--Two-headed Serpent--
L curled into himself when he was sleeping, and he stayed that way until he twitched awake, like some crack addict (really there was no better way to describe it) and rolled out of bed to go find his sugar-cup. Raito would also have to roll out of bed then, as L gave no warnings, and he would likely find himself on the floor and being dragged to the surveillance room if he ever depended on the detective for one.
"Would you like some tea, Yagami-kun?" L precariously balanced his spoon between his index finger and thumb, the polished silverware tipping back and forth in the fashion of a seesaw.
It reminded Raito of their current situation.
"Sure" Raito answered, even though he would rather coffee.
"Would you like a muffin, Yagami-kun?" he offered again, and Raito knew the other's eating habits well enough that he could tell when L was trying to shoulder-off unwanted food on him. Probably not sweetened enough for his liking, Raito thought.
He replied with a "thank you" and then took the muffin from a small platter. Upon waking, he had wanted something with a bit more substance than mere tea and muffins, but getting the detective to his feet and to the kitchen was more trouble than it was worth.
Raito turned in his chair just in time to see L poking at one of the pastries, and from the way he was playing with it, it appeared like he found it as unappetizing as Raito did. He withdrew the fork, glanced over at Raito and then nudged the tray over to his side of the desk.
"Do you like scones?" L asked, in his childishly "unhanded" way of getting Raito to notice the unwanted item and whisk it away.
'Do you like asbestos?' Raito wanted to ask in return, but kept his mouth shut. He had once thought offhandedly, with no real intention behind it, to simple poison L's food. It was a ridiculous train of thought brought on by months of irritation and a poor diet.
Then again, it was looking more and more appealing as the seconds ticked by and L continued to nudge the scorned pastry in his direction.
"Man, I'm bushed." Even without any visible persons in sight, Matsuda Tota still earnestly expressed his idea of exhaustion. The volume on the camera monitors had been lowered so as not to disturb them as they had breakfast, but Matsuda's voice still cut through the pleasant silence, heralding the reinstated detective's arrival.
He came down the stairs causally, just as he would on any other day, but stopped dead in his tracks when he realized that the two of them were staring at him.
Raito had wanted to spend more time alone with his adversary, as his plans were only to be used in L's presence. It was too risky to "sweet talk" L in front of Matsuda, even with the man missing half a lobe.
"Ah, hi guys." Matsuda straightened and passed a hand self-consciously over the front of his neatly pressed shirt.
"Good morning, Matsuda-san," Raito greeted, for the good graces of his reputation, and L's uninterested rudeness as he had turned in his swivel chair and immediately went back to eating.
Matsuda smiled at Raito, looking like he was about to come over, but the voice of his father speaking to Mogi filtered through the impressive set-up of technology that L used to monitor the entire building. Raito watched Matsuda turn towards the stairs to await his father.
He had guessed some months ago that Matsuda felt misplaced whenever he was alone and in their company. Raito had also come to the subsequent conclusion that most people did feel uncomfortable in their joint presence -- well with the exception of Misa. Although Misa was an exception for just about everything.
Matsuda, waiting like a docile puppy at the base of the stairs, greeted the two other members of the investigation team with a cheerful "good morning." Aizawa had entered shortly thereafter, a grimace firmly set in place as he fixed his tie and dismounted the stairs.
Oblivious to his mood, Matsuda swooped directly into his path and cheerfully greeted his co-worker as he saw it unfit to leave anyone out. Aizawa proceeded to brush past him and strike up conversation with the chief.
It was turning out to be a normal morning, and as each man gathered around the two at the head of the room, a phone began to ring. Hunching over in his chair and reaching a long arm into his back pocket, L retrieved his cell.
It was common knowledge that the only person who ever called L was Watari. They knew the older man stayed in the building along with the investigation team. However, they never saw nor heard a peep from him until he chose to reveal himself. A ghost, they all agreed, would have been easier to find wandering these halls than the man himself.
Raito watched L speak into the receiver, a repetitive amount of vague "yes" and "no" responses following the long pauses in between. This routine went on for about five minutes. L tilted his head to the side, offering more of an ear to the receiver, and the motion would have gone unnoticed, if the curious expression on his face had not garnered everyone's attention.
