*** I do not own anything from the manga or anime Death Note, but God bless who ever wrote the original :D And I may be a wimp for saying this, but I don't curse, so if there is a curse word in this story, please note that it's in the script xD Yeah yeah, just go and read. And pretend there was another seat next to Matsuda's xD Hope you like it! ^^ ***
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Chapter 1
PART 1 "THE CASE"
~The human who's name is written in this note shall die.~
I put on my headset that we're all supposed to wear as I sit down in the auditorium, waiting for the conference to begin. I have a habit of arriving early for events in which I take every little detail seriously, down to the last whisper of any information. There were many desks over in the floor area just ahead of the stage, where the giant screen behind it was pure white, illuminating the darkened room. I'm usually the first one to arrive, or one of the first, unless I bring someone along with me. Usually, it's that new guy, Matsuda. They needed someone to show him around and explain a lot of the ways we do our investigating, and they chose me, since I've been around for a little over a year. I may be new, but I was told my deductive skills are phenomenal.
I was an orphan, at a place in Windchester, England, known as Whammy's House. But in my last week of being 18, I was finally adopted, and I moved to Japan. My parents and one other are the only ones who know my name, and all other friends or other people just know me as, well, whatever I tell them. And I have a very good reason for keeping it that way. Well, it's been like that ever since I was dropped off at Whammy's House, but you don't need to know my past, here is the reason why we're having this giant conference.
Criminals are dying at the same time of sudden heart-attacks, and once they're dead, they can't be revived. It's as if once they die, there's no chance of them ever coming back to life, even when CPR is inflicted. They've tried, and it didn't work for any of the victims they attempted to save. Since these were just sudden, they couldn't have gotten them because of health issues, and they weren't natural, either, so we'd thought that we can just revive them, but nothing is working. Getting off of that subject, we're going to consider if these heart-attacks are actually murders, which I believe they are. It was the first thing that struck my mind when I realized these deaths were going in a pattern, happening every week, and that they all die at the same exact time. How can the media point this out as "inexplicable deaths"?
Being stuck deep in my thoughts, I realized that Matsuda had arrived and took the seat next to mine, even though all seats were assigned. He had brought a cup of coffee.
"Here, you really look like you could use this," he says as he hands me the cup.
"Thanks, I kinda do." I take a sip and stare blankly at the enormous screen while Matsuda puts on his headset and takes his seat.
"Did you even sleep last night?" Damn, it's noticable? I was up going on countless research sights about Kira, which is what the people decided to name this murderer after the English word, "killer". I remained silent and took another sip of the coffee. "You do realize you might kill yourself if you stay up every night."
"I'm not up every night, relax. I can't help it, I want to help solve this case, no matter what obstacles appear." I tell him, now taking a gulp at the warm, bitter cup of caffeine.
"Yeah, I know, you told me six thousand times. You even showed my what you were able to find earlier today, remember?" I stayed silent and continued to take small sips. "See, now you can't even remember little events. You don't have to take my advice, but trust me, I tried the same in senior year at high school, and that didn't work one bit." I forgot he was a few years older than me. Hey, showing a newbie around at a police department can make you feel older.
"Sure, thanks." I say gratefully. I had no idea one night of sleep deprivation would knock me off so much. But if I forgot that I showed him the facts I found, how do I remember every single one of them. Maybe I should try this method when I try to take my entry exams to get into university. Maybe I should altar it and be taking notes instead of using mental memory, that way the next day I can take a review of what information I was able to get, and bookmark every website where it had the most useful hints. And as for police files, I'll just cut it into my skin if I have to remember it. "Where's Chief Yagami? Shouldn't he be the first one here?"
"Besides you, yeah, he should. I think he's running late." I nodded and finished the coffee. Being too lazy, I just set the cup at the desk and wait, resting my head on my left hand and by force of habit, mess around with my slightly chapped lower lip with my thumb and index finger. I don't know why, but it's been a habit since I was little, and I ended up doing this every time I was either bored, or deep in thought; and if I can't use my hand to mess with it, I'd just bite it.
