章 6: CHAPTER 6: ALLIANCES

TODAI

Yagami Light looked at his right hand and stretched it as far as it could go and pulled it close again. He did so for a little while as he sat, watching the professor speak non-school related things behind his desk. He had, after all, been writing continuously on the death note a week after the bus-jacking, not writing in the FBI's agent name just yet. He had to wait for Penbar to investigate more people, after all, otherwise he'd be suspected immediately.

And so, his days of waiting begun. That week was relatively light, and he was able to relax somehow for he knew he'd be able to give a massive blow on L's momentum very soon. It was relaxing, indeed, for the most part. He had just been experimenting on the note's capabilities as well as sending meaningless messages to L mostly for sadistic fun.

"Is your hand alright, Yagami-kun?" He blinked. Takada, as usual, was sitting beside him. She must have been bored with the professor's story. That, or she was in a prying mood (again). She seemed to have the lack of will to stop talking about their 'date' in Spaceland, too.

He let out a fake smile, mentally wishing that she wouldn't stop blubbering about their date again. It was a talent of hers: to seamlessly lead the conversation to Spaceland regardless of whether or not it started with something unrelated. "Of course." he said, and continued to listen to the professor and made it look as if he was intently doing so. Takada, getting the message, shut up and waited for the bell to ring.

When they left the room though, one of the two people he'd rather not see at the moment was waiting. His peripheral view caught quite a few stares. The four of them were all well-known people in their batch, after all, even among the professors and upperclassmen.

"Ah." Takada seemed to 'suddenly' remember something, holding her hands together in the process. "Shall we all have lunch together?"

Light almost declined. Then he recalled Lawliette was there. She knew where he usually stayed during times like this. Perhaps there would be no escaping this one. Unless he went somewhere else, of course, but he went against the idea in the end for as much as he didn't want to see their faces, he was in no mood to refuse both of them at once. That would be extremely troublesome.

He politely smiled at them. "Sure. That sounds good," He told them, and they coolly walked to their destination with wholly varying thoughts inside their heads.

And like normal teenagers, they headed for their little spot, eventually shaking off the stares. They were fortunate students in the university were busy enough and had enough self-pride to keep themselves from following, like many high school students would have done. Soon, they reach their destination.

He knew his frown would deepen the moment he laid eyes on her, but this time it wasn't due to annoyance. It was puzzlement and, perhaps, worry, even when he was working on ridding of the latter entirely as soon as he could.

Lawliette was sitting there, looking dazedly at a random wall; her dark eyes: dead.

"She seems out-of-it, though." Rokko mumbled. "She seemed happy when we parted yesterday. I think something happened after that." Light soon realized why Rokko was particularly pushy in inviting him this time. Light couldn't help but feel a bit smug. Even Rokko seemed to know that, at least inside this manicured campus, only Light could deal with Lawliette.

Lawliette, meanwhile, remained oblivious at the arrival of her friends. Kira had conducted tests on three criminals, and she wasn't in her room when they sent her the news: she was in Space land, having undeserved fun. She knew she would not be doing anything like that again until Kira was caught.

What made everything worse was that Kira was sending her more messages, and killing more and more inmates for an obvious experiment she just couldn't understand.

L, do you know? Death gods… only eat apples.

Her lips formed a thin lip, something itching inside her head, as if a memory was trying its hardest to reach her consciousness, albeit with little success.

"Anything bothering you?" a familiar voice pulled her out of her reverie. She let out a weak smile.

"Hello, Yagami-san," was all she uttered. "How nice to see you here."

"You didn't answer my question."

She shook her head. "It's nothing." She looked at Rokko, and Light knew it must have something to do with Spaceland. His expression curled into one of ponder, and soon he came to a conclusion.

"Something must have happened at home when you were in Spaceland."

Everyone blinked at this, even Lawliette, which told him he was correct. He felt glad that he managed to read her as she so effortlessly did with him, but more than that he felt bothered by how curious he was with her situation. In a fit of rationalization, he told himself everything that happened to unusual persons were interesting because they give unusual insights that may prove useful someday. It was true, anyway.

And yet he did not pry. He refused to.

On the other hand, Rokko was surprised. "Something happened?" He shook his head, remorseful. "I am so sorry—"

"It isn't your fault, Rokko-san." She said with a slight smile. "It's—" She stopped herself, and her eyes looked at them alternatively, assessing if she had uttered something she shouldn't have. She looked down on the grass. "It simply isn't. Please do not mind."

