Chapter Three: Victim Shall Die
It's not possible. He's finally reached that point. It's too convenient. Too concise. It just doesn't make sense.
Light Yagami wasn't often superstitious. One could certainly chalk a couple things to chance, or some form of divine intervention, but his work as a detective set his mind to work in very specific ways. One of those being a need to connect the dots.
Five of the six men from his and his father's investigation were now dead. All within a week of one another. That same itch in his mind from before returned. When the man holding that nursery school up died of a heart attack. Akagi died of a heart attack too... Yutaka as well. Hiroyuki at least took an obscene amount of drugs to induce his. But again! Another heart attack!
Then again, the same goes for Ryota. Ryota was found dead after taking drugs himself. Fentanyl in his case. But that's another thing. Two drug induced heart attacks within a week? Not overdosing to a seizure, but a heart attack?
It gets more confusing. Iwao died in a car wreck. Takou died in one as well... All these deaths with only three variations. Two by car wreck, two by drug induced overdose, and three by regular heart attacks.
The three normal heart attacks are what truly raises his hairs.
Light sits in his room, still wondering to himself over these findings. It's been another week. Looking for the last man of the group, Nakada Takashi, was put on hold as he mulled over these thoughts. It was simply too clean. Too convenient.
If it were any other situation, he would say someone is killing these people on purpose...
But that's insane.
Then again, traffic accidents can be the result of tampered vehicles... Drugs can be forcibly ingested... and if there's a substance that can instigate a heart attack that autopsies aren't finding...
Maybe. Just maybe. But he needs a way to prove it. That is the issue, isn't it? What's the connecting thread to these people? Only that most are involved with a single incident in the area, and another was high profile due to breaking news... Perhaps there's more.
. . .
Sayu finds herself finally getting the slightest bit desensitized to Ryuk's looks. Frankly, one can only get bored of the rapid increases in heart rate. Still, she would end up involuntarily raising her brow any time she saw him just floating by. He'd sometimes be quiet long enough she would forget he'd been there.
And other times he's like an imaginary friend that doesn't shut the hell up.
Like now, actually...
"Hey, what happened to all that spunk about testing out the Death Note? You haven't written in it since early last week." The death god grumbles as he eats a green sour apple.
Sayu grimaces, looking at her notes at her desk. "For the time being, I need to catch back up on school work for one thing. Light refusing to help me study is making it very tough." She mulls over herself before sighing. "Also, Light said the last guy's basically ghosted. Until he has something or the police find him, I'm all out of people to work with."
That said, she DOES need to use the man. Nakada Takashi... He was involved with the woman's death, too. If they all deserved to go, then there's no reason for her to exclude him. However, pragmatism did say having all but one of her victims thus far coming from one incident seems suspicious.
Could someone link it to her? No. The Death Note is something out of people's nightmares. No one can deduce something like it existing. It's absurd.
Still...
"... But point taken. I think I'll set time aside to bug Light tomorrow."
"Haven't you humans gotten much better at communication? Why are you fixated on results from the locals? You have a whole world of subjects around you." Ryuk wonders aloud.
Sayu frowns at that, glaring at the very subject notebook on her desk. "I'm trying to find answers for my own morality. I'm not going to wipe out people across the globe like the hand of God-" She blinks and looks at him sheepishly. "Erm... no offense. I know that's how you guys literally operate."
"None taken." Ryuk slides in.
She shakes her head and continues. "But, I'm also trying to find out absolutely everything the Death Note can possibly do. While using people from other parts of the world would be easy, information is easy to fake online. I don't want my results being covered up. I sure as heck don't want to accidentally kill someone innocent."
She finishes, leaning on her arm looking put out. "No. It has to be local where I can be sure." Punctuating her exclamation with a sigh and lightly pounding her head into the desk. "Even if the police turn up that last man, one person isn't enough to fully test the conditional statements." Her voice mumbles sparsely against the table with her bumping her forehead down. The girl suddenly throws her head back and glares up. "Guess, I'll just have to keep pestering Light. "
. . .
"You said that Takashi guy still hasn't turned up, so... what exactly are we getting into?" Sayu brings up the next day. She and Light were walking down the road together, on their way to the more suburban outskirts of the city.
Light actually allows a small smile. "It's only a matter of time for Takashi. His relatives have been located, and police will be waiting for a chance there. However, for the time being, there's nothing further to do with that case. My part is likely done in that case."
"Hey, I helped too." Sayu pouts in a huff. At Light's raised brow, she blushes and looks away. "I mean... I was there at least." Light simply continues to hold her stare until she blinks away. "Okay, point taken."
He allows a small chuckle to break the dull look. "That being said, you came out of it acting well enough, so if you're serious about this type of thing, I thought we could go with some kid gloves treatment."
The girl's enthusiasm fluctuates between skeptical and excited. "Kid gloves treatment? You don't need to belittle me that much!" She looks away, still in a pout before adding. "But, what is it?"
Light sobers, eyes ahead. "While police do everything they can to do something about any call, there's a number of issues that slip through the cracks. It can be for any reason. Perhaps their work load is such that they have to prioritize certain emergencies over others. Perhaps the person making the call was unreliable in giving details, so nothing can be done about it. Or, the officer does listen to what happened, but doesn't believe the call merits investigation."
Sayu eyes him from her side. "With how much Dad goes on about discipline... I'm guessing that the last one is the most common?"
"Hey, you're deducing answers from context clues. Good." Light commends her with a smirk. "Yes. Most of the time, the officers tend to be correct. Devoting resources to something that isn't important can put lives at risk when something serious requires attention. Though, it's also an avenue for lazy or corrupt cops to blatantly ignore their duties as well. Still, that leaves a large number of calls involving the police that never manifest into action."
"Okay, what are you-" She stops, blinking wide eyes and looking at him. "Wait, are we going to investigate a call the police ignored?!" Her excitement bubbles out with the outburst. Suddenly, she reigns it in again. "But, if the police don't figure anything serious is going on, why would we bother?"
