![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Rating: I'm gonna go with 'Teen'.
Pairing: Beyond/Kyoko
Mello and Matt kidnapped Beyond, and while the blonde firecracker might try to pass it off as just a friendly Wammy’s reunion, Beyond knows better. Light and the other Kira Task Force members try to save the one they know as Rue on their own terms, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation formally announces that Rue Ryuzaki is a missing person and offer to help find him. Never mind the fact that all of L’s findings have been broadcast to as an unknown location. Not everything is going as Kira planned anymore…
The small, pale child in white pajamas, placidly playing with robots in the corner of what was probably one of the most serious investigation headquarters on the planet, was an incongruous sight, and one that the members of said investigation had soon become accustomed. If they had any visitors, most would probably have guessed the child was some relation to the detectives, a young son that they simply could not find a babysitter for that evening. The investigation, though, never had visitors. The only one who occasionally came around the headquarters of the SPK, or Special Provision for Kira, was the director of the FBI, or perhaps the CIA. In reality, Near was a teenager and smarter than most of them there. Upon hearing of L’s death, he had approached the President of the United States with the help of the Director of the FBI, after a careful consideration of various world countries in which L had a great deal of influence and their varying resources and capabilities where opposing the Kira Task Force set up in Japan was concerned. Japan itself could not be considered. Three factors were used in making this determination. The Japanese public was quickly either becoming apathetic or vastly supportive of Kira, while its president was quickly losing all support for the police or anyone connected with tracking down the killer…probably out of fear. In fact, at one point the members of the Kira Task Force had been required to either resign from the NPA or stop hunting Kira. All but one of its members had resigned rather than allow a murderer to roam free, a stand of principles that, while laudable, had no true visible effect on the efficiency of the Kira investigation. Near had also had the opportunity to observe how the Japanese police and in particular the Kira investigation team operated. He was not altogether impressed. Finally, the fact that Kira himself was in Japan recommended against allying himself with the Japanese police. The possibility, of course, existed, that Kira was no longer in Japan after his confrontation with L, but Near did not find that altogether likely. If he was Kira, he would stay as close to his enemies as he could, making his way into the police or even investigation if possible, in order to keep track of their movements, even possibly controlling their information, misdirecting them, and killing those who came too close to the truth, as L evidently had. If he were paying attention, he would not fail to notice Near, nor realize he was as great or slightly less of a threat than L had been, and would dispose of him in much the same way. The British would have been useful allies, but their power was on the wane and did not offer Near the sort of maneuverability he desired to solve this puzzle, the first of his cases. The Americans might be somewhat heavy-handed at times, but they had the necessary resources, manpower, and flexibility. With his orders guiding them to subtler, more useful actions, they were ideal.
That did not mean they were perfect, however. The Director of the FBI, for instance, had not been adequately trained for this investigation and had interrupted several times during important work to question obvious decisions he had made. His reasoning had already been adequately explained to the others on the investigation team, and they had their time to offer complaints, suggestions, or ideas. He was thinking about inviting the Director to said meetings, just so he wouldn’t keep barging in with inane objections. Such as now, for instance.
“Near, I thought you said the first priority was to get the notebook! Why are we helping them find a random kidnapping victim?” At least he didn’t swear this time.
The blue robot flew into the red robot, knocking it to the ground, after which Near sighed and finally looked up. In his experience, being polite occasionally made people more cooperative and more likely to listen to reason, and he was willing to try a great variety of solutions to get the Director out of the headquarters so the investigation could continue. “The kidnapping victim may be pertinent to the Kira investigation.” The voice was still higher, almost that of a woman, and had not deepened much yet despite the fact that he was a teenager. This was merely one of the factors that led others to believe he was much younger than he really was. The blue robot, apparently satisfied with its victory, returned to its Lego castle, where it sat down with an air of ‘I am the lord of all I see.’
“How is he involved? Can he bring us the notebook? If not, I feel as if you are wasting your time…” ‘No,’ Near thought pleasantly, ‘you are the one wasting my time. Not me.’ However, he refrained from saying that out loud.
“He is another formerly from Wammy’s House. He has been seen within Japan’s Task Force Headquarters. I believe he may be a valuable source of information. He may have seen where the notebook is hidden, or have other observations essential to the investigation. With his inside information, we may well be on our way to capturing Kira.” Making the disappearance of the one he had known as Beyond Birthday public was, after all, the only decision he could have made. They could have investigated in secret, but if they were discovered, they would have been thrown out of Japan. Better to make their efforts to find the crazy possible replacement of L known to all, although not the fact that they knew who he was or why he was wanted. He wasn’t about to explain his whole line of thinking to the man however. The best-case scenario involved the director merely agreeing that Near knew best and leave. It wasn’t as if he was in charge of the SPK anyway. ‘Unfortunately,’ the white-haired seventeen year old thought with a small child’s frown, ‘that is an unlikely development.’
