Author's Note: This is the first of three chapters that will be published this week. Please note that I am also making a change in characterization that I found incredibly unrealistic in the original, and makes even less sense to keep given the events of The Fawn. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy the chapter!

* * * November 4 * * *

In the days following Bambi's interrogation, Misa and Light were officially released from custody. Misa gave Amy a lengthy goodbye before giving the agent her phone number and asking her to keep in touch. None of the investigators have seen her since then. On the other hand, Light had remained as loyal to the Task Force as ever, opting to continue investigating until this was brought to an end – or at least until the next school year began. Both he and L, among several others, had suggested that they wished to unveil the true identities of the original Kiras.

After a thorough investigation of the Death Note, the Task Force found an entry for Higuchi that was highly elaborate and several pages long. Practice notes were found in her residence, likely timing her writing to the rules of the notebook and making sure that while no other names were written, the instructions were clear enough that he would do exactly as she wanted. It turned out that he was controlled to report on the actions of his secretaries by leaving a sheet in an envelope on his desk every day. L's interrogations had led to the discovery that Rin was blackmailing Shimura into picking up Higuchi's daily reports. Even the events at the gala were carefully staged by the Shadow CEO.

When Sora was brought in she revealed that Rin had been blackmailing her into handing over all information she heard about the other employees, but the Shadow CEO had taken a special interest in Bambi in early October. Amelia's former coworker was both relieved and horrified at the deaths of Rin and Higuchi, and confided that she was going to leave the company early now that no one was keeping her resignation from moving forward. Realizing that "Lola" was an agent, Sora thanked her for all she had done and wished her luck with both the investigation and the rest of her life.

With the interrogations of the Yotsuba employees finished, L was focusing his interrogations on Rem. Unfortunately, she revealed nothing other than what was written in the Death Note – not even answering questions that she had for Bambi. Still, the teen kept her silence out of caution.

The investigators were all sitting in the main investigation room as L took a break from speaking with Rem and sat next to Light near the computers.

Matsuda hesitated before walking over to the genius. "Ryuzaki, I noticed that one of the rules says that Kira would die if he didn't use the Death Note every thirteen days. If this is really one of the original Kiras' Death Notes, they would already be dead by now."

L took a bite from his cake as he argued, "Just because a rule is written, that doesn't make it true. Besides, we don't know if this notebook belonged to the original Kiras or not." He pushed a strawberry around his plate with his fork. "If the rule is true or if they are dead, we should still identify them. If I'm correct and they are still alive, we will soon catch them and send them to the electric chair," he commented with a wide grin. "At the very least, if we cannot get the capital punishment, we would have them write their own name in the book. That's how it is." He paused before adding, "Well, that's a conversation we should have after we capture them. It's not something we should be thinking about right now."

Rem was silent, but her eyes went wide for a brief moment as she glanced around the room. Amelia frowned as she warily eyed the shinigami. Maybe it wasn't obvious during L's interrogations of her, but Bambi's private interactions with her made it clear that she was incredibly protective over the original Kiras – enough to go against Rin and threaten Amy, at least. There was no way Rem would be taking their deaths well.

Mello chimed in from a short distance away. "We don't need to think about it. Kira is a mass murderer and deserves death."

Amelia glanced to Rem again as she furrowed her brows. "We shouldn't condemn Kira to death."

L narrowed his eyes at her. "And why not?"

"For a few reasons." She held up a finger. "One: it would make us no different from him. No matter how narcissistic he comes off, Kira kills criminals to protect people – and that's exactly what giving him the death penalty would be seen as. It's hypocritical. Two-"

"How do I know you're not just making up excuses because you support Kira?" he accused.

Her eyebrow twitched as she put her hands on her hips. "If I were on Kira's side, then I would see death as a valid punishment."

"You could be lying," he pointed out. "Given your history, you don't have a good grasp on true justice anyway."

"Oh, I'm the one without a sense of justice?" Amy narrowed her eyes at him. "I know how you work, Ryuzaki; you only want to catch Kira to say that you won, not out of any true regard for justice. If you actually wanted justice, you wouldn't sentence Kira to death because giving him the death penalty would just make you a damn hypocrite again!"

