Authors note- Hey guys! I decided to just post this chapter because it was taking me forever to write out. I realize I'm a little slow transitioning things from my head to paper. I don't want to rush through the story but I don't want to waste all this time writing out information that you guys obviously already know. Also- If anyone has time to give constructional feedback on the flow of writing or wording, that would be really helpful! Those are two things I feel like I'm struggling on when writing in first person point of view.
+ I also wanted to Shout out to a Guest for being my first review! I really appreciate it and it felt awesome to get a comment haha. So thank you! If you end up reading this note you should let me know your username so I can give you a proper call out :)!
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Chapter 2:
The soundproof room that I was sitting in held an eerie silence. The only noise came from the keys on my laptop. I could hear every letter clicking loudly beneath my fingertips.
I wasn't usually this self conscious of how loud I was typing. I'm pretty sure that the Chief staring a hole through my head probably had something to do with it though.
I cleared my throat. I couldn't take the silence.
"You know, it's considered rude to stare like that" I joked looking up to steal a glance at him. The Chief seemed to blink out of his daze long enough to give me a small chuckle.
"Yes, I'm sorry. I always seem to forget how different you act when you give your reports" he said relaxing back into his chair.
"Hm, you're right" I said with a grin, "People don't typically take my information seriously if I don't act professional. I'm sure Matsuda is good proof of that" I said with a laugh.
"Yes, now that you mention it, that makes perfect sense" he said with the smallest smirk. "Alright enough chatter, lets hear what you've got."
I grinned and gave him a nod.
"Here" I said handing him a folder with a copy of my notes. He flipped through the pages to skim the amount of content before giving me his full attention.
"You already know the details of the case so I'll skip right to the profile. Whoever is killing people is taking criminal punishment into their own hands. This indicates that they believe the judicial system is not punishing criminals correctly. The suspect believes they are above the law. I believe the suspect is either religiously killing criminals because he believes god has chosen him to place judgment or believes that he himself is god. Both indicate a god-like complex which is a common result of someone who is narcissistic" I said looking up from my laptop.
"So you believe we should be looking for someone who has narcissism? How would we go about identifying someone who is a narcissist?" Chief asked.
"Well, that's the hard part. Narcissists can easily slip by undetected because they don't appear to be 'sick' or 'mentally ill'. And in their daily lives narcissists behave in a manner that is expected of them rather than how they truly feel. They also tend to be charming and charismatic. They are easily seen as likable and well-qualified...However there are some minor details that I suppose you could look for. They usually have rocky relationships. Which means they most likely won't have any long term friendships or close friends. They like to be in power and are usually quick to become leaders. They most likely have good hygiene and take care of their physical appearance" I explained.
"So you're saying that we should look for someone who is well liked and appears perfectly normal?" He asked in disbelief.
"Unfortunately yes. This person has a perfect murder system. If they wanted to they could have easily spread out the murders and no one would have even suspected that the deaths were the result of murder. With them wiping out a large number of high profile criminals it's likely they wanted the murders to be acknowledged. They want their message heard. Honestly, it's the perfect example of your typical narsassict serial killer. And that's the problem. A narcissist serial killer's profile will reflect their inner personality and not the mask that they show to fit in with society. They are incredibly hard to find and are impossible to convict without solid physical evidence" I explained. The Chief let out a frustrated sigh.
"I see, is that everything?" He asked running a hand through his hair.
"At the moment, yes" I said.
"Understood. Good work Mizuki" Chief said standing up from his chair.
"Thank you Chief" I said with a smile. He walked to the door but once his hand touched the handle he paused.
"Oh and one more thing... I'd like you to be the one who reads this report to L" the Chief said before opening the door and walking out.
The door latch clicked shut. I was left in the room alone. I let out a groan and put my head down on my hands. The Chief had waited until he was almost out the door to say anything. He knew I would need some time to process this.
