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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
- 4
- 5
- 6
CHAPTER 5: VIDEO GAMES
Rem found the investigators in a state of agitation. During the previous night, sixteen criminals had died of heart failure, immediately after their identities were publicized. L looked genuinely puzzled, Matsuda was arguing that this proved Higuchi hadn't been Kira, and Light was trying to act upset, but today his acting abilities weren't that good. He actually looked kind of pleased.
Light said, "With this, it proves there is another death note in human hands. Isn't that right, Rem?"
Light was finally addressing her directly after all this time? It must be important. This was a clue to the plan, at last. Light wasn't going to abandon her after all.
"Yes," Rem said, "I don't think any shinigami would go around targeting criminals."
What was going on? Light obviously wanted the investigation to continue, and to pursue this new Kira. Plus, he just passed up an easy opportunity to blame things on a shinigami instead of a human culprit. Rem thought hard, trying to imagine why another shinigami would come and drop a death note at just this time. No, it was too hard to believe. Shinigami rarely dropped death notes, so the timing just didn't make sense. Besides, there was no way Light could have arranged for another shinigami to create a new Kira just now.
Could it be Misa? She had a death note now. No, that wouldn't make any sense either. Light could get Misa to obey him about nearly anything, and he'd whispered in her ear for so long that he surely gave her adequate instructions on what to do and what not to do. Light didn't leave anything to chance, and he was too smart to let Misa start killing criminals right now. It was far too suspicious. One tiny slip, and Misa would be caught. Since Misa's guilt was linked to Light's guilt, that would bring enormous danger to Light too. No, Light wouldn't do something so stupid and dangerous. And, Light wouldn't look so pleased at the moment if he really were in so much trouble.
L lifted a tiny panda-shaped cookie to his mouth, bit it, and said, "This started as soon as Misa was released, didn't it?"
Light sighed in exasperation and said, "You're still thinking about that? Even if Misa did have Kira's power, using it at a time like this would be incredibly stupid. We could also say this happened at about the same time Higuchi died."
L reached into his box of cookies and said, "That's true as well."
Immediately, Soichiro and Aizawa started simultaneously yelling at L, bringing up the 13-day rule and accusing him of being stubborn, vain and never willing to admit he was wrong. L sat silently through the whole tirade, looking dejected and confused. As soon as the other two men stopped talking, L said, "Yes, I'm sorry."
L sat there in confusion for a while, nibbling his cookies and looking genuinely lost. Obviously, he also thought that the new turn of events didn't make any sense according to his theories.
Then L looked fierce. He picked up his panda-shaped cookies one at a time and broke the little bears, aggressively biting the pieces. He said, "Well, if there is another human out there using a murderer's notebook, I will certainly catch that person."
Soichiro asked, "But how can we look for them if they only kill criminals?"
L replied, "Well, now that we know how they kill it will be easier. As soon as we find anyone who is the slightest bit suspicious, we will search him or her thoroughly for the notebook."
If it was Misa, she could be caught very easily with such a method. Misa was stupid, and even if she had Ryuk on guard duty, he wasn't that reliable. Enough surveillance combined with surprise searches would definitely catch Misa sooner or later... probably sooner. But, it couldn't be Misa, could it? The only way it could be Misa is if Light was extremely confident in his plan, if he was completely sure the plan would remove all danger before the investigation would have time to reconsider Misa as a suspect. Did he have an extremely fast-acting plan already in place, unknown to Rem? Rem looked around at the investigators. Would they all start dropping dead soon? Perhaps even today? Still, it didn't seem like Light to be willing to put himself in any danger when he could just wait.
Light said, "But, Ryuzaki, even if we catch this person, can we properly convict them as a mass-murderer?"
L dumped his box of cookies out on the counter, miniature pandas spilling everywhere, even on the death note itself. He said, "We cannot do that without telling more people about the notebook and then demonstrating how it works. It would be extremely dangerous for knowledge of this notebook to spread beyond the people here. The potential for abuse is very great."
"No," Matsuda said, "it should be possible to convict them without the notebook. We'll have the proof here, even if we can't send it out."
Soichiro shook his head. "No, Matsuda, I don't see how we can have a trial without putting up the notebook as evidence and having at least one person killed as a demonstration."
