Edited by: Kugnae

Chapter 37

Neither K, nor Kew, nor Kat could comprehend the words that were uttered to her…while Kitten jumped around quickly, very much hyper.

How could she be pregnant? It was completely unethical and impractical. How could a scientific experiment, a prototype no less, be able to reproduce? Especially outside of her species!

Perhaps it was that she was still in shock.

Yes. That was probable. The fact of the matter was—she had trouble even thinking the word inside her head—pregnant was still relatively new to her. All of the files about her had been locked away long ago, so she obviously had no way of even knowing that she was capable of reproduction, or even if she was sterile like the scientists had assumed. She obviously had no way to test whether she was capable, so this thought never really crossed her mind.

We're having a litter! We're having a litter! A bunch of little miniature Ks and Kats and Kittens and Kews and Lawliets! Kitten chanted; blissfully unaware that they were still in the hole that had caused her to fall into a frightened stupor for the past twelve days.

Shut the hell up, brat! The average feline, wild or not, only has from two to five in a litter! Not to mention that it's rare for a human to have more than one! K roared, having had enough of the childlike persona's bubbly attitude.

Wah! Stop being so mean! Can't you see? We're having a litter! We've always preferred miniature humans to any others! Why are you so cranky? Kitten asked, in all essence, the epitome of immature.

The other three personas sighed simultaneously, feeling the ghost of a throb in their forehead. If Kira did not kill them, Kitten's ignorance would.

Kitten, Kew murmured, being the most likely to not say something wrong to the 'child.' None of our kind has ever had children. There may be added complications and risks to this…It might affect our health, one of them might die, this is very serious. We cannot act all happy-go-lucky about this.

I think we should get up…before they think we're dead and begin an autopsy. K spat, completely put off. She was not ready to have any type of progeny, what with the job that they had. One wrong move and she'd leave the things without a mother, not to mention that with the Kira case going on, they might not even get a chance to even have a first breath before becoming one of the many mortalities of the case. Another statistic.

-

Kew woke up a groggy mess, in a cocoon of blankets. "Nngh…" She moaned, pushing herself up.

Remembering where she was, her eyes flew open, only to be met with crimson irises.

She swallowed the scream that built up in her throat. (After all, she was not the fearless persona…she was just the host body, the one that strived to seem human…)

"Good. You're awake," Beyond said, backing up from her, falling on all fours and crawling over to a corner of the room, presumably where he had a crate of jam stationed.

"What happened?" Kew asked despite herself.

"You fainted," He said simply, opening a jar of his precious 'food.'

Give the man a prize, he figured out the obvious. K sneered, sarcasm full through out her voice.

Well, Kew asked an obvious question so we get an obvious answer, I suppose… Kat muttered, unsure whether or not K was being sincere or not; how would they get a prize for him?

"Yes…I remember. Have they done the ultrasound?" She asked, letting her body melt into the pillows. And this is why I love Lawliet's impeccable love for luxury. This is certainly better than the motel beds and pillows I sleep on during missions…

"They said something about it being to early—whether human or hybrid—to be able to see a clear trans-abdominal ultrasound, so the opted for a trans-vaginal one…" And this was all said with a calm face as he dipped his fingers into his jam.

She froze; now, she had very little medical understanding, but she did know of a few terms that came up in a book she once read when she was younger, coupled with the shows and soap operas she was forced to watch with Misa…

"Hm…I certainly feel violated now…"

Violated?! They put some weird machine—oh man! This is so horrible! Kat whined.

Oh, kid, horrible doesn't begin to cover it. More like, those perverted asshol— Oh! I'm not gonna deal with this. K ranted before going silent, most likely off imagining the deaths of a bunch of the scientists in the dark recesses of her mind.

"Did they say when I would be able to leave?" She asked, averting her eyes from the repulsive way Beyond was eating; at least she and L used utensils when it came to sticky stuff like that...

Beyond paused, once more looking above her head. It seems that this Kew persona is much more…placid than the others. "As soon as you feel able, you may. They said nothing in particular, but since you are the one that organized it, I suppose you are the one that can choose to come and go as you please."

Kew nodded, shutting her eyes. She still had one question left…then she could set off back to Japan, assist in all she could (which was just another way of saying that she was going to put off telling L that she was pregnant), then…well, she couldn't see herself going any farther than that. If all went as planned, they could very well be incarcerating a Kira from what L told her.

But then…an idle thought flitted through her mind. A couple, actually.

