Not-So-Legal Procedures

"Please install hidden cameras and electronic bugs in all of their homes," L announced.

"No... No way!" Matsuda burst out. "You can't do that in Japan!"

"No matter how powerful you are or what your background is, you can't do that!" Aizawa protested righteously. "This is a major breach of privacy rights. If our bosses found out, we'd all lose our jobs!"

Es rolled his eyes.

"As a matter-of-fact, I might be able to get the government to endorse that with cooperation from a member of each household. That will just take too long through the proper channels," Es explained nonchalantly. 

"Do you value your jobs over human lives?" L finished while regarding them.

The four investigators fell silent, considering L's words.

It was tempting to wait for S to get permission, however dubious, but he was right.

It would take too long.

As this case dragged on, the casualties increased. 

Decidedly, Yagami asked with resolve, "Who was Penber investigating at the time?"

Matsuda went to check the files.

"From the nineteenth, Penber was investigating..." Matsuda went pale, unable to do any more than stare at the document blankly for a moment.

"Sub-Chief Kitamura and Chief Yagami's families," L finished without sympathy. 

"Please install cameras and electronic bugs in these two households," Es said politely, but the team knew that they did not have a choice. "Since it is illegal, please install them discreetly if possible."

Legal or not, it was needed if they wanted to find the culprit.

However... 

"Ryūzaki, what is the chance that Kira is actually in one of these families?" Yagami asked through clenched teeth.

L considered this for a moment.

"Ten per cent," he stated despite knowing that it should have been higher.

Then he thought about it a little more.

Disregarding Es' convictions since those were not considered rational by other people, it only made sense that the value was halved...

L corrected himself, "No, more like five per cent."

Es wanted to sigh in regret, but he knew that informing Yagami Sōichirō that he already had incriminating recordings on Yagami Light was not the best way to earn his trust. Perhaps he would have to bring those up another day. Preferably when only L and himself were around, of course.

"Only five per cent..." Matsuda uttered in shock.

"Normally we would at least wait until there is a probability of at least fifty per cent before doing something like this," Aizawa agreed.

However, the earlier allusion to Yagami Light's possible involvement seemed to have lit a fire in the elder Yagami.

Yagami Sōichirō, instead of backing down, stepped forward.

"We don't even have a suspect even now. Even if the odds were just one per cent, we still have to investigate thoroughly," Yagami stated.

"Does that mean installing illegal surveillance equipment? In Kitamura and your homes, no less," Matsuda argued. "Don't we still have other options?"

The man hesitated slightly at the words of his colleague but quickly overcame it at the expectant looks from the world's greatest detectives.

"I cannot accept that my family is a suspect," Yagami said boldly. "Please, install them."

His colleagues could only gape at the man.

"Make sure every single angle of the house is being monitored! Even the bathroom!" Yagami added fiercely.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Es spoke with a pleasant smile.

L was less subtle and simply stated, "We were going to do that anyway."

Aizawa and Matsuda chased after the man and attempted to dissuade him, but it ended with a lot of shouting as Yagami turned his back on them.

"This will require some sacrifices," Es informed. 

"Well then," L decided, "the director, Suzuki and I will monitor the Yagami home while the rest of you work in shifts. One will head back to HQ and work there while another re-checks Penber's footage. The other three plus Shoko will monitor the Kitamura family."

"We will watch the families for seven days and, depending on how things go, we may end early. When the surveillance is finished, informed the families and leave no equipment behind. Do you understand?" Es said sternly.

"Watari, when can you get the surveillance equipment ready?" L questioned.

"By tomorrow," Watari replied. "We can begin the installation as soon as we can confirm that no one is home."

"Es, could you also provide us with a few of yours? They are smaller and less visible, so they can even be placed in plain sight," L asked.

"Of course," Es agreed breezily.

"You mean the invention that Dr Noir discussed in that book?" Yoneda remarked, wide-eyed.

"Nanocameras!" Naomi gasped in astonishment, almost dropping Noel.