There was another longer pause as L pressed his chest to his raised knees, the detective, as if tethered to his spot by nothing more than rope, leaned forward careless of the consequences. He looked so immersed in his phone call that if he fell out of his chair face first, Raito doubted he would notice.
"I'll be waiting," L finished, returning his cell in one smooth motion to his back pocket. The absorbed expression on his face also disappeared from sight, leaving in its wake something that Raito did not think he could correctly place. L looked troubled, but there was the hint of another expression that called to his attention much more than the obviously conflicted one.
He knew such an expression from the detective was never a good sign. It meant either clues were piecing themselves together, or new evidence had been introduced.
Raito prayed it was not the latter. It could not be helped if L pieced together the clues he already had in his possession, as it was impossible to keep him in total darkness, but those clues were minor and would not single him out as an immediate suspect.
He believed he had overlooked nothing in his daily recount of information that each side possessed. But he would have to reexamine the clues he had mistakenly left behind, see wherein his fault lay, and then snip it in the bud before repercussions were dealt out.
He really did need time to rethink things, but to his dismay, Watari had slipped into the room without warning. Raito was somewhat peeved at the quickness in which he had found his way over here, but pushed it aside to concentrate on more pressing matters.
The elderly man, striding into the room with black oxfords, a trimmed suit, and briefcase, halted in front of L, who had waved his fork at him, the silverware smudged with whip-cream, and the act reminiscent of a conductor giving the starting signal for his orchestra.
Watari snapped the clips on the briefcase open and took out a file. Raito eyed the inconspicuous manila folder with concealed interest. For Watari to be handling paper documents so cavalierly there had to be a great reason behind it.
"Watari has brought something to my attention," L began, like none of them had been in the room while he had his lengthy phone conversation. The other man remained silent, eyes closed, but standing as alert as a guard dog.
L opened the folder, glimpsed through it, and intentionally set it down to his left, where Raito presided. Raito did not comment. He could have punched L for the silent insult, but instead kept his hands neatly folded on his lap.
"The second kira may have been found," L said, without any real weight behind his voice, his words sounding casual, even when such a topic was anything but.
Raito caught the strange tone, but he could not be bothered by it, not when L had declared the second kira had been…found
Despite this startling news, he composed himself and reacted accordingly. "You did? How did you -- that's great Ryuuzaki!" Surprised and then relieved -- he acted them out perfectly in both voice and expression, even with this new revelation tearing at his innards. Pausing for even a second would transform the thin ice he had been skating on for months to cloud with suspicion and shatter. He could not doubt himself this far into the game.
Gasps of surprised had followed. Everyone in the room looked to each other in disbelief. Then when the shock of the situation was pushed aside, they all burst into questions.
L made a desist motion with his fork and the concerto of noisy men stopped. He took a distracted sip from his cup as he glanced over at the investigation team, and even with the blasé attitude he was showing towards this news, he still sought their full attention. Raito had noticed some time ago that L was quite the attention hog, who did not enjoy speaking over others.
Raito could not understand, for the life of him, why L was treating this revelation as if it were some chore, and he was he fast becoming very irritated by it. What was his purpose for taking such a tone with them? Like he would rather drink tea than get right to the heart of the matter.
Then it hit him.
It was stupid of him to miss the answer when this was not the first time he had encountered the symptoms of this apathetic state before. L was so fixated on the idea that he was Kira and Misa was the second Kira, that the fact that someone else may be threatening his theories was a huge slap in the face. L's attitude alone confirmed that this news had absolutely nothing to do with him or Misa.
"As I have said before," L continued, "the second kira may have been found. Though I call him the second merely to distinguish him from Higuichi. As you all know I do not actually believe Higuichi to be the genuine first Kira, but to not confuse ourselves, we will title him as such." He took a sip of tea, and behind the rim of his cup, Raito noticed the corners of his mouth twitch. The detective had begun to push the folder that sat between them towards Raito, and the fair-haired teenager gave L a quizzical look.
