Chapter 4

Eavesdropping

Light was . . . better, in a way, the next morning. He had slept fitfully and had murmured in his sleep, but hadn't revealed anything incriminating, though shinigami seemed to have featured in his nightmares quite a bit. But nightmares about shinigami weren't enough for him to voice his rekindled suspicion. L considered, for a moment, bluffing and demanding to know why Light was dreaming about being Kira, but he doubted it would work. He'd tried that ploy already once before and he had little expectation that it would work the second time when it had failed the first.

In the morning, Light had regained his cool composure. For all the world, one would think that the emotional trauma he'd experienced the previous day had never happened. But it was more than Light simply regirding himself in confident arrogance that put L ill at ease.

There was a gleam in Light's eyes that had been absent for a long time. It was the gleam of careful consideration. The gleam of contemplation. It was the look Light got in his eyes when he was plotting something. A look he hadn't witnessed since before the teen's incarceration.

Kira's eyes.

It was devious and L hated it. He'd gotten used to the persona he'd unconsciously called "Innocent-Light". Kira-less Light.

He would have to keep a very close watch on Light from now on. A very close watch indeed.

He slid his chair a little closer under the guise of getting more comfortable and began perusing the data compiled on his laptop while watching Light out of the corner of his eye. Light seemed inordinately interested in where Watari was taking the Death Note after it's cursory examination and photo shoot. He'd photographed every page and both covers for easy referencing.

He'd have to have the book moved. If Light found out where he'd been keeping it, and if Light was Kira, then the notebook was no longer safe in the vault. Would the shinigami be able to retrieve it for him? He knew that the creature could pass through solid objects easily, so if that were the case and if Light could convince Rem to help him, the notebook wouldn't being staying in the vault no matter how many security measures he put in place.

"Kira hasn't killed anyone yet today. I guess we really stopped it!" Matsuda said with his characteristically optimistic naivety, drawing L out of his thoughts.

"No." He said as he lazily dropped a sugar cube into his coffee, "The First Kira is still out there. It's only a matter of time before he strikes again. It's possible Kira is attempting to lull us into a false sense of security. After all, by now the media has alerted the public to the Higuchi incident. Kira possibly thinks he's out of danger and is reluctant to sacrifice the anonymity Higuchi's blunder will bring him."

"But he can't strike again. We have his Death Note." Matsuda persisted.

L sighed, keeping his gaze fastened on his monitor as he answered. "No. I believe there is another Death Note."

"There would have to be. The Second Kira would have had to have had one as well." Soichiro said with a frown. "And somebody killed Higuchi."

"Yes. The notebook we have now is most likely the Second Kira's." L mumbled. "It doesn't fit the First Kira's profile. He wouldn't give up his notebook to anyone. Most likely, the First Kira forced the Second Kira to give their notebook to Higuchi. After all, the Second Kira did pledge to do as Kira said. I wonder . . ." He blinked suddenly and shut up. He couldn't think out loud like that anymore if Light was Kira. It wouldn't do to give his adversary any more of an advantage than he may already have.

"Wonder what?" Matsuda asked.

"You've been remarkably silent, Light-kun. Do you have any thoughts on this matter?" L asked, switching gears completely and trying to throw the boy off guard.

"Maybe Kira got bored of playing god." Light said with a dismissive shrug as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head.

Impossible.

Light had to know that L would reject that theory. It made absolutely no sense. Why would he even suggest it? He'd come to depend on the teen's incredible reasoning ability. To even voice such a proposal was ludicrous. It was something that Matsuda might say, not Light.

"No. That doesn't sound like Kira at all. Kira doesn't give up. To give up would be to accept defeat. I've made this struggle too personal to him. Kira wont stop until I've caught him. And he wants me dead far too much to ever consider quitting."

The boy looked faintly amused for a second before he squashed it under studied nonchalance. L doubted anyone else saw it as his expression didn't change in the slightest. It was just the subtle softening of his eyes. "I suppose." He said with a shrug, his eyes straying back to the security monitors.

A flicker of disappointment flashed across the boy's face at the absence of Watari on any of the monitors. Yes, he was very thankful now that he'd had a secondary security system installed in all of the zones of headquarters that he deemed restricted. There was no need for any of the task force members to have access to the security feed from the basement. Those feeds could only be accessed from Watari's security console or L's personal laptop.

But Light had to know that by now. And if he didn't, he soon would. It wouldn't take a genius to find out that footage from some areas of headquarters was conspicuously absent. All it would take is someone with a little patience and a reason to look. Both of which he knew Light possessed.

What are you planning, Light?

Could he really think that he could bypass L's own security measures? Could he really think that he stood a chance at taking back the notebook? That had to be what he was after. Why else would he be so interested? He wanted that notebook.

