Chapter 41—Silence
Suture's eyes kept widening as Beyond explained everything to her. In full detail, not missing a beat about why he disappeared from the orphanage after A committed suicide, why he had so many surgical scars and why Higuchi's eyes had that tint.
"You should call K and tell her," Suture told him firmly. "This might be crucial to the investigation; you cannot keep this from her."
"I am aware, which is why I intend to call her as soon as we finish up with these victims," Beyond said, picking a scalpel off of a tray.
Suture merely watched as he made his way to the examination table, her heart beating quickly.
K may have deceived her—attempted to throw her for a loop, even—but that did not mean that her life suddenly didn't matter. Suture knew that every bit of information they found was relevant to the case and the survival of both L and K—that is, even if her place in the Wammy's House as nineteenth suggested otherwise.
She glanced at her hand, noticing the shaking.
She felt like a tornado was coming today. But the question was; how big would it be?
-
Kat's lips quirked downward as she forced the grotesque serum into Lawliet's bloodstream again, noting the dilation of his pupil and the ever so slight twitch of his jaw.
She slid it out, throwing the syringe into a plastic bag to be burned somewhere.
She had given it to Watari earlier, just as the sun peaked over the horizon.
It was going to rain.
She shook her head before stepping back to allow Lawliet to get up.
"Are you going to the roof?" She asked quietly, feeling the first of many waves of fatigue hitting her.
His eyes turned to her, noting the sudden paleness, the darkening bags under her eyes and the just plain exhausted shine (or lack thereof) in her eyes.
"Yes," he said. "Would you like me to escort you to the investigation room?"
She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her thin parka, trying to hide the way her claws were digging into her flesh. "Sure."
Something bad… is going to happen …Kew noted, voice still and anxious. All of them were jittery, half expecting the predictions of the scientists to be false, to keel over at any second while also expecting something else cataclysmic to happen.
And she knew he had that sense of impending doom around him too.
When he was answering Light's questions—it was very obvious that he knew it wasn't the Light they had been working with for so long.
"It really is…an uncomfortable feeling," Kat began. "To know something is coming, something life-threatening. And you can do nothing but wait it out. Hope nothing happens to anyone."
"Yes," He answered. "I can see how animals have a need to flee before a tsunami or a typhoon…"
They climbed into the elevator, Kat pressing the button. "Humans have it too; they just choose not to go with their instincts. They were just as primal and wild as any animal before, they just chose to domesticate themselves. A curse and a blessing. They threw away their natural gift of knowing nature, but they also gained unbidden knowledge. I have—and now you and Watari as well—a perspective from both here and there."
Lawliet nodded in understanding before curiosity ran away with his mouth. "…Do you hear the bells?"
Kat froze for a second. "…No…But I suppose it might be a variation on how we sense dangers…" It seems there are some humans who can sense danger as we can. Lawliet never ceases to amaze me…
"They've been getting particularly loud," She noted how depressed his voice sounded, halfway defeated.
"Hmmm," Fluent in how many languages and that's all you can get out? Damn, and here I thought you were capable of much, much more, Kat.
Quiet, K. What else am I to say? Death and destruction is on the horizon? Make a prophecy about the apocalypse? Spit out some random lies to comfort him? I refuse. He knows my sentiments—far better than me, I'm willing to bet, Kat retorted.
A clap of thunder muffled by the walls, but still, she fell to the ground, her knees buckling underneath her. She grasped the nearest thing, which just so happened to be Lawliet's arm.
He gathered her in his arms, helping her out of the small elevator. It took a while for her to get her muscles working again, but when she did, she leaned against the wall, waving Lawliet away. "You should go to the roof now; I can take care of myself…" she murmured, leaning her head against the wall.
He stood up, albeit hesitantly.
Lawliet wanted to stay with her but he knew better than to go against her choices. She was far too obdurate, especially when it came to rainy days.
She never felt comfortable with him doting on her, so he had to make sure not to set her off. It proved to be quite a chore some days and other days it was far too easy to avoid her fits.
He supposed it was K that influenced a good bit of her actions on days that it was pouring.
He just hoped she would at least try and be more flexible…if not for her own wellbeing, then for their unborn children. With that, he went back to the elevator.