Mello chimed in, his arms folded. "Kira needs to be stopped – besides, the law is the law."

"Since when do you care about following that?" Matt argued with a frown. "We should still consider how his followers would react. Killing Kira would just make him a martyr."

"Don't just take her side because she's your girlfriend!" the blond snapped. "You know damn well that we can't just let Kira live. He's too dangerous!"

Light frowned slightly as he glanced to Bambi.

"That's not what I'm doing," Matt contested. "Yeah, she has a point, but it wasn't what I was thinking. People will go crazy if their 'god' is given the death penalty."

"Then people would trust police even less," Matsuda pointed out. "They would see us as the bad guys."

"Even if we give Kira life in prison, he will still be gone in their eyes and we would risk the same reaction," L argued. "It would be better to have Kira killed to prevent him from killing again."

Amelia tensed as she looked over to Rem, who looked ready to make a move.

"Now that we know Kira needs a Death Note to kill, we can just keep it away from him and he'll have to stop," Matsuda suggested.

"Guys, my other point-"

Light cut her off, pointing out to L, "Their argument is sound."

The raven-haired detective frowned before turning to Near.

The young man glanced to Bambi before confessing to his mentor, "I have come to realize that some criminals can contribute to the betterment of the world if stopped and offered a second chance."

"So you would have Kira work while in prison?"

"If he can help with cases, yes."

"What would he even be able to do without the Death Note?" L argued. "I still say we make him write his name in it."

As the shinigami started to back away, Amy's heart raced and she cried out, "I don't think it matters because Rem's probably going to kill anyone who wants to hurt the original Kiras!"

Rem halted in her tracks as the widened eyes of the investigators warily glanced to her, gasps and whispers scattered throughout its members.

L turned to her directly and asked, "Is this true?"

She hesitated before confessing, "If you plan to kill Kira, I will kill you."

He narrowed his eyes for a few moments before conceding. "Then we'll give Kira life in prison."

"Wait, Kira would be treated the same way corrupt officers are in prison," Matsuda pointed out. "The other inmates would kill him."

"What happens in prison isn't our concern," the great detective argued.

Rem spoke out, her voice booming. "I will not allow Kira to receive the death penalty or to be placed in prison."

Murmurs spread through the task force like wildfire before Mello stood his ground against the shinigami. "What else are we supposed to do?! Kira needs to be stopped."

"There is a guidebook to the Death Note in the shinigami realm," she explained. "It may hold loopholes that can be exploited to prevent Kira from using a Death Note again."

All eyes turned to L, who was silent for a few moments, gears turning as he considered the possibilities.

He looked up at Rem and told her, "Get this guidebook and we will work from there."

She nodded before addressing the group. "I need your permission to return to the shinigami realm. You are the owners of the Death Note and it is a rule that shinigami cannot return without permission from the human – or humans – who own the Death Note we haunt."

Although there was some hesitation from several investigators, all agreed and Rem passed through the wall.

A few moments passed before L announced, "Matt, Matsuda, and Bambi will work with Rem to come up with an alternate punishment, but if we catch Kira before you make a decision, he will receive the death penalty."

* * * November 9 * * *

Several days had passed since Rem left to retrieve the guidebook. While her continued absence prevented L's team from working to create an alternate punishment for Kira, the rest of the investigators were able to continue working on Rin's case and finding the old Kira. Light was sitting at what had become his usual spot next to L by the computers. While he was sifting through the digital files he had been assigned, his focus was on other more important issues.

How could I let this go on for so long? He frowned, a forlorn look in his eye that he couldn't hide. I was so certain that Kira was right – that I was right. Ridding the world of rotten people… that was my goal at the time – and I still believe that we need that – but that makes me a mass murderer. I've taken countless lives – and for what? Have things changed? Has life improved?

He glanced to the side, spotting Bambi as she walked past. No, what I did is not in vain. I protected her… I protected so many people from those criminals – from those monsters; and I can do it again. I will rise up and be her everything… I will be a God! I will protect my people from evil if it means that I have to wipe it out myself.

An emerging part of his mind called out in a hushed whisper, Then you'll be the only monster left.

Light couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he clenched his teeth. It doesn't matter anyway. I know that L will test all the rules he can – especially the thirteen day rule – and I need the Death Note if I'm to avoid suspicion.