He had to be Kira.

He stirred his coffee absently as he considered his friend out of the corner of his eye. Was there a viable reason other than being Kira for Light to want to take possession of the notebook? He supposed the teen would want to see the notebook destroyed. The Kira case was too important and too close to being finished for their primary piece of evidence to be disposed of. There was also that rule about destroying the notebook. Everyone who had touched it would die.

Would Light be willing to sacrifice them all for the sake of something he thought was right?

Yes.

Of course he would. He was Kira, or at the very least had the same profile as Kira.

And everything he knew about Kira pointed to the fact that he would be willing to kill even those closest to him to obtain his objective or to protect himself. Light had to be Kira and therefore all of their lives hung in the balance. He shouldn't let the boy out of his sight.

Whether he was taking the notebook back to use it or to destroy it, their lives depended on stopping him. Perhaps himself and Watari were the only ones safe from him. To his knowledge, Light still hadn't discovered their true names. But the rest of the task force; Matsuda, Aizawa, Mogi and even Soichiro were all in mortal danger.

Light excused himself to go to the washroom some time late that evening and the shinigami followed him out of the room. It had taken to following them around randomly. At first, he'd thought the thing was bound to the book, but that didn't seem to be the case as it had followed Watari to his security room earlier that morning.

L didn't like the thought of Light and the shinigami alone together. There was so much havoc that creature could cause if Light was able to sweet talk it into doing his bidding. He glanced around at the rest of the room, discovering that most of them had already retired for the evening. Only Mogi was still present and he looked like he was half-dozing in his chair.

Silently, he slipped from his seat and followed after Light. He caught up to them on the second floor, near the bathrooms and hid behind the corner of the stairwell. He listened carefully, putting his hand over his mouth to muffle the sound of his own breathing. Light had stopped walking and was standing in the middle of the hall, facing the shinigami. He had to know that the halls were only monitored visually. It was an ideal place to have a conversation you didn't want overheard.

"Rem." Light said softly, almost a whisper.

"Light Yagami." The shinigami rumbled. "You are speaking to me now?"

"Rem, I need to know, if someone were to try to destroy your notebook, would you do anything to prevent it?" He asked.

Practically a confirmation of L's suspicions. He shifted anxiously. Part of him wanted to rush the teen and restrain him from taking further action, but the other more logical side told him that there was more that Light might confess to. Would he confess to being Kira to the shinigami? No, there was no reason to. Obviously, if he was Kira, the shinigami already knew that.

"You would lose all of your memories of Death Notes and shinigami if the notebook was destroyed." Rem replied.

"That's not what I asked. I asked if you would try to stop me if I destroyed it." Light said impatiently.

"No. It is against our laws to interfere in that manner. Those in possession of the Death Note have the right to destroy it if they wish to."

"Good. So don't interfere. No matter what." Light said darkly.

"Why would I?" Rem asked.

"You're not exactly conventional when it comes to following the rules, are you, Rem? So I'm telling you, just don't get involved. Don't try to help me. Don't interpret anything I do as a signal to you and we should be okay. It'll be over soon."

"What will be over?" The shinigami asked.

Light didn't answer, turning in to the bathroom without another word. The shinigami stayed still for a moment before phasing through the floor. L waited until he was sure that she was gone before stealthily slipping back down the stairs and curling up in his chair.

The impudence with which Light had spoken to the shinigami spoke worlds about their relationship. Light had to know the shinigami from before. Either that or he had absolutely no survival sense. Which L knew for a fact wasn't true. Light knew when and when not to take risks, for the most part. So that meant Light had to be Kira.

And he was planning to destroy the notebook.

It was all he needed to put a trap in place. If he could conclusively prove that Light was Kira, all of this would be over. He would need to catch the teen in the act of trying to kill someone. Simply seeking to destroy the notebook wouldn't be enough proof to convince any fair jury.

He wondered if he let his name slip, if he could govern who at least Light was likely to try to kill. But no, that was a foolish risk. Even with the plan he was cooking up, it would be stupid to reveal his real name to Light. There was no telling what that shinigami would do. Light had suggested that the creature didn't always follow the rules. He didn't know what that meant exactly, but it was enough to put him on edge.

There was nothing more dangerous that someone who was willing to break the rules. They provided an unpredictable hazard that was, more often than not, fatal. Even his little battle of wits with Kira followed an unspoken set of rules. It was understood that this wouldn't stop until one of them was dead. And L didn't intend to be the corpse left at the end of this, whether he was friends with Light or not.

There was no doubt in his mind now that Light was Kira. He was certain of it. One hundred percent.

AN: Thanks so much to all of my readers. I really appreciate you taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed.

Allora