Author's Note: There's quite a lot of talking in this. I'm not really a murder mystery type of writer but I've tried to put a lot of thought it this. It's stuffed full of plot.

And I even looked up Japanese names and places.

Chapter 2: Finding Sakuya

The sound of the plane's engines was but a low hum within the lush interior, seated side by side L and Light were looking through a selection of files. L had a large stack of pancakes in front of him, covered in syrup, which slowly, bite by bite, he was carefully devouring. Light was daintily working his way through a more balanced breakfast.

"Do have any theories upon this case already?" Light asked as he gathered the lose sheets of paper together neatly. Sucking on a sticky sweet spoon L nodded slowly,

"Of course I have formulated several theories," L told him, "the same as the ones you have thought of, I expect, however you must know, as well as I do, that there simply is not enough information to form a viable hypothesis yet." Light nodded and turned away. L licked syrup off of his fingers and glanced at the young man seated beside him, his partner in every sense of the word. In the past year Light had not changed much, at nineteen he still had the charming boyish looks that had dominated all his teenage years and there seemed to be no signs that a rapid change in appearance was upon the horizon. However L had always perceived Light to be at the peak in his maturity, he might, even now, still technically be a teenager and considered a youth rather than an adult by many aspects of modern society but L would have define Light as a man; he was absolutely complete, he was perfect even. Light's body was toned, just that shade more muscular than L but he was also lean; his body shape seemed ideal to L, it appealed greatly to his tastes. L wondered whether Light would age visibly at all, he himself was an example of physical immaturity and hardly perceived the age in his own appearance at all.

'Beautiful,' Light called him, and it was only Light's opinion and perception that mattered to him. Regarding the younger man further though he did think that there was some subtle changes in light; his hair was a touch longer and he did seem more mature. L watched as a few strands of caramel-brown hair slipped forward over Lights face as he leant forward to read and felt all his tenderness towards the other man overflow, a now common occurrence that he found hard to suppress. Leaning over he tilted his head just to gently kiss Light upon his cheek, stilling his lips on the warm skin for a little while. Light shifted and welcomed the warmth but did not respond, indeed he should not, considering they were at work and this was hardly the time for intimate displays of affection. L knew this but he wouldn't help himself. It was shocking to feel his mind so overwhelmed sometimes with such banal and unintelligent thoughts as 'he's just so beautiful,' something which a few years ago he could never have believed of himself. However he knew that Light too was susceptible to this and had reassured him greatly by confessing it to L. Even so, L reflected, the younger man still seamed to feign a comfortable indifference when the occasion called for it and seemed much more in control of his composure than L.

Drawing back to his own space L was quite aware that the action he had just performed had been done in front of Watari who was watching the pair with a soft expression. L turned his attention back to the pancakes, not intending to address his Guardian's gaze. Watari was aware that L and Light were more than simply friends and work partners however he and L had never actually clearly discussed the situation and the degrees of relationship were very ambiguous to an outsider. Once Watari had attempted to initiate a discussion with L which, in hindsight, when L's logic caught up with the speed of most people's natural social instincts, L realised must have been a tentative probing into the nature of his and Light's friendship. He had told Watari then that, quite simply, he loved Light. But then of course that itself was an ambiguous term. However whatever the subtle distinctions L knew that Watari had understood the term love quite clearly. He knew that Watari had been a little concerned, in the way that a caring parent would be over their child, but Watari would always care for him at a respectful distance.

L sucked at his fingers, still tasting the syrup under the nails and glanced at Light again. He was so beautiful, especially when he was thinking, L just wanted to kiss him over and over…

The crime scene had been carefully sectioned off with that tell-tale tape and guarded by dozens of the lesser wardens of justice. The homicide team was already present and hard at work but all activity was swiftly frozen when the sleek black car pulled up outside the attractive suburban home situated in an affluent region of Yokohama. Detective Nakamura, accompanied by another officer, Matsumoto, waited outside to receive these guests. They watched as an older man got out of the car and opened the door for the passengers. Emerging elegantly and dressed in an expensive, perfectly tailored suit there stepped out a handsome young man with light brown hair and soft tanned skin. Despite his colouration he was clearly of Japanese descent and he walked forward smiling to take Nakamura's hand.

"Detective Nakamura, I presume," he said in polite, well-formed Japanese, "Nakamura-san, I am Light Yagami."

