Thank you everyone who faved/followed. Thank you Guest and cheeseandhamburger for the reviews. Cheeseandhamburger – alas, that's a problem I can't seem to stop myself from doing, but that's what I get for using other fics as referencing points *hides fics with pre-established romance and buries the ones that jump right to it.*

5th September

"I don't understand how not a single person was able to catch the Power on camera even though there were hundreds of people around that day. What was everyone doing when Akira Imoo was murdered?" Chief Yagami watched as his son tossed the file on the latest murder victim onto the table. "It's bad enough that he's a shinigami Power, but trained to keep out of sight as well?" Chief Yagami barely heard that last part, muttered as it was, what he didn't miss was the closeness L and Light had taken to one another. At some point between the day before and that morning, the relationship between the pair had changed.

"We managed to get all of the footage from yesterday, and just because we haven't managed to find anything yet, doesn't mean there won't be any." Matsuda said to the agitated teen.

"Never mind that," Aizawa cut in roughly. "I want to know why you've suddenly decided to stop wearing the gloves and long sleeved clothing you normally wear. Planning something?" This was directed towards Light who, the chief had noticed, was wearing a short sleeved black shirt and jeans. There was no jacket in sight and his sunglasses were hooked over the neck of the shirt.

'I really wish Aizawa would just let this go.' Chief Yagami couldn't help but bemoan as he dropped his head into his hands. He could see L grabbing Light's hand tightly under the table, clearly in a restraining manner, even as his son's eyes narrowed and took on a red tint.

"What the hell is your problem? We've never even met until a few days ago, so it can't have been something I did to you personally. So what is your deal?" Chief Yagami had to credit his son for the lack of violence, it was obvious which direction the young man was leaning towards, and the chief couldn't deal with the aftermath of such an issue when they had a serial killer on their hands.

"My problem is that you're a killer and should have been shot the moment you turned 16. Your kind are killers! I'm not even sure why the rest of them have agreed to entertain the farce. This guy has the same powers as you do and has killed seven people that we know of, you have a higher Level and it makes me wonder how high your death count is. You're a monster and you should be put down like one." The anger and disgust in the officer's tone could be felt by the whole room.

Matsuda had frozen in shock, eyes wide as they flickered from Aizawa to Light, no doubt he was trying to calm them both down. Mogi had gotten to his feet and had walked to Aizawa's side, Watari remained seated but his focus was on L who had a look of intense concentration on his face. 'And Light.' His son had ceased movement, eyes now gleaming red instead tinted, mouth pulled into a thin line as he stared at Aizawa. 'He looks as though Aizawa is nothing more then an annoying insect destined to be swatted.' Chief Yagami also got to his feet, hands out in a placating manner.

"So basically your entire basis on hating me is because my powers are geared towards death and it scares you that such a Power is capable of existing. Let me tell you something, people are monsters, they don't need to be born with powers to become one. There are more Norms then shinigami Powers and I can guarantee that if you were to look at who has the higher body count, Norms would be ahead by millions. You yourself have to power to kill, ever strangle anyone with that hair of yours? Ever pull the trigger of the gun you carry? Don't you dare judge me when you yourself are just as guilty." The venom in Light's words made chief Yagami shudder even as Light slowly got to his feet. "But if it makes you feel better, I'm willing to go one-on-one with you any time, anywhere." The whole room held their breath as the men glared silently at one another in challenge. Matsuda whispering quietly under his breath until the pair of them blinked and looked away from one another.

"I'm heading off for the day, I suggest the rest of you do the same. We can return tomorrow, or the day after, once everyone has cooled down. Perhaps taking a step back will help us look at the case in a new light." L got to his feet, looking at chef Yagami for his agreement, hand still holding onto Light's.

"Yes, Ryuzaki has a point. We need to take a step back for a breather. Come back the day after tomorrow, we can't do anything if we can't work together." This was met by a harsh laugh as Aizawa left the room, he was followed by Mogi and Chief Yagami felt an oncoming headache from the tension. Watari, L and Light soon followed after, Light stopping just long enough to say farewell to him, before it was just Matsuda and him.

"I saw that you tried to influence them, do you think it worked?" He asked the rookie.

"I think towards the end it did, they were too focused on each other to really pay attention to what I was doing, Ryuzaki actually did most of the work." The man admitted, pulling up at seat beside the chief. "He was preventing them both from using their abilities on each other, the fact that I was able to use mine says that Ryuzaki's abilities are able to differentiate between people."

'I wonder if that is why he was holding Light's hand.' He got to his feet and waited for Matsuda to stand up as well. "I'm going home, I'll spend my day off with my family I think. Have a good night Matsuda, and thank you for what you did today." Matsuda blushed as he mumbled about how it hadn't been much and waved goodbye to him.

/:/:/

Luke Hardy wasn't anyone special. He was an average man working an average job in a foreign country. Normal. Norm. He had no enemies, few friends, and no family. He'd recently celebrated his 40th birthday and even witnessed his second marriage go down in flames. That was actually why he was currently wondering the streets in a drunken stupor on the edge of Norm/Villain territory. Broke, drunk and alone with only misery as his friend.

The tire iron came out of nowhere. Blinding pain that sobered him faster then any detox would, and he managed to roll to the side just as the tire iron met pavement where his head once was. Blood was dripping from the back of his skull as his vision wavered in and out of focus. When he did manage to focus in, he wished he hadn't. He recognized the crimson eyes glaring down at him, the face that was twisted into a maniacal grin. The man hadn't changed much since the last time he'd been caught on camera, severe burns and skin grafts covered the milky white flesh that was visible. But it was most certainly him. The man that haunted Luke's nightmares and waking visions. The one responsible for his drinking habit and first failed marriage, quite possibly even the second due to residual effects.

'I have to warn someone. I have to warn everyone!' His thoughts were sluggish as he struggled to get to his feet when the tire iron met with his stomach and forced the wind out of him with a forceful whoosh. He sunk to his knees and struggled to regain breath even as the tire iron was swung against his kneecaps shattered the bone due to the force. He didn't have enough air in his lungs to scream, chocking on air as tears streamed down his face. He fell heavily to the ground, blood still streaming from his head wound. Summoning strength he didn't know he had, he began to write.

"I don't know what's taking him so long." A cold hard voice drawled from behind him. "I thought I was making it so obvious! The game is almost at its end, and yet he still hasn't caught on." The tire iron was brought down upon Luke's back. "I've been leaving clues," The iron bar made contact with his second knee. "I've even been giving him the grace period of a few hours between kills," Luke began coughing up blood when the tire iron make contact with the soft fleshy part of his stomach. "And where are the results?!" It was yelled in anger, tire iron brought down in rapid succession. The last thing Luke did was curse himself for ever thinking that a job working as a doctor in an Institute for the Criminally Insane, was a good career choice.