The next day was a Sunday, so there were no school hours to work around. This allowed Soichiro to take Light with him when he drove into work.

"So, son," said Soichiro, breaking the silence that had filled the car for too long. Sometimes he wished he knew what was preoccupying Lights so much; the boy was much too quiet lately, it was really beginning to worry him. "What do you know about the case so far?"

"Just that between ten to twenty people are dying each day," replied Light, narrowing his eyes in concentration. Soichiro had to admit that no matter how attractive his son might be, when he made those expressions he was pretty intimidating; this actually may explain why he had practically no close friends despite being so popular. "And they all had criminal records and they all died from cardiac arrest."

"You gleaned all that from watching the news?" asked Soichiro, impressed. At Light's nod, he continued. "Well, we don't have much more information on the Kira killings besides they're committed during the afternoon, always after 3:30pm. Kira has also killed some of our officers that spoke out against him."

"Wait, I haven't heard anything about those murders," said Light, confused.

"Because they were suicides," stated Soichiro, leaving Light even more confused than before.

"Then how do you figure that is Kira's handy work?" asked Light, his mind trying to process this unusual and confusing puzzle.

"L noticed that Kira used several of the victims to send us a message, taunting us," explained Soichiro, barely managed to suppress a shutter as he recalled the horror he witnessed two days ago. "We watched as one of our own bludgeon herself with a paperweight while writing the first part of the message. We still have no explanation for this occurrence?"

"Did you check their system for drugs?" asked Light, already knowing the answer, but wanting to get confirmation anyways. "Particularly ones that could potentially cause cardiac arrest or mood disorders?"

"Of course, we did," replied Soichiro, pulling into the station's parking lot. "The results all came back clean. But there was something else that we noticed that was strange; at the scene of a majority of the murders there were recently eaten apples that were absolutely clear of any DNA traces."

"That is strange," admitted Light, drawing his brows together in concentration. "So the killer may like apples assuming those are his. He was likely at the scene of the crime then; did you check all the security footage."

"Yes," answered Soichiro. "We found nothing."

Well, thought Light, annoyed. It almost sounds as though our culprit is a ghost.

"Well, according to the suicides plus the lack of drugs…" began Light, deciding to skip over the apple core theory for now.

"This suspect must be extremely charismatic or possess some sort of mind altering ability," deduced Light, his eyes scrunching close in concentration. "Or he could be influential enough to get his hands on some serious blackmail material," Light paused briefly, caught up in a heavy train of thought. "Which is strange. Since, due to the hours the killings take place, he sounds like he is a student. Well, either that or an adult that works some very unusual hours."

"That's interesting. Those ideas sounds very plausible," replied Soichiro, proudly. "Admittedly that still leaves us with a very vague profile of our suspect."

Still Soichiro had to admit this was a better profile of the killer than they already had; he'd be sure to add Light ideas to it. When he and Light entered the building he noticed that his son had become oddly withdrawn. He hoped Light hadn't taken his criticisms too harshly especially since they had very little to do with him. He was only being honest in regards to the case; it was difficult and they didn't have much to go on.

As the two walked the main office, they were greeted by some of the police members on Soichiro's team.

"Morning, Chief," greeted one member, enthusiastically and very, very loudly. "Is this your son, Light?"

"Yes, he is," stated Soichiro, before rolling his eyes as Touta Matsuda hopped over his desk to greet them.

"So you're Light Yagami. It's good to finally meet you," exclaimed Matsuda, shaking Light's hand energetically. "I hear that you and Misa Amane are very close."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Touta Matsuda," said Light, reading the man's name tag as he returned pleasantries with false cheer. "And yes, Misa and I are… close."

Light didn't mean to hesitate, but his relationship with Misa was difficult to say the least. He knew she was beautiful, but try as he might he just didn't find her attractive. He often worried about when she may start requesting their relationship to become more… intimate; the complications that would arise if a certain piece of anatomy didn't rise to the occasion.

"Do you think you could perhaps introduce me to her?" asked Matsuda, entering fan-boy mode.

"I'll ask her about it," agreed Light with a smile that was feeling more forced by the second. How on earth was Matsuda so up-beat? Light was almost jealous.

Soichiro had begun to wander off towards his office during this exchange. Light hurriedly followed.

"So, Dad, what are the tasks for today?" Light asked, entering his father's office before shrugging off his coat.

"Well, mostly, all we can do is try to trace the Kira killings and-"

Soichiro's laptop began making noise, a notification that someone was trying to reach him.

"It's a video transmission from L," muttered Soichiro, realizing his bad timing. "Light, this is very important and top secret. I need you go away for now, I'll text you on you cellphone when to come back."

