Extra special thank you, thank you, thank you to BabyKangaroo, Just A Chess Piece, Guest, Chellyisback, AliceXxX, Dori, ArTyStoLe, SlashIsLaw, Guest, furubafeind95, Guest, DTDY, Blank Personality, FrozenDreamBox, Zambino, Sanguivore, KY78Directioner4-Life, sarupetto and Tsukiyomi Hinamori Amu for reviewing! :D

So, okay, first off, I would like to apologize for the glaringly obvious lack of LxLight action. The majority of this story is entirely under horror and mystery and now that I think about it, I really should have labeled both under those genres. However, being an avid LxLight shipper, this completely flew out the proverbial window and I labeled it under romance. I can't force out the googly eyes and the epic declarations of love in the chapter in fear that it might destroy the mood I have tried so hard to create in the story so I extremely apologize if this is what you were looking for in the fic. :( You guys will have to content yourselves with the fanservice littered about the entire chapter! XD

There will be no smexy times, but I can assure you there will lots of hugging and patting and fluff! Well, as much fluff you can inject in a horror story, anyway. *throws flower petals around*

[[PSA: If you want to listen to the ringtone, the link should be in my profile, ok, guys? Because it's actually pretty spooky once you listen to it! :D Also, I encourage everyone to go watch the movie! Although it is in parts, it is available in youtube! Just type in "Chakushin Ari Part 1" and it should be the first link to be listed and uploaded by Kingtigerproduction. ]]

HOW DOES ONE WRITE IN L'S POV DAMMIT. Gosh dang.

THIS IS UN-EDITED. Please be warned that this is littered with typos, grammar errors and awful spelling.

Chapter 5: The Truth

August 25, 2010

Investigation Headquarters

All the rooms were quiet now that things have calmed down and the reality of the situation finally settled in their heads. Weary and shaken so terribly, the older detectives had their heads in their hands, willing the logic and the detachment they have honed all throughout the years of detective work back into the forefront of their minds but finding it extremely difficult to do so.

What they were witnesses of hadn't been of a typical murder. They had no murderers to profile, no evidences to inspect and no puzzles to solve. No, it was entirely a whole different thing, this… this monster they were trying to stop.

It had taken one of Chief Yagami's children.

Now, it was after the last one.

No one could blame the Chief for breaking down after they retrieved the body of one late Yagami Sayu. They had sent her off to a private morgue and were cremating her tomorrow so she wouldn't have to stay in that beheaded state anymore. Sayu would have haunted them if they let her stay that way for much longer than necessary.

They were all seated on the various seats around a rectangular glass coffee table in another suit on the same floor, untouched mugs of coffee and tea on top of it now cold after being left there for an entire hour. An entire hour had passed since Yagami Sayu died, was brutally murdered, and beheaded. God only knew what Light and Chief Yagami were feeling right now, Matsuda thought as he paced behind the couch Mogi and the Chief were occupying.

He bit his lip, almost drawing out blood, and he doubted anyone would want to see that right now., given what had transpired earlier. It would be a reminder that they had failed. Sayu had died and now it was after Light next. If only they worked faster, if clues were just easier to find, Sayu would have… Sayu would have…

Matsuda turned sad brown eyes to his mentor and felt sorry for the poor man. He was gradually losing the only family he had tried so hard to build, save and protect single-handedly. All those years of painstaking sacrifice, hard work and sweat the Chief had to give, and only leading to this. Matsuda wondered how the Chief was still here and not bawling over Sayu's body in the morgue right now.

Soft tapping of cellphone keys made Matsuda whip around, his paranoia and nerves so wired that anything concerning cellphones frightened him now. Any mention or being in the general vicinity of one made a cold sensation slide down his spine and his skin crawl as fear spread through every cell in his being.

He watched as L continued to tap on Light's cellphone before a soft click emitted from the phone's little speakers.

"You have one new message," the automated female voice of a phone announced, loud against the thick silence that enveloped the room. "Message one sent on August 26, 2010 at 7:13 pm."

Matsuda unconsciously clenched his fists, remembering the very reason why Chief Yagami wasn't mourning right now. That message was tomorrow. The ghost had changed its pattern. Instead of two days in between every victim, it had switch to one. The damned woman probably felt cornered because they were closing in on her killing streak and was afraid that they would eventually stop her. Well, she should, Matsuda thought haughtily as he stopped pacing to listen to the message.

