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Nizuna Fujieda: Aww. Thanks. :D You always review. It totally makes feel horrible because I never update on time. D:

Aimi scoffed and rolled her eyes. In front of her, Collin and Rue were fighting. They had been fighting for the past ten minutes, although she had only walked in five minutes ago. The only reason she knew about the fight was because Diego had been here from the moment I started. He wasn't too happy about it, either. At first, he had been amused and hadn't stopped them, but the fight got old fast. He had attempted to stop them; the keyword being attempted.

Rue had dropkicked him into the couch. Diego had now nursing an incredible bruise on his cheek. He was rocking back and forth, too, muttering curses under his breath in every language that he could remember. It would be difficult for him to go out and work with the nasty welt being where it was. That meant that he would have to call in, claiming to be sick. It led to the four of them having to rely and taking money from their respective bank accounts.

The two idiots in front of her were going to have to pay for that.

With a sigh, Aimi stood up and avoided the punch Collin had thrown at Rue. She bent over backwards and flipped her left foot upwards, kicking him in the ribs onto the couch. He landed, but not before the grunt escaped him. Rue stopped his punch from landing a hit on her, which she was thankful for. It would have boxed her in the ear. Alas, that didn't stop her from aiming a careful one at his cheek, giving him a bruise that would match Diego's.

"What the hell?" She hissed, crossing her arms. "What's your problem?"

The two of them had the decency to look away from her. Her teeth clenched together and she crossed her arms, her foot tapping impatiently against the ground.

"Well?"

"Naomi's disappearance is being investigated." Collin spat, eyes narrowed and dangerous looking. "L's investigating it now, officially."

"Knowing him, he'll assume, because you and I were the last ones to see him, that we'll be suspects." Rue sneered.

She wasn't focused on that. All the anger and the nerve that she had been feeling had escaped her at that very moment, and her arms dropped to her side uselessly. Her head hung, and she let out a slow sigh.

"It's not like…we weren't expecting it…eh?" She managed to get out before turning around, making a beeline for her room.

Once the door shut, she could hear both Diego ad Rue turn on Collin. It was true. They had been expecting for Naomi's disappearance to catch L's attention. She had also tried to make sure that the camera had seen her, Allyson and Aimi, so that L would realize she was alive. He hadn't, but he would see them. And, in fact, she had been waiting for it for quite a while now, but nothing had ever come up. She had given herself some false sense of hope that the girl had simply not wanted to contact her, and that Light had given up attempting to target her. She knew that she had been lying to herself, but it had made her feel better and she had been able to put a smile on her face. But, not she knew that she couldn't deny it any longer. If L had taken the investigation into probability, it meant that the probability of Naomi Misora being dead had spiked up.

She changed out of her V-neck in favor of slipping on one of Rue's t-shirts and curling up on her bed. She was glad that she wasn't currently with the investigation team. She didn't want them to look at her like this.

It was a sign that she was weak. She hadn't shown a weakness before to L, which was hard, and she wasn't about to start it now.

Lost in her thoughts, the young genius wasn't aware that anyone else had walked in and closed the door behind her. She lay down on her bed. She had been on the verge of sobbing when a familiar scent registered in her mind. She only had enough time to turn around before Rue made himself comfortable on her bed, face blank and eyes determined to stay on the ceiling. His bruise had shown up know, and his knuckles were slightly swollen and red.

Slowly, she reached her hand up and touched his face; her thumb ran over the area where she had left the sickening bruise on his pale, white cheek. He closed his eyes, but didn't look at her. His face didn't register any maliciousness, which surprised her. She was thankful to know that he wasn't angry at her. He said something, but what it was, exactly, escaped her. Instead, she pulled herself closer to him.

"Rue," she whispered. He opened one eye and bent his head down to listen to what she had to say. She pushed herself up and placed a light kiss on his cheek, in the center of the bruise. To his credit, he didn't even flinch. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she closed her eyes. Her fingers weaved themselves into his shirt, and her head made its way to his chest. She didn't want to sob; she refused to do. She didn't even want to think about while he was in the room. He wouldn't think any less of her because of it, but she would. To break down in front of him…would be the biggest mistake of her life.

"I'm pathetic, aren't I?" She breathed, her eyes still closed.

Rue didn't respond, but she knew what he would say if she had been anybody else. Hell, if she had been anyone else, she was sure he wouldn't have put up with this. Like, that one time Fraction had gotten into her mind to tell him that she was having problems. He had just looked at her before screaming that he didn't give a damn, and, that if she thought he did, she should register herself into a mental ward because he wasn't going to put up with it. He didn't care.

