The body dropped to the floor. He didn't care; the NPA director was another in the long line of people he'd killed. They all got in his way. He's been tracking it for months; another one just like him walked the earth. He'd been following the Kira Case closely since the first kill; he knew the power of the Death Note and felt each death connected to it. He will find the other Halfling.

He kicked the body out of his way and moved around the director's desk. He'd made the fool log onto the NPA database before ending his miserable existence. He knew the other halfling was involved in Kira's capture; it was the only way they found him that quickly. Detectives couldn't begin to understand or even believe in the power of the Death Note and its Shinigami owner; if they did, they would fear the monsters cowering away in their realm. Humanity will come to learn and fear the power he holds over them; Kira was nothing compared to him.

The NPA's information on the Kira investigation was sparse and pathetic for the organisation that led to Kira's capture. That Detective - L must be more paranoid than he first envisioned. That didn't matter; he had what he wanted: one singular update made weeks before the end of the case by one Chief Yagami.

Yagami Light is interfering with the Kira Investigation, pending potential arrest for preventing the course of justice and lying to the police about vital case information. Update pending.

Yagami Light, now where to find you.

~1 Year Later~

Matsuda didn't want to get up; it had been a year to the day since Yamamoto's execution, and he didn't want to see the mess the world would be in on that anniversary. The first four months following Kira's arrest had been an experience, his supporters protesting in the streets, riots, chaining themselves to government buildings, countless times Matsuda had to push past protesters standing in front of the NPA building just to get in and out of work. They all wanted one thing: for Kira to be released. Even after the execution, it didn't stop his followers, and they didn't take Kira's death well. While people around the world were celebrating their new freedom from Kira's reign of terror, his supporters were mourning. They attended parties in full mourning, trying to dispel people's happiness, but it didn't work. More people were happy that Kira was gone than those on Kira's side. Even then, as months went by, Kira's supporters started dwindling. There were still occasion protests in Kira's name at significant events, but people had learnt to ignore them and continue with their lives.

Matsuda looked at his bedside clock - 6:09 am. He was meant to be at work in fifty-one minutes, but he couldn't find it in him to get out of bed and get ready. It had been his childhood dream to be a detective, but now that dream was slowly becoming a nightmare; he got along with his colleagues, especially after the Kira case; Aizawa, Mogi, Ukita and Matsuda all shared a special 'bond'; but they've all gone on to get promotions and lead their own team whilst Matsuda was stuck as a detective with Aizawa as his boss. Another ten minutes passed before Matsuda dragged himself out of bed and into the shower; he couldn't call in sick; Aizawa would know he was lying and drag him out of the house.

After his shower, Matsuda threw on a suit and left his house. He was already running late and didn't have time for breakfast, so it wouldn't be the first one he'd missed this week. Sometimes, Matsuda couldn't believe it had been a year since the end of the Kira case, and Light died. So much had happened in a short space of time, including Kira's arrest, Light dying, L leaving, and the Shinigami Rem disappearing with the Death Note. Matsuda had been the one to contact Misora and Penber, who'd already left for America a couple of days prior. They were devastated, to say the least, but according to Misora, she had suspected something would happen when they finally arrested Kira. When Light revealed he'd been sent back in time by the Shinigami King to capture Kira, the Shinigami said that Light had been brought back temporarily in a half-state. Misora had wondered at the time whether Light would live to see the end of the case or if his time in the past was tied to Kira's arrest.

Matsuda wasn't sure whether he believed it or if something else was a play because only hours after Light's death, the Shinigami was also gone with the Death Note. At the time, everyone wasn't sure whether the Shinigami had killed Light, taken the notebook to remove all traces of the Shinigami's marks on this world, and returned to wherever the Shinigami had come from. What they did know was the notebook was gone; any chances of discovering the Second Kira's identity died with Light. Light's phone was programmed to wipe his call history and messages every hour with no way to recover it. L made arrangements with Light's family for the funeral to be held the following week, which nearly three hundred people turned up to. Before the day was over, L was gone.

Unlike the others, Matsuda wasn't surprised when L left. He'd noticed L and Light getting close to each other near the end of the investigation, and Matsuda had overheard Watari as he spoke with someone on the phone - a Beyond Birthday? (whoever called their child that had some serious problems) that Light had died in L's arms. That would mess anyone up. L never returned, and through the remaining weeks of the case, communicated with them through the computer. It was reminiscent to Matsuda of how the case started when they first met L, although he only used a voice modifier should someone who wasn't in the task force be present. L had kept his promise to Light, and the existence of the Death Note remained secret; it did help that they no longer had any evidence to prove such an item existed. However, the confession Light got from Yamamoto was enough for Interpol to sentence him to death and in a matter of days, Yamamoto's execution was arranged, and then he was executed.

Matsuda lived quite close to NPA's headquarters. As he turned onto the street, he noticed a small congregation of protestors trying to block the building's entrance, but there weren't enough of them to stop people from pushing past.

"We demand the release of Kira!" the protestors said in union. Matsuda shook his head as he approached. Some things never changed. "Our god would never fall to mortal hands! You tricked him, poisoned him and enslaved him. Release him so the vermin of this world gets eradicated."