Reading my report to L meant reading it in front of the entire task force. I was happy that he wanted me to take credit for my work. I was confident in my profile. But let's just say that if I were Superman... Public speaking would be my Kryptonite.
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Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out.
"Mizuki!" Matsuda whispered elbowing me in the side. I quickly shot up from my seat with wide eyes. Breath in. I could feel everyone's eyes focused on me and I nervously clutched my fists. Breath out. All I have to do is read what I wrote on my paper to L. Breath in.
"After analyzing the details available I was able to create a profile for Kira... I am confident with the results and I believe it will prove to be useful information when investigating suspects" I explained to the room. Breath out. My words came out sounding confident but my hands were shaking. As long as I read my paper I knew I could make it through this. Breath in. I looked down at the paper in my hands and a choking noise escaped my throat.
This can't be happening! No, no, no!
"U-um" I stuttered. I stared down at my hands at a loss for words. Each hand was holding a ripped half of my crumbled report. I shoved my hands behind my back to get rid of the evidence.
"Uh... so..." I mumbled. I could feel my cheeks starting to burn.
My mind felt like a scrambled mess. I knew what I wanted to say but my brain couldn't come up with the right words. This was embarrassing. I was such an idiot. I needed that damn paper to make my report. I couldn't talk or think coherently without it. I couldn't trust my disoriented brain. Who knows how this could effect the case. I could accidentally mess up key details of the profile.
I need to think. Breath in. I can do this. Think, think, think!
I'll just stare at my desk and pretend I'm alone. Yes, that's a good first step and... An excuse. Yes that's it! I just need an excuse. It's better than ruining the profile with inaccurate information. Breath out. I cleared my throat.
"And that concludes my profile. If you have any questions please feel free to ask" I said faking a confident voice. The room was completely silent. From the corner of my eye I saw the chief put his head down in disappointment.
"I seemed to have missed the information containing the actual profile, Miss Mizuki, could you please repeat that" The contorted voice replied in a calm tone. Great, he even knows my name! How did he know my name?
"Oh, I apologize. How strange... Your wifi signal must have a weak connection" I said with a nervous laugh.
"There's no need for excuses. I was already aware of your atrocious speech skills before we began" L explained. I should have expected that. How did he know that though? Did the Chief tell him that? No wait, that's not important right now.
"Oh, I see. Well this awkward. um, sorry?" I said scratching the back my head "I'll just make this quick and to the point... I believe we are looking for someone who is a narsist. Have you heard of Ted Bundy?" I asked.
"A narcissist serial killer. I believe that works well with my observations. Yes, our suspect seems to be driven by an idealistic notion of justice. It's highly possible he may even aspire to be some kind of god like figure. I'm interested in seeing the reasons that made you believe our suspect is a narcissist" L said. I opened my mouth to try to explain my theory in detail but L cut me off.
"I said see, not hear" L explained in a blunt tone, "Mr. Yagami please make sure to give Mizuki's profile report to Watari before he leaves. Now... please continue with the next report"
I sat back down in my seat and Matsuda awkwardly gave me a pat on the back.
I sighed as I thought about the scene I just made. I made myself look like an idiot. I disappointed the chief and my superiors. And judging from the glares focused in my direction, I most likely annoyed half the task force. But I guess it could have been worse.
"Uh, right. Does anyone else have something they would like to add?" The Chief asked.
"Uuuh, yes sir" I heard Matsuda speak up beside me. He had his hand raised up but he looked a little hesitant. Maybe I had spoken too soon.
"What is it Matsuda?" the Chief asked.
Matsuda collected himself and stood up.
"Um... well I'm not saying this to support Kira or to condone the murders but..." he trailed off looking down, "...In the last few days throughout the world, especially here in Japan... we've observed a dramatic decrease in the number of violent crimes committed" he explained.
Whispers and mumbles filled the room. Most of the members looked exasperated with his statement.