There was silence at first, a silence so still that Matsuda thought there was no message waiting in the phone, no ear-piercing screams, no moaning. No nothing. Could it be that they had successfully rescued Light in time to save him from a miserable fate like what his sister had to-

"…Why?" they heard the Light (it was definitely Light, that smooth tenor could only belong to one person) on the phone ask in a small, trembling voice; the voice of someone so weary, desperate and confused. It just sounded so tired, and frightened and everything in between.

Matsuda's hopes were quickly dashed after hearing the message play. Light asked the best questions sometimes, he begrudgingly thought as he clenched his fists tightly. Why indeed. Why them? Why was the ghost doing this? Why couldn't they get away from this monster? Why was it haunting then?

Why?

L tapped at the cellphone again, his nonexistent eyebrows scrunching in annoyance only he could see. Matsuda could identify with what L was feeling. He was so frustrated he was shaking. 'Was it really frustration?' a small voice at the back of his head said, haughty and cold, 'or are you really just terrified, Matsuda? Terrified that you might be next? The next one this murderous ghost wants to kill after Light?'

Matsuda slumped against the wall behind him as the voice message played across the room again.

"Message one sent on August 26, 2010 at 7:13 pm."

Everyone, even distraught and disgusted-with-himself Matsuda, listened as the white noise of the message began, the question everyone wanted answers to ringing through the silent, mourning room.

"…Why?"

~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~

L suddenly got up and stood on the sofa chair he was sitting on with Light beside him who had his head down and his auburn hair covering his eyes. Mogi and Soichirou flinched at the sudden movement on the couch opposite them, nerves still frazzled and buzzing with left over adrenaline. L had the cellphone clutched tightly in his hands as he got down from the chair, his teeth grit in an uncharacteristic show of emotion. He viciously snapped Light's flip-phone in two before he dunked it into the aquarium in the room, the two phone pieces (the LCD and the keypad) swaying to and fro until it finally reached the bottom of the glass container.

L turned towards the only silent figure in the room, slumped and unmoving on his side of the couch. Of all the people in this rotten world to have been targeted, it had to be the most undeserving of them all. During the short time that the detective had known the teen, he had observed that the boy had a really good head on top of his shoulders. He knew that Light was intelligent given that he had hacked his school records and was greeted with straight A's and an IQ that could rival his own. L also admired that Light was able to act independently as opposed to being ordered around in order to be productive. But most of all, he saw the raw determination that shone resilient in those chocolate orbs.

But right now, the determination that had intrigued L had dulled, replaced by a muted mousy shade of brown instead of the golden hue it initially possessed.

"I think Light-kun needs to go and get some rest. We have to start bright and early tomorrow morning." L said as he stood in front of the silent teen. "Tomorrow we'll…"

"There's nothing we can do," the teen said dejectedly, his eyes obscured by his chocolate bangs. "There's no escape. Tomorrow night," Light gave out a shuddering breath, unconsciously scratching at his arms again, "I'll end up like Sayu."

The other detectives looked on with varying expressions of dismay, wanting to disagree but not really knowing how because even they themselves couldn't convince the doubts in their minds that everything was going to be alright.

"Don't lose hope, Light-kun!" Matsuda cheered, a forced smile on his lips, "Who knows, something will come to us tomorrow!"

Light's fumbling with his hands grew more panicked, "Just what exactly do you think we can do in 20 hours?"

Matsuda hesitated, opening his mouth to probably tell him otherwise but no words came out of it. L silently looked between the two before deciding it was time to intervene. He really wasn't much of a comforter but he should probably try anyway.

"Light-kun," he said as he squatted down in front of the teen, meeting blank remorseful eyes. "While it is true that we have failed to rescue Yagami Sayu," he saw the telltale tensing of Light's shoulders at the mention of his sister's name, "I still have it in my intentions to honor her final request to the outmost of my ability."

When Light remained silent, L sighed. "I admit it is my first time handling such … an eccentric case hence I am unable to react to certain situations adequately. Everyone one of us in this room is terrified Light-kun; terrified of the paranormal, terrified of the unknown, terrified of not knowing what to do now that we have confirmed that it is a ghost terrorizing us." He shot the police chief a short glance before he returned his black eyes towards the teen, "However, this will not stop us. We will end this tomorrow,"

Light looked up with clear bright eyes as L stood up, shoving one of his pale hands into his pockets, feeling his knee joints pop back into place. He lifted his free hand, hesitated, and then awkwardly patted the young man's head, "per Sayu-chan's wishes, Light-kun."

