I'm so happy that I'm finally seventeen! It rocks! My mom gave me a hundred dollars for my b-day and I've already blew seventy dollars on manga! She made me keep the rest to buy some new clothes with. XP
The ages below will be for the rest of the story. YAY! No more keeping up with the ages for any of us!
Hotaru, Raito- 17
L- 24
Mello, Sayu- 15
Matt-14
Near-13
Meghan- Looks 14, actual age unknown
Chapter 6: Video
(January 5, 2004)
L handed Matsuda his cell phone after talking to Naomi Misora's mother. He explained the situation before pausing.
"Here's what we do. We're narrowing our investigation to those Raye Penber was probing before December 19, when Kira started conducting test on prisoners. That's very few people." L began," However, since it's quite possible that Kira is one of them, calling them in for questioning is not going to work. It's too dangerous. Our focus will be two NPA personnel and their families...Inside those two homes; we will place secret cameras and listening devices."
"Wh-what?!" Matsuda shouted in shock," This is Japan! That's totally illegal!"
"Yeah…That's going too far, Ryuzaki." Aizawa tried to reason," If that got out, there'd be a huge scandal. We'd all be fired. Not just that, we'd be arrested…"
"So you won't risk your jobs? I though you were risking your live for this." L pointed out.
"Who were the two NPA personnel that Penber was probing?" Soichiro asked.
"Director Kitamura and his family. And chief Yagami and his family." L replied," I'd like to place bugs and hidden cameras in those two homes."
Shock and horror filled Soichiro's face as his mind suddenly he spoke up"I find it extremely galling, to say the least, to have my own family place under suspicion. So very well, go ahead. You have my permission! But if you do this…I insist you go all the way. I want bugs in the bathrooms, hallways, every inch of the house so that nothing is missed!!"
"Thank you. That's exactly what I plan to do." L replied. Soichiro moved to stare out the window as Aizawa and Matsuda exchanged worried looks.
"As a courtesy to Yagami-san…Surveillance of the Yagami home will be carried out by him and myself only-while the rest of you take turns doing the following- two people keep watch over the Kitamura house, one person mans the NPA office, and one person looks through the Yamanote Line security videos to check if anyone from the Kitamura or Yagami families is pictured." L ordered as he climbed onto the couch and pulled his knees up to his chest.
"Bugs and cameras will be in place for seven days. This period may be shortened or extended, depending on the circumstances. In either case, I'll tell you about it. You have my word that I will not extend it secretly. So, that's all right, then?"
(Source: Death Note Volume 2)
(January 8, 2004)
Hotaru smiled as Raito, Akira, and Yamamoto, another one of their friends, discussed Kira during their walk home. Ami had insisted that Hotaru take the weeks before her college entrance exams off, leaving Hotaru more time to spend with her friends.
"So, even though we're still in a recession, at least crime's down, so 2004 started out pretty well." Yamato commented.
"More precisely, Kira's murder spree means the crime rate has actually gone up. But that's had the effect of suppressing other crime." Raito added.
"Raito's right!" Akira replied," What do you think, Hotaru-chan?"
"I think it is unusual that one crime is stopping another." Hotaru smiled slightly.
"Oh! I just remembered something!" Yamamoto grinned as he reached into his bag and pulled out a small card before handing it to Hotaru," Happy new year, Hotaru-chan. I'm sorry it's late compared to your card."
"It's okay, Yamamoto-kun." Hotaru replied as she took the card as they reached the Yagami household.
"See ya. Hey Yamamoto, it isn't too late to send me a New Year's card as well." Raito teased.
"Sorry Raito, I only send cards to girls." Yamamoto responded as Akira laughed.
"Ja ne." Hotaru waved at Raito unlocked the door," That's unusual that Sachiko-baa-san isn't home."
"Yeah." Raito replied.
Hotaru stared as Raito headed straight for his room," You're paranoid."
"Hm?" Raito asked from the bottom of the stairs," What do you mean?"
