A/N: Hello, everybody, welcome to another chapter of my story. I told one of my fans I would update tomorrow, but I always update earlier than originally planned. I think it's because I'm as eager to update as you guys are to read. XD Lot of events in this chapter, so I'll leave you to your reading.

Disclaimer: Don't own Death Note. There.

Chapter 6: Suspect

A string of events occurred not long after my official induction to the task force. I had barely gotten to know Chief Yagami, Aizawa, Matsuda, Mogi, and Ukita when we discovered that Naomi Misora had vanished. She had been engaged to Raye Penber, one of the twelve FBI victims; presumably, she had committed suicide. L had entirely ruled out that possibility, however, considering he had worked with her on the Beyond Birthday case in Los Angeles. He knew her well enough to believe that she would have remained strong in the dark, shadowy face of death. Whatever the reason, I secretly deemed that Kira had victimized Ms. Misora just as he had with her fiancé. She definitely was a tremendous loss to the world of justice. I had almost hoped that she would have joined us in the case; I could tell that L thought the same thing.

We as a team discussed this for a while before moving further into the investigation.

L, as genius as ever, seemed to have narrowed the suspect down to being a member of one of two families. Deputy Director General Kitamura's family and Chief Yagami's family would unknowingly have bugs and wire taps in their houses. When Yagami was told this, as well as the rest of the task force, he was extremely displeased. He ardently spoke out against the idea and for and understandable reason, too. His two children still resided in the Yagami household; naturally, he would worry over this. But then, surprisingly, he reluctantly agreed. The next day, three of us (L, Yagami, and I) watched what went on in the house.

Expressing particular interest in Yagami's son Light, my brother focused looking through the cameras to the seventeen-year-old boy's room. The scene that played out looked nothing special. Light merely flipped through the pages of a provocative magazine, almost trying too hard to appear innocent...as though he kept something hidden...

"Yagami-san, may I be so bold as to venture that your son might be hiding something?" I asked, gazing intensely at the boy on the laptop screen.

Mr. Yagami, who was gradually becoming similar to a father toward me, glanced at me suspiciously; however, he seemed to comprehend my reasoning by nodding his head slightly.

"Utako, I assure you, Light just wanted to hide the magazines," he told me in a somewhat stern tone. "I would never suspect my son of doing anything, much less killing. He's a straight A student."

L glanced my way for a fraction of a second before observing Light again. "I have to say that Yagami-san's son is rather intelligent. I might even say that his thought processes are uncannily similar to mine. Of course, I don't know that yet."

"Do you plan to investigate this then?" I inquired, tapping my fingers against my knee as I scooped another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. At that moment, I felt grateful that L had arranged to return my mini refrigerator to me. The currently strawberry flavor of ice cream distracted me, so that I wouldn't get as nervous as I assumed. For, the truth was, I distrusted Light Yagami on sight. He emitted a seemingly cold, calculating aura that could very well be that of a serial killer's.

Noting my ever-so-slightly disconcerted behavior, L replied tersely, "I plan to, yes. As to how I am going to go about it, I don't know. Considering the current situation, we have to handle this delicately. After all, Yagami-san, this is your son."

Mr. Yagami nodded in affirmation again. "Yes, Ryuzaki. But, still, why do you suspect him of committing such atrocious crimes?"

"As I said before, he is extremely intelligent."

A quietly uttered debate between the two them commenced, and, not wishing to irritate them by an interruption, I mutely retreated to my room to gather my thoughts.

L had been correct in assuming that Light possessed vast intelligence. After all, he did the most rational thing by appearing normal and flipping through magazines. It was almost as if he was keenly aware of the wire taps in his bedroom. But, how could that be possible? The spy technology installment remained entirely secretive on the day it occurred. Did Light Yagami have a fox's cunning at his disposal? I longed to abhor him already, even though I technically had never met him before in my life. I assumed he had to be Kira, for his charmingly innocent façade didn't fool me. He looked the type to talk his way out of any situation; if L did manage to corner him one of these days, he would find this an inability. Once my brother concluded on something, he was confident of his unfailing accuracy. Maybe Light would fall victim to this.

