Chapter 7: Goodbye
It took a few hours, but now in a forest did a small place appear. The same place her mother had been held for the first 20 years of her life. The same place where she had been raped and tortured to where she had tried to take her life twice. This was a bad place, and Hisaye shuddered as she looked at it. The feeling she got from it...it spooked her. She felt herself trying to get away from the house, taking it so far as to even curl against Akumu to try and get as far as possible away from the house.
"So...little girl..are you a virgin?" Akumu cooed, smiling at her. "If you are, this will be very painful on you for a while..."
Hisaye rolled her eyes, truth to be told...she wasn't. She so highly regretted that fact, but she wasn't. Hisaye figured she'd kill herself over that for a long time, and she still was. It had barely been long since she had lost that innocence, so of course she still regretted it. What a horrible act it had been. She focused on something different, and she hoped her father had gotten something. Something to indicate her whereabouts. She watched Akumu open the door and walk towards a small room. He threw her in there and she landed on her side with a thud. Hisaye winced, feeling pain streak through the area where she had been shot. It was not healed yet...
"Motherfucker..." she spat quietly at the pain, gripping the wound. "Dammit...I think it might have reopened..."
"Get accustomed to your new home...work begins...soon..." Akumu smiled and walked out, closing and locking the door.
There were no windows, no way to escape. It was dark except for a small, lit lamp. The place was stuffy and small, having only a small nightstand and bed. She grimaced as she sat up and looked around. Boy did she feel fucked in more then one way...how would she get outta this one? She was wounded and weakened by drugs, damn sleep medications. She felt them catching up on her again as she stood up. Hisaye stumbled forward, barely making it to the bed as her head began to blur. She moved onto it and curled into a ball, eyes closing as she drifted into unconsciousness.
Matsuda would work furiously to hook up the thousands of wires that would go to and fro in their new base. This hotel room would become a beehive of wires, electricity flowing through them as the blood would flow through veins. Data from hundreds of consoles was being meaninglessly dumped into one mainframe, and then it was sorted quickly by the same machine and organized across almost thirty different computer screens. He had spared no expense in the attempt to find his daughter; he simply would not let it end like this. The detective sat at his chair, devouring sugar cubes mindlessly as he scrolled through everything he had. Nine other detectives sat in the same room with them, simultaneously working upon the same task; once again it was the great chase. Matsuda would have been excited had it been anyone but Hisaye; he also had a lot to lose here.
"Matsuda, have you finished yet!?" asked L impatiently as his dark eyes shifted over to the man hunched over on the floor. It had been almost three days now since L had slept, he was running solely on sugar at this point. Maids and butlers would go in and out constantly during the day delivering all sorts of sugary snacks and caffinated beverages. It was like fuel to this man, the more he consumed the longer he could go, the more he could uncover. He would turn back to the computers and frown. He could not figure out who such a crude man was able to disguise what they did so well. There were only a few ways possible however so he would systematically rule them out.
Matsuda would watch him work over his shoulder, of course not so sure as to how he was able to even keep going. 'This man is amazing, no matter how much there is stopping him he always seems to overcome it' thought Matsuda as he stared on in awe. "Well he does not seem to be using any technical means; we can find no traces of it anywhere. Normally it would require allot of data to obtain." said Matsuda as he went through some of the files they had uncovered. By this point they were both becoming quite afraid that they would never see Hisaye again. Yet something inside of Matsuda told him he would. He would glance menacingly over to the Death Note. Many innocent lives this thing had managed to ruin, many more would follow after. "Damn that stupid book..." he growled as he returned to his own work. This temper was something quite strange to Matsuda; stress had obviously gotten to him.
"I know all of that already Matsuda, yet that does not help. No matter how much we search through public records this guy does not seem to exist. Perhaps we should be searching more on the records of people who don't live within city limits." he said as he placed a finger to his upper lip, lifting it slightly to reveal his teeth. This was starting to go somewhere; of course this data would also take quite some time to decipher. This was infuriating; he could not humanly go any faster, yet he knew that she was counting on him. 'I'm trying Good-Chan, please forgive me if I fail again...' he thought to himself as he placed a piece of chocolate into his mouth. He would then dig into the buildings that exist outside of the city. Several of them seemed like plain farms and such yet one kept coming up. One of them was more of a complex of sorts, perhaps this was a clue.