None of the spoke for a while as they prepared their meals until Takada and Rokko took it upon themselves to lighten up the mood. They opened up various topics, preferably as far away from Spaceland as possible. They succeeded in lightening the atmosphere, even when the two of them were the only ones actually speaking.

As they ate, Light noticed that the other two started calling Mukahi her first name. Of course, he refused to do the same. He stated they were not that close, and he was used at being extremely professional. None of them seemed to mind though so, to his relief, he didn't have to waste energy on dealing with them.

They probably assumed it was due to his strict upbringing, which was true. But he also needed to be as detached to his rival as possible..., and calling her in such an intimate manner would not help.

He retained the same expression all throughout, despite his eyes pausing at a few of Rokko and Mukahi's interactions. Eventually the two less intelligent people had to leave for their class, and he did too.

"I thought we have the same schedule, Yagami-kun." Mukahi asked quietly as she saw him stand up. The other two, who were still in earshot, paused their steps.

"Ah. But I have something to do." He answered stoically as the other two stared at him. They no longer waited for anything further though – they were going to be late. She watched Rokko and Takeda hurriedly stride to their class and before shifting her gaze to Yagami, who was politely waiting for her reply.

Polite, she repeated in her head, and she sighed. It was true, he had been more polite to her lately and that meant he had been more guarded—he had raised walls so high up that she knew it could make him close down further if she tried to climb it. Maybe she should not have said those things… and yet she did not regret saying anything.

Besides, it bothered her how the atmosphere surrounding Light changed constantly. For it was true that the tension before somehow diminished – it, nevertheless, did so in a very disturbing way. It was as if he submitted to… something dark, and yet feeling empowered all the same.

She was worried for him.

"What happened, Light?"

"With what?"

"Did my words truly bother you so much?"

You bother me too much, he thought, but he did not say so. To his chagrin, his expression must've betrayed even a hint of his thoughts as she continued prying. "Why?" She asked, and various reasons effortlessly flooded through his head. When he was with her, there seemed to be too much uncertainty, even his wording showed that. She was not the police, the FBI, and she was especially no L—yet she was a threat to him and his goals, and for reasons his mind refused to comprehend.

"You did no such thing, Mukahi-san." He finally told her with a smile, knowing he was a good liar. He also refused to acknowledge the fact that she appeared to have seen through him, again.

Light continued to ponder what to say next. He realized he was about to pry on her personal life by asking about what happened the previous night: an impulse that was getting stronger the longer he stayed. He didn't want to stoop that low and gestured to leave before that happened.

But then…., as he took a step away, his eyes widened. He realized that he had been avoiding her because of her effect on him. Doing something like this was running away, wasn't it?

He mentally sneered at himself for not seeing it sooner.

A God didn't know how to run away, he either destroyed or converted his enemies. Either way should be fine, even when the former was more difficult. And so, he turned around coolly and smiled at her lightly.

"Mukahi-san," he smiled and this made her flinch in surprise.

"…Hai?"

"Mind hanging out with me after school? We haven't talked for a while anyway." There was silence for a few seconds. Light was unsure if it was due to ponder, or disbelief.

Seeing her suddenly beam..., he knew it was the latter. That smile of hers almost transformed his own fake smile into a real one. She looked at the grass before staring at him to speak. "Hai, Yagami-kun. I'd be glad to."

Rokki Hiru halted his steps when he heard that his companion did, too. She was looking anxiously at the direction she came from."You worry too much." He said with a smile, knowing what exactly she was thinking. She glared at him.

"You don't have the right to say that, you and Lawliette had become extremely close after all."

He didn't change his expression, and shrugged. "But we're just friends, for now anyway." And not to mention he was responsible for the troubles she was currently experiencing, whatever they were.

"That's very uncharacteristic of you." She spat recalling immediately how… aggressive her companion actually was with women. She knew that Rokko could flirt (magnificently) with anyone that interested him enough. Rokko blushed lightly and turned away in embarrassment. "I know. But she's… different."

Takada, on the other hand, tried not to take (much) offense considering he basically just said that she was just one of the many girls he dated. It was still annoying though, but she had more pressing matters to think about.

But as if suddenly unaware of her existence, Rokko continued talking, consequently making her gape at him. "Sometimes you have to let go of your pride, when it comes to that certain person."

She raised an eyebrow of distrust. "Those words don't suit you, Rokko. And where is this going, exactly?"

"You are a very (physically) beautiful woman, Kiyomi." He answered bluntly as if it was obvious, and Takada blushed. "...So I was kinda staring at you when Yagami was doing his speech. Guess what I saw?"

