(A/N): Gah! Sorry this is so late! bows head in shame

Chapter Two: The Paranormal Investigation Squad

I awoke the next morning, and immediately looked for the card I was given the day before from Mello. It had dropped off the bed in my sleep and I was relieved when I found it. It meant that last night was real.

I took a shower and dressed for school, then joined my family for breakfast. My sister Sayu was already up and eating at the table when I came down.

"About time you got up, Nii-chan," she said, eating the rice Mother gave her, "I was just about to go and get you."

I sat down across from her. "Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night."

My mother came over and handed me a bowl of rice and a set of chopsticks. I set off to eat when I heard a news reporter on the television we had in the kitchen.

"Police yesterday found the body of twenty-three year old Yorashime Takami," said the female news reporter, "Yorashime was found in her car in the driveway of her home by her neighbor. Cause of death has not yet been determined, but authorities are still investigating." The reporter then switched to a different camera.

"Another missing person's case has come up," she continued on, "Toichirou Shima has been missing for two days now." A picture of a teenage boy showed up on the screen. "Parents of Shima say that he was starting to rebel and started hanging out with the wrong crowds. Shima has been showing symptoms of depression and anger issues. If you have any information of the whereabouts of Toichirou Shima, please call the hotline you see below."

"Is that the case that Dad is working on?" I asked. My father was the chief at the Tokyo Detective Agency in the Homicide Unit. They've been watching some of the missing persons cases because recently a few have been found dead.

Mother shrugged. "I'm not sure. We'll ask him when he gets home tonight. You guys hurry and eat or you'll be late." 'Oh, jeez. He's going to be out all night again with these missing kids. Can't parents control their children anymore? He already has high blood pressure.'

So he was working on the missing child's case. And he could also be pulling a double and be working on the dead girl's case. I continued eating breakfast and I put the dishes in the sink. I said goodbye to my sister and my mother and made my way down the sidewalk to school.

When I came to the crossroad, I recognized Misa. She had her back to me and her dyed blond hair was down instead of in it's usual pigtails. I tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey," I said.

She looked up at me. Her eyes looked dull and tired. "Oh. Hey, Raito." Her voice was hollowed with no emotion.

I frowned, noticing the absent '-kun' that usually followed. "Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."

The walk sign gave the okay and she walked ahead. I was just about to follow after her when I saw something on the back of her uniform. It looked like a giant spider or something was on her back. I blinked and it was gone. Did I really see that or was it just my imagination? Whatever it had been, it was gone now I walked with the rest of the group.

While at school I barely concentrated on my assignments. I had the card with the address in my pocket and it felt like it was burning through my khakis.

"Raito," the teacher called out. I looked up at her from my daydream. She looked annoyed. "Since the window seems to be taking all of you attention, why don't you tell me the answer to the problem?"

I looked over to the blackboard and saw a jumble of numbers and signs. I couldn't pick out which problem she was talking about since she was very disorganized if you didn't pay attention. Luckily though, I had other methods to get the answer.

Fourteen, rang in my ears in the voice of several other students who knew the answer, fourteen, fourteen, fourteen…

"Fourteen," I said confidently.

The teacher nodded. "Thank you, now please pay attention." The students were a little disappointed. They were hoping to see me make a fool on myself. Little did they know they had given me the answer.

As school continued, I also kept an eye on Misa. She didn't smile at all, all day. At lunch, she ate a few bites of her salad, but then just stared at it.

"Misa," I said, concerned, "Why aren't you eating? You're not trying to lose weight, are you? You're skinny enough as it is."

Misa shook her head. "I'm just not hungry." She folded her arms on the table and rested her chin on her arms.

I patted her on the elbow. "There's something wrong with you. Are you feeling okay?"

I was surprised when she smacked my hand away. "I'm fine, Raito, okay?" She gathered up her things and left the cafeteria. I could only stare after her as she ran up the stairs. Something was wrong. She seemed irritable and depressed, very different from the usual Misa. PMS?

