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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
- 30
- 31
- 32
CHAPTER 31: Spy
L waited for two days to see if any additional letters would be added, but the message was finished. There were no more criminal deaths to spell anything out.
As soon as this was clear, he called a meeting.
Wedy was still wearing her motorcycle helmet to thwart Ryuk, as she did every time she visited headquarters. Matt was relaxed in a beanbag chair with his goggles pulled over his eyes, the tint almost entirely hiding them. Watari was standing with his hands clasped behind his back next to a dessert cart with various treats on it, and Ryuk was practically bouncing in the air with glee, even doing a few flips.
L was curled up in an overstuffed chair, with a large bowl of ice cream on a little table in front of him. He had a bunch of crackers stacked in patterns next to the bowl, and he used them to scoop up dollops of ice cream and then ate them.
L fiddled with the crackers for a little bit, soothing his nerves. Mikami was visible on multiple large monitors just behind Matt, sitting on the cot of his cell, his face with an attentive expression and his back ramrod-straight in perfect posture even though he could hear nothing and hadn't been spoken to in hours.
L put down a cracker and said, "We cannot yet prove Mikami did anything wrong other than lie to us a little bit, and if he were put on trial now he could easily claim that Kira threatened him into lying. However, I have no doubt that he was the one acting as the principal Kira, and that he intends to do something if we let him go."
Wedy said, "Are you going to let him go?"
L dipped a cracker in his ice cream, being sure to scoop up some caramel and strawberry topping, and said, "Yes."
After taking a bite, L continued, "I am sure Mikami will incriminate himself quickly if we let him go. Also, letting him go may be the only way to flush out the person who is now ready to assist Kira. We do not know what plan this new person might try to launch, but if they have many pages they could kill constantly for months without running out, so they could be nearly as dangerous as any normal Kira. They could strike at the police or create a vast massacre of any kind they wanted. If they are waiting for directions from Kira and do not receive them, they might become highly unpredictable."
There is possibly a way to stop all of this, but it might make it impossible to convict Misa or Mikami. However, it would save lives and the value of completely eliminating the Kira threat is greater than the value of convicting one or two Kiras.
L said, "Ryuk, I do not want to ask the one special question just yet, but I was wondering if you'd answer a smaller general question for free. If I destroyed Mikami's notebook, would all the pages removed from it lose their power?"
Ryuk said, "I have no idea. I don't think any shinigami has ever done that. We've not an imaginative bunch, in case you haven't noticed."
Matt said, "And we can't test that without either erasing Mikami's memories or letting Rem loose."
Watari said, "Either one of those options should be a last resort, correct?"
"You are correct," L replied.
Matt said, "If we let Mikami free, won't it just turn into a waiting game? Mikami will know we're watching him and that we'll probably have hidden cameras installed everywhere we think he might go. Plus, we can't always watch him. He'll find a way to slip away and do whatever he's planning while we aren't filming him."
"That's why," L said, "I'm going to talk Rem into spying on him for us. We only need to smuggle Misa within that certain distance of his position at all times, and then Rem can observe everything Mikami does in perfect invisibility and report back to us. It is an advantage for Misa if Mikami can be convicted for his crimes, while never realizing who was commanding him."
Ryuk threw back his head and laughed, then said, "That's what I like about you. You're always thinking of such interesting plans."
L said, "And Ryuk won't interfere in any way because it is more entertaining to watch events unfold naturally, correct?"
"Yep. If I were willing to interfere, you'd have been dead months ago. Or you'd have escaped from Misa much sooner. I pretty much knew you'd get out of that eventually. You're a lot smarter than Misa. Now I'm glad I didn't tell you how to defeat Rem. It would have taken all the fun out of this."
It is time to use my hoarded question. There are only a few possibilities. I could ask about the plan Mikami set up and the mysterious person who is ready to receive orders and enact it. I could ask about the incident where a different shinigami apparently killed to protect Misa and then Rem lied about it. I could also directly ask how to safely act against Rem.
L said, "Ryuk, if I ask the special question and make the deal to supply you with apples for life, what will you do if you don't know the answer?"
"Hey, 'I don't know' is a real answer, so then you'll have wasted your question, but you'll still owe me the apples."
