Title: Silent Consonant

By: Dr. Kim-chan

Author's Note: Okay, another long wait, and again I apologize, but I've still been dealing with the fallout from the events I enumerated in last chapter's Author's Note…that plus writer's block. (I naively thought introducing Yotsuba and Misa into the story would make things easier…) Also, I took the time to do a MASSIVE second round of editing, trying to eliminate most, if not all, of the pesky typos, as well as clarifying some language.

Happy holidays to you all!

In the dimness of the cramped meeting room, someone released a loud, exasperated sigh as someone switched through every channel on the TV sitting at the head of the table.

"'Interpol', 'trial coverage', 'live from the Shinjuku Metropolitan Building'…blah blah blah! Are we the only ones NOT covering that damn case?!"

A few of the other occupants in the room eyed the pudgy man warily, but they refrained from saying anything. As the producer of the ignominious Sakura TV, Hitoshi Demegawa was always on the lookout for whatever story the other networks wouldn't touch, either for legal considerations or simple self-preservation. Every once in a while they would get lucky and hit gossip gold (in every sense of the word), but more often than not they exuded the stench of tabloid desperation.

All of this, however, didn't change the fact that if not for his temper and persistence, Demegawa would have lost the last shreds of authority he held over the network.

"The defendant's a certifiable loony, I'll give 'em that. I mean, it's got everything you ever want in a media circus. International intrigue, murder, kidnapping…and that's just the problem! Our specialty is entertainment, and no one's gonna give a damn about idol rivalries and on-set affairs when a frickin' twenty-four-hour soap opera's going on at Shinjuku…speaking of which! Kanazawa!" Demegawa suddenly boomed, rounding on a fox-faced lady with manicured nails. "I missed you last night. What happened at the Yotsuba party? We got any more on Kotoguchi?"

"Hardly," Kanazawa scoffed. "She's still pissed at us for covering her little fling with Nobu Tamaki, and I got the brush-off. Not to mention her date was the other guy…you know, the nobody she claims is her real boyfriend. Total disappointment."

Demegawa let out a frustrated snort, and Kanazawa had to suppress a chuckle. For diverse reasons, Sakura TV had a high rate of employee turnover, and as one of the longest-surviving reporters there (i.e., one of the least moral reporters), Kanazawa knew exactly which of Demegawa's buttons to push, and which ones to stop pushing.

Now it was time to switch buttons.

"Remember, though, they chose two spokesmodels."

"…Oh yeah. They got Misa Amane too, didn't they? But hell, she's about as clean as new yen—or at least acts like it! We tried digging into her parents' murders, and the Osaka police almost kicked us in the teeth! Her second movie with Hideki Ryuga…we got zilch! No lovers, no drugs, no booze, no bankruptcy—nothing!"

"Listen, Amane's not the important part of this story, anyway. It's the date she brought along—"

"Whaddya mean, 'Amane's not the important part'?!" Demegawa barked. "Need I remind you, Kanazawa: we chase celebrities!"

"And her date was a celebrity!" Kanazawa shot back. "Okay, so he's no Hideki Ryuga, but if you let our network come out with this story, in a couple of days this Beyond guy will be old news!"

"Oh really? So who was it?!"

"Light Yagami."

The entire meeting room suddenly went still, and for a moment Demegawa looked like he'd choked on a candy bar.

"Y-Yagami…"

"That's right: the hostage who captured everybody's hearts a few months back, son of the SIS-L Japan Branch chief. And the one who's about to testify against Beyond Birthday this week. Turns out he and Amane have been dating under our noses for months."

"...Kanazawa, please tell me you got an interview with 'em."

"Have you ever known Amane to turn down an interview?"

Then everybody recognized the newfound leer in Demegawa's eyes.

The same look he got when he envisioned himself rolling in dough.

"…The testimony given yesterday, along with the records submitted by Interpol and the LAPD, has given us a comprehensive overview of the Wara Ningyo Murders. We have also been given the evidence regarding the defendant's escape from Corcoran on the night of October nineteenth. I am not contesting those facts—in and of themselves. What I am asking now, Mr. Watari, is whether you believe the defendant's conviction in the Wara Ningyo Murders was the sole driving force for his most recent actions."

