Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts or Death Note, I wouldn't be writing this. It'd be already published with my name on it in bold.

I have a total of four (ongoing) fanfics after publishing this one. Note that updates will be irregular, but I promise I am drafting all my stories bit by bit. But reviews are what keep me functioning and motivated. If I don't have some responses, I don't think my fics are being favored. At the bottom of this chapter will have news of my other stories.

This is a spinoff of Kingdom Hearts...Death Note style. I'd used the Kingdoms Hearts characters with canon-based aspects from DN. In future, it will have some main points of shounen-ai (boyxboy). Rated T for cussing, sexual tension, killing, and blah blah blah. Don't steal my plot, idea, or OC's.

A is equivalent to L.

SS/Shurui is equivalent to W/Watari.

Vv is equivalent Birthday Beyond/BB.

T/Terra and Aa/Aqua is equivalent to both pairs: Raye Penber and Naomi Misora; A/Aiber and w/Wedy.

When two upper cases like SS, meaning previous Letter (agent marker), usually retired or resigned.

When one upper cases like R means current Letter (agent marker).

When two letters by one is upper case and another is lower case like Vv, it means next successor of latter (so meaning if a Letter is known as Kk, he/she are the successor of the Letter K).

When only a lower case like j, meaning still-in-training, undergraduate, or within consideration of being successor.

Letters (detective/agents/smart people) will always be bolded.

Your favorite Kingdom Hearts will arrive in do time.

Posted: 4/6/12

~Amatsu Kurosaki

Prologue.

Traverse Town. 10:00 p.m. Bad side of town.

Ugly yellow light blared from the streetlamps, drowned by the flurry of neon signs and florescent from still-open stores. Looking from above, you saw a street aligned with everyday-robbed buildings, sidewalks lurking with muggers and roughhousing lowlifes, a road cracked and faded, tendrils of smoke from cigarettes. Looking from below, you saw the pitch black void that was the sky, barely visible stars that blinked like a sparkle of a gem, and the silvery-yellow glow of the dominating moon.

It was revolting, but it was just another night in the poorer side of town.

Some cars were parked along the curbs, ranging from beaten down vehicles owned by low-waged laborers, or pimped sports cars owned by drug merchants and mafias. Out of all cars that stood out, one was hidden under a cloak of shadow, by the corner of the street. The structure was a used sedan model and the body was a plain black cover, the windows tinted, and engine shut off.

Two people waited inside. Two agents. A young women with hugging, short, blue hair. A young man with ruffled tufts of brown spikes. Neither bored, neither too impatient, but tense in their muscles. Eyes alert and attentive. It had been nearly an hour since they had drove by and parked the car. They hadn't spoke much, their minds crammed with this night's outcome. What should their approach be? When would they depart? Would they survive in the end?

Consequences: someone would die - on this street, in the abandoned building few blocks down. The boxed building was only a few stories tall, graffiti sprayed on one side, grim windows blocked with wood planks, the entrance hanged with a dirty sign that read: for rent. That was their destination right there. Their target had supposedly disappeared in the dwelling an hour ago. Not one hint of movement since.

As if she couldn't help but knowing, she asked abruptly, "It's so quiet. I wonder...will something go wrong?" Her usual gentle voice was precarious, lower and strained from the thick silence.

A hand reached over to clasp over her fisted one. "Don't worry, Aqua."

"Terra...sometimes I wonder why we didn't decline this mission," whispered Aqua, lashes low as she thought back.

"Why would we anyway?" Terra's voice was also low-pitched, as if they were afraid someone might overhear them. But it wasn't the only reason. They were sad. They were anxious.

"He might kill us," Aqua said wanfully. The brightness in her oceanic eyes clouded again, associated of the thought of him. "Like he did to-" She broke off, voice thick of suppressed emotions.

Terra squeezed her hand. "That's why we're here, aren't we?"

"You're including me, as well, right?" interjected another voice. Soft-tenored and soothing contrasting for such a dangerous situation. Only two agents in the car, three voices. The sound came from the earpieces the detectives' had handy. The reacted to that, sitting up straighter, more aware.

