour. There was absolutely no way of acquiring evidence as to Kira's actions; the only way such a feat would be possible was by forcing a confession from Yukino (he doubted this would be coming any time soon), or by catching her in the act. From this reasoning, Hachiman had theorised that the best way to proceed would be to provoke Yukino even further. This time, they needed to provoke Yukino into actually using the Death Note, thus proving its existence and the method of her murders. But, following that road was too risky. They couldn't send her another message anonymously- too predictable. They couldn't show their faces to her- suicidal. Things were balanced on a knife edge.

He was at first inclined to refuse Yuigahama's suggestion. She told him that she agreed the only way they would be able to prove Yukino was Kira was via the Death Note, but that didn't necessarily mean they had to capture her using it. Instead, all they needed was the Death Note itself. In other words, her proposal was to steal it. He rejected this, deeming it impossible, but then she continued. It stands to reason that the Death Note is probably in Yukino's apartment, right? she'd said. Well... the only way we'd be able to get our hands on it is by getting inside her apartment. What if I… If I tried to, like, make friends with her? Then I might be able to get into her place without it seeming weird.

Hachiman had desperately wanted to dismiss her idea. It was surely a step too far. If Yui put even the slightest foot wrong, she would be dead in seconds. They still couldn't fathom the true capabilities of the Death Note, so they also couldn't legislate for any added abilities or safety assurances it might give Kira. But, after awhile, he had gradually started to listen to reason. Their life was in danger either way, so what difference did it make how exactly they raised the stakes? They had to do something, and this was the only plan they had even close to being feasible. Yui was the only one who would be able to try and make friends with her without it seeming out of the blue. She was popular. She was much better than him socially. She could approach the Ice Queen in one of her Service Club sessions, and force her way into her good books. They could question her with subtlety, just to confirm to themselves they were right that Yukino was guilty. Then, when Yui was close enough... they would make their move.

Hachiman had gone to the park awaiting Yui's phone call that, hopefully, would inform their next move in this intricate chess match had gone smoothly. They had decided they couldn't meet in person in anymore, and kept any contact between them strictly reserved to mobile. They even changed the name of each other in their contact lists so that, should Yukino get her hands on one of their phones, she wouldn't find anything incriminating.

At long last, the phone rang. Hachiman answered it immediately, making sure to keep his voice as a whisper.

'Hi -Hikki?'

'It's me, Yuigahama-san. I... everything went well, right?'

'I think so.'

He flinched. 'You think so? It either went well or it didn't. Which is it?'

'Well... I'm not dead yet, am I?'

He couldn't answer that. His heart was beating at a hundred miles an hour.

'T- then tell me what happened. Don't leave anything out. Even the slightest detail could've given us away.'

'It all started off fine. I could tell she bought the story and the act. You were right about her, Hikki... I thought that she was arrogant. She was good at hiding at it, but she was looking down on me from the minute I came in.'

'So you're convinced? That she's Kira, I mean?'

'I... no. Not yet. But if she isn't, then what else are we supposed to do?'

'Alright. What happened next?'

'We went to the home economics room, and started baking the cookies. Again, everything was going fine. But then...' She exhaled heavily. Only now did Hachiman realise that she was virtually panting, laboured and clearly stressed. 'I... did something stupid.'

He tried to control the panic in his heart. '... What was it?'

'I brought up Kira, Hikki. I regretted it, but I couldn't take it back. I- I guess I thought it might help us to find out her motives or something, but then... I think she realised there was something off. For just a moment, I thought she was questioning me back...'

'You don't think she figured it out, right?'

'I dunno. I mean... I don't see how she could've done. I think I threw her off the scent, cause things went back to normal pretty quickly, but for a moment I was totally panicking. I... didn't show it, but I thought I was gonna be sick. I thought I was going to die, just like the others.'

He wished that he was there with her, so he could lay an arm around her shoulder, console her, do something. In all of this, Hachiman felt a crawling sense of powerlessness. Powerlessness in the face of Kira, in the face of the uphill battle facing them, and in his inability to properly fulfil his promise to Yuigahama: to protect her. He had said he would keep her safe, but he had already failed in doing so by shoving her right into the firing line. Right into Kira's aim. Now, all she needed to do was pull the trigger, and she hadn't shown herself to be reluctant in doing that so far.

'Yuigahama... if there's even the slightest chance that she might've suspected you, even for a moment, we can't progress with this plan-'

'But it's the only plan we have-'

'I don't care. I know it has to be our priority to bring her to justice, but I refuse to sacrifice... I refuse to make sacrifices in doing so.'

He had held back from saying that he refused to sacrifice her. It seemed inappropriate. But, Yui seemed to pick up on the sentiment regardless.

She sighed, though from what emotion he couldn't tell. 'Hikki...'

Hachiman ignored the lump forming in his throat. 'I'm sorry. I insist that we're patient with this. We should only make our move when it's absolutely certain that we're going to beat her. Or at the very least, when there's a high chance of it.'

'...'

'Yuigahama?'

