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Fifty Days	By : sashocirrione Category: Death Note > Het-Male/Female > L/Misa Views: 2868 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 28
- 29
- 30
CHAPTER 29: Broadcast II
The call center was almost overwhelmed by the sheer volume of callers. There were 1183 calls just on the same night of the broadcast, and over two thousand during the next day. Kitamura was forced to double the number of officers he'd originally assigned to the task.
Despite the warning, twelve percent of the calls were by people who were merely curious and had questions about Kira, and forty-three percent were by people who did not think they had been threatened personally by Kira, but instead had various bizarre theories about Kira that they insisted on talking with the police about. Thirty-one percent of calls were by people who were certain that Kira had threatened someone they knew, usually an acquaintance they considered creepy. Three percent of calls were by Kira supporters who taunted the police and outright stated they were purposely clogging the hotline and they didn't care if they got arrested.
The remaining eleven percent were by people who thought they'd been threatened by Kira, or were claiming such because they'd committed crimes they wanted to be judged innocent for. When investigated, none of these could produce letters or any other physical evidence of the threats such as recorded phone calls. None of these people thought that Kira killed by writing names on paper, and none said anything else to lead L to believe that they knew anything.
The killings stopped entirely. That either meant that Kira had no willing accomplices, or that any willing accomplices had decided to lie low for the time being.
If there is a willing accomplice, has that person been given detailed orders, or are they now left to guess what Kira would want? An attack could come at any time, but if one occurs there is no way of knowing if it is according to Mikami's plan or if it has been thought up by someone else.
It took two days of no killings by Kira before the riot happened. Kira supporters attacked the NPA's Tokyo headquarters, demanding the release of both Kiras along with information about L. Their numbers weren't high enough to present a real threat to many well-armed police officers situated in their own headquarters, and nearly every rioter was arrested within an hour.
L wondered if this were anything like the riot that had led to his own captivity. Was the attack on the NPA headquarters entirely natural, or had it had been due to controlled victims? L sent orders through Kitamura to collect more than the usual amount of information on every rioter, in case any of them died within 23 days.
Matt finished his test of the notebook quickly, using ten convicts and arranging it so the convicts were all completely unaware that they'd touched anything before seeing Ryuk. Everything Matt tested, which was both covers and eight randomly selected pages from inside, all turned out to be real. This meant that there was almost no chance that it was a cobbled-together decoy made of a combination of real parts and fake parts.
Once Mikami's notebook had been verified as real, L put it in another safe rigged to burn the contents if anything went wrong. Then he spent a lot of time pouring over the high-resolution photographs of each page. Watari had found both Misa's and Mikami's fingerprints on the notebook, but nobody else's. There was not a trace of Mikami's handwriting inside. Mikami must have either removed pages before writing on them, or had destroyed them afterwards along with any blank pages that might have taken an impression. He was a lawyer, after all. He knew about evidence.
There was plenty of writing in the notebook. There were pages in Misa's handwriting, though it was obvious some of the pages she'd used had been ripped out. Ukita's name and the police officers that died at the Sakura TV incident were not there, and neither was Aiber's name. Plenty of names of criminals killed since Higuchi's death were there, along with large portions of the worldwide paparazzi massacre, though not all of it. Why had Mikami not destroyed all written pages? Perhaps he revered Kira so much that he found it difficult to destroy Kira's writing.
Then, in the pages earlier than those used by Misa, there was a different handwriting. It was a tiny scrawl, all with distinctive characteristics that meant it had to be by one individual even though it was in many different languages and writing systems.
On the very first page of the notebook it started with Akkadian cuneiform. Then it moved through a dizzying assortment of both exotic and common writing systems, including such oddities as Mixtec logographs and Mangyan script, and it transitioned gradually page by page into more modern languages. L had to hire a number of special consultants to translate it, and even they couldn't tell him everything. Some of the writing was unidentifiable. It had to be either extinct scripts that had disappeared without leaving any examples for archaeology, or perhaps things written in a shinigami language.
In the beginning, the names lacked causes of death. About halfway through its run, the mystery handwriting began adding causes of death that were gentle and painless, often with details of death that described happy events for 23 days.
The very last name before the distinctive tiny scrawl ceased was the name of Misa's stalker. There was no cause of death on that one.
From seeing Rem write Misa's name, the mystery handwriting did not appear to be Rem's. If it was, then Rem was disguising her handwriting for some reason. From the span of time apparently covered by the mystery handwriting, it could only be a shinigami who had written it. Somehow, two shinigami had been involved with Misa. Was a second invisible one hovering around Misa even yet? The entire incident seemed unbelievable and strange, as if Misa were some kind of shinigami magnet.
Rem had lied about killing Misa's stalker. Did Rem not kill humans? Was she too squeamish to do it? That would fit with a shinigami who was so interested in protecting a human. Rem might be all threats and no action. Still, she did seem very interested in protecting Misa, very attached. Just because she didn't like doing something, it didn't mean she never would in the future. Perhaps she had asked another shinigami to do it for her.
