It's been five days since L decided to let me work together with him on the Kira case. Apart from squabbling around from time to time when we came to a disagreement, things were going much smoother than expected. That is, Of course, with Watari or perhaps Feather, stepping in to break our endless bickering. It was going just fine. Though, I still didn't understand some of his bizarre habits and strange perceptions, instead of questioning him, I just kept my opinions to myself, knowing that we would just engage in yet another argument once again.
My overall conclusion?
..I simply just disliked him.
..Putting that aside...
Currently, I was at his newest hotel room, searching for any loopholes Kira might have left behind in his killing spree of criminals.
There was so much information for me to digest. But I was far from absorbing any of it properly.
As uncharacteristic as it may be, truth to be told, that incident kept bubbling back up in my mind.
A small misunderstanding. A mere mistake.
Embarrassing.
I jumped into conclusions and threw a fit. Not a wise thing to do. I shouldn't care. But I did.
As much as I disliked him, I couldn't help but wonder if I was being much too informal towards him. This was, after all, supposed to be be a professional case.
'Fine. If you're not happy with my 'fooling' around, then I'll do the honors of walking out the door.'
The same immature sentence echoed in my mind hauntingly. Disgust bottled up in my stomach.
I glanced away from the computer screen to the boy who was seated a few meters away from me, never taking his eyes away from his own. His fingers never stopped moving, as if he was attempting to try to type out all the words in a whole dictionary. It didn't seem to affect him at all.
"Is something wrong, Hope-san?" He asked suddenly. "You suddenly stopped typing."
I mentally cursed him for being so observant.
"I'm tired." I answered almost too quickly, sounding straight to the point. He didn't need to know that I wasn't telling him the real reason.
"You should take a rest, then." He replied, stopping his typing also.
"I'll take a short one too."
He moved a bit, sticking his hand in one of the pockets of his baggy jeans, searching for something. Probably some sort of sweet.
I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to do something about my behavior from before. I hated it when I do things that make me seem silly and rash. I just had to do something about it.
I chewed on my index finger in wonder.
Should I apologize?
The thought was deathly unappealing to me. Apologize? To him?
I cringed mentally just thinking about it. My inner voice discriminated against the idea. There was already a dent in my pride, why should I make it bigger?
'Don't misunderstand me, Hope. When I said you shouldn't fool around, I meant that I want you to give your 100% when you're working with me. I'm afraid that both of us would need it.'
100%? Ha. What a joke. I won't even be able to concentrate if I keep threading on small, insignificant things that happened five days ago, much less give it my 100%.
I could hear my inner voice groan loudly as my conscience started to speak up.
...At least, I won't feel so disturbed if I apologize.
I think.
I took a deep breath.
"Hey, L..." I began in a barely audible mutter.
Just as the words came out of my mouth, L had managed to fish what he wanted to find out from his pocket.
"Ah. Found it." He said in triumph. I stared at the familiar item in his hands.
I felt myself twitch.
That chocolate bar. The very one he stole from me the other day.
My chocolate bar.
He started to unwrap it and I started to feel any intention of apologizing slip away in a flash and being replaced with raging annoyance.
He put it into his mouth and took a huge bite, a look of total oblivion on his face.
CHOMP.
I twitched painfully with every single bite he took, as if he was doing something outrageously offending right in front of my eyes.
CHOMP. CHOMP.
I gritted my teeth.
"Is something wrong?" He asks, nibbling on the strawberry-filled candy.
Bloody baka (idiot)! Is he doing this on purpose? I'm going to strangl--
Before I could even finish my murderous trail of thought, the ringing of a cellphone sounded and distracted my rage. For awhile.
"Hello?" L answered his phone. "Ah. Watari. You're ready? Alright. I'll send her down right away." He put down his phone and turned to me, chocolate in mouth.
"Hope-san. I need to attend a meeting that is taking place in one hour. It concerns the various police forces from around the world acting on the Kira case. Watari will be accompanying you there."
I glared at him. "Why can't you go?" I asked in an annoyed voice.
