Previously…
Tagoku Kairi met Near for the first time and was a bit taken aback by his resemblance to Ryuuzaki. She had then contacted her former guardian and took note of his absentmindedness. When he ended the video call, Kairi knew something was wrong.
(L's POV)
I knew it. I knew Kairi leaving was a horrible idea. She was the direct cousin of Yagami Light, the original Kira. She went to Japan and was now with Near, my apprentice that finished off the first Kira case with my help. There was a twenty-two percent chance that Kairi would not remain pure when she left. After our video call, the possibility rose by seven percent. I didn't want to lose her to the insanity that stole my first friend from me. If she became like Kira, I wouldn't be losing another friend.
I would be losing family.
"Watari. I must finish this case immediately. She is not safe without me."
"She is capable of handling herself, Ryuuzaki-san. Tagoku-san is a grown woman. Aside from that fact, you trained her." My butler's words were correct, but that merely lowered the possibility by one percent.
"There is a twenty-eight percent chance she will be lost to the same insanity that Yagami-san was swallowed by. I will not allow her to end in such a horrific way," I stated, entering the address she had given me over video.
I read through the original story, taking very clear notes and saving the story to the case file. For some reason, I couldn't get rid of the immense worry nagging at my mind as I was distracted from my case. Another reason I knew Kairi leaving was a bad idea: I couldn't seem to focus.
"Ryuuzaki-san. Shall I provide a fitting meal?"
"Bring me a cracker, Watari," I replied. Perhaps if I took her advice, I would calm down. Yes, a cracker wasn't precisely healthy, but a drastic change would do me no good. It needed to be gradual. So I would started with a single cracker and a glass of water.
"Yes, Ryuuzaki-san." With a polite bow, Watari left the room.
I sighed and looked at the screen of my computer. On it was a picture of this so-called "Jeff the Killer." It was obviously photoshopped. The picture itself has been changed many times, therefore it was merely a representation, not an exact picture.
I went back to the address Kairi had given me and wet to the author's writing profile. She had many other fictional stories. I made an account on the website to speak to her about the story about the current case. However, the website had restrictions that wouldn't allow me to send this person private messages to the author until a day after registration.
There went my distraction. I didn't exactly know where to go from there, so I would have to wait a day to message him or her.
Watari set a plate containing a variety of crackers accompanied by a glass of water in front of me. "Thank you, Watari."
I took a bite from a saltine cracker and swallowed it with the help of the water; it was quite lacking in flavor. I pulled up a file from the first Kira case and searched through the Second Kira's victim list. I knew Kairi's parents were killed by Amane Misa, but I did not remember how they were disposed of. I eventually found her parents. As I looked at their files, I noticed something strange. Kairi looked nothing like her mother. Or father. In fact, the only thing causing me to believe she was related to the deceased adults was her last name. I had found Kairi sitting in the house, between her parents' bodies. They had both died of a heart attack.
But now, as I looked through the files, she didn't fit into the family. The adults had legally had two residents in their home. They claimed to have no children. Something was wrong with this situation.
"Watari, did you ever test Kairi's blood?" I asked.
"No, Ryuuzaki-san. I was not instructed to do so." Of course. Either her parents were hiding her for some reason, or she was hiding in their home.
I pulled up the video calling window and entered Near's address.
(Near's POV)
I returned to the room after Kairi had finished her conversation with L. The two had a very interesting relationship. L had changed a lot since his faked death. I didn't think he would die so simply, so I wasn't surprised when Watari had told me about the successful plan that had gotten my mentor away from Japan with another apprentice.
"Near." I turned to face her as she spoke; the new apprentice was now about my age. She was living up to my expectations so far. "What has you distracted?"
"What makes you believe I am distracted?"
"I have been explaining my theory for two minutes, and you didn't respond until I said your name," she replied.
"Very well. Please restate your theory," I complied. She truly had caught me. I couldn't remember a single thing she said.
"I want to know what distracted you."
"The fact that Ryuuzaki is alive. I had gone on believing he had died years ago. And the fact that you were trained by him," I replied. She nodded, moving on to tell me her theory.
