I walked slowly down the hall, two paces behind Yagami and my comrade Matsuda, staring with an unusually focused gaze at the carpet. Someone passing by might've assumed I thought it was the most interesting thing in the world, but no. My heart was racing in my chest and my palms were sweaty, even now, I'm not sure why I was reacting the way I did.

Sooner than I expected we arrived at the correct room where all the remaining Task Force members stood. We suddenly heard a voice from behind the closed door but I couldn't make out the words, however since Yagami immediately opened the door, I assume the voice confirmed the door was unlocked. The others started to pile into the hotel room, and I made sure to be the last one in. As soon as I walked in I heard shocked exclamations escape the lips of the members, and it wasn't hard to see why.

A rather odd-looking man stood before us all. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties and was quite tall, but you wouldn't know it because he slouched as an old man would. He had black hair that seemed as if he had just crawled out from under the bed sheets, though the bags under his eyes suggested something quite different.

"I am L." he said it so casually, as if he weren't the greatest detective in the world.

Well, this statement earned him some surprised comments from the other task force members, but they began introducing themselves to him anyway, one after another.

"I'm Yagami of the NPA."

"Uh, Matsuda."

"I'm Aizawa."

"Mogi."

"Ukita."

I was so absorbed in my own thoughts; I didn't even think to introduce myself. However before I could start rummaging through my purse for my badge, I saw L cast a disapproving look towards us. Puzzled, I decided to leave the introducing for when it was necessary, but I wanted to keep observing the situation, being strangely detached from my peers. Then before I knew it-

"Bang!"

This man, L, had one arm stretched out in front of him with his index finger pointed directly at us and his thumb reaching up towards the ceiling as if his hand had transformed into a gun.

"What the hell was that?!" Aizawa asked, rather loudly in response to this apparently offensive gesture. I did not particularly mind though. Basically, I just didn't care.

"If I were Kira, you'd all be dead. Well, with the exception of one of you." He said with a single glance in my direction.

Of course, I had been the only one not to say my name. Kira needs a name and a face to kill that must be why he did it, to prove a point. However I didn't want any undue credit to go to me for being the only one not to introduce myself. After all, the only thing I did was to be ignorant of what was going on simply because I wasn't focusing.

"Kira needs a face and a name in order to commit murder," L said, mimicking my thoughts, "But I'm sure you've already figured out that much haven't you? Please do not give out your names so carelessly. Instead, let's value our lives."

A short, relatively unimportant conversation took place between Matsuda and Yagami, but I paid them no mind. I was completely fixated on him. On L. I studied his movements carefully, looking him over for a second, then a third time. When he turned back our way I caught myself, realizing how suspicious I probably looked and so I pretended to be much more interested in the dirt underneath by fingernails.

So that was my first encounter with L. As excited as I was, I probably wouldn't have been if I knew of the events soon to come. I'd lose practically everything during the Kira Case including my sanity at times. Was it worth it? No. Would I trade this experience for another? Never. This isn't about good or evil. It's about seeing past that, to the stories of the people making it all happen.