February 23rd, 2004
The man who was stalking me has escaped. He is working with a man who wants to kill L. At the same time, the second Kira is rising, and may very well come to work with the pair of them soon.
So much for this year being peaceful.
February 28th, 2004
I could hardly focus at all in class this week. Mikami and B are doubtless on their way to Japan, and even though high traffic areas and my home are being watched, I can feel myself slipping into the state of perpetual paranoia that overwhelmed me last year. I hope that this can be resolved quickly, or I may never resurface from it, this time.
I am 18 today. I wonder if I shall ever make it to 19.
March 1st, 2004
Tokyo, Japan
"Kira..." Mikami breathed, peeking out of an alley with his hat and sunglasses obscuring his identity. He looked up at one of the jumbo screens, which was displaying the latest news on Kira's victims. "...I must find you."
B moaned behind him and Mikami twitched, turning to watch as the other man scooped dark red jam into his mouth with his hands. His stomach turned a little at the sight, but Beyond seemed to be enjoying it... perhaps a little too much. B looked up at him, red smearing his lips, and raised an eyebrow.
"Would you like some?" Mikami backed up a step as the jar came to be in front of him, but he still caught a whiff of the smell. He wrinkled his nose.
"It smells... rancid and sweet."
B grinned ominously, licking his lips. His eyes drifted to the air above Mikami's head. "The new Kira's ownership of the Death Note will make us unable to see his or her lifespan," Beyond said, lifting the jar and tapping it to loosen the last dregs from the bottom of the jar.
Mikami nodded, watching as the man slurped up the last of the substance with a satisfied smack of his lips. "Where did you get that?"
B glanced at him casually. "I made it." He paused, then chuckled to himself in an odd, forced manner.
Mikami shook his head, turning back to the jumbo screen. He froze. "B!" He said urgently. He fisted the man's sweater and pulled him so that he, too, could see the television screen where an attractive blonde was laughing and posing for the camera.
B stilled, too, then a smirk developed on his face. "Misa Amane... you don't have a life span."
Unheard by all but one, the Shinigami Ryuk roared with delighted laughter.
March 3rd, 2004
"Light, I want to see you," Misa whined into her cell phone. On the other side of the line, Light Yagami frowned.
"Misa, I have to focus on my school work," he lied. "You're free to visit the house if you do so in disguise and are absolutely positive that no one is following you, but I can't go out with you in public. Not to mention the fact that I don't want to go out with you- not the way you want me to."
Misa huffed. "That's just because you don't know me well enough."
"Misa, listen to me. You are a nice, cute girl. You can have anyone you want," Misa puffed up with pride. "Except me."
"But you just said that I'm a nice, cute girl! Don't you like nice, cute girls? I can be bad for you, Light, if that's what you want."
"Misa, I'm just not interested in you like that. You're like a sister, and only like a sister."
"I'm not giving up on you, Light," Misa said stubbornly. "You're mine, and I'm not going to give you up."
There was a long silence on the line, then Light said coldly, "If that's the way you see it, then you're no better than my stalker." He hung up.
Misa groaned as she opened the door to her apartment and locked it behind her. "But I love you..." she sighed, closing her phone and putting it away. She kicked off her heels and padded into her living room in her socks, wanting to catch the airing of her interview from earlier.
She screamed.
There were two men in the room—but her apartment had been locked! Were these men kidnappers? Stalkers? She noted that neither of them had lifespans over their heads, but that did not put her at ease in the slightest. She pulled her Death Note from her bag, clicking open a pen.
"Wh-who are you?" She demanded shakily. "What do you want?"
Mikami stood, surveying Misa with a skeptical eye. "I am Kira."
Misa shook her head. "No, you're not! Kira's gone!" She backed up as Mikami took a step forward. "Don't move!"
Mikami stopped moving, putting up his hands. "I am Kira. L manipulated God into betraying me, putting me in jail and taking my Death Note. Look at my name- you can't see a lifespan because I also own the Death Note, even though it is no longer in my possession. I can see that you don't have a lifespan, with my own Shinigami eyes."