As predicted, the Director did not stop with his complaints. “But I don’t see how one person without direct knowledge could help…”
Near twirled a strand of white hair around his finger, explaining patiently. He had made the observation since leaving Wammy’s that the orphanage had not done a very good job in preparing its inhabitants for real life, only for replacing L. He had been told that most people in the world did not have quite as high of an intelligence as the Wammy’s orphans, but being told that and having to deal with the concrete fact were completely different phenomena. He’d gotten used to being surrounded by geniuses. “Like me, he was also being trained as a replacement to L. He is quite as intelligent as any of the others you have heard about. As intelligent as I am. Since he is in Japan, he is investigating the death of L and trying to bring about the end of Kira. While the Special Provision for Kira was established to capture Kira without the help of the Japanese Task Force or L, I believe the assistance of B is an important step to bring about the end of these atrocities. At the very least, coordinating our efforts would be a logical action on our part. In addition, we need to keep track of the actions of the Japanese Task Force. They may have insights that we will find useful to our own investigation. B has been seen within the Task Force Headquarters. It is likely he will have at least a little more information to help us piece together and solve the puzzle. He may know where the notebook of death is kept, or at least a little more about Kira’s killing method. Whatever the exact case, there is a very high likelihood that he will aid the investigation in some way, so ensuring his safe return is the only sensible option we can take. In addition, our aid will not go unnoticed by the Japanese Task Force. They may be more cooperative as a result of our friendly assistance now, enough that they may share information with us.” Why did he have to explain every single step of the logical process inside his head in such exact detail? Why could this influential, powerful man not follow his line of thought without a step-by-step walkthrough?
At last he received the reaction he had been predicting since the beginning. The confusion on the Director’s face cleared up. “Oh. Okay. Carry on, then.” He strode out, trying to look as if he was somehow in control of the situation. Near could not refrain from rolling his eyes, hitting one of his domino creations. The black squares began toppling all over the room, like a flame flying up a fuse, as the thoughts flew in Near’s head.
He was interrupted as a quiet, smart blonde came up behind him, watching as this time the blue robot lost. “Blue is L and red is Kira, right?” she asked quietly. He actually deigned to turn around this time, searching her eyes. She smiled. “I’ve been watching you for a while. Most of them think that you’re just childish and that’s why you like to play with toys, but it’s not just that, is it? You think through scenarios with those. Red Transformer has been fighting Blue Transformer ever since we got to Headquarters, and each time the circumstances are slightly different. You’re trying to determine what happened to L, as well as what your next move should be, based on how L could have won.”
“Are you sure you did not attend Wammy’s House?” he asked curiously. She laughed.
“I’m not that intelligent. It took me a few weeks to figure it out.” She had a point, but she was still more intelligent than most of the rest of the Special Provision for Kira. The investigators were handpicked for the job from the best Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. Even they disappointed Near. This one, though…she was smarter. Definitely one of the ones he wanted to survive, then. Some were expendables in his mind and might end up giving up their lives for the investigation. A small price to pay when they were trying to catch the worst mass murderer to date.
“They are not Transformers.” He thought it would be neglectful not to point that out. Such a fact might be important someday. “As for your statement, not all of the orphans have as high an Intelligence Quotient as I. I happen to be number one in the line to succeed L. But yes. I am reenacting the battle between L and Kira, trying to ascertain what L’s fatal mistake was.”
The blonde nodded, eyes unreadable. “Anything so far?” she asked neutrally. She’d reacted emotionally to something he said, but refused to react more than a little physically. He’d narrow down what it was later.
“As far as I can gather, L’s mistake was simple, yet devastating. He underestimated Kira. I believe he may have approached the suspect in order to possibly extract a confession, or concentrated solely on his prime suspect…while since Kira possessed a notebook of death, he may very well have been able to pass it along to a Kira supporter to have him killed. The one interesting detail is that they had to be able to obtain L’s true name. Even I do not know it. I have looked into the possibility that Kira, or an accomplice, was researching his name, looking for a birth certificate…perhaps disguising it as genealogical research. However, I have found no evidence to support this conclusion. I therefore believe that he was probably killed in a manner similar to the investigator Ukita, who died at the Sakura TV station. Only he was killed, and yet if Kira had been able to obtain his names, it would have been a similar matter to also obtain the names of the rest of the task force.” He took a deep breath. This was where his reasoning got shaky, and he wasn’t fond of that fact. “I believe that the Second Kira may have been the one who killed L, or someone with powers similar to the Second Kira. I believe the Second Kira was the one who killed Ukita, and that this killer did not obtain information on the names of those investigators in the task force. It is my theory that the Second Kira can kill with just a face…because the murderer can see a person’s name when they see their face.”
