After leaving locker-rooms Light immediately checked his phone; Sayu seemed to be in Shibuya's shopping district; likely hanging out with her friends. Still he called Sayu's cell-phone to make sure she was safe. He began to panic when his little sister didn't pick up right away; it took several rings before she answered.
"What's up, Light?" greeted Sayu, cheerfully; Light could hear her friends giggling in the background. She probably had him on speaker phone; actually considering the headache that was beginning to form behind his temples, he decided to do the same thing.
"Nothing really, just checking up on you," replied Light, stopping under the shade of a sycamore tree. "Have you encounter anyone who was acting strangely? Or who simply made you feel uncomfortable?"
"Well, no one immediately comes to mind… Oh, there was that student 'Hideki Ryuga'," replied Sayu, laughing; Light was almost certain that she was using the air quotes gesture. "He was quite strange. I met him after the entrance ceremony; he seemed lonely, so I gave him a hug and talked with him for a bit."
"That's all?" asked Light, relieved. And a little embarrassed; realizing only now that he was acting way too anxious to be considered normal. "Well, that explains why I could smell your perfume on him."
"Wait! You sniffed him? What were you two doing?!" asked Sayu, shocked. "Actually, hold for a sec," there was a pause as she checked an app on her phone. "And why you are leaving the To-Oh campus just now?"
"'Ryuuga-san' and I had a tennis match," explained Light, feeling even more embarrassed than before, but for different reasons. "He won. Apparently, he was once junior champion back in England."
"He was?" asked Sayu, so perplexed that Light had to stifle laugh. "Looking the way he does, I wouldn't have thought… Are you sure?"
"That's what he told me so… no; I'm not sure," replied Light, grinning when Sayu laughed. "But he is pretty talented both academically and athletically."
"So do like him? Are you two like… yaoi?" asked Sayu suddenly, causing Light to choke. "Because I'm like totally cool with that as long as you're happy. So are you uke or se-"
"Bye, Sayu," interrupted Light, as he ended the call. His face begun to heat up with embarrassment.
Pinching the bridge of his nose in mild irritation, Light was about to resume walking when suddenly someone grabbed his arm. Turning around he saw L perched precariously on a park bench.
"Hmm… So that fit you threw was all due to perfume and being an overprotective brother. Interesting," said L, with a thoughtful look. Light suddenly click into how bizarre behaviour was. This wouldn't be the first time his better than average senses and quick reflexes had gotten him in trouble; there was a reason he had considered quitting tennis back in junior high. "So Light-kun, are we friends?"
"Yeah, sure," answered Light, casually. He speculated that L wanted to question him, so he may as well take some semblance of control while it was still an option. "But before you proceed in questioning me, can you arrange for someone I know that's on the task force to confirm your identity?"
"Yes, I can," replied L, as he contacted headquarters on his cell-phone.
"What's the situation, Ryuzaki?" asked Aizawa, frowning in concern; it has only been eleven minutes, since his last report. What could have happened in that amount of time?
"Can you put Yonjuro Asahi on the phone?" requested L, ignoring Aizawa's question. There was a series of muffled mutterings before Soichiro's voice came over the phone.
"What's going on, Ryuzaki?"
"I need you to explain a few things for Light-kun here," replied L, as he watched Light waiting patiently.
"What the hell kind of game are you playing at?" asked Soichiro, his voice was noticeably distorted with anger. As stubborn as the chief may be on his values and ideas of justice, he was very much a papa wolf; L actually felt sympathetic towards the man, since his son was likely Kira.
"I'm handing the phone over now," warned L, as he gave his cell-phone over to Light.
"Light?" asked Soichiro, when Light didn't say anything immediately. Hearing his father's voice had eased Light's remaining fear; this alone confirmed L's claims.
"Hi, Dad," greeted Light, feeling a load of tension leave the muscles in his shoulders. "So the 'Ryuuga-san' here is really L."
"Yes, he is," confirmed Soichiro, before gently requesting his son's co-operation. "L will likely want to ask you some questions. Please, be forthcoming and honest with your answers."
"I will. Thanks, Dad. Bye," replied Light, hanging up and giving L his phone back. "Do want to go get a coffee together?"
