"Ten more deaths and still no leads to who it could be," my assistant sighed as she reviewed the latest victims.
"What do you know so far?" I asked.
"Well, the only reason I know it's the same person is that he writes "Go to sleep" in the victim's blood. Other than that, there is no evidence of the murderer."
"Let me see," I said, waving her over. She handed me the pictures, and sure enough, there was the phrase. It was written in English, but I was fluent in the language. Top grades in the few college classes I went to because I have the ability to learn so well.
I am L, the famous detective from Japan. After taking down Kira and faking my death, I disappeared with the help of Watari, my butler. My assistant is Tagoku Kairi, a direct cousin of Yagami Light (who was confirmed to be Kira). I took her under my care when her parents were killed by the second Kira, whom I also took down, and began to care for her and train her as a detective in hopes she would not follow in her cousin's footsteps. We both traveled to North America and took refuge in a run-down hotel in Georgia, doing undercover work and delivering the information to the authorities. The most recent major crimes all led to this "Go to sleep" character.
"Kairi-chan, bring me my computer." She nodded, retrieving my laptop for me. I opened it and typed in the phrase. There were a few different results, but most were linked to Creepypasta. "Jeff the Killer" was the most popular topic. I clicked on the link to the main website where this story was originally written and let her read the story. When she finished, I pulled up an old news article and a picture. "If my theory is correct, this so called Jeff is the person we are searching for. The hospital he visited is here in Georgia, so we could pay a visit and ask."
"You're saying that the killer could be the same boy from a story written by an anonymous author?" she asked skeptically.
"Yes."
"Ryuuzaki-sama," she began, "I'm willing to keep an open mind to your idea, but until we have more evidence that shows this is true, I need to keep track of the other possibilities."
"Of course. At the moment, there is only a forty-two percent chance that I am right. Who were the most recent victims?" I asked.
"The two bodies were identified as Samuel Carter Henderson and Jolene Hazel Collins Henderson," she answered, giving me three more pictures: one of the crime scene, one of a young woman, and one of a young man. The two people in the bedroom were mangled so much that they didn't resemble the other two pictures at all.
"Write down all the names of the victims, starting from his first to these two." Kairi nodded and repositioned herself at her desk. She was an expert at breaking past the security walls and hacking into the database of records. The best part was that she had never been caught.
I decided to do some more research on Jeff to prove my theory correct. I looked up the hospital and scheduled a meeting with a doctor. "Done." I looked up to see Kairi holding three sheets of paper out for me.
"Thank you," I replied, taking the names and scanning them quickly. There were no patterns in the names themselves, so she would have to look further into the relations. "Are you hungry?"
"No."
"Let's go get something to eat," I continued. She stubbornly shook her head. Kairi was a very smart individual, but her past haunted her constantly. She often became depressed and struggled with anorexia. I refused to let her go too far, though, and she quickly corrected herself when she realized what she was doing.
"Fine," she sighed, handing me a jacket and a hat. It was a small disguise to avoid the suspicion of anyone that may have followed us here. "Can I choose?"
"Yes," I answered. She smiled slightly and grabbed her computer, placing it in her bag before grabbing her wallet. "Walk or drive?"
"Walk," she decided, pulling her long, brunette hair into a loose bun. I knew we would get some attention because of her. She was charmingly beautiful in appearance. Young, oriental females in America seemed to be pretty popular, both Japanese and Korean being the most noticed.
We walked out of the building and started down the street. It felt pretty hot outside, so I removed my jacket and looked over at her. She seemed to be cold. "Do you want my jacket?" I asked, causing her to look at me.
"Sure," she answered, taking it and placing it over her thin shoulders.
"You've been purging, haven't you?" I asked. She looked away, which meant I was right. "You know it isn't healthy. I caught the person who killed your parents, and you have a home and a caretaker," I pointed out.
"I know, Ryuuzaki-sama, and I love the work we do. But you're hiding something. I know it." It didn't surprise me that she had caught on, and I knew that I would have to tell her eventually.
"You decide where we eat, and I will tell you what you want to know," I stated, offering her a faint smile.
(Kairi's POV)
I knew I could get it out of him. He had been keeping a big secret for a long time, and I wanted to hear his side of the story after hearing my cousin's side. My cousin, Yagami Light, who was Kira, god of the new world. He was bringing justice to Japan and planned to go to the whole world, but he let his guard down and made too many mistakes, resulting in his ultimate demise.
