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The Sugar Cube Fort	By : sashocirrione Category: Death Note > Het-Male/Female Views: 2334 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
CHAPTER 12: SHINIGAMI CHAT
Then, the moment came that Rem had been dreading. Midora opened her mouth and said, "There's been talk that both you and Ryuk have pet humans. Why would you bind yourself to such a place as this world?"
Rem just stared ahead, trying not to show even the slightest response. Unfortunately, L had already noticed something. He had stopped talking with Soichiro and now his penetrating gaze was lingering on Rem as he sipped his coffee. This was not good. If Midora stuck around, she could cause all sorts of problems, perhaps even leak information. If L or the other members of the investigation team found out certain things too soon, Light and Misa would become major suspects and they'd get restrained again. Then, Rem wouldn't be able to show L the evidence herself, and she'd lose her chance to secure the deal for Misa's life.
Midora said, "Rem, listen to me. I'm right here."
Then Midora used her thick tail to rear up so she was at Rem's height, and waved a stubby hand in front of Rem's face. Rem tensed inwardly. The next step would be Midora hitting her to try to get a response. Shinigami couldn't hurt each other. They didn't even experience pain through physical means, only through supernatural means such as the pain experienced when breaking one of the minor rules. But, if Midora hit Rem, it would become apparent that something invisible was in the room.
As quietly as she could, Rem whispered, "Not now. All these humans can see me."
L had definitely taken notice this time. Rem was certain humans didn't have hearing that good, so he must have seen her lips moving. Had Rem been too quiet for the microphones to pick up her words? In any case, she could claim she was talking to herself if confronted with a recording. But Midora was not taking the hint. She was walking past the investigators and looking them over one by one. She said, "All of these humans can see you? Isn't that against a rule or something?"
Rem suddenly had a spike of panic. Didn't Midora know the rules? She should have at least looked them over before coming to the human world. Many shinigami barely knew the rules, since a great number of the rules had to do with interactions with humans other than simply killing them, and most shinigami didn't expect to interact with humans in any other way. But it should be common sense to look at the rules before a visit. If Midora didn't know about some of the things she shouldn't do - such as telling a human who the human owner of a death note is - she could easily get herself killed, but she could also completely ruin Rem's plan.
Midora said, "I can't see how you can stand looking at them. They're all so ugly. Though I suppose that small bony one with the dark eyes and shaggy hair is barely tolerable. Which one is your pet?"
Rem held herself very still and stared straight ahead. She was not going to indicate Light. Midora needed to know as little as possible and then go home soon. Suddenly, Rem realized what she should have done all along. She should have left the building for one of the blind spots on the outside. Midora would have followed and Rem could have talked to her privately there. Now, though, Midora was absorbed in examining the investigators and everything in the room. Rem tried to get Midora's attention with a few subtle nods and then began backing through a wall. Midora wasn't taking the hint.
Next, Rem walked over to Midora and casually tried to use her body to herd Midora backwards. It wasn't working. Rem could actually grab Midora and pull, but that would be as obvious as directly talking to her and would reveal her presence. Midora would have to be tolerated for the moment. By now, both Light and L were looking at Rem. This was bad. L's attention wasn't that big a deal if Midora would simply leave soon, but if Light started wondering why Rem was behaving oddly, he might possibly wonder if she had betrayed him, if she was working with L.
Midora examined the pile of sweets in front of L, mostly doughnuts but also a slice of cheesecake and some assorted fruits. She said, "Is this food? It smells so good. Ryuk said the human world has things to eat that are unbelievably wonderful."
Midora began reaching down for a doughnut. Rem quickly reached down, managing to pick up the doughnut at the same moment as Midora. L said, "I thought you didn't eat, Rem."
Rem said, "Oh, I'm just picking this up to look at it. I'm not really doing anything."
Midora said, "So you get to talk to them, but I don't? And I can't talk to you either? That isn't fair. How do I do this? I just have to touch them with my death note, right?"
Then, Midora was taking out her death note and stretching it toward L. Rem tackled Midora in that instant, pulling her back and screaming, "No!"
All eyes in the room were instantly on Rem as she wrestled with her invisible opponent. Everyone except L looked frightened. Rem knew what she was doing was useless. There was no way to hurt Midora, and all shinigami had exactly the same physical strength, regardless of their build or size. If Midora wanted to reveal herself to humans, then she would do so before too long regardless of what Rem did. But just maybe, there was a way to use this incident to force L to go to his rooms. Rem deliberately pushed Midora against L's food, smearing the cheesecake on his jeans and tipping the contents of his coffee cup onto his sleeve. L barely reacted to the food he was coated with. His eyes riveted on the fight, he said, "Rem, is that another shinigami?"