"Watari, book two rooms from different hotels. They will serve as monitoring stations. We will move our base after we finish setting up the equipment," Es continued, unperturbed.

"Yes, Suzuki. It will be done," Watari said dutifully.

Yagami and co almost forgot that Watari was not actually the personal assistant of S from how easily the latter gave instructions to him.

"You must work together on lots of cases, huh?" Matsuda commented, only to be ignored.

💣

"Yagami Light..." L said while staring intently at the monitors. "According to the ones installing the instruments, there was a small trap made to identify whether someone entered his room while he was out. Other than that, his room did not have anything strange."

Only Es could see the monstrous form of Ryūk trailing behind Yagami Light and he wondered briefly what the other two would think if only their eyes registered the forms of shinigami.

"He's entering his room now. That would be camera number eighty-five," L muttered as he switched the view being displayed.

Es was the only person who heard Ryūk suggest to the teenager, "Light, since no one's home right now, let's play Mario Kart. We haven't had the chance to play it in a while."

Yagami Light did not show any outward response.

"Hey Light, let's play Mario Kart," Ryūk repeated himself.

Light lied down, ignoring the shinigami entirely.

"Hey," Ryūk grumbled as he watched the brunet sit up and grab his jacket.

"Es," Cairn whined to a marble that was just as invisible as himself, "why must I be on recon duty?"

Indeed, an entity that was not visible to mortal eyes was also sent for extra precaution. Though Ryūk would probably be able to see Cairn -- Es was not honestly too sure either, it was unlikely that the shinigami would snitch on him. He had heard the shinigami claim to side with neither L nor Light, so he was hoping Ryūk kept his word. Even if Ryūk told Light that he had a shinigami following him around, it was unlikely he would be paranoid enough to think this shinigami was on a leash.

"Who asked you to be the only one that no one sees or touches?" one of Es' shadow clones said from the mirror realm.

Cairn scowled as he watched Light pull on a jacket through the bedroom window and step out of his room.

"What am I supposed to do anyway?" Cairn demanded while scowling.

"Record every conversation that he has?" reminded another shadow clone with a huff.

Glaring down at the marble, Cairn grumbled, "That's your job."

"Right," the same clone said unremorsefully.

Cairn felt his scowl deepen.

Es had been treating him as an errand-runner in recent years, claiming it was simply rental fees. He did not mind nearly as much as one would expect considering his pride as a bijū, but it did not mean that he liked being sent on these odd missions. Despite Cairn's unending complaints, he continued to cooperate -- Es always made it hard to say no -- and nothing else mattered. He acted as an assistant for S, with few complaints about the job, but it seemed that he now better served as an undetectable stalker. It might have felt special if the blond could not use his mirrors to stalk anyone he wanted sufficiently anyway. Cairn felt it was just to get him off his arse and work.

The lazy kitsune sighed once more.

"So he set up a trap there after all. Does he have something to hide?" muttered Yagami.

"Seventeen is a sensitive age," L responded in a flat voice.

Es knew that L was a little defensive and he found it rather amusing.

"I used to do lots of pointless things too," L assured the man.

"You still do," Es remarked.

"As if I can compare with you," L replied with a raised eyebrow.

Indeed.

Es was far beyond the descriptor of "paranoid".

It was like he thought everyone in the world has the potential to be his enemy.

Perhaps he did.

"By the way, I have heard that your son was interested in the Kira case and is investigating it independently, Yagami-san," L said out of nowhere. "Have you mentioned anything to him about our efforts?"

"I have evidence that he has hacked into his father's laptop," Es offered while glancing towards the device in question.

Yagami paled slightly.

If that was true, Light's actions really were not helping his case. The only question was how Es could have found out about this when he had not even touched the computer in question, yet that mattered little at this point in time. These detectives were suspecting his son of being Kira and the very thought made him sick.

"I've mentioned our situation with the Kira case, but never anything confidential. Even then, I haven't been home in a long while. When I do return, I'll immediately slump into bed," Yagami reported tersely.