Matsuda pushed past them. The crime rate rose substantially after Kira's arrest; it was to be expected once the criminals' biggest threat had been taken care of. It had yet to return to what it was before Kira's rise, but Matsuda suspected it would surpass the previous rate in the next couple of years.

Matsuda entered the elevator to go up to his floor; Chief Yagami was already inside. Since the end of the Kira case, no task force members have spoken to him. Their respect for the man was long gone due to his actions and behaviour once Light joined the task force, especially Matsuda's. Throughout Matsuda's time at the police academy, he'd heard stories of the great Sorichiro Yagami, who was one of the youngest police officers to rise from traffic officer to Chief in fifteen years. He'd been excited to work beside the man when he joined the NPA, but then the Kira case happened, and the Chief's personality and opinions shone through. Rumours were going around that his wife had divorced him and kicked him out of their home; even their daughter, Sayu, was refusing to talk with him.

When Matsuda and the others had returned to working at the NPA full-time, they'd expected the title of Chief to be stripped from Yagami, but the night of Kira's execution, the NPA director Takimura was found murdered in his office. Everyone focused on finding his killer, and by the time Kitamura took over as the new NPA director, any demotions that should've happened were long forgotten. What made it worse was they never found Takimura's killer.

Matsuda exited the elevator on his floor and headed straight to his desk, dropping his bag underneath it. Matsuda pulled out his chair and sat down. Aziawa was already marching over with a stack of files in his hands.

"Morning, have you completed your paperwork on the Miyamura robbery?" Aizawa said. Matsuda winced internally; he hated doing paperwork.

"I've nearly finished it," Matsuda lied. He hadn't even started it.

"Can you have it finished by lunch?" Aizawa said.

"I'll have it on your desk by then," Matsuda said. Aizawa nodded; he looked tired. Even after the end of the Kira case, Matsuda knew that Aizawa's home life hadn't improved; his wife still complained that he was always home late even though Aizawa tried to have only one late night a week. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, you know, the usual, and I now have to go see the director and explain why I've overspent our budget for the third month in a row," Aizawa said. There were advantages to being overlooked for promotions.

"Good luck with that," Matsuda said.

"Thanks. Well, I better not keep him waiting," Aizawa said before marching to the elevator. Matsuda leaned back in his chair, staring at his blank computer screen. He wanted nothing more than to avoid doing paperwork, but he knew he couldn't get away with it. If Aizawa didn't have it by lunch, he'd track Matsuda down and force him to complete it while he watched. It wouldn't be the first time.

Matsuda turned his computer on and logged onto his account, bringing up the empty file. The words were distorted and blurred together, while some letters were moved around the screen almost as if they were swimming around. Matsuda rubbed his eyes; this had been happening to him for as long as he could remember. His father always told him it was him being lazy, that he was making his eyes not focus on the words because he didn't want to do the work and no matter how hard Matsuda tried, he always struggled with reading, but no matter how hard Matsuda tried, he could never stop the words becoming distorted. Today was going to be a long day.

In memory of those who were killed by Kira, a large monument was erected in Showa Kinen Park. The name of every Japanese person who Kira killed was on it. Name after name covered the stone; it showed the devastation Kira caused in the seven months he was active. Matsuda had visited it multiple times, but tonight felt different. Thousands of people had come to the park to celebrate and remember those who had died. Lanterns and fireworks filled the sky; everything was so loud that it felt like he was at a festival, not a memorial.

Matsuda squeezed past the hoards of people as he approached the monument; there was only one name he was looking for—the last name carved into the stone, Kira's final victim - Light Yagami. Light might've died after Kira had been arrested, but the task force had all agreed that people needed to know Light's name, maybe not as the person who single-handled led them to find and arrest Kira but as the genius teenager who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and died so that Kira could be found. Matsuda knelt before the monument, his fingers tracing Light's name on the cold stone. It wasn't right that Light died; hadn't he suffered enough? Light was the one who deserved to live, to see the world beyond the horrors of Kira. No nineteen-year-old life should've ended because he'd fulfilled what he'd been sent to do.

Matsuda stood up, brushing the stones from his trousers and moved away from the monument. He hadn't planned to stay here long; all he wanted was to crawl into his bed and sleep. He headed home, his hands shoved in his pockets and his head down. Turning onto his street, Matsuda saw a body slumped on his doorstep. Great, that was just what he needed: some drunk passed out in front of his house. Matsuda wanted nothing more than to step over them and ignore them until tomorrow morning when he'd probably find them still there. Still, he knew better, and it wouldn't be something he'd want to deal with in the morning either, especially if he were running late again.

Matsuda approached his house, looking down at the unconscious man. He froze. The moonlight was now positioned so that he could see their face—an impossible face. He was pale and sickly looking, but it was still the same face, the same body, and the same everything. His chest rising and falling steadily, Matsuda positioned the back of his hand above his mouth; warm breath hit his skin. It's impossible, but everything Matsuda has dealt with in the last year was impossible. Matsuda couldn't deny what was in front of him.

Light Yagami. Alive.