A/N: I own no rights to the Japan song or lyrics from Ghosts used in this chapter.
Just when I think I'm winning
When I've broken every door
The ghosts of my life blow wilder than before
Ghosts - Japan, Tin Drum
"You got this one wrong." Light remarked as they sat together at the dining room table.
"Seriously, I was sure I had it right this time, ugh, I'm never going to get this!" Sayu exclaimed in frustration, erasing the page ferociously. "Where am I going off track?" She looked over at her brother with puppy dog eyes hopeful that he would give her a hint.
Light smiled at her thinly veiled attempt at manipulation. He was happy to tutor his little sister in math. It was the only area she seemed to face challenges in. It gave them a chance to spend more time together.
"Ok, I'll give you a hint..." He circled an area of her calculation that was throwing everything else off.
She looked at it for a few moments. "Ohhh!" She erased the miscalculation and fixed her error, working through the remainder of the problem.
As she finished she looked at him nervously. Light laughed. "I swear Sayu, you'd think that I was going to enact some sort of capital punishment on you for missing a problem by the look on your face." He checked her answer and gave her a nod.
"Yes!" Sayu jumped out of her seat and started putting her things back in her folder and backpack. "I'm going to sleepover at Yuli's house tonight, is that ok?"
It was Friday and Light would be heading over to Black Book in a couple hours. It was one of their biggest nights of the week. He always preferred if Sayu wasn't home alone on the weekend in the evenings.
"Sure. When do you think you'll be back tomorrow?"
"Umm...afternoon?" The young Beta said as she zipped up her backpack.
"Do you want to plan on making dinner together then?"
"Yeah!" She gave him a grin and looked at her phone. "Eek! Gotta go big bro!"
Light chuckled as she ran from the room and sprinted upstairs to gather what she needed for the sleepover at her friend's house. He picked up the two cups and plates from the snacks they'd had during the tutoring session and put them in the dishwasher, making sure everything was in order before heading upstairs. I wouldn't want mom to be disappointed in me for letting the house get messy, she always kept it so clean...
These kinds of thoughts commonly struck him as he walked through the unchanging home, a testament to a family that would never be complete again. The same pictures hung on the walls, their mom's favorite tea remained untouched in the cupboard, their father's spare set of glasses sat on his desk gathering dust. Light didn't have the heart to touch these things or go in their room after the first time he tried to...
Nope, not going to go there today. He firmly told himself as he walked upstairs to shower and pack his bag before heading over to the club later. He entered his room and looked around. Even in there, it felt like nothing had changed.
Shouldn't things change more after something like that happens? Light would sometimes imagine what it would be like to just let go and start breaking things...to shatter them, to rage, to scream until everyone heard him...everyone. To have tangible evidence that his parents were gone besides just the empty space they'd left behind. To rid himself of the feeling that they were just going to walk through the door as if nothing had happened. Most of all he just wanted to feel something. He felt like he was drifting through life half the time, going through the motions and acting how others expected him to act.
He loved Sayu and he wasn't completely devoid of emotion, he had a lot of fun with his sister. But he needed more. Black Book helped sometimes. The money was the number one reason he was there, but the thrill and adrenaline of being on stage let him escape from the living death he faced at home. Just a few more years and then we can sell the house when Sayu goes to college. He told himself.
He heard Sayu running down the stairs. "Bye Light! See you tomorrow!" She called.
Light got undressed and went to shower. Afterwards he put on some khakis and a v-neck sweater, then packed his bag for the night. He was actually looking forward to this evening's performance quite a bit. Rem had finally had a few things installed that he'd suggested for the club. After stopping by to give them a test run this morning for Rem and Gigi, he was really looking forward to seeing the audience reaction.
I wonder if my little detective friend will have the balls to show his face again. Light smirked as he picked up his bag and threw it over his shoulder. It had been the right decision to quickly exit the other night, no matter how much fun he was having messing with Ryuzaki. He touched his lips absentmindedly as he recalled their kiss.
He was even more confident in his decision to ditch the detective when he realized that someone had tried to follow him last night and this morning from the club. Whether that was Ryuzaki or just an overzealous fan, Light wasn't sure he could say. He was really good at evading stalker types at this point and took a different way home every night to ensure his privacy. That man is trouble, I can tell...
He didn't want to take the chance that his father's former colleagues at the NPA would find out what he was doing to pay the bills either.
Not that they have any room to judge. Light thought bitterly. If they all really gave a shit, maybe we would've heard from any one of them over the last 8 months or so asking how Sayu and I were doing.
I've only done what I've had to do for both of us. He angrily shoved the last of the things he needed in his bag and headed downstairs. Fuck them.
xxx
"So, what do you think he's like?" Matsuda asked with wide eyed excitement as they rode the elevator to the 23rd floor of the Hotel that L had summoned them to.
"No one knows Matsuda, that's the whole point of being so secretive! But I'm sure in the end he's just like you, me or Mogi...a normal guy." Aizawa assured the Beta. "Just please think before you speak in there, ok?" He pleaded with the younger male.
