February 5th, 2011

It was a pleasant Saturday morning, and the man was enjoying his day off. Like most weekends, he'd woken up bright and early that day. He had his usual bowl of cereal and toast for breakfast, brushed his teeth, and gotten dressed. Even on his day off, he enjoyed the feeling of wearing a nice suit for his day on the town. It was a way to impress the ladies, and today he was out to find another date to go on. But he was taking his time, he did have all day after all. And he had a good idea that he wouldn't be rejected by anyone. He decided to buy himself a sandwich at a small corner store, and took a stop at the park to relax on a bench beneath a tree. The forecast said later today it was supposed to rain fairly heavily, so he was enjoying nature while he had the chance.

"Ah, life has gotten so much easier since last week. Don't you think?" He said to himself, looking beside him at someone imaginary.

He paused as if listening to a reply, "Haha! You would say that. Now now, this little arrangement is good for us both." He finished off the rest of his sandwich, licking his fingers for good measure.

He smiled and picked his briefcase off the ground, placing it in his lap and opening it. Inside were several documents from his job, pens, and business cards. Amongst them was a thin black notebook. He picked it up and carefully tore a page out, then folded it neatly and placed it inside his coat pocket. He put the notebook back and shut the briefcase.

"Such a small innocuous thing, you'd never suspect it could end a life." He said as a pleasant breeze blew past.

He got up and collected his things, tossing the sandwich bag into a nearby trash bin. He walked down the street, humming to himself and admiring the scenery. Some birds were chirping in a nearby tree. He watched the nest and saw an adult bird come fly up and land on the edge, bringing food for the chicks. He smiled, perhaps he'd paint some of them when he arrived home. Soon he'd finally arrived at the subway, he leisurely walked down the steps and past a group of people. He scanned his card and approached the crowd waiting on the next train to stop.

He overheard two people murmuring to each other in conversation a few steps away, "Have you heard? Kira has started killing again."

"What? No way!"

"Yeah, I saw it on the news. It's getting crazy."

Another man beside them piped up, he was also dressed in a suit and had short dark hair, and a brooding dark look to his eyes. Unbeknownst to any of them, his name was Hideki Ide.

"Don't worry, the NPA is working around the clock to catch him. You've got my word." He said.

"Oh really? What makes you say that? Are you an officer or something pal?"

"Actually I am, I'm a member of the NPA. The Kira investigation is in full swing, we'll have him in no time."

"Wow, really? Are you close?" Said one of the guys he'd been talking to.

"Ah, I can't talk specifics to civilians. Sorry. Probably shouldn't have even brought it up in the first place." Ide grumbled.

The man eyed Ide from a distance, "Great, an officer. No matter, I haven't done anything wrong, no reason to worry." He smiled smugly, thinking of the notebook safely tucked away in his briefcase, "So easy to hide in plain sight. This marvelous book is all I'll ever need."

Soon the train arrived, the doors opened, and the crowd moved inside. The man sat down in a comfortable corner seat and placed his briefcase on the floor. He leaned back and relaxed, it was going to be a few stops before they arrived at his destination. Other people filled in the rest of the seats, and a man sat beside him. He looked over, it was the officer from before. Ide sat his own briefcase down on the floor and got comfortable, loosening his tie a bit.

"Hey, you." Ide said.

The man was caught off guard, but brushed it off.

"Me? Can I help you sir?" He said.

"I saw you listening and eyeing us out there. Seemed like you had something to say."

"He noticed me?" The man thought, "Oh well, it's fine, I've still done nothing wrong. It's expected that strangers may listen to you in public."

"Well?" Said Ide.

"I was simply overhearing your talk about Kira, that's all." The man shrugged, "Personally, I'm rather ambivalent to him."

"You don't care who he kills, huh?" Ide crossed his arms.

"I think if I do nothing to catch his attention, I have nothing to worry about. All I desire in life is to live comfortably. Preferably in a quiet chateau in the mountains, overlooking a serene lake and surrounded by the bountiful forest. Just me, my artwork, a fine glass of chardonnay in hand, and a beautiful wife to share a luxurious quiet life with." The man said wistfully.

"Er, right then. Sure sounds like a dream."

"Indeed it is." The man pressed his hand to his chest and sighed, "Life is a cruel mistress, and can get you down if you allow needless concerns of the world to enter your mind. I do my best to rid myself of such frivolous nuisances. My conscience is as clean and pure as a newborn child."

Ide quieted down a bit, unsure how to reply to the man's sudden monologue.

"As an officer of the law, you must be no stranger to stress and the fear that can accompany such a profession." The man continued, "I'd never choose such a life in a million years. But I do say it is an admirable sacrifice you make, I commend you."