"Well," Aizawa said, "I think the higher-ups would believe L if he said he was 100% certain he'd found Kira but he just couldn't show them the proof for some reason. If there couldn't be a trial, they would probably call for a secret execution."
L said, "Yes, that's probably how it will be for any Kira we catch. And, if we can't get them convicted or executed by others, then we should force them to write their own name in the notebook. But, these are all things we shouldn't be thinking about until after the capture. There will be time then to work out the details."
L began forming the tiny cookies into several lines. Light was smiling. He must be sure things were going very well. Why did Light even bring up the idea of how Kira would be treated after capture, and how could that make him so pleased? Wait, Light was drawing focus to Misa's death if she got caught, and if Misa was now active as Kira, he had put her in trouble deliberately. That meant...
No! That couldn't be the plan, could it? It must be, it had to be. Nothing else made sense. Rem wanted to be angry, but the only thing she felt was a sinking sadness within, a horrible despair that filled her completely. Light wanted to create a situation where Rem would be forced to kill in order to save Misa, and he wanted it to be completely clear that Rem was deliberately extending Misa's lifespan by doing so, not merely ensuring Misa's happiness. He wanted Rem to die for sure. That way, he wouldn't have any trouble because of the investigators noticing that Rem followed him. He must want to keep some of them alive for his plan.
Light wanted to remove anyone who might still consider Misa a suspect, which would probably be just L and Watari, and then he would use his intelligence and manipulation skills to lead the rest of the investigators in a direction beneficial for himself and Misa. He could use the existence of this Kira investigation team in order to prevent another team from forming, and he could also use it to help keep tabs on anti-Kira activities worldwide, to see threats and squash them quickly.
Rem thought carefully. Was there any way she could still kill Light? No, there was no way killing Light would save Misa, and even if it would, Rem would still end up dead as a side effect. Plus, Misa would probably become drastically suicidal and unhappy. Killing Light would need to wait until after Misa's death, when it would be pure revenge and carry no consequences. Perhaps that was another reason Light wanted to ensure Rem's death. He was smart enough to know his use and abuse of Misa would eventually earn him a painful death unless Rem died first.
Damn Light! There were certainly ways to clear Misa and himself that didn't involve killing Rem, he just didn't want to try them. Was Light really so cocky and sure of himself that killing Rem was his only plan? Rem had said she'd be willing to die for Misa, but how did Light know she hadn't been bluffing? He'd taken a big risk if relying on Rem was his only plan. Well, if he did have a back-up plan, he would be certain to keep it a secret from Rem, because otherwise it would lessen Rem's willingness to kill herself. Light was doing everything he could to turn up the pressure and make it so Rem had no choice in the matter.
The crucial elements were how much time Rem had to decide how to act, and how many people she could kill if she ended up following Light's plan. Since the investigation was certainly not pointed at Misa at the moment, and furthermore even L himself seemed to believe it would be too stupid and nonsensical for Misa to start killing just at this time, Rem probably had at least a couple of days to find an alternative to suicide. But the longer she delayed, the more chance that Misa would become a suspect again. Then, what if Rem did need to kill herself? Rem thought back to Jealous's death. It seemed like... yes, Rem was almost completely sure he'd started to crumble as soon as he'd finished writing the name. Jealous had also seemed to be in pain while he was crumbling.
Rem calculated. She could undoubtedly kill one person, but if she didn't finish off both L and Watari, Light might have some trouble with the other one. The two were obviously a unit, and if either died alone, the other would be suspicious. Could she still write while she was crumbling? If she was determined, if she ignored the pain, as long as her fingers didn't fall apart too fast... probably she could kill two people total, maybe three. But, it seemed Light wanted to keep all the unsuspicious investigators alive anyway, so not killing three shouldn't be an issue.
So then. Two days, maybe more. If L started to make an unfavorable move, she could always kill him and Watari instantly, but until then, there was time to find another plan. Rem felt better. Perhaps Light would not win as easily as he thought he could.
What could be done? Perhaps make a deal with L? No, because previously when the police had televised the offer of a deal for the second Kira, they had only made vague promises of a "softened" punishment, and it hinged on the second Kira being willing to turn in the first Kira. By now, Misa had killed many more people so it would be even more difficult to get her a soft punishment, and she would never turn in Light. Even worse, Rem probably needed both Misa and Light to be relatively unpunished, and she couldn't see L or the police ever agreeing to that. Maybe, in the right extreme circumstances, they would let Misa and Light go if they thought it was the only way of ever ending the Kira killings, but how to create those circumstances? There was so little time.