"Yagami?" Murmured Nakamura, "are you Chief Yagami's son?"

"Yes," Light replied, smiling, "but as you see I'm currently working with a different branch of investigation now. And this is Ryousuke Satou." This sudden introduction brought the men's attention to the man now stood beside Light and who had emerged from the car and taken his current place largely unobserved. The man who met their eyes was a little bit shocking to find after being unnoticed. He was hunched over and dressed in a baggy white shirt and worn jeans.

"Good morning gentlemen," he said softly, "I hope you will be able to assist us well in this investigation." The two men could not help but notice the way that this man phrased that sentence making it clear whom he thought was in control here.

"Yes well," faltered Nakamura uncertainly, "it is a privilege to work members from special branch."

"Shall we go inside?" Light suggested, charming and polite at the face of the monstrosities that lay within this handsome building. This was agreed upon and they carefully walked into the house, Light leading the party but walking at a leisurely pace that allowed for an easy follow. Behind him L walked, his black eyes darting around, large and alert. Matsumoto turned to his superior to address him in a whisper that he felt would go unobserved by the two men in front,

"do you believe it is true, that they are working as agents for L?"

"I don't know," Nakamura replied, "but it seems highly possible. Any way, regardless of their true identity we can be assured of their ability and should focus on trying to crack the case with their help." He sped up slightly and spoke in a louder tone to address the two men, "the murders seem to be in accordance with the others-"

"We do not require to be briefed," L cut across him, "please, we are familiar with the other murders associated with this one. Now tell me the facts of this crime scene. There are three victims, correct?" His voice was low and sly towards the end.

"There are two bodies, two confirmed victims," Nakamura said carefully. He was rewarded by a thoughtful glance in his direction by the darker man. The fair-haired Light Yagami was currently interested only in the scene, he did not acknowledge him.

"The victims are Tabito Yanaihara and his wife, Akemi Yanaihara. Their bodies where both found downstairs…as you can see…We believe that the murderer broke in at the back of the house. The entry is clean, not forced but there is evidence that the locks were cracked. These houses use advanced security systems and there is record of an unlawful infiltration into the computer system however the system was then completely disabled and restarted. The murderer gained access without causing any alarms or even any low level alerts.

Therefore we must conclude that the murder is accomplished in hacking or is working with others who have abilities."

"I don't think so," Light said as he moved over to examine the blood stains upon the cream carpet, "all the past killings suggest a single culprit, a serial killer with fixed intentions." He straightened up again and glanced towards his partner briefly before saying, "so we have the bodies of Tabito and Akemi Yanaihara but we are missing one?" Nakamura swallowed.

"Yes, we are unable to find the body of Sakuya Yanaihara, their eight year old son."

"Of the other killings connected to this one, by means of…style shall we say?" L said thoughtfully, "there were three families that included children, in total six children have been killed, aged seven to fourteen. Therefore we can conclude that killer has no qualms about murdering young children." He moved across the room to measure out, in strides, the length and breadth of the stains on the carpet. "Furthermore we have seen that this killer appears to have taken to a violent and grotesque method of killing, one which made the link between his murders very clear. Therefore the body may not be in a fit state at all…however the style of killing, though incredibly gory, is one that is consistent and the killer seems concerned with leaving the body in, for all intents and purposes, one piece and most of all on show…"

"With all those things in consideration," Light said, continuing on from his partner, "we must consider why there is no body here on display. Why is there no body? Is it possible that the killer may have been interrupted?"

"The break in was done with care and precision," L said, "he did that so he would not be discovered. Furthermore he is meticulous, we have seen so from the previous killings, he learnt his victims routines and took steps to ensure his success."

"If he was not interrupted then something else must have disrupted his plan," Light said thoughtfully, "he was meticulous but it seems that this family had a very tight schedule, even for him," he motioned to the stack of papers that sat upon the small counter and rack in the open plan living room. On top was a small diary. Light picked it up and flicked through it, "Tabito was a top physicist, as we are all aware of, his schedule is incredibly full. He currently travels frequently to give lectures all across Japan and even internationally, on top of this he has strenuous work commitments and is in charge of a whole branch of research right now.

