Chapter 1

It was late in the evening when Touta Matsuda finally left work. He and his coworkers had stayed two extra hours making more assumptions about the Kira case, but nothing of real importance had been uncovered. The day had dragged on forever, it seemed like, and Matsuda was overjoyed when he was allowed to go home. But now it began raining as he finally reached his car, a red Suzuki MightyBoy. Although quite old and somewhat rusty, the loyal car was Matsuda's pride and joy. He had owned it for over five years and had never had any major problems with it. He patted the car's hood after unlocking the door.

"Hey, there! Were you still waiting for me? Sorry I'm so late, but you know how it is . . . I mean, L and Light can sometimes be so . . . well, whatever."

Matsuda shook his head in frustration and then looked around, making sure no one had heard him. No, the parking lot was practically deserted, all the other team members having already said goodbye and left. Well, all the others except L and Light. He glanced back at the building. Who knows what they were talking about in there . . . perhaps complex ideas that only geniuses could understand, which is probably why they couldn't wait for Matsuda to disappear. Sighing, the young detective finally opened the door and plopped down inside. He briefly attempted tidying up the car's interior, throwing receipts, napkins, and a McDonald's Mega Tamago container onto the floor. Then, as he drove slowly in the rain, he began thinking of the day's work:

L really thought he had some new clues in the case, but they just seemed like dead ends. Even so, we all stayed late to give him support. I think he works too hard, like he's over obsessed with this whole case. But then again, Kira must be stopped, whoever or whatever he is. And I believe L is the one who will prevail. But, man, there seems to be no end to this Kira thing! I really wish it would all just blow over.

He passed a KFC and thought about getting some chicken, but then decided not to bother, not in this rain, which was now coming down harder. Maybe he'd have a bigger appetite tomorrow, his day off. Right now he just needed a lot of rest and time to clear his mind.

Finally reaching the looming gray structure that was his apartment building, Matsuda parked his MightyBoy and hurried inside. He checked his mailbox at the entrance, but as usual it was empty. Tired from the day's work, the young detective wearily lugged himself up two flights of stairs, turned left, and slowly walked down a seemingly endless hallway, finally stopping in front of the last apartment on the right, his apartment. Fumbling with his keys, he unlocked the door and went inside.

Leaving his shoes at the door, Matsuda took off his jacket and draped it over the couch. The kitchen light was still on, as he had forgotten to turn it off in his haste to get to work that morning. Unread newspapers and unpaid bills were scattered on the floor, a result of his accidentally knocking them off the counter as he was preparing to dash out the door. He shrugged and began gathering them up, glancing at the newspaper headlines as he did so. Yup, more Kira news. Exasperated, he tossed the pile back onto the counter and headed for the refrigerator, where there was a nice can of cold, refreshing Pepsi dutifully waiting for him.

"Mmmm, smart choice," Matsuda said proudly after he had gulped down half the can. Smiling, he finished the rest and made his way into the bedroom. The clock on his nightstand read 8:50 PM.

"Wow, it is late! Well, I suppose I could turn on the TV for a little while, but it'll probably be nothing but Kira on the news."

Matsuda decided against turning on the TV and instead flicked the light switch. He frowned at the unmade bed, the pile of clothes in the corner, and various socks, books, and magazines on the floor.

"Oh, what have I come home to?" he sighed. "But tomorrow is free; I'll tidy the place up tomorrow."

Proud of his final decision, he turned the light back off and flopped down on his bed. But the images of his coworkers would not go away, so he again began thinking about work. Although he got along with most of his coworkers, he was still somewhat envious of them, especially Light.

"Light's got everything all lined up for him . . . He's the police chief's son, handsome, intelligent, popular, with that fantastic model Misa-Misa adoring him to no end; he even has a loving, devoted sister named Sayu. Yet there has been some suspicion about him actually being Kira, but . . . well, I don't believe it! I can't believe it! Light's a good guy; why would he even think about doing things like that? He and I get along very well. It's L I'm beginning to dislike. Things were fine at the beginning of the investigation, but now he's changed. All I am to him is a runaround boy who does errands, brings him more ice cream and cake, that kind of weird stuff . . . He belittles me, like he's some sort of superior being and I'm just a puny little nobody. But then again, perhaps he doesn't actually realize how he's treating me. Oh, well, he's my "boss" right now, and I guess I've got to get used to it. Maybe things will get better . . .

Still lying on the bed, Matsuda stared up at the ceiling and began pitying himself as he often did.

Nothing exciting ever happens to me! It seems that no one even takes me seriously. Why can't I be popular? They think I'm just a little rookie detective who doesn't know what he's doing. But I'll show them! I know I will get to the bottom of it all; I will find out who this Kira is if no one else can! I will succeed and then I'll be able to prove my worth!

He began imagining himself as a hero, being awarded for single-handedly discovering the real Kira, given fame and glamour, guest-starring on one of Sakura TV's popular talk shows, becoming one of the world's top detectives . . . Finally, in the midst of all these happy thoughts, Matsuda fell asleep.