Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

About this chapter. I will say to one of the commenters who commented in one of the last few chapters: good guess.


It was really amazing the things that memory loss could do to a person. What was really amazing was that Katherine had turned out to be the only person not to fall asleep the night before. This was probably due to the insane amounts of coffee she had practically inhaled, but she was still awake, that's what mattered. So, she had been staring at the computer at six o' clock in the morning when Misa awoke and began getting upset. Very upset. As in, very funny, of course. It was funny because she had been dead on about what Misa's reaction would be.

"Stalker-san. Stalker-san! Let me out of the chains and stuff, I swear I won't run away! I just need to stretch my legs. Please, stalker-san?"

It was about nine o' clock that morning when Katherine gave a laugh that resulted in someone falling off of a couch or out of a chair with a thud on the floor. This amazingly woke no one else up, but it did make her laugh again.

"Stalker-san! PLEASE!!"

"What's going on?" asked a very tired, confused voice.

"I have absolutely no idea," Katherine said, looking over at Matsuda, "but I don't think she knows either, so that's not really surprising."

"Eh?"

"Listen."

"Stalker-san, please let me go! I'll give you a hug! Please? I'll give you my autograph, too. Oh! I have to use the bathroom? Please!!"

"Is it an act…?"

"I don't know. Oi!" she called back at the investigation team. Everyone awoke with a start. "Is there a Stalker-san here, by any chance?"

The investigation team gathered around the computer, looking down at the screen, where Misa was now struggling. She was definitely quite a bit livelier than she had been the day before, but it wasn't doing her any good. She definitely wasn't begging for death anymore. She was instead begging for freedom. Katherine laughed again at Misa's yells of "Stalker-san." She looked back at the team, who all looked quite confused.

"Any ideas?" she said. "Mattie thinks it may be an act. Any votes to agree?"

"I think you might know something about it," Aizawa grumbled.

"Aizawa-san thinks I hypnotized her with my crazy killing mind-powers, of course."

"I didn't say –" he started.

"Anyone else? Yagami-san? Ryuzaki?"

"I don't… I'm not sure."

"And Ryuzaki?"

"I agree with Yagami-san."

"That's two to one to one, their side wins."

"This isn't a game," Aizawa said.

"We all know you're only saying that because you lost. Oh," she said, standing up quickly, "I should probably head to the store. I not only drank almost all the coffee in this place to stay awake so someone would be watching the suspect, but now I'm bored and I need something to do before I have a caffeine induced heart attack."

That was only partially true. She had definitely drunk all the coffee. However, she wasn't going to the store because she needed something to do. She was going to the store because she was going to pretend to cooperate. That was something she needed to do every once in a great while after all, otherwise she wouldn't be trusted anymore. Sure, this was probably costing her the trust of a couple certain members of the investigation team, but that wasn't very important. What was important was that she had found an awesome way to confuse one member. Asking awkward questions at strange moments could be very amusing. She laughed to herself on the way through the lobby, but she did so a little louder than she had intended. This brought on some extremely strange looks from some people checking in.

Katherine got in the driver's seat of her car and took her cell phone out of her pocket. She dialed a few numbers and held it to her ear. A few moments later, a voice that made her want to gag herself with a spoon answered.

"Hello?"

"Light," she said quickly, "No one can hear this conversation. Rem is gone. Misa forfeited her Death Note."

"I know," Light said. "I take it you saw it happen?"

"Yeah. See, she was begging us to kill her and Rem talked her into forfeiting her Death Note instead of death, because death might have been a little more painful, see."

There was a pause on the other line. Of course, she had said her last sentence in about a nanosecond, so this was to be expected. It might take a normal person a moment to take in all of that.

"Right," Light said slowly. "Is there any chance that you've been able to get Ryuzaki's real name?"

"No," she said. "I've tried. I did manage to confuse him, though," she added proudly. "I confused him and then I drank all of his coffee when he fell asleep."

"Okay," Light said slowly. "That's… interesting. Now, anyway, due to the problem with Misa, I've come up with a new plan."

