A/N: Please play "L no Kako" (L's Past) for the last flashback, you shall get more of the feel of it that way. Chapter 32
"No. How many times must I say that I need them as soon as possible? If they are not finished in a timely manner…Yes, I understand, sayonara," And with that, Kat snapped her phone shut, placing it inside the pocket of her coat.
She lied down on the couch; a horrible feeling filled her, the ghost of a throb hitting her. She breathed slowly, wrapping her arms around herself as a form of self security. Regretting that she had chosen to wear nothing over her bandages…
"I found another one, Ryuuzaki," She did not even feel like twitching at the fact that she was completely forgotten again. "10th of December, fell off the staircase at home and died form a bad case of concussion. Junichi Yaibe, the manager of Otomo Bank, Iida-bashi branch. He had the position of vice-president promised to him and was known as a substantial go-getter. And three days ago Tokio Yakoda, a director of the Otomo bank, was questioned by the police for suspected bribery. He hasn't been arrested yet but from what we've been seeing he'll either be punished by Kira or commit suicide… Otomo Bank is falling apart, and when Yotsuba outstrips Otomo then Yotsuba will become the new number one within Japan…"
"10th of September, that's a Friday, too." Yagami-san said, standing up. "We looked over a very simple point. When I was studying our research for the second time, I realized that the majority of the convenient deaths for Yotsuba took place during the weekends."
"Oh, really?" Matsuda said; if Kat was right, he either was feeling as bored as her or useless.
"Assuming that this serial killing started exactly three months ago, the dates of accidental deaths started off randomly and gradually became intensive between the period of Friday evening to Saturday afternoon. Including those three heart attacks that Light noticed at the beginning," Said he, glancing at the files again.
"W-well spotted chief!...Well spotted, even before Light-kun or Ryuuzaki."
"I've told you that I'm no longer the Chief," muttered Yagami-san.
"But you still are and will always be my chief," Matsuda said. Does anyone else doubt Matsuda's sexual orientation right now, or is it just me? K asked, a tenor of disgust in her voice.
It's just you. Both Kew and Kat chorused dully.
"The killings are centered around weekends… What does this mean?" Light asked, turning towards Lawliet.
Turning to one of his usual habits, Lawliet placed a finger on his lip. "This isn't making any sense…if Kira is behind those deaths, then Kira must be able to kill a person with more than heart attacks. And if so, he's schedule the time of deaths and make the deaths look random to hide his ability…why the weekends…? Is it possible that Kira isn't behind this case after all…?"
But at this point, Kat chose to close her eyes; the monotony killing her.
Why are we here when we can be out on missions? I know you want to support him, kid, but this is so boring. K muttered, Kitten echoing her with a "Yeah! K-chan is right!"
She does have a point, Kat. We never really do anything here, and when we do, we are completely ignored. Do you want to deal with all this monotony?
"It's better than going up and having a talk with Amane. And hey, if we're lucky, she might try to kill us again," The plural dialogue reminds me oh-too much of that book by Ayn Rand…Anthem was it? (1)
Oh look how low we've sunk; resorting to questioning our dialogue…Ya know what? Call me after we stop talking about books, support and all this girly human shit…
All this ennui was really getting on her nerves. But this was just a hobby, so couldn't she choose to walk out and try a mission? A hobby…she had very good reasons for calling it that.
Since they did not have proper licenses or papers, it could not be a profession, and since they only chose missions and cases that piqued their interest…that just proved it further. They had said so before the Kira case began; when they were have a sort of interview session with the Wammy kids.
But, quite frankly, this part of their hobby was getting far too insipid for her taste…
…Whatever…Kat muttered, grabbing some sunglasses and the keys to her car.
-
She pulled up to the estate, her grip on the steering wheel tight, Every Heart by BoA playing quietly on the radio. Pulling her parka around herself, she sighed, taking the keys out and just gripping them in her hand. It's now or never…
As she walked up the steps, pressing the doorbell a shrill, indignant yell sounded in her head. The hell are you doing now?!!
Something that you will yell at me for, no doubt. Some silence would be much appreciated.
The door opened revealing a beautiful young woman, a baby in one hand and a child in the other. Kat bowed, taking her sunglasses off, "Hello, you must be Aizawa-dono (2). I am one of your husband's former…supervisor, you could say."