Besides, any kind of deal would be very risky. Rem couldn't actually come out and say who the current owners of the death notes were, so she would need to hint instead. Knowing the investigators, they would probably take this to mean that Rem hadn't wholeheartedly turned in her accomplices. But, if Rem started talking about wanting a deal before indicating who was acting as Kira, then the investigators, or at least L, would immediately think of Light and Misa, and if the offered deal weren't acceptable to Rem, Misa would be pursued faster. There was no way to even tentatively ask for a deal without giving away at least some of the truth.
Then, what about using threats? Rem was a god of death, after all. With threats, they would be forced to make a deal on her terms, not theirs. But there was a problem. Any threat to kill would be a bluff, and merely making such a threat would increase the number of investigators who would suspect Light and Misa. Rem needed to keep that number to two in case she had to fall back on the suicide plan. Rem couldn't kill someone as a demonstration either, because that would still count as killing for the purpose of saving Misa and Rem would die. And bluffs were dangerous. Surely L, at least, would eventually figure out it was a bluff. Why merely threaten to kill if you could just kill and get it over with?
Then, what about finding a way to signal Light that she wasn't willing to kill herself? Would Light believe that and then be forced to put an alternate plan in motion? If so, it would be a difficult battle of wills. Light was stubborn, overconfident and believed he could manipulate anyone. He would probably hold out, sure that Rem would give in at the last moment anyway. And, Rem would, she had no doubt about that. Light might even do something to put Misa in even more danger just to turn up the heat.
Rem would need to come up with her own plan, then. It was simple really. She just needed to get photos of everyone to Misa. If everyone died, Light wouldn't need to explain why Rem was attached to him. It would deprive Light of a compliant investigation team that he could later use to reign better as Kira, but Light was resourceful. He could be Kira without also being part of the investigation team. A smart person with Kira's power would have so many ways to hide themselves and also keep tabs on any threats. Besides, it seemed safer to eliminate everyone who had ever known that Misa had been a suspect.
Photos, that's all Rem needed. And, Misa could hardly go two days without seeing Light. That was the one way she disobeyed Light. Soon, Misa would come, and there were blind spots on the outside of the building because most of the outside cameras were at the two entrances. It would be easy to talk to Misa in private. Yes. Rem just needed to keep watch without seeming to keep watch. Misa would help, there would be photos, and everyone in the building except Light would die.
Just then, Rem realized that Matsuda had been trying to get her attention for some time. He was motioning her towards the elevator, probably to go to the room with the video games. Rem considered. If she played with Matsuda all day, and then Misa came and Rem immediately went outside, it might look like she was trying to meet with Misa. But if she lurked outside waiting all day, it might also be suspicious. It would be best to go outside frequently while also doing things indoors. Rem turned and followed Matsuda into the elevator, going up one floor, through a hallway and into a room containing plenty of computers, with couches, chairs and small tables scattered about. Rem realized that this room was actually almost right next to the main investigation room. She would just need to go through the floor and a bit to the right, and she could keep track of what the investigators were doing and saying. Still, it was best not to be obvious about monitoring the surveillance video for signs of Misa arriving.
Rem turned to Matsuda, who was messing with a video game system, checking which games were available, and cleared her throat. Matsuda looked up, seeming nervous and a tiny bit scared once more, and said, "Yes?"
Rem said, "I would like to see surveillance video feeds, in case something interesting happens. I don't want to be in here and miss the excitement. Could you display video feeds on these computers?"
"Of course," Matsuda said, "I'm not as bad with computers as those guys think."
In a few moments, Matsuda had turned on an entire row of computers, and then he went back to the first he had turned on and made it display a 3-D map of the building, with little red dots showing hundreds of video cameras.
"Oh, that's odd," he said, "Ryuzaki's rooms are off limits now, but they never were before. It shows the video is still recording, but you need special security clearance to view it. I wonder why he's being private now? You'd think, if anything, he wouldn't have wanted people to look at him all those times he was showering with Light."