"The first thing you do when we get back from school is check to see if anyone entered while we were gone." Hotaru teased.
"You should check your room. Wouldn't want anyone knowing about all of those yaoi manga, do you?" Raito joked.
"Raito!" Hotaru blushed as he laughed and went up to his room. Raito frowned as he noticed that his door handle had been moved and a small slip of paper fell out of the door as he opened it. Hotaru pouted as she walked to the kitchen and quietly prepared Raito and her some green tea. She frowned as Raito came back down the stairs with a jacket on.
"Where are you going?" Hotaru asked as she offered him a cup.
"I was going to go get some magazines." Raito explained as he took the cup and quickly drank the contents.
"Still reading every magazine with an article on L or Kira?" Hotaru wondered.
"Yeah. Some of them are pretty interesting. I'll lend some magazines to you later." Raito grinned before handing Hotaru back the empty cup.
"That's okay. I need to concentrate on studying." Hotaru declined as she took the cup and set it in the sink. As Raito left, Hotaru headed up to her room with her cup.
(Task Force Hotel Room)
"So he is…I didn't realize he went to such lengths…Might there be something in there that wants nobody to see?" Soichiro observed as he and L watched the video feed carefully.
"Well, considering he's 17, it isn't all that unusual. I've done it myself, for no reason at all." L explained," Oh, and Yagami-san, I hear your son is interested in the Kira case, and following it closely. Have you ever shared any information with him?"
"Of course not!" Soichiro exclaimed," I did tell my family that I was heading the Task Force, but I would never, ever divulge confidential police information. Anyway, I've hardly been home since the case started, and when I'm there, all I do is sleep."
"All right." L responded," Watari, switch to cameras 56 & 48 so we can see what Tomoe-san is doing."
(Hotaru's room)
Hotaru carefully folded her uniform after changing into a dark brown skirt and a purple sweater. She quickly pulled out her work books and set them carefully on her desk before walking over to her bed and dragging a small box out from under it. She smiled as she pulled out several balls of yarn and some knitting needles.
"Good thing Raito went out. I finally get some time to work on his birthday presents." Hotaru cheered happily as she looked through the colors to decide which ones to use. She frowned as she shifted through the colors, finally settling on a dark blue. "I need to go to the store to get more if I'm going to make Raito a sweater." She quickly grabbed her small black purse and calmly went outside, a small grin on her face.
Hotaru shivered slightly at the crisp winter air as she gripped her purse to her chest. Something was wrong, she didn't know what, but something was following her. Hotaru turned around quickly to see something that she could only describe as a monster approaching her. It resembled a giant black scorpion, except the face was a white mask.
"Hotaru-sempai, jump back!" Meghan shouted as she grabbed the back of Hotaru's sweater and pulled.
"M-Meghan-chan, what are you doing here?" Hotaru asked as she stared at the creature that looked like it was poising for attack.
"Saving your butt." Meghan replied as she pulled out a PEZ dispenser and popped one of the candies in her mouth. Hotaru froze as a spirit burst from Meghan's body revealing, Meghan's spirit form was dressed in the same robes that she had seen Gin in all those years ago.
"Keep her safe." Meghan demanded the mod soul inside of her body.
"Yes ma'am!" The mod soul replied and grabbed Hotaru's arm," Hotaru-sama please come with me while Meghan-sama defeats that hollow."
"Ohh! A little Shinigami! I heard they're good eating!" The hollow sneered.
"I don't know. I'm probably really tough." Meghan smirked as she unsheathed her zanpakuto, which looked like a traditional katana. "Now. Why don't you just stay there, like a good hollow, and let me cleanse you?"
"HA!!" The Hollow mocked," Cleanse me? I do not need to be cleansed!"
"Have it your way." Meghan shrugged and disappeared.
"Huh?" The hollow blinked and looked around," Where did she g…"
Meghan smirked as she stabbed the hollow at the base of his neck," It's called shunpo, or flash step. One of the many things I have learned from Byakuya-taicho. Comes in handy when dealing with hollows."
