Author's note: I am very pleasured to announce that I have received...fan-art for Another Detective. Hidden in Sunlight created an image on her devianart account of Beyond. www(dot)hiddensunlight(dot)deviantart(dot)com

Disclaimer: I do not own death note and I do not own the "echoes of eternity" lyrics.

Another Detective

Chapter 20

Yawning softly, Sayu walked into the kitchen where her mother diligently worked. The eyes that seemed genetically identical to her own turned to look at Sayu before returning to the cooking process in order to make breakfast. When her mother's eyes turned towards her, Sayu saw the reddening of her tear ducts that betrayed the droplets of water that had previously been present.

Sayu began to ask what was wrong but the sentence was interrupted. "How long have you known of it?"

Staggered by the question, Sayu's eyes broadened and she tried to search her mind for what the mentioned 'it' must be. Could her mother be referring to how long she knew of the shinigami and the way Kira kills? It upset her that her mother would have audacity to search through her room while she slept to find the deadly scrap of paper. "What?" Sayu finally responded.

"How long have you known Raito is Smile?" Sachiko clarified. Ashamed of showing her daughter the tear that was tickling the edge of her face, Sachiko turned away. She had not been bothered initially by the news of her son being the famous detective but her thoughts had wandered to the possibility of her son following Soichiro to a death bed.

"Since he interrupted Kira's broadcast," Sayu honestly replied.

Sachiko toweled off her eyes and looked at her beautiful child before speaking again. "Stay away from it all please, Sayu. No matter what Raito may say there should never be a reason for you doing anything even related to police work. I don't want to lose you too," a choke of sorrow clouded the sentence.

Trying to calm her mother, Sayu cautiously walked over and embraced her mother in an affectionate hug. "I will make sure I do not get involved with the Kira case and the rest of the police business, I promise."

In Sayu's mind the lie sounded pleasant but on her tongue it felt sickening. Hearing the words as they left her mouth, Sayu knew the she sounded uncertain. The mendacity served to prove how different Sayu was from her brother; she could not twist words into well planned deception without showing the deceit in her otherwise innocent eyes. Though the lie seemed obvious to Sayu, Sachiko seemed too occupied by her sorrow to notice.

Sayu's eyes began to water but she forced them to stay open so the dry air would prevent the liquid from seeping down her cheek. Standing in a distraught state, the women seemed to be without a comforter to soothe their sadness and make things right again. Soichiro, Raito, and the world had abandoned them in their time of need.

Pulling away, Sayu smiled hopefully. Raito would come back home, Smile and L would be victorious. Sayu and Sachiko would be safe from Kira because of Smile, he would protect them. Her brother would come through for them, Sayu was certain. There was a four out of three chance that they would all be fine and happy, but then again Sayu's worse subject had always been probability.

The hopeful smile quickly fell as she saw a familiar creature letting its harsh laugh sound in the kitchen. Bite by bite a red apple disappeared into the shinigami's mouth. Why had the wicked creature reappeared and what did it find so amusing? From her last experience the only event the fiend laughed at was the death of humans. Abruptly, Sayu hurried off to her room to speak to the shinigami.

Reaching her room, Sayu turned to face to shinigami that had followed her. "Are you going to write anymore names on the Death Note page?" The creature asked her.

Panic filled her face as she stared at the death god. She had no choice; the shinigami obviously wanted her to write more names. Reluctantly, Sayu nodded her head. Her agreeing to write more names caused the shinigami to pull out a black notebook. Recalling the last time she saw the book, Sayu reminded herself of the journey she had made to an office where she had found the diary that contained the first piece of deadly paper.

"Here is your notebook, Sayu. I need to tell you that since you have used the Death Note, I will be the one to kill you when you die." Sayu watched the book that had now been given to her, who was she going to execute to keep the shinigami satisfied? Considering the possibilities, Sayu opted for a criminal that no one would miss. In the corner of the room, Ryuk chortled at the new Kira.

L wanted to get up early; Wedy had news of whether or not she could install the cameras at Yotsuba and L would not be satisfied until the criminal killer was captured. Unfortunately, the lump he had chained to his arm served as a weight to prevent his movement. The lump rolled over in his sleep causing the sheet covering his face to slide down and reveal Raito. Watching the teen, L calculated a way to wake Raito up without angering him.

Taking a marker from beside the bed, L delicately pressed the tip of the marker against Raito's cheek and slid it down in a straight line. Once the line was complete, L grazed the tip towards Raito's lips. Raito must have been ticklish because the marker's movements had caused him to drowsily move his hand upward to brush away the irritation.

Instead of brushing away the nuisance, Raito's hand collided with the hand L was using to write on his face. Raito withdrew his hand and opened his eyes to look at the black haired detective hovering above his face with a permanent marker. A few moments passed before Raito's mind woke up and he came to the conclusion that L wrote on his face. By the time this occurred, L seemed amused by something and Raito could only assume it was whatever was written on his face.