Matsuda quickly blushed and looked up. "Not that I think he's gay or anything," he added, "I can't imagine him romancing anyone at all. It's hard to picture him doing something other than working or eating sweets. I'm just slightly jealous because anyone who wanted to could look in my rooms, and it seems unfair for Ryuzaki to have special privileges."
Rem asked, "How does this video system work? Aren't you afraid of your faces being sent out to Kira through the computer lines?"
"No," Matsuda said, "Ryuzaki created an excellent system here. Even though we can look at surveillance videos with the computers, it is all analog. When we watch the videos, it doesn't even put a temporary file on the computers, it is piped directly through. The videos themselves record on tapes in a special room under the basement that is completely sealed off and airtight. Any thieves would need to cut through two inches of steel just to get in. Then, the tape system used to physically record the video is from an odd system. There are only a few machines in the world that could read those tapes, and any thief, no matter how skilled, would probably need at least a few days to locate the right machine and use it. Plus, the physical tapes have self-destruct mechanisms built in that would tend to destroy the tapes if they left this building. We can't even use the computer monitor displays to create video files or picture files, because the computers have no screen capture software, and furthermore special programs are installed to constantly scan for any software that uses screen capture techniques and destroy it, as if it were a virus. Also, the computers here are divided into several completely separate systems, and the ones that can access the building's surveillance can't connect to the outside world, so they can't be hacked."
Rem was stunned. In regards to the dangers posed by the surveillance system, L had really thought of everything. Probably a good hacker, working from inside the building, could create some photo or video files from the analog screen displays, but Rem didn't have access to a hacker, and any such hacker operating inside the building would probably be caught quickly. Trying to smuggle out the physical tapes wasn't an option either. Even if Rem could make a hole in the secret room's wall without attracting attention and then get the tapes to Misa without activating the self-destruct, Misa would probably never be able to get the right machine and view the video, especially with her technological handicaps. Even worse, knowing L, he was almost certainly keeping a close watch on the few machines in the world that could read those tapes. Well, this only meant that a camera needed to come inside.
Rem said, "Matsuda, why don't you display videos of all the places people are or might appear. The main investigation room and the entrances, I guess. I have no interest in watching empty rooms."
Matsuda quickly brought up multiple views of the underground parking garage entrance, the first floor entrance, and the main investigation room. Rem settled down in front of the video game console, where a blinking prompt was asking her to type in her name as player 2, and said, "It looks very nice outside. I'll probably go out every so often to fly around. If I go out, just wait here until I get back."
Matsuda said, "Oh man, I wish I could fly! You're really lucky. Flying is one of the strongest desires humans have."
Right then, Matsuda's face looked so wistful. He just needed a bit more to be happy, a little push. He was really close to the emotion Rem wanted to see. Rem said, "I think I could probably carry you while I fly. Would you like to go flying with me today?"
Matsuda's entire face lit up. He looked so joyful, so full of excitement. Rem drank in the expression. Matsuda said, "Really? That would be great. I've dreamed all my life about flying like that."
Then Matsuda looked thoughtful and frowned. He shook his head. "No," he said, "It can't happen yet. There's no room inside big enough for flying to actually be fun, and if we went outside people might see me from the street. It would attract attention to our investigation building, and could risk the lives of the people in here. We can't leave any clues for Kira."
Matsuda furrowed his eyebrows in concentration for a few moments, then smiled again and said, "But we'll catch Kira, and then we can go flying, right Rem?"
Rem said, "Yes, that would be fun."
She was immediately glad of her offer. Matsuda was practically glowing now, a gentle bliss radiating across his face, his eyes a bit distant and shining with childish fantasies. He hummed to himself excitedly as he prepared the video game system for play and showed Rem how to work the controls. The controller was obviously sized and shaped for human hands; it seemed almost to disappear inside Rem's large, bony hands, and her movements with it were clumsy.
Soon, Rem discovered that games involving traveling through a three-dimensional world were too difficult and frustrating, so they ended up mostly playing 2-D games, especially ones based on puzzles and mazes, or stacking and matching various objects. Rem always kept part of her attention on the video feed from the front entrance, and she made sure to take plenty of breaks where she went outside and stayed for about as long as she judged a conversation with Misa should take. When the real meeting happened, nobody should suspect a thing.