Not only that but on top of this Akemi was a highly accomplished businesswoman with a schedule almost as full! And of course the nature of these two career parents added to their wealth and social position creates a very busy environment for their son. It seems even Sakuya was kept busy with all the trappings of a privileged child's schedule," Light opened up the diary and flicked through, "a top private school, additional tutoring, tennis lessons, basketball, soccer, piano lessons, clubs, groups…" Light closed the diary. "I would say that our killer was working within a very narrow time frame, one which was a rare opportunity and which did not allow much give. Our killer was not interrupted as such but he ran out of time."

L nodded thoughtfully while Nakamura and Matsumoto looked on.

"In the same way," L said, "as if he'd been interrupted, he had to leave before he was finished. That is why the body is not as we expect it or in plain view…"

"We are searching," Matsumoto said dutifully, "we've not been here long though, we've only covered downstairs and besides we suspect that, given the nature of the murders, the body may be cut up or disposed of in a more complex manner."

"I don't think so," Light said thoughtfully, "that would be more work, not less." He turned to L to see that the man was staring into space, a glittering in his black eyes while he chewed on his thumb.

"Why would he run out of time…" he murmured, narrowing his eyes, "how could he run out of time and be unable to complete the job…" Suddenly L drew his head back up and snapped his attention back upon the two police officers. "I want you to remove all of your men from the building."

"What?" Nakamura asked, flustered, "why? What for?"

"I wish to conduct a thorough search of the house. For this I need the building deserted, just Yagami-san and myself. Please follow my instructions." Nakamura took a few moments to collect himself but few men had ever neglected to follow L's commands and soon he and all the men of his investigation were on the outside, watching and waiting. He lit a cigarette while he watched the house and the time went by. By his side Matsumoto whispered,

"what do you think he's doing?" Detective Nakamura did not answer because he could not suggest the train of L's thoughts.

Within the house silence descended. L stood across from his partner and mutely raised one finger to his lips. Light stood still and stayed silent. For a few moments neither moved, L just stood, perfectly still, and Light watched him. He could see plainly what was happening: L was listening. After some time L started to move, gradually, through the house. He lowered himself to the floor and pressed his head to the carpet, he ran his fingernails over the walls, he pushed himself into corners, tight bound places and just stayed still, listening.

The procedure was meticulous; time drew on while L moved slowly, silently through each room. Light followed, also silently, and just watched L as he worked.

Eventually L found his way to the main bedroom and then off of this a smaller room clearly belonging purely to the mother, Akemi, which was filled with storage largely for clothes. Carefully L pulled open the doors to the largest wardrobe. Expensive clothes hung down neatly and the bottom of the wardrobe was filled with shoeboxes. Slowly L pulled each of the shoeboxes out. Then there was just the bare corners of the huge wardrobe. L moved forward, croached upon the floor and inspected the back of the wardrobe, after about ten minutes his nails caught on something loose and with a creak he pulled back the back of the wardrobe from the wall to reveal an extra compartment. This appeared empty but when L pushed his hands into the back, where the wood looked darker and weaker than elsewhere the wood creaked. With his nails again L pulled back this final layer of wood showing a narrow expanse behind the flaking plaster of the wall and there, curled up, was a little boy. His head was buried in his arms and his knees were brought right up, his small body a tight little ball so Light, looking on from behind L, couldn't see his face. But he could see the boy's chest rising and falling as he stifled his breath and his heart pounded. His terror was evident and in the dead silence of the room Light could hear his strangled breathing, the harsh hyperventilating that he was trying so hard to conceal.

Lying inside the wardrobe L gently extended a hand into the crevice. Softly he stroked the boy's hair, the silky black strands that were all that was visible. He moved his hand to stroke and rub at the boy's shoulders. Slowly Light saw the boy move slightly, unwinding his body so that his face was partially visible, his terrified eyes staring out. L continued to stroke the boy's hair.

All of a sudden the boy was tumbling out of that hole in the wall, crawling out desperately and then the next thing that Light knew L was cradling the child in his arms while he sobbed uncontrollably. Sakuya's arms were wrapped tightly around L, his small fists gripping the white material of L's shirt and his face was buried in his chest. He cried loudly, harsh rattling sobs that spoke of pure distress and L held him close to him, stroking the boy's hair and doing all he could to comfort him.

Author's note: That was more intense than I thought it would be…

In case you didn't realise; The killer ran out of time because he couldn't find him. He had to leave without killing Sakuya because he didn't have anymore time to search for the boy.