If Light had really hacked into his computer then whatever he said no longer mattered.

"You should be proud of your son's talents," L told the man instead.

Yagami gritted his teeth but remained silent.

Cairn, in the meantime, was watching as Light frantically checked himself over for electronic bugs.

"Ryūk," Cairn heard the teen say, "the house has had microphones and cameras installed in it. I'm being investigated."

It was going to be an incredibly long week, Cairn could not help but lament to himself.

💣

The brunet was pretending to eat potato chips while studying and only Es could see that.

There was a mini LCD television in the packet alongside a scrap of paper and pencil stub. Not even the micro-cameras embedded all over the ceiling or the one embedded in the study table could see inside the bag. Es could only curse his luck. Yagami Light did not know anything about the cameras he planted all over the ceiling, so why did he have angle his body such that it blocked them perfectly? The boy's luck was infuriating.

"Your son has been doing nothing but study after dinner," L remarked while sucking his thumb.

"That's because he has a big exam coming up in ten days," Yagami replied.

It was only at the end of the study session that Light fumbled and revealed the hidden secret in his packet of potato chips.

Though, considering how only the cameras on the ceiling captured that, perhaps it was not so much a mistake as inevitable.

"What's that?" Es asked as he replayed the footage and paused it at the part where Light picked up the packet and was about to crumple it.

Yagami stared in wide-eyed shock.

There was clearly a mini television inside.

"Suspicious," L mused. "Es, do you have anyone in the garbage disposal industry of Japan?"

Es tilted his head as he considered the question silently.

"I should be able to get someone to do it," he said at last.

"Are you going to go through my family's trash?" Yagami spluttered.

"Relax, Yagami-san," Es consoled, "neither your wife nor your daughter is on her period."

The man could not help but make a choking noise, but the two young geniuses were not the least bit flustered.

"Besides, all we need is that packet," reminded L.

There was no relief when Watari later reported that two suspects were found dead within their holding cells or that only the wife and daughter of the Kitamura family had watched the news.

It was all because of the mini television that they saw within that packet of potato chips.

"He might have wanted to just watch the news and study at the same time," Es told Yagami in a futile attempt to cheer him up.

Light's performance had been perfect.

It was only Es' observation that had given him away.

"What's the probability that my son is Kira?" Yagami asked tersely.

"Ten per cent," L replied despite his assurance.

Yagami called his hands tightly into fists as he refrained from cursing under his breath.

He would have been happy that they have gotten themselves a suspect if only it had not been his son.

💣

Noel was sprawled on Es' lap and enjoying a belly rub.

"Must you go in person?" Es asked tightly.

"I can't possibly allow only you to risk your life during this case," L replied while hunting through another drawer in search of shoes.

"I'll go to the Kitamura daughter, then," Es sighed while scooping the cat into his arms.

Noel meowed and held out a paw to L, which he shook with a fond look in his eyes.

"Wish you luck, L," Es said with a smirk.

" A perfect clear would be easy for us any day," L said but smiled anyway.

💣

"Another notebook?" Es groaned to himself.

As if one Kira was not enough.

Amane Misa was a Kira fanatic and would no doubt attempt to assist him to the best of her abilities. 

It was just a matter of time until she made her move.

The only thing was that she was not nearly smart enough to be L's match.

Es sighed while watching Noel's sleeping form.

Why did Gelus have to die and why did Rem decide to send the dead shinigami's Death Note to this girl? Those shinigami were only creating trouble. Now he had to keep track of another one.

💣

"Yagami-kun," L greeted after the speech by the freshmen representatives.

Yagami Light paused briefly in his journey off the stage but continued after a moment.

"I know that you are the son of Police Chief Yagami Sōichirō. Your sense of justice must be as great as your father's," L continued. "I heard that you've made numerous critical contributions to help solve crimes in the past and... that you are now interested in the Kira case."

The teenager did not even turn around, but L knew that he was listening.

