Keiko’s POV:

There were many members of the Japanese police force lying face down on the cold pavement all around Keiko. She didn’t have to try and check their pulse to realize that they were already dead.

Kira had gotten to them first, meaning that she was too late in trying to save them.

Tears were starting to form in her eyes, and she covered her mouth to try and keep from either retching or screaming. The smell of death could be quite overpowering, and she felt like she was simply about to go insane.

She closed her eyes a moment and tried to compose herself even though her heart was hammering about wildly in her chest and she could feel the pit of despair growing larger and larger in her stomach.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again. Now slightly calmer, she stepped carefully over the bodies as she went deeper and deeper through the darkened alleyway, hoping to find a place where the remains ended

However, no matter what, there were always more bodies appearing on the ground that she had to try and avoid stepping on. They just didn’t stop coming, and she was now a long ways down the pathway.

“Just how many people did you kill?!” she called out, “I know you’re here, Kira! Answer me, dammit!

“That does not matter. What matters is...showing you that this is what happens to those that dare to try and cross me,” the voice said from the shadows behind her. She looked back, but she saw nothing, only the darkness of the night staring back at her.

Turning back around, she then saw the familiar faces of the Task Force materializing right in front of her. There was Mr. Yagami, with his glasses and dark furrowed eyebrows, Matsuda with that stupid grin of his, Ide with his odd lack of eyebrows, Mogi with his spiky, black hair pointing out in every direction, and Aizawa, with his afro and steep eyebrows. On the very end, there was L, who had a thumb in his mouth, his raven hair was mussed up and his dark eyes were staring straight into Keiko’s.

She reached out to them, but as soon as she was within arms length of touching them, they slowly disappeared back into the night without leaving a trace.

She heard a maniacal laugh ringing throughout the alleyway, “I just got rid of one of them, that damned Ukita and they’ll be next! You know, that is, if I don’t get to you first!”

“No! We’ll catch you, together as a team, as the Task Force! I swear, I won’t rest until you’re caught and arrested!” Keiko yelled out, looking out at the night sky as she did so. However, Kira didn’t give her a proper response, instead he started to laugh again, his laughter making her cover her ears.

“I’d like to see you try!” he said after a while. Keiko crumpled down onto the ground, defeated, grasping at her heart in pain. She could quite literally feel the life draining out of her. She opened her mouth, trying to scream, but nothing came out. What else could she do? She slowly started to close her eyes, letting death overcome her.

“Keiko-chan!” a voice cried out suddenly, and she could feel herself being shaken, “Keiko-chan! Please, wake up!”

“H-huh?” Keiko’s eyes bolted open, and she could feel the sticky sweat that had formed in the shape of a puddle clinging to the back of her shirt and to her forehead. The first thing she saw was Matsuda’s face hovering just slightly right above hers. His round, dark brown eyes were full of concern.

What the…?! It was just a dream? I must have fell asleep while L was going over the video tapes...but...it felt so real. Ugh, Keiko shivered, her mind was slowly trying to switch gears back to reality, I can’t let that nightmare actually become a reality. I can’t let Kira kill me, I can’t be one of his many victims. No, I refuse to let that be my fate.

As soon as Matsuda noticed she was awake, he breathed a sigh of relief, slumping over on the couch cushion next to her, “oh thank goodness, you’re finally up. You were moving around a little and making a lot of noise in your sleep, it sounded like you were having a-”

“Nightmare,” L finished for him, glancing at Keiko, who moved so that she was now sitting up on the couch properly, “anyway, it’s a good thing Matsuda-san finally woke you up. You were starting to distract me from my work. It would’ve irritated me.”

“Ryuzaki-san!” Matsuda called out, eyeing the great detective warily, “i-it’s n-not her fault she was having a nightmare! I have to admit, I’ve been having quite a few of them myself lately...anyway, I think we should send her home. It’s late, it’s already past midnight now.”

