Failure (A Death Note/L Love Story)

Chapter 45

I got up again to refill my coffee cup and get the box of sugar cookies from the pantry plus a bowl of cherries for L. I needed all the calories I could get if I was to work as quickly as I wanted. It seemed that the new Kira had to be working on the higher end of the food chain, but I knew we couldn't completely exclude the rest of the employees from Yotsuba. That meant there was a chance that we would have to check all the employee records.

I walked back in, munching on a cookie, when I saw that Yagami had returned with Mogi. I waved to them as I sat back at my computer, placing the cherries next to L, but I still overhead the conversation they were having as I worked. "I'm not even sure how he figured it out, but Light has a theory that Kira is somehow involved in the Yotsuba group. Can you believe it?"

"Yotsuba?" Yagami repeated. I could hear a strain in his voice that indicated something was wrong.

It seemed Matsuda picked up on it as well, "Oh, yes."

"That's probably it. Good work," Yagami complimented. I peered at the two over my shoulder and noticed Yagami had placed a hand on Matsuda's shoulder. Something strange was going on. He almost never complimented Matsuda.

"Huh?"

"We just spoke with the director, and it seems Kira's offered bribes to a number of politicians. So, that's that. The police caved in to him," Yagami revealed. The three of us gasped and turned around in our chairs quickly, Light even standing up. I hadn't expected them to drop out so fast. Actually, I thought we had another week. Maybe this Kira was a bit more influential than we expected. L glanced at me, and I nodded. It seemed our little plan was going to have to start early.

"Mogi and I have already made up our minds on this. Aizawa, Matsuda, if you wish to continue working on this case, you'll have to hand in your letter of resignation to the NPA just as Mogi and I are going to do," Yagami explained to them. They gasped. L faced his computer again. "Like it or not, you cannot pursue Kira as a member of the police force anymore."

"H-Hold on a second, Chief!" Aizawa fretted.

Yagami continued, "They made it quite clear. If you continue to work with L and H, you'll be fired. That's all there is to it."

"So then, Chief, you're gonna...."

He confirmed, "In a few hours, I'm no longer going to be your chief. However, we all have our own lives, so think it over carefully."

I cut in, "Most of you have families. You really need to think about this before committing. Is catching Kira really worth making it harder for your future?"

L told them, "If you want my opinion, you'd be better off as police officers. Hikari and I were alone when we started this case, and although we're grateful to all of you for staying with us as long as you have, I know that we can do this by ourselves. I'm sure to visit you at the department and bring you Kira's head as a reward for all that you sacrificed."

"Ryuzaki, Hikari, as long as I'm alive, you won't be working alone. You have my word on that," Light promised. I smiled in thanks.

"Hm, that's right. Now, we have Light working with us until we catch Kira, so we won't be alone after all. But as I said, I think the rest of you should remain as police officers," L said.

I nodded, "I agree. Not only is it safer, but it's just a better option in general."

Yagami pointed out, "But when you first contacted us, you said that you would need the help of the police in order to solve this case!"

L retorted, "That's because the police as an organization were still hoping to arrest Kira. They weren't bowing to him. Besides, with all due respect, there is a big difference between the help of two or three civilians and the police as an organization." He bit two cherries off their stems before he continued. "As you said, the police have made their position clear. They don't wanna catch Kira, so let's just leave it at that." He put the cherry stem in his mouth.