Chapter Three

Light doesn't bring up the Kira case the rest of the day, focusing on showing me around and occasionally pulling out a piece of paper to check upon or write something on. When I ask, he tells me he has a few workbook equations he carries around to practise. I call him out on it but he shrugs it off. Oh well. He helps me choose three other antiques that make great souvenirs. When we've both had enough, he takes me home, walking me all the way to the front door. Promising to pick me up on the day of the exam, he heads in the direction of his own home. Once I'm alone, I pull out my phone and text Ryuzaki that I'll be at headquarters tomorrow. After a shower and a change of clothes, I make a light dinner and eat while watching the news. I find a station that focuses on local news while broadcast in English. This place will be my friend while I'm here. cIt has some new developments about Kira's killings, a few petty criminals and some more serious ones. What I find surprising is that some of them are mere suspects. Legally speaking, suspects are innocent yet Kira has no problem killing them. I can't tell if this is his ego or his vigilante speaking. Kira looks smart so why bother killing those who have not been put through a proper trial? On top of that, Kira has a huge god complex so maybe that's the part playing into this. But shouldn't some part of him suspect that there may be innocent people at the wrong place at the wrong time? I can't stop thinking about it even after dinner and studying. I sleep with the thought. Chief Yagami comes to retrieve me in the morning. He looks like he hasn't slept in a couple of days. I don't bother to ask. Whatever Ryuzaki has him up to, it has to be overwhelming. When we get to the headquarters, all the other detectives wait for us. Matsuda particularly looks excited to see me. He's got his sweet face on, as usual. 'Good morning Frejda,' he announces.

'Good morning,' I smile back.

'Frejda, can you come here please?' Ryuzaki asks. He's seated on the couch where I last left him.

'What's up?' I ask.

'First of all,' he sips on his strong scented black coffee, 'I wanted to update you on the investigation of the families Raye Penber was trailing.'

'Okay.'

'We have placed wire taps and cameras all over the house of both families.'

Whoa! I glance at the chief. No wonder he looks so tired, finding this out. I loathe the day I'd have to be put in a situation like that.

'We're still investigating which of the two households has Kira but at this point it's too early to come to a conclusion. I've stated this already but I'll also let you know that only I and Detective Yagami are conducting surveillance of the Yagami household whilst Aizawa is in charge of the other household. The rest of you will be off duty except to gather Intel and evidence regarding any of Kira's next kills. Understood?'

Silent nods fill the room.

'Good. I ask that you also keep your cell phones on at all times. We will update you on the states of each house as necessary.'

With that, Ryuzaki adjourns the meeting. I mostly stay at home the next few days, keeping up with the news, studying and doing a little shopping. Ryuzaki hardly calls and I assume it's because no new developments have been made. However there are new reported killings by Kira all across the news so I wonder if any member of the family caved in. Finishing that thought brings Light to my mind. I'd expected the weight of knowing that his one of the wiretapped families to be a bit more haunting. But after seeing the marque on him, I wonder if Ryuzaki's reasoning is correct. Then again I cannot rely entirely on the marque. That has been known to disappear in the past so I might as well not base my entire view of Light based on it. But the fact that the marque is there on such a large scale says a lot about the possibility of Light. With these thoughts playing my mind, I decide to leave the house and go to Aoyama to spend the night out. I need a break from my home and from studying. Getting an idea of how much to spend, I walk to the situation to take the light rail. When I arrive in Aoyama, I start my time there by going to a fast food restaurant, ordering a simple plate of fries and a soda. The day is beautiful out so I eat on one of the hairs outside. It also gives me an opportunity to people watch, see a bit of a regular day in Japan free of Kira and the Task Force. But I was careful not to leave my phone at home, lest Ryuzaki decides he's had enough. Still, part of me senses that today will have very little difference to any other. I signed up for the Kira case so hoping for a day where I would be completely be free of it is a bit too much to ask for.

After finishing my food I decide to go for a little walk myself, keeping in mind that I'm looking for a book store while I'm at it. Most of the stores here are clothing stores; there are some more fast food chains or cafes as well as a few movie theatres. About twenty minutes into my walk is when I spot a media store. I walk in seeing what it has to offer. A store clerk greets me, welcoming me into the store. I smile back and continue to search for books. Hopefully there are lots in English. Finding them, I look through for anything interesting. I come across the sixth Harry Potter book which I've yet to read. I move over to the adults' section where I come across a couple of books by an author named Virginia Andrews, a series about four children stuck in an attic for a lot of years and the craziness that enfolds after that. This'll do too. The last couple of books I slip into my basket of books are two classics: Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights and a complete collection of short stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe. Time wise, these are all the books I can afford. I pay up at the front ad head out, deciding to do a little more sight-seeing.

