The following 3 chapters are very dramatic and climactic. Brace yourselves. :)
Chapter Seven
Intervention
Misa Amane left for the task force building quite early the next day. It was still eight o'clock, and people didn't usually leave their houses on weekends at eight o'clock.
She prepared herself quite well, her blond pigtails tied perfectly in hot pink ribbons, her lips colored a mild magenta. She was wearing a dark pink tank top with a denim blue mini skirt. Her heels were only two inches and a half that day, but the shoes were very classy, light pink and black, and her baby pink nails were polished perfectly.
Misa was excited, to say the least. She arrived at the task force building by eight forty-five, since the usual shortcut was blocked by a group of plumbers fixing a pipe leak. The sun was shining brightly, however, and the white, fluffy clouds in the blue sky gave no hint of gloom.
L had already prepared the Death Note and gathered the right evidence in his mind. First of all, he had to show the notebook to the task force and explain his previous actions and his theory that Kira must have hidden it. He'd make all of them touch it, and as soon as Light would come in contact with the Death Note, the memories would come flooding back, catching their Kira by surprise and further giving them more evidence as soon as he'd try and fail to explain himself. The writings in the notebook were proof enough that Light was Kira.
None of that happened.
Well, it was because something went very wrong, and L had to abandon the plan completely.
He tried his best not to blame Watari because the old man had done an excellent job keeping the Death Note hidden. The drawer under the computer desk could only be unlocked by a key, and the drawer itself was not made of wood as its brown color would deceive, but was made of stainless steel. The key, of course, was hidden beneath a secret compartment under the kitchen stove, which was only used by Watari, who was the only one in the whole building who could cook quite well.
Previously, Light was officially on the losing side of the battle between L and Kira. Now, they were even.
You may ask, how did L's flawless plan fail?
The Death Note was stolen.
Fate glared at his sister. "You did something! I know you did!"
"What did I do?" Destiny asked innocently, blinking.
"You fucking altered my version of Death Note! L's perfect plan is now flawed, and I know you have something to do with it," Fate yelled angrily, glaring at the shorter, more slender female version of him. "I'm going to kill you, you know!"
Destiny frowned, twirling a strand of long, shiny black hair. "Hey, hey. You can't just kill me because of an anime or a manga. We're twins and we can't control the world when one of us is dead. Magic already got mad since you involved her in your stupid game."
"I only asked her to transport some manga volumes into a fictional world," he replied, running a hand through his messy, black hair.
"Right. How about the time when you asked her to change the movie of Sabrina the Teenage Witch? She got pissed at you and-"
Fate interrupted, annoyed. "Can we not talk about that? The point is, you're fucking trying to make Light Yagami win in my Death Note alteration!"
Destiny smiled cheekily, her crimson eyes glittering, "It's called a challenge, Fate."
They both glared at each other for a long time, their black cloaks billowing in the wind. Fate spoke. "Fine. Whoever gets their side to win shall have five years of total control over the world."
"Just like what happened during World War II. Like how I made Hitler fail, I'm going to crush L using Light Yagami even faster than you can say Kira. Bring it on, brother," Destiny answered excitedly, turning around and walking away. She then disappeared into the mist.
Fate's cerulean blue eyes lit up in sheer fury. "L will win, Destiny. I'll make sure of that."
He then disappeared as well.
Rem was having an extremely dull time. She was currently following around a guy who was entrusted with a Death Note- a third Kira. His name was Kyosuke Higuchi and he worked in the famous Yotsuba company. As soon as Rem had laid her eyes on him, she knew that all the killings he'd go through with would be all for the greedy success of the company mentioned. She knew that this Kira would kill for profit, for monetary purposes.
And she was right.
As far as Light Yagami, the first Kira, was concerned, he and the investigation team along with L should have been taking the case on by then. However, something was wrong. Rem noticed that after two weeks, nobody tried to look into the events unfolding caused by Higuchi.
It seemed as if the task force was too busy to even bother.
While Rem's thoughts were whirring incessantly round her head, Higuchi was in his own world, vainly fitting on ties and suits as if he was the richest, most handsome man in the world. "This fits me quite well, hmm?" he would mutter occasionally to Rem.
The Shinigami honestly wanted to say that he looked absolutely horrid but decided to just grunt and nod. Right at that totally unglorious moment, the sun's rays seemed to glow brighter and Rem looked out the shop window to find, of course, Misa Amane. She was walking gracefully down the sidewalk, looking her best.
A perfect coincidence.