"A," Terra greeted curtly. "What's the status?"

"Vv has been pinpointed more precisely," A affirmed monotonously. "He is in the second floor of the building near the back. He is depicted to be in a windowless room. That is all. I am not a 100% sure he is sedentary or not. No erratic movements or sounds so far. Knowing him, he has some type of weapon handy." A's impression changed subtly. "Now what were you saying about 'that's why we're here'? Were you two...regretting the search of Vv? Or perhaps that we are trying to kill a serial killer?"

"Neither," Aqua answered. Her forehead creased. "I-I just feel like predator, chasing after him. I know he's a serial killer - a murderer - but as officials that represent justice-"

"-we're taking revenge," cut in A, the collected voice deadpanned.

Aqua sighed. "Yes."

Terra grunted brusquely. "That's just part of the job."

"More or less," A said ruefully. There was a munch that the sleuth's heard in their earpieces. A was eating again. "I refer it as 'when you see the chance, you take it'."

"It's fighting who we are inside," Aqua murmured, reasoning, her voice heard clearly by both her accomplices. "This mission is contradictory. We either kill Vv to repay what he had done for our own benefit or for the law of Kingdom Hearts. He took lives, we're taking his."

"...I know, Aqua." A hadn't bothered using Aqua's alias. The soothing voice was apologetic. "It was selfish of me to ask you two to join me and hunt down Vanitas. But, remember, if we don't kill him, he'll kill more."

Aqua shifted in her seat. Resolve cleared her mind of distractions. "Right."

"I think it's time to for you two to head out," A confirmed. "T, please activate the camera in your pin."

On Terra's jacket was a nickel-sized pin with a black dot. Terra rotated the circumference, turning on the mini camera.

"Thank you," A said. "You both have your bullet-proof vests?"

"Yes," the pair chorused. Under their jackets they had a decent bulletproof vest, a handgun hidden in the holster at their side, and not much else.

"Make sure to attach your silencers when you infiltrate the building," cautioned A. Underneath the discretion, A was worried for the well-being of her on-field agents. They were close friends.

"We know, A," Terra said dismissively. When no response came back, he added, "Anything else?"

There was a deliberate hesitating pause, and A took the moment to lose any diligence. Exhaling, A blurted out:

"Shoot him in the heart for me."

Facing Terra, Aqua pretended to shoot at the camera with a finger-gun. Her eyes were all-knowing. "Roger that."

Both agents left the safety of the car.

...

Traverse Town. 10:12 p.m. In a unfurnished, unowned room.

The room was squared-shaped, plastered-wall, and paneled-floored. It was slightly dusty and smelt of wood and cement. Two windows on one end of the room were small and allowed the moonlight to sneak in. Moonlight wasn't the source of light that casted shadows in the enclosure.

Not facing the direction of the window was an opened laptop, the glare it gave off illuminating the huddled figure in front of it. Candy wrappers and plastic bags of snacks littered around the laptop. On screen were little window boxes. The boxes contained live feed from cameras. One video tab was portraying the perspective Terra would see. He and Aqua stealthily snuck to the run-down building Vv resided in, avoiding suspicious stares from street spectators, and slipped in the darkness.

From the wall, an old lady in her mid-fifties emerged from the shadows that clung to her. Her gray hair tied in her usual neat bun, and dressed in layers of drab, formal clothing. Wrinkles around her mouth implied she had smiled many times before, and the crinkling around her eyes showed a sense of observatory actions. But under the aging, you could once see a beautiful, lively woman. She addressed to the balled up figure on the floor.

"That is what you finally ask of them?" the old lady inquired.

