Chapter Text
The warehouse was a factory filled with battered and dirtied workers. Not adults, but children. Their little hands fiddled with wires and metal that damaged their fragile skin. Some of them saw me, staring with wide eyes. "Shinigami" they called me. I asked them why, and they thought I was one of the guards that kept them there! I left with my prize. The next day, I came back. I wasn't about to abandon this gold mine I had found. I realized one of the teenagers were gone. They told me that the shinigami had dragged them away, and they never came back.
***
Aizawa opened the front door of the Yagami's house trepidly. The kids were at school, and Sachiko was at the spa. It had been a "surprise gift" from Soichiro and was conveniently funded by L. He looked around the home. L had sent people in to install wiretaps and cameras, but that was it. It was his job to look around for suspicious items, or evidence. Aizawa was no fool, he knew L only wanted him to investigate Raito's room. For some reason, L suspected him. In fact, Raito was his number one suspect. It boggled the detective's mind, Raito was seventeen; he was still a kid! He was a genius yes, but he hadn't even finished high school yet. He adjusted the glasses that sat on his nose. L saw through his eyes, thanks to the tiny camera hidden in the lens frame. Aizawa looked over every corner of the house. There was nothing, absolutely nothing. The only thing he had found so far was in Sayu’s room. There was a yaoi magazine hidden underneath her mattress, much to his amusement and Sochiro’s dismay. Aizawa shut the teenager’s door behind him, there was only one room left.
“Make sure to look it over very carefully.” L said.
He sighed but began to walked over to Raito’s room. However, as Aizawa got closer, static began to buzz from his Bluetooth. It got louder and louder, nearly smothering L’s voice.
“Your signal is breaking up!” He exclaimed. “I can't see or hear a thing! Something is blocking me-”
The static, as well as L’s voice cut out. It left only a dead silence. Aizawa’s hairs on the back of his neck rose, and a chill went down his spine. How was that possible? Was L hacked, was Aizawa? He didn't know, all he could do was continue. He entered Raito’s room. It was like a sudden cold had covered him, but just as quickly it had come, it was gone. Still, even though it was impossible, Aizawa could have sworn someone was there with him. The detective’s eyes darted around, there was no one there. Letting out a tired sigh, he went to Raito's closet. Aizawa pulled open the door, and was met with school uniforms hanging on their hangers. Nothing abnormal there. His eyes landed on something, and he paused.
What the…?! Aizawa thought.
Sitting in the corner of the closer obscured by shadows, was a teddy bear. Aizawa was very confused. Sayu was fourteen, and had gotten rid of all her toys. So why did Raito have one? It didn't make any sense! Something about the closet made him feel uneasy too, like someone was watching him. Deciding it was best to leave it, he shut the door. The detective was on edge now, something wasn't right. Still, L would be suspicious if he didn't do his job. So, anxiously the detective decided to check Raito's desk next.
Aizawa tried to turn on his computer, but to no avail. Whatever was blocking L was affecting the house as well. With a sigh, he began to search his desk. Aizawa found something strange, on the bottom of the desk was a small hole. Was it a screw? It didn't seem so, it was like a..keyhole? What was raito hiding? He opened the drawer above it, and all that was in there was a journal. Aizawa flipped through it’s pages, it was filled with notes on current investigations.
Truly the chief's son. He thought.
Oddly enough, several pages were ripped out. The paper though was nowhere to be seen. The writing on the pages that remained in the journal was violently sunk into the paper, like Raito had been furious when he wrote in it. What caused him to be so angry? What was this kid doing? He flipped open his notepad, and wrote it down. L would analyze it better than he could.
Aizawa placed it back in the drawer, but paused. There was a small crack in the front. It was a false bottom, much to his very short lived shock. He should have figured, Raito was a genius after all. What would he even be hiding? Aizawa yanked the false bottom up, but winced as a splinter wedged itself in his finger. His hands jumped away by instinct from the pain, however he was unable to focus on the new annoyance. What he saw smothered all attention away from it. Sticking out from the drawer, was something akin to a bear trap. Sharp metal blades were snapped closed, triggered by Aizawa's forced entry. His heart dropped when he realized how close he had been to losing a hand. He forced down his nausea, and peered down. The thing that Raito would chop someone’s hand off for, go to prison for, was mostly obscured by the trap. Aizawa didn't need to see much though, he recognized it. It was the velveteen rabbit.