I didn't see her the rest of the day. When I asked her friends, they said they hadn't seen her, but thought that she was most likely dismissed early by her mother. I decided that must be it and didn't worry too much. I would stop by and see her, maybe, after I stopped by the Paranormal Investigators Headquarters. That would come first.

When school was finally over, I didn't stop by my house like I usually did. Instead I called home and left a message on the machine, saying I was going to be out, and then took the train downtown where the address said. I walked a few blocks from the train station. It brought me to a building. It was not quite what I expected. It looked like an office building with two stories. The sign painted on the double glass doors said "Paranormal Investigations" and it had an eye that stared straight ahead on it. Honestly, I was expecting a rundown building, or some other kind of low business-like office, and I didn't expect them to come out and say they worked with ghosts and spirits; that kind of thing was looked down on in society nowadays.

"Are you wanting to talk to a detective?"

I turned around and saw a boy my age or younger with goggles on the top of his redish brown hair. He wore a black and white stripped shirt with a name tag that said "Matt" on it. He took a drag off a cigarette, then smashed it on the ashtray on top of a trashcan.

"Yes," I said, taking out the card, "I'm looking for someone named…" Crap, what was that weird guy's name again?

"Go ahead and come inside and wait," Matt said, holding the door open for me, "They're are out right now, but they should come back after a while."

I walked inside and saw that they had really clean walls and floors. There were tables and chairs with magazines and pamphlets about the supernatural and the effects it had on reality and your person. It was like I was stepping inside the twilight zone. Why was I here again? Oh yeah, the mind reading thing.

I sat down in one of the chairs and looked around. There was a set of stairs at the far end of the room that led to the upper level, a door to an office, and an open door to a room that looked like a conference room.

I waited patiently while Matt went behind the desk and answered the phone, occasionally scribbling something down. So they did get some business. After ten minutes I started getting bored so I took out a book from my backpack and began reading where I left off. I deciding to leave the magazines and pamphlets alone.

After about five minutes after opening the book, I heard the door open and Matt say, "Hey there Near, we got someone waiting for you."

I looked up and felt my stomach drop to my knees. When I saw who Matt was talking to, my first thought was a ghost had walked right into the building.

It was a boy, a teenager, with pale white skin, and whiter hair than snow. He wore an all white suit with pants and a button down shirt. Even the sneakers he wore were white. He looked over at me then walked over. His eyes were pale blue.

"Good afternoon," the white boy said as he held out his pale hand, "My name is Near. Would you like to step into my office?"

After a while, I stood up. Was this little boy an investigator? He couldn't be, he was only a teenager. And he was so white and pale, was he even human?

The boy, Near, he had said (Was that really even his name?), led me through one of the office doors. We went into one of the cubicles with a desk. Near sat behind the desk and I sat opposite of him.

"What can I help you with?" Near asked. I wasn't sure anymore. I just blinked a few times. I'm not a freak show, so stop staring at me like I am.

"I'm sorry," I said automatically. Near raised his white eyebrows, "I just never saw someone as pale as yourself."

Near shrugged one shoulder. "It's okay. I'm an albino. I get that a lot."

"I thought albinos had red eyes?"

"That's a stereotype," Near answered, "Not all albinos have red eyes. Albinos with red eyes have clear irises; I have blue irises as you can tell." He curled a piece of white hair in his fingers. "Now, what can I do for you?"

I pulled out the card. "I had someone who worked here give me this." I handed Near the card, "He was at my house last night and told me that I should come here." I decided not to mention my ability until needed be.

"What did he look like?" Near asked.

"He had blonde hair…"

"Was his name Mello?"

I nodded. "Yes, that's his name. Mello."

Near twirled a piece of hair, one leg up in the chair and the other straight down, dangling to the floor. He nodded and picked up the phone that was on the desk and dialed a few numbers. "I'll call Mello and see what he says."

He waited awhile before someone answered. "Mello, this is Near. I have someone here with me that says you requested that he stopped by." He covered the mouth piece with his hand and looked to me. "What's your name, please?"

"Yagami Raito," I said.