The ding on the elevator signaled their arrival. The three of them exited and were met by a white haired older gentleman.
"Hello, I am Watari. L is waiting for you, this way please." He walked quickly off.
They moved swiftly to catch up to the surprisingly spry old man as he led them around through the suite to the main living room.
As the three men rounded the corner they were greeted by a young man with unkempt black hair in jeans and a white long sleeve shirt.
"Hello, I am L. Please have a seat gentlemen. We have much to discuss" He gestured to the sitting area to the right of him.
"I am aware of whom each of you is already, so there is no need for additional introductions or formalities, please sit." He said in a rather bored and monotone voice as he walked over to crouch oddly in his seat.
As they took their seats as well, Matsuda gave Aizawa a look as if to say "just like you and me, huh?" To which Aizawa just scowled back.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I have decided to bring in several NPA team members to this investigation, particularly given my level of secrecy in the past with my identity."
"It certainly was something that crossed our minds, L." Aizawa looked at Mogi and Matsuda nervously, before returning his attention to L. "What is so dire that you would expose yourself like this?"
"Hmm, not what, but whom." L nibbled on his thumb and smiled at Aizawa.
L climbed out of his seat and opened a folder on the table, spreading eight pictures across it. Eight different people, different locations. Some a little grainy, but overall decent quality. Long hair, short hair, larger, slender, all fairly diverse aside from being generally white males, or pretty close to it.
"Look closely at these gentleman." L paused to give them time to do so. "What would you say if I told you these were all photos of the same man?"
"No way." Matsuda said quietly.
"That would be most people's reaction Mr. Matsuda, however I can assure you that Beyond Birthday is a highly skilled mimic."
"What the hell kind of name is that." Aizawa asked, still staring at the photos and trying to find more indicators that they were the same person.
"Don't get me started." L rolled his eyes. "The reason you gentleman are here is because I have a strong reason to believe that Beyond is the one committing these crimes and I needed to make sure that you are incredibly familiar with his tricks in case I'm right."
L tossed down another photo to the table for them to view. "You see, we've captured Beyond in the past, but not before he spent a good amount of time tricking some law enforcement agents into believing that he was me." He said the last part with disgust and contempt.
"Holy shit." Aizawa muttered. They all looked at the photo and at L, the photo and at L. It would've been comical in any other context, but no one was laughing.
"Basically, you want to make sure we can tell the difference between you and this Beyond person, correct." Mogi asked L in his quiet, serious way. "So he can't do the same thing here that he did before?
"Correct, plus there is quite a bit of ground to cover with this case. With a dedicated task force I believe we have a greater chance for success." L stated confidently.
The three detectives all looked knowingly at each other. "What do you need from us L?" Aizawa asked as he set down the photo.
"Let me ask you all this, have you noticed any other patterns now that you've had some time to do additional research into the case?
"He seems to be killing them in alphabetical order." Aizawa said quietly.
"Anything else?" L inquired with a bored sounding drawl to his voice.
"Well, I did notice that all of the acts seem to be headliners or at least one of the top dancers at the club they worked at." Matsuda shared eagerly.
Well, well, score one for Matsuda. L thought to himself cynically. "Both are correct. You can read Beyond's background profile tomorrow, which might help explain why he is making these his targets, but any and all materials are not to leave the premises."
"An important thing to realize with Beyond is that he has a single minded obsessiveness once he has his mind made up. He'll do whatever it takes to obtain a target or achieve his goal...and he will not let up, no matter who he has to kill or hurt to get to that end." L eyed them all seriously.
"We understood what we were getting into with a case like this from the beginning. This guy is clearly unhinged and needs to be stopped." Aizawa leaned forward in earnest. "Let us know what we need to do on our end to help catch him."
"First thing we need to do is establish potential next targets and provide protection and surveillance 24/7. Based on timing of the attacks, I believe he is at or approaching letters I, J, or K."
"But we haven't found bodies for victims with names starting with G or H yet!"
"It's likely too late for those Omegas, I'm sorry Detective Aizawa, but that's the truth." L said dispassionately as he unwrapped a candy and popped it in his mouth. "We need to focus on whom we can save, not who is already dead or dying unfortunately."
"How can you be so cold?" Matsuda asked sadly.
"Years of practice." L muttered in annoyance. "Listen gentlemen, I have already been able to identify several dancers who fit the profile for I and J. We've established surveillance and discreet security to monitor them around the clock. If Beyond comes at them, we'll know."
"What about K?" Mogi asked curiously. "Is there anyone that fits the profile?"
L chuckled. "Yes, there is one. There were surprisingly few dancers that met the criteria that had names starting with the letter K, so it wasn't hard to narrow it down, plus the name of the club this stripper works at, Black Book, is just too tempting for someone named Beyond Birthday. It's like this person is just lining up for the slaughter...asking B to kill him." L's eyes darkened.
"So who is it? This person sounds like our best chance at drawing him out, right?" Aizawa prompted, pulling L back from his thoughts.
"Oooh! I know, it's that Kira person, right?" Matsuda burst out excitedly.
