(L's POV)

I spend my entire career planning for just about every crisis imaginable - up to and including alien invasion - then this happens. So much for thinking outside the bloody box. But how am I alive? Why couldn't Kira kill me that time? Does his effect only work on criminals? No, even if that were the case I'd still be dead. Perhaps he kept me alive on purpose? No, too big a risk. He must have the same limitations as Light Yagami, if not very similar ones. I'm certain, whoever Kira is, they must by now know about Death Note, and since they're continuing to kill they must have taken Light's side. Now here's the really hard bit: How do I tell over a hundred super-serious police officers that the killer we're after is based off an anime character?

'Okay people,' I begin, 'The only way we're going to track down Kira is if we put every gram of effort into it. Now have you done as I asked?'

'Yes master.' I hear from a large, native-looking man.

'Oh dear god Moorga have some pride!' Exclaims chief Blackheart.

'Specifically, we know that everyone is calling the murderer Kira, people have called in saying that they know Kira and one guy called in saying that he was Kira!'

'Hmm, okay, what else?'

Agent Mungalo is the next to speak up. 'As for the time of death, which L was particularly interested in finding out, 98% of the victims died between 4PM and 2AM local time, with most deaths occurring between 8PM and midnight. On weekends this appears much more spread out.'

Dammit his outback accent is so addictive.

'What I can tell from this is that Kira is a student, probably in High School. As stated before, he lives somewhere in Sydney and is rather intelligent. And he's probably quite an asshole. And a dangerous one at that.'

'Is that all we know?'

The man who says this appears young, with black hair and brown eyes. His hair hangs over his ears with bangs that hang primarily above his left eye. He also seems a lot shorter than most of the other agents in the room. But before I can finish this internal monologue I hear three words resonate from around the room.

'SHUT UP OKADA!'

'…Who is that?'

Standing up, the man replies.

'Yatsuk Okada, from Hokkaido, Japan.'

'Okada was a student in Sapporo but his unprecedented talent promoted him into this case.'

'... We may stand on the brink of Armageddon, but at least we have an irritating student on our side. How reassuring. In any case, there's one other thing I know for a fact about Kira, and some of you may have figured it out already.'

'And what would that be, L?' Quite a few people ask different variations of the same question at once.

'I am not sure how to say this, but I think the world is being held hostage… by an anime character.'

About a second passes, and then the room bursts into laughter.

'I'm being serious! Well, not exactly. You see, I am almost completely certain that Kira is heavily inspired by, and is basing his entire crusade around that of, the protagonist of a certain anime and manga series called Death Note. Who here has heard of it?'

Less than five hands shoot up from around the room.

'Well, to cut a long story short, it's a Japan-ified version of the scenario that is unfolding in front of us like clockwork. Even the name "Kira" comes from the series, as does mine, "L".'

'So we know that Kira is a fan of this "Death Note", but how does that help us?'

'… At this point, I'm not sure. Well, does anyone have anything else they want to say before we finish up for today?'

'Umm, sir…'

'Please don't call me "sir", it makes me feel old.'

'Umm, L…'

'Yes, Okada?'

'This is in no way meant to give credit to Kira, but in the last few days, violent crime rates around the world and especially in Australia have plummeted.'

'SHUT UP OKADA!'

(Lauren's POV)

I can hear dad's car entering the driveway. He's probably picked up dinner with him on the way home. I pause the episode I was watching on my laptop and close the lid. I quietly walk out of my room (which consists of little more than a white bunkbed, a desk, a bookshelf and a dresser) and down the stairs just as my brother opens the door.

'Hey dad, welcome home.'

'Thanks. On the way back I brought Pizza, so can you two set the table?'

As the two of us do as we are told, I can't help but think of back when mum would do it for us. I always offered to help her out, but she consistently did it all on her own, among so many other things. And I can only imagine how Tom feels. I think I even recall him saying he'd give up half his limbs just to see mum's smile again. Well, we've both grown up a little since then, so it's not that bad. Over the last year-and-a-bit I have become very fluent in filling mum's shoes around the house, but Tom, well… the last time he tried to do the laundry, the whole machine burst into flames.

Placing the last bits of cutlery on the dining table, we sit down.

'How's school going, Lauren?'