"I don't like coffee," argued L, noting how Light's eyes briefly gleamed red. Frown deepening in concentration, L remembered Beyond Birthday's claims of possessing shinigami eyes; they were red. And then there were the Kira suicide notes that mentioned shinigamis in a hidden message; they love apples and Light's room was almost constantly littered with pieces of apple.
Frustrated, Light wondered if L was being difficult on purpose while he was forced to be co-operative if he wanted to prove his innocent.
"Really? I'd thought a guy like you would thrive off it," teased Light, indicating the dark under-eye circles. "Well, I'm sure any café would have a variety of beverages to order from. Come on."
L had then hopped off the bench and began walking beside him. Light decided to head towards his favorite coffee shop in Aoyama.
"So why do you and your sister have trackers on one other?" asked L, a genuine hint of curiosity entering his tone.
"Well, that's sort of difficult question to answer," muttered Light, feeling overwhelmed.
"Try," requested L, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder. Light briefly wondered if he was being that obvious.
"Alright…"
Flashback; Three and a Half Months Ago
Light had just gotten home from school and was getting ready for cram school. Heading downstairs he came across his mother and sister watching the news. He was absent-mindedly listening in.
"The same assailant who had attacked six people at a busy shopping district in Shibuya yesterday has struck again," announced a reporter, standing in front of a nearby day-care centre. "Taking ten people hostage at this day-care centre; his captives include both children and teachers along with two police officers. The police have now identified the suspect as forty-two year old, Kuro Otoharada, currently unemployed."
Light remembered his father mentioning that he was going to that same day-care for a short educational demonstration. And judging by Sachiko and Sayu's expressions they remembered that conversation as well. Light could feel his chest tighten with anxiety as he sat down next to Sayu. His father had been the one to arrest Otoharada ten years prior, so Soichiro life was at greater risk than anyone else's.
Coming to a decision Light opened his phone and connected to the internet. He searched up the Kira webpage that the vigilante was known to be frequenting this week. He typed 'Kuro Otoharada, channel 4 news now' into a suggestion box.
"Wait, we're seeing something here; looks like there's movement at the front doors," said the news reporter, as the footage revealed several children and adults exiting the building. "The hostages are coming out and they all look to be alive," the camera panned over the former hostages as the last of them left the building and Light felt Sayu hug him tightly when their father's face was shown amongst them. "The special forces are now moving in. We don't know yet if the suspect has been arrested. Huh, yeah… okay, we now have confirmation. The suspect has been found dead inside. I repeat, the suspect is now dead. The special forces are denying any involvement. Is this the work of Kira? Statements from hostages say that the assailant just collapsed."
Light just sat there numb for several moments; it wasn't Kira he was thinking about. He didn't like the idea of using Kira, but he was glad to have his father still alive. He could have died today. But what if this happened again? What if it was his mother or Sayu in that position?
"Light. Light! LIGHT!" called Sachiko, trying to get Light's attention. Really, as brilliant he was, that kid was always zoning out, thought Sachiko. "If you don't leave now, you're going to be late for cram school."
"Of course," said Light, disentangling himself from Sayu's embrace. "Sorry Mom."
"No worries, it's completely understandable," said Sachiko, as she walked Light to the front door. "Are you alright?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" asked Light, rhetorically as he forced a smile on his face.
Before his mother could reply, Light had already started walking away. During the entire trip to cram school, Light couldn't get his thoughts off how he may have participated in murder. Even when he was sitting in the classroom listening to the teacher his thoughts were still on it.
There was a brief break after the practice exams so they could be marked. During that time a commotion between Ryo and Sudou had occurred. No one really paid attention to it; everyone knew Sudou was a bully and that his current target for the past few weeks had been Ryo.
Honestly, what is wrong with people like Sudou? They're not really any different than men like Otoharada, thought Light. Hurting and threatening people for little to no reason or reward. Even if they get away with it how can handle something like that on their conscience?
There so many rotten people in this world and there's nothing anyone can do about it, thought Light. Except for Kira.
Light knew that he who hunts monsters risks becoming one, but this seemed to be a monster people could use as protection. Self-defense is legally and morally okay if there is no other option. But Light also knew he should never use a site like that again because it isn't right to wish for someone's death especially when it comes true; it's just that he had been so scared.
Getting back the results back from the practice test he saw that he had gotten perfect. With class now over, Light left the building. He was about to head home when a thought came to mind; he was worried about his family being in a dangerous situation, so why doesn't he take some precautious measures.