A pause, Kat could almost feel the woman's eyes taking her in. Maybe she should have dressed more professional? Jeans, leather gloves, Lawliet's ratty old tennis shoes and her parka made her look like a teenager. Kat came up just as the woman bowed herself (albeit with some difficulty considering she had a baby in her arms). "Pleasure to meet you. Please come in Miss…?"
Kat felt the urge to whack herself; which alias was she going to use? "Kokoro Jiki(3)," She flashed a smile. Aizawa-dono blinked twice. Okay, she knew it wasn't a proper name but still, she was leaving a clear "trail" so-to-speak.
"Please come in Kokoro-shi, (4)" She said, ushering her daughter in.
"Thank you, Aizawa-dono." Said Kat; making sure to take off the tennis shoes in favor of some slippers. "You have a beautiful home, that painting is absolutely gorgeous. May I ask who the artist is?"
"Mori Sosen, it has been past down in my family for many generations," said she; the pride in her voice was all too audible.
"Yes, I should have known. And it is an original. The strokes are so precise, and the detailing superb," She muttered, making to tough the painting but thinking better of it. She knew nothing about art, so she was just rambling off some facts that Linda, the orphanage's resident artist, had once said.
"Yes, I thought so too. Are you going to be staying for tea, Kokoro-shi? Perhaps some sake? My husband is not due back for about an hour more." She suggested, walking into the kitchen.
"Oh, no, I would not like to impose anymore than I have already, Aizawa-dono," She said modestly.
"It's no trouble! I already had a pot of water on the stove," She flashed a kind smile.
While they waited for the tea, Kat played a little hand game with Eriko, Aizawa-dono's daughter. ("Oh! You got me! Eriko-chan!") (5)
By the time Aizawa came home, saying a grand "I'm home" the tea was finished and Eriko was braiding Kat's hair, Aizawa-dono insisting on taking a picture. ("May I have a copy of the photo, please?")
"Kokoro? What are you doing here!?" The anger in Aizawa's voice could not be confused with anything else.
"Perhaps we should go outside, I have a favor to ask of you…"
-
Three Days Later
-
Kat was lying on the couch, arm over her eyes…listening to the 'taps' of footsteps.
She had half a mind to just up and leave again…maybe go out on a mission…
But then we would be overridden by our emotions, do bodily harm to ourselves, and thus distracting Lawliet from the case… And none of the personas could ever make a retort to that completely true fact.
"Name's Aiber, I'm a con artist. Nice to meet ya all," Aiber said, giving a small charismatic smile.
"I'm Weddy. I'm a professional burglar," And how could she forget that voice? One that had pulled her out from such a giant hole…
"A…con artist and a burglar…?" Kat sat up, looking at the surprised faces of both the Yagami men.
"That's right," Lawliet said, standing up on his chair. "Aiber employs his knowledge of psychology, linguistics and diplomacy and manages to get intimate with anyone he fixes his eyes on without fail. He will make a fine spy. Weddy is a burglar with a talent to unlock any kind of lock and security system. To prove it, she managed to enter this room without anyone taking notice of her. They are both proper and real criminals."
"…are we going to investigate with… criminals…?" Yagami-san asked, turning towards Lawliet.
"Yes, but not quite the same criminals as those whose face are on papers and end up getting punished by Kira. Think of them as professional dealers from the black market.
"I've got a few more possible helpers reserved. And that includes a few criminals. I'll call on them as required. None of them want to show their face and neither do I, but I might ask some of them to move into this building. I couldn't summon them while Yagami-san and the others were still with the police, but now I suppose…"
"…but…"
"You have no qualms about working with me, Yagami-san. Since I am a criminal if you look at it from a certain angle." Kat said, stretching her arms up over her head.
"…I-I suppose you are correct…" He muttered.
"I guess with Yotsuba against us, people like them can be a great help. Let's work on it together!" Light said, optimistically putting his hand out.
-
She shuffled some files around on the bed, scrunching her brows up when her cell phone rang, jumping when heavy guitar and base filled the air. Gothic girl and her gothic rock…just tell me when I should take out our AK47…
"The last time I let Misa mess with my phone…" She muttered, looking at the caller ID and flipping it open. "Please tell me this is good news?"