"I trust your sense of justice and investigative skills. If you can promise me not to tell this to anyone else, I am willing to share some critical information on the Kira case," L expressed, lies flowing from his lips smoothly.

Yagami Light spared a dubious backward glance, clearly not buying it.

However, for the sake of whatever information this scruffy-looking person may provide, Light replied eventually, "I promise. You can tell me."

"I am L," L divulged while staring at Light intently.

Light trembled as thoughts raced through his mind, panic swamping him.

He managed to recollect himself with a reminder to himself that he had to act like the son of a police chief.

Turning around properly, Light exclaimed as he shook the young man's hand, "Is that so? I admire your work a lot!"

"Thank you..." L stated, "the reason why I am telling you this is that I seek your help on the Kira case."

"If he really is L, this will be fun!" Ryūk exclaimed while staring at the person sitting next to Yagami Light.

Or rather, the scarlet name that hovered above his head and the numbers below it.

The brunet managed to act natural throughout the ceremony and only began to walk out after it was all over.

Ryūk laughed, "That was an interesting ceremony, Light."

"Yagami-kun," L called.

"Hey, that guy is calling you," Ryūk reminded, perpetual grin widening slightly.

"Yagami-kun, thanks for today," L said as he passed.

"No, I thank you," Light said with forced politeness.

"Well, I'll see you around on campus," L bade as Watari opened the door of the car for him.

"Yes..." Light managed to force out, "nice meeting you."

The other students were all gossiping about the self-proclaimed Ryūga Hideki.

"Cairn," Es addressed the kitsune hovering next to him, "follow him."

Without a word, the redhead trailed after the brunet and his pet shinigami.

Somehow, Cairn must have been better at stealth than Es had thought since he had not gotten caught tailing Light over the week of surveillance.

Light stormed right home, brooding throughout the train ride, and locked his bedroom door behind him.

He sat in front of his study table with unusual calmness before everything erupted at once.

"Damn him! He played me like a fool!" Light shrieked while tearing at his hair.

"He played you?" Ryūk repeated in confusion.

"L, you bastard..." Light growled under his breath, "I've never been this humiliated in my entire life."

"Not a very long one, I must say," Cairn commented wryly.

Ryūk chortled in agreement.

"Just do the eyeball exchange and kill him," Ryūk replied easily.

"If he's not the real L and I kill him, then L will know that I am Kira!" Light raged on.

Ryūk flinched back and apologised meekly, "So... sorry..."

Ryūk suddenly froze then as something registered.

He spun around and stared at what seemed to be another shinigami.

"You... Who are you?" Ryūk demanded, staring at the intruder with his eyes wider than usual.

Yagami Light had already stopped paying attention to the shinigami.

"The Death Note only kills the person whose name is written on it. I can't control the person to kill someone else. It's completely worthless!" L yelled.

"Light, I'm serious here!" Ryūk interrupted, almost shouting as well.

With an exasperated sigh, Light turned around to face Ryūk.

He noticed the shinigami staring at something or someone that he could not see.

"There's... another shinigami... in your room," Ryūk stammered.

"Got yourself an owner, now did you? Hello to you too, Ryūk," Cairn said with a grin baring all of his sharp pointy teeth.

"Another shinigami?" Light exclaimed while looking around wildly.

He saw nothing.

"You only see the shinigami whose notebook you have touched," Ryūk replied, still trembling.

Light sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"What's the big deal, then?" Light asked. "It's not like you shinigami can harm humans in any way besides writing names in your notebooks."

"It's a... superior," Ryūk confessed while lowering his head.

Light raised an eyebrow.

"You shinigami have a hierarchy?" he questioned in disbelief.

"Well, yes. It's not so simple. Higher-ranking shinigami have more privileges and can't order lower-ranking shinigami around, but those on the highest tier resemble humans and have little to no restrictions. They are above the Shinigami King, the one who oversees the distribution of notebooks," briefly explained Ryūk.

Cairn was interested in this new information.

Perhaps he could bribe Es for privileges using this as long as the blond was not already listening in to the conversation...