Light lets her calm before answering. "While no full investigations are done on many of these extraneous call outs, police do still have to do reports on them for record keeping of their patrols. Paperwork is a bad part of their job, but a necessary one. I took the time to sort through a number of reports Dad had that never manifested into anything for one reason or another."
He continues with a smirk. "Plus, investigating calls that were deemed mundane is the perfect practice field for you to get used to how we do investigative work. Much better than you inserting yourself in the deepest end of the pool like that."
He expected her to take some offense to that, maybe be bashful over it. However, when she doesn't immediately respond, Light pays closer attention. He eyes Sayu's furrowed brow. Her excitement seemed to dull. Why? Isn't this what she wanted?
Sayu seems to notice her brother eyeing her, so she plasters a smile on and nods. "Alright. Faster we get this done, the faster we can move on to something important, right?"
Light blinks. She's upset that they're doing mundane things? He didn't take Sayu for being one for the dramatic. Her vomiting after the bike show fiasco should have put her off. Yet, she seemed dejected to not be in such a situation again. "Yeah." He answers simply, placating this danger streak she seems to be on.
This will be interesting for both of them.
. . .
Another week passes.
To say Sayu is growing less impressed with people would be an understatement. From the listing of reports not requiring follow up action, she and Light had looked into fifteen unresolved issues. Three involved teens leaving home but returning before enough time passed to issue a public alert. Those were already finished.
Four calls were based around second or even third hand accounts of petty acts like trespassing or spray painting. Simple vandalism graffiti. Sayu herself admits that she's taken interest in the musings people would paint on public areas. However, now that she's experiencing the inane monotony of DEALING with the repercussions, she now finds herself glaring at the childish writings.
Another five were reports of cash counterfeit in several ghetto stores. Without having access to store cameras, there was exactly nothing they could do about those. Two other calls involved bar fights at local clubs. Again, being unable to do much about drunken fools being fools.
Still, Sayu was at least getting a rundown on how to interview and ask questions. Twice, Light allowed her to ask all the questions, and that excited her. However, Light told her in no uncertain terms that she should not interact at all with the final report subject.
Domestic abuse. Sayu mulls the topic in her head. Per Light, the report had no follow up because the husband involved turned out to be an old friend of the officer who did the report, same graduating class in schooling. If Light had to judge, the officer who responded to this call COULD have covered up for his acquaintance.
Notes on the report also state the woman involved appeared to embellish facts while not appearing injured. The report leans heavily on the woman being intoxicated from alcohol, too. Sayu finds herself heated imagining herself in the woman's perspective, IF she's telling the truth that is.
"So, if I'm banned from interacting here, what's the point in me coming? I assume you have a plan, right?" Sayu strikes up conversation.
Light sits by her calmly on the train. "I do, but if this is a teaching experience, I'd like you to put together the idea." The slight upward smug tone makes the girl actually scowl at him.
"I'm starting to think you're a jerk, you know?" Sayu pouts as she thinks. "I mean, I haven't seen the report like you have. I don't even know their names or what they look like."
"It happened at a night club they frequent nearly every weekend, so there's your last clue. Some stereotypes and stereotypical situations can go a long way." He adds helpfully.
Sayu squints at him. Behind her, Ryuk cackles, pulling her ire towards him. Maybe she holds the glare on the apparition too long when she notices Light giving her a raised brow. She sighs. "Well, if they're both drunks, then it's likely we can run into them and observe them, right?" She then stiffens. "Uh, this club is one of those that allows teens in, right?"
Light nods. "One of those with a low age audience for those kids that like feeling older than they are."
"I feel accused." Sayu quips.
"I've no idea what you mean." Light dryly retorts, making her huff.
"So, we hang out, they come in, we watch them... and we observe like back at the bike show? Just hope?" When Light doesn't immediately respond, Sayu realizes he's not satisfied with her answer. "What? Is there something we can manipulate to see how they act better?"
Light simply stares back, waiting for an idea.
A joke comes to her mind unbidden and she snorts. "What? Should you go charm the girl at the bar to see if the man gets upset enough to take it out on her instead of you?" She's too busy chuckling to herself for a moment, failing to take notice of Light's small smirk. Sobering, Sayu looks back, slowly going wide eyed. "No..." She groans out.
"You seem to forget that I'm a pretty popular guy." Light playfully quips. "Which means you will be in charge of videoing the encounter. If he swings on me, he's an easily jealous husband and shows he's quick to violence. Investigation open. If he strikes her for it, same result but more closed book. If he does nothing, then we can call the case done and forget it."
Sayu puts her face in her hands. "Oh my god... I'm literally going to video my brother hitting on a married woman. What IS this?!"
Again, Ryuk chuckles at her pain, pulling a fierce glare from the girl.
And again, Light quirks a brow and observes her strange looks.
Weird... She's never looked off like that before...
. . .
Entering the mixed club was strange. One of those clubs that tries to appeal to both adults and younger teens. Technically a bar, but the ID check at the main entrance has a man that attaches a wristband to anyone whose age is under drinking age, 20 in Japan.
And so, Light and Sayu find themselves at a booth with orange bands around their right wrists. Light rolls the band up under his shirt sleeve. Can't have their target see that he's underage. So, the two remained in place for a couple hours.
Time passed, music blared, and Sayu even found herself enjoying a moment one of her favorite pop bands played on the DJ station. All the while, Light eventually distanced himself from Sayu after giving her instructions.
The moment she sees Light interacting with a woman in her early twenties, start recording. Sayu sighed, fun being over. So, she's left to herself in a booth, observing Light play a game of pool on the far end of the club. Seamlessly becoming a star patron of the place.
It's amazing how he does that. Sayu can't even fathom how he's so talented both publicly and privately. The guy is a tennis champion and somehow maintains a healthy, almost athlete build. He maintains grades as the top of the class in every category, so he could willfully choose to become a scientist if he wanted.
And topping it all off? He's a freaking social butterfly!
