Sakura wasn't sure when exactly Light had been contacted for the investigation. She knew that he was supposed to be called in as soon as possible, but she hadn't expected it to be that soon. Due to the nature of the investigation, Sakura was glad she was scheduled for a tight morning schedule with her classes so she would have her whole day free to help out with the investigation.
What ever happened to being a doctor?
I'm still not sure it's possible for someone like me, but...after everything I've seen up until now I can say that I'm not ready to give up just yet. Besides, I've always loved a challenge.
Yeah, but are you sure it's not too much?
I want to say that I'm certain I can handle it, but I'm not sure. I'm not about to let this opportunity slip through my fingers.
Were you always this ambitious or is this just the result of being given another chance to live?
A little bit of both.
Before heading to the task force headquarters, which was no doubt getting moved any day now, Sakura decided to go home first and change into something more comfortable.
The moment the pinkette opened the door, a body hurled itself towards her. Before the body had even a chance of hitting her, Sakura took a step to the side to avoid it, causing the person to go tumbling out the door.
"Rika-chan," Sakura said in a disapproving tone.
"What the heck!" Rika exclaimed. "Since when were your reflexes so fast?! If I'd known about this, I wouldn't have taken no as an answer when I asked you to join Volleyball with me!"
Sakura shrugged, "Sorry, but seriously what are you doing here? You shouldn't attack people when they're coming through the door. What if I attacked you?"
"You couldn't hurt a fly, Sakura-chan," Rika laughed. "Well, actually, there was that one time you threw Tanaka-senpai out a window."
"Don't avoid the questi-wait, what?"
Hahahahahahahahahaha!
I sort of want to laugh too...
"Well, he definitely deserved it, though," Rika deliberated.
"Okay, Tanaka-senpai deserved it, now how did you get in my house?!"
"Oh, that," Rika replied. "Your mom let me in. I came over because you haven't been spending a lot of time with me at all lately! Kenosuke-kun and Honoka-chan said that you haven't been hanging out with them either!"
"Sorry, I've just been busy lately," Sakura sighed and rubbed the back of her head. That reminded her, her hair was getting way too long and it was definitely in need of a trim.
"Yeah, I know! Your mom told me all about your little boyfriend! I can't believe you didn't tell me! I mean, I'm your best friend and you didn't tell me you were dating a guy! Plus you've been a total flake to me! I can't believe you chose a guy over your friends, that's so not like you!" Rika exclaimed. Sakura suddenly felt overwhelmingly ashamed. Sure, they weren't her friends from her original world, but Honoka, Kenosuke, and Rika were still important parts of her life and she had sort of forgotten them. Friendship was so important and she had actually been putting it last. That was so unlike her. "But...I suppose it's good that you've found someone else after all these years."
"After all these years...? Rika-chan, what is it you're referring to?" Sakura asked. Rika jolted as though she'd been shocked.
"O-Oh! Right...I forgot you still don't like talking about it," Rika giggled nervously. "That's okay."
Sakura was almost tempted to ask again, but that would be extremely suspicious. But that wasn't the first time someone had alluded to a past lover, perhaps it was finally time she looked more into her dummy's life...
Rika's eyes zeroed in on Sakura's phone. "When'd you get this? I didn't think absolutely terrifying was your style." Rika promptly ripped Sakura's phone from her pocket and examined the little panda cell phone strap hanging off the side.
"It's not," Sakura replied as Rika prodded and poked at the panda.
"A gift from your boyfriend, then? What kind of guy are you hanging around?" Rika grinned, seemingly proud at the discovery. Rika poked at the stomach and the phone started playing a startlingly happy tune causing Rika to let out a surprised 'eep' and fling Sakura's phone into the air. As her phone arched down, Sakura caught it in her hand and rolled her eyes.
"Sorry," Rika shrugged. "Nice reflexes, though."
Flipping her phone open, Sakura greeted, "Hello?"
"Sakura-san, you activated your charm," Watari answered on the other line, sounding worried.
"Yeah, I know, sorry, it was an accident," Sakura replied.
"Oh, well, I'm pleased to know it was a false alarm," Watari said.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Sakura responded.
"WAIT, SAKURA, IS THAT YOUR BOYFRIEND!" Rika exclaimed and snatched the phone using reflexes that should've been way to fast for human reflexes. "Hello, is this Sakura's boyfriend?"
There was a moment of tense silence where Sakura was too stunned to move while Rika bounced excitedly next to her. It was only a moment, it couldn't have lasted more than 5 seconds, but once Sakura regained her composure she was wrenching the phone from Rika's hand and pressing it up against her own ear.
"H-Hello?" Sakura gulped nervously.
"Sakura-san, be extra careful with your phone from now on," L's voice streamed from the other end of the receiver.
"Of course," Sakura replied and peered at Rika warily out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh, and Sakura-san?" L asked.
"Yeah?"
"It seems your friend thinks that I'm your boyfriend now. Is that what you've been telling your family?"
"Yeah, well, kinda."
"Well, it would be pointless to change your story now, just make sure you don't get in too deep."
"Alright, I'll make sure."
"Good."
Why the heck was L on the line?
My guess would be Watari gave him the phone as soon as he heard 'boyfriend'. That old man can't exactly pass as young, even over the phone.
Ew, that's so gross. Couldn't they have given it to Matsuda or something?
Maybe L was closest?
Even worse, now the whole task force knows I've been lying to my parents. Light's dad is going to be so upset.
Well, it's not like you could be honest.
Still...
"Sorry, I'll be heading over soon," Sakura grumbled, resigned to the fate that she had to pretend that L of all people was her boyfriend. It was almost too disgusting to process.
"Just make sure that girl doesn't follow you," L replied.
"I'll make sure...I love you too, bye," Sakura winced. She can't believe she had to say that. Sakura snapped her phone shut and glared at Rika, "Thanks a lot."