"Beyond. The whole LABB murder fiasco…you did that because of the pressure of turning both you and A into a copy of L, along with the rest of the alphabet, correct? From what L told me, you wanted to create a case that he could not solve…" She reached up to twirl her hair, staring at the ceiling. "And so it led to your suicide attempt…" She trailed off; pensive for a few moments. "Humans are very peculiar. Why exactly do you not have a vendetta against him?" She questioned, making it a point of not aiming her eyes at him. In past situations, a single glance of her unusual eyes would sway people into giving her answers, but she knew that he had equally unusual eyes so it would hold no power over him.

Hm, though this one is more placid it seems that she has more of a need for answers and will be quite blunt about it. "He did not solve the case. He provided assistance for Naomi Misora, but did not solve it himself. He was not able to conclude that the last victim was me. Only that I was going to kill someone. The one who solved it was Misora. He took the case, but failed to solve it. I am satisfied with it." It was not as if she was going to smother the answers out of him. They were both quite capable of defending themselves, and just as unstable. "And I do not recall ever saying that I do not have a vendetta against him. He is not my friend, but he is not my enemy either." And he resisted the cruel grin that was bound to rise. He knew full well he had succeeded in confusing her.

However, she seemed to shake it off. "What about Suture? Do you remember her? I shall be sending her here in my place to research. Perhaps send some of the cadavers of the Kira case, see what you make of it; you both are still fascinated by medicine and death, correct?" Such morbid questions said so nonchalantly.

Beyond paused in his gorging, but Kew was not sure whether it was to ponder the question or if he was deciphering her test.

He did not know her as a person. It's obvious to come to the conclusion that she had adopted L's knack for testing each person to see if they were attempting to deceive her. Kew was the host, she was neutral to nearly everything, she was cautious, at times motherly and ready to tests her boundaries if the time came; in all essence, she was the one who could portray a human so well, the one that provided that little bit that helped them blend in to society should that need arise.

Conversely, this was not a test to see if he was trying to deceive her; no, oh no: This was more along the lines of providing some…amusement and perverse inquisitiveness.

"I suppose. I have not seen Suture in a while. How is she doing?"

Oh for the love of— Why must he be so detached…? It makes things much harder…then again, we never turn down a challenge. Kew mused, her face kept its secrets significantly better than the rest of the personas could ever hope for.

"Fine," She paused, eyeing his responses discreetly. "I wonder how she'll react to seeing you again?" She said dryly.

However, Beyond displayed no other emotion; rather, he just gave an impassive nod and stood up to leave the room.

Kew frowned as he left, turning to her side, tangling the sheets further around her feet. I still refuse to let go of the theory that he loves to confuse us as much as any other human on this forsaken planet…

You just don't like him because he looks way too much like L since that damn surgery, so it feels weird to have him snub us, not to mention he can actually confuse all of us. K muttered, figuratively coming back from the little corner she had holed herself in.

You come in at the most inopportune times…Kat reprimanded. Let us rant for a change. You and Kitten seem to be the only ones allowed, ever.

"I think you should all be quiet. There are more pressing matters to think about," Kew said aloud, frowning when her acute senses took in the smell of stagnant and humid air. She pushed that thought to the side. No matter how much her instincts whispered to her that something might be wrong. "Like if we actually want to bring in any other being into this world. He, she, or they would most likely feel like an outcast because of their genetics. There's no way in hell I'm going to stand by and watch a child tell me that it wants to commit suicide or worse…"

Suddenly, the image of a small child with a noose around its neck appeared in her head, swinging slightly in one of their many living rooms or garages. She flinched violently at the very thought of that. There is no way we'll allow that to happen! K snarled quite violently.

Maybe we should abort it… Kat offered, her voice clearly betraying the suggestion.

That's the same as killing! No! Kitten shrieked frantically, the hysteria already about to burst through.

"Even if that's the case, you all know that he'd never agree to that…" Kew reminded them both. "Do we even know how many we are going to have? It might be one, it might be two, worse case scenario it's five…" Her hand flitted to her exposed stomach under the covers, touching it softly as if any harder it might hurt the little beings growing inside of her.

"No. Actually, it's three," Said a voice from the door.

Kew twisted her neck around, eyes focusing on the willowy figure of Nuo. "What do you mean?" She asked, vertigo hitting her strong and hard.

"You're having three, in your 'litter'," She stated this emotionlessly, as if she were discussing the weather.

"We," Kew corrected. "I have a mate, he is as much a part of this as myself."

One of Nuo's gray brows lifted. "You mean that young man you came with?"

If Kew had been drinking anything, or eating for that matter, she surely would have choked. "You mean Rue? No, no, no! He's just here as a reinforcement! Another mentally unstable being to speak with!" She insisted; he may have looked and acted like L but he was in no way Lawliet. L and Lawliet were completely different entities, as much as K and Kitten were.

