CHAPTER 18:
"The Destruction of Wammy House"

Eighteen minutes before the attack on Wammy House, L found himself wandering the halls of the school, reminiscing of old times, once being a student in these great halls.

Not much had changed, and even the church remained the same. And even though it may have been selfish on his part, he was pleased the church hadn't bowed down to political correctness of removing its large cross on the roof to satisfy others. A church was a church, and should remain such. He was proud of its origins.

He found his memories here as a child, an orphan, flood back like a tidal wave. The only thing missing this time was Watari. He was like a father to him, and when L decided to branch out into the policing field, Watari came with him, and was supportive throughout it all. Watari did have his opinions, and L did know that a fresh outlook was paramount to solving a case if one was stuck, but in the end, how a case was dealt with was L's final decision.

Watari was killed by a Death Note, he was 99.9% sure of this. There was always a 1% chance of error, however.

A Shinigami was at fault for bringing the Death Note to the Human World, but Kira/Light Yagami was to blame for its use to murder thousands of people for a child-like sense of justice.

Light Yagami was Kira, and L vowed he would make Light Yagami pay dearly for what he had done.

Roger Ruvie, the new facilitator of Wammy House, had a few ideas in how to get L's foot in the door with the CEO of the Tsuku-Yoki Corporation, Shinto Izanagi. But soon after their roundtable discussion ended, L had a more frank approach. He called Shinto Izanagi directly under the pretext of being the owner of Lucky Dragon Industries, Kounna Aiueo, using a synthesizer to disguise his voice. Otherwise, if he hadn't, he would be instantly recognized by Light. Light knew L's voice.

As he wandered the halls of the dormitories, most of the students were still in their classes—Wammy House was not only an orphanage for wayward/gifted children, but it was also a place of learning—he suddenly he heard voices in conversion from a slightly ajar door a little down a hall.

He walked over, and stood next to the door, listening in. He didn't like to spy, but it was force of habit as a detective.

He once hid surveillance equipment in Light Yagami's bedroom for two weeks when Yagami was in high school on the suspicion he was Kira. Nothing came of it, no evidence was collected, but he still kept taps on Light. Later, those suspicions would turn out to he right. Unfortunately, Light killed him before he could prove it.

Peaking through the crack in the door, he saw young Braydon Rise, or Jayden, as he was known now, sitting on his bed, playing, gazing into the Probable Orb that Castra had given him to occupy his time, so the others could talk. Jayden spoke, and L could also hear another voice coming from the Orb. It was a young, sounding, child's voice.

Jayden suddenly looked up at the door, and said, "Hello, L."

Louis Lawliet—L—being his pseudonym for his detective work, opened the door. "Hello, Jayden," he said. "Have you been playing with that Orb all this time? And who are you conversing with?"

"I'm speaking with a very smart boy with white hair, who knows a lot about universal constructs. We have been talking about all sorts of different subjects."
"Really? May I also speak with this intelligent boy?"

Jayden looked down at the Orb, but then his expression of happiness changed to that of confusion. "Um, hello?" he said to the Orb. "Where did you go? I was speaking to him just a moment ago, honest!"

L nodded. "You have no reason to lie, so I believe you," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Jayden shared this room with three other orphans. There were two beds on this side of the room and two more facing the opposite. "I have never used one of those things, so I wouldn't know how it works. How do you use it? How did your conversion with this boy come about?"

"I came to my room after that pretty, tall lady, gave this to me. But I got bored of it quickly. It was just a black ball. I know she gave to me to as a distraction, so you adults could talk alone. I'm not stupid. So, I put it aside, and began to read a manga. I have to admit, I skipped the rest of my classes today. I didn't feel like going…"

Jayden apologized, but L paid it no mind, and asked him to continue. L noticed a manga was laying on Jayden's bed. He took the time to gage with the manga and flip through its pages, as if to get a sense of what sort of things the boy enjoyed to read about, to engage better with him, since he knew his parents, however briefly.

"But then, when I began to read," Jayden continued, "all of a sudden, the boy's face just appeared on the surface of the ball, floating, and he said hello to me by name. I was a little frightened, but quickly overcame my fear, and began to talk to him. He was nice, and well spoken, very smart. We even spoke about family. He says his family was killed by a horrible monster, and I asked if it was Kira."

L's attention was immediately captured.

"He said no, another monster; a more cruel creature, from another realm. He didn't seem fazed when I mentioned Kira, and knew who I meant. He was open about there being other realms, and the Human World was only one of many in a vast open space. He briefly mentioned he had a brother, when I told him I was an only child. But also said blood doesn't always make a family well bred. Whatever that meant?"

L pressed for more information. "When this boy said he knew about Kira, what did he mean?"

