By the second week of Sukiro's first murders, seven pages of her death note were already filled with names, all written in her small handwriting. People all over the world had already begun to suspect the existence of a new Kira, although unlike the Kira most people rooted for, this Kira seemed less selective to them. People feared this Kira more than they did the other because they never knew who the next victim would be. Being righteous no longer saved them. And being criminals only assured their deaths, either by the first Kira, the second Kira, or the third. To Sukiro, however, there was definitely a pattern, even if it was barely noticeable by everyone else. She killed the kind of people she was averse to. People who did nothing for society, who saw themselves above everyone else, who treated others poorly, people who seemed to be made out of rubber instead of skin and bones. She also killed criminals, whether petty or more serious. She even went as far as killing corrupt politicians and rich people who had way more than they provided. She wasn't afraid to kill them all. Instead, she felt the thrill when she later learned that they had died. She wanted to rid the world of those people. Everyone who made the world a living hell her and other people. Everyone who did nothing more than consume oxygen in this world.
The First Kira had already sent an announcement in Sakura TV for the Third Kira to show herself. L had already threatened to catch her and sentence her to death along with the First and Second Kira. Yet Sukiro paid no attention to either of them. She found it strange that the first Kira would even think of telling her to hand herself in. Surely, he was more intelligent than that, right? To think that she would hand herself in just because he asked for it was beyond stupid. She knew he must instead want to meet her himself, and kill her. All he needed was her name and face.
Sukiro wanted to respond to the First Kira, only to have him meet her. She sort of found that amusing and thrilling. What would he do when he found her? How would he kill her? Would he even be able to kill her? Not even Sukiro knew her real last name. Her adoptive parents had completely abandoned her when she was only a few days old. They had dumped her in a trashcan where she would be later on found by a walking person who must have heard her cries. She had been sent to an adoption center and had been adopted fairly quickly by a single woman who she now regarded as her mother. Sukiro carried her last name in every legal document. Sukiro Akane. Would that be enough to kill her? Or would he try murdering her in other ways? Sukiro found herself dying to know. After all, the last thing she feared was death. However, she was still coming up with a way to hint him about her whereabouts.
At the university, Sukiro tried to pay little attention to an observant Ryuzaki, although he made it nearly impossible.
"Hello Sukiro," He would approach hear as she sat in the cafeteria, eating the packed food her adoptive mother always insisted in making her. "Mind if we join you?" It wasn't until she registered the word we in his question that she actually looked up, surprised to find Ryuzaki along with another student she had only seen a few times in her English class. What had his name been? She couldn't remember.
"I prefer to eat alone," She said. "I'm sorry."
Ryuzaki sat down anyway, followed by the other student. Sukiro sighed.
"We're sorry to intrude you. I'm Light Yagami," the boy next to Ryuzaki said with a warm, inviting smile. "My friend here doesn't tend to take no for an answer."
"Sukiro Akane," Sukiro responded, going back to looking at her food. "And yes, I already knew that." After all, Ever since Sukiro first spoke with him in the park, he had always found a way to intrude in Sukiro's day.
"What about yourself, Sukiro-san?" Ryuzaki asked. "Are you the kind of person to take no for an answer?"
"No," Sukiro looked up at Ryuzaki with challenging eyes. "I tend to murder people who don't give me answers."
After a second of silence, Sukiro laughed, even though none of the two guys found her answer funny. She didn't care, she found Ryuzaki's questions ridiculous.
"Are you implying that you have murdered before?" Ryuzaki continued calmly.
"I might murder you," She responded.
"How would you murder me, Sukiro-san?"
Sukiro let out an exhausted sigh. Ryuzaki was becoming more and more annoying by the minute.
"I would if I could," She said under her breath, and then bit her tongue. Stupid!
"Why can't you?" He pushed. Ryuzaki was good at making people slip, Sukiro noted.
"Ryuzaki, you're tormenting her too much," Light interrupted. "I'm sure anyone would want to kill you if you tormented them that way. Not just Kira. Give the girl a break."
"Thank you," Sukiro addressed to Light, truly meaning it, but Ryuzaki was having none of it.
"What do you think about the deaths of several students of this University, Sukiro?" Ryuzaki invited. He hadn't taken his eyes off Sukiro that entire time, probably looking for hints in her reactions that would lead to evidence. "Please share your own analysis with me."
Sukiro looked at Ryuzaki, trying to find his intentions in his eyes. they were so dark that it seemed as if they had sucked any emotion or thought that could give anything about him away. She wondered if he had always been like that.
Sukiro thought about his question. What would she think of the deaths, if she had not been their cause? It was an interesting question.
"It could be that their murderer was someone at the University," She said, feeling like saying anything else would bring more suspicion to her. After all, that was an obvious answer.
"Why?"
"Well, first of all, they are all first and second year students who are probably not very recognized outside of the University, apart from at their homes. Their causes of death have all been by heart attacks, so it must be someone with similar powers as Kira, although definitely not Kira since he wouldn't have had any reason to kill them as they are not criminals. And It cannot be the third Kira, since he is more likely to kill recognizable people, such as politicians and celebrities."
All the while, both Light and Ryuzaki listened to Sukiro closely, their eyes completely glued to their faces.
"Actually," Light said, and both Sukiro and Ryuzaki looked at him. "I think the Third Kira and the person murdering students at the University are the same person. And I believe he is currently in his first year."
"Yes, I agree," Ryuzaki said, chewing on his thumb. "Don't you, Sukiro?"
"I'm not too sure about that," Sukiro shrugged, trying not to react to how right Light was. "I don't see why the Third Kira would murder students at the University. Although I could be wrong."