Rem loosened her grip on Midora and the smaller shinigami slithered out of her grasp. Rem said, "Yes."
L asked, "Is the other shinigami going to hurt us? If so, please ask it to refrain from doing so."
Rem said, "Midora, don't kill these humans. Please go home."
Midora said, "What is going on? I thought you liked visitors, Rem. Maybe I should find Ryuk and see what human he's attached to and then come back here. You'll probably be in a better mood then."
No, this was not good. If Midora found out Misa was attached to Ryuk, and then came back, she'd be even more dangerous if she decided to talk to the investigators. It was galling, but keeping Midora here until her curiosity was satisfied would be the best plan. It was a terrible plan, but it was the best Rem could think of.
Rem said, "Fine. Stay here, then."
Matsuda said, "How long has this other shinigami been here? Was it responsible for the attacks?"
L said, "No, Matsuda. Watari actually got a glimpse of Rem before he collapsed, and I'm sure I recognized Rem's touch when she attacked me. Besides, Rem only reacted to the presence of the new shinigami a few minutes ago. Rem, I would like to talk with... Midora, is it?"
Then Midora was once again advancing on L with her death note held out before her. Rem wanted to stop it, but she couldn't think of what to do or say. If she obstructed L from obtaining information he would probably decide she wasn't really cooperating to turn in Kira, and the chances of getting a deal for Misa would go down. But, if she didn't obstruct L's access to Midora, Light might get suspicious that Rem wasn't really on his side any more. Then, if Midora said too much, there was also the danger of L catching Light and Misa without any obvious help from Rem.
If only L would go to his room and change his clothing! But, no, he was too much of a detective to take a chance that he might miss clues, so he just sat there, with coffee dripping from one sleeve and chunks of cheesecake coating both knees. He was even repeatedly drawing one finger across his knees and licking the cheesecake from it.
The moment Midora tapped the top of L's head with her death note, he flinched back slightly. His eyes were very round as he took in the sight before him.
L said, "I am pleased to meet you, Midora. I would like very much to talk with you, and I think the other humans here would like it too. Would you mind touching all of them so we can talk?"
Midora proceeded to go around the room, touching each person with her death note. Even though the investigators were bracing themselves, they all had reactions of shock or fear, except for Light. None of them looked pleased. Light in particular looked as though things were not going his way, and he couldn't stand it.
This was it. The talking would begin any moment. Midora would probably blurt out something that would destroy Rem's plan, and Rem couldn't do anything to stop it or L would think Rem wasn't honestly trying to turn in Kira. How had Midora decided to visit the human world without properly knowing the rules? Even if she said something that killed her, it would probably be something disastrous and the damage would already be done.
Wait, that was it! Rem knew how she could quiet Midora without it looking too suspicious to L.
As Midora was about to speak, Rem said, "Midora, you didn't read the rules before coming here, did you?"
Midora said, "Oh, how many rules could there be anyway? Besides, I'm just seeing what you and Ryuk are doing, nothing else, and then I'll go home. It's nothing complicated."
Rem said, "It is very dangerous to be in the human world without knowing the rules. Nearly everything you say or do in front of humans is restricted. You should go home and read all the rules before coming back."
Midora said, "But, it was so hard get enough willpower to come here. If I go home, I'll probably get involved in a game and forget to come back for a few years. Can't you just tell me what I shouldn't do?"
"I will," Rem said, "but, be careful. In particular, you can't tell humans their names or how long they have left to live or most things about the death note."
Perfect. Now, Rem could control Midora's words, as long as Rem stayed vigilant, and it shouldn't seem to L like she was deliberately obstructing the Kira investigation. But, L did not look pleased. Light, however, was starting to look smug.
L said, "Midora, how is it dangerous? What happens to a shinigami who breaks the rules?"
Midora said, "Oh, usually death. But some of the minor rules have pain as a punishment instead."
L said, "Rem, why did you claim you can't break the rules?"
Rem sighed. She had no choice but to admit some of the truth now. "I can't break them, because I won't risk the punishment. Besides, I'm wasn't about to give humans the key to possibly killing me by tricking me into breaking some rule."
