On the other side of the door was a threat far more dangerous than any of the psychopaths Batman faced in his entire crusade..paparazzi. The media was swarming Bruce Wayne's private jet as soon as it landed in Japan. The billionaire took a deep breath as if he were about to dive deep into the crowd and opened the airplane door. The bright flashes of cameras and the gleaming sun would have blinded Bruce if he weren't used to taking flash-bangs head on or battling someone such as Doctor Light. Despite the reporters desperate for a story and cameras getting shoved in his face, the push through the crowd wasn't as bad as previously thought.
The paparazzi would have far more difficult to handle if it hadn't been for Bruce's butler. Alfred Pennyworth had decided to tag along with the billionaire and enjoy a nice vacation when he wouldn't be handling Batman work. The well kept man wore a suit and tie like Bruce, along with black rimmed Old Focals eyeglasses. Alfred's hairline was receding with age, the British man's gray hair also a showing sign. The butler's mustache remained a shade of dark black, still untouched by the loss of youth. Despite this friendly and gentlemen like appearance, Alfred could sometimes be quite scary..
"Get back you wild animals! GET BACK, I SAY!", Pennyworth shouted whilst warding the media off by swinging the luggage he carried at them. The butler eventually got Bruce and himself to the limo waiting to whisk them away and put the baggage in the vehicle's trunk.
As Bruce and Alfred were chauffeured, the two began to discuss their true reasoning behind being in Japan. To ensure the driver wouldn't hear a word, the two had a sound proof barrier slide closed in between the front and back seating areas. As an extra precaution, they spoke in Russian with hopes that the driver wouldn't understand anything they said in the events he did somehow overhear them.
"This mysterious 'L' certainly has a lot of resources. If he were to pose a threat, he would be a rather large one. Are you sure he can be trusted?", Alfred asked.
"That's what I'm going to find out.", Bruce replied as he opened a hidden compartment in the seating that allowed for him to reach into the trunk. Once he managed to grab a briefcase, Wayne had to punch in a six digit code before he could pop the locks.
Inside the case was a bunch of paperwork regarding Wayne Enterprises and its stock funds. This was a decoy to anyone unfamiliar with the secret compartment within the briefcase. Bruce slipped his finger under the cover and used it to scan for a fingerprint before he could open that lock as well. Once the cover was removed, the true contents were revealed.. The Batman Armor.
"What shall I tell the driver?", Alfred asked as Bruce began suiting up.
"I think you should be more concerned with what you're going to tell L and Watari.", Bruce joked as he put on the suit's gauntlets. Three pronged blades deployed from each of the gloves as they sealed to his skin.
"I've come up with rather fine excuses in the past, but I don't think using a fake mistress will work this time. He DOES know that you're Batman after all..", Alfred worried.
"Doesn't hurt to try. You'll think of something Alfred, you always do.", Bruce encouraged his friend.
Alfred lets out an exasperated sigh in response before removing his glasses to clean them. The elder man can't help but rub the temples of his eyes and nose in frustration.
"You'll be fine Alfred.", Bruce reassures his father figure before putting on his cowl.
"As long as I don't have to use the bathroom..", Alfred mutters before realizing his mistake.
Bruce cocks an eye under his mask, mildly confused. "Did you just say..", he starts to ask with a small smile forming.
"Oh, bugger off! My Russian is a bit rusty these days.", Alfred crosses his arms in defense.
Bruce can't help but chuckle a little as he opens the floor panel to get under the limo. Despite the vehicle going eighty miles per hour on the highway, Batman climbs out from under it and holds on the entire time. Once he gets a clear shot, Batman uses his grappling hook to repel off the moving vehicle.
Although Bruce had already left the limousine, Alfred gave small words of encouragement like he usually did when his friend would leave the cave to patrol Gotham. "Good luck Bruce.", Pennyworth whispers to nobody in particular.
As the day turned to dawn, Batman leapt across unfamiliar rooftops. Japan was a new terrain for him and it would take some getting used to, but Bruce took no time to practice as he detached a device from his utility belt. The gadget would work like a GPS system and guide him to a place he had discovered when researching L, an orphanage that Bruce believed the detective had grown up in.
After traveling a great distance, Batman finally reached the destination and perched himself upon a street post. The large metal gates and brick wall built to prevent intruders from getting in deemed no challenge as Batman leaped right over them. The patrolling guards were nothing short of Arkham Asylum's as Bruce snuck past those just as easily.