Light goes into an electronic shop and purchases a set of three trackers; his part-time job with Trevi allowed him to purchase them with his own money. It may seem like an unusual purchase, but knowledge is power and preparation is survival. A person may not plan on getting kidnapped, lost, or incapacitated in which other people don't know your location, but it doesn't hurt to be ready for a worst case scenario. Light knew it would be difficult convince his parents of the merits of this idea and that it definitely seemed to be an over the top reaction to the current situation. Finally after getting home he was greeted by his mother.
"I wasn't expecting you home so early," said Sachiko, surprised. She became worried over this change in behaviour considering what happened earlier. "Are you sure that you are alright? Do you need to talk?"
"Oh, no, I'm fine," answered Light, and before he could head upstairs his mother held out her hands expectantly. It took a few moments for him to understand her request.
"Oh… the results of the nation-wide exams," said Light, as he rummaged around knapsack for the paper with his results. "Here."
"Goodness, number one again," said Sachiko, beaming proudly. "This is your highest score yet."
"Yeah, I guess," replied Light, feeling uncomfortable about his unusual purchase; he had to keep a perfect façade up and doing something this paranoid would definitely sully that image. Why did his mother have to look so proud of him? He didn't really feel like he deserved it; then again may his mother didn't think so either. She was always reaching for his results, never for him as a person. "I'm going to go upstairs and study. Okay?"
"As you wish, dear," replied Sachiko, flashing him a concerned smile. "If you need anything, just let me know."
Light ignored the rest of his mother's statement and closed the door to his bedroom. Locking it, he immediately dumped the contents of his bag onto his bed. Gathering his texts he headed toward his desk. He was less than five minutes into reading the chapter twenty of his English literature textbook when he heard someone fiddling with the door handle before knocking. Judging by the enthusiasm it was probably Sayu.
"Hey, Light," greeted Sayu, smiling when he opened the door. "Why's your door lock?"
"No reason," replied Light, before asking. "What do you need help with this time?"
"Quadratic equations," answered Sayu. Light knew she was smart enough to do this sort of stuff by herself; he was beginning to suspect this was a ploy to get him to do her homework for her. Not that he minded, since she seemed to legitimately enjoy spending time with him. "Sorry to interrupt. I know you are studying right now, but I'm like the only one in my class who doesn't get this stuff. Thanks so much for doing this."
"No problem," replied Light, as looked over his sister's homework.
"Um… Light what is this?" asked Sayu, picking up his most recent purchase.
"Nothing," muttered Light; embarrassed by his earlier paranoia. "An impulsive buy."
"You. Impulsive," teased Sayu, with mock shock before reading the package. "These are trackers."
"I was thinking better safe than sorry," explained Light. "This may be a bit excessive."
"I don't think so," replied Sayu, honestly. "Are you going to wear one?"
"That was the plan," answered Light, relaxing as Sayu validated his feelings. "One for Mom, one for you, and one for me; I don't think Dad would be allowed to have one on him at work. I just need to install to app and we're good to go."
"Hey, you know I believe these are small enough to woven into friendship bracelets," said Sayu, excitedly. "Forget the homework for now let's do this. I'll do the ones for you and Mom and you do the one for me."
"What if they don't agree? What if they think I'm being paranoid and stupid? I know I'm acting crazy, but truthfully, I'm scared" said Light, panicking. "And I can't say anything about; I don't think I could live if they were ever to be disappointed in me."
"Do you honestly think our parents could ever reject you? Or criticize you for how you feel?" asked Sayu, when Light didn't answer her gaze turned sympathetic. "I'll tell them it was my idea."
Light gave his sister a small, but genuine smile. He and Sayu had then spent the rest of the night on their little project. To be able to fit the tracker inside it took making a total of six bracelets per person and sewing them together; three on top, three underneath and a tracker in between. Light had to admit he liked the colours Sayu had made his bracelet; red and pink.
So with all the equipment setup and ready to go, it was still a few days later before Sayu mentioned 'her idea' to their mother. Sachiko had been surprisingly receptive to the idea, even if it was mildly insane.
End Flashback
Light had explained these events to L while omitting sort key elements. He didn't mention using the Kira website; not that it mattered, it was likely Kira would've killed Otoharada without his interference. Nor did he say anything about his thoughts or insecurities at the time; as far as anyone knew the tracking bracelets were Sayu's idea.
