Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s Sunday morning, and Yagami Sachiko walks into the kitchen to make breakfast when she notices a note on the kitchen table.

Made plans to study with a few classmates, I’ll be back by dinner at the latest.  

– Light

“Seriously now, couldn’t he have said something last night?” Mrs. Yagami mutters, shaking her head before setting the note aside and starting to make breakfast.  

In an abandoned house—a few minutes’ walk from the residential area where the Yagami family lives—Light sits in one of the rooms, working on a case on his laptop.

The room was tidied up by Light over two years ago and made somewhat livable with the old furniture that remained.

It’s been ten years since Light woke up in the past after his death, and much has changed within him. He no longer possesses the Death Note—nor was there any chance for him to obtain it earlier than in the previous timeline—which, been very beneficial for his mental health.

'And done. That should be enough evidence for the police,' Light thinks, as he sends an email to the California Police Department under the alias “Y,” ensuring it cannot be traced back to him before searching for a new unsolved case.

'I wonder why, despite my high IQ, I let myself be shackled by society’s "norms"...' Light thinks bitterly, gazing at the mirror in front of him.

His eyes have returned to the shape they had before the whole “Kira” ordeal.

His hair is slightly longer than in the previous timeline, with his bangs pinned back atop his head with a hair clip.

He’s also no longer wearing the clothes he used to wear in the previous timeline. Instead, he has on a vanilla-colored knitted sweater with slightly too-long sleeves and a rounded neckline that reveals his collarbone, paired with black leggings and black sneakers.

Light can’t suppress a chuckle as he recalls asking Sayu a few months ago to help him go shopping.

The girl had been completely thrilled, and the two of them spent the entire day at the mall.

When they returned, Light had felt a bit concerned about his parents’ reactions, as they had been more than a little surprised by his new style.

He sighs and looks out the window. “Tomorrow’s the day... I messed things up once—I can’t let it happen again.”

L is sitting on the floor in front of his computer, sulking. 'I wanted to solve that case!' he thinks, visibly irritated.

“L, don’t be upset with someone who probably doesn’t even know you exist,” says Watari, placing a plate with a piece of cake on the floor beside him.

“I doubt that Y doesn’t know of my existence. I’m one of the top three detectives in the world—of course he knows about me if he’s solving cases like these,” L grumbles, and Watari resists the urge to sigh.

“Two of the top three. Interpol recently ranked Y as number two,” Watari informs him, which only makes L pout more as he hacks into Interpol to see the California Police’s report.

To whom it may concern,

Some time ago, you asked us to notify you if Y were ever to solve one of our cases, and that has now occurred.

Today at 3:21 PM, we received an email signed “Y” which solved the case involving seven missing teenagers.

We attempted to trace the email address, but without success. Unfortunately, we cannot assist in providing a way to contact Y.

We wish you continued success in your endeavors and will, of course, contact you immediately should we receive further information.

– Regards,  

The California Police Department

'Who are you, Y?' L wonders, biting his thumb and deciding he’s found his next "case" while Watari can only shake his head.

Chapter Text

'Come on, the bell for the end of school is about to ring!' Light thinks to himself, staring out the window.

"What is the answer to the question, Yagami-kun?" asks the teacher, noticing that Light isn’t paying attention.

He just throws a quick glance at the board before looking back out the window. "³√27"

"R-right." the teacher confirms and continues the lesson.

'Classes have always been boring, but after all my time as Kira, it just feels even duller.' he complains inwardly before the Death Note falls past the window, causing his heart to skip a beat and then begin to pound. 'Finally!'

As the school bell signals the end of the school day, Light immediately stands up and quickly packs his things before heading swiftly down to the schoolyard to look for the Death Note.

He finds it next to a bush and reaches for it, but as his fingers touch it, a pulse runs through his entire body—and suddenly, he's no longer in the schoolyard.

'Where the hell am I?!' he wonders, looking around: a grey wasteland full of bones and dead plants. 'And I thought the high school campus was ugly.'

