Bullet with Butterfly Wings- 'Secret Destroyers'
Death Note's 'what if' situation. Here, we enter the portion of this story I have dubbed the 'Investigation Arc', because I am lame that way.
"Hello Mrs. Hsu, may I come in?" asked the detective in fluent Mandarin. Lyle's flight to Japan had taken a short stop in China, and it looked like a perfect opportunity to get some investigation time in.
"Uh, certainly," the woman flung the door wide open and ushered in her handsome guest. "Have you eaten?"
"I have. Quite well, in fact." He directed a major wattage smile at his host, and she nearly melted. "As I mentioned on the phone, I'm looking into the murder of Mrs. And Mr. Fah. Can you tell me anything? The smallest details can often crack a case."
"Oh, yes," she assured him. "Where to begin... well, Shang now, he was what you call a man's man, not a sensitive guy. I never felt like he much cared for his kid, but then, that's just one old woman's opinion. He never seemed fond of anyone, period."
"Who's taking care of the child now?" Lyle asked.
"Oh, his old man's folks," she waved the question aside. "Family had a bit of a falling out over how to raise the kid. From what I can tell, he's probably better off with his aunt and uncle anyways, ignoring the murder issue."
The detective could tell that she was the sort of woman who stockpiled information for just such moments, a useful type. And the way she wasted no time on sentimentality for people who couldn't appreciate it (the dead) was a check in Lyle's plus column.
"And why is that?" he inquired, interest piqued.
"Well, between you and me," she whispered conspiratorially, "I never did approve of that man's idea of discipline. I've seen more bruises on that child than I care to count. Inexcusable, if you ask me."
"And as his school teacher, you'd attest to that in court?"
"Surely would." She narrowed her dark brown eyes, "You won't make me, will you?"
"Certainly not, Ma'am." The young man patted her hand reassuringly, "I just wanted to be sure."
--
The detective sat in a brightly colored kitchen beside a different Chinese woman, this one in her late thirties. Her nephew shuffled into the room, eyes flickering nervously and dark with suspicion.
The house lacked that sense of sadness a mourning home usually had, but offered plenty to spare of the jittery feeling a visiting police officer inspired. Misa's cop costume was working flawlessly, as usual. Lyle looked the epitome of authority. He was also breaking at least one law being here like this, so this meeting had to be a fast one.
"So Jin," started the disguised detective, "What can you tell me about your parents murder?"
"First, I can tell you it wasn't murder," replied the teen with fire in his voice, "It was nothing less than karma. Those two… my parents, they got exactly what they deserved."
"Watch your mouth young man!" the older lady exclaimed, partly horrified that her nephew might say something accidentally incriminating. "That's no way to talk about the people who raised you."
"Fine," he sulked, his blazing attitude doused, "But I'll tell you this…."
Jin beckoned the Japanese man closer.
"I'm just glad we got out of that before my sister got any older."
--
Lyle sat in the back of his limo, with the tinted windows casting everything within a light vermilion. The detective always had a soft spot for red, especially when he needed to think seriously.
Tiredly, he bent his head back and rested it on the seat.
"Oh, haven't you just gone tipped everything on its ear," he muttered aloud, addressing his absent enemy. "I've caught the connection between you and your victims, J."
The public had finally given into its need for catchy titles and nicknames, thus sticking the Carving Villain with a one-letter moniker, its origin found in the signature on those many victims. 'J' for justice, he assumed.
"You certainly don't make things easy, do you?" he continued, safe from eavesdroppers in his rumbling, lengthy car. "The moral ground is tenuous at best. And no one can seem to find the murder weapon… did you take it with you? You didn't even leave prints."
He sighed quietly as the limo turned a sharp corner and a bottle to his left sloshed dangerously, uncorked. Wasn't everything uncorked these days?
"A traveling man is always harder to catch. I honestly feel like I'm chasing a murderous vagabond… oh, but that would be too easy, and disappointing too. No matter, I'll get my hands on you in the end. And I'll bring you to true justice."
Lyle lifted his head and reached for his glass of wine, shimmering a darker burgundy than any crime scene. He was tired, yes, but he wouldn't sleep yet.
"Hey J," he grinned cruelly and raised his glass as if in a toast, "You know, I am Light, and around these parts, I am the law."
—0—
Misa lounged in her hotel room, striped stockings and corset lending the whole affair an air of 'Dracula meets the Playboy Bunny'.
"Oh yeah, me and Light are real close," she was giggling, "But I'm not s'posed to tell you anything else, 'cause he's… um… it's not 'inconspicuous'…"
"Incognito?" offered the reporter, who was trying desperately to keep his eyes off her small, but well displayed, chest.
"That's the word!" she grinned ear to ear. "But I can talk about J, I think."
"Okay then." He glanced down at the note pad in his lap. "Are there any leads on his identity? Any major clues?"
"Nope!" Misa chirped happily, "Except that he might be--probably was from France. But we have a motive!"
"A motive." The man repeated dubiously. "A motive but no suspect?"
"Yup. Don't be surprised though. This guy moves around a lot, he's nearly impossible to track. But we think we have a motive, because all the victims had one thing in common: they were parents."
