Before reading, please make sure you've read the newly replaced chapter 51.

I do not own Death Note

Chapter 52 Reminders

I sat on a curb, back in the bustling city of New York once more, reading the newspaper in disgust. America had finally succumbed to Kira. Though it wasn't too surprising; the president had killed himself a few weeks back. To everyone not involved with the Kira case, or more precisely people working competently on the Kira case, it simply seemed as if the pressure of standing up to Kira had become too great for the president. So the vice president responded accordingly, by retracting America's status as one of the last great powers resisting Kira. However, it was clear to me as well as Mello, Matt, Near, and Light that it was Kira who had arranged the president's death.

I folded the newspaper, frowning all the while. It would seem America was not as revolutionary as it pretended to be. At the very least, not in political situations where the country would gain nothing.

"The land of the free," I muttered. "What a joke."

"I'm assuming you're reading about what the V.P. said," Matt guessed around his cigarette.

He seemed to take every moment outside in New York as an opportunity to pump himself full of nicotine. He hardly needed to light up though. There was enough second hand smoke in the city to keep even the most dependent smoker comfortable for several days.

"To be honest, I'm rather impressed with how long they lasted," Matt admitted. "Especially in this day and age where America is mostly known for its debt and corruption." Matt it dropped the cigarette and ground it under his foot. "Gotta give them some props for at least attempting to follow their so called ideals."

"I take it you're not American then," I said giving a bike messenger a dirty look when he swerved to avoid hitting me.

"Not technically," Matt agreed helping me to my feet. "But when you're a Wammy, you're a little bit of everything. You get to pick and choose what you like," Matt explained, "and I happened to like all this." He gestured to the whole city. "It's a nice dream. A country where you really can be anything you want and live any kind of life you want."

"So not American, but an optimist."

He grinned at me. "You kinda have to be to counter Mells whole idea that nobody dies a virgin, because life screws you over."

I laughed shaking my head. "And with that sort of attitude he's able to get back on his feet and cuss out his rival, only a week after having his plan literally explode around him."

"That's just how Mello is. He always works best when he has a reason to spit fire." Matt looked over his shoulder. "Speak of the devil. How did it go?"

"Near was a bastard," Mello said flatly. "Get rid of this," he ordered, pressing a crumpled photo into Matt's hand.

"Any preferences how?" Matt asked.

"No. Eat the damn thing if you want."

Matt pretended to consider it for a moment before pulling out his lighter. He flicked the catch and the picture caught fire quickly. It was little more than ash within a few seconds.

"And exactly what am I doing?" I asked.

Mello took a bite of chocolate and glared at any passerby who looked at him with alarm. "We're continuing babysitting duty." I rolled my eyes at the term. "We have more use for you than Near. We can use you to get to Yagami and his fucking sad excuse of a task force. The bastard says he'll be in touch."

"And what's the plan now?"

"We go to Japan. We know how the notebook works, now all we have to do is turn Yagami's pawns against him." Mello looked lazily at Matt. "Get us tickets. You have a passport?" This was directed at me. I nodded.

"Legally or illegally?" Matt asked.

"Legally. It's slower, but we'll have less problems in the long run."

Matt nodded. "The soonest I'll be able to get would be a flight tomorrow."

"Fine. You two do want you want. I need a walk."

Mello strode off, parting a group of terrified school kids like Moses with the Red Sea. Matt and I watched him until he disappeared in the crowd.

"What was that about?" I asked. "And I only caught two swears, both in relation to things he hates, versus the normal sprinkling of profanity in place of adjectives."

"Just Near," Matt said with a shrug. "Mells hates him, but once he's done shouting at him, he feels better. He also feels like he's one upped him by giving Near information on the case. Once he gets back, he'll be as angry and violent as ever."

I considered this. "So…he takes a walk to unclear his head?" I questioned in confusion.

"Pretty much."

The airport was crowded. Mello had been surprisingly quiet during our time here. Matt had informed me he was planning exactly what it was we would be doing once we got to Japan.