Kat stayed on the floor for quite a while. Reminiscing and pondering what was to come, and what she could possibly do to stop it. All the possibilities led to one ultimate outcome, one that she could not escape or run from.
She wouldn't tell him, but she was terrified.
She was soon going to be confined to a couch or bed, unable to move or defend her self—and if the meteorologist's predictions were accurate, than she would remain that way well into the night.
When Kat was younger, it was easier to cope with. Sure, the Terrible Trio had a knack for beating her up on those days, ditching her in the rain to get pneumonia, but back then, she could hide behind the adults or Lawliet more effectively.
Now she was an adult.
She couldn't duck behind someone's legs, and try to shrink away. She couldn't idle about in a room, reading books and throwing fits over everything the characters did. She certainly could not depend on everyone coming to her rescue.
She was an adult.
Sure, she had a predilection for staying away from danger on days that she was in such a state but…
What actually instilled fear in her was not the fact that she wouldn't be able to move—that she would be vulnerable for more time than usual—but the fact that she would not be able to rocket around the room and defend Lawliet should the moment arise.
Even though he was very capable of doing that himself, she wouldn't be able to come in as back up should anything unfavorable happen.
"Destroy the spineless
Show me it's real
Wasting our last chance
To come away
Just break the silence
'cause I'm drifting away
Away from you!"
She jumped about a foot in the air, clawing holes in the plaster. She needed to pick songs that weren't quite so startling.
She opened the phone shakily, holding back the string of curses that were about to burst.
"Hello?"
"This is Rue."
Kat blinked successively. Did he have news for her? Was it positive or negative?
"What is it?" She asked, almost as tactless as L was on some days.
"Higuchi has Shinigami Eyes. I have reason to suspect that the one you suspect as the second Kira has Shinigami eyes as well."
"Is this some sort of jest?" she questioned.
"No. I am being completely serious." Well, he was showing his new found honesty in a frowzy way. "Tell me, were you with L during the LABB murder cases?" he asked, quite out of the blue.
"No, L had aggravated me so he went to the United States while I went to Vietnam. He only told me the basics of that case," she answered.
"Well then …" A pause. "I shall e-mail you with my speculations and the how it relates to the current case." And with that, he hung up.
Kat shook her head at the pithy conversation before getting herself up and making her way to the investigation room laggardly. When she did get there, she plopped herself down on her favorite couch, covering her eyes with her forearm.
August 12th, 2006
Kat picked up her duffle bag, ready to head off to the plane that was boarding from New Delhi, India to Hanoi, Vietnam.
"Tell him that I will meet with him at the end of his case," she said, closing up her parka. "Hopefully, when we will have both abandoned our need to wring each other's neck."
"You are still mad that he stepped on your tail and spilled coffee on you…?" Mr. Wammy asked; handing her the soft drink.
"The argument we had afterwards has something to do with it, as well…" she murmured. "See you soon, Watari."
She said this while waving behind at him as she set off, making a point of ignoring the man that was looking at her from afar.
He was bound for Los Angeles, North America…to deal with one of his successors, one that had strayed from his path. She had to go to Hanoi to do some mission for the police there, something they were far too lazy to do, apparently. Something to do with drug siphoning, and a big spike, in serial cases and killing some people…
It was certainly odd, when she found herself eating shrimp with the load of business people in first class. One even managed to ask her what "company" she worked for.
"Sukaaretto seppen…" she answered before swallowing another shrimp. She never known why Artemis chose that name; "Scarlet Snowflake," perhaps it was just a strange preference of his?
"Oh, isn't that the Japanese one? I heard a crime lord runs it…" one of the older gentlemen said.
K resisted the grin; she was the "crime lord." Able to rally up the underworld with one command, then lock them all up at the same time. But that was an exaggeration, of course.
"Mistress is no crime lord." She purposely answered in a broken accent before pulling up her laptop to look over the mission details.
Go in, kill quite a few people on the wanted list and get out.
After that, all she would need to do was collect her earnings.
She felt like such a hit-woman… wasn't Agent K supposed to be the opposite of a hit-woman?
Oh, the hell with it.
-
Kat ran her hand over a certain spot on her bandages, the one wound that began bleeding after the whole "Lind L. Tailor" fiasco. That was a cause of her getting a bit too arrogant, the result of jumping in front of some medieval type weapon and getting practically shredded. She was scolded on more than one occasion for that one, then again, and then again.