At around 7:00 pm, I've had enough. I search for my ticket to get back but I'm unable to find it. Great! I'll have to buy a new ticket! Buying a ticket for a one-way trip I decide if I want to look around some while waiting for the train or not. The decision is made for me when something catches my attention. It's not a particular person, not yet anyway. An essence, something I haven't felt in a really long time. I look around the station. Hundreds of people crowd around to get out of the building or to visit some of the stores. But the tense stretch of what feels like a sucking hole is strong. And it feels close to where I am. I stay alert, following the intensity of the feel wondering and praying I find it in time. There's not a lot I know about this feeling. All I know that it means one thing: someone is going to die. It was the same way I felt of my mother when she died. But its presence, it's strong. Someone here must be near the arms of Death. The voice of the people around me makes it difficult to discern where it's coming from, but what practise do I have to go on? Maybe the person who clutches towards Death is coming to me. Then let them come. Why here? Suddenly a scream erupts from upstairs where the trains pull in. I waste no time running past the people giving me bot worried and confused looks. There's a strong sense of panic up here and the scream comes from a woman standing beside a man who falls to the ground in pain, clutching his stomach. Small puddles of blood fall out of his mouth, as if his insides are working against him. I rush to his side but the woman holds me back. 'No, no!' she yells.

'Why? What's wrong?'

The man continues to suffer beside us, spitting out more blood in dangerous amounts.

'He bad man,' the woman says, 'he no good man.'

'Why do you say that?'

'He…' missing the word, she looks up as she searches her mind, 'he attack me.'

I pause, grasping the situation. 'Did he?'

She nods.

'It's alright. He won't hurt me. See? He's injured!' this is one of those times I'm grateful my accent doesn't get in the way of conversation.

Though the woman still looks unsure she lets me get near the man. He continues to clutch his stomach, but the bleeding is a little more controlled. That should be a good sign but it isn't. His body is trying to recover from the blood loss but with enough of I pumped, he will get sick once more. The feeling that brought me here, that sucking hole, it's getting bigger. The man turns to me, his eyes red with tears. I crouch next to him, wondering what is killing, or rather—how this is happening. I place my hand on his back, rubbing it although I doubt its helping. The man looks at me, his eyes begging. Before I can do anything else, his pupils dilate and his body goes limp, instantly dropping to the ground. People around me yell as I pull his body onto me. Someone must be calling for security right about now. I hold on to the man, evil as he was, to let him know that his death didn't have to be experienced alone. The sensation of the sucking hole lingers a little while longer, becoming invisible. In it I see the same man dead in my arms look in my direction, confused by the limp body I hold. Recognising it as his he attempts to reach for it but something stops him. He freezes, staring blankly ahead. In that instant, a look of fear takes over his eyes, a realisation emerged. As if satisfied with an answer to unknown question, he exhales a sigh. Suddenly the hole around him grows larger but less terrifying. He falls into the arms that appear from the hole and with that, the image disappears as does the sensation. I have to remind myself to breathe when it's over. The body in my arms is taken away by paramedics I never saw or heard come. The remnants of me holding that man are my blood-stained clothes and hands. The images I saw…they were of the man's soul. All it had to tell me were two things: his name and that he was killed by Kira. So my deductions were right! Kira can kill in ways other than a heart attack.

The ride back home is torture. With my clothes stained in blood and having no time to clean it up, I've had to deal with stares left and right. I go to the nearest bathroom I can find as soon as I can to try and wash off the blood. It doesn't work. The walk home is about as much torture. Thankfully not very many people are out on the street in my neighbourhood. Just as I make the turn to the street I bump into someone. 'Sorry,' I whisper.

'It's alright.' Light counters. 'Frejda!'

Oh great.

'What happened? Are you hurt?'

'I'm fine.'

'That's blood! Are you injured?'

'Relax, it's not my blood.'

'Wha—'

'I was caught up in helping a dying man. He was bleeding. A lot.'

Light looks shocked.

'I'll be fine. Really. Not exactly the best way to break from my studies but hey.'

'Here,' Light takes off his jacket and wraps it around me.

'Uh…'

'I don't think that you'd want to continue walking looking like that.'

Sigh. 'Where were you forty-five minutes ago?'

That earns me a chuckle.