Well, when he wants to fake it. But still! That fact that he can FAKE being so friendly and amicable with anyone is so... infuriating to watch sometimes. Sayu can't maintain that kind of persona with others without tanking her grades, and sure she's healthy, but some track extracurricular activities don't put her at his level.
Nothing puts her on his level.
"Huh? Why you looking like someone gutted your dog now?" Ryuk snorts from the side. The loud room was a touch irritable to him, so he was only popping in for quick snippets.
Sayu drinks a soda, eyes on Light as he moves in a conversation with some patrons closer to the bar. "Hey, Ryuk? Do Shinigami ever feel inadequate compared to each other?"
Ryuk snorts. "You mean besides our ability to scam or out gamble one another?"
That makes her deflate and drone on. "So, no Shinigami ever get envious or jealous of someone else except when upset for losing? No wonder you were bored up there. Were you ever jealous of any others?"
"Not much point in it. But, I suppose we all feel that small annoyance with the Old Man, the Shinigami King. He's the one who doles out one Death Note to each of us, but none of us know really how he gets them all."
Sayu raises a brow at that, processing that information. "Really? I would expect you guys to not follow anyone's rules except your own. Did he create the rules of the Death Note?"
Ryuk seems to shrug floating behind her. "Dunno. We know he can affect the rules, but even he says he can't change the Death Note's function. Seems he can add rules to the note, but I've never heard of him being able to get rid of one."
She mulls that over before side glancing the god of death. "So, one to each of you. How come you have your own, but was able to drop mine?" That elicits a wheezing chuckle from the being. "Sound more cocky, why don't you?" Sayu quips, although she allows a small curl of a smirk.
The monster finally replies. "Well, to put a long story short, I decided to gamble the Old Man and staked my own Death Note on obtaining a second, and let's leave it at that." He cackles to himself. "I suppose the others thought I was crazy, but besides the Old Man, I'm the only Shinigami I know to have more than one Death Note."
Sayu's eyes betray a touch of wonder at that. That Ryuk is out of the ordinary for his kind. However, she then sulks. "Oh, so this conversation is pointless." She deflates again, propping her head on her hand.
"Huh?" Ryuk looks confused at the girl, certain she should be eating his details up.
"Because you're one of the ones that others would be jealous of. Not the one feeling jealous." Sayu sighs before taking another drink. Ryuk just stares at her, perplexed at her reaction.
Suddenly, movement catches her eye. Light is moving with some other men towards the bar. She catches sight of Light eyeing a woman down the bar. This could be it. Sayu pulls out her phone and starts recording video while pretending to be texting.
It takes a few minutes, but Light eventually has approached the woman, chatting her up at the bar. He even calls the bartender for drink- WHAT IS HE THINKING?! He can't-
She watches as Light buys only the woman a drink. Ah, well played. Avoiding breaking TOO many laws on camera. Light and the woman chat up, shaking hands in meeting with him obviously flirting with her. It looks... wrong. Like, it's natural looking, but because she knows it's Light, it doesn't look right.
This goes for several minutes, the two closing distances almost shoulder to shoulder. Sayu gulps as she whispers to Ryuk. "Hey, Ryuk? How many apples would it take for you to eavesdrop on them and report back to me?"
The death god huffs. "You think you can bribe me into working for you? It costs more than a few apples."
"Name a price. I might consider it." Sayu retorts.
"One hundred apples."
Sayu sputters, her camera work shaking to be unrecognizable as she whisper screams. "What kind of bull crap demand is that?! Ugh, whatever."
The god chuckles to himself. "Please. Trying to bribe a god of death to play snitch for you." His red eyes look up. "But, if it helps, I don't think you'll be spying much longer."
Her attention pulls back on Light and the woman at the bar. A man has joined them. The man looks confused, yet somehow withdrawn. That's when Sayu is thrown for a loop.
It's the woman that's off the rocker! Heads begin turning to the verbal dispute from all sides of the bar. Light seems calm, but whenever attention is drawn to him, he seems to shift. Ever so slightly in a fake way. Sayu can tell he's overcompensating to appear like he isn't a threat. The woman is shrieking down.
Sayu captures it all...
Including when she starts slapping and beating the mystery man who she assumes was the husband they were trying to lure in. She then looks to Light, looking haughty. How many drinks had she had by this point?
A gaze to the counter, she sees only one mixed drink, and it's nearly full. Sayu raises a brow. "What the heck?"
Then... the woman strikes Light, the shriek irate as the woman walks away saying, 'damn little boys!' She stomps out of the bar, the man and Light both looking at the door wide eyed.
And... cut. Sayu ends the video, getting out of the booth. She rushes to check on Light, shocked when her brother and the husband are looking apologetic to one another...
. . .
"So... the wife was the abuser. That's new for me." Sayu speaks up. She and Light are on their way back home. She can't help but snort at the small mark on Light's cheek. "I'm assuming this is more than enough have the cops do something?"
Light is busy watching the videos Sayu took on her phone as he walks. He'd already watched through all of them once, but the extra viewing was typically helpful. Always view more than once when it comes to media. A first glance will often miss something.
"Yes, well. It still all depends on if the husband wants to press charges, but at least with this, the woman can be charged by the bar. Definitely puts the husband's friendship with the police officer into perspective." Light speaks easily. At Sayu's quirked brow, he smirks. "Well? Learn to read people. How does this paint the original report?"
Sayu frowns as she walks. "Like... the officer knew the woman was lying, but since the husband wouldn't press charges or talk, the officer went ahead and included all the details of the woman's state of being? If he couldn't get the other party to press a charge, then all he could do was point out that she's a liar?"
Light hums. "Yeah. I'll be passing some compliments to the officer next time we go to the police headquarters."
Sayu chuckles, then blinks in realization. "Wait, you said 'we'. You bringing me along?"
"I'll admit whether you answered that simple deduction was the deciding factor, but yes." Light jokingly responds.
In truth, she was doing remarkably well compared to what he actually expected of her. Granted, he didn't expect her to be terrible at this. She IS a sociable person, after all. If this keeps up, he might not oppose the idea of recommending this line of work for her... someday.