"What did you write on my face?" Raito asked. The only response was an odd sound similar to a laugh that came from L. "Are you laughing at me?" Raito questioned with displeasure.

"I do not laugh at murderers," L said with a bland voice that seemed to be efficiently hiding the amusement he felt. Without bothering to deny the underlying accusation, Raito sat up and waited for L to do the same so that he could assess the facial damage.

Immediately, Raito began to search for the nearest mirror. When he found the reflective surface, a huge 'L' greeted his eyes. Raito licked the edge of his thumb and began to rub at the marker but this only served to soften the edges so the letter looked airbrushed. Raito's attempt to remove the letter stopped and a sly smile spread across his face. "L, remember your reference to the saying 'an eye for an eye'?"

Raito pulled on the chain to make the marker in L's hand fall to the floor and both the detectives stared at the entity. Since the marker was closer to Raito, L decided it would be best to attempt to prevent the inevitable. "If you try to even touch that marker you will be convicted as being Kira."

"Interesting proposition but I do not believe fabulists," Raito said and lunged for the permanent marker.

Watching Raito, L could only stare. 'Fabulist' was what Smile had said after L had accused him of being Kira. The word was quite commonplace in literature but not often used in conversational context. Was the handsome teenager with the smeared letter L across his face really the same person he had spoken to for the last few years? There had been several times the thought crossed his mind but it was always overshadowed by the possibility of Raito being Kira.

Wondering if the use of one simple word could prove Smile's identity, L tried to back away from the marker wielding Raito. As soon as Raito moved closer in an attempt to write on L, L lashed out a carefully planned kick that would fling the marker to the other side of the room. Raito let out a curse as L's foot hit his hand. "Raito-kun should not purposely provoke such harm to himself," L said in a clarifying manner.

"No wonder Kira wants to kill you," Raito hissed and rubbed his bruised hand.

The door to Misa's door swung open and Matsuda walked in with a small package in his hand. "Misa Misa, a package was at the front door. I assumed it was another one of the cosmetic products you ordered."

Grabbing the package, Misa thanked Matsuda from bringing it to her. The samples of her own cosmetic line had been coming every few days so the task force had grown accustomed to bringing the items to her without checking the contents first. L would be upset for their carelessness when dealing with a Kira suspect but no one believed the cheery girl could be a murderer.

Attentively, Misa glanced at a clock that hung against the room's wall. She had to get ready for her date; Ryuuzaki said that she could see Raito this morning and she wanted to look most excellent. Maybe, Misa could use the new delivery of makeup when she went so that she would look her best. The package did not have a label on it so Misa did not know exactly what it held but she hoped it was mascara.

A shrill scream escaped Misa's mouth as she opened the package and reached inside to grab what she thought was a product. Memories of meeting Rem and discovering that Raito was Kira filled her mind. The flashes of recollection made her head ache and she felt uneasy. Her screams seemed to disturb the other occupant of her floor; Mikami walked over to find out what had distressed her.

Carelessly, Misa had dropped the package that contained the Death Note. Mikami picked up the package as Misa continued to act flustered by the memories that were filling her mind. The black haired man peered curiously into the opened portion of the box Misa dropped. Sensing some significance in the book, the original Kira seized the black covered Death Note and brought back to mind all the forgotten recollections that came with it.

Considering his plan of action, Mikami demonstrated his satisfaction in the cruel grin that laced his face. Kira had won. This was all according to his plan; all that remained to be done was the removal of Misa and the anonymous detectives that suspected him. After completing these actions, Mikami would save the second Kira from this awful place. His loyal worshipper, who he had assumed to be Raito, did not deserve to be treated as a criminal by L.

Mikami calmly noticed that this Death Note was not the one he originally had. If this was true, the Kira that had been killing people in his absence had been using this notebook. Of course, if this was that Kira's Death Note then the killings of criminals would soon or had already stopped.

The slight stir in the room as Misa paced back and forth drew Mikami's attention away from the book he was holding. He had forgotten for a moment about the startled girl. "Misa, are you alright?

"I am fine, may I have that back," Misa said regarding the Death Note. She seemed excited for some reason; it could be the chance she had to show Raito her discovery.

Without any struggle, Mikami gave the book to Misa. Her giving it to Raito and causing him to possibly retain memories of being the second Kira would be more helpful than him keeping the notebook. "Are you going to give that to Yagami-kun?" Mikami asked.

"How did you know?" The naïve girl squealed. Mikami knew because he was god, he was Kira and as such he was all knowing. Few segments of information had eluded him and those that had only consisted of the names of the two aliased detectives that were opposing him. Soon, Mikami was sure even that information would be his.

"It doesn't seem to be the makeup you were looking for but you still want to bring it for your date," Mikami explained to the girl. Feeling sorry for his loyal second Kira that had to deal with Misa, Mikami watched as Misa turned to prepare for the date she had been talking to the mirror about all night.

