All of society is too interested in the era and we are willing to say that Chinese Science is behind that of all others due to the incident between Japan and the United States years back. Supervisor Chenglei Xing has entrusted me to write down the progress of the K series and some others.
Human and Feline, as all other mammals on earth, have little difference between the DNA. The feline, however, has 19 chromosomes while the human has 23. We have been testing how to alter the genetic mix so that one body can support both human characteristics and that of feline.
June 31st 1982- All empty feline eggs have been inserted with homo-sapien male sperm. The eggs have accepted it and are now being put in an artificial womb.
July 23rd 1982- all those from the L series have been showing significant progress up until now, all seem to be grouping together and showing signs of individuality and rebelliousness, they are to be terminated on the 30th.
October 31st 1982- all those from the K series are fully developed, and are now being tested for intelligence, mental activity, reactions and possible malformations and stillborns; 13 of the K series terminated at 6 hours of age due to malformation. 5 terminated due to lack of mental activity, at 5 hours; 15 stillborn. Seven are left.
October 31st 1986- Subject K02257496, stage 1, is progressing the most. Able to dodge bullets, articulate and intelligent enough to communicate in a conversation. Subjects K28648953, K47563218 and K75624894 have been terminated developed symptoms close to human epilepsy.
October 30th 1988-Sunject number K549684 perished, K527432 was less apt with dodging, developed a growing defect, terminated, K2874631 was an outstanding genius but had no physical aptitude, subject was terminated. Only one is left. She, however is growing rebellious, and if this progresses, will be terminated on December 31st 1989, and the K series will be deemed a failed experiment.
December 14th 1988- Subject K has been developing horrible habits, will immediately go into defense mode when a human comes within her territory. Termination date has been moved up to 20th.
December 15th 1988- Supervisor Qi was almost shredded by subject K. Subject deemed Dangerous and uncontrollable. Termination date moved up to December 16th 1988.
Conclusion: K series a failure. M series to be made on the 16th.
"December 16th. They were going to have me terminated on that day. But Watari and W rescued me the day before and I was taken away to England." She murmured out loud, leaning back into the head board of one of the beds that were placed in the room that L, Light and she were to share. She had no worries of Light reading the files that she had, in fact, she had no qualms about him being with in reading distance of the files in her hand. They were all put back in a file that read "Top Secret," then a small safe that was only accessible via finger print scan, retina scan and her own personal pass code. Besides, Light was usually too tired to do anything by the time he came into the room and too ready to get back on the Kira case in the mornings.
And yet, she failed to notice when both Lawliet and Light made their way into the room, for she was on her phone. "Make sure it is done, I want a full replica of it completed even if it means someone must go and force them to do it from scratch—no! I need it as soon as possible! And that is it!" With that, she snapped her phone shut, falling onto her side.
Light seemed perturbed by her actions, and was not aware that his mouth had fallen open just a tad. Lawliet however, chose to merely stride over to her. "People not cooperating?"
"When do they ever? They only do when I drop the fact that I am Agent K…" she muttered, grudgingly getting up and taking of her shirt, followed by her pants.
Light's eyes were the size of dinner plates and he quickly turned himself around, for the sake of courtesy. Kat paused in the shedding of her clothes, one leg partially in her pants, the other fully in with her hands holding on to the top of the pants.
She gave one glance at Lawliet, seeing him mirror her expression. What was wrong with him?
"Is there a problem, Light-kun?" Lawliet asked him, shedding his own shirt and heading for the dresser.
Light chanced a glance over his shoulder but snapped it back around, gritting his teeth, "Yes. The fact that both of you are choosing to quite literally, get naked in front of me, is disturbing to me." He had never actually been awake to see their nightly habits.
Kat finished discarding her pants, walking over to a basket and dumping her clothes in there, catching the set of shorts that Lawliet had thrown over his shoulder at her. "Your point being? It is not as if you are seeing anything particularly…eh, scandalous, I suppose. I wear bandages and some boxers while Ryuuzaki is a male. Now, I want to catch some sleep, so good night." With that, she pulled the over up to her waist, turning on her side to sleep.
Light turned just in time to see Lawliet pull down a white shirt over his head. "But honestly, it's inappropriate for two people hardly older than a myself to dress in front of me…"
"Correction, we're seven years older. Nearly a decade. So mind your elders." Kat muttered, grabbing the pillow that her head was resting on and putting it over her ear.
"Please tell me you are not trying to commit suicide via pillow, Kokoro." Lawliet said, amused, slouching against the dresser.
"Of course I am," She drawled. "And you all will watch me die so humiliatingly, the weapon being a feather pillow…"
This part of the stoic duo he had never seen. They were much like any other pair of (he did some quick math) twenty-four year olds. They were so lax when not surrounded by the task force, or in the brief period of time they could just tease each other and think of other things than the Kira case.
"Careful you choke on a feather, I can see the headlines; 'Agent K, Killed by Vicious Feather,'" His tone of voice never changed, but the general sense of a friendly sarcastic remark (if such a thing even existed) was evident.
