Chapter 7: Dancing With Shadows, Part 3

AN: Uh… Well, apparently, when I say a chapter is going to take a couple weeks or so, what I mean is more like a year and a half. Sorry about that, but you know, better late than never. Haha… Yeah.

So, a lot's happened since I last updated this thing. In the intervening time, I've turned 23, then 24, I've moved onto other projects, and begun working on an original series. If you're interested, you should follow me JD_Wisniewski on Twitter. I occasionally post updates about how that's going. It's an ocean punk scifi/fantasy adventure series called Marid's Merry Maritime Misadventures. I've got over 27k words written for book 1.

To be honest, I sort of lost interest in Death Note and fell completely out of fanfiction for a while. I really want to finish this thing, and, by my estimates, it should be done by chapter 15, 20 at the absolute latest. Dunno how that's gonna go, though. I'll try to be a bit more timely with my updates, but with everything that's been going on, who knows. If you don't see another update for a while, sorry in advance.

I had considered just finishing the series before posting the rest, but you guys have waited long enough. At roughly 12.5k words (not counting the AN's), it's not quite as long as chapter 6, but I hope the length will make up for the wait time.

See ya on the flipside.

-0-

MISA-MISA ATTACKED!

Late last night, Misa-Misa was returning to her hotel in Ikebukuro when she was assaulted by an unknown assailant. The details of the event are obscure, and Misa-Misa has refused to comment, however, she is currently recovering in Toukai University Tokyo Hospital.

We were able to get Misa-Misa's manager, Miss Yosshi, in for an interview. See pg. 3 for the full interview.

~o~

Ryuk was sat on Sayu's bed, reading the newspaper that Sayu had thrown on the floor curiously. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Amane Misa was supposed to be dead, but… she wasn't? That wasn't supposed to happen.

He would have voiced these concerns to Sayu, however she was currently indisposed. Sayu sat at her desk, head in her hands. She stared at the Death Note. From what Ryuk could see, the rage and fear had finally dissipated, and in its place was simple despondency. It was the next day after her phone call with L, and it seemed that the severity of what L had said was beginning to really sink in.

Suddenly, a quiet giggling erupted from Sayu's mouth. Ryuk raised an eyebrow. He still wasn't sure what to make of this behavior. She'd been acting a bit erratic since the previous day, but now that he really thought about it, he could tell that something like this had been building for a while. He supposed the stress of her mission was finally getting to her.

"Hey, Sayu," he said. "Why don't you take a break, go hang out with your friends or play video games or something?"

Sayu looked up and glared at him with such ferocity that he actually flinched. Then, her features softened, as she seemed to consider what he said. "Hm…" she said. "A break?" She looked at nothing in particular for a moment. "Hey, Ryuk. Remember what you said before? About Tsuru?"

"What? You mean about killing her?"

"No, dumbass," she glared. "About dating her. I've been thinking…" She went silent. With her right index finger, she traced her lips, and her eyelids closed. If Ryuk didn't know any better, he'd think she was recalling the way the other girl's lips had tasted. She cocked her head to one side. "Maybe you're right. If nothing else, it'd be good to do one last fun thing before I die."

"That's the spirit, kid," Ryuk said, snapping his fingers. Sayu simply looked at him disapprovingly, before shaking her head in resigned acceptance.

~o~

Sayu picked up her cell phone off the desk and went to the contacts menu. When she saw Tsuru's contact, she hesitated. She hadn't spoken with Tsuru since they kissed. At this point, she had no idea what Tsuru thought of her. Not to mention, thanks to her own mistakes, Tsuru was the only person, apart from Ryuk and herself, who knew her secret. So much was different between them. It was possible Tsuru wasn't ready to talk to her yet.

'Even so,' she thought, 'this isn't something I can just put off. This conversation has to happen eventually. It might as well be today.'

After all, it was also thanks to her own mistakes that L had caught her. She wasn't sure how, but if he'd figured her out, then it was only a matter of time. Any day now, the police would be at her front door to take her to jail. It could even be today. After that… who knew if she'd ever see any of her friends again? The last thing she wanted was to leave things unfinished with her best friend. To leave things on a sour note between them. To leave things unsaid. If it was her fate to die, she would have no regrets when the time came.

Steeling herself, she pressed Tsuru's contact and held her phone to her ear. Her heart raced a little bit more with each unanswered ring. Finally, Tsuru picked up the phone. Moment of truth.

"Hello?" came Tsuru's voice. Just hearing the sweet, gentle tone of her voice sent a shiver down Sayu's spine.

"Hi," replied Sayu, trying to get her heartbeat and voice under some semblance of control. "Are you busy right now?"

"Uh, yeah," Tsuru said, a bit stiffly. "I'm studying right now."

"Oh," Sayu said, wilting a bit. Then a thought occurred to her. "Is it cool if I come over and study with you?"

The phone went silent for a moment, then a sigh was heard. "Sure, why not?" Tsuru said, almost seeming to be bracing herself for something. Sayu could hardly blame her. "My parents aren't home right now, and Mugen is at a sleepover with some school friends, but Mikoto is here. I'll tell her you're coming."

"Great. See ya," Sayu said, hoping she didn't sound overly happy about Tsuru's acceptance.

"Right," Tsuru said quickly before hanging up.

Sayu swallowed a lump in her throat and breathed deeply. That was, unfortunately, the easy part. She stood and threw on something casual: a pair of yellow yoga pants, a white long sleeve shirt with a design of a cat's face bejeweled on the front, and a casual white windbreaker. As per usual, she tore out a page of the Death Note, folded it, and stuck it in her bra before returning the notebook back to its hiding place. She stuffed a couple textbooks and a school notebook into her backpack and put it over her shoulders. Giving her bedroom one last melancholic look, she closed the door behind her and walked downstairs.

In the living room, she saw mom watching some soap opera by herself. Dad was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and noticed Light in the kitchen, preparing a bento. Or was that… two bento? Huh.

"I'm going over to study at Tsuru's house. See you later," she said.

"Eh?" mom said, blinking at her. "Oh, right, see you, Sayu. If you're staying over, make sure to call."

"Right," Sayu said, a half smile on her face.

"Hey, Sayu," said Light, stealing Sayu's attention. "Before you go, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

Sayu's eyes widened. That… wasn't something she particularly wanted to deal with right then. "Er, can it wait 'til I get back?"

He gave her an examining look, almost like he was probing for deception, before smiling mysteriously. "Sure. See you later."

"Right." With that, she swapped her house shoes out for a pair of black running shoes and headed out the door.

The entire walk to Tsuru's house, she felt an odd prickling sensation on the back of her neck. She looked back a couple times, only to be met with darkness broken only by the occasional street lamp. One time, and one time only, she caught a glimpse of a dark streak as someone ran to stay out of her line of sight.

Wait. What the hell? Was she… still being followed? She thought L already had everything he needed to throw the book at her. If that was the case, then why was Raye Penber still following her? This… What could this mean?

Shaking her head and filing it away for later, she continued the relatively short walk to Tsuru's house. They'd grown up on the same street (in fact, they'd been next door neighbors), but Tsuru's family had moved to a house a couple blocks away about two years ago. It still wasn't terribly far, though.

When she arrived at Tsuru's house, she stood still for several minutes, simply staring at the front lawn. It looked like a mess had recently been cleaned up. There was dirt shoved to the edges. Some patches of what had once been a beautiful tomato garden, planted and tended to by Tsuru's older sister Mikoto, had been completely uprooted, while the rest had been picked clean prior to the winter chill setting in. The pot that used to hold a flower that Sayu and Tsuru had tried to grow together last year was missing entirely. Some of the brickwork near the house was disordered, and other bricks were missing. All in all, it was kind of a depressing scene. Sayu imagined that this was one of the spots that the Shinozaki family's loan sharks had hit. She would be downright furious if the situation hadn't already been dealt with. As it was, she was only seething.

