OMG!! hugs everyone who commented on the last chapter

New record! 11 comments on one chapter in less than 24 hours, and a total of thirteen all together! EEP! You're all so awesome!!

Anywhozles.

Disclaimer: see previous chapter.
I also do not own the song "Ballroom Blitz" that is mentioned in the story, and I wish it would get the freak out of my head because it's going to drive me bonkers if it stays there.

And "bonkers" is the word of tomorrow since today is almost over. It's not a made up word, but it's one of the most awesome non-made-up words ever.


It took a great amount of effort to get up the next morning, but Katherine still somehow managed to wake up first. She yawned as she stood up, a little louder than she had intended, and managed to stand up on a pair of legs that didn't seem to want to function properly. The first thought that crossed her mind was no different than the same thought that had crossed her mind every morning since she was fourteen and moved into her own house: coffee. And lots of it.

She managed to stumble over to the coffee maker on the other side of the room, situated near the computers being used for monitoring Misa, Light, and Yagami. She glanced over upon hearing a voice.

Well, she thought, listening to Misa's yelling, I'm not the first person awake in the room, apparently

Katherine picked up the coffee pot and took a cup from the same table. She managed to pour out a two cups of coffee without spilling any on the table, which was amazing for her that early in the morning. A glance at her watch as she was idly dropping sugar cubes into both cups told her it was only six o' clock. That meant both Aizawa and Matsuda wouldn't wake up for at least another hour to an hour and a half. With another involuntary yawn, she walked over to the lap tops on the table and prodded L in the side with her boot to wake him up. His eyes snapped open like any insomniac's would if they made the mistake of falling asleep for more than thirty minutes.

"Paranoid?"

He blinked a few times, looking at the computer screens in front of him, and then mumbled something in response; he wasn't entirely sure what he'd said, and it didn't seem to have come out as words. He heard a familiar laugh, and a hand put a cup of coffee in front of the computer screen he was looking at. He stared at it for a moment before picking it up and looking inside it suspiciously. Coffee…?

"It's not poisoned, you know," a voice said from next to him.

He stared at the brownish liquid in the cup for a moment before comprehending the voice. That explained the coffee. He scratched the top of his head, thinking for a moment.

This is why I don't sleep… he thought to himself.

"Why?"

He looked over sharply. "What? I didn't say anything."

"You said…" She shook her head. "Never mind."

He looked at her suspiciously for a moment longer before turning his head back to the computer.

So she can read minds…

He glanced over at her when she laughed again.

"What?"

"You're saying all this out loud, you know. Well, mumbling it, but still. I can hear you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. And I was going to go on ahead and tell you about Kira's plan, but I think you should probably drink your coffee first."

He looked back down in the cup he was holding, deciding as he took a sip of coffee that she was lying about him mumbling. He would have heard himself if he'd just been mumbling. She could obviously read his mind. If he had been mumbling, he would have known it, there was no questioning it. He wasn't deaf, as he could hear her, meaning that since he didn't hear himself speak, she was reading his mind. The question was, how….

"Okay, fine, I'm reading your mind."

He looked over at her sharply again. "Stop it."

She laughed as she was trying to take a sip of her own coffee. "I was only kidding," she said. "You really are mumbling. A lot."

"No I'm not."

"If you say so…"

Now silently – or at least, he hoped it was silently – deciding that sleeping durring the Kira case ever again was completely out of the question, he looked back at the computer screens and took another sip of coffee. Even though he knew he wasn't, he was starting to think he was delusional, and he really was mumbling everything he was thinking, although it was just as likely that she was brainwashing him, especially considering that he was still half asleep. Hopefully, the coffee would help that.


"Coffee must be working," she said. "It seems you've regained the ability to think without mumbling."

Indeed, the coffee had managed to help by the time he finished drinking it. Unfortunately, it had also triggered his memory of the previous night, meaning that listening to her talk was going to a lot harder to do than normal with his mind still confusing itself over trying to figure out what she had meant by it. However, it was about the Kira case. It was something that was very important about the Kira case, meaning not listening was going to be completely out of the question.