Dad will have a hissie fit about it. That's for sure. So, building some good will with these easy nights will go a long way when that road comes.
Still, that isn't the only reason for his interest in bringing her along...
The recording plays, too quiet for Sayu to hear walking beside him, but loud enough for Light to hear her voice in the recording. "What kind of bull crap demand is that?! Ugh, whatever."
Light was absolutely certain that Sayu was alone. And here he stands, holding her cell phone, and not a message or call listed in the last three hours. Who was she talking to?
. . .
"Light, Nakada Takashi has turned himself in to police custody. I figured you would be glad to know."
Sayu frowns the moment that she hears her father utter the words. The family of four was now situated at the table, her father having muttered the words for Light and Light alone. Yet, the whole table heard it.
Her mother frowns. "Honey, I don't think hearing about work is good talk for dinner."
Soichiro nods, but Sayu chimes in. "So, that's all of them, right? He was the only one you guys hadn't accounted for."
Light's gaze cuts to her for a second, but then looks to his father. Soichiro looks off at Sayu before glancing to Light. "Light, I didn't think you spoke about investigations with Sayu." He then looks back to the girl. "And yes. He was the final one of the group Light observed weeks ago. Now that he's come in and plead guilty to the charges, he'll be processed quickly so that some justice was done."
Sayu blinks confused. Light hums to himself. Damn it, Sayu... You weren't supposed to cause this conversation yet. "Perfect. Another case down for the good guys." He tries to put the conversation to bed. However, the stern look from his father told him everything. "I needed to verbalize some thoughts about the case for my own thoughts. She was available. Besides, you're bringing it up now at dinner. It's like Mom says."
A tense moment fills the air as Sayu realizes her outburst may have messed things up. In more ways than she knows. Soichiro retorts. "A simple notification hardly compares to discussing in depth details enough to recognize the exact last name of seven total key names to an investigation, Light-"
"I've been helping him." Sayu speaks up, not keen on Light getting yelled at for something that truly is on her. However, when her father turns his eye on her, she suddenly shrinks. Vaguely, she's aware of Light side glancing her. As if to say, 'you absolute moron'. "Um... yeah."
"What are you talking about? Sayu, you're a bright young girl, but I fail to see how you've been-"
Sayu gulps down the judgment and speaks up. "I asked to help him." Despite feeling absolutely tiny to the three family members eyeing her, she scrambles her head to think of what to say. "Kind of invited myself along, actually."
Their mother is the first to speak up. "What?! Light, how could you let your sister do something so reckless? You know what could happen in your father's line of work."
Light's face masks in calm, his mind working through two things at once. One being defending himself. The other being if he should just allow this to happen and force Sayu to see someone else about her issue. However, his own curiosity wouldn't allow him to let her endeavor be blown this soon.
"Now, hold on! Don't act like he did anything. I ASKED to come along with him." Sayu starts to heat up. "At least one time I didn't even ask. I followed him."
Light internally winces. Why does she do this?
Their father looks down on her. "I see. So, I suppose you have a wonderful explanation why you, a 14 year old girl, should be a part of police investigations, then?"
The expected result, Sayu clams up and deflates. Any answer on her tongue ties in her mouth.
The boy sighs. "Because she has potential." He starts, earning shocked looks from the others. "Sayu had some questions about our work after the hostage situation weeks ago, so she wanted to know how your work, and mine when helping, works. In a philosophical sense." He explains honestly.
Light pins a hard stare on the girl, making her shrink slightly. "Sneaking after me unannounced aside..." He then looks their father in the eye. "I've been picking small time assignments and taking advantage of the opportunity to teach her some things. She's rough, but I think she has potential in this line of work. If she chooses it, or can stomach it that is."
A silence falls over the table, Sayu positively glowing at the praise her brother gave her. Gulping, she looks at their parents awaiting a response.
Soichiro's hard eyes remain on his children before asking low. "And how has this affected her schooling?"
Sayu is quick to fire back on that. "Light's first condition was for me to maintain my grades WITHOUT his tutoring to allow me with him! I've covered that."
At this, the man looks to his wife. Their mother gives a shrug and smile. "Her marks have been good as before. I think she's even improved."
Sayu glowers. "I better have. I sacrificed part of my personal life on that geometry..." Her sarcasm is short lived as she freezes under her father's scrutiny.
"... Light, I trust you with more than any father should put on their child. If anyone could do this, you would be the person to do so..." The man starts. Sayu even lights up. Prematurely, however. "But there is a large difference between you being someone that could do it versus whether you should."
Ouch.
However, the man continues. "Anything further with this, you WILL bring it to my attention beforehand. Understood?"
Light and Sayu each relax in their seats, Light speaking easy. "Of course."
The four remain silent for a moment, before Sayu blurts out, eyes on Light. "Hey! I caught what you said!" Their parents pause, looking at the girl for explanation. "'Or can stomach it that is'. That was about me throwing up weeks ago! Don't be sly with your insults!"
Light allows a small playful smirk. At their parents curiosity, Light nods his head towards her. "See? She's catching things she wouldn't pay attention to before."
. . .
"So, are you going to use the Death Note on the man who turned himself in?" Ryuk starts immediately as Sayu sits down at her computer in her room.
The girl frowns, unhappy with the subject. "I've been thinking about that. After all his group members died, I don't want to punish him further than the law already is going to. But it is a subject right in front of me..." She sighs. "I'll have to wait on that. For now, I need to check for anything else going on around here."
She begins cycling through web pages before her eyes. Her attention is short lived as she uses a page to begin playing some videos from some shows she enjoys.
"What's that then?" Ryuk asks, eyes locked on a browser window with several tabs open.
"Hmm? Oh. I've been bookmarking a lot of online blogs and chat rooms I found that talk a lot about local crimes. Granted, 'local' is a bit of a stretch. Thing is, most everything people are talking about is purse snatching or vandalism. I don't feel right using people that petty..." Her gaze lazily draws over a new post.
