damned_institute | Nightshift 36: M51-M60 Hallway

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Nightshift 36: M51-M60 Hallway

It was a calm, collected ninja that stepped out of his room after the doors had opened, clan in the usual odd black attire. Perhaps a bit too calm. He spared his roommate merely a nod of farewell before leaving. He had both trowels on hand, though he doubted he'd have much need of them tonight.

He strode purposefully down the hallway, intent on getting to where he needed to be as quickly as possible, with a short stop at Usopp's along the way. This was easy enough to achieve since he and Mello were in the same block.

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Empty as the hall was, it was easy to tell when someone new was approaching. Light stiffened imperceptibly at the growing illumination, thinking for one brief panicked second that if someone saw him here--

But it was only Mikami. Good. He'd been wondering why his knock had gone unanswered, but now that the man was here, they could begin. At the same time, however, he had to wonder why Mikami had left his room in the first place. He would have expected that after their conversation earlier that day, venturing out into the institute would have been the last thing such a devoted follower would want to do, but apparently he'd been wrong. Unless... had something happened since then? It would have to be very important for Mikami to willingly risk keeping his god waiting like that-- unless it hadn't been deliberate?

He pushed those questions aside when Mikami spoke, summoning up a small smile for the man despite his initial reaction to being referred to as Yagami-sama. As pleasing as it was to have that particular honorific attached to his name, he couldn't help but feel a little unsettled by its casual usage. They may have been the only ones in the hall, but that didn't necessarily mean people couldn't hear them. It might not be L or one of his lackeys, but trying to find a feasible and suitably unsuspicious reason as to why an older man he barely knew was calling him "Yagami-sama" under any circumstances would hardly be enjoyable.

Glancing briefly around the hall, Light said, "Shall we head inside? There haven't been any monsters here yet that I've seen, but it's probably only a matter of time." He placed the tiniest amount of emphasis on the word "monsters," hopefully making the double meaning clear. If anyone overheard...

"Of course," Mikami said immediately, "I'm sorry if you had to wait." His mind was still preoccupied, caught between watching Light and looking away as they entered. It was becoming a mild concern to him that Light was younger... from a time when Mikami hadn't been contacted at all beyond those deaths of the people he mentally judged. If Kira hadn't contacted him for the five years between the time he had and when he began to publicly work, what would he think about practically being forced to converse with him?

He also hadn't forgotten the possibility of being overheard. Undoubtedly the doors were strong enough to contain patients who wanted out, but their ability to contain voices was unknown. However... if he remained quiet, and let Light take the lead, certainly they would be okay.

For now, an explanation. "I met with Mello by accident," he admitted, seating himself on a bed. "Considering his death the day before I arrived here, I was not expecting that." A pause as he looked up toward the dark ceiling. "I wasn't sure if you knew of his presence or not. As well as any other specifics...?"

"There's no need to apologize," Light replied as they stepped inside. Actually, there was, but he didn't think saying that when their conversation still might be audible would be a terribly good idea. True, he hadn't been waiting very long at all, but with no real explanation for Mikami's actions so far, he felt somewhat entitled.

An explanation seemed to be forthcoming, though, so Light took a seat on the bed directly across from Mikami and listened intently. Mello... the name didn't ring any bells, but given the context, it had to be one that he was supposed to recognize. Someone from his future, then? Light had only one person in mind who fit that description, but although that did narrow down the possibilities considerably, there were both the new patients the Head Doctor had mentioned and the chance that this Mello had somehow escaped his noticed entirely before now to consider.

That left him no choice. Closing his eyes briefly, Light said, "Mello? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the name. I may have seen him around the institute before, but if I have, I was unable to identify him." These time irregularities were really becoming troublesome, weren't they? "Tell me, Mikami, what do you know about this Mello?"

"He told me he's been here a week. I gather he's been trying to gain as much information as possible from everyone he comes into contact with," he explained, "His room is M3 - the meeting mentioned on the bulletin board was orchestrated by him. I can't say what he's planning... he seems a formidable opponent for me because he definitely knows more than I do.

"He and Near wanted to expose who you were or stop the judgment of criminals. Probably both. Back home, you had Takada textmail me portraits of him and Near... of what they looked like about five years ago. On January 26th, though, Mello kidnapped Takada Kiyomi, and she was able to rid of him using a piece of the Death Note she was carrying." Light had said he wasn't familiar enough with Mello to identify him, so he pulled up the mental image of the man now frozen into his memory. "Mello has shoulder-length blond hair, and a burn scar across the left side of his his face which looks fairly recent." He tapped the journal in his lap that had been present at their conversation in the chapel. "Like I had said, his real name is Mihael Keehl. That's what you had told me, at least... I've lost the Eyes in here."

He bowed his head, rubbing the tips of his fingers along his jawline as he thought. Some of these things were difficult to say, in that they showed his shortcomings in not only losing the Shinigami Eyes, but also in his relative lack of actual knowledge of where Mello and Near had come from and who they really were. At the time he'd been "briefed," as it were, it simply hadn't seemed to matter how much he knew, other than the two were dangerous enemies, and that, of course, Near was the first one to be taken down at the Yellow Box warehouse. On that matter... "I don't know if Near is here too. If so, I haven't been able to recognize him. He and Mello are about nineteen, but Near is supposed to look younger than he really is. Unless he's done something to it, for some reason he also has white hair.