Having had enough of pissing herself off, she walked up to the front door and rang the bell twice. Half a minute later, the door swung open, and Sayu was met with a gorgeous older girl who basically looked like an older, taller, more… fully developed version of Tsuru. The girl's board straight dark brown hair hung loosely over her shoulders, and she wore baby blue pajamas and bunny slippers. This was Tsuru's older sister, nineteen-year-old Shinozaki Mikoto.

Mikoto smiled brightly. "Hiya, Sayu! If I'd known you were coming earlier, I would've rented a movie and we could've had a girls' night in."

"Sorry, Mikottan. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment, thing." Sayu hid her smirk behind her hand when Mikoto pouted at the use of her pet name. "And besides, isn't Tsuru studying right now?"

Mikoto blinked. "She is? She said she already finished her studying for the weekend." She pointed an accusatory finger at Sayu. "And it's Mikoto to you, brat. I'm a grown woman now. I have to cultivate a more professional image!"

"Whatever you say, Mikottan," Sayu giggled. In her mind, though, she was racing through ideas for reasons why Tsuru might have lied to her about being busy. She stepped inside and swapped her running shoes for the cute kitty slippers that Megumi (Tsuru's mother) had bought for her, expertly ignoring the death glare that Mikoto was giving her, and made her way upstairs to Tsuru's bedroom.

Sayu stared down the door to Tsuru's bedroom as if she were staring down the gallows. She'd never felt this apprehensive about talking to someone before, especially not Tsuru. This was probably her best friend; certainly her oldest friend. But, somehow or other, things had just gotten so damn complicated. Some clearing of the air was necessary. With a deep breath, she took the plunge and opened the door.

The first thing she saw inside was that the room was messy, which was odd. Tsuru was usually such a neat person. Despite this, there were chip bags and soda cans strewn about the floor. A couple posters had been taken off the walls, and were currently rolled up and stuffed in a corner. Tsuru's desk was cluttered with various odds and ends. On the bed, Tsuru was curled up next to the wall, her knees nearly up against her chest, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She was wearing the lavender pajamas that mom had gotten her for her fourteenth birthday. Her hair was draped over her shoulders, the ends spooled over the bed, making her look even more like her older sister than normal. She was also wearing a pair of reading glasses, something few people had ever seen her wear. Pressed against her lap and held up by thin, dainty hands was a thick book. Sayu was pretty sure it was that sci-fi book that that nerdy Kojima Shinra had told her about a couple weeks ago. Sayu's heart skipped a beat. She'd never realized before just how… freaking adorable Tsuru was.

When it became clear that Tsuru hadn't noticed Sayu entering the room, she cleared her throat. Tsuru started at the sound and lowered the book to look at her. The two girls locked eyes, and Sayu honestly felt a bit nervous at Tsuru's unblinking gaze.

"So," Tsuru said at last. "You've come." She marked her spot in the book and set it down before freeing herself from her blanket cocoon.

"Yeah…" Sayu trailed off. She scratched the back of her neck, not entirely sure where to begin. Her lips pressed into a thin line and she looked Tsuru in the eyes. "Look, I… I wanted to talk about what happened before." Tsuru stood up and stretched like a cat. Without saying a single word, she began slowly prowling toward Sayu, an unusual amount of sway in her hips, the look on her face reminding Sayu of a cat eyeing its prey. Sayu began to sweat a little. "Right, well, I guess I'll start with the kiss. I… I really am sorry about that. I should never have just sprung that on you like that." Tsuru continued silently slinking towards her, and Sayu swallowed a lump in her throat. "Um, also…" she continued. "Uh… about that… other… thing."

Tsuru now stood well within Sayu's personal space. Her head was cocked to one side, her eyes boring deep into Sayu's, unblinking. Sayu was struggling to maintain eye contact. She really, truly didn't know what to make of the other girl's behavior. She'd never seen Tsuru act this way before.

"Um," Sayu said. "You, uh… haven't said anything about that have you?"

Tsuru continued simply gazing into Sayu's eyes, almost peering into her soul. And then… she did something completely unexpected.

She put her hands on Sayu's waist and, with one heave, threw her bodily on the bed. Sayu's eyes widened. "Tsuru, what –!"

She didn't get to finish that sentence as Tsuru loomed over her menacingly. Then, she planted her hands on the bed, each hand mere inches away from Sayu's waist. She climbed the rest of the way onto the bed, putting both knees to either side of Sayu so that she was straddling her. Tsuru continued to stare, unblinking and silent, into Sayu's eyes, which were now bugged out with shock.

"Tsuru…" Sayu breathed. That was all she had time to say before Tsuru silenced her by pressing her lips against Sayu's. For a long minute, the two girls lay there, simply enjoying each other's taste, sharing each other's breath. Sayu closed her eyes and let Tsuru take the lead role this time. Tsuru lifted her right hand and gently placed it on Sayu's left cheek, brushing hair out of her face with her thumb.

After what felt like hours, Tsuru broke the kiss, going back to looking searchingly into Sayu's eyes and breathing heavily. Sayu stared at her in awe. She hadn't exactly known what to expect going into this, but… this… wasn't a course of action she'd considered.

"Sayu," Tsuru breathed dreamily. She smiled cutely, a contagious smile that Sayu couldn't help but mirror. "I forgive you. After everything you've done for me, I would be remiss not to at least try to find some way to repay you."

"Tsuru," said Sayu. She glued her eyes to a random spot on Tsuru's shirt. "You don't need to repay me. That's what friends do."

"I'm pretty sure what you did goes way above and beyond the call," Tsuru drily retorted. "But… to be honest…" She looked off to the side and bit her lip. "I've…" She looked back at Sayu, a bit more confidence in her expression. "I've had feelings for you for a long time, now, Sayu." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "I was… afraid of what you would think of me if I told you. And then, you kissed me, a-and I wasn't really sure what to think. And that's not even mentioning everything else you've done for me. I –"

Tsuru was silenced by a finger on her lips, courtesy of Sayu. Sayu smiled tenderly. "Tsuru," she said, "you don't need to explain yourself to me." With one smooth motion, she flipped Tsuru over on her side so that they lay next to each other on the bed. She rested her head on her left hand and placed her right hand on Tsuru's hip, causing a light dusting of blush to appear on the other girl's cheeks. "Actually, I was thinking." She slid her right leg between Tsuru's thighs and scooted ever so slightly closer to the other girl. Her lips stretched in a cat-like grin. "Let's start dating, Tsuru. You and me."

Tsuru's breath hitched in her chest, and her eyes widened. "Really? Y-you want to…"

Sayu leaned in even closer, until her forehead was touching Tsuru's. "Yes. What do you say?"

Tsuru swallowed a lump in her throat, and began leaning in for another kiss, when the door to her bedroom swung open. She pulled away sharply and looked with fright at her doorway. Sayu looked back over her shoulder, an expression of half-lidded mischief on her face. Standing in the doorway was Tsuru's older sister, Mikoto. Her jaw was on the floor and her eyes were bugged out, presumably at the sight of her little sister cuddling extremely affectionately with another girl on her bed.

Once she recovered from her initial shock at what she was seeing, she swiftly put her hands together in a sign of prayerful contrition and bowed, saying, "Sorry! I didn't see anything, I promise!" before running back downstairs.

Sayu and Tsuru looked back at each other, blank expressions on their faces. Then, they both burst out laughing, gripping each other for support.

"Haha, I guess the cat's out of the bag now," Sayu said.

"Oops," Tsuru squeaked through her raucous laughter, wiping away a tear with her index finger. Once she managed to calm herself, Tsuru grinned at Sayu thoughtfully. "So you wanted to start going out with me, eh?"

"That's the long and short of it, yeah," Sayu agreed.

Tsuru wrapped an arm around Sayu's waist and rested her chin in the crook of Sayu's neck. "Sure. Let's do it."