He weaved his fingers together in front of his face. How could my plan just fail like that? Nothing went right. L was supposed to die; Rem was supposed to kill him. Misa was supposed to get the Death Note for me. I never thought that I would actually break up with her. He turned to the brunette, a frown on his face. It's clear that she has had a greater effect on me than I thought.

When she sat next to Matt, Light's eyebrows twitched downward and his blood began to boil. Damn him! He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself. No... I'll find a way to get rid of him. What I need now is to focus on what to do without Misa...

The young man put a knuckle to his lips. Still, I wanted to get rid of her from the start – she's more of a liability than anything, especially with Rem's threats to my life – maybe it was for the better. He narrowed his eyes. Though, Rem has been causing more trouble than I expected… I didn't sanction her to contact anyone other than the person she picked to be Kira. Between that and what happened a few days ago, it's clear that she is working only to protect Misa. I need to be careful, but I need a new set of eyes to survive.

Beside him, L had just changed the largest screen to a live video feed of an inmate sitting at a table. Light was drawn out of his thoughts and turned to scrutinize the detective. Meanwhile the rest of the Task Force gathered around them.

Matsuda was the only one to ask, "What are you doing, Ryuzaki?"

L grinned as he told him, "It would be easier to show you."

Soon the video feed pictured a cloaked man – Watari – standing beside the table. He took out a photograph and showed it to the man as he passed a black notebook across the table.

"This is Antonio Sanchez," Watari explained. "If you write that name here, you will be pardoned of your sentence in thirteen days."

The inmate did as he was told before the old man took the Death Note from him and left. A moment later, confirmation of Sanchez's death was displayed on one of the smaller screens.

"What?" Aizawa cried out. "We never agreed to this!"

"No, but it had to be done," L plainly told him before picking at his cupcake. "It's no different from when we had to put surveillance equipment in those homes."

"Y-Yeah, but this is someone's life at stake," Matsuda pointed out.

"He was set to receive the death penalty anyway. He'll just get life in prison if he survives."

Mello chuckled before commenting, "You guys should really be used to this by now. Ryuzaki doesn't care if he breaks the law for justice."

While the detectives entered a discussion of his rights or lack thereof to make such a decision, Light closed his eyes, mind brewing up a new plan.

Later that night, when many of the others were sleeping, Amelia heard a knock on her door. Before she could answer, it opened, revealing L, Matt, Mello, and Near – just as expected from the great detective's earlier mentions of a meeting. The prodigies followed the eldest into her room, forming a group as they waited for his announcement.

"Only you four and Watari will be given this information, but I am testing the thirteen day rule on another criminal," L explained. "If Light truly is Kira, he will be incredibly desperate right now. We know from what Rem said that she was the shinigami of the second Kira, and I suspect that there is another Death Note hidden away for the original Kira to use."

"There haven't been any deaths since we caught Rin," Matt pointed out. "Maybe Kira's really just gone."

"Or perhaps he has no access to his Death Note," Near suggested.

"My theory is that Kira hasn't thought that he needed it until now," L explained before moving on. "Our next test subject is Marcos Silva, a man serving time in Brazil. Watari will have him write another name in three days. If he does not die, but our first subject does, Light is certainly Kira."

"And if you die, you want us to continue with the test and arrest him," Mello deduced.

"Correct." L turned, sending a pointed look at both Bambi and Matt. "Since some of you often seem to forget this, I will remind you again to be wary of Light. Keep a closer eye on his behavior. If he is truly Kira, then he will begin to slip. If you are given the chance to determine the truth, I want you to do so."

Amy tightened her lips into a thin line and huffed. "Look, I really don't think he's Kira."

"And this kind of logic is what got you into this mess to begin with," he pointed out.

She folded her arms as she scowled and thought back to when he arrested her.

The hacker was silent for a few moments before grudgingly admitting, "I guess..."

"And Matt," the great detective began, "you're too forgiving and you're not thinking about it logically. We're doing this test for a reason and that is because I suspect it to be false. When we learn that I'm right, we'll know that Light is Kira."

The redhead frowned as he glanced away. "Alright, I'll keep a closer eye on him."

