Cáel squinted at the screen. The security footage taken from the train platform Raye Penber died- no, was murdered- on, was blurry and poor quality. Penber had collapsed to the ground, grasping and clawing at the platform as he took his last breaths. Commuters had just stepped around him. Only when he became still did someone try to help, the train he had exited now long gone…

Cáel rewound, going frame by frame, she had already sent it to her old affiliate tech lab, in the hopes that with a clearer image a clue might present itself. The visuals were still less than perfect, but it did give far more detail and sharper colour. Still: No luck. Not yet.

The cell phone rang, and she flipped it open without tearing her eyes away from the shivering figure of Penber.

"Cáel like the seaweed, how can I help you?"

"I need you to watch the Yagami household tonight," L paused "must you introduce yourself in such a ridiculous way?"

"Must you introduce yourself in such a bland way?"

"C…"

"I was meant to follow Ukita and Matsuda tonight." She quirked a brow at the phone, swiftly moving the conversation along.

"I confronted Yagami today."

"Confronted him…?"

"Well… I saw him at the entrance exam. Since the surveillance cameras are removed, I want you to watch him. All night."

Groaning an agreement, she hung up. It made sense, it was very on brand for L. He wanted to know if there was a reaction, if Light was suspicious or paranoid. The ginger hummed, about to close the laptop when a thought clicked into her head.

Kira needed a face, a name. She pulled up the footage of the platform Penber had entered the train. The light glinted off the matte… thing under his arm. Clicked into the death footage. No object… The gears in her head steadily started turning- it was a long shot, and it makes no sense, but neither does Kira. She had requested the surveillance footage from on board that train, it had taken forever to track down, and had been sent away to the lab to be recovered. It wasn't looking pretty, her tech friend had admitted, but even if it could give a single clue it would be useful.

The phone rang again, and she flicked it open while carefully putting away the laptop. "Dr. Connors?"

"This is she."

The secretary of the Max Security Penitentiary rattled off their name and professional regards, on behalf of the directors etc etc. until she demanded to be patched through to Chilton.

"Beyond will be having a visitor tomorrow, a young mr. Mello at eleven a.m."

A grin pulled at her mouth. "Have a pot of tea ready for ten a.m. please, Doctor."

Hanging up after exchanging pleasantries, she stretched her hands above her head. If she left now, she could get some coffee for the rest of the team and get some more work done before her pre-stakeout nap. Sliding the laptop case beneath the seat, she put the car into drive, pulling out of the alleyway across from the Aizawa home.

"One black coffee for Matsuda." She grinned with a wink, sliding the to-go cup across the table. The family-run café had quickly become her favourite place, and had taken to picking up a few cups for the officers on shift too. All coffee did not taste the same, even though Watari had stocked up on and routinely brewed a new pot every few hours, as well as the officers having ease of access to the kitchenette at any time, nothing beats a good barista brew.

Matsuda grinned up at her, nodding his head in thanks. "How was your morning, Cael?"

"So-so," she wrinkled her nose, leaning on the chairs back. "You know how it is, badass crime fighting and vigilantism, tracking down the bad guys. How about you?"

Matsuda laughed, a slight flush travelling up his tanned neck. With Cael often staying out late and Matsuda taking on night shifts the two had hit it off pretty well, with superhero fantasy stories being a key point of bonding. Cael had devoured all things fiction as a child, which had been difficult when the library at Whammy's was stocked to the brim with medical journals, encyclopaedias and the like. However, they did have quite a collection of classics, Austen and Bronte and Wilde. Shakespeare was a favourite of hers, the comedies held up well even in modern times. When she had finally moved on from the Orphanage, she was delighted to discover the existence of comic books.

She was partial to the Robin characters, and tracked down every single issue featuring Nightwing. In recent years, she had found herself collecting the Red Hood centric issues. She had divulged all this information to Matsuda, bar a few details, and he had enthusiastically recommended her a list of his own favourites. Superman was where their individual favours had coincided.

"Paperwork! A lot less interesting than your work today."

"Eh, sometimes boring is good." In truth, she had followed the night shift home, hanging out in her car before going into the Coroner's office to collect more autopsy files, now tucked neatly into the satchel swinging by her side. She had already annotated the files with her own observations, and would be passing them onto L soon.

"Is Ryuzaki back yet?"

Matsuda nodded and gestured to the kitchenette, where L had dragged a desk chair, his laptop sitting haphazardly atop his knees.

In a few long steps, she was beside him, dropping the files into his slender hands.

"The blood vessels have been severely damaged in all of the victims I've looked at so far, from the tox. reports it seems that the source of it is just… an abnormally intense surge of adrenaline."

"Any reason?"

"Other than a conniving godlike entity?" She grimaced at the thought, sipping at her takeaway cup. "Unfortunately, no, there's no other discernible reason for it. A few of the victims were diabetic, so in normal circumstances that could have contributed... "

Ryuzaki tilted his head, dark eyes peeking through a wall off dark hair.

"But?"

Cael sighed, lifting herself to sit on the counter. "None of this makes sense Ryuzaki. If there was a rule book for how science works, this whole situation seems to have torn it up a few thousand times and flung it out a window."

"Everything has a logical explanation, Cael, it just may not be logical to you."

The woman snorted, staring hard at her childhood nemesis. "Is insulting my intelligence what we have fallen back to? Really?"