"Uh... right... I suppose it makes sense" the Chief said crossing his fingers together in front of him, "We suspected something like that would happen... Anything else?"
"No" Matsuda said quietly. He sat back in his chair and looked down at his desk. I could tell he was conflicted and upset about bringing up the information. I decided to copy his gesture to me from before and gave him an awkward pat on the back for comfort.
"Well that about sums up our report for today... L?" the Chief questioned.
"Thank you everyone. I feel we're one step closer to finding Kira. Before I go I'm afraid I have one additional request to make. This is directed to the teams that are investigating the victims. I would like you to go back and take a closer look at the exact way in which the victims identity were made public. Be as thorough as possible. In particular, I want to know if photos of the victims were made available to the public in Japan... I'll leave it to you" L said before cutting off the communication.
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"Sorry I'm late!" I shouted bursting through the cafe doors. I scanned through the people in the cafe for a familiar face.
"Mizuki! Over here sweetie!" My mom called with a laugh. I smiled and made my way over to her table.
Her call for attention wasn't exactly necessary. She hardly blended in with the crowd. Her dark red hair and emerald eyes made her almost impossible to miss in Japan. Before we moved here I had been disappointed that I had been stuck with my father's brown eyes. Now that I'm in Japan, I just feel lucky that I can blend in easier.
"Late like always I see" she said as I sat down and grabbed the menu.
"Yea, sorry. I got caught up at the office" I said with a sigh.
"Hard case?" She asked sipping her tea.
"Yea, you have no idea" I said fidgeting around with the sugar packets.
"I can tell" she said eyeing the sugar in my hands, "You always work way too hard... When are you going to find a cute man to start taking care of you?" She said in a joking tone. My eyes widened for a second before narrowing at her.
"Moooooom" I whined, rolling my eyes.
"I'm only joking" she said with a laugh, "But I still haven't met this cute Matsuda guy that you're always talking about"
"Don't get any ideas, he's just a friend" I said, "And I never said he was cute!" I said with a huff.
"Hello, Is there anything I can get you to drink?" A waiter interrupted. I silently thanked her and glanced at the menu.
"Uh, Yea. Can I get a coffee with extra shots of espresso please" I said.
"And would you like another tea ma'am?" The waiter asked my mom.
"Yes, thank you" she replied. I waited until the waitress left before I began talking again.
"So, is dad coming to meet up with us next week?" I asked.
"He's going to try his best. He really wanted to come tonight but he's been so busy lately" she said with a worried sigh.
"Don't worry mom. I understand" I said with a small smile.
After a couple of minutes the drinks we ordered were set down in front of us. We sat in the small cafe for awhile and talked about the little things in life. We sipped on our drinks and ate our dessert. It was the same as every other week that we got together. It was nice.
I glanced at the clock that was hanging on the cafe wall and silently groaned.
"Alright, I should probably get home. I have to go into work early tomorrow" I said with a pout.
"Alright Dear. Don't work too hard, okay?" She said as we both stood up.
"I won't" I lied, rolling my eyes.
"I love you, I'll call you tomorrow" she said reaching over and giving me a hug. I laughed and gave her a big squeeze back.
"I love you too, stay safe... oh and don't forget to tell dad to stay safe too" I said pulling away with a smile.
"I will, goodnight Mizuki" she said smiling back.
"Night, See you later!" I said turning around with a wave.
I didn't live too far away so I decided to walk home. It was going to take me a little longer to get home that way but I didn't like to waste money on cabs.
To my disappointment, the sun was already starting to set. I had originally planned to make it home before dark. It didn't look like I was going to make it home in time though.
Then again, If I ran all the way home I would only be three minutes late... Three minutes late wouldn't be too bad. I smirked before I suddenly started sprinting my way through the crowded sidewalks.
By the time I reached my front door I was out of breath. I made it home perfectly safe. I might have tripped over a couple of things and ran over a person or two but whatever. At least I wasn't wrong about being exactly three minutes late.