"There might have been another man too, although I'm not sure if he was actually with Mello or was hired in some way. He served as a distraction for when Mello kidnapped Takada, but he put up a fight and was killed by a number of Takada's body guards. I don't know much about him aside from he had brown hair and... was wearing a black and red striped shirt with a vest over it. The newscasts weren't particularly clear... he had been shot numerous times." Normally someone's clothing would not be enough to warrant mention, but the chance that they might mean something to Light meant that he was eliminating a risk by bringing them up.

... This just kept getting better and better. If Mello knew more than Mikami and Mikami was his main source of information for what happened in his future, Light was, to put it delicately, in a very, very undesirable situation right now. He could try to fill in the gaps himself with what Mikami told him, but that would take time and effort that would have been more well spent on trying to get out of this place and, if at all possible, killing L and the others in the process.

When the number of "others" there were seemed to be growing by the second, though, Light was running out of ideas on how to get rid of them all. Mello, Near, the man with the striped shirt-- with how little he knew of their roles, he couldn't safely decide which one of them had the highest priority, and even then, the chances of eliminating the most important without somehow alerting the others were rapidly shrinking. How could he do this?

But at least he had a name and a face, and with that much, he was able to piece together two very important pieces of information. Firstly, L had been in contact with him. This might not have actually been true, but after seeing L and Mello in the showers next to each other, it would be safer to assume that it was and react accordingly. Secondly, if that incident in the Sun Room was anything to go by, Matsuda knew about Mello and had plenty of reason hate him. He could use that to his advantage later, but more importantly, what Mikami didn't know could potentially be something that Matsuda did. Light hated relying on the most foolhardy member of the team for anything, but if his assumptions proved to be true, he had no choice.

The main problem, therefore, was this Near and the man with brown hair. Light could possibly keep an eye on both Mello and L to see if anyone matching either meager description came into contact with them, but with how many white and brown haired individuals at the institute there were, there was no guarantee that this would bear any fruit. That Mello's accomplice was dead would narrow his search down considerably, but it wouldn't get him a name. Damn it!

Hearing that Mikami had lost the Eyes was also disappointing, but after hearing the same from Misa, it was hardly a surprise. It was also altogether too convenient, but thinking about his personal vendetta against the doctor that had forced the trade on him and what this could imply would be anything but productive right now.

"Are there any other enemies I've amassed that I should be aware of?" he asked dryly. "And on that subject, what does my future self plan to do about them? What has he done about them in the past? Anything significant that occurred within the five years that separate us that you're aware of would be appreciated." Assuming he hadn't covered everything he knew already when they'd spoken in the chapel, that is.

Mello had known that it had been Mikami talking about Kira on the board, and Mikami had wondered since if that meant there weren't any other followers trapped at Landel's as well. That incident in itself, however, wasn't too concerning, considering the possibility that any others were simply laying low. It was Light's reaction that was particularly condemning. Mikami was forced for several seconds to remain leaned forward with his hair falling into his face.

He would never have fooled himself with the delusion that he was any sort of partner to Kira, but he knew completely that he was the most devoted and influential of his followers. Kira had chosen him to carry out the judging of criminals. Mello had implied that Mikami was to soon die, but if he was being used... if he was only like to a knight or pawn in the greater game, it didn't matter to him in light of his greater purpose to eradicate the evil from the world.

"If I were returned to the same time I was taken from, Near and his supporters die tomorrow," he started suddenly, jumping right over the 'amassing' comment. It had been five years, and in his present time Kira's secret efforts had been seemingly focused, for whatever reason, on Near, Mello, and any people who were supporting them. He didn't know of anything specific that had gone on when he wasn't directly involved, and he imagined it didn't matter because clearly Kira had been able to take care of then anything that was wrong.

"God sent me a Note because he was being watched," came the continuation, the considerable amount of stress he was under forcing Mikami into an odd mindset for respect. "But eventually, I was told to send pages of it to Takada Kiyomi, and hide the real thing while she carried out judgments." A deep breath. "I was also instructed to carry a duplicate, because God expected Near and his people following me would try and replace relevant parts of it if given the chance." Mikami vaguely noticed that there was glitter on his hands again... probably from the bed, but he hardly cared.

"It worked. They replaced the false pages I had set for the day, and on January 28th, I was to bring the real Death Note and end Near... delete forever those enemies of Kira's work."

... That reaction was unexpected. Light wasn't entirely sure what had brought it on-- did Mikami blame himself for how many enemies they had?-- but as whatever mood it was didn't seem important enough for Mikami to mention, he let it go for now. Hearing Kira's plans for the future and seeing if that might help his current predicament was far more important.

As it turned out, it didn't, especially since apparently there were even more unnamed Near supporters out there that he had to worry about, but at least it confirmed for him what Mikami's position was. The plan he'd outlined sounded very much like something Light would do, and if his future self had trusted him to carry it out, there was no longer any reason to doubt his loyalty.