Within about 30 minutes, the conference starts and Chief Soichiro Yagami ends up arriving several minutes late. The people in the front continue to argue while Yagami comes in quietly but hurriedly, and takes his seat and throws on his headset. I continue to listen blankly at the debates happening below us, messing with my lip, though I also listen to Matsuda talk to Chief.
"Morning Chief, they started the meeting without you."
"That's fine, I had to take an urgent call from headquarters."
"About what?" I join in. We were cut off by the voices of the people below.
"At any rate, these were criminals who were probably facing execution sooner or later. Perhaps we should be-"
"Why should it matter if it's a criminal or someone innocent!?" Someone cut the first guy off. "Last time I checked, murder was still murder!"
"It's still too early to consider these a homicide." said the first guy.
"Then how did all these people have heart-attacks at the EXACT SAME TIME!? That's not coincidence, it's murder!" said that second guy.
"You think it's possible to simultaneously kill all these people in different locations?"
"We're treating this as an elaborate murder that's been carried out by a large organization." said someone else.
"If it is a large organization, I'm sure I'm not alone in suspecting the F.B.I. or C.I.A." said another detective. (Someone had shouted, "I dare you to say that again!" after those words.) Come on now, don't anger the Americans. A different person stood up from his chair.
"Now now, this is not the time to be joking around! We need to confirm that these are indeed homicides and not coincidences."
"How?" said the first guy. "Autopsy results say that in all of these cases, the victims died of a sudden heart-attack."
"Investigating a series of heart-attacks is pointless." said another person. "I don't see what else we can learn."
"Absolutely, if these people had been shot or stabbed at least we'd have something to go on." said a detective. I know I'm not supposed to, but all of the arguing had gotten into my head, and I couldn't take it. Before anyone else could do it, I stood up from my chair and said loud and clear,
"If this is too much for anyone here to handle, then let's reach out to someone else." I hint at who I'm talking about. I've considered saying this here long before I even sat in this room. "Maybe L already has a few leads. Wouldn't hurt to ask, now would it?" Instantly the room fell silent, and many of the people turned to me, while I casually sat back down in my seat, suddenly considering if saying that last question was a good or bad idea; I sounded like I was scolding a group of children. I swallowed hard, but didn't regret my choice after a few seconds; L would be a big help. And, I couldn't take the arguments anymore; my impatience sometimes gets to the best of me. There were murmurs coming from the room as the people thought it over.
"Uh, Chief? What's this 'L' they're talking about?" Matsuda leans over to his right and asks Chief Yagami.
"Right, I forgot that it's your first time at this conference." He begins. "We don't know L's real name, or whereabouts, in fact, we don't even know what he looks like. However, he's managed to solve every case he's ever taken on, and he's tackled some of the greatest mysteries this world has ever known." Absolutely true. L had told the kids at Whammy's House years ago that he's a detective. "He hides in the shadows, but he's the best of the best. A last resort, our trump card." I decided to join in the conversation.
"We might be able to work under him and manage to solve this case. He has an extreme level of deduction, and he considers even the craziest possibilities and, somehow, they're true. He's probably already-"
"Well, I've heard this 'L' is extremely arrogant, and understand that he'll only take on cases that he's personally interested in." said someone from below. I take a deep breath, even though it's so obvious to many others in the room who decide not to speak at all.
"That's right," said some other guy. "Besides, we don't even know how to contact him."
"We don't have to." I call out. "He'll more likely contact us."
"Why? And how would you know that?" says the first one.
I sigh, not wanting to explain. But Yagami has already figured it out and is kind enough to say it for me. "Because heart-attacks are a strange method of murder, never seen before, even L might need a bit of help."
More murmurs. And it stays like that for a while. I take another sip of the coffee, starting to wake up. "How do we even know he's interested in this case?"
"L is already on the move." Came a man's voice from the entrance of the room towards the screen. Watari? A tall guy dressed in black with a large coat and hat to cover his face approaches from the darkness, holding a suitcase, which I'm sure contains a laptop. He walks onto the stage and goes to the center. "Ladies and gentlemen, L has already begun his investigation into these incidents."
Some are whispering "Watari?" in hushed yet surprised voices.