Instead, she kept her eyes shut even though she could already feel the tears collecting in them. When she opened her eyes for a moment, they began to stream down her face and into his shirt.

"People have died before, Rue. I've taken on cases where people have died because I hadn't solved them in time. Why does Misora's death affect me? I should be glad that that woman is gone because of what she did to you, but I'm sad. I'm so…unbelievably sad."

Again, Rue didn't answer, but opted to run his fingers through her hair. In a matter of moments, she was asleep against him.

"She's been missing for four months. She's probably dead."

Those were the first words that Aimi Ryuzaki heard when she opened the door to the investigation room. Rue had left her sleep longer than she had planned to from the beginning, which meant that she was late. L had never given her a specific time to be there, but she had set up the time for herself. Any moment that Matsuda had beaten her, she was too late. She didn't like being left out of the conversations.

"Maybe Kira killed her to keep her mouth shut permanently?" Matsuda suggested. "If that's the case, it's pointless to spend any more time looking for her."

She almost blanched and ducked back out of the room, but she was too late for even that. L had already begun to follow her with his eyes. She forced herself to be calm until she sat on the arm holder of his seat, observing them without saying anything.

"She may be dead, but there is still the possibility of someone knowing a little bit of what she knew. Also, it is strange that her body has never been found. If it is found, it may hold some good clues."

"What're you talking about?" She forced herself to ask, though she knew the answer. She blinked down at L.

"Naomi Misora; I'm sure you've heard of her." He said, not glancing at her.

"Ah. The BB Murder Case." She nodded her head, slowly.

"The what case?" Matsuda asked, interested.

"The LA BB Murder Case." She repeated for him. "It would have been the second case L ever lost…had it not been for Misora."

They looked at her, disbelieving. She coughed awkwardly before scratching her cheek, looking away.

"When it comes to me losing your case, can you really say I lost?" L mused, nibbling on his thumb. "After all, here you are…my successor."

Aimi snorted and sat down next to Matsuda, shaking her head. "I'm not your successor."

"I never decided between M and N, and my last known successor was you. It was never put into question that it would be you, even when news of your…supposed suicide reached me."

She groaned and massaged her temples. The need to cry had popped back up again. Now, she was going to want to go and climb back into Rue's arms. That was destructive. She had to put an end to that now before she got addicted.

"Something should have been reported by now, then. Whereabouts of Naomi Misora couldn't just go unknown by everyone. Somewhere in this town, there has to be someone who has seen her recently than we have."

"Ryuzaki," Watari interrupted, heading towards L with a distressed look on his face.

"What it is?" L asked, giving his immediate attention back to the man who had raised him.

"Sakura TV…something big happened." He answered as he turned the television on. All their attention shifted towards it.

"In other words, we are practically reporting this news as the hostages of Kira himself. This is not a prank. The videos are not a hoax." The TV blared out.

"Kira's hostages?" Aizawa exclaimed.

"What the heck is this?" Matsuda shouted.

"There is no doubt that the four cassettes mailed to the director of this show four days ago are real."

Aimi frowned, tilting her head. It had to be a ruse. Albeit, it would be a clever one to get ratings, but that is all it had to be.

"In the first tape, the voice predicted the death of two arrested criminals: Seiichi Machiba and Seiji Machiba." Her eyes flickered down to her phone as she registered the information she was provided with. "Later, as predicted in the tape, they died of heart failure at 7:00 last night."

L glanced at her, and she nodded. "It's confirmed."

"Only Kira is capable of doing something like that. Thus, we are certain that these are truly sent from Kira!" The speaker held up a second video. "Furthermore, he instructed us to broadcast the second tape today at 5:59. We have not watched it ourselves, but the tape should validate the other tapes as well as Kira's message to the world."

'Are they insane? They're basically throwing out their support for Kira. 'not watched it', what are they, lunatics? This never would have happened in freaking America…'

"This is just a joke, right?"

"I don't think so." Matsuda said before she had a chance to reply. "It looks too…"

"damn real?" She retorted. "That's because it is. Now, shut up and let us assess…"

"It is now 5:59. The broadcast will now begin."

When she saw the fought, the successor had to stop from laughing. The font was clearly there to make fun of L, though it was childish.

"I am Kira."

"From the quality, it is home made." She whispered to herself, glancing at L. "Also hand-written. This…can't be our Kira…"

"If This tape was aired exactly at 5:59 pm on April 18th, it should be 5:59:38 right now…39 seconds…40. Please change the channel to Taiyou TV. The news anchor will die of heart failure at exactly 6:00 pm."