Rem instantly knew that the cute girl probably looked that good because she was on her way to visit Light Yagami. She watched Misa stare at a few dresses on sale, her instincts telling her that something bad could happen if she went near the Yagami boy again.
Meanwhile, Higuchi was still in conceited mode, trying on more suits and ties. "This one looks the best on me, it seems," he continued on quietly, "The price is doubled but it's worth it, anyway. Whatever. With the work we're doing, Rem, nothing will be in Yotsuba's way any longer and I can buy all the expensive suits, cars, and houses I want."
He turned, expecting his Shinigami to be nodding in sheer agreement, but instead, silence answered him. "Rem...?"
Then, his cellphone rang.
Rem floated along behind Misa, following her silently. She left Higuchi in the store.
"Light! I'm on my way there," the beautiful blonde said cheerfully on her phone, "I just made a detour through the new clothes sale in the new shopping square nearby. Don't fret, don't fret... Misa's fine. I miss you so much, you know. Just wait five minutes and we'll be able to have as much fun and love as we want, like before."
The Shinigami scowled as Misa continued in her usual happy tone of voice.. "Oh, what a funny joke, Light! Of course you don't hate me. Hahaha!"
Rem hoped her decision wasn't a stupid one.
As soon as Misa Amane entered the task force building, L had immediately told her to wait outside for Light Yagami instead of squealing around inside the investigation headquarters. Rem simply followed wherever the girl went. This obviously meant that L still had his suspicions over Misa and did not want her snooping around with Light as much as possible.
The ditzy blonde was currently humming a simple pop tune while waiting. If things were going normally, then Rem would simply have stood beside her and followed her to make sure she was safe, going safely back to Higuchi as planned.
However, things didn't go exactly as planned.
As soon as they were standing right outside the task force building, Rem had instantly felt the presence of another Death Note nearby. She then realized that L must have found the hidden Note, gaining the capability of capturing Light Yagami, which could affect Misa's safety greatly.
"Can Misa-misa go in now?"
The automatic door did not budge. Misa pouted. "Come on! I know you're controlling this thing, Ryuzaki! Let me in now!"
After a minute, it opened.
"Yay!" Misa exclaimed, skipping inside. "Where's my Light?"
She entered the main room, where the investigations were being held. Everyone was standing around the computers, working on some files, then turned to look at the new arrival. Several pairs of eyes rested on the bubbly, pretty girl who had just come in, but none of them belonged to the one she seeked.
A large swivel chair spinned, revealing L. "Misa Amane. You are to wait here quietly. Light is coming soon. He just went to fetch some files about-"
"Aww, come on!" Misa demanded, eyes blazing, "Call him here now, Ryuzaki!"
Rem, as soon as she came in the room, had noticed the dark, looming Shinigami hovering behind L. It was Ryuk.
She floated off, following her death god instincts to find the Death Note.
Ryuk sneakily followed behind her.
"Watari, please go to the bakery and buy ingredients for the new cake recipe I found in the internet," L spoke in the speaker.
"Yes, Ryuzaki," the old man replied, and the speaker was turned off.
L then shifted his gaze from the computer screen to Misa Amane. "Please wait patiently for Light. I just asked him to do a simple errand for me."
"You want him all to yourself, don't you?" Misa screamed accusingly.
The dark-haired detective shook his head. "No. I am ninety-eight point seven percent sure that I am not homosexual."
"Call him back now!" Misa yelled shrilly, ignoring the previous comment.
L, once again, shook his head. "No."
The door opened. Light Yagami entered, carrying himself in his usual, confident way. "What's going on here?"
"LIGHT! You took long enough!" the blonde said, delighted.
The brown-haired man scowled. "You actually came..."
Misa giggled. "Of course I did!"
"Whatever. Ryuzaki, here are some case reports on the previous deaths- hey!" Light said, handing L a few papers and glaring at Misa. The girl clung to his arm like glue and stared up at him with bright, loving eyes. She smiled and rubbed herself against his shoulder.
"Let's go out on a date! Please," she said convincingly, her blonde pigtails bouncing and her lip quivering in a way that would make any ordinary man surrender.
Light frowned heartlessly. "No, I have work to do."
"Ryuzaki, please let Light go with me!" Misa tried for one last time, standing in front of the detective pleadingly.
L sighed. "Fine, then. You can go if you'd like."
Light glared at the sugar-loving detective, absolutely sure that the man had agreed to make his own life miserable. Then, they went outside to eat lunch. The rest of the investigation team followed, going their separate ways to eat soon after. It was officially lunch break.
