Light’s POV:

“Ryuzaki-san said you wanted to speak to me in private,” Light stated, closing the door behind him. He spared a glance over at the shinigami, who was hovering in the corner of the interrogation room. Her look, though stoic, was also serious. “He said you felt it was important that we speak alone.”

I have to admit, somehow I feel like I know what this might be about…

“Yes,” Rem responded. Light noted how her eyes never left his. “That’s correct. That detective said it would be safe for us to use this room to talk. He assured me that what is said will not leave the two of us in here. As far as he knows, we’re talking about the investigation. I told him you had questions I was willing to answer.”

She’s gone this far, huh?

“This...this sounds rather serious,” Light commented. Although he was rather annoyed by the shinigami’s sudden antics, he kept his tone light.

“It is rather serious, Light Yagami.”

Light let out a sigh. “Let me guess…this is about Misa Amane, yes?” Though it was phrased as a question, he could already sense Rem’s response.

“Why bother to ask when I’m sure you already know the answer to that?” The shinigami quipped. “You know me well enough by now.”

Of course…after all, she’s the only person Rem cares about… I suppose I should have seen this meeting coming… no matter what I say or do, it appears she’s never quite satisfied with me…

He crossed his arms over his chest, propping himself on the wall behind him. “I can assure you, Rem, I’ve been extra careful as far as Misa is concerned.”

“I’m sure you have. I know how you are, Light Yagami, you’re thorough.”

Is that so? If that’s the case, then...

“Then why did you want to speak to me so badly?” He prompted the shinigami.

It has to be the exchange, yes?

Rem’s response was almost instant. “Listen, I know Misa’s gotten in contact with Teru Mikami, I can tell from your behavior. I’ve been keeping a close eye on you. I’m sure you’ve noticed that as well. I also know that you are planning things so that the exchange will take place soon. Therefore, what I want to know is…have you decided on when and where the exchange is taking place?”

I had a feeling this was where this was going. Well, well, Rem, I can’t say I’m surprised. However, is this really necessary? I assure you, Rem, everything will be taken care of. Misa will be okay. I’ve made damned sure of that, thanks to you. You know very well that I need your cooperation in order to get rid of L. I wouldn’t do anything to mess that up, so you can trust me on that.

Before Light could interrupt, Rem continued on, “as I’m sure you know, I want to ensure that Misa will not be put into any danger with this situation. I will not be able to leave headquarters, which you also know…that’s why I at least want to know exactly what it is you have planned. That way, I can rest assured.”

Looks like I’ll just have to humor her…that’s alright I suppose. It’s a hassle, but if I tell her, she’ll get off my tail. I won’t have to deal with her or Misa Amane for that much longer anyway…soon enough, she’ll be getting rid of L for me.

Light let out a sigh. “Fine. You should know that I’ve thought a lot about it. There are benefits and risks to every possible situation. A public exchange would be risky because, while it can easily be masked by others, it can also easily be recorded. I wouldn’t put it past Ryuzaki to have someone still privately keeping tabs on Misa, so even if she wore a disguise, it would be useless. However, a private exchange would also be risky in this situation. Privacy can be assured, yes, but there will still be a record of the exchange in a hotel booking and whatnot. And once again, I’m sure Ryuzaki might still be tailing Misa.”

I’m positive he’s still tailing her, in fact…knowing him, he’s probably sore about those fake rules. He’d be willing to do anything to prove I’m Kira. That makes this all the more hard, but that’s okay. I’ll meet his challenge head on. There’s not much he can do to me right now anyway, not when everyone else, Keiko included, believes in my innocence. I know they’re willing to vouch for me, and if L accuses me again, they won’t listen…

“Get to the point, Light Yagami.”

“Listen,” Light raised an eyebrow at Rem, “what I’m saying is, no matter what is done, there is still a risk. However, I’ve thought a lot about it and I’ve decided that the best plan would be to go for a private exchange. It’s still a risk, but I’ve taken some measures of precaution in order to not arouse any suspicion.”