"That, is one of your more lame retorts, Ryuuzaki. Please come back when you have found some other, more intelligent jeer…" She said, well, it was more of K whispering what to say and saying that it was playful and not genuine, meaning sarcastic. "Now, good night."
Only then did Light notice that the majority of her back was ridden with silver scars that stood out only the slightest bit against her milky skin. He chose rather to keep to himself than pry into her business. His eyes flickered to L, seeing he was already finished changing in a short sleeve and his boxers. "Are you two planning on sleeping? Or just trying to prove that you have more than one set of clothing?"
"Uncalled for!" Kat's muffled voice came from the pillow, a finger in the air.
"Yes, we are planning on sleeping a bit more than usual. At the request of Watari who said it would be detrimental to our health and the case if we did not get some extra hours of sleep in." He gave a summary of the situation, enough details to satiate the boy's curiosity but vague enough that he could not conclude anything. In reality, Watari had just told them to sleep a bit more, and that was it. He had been noticing the darkening bags under their eyes and simply suggested, not requested. But who were Kat and he to object to any suggestion their father figure made?
"Alright, I'll go along with this, good night you two," And with that, the boy jus slipped into bed. Her ears listened in for the moment in which his breathing and heart would slow down. When she sensed that, she slid out of bed and unlocked Lawliet from the chains, pulling him to another joining room that she never bothered telling Light about, grabbing the files on the way.
She closed the door with great precaution, then whirled around on her heel, staring Lawliet down. "Why did you choose to let go of Aizawa?"
Lawliet remained quiet as the events flashed before her eyes.
-
"Chief Yagami, Mogi-san, welcome back. How did it go?" Kat asked silently, flashing them a small smile.
"I have great news!" Matsuda interrupted her; her ear twitched under her hair. "The research Light-kun and I did turned out fruitful, we think that there's a good possibility that Yotsuba Group and Kira are somehow related to each other."
"Yotsuba!" Yagami-san exclaimed, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, mouth agape.
"Y…yeah."
"I think that is it. You did a good job…" He recovered, clapping a hand on Matsuda's shoulder. Kat tilted her head, what the hell was going on?
"Huh?" And apparently, Matsuda had similar sentiments.
"Vice-Commander has just told me that Kira's been bribing politicians." Kat got up slowly, though shock was running through her system. Artemis could have told her that.
"Kira…bribe? You mean by using Yotsuba as his financial front?" Aizawa asked. That shot down a bunch of her and Lawliet's theories then.
"That's a big lead, ties everything together as well, so that's where your high spirit came from then."
Kat heard Misa in the background, clicking some numbers on her cellular phone. "What about our proposal, to recruit members across Japan and gather those who are willing to fight Kira? Was it granted?"
"No quite the opposite…there is no one left to recruit now that the Japanese police has yielded to Kira." And another wave a shock went through her body. Everyone was in a state of shock.
"WHAT?!"
"I've already had this conversation with Mogi and he assured me that he will remain here." He turned to both of the other police members. "Aizawa, Matsuda, if you are still p for the Kira investigation, come along with Mogi and I, and we…will hand in our resignation to the police."
This was going downhill all too fast. "For us to investigate the Kira case like this is no longer an available option, not unless we quit the police."
"What…what do you mean?"
"Y-Yes, we investigate Kira because we are members of the police, right?"
"It's this simple; I was virtually told that if we continue our investigation we would be sacked. Just like that. Kira might be behind it too, but it is still an order from above, we have no choice but to obey."
"So…chief Yagami…you really plan on resigning…?" Matsuda and his idiotic questions; that, was obviously, what5 he was trying to convey.
"Yes, in a couple of hours from now, I will no longer be a chief. I want everyone to make their own decision carefully, remember it's not only you life you are risking from here on."
"I see…especially for those with a family and kids to support…" Her eyes caught the expression that passed through Aizawa's face.
"……………I think everyone ought to return to the police." Lawliet muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear. "We were on our own to start with anyway. And when the majority of the police turned away from the investigation in fear of Kira, you four said you'd stay with us and all of you came this far. That already means a lot to me, and I am sure to Kokoro as well."
She felt a slimy feeling fill her, that loneliness that Lawliet was feeling was washing onto her. "We can take it from here by ourselves. And…I promise…I will visit you at the police headquarters one day and hand over the head of Kira." She placed her hand on top of his when she saw how tight his grip on his knees were.
"Ryuuzaki, you'll two will never be alone as long as I'm still here." He twisted his hand into a fist. "I haven't forgotten our promise."
"That's right. I must ask Yagami-kun to remain here with me until I catch Kira. But everybody else should return to the police…"
"But Ryuuzaki, you made us believe that the police's support was indispensable for this investigation."
He looked to his cherries, picking two up. "I did. But that was only because Yagami-san remained here, as my last connection with the police. Also, under those circumstances, the police was still independent enough to maintain the principle of the investigation, to capture Kira. Like the incident at Sakura TV, for instance…However, if you leave the police and become a civilian, then 'your help' is not the same as the 'police's support.'" He popped the cherry into his mouth, holding the stems. "Anyway, the police have decided to abandon the Kira investigation. And I'm fine with that."