It was then a matter of getting in through an office window undetected and going through folders in a filing cabinet. Batman made sure to move quietly and carefully as he scanned over each one with a mini flashlight. Eventually, Bruce found a file pertaining to a child kept there at one time named L Lawliet. Batman was shocked to say the least upon discovering that the man's name was truly L.
However, any suspicions that L was some sort of master criminal trying to deceive him could now be put to rest. The evidence that Lawliet did indeed reside in Wammy's House, an orphanage for gifted children, was undeniable. Bruce felt like a weight had been lifted now that he could trust a new ally.
Just as Bruce was about to put everything back as it was so he could leave, he heard the office door slowly creak open and evaded the hallway's entering beam of light. In the doorway was a young boy with white shaggy hair and tired gray eyes. The child wore white long sleeved pajama tops and bottoms, likely supposed to be bed at the late hour.
Batman made no effort to conceal himself, certain that the boy had already seen him. Bruce began to worry that the child would scream or cry out of fear upon seeing the shadowy figure Batman imposed. The caped crusader's shock and relief was vast when he saw no expression change on the white haired boy's face.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?", Batman said softly in Japanese while crouching down so he could be at a similar height as the kid's. Bruce had dealt with children before and remained composed to ensure he didn't scare them.
The boy continued to stare blankly at the masked man, "You can speak English if you want..", the white haired child responded in Bruce's language.
Bruce was taken aback by how such a young child could speak two languages but remembered that this orphanage was for gifted minds. "Okay. Why aren't you asleep?", Batman asked again, this time in English.
"I like to come in here at night so I can think. This is the only room that has cards or dice for me to play with.", the white haired boy replied while entering the same room as Batman.
Bruce watches curiously as the strange kid opens a cabinet and pulls out containers of dice. The boy pays Batman no mind as he begins stacking the ivories in a unique fashion that appears to be a similar structure to Osaka city. Batman smiles, amazed to see such a brilliant mind in someone so young.
"I believe you'll grow up to do good things some day, kid..", Bruce praises the boy before exiting through the orphanage's window.
Meanwhile, Alfred Pennyworth had arrived at Teito Hotel where he was being greeted by L's colleague known only as Watari. The older man resembled Alfred if his hairline hadn't receded and his mustache had grayed.
"Welcome Mister Pennyworth.", Watari formally invited the butler to follow him inside as he took the luggage to carry himself. It took a moment for the Japanese man to notice they were one person short. "Where's Mister Wayne?", Watari asked with certain concern.
"He'll be joining us shortly. Master Wayne had a few.. 'errands' to run.", Alfred replied with a smile.
Batman's legs pumped full throttle as he ran across anomalous rooftops. The vigilante occasionally used his grappling hook to get across farther gaps. Bruce gritted his teeth in annoyance as he hurried to the hotel Alfred had been driven to. The rush reminded the caped crusader of the night he was too late, when he lost Jason. The immense feelings of guilt that he didn't get there in time made the detective push himself to move faster, despite Alfred not being in any sort of immediate danger, it motivated the hero to hurry.
The driver argued with Alfred and Watari in Japanese about how the billionaire had been in the backseat and somehow vanished. The sweat on his brow was usual for Alfred, he would normally find himself in these situations when it came to Bruce's excuses for going out as Batman.
Watari wasn't the average person in this scenario, Alfred found himself gulping back his anxiety as the Japanese man examined the vehicle for signs of how Bruce pulled his vanishing act. The limo's interior had been returned to its previous state after Batman baled, but Watari discovered the removable floor panel almost immediately.
"How could a man climb out from the bottom of a moving vehicle?", Watari asked himself outloud.
Alfred overheard the question and rolled his eyes, there was nothing Bruce could do that surprised the butler these days. When Batman first began his crusade, Alfred had the same appalled thoughts, but now it seemed above average acts.
"I'm afraid L was only expecting Mister Wayne. Considering you weren't originally in our expectations and the former isn't here, I can't make any acceptions.", Watari sighs in disappointment.
"Quite understandable sir, I just ask that you wait a little while longer.", Alfred replies as he checks the watch upon his wrist. Bruce was cutting it close this time, but he always found a way to make it.
"Time is a virtue and I worry that we've already wasted enough of it. I'll be escorting you back to your vehicle now.", Watari says as he gestures for Alfred to get back in the limo.