A couple seconds of silence passed, and Keiko glanced from L to Matsuda, still trying to process what what going on. She felt pretty groggy. While she had slept, the quality of her sleep had been poor. She fought a yawn and decided that coffee would be just the thing to wake her up. Stretching a little, she stood up and headed over to the coffee machine in the corner of the hotel room.

“No,” she heard Matsuda correct as she poured herself a cup.

He was now giving L a hardened look, glaring him down, “I take that back. We should have sent her back home hours ago, after she first showed up. She was crying when she came here, she was in no state to help us.”

“Are you quite done with your theatrics, Matsuda-san? I’m trying to work here,” L questioned darkly, glancing up from his papers to look over at Matsuda. He looked rather irritated that he was still being interrupted from his work. Clearly the last thing he wanted to do right then was to listen to Matsuda’s grumbling.

“No..I’m not...listen, Ryuzaki-san,” Matsuda continued, “it’s clear that she’s having a tough time right now, and she’s just a kid. Don’t you think she should have more of a break?! You’ve been pushing her pretty hard, even making her spy on Light while she’s supposed to be just on regular dates with him! It has to be rough on her, considering that her boyfriend is your primary suspect. And after what happened earlier tonight, well, as I said, you should have sent her home. She clearly isn’t ready to come back to the Task Force yet, it’s draining her.”

“Matsuda-san, you idiot. You’re talking like I’m the one who's responsible for her,” L responded, glancing over at Keiko. She could see a yet another quick flicker of annoyance cross his face, “do I look like her mother? Anyway, I clearly told her the very first day I met up with her that she would be able to come and go as she pleased. Therefore, it’s up to her, not up to me. She came back today on her own accord, and while her interruption earlier was rather abrupt, Keiko-”

“Keiko is right here and she can hear you two, you know,” Keiko interrupted irritability after taking a sip of her coffee and realizing they were talking about her, “Ryuzaki’s right though, Matsuda-san. I’m here because I want to be here. While I admit that living a double life is hard, there’s no other way I’d have it. I can’t just sit still, not when I now have the chance to help you guys out. Please have faith in me and understand, I want to...no...I have to prove myself and make my father in heaven proud. I have to prove that I’m not just a ‘kid’, like you say I am.”

If my father were alive, even though I didn’t really have a chance to get to know him that well, considering he was always traveling around for cases and I was fairly young when he died, I have a feeling that he would want me to investigate this case. After all, my mother says I get my sense of justice from him. Matsuda has to understand that I can’t step down now! I have to survive until the end, until justice is finally served!

Matsuda sighed, running a hand through his already mussed hair, “But Keiko-chan, you’re the youngest one here, it might be a bit too much for you. U-Ukita-san just...well..you know...and this case, I suspect that it will only get worse from here on out...look at how it’s starting to affect yo-”

“Mind your own business, and don’t be stupid, Matsuda-san! I’ll be fine,” Keiko snapped out. She then frowned, feeling instant regret for how agitated she just sounded. The investigation had apparently been wearing her down more than she realized.

Dammit…the last thing I want to do is make him feel bad, L already does a good enough job of that. He only means well.

She then spoke softer, but was still determined in her response, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you, I know you only mean well, you always do...but please, don’t worry about me. Besides, even if I’m the youngest one here, I’m not the only one who is having a hard time. What about you and the rest of the Task Force, especially Yagami-san? Light may be my boyfriend, but that’s his son that is under the most suspicion right now.”

“She has a point you know. It’s not just her that’s going through a hard time right now. I think the Chief is having a pretty difficult time himself considering he already worked himself into a heart attack...therefore, Matsuda-san, I’m sure Kagami-san knows and understands the dangers of this investigation,” L commented, no longer bothering to look up from his computer screen, “and she already said that she wants to be here, no, that she is determined to be here. So just let her be. No matter what, there’s a one hundred percent chance you won’t be able to change her mind.”

Matsuda opened his mouth to speak, but he decided against it when he saw Keiko looking rather fiercely in his general direction as she sipped her coffee. He just sighed, giving into defeat.