"Are you going to your boyfriend's place now? He sounded a little bit older, you sly girl...ah, but you'd better not tell Kenosuke-kun," Rika said as she practically buzzed in excitement.
"Yeah," Sakura replied. "Sorry, I know you just got here and everything, but he really needs to see me."
"So now that you're a claimed woman, I guess you won't want to go to a goukon with me anymore," Rika whined, completely ignoring Sakura. "Not like you ever liked them much to begin with. Ah, I've got a great idea!"
Sakura had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, "What is it?"
"Since you didn't tell me, your best friend, about your boyfriend you have to go to a goukon with me this weekend!" Rika exclaimed. Sakura almost groaned. That was the last thing she wanted.
"Why? Isn't there anything else you'd rather do?" Sakura asked.
"Nope! Unlike you, Sakura-chan, I don't have a boyfriend yet!" Rika chirped. "Also, this particular goukon is with some guys from Daikoku, and all of the cute ones insisted that you come. This works out perfect!"
"I don't know why you'd be interested in guys that aren't even interested in you. You should go on dates with guys that really want you."
"That's super, duper, sweet, but I have way high standards, and all of the guys who want me are sooo boring. I mean, they're hot and all, but all of the fun guys flock to you and that's not fair!"
"Alright, I get it. I'll go to the goukon with you. I haven't been spending as much time with you as I should, so this is the least I can do."
"Awwww, thanks, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura smiled, "Alright, this weekend, then."
"Yay! Sakura-chan, you're the best! I'll see you this weekend," Rika exclaimed, and with that she pranced all the way down the street until Sakura could no longer see her. Sakura sighed and fought the urge to slam her head into a nearby hard object. It's not like she opposed spending time with Rika, but the whole situation had just been embarrassing. What if Rika asked for a picture of her boyfriend? Sakura supposed Matsuda was always an option. He fit the role of an older man almost perfectly.
Sakura slapped her hands against her cheeks. This was no time to be worrying about things like that. Sakura quickly stepped into her house and speed walked up the stairs. It didn't seem like her mother was anywhere around, so it was a perfect opportunity to put the knives back without anyone seeing. As Sakura made it about halfway up the stairs she began to hear chattering coming from Ryuu's room. Sakura raised an eyebrow, but chose not to question it. What Ryuu did in his spare time was none of her business. By the time Sakura reached the second floor, the chattering had quieted down before going completely silent.
"IS YOUR NEE-SAN HOME?!" someone shrieked from behind the door and then it burst open. Two bodies flung themselves towards her, while a disgruntled Ryuu appeared in his doorway looking exasperated. Sakura blinked as two younger boys screeched to a halt right in front of her.
"Dammit guys, you promised you wouldn't do this," Ryuu sighed.
"T-This is the Sakura-san that all the senpai on the soccer team are talking about?" one boy with caramel colored hair asked. He was pretty small, only standing an inch or two above Sakura's 5'3. His voice was soft and squeaky, he was kind of cute, a little bit shota like.
"Um," Sakura coughed. "Ryuu, what's going on?"
"Sorry, nee-chan, these are my soccer teammates. They must've heard the senpai talking about you and got curious," Ryuu sighed.
"Was I really that popular?" Sakura asked, mostly to herself. Ryuu looked surprised.
"I think people liked you a lot because you were smart and nice, but you were especially popular with the soccer team, do you not remember, nee-chan?" Ryuu asked. Sakura stared at him blankly.
"Um...yeah, of course I do," Sakura replied. Ryuu didn't look convinced, but he never got a chance to call her out on it.
"Um, no offense, Sakura-san, but I don't really understand why the senpai like you so much," the other boy said boldly. He was far taller than Sakura, standing almost a full head above her with a head of scruffy black hair. As rude as that was for him to say, Sakura couldn't help but feel relieved. She had always been pretty popular with boys back in Konoha, but the way Ryuu and Rika described her popularity here was strange and little insane.
"Nozawa-kun!" Ryuu snapped.
"What? I'm just being honest. She's not that cute," the boy shrugged. His rudeness before had been irritating, sure, but it hadn't actually pissed Sakura off. You don't just tell a girl to her face that she's not cute!
"You're not really a catch yourself, kid," Sakura sneered. The boy, Nozawa, didn't seem pleased by Sakura's words, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
"Alright, that's enough, guys, let's leave nee-chan alone," Ryuu sighed. Nozawa nodded before walking back towards Ryuu's room, but the shota boy just continued staring at her with twinkling eyes.
"Um..." Sakura said. "Can I help you?"
"Is it true you threw someone out a window during your second year?" the boy asked.
Ryuu gaped openly and Nozawa froze up, halfway towards Ryuu's room.
"O-of course that's not true! Nee-chan really isn't strong enough for that!" Ryuu exclaimed.
"Actually, I did throw someone out a window," Sakura replied. Everyone was silent. Ryuu just stared at Sakura with bug eyes. "Well, I've got somewhere to be, so I'll just leave you to it," Sakura said and began walking towards her door.
"Whoa, wait, why didn't I ever hear about this?" Ryuu exclaimed.
"I dunno, I guess no one told you," Sakura shrugged.
"Yeah, obviously, but why didn't you tell me?" Ryuu asked. Sakura opened her mouth the respond, but she really didn't know what to say.
"I, um, hm...I don't really know," Sakura replied. Ryuu just gaped at her, as though he was seeing her for the first time. "Sorry, Ryuu, but I really do need to head out. I'll see you at dinner."
Before anyone else could stop her, Sakura walked into her room and shut the door behind her.
I feel so guilty…I should be spending more time with everyone and instead I'm avoiding them.
This is what happens when you neglect your relationships.
