Chapter Text
Chapter 1.
L stretches out the kinks in his back and scratches one foot against the back of the leg of the other.
He contemplates how he operates entirely alone, communicating with the world through a single point of contact, Watari and wishes for more.
He represents himself to the world as nothing more than a stylised letter. No organisation. No staff. No office. Just L.
The arrangement suited him.
Beneath the bare feet and strange crouch, he was profoundly isolated by choice and caution. He shows no one his face and has contact with no one other than Watari.
He turned 30 just a few minutes ago.
The greatest detective in the world had solved hundreds of cases, recovered millions of dollars, exposed corrupt politicians, dismantled criminal organisations and prevented countless murders.
He had also never been on a date.
L stared at the screen in front of him and wondered if that was strange.
He needed to take a break, do something else.
If no one challenges me this year, I’m going to quit.
Still crouched before the computer on the floor, L picked up his spoon from the remains of birthday cake, cream and strawberries.
The universe, apparently, took that as a challenge.
--
The case was starting to annoy L in all the right ways.
The answers were not immediately obvious, which was why he had negotiated a frankly unreasonable fee to involve himself.
Kira, the media had named the killer.
L thought it lacked imagination.
The pattern of deaths had begun conventionally enough. Violent offenders. Repeat murderers. The sort of criminals the public rarely mourned.
Then, gradually, the pattern shifted.
Several senior figures connected to the same political party died within a fortnight.
A regulator investigating government corruption suffered a fatal stroke.
A corporate executive accused of bribery collapsed during a press conference.
Individually, none of the deaths proved anything.
Together, they suggested intent.
Not revenge.
Influence.
L filed the observation away.
For now, it remained secondary.
He had already concluded the mastermind was in Japan. Now it was only a matter of narrowing the location.
L cared little for the rules of international law enforcement and staged his own experiment to force a reaction.
A televised death row inmate.
A live broadcast.
A controlled provocation.
The Kanto region of Tokyo was his starting point.
When the inmate did not clutch his chest and collapse, L simply stared at the screen.
For three full seconds he said nothing.
Watari later noted this might have been a personal record.
The inmate attempted to taunt Kira into responding.
Nothing happened.
The broadcast cut back to the studio anchors, who speculated that perhaps Kira was not watching.
L already knew better.
This was not failure. It was refinement.
He had simply drawn the circle too wide.
The broadcast ended.
The inmate was returned to custody.
And sometime later, off camera, away from any audience, he died.
Clutching his chest. Struggling for air that never came.
No spectacle. No message. No warning.
Just confirmation.
The thought of quitting had quietly vanished.
The case would occupy him for months.
He found himself strangely relieved by the prospect.
The headquarters would no longer feel quite so empty.
--
L wanted to get a take on what the police force thought about Kira.
Via Watari he organised the top officials in Japan to meet, and he would join virtually.
Through the camera, he observed the room full of officers, detectives and executives, finding seats and conversing loudly.
That chatter was giving him a headache, so he interrupted rudely to start the meeting.
"I am L," he said.
“I have been tasked with finding Kira, who is among the Japanese people in Tokyo.”
The room fell noticeably quieter.
"This investigation will not concern itself solely with the deceased."
Several officers exchanged confused looks.
"I want every significant consequence of each death documented."
No one spoke.
"Changes in crime rates. Business ownership. Political appointments. Legislative delays. Financial markets. Public sentiment."
A few people had already begun writing.
"If Kira is merely killing criminals, these records will prove irrelevant."
L paused.
"If they are not irrelevant..."
He let the sentence hang.
Chief Yagami understood first.
"You believe the deaths themselves may not be Kira's objective."
"I believe," L replied, "it would be unwise to assume they are."
A man in the back half-stood too quickly, then sat again just as abruptly. L noted him briefly, then dismissed it.
“This is going to be dangerous, and I cannot guarantee your safety. This Kira has already killed hundreds of people.
There is already a working hypothesis regarding behavioural type.
Let me make this clear, I usually work alone; but in this instance I need to work closely with only a small unit of people. I leave the organisation of volunteers to you Chief Yagami”
Soichiro Yagami bowed once toward the camera and confirmed.
He disconnected before the room had fully processed what he had said.
--
Watari returned with a box of pastries that filled the room with a warm, sweet smell.
He set a ceramic plate in front of L and waited while he served himself.
Watari slid the documents across the table.
Only when Watari had settled opposite him, tea in hand, did L open the file.
He ate while he read.
The chair turned slightly beneath him as he shifted his weight, but he did not look up.
“Chief Yagami has identified a small group willing to cooperate directly with you.”
L glanced over the names.
Yagami.
Mogi.
Aizawa.
Ide.
Ukita.
Matsuda.
“Hmm,” L said. “Fewer than expected.”
“Perhaps that is preferable,” Watari replied. “We could establish headquarters here. It would reduce logistical risk.”
L looked from the files back to Watari.
"I would rather not expose myself to these people."
He picked up another pastry and considered it for a moment.
"But Kira is among them."
Watari remained silent.