He was currently regarding a television in the airport with a small smile. I followed his gaze and felt my stomach drop. Demegawa, the idiot leader of Sakura TV and its newest program Kira's Kingdom, was currently filming a riot centered around the SPK headquarters in New York. They had the intention of bringing out everyone inside so Kira could punish them.

"Serves the bastard right," Mello said with grin.

"You're not the least worried about any of this?" I asked in disbelief.

"Nope."

"Matt?"

"Near can take care of himself. If anything, he'll use this as evidence against Yagami. But it will piss Near off. He'll have to leave all the toys he had behind," Matt explained.

"I really don't understand you three's relationship," I groaned.

"Fuck the relationship shit," Mello hissed. "Does anyone want to focus on the plan rather than that stupid bastard?"

"Sorry. Tell us about your glorious and wondrous plan of instant success," I said with just a hint of sarcasm.

He flipped me off. "We tail the investigation team and Amane. From what Matt has recorded, Mogi, Aizawa, and Ide are all beginning to doubt Yagami's innocence, with Aizawa at the lead. We'll leave the job of setting up the surveillance of Yagami and Amane to them and hack the cameras later. For the time being, our objective is to get a big picture of the entire case. We'll be able to hear conversations Near has with Yagami through the task force, and Near will be informing Rei when he is going to make a move." Mello smiled viciously. "Let's see Kira be more omnipotent than us.

"Why is Near contacting me instead of you?" I asked. Mello just looked at me. "Ah. Right."

We boarded the flight, stopping in several countries on the way, supposedly to shake off any tails. It made for a long trip, but overall we felt safer. We landed in Japan a few days after the incident at the SPK left the airport and headed for a hotel. It wasn't much better than the ones we had stayed in America or any of the other countries, but this one at least felt like home.

Matt collapsed on the couch and immediately turned on the TV. The coverage on the SPK headquarter attack was ending, and now that I actually had a chance to look closely at it, I saw it was actually a replay of an earlier report. It was all hype to lead up to the new 'temple' for Kira's Kingdom. Demegawa was trying to scam people into donating.

"We're now accepting donations. Starting at 1,000,000 yen mark toward the completion on Kira's Kingdom! So, if you truly support Kira…."

"This is disgusting," I muttered.

"Maybe it will do some good," Matt suggested. "He'll drive away some of the fanatics."

"Next on the program. It's time for me to introduce the new leaders I have chosen for Kira's Kingdom. The first gentleman is…"

A man stepped forward, only to clutch at his chest and fall to the ground. It seemed Kira didn't care for this behavior anymore. But it only proved Kira was becoming more dangerous. Now he was killing people who were presenting Kira in a fashion that wasn't admirable. For that to have earned a sentence as harsh as a murderer was showing Light's sense of right and wrong was beginning to tarnish.

"Ehhh, we will unite with Kira and walk with him!"

Demegawa was panicking as his 'leaders' fell around him; each victims of a heart attack. He had to understand what was waiting for him.

"Aaahh, save me!"

He fell. Dead by Kira's hand.

I couldn't even find it in my heart to pity him.

"Matt, hack the surveillance of Light and Misa as soon as possible. Neither of them could have known Demegawa was planning this, so the killing would have to be spur of the moment. We may be able to catch them using the death note," I suggested.

"Sure." Matt rummaged through his bags for a laptop and began typing at a furious pace. Mello was observing all of this, uncharacteristically quiet yet again. He was putting something together in his mind, and I knew better than to bother him. I would get a lot worse than a middle finger.

"…neither of them is using a death note. Yagami is with the task force and Amane is just sitting at home. She's not even watching TV," Matt reported.

"It has to be Misa then. Light must have contacted her somehow…but if she's not watching TV, how does she know the names of the men?" I asked, thinking aloud.

"It's another Kira," Mello said. "Yagami must have had Amane give up the notebook and send it someone else. He would have known the task force would have started surveillance and that Amane would risk revealing herself, so he had her lose her memories."

Another Kira? I tried to resist groaning. It had been hard enough to pin Light or Misa or even Higuchi as an owner of the death note. Facing the prospect we would have to begin the process all over was discouraging to say the least.