Katherine looked at the screen with Light Yagami's picture on it. His Shinigami was beginning to get a little bent out of shape. What was strange was that he was literally getting bent out of shape. His arm seemed to be twisted back behind his head in some way or another, and he was complaining about apples more than ever. This must have been some sort of strange thing that happened to Shinigami when they experienced symptoms of withdrawal. It looked a little bit painful, but it was still quite funny.

"Kira's plan," she said. "Right. He's already went through the first part of his plan, as I'm sure you have figured out. His first part of the plan was turning himself in, saying that he though he might have been Kira on a subconscious level without meaning to be Kira, which is obviously a lie."

"Yes…" L agreed. "I knew that much. What's bothering me is why he would turn himself in. It doesn't seem like the best plan in the world."

"Rem," Katherine said.

"R… Amane's Shinigami? What about it?"

"Misa left her Death Note in Light's hands," she said. "So when Rem talked Misa into forfeiting her Death Note, it was left under the ownership of Light to do whatever he wanted to with it. So she – meaning Rem – was forced to hang around with Light, which she is no longer doing. Shinigami are bound to their Death Notes, so there has to be a reason Rem isn't with him."

L thought for a moment. If Yagami had two Death Notes…. He obviously only needed one if he was going to play Kira. He couldn't write in either, due to his plan, which meant he technically didn't need either. It seemed only logical that he would have gotten rid of one of them, along with the other Shinigami, although Rem probably would have been better company than the apple addict in his cell with him at that moment. However, Rem seemed a tad more apt to pay attention to instructions, especially if it involved protecting Misa.

"Yagami-kun got rid of Rem's notebook for part of his plan," L said slowly. "I would say that this was so another Kira could be chosen by Rem, but the murders haven't started since Light was confined, so he is incriminating himself right now."

"Seems like that has to be a drawback of his plan," she said. "Light said he was going to specifically have a Death Note dropped off for a corporate nut job that would use the notebook for personal gain, and be easier to capture because of it. Naturally, he would use the notebook to give whatever company he works for an advantage. Apparently, Rem hasn't yet found the perfect person to give the notebook to. I don't see why Rem would listen to Light, but…"

"Misa," L said. "Light-kun would have told Rem something like 'This will take suspicion from Misa, too.' That would have made Rem agree, because Rem seems to want to protect Misa. Had Light's Shinigami been hers, then Misa would have been killed when she was begging for death, as Light's Shinigami seems to be in this purely for entertainment."

"And apples…" Katherine added thoughtfully. "Besides the point. Yes, Rem does seem to want to protect Misa a great deal. I get the feeling that she dropped Misa's Death Note under instruction of someone else. Shinigami are like humans in a lot of ways, one of those ways being that they have different personalities. Rem isn't the type of Shinigami who would drop a Death Note in the middle of the road for her own entertainment. Ryuk is."

"It makes sense that Light-kun would want suspicion taken away from him," L said. "But is that all there is to his plan?"

"No. He's going to get the other Death Note back. He's going to get rid of his own as well, because he needs someone like Misa on his side. Someone completely loyal to him who will do anything he says without any questions asked. His other Death Note is buried. When he forfeits it, Ryuk will fly off somewhere. Probably either back to his own world or somewhere here with apples. Light will loose his memory of being Kira, and he will then want to join the investigation team. Once he is cleared of suspicion, he expects that you will agree to let him join, and he will help locate the new Kira. Then the Death Note will be discovered. While he holds the Death Note, his memories will be recovered, so he will have to kill the new owner while the Death Note is in his hands, unnoticed by anyone."

"How's he planning to do that? It seems… unless he has a small piece hidden somewhere that he won't remember unless he touches the Death Note."

"Exactly," she said. "Hidden compartment in his watch. Now, there is no saying you even have to accept him onto the team, you know."

"Yes there is."

"Eh?"

"Once he's cleared of suspicion, Yagami-san won't let me give Light-kun 'no' as a valid answer to the request."

"Ah. Right. That's a problem."

"It seems there would be no way to keep an eye on him at all times. It would be a bad thing to do."