"Objection; that's speculation."

"L?"

"Your Honor, I'm only asking the witness to base his answer on the evidence already presented—that and his own personal experience. Recall that at the time, Mr. Watari was working directly with L, so it can hardly be called speculation. Also, discerning my client's motivation and mental state is crucial to this case."

"…Overruled. You may answer the question, Mr. Watari."

"L."

"…I can only assume so. As L discovered during the course of his investigation, the nature of the crimes—the Wara Ningyo Murders, I mean—not only indicated a high, if not abnormal intelligence, but the clues that Beyond Birthday left behind appeared to hint at some sort of direct challenge."

"'A direct challenge', you say? And is there any reason given as to why he would have wanted to do such a thing? After all, L may be a well-known detective, but he is also very reclusive. Why would my client go seeking him out in particular…?"

"L!"

With his attention divided among four separate screens, L didn't hear Naomi calling him until she stood right next to his armchair and raised her voice. Being the only other people in the room, Bullook and Aiber jumped slightly at the brief commotion, but L simply double-checked the three televisions to make sure they were recording Watari's imminent response before he turned his head.

"Sorry," L muttered. "What is it?"

"Wedy's on the line. She just spotted Hatori—and Ishibashi's with him."

L immediately took the cell phone from her, his eyes still glued to the TV screens.

"Scorpio One. Number?"

"Scorpio Two," Wedy muttered impatiently.

"You said Hatori and Ishibashi are at the hotel?"

"I can spot Hatori's bad dye job from a mile away. Ishibashi came in first, then Hatori arrived alone about eight minutes later with a briefcase…and let me tell you, he looks like the cat that ate the canary. Guess detective's intuition wins again, huh?"

Wedy was referring to what happened after Yotsuba's VIP party. Disappointment was palpable throughout Room 1301 the other night; Misa had followed Light around too closely for him to retrieve any useful pictures or recordings with his watch, and at first, the bugs Wedy placed in the hotel's surveillance system didn't seem to have caught anything either.

But after painstakingly reviewing every minute of the collected footage by himself, L suddenly started making a big deal out of one minor detail: halfway through the party Ishibashi excused himself to go to the restroom, then Hatori followed him about a minute later. Even after L pointed out—in excruciating detail—that Hatori gave a curious glance in Ishibashi's direction and that they were gone for an odd amount of time, Wedy was reluctant to give the detective's theory any credence. After all, champagne and other libations had flowed quite freely at the party.

But, she flippantly thought, that was why he was the master detective and she was the security expert.

"Can you follow them?" L asked.

"I might be able to work a little magic. Headed for the elevator now."

Hatori would have closed the door quicker (especially at a time like this) if not for his desire to get a second glance at the raven-haired woman apparently rushing to another suite on this floor. Too bad he had business to take care of; she looked like quite the catch. Hopefully she wasn't rendezvousing with someone else.

His desire momentarily quenched, he finally shut the door and turned all his attention to the thin, tall, graying president of Tamai, who had already taken a seat in an armchair that looked as stiff as he did.

"To be honest, I didn't know your company would push the mergers ahead so soon," Ishibashi mused. "In a way I'm glad it's over."

"Oh, this isn't over yet. Not by a long shot," Hatori retorted. "And it doesn't have to end like this either."

"End like what? According to our, uh, 'agreement', I'll receive about nine billion yen from your associates, plus the severance pay my own company will provide me. I've already settled up most of my affairs, and I plan on enjoying a nice retirement somewhere where the name 'Tamai' is little more than a memory. What more can I ask for?"

"To not be double-crossed."

Ishibashi lifted a charcoal-colored eyebrow.

"Is that a threat?"

"Not from me," Hatori said. "Higuchi, on the other hand…"

Ishibashi suddenly looked even stiffer, if that was possible. "I would think he wasn't in the position to pull off any double-crossing either. Even if this was all exposed, all it takes is someone agreeing to testify against everyone else, and suddenly their lot becomes significantly better. If it comes to a choice between avoiding jail and saving face, most men swipe their own noses off first. Besides, you'd think Takabe would be the one—"

"Takabe, hell!" Hatori interrupted, past irritated at Ishibashi's cool arrogance. "Takabe's spineless! He doesn't think for himself. And don't forget: we still have that insider-trading thing in our back pocket. Even if he manages to grow a few brain cells in the next few days, he'll come out of this worse than we will. You, on the other hand…you're smart, and that makes them nervous. I guess they feel double-crossing Takabe would be too easy. As for Higuchi, he's not too smart himself, but he is ambitious."

