To Catch a Killer
By: KitKat411
Author's Notes: Oh my God, I LOVE YOU ALL. Seriously, I checked my "stats" button and IT WAS LIKE CHRISTMAS. D All right, I'll shut up. But that was really cool. YAY! Thanks for the English compliment! I am a Grammar Nazi, so it's nice to hear that. Heh heh heh. And I love e-cookies! Just make sure they aren't burned, all right?
The only question I had was Penguina. 00? Good story? Bad story? Oh-my-God-I-can't-believe-you-killed-off-her-mother-in-such-a-dramatic-way story? Or none of the above? Yes, I am paranoid. I get this. The voices in my head tell me this.
However, as I am now typing up this chapter, I do notice a slight problem: Light. HE SPENDS A LOT OF TIME WASHING OFF THE BLOOD. And then he…dies. Viciously. And evilly. Damn you, Episode 25.
No, I'm kidding. Ah…Light…falls asleep. On the bathroom rug.
Oh, and L and Hilary are on a couch in that room with the computers. I think there was a couch in the anime, but if there wasn't…make one up.
But anyway, you're all caught up now. Huzzah.
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Hilary was suddenly taken away from the front desk of the grand building, where she had camped out for the last hour. What was happening to her? Was she finally being allowed to talk to L?
Escorted by two security guards, Hilary was led through a wide variety of complicated identification checks. After the security guards were positive that she was, in fact, Hilary Fey, they deposited her in front of a door and left.
Hilary looked at the door, then back at he security guard's retreating figures. So far, all Hilary knew of the building was a) the security guards should be professional wrestlers, b) the building seemed to be the most secure place in Japan, and c) it must have cost a mint to make.
Hilary turned back to the metal door in front of her and frowned. Was she supposed to open it? She looked for a doorknob, a doorbell, a welcome mat…anything that looked remotely helpful in telling her what to do next.
However, that problem was solved just a few minutes later. An elderly man with glasses and a neat suit opened the door. He peered at Hilary for a moment, and she at him.
"Miss Fey?" His voice had a slight English accent to it. She nodded, unsure of how to act or what to say.
"Please follow me, Miss Fey. And try not to touch anything."
Hilary nodded again, and the elderly man led her through the door. Once inside, it took Hilary every ounce of self-control she possessed not to say anything. This room was gigantic, even by her standards. There was an entire wall devoted solely to computers! Luckily, however, there were no other people in the room, just herself and the strange man who-
Oh. Hilary was being led to a couch. A pale boy with raven-black hair and an alabaster face stared back at her. The boy had coal-black eyes, matching the blatantly obvious circles under his eyes.
But Hilary wasn't concentrating on the way the boy sat, or the way he held things, or the fact that the table in front of him looked like a scene out of Candyland. Instead, Hilary was drawn to his eyes. They were cold, calculating, and compelling, yes, but they were also oddly…curious.
She sat down opposite the boy. He is the boy from her images, Hilary thought suddenly. That's why he seems so familiar. The elderly man, satisfied that Hilary was not going to pull a gun on the boy, left.
"L," the man called while walking away, "I'll be monitoring the exchange. If there is any problem, I will be able to tell."
The two sat on the couch and stared at each other. After a long moment, L spoke.
"The probability of you being Kira is twelve percent." He told her. "But if you were Kira, then why would you be here? So maybe…are you not Kira?" These last few thoughts were spoken quietly, more to himself than her.
L then looked up and stared at Hilary. He looked at her troubled face. "Oh. I've startled you." He nodded, confirming this deduction. "Would you like a slice of cake?"
L passed Hilary a plate. She peered at it, checking for poison. She didn't know what was going on. First the silence, then the accusations, and now…cake? She didn't come here to eat cake.
She took a bite of the carrot cake, chewed, and swallowed. "Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?"