Light was just about to move to find a way out when his eyes started to burn like hell and he fell to his knees in pain. It took several minutes before the burning subsided and he could open his eyes again.

But when he could see again, he was no longer alone. He was surrounded by countless Shinigami who were spending their existence gambling and sleeping.

"The Shinigami Realm?..." Light murmurs, astonished but also confused.

A Shinigami with brown hair, a red tie wrapped around his forehead, and safety goggles walks toward Light—and straight through him.

"Am I not physically present here?"

He feels compelled to follow him—and does so. As he walks behind him, he notices the Shinigami is limping, as if his shoulder were injured, which feels eerily familiar, though he suppresses the thought.

They reach three other Shinigami—the names Gook, Zellogi, and Deridovely shoot into Light's mind.

"There is a death god who came to the human world and did something interesting," says the Shinigami Light is following.

The three tell him it's useless, as he won't say anything anyway—but the Shinigami with the goggles doesn’t give up.

Once he gets an answer from the others, the Shinigami turns around and walks away. After a few minutes, they reach a long, steep cave staircase, which they ascend.

At the top, Ryuk is sitting at the edge of the cave before an abyss. As he turns around, Light can’t help but notice that he looks older and somehow more mature (?).  

He's wearing a cloak, his hair is a bit longer and falls backward.

"Who are you?" Ryuk asks.

"I came to see you. I have something I want to ask you."

"Something?"

"You’ll find it worth your time." The—still nameless to Light—Shinigami tosses Ryuk a dry Shinigami apple.

"I would prefer one that's juicier." Ryuk chuckles before eating it anyway.

"I want to go to the human world. I'm sick of this boring world. I've heard the human world is interesting."

"It's a boring world with boring people doing boring things. But the man who tried to change the world was interesting." Ryuk begins, and Light nearly flinches, knowing exactly who he's talking about.

"Whatever, I'm bored now. I'll tell you about him. To avenge myself for that inedible apple. Right. Right. This is the story of a man who tried to change the world and become a god." Ryuk says.

Light quickly loses his sense of time and can't lift his gaze from the ground as all the memories play out again before his mind’s eye while Ryuk recounts what happened.

"Well, Light, back then you weren't really a god. You were something else."

Light's head shoots up, thinking Ryuk spoke to him directly—only to quickly realize he was probably talking to himself.

"He’s gone." Ryuk says, turning toward the stairs, drawing Light’s attention to the fact that the nameless Shinigami is indeed no longer there. "Go on, why don’t you give it a try? If you’re lucky, some incredible guy will pick up your notebook—maybe you’ll see something you’ll never forget again." Ryuk says to himself and gazes up at the moon. "At least that’s what I think. Don’t you agree, Light?"

"You idiot..." Light mutters, turning to run after the other Shinigami, hoping to somehow catch up.

If Light had lingered just a few more seconds, he would have seen Ryuk sigh heavily and mumble something to himself that sounded very much like "Shinigami don't have guilty consciences."

Light catches up with the other Shinigami again, since he can only move with a limp. In front of them is a massive hole that turns into something like a portal, letting him see a very familiar world.

As he steps a little closer, however, he stumbles and falls in—the world around him shifts once more, and he finds himself back in the high school courtyard.

He takes a deep breath and blinks a few times to sharpen his vision before placing the Death Note into his school bag and heading home.

The notebook feels slightly different, Light notices—but he pushes the thought aside and keeps walking.

But as he reaches the school gate, where most of the students have gathered, his eyes widen in surprise.

'I have the Shinigami Eyes? But I never made the deal for them.' Light thinks in confusion before brushing it aside and walking past everyone, eager to get home quickly.

It doesn't take long for Light to arrive home. His mother greets him at the door and opens her hands expectantly.

'Oh right, the damn test.' He feels, but holds it back and opens his bag to hand his mother the flawless, perfect test.

"Well done, Light," she says and goes back inside—probably to call her friends and brag about the test.