"Matsuda, why would there be a complex out in the middle of nowhere? It is not sanctioned as a dojo of any sorts either..." he questioned out loud, not really expecting much of an answer. This was more like pondering out loud so he could hear himself speak. "That would be useless...so there must be some alternate purpose to this place." he said to himself as he started to access all records of the place. Soon many images and names would start to filter forth. None of them seemed to be the one he wanted until a single picture would come up. This man seemed to be familiar...those eyes! They matched the ones he found in the window that day, the day he lost her. "Matsuda! I think we have something here." he said as he pulled up a map of the place.
Matsuda would spring from his chair and run on over. Carefully he would dodge all of the wires yet he would trip over his shoelace anyhow. Collecting himself he would stop beside L and look over his shoulder. "Is that the place? Is that the guy?" he would ask as his eyes narrowed upon the pep. So this was the man they were looking for. This was the man that Good had told him about in confidence once L had passed on. He could not stand to look on the face of this man yet he would mark the face well, this would be the last time he would ever need to see it, the last time anyone would ever see it.
"This is the one. I already traced the location of this place. We can head over now, but it will just be you and me. If we go in numbers he will know we're there and flee." said L as he jumped out of his chair. He and Matsu would make their way to the elevator to head down to the car. "Pray we're on time..." with that the doors would close, they descended downward to their greatest hour. Soon all would be determined by fate, wit, and courage. Would it be enough?
They would arrive outside the place Akumu had once held Good captive, assuming this was where he would have taken Hisaye as well. They would quietly sneak into the gates, hoping that no sort of detection tools was installed on the premises. They would begin the search for Hisaye, however many surprises would lie in store for them. It was now a race, a race for life...
Would they be heroes today? Even Heroes fall...
It had been three days already, what a pain. Her body had some bruises and cuts on it already. She was a determined woman, that's for sure. Her stubborn teenager side had made her fight Akumu every minute she was here. She refused to let anyone touch her; therefore she apparently had to go through "special" training. That training was to punish in the most painful ways till your soul broke...apparently her mother had gone through this method, too. Hisaye refused to break; she would keep bending till she escaped. Her mother hadn't had the choice of escape; her mother had already attempted it and had been broken past that point. Hisaye would escape one way or another, she was sure of that. Would L find her? This place was so hard to really find...but she trusted him. She trusted him, and it was very rare she ever trusted anyone.
Dull, crimson eyes looked at the doorknob and she sighed. He had drugged her recently, not even a few minutes ago, possibly. She couldn't remember anymore. It was getting hard for her to think straight. What had it been? A sedative? Something to knock her out senseless so someone could get their dirty hands on her? A grim look passed across her tired features, she hadn't slept for three days now. Hisaye refused to sleep in this place. Problem was, she wasn't being fed, either. She was so hungry, but held a great amount of self-control. She would be able to hold up on not eating for a while. Water was a different story. She didn't think she would live without water or some other liquid much longer. The dehydration was what was killing her, not her hunger. She felt grumpy and like she'd snap at anyone who dared speak to her. She expected it with all she had going on with herself at the moment.
Hisaye leaned against a wall of the room, closing her eyes. No sleep would come to her, despite how exhausted she was. The bags under her eyes had gotten darker from her sleep deprivation. Her mind was so blurred from the drug put in her; she wasn't sure what was up, down, right or left anymore. Hisaye felt like she was drunk or something, since she had no idea how that felt. But she was pretty sure this was close to it. Her mind was just out of it right now. She hoped dearly someone found her soon...
Outside of the gates, the duo would stare at the complex that belonged to the one known as "Akumu". Their eyes would drift from screen to screen as they observed the fact that there were lights on the inside, someone was definitely there. Sneaking in would become that much more complicated, however there was no time to turn back now, they had to save Hisaye. Without even speaking they both seemed to agree, their main goal would be to get her out no matter what, even if the other had to sacrifice their life. The odds of them finding Hisaye were not very good in the least; however the odds of them encountering this Akumu were rising by the moment. One thing at a time however, they needed to figure out how they were going to get over the gate without being noticed.