"…"

"Twinkling eyes, burning cheeks, gaping m—"

Her eyes widened, aghast with embarrassment. "Shut up."

"In any case, I want to propose something…"

She looked at him suspiciously, and he shook his head in amusement. "What?"

"Since you're a girl and I'm a boy… we could, you know, help each other out."

Neither of them could believe they fell into this clichéd scenario, but they ended up with an agreement anyway.

...

RANDOM STREET

A few hours later

Light walked to their meeting place coolly as he analyzed imminent events. He was currently wearing casual attire, with his hands resting comfortably on his coat pocket. Ryuk was uncharacteristically quiet that day, and Light knew he was looking forward to something. His plans unfolding, perhaps?

In any case he, Yagami Light, was finally going to end those FBI agents in Japan the next day and he pondered why he was going to hang out with her of all times. He had already written what he needed to, but still. In the end, he concluded that he wanted prove that he was not losing to her as soon as possible.

But for some utterly odd reason, he saw her much sooner than he had anticipated; She was like a frozen entity, standing still in front of a house. As if she was waiting for someone to come out. He slowly approached her and called her name quietly. He did not expect that she was in such a daze that she would be so surprised by such a soft call.

"Y-Yagami- kun!" she yelled reflexively turning away and making some weird gestures with her hands. The idiotic image that she made actually made him chuckle, genuinely. He stopped when he noticed that she was shamelessly gawking at him.

He raised an elegant eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing. I just kind of missed seeing you look like a genuine person, that's all."

He shook his head both in disapproval and to shoo something else. "You're being rude, again, Ryuzaki-san."

"I know. I only thought it was time to point it out."

He sighed returning to his emotionless self. "What are you doing here, anyway? Didn't we agree to meet at the bakery?"

She just looked at him and tilted her head back to stare at the house once again. Her eyes softened and she let out a deep breath. She didn't speak for a while, and the wind just blew continuously against them… and eventually? She smiled.

"This was the house my mother grew up in." He flinched.

"I see… you don't live here, don't you?"

"I don't. I never did."

"…"

"I came here to Japan to know more about them, my parents."

His head tilted slightly in puzzlement, as his head did a bit of calculations. "What? Then…"

"I was adopted by a nice man that they had worked for."

How come he didn't know this? Then again, what did he expect? "I see…" was all he uttered. He really wanted to ask what happened to her parents, but they weren't that close. He was the one who actually ensured that.

"They died when I was still a toddler." She muttered and another long moment of silence ensued between them. He wanted to ask how they died, but then… what would that make him look like? Thankfully though, she told him willingly herself.

"They had gotten involved with the Mafia and got killed in the process." She whispered almost to herself in a very soft tone of voice that he had never heard her use before. His eyes widened abruptly, and for the moment he had no strength to force it away. He first needed to shoo certain questions away, an attempt to calm his mind.

'How the hell did she remain so… faithful to mankind, then? And why?' He asked himself and was visibly gawking at her now.

"Please don't look at me as if some kind of monster, Yagami-san."

He mentally punched himself to catch his composure, he quickly rummaged his brain for a save. "I-Ie. I just thought it's amazing that you stay by your belief that the world is not hopeless."

"I suppose…"

"Shall we?" he asked, thinking how he would improve his plan for her that day. He had set up a trap to make her see first hand how the world really worked. If she did, he thought that maybe she would stop bugging him with her ideals and he would stop feeling so… different.

But after this little revelation…

He found out that destroying her trust in humanity was going to be a much harder task than he thought it was. Still, he needed to succeed. The kind of threat she was to him: she should not even exist.

It did not matter that he did not want to kill her; it was the most logical thing to do.

And so, some torturous steps to the bakery begun.

...

Tap

Light and Lawliette were walking to their destination, he opened up a topic to make what he planned for her to witness all that more surprising. Lawliette, though, was basically as monotonous as ever. "You walked here?" he asked.

"Hai."

"Okay. Do they know you're out of the house?"

"No."

"…"

"They won't find out." She added as reassurance.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just am, Yagami-san, I just am." Lawliette answered casually and looked around. They were then in a very… unmaintained narrow street and she was hearing very disturbing noises. She hastened her pace to see a group of gangsters and they were doing… something to a girl she could barely see in the middle of them. She could hear her muffle screams.

Her eyes widened, and her mind went blank.

She ran to save her.

...