"If you remember back to the case that Ryuuzaki had begun, he used a broadcast to figure out where Kira lived."
"Ah, yes, Lind L. Tailor. The broadcast was supposedly worldwide, allowing Kira to believe he was safe to kill. The broadcast was only in Kanto, however, confirming he was nearby."
"First, you need to show that you are determined to take the current Kira down. When that rivalry is achieved, you can do what Ryuuzaki did. It doesn't have to be exactly like the Lind L. Tailor broadcast, but you need to single out a specific location in Japan to figure out where he is."
"What if he is not in Kanto?"
"Then we extend the search to the other regions." She seemed confident in her plan; it was a good plan, but it also depended on whether or not Kira would be watching.
"Are you with or against Kira?"
"Against." Kairi looked directly at me, hiding every emotion except hatred from her eyes. "The Death Note corrupted my dear cousin. Anyone suffering from its hold must be saved."
It was then I understood her approach; she didn't want to catch the killer. She wanted to destroy the notebook and save the person.
"Go take a break in the other room, and keep an eye on the news for me." She nodded, standing up and exiting the room. Just as her form disappeared around the corner, I received and invite to a video call from L. I answered it quickly, taking a seat in front of the camera.
"I know Kairi is there."
"Yes," I answered. Had she not told him I would be taking her in? "She is watching the news for me in another room."
"She is attempting to keep us from knowing she is with you without my knowledge. Let's keep her thinking that. I need you to get a sample of her blood and test to see if it matches her parents. I then want you to test and see if it matches Light's," L said. I put the assignments into memory before asking why.
"Her parents never legally said she was living with them. They claim to have no child."
"Very well," I replied. "She is worried about you, Ryuuzaki-san."
"I am worried for her safety as well. Promise me that you will not allow anything to happen to her."
"I cannot promise that, but I will promise I will attempt to protect her from any possible harm," I stated.
"Send me the results of the two tests as soon as possible."
"I will," I replied, not really sure what the importance of these tests were. I learned in the past that questioning L was unnecessary; he often told me the use of my deliveries after he finished looking at them. "Ryuuzaki-san, please get some sleep."
"I do plan on it," he replied. The call ended. I tilted my head, unsure if his last statement was true. It sounded genuine by the tone of his voice, but he rarely slept due to the many cases he took on.
Deciding to let it go for now, I stood and joined Kairi in the living room. There was a single television, the news being broadcasted at the moment. Two empty couches sat opposite each other on either side of the electronic device, an occupied chair to the left of the right couch. I walked around the edge of the chair, only to find Kairi watching the screen intently. "Glad you came to join me," she said, sitting back slightly.
"Why is that?"
"I was getting a little lonely. I've never been in a room more than ten minutes alone, given the fact that I sleep in the same room Ryuuzaki works all night in."
"What about when he sleeps?"
"He slept next to me, but now I guess he sleeps alone since I'm not there." She looked at me, her eyes still only showing hatred, though the intensity of the emotion was weaker than before. "I don't believe he truly slept, though. He would get up half an hour after laying down. It worries me."
"He hasn't slept in years, and yet he can still work well," I stated.
"Not every sleep deprived person has trouble thinking, Near. It may affect his health, or his mental stability. It sure enough effected my cousin's mental stability," she responded. I didn't realize she understood so much about her cousin.
"You seem a bit thin for your height and age," I said, changing the subject. "An eating disorder, perhaps?"
"Recovering," she confirmed. "Ryuuzaki kept me up for a few years, but I can handle myself now."
"I would guess anorexia, but to what extent was your fall?"
"I was on the verge of being hospitalized. When Ryuuzaki found me, I was slipping into unconsciousness on the floor next to the bed. He had Watari put me on the bed and fix me a plate of crackers. Ryuuzaki stayed by my side since, helping me keep from slipping again." She looked back at the screen, a calm aura seeming to overcome her. "He was like a father to me. At least, what I thought a father would be like."
"I had a room prepared for you, but I can stay with you if you would like," I offered, seating myself on the couch next to her chair. "When it comes time for us to sleep, you can decide. Until then, I would like you to tell me all you know about your cousin, the first Kira."