"If Yagami-kun would do the honors." L had seemed to recover from his mood, which probably had more to do with the simple reminder that his main suspect was still handcuffed to him, and less to do with the resolution of clashing theories.
"Don't keep us in suspense," L encouraged, as he hurried him along.
There was a chance that this had been arranged in order to lure a certain reaction out of him, but L would never use the same method twice.
"Ryuuzaki, I think you're the one keeping us in suspense" Raito countered, masking the poison on his tongue while simultaneously pushing the folder back to his side.
But if this wasn't a trap, then who was the poor bastard that L had pegged as the "second" Kira…?
L accepted the spurned folder with no hard feelings. He lifted up a corner and glanced inside, sighing out all the while, "but I wanted you to be the first to see the fruits of my labor." Despite the "crushing" disappointment in his voice, L resumed with his explanation.
"With the unmasking of Higuchi as Kira, my backing for this case has tripled. Countries that were not cooperating prior have made moves to contact us. Many nations have loaned out a hierarchy of their policing agencies, and from this support, Watari was able to set up a network of surveillance teams consisting of the FBI, the Surete Nationale, Kriminalpolizei, Departamento de Polícia Federal, the C.I.A., P.F.E.W., Interpol, the list goes on.
"This morning our contact from the French city of Toulouse, in the region of Midi-Pyrenees, spoke to Watari about information concerning a supposed Kira."
France! L knew the second kira was not in France. He knew this. There was irrefutable evidence pointing this out, and yet, here he was contradicting himself. L knew that both kiras were Japanese, so what were his motives for going against his own theories.
Was he becoming desperate, or were his backers pressuring him for results?
L had watched a confidentially tapped UN meeting two days prior complements of Watari. He had seemed to have no problem with letting him also watch. Actually, the detective had even gone so far as asking his opinion several times during the course of the video.
And by the looks of things, the UN was frantic. Even with the deathnote on hiatus, the lull seemed to be putting them more on edge. The members had argued for more than an hour about "lax execution policies." They had even started giving the esteemed title of "Kira sympathizers" to certain persons within the hall.
L had become bored very quickly, and had actually started making small talk with him. At one point, they had struck up a conversation about classes that Raito wanted to take at the University.
L stopped stirring his tea, took out a paper from the manila folder and held it gingerly up by the corners. "This was faxed to our private line by the contact. He believes this to be the 'second' kira."
Raito watched the black and white photo of a man who he estimated was in his late forties. Looking more closely at the picture, he noticed the interesting architecture in the backdrop.
"The man in this photo has been identified as a Mr. Ignatius Corentin Boucher. Mr. Ignatius," L started up with a queer expression, "is apart of the clergy responsible for the French pilgrimage site Lourdes."
"Are you serious?" Matsuda asked, and looked to his fellow investigators for a response. Everyone else remained silent, waiting anxiously for L to carry on.
L laid the picture down on the table and pensively resumed stirring his cup. "The only reason we were able to single out Mr. Ignatius was because he had come forward on his own. The contact, through his resources with the police in that area, was introduced to Mr. Ignatius and given full rights to oversee the investigation into this matter."
Raito thought it a fine time to cut in and end this nonsense. "I hope this isn't all you're going on. We've come across many people claiming to be Kira, and all they've been good for is a laugh and a trip to the asylum." Raito did not enjoy being messed with. L knew this, and yet here he was making him jump through hoops for an answer.
"If you would not interrupt me," L said calmly. "I have said that our contact believes him to be the second kira. Obviously, I do not hold the same opinion. The second is here, in Japan. That has not changed."
"So what are you trying to say?" Raito stood up from his chair and stared down at him.
"I do not believe Mr. Ignatius is the second Kira. He is just an unfortunate priest who knows more than he should about certain matters, as he went to the police not to turn himself in as a criminal, but in preparation to turn over a certain item."
Raito bit the inside of his cheek.
There was only one thing that would be more important than Kira himself, and that would be the device he used to become God.