"Have you?"

"Yes," Light said.

"Do tell."

"Will this get back to anyone in the investigation team?"

"Nope. Just Bob."

"Who?"

"My imaginary friend."

"S… sure," Light said. "Good. Then here's the deal. I'm planning on turning myself in."

"That's… just… going to get you killed," Katherine said slowly. "Not following."

"I'm going to tell Ryuzaki that I think I might be Kira without knowing I am, and talk the investigation team into supervising me. As it would be difficult for you to take up Kira's work that close to the team all the time, I've planned something else that Rem has agreed to help with for the sake of proving Misa's innocence. She is going to drop a Death Note for someone else, preferably someone in a high seat of corporate power. While myself and Misa are in confinement, the killings will start again, proving us to be innocent."

"Good plan," Katherine said, "but I think Ryuk'll get bored being in confinement."

"I'll forfeit my Death Note. I won't remember that I'm Kira."

"I could remind you," she said.

"Don't, it's part of my plan."

"Oh. That's no fun."

"Fun isn't the issue here," Light said, getting annoyed. "I'm going to burry Misa's Death Note and forfeit my own. I've traded them so Rem will have my old one with instructions in it, and I've had Ryuk add two fake rules."

"Okay. That's a little more interesting, then."

I swear I'm taking to the human equivalent of Ryuk… Light thought to himself, restraining from getting too angry. This could get annoying. If I can't get rid of her with the Death Note…. I'll be forgetting she was my ally soon, anyway, I'll put up with this for a little while longer.

"The rules are that anyone who had touched the Death Note will die if it is destroyed in some way. The other is that someone who has written a name in the note doesn't write another for thirteen days, that person will die. Rem will drop this note, as I said, for someone in a high seat of corporate power. If I'm right about my own personality, once I have forfeited my Death Note and forgotten about being Kira, I will talk Ryuzaki into letting me join the investigation to catch Kira, and we will. Then, I will touch the notebook and be able to kill the new owner with a small piece I have hidden, that I won't remember until I again touch that note."

"Mm-hmm. Why kill?"

"I won't own it again unless he dies while I am holding the Death Note."

"Oh. So obviously you will need to kill him."

"Right. As Misa has given her Death Note up, once I have my memory back, I can have her unbury my old note."

"Ooh. Interesting. And as she has seen Ryuzaki's face, she can then kill him."

"Exactly."

"Have you considered a particular idiocy factor into this?"

"What?"

"Misa's mentally challenged," Katherine said pointedly. "What do you plan to do if she's forgotten the name?"

"She'll have Ryuk as her Shinigami at that point. She can exchange for Shinigami eyes again without Rem talking her out of it."

"Smart. Alright, I'm at a public area now, which means I can't exactly be talking to you on the phone. I'll call back with anything else that may be important later."

Katherine shut her phone and got out of her car at the grocery store. She would definitely have to tell L about this soon.


"What are you talking about?"

It had taken some consideration. However, L saw it as the only possible solution for the problem that currently faced him. His "friend" was becoming an unnecessary distraction to the investigation. Letting important secret information slip in front of her was a very bad thing. He also already knew how Kira killed, and who Kira was. That was enough information to go by, even with Misa having given up her Death Note. Katherine wasn't going to be able to offer much more help in the investigation. Even acting as a spy, her hearing Light Yagami say "I am Kira" wouldn't be enough for the rest of the team, and they probably wouldn't even believe it if she had it caught on audio tape. As she was creating a somewhat hostile environment with part of the investigation team, letting her go was the only option. He didn't want to. He couldn't figure out why he didn't want to. Nevertheless, it seemed like the best action to take.

Explaining it to the investigation team would involve quite a bit of lying…. It couldn't be helped.

"She has been acting as a spy."

"I knew it!" Aizawa said. "So she knows who Kira is and she's been working for him?"

"No," L said. "He contacted her with an untraceable number and voice distortion, and she agreed to spy on the team for him. She says she has been spying on our side, but it is still too risky to take chances."

