Chapter Eleven

The moment we get back to the hotel from that rather long and unpleasant morning, all I feel is exhaustion and hunger. I figure that I would be in the first floor working but Misa reminds Light about the promise about her which he hesitantly relents to. When she's out of the way, Light and Ryuzaki look at me expectantly. 'I watched her every move and there was no possible way that she could have contacted Kira or even attempt to kill criminals.'

'I told you,' Light says to Ryuzaki.

All the pale boy does is pout; 'Oh. I see.'

'Alright, I'll be in my room if you need me,' I announce.

'Wait, Frejda?' Light calls.

'Hmm?'

'You wanted to show us something earlier, before you left.'

'Right. Um—I can show it to you guys later. Right now I really need to eat and you've got a date.'

'Right.'

I wonder how they're going to pull this off. Light and Misa plus Ryuzaki. Oy!

Heading up to my apartment, I find some frozen veggie samosas and bake them in the oven. While waiting, I switch out my clothes for more comfortable ones: a black casual round neck mini dress with a tight waist and purple leggings with shadow-tree designs on them. When the samosas are ready, I place them in a small bowl and grab a glass of apple juice. While eating, I watch the news. Kira's killings are the main highlight as usual. It's getting old but the danger of it is escalating with the way things are going. Whether it is Misa or not, the Second Kira made the first move by endangering innocent civilians who do not support Kira. So far, it looks like Kira's sticking with just criminals but I have to think outside the box if I want to catch this S.O.B. I make note of the times of death as reported by the news. They're beginning to spread out during the day. Well, there goes the theory. But, the most prominent ones still appear to be during the early hours of the day, some time in the afternoon and late in the night. In fact, the ones at night go as late as four in the morning. At this rate, it has to either be a businessman or some sort of night shift worker. Maybe I missed something when comparing earlier.

As I jot down the death times of the criminals killed, a loud thud followed by the sound of glass breaking startles me. I look up. It can't be coming from Misa's room can it?

Silence.

Maybe not.

I return to paying attention to the news. Another thud vibrates the ceiling and the loudness startles me all the more.

What the— Dropping my pen, I stand up and storm out of my apartment. Up the stairs, I make my way to Misa's door. Without knocking, I slam open the door: 'What is going on up here? Can't a girl watch the news in peace?'

Aside from my anger surprising everyone, I don't miss the scene that the room is in chaos. Vases are turned over, some of the dirt spilling onto the floor or carpet depending on where they are. The long acacia coloured couch is turned over and in front of it, the glass table that once held some tea and cakes is turned over, along with the pastry landing on the floor and the dark drinks staining the carpet. As for the inhabitants of the room, Light and Ryuzaki are nearer to the door. Ryuzaki remains crouched by the phone while Light, who straightened up as I walked in, stands as far away from Ryuzaki as the chain allows. Misa sticks closer to the overturned glass coffee table but keeps away from all the short cake resting on the floor.

'What in the world happened here?' I demand.

Misa rushes over to me, careful not to step on the cakes, and begins: 'Ryuzaki made Light mad because he kept on insisting that we are Kira. He even called me stupid! Light punched Ryuzaki and then they got into a fight. Matsu called and then they stopped.'

'Uh-huh,' I gather the information and glare at the boys. 'I had no idea I was friends with a couple of twelve-year-olds. Do you two need a time out?'

'Hey!' Misa snaps.

'Oh, you're not my friend,' I pat her shoulder.

'Ah!'

'But seriously,' I continue with the guys, 'what is wrong with you two?'

'I just want to move on,' Light explains. 'We're over here arguing about this and Kira's out there still killing. It's a waste of time and I don't appreciate it.'

'Oy!' I slam my head with my palm. 'Alright! Misa, I'll help you clean up. You two,' I point at the boys, 'go down to main base and get to work with the Task Force. I'll deal with you later.'

'Yes ma'am,' Ryuzaki pouts.

'Why are you treating us like children?' Light asks, both insulted and amused.

'Act like a child, get treated like a child, my friend. Now get moving,' I point at the open door.

'Alright, alright!'