'Alright, Hikki. I understand.'

Relief flooded through him. 'Okay. Is- is there anything more that you think might be important?'

She hesitated. 'Not really. After that, we mostly just concentrated on the cookies, but... after we'd finished, and we were about to lock up the Service Club room, she had a phone call. She seemed annoyed when she answered it, and then excused herself pretty hurriedly. Said she had to go.'

He blinked. Going to meet someone, perhaps? He voiced this thought to Yui, and she affirmed it.

'Did you see who the caller was?'

'No. She kept it hidden from me.'

Intriguing. A family member perhaps? An associate? He'd never considered the possibility that Kira might be working with another. She didn't seem like the type to rely on anyone except herself, but on the other hand, neither did he.

'Did you see which way she went after she left the school?'

'Y- yeah. She went left, and walked, instead of being picked up like she usually is.'

'So she changed her plans. It must've been urgent for her to break routine like that... and to the left... the cafe where students often go to hang out after school is in that direction, yes?'

'Uh huh, but- wait, you're not thinking of following her, are you?'

'Every avenue's worth pursuing at this stage, Yuigahama. Seeing who she meets, if she does meet anyone, might give us some more information to exploit.'

His reasoning was lost on her. 'But what if she sees you-'

'Even if she did, I wouldn't be in danger. She's never met me; I doubt she'll even know who I am. If I stay out of sight, I should be fine.'

'You don't know that. If it's a meeting, she could have something planned-'

'As far as we know, she's working alone. I doubt there'd be many others who'd be convinced to commit murder on this sort of scale. And, this seems to be a spur of the moment arrangement. She'll be careful, of course, but so will I.'

'But... what... what if I don't want to sacrifice you either, Hikki?'

He gritted his teeth. Things were becoming too complicated between them. He didn't want to care about her, and he wished that she wouldn't care about him. They were working together as H, and they needed to be impartial and logical if they wanted to defeat Kira, not emotional and irrational. They still barely knew each other, but already, they were connected, linked by the same burden of a thousand tonnes.

'I understand, Yuigahama. Really, I do. But this is different to trying to get into her apartment while she already suspects you. I'll just be another customer in the cafe. As long as I'm quite, and I use Stealth Hikki-'

'Stealth Hikk-'

'Nevermind. Look, the point is, I'll be careful. And please, could you trust me on this? If we don't move quickly, I'll miss her.'

There was a long pause.

'Hikki, I... I trust you.'

'Good.' His fingers rose up the phone. 'I'm going to hang up now. I'll call you later to tell you how things went.'

'...'

He ended the call. The silence spoke volumes: she wasn't happy. She didn't want him to go after Yukino, just like he didn't want her to continue the initial plan of getting close to her. But he couldn't worry about that right now. He needed to concentrate.

He closed his eyes for a heartbeat. For the next few hours or so, don't be Hachiman. Be H. Be sharp, don't make stupid errors, and you'll... we'll find something.

H stood up, his newfound resolve flooding through him, and made his way towards the gate of the park. The mother and child glanced up ever so briefly to watch him go, but then returned to their games on the slide. Innocent, unknowing, as they should be. The people, like Yuigahama, whom H had sworn to protect.

---

It didn't take long to reach the cafe. It wasn't a place he had ever made a habit of visiting, mostly because there had never been a reason for him to. This place was bustling, always full of people, always full of laughter and joy and humour. All in all, it was a corner reserved for the riajuu of Chiba, a group of which Hachiman had always and, presumably, always would be perpetually excluded from. The exterior of the cafe was simplistic, but it was exactly that simplistic aesthetic which granted it the charm that had no doubt kept the students of Sobu High coming back. Even now, two hours after closing time, it was still packed to the rafters with adolescents donning the same, identical school uniforms. The scent of freshly brewed coffee floated out through the open door, enticing a fair few out in the street.

H slipped inside with his face blank, looking for all the world like just another student which, to all intents and purposes, he was. Apart from his dead fish eyes and rather hasty variant on the Sobu High dress code, he actually fit in quite well with his peers, what with his overwhelmingly mediocre looks. Overall, nothing about him would magnetise attention in quite the same way that Yukinoshita Yukino did.

Instead of ordering something from the barista at the counter, he headed straight over to one of the vending machines beside it, inserting the yen for his trusted beverage: MAXX Coffee. The sugar hit would help him to remain alert. After cracking it open, he turned and scanned the rest of the cafe with all the nonchalance he could muster, searching for the doll-like face of a mass murderer amongst the throng.

There. Over by the window, glancing up at the sky. Yukinoshita Yukino, in all her enigmatic, entrancing glory. With the late afternoon sunlight streaming in behind her, he couldn't deny her that she was beautiful. The forbidden fruit in the proverbial Eden. She was sat alone, but in a booth that suggested for all the world that she was waiting for someone. He was lucky. She was sat in a less densely packed corner of the cafe, meaning he could well be able to eavesdrop in on her conversation.