"The way Kira kills and the precautions they have taken suggest a cautious individual. They will not come to me unless they believe they have an advantage."
L set the pastry down untouched.
"If I remain hidden, the investigation reaches a stalemate."
He glanced at the list of names again.
"The NPA is the bait."
Watari raised an eyebrow.
"And you?"
L considered the question.
"The trap."
Watari took a sip of tea.
"I see."
"It is the only way to level the playing field," L continued. "Kira has been setting the terms of engagement since the beginning."
His thumb tapped lightly against the edge of the file.
"I intend to change the rules."
The assembled team of police investigators turned up at L’s private headquarters.
He had taken over an old building he had bought in the past. It was retrofitted into part hotel, part office.
Watari had the place secured before the official invite to the members had gone out.
Looking at them, he could tell they were going to give him a headache. Especially the youngest looking one. He had witnessed in less than ten minutes Matsuda falling, tripping or generally being too talkative.
Watari had shown them in, and L had greeted them from a crouch on his armchair.
Looks of surprise and unease of meeting him; their discomfort was oddly satisfying.
Chief Yagami was the first to break the initial silence by introducing themselves.
When the introductions were complete, L looked around the room.
"Interesting."
The investigators exchanged uncertain glances.
"You have all just provided your names, positions and faces to a person you met less than five minutes ago."
L decided to reinforce the point over giving out their names so easily.
"Fortunately for you, I am not Kira."
A pause.
"Please call me Ryuzaki."
Nobody moved.
"Outside these headquarters, use aliases."
Matsuda blinked.
"For security?"
"For survival," L replied.
Matsuda smiled brightly “Oh yeah, that sounds cool!”
L looked on stoically, while inside mused that the expression on this man’s face screamed ‘this man has never considered the consequences of anything, in his life!
Swinging his gaze around the room L studied the rest of them while sucking on a lollipop.
Aizawa looked sourly around himself.
--
Watari returned to the room.
"Gentlemen, if you'll follow me. There's a coffee station through here, and I'll show you to your workstations."
The task force followed him into the next room.
L drifted behind them, careful to maintain distance.
The room had been arranged around a bank of oversized screens mounted above several computer terminals. Information could be shared instantly regardless of where someone was working.
It was efficient.
L approved.
The others gathered coffee while L picked up the presentation remote.
He was preparing to outline the known facts of the case and separate them from speculation when Matsuda came too close.
The younger detective stumbled slightly and brushed against L's wrist.
"Oh shit, don't fall in front of him."
L froze.
Matsuda caught himself.
"Sorry!"
The detective looked embarrassed.
L stared at him.
Matsuda stared back.
Neither spoke.
After a moment, Matsuda retreated toward the coffee machine.
L watched him go.
Interesting.
He had not seen Matsuda's lips move.
Perhaps he had simply misheard.
It would not be the first time someone had muttered to themselves.
Dismissing the thought, L pointed the remote at the screen.
"Let us begin."
L assigned the work he found tedious and distributed it amongst the task force.
Most of it involved compiling information that already existed in a dozen different locations.
Necessary.
Boring.
It took several days before anything useful emerged.
It was Mogi who found it.
"There may be another pattern."
L looked up from his laptop.
Mogi slid several folders across the table.
"I started comparing what happened after the deaths."
Silence settled around the room.
"Not just the deaths themselves."
L sat forward.
Mogi continued.
"In three prefectures, organised crime activity dropped after senior gang members died."
He turned a page.
"Two corruption investigations that had been stalled for years suddenly moved forward."
Another.
"A government procurement bill that had been sitting in committee passed after two opposing members died of heart attacks."
Nobody spoke.
Matsuda frowned.
"...That could all be coincidence."
"It could," L agreed.
He reached for the folders.
"But coincidence has a habit of becoming evidence when it repeats often enough."
He turned another page.
The deaths formed one pattern.
The consequences formed another.
Both pointed toward the same conclusion.
Kira was selecting people whose absence changed far more than a body count.
Then Aizawa slid a sheet of paper across the table.
The deaths followed a loose schedule.
There were periods of activity and periods of inactivity. Certain days saw dozens of deaths. Others saw none at all.
L studied the chart.
Interesting.
Not enough for certainty, but enough for speculation.
"The killer may be younger than we originally thought," L said.
Aizawa frowned. "Because of the schedule?"
L nodded.
"The activity suggests interruptions. Obligations. Periods where attention is directed elsewhere."
"A job?" Ide suggested.
"Possibly."
"A student?" asked Ukita.
"Also, possible."
Chief Yagami, who had been quietly reviewing notes, looked up.
"My son made a similar observation."
L glanced toward him.
"Your son?"
Soichiro nodded.
"Light works in intelligence analysis. Profiling, behavioural trends, data interpretation."
There was a trace of pride in his voice.
"When he's not attached to an active investigation, he consults across several departments."
L considered this.
"So, he studies patterns."
"Yes."
Interesting.
Yagami hesitated for a moment before adding,
"You should meet him."
L immediately disliked the suggestion.