Light walks out of the room, barely dragging Ryuzaki behind him. As promised, I do help Misa with cleaning up the room. For a while it's quiet and I'm able to work while thinking about the process of Kira's killings. Something feels off. I can't help but think that Kira's a completely different person now. Not just the way he kills but—I don't know. I'm willing to be that I'm wrong about this. So where that leaves me is still following the news and digging up what I can about Kira. But what if I'm not wrong? Does that really explain the difference in the way Kira kills? If that is the case, then that means Kira's power can be transferred from one person to another. Or maybe…

No this can't be the work of the Second Kira. They're not killing anyone who opposes Kira. When the Second Kira showed up, and with the goal of getting attention alone, she killed anyone who only had openly spoken against Kira. I think about the incident with Lind L Tailor. He called Kira evil but there was more to it than that. Lind L Tailor was posing as L and declared war on Kira which caused Kira to kill the man. Lind L Tailor's words, as transcribed, implied that he was going to take action against Kira, not just call him evil. Several people have openly stood against Kira before the appearance of the Second and Kira did not target any of them because they posed no real threat; just disagreement. So this Kira, if anything, is somewhat closer to the original Kira but definitely not the same. And the times of the killings, can I really be sure to pin this on some sort of working man, never mind a businessman?

'Do you like Ryuzaki?'

Misa's question throws me off: 'Huh?'

'I think Ryuzaki may like Light but I also think he likes you. He always looks at you funny.'

'He looks at everybody funny.'

'He's such a pervert!'

'Why?'

I pull the coffee table up to its rightful position and move it to where it originally was, based on the markings of the carpet. Removing the cake and tea stains might take some time. I'll have to look for some bleach or other forms of stain remover.

'He told me that he won't leave me and Light alone, especially on dates,' she continues, 'then he has the nerve to tell us that we are being watched by cameras. He's so creepy!'

She has to be joking.

'I wish he'd just quit being a pervert so that Light and I could go on romantic dates. Oh!' she puts on a dreamy look, 'imagine being on the roof, kissing and looking at the stars like in a movie. And maybe then, me and Light could even have our first—'

'I'm going to stop you there.'

'Are you jealous because Light is my boyfriend?'

'I'm not interested.'

'Oh,' she looks as if she's realised something, 'you're not into—'

'That's not what I meant. I don't have time to pursue such things.'

'Well aren't you boring. So then can you tell Ryuzaki to give Light to me?'

'For pity's sake, Misa, do you understand that you and Light are practically under house arrest on the suspicion of being Kira?'

'How many times to I have to say this?' she yells, 'I'm not Kira!'

'Well until we either catch Kira, or find solid proof you two had nothing to do with this, can you just cooperate with the police? All you are right now is the cause of several headaches, sorry, migraines!'

'Why do you have to be so mean?'

'I'm tolerating you, that's nice enough.'

'Hmph!'

After about half an hour of cleaning, someone comes to take over for us, probably sent at Ryuzaki's request. I tell Misa that she can chill at the pool downstairs to which she relents after an argument about why she can't sunbathe at the pool. As soon as I'm free of that stupid girl, I make my way to the base, having gone to my apartment to fetch my log book on the way. Light, Ryuzaki and the other officers work away noisily when I arrive. I'm surprised that I don't rush them to silence after that awful banter with Misa I just had.

'Hey Frejda,' Mr Matsuda greets. 'You're not still angry are you?'

'When was I angry?' I ask, confused.

'You looked angry when you walked in on them,' he points to the boys. Light, focused on the computer, types away at whatever he's researching while Ryuzaki sits absent-mindedly eating cake.

'I'm fine. I hope those two aren't giving everyone a hard time though.'

I sit at the furthest computer next to Light, logging in and starting the internet browser. Okay, I think I need to start this from the beginning. If I can go back to when Kira first 're-surfaced' after two weeks, I think I'll be able to track something in my theory about Kira being a different person before I start narrowing down to who is hiding behind the shadows. Maybe it'll help better if I see a pattern in the criminals killed after the two-week rest of Kira. Opening a new browser, I search for a compiled list of criminals who have died since Kira first started appearing. Finding an updated list of names displayed, I go through each of the criminals' crimes, reports of their behaviour and their sentencing. It seems that all of the criminals who were killed in heart attacks were criminals who were found to be truly guilty of their crime. I think that this may say a lot into the kinds of criminals that Kira deems evil. At least when he started out. Some of the criminals that are killed by heart attacks have been serving their sentences for as long as thirty years, others even longer and others reported lately. This list, in comparison to the criminals dying of heart attacks springing up lately seem a little different. This Kira appears to be careful to kill criminals in the same careful and calculated way as the original Kira but still, something about the way he does his job seems sort of careless. He doesn't seem to judge these criminals as carefully as the previous Kira appeared to do. Instead, it's like he's just wiping out these criminals for the sake of it, like a substitute or something. So, maybe this is a new Kira altogether? Like a third…