From my seated position on my bed, I heard the shutting of a door that signaled that the members had finished assisting for the day. I sighed, glad that they hardly noticed my prior departure. Really, I had contributed to the case and tried to pull as much weight as I could. But the fact of the matter was that I rarely spoke unless to express my opinions. I needed to strive toward the goal of Kira behind bars more persistently in order to convert hope into reality. I had to prove to L I could fend for myself, as well as display my usefulness. My lack, admittedly, of help to him had done nothing; I was becoming frustrated with myself. What would be the greater of two evils: my brother claiming the rights as champion over Kira or his untimely defeat?

L opened my door just as I clenched a fist due to my inward self-loathing. Rather surprised at this abrupt entrance, I quietly looked him in the eye.

Before I asked what he wanted from me, he announced, "I think I have come up with a plan as to approaching Light who, as you're probably assuming by now, is the primes suspect."

"Why are you telling me this? Weren't you going to inform the rest of the task force?"

He sighed, though I barely heard it. "I would prefer to tell you and Watari, considering that I trust you two above all else. Besides, I have only just thought this up."

I nodded in understanding as he permitted me to sidle carefully by him on the way out my room.

We walked to the main portion of the room with the couch and the in-tables to take our seats. Quickly, L communicated via laptop to Watari to tell him to order strawberry shortcake from the hotel's restaurant. This was a different hotel that my brother decided to temporarily move the task force headquarters to for a few days; we switched hotels on a weekly basis to ensure our safety. When our kindly former caretaker—now aide—gave us the scrumptious-looking cake, L promptly stabbed a strawberry with his fork. I took a fork that happened to lay on the table myself and cut a portion of it. He loved cakes more than I did, since my preference for ice cream was much stronger. Not only that, but he liked his method of settling down with desserts, fruits, or a cup of tea before commencing a long discussion. He did this to sharpen his attention while using his ten percent of his brain to think things through.

We both sat like this for some time, eating cake without saying a word. The silence seemed to last forever as I licked delicious whipped cream from my finger. As I permitted the sweetness to capture my taste buds, L finally decided to speak.

"I have thought about going to To-Oh University's testing center six days from now to spy on Light. Even though I will go under the alias Hideki Ryuga, I will reveal my true name to him at the entrance ceremony two months after testing."

My mouth nearly dropped open, though I compensated for this by tightening my lips. Why would he do something this rash at such an early stage? And he had told me about the risks I had taken to work with him. He almost seemed a hypocrite in this respect.

Reinforcing the firm tone of my voice, I calmly replied, "What I think you plan to do is foolish. How will unveiling your name to the prime suspect help you? Frankly, it can only hurt you."

L appeared interested in my opinion as he placed his thumb at his lip. "Go on."

He always did this, encouraging people with contrasting ideas that opposed his to resume their explanations. Sure it came off as mature, but it could be irksome, too. With me, it was on the verge of infuriating. However, I placated myself again before I could explode.

"If you tell Light Yagami you're L, it would be idiotic. That's all I have to say."

His eyes glinted slightly from him hearing this rather huffy response from me. I sensed that I had given him the reaction he figured I would enact. Genius yet almost maddening at the same time; L's ideas usually were like this to the vast majority of colleagues he had ever talked to. I guessed this included me.

"That's exactly what I want him to think," he stated as he placed another forkful of cake in his mouth. "If Light is Kira, he will underestimate me if I follow through with my plan. He will think me foolish, just as you did. But, most of all, he will question my actions. Am I or am I not L? This will leave him frustrated. Then, the next phases of my plan will fall into place. That won't be, however, until later."

I contemplated over his words and believed his key point without a doubt in my mind.