"Parents? That's terrible!" he said, sitting forward in his extremely plush black chair.
"Well you would think so," she consented, snatching the sake off her coffee table, "Except they were all horrible parents. Light looked into it, and all of them were suspects of some kind of abuse. A couple cases were probably even incest."
"Really." The man fought down revulsion, straining to remain objective "So it was… what? J protecting the kids?"
"'S how it looks to me," shrugged the model. "but I can't really support J, 'cause I'm with Light."
"You're 'with' him?" he asked, reporter's instinct pulled to something in her tone.
"Uh-huh. But don't go getting any ideas." The girl waved a finger in is face, "My heart belongs to Lyle."
"Right." He frowned. Lyle was a character no one could seem to get any dirt on—a reporter's nightmare. The man had remained a mystery since he stepped onto the scene a year ago, stubbornly refusing to stick around for any photographers to get a good shot of. The tabloids had taken to calling him Misa Misa's secret lover--some taking it as far as a well hidden lesbian tryst.
Personally, the reporter wondered if the man in question had more to do with the Hideki Murder, which happened suspiciously just as Lyle first appeared in that blurred photograph a year before, than it did with forbidden love. Not that anyone had listened to him when he suggested it.
oh well, he thought, sighing imperceptibly, at least they let me take this interview. I was damn lucky not to have already left by the time they got her call. Being the last one out of the office was finally paying off.
"Now, if I could just get a couple more details on the case, Amane-san? Like what the families thought…."
--0—
"What do you think?" finished the English-raised man.
"I think this is a risky business, sir," his aid promptly answered. "Then again, you rarely see a case through without some fool risk. With all respect sir, you are the stupidest smart man I've ever met."
The detective was a genius, undisputedly, with one of the highest IQs of his generation. So it was understandable that he didn't often ask for advice. More than that, he could count the number of people he respected, let alone trusted, on one hand with fingers to spare. James had long since earned his place on that list, dry humor aside, and his opinion was one of the few actually taken into account.
"And why use your real name? That's quite the liability. If you ask me, 'Lyle' was always too close to 'Light', but you aren't even bothering to make it subtle. It could be dangerous…"
"It could be, yes, but I'm spelling it different. And who really knows about my identity? No one's smart enough to put two and two together around here."
The genius was also rather arrogant.
"Nonetheless, 'Kira' would be a much better choice. It has no connection to you, and we've used it before…" the Englishman shrugged helplessly.
"That's exactly it." The young man pointed out, switching to Japanese. "Too many people in the East remember Kira from the Hideki Murder case, not to mention my association with Amane-san."
"If you say so, Yagami-sama," the butler consented, also reverting to the current dialect. "But be careful. There's something strange about this whole scenario… 'I can't put my finger on what lies in store…'"
The detective lapsed into a grim smile. "…'but I feel what's to happen, all happened before'."
--0--
"You told them WHAT?" stormed the detective. "No, never mind. I read the story. Misa, how could you do this?"
"B-but Lyle, I thought it would be okay since you told me… and I kept your identity secret…" the blond girl whimpered.
"Use your head Misa! What is the main issue with this case?"
"There's no suspect?" she guessed, sniffling.
"Besides that. I mean on a personal level." He sank into a plush leather chair, suddenly too tired to stand any longer.
"Err… he's killing the bad guys?" Misa ventured again, bewildered.
"Yes. And it didn't occur to you that J might get sympathy points from fanatics? What am I going to do if this turns into another 'Law vs. the Vigilante' case? Everyone hates the police in batman!"
"Batman?" echoed the Japanese girl, doubly confused.
"Yeah, it's an American superhero comic. But that's not the point! Amane, you have, with a single interview, undermined my entire PR campaign."
The model's eyes filled with tears again. "But Lyle— "
"It's Raito now, Misa. We're in Japan and I need a Japanese alias. Try to keep that in mind."
"Okay, okay. But I was just trying to help you! All I want is to be a good girlfriend!" She inched closer. "I thought if I told the press some stuff about the case, they'd be impressed with how much you've done in so little time."
The model shot off his couch and tossed her hands in the air, falling into one of those unpredictable mood swings that females were so fond of.
"I mean, I'm sorry but having the World's Greatest Detective as a boyfriend is hard work! It takes a lot out of me trying to keep up with you changing every day, traveling from place to place, and you're always slipping from Lyle to Light to Kira and now Raito and I just don't know how to help! I just want us to be happy…."
Oh no, time for damage control. The blond was dangerously good at working herself into a suicidal frenzy on select occasions, particularly occasions when her boyfriend started to edge out of the picture. Not to mention, he did feel a bit guilty for yelling. That was un-gentlemanly.
"Misa, I want us to be happy too. But you know that can't happen while there's evil in the world. I have a calling, and you said you were willing to wait for a better world," he reminded her. The gothic dressed girl had such a romantic streak, and Detective Light was unparalleled in the field of emotional manipulation, when he tried.
"Yeah," she sighed and returned to the couch, dreamy smile restored. "I did. And I will, as long as it takes. I'd do anything for the man I love… My avenger."