You can't be serious. Could there really be a Third Kira? Is that the reason for the 'rest period'? I open up as many articles as I can, trying to figure out the best and most flashed out news. Unfortunately, almost all of them are in Japanese. 'Argh!' I groan.

'What's wrong?' Light asks.

'Stupid language barrier!'

After a chuckle, I hear the chair pull closer to me. 'What are you doing anyway?'

'I'm trying to compare and contrast some of the reports about the criminals that died when Kira first started killing and the ones when he "resurfaced".'

'Won't that take long?'

'I've gotten very far,' I show him my log book to prove it, 'but in trying for the reports closest to the scene I get this,' I point at the Japanese writing on the screen.

'Yeah. I can help you with that.'

'Oh, you're a sweetheart,' I reach over and give him a side-hug, 'thank you so much.'

'Sure.'

I glance at Ryuzaki briefly. 'Is he still in a bad mood?'

'Yeah.'

'Poor boy.' Raising my voice a little bit I call out, 'Hey, Ryuzaki, you want to come work with us?'

Without saying anything, Ryuzaki pulls his chair slightly closer to Light but still a distance away.

Oy! Alright. Light begins to read through each of the articles giving me a glimpse of the crime of the criminals killed, as well as their arrest or sentence date and the overall behaviour of the criminal in question.

'Huh. This is interesting,' I say after about five Japanese articles.

'What is?'

'I had a hunch that Kira's power may have passed on to a different person due to the way this recent one's been killing criminals.'

'Impressive. Ryuzaki came to that same conclusion earlier today.

'Well, if that's the case, I think we need to be on the lookout. Because I have a suspicion we might be dealing with someone in the business world.'

'You think so?'

'I'm just looking at the time that the criminals are being killed lately. Early hours of the day, some in the afternoon and then really late at night. I can't help but think that those are the free times of someone in the business.'

'That makes sense, but—'

'Yeah, it's not fleshed out. But look at this,' I flip to the page in my logbook that records my suspicions about the businessman theory, 'Some criminals are also killed at a scattered set of hours on some week days and then all the more spread out on the weekends. This can't be a student, not even someone in the college has the time and energy to be this thorough. Of course, Kira can control the time of deaths of his criminals, so you see why I'm not willing to bet too much on that theory.'

'Yeah. But I think I see where you're coming from. It's not a bad idea to look into businesses that may benefit from this if that's the case.'

'Who do you have in mind?'

'Law offices might not be considered businesses but they're worth checking into.'

'Law offices?'

'Kira thinks himself a judge of evil doers right?'

'Yeah.'

'So if Kira is a judge and not a student, I think it would make sense to start there, say the prosecutors who are interested in placing criminals behind bars.'

'Right.'

He goes back to his own computer and begins to research. It should be said that there are a lot of articles to go through for me to verify my ideas, which means the deaths we have to pay attention to are as many as five per article. Instead of bothering Light for the rest, I place the Japanese articles through a translator to make the job easier. Light goes further and asks Chief Yagami to have access to the records of prison inmates who were killed by the recent Kira. The records are fewer than the criminals dying outside thanks to Kira's advance. But the deeper we go into searching for a consistence in the deaths and the theory we're looking into, the more we're thrown into confusion. Kira's tracks are covered perfectly but there is not enough evidence to suggest any law offices are benefiting, never mind responsible, for the killings of these criminals. Light and I pursue this for the next two weeks straight, only taking breaks to eat or sleep, or in my case, to swim in the early hours of the day and for Light to go on dates with Misa. You'd think that two weeks of pursuit would bear some fruit but no. Having had enough, I groan in frustration: 'By the Saint!'

'Take it easy, Frejda,' Light says patting my back.