"Aren't you worried about your parents finding out? Your big sister did just catch us."

"It's okay," Tsuru smirked. "They know."

Sayu's brow crinkled. "They do? Since when?"

"Always, I guess. I wouldn't worry about it."

Sayu took a moment to process that, before mirroring Tsuru's smirk. "So, you don't mind dating Kira, then?" Sayu whispered directly into Tsuru's ear.

Tsuru silently nuzzled her chin in Sayu's neck for a moment. Then, Sayu felt the other girl's hot breath on her shoulder as she sighed. "Sounds pretty exhilarating, actually. Especially since it's you."

Sayu couldn't help the glowing smile on her face. Maybe, just maybe, things weren't so bad after all.

~o~

Sayu awoke early the next morning in a tangled mess of limbs and loose clothing. She took a minute to adjust her eyes to the first rays of morning light entering the room through the nearby window, as well as to blink the crust out of her eyes. Where was she again?

A quick look at her surroundings told her that she wasn't in her bedroom; rather, she was in Tsuru's bedroom. Why was she here again? That's right. She'd stayed over the previous night. Although, that didn't explain why Tsuru was currently drooling on her chest, arms wrapped around her waist.

Deciding she'd figure out what was going on with that later, she looked over at the bedside clock. 7:27 AM. And it was… Monday morning?!

Sayu cursed under her breath. She grabbed Tsuru by the shoulders and shook her awake. "Wha…?" Tsuru mumbled intelligently.

"Tsuru," Sayu said urgently. "We need to get going. We're going to be late for school."

"Eh?!" Tsuru was now wide awake. She shot up, looking to and fro like an excited squirrel. She leapt off the bed and hastily put her school uniform together on her bed. Suddenly, she stopped in her hurried routine to look at Sayu, her cheeks flushed. "U-um, Sayu." She poked her index fingers together nervously. "I d-don't suppose you'd want to, uh… take a shower with me?"

Sayu couldn't help the blush that blossomed on her cheeks at the suggestion. Did she…? She shook her head. It was a moot point. "Sorry, Tsuru. My school uniform is still at home, so I have to head back there anyways."

"Oh," Tsuru said, disappointment evident on her face. "S-see ya, then."

Sayu smiled softly at the petite brunette. She walked over to her and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Maybe some other time, okay?" A smirk spread across her face.

Tsuru blushed hard. "R-right."

"I'll try to meet up with you before school starts, so keep an eye out."

"Gotcha," said Tsuru, giving her a thumbs-up.

With that, Sayu hurriedly raced out the door. Downstairs, she saw Tsuru's father, Shinozaki Tsutomu, a squat, thin man in his early forties with short, spiky dark brown hair and dressed in business casual, sitting at the dining room table, eating a piece of toast while reading through job listings in the local newspaper. She didn't see anyone else around, so she figured Megumi was either out running errands or had gone to drop off Tsuru's little brother, Mugen, at school, and Mikoto had probably left for the lengthy commute to her university. Tsutomu looked up when he noticed Sayu running downstairs.

"Oh, Sayu," he said brightly. "Running a little late, don't you think?"

"Sorry, Mr. Shinozaki," Sayu said embarrassedly. "I slept in."

"Why don't you come over for dinner this weekend? It's really been far too long, and Megumi has been wanting to have your family over for some time."

"Mom and I could probably make it," she said thoughtfully. "Light has been studying hard lately for the university entrance exams, and dad has been really busy with work lately, so they probably can't."

"Well, it's to be expected." Tsutomu seemed to think of something. "Soichi wouldn't happen to be investigating that Kira thing everyone's been talking about, is he?"

"Sorry," she said. "I wouldn't know about that. Dad hasn't said anything about it."

"Hm. Well, if you see your old man, tell him I said he still owes me a rematch on the golf course. I've really been working on my backswing."

Sayu chuckled. "Right. Will do. Later."

Tsutomu nodded in acknowledgement, and Sayu quickly swapped her slippers for her running shoes before dashing out the door. On the way home, she noticed that Raye Penber didn't appear to be following her for the moment. She wasn't sure if she should be reassured or worried.

In any case, she didn't have time to worry about Raye Penber at the moment. She couldn't very well afford to be late for school.

~o~

Sayu just barely arrived at school in time to not be late for class. The whole day, Tsuru kept shooting her nervous glances from her seat a row over, most of the time with a light dusting of blush on her cheeks.

They didn't really get much of a chance to talk during lunch as the group was drawing a crowd of people asking Sayu and Sakura questions about what had happened on Saturday. Sakura didn't seem like she'd fully recovered from it herself. She barely touched her lunch and generally looked down and out. Sayu, meanwhile, just kept dodging the questions and giving vague assurances that she was fine. At some point, she noticed that Tsuru was giving her a look that said 'you've got some explaining to do.'

After school, her homeroom teacher, Ms. Kitahara, stopped her and Sakura in the hallway and asked to speak to them in private. Sayu told the others they'd catch up with them and followed Ms. Kitahara back to her classroom.

Once they were alone, Ms. Kitahara put a hand each on Sayu's and Sakura's shoulders, a motherly expression on her face. Sayu thought she knew what this was going to be about. "Miss Yagami, Miss Gotou," Ms. Kitahara started. "About what happened over the weekend." Yep. She was right. "I understand that you two were involved in the Marui Honkan incident a couple days ago." Sayu looked away, not particularly wanting to get into that. Sakura continued looking despondent. "Listen. Your studies are important, but they're not more important than your health. I want all of my students to do their best, but if you feel overwhelmed, please, let me or the guidance counselor know, okay?"

Sayu looked into Ms. Kitahara's deep black irises. Ms. Kitahara could be strict, but she did genuinely care about her students' welfare, and it showed. "I-I'll be fine, Ms. Kitahara," Sayu said. Sakura merely grunted in acknowledgement.

Ms. Kitahara frowned skeptically, but didn't push the issue. "Well," she said. "If you need someone to talk to about what happened, you can always come to one of us." She squeezed Sayu's shoulder affectionately before returning to her desk. She smiled at them as they left.

With that over with, they walked to the courtyard in uncomfortable silence to rejoin the group. In the courtyard, Tsuru was playing Othello with Kojima Shinra and Hanazawa Kakeru was trying to referee one of Mika and Yuri's daily arguments. Sayu locked eyes with Tsuru for a brief moment before sitting at an empty table and starting on her homework, while Sakura went over to the table Ichigaya Ryuji was sitting at and rested her head on his shoulder. A little while later, Tsuru tapped her on the shoulder. When Sayu looked back, she was faced with a look of concern from Tsuru. She gestured with her head, indicating that she wanted to talk elsewhere. Sayu quickly packed her things back in her bag and stood to walk with Tsuru.

"See ya later, everyone," Tsuru waved cheerily at the rest of the group. The others perked up in slight confusion. "There's something I need to talk to Sayu about alone. I'll see you later, okay?" Mika and Yuri shared a brief look of bemusement. Sakura nodded solemnly by way of acknowledgement. Ryuji went right back to comforting Sakura, not really paying them much mind. Shinra and Kakeru talked quietly, occasionally stealing glances back at the two girls. Sayu was pretty sure she saw Kakeru looking longingly at her backside as she walked.

Once they were out of the line of sight of anyone who knew them, Sayu wrapped an arm around Tsuru's waist and drew her in closer. The warmth of the other girl's body seeped into her own. For a moment, she thought she could feel her heart beating in synch with Tsuru's.

"Um, Sayu," Tsuru mumbled nervously. Sayu glanced at her. "Why didn't you tell me about what happened at the mall?"

Sayu's gaze lowered and she bit her lip. "Well, I… I guess I just didn't want to worry you."

Tsuru gave her an inscrutable look, then shook her head and sighed. "Oh, Sayu. Don't you realize that just makes me worry more?"

