Author's note: Thanks anyone and everyone who have reviewed. Sadly, I will not continue writing this. xD Just kidding, wanted to see how many people actually read the a/n. Hey, um...anyone interested in betaing this fic?
Disclaimer: I do not own death note and I do not own the lyrics.
Another Detective
Chapter 24
With his eyes glued to the object in question, Raito gazed in a perturbed manner. The strawberry was the size of his entire head, if not bigger. Remembering the careless decision to allow Beyond to have the equipment to create a greenhouse inside the building, Raito could only guess the extensive work Beyond had put into engineering this impractical piece of fruit.
According to the bet, Beyond would no longer 'buy' strawberry jam if Raito learned the languages first. However, Raito had not expected him to spend the entire time period between the beginning and end of the bet making a strawberry that is ideal for making jam.
"Would you like to try some?"
"You are actually offering me some of your jam?" Raito questioned as he turned to face the jam covered Beyond. The question made Beyond smile and walk towards the room that had been converted for Beyond to grow his strawberries. Peering into the room, Raito held back a gasp. Twenty five strawberry plants sat with watermelon sized strawberries hanging in supports Beyond had constructed.
"I have plenty, it would be an offense on my part to let any of the strawberries turn brown before they are jammed. Since I only have four jars, I have to consume the jam hastily," Beyond said before shoving a handful of jam at Raito.
"You do not expect me to eat that out of your hand, do you?" Smirking at Raito, Beyond tried to shove some red jelly into his mouth. When Raito moved away from the hand, it splashed the jam onto his school uniform.
"¿Lucha del alimento?" Beyond asked the question in Spanish and in a tone that implied concealed laughter. Retaliating, Raito tried to grab hold of the jar Beyond was holding. Beyond had asked him if he wanted a food fight and through his actions Raito agreed.
Within minutes, the room was covered in a thick strawberry substance as were the two occupants of the space. "Pienso las miradas de este color agradables en el cuarto," Raito stated sarcastically. He had said that the room looked nice in the new color the two had painted. Leaning back, Raito made a jam angel in the food that coated the floor. Beyond followed suit and made a similar imprint.
"There is no house."
"What are you referring to?"
"Your house is ashen, black carbon and metals."
"All of it?"
"I am sorry, Raito. The bodies of your mother and sister are no longer existent."
"I understand, are there police on the scene?"
"Yes, they have located a probable cause of the fire."
"And what might that be?"
"Due to the clean source and sudden nature, they are leaning towards arson."
"When?"
"Approximately one hour ago is the estimate."
A silent air filled the phone line. Forty five minutes ago Raito had sent a message to a deceased respondent, an hour ago a house burned down. Somehow, the events seemed to connect in Raito's mind.
Clicking the button to hang up the phone without any form of closing salutation, Raito stared at the ground. His mother and sister were now ash. Flowing with the breath of wind, the two now existed as remnants and likely evidence for an arson investigation. In the distance, Raito could hear the same dirge that played for Sayu and for his loving mother. Sirens from police cars and fire trucks sung the song of death and sorrow.
"Raito, are you upset?" Looking at the model, the Kira, and the young girl, Raito flashed a grin.
"I am fine Misa."
"Misa wants to help investigate now."
As much as Misa annoyed him, Raito admitted mentally his gratefulness for her attitude. Although her bubbly mind-set even in the face of death disgusted him in the past, Ratio enjoyed the lively behavior at present. Gazing in Misa's eyes, Raito recalled the eyes of Beyond-a killer. She would become another addition to Smile's cabinet of redeemed criminals.
Focusing his mind on the seemingly mindless girl, Raito gripped his emotion at the news from Beyond. An impassive attitude was the key to a detective's line of work. Raito had the ability to mask his emotions with the same empty face L used. He needed to focus primarily on what was to come.
Raito decided Misa's earlier comment merited a response. "We can go inside in a moment; I need to go inside first to inform the investigators about our agreement."
"Agreement?" The chirped question came from Misa.
"You will be assisting to gain pardon for the acts preformed as Kira."
"Those meanies won't listen, they don't like Misa."