"His name is Yagami Raito," Near said into the phone. His constant hair twirling stopped. "I see…" He looked up at me, looking at me in a studying way, "Are you sure?…" I stiffened in my seat, suddenly being very nervous as if I was applying for a job and the manager was checking my references. "What kind are we talking about here?…" I wasn't sure but I could've sworn I saw Near's cheeks pinken. "Understood…okay…thank you."

He hung up and then stood up. "Please follow me upstairs, Yagami-san."

I stood up and followed the albino boy outside into the waiting room and then up the stairs. Downstairs was an office-like building while the upstairs was more home like. We entered a living room with a large plasma television and two black leather couches and chairs and a white table in the middle with a few manila folders on top of it. Near gestured for me to sit down on one of the couches, which I did.

"Would you like some tea, Raito-san?" he asked.

"Yes please," I said politely.

Near walked into the kitchen, shuffling his feet slightly, which were now gone of shoes and he was only in socks. He came back with two teacups of hot tea and set them down on the table with a bowl of sugar cubes and two spoons. I saw that it was Earl Grey and not herbal; they didn't look Japanese, so it wasn't a surprise.

Near sat down on the same couch as me, facing me with one leg to his chest and the other on the floor. "Mello told me you are a special case with abnormal abilities. Is this true?"

I sipped the tea. "Yes, this is true, but I think it would be best if I waited for Mello to come before I discuss anything farther."

Near nodded and looked at his untouched tea. He dropped two sugar cubes into it and leaned back still looking at it. "What grade are you in, Raito-san?"

"I'm a senior," I answered.

"What school do you attend?"

"Okakura High."

"A private school, huh?"

"Yes, I'm wearing their uniform right…now…" I trailed off when I looked to the tea cup Near was so intently staring out, a little annoyed that he was being so rude as to not look at his guest. Then I knew why he was looking at it. The teaspoon that was in it was moving around in circles by itself. My jaw dropped as the spoon kept moving and moving. Then it slowed down and stopped. Near held his hand out and I watched amazed as the teacup gently lifted itself off the saucer and slowly zoomed into his hand. He took a sip and looked at me.

"Any family members?" Near asked, acting like nothing out of the ordinary happened.

But I couldn't answer. I was looking at the teacup in Near's hands like it was radioactive gold; I wasn't sure whether I should be amazed or frightened. Finally, I found my voice. "You can do things, too?"

Near nodded and set the teacup back on the saucer. "Yes, I'm telekinetic and a psychic tracker."

I furrowed my eyebrows questioningly. "A psychic tracker?" I knew what telekinesis was, but this was out of my sci-fi vocabulary.

"I can track someone by their psychic aura they give off," Near answered, "Everyone has a distinct aura profile, much like a scent. I try to find your psychic aura and follow it to where you may be."

Now I had much more questions to ask now. "You find missing people? Then you can help with the missing teenagers then, can't you?"

"That is what Mello and our boss is trying to do," Near said, "We need permission from the families of the missing person or the police to interfere. The police are skeptical about us and the family doesn't want any amateurs to jump on the case and slow it down."

I nodded. "I see." It was understandable. If it were my kid who was missing I don't think I would trust a "psychic". I set the teacup down on the saucer. "Why didn't you join them, then?"

Near looked down at the floor. "I had tests today that I couldn't miss."

I blinked. "How old are you?"

Near now narrowed his eyes at me. "I will tell you that my age doesn't do well for my ability. Regardless of how old I am, I am more than qualified to do my job."

I was taken aback. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I was just curious."

Near's cheeks noticeably reddened and he twirled a piece of hair. "I apologize," he said, looking at the ground, "We've been having trouble getting cooperation from the police for some unsolved cases. I didn't mean to react that way. I'll be sixteen in two months."

I smiled. The kid was pretty cute. "What school do you go to?"

"Kitamura," Near mumbled.

"Is that a middle school?"

"It's a college. I'm working on my degree in criminal justice." He looked over to my shocked expression. "I have an I.Q. of 184. People like us are more likely to have higher intelligence because of our more productive and advanced brainwaves. I would guess that you make straight A's in advance classes and college courses, too."

