Chapter Four: Orimo Nagasaki

At school we had a pop quiz. I was afraid that I might miss a problem or two because my head was full of thoughts about yesterday. Misa didn't come to school today, just like L had hypnotized her to do.

That power. L's power. It sent shivers down my body. It was not what I expected it to be, and it was more frightening than I imagined. Could he control everybody? Could he control me? Had he already controlled me? Could Mello and Near and Matt possibly under his control? Most likely, no. It looked to me they were there of their own will, but my investigative instincts couldn't rule it out.

And was it just my power that couldn't penetrate L? I had tried several times to see what was in that head of unruly black hair, but I received nothing. It wasn't that his head was empty of thoughts, that couldn't be it. He seemed to always be thinking, always calculating. It's strange. I never felt so frustrated to know what someone was thinking about because I always knew. But he, he was a mystery to me. He was a puzzle. A puzzle I was determined to solve a few pieces at a time.

L was not the only one who clouded my head, though, he was the biggest. The entire PIS that I knew of was in my thoughts. I had stayed up late just thinking about them, the creature, and Rogues, yet I have never seen one. If Hell Bug could make someone as usually cheerful as Misa do what she did, what worse could Rogues and other strange beings do? I wanted to protect people. That is why I wanted to become an officer. But now with beings unknown to the police and innocent people, how would I protect them, then? Perhaps I could... Wait!

Did I want to join the Paranormal Investigators?

The teacher passed by out our quizzes. On my paper the 100 was turned into a smiley face.

L enjoyed sweets very much. He ate them everyday, different flavors. They were, to say, his favorite food, though one might not say they were truly food. And, miraculously, he didn't have a single cavity. He visited the dentist three times a year and brushed his teeth three times a day. Eating sweets made him able to calculate things better, but that didn't mean he ate just sweets. He liked fruits, and meat were okay. Vegetables, whether raw or steamed, were just nasty.

He was also, what Matt had once called, a clean freak. He didn't agree. He just didn't like messes, but that didn't mean he didn't make one. Near was the same as him. His bedroom was spotless and his closet was packed neatly with different toys and puzzles that the albino boy enjoyed. Mello was the exact opposite. His room was filled with clothes on the floor and his bed was never made. But it didn't smell or have any trash in it, so L did not mind that much. It was Mello's living quarters, not his. Matt recently moved in to the apartment complex down the street since he didn't have a place to stay and they were out of room. He had been friends with Mello since childhood, and had known Near just as long since they all grew up together.

Right now it was just him and Near. Near sat on the floor putting together a one-thousand piece puzzle. He did one everyday. For his birthday, L was planning on getting him a puzzle of everyone's face on it. Mello had already gotten him a set so he could glue and frame each puzzle. And Matt hadn't decided yet. L was still wondering what he could do for the party. They were all a family, even if not one of them was related. They celebrated every holiday just like a true family.

L looked back from his chair to Near on the floor. The boy was picking up puzzle pieces with his mind and setting it down. He was getting much better. It had been weeks since he had overdone himself.

"There's someone here," Near suddenly mumbled.

"Who is it?" L asked.

"Not someone I am familiar with," Near said, standing up.

'He must be here for an investigator, then', L thought. "I'll go see to him."

He knew Near wasn't comfortable seeing people by himself. He always stood out because of his albinism. L stuffed on his hardly-ever-used sneakers with the backs squashed down for his heels and walked down the steps. Just when he got to the downstairs office, he saw Matt look at him and set down the phone.

"Oh, hey L," the teen said with a smile, "I was just about to call you. This young lady here would like to talk to you about something."

L noticed there was a very timid looking young girl sitting in one of the chairs. She was wearing the uniform of a private middle school. She looked to be about fifteen or so. She stood up and bowed politely.

"Nice to meet you," she said, "My name is Sayu. I heard that you guys deal with ghosts. Is that true?"

"It is true," L said, "Are you having problems with a ghoul?"

There was a noticeable blush of her cheeks. "W-Well, my friend thinks she might be followed by a ghost, but she's too scared to get help, so that's why I'm here. She's been pushed down stairs, locked in rooms, and other strange stuff. I was wondering if..." She looked down at her shiny black shoes, "If you could see if it was a ghost doing it, or if she just had bad luck."

L nodded, putting his third finger in his mouth. "What is your friend's name?"