Sayu pouted. "You're one to talk, Tsuru."

Tsuru looked away sheepishly. "Uh, point taken." Silence reigned between them for a moment. "Anyways," she continued. "I heard those terrorists died."

Sayu's head whipped around in alarm. "Tsuru, let's continue this when we get home, okay?"

Tsuru's eyes widened with realization. "R-right, sorry." Tsuru's brow furrowed, then she blushed slightly. "Wait, when you say 'when we get home…'"

Sayu smirked impishly. "Well, I could use a shower," was all she said in response.

Tsuru's face for the rest of the walk to her house could have been easily mistaken for a ripe tomato.

~o~

Later that evening, Sayu was feeling simultaneously relaxed and rejuvenated on her walk home from Tsuru's house. She'd never realized just how… flexible… that girl was.

Shaking the dirty thoughts from her head, she came to a crosswalk, probably about halfway between home and school. 'That's weird,' she thought. 'Must have lost track of where I was going.' This crosswalk wasn't in the direct path between their houses.

As she waited for the crosswalk light to turn green, she looked to her right, and a thought occurred to her. This crosswalk… She remembered now. This was the same crosswalk that she'd turned at to get to the 7-Eleven. The same one where she'd committed her first murder. Thinking about everything that had transpired since that day put a pit in her stomach.

She wondered if Raye Penber was following her right now. She pulled a small hand mirror out of her bag and brought it up just above her right shoulder, while making like she was just fixing her hair. As soon as she did, a shadow quickly scurried out of sight. Huh.

What did it mean if Raye Penber was seriously still following her? Were they trying to gather more evidence against her? She supposed they didn't actually know how she killed. They couldn't really do much without that. After all, they couldn't exactly arrest her without evidence that she'd committed a crime, and being present at the scene of someone else's crime certainly isn't evidence, and it was technically the cops who killed those terrorists. She just happened to be there when it occurred. So were hundreds of other people. Circumstantial evidence, at the very most.

And, anyways, how did L figure it was her anyways? Sure, she saw Raye Penber's face, but so did a whole bunch of other people. And besides that, she made sure to kill those terrorists with something other than a heart attack. Was it possible that L had figured out that a heart attack wasn't the only way Kira could kill? How could he have? Something just didn't add up here.

Surely, L wouldn't…

The light turned green, pulling Sayu out of her thoughts.

When she arrived at home, she found a similar scene as the one she'd left behind last night: mom watching soap operas, dad nowhere to be found, and Light studying at the dining room table.

"Sayu!" said mom, standing up from the couch and coming over to greet her. "Where on earth have you been?"

"I was at Tsuru's house," Sayu said as she worked her outdoor shoes off.

Mom blinked a couple times. "Anyways, why didn't you call last night?"

"Eh?" Sayu said, looking over her shoulder. Oh, right. Mom had said something about that. "I'm sorry, mom. I must have forgotten."

Mom frowned. "Well, don't do it again. You know I worry about you. Especially after what happened the other day."

"Right," Sayu mumbled. She stood up and made for the stairs. She furrowed her brow when she noticed that Light was giving her an odd look. "What?" she said.

"Hm?" he said. "Oh, nothing." He went back to studying, acting like nothing had happened.

Sayu blinked, shrugged, and continued upstairs. Once she'd changed into some casual clothes, she pulled out her homework from earlier as well as the Death Note, and got to studying, occasionally jotting down a name in between problems.

A little while later, there was a knock at her door. She quickly hid the Death Note under a pile of books and turned to see Light in her doorway. She furrowed her brow. What could he want now?

"What's up, Light?" she asked cautiously.

He gave her a searching look, then leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Well, you see," he started, "actually, there was something I wanted to ask you, Sayu."

Sayu made a conscious effort to keep herself from quivering under the weight of his questioning gaze. She could do this. "Ask away."

Light looked down at the carpet, seeming to take a sudden unusual interest in the psychedelic pattern. He closed his eyes and chuckled lowly. "You're probably gonna think this is silly."

"I wouldn't be surprised, knowing you," she deadpanned.

When he looked back up at her, his hair shaded his eyes. "It's just… Well, a couple days ago, I got this strange phone call." Sayu's brow furrowed. What was he talking about? "The guy claimed to be someone named 'L,' or some nonsense like that."

What.

"I know, right? He accused me of being Kira. It was a little freaky, actually. He seemed pretty serious."

Sayu looked down at her lap in an attempt to keep Light from seeing her poleaxed expression. 'Okay, what the hell?' she thought.

"Anyways," Light continued, "I was just wondering if maybe you received a similar call." When Sayu went more than thirty seconds staring at her lap and not answering, he said, "Uh, hello?"

Sayu blinked and looked up. She shook her head quickly. "N-no. I haven't. Th-that is really, uh, weird, though. You should tell dad."

Light raised an eyebrow. "Heh, yeah. Maybe I should." With that, Light took one last glance at Sayu before leaving. Had she been paying proper attention, she might have noticed the odd smirk that crossed Light's lips for the briefest moment.

Sayu barely noticed him leave, though. She was too busy stewing in her own fury. 'That little motherfucker,' she thought. 'Damn you, L. I'll get you for this, you bastard.'

~o~

"Ah-choo!"

L wiped a little bit of mucus off on a slightly used tissue. He really hoped he wasn't catching a cold. Perhaps Kira was cursing his name right now? That would be pretty amusing.

He was currently chatting with a couple agents on the FBI IRC channel. There wasn't much interesting going on at the moment. He was fairly certain his ploy had worked, but no one had confirmed anything yet. That was perhaps the worst aspect of his chosen career path: all the waiting and boredom. A lesser man would be driven mad by it. As it was, L was staving off the maddening boredom with an old favorite pastime. He plucked a smooth, stainless steel dart from the desk in front of him and carelessly tossed it at a board hanging on the wall with a thoughtlessly ingrained flick of his wrist. He didn't need to look at his handiwork to know he'd hit the 20 at the top of the board. He'd rather play tennis, but he had no one to play with, and he needed to stay here in case something interesting happened. It always came when he least expected it to, therefore he'd consciously lowered his expectations. To simply look at the facts objectively without expecting anything to come of it. He was like a scientist, in that way, and humans were his test subjects.

Maybe he really was losing it.

Thankfully, the boredom wasn't to last for once. The door to the hotel room opened and shut with a BANG. L quickly grabbed up his Tengu mask and slipped it over his face before Yagami Soichiro walked into the room.

The older man was red in the face, pupils dilated despite the relative darkness of the room, nostrils flared, like a predator on the attack, or perhaps prey on the defense.

"Ryuzaki!" he snarled. "Why did you do it?!"

"Chief Yagami," L deadpanned. "You're not wearing your mask. Demerit."

"Don't change the subject. Answer the question!"

L picked up a dart and tossed it at the board, casually hitting the twenty again, mere centimeters from the last one. "Chief Yagami, if you want an answer, you're going to have to be a little more specific. Of what crime do I stand accused?"

"You know damn well, Ryuzaki! You called the Deputy Director's daughter and accused her of being Kira! She had to miss school over it, and Kitamura is furious! Explain yourself!"

L observed his nails, dirty and cracking at the edges. What a drag. "Last I checked," he drawled, "talking to people on the phone wasn't a crime. Am I to assume that's changed in the last 48 hours? Should I have Watari call an attorney for me?"

Chief Yagami looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose under his glasses and released a long, steadying breath. "Look, just… explain. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking," L said, picking up a remote control and observing it in his hand, "that I would rattle Kira by telling him that I was onto him."

"And you suspect the Deputy Director's daughter? On what grounds?"

"Suspect? No. I don't suspect anything. Not yet, in any case." When Chief Yagami responded with a raised eyebrow, L turned the remote toward the large projector screen on the far wall and pressed a button. The projector flipped on, showing about a dozen faces and names.