I nodded. "I'm the top in my school." So I was smart because of my power? This was new to me. Somehow I didn't feel so special anymore.

Near smiled, a small smile. "See?" He shifted a little, "We can wait here for them. They should be back soon. Do you want to watch TV?" He didn't even wait for a reply before he turned on the plasma to a cartoon channel.

Mello was driving while L sat in the passenger seat. He hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. "Those damn detectives!" he cursed, "The job is to find the kid, but they only care that they find him!"

L had his thumbnail in between his lips. "I will talk to his mother when we get to headquarters. Perhaps she will be desperate enough to allow us on the case."

Mello blew a piece of blond hair from his face and kept driving.

"In the meantime," L said, holding up the vial of green goo that was now a green liquid, "We have a new Rogue to catch."

Near and I were still watching cartoons when we heard footsteps coming up the stairs. When we looked, the door opened and Mello and another boy entered the room.

"I'm just about to find that damn brat myself if they don't…" Mello trailed off when he saw they had a guest in the room. He smiled widely, "Ah, Raito! Glad you're here. This is my boss, L."

I looked over to the hunched over boy behind Mello with his feet bare, hands in pockets, and wild black hair with haunted eyes.

L bowed. "It's nice to have you here, Yagami-kun."

That boy! That weird boy! I pointed a finger at him. "You were that boy that was in front of the school yesterday!"

L walked over to the couch in front of us, sitting down on his feet with his knees to his chest and his hands resting on his knees. Mello went to the kitchen and came back with some tea and several plates of chocolate and other sweets. L plopped several sugar cubes in the tea and stirred. I realized he didn't say anything to my accusation. He didn't say anything at all.

"Um, sorry to ask," I said, slightly nervous, "but, does L stand for anything?"

L shook his head negatively. "No, it's just L." He picked up a cookie and nibbled on it. "Now, I'm sure you have other questions, but I'm going to go ahead and tell you that you can read thoughts." He didn't look at me, instead he opted to build a small stack of sugar cubes. "No one knows why this happens or when it will happen again to someone, but what we do know is that it is in the brain. You are a hypersensitive, which means that you are more sensitive to the aura and spiritual force a person gives off."

I nodded, although my head was jumbled with this new information. I wasn't a very spiritual man, but there did seem to be a lot of "spiritual things" in this.

"We are a task force that deals with the supernatural and other beings that are not acceptable in human society," L continued, "We use our abilities for these types of cases."

"What powers do you have?" I asked.

L removed one of the sugar cubes from his tower and licked it. "You will see my abilities at a later time. People like us are capable of seeing ghosts and spirits. Even "normal humans" that have no special powers but are hypersensitive are able to see spirits."

I leaned back. "Okay, so you all know what I can do and I know what you can do, but why am I here? Is it that you want me to join this squad? My father is the chief detective for Tokyo. I don't think he would approve if I decided I no longer wanted to be on his team."

L nibbled his nail. "Yes, you do help your father with cases, don't you, Yagami-kun?"

I nodded. "I've been on a few. I'm wanting to follow in my father's footsteps and become a detective in the force." Then a thought crossed my mind. "Are you wanting me to join this squad because of this defect I have?"

"It's not a defect," Mello said, "We're still human. There have been known cases about people like us."

"What is this 'us'?" I asked, getting annoyed, "What are we? We're freaks. That's all we are."

"Yes," came L's haunted voice, "We are freaks. But the question is, do we use our freaky abilities for good and justice, or do we keep it inside us, hoping if we never bring it out it will eventually die away?" He bit a piece of sugar cube and swallowed it, "No matter what you do, you will always be different. I'm sure that your father probably uses your deductive skills to accompany him on interrogations, doesn't he?" I didn't say anything. "You use your mind reading skills to poke inside the suspect's mind to find the guilty thoughts and then you manipulate him enough with your strange knowing until he finally confesses or you get enough evidence against him to arrest him." He licked some excess sugar off his fingers. "It's a very clever method."

I could feel my face pale. I swallowed, but didn't say anything after that. It was true. Dammit.