Matsuda's head would turn from side to side, looking for any possible means of entrance. At first glance he would find nothing, his mind working over time to figure out a good approach to this. He would walk up and down the gates side, careful to make sure that he avoided any camera that he thought might have been there. After sidling the length of the gate he would find nothing, no way into this thing without breaking in. That would be a horrible approach that would no doubt get them detected immediately. Matsuda would curse silently to himself. 'Think damn it, think...' his mind being pushed to it's limits. Fear dictated his every action; however it was not fear for himself, but for Hisaye's life. Turning his head in the direction of L he would gasp when he saw that he was no longer standing there. "L...?" he whispered as a voice rang into his ears...
"Quit fooling around Matsuda, we have to go." the voice coming from a tree branch that was directly at the top of the gates level. With that said he would hang upside down from the branch and grab hold of Matsuda's hands. With a heave he would swing his body and bring him up over the gates. An incredible display by L however he would not be surprised by this, L always did something amazing at the last moment. With that L would drop down from the branch himself, landing silently. Matsuda simply stared at the man with amazement and respect. "We're going to separate and search from this point on. If we both do it this way we run a higher chance of finding her, even if our survival chance goes down." he stated simply. The last comment didn't even seem to phase him; at this moment in time she meant more then his life.
Matsuda opened his mouth to protest but would receive a sharp deadly glare from L. This was a look that he had only seen once before, once in the eyes of Light. Matsuda was truly afraid at this moment, would L really do it? Would he stoop to the level of Kira just to save his daughter? He watched his fears become confirmed when L would reach underneath his shirt and remove the familiar black notebook. In his other hand he would hold a pen, the same one that Good had once used to write him a note. He had never used it after that, knowing that one day he would have a good use for it. "L you're not going to--" he would fall silent once more, he could not really put up a good argument. For now he would simply nod and move off into the shadows, his search would now begin. He saw L move off with deadly intent, not away from the lights but towards them. "Go with god, L..." he whispered softly as he vanished into the building...
Crash. The first door would slide back, nothing! Matsuda threw open door after door, hours he would search finding nothing so far. Anger rising in the young detective, he would not be the one to fail. 'Damn it Hisaye, give us a sign...' he thought to himself as he searched one entire hall and moved on. He would move past a large set of doors, assuming that it was the master bedroom he would not touch it knowing she would not be there. His footsteps carried as he came to the last door he had to search, he could feel that this one would be the lucky one. His hands went to the door knob, a twist, with a final push he would open the door...
L would slide into the main room with Akumu, his deadly eyes fixed upon the man's back. He would remain silent as a cat as he stared upon the man that had taken his daughter. His breathing was slow, soon becoming ragged with anger. "You...!" he growled with rage, sounding almost like an animal rather then a rational human being. "What have you done with her!? What do you plan to do!? Whatever it is I won't allow you to touch a hair on her head any further, not after what you did to her mother!" he growled. He would flip open the book and place the pen to the pages. "Anything you have to say in your defense before you die?" he asked. This sounded nothing like L, it was almost as if he had become the very essence of Kira. He would wait for the man's response, he had the upper hand and all the time in the world, all he needed to do was write one more letter...
Yawning, Hisaye leaned against the wall, eyes closing. But she jerked herself awake, ignoring the fact everything was getting so blurry. With a frustrated sigh, she banged her head against the wall. She didn't care if the noise ended up annoying Akumu or not. She had to do anything she could to stay awake. Hisaye continued to bang her head hard against the wood wall. It was hurting so bad but the pain was waking her up, making her more aware. Pain, right now, seemed to be the only antidote she could get a hold of. Maybe someone would hear her, hear her banging her head against the wall. A desperate attempt to keep herself awake that was working. The pain and throbbing of her head wouldn't allow her eyes to close. It wouldn't allow her to go to sleep. She felt a headache was coming up, and continued. The more pain, the more she would be able to think more clearly.
Akumu was sitting calmly in the main room, fiddling with a pen in his hand. He really had no reason to be holding the pen, it was just boredom that had caused him to do so. His mind had decided to wander off. He thought back to Good, what a useful female she had been. The best in the group and had brought much money into the business. The only unfortunate thing had been she hadn't been able to hold a child within her. She had failed and miscarried at age 14 and it had been such a low percentage she could ever have one. But then she had escaped; she had escaped and gone off to find someone to love. Then she had given birth to a child. Her only child. He wondered about all of this. How had it been possible? Good should've lost the girl; Hisaye should've died. Yet she was here, alive and well. Had it been love that had made Good give birth to her? Had love saved the girl's life? Good's love for the one who had helped her make her, had it saved her?
