CHAPTER 58:
"A Warning of Forbiddance"

Light Yagami awoke slowly. He opened his eyes and found himself in the Kira Task Force's building infirmary in a hospital bed. His clothes had been removed and he was wrapped in a heat blanket. He was also handcuffed to the bed's side bar.

He moaned, feeling utterly exhausted, and he didn't know why. It wasn't a physical exhaustion, but his mind felt like it had gone through a workout. Then he touched his face and cringed. There was a bandage across his nose.

He tried to remember the last thing he was doing and how he had hurt it, but the more he pressed the more he was denied by his own consciousness. He couldn't remember how we got here either.

Then it hit him. Bryant Harvey had held him and Misa hostage. Misa had been ordered by Bryant Harvey to check out the elevator when it came down the lobby for any booby-traps, but the moment she entered, the doors shut, preventing her from leaving. Watari, he figured, had controlled it from the secondary control room L had set up.

The moment the elevators doors closed, I went for Bryant Harvey's gun. I could've been killed. So stupid! A shot then rang out, he recalled, and afterwards, Bryant Harvey lay mortally wounded when Demetre had suddenly appeared with a gun in hand with Dana and his father at his side using the emergency escape stairs, using the elevator as a decoy. Demmy killed Bryant Harvey to save me. He saved my life! I can never repay him.

How Demetre got into the building unnoticed was a mystery; maybe L could fill him in on that part because he couldn't remember if he was told.

He turned his head the right and saw his father sitting in a chair next to the hospital bed, sleeping at his bedside. His father looked exhausted, more of his grey hair was showing now, and Light wished his father would just retire from policing altogether. He didn't want his father to drop dead from a heart attack like he almost did from overexerting himself being involved with the Kira Case.

I wanted to make you proud, Dad, and join the police force like you, but then this damn Kira business interfered with my plans, delaying everything. Now I have to go through the ringer and prove that I'm not Kira to L. I'm sorry, Dad. Whoever Kira is will get a rude awakening when he's found. And I'll demand an apology for all the trouble Kira's caused me.

Even though it was a huge inconvenience, he saw it as excellent practice for him to test his skills in one day becoming a detective. And when he finally put in his application to join the NPA after he was fully cleared of being Kira, they would see his experience on the Kira Task Force working with L and that would get him major credibility to do the job. Perhaps he would even ask for a Letter of Recommendation from L.

"Dad?" he said softly, so not to startle him. "Dad…"

Soichiro Yagami opened his eyes, turned, and smiled at Light. "Light, you're okay? How do you feel?"

"I feel fine, why? Except for my nose." Light looked around the room and at all its medical equipment, he was attached to an IV line. "What happened? Why am I here? And where's Demmy and Dana?"

His father stood. "We found you on the roof a couple of hours ago, soaked with rain, your body was cold, and we feared the worse," he explained. "When you didn't return for a while, after you, Demetre and Dana went up on the roof to discuss whatever you had to talk about in private, we went up to check on you. You were discovered lying on the roof with a bloody nose and Demetre and Dana were gone."

"Really?" Light said confused.

"Can you tell me what happened? Did you and Demetre get into a fight? And why would he and Dana just abandon you like that? That's not what friends do. I'm going to have a talk with Demetre's parents after this."

"To be honest, Dad, I don't know," Light said. "I can't remember anything after I got up there, a complete blank. Maybe we did get into some sort of a fight and Demmy hit me so hard that he caused some kind of short-term amnesia?"

"Could be?"

Just then, L entered the infirmary. He put a hand up in friendly greeting. "Hi Light, back with us I see," he said casually. "You had us worried when we found you unconscious on the roof alone. Care to tell me what happened up there? Why you were laying unconscious with a bloody nose? And why there is a severely damaged and charred motorcycle up there? Not to mention a couple of severely dented HVAC roof grates. It almost looks like someone landed on them."

Light shook his head. "I have no clue, Ryuzaki," he answered. "Where is Demmy and Dana? I thought they would be here?"

He waited for an answer, but after a few silent moments, L replied, "That is another mystery. One of many you are again involved in. They've merely vanished without a trace much like your girlfriend did five years ago, only now she's taking her new boyfriend with her. But we did find evidence of a struggle on the roof after the rain tempered off. When it stops completely, then we can examine further. But there is some cause for alarm and there's quite a lot of blood."