But then, the reason she'd given that shinigami's notebook to Misa still remained a mystery. If shinigami traded notebooks easily among themselves, then why wouldn't the notebook contain many different examples of handwriting over the rather long time span it seemed to cover? L spent days mulling over the issue in his mind, returning to it again and again, discarding some possibilities based on the knowledge about shinigami he'd managed to get so far, but unable to narrow down the remaining possibilities to just one conclusion.
Of the two outside research projects, the autopsy was the easy one, with the results in quickly. Abigail Degenstein's previous autopsy had established she had been pregnant at her time of death. The new autopsy was done in more depth, and indicated that she had been carrying a dead baby for possibly up to a week before her own death. It was a stillbirth that had not yet been expelled from her body, creating an illusion of pregnancy.
If there was a way to kill a truly pregnant woman with Kira's power, then it was some loophole that none of the Kiras had discovered. Especially when considering Light's intelligence and how much experimentation he performed, along with Light's willingness to kill innocents for the purpose of advancing his larger plan, it was likely that no such loophole existed.
The statistical analysis was difficult, and took several days. To eliminate bias or any preconceived notions, L told as little as possible to the statisticians he hired, limiting them to studying fluctuations in deaths and not mentioning Kira to them at all. None of them even realized they'd been hired by L. The figures for how much the murder rate had dropped were readily available, since that was a fairly simple calculation. L simply needed to know if there had been a tiny, corresponding fluctuation in the number of deaths by other causes, one that wasn't likely due to chance or natural variability.
With statistics, there was never any proof, nothing was ever certain. It was entirely a question of how probable it was that your theory was right. Still, hiring the top five statisticians in the world, including a Nobel Prize winner, should produce a reasonably reliable result one way or another. L had them working independently so as not to influence each other.
When the reports came in, each one leaned strongly toward the conclusion that deaths by illnesses and accidents had risen inexplicably over the time period that L had specified. Even after controlling for every known variable, there still seemed to be something more than normal variability, and that number of increased deaths from other causes looked quite similar to the estimated number of murders that should have happened if Kira hadn't been influencing the murder rate.
L did not tell Mikami anything, not even that the deaths had stopped. Instead, he interrogated him for an hour or two each day about the same topics, feigning frustration, and at other times L tried to engage Mikami in friendly discussions about neutral topics as a way to judge his personality and see if some tiny clue might slip out. L intended to wait 23 days after Mikami's capture before trying anything significant, to be sure that if Mikami had any controlled accomplices, they'd already be dead at that point.
As the days went by after Mikami's capture, L was delaying the obligatory once-weekly trip to visit Misa. He had a good excuse. He could claim to be unsure whether the Matsuzaki Detective Agency was still snooping around or not, and he intended to use that excuse for all it was worth, and then some. Fewer visits to Misa would mean a better emotional equilibrium, better decision-making. L felt stronger and more capable as he stayed away, with a growing determination and will to live.
Rem shouldn't panic unless the visits became spaced too far apart. She'd understood that excuse before, and it was perfect. It was actually a great thing Yumiko had done, a wonderful favor. L sent Watari with the few critical updates Rem would need about the situation, to reassure her that the broadcast was all according to plan and no harm would come to Misa.
It was during the fifteenth day of Mikami's captivity, during one of the "friendly chat" sessions, that Misa intruded into L's life again.
The sound to Mikami suddenly cut off, and Watari's symbol appeared on the monitor directly in front of L. Watari said, "L, a very important call from the hospital has come in. I'm rerouting it to your cellphone now."
With a few keystrokes L had entirely shut down the connection to Mikami and then his phone was ringing.
L fished it out of his pocket, answering, "Hello, this is Hideki Ryuga."
A man's voice said, "Mr. Ryuga, this is Dr. Kobayashi. We've spoken before about your wife's condition."
"Yes, I remember."
L swallowed. His entire mouth was suddenly very dry. He reached for his teacup, but it was empty.
Doctor Kobayashi said, "We've been trying to reach you for three hours. Your wife is awake. I'm very sorry, we almost didn't manage to stop her in time, but she escaped her room. She tried to fling herself out a window of our top floor. We're still not sure how she was stopped. There are... conflicting reports. I want to reassure you we have her in a high security room now and under constant watch. It will not happen again."
Rem would have prevented Misa from trying to jump out a window, perhaps even catching her in midair.
L said, "How is her condition?"
"She didn't injure herself, but her previous injuries are still present and we're currently evaluating them. She is very exhausted but can sit up by herself and also walk unsteadily. She blinks normally, her eyes follow objects, and she looks at people when they talk to her. It appears that her right arm and most of the right side of her face are paralyzed. She has not spoken at all but she has followed some simple commands. Because of this and the pattern of paralysis, we suspect aphasia, a language disorder. It will take more analysis to be sure. Aphasia does not affect intelligence, only the ability to communicate. Her pregnancy is still proceeding normally, and we will try to limit her physical activity until she is stronger."
"What about recovery?"