"Do not concern yourself with whether or not they will listen, Misa." With that statement, Raito left Misa and entered the building. Almost directly inside, Matsuda and Mogi stood gabbing with hints amusement. Raito was glad they found something amusing because he surely did not.
Softly knocking on the wall, Raito gained the attention of the investigators. "Matsuda if you are not too busy with this discussion, please compile information on the arson case at the Yagami residence. Also, Misa will not be arrested for her service as Kira. She will be helping with the investigation to earn forgiveness."
"Forgiveness for someone who killed countless individuals? Some of the criminals had families, children, do you expect us to forget what has been done?" Mogi seemed enraged. How unfortunate, Mogi being upset would hinder time allotted for investigating.
User 186532: Did you hear about Watari?
User 807354: No. What happened, Matt?
User 564791: You should have assumed Mello wouldn't know.
User 186532: Kira killed him.
User 807354: What! What about L?
Admin 325600: How did you find that information?
User 186532 signs out.
User 564791: Roger, it is nice to see you online. What is the answer to Mello's question?
Admin 325600: I am unsure, Near.
Watari had always been by his side, a guardian and subtly a comrade. When L found he was alone in the investigation room, he pondered who could replace Watari. The answer was quite obvious: no one. Looking at the remains of the sweet treats Watari had brought him, L felt a sorrow tugging at his heart. Tears would never come, but L knew the little sleep he did get would elude him.
There was so much Watari did. Likely, a building this large had ridiculous bills for utilities. Watari had never made him see the money needed for something. L did not even know how much wealth could be found in his banking accounts. Contacting world leaders and finding cases had always been Watari's duty; L only returned the favor by using his mind to help those Watari communicated with.
L had begun to retrieve the information that Watari had deleted before he died while Raito was speaking to Misa, so the computers were once again in use. Studying the screen of his own computer, L saw something he had never noticed. On the screen of his computer, a screensaver displayed a tranquil forest with small woodland animals.
He did not recall choosing this picture, it must have been Watari. Occasionally, when L spoke to Watari in the past, he remembered Watari mentioning how much him and Roger admired nature. Roger, the man that watched over Whammy's orphanage, kept insect bookmarks in his office at all times.
In fact, L was sure the two had met and bonded as friends due to their appreciation for the beautiful things nature offered. L could imagine them now, drinking tea in a forest under a canopy of life. Soon, L would need to contact Roger. Watari likely sent out a signal before his death to alert the residents at Whammy's.
As L's thoughts continued, Raito entered the room. His face was placid, filled with a generic smile and a fake impassiveness to the recent happenings. Walking until he stood beside L, the detective disguised as a teen waited for him to speak. "Raito-kun, hiding emotion does not fit you."
"Do you still think of me as Raito? Hiding emotion is me, just as it is every individual with a shred of equanimity."
Instead of responding, L rose from his chair and turned to Raito. Reaching the other detective, L extended his arms and pulled Raito into an odd hug. Wordlessly, Raito stood still as if the black haired detective had not embraced him. L seemed to be waiting for a response because he did not release him. Close to Raito's ear, L began to speak. "I know all too well what you speak of," the words came.
"Of course, Lowlife." L finally pulled away from Raito and sat down.
"I heard what happened," L spoke in a way that attempted a consoling tone, "when you spoke to Matsuda and Mogi I was watching the camera footage."
"You heard about the fire, Misa, or both?"
"Both."
Nodding to acknowledge this statement, Raito sat beside L. "Is the fact that Misa is not being convicted upsetting you?"
"If she is a Kira, she is a criminal and should be sentenced for her transgressions. However, B is as well. Smile does not show himself to be a just individual."
"You are calling me unjust for saving a life, two lives, which would have been wasted in jail or received the death sentence. What is a just individual then, L?"
"Your father was just, as was Watari."
"So must I die to be considered a worker of justice?" Raito commented harshly, and turned to face L.
"When you smile," the words from L's mouth were spoken in a murmur Raito could not hear, "you do the world justice."
Ignoring the other detective, Raito faced the opposite direction and clicked a few buttons on a nearby computer to start a search for recent Kira killings. L's quick work restoring the computer's data was commendable but Raito refused to tell L this. A bit of jubilant fury, jubilant in the respect that he no longer felt sorrow, continued to work on Raito's emotions. L had been kind in giving him a hug; however some of his statements were aggravating.