'Hm? Same as usual, dad.'

'That bad, huh? And what about you, Tom?'

'You… sure you wanna know? I guess it's… same as usual for me too.'

Yeah, neither of us really fit in at Holt High School. Sometimes I even daydream of it being hit with an atomic warhead, but that'll never happen. Still, at least neither of us are being outright bullied or anything.

I finally give in to my overwhelming urge to ask my father the question that's been stuck in my head all day.

'So father how is the Kira investigation going?'

'Well, to say that this case is hard would be a severe understatement. It's practically a wild goose chase, and I don't think I'm alone among the team in my lack of confidence in this shady "L" person.'

So they still have no idea who Kira is. That's a relief. Of course, if my dad found out what I really think of Kira, I'd be a lot worse than dead. Of course, as much as I love Kira evading the investigation, they are the only way I can try to find out who he is, and hence the only way I can help him. I'm not sure how I could help him, though. I suppose I'll start worrying about that when I know what kind of person he is.

'I'm done.'

'What, already? … Wow, sis, you eat fast.'

'Yeah. And dad, I'll clean up my room myself so don't come inside.'

'You know I never clean your room. You've been doing it yourself for over a year now.'

'Yeah, sure, whatever.'

(Tom's POV)

As Lauren ascends up the stairs, I finish my last piece of Pizza and do the same. I'd say dinner was rather uneventful, except that I didn't know Lauren had any interest in the Kira case. Then again, she's an otaku so she probably knows Death Note. I wonder, what would she think if she knew what I knew? I assume she's against Kira since, you know, she's the chief's daughter and all, but then again, that same argument could lead one to falsely make the same conclusion regarding myself. Just to be safe, I'll ask her about it in private later.

Entering my room I immediately lock the door and start up my computer, using my thumbprint on a scanner so I don't have to type in a password.

Once everything's running I begin my call with India Atarashimono, who after the previous fuckup two days ago has agreed to immediately re-establish communications between the two of us, just as expected.

'Hello. I am T… curiosity always kills the cat, doesn't it?'

'I suppose this time around it has. But… how did you know?'

'First, let me ask, how much exactly did you see?'

'Here's what I know for certain. My brother has an invisible being he refers to as "Rugo" who apparently has been living with him for some time now, and he also has something called a "Death Note" that kills people, and also he's Kira.'

...

...

'I'm impressed, not just at how much you've found out, but also how calm you are about it all.'

'Oh, trust me, when I saw the floating chess pieces or the disappearing ice-cream I was anything but calm. So enough about what I've seen, tell me, how did you know that my brother was Kira?'

'Do you want me to start at the beginning, or…'

'Tell me everything, from the very beginning.'

'Well, it all started 13.8 billion years ago-'

'YOU KNOW WHAT I FUCKING MEAN DAMMIT!'

'... On October 24, your brother asked me to do two things for him. First and foremost, he requested that I make his laptop completely immune to all kinds of spying or tracking. Second, he requested that I make a voice scrambler for him that completely hides his true voice but still, and I quote, "sounds kinda hot". No matter how much I asked, he refused to tell me what it was for, despite carelessly giving all the details I requested during all his previous antics. So, out of curiosity, I placed a voice recorder and transmitter in the voice scrambler, so I could hear every word that came through it.

And then, just eight days after I finished it all for him, Kira suddenly appeared into the world. Coincidence? No, of course not. But the real shock came a few minutes after L made his first appearance and challenged Kira for the first time, when I heard this from the recorder hidden in the voice scrambler.' I press a single button on my keyboard to start the recording.

'Attention entire world! It is I, Kira, the one who has begun to eliminate the evils of this Earth! As you are mostly aware by now-' I pause the recording there, since we both know how it ends.

'That's Chris' voice.'

'I had no room in the scrambler to place a tracker, but from the voice it's certainly him. And after hearing him practice and recite his speech a few times, Kira made his first public appearance to the world mere hours after his confrontation with L. Still, I didn't know if Chris was Kira or merely his representative. But I'd say what you've seen pretty much settles it, after all I doubt Kira would bother having a babysitter for his Shinigami.'

'Shinigami? But that's just a myth!'

'And so are Kira and L.'

'… Huh?'