I’ve spent the last few days thinking it over, in fact…I have to carefully instruct Misa to follow my instructions…

“I”m intrigued. What will this private exchange entail?”

“I’m glad you asked, Rem,” the corners of Light’s lips curved upwards. “I know Ryuzaki still believes me to be Kira, and Misa Amane the second Kira. Despite the fake rules that I had set in place, he still won’t change his mind. And there’s no way I could change his mind, I know that. However, without any concrete evidence, he can’t do anything. Even if he thinks he’s right. Therefore we can’t let him get any more evidence. Or rather, even if he gets ‘evidence’, he won’t be able to use it. As long as there’s nothing incriminating, and there won’t be, he can’t do a damn thing.”

Right now, he’s a sitting duck…he’s exactly where I want him. I have the upper hand right now, and I cannot allow him to catch up. I won’t play into his hand.

Rem thought this over a moment. “That makes sense, he has nothing to convict you or Misa, especially because of those fake rules in the death note… so, what is it you have planned? Tell me.”

“I was just getting to that, Rem.” Light cast a look at her, “I’m sure you’re well aware of Misa’s career as a model…”

The shinigami let out a breath. Her confusion was plain as day to Light, “what’s that got to do with anything?”

“Everything,” Light responded. “Just think about it a moment. Modeling shoots are generally private, right? After all, Misa’s safety needs to be ensured, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to do the shoot.”

Rem raised an eyebrow. “You’re suggesting…Misa make the exchange while working on a modeling shoot…?”

“That’s correct. It’ll be a private modeling shoot. Misa’s having a photoshoot in Aoyama on Friday, so four days from now. Even if L has someone tailing Misa, I doubt they’d have an easy time getting into her shoot. Misa’s told me they have a strict employee only policy. Even if they did manage to make it inside, it would be hard to get Misa alone. Why bother going that far to tail her when L knows that even Misa wouldn’t do something as stupid as killing criminals at work? He wouldn’t do that, therefore there is little incentive for him to go through the trouble of having someone sneaking into her work shoot. So it’ll be the safest place for the exchange. L also has no idea that I will be swapping out Misa as Kira…it’s the perfect plan.”

“As you said, you’ve really thought this through. It makes sense and I’m happy that Misa’s safety will be ensured…” Rem trailed off, “however, where does Mikami come into play? He’s a criminal prosecutor. What would he be doing at a modeling shoot?”

“You’re right. He wouldn’t.” Light said. He was smug as he added, “but it just so happens that he has business in Aoyama that day. The building Misa is modeling in has many different smaller company headquarters inside of it, and it happens that Mikami will be there to work on a case involving a company within the building. They will both be there on business, but doing two separate things. Even if L later on connects the dots, he won’t be able to prove anything. He won’t have any evidence.”

He won’t be able to do anything…and besides, everyone else believes in those fake rules… L will be powerless…exactly where I want him to be…and if it all goes well, it’ll be all according to my plan.

Rem’s POV:

The shinigami narrowed her eyes at Light. She still did not trust him, but she also knew that he wouldn’t dare cross her. Not when Rem still had Misa looming over him. It appeared Light was willing to do anything in order to protect Misa to ensure that Rem would still be on his side in order to get rid of L for him.

So, that’s it, Light Yagami? You’re using this modeling shoot as a cover up? It’s perfect. I have to admit that it truly is well thought out. I have to hand it to you, you truly are rather calculative. However, you’re also rather heartless.

“You never cease to amaze me, Light Yagami.”

“I’m sure,” Light retorted. “That being said, I believe this is the best course of action. Misa will be completely fine, L won’t be able to gain any new evidence against me, and a new Kira will take over. It’s a win-win-win.”