L cut himself a gigantic piece of cake. "No." He told her. "First, I'm going to eat my cake." He stuffed a large bite in his mouth. Without swallowing, he added, "Then, I shall deduce why you are here. And how you know my name."
"I'm not here to kill you, Lawliet."
"Please, Hilary-san, refer to me as "L." It is better if no one knows my real name."
"All right," Hilary took a bite of cake, "L, then. As I was saying, I am not here to kill you. On the contrary, I want to help."
"Help? No, you can not help. The only reason you are here is for me to know how you know my real name. Nothing more."
Hilary scowled. She knew revealing that she knew this boy's name was not a smart move, but it had been a move of desperation. How else was she to prove her legitimacy?
But now, Hilary decided, it was time to pull out her trump card. The move that would show Lawliet-L- that she was more than a simple seventeen year old girl.
That she was, in fact, a force to be reckoned with.
"So…L…where is your partner…Mr. Light Yagami?"
L, who had been about to cut a seventh slice of cake, dropped the knife with a loud clatter. "Raito-kun?"
Hilary almost laughed-this was almost too easy. L, she could see, was one of the people who needed everything logically defined. There was always a problem and a solution, and if you figured out the problem, the solution was simple. If, however, something threw off the systems, then the plan flew out the window.
Something like…Hilary Fey, perhaps?
After a few moments L cleared his throat. He stared at Hilary, his enormous black eyes burning into hers. Hilary swallowed. Where there was confidence before was now replaced with fear.
"Hilary-san, why are you here?"
"To help, L."
L shook his head. "No, Hilary. I asked you why you are here. You told me what you are doing here: Fruitlessly blackmailing me into letting you kill yourself. I asked you why you are doing this."
Hilary looked down. She could tell this was some sort of test, but did not know which answer would get her an A.
So, instead, Hilary opted for the truth. "Revenge."
"Revenge, Hilary-san?"
"One week ago, L, my mother was stabbed and shot in my house. I want to find Kira so that he can kill the man who took my mother's life. Kira will help me."
"Kira needs a name and a face to kill, Hilary-san. From my deductive skills, there is a sixty-nine percent chance you have neither."
Hilary nodded. "True. However, once I help in finding Kira, catching a simple burglar should be no problem at all."
L took another slice of cake. "You seem quite sure of yourself and this plan, Ms. Fey. Are you always so confident?"
"No. However, this time I have a slight advantage over Kira, and this is comforting to me."
"And does this 'advantage' have anything to do with that necklace?"
Hilary's hands flew to her neck. "How…?"
"An accurate deduction. Your clothes, hair, and personality do not point to someone who would wear such a necklace. Besides, you were fiddling with it, proving you were nervous. However, if you want to believe that a necklace will protect you, then fine."
"Are you going to ask what advantage this necklace gives me?"
"No. Perhaps later, after I am seventy percent sure with my conclusion."
Hilary felt a faint trace of a smile on her face. "Later, L?"
"Yes. For now, you shall deal with the person whom we suspect to be a "Second Kira." You will follow them, befriend them, and sleep with them." L coughed slightly and added, "As a roommate. You shall share a room. You will, of course, have a separate bed."
Hilary nodded, realizing the seriousness of her job. This "Second Kira" was probably cold, heartless, and cruel. He would be impossible to break down, guarded with his secrets. This job would require brainpower and skill. She would have to always be vigilant and never stop working.
L walked…well, L slouched over to the wall of computers. He pushed a button and spoke into it. "Watari, please send Misa-Misa down."
Hilary stared at him, puzzled. "Misa-Misa…?"
"HELLO!" An overly perky, underdressed girl bounded into the room excitedly. She reminded Hilary of a Gothic Barbie.
In a whorehouse.
On crack.
"This is who you were talking about, L?"
L shrugged dismissively, eyeing the strawberry shortcake on the table. "You wanted to help, Hilary-san."
Hilary glared at L, then at the cake, and finally at the girl.
What had she just done?