'You see, the concepts of Kira, L, Death Notes and the "invisible being" you mentioned all come from a single manga and anime series known as Death Note. Unfortunately, one cannot simply explain what Death Note is, you must read and watch it yourself to understand. I advise you at least begin doing so between now and our first face-to-face meeting. Your brother should have a copy of just about everything relating to it.'

'Wait, you want us to meet in person?'

'Yes. Since you are Kira's sister I think it would be most appropriate. There we will discuss what our next course of action will be.'

'I assume you'll set the time and place?'

'The abandoned warehouse just down the street from where you live. I'll inform you of the time tomorrow.'

'But what do we do about the Kira investigation?'

'For now, leave that to me. My father is a powerful figure in the investigation, and I can hack into his account without a trace to gain access to all police files, records, everything. Oh, and just one more thing before I end this call…'

'Yes?'

'When we're about to meet, please remember to arm yourself.'

'Huh? What do you-'

With that I end the call. There's no real reason Indy needs to be armed at our meeting, I just really want to know what weapons she uses. Such knowledge could come in handy in the future.

(Indy's POV)

Okay, shit. Like seriously, what the fuck? He makes it sound like it'll just be a calm meeting between myself and one or two other people, the suddenly comes out and says I should be armed? Is this some kind of trap? No, if that were the case he wouldn't say anything. Or perhaps he went on that assumption and tried to get a reverse-placebo effect to get me unarmed? Well one thing is for certain: It's undoubtedly a trap. But sometimes you just gotta roll the dice, and with enough firepower I'll be able to escape whatever T has set up for me.

First, what kind of combat should I expect? Close-range, long-range, melee, airborne? I suppose I'll need to prepare myself for anything. First, the firearm. An ordinary handgun may not do the trick, plus they can't carry much ammo, so I'll bring my old assault rifle, an AR-15 purchased straight from the Dark Web a few months back. Holding 30 rounds of 5.56x45 NATO ammunition, this thing has a maximum effective range of about 600 meters and is 30% more accurate than the more well-known AK-47, and it only weighs 8.8 pounds with a length of 39.5 inches. I pull the weapon out from under my bed.

This is, of course, a modified weapon. It will only recognize the palm-prints of myself or Chris, so it'll only fire if one of us pulls the trigger. And instead of normal ammunition I'll fill it up 30 smart bullets, bullets that actually follow a target unless said target's heat signature is that of someone I've programmed them to avoid, again this includes Chris and I. All of these settings are, of course, changeable, and I can deactivate their special ability and use them as regular bullets with the push of a button (said button being located on the rifle's underside).

Next, the sword. It's here that the Atarashimono family's samurai ancestry really helps. I immediately sprint into the hallway and grab a wooden box, and immediately sprint back to my room. Placing it on my bed I carefully open it and see what is inside: Tankukattā. The Katana that has been passed down through the Atarashimono family for generations. It is formed out of a unique alloy which is both lightweight and strong, strong enough to cut through even Steel or Titanium with ease. It has fought in and won many battles over the years, but it remains as strong and sharp as it was on the day it was forged. I can still see the seven virtues of Bushido engraved into it around the base.

Next, the combat knife. For that I'll just bring my Tanto. At this point I may be overthinking things, but it's always better to be prepared. Now what else, what else… oh, I'll definitely include a few nerve gas grenades, a few EMP grenades… and I suppose that's all I can easily carry without it slowing me down.

Now finally, what should I wear? Obviously I'll wear full bulletproof armor, which will protect everything except my arms and head. As for what I'll wear over my armor, my fashion sense is called "I am cold and pissed off". Also I'll wear those special shoes containing a poison blade which gives a poison-induced heart attack to anyone kicked with them. I suppose it's only fitting, since heart attacks are also how my brother kills.

… And that's everything I'll be wearing/carrying to T! About half came from the mafia, half from the Dark Web, and the remaining percentage from previous Atarashimono generations. If this doesn't deal with whatever he has planned, I don't know what will.

By the time I'm done putting everything together it's already really late, and I'm really tired. I can see the door to Chris' room is wide open, and Kira himself is already asleep. I should probably follow suite. You know, I'm so good at sleeping, I can even do it with my eyes closed!

But seriously, Chris, I promise you, I won't let anything happen to you for as long as I'm around.