Chapter 54

May 28th

It was a quiet ride back to the hotel, seeing as how I had driven us to the campus in another Mercedes Ryuzaki had miraculously acquired, less regal, more family friendly with a moon roof.

As we walk through the lobby we're greeted as usual, but Ryuzaki has a quicker pace than normal and I follow him quietly. We make it up to our suite and as we walk in Matsuda calls to us.

"Living room guys!"

We enter the living room and I note all the evidence strewn about the coffee table, my team diligently going over it. They all look up and smile at us in greeting but Aizawa is the only one to speak.

"We've been uncovering more and more evidence." Ryuzaki nods and heads to the table that has been set up as his station; his laptop, microphone, and coffee already waiting.

Watari must have set everything up before going after Misa…I can only imagine that's the case 'cause normally he'd be up my butt asking me if I need anything by now.

Ryuzaki kicks into work mode as I drag an arm chair over for him to sit in. "Watari, has she said anything?" He hits a little button on the standing mic and speaks into it before climbing into his chair and sitting in his usual manner.

"No. Sorry, but nothing yet. She hasn't even complained about being restrained."

Restrained? Ryuzaki…I thought you were just gonna stick her in a confined room…

"Alright, send the feed this way." Ryuzaki seems eager to get to work.

"Are you sure?" Watari hesitates and red flags wave in my mind.

If Watari is questioning Ryuzaki…something is definitely wrong.

"Just do it." His tone is flat, but sharp.

The screen, which had previously shown floating 'L's' clicks over to a live feed of who I can only assume is Misa. My breath catches as I see her in a straight jacket, metal blindfold, and restrained to what looks like a refrigerator dollie. I can't help it as I slip into English.

"Holy shit…"

No one notices as the Chief comes forward fuming. Everyone else is glued to the screen. "Ryuzaki this is-"

"She's been captured as the second Kira, what do you expect? If we had no evidence that'd be a completely separate matter, but we still don't know how she kills other than by needing a name and a face, so the restraints and blindfold are a necessity to protect us." I take a step back and wrap my arms around myself.

Misa killed Ukita, Misa killed Ukita, Misa killed Ukita, she deserves this, she deserves this, Ryuzaki wouldn't take it this far if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

"Watari, take precautions, but do whatever you need to do to get her to talk." Watari responds with a simple and obedient 'yes' and Ryuzaki ends the call and feed, his screen going black. He turns his head to face the Chief. "Chief Yagami…right now I have forbidden Light from coming here, but…the next time he arrives I believe he will be called in as a prime suspect, so you must be prepared for that. Amane moved to Tokyo in April and soon became close with Light. Her parents were murdered by a burglar that Kira also 'punished'. Light had a phone just to call Amane with, not that that's rare with lovers, but I doubt that a guy as prideful as Light would accept such a gift. The only thing in his favor is that Amane's still alive. You'd think that if Light was Kira he would have killed her by now. However, he could just be buying time." Ryuzaki trails off and sips his coffee, but I can't stop shaking.

Who is this man? Is this the Ryuzaki I've come to love? Or is this another one of his personalities? This doesn't feel right it's inhumane to treat Misa like this…I-I feel like I'm gonna be sick.

"Suzuki…are you alright?" Matsuda's voice brings me out of my own thoughts and I slowly turn to him.

"Y-yeah, I just need to sit down…" He leads me by my elbow to the couch where I decide to lay down instead with my knees to my chest.

"Watari." My eyes go to Ryuzaki as everyone looks at my pitiful state. "Come and get Suzuki, you'll need her help."

"Yes."

Ryuzaki stands and begins to head toward my room. "Suzuki follow me please." I rise slowly without a word; the blood doesn't rush to my head or make me dizzy this time. I make eye contact with my team, but no one says anything, so I follow Ryuzaki into my room. He shuts the door behind me and I nervously take a seat on the bed.

"Suzuki…" His voice is soft, but stern. "I know this is a lot, but you have to trust me. I hope you understand I wouldn't go this far if I didn't think it was absolutely necessary…That's also why I'm sending you to help her, maybe you can get a confession out of her, maybe not, but at least if she has to use the bathroom you'll be able to help. Do you understand now?" I sigh and bring my eyes to his, they're sad and pleading.

Does he think that because of this I'll leave him?

"I understand."

"Good…Watari will be here soon to bring you to the building I had constructed. The basement levels are where Misa is being held and you'll have your own room. You and Watari will take shifts watching Amane. Bring whatever you want, you'll be there for a while…you can come back here of course, but you're needed there more…" He pauses, and I nod still shaken up.

"I understand Ryuzaki." He gives me a sad look and kisses my forehead unexpectedly before leaving me alone to pack.

. . .

