CHAPTER 1: Letter

"Ryuzaki, sir, I believe- no, we, as in the whole unit, believe that. . .," Detective Reigney struggled for words. "Well, we talked it over, and. . . we think there's another Death Note involved with the R.K. Case."

He listened, but he didn't hear anything. The dark surveillance room seemed empty and all he saw was the back of the chair.

"Ryuzaki?" he asked again.

L spun his chair around with a bowl of marshmallows in his hand. "Ryuzaki's busy at the moment." He grabbed three and swallowed them loudly. "However if you would mind waiting just a minute," he mumbled, forcing more into his mouth.

He spun the chair back around for a minute. When he faced him again, the marshmallows were in his lap and he had a cup of tea in his hands and his face was serious. (At least as serious as L ever was.)

L spoke in his husky, childish voice. "I thought I had asked for that specific possibility not to be mentioned," L said as he stirred the over-sweetened tea intently. He knew that, since a rumor of the killer notebook was leaked, everyone -even his own trusted few- would be unconsciously influenced to lean toward the cause of someone finding a Death Note.

He took a sip of the tea. Not that it wasn't impossible; it was very possible. Just not probable.

"I know, but, Ryuzaki," Detective Reigney hesitated, "we have proof. A warning letter was sent two days ago, and confirmed yesterday." He held out a piece of deeply folded paper.

L drank the rest of the tea in one gulp and reached behind him to set the cup on the desk. Then he held his hand out for the paper.

He handled it carefully as always, only touching the corners of the letter. It didn't look much different from the other "warning letters". Though it did seem more amateur, and was fairly short, only covering part of the top of the page. This was probably just another fake.

L, it began. "Surprise, surprise," L mumbled under his breath.

I am not another KIRA. But I am a KIRA supporter. I'm also currently in possession of a Death Note.

"Hmm," L said. The rumor didn't specify the name of the Death Note. "So this person knows about the notebooks," he acknowledged. "And he knows there were many Kira's, not only one. Interesting. "

A thoughtless move on his part. L could guess where this letter was going.

"As you know, Detective Reigney, one letter seeming to relate to this case is hardly enough to prove if he -or she- has a Death Note."

I warn you; don't look for me. And I persuade you to drop the KIRA case. There are still a large amount of KIRA supporters out there.

I may reveal more about me depending on how you choose to act. I'm sure you'd like to know I if I have the eyes, and about my Shinigami.

I don't have to be an enemy.

The closing was at the very bottom of the page, and left a large space between it and the body.

"I have to say I'm surprised. Did you find a further significance in this letter I haven't?" As he spoke, he held the note up higher.

"Actually, I did, sir," Reigney said.

At the same moment, L saw what he had meant.

When held up to the light, the letter revealed another, more promising letter in the space below the main print.

"Oh I see. . ." L said in a playfully annoyed tone. "Exactly how many people read this letter?"

"Only me and the rest of the unit, Ryuzaki, sir."

L turned his head to his most efficient member of his Task Force. "That's getting really annoying you know."

"Sir?" Reigney asked, confused.

"Uh, that. Believe it or not, any possible word can be used too much. You do realize you don't have to say 'sir' at the end of every sentence?"

"Oh, uuuh," Reigney stammered, "I'm sorry si- Ryuzaki," he recovered with a quick bow.

L sighed and rolled his eyes. He reached into the bowl on his lap and held up one of the white puffs. "Here Thomas," he said as he lightly tossed it to him, "you've been working longer shifts lately, haven't you?"

Thomas caught the marshmallow with surprise. Then he looked at L and smiled. "Yeah, I guess so. I've been getting deeper and deeper into this case. It's getting interesting."

L nodded and turned his attention back to the letter.

I expect you need proof to even take this threat under consideration. And, as proof, I'll have to kill someone. But its only fair that you know: he's hardly a person.

Thursday, March 12, at 8:26 am, Kenta Isoma will die of a heart attack on the third train heading south to Kano. He will board the train from Kimistuo Station. At or around 7:54 he will begin acting very defensive, as if someone mentioned he may be a criminal. He'll get more and more angry as other people recognize him and threaten to turn him in. He will pull out a gun and take the car he's on and the neighboring car as hostages. Things escalate, and he realizes he'll be executed when he's taken into custody. Upon realizing this, he becomes emotionally unstable. Then, in a dazed panic, he will take out a pocket knife and start carving a symbol on the back of one of the seats, murmuring about how he was "left behind" by world, and how "nobody cared" about him. He becomes so distraught in his thoughts, he will aim the gun at a woman with a small child, targeting them. But in his chaos and mindless ranting, he doesn't hear a cop come from the other train car. The cop grabs the gun from behind and puts the criminal in handcuffs. Kenta has a heart attack immediately after he's cuffed.

Now you're reading this letter, so the death must have happened. And, now I have you're attention, I'll tell you what i know.

You're currently working on a classified case: that much is obvious. I've been watching quietly for the past month now, so i know it involves another mass killing, perhaps another KIRA. I'm warning you to drop the case. If you don't, I will make it my personal mission to hunt you down and kill you. I WILL punish you for what you did to KIRA. I suggest you forfeit. Its the least you could do now; to atone for your mistakes and give this KIRA a chance to help this world.

Please don't think i want to resort to this, but I won't show any mercy if you chose to continue with this case.

And don't think you know my moves either. But know that this letter is exactly what i want it to be.

L turned toward the desk and opened one of the drawers. He pulled out a laminate page and slid the letter in. Then he opened another drawer and stared into it. He started reaching for the plastic bag, but paused. After one long second, he decided.

"Ah-ha," he said as he pulled out a lollipop. He positioned the stick so he could pull the wrapper off with the same hand.

He stuck the sucker in his mouth and turned back to Thomas. He stated the facts around the candy. "So," he said, his voice muffled, "this person knows about the present case, past Kira cases, and Death Notes." L skimmed the letter again. "It's a definite possibility he has a Death Note. At least sixty percent. Good job Detective," he said and flashed a smile at Thomas.

"Thank you," he replied with a sense of accomplishment.

L pushed off from the large desk and rolled his chair toward the tack board on the other wall. He pinned the letter up at the top.

"Do you have any theories as to how we should profile this person?" he asked as he played with the lollipop.

"Not yet. The Task Force was waiting to hear your thoughts before they proceeded with this case."

"Understandable. Call them in, would you?"

"Of course," Thomas nodded and turned away. He paused and turned back to L. "Are you glad you got another good lead?"

L stared at the sucker and twisted the stick. "Actually, I'm positively ecstatic," he said in a dull monotone. He looked at Thomas with a smirk. "I'm finally eager to work on this case."