"(Y/n)!" Penelope Garcia's voice filtered through the phone, instantly making (Y/n) smile at the her friend's cheerful tone. "What is up, chica? You haven't called in forever!"

"Hi, Garcia," she greeted, nodding even though the other woman couldn't see. "I've been busy lately. Also, the time difference is killer. How have you been?"

Garcia laughed. "I'm fine as ever, honey. Say hi to Reid!"

"Hello, (Y/n)," Spencer's calm voice took over, sharply contrasting Penelope's enthusiasm and confidence with his awkward quiet.

"Hi, Spence." She smiled. "How's the team?"

There was some shuffling and the familiar sound of their office's squeaky desk chairs complaining under any and all weight. "Uh, good. Good. Hotch is getting kind of antsy about your long absence, knowing of your involvement with that case. I hope you're doing better now?"

"Well, my therapist says so, so I must be," she replied, knowing what he was getting at. "I hardly even get nightmares anymore," (Y/n) added. "As soon as this case wraps up, I'm hauling my ass back to work, so you can tell Hotch to relax."

Garcia piped up, "Just maybe not in those explicit terms." She waited while (Y/n) snorted and then continued in a more somber tone, "You do sound tired though."

(Y/n) shifted, adjusting the pillows behind her to support her back better. "I am," she agreed. "Sayu told me a weird story and it just gave me food for thought and, obviously, my thoughts do not need any food. They're wild enough as it is. So I didn't get good sleep even when I finally got time to take a nap."

It was a lie, really. Sure, her nightmares had reduced to an extreme infrequency, but she wasn't getting any sleep because she didn't know how to proceed anymore. (Y/n) wasn't normally one to panic about not knowing what course of action to take, but when the stakes are as high as they were, it's hard to remain unflappable.

Her friend's familiar laughter fills her ears, Spencer's exasperated comment getting drowned out in the mix. "That sounds like you. What did she tell you? Maybe voicing your thoughts will help?"

"It will," affirmed Spencer. "Scientifically. Well, it should, anyways."

Caught in her lie, (Y/n) decided she may as well run with it and see where her charade takes her. "It's some old folktale or something she's supposed to be doing an analysis on for some extra credit project. The story's about this pair of siblings, among whom the brother feels very strongly and the sister does not. So this brother has a dream wherein he receives a message from a god who is actually a mischievous demon looking for entertainment, and is convinced he has to remove his village's poverty.

"But he does this by killing all the poor and the petty criminals as a vigilante because he has been struck by madness by the demon. Eventually he hits his head and loses his memories of his vigilantism, but his sister has known about her brother's activities and is in a dilemma on whether to turn him in or not."

There was a brief silence, and (Y/n) could practically imagine the looks on their faces.

"Okay, that is a weird story," Penelope said finally. "What does the sister do eventually?"

(Y/n) made a noncommittal sound in her throat. "I don't know. I fell asleep before Sayu could finish."

"Isn't that considered rude?" Spencer asked. "Anyhow, psychologically, because the sister doesn't feel strongly, she's unlikely to turn him in. But it's a folktale and those typically have morals of some sort, so the siblings probably receive retribution for their respective actions."

Garcia hummed in agreement. "Karma's a bitch, hon."

Chuckling, (Y/n) nodded. "True," she conceded. "Apparently though the brother had a strong sense of justice. Do you think he'd want to be turned in?"

"Maybe if he were asked when his memories are gone, he'd say that, but as the vigilante: probably not."

(Y/n) wondered what Light would say if she posed the question to him. Probably something along the lines of asking her to carry out justice even in the face of her familial ties to him. Then maybe she ought to carry out his wishes, right?

Clearing her throat, she nodded to herself, a plan beginning to form itself in her mind. Her current greatest need would be to get Rem on her side and willing to do her more than a few favors. But (Y/n) was sure that if she related all of her requests back to Misa's safety, the Shinigami would be ready to do just about anything.