"Nagasaki, Orimo Nagasaki," Sayu said, "We go to Okakura Jr. High."

L nodded. Where had he heard that name before? That's right, Raito went to the Okakura High School. "Okay, we'll look into it, but we can't guarantee you anything until we get more information."

Sayu lifted her head up. "You'll take it?"

L nodded again. "We will see what we will do, but we will still charge you for the case."

Sayu smiled and bowed. "Of course! Thank you, thank you!"

After she had gone to the Paranormal Investigators, she felt a little better about her friend Nagasaki. If there was a ghost following her, the PIS would help her.

Sayu needed to help her, too. She and Nagasaki lived close by. They were only a few houses down from each other. She would probably get into trouble for skipping school during lunch, but because her friend didn't show up today, it worried her.

Sayu came to the Orimo household and rang the doorbell. No one came to answer. Perhaps Nagasaki was sick. However, Sayu wanted to make sure. She checked the door and found it to be unlocked.

"Nagasaki-chan?" Sayu called out, "It's me, Sayu! Are you here?" No one answered her. "Nagasaki-chan?" Her feet carried her up the stairs. The closer she got to the second floor she heard the sound of running water in the pipes. Was Nagasaki in the shower?

When she got the top, she looked down both hallways. "Hm?" A puddle of water was outside the bathroom door. Did something flood? Sayu walked over to the bathroom. "Nagasaki-chan?" She twisted the door handle and pushed it open. There was water on the floor, and it was leaking from the shower; inside the shower was…

"Nagasaki-chan!"

Sayu's friend had a stand-up shower, not a bath. It's glass doors rose all the way to the ceiling, and the water was almost to the top. Inside Nagasaki was thrashing about, trying to turn off the water and bang on the glass. Sayu ran over and tugged at the door's handle, but it would not budge. Water leaked from the door's joints, but it wasn't enough to make the water level go down.

"H-Hold on, Nagasaki-chan!" Sayu cried out. She looked around, trying to find something to use to break open the door. She spotted a stainless steel trashcan by the toilet and picked it up over her head. "Watch out!" Nagasaki moved under the shower head in the corner, trying to get away from the door. Sayu hurled the trashcan into the glass, shattering it. Water poured out at high pressure, knocking Sayu off her feet. Nagasaki fell to the ground, curled up.

"Nagasaki-chan!" Sayu cried out, moving over to her friend. The broken glass on the floor cut her hands and knees, but opened the door and leaned over her friend. "It's going to be okay, Nagasaki-chan. I'm got help for you."

Her friend's long red hair was plastered around her face. She was trembling with great force and her eyes were wide. "S-S-Sayu-ch-chan…I saw…I saw…"

"You saw who?" Sayu asked, holding her hand.

"I saw... saw...h-him!"

Sayu's grip tightened around her friend's hand. 'Nii-san! I really need you right now!'

"Okay, now once the chest of your cat is shaved, you will use the scalpel and create a Y incision from the shoulders down to the pubic region," lectured my teacher.

Before me on the lab table was a dead cat, chest shaved, and its limbs pinned down with surgical needles. I pressed the scalpel against the cat's shoulder. I could feel my lab partner breathe down my neck, even though we were both wearing masks. The goggles made my face itch, but we had to wear them. The scalpel sliced through the cat's skin with ease down the left shoulder to the middle of its sternum.

'Nii-san! I really need you right now!'

"Sayu?!" I couldn't stop myself from speaking out loud. How could I hear my sister's voice? She was at school.

"Hm?" my partner looked at me, "Something wrong?"

I looked at him. "No, nothing." I looked back down to the cat I was supposed to dissect. There was no way for me to hear my sister's voice from such a long distance. She was at school. She was fine.

"You dissected a cat?!" Misa cried out when I told her. We were on our way home when I told her. She didn't seem too happy about that. "Raito-kun! How could you? Cats are sweet and innocent and cute!"

I shrugged one shoulder. "I wanted to get a good grade." Misa shook her head at me.

I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket and I fished it out. "Hello?"

"Nii-san!" She sounded upset. And what was she doing using her cell phone at school? They didn't dismiss until thirty minutes after the high school does.

"Sayu, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Nii-san! I'm at Nagasaki-chan's house! She won't wake up!"

"Ah!" I closed my cell phone and took off running. I could hear Misa call out as I left her behind.