"Good. You're all dismissed."

* * * November 14 * * *

L's secret test subject had written in the Death Note two days ago and now they only had to wait until the 22nd and the 25th for the results. Of course, with Rem's return, Amy and Miles were busy working with her and Matsuda to come up with alternative methods to dealing with Kira once they caught him. Unfortunately, there was a strict rule against handing the guidebook to humans, but Rem was allowed to read it and explain the rules to the group.

As she read through the rules, Amy learned two things: (1) the Death Note was filled with intricacies that she had never even considered, and (2) the shinigami who wrote this was an incredibly repetitive and sometimes even contradictory person – er… god. It was no wonder that Rem thought the team would find exploitable loopholes.

The early rules explained more in depth about how shinigami eyes work; that once a name is written the person will die, even if the name is erased or otherwise covered up; and that there are still mysteries about the Death Note that have been unexplored by shinigami. After a while, Rem started to filter out the repetitive rules so as to waste less time.

"It is possible to write the cause of death and details of death up to nineteen human days before the name is written," she continued. "The Death Note will not affect those under 780 days old. The Death Note will be rendered useless if the victim's name is misspelled four times." She flipped to the next page. "Even though only one name is written in the Death Note, if it influences and causes other humans that are not written in it to die, the victim's cause of death will be a heart attack. When the same name is written on two or more Death Notes, the note which was first filled in will take effect, regardless of the time of death."

"What if we just misspell a name four times?" Matt suggested. "That would render the Death Note useless, so Kira wouldn't be able to kill anymore."

Rem flipped back through the guidebook before relaying, "Purposefully doing that will result in the death of whoever was writing."

The redhead froze. "Yeah... let's not go with that one..."

"What if a heart attack would cause other people to die anyway, like if the victim were driving a filled bus at a high speed or if the victim was pregnant?" Bambi asked. "Does the Death Note consider the fetus human at any point?"

"I'm not sure," Rem admitted. "From what I have heard from Kiras, the rules protecting other people seem fairly strict, but I do not know to what extent it was tested. It is possible that in the case of the bus driver, the victim would be spared a heart attack and the lives of the passengers saved, but it could also be that they would all die. I do not know if unborn humans are considered in the rules."

"If it was considered human, wouldn't it be protected by that under 780 days rule and the rule against killing those whose names aren't written?" Matt asked.

"The contradiction is there, but I don't know how the Death Note would operate under those conditions," she told him. "Either both would die or both would be spared. It's too uncertain… I don't know any shinigami who have tried it."

"Wow, these rules are so specific," Matsuda commented. "What are the odds of the same name being written twice? There's billions of people in the world."

"All shinigami own Death Notes," Rem reminded him, "and there are many shinigami in the realm. Back when humans first roamed the Earth, we were young beings as well. We were motivated by our own shorter life spans to kill your small population more frequently."

The Japanese detective laughed sheepishly. "O-Oh, I guess that makes sense... Hey, couldn't you tell us who Kira is to make this easier?"

"It is forbidden to reveal the names and locations of the owners of Death Notes in the human world," she explained.

"Oh..."

Rem waited a moment before moving on. "If you lose the Death Note or have it stolen, you will lose ownership unless you retrieve it within 490 days. Shinigami are forbidden from telling humans the name or lifespans of other humans. The Death Note can only operate within twenty-three human days. Only the shinigami who has passed on their Death Note to a human is able to kill the new owner of the Death Note." The shinigami hesitated for a few moments before reading, "The individuals who lose the ownership of the Death Note will also lose their memory of the usage of the Death Note."

"Will they lose their memory from the whole time they had the Death Note?" Matsuda asked.

"No, they only lose memories involving it."

Bambi grinned. "I've got it! If we keep the Death Note from Kira for 490 days, that would work with the memory rule and Kira wouldn't be Kira anymore."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Matt commented.

"Yeah!" Matsuda cried out.

Rem frowned. "There are many Death Notes in the shinigami realm. They could come into contact with another one and regain their memories… It is something to keep in mind if we fail to find anything else."

Amy pursed her lips and nodded before asking, "Since the Death Note can only operate within twenty-three days, is that the maximum amount of time someone can be controlled by it?"