Ryuk might not know the details of Mikami's plan, and he might not know about the incident with the other shinigami and Misa's stalker. As I thought, it is best to ask the most important and direct question, the one I know Ryuk has the answer to.
L fortified himself with a few more cracker-scoops of ice cream. Watari had supplied very healthy whole-grain crackers, so the desert was a compromise between healthy and unhealthy.
L said, "Ryuk, I am now asking that question. I will supply you with apples for as long as I live in return for this. Wherever I am, there will always be plenty of apples whenever you care to visit."
I'd rather never see Ryuk again, but I will have to put up with this.
L went over the question one more time in his mind, quadruple-checking that he'd worded it precisely enough that there shouldn't be any loopholes.
When he had finished, he took a deep breath and said, "Ryuk, how could a human, such as myself, prevent a shinigami, such as Rem, from killing me or possibly other humans as well?"
Ryuk said, "There's a very simple way to defeat her. I doubt you can survive it, though."
"You said something like that before. I will make the decision whether to die for this or not."
"So, you don't want to be ordered around by Rem for the rest of your life? I don't blame you. She's pretty tiresome."
"What is the answer?"
Ryuk said, "There's only one way to prevent a shinigami from being able to kill a human. A dead shinigami can't kill anyone. You'd have to kill Rem. I don't think she'd ever allow it. She'd kill you as soon as she realized you were killing her, and you'd both die together."
L said, "If I can solve the case and permanently stop all the Kiras, it would be worth it to die. How does a human kill a shinigami?"
Ryuk laughed and said, "Oh, that's a second question. I told you I wouldn't go into a bunch of detail, I'd just give you a simple answer. But I'm feeling kind of generous today, so I'll tell you a little more and see if you can figure out the rest by yourself."
L said, "I promise I will not try to kill you, and I promise telling me will be worth it in terms of entertainment. If I can act more freely, you'll see more interesting things, Ryuk."
Ryuk laughed and said, "Oh, you can't kill me anyway, because I'm not that stupid. Shinigami don't die by accident, unless they're too lazy to write down names and run out of lifespan, or unless they don't know the rules and break one of the deadly rules. Rem knows all the rules and she's not close to running out of lifespan. In order to kill her, you'd have to convince her to commit suicide. In order to kill her safely, you'd have to first convince her not to kill you. Light schemed for months to set up Rem to kill herself without Rem being likely to kill him in the process. He had to convince Rem that he would protect Misa even after Rem died, and that Misa could not protect herself without his guidance."
I am not in the same situation Light was. Light's guilt and Misa's guilt were linked, so that he would have had little choice but to protect her until he could unsuspiciously dispose of her, at least as long as the task force members lived. It is obvious that if Rem weren't around to threaten me, I could hand over Misa and all the evidence to the authorities and put her on trial. In order to convince Rem of my good intentions, I would need to do a far better job of pretending to have a loving relationship with Misa, and that process would likely destroy me.
Suddenly, disparate bits of information were lining up in L's mind, and all the supporting pieces of evidence clicked neatly into place, forming a pattern.
L said, "Some rules cannot be broken or the shinigami dies. One of the deadly rules is that shinigami are not allowed to protect humans. If they do, the shinigami's remaining lifespan is transferred to the human and the shinigami dies. That is what happened during the incident with Misa's stalker, and that is why Rem has a second notebook. Am I correct?"
Ryuk leaned down, so his grinning devil-clown face was at the same height as L's face and only a short distance away.
Ryuk said, "Wow, you sure figured that out fast. But it is only forbidden to knowingly protect the lives of humans you care about. Protecting humans you care about from non-lethal threats is allowed, and so is unknowingly killing a person who would have later killed a human you care about. The intent matters."
L stacked a few crackers in a little tower and then, knocking it over with a finger, said, "I could kill Rem by sending an attacker to kill Misa."
Ryuk said, "That would only work if Misa's lifespan were about to run out at that moment. If it isn't, Rem will know that the attacker could at most injure Misa, and if she killed the attacker nothing would happen, because Rem was only stopping an injury, not extending Misa's life. If you sent an attacker and Misa died before her lifespan ran out, Rem would know you'd written Misa's name and Rem would take revenge after that, even if a human observer would think the attacker caused Misa's death."