"I will not die that easily!" The hollow exclaimed and attempted to stab Meghan with his stinger.
"Nice try." Meghan responded as she sliced the stinger from his body before it could sting her," Not good enough though." Hotaru paled as the hollow let out a blood curling scream as Meghan sliced him in half.
"I am sorry you had to see that, Hotaru-sempai." Meghan bowed as she approached the older woman," I guess I should explain everything to you?"
"Yes." Hotaru nodded as Meghan reentered her body.
"Well, let's go somewhere quiet to talk." Meghan grinned.
"We can go to my room." Hotaru offered and Meghan followed Hotaru into the Yagami household.
(Task Force)
"Who's that?" Soichiro frowned as Hotaru reentered the house with Meghan following her.
"I thought you would know." L responded lazily," We'll watch and see what they talk about."
(Hotaru's room)
"Wow your room is really nice." Meghan admired as she looked around.
"Arigato." Hotaru smiled," Do you want something to drink?"
"Nope. I'm good." Meghan responded as she sat down on the floor," Now what do you want to know first?"
"What was that thing that attacked us?" Hotaru demanded," And what exactly are you?"
"Well. That thing was a hollow. Hollows are spirits that, because of emotions such as anger or hate, become monsters. They live off of other hollows and other spirits. Hollows are known for attacking humans with immense spiritual powers, such as you and your friend Ichigo Kurosaki." Meghan started," In contrast, wholes are spirits of the dead."
"As to what I am, I am a Shinigami." Meghan stated simply," It is my duty to cleanse hollows so that they may enter Soul Society, and to send wholes to Soul Society. That sword that I was using is called a zanpakuto, it is a physical representation of my spiritual energy."
"How many humans can see you while you're in your Shinigami form?" Hotaru asked.
"One in about 50,000 can barely make us out, about a third of those people can see us clearly, and only the strongest of that third can hear and touch us while in our true forms." Meghan explained," That means you're pretty dang powerful."
"T-that can't be true." Hotaru whispered.
"Yes it can." Meghan responded," Have you ever had any unusual abilities, such as being able to heal with a touch?"
"Yes." Hotaru nodded," But I've been able to do that since I was little! I wasn't able to see spirits until middle school!"
"I haven't heard of that happening before." Meghan pondered as she tapped her chin," I'll have to report that to Byakuya-taicho."
"Byakuya-taicho?" Hotaru repeated.
"Yeah. You see, there are 13 divisions of Shinigami. Each division has a taicho, a fukutaicho, the seated officers, and the members of the division. I belong to the sixth division, which is led by Byakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai." Meghan explained," Byakuya-taicho refuses to let me be a seated officer because of my age."
"How old are you?" Hotaru asked.
"I think I'm about a hundred or so years old. We really don't keep track of our birthdays." Meghan shrugged. Hotaru stared at Meghan with wide eyes, suddenly Meghan fell backwards.
"Meghan-chan!" Hotaru shouted as she dashed over to the girl's side.
"Ugh. I'm exhausted." Meghan groaned," This is all Kira's fault."
"What do you mean?" Hotaru asked.
"Because of the amount of criminals that Kira has killed and is killing, the number of hollows has increased like crazy. I think that hollow I fought earlier was my thirtieth one so far this month." Meghan complained," Whenever I found out who Kira is I'm going to kick his ass into Hueco Mundo and watch hollows eat him just for fun."
"Meghan-chan!" Hotaru scolded," That's cruel!"
"No what's cruel is not being able to save the spirit of a little girl because of a hollow." Meghan snapped as tears filled her eyes.
(flashback)
"Another one!" Meghan exclaimed as her cell phone went off for the third time that day," I better hurry and finish it off." Meghan placed a mod soul in her gigai, and then dashed through the busy Tokyo streets until she found the hollow. Meghan froze as she realized the hollow had caught the spirit of a girl that couldn't be older that five. Meghan dashed forward, yet she didn't reach the hollow in time. It had already eaten the poor girl.