"Yes, that is what Rin did to that man," Rem told her. "She controlled him as long as she could after she found out that you were investigating her." Looking back down at the guidebook, she continued. "The human who touched the Death Note will continue to recognize that shinigami's image and voice until they lose possession of the Death Note."

"Will we forget if we return the Death Note to you?" Matsuda asked.

She shook her head. "No, the memory rules only count for humans who have written in the Death Note."

With that said, she looked back into the guidebook. The shinigami was silent for a moment as she read the next rule, her eyes widening slightly.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Find anything helpful?"

"Possibly…" Rem looked up as she explained, "A human can only regain memories of the Death Note up to six times. They will have to use it without any previous memory of it after that."

"That would take years to achieve according to the rule about misplacing the Death Note," Amy pointed out.

The shinigami was silent again before admitting, "There are other ways to lose memory of the Death Note. Humans can willingly give up ownership too."

"So if we make Kira give up ownership six times, he won't have any memory of being Kira," Miles concluded. "We could take away his Death Note too so he won't find one again."

"There's still the possibility that he could be handed another one," Matsuda pointed out.

"We could just monitor him for life," the redhead explained. "We'll be able to figure it out pretty quickly if he gets another Death Note, and we can just go through the process again."

"Make him give it up six more times?" Matsuda asked. "Would that work?"

Rem searched through the guidebook for a few minutes before explaining, "There is nothing against that possibility."

Matt grinned. "Looks like we just found our solution." He turned to Rem. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yes."

With that decided, the group prepared to present their plans to L.

L accepted the decision, though he was clearly disappointed that he would not be allowed to sentence Kira to death – a fact that Rem made sure to remind him of. Bambi, Matt, and Matsuda were reassigned to help find the old Kira again, though the atmosphere of the investigation room was much more lax than it had been. Amelia was making her way upstairs to the living quarters to take a break when she noticed Light in the hallway. It took him longer than she expected to stop and smile at her, something not quite right about his demeanor.

"I was just looking for you," he began before outstretching his hand. "I wanted to talk. Will you come with me?"

She hesitated as she thought for a moment. While she hadn't been suspicious of him since To-Oh, he hadn't been acting right these past few days. He had been more in his head, slow to react, and showing slight agitation. She would normally blow that off as frustration that Kira was still out there, but this was exactly how L predicted Light to act if he were Kira. Maybe it would be best to follow through as if he were – it would let her make this final judgement once and for all.

Back into her acting To-Oh demeanor, she shrugged noncommittally. "Yeah, sure."

The corners of his lips twitched upward as he lowered his arm. After thanking her, he began to lead her outside.

The sun shined brightly overhead, not a cloud in sight. It was crisp outside – not unexpected in the late-Autumn season – as Amy walked beside Light, following his lead through the park. The leaves on the trees were already a beautiful array of colors as they awaited their final days before winter struck. It was a strange sight after seeing the park in its peak season of Spring.

Light smiled softly as he asked, "Do you remember when we first met?"

The agent laughed. "Yeah. I was worried about interacting with you since it might jeopardize my mission, but it seemed to work out anyway."

They stopped before a small pond that was shadowed by a cherry blossom tree.

He gazed into the waters as he confessed, "When I met you that night, I saw you as someone I wanted to protect. I know now how capable you are, but your broken ankle and other injuries led me to that instinctual reaction. I wanted to protect you from the dangers that nights bring." He smiled at her. "I'm happy that I got to know you, even if it was through such unintended events."

She nodded. "You're a good friend, Light."

He sighed as he turned back toward the pond. "So much has changed since we met. If I'm being honest with myself, I know that my feelings for you haven't gone away."

Amelia frowned. "Look, you're a nice guy – and I'm sure you'll find someone – but I never liked you that way. Besides-"

"Matt. I know." Light scowled slightly before something changed in his mood – it was as if he was keeping some comment to himself out of politeness.

There was a short silence before he began again, tone having no hint of the resentment he so clearly showed just moments ago. "Our time together at To-Oh wasn't all a waste, I hope. Even if you were only there for a mission, there were enjoyable times too."