"It can be hard sometimes, but we try our best." Said Ide.

"You mentioned you're on the Kira investigation. I'm sure that's a very taxing thing to have on your mind, truly abhorrent. My sympathies for you."

"Yeah…" said Ide. "To be honest, what I said out there was a lie. Mostly to myself."

"Oh? Is that so?" The man perked up a bit, "Do tell, if you're comfortable."

Ide sighed, "We've barely gotten any leads so far, there isn't much to go on. It's pretty disheartening."

"Ah, well I'm sorry to hear that." Said the man as he smiled, "I'm sure you're doing your best."

Ide smiled faintly back at him, "Thanks, it's good to hear that there are people on our side."

Soon the train braked and slowed down to its next stop, Ide grabbed his briefcase and stood up. "It was nice chatting with you, stay safe out there." He said.

"The same goes to you." Said the man in return.

The doors opened and Ide filed out along with some other passengers. The man sighed, and placed his briefcase in his lap.

"Need to make a note to myself…" he mumbled and opened it up.

His heart stopped for a second. The contents of the briefcase were different. He rummaged through them, trembling.

"No… no no no!" He yelled.

The death note wasn't there. It wasn't his briefcase. The two man had set them down beside each other, the officer must've grabbed the wrong one by mistake. He glanced out the window, Ide was walking away toward the subway exit.

"Stop!" The man yelled and got up, rushing toward the doors. The crowd of people squeezed and pushed around him.

"Out of my way! Hold the door!" He yelled as the doors began to slide shut. Try as he might to cut through the crowd, he didn't make it in time. The train accelerated and began to head off down the tracks. He banged his fist against the glass.

"Dammit! I had him!" He yelled.

He began to think to himself, "Calm down, think. He's probably heading to work, the police station is about a 15 minute walk from here. Much faster if you run, but he's not in a hurry. The next terminal isn't that far, if I rush I should be able to cut him off before he gets there."

He sifted through the contents of the briefcase checking to find anything of use. Soon, the train stopped again and the doors opened. He flew outside and up the steps, running down the street.

"He's probably halfway there by now. I've got to hurry!" He ran down the sidewalk and across the street, ignoring the red cross walk sign and dodging a taxi. He continued for a few blocks and took a shortcut through an alleyway, and eventually found himself in a large outdoor plaza. It was square shaped, and lowered into the ground with steps descending downward a few feet. Along the edges were several benches, and a fountain in the center. Luckily nobody seemed to be around, except for one person.

The officer.

He was still carrying the briefcase, and strolling along on the way to his destination.

The man took a moment to adjust himself, straightening his tie and coat. He then took a deep breath and calmly walked into the plaza.

"Excuse me." He said as he approached from behind.

Ide turned around and eyed the man. "Oh, it's you. Funny meeting again, I thought you got off at a different stop."

"I did, but I needed to speak to you." Said the man as he glared at Ide.

"Yeah? What is it?" Said Ide.

"I realized I didn't properly introduce myself." Said the man. "My name is Adachi Katsumori. I work as a higher up manager at the Hotaka accounting firm. I make a generous salary of 15 million yen per year, more than enough to satisfy my means. I live in a cozy yet dignified manor in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. I could afford a nice apartment in the city, yet I chose that area because there is less traffic to disturb my sleep at night. When I'm not working, I focus on my true passion as an artist. I'm mainly a sculptor, but I occasionally paint as well. Some of my work is even on current display at the Mori Art Museum here in Tokyo."

Ide took a step back in confusion, "Okay I get it, you can slow down now."

"Let me finish." Said Katsumori combing his hair back with his fingers. "You see, I often get bored with my work very quickly. I need to seek new models after almost every sculpture. I do this by luring women back to my home and killing them. You see, a living subject is much harder to work with. I can't properly capture their beauty."

Ide took another step back, his heart beat faster, "W-what? Why are you telling me this?"

"Don't worry," Katsumori continued. "I kill them as quickly and painlessly as I can. In fact recently I've obtained a new way of doing so, much more efficient than before. And before you ask, no, I do not do anything perverse. I'm not a monster, I am an artist."

The man began to walk toward Ide.

"Stay back!" Ide yelled. He reached for his gun, but to his surprise it wasn't there. "Shit! I left it at home!"

"You asked me why I'm telling you this. It's because you have something which belongs to me, and I wanted you to understand I'm not killing you because of anything personal. Your reaction suggests you've yet to look inside of my briefcase, which is a shame because there may have been a chance I'd spare your life. However, to preserve this peaceful existence of mine I am forced to err on the side of caution. Please forgive me, I'll make sure your death is swift."

"The briefcase?" Ide thought, "What the hell could he have in here?"