"We don't have any hope of finding him," Matt said. "Not with just the three of us."

"That's why we'll leave it up to Near and Yagami's pawns to do it for us," Mello answered. "Kira will be looking for a new face to head his campaign, we'll just wait until we find out who he appointed and start there."

It was a short wait.

"Good evening. This is Kiyomi Takada from news 6. Starting today, it would be my duty to spread the word of Kira accurately and quickly. From now on, NHN will fairly and carefully spread the word."

I blinked at the familiar woman on the screen.

"Takada?" I asked more in shock than anything else. "Light really didn't rely on the task force over thinking this to this extent did he?"

Matt looked up from the many laptop monitor he was observing. "You know her?"

I snorted. "Hardly, but Light dated her. Well, date is a loose term. Showed her off is the more appropriate description. We went to university together before the Kira case interefered."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "And he chose her as a new figurehead?"

"Most likely not. However, because she is someone he used to be in contact with, he'll expect the task force to expect he isn't Kira because Light isn't normally stupid as to choose someone like her. He'll also use it as a chance to move in and manipulate Takada." I frowned. "I expect he'll try to ah, 'rekindle' her feelings for him."

"And from the rep your bro seems to have with the ladies, he'll be successful. I'll call Mells and let him know. We probably use her eventually when we're trying to smoke Kira out."

"I wonder if Near knows?" I asked a loud.

"Maybe you should call him and let him know," Matt suggested as he fumbled around for his cell in a pile of wires and candy wrappers.

I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "He'll just be rude and all-holier-than-thou." I brushed my hair back from my face. "As usual."

"That's how he lets you know he likes you," Matt explained. "Bingo," he muttered when he pulled out the phone. "The kid hardly says a word to me. If he's bothering to antagonize you, it means he likes you or else he wouldn't bother with you at all. Kinda how some kids like negative attention rather than no attention."

"Fine," I grumbled. I reached for a jacket, one of the many Matt had strewn around. Matt didn't even bat an eyelash.

"Make sure you go straight to the park and back. We don't want you drawing attention to yourself," Matt called as I closed the door of the motel behind me.

Living with basically two teenage boys (and foreign ones nonetheless) had introduced me to a whole world of grime and grease formerly unknown to me due to my upbringing and association only with a neat freak verging on OCD older brother. One of the many lessons had been the reluctance of doing laundry and simply flinging clothes on the floor and rewearing them as much as necessary. Thus I had picked up on the habit and usually wore a jacket or coat of Matt's when I went out.

The walk to the park went by much too fast for my liking, and I stalled a few minutes waiting for everyone to leave the area near the bench I always sat on for these dreaded reports. But I couldn't delay forvever and eventually I found myself dialing the familiar number.

"Miss Yagami," Near acknowledged. "This is a pleasant surprise." I frowned.

"Near," I said back stiffly.

"I was quite certain you had been compromised and were lying dead in the street; you haven't reported in quite a while." I could imagine him twirling his hair as he spoke or playing with some sort of toy in a mockery of naïve innocence.

"Don't use sarcasm. It doesn't become you."

"Ah yes. Forgive me for trying to broaden horizons."

I grit my teeth. "Light used to date Kiyomi Takada. She happens to be Kira's new spokesperson. I thought the information would be pertinent to you. Was I wrong?"

"No. This information is quite enlightening. It will be useful in narrowing down who this new Kira, X Kira as we refer to him. Takada would have had to make an impression on this Kira in order for him to choose her. I believe she formerly hosted a debate show on the subject. Perhaps he was an attendant."

I tried and failed not to let the fact Near had already deduced there was yet another Kira as well as how he may have come in contact with Takada.

"But I suppose you had already reached this conclusion yourself? Am I wrong?"

Bastard.

"Perhaps I overestimated your powers of deduction," Near added after my silence.

"Perhaps I overestimated your ability to converse without finding the need to insult me with poorly hidden barbs and attacks against my intelligence," I retorted sharply.

"Touché."

I cringed, remembering how L enjoyed misusing the word in an attempt to irritate Light. I swallowed heavily.