Bambi smiled as a memory surfaced in her mind. "Oh, like that time Kai bumped into one of the shelves and practically toppled the whole library." She laughed. "Man, that was hilarious!"

He forced a laugh. "You and I remember that incident very differently."

She shrugged. "No one got hurt… badly."

His expression went serious again as he looked her in the eye. "Bambi, I've been meaning to ask you something lately, but I haven't had the chance until now." He paused for a moment before beginning. "When we last spoke about this, you were working as an undercover agent. Now that we're equals, I want your real, honest opinion. What do you think of Kira?"

She hesitated as she frowned. Was all that small-talk just to lead up to this question? The longer this went on, the more he seemed to be Kira. That or L was testing either her willingness to lie for the investigation or her suspected identity of the second Kira. Since Rem vouched for her during her interrogation, she was willing to bet on the former – if this were a test at all. There was still the fact that Light had been acting almost exactly the way L predicted.

Bambi sighed. "I think that Kira is in the right, and I will do anything in my power to prevent his capture."

Light grinned. "I can't say that I'm surprised given your identity as Robin Hood."

She frowned slightly. "So you did know..."

"It was fairly easy to figure out, even if everyone avoided saying it directly," he admitted. "You really are similar to Kira; you both used the tools you had at your disposal to work to protect the innocent – but L had to go and arrest you." He looked back out to the pond as he commented, "You seem to be a slave to him."

"Stop exaggerating, it's not that bad," the hacker told him with a half-joking tone.

Light frowned slightly before forcing a laugh. "I was just kidding."

His calm façade was slipping again, making her feel more tense as the conversation went on.

"The way I know about the truth of your identity is the same as the way I know about what happened before you came to Japan," he cautiously continued. "It seems that it really was Kira who protected you from Beyond Birthday's wrath."

The agent forced a smile. "I'm thankful for his help."

He grinned. "Kira would be pleased to know this. I'm certain that he wants this safety for all his people."

Bambi's heart was pounding as she pointed out, "That would imply that you know what Kira thinks. You know, your messages for the Task Force as Kira were really convincing..."

Light was silent for a few moments as the corners of his lips extended into a wide grin, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Quite observant, aren't you?" he commented. "I am glad to know that you support me, because – as you clearly suspect – I am Kira."

She couldn't help but tense as her brows twitched downward for a brief moment and the corners of her lips threatened to pull down. Unfortunately, her reaction didn't get past him. He immediately frowned as he took a step back.

There was a short silence as they faced off against each other before he chuckled darkly and spoke again, a dangerous tone in his voice. "I'll admit that you had me fooled for a few minutes there, but that doesn't mean that I didn't come prepared for this. After all this time investigating Kira, you should know me better by now, Amy."

Her eyes went wide as a horrified whisper escaped her lips, "No..."

"You should really reconsider your views anyway, being Robin Hood," he added with outstretched arms. "You and I are one and the same – if we can take action to make a better world, we should. Legality isn't a concern of yours or mine when we improve the lives of the innocent. Join me, Amy, and together we can rule this world."

Amelia was shaking as she stood there, fearing provoking him further. She regretted coming here with all her being. It would have been easier to take the back seat and just let him get caught naturally. Light frowned for a brief moment, but quickly replaced it with a confident smirk. His eyes betrayed his true feelings, though.

"You will do as I say!" he cried out. "You're going to hack into the Wammy House files and get L's true name for me. You will also get me the names of Matt, Mello, Near, and Watari, but L is your number one priority now."

She frowned. "That's not even the name of the place."

He narrowed his eyes. "Matsuda is too stupid for L not to trust. Who do you think I got it from?"

Amelia scowled. "Why would I listen to you?"

Light hesitated before a Cheshire grin formed on his lips. "Because... I already wrote your name in the Death Note."

Her eyes went wide as her heart stopped. No... it couldn't be... She opened her mouth, but couldn't will any words out.

"You will wait here for at least an hour before returning," he commanded. "When you come back, tell no one. If they ask, you were thinking about your friends back at home. What was her name again?" He smirked. "Oh, it was Melinda, wasn't it?"

Bambi clenched her fists as she narrowed her eyes at Kira, body shaking as she watched him walk off. She lost sight of him as her vision began to blur. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she collapsed to her knees.