As Light walks me home I ask him where he came from to avoid answering anymore questions about the blood. When he informs me that he was at cram school I ask more about it, having never understood what it's all about. He explains that it's an evening class dedicated to studying, especially for the entrance exams coming up soon. I wonder if I should attend too, considering that it may help if I have a more student-environment place to help me focus. Then again, maybe not. Considering I'll be working with Ryuzaki, I can't afford to get too caught up in this charade. It's enough I have to dedicate a lot of precious work hours to studying like this. As we reach the door of my gate I slip out of Light's jacket. 'Good,' I say inspecting it, 'no blood stains.'

'Are you going to be okay?'

'Yeah.' All I need is a shower anyway.

'Well…see you tomorrow.'

'You too.'

Light walks on to his house and I get into mine. After everything I've gone through tonight, I can definitely say that Kira's confidence has become overwhelming. Killing a victim like that! Of course there's an off chance that it wasn't Kira. If Ryuzaki hears about this, he'll probably have me go to the coroner's office and hep with the forensic analysis to make a complete autopsy. There will only be a few ways to ascertain that the man died of something by coincidence or by Kira's hands. If Kira can really kill in ways other than a heart attack to cover up his tracks then this may help solve the Raye Penber mystery. Even so there may also be a chance that it may help narrow down the list of suspects. Or perhaps not. I need to have a look at the situation very carefully. For tonight though, I need a shower and some sleep. Even if it wasn't clear, the vision of that man's soul going into the next world was overwhelming. The familiarity of it even stronger. The soul was the one who told me he was killed by Kira. I'd also learned his name. if what I saw was real, could I really have gotten the answer I was looking for? But what if it isn't? Does that erase the possibility of Kira killing that man? Part of the reason I need sleep to calm down. In the shower, I try my absolute best not to think about what happened tonight. Of course it doesn't work. Feeling thirsty after the shower I get dressed in my pyjamas and take my blood stained clothes to the hamper. I go to the kitchen for a glass of water. Wishing to stay awake no longer, I crawl into bed and fall asleep.

In the morning, way after I'm up, showered and dressed whilst in the middle of eating breakfast, I get the call from Ryuzaki. He had gotten the report from the news and someone had napped a picture of me holding the body of the man. He mentions that I looked dazed. Getting straight to the point, he texts me the address of the coroner's office at the main building of the NPA. Chief Yagami also texts me, telling me that he's sent Matsuda to pick me up and take one there. I gather some of my personal kit, packing up what I can in a brief case and go out of the house to meet Mr Matsuda. He pulls up front just as I exit. I glance around as I get out, smiling at a couple of neighbours. Slipping into the car I greet Mr Matsuda: 'Hi.'

'Good morning,' he says.

'So how things going at headquarters?'

'Well…no new leads. But I mean, most of the details of that criminal's death were also in line with Aizawa and Ryuzaki watching the two families. Anything we find may not be helpful.'

'Who knows? At this rate, the biggest mystery is how on earth Kira manages to kill these victims.'

'That's only something we can know when we catch Kira.'

'Yeah. I guess.'

'At the pace we're going at, I doubt that we will catch him before his list of victims grows to a state at which we can't fathom. He'll be known as the worst serial killer in all history.'

'This man makes jack the Ripper look like a model citizen.'

Matsuda laughs. 'I guess.'

We finally end up at the head office of the Task Force. Matsuda parks at the nearby parking lot. From there we make it into the office. Matsuda shows his police badge while I sign in and receive a visitor's card. I follow Matsuda to the coroner's office, located at the bottom floor of the NPA building. The coroner, a middle-aged man has three tables with three bodies laid out. Each of them is covered with a white sheet suggesting that they recently got here. Matsuda shakes the hand of the coroner. Speaking in Japanese, he introduces me and explains what it is we've come to do. The coroner nods and directs us to the middle table. He pulls the sheet away and the body of the man I held just last night comes to view. My heart sinks looking at him. Getting myself together I pull out my kit and get to work. I ask Matsuda to ask the coroner to have a copy of the man's medical history and if possible family medical history. I take out a scalpel and carefully cut from the top of the man's chest to his lower abdomen. My objective is to see if his heart, lungs, stomach and liver had to do with the profound spasm of blood that was coming out of him yesterday. The tests will take time, maybe the whole day or two, I might not be done for a while. 'Matsuda?'

'Yeah?'

'Uh I'll be here a long while so…'

'That's fine.'

'What about you?'

'I'll be here. I don't really have much to do back there anyway. While Ryuzaki reviews everything we're on crime scene duty and most of the deaths that we show up at are Kira victims.'

'Yeah, I'll be here a really long while.'