Ishibashi was silent for a moment before he asked, "So, how exactly am I going to be double-crossed? You can't exactly bring an accusation like this without any proof."

Right on cue, Hatori hefted his briefcase up onto his lap, snapped it open, and passed a thin stack of paper to Ishibashi—indeed, Hatori brought the briefcase solely in expectation of that question. Raising an eyebrow, Ishibashi quickly flipped pages and skimmed through the words, wondering what exactly Hatori hoped to accomplish with this meeting; he hadn't exactly been forthcoming with the details at the VIP party the other night.

Then he hit the fourth page.

"…What is this?"

"A copy of the contract you signed with us agreeing to the takeover of Tamai Bank. I figured you deserved one last look at it."

"I know that!" Ishibashi snapped. "I mean this! It says Yotsuba will receive all of Tamai's assets once I leave! We agreed I'd be left with twenty-eight percent! This wasn't in the original contract I signed!"

"Exactly. As soon as you officially step down as Tamai's CEO next week, your nine billion share goes 'poof'. All the money you so graciously agreed to hold for Takahashi and Kaneboshi from their construction rackets. All that company stock you sold off, all you've been setting your retirement on—gone. Not only will Tamai be a memory, but so will you."

Ishibashi's mouth curled into the slightest snarl as he tried to compose himself, and Hatori had to keep himself from gloating. He knew from the months of negotiations between Yotsuba and Tamai that it took a lot to rile up Ishibashi, that he was a man who didn't cave into demands easily, and he was able to push him to that point in less than five minutes.

"…So what are you proposing? An alliance?"

"If you want to call it that," Hatori said. "Look, I've played along for as long as I could, but I knew all along that even if we 'won', I'd lose. Dad would rather die than promote me—hell, he barely wanted to make me vice-president—and Higuchi isn't satisfied with just a seat on the board. He's shooting straight for the top. Then what'll stop him from getting rid of all of us? What I propose is that we strike first. Pretend everything's fine for now, but in the meantime put that money somewhere where Higuchi or Kaneboshi can't get to it. I'll take care of the rest. With everybody trying to get this marketing campaign off the ground, we can bide our time for a bit."

"After what he just tried to pull with this…this contract, I have no problem putting Higuchi in his place…but…"

"But?"

"Kaneboshi, on the other hand…well…you know what kind of man Kaneboshi is!"

"Like I said, let me take care of that."

(End Chapter 57)

Silent Extra: Chapter titles, part four. (You notice that I'm no longer offering alternative titles; after Chapters 12-13 I got a little better at naming my chapters right off the bat.)

-Chapter 16: Inspired by Light's meddling, from the saying "Too many cooks spoil the broth."

-Chapter 17: I got the idea for "Standstill" mainly because of the first part of the chapter. Though Naomi and L scored a victory by gaining Watari's trust, Watari also made the decision to go to Japan, which threw L off, so no one really got ahead of anybody. It could also refer to Near/Mello/Matt and the agents standing still at the airport and Light being trapped by Beyond.

-Chapter 18: When I wrote it, I figured the readers would be slightly frustrated by how well the successors worked together, and yet they weren't quite arriving at the correct conclusion.

-Chapter 19: A pun. (I couldn't help myself.) With Light being disgusted by Beyond's jam-eating, and then finding out he was none other than the perpetrator of the Wara Ningyo Murders, obviously he was going to be immune to developing any kind of bond with his captor.

-Chapter 20: This chapter felt a little sad, as L finally admitted the truth to Naomi, not to mention the quote at the end ("People can change their fates, Misora…not experiments.") Though L wasn't giving up by any means, there was a kind of resignation to his decision to face Watari. Also, it would've been futile for L to keep any more secrets from Naomi.