And with that L departed from the room, the rest of the room looking on as he shuffled his way to the exit.

He had phone calls to make.

August 26, 2010

Kuranara Apartments

Light gazed up at the old rundown apartment building in trepidation as he felt the hair at the back of his neck stand on end. The walls of the building had yellowed over with age and huge water stains that had turned black marked every wall unfortunate enough to be under air-conditioning units (although those looked broken). It looked so old that Light was reconsidering entering the place in fear that it may not be stable anymore. However, a quick look around and he saw laundry set out in order to dry in the early morning sun, indicating that yes, there were still patrons in the building no matter how neglected it looked on the outside. Overhead, dozens of crows circled the roof of the apartment, cawing and squawking together.

"Shall we, Light-kun?" he heard a distinct monotone voice speak up right next to him and he turned to the detective who had called the landowners of the apartment building last night to inform them that they would be coming on such a short notice. They had left together early in the morning with Watari as chauffer as they sent the other detectives back to the child welfare clinic to gather more information while Soichirou (after much shouting) finally agreed to look after Sayu's burial which was to be held the following day. He had wanted to come along, to gather more information however the others had eventually talked him out of it.

Light nodded, "Let's go, Ryuuzaki."

They entered the foyer together and were greeted by a mousy old man who looked around the age of 49. He turned towards them with a small kindly smile before waving them over as he absently rummaged around in his drawer, probably looking for a set of keys.

"You must be Ryuuzaki-san from last night." He said, finally retrieving what he wanted from the drawer and he walked around the front desk. "Good Morning."

"Good Morning," L replied, and Light noticed him unconsciously shifting closer as the man approached, "We would like to see Miss Mizunuma's apartment right now."

The man smiled good-naturedly and motioned for them to follow him to the lift at the end of the hall.

When they reached the appropriate floor, Light could not hide the fact that he had shivered and he saw L glance at him shortly before they walked out of the lift behind the landowner.

"They just disappeared suddenly and left all of their stuff," the landowner said, clasping his hands together in front of him as he walked. "It's a real nuisance!"

They neared a door in the middle of the hallway and the landowner paused, glancing up at the nametag on top of the door before giving out a successful little chuckle. "Here we are," he said as he dug in his pants' pocket for his ring of keys. He pulled one out from the ring and inserted it into the lock of the nondescript door in front of them. There was a click and the door slid open and the landowner turned to Light and offered him the single key, "Return the keys to me when you're done, alright?" he said with a wink and Light hesitantly nodded at the cheeky old man.

The old man turned to a frowning L and he smiled as he said, "Don't worry about removing your shoes. We're redecorating the place anyway." And with one last wave, he turned around and made for the elevator at the end of the hall. Light bitterly thought, 'It's about time you did.'

Light glanced at L and found the older man looking up at the nametag on top of the door. He blinked and followed his gaze, the name tag reading the names of the previous owners of the apartment in front of them but finding nothing that could hold much of his attention. Light looked back down and gently grabbed L's elbow, coaxing him out of his self-imposed daze. The detective blinked and looked at the hand on his elbow before turning wide black eyes to Light as the teen worryingly creased his eyebrows, "Are you alright, Ryuuzaki?"

"Yes, Light-kun," the detective mumbled as he turned back to the door and opened it wider. They both paused by the entranceway, caught by their own fears. After everything that happened last night, there was this lingering fear, this caution drilled into their minds. Like that feeling you get after watching a horror movie, making you jump at the slightest sounds or making you more paranoid than what was usual. And it was there, engraved at the back of their minds. Light didn't like that fear, because he thought it was irrational and stupid. Well, what he had once thought to be stupid anyway. But now that his fears were confirmed, it felt more dangerous, more real.

Light turned towards the man beside him and wasn't really surprised that black met brown. Light inhaled deeply and slowly let it out before clenching his fists. He could do this. He had L by his side and he wasn't alone and he had a promise to keep. He felt L shift beside him and as the detective entered the room, Light quickly followed.

Nothing was waiting for them with a kitchen knife. So far so good.