"What an interesting family activity," said L, after a few moments of deliberation. "Are you and your sister close, Light-kun?"
"Yeah. I think so," replied Light, as he opened the café door for L; it was so strange that a guy capable of athletics, such as tennis, to be walking around hunched over like an old man, thought Light. Was it some sort of ploy? "Why do you asked?"
"I want to know how much I can trust her opinion of you," answered L, bluntly. "Would she be willing to lie for you?"
"Perhaps," replied Light, shrugging nonchalantly, even though he knew for a fact that Sayu had been known to lie both to him and for him. "She's a very honest person for the most part."
Sitting in a booth by the window L and Light took their orders; Light decided on coffee, and L had lemon tea with twelve sugars and a slice of strawberry shortcake. Light raised a questioning eyebrow at his new friend's sense of taste; how did this guy not have diabetes or some other sort of health problem?
"If you can prove to me that you're not Kira then I'd like to have you on the investigation team," said L, stacking several unused cream containers. Light was so overjoyed by L's offer, but was too skeptical to respond. A couple of minutes passed in complete silence before L continued. "Would you mind submitting yourself to a test of your deductive reasoning skills?"
"Sure, why not?" responded Light, excited over being able to prove himself to the world famous detective. "Let's do it."
"Alright, then we can begin by looking at these," explained L, as he laid three photos on the table. "Photographs of three notes written by prison inmates while under Kira's control prior to their deaths; none of this information has been made public. You can take as long as you like to look these over then tell me what you think."
As Light looked over each photo, L watched him with a certain level of intensity; it was kind of distracting. Pushing his feelings aside, Light studied the photos knowing that there had to be something there if L was testing him. He decided to flip the photos over to look at the print number; this will at least give him a chronological order to work from.
He flipped the photos over again, so he could evaluate the messages on the front. Light then noticed something unusual when he lined the messages side by side; L, do you know? Love Apples, Gods of Death. That doesn't sound correct. If he just swapped two of the photos, he'd have a more cohesive statement; L, do you know? Gods of Death love apples. But why was it written out of chronological order.
"That is incorrect," said L, making Light realize he had been vocalizing his thoughts; how could a person who was accusing him of being a murderer make him feel so relaxed. "There are actually four photographs. When we add this one, it reads, 'L, do you know? Gods of Death who love apples have red hands'."
"That's not correct," replied Light, puzzled. His analysis wasn't entirely wrong, since he was correct about the chronological order being wrong; he just didn't deduce that there was a fourth photo. But there was a bigger issue to address. "There is no 'who' in that statement. It reads 'L, do you know? Gods of Death love apples have red hands'. This would indicate that Kira has the grammatical skills of a caveman."
It felt as though L's gaze was dissecting him as he looked at him with an ever deepening frown marring his pale face. Light looked down at his cup of coffee, so he didn't have to meet L's gaze. L was actually baffled that this teenager had seen and pointed out the errors in his gambit without somehow revealing himself to be Kira; there was no denying that Yagami-san's son was sharp.
"I apologize if my answer was not to your standards," replied Light, after the silence had dragged on too long. "I hope that you won't rescind you offer of having me join the task force."
"Why?" asked L, abruptly.
"Why what?" asked Light, tilting his head in confusion.
"Why do you want join the task force so badly?" clarified L. He was curious about what Light would say about his motivations; it's a very strange thing want after all.
"My Dad's on the task force," replied Light, as though that explained everything.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"I look up to him and I want him to be proud of me. Assisting him in catching Kira will do that," explained Light. It was the truth, helping his father catch dangerous criminals made him feel useful, but it would never last; as soon as the job was done he'd sink right back into the feelings of endless sadness and utter worthlessness. That and whenever he wasn't on a case with his father he found himself constantly worrying about his safety. "Also if I'm on the team I can look after him; he has a tendency of neglecting his own health when working difficult cases."
L was finding it difficult to find the connection between Light and Kira. It was like putting together a puzzle that had half the pieces replaced with a different puzzle that had the same colour scheme. Light fit parts of the description very well, but other parts had to be jabbed in haphazardly. He was intelligent enough to go toe to toe with L in an educational setting. He was very charismatic with the ladies. And considering his relationship history he was very immature and possibly narcissistic, since the longest relationship he had besides Misa was one week.