Cairn's eyes drifted to the shiny television screen and could have sworn that he saw blue eyes peering out at him.

...nevermind. 

He was not bold enough to risk being forced to remain visible for extended periods of time again and lose what little freedom he managed to regain due to the Kira case.

Yagami Light was left speechless.

Why would anyone stand above the king? The entire shinigami ranking system was nonsense! The hierarchy of any system with a monarch was such that the monarch reigned above all others so why would shinigami have existences that are above their king?

"Good explanation," Cairn played it off by ear, "but I do not have any intention to do anything to you or your owner."

Ryūk sighed in relief. 

Cairn honestly did not understand why he had been involved, but this sense of superiority was quite nice. He had been bossed around for so many years that he had almost forgotten what it felt like to also be feared and respected. Those that shrank back because they knew that Kai was the proxy of S did not count. They revered S, not Kai, and that made all the difference.

Apparently, Es wanted to meet the two the next day and Cairn was meant to set the stage, but there had been no specific instructions on what he was meant to do in the first place.

Light figured that this conversation that he could only hear one side of did not involve him and continued to speak, never anticipating that his words may be used against him.

"At first I thought I could make him die by suicide or some accident after I find out his name, but before I am completely sure that he is the real L, I cannot do it. No, even if he really is L, he took the initiative to tell me that he is L. As long as he dies, I become the prime suspect," Light muttered. "I've underestimated him."

Es had clones diligently recording this diligent session of self-contemplation.

"L found out that Kira needs the name and face of the victim before he lost the police's trust. Now, he is suspicious of me. I've been busy thinking about how I made L look ridiculous to the entire world," Light grumbled. "I never would have thought that L would come out and tell me straight to my face, 'I am L.'"

Light folded his arms.

"He could have just had some random guy go up to a suspect and tell them that. It's the perfect offence as well as the perfect defence," Light mumbled.

Light sighed with a careless shrug. "He played me like a fool... He did it perfectly..."

Yagami Light fell silent before abruptly bursting into a fit of wicked laughter.

"Perfect," Light sneered. "There is nothing to worry about. The existence of 'Ryūga' is definite proof that he has nothing on me. The only thing going on here is a duel of wits."

Yagami Light would never realise that it was he who had told the only personal assistant of S, Kai, everything about him being Kira.

"On the surface, we will be two good friends," Light laughed sinisterly. "Even so, we'll be asking ourselves, 'Is he Kira?' or 'Is he L?'"

Light leaned back in his chair as a dark smirk twisted his features.

"Interesting, Ryūga. If you want to be my friend, go ahead. I'm sure we'll get along just fine," he said menacingly. "Then I'll find everything and send you all to hell."

Es, who heard everything, narrowed his eyes as he glared at Yagami Light icily.

"Not on my watch," hissed Es.

Cairn laughed at the pitiful form of Light.

Even now, the boy still did not know the truth.

Kira had already lost. 

💣

After a tennis match which L won, determined not to lose to anyone besides Es -- though Light knew nothing of that and had been thinking all sorts of thoughts throughout the match, they shook hands.

"Good match, Yagami," L stated with a nod and his breathing a little laboured, his back bending once more as he resumed his usual slouch.

"I haven't played so hard in a long time, Ryūga," Light replied.

While L's breathing was already returning to normal, Light was dripping with perspiration and panting. 

"My throat is parched," Light told L as they stepped off the court together. "I say we treat ourselves to some refreshments. I have something I wish to speak with you about."

"You know this place better than me, so I'll let you lead me around a bit. I have some questions for you as well if you know what I mean," L responded without pause.

Light started walking away from the court.

"A word before we go," L added.

"What is it?" Light asked, trying his best to not sound dismissive.

"My suspicions are growing stronger. Truthfully, I think you're Kira," L revealed plainly, making it hard to tell if he was serious. "Don't slow down on my account, though. I do want to have our little chat... catch my drift?"