'My manager violated me, but he kept his job.' The post reads.
Sayu's eyes lock with the title post, eventually forcing her curiosity. She clicks it.
. . .
Two days passed, and Sayu found herself doing something that was either pointless or incredibly stupid.
Probably both if she were honest.
"I'm going out with my friends. Be back for dinner!" Sayu calls out to her mother. She reaches the door when Light arrives at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, hey Light."
The teen boy eyes her, seeing her dressed to go out. "Hey Sayu. Night with friends, or sneaking out under false pretenses again."
Sayu slouches at that, eye twitching. "Can you just let that go? Besides, I'm going to eat with friends at the sub mall. That's it." She finishes tying her shoe on and smiles bashful. "I've ignored my friends for long enough, and if I study anymore, my eyes will bleed. I don't know how you do it."
Light merely hums. "Whatever. Have fun." He watches her leave, but his eye catches it. She has a carry bag over the shoulder. Light weight. Barely enough for either a laptop or couple books. His brow raises. She's getting away from studying, but taking materials with her?
"Something wrong, dear?" His mother calls, and Light nods to himself, decision made.
"Not at all. Just thinking about paying Sayu back with her own medicine." He smiles to his mother. "I'm going to make sure she's actually doing what she says she is, okay? I won't be gone long." He moves back up to his room, sure to grab an apple to sate as a snack.
The action gets a smile from his mother. "Thank you. I'm weary letting her out at all after that talk. I've been so worried!"
. . .
"Gasp! Is that a zombie? We thought Sayu Yagami was dead!" A girl dramatically exclaims in a fake voice, earning laughs as Sayu approaches a group of three, including Misao. All were dressed comfortably in brighter clothing than their school uniforms.
"Ha. Ha." Sayu grumbles back. "You should be a comedian." She grins at her friends. "Come on, I'm hungry and we have catching up to do."
"Well duh! It's been weeks since you did anything besides study." Various ribbing comments about Sayu's attendance to their group gatherings came and went before the girls all arrive at the sub mall. The foursome rattle on about the goings on of their lives, one by one, but Sayu is only partly paying attention.
After all, she had an ulterior motive for calling this social gathering... A deathly chuckle vaguely tickling her senses as Ryuk laughs behind them.
What's so funny?
Ignoring him, she realizes she missed something Misao asked. "Hmm? What?"
"I asked what's with the laptop bag? It's not a school day, and that's not your purse." Her friend questions her.
Yeah, she expected this and still didn't have much of an answer. After all, she can't exactly start with 'I can't risk leaving this death notebook home, so I keep it with me'. Sayu merely shrugs. "Actually, my purse is inside it, but I've been carrying more stuff lately to need it. Been looking for a bigger purse." She diverts the attention looking to another of the group. "Senna, do you still have that discount at your sister's job?"
The verbal pivot works, shifting the conversation to Senna's sister and the deals they can get on accessories at the mall. Whew. Metaphorical bullet dodged!
And so, the four came to a restaurant in the cafeteria section of the sub mall. A simple coffee shop called Cafeel. Sayu's eyes focus as she makes sure to look at the workers.
Is he working today?
There's a few men working about the cafe style shop. Not many women... She can assume why, but that's what she's here to confirm. The man at the register is tall, with short spiky brown hair, darker eyes, and glasses.
Sayu frowns and gulps.
"What's wrong?" The question snaps Sayu out of it. Misao is looking right at her.
Shit. She needs to work on her poker face. "N-nothing. Just unsure what I want." She then looks to the man's name tag. 'Nusumi'.
Yonegoro Nusumi
That's him. The man that the blogs told her about. She'd accessed her father's computer for the police database the same way Light showed her. It took a while, mostly due to her own incompetence of looking up older files, but this man has been charged repeatedly for rape offenses. None of which went forward due to some measure of deficiency of evidence. Typically because the reports came too late to prove force. Without proof of violence, it would simply come to a he said, she said situation.
However, the lack of cohesion between the individuals who accused him coupled with some of his own circumstantial comments painted him well enough. Unlike the domestic incident Light let her witness, one of the cases had a recording of him threatening the woman quite clearly. However, the recording did not relate to a sexual encounter, changing the type of case to a domestic abuse case that he did plead guilty. Still, not the end people wanted.
Or deserved. But to guarantee that, Sayu would need to witness how this man acted. Hence, asking her friends to catch up here at this cafe. What she'd gathered already painted a man who would shamelessly flirt and hit on all sorts of women, including girls her friends' ages.
He wasn't a risk of violently doing something here, though. So, she was reasonably certain her friends were safe. Sayu just needed to see how he acts.
If nothing suspicious happens, then she enjoys chatting with her friends. If enough happens to set off her alarm bells, then Sayu will have a follow up dilemma. Use him for her experimentation, or see if Light wants to tackle him with the system of the law.
Sayu sighs. It's nothing like the mud show issue. She's in public and surrounded by friends, not by drug addicts and killers.
Her group arrives at the counter. Good. Nusumi is working the register for their orders alongside a younger female employee. Sayu wonders back to the blog. The poster of the last messages stated they quit two weeks ago, but they'd mentioned worrying about a friend of theirs.
The female is about to take her friend's order when Nusumi places his hand on the employee's shoulder. The woman stiffens, something not obvious to someone who isn't looking for it, but Sayu notices it...
"I'll take their orders. Help Li in with the trash." The female shies away from his touch, taking the moment to leave to the back. Out of sight, out of mind. He looks to her friends. "What can I get you lovely ladies."
Sayu almost pukes as her first friend giggles at the complement. One by one, they order cappuccino drinks with sandwiches in varying flavor pallets. When it's Sayu's turn, she doesn't smile. Nor does she respond at all to the obvious complement the man gives to her tastes.
"I'll put that in with a discount for the lovely company. I hope you have a lovely day. Stick around and chat sometime." The man says chipper. Friendly.
Creepy.