"Change the channel." She and L said instantly. They didn't have time to give each other looks. In fact, their eyes never left the screen.

Idly, she wondered if the others were watching this as well.

The two females on his side were sitting there wish shocked expressions on his face.

"Change it back!" She said, pushing herself forward to attempt to not miss any of the details.

"Please move one…no, two more televisions to this room." L commanded.

"Yes, sir." Watari said almost automatically. If it had been any other moment, she would have teased them for that. But, it would be inappropriate at that second.

"That was the punishment for always speaking in cynical terms against me on television." She gaped. "Surely one person is not enough to prove my identity, so I will take another sacrifice. The target is another commentator on the same network who always opposes my actions."

"R-Ruzaki. Surely…" Matsuda's words died on his lips.

"Chanel 24." L commanded.

"B." She answered her phone on the first ring.

"Kira is directly manipulating the mind of the public." L mused.

"Yes, we're watching it. No, I don't approve of that." Aimi frowned against the phone. "No, I don't care. That isn't allowed. And, no. Yes, I thought so, too. I'm sure L has, as well. I'll get back to you."

"It may be troublesome if we don't stop the broadcast soon." L announced.

"Rue thought so, too."

"What's the number for Sakura TV?" Matsuda asked, turning around and running towards the phone.

"Please believe me when I say that I am Kira."

"This isn't good." Matsuda cried. "Every line is busy…"

"My contact in the station turned his cell phone off." Aizawa growled, snapping his cell phone shut.

"Damn it! I'll go stop them myself."

"Ukita-san!" Matsuda shouted.

Aimi's eyes widened, and she stumbled to get up.

"No, that wouldn't be wise." She started, but she was too late. He was already outside of the room. "Verdammt, hat er einen Todeswunsch!" She sneered, smacking her hand against the edge of the seat.

"I do not mean to kill innocent people. I abhor evil and defend justice. The police do not have to be my enemies. They can be my allies. As long as no one tries to oppose me, no one else will die. Even if you disagree with me, as long as you don't stand against me in public, I won't kill you. Just wait a little while. The world will become a utopia that is otherwise an impossible dream. The world can be full of no one but people of good conscience. Take a moment and imagine a world where the policemen work together with me to eliminate all evil."

Her eyes connected with L's. Hers were wide and her mouth was set in a firm line.

"Can you imagine, L?" Alternate asked, dreamily. Her hands were fumbling on her lap, and she was glancing up with a thoughtful look in her eye. "It's an impossible dream, but can you imagine the utopia?"

The teenaged L scoffed. "The world is filled with harsh people, Alternate. Those thoughts are pointless. A dream of reaching a world filled with no one but those who have good, conscience thoughts is highly unlikely."

She sighed and nodded her head, somewhat annoyed that he wouldn't even try to attempt to humor her. Even little Near had hesitated in his thoughts, indulging her if only for a moment. "I know. We're more likely to become a dystopian society where we kill each other."

"Wars are imminent." He shrugged, glancing back down at the files.

"I suppose you're right. You always are, L." She laughed before picking up her own files and her pen.

"…uh?" She blinked and snapped her attention back at the television.

"So our fake badges are useless after all?" Aizawa exclaimed, angrily. She blinked, somewhat confused, but it was easy to see what had happened. "Did our names leak out somehow?"

"It is possible." L said, calmly. "However, why hasn't Kira killed every one of us already? I said that "Kira needs both the name and a face to kill," but after seeing this…I have to say that there is now the possibility of Kira being able to kill using someone's face alone. I can't say for sure right now, but…"

"It goes without saying that Ukita died as a direct result of going there. He died in front of the TV station, and everyone who is watching this broadcast has seen it." She said slowly, following L's line of thought.

"It is likely that Kira is somewhere in or near the station and watching closely for intruders." He acknowledged.

"If not that, then we should consider that he has set up spy cameras to keep watch in his stead." She finished for him.

"If we know where Kira is now, shouldn't we go and arrest him?" Aizawa basically begged.

"Like I said, charging in there will get us killed. Please, try to understand." L said, although his voice was flat and probably served to piss off Aizawa even more. As it was, the investigator looked ready to kill L with his own, bare hands and save Kira the trouble of doing it.

"Well, I can't…" Aizawa started calmly before lunging for L. "Ukita died! Did you say that you would rick your life to arrest Kira?" he shouted, knocking his arm into L's shoulder and grabbing him by the shirt.

