A pretty face can hide an evil mind

I do apologise for the lateness.
Let’s just say things haven’t been all ‘peachy’ between me and my mother.
She’s the kind of person who ‘doesn’t believe in illness, she thinks I’m over exaggerating quite a bit. The doctor says otherwise.

The constant study/eat/sleep schedule seems to be taking quite a toll on my health, especially when I try to combine all of the above with several hobbies, sports and a social life.

But that’s quite enough about my personal life.

I’ve managed to write quite a few parts of this fic in advance, seriously, I have parts of the ending written out. That’s not up for quite some time XP

NOTES!
I would like to thank you all for your lovely/helpful reviews! They really managed to get my behind in gear if you know what I’m saying.

I need to update more often….

Also I apologise for the rather slow start in this chapter (or at least I think it’s slow XP). It took a while to get into a writing mood.

Enjoy!

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For the fifth time this day Raito wondered as to why his life had taken such a miserable direction. Here he was following a certain ‘Ray Penber’ while dressed in an outfit approximately three times his size in order to mask his figure, below said outfit he wore another outfit to adjust his body-size to the absolutely ridiculous outfit and his hair was getting into his eyes compliments of the beanie he managed to uncover from the piles of clothes that should have been thrown away years ago.

In short.
He was hot, these clothes were itchy and he was annoyed at the people around his as they all attempted to get to whatever destination they had in mind. He simply wanted to go home. Ryuuku’s comments about his current attire weren’t exactly helping either.

They would be boarding the Yamanotesen line at 3:13 PM. If all went according to plan, Penber would die at 4:42 PM after receiving the information from his colleagues at 3:21 PM. His previous calculations assured him he would have approximately an hour and a half to complete this so-called mission. Raito’s left hand held onto the envelope like a vice, in his right he was clutching the cell-phone so generously bestowed upon him by Kira. Only a few more seconds until the first check-point…

‘There!’

He pressed the button on the cell-phone.
It was show-time.

Just as previously planned he would be giving the damn device – along with the envelope – to Penber through which Kira would give him the necessary instructions.
He didn’t like the idea of being kept out of this particular conversation much, but he had no choice. Either go along or lose that which he had been struggling to save.
Raito watched as Penber froze solid within mere seconds of hearing that voice.
He couldn’t blame the guy really. It’s not every day a megalomaniac decides to have a ‘nice little chat’ with you. Penber reached into the envelope to grab the hands-free headset contained within after witnessing the death of what Raito knew to be a man accused of multiple rapes, he had never been put behind bars due to lack of evidence though. Guess it no longer mattered.

The two of them entered the Yamanotesen line, fortunately the moving death-trap wasn’t as packed as usual – concerning this E231 series train was one of the most frequently used and most important commuter lines within Tokyo. It includes two 6-door cars which were usually swamped – allowing for Raito to observe the events as they unfolded.

He remained silent as the FBI-agent contacted someone using another cell-phone, how odd it must look to other people. In Raito’s opinion it would have been better to use some form of transmitter. Not only would it be untraceable, it wouldn’t have nearly looked as odd. Not that the general population cared much about the lives of others unless there was some form of personal gain involved.

The vehicle came to a sudden stop as it reached Harajuku – home of the rebellious youth whom are know to express themselves using rather outrageous fashion-statements. Judging from the fact that they got onto the Yamanotesen line at Shibuya station, after Harajuku would be Yoyogi. Regardless of his detest for these metallic torture devices – he tended to get nauseous on moving vehicles – he had to admit it was still impressing to this very day how quickly a person would be able to move from one location to the other. The construction of this railway had taken quite a few years with another addition being built (which was currently scheduled to be completed around March 2008). Starting in 1885 – 101 years before he had even been born – and finally completing the actual loop that connected Tokyo’s main stations around 1925, this marvel of human ingenuity had proven itself to be quite useful. Especially after the introduction of the previous 205 series rapid service trains approximately one hundred years after the original line was created. They’d recently begun to replace these older model trains with the new E231 series.

The train started moving again just as Penber reached into the envelope a second time. The man pulled out some sheets of paper with oddly placed spaces cut out of the top-sheets. The Japanese-American started writing down what Raito assumed to be the names of the FBI-Agents currently operating within Japan. He was told to stay on the train until further orders, but how much longer was it going to take? The more time he spend inside, the bigger the risk his face would be caught on tape. He was having enough trouble steering clear of the camera’s as it was with the number of travellers steadily increasing. Not uncommon, they were nearing Tokyo after all.