Knowing that his point of view promoted his idea of justice, I knew that Ryuuzaki had a different idea. I just wanted to see what his opinion was. Of course, I would never reveal that I had spoken to my cousin. That was a secret.
I covered most suspicious actions or activities with anorexia and depression, both of which I partially suffered from. It wasn't major, but it was there, that feeling of inadequacy and doubt.
"McDonalds is popular in America. How does that sound?" I asked, pointing at the sign that was shaped like a large "M." He nodded and continued walking in that direction. I found his posture very strange, but it did lower his appeal to some degree. He also held things strangely, with only his thumb and forefinger.
The unhealthiest habit he had was eating sugar. Lots of sugar. He would eat the cubes alone, or a whole plate of marshmallows, let alone the overly sweet cake that made me sick to my stomach to even look at.
How he stayed in shape was a mystery; he never exercised, but his metabolism was still very high.
We arrived at the restaurant, and I opened the door for him. Whether he realized it or not, I acted as a second Watari when we went out, since the butler was often running special errands for him. Ryuuzaki was fluent in English, though we often talked in our language to each other. It was convenient, since I liked to work outside of the hotel at times. "What do you want, Kairi-chan?" he asked as we walked up to the counter.
"Welcome to McDonalds, how may I help you?" the clerk asked in English. I happened to be fluent in the language as well.
"I would like a number ten combo and an apple pie," I replied, looking at Ryuuzaki.
"I would like a vanilla milkshake," he added.
"Okay, will that be all?"
"Yes," I said, pulling out my wallet.
"Okay, that'll be ten twenty-four," she said, taking my credit card. "Your number is thirty-four, we'll call it when your order is ready."
"Thank you," I said, taking my card back. She smiled and gave a polite nod to Ryuuzaki before we both took a seat on the opposite side if the restaurant.
"So, ask away."
"Why did we move to America?" He sat down, pulling his knees up like he always did.
"I had to leave so no one would know I was alive."
"Why did you fake your death?" I asked.
"Because I had to so I could defeat Kira," he stated. So we were already getting to that.
"Who is Kira?"
"Yagami Light. He claimed to be the god of the new world, serving justice to criminals. In reality, he was only a murderer with identity issues," he answered. I laughed softly, looking down at my lap.
"And that man was my cousin. So that's why you took me in?" I asked, looking back up at him. "So you could make sure I wouldn't follow in his footsteps?"
"And because you needed a home," he clarified. "I wouldn't leave Japan knowing there was a girl made homeless by the accomplice of Kira."
"Accomplice?" I asked.
"The second Kira killed your parents to distract me from the original Kira. Her name was Amane Misa," he explained, watching as I pulled out my computer. I hacked into the transmission of the radio stations nearby.
"Most recent development on the killer, a family of seven at the group home down the street," I said.
"Order thirty-four?"
"I'll get it," I said, standing up and turning my computer towards him before going to get the meal. I picked up the tray and walked back to the table, setting his milkshake and apple pie in front of him.
"You ordered the apple pie."
"For you, Ryuuzaki-sama. I know you like them," I explained, sitting down with my wrap. Even though my dear cousin was killed, I looked up to Ryuuzaki. He was all I've had for four years now. He may act like a child at times, but I wouldn't be the person I am now without him.
"Thank you, Kairi-chan," he said, looking up from the computer screen. I nodded, opening my meal. "Itadakimasu."
"Itadakimasu," I replied before taking a bite. He continued to type something. "What are you doing?"
"Sending myself an email. I just found more material to support my theory," he answered before giving me the laptop back. I saw that he found an old news report on a sighting of an unknown kid with a knife.
"Ryuuzaki-sama, I need to research all of the victims to see if there are any connections. Would you mind reviewing the names one more time for any sort of pattern?"
"Let me see them," he said, taking a bite from the apple pie. I pulled out the list and gave it to him before beginning my search. I started with the most recent kill and the one before. Nothing made sense. They had absolutely no connection whatsoever. As I continued to look through the lives he had taken, I realized none of them connected. Was this culprit really just some person on a killing spree?
"Anything?"
"Nothing." With a sigh, I took the list back and placed it in my laptop bag along with my computer before opening my meal and eating a couple bites for his pleasure. "Don't make that face when you eat."