Light surveyed the very small living room that greeted them upon entering. It was narrow, probably about 3 meters and a half wide and had many things strewn about. Papers littered with drawings clearly drawn by children were pasted on the walls. On the floor and on the low coffee table were discarded ramen cups, documents, bills and dirty paper plates. Right in front of the coffee table was a television and a VCD player beneath it. Right opposite the entrance was a wall-divider, left opened by the previous occupants and showing half of the bedroom beyond it.

Light was getting a weird feel out of the place already. He definitely did not want to be here. They both slowly ventured forward, being as quiet as possible before something caught his eye. It was on the coffee table, crumpled and a bit stained but still readable. He picked it up and scanned its contents.

"Ryuuzaki," he said as he walked up to the detective standing by the divider between the living room and the small bedroom, offering the dirty paper with his forehead furrowed in confusion, "take a look at this."

The detective took it in his pincer-like grip, holding the paper against the light that emitted from the glass terrace doors in the bedroom. He squinted his eyes as he read, "As of March 21st 2010, we are terminating your mobile phone contract due to non-payment of bills." The detective frowned and he swept his dark eyes onto Light, lowering the piece of paper as he did so. "Then how come there was still a voice mail service when Matsuda-san called the other day?"

Light nodded, his heart beating fast at this information, "Exactly. Where's the connection coming from?"

Light stared as the detective looked away, lost in thought. The man's eyes danced as he considered every possibility in his mind, chewing brutishly at his thumb.

Crash! KA-KAW!

They both turned towards the sudden sound and found that a group of crows had dropped into the small balcony outside the terrace doors located in the equally small bedroom. Light breathed hard, his heart beating so loudly he thought it might burst out of his chest and run away screaming. He had to calm down. Nothing good ever came out of being too jumpy. He needed to get his nerves to chill, his mind to wind down. He had to have a clear mind. He forced his breathing to slow down as L hesitantly approached the windows, having recovered quicker.

The detective shrugged when he found nothing strange. Light silently watched as the slouched man became more confident with his strides as he inspected the bed that was shoved into the corner of where the divider and wall met before moving onto a dresser beside it, pulling out documents, clothes, and other knickknacks.

When Light was certain he wasn't shaking anymore, he entered the bedroom, taking in the cluttered desk that sat parallel to the bed on the opposite wall. There were off-white cupboards above the desk littered with scribbles, drawings, crayons and scratch bond paper. He smiled as he scanned through the drawings, recognizing some of them as doodles of characters of the anime he knew Sayu liked to watch during the weekends.

One by one, he lifted them off the desk and frowned when he found a torn-up picture underneath one of the drawings. He set the other drawings aside and eyed the ravaged picture with confusion. Some pieces had been turned over but it was clearly a picture of the unfortunate family. He picked one of the turned over pieces and fitted it to where it should be like one of those puzzles he used to complete as a kid. He slotted it in position and frowned as part of Mimiko's shoulder came into place, however there was still no face, as it was clearly carved out with red crayon markings (hopefully it was red crayon anyway) so harshly that it even bled to the desk beneath it. Next, his gaze drifted over to the younger girl, Mizunuma Nanako, and caressed his pointer onto the scratch marks that ran across her neck in what looked like red ballpoint pen ink and frowned as he pondered what this all could mean. Did Marie hate her daughters this much? He noticed the final turned-over piece right above the girl's head and slowly brought it over to the appropriate space and hurriedly flipped it over. The piece held the face of Mizunuma Marie, smiling widely up at the camera.

Fshuuk! Fshuuk!

Light whirled around and calmed down when he saw L crouched in front of the drawer and with an inhaler in hand. L must have noticed his fright for he turned towards him and pressed at the inhaler again.

Fshuuuk! Fshuuk! It went and the detective returned to his previous digging around in the drawer.

Light really thought he had to get his shit together and fast. He was getting startled at the silliest of things! Next thing he'll probably do is think that someone is behind him right now and was probably breathing down his neck!

And then he heard it. There were slight shuffling sounds from behind him and he mentally smacked the inner voice in his head for freaking his own self out. He was still as he listened in and the hairs at the back of his neck started standing on end again. He knew something was behind him, he was positive of it. But he didn't want to look. He didn't want to see whoever it was that was haunting this place. Was it Marie? Mimiko?

