* * * October 23 * * *

It was the Monday after the annual gala and Bambi was currently sitting at her desk, working away another dull day. There were no Kira murders reported until Saturday afternoon, giving more proof that Kira was present at the gala. Of course, the fact that attendance was mandatory didn't help the investigators narrow down any suspects. Still, it serves as more definitive proof that the murderer is an employee at the large company.

When she finally had a moment to breathe between calls, Sora teasingly called out, "So who was that cute guy you were dancing with on Friday?"

The corners of Amy's lips curved into a soft smile as her cheeks flushed a light pink. "That was my boyfriend."

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh, wow. I didn't know you had a boyfriend. Cool." She nodded to herself before getting back to work.

Following in her coworker's footsteps, Bambi continued on her own tasks for a while before deciding to heed nature's call. The teen excused herself before making her way to the nearest restroom. No one was in there – all stalls empty when she closed the main door. After switching off her surveillance necklace, she went about her business.

All was still silent when she finished and began washing her hands in front of the mirror. Just as the hacker was about to turn off the water, she caught a glimpse of something moving behind her shoulder. She looked up with a raised eyebrow to focus on the image in the mirror when a huge and terrifying monster appeared directly behind her and covered her mouth with a hand that was easily as big as her face.

Her eye went wide as a scream ripped through her lungs, muffled by the hand. She writhed in a panicked attempt to break free of this thing's grasp. It restrained her with its other arm, lifted the teen off the floor somewhat.

The monster sounded somewhat irritated as it spoke, the voice clearly belonging to a female. "Amelia, you need to calm down. I come with an offering, not to harm you."

Bambi stopped struggling and furrowed her eyebrows, though her rapid heartbeat and breaths gave away her fears. Was this Kira's true form? She glanced to the door only to find that it was locked and soon realized that cooperation was her only option for survival. When she finally stopped struggling, the monster set her back down on her feet.

With the brunette's unspoken sign of agreement, the monster began again. "I am Rem, the shinigami of the second Kira, but I have been lent to who you are calling the Yotsuba Kira. I have been watching you and I know that you are one of L's agents."

She paused for a moment, her hand still covering the teen's mouth. "The Yotsuba Kira is suspicious of you and is planning to get you alone. I am loyal only to the second Kira, and I come with an offer to help you catch this Kira and get a confession – I understand that is important to you humans."

"I am going to give you the information you need to convince this Kira that you are the second Kira and get your confession," Rem continued. "I would guess that L will be watching through that necklace of yours to see it. I want you to do this alone. If you tell any of your associates about this plan, I will kill you."

She then released the agent, allowing her to turn and face the shinigami.

A nervous laugh escaped Amelia's lips. "W-Well, when you put it that way, it doesn't sound like I have much of a choice. I-I'll do it."

"You should memorize this for your confrontation," Rem told her before beginning her explanation. "The tool that Kira uses to kill is called the death note. It is a book used by shinigami to take human lives from the shinigami realm. There are rules and limitations to the death note, and the most important rule is that the human whose name is written in the death note will die. The note will not take effect unless the user pictures his face, so people with the same name are not affected. If the cause of death is written within forty seconds of the name, it will happen. If not, the subject will just die of a heart attack. After writing the cause of death, the details should be written within the next six minutes and forty seconds. If the owner of a death note does not write names for thirteen days consecutively, he will die. If the death note is burned or destroyed, everyone who has touched it will die."

Willing up her courage against the will of her trembling body, Bambi asked, "H-How did the death notes get to the human world in the first place?"

"Shinigami can either take it to the human realm themselves or they can drop it through the portal that connects our two realms."

The brunette nodded to herself and hesitated before asking, "Can you elaborate more on the shinigami realm? What's it like? How does this portal thing work, anyway?"

"It is a separate plane from the human realm only connected through the portal. Shinigami can look down on the human world through it – that's where we watch humans and kill them. I do not know the details of how it works." Rem paused for a moment before adding, "The shinigami realm is a dry and desolate place. This is what provoked the shinigami of the first Kira to drop his death note into the human realm. He wanted to entertain himself."

Amelia pursed her lips. "Why was the second Kira able to kill people with just a face?"

"Shinigami's eyes are different from human's eyes," she explained. "We can see a human's name and remaining lifespan floating above their heads. Shinigami can also trade their eyes with a human who owns the death note in exchange for half the human's lifespan."

"So the second Kira made that trade with you," the agent deduced.

The shinigami nodded.

"How am I supposed to convince this Kira that I found him? I've had my suspicions, but no concrete proof."

"Humans who own a death note only have their names displayed above their heads, not their lifespans," she explained. "You can give whatever truth led you to suspect Yotsuba, just give that method when it comes to identifying Kira specifically."

Bambi frowned. "Does he have the eyes?"

"Not yet."

Both were silent for a few moments before the hacker asked, "Why did you seek me out and why do you want me to do this alone? It would be easier to coordinate if I had other help."

There was another short silence before Rem answered, "It is better to keep Kira's secrets as long as possible." She paused before adding, "I already told you that I know you work for L, and this Kira has suspicions too. Seeking you out is the easiest way to end this and keep the second Kira safe."

Amy pursed her lips and nodded to herself, not wanting to provoke the shinigami any further.

Rem glanced to the door as she backed away. "You shouldn't stay any longer. Your coworker may be getting curious." She hovered to the door and unlocked it before reminding the teen, "Do not tell anyone else of this encounter."