...I know. I haven't been a very good friend or sister to them. I'm viewing this whole Kira thing as a mission, like all of my friends will just be there waiting for me when it's complete. I keep forgetting this world is different...
Hey, it's okay, Sakura. You've just gotta be more attentive from now.
I know.
With those thoughts swimming in her mind, Sakura shimmied out of her sundress and leggings and into some jeans and T-shirt. It wasn't very "cute", but it was functional enough. Grabbing her shoes in one hand and purse in the other, Sakura was about to slip down the stairs, when she caught sight of her computer in the corner of her eye. It wouldn't hurt to do a quick goog search of herself, would it? After all, probably nothing would come up, but it was still worth a shot. Sakura set down her shoes and purse and plopped down in her desk chair, booting up the computer as she did.
Once the computer was on, Sakura opened up a search engine and quickly typed in her own name. Sakura expected to find nothing at all. But as we all now, expectations oftentimes don't match up with reality. What Sakura saw stunned her, hundreds upon hundreds of articles all about HER.
Well, not just her, another boy was mentioned as well. A young lad that carried the name Hayozaki Mizuru was mentioned quite frequently as well. Sakura opened up the first tab she saw, detailing an article on her and the Mizuru boy.
On March 27, 2002, Haruno Sakura, 13, and Hayozaki Mizuru, 14, only one child was found. On March 13 the parents of both minors reported their children missing, reporting that the two had gone on a date the night before and never returned. For the first two nights, police were baffled by the teens' disappearances without a clue to go on. Common speculation was that the two had been overwhelmed by stress and ran away together, nevertheless, police continued their search. On March 15th, a letter was left at the police station along with pictures of the missing minors detailing taunts of what the abductor would do to the children if the police could not find them in time. Police worked valiantly in order to catch this psychopath, but with little progress. On March 20th the infamous detective L took an interest in the case and a week later one of the victims and the perpetrator were found in a shed in Kyoto, but not in the way that anyone had expected. Haruno Sakura was found bound and gagged, on the verge of death due to dehydration whereas the perpetrator was found dead, cause of death being a heart attack, and the other victim still missing. No word on Hayozaki Mizuru's potential location, but police remain optimistic for his retrieval with the help of Haruno Sakura, who is currently progressing well in the hospital.
Sakura stared wide-eyed at the article. Mizuru...was that the guy that everyone referred to? Something deep in the pit of her stomach churned and Sakura had to resist the urge to burst into tears. Her dummy had been kidnapped, held hostage, and lost her boyfriend as a result? Speaking of Mizuru, what HAD happened to him?! Was he even still alive? Maybe the criminal had moved Mizuru to a secondary location and due to the criminal's heart attack it was impossible to find him. Perhaps Mizuru had died frightened and alone.
Nakama...do you know what happened to Mizuru?
...something worse than anything you could imagine.
Nakama?
I shouldn't talk about it. Please, just...don't ask me about that.
Can I ask something else about him, then?
...Sure.
My dummy and him dated, right? Did he...did he love her back?
They were so in love that everyone thought they'd get married right out of high school. He loved her more than life itself, which ended up being his downfall in a world like this.
...That's too cruel. This world's Sakura had her feelings returned, but she lost the person she loved anyway.
Sakura wiped at her eyes as they started to tear up and she glanced back at the screen. She was glad that monster had suffered a heart attack for what he'd done to her dummy and Mizuru. Wait...heart attack?
No, it was probably just a coincidence. Kira didn't even exist back then, so it was impossible. But now that she thought about it, why had L gotten involved in that case at all? As far as Sakura knew, he only got involved in cases he held a personal interest in, and as far as she could tell from the article Mizuru and her dummy had only been involved in a standard kidnapping case. Just what about that had captured the notorious L's interest? Sakura got a feeling that if she knew a little bit more about the actual case that she'd find an answer as to why.
She could always ask L, himself, but Sakura figured he wouldn't give her a straight answer, but then something occurred to Sakura that hadn't occurred to her before. The heart attack, the case he'd worked on...that had to be the reason he asked her to be a part of the investigation. It was entirely possible that he suspected either Sakura or even Mizuru of being Kira. It made sense, after all. Her captor dying of a heart attack and no trace of Mizuru's whereabouts. If he was Kira it made perfect sense for him to be.
She could already see L's exact train of thoughts. If Mizuru and her dummy had been kidnapped, and Mizuru had discovered his power in the heat of the moment, then it made perfect sense for Mizuru to panic and flee the scene, leaving his frightened girlfriend behind. Maybe L thought she and Mizuru were still in contact somehow, or she omitted information to protect her boyfriend. Maybe L though she was in on it, that she was working together with her 'missing' boyfriend or maybe L thought that Sakura, herself, was Kira. That made just as much sense. If she had been the one that had accidentally discovered a killing power by murdering her captor, then panicked and sent her boyfriend away where no one would ever find him and then killed him as well.
Quite frankly, L's thought process made perfect sense and she completely understood why he would want to keep her close during this investigation. Keep an eye on her for any sign of the previous scenarios and if she turned out to have nothing to do with Kira, then at least she'd be useful in some way.
But maybe there was more to it than just that. If Mizuru had never been found, then didn't that technically mean that case was incomplete? Maybe L wanted to meet her to gather some information on said incomplete case so possibly eventually close it.
No matter what the specific reason for L inviting her on the case, it sure felt a lot more satisfying than 'oh, you're Light's friend and kind of tough'.
I'm going to ask L why he took on that old case.
Does it really matter?
...You're right. I'm just going to ask for all the details on that case, so maybe I can solve it myself.
WHY?!
Nakama, I stole this world's Sakura's life away. She had a whole life planned out and I took it away just because I was too stupid to realize that Sasuke really would kill me given the chance. But this Sakura loved that Mizuru boy, right? The least I can do is avenge him. That's the least I can do for this world's Sakura.