L could almost see the realization on Chief Yagami's face as it occurred. He'd seen the list from before, so it was only natural that he'd notice how much smaller it had gotten. That and the fact both of his children were still on it.

"Here's your explanation, Chief Yagami," L said, waving the remote in the direction of the screen. "Recall our last conversation. I said something to the effect that the Japanese police and their families were suspect." Chief Yagami nodded silently. "Well, in the last week, the agents so kindly lent to me by the FBI have followed their assigned suspects, as requested. In that time, a number of individuals have stood out in one way or another. Suspicious or aberrant behavior, in one way or another revealing themselves as being more intelligent and/or capable than we originally believed, et cetera. Of note, though, is the group on screen. Every single person on this list has either received one of the fake business cards I gave to the agents on the off-chance they needed to identify themselves, seen their tail's face, or both. As a matter of fact, when I include only those individuals who have done both, this is what I get." He pressed another button, and the dozen or so faces dropped to four. Among them, Deputy Director Kitamura's daughter and both of Chief Yagami's children. "Of course, it's only been about a week, so it's entirely possible more will be added to the list, but if I know Kira… I'd say he's likely one of these four. Saying that, I would be remiss if I left a single stone unturned in my quest, so I called all of them, not just the four."

"That still doesn't explain why you called them."

"Why, you ask? Isn't it obvious? To put Kira on the defensive, of course. To rattle him; make him nervous and paranoid that the end may be coming at any moment. People in that mindset are more likely to get careless. Careless people make mistakes. And one mistake is all it'll take, and I'll have him."

Chief Yagami was silent as he considered L's strategy. "If you don't mind my asking, Ryuzaki," he said cautiously, "what… exactly happened for both Light and Sayu to end up so high on your list of suspects?"

"Ah, that." L scratched his neck. "You know, you've brought up some very… interesting children, Chief Yagami. Your son… Light… is brilliant, frankly speaking. Not just that, but he also has a strong sense of justice, above the pale of the average Japanese person. If it were up to me to pick the person who would be Kira, I'd probably pick him. The truth is, there have been a couple of occasions where my agent has reported Light meeting with an… unusual individual during his off hours. A person, likely a man, covered head to toe in bandages. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that?" Chief Yagami shook his head, a mixture of bemusement and concern evident on his face. "Well, perhaps it warrants further investigation, or it may be nothing at all. I do wonder, though." He was only partly lying. L was extremely curious about Yagami Light's odd acquaintance. It set him on edge whenever he thought about it. The photo he'd seen of that person. There was something… unsettlingly familiar about them. But, Chief Yagami didn't need to know about that. "As for the incident that put him on my radar, I don't quite know how to explain it other than pure coincidence." That was a total lie. L didn't believe in coincidence. "A criminal fleeing the scene of a violent crime happened to run right into the agent tailing Light. During the ensuing scuffle, the agent's stack of business cards fell out of his pocket, and his disguise came undone, long enough for Light to get a good look at both. Light, the agent, and a couple other men managed to subdue the criminal, but he broke free and tried to sprint across the road, only to be hit by an oncoming vehicle. Since the man didn't die of a heart attack, I can't say whether or not Kira was involved, but it all feels a little too convenient."

"A-and Sayu?"

"You haven't heard?" When Chief Yagami shook his head, L sighed, picked up a third dart, and casually landed it a couple centimeters next to the first. "I suppose you haven't been home or watched the news at any point the last two days?"

"I've been in the thick of it. You know that."

"Hm, true enough. In that case, it'd be better to show you." He pressed yet another button on the remote, and the display on screen changed to a two-day-old news report.

"We interrupt this program with breaking news out of Shinjuku," said the newswoman on screen, the subtext "Armed robbery gone wrong" under her. "Just minutes ago, police stormed the Shinjuku Marui Honkan mall after three armed assailants took everyone present hostage. During the incident, a brave bystander managed to subdue one of the suspects, and shortly after, police opened fire on the remaining two. By the end of the incident, all three suspects were dead. The three suspects have been identified as 32-year-old Tamaki Kazuhiko, 32-year-old Tamaki Akihiko, and 29-year-old Uchiyamada Yasuko, notable as the Shingai trio responsible for many such violent incidents. The Shingai trio were suspected members of the larger group, Jiyuu Shinrikyou, believed to be responsible for a number of terrorist attacks involving deadly sarin gas on multiple government buildings, resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries over the last few years. We bring you now to…"

L muted the recording and looked over at Chief Yagami. It was clear from how pale his face was that he understood why L had shown it to him.

"That… bystander…" Chief Yagami said at length. "Was it –?"

"The agent assigned to Yagami Sayu. He followed her and one of her school friends into the mall shortly before the incident began. In the process, Sayu convinced the agent to show her his fake business card, apparently to make sure he wasn't with the terrorists. When he scuffled with one of the terrorists, his disguise fell off, and everyone present got a good look at his face."

"You're not thinking…"

"I'm not sure, but I can't discount anything." L scratched at his neck again. "Hm. It's difficult. The fact that none of the suspects died of heart attacks throws a spanner into that theory, but… what if?"

"I…" Chief Yagami choked. "I think I need to go."

"Hm? Ah, yes. That's probably a good idea." As Chief Yagami made his way back out of the room, L shouted back, "Oh, and don't forget your mask next time."

There was no response, but L was pretty confident that he heard him.

Oh well. Nothing for it. Back to waiting.

L stood from his chair and gathered his darts from the board. It was going to be a long, boring night.

~o~

Sayu was up late, ostensibly in her room to study. Of course, at that precise moment, her school work was the least of her concerns. She had the Death Note open to a blank page. The lead of her mechanical pencil was slowly drilling into the page, leaving a deep black mark against the white canvas. Her head was cradled against her left hand. She should have been writing names. She would have been, in fact, were it not for the more important issue pressing against her.

She felt suffocated. She knew Raye Penber was outside, looking up at her window. She was beginning to feel boxed in. She'd been so damn confident before. Even after the phone call with L, she'd been confident that she was done for. She'd been, as counterintuitive as it might seem... ready to give up. She'd been ready for all of this to be over, for her troubles to cease. Now, though... It was a different story.

She couldn't be certain of anything. She couldn't be certain what L was planning, only that he was planning something. Dealing with her stalker was no longer a straightforward thing, either. Before, she'd been confident that her plans would work. Now, the only thing she was certain of was that, if she made a move to get rid of the man, she would only wind up caught in L's trap. That must have been what that phone call was about. He wasn't telling her that he was, indeed, certain that she was Kira. He was telling her that if she made a move, he'd have her in checkmate.

In truth, she just wasn't built for this. The walls were closing in, and she didn't have the strength to climb them alone.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by a knock at her bedroom door. Hands shaking, she closed the Death Note, shoved it under a pile of books, and pulled out her finished math assignment, leaning over it as though she were actually working on it.

"Come in!" she called over her shoulder in a shaky voice.

She moved her pencil back and forth in place, the tip just millimeters above the page, to make it look like she was actually writing as the door opened behind her. She stopped for just a brief moment to look over her shoulder, and nearly jumped out of her chair.

"H-hey, dad," she stuttered. Not that she was complaining, but what exactly was he doing here? It had been days since he'd been home, and she honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd been in her room. She swiveled her chair around so she faced him.

Evidently, her surprise was clear on her face. Dad looked down at the floor, seemingly unsure of himself, as though he himself was surprised at his intrusion. He tugged at the ends of his mustache and, apparently coming to a decision, crossed the length of the room, knelt down, and pulled her into a hug.

She was certain he could feel her heart pounding in her throat as she tried getting her breathing under control. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and reciprocated the hug. She wasn't sure why he was doing this, but somehow... she was glad. She'd... needed it.

"Sayu," dad said, pulling away. "I heard about what happened. At that mall."

Sayu looked away nervously. She couldn't be certain that L hadn't already shared his suspicions with dad. The last thing she wanted was for him to realize that those suspicions were correct.