He made his way over to her and took the thankfully unoccupied booth directly behind her, so that she couldn't see him. She gave no indication that she even noticed his presence, but even so, he took a winding, roundabout route through the tables on his way over to her.

Now, all that remained was to wait.

H coudn't deny that his pulse was quickening. This was the first time he'd ever observed her up close. She was a little shorter than he had expected for some reason, but her presence in itself had an imposing aura. Perhaps this was just his mind playing tricks on him. Only he was aware that Yukino was, in fact, Kira; someone who only last week had been placed top of the FBI's Most Wanted list. Anyone else would pass her off as any other high school student, albeit attractive, enjoying herself after a long, tiresome school day.

He was relieved from the tension when another girl entered the cafe. As she approached, numerous heads turned, and when she came into view for him it became apparent why. She, like Yukino, was beautiful. What's more, their features were so similar he would wager that they were related, and that this was the person she had been called to meet. The woman, older than her sister (he assumed this to be the relation), was wearing denim jeans and a tight tank top that only reached half way down, exposing her stomach to a fair amount of eager eyes in the cafe. He only caught the shortest of glances at her face, but a broad smile was sketched across it. Nonetheless, he noted the thinness of her lips and the barely noticeable pout. It was a false smile.

H took another sip of MAXX Coffee. He couldn't help but doubt the meeting was to be a typical, warm hearted encounter between siblings. There didn't seem to be anything about Kira that was typical. Perhaps that would play to his advantage?

He averted his gaze as she walked past him, though the same certainly couldn't be said of the group of boys in the booth opposite, who openly ogled her backside. After she took a seat, it took a good couple of minutes before the cafe settled back into whatever conversations they had been enjoying. H, however, listened attentively as their conversation unfolded.

'Little imouto! I haven't seen much of you the past two weeks.'

'My apologies, Nee-san.'

'... Is that it? No heartfelt apology? Nothing?'

'I fail to see how this is anything out of the ordinary. I often went for months without hearing from you while you attended universit-'

'Yes, but you were always a little more... needy, weren't you Yukino?'

There was a pause. If H glanced over his shoulder, he felt sure there would have been a scowl on her face.

'Well, I do believe the saying "Everyone grows up someday" can be applied-'

'Oh, of course. I just didn't expect you to grow up faster in two weeks than you had in seventeen years. Anyone would think it strange.'

'And what... you called me here, wasting my valuable time out of concern for my wellbeing? Now that definitely would be a drastic change.'

'I think you'll find that I worry about you constantly, Yukino.'

'Worry isn't the word I'd use-'

'No. I suppose you're right. I'm more... surprised. You see, that little stunt you pulled, slamming the car door in my face on your way to school-'

An audible sigh of annoyance. 'I was late for school, Haruno. Is this really what you call an urgent matter?'

'No, but mother does. When I told her, she said she thought it was very rude.'

A pause. H's fingers tightened around the MAXX Coffee, which was already half finished. Their tones of voice were odd. They were just upbeat enough to be passed off by anyone who might have overheard them as lighthearted teasing, but H knew better. These interchanges were sharp, fast, controlled and biting. He wondered more about the relationship that Yukino has, or rather had, with her family. He had picked up quickly that, since her acquisition of the Death Note, the power dynamics is this starkly dysfunctional sisterly relationship had shifted a little. It seemed that, previously, Haruno had been dominant, and Yukino had always submitted to her whims, even relying on her, perhaps. But, above that, there was another level of authority. One that was absolute and final, occupied by the matriarch of the Yukinoshitas. One would have to be truly fierce-some to keep these two bundles of joy in line, H mused. Frightening, even. Haruno brought her up with the connotation of menace, and of threat. If Yukinoshita Yukino truly was frightened of her mother, him and Yui would have another chess piece on their side of the board.

'Is that supposed to be a threat? Like you mentioned yourself, I'm not a child anymore.'

Yukinoshita Yukino, maybe. But Kira? Clearly not.

'Oh, that really just doesn't sit right with me, Yukino! You'll always be my adorable little useless imouto at heart.'

'Will I now?'

'Of course. Do you remember the Valentines Days we used to have while you were still in middle and elementary school! It was so cute, how you used to wake us up nice and early in the morning to give us chocolates...' She giggled.

H's ears pricked. Us...?

'Must you always bring up such humiliating memorie-'

'Humiliating? Why would they be humiliating? I think of them warmly, Yukino. You always used to get so competitive as well. Always trying to beat me. Always trying to outshine me.'

Yukino didn't say anything to this. H wished he could see her expression. Was she angry? Calm? Agitated?

'When exactly was the last time you made those chocolates, hm? Long enough to be able to forget, I suppose. But old habits die hard, right?'

'What are you implying?'

'Just speculating, little imouto, on all this secrecy of late. Maybe it's only me that's been excluded from the pleasure of your culinary abilities...?'

Yukino laughed. This time, she didn't even attempt to hide the derisory scorn in her voice. 'You think the past two weeks are the result of some ridiculous high school romance? That's pathetic even by your standards, Haruno.'

