Chapter 7: Union

Rem hung over Misa's shoulder as she went about her day. The battle with L was stressing her, Rem could tell, but she still steadfastly refused to stay home and rest. She was determined to avoid doing anything to draw suspicion to her and Light, even if it meant putting on a fake smile each day to pose in front of the cameras.

It was a normal occurrence for her phone to ring, always with some of the loud music she adored. Rem was used to it, but this time Misa seemed shocked by the sound. She scrambled for her purse for several seconds, until finally she pulled out her phone and answered it breathlessly.

"Light! How are you- I mean, how is your father doing?" It was amazing how quickly her expression could change from calm to ecstatic and back again, but Rem could still see the shine in Misa's eyes that no amount of acting could hide.

"He's doing better, but he's already back at work." Light Yagami's voice was clear through the speaker. He sounded as calm and composed as ever. "I'm worried he might have another heart attack with how hard he pushes himself."

Would he use the death note on his own father? Rem remembered all the times Misa had visited her parents' graves, all the photos of them she kept at her bedside. Light Yagami was not Misa though. Once again Rem found herself gazing at Misa's lifespan, watching every precious moment. Humans have so little time, and the death note only ever steals it away.

"That must be horrible. I think you said he's a police officer right?"

"Yeah." Light's laugh was warm and friendly. "It was barely three days in the hospital before he was back at work. I don't think anything could keep him from it."

Misa smiled childishly. "It sounds like the number one student in Japan takes after his father." Truths looked so much better on Misa's face than the lies she had found herself telling so much recently.

"A keen observation from Japan's number one model."

"You're too kind." Misa's smile widened more. "I'm not the top model, yet."

"Misa, would you like to come over for tea? I know it's a bit late, but it would be a nice distraction to talk about school with you."

Ryuk laughed so loud it could be heard over the phone. "First thing you do after getting away from L is to go on a date huh?"

Misa seemed to find Ryuk amusing. "Aren't you being a bit forward?"

"I'm just staying home for a few days to make sure my mother and sister are doing fine." For the first time, Rem thought he sounded flustered.

"Of course, I'm free right now. Where do you live?" Misa had known Light's address since she first looked up his name. Even Rem had it memorized at this point from how many times she recited it.

It took half an hour for them to reach Light's home. Misa spent the trip humming beautifully to herself, only composing herself once they neared the suburban house.

Sayu Yagami was the one to answer the door. Her face was unbridled excitement when she saw Misa as she launched into a stream of questions. Misa was irritated at first, but Rem could see her quickly warm to the youngest Yagami as soon as she called her Light's girlfriend. The two already seemed like sisters. Rem felt glad the girl had a long lifespan ahead of her.

Then Light Yagami came down the stairs, Ryuk lingering in his shadow. For the first time, Rem felt like she could see emotions beneath the young man's perfect mask. The soft smile and gentle eyes suited his face much better than the sharply carved features it usually bore. Is that what Misa sees when she looks at him?

Words were exchanged between the three of them. Misa managed to keep a formal demeanor, but Light seemed off somehow, especially when his sister would call Misa his girlfriend. The conversation ended when Sachiko brought the two of them a tray, and led her daughter away.

Light's room was the polar opposite of Misa's. Everything was neatly sorted on his desk and shelves. The walls were covered in pictures, but his were of achievements and awards rather than people. The shinigami wondered where such an exacting human would hide his death note.

Ryuk moved over to the head of the bed and lay sideways, still grinning. Light closed his door carefully before taking a seat at the foot of the bed, offering a cup to Misa. She smiled warmly and sat right next to him, close enough for their arms to touch. Rem stood beside Misa, looking down at the pair.

"Light, did you see my message?" The girl's voice was quiet, but still lighter and happier than she had been in days.

"Yes. You don't need to worry about whispering. The walls are thick, and it's easy to hear if someone comes up the stairs." His voice was less formal than usual.

"Okay," Misa didn't move away from his side, "what did you and L think of it?"

The smile returned to Light's face, and Rem understood. The young man was smiling like Misa would smile, rather than how Ryuk would. "He was very distressed. He's well aware the government isn't going to put him before their own citizens. Still, he's planning something with the rest of the task-force and he didn't want me to know about it." He sipped the tea casually. "They're also planning on airing a message asking Kira for help."

"I figured he'd do something like that." Misa's mask was gone completely. "I already made a video from Kira saying that he hopes his imitator will reconsider and intends to stop them, but doesn't trust L enough to work with them." She brushed her hair back in a theatrical manner.