“Thank, you, Ryuzaki-san,” Keiko muttered, realizing she had just won with Ryuzaki’s help. She moved closer to where he sat in his chair, getting a closer look at the raven haired detective.

“There’s no reason to thank me,” L replied, his eyes still glued to the screen despite her close proximity, “I didn’t do anything spectacular. All I did was state the truth of the matter.”

“I guess so,” Keiko started, throwing away the paper coffee cup in a trash can nearby his desk. She then took a good look around the room, “anyway, why is it just us here? Where are the others?”

“Well, Mogi-san is at the police station. Chief Yagami decided that it would be best that, unless Ryuzaki-san has a meeting that he wants us all present for, we should have someone at the station at all times, just in case,” Matsuda explained, “as far as the rest, they went back to the station as well for a bit, as they had to sort out some official business with the higher ups because Uk-Uki...well they should be coming back shortly.”

“Like right about now,” L announced, looking over at the door.

Keiko glanced behind her, watching as the door slowly opened, revealing a tired looking Mr. Yagami, with Ide and Aizawa trailing behind him.

“Did we miss anything?” the chief questions, walking over to where Ryuzaki was sitting.

“No, on the contrary, you’re right on time,” L responded, holding up one of the tapes, “I’ve just finished reviewing the tapes...they were definitely interesting.”

The rest of the Task Force gathered around L, watching him as he set the tapes on the desk out in front of him, “you see, if the police had said yes, and cooperated with Kira, then tape number three was supposed to be aired. If the answer was no, then tape four. Tape three details the conditions for cooperation, quite simply, he is requesting that we broadcast the names of more criminals every night on the news. He seemed particularly interested in criminals that have assaulted others, criminals who have hurt or taken advantage of the weak and defenseless. Of course, Kira would play the role of a judge in all of this. Furthermore, as proof of the police’s cooperation, he wanted the police force and L, myself, to appear on T.V. and announce to the world that they sided with Kira.”

“What about the contents of tape four, if we had said no?” Mr. Yagami questioned.

L held up the tape, “well, it was more or less the same thing, just a different wording.”

“So bottom line was, he wanted you guys to show your faces on T.V…,” Keiko replied.

Interesting indeed...this definitely proves that Kira at least needs a face to kill someone...but how about a name…? Come to think of it, Ukita-san didn’t have his real name on him when he died, all the policemen have been carrying fake badges around with them...looking at all the past suspects, Kira has needed both a name and a face, how come that suddenly changed? And these video tapes aren’t characteristic of Kira at all either...

The sound of L’s voice interrupted Keiko from her thoughts, “yes, it would appear that way. He needs our faces to kill us in case we were to anything suspicious, so in other words, he would be holding our lives as insurance if we had said yes.”

“That’s just sick,” Matsuda muttered, earning him the stares of everyone else in the room, “what? It’s true, I’m just the only one vocalizing it.”

L pointedly continued on, “Yagami-san, it should go without saying that the answer is no. Please, give Sakura T.V. the okay to play tape number four tomorrow on the news. Oh, and Watari-san? Please get me some cake...”

How could he even think about cake even at a time like this? Keiko wondered, giving him a strange look.

“What?” L questioned, “I can have Watari get you a slice of cake as well, all you have to do is ask...if that’s why you’re staring at me.”

Keiko just shook her head, “no thank you.”

A few minutes and a slice of cake later, L turned on one of the T.V.’s in the hotel room, popping in the fourth video tape to show the rest of the Task Force, “I think that it is unfortunate that your answer is no. It is clear that the police wish to oppose me. This will not go unpunished. So I will start by taking the life of either the director general of the National Police Association or the detective known as L who is currently leading the investigation against me. The director general or L? Who will pay the price for your refusal to cooperate with me? You have four days to decide.”

With that, the tape ended, going to static. L turned off the T.V. and faced the Task Force.

“Given the options, I would think that the top police officials of all the nations would probably rather have me appear on T.V. rather than you, Chief Yagami. That would be the most reasonable and right choice,” L said, taking a bite of the strawberry cake in front of him, “well, we still have four days before before it happens. Perhaps we can find some countermeasure...I mean, after all this, it would really annoy me if I am killed by the first person to jump on the Kira bandwagon.”