'It's as good a guess as any, Yukino. How am I to know about your love life? That old crush of yours might still be going strong. Maybe you finally summoned the courage to tell him this time.'

'I'll have you know my "feelings" for Hayama-kun were greatly exaggerated-'

'You've always been a dreadful liar, Yukino. You used to blush when he so much as looked as you. Why, once I remember there was a time when you asked him to hold your hand! I swear, I almost swooned-'

'Enough of this-'

'Honestly, I think it's a good thing! You need other people in your life, just in case you get too lonely and I'm not there to give you a hug. Pan-san plushies aren't always enough, after all. I'm sure he provides an adequate replacement-'

'I hate Hayama Hayato. You know that perfectly well, dear sister,' Yukino all but spat.

Haruno didn't say anything for a moment.

'What's happened to you?'

'... And now you're just spouting nonsen-'

'What happened to you, Yukino? My imouto would never say something like that.'

'...'

'Who are you?'

'... I have no idea what you're talking about, Haruno.'

Haruno's gasped. H couldn't see it from his position on the table opposite, but for just a moment, Yukino's eyes had flashed the colour of crimson.

The younger sibling stood up. H had to force himself not to look in her direction. 'If that is it, you'll forgive me if I excuse myself. Next time you ask me to meet you, please ensure it's for a greater purpose than just meaningless prattle.'

With that, she left, all but stomping out of the cafe and back in the direction of the school. Haruno remained for about twenty minutes afterwards, neglecting to order anything, until she was eventually approached and asked to leave by one of the staff. At first, it looked as if she might refuse, but then she got to her feet, slinging the expensive designer handbag over her right shoulder. She too left with her face stony, her eyes unmoving. No one else in the cafe had the gaul to listen in on their conversation, but they could sense the anger from them both, radiating like rising steam from a hot spring.

All the while, H's breath was hitched in his throat. Hayama Hayato? The soccer club captain, Prince of Soubu High himself? Him and Yukino had a history together that, apparently, extended all the way back to their childhood and, what's more, was riddled with emotional complications. Haruno all but declared that Yukino had, at one point, had romantic feelings for him, as appeared to be the expectation amongst all the girls in the school. But something had pulled them apart. Enough for H to be unaware they shared any form of connection, and evidently, for Kira to despise her with a shrieking malice that she had tried and failed to curb. For the first time, H had seen a chink in the armour. A break in her icy resistance. And he'd got to see it firsthand.

In other words, him and Yuigahama had struck gold.

---

Yukinoshita Yukino's eyelids were feeling a little heavy on Friday morning. She was approaching her locker after once more arriving at Sobu High, and feeling as bored with the early stages of her school day as ever. Last night, homework had proven to be slightly more of a challenge that she had expected (nothing too troubling, but demanding enough to merit the sacrifice of a couple of hours), so her usage of the Death Note had crept on later into the night than previously. She tried to get at least eight hours of sleep every night, and any less (or more) than that amount left her feeling far too tired to operate properly or, ironically, over rested and reluctant to do anything but remain in bed. Such inclinations were silly, of course, and she was good at avoiding them. Yukino had a feeling her work as Kira would call for far greater sacrifice than physical exhaustion at some point or other.

She inserted the key into the locker and was just about to open it when she heard the sound of raised voices down the corridor.

'-I can't believe you'd even think of saying something like that!'

'Okay, name one thing that's wrong about what Kira is doing. The people he's killing have all killed themselves! They deserve it-'

'That's totally irrelevant. Kira's a murderer, plain and simple. By saying that, you're just condoning it-'

'Well, maybe we should condone it, if that's the price of a law abiding society.'

There was already a crowd developing around the two girls arguing over her, pulled in by the same lurid curiosity of all who tuned into the news stations, and glanced at the YouTube videos and the online articles. None of them intervened, choosing simply to watch, expressions grim, as the argument panned out. Gullible lemmings, each and every one of them. For Yukino, the sight of such quarrels were becoming even more common, even more public and perhaps most importantly, even more heated. Just yesterday, while in the family limousine on her way to the apartment, she had seen a street fight taking place on the pavement. Though the prevention of such violence was her goal, she couldn't help allow a smile when she saw the reason for its instigation. One of the participants was a street graffiti artist, and his message, displayed in bold, multi-coloured spray paint? Kira is justice.

On some of the websites of her followers, she had been startled but definitely not discouraged by another phenomenon of late. They had been posting lists, leaving her suggestions for those that she should judge next. People who had done them wrong, people who had aggrieved them; people the world would be better off without. Yukino was more than willing to satiate their bloodlust.