"I…guess that is true, without our badge you might find us less useful…but…what about our feelings? I truly believe that I did everything I could to get this far, risking my own life with sincere determination." Damn, this is turning into a soap opera. K mused. Kat grabbed two of Lawliet's cherries, placing it in her mouth; twisting it this way that that to make a knot.
"And I believe that I have a right to make my own decision, whether to leave the force and remain here, or to return to the force and leave this investigation."
Almost at the same time, they pulled out cherry stem knots form their mouths. "…I suppose you do. Then please make that decision."
"…B…But chief…the base line is that if we quit the force, we lose our jobs…suppose we did catch Kira, but what will happen to us next? Like Matsuda said, chief and I have family to support…I-I cannot risk what I have…"
"Next, huh…I haven't thought that far…but if we catch Kira, then I guess the next thing will be…" He flashed a charming smile. "Getting a new job."
"I've made my mind up!! I'm quitting the force too, I'll chase down Kira with Chief and Mogi-san." He said, pumping a fist into the air
"Matsuda…"
"My effort finally paid off and now we know that Yotsuba is the suspect, I don't want to quit now, and I have my job as Misa-Misa's manager so I won't be unemployed…The only reason I got my job at the police in the first place was because I had a connection. It's not a big deal. My parents might get disappointed but…I don't want to feel like a loser by giving up now and returning to the police…"
"Matsuda! Watch what you say!"
Aizawa turned around to face Lawliet's back. "Ryuuzaki, how about if I go back to the police and spend my spare time to contribute to the investigation?"
"…No. If you are returning to the police then please do not come here anymore. The situation suggests that we are better off assuming that the police is no longer on our side."
"…But…I'll keep the information to ourselves just like we always did, with you or with the force, where ever I am. And look…if I return to the police now, the members of the force will be the ones who assume that I'm the spy sent by L. Then what if you think of me as a watcher who observes the movements of the police for you…?" That wouldn't work, she already had made sure that Watari was keeping tabs on the police but hadn't checked on those sets of monitors for a while now.
"If you want to return to the police and continue with the investigation by yourself within the police policy then you are free to do so. And if you'd like to give us information, you are also free to contact Yagami-san and do so. But I won't let you have any of the information we might have."
Aizawa slouched, the epitome of defeat. "Ryuuzaki's right…we mustn't allow information to go out of this team…I'm sorry, I guess I'm just being selfish."
"Chasing Kira, risking your own life as a member of the police might be a righteous thing to do. However, quitting the police and causing your family troubles just to go after Kira yourself might not be so righteous. If you die as a member of the police then you are a victim to your duty. On the other hand if you stay here and get killed then you are practically dying for nothing."
"Ryuuzaki has a point, Aizawa. If you leave the team now, no one will blame you." Yagami consoled. He just seemed like the type to be close with his coworkers.
"Yeah, we won't call you a turncoat or anything." Matsuda always putting his thoughts in.
"B-but chief, you have your family too, and you are still quitting the force…"
"Aizawa, you and I are not standing in the same shoes. My son was suspected for being Kira and was imprisoned for it, and albeit voluntarily, so was I. And I blame Kira for all of that. I cannot go back to where we started anymore…understand me, this is my own selfishness."
"And may I remind you that I still haven't relinquished my theory of Light-kun being the principal Kira."
"Both my kids," Yagami-san continued, despite being irked at Lawliet's comment. "Have grown up. I don't mean to be judgmental but you still have the responsibility to raise your children—"
"It's…not fair. This is not fair…I want to remain here too. I, too, have always been determined enough to risk my own life…and what…and what will Ukita say if I quit now…? DAMN IT! This is wrong, why can't a member of the police investigate Kira…"
"…Ryuuzaki. Kokoro."
"Yes, Watari…" Kat asked before Lawliet could.
"You made me promise that if anything happens to any of the members of this investigation team, I will support that member and his family with a lifetime benefit even if they get fired by the police. Why don't you two let him know about that?"
"Well, Watari, please do not point your finger at me. I am just a spectator in this seeing as I am usually away on a mission." She quickly gave her alibi.
"Do not mention unnecessary things, Watari."
"Oh…I beg your pardon. I just couldn't keep myself quiet …"
-
"Do you have any idea how hard that was?" She asked, cornering him, not unlike how a tigress would stalk her prey.
"…To which part are you referring to…?" He questioned hesitantly. All sense of primal pursuit disappeared as she simply wrapped her arms around him, letting her head fall on his shoulder.
"You…made me feel like the whole world was going to turn its back on me; …like in Russia: during that damn proclamation of solitude…" She muttered, breathing deeply.
He blinked before embracing her tightly. "I never want you to feel that way, again…" He didn't know what they were to each other…but why did he need to know if they could just have moments like this forever?
A/N: The end of this chapter was a bit gushy, I know. However, more spontaneous-ness to come in the next chapter. My camera is going whacky so I can't record my voice. I am going to ask one of my acquaintances to lend me her microphone so that I may record the small dialogue. I have replied to all your reviews, I just hope you all react kindly to this one. I did a lot of research prior to writing this one up do to all the science that is involved in the small quip in the beginning.
-Maddy