"Thank you for telling me of this, Mikami, and for serving my future self so faithfully. I'm sure that he-- no, that I hold you in high regard." He favored Mikami with his sincerest-looking smile, needing Mikami to believe his words even though he knew they were false. He couldn't have changed that much in five years after all, and Mikami was just another tool.

"If that was everything, then I think it's time we moved on to the subject of the institute. In addition to Mello, you should be aware of two other enemies here: L and Misora Naomi." He paused for a moment to let that information sink in. "L is going by the name 'Ryuga Hideki' and will be very easy to spot. He's around my height, has messy black hair, bags under his eyes, and usually sits hunched over with his knees pulled up to his chest. Avoid making contact with him-- that should be easy. If he initiates a conversation, though, don't try to escape it if you have no other legitimate reason and be very careful what you say.

"Misora Naomi, on the other hand, is going by the name 'Maki Shouko.' She's tall, has shoulder-length black hair, and is in her early thirties. She's safer to speak to, but she's still quite sharp and will likely report the entire conversation back to L if prompted."

Mikami nodded wordlessly at Light, smiling. Before he'd come to Landel's, his interactions with Kira had consisted of first only the silent confirmations that he was righteous, and then finally, getting chosen to carry out part of Kira's work himself. There had been that one brief conversation on the phone, and after that, only messages passed through Takada Kiyomi. Those things had been amazing in themselves. To be praised in person was... unbelievable.

His attention was focused entirely, almost painfully, on Light's next words. Although it would have been normal for him, whether or not to take down notes was a choice quickly discarded for this particular conversation... although of course, the chance that he would be forgetting anything said here was nonexistent.

Misora Naomi... and L? At this, he tilted his head slightly, brow furrowed. The L? Mikami had thought of L as really not much more than a faceless entity, expressing his intents through the media in a similar, but far inferior, way in Kira expressing them through his actions. Light knowing the person who was behind L was... not particularly surprising, actually. But if that were so, why had he allowed L to continue pursuing Kira at all? Not that he had been particularly successful but... oh.

If Kira had been able to take over L's name, then there wouldn't really be any reason to fear his identity being exposed, would there? If it were true, it was undeniably brilliant on Light's part, and in addition, possibly explained why Near and Mello were prime targets rather than the L persona. However, it also meant that here, either Light had not done it yet, or didn't find it relevant enough to mention to Mikami.

Putting aside this particular revelation, he returned his mind back to the issue at hand, continuing to memorize entirely the information he was being told, then after a moment, asked quietly, "I don't suppose you want me to do anything about them in particular?"

"There's nothing that can be done," Light replied, allowing a hint of his frustration over the matter creep into his voice. "Without a Note, we don't have a surefire way to eliminate any one of them without gaining the others' notice. Even having a Note in our possession wouldn't guarantee we'd be able to get rid of them all. There are three names unaccounted for, no way to know for sure if using the Note to get them will actually yield results, and more unknown supporters either among the patient ranks already or on their way.

"The only thing working in our favor L's paranoid nature. The chances of him recruiting people not from our world to aid him against us is slim. Mello is probably more likely to, but as his main concern so far has seemed to be gathering information on the institute itself rather than keeping tabs on us, it likely holds lesser priority than finding a way out. Near and this other fellow, however, I don't have enough information to judge.

"For simplicity's sake, I'd say their goals are aligned with both L's and Mello's with the possibility of surveillance without general recruitment. They haven't made any overt moves yet, leading me to believe that both tend to take more passive roles than either L or Mello. It's either that or they're supporting one of the two-- possibly both.

"Misora is currently acting according to L's direction, from what I've gathered. She does not know that I am Kira, but L does. I'm assuming from what you told me that Near, Mello, and the man in the striped shirt do, too, which means both you and I need to be careful around them."

He sighed, thought over the few available options once more, and concluded reluctantly, "Until a more permanent solution can be found, we'll need to distance ourselves from each other. The safest way to do this is to pretend we've had a falling out. Because I've been adopting an anti-Kira stance to avoid suspicion and you've been..." How to put this delicately? "... very verbal about your pro-Kira stance, it would make sense that this would lead to certain ideological clashes-- more so if during this 'clash,' I'd mentioned or otherwise hinted at my 'intent' to put Kira behind bars. As long as L and the others don't know the you've made the connection between me and Kira, we should be safe." Him more than Mikami, in some ways, but for obvious reasons, he didn't say that. "Communication will be a problem, but I'll work on coming up with a way to meet and exchange information without attracting anyone's notice.

"In the meantime, observe L, Misora, and Mello as covertly as you can. Keep an eye out for Near, too, and watch Mello to see if he meets with anyone matching the description you gave me. I'll be doing the same."

What else, what else-- ah, yes. "We have another ally at Landel's, but she seems to have disappeared for now. I'll introduce the two of you once she turns up again." The prospect of Mikami meeting Misa made him worry, for some reason, but in the interests of surviving, getting out of this place, and getting the upper hand on L once more, he'd have to arrange it.

Edited 2008-11-20 03:51 (UTC)

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Nightshift 36: M51-M60 Hallway

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