"Huh? Who's that?" Matsuda asks Chief.
"That man's the only known person who can contact L. Nobody knows his true identity either."
"Please be silent." says Watari. "L would now like to address the delegates." He opens the laptop which had a blank screen, except for the fancy looking "L" picture on it. Once the laptop was open, the same picture appeared on the bigger screen behind him. I have never focused so much in my life. L was about to speak to us. It was exactly what it looked like back at Whammy's House, except it wasn't in an auditorium, and L's voice wasn't heavily modified to be unrecognizable. The room was dead silent was the voice came out through all of the speakers.
"Greetings to all of you at the I.C.P.O. I... am L. The difficulty of this case lies in it's unprecedented scope. And make no mistake, we're witnessing an atrocious act of mass murder, one that is unforgivable. This case cannot be solved with out the sole cooperation of the I.C.P.O. That is all of the police organization's you represent throughout the world. You need to make the decision to fully support the investigation, at this meeting. Also, I require additional cooperation from Japan's Interational Police." Japan?! Matdusa, Chief Yagami, and I stand up in shock at those words.
"What? Why Japan in particular?" Yagami asks.
"Word of the guilty party is an individual or a group, there's a strong possibility that they're Japanese. Even if they're not, we can be sure they're hiding in Japan."
"What is all this based on?"
"Why Japan, you ask? I think I'll be able to provide you with proof of that . . . after I directly confront the culprit."
"A direct confrontation?"
"At any rate, I would like to set up the investigation headquarters in Japan."
What was I expecting to happen this day? Surely not something this extreme, but after this day the slow days at the station were definitely over.
~The note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writting his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.~
Hours later, we're all back at the police station and are in a small room with the rest of the Japanese investigators. The TV suddenly switches to a news man saying,
"We're sorry to interrupt, but as of now, we're bringing you a live world-wide broadcast of Interpol's I.C.P.O."
"What could this mean?" Chief Yagami asks.
"He said he was going to do a direct confrontation to Kira, maybe this is what he meant." I say.
"You mean he's going to show his face?" a random person asks me.
"Possibly, or maybe he's testing something." Yes, L does that alot. Or so I've heard from studies of his detective style.
"Uh, 'testing something'? Testing what?" Matsuda asks.
"No, actually. He wants to prove something, or many things, by doing this." I inform him. "That's how he works, you can never interpret something he's doing into what it may seem."
"Seriously? If this case wasn't difficult enough." that same person says. I think his name is Aizawa. Then the broadcast starts and everyone imminently becomes quiet.
"We now take you live to the I.C.P.O." says the news man. The camera switches to a man wearing a grey tux standing in front of a wall with the I.C.P.O. sign, a name tag that says, 'LIND. L. TAILOR.' His brows are furrowed as he stares into the camera, face a bit ashen and cold. Even through a t.v. screen, the serious aura is practically visible.
"I head up in International Police Task Force, which includes all member nations. I, am Lind. L. Talior, otherwise known as, 'L'." he says, closing his eyes. Of course it is.
"So this is how it all begins." says Yagami.
"But sir, I don't get it. He's never actually shown his face before, right?" asks Matsuda. "Why would we choose do to it now?"
"It must mean L's serious about this . . ." answers Yagami. Clever, absolutely clever of L. He's not serious, he's teasing Kira, maybe to get a reaction. The idea is so smart that I let a small grin crawl to my face. Maybe this 'Mogi' guy, if I remember his name correctly, noticed and I try to wave it off.
"Criminals around the world are being murdered by a serial killer." says Tailor. "I consider the atrocious act of murder a mystery. I will not rest until the persons responsible are brought to justice. Kira, I will hunt you down. I will find you!"
"What's he thinking? What if Kira kills him?" says Matsuda.
The light bulb finally lit up like a star when he said that. "Oh," I excitely mutter aloud, but everyone else probably interpreted it as something of fear from Matsuda's sentence.
"Kira," says Tailor, "I've got a pretty good idea what your motivation might be, and I can guess what you hope to achieve. However, what you're doing right now, is evil." He grins.