Rem almost snorted, a win-win-win? Well…you’re right ...partially right, that is. You don’t know that Keiko is well aware of your plan, and that she has plans to stop you. Oh well. What you don’t know won’t hurt you. It’s your arrogant attitude that I dislike. You dug your own grave when you refused to take Misa’s feelings seriously. I may not like Keiko, but I do believe I can trust her more than I trust you. At least, once Keiko’s plan is in action, Misa will no longer be a pawn. And soon enough, I won’t even have to deal with you any longer.

“I’m satisfied with your plan,” the shinigami finally spoke after a moment. “Everything should run smoothly and soon Misa will be free. That’s all I want.”

“Perfect.” Light responded. He smirked, “that’s all you wanted to talk about, correct?”

“Yes.”

Now it’s time for me to inform Keiko…

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

/slight timeskip/

Keiko’s POV:

“Kagami-san,” the detective called out to her as he entered the main investigation room. At the sound of his voice, Keiko turned around to face him. He moved to take a seat near the monitors, as usual. The two were now the only ones left at headquarters. Everyone else had either gone to sleep or gone home.

Seeing he had Keiko’s attention, L continued on, “Rem said she wishes to speak to you. She’s expecting you to come meet her in the interrogation room in a few minutes.”

“Alright,” Keiko gave a nod in L’s direction. “Thank you for letting me know.”

That’s right…Light’s gone to bed now…that means it’s safe for Rem and I to meet without arousing any suspicion.

“Of course,” L replied. The room was silent for a moment, save for the whirring coming from the detective’s laptop. Something that Keiko was sure the detective was very aware of. She knew she was quite aware. Whenever she and the detective spoke one-on-one, something in her stirred and she was always hyper aware of him and her surroundings. Keiko suspected it had something to do with her ever-growing feelings for him.

Wait a moment, Keiko bit her lip in thought. Think. If Rem wants to talk with me, that means it’s probably about-

“It’s about the exchange, yes?” L questioned, breaking through Keiko’s thoughts.

Keiko gave a small nod, “yes. She’s agreed to tell us the details of the exchange If she wants to meet with me now then I’m assuming she’s found out those details.”

“Sounds about right,” the detective commented. “She met up with Light earlier. If anything, I’m sure she used her power as a shinigami to get the information out of him.”

“I’m sure she did,” Keiko agreed. “Light’s pretty stubborn, after all. I can’t imagine what he’s capable of, but even his powers aren’t any match to Rem’s...I’m sure he didn’t need that much convincing.”

“Light’s capable of quite a bit, I’m sure,” L replied. “Then again, so are we, especially with Rem on our side.”

Keiko gave a soft chuckle. “Of course. And don’t worry, Ryuzaki-san, you’ll be the first to know about the details Rem gives me.”

“Who said I was worried, Kagami-san?”

A ghost of a smile played on the detective’s lips as the two stared at each other for a moment. His dark eyes bore into hers and she could feel her insides turning into mush and her stomach doing somersaults. Any retort she would have come up with died on her lips without so much as a fighting chance.

It’s rare that he smiles, but when he does…he has to know the effect he has on me. It’s too obvious.

“I-I should probably get going,” Keiko managed to stutter out. “Rem’s probably expecting me.”

“Right. Shouldn’t keep a shinigami waiting,” the detective responded, though he kept his gaze on her. Keiko could feel her cheeks turning pink but she attempted to keep her composure as she walked by L to get out into the hallway.

/short timeskip/

“...so that is all of what Light told me about his plans for the death note exchange. He feels, because the location of the shoot is secure, L won’t be able to gather any evidence against himself or Misa. He’s been extra cautious,” the shinigami finished. Her expression was serious and she kept her gaze on Keiko, gauging her reaction.

A modeling shoot…I certainly wouldn’t have ever expected that. However, Light’s logic is pretty solid, I’ll give him that. He knows what he’s doing in order to keep people off his trail. It’ll make things harder for sure. And, because there are many offices within the building, it’ll be hard to narrow down which company or firm this new Kira works for. L and I will have a lot of work to do, but with Aiber and Wedy’s help, we should be able to narrow it down rather soon. Or so I hope. I can only keep hoping for the best.