My thoughts then turned to the desire of serving some purpose to the Kira investigation in any way I could. I didn't want to be a burden to the force. If anything, I wanted to prove how desperate I had felt before joining. Basically, I wanted to tag along with L when he planned to set off for To-Oh University, one of the most prestigious schools in Japan. Perhaps I could give a psychological analysis of Light Yagami by merely summing him up using my eyes and my mind. Seven years of perusing psychology textbooks would pay off; in this way, I could flaunt my true worth.

"I want to come with you," I steadily told L while finishing off the rest of my portion of cake. "I want to prove that I have the ability and intelligence to be here with this extremely affable group of force members. To be a burden, for me, is not an option."

His thumb slid up his lower lip gradually, almost as if he considered barring me from this opportunity. He preferred to have me guarded by him since he possibly feared facing the tremendous cost this case would have, with my life paying the price. As a brother, he had every right for these concerns. Only when I suddenly paid heed to an abrupt release of bated breath did I realize that he would offer his consent.

"All right," L stated in his monotone, which sounded entirely devoid of reaction, "you may go. However, I expect you to use another alias, as well as to heighten your alertness. And, I suppose that the price will be...no ice cream for a day."

"Are you serious?" I managed to not raise my voice, though I was very close to doing that.

"If you want to go and look inconspicuous, as well as note what Light Yagami's subtle mannerisms are, then yes, sacrifice your ice cream," he replied coolly.

"Only if you will stop drinking coffee for a week."

"That won't happen. I require all the energy possible to stay awake constantly."

"Fine," I sighed, surrendering to my fate.

So the decision was set: I would ride in Watari's limo with L sitting next to me. As we discussed this further, I understood that my fake last name would differ from his fake one and that I would retreat to the vehicle first. This was to prevent any potential threat of dying an untimely, tragic death. Also, I had to avoid Light at all times until L deemed it safe to interact with him. Even though the measures my brother would utilize concerning me were rather cautious and overprotective, I knew that they resulted from care. Despite never betraying his emotions to anybody, he truly did harbor a sibling's affection for me. I hid a slight smile in this knowledge as the last of the cake vanished into L's mouth, which implied the finality of our talk. With exchanged biddings of "good night", I retired to my bedroom while L had to pull his routine all-nighter.

Nearly two months passed before we set off for To-Oh University for the second time, with L informing the other members and telling them to remain diligent during our absence. Under my selected alias of Urara Yoshida, I rode in the limousine beside him as planned. I could hardly believe how extensive his wealth amassed; despite this, he dressed down to casual clothes that middle-class citizens would wear. Then again, L was never one to boast about his fortunes. He preferred to keep quiet regarding topics like that. I currently looked out the window, processing the throngs of pedestrians rushing to arrive at their destinations. Business men, parents with their children, ecstatic teenagers already dreaming about the end of a school day—all of them crowding the crosswalks.

This caused for severe traffic jams, yet for dreamers like me, it didn't matter.

I wondered about these people and what lives they had to lead; honestly, I doubted they were half as interesting as mine. I always desired to know of what an average life consisted. Parents were definitely involved in such a life, components of which I had a lack. Seeing fortunate Japanese children with their mothers and fathers compelled me to turn green from sheer envy. Maybe if I had still had mine, I would rarely find myself as lonely as I was.

"L," I murmured, my eyes staying focused on the urban scenery outside, "do you remember Mom and Dad very well?"

Appearing confused from being asked such an unprecedented question, he glanced at me with a guarded expression. I could tell that this topic somewhat perturbed him.

"V, why do you speak of this now?"

I looked at him briefly. "I see all these children with their parents. I couldn't help but wonder what my own were like."

Displaying major reluctance as he gripped his kneecaps tighter, L replied, "If memory serves me right, they adored you. Our mother would sing lullabies to you whenever you started fussing, which was a rare occurrence in itself. You enjoyed the singing and even tried imitating it. As for our father, he would always laugh and joke—he even changed your diaper once."