Katsumori stopped, noticing Ide's eyes drift toward the briefcase. "Go ahead, you can look. It won't change anything."

Ide eyed the man, he didn't seem to be approaching again yet. He carefully knelt down and opened the briefcase. His hands were sweaty and shaking, and his eyes kept darting back to Katsumori who stood in place smugly watching. He flicked open the lock and looked inside. It took a second, but he saw it. The thin black notebook amongst the other items.

"No… it can't be." He said aloud.

"Ah? Are you perhaps aware of what that object is? That's quite troubling, your face says it all. Thank you for this valuable information." Said Katsumori.

Ide slowly reached inside, his fingers stopped just an inch short of the note. "I know his name. Could I use it?"

"Go on. Touch it." Katsumori said in a commanding voice.

Ide gulped and brushed his fingers against the book, then took it in his hand. He looked up and froze in terror. Behind the man stood a figure that wasn't present before. Its skin was bone white, and it looked thin and emaciated. Its face was a clean blank slate, no mouth or nose, only a wide pair of eyes which watched him without blinking or moving, and a pair of small horns connected by a ridge on its forehead. It had a long tail that bulged at the waist and became thin and snakelike at the end, and was long enough to coil upon the ground. It hovered a foot in the air, a pair of bat-like fleshy wings gently beat to suspend it.

"Ah, you can see her now." Katsumori smiled. "This is Sheer."

Ide grabbed the notebook and clutched it tightly. "A shinigami. So you must be Kira."

"Ah, so you do know what that book is. That's a most helpful thing to know." Katsumori chuckled. "I advise you hand that back. If you run, your death will be a much more painful one."

Ide reached into his pocket, he was surprised when his hand came up empty.

"Looking for your phone? The one inside of your briefcase? I'm afraid you won't be calling for help, now kindly return my property to me."

"Like hell!" Ide took off running in the direction of the police station.

Katsumori sighed, "There he goes. And I was hoping this would be civil. "

Ide ducked into an alleyway and took a few turns, trying to lose his pursuer. "I know his name, I could always kill him with the note here and now…" He thought as he ran. "No! What am I thinking? That's not how we do things, we'll arrest him the old fashioned way. Besides, he can't do a damn thing now!"

He came out of the alley and ran down the sidewalk, not taking time to look back.

"Almost there, just a little farther!" He came up to an intersection, he could see the police station now. It was just across the street.

And…

His heart skipped a beat. Katsumori was standing on the other side, blocking his path.

"How did he…"

Katsumori calmly held up a piece of paper in his outstretched hand. He raised his other hand and held up his fingers.

3

2

1

Ide's world went dark. He opened his eyes, he was on the pavement. His ears wouldn't stop ringing. He tried to lift himself, but a shooting pain coursed through his body. Something was broken, no, a lot of things were broken. He could vaguely hear the sound of somebody yelling. Something about a truck? Everything was blurry, his face was against the pavement. It felt surprisingly warm, he glanced around.

"Is that blood? Whose is that?" He wondered.

A pair of shoes stepped through the blood and stopped in front of him. The person knelt down and placed their hand on his side.

"Hideki Ide. Your police badge was inside of your briefcase."

He felt something slip out of his hand, it was something he'd been holding onto. He couldn't really remember what it was, everything was disoriented and strange.

"I told you not to run. Sweet dreams, officer." The man said, then got up and walked away.

Ide laid there for a while, trying to piece together what had just happened. It was something important, but what was it.

"Kira." The name flashed in his mind.

"Kira…" he whispered with the last of his breath. He didn't know why, but he felt like that was important. He tried again to move, but he could barely lift a hand. He struggled with all his might, and managed to pull himself forward a bit, but couldn't manage more than an inch.

"I have… to tell them…"

He stuck his finger into the growing pool of blood. He raised his other hand and began to write.

"K… I… R… A…" He traced onto his palm.

With that the last of his strength left him, something inside seemed to break. He could hear the sound of an ambulance, but he knew it was too late. With a heavy sigh he closed his eyes, and the world faded to darkness once again.

"What happened? Where are the witnesses?" Aizawa shouted to the other officers. A few minutes ago they'd heard there had been a hit and run just outside their office. It only took a little bit for someone to identify the victim, at which point the whole team came racing outside. The paramedics had already loaded Ide onto a stretcher and did what they could, but he was dead.

"Ide… how could this happen?" Matsuda said with a shaky voice as he looked at his friend's mangled body.

Haga came up behind Aizawa, "What did the witnesses say? Any details?"

Aizawa grumbled, "He was crossing the road when a truck came out of nowhere and hit him. Afterward it took off. Witnesses say someone went over to check him out, but he was already dead in seconds."

"Do you think it was just an accident? Or could it be murder?" Haga said with a smirk.