'Some things just never change...' Sighing, Light heads to his room and locks the door.

He opens the drawer in his desk where he built the same hiding spot as in the last timeline and places it there.

'Finally! No Kira, no deaths, no dumb "I will become the god of a new world" thoughts... and no L... Forget it, Light. This is better for everyone...'

He turns on the TV in his room to distract himself. But with all the stress, he’d forgotten that the television was still set to Channel News 6. And just like in the last timeline, there's a live report about a murderer holding hostages.

"The man who randomly killed and injured six people yesterday in Shinjuku is still barricaded inside this kindergarten with eight hostages, including small children. The Metropolitan Police have identified the 42-year-old as Kurou Otcharata."

'The police can handle it. I just need to avoid slipping back into old patterns.'

It takes some time, but the police actually manage to get almost all the hostages out safely—however, the perpetrator has been given a car and has taken one of the children with him.

He claimed he’d release the child outside the city if the police didn’t follow him.

Less than 100 meters later, the car spins out of control and crashes into a traffic pole. No one really knows what just happened—but Light has a bad feeling.

The child climbs out of the car unharmed and runs, frightened, to the police officers. Shortly after, with weapons drawn, the officers surround the car—but the perpetrator doesn’t respond.

Soon after, the reporter receives information that Kurou Otcharata is dead. The child says the man suddenly clutched his chest and screamed, before the car hit the pole and he stopped moving altogether.

"A heart attack..." Light murmurs in disbelief, finding it hard to breathe. And when the paramedics shortly thereafter confirm a heart attack as the cause of death, Light is on the verge of panic. "But I didn’t write his name in the—"

The nameless Shinigami who had felt so familiar to him—the way he limped, the fact that he left before Ryuk finished the story, the strange feeling Light got when he picked up the Death Note, and finally the Shinigami Eyes, which he had never made the deal for...

"Those who use the Death Note can neither go to Heaven nor Hell..." he whispers quietly.

Bile rises in his throat and he rushes to the bathroom to throw up.

'Well, I guess I did end up becoming a god after all—even if not the kind I once imagined.' he thinks bitterly.

"Light, are you alright?" his mother’s voice calls out.

"Y-Yeah, I’m okay. It’s probably just an upset stomach," Light answers, doing his best to keep his voice from trembling.

"Alright then, if you say so. I’ll make you something light for dinner so it won’t upset your stomach."

"Yes, thank you, Mother." Light hears her footsteps as she walks away.

After calming down a bit, Light decides he needs a shower. He puts on his pajamas and lies down in bed.

The TV and lights are off as Light tries to organize his thoughts.

'That limping Shinigami... that was me... which means I also had a Death Note that once belonged to me... could it be that the notebook I picked up today isn’t Ryuk’s?'

Light exhales tiredly and stares at the ceiling.

'That would mean someone else picked up the Death Note Ryuk dropped... so someone from my school—which significantly narrows the range of suspects...'

Light bites his lower lip as a thought strikes him.

'I never made the Eye Deal, and yet I have the Shinigami Eyes. Normally, I shouldn't be able to see the remaining lifespan of a Death Note user. But if these are real Shinigami Eyes—like Ryuk’s—I would still be able to see them.'

His eyes fall shut, and he drifts off to sleep. When Mrs. Yagami comes to call him for dinner later and finds him already asleep, she decides not to wake him. She closes the curtains and quietly leaves the room.

The following days, Light spends sitting on a bench near the school gate before morning classes, pretending to read while actually observing each student.

However, with every single one, he can see both their name and remaining lifespan.

When, for two days, no criminals died of heart attacks, Light held onto a sliver of hope that maybe it had all just been a coincidence.

But on Thursday, countless criminals began dying one after another—each from a heart attack. Which, of course, completely shattered Light’s hope and confirmed his theory: there were already two notebooks in play.

Friday evening, Light is sitting at his desk working on a serial murder case in Poland, when a sudden gust of wind from the open window makes him feel a presence behind him.