1,149 names written. That was her current death toll. Not bad for two weeks, and the rewards for her labours were already beginning to show. Though it wasn't just on a worldwide scale that Yukino appeared to be making headway. All of a sudden, she found herself with the pleasure, or rather the burden, of a "friend". Yuigahama Yui, after her Service Club request, had been following her during break periods, insisting on sharing lunch periods together, and sometimes coming to the clubroom after school as well. It would have disturbed her, and possibly acted as a prerequisite for her to get out her trusty fountain pen had she unearthed proof of her hunch that Yui was involved with H, but since that wasn't forthcoming she had grudgingly accepted the company. Yuigahama was rather dim and all too obsequious for her liking, but if she truly did wish only for companionship, there wasn't a problem per say... but she couldn't escape from her presentiment. History had proven that Yukino was rarely wrong.

She looked back to her locker, opening it.

Those presentiments were right.

This time, she refused to react. She wouldn't act out of the ordinary. She wouldn't give H yet more confirmation of his will to follow up on her, as the message in her locker was undoubtedly from him (the typed text was the same), and if she seemed intimidated, there wasn't a chance in hell that she would be able to throw him off the scent. It proved several things beyond doubt. One, that H existed. Two, that they knew about Kira. Three, that their aim was to catch Kira. Four, that Yukino was their prime suspect.

Yukinoshita Yukino. Please come to Class 2F before lessons start. Yours truly, HH.

She read the words over several times, processing them, drawing them in, working out every angle. Yukino would not let her emotions get the better of her, as had been her downfall last week and, she noted, in all of her failures in life. She had to think and take the upper hand, and not let H take control, as he so clearly wished to. Then, he would be the one making mistakes.

First of all, she focused on the command. She was supposed to come to Class 2F. What was the significance of Class 2F to H? The obvious answer was already given to her by the initials provided- HH. Hayama Hayato. This was the conclusion that most would make. He was by far the most popular boy in that class, and indeed the school.

But Yukino could smell the trap. This was clearly what H wanted her to think. She was supposed to assume that Hayama Hayato was H, as it was only logical. Why? What was the reason for this? What advantage did her thinking that Hayama was the one on her tail give H? What disadvantage did that give her? And, also, why make the choice of Hayama specifically for the trap? Was it simply because he was influential in Sobu High and convenient for use, considering that he shared the letter of H's initial? No. She couldn't get behind that. But what other reason...

It had to be because they knew each other. It had to be. H was hoping that Yukino would fall for the same trap twice, and be overcome by emotions, as her history with Hayama Hayato had indeed been emotional. To say that was an understatement. But this theory raised more, highly troubling questions. If they were aware that Yukino had known Hayato throughout her childhood, then that meant they must be following her, or at least snooping around in her familial affairs. But only her family, and Hayato's of course, were aware of that connection. She never spoke to him while at school, so there was the possibility that one of her family members had told them, either intentionally or unintentionally.

A name sprung to her mind. Haruno. If anyone was to do that, it would be her. Besides, after their tense meeting on Wednesday evening at the cafe, she had begun to suspect that Haruno might be connected to H regardless. She was arrogant enough to disguise herself with a method as audacious as utilising her own initial- it was so stupid that Yukino wouldn't think twice about whether it was actually her. And, during the meeting itself, had Haruno not brought up Hayama Hayato herself? Was the excuse of her suspecting they were engaged romantically just a lie to further mislead her?

But then again, Kira couldn't see a way in which Haruno would have even the slightest of reasons to suspect that she was responsible for the murders. Furthermore, unless she was conspiring with other students at the school, how could she have orchestrated the poster if she was in the limousine with her at the same time?

In addition to all this, there was another fact that she couldn't overlook. Yuigahama Yui was also in Class 2F...

Once it became clear that, no matter how hard she searched, the answers would refuse to reveal themselves, she turned to the next matter at hand. The solution. How she should react. Primarily, it would be absolutely preposterous to go to the classroom as they had specified, because they no doubt had some form of scheme to catch her out. Why else should they request that she come? She doubted it was for a social gathering. She tried to think over what it could be in particular, but drew a blank. They didn't have any evidence that she was Kira. They would have gone to the police already if they did. Therefore, the motivation for inviting her to Class 2F had to be to get evidence, but how exactly were they to achieve that? She could just lie about it if they asked her up front. What confused her even more is why they were planning to exact their plan in a public place. How did that help them (if it didn't, they would've done it in secret)? Surely the presence of others in the room just gave assurance to Yukino that they couldn't do anything too drastic. Was this a double bluff? Was the cheese of their trap the very fact that there would be others in the room?

The best course of action was to ignore the message and not go. She would just be playing into their hands if she did.

Kira rolled her tongue across the roof of her mouth. Fuck. If she was brutally honest, she refused to do that. The very notion of giving in to H, to this rabid blasphemer, sickened her. She was a God, and thus, it was obligatory for her to be in control. Letting H push her around would only encourage him to do it more and more and more, until eventually, she was in the defendant box and enchained for the rest of her miserable days. She would be damned if that was to happen. No. She knew the only outcome of their little game was H's head on a platter- yesterday, she had decided that for all the trouble he was causing her, H was deserving of a rather more morbid fate than a heart-attack, and decapitation seemed appropriate as any. Avoiding the issue of H would be a repulsive act of cowardice, as it didn't actively put her in the lead on the scoreboard, or level them, at least. Yukino doubted that she would come out of the encounter unscathed if she went, but there was a chance, if she was quick-witted, that she could leave H with a few wounds of his own.