"Haha," Light laughed it off, "me? Kira?"

"I'm only slightly suspicious," L lied then, "one per cent at best, though I would rather hope that you aren't Kira so you might assist us in the investigation with your excellent investigative abilities."

"There are too many people here. Let's speak elsewhere," L suggested.

"Yeah," Light agreed, "I didn't think that a simple game of tennis would attract so many people."

Es, who was following L on Watari's instruction after meeting the Kitamura girl, wanted to face-palm at their lack of common sense. He expected it from L, but for Yagami Light to not realise that having expert tennis skills was going to grab the attention of his peers? When people excelled at something, others naturally flocked to them. Then again, he never had the personal experience and studied the topic academically only. However, Yagami Light did not have the excuse of being detached from society going for him.

💣

"Someone recently approached my daughter claiming to be L," vice-chief Kitamura stated. "Are you suspecting my daughter?"

"I cannot answer that, but please don't mention that to the others," Yagami replied tersely.

"My daughter may not have said it directly, but she came up to me saying that she was in love with L," Kitamura raged.

Yagami stiffened.

Now he knew that it had to be S, who was not too distant in age from the girl.

"You do not need to worry. We are not doing that because we suspect your daughter, I assure you," Yagami said stiffly, "because my son is the only suspect."

He then muttered, "Please forget what I just said as well."

"As long as he does not come up to my daughter again," Kitamura sighed.

There was a moment of silence.

"Yagami... it has been four months since the Kira incident went public. Everyone is saying that the police is incompetent... that L is incompetent," Kitamura said without looking his old colleague in the eye.

"Is that what you called me here to tell me, vice-chief?" Yagami demanded. "That we are incompetent and those that ran away are competent? Vice-chief, surely you know how many people are actually still on the case. If the comments of the outside world are so important, we should have focused on hiring men who would not abandon their jobs in fear so easily!"

Yagami breathed heavily at the end of his rant, adjusting his glasses as he straightened.

Kitamura did not turn around.

"Excuse me," Yagami said as he turned to leave.

"Yagami," Kitamura said then.

"What?" Yagami asked, halting in his step.

"How are S and L? Can we trust them?" Kitamura asked.

"Each of them is most certainly smarter than the rest of us combined. I believe we can trust them," Yagami replied. "As a matter-of-fact, L is risking his life and fighting on the front lines as we speak."

💣

By going on a date with your son, Es was a little tempted to add as he listened in to the heated conversation the chief and vice-chief of the police force were having.

He just knew that the stress the man endured was unhealthy.

"I like the coffee here," Light admitted as they sat in a quiet corner of a quaint little cafe, "and, if we talk in the corner, we won't worry about eavesdroppers."

"Thanks for choosing such a nice place," L replied, acting as though he did not see the blond slip in after them and order an iced latte. 

"Also, if we sit here, you don't have to worry about how you sit," Light tried to joke.

"Ah..." L replied while sucking his thumb, "I am used to sitting like this. If I sat like a normal person, my deductive skills would be reduced by half!"

Yagami Light stared at him in disbelief but refrained from arguing about it.

"What did you want to tell me, Yagami-kun?" L asked earnestly.

"About that, I think I'll wait until you're not suspicious of me for being Kira. You go first, Ryūga," Light responded. 

"Okay," L said after a moment. "May I test your investigative abilities, Yagami-kun?"

"Sure," Light replied without missing a beat, "that sounds interesting."

L then dropped hints and tricks that Light expertly manoeuvred around, not falling for a single one. In fact, he did so almost too perfectly. He was caught off-guard when L lied by forging a fourth victim death message but managed, eventually claiming that he had made an assumption too quickly.

That was when L asked the true question, "If Yagami-kun were L, how would you go about finding out if a suspect was Kira?"

Light replied easily after taking a sip of coffee, "I would trick him into telling me information that only Kira would know... just like what you're doing right now."