"Long hair suits you, Light."

"Long time no see, Ryuk." Light grabs the apple next to his computer and tosses it to the Shinigami.

"From what I’ve heard, you’re diligently being Kira again. By the way, I’m glad you have your memories back and that the story isn’t just repeating itself. That would be boring," Ryuk says as he floats casually around the room, munching on the apple.

"I’m not Kira, Ryuk. Not this time." Light pulls out the Death Note and flips through the blank pages.

"Oh... wait, that’s not the notebook I dropped."

"I’ve noticed that too. I’ve been trying to figure out who found it, but I haven’t made much progress."

"Hehehe, what a mess."

"By the way, you look older."

"Time in the human world has no effect on us Shinigami."

"I see. Anyway, for some reason, I have the Shinigami Eyes—but I never made the deal."

"Now that you mention it..." Ryuk looks Light straight in the eyes. "Hehe, those aren’t the eyes humans get when they make a deal with a Shinigami. Those are real Shinigami Eyes—and when I look closely, I can trace a Shinigami core in your presence."

"What does that mean?"

"For one, you can see the name and remaining lifespan of every human being—regardless of whether they're a Death Note user or not. And as for the Shinigami core, it means you're no longer affected by the Death Note. You won’t die if someone writes your name in it."

"The latter is all well and good, but the former is completely useless to me right now. If I can see both the name and remaining lifespan, it means the person who picked up your notebook could stand right in front of me and I wouldn't notice anything unusual."

"Not quite. You can see both, but the writing isn’t white—it’s red."

"You could’ve led with that! But that also means it’s not someone from my school, neither teacher nor student… Right now, it could be anyone… You did drop it on the school grounds like in the last timeline, right?"

"Yes, I did. I even saw you picking it up—your expression gave away that you’d kept your memories. Hehehehe."

"But if it's not someone from school, then who? Maybe a family member or a friend from another school? I can’t check everyone. There are too many people, and it would be far too suspicious."

"Hehehe, say, Light—do you remember which Shinigami you were before the time travel? There’s been an unusual number of new Shinigami over the last millennium."

"I’m not sure. Only a fragment of my Shinigami memories has returned so far. But if I’m guessing correctly, I was the one you told about the Kira incident in the last timeline. The one who limped, had brown hair, wore safety goggles and a red tie. But I can’t remember a name."

"Hahahaha! Chronos, of course! No wonder he reminded me so much of you. So the old man made you a Shinigami right after you died. Hehehehe."

"Who is the Old Man?"

"The Old Man is the Shinigami King—though most of us just call him the Old Man."

"How well did you know my Shinigami self?"

"He was a very interesting Shinigami, hehe. A few years after his 'birth,' he left for the human world and kept looking for new people who might use his notebook in interesting ways. At first, he gave it to anyone he found intriguing—but over time, that changed. He began to look specifically for people who would use it for 'good.' Hehehe, in any case, it was never boring, and he quickly became the Old Man's favorite—even if he only rarely returned to the Shinigami Realm."

"Light, dinner!" calls his mother from the stairs, prompting Light to close everything on his computer.

"Coming! We’ll talk later, Ryuk. You can have the apple basket next to the bed if you want."

"Hehehehe! I never say no to apples! Hehehe!" Ryuk calls out, floating over to the apple basket.

"Ryuk?"

"Yeah?" The Shinigami turns his head toward Light, already halfway out the door—and is surprised to see him smiling softly.

"I missed you," says Light, and closes the door behind him as he leaves.

There’s a brief silence before Ryuk starts chuckling and grabs an apple.

"That kind of smile suits you, Light. Too bad you never smiled like that in the previous timeline. Hehe, who would’ve thought the former Kira could smile like that."

Ryuk drifts off in thought until he hears a yawn, and something emerges from the slightly open wardrobe.

"Huh?"

A slender Siamese calico kitten jumps out of the wardrobe and climbs onto Light’s bed, settling down on the pillows for another nap.