Jayden thought. "He said he knew my parents, and that Kira had murdered them after an encounter with you, and some other person named Light Yagami—but he was vague on details."

L's mind raced. From the sound of things, this "boy" knew about events that transpired in the Jasper Yuta Case.

Jasper Yuta and his friends had infiltrated the Kira de facto headquarters, which was now Tsuku-Yoki Tower, in the downtown region of Kanto. Certain pieces of the puzzle had been missing in that case. He suspected there was a fifth person in Jasper Yuta's party.

Was this "boy", a supernatural influence, that fifth? Maybe its progenitor?

And yet, Jasper Yuta wanted revenge on Light Yagami for his part in putting his father away years prior. Jasper Yuta's father was a child killer, known as the Child Butcher of Japan. Yoma Yuta later committed suicide in his cell and his death was blamed on Kira. But Jasper Yuta went after Light for his father's death. Why would this "boy" be a part of Jasper Yuta's party? They were all later killed by heart attacks. It didn't make sense.

Did Jasper Yuta know back then Light Yagami was Kira? If only L knew, so many things, future events, could have been changed for the better.

"Does this boy have a name?" L asked.

"He said his name was Morph, short for Metamorphosis."

The name rung a bell with L, it was he same name of the supernatural Imp who aligned himself with Light Yagami that Clavis had told him about. But why would Morph be speaking with Jayden?

Morph aligned with Jasper Yuta in his plight for revenge against Light Yagami. The dots were beginning to become connected now, pieces fitting together like a jigsaw. But why would Jayden, or Braydon Rise, be of any interest to this being? Morph did cause the deaths of Jayden's parents, Matt and Crystal Rise. Their deaths were blamed on heart attacks, no doubt brought on my the Third Kira at the time. Was there a certain guilt there?

Perhaps Morph is merely a leech and an opportunist? And Light Yagami is just convenient to align with now?

Jayden then said, "One more thing: Morph was apologizing to me for something, but he didn't get a chance to say for what. That was when I saw you, his image suddenly disappearing from the Orb."

L nodded. Had the Imp been feeling a pang of guilt for what had happened to Jayden's parents?

Just then, a musical tone began playing, and L reached into the back pocket of his jeans to answer a new phone he had been given by Nate. It was the first time the phone had rung and L was amused by the ringtone: Pink Floyd's The Wall: 'In The Flesh'. It was just like Nate to add a ringtone like that. The irony wasn't lost on L.

He answered it like he always did every phone, with thumb and forefinger, as if it were glass, and he was afraid to brake it. It was one of many quirks he had been told he possessed. He brought it to his ear. "Hello, L here."

"L…" came a very agitated voice. "It's Near, the orphanage is under attack!" Suddenly, L heard a loud bang, and what sounded like an explosion, followed by voices of panic from the hallway. He quickly left the room, Jayden following, and saw that all the students were running around for their lives. "And you won't believe by whom…"

When Near told him, L was shocked beyond belief. And only those who had touched a Death Note could see them.

x x x

When it was all over, the destruction of Wammy House seemed quick, precise, and without mercy—the orphanage toppled with purpose. It was almost as if the attacks were strategized. The Shinigami chose exact locations to inflict the maximum amount of damage in the short amount of time, much like a pinpointed detonation with a building.

L only caught glimpses of the winged Shinigami when he ran out to help others, the winged death gods' faces obscured by their swift, blustering flight. They used their wings to generate gale force winds that acted similar experience during a hurricane, as both Shinigami took down the walls of both the school and the church. Those who could not see them ran around in fear at the sudden and vicious windstorm. England was known to have freak weather phenomenon, and it rained a lot, but nothing like this.

No rain followed the storm, later witnesses told. Only the winds, they said.

Thank god, there where were no fatalities.

But the weird thing was, L later learned, was one of the Shinigami stole the Probable Orb from Jayden when the boy encountered one of them. When asked about it, Jayden said the Shinigami looked like an evil clown.

x x x

There was a large police presence after the incident. Those who knew the truth, kept their mouths shut. Not only would no one believe them, but having the rest of the world know about Shinigami would create chaos. It was best to keep what truly happened in house for now.

But much like a bombing, Wammy House was in complete and utter ruins. Why would Shinigami attack the orphanage? There was no reasoning behind it.
Unless L hit on something during that call to Tsuku-Yoki Tower and this was in revenge for that contact?

It reminded him of that time when he thought Kira was a student, because of the times and days of criminals dying. Then Kira found out, and criminals began dying hourly, and at any given day, as if to change up the pattern.