"Right. When shall you be leaving?" Nuo asked, changing the subject quickly in a very taciturn manner.

"I have one more question for you. That serum you made to turn a human into one of my kind temporarily… what is its duration? And what type of a dose would it take to get them to be nearly a copy of me? Chemically and hypothetically speaking at least." She questioned, thoughts on a similar subject.

"I would not know the exact numbers, but it would most likely be about two units of twenty milliliters, in doses." She said, eyes fogging up a bit, head caught up with memories of the past. "The only way to get them to actually act like you, and function like you temporarily is if you start off with the first dose at least a week in advance, then the next one on the seventh day so that it is most potent in the blood. So far, it has worked well that way," She finished, comprehension dawning on her face as Kew reached for her cell phone, pressing the speed dial.

"You plan on using our methods? I thought you were repulsed by them?" Nuo asked, she was completely baffled and it was painfully obvious to Kew.

She put one finger in the air before she gave out orders in rapid French, narrowing her eyes at one point before snapping out what seemed like a demand before snapping the phone shut, continuing with the conversation as if nothing had happened. "Yes to both. As much as it chagrins me to admit, there are certain advantages to the serums and tonics that you humans created. "Before you ask—" She quickly intercepted when she saw the older woman about to speak again. "I had the serum reproduced using some files we acquired. I trust my contact in that it is completely functional or else…well, you are already aware of my "act first, ask questions later…. If this is still possible" way of doing things. Now be a good little human and leave. I need to pack my things." Towards the end, it was K who had had enough of the pestering and decided that they needed to actually start gathering their belongings. Not that there were many in the first place.

Nuo adopted this odd, flabbergasted look; her eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline. Her mouth gaped open…then closed…then opened and repeated the entire process over again. It vaguely reminded them all of a fish…which sent her stomach rumbling.

The scientist left the room, most likely more irked then when she came.

Sluggishly, she dragged herself out of the mess of comforters and sheets; and when that was accomplished, she practically ran to her miniature fridge, grabbing the first premade milkshake she could find.

-

Aizawa typed on his laptop furiously.

He had finally cracked the puzzle.

He was not any super detective like L, a renowned suicide agent like K, or even a genius like Light; but he had cracked it!

It took much of his free time away. He found himself loosing a bit of weight trying to figure out the intricate equations, brain teasers and word puzzles. However, in the end, he finally succeeded.

And so he sat there, accessing a website, putting in the passwords listed on the paper in numerical order until the screen of his computer went black.

His heart lurched and his stomach plummeted; what did he do wrong?

Before he could begin chastising himself, a gray window opened up in the middle of the screen with the small salutation of "Welcome. Please insert the case number to proceed. If you do not type with in the next minute, this computer will be infected with a malicious virus."

It shouldn't have annoyed Aizawa that much; he should have known that they would want to keep there secrets. So, he typed in as quick and accurately as he could the code "K02257496."

Almost immediately, another screen came up demanding a password, which he inserted again. All was going well, until the final barrier showed itself. He simply gaped at the computer. "What is Agent K's real name?"

So she had given him the last information! If anyone had stolen the file, per chance, and was somehow able to decipher everything (which he doubted)… They would still be out of luck, as they were missing one key part of the solution. "K-e-w K-e-i-k-a-n."

He waited five minutes, his expecting eyes narrowing into a glare when nothing happened. He was mere seconds away from slamming the laptop shut when pages upon pages of information cascaded across his screen. The top page was titled "The Hybrid Case of 1989."

-

October 22, 2007

-

She trudged along the sidewalk quietly. By now, Suture was already on her way to China and Lawliet would be waiting for her. With Light at his side.

Kat's green eyes wandered to the sky thoughtfully, only to darken when they saw the black clouds in the sky, void of all color. Rain was soon to come.

Tokyo did not seem as welcoming a place as it was before the Kira case, more specifically, before Light came to the task force. The sense of doom still lingered…

She shook her head before taking a short cut around back. No way are we going through all the security checks…

Yes, as her energy level dwindled, she confirmed it. Something bad is going to happen soon…I just hope it's not to anyone I care about…

A/N: I thank the wonderful Kugnae-san for editing this chapter! I am working on an AMV for this story…or a trailer of sorts…whatever you might wish to call it! Remember! Reviews encourage me to write write write! You may comment on anything you liked, disliked or even are curious about! You can ask questions, too! I'll answer them to the best of my ability! Hope you enjoyed it! -Maddy