As if hearing his silent prayers Penber got up and calmly placed the envelope on the rack above him. There was nothing calm about the man’s face though. He seemed to be looking around for something as he walked into the direction of the nearest exit. Carefully estimating the direction of the man’s gaze it seemed as though he was looking at peoples’ sleeves? But of course. The man had caught a brief glimpse of his sleeves when he handed him the package. Perhaps the need to identify the one who acted as a link between Kira and the outside world was stronger then the man’s need for preservation. A completely useless set of actions, yet Raito admitted that if he had been in Penber’s position he would have wanted to see his killer’s face as well. Regardless of it having been Penber to write down the names – including his own – it had been the joined forces of Kira and Raito himself to coerce the man into this situation.

In a half-assed attempt to keep his face hidden, Raito lowered his gaze to the floor and refused to allow it to shift until the man’s shoes came into view.

‘It seems to be leather. Judging from it’s appearance probably a good quality too. The shape of the shoe, the shiny buckle and small ‘G’ on the side indicate it’s Gucci. It appears to be an older model. Original price of that model should be around 650 dollars, however seeing as the soles have only slightly worn down, it wasn’t bought too long ago. Approximate retail value 430 dollars…’

The shoes weren’t moving.

True. That could have been a coincidence regarding the fact that Raito was practically standing near the exit, but still. The heat of his multi-layered attire no longer seemed to bother him as the feeling of the man’s gaze caused shivers to move down his spine. He was even shaking a bit.

Gathering the remainders of his courage, he slowly raised his eyes to meet with the dark ones that had been staring at him with such fierce determination.

‘A dead man walking.’

A fitting description of Penber’s expression. Raito took note of the slight widening of the officers eyes. A lot of people seemed to fear direct eye-contact, especially those who had something to hide. Only the truly gifted and stone-cold liars had the capability to lie with their eyes. Penber clearly didn’t belong to either category. At first there had been recognition followed quickly by surprise, then some form of understanding. The doors were opening and the cell-phone was thrust into his hands. Regret? The man and his expensive shoes made their way to the platform, where he collapsed. Panic. Pain. The darkly clad male appeared to be turning towards the doors, regardless of the severe spasms that shook his entire body. Determination. Hatred of some kind. Raito’s body shook right along with him. This would be the first time in his life he would actually see a person die. Strange how different it was in real life compared to the gruesome pictures he had previously studied right along with his father. They had never bothered him this much. Not like this. Nothing. Just a blank stare, directed straight to the closing doors…

Upon seeing the face of the now deceased man, Raito’s grip on the cell-phone tightened as if trying to snap himself out of the state of shock he was in. He flinched as the electronically modified voice spoke up again.

“I start with the letter ‘e’,
I end with the letter ‘e’.
I contain only one letter,
Yet I am not the letter ‘e’!
What am I?”

That answer obvious. It had to be an envelope. The same envelope that had just been left by the FBI-agent. His orders were to retrieve the envelope? Raito started walking without a word and waited until the seat the FBI-agent had been occupying mere moments ago became available again.

He ditched his backpack on top of the envelope in order to subtly retrieve it once he reached his stop. He was going to be sick…

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The last moments of one named Ray Penber

“Place the envelope on the rack above your seat. Be sure to do it when nobody notices you. Head towards the nearest exit, leave the cell-phone there for my ‘delivery agent’ to pick up. Don’t try anything funny though. Remember that he life of your lovely fiancé is at stake here.”

‘Damn you Kira! What the HELL is it you want?!’

He felt so goddamn helpless. Years of training with the best the FBI had to offer, years of practise in forms of hand-to-hand-combat…all of it…for nothing.

‘I’m so sorry Naomi. Really I am. I should’ve listened.’

He didn’t even know why he was trying anymore. It had been a mere glimpse of a piece of fabric, a piece of fabric that didn’t stand out much to begin with. But if he wasn’t allowed to see the face of his killer then at least he had a shot at seeing the one closest to it.

They were halfway to the next station already. He was running out of time.

Then suddenly there it was, a hand belonging to a rather young person was clinging onto the bar on his side. But why would a youngster be involved with something as disgusting as a mass-murderer? Perhaps paid to deliver a package, students were often short on cash after all. That was fact no matter what country you went to.