The neutral, melodious voice that answered came from the figure watching the laptop. The connection of the earpieces were turned off so the two were conversing alone. "Yes, since I don't intend to interrupt Terra's and Aqua's lives after this. Aqua plans to retire from work to focus full attention on her wedding. It's fortunate I have the A agent marker. She, on the other hand, is now Aa." Slender fingers reached out to snatch a cookie from a bag. "Hopefully, if Fate forbid, this will be the last case I'll ever ask of them. I just want to be their friend, Shurui, not their co-worker." A nibbled on the cookie.

"You've only worked with them for some years," Shurui reasoned softly. "Many officials like policemen or councils may be associated with each other for decades and say that it is nothing."

A replied when the cookie was finished, eyes intent on the laptop screen, not the older lady. "Remember Shurui, I intend to do five times than an average person. Think of a president with a three-year contract, I can accomplish perhaps nine years of work in that span - or more. I will surpass my life span expectancy. Age is but a number, but time is of the essence."

Shurui raised a brow at the combined statements. "But you are only a human. You can't base unproven facts so loftily."

A pressed some buttons to zero on the feed produced by Terra. He and Aqua edged down a hallway to a staircase. They hoped for no surveillance or traps. Eyes casted down to the papers strewn nearby - schematics of the building. Eyes flitted back to the laptop, narrowing.

Shurui frowned the slightest. "A-"

"I will die one day. I am human," confided A, "but that won't stop me by a long shot. Detectives and agents - those who govern with justice - die younger than the average life expectancy. I may not even live past twenty-five. You, Shurui, are what some Letters refer to as the 'lucky-lady' or 'long-living letter'. If you weren't standing behind me, I would have believed you'd died a long time ago."

"How so?" Shurui inquired curiously. "I did not apply myself to life-threatening cases, neither have I endangered my life physically."

"You've forgotten that you're still alive putting up with me."

Shurui's brows pulled down, disapproving with that statement. "I assure you. Never once by your side had I ever considered being-"

"It's fine, Shurui," A interrupted. Shurui knew A had a small smile on those full, pale lips. "I understand, but you are as daring as the rest of us Letters." A's external behavior changed when Terra and Aqua were ambling down the second-floor hallway. Their target became closer and closer into their grasp. A's fingers danced across the keys, turning the earpieces back on to communicate.

"T, take a left turn into the horizontal hallway," advised A, and Terra implicitly listened, Aqua flanking him. "Yes. Now head right, he's just two doors down. Be careful."

Taking a needed breather, Terra and Aqua paused on either side of the closed door, guns cocked steadily, alert to the bone. The door that held a barrier between life and death was as tormenting as it was teasing.

Even A's heart raced. Usually light breaths emanated from the sleuth, but the exhales grew longer and slower.

Numbers counted in their heads as they stared at the threshold.

One...two...three...

The signal was passed, and Terra rammed his foot into the door, forcing it to open widely. He rushed in, gun first, and Aqua followed soon after. The room Vv dwelled in was darker than the one A resided in. No windows as perceived, and one could hardly see any furniture, just planes of shadows enriched from one source. Somewhere in the center of the eerie room was a lit candle. It's flickering flame defined the face held close to it.

"I was waiting for you."

It was a false statement if A's heart suddenly didn't stop painfully then twisted. A's chest heaved for air, trying to remember how to breath. Fists clenched, nails biting into palms.

That face. Those eyes. God...

Shurui saw A bury face into arms, glossy hair rustling, and stayed curled up like that, not rousing even when muffled gunshots rang, some wounding sounds, scuffling, quick footfalls, then...nothing.

"He's dead," Terra breathed heavily. "He didn't...put up much of a fight like I'd thought he would."

Head raised slowly to peer at the death scene. The candle light illuminated a pale face as blood pooled around an inert body. Eyes were still flecked open...

A cruel, discerning smile. Not at Vv's lips, but echoing in his listless eyes. Sadistic golden eyes. It was meant for A surely. He'd had always had that look reserved for A.