But against his wishes, he slowly, gradually turned his head to the side. Finding nothing standing beside him, he looked up and froze. Inside one of the open cupboards above the desk were pale hands sticking out, holding on to the bottom edge of the cupboard as a pale face with long black hair framing wide beady black eyes slowly came into view. Its wide eyes zoned in on Light and it just stared at him.

He fell back with a scream, his back colliding against the bed behind him as he turned away from the terrifying sight. He distinctly heard L drop things by the drawer as he came around the divider, crouching down beside Light, asking what was wrong.

Light could only point at the open cupboard as the pale hands slowly retreated inwards.

"S-something was there. I-inside the cupboards! A girl, a small girl… Oh, Good God," he muttered as he buried his face into his hands in an attempt to calm down. He had definitely seen it, it was the real thing. Oh, gods, he was shaking.

He heard L cautiously approach the open cupboard and heard it creaking open. However, there were no gasps or screams that came so he hesitantly peeked from in between his fingers and watched as the older man pulled out an old contraption within the cupboard's depths. From where Light was huddled, he could make out that it was an old video recorder, the sort that still recorded through disks and tapes. He looked on as the detective opened the tape compartment and the slight tilt of his lips downwards informed Light that there was probably no tape inside.

L set the video recorder down and crouched in front of the distraught teen, reminiscent of last night as he reached out and patted Light on the head. "Let's get out of here, Light-kun."

Light eagerly nodded at that.

August 26, 2010

Mushino Foster Home

After they had left the Kuranara Apartments they had met up with Mogi and Matsuda. The detectives said that the Foster Home where Nanako stayed called the welfare clinic just as they were leaving and informed them that Nanako didn't have any activities scheduled that afternoon and that if they wanted to see her they should do so by around 2. Since it would take at most 2 hours to get to the foster home from the investigation headquarters, they decided to split up. L and Mogi would go to the orphanage while Light and Matsuda would go and find additional information from the new Kagami Hospital.

L bit his thumb as they pulled up in the foster home's parking lot, the dust kicking up around them. They both got down from the car at the same time and were greeted by an elderly woman who was wiping her hands on the stained apron tied around her waist.

"Hello, gentlemen," she said as she bowed before waving them over, "Nanako-chan is at the back, please follow me."

They followed her to the back of the home and were led to a makeshift playground of sorts where children were playing tag or were playing on the sandbox to the far right of the lot. The old woman pointed to a lone girl sitting by the benches under the overhang near the entrance and said, "That's her, with the teddy bear."

L turned to Mogi and the burly detective moved forward and opened the door that lead outside. L walked past Mogi who had stepped aside, motioning for L to lead the way. L nodded at him in thanks and they both slowly approached the silent little girl.

L watched as Nanako put on a toy stethoscope and gently moved the chestpiece around the teddy bear's chest that sat precariously over her small lap, clearly playing doctor.

"Nanako-chan?" L put on his best baby voice as he crouched beside the girl, however, she paid him no heed. She just continued to run the chestpiece over her teddy bear's chest.

"Nanako-chan?" L tried again, eyeing the teddy bear on the girl's lap, almost as if he could compel the thing to make the young girl holding it answer all his questions. They had little time left. If they wanted to stop all of this once and for all, they had approximately less than 5 hours left. "Nanako-chan, do you know where your mother is?"

The girl continued to ignore him, not even sparing him a glance. L frowned. "Nanako-chan?"

"Ah," the old woman said as she sat down beside the little girl. "She doesn't speak."

L furrowed his eyebrows as he did not remember a file stating that Mizunuma Nanako had been mute. "Excuse me?" he asked as the woman did not understand his perplexed expression.

"Oh, it's not congenital or anything," she said as she stroked the girl's hair, "It's probably the result of the abuse."

If possible, L's frown deepened as he bit his thumb in annoyance. They had come all this way for nothing then?

"Nanako-chan, is Mr. Bear feeling sick again?" The old woman said as she assumed L's position in front of the little girl. "Is Mr. Bear having an asthma attack again?"

L's eyes snapped back towards the pair in front of him, taking all of their actions together and filing them into the back of his mind. He watched as Nanako slowly nodded at the smiling face of her caretaker.

L stood up and shoved both of his hands in his pockets. "Has there been any contact from the mother?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

The old woman gently took the bear from Nanako's arms and cradled it. "Not even a peep from her, this past six months."

L struggled to mask his disappointment.