He paused, waiting for the inevitable outburst. He wasn’t disappointed.
“Is that…is that possible?” she asked, gasping, trying to keep quiet in order not to interrupt the other investigators in their duties. So far their talk had gone relatively unnoticed, since the others were trying to catch up with their work. The schedule had been set back due to the visit of the Director.
“I…I have heard of a similar situation. At the time, I did not believe it, but at that point I had not yet seen the obviously unnatural method Kira uses to murder, nor was I aware of a notebook of death. Of course, both may be nothing more than superstition, misdirections thrown at us by Kira, but until we have the notebook and the opportunity to test its validity, we cannot know for sure.” Near was certain that L in the same situation was just as reluctant to accept the supernatural as a valid cause of death, but yet…one person was incapable of causing murders at the same time all around the world without some sort of mystic tool, and a cult would quickly be caught. Human nature made a group of criminals all too fallible, and Kira had shown every indication of not making a single mistake. It was only a matter of time, but…it was most likely that a single genius in possession of a magical weapon of killing was the cause of such a thing. Worrying now, however, was useless. A demonstration would resolve his doubts, and although he would not be fond of the solution, rejecting the solution to a puzzle when evidence was plainly in front of you was a futile and ultimately stupid gesture.
“Understood. Getting that notebook is our top priority. On the other hand, we need all the evidence and help we can get to capture Kira.” Her acknowledgement of his strategy made him feel a little better—at least he was not completely surrounded by idiots! She walked off to help with what investigations could be carried out in headquarters.
Near nodded at her soft but strong words. “Correct. Kira will be caught.” He returned to stacking dice, creating a new castle, this time for the red robot, lost in thought.
Soichiro smoothed out his jacket, walking down the halls of the National Police Agency building. It had been forever since he had had a good night’s sleep, but while Kira still remained free he could not bring himself to sleep more than was necessary to ensure his body remained functioning.
One of the junior detectives ran up to him. Since his reinstation in the NPA, he had been promoted to Assistant Director, which was useful for their investigations, anyway. Raito, in his opinion, would make a better officer than he ever had, but then, he hadn’t yet completed his education either.
He’d spoken to Director Kitamura on the telephone before coming. Apparently he was being called in to report to explain his actions to the Ministers of the Cabinet, and so was unable to deal with the situation. Yagami was being ordered to meet with the representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and negotiate the terms of their cooperation with the NPA, a situation that suited them perfectly. His son (he should probably think of him as L, at least here, he reminded himself) would be pleased, since he’d wanted to deal with it without involving the NPA in the first place. Under these circumstances, they’d have a lot more control of the situation, and since it had threatened to spiral out of their hands this was at least an improvement.
He recognized the man as Yoshida, a highly efficient man who was nonetheless unwilling to take any serious chances. “The FBI man is waiting in your office, sir. And if you’d like, I can arrange a cup of coffee after the meeting…”
Yagami sighed. He was beginning to understand how L had run on sugar, if he was constantly living like he’d had to on this particular case. “I would like it, Yoshida-san, but I’m not altogether certain that I won’t have other things to do after the meeting. If I have a moment or two of peace, I’ll get myself one, arigatou.”
The detective nodded, somewhat relieved but still nervous. “Just remember to take a break every now and then, Yagami-sama, or you’ll end up killing yourself with work…”
Soichiro managed to smile. He’d heard a similar comment from his wife yesterday, after he’d collapsed on the bed again, exhausted to his bones. As he’d had a heart attack near the beginning of the case, he was well aware of the dangers of pushing himself too far. “Thank you, Yoshida-san. I’ll remember that.”
He wasn’t quite expecting what he saw when he entered his office. The FBI Agent, while in a suit similar to his own, was fidgeting, as if nervous. He had been under the impression that the Americans trained their agents as well as the Japanese did.
He cleared his throat, and the man turned around to look at him, barely keeping from whipping around as fast as he could. He took a second to compose himself before bowing to Yagami. The appearance confirmed several of the stereotypes about Americans—somewhat heavy face, with a large nose and sunken eyes. At least his appearance was well-groomed, his brown hair combed carefully to the left, jacket pressed, and boots carefully polished.