With that said, she passed through the wall, leaving Amelia behind as she tried to calm her nerves. The agent turned on her necklace again before returning to her desk, though she was unable to focus the rest of the day. Sora voiced this observation, but the teen denied her claims and avoided her questions. Once the day was over and she was back at headquarters, Bambi briefly explained to L, Light, and Near that there was nothing unusual to report before hiding away in her room.

The normally-soothing waters of the shower did nothing to ease her nerves. Once she was out and back in casual clothes, she found herself pacing back and forth across her room. Even past her constant reviewing of the rules Rem explained, her mind was racing. Knowing L, he'll probably actually believe that she's the second Kira. After all, she knows all this information and hasn't shared it yet.

Maybe Rem would suspend her death threat after Higuchi was caught? The team was bound to find out about death notes after they capture him anyway... Unless Rem had some plan to take the death note before the task force can. She clearly had the ability to be invisible with the way she so suddenly appeared behind Bambi.

The teen tensed at the thought before nervously glancing around the room. Was she being watched again? Was anywhere safe?

The door creaked open, prompting Bambi to jump and whip around to face it with wide eyes. Matt was watching her, a soft frown on his lips as he closed the door behind him and approached her.

"I just wanted to see if you're okay," he admitted. "You seem really stressed."

She hesitated as her brows pinched together before looking up at her boyfriend with a forced smile. "It's nothing a good game can't fix."

The redhead was silent for a few moments as he looked her in the eye. "Amy, I know you well enough to know that wasn't genuine at all." He carefully held her hand. "What's wrong?"

She pursed her lips and looked away, but found solace on the sense of her hand in his. Still, she couldn't fight the shaking that started to overtake her body. Rem knows her name and was holding it over her head as the reason for her to keep silent. She couldn't be sure that the shinigami was even being genuine, but she had no choice in the matter.

Amelia sighed, her voice just barely above a whisper. "I can't tell you."

His tone went serious as he asked, "Is someone threatening you?"

"Miles, I'm sorry, but I can't..." The brunette sighed again before looking back up at him. "I'm going to make it better soon. I don't know when, but soon. Just... keep a close eye on my feed from now on and don't send reinforcements until..." She pursed her lips as she tried to find the right words to say it without outright admitting her earlier conversation. "Until... I get a confession..."

His eyes went wide as it clicked before he pursed his lips and nodded. "Be careful."

She smiled weakly at him. "I will."

The redhead matched her expression before holding her close and suggesting, "Until then, why don't you crash in my room? This way you won't have to spend all night by yourself and getting nervous. I'll be there to talk to you when you need it, and I'll make sure that nothing happens to you while you're asleep."

A genuine smile graced her lips as she buried her face against him. "I would like that."

After a few minutes, Miles ruffled her hair. "Come on. Let's get your stuff."

The hackers pulled away before heading to Amy's bedroom. The brunette pulled some nightwear from her closet as her boyfriend went to her bed to grab a blanket for her. He stopped and smiled softly before picking up the plushie that he had won her over the summer.

"You still have this?"

Amelia approached him with a raised eyebrow as she looked over the object in his hands. "Oh, yeah. It's kept me calm a few times when I really needed it." She blushed as she coyly added, "It's not much of a substitute for you, but it still works."

His cheeks flushed a light pink as he grinned and teased, "I never knew you to be a flirt, Amy."

She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed. "Well, I didn't know that you liked me back before."

Miles shared the laughter with her before handing over the bear and gathering up her blankets like he originally meant to.

The brunette smiled softly to herself as she admitted, "That was the same day I realized how much I like you. It has some extra special memories with it."

He smiled at her as he stood up straight. "I figured it out one of the first nights we stayed there. Maybe it was the break from the case that let us see it?"

"Yeah, maybe it was."

With that said, the pair made their way upstairs to Matt's room. They had dinner and played games together before it was time for Mello's shift. Amelia changed into her pajamas while the redhead set up his computers near the couch. Once she returned, she wrapped herself in her blanket and joined him on the couch as they exchanged childhood memories and watched the blond's video feed.

Several hours had passed and Amy was leaning on Miles, trying her best to stay awake as he recounted another story for her.

"...and Mello practically did a barrel roll out the door while I was still driving," he told her. "We weren't going too fast, though. He only got a few scrapes."

She couldn't will her eyes open anymore, nor could she open her mouth.

Instead she mumbled a soft, "Mhmm?"

"I managed to park in the garage and throw the keys on Roger's desk before he got back." He chuckled before admitting, "I still can't believe we got away with it."

The redhead paused to listen to Amy's input, though nothing met his ears but the soft sounds of her breathing. He looked down to see her eyes peacefully shut and a soft smile on her lips as her chest slowly moved up and down to the rhythm of her sleeping breaths. Miles couldn't help the corners of his lips from curving into a smile as he reached down and stroked her hair. A few moments passed before he frowned slightly and turned his attention to the screens before him.

He pressed the button on his headset and whispered, "Anything?"

There was a short silence before Mello answered, "Not yet."

Matt nodded to himself. "Just keep an eye out. Whoever's threatening Bambi knows who she works for. They might know about you too."

"Roger that."

With that said, the blond continued with his work. Meanwhile, the redhead watched on as he absentmindedly stroked Amy's hair, a determined look in his eye as he gazed off into the distance. He wasn't about to lose the two most important people in his life – not again.