Running away wouldn't win her their boxing match. She would have to take punches of her own, of course, but you could guarantee that she would dominate her end of the ring. And, eventually, she'd prevail, and find out the names of the perpetrator, or perpetrators, behind H.

It was decided. She would go to Class 2F. H had gambled, and it was only gracious that Kira should in return.

She left the letter in her locker, ensuring twice over that her bag was securely sealed inside, and headed off down the corridor towards the Class 2F. Yukinoshita Yukino was armed with her wits, and the strip of the Death Note in her inner blazer pocket.

Come on then, H. Show me your best. If you're truly as intelligent as you think you are, defeating me shouldn't be an issue.

After arriving at the doorway, she took a glance through the glass window from an angle, searching the interior for any sign of abnormality in the regular school routine. There was none. All of the students were sat in their cliques and their groups, some chatting, some playing games on portable consoles or whatever it was that interested them. It was probably a facade, but what was the probability that the whole class was involved in H's plot? Miniscule. There wasn't a chance that all of them would buy the story that Yukino, a mere high school student, was Kira. She could see Hayato, with his various subjects, amongst them the notoriously bad tempered Miura Yumiko. Behind her, Yuigahama Yui, smiling and laughing away. Those two were her foremost worries. That is, unless another revealed themselves to be involved.

Well, she thought, delaying fate will get me nowhere.

Moving quickly to hide the slightest twinge of anxiety in her gut, Kira pulled the sliding door aside and stepped into the classroom.

Instantly, she was met by the surprised eyes of everyone in the classroom. Whispers broke out among them. They, of course, all knew about her, and also knew that she definitely did not frequent Class 2F in the morning. This, too, could turn out to be a negative. Almost thirty people were to be a witness to what took place, if H did indeed try something. Yukino would have to be incredibly careful.

She turned her attention to Hayama Hayato, whose expression was equally stunned. She ignored Miura and Yui beside them, for the moment.

Kira crossed her arms. 'Well, Hayama-kun, I'm here. What have I done to deserve such an abrupt and mysterious invitation?'

Deathly silence. Then, the whispers intensified.

'-what does she mea-'

'-that is Yukinoshita Yukino, righ-'

'-what the heck is this about?'

Hayato bllinked, before smoothing over his hair. 'I'm... I'm sorry Yuki-cha-'

'Yukinoshita-san, to you.'

He seemed troubled by this, but carried on. 'Well, I'm sorry Yukinoshita-san, but I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about.'

She scrutinised his face. His bewilderment seemed true enough, but could she really trust the expression of someone who she knew painfully well was brilliant at putting on an act? The letter directly suggested that he was H, and though it was more likely a red herring at this stage, she certainly couldn't disregard the possibility this was just an attempt to confuse her-

Suddenly, someone stood up, from behind her.

'Excuse me, Yukinoshita-san.'

She spun around, and the rest of the class followed suit. There, removing a headphone from his ear, was a boy that she couldn't place the name of. Considering the fact she had purposefully memorised the names of all those in her year, this caught her off guard. Everything about this boy screamed of teenage angst. He had scruffy black hair with an offensive ahoge sticking out at the top, a blazer of the same colour and eyes the like of which she had never seen. She could only describe them as being similar to a dead fish. Tiny. Piercing. His face was formed in a way that couldn't necessarily be described as unattractive, but his eyes prevented anyone from labelling him as such. Here, however, they were not emotionless, and instead conveyed a sense of palpable regret.

'It's me that has to apologise, unfortunately. I should've known you'd assume it was Hayama-kun. We have the same initials...'

Yukinoshita Yukino eyes widened unintentionally. What... the same initials? HH? Then... that meant it was just as likely that he could be H as well. Or did it? Was this the true red herring, or just another needlessly elaborate plan to catch her off guard...?

Without warning, the boy was walking towards her, looking for all the world like he was on a mission. She had to force herself not to step back.

'My name is Hikigaya Hachiman. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't know who I am, but I obviously know who you are, Yukinoshita-san. I- I asked you to come because, though it may be impertinent, I cannot hold it back any longer.'

He took a deep breath.

'I've liked you for the longest time, Yukinoshita-san. Will you go out with me?'

I wonder is this guy for real?

I wonder is he who he claims to be?

And if he isn't what's the deal?

Why would he make a point of telling me?

Yukino remained perfectly still. She hadn't the faintest idea what was going on, and from the looks of it, neither did the rest of the class. Collectively, all of their jaws had hit the floor. Hayato watched in utter disbelief. Was this part of H's plan? It had to be, but how all the individual pieces fit together, she couldn't even begin to fathom. Her mind was spinning so fast, trying to anticipate what was going to happen next and its meanings, that it hurt. She felt helpless, boxed in and alone, like a deer in the headlights.