An angered voice touched his ears, making him turn his head. Looking he came to see the one he knew was Hisaye's father. He was the one Good had fallen for and the one who had faked his death, most likely ending up in Good's demise. Her depression had been a downfall to her after he had left, and it had left her so open. That's how Akumu and his group had been able to beat her when Hisaye was two. That had been how Fumito had managed to get so close as to pull the trigger...
A smirk spread across his face, "well, well...if it isn't Good's lil pet. A bad pet at that...one that ended up killing her."
He chuckled and stood up, eyeing L warily. He looked at the Death Note, the one that Good had for such a long time. "But, at least she finally had a child for me to use. Unfortunate I couldn't get my hands on her sooner."
He moved slightly, and then jumped forward, snatching the book from L's hands.
"Let's not get hasty. Hisaye is around here somewhere, kind of out of it, though. Unless drugged, nobody can get near her. She has quite a fighting spirit, unlike her broken mother. Such a pathetic, small thing she was...I don't see what shone in her to you. She didn't seem all that special. I always wondered if you were just messing with her, using her. All for this notebook of her's...and those eyes."
He held the notebook up, "were you? Were you just messing with her feelings to get information on this thing? Hmm?"
The door handle would twist all the way; not being locked made Matsuda wonder what exactly was going on. Perhaps they were being expected; perhaps this Akumu knew just what he was dealing with. Inside this room his eyes would fall upon the form of Miss Hisaye, banging her head against the wall. From the look in her eyes she seemed like she was quite out of it. 'So that's his game. What's the point in locking the door if she can't even move properly?' he thought to himself as he watched her for a moment. It seemed the drug slowed reaction time to; she was taking quite awhile to even notice his presence. He would move forward swiftly, taking her shoulders in his hands so that she could no longer rock herself into the wall.
"Hisaye, Hisaye! I'm here to take you home. Come on we're going to get you out of here." he said as he shifted a bit so that he could lift her. It had been awhile since he had last carried Hisaye, she had grown quite a bit heavier then when she was last in his arms. "Heh, you've grown quite a bit." he said with a smile, even though the situation was completely inappropriate for this kind of exchange. Shaking his head he would realize that he needed to focus on the task at hand. "Hisaye, your father is in danger! He is not thinking clearly, I fear he may use the Death Note to kill Akumu!" he said as he placed her on his back and made a run for the door. They would come out into the hallway, giving her little time to even respond before he was already making his way towards the main room.
Watching him move so calmly only further pissed off the irrational detective. His hands shaking angrily as the pen hovered just above the paper. The way he spoke of Good with such familiarity angered him. He had no right to speak her name, no right at all, not after what he had done to her. The muscles in his foot tensed, preparing to strike however they would not do so just yet. His eyes would remain locked into Akumu's in hatred, hatred for a man who was nothing but an empty shell. "You have no right to speak her name, bastard." he spat venomously as he twitched with rage. "You know nothing of the situation, nothing!" he said as he seethed, watching the man remain so calm in the face of his own death.
When the man had sprung forward there was nothing L could do by then. The book had now changed hands but that would not matter, he could not be killed without the eyes. Akumu would even go on to speak about his daughter in such a terrible manner, just the icing on the cake that was L's anger. "You're nothing but a vile, evil creature so you wouldn't ever know. You're lower then a demon, even they are capable of more then you show." his hand twitched violently. "If you think that even for a moment I only wanted the book you are sadly mistaken. I've fought so long and hard to destroy this thing, however it was all in vain. Here and now, there is something however I can fight for and succeed in winning. I will take Hisaye back from you, and you will die here..." he said as his body tensed. L would spin on his heel, his right foot connecting solidly with the left side of Akumu's face. "Stand up, I am not done with you..." he growled as he watched the man.
Matsuda continued his pace, he could not afford to stop now or else there was a great chance L could die. He was only armed with the Note Book, what if Akumu had a gun? There was no way the Note Book could take down someone with a gun in time. 'Damn it Matsuda, you should not have let him go!' he insulted himself as he yelled back to Hisaye. "I can hear grunts up ahead, we're almost there!" he said, praying that his luck would hold just long enough to get to L in time...