Surely, L would not have told Smile several mounts before any of the words he had said today. Was it the change from texting to speaking in person or had L realized his folly in befriending Smile? Had L always thought of Smile as unjust, as one caught up in emotion?
It was unfortunate that the only people Raito had left in his life were a criminal and a strange friend. Perhaps L felt the same about the death of Watari, Raito was not sure if the detective had any more direct supporters. There were of course the three brothers L mentioned once in a text message. Yet, in all the time the two were working together, Raito had never seen or heard anything else regarding those individuals.
Combating the yawn that had worked its way into his mouth from the exhausting day's events, Raito leaned towards the computer and skimmed through pages of information. Astonishingly, the results of Raito's search were not anticipated. Instead of routine killings, the killer was fluctuating. Stopping and starting again the deaths occurred. Also, the Kira had begun to kill swiftly without considering the severity of the crimes.
This new Kira did not seem to mirror the prior Kira's pattern of hourly deaths nor did the individual care that the actions differentiated the new and old Kiras. Oddly enough, the lack of severity in the criminals dying showed this Kira was similar to the Yotsuba Kira; whoever was killing now did not actually support Kira's cause. If this was true, there was only a matter of time before the intentions of this murderer came to the forefront.
Raito took note of the sound of footsteps behind him. Mogi and Ukita were speaking, both with spiteful tones. Either they did not concur with each other or they did not agree with something Raito and L had done. Hearing his own name, Raito smiled. Feeling a sense of popularity, Raito looked towards them.
"Anything I can help you with?" Raito queried.
"If L won't believe you are Kira, we'll prove it ourselves. And, we'll use you saving Misa as proof," Ukita speedily recited the words as if the two had practiced.
"Sounds like fun. I have always wanted to prove some absurd lie true, like unicorns and fairies. Hey, L and I will not stop you from trying to prove I am Kira. Shinigami are real so maybe everything we know to be true is actually an alternate space-time continuum," Raito paused as he heard a small noise admitted from the detective beside him. L was trying to stop himself from letting out a laugh.
"He has lost his mind," Ukita's under breath comment said. Despite the low voice, Raito heard him.
"Well, I have never actually seen my mind and am not suicidal enough to attempt such so I suppose it is lost. How do I know whether it's under my skull?" The two investigators were shocked at Raito's speaking. His sarcasm and disrespectful tone was abnormal.
Another individual entered the room behind the investigators; Beyond was carrying in a large bag. "My apologizes for the wait I brought L a little strawberry to make him feel better."
Suddenly, L was facing Beyond with an expectant face. Raito was sure L had missed the 'a strawberry' part of the statement, otherwise he would be questioning why he was being limited to a single piece of fruit. Watching as Beyond reached both hands into the bag, Raito smiled. He was looking forward to seeing L's reaction.
The black haired detective's eyes stared at the bag, it must be a large package of strawberries for Beyond to put so much effort into removing them. At last the contents of the bag were revealed, a four decimeter strawberry came into view. L got out of his chair and walked towards Beyond; he wanted to poke the fruit to see if it was an authentic strawberry.
It was real.
People rushed in tightly packed formations. Shifting according to their desired destination, the crowd constantly moved. Around the pack, announcements sounded for flights leaving and flights coming in. Those that had arrived early for their flights lounged in the uncomfortable chairs and spoke to family members.
Beside one of the various food stands that had been set up for travelers, square tables held people. A group of American tourists pointed at a young Japanese girl and marveled as if it was their dream to see someone from Japan in Japan. Their pointing suddenly stopped when they noticed the girl was insane; she was talking to herself.
"Now what?"
"All of those people are heading in the direction we want to go. By using the death note, you could have one of them hand over their tickets and money."
"But I don't know any of their names."
"You could…in just a moment you can know all their names if you complete a deal with me."
Sayu sighed and nodded, yet another deal to be made with Ryuk.
Hate the mind, regrets are better left unspoken
For all we know, this void will grow
And everything's in vain, distressing you though it leaves me open
Feels so right, but I'll end this all before it gets me
Call you name everyday when I feel so helpless
I've fallen down but I'll rise above this, rise above this