"NOOO!!" Meghan shouted in agony as she attacked the hollow with tears streaming down her face," Give her back! Spit her up!! She deserves to go to Soul Society, not you!" Meghan froze as the mask on the hollow's face partially shattered. She immediatly recognized him as Kurou Otoharada, Kira's first victim.
"DAMN YOU KIRA!!" Meghan screamed at the top of her lungs as Kurou was dragged into hell," I'll get you for this. I swear it."
(End flashback)
"You saved me, and probably several other spirits and humans though." Hotaru consoled as she hugged Meghan to her chest.
"B-but she was just a child." Meghan sobbed as she clung to Hotaru," Byakuya-taicho was right. I'm not ready to be a seated officer. I couldn't save her Hotaru-sempai. I couldn't save her."
(Task Force)
Soichiro and L exchanged surprised looks as they listened to Hotaru and Meghan's conversation. There was no way that what Meghan was saying was true, was there?
(That evening)
"Thank you for letting, Meghan-chan to stay the night." Hotaru smiled at Sachiko.
"No problem. Why didn't you tell us that you were tutoring somebody?" Sachiko asked as she and Hotaru washed the dishes from supper," I feel so sorry for her. Watching a little girl get ran over must have been traumatizing."
"Meghan-chan didn't want anyone to know that she was being tutored." Hotaru explained as she dried the final plate and put it away in the cabinet," I'm going to go talk to Raito before I go to bed."
"Okay." Sachiko replied," Tell Meghan-chan that if she needs anything just to feel free and come get it."
"I'll pass it along." Hotaru nodded. Hotaru bit her lip as she knocked on Raito's bedroom door.
"Do you need something, Hotaru?" Raito asked as he opened the door.
"I have something I need to tell you." Hotaru replied nervously.
"What is it?" Raito inquired kindly as he gave Hotaru a reassuring smile.
"Before I say it, promise you won't hate me or view me as a freak." Hotaru demanded.
"I could never think of you as such." Raito replied as he reached out to touch Hotaru's cheek gently. Hotaru blushed slightly before taking a deep breath.
"Youknowhowichigocanseeghosts?" Hotaru asked quickly.
"Huh?" Raito blinked in confusion.
"Y-y-you know how Ichigo can see ghosts?" Hotaru asked, to which Raito responded with a nod," I-I can see them to!"
"How long have you been able to?" Raito questioned gently.
"Since middle school." Hotaru explained," I-I kept it a secret because I was afraid of how you would react!"
"Hotaru, we've been friends since we were five." Raito pointed out bluntly," It's okay. You're not a freak, you're special." All the more reason to make you the goddess of my new world.
"A-arigato." Hotaru cried before hugging Raito tightly," You have no idea how much that means to me, Raito!"
"Listen. No more secrets between us okay?" Raito asked, and Hotaru replied by nodding and wiping her tears away.
"H-hai." Hotaru nodded.
"Maybe you should go to bed early tonight." Raito suggested.
"That's what I was going to do." Hotaru replied before heading to her room, where Meghan was playing on her computer.
"Good night, Raito." Hotaru waved before entering her room.
"Good night, Hotaru." Raito replied before entering his room and collapsing on his bed. "She can see spirits?" Raito whispered in disbelief.
"Hyuk hyuk hyuk." Ryuk laughed," I'd be more worried about her being able to see the shinigami if I were you."
(End chapter 6)
Harpygirl91- This chapter was hard for me to write. I was nearly crying at some parts.
FINAL CHANCE TO VOTE FOR MEGHAN'S PAIRING!! YOU CAN VOTE MORE THAN ONCE!!
MEGHAN/NEAR-1
MEGHAN/MATT-2
MEGHAN/IKKAKU-1
MEGHAN/TOSHIRO-2