"Well then Ryuzaki. Let me ask you one thing:" the chief said, probably in response to L asking if anyone had any questions, "You said just now that you hate to lose, but doesn't the fact that you've shown your face to us mean you're losing to Kira?" he asked and I couldn't help but smirk a little at the observation.
Ryuzaki was a little tense in his chair as he looked at the chief, but to give him some credit, he did answer rather truthfully, "Yes. That I've shown my face and that 12 FBI agents were sacrificed means I'm losing. But I will win in the end." He stated with a small sigh, "This is the first time I've put my life on the line for a case. We here, who are risking our lives..." he paused a bit and gave everyone a smile, a smile that I would admit, I hadn't seen on his face in a while, "Let's show them that justice always wins!" Those words seemed to inspire the others as I watched their eyes light up with new determination towards the case and bringing Kira in.
"Okay, first off," Ryuzaki started off as I leaned against the wall, watching the group, "in order to prove that Kira isn't among us, I'd like to talk to each of you, one at a time." He stated and that dimmed the excitement in the group as everyone looked at each other as the second guessed Ryuzaki's trust in them.
"No, he's right." The chief stated as he looked at the others before casting me a suspicious glance, "If Kira has access to information leaked from the inside, the chances are high that he's still here." He stated, his eyes narrowing a bit in my direction as I let out a sigh, walking over to chair I had been sitting in before and made myself comfortable again by crossing my legs, propping my head and arm on the arm of the chair, rolling my eyes at the chief's sudden mistrust in me.
I glanced over at Ryuzaki, seeing that he was staring out the window, no doubt in deep thought about this case while I frowned. This case was taking him quite close to the scene, something that he had never done before. As I watched Ryuzaki, I felt the chief watch me closely, when Ryuzaki returned, he started the 'screening' process. He took each of the investigation team members into another room for a few while the rest of us looked at the information given. I had gone to grab my satchel and booted up my tablet, getting the information I had received from my contacts and mulled over at for a bit; comparing it to the information Ryuzaki had gotten from the FBI.
Hours passed when L came back with the chief, the last male to get screened; they both sat down and I noticed that it was quite bright outside already, causing me to pout a bit. When I looked over at L, since it seemed he was finished with the screening, except that he hadn't spoken to me yet. With the look the chief was giving me, it seemed that he brought this up with L already and that L had spoken to him about something concerning me, though what it was, I didn't know and wouldn't know until I was brought in for questioning.
"I'm sorry for interrogating each of you like that." L stated as he rested his head on his hand, "Kira is not among us." He added and everyone visibly relaxed at that, much to my amusement.
"Ryuzaki," the chief spoke up as he turned to L, though he gave me a bit of a hard look as he continued, "how can you be sure he's not?" he asked, sending me another look, one that I was beginning to tire of. I literally wanted to snap, stand up and declare who I was, but I wouldn't. I was use to people becoming suspicious of me for no reason until they realized who I was.
"Actually, I'd prepared some tricks to determine whether you were Kira or not," L admitted, looking bored as he looked over at the chief a bit, "but I didn't feel the need to use those tricks on any of you." He stated and the others looked surprised at this revelation.
"Uhm... Ryuzaki..." Matsuda spoke up, no doubt wanting to know why I hadn't been taken in yet for a screening, "why haven't you taken Shika to talk with yet?" Matsuda asked and I watched as the others tensed as L looked over at the younger man before looking over me, watching as I rested my head on top of my hand and curled a piece of hair around my fingers.
"I will be screening her soon; Kira is male and lacks a feminine touch when he's done his killings. I haven't felt the need to screen Ms. Tsukiko since she is female." L stated and I sent a glare at him. If he knew who I was, he would have said that out of amusement, but his tone stated that it was the more logical choice to screen me later after he had screened the males. Though before Matsuda or anyone else could question him, L's cell phone started to ring and as he answered it, I couldn't help but chuckle softly as Matsuda pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. He was not amused that L left his cell on during this meeting.
"Excuse me." L said as he answered his phone, "...Got it. We just finished here. No there is still one more. Use your own key to enter." Then L ended the call, "Watari's coming." He stated and I couldn't help but smile a bit as the others looked at L in surprise, "In the mean time, Ms Tsukiko, will you come with me?" L asked and I nodded my head, figuring that Watari would take a while to get here. Standing up, I followed L to the room he was using for his screening.
Once inside the room, which I amusingly noted was an unused bedroom, I noticed L sit on one of the beds and sat across from him on the other one, placing my satchel on the ground next to the bed while crossing my legs and propping my head up with my arm, watching him as he watched me. The two of us were unflinching as we stared each other down, silently daring the other to make the first move. I'm not sure how long we sat there, his almost black eyes staring into my contact grey ones. From the corner of my eye, I saw that the room was plain, after all no one slept in the room, but there was also an air in there that caused the hairs on my neck to stand a bit.