It had been getting easier lately; thinking about L. It was probably how Matt and Mello spoke about him occasionally. Like he was still alive and well. Maybe it was even because e they themselves reminded me nothing of him.

But Near was a different matter. If I closed my eyes, just listening to his voice, and let myself pretend…he could be L.

"Miss Yagami?"

"Bye, Near."

I hung up, shoved my hands deep into the pockets of Matt's jacket, and walked home.

I opened the door, slamming it shut behind me not bothering to mask my mood. Mello glanced up in disinterest and bit into a chocolate bar. He and Matt were both wearing headphones and listening in on one of the mikes we had in Misa and Light's home.

I briefly picked up a headphone and pressed it to my ear, but dropped it in disgust after hearing Misa whine how Light would be jealous if Mogi kept up the surveillance for much longer.

"You're in a mood," Mello commented blankly.

"Humans are vapid insipid stupid creatures," I muttered.

He took that in for a moment. "Yeah they are."

I looked at him blankly. I didn't have the energy to deal with anything anymore. "I'm going to bed," I said flatly.

I went into the dirty room that had been allotted to me. I just looked at it, taking in the peeling wallpaper and lingering smell of cigarette smoke. I collapsed on the bed and curled on my side; trying to take comfort in the lumpy misshapen mattress.

"No. They're not like L," I said softly to myself.

I tried not to think.

I tried to go to sleep.

I tried to remember when those two actions hadn't meant the same thing.

I failed.

"…maybe you should go outside more," Matt suggested.

I looked up at him from a pile of reports I had written from memory; in the middle of rereading them in hope of finding something new. I hadn't even realized Matt had been talking to me.

"Why?" I asked blankly.

"All you do is go through the evidence day after day. It's not exactly healthy."

"Says a smoker." I went back to my reports.

"Yeah, who goes out five times a day. I mean even Mello rides the motorcycle he…uh 'bought.'" I took the pause to mean Mello took the bike at gunpoint then gave the owner some money as an afterthought. "It might clear your head. You haven't found anything new and maybe some time away will give you a new perspective on the whole thing."

I sighed heavily rubbing my eyes. "Fine. I'll go out. Might as well make a damn report while I'm at it. Maybe if I play nice, Near will actually give me information that's relevant."

"Sweet. But don't stay out too long or else Mells will pissed at us, okay?" Matt added putting his headphones on, back to monitoring the infinitely fascinating Misa Amane. It was strange to think I was the oldest of Mello, Matt and I. They certainly didn't act like teenagers.

So I was back to wandering around in Tokyo. I hadn't bothered with a jacket and the result was a constant chill. It felt good. Like a cool compress when you had a fever. I received a few strange looks, but that was understandable. I didn't exactly look like the paragon of a Japanese student these days.

I found myself heading toward the park again and decided to walk around a bit more there before calling Near. I dodged a rude bicyclist who had decided to use the sidewalk, but in the process stepped into the path of a businessman and was plowed over.

I hit the sidewalk hard and hissed in pain. Luckily I had caught myself before my head hit, but instead my elbow had taken the brunt of the fall. I opened my eyes to find papers scattered everywhere and the man's briefcase on the ground.

"I'm so sorry," I said quickly beginning to gather up the papers before they could be stepped on. I flinched when I noticed how dirty they were. I looked up expecting to him to be scowling at me from above. Instead he was on his hands and knees as well.

"There's no need to apologize," he said in a low voice. "It was unavoidable." He held out his hand out and I gave him the papers.

His hair was long and black, just verging on being messy. He wore glasses and a suit. There was something stern about his expression much akin to that of a strict teacher. He tucked the papers back into his briefcase, for the moment not caring about their disarray. He stood and offered his hand again, this time to help me stand. I accepted and he pulled me to my feet with little effort on his part.

"I am Teru Mikami," he introduced his voice still unnaturally low. I wondered if that was how he normally spoke or if he was trying to not to frighten me.

"Rei Yagami," I said with narrowed eyes. Giving him a fake name could be problematic later. I sensed I wouldn't be able to get away from him easily. He glanced momentarily above his head and smiled.