"I cannot afford to have my identity revealed to anyone just yet." He said simply.
"Hmm." I scoffed at his excuse and crossed my arms.
Of course. How could I forget?
My eyes slid to the remaining chocolate in his left hand as he used his right hand to type something down on the computer. An idea popped up.
"Alright, I'll go," I agreed, my voice becoming calmer.
I grabbed my coat that was hanging off one of the elegant arm chairs that adorned the room and slipped it on.
"But I'll be taking this as payment." I added slyly, snatching the half-eaten chocolate bar out of his hand while slipping another arm into the sleeve hole of my coat.
Then, I took this chance to make my escape out of the door, never looking back at L, who was frowning at me from the behind, his hand still in mid-air, as if he still had the chocolate bar in his grasp.
"That was a dirty trick, Hope-san." I could hear the unhappy detective say in protest before I shut the door behind me, holding sweet strawberry-filled New Zealand chocolate in my mouth in triumph.
"It's an eye for an eye, L." I hummed to myself softly in mild satisfaction, keeping my face emotionless as I made my way down the lift.
xXx
Watari and I soon arrived at the destination, in a white, plush limo.
"What is the purpose of showing up at this meeting, anyway?" I asked, looking at my companion beside me. He was wearing the same black disguise he always wore; a black face mask, black hat, over sized black coat, and black polished shoes. That brought me to the thought of whether the man owned any other article of clothing that wasn't a shade of midnight black.
"This is the first major meeting that's being held for the Kira case. All of the police forces from around the world will be in it."
"Ah... so this is where L makes his rare 'appearance', isn't it?" I mused, rubbing my chin.
Watari chuckled quietly. "You could say that."
"Hm. Well, it's time to put those poor, confused souls at ease." I uttered, pulling up my high collar which covered half of my face, up to the nose level.
We entered the big building and was finding our way to the meeting room.
Watari suddenly paused mid-way and I stopped in my tracks too.
"Hope-san, please make your way through this hallway and enter the first door you see. That would be the meeting room." I could hear him speak behind my back. "I'll be making my appearance at the backdoor."
"Understood." I replied calmly without any hesitation, stuffing my hands into my pockets before starting to walk again.
Mmm.
Looks like I'd be watching along with the audience.
Good. I didn't like being the center of attention, anyway.
xXx
"Ugh. Cheif Yagami still hasn't arrived yet. Where could he be?" Matsuda thought, feeling too uptight for his own good. What happened if the meeting started without him? This was his first time being in such a big meeting and he could feel the goose bumps running up and down his skin.
"I know... I'll go to the washroom to wash my face and calm myself down." He took a deep breath and started to stride towards the bathroom, eyes on the ground, trying not to let his light-headedness get the better of him.
"Gah. It would be disastrous if the Chief was caught in an accident or a traffic jam or something! Oh no... should I call him? Or should I wait for a few more minutes? God, I'm so worr-- Ow!"
Matsuda let out a gasp of surprise as he fell backwards onto the floor, landing on his butt.
"Oh yeah, way to go, Matsuda. Bumping into walls would really calm you down." he scolded himself, rubbing his sore sides.
That's when he noticed the shadow that was downcast on him.
This... wasn't... a wall...
Slowly, he looked up to see someone in a buttoned-up trench coat, hands hidden in pockets, looking completely undaunted. The person was glaring down at him.
Matsuda scurried up onto his feet and started to apologize, bowing frantically.
"Oh no, I'm such a klutz!" he scolded, bowing once more. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
He looked at the person and found that the person was still glaring back coldly at him. She was a young female, from the looks of it, and about a head shorter than him too. Her face was mostly covered up by the collar of her coat and only her eyes were viable. Her coal-black eyes bore into him threateningly and made him shiver in fright. He gulped.
Then, with a single, "Hmph.", she continued on her way, leaving an awkward air around Matsuda.
He turned to see the silent stranger go, feeling very strange.
"W-what was that?" Matsuda thought, blinking in confusion.
Reality then gave him a hard slap to the face.