"You could say you still suspect him and Misa," she said, "and keep them under your watch at all hours without actually having to confine them like this. The only option I see for that to be possible is for you to handcuff yourself to Light, though."

"Hmm."

Katherine laughed. "You're not actually considering it, are you? I was only joking."

"The problem is," he said, "is that it is the only logical way to keep an eye on him."

"The team would also expect it. It seems like something that L would to do prove his suspicions right. And also," she said slowly, "in my personal opinion, I don't think Light would have any problems with it. He might act like he does. But I'm not entirely sure about his… let's say preferences in the dating department, for lack of a kinder way to put it." She received a glare. She laughed. "I'm only saying that he's probably the most high-maintenance person I've ever met who isn't female. So be careful if you do chain yourself to him."

"Why?"

"Because he might be g–"

"I mean why are you taking the idea completely out of context?"

"Because it's fun. I can ask him if you don't want to."

"What?"

"If he's a fa–"

"Don't."

"You're no fun…. You know, if I were being chained to a person of the same gender, I'd appreciate knowing that they weren't going to attempt to –"

"How long are you going to go on about this?"

"Until I find something else that's more amusing."

"Do you have any idea when that will be?"

"Nope. Move over."

"Wha–?"

"Move over," she said, pushing him over. She pressed the button on the microphone that led into Light's cell.

"What're you–?"

"Nap time's over, Kira-face," she said into the microphone. Light, who had been asleep on the bench in his cell, nearly fell off, but managed to sit up without doing so. Ryuk cackled – that had been the most entertainment he'd had in five days, after all.

"What…?"

"I have a question."

"You're not going to…?" L started.

"What is it?" Light asked

"Where did you burry the Note?"

"Wha… who…?"

"It's Katherine," she said. "Ryuzaki is asleep. Do you really expect anyone else would call you Kira-face? There's no telling when he could wake up, so hurry up."

"Why do you want to know?"

"It would be easier to get the Note to Misa this way, after you've gotten your memory back. I could keep it with me so no one else accidentally digs it up or something, because while that is very unlikely, it could happen and it could cause problems."

"Who would go digging in the middle of the woods?"

"I don't know," she said. "But you can't deny that it is possible that it could happen. Say someone was looking to hide some drugs or something, and they dug in the exact same place as you, and found that notebook. Who'd want a junky in possession of a Death Note?"

"You're really not making any sense…"

"Listen," she said quietly. "I know that it's unlikely, but I believe that Ryuzaki could have had someone following you when you buried it. I don't think he trusts me entirely, which is within reason, seeing as I'm on your side, so he wouldn't tell me if he did or not. I imagine I could pry the information out of Matsuda if I tried hard enough, but it might end up being too late by the time I did. It would be better for me to get to it before anyone else does."

Light was a little more nervous now. He had never considered the possibility that L might have still been having him followed. Naturally, if someone had followed him to where he had buried the Death Note, L would want the area Light would have been seen burying it to be excavated. Katherine seemed to be on his side, but it was still hard to trust her. No one knew anything about her. It wasn't a wonder that L didn't trust her entirely, and he was definitely smart not to.

"I'm not giving up where I buried it," Light said.

"Alright," she said. "That's fine. If it does get excavated by someone on Ryuzaki's side, then I'm sorry. If you feel that you can't trust me, however, I don't blame you. You don't know anything about me, which means that I'm not the best ally. Ryuzaki's moving, I think he's awake," she said quietly. "I'll tell him I was interrogating Misa." She lifted her finger up from the microphone. "Was worth a shot…" she said with a shrug. She looked at L. "What?"

"How long did that plan take to be devised?"

"That one?" She laughed. "That was just off the top of my head. Sorry 'bout that, though. I bet you thought I was about to ask him if he was – Oh, stop rolling your eyes… you'll be lucky if you still have eyes by the end of the Kira case at that rate. Since that plan didn't work, I should probably spontaneously come up with another one in the future…"

"Right…" L said slowly.

"You keep being sarcastic, I'll buzz back into Light's cell and tell him that you want to handcuff yourself to him."