Soon as they sit and await their food and drinks, Misao looks at Sayu. "So, what about you? Did your little stunt with your brother turn out well?"
Oh right...
"Wait, what? What did she do with her brother?" Her other friend speaks up.
Sayu shrugs. "I've been working through some stuff with Light is all. That's actually part of why I have so little time lately. I have to get by without him tutoring me AND can't let my grades drop at all. The jerk." She puffs her mouth in a huff.
Misao snorts. "So he's slave driving you? Can't say I'm surprised." She looks to her friends. "You're still shadowing him on his work?"
The Yagami teen sighs under the group scrutiny. The pause allows the other two to blurt out. "You brother's work? Isn't he some kind of prodigy?" " Well of course he is. He set our school district's record scores, remember?" "What's so bad that he needs your help with it?"
Sayu looks to Misao with a glare, the friend giving a sympathetic grin. "Light doesn't need help with anything. I... asked him to start introducing me to the type of work he does with my Dad and the cops is all. I had questions only he could answer, and he's been teaching me some about it."
"You're trying to become a detective?" One friend speaks out, incredulous, making Sayu blush.
"No!" She stops and thinks. "Yes?" She says softly in confusion. "I don't know." She ends up shaking her thoughts clear before sighing frustrated. "I just wanted to know what it was like. Whether I end up liking it... we'll see." She shrugs. "It's really a lot more interesting than I ever gave it credit for, but..."
Misao nods. "You never told me what happened at that bike show your brother was going to. I saw the news about the local gang pretty much all dying in weird ways. They weren't connected to that, were they?"
"Yeah! I saw that too!" The other girl speaks up. "They were involved with a bike show?"
Sayu cringes, but nods. "We went... and yeah... those guys were there... They were who we were looking into." She quickly mutters. "But they're gone now, so can we please not talk about them?"
Sensing a slight shift in her, the other two back off slightly. "Well, what else have you guys looked into? Now that you're going all police girl on us, you gotta have some scandalous stories."
She snorts at that. "Actually, I did get to see Light get hit by someone. I was worried when it happened, but the context was funny." Sayu giggles. "And Light even let me direct a couple question and answer bits!"
"You watched Light get hit?! Did they mess up his face?" One friend cries out. When the others look at her, she shrugs. "What? Her brother is like a local Ryuga around here. Have you looked at him?"
Laughter comes at that, small conversation carrying them until Nusumi approaches with a large tray.
Smiling for them, he brings their meals. "Food for four ladies." He caters them with a chorus of 'thank you's before he winks. "Let me know if you need anything." The other three giggle, but Nusumi does pause lightly at Sayu's blank, almost cutting look. Nevertheless, he leaves them.
Misao notices Sayu's look, perking. "You know that guy? You look like you want him to disappear or something."
Blushing at being caught, Sayu waves her hand to disregard her. "Not at all. You must be mistaken." She takes a drink and looks to the others. "So, my brother is a local Ryuga, huh? Are you his next stalker, Yumi?"
The other girl blurts out a negative as the last of the four lights up. "Oh, that's so cute!"
"What is?" Misao asks, craning her neck around to see her hands. "The receipt?"
The brunette girl grins wide as she shows her friends her receipt for the meal...
A phone number on it as well with the request to text him.
Sayu fights the bile in her throat. That tears it. Her teeth grind in her mouth looking at it. Her friend lights up like an ignorant fool. "That's so smooth. I'll so send him a message later."
Red flag.
Ryuk, hovering over the crowd of girls, cackles lowly. "Uh oh. Sounds like you have a dilemma. Hehah! To kill or not to kill."
Shut up, Ryuk. You're not helping!
Granted, he's not wrong. Sayu knows that she came here specifically to determine if this man is suitable to use. However, would that be fair? She's yet to act on Takashi, who himself was involved in the violation and murder of a woman. The murder definitely made him worse than Nusumi, so why should he live if she sentences Nusumi to death?
The answer is for her own self preservation, she realizes... But Takashi did turn himself in. Surely that meant something? Or is a rationalization Sayu is making?
"Hey, let me see that. There's something weird." The words leave her mouth. It doesn't truly matter, does it? Her friend raises a brow and angles the receipt for her. Sayu leans over, reaching one hand to grip the slip of paper on one side, her friend still gripping the other.
Rip. She tears half the paper in half with a single jerk down.
Sayu slouches back and crunches the receipt half in her hand with the second half of the phone number. Satisfies, she takes a drink of her cappuccino. It's really delightful.
"Ah-! What the hell, Sayu?!" Her friend shrieks at her, almost turning hostile. The friends look confused as the Yagami teen holds one finger up to wait. The three other girls notices Sayu's eyes locked to the side, an almost furious glare. They follow her looks, seeing Nusumi disappearing into the back to deal with some issue in the kitchen.
Sayu looks her friend in the eye. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have suggested this place, and none of us should come here long as he works here."
While the two other girls gawk at her, Misao blinks in realization. "Wait, is that guy related to your investigations with Light?"
"Not ours, but I knew his name the second I saw his name tag." Seeing her friends wanting gossip more than anything, as well as flushed anger on Yumi's face, Sayu grimaces. "That man's been charged multiple times for sexual assault and guilty of domestic violence." He friends all go wide eyed and freeze as Sayu looks Yumi in the eyes. "You will NOT interact with him." She forcefully adds.
The three girls simply give a numb nod back. This was the darkest and most serious they'd ever seen her friend. "We should... go somewhere else."
Sayu sighs. "Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to mess up our meet up with any ugliness like this."
"No no! It's fine. We can still hit the shops!"
"Can we use the restrooms before going?"
"Sure!" The foursome leaves the coffee shop proper for the restrooms. Sayu immediately moves for a stall.
Privately, she sits and takes a calming breath. In through the nose and out through the mouth. She opens her bag and produces a notebook with its cover carefully wrapped in gold fabric to hide its title. Opening up, Sayu grabs a pencil and begins writing. Then she pauses.