"Check his hand." Aizawa said.

"Hmm?" Haga walked over and examined the body, clear as day Ide had something written in red on his hand.

"KIRA"

"Ah, I see. To tell the truth I suspected as much." Said Haga.

Aizawa crossed his arms, "Ide was always careful. I know accidents can happen to anyone, but from the start this rubbed me the wrong way. And then I saw that…"

F walked up to the group with his sunglasses beaming, "So he somehow discovered Kira, and tried to get back here to tell us, but he was killed before he could. That sound about right?"

"It's the most likely scenario, yeah." Said Aizawa. "Either that or Kira has decided to start picking us off one by one. But that doesn't make much sense. Us in the task force stopped wearing our badges, and we don't have our names listed publicly. He must've gotten Ide's name straight from him somehow, otherwise we'd all be dead."

"He?" Said Haga, "Perhaps it's she."

"What do you mean?" Asked Aizawa.

Haga strolled over confidently, "Remember the girl? What was her name… Red, that's it. So far she's our only suspect. That data she stole probably had all of your names included. And it's not like she had to be here to kill Ide, she could've written this whole scenario from the comfort of her own home."

"Why the hell would she do that?" Asked Aizawa.

Haga smirked, "Maybe to send us a message. To tell the police 'I can end you all at any time. If you value your lives, don't come after me.'"

Aizawa grimaced, "With everything Near said, I don't think it's her. Pretty sure she's trying to catch Kira just like us. We knew a guy like that once, Mello. Same sorta deal."

"True. But even if that's the case, she did break into government property and steal classified intelligence. That's a serious crime, so we should already be trying to find her. If we happen to question her about Kira too, I just think of it as a bonus." Said Haga with a smug grin.

"... Fine." Said Aizawa, "I'll issue a warrant for her arrest. If we can track her down, that is."

Aizawa sighed and waved at the others, "Let's move guys, time is wasting. Ide wouldn't want us sitting around instead of catching the one who did this."

The group started to make their way back inside. Aizawa stopped, they were missing someone. He looked over and saw Matsuda, still standing beside Ide. He walked up and put a hand on his back.

"Matsuda, it's time to go. There's nothing you can do for him now, let him rest."

Matsuda held onto the railing. A single tear rolled down his cheek and he bit his lip. "I thought this was over… I thought it was all over."

"Me too, me too." Said Aizawa. He looked down at Ide's body again, his face seemed bizarrely peaceful considering how the rest of him was.

"Aizawa." Matsuda started to tremble.

"Yeah?"

Matsuda looked away from Ide for the first time.

"We're gonna catch Kira, right? We're gonna get that bastard! And execute him!" He screamed.

Aizawa rubbed his back, "It's okay, let it out."

Matsuda looked back down at Ide and his voice started to break. "The two of us never got along well. He had such a quick temper, always getting upset when I'd do something stupid or childish. But now… I just want to hear him yell at me one last time." He gritted his teeth in pain, "That bastard… who do they think they are taking everything away from people?"

Aizawa turned around and leaned against the stretcher, looking up at the cloudy sky.

"Ide was a good friend. He was the first of us to leave the task force, and I didn't blame him. Neither of us got along with L. Eventually when I left as well, we started spending some time together. He'd come over and have dinner with my family and I a lot, and discuss work and our personal lives. I know he got mad a lot, but deep down… he was an alright guy."

"I never got to know him like that. But I trust you." Said Matsuda.

Aizawa chuckled a bit, "You know, I've got a funny story. One time we were talking about L. Out of nowhere Ide leans in close to me, and does what I swear is the best impression of L I've ever seen. His eyes got real big and he said to me 'Are youuuuu Kira?' I lost it. The guy was always so serious, but put a few drinks in him and he'd have you busting a gut. My daughter thought it was hilarious, so he kept going. He threw his shoes off and sat in the chair that way L always did, and downed a handful of sugar packets. The guy really did have a lighter side… he was just so focused on his work that he never really got to show it."

Matsuda smiled a bit, and gave a faint chuckle. "Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good depiction of L alright. Who would've thought Ide of all people could make kids laugh. I'd always thought he was kinda scary sometimes."

Aizawa reached in his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He lit it and took a puff, when suddenly a drop of water landed on his hand. He looked up at the clouds, and within a few seconds it began to rain. His cigarette was quickly extinguished, he crunched it up in his hand and threw it aside.

Matsuda sighed, still leaning over the stretcher. "Thanks Aizawa. I think this talk helped a lot, I feel like I've calmed down a bit now. You ready to go back now?"

He looked back up at Aizawa. He was still staring at the sky, tears now running down his face.

"Just another minute in the rain, please."

Writing