“Ryuzaki-san, what exactly do you mean by that?” Light’s father asked, leaning forward closer towards L.

“I mean that there is a strong possibility that this Kira is a fake...no we should think of him more as a second Kira,” L calmly replied.

“A-a second Kira?” Matsuda furrowed his eyebrows, and Keiko could hear the collective gasps from the rest of the people in the room.

A second Kira…? Looking at the evidence, that could definitely be a possibility. It even makes a lot of sense.

“I don’t understand,” Aizawa commented, “why do you think that there’s a copycat Kira? Please explain it to us.”

Keiko jumped in, “I agree with Ryuzaki-san...let’s see...first of all there’s the fact that this whole broadcast was very unlike Kira, the Kira we have been searching for up until this point didn’t seem like someone who would pull a stunt like this, he even killed innocent people, which goes against his ideals.” She swallowed hard, “also, this Kira didn’t need Ukita-san’s real name in order to kill him,” Keiko finished, earning her a smirk from L.

“She has a point, a very good point. There is a strong possibility that this Kira may only need a face to kill someone, which pokes a hole in the theory that Kira needs both a name and a face to kill someone, which had been the pattern up until this point, indicating the chance of a second Kira,” L replied, “beyond that, I looked at the victims he used for his predictions on tape number one. Their purpose was to prove to Sakura T.V.’s staff that he is Kira. Both of the victims were only reported in tabloids and daytime talk shows, so they weren’t exactly hardened criminals. The real Kira has no need to prove himself using such insignificant criminals, but in the second Kira’s views, he wanted to make absolutely certain that he didn’t predict the death of a criminal that the original Kira might end up killing first.”

“Hmm...Ryuzaki-san, if you had to put a number on it...what are the chances that there is a second Kira?” Mr. Yagami asked, adjusting his glasses.

“I’d say it’s...more than seventy percent. I really don’t like the way he operates. As Kagami-san said, it’s not like Kira. Aside from killing those who were going after him, he has stayed away from killing the innocent. Anyway, if we can capture one of the Kiras, I think that we will gather a lot of insight as to how to catch the other one.”

L paused for a few moments, letting his words sink in before he continued on again, “Chief Yagami, I mentioned before that I was thinking of adding your son to the Task Force. I think that this would be the perfect time to do so. Therefore, may I ask your son to cooperate in this investigation? Oh, and Kagami-san, is this okay with you as well?”

Before Keiko could answer, the Chief looked over at Ryuzaki, “if you want my son to join the Task Force, does this mean that he has finally been cleared of suspicion?”

“Well...I can’t say that he’s been completely cleared, but to be honest, I could use his deductive skills.”

“If Light-kun wants to join, then so be it. It’s fine with me, and that means I no longer have to lie to him or spy on him for you. That would be some good news for me,” Keiko responded, looking at Light’s father, “unless you disagree with adding him?”

“No, no. I agree with you. Ryuzaki-san, if my son wants to cooperate with you, then I have no reason to stop you.”

“Good, good. However, please, neither of you tell him that this latest Kira might be a fake. I don’t want him to know that yet,” L said, polishing off the last of his cake and pushing the empty plate forward on the table, “I want to make it appear to him that we are still chasing after one Kira. Is that understood?”

“Yes, of course,” Mr. Yagami replied, and Keiko nodded, the wheels in her head were turning as she tried to figure out what L was thinking.

This has to be some sort of test...he must want to see what Light is going to conclude from all this. Seeing as he still suspects Light, if Light answers in a way that is suspicious to L, that could end up with L suspecting him even more...however, I still think that there’s not a big enough possibility that my boyfriend is Kira, so it should be fine...and if Light joins, I will no longer have to lie to him, and that’ll mean I will get to see him more, which is another plus! I think, ultimately, adding Light to this investigation will end up being a good thing. Hopefully, at least. Only time will tell.