Chakra Wizard
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Persuasion
"You want me to provide you with what!?"
The two of us informed our new superior of our intentions. …He didn’t take too kindly to the idea.
"Chief, we’ve been looking into this case for the past two weeks and we’ve already got a lead as to where he is. Now, if you would only fund our investigation-"
"The last time we paid a guy to find Kira for us, we got absolutely no results! …I want that villain to face justice as much as you do, but I am not willing to throw away both what little funds our organization still has AND two of its best detectives when even THE best detective was completely outdone by him! …I’m sorry, but the NPA is no longer involved in Kira-oriented dealings…and that decision is final. Has been for six years now."
I could only sigh in disappointment. Apart from Soichiro Yagami, Yuto Kagome had a greater sense of justice than anyone else I knew, including Hiroto and myself. He was a stern-looking man who often lived up to his appearance, though he was also known around the agency for his generally kindhearted nature. …Unfortunately, his stubbornness often extended far beyond that of the man who had fathered Kira. …Luckily, though, so did mine.
"Chief, …whether you fund us or not, we’ve made up our minds on this."
"Is that so? Well, aside from the fact that you have absolutely no vacation days left, Atari, doing so would violate a direct order from your superior, since I am forbidding you from looking into Kira’s affairs! …I give you two quite a bit of rope around here for detectives your age, only because you’re so good at your jobs, but I am not about to give out enough for you to hang yourselves with it."
I couldn’t help but chuckle. …The metaphors he used were quite colorful…and often too dark for their own good.
"…You seem awfully confident that we’ll fail."
"I’m CERTAIN that you’ll fail. I’m CONFIDENT that the two of you will get killed in the process."
"…In other words, it’s not entirely clear whether or not we’ll die."
"Of course not. …Jesus, Atari, you’re probably the smartest man I know. I have enough faith in you to know that you’re not just gonna hand your name over to Kira, but at the same time, I just can’t take that risk. The police stopped broadcasting the names of criminals years ago and they’re STILL dying almost every day. …I hope you realize that the odds of him finding out your names aren’t exactly low."
"Nor are they high. …I was aware of such dangers long before I decided on this, Chief. …All the same, just by pledging to uphold the law as its enforcers, we risk our lives each day. …Kira poses absolutely no threat that I don’t already face in my daily life."
I could never be entirely sure what was running through his mind, but I felt confident that he was about to give in. …If this didn’t work, then my plan would have been for nothing.
"Strong words, detective. …Why so confident?"
"…Because in complete contrast to what you might believe, …it’s KIRA who is no match for me, not the other way around."
I caught a glimpse of a smile emerging on Hiroto’s face out of the corner of my eye.
"…Correction, …Kira is no match for US."
"…Huhhhhh. …Hehehehehe, well, I suppose I’m sold, then. …I do have a few conditions, though."
"Of course, sir."
"The first is that you report everything about your investigation to me directly. The reason that L lost our support early-on was because of exactly that."
"Hiroto and I exchanged looks of concern, …but I quickly nodded in approval, prompting him to give our shared response to Kagome’s request."
"Sounds like a natural concern. Anything else, sir?"
"Hmmm, …just one other thing."
"Name it."
"…Like I said before, I’d rather not risk the lives of two bright, young detectives for what’s arguably an unsolvable case, …so I’m giving you six months to bring me Kira’s head before I cut off funding."
"Wait, hold on-"
He ceased from talking upon noticing my hand stretched out in front of his face. He spent a moment looking at me in confusion, …which only grew more defined when he noticed that I was smiling.
"A full six months, Chief? …You insult me."
Laughter ensued, though not for long. Nodding his head in reluctant agreement, Hiroto went along with this.
"We won’t fail you, sir."
"…I certainly hope not. …Now then, I suppose you should first tell me everything you’ve discovered so far. …You did say you had a lead, am I right?"
"Hmhmhm…yes, sir."
The two of us sat down in front of his desk, Hiroto in the professional manner and me in my preferred position, and I quickly began sharing our gathered information, …though not before pulling out one of my lollipops, …yet another habit of mine that I’ve brought into the workplace.
"…Now, exactly two weeks ago, our former chief Shuichi Aizawa, as well as several other confirmed Japanese police, were found dead among others at the Daikoku Wharf. …In the nine days that followed, absolutely no criminal deaths were reported in any countries around the world. …When they started back up five days ago, all heart attacks that were reported in the first two days occurred within the United States, almost all of which took place in the northeast region of the country. …Almost half of the forty-one deaths reported occurred specifically within New York City."
He didn’t respond immediately, so Hiroto picked up where I had left off.