A face over his shoulder caught my attention. I managed to keep recognition out of my expression when Gevanni met my eyes with a look of horror. My eyes snapped back to Mikami's and Gevanni passed us not daring to stop.

"That's very brave of you. Many people would not give out their name so easily in these times," Mikami noticed in approval. I let go of his hand like it had burned me.

"Maybe because I've done nothing wrong," I said quickly. "And how do you know I haven't given you a fake name?" I asked buying for time while I pieced everything together.

Gevanni was following Mikami. Near would have ordered Gevanni to do this. Mikami must be suspected of being the new Kira. Mikami had looked above my head. Mikami had assumed I had given him my real name. Mikami could have the shinigami eyes. Mikami could be the new Kira.

None of that was proven though. But for the time being, I would assume all of it was true in order not to do anything stupid. I momentarily thanked myself I had given him my real name making myself seem more trustworthy.

His smile grew and I repressed a shudder. "It's just a hunch," he answered. His smile disappeared and his brow furrowed. "You're bleeding."

I followed his gaze to my elbow where I had hit the ground. I was bleeding. It wasn't anything serious, and I doubted anyone else would have pointed it out.

"I live very nearby, if you like, I can help you bandage it," Mikami offered.

If I agreed, I could possibly determine if he was actually Kira or simply a fanatic. I could also ensure my safety by convincing him I was a Kira supporter. Gevanni would most likely be already waiting close to Mikami's home; if I went with Mikami, he would know immediately I hadn't been killed. I mulled all this over and decided to accept the offer. As long as he thought me a normal citizen, my safety was guaranteed.

I nodded. Mikami smiled, taking my previous hesitation as nervousness of going to a stranger's home. The walk was quiet, but Mikami seemed content with the silence.

He had a different sort of air then Light did. He seemed much more concerned with people's welfare than Light did. Despite the acts of kindness Light did in order to keep up with appearances, you could still sense that overall he cared very little for the person themselves. Mikami on the other hand, seemed genuinely concerned about me.

It was very strange. As well as frightening. This meant I had no idea if Mikami was going to try anything or not, because he seemed so genuine. I had no warning if he suddenly lost it.

"After you," Mikami offered opening the door to his home. I made a mental note of the address and stepped inside. Mikami shut the door behind us. He didn't take off his shoes, instead just going farther into the building.

When I stepped inside, I put aside the pretense Mikami could possibly be harmless. This home didn't feel harmless. It felt cold. Foreign. Completely alien.

It was all whites and chromes and geometric shapes. Everything was too clean and perfect. It displayed someone living within here had an obsession. I wondered if Mikami had deliberately left his shoes on so he would have a reason to clean later. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. Normally, the thought wouldn't be disturbing in the least; but with the possibility of Mikami being Kira, it led me to wonder how that would translate as a murderer.

If there weren't any messes to clean, he'd have to make some.

If there weren't any criminals to kill, he'd have to make some.

"Rei, please come this way."

I swallowed heavily but followed him none the less.

His kitchen wasn't any different than the hall I had been in before. The tile in it increased the feeling of cold, but that was all. Mikami drew a chair and I sat in it. He fiddled with a first aid kit drawing out some disinfectant and bandages. He kneeled on the floor and carefully wiped the blood away with a washcloth.

"So what do you do for a living," I asked trying to distract myself.

This place was bringing up memories of task force headquarters along with someone else who liked things white and cold. Mikami even resembled him a little. With his head bent and glasses hidden from view, he could have been the eccentric detective reaching for another handful of sugar cubes.

I quickly looked away when he raised his head.

"I'm a criminal prosecutor," he answered opening the bottle of disinfectant. He shook it vigorously and sprayed it on my elbow. I winced at the sting and processed what he said.

A criminal prosecutor? That would give him an incentive to side with Kira. Considering the nature of the profession, it wouldn't be hard to shift the subject to Kira.

He started wrapping a bandage around my elbow. I tried to choose how I would broach my subject and just as I was about to open my mouth, Mikami saved me the trouble.