"Listen," he continued. "How are you feeling? It's okay, you know. If you're still scared or shaken up. I just... I just wanted to say, if you have any problems, or if you just need someone to talk to, you can come to me. Okay?"

Sayu nodded shakily, a small, forced smile playing at her lips. What could she even say, really?

Dad stood to his full height and glanced around the room. His eyes passed over the Death Note for a brief instant, but he seemed not to notice anything out of place. "Well, I'll let you get back to it, then," he said, as he turned and left the room.

Sayu allowed herself a moment to steady her breathing before turning back to her desk. She looked hesitantly at the Death Note, thoughts racing. She looked over at where Ryuk was sprawled across her bed, plucking an apple out of her basket now that dad was gone. Her eyes lingered on the apple as it soared through the air, clutched between Ryuk's long, bony fingers, the red of the apple's skin standing out like blood against the black background. She thought, with a small giggle, about how this would look to someone who couldn't see Ryuk. Would it just float on its own?

On its own. No apparent stimulus, just moving on its own as far as the world was concerned. Like a puppet with no visible strings, no visual indication... of a puppeteer.

She looked back at the Death Note, brow furrowed. Her vision sharpened, and her heart began racing again as her small smile stretched into a maniacal, toothy grin.

She knew what she needed to do.

~o~

The next Saturday, she was walking through the Sunshine City complex in Ikebukuro, trailing slightly behind the rest of the group. Mika and Yuri were ooh-ing and ah-ing at the sights, Tsuru was stealing glances at her from the side and trying to inconspicuously brush her left hand against Sayu's right, and Sakura was conspicuously absent. Sayu, meanwhile, was keeping an eye on Mr. Raye Penber, who was trailing the group a ways behind, putting on his best tourist impression. It had been at Sayu's suggestion that they go visit Sunshine City, though only Tsuru and herself actually knew why.

As they made their way into the aquarium, she noticed out of the corner of her eye Raye Penber darting off in another direction. Good. That meant one of her new toys had made contact. She pulled a small transceiver ear piece out of her breast pocket and put it in her ear. The unfortunate aspect of her plan was that she wouldn't see it unfold. She would only have audio.

In front of her, Mika was pointing out a manta ray swimming overhead. In her ear, she heard, "Mr. Raye Penber, this is Kira's emissary. You'll find the package tucked under the sink in the men's room on the first floor. Inside, you'll find your instructions. If you wish to see your fiancée again, you'll follow the instructions to the letter."

It was just as well, really. She didn't want to be anywhere near that, hence why she wrote the instructions to send him far away from here. Her boy toys would take care of everything just fine without her, so she could focus on appearing innocent somewhere else entirely.

In the meantime, she posed for a group picture, her left arm wrapped around Tsuru's waist, while her right threw up a peace sign.

Off in the corner, Ryuk laughed like a hyena. It took all of her might not to follow suit.

~o~

Meanwhile, Misora Naomi was getting worried. She'd been trying to call Raye for the last twenty minutes, but was only getting a disconnected signal. She wouldn't normally be trying to contact him while he's working, and she wasn't entirely sure she could explain why she was so concerned, either. She'd felt a chill down her spine, as though someone had walked over her grave, and now she just couldn't shake the feeling that he was in danger. The best way she could explain it was gut instinct; it was something one learned to rely on in her former profession.

Now, though, the chill was getting stronger. She walked down the street a few blocks from their apartment, trying her best to keep herself together. She didn't even know where he was, much less what she could actually do. She supposed she was just working off her nerves by going for a walk. Yeah, that's it. Honestly, if it turned out to be nothing, she'd end up feeling like a fool. In fact, it probably was nothing.

She just couldn't silence that niggling thought in the back of her head that said, "What if?"

Suddenly, she felt as though needles were pressing into her from all sides. A sick feeling bubbled up from her gut, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She gripped at her own sides and looked around frantically. In moments like these, she was glad of her martial arts training, as her breathing exercises kept her from completely losing it.

Whatever was going on couldn't be normal. She knew Kira could control his victims to some extent before death (Raye wouldn't be happy that she'd looked through his notes, but she just couldn't help herself). Was this what it felt like? Was she about to die?

And then, just as suddenly as it'd come, it passed. The ill feeling remained, but the needles were gone. She turned on heel and looked around behind her. She could swear she'd felt eyes on her just a moment ago. At the same time, a hunched figure passed her just over her shoulder. She looked back the way she'd been walking, her eyes focused on this new figure.

There was something eerie about them. They wore a large, patchy blue jacket with the hood up, an old, ragged pair of jeans that had been bleached and torn up, and a beat-up pair of white tennis shoes. The figure was hunched to an unhealthy degree that hurt Naomi's own back just looking at it. Their hands were in their pockets, but Naomi could just see paper white over what little of the hands were exposed. If she didn't know any better, she'd say they were... boxing tape? Maybe, bandages?

Naomi reached forward, intent on interrogating this person. Her fingers grazed the sleeve of their jacket, and... Well, she wasn't entirely sure. She just... froze. It didn't make sense. She had no real reason to be scared of this person, and even if she did, it wasn't like she couldn't defend herself, even unarmed. And yet, she said nothing.

As she watched the hunched figure slink away, she thought she saw them pull what looked like a jar from their pocket.

Naomi stared at her outstretched hand as though it were alien to her. A biting wind blew past her, causing her fingers and her nose to begin going numb. She knew she needed to get back inside, but she was so bewildered by her own behavior that nothing else mattered.

Who was that person, and why did they make her feel so uneasy? Moreover, why had she been unable to act or even speak?

She closed her hand into a fist and brought it back down. She cursed under her breath. In her rush to investigate that stranger, she'd forgotten why she'd left the apartment in the first place. Where did she want to go?

She looked down at her boots, brow furrowed. She supposed she ought to go to the NPA offices. She doubted they would take her gut feeling all that seriously, but if L was there... Maybe he'd listen to her?

She shook her head. No, she was being completely irrational. Nothing was happening. What she needed to do right now was go back home and prepare the place for Raye's return.

Everything was fine. It had to be. And even if it wasn't, what could she do about it?

~o~

Shinoda Masahiko was a lot of things. Businessman. Gambler. Womanizer. Killer. At thirty-eight years old, he'd already been around the block a few times, and done some pretty shitty things along the way.

As far as the public was concerned, he was a business tycoon who frequently travelled in the circles of the rich and powerful, and was very good friends with a particular member of the National Diet House of Councilors, a friend with prospects on the office of Prime Minister of Japan. He had friends in very high places, which suited him fine.

What the public didn't know was that he was a top enforcer for the Sumiyoshi Group, the second largest yakuza group in Japan. He'd long since lost track of the number of people he'd personally killed, much less the number who'd been killed on his orders. In 1995, he'd been charged with illicit gambling, but a few well-placed bribes had made it all go away. Same with the assault and battery charge in 1998. And the sexual assault charge in 2001. The girl who'd accused him of that one had turned up... missing, a few weeks later.

He'd never claimed to be an angel. In fact, it'd be more accurate to call him some sort of devil. Right now, though, neither of those labels really fit him.

Right now, Kira's puppet would be the best label for him.

He was sat on a bench a few blocks from Sunshine 60, flipping through a newspaper and speaking through a transceiver. The man on the other end was growing increasingly frantic, but Mr. Shinoda stared blankly at the newspaper in front of him, emotionlessly reciting his script as his master had requested.

"Alright," Raye Penber huffed breathlessly. "I'm at Ikebukuro station. Now what?"

"Now, I want you to board the Yamanote Line to Ueno," Mr. Shinoda whispered into the microphone. "At the other end, you'll be handed your next set of instructions. Try not to disappoint me."

When the line went dead, indicating that Raye Penber was now underground, at 1:30 PM on the dot, Shinoda Masahiko promptly collapsed of a sudden, inexplicable heart attack.