Light swallowed and he felt his nose. "Did the blood come from me?"

"Undetermined as of yet, but not likely," L replied.

Matsuda and Misa then came into the room. The moment that Misa saw him, she went to Light's bed and hugged him with endearment.

She pulled back. "Oh Light, I'm so glad you're okay," she said relieved. "I was told what you did, and I think you were so brave when you went up against Bryant Harvey while I was trapped in the elevator." She pouted. "But I can't say much about that jerk of a friend of yours. He left without saying goodbye. That's so rude!"

"I agree," Soichiro Yagami said. "Demetre is your best friend, Light. Why would he just leave you like that? Why would Dana do that either after being away for five years? I thought she would like to catch up on lost time?"

Light nodded. "Me too," he said, a little sad.

"I'm very disappointed in Demetre Draycott," L said. "I was hoping to question him about his association with the Savant Society and get more information on its inner workings. The only thing Watari and I could collect were scraps of information that only scratched the surface of the cult. But I suppose that will have to do for now. Officially, visiting the Savant Mansion at the base of Mount Fuji is now off the table. Apparently Kira himself has issued a statement on Kira's Underground. I was able to take a snapshot of it before it disappeared on the website. It was a message directed at me, I think? But it was worded in a strange manner. Let me see if I can remember it." L put a thoughtful finger to his mouth. "'Hungry is the wolf's fangs, he stalks wild in the shadows beyond, behold the pack's societal wraith' Weird, eh?"

"What does it mean, Ryuzaki?" Soichiro asked.

L shrugged. "I'm reciting it to you orally, but it was phrased in form of a Haiku. A Japanese poem that has five, seven, and five lines…five words on the first line, seven words on the second, and five words on the last. Haikus are normally symbolic, depicting a place, animal, or something else, mostly naturalistic..."

( Hungry is the wolf's fangs,

he stalks wild in the shadows beyond;

behold the pack's Societal wraith! )

"This is not Kira's typical MO," L continued. "Kira is normally more forthright. But this is a secret message to someone. And yet, this is, seemingly, from Kira. The media got a hold of it as well. I think this is from your friend Demetre under the guise of Kira, to stay away from the Savant Society. It could be a warning?"

"He's threatening us?" Matsuda chimed in.

"No, but I do think we should take this seriously," Ryuzaki replied. "I attempted to track his IP address, but he managed to evade my attempts when I contacted the Service Provider. The origin of the post bounced the signal from over a hundred different servers. None of which are anywhere near at Savant Mansion where Light managed to trace a previous message he posted. And there was one more clue that points in the direction that this message came from Demetre Draycott. There was an avatar next to handle name. It was a picture of a ferret."

"A ferret?" Matsuda voiced confused. "You mean the animal?"

Light got it immediately and looked at L. "It was a hidden message to me, Ryuzaki, because he knows I'm on the Kira Task Force. I believe it is in reply to my previous message and it is a warning to stay away. The word 'Societal' is a clue to the Savant Society to those who understand it. Since wolves hunt in packs, Demmy's telling us they have 'sharp fangs'. Demmy is warning us—I would even go so far as prohibiting us from investigating them for our own protection? Maybe even asking us not to search for him or something dreadful will happen? That's how I see it. So, perhaps don't speak with Demmy's parents about this, Dad. It may be to protect them?"

Light's father nodded, yet reluctantly.

"The media gave Bryant Harvey the nickname 'The Ferret'," Light continued. "And when a Ferret eats, they nibble on their food. Demmy gave me the joke nickname 'Nimbler' in middle school because I would nimble at my food. It was something only between us, but now everyone here knows. This is why I know this Haiku could only come from him. He knew I would get the connection if I saw the post. Very clever on his part. But of course, Demmy's just as smart as I am." Maybe even smarter, he thought. "He knows about you, Ryuzaki."

"Do you think he will reveal your identity?" Soichiro wondered.

"I don't think so," Light answered instead. "He knows how to keep a secret. We can trust him."

"If you say so, Light," L said. "I trusted him to come back and tell me everything about the Savant Society, but he's not here. Trust is earned. And frankly, I have a bit of a trust issue with you with everything that has gone on lately, hence I had you handcuffed to the bed rail. This has now been the fourth such incident whereas I've allowed you out of the handcuffs and you've been involved in some strange happenings. You have either caused injury to another or yourself. Demetre Draycott hit you for some reason and then left you where you could have caught pneumonia or even died on the roof from blood loss. There is only one way down from the roof and that is through the stairwell, but if he and Dana had left without speaking with us, then the cameras would have shown it. I don't know where he went. And I doubt they scaled the side of the building to get down to the street below especially without a grappling hook. This building is forty-two stories above street level."