...I'm sure she would appreciate that.
Nakama, are you alright? You've been acting strange ever since I found out about Mizuru. I know there are certain things you can't tell me about, but if you need to talk to someone, I'm here for you.
No, I'm okay. It's just some bad memories, but I'll be fine. Let's head off to task force headquarters, hm?
If you say so...if you change your mind, just let me know.
Sakura slipped down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sakura took a glance at her surroundings as well as a quick sweep for chakra signatures before opening her mother's knife drawer and putting the blades back in place. With that out of the way, Sakura could finally leave.
Sakura opened the front door and locked it again once she was out of the house. She performed another quick chakra sweep of the area, feeling somewhat paranoid after what she'd just read about her dummy. Nothing dangerous in the immediate area. With an obvious sigh of relief, Sakura began walking in the direction of the nearest station. Unlike the last headquarters that had been well within walking distance, the new one was a bit farther.
Certainly no distance she couldn't walk, but until she had control of her chakra enough to enhance her muscles with it, she was resigned to a fate of stuffing herself into overcrowded train cars.
You can't possibly be serious about running once you get your chakra back. Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should.
I'm afraid I'm not seeing the issue here.
Except NORMAL people can't run long distances at extreme speeds, Sakura! That's the issue here!
Oh...right...
That aside, the trains were still a pain in the butt. Once she reached the station, Sakura boarded the train that lead to her desired destination with minutes to spare. Thankfully, since school had already ended for high schoolers and most of the working crowd were still at work, the train wasn't excessively crowded. It was enough to leave a few people standing, though. Oh well. Standing for 15 minutes wouldn't kill anyone unless they were sick or old or both.
Sakura stood beside a coppery brunet and reached up to grab onto one of the rings.
"...Sakura?" the person beside her asked. Sakura jolted in surprise and gave the brunet a second glance.
"...Light-kun?" Sakura asked. It felt like a while since she'd seen him. She couldn't believe she hadn't recognized him!
"I'm surprised to see you!" Light beamed. "We've been so busy because of my dad, we haven't spent much time together lately."
"Haha, yeah," Sakura laughed, trying not to sound too unenthused. "It's no problem. I understand. Is Yagami-san's condition improving?"
Not like she didn't already know the answer. He was currently working at the Task Force headquarters in spite of Sakura's (and every freakin' doctor and nurse's) good advice.
"Yeah, he's doing good. He's actually been released by the hospital," Light replied.
In spite of what everyone told him was best for his health, but Sakura already knew that.
"Really? That's great. Good for him. I'm glad he's okay, Light-kun, I really am," Sakura said.
"Yeah, my mom was really relieved. She's still worried about him, of course, but that's nothing new," Light responded.
"For good reason, being a detective is always dangerous work," Sakura expressed. Light nodded in surprise, a LIGHT smile on his face.
Aw, I crack myself up.
Sakura, that was WEAK.
You're just jealous.
That pun...was so weak I can't even tell you.
"So where are you headed, anyway? Did you get a part time job or something?" Sakura asked.
Light stared down at her, that same eery smile he always had. "Yeah, I suppose it's something like that."
Sakura sensed that prying wouldn't do her much good in the current situation, even if she did flutter her eyelashes and make a girly face. So instead Sakura let out of a soft laugh and said, "Knowing you it must be something cool."
"So what about you, Sakura?" Light asked, his eyes probing hers for answers. She could tell what he was doing. He was trying to see if she would lie to him. Too bad for Light that Sakura was a skilled liar, even if L could see right through her.
"Me?" Sakura asked, maintaining eye contact. She tried to muster up the best blush she could on short notice and glanced away shyly. "Um...I'm just visiting someone..."
Light stared down at her, seemingly surprised.
"You're...visiting someone?" Light clarified.
"YES!" Sakura exclaimed, trying to sound overeager. Light smiled slightly.
"So you're finally dating someone?" Light asked. Sakura shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and kept her head down.
"Um..." Sakura whispered. "I-I-I wouldn't call it that..."
At Sakura's reply, Light's interest quickly deflated and he moved onto another topic.
Heh, that was good.
Do you have any shame?
There is no shame!
You are unbelievable. I swear...
The two of them chatted idly until Sakura reached her stop.
"Well, this is my stop. I'll see you later, Light-kun," Sakura said.
"Actually...this is my stop too."
"Oh, what a coincidence," Sakura laughed as she stepped out of the train.
"What direction are you headed in? Maybe we could walk together part of the way," Light offered. Sakura was a bit hesitant to tell Light where she was going. He was the main suspect, after all, and she was supposed to keep the task force private, but...she guessed he would never know.
"Oh, I'm headed this way," Sakura said and pointed in the direction of the task force. If need be she could always ditch him along the way or pass the task force building, going to some random location. With any luck he would be headed in a completely different direction and she wouldn't even have to worry about it.
"That's funny! I'm going that way too!" Light chuckled.
"Wow, so many coincidences today. Come on, then, we'll walk together," Sakura chirped.
Shit, Shit, Shit...wait, what if he's been invited to Task Force headquarters and that's why we're both headed this way. But what if he's NOT and I'm giving a hint away to Kira? Ugh, what if Light's not even Kira and I'm worrying over nothing?
Whoa, you need to worry a little less. Just wait and see what happens.
You're right, yeah...you're right. Just keep walking.
Sakura turned to Light and gave him a demure smile, "How are your classes going?"
"Great, I'm doing perfect in all of them. And you?" Light asked.
...Well, she wasn't failing yet. But she'd skipped enough classes to know that she was not going to do very well. She'd already missed so much that it would be miracle if she could catch up on what she'd missed.
"I'm okay," Sakura replied. Light raised an eyebrow.
"Just okay?"
Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, that was hardly any of his business. "Great, actually. Better than okay. My classes are going flawlessly."