The seconds tick by as Alfred continues staring at his watch, the time he and Bruce had set nearly passed. Just as Pennyworth begins to obey Watari's request, the billionaire rounds the corner in an out of breath manner.
"Sorry I'm late!", Bruce apologizes in between gasps for air.
"Bloody hell, don't you think you were cutting it close with this one?", Alfred scolded.
"Yeah, it took me a little while longer to get changed than I thought it would. Tying a tie myself is hard, ya know?", Bruce excused himself while fixing the messy hair he had obtained from wearing his mask.
Watari cocked an eyebrow, taking notice of the billionaire's disheveled appearance. The suit jacket was unbuttoned and just as wrinkled as the untucked dress shirt underneath. One shoe was untied and the other was missing, leaving only a sock in its place. What stood out most was the lack of what Bruce had mentioned in his explanation for being late.
"I don't see a tie..", Watari pointed out, causing everyone to notice the missing dress piece. The billionaire was already humid with sweat, but he was now drenched upon scrambling for another explanation.
"Uhh.. Yeah, I gave up on it.. Because it was so hard!", Bruce rasped out slowly as he thought of the false reason for forgetting his tie.
Alfred couldn't help but facepalm as Watari shrugged it off. "Very well, follow me and I'll escort you to L's room.", the Japanese man replied before leading the team into the hotel.
The wait in the elevator and journey through the halls were silent awkward ones. Eventually, they reached the room in which L resided, a key needed from Watari to unlock the door. Once it opened, Bruce was shocked to see what was on the other side.
The mysterious L was finally revealed, what surprised Bruce most was how young Lawliet turned out to be. The slim & tall boy had long and messy black hair that reminded Bruce of his first ward, Richard 'Dick' Grayson. One of the most noticeable features Bruce sought out was the shadows below each of L's eyes. Bruce had gotten some of his own and believed they shared the trait of being insomniacs to give off this appearance. Bruce looked his new ally up and down, noticing how the baggy long sleeved white shirt & jeans were oversized on the young man.
L spun around in a roller desk chair to meet his company, staying perched in a distinct hunch. Lawliet kept himself balanced on the front of his bare feet, yet remained perfectly comfortable & composed. On the desk behind L was a small monitor that displayed live news coverage. On the screen was a man with similarly long black hair and a gray suit.
"Ah, welcome! Come watch TV with me Batman.", L cheerfully greeted Bruce.
Bruce recoiled at being called his alter ego when out of costume. "Please, call me Bruce.", the billionaire insisted as he approached L to see what was on the monitor more clearly. Watari closed and locked the door behind himself as Alfred stayed back.
"Alright. You can continue to call me L.", the young man joked. Bruce found L's dry sense of humor to be rather condescending. Sarcastic remarks such as these only tripled the similarity to the first Robin named Dick Grayson.
As Bruce neared the monitor, he began hearing the low set volume clearer. "What you're doing.. is evil.", the gray suited man said with a smirk. Bruce took notice of a desk name tag that read 'Lind L. Tailor' and began to wonder what the live video was about.
"What is this?", the billionaire asked out loud.
"I'm glad you asked. If all goes accordingly, you'll find out soon enough along with everyone else.", L replies as he turns his attention back to the monitor. The baggy eyed detective placed his thumb under his lip as he begin analyzing the situation and waited for what would happen next.
A short moment passed before the man supposedly named Lind L. Tailor clutched his chest and convulsed on live television. Bruce was in in shock as he watched the gray suited man slump over and soon after get dragged off screen by security guards. Just like Crane.., Bruce thought.
L leaned forward in his seat, equally as intrigued. Lawliet than proceeded to tap a button on his keyboard and his logo appeared on the screen. Bruce exchanged a glance with the other detective, curious and surprised that L was going to speak over the live broadcast.
The voice was filtered like when L spoke to Bruce in his office at Wayne Enterprises. "I had to test this, just in case, but I never thought it would actually happen..", he said to Bruce more specifically but also as his first introduction to the world.
"It seems you can kill people without having to be there in person. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't just witnessed it.", L was addressing the heart attack killer now. Bruce began to understand what he had just watched, Lawliet had set some sort of trap for the murderer.
"Listen to me, if you did just indeed kill Lind L. Tailor, the man who you just saw die on television, I should tell you that he was an inmate whose execution was scheduled for today. That was not me..", L explained.