"O-oh, no! The meeting! I've got to get back, quickly! Gah, godddamit!" He cursed and started to sprint back to the meeting room, almost tripping again.
Fortunately, he got back just in time and plopped back onto his seat, panting.
"God, that was close." He sighed.
He sat up upright and listened attentively as the others started to state their opinions on the case.
"52 people just as we know about, all had heart attacks. All were criminals who were captured by the police, or were on the run. There are also criminals whose deaths are not yet confirmed."
"So, then, a conservative estimation would be about over 100 people?" one of them inputted.
The whole room burst into murmurs.
A second person joined Matsuda and sat next to him.
"They've already started, Cheif!" Matsuda told him in a hushed voice.
"Yeah. I got a call from the headquarters. I'm sorry about being late." Chief Yagami apologized in an equally quiet voice.
They turned their attention back as someone else started to speak again.
"But these were all criminals who were going to be executed eventually, anyhow. I don't really think it would matte--"
"Idiot!" another one bursts out, slamming his fist onto the table. "Even if they were felons or prisoners on death row, if you kill them, it's still murder!"
"But it hasn't even been confirmed that it was murder!" the one before said, shrugging.
"There is no way that over 100 criminals all dead because of heart attacks can be a coincidence!" the man roared angrily, losing his temper. "Of course they've been murdered!"
"But how can someone kill such a wide range of criminals, practically all at the same time?" he retorted, making a hand gesture.
"We think this may be a elaborately planned murder plot by some large organization." another one said.
"Psh. If it's such a large organization, I can't help but think that the FBI or the CIA may be involved somehow."
"I dare you to say that again!"
"Okay, alright! Please refrain from jokes!" A plump, old man broke the heated argument, waving his hands about. "First, we have to decide if this was murder or just a mere coincidence."
"But according to the autopsy reports, they all died from cardiac arrest; case unknown, right?"
"A death like 'cardiac arrest' leaves us without any clues."
"If they had been stabbed or something, it'd be different."
"In cases like this..." A man suddenly spoke in a serious tone, "the only thing we can do is ask L!"
The whole room instantly fell into a graveyard-like standstill.
xXx
"The only thing we can do is ask L!"
I stood at the very back of the room, hiding in the shadows away from everyone's sight. I was leaning against the wall, observing everything from where I was standing.
They trusted L that much, huh? So when everything else fails, all they can do is to crawl to him and beg him to save them.
I snorted to myself. So predictable.
The whole room was dead quiet now, everyone scooting over to discuss about L.
Finally, someone came to a conclusion.
"But doesn't L only take on cases that interest him?!"
"Exactly!" Another man agrees, bending over to shove in his opinion. "Plus, we have no way of contacting him!"
"L is already moving." A voice suddenly echoed through the room.
My ears perked up at the sound. Watari.
Everyone, including me, turned their heads towards the echoing sound of foot steps coming from up stage.
I spotted the black figure slowly making his way to the middle of the stage.
"L has already begun investigating on this case." He announced, looking at the crowd face to face.
"Oh? Watari?" I heard someone gasp from the sea of policemen.
"Silence please." Watari silenced everyone. "L will now speak."
He placed a white laptop onto the table and lifted the top, revealing a big letter 'L' that was in an old medieval font. The screen behind him also lit, up, and the L appeared there too.
I watched on in moderate interest, shifting my weight all onto one foot as I gazed up at the screen.
"Everyone in ICPO." A completely distorted computerized voice spoke.
"I am, L."
A small smirk tugged at one edge of my lips. There was no possible way that anyone could tell who he was no matter what they tried to do.
He was really going to do whatever it takes to conceal his real identity, wasn't he?
Mmm. I never knew such a careful person existed.
L, you are indeed interesting.
I listened to the distorted voice.
"This case is of unprecedented scope and difficulty. It is an atrocious crime of mass homicide that must be stopped! To solve this case, I would like to confirm the total cooperation of the ICPO at this meeting."
He stopped for a brief moment and rephrased himself.
"No... of all the investigative agencies of the world."