If Light noticed her passive aggressive tone, which he probably did, he didn't comment on it. Which was probably for the best, all things considered.
"If you want, we can study together again," Light offered. Sakura was prepared to turn him down, but then she began to consider it. He would probably help her catch up, and it would be a great opportunity to keep an eye on him. Light seemed to trust her, at least somewhat, so if he was Kira then he was bound to slip up around her.
"That actually sounds nice," Sakura replied. "We have to work out a time that works for both of us."
"Sure, just email me times that work for you," Light replied.
"Okay," Sakura replied. "So do you like your classes?"
"Sakura, can I ask you something?" Light asked.
Sakura raised an eyebrow, but nodded, encouraging him to go on.
"I know you already said that you didn't know, but...there has to be a reason why L told you his identity?" Light's voice was quiet and he leaned in slightly in an effort to keep others from overhearing, though Sakura could tell he was watching her for any sign of a lie.
Sakura glanced around, it didn't look like anyone was listening in, but she couldn't be too careful.
"It was about the...Investigation," Sakura forced out. "He kept asking me about you, who you are, WHAT you are, if you'd told me anything incriminating. I was confused, and annoyed, so I guessed his identity. He denied it at first, but then I told him something he found...interesting."
Light leaned in, looking incredibly interesting.
"I mentioned something about the way that I believe Kira may kill, and I talked about the heart attacks from a medical perspective, and then he asked me for my assistance on the case," Sakura sighed. Lies, Lies, Lies, slapped on even more lies. He wasn't likely to buy it, but she was on her way to sounding believable.
"That doesn't seem like something he would do..." Light trailed off. He was right about that. L was a very careful person and for him to just tell her his identity right away was just...strange.
"You're right about that. He also wanted some help about catching you," Sakura scoffed. "He thought since I knew you I could get you to reveal something, but I don't know what he expects to find. He seems to be deadset on believing you're Kira for whatever reason."
"And what do you believe? Do you think I'm an infamous serial killer?" Light laughed as though it was a huge joke.
"Of course not, Light-kun," Sakura rolled her eyes. "I only agreed to help to prove him wrong. I don't want my friend getting blamed for the actions of someone else."
"Is that why you're only doing 'okay' in your classes? You shouldn't let your grades slip, even for a friend," Light said in a disapproving tone.
"Oh don't worry about me, my grades haven't slipped that much," Sakura lied. "Looks like I'm at my stop."
"Same here," Light smiled. So Light had been invited onto the case. Both Sakura and Light entered the building and rode the elevator to the proper floor. Upon reaching the room, Sakura hadn't even knocked on the door before it swung open. Watari was getting better at predicting her movements, or maybe it was just the tracker on her cell phone.
"Hey, Sakura!" Matsuda greeted cheerfully.
"Evening," Sakura replied. "I've brought a friend."
L stood up from his seat, giving Sakura a look that suggested that he had every intention of giving Sakura a stern talking to later, which suited Sakura just fine, because she wanted to talk to him too.
"Thank you, Light," L said and held his hand for Light to shake, which he did so gracefully.
"Not at all, after all, I wanna catch Kira as much as you do, Ryuga," Light responded. Sakura didn't know if anyone else could sense the tension between Light and L, but for some reason she really hoped no one else could aside from her. The aura surrounding the two was downright scary in the way it always was when two geniuses were pitched against each other.
"I'll have to ask that you call me Ryuzaki here," L said. Light let out a small grunt of confusion, as though it made no sense for L to have more than one alias.
"I'm Matsui," Matsuda said.
"I'm Aihara," Aizawa sighed.
"And I'm Asahi," Yagami added.
"Yes, of course," Light said. "Then perhaps I should call myself Asahi Light?"
"Yes, please do," L replied. "To keep things simple from this point, I'll call you Light-kun."
"Ah, wait, what's your alias, Sakura?" Light asked.
"I don't have an alias, so just keep on doing what you're doing, Light-kun," Sakura grinned.
"Okay, let's get down to work," L said to Light. "You can start by looking over all the information we've collected. I'd also like you to examine these videos."
L began to lead Light towards the videos, Sakura and the rest of the Task Force tailing along curiously.
"They were sent to the TV station, but were never aired. For security reasons, you're not permitted to take notes and all materials must remain here," L continued. Light sat down in front of a TV, looking ready to begin at any second.
"I understand," Light replied.
"We will begin now," L said and started to play the tape. Sakura glanced to see Yagami was staring hard at his son and Sakura couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. She suspected Light of being Kira just as much, if not more, than L did. Even so, she hoped for Yagami's sake that his son was innocent.
L retreated from Light's sitting form, to study him from afar. If Sakura wanted to ask him about that case, then this would be the perfect time to. Then again, maybe he was too focused on Light to do both.
Sakura approached L and coughed lightly to get his attention.
"Yes, Sakura-san?" L said, without looking away from Light.
"May I have a word?" Sakura asked. "Or is this not a good time."
"I suppose I can step away for a moment," L sighed and sent a longing glance towards Light's figure. Sakura led L far enough away from the rest of the Task Force to keep them from overhearing, though she did get a confused stare from Matsuda and a suspicious glance from Aizawa.
"Right...I have a favor to ask," Sakura said.
"You don't strike me as the type to ask for favors, Sakura-san," L replied. "What is this about?"
"I want to talk to you about Hayozaki Mizuru," Sakura blurted out. L's face didn't reveal any element of surprise or shock, though he did look mildly intrigued.
"I'm surprised it took you so long to bring him up, I figured you would ask about him much earlier," L responded. "But I am willing to divulge some information on that case. What is it you'd like to know?"
"See, that's the thing. I don't just have one question and this isn't our main focus at the moment. I just wanted to ask if it would be alright for me to stay late...so I can ask you about everything."