'I really thought this would produce some sort of lead but no! Zut!'

'Calm down.'

Inhaling and exhaling a deep breath, I lean back on the chair defeated: 'This sucks!'

'Yeah. But I think that we might be getting somewhere. Even if no law offices check out, the idea that a person behind this is some one prominent in business is not scrapped entirely.'

'I don't feel better. But how so?'

'Well it's looking more and more like Kira is pursuing criminals more in the Kanto region of Japan but he doesn't neglect to kill the ones outside either. That being said, Kira is involved seems to be busy with other duties, somewhere in the working world. Perhaps even distracted by something else to pursue the criminals.'

'I don't know, that seems like a leap of faith a statement.'

'I agree. Still—what if we follow that hunch that one of Kanto's prominent businesses is somehow involved with Kira? What about being Kira would benefit someone like that?'

I can only shrug.

I look to Ryuzaki to see if he wants to chip in. He seems to be listening in on us but not enough motivation exists to help us out. Still he seems decently interested in what we are talking about. I get up, walking around Light. Standing in between the two boys I place a hand on their shoulders, 'Can I trust you two to get on fine until I get back?'

'Where're you going?' they ask in unison.

'To take a shower. I need to clear my mind.'

'Sure,' Ryuzaki says in a dazed tone.

'Yeah, that's fine,' Light agrees.

I head on up to my apartment. The shower gives me twenty minutes of thinking without the pressure of information overload. If Kira's a businessman, then why am I still not entirely convinced of the chance that I may be dealing with an entirely different person? Initially, I was informed that Kira was a student because of the frequent patterns in his killings appearing to be late at night on weekdays and heavily active on the weekends. Then suddenly, the killings get scattered. I wonder, would this Kira be that cautious of when and where he kills if he discovered the police were trailing him? Even so, all businessmen tend to have the weekends off, so if they are scattered then it would make sense. Then again, I can't base western working ethics on Japanese working ethics. For all I know, they could still be active on weekends. But prominent kills still appear on the weekends, which makes me wonder how much time a person has to kill on the days when they're not working, or rather, on the days that they're working. If Kira's power has truly transferred to someone else, if this is another Kira completely, I suspect his main objective goes beyond just the killing of criminals. There may be something else going on. Motivated, I finish with my shower and change into a black lace maxi long sleeve dress and with it, wear tights. I dry and brush my hair, tying it in a high pony-tail. Returning to Base, I jump into my seat next to Light. 'You look less stressed,' he comments. 'Unlike a certain someone.'

'Yep. Shower helped clear my head.'

'And?' Light and Ryuzaki prompt.

'I think that it makes sense we're looking for an entirely different Kira than the one that originally surfaced. Something about his killings, it's like eradicating criminals is just the secondary objective. Something else is going on.'

'Are you sure that that's what's happening here?' Ryuzaki asks.

'You still think that Light is Kira?'

'That was the reason for that fight,' Light reminds me.

'Great. You guys might be smart detectives but I can't forget that you're still boys with ego.'

'That's not very polite,' Light says typing away.

'Hey. So long as we're all friends, I can be honest with you two.'

'Fair.'

Around supper time, Misa walks in inviting Light to dinner at her apartment. 'We haven't had the chance to go on a date in a while,' she pesters.

'Misa, I can't right now. We're finally getting somewhere,' Light says.

'Aww come on!' she whines, 'Please?' She hugs him from behind, 'Please?'

'Al-alright, Misa, I'll be up soon.'

'Yay!' she skips back to the lift then stops only to stare at Ryuzaki. Just as I turn my head to the computer she says: 'Frejda, you should come too!'

'What?' I snap and face her, 'Why?'

'If you don't come, Ryuzaki will be lonely. And besides, we both know he likes you.' With a wink, she steps into the lift and disappears, leaving the entire Task Force in stunned silence.

'Wait!'

I turn to face a confused Light who's looking between me and Ryuzaki.

'What does she mean Ryuzaki? You like Frejda?'

'Please don't,' I beg.

'I have no idea what Misa's talking about. Although, Frejda is good company. Wouldn't you agree Light?'

'What does that mean?'

I slam my hand on the table. 'Focus! We don't have long before we have to go to her place!'

And that stops the speculation from going further.