I huffed inwardly when I heard that. He made me go through a whole murder trail in order to just accept that he would have to work with me, and right now he's personally asking the world-wide investigative agencies to cooperate with him without expecting any difficulty?
Really. I just don't understand the kind of perspective you're holding onto, L. What a troublesome person.
"I especially request the cooperation of the Japanese police department."
Two men shot right up from their seats and I eyed the back of their heads warily.
"E-eh?" they exclaimed, surprised that L had hand-picked them out directly.
"W-why Japan?" they questioned.
"Whether the culprit if a group of people, or only a single person, the likelihood that he is Japanese is extremely high. If not Japanese, then at least he is hiding in Japan." the distorted voice explained.
"What grounds do you have for this conclusion?" one of the two men from the Japanese Police department asked, a slight tinge of nervousness in his voice. If Kira was in Japan, that meant that the people living there would be in more danger compared to people who lived outside of Japan.
"Why Japan? I believe I can show you with a direct confrontation with the culprit."
Liar.
Even if he was planning something - shrugging off the fact that he didn't even bother to inform me what it was - it was a very small chance that L would even show his face in public. He didn't even trust the ICPO with his true face. If he was truly okay with it, Watari and I wouldn't even need to be here.
Besides... revealing your identity to someone with a surreal power to murder as he wishes isn't exactly what I call bright. Especially when you're the one in his way. It's as good as offering him a knife and inviting him over personally to get it done with.
No, L was definitely lying about this... 'direct confrontation'.
"At any rate, I would like to locate the headquarters for the manhunt in Japan."
There were no disagreements even though some of the people were still unsure about L's motive. However, they all knew it was better to listen to him rather than sit around like a lost child.
With that, the meeting was adjourned.
xXx
When I returned to the hotel room, there was barely any light in the room apart from the soft glow emitting from the laptop placed in front of him.
I walked up to him slowly and dragged out a chair and seated myself.
I rested my eyes and narrowed my eyebrows a bit.
"Are you going to tell me what exactly you're really planning?" I asked out loud, feeling the carpeted floor under my toes. "Don't tell me you're really going to show your face to Kira."
"Of course not." was the simple reply I received.
I lazily reopened my eyes and gazed deadly at him. "So.. am I suppose to wait until Christmas Eve for you to tell me about your plan?" I droned sarcastically.
Instead of replying, he tapped his keyboard a few times and a window popped up on the wide glass screen.
It was a picture of a man with shoulder-length black hair.
"Meet Lind 'L' Tailor." he declared in an indifferent voice.
"Mmm." I crossed my legs and studied the picture. His plan immediately made itself clear to me in less than a second.
"So. You're going to have Lind-san pretend to be you when you supposedly have your 'direct confrontation' with Kira, am I right?"
L nodded once, clicking his mouse a few times to close a few unnecessary files. He reached out for his fork and jabbed a piece of sponge cake and inserted it into his mouth.
"This way, it'll be safer in case Kira decides to make a move and kill you. And since Lind-san is taking your place, it would be him that takes the blow instead of you. Not bad of a plan." I mused thoughtfully.
"Did he volunteer to be your 'stuntman'?"
"No. He's a convict on death row." L replied, the fork still in his mouth.
"..I see." My eyes hovered over to him. "... There's more to this plan than to prove that he's lurking somewhere in Japan, isn't there?"
The sound of typing stopped momentarily. Then, it started again.
"That is correct. If my suspicions are proven right after Lind makes his appearance, we may be able to unravel a little more of the mystery behind Kira's killing method."
I turned my chair towards the table where my laptop was and jerked the mouse to release it out of screen saver mode.
"Over 100 people dead in such a short time.." I mumbled to myself, zooming on a newspaper article. The words on the screen reflected on my unblinking black eyes as I scanned through a few more articles. "What kind of person, is Kira, really?"
I felt L's gaze on me as I imposed the question to myself.
"That's what I would like to know, too." I heard him say in a low voice.
A dark and gloomy atmosphere hovered in the air, keeping us silent for a few moments.
....That is, a few moments before we found ourselves wandering into an argument about Kira's possible personality.
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