L put his thumb in his mouth as soon as he was alone in the room, realizing that Ryuk was nowhere to be found.
Rem thought floated swiftly through the rooms in the building. As she passed by the main room yet again, she watched L stare calmly at a computer screen.
L with his thumb in his mouth.
L in his weird sitting position.
L with his dark, black, messy hair.
L in his usual attire of white shirt and jeans.
L with a small bowl of ice cream.
L in his genius detective state.
L, the greatest enemy of Kira.
L, currently in possession of the Death Note.
She continued on her search, floating around the building and through the rooms in search for the Death Note.
Ryuk was actually following close behind.
Watari's room wasn't as big as the others, most probably because the number of equipment inside made it look small. It was cozy, fit for an old man, but perfect for one who was a detective's butler and greatest assistant as well. There were computers on the opposite side of the bed, and drawers right next to them.
Rem spotted something unusual. A drawer right below the computer table... concealed by a CPU. She pulled at the handle but it didn't budge. Of course, there most probably was a key, hidden somewhere else in the building.
Ryuk tried not to laugh as she went out of the room the opposite direction of the kitchen, where the key actually was, safe underneath a cooking stove. He floated slowly and calmly, knowing that the search would be difficult, useless, and cut short.
However, Ryuk was still Ryuk, and he had underestimated Rem.
Soon enough, Rem was in front of a safe underneath a cooking stove in a kitchen in the building. She decided to tell Misa about it first before opening and went off with the key still in her possession.
Ryuk followed.
Misa Amane entered the building, pulling Light Yagami behind her. They spent exactly an hour outside. All they did was go out to eat and then Light was inclined to buy a coat for Misa since she claimed to be freezing in the cold outside.
The blonde, now wearing her new pink coat, came in and excused herself. She went to the bathroom and faced the mirror to re-apply her makeup.
Suddenly, Misa felt a piece of paper touch her arm. Her skin went cold and a spine-chilling sensation filled her. She let out a tiny, little gasp as her mind was flooded with memories and thoughts that she had forgotten. Kira. Death Note. Shinigami. Rem.
"Misa," said a low, female voice, "Don't turn around or reply. L is listening and watching through cameras."
Not saying anything, she continued facing the mirror and dabbed powder on her face to signal that she knew Rem was there.
"Listen. Light Yagami's plans have failed. He currently has no memory of being Kira, since L found and now has his Death Note. I will steal the notebook and get it to you in a few minutes. Make him remember by touching him with a piece of the notebook because I won't do it and I know you'd want to," Rem said quickly.
Misa put the powder back in her bag and retrieved a tube of lipstick.
"I have the key here," the Shinigami continued, "In Watari's room downstairs, the Death Note is in a hidden drawer underneath a computer desk behind a CPU. It's locked. This key will open it. I'll steal it and get it to you if you'd like. Then, you can do whatever you want with it and I'll go back to Higuchi, the current owner of the other notebook. This Death Note has to be taken care of first."
Misa applied lipstick and smiled afterwards to show that she understood.
"Good," Rem said, slightly relieved, "L might catch you for being Kira if the notebook remains in his possession. Wait first. Don't leave the building unless the Death Note is with either you or Yagami. As long as it isn't with L, you won't be in danger."
Misa Amane left the bathroom and skipped towards Light as if nothing happened.
She mentally thanked Rem.
L scowled, staring intensely at the computer screen featuring the hidden bathroom camera. "Nothing. I was sure she'd be doing something suspicious in the bathroom."
"She's not Kira and neither am I, Ryuzaki," said Light wearily, rolling his eyes.
The twenty-five year old detective ignored the last comment and turned on the speaker. "Watari, are you back yet?"
"Yes, Ryuzaki."
"Good. I'll have the cake later tonight. I'm not hungry right now," he said.
Watari responded in affirmative and turned off the speaker once again.
Light glared. "For once, you're not hungry..."
"That is because I just finished a bowl of ice cream, Light," L answered tonelessly, "I am not a glutton."
"Whatever. I still think you're not healthy at all, eating all those sweets everyday, you kno-"
"LIGHT!"
The two men turned to find Misa Amane skipping towards them. Everyone else was out for lunch break, so the three of them were alone in the building. L didn't stand up from his usual position on his swivel chair, but Light walked towards Misa. "Hey. Are you going home soon?"
"Oh no, Light. Of course not! I want to stay the whole day here with you!" Misa exclaimed cheerfully, her pigtails bouncing as she clung to Light.
Rem floated along behind Misa, watching the scene unfold.