L said, "That is an understandable deception. I do not blame you, Rem. I would have done the same."
Now Light was beginning to look nervous again, but he almost had it under control. It was only apparent in the slight narrowing of his eyes and the tenseness of his fingers. Midora began rummaging through the doughnuts in front of L. What if Midora liked this world's food? She could end up hanging around for hours, and she'd have to be carefully monitored the entire time. Rem didn't want to babysit Midora, she wanted to get her plan off the ground and start making her deal with L.
Rem said, "Midora, human food is dangerous. Ryuk had his body twisted into knots from it, and he was forced to do handstands too."
Midora said, "But, Ryuk said it was worth it."
Rem replied, "Ryuk is a bad source of information. You know how much everyone makes fun of him."
To Rem's relief, Midora dropped the banana she had been about to lift to her mouth. L swiped a bit more cheesecake from his knees, licked it from his fingers and said, "Who is this Ryuk? I assume he is visiting the human world?"
Quickly, Rem said, "It is against the rules to tell them anything about a human who uses a death note unless they know already. You can talk about Ryuk, but not about his human."
"Oh, that's fine," Midora said, "I don't know anything about Ryuk's human, so I can't break that rule. I was going to visit there next. Ryuk is a tall shinigami with black wings and bluish-white skin. He likes apples. Nobody respects him. There are only four or five shinigami who will even play with him."
Now L really looked like he was thinking, as if deductions were linking up in his mind one after another. He was leaning a bit forward, his eyes slightly more shiny than usual. He'd forgotten about the cheesecake on his knees to such an extent that both hands were clasped over his knees, embedded in its gooey substance.
Soichiro said, "This Ryuk, he's with Kira now, and both these shinigami know how to find Kira! If we ask in the right ways, we can perhaps solve the case!"
"But, Dad," Light said, "Rem got sick of being interrogated before, and attacked us. We need to be very careful with these shinigami, or we might not be alive to find Kira."
L said, "I'm keeping that in mind. I only have two more questions. First, what does a shinigami corpse look like?"
Before Rem could say anything, Midora said, "Sand."
L said, "Interesting. Rem was hoping to fake her death at some point. And, this is the last question, what do you know about these rules?"
L held the death note open to the fake rules written on the inside of the back cover. Rem wanted to tell Midora not to say anything, but L was already so suspicious, and Midora probably didn't know anyway. Midora looked at the rules for a while, then she said, "I don't remember anything like that, but I don't know most of the rules. If I ever come back here, if I remember to look it up first, I could tell you."
L said, "Midora, that is all we need of you. We won't bother you any more, but if you feel like telling us additional things, go ahead."
Midora turned to Rem and said, "Ah, these humans are so tedious and ugly. I think I'll go see what Ryuk is doing. They say it's very odd."
Midora began growing wings from her back, wet wings like pieces of frog skin stretched between bones. When the wings were fully formed, Midora looked at Rem and said, "Sidoh is passing out flyers about Ryuk. He thinks Ryuk has his death note, but nobody is telling him anything. I bet it'll take a few years before he gets anxious enough to actually look for it himself."
Then, Midora launched herself into the air, flapped a few times to gain altitude, and glided through the wall. The second she disappeared, L was snapping out orders. He said, "Mogi and Chief Yagami, follow that shinigami to Kira. Take separate cars just in case. Hurry, but when you find Kira's location do not go inside or do anything that looks suspicious, or you'll likely get killed."
The two men ran from the room. In a few moments, L was on his cellphone. He said, "Wedy, right now Chief Yagami and Mogi are zeroing in on Kira's location. Please be ready to immediately go to that location and install surveillance. Orders will come from myself or from them. Call them if I don't call you back within ten minutes."
No! If this kept up, they were going to catch Misa! It was close to midnight. Misa would probably be home. As soon as Midora flew into Misa's apartment building and failed to emerge on the other side, it would pretty much eliminate any doubt that Misa was the current Kira. Rem wondered if she could go after Midora and tell her not to visit Ryuk. No, that wasn't possible. Midora was surely out of range of the tether already, even trying would look very suspicious, and Midora probably wouldn't listen anyway. Rem looked around at the room, desperately thinking, hoping to seize on some thread of hope, some possible course of action. Light looked as if he was barely keeping his temper in check, but L was very, very calm. Both of them began moving toward the elevator at the same moment. Matsuda was the only one left standing in the room.
