Author's note: Sorry if there are mistakes, I did not really proofread as much as I should of. I was excited to finish this chapter, it took far too long.
Disclaimer: I do not own death note and I do not own the lyrics.
Another Detective
Chapter 23
The data deletion message shined into dark irises of L's eyes. Watari knew only to send out such a signal if something severe had occurred, namely death. Such a message appearing now meant that such a circumstance existed; Watari was dead. Observing the shaken expressions of the investigators, L could not help but wonder if such a disturbed expression was in his own features.
Nothing of this sort was supposed to happen now that Smile was here. Every detail L missed appeared swiftly in the eyes of the other detective. Had L missed enough details in the case to actually hinder the investigation? Impossible, it was the lack of focus caused by the suspicions towards Raito, not his own malfunction that caused such an event. L stiffened slightly; if Watari had already died then L could be next.
Caught in his thoughts, L asked the group of investigators about the location of the shinigami. Something about her actions led L to believe she was heavily involved in this. Matsuda and Mogi scurried off in search of Rem while L was left to consider every detail and uncover the story that made such a chain of events possible.
Raito and Smile are the same individual, L was certain of this much. However, he no longer had any solid Kira suspects. Misa could not have done this; she would not be intelligent enough to realize the threat caused by Watari as well as L. If she was the killer then Watari would still be alive. There was of course the possibility that a new Kira already had knowledge of Watari and his death had no connection with the testing of the thirteen day rule.
Abruptly, the flow of thoughts in L's mind stopped. He would not go that far would he? Raito would not have killed Watari just to save Kira. L trusted Smile; Watari and Smile were the only people L ever trusted. In fact, L did not even trust his successors enough to communicate with them in person. But, Raito had been trying to protect Misa and he had asked about the death note pages.
"Ukita, you are acting rashly." L heard Raito's voice from across the room. Adjusting his chair to face the voice, L noticed that Ukita handcuffed Raito and was leading him towards where L was seated.
"L! Yagami-kun is Kira," Ukita said and held out a piece of paper.
'L Lawliet,' the name was written on a piece of the death note. This could not be true. Smile would never try to kill him. Looking at Raito, L silently questioned whether he could have been deceived. Obviously, the reaction L received from Raito was far from what he expected. Raito began to laugh; he started to laugh to reveal honest amusement, free from ill intentions.
"You are funny Lowlife."
"And you are interesting in expressions of joy," the statement was meant to hold a cryptic message. Ukita would understand one message and separate meaning would be for Raito. Expressions of joy were often found in laughter and smiles; L of course was referring to smiling. Ukita would only assume L spoke of Raito's laughter but L actually was referring to Raito's alias.
"You are alive." Seeing the underlying message in Raito's words, L glanced once again at the death note page. Forty seconds had passed and L could still hear his heartbeat rattle in his chest. Ukita began to say something but L interrupted to speak to Raito.
"What did you do?"
"Saved my B-F-F-L. You know, that abbreviation fits you well. It could be best friend for life or best friend forever L." Only Smile would say something like that in this situation.
"Ukita, please unlock Raito-kun's handcuffs. There is no proof of him being Kira."
"What do you mean? Of course there is proof, he used that killer notebook and wrote what I presume to be your name," Ukita refused to release Raito.
"People are so determined to have you in handcuffs, Raito," Beyond said as he entered the doorway with a black notebook balanced on one of his fingers. "If you two are not too busy abusing Raito then glace at the writing in this notebook. I believe it belonged to the shinigami; however all I found around the notebook was sand."
Disregarding Ukita and Raito momentarily, L requested that Beyond give the notebook to him. "Would that require me walking over to where you are sitting? That seems to be a long walk," Beyond inquired. Once he received the book, L opened it.
'Quillsh Whammy, L Lawliet, Sayu Yagami, Sachiko Yagami.'
Leaning over to see the page, Raito's eyes seemed to suddenly become devoid of life. Happiness slipped away from his smile and suddenly he was left blank. Pulling free from Ukita with a burst of energy, Raito rushed one of the computers.