He surmised, Light Yagami have just made a mistake sending out these Shinigami to destroy Wammy House, not knowing who would be present. If he, or Near, had not been here, then Wammy House's destruction would be attributed to freak weather phenomena.

As far as Light Yagami was concerned, L was dead, so he had no reason to do this, other than for sinful revenge.

This is where L had come from, Wammy House was his home when he lost his parents in a tragic accident. Watari's obituary had indicated such. L had read it when he was in Quindecim.

Light Yagami probably used that information to stage the attack here.

It was foolish. It was like "inviting" conjecture in Light Yagami being exactly who L thought he was: CEO of the Tsuku-Yoki Corporation, Shinto Izanagi. And Izanagi meant: "he-who-invites". This now invited L to highly suspect Izanagi. At that moment, he wondered if he could get in touch with any of the old Kira Task Force members through Near and bring the team back together. The Special Provision for Kira, Near called it, or the SPK.

But he had to admit, admirably, that Light Yagami had come up in the world since his return, and in such a short period of time. However he did it, with Morph's help or his own doing, Light Yagami now had power and influence, and it wasn't going to be easy to get to him, not like last time. And yet, was the "hidden talent" he had wondered about this? Light was a good detective, but being an entrepreneur in marketing and strategy was a surprise.

Light Yagami was always a quick study. In fact, he was the one who found the connection between the Yostuba Group and the Third Kira's killings, later learning Kira just happened to be one of their own board members. L thought it was all over when they caught Kyosuke Higuchi.

It was here he about the Death Note and Kira's powers, and how whoever touched a Death Note could see a 'god of death' which possessed the user, and confirmed Kira's secret: that a name and face was needed to kill a person, according to the Death Note's written instructions.

If he knew then, what he knew now, he could have ended the case. But he made a foolish mistake and announced his intentions, and in front of Light Yagami—that he was going to test out the Deathnote on a criminal and he had governmental authority to do so. It was then the Shinigami, Rem, who was at attached to the Death Note at the time, wrote down both he and Watari's names. Only in Quindecim did he learn what had truly happened.

But with his last dying breath, he had spoken Kira's name: Light Yagami. Unfortunately, no one else hear it other than Light, who was crouched down next to him. Light's arms were cradled around him as if in dying sympathetic embrace, but he was exhibiting a sinister smile in sheer triumphant, as everyone else panicked.

L had found a jacket, and now wore it, as he wandered the ruins of the orphanage.

A bus had already arrived to take the orphans to safety to another place. Other than himself, and a few others, only the police were on the scene now. Except for a few media, of course. This would no doubt be the top story on the news tonight. It was already starting to generate a buzz on the internet now.

He saw Nate Rivers standing alone in a beige coat and a baseball cap. But in attempting to disguise himself, it only brought him more attention and the media swarmed in on him, because he looked like a forgotten orphan.

After Nate had called L to tell him two Shinigami were attacking, because he could see them in touching the Death Note on a previous occasion, he helped get the children to safety. He would mostly like be branded a hero. L figured it was best to keep all the attention on him at the moment.

Nate was the perfect successor to L's legacy. L was so proud of him.

L had no doubt the orphanage would be rebuilt. Watari had lots of capital to keep all his other orphanage's going for many years to come, because of patents on every day items he had either designed or invested in. So, money for rebuilding wouldn't be no issue. And in reviewing all his stock portfolios, Watari had stocks in the now the Tsuku-Yoki Corporation, which made Nate Rivers, Watari's beneficiary, an investor in the company.

That could be an opening to see Shinto Izanagi later on.

For now, he would stick to garnering that interview with Light Yagami's assistant, a man whom L thought was a fraud. L spoke to the man in French, baiting him. There was something off with the man's accent. He spoke excellent Français, but, and call it detective intuition, anyone that connected to Light Yagami, now warranted investigating. And he still wanted to speak with Demetre Draycott, Light Yagami's childhood friend.

He tried to think, something nagged at his mind, but there was just too many distractions at the moment. Whatever was bothering him would later come. His mind was still sharp. The Tsuki-Yoki Corporation connection with 'Moon God' and Light Yagami when he saw the stock index was a leap, but it was starting to become an interesting lead. The channel just happened to be on an International news station with world stocks being profiled on the ticker.

It was funny, it was as if some other-worldly had purposely put that channel on for L to see. Any other local UK station wouldn't have Japanese stock market numbers on the ticker. He didn't believe in divine intervention, but with the existence of Quindecim, his mind was open to all sorts of possibilities now.

"Damn you, Light Yagami. You're going to pay for this!" he said, looking out at the destruction of Wammy House. It looked like something someone would see when they entered a war zone anywhere in the Middle East. "And I will be the one to personally send you back to Hell. This I vow!"

To be continued...