"I don't think that would be wise," L replied. Before Sakura could protest, L interrupted her. "This current headquarters is far from your home and it wouldn't be good if you missed the last train."
"I'm fine if I miss it!" Sakura protested. "I can just walk home if I need to, but I need to know about this."
"I didn't say I wouldn't answer your questions, Sakura-san," L responded. "I'm only refusing to do it tonight. Why don't you come here early tomorrow and we can discuss it then?"
Sakura considered her options. It was certainly better than nothing, and though she wouldn't get immediate answers, she could definitely wait.
"...okay," Sakura agreed.
"Ryuzaki, Light's finished the videos!" Matsuda exclaimed. Sakura gave L a curt nod before the two of them rejoined the group, L taking a moment to step up to Light.
"So what do you make of this, Light-kun?" L asked. "Come to any conclusions?"
"Mm," Light abruptly stood up from his seat, "It's hard to say for sure, but there might be another person out there with Kira's power."
"With Kira's power? But what do you mean by that, Light?" Yagami demanded. Oh, so Yagami was going to do that, huh? Trying to drag the right information out of his son to prove his innocence. Sakura smiled slightly, Yagami really was a doting father.
"At the very least, I'd say this tape was not created by the Kira we're familiar with," Light answered. "It's extremely out of character for him to use these kinds of victims for his killings and since we've established that he needs a name and face to kill, it makes you wonder how he was able to kill that detective and those two officers right outside the television station like that."
"I-It's the same," Aizawa stammered.
"That's almost exactly the way L, I mean Ryuzaki said it," Matsuda said, awestruck.
Sakura couldn't help but feel impressed. After all, she had never managed to come to that sort of conclusion. Suddenly, Sakura began to feel very small in the presence of two geniuses. It really wasn't fair. The look on Yagami's face sent tendrils of warmth throughout Sakura's entire being. That was right. L had said that if Light came to that conclusion that suspicion would be cleared.
Sakura still wasn't convinced, though. There had just been something about the way that Light said it that concerned her. Then again, it was entirely possible that she was just feeling green about Light's superior intellect.
"I think you're exactly right about that," L responded. "We also believe this is the work of a second Kira."
"So you knew about this all along, Ryuga, ah, Ryuzaki?" Light asked. "Which means this was just another one of your tests?"
Yes, but what was wrong about that? Light wanted to prove his innocence, didn't he?
"It wasn't my intention to test you, the truth is if I was the only one who thought there was a second Kira, it wouldn't be too convincing," L explained. "But the fact that we both came to the same conclusion makes the theory that much more believable. As expected, you did not disappoint us. You've been a great help. It's decided, then. First we must focus on stopping this copycat. From what we've seen he sympathizes with the real Kira, but clearly lacks his sophistication. I think he might even be willing to obey the original. If so, we could lure him into a trap by sending our own message from the real Kira."
That plan wasn't half bad, actually...
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, you literally took the words right out of my mouth," Light replied.
"Perhaps we should discuss what will happen if this phony Kira doesn't respond to our fake Kira?" Sakura added. "We have limited time, after all, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to do an analysis of each of these tapes in order to assuage at least a basic psychological profile and then try to match it to the people of the Japan."
"Sakura's right," Matsuda agreed. "We don't have a lot of time, so if the fake Kira doesn't respond to us, then we should come up with a backup plan."
"I think it's a pretty slim chance that they won't, but it won't hurt to start on a backup plan in the worst case scenario," Sakura explained.
"Very well..." L trailed off as though not accustomed to such traditional means of tracking someone down. "I'll leave that job to the two of you, then."
"Huh?" Sakura asked. "Neither of us are licensed psychologists, are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Unfortunately, now isn't a good time to find someone we can trust with these tapes," L explained. "And you two seem to be willing."
Sakura sighed, L was right. Time was limited enough as it was, so finding a licensed psychologist that they could trust and swear to secrecy in such a short time would be a huge waste of time.
"Fine, Matsui and I will take the job on," Sakura agreed. "But I can't guarantee its accuracy."
"With any luck, we won't even need to find the second Kira using your means," L said. He turned to Light, "Ah, Light-kun, by the way, I'd like you to play the part of the real Kira."
"Huh? Me, as Kira?" Light stammered.
"Yes," L replied. "You're the only one that I can think of that would be able to pull something like this off. At any rate, we don't have time to waste. Do you think you could script a message from Kira in time for it to be aired on this evening's national news?"
Light nodded, though he didn't look entirely pleased.
"Matsui, Sakura-san, I'll entrust the tapes to you for the time being. Try to come up with a working profile by tonight," L said. Sakura nodded, though Matsuda looked apprehensive.
"S-Sakura, I don't know much about psychology, so I don't know how much help I'll be," Matsuda stammered.
"That's okay," Sakura replied. "I know a fair amount about psychology and how people act, so I should be able to put something decent together."
"Sorry, I won't be much help," Matsuda sighed.
"Hey, more feedback as always nice. It's always good to have a second perspective, so I'm sure you'll be a huge help!" Sakura grinned.
"Alright..." Matsuda trailed off, looking slightly more confident. "Let's do it!"
Sakura nodded and started to play the first tape while Light worked on his Kira letter nearby. Sakura listened carefully to the enunciation of each word, how they acted, everything about it. She wasn't nearly as good at this sort of thing as Ino, but she knew enough to get by. Being a medical nin required her to know a working amount about the human brain just in case it was needed (i.e. helping people recover from shock or gently getting information from a victim.)
From what she would gather, this Kira copycat was probably young. Obviously not a little kid considering they could put together videos and stay out late enough to kill Ukita, but a youth nonetheless. Someone older would've used their killing ability far earlier in life if they cared for that sort of thing, and even if it was a power they'd only obtained recently, it still didn't make sense for it to be someone older and experienced.