There was a strong pause in the room, the tension becoming so thick, I can barley inhale or exhale. It's as if the air was slowly being sucked out. In, reality, everyone is holding their breath, taking in the sentence Tailor just uttered. What happens now? Almost half a minute goes by, and the suspense thickens. Provocation, is it? Cause and effect. What happens now, L?
Then, an expression of pain comes across Tailor's face, and he starts choking, clutching his skin were his heart is at as if it will stop the pain. He goes silent and limp and collapses onto the desk he was standing in front of.
"Oh my God." I murmur. "He did not just..." What my eyes are seeing wants to believe that this man is L, but what I know is screaming at me that he won't be so stupid to kill himself just like that. 'Proxy?' I mouth to myself.
"He really didn't kill himself, did he?" Chief Yagami says. "It had to be-..." He cuts off upon connecting the dots to what I said. Then the TV rings loudly and switches to the "L" image.
Clever bastard.
"I . . . I had to test this just incase, but . . . I - I never thought it would actually happen?!" His computerized voice is full of pure shock. "Kira, it seems you can kill people without having to be there in person," he became relaxed. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't just witnessed it." his voice instantly became serious, as if making a death threat. "Listen to me, Kira. If you did indeed kill, Lind. L. Tailor, the man who you just saw die on television, I should tell you he was an inmate, who's execution was scheduled for today, that was not me."
"A stand in!" I anxiously whisper. "Of course!" I take a moment to admire that kind of a bold move.
"The police arrested him in absolute secrecy," L continues, "so you wouldn't have heard about him on TV or through the internet. It appears that not even you have access to information about these types of criminals. But I assure you, L is real, I do exist!" he says.
Good job, Kira. To go off and kill that man just like that? From a little comment that he's 'evil'? That's... actually...
"Now, try to kill me!" L challenges. It's the same thing with Tailor, but instead completely direct. And the difference is we can't see the real one here. Oh? Is that Kira's weakness - the person has to be present? How does he figure this stuff out? "What's wrong? Hurry up!" The people in the room start to criticize this technique.
"What the hell is going on?"
"What is he thinking?"
"Is he trying to get himself killed!?"
"You've gone too far!"
"C'mon, right now!" L continues; Kira is probably cursing him out right now. "Do it! ... Hurry, quick! ...You better do it. ....C'mon, try to kill me!" This plan was genius! I would have never thought of it! "What's the matter, can't you do it?" There was a pause. A pause longer than the one with Tailor. "Well, Kira, it seems you can't kill me after all. So there are some people you can't kill. You've given me a useful hint. Let me return the favor; I'll tell you something I think you might find interesting. Although this was announced as a World-Wide broadcast, the truth is, we are only broadcasting in the kanto region of Japan. I had planned to broadcast this message around the world until we found you, but it looks like that won't be necessary. I know now where you are." The slyness in this whole plan is overwhelming, yet, now when I look at it more, a bit of the most obvious direction to go to. L can definitely think up of the best things quicker than someone of my level... something like this would have taken me every ounce of confidence and a few days to muster up. Assuming he's thought of doing this today. What could we possibly know?
"The police treated your first killing as an unrelated incident, when in actuality, the first of your victims was a suspecting robber. Of all the criminals that initially died of heart-attacks, this one's crime was by far the least serious. Furthermore, his crime was only ever reported inside Japan. I used that information to deduce this much: You are in Japan, and your first victim was little more than, an experiment, which means you haven't been killing for very long.
"We decided to broadcast in kanto first, because of it's large population, and luckily, we found you. To be completely honest with you, I never expected that things would go this well, but, it won't be too long now before I am able to sentence you, to death."
"L has... certainly lived up to his reputation." says Matsuda.
"Yes, he proved that Kira exists, that the deaths were murders, and that he is here in Japan." says Yagami. L continues his speech.
"Naturally, I am very interested in how you're able to commit these murders without being present, but I don't mind waiting a little bit longer. You can answer all of my questions when I catch you. Let's meet again soon, Kira." The line cuts off and a snowstorm of static covers the TV screen.
Ladies and gentlemen, I want to say. Just another day, another level of the game L himself manipulates. This'll be exciting...