Bruce was too in shock to say anything, but his frustrations boiled as he thought about the extreme measure L had taken. Lawliet had used a human being as bait for a murderer, despite them being an inmate scheduled for execution, it felt morally wrong. Regardless, L gave no breathing room as he continued his explanation.
"The police arrested him in absolute secrecy, so you wouldn't have heard of him on TV or through the internet. It appears that not even you have access to these types of criminals.", Lawliet declared.
Bruce began to realize why L had used a human sacrifice, it was to prove that this person wasn't a vigilante seeking justice by killing criminals, but a murderer who would eliminate even people considered to be police or within the confines of the law. Lawliet's reputation managed to live up to its hype since the detective had just managed to prove this heart attack killer was not only real, but could murder without being there. Not to mention this person was indeed a murderer and no vigilante as previously thought..
"But I assure you, L is real. I am real! I do exist!", Lawliet was revealing himself to the world in the same manner Batman had recently done. The legend became real and something to symbolize justice.
"Now.. try to kill me!", L shouted. The statement shocked everyone in the room, even Watari who had gone over the plan with Lawliet several times.
"What are you doing, what if you get yourself killed?", Bruce asked in a hushed whisper so he wouldn't get picked up through the microphone.
"Come on, do it! Kill me! Can't you do it?!", L taunted. "If you could.. you already would have. Well, it seems you can't kill me after all. So there are some people you can't kill. You've given me a useful hint.", L says with a victorious smirk after being able to clarify another clue.
Bruce lets out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, along with Watari and Alfred's sighs of relief. However, Lawliet wasn't done humiliating the killer and explaining his trap.
"Allow me to return the favor. I'll tell you something I think you'll find interesting. Although this was announced as a worldwide broadcast, the truth is, we are only broadcasting in the Kanto region of Japan. I had planned to display this message around the world until I found you, but it looks like that won't be necessary. I now know where you are.", L confirms that he was right about the killer's location and proves to Bruce the flight wasn't a wasted one.
"The police treated your first killing as an unrelated incident, but in actuality, the first of your victims was a suspect in Sinjuku. Of all the criminals that recently died of heart attacks, this one's crime was by far the least serious. Furthermore, his crime was only ever reported inside Japan. I used that information to deduce this much.. you are in Japan.", L explains his reasoning and how he had discovered this was the case.
"Your first victim must have been no more than a little experiment, which means you hadn't been killing for long. We decided to broadcast in Kanto first due to its large population and, luckily, we found you. To be completely honest, I never expected it to go this well. It won't be too long now until I'll be able to put an end to your crimes.", L finished his explanation.
"Naturally, I am very interested to know how you're able to commit these murders without being present..but I don't mind waiting a little while longer. You can answer all of my questions when I catch you. Let's meet again soon.", L continues speaking directly to the unforeseen murderer.
The live feed then ends its transmission, allowing Bruce and L to finally speak. "Well.. are you satisfied?", L asks.
Bruce rubs the temple of his forehead, completely taken aback by what had just transpired. "You certainly lived up to your reputation. Its no wonder you were at Wammy's House, Mister Lawliet.", Bruce makes it known that he can perform necessary field work in the investigation.
Watari's jaw nearly hit the floor as his eyes bulged from their sockets. The Japanese man showed his shocked expression, but if L felt the same way, the young man showed no signs. Instead, Lawliet kept a straight face and replied with the same cheerful attitude he had when Bruce first entered the hotel room.
"I expect nothing less from the Batman. We've both proven our deduction skills worthy enough to provide usefulness in this investigation. Now, let's discuss our next step.. shall we?", L says as he gets up from the roller chair he had been perched on the entire time.
L kept his slouched demeanor as he strolled over to a food service cart that had gone unnoticed until now. The youthful side of the detective began to show as he started scooping several balls of ice cream onto a cone. "Would you like two or three scoops?", Lawliet offered Bruce.
"I'll be fine.", the billionaire waved it off.
"Suit yourself.", L shrugged.
The two detectives then found themselves seated across from one another and prepared to discuss the next step in a plan to capture the heart attack killer.
"I'll put on some tea.", Alfred and Watari said at the same exact time. The two looked at one another with surprise. "Jinx.", Alfred joked.
Once the butlers gave the detectives the room, L began sharing more case details with Bruce. "Something I refrained from mentioning in my little speech, was that I narrowed down the age range of our killer that only got confirmation after Lind L. Tailor had been killed.", Lawliet stated.
