Author's note: Does this smell like chloroform to you?

Amane Residence

March 10, 2004

"Rem?" Misa asked, regarding the Shinigami in the mirror as she brushed out her long blonde hair.

"Yes, Misa?"

"You told me that Gelus died because he wrote in his Death Note in order to extend my lifespan, right?"

Rem gave Misa a long, unreadable look. "That is correct."

Misa turned to face Rem, placing the brush down and looking at her seriously. "Would you die for me, Rem?"

Rem considered for a few long minutes, and Misa shifted uneasily. "Yes," Rem said eventually. "If it came down to your life or mine, I would choose yours. Do you think that you will be killed?"

Misa sighed. "I don't know. I'm really nervous about this whole thing- we've planned for everything, I know, but still... if L could fool B, and Mikami, and even Light, what stops him from being able to thwart all three of us together?" Misa shook her head, and turned to pick up her brush. "I'd do anything for Light, and for the name of Kira—even die. But I don't want to die at the hands of L, and have Kira die with me." Misa shot another look at Rem. "Do you swear, Rem, that you'll protect me if anything goes wrong tomorrow? If it looks like I'll die?"

"...I promise, Misa."

In the corridor, Beyond Birthday ran his tongue over his teeth. Now, that little tidbit of information was interesting. So a Shinigami could die, if it used its powers to prolong a human's life instead of cut it short... That took care of a few loose ends, then.

B crept quietly down the hall to the room where Mikami was watching the news and scribbling down the names of criminals.

"Teru," B said urgently, making a show of looking both ways down the hall and closing the door quietly. Mikami looked up, giving Beyond his full attention.

"What is it? Has something happened?"

"No," Beyond said quietly, creeping closer so that he could keep his voice as low as possible. "I was just thinking about tomorrow- and about Misa's involvement."

Mikami's eyes went flat, and his lips thinned, the way they had for the past several days whenever Misa entered the room. It was clear to B that Mikami disliked Misa- whether for her connection to Light or because her devotion did not stem from a desire to serve him as if he were a God, but rather a misplaced romantic interest, B did not know or care. It didn't matter. What mattered was that Mikami was willing to believe the worst of Misa, and that's what was necessary.

"What about it?"

B frowned theatrically. If there was one thing he had had time to do in prison, it was rehearse these facial expressions so well that he could pull them off flawlessly. "I think she's doing this for the wrong reasons, and that she might crack under pressure. If our God does anything to shake her faith—and he very well might, because he's being manipulated by L—she might try to act against us."

Mikami tensed, eyes hard, but the look was not directed at B. "That cannot be allowed to happen."

"No," B agreed, then said hesitantly, "I suppose I could try to stop her, if it came to that..."

"No." Mikami said firmly. "No, I will stop her."

"You are truly God's most worthy servant," B said, rising and beginning to make his way from the room. Ah, the fruits of malice and obsession, B thought, flicking his tongue over his teeth. They would make a sweet jam.

Yagami Residence

March 11th, 2004. 3:47 pm

"Misa? Come on in," Sayu said, welcoming in the uneasy-looking girl with a calming smile. "I'm sure you were hoping to see Light, but he's not home yet."

Misa stepped over the threshold uncertainly, clutching her purse to her body. "I thought you had clubs today, Sayu. Shouldn't you still be at school?"

Sayu blushed a little, but said, "I'm sort of skipping today- there's this new movie out, and my friend and I want to go see it, but there's no way our parents would let us go, so we're going while they think we're still at school." Sayu took a deep breath, then smiled sheepishly. "You won't tell, will you?"

"No," Misa said, smiling reassuringly. "Not a soul. Your mother's not here?"

"No- Sherlock's started his training, so Mom's off to pick him up. She won't be back for a while."

"I see... will you be leaving soon?"

"Don't want to be alone in the house, huh? I'll wait with you- I'm actually meeting up with Shiori here, anyway."

Misa nodded absently, thinking furiously. "When will she get here?"

Sayu gave Misa a funny look, then rocked on her heels with a sly, understanding smile. "I get it. You do want to be alone with Light, after all." Sayu frowned. "Misa, you really should give up, you know. This can't make you happy."

"No, I- I was just wondering if you had time for a cup of tea with me, actually. You know, girl talk."

Sayu smiled. "Yeah, sure! She won't be here for a while yet. Here, I'll just grab some tea from the pantry..."

Misa waited until Sayu had stepped into the pantry, then quickly shut the door and turned the thumb lock on the only door in the house that locked from the outside.

"Wha?-" The handle jiggled, then Sayu laughed. "Very funny, Misa. Let me out."

"I really am sorry about this, Sayu, but it's best that you don't get in the way," Misa told the door, pushing a small nearby table to block the door further.

"Misa? Misa, let me out!"

Misa turned and walked quickly away from the sound of Sayu's shouts, stepping out of the house and closing the door behind her. She proceeded down the walkway and looked to the side, sighing with relief as she saw Light approaching her.

"Misa?" He was frowning heavily. "What are you doing here? In broad daylight, and looking like yourself!..."

"Misa wasn't going to be here for long!..." Misa said, slipping into third person in her nervousness. "It's just that Sayu forgot something on her last visit, and Misa wanted to return it to her..." Misa fished in her purse.

Light sighed. "Sayu has clubs today, she won't be home until later. Why don't you give it to me, and I can return it to her? And you can leave." Light said, placing the emphasis on the last statement.

Misa nodded. "That's a good idea, here it is..." She withdrew a cloth and pressed it firmly to Light's nose and mouth. Light drew a startled breath, which was, of course, a bad idea. Misa could see the dizziness take hold, and even as Mikami and B stepped forward to catch him, Misa murmured, "I'm so sorry about this, Light."

Luxury hotel suite, Tokyo

"No," L said, staring at the view from the camera placed outside the Yagami home. "No, no, no, no, no. No."

Why hadn't they considered this? Why hadn't they considered the possibility that Misa Amane might be Kira? And of course, she had just the right amount of respect and admiration for Light to be able to accept him as a sort of God-like figure, the way Mikami had painted him.

L's fingers flew over the keyboard, tracking the progress of the car through traffic cameras. His phone rang, and he continued typing with one hand as he flicked it open. "What?"

"I'm putting Chief Yagami through," Watari said.

"Ryuuzaki, the station just got an anonymous tip that said that God would be waiting for his gift, with an address. Please tell me that that doesn't mean what I think it means."

"If you think it means that Misa Amane just incapacitated your daughter and abducted your son with the help of Kira and a highly dangerous serial killer, then yes, it does mean what you think it means. Give Watari that address, Chief Yagami, and meet me there."

"Yes." They both hung up, wasting no time on pleasantries. It was equally clear to both of them that they might already be too late.