They all turned and looked at him.
"Matsuda..*cough*..how do you happen to know the name of an Omega stripper? What exactly are you doing in your free time?" Aizawa gave him a nudge and a wink. They watched as Touta Matsuda turned a bright crimson before their eyes.
"No, no, no! It's totally not like that!" He laughed awkwardly. "I was just talking to one of the guys over in the DA's office the other day and he was saying how some of them go to that club and there was this amazing dancer..." Matsuda trailed off. "I swear I've never been to an Omega strip club in my life!"
"Well, you're going to one tonight." L smirked at him. "Actually, we're all going to Black Book."
"You can't be serious!"
"..."
"My wife is going to kill me if she finds out..."
"Kira has been very difficult to gather information on. I'm not even sure of his real name." L bit at his thumb. "He's been a real pain in the ass actually. I went there the other night and tried to learn more about him, but he somehow figured out that I was a detective and I couldn't get much out of him after that. I even tried to have him followed from the club and he managed to lose the tail both times."
I'm still not sure how he knew...His deductive reasoning skills are remarkable, very intelligent. In fact, why is someone with that seemingly level of intelligence working as a stripper anyways?
"He seemed very nervous about the NPA and I'm hoping a show of force, an application of pressure so to speak, at the club will convince him to be a bit more cooperative regarding the case and more forthcoming about who he is." L explained his logic.
"Until we know more about him, we can't justify sharing information with him regarding the case and we need to put him under surveillance as soon as possible, if not protective custody." L slid his thumb across his lip thoughtfully. He's our best chance at catching B if we don't get him with our surveillance of the I's and J's. So even if I have to handcuff myself to him 24/7 to keep him under observation or lock him up in a cell with cameras on his every move I'll do it...
"Ok, so when do we head out?" Aizawa stood and stretched.
"In about an hour, Kira goes on near the later part of the night. Oh, and I've already put in a reservation under your name for a table Aizawa, so we should have no problem getting seated once we're there." L grinned at him.
"My wife is SO going to KILL me..."
xxx
"Oh my god...Gigi, stop! I'm going to start crying I'm laughing so hard!" Light was sitting in his dressing room at Black Book and watching Gigi do her best Ryuk impression, complete with awkward walk and vacant expression.
"There's what I'm talking about!" She smiled at him. "You needed cheering up, I could tell." The saucy Beta reached out and pinched one of his cheeks which he playfully slapped away, grinning at her.
"Did not..." But he looked at her with gratitude. "Thank you for that just the same. I haven't laughed that hard in awhile."
"Anytime sweetie. I'll let you get ready-"
A knock at the door interrupted the girl's sentence.
"Come in." Light called and went back to putting on a bit of eyeliner, watching in the mirror as Rem came in the room.
"What's up Rem?"
"He's here again...and it looks like he brought friends."
So he DID have the nerve... Light narrowed his eyes and stood up grabbing a robe to cover himself before stalking out of the room. An anxious Rem following in his wake.
"Show me Rem." He hissed angrily as they neared the curtain.
"They reserved a table under a different name, so I didn't even know he was with them until the party arrived. Nearly same place as before in front of-" Light held up a hand to silence her, trying to reign in the anger that was surging through his veins. It was nice to feel...something...even anger...
Light peered around the curtain and quickly closed it. He took a few steps away in disbelief and then he felt laughter well up inside him, spilling over his lips. He quickly put his hand over his mouth to stifle the maniacal sound that was trying to escape.
That mother fucker!
Once he was sure the laughter was not going to make a reappearance, he took his hand from his mouth and looked over at Rem who, to her credit, had remained incredibly calm during Light's mini meltdown.
"What do you want to do Light? If you want to cancel and go home for the night, I'll understand. You don't even have to explain." She reassured him.
Light considered this for a moment. "No, I have a feeling they'll just come back again. I can't hide from this." He saw the concerned look on her face. "Don't worry, Rem. I haven't done anything wrong, it's just people I'd rather not see while at Black Book, that's all." He sighed.
"I'll support whatever you want to do here."
Light thought back to earlier at home... Fuck them... His eyes narrowed.
"You know what Rem, if it's ok with you, I'm going wear the new costume instead of the one we originally discussed...and I know we talked about waiting until tomorrow for this, but I think I'll start off at the new equipment we tried out today at the bar in the back instead of on stage, so can you help me get to it in a bit?"
"S-sure, Light...umm, what music do you want?" Rem looked in awe at the single minded determination in the young man's face. A look that said he was going to go out there and own it, regardless of who was sitting in the audience.
"The Rihanna mix that we just put together...I know it's a bit different, but I think with the set up out there..."
"It'll be great, I'll make sure the lighting is perfect for it too, based on how you practiced it earlier today, right?"
"Yeah, thanks Rem." Light strode off to his dressing room again to get ready, the eerie calm on his exterior did not give away the roiling emotions beneath the surface.
Okay Ryuzaki, bringing the NPA to MY club, huh? You want to know who I am? Well, you're in for a big fucking surprise asshole.