As the day wore on and Misa failed to visit, Rem found herself taking breaks less frequently. Video games really were much more fun than board games or card games, and Matsuda was a delight, much more relaxed and happier than he'd been previously, very chatty and social, telling her all sorts of amusing or slightly scandalous little stories about his family and friends. It sounded like he was a real gossip-monger. He was also, mostly, a loser. In any game that involved accumulating points or direct competition between two players, Matsuda tended to lose, but even so his enthusiasm was unflagging. It was so different from playing games with other shinigami, where emotions were almost completely absent and even a winning streak usually didn't produce much pleasure unless it went on for at least a few weeks. Matsuda was losing terribly, but he was also happy, childishly happy and bouncy. He sat cross-legged on the floor, his eyes alight with excitement, sometimes making little sounds to go along with the video-game noises.
Eventually, L made an appearance, carrying a bag of candy. Matsuda looked up and said, "I can't believe I'm in a top secret investigation that's important to the entire world, and I'm being paid to play video games. Isn't it silly?"
"Indeed," L said, and crouched on the floor beside Rem, ripping the bag of candy open and placing it next to his feet. A few pieces fell out, looking like butterscotch hard candies, all in paper wrappers. L picked up another controller, changed the game to three-player mode, and scheduled himself to play right after Matsuda.
Matsuda said, "I thought you still needed to work on that database."
"It is done. The various databases already existed; we just needed to figure out the right way to merge them into a database for our own use. We've even discovered a new pattern."
"Oh?"
"Yes," L replied, "criminal deaths other than heart failure had an enormous spike right when the first Kira started operating, but these were all among minor criminals. This means that Kira was killing them in secret, because he thought he'd have fewer followers otherwise. Also, right before Raye Penber's death, there were a lot of minor criminals in the Kanto region who suddenly committed crimes and then died during them from causes other than heart attacks. These were the experiments that Kira didn't want us to know about. He actually forced them to commit more crimes, and probably one of those criminals somehow got Raye Penber's ID and showed it to Kira. There were many of them in order to help hide which one was important."
Matsuda sighed. "I've often wondered if Kira is doing a good thing, and maybe it is good when it's murderers and rapists, but the stuff with minor criminals is not right at all. Well, I mean, what if someone was very late in getting a birthday present for his mother, and the store was about to close, and there was only that one place to get the item he wanted, and his mother would never be satisfied with anything else, and he realized he forgot his wallet, and then he just slipped the item into his shirt and left, without really meaning to?"
L chuckled. "It's okay, Matsuda. I don't think Kira would have killed you for shoplifting. Although, he did kill a purse-snatcher once. Maybe, if Kira eludes us for long enough, he'll get crazier and then even shoplifters will regularly get the death penalty. Though, in that case I think most stores would stop reporting shoplifters, because they would feel too guilty."
"That's all true," Matsuda said, "but I do think a lot of the more serious criminals need to die. When I hear what they've done, I... I can't stand it. It's so wrong. I often wish they would just stop existing. I know it sounds like I support Kira but... it's... it's just an emotion I have... it's not like I would worship him or anything."
"Hmmmmm," L said, "if the bad people would just go away, the world would be right. That's a very childish idea of justice. Real justice is complicated."
L picked up a piece of hard candy, balancing it on one finger and looking at it with his wide inky eyes as if he were talking to it instead of Matsuda. In a soft, child-like voice, he said, "Some murderers, even unrepentant ones, eventually become good and help society. And, even criminals have children who cry for them if they die."
L placed the piece of candy on the floor and began rummaging in the bag for a new one, seeming to select carefully even though they all looked identical. He said, "There is also the issue of police safety. If every murderer expects Kira's judgment, then they'll never let the police take them alive. I think if Kira operates long enough, you'll see a lot more deaths among your fellow officers. A justice system that shows some mercy is much less dangerous for those who operate it. Kira works in safety, but the police must risk themselves to arrest Kira's victims."
Matsuda gasped and his hand flew to his mouth. He said, "Oh, I never thought of that."
L said, "Even beyond the issue of police safety, there are some completely vile, despicable criminals who should be left alive for one reason or another."