As long as L or Smile did not get their grimy hands on the mantle of justice, Mikami knew his plans would work. There was also the question of what had happened to his own Death Note during his absence. Hopefully, the law office he worked for threw away the notebook and Ryuk had rescued it from being burned with other combustible trash. If so, it was possible that the notebook had been given to another individual. Mikami needed to escape this headquarters to speak to someone who would help him track down whoever found the Death Note.

Observing Misa, Mikami thought of a perfect plan involving the girl's date. When Misa gave the notebook to Raito, he had to make sure they were so engrossed by the novelty of the shinigami he could sneak past them and the rest of the task force. The only condition that Mikami needed to ensure for his plan to work was his personal presence when the girl gave the Death Note to Raito.

Misa walked out of the bathroom and showed the exceptionally long preparation time was finally completed. She had chosen to wear a black outfit to match the Death Note and skeleton jewelry to match the idea of a shinigami. Approvingly, Misa gazed at her own reflection in the mirror. There was no doubt that Raito would love her in this outfit.

"Misa, when you leave I will be accompanying you. One of those detectives thinks it is risky to leave a Kira suspect alone," Mikami said as Misa stared in the mirror. Turning to face Mikami, the model's eyes glazed over with an indefinable anger.

"Why don't they just invite the whole Earth to my date?" Misa responded solemnly.

"People would not come within a ten mile radius of you unless by force," Mikami whispered under breath but, thankfully, Misa did not hear him.

Seeming satisfied with her appearance and choice of accessories, Misa pulled Mikami along with her as she hurried toward Raito. Misa had to make sure she made the most of the limited time given by Ryuuzaki for each date. As she raced through the hallway, Misa saw that Raito had yet to arrive at the destination for their date. He was standing in the hallway complaining about something.

From what she could hear, the argument between Raito and Ryuuzaki was about something that had happened to Raito's face. His attempts to clean his face failed so Ryuuzaki had tried to dab his face with alcohol so as to remove whatever was on Raito's face. Listening to their conversation, Misa gathered that Ryuuzaki upset Raito by his touching his face is such a way. Misa understood his concerns, Ryuuzaki was a creep.

Suddenly, the two noticed Misa and began to look at her with a questioning stare. "Raito and I have a date today!" Misa's squeaky voice called. There seemed to be a wince adorning Raito's face, he must have been ashamed that he had forgotten that he would be able to spend time with Misa.

"Of course Misa, I would have remembered if not for disruptions this morning-", Raito's speaking trailed off as he looked at who was with Misa. Mikami was there but Raito's eyes seemed to be focused on the figure of the white shinigami.

"Hello Yagami Raito," the shinigami mouthed so that Misa would not notice the exchange.

Raito wondered why the shinigami was present. Remembering something the shinigami had said before it had him pretend to think he 'might be Kira', Raito recalled it telling him shinigami had to stay with Death Note owners. If it was here then so was Kira's murder book. Slowly, Raito's eyes moved to the book Misa was cradling in her arms. "Misa, what is that?"

Mikami, Misa, L, and Rem's eyes trailed Raito as he took the book from Misa's outreached hand. On the front of the black book were the words 'Death Note'. Knowing that he needed to act as if he was having a reaction from the touch of the book, Raito raised the one side of his mouth in a devilish smirk. Although L could not see the way Raito's mouth lifted the 'L' plastered cheek and the murderous intentions this lift implied, the way Mikami and Misa seemed to react made L's thoughts rush to Kira.

Out of the crowd of beings, the only one Raito truly wanted to please was distressed. L looked at him as if he was the scum of the Earth, as if he was some sick murderer with no reason behind his actions. When Raito saw L open his mouth to utter his thoughts, Raito's entire being seemed to cringe. "May I view the object you are holding, Kira?"

When Raito held the book out to L, a piece of legal paper slipped out. Raito reached down to pick up the short letter that seemed to be typed on the paper. Beside him, L seemed unconcerned with the letter as he read the rules of the Death Note. Deciding to read the letter, Raito stared at the words printed on the page.

'L,

If you are reading this then I have given up my position as Kira. This Death Note is the way I kill; I have already forfeited my memories.

There is someone I must thank. His name and face will never go in the Death Note but they have engraved themselves into my mind. A red and black haired Criminal Psychologist allowed me to begin introspection of why I became Kira. I wanted the money for myself because when I was young my father never gave my mother money but through being Kira people like my mother have been killed.
I hope you understand,

Kira'

When Raito finally looked up, Mikami had vanished and L was beginning to talk to the shinigami. Rem, as the shinigami told L 'her' name was, had little knowledge of the way the Death Note worked. Raito did not observe any reactions to the shinigami from L; it was as if he was entirely comfortable talking to the creature of death. L even began to tell her his plan to test the validity of the Death Note rules in order to verify one he found questionable.

Staring into nothing
Questioning what is real
We don't share the same reality
Personal perception
Life's your own creation
What you see now is really what you believe
Lost beneath the silent sky
Yearning to know the reasons why
Want to know what's out there