"Hehe, I didn’t know Light liked cats." Ryuk glances at the kitten’s orange collar. "Momo?"

"L, Interpol will convene a meeting on Monday regarding the heart attacks of numerous criminals in recent days."

Watari mentions as he brings L some pastries.

"I'm already on the case," says L, still staring at his computer screen. "I’m 97% certain that these are murders—and that the killer is in Japan," he murmurs, biting his thumb.

"What leads you to believe it’s Japan?" asks Watari, placing a cup of tea and a plate of sugar cubes in front of him.

"On the first day, all the criminals who died of heart attacks were in Japan," L begins, tossing a handful of sugar cubes into the teacup. "Only from the second day did the pattern start spreading across the globe—and even then, most of the incidents are still concentrated in Japan."

"So you want to travel to Japan to follow up on the case?"

"Yes—and I also want to test a theory while I’m there."

"Of course. What theory is that?"

"I believe Kira needs both the name and the face of his victims in order to kill them," says L, taking a bite of a pastry. "All the victims were publicly known—full legal names and images were available. There haven’t been any heart attack deaths among criminals whose name or photo was missing."

"How do you plan to verify that?"

L opens a file of death row criminals whose identities are not publicly known. He clicks on the photo of a man with long black hair. Beneath it reads the name: Lind L. Tailor.

"I’ll use this one."

Chapter Text

“Hehehe, there are more people here than I expected,” Ryuk chuckled, floating behind Mr. Yagami and his colleague.

Light had asked him to follow his father in order to find out when the A-G8 Summit — a meeting of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) — would take place and when L would make his first move.

“Fifty-two just last week, and those are only the ones we know about.”

“Every single one died of cardiac arrest.”

“All the victims were criminals, either being pursued by the police or already behind bars.”

“We can assume that other wanted criminals whose unknown have also died.”

“In that case, the number of deaths is likely well over a hundred…”

“But they were all violent offenders who more than deserved the death penalty. Is that really something to be concerned about?”

“Who just said that?! That’s an utterly irresponsible viewpoint!”

“Exactly. Violent criminal or not — if someone kills them, it’s still murder!!”

“But has it actually been confirmed that it *is* murder?”

“How could over a hundred heart attacks be a coincidence?! Of course it’s murder.”

“Who could possibly kill so many people, across such a wide area, almost simultaneously?!”

"We believe this is a carefully orchestrated mass murder carried out by a large organization."

"The only large organization capable of pulling something like this off, in my opinion, would be the CIA or the FBI!"

"You can't say that again!"

"Now, now …"

"Please refrain from tasteless jokes …"

"Wow, they're all completely freaking out, hehe... Hopefully this mini-camera works and Light can watch the chaos from here too." Ryuk chuckled with amusement. "Whether it's Kira or not, it's never boring with Light. Hehehe."

Meanwhile, Light sits in his last class of the day, listening to what's happening through an earphone in his right ear, carefully hidden beneath his hair.

He can't see the image this way, but he made to and stored on his laptop.

‘Father is completely calm and composed, unlike most of the others there… then again, it would be surprising if he weren't. He's always been able to suppress his emotions completely…’ Light thinks to himself, pretending to pay attention in class, while mentally blocking out everything around him.

"With so many criminals dying, our pride as police officers …"

"This isn't about pride!"

"I must say, it's a problem when convicted prisoners die before their sentence is carried out."

"Why don’t we first determine whether it’s really murder, or just a coincidence?!"

"But the forensic reports for each case state: 'Cardiac arrest, cause of death unknown'!"

"You can’t track down a killer if the cause of death is a heart attack …"

"It would be a different matter if they had a knife sticking out of their throat …"

"How about we put it to a vote?"

"I think we have no choice. This is another matter for L."

"L…? What’s the meaning of this, Chief?" asks the man sitting next to Mr. Yagami, quietly.

"Right, this is your first Interpol meeting. No one knows… L’s real name, his location, or what he looks like," Mr. Yagami begins.