'Ryuzaki asked that you only search his body though.'

'Okay.'

It takes two hours per organ to observe and document each and every flaw that I find. If Kira killed this man and used the constant outpouring of blood to get to him, it's going to add to the mystery of how he'd be able to kill without being in the room. Still there is a way no person can kill with a heart attack. So why is this out of the picture? I have to think about this carefully. I can't afford to get on tangents right now. So far I've looked into the heart and lungs and both turn out clear. Nothing such as poison or diet that didn't put him on health risks exist around the time I get to the stomach and liver is when I notice something a little off. Symptoms of a certain illness begin to show. No unfamiliar substances to thwart my analysis exists either. The liver and the stomach particularly hold traces of mutated cells, especially in the white blood cells. The immune system in these parts of the body is especially weaker. I look at my notes for the heart and lungs. I was busy looking for unfamiliar substances and missed the decrease in the immune system here. Oy! Something else might be going on here. The weakened immune system is just the beginning and the mutant cells are the next level. More symptoms keep showing up. If there really is a possibility that Kira can kill his victims some other way, then this is one elaborate cover up on Kira's part. There are things that aren't out of Kira's reach as there are out of his reach. If Kira planned for this man to die with something other than a heart-attack then he's smart. He really is smart. Why he feels the need to cover up this particular victim is a mystery but…it has to be. He really can kill in other ways. Still…

I can't rule out other possibilities yet. Everything leads up to some sort of untreated stomach disease. That would explain why he was clutching his stomach for life. but with this, it could be that his body developed the symptoms on its own time, or maybe Kira caused it to happen. Or…I immediately look through the file about his family. I check to see if anyone else has suffered or died from something similar. Regarding his immediate family, there's no one. Grandparents? His grandfather and two of his grand uncles had catted the same disease with the same symptoms. So it may be genetic which means Kira couldn't be the only one responsible. In fact, it's most likely that this stomach disease is what killed this man. But if that was the case…how did the soul seem so confident that it was Kira?

I check the organs top to bottom, even getting samples tested just to make sure that Kira really is or is not this man's killer. Maybe I missed something in the unfamiliar substance category. But no matter how many times I check, however long I spend on this, the results are the same: this man was most likely not killed by Kira but the genetic, untreated stomach disease. Kira most likely had little knowledge like this; it would take an elaborate, almost godlike power to get to this detail. He proves to be godlike in his killing methods but we know that he does not have access to all information. Great! Mystery solved for this man anyway. I clean up the table and help the coroner in cleaning up and stitching the body. After washing my hands and ridding myself of the stench of a corpse I follow Matsuda out the door, returning my visitor's card on the way out. It's around 3:30 pm when I walk out. I've been in there a long time. ���You're really focused when you work,' Matsuda says.

'Yeah well…' I shrug.

'Did anything come up?'

I shake my head. 'He was really sick. Kira couldn't have known that.'

'So it's just a coincidence?'

'Yep.'

'Damn!'

'Yeah.'

A moment's silence passes by. I pull out my phone and text Ryuzaki, telling him the whole day's work. Moments later he responds: 'Thank you for the information.' I don't know if its stubbornness or something else, but even after all that experimentation and analysis, I still hold to the belief that Kira can kill in ways other than a heart-attack. I just need proof. The clue that the soul left behind as he died could have been the thought of a dying criminal who never knew that he was sick. Naturally, with Kira's killing, it's his first guess. But not even that outlaws the possibility. The thought doesn't leave me the rest of the day. The next day, Ryuzaki calls us in for a meeting regarding the outcome of the wiretaps and cameras set up in the homes. Everyone looks stressed and about ready to burst. None of us are having any new developments but I wonder how Ryuzaki is doing. He crouches on his seat as usual and focuses on the chocolates he's eating as he addresses us: 'In the past few days I've reviewed the footage and audio from both house and have come to the conclusion that they have revealed…'

And the anticipation hightens.

'Nothing.'

Sighs of relief spread across the room.

'We will remove the wiretaps and cameras in both houses.'

I study the men involved. Chief Yagami is the most relieved of all.

'We're back to square one,' Matsuda says.

'It's okay Matsuda,' Chief Yagami says, 'we'll find other leads soon—'

'Please don't get the wrong idea,' Ryuzaki cuts him off.

All heads snap back towards the man in the middle, awaiting an explanation.

'All I said was that the surveillance cameras and tapes revealed nothing, I still hold my suspicions on both houses.'

I can feel the frustration growing. I wonder. The families that Penber was investigating, Ryuzaki mentioned that only he and Chief Yagami focused on the Yagami household. Does he suspect someone there? Perhaps even Light or Sayu?