'You can be really scary sometimes Frejda,' Mr Matsuda comments.

'Well.'

Light and I spend half an hour looking into possible businesses that may benefit Kira. Light, better tracking into the rates of the stock increase and decrease of businesses in the Kanto region, focuses on any possibility that connects them to Kira. Meanwhile, I focus my research into the criminals, the extent of their deaths and even their connection to any business that could work. My leads turn up to nothing really but I suspect that Light is making better progress. And this is all before we're forced to go to dinner at that annoying girl's place.

A full month passes before something turns up. While looking into the deaths of criminals with heart attacks, I manage to come across something else. Obituaries are popping up with innocent civilians suddenly dying of heart attacks. Light beats me to the information, piecing it together. 'Guys, you need to see this,' Light calls, 'I know you're not feeling up to it right now, Ryuzaki but come check this out.'

We both pull closer to Light's computer in response. A chart, unfortunately in Japanese, appears to have composed a list of importance. Whatever it is warrants a reaction from Ryuzaki. Finally.

'What's going on?' I ask.

'All of them were prominent Japanese businessmen, CEOs whose companies are leaders in their respective industries, and in just over a month, they all died of heart attacks.'

'By the Saint,' I breathe.

��As expected, there's been a general downturn in the market,' the computer switches to a graph showing the evidence, 'with the exception of Yotsuba. In other words, their deaths have worked in Yotsuba's favour. Looking back, there have been thirteen similar deaths in the past three months. Your thoughts? Based on this I can only conclude that Kira's supporting Yotsuba.'

'Hmm. Could be. But if what you're saying is true, we can assume that punishing criminals is not this Kira's intent.'

I knew it!

'Right. Punishing criminals is a diversion for him. It obscures the fact that he's actually killing people for the benefit of his company.'

I glance at Ryuzaki.

'Are you feeling a bit more motivated right now?'

'Yes. Yes I am.'

'Is it possible that Kira is from Yotsuba?' I ask.

'Maybe,' Light says, 'but we can't conclude that yet.'

'Right.'

Light prints the information and hands out copies to everyone to look over. I follow the lead and begin to investigate into Yotsuba. Any basic information about who they are and what they do should start to help me get into the profiles of some people.

The doors of the lift open and I watch Chief Yagami and Mr Mogi walk in looking a little downcast. Mr Matsuda cheerfully informs them about Light's new discovery.

'Yotsuba?' Chief Yagami growls.

Wow he really is not okay.

'Uh…yes,' Mr Matsuda says.

'That's probably it. Good work.'

'Everything okay?' I ask.

'We just spoke with the director,' the Chief explains, 'and it seems Kira has offered bribes to a number of politicians. So long as the NPA stops pursuing Kira, he won't lay a hand on the politicians.'

Well, that's a bit dirty, even for Kira.

'So that's that. The police caved into him.'

That catches everyone off guard, so much that Light jumps out of his seat and Ryuzaki looks all the more alert. Zut! This isn't good! I glance at Light before facing the Chief again.

'Mogi and I have already made up our minds on this. Aizawa, Matsuda, if you wish to continue working on this case, you'll have to hand in your letter of resignation to the NPA, just as Mogi and I are going to do.'

By the Saint! What mad it come to this! All of this is unlike Kira! Of course, Kira's literally a different person now.

'Like it or not, you cannot pursue Kira as a member of the police force anymore.'

'H-hold on a second Chief!' Mr Aizawa starts.

He's unable to finish as Chief Yagami continues: 'They made it quite clear. If you continue to work with L, you'll be fired.'

Mr Matsuda's at a loss. 'So then Chief you're gonna—'

'In a few hours, I'm no longer going to be your chief. However, we all have our own lives. So think it over carefully.'

I can't believe what I'm hearing. How easily the police caved in before my arrival is evidenced with the number of people in this room. Now it looks like even this number will have to grow smaller. Damn Kira!

'If you want my opinion, you're better off as police officers.'

Everyone looks at Ryuzaki in shock.

'I was alone when I started this case,' he continues, 'and though I'm grateful to all of you for staying with me as long as you have, I know that I can do this by myself.'

'The Hell you can,' I scoff.

'Ryuzaki,' Light says firmly, 'as long as I'm alive you won't be working alone. You have my word on that.'