The man held up his FBI badge for Yagami to inspect. The accent was atrocious, but at least the man had taken the time to learn Japanese before coming. “I’m John McEnroe, an agent with the FBI. Of course, this is an alias. We suspect that this mission may concern Kira, so we believe this is a reasonable precaution. Please forgive me.”
“Kira…” He had been told to expect this, but it still threw him off guard. Had L and his brother really been American citizens? If not…what game were they trying to play? “The Director is out at the moment. If it’s all right, I’ll listen to what you have to say.” He didn’t need to explain where the Director was at the time. The internal affairs of the NPA were no business of the Americans.
The Agent didn’t seem altogether surprised by that development. Maybe he understood that bursting into another country with several agents demanding that they be allowed to investigate in order to recover one they claimed to be their own wouldn’t be met with complete subservience. He moved a little closer and talked quieter, as if afraid of being overheard. Or something. “Well…that’s fine. Excuse me for going straight to the point, but the Japanese Police have so far appeared unreliable. Since Raven Sandoval is an American citizen that may be targeted by Kira, we wish to coordinate your efforts with our own in order to ensure his safe return.” Just as arrogant as he’d expected.
“What makes you think that Kira may be involved?” L needed to know how much the FBI knew about the situation, and straightforward questions like this would probably help establish the extent of the Americans’ knowledge.
The man hesitated, and Soichiro noticed the man was wearing an earpiece as well. So he was only a pawn as well, taking orders from someone else. Finally he spoke. “This…is confidential information, but…Rae was the brother of L. As such, he will probably be targeted by Kira. He was in protective custody, but…he always did dislike taking orders. It’s our responsibility to make sure that he’s safe.”
“We’ll have to see proof that he is, in fact, an American citizen. And although you’re a little out of your jurisdiction, it is true that with the Kira murders we’ve been stretched somewhat thin lately. We’ll welcome any assistance you’re willing to give us.” He wasn’t sure what answer he was supposed to give, but he suspected that his son would accept help, now that keeping the kidnapping a secret wasn’t an option. The NPA was in charge. Or at least L was. While here, the FBI agents would have to play by Japanese rules.
After another pause, the man nodded. “Understood. We’ll be happy to coordinate with you, and follow any instructions you may choose to give us, but we’re still our own group, and I hope the NPA does not forget this fact.”
As the two men bowed to each other, Soichiro guessed that a war of jurisdiction was likely to occur, although the mention of L should be enough to solve any discrepancies…
“There’s no mistake. The man calling himself John McEnroe is really Larry Connors. And he’s a real FBI agent.” After his meeting, Yagami guessed that reporting back to Raito was probably more important than consuming more caffeine. And unfortunately, Matsuda, their normal coffee boy, wasn’t in the mood for normal errands. He stopped first to make a call to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who confirmed that the agents there were willing to coordinate efforts with the NPA. A little grudgingly, perhaps, but still better than nothing. When he’d arrived at headquarters, he’d wasted no time in searching for Agent John McEnroe in the ICPO database. It hadn’t taken him long to find the right face, and a different name to match. A little more research had confirmed the identity of their FBI visitor.
Raito was more noncommittal than he’d ever seen him, but he was probably worrying and fretting over the fact that they were incapable of tracing his friend on their own. His only response was, “Is that so? Thank goodness.”
Soichiro continued, hoping that Raito would cheer up now that they had more help to discover the hiding place of Rue’s kidnappers. “The Director of the FBI also said that he would help us rescue…Ryuzaki.” He still had no idea what the kid’s name was, but he was beginning to rethink the idea that Ryuzaki Rue might be Kira. If he were, he would have killed his kidnappers and escaped by now, right? If they had committed crimes before, it would be easy to write it off as merely another impersonal Kira killing. “I think we can trust him.”
Raito, however, was concentrating on the practical aspects of the situation. “He never did mention what the FBI’s plan for retrieving Rue-kun was, or the specifics of their temporary partnership with us. Did they?”
Soichiro’s mouth popped open. After a second, he shook his head, massaging his forehead with one second and moving to the couch, sitting down and staring at the ground. “I’m sorry, son. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in…”
“I know, Dad,” the new L interrupted understandingly. “Why don’t you take a nap on the couch while I contact the FBI Director?”
“I might still need to be useful!” Yagami-san protested, already drifting off to sleep where he sat.
“If we need you, we’ll wake you. Now sleep, Dad. That’s an order.” He watched his father drift off to sleep lovingly. They all needed a rest, but he was really worried about his dad. He’d have to do something soon or his father might have another heart attack, a circumstance he really didn’t want to happen. Yagami Soichiro was one of the good people that deserved to live in his new, perfect world. He understood the difference between right and wrong, unlike so many of the scumbags that needed to be erased.