L said, "In any of those situations, Rem would still be alive and would turn against me, with no gain for myself or the world. The only way I could kill Rem would be if I set up a threat that would be likely to result in Misa's death at some unspecific future time. That is why I was the perfect person for Light to use in his attempt to kill Rem. It was clear I would catch Misa at some future time unless Rem stopped me, but it was not clear how long it would be until I solved the case or how long Misa's trial and execution would take. Therefore, it might well match up with the end of Misa's lifespan. Even if she were given life in prison and died many years later from suicide or prison risks, I would still be the cause of that death."
"You got it."
Matt said, "We can't find out when Misa dies, because Mikami can't see her lifespan. Only shinigami can see it and they can't tell us. Maybe we could convince Misa to give up ownership so Mikami can see her lifespan, but then Rem would be loose and she could watch everything we do, or she could try to convince other shinigami to kill us without any consequences to herself."
Wedy said, "Ryuzaki, you're going to die, aren't you?"
L said, "Not necessarily, but it is beginning to look as if the only plausible threat to Misa is a detective such as myself, and it would be extremely difficult to convince Rem that some other detective is a more serious threat than I am. Let me think."
L let himself be absorbed in playing with his food, arranging the crackers into more patterns, dipping them into ice cream and then biting into them with satisfying crunches, enjoying the mix of textures and flavors, and at last using one finger to swipe up the remainder of the molten ice cream and toppings and licking it clean, allowing his mind to run busily the entire time.
When he was done, L said, "If I act against Rem in any significant way, I will likely die. Because it will result in her death if she kills me, and then Misa will be completely unprotected, Rem is unlikely to kill me for minor acts of insubordination. I must be clearly and directly acting against Rem."
L paused long enough to eat the last cracker and stare mournfully into his empty bowl of ice cream, and then said, "I might deliberately provoke Rem into killing me in order to prevent the possibility of Interpol or other law enforcement agencies tracking down Misa while Rem is still alive. If that happened, Rem would know she was helpless against so many enemies and she might choose to preserve her own life until after Misa's death, so that she could take revenge on all law enforcement officials who had even the slightest bit to do with Misa's death. My death could preserve the lives of many others."
Matt said, "But, you're not going to get yourself killed right away, are you? Can't you at least give yourself time to think of some way around it?"
L said, "Of course. We must face the present threats before preparing for future threats. We will prepare for the worst. Watari, I would like you to give Matt both notebooks and all the emergency cash. Matt, you should start fleeing today. I won't do anything until tomorrow, and that should give you a head start even if I end up being controlled. Do not return home. I will send a message to everyone there, to evacuate and hide in whatever safe houses they think I can't find, for at least a month or two to give me time to die in case I get controlled. They've all had training in how to go underground and disappear, so it shouldn't be a problem."
Matt sat up straight in his beanbag chair, though it took an obvious effort to do so, and in a very quiet voice he said, "I won't see you alive again?"
"Perhaps. I want you gone within a couple of hours. I am trusting your judgment, Matt. I believe you will make the right decision and destroy both notebooks before letting them fall into other hands, even if I end up being controlled and Kira takes hostages to try to force you to hand them over. It is my dying wish that you never use them and never let anyone else have them. Do not destroy them too soon unless there seems to be an emergency or unless you think you will be tempted if you don't destroy them. Keep in mind that if you destroy Misa's notebook too soon it will allow Rem more freedom to act against us, and that if you destroy Mikami's notebook before I've tricked him into revealing his accomplice the case could go badly. Once again, I stress that I am relying on your judgment and intelligence to make those decisions properly."
Matt got a very serious look on his face and said, "You can count on me. If you die, I won't let your death be wasted."
L said, "Good. Wedy, I will prepare a number of documents with secret codes attached that will prove to Interpol these documents are certainly from me. These documents will outline my general plans and tell all of Rem's weaknesses. Those pursuing Rem need to know that the killer notebooks cannot be used to murder pregnant women and that, if Rem is still alive, she can be killed by the right kind of plausible threat to Misa. They also need to know that otherwise Rem must be negotiated with to avoid a revenge massacre after Misa's death. Wedy, I want you to go into hiding and if it seems I have lost and died, send the documents to Interpol after a couple of months. Be careful in case I get controlled and try to lure you into a trap."