I hadn't realized I was making a face. He was so observant that it was annoying. "Sorry," I mumbled, taking another bite. The wrap was the healthiest thing that tasted any good, but it was still too high in calories. The fries were not an option for me, so I left them, knowing that Ryuuzaki wouldn't want them. Of course, he noticed.
"Wasting fries is wasting money."
"Time spent wasting is not wasted time," I shot back. *Please, Ryuuzaki, let's just go."
"Only if you take the rest with you and eat it later."
"Fine," I sighed, putting everything back in the bag it came in and standing up. He stood up as well, and we both left the restaurant. As we continued to walk down the street towards our hotel, a loud scream came from behind us.
"Help, please!"
I spun around, as did Ryuuzaki, and took off towards the source of the scream. It wasn't the first time I had run towards a similar happening, but for some reason, I felt nauseous when I finally reached the location. The scene didn't help.
A young girl was cradling a body, both covered in blood. "What happened?" I asked, approaching the two. The girl looked up at me, her eyes widening before she jumped up and took off. "Hey!" I yelled, watching her disappear around the corner. With a sigh, I knelt down next to the person she had left behind.
He seemed familiar, but I couldn't place exactly where I knew him from. I allowed my fingers to lightly trace the wounds on his upper body. Each wound was like a slash; most likely the attacker used a knife.
"Kairi-chan! Don't just run off–" Ryuuzaki stopped when he reached my side. "What happened?"
"I don't know. There was a girl, but she was gone before I could get the chance to ask her. It looks like he was attacked."
"What are you talking about?" he asked, kneeling down next to me.
"Can you not see him?!" I argued, patting the man's cheek again. I had his upper body resting on my lap. My legs felt suddenly wet, but I didn't think it was sweat. After a second of hesitation, I slowly flipped him over. In the center of his back was a large stab wound, bleeding heavily. It was mortifying. He was dead.
"Kairi-chan, stand up."
"Ryuuzaki…" I was doing all I could not to burst into tears. I shakily set him on the ground and stood up, pulling my arms close to my body. This was all an illusion created by my own imagination. It had to be, for i recognized who he was. I had been holding my father. "I don't know what got into me. I'm sorry," I said softly, turning on my heel and continuing to walk towards the hotel. I wanted to get away from the memory as soon as possible.
"Kairi, what did you see?" he asked, catching up to me.
"Nothing. It was just my imagination. It wasn't real."
"It was to you," he disagreed.
"But it's not now."
"Tell me." I shook my head. He sighed and looked forward. "Keeping everything to yourself isn't mentally healthy."
"I don't care. If I tell you now then I'll cry," I explained. "I swore never to cry again."
"Can you at least tell me what you heard when you ran off?"
"I heard myself." He didn't ask anything else from then on, probably because he figured out what it was I had seen. That scene constantly haunts me; the time I found my father lying on the ground and holding him until he passed away. The police had shown up not long after, and I ran.
We reached the hotel, and I opened the door for Ryuuzaki. He walked inside and waited for me. That vacant look he always had on his face when he was observing my actions was there again.
"You don't have to do that, Ryuuzaki-sama. I'm fine," I stated, starting up the stairs. He said nothing and followed behind. When we reached our floor, I unlocked our room door and let him inside. He was still watching me. It was then I realized I had left the rest of my meal on the ground when I thought someone had died in my lap.
"Now you know."
"Yes, I realize it now," I grumbled, sitting down at my desk and pulling out my laptop. "But it doesn't matter."
"It does. You don't eat sweets, which is all we have, and you didn't eat enough food today."
"Yes I did. Now let me work," I stated firmly, opening my laptop and beginning my research on the relationship between the deaths. "Oh, I forgot to say. These victims have absolutely no connections."
"What do you mean?" he asked, walking up to my desk and sitting in an extra chair.
"I mean there is nothing connection these people. None of them went to the same school, same store, same restaurant, anything. Not even a phone call." He seemed as if he didn't believe me, so I moved for him to research it. After twenty minutes of undisturbed focus, he turned and looked at me.
"You're right."
"I know that. I wouldn't tell you something so seriously unless I knew I was right," I said, moving his chair out of the way. "But what do we do?"
"There wasn't any relation in their activities, but they all lived on the same street."