Time seems to speed up and before I know it Watari and I are walking through the doors in the garage of our new building. He's been quiet the whole time, but I sense his uneasiness with the plan. He leads me to a room and opens the door. All the walls are white as if waiting patiently to be painted, but there is already furniture inside. The bed is on a cute frame that doubles as a dresser and has a black comforter with white cat face outlines on them, I never mentioned liking cats, but I do and they're cute.

"Miss Matsui." I look at Watari who's arm is extended into the room. I take the hint and walk in and drop my duffle bag, that I found suspiciously in my closet, on the bed. "Your room has an attached bathroom as well, with replicas of the shampoos and soaps you use at home. Ryuzaki wanted this to be as 'painless' as possible. My bedroom is across the hall and Miss Amane is being held at the end of the hall. I am going back to check on her, please join me when you're ready." Watari turns to leave, but I stop him.

"Watari!"

"Yes Miss?"

"Thanks…for making this as 'unshitty' as you have…it means a lot…I know she murdered Ukita…but I still find that she's chained up like that…uncomfortable. She's an idol and a young girl, she shouldn't be reduced to an animal like that…"

"I agree, but Ryuzaki knows what he's doing, and he sent you here to make her more comfortable…if that will be all I'll be going now." I nod, and he leaves me to myself.

This is horrible…I can't wait until it's all over…

. . .

After I put my things away I make my way down the hall and into the room where Watari said Misa is being held, but to my surprise the room I walk into is only an observation room with monitors galore. Watari smiles as I close the door behind me and points at a fridge which I'm sure is stocked with Dew for me.

"How is she?" My voice is quiet, and I feel horrible as I sit next to him and lock onto the security feed that shows her facing front.

"She hasn't spoken…not even to ask to use the restroom." I nod and put my hair behind my ear. I catch the white Shinigami's eyes in the camera and it looks…devastated…like it's upset that Misa's in this state, but it can't do anything about it.

Could this Shinigami actually care for Misa? Not like Ryuk who likes me because I'm fun to talk to, but actually cares…I don't even know if they have the capacity to, or what gender this Shinigami even is.

I sigh, getting nowhere in my head, and look over at the old man. "Can I go in? If I ask her directly maybe, she'll need to go…" He nods and turns to the door to our right.

"Out that door, first one on the left, bathrooms are across the hall, there is a shower as well."

"Alright." I stand slowly, feeling oddly vulnerable considering Misa's state and head toward the door only to pause and look back as Watari clears his throat.

"Be careful Miss Matsui." I nod and smile plainly.

"I will."

. . .

Misa tries to turn her head to see me as I walk into the room, her Shinigami practically snarls at me.

"It's a girl, brown hair, blue eyes." Its voice reminds me of a lioness, protective of her young.

Could this white Shinigami be female? Do female Shinigami's have different powers than males?

I shut the door with a loud thud to let Misa know I'm here. Despite the Shinigami telling her exactly who's in the room, Misa stays quiet, her head looking in my general direction.

"Misa?" My voice is soft and soothing. "Are you okay? DO you need to go to the bathroom?"

"Suzuki is that you?" Her voice is quiet and raspy. She's been here a few hours without a drink of water, she's probably thirsty.

I look around and see a chair, a bed, and a table with a pitcher of ice water among other things. I make my way over and pour her a class, sticking a straw in it.

"Yeah it's me…I'm sorry…Are you thirsty?" She nods pathetically, and I walk over and put the straw in her mouth, she drinks feverishly, leaving only a fourth of what I put in. When she stops I return the cup to the table. "Do you have to use the bathroom?" She shakes her head 'no'.

"Suzuki." A voice comes through one of the speakers startling us. At first, I think it's Ryuzaki, but it's actually Watari.

"Misa, I'll be right back okay?" She nods, and I hurry back to Watari's room.

I open the door and he's already turned around in his chair waiting. He's holding out his hand, a small mic and ear bud like the ones we used at the ICPO meeting resting in it.

"Ryuzaki asked me to give you this." I walk over and take it out of his hand and gently put it in my ear.

I test it to make sure it works. "Hello?"

"Suzuki." Ryuzaki's voice comes through.

"Yeah?'

"Is Amane alone?" Alone? What does he mean of cour-oh the Shinigami…

"No, but it's different this time."

"Does it know about you?"

"I don't think so." I glance at the monitors to see it still standing next to Misa.

"Good. Try to get her to talk, but keep the ear piece, I want to be able to coach you if I need to."

"Okay…" I look to Watari who only got half of the conversation. "He wants me to try to her her to talk." He nods and turns back around, and I take that as a 'go back in'.

It takes me a minute to get myself settled, but then I'm back in the confinement room and I shut the door loudly, Misa cringes.

"It's just me." She turns her head my way but stays silent. I sigh and drag the chair over and sit in front of her, beside the camera so Ryuzaki and the team can still see. I sigh not wanting to talk at all.