"Well, we can all agree that Japanese folklore is weird," she began. "I have to go now. It's really late here, and my break's almost up. Hopefully, I'll be seeing you guys soon."

Her friends didn't need to know that she was spending the night in her family home and not at HQ, and was therefore free until the time she had to report back to the Task Force.

"Now, how does one summon a Shinigami?"

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

(Y/n) was sure that Rem was seconds away from sending her to her grave, but was holding back purely because the profiler's request was such an absurd proposition the Shinigami probably wanted to hear the reason before she killed her.

"You want me to what?" Rem asked, voice low, standing up to her full height.

Holding her hands up to placate the deity, (Y/n) took an instinctive step back. "Write Misa's name in Light's Note," she repeated. "I know it sounds baseless, but I have good grounds. Hear my plan out, and if it makes sense to you-- if you think Misa could benefit from this-- then please lend me your help for this."

Rem's eyes flashed dangerously, but she fell back a step and (Y/n) regained her ability to breathe. "Speak, human, and do not test my patience."

"I'm going to set up Light's arrest," (Y/n) stated, her words sounding cold even to herself, but she didn't linger on her own cruelty. "The detectives need physical evidence to push any arrest, and the only thing that provides it is his Death Note."

The Shinigami looked almost surprised for a moment. "You will sacrifice you brother and the secret of the existence of Shinigami for the sake of whatever is fueling you to do this?"

"Yes."

Silence sat heavily between them for a moment, and then Rem asked, "How does this lead to Misa?"

Exhaling, (Y/n) tapped her fingers against the wooden frame of her bed, on the edge of which she was seated. Having this conversation in her childhood room, in her pajamas at nearly 3 in the morning, felt a little ill fitting, but it was the only place she could freely discuss her brother plausible arrest with a deity of death.

"I promised to protect Misa for you," she reminded Rem. "Just because the first and third Kira are caught doesn't mean L might sit back. He'll push to find the second Kira as well, and if Light is arrested and the truth comes out, Misa's truth will be found out instantly."

Impatiently, Rem clicked her tongue. "I am aware, human. Get to the point."

Clearing her throat, (Y/n) nodded. "We frame Light for manipulating Misa using his Note. If you write Misa's date of death as you see it now, it will have no effect on her right now and you can write the reason as something peaceful, and in addition, we frame Light by writing that until her death, she has to obey Kira." She paused. "I don't know if that is something the Death Note can influence, but the detectives won't know either, so it's okay for now."

Rem's lack of response and conflicted body language pressed (Y/n) to continue, her words sounding rushed.

"If we don't do anything now, my brother's plan will come into effect and if you think he won't press Misa into another Shinigami eye deal or do something to shorten her lifespan even further, then you are sorely mistaken, Rem. As far as I can see, this will be the best thing to do for Misa."

The Shinigami nodded slowly, almost like the admittance pained her. "But she will be forced to obey Light if I write as you have asked," she pointed out.

(Y/n) shook her head. "I'll send her abroad for work or something. Get her away from Light. I'm her manager now after all."

"I'll do it," Rem said finally, heaving a heavy sigh. "What else do you need from me?"

Holding back a smug smile, (Y/n) felt herself relax a little. "Could you switch Higuchi's note with Light's? We'll write down the names of those Higuchi has already killed so he won't suspect the change. His arrest will precede Light's no matter what, so Light's notebook can reach forensics before he can do anything about it."

Rem was quiet for a moment. "You have put a lot of thought into this. That is your brother you're aiming to have imprisoned, after all. I thought humans cared about these kind of relations."

"They do," (Y/n) confirmed, "but that isn't my brother. Not really. The only reason he's relatively normal now is because he doesn't remember the power he wielded, but the moment he does, he'll go back to being Kira. I've already lost the brother I'd known and loved, Rem. All I'm doing now is getting rid of the impostor."