"Prêt." (6)
"It's finished?!"
"Yes, both are fit to all of your specifications. All we need now is a willing subject to test it on…"
"To make sure there are no lasting side-effects of any sort, of course…" She paced in the room, glancing at the thermostat when a sudden bout of cold hit her. "I have the perfect person! Just worry about getting all the forms done and the serums ready, I'll contact him. Avoir, J."
She snapped her phone shut, her giddiness ebbing away.
Why had she chosen him of all people? It was completely absurd.
She had a strong dislike for the psychopath and his strange fetish with confusing her beyond question. And yet, K; the one who usually ushered her away from shady characters actually liked him. However, Kat had come to the conclusion that it was because of their preferred style of crime.
She sighed…how in the world was she going to get him to willingly be tested on?
"Gah!" She collapsed onto the bed, hands gripping her head as a wave of agony ripped through her skull. Tears stung at her eyes from the shear pain, sure that one thousand bullets, a steam train and the Empire State building all falling on her would not compare to the throbbing pain. Her body twisted on the bed, another wave shocking her system…with this one came the acrid and putrid taste of bile into her mouth. She stumbled into the bathroom, retching into the basin.
What the hell is wrong with us?! But no answer came to her frantic question, only hollow silence.
Her strength receded as she slipped down onto the floor, holding her head as the tears flowed from her eyes.
It was a pity that both Light and L had chosen to stay investigating instead of coming to sleep that night…
-
She starred at the billowing clouds overhead, face having no trace of any emotion. "I believe the Kira case will soon be over. My time is limited, Aizawa-san."
"What do you mean?! Is this some cheap way of getting me to return?!"
She never took her, suddenly dull green, eyes off of the clouds. "No. I mean, quite literally, that I believe my time on this planet is limited. The Kira case will soon be over for me."
Aizawa's mouth almost seemed to unhinge. Now that he looked at her more closely, he saw the air of despondency that she had. "But Kokoro! You are the healthiest person I have ever met!"
This earned a haunting chuckle from her. "You deduce that from what I let everyone see of me, correct?"
She was right. He had never seen her away from her work, and no one paid mind to her while she was there…so how could he possibly even try and guess how she was…?
"In any case, Aizawa-san," She said, a snowflake falling on her cheek. "When I am no longer there, I want you to go back to the task force—"
"But Kokoro!!!"
"—And when you do, I will make sure that you guys are funded. I just never want you to trust Yagami Light. If worse comes to worse…and neither L nor myself are there, I would like for you to keep suspicion of Light, always. Keep an ear out for anyone named Near, Mello or Matt." She bowed her head. "And Aizawa…?"
"Yes?"
She walked up to him, standing on her tip toes and whispering into his ear, "I'm Kew Keikan, nice to meet you."
With those final words, she left Aizawa in a daze, and by the time he had gotten out of it, she had already left.
-
A/N: No pitch forks and torches people. I want everyone (meaning everyone reading this for the first time, those who have me either on their Author Alert, Favorites, or Story Alert; you can submit an anonymous review as well, I don't bite people) to review if you ever wish to see the outcome of this. I am open to opinions of this, comments and anything. I already replied to everyone who review last time…I had some trouble with this chapter, so give me a break here.
(1) Anthem is a very good book, a bit iffy on the content and the fact that it is so puny but it is basically a book based on how society would be if years after Hitler, all traces of inventions were erased and a society rose up with collectivism being the key to "peace." They do not use personal pronouns, and if so, you are executed. One of it's main ideas is individualism which I believe is very important for this story if you look at Kat's past and later on L's past.
(2) A lot of people get this wrong, 'Dono' has no equivalent in English, but the closest one would most likely be Sir or Ma'am.
(3) The alias she used translates, literally, to "Porcelain Heart"
(4) The suffix "shi" is used for Lawyers, business people and any higher ups. So Aizawa-dono must be under the impression that Kat really is a "supervisor" or important person for her to be using such a suffix.
(5) "Chan" is an affectionate term used for friends, seeing how Kat gets along better with children than adults, it was a given that she would give Aizawa's child that suffix.
(6) It means 'finished' in French, so we can assume that she is speaking to someone who is either in France or is French.