Seeing movement from Ryuzaki, I reacted in practiced nature, feeling paper slip between my fingers. His pale, warm, thin fingers brushed against my own pale, cold ones, causing my fingers to flex at the sudden temperature change. I let out a hum at the three notes in my hand and took a look at them closely without saying anything. The message said; 'L, do you know, Shinigami's eat apples'. I frowned at this, my eyes narrowing at the taunt; for it was just that; a taunt. It was Kira's way of telling L that he knew something that L didn't. It was a form of bragging that I've seen in most of my cases; a way to tell the opponent that they knew something big that the other didn't.
"Such a childish taunt..." I murmured, handing back the papers to L, who took them back without any trace of reaction to what I said, "Obviously Kira knows something you don't, something that deals with Shinigami. If there is a possible connection to them, the only question would be 'what connects them'. That is, if there truly is a Shinigami after all." I mumbled a bit, curling a piece of hair around my finger as I flexed my toes against my knee a little before tucking them into the junction under my knees to keep them warm. It was rather chilly in the room, not that I was surprised or anything, for I was often cold no matter where I was.
Ryuzaki was silent as he stared at me; no doubt his mind was working through the process of elimination. Since I haven't done anything to say that I wasn't Kira or that I was, to him I would be a blank canvas. The possibility of me being Kira would be high, but that was only because I was hard to read and that I never gave away my intentions or what side I worked for. It had always been one of the few things that irritated him when we were small. He let out a small sigh and I watched as he brought his thumb up to his mouth and started playing with his lips, his deep eyes burrowing into my covered ones while I tapped my fingers against my cheek, waiting, watching. From inside the room, I could hear the others talking with one another as well as some footsteps near the door.
"I have heard you were a blank state Ms Tsukiko." L spoke up as he curled his toes a little and scratched his foot, "But I never expected you to be this unreadable..." He mused with a bit of a disappointed hum and I watched as his face turned into a disappointed look as he looked at me again, "you actually remind me of someone... someone who has the same ability of being..." he trailed off as his eyes widen in realization, "...invisible..." the word came out in almost a whisper.
He then swept over my stature, taking in the way I curled my hair around my finger, the way I sat in complete ease in front of him, how I could hold his stare much longer than many others. I saw his mind brimming as he thought back to the past month and how I always avoided getting caught in the line of view, how whenever I was in his view, he couldn't see my face. The added fact that I wore a fedora all the time crossed his mind as he began making connections and he frowned, clearly not amused by this game I silently played with him.
"That took one month L... you're a little slow this time around." I mused while looking at my watch and stopped the timer on it, memorising the time so I could record it. It usually took L two days, five at most to flush me out of hiding, even without seeing my face. L sat back a bit and I actually saw something akin to relief in his eyes as he stared at me.
"I didn't expect you to be here in Japan, J; also your history and background for this persona was impeccable." He stated and I looked at him in surprise, for usually he never admitted how well I followed up on my trails, "Though, I should have known you would have your hand in this case, you could never pass on something like this." He mused causing me to scowl.
"Actually, I was laying low here when the murders started happening and became interested and involved." I stated, crossing my arms over my chest a bit as I looked at him, "So what threw you off this time?" I couldn't help but ask. Letting out a hum, L pulled his thumb from his mouth and looked at it for a moment before looking up at me with a deadpanned expression.
"It was your willingness to not only work with me, but your actual appearance..." He said with a bit of a pout, "it was the orange hair that caused me to dismiss you right away. You highly dislike the colour orange." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone causing me to chuckle.
"I do, which is why it works well, when giving a good back story." I mused with a small smirk on my lips, "Though, am I to assume that after you sent Watari to investigate my apartment that he had returned with a bag?" I asked and watched as he nodded his head and pointed to where the bag had been kept.
"The washroom is behind me." L stated while letting out a bit of a hum. I nodded my head and stood up, grabbing my satchel and the bag that had been left by the unused dresser. I took a peak at what was in it and felt myself relax as I saw a pair of my normal clothing before heading towards the bathroom, only to pause when L spoke up again, "I was always curious as to what he brought back with him, but he only told me that I would be surprised if I hadn't figured it out. Guess he was right." He mused while standing up and I chuckled softly as I left L standing in the bedroom.
"I guess he was." I murmured in return, closing the bathroom door behind me and out of habit, locked it. I took a quick shower and using a special shampoo, washed the rest of the faded dye out of my hair before washing up.