Bruce leaned forward in his chair with intrigue as he listened to L's deduction. "I took notice that the killings had been taking place during the hours between four and six. Time only varied on the weekend. This leads me to believe our killer is merely a school student, which would explain his deluded sense of justice. The immaturity was furthermore proven when he was provoked by Lind L. Tailor.", Lawliet explains.
"Impressive. I've only just arrived and you've already narrowed it down this much.", Bruce praises L.
"Your turn.", L said as he finished the ice cream and started eating the cone.
Bruce chuckled at what he thought was a joke. When he realized L's expression hadn't changed, Bruce took notice that L was serious and wanted his thoughts on the investigation. "I.. I don't quite know what to make of it yet.", the billionaire shrugged.
"Come now Batman, you must have done some investigating of your own when not researching me. Was I the only one you looked into?", L teased.
"I did, but what I've got is more of a hunch than fact. I looked into the heart attack victims to see if any of them had similarities, to see if I could deduce a motive and come up with an idea of who he may target next. Doing so helped me discover that some killings had been done a day BEFORE the criminal was announced on television. Only someone with access to police records could know about these.", Bruce suggested.
L smiled upon hearing Bruce's evidence. "I had figured as much, I just wanted to hear it from you to be certain. With this information, I was able to narrow down our search to one person named Light Yagami. He's the son of the chief of NPA.", Lawliet replied.
Bruce thought about James Gordon and his son who had taken an interest in killing. This investigation was bringing about far too many pained memories. "We should present our leads to him and see if he can bust his son.", Bruce suggested. Light's father would surely want a say in the matter if this were the case and it only felt right to get him involved.
"I believe that'd be too risky. I would rather work with the FBI and have them trail Light to see what his daily routine is like. While the boy is at school, I would like for you to search his house.", L recommends.
"I'm assuming he can kill people with heart attacks given the chance to just see them. If he's as impulsive as you say, and he believes he's being followed, he'll kill the FBI agents. I won't allow them to take that risk.", Bruce disapproves of L's plan.
"Are you nominating yourself? I don't think Bruce Wayne following him would be any more ambiguous. Not to mention if Batman were to trail him..", L argues.
"Not unless I had good reason. How are his academics? I could say I'm seeking promising students and get in his good graces that way.", Bruce considers outloud.
L mulls it over in his head, his thumb on his lip in concentration. "It could work..", Lawliet comes to his conclusion.
The next day, Batman & L put their plan into action. When Light exited Daikoku Private Academy, Bruce Wayne was waiting out front with Alfred holding a sign that said 'Light Yagami'. The light brown haired boy approached them with both caution & confusion.
"Light Yagami. I'm Bruce Wayne.", the billionaire introduced himself with a toothy grin whilst extending his hand. Light hesitated before shaking the american's hand.
"I'm kind of a big deal in America..", Bruce tried to reason. "Anyways! I'm here because I'm seeking out talented individuals such as yourself. You excel in your classes and fit the criteria.", the billionaire lied.
Light Yagami was just as well dressed as Bruce, showing his intellect. The Japanese boy wore a tucked in white button up with a red tie. His black dress shoes matched his pants. "I see. It's a pleasure to meet you Mister Wayne.", Light replied.
"I know your mother probably told you not to take rides from strangers, but would you care to make an acception just this once? Alfred here could drive you home while we talk.", Bruce suggested. Alfred gave the young man an awkward wave.
"I appreciate the offer.. but I'll take the bus.", Light replied as he started walking away. Bruce jogged after the young man to catch up.
"Wait, I'll go with you! I wanted to discuss the opportunity to give you an internship at Wayne Enterprises.", Bruce used the practiced excuse for his being there to stay with Light.
"Like I said, I'm touched that you considered me.. but I'm not interested. I would rather explore a career in law.", Light brushed off the offer.
"Well, we could always use more security..", Bruce joked. The billionaire began scrambling internally for another excuse to follow Light.
The two reached a bus stop where Light turned to address Bruce again. "Is that all you wanted to ask me Mister Wayne?", Yagami was trying to politely shoo the billionaire.
Bruce huffed a heavy sigh, "Are you sure you won't reconsider?", he asked.
Once the bus arrived, Light gave his answer halfway through boarding it. "Afraid not.", Light shrugged.