Dark eyes blinked back at her. "I'm not insulting you, but you do have a very rigid, scientific view on life-"

"And who's fault is that?" Jaw clenching, she ducked away from those eyes. Those piercing black eyes that had scrutinised her every move since she was five years old. Squeezing her own shut, she tried counting to ten in a bid to lessen her rising anger. What was that exercise? Five things you can see? Four things you can smell- or was it the other way around-

She pushed off from the counter, trying to quell the shakes coursing through her body as she trudged through the halls, totally ignoring the concerned and confused gazes following her. Only when locked in her own private room did she collapse, legs buckling under her weight.

"That bastard…" She had been doing so well for years, getting her anger under control was rough and now it was bubbling back up to the surface. Years of management and it felt like her hold was slipping. Deep breathes, C, just a few more. After a while the world seemed to clear, the perpetual throbbing in her skull lessening into a dull buzz and she became aware of how tightly she was grasping the photograph. With a sigh, she unclenched her fist, gingerly flattening it on the ground with her hands. Three pairs of young grins gleamed back at her from the slip of paper, a monstrous house casting a large shadow behind their shoulders. Her thumb brushed across the image of the blonde little boy. None of us ever stood a chance.

She carefully slipped it back into her trouser pocket, glancing to the battered watchface latched to her wrist with brand new leather straps. Ten more minutes, just ten more minutes to wallow and breathe, and then she would make her return to the working world.

Fingers tapping along to the beat of the radio- some pop girl band? the lyrics were too fast and too colloquial for her to catch- Cáel squinted as she the time ticked by. She had left early so she could watch as the Yagami patriarch would arrive. He had promised to collect Light from the university exams, and they would have a celebratory family meal. It was a bit arrogant, she felt, for them all to assume he had been accepted. However, from everything she had learned about the young boy, it seemed they were confident that even if he wasn't a genius he was hardworking and intensely determined, enough so to slay the exams.

Her eyes strayed to the laptop tucked under the passenger seat… should she? She wasn't an expert hacker by any means, but she was proficient enough. She didn't doubt his acceptance, she was almost certain of it but… Another meaner voice entered her head, it would be very easy to skew a few marks, just enough for an average grade…

After all, she thought, does she really want Kira to be trained as a lawyer… She shook her head, quickly dispelling those thoughts. Setting the kid up to fail, she would be no better than L. Headlights lit up the street, and with a relieved sigh she watched as Yagami's car pulled into the driveway. They were nine minutes later than they would have been, how weir-

Cáel's gaze sharpened then widened as a third figure exited the car, watching as her youngest co-worker chattered with Chief Yagami. That was unexpected. When Matsuda told her that he was a family friend of the Yagami's she didn't think he was that close. During one of their late nights he had told her how the Chief was a mentor to him when he was a young man, just starting out in boot camp. He seemed to be quite the underdog, and an honest one too, as everything he divulged has lined up with the background check she had run on him. She felt slightly guilty, it seemed like such a breach of boundaries and he was such a sweet man, but work was work. It was the first task she was assigned, she had dusted it off on the long plane ride over. Turns out Mogi had a degree in Musical Theatre. Aizawa had exactly one speeding ticket which he had gained the day his wife went into labour with their daughter. And Matsuda had gained a reputation in training as an excellent sharpshooter.

She watched through the wide windows of the kitchen as the group sat down for dinner, pouring drinks with a cheer. Perhaps he would be more useful than she had initially thought. She adjusted her cap lower over her eyes with a sigh, it was going to be a long night.

The sky darkened to a deep black, the stars she so loved dull behind the clouds as she watched the domestic bustling within the Yagami household. The youngest, Sayu, reluctantly went to bed early, her yawns becoming too wide and frequent to wave off. The adults, now including Light, sat around the table, finishing off their drinks with tea brewing in a pot. They chatted quietly, more sombrely now and she wished she could be a fly on the wall for this conversation. Something gave her pause, her sharp gaze drawn to Light's window. Someone had moved the curtains, as if pushing them to the side to promptly let it fall back. Probably just a draught, she frowned as it slowly swayed back into place, the room just as dark and empty as it had been a moment ago, a very strong draught...

Her attention was drawn back to the kitchen window as Matsuda's head shot up, wide eyed and mouth agape at Soichiro. She raised her camera, zooming in to snap a few stills. Matsuda had leaned over the table, seemingly hushing the Chief, who leaned backwards with a shrug, arms crossed over his chest. The Yagami matriarch giggled, covering her mouth as her son dipped his head, quelling his own laughs. What are you talking about Chief, she hummed, it wouldn't be about the case would it? If it was she would have to report that back to L, he would be taken off the case and they would completely move base. Considering the tight knit relations of the investigative crew, L would likely have to replace them all.

The redhead watched as they said their goodbyes, Light heading up to bed and the couple giving their farewells at the door. She snapped a picture of the domestic scene, the young Yagami's silhouette looming in his bedroom window not escaping her attention. Matsuda waved his farewell, stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets as he walked off, turning down the street as the couple shut the door, the house finally turning dark. She waited a few moments, noting down to the second when Light shut his own off.

L had told her to stay the night, but… she glanced to the corner Matsuda had rounded just a few moments ago. Was he really going to walk home? That would be more than a 45 minute trip. And it was almost 1 a.m already... How could she live with herself if his face ended up plastered on the news in the morning? With a sigh she turned the key, peeling from the alleyway.

Once again, it's been a while! I hope everyone is doing well, and I plan to be getting back to more frequent uploads soon. I've been slowly churning out more chapters the last few weeks. This is a bit of a slower, filler chapter, one to get a feel for Cael, but things are starting to fall in place, and the proverbial shit will hit the fan soon.