Wedy said, "What happens if I die?"
L said, "If I provoke Rem into killing me and herself, I think there is a strong chance she won't think to kill you as well. However, you should set up an emergency plan I don't know about to send the documents to Interpol even if you die in a controlled death."
Matt jumped up from his beanbag and approached. His arms encircled L's crouched form from the side in an awkward hug. He said, "In case you die, thanks for being brave."
Wedy said, "I'd give you a goodbye kiss, but I don't want to remove my helmet. I'll just say thanks for making the world safe for criminals."
L dryly said, "Not exactly what I had in mind, but the world should be fair for everyone, no matter what they've done or what they've been accused of doing. Criminals deserve to be judged by a justice system, not a secretive madman with supernatural powers who cannot be held accountable by society."
Matt broke the hug and said, "What are you going to do about Mikami? Anything other than having Rem follow him and tattle to you as soon as he does something?"
L said, "The decoy notebook is in place at the 'A Cure for Forgetful Husbands' warehouse, and if Mikami tries to obtain that notebook and write in it, I will not only have the evidence to convict him, I will also fake the deaths of whoever he writes so he will remain unsuspecting long enough to get in contact with his unknown accomplice. However, I intend to also take a drastic step to ensure we will win if Mikami tries something unexpected."
L's stomach felt a bit queasy at what he was about to admit to.
L said, "I will ask permission from Interpol to be allowed to kill Mikami with Kira's power if I judge that the situation is getting out of hand. This will be a last resort action, like a sniper used in a hostage situation. With this permission from the authorities, it will not be murder as it was when I killed Light. I will have a scrap of notebook paper with me at all times, and I will write Mikami's name with a controlled confession so he will tell everything he knows."
Matt said, "You're not willing to kill Mikami that way now? It would save a lot of trouble to do it now instead of later. Or are you afraid that Mikami planned for this? Or that Interpol won't give you permission to kill if the situation isn't an emergency, and then it'll be murder?"
"You guessed correctly on both counts, Matt. With Mikami knowing the ways people can be controlled, Mikami might have ensured he doesn't know the identity of his accomplice, so that he can't be controlled into revealing it. In that case, if I controlled him into confessing before letting him go, he would become useless for anything and we'd have to start from the beginning again to find his accomplice, possibly with very little time before some devastating plan is put into motion. No, I would rather hold that plan of controlling Mikami in reserve and only use it if it seems there is no other choice. Mikami should not suspect that I can get an invisible shinigami to spy on him. He will almost certainly give himself away once he becomes fully convinced that there are no hidden cameras."
Wedy said, "That way, you can win no matter what he does."
"You are correct. Mikami will either incriminate himself and lead us to his accomplice, or if it becomes clear he will do neither and the accomplice starts acting on their own with a plan that will lead to too many deaths, then I will force Mikami to confess all he knows. There should be no escape for him."
Watari said, "Excellent work, Ryuzaki. I will prepare Matt for departure."
Watari began leading Matt away. Matt looked back over his shoulder, as if memorizing a last sight of L.
L said, "Matt, I am sure you will make a great detective. I trust you."
Matt gave a short sharp nod, followed by a wave as he left the room.
L stepped out of his chair and approached the computers, saying, "Wedy, it should take less than ten minutes to prepare the documents. Please leave as fast as possible. If I end up being controlled, I could catch you and so you'll do best with a very big head start."
In a gentle-sounding voice, slightly muffled by the motorcycle helmet, Wedy said, "I've learned a few things since you caught me the first time. It won't be so easy as you think."
"You'll get your sister and your parents into hiding as well? So if I betray the fact that they could be used as hostages against you it won't do Rem any good?"
Wedy chuckled and said, "Of course. I can get them hidden so well God himself would have a hard time finding them."
Everyone is going away. I'll be alone with Watari, finishing the case the same way I started it. I'm going to miss people. I think I'm... more social than I was before I started this case. It feels odd.
L's fingers were busy over the keyboard, and less than three minutes later he had printed up a small stack of documents and placed them into a manila envelope for Wedy to take away.
