CHAPTER 29

"Uh, B-san... where are we?..."

Takeo shifted uncomfortably, staring around a painfully plain room that the two currently shared. Only a lonely black chair sat in the middle of the empty room. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all white in contrast. It was a very strange room. A single light bulb flickered from the center of the ceiling, flakes of dust could be seen slowly circulating the room by the limited air currents the minimal ventilation provided. Silently, Takeo observed B as he wordlessly sat on the chair with one leg propped up, his arm resting on his leg and his hand pressing against his deathly ivory skin. His skin appeared to be almost translucent as the outline of his violet veins could be seen.

"It does not matter, Takeo-kun~" He eyed him with an amused yet malicious gaze. "What is most important to discuss is the existence of death gods. Or, as you know them by, Shinigamis."

He nodded eagerly, trying to ignore his pulsating heart beating out of control.

"Yes, it would be of great honour to know what information you have about t-them!" Takeo sputtered out.

"We are on the same page then," a creepy smile appeared on B's face. "You may or may not believe what I am going to tell you next, Takeo-kun."

"Please do."

B gestured for him to come closer, beckoning him with a single finger. He complied silently, wanting to know what information this mysterious figure may reveal.

"I have been in contact with the Shinigami. In fact, they even gave me something that is out of this world!~ Any guesses of what that may be?"

Takeo blinked a few times before stuttering, "U-um, some kind of power concerning with death?"

"Close. I was given the eye of a Shinigami," B continued to smile wider. "I am gifted with the vision of a death god."

"...does that entail that you can see when and where people will die?.." He hesitantly questioned.

"I can not see where, unfortunately. Or I have yet to figure that out. However... I can most definitely see the date of when a human being shall die! It's really oh so wonderful of a gift to have. Would you like to knows yours, Takeo-kun?~"

"N-no thank you," he answered back curtly.

"Are you sure? Not even the slightest curious?"

"Yes. I'm positive."

"What if today was your last day?"

Takeo bit his lip. If it was, nobody else cared about whether he lived or not. His only purpose in life was to discover the Shinigami. There was no one else who would bother with someone of the likes of him. It was a life of isolation. But, if he were to die after finally knowing that they existed... Takeo would die a happy man. Nothing else really mattered to him. He did not have any family members or friends, for that matter. His death wouldn't leave anyone in strife.

"Then, I would be fine with that," he decided to say after a moment of thinking.

"Interesting," B got off his chair and faced Takeo, inches away from his face, "most people tend to be afraid of death. Yet you don't show any signs at all! Very interesting~"

From discomfort, he took a few steps back and forced a smile. "I think I'll take my leave now. Thank you very much and it was nice to meet you, B. Take care-"

"Wait wait wait wait," he rushed off speedily and grabbed his wrist, pulling him back tightly. "We are not done yet."

"W-what?"

"It is only good manners... that you return my incredibly kind gesture, don't you think, Takeo-kun?~"

Annoyed, Light watched L continue to scroll through his computer in his trademark crouched position.

"Okay, L, I really do think we have enough information to pursue them now!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms. "Takeo Jeevas is a relative of Matt. Also, he studied at To-Oh University and after graduating, he began to research about Shinigamis to a dangerously obsessive level to the point where he does not have any social networking whatsoever. And that is what makes him such an ideal and easy target for Beyond to manipulate. What else could there possibly be?!"

The world renowned detective swiveled his chair to face Light with a frown.

"If you would refrain from making such unnecessary noise, I would be done this researching much faster," he retorted. "In some cases, things are not how they appear on the surface. You must read between the lines and that requires patience. Inference rather than relying on one source of information that may or may not be accurate, Light-kun."

Light sighed in exasperation. "You're so stubborn," he muttered in disbelief. "You also have to remember that time is not a luxury. For all we know, B has already had his way with Takeo and eliminated him already!"

"I highly doubt that," L turned back and continued to type away on his computer. "Even you, Light Yagami, should know better than to jump to that amateur conclusion."

He shook his head in dismay and uttered under his breath, "At this rate, we'll be stuck here for another hour instead of going after the thing threatening to murder us both, lovely."

"You do realize I can hear you crystal clear?" L raised his voice, amused.

"Shut up."

Not wanting to put up with L's antics any longer, Light took out his cellphone to browse the internet and to clear his mind from the possibility of being killed. There was thirty-four text message notifications, all from Misa. He opened the string of texts, wondering what the hell she was thinking. Light skimmed through it all, noticing some of them stood out in particular. She could afford to text with less slang.

'Light, this is important I have smth to tell u!'

'U can't go after BB or whoever!'

'U will die and I luv u 2 much for that to happn!'

'lok i found this paper thing and it doesnt sound gud! [picture attachment]'

'omg pls reply back i'm worried!'

'should i call the police omg idk what to do'

'light pls respond i dont want anything bad to happn to u!'

'im going to look for u now'

'pls say anything'

Light quickly sent back a text, reassuring he was completely fine. Then, he opened the picture again.

"One bearing dark shadows under his eyes... Now, that has to be that bastard Ryuzaki... I wouldn't be surprised if he had secrets and he can be a cocky son of a bitch sometimes so overconfidence does sound accurate..." He murmured to himself, trying to figure out the meaning.

"Again, I can still hear you, Light-kun," L hollered towards him, "how many times do I have to repeat myself-"

"Ryuzaki, shut up and look at this!" Light shoved his phone in front of his face. "This may help us figure out more about what Beyond is planning. Misa found this lying around where we live. It can't be a coincidence so it is only safe to assume it is him."

L looked at the image for a few seconds before stating, "It could also be an accomplice. You have to consider all possibilities. It is difficult to tell through a phone image and not the paper itself."

"At least it's something," Light huffed in defiance.

"I suppose," he began to bite his thumb. "It would make sense as Beyond as the eyes of a Shinigami and knows me personally to be able to describe my 'dark shadows'."

"Yes, exactly! We finally have some kind of lead," he said, smiling in victory.

"Somewhat."

"...you're never going to be satisfied, are you, Ryuzaki?"

A/N: After more than a year... I'm back! Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter if you all are even still reading this thing! Thanks for all the lovely reviews, I feel so loved as an author- I promise the next update won't take as long as this.