"Does he know who is on the team?" Yagami asked.

"Faces, yes, but only because he has seen us all, not because she has sent him any information against us. He knows only Yagami-san's name, but seems to refrain from killing him."

"If she's still on our side, then why do we need to get rid of her?" Matsuda asked. "She was the one who found out about Amane, so she's been helping. And she's best for doing field work since she can't be killed!"

"She says she has discovered that Kira can kill by means other than heart attack," L said. "I don't know how true this is. However, if he can cause a person to murder another, she isn't as safe as we all thought to use for field work."

"Then why wasn't she killed after the Sakura TV –"

"The second Kira is significantly less intelligent than the real Kira," L said. "She probably didn't know how. Kira thought of using her as a spy rather than killing her on the spot."

"Wait," Aizawa said. "You knew she was a spy, right?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that the sort of thing you're supposed to tell the team?"

"If I had told you, you would have overreacted. I am not doing this because I don't trust her. I'm doing this because Kira could possibly trick her."

"You might want to tell her before she gets here," Matsuda said, pointing out the monitors at the other side of the room, showing Katherine was walking into the lobby.

"Matsuda-san, please go inform her that she is not permitted to enter headquarters. You may tell her why."

"Okay…"

Matsuda walked out the door, shooting a rather angry look back at the rest of the team. He had been much more cooperative than L had expected. That was definitely lucky. Having even one member of the investigation team acting with hostility would cause problems within the investigation itself, especially with how few people they had on their side.

––

Matsuda stopped Katherine in front of the staircase. She looked at him oddly. What was L up to now?

"Ryuzaki sent me to prohibit you from entering headquarters."

So that was what he was up to, then. Her mind told her to act rationally, but the caffeine that still hadn't worked its way out of her system was working much faster than her mind.

"What??" She dropped the bag off coffee on the floor. "That little shi –"

"He told us you were spying on Kira."

"Eh?"

"That Kira contacted you anonymously a while back."

"Right," she said. "Yeah. It's more likely that I'm an unneeded distraction to the team now because I don't have any more good information. Goddammit!" She picked up the bag of coffee handed it to Matsuda, then took out her cell phone. "Hold on for just minute."

Katherine walked out of earshot of Matsuda, who now looked very bewildered. She dialed a number and held the phone to her ear.

"Yes?"

"You're getting rid of me?" Katherine said. "Pity. I have some interesting information."

"Do you?"

"Yes. And besides which, I believe you have something of mine. Notebook?"

"That is a piece of evidence that must be held onto until the end of the case."

"Ah. Right." Seething mad wasn't the best thing in the world to mix with caffeine, especially not for her…. "Kira is planning something. Something that you should probably be forewarned about. However, as I'm not going to be on the investigation team anymore because I don't have any useful information, you won't find out what it is and I'll just go back to my role as silent observer, shall I?"

She snapped her phone shut, but it rang only a moment later. She flipped it open and held it to her ear.

"What?" she snapped.

"What information do you have?"

"I just said –"

"If it is important information, you will be allowed back on the team."

"I just said I'm not going to tell you unless it's certain that I'm on the team."

"This isn't a matter of a job," L said impatiently, "and it is completely immature to believe it is. This case is a matter of lives."

"'Immature'? That's really something coming from someone who only takes up cases that look like they could be fun. You'll know at least a part of Kira's plan soon. He's going to be taking action very soon. I left this morning to call and give him information that I knew he already had by telling him that I didn't think he'd know yet and it seemed important. I'm sure you know what information that would be. He told me about a plan."

"Yes…"

"Yes. He told me about a plan that he will be executing soon. That's all."

"If the Kira case is going to be solved, then –"

"You'll find out soon. I said he will be executing this plan soon. Don't you listen? If you want to let me back on the case in the future, then you know my number. Until then –"

She snapped her phone shut. She walked back over to Matsuda.

"Take that upstairs for me," she said, indicating the bag he was holding. "I will be going 'home'."