Her eyes fluttered shut, drowsy.
And when she opened them again…well, it was a completely hectic mess.
The first thing she heard was the screams of outrage of the task force, causing her to hiss in discomfort, sending a vicious glare their way.
She forced herself into a sitting position, trying to muffle her soft pants, and completely ignoring the cold sweat that was accumulating on her forehead. The second thing she heard was Kew and K's disbelief at the task force's naïveté.
And the third thing she heard was L's voice. "The one who will write in the notebook will be the one who has at least thirteen days until their execution, and if they are living after thirteen days, then they will be absolved of their execution. That is the legal trade that we will make…"
It took longer than usual for her to process that, but when she did, she did not find it to be as outrageous as the rest. It seemed completely practical to her, tying up some loose ends, in a sense.
The fur on the nape of her neck prickled; she glanced at Light in her peripheral vision. The type of stunts that Lawliet was pulling off blatantly showed that he was still suspicious of Light and Misa.
Which also made perfect sense—Misa was released, then almost immediately, sixteen criminals were killed Kira style.
"Watari, contact the heads of all the states which fit into that situation."
And more screams of incredulity. She sent a pointed glare at Aizawa. Hadn't she provided him with enough information to absolve all of his doubts of what they did? Or had she not been obvious enough? Did she have to smack him around while yelling "We know what we are doing! We've done it since we were children!"
"What do you plan by doing that right now?!" Aizawa demanded, slamming his hand on the table, beside L's chair.
She only managed a feeble growl in their direction, wiping away her sticky bangs.
"It would be a verification of the murder's notebook of course."
But Kat had turned her attention away from them, eyes glued to the Shinigami.
Adrenaline began pumping through her as she saw it giving her a look, its eyes still…almost with an almost…regretful look in its eyes?
NO!!!!!!! K snarled, causing her to wince. That stupid piece of shit!
What the hell is your problem?! Kat questioned, irritated.
Wait about thirty more seconds and you'll see!
Thirty more seconds…? Damn. Kat's eyes widened in comprehension.
CRASH!
Kat jumped from her position, heart pounding so hard, it might as well have been trying to jump out and escape danger.
"What's wrong Watari?" L asked, the worry in his tone only evident to her.
No answer to his question. "Watari…?"
PEEEEEP!
"All data deletion?...What does that mean?" Light asked.
Watari…No!
"I instructed Watari to delete all the information he currently holds if anything unexpected should happen to him…" Lawliet intoned.
"'Unexpected should happen to him'…"
"He… can't be…"
Lawliet turned to his head to the task force. "Where is the reaper?"
"The reaper…it's gone…"
If Watari is dead…If that's the case, Amane hasn't even had a glimpse of his face… Yagami Light… Did he do something when he went outside a while ago…? But I didn't let anybody know Watari's name… What if…The reaper…
"Everyone, the reape……!" Lawliet froze, spoon halfway to his tea.
A heavy weight settled itself onto Kat's chest, her breath leaving in one full gasp.
Everything around her just…disappeared as she strained her ears to listen to the heartbeats. Focusing in on the one farthest away from her…
But it was—
"No…" She whispered, falling into an adrenaline induced run, legs giving out just as Lawliet fell out of his chair.
The tears were already gushing down her face.
"NO!" she yelled hoarsely, as Light Yagami caught him. She strained herself the final few steps, cradling his head in her lap after smacking Kira's hands away from her mate, not even giving the vile creature a second glance when he gasped at the three jagged gashes she had left in his skin.
"Don't you dare die on me…I swear…!" she whispered through hushed sobs.
So…I…I wasn't wrong…but…I…
"Hey Ryuuzaki! Ryuuzaki!"
Kat forced the red that was bleeding into her vision down as Light feigned all his actions. She didn't need to even look at him to know that he had had a grin painted on his features only moments before. One that she undoubtedly would have ripped off were they under any other circumstances.
She leaned by Lawliet's ear, "…I-I'm not going to say goodbye…"
"We should call an ambulance!"
"But Ryuuzaki doesn't have an ID!"
"I'll go with him!"
He's dead! No! The serum didn't work! UWAH! Kitten wailed helplessly.
We shouldn't of taken on this case! We should've done something less dangerous! Something that didn't involve all this crap, Kat murmured lamely, already falling into a depression, tears still gushing down her cheeks.
