A Lost Letter for a Lost Cause
by Finary Lane
Dear L,
I know it has been many years since we have worked together. Sometimes, I'm amazed we ever did and wonder how it would be possible to work with the three greatest detectives in the world. Yet the trail of bodies left by Kira and the aftermath of the investigation are a constant reminder of what came to pass. I remember you. You called me stupid, made my name a synonym for idiocy and made me feel as though I was hardly worth your time on the best of days. But I know you remember me; you wouldn't be the greatest detective if you couldn't remember that much.
Since the years of the Kira investigation, nothing has been quite the same. Working with you and Light, I was always the last one to pick up on a detail or to figure out a puzzle. The two of you were sharp; you made a great team. And great rivals and great enemies. You both loved it. You loved to prove each other wrong, revelled in the thrill of it. And in every snap, every compliment and every comeback, you put your life on the line. Sometimes I remember a line or two of your banter and say it aloud to figure out why you said it. And every time I find a different answer, as if every glance at a battlefield revealed a new front. You were brilliant, and I had the chance to work with you despite the dullness of my mind. But that was the Kira investigation. Everything after that has been so different that it feels like a different world. I became a recognized detective within the precinct. Did you know my deductions are ''brilliant''? I don't think so either. And call me a hypocrite, I miss the days where there was the greatest serial killer on the loose. I miss the Kira Investigation gang. I miss barely keeping up with the trail end of your sentences. Hell, I think I might even miss you. And I'm ashamed to aadmit it, but I even miss Light Yagami.
In any case, I went to the file room earlier today to retrieve some documents I needed to consult. As I returned to my desk, not a thing had moved from when I left it. There was, however, a glaring addition. Light Yagami himself, perched as elegantly as ever, on the desk of my cubicle. Now, I know he died of a heart attack. I know he's dead. He's dead, I think everyone individually triple checked after the coroner declared him dead. He was cremated and his ashes buried. I know. But L, he's on the desk of my cubicle munching on an apple. No one else seems to see him, so I have resolved ignore his presence. I have consulted a psychiatrist in case I'm losing my mind, which really was the most likely scenario. My mental state seems to be in order.
L, I'm freaking out here. When you were on the Kira Investigation team, you were impossible to track down. Now, there's no chance in hell I can track you down. Let's face it : if that's really Light, we're screwed whether he has a Death Note or not. He's a madman. And the only one who posed a challenge to him was you. It was pure sheer luck that Mello and Near were able to work off of what you had already put together. Without you first, they could not have taken down Kira. And they can't now. That's why I'm writing to you now. You need to something about him. He doesn't seem to have done anything yet except eat apples and sit there, but there are all sorts of conversations and documents that nobody wants Kira to get his hands on.
You're probably complaining that I'm rambling if you bother to read this far, but I have faith that this letter will reach you. If Light is alive, then so are you. I'm certain of it. I'm entrusting this to a messenger. An actual messenger like in the Dark Ages. There's no way that I can find you through Internet, there's no way the post office can find you so this is my solution. Not that my messenger is particularly bright, never mind able to outsmart you. But an email will be mashed away in the sea of information, you couldn't care less about receiving mail. But a messenger, especially someone who attracts as much trouble as my messenger will surely catch your eye.
Anyway, you know how to contact me; I expect you will use a different method simply to be contrary. And knowing you, you'll probably be sitting on my desk tomorrow morning too, hancuffed to Light and sharing apple with him, without a care in the world about this letter.
Sighing deeply in exasperation,
Detective Matsuda Touta