––

Katherine arrived at her home after having spent days with the investigation team. Home wasn't a very good word for it anymore, as that definitely wasn't how she saw it. The headquarters had basically become her home. That didn't matter. If she wasn't wanted there by anyone, then she wasn't going to go back. She scoffed to herself as she lay down on the couch in her living room and turned on the television.

"Friends just aren't fucking worth it," she mumbled bitterly. "Probably lied anyway. Stupid emotionless sugar-high insomniac…"

She rolled her eyes at nothing in particular as she commenced flipping absently through the channels.

"I can talk to myself again now without anyone thinking I'm Kira because I'm a maniac who thinks out loud, at least," she thought aloud. "That's pretty cool."

Then came a thought that gave her a gut wrenching feeling. The only reason for that was because there was no one there to think she was Kira. There was no one there at all. Maybe it just wasn't worth it. Maybe she should tell L Kira's plans. Oh, screw it. That would be giving in. She had enjoyed silently observing earlier on in the investigation. Hell, she still had her cameras hooked up over there! She could tune in any time she liked for a good laugh. But what if they moved headquarters again? What if they made some kind of impenetrable permanent headquarters that her spies couldn't set up cameras in? That would mean she would be in the dark again. So swallowing her pride and giving L the information would be best, right?

No, no, no! He was going to kick me out in the first place! I told him I had information and he was all gung-ho about letting me back in, which means he was kicking me out because he thought I was useless. Stupid fuck. Don't know why I thought he was my friend. I'd probably beat the shit out of his scrawny ass if I saw him again after this, anyway. I should probably stay out. Yes. No one could figure out such a plan on their own. Not even L. He'll be begging me to come back in no time.

Even this thought didn't keep her from being fuming mad. She wasn't sure she wanted to be a part of the investigation team anymore. If three people didn't trust her, then there was just no point in worrying about them.


It was definitely for the best. The team was short another person, sure, but if L mentioned anything else about his past… That would put more than just his identity in danger. She was probably only bluffing about Kira planning something, anyway, just an attempt to get back on the team. At least there wasn't constant arguing between Aizawa and Katherine to worry about. That could give anyone a migraine. But now Matsuda was being less efficient than ever. Granted, he had never been particularly efficient before, but he wasn't doing much of any work now, or even coming up with stupid-yet-somewhat-amusing theories about Kira. That wasn't much of a loss. As it was probably a bluff, this whole "Kira has a plan" thing, losing her wasn't that bad.

So, it didn't make any sense for L to feel even remotely bad about kicking her out. So why did he? There had been no point to it. The confusion still hadn't gone away. She was still confusing him and she hadn't even been there since that morning. Now it was midnight. What kind of sense did that make? It didn't make any, not by his logic. L rolled his eyes at the thought and continued supervising Misa Amane. She had found the team Misa. Matsuda had actually made a sensible point there, which was something he didn't seem particularly capable of doing. Hadn't that just been a stroke of luck, though, since Katherine knew Misa? She had spotted Misa by the Shinigami, though. Now that L could see Shinigami as well, and that made her seem like even less of a necessity. Of course, his sanity was a necessity in a case like this, and this whole thing was threatening to drive him crazy. At least when she had been there, he hadn't had to get confused about why he was angry about having kicked her out.

There was one problem with her not being on the case, another point that Matsuda – of all people – had made. She had no name, so she was good for basically anything that involved being out in public for the investigation. It was natural that Matsuda had been the only one to point anything out about her that would benefit the investigation, as both Aizawa and Yagami were against her. They both believed that she was Kira, or she was working for Kira. So, L and Matsuda agreed on one thing: she wasn't Kira and she definitely wasn't working for him. L really didn't like agreeing with Matsuda on anything, but L did believe he was right about not suspecting her.

L still didn't understand why he himself didn't suspect her, as she was a bit suspicious. Trying to figure it out would just bring that stupid word that he no longer liked back into his mind. That "seem" word. That word was so annoying. He came to the conclusion that he wouldn't be so perturbed and perplexed if he stopped thinking about it. Perhaps that was the best action to take.