'Hmm, that's right,' Ryuzaki says, 'I'll have Light working with me until I catch Kira, Frejda will be here as well, so I won't be alone after all. But as I said, I think the rest of you should remain as police officers.'

'But when you first contacted us, you said that you need the help of the police in order to solve this case,' Chief Yagami reminds him.

'That's because the police as an organisation were still hoping to arrest Kira, they weren't bowing to him.'

That's true.

'Besides, with all due respect, there's a big difference between the help of two or three civilians and the police as an organisation.' Ryuzaki bites on two small cherries, chewing as he talks, 'Besides, the police have made themselves clear: they don't want to catch Kira so let's just leave it at that.'

'I suppose what you said makes sense: we're not police so we're not useful to you. However, we're all personally involved in this. All of us have risked our lines to catch Kira, doesn't that give us the right to decide whether or not we should return to the police force?'

'Good point,' Ryuzaki notes, 'Then by all means, please make your decision.'

I lean over and whisper so that only Light could hear: 'I love how bored he sounds right now.'

'Maybe because this isn't the first time he's encountered something like this?'

'That makes sense.'

'Chief,' Mr Aizawa says, 'If you quit your job with the police force, you'll be unemployed. Even if we catch Kira, what are you going to do after that?'

Chief Yagami pauses to think. 'I hadn't really thought of it.'

'With the case taking this long, I doubt it would cross your mind,' I comment, empathetically.

'True, but still, I suppose after we catch Kira, I'll have to dust off my resume,' a humoured smile lights up his face but no one is laughing.

'Count me in!' Mr Matsuda exclaims, encouraged, 'I'm going to quit the police force and chase Kira too, Chief!'

That adorable man!

'And I still have my job as Misa-Misa's manager. Besides, if I stayed on as a police officer, I'd feel like a total loser!'

'Think before you open your mouth Matsuda,' Chief Yagami interjects.

Oy! I'm glad I'm not anyone here but—still, I really feel bad for the situation that they're put in. No one would fault them if they end up leaving. I particularly look at Mr Aizawa, who has not said a word for a while. I know he has a wife and child to think of but he wants to be part of this case. When he voices the question, I can hear how torn into two he feels: 'Is there any way I could still keep my job and help you in my spare time?'

'There isn't,' Ryuzaki coldly answers, 'if you decide to remain a police officer then please don't come back here.'

'But you know I won't be leaking any of our information!'

'I won't be sharing any of our information.'

Ryuzaki's cold and stoic demeanour is really making me mad. It's almost like he has no qualms about how Mr Aizawa feels, despite Ryuzaki's speech about not burdening the family with the reality of the case. Mr Aizawa doesn't like hearing it. Already torn between wanting to help and thinking of his family, this is like rubbing salt in his wound. What is this crouched eccentric friend of mine up to? The rest of the Task Force voice their support to Mr Aizawa to keep his job. Despite appreciating it all, the decision weighs on him. I can't tell if Ryuzaki's stoic reaction to losing an officer bothers him. But poor Mr Aizawa, especially remembering the sacrifice Mr Ukita made, I wish there was a way for both to be possible, if for his sake.

'Ryuzaki,' Mr Watari's voice calls from the computer, 'early on in the investigation, you specifically told me that if a Task Force member were to lose their job under any circumstances, I should make preparations to ensure that their family's financial future was secure. I'm a little curious as to why you're withholding this information.'

I—I don't know what to say! This is good news, it all means they had nothing to worry about but this test of trust might end up turning on Ryuzaki.

'This is not the time or place Watari,' he says.

'I'm sorry.'

Mr Matsuda, the sweet man that he is, enthusiastically encourages Mr Aizawa after hearing the information. But, as I suspected, Mr Aizawa takes this as a test of trust and does not seem to appreciate it. In fact, he looks very indignant.

'Ryuzaki,' he growls, 'I assume that was some kind of test to determine how committed I was to this Task Force.'

'I-it's not like that Aizawa,' Chief Yagami is quick to defend.

I honestly will not be surprised if it is.

'No, I was testing you.' Of course Ryuzaki'd say that. 'I wanted to see which you would choose.'