"What's wrong, Raito-kun?"

I kept running, my chest tightening and my bag swinging wildly behind me. People stared at me as I ran past and some narrowly jumped away to avoid me; I was ready to run over or push anyone out of my way. A black car skid across the road and stopped beside me, making me pause.

The driver's side door opened and I saw blonde hair that belonged to none other than Mello. He was covered from head to foot in leather, and he still wore those same sunglasses. Pedestrians gave him strange looks but the kept staring at me.

"Do you have a sister named Sayu?" he asked me.

I blinked a few times at him. "Yeah," I finally said.

He opened the door to the backseat. "Get in. We'll take you there."

I obeyed and threw my big in before I climbed inside. In the front seat, I saw L sitting in his usual crouch with the seatbelt drawn across his chest. He gave me a smile, reminding me of a cat.

"Oh, yes," he said, "The family resemblance is uncanny."

Mello sped down the road, skillfully driving a stick shift. L explained to me about Sayu coming to see them.

"She said her friend thought she was being followed by a ghost and was haunting her," he said, thumbnail to his lips.

"Is she?" I asked.

He removed his thumb. "We don't know yet. We saw your sister earlier today and didn't have any time to see her friend to verify."

I nodded. So when I heard Sayu's voice earlier, she really was in trouble. Dammit! Why didn't I go after her? Some big brother I was!

The car stopped in front of the house, and I pushed my way out of the door. I ran to the door and threw it open as Mello and L followed calmly behind me. "Sayu?" I cried out.

"Nii-san! Up here!"

I jumped onto the stairs, but slipped on something wet and bumped my chin against the stair in front of me. "Ouch." What was this? Water? I stood back up, rubbed my chin, and saw a trail of water dripping down the stairs. Avoiding the water, I continued up the stairs with Mello and L at my heels. I located the bathroom by the trail of water and hurried to it. "Sayu!"

"Nii-san!" I saw her on the tile floor, soaking wet. She was holding her friend's head in her lap, her naked body was covered by a towel. "Nagasaki-chan won't wake up!" I saw my sister was crying, her tears mixed with the water. I looked around the scene and saw broken glass and the shattered shower door, then I spotted the trashcan with a large dent on the side.

When I looked back down to my sister and her sleeping friend, my heart constricted in my throat. There seemed to be a hazy black figure hovering around Nagasaki's body. I couldn't make out distinct features, other than it had arms, legs, a head, and a torso like a person. I tried to swallow but I couldn't. The room suddenly became very cold. It turned its head to me, looking at me with no eyes. I was frozen on the spot. I could hear my heart beat in my ears. Thump. Thump.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw Mello behind me. "You okay?" he asked.

It took me a moment. Was I okay? I swallowed my heart and nodded, gaining my ground again and looked to my sister. "Sayu, let's go downstairs, and let them take care of her."

L carefully stepped around the glass so not to get any to stick to his bare feet. He didn't bend down to the body, but was staring at it. Could he also see that shadow person? "Yagami-kun, we may need your assistance."

I was just helping my sister up, and we both looked at him.

"What?" Sayu asked, her brows knitted closer together, "Why do you need Nii-san's help?"

L looked at her and smiled, his eyes closed. "Don't worry, Mello here will stay with you. I just need your brother to assist me." He lowered himself to a crouch beside the body. The shadow-thing retreated a bit. "You were right, Sayu-chan. Your friend is definitely being haunted."

Sayu suddenly burst into tears. I led her over to Mello. "Go with him, Sayu. I'll be down in just a minute."

Mello led her down the stairs with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He kept them there. Good, I didn't want to become the over-protective older brother. I brought my attention back to L, who stood up once again. "Why do you need my help?"

L's black eyes blinked and then looked at me. "Can you see the black figure?" My eyes moved to the shadow, and I nodded. "This is what is haunting Orimo-san."

"Is this that Rogue you mentioned?"

"No, this is called a Dark Creature," he informed me, "It's created inside the mind until it takes a form."

My eyes widened. "Does that mean…" I looked back down to the naked girl and the shadow being the loomed over her, "Nagasaki created it?"

"Hai. That is why I need you." I looked over at him, his dark eyes pouring into me with authority. "I need you to get inside her head and see what caused this."

Inside her head? I felt a wave of nausea.