FSE

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Light woke up the next day and headed downstairs for breakfast. All night, all he could dream about was what Nadine had told him. Watari is a Japanese name, which seems pretty obvious now that Light thought about it. If Watari knew L for most of his life, was it possible L was also from Japan? It didn't make any sense, considering L sounds European. He couldn't do anything about it, though. Natalie was making him stay home from school which means no going to The Underground and seeing how Nadine and the other kids are doing with their task. Nadine mentioned a motel on the other side of town. If one of them was staying there, it was possible that perhaps all of them were there today. But it still doesn't help; how was Light going to use this information to clear his name and get the cameras out of this house? Kira hasn't committed any mass killings in a while, people might start to grow restless and crime might go back up, even by just a small percentage. Light was determined to continue his ascent as the god of the new world.

Until then, the young cheetah sat down at the kitchen table and ate pancakes that Jessie-Belle made.

It felt awkward sitting at the table with just the puma as company, considering Light never really had any alone time with her. He kept his eyes down most of the time and made occasional small talk. "Natalie's very worried about you," Jessie said. Light looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. "She's afraid all of the mess that's been going on might affect your schoolwork and stuff."

Light took a sip of water, curling his tail around the leg of his chair. "I can assure you that everything is okay. Although, losing one day of school might affect me a little. But I'll manage."

Natalie left her bedroom a few minutes later, holding her cell phone. "I was just on the phone with L. He wants to meet me today so we can talk about capturing Kira." She was dressed in her favorite white blouse and blue jeans. Good, Light thought. Simple, yet serious. He still did not trust that fox being around his aunt so much, even if it may seem professional on the surface.

He got up from his seat, scratching the chair against the floor. "I want to come with you."

"No." Natalie shook her head. "You need to get some rest. After yesterday's episode-"

"I feel fine," Light objected. "And besides, I can help in some way. Besides, L wanted my opinion in the past. Maybe I can pitch in some more." He waited for her to respond. Her muzzle was open as if she wanted to speak, but words were failing her. Light decided to use this opportunity to confirm his suspicions. "L suspects me, doesn't he?"

Natalie closed her mouth and looked down at her paws. "Yes. I am so sorry, Light. I have no idea why he can even begin to think that you of all people could be a murderer."

"It's okay. He's just doing his job. Besides, if I come with you, I might be able to clear my name in some fashion."

She took a moment to consider this. Then looked back up and said, "Fine. But don't do anything too rash if you get upset, okay?"

"I promise."

Together, both Light and Natalie headed out the front door to a small red car and they drove down the driveway towards town. Light noticed out of his rearview mirror a motorcycle with an arctic fox riding it behind them. Jackson. If only I had a first name so that I could get rid of you. Also behind him in the back seat was Ryuk, who was taunting him with his Eyes. "You know, Light," the leopard was saying, "my offer still stands if you're up to it. All you have to do is say yes and the Shinigami Eyes are yours."

Fat chance, Light thought. All he could really do was wait to see what Nadine was planning. He needed to be alone with his phone so he can get into contact with her.

After what seemed like a drive that took forever, Natalie pulled up outside the motel. It was exactly what a normal motel looked like; old, pale, shitty. Light was positive that he could smell sperm without even getting out of the car. The neon lights were only half lit so they spelled "N k Mo l".

Natalie got out of the car and led Light to room 6. Inside, there was one bed and a small-looking bathroom, a dresser and no television. But there was a large computer setup in the corner. The wall was covered with various names and faces, small pieces of rope and more information regarding the Kira investigation. And right in the middle under the big bold letters "Main Suspect", Light recognized his 11th grade high school photo.

L looked up from his screen and smiled. "Good morning, Natalie. And pleased to see you, Light."

"You sure about that?" Light pointed at the corkboard.

L's ears flattened a little. "Yes. I suppose you already knew that I do indeed suspect you of being Kira. But please only know that it is only a five percent suspicion, nothing more." That didn't make Light feel any better. "Please, sit. Makes yourselves comfortable."

Light took the other computer chair and Natalie sat down on the bed. "So, what is it that you wanted to share?" she asked.

"I looked into the police database after I thought about what Light told me. I still believe that Kira is a rather fast person like a cheetah, but it could also be somebody who is fast with their mind rather than their body. There are approximately nine police officers in this town alone that fit within this category, six of them foxes, two cheetahs, and a polar bear. The cheetahs and the bear checked out quickly through background checks. None of them were in town at the time of Nate McAlister's demise, nor did they know much about him at all.