"Amazing," L stated, sounding impressed. "I posed the same question to the investigators and it took a long time for them to come up with an answer. Even then, their ideas were so simplistic. For example, showing the suspect the names and faces of criminals that no one else knows about. You took seconds to put yourself above the investigators and find the best answer."

L's expression was knowing and self-satisfied, once again reminding Es of a cat.

"Your skills are definitely amazing," L murmured.

Light tried to laugh it off as he said, "I must have made myself even more suspicious by coming up with something like that."

"Correct," L replied, "it's now three per cent."

Though that was a lie. 

Light stared at the detective while trying his best to keep his expression neutral.

"However," L continued, "now I want you on the team even more."

Es wanted to laugh, being the only one who knew of L's purpose in meeting Yagami Light. Es knew that L wanted Light on the team even if the two of them were secretly hundred per cent sure that he was Kira. In fact, they wanted him close because they knew the teenager was Kira.

"The truth is that you were correct earlier, Yagami-kun," L informed, looking down at the drink which he had left untouched. "I'm not the only person who went to a suspect claiming to be L."

The fact that the other person was S, who also solved cases under the alias of L on occasion, was left unsaid.

"Personally, I would still want you to join us even if I were positive you were Kira. Do you want to know why?" L asked, his gaze fixed unblinkingly at Light.

"If I were innocent, you would gain a great asset. If I were Kira, you would be able to keep an eye on me for any clues," Light spoke while closing his eyes to conceal his frustration. "Having a suspect help to investigate while the suspect is being investigated... that's a fine idea."

He spoke as if L had not been hinting at this from the start, Es thought in amusement.

Ryūk laughed, looking entertained as he sang, "Light is completely pinned down."

Yagami Light did not dare assume that the person before him was L.

For all he knew, Ryūga Hideki might have been a random person working under L who was not even part of the investigation.

Though for such an intelligent body double to exist was debatable, the brunet did not think of this.

"You are missing something, Ryūga," Light said evenly. "I am indeed investigating Kira out of my own curiosity, but... I am not Kira and I don't want to be killed."

"Rather than work with an untrustworthy stranger, I would prefer to work alone. Do you have any proof that you are not Kira, Ryūga?" Yagami Light turned the conversation on L. "If you do not, you are in the same situation as me. Isn't it unfair that you're the only one hammering me with questions? Both of us look like normal college students. In fact, you look more like Kira than I do, Ryūga."

Es could not help but chuckle, but only L took notice -- Light was too busy accusing L of being suspicious which was ironic in itself.

Kira was accusing L of being Kira.

Truly an absurd situation.

Es, however, only found it funny.

"Neither of us has proof that we are not Kira, though Ryūga would have proof enough so long as he can prove that he is L himself or even L's double," Light said convincingly. "I want someone I can trust. For example, someone from the team who can guarantee to me that Ryūga is L or, at the very least, on the team. If you refuse to do that because I can't prove that I am not Kira, then the deal is off."

'Nicely said,' thought L while continuing to observe Light, 'you fit perfectly as the stubborn type.'

L did not need Es' conviction to know that this teenager before him was Kira.

"You know..." L said conversationally, "I don't ever recall saying that I wouldn't let you meet the people on the team."

Yagami Light was shocked by these brazen words.

"Right now, I am working with your father on the investigation. If I brought you to the base, will that be convincing enough of the sincerity in my invitation?" L questioned.

It was then that both Es and L's phones rang.

"Ryūzaki, Suzuki, something happened!" both detectives heard Watari's voice shout through their cell phones. "Chief Yagami is ill!"

"Ryūzaki," Es whispered into the mic, "you'll accompany Yagami Light. I'll remain hidden."

"Yagami-kun, your father!" L shouted just as the teenager picked up a call from Matsuda.

"He had a heart attack," Light breathed in horror.

"Could it be..." both said at the same time, "Kira?"

Es drained the last of his coffee and stepped out of the cafe then.

"No," he sighed to Cairn once they were alone, "Kira's heart attacks always kill."

"We would know," the kitsune agreed with a glance at Ryūk.