Bruce looked back at Alfred who waited by the limo and then at the bus, "You know what, I've always wanted to see more of Japan. A little bus ride won't hurt anyone.", he used as an excuse to board. "You don't mind if I sit next to you, do you?", the billionaire asked Light.
Light's suspicions were on high alert at this point, his paranoia after the broadcast from L overtaking his mind. It can't be a coincidence that someone such as Bruce Wayne comes to me after the broadcast. Damn it, how did L already find me? Killing Wayne would just raise more suspicion.. especially since he's such a large figure head. Still, I need to get this guy off my back.., Light thought to himself.
Light took out notebooks from his backpack, the Death Note hidden in between two textbooks. The young man intended to pretend he was doing homework on the ride home, while in reality he would come up with an improvisational way to eliminate Bruce Wayne. The shinigami only visible by Light Yagami cackled as he craned his neck to read what Light had written.
The next bus stop where more passengers would board was when the Death Note's effects would take place. An elder woman slowly took a seat, followed by a stressed businessman. The last person to board was in a crazed state, drawing a pistol to hold up the bus.
"Nobody move! Anyone moves and I'll shoot!", he shouted violently whilst aiming the gun at the passengers. Bruce clenched his fists, restraining himself from charging the gunman, he couldn't take the risk of someone else getting shot because of an impulsive attack.
"H- Here, take everything!", the bus driver trembled in fear as he handed the gunman his daily earnings. The man who had taken the bus hostage pressed his pistol against the driver's head in response.
"I don't want your money, just drive!", the hijacker ordered.
Light had difficulty containing his laughter, everything he had written in the Death Note was going as planned. The light brown haired boy flipped to a blank page and wrote something new. What he had written this time, he would show Bruce Wayne.
I'm going to pretend to drop this book and when he comes to pick it up, I'll go for his gun, back me up.
Before Bruce could tell Light not to take the risk, the student deliberately dropped the Death Note in plain sight for the hijacker to see. "Huh? What's this?", the gunman asked as he took the notebook.
Bruce prepared to attack the hijacker as he read Light's note to Bruce. "Planning to jump me? Stupid kid..", the hijacker growled. Before the gunman could do anything else, Bruce leaped over Light and tackled the criminal.
Bruce reached for the hijacker's gun but got too careless and ends up getting kicked backwards. With the billionaire downed, the gunman aims his pistol again and prepares to shoot. What causes the hijacker to hesitate though, is that upon touching the Death Note, he could now see the shinigami named Ryuk. Like anyone would upon seeing the imposing creature, the hijacker began to panic.
The humanoid shinigami frightened the gunman with his light gray skin and extremely slim frame. Ryuk's spiky blue hair matched his lips that contorted into a smile similar to that of the Joker's. The bulging yellow eyes stared into the hijacker's soul, giving the same intimidating feel Ryuk's pointed teeth did. The tall creature had black feathers protruding from its back, varying in length and size like his limbs.
The hijacker didn't hesitate in shooting at Ryuk, but the bullets had no effect on the shinigami, they only went through the creature like a shadow. "Get back! What the hell are you?! Stay away!", the gunman pleaded as he backed away in horror.
"Huh? You can see me? Oh Light, how clever..", Ryuk cackled with glee as he came to realize what the Death Note barer had done. Part of Light's plan was to have the hijacker touch the Death Note so he would be considered crazy upon claiming to see something nobody else did.
"S- STOP THE BUS! I gotta get away! Stop the bus!", the gunman begged as he ran for the exit. He didn't bother in waiting for the driver to listen, he just jumped through the door's glass and fell into the busy street. The gunman didn't get far before an oncoming vehicle ran him over.
Bruce and everyone else on the bus besides Light were baffled. Yagami couldn't resist a smile of relief upon witnessing the success of his plan. The young man crumbled the paper he had written his plan on to dispose of any evidence. Light had planned to execute a criminal named Kiichiro Osoreda when he got home, but tested the Death Note's ability by writing the name into it with a unique death this time.
Kiichiro Osoreda will hijack the transport from Daikoku Private Academy at 4:30 PM before going into a frenzy upon seeing something horrifying. Bruce Wayne will try to detain Kiichiro before he runs in front of an oncoming vehicle, dying instantly. The written death would go unseen by anyone else.
After a nightmare of answering questions from the police and a full coverage of the incident, Bruce and Light went their separate ways. Bruce didn't know if it was just pure coincidence he was sidetracked by the hijacking, but he had no choice but to move onto plan B. If Bruce Wayne couldn't handle Light Yagami.. Batman could.