How should she word this one? Last time, she confirmed that conjunctions can alter the commands of the note, but she needs to try more than one time to be sure.
She needs to test the 'or' statement more... She continues writing.
Yonegoro Nusumi, death by heart attack on Monday at 7:30, or when he commits sexual misconduct with an unwilling individual.
Sayu checks her phone and begins mentally keeping track. So long as she's in the stall, her friends won't leave. Her phone is digital, so she can't exactly keep track of the seconds reliably, so she simply waits 7 minutes to pass.
There. If he dies before Monday, then she will know she found a command that requires a trigger. If he dies Monday, then she'll know the victim can retain free will until the command begins at least. Either way, it will move things forward.
Securing the note back in her bag, she moves to leave.
. . .
No sooner than leaving the restroom, a scream catches their attention. Screams from the kitchens!
"What's that?" Misao calls out, the four of them moving with some other patrons to the entryway to the kitchens.
"Someone! Call am ambulance!" A man shouts out. He and two other men are in the kitchen, moving a man onto his back on the floor. They begin administering chest compressions while one feels for pulse and breath.
Sayu freezes in place and time...
It's Yonegoro Nusumi...
But that's not possible. This has nothing to do with her command, and her command was absolutely possible! It shouldn't... Why would...
Sayu's gaze trails up to the female co worker from before... She's hunched down at the edge of the kitchen, tears straining her face and body curled inward, defensively. Her clothes are disheveled and shirt ripped at the chest to expose her undergarment.
He... He assaulted her... and the command triggered.
Or... the command triggered him to assault her?
But before she can ask that question, she realizes one thing. For the first time, she's looking directly at the life she's taking in real time...
. . .
Light had been laying low the whole time. He'd tailed Sayu from a safe distance until she found her three friends. From there, he simply observed for the time being. After all, with how off Sayu has been at home, surely some new patterns may emerge among her actual school friends. Perhaps it could provide a new avenue to determine this shift in Sayu's attitude.
She seems normal with her friends at first. However, it quickly becomes clear that she's awkward about some particular subject. Given Sayu's weakness for gossip, he can assume it has to do with her activities with him. It was Misao that helped Sayu sneak out to tail him before after all.
That suspicion is confirmed when, of the three others, Misao is the only one to appear sympathetic or in the know about Sayu's discomfort. Either way, Sayu appears to push beyond it for a normal outing.
Until they arrived at the Cafeel coffee shop.
Light's red flags go off the moment he spots the worker at the counter. He's read a number of investigations and charges that ended for dubious reasons. One such example was the very man at the restaurant, Yonegoro Nusumi. Light makes a mental note to have a chat with Sayu about being wary of those around her. Even those who appear normal can be hiding in plain sight.
But... maybe she doesn't need it.
That's strange. Sayu is already acting more than wary of the man. Even from a distance, he can see her tense every time the man looks at her, and her face back to him is anything but friendly. Sayu was always easy to read. Her discomfort and outright hostility towards him pours off her vividly.
She knows of him. She doesn't KNOW him seeing as he reacts to her with honest confusion and surprise. But, she knows OF him. Why would she..? Has she been snooping through Dad's files?
On one hand, Light wonders if showing her how to log into Dad's computer was a bad thing. On the other, if it prepares her for dealing with someone like this, then all the better. Especially when the girls at the table begin giggling incessantly at their receipts of all things. Yet, Sayu reaches right over and destroys the offending paper.
A bit abrupt and lacking tact, but she's handling the situation fairly competently.
Light decides she's handling herself enough. That, when she leaves the restaurant, he'll trust her and wait for her at home.
But then something amazing happened.
Nusumi has a heart attack in the kitchen... A heart attack in the restaurant with a frightened and clearly assaulted woman. It didn't take a genius to put together what was going on just before the scream.
What did take a genius was putting together the odds.
Another criminal. Another death. Another mysterious, sudden death. This time DURING a criminal act.
Light Yagami is not a superstitious man... He's not a fool either...
Thoughts of Sayu become an after thought.
Soon after the paramedics came, Nusumi was pronounced dead. Not long after, Light receives a call from Sayu, who doesn't realize he's less than a hundred feet away. She tells him what happened, and he plays it as if he's just finding out about it, at least verbally.
Sayu appears, from a distance, to be disturbed by the event, as she should be.
His fanciful theories of supernatural death aside, he needs to be a big brother right now. So, he promises to pick her up, then rounds the block twice before arriving as if he came from home...
. . .
SLAM!
Sayu's hand slaps onto her desk hard, shuddering the whole surface. She releases a long drawn out growl before looking at Ryuk. "Explain!"
Ryuk lets out a soft 'oh' playfully. He was expecting her to blow up much earlier, yet she managed to remain rather stoic after Light picked her up. The thought of that makes him laugh, but he isn't willing to let Sayu know why just yet. "What's the issue? You used the Death Note, and the man died-"
"I get that much! The question is why?!" Sayu has to keep from outright yelling at the god. She looks at the open notebook on the desk top. "I specified that he could either die Monday OR when he next committed the crime! Why did it trigger immediately?"
The god appears taken aback at just how angry she is, but he's not about to be yelled at by a child. Instead, he laughs low, enjoying that the action stokes the girl's flames. "Ah, well, the answer to that is simple, but requires some explanation." The girl raises a brow, sitting at her desk and crossing her arms. "It comes down to the very function of the Note... as well as the differences between yourself and I."
Sayu takes a calming breath, grimacing. Much softer, she tries to guess an interpretation. "So, because the Death Note is a tool for killing, you're saying just by putting the option for an immediate death, it forced Nusumi to do so?"
"Not exactly, but not a bad guess." Ryuk complements. "What I truly need to explain is the differences between Ryuk, the Shinigami, and Sayu Yagami, the human, when using the Death Note. When focusing solely on the Death Note, there are two functions that are different."
The girl leans back, calming enough to try and learn where she went wrong. "Go on."