L's eyes, those haunted eyes, lifted up to mine. "I am saying that you would be a great benefit for this squad, but I am not saying that just because you have these powers that you have to be on this squad. It is your choice. Do what you want to do. Either way, your ability will be put to good use." He picked up a cookie and nibbled on it. "We still don't know why we have these abilities, whether they are mutations in our genetics or a strange development in our brains. Who knows? All we do know is there are others like us. They have the choice to use their abilities for good or bad. We paranormal investigators choose to protect the good and fight against the bad."

"So there are other people with powers who are criminals?" I asked.

L nodded. "Of course," he said, placing his hands on his knees, "Our powers are not confined to just the innocent. It's the person's choice to be who they want to be. They are more of a threat with their supernatural powers than regular criminals, though." Then he stood up and walked towards the door and opened it. "Unfortunately, I cannot tell you anymore on the matter. If you have questions about your own abilities, we would be happy to help, but any more information is confidential between the squad."

I nodded and walked towards the door. "Thank you." I bowed and shut the door behind me.

As I left the building, Matt said goodbye while talking on the phone. I felt more stressed now than I had before. Not only was I not the only one that was a freak, but there were criminals with powers, too. It was terrifying to think about. With Mello's ability, robbery would be an easy task and there would be no way to pin it on him. And with Near's psychic tracking whatever, he could avoid all police and civilians, and with his telekinesis…I shuddered. And L…though I did not know of L's powers, I had a feeling it would be equally as terrifying as the others.

It was my choice. Use my powers for good? Or bad? I could be unstoppable if I decided to do criminal acts, so unstoppable that I scared myself. I knew I would do the right thing and follow justice, I had already made that choice. But others out there were bypassing justice and punishment, hurting innocent civilians and getting away with it. Just thinking of it made me angry. And who knew what they were capable of? Blowing your head apart with a snap of their fingers? Setting you on fire? Drowning you from the inside out? Making you go mentally insane? Throwing you in another dimension? My imagination was reeling on different, absurd ways.

It was evening now. The sky was red and purple. I felt fatigued and tired. I took the train back to my hometown and walked down the street toward my house. On the way, I passed by Misa's house. I stopped when I heard a yell.

"I don't care what you think, Mom!" came a high pitched screech that sounded a lot like Misa, only more satanic. "It's my life! I can do whatever the hell I want!"

The front door of the house flew open and a very angry Misa walked out, fuming. Her hair now had black roots since she hadn't dyed it again. She had on her usual Gothic Lolita outfits except these were even more exposing. Her knee high black boots clicked on the concrete with each step.

"Misa," I began but she cut me off.

"Fuck off, Raito, I'm not in the mood to deal with you." And she marched away from me. Under the glow of the street light, I saw the same strange bug I saw on her earlier, only now it covered her entire back and it was pulsing. It was one of the ugliest things I had ever seen. How could she not notice it?

I hate the world. I hate everyone. I hate myself. I can't stand them. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. Everyone hates me, and I hate everyone.

It was Misa's voice, Misa's thoughts, but it wasn't her. This wasn't the friend I knew. It was the bug. The bug was making her have such thoughts.

"Misa!" I called after her.

Misa turned on her heel. "Go away, Raito! This isn't any of your business!"

"Misa, I want to help you!"

"Help me what?" Tears spilled down her cheeks, but her eyes were still hurt and angry, "Kill myself? I'm quite capable of doing that myself!"

I ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "This isn't you. You're not like this at all! What's going on?"

She balled her fist and pulled it back. I was so shocked to see her actually raise a hand to me that I didn't block it as it came hurtling toward my jaw. My head turned and spit flew out of my mouth. I tasted rust, but there was no blood when I checked. When I looked to see Misa, she was running down the street.

She was going to kill herself, I knew it. Was it because of that strange bug? It had to be. It must be a parasite of some kind that made her act so strangely. I had to stop her. But I would need help.

First, I knocked on Misa's front door and it was answered by her distraught mother. Her hair was also dyed blonde.

"Yagami-kun?" she sniffled.

"I want to help you find Misa," I told her, "Can I use your phone?"