Her eyes shifted as the door was opened and she gave Matsuda a dull 'out of it' stare. She stopped hitting her head against the wall, a major headache now forming. The pain cleared her vision even more and a soft smile spread across her lips. Uncle Matsu... her mind thought, despite the striking pain suddenly zapping through her. She winced, hand moving slowly and as if she were drunk to touch her head.
"Ow..." she murmured, shaking her head slightly. His hands were placed upon her shoulders and her attention returned to him. At least the pain would numb for a while, which would help her senses till the drug wore off. But boy was she going to feel this sooner or later. He shifted suddenly and she was being lifted. Hearing his comment about her being heavier, she tried to chuckle. But it was only a tired whisk of air mixed with pain. It didn't seem like her voice box wanted to be too cooperative at the moment.
Being placed upon his back, she thought faintly of home. Home...but...
"W-where is...?" she started, but he had started to speak again. Her father...was in danger!? Suddenly she started to become even more aware, her heart beat sped up. It seemed fear was making its way into her body causing adrenaline.
"Danger..." she murmured, her voice sounding stronger now. They were heading somewhere, where her father was?
"Then hurry! If he is in danger, hurry!"
Please...let us make it in time...being irrational is what made me nearly go to my grave! If we're as much alike as people claim, then dammit, he doesn't need to be irrational!
Her grip tightened around him as they ran, eyes closing for a few moments.
Mom...I wonder if you're watching. Help him till we get there...
"We're almost there?" Hisaye blinked, opening her eyes. "Alright..."
With that she pushed off him, landing on her feet. She tested her balance; she was good enough to move. Then she ran ahead of Matsuda, being faster then him. She was being driven, though, to move as fast as possible. Driven by the love she felt for her father and a need to protect him. Akumu was dangerous...very dangerous. The main room...she saw it just up ahead. Hisaye skidded to a stop when she reached it, peeking inside to see the two standing there. A face off? Akumu was rubbing his head, where she guessed her father had kicked him.
"L..." she said quietly, watching as she scooted inside warily. For the most part she was in the shadows, unseen by the two. They both seemed very concentrated on each other. Her eyes darted to Akumu, narrowing. She saw a black notebook in his hands. Had he gotten the Death Note...?
I'll just watch for a few moments...take in the situation...
He watched in amazement as Hisaye sprung forward after moving from his back. With her state she should have been out of it for quite some time, however she was L's daughter after all. He threw out a hand to try and hold her back however his reaction time was too slow, he could not stop her from rushing into the lions den. He himself would have to enter after her, gun drawn and ready for what he would stumble upon. He was not ready to actually shoot someone again, not after he had to do that to Light. It had taken him quite some time to get over what he had done that day, it had shaken him more then he could describe. His eyes would bear witness to L and Akumu wrestling in front of him as he entered a horrifying scene.
Gun held level he would swivel back and forth, not able to get a clear shot. 'Damn it Matsuda, focus there has to be an opening' he scolded as he shook his head and closed one eye. He waited for the opening to come, intently staring at the two in the hopes that they would soon break apart. This was not to happen however as he became a little too hasty. An opportunity presented it's self, one that many would not have passed up either. Akumu's back was temporarily exposed, the perfect opening. His finger would squeeze the trigger, causing the gun to ignite and shoot forth the steel bullet that would end the life of the cruel beast. Just as the shot was about to strike true however it would be too late for L as well, he had not heard it fired in his rage.
The bullet would pierce through Akumu's back from this range, right in the spot that held his heart and move right into L. Blood erupted forth in a splatter as it did it's work, just barely missing Hisaye herself. Akumu and L would gasp in surprise, both slowly moving a hand to their wounds. Akumu had taken the worst of the shot, collapsing onto the ground quicker then anything, fading fast. L's descent however was slower; he would first fall to his knees as his eyes turned slowly to become locked onto Matsuda's. With a shocked look he would then turn to Hisaye, Hisaye! So he had found her after all, however it looked like it would not last, once more he would be leaving her behind. After this moment that seemed to last forever he would collapse onto the floor, barely alive...
Matsuda would drop his gun to the floor, falling to his knees as he watched the horrific scene before him. Yet again he had made another clumsy mistake, only this time they could not laugh this one off. He had killed L, he had killed Hisaye's father. His hands would support him as he fell forward; coughing heavily as he held back the vomit that threatened to make its way out onto the floor. Tears rolled down his face as he shook violently...