L continued, "Take the example of Jacques Moliere. Ordinarily, I'd say he's exactly the sort of person that Kira should judge, if Kira should judge anyone. He was a pedophile, a murderer, and he had been a major figure in the human trafficking scene of five different European nations for over two decades. Furthermore, he was unrepentant. He outright said that whorehouses should be able to offer children to clients."
Matsuda made a face. "That's horrible. But, you didn't want him to die?"
"The problem is," L said, "Kira didn't know, because of course the police never released this information, that in return for commuting his death sentence to 15 consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole, Jacques Moliere was leaking information about his accomplices. The police were going to rescue 14 little girls who had been sold into prostitution. The youngest was five years old. But Jacques Moliere was killed by Kira before he could say much and without his help all the case's leads went cold. If not for Kira, those girls could have been saved, and if Moliere had kept being cooperative to get little privileges in prison, maybe a large portion of southern Europe's human trafficking system could have been disrupted. Jacques Moliere was the most despicable human being imaginable, but he never would have got out of prison or hurt anyone again if he'd been left alive. Kira has no idea what he is really doing."
Matsuda had entirely stopped playing the video game. He looked stunned. Little colored blocks of various shapes were gradually piling up on his screen, but he didn't look at them.
L looked at Matsuda, and an expression of pity came into his face. "Matsuda," he said, "we can't walk around all day carrying the burdens of Kira's actions in our hearts. A good detective needs to be able to step back from law enforcement work and not take it so personally. Otherwise, you'll burn out when you are still young and you won't be able to contribute as much to the cause of justice. I've had to deal with a lot of serial killers in my various cases, and I've learned to be calm about it. You can't always be thinking about the people who have been hurt. It helps to keep your focus."
"I know," Matsuda said, "it's just... I hadn't thought much about things like this before, and then suddenly... it's all so much."
L awkwardly placed a hand on Matsuda's shoulder and patted it, as if he didn't really know how to react to another distraught person. Then he said, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, the pattern associated with the first Kira stopped before Higuchi even started killing, and the Kira we are dealing with now shows an entirely new pattern, so I'm sure that person is not the first Kira either."
"What is the new pattern?" Matsuda asked.
"This new Kira kills fewer criminals per day. Perhaps this Kira is a busy person or someone who is restricted somehow. They are not technologically adept, as none of the cases come from the Internet and only a few are foreign. Furthermore, it is almost all murderers. So far, there is no sign of killing off minor criminals, secretly or otherwise. I suppose this is a nicer Kira than the previous ones."
"Ah," Matsuda said, "that does sound better. If we do have a Kira, I'd rather it was one that wasn't too bad."
And, Matsuda was comforted just that easily, even with someone as awkward as L trying to reassure him. His face relaxed and he returned to his game, squealing and yelling as he tried to undo the jumble of colored blocks that had accumulated while he hadn't been paying attention. Rem looked at Matsuda and felt envious. Why couldn't Misa be so easily calmed? When Misa got worked up even half as much as Matsuda had been, she took hours to settle down.
Rem glanced at L. He, too seemed to have forgotten about the conversation, and had a calm composure. His dark eyes were filled with an intelligent focus, as he methodically reached into the torn-open bag of hard candy near his feet, using a single finger to slide out one piece after another, lining them up on the floor. When he had created a fairly long line, he picked up one piece, pulled off its wrapper, and popped it in his mouth to suck on. He glanced at the computer screen and saw the last few blocks stack up past the top, ending Matsuda's turn.
L started playing then, and he was very good. Rarely did more than three shapes sit at the bottom of his screen. As time went on and his turn simply didn't end, even Matsuda stared at him wide-eyed. Furthermore, L did this while constantly fiddling with his candy and carrying on a conversation with Rem, mostly about the shinigami realm. Rem couldn't imagine any way the information could be used against Misa, and she didn't think she could believably make up facts on the spot and keep them consistent, so she simply told the truth. Talking about the shinigami realm made her appreciate the human world more. She looked at the two men on either side of her, both happy, and wished she'd been stuck watching over them instead of Misa and Light.
Matsuda was happy in a very simple, child-like way. His attitude was cute, but he wasn't that intelligent and he would probably start to get annoying over the long term. L was also happy and childish, but he had completely different qualities than Matsuda. L was the one who acted the most like a shinigami, with his tendency to indifference and his often-unreadable facial expressions, but he was a bouncing bag of hyperactivity and emotion when compared to any real shinigami. In some ways, Rem could imagine that L combined the things she admired most about shinigami and about humans into one package. As an added bonus, he didn't seem the slightest bit suicidal, and nothing seemed to disturb him for very long. He was... very nice to be with.