The Director was visiting again, this time wondering about what support Near was willing to lend to the Japanese Police. The white-haired genius wasn’t much in the mood for the interruption, and hugged one knee to his chest, the other dangling off the edge of the chair, one hand lazily throwing darts, not much caring whether he hit the middle of the dartboard or not. His arm was moving lazily, reflexively, and his mind was far away from the physical world at the moment, still weighing possibilities in his mind on a Lego scale.
The Director answered his cell phone, which had begun ringing. Lightning fast, Near’s mind evaluated the chances that the call might be interesting. It might be another call from the bureaucracy overseeing the department and its efficiency. On the other hand, it might be something interesting about the Kira case. He had only to wait to find out. “Yes?” the Director asked. A second later he covered the mouthpiece and informed them, “It’s L…the current one.” So in all likelihood, it would be something interesting. From observation, Near hadn’t found the current L altogether impressive either, but he might be pleasantly surprised. He’d see how the new L dealt with the ever worsening circumstances soon.
The Director listened to the new L speak for a while, then muttered, “Well…” into the mouthpiece. Clearly it was a bad idea to rely on him to handle a conversation with the new L effectively. For a moment he wondered how the new L measured up to the other Wammy’s House graduates, and who had been chosen. As it was not one of the orphans groomed to take L’s place, either it was a quick decision made in Japan…or, more likely, L died with no obvious successor and in order to prevent panic the Japanese Task Force had invented their own. Then he made a decision.
One arm still holding a dart between his fingers reached out. His orders were as quiet as anything else he ever said, but still full of authority. “Hand me the phone.” For once, the Director obeyed without complaint, silently passing his cell phone into the small, childlike hand. A few switches were pulled, as Near wanted to disguise his voice like L and this new L had. It was probably impossible to be too paranoid about the Kira case, since one misstep could get one killed, like L. Near believed his best approach was to investigate as cautiously as possible, especially considering the fact that his mentor had already died. Then again, he could be bold in places, such as his next carefully chosen words would be. His pronunciation was flawless, which should also help convince this new L that he was competent.
“Nice to meet you, L Number Two.” He imagined eyes widening on surprise on the other end of the line, and while he didn’t chuckle he felt a surge of satisfaction, knocking over a knight on a horse with the flick of a finger. He had carefully considered his options, and decided that a slightly confrontational attitude was best. This new L was an interloper. After taking the title he probably believed he was invincible, the king of the world. This was a reminder that just because he had L’s name did not mean that he had the detective’s experience or competency.
The startled reaction was obvious from the slightly panicked next words. He could also barely hear gasps in the background. “Number Two? What do you mean by that? Who are you?” Wasn’t it obvious? Did he think that asking for a clarification would suddenly make him forget the fact that L was no longer in the picture? Even if the man had been a loser, making a mistake and becoming unable to finish the game, he was still superior to this pretender. As for who he was, the new L should remember that answering that question was a stupid idea for any. Not giving out your name was a good way to save yourself from getting killed. Unless, of course, the new L had wanted him dead, or at least obtain some leverage over a potential threat to his supremacy.
He continued. L needed to know the full circumstances of his inclusion in the case. “It’s useless to try to hide it. We are a new organization, the SPK, established to capture Kira without the help of L. Seven of our top members know of L’s death.”
He could imagine what this L was thinking. How in the world did he know? That was a secret he didn’t intend to reveal. Let L sweat and guess. He intended to establish himself as a good detective too, and one that wasn’t incompetent or about to be killed by Kira. This was the best way to do it.
He twisted a strand of hair around his finger. This was much more entertaining, at least, than talking to the Director, and certainly not a waste of his time. Perhaps it could be called a test, to see how incompetent this new L and the Kira Task Force really were. How would they react? Would they welcome them, since the more investigators on the Kira investigation meant that the killer was more likely to be captured quickly? Would they realize that the separate nature of their investigations actually protected them both, for if one group died, the other would be more likely to be still alive and able to take over their place in the investigations, thus further ensuring Kira would be caught? Or would they, short-sightedly, complain about jurisdiction in the face of an international killer, an evil that threatened mankind and must be stopped at any cost? “And I am at the center of the SPK. I guess you could call me…N.”
Light stared fixedly at the phone in his hand, not sure how to respond. He’d had the presumption to believe his path to his precious new world and godhood was clear. This was so clearly not going according to plan. ‘N? Is this a joke? But…if he’s as good as he sounds, he’ll probably be able to help find Rue-kun…but then, he’s trying to get him out of the country. I can’t allow that to happen. What do I do…?’