"I don't –"

"Of course you don't. The question is, will Light believe that?" More glaring. She laughed again. "You're just too cute when you're trying to look angry."

The glare turned into a look of confusion, and then he looked back at the computer screens. She laughed and stood up, picking up her coffee cup from the table as she stood.

"You'll be alright eventually," she said to him, amusement engulfing her tone.

She pat him on the head as she walked past towards the coffee maker. She received yet another glare for this, one that clearly said I'm-not-a-dog. She laughed again. He gave up and looked back at his computer


Two days later, it had been exactly a week since Light had been placed in confinement. He had the distinctive look of a maddened serial killer sitting there. His eyes were narrowed, bloodshot, and dark, and he had an odd look of evil about him. At least, that's what Katherine could gather from looking at him. It didn't seem he was the one who was out to kill however.

"It's been two days," Aizawa said through gritted teeth, glaring over the top of a sheet of paper at Katherine, who stopped whistling. "Stop humming that ridiculous song."

"You don't even know the name of it," she taunted.

"I don't care, stop it."

"Okay."

She continued whistling. The song was annoyingly recognizable.

"Would you stop already??"

"You said stop humming. And I wasn't humming in the first place."

"Whistling, then! Stop that! And stop laughing, this isn't funny!" he snapped at Matsuda.

"Don't snap at – oh, screw this."

She set down the information she was supposed to be reviewing on the table. She had been more focused on whistling "Ballroom Blitz" until an argument ensued, as the paperwork was starting to get boring and she had wanted something more interesting to do. As the argument didn't seem like it was going to be an overly entertaining one, she wanted to see how close Light was getting to snapping. She stood up.

"You've got work to do, too," Aizawa said.

"So do you," she said, stopping. "So stop attempting to tell me off and do it."

She walked over to the computers and kneeled down. Light looked just as insane as she remembered he had three hours ago. She looked at him over L's shoulder, her eyebrows raised. His Shinigami was really bent out of shape now. The poor thing looked like its legs had been turned around backwards, and it was standing on its hands. Its arms were almost twisted into a knot. She refrained from laughing at its begging for an apple.

"He's kind of scary right now," she said quietly.

L pressed the button on the microphone leading to his cell. "Yagami-kun," he said into that microphone. "It's only been one week so far, and you still look rather drained. Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" Light said. "Even I can't think I'm in good shape like this, but I have to forfeit my pride."

Katherine noticed him glance quickly over at the upside down Shinigami. Ryuk managed to invert himself to an upright position. His wings spread out.

"Eh?" Something seemed to have triggered his memory. "Okay. Later."

He flew through the wall, still looking quite twisted. The chain of events that followed were almost unimaginable. It seemed that what had triggered Ryuk's memory completely slipped from Light's. His eyes became less narrow, and a look of worried realization dawned upon his face. Katherine's eyes narrowed now. "Forfeit." That had been the code word for him to get rid of his Death Note, his Shinigami, and his memory. She glanced at L. The look on his face indicated that he also realized this. Light, however, obviously had no idea. He didn't even remember the twister, apple-eating reaper that had just been in the room with him. The look on his face was one that clearly said "What am I doing here??" but in a sense that he knew why he was there, just that he didn't know why he had asked to have been put there.

"Ryuzaki," he said, his tone suddenly changing. This seemed to get Matsuda and Aizawa's attention as well, as they both looked back from where they were. "I… know I was the one who suggested this, to be imprisoned, but… I know I'm not Kira now. There's no point to it. You have to let me out."

There was silence around the room. All Matsuda and Aizawa had seen was a sudden change in mood from Light, a sudden return to who he used to be. He wasn't a depressed murder suspect anymore. He was handling the situation as Light Yagami, rather than Kira, would have. That was what they saw, anyway. What Katherine and L saw was the next step of Light Yagami's plan completed. Things didn't seem to be going particularly smoothly.


Eeep!! I can't believe I got thirteen comments on the last chapter!!

I love you all.

I now proclaim everyone who commented on the last chapter my new best friends.

THANK YOU!!