“That certainly sounds like him,” Keiko replied. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. He really thought this all through.”

Which will make it all the harder to go after him….

“I was thinking the same thing,” the shinigami responded, shifting her position. “He also made it so he won’t have to be present during the exchange. I noticed that right away. I don’t think he did that by accident.”

I’m sure he did…he’s ensuring that no harm will come to him. Even though it’s risky, the risk only involves Misa and whoever this new Kira is… somehow, this isn’t a surprise to me, he really does only care about himself after all.

“Of course, there’s no way he would risk that. Not with Ryuzaki still suspecting him. This seems to be the best plan with the least amount of risk for both him and Misa.”

“Exactly,” Rem agreed. The shinigami continued on, a frown visible on her face, “Misa, however, still faces some risk…”

I suspect I know why she’s still worried…

“Don’t worry,” Keiko gave the shinigami a knowing look, “as agreed, no one will go after Misa. Any evidence collected during this exchange will solely be used to find out the identity of the new Kira. Ryuzaki and I plan to use this new Kira to give us the evidence to convict Light. Besides, as soon as Misa exchanges her death note, she loses her memories, correct? If she doesn’t remember her crime, how can L convict her?”

“Yes, that is correct,” Rem gave a nod. “As soon as Misa gives up ownership of her death note, all her memories of said death note will vanish.”

In a way, that’s scary…Misa will be losing a part of her own memories…all because of this supernatural notebook that gives you the power to kill. I wonder how she got a hold of such a thing in the first place, but I suppose we’ll never know… what matters most is that we capture this new Kira and get him to reveal Light’s true identity… that way, both Kira and the Second Kira are brought to justice…

“As long as you keep your end of the bargain, then all will be well. I am placing my trust in you, Keiko Kagami. I trust that you will not do anything to destroy that trust,” Rem added. Her gaze still had not left Keiko.

At this, a chill ran down Keiko’s spine, making her feel uneasy. She swallowed hard, meeting the shinigami’s hardened look.

I know we’re technically on the same side, but she’s still rather terrifying…it’s hard to forget that she’s still a powerful shinigami.

“Of course, Rem,” Keiko did her best to meet her gaze, “I understand. No matter what happens, know that Misa Amane will not be in any danger. She will be fine…Light and this new Kira, on the other hand, not so much. Rest assured that L and I will do whatever it takes in order to bring them to justice.”

“Good,” Rem exhaled. “I feel like now is a good time to remind you, Keiko Kagami, that so far I’ve upheld my end of the deal. It is now up to you and that detective of yours to bring an end to this.”

“I understand,” Keiko repeated. “As I said, we’ll do whatever is in our power in order to find enough evidence to convict Light…”

He deserves to be brought to justice…he’s a mass murderer…and I’ll stop at nothing until I know this case is closed.

Keiko continued on, “to be honest, when I first heard that there was a chance that he could be Kira, I didn’t want to believe it. I was blinded by my own bias, my feelings for him. I was a fool and I fell for him. But, now that I know the truth, all I feel towards him is disgust…he’s done some terrible things. Unforgivable things.”

To think that he fooled me for so long…and now I’m the one fooling him… I don’t like to fool people, but, in his case I almost think he deserves it…he’s not even human in my eyes, he’s a monster…

“You humans are rather complex with all your emotions,” the shinigami murmured.

Keiko let out a terse chuckle, “I’m sure it seems like that to you. From your perspective, you only kill to extend your own lifespan, right? We’re living in rather different worlds…”

“That we are,” Rem agreed. “Most shinigami just gamble their life away to kill time…killing isn’t high on our list of priorities. You humans can get rather crafty when a death note falls into your hands.”

“It would appear that nothing good comes from a death note falling into a human’s hands,” Keiko sighed. “I can say that it does more harm than good.”

“You may be right about that, Keiko Kagami,” the shinigami commented. “From what I’ve seen this notebook brings out people’s hatred and greed. Based on your stance in this investigation, I would take it that you agree with me.”