"Risking my life and throwing it away are two very different things." L defended.

"Yeah, Aizawa-kun." She agreed. "L's more likely to throw other people's lives away."

L shot a glare her way, but she smiled in return. "I feel the same way as you, but you must stay calm. It is too late for Ukita-san, but if Aizawa-san dies as well…"

The two of them looked shocked.

"The front of the entrance of Sakura TV is eerily silent!" Kira's name flashed back on the street. "Please give an answer as to whether or not the police will cooperate with me to create a new world four days from now on April 22nd. On that same day at 6:10 pm, I have tapes ready to be aired in response to that letter."

"As long as the police man an announcement, iw ill not mind whether or not anyone reveals themselves." The main TV said.

A second, smaller one continued with, "As soon as new information is available," but the third one was what held their eyes.

"Ooh! It broke in! A vehicle has crashed into the Sakura TV station!"

"By doing that, he's ensured that he can enter the building without revealing himself." L bit his thumb.

"Shouldn't he still be in the hospital?" Aimi mused. "It's kind of risky. There is a good chance that Kira is watching from inside of the station."

L nodded.

"But…more importantly, who?" Matsuda gaped. "Is he on our side?"

"Well, it is a police car but…" Aizawa mused.

She shared a knowing smile with L.

"The police have not said anything concerning this incident." The TV announced a second before continuing. "Oh, finally! A police car has arrived in front of the Sakura TV station!"

"There are still some within the police who dare to stand up beside us."

"Eh?" Her eyes widened somewhat, and she pushed Matsuda and Aizawa out of her way in order to lean forward.

"Aizawa-san. Do you know vice-director Kitamura's phone number?"

Aizawa hesitated for a moment. "Ah, yes?"

"Please call him and give the phone to me when he answers."

A moment later, he continued on the phone.

"I have a request. Someone in the police has seen the broadcast and acted on their own volition. If we do not get a handle on the situation, this may become disastrous. But, given the situation…"

Aimi, meanwhile, had picked up her phone once more. "D?" She asked, somewhat warily. When the voice on the other side confirmed that it was him, she smiled slightly and continued. "Where are they?"

"Collin is out…I don't think that he has seen the broadcast yet. If he had, I'm sure he would be calling one of the two of us, and I haven't heard anything yet."

She let out a sigh in relief. "That makes me happy. What about Rue? Is he…?"

Matsuda was gaping at her, but she ignored him.

"I don't know. I can't find him anywhere. I assumed he had gone out to meet yo-Aimi? Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"L," She said calmly, hanging up and gathering her things. "I'll be back later…I have to go and stop an idiot from making some sort of mistake."

L glanced up at her from the phones, lowering them both. "Be-"

"Yes. We don't know where he is, but I'm going to find him. I'll…call you in a bit, okay?" She asked, wearily.

She didn't wait for him before she dashed out the door and down the stairs. When she made it outside, she shivered slightly at the cold air before making her way to the park, where he picked her up every day. She tried his cell phone several times before he answered.

"What do you want, Allyson?"

"Beyond? What the hell!" Her voice was near hysterical. "Where are you?

"Where I should be? I'm at the park. Why? What's going on?"

She let out a sigh of relief and fell against the nearest wall, leaning against it with her eyes closed. "I don't know, okay? I thought…I thought that you had been behind that stupid stunt at Sakura station. I thought that you were going to get yourself killed. Kira's gotten stronger."

Beyond's breath hitched, and she could hear him moving around. "How?" He demanded.

"He killed at least 3 people today without having known their names." She glanced up, hearing footsteps by her.

"So, he has…my ability, then?" She could hear his muttered curses, too.

"I guess so. I haven't told L anything, Rue." She said softly, moving around.

A figure stood in front of her, and she had to hold back a scream. Her eyes widened and she took steps back. The figure gave her a meaningful look before lifting his finger to his mouth, telling her to remain quiet.

"Good. I'll come find you and we'll go home. We can figure out what to do from there. Does that sound like a plan?"

"No." Aimi said, keeping her eyes on the figure. He motioned to the phone and slid his fingers across his throat, telling her to cut their connection off. "Go ahead. I'll meet you there later. Found a book I'd like to read." She told him. "Interesting cover; I'll show it to you the next time I see you."

She hung up before he had anything else to say and stared at her 'captor' with a look of resentment and acceptance.

"So, did you have something to tell me?"

AN: There we go. There's the newest chapter...sorry it's out FOREVER late. School kept me busy and...yeah, my excuses sound lame to me, too.