Wedy took the envelope and simply stood there silently a few seconds, not leaving. Then she placed a hand on L's shoulder and said, "I know you, and I know you'll think of a brilliant plan and survive this somehow. I want to tell you something. You're the bravest rape victim I've ever known. It must be very hard to visit with Misa and pretend to like her. You've saved all our lives. Hang in there, and don't give up hope."
Ryuk wasn't in the room anymore. After a quick glance around, Wedy flipped up the visor hiding her face and kissed the top of L's head in a short, sisterly peck.
Then the visor was back in place, making Wedy's face hidden in the blackness, and she was walking away. She went out the door, perhaps leaving L's life forever.
Getting permission from Interpol was surprisingly easy. They were already expecting something along those lines, since there had been so much information already broadcast about how small portions of Kira's power could be passed on to others. There were a number of good minds in Interpol who had already deduced that it would be possible for L to force the Kira in his custody to transmit some of that power. The next obvious step after that deduction was for L to keep Kira's power in reserve to act as a sniper would.
Getting Rem convinced was a more difficult issue. L visited Misa as soon as possible, arranging it so that Yumiko would not be there and all hospital workers would be sent away.
After a quick summary of the basic situation with Mikami, L said, "Rem, I know that you care about Misa, and I also know that shinigami law forbids you to purposely kill in order to protect Misa's life. You will die if you do that. Because you know I am a potential threat to Misa's life, you will die if you kill me."
Rem gasped, and at the same moment Misa's head snapped up and she stared directly at L instead of the wall that had seemed so interesting to her so far.
L continued, "Rem, I will not use this knowledge to win against you at this time. I am committed to saving lives, and it is more important to stop the Kira plan entirely than to convict one criminal. I would like your help, and Misa's help."
Rem said, "I have been thinking about what to do for a long time, ever since you confessed that you had previously sent information to other detectives, and that they had in turn certainly protected themselves the same way, so that even if I threatened you into killing all those detectives you know of, it would not save Misa but only establish her guilt. I am not willing to sacrifice myself for Misa. Because of the threats you created, there will always be other people ready to catch her at a later time, so my death would be pointless. Instead, if Misa dies, I will take a more terrible revenge than you can ever imagine. Your death will be the most painful and humiliating that has ever occurred, and I will kill all of Interpol, all of the Japanese police, and the presidents of all countries who have opposed Kira in the same terrible way."
L said, "I thought you would say that."
"What!"
L walked to Misa and took her hand. She trembled slightly but didn't resist. L said, "Misa, if you do end up dead, do you really want Rem to kill so many innocent people in revenge? Many of those people are parents. Their children will suffer, just as you suffered. Also, even if the Kira plan is perfectly right and good, governments and the police are on the same side as Kira, working against criminals. Think of how many crimes will happen if all the police in Japan are murdered."
Misa stared at Rem. Misa's face was tensed up, but ultimately unreadable.
L said, "Misa, squeeze my hand so that Rem can see, if you do not want Rem to create a revenge massacre for you."
There was the characteristic pause L had gotten used to, and then Misa gave a big squeeze.
Rem's single visible eye widened and she drifted closer, saying, "Misa, don't say that. I need a way to defend you, I need a way to protect you even if L decides he's willing to die to put you on trial."
When Rem got close enough to be within reach, Misa's good hand suddenly unclasped from L's and she slapped Rem's arm.
L said, "Rem, you should honor Misa's wishes. If you do such large-scale killings in the future, you will then have to live with the knowledge that Misa would have been completely disgusted and upset at your massacre."
Rem said, "I told you, human, that you should not betray me. You still have no reason to believe that I will necessarily be restrained by Misa's wishes if she isn't here any longer."
Misa frowned and slapped Rem again.
Good. Misa has some shame, and some sense of justice. If only she'd had much more of it, much earlier, it would have been a fair contest between Light and myself, without a god of death stepping in and cheating.
L said, "Rem, I am still protecting Misa at this moment. What you are thinking is not necessary, and I need your help. There are advantages for Misa as well if you follow my plan."
"What advantages?"
I've got Rem now.
L said, "Rem, what do you think would happen if Misa went to trial soon, and you were unable to prevent it?"
Rem turned toward Misa with an expression of pity. She said, "Misa would be convicted, and then be scheduled for execution."