"Of course, this isn’t to say that Kira is definitely in New York, nor does it certify that he’s even in America, …but this is still too big of a possible slip-up by him for us not to take action."
"…Alright? And how do you plan to prove that he really is in the States?"
…I couldn’t help but grin when he asked us that question.
"We already have a strategy in place."
"Hm?"
"…The first thing we must do is contact the NPA…and tell them to rebuke L’s demand that criminals no longer be broadcast on television."
"You want us to disobey a direct order from L himself!?"
"Sir, it’s as you said before. L’s become nearly incompetent and, …if you ask me, I’d say that he’s dead."
A look of surprise instantly arose on his face, …followed swiftly by one of worry. Hiroto did the same. …I never did tell him my opinions on L.
"L has supposedly been chasing Kira for over six years now and he STILL hasn’t caught him yet, …which is rather unlike him, in my opinion. I mean, since when has the great L spent this much time working on a single case in his entire career, let alone to no results?"
"…That’s true."
"And not only that, if you look at the things that he’s done over the course of his own investigation, he spent the first year of it refusing to remove such information from the media, then he suddenly has a change of heart? …If you ask me, I’d say that one of the people on the Task Force working with him took on the role of L after the original was killed by Kira…and THAT’S who’s been giving the NPA orders for the past few years."
"Hmmm, …that’s possible, but if you check our records, every single member of the NPA that was reported to have remained on our Kira Investigation Team for this long was found dead at Daikoku Wharf, along with Chief Aizawa."
"…Well then, we can only assume that the new L was among them. …Has L made any requests or given any orders in the past two weeks?"
"…Now that you mention it, he hasn’t."
"Of course not. …I watched him die, after all."
"Well, I would say it’s official then, …though I recommend that it stay between our members…for obvious reasons."
"…Agreed. Now then, after criminals begin being broadcasted again, where will you go from there?"
"…We’ll take measures similar to those taken by L when Kira first appeared."
I paused for a moment, giving him an opportunity to think back to L’s initial confrontation with Kira, …during which he proved that the latter truly existed.
"I’m afraid I won’t be able to get any more specific until we’re in the United States. …This little test of ours should take no more than five days."
"Test?"
At this point in time, I was already standing up to leave the room, prompting Hiroto to follow.
"I think I’ll be able to answer the rest of your questions…after I’ve confronted our culprit."
"…Very well, then. I’ll inform the rest of the agency of your request immediately. …Detectives."
We stopped in front of the door to hear him out one last time. …I already knew what he was going to say.
"Good luck, …both of you."
And with that, we left to begin preparations. Having succeeded in persuading Kagome to fund our investigation, we wasted no time in gathering our possessions and, …no more than forty-eight hours later, boarding the flight we had requested. It was a twelve-hour voyage from Japan to New York City, which would continue into the next day. Hiroto finally passed out in the seat next to me after I repeatedly told him to get some rest, …while I, on the other hand, refused to sleep that night, spending the entire trip observing the clouds passing by the window. …Of course, Shahim had come along with us, so I wasn’t completely alone when all other passengers had drifted off to sleep.
"You really think you’ll find Ryuk in six months?"
"…Who knows?"
"Hm?"
I waited a moment to ensure that Hiroto and those around me were still asleep before taking our conversation any further.
"I wasn’t acting when I said that this could merely be a ploy on Kira’s behalf. …No one will ever exceed Light’s prowess as Kira, …but when your opponent can kill people from anywhere in the world and leave no evidence of their involvement, …finding them is never a simple task, regardless of who they really are."
"…I suppose so, but what makes you think Light will never be surpassed?"
"…If I had thought that someone could’ve done better, …I would have written down their name, instead."
I was prepared go into detail on this, as well, …but I knew Shahim better than that by now.
"…Yeah, that’s probably true. …Things are really different this time."
"Hm?"
"For the past six years, you had the beginning and the end in sight all along. …You were just spending your time piecing together what occurred in the middle."
"…And?"
"…And now you have no idea what will happen. The only hint you have as to who you’re looking for is that they’re being followed around by a Shinigami. …And be honest, it’s not like you can tell your friend here to look out for THAT."
I looked at Hiroto as he said this. …He almost looked rather peaceful, leaned back in that seat as he continued to sleep soundly. …Shahim was right. All it would take is a single slip-up…and I would be forced to watch my best friend die…for the second time.
"I do have the end in sight, Shahim. …The man I’m looking for…and those that will follow…will all have their names written down in my Death Note by the time this is over."
"…Hmhmhm, is that right?"
"It’s just as you said, my friend, …I have them both in sight…and now I’m merely filling in the middle, …only this time, …I’m on the front lines."
- The End -