Raito turned his back to the computer to enable his cuffed hands to work the keyboard. A few seconds passed before a picture of Sayu and Sachiko appeared on the screen; neither had a number above their heads. He failed. Rem won. Kira achieved victory, Smile acknowledged defeat. "Smile, we are all going to die anyways," he muttered.
Ukita tried to apprehend Raito once again; the pathetic man fell short when Beyond stepped forward in front of Raito. "You heard what he just said! He admitted to trying to kill us all."
"I like to refer to rabid animals like you being 'put to sleep,' rather than killed," Beyond retaliated.
"What did you just say?" The energy the investigator had been targeting to Raito transferred to the rage he felt towards Beyond.
"I forgot who I was speaking to; let me say it slowly." The thought came to an end as Raito began to speak.
"Beyond, unlock the cuffs and then leave to collect the two Yagami's bodies," Raito directed.
Lost expressions laced both Ukita and L's face, at any other time Raito would have found the situation quite humorous. As Beyond unlocked the handcuffs, L tried to ask various questions. Each inquiry went disregarded, causing L to retire from the interrogating.
"Is his name Beyond, Kira?" Ukita finally asked Raito.
"Call him Kira again and you will find out as much as you want to know about me," Beyond replied as he hid the cuffs and began the venture to the exit of the room. Beyond at one point was a murderer and if Ukita continued to call Raito Kira, Beyond could explain that aspect of him in detail.
Utilizing the newfound freedom in his wrists, Raito opened a window on his computer. The window he opened displayed the emails he had received. In a mail inbox, a message from his sister stood out. Raito's inbox had received the email only hours before Rem wrote Sayu's name.
Rapidly, heated words spilled from Raito's fingertips onto the keyboard. His sister was dead; she would not be able to read the response anyways. Sayu's email had asked him to answer a question regarding his position in a hypothetical situation; Raito took a fervent position.
'From: Raito'
'No matter the circumstance, the repulsive villain known as Kira deserves to die. I would rather die than become a mass murderer with an impure complex of supremacy. So if I was forced to use Kira's power to kill, I would first kill myself to achieve justice.'
The saddest thing you could ever watch is a tear creep down a cheek and then tip to roll under the chin. Its movement is sluggish and stable then rapidly increases to a swift rate. Gazing at the printed form of the email from Raito and the deceased body of her mother, Sayu's tears flowed to the point of clogging her sensitive tear ducts.
"Why couldn't I die with her?" Sayu whimpered with her nasally voice cracking. Everything had gone wrong: Sayu's mother and father died, she was obliged to perform the actions of Kira, and her brother desired her death.
Whipping a tear from her face, Sayu threw the email from Raito to the floor. This was all his fault! He promised Sayu that they would be safe. Her mom's death had to be Raito's fault; he could not catch Kira fast enough. Raito killed their mother indirectly the day he began working as Smile. If he was not Smile than possibly the dead women that lay in front of Sayu could still be alive. Smile was wrong, Raito was not right.
Sayu had to form a plan of action. She could simply call the police to collect her mother's body; however such actions would make her property of wherever the police sent her. Clearly, Sayu found no simple pathway to take. There was also the option of destroying her mother's dead body, possibly even making Sayu herself seem dead. This plan might work.
Walking progressively towards the kitchen, Sayu breath heaved. Her life was ending; the Sayu that idolized movie stars and complained to her mother about completing small tasks died the moment she wrote down her first killing in the death note. Beginning to hum, Sayu flicked the switch on the stove's burners. Flimsy flames flew up from superheated equipment in the kitchen appliance.
Uncharacteristically serene, Sayu rested a cotton cloth to inspire the flames. The cloth suddenly caught fire and with it a massive flame burst forth. Sayu grabbed a few necessities and scurried out of the house before the entire place caught fire. Staring from a distance, more tears tickled the side of her face. Home meant nothing anyways; a home without family had no purpose.
Without family, Sayu sobbed into a jacket she had taken with her. Raito had wrote, 'no matter the circumstance, the repulsive villain known as Kira deserves to die.' Would he still feel that way if he knew his sister was committing the murders? Raito, her own brother, sought Sayu's demise.
"Are humans always this entertaining?" A Ryuk spoke, Sayu bit her lip in anger. The shinigami was troublesome.
"Ryuk, have you ventured far enough in the human world to help me travel?"