"That is not necessarily true. It might be impossible to convict Misa in her current state. A suspect must be competent to stand trial. Those with extremely poor health, especially those who are unable to properly understand or answer to the charges against them, are usually judged incompetent to stand trial."
"I do not understand. Can you prove this?"
"Consider the case of Augusto Pinochet, former dictator of Chile. He is probably responsible for ordering thousands of murders and the torture of over thirty thousand people, including extensive war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was judged too old and frail to stand trial. He was popular and he inspired pity because of his failing health. Misa is also popular and inspires pity, and she has killed far fewer people. Today, I will have someone deliver to Misa's room information about Augusto Pinochet and many other criminals in similar circumstances, so you can look it over and decide for yourself. If I were going to put Misa on trial, it would not be until her recovery is more complete and her popularity as a pop idol has subsided to a greater extent. You have time before I'm a true threat."
Rem said, "You have given me hope, human, but still I do not understand how you can say that you are offering advantages to Misa. I only see that you are willing to delay your strike against her."
L said, "Rem, I need your help to catch Mikami and the unknown person he has set up with an unknown plan. Mikami will be looking for hidden cameras and humans following him. He will not expect an invisible shinigami under my direction. I can only keep you within range by having Misa's cooperation. And this-"
"This still does not-"
L said, "Misa is suicidal because she realizes the Kira plan has flaws, and because she feels guilty for orphaning children, just as she was orphaned, by killing police officers and Hideki Ryuga's servants. Now, after learning that Light would have murdered her parents if the burglar hadn't, her guilt must be much worse than before. Everything she used as justification for her actions is crumbling away from beneath her, leaving her without any foundation. Her will to live is very low, and even if she cannot kill herself, she can with enough effort eventually injure herself more severely and be in unimaginable pain. I am offering Misa a reason to live and think better of herself. If she helps stop the Kira plan forever, she will have earned some redemption. Also, if Misa does end up in a courtroom, the fact that her actions helped catch all the other Kiras and she killed far fewer people than any of them will help get leniency for her."
L turned toward Misa, trying to read the look in her eyes but failing.
With the appropriate pauses between sentences so Misa could fully understand, he said, "Misa, in the first message I ever sent to you, the one that was from the police to the second Kira, I said that all lives are valuable, even your own. I warned you not to meet Light. I tried to save you, and I spoke the truth. Your life does have value, and you can help others. You were important in the plan to stop Higuchi, and I need your help again. Mikami is no better than Higuchi, and I'm sure Mikami's accomplice will do no good and must be stopped."
L stretched out his hand in Misa's direction and said, "If you want to help me catch Mikami, take my hand."
Misa's eyes were incredibly confusing. Was that anger in them? Pain? A realization she was being manipulated? Misa did not respond, merely sitting in bed. Then she turned her head and stared at the floor. L waited, his heart thumping almost painfully in his chest, continuing to hold out his hand.
Finally, Misa looked up and stretched out her hand, taking his. The look on her face was bitter and resigned.
L said, "Thank you, Misa. You will not regret helping. I'll let Mikami loose tomorrow."
Rem said, "How will this be arranged? You will not physically strain her?"
L gladly let go of Misa's hand and retreated to a corner of the room to discuss the arrangements with Rem. A day later, he was acting out those arrangements.
An unconscious Mikami had been delivered into police custody, and they'd been told to let him go as soon as he regained consciousness. Watari was driving a van that held both L and Misa, along with a lot of surveillance equipment, TVs tuned to every news station, and radios tuned to police and emergency frequencies. Duplicate vans of varying external designs were scattered around the city and hired drivers were ready to take them to any point L ordered, so that he could switch vans and keep Mikami from noticing a certain vehicle following him at a distance for too long.
L also had three semi-trucks with helicopters stashed in the backs ready, so that if Mikami entered a subway L could have a helicopter delivered to him and fly in the air above the train along the same path, keeping Rem within range.
Misa could walk some distance without strain, so if she had to retreat outside to follow Mikami on foot it should still be possible. She was dressed in nice yet simple clothing, so as to not be eye-catching, and her wig, sunglasses, hat and gauzy scarf that came nearly up to her nose should both render her unrecognizable to the general public and keep her name from showing for Mikami if he happened to glimpse her.