Light and I exchange nervous glances. I think we need to brace for impact. This does not look good. Even the others are disappointed. Mr Aizawa on the other hand…

'Fine then! If I wasn't sure before, I am now! Let's face it. I wasn't able to decide quickly like you guys. I was leaning towards going back to the police. But I quit! Now I know this for sure: I've always hated Ryuzaki. I hate him and his way of doing things!' Without giving time for anyone to protest he makes his way to the door. I doubt anything anyone would have said could have stopped him. No. I'm sure they won't.

'That's too bad, because I like you Aizawa.'

I stand corrected.

Whether Ryuzaki's words were truthful or not, not only do they manage to stop Mr Aizawa from leaving quite yet, they also warrant an angered response; 'I also hate the way you've got the last word! You insult me, now you say something like that? That's it! I'm outta here!' And with that he slips into the lift to leave.

'Thank you for everything,' Ryuzaki says, his volume just above a whisper.

'You really didn't have to taunt him like that,' I quietly scold.

Not surprisingly, I'm ignored.

Getting back to work after all that isn't easy but inevitable. Following Light's theory about Yotsuba, we focus on tracing the deaths of their competitors. The toll continues to rise over the next couple of weeks. More so, according to what Chief Yagami discovers, they are concentrated on the weekends. I take the extra job of monitoring the deaths of criminals; they appear to be written off on a consistent pattern meant to divert us from the killings of the competition Yotsuba's cleverly eliminating. Wow. I'd say the Yotsuba group has taken precautions but we caught up with them at least.

'That's a really important clue, Dad,' Light says, 'Good job!'

'Well, I can't fall behind the three of you. After all, the last thing I want to do is be dead weight.'

'Frejda, your suggestion that Kira might be from Yotsuba is looking more plausible but we still can't be certain,' Ryuzaki says.

Mr Mogi appears with a large set of printed documents: 'This is all a list of the Yotsuba Group's employees.'

'Thank you very much,' Ryuzaki pulls out one of the papers, studying it.

'That's 300,000 people,' Light remarks.

'How did you get all of this together that fast?' I ask.

'He's been incredibly efficient from the start,' Ryuzaki praises.

'Ryuzaki!' Mr Matsuda stands up, 'is there any way I can help with the investigation? Besides the manager thing?'

'So you really wanna be useful?'

'Yes!'

'Then can you get me another cup of coffee!'

Jerk!

'And for our gests over there as well,' he points to the couch.

'When did they get in?' I snap.

Ryuzaki introduces them as the newest members of the Task Force. They get up and walk towards us: a man and a woman. The man, dressed in a blue suit with his maroon dress shirt visible, stands tall with a confidence that invades the room. The woman, shorter, wears a faux fur Russian hat and with a business suit: brown and beige plaid coat and skirt with a white dress shirt with her eyes covered by shades. Between her fingers is a lit cigarette.

The man introduces himself first followed by the woman: 'The name's Aiber, I'm a conman.'

'I'm Wedy, and I'm a thief by trade.'

I glare at Ryuzaki: 'Really?'

'That's right,' Ryuzaki says.

The detailed explanation: Aiber is a lifelong conman. His social skills have allowed him to gain the trust and of any target which makes him useful for infiltration. Wedy specialises in hacking into high-end security systems. In fact as proof of that, she entered the building without setting off a single alarm; of course that explains why we didn't hear her come in.

'You expect us to work with criminals now?' Chief Yagami sounds disgusted by the idea.

'Yes,' Ryuzaki says.

The fact that they haven't been caught says a lot about their skill so I see why he would ask this of us. Still, this feels wrong. But I guess we can work with what we have. I walk over to the pile that contains the list of people employed by Yotsuba. I start with organising the list by department, Light's help makes the job faster, and with it composed, I make a not of the more powerful parties in all divisions. The list is shortened to about one hundred. Taking the papers that contain their profiles, I make a note to search about three things with each departmental representative: the amount they make for the company as a whole, records of business deals primarily with the companies who've lost CEOs and the connection to Yotsuba and signs that those findings would narrow the list of potential people involved with (or are Kira) would decrease. I get through twenty on the first day. So far, none of them look the least bit suspicious but I have more names to look through. Around seven at night, most of the Task Force members break for supper. Despite my own hunger, I remain at my computer. The silence of the room becomes a little distracting after a while. Pulling up iTunes, I play an album by Evanescence. The work cuts out for me, as if it's a school project rather than a serious case. So far, all the people I look into seem to have about as much integrity as any lead businessman can afford. If Kira is killing competition, I'm looking for someone who should at least appear power-hungry if not anything else. I can't seem to pin point a person who could even look like a power-hungry maniac so far. But if I'm thinking like this this early then I'm way ahead of myself.