"Mr. Ignatius has plainly said he possesses the weapon Kira uses. This is what he told the French authorities. To our contact, however, he called it by its rightful name, the deathnote. He has also told our contact in a taped conversation some of the constituents that make up the deathnote. I have yet to hear the tape, but Watari has and I trust his judgment."
L pressed his thumb to his mouth thoughtfully. "He says it was given to him for 'safe-keeping' by one of the pilgrims visiting the church. The pilgrim was very adamant about leaving the deathnote with a priest, and so Father Ignatius was handed the book under the oath of confessional."
L slumped in his chair. "I do not know if I believe that story, but he has sought us out with knowledge that he should not have. He has also sought us out with the intention of handing over the deathnote."
"So this guy is just gonna give it to us, just like that?" Aizawa shook his head, as if to answer his own question.
"He's made it very clear that he does not wish to keep it. He wants someone who he can put his trust in to come forward and take it off his conscience. However, if no one comes forward, he will go to the Vatican. Now I may not like the way he approached us, but if it is indeed the deathnote, I cannot allow it to be locked away in the Pope's vault. I've come to the conclusion that I will meet with Mr. Ignatius and negotiate with him face to face."
Yagami-san spoke up hastily from behind his son's chair. "But what if this man is the second kira? You're putting yourself at unnecessary risk. You should send in a proxy…or get a team to storm –"
L cut him off with a shake of his head. "I could very much incarcerate Mr. Ignatius. But if he turns out to be another kira that would rather kill himself than tell us the whereabouts of his deathnote, then that notebook would be lost to us. I do not want to take that chance.
"I must have it," L said, with enough conviction in his voice to kill any uprising argument. "I must have that deathnote to ascertain if ours has been tampered with."
Raito internally frowned. It hadn't taken him long to suspect the fake rules.
L wasn't looking for a kira. He was looking for another deathnote to get his hands on. If multiple kiras existed, then of course the thing that made them kira would also be in replicate. He figured that out the moment he was handed the deathnote and saw the shinigami attached to it.
Ryuuk had told him that shinigami sometimes accidentally dropped their deathnotes in this world. But what were the chances that one would surface at such a convenient time. It was this very reason he doubted the possibility, but then how could this priest know about the existence of a deathnote?
There had to be more to this than L was letting on. A deathnote without a shinigami couldn't just be sitting in France waiting for them.
Could it?
Raito couldn't deny how provocative it sounded. If it were real, he would definitely have some use for it, but so would L. If the detective got his hands on it before him, and found out about the fake rules…
He would be in some serious trouble. There wouldn't be simple lock-up and 24-hour surveillance to look forward to this time around. There was a very good chance that L would torture him.
Raito didn't know how he would hold up against torture, but he wasn't willing to find out.
The hands in which that deathnote ended up were still uncertain. L would have to bring him along as he was his main suspect, and he would never leave him behind. That would defeat the whole purpose of everything L had done up to this point, and he was too stubborn to allow something like that to happen. L would take him to France and it would be there that he would get his chance.
He would have one chance, only one chance in which to gain the deathnote from this Mr. Ignatius. However, the difficulty would lie in getting this scenario by L while he was practically breathing down his neck. That was where his challenge would be. Being handcuffed to L created many problems, but it also gave him a solid alibi. Higuchi's execution had been a winning example.
In the end, L would help his cause out more than he realized.
All places and organizations are real. Definitions taken from your friendly neighborhood Wikipedia:
1. SureteNationale -- now called the National Police. It is one of the two national police forces in France.
2. Kriminalpolizei -- detective branch for the German police, often shortened to Kripo.
3. Departamento de Policia Federal -- Brazilian Federal Police.
4. P.F.E.W-- Police Federation of England and Wales. (I turned it into an acronym, which I realized was a bad idea because it sounds like some sneezed.)
5. Toulouse -- is a city in southwest France on the banks of the Garonne River. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth largest in France and one of the fastest growing in Europe
6. Lourdes -- major tourist destination as a Marian city (A pilgrimage site). Today Lourdes has a population of some 17,000 inhabitants but is able to take in some 5,000,000 pilgrims and tourists from March-October. Lourdes has the second greatest number of hotels in France after Paris with some 270 establishments.