"Where do you plan on going, Sayu? A country with lots of apple trees would be somewhere I would kindly give you directions to."
"I was planning on going to Europe."
"Forty varieties of apples are grown in New England, I will lead the way," Ryuk began to fly in a certain direction with Sayu following.
Sayu stared at the shinigami for a moment, her eyes focusing on a dangling silver heart. "Your earring is quite ironic." Verbally, her comment seemed meaningless but it made Ryuk begin to laugh again. Sayu decided to continue her thought. "What you hear, what is said to a shinigami must all be misery; nothing with a heart speaks to you."
Matsuda and Mogi returned to the main investigation room. Their exhaustion was demonstrated in their heavy breathing. "We could not find the shinigami anywhere but we did see Misa at the entrance of the building, she wanted Raito to speak to her," Matsuda announced.
Glancing around, Mogi questioned their missing coworker. "Is Ukita looking for the shinigami as well?"
Placidly, L turned to face Mogi. "He is handling Watari." The statement was true enough, after an extensive argument L had sent the man off to care for Watari's remains. "Raito-kun, would you like to go see Amane-san?"
"That would probably be best," Raito turned to Matsuda and Mogi, "prepare to apprehend Misa for charges as an accomplice to Kira."
The two investigators glanced at Raito in astonishment. Not only had he accused Misa as Kira, he had also openly commanded them. Moving their gaze to L, they saw that he had no reaction to Raito's words. Evidently, there had been an alteration of the organization within the headquarters. Both L and Raito were conveying a dictating presence.
Standing with a fake smile on his face, Raito left the room in search of the blonde Kira. Matsuda had spoken about her being at the entrance to the building, she was probably still there. When he reached the highly secured glass doors separating the headquarters from the outside world, the blonde hair and black outfit stood out. He meandered through the security settings of the building before joining Misa.
"Raito, your alive I am so happy! Misa begged Rem to keep you alive," the girl screeched and threw herself towards Raito. Beside his earlier sorrow, Raito smiled. Soon Misa would no longer care for him; all it would take was a single utterance.
"Misa, I need to tell you something. I am not Kira," Raito whispered and waited for her to release her grasp in disgust.
"Rem told me that earlier! My love is undying no matter who you are." As Misa scribbled the words into her vocalization, Raito frowned. So much for her not caring about him anymore, Raito smiled at his wrong thoughts.
"Misa you are under arrest for charges of being the second Kira, in a few moments the investigators will detain you," his line of speech was cut off by Misa.
"Raito please do not arrest me. I realize Kira was wrong, I understand it," Misa briefly looked at Raito to see if he was listening before she continued. "If a wall has a hole in it, a just person would not make a bigger hole to destroy one termite. Kira was digging a bigger hole in the wall; he was breaking down the structure of society."
Watching as the second Kira's eyes focused on him, Raito tried to decipher the message behind the words. Then, he realized Misa was far too limited in the area of intelligence to make up that high-quality of a lie. Adding a secret message would cause her brain to implode from too much thought. In a strange way, Raito almost pitied Misa.
"Your parents were killed by a criminal that went unpunished until Kira came, correct?"
"Yes they were but the man that killed them was actually caught by someone else first. Someone else got him, all Kira did was kill a runaway. The detective, Smile had discovered who the criminal was. Kira was just a murderer."
"Smile?" Thinking about this, Raito smiled. He needed to guard his identity from Misa more than everyone else; if she found out she would be devoted to him to a greater level. "I am sure you could be forgiven if you worked with the investigation team to find Kira."
"Misa wants to help!" The blonde shirked.
User 807354: Smile is far better.
User 564791: L is a realist, Smile makes too many assumptions.
User 186532: I personally like Smile.
User 564791: You only like him because of the graphics he used in the Kira broadcast.
User 807354: And you only don't like him because his name implies happiness.
User 564791: I'll have you know, I am a very happy person.
User 186532: I don't think our conclusion should be based on personal preferences.
User 186532 invites User 807354 to an online game.
User 564791 signs out, offline message: White is simply a combination of every color.
What if I…got right into
My mind's velocity
What if I…finally discovered
The rules of Eternity
What if I tell you
What we live for…what we die for