Light could not believe what she just did! What the hell was this idiot thinking? He was planning on pretending his surprise with her and forcing her to hide to safety as he called the police– which he called using a program so that they would come on precisely the right time.

But considering how idiotic his companion was, that 'right on time' might be too late. At the moment, he wished his heart would stop beating so loudly so he could actually think—

Then he realized he probably couldn't do that, and he idiotically ran to her as well. But she was quick and to his utter shock she kicked the back of the man's leg allowing her to pull him back and push him on all-fives. It took one blow, and the man lost consciousness.

The other was like him, frozen by surprise, when they finally get it together to attack her simultaneously. He didn't know what style of martial arts she was using but she single-handedly defeated half the men without getting hit.

But soon someone finally got her and she fell head first on the floor.

"Lawliette!" he yelled in despair, as he punched the guy who was running to attack her. His adrenaline though, somehow disappeared when the other girl, the one the men were ganging up against, screamed for him.

"Onii-san!"

His eyes widened. This wasn't part of the plan. He knew he made them abduct a random girl – the most innocent one they could find—but Sayu?

"W-What?" He uttered but he was cut off by a bulky man coming to him and he kicked him as hard as he could. He was 'finished' off by Lawliette making a jump kick.

His dishevelled sister immediately ran to him for a protective embrace, while Lawliette trudged to his side. They begged the skies this moment to breathe would last, but unfortunately the remaining men went to attack. Light wanted to stop Lawliette from acting so recklessly but then, thank goodness, those blasted officers finally came.

"FREEZE! Nobody move!"

And right on cue..., every one of the gangsters died of a heart attack.

...

YAGAMI RESIDENCE

Light, Lawliette, and Sayu immediately went to the house after getting questioned in the police station. After that, Light was certain that nobody really did know Lawliette was out with him… having such a rich father meant that they should have already shown up ages prior to take her away.

He was glad that they didn't, for he also knew how to be grateful despite his actions. To think that his own sister almost got molested because of him, and she was saved by no other than the girl he wanted to confuse with the mere sight.

He sighed. Lawliette proved every one of his expectations wrong and a huge part of him was mad, but another was really just thankful. That human part he was increasingly refusing to acknowledge: the part of him that he had been trying to suppress since obtaining the death note.

His eyes shifted to Lawliette, who was then drinking hot chocolate with the admiring Sayu—who seemed too amazed by Lawliette that she seemed to have forgotten what those thugs almost did to her.

It was then that he finally realized why she was a threat. The amount of time it took him to get to the conclusion was extremely disconcerting, but he got there.

Mukahi Lawliette was the person who had been making him keep his humanity and, perhaps, making him want to keep it.

She was the one doing the 'converting'.

...

"Haaa..." A certain ebony-colored Shinigami yawned shamelessly as he stood beside Yagami light inside the train station, the very next morning.

The human was resting his back against the wall as he waited for the FBI agent. The railway station would be the setting to Light's plan of eliminating a few major people who went against him. He waited for him near the food courts, a spot where no surveillance cameras were placed.

As they waited, Light unwillingly wished that he didn't time the events to that moment. He wanted to see her when she had just woken up. She slept in Sayu's bed after a long time of chatting with his sister, since he could hear some of the laughter (mostly boisterous ones from his sister) from his room.

She should still be asleep at this time, though, but he was almost certain that she wouldn't be there anymore when he got back home...

Tap Tap Tap

His thoughts immediately went back to the present. A familiar figure walked passed him and he immediately pushed the thoughts to the back of his head.

There he was: Rey Penbar.

He smirked, stood up, and Ryuk started flapping his wings.

Light's intricate plan had finally begun.

Ray Penbar got frozen—eyes filled with fear—as he watched a man die of a heart attack in front of him. Just as the guy behind him said so. He shivered. This man behind him was the real thing: Kira. His voice was familiar, but why couldn't he place it anywhere? It was as if some force had been keeping it to the back of his head.

Kira soon gave him the conditions that he needed to accomplish if he didn't want to die, along with his loved ones.

As he took hold of the envelope with a bunch of paper and a speaking device, images of his family surged through. And her image stayed there until Kira's threateningly calm but cold voice pulled him out of his trance. "Do something wrong, and they will die. She will die."

Naomi…

He let his chest pound crazily at what was happening. He was going to be Kira's dog…

But he didn't care. So long as they were safe.

...

Light watched—with blunt interest and amusement—his suffering as the door of the train slid close. He loved that feeling of achievement and pride when his victim would recognize just how they played his game and how badly they had lost.