Hikigaya Hachiman tilted his head to the side, looking all of a sudden desperately earnest. 'Did... did you hear me? I asked if you'd go out with-'

'How could you?!'

This time, everybody turned their heads to the right. It was Yuigahama Yui. Now, she'd gotten to her feet. Outrage ripped across her features. She looked positively scandalised, and incredibly upset.

'I... I thought we were friends, Yukinon! I told you that I liked him, and you went and talked to him behind my back?'

Yukino's eyes flickered from Hachiman, to Yui, and back to Hayato. No one in the class dared say a word as the confrontation continued. They were all entranced, trapped like Sleeping Beauty in a soporific spell.

Hachiman turned to Yui. 'W- what do you mean? You... you like me?'

Yuigahama blushed bright pink under the gaze of her crush. 'Well... y- yeah,' she stammered, 'but that's not important. What's important is her! She... why did you do it Yukinon?'

'You don't understand, Yuigahama-san,' Hachiman answered, struggling to keep his voice calm. 'She never came to speak to me. I... I just...'

He twisted his head sharply to look at Yukino, helpless. 'I can't help it. I lo- I like Yukino, Yuigahama-san.'

Yuigahama blinked, as if she didn't understand, then followed his gaze to Yukino. 'What... Yukinon?'

Yukino's hands were clenching around the hem of her skirt in apparent distress. She wanted to run away from this. She couldn't deal with this. Too much was happening. T- this wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

Hayato, noticing this, stood. 'Now c'mon guys, listen... I don't think we should discuss this here in front of everybody, right? This seems pretty private.'

Out of the blue, Yukinoshita Yukino was back in elementary school. Out of the blue, Yukinoshita Yukino was surrounded by the bullies that had always tormented her, and they were tossing her indoor shoes around the classroom while she chased them, trying to get them back. Everyone was laughing, loud, screeching like hyenas, and she could do nothing but run and try to hold back the tears, and she was looking at Hayato, wishing that he would help her because she liked him so much, and he had to help her because they were friends, but he didn't. He just stood there and did nothing, and then, she really did begin to cr-

...

Stop. Look around. Think.

She wasn't in elementary school. She wasn't being bullied. She was in high school. She was being tested. Her answer to this test could determine whether she lived or died. She wasn't even Yukinoshita Yukino. That girl had died and was already buried six feet under ground, never to be exhumed, the moment she picked up the Death Note. She couldn't be Yukinoshita Yukino anymore. She had to be Kira.

Kira looked at them. At Yuigahama Yui. At Hikigaya Hachiman. At Hayama Hayato. Three people. Three possibilities, all wrapped up in an absurd scenario well-fitted to a romantic comedy film, or a manga that she had never seen the point of. If one looked closely at her eyes, for just a moment, they would see that they were more red than icy blue. She had to get to grips with what was happening. She had to accept it, move on and combat it so that she came out in a position of strength. Now, she had a sense of just how well thought H's plan was.

From just glancing at the room, it was plain to see that the rest of Class 2F had no idea what was going on, and thus couldn't be H or even aware of him. Their purpose was only to observe, and the reason for this was simple. H had to be either one or all of the three people before her. It could be two of them. It could be all three. The witnesses were their way of protecting themselves, and ensuring that Kira couldn't use the Death Note to write down their names when she left the classroom. Since she didn't know who was responsible of the three, but knew with certainty that H was amongst them, Kira could easily just kill all three of them. But three deaths by heart-attack in quick succession was far too suspicious, and would draw police attention to the area, as Yui, Hachiman and Hayato probably had no criminal records. Upon questioning, the class would bring up the fact all three of them had been involved in an incident with Yukinoshita Yukino, leading them straight to her.

She could stagger their deaths, and kill by means that suggested accidents, but three deaths from the same school was still odd, and Kira easily predicted that they had taken other safety measures. H probably had confessions planned so that, if they did die, police would discover said confessions, be forced to take the dying words of a corpse seriously and investigate. If one or more of the three had identical confessions accusing her, she wouldn't have a prayer of avoiding discovery, because a conspirator could go to the police with their suspicions if Kira killed one of them and, considering the death of a teenager was involved, the police would again be forced to investigate. They were all logical steps to take.

In other words, killing them went out the window. H had given her an unbearably teasing hint. Revealed themselves enough to be just within her grasp, while still remaining just outside it. If Kira wanted to discover who H was from the three, she would have to investigate herself, but that could force her to make a mistake. She had to admit it... H was a genius. Close to being her equal.

But there were still some aspects of this plan that she didn't understand. What was the point of giving her three options in the first place? Didn't that just endanger H? Why were they using such an overblown charade to give her that option? High school romance? It was beyond her. What did they gain from this? There had to be a motivation, otherwise they wouldn't be making the effort...

She couldn't focus on that right now. She would think it over later. Right now, she needed to react. Kira had to choose how she was to respond to this "confession". She tried to think from H's perspective. Essentially, she needed to do the opposite to what he wanted... but what he wanted was being concealed from her. She could only take a punt and hope.