~o~

While Mika and Yuri were busy goggling at a large sea turtle, Sayu checked her phone. 1:30 PM. If everything was going according to plan, then phase two should be starting right now.

"Hey, Tsuru. Look," she said, pointing at an incandescent jellyfish somewhere else in the aquarium. She took Tsuru's hand in hers and made her way over to it.

Once they were a good distance from the others, Tsuru nuzzled into the nape of Sayu's neck and whispered, "Is everything going to be okay?"

"Don't worry. My power can't fail. You just focus on having a good time, okay babe?" She stole a surreptitious kiss on Tsuru's forehead, causing her to blush.

"R-right," Tsuru stuttered.

~o~

Raye Penber was running himself absolutely ragged. Normally, he'd be glad to have a moment to catch his breath inside the train, but he couldn't relax at all. His leg wouldn't stop shaking up and down. His fingers wouldn't stop drumming against his briefcase.

When he'd stopped by the apartment an hour-and-a-half ago to pick up a case file, he'd found, stapled to his door, a photo of Naomi and a letter from someone claiming to be Kira saying they'd kidnapped his fiancée. He'd naturally been skeptical at first, until he'd seen someone collapse at Shinjuku station, just as the letter predicted. After that, he had no choice but to believe what the letter said.

Since then, he'd been sent on a wild goose chase across Tokyo. He'd spotted Yagami Sayu and her friends in Sunshine City and had tried to act natural, but hadn't really been in any mood to deal with that at the time. It had nothing to do with him, anyways. Just some teenagers spending the last Saturday before winter break in Ikebukuro. It was so incredibly normal that, just for a moment, he almost felt like he was in some slice of life anime.

Now, though, it was beginning to really sink in just how serious of a situation he was in right now. He never should have agreed to take this job. What a fool he'd been. If and when he and Naomi got out of this, he was quitting. His heart just couldn't take this kind of stress.

When the train stopped, he bolted out the door before anyone else had time to react and headed straight for where the voice told him his next instructions were. It was easy enough. Main hall, the Sugar Butter Tree, ask the crier about a knapsack.

Outside the small restaurant stood a man holding a couple signs and shouting sales announcements. As he got closer, he realized the man had a glazed look in his eyes. That could only mean...

With a sigh of resignation, he walked up to the man and said, "Hey, sir. You haven't seen a knapsack near here, have you? I think I accidentally left it."

The man immediately dropped what he was doing and pointed toward the restaurant. "Yes, under the third table."

"Thanks," Raye nodded. He hurried to get away from the man before the inevitable. There was nothing he could do about it. Eyes on the prize.

Inside the restaurant, he looked around to see the counter busy with customers. While everyone else was distracted, he quietly slid into the third table and his foot bumped into the knapsack. Outside, a commotion began as he assumed the crier collapsed from a sudden inexplicable heart attack. He briefly wondered what the poor sap had done to earn the ire of Kira, but shook his head and leaned over to retrieve the knapsack.

The knapsack contained yet another set of instructions, as expected. On the page, he saw an email address that he recognized and the simple instruction to send a seemingly random string of letters and numbers to said address, but only after retrieving a packet from inside the knapsack and writing the name of the person to whom the email address belonged in the small space provided. He was confused at first, at least until he opened the knapsack and retrieved the packet inside. It was a manila folder with a single slot cut out of the front. Visible inside the slot was what looked like lined notebook paper.

Everything about this rang all kinds of alarm bells inside Raye's head, but he was forced to shove them aside and focus on the matter at hand. He could worry about the reasons once Naomi was safe. He pulled a pen from his breast pocket and wrote the name of his team leader inside the small space, then pulled out his laptop, opened his email, and sent the random string as instructed.

Once his laptop was back in his bag, he ran a hand through his hair. He was utterly exhausted, and he had a feeling this was far from over. He pressed the button on his transceiver and said, "Okay. I've finished the assignment. What's next?"

This time, a much younger man's voice spoke. It was different again, just like it had been between Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. He could only assume Kira was using a lot of criminals to do whatever it was he was trying to do. If only he could figure out what the point of all this was.

"Next, you will board the train in Ueno and return to Shinjuku. All will be made clear when you arrive."

Raye furrowed his brow. What the hell was that supposed to mean? What about the instructions? Surely Kira didn't intend to just leave him hanging like this.

In any case, it didn't look like he had much of a choice. What an exhausting day. With a yawn, he stood from the table, leaving the knapsack where he'd found it. He figured Kira would have to come back and retrieve it eventually. Maybe they could set up surveillance and see who comes for it?

The ride back to Shinjuku was just as uncomfortable as all the other train rides he'd taken today, even more so since it was absolutely packed, forcing him to stand for the duration. As the minutes passed, he felt an almost... serenity pass over him. He rubbed his face. 'No, Raye,' he thought. 'Now is not the time to be falling asleep. You've got to keep your head in the game.'

The end of the journey couldn't come soon enough. He was barely able to squeeze through the door as seemingly every person in Tokyo tried to enter and exit the train simultaneously. As he was being pushed by the crowd behind him, struggling to keep from getting trampled, his vision was suddenly overtaken by darkness. He shook his head, trying his best to stave off exhaustion. Then, his heart pounded heavily, causing his chest to lurch. He tried to inhale, but no matter how hard he tried, the feeling of suffocating wouldn't abate. The more oxygen he tried to gulp, the less effective it was.

His world tilted on its side. He didn't realize he was on the ground until he heard a distant scream. All sound faded away. He took one last desperate gasp, then perished where he lay.

~o~

Back in L's hotel room, a few hours later, he was once again enduring the ire of the taskforce. On the other end of the screen, Watari and Chief Yagami were doing their best to assuage flaring tempers, but to little avail.

"How could L bring a foreign agency into Japan without our permission?!" someone shouted.

"Especially after he specifically asked for our help."

"How are we supposed to work with someone who has so little faith in us?"

"Those were cops. I thought Kira only killed criminals."

"A murderer's a murderer. It doesn't matter who the victims are. That doesn't change anything for us."

"Doesn't it, though?"

"He's right. None of us are safe. This is Kira saying that anyone who gets in his way is just as bad as any criminal."

"Not to mention, we all have badges with our names and faces on them. Anyone with an internet connection can find out who we are. Not that L cares. He's safe behind his wall of anonymity."

"Yeah, you're right. He's asking us to put our lives on the line, but Kira can't touch him. He already proved that with his little stunt on the television."

"Everyone, please, settle down," said Chief Yagami, bringing some much-needed order to the chaos. "If you'll allow it, I'm sure L has a perfectly reasonable explanation."

"I'm sorry, Chief," said Aizawa, "But I have to ask, since you've spoken to L in person. Did you know about this?"

Chief Yagami sighed. "Yes, I did. I was as offended by it as you are when I found out."

"So why didn't you say anything?" asked Ide.

"He asked me not to. Once you hear his reasoning, I think you'll begin to understand why it was for the best." Chief Yagami turned to the monitor. "L, the floor is yours."

L examined a sugar cube between his thumb and index finger. He really would rather be doing literally anything else. He let the cube drop into his tea with a satisfying plop. "I'm going to be blunt with you. From the beginning, I have, and continue to, require the assistance of the Japanese NPA. That hasn't changed. What has changed, however, is the stakes. As we've seen today, Kira has proven himself willing to kill anyone who tries to stop him. This is... a problem, as you're no doubt aware. I understand if any of you are unwilling to continue working on this case under these conditions. You are all putting your lives on the line by continuing to work this case. However, if you're willing to do whatever it takes to see that evil is brought to justice, even after everything that has transpired, then by all means, I would like to continue working with you. If not..."

The silence in the room lingered for several painful minutes until Matsuda spoke up. "That doesn't really... answer the..."