Matsuda said, "Ryuzaki, I want to help. What can I do?"
Without pausing, L said, "Aizawa is angry at me. I want you to determine if it would be the right thing to ask him to return to work tonight. If you decide it will be okay, please contact him and ask."
Then the elevator doors closed with both Light and L inside. Rem quickly phased through the closed doors and joined them just as the elevator began rising. Light was really trying to hold things together, and mostly succeeding. His face was so expressionless, it was eerie. His fingers were twitching just slightly, but only on the hand that L couldn't see.
Just then, Rem realized that, except for Matsuda, Light and L were alone in the building. Was there any chance Light would try to attack L directly? Rem had seen some of the men wearing guns. There should be guns and other weapons somewhere in the building. Light must be getting very desperate. Rem felt the desperation as well. Briefly, the thought came of killing L and Watari, letting Light take care of the rest. No, no, she'd already rejected that plan, for good reason. It involved trusting Light, and trusting Light was a terrible idea even in the best circumstances.
L got back on his cellphone, getting in touch with Aiber, then Watari, then checking on Mogi and Soichiro's progress. Light got off on his floor in the middle of L's conversations, and shortly after that, L got off on his own floor, making his way to his rooms. He entered the bedroom, talking nonstop to Mogi, and began peeling off his soiled clothing, throwing it on the floor, and then struggling into clean clothes without once letting go of the phone. Rem stood over by the sugar cube fort and tried to get L's attention. Was Light trying to hack into the video and watch L at this very moment?
Then L noticed Rem. He glanced in her direction a few times, but he wasn't coming over. Rem decided she would have to be extremely obvious. She pointed at the sugar cube fort and said, "Ryuzaki, this is very important."
L walked over, still talking, and looked at the fort. He poked it gently a couple of times, then suddenly knocked it over. The folded-up bit of paper was sticking out. Without palming it or trying to hide it in the slightest, L opened it up and looked. Rem sighed. She'd gone to so much trouble to be secretive, but if Light saw this... well, L must be very confident that Light couldn't get into the video footage of these rooms.
L said to Mogi, "Just a moment. I'll call back soon."
Then he put away his cellphone and said, "So, you're willing to deal now."
Rem said, "I was trying to get this message to you hours ago, but you wouldn't come up. Are you sure Kira can't hack into this video and see us conspiring?"
L said, "Kira can't because the outgoing physical connection is unplugged and only I know how to restore it. He can hack all he wants."
Rem said, "You want evidence on the main Kira, right? The new Kira is just a pawn, and if you catch the new Kira too soon or if you make the main Kira feel too cornered, you might ruin that chance."
"I know," L said, "and now that you've told me about the smuggled camera, I can manage that issue better."
L got out his cellphone, set it so that he was talking to Soichiro, Mogi and Wedy all at once, and said, "Light is involved in this. He was looking through the pile of sand as if he expected something valuable that he didn't want anyone to see him take. The cameras were off, and he didn't call in anyone else until he had finished his private search. He had to be expecting a death note dropped as Rem died. None of us thought that a shinigami corpse might look like sand. If Light thought so, he either is Kira or is far more involved in the Kira situation than he's ever admitted."
Over the phone, Rem could hear Soichiro loudly exclaiming, "My son!" in a pained voice.
After only a slight pause, L continued, "Light perhaps had some plan to trick the shinigami into breaking a rule, and for a little while he thought his plan had worked. If we are going to have any chance of proving Light is Kira, we need to let him think we lost the other shinigami before it arrived anywhere. Wherever you are right now, claim you lost sight of it at that point. Repeat your story to each other several times before you tell it in front of Light to get the details straight. Wedy, you are not to return to headquarters at all, because you are a terrible actress. Soichiro, I realize how painful this is for you, but you must not lose hope and kill yourself. It is very important you stay alive, for the sake of your wife and daughter and so that we have a chance to uncover the entire truth."
Then L called Watari and told him all the same information in more detail, finally adding information about everything Rem had done to try to make a deal. Next, L instructed Watari to leave the hospital and go to the "other place," whatever that was, and use it as a headquarters for some kind of information-gathering mission involving lots of stores.
L put his cellphone in his pocket once more, and said, "Rem, you will now tell me everything you possibly can. If you do not hold back information except in those cases where it could kill you, then I will offer you the most reasonable deal I can manage."
A/N (Author's Note):
Well, things are getting very complex, nearly at the climax.
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The Sugar Cube Fort