Misa was indifferent, frowning. She didn't seem at all pleased; rather she seemed to be viewing it as a chore she simply had to do. All of Rem's attempts to cheer Misa up were ignored or provoked frustration, and L simply turned his back on Misa most of the time, discovering that it helped his focus immensely if she was out of his vision, if he could pretend she didn't exist.
Mikami left the police station in an unsuspicious way, heading in the direction of his home. In preparation, L had already rented a nearby house in order to keep up the Rem spying trick without forcing Misa to live in the back of a van.
Watari drove at the maximum distance slowly, making frequent stops as if it were a delivery van. At such a distance, it shouldn't look suspicious to Mikami. Watari used high-powered binoculars to keep Mikami in sight, and Rem popped in every five minutes or so to report on Mikami's actions and position.
Mikami boarded a bus that was headed for a subway stop, and L sent an order to the nearest semi-truck with a concealed helicopter. The switch from the van to the helicopter was done just barely in time to keep Mikami within range, and then Watari kept an eye on Misa in the back of the helicopter, along with all the monitors and radios, while L flew a path directly above the subway train.
The third time Rem flew up to report, she was highly agitated and said, "You did not prepare me for this situation with any instructions. I was not sure what to do, so I did nothing. Teru Mikami has committed suicide. He quickly pulled a scrap of paper out of a crack behind a light fixture and wrote down his own name, for a death twenty-three days from now."
L said, "What details did he write?"
"That he will stop breathing painlessly in his sleep to die, and that while he remains alive every time he experiences any extreme fear or any pain worse than mild pain, he will become unconscious, and that he will not betray any secrets relating to the death note or to anything new that he learns during today or on any future days."
This isn't about suicide; it's about making himself temporarily invulnerable. He can't be killed, controlled, or tortured into revealing anything. I could arrest him this instant, but what would that accomplish? We still need to draw his accomplice out of hiding. However, this could still be a bluff. Perhaps the paper isn't real.
L said, "You cannot take objects of the human world through other objects, correct?"
"Yes, that is so."
L said, "Watch him constantly and do not let him dispose of the paper. When he reaches the next stop, where you will have an avenue to the outside world, snatch the paper from him and bring it up to me. It does not matter if people see this."
As Rem went to perform her duty, L said, "Watari, please select one of the criminals scheduled to be executed today that I prepared for this situation. I do not have the strength to decide which one will die to test whether the paper is real."
Watari said, "I will be pleased to do so, Ryuzaki."
It was about ten minutes later that Rem flew up out of the subway entrance. Watari covered his face with a cloth and opened the door so Rem could get the paper inside.
L stared at the paper a few moments, looking at Mikami's precise handwriting, his literal suicide note, creating details of death that should make him impervious to any attempts at extracting information. L tried to think of a loophole but Mikami was good. There weren't any loopholes. He was a lawyer, after all. As long as the paper was real, there was now no choice except to leave Mikami to his own devices and try to catch him communicating orders to his accomplice.
L numbly noted that Watari had placed a criminal's photo with a name written on it in front of him. This guy, Gary Faulkner. He was certainly guilty of at least five murders, and the authorities had already given permission for L to act as his executioner, so there wasn't anything wrong or illegal about it. Yet L still felt guilty as he picked up a pen and prepared to write the name in an unused corner of Mikami's paper.
Just then, Misa's hand stopped him. She took the pen from his hand and, looking at the photo, copied down the name herself. L felt grateful, and he hated himself, utterly despised himself, for that gratitude.
L had Watari contact the authorities as he flew away toward a place where the helicopter could be landed secretly. The cover had been blown but it was still best if Mikami didn't get an idea of L's position. Moments later Watari put down his phone and announced that the criminal had died of a heart attack.
L wasted no time in calling Mikami immediately.
Mikami answered the phone with, "I see you have a shinigami on your side, L. How did you manage that? Well, it doesn't matter what tricks you have, because none of them will work on me any longer. I'm sure you've seen my paper. I'm a martyr."
"Is that your confession? I could arrest you now."
"You already know I can't confess. I can't reveal any secrets you don't already know, and to others I can reveal even less, since nobody knows as much as you do, L."