"I have another question for you, Sukiro," Ryuzaki said, alerting her. How many questions did he have for her? "What do you think the Third Kira is, male or female?"
Sukiro kept silent for a moment. She didn't like the question. Could the Third Kira's gender be determined already? Was it possible to do so based on the little evidence available? Sukiro tried to come up with a convincing answer, but failed.
"I'm not sure I can determine that with the available evidence yet," She said, feeling slightly nervous under Ryuzaki's gaze. She wished he would just stop looking at her.
"You have been referring to Kira as a male, however," Ryuzaki said with a smile. "What do you think is the reason for that?"
For some reason, Sukiro found her cheeks beginning to warm up. She wanted both Ryuzaki and Light to go away. Why couldn't they leave her alone?
"I-I don't know," she said softly. "It just didn't occur to me that Kira would be a girl."
Luckily for Sukiro, Ryuzaki turned to look at Light. "What about you Light? What would you say the Third Kira's gender is?"
Light moved his hand to his chin in thought. After a moment, he concluded, "I think the Third Kira might be a girl. Considering its victims, starting from the first two girls at our English class who were disliked by many girls. Also, the Third Kira has been killing celebrities that most men wouldn't even pay attention to, especially one who has the power to kill anyone he pleases. However, the Third Kira has killed more female celebrities than male, and its victims are usually the kind a lot of girls would envy or dislike. That's what I would conclude, anyway."
Sukiro thought for a moment. She wasn't envious of them, was she? No, that was definitely not her reason of murdering. It couldn't something so immature and pathetic. She definitely disliked them, but was she truly leaning on female victims more than male? She hadn't noticed it until Light pointed it out.
"That only means you should start killing more males and be more careful when you choose your victims," Yuuko said from behind her. But she shook her head in disagreement. If she made it too obvious, the change in victims just after Light mentioned it in front of her, it would make her more suspicious.
"Is there something wrong, Sukiro?" Light asked, feigning preoccupation.
She shook her head again and smiled at him. "It's just that I hadn't noticed that when analyzing the situation, and now I realize how obvious it was. It worries me, since I'm studying Criminal Justice. I should work on my investigation skills."
"That's okay," Light reassured her with a smile. "You'll get better at it with practice." Then, with a thought, he added, "Hey, why don't you join us in our investigation team? That could help you, I'm sure, and you might help us too."
"Investigation team?" Sukiro asked in shock. "Just who are you guys?"
Light chuckled. "I guess we didn't introduce ourselves properly, I apologize. We are detectives and are responsible for investigating the Kira case."
"That's correct," Ryuzaki said. "I was also about to suggest you to join our team."
Sukiro couldn't believe her ears. It all made sense now, why Ryuzaki had been so persisting in following and interrogating her. He had been a detective all along, and that meant that she was already under scrutinization from the police. If she wasn't careful, she could end up in big trouble.
"You are detectives," She said, unable to step out of her surprise. Calm down, Sukiro told herself. You are overreacting. Don't mess up.
"Correct," Ryuzaki said, eyeing her with scrutinizing eyes. "Is there something alarming about it? It shouldn't matter to you unless you are a criminal. Then it should by all means matter."
"Of course it matters," Sukiro said matter of factually, regaining her cool. "I'm not stupid. I know you suspect me of being the Third Kira. It didn't matter to me much before, but now that I know that you are a detective, it does matter a little."
Light laughed, making Sukiro blush. Had she said the wrong thing? "Don't worry too much about it. I'm a suspect of being Kira too, aren't I, L?"
"L," Sukiro repeated slowly, as though unable to pronunciation that single letter. Now she truly couldn't believe her ears.
"Please don't give out unnecessary information just yet, Light," Ryuzaki said calmly, seeming only slightly annoyed.
Sukiro stood up suddenly and without saying anything, grabbed her backpack and ran away, making he way through the sea of students that had suddenly formed itself in the cafeteria for god knew what reason and almost tripping a few times. Luckily, she had already had her last class of the day. All she wanted to do was get away from the University and back to her safe home.
"I always had a bad feeling about that boy," Yuuko said, referring to Ryuzaki. "Now I understand why."
Sukiro almost collapsed when she reached the exit of the University. She knew her reaction could bring her trouble but simply couldn't think clearly about that at the moment. She hadn't even realized that she had crashed against a tall figure until she was pushed back.
"Hey, are you an idiot?" A low voice said, and she looked up, taken aback. How many surprised would she have to deal with today? "Watch where you're going. You made me drop my things."
"I'm sorry," Sukiro said, sounding breathless. She was about to help him pick them up when she was pushed back again. This time she was fully aware of her surroundings. It was only her and four nasty looking boys. She wondered if they even allowed tattoos at such a prestigious university.
"You thin that since you're a girl you can get away with things?" He continued. What a terrible temper, she thought, feeling nauseated by him. Was he really that pathetic to start a fight with her?
"I said I'm sorry, jackass," She surprised herself by saying. At that moment, she felt so compelled to pull out a piece of her death note and kill him at the spot. She truly despised his kind. For a moment she wished she had made the deal for the eyes.
"Careful, idiot," He warned. "If I were Kira you would be dead."
Sukiro couldn't help laughing at this, which only seemed to infuriate him. "Yeah right. Someone as stupid as you could never be Kira."
Sukiro decided it was pointless to keep arguing with him. She turned away and began walking away. She would look for his name, she decided, and kill him. Letting someone like him live was out of question.
Sukiro heard a sudden thud behind her and swirled around, thinking he was about to attack her. What she found, instead, was a slouched Ryuzaki holding the arm of her angered attacker.