L sighed, giving only a hint of the frustration he was feeling. "To be even more blunt, if you can't figure out why I felt the need to bring in outside help on this matter, even after reviewing the evidence available, then frankly, I don't believe you'll be of much assistance to this investigation."

He didn't particularly desire to be antagonistic with them, and maybe he was playing into Kira's hands by being so frank with his ostensible allies, but this needed to be said sooner or later. Walking on eggshells with fools would accomplish nothing. Nothing good, anyways.

"You know what?" someone said. "I'm done here. I can't work with this guy." They bowed and then left the room.

There was a heavy silence in the room before Chief Yagami stood up to address the tense crowd. "Listen, everyone. I know you're upset, and you have every right to be. All of you have lives and families outside of this building. All of you have people who care about you, and are waiting for you to come home. If anybody wishes to leave this investigation in light of recent events, know that you will not be punished for your decision. Anyone who leaves will be reassigned to a different case, no questions asked, no harm done. However, if you wish to stay and continue to fight, and are willing to risk everything to see evil brought to justice, then please stay in the room. We've much work to do."

With that announcement, the room broke out into a near frenzy of bows and quick goodbyes. Within ten minutes, all but six people, plus Watari, remained in the room. As far as L was concerned, the fewer people the better. This way, there was a significantly reduced risk of information leaking to Kira. The fact that it also meant fewer masks had to be made was also a plus.

"Only five people, then?" Chief Yagami said resignedly. "Well, six including myself. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed."

"I still have some concerns," said Ide, raising his hand. He stood to speak directly to the monitor. "L. While I do firmly believe in the importance of justice, even if it means risking our lives, I still vehemently disagree with your methods. I'm willing to put up with it for now and look at the bigger picture, but know that my involvement with your investigation is tenuous at best. I will leave if this task force starts going too far down the wrong path. And one more thing." He looked over at Chief Yagami briefly, then back at the monitor. "I agree with what was said earlier. If we're going to work together, under these circumstances, I think it's only fair that you enjoy the same risk as the rest of us. We're open season out here, especially now."

"Wait, Ide," said Chief Yagami. "Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself –?"

"No," L said, taking a sip of his overly sweet tea. "He's right. It's time we take things to the next level. Watari, if you will." On screen, Watari stood and handed everyone an index card containing instructions. "I want you each to come to the location listed on your card. You'll be coming in groups of two, so as not to draw any unwanted attention."

"Um, you want us to wear masks?" asked Ukita.

"Just a precaution," said Chief Yagami. "Remember, Kira can kill just by knowing someone's face. This way, in the event that Kira appears at the hotel we're to meet at, he won't be able to kill any of us."

"Indeed," said L. "You all have your assignments. Evil won't wait for us to make our move, so make haste, gentlemen."

With that, the remaining task force members bowed and left the room. L stared down into the sugary depths of his tea. Aside from Yagami, he couldn't remember the last time he'd entertained guests. Moreover, there was something he needed to discuss with Yagami in particular. A couple somethings, actually.

He looked up at the projector screen. On the screen were the remaining suspects. He was now down to three, but of all of them, if he had to pick the one he thought most likely to be Kira, after the day's events, he'd have to go with...

~o~

Sayu plopped onto her bed. In her right hand was an apple that she'd snatched from the dining room table, which Ryuk was eyeing with longing. In her left was a bag full of pages. Today had been an exhausting day. In the end, if she was remembering correctly, she had killed a grand total of twenty-three people today (not counting the twenty-four criminals who were already set to die in advance). The twelve FBI agents and their team leader, the three criminals she'd used to direct Raye Penber, the three criminals she'd used to leave the instructions for him, the three criminals she'd used to retrieve the instructions, and finally the criminal who executed the FBI agents. Though, technically, only eleven of those had actually been killed by her directly.

She felt a deep pit in her stomach. She should be happy about succeeding but instead, she just... felt nothing. Nothing at all. She didn't feel like she'd won. It was like... well, she wasn't really sure. If she had to put it into words, it was like a significant piece of her died today. Everything just felt a little more... hollow and grey.

She sat up slowly, tossing the apple to the currently slavering Ryuk with a careless flick of her wrist. She rubbed her hands against her face, as if she could physically release some of this melancholy with that action. Her right eye peered through a gap in her fingers, staring at the television on her desk. She supposed a good old rousing round of watching Ryuga Hideki's new movie might take her mind off things.

When she stood, she was hit by a wave of lethargy. It seemed even her favorite pop idol couldn't get her excited anymore. She sat at her desk and picked up her cell phone. For a moment, she considered calling Tsuru, but suddenly, the idea of seeing her almost set Sayu on edge. Hm... Maybe it was more that she didn't want Tsuru to see her. Not... like this. Not as she was now.

Was this... guilt she was feeling? How strange. She'd forgotten what it was like to experience normal emotions. She literally couldn't fathom what guilt was supposed to feel like anymore. It was alien to her, now.

She picked up her remote and turned the TV on. For several minutes, she simply sat there flipping through channels aimlessly, finding each new program she encountered increasingly uninteresting.

Wait. What was that?

She flipped back a couple channels. It was Sakura TV. A great place for pointless pop culture discussions and pro-Kira talk, but not exactly what anyone would call a... reputable company.

"For all intents and purposes, we are being held hostage by Kira," said the broadcaster. "We must show you the contents of the tapes, or be killed. We have not watched it ourselves, but this tape should validate the other tapes, as well as Kira's message to the world." On screen, the broadcaster handed a cassette tape to an offscreen staff member. A minute later, "It is now 5:59. The broadcast will now begin."

Sayu's brow furrowed. What the fuck? She'd never sent any tapes to Sakura TV. Was this some kind of prank? Because if so, it wasn't funny.

The broadcast continued. "Greetings, viewers and staff members of Sakura TV. I am Kira. If this tape is being aired on December 20 at exactly 5:59 PM as I requested, then the time now is 5:59:38, 39, 40. Please change the channel to Taiyo TV. The news anchor will die of heart failure at exactly 6:00 PM."

Sayu felt a chill run down her spine. This was Sakura TV, so it was entirely possible that this was just a hoax, but... what if? She changed the channel as instructed and, within seconds of appearing, the news anchor of Taiyo TV collapsed of a sudden, inexplicable heart attack.

A news anchor whose name Sayu never wrote in the Death Note. It was a completely innocent person too. Someone the real Kira (Sayu) would never kill. This was real. There was no other explanation.

And there would be absolutely no mercy when she found this imposter.

-0-

AN: It seems to me that, ever since L made his public debut, Sayu has been leapfrogging from one catastrophe to the next. The poor girl can barely get a moment to breathe. And you know what? I don't feel the least bit sorry for her. At this point, she's made her own bed, and now, it's time to lie in it. Whatever happens now, she brought it on herself.

In case it wasn't clear, the timeline is now officially fucked. Canonically, Misa isn't due to appear until like April or May or something, but here she is in December. I've been more or less following canon up until this point, with some changes here and there, but from this point forward, we're throwing canon out the window, baby. Mr. Brownbeard's Wild Ride has officially begun. I'd say I hope you buckled your seatbelts, but if you look to your left, you'll notice the seatbelts have been surgically removed. Have fun. :D

Onto the names. Thankfully, there aren't that many this time.

Shinozaki Tsutomu (篠崎勉)

Age: 43

Lifespan: Supposed to die of heart failure at age 91.

Shinozaki Megumi (篠崎恵)

Age: 38

Lifespan: Supposed to die in a car accident at age 55

Shinozaki Mikoto (篠崎尊)

Age: 19

Lifespan: Supposed to die of natural causes at age 102

Shinozaki Mugen (篠崎夢幻)

Age: 6

Lifespan: Supposed to die of a stroke at age 77

Shinoda Masahiko (篠田正彦)

Age: 38

Lifespan: Supposed to be assassinated by Yakuza hitmen at age 46