No. She was approaching the choice wrong. Don't think about what H wants. Think about will benefit you.

All or nothing so let's get to it,

This time stalemate but just you wait,

Clock is ticking so let's just do it,

Let's begin, thick or thin, lose or win,

This is it,

Kira considered the situation. Her priority had to be to find out who H was. They already knew that she was Kira, which put her below him for the time being, but the ultimate trump card still lay in her hand- the Death Note. The only way she could make use of it was by finding out H was, and the only she could do that was, considering the fact that she now had a list of suspects, to interrogate them.

Hikigaya Hachiman was as good a place to start as any. It occurred to her that H seemed to be egging her to make this choice, and to accept the confession, but since she couldn't see a way in which it benefited him, then it didn't matter. There were factors outside of her control at this moment in time that, again, she would have to mull over later. The only choice that could end well for her was to get closer to Hachiman, and attempt to determine whether he was H or not.

'Wait a minute, Hayama-kun...'

She lifted her hand, commanding the attention of the whole room with ease. Her voice rang out cold and true.

'To be brutally frank, you have no idea what's going on, so I advise that you remain quiet. Let me handle this- since we've already made a spectacle of it, there's little point in feigning secrecy now.'

Kira turned to Yuigahama Yui. 'Yui-san... I sincerely regret how this has turned out. I consider you a friend, and would like you to know that I made no attempt to go behind your back with Hikigaya-kun, as you put it. But... I cannot apologise for what I am going to say next.'

She took a step closer to Hachiman, looking up at him with wide eyes. She made sure her lip was trembling a little. 'Hikigaya-kun, I...' She hesitated. 'I... accept your confession.'

A devastating silence followed when she carefully glanced over the expression of the three under the magnifying glass. All of them were splendid performers. All of them were still in contention to be H. Hayato looked suitably miffed. Hachiman looked suitably conflicted between elation and guilt. Yuigahama looked suitably devastated.

'The truth is, Hikigaya-san... you were wrong to assume I did not know who you were. I never truly knew you, of course, but...' Kira paused, bringing her hands to her chest in a manner she hoped was cute. 'It frustrates me that I can't articulate myself, but... I felt drawn to you. Without even speaking, I felt there was a connection, linking us together even from afar, and...'

She looked up again. Her eyes swam with fake tenderness. 'I would love to know you better, Hikigaya-kun.'

Hachiman's own gaze softened. 'I... thank you, Yukinoshita-san.' He cleared his throat. 'I- I promise to be whatever you need.'

She blushed and glanced away, smiling bashfully. 'T- thank you.'

Then, something happened which, Kira surmised, not even H could have anticipated. A girl with glasses whom Yukinoshita recognised as Ebina Hina let out a long, drawn out sigh of content.

'So! Cute!' she gushed.

Just like two actors on a stage,

Go through the motions that we both rehearsed,

Our little new atomic age,

Eyeball to eyeball, we'll see who blinks first,

A rush of nervous giggles broke out amongst the other members of Class 2F. They were all looking at each other, astounded, still not entirely sure how to react to the rollercoaster they had just witnessed. None of them could have known that, simply by watching, they had saved Hachiman, Yui and Hayato's necks.

Then, an agonised choke burst out. Yuigahama Yui buried her head in arms, desolate, and bolted through the classroom (shoving Hachiman and Kira as she did), disappearing out of the open door.

The awkwardness return as if it had never left.

Hachiman scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. 'Actually, I think some privacy might be good right now.'

Kira nodded, agreeing with him silently, and the two of them followed Yuigahama out the door. As soon as they closed it, the abandoned classroom erupted into a storm of gossip and noise. For just a moment, Kira's eyes met those of Hayato through the circular glass pain. She couldn't quite tell his feelings. Remorse, perhaps?

Hachiman had leant back against the wall of the corridor, resting his head against it sullenly. Kira followed his example, glancing at him every now and then with glimmering eyes.

'I'm sorry about what happened to Yuigahama-san,' she said, offering up her ministrations. 'I didn't mean for it to end so-'

'I'm sorry too. I mean... I've probably ruined your friendship.'

Kira swallowed. 'Yes, but- but on the other hand...' She reached out, interlocking her fingers with his own. 'It means the start of something new, r- right?'

A small smile played on his lips. 'Yes, it does Yukino. I can call you Yukino, right?'

She blushed again. 'Yes... Hachiman.'

They exchanged contact details after that. Hachiman specified that he would call her about possible dates that night, accompanied with some sentimental crap about how he had been dreaming of where to take her for months now. Yukino pretended to lap it up, then said her goodbyes, before heading off towards her homeroom. She knew full well they would be the gossip of the school for a long time to come.

Huh. In the space of fifteen minutes, H had gone from being a mortal enemy (which technically he still was) to possibly being Kira's boyfriend.

All or nothing so let's get to it,

This time stalemate but just you wait,

Clock is ticking so let's just do it,

Let's begin, light the fuse, go all in,

Win or lose, lose or win,

This is it.