"The first relates to how we gods of death survive. Truth be told, it is very possible for a Shinigami to die of old age. We do have lifespans, though I've never seen a member of my kind die." Sayu perks at that. The idea of a god dying is... terrifying, but to something as mortal as aging. "However, the function of the Death Note is not simply to kill. It is to extend out own lives."
"Huh?" Sayu processes that, leaning forward. "Wait, explain."
The god cackles before going into it. "See, when we Shinigami kill someone with the Death Note, we are cutting that person's life short of their predestined life span. Ten years, forty years. We cut life short before a person lives out their lives they would otherwise. And, when we do so, all that time that we stole from that person gets added to our own life span. Assuming a victim had 10 years left to live before I killed him, that would be 10 years more added onto my own life span."
He continues. "However, no matter how many people you kill, your life span will not increase. That is the first difference between you, the human, and myself, the Shinigami" He floats to the side, reaching and snatching an apple off the desk, crunching it as Sayu sits silent. "That hint alone should be enough to guess the true reason your command failed your intent."
She blinks in thought, snapping her eyes back to the note... A minute passes before she deflates slightly in a grimace.
"I see... I can't use the 'or' statement." She speaks lowly in a despondent tone.
"You realize why?" Ryuk chuckles.
"I provided an option that had a set time of cut off. But, I ALSO provided a means for the death note to kill the person before that cut off." Sayu looks Ryuk in the eyes. "In which case, if I was a Shinigami as you pointed out, Nusumi dying as soon as possible would give me the most time added to my life. The Death Note forced the command to execute immediately to get the most out of it."
"You're almost right on the target. Just one extra problem with your phrasing." Ryuk gestures directly to the note.
It takes a second, but the girl suddenly tenses. "I'm such an idiot..."
Ryuk chuckles. "'When'. Your second option of death included saying 'when' the condition next happened. In other words, you made it so that he was guaranteed to do so at some point in the future."
Sayu's head droops down. "I can't use the 'or' condition..." She sighs, face into her hands. "The 'or' creates limits to outcomes, and I would need to be far too specific to guarantee no bad outcomes. But, the more specific I get, the more limiting it also gets. Even if I discover a command that does what I want, I can't see a way to do so without in some manner removing free will."
She huffs and stares out the window to the setting sun. "Not to mention, the 'or' command will automatically go for the result that would happen sooner with what you said. I thought before that it was simply based on what outcome was realistically more likely, but I guess I was wrong."
Ryuk hums. "Appears so."
"Oh, shut up! Dog piling on me isn't that helpful." She glowers at him. Feeling back to square one, Sayu realizes there's no changing it. She calms and looks at Ryuk curiously. "So, what was the other distance between us? When using the notes?"
"Oh!" Ryuk's laugh remains as he looms nearby. "It's our eyes." He says, red eyes almost glowing on her. "Our eyes are different. We Shinigami can see a person's remaining life span and name floating above their heads. We can tell instantly how long a person has to live." He chuckles at her flabbergasted look. "I could convert it into human time and tell you exactly how long you have, but of course I won't do that."
"But, it is possible for you to obtain the eyes of a Shinigami.." He trails off. "All you must do is strike a deal with your note's original owner, yours truly. You will be granted the capability of seeing any person's name and life span for the remainder of your life... for a price."
Sayu gulps, shaking lightly. "See... a person's name and life span..?" She wonders immediately. Knowing names would negate the biggest weakness of the notebook! Knowing people's lifespans would also allow her a greater deal of testing the notebook's capabilities. Whether she could even extend someone's life, even... The possibilities... "What's... What's the price?"
"The price for a Shinigami's eyes... is half your remaining life." Ryuk states dramatically, laughing. "In other words, if you have forty years left to live, you would only live twenty... That's all."
She blinks once... twice...
The pause between them lasts for a full minute. Slowly, a frown pulling at the girl's face.
"Oh." Sayu grumbles. "Is that so? That's out of the question." She sighs, unsatisfied. The god perks, shocked at the response. "I'm not testing the Death Note to further my ability to kill or any kind of nonsense. I'm trying to find a way to save life, not cut it short." She then grumbles to herself. "And for now, that includes my own." She then speaks directly to the god. "Did you really think I would jump at the chance to do that? That'd be stupid."
Ryuk flinches back. "A-ah, no. I just thought you should know about the deal is all." Huh... weeks ago, the girl would flinch and shy away. Hell, she still does. But when angered or at a breaking point, she doesn't mind giving as good as she gets it seems.
He then realizes what she said and chimes back in. "So, if the 'or' wording won't work for you, what's your next idea? Something creative, I'm sure."
Sayu stares up at the ceiling. "... I dunno... But when I think of something fitting, I'll let you know." She then reluctantly gives in to an idea she didn't like. "I think... I'll have to rethink the whole thing about only using criminals I can see the results for..." She grimaces as the idea comes to her. "Prisons... I can use life sentence inmates to test different command combinations. I'll have to use Dad's computer to access the results probably, but... I can't risk my friends around these people like today."
. . .
A power to kill without being present.
That's the only explanation, but... could such a thing even exist?
He can't be certain, but if this pattern continues, then he'll have to act.
Light watches the sun set out his window, a determination set.
"If there's someone killing criminals out there, it may not be the worst thing in the world... However, any person with such a power unchecked is a disaster waiting to happen." He muses to himself. "Going to Dad won't work just yet. Unfortunately, beginning with so little to go on won't be enough for the police to agree."
The boy stares to the horizon, nodding.
"I'll have to be vigilant. More importantly..."
"I need to know how these killings are performed as well."
And we have our third chapter! Light is on the hunt for his sister unknowingly. The odds of such a thing living in the next room obviously puts off a realization like that. Also, Sayu is honing in on more intricate commands the note could be capable of performing.
For those unaware, Nusumi is the man that Light kills in canon to prove to Ray Penber that he's Kira. The manager that was sweeping outside the store that dies suddenly of a heart attack when Light is proving his power.
Come next time, hopefully not too long from now, in chapter four: If Cause Is Stated.