'Who are you listening to?'

I jump at the question. Light and Ryuzaki are back from dinner it seems. Well, with Ryuzaki having a plate of cake in his hand. 'You two have gotta give a girl a warning!'

���Sorry.'

'You're into rock music?' Ryuzaki asks.

'Yep. It's Evanescence by the way.'

'They sound nice,' Light remarks.

'They're one of my favourites.'

'Oh, here,' Light sets a plate of a chicken sandwich with frees and a coke beside me. 'I thought you might be hungry.'

'You're a sweetie,' I smile. 'Thanks.'

Popping a fry into my mouth I continue with my work.

'Anything new?' Ryuzaki asks.

'Not yet. I'm thinking I should keep going until the number is around fifteen or less before I start to point fingers. Even then, I may need some inside evidence.'

'How are you planning to do that?'

'Not sure yet.'

The food and soda helps with my energy. At least I can try to remain as fresh as possible.

'Hey, Frejda,�� Light calls.

'Yeah?'

'You never told me how you decided to work with the police. What drew you here?'

'Well—you could say I was born for this.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. I've had the skills so I worked 'em.'

'Does it ever scare you though? Risking your life all the time?'

'Not really. I'm just interested in getting the job done.'

'You don't even seem phased by how dangerous this work can be. No feelings of resentment.'

'There's comes a point where you realise you cannot afford to dwell on those feelings. I've already reached it I guess.'

Looking at him, I can tell he wants me to elaborate. But whatever he reads on my face stops him from further questioning me. 'And you?' I ask, finally. 'How are you doing with all this?'

He releases a nervous chuckle. ��It's been quite the roller coaster but, I think I'm okay.'

'Yeah?'

'I'm motivated a lot more about this each day.'

'That's good on you, Light. I'm proud of you.'

'Why?'

'After all you've been through, to think this positively about it,' I place my hand on his shoulder, 'you're strong.'

'Thank you,' he smiles.

'And the two of you,' I lean a little so that I can see Ryuzaki, 'you have both been good friends to me since I got here. Thank you both for that.'

Smiling shyly, Ryuzaki whispers: 'You're welcome.'

'Alright,' I sigh as I stretch my arms, 'let me get back to this.'

'Sure.'

I drink more than I eat the rest of the time, although I do manage to finish the meal. Light busies himself utilising another list and even though it seems like we have further to go, we work the best we can. This goes on unto the next day. The list decreases down to forty in spite of the short two-hour nap I had this morning. But, I know that if I remain seated any longer, my body will burst. Ryuzaki, ironically, is the one who physically pulls me out of my seat so that I can move around and give myself a break. I relent and take another hour off to go swimming. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I feel refreshed enough to focus. By the time I get back down it's evening. Chief Yagami, Mr Mogi, Ryuzaki and Light are the only ones in the building. Misa has a movie to shoot and Mr Matsuda went with her. Poor guy. I get the feeling we haven't been as fair to him lately. Ryuzaki waves at me as I walk in. Light, on the other hand looks dazed. I take my seat on the other side of Light, ready to resume my work.

'What's wrong?' I hear Ryuzaki ask. I turn to face him and notice he's talking to Light: 'You've been staring at me for the past two minutes. Wait, let me guess: you must be annoyed because I'm the only one eating cake at the moment. Am I right?'

A compressed laugh escapes my lips.

'Uh, no, that's not it,' Light replies.

'Here,' Ryuzaki offers the plate of cake anyway.

'Really, don't worry about it.'

'You really are a sweetie Ryuzaki,' I comment.

'See, she likes me,' he says.

'Dude!'

A beep disturbs us from the banter and Mr Watari comes online: 'Ryuzaki.'

'Yes, what is it?'

'Detective Eraldo Coil has just received a private request to investigate and reveal the identity of L.'

Oh…

Great.