This shouldn't have happened…was Kew's startled mantra.
K's heart just plunged into her stomach, leaving her in a momentary breathless stupor as she tried to compose herself.
"What do we do, Kokoro?!" was heard between the panicked shrieks.
She wiped her runny nose against the sleeve of her parka. "You calm the fuck down, that's what," K hissed wildly after quelling Kat's tears. "Light, you and the rest go find the reaper. Yagami, an ambulance is not needed. He's at the point of no return. Aizawa, you stay here with me," she commanded, not missing the hateful glint in Light's eyes.
Frankly, she didn't give a damn if Light could cover his tracks, she just wanted him out of her sight before she gave in to her more primal instincts and morphed into her tiger form and turned him into minced meat.
Dammit! Why didn't Rem kill Kokoro?! Light thought as he nodded shakily and went out with the rest of the search team.
She just sat there in silence, listening half-heartedly to the wails and cries of pain of the other personas, not noticing that she herself was devastated; ready to rip out Light's eyes, mutilate him until there was nothing recognizable left. She was utterly and completely pissed, then mournful and then had that insane bloodlust building up in her.
How it would just help everything to beat the crap out of Yagami Light, Kira.
K looked at Aizawa as he flitted around checking Lawliet's vitals anyways. "Stop it, she said harshly, getting his attention. "If he's—d-d-de—if he's gone, he's gone." She finally settled, the exhaustion sinking into her again, her hands quivering. "And if my theory was right, then, well, don't worry about us. Now get up, and help me get him to where Watari is. Tell me, is it still raining?" she questioned, even through everything that was happening, K was still being the tough one, the one that didn't want to be made a fool out of.
Aizawa was taken aback by her words. "No, it's stopped…for the moment at least."
"Good," she grunted, hefting up Lawliet's torso, motioning Aizawa to take his feet.
Together, they hauled him to where Watari was on the ground. Her eyes got teary again as she told Aizawa to go to the hallway closet and bring in some blankets and such.
And he watched as she gingerly covered them, and rolled them over onto makeshift beds.
"Aizawa, I am entrusting you to never let your suspicions go down a notch. As someone once said many times, act as if you are playing chess on the ice. Stick to a realistic standpoint."
"No! You're not going to—"
"It's so flattering of you to suggest I would go commit suicide," she said flatly. "No. In another time and place, I would have. I want nothing to do with the task force as it is now, they are far too biased. As it is, you actually have some potential to see around everything. Just…Please remember that first Kira is to Light, as L is to Ryuuzaki. And the second Kira is to Misa as Agent K is to Kew Keikan," she muttered, before giving him some orders to abide by and shooing him out.
She snapped her phone open and pressed the speed dial. "Roger? I'm not dead. Please send the autopilot coordinates to the jet, I am going to be visiting my house, the one by the orphanage…" she said simply before snapping the phone shut and just staring at Lawliet's alabaster face.
"That serum better work…" she muttered, brushing her fingertips across his forehead; sparing a glance to Mr. Wammy.
Her father, for all effective reasons, was most likely on his death bed. She felt the tears prickling her vision.
He was seventy-one…his body wouldn't function as readily as hers or Lawliet's. Now that she actually thought about, the chances of him coming out of it with out major heart problems or waking up at all—they were slim to none.
Not only could she lose her mate, but her father.
All in one day.
Whatever divine being was looking over her was really sick. Wanting to leave her fatherless, loveless and leave her—
Her face flushed as a wave of nausea hit her.
Her children could be left fatherless…! She could end up raising them by herself! She couldn't do that! She could barely take care of herself!
A dark cloud came over her, a dark glint entering her eyes as she brushed hair out of Lawliet's face.
I will murder Yagami Light and Amane Misa with my own claws and hands if Lawliet and Mr. Wammy don't wake up… I at least want the pleasure of seeing his eyes die… This cruel world will not deny me of that privilege.
Silence.
A/N: Okay. This is the end. The sequel will be named "Obvious Vexation." Please, review this one. If you've never reviewed, at least review this last chapter. Tell me what you think! I really cried writing this! Thanks to Timekeeper101-nee-chan for proofing and giving tips on this! And to Kugnae-san for his awesome skills too!
Please review!
-Maddy