"What is your opinion on justice?" Mikami asked absently, tying the bandage off.

My jaw dropped, but I recovered quickly. "Justice?" I repeated.

Mikami looked up and stood. Now he was towering over me, looking down. I couldn't see his eyes anymore, just the outline of his glasses.

"Yes. Justice."

I shifted in my seat, trying to appear more nervous than afraid. I looked down and twisted my hands in my lap. "I-I believe criminals…should be punished." I managed not to cringe at my pathetic tone. Was I laying it on too thick?"

"So you agree with Kira?" Mikami's voice sounded kind again rather than challenging.

I looked up to see Mikami was at my level again.

"Of course I do!" I whispered. "Kira is…Kira is…" I trailed off hoping Mikami would take the bait and fill in whatever he wanted to hear.

"God."

God.

So there were some people who thought Kira God.

"Yes," I lied.

Mikami smiled at me drawing closer. I stopped breathing altogether when he whispered in my ear.

"I will remember you as a disciple of God."

"Thank you," I said softly, hoping I was looking at him with enough adoration.

"But you should leave now. I'm sure your family we'll be getting worried."

I nodded and stood. "Thank you." He smiled again and waved me away.

I was careful to walk until I was out and around the corner.

Then I ran.

I dialed my cell phone quickly running to the park and away from all the people still on the street.

"Miss Yagami, hello."

"He's Kira," I managed to say in between gasps of air.

"And who would you be referring to?"

"Don't fuck with me now, Near," I spat out.

"I apologize. Gevanni did phone to tell me of this development. Do you have evidence?"

"No." I stopped running. I was back at the park. "I was with him the whole time. I didn't have a chance to look around. But he is definitely X-Kira."

"I'm afraid with no proof, your claims are merely peculation and worth nothing to the investigation."

"Listen to me for once. This guy is Kira. He told me 'he would remember me as a disciple of God.' You don't find that the least suspicious?"

"You convinced him you were a Kira supporter?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell him your name?"

I made a fist. I exhaled slowly and brought my hand to my forehead. "…yes." I waited for him to lecture me and tell me how stupid I was for exposing myself.

"If you die in the next 23 days, Mikami is Kira."

There was a pause.

"Thank you. I'll keep in touch."

He hung up. I just stared at the cellphone.

Near…had thanked me.

That was truly the strangest occurrence of the evening.

~Author's Note~

So…guess who's not dead? Me. Please proceed to throw various pieces of trash at me. So I'm a liar. It's August and this isn't done yet. I just needed a break and this chapter was being a bitch for the longest time until I just said, "FORGET IT. I'M IGNORING ALL THE CRAP THAT HAPPENS IN BETWEEN. MIKAMI, GET YOUR ASS IN HERE."

By the way. Mikami is actually a nice guy. I mean he took on bullies and all that by himself. But he's also mega creepy. Super mega creepy.

Blegh.

My new goal is to have this done by the 30th. Because I go back to school on the 31st. I feel I can do it. I'm thinking about two more chapters and an epilogue.

Sappy epilogue will be sappy.

Some of you will love it, and others will be, "Wow? Indulgent author much? Bluh bluh bluh."

I read too much Homestuck. Sorry. Really I am. It's not gonna stop anytime soon.

Also. I suck at chapter titles.

Thanks for reviewing!

AlbinoButterfly: Well, that's just Mello's personal belief not necessarily canon. Religion is just a opinion thing as the whole Kira debate. There are also tons of theories on what exactly Mu is. I've read one where Mu is basically heaven and hell. You choose what to make it. That sort of thing.

Lynn: DONE :D

Grr: I'm not dead either… Shhh. Soon B. Very soon. Do you mean otaku? Well, in America it just means someone who really likes anime, but the definition is a little different in Japan. For that definition, I forward you to urban dictionary. It's not very flattering.

Umbregirl: That would be cool! But since I'm almost done, I won't send you the newest chapters just because I'm trying to get them out there fast. Do have an account so I can PM you my email?

itsmeagain: …my excitement is as boundless as an excited Snape