"But he can solve any case, no matter what it is. You might call him a detective… no — well, in any case, no one knows who he is… but he’s solved countless unsolved cases up to now. You could say he’s our trump card… our ace in the hole… Something like that…" he explains to his colleague before turning back to the discussion.

"But they say L only gets involved in cases that interest him. If not, forget it."

"True. And besides, we have no way of contacting him!"

"L is already involved." a new voice suddenly says.

"L has been investigating this case for several days now."

"Watari..."

Light can’t quite suppress a smile when he hears the old familiar name. 'It’s about to begin.' he thinks to himself with a slight grin.

"Huh? Watari? Is there another Japanese person here?" asks the man who’s with Mr. Yagami.

"He’s not with us. Watari is the only one who can contact L. But no one knows who he really is." Mr. Yagami explains.

"Quiet, please. You are now going to hear L speak."

"Good day. This is L. The case before us is unprecedented in its scale and complexity … and it is a crime of mass murder that must be stopped at all costs!! To solve it, I ask for the full cooperation … of police forces around the world. A corresponding resolution was adopted today at the Interpol meeting."

"L... Interpol has adopted a resolution pledging their full cooperation with you." says Watari.

"Good. I am especially requesting the urgent cooperation of the Japanese police."

"What?!"

"But... why Japan?!" everyone wonders in confusion and surprise.

"Regardless of whether this is being carried out by a group or an individual, it is highly likely that they are Japanese. And if not, then they are in Japan."

"But how... how can you... based on what evidence...?" Mr. Yagami asks.

"Why Japan...? I believe... I will be able to explain the reason soon during a direct confrontation with the killer. I therefore propose that the investigation be based in Japan."

'So he’s already decided to come to Japan!' Light thinks, having to bite his lip to keep from grinning ear to ear.

Light is walking home with two of his classmates, carrying a shopping bag in his hand.

"Man, lately I’ve been totally glued to the news." says one of them, the shorter of the three.

"Yeah, me too." agrees the other, the one wearing glasses. "It’s crazy that all those criminals are just dropping dead."

"Kinda creepy, but also pretty cool. I mean, they totally deserved it." says the short one.

"Well, on the other hand, there were also many who hadn’t been convicted and might even have been innocent." Light chimes in. "Imagine being accused, for example, of sexual assault and then dying even though you did nothing wrong."

"Huh?! That would suck! Can that really happen?" asks the shorter one.

"In some of the deaths, it was highly questionable whether they were actually the culprits, and they still died of cardiac arrest. The likelihood that someone who’s falsely accused could also be killed by this person or organization is pretty high."

"Well, now that you put it like that, Light… it just sounds straight-up creepy now…" the short one mumbles, seeming a bit ashamed of what he said earlier.

"Alright then, see you guys tomorrow." Light says as they reach his house.

"Bye!"

"Be a good boy!" jokes the guy with glasses.

"I’m home." calls Light as he takes off his shoes at the front door.

"Hello, sweetheart." greets his mother, sitting in the living room sipping tea.

"Welcome back, Light. Did you bring apples?" Ryuk asks him.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

Light lifts the shopping bag he’s holding. "Can you make apple pie for dinner?"

"Of course, honey." she says, slightly surprised that Light is asking for something, since he almost never does.

"Thanks, Mom." Light says gratefully, placing the bag on the kitchen counter before heading toward his room.

"Apple pie!? I want some too!" shouts Ryuk, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Once he closes and locks the door behind him, he takes out another shopping bag, filled with red apples. "I’ll save you a piece of the apple pie for later." Light says quietly, handing the bag to Ryuk.

"Hahahaha! You’re the best!" Ryuk laughs, devouring one apple after another.

"No problem, but please be quiet while eating. It’s about to start." says Light, turning on the TV and sitting down as he switches to the news.

"Hehehe, what are you planning, Light?"