It was interesting, the capabilities of the death note. Making sure Penbar did not remember his voice was just one of them. He tricked him into killing his own comrades by hiding a piece of the death note and making him write their names himself.

It was indeed a very entertaining moment for Light, making enemies kill their own allies would always be.

He smirked.

"L," he mused. "You're next."

...

"Hmnn..."

Meanwhile, back at the residence of the police chief, long pale arms stretched to thin air, followed by a long moan indicating someone was being forced out of lethargy. It was Lawliette, and she woke up rather comfortable that morning. She wiped her eyes and looked around, soon flinching as soon as she realized that her new friend was no longer beside her. She stood up and stretched further, and her eyes ended up on the clock.

9:00am

She overslept but she did not flinch. Chances were, they still didn't know she's not home. She specifically told them not to bother her in the room until she went out herself, and they knew all too well how long she could lock herself up in a room for a very long time when she needed time to think.

She felt bad for lying, of course, as well as the fact that she had put the case aside for now. Even if she knew there were not a lot of new data until the FBI agents finished their job, there was still a feeling of guilt that she was relaxing—especially after Spaceland. It was odd how relaxed she was with this family, momentarily forgetting about the case.

She even met the chief in person, and despite his sternness she could tell he was quite a sweet man.

She opened the door lightly and quietly went down the stairs. The first person she saw was Sayu watching some sort of soap opera in the morning. "Good morning," She said to Sayu and Mrs. Yagami who was at the dining table reading a magazine. The old woman nodded in greeting while the little girl stood up and gave her a nice hug,

"Ohayou." Sayu had really been attached to her, calling Lawliette her 'hero' after witnessing her 'awesome karate-chop moves', even when most of what she did was not Karate. This girl was definitely not like her brother, and to some degree it was quite refreshing.

A part of her, though, imagined Light like this: unperturbed, relaxed, and didn't seem like he was carrying the world on his shoulders—a carefree Light. The image made her smile.

Speaking of Light…

"Where is Ya—Light-kun?" She asked politely, pretty sure he wasn't still sleeping. Her mother also urged her to call them by their first names, much to Light's somewhat masked displeasure, since they were all Yagamis.

"He went to buy the groceries for Lunch." Sachiko answered, omitting the fact that he was taking a little longer than usual.

"Eh…"

Sachiko smiled. "That's just how diligent he is," and then grinned at her so slyly that it effectively made her flinch.

"Don't you think so, too, Mukahi-san?"

"H-Hai…"

"So… how was the date going before that?" Sayu asked, as if she wasn't the victim. Lawliette knew by her wincing that she was still affected, but Sayu was a very optimistic girl.

"I don't think it's a date, though..." She replied. Rokko specifically told her a date is a date only when one of the parties told it to be. He reasoned that hanging out together could be called many things, and date was one of them. But 'dates' were special, he said, and must be only called so appropriately.

She believed him of course. He wasn't (exactly) lying and Lawliette had absolutely no knowledge of such social customs. So she was basically depending on what she learned from her friends. And as these thoughts passed by her head, her stomach soon reacted.

Ggrrrowl

The other two women laughed."You should eat now, Lawliette-nee." Sayu grinned and L could only smile back.

"Thanks."

...

Yagami Light arrived at his home, looking especially nonchalant – as if he did not just kill a dozen FBI agents.

"Tadaima." He said, and his sister greeted him back. For a moment there, he expected Lawliette to be beside his sister watching the soap opera she so religiously saw.

"Mukahi-san had already gone home?"

"Hai." They said almost simultaneously that it was suspicious. In any case, he was in much too good mood today – he was winning in this game he was having with L. And he knew it. It was just a matter of time before L did, too.

How he wished he could see that bastard's face at that moment.

"Oh, Light."

"Hai, Kaa-san?" he asked politely and she handed him the rolls of tissue paper that he bought during his shopping that morning.

"Mind putting this in the bathroom please, I might forget…" She said with a misplaced 'please and thank you' look that his mother only wore when she was asking for an especially difficult favour.

Suspicious…

But he went to do what he was asked to, anyway.

He went up quietly and stood outside the bathroom's door. He stared at it and pondered: What was his family planning? He asked himself only to find—a second later—that it all came to place and he felt like scoffing at them.

It was beyond obvious that his mother liked Mukahi – she was smart, rich, and overall very promising—and Sayu worshipped her. Really, though, it was almost offending that they thought he'd fall for that trick. He stared at the door knob.