Attached to the hand was a young male with a familiar shade of brown hair. The rest of the face he couldn’t quite make out, not unless the teenager actually looked at him. Fortunately he didn’t have to wait long for that to happen. Those same puppy dog eyes, that same clear skin.

‘Well I’ll be. Yagami Raito.’

The young man he had been trailing mere days ago. From the beginning of that damn bus-hijacking his stomach had been doing flip-flops as if trying to warn him of the danger that lied ahead. If only he’d listened when he’d had the chance.

The kid seemed to be frozen in his spot not unlike a dear caught in some headlights.
Was Kira forcing the kid’s hands or did he do this voluntarily? For some reason he couldn’t see such a bright young man ruin his life like that.

The doors opened. That was his sign to take off. Having found Kira’s messenger boy, he might as well hand over the phone directly. He shoved said device into the boy’s trembling hands and walked out onto the platform. Suddenly a stabbing sensation exploded from somewhere within his body, he couldn’t stop shaking.

‘A heart-attack?!’

He needed to know and he needed him to know. The pain was steadily increasing and his vision was fading but he managed to take one more good look at young Yagami Raito. The boy was pale as a sheet and not because of the poor lighting in hat train either. That innocent yet terrified face. God how he hated him and how he hated Kira.

‘Don't confuse the message with the messenger, right?’

The pain was gone all of a sudden, like something just flipped a switch.

‘I am….so…sorry….Naomi….’


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The perfectly ruined life of Naomi Misora

“So I was thinking, beige would be a much better colour for the bride’s maids, wouldn’t you agree? I mean pink just isn’t you. You’re a FBI-agent for goodness sake!”

“A former FBI-agent mom. And why not pink?”

“And you support that decision? It’s utterly ridiculous if you ask me, your evaluations alone were proof enough of your skills! By all means those evaluations were better then his to begin with, he was just jealous if you ask me. And pink will make those girls look like cotton candy dear. I know they’re not supposed to look as good as the bride – which shouldn’t prove to be much of a task remembering your friend Halle – but you don’t have to ridicule them in front of an audience.”

“I wasn’t asking. Come on mother, it does make sense, he doesn’t want me to have a job that dangerous. Not to mention we want kids as soon as possible. We can’t have both parents running around at all times, someone needs to stay at home and take care of them. I don’t mind. Besides, being the one who’s actually going to have to deliver those kids I’m going to have to go on pregnancy leave and you know how poor Ray is at keeping the house clean. And I object to the cotton candy comment! I thought they were adorable! Just don’t try to pester Halle during the reception mom, you know how she gets.”

“And here I thought you were a modern day girl. Where did I go wrong? And yes dear I’ll keep the one-liners to myself, it’s going to be a boring party though.”

“Very funny mom, very funny. Well, I’ve got to hurry and get dinner ready, Ray should be home in about an hour.”

“Alright dear, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye mother.”

The woman was incorrigible sometimes, but she loved her mother regardless. Being an old-fashioned young lady from a rather modern-day family they often teased her about her habits. And poor Halle. Halle and herself had been stationed together back in the States, before Naomi quit her job that is. Halle had been devastated to say the least. Perhaps that’s why she took on this job in Japan, there had been a need for volunteers for this particular case. Ray – wanting to go to Japan in order to visit Naomi’s family to begin with – and her planned on getting married pretty soon. The date was slowly creeping closer as a matter of fact.

Eerie how days seemed to fly by when you’re happy. She took a last glance at the beautifully embroiled dress carefully hanging from the door of their dresser before smiling sweetly and diverting her attention to making dinner.

Ray would probably be hungry again. Not that she could blame him, following a bunch of teenagers around all day wasn’t exactly what either of them had in mind when it came to exercise. They weren’t getting any younger after all.

‘Ah, the joys of youth.’

The doorbell was ringing. It was much to early to be Ray though, but then again, he’d surprised her a few times by heading home early and bringing her random gifts like flowers. He was ever the hopeless romantic after all.

“Coming!”

As soon as she opened the door however it wasn’t her fiancé standing in front of their home to greet her but an elderly man with a grim expression on his face.

“Can I help you?”

“Are you Naomi Misora?”

“Why yes, is something wrong?”

“I am so sorry ma’am but I was asked to give you this.”

Something was terribly wrong. Official looking letters were never a good thing, especially not when delivered by gloomy looking people.

“I am sorry for your loss ma’am. Ray Penber was found dead a few hours ago. We believe it was Kira… I offer you my most sincere condolences.”

“………..Ray?”

TBC