Keiko nodded. “Anyway, I should report back to Ryuzaki. Thank you for giving me this information, Rem. As agreed, we will do our part from here on out. I will probably meet up with you again to keep you updated on our progress...”

“‘Til next time then,” the shinigami responded.

With that, Keiko exited the interrogation room. She headed back toward the main investigation room, back toward L, to deliver the newest information.

/short timeskip/

“...and that’s all Rem told me,” Keiko took in a breath, relaxing a moment. It was a lot of information she had to remember, but she was certain she had thought of everything. The case and L’s life was resting on this information, of course.

There’s no way I’d forget, not with his life on the line...

“It’s certainly not what I was expecting, but it’s evident that Light really thought this through,” she added.

“I see,” L responded, “a modeling shoot. How creative of him…”

Wait a moment…

“Aiber and Wedy will have enough time to prepare, right?”

L gave a nod. “Yes. They’re the best in their fields, rest assured. They’ll have plenty of time to prepare. Aiber’s exceptional people skills will come in handy, and I have no doubt in Wedy’s abilities to make it past security. I’ll inform them tonight and they’ll take it from here,” the detective replied. “I’m sure everything will run smoothly.”

“Good,” Keiko breathed out in relief.

One less thing to worry about...

“Thank you, Keiko-chan,” the detective murmured after a moment.

“Hmm?” Keiko looked over at him, surprise written on her face.

Did he say what I think he just said…?

“Thank you, for going this far. For doing all this,” L repeated. “I know it’s also for the sake of the investigation, but I thought you should know how appreciative I am.”

“I-er, it’s nothing, really,” Keiko could feel her cheeks turning red. She was becoming quite aware of their proximity to each other on the couch. The two were half a cushion apart, somehow rather close but still too far away. Keiko was careful not to scoot too far in, or else the two would be uncomfortably close. Even where she was, she was still very aware of the detective.

“It’s not nothing, you worked so hard,” L’s voice was soft. “You’ve done amazing so far.”

“Ryuzaki-san, I-”

The words died on Keiko’s lips when the detective leaned in, gently brushing aside a stray strand of hair that was blocking her face. She found she forgot how to speak, or even breathe, at his touch. He didn’t move away, as Keiko expected, and the two were face to face, merely inches apart.

I want to kiss him, so so so badly, Keiko realized, and I don’t know if I can stop myself if he keeps looking at me like that…it’s far too dangerous a situation

Keiko was about to turn away when she felt L’s fingertips graze her chin, causing her to stop. She glanced at him, a question in her eyes, only to notice the softness in his gaze. It was a look she hadn’t quite seen before, but she could feel her heart starting to beat ever so loudly in her chest.

His voice was quiet, barely audible, “Keiko.”

Keiko was unsure of what to do, or what L’s motive was. She wasn’t sure if the detective himself knew what he was going to do. From the look in his eyes, he was almost as startled by his actions as she was. He scooted himself over, closing the gap between them even more. Keiko’s breathing heightened in anticipation.

Is he going to…? She couldn’t bring herself to finish that sentence. Keiko closed her eyes, waiting for the detective to make a decision. Disappointment rose in her chest when the detective lowered his fingers from her chin.

I suppose I was wrong...

Keiko was about to open her eyes once more when she felt the detective’s arms wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. If she wasn’t mistaken, his heart was beating just as fast as her own. She could feel the warmth radiating from his body and she felt as though she could burst.

He’s…holding…me.

Somehow the act felt way more intimate than a kiss. The last time she had been this close to him, as far as she could remember, was after she had woken up from her nightmare months ago. That time, it had been her that had pulled him close, and she was still half asleep when she did it.

As the two parted, a single thought was on her mind, he held me…he trusts me…could this mean that he...? She couldn’t finish her thought, but the question lingered on. Deep down, she knew that, even if she had hope of his feelings for her, even if she had some proof, it wouldn’t be wise to act on impulse. Not when Light still had control. Not when L’s life was still in danger.