An older person wouldn't blindly copy someone or follow the crowd. They would be more independent, or at the very least, not claim to be the real deal.
Sakura couldn't be sure of gender, but she was thinking male. Males had more violent tendencies in general, but a woman could've been just as likely.
Then Sakura started thinking about WHY they chose to follow Kira in the first place. It could've been mindless murder under the guise of someone trusted by society to some degree, but it also could've been someone victimized by a brutal crime.
She really couldn't come up with more than that, though. It narrowed it down decently enough, but she was positive someone licensed and experienced could've done so much better.
By the time Sakura had come up with her profile, Light was just finishing up his Kira speech.
"Ryuzaki, does this look okay?" Light asked as he held up his paper for L to see. L lifted it up with both hands, using only his thumb and forefinger. Sakura almost snickered. Of course it wasn't the first time she'd seen him lift something like that, but it almost made it look like he was disgusted by something Light had touched. "I think I managed to make it believable."
"Mm, I think you've done an excellent job with this," L replied. "However, if we don't omit the part that says 'you're free to kill L' then I'm gonna end up dead."
Sakura almost choked when she heard that. Had Light really put that in there, knowing that he was under heavy suspicion already? Goodness, it's almost as though he wanted people to think he was Kira!
Light just laughed, "Uh, sorry, I guess I got carried away playing that part. I figured if I was him that I'd probably demand that you be killed. I was improvising. Feel free to change it to whatever you like."
"You should be more careful, Light," Sakura sighed. "That just makes you look bad. Sorry to interrupt, Ryuzaki, but Matsui and I have come up with a working profile whenever you're ready to hear it."
"Right, I'll hear it now, if you don't mind," L responded, still staring at Light's paper.
"Matsui and I believe that the fake Kira is likely a youth, possibly high school age to mid-twenties, though we wouldn't rule out early thirties. Gender is hard to figure out, based off the violent actions I would presume male, but because of the lilt of their speech, female is also a possibility. Granted, they may not have even recorded the video's themselves. We also believe that this person has some sort of a violent past, whether it be they acted violently or were a victim of it is unknown, however," Sakura explained.
"Well, that certainly helps, but..." L trailed off. "That sounds a bit like you, don't you think?"
Sakura was taken aback, but not entirely surprised. He wasn't wrong. The profile did fit her quite well, but that really didn't mean anything.
"Violent past...?" Light trailed off. Oh, so he didn't know about her dummy's middle school incident. For some reason she felt a little relieved about that.
"Well, you're not wrong, but do you really think it could be me?" Sakura replied.
"No," L admitted. "You're not stupid enough to do something so sloppy. If you'll excuse me."
Sakura felt a small amount of pride build up in her. Had L just sort of, kind of complimented her? That felt better than expected. She glanced over at Light that was still waiting for her to explain the whole violent past thing. Not happening. He'd probably just go home and look it up anyway.
Sakura slumped into a chair to the opposite side of Light while L fixed the script and started handing it off to Aizawa to record and send to the news station.
"I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind," Sakura sighed.
"Right, of course, I understand," Light nodded, though he still looked incredibly curious.
The two of them just sat there in silence, Light doing whatever Light does and Sakura thinking about Mizuru. Just what happened to him, anyway? Nakama clearly knew something, but refused to talk about it.
Furthermore, why had Mizuru and her been kidnapped in the first place? It didn't sound like ransom from the article, but had they truly been random victims? This was just growing too strange. Little more than an hour had passed before their Kira video was being aired on the national news, everyone gathering around to watch it.
Sakura had to admit that Light had done a good job had portraying the voice of Kira, though she did feel a little bad that he had been put in that position because excelling in this task likely made him more suspicious but if he failed it would result in L's death. There really was no winning for the poor guy.
Even Sakura suspected him, it was just a gut feeling, and she had learned that trusting those kept her alive. There was definitely something sinister about Light, but that didn't make him Kira, and it was pretty clear that he was hiding something. Then again, so was Sakura, but that had nothing to do with Kira.
She supposed time would only tell if Light was innocent, after his earlier deduction, but inability to stop himself from writing it was okay to kill L, put him at about the same suspicion level as before.
After Light's speech had aired, everyone agreed to go home. A response wasn't likely to arrive until at the very least the next day, so everyone began filing out of the hotel room, but Sakura lingered behind, feeling suddenly very jittery and anxious.
"Yes, Sakura-san?" L asked.
"Why do you address me so formally, when you address Light-kun so informally?" Sakura blurted out, though that was not at all what she intended to originally say.
"Is it not already obvious to you?" L asked. No, it was not already obvious to her. "It's because I respect you more than Light-kun."
Now that was news.
"Is this because of what happened...with Mizuru?" Sakura asked.
"Not at all, Sakura-san," L replied. "It has to do with Light being a suspect for gruesome murders and you being a..."
Sakura suspected he was going to use a word like 'normal', but stopped himself before he could use it. For someone that lied as much as him, it sort of annoyed her that he didn't just say 'normal' even if he didn't believe it.
"Well, at the least, I don't suspect you of murder yet," L sighed.
"Oh, really?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Then why am I here if you don't suspect me of being Kira?"
"I suppose I overestimated you," L replied. "I assumed you'd figured out why when you asked me about Mizuru."
"I know it has to do with Mizuru," Sakura frowned, not pleased with the insult. "So does that mean that you suspect him?"
L just glanced behind her and Sakura didn't even have to look to see that Light had come back in the room. Sakura wasn't sure why L was clamming up on the subject now that they were in Light's presence, especially since he had alluded to it earlier, but either way Sakura appreciated it. For some reason, she really didn't want anyone else to know about Mizuru and the real reason she'd been invited on the investigation, especially Light.
"Whatever, I'll be back tomorrow," Sakura sighed. "Hopefully you'll be in the mood for actually answering questions tomorrow."