"What is your plan?"
"I am unable to tell you, isn't that a shame? I bet you've already guessed it will be extremely unpleasant. I'm sure you've also guessed that the person who said 'Kira I am ready' will do something terrible unless you let me send a message to them. It's your only chance to discover that person's identity, since I can never tell you."
L said, "Is it possible for you to give me any hints?"
"If you guess correctly, I can tell you if you're right, if I want to tell you. Otherwise I can't say anything. Isn't this delightful? By the way, don't you think the president of Brazil made a completely unjust trade deal with Japan, setting sugarcane ethanol at far too high a price?"
"If I do not let you communicate with your accomplice, the president of Brazil will die?"
Mikami said, "Oh, you are smart, aren't you, L? Correct!"
L said, "After that, if I continue to refuse, other world leaders will die. Once it starts only you can stop this, by giving your accomplice a secret password or something like that, and this password cannot be tortured or forced out of you, only given willingly."
Mikami said, "You are correct, but I'm sure you can make more guesses."
L said, "It goes further, extending not only to leaders but to entire governments, and perhaps police forces as well."
"Partly right."
"Not police forces, but entire governments?"
"Yes. Now can you guess how I'll communicate with my accomplice?"
"The same way every other Kira does, by television broadcasts so we can't tell who the intended recipient is."
Mikami said, "You're exactly right, L. Now, what do you think I want?"
There are only two possible things he could want. This is his rescue plan for Kira, the only reason he killed himself, because it was the only way to force me to give up Kira to him without him being susceptible to my control.
L said, "You want Kira delivered to you, in a way so that you can disappear with Kira without being tracked or trailed."
"Don't you think I'd want more than that?"
Mikami isn't stupid.
L said, "You also want me, so you can eliminate me as a threat and control me into betraying everything I know, so that you can have the highest chance of freeing Kira from anyone else I've put on Kira's trail, and so that you can be sure I haven't written Kira's name."
"Yes, I need Kira and L. I'll tell you an address in a moment. Go there directly. Any sign of betrayal or pursuit, and you can guess what will happen. You know Ryuk has given me a description of L, so I'm sure I'll recognize you. Ryuk has also told you that he's told me your name is rather obvious, once I see it. I think you know how those with Kira's power can identify each other. Don't send a decoy for either L or Kira."
With that, Mikami repeated an address and then hung up.
I should have controlled Mikami into telling the whole truth and revealing his accomplice to begin with. By refusing to murder Mikami, I've left myself vulnerable to this kind of manipulation.
As L landed the helicopter in the place he'd been heading toward before Mikami's call, he said, "If too many politicians die, there is a possibility that governments will entirely collapse. It would be worse than hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes hitting all at once in the middle of a war. Kira's accomplice will eventually run out of paper, but before that point the world could become a place of complete chaos, with unimaginable depths of human misery. The worldwide potential for suffering is enormous. Some nations might never recover, and even those that do might be ruled by warlords and despots instead of democracies."
Rem said, "You can't be thinking of giving in to Mikami's demands?"
L turned off the helicopter, squirmed around in his seat to face Rem, and said, "Yes, Rem. My life is insignificant next to so many others, and I am a murderer for killing Light, so I do deserve punishment. This is fitting. I will bring Misa with me if she is willing, and if not I will go by myself and Mikami will control me into telling him how to track down Misa, and he will get her anyway."
Rem said, "I don't want that. Misa could get hurt."
"No, Mikami worships Misa and so would never harm her. Also, even if I am wrong and he intends Kira harm, he cannot kill her because of her pregnancy, and if he tried any other kind of harm you would restrain him or threaten him."
Rem said, "I forbid you to go."
L said, "Then kill me now, Rem. It is the only way you can stop me. Do you think anyone else you could threaten is as capable of protecting Misa as I am? You would be wasting a valuable resource, as well as destroying your own life. Let me ask Misa if she will cooperate."
Without waiting for any response from Rem, L turned to Misa and said, "Misa, come with me, and help me defeat Mikami. If the two of us cooperate we can trick him into telling his accomplice to avoid this slaughter. You will be saving the world. It is your decision."
Without any hesitation Misa stretched out her arm.
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Fifty Days