"I don't know what to say, Ryuzaki," Light said. "But I don't believe that Demetre would tell Kira about you or any of us. Neither of us even know your real name. So even if he knows what you look like, we all know that Kira needs a face and a name to kill. And believe me when I say, Demmy would in no way be associated or have any association with a psychopathic killer like Kira. One hundred percent! And frankly, Ryuzaki, if we are telling the truth, I would trust Demmy above you any day of the week."

"Light!" his father scolded him. "Apologize!"

L put up a hand. "It's fine, Mr. Yagami, and quite understandable," he said. "I'd feel the same way about someone who keeps their real identity secret from others. Maybe one day I will tell you my real name, but that time is a long way off. Trust must be earned. And right now with you Light and everything that has occurred in recent weeks, my trust in you is very lacking. It's now back up to twenty-percent."

Light knew the twenty-percent was how much Ryuzaki suspected him of being Kira.

"Ryuzaki!" Soichiro Yagami condemned him. "Let's not get into another fight like the last time."

"Yes, I agree," L said. "And I'm already up to date on Misa Amane's popularity polls, so Matsuda telling me about them to interpose himself between us again would be redundant. And Light is in no position for a fight right now. Looks like he's already lost one today."

"Hey, no need to be insulting," Matsuda complained. "It worked, and that's all that mattered. You two were going at each other tooth and nail in one of the sitting rooms. So, there! Although I have to admit, Light, you do have a pretty nice left-hook."

"Yes, and it hurt," Ryuzaki said remembering, "but an eye for an eye, my friend. You almost blocked my kick, Light. And if it wasn't for the handcuffs, only you would have crashed into the couch. That had not been part of the plan when I struck back. I underestimated my own strength."

"My phone call stopped you two from fighting further," Matsuda added proudly. "So, even though you said it was stupid at the time, as a cop, I managed to deescalate things as per my training. I have no regrets about that."

Light huddled down underneath the heat blanket suddenly feeling vulnerable, it felt so warm like a mother's womb. He put the blanket over his head. "Everyone, please, just leave me alone right now," he said, his voice slightly muffled. "I'm feeling a little tired and I want rest."

In truth, he was thinking about Dana. Once again she had left him without saying goodbye. But this time, she had left with Demetre. The two of them were a couple now and it depressed him.

"Okay son," his father said. "We'll leave you to rest for a while."

"Get well soon, Light," Misa said a little dejected. "I would like to continue where we left off in the movie script, too."

No, Light thought. I'm letting you touch me again. I'm not ready for that kind of stimulation yet. I want to catch Kira first!

"We'll get back to work on the Kira Case," L said. "And as soon as you're feeling better, you can tell me this idea you have about Kira and his most recent killings. You thought something was amiss, whereas prominent businessman are dying by unexplained heart attacks. You said it was a working theory and that you would clarify it. I'll wait for that information. So come back to us soon. I would also like to begin an investigation regarding Zurn Wellington hiring Bryant Harvey/Christian Troy to kill you, Light? I think it demands one at the very least."

"I phoned one of my contacts at the NPA and they say the new Chief just put Zurn on suspension pending an investigation," Soichiro said. "It seems Zurn may have been involved with the Black Market and organ harvesting in connection with a rash of homeless vagrant killings. The NPA received a tip about Zurn and a secret investigation began. He's currently on paid leave."

"Good," L said. "I'll put Mogi and Watari on the case. I don't like it when someone targets one my task force members without knowing why."
Light didn't respond to anything they were saying, just listened. He waited and listened until their conversion was over, remaining totally quiet, then everyone shuffled out other infirmary, and he was alone.

The advent of Kira had changed this life forever and he hated the serial murderer for it. One day he would pay the murderer back a thousand fold for the pain and suffering Kira had caused himself and the world. He had no idea why Zurn Wellington would want him dead, but his main focus was on Kira. Everything that had happened to him could be attributed to Kira.

"Mark my words, Kira," he murmured to himself. "You'll get what's coming to you, this I vow! And the world will see you as you truly are—a living, breathing coward."

To be continued...