"L needs to come to Kanto to catch the current Kira. For that to happen, Tailor has to die right at the beginning of the broadcast... I can only hope Kira takes the bait."

"I know you don’t want to use the Death Note anymore. I can do it for you, if you want."

"No, that would be the same as doing it myself. And besides, Kira would know there’s another Death Note."

"I see. What if Kira doesn’t bite?"

"Then Y will step in and has to slip something to L that makes him come to Kanto, to steer him onto the right path."

"Hehe, why did you bring Y to life?" Ryuk asks, curious.

"N-No particular reason..." stammers Light, which confuses Ryuk until he notices the slight blush on Light’s ears and bursts out laughing.

"Hahahaha! Someone wanted to impress their favorite detective?"

"S-Shut up!" Light snaps at the Shinigami, unable to stop the flush spreading across his cheeks — which only makes Ryuk laugh harder.

The two are interrupted by the screen, which briefly turns white before a man with long black hair appears, seated behind a nameplate that reads "Lind. L. Tailor".

"We interrupt this program to bring you a live worldwide television broadcast from Interpol, featuring a Japanese voiceover by interpreter Yoshio Anderson."

"I am Lind L. Tailor, better known as ‘L’ — the only person capable of mobilizing police forces in any country across the globe."

"Fingers crossed now..." Light murmurs.

"Criminals are being targeted by a killing spree that has become the greatest mass murder in history. This monstrous crime must be stopped at all costs. ‘Kira’, as the perpetrator is commonly known, WILL be caught. That I guarantee."

"That he can stay so calm, knowing he'll likely suffer a heart attack soon, is remarkable..." Light says quietly.

"Huhuhu, humans really are fascinating." Ryuk chuckles.

"Kira. I think I understand fairly well why you do this. But what you're doing... IS EVIL!!"

For a brief moment, everything is completely silent before the numbers showing Tailor’s remaining lifespan suddenly change.

"He took the bait." Light sighs, relieved. "But not even 40 seconds?"

"The police have launched a coordinated global investiga—" Tailor continues before his eyes suddenly go blank and he stands up.

"I’m not the greatest detective in the world!" Tailor declares in a loud, clear voice. He sounds more like he’s reading a script than at any other point during the first half of the broadcast, and what he says makes Light’s eyes widen in shock. "I am a convicted criminal scheduled to die today, used as a pawn by L. L is cruel for arranging my execution live on television!"

Tailor’s eyes lose their vacant stare as he twitches in pain and lets out a grunt. His hand clenches at the shirt over his heart before he collapses hard onto the desk provided for him.

"M-Moment, that means..." murmurs Light.

"Means what?" asks Ryuk, curious and eager.

"That Kira has access to police records! That throws all my assumptions and theories out the window..." Light furrows his brow and bites his lower lip, reaching for a pen to keep his hands busy.

But he’s pulled from his thoughts as the screen shifts to an image of L and the famous detective begins to speak.

"I had to test it just to be sure, but I—I never imagined it would actually happen," he begins, and Light finds himself wishing L’s voice weren’t computer-modulated.

"Kira, it seems you can kill people without being physically present. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn’t just witnessed it myself."

"Heheh, this is getting really exciting." Ryuk giggles.

"What you said about Lind L. Tailor is true." And Light can well imagine that L must be feeling bitter right now, that it feels like a defeat to him—even if he’s not showing it.

"He really was a death row inmate, scheduled for execution today. I admit... I don’t know how you knew that, or whether it was just a lucky guess, but you were right. He was not the detective L, which I am."

"Yeah, right. He just gave away a very important piece of information..." murmurs Light while Ryuk chuckles beside him.

"I assure you, whatever trick you think I may have just pulled: L is real and I am L. Now. TRY TO KILL ME!"

Several seconds pass, and nothing happens.

"What’s wrong? Hurry up! Come on, now! Kill me! Go on, Kira, kill me!"

Still nothing.

"Can’t you do it?"

"L has put himself in a very bad public position." says Light.