"It's finally done," breathed Aqua. She stepped forward to embrace Terra in relief, obscuring the camera. A reached out to exit the video feed. The wallpaper of the laptop was a rich white background with a archaic, ink-black A smack dab in the center. A blinked repeatedly, disturbed by Vanitas' last rebellious notion. Why now of all times that Vanitas allowed - he'd never allowed - for Terra and Aqua to overwhelm him to his death? Everything about Vanitas befuddled A. Irked. Taxed. Compelled. Blew away. Words like that described what effect Vanitas had coerced A into his unbreakable hold. Even in death, he accomplished such feat.

He wanted me to wonder - no - kill myself to figure out what he had meant, thought A, not a hint of comprehension within glinting eyes.

"A?"

Said person was pulled from a stupor and glanced up to see concern from the old lady.

"The mission is completed," A announced hollowly. "We'll met Terra and Aqua at rendezvous. Make sure to send in our coroners to pack Vanitas' body for autopsy and any evidence in the room and hall. Leave no speck behind."

Quite vexed, A raked those slender fingers through bangs, spiking the hair upwards.

"Do you feel anything of Vv's death?" Shurui sought, stepping forward with practiced, light footfalls. There was a frown, but at A's reaction. Shouldn't A feel better that Vanitas was gone for good? Shurui may have been by A's side for a long time, but she still didn't know every thought that passed through the sleuth's mind.

"Only justice," A proclaimed almost automatically as any Letter would do. "...And revenge." A lifted a chin to meet Shurui's imploring gaze. "I am a hypocrite."

It wasn't a question.

"You are one," Shurui agreed amiably, "but it's not your fault."

"Why ask anyway?" ventured A curiously, peering at the older lady closer, a glint in the darkness. "What else do you have to ask of me?"

Shurui was hesitant, withered hands clasped in front of her. "You will be...perhaps...persevered by the news."

"You mean to tell me me one way or another," drawled A, tensing in slim shoulders, as if bracing an impact.

Shurui sighed collectively. "It is about the Numbers."

A's impression changed dramatically. The younger asset straightened - from spine to shoulders - attention undivided. "Go on."

"Their activity has heightened in the past few months. As you'd instructed - since you allowed no distractions during Vv's manhunt - I personally monitored of the Organization. I believe they have recruited a new member."

Concern narrow of eyes. "And the newest Number debuted when...?"

"Not in public, but judging by my hypothesis, perhaps one or two months prior," clarified Shurui gravely.

A's top-rated mind boiled with the newfound knowledge. Lips pursed. The younger agent asked, "Where have the recent kills been located?"

"I pinpointed the trail to be in Radiant Garden," informed Shurui. "The death toll there as risen dramatically."

A's head tilted down to contemplate. For the most prosperous city to be the most harmed? Hm... After a brief moment, A looked up at the older Letter. "Pack our things. We're heading to our headquarters in Radiant Garden."

Shurui appraised A. "So soon? Are you sure? I'd thought it'd be best if you took a small break, and we still have reports to file. You deserved some time off..."

"That is unimportant considering people are dying irregularly everyday," countered A briskly.

Fluidly, by bracing feet into the hard-packed ground, A stood up, balanced. The detective's true stature showed. Slight, lithe, and graceful.

"Let's hunt those damn Numbers."

...

News about Amatsu Kurosaki's other fanfics:

Angel of Tennis (AoT): Chapter 11 only has the beginning and ending and some dialogue. I know the gist of what the chapter is suppose to be about, but it is hard to write seeing I have been lacking favoritism towards this fic, so it may end up being a short chapter.

Another Road (AR): The next chapter is also being drafted, I have the beginning (the usual trademark), some dialogue, the concept, and some excerpts here and there.

Hand in Hand as King and Queen (HHKQ): This was a random idea/fic. I have most of the official second chapter drafted, but it needs revision. This fic, though, is not my utmost priority based on hits/alerts/favorites. It was a good thing I make the chapters shorter than my other stories.

Remember, just because I have some work done, it may take some time to do corrections and re-editing. I also have a total of four fics to worry about (not that I regret them).

Any reviews, PM, and whatnot are appreciated and will be checked by and by.

Check

V

This

V

Out

V