"Do take care, Sakura-san," L said.
"...You too, Ryuzaki," Sakura replied and turned away to join Light staring at her in confusion. "You didn't have to wait up for me, you know."
"It wouldn't be right to let you walk home alone with that psycho on the loose," Light responded.
"I'm hardly a criminal, Light-kun," Sakura laughed.
"I wasn't talking about the first Kira," Light explained. Then he meant the second Kira, then. The person that had no reservations about killing innocents on live TV.
"Well, thanks then," Sakura grinned. The two of them chatted idly until they reached the train station and boarded the train in the nick of time.
"Hey, why didn't you just get a ride back with your dad?" Sakura asked.
"He has to stop by the hospital for a quick checkup," Light replied. "His schedule doesn't allow him to go early."
But Sakura was barely listening, she was smiling so much. So Yagami WAS taking better care of himself, she was pleased to hear that his words had SOME sort of effect on him. Once their train, Sakura was a little surprised that Light followed her off her stop.
"Uh, Light-kun?" Sakura asked. "Is there some sort of problem?"
Light actually looked a little surprised, "Not at all. I'm just walking you home."
"That's...nice, thanks," Sakura replied with a genuine smile. Having a friend walk her home sounded nice, and it sort of reminded her of a time before when Naruto would look for excuses to stay with her longer. She wondered for a moment just how he was doing, but shook herself out of those thoughts. Any more and she would burst into tears in front of Light.
As Sakura and Light walked side by side, it finally occurred to Sakura to sense Light's chakra. Maybe it would finally spread some light ([i]heh[i] [b]unbelievable![b]) on the awful aura he always had following him around. Taking a deep breath, Sakura idly thought that she hoped she would be able to sense chakra without so much effort in the future, and focused. There was Light's chakra, it was kind of a chilling one, not evil or anything, just cold with random spikes of heat. It was weird, an ice blue color with shocks of red coming out at random.
Light's chakra was normal, but the chakra following him wasn't. Sakura still couldn't see what, exactly, the creature was. She could only see a rough outline due to his black as sludge chakra. It was ugly and gross and it made Sakura feel incredibly sick to her stomach. She could only stop in her tracks and stare wide eyed at where the creature floated.
Light had to know, he had to. The creature's chakra moved closer to Light, as though trying to say something he'd be able to hear. She couldn't let them know she'd caught on. Sakura released her focus and the chakra signatures faded away, something somewhat relieving. The aura coming off Light was scary, sure, but it was nothing like that revolting black sludge. It was like death itself.
Sakura frowned and ran up to Light.
"Sorry, I thought I saw a coin on the ground. Guess I was wrong," Sakura explained.
Please don't be suspicious, please don't be suspicious, please don't be suspicious.
Light nodded, seeming to accept her answer, but Sakura would never really know for sure. Cold fear sprang in her gut. If Light didn't believe her. Light couldn't believe her. And now she knew one of his secrets. If he knew she knew, she could kiss her life goodbye. He knew her name. He knew her family's names. What if she got Ryuu killed with her stupid meddling?
I have to tell L...
What are you going to tell him? L only responds to logic, he's not gonna believe you sensed its chakra.
I have to do something! If I die...if Light kills me, L needs to know that I found out one of Light's secrets before he died.
Don't be an idiot! He'll think you're insane!
I have to tell him. Even if he thinks I'm crazy, I have to do this. I have to protect my family and this may be the only way.
You could be overreacting! Even if you know one of his secrets, it's nothing you can tell anyone anyway, and Light knows that! He doesn't want to do anything to cast suspicion on himself.
What if he got spooked, though? When people get spooked they panic and he may make a rash action.
Just don't worry about it. He won't kill you.
But how do you know that
Because he's not that stupid!
So there Sakura was, walking side by side down the street with Light and she knew one of his darkest secrets.
And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.
…
I would like to apologize in advance for any mistakes I may have made in this chapter. I'm leaving tomorrow so I thought I would be nice and post this chapter earlier than I thought, it's a long one too, so I don't have much time for editing. I plan on editing and revising this whole story (not rewriting, don't worry) in the next week alongside working on new chapters, so any errors found in this chapter will be fixed in the next week or so, but if you find anything, letting me know would be much appreciated.
So the plot thickens. There's so much I want to tell you guys about this, but everything I have in mind would spoil it so I'll keep my mouth shut.
Now time to respond to some reviews!
Toraffles: You know…after some serious consideration over what you said, I realized you were right. Sakura's attitude was pretty rude at times, especially towards Nakama. I fully intend to go back and lightly edit to make Sakura's attitude less…well, mean. In the beginning, it was due to stress and her inability to trust her surrounding but a lot of time as passed and there's really no excuse for it anymore. And yeah, I love your story! To all my readers, may I recommend Toraffles' wonderful Death Note and Naruto crossover, Fuyu no Sakura, if you haven't read it yet.
Weaselandcherry: You're right. I suppose the scene in chapter 3 isn't really a good enough expression of her sadness. I'll try to add a scene in where Sakura really sees everything that she's lost and reacts accordingly.
X Mika-Chan X: Unfortunately, Sakura can be killed by the Death Note. She's just as human as everyone else, you know aside from the whole chakra thing. Therefore she can be affected by it. Also…well, I suppose you got your answer to the whole background check thing. It's not really a background check, but it's close enough AND we get to see Sakura's past boyfriend too, so there's that.
A big thanks to everyone for reviewing, favoriting, and following this story! Your support has been overwhelming and I appreciate every single one of you. These last few weeks have been overwhelmingly difficult with midterms and your words of encouragement have really helped me get through it and find the motivation to finish this chapter!
I'm debating whether or not to give Mizuru his own profile…I think I'll do it, but I'll wait until next chapter.