Then there were the pieces that refused to fit, no matter how L positioned them. Light was much more patient and calm than Kira seemed to be. He really only acted rashly when he was being an overprotective brother. He also seemed to legitimately love his family and seems to worry about their safety. But was it all an act to fool the task force; was Kira really such a good actor. Then again, there was the camera footage that had shown Light to burst into crying fits when alone; was a guilty conscience eating away at him. But would Kira even be capable of feelings such as guilt.
Why were there so many contradictions when it came to Light? thought L, frustrated. There were only four people who could be Kira based on Raye Penber's death. Light was the most likely of them. He was a student, he had connections with the Japanese police, and he had a similar personality and skill set as Kira. Also Penber was investigating Light at the time.
"You've been having nightmares," stated L, finding a new line of questioning that may subconsciously reveal something. "What have they been about?"
Light remained silent. He didn't understand why L would want to know this; was he trying to look for answers in his subconscious. And- Wait…
"How do you know about my sleeping habits?" asked Light, feeling disturbed.
"Well, you've been sleepwalking lately," continued L, expanding upon his first inquiry. "Last night you were running throughout the Shibuya neighborhood in your underwear. I believe they were black boxer briefs. And you also said something about chasing pandas."
"Oh, fuck," groaned Light, feeling his face heat up with embarrassment.
"So, you can see why I'm curious?" asked L, smirking. "Can you please explain?"
"I don't see the point, but fine, I'll tell you about it," replied Light, trying to sound indifferent. "I was fleeing a monster when came across a panda. He then proceeded to dragged me to Los Angeles where I met Mello and Matt, who were discussing BB and the Necronicon. And this-"
"Wait," interrupted L, feeling perplexed. "How do you know Matt, Mello and BB?"
"They were characters in my dream," replied Light, uncertainly. He was rather confused by L's question. "If I've met them before at some point, then I don't remember them."
L took a moment to silently evaluate Light's words, actions, and appearance. He was beginning to think that Light may be a supernatural being of some sort. L himself was a vampire; it's what happens when humans mate with creatures of death; his twin brother, Beyond Birthday, knew more about it than he did though. Apparently, BB had met their deadbeat dad at some point and believed him to be a shinigami.
So as L followed this line of thought he noticed that Light had very unusual looking eyes; they seemed to change colours with his mood, so that when he was happy they were amber, sad was brown, and angry or distressed was red. BB had red eyes; L mentally berated himself for thinking that, it had no bearing on this case. Light also had very light brown hair with a reddish tinge in a stark contrast to the rest of his family who had very dark coloured hair; actually, he bared a very minimal resemblance to his other family members, though he may have his father's dimples. Was he a changeling? If so he may possess the gift of premonitions. L could use him to find the runaway children from Wammy House; Mello and Matt were both very brilliant and that could be very dangerous when left unattended.
"Do you know where in LA they were located?" asked L, a determined expression on his face.
Light thought this was strange; a dream is a dream, nothing else. Unless there was something locked in his subconscious that L had found. Was it possible that Light could be Kira without knowing it? Like Jackal and Hyde.
"895 Clydown Avenue," answered Light, recalling that tidbit of information effortlessly. Light then watched as L began typing on his phone. Why is he doing that? What profound meaning does 895 Clydown Avenue have?
L was typing a message to Misora, which read, 'Check out 895 Clydown Ave, LA. Mello and Matt may be there. Also look into the BB situation'. After he was finished with his messaging he looked up and saw that Light was watching him with a questioning look in his eyes.
"I guess this concludes our interrogation for the time being. I'll be in touch with you," said L, hopping to his feet and getting ready to leave when Light grabbed his hand, bringing him to a halt. "What is it, Light-kun?"
"Well, I was wondering if you were serious about being friends?" asked Light, hesitantly. He wanted to get more time with L, so that he could do more to prove his innocence. Light had a bad feeling that L had just made an assumption about him that raised his chances of being Kira. "'Cause I was wondering if you'd like to join me and my sister for supper? I'm making a chicken stir-fry."
"Huh, why not?" replied L, as he and Light exited the café; it was just beginning to get dark. "I'm supposed to continue watching you for the next four hours anyway."