Once I was done, the washroom was filled with fog as I dried off, quite pleased to see that there were no streaks of orange on the white towels. Relaxing some more, I slipped on my undergarments before pulling on my loose black jeans, a grey tank top and an extremely large, baggy dark blue sweater which fell off one of my shoulders and down to my mid thigh. The sleeves fell over my hands as I rolled them up a little so I could work. I put my grey contacts away and dried my hair with a towel as best I could before leaving the rest of it to dry freely. Once that was done, I used the towel to wipe the mirror free from its fog and stared back at the person in the mirror.
Staring back at me was a female in her mid twenties with long natural white-blonde hair, which almost blended with her almost white skin. The most prominent feature on her face was her two dark purple eyes which stood out against the paleness of her hair and skin. Standing at 5'7", she had very slim body structure, but there was hidden strength under the baggy clothing that fell off her frame. Under her eyes were dark shadows, signally how often sleep never claimed her. Giving my reflection a half smile, I exited from the bathroom, dumping the bag of my clothes in a corner and walked out of the bedroom with my satchel over my shoulder once more.
Any conversation that had been going immediately stopped once I entered the room and I noticed those who I had been working with over the past few months were at a loss of words. Scratching my neck in the same manor that L had done earlier when we came in, I was subjected to immediate, curious looks as well as ones of disbelief and shock. I noticed L's eyes shimmer in silent amusement as he pressed his thumb to his lips. Clearing my throat a bit I looked at everyone squarely in the eye while rubbing one of my feet against my leg.
"I would like to re-introduce myself, I am J." I said evenly and watched in mild amusement as Matsuda jumped up from his spot, his eyes wide in amazement and giddiness.
"Yeah, you're the Greatest Spy in the World! I've heard about everything you've done." Matsuda stated, causing not only myself but the chief to cough at his enthusiasm. When he realized what he did, Matsuda flushed as I walked over to the chair I had been in earlier and plopped down, crossing my legs once more.
"Yes; that is who I am Matsuda, but please refrain from telling anyone that I'm here. Most believe that I am in Russia right now, hiding with the mob there." I stated while curling a piece of hair around my finger, "Also, feel free to continue calling me 'Shika' or if you feel uncomfortable using that name, you may call me 'Jyno' from now on." I added while booting it up, my fingers trailing over the edge of it as I felt eyes on me. Looking up, I noticed that it was the chief and I tilted my head a bit wondering what he was thinking about. I quirked an eyebrow silently asking him was on his mind causing him to clear his throat a bit.
"Jyno..." the chief started out slowly, testing the name I had given them and I realized what was going on his in his head. He was going to apologize for silently accusing me of being Kira since I hadn't been fazed once since L and Watari came into the picture, "I would like to apologize for my behaviour towards you as of late. I know understand that you needed to hide your identification from not only us but from L as well. I also would like to ask for your forgiveness for assuming you were Kira due to your reactions; I had assumed the worse before realizing all the facts." He said and I looked at him amused as the others looked at the chief in surprise.
"It's alright chief;" I told him, watching as his eyes widen in surprise at how easily I was forgiving him, "I don't blame you for your assumptions, nor do I believe you were wrong to assume as such. I acted suspiciously since Watari and Ryuzaki asked to foresee everything within our department so your reaction to my own is understandable. I acted suspiciously to keep under L's radar, though I knew with this case that I would have been exposed either way to him." I stated as I casted a look over at L who was watching me intently, "There are circumstances within the past which caused my current actions such as this. What they are and what had happened is between L and myself, thus I would appreciate it if none of you try and figure it out." I added, looking at everyone before looking over at L, who now had a frown on his face, for he too remembered the circumstances quite well.
The silence within the room grew musky and thick, it was almost suffocating, but it wasn't the worst that I had experienced... no, there were far worse circumstances that made the silence within this room look like whipped cream. 'Hmmm... Whipped cream... I could with some pie right about now...' I thought before pouting a bit at that thought. I hadn't had a good piece of pie for five years and I've had a desperate craving for it. Sure I could make my own, but as of late, I hadn't had enough time to make any. Plus, I made everything from scratch, including the pie shell. By now I wasn't even paying attention to the others as they talked for my mind was now only focused on pie.
Hearing the door unlock, I turned my head as the silence dissipated and turned into shock as Watari entered the room. He was just as I remembered him, neatly trimmed white hair, a white moustache, a pair of silver glasses and he was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt and a black tie. In his hand was a black hat, which over his shoulder was a black bag. I felt myself relax as Watari looked over at me; the shimmering of his blue eyes told me that he was pleased to see me working with L again. Looking over at the others, I could tell that they were shocked, for what they knew of Watari, he didn't look the same way as how he appeared to us at headquarters.