"Where's the tape now?"

"Don't worry." Misa slipped her arm underneath Light's. "It's in a locker in Shinjuku. A burglar rented it for three months with cash before coming down with pneumonia. I've already tested it, if you write the combination in the death note they will put it in fine. It works for passwords too, as long as it isn't an actual sentence or something with meaning like that. So, whenever we want we can have a criminal break in and deliver it." Her eyes seemed to glow as she looked up at her partner.

Surprise was a new emotion to see on Light's face for Rem. "Are there any other limits to that?"

"I'm not sure, I only tested up to 15 characters. I didn't want to use too many test subjects for it."

"So we can use that to send any future messages from Kira without leaving any physical evidence."

"Yep. Shouldn't be hard for either of us to visit a public library and upload an encrypted text document." Misa took another sip, then rested her head on Light's arm. He didn't seem to mind. "What do you think L is going to do?"

"He isn't going to hand himself over, I know that." Light touched his brow and thought in silence for a few moments. "He already has some kind of plan he's putting into action, but I don't know what it is. It must be something I could interfere with, otherwise he wouldn't have kept me from hearing about it."

"So he really does suspect you?"

Light nodded and lowered his hand, resting it on Misa's. "He says that he suspects me less after that video, but he's a good liar. It might be true or not, I don't know. He knows I would've never planned something like that though."

"Did I make a mistake?"

"No, I don't think so." He shook his head. "He knows that I wouldn't use methods like that to beat him. The whole situation turned his profiling ability against him, and I think it's thrown him off balance."

Ryuk laughed. "Don't forget to mention how he called you his friend."

Misa giggled. "That would make sense, he's probably never met someone smarter than him before." She looked up at Light. "It really is an intoxicating feeling."

He smiled back at her. "Maybe, but either way he wouldn't tell me that without having an ulterior motive in mind."

"What was his excuse for excluding you anyway?"

"He said it would be too dangerous. My father was easy enough to manipulate that way. He was reluctant to let me join the investigation at all, but not enough to forbid me from it."

"Well, just helping L investigate Kira is a risk to your life, so whatever they're planning must involve either certain death, or danger of a different kind. I can only think of legal trouble as a possibility if it's the latter."

Light's smile shifted towards the cold and cruel expression he normally wore. "He must be planning how to continue the investigation without official approval. That would require the detectives to lie to their superiors and the public. With the threat including the prime minister, such an act would probably be considered treason if they were caught. And if that is the case, excluding me under the pretense of protecting me gets me out of the way and also helps persuade the officers of his nobility."

Misa's face reflected the changing expression of her infatuation. "Then we'll kill until one of them breaks. There are more than enough corrupt officers and politicians for a few months of execution without the world losing anyone of worth."

Is that the face of his Misa truly loves? Rem was reminded once again that Misa didn't give up half her lifespan for Light Yagami, she gave it up for Kira. Where does one end and the other begin?

"No, he could never convince them to just let him go. They'll need reasonable assurance that your threat wont be followed through on, and the only way that can happen is if they fake L's death. Given no one knows his face or name, it wouldn't be difficult at all to air a picture of a body with some fabricated background in intelligence." Light's expression turned angry. "And I would be the only one able to spot the fake. Even if I gave a logical alternative explanation, it's probably enough for the rest of the detectives to let him detain me."

Misa leaned in closer, pulling his arm against her. "If they do that I'll keep killing until they let you go. As many names as I can write each day."

"No, if they arrest me you'll be one of the first suspects for the second Kira. There are a few others they might suspect too, but if they arrest both of us then the killing of new criminals will stop, and we'll be dead. There has to be some way to sabotage his plan before he can put it into action. If only-"

There was a loud creak as footsteps came up the stairs. Light went silent. After a little time, there was a knock at the door and a female voice spoke. "Light?"

"Yeah, what is it?" The two of them quickly moved apart.

The door opened and his mother entered. "It's almost 10:30 you know. You really shouldn't have a girl here this late."

"Oh right, I guess I just lost track of time."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Yagami. I'll get together my things." Misa made a show of going over to her bag, acting as though she was checking to make sure all its contents were there. The door closed with a strange glance from the older woman.

As soon as the door closed again Misa moved close to Light. She whispered in his ear. "Don't worry, we'll find a way to kill L, I know we will. No matter what it takes."

"I know, don't be reckless." He whispered back.

Misa smiled, the sweetest smile Rem ever had the pleasure of seeing on her face. Then she pressed her lips against Light's.