Then, again…

He frowned, and mentally looked at himself as if he just ate a cockroach. Did he just consider purposely falling for the trap? He let out a deep breath, stepped back from the bathroom door, and gestured to go to his room.

His frown got deeper. Seriously!

He did not notice someone sneak behind him, pointing finger raised.

"Gah!" he uttered uncharacteristically, as he felt something jab his back. His yell was admittedly, still manly, but he was not supposed to make such reflexive reactions. Especially not in front of her.

"Ehh… (I don't know why you're staring at the door knob but) Light-kun actually has a sensitive spot on his back. Who would have thought—" She muttered in amusement, using her somewhat monotonous voice, only to be cut off by Light caging her to the wall. Her eyes widened and his almost did, too.

He ignored the muffled squeals by his mother and sister. This was not part of their plan (obviously), but apparently still entertaining to watch and worthy of shameless prying.

Sometimes he wondered how the hell people –especially his family—could act so idiotically.

He let out a sigh and leaned over to her, making sure his mother and sister did not know that he was aware of their presence. He could smell the shampoo Lawliette used and he pushed away whatever urge he was feeling at the moment. He felt Lawliette flinch slightly under his hold, and he smirked in… amusement.

"They set me up."

"Pardon?"

"They wanted me to see you bathing…" he whispered more quietly, and she got the message. She lowered her voice.

"Why would they do that?"

"They're bored."

"Like you?"

He smiled. "Yes, like me."

"What are you planning?" she asked abruptly surprising him. He did not notice he was even about to do something.

"They're my family. Why not entertain them when they need it?" He saved coolly, almost huffing. Lawliette's eyebrows curled in puzzlement.

"What do you mea—"

Too late, he thought. He already locked lips with her.

...

Lawliette got the call a few minutes later.

Before then she had been dazed and fizzled to the point that she did not even bother to hide and make some sort of plan so that no one would know she was actually out of her room. She barely even registered it was Watari calling, no doubt asking where she was, until he said the distressing news:

"All FBI agents stationed in Japan are dead." He paused. "It was Kira."

Light, who was still only an inch away and had been watching every miniscule reaction—primarily to distract himself from his own physical reactions—frowned at her expression. A moment later she absorbed the scale of this tragedy and her body shook with such intensity that even Light forgot how to breathe.

She clenched her chest, almost as if she was having a heart attack. She fell down on the floor, her legs no longer having the energy to let her stand. It hurts, she thought in anguish. It hurts so much.

"M-Mukahi!" He yelled, panic evident in his voice, and soon his family was there with him trying to figure out what occurred. "What happened?!"

She did not utter a word for a while, she could not. When she did, she was already crying. "They're dead. They're dead." She chanted, sobbing, and on the verge of hyperventilating. She held on to him for dear life and he did not feel any pain as her nails bore into his skin. He could only pull her to him and pat her back, his being wishing to give her comfort.

It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

...

Kira would kill anyone, even those who weren't criminals. They just have to be a threat to him. No, worse, they didn't even need to be that—as proven by the dozens of men he killed for his 'experiments'.

Kira, she thought with so much distaste and anger that saying his name felt disgusting. He must die.

When she finally managed to snap out of her stupor and do some thinking, the police found out about the mass killing of the FBI agents, the very FBI agents were assigned to investigate them: proof that she doubted her own comrades. This unsurprisingly made them turn against her. She could not blame them, she was the only one at fault here but she knew there wasn't really much of a choice.

But it had been inevitable—she couldn't trust them per se. Kira planned this all along.

But in the least..., this event would unmask those truly willing to risk their lives to catch Kira. The number though slightly disappointed her since, before as her idealistic principles ran her actions, she thought everyone who took this job was willing to see justice until the end.

This might sound judgmental for she knew that some quit just because she was leading the case, while many thought of their families. But seeing how they acted and looked at situations through the weeks she had started to know better: that some people just took the job simply because of its position to power.

Lawliette sighed. She saw that there were some who would stay, but would probably leave because they distrusted her. But she was determined to take that to the end. She was willing to risk her life for this case, and it was time that she showed it.

Through her screen, she looked and stared at the remaining officers… particularly the chief. He was stated firmly that if she wanted to remain working alongside them, she must also risk her life. That wasn't a question – not for her. She had been planning on doing that ages ago.

She stared at him again for a moment as she held her mic.

It seems like she'll be hanging out with another Yagami…

But at least he wouldn't be setting her up with Light.