"Huh? Why?" asks Ryuk, confused.

"Kira subtly tried to turn the tables on L and put him under pressure. If nothing else made that clear, it was definitely Kira’s accusation that L was cruel for using Taylor. It’s just a PR stunt to keep the public on his side."

Light begins, then pauses to sigh.

"L surely wanted to prove that Kira killed people he believed to be law enforcement officials simply for opposing him, but Kira just smacked that theory right back in his face." Light concludes.

"Well, Kira, it seems you really can’t kill me." L’s voice sounds again.

"At the very least, he’d proven to others that Kira could see through every deception, stayed true to his ideals, and only killed criminals or those who had done wrong. No matter how he knew it, Kira clearly knew Tailor was a criminal when he killed him, rather than falling for the trick that he was the real L." Light quickly adds before turning his full attention back to the TV.

"Or could it be that you don’t want to kill me? Is that it? I wonder if I’m still alive not because of your abilities, but because of a conscience you believe you have? How noble of you, Kira. To spare my life. It’s really sweet, but I’m afraid there’s a problem. No matter what you believe, what you’re doing is evil, and no amount of superficial nobility will ever balance out your morality."

L seems to take a brief breath before continuing.

"Regardless of whether you can kill me or not, you’ve at least given me a useful clue about your identity. For that, I must thank you, Kira."

"What does he mean, Light?"

"Even though supernatural forces are now involved, the fact that criminals whose full names aren’t known don’t die strongly indicates that Kira isn’t all-knowing. That, in turn, meant the most likely explanation for how Kira knew Tailor was a criminal is that he was either someone high up in law enforcement himself, or someone closely connected to such people. That drastically narrows the suspects, since it can’t be civilians with no ties to high-ranking police officers." Light explains quickly.

"I want to return the favor," L continued calmly. "You seem to know a lot about Mr. Tailor and his circumstances, so interrupt me if you already know this. Although this was announced as a global broadcast, we are, in fact, only transmitting in Japan’s Kanto region."

Light can practically hear the grin in his voice and can’t help but smirk.

"I had planned to broadcast this message worldwide until we found you, but it seems that won’t be necessary. I now know where you are." He sounded smug.

"There’s more. The police treated your first murder as an isolated incident, but in truth, your first victim was a suspect in Shinjuku. Looking back, he was the first criminal we could find who died of a heart attack. In addition, his crime was only reported within Japan. From this, I concluded the following: you are in Japan, and your first victim was little more than… an experiment."

"Hehehe looks like you two have something going on." Ryuk snickers and gets elbowed by Light. "Ouch!"

"This means you haven’t been killing for long. We decided to begin broadcasting in Kanto due to its large population, and fortunately, we found you. To be honest, I never expected you to reveal yourself so quickly, but… it won’t be long before I can sentence you to death."

Light licks his lips, wondering how this Kira will respond to L.

"Of course I’m very curious how you’re able to carry out these murders without being noticed, but I don’t mind waiting a little longer. You can answer all my questions when I catch you. We’ll meet again soon, Kira."

Less than a second later, the broadcast signal of the entire television station was cut off and replaced by static.

Light turns off the TV and falls backward onto his bed. He lays both arms over his face and takes a deep breath.

"That was the starting shot." he says after a few moments, hearing Ryuk chuckle. "I wonder if I’ll become a suspect again?" he asks aloud.

"Then you get to work with your favorite detective again." the Shinigami teases, only to get a pillow thrown in his face — which makes him laugh even harder.

"Well, looks like you and the other Shinigami in your world now have something to ease your boredom for a while." says Light before an idea strikes him and he heads to his computer.

The “Kira” case, I’ll leave to L for now.  

Good luck with the investigation.

PS: You really should improve your security systems. Hacking into them is ridiculously easy.  

– Y

He sends the email to Interpol, making sure it can’t be traced, then wipes all traces of it from his computer.

"That’s enough excitement for one day. I’m going to take a shower and lie down." says Light, stretching.