"Because this is caused by brain trauma, instead of the more usual stroke-caused aphasia, it is more complicated. If it is indeed aphasia, it is likely that recovery will only happen with language therapy. If we make that diagnosis, you must encourage your wife to dedicate herself to therapy, no matter how frustrating and difficult it is."
Rem will know that Misa needs therapy, so I cannot try to deprive Misa of it to prevent her from being able to communicate demands.
L said, "I understand. How long until language therapy might work?"
Doctor Kobayashi said, "It is highly variable. It depends on the exact variety of aphasia, how dedicated the patient is, and many other factors. You should expect months at least. If there is no improvement within a year, then it is likely to be an extremely long-term condition. Please do not have any preconceived notions at this point. It is too early to be sure, and even with the characteristic paralysis pattern of aphasia there is still a chance that your wife is refusing to speak of her own free will, or because of some other condition. I am simply preparing you for the most likely diagnosis."
"Is there anything else I should know?"
"Mr. Ryuga, we would like to contact you more easily. Waiting for your servant to call us can be difficult when there are sudden changes. Will you reconsider?"
"No. The current arrangement is best."
L disconnected. As he put the phone away a shiver went though his body, combined with a kind of nauseous twisting sensation in his stomach.
If Misa cannot talk, she will not be able to insist on any course of action, but how long will she remain silent? How long until she wants something of me? Now she apparently wants to die, but Rem would never let that happen and Misa could change her mind about that at any time. Misa is smarter than Rem, and can command Rem. As soon as Misa speaks, my hold on the situation could slip unless I can also discover how to control Rem.
L made the arrangements for a secret visit to Misa late that night. He was delivered in a large suitcase, and when he crawled out of it, the first thing he saw was the padded wall of Misa's new high-security hospital room, the second thing was Rem's bony form hunched over a hospital bed, and the third thing he noticed was two attendants sitting in chairs next to the bed.
L stood up, barely getting a flickering glance from Rem before she turned back to look down into the bed. With his standing motion, Misa became visible and the back of L's neck prickled at the sight. Her eyes held understanding, and horror. L had a sense of a largely intact mind trapped within her damaged body.
Misa was sitting in the bed. A nurse was spoon-feeding her some kind of brownish mash, like baby food. Her chewing was wrong, the motions of tongue and lips unnatural. The paralyzed right half of her face did something incredibly odd to her entire expression. The nurse dabbed at Misa's lips with a napkin and then stood aside expectantly.
L felt his feet carrying him forward into the role he was expected to fulfill, an automatic, uncontrolled movement. Everything was dream-like and strange. He stopped at the side of Misa's bed, breathing fast, feeling a strangling kind of panic rising in his throat. He quickly tried to crush it, tried to think only of how pitiful Misa was. He felt ashamed suddenly, and dirty.
Quickly, before he could change his mind, he took her non-paralyzed left hand in his two hands, brought it to his lips and kissed it. Her fingers twitched as his mouth lightly touched them. Putting on a show for Rem was important. He continued holding her hand and she seemed indifferent to it, not clinging to him but not pushing him away either.
He started to say something, and to his utter surprise he said, "Misa, please don't hurt me."
Misa blinked and tilted her head to the side in a slightly wobbly movement, as if things had slipped out of her control for a moment before she got her head back on track. Some emotion flashed strongly in Misa's eyes, and L had trouble identifying whether it was anger, or sadness, or perhaps a mix of both.
L had opened his mouth to speak again when Misa suddenly let out a strange noise, something that combined aspects of the bleat of a sheep, the cry of a baby and the sound of speech garbled beyond all recognition. One of the attendants immediately pulled out a notepad and wrote something.
L felt like he was falling apart inside, his insides trying to run out through the bottoms of his feet, but he pulled himself together and said, "Misa, I am not sure if you remember this or not, but I have been helping you and protecting you. You are safe here. I am your husband, Hideki Ryuga. We were married several months ago without telling your family, but they know now. I have spoken with all of them. You are pregnant. You've been pregnant with our child for about nine weeks. The doctors tell me it is a healthy pregnancy in every way except that your pelvis is too narrow and so they will need to perform a Caesarean section. Do you understand what I have told you, Misa?"
There was a pause, and then Misa squeezed L's hand.
L said, "You squeezed my hand because you understand? If so, squeeze it again."
There was another pause, and then Misa squeezed again. L was no longer looking at the attendant with the notepad, but he could hear the pencil scratching away furiously.
Misa pauses before answering. It is either reluctance, or she has some difficulty processing what I'm saying.
Rem said, "Misa was not this cooperative when her sister visited. She must love you."
Misa turned her face away into the pillow and let out a loud sigh. L moved forward to see her face, but the nurse held out a hand to stop him.
The nurse whispered, "She's asleep. Your wife does not have much stamina, and she needs her rest. I know you must miss her, but we only allowed her sister a fifteen-minute visit and that much completely exhausted her."
L felt an immense rush of gratitude toward the nurse. He said, "I understand. I will not burden her."
L carefully slipped his hands free of Misa's hand, and then, after sending a signal to Watari with his cellphone, crawled back into the suitcase so he could be secretly smuggled out of the building.
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Fifty Days