It was after dinner and I was sat by the tree still. Hope was helping me put up the decorations too which made me more than happy. I couldn't believe that earlier she thought she wasn't useful. Out of everyone in the SPK she had been the person that I felt had helped me the most. I had also man some more figurines of Misa and Takada to go on the tree. I knew that this dinner meeting wouldn't go well. From the information I had gathered I found out that both girls were deeply in love with Light Yagami. I assume that they are both fighting over his love while Light Yagami is sitting back and just using them both. Which is truly disgusting. I might not know a lot about women but I knew it was wrong to play around with there feeling like that. I looked over at Hope. Sometimes I wish I did know more about women because then I could work out what Hope wants. I couldn't stop thinking about the night that she kissed me on the cheek and every time I did I felt myself blush. One of the scenes flashed on and Halle came on to the scene.

"About tonights meeting between Takada and Amane." She began. "They just talked about Light Yagami. If you read between the lines they were arguing about over which one was his lover."

"Your thoughts?" Anthony said addressing me.

"Well all I can determine is this." I put my two new dolls of Misa and Takada next to L Kira. "Light Yagami is popular with the ladies and we know that Takada and Amane both adore him."

"Near please be serious about..."

"It is serious." I said cutting him off. "If there both truly in love with him. They will not easily betray him. In fact they will likely do whatever he asks."

A little while later Stephan got in touch.

"Mikami is getting on a train should I follow him?" He asked.

"Yes, but please be careful." I told him. We sat in silence until Stephan said...

"Mikami has just taken out a notebook." I looked up and Hope and see looked at me. This could be it, I thought. Would he really be that stupid as to use it in public though? "He's writing something in it. Nothing has happened yet. He is getting off the train." We heard a scream of a woman on the other end.

"Stephan what happened?" Asked Anthony.

"A man on the same train as Mikami just collapsed. He was harassing a young woman and suddenly fell to the floor. It all happened about half a minute after he wrote something in the notebook. That's got to be it."

"Well now we know for sure." I was writing 'Mikami' on the X Kira doll.

"Yes, our next order of business is to get as close as possible to Mikami. Before we rush in blindly there is something we need to be careful of and that is the being known as the Shinigami." I said picking up a creepy looking doll I made and placing it next to the Mikami doll on my hand. "The Shinigami will be loyal to Mikami and will warn him if it discovers we're following him."

"But the Shinigami can only be seen by those people who have touched the notebook. It's going to be pretty difficult to be careful of something we can't even see."

"Hope." I said. She poked her head around the tree. "Can you see a Shinigami without touching the notebook?"

"I wouldn't know, I have never met one before, but I don't see anything following him now but that could just be because I haven't touched the notebook. I can't be sure that I would be able to see one if there was on there."

"Alright. Well, we are going to try no matter how difficult it might be."

"Right understood, Sir." Said Stephan on the other end of the phone.

I stayed in the main room with Hope while Anthony went out for a moment. I set up a chess board and looked up at Hope who was drawing. I wanted her to come and play with me. I never really wanted that before but I thought she might be able to beat me. The only one who has a good chance of beating me.

"Hope." I said rather quietly. She looked up from her drawing.

"Yeah."

"Would you like to come and play chess with me?" She smiled at me.

"Sure. I might not be very good though I have only played chess twice at Wammy's house."

"Did you win?"

"Yep both times but playing against you will be a little hard." I smiled at her.

"Just a little hard?"

"I wouldn't let yourself think that this will be a once sided game. I might not be able to beat you but I can certainly hold my own against you." then she sat down opposite me and we started playing...

We played for about half an hour and I was winning but I only had one more of Hope's porns. I moved one of my pieces and watched as Hope stared at the board. Her face scrunched up as she thought carefully about  her next move.  

"Having trouble there Hope?" I said playfully.

"Oh shut up Near. This game isn't over yet." Then she smiled and moved one if her pieces. "Not by a long shot." I looked down at the board. She was planning something. What was it? There was on clear pattern to the way she had moved before. To me they all seemed ti be totally random, which made it impossible to guess her next move. Then Anthony walked into the room with some coffee in his hand.

"I have never seen someone look so serious over a game of chess." He said walking over to stand next to Hope.

"Yeah well this is hard."

"I imagine it is."

"But don't worry I have a plan and I'm not giving up just yet." She said. Anthony smiled at her then turned and walked away just as the scene flashed and Stephan's voice cake through it.

"Mikami is talking to himself." He said.

"What's going on?" Asked Anthony. Whilst listening I moved my next piece and watched as Hope moved her next one straight after. She smiled at the board like she knew what my move was going to be before I made it. How was that possible? I didn't really know what I was going to do before I did it. Maybe there was a pattern in my movements that I myself wasn't aware of.

"He was to far away for me to hear him but I got some recorded video of his lips moving. I'm sending you the footage I was able to get. It's of Mikami's lunch break." I sat completely still. Hope was watching the scene with Stephan on it and I heard Anthony typing something on the keyboard.

"Do you think he is talking to a Shinigami?" Hope asked me without looking at me.

"It is possible but depending on what he says we will be able to determine whether or not a Shinigami is actually with him." From the corner of my eye I saw the scene change and saw Mikami sat on a bench by himself.

"This is it right here. He is saying something." Said Stephan.

"Show it to us one more time in slow motion." Said Anthony. The tape re winded. Anthony moved his face closer to the scene.

"Is that you Shinigami? Is what he said." I picked up the reaper doll which was by my side and placed it on the chess board. I bent right down so that my eyes were level with it. Hope was watching me closely.

"He seems to have reacted to the moving paper at his feet." Said Stephan.

"He just gave a small sigh." Anthony said.

"At this point he talks to himself a little more. I'm gonna zoom in on his lips." Stephan continued.
"That Shinigami ever since he handed me the notebook, he hasn't re appeared." Anthony said really slowly. "That Shinigami ever since he handed me the notebook, he hasn't re appeared." He repeated quicker. I sat up and looked at Hope.

"Mikami was given the notebook by one of the Shinigami but it seems that Shinigami hasn't been following him." I picked up the reaper doll. "So that's how it is." I said before chucking the toy back into the box that was behind me.