Feeling disappointed Light sighed, but still obliged, grabbing his coat and swiftly leaving. He had then spent the entire morning walking around the city aimlessly, waiting for his father to contact him. By the time noon hit, Light's stomach reminded him of how he had skipped both dinner and breakfast respectively and decide to go find a place to get lunch. Finding a nice little café, he ordered a sandwich and sat down to eat.

About half-way through his meal, the television screen caught his attention. It was an emergency broadcast; did it have to do with the Kira murder, wondered Light.

"Good evening," announced the man occupying the screen. "Or perhaps it is 'Good morning' to you. As this is a worldwide broadcast from Interpol, I believe it that would vary as to where you may be watching from."

"I am Lind L. Tailor," continued the man as his name flashed on the screen. "L might be easier for you."

Wait, was this the same L that had contacted his father earlier today? Light wondered, his interest pique and the rest of his sandwich now forgotten.

"I believe everyone is aware of this, but a case had erupted in which criminals have become the target of a serial killer," explained Tailor. "This is leading to mass murder on a scale never before seen throughout history."

"No matter what means that he is using, we must take measures against this terrible, monstrous crime!" continued Tailor, ranting aggressively almost. Light was beginning to grow suspicious of this man; something seemed off, the man appeared to be more scared than determined. "To perpetrator of this crime, known under the alias of Kira: I will arrest you! This I do so formally declare! Kira! As for your motive in all of this, I can easily see through it. But what you are doing is evil."

"Be sure of this: I will send you to your execution," Tailor continued to rant. Light was beginning to question this man's sanity; was he trying goad Kira into attacking him, hadn't read the case files. Pulling a stunt like this was suicide, literally. "All of the world's police forces are coming together for this investigation! The whole world is coming together, and we are certain to find you! We will see an end to your genocidal spree! We will restore society to…"

Suddenly, Lind L. Tailor's rant ceased as he began gasping in pain. It appeared as though he might be experiencing cardiac arrest. It seemed as though Kira had gone for his more typical form of attack. Watching this happen on the screen, Light felt horrified, but not surprised.

Just then, the screen went black and a white, calligraphy style 'L' appeared. 'What the hell?' mouthed Light, watching the screen even more intensely than before.

"Splendid, Kira," mockingly congratulated a disembodied voice. "Without laying a hand on someone directly, you're still able to kill them. But the man you have just killed, Lind L. Tailor, was in fact a criminal scheduled for execution. This man's arrest and his verdict were withheld from the media. Even someone like Kira could not have known of him, in other words."

So this was the real L and the other was a decoy. This was getting interesting, thought Light. This L fellow is trying to determine Kira means of attack. Though given the evidence so far it appeared to involve something in the realms of the supernatural. Admittedly, Light wasn't normally someone who readily believed in myths, but when there weren't any other viable solutions you picked the most likely and test it out.

"Now show us. Try and kill me if you can," taunted L. "Why do you hesitate? Come. Don't be shy. Kill me. I know you're there. You can't do it, can you? Kira. In other words, there are those who Kira cannot kill. This is quite the valuable clue."

During the last few sentences, L seemed to be talking more to himself than anyone else. It was unnerving in a way.

"I'll tell you this in thanks for the clue," continued L, and even though Light couldn't see his face he could swear he was grinning triumphantly. "The broadcast just now was said to be worldwide, but actually, it was only broadcast in the Kanto Region of Japan."

Light's eyes widened. He was now officially impressed by L's little trick. The clever bastard had narrowed down Kira's location by broadcasting something apparently 'worldwide' with probably a time delay to be shown in different areas at different times and then waiting to see when Kira would react.

Light then noticed that his sandwich had disappeared. He had been so engrossed by the news that hadn't noticed a tiny, black cat stealing his food. Looking under the table, Light spotted the little guy, or girl, working their way through the last quarter. The cat had a bandage on her right paw, so it probably had an owner or something.

"You're a hungry little fella," said Light, smiling at the cute little creature. When the cat noticed Light, the creature looked as though he was ready to bolt.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm not mad," continued Light calmly reaching down to rub the cat's ears. "Go ahead. Eat my lunch, little thief. You'll probably enjoy it more than I would have anyway."

Hearing his phone ding, Light emerged out from under the table, giggling a little. Checking his cell-phone he saw the message was from his father; he wanted him to head back home, he was no longer needed on the case.

Light could feel tears welling behind his eyes threatening to fall. Wiping at his face, Light walked back home with the feeling of shame and worthlessness weighing on him.