"No, I'm sure the task force will be busy working. You will merely be a disturbance to us, I'm afraid," the sugar-loving detective said.
Misa stuck out her tongue at him. "Whatever, Ryuzaki. I'm not listening to you!"
"You better head back soon, Misa," Light said, exasperated, "The others will be back from lunch break and we'll start working."
"Then I'll watch you work!" the girl said hopefully.
Light and L both shook their heads. "No."
Misa pouted. "Meanies. Can't I stay for just a few minutes?"
The two men exchanged uneasy glances. L spoke. "Fine. Just a few minutes."
Light sat down, researching on a few profiles on people who had recently died due to heart attack. L simply read some files involving Kira.
They didn't notice Misa nod at a Shinigami behind them.
Rem quickly floated back to Watari's room and used the key to unlock the drawer beneath the computer desk behind the CPU. She held the Death Note and was about to leave the room to get it to Misa. Then, she felt a familiar presence of a fellow death god behind her.
The Shinigami turned. "Ryuk. I know you're there."
The other appeared behind the wall and floated towards her. "Yo Rem. You do know this is pointless, right?"
"You will not tell L of this. He doesn't need to know. No one has to see," she said coldly.
Ryuk laughed. "You idiot. I'm not helping the little detective. I'm merely following you because it seemed fun."
"Then why do you say this is pointless?" Rem asked sharply.
"I know what you're planning. You touched Amane with part of your personal note, she told you to get the Death Note, you're going to give it to her later, and she's going to warn Light of L being a step ahead," Ryuk said, grinning nastily, "But that's not going to work anymore."
"I'm afraid I don't understa-"
The other Shinigami interrupted impatiently. "Gosh, Rem. You're so daft. You noticed me but you didn't notice him?"
"Him... what?"
Rem turned to find Watari standing, shocked, at the door, holding a plastic bag of cake ingredients.
The piece of the Death Note page Rem used on Misa was in between the old man's fingers.
Rem had carelessly dropped it on the way there.
Watari had picked it up.
Ryuk laughed.
Watari returned the frozen glares of the other two death gods in the room. The Death Note was in danger of being stolen. He subconsciously dropped the bag on the floor and retrieved an emergency remote controller from his pocket. It had two buttons. The green button said TALK while the other said DELETE. He quickly pressed on TALK as Ryuk laughed.
"Ryuzaki," spoke Watari into the speaker, panic slightly affecting his voice.
Rem recovered from her moment of surprise and grabbed her personal Death Note from her pocket.
L's voice sounded through the speaker, which almost instantly calmed the old man.
"Yes, Watari? Do you have the ingredients for tonight's cake already?"
L's voice.
"Nobody loves me."
"Will you really take me in, Wammy?"
"I know that I'm smarter than everyone else."
"I'd like to implement justice in the best way I can."
"Watari... I want you to help me by becoming my assistant."
"Please, Watari... Don't worry about me. Never forget that I am L."
"You know that I I trust you more than anyone else in this building, don't you?"
L's voice.
L.
Watari tried to shake off all thoughts and focused. "Ryuzaki-"
Rem wrote on the Death Note, eyes glistening red with anger.
"-the note was taken by a Shiniga-" He could no longer breathe.
Ryuk laughed as Rem started dissolving into sand, both Death Notes now lying abandoned on the ground.
L spoke through the speaker. "Watari?"
Watari pressed the red DELETE button and his vision went black as he fell to the floor.
L, Light Yagami, and Misa Amane all stared, completely taken by surprise, at the computers in front of them.
L was the only one who was able to comprehend the simple phrase on the screens. He spoke on the speaker.
"Watari? Watari. Watari!"
Misa clung onto Light's arm in fear, but deep inside, she knew that something must have gone wrong with Rem's mission.
Light frowned, puzzled, not understanding the words on the screens.
They all contained the same message: ALL DATA DELETION.
L turned off the speaker as the words slowly sunk in. He quickly hid the shocked and devastated expression on his face with a mask of emotionless indifference, significant in focusing and being able to piece everything together. His skeletal hands gripped his knees tightly, shaking uncontrollably with half-rage, half-sorrow.
He took a deep breath, leaving the boy Lawliet behind and, once more, resuming the task of L.
I'm sorry. I have nothing against Watari or Rem, FYI. Their deaths were essential to the plot (and apparently, canon in the manga/anime, anyway). Um... you'll see more annoying Ryuk next chapter! And a bit of Near and Mello! ...Just please don't kill me. :|
Besides, there's drama and action in the next one. It ain't over yet. ;)