L suddenly stopped playing and said, "It looks like I'm about to reach the maximum points that the counter can even display. I guess I should play with a big handicap or the two of you will never get a turn."
"How do you do it?" Matsuda asked.
"There are only five shapes and seven colors. The shape and color is always random, so I just imagine a plan for each possible item that could appear, and then by the time the item comes into view at the top of the screen, I just follow the plan I've already made to place it the best way."
"But," Matsuda said, "that's a lot of possible combinations. You develop all those plans while the previous block is descending?"
L placed a thumb just below his bottom lip and said, "No, I usually develop those plans three or fours turns ahead of time. On second thought, I shouldn't play this game with you at all, even with a handicap. Also, everyone else went home six hours ago. I should probably get some things done."
L scooped the loose pieces of hard candy into the bag and picked it up by pinching it delicately between two fingers, then he picked up the death note with his other hand in a similarly delicate manner, and began walking away, slouched over as usual, his fluffy, spiky black hair bouncing subtly with each step.
Matsuda jumped up, alarmed, slapping one hand to his forehead. "Oh," he said, "I didn't know it was so late. My aunt and my little cousins were going to... but that was three hours ago... oh, I hope nobody is mad at me."
As Matsuda turned to leave, he suddenly turned back and said, "Ryuzaki, I feel kind of bad playing games all day while the rest of you work so hard to catch Kira. Are you sure this is important to the investigation? If there is a better way I can help, I'll do it."
L replied, "Rem is a piece of the puzzle. If we get all the pieces and learn how to assemble them and understand the whole, we will solve the Kira case. I myself have been spending time trying to understand Rem, so you can be sure it isn't pointless."
Matsuda smiled appreciatively and then rushed from the room. Rem watched him go, and then looked back at the game. It was waiting for her to push a button to start her turn. Rem looked to the surveillance video monitor that showed the first-floor entrance. The video was still running, showing the dark street in the background and a few patches of starry sky. Misa hadn't come at all and she surely wouldn't visit so late. Light was almost certainly asleep. Rem walked over to the monitor that showed the now-empty main room where the investigators spent most of their time, and fiddled with the keyboard, trying to get it to show the 3-D building map so she could switch the video feed to Light's room and surreptitiously monitor him. Instead, it just flipped from camera to camera inside the same room until it had cycled back to the original camera.
Rem sighed. What did she want? The video game was still trying to prompt her, and it had been quite amusing, but she felt it wouldn't be much fun by herself. She could personally go to Light's room and see if he was doing anything, but, no, that would be pointless. She already knew his plan and the only thing that might happen is that someone could notice the visit and suspect she was on Light's side. Then Rem suddenly remembered. How had she forgotten? L kept the death note with him, and she needed to watch it every moment that Light or the others weren't watching.
Rem spread her wings and rose through floor after floor, finally zeroing in on L's suite on the fourteenth floor. Rem phased through the wall into L's bedroom and stopped. L was sprawled out on the bed, completely naked, half-reclined onto a pile of pillows behind him and with his legs extended in front of him instead of pulled up in his usual crouch. He said, "Ah, Rem, you didn't come here last night. I've been waiting for you. Would you like to have some fun?"
A/N (Author's Note):
I feel that Death Note didn't do enough (in fact it hardly did anything at all) to show the effects that something like the Kira plan would actually have on the world.
There would be both good and bad effects. Though, in my opinion, the bad would clearly outweigh the good (and I think the canon author thinks so too, as this was shown a little in the second half of the series when the media was so eager to pander to Kira's wishes, Kira's world seemed kind of like a dictatorship, and Kira followers generally seemed like crazy fanatics). One of the bad effects would be that criminals might get killed before they could be convinced to turn over their accomplices or otherwise provide vital information to the police.
Also, there would be no particular reason for criminals to refrain from killing cops. Why let yourself be arrested, and face execution by Kira, when you could just kill the cops chasing you and perhaps get away? The remaining criminals would become much more violent towards law enforcement.
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The Sugar Cube Fort