Misa swallowed hard, then nodded reluctantly at the man with the disfigured face. She jabbed her pen in the direction of the odd, wild-looking man next to him. "What about him? Does he have a Death Note, too?"
Mikami frowned thoughtfully. "Beyond Birthday was born with the eyes of a Shinigami."
Beyond nodded readily at this, and Misa relaxed some, but did not put away her Note. "What were you saying," she jabbed the pen at Mikami, "about God? Are you talking about your Shinigami?"
"His Shinigami," Ryuk mumbled under his breath. "Humans, no sense of fear anymore."
"No, God. The true God, who bestowed the Death Note upon me, and who shall bring about the end of false gods, and reign supreme in a bright, shining new world. Light Yagami."
Misa blinked once, twice. "You know Light? What does Light have to do with this?"
Mikami looked surprised that she recognized the name, but seized on it. "If you know Light, then you surely know of his brilliance, don't you? His goodness? His sense of justice? All of Kira's work is done for him, in his name!"
Beyond Birthday held his breath- he knew it, he should have killed the idiot and pursued Amane himself. It was one thing for Mikami to drink the Light Yagami Kool-Aid, but
"Yes!" Misa said, understanding dawning on her face like the rising sun. Beyond stopped berating himself, and as Misa went on talking, he tasted satisfaction, sweet on his tongue like home-made jam. "Light is all of those things- that's why I've been continuing Kira's work, because I was sure that that was what he would want!"
"You agree, then, that L needs to be eliminated," Mikami said eagerly. "I've seen his face- I know his name! Give me the note, and I can rid the world of him forever!"
Oh, no, no. I can't have that. "Wait," Beyond said quickly. "We should not kill L yet. We need to get him to surrender the other Death Note, first."
"You can control people before they die with the Death Note," Mikami said impatiently. "I'll simply write L Lawliet dies of a heart attack immediately after giving the Death Note to-"
Beyond hadn't known that one could do that with the Death Note, but he smiled at Mikami's hesitation, seizing on the opening. "You can't be sure that we would get it without writing one of our names in the Note. If you say something vague, like a Kira supporter- well, there are a lot of those. A servant of God might qualify a priest or a monk, or even someone who is simply pious in their normal day to day life. And if we have him send it to or place it in another location, there is no guarantee that we would be the first to get it." He paused for dramatic effect, then said, "Just think what God's power could do in the wrong hands."
"How do we get the Death Note, then? And kill L?" Misa asked, cradling her Death Note to her chest. Beyond pretended to think, then pretended to be reluctant. "Yes?" She asked eagerly.
"I don't like the idea," Beyond lied, frowning.
"We must do whatever we can. Each day L lives is a day that God cannot reign," Mikami said fiercely. Misa nodded.
"You said, Mikami, that L had manipulated God," Beyond said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "And God wants us to do what we must in order to use his tools for a better world, so..." He paused, then seemed to decide to go right ahead and say what he was thinking. "Surely he wouldn't hold it against us if we had to use him to manipulate L?"
"Use Light?" Misa frowned disapprovingly. "How?"
"I'm sure that L is watching Light, in case we try to approach him. We can 'kidnap' Light and arrange for L to meet with us on our terms, pretending to use our God as a hostage. He won't really be a hostage, of course, but it will get L to come." Because if this Light Yagami is important enough to get L to reveal his face, then L will most certainly come.
Mikami shook his head. "I don't like it. Kidnap our God? It's blasphemy."
Misa shot Mikami a funny look, but shook her head as well. "I don't like it, either. I don't think Light would appreciate being kidnapped."
"You can't think that I like the idea, either!" Beyond exclaimed, widening his eyes in a parody of offense. "But it's the only thing I can come up with to get the Death Note, L's death, and our God, all at once."
Misa and Mikami exchanged a look, then nodded slowly. "All right."
"Okay."
"Amen," Beyond said, running his tongue over his teeth.