Bruce planned to investigate Light's household tomorrow when nobody was there. Until then, he returned to the hotel so he could share information with L. The young detective was still hunched over in his chair when Bruce returned, Lawliet now viewed something new on the monitor that had displayed Lind L. Tailor.
"Ah, Bruce. I was just expecting you. I take it things went array with Light?", Lawliet asked without taking his eyes off the monitor.
"You could say that.. how did you know?", Bruce replied as he got closer. His answer was on the monitor, it was displaying a video feed within Light Yagami's home.
"I had Watari place cameras around the Yagami residence as you distracted Light. I hope you don't mind.", L explained.
"Why didn't you consult me first? If you waited, I could have handled it.", Bruce asked in frustration.
"I have no doubt that your search and camera placement would have been more in depth, but I just couldn't afford waiting another night of murders.", L reasoned.
Bruce nodded his head in understanding, forgiving L for going behind his back. "Did you learn anything?", Wayne asked as he surveyed the footage with L.
L placed his thumb on his lip again, a habit Bruce had recognized the detective normally doing when in deep thought. "Not yet. Aside from the story he had to share about the bus hijacking, he's been acting like your average kid. The family seems normal..", L replies.
"Do you think we have the wrong suspect?", Bruce wondered.
"We'll find out soon enough..", L said as he watched Light through the monitor. Light had gone into his father's office to use the family computer. One would assume he was doing homework, but L had set another trap if this weren't the case.
"In your absence, I shared my observation about the time frame killings with the precinct in which Light's father works. Light's reaction will determine whether or not he's our killer..", L explained.
"Aside from him looking into his father's work in the first place..", Bruce added.
Light Yagami frowned upon reading a new case titled 'Kira'. The report regarded Light's heart attack killings and information on the matter pertained to the hours in which Light wrote names after school. So that's how he narrowed it down to me.. damn you L., Light thought.
Light rapidly tapped his fingers on the desk as he thought about a solution. The experiment he had performed on the bus proved the Death Note allowed flexibility. Light planned to write more specified deaths at spread out times throughout the day, in hopes that it would disprove L's theory. Light had no idea that the information shared in his father's report was just bait to trick Light into doing just that.
It was only when Light headed towards his room to write in the Death Note that he realized something was unusual about the situation. Light had been so paranoid after L's broadcast that he set up a three stage security measure on his door. The first stage was obvious and put back, a slip of paper that would drop on the floor if the door were opened. What alerted Light that this was the case, was the second stage of security. Light had left his door hinge on a crooked angle, but whoever had gone into his room left it straight upon closing it again. What made Light believe the trespasser hadn't been one of his family members was the fact that someone had gone through the trouble of putting the paper slip back. This was also where stage three came in, a broken piece of pencil led hidden in the hinge so it would break if someone opened the door. Considering a new piece of led had been put there as a replacement, the trespasser wasn't a common intruder.
Light's suspicions revolving around Bruce Wayne doubled, he started to understand that the billionaire had been some sort of distraction as L searched his room. Light remained cautionary, paranoid that L may have also left cameras to monitor him. Yagami was right, the pressure was on as he pretended to study for his classes.
Light planned to use his Death Note to write names down for tomorrow and avoid killing anyone that night in worries that L would be able to trace the murders back to him. Yagami had no idea that this was going to result in the opposite effect.
The next day doubled Light's murder rate, having criminals and inmates receive heart attacks every hour. Each one died doing something Light wanted to test, one of which was a taunt to L. Light had an inmate write in their blood 'Do you know Gods of death love apples?' before bleeding out. This made L and Bruce extremely curious about Kira's power and if he could control people before death.
"This serves a theory that the hijacking had been staged..", Bruce considered.
"At least we now know for sure that Light Yagami is our killer. The sudden shift in time of murders proves he read his father's case notes.", L adds.
"And yet, that's still not enough.. we don't know HOW he does it, and in the same manner, have no real proof.", Bruce replies in distress.
"Then its time that I take a crack at him.", Lawliet suggests.
Bruce's eyebrows raise in shock, "You're going to meet him in person?", the billionaire asked.
"It's a risk I'll have to take, same as you.", L replies.
The two detectives looked one another in the eye, both trying to decide if this was the best course of action.
Next: Detective VS Detective!