'Even if Kira was among those houses, I'm sure he wouldn't do anything outwardly suspicious. He'd make it all the harder to be tracked down.'

'So…' Chief Yagami asks, 'you really do believe Kira is among those houses?'

'As I've said, there's a five percent chance.'

For a while there's silence as we contemplate Ryuzaki's conclusions. There is a high chance of Kira being among these families, huh? He says five percent but he acts like there's really seventy—no—eighty five percent chance. What could have been on that footage?

I just finish washing the dishes when there's a knock on the door. Drying my hands I walk to the door. Light smiles at me. 'Hey,' he says.

'Hi. Come on in. I just need to get some stuff ready.'

'Sure,' he nods.

'What's that smell?' the hoarse voice that I haven't heard in a while says.

Ignore…ignore…

'Did you just finish eating?' Light asks.

Uh—'Yeah?'

'What'd you have? It smells nice.'

'French toast, black coffee and omelettes. I can eat lots when I'm stressed.'

'Wow.'

'Won't be long. Make yourself at home.'

'Sure. Take your time.'

Aww he's being courteous. I rush back upstairs and brush my teeth before packing my pencil pouch in my purse along with my wallet, keys, and phone. Slipping a cardigan over my black tank top I meet Light at the door. Slipping on my shoes, I follow Light out, locking the door behind me. I don't know how prepared I am for this test given the small but time-consuming work and my lack of confidence on my study skills. Of course the rail, Light remains quiet, heavy in thought. I study him for a bit wondering how in the world it can possibly fall on him to be a suspect. Nothing about him seems dangerous but even if you'd have to name deception as one of the primary ways he hides being Kira, I can't see him actually commit all these murders without remorse. Of course I've been told that Ryuzaki operates on a different level than most people so I can't say that I think he's crazy. But I'm also here on my own agenda. I cannot allow Ryuzaki's ways to tamper with my investigation. For now though its' best if I worry about the exam.

Light doesn't say much to me to me on our way to the exam room. I appreciate the silence; it gives me an opportunity to look through my phone for messages without looking suspicious. The first time Light speaks is when he tells the proctor ushering us in that he hates waiting. I chuckle.

'What?' he asks.

'I never took you for the cocky type.'

'Waiting for an exam has nothing to do with being cocky. It's the best way to avoid stress and second thoughts.'

'Whatever you say. I'm just glad we got here in time.'

It's his turn to chuckle.

When we enter the exam room, we are given our identification number with a person to guide us to our appropriate seat. The desks contain exam packets. The only things we can bring inside are a pencil and a rubber. Anything else could cause grounds for cheating and as a result, a serious penalty. I end up sitting once seat over from Light. When everyone is in the room, we are given a few minutes to get settled. The exam will be from 9:30 to around noon and then we'll have a break before reconvening for the second half of the exam. No one is allowed to pen the booklet until the proctor tells us to. Seconds later, a bell rings and we can begin. I feel the unison as students pick up their pencils and the booklets fly open. I have to remain focused here. I try my best to concentrate, not to look away once from the booklet except to think about an answer. What catches me off guard is when the proctor calls out to sit properly in their chair. From my peripheral vision I can see Light's head turning to check it out. I do the same. At least four rows behind us, is Ryuzaki. It's all I can do to keep from bursting into laughter as I return to my test. Trust him to sit like that wherever he goes.

By the time exams are over, my hands are sore from too much writing. I submit my packet when it's time and walk out of the room, releasing a sigh of relief. 'That was exhausting.'

'Do you think you did well?' Light asks.

'Fingers crossed,' I say with them actually crossed.

'I'm going to a nearby coffee shop to get something to eat. Want to join?'

'Sure, lead the way.'

'Great.'

'What about you?' How'd you think you did?'

'Well.'

Short and simple.

'It's over now anyway. There's no point in worrying too much about it.'

'Right.'

As I follow Light to the exit of the school I spot Ryuzaki watching us from a distance. Shaking my head I continue to walk with Light. If these too meet while they are here in Toho, it may get a little chaotic. Knowing Ryuzaki, the only reason he's here is to follow up on his lead. That five percent chance excuse is beginning to sound like crap. The way I see it, there really is a five percent chance that Light is Kira and not worth pursuing with this amount of effort. I really don't think there is reason to suspect him. I'll have to catch up to Ryuzaki on my own. I take one last glance at him. He watches Light this time. Even from this distance, there's no mistaking the certainty in Ryuzaki's eyes.