This is what I would have lost my hand for? Aizawa thought. A children's book?
That wasn't all though. Aizawa could see paper sticking out of the book. He carefully picked it up, still unconsciously wary of the trap that was already set. It was worn from age, Raito must have taken it from the previous owner. Aizawa opened it up, and almost dropped it. Inside wasn't notes on the Kira case, something linking him to kira, or hell, even a list of his crushes. No, It was children's drawings. He flipped through them, and stumbled upon one in the middle. It was a drawing of Raito with three children, posing together. Two boys and a girl. They looked so happy, but Aizawa’s heart ached. It reminded him so much if his own daughter's drawings. Who were these children?
Something about it seemed to put a weight onto him, and a chill went down his spine. Something was wrong. He quickly shoved the papers back into the book, somehow jostling one of them into view. It was a drawing of a little girl, the same one in the group picture. She was holding hands with a dark figure. The only thing not scribbled in black was his eyes, matched with his gleaming smile. It was unsettling, who was she standing with? Aizawa pushed it back in with the rest, and put it back in the compartment. He was in the process of resetting the trap, when he paused.
His hands turned useless from fear. Deep raspy laughter echoed all around him, like the owner was right next to him. Responding to primal instinct, Aizawa did the only thing he could, and ran. He sprinted down the hallway; he didn't didn't want to be anywhere near the house. The detective could swear right before he burst out of the front door, he could hear heavy footsteps chasing him. Aizawa leaned against his car, completely exhausted. He flinched slightly in shock when his Bluetooth suddenly crackled back to life. L’s voice flooded through.
“Aizawa?! What happened back there?” L asked.
He sighed. “I-I have no idea.”
“Are you alright? You sound like you’re exhausted.”
Aizawa glanced around nervously. “It’s probably nothing, but… it feels like i’m being watched.”
“Trust your instincts. Drive to headquarters, we’ll discuss your findings there.”
Aizawa agreed, and got into his car. As he drove, the feeling didn't go away. He knew something was off.
***
When Raito came home, he was surprised to find it empty. It wasn't often that his mother went out. So if she did, she was probably grocery shopping, or out at the spa. As he closed the door, the high school student knew something was off. Something was different about the house. Something big. He just couldn't figure out what. Raito walked up to his room, setting his bag down on his desk’s chair, before walking over to his door. He froze. Someone had been in his room. Someone had been in his room.
The slip of paper he had placed in his door had fallen out when he opened it. The pencil lead was broken and scattered across the floor. His door handle was up all the way though, so someone had to have been in there! It couldn't have been Sayu or his mom, they wouldn't have put the paper back. Then, Raito realized. His father was working with L , so it was only natural they would inspect the detectives families to make sure none of them were Kira. Which was illegal…
He should have figured L would break the law to solve a case. Light couldn't care less if L suspected he was Kira. After all, he could just end the detective's life if he got too close for comfort. But… what if his family found out? What would the public do to them, to Sayu? Shit, what was he going to do? He could act normally like it was child's play, but his aura could interfere with the camera's. It could only be avoided by not searching for him, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
Ratio sat on his bed, sighing. He would just have to be careful. There wasn't much he could do to hide that something was off. Maybe he could slightly damage the cameras and bugs so there would be an explanation. But then L would question why the cameras were damaged in the first place, and he would be comprised.
A knock on the front door surprised the teen. He rose from his bed and left his room, closing his door with the handle slightly ajar, as always. Whoever was at the front door knocked again, almost with more urgency. It struck Raito as odd, who would want to see him so badly? He froze when he opened the door, and saw who was standing there.
“Raito yagami?”
Raito stuttered in shock. “M-Misa Amane?!”