I signaled my satisfaction with a nod of the head, for at least I had gained closure when it came to the prior mystery of my parents. Pondering over if they looked down upon us now with pride filling their eyes, I scarcely noticed until the slight lurch of the limo that it was time now to depart to quietly head over to the university. Even though I highly doubted I would attend To-Oh that much anyway, I was still curious to see how I ranked amongst the other entering students. It served as mere entertainment, really; plans to go to college remained non-existent for me. I already possessed more intelligence than one could ever hope to obtain in a lifetime. In my eyes, self-teaching was better than education at any school. At least the former didn't involve interacting and socializing with fellow students. I had fared poorly at that.

After discovering that I ranked fifth in scores, as well as being the only female student in the top ten, I slowly walked behind L to the building. I didn't want any passersby to assume that blood connected us, especially that Yagami boy. Who knew what he had up his sleeve? He might have been one wisely planned step ahead of L, and we wouldn't have an idea as to why or how. Admittedly, Light unnerved me, even if I had never been near him.

Until now.

Seating myself two rows behind my brother and the suspect, I observed as they promptly rose to take the stage. Strange, how they had sat in front of me for mere seconds. Perhaps this was L's manner of telling me where he would sit afterwards. Also his "name" and the suspect's had been called.

Even for those seconds, Light had made me feel even more uncomfortable than to begin with; I sensed that maybe his innocence was rather forced. Yet, everyone he passed thought he was extraordinary, judging from the positive feedback I heard about him. These students praise him and were awestruck at the fact that he scored a hundred percent on every exam subject. So did L, but nobody cared about him due to his odd appearance. Judgmental behavior in this world disgusted me, especially considering that my brother wouldn't dare to be cruel to anyone. However, he did draw back from friendships. I sighed as I watched the two freshman representatives, L and Light, take turns speaking. Light's speech was long and drawn-out (he obviously loved to hear himself talk), whereas L's only lasted five minutes and was precise.

They retreated to their seats in the extreme front row afterwards, compelling me to lean forward in my chair. This earned me a few oddly displayed glances from surrounding people, but I could care less as to their opinions of me. I was used to others looking upon me like a sideshow freak. L was busily discussing the Kira case with Light, who seemed attentive enough, despite the fact that I could only see the back of his head. I also caught word of a response he gave after L paused.

"Sure, I won't tell anyone. What is it?" he inquired as he tried slightly too hard to come off as apathetic to my brother's request. Otherwise, he made for a talented actor.

"I wanted to tell you I'm L."

I nearly shook my head, incredulous when it came to L's tone; it sounded like a mere stage whisper. Surely, he could have been more discreet.

Thankfully, though, I succeeded in studying Light's silent reaction, despite my skepticism. His head straightened abruptly, as though he had just received an unpleasant static shock. I had caught him in the act of appearing genuinely nervous. And, as I leaned still forward, I thought I espied a bead of perspiration stream down his temple.

A few minutes later, all assembled in the auditorium were dismissed for the day. Quickly striding by dispersing students, I ensured to enter the limo first. That way, hardly any passersby would notice me, and L wouldn't have to worry too much. When he came inside, he was interested to hear my report.

"Did you gather any traits regarding the prime suspect?" he asked quietly, most likely to contain his avid intrigue.

"He was rather surprised by your reveal. In fact, he stiffened his neck, which backs my theory. Besides, I assume he thinks you are quite the fool now."

A tiny smirk, one I almost missed, crossed L's lips. "Light Yagami won't like being hoodwinked like that, then.

He proved accurate, as always, in this respect, for I did believe that Light would hardly take this well. Indeed, he probably wished to strangle L about now due to merely being blindsided by my brother's statement. If he kept finding himself tricked, we would win this case.

A/N: Oooh, somebody doesn't like Light! XD Of course V wouldn't, for she's very suspicious of him. I wonder why. XP But, anyway, I decided to have V reflect on her parents that she practically didn't know to give off a sort of Harry Potter vibe. For, really, this story is like a movie in my head.

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