"So, I don't wanna beat around the bush…you're here under suspicion of being the second Kira, they should have told you that when they brought you in." She nods slowly. "We only know that Kira 2.0, as we've been calling it, needs a name and a face to kill, that's why your restrained and wearing the blindfold…If you tell us how Kira kills aside from those facts, we might be able to get rid of the straight jacket…I could convince them to take it off." I pause and give her a chance to respond, but nothing. Her Shinigami just looks back and forth between us. "I understand y'know…I read your file and I kinda get it…A burglar killed your family and when the judicial system failed to bring him to justice Kira stepped in…Honestly I'd probably idolize him too, but he's also killed innocent people. Imagine if some of those petty purse snatchers were doing it because they needed money for their sick kid…now that kid might be an orphan…he's not the only one who's made mistakes either…you have too…you killed some good people Misa-" I choke up slightly remembering Ukita's family at the funeral. "You even killed a few police officers…on of those was a friend of mine." The Shinigami looks between us again, but I can't figure out what it's feeling. Misa is clearly uncomfortable and looks like she might cry. I take a deep breath and continue. "He wanted to stop the broadcast, I had the chance to stop him, but I decided at the time that he'd be fine on his own. We all gathered around the T.V's we set up to watch the multiple channels, on one in particular, we saw him beating on Sakura's doors, ordering the security guard to open up…but then suddenly he clutched his chest and fell to the ground…" I pause again, my heart pounding, remembering the terror that day, the helplessness. "You probably don't even remember his name…but it was Ukita. Y'know, Kira has it so easy…he just kills people he doesn't know and doesn't have to deal with anything that comes afterward, they're just names to him. He doesn't have to go to the family and tell them that their son has died in the line of duty or go to the funeral of his innocent victim and watch as the families cry out 'why' as they lower their fallen into the ground. He doesn't have to go through every freaking day wondering if maybe one decision could have prevented someone's death." I stop as I realize I'm raising my voice. A tear escapes and I rub my eyes with my sleeve and stand, making the chair scrape the floor. "So, I guess what I'm trying to say is…think about it…think about all the victims that didn't commit any crimes but were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Think of the broken families Kira has created, children who lost their parents…You can turn this around, end this vicious cycle…or you can continue to be quiet…I won't ever be able to forgive you for killing Ukita…but I can move on and maybe we can start over and be friends." My voice cracks a few times and by the time I'm done my arms are wrapped around my body and I'm looking through misty eyes. "Let me know if you need anything." With that I leave, slamming the door behind me.

Watari looks up and at me with a sullen expression as the mic in my ear crackles to life. "That wasn't what I was expecting but well done. Are you alright?" It's Ryuzaki and he sounds concerned.

No, I'm not alright, I need you to hold me…

"I'm fine." I pass Watari and flop down in my chair before pulling my knees up to my chest and resting my head on them. Ryuzaki doesn't say anything else but Watari stands and leaves for a minute. I watch Misa and the Shinigami in the monitor absently.

"I've never questioned your actions, I gave you the Death Note with the intent that it's yours to keep…but if what she says is true and it makes you unhappy, then maybe you should stop and give up the Death Note…or if that is not an option for you, maybe only killing people who you are absolutely sure committed a crime. Is the love of Light Yagami worth all this torment?" The Shinigami's voice breaks through the silence and I'm shocked that it actually agrees with me, but then it clicks. This Shinigami definitely isn't like Ryuk, this creature, this god of death, loves Misa and only wants her to be happy…that's why it's still here…

Watari comes back, but I haven't moved from my spot other than to take my ear piece off. Matsuda texted me to say that he thinks I'm brave and that everyone saw what I said, but it only made me feel worse and I just ignored it and set my phone on the table.

A cup and saucer are set before me, a tea bag tag hanging out of it. I glance over as Watari sets the serving plate down as well, containing another cup and saucer, the kettle, and a sugar jar. He then walks away and comes back, placing a blanket over my shoulders before kneeling beside me.

"You may not feel like it, but you did well. You faced your demons and did your job. You're here and now she has something to think about." He squeezes my shoulder once before sitting down and making his own tea with the second cup.

Yes, now she has something to think about and now…we wait.

Hi again, i hope i updated fast enough for you guys :) So i said i would acknowledge the favs and follows. Last one for favs was coffeesenpai...so after that we have sdm936, kitsuneblackwater and intomiddle3arth. Thanks guys! Last to follow was...Pastel dumpster, now we have...WorldPeaceMan, bai2468, raikota, kitsuneblackwater, intomiddlee3arth annnnddd that's it. Let's see the comments. Mostly just praise, which i love, but no questions to ask so i'll see you next time where we see Suzuki react to the days of confinement of Misa and Light.