"Foxes, on the other hand, are a bit tricky. As a fox myself, if I were them and I was Kira, I could easily make up any sort of lie on the spot to get myself out of trouble, or even deflect the blame onto someone else. So interrogating them wouldn't be of much help. What does help a little bit was I was able to find out more about their technology usage; mainly when they access their own database. Only one of them matches the times that Kira tends to do his killings." He gets up from his seat and takes one of the photos off the wall. A red vixen that Light recognized from last week. "Officer Deborah. That makes her a pretty big suspect. However, we still cannot assume that she's Kira because we have no official proof. The only true way to capture Kira is by luring him or her into a trap and catching them in the act."

"How do you propose we do that?" Light asked.

"It's much easier said than done. And it's way more difficult to do without live bait."

Natalie stood back up. "Bait? You mean using a criminal against his will as an example? That's completely absurd!"

"I understand that such a plan would be extreme, Mrs. McAlister, but at the end of the day, it may be the only way to catch Kira."

Light tried his hardest not to sweat. This wasn't looking good for him. If L was planning on using a criminal as live bait, there would be no way for him to kill them. And if the criminal stayed alive, wouldn't that be more proof that Light's Kira because he would be unable to kill at that moment? Or would L just assume that Kira, whoever it might be, was simply out of commission. It was insane to think about; how was Light going to kill before L's eyes without him noticing?

Slowly, another plan started to come together. One that was a little complicated, but if it worked, it might be able to get Light in the clear, get the cameras out of his house, and get the FBI off his back all in one throw of the dice.

He got up from his chair. "I need to make a quick call." Light stepped outside for a minute. Sure enough, Jackson was closeby, puffing in a cigarette. Let's hope this works. He dialed up Nadine's phone number on Skype and pressed his phone close to his ear, praying Jackson isn't close enough to hear.

The vixen answered on the third ring. "Light? What's wrong?"

"Hey, Nadine!" Light kept his voice as casual as possible, fighting hard to keep his tail from swishing too hard. "Listen, I won't be able to make it into school today; Natalie's making me stay home. But why don't you come by my house later so we can exchange some notes for the project we needed to work on?"

"Sure thing." From the tone of her voice, Light could tell she knew he was being watched. He hung up and went back inside the room.

***

Sitting outside on her back deck, relaxing after a tough day at school, Mikayla Turner needed to soak up some sun. She lied down on the hammock, resting her favorite sun hat over her eyes. The red vixen only wore her jean shorts and her pink bra.

She thought about the empty seat that was next to her in class. The one a cute cheetah named Light McAlister normally filled. Mikayla was a little devastated when he didn't show up to class that morning. She enjoyed his company, especially because she moved a lot so she never got the chance to settle down and really meet any boys. Light was very intriguing. He kept to himself, but his feelings for her were pretty obvious. She thought it was sweet, but wanted to get to know him better. The only problem was she didn't know how. She saw him with that white vixen -- Nadia? -- around school so she assumed that she was his girlfriend.

The back of her mind nagged, though, that they could still just be close friends.

Mikayla turned over onto her stomach, letting her fluffy tail sway in the wind when she heard something smack against the ground close to her.

She adjusted her hat to the top of her head and looked around. The hammock squeaked as she hopped up out of it. Her ear flickered in the general direction of the sound. A new scent filled the air. Leathery. And a very cold feeling. It gave Mikayla the shivers. She stepped off the deck, one step at a time, until she was on the concrete surrounding her pool. On the other side of the stairs was a garden with tomato and pepper plants. Lying flat on the ground was a little black book.

Huh? Strange. Mikayla looked around to see if anyone was nearby who would have thrown a book over the fence. But there was no one in sight.

She reached down and snatched the book off the ground, letting her curiosity win. Across the cover of the book was a bunch of strange letters in a foreign language. She could look it up later with her phone. Inside, there were black pages and blank notebook-like pages. The black pages of the book heavily smelled of ink and almost make Mikayla sneeze upon the first whiff. She skimmed through the writing on the black pages, unsure what to expect.

As she read, her eyes widened. Her heart thumped.

She couldn't believe what she was reading.

A paw rested on her shoulder. Mikayla started and turned around to face a polar bear twice her height. She squealed in terror and fell onto the ground, backing slowly. This bear was dressed in all grey and had purple streaks in her hair.

When she spoke, all Mikayla could think was how calming she sounded.

"No need to be afraid, little vixen. My name is Rem."