The old woman ran a hand around the bear's chest and stopped at the center before she pressed down on a button embedded in the bear, slowly handing it back to Nanako as a song started to play from the speakers inside the stuff toy.

L froze as the familiar melody assaulted his eardrums. And judging from Mogi's tensing behind him, the detective recognized it, too.

Ting~!

It was a song sung by children to the tune of the ringtone of death.

"I like cuddling," itwent and L wasn't surprised it was in nonsensical English. But as he continued to listen to the lyrics, he could not deny the prickling in his arms as the hair on it stood on end. "I like bowling. I like airports! I like flowers~ but not, I like- I am going to cut my mama! My mom~ I like mom! My mom~ I like mom! La la la la la la la la lalalalala!"

"That tune," L heard Mogi whisper behind him as the detective approached.

The old woman looked up at the approaching detective and sighed, "Yes, it's the theme from a children's TV program that used to be on."

Mogi crouched next to the girl where L was a minute ago and asked, "Where's your mom?" when the girl did not answer he burst out a loud, "Do you really not know?!"

The little girl flinched and pulled her teddy bear closer to her chest at the detective's outburst, frantically shaking her head.

Mogi immediately regretted his actions and shakily stood up as L took it all in with wide eyes. Panic could really set a person off.

He had been seconds from yelling at the girl as well.

"I'm sorry," Mogi said as he wiped his sweaty brow, "I shouldn't have done that."

The old woman and the little girl only looked at the pair of them with blank looks before they simultaneously looked away.

They were back in square one.

~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~

An hour later, they got a phone call from Light informing them that the old Kagami Hospital where Marie worked before she died was still standing and that he intended to go and check it out. L had protested against him going and said that he and Mogi will deal with it. Light had to go and get some rest, get a clear head and stay somewhere safe. He didn't have to go prancing about an abandoned hospital when they all knew that there was a ghost after him. Light, after much more shouting, finally relented.

But L wasn't relieved in the slightest. Knowing the teen, he'd probably go anyway. That was why they were currently running red lights and getting angry pedestrians and drivers alike, shaking their fists after their car in annoyance.

August 26, 2010

Old Kagami Hospital

6:45 pm

Light looked down at his watch. He didn't have much time left. L should be here any minute now, given that he had called about 2 hours ago. But even if the detective weren't, Light was still going to go in. He had to! What did he have to lose if he did anyway if he were dying just the same?

He frowned up at the rundown hospital in determination as he pulled his coat tighter against his body, adjusting the navy blue scarf wrapped around his neck closer, hiding the bottom half of his pink face. It was dark, the only light coming from the lone lamp post just outside the gates of the hospital. He realized he was hanging around a lot of rundown buildings than was healthy lately, and this time he was heading in alone so he had every right to be a bit terrified and cautious.

He took in a long steady breath and slowly let it out, looking at the old hospital with a renewed sense of conviction and determination. Well, at least he willed the determination back into his subconscious. He didn't have to acknowledge the fact that he almost felt that something was watching him from the dark windows of the hospital, or that the hair on the back of his head were standing on end. He gave the place one more glance around, hoping that he wasn't alone and that L would be arriving soon but one more quick glance at his watch told Light he didn't have to the time to wait for the others to arrive anymore.

If he was going to die anyway, he was going to find out what the cause of all this insanity was.

He huffed and walked forward to the dusty glass doors of the entrance to the hospital, not surprised that it wouldn't budge no matter how hard he tried to pull them apart. He frowned before looking to his side. If he could just find another entrance somewhere…

He narrowed his eyes and pushed away from the doors and he decided that he should circle the entire hospital's perimeter in search of a back door somewhere, like an employee entrance or something to that effect.

He scoured the area and his expression slightly brightened when he located a grey backdoor that looked like it had been the entrance to the ER of sort. The chain that had held it together was broken in half and the door was left ajar, probably from thieves who had entered to building in search of steel they could have weighed in a junk shop somewhere.

Light stalked towards it to verify that yes, it was indeed open and he let out a relieved smile before it morphed into a weary frown. Should he really enter the place when he knew that a ghost could very well be waiting for him in the other side? He glanced at his watch again and it informed him that it was already ten minutes before seven.

Light sighed. Where the fuck was L?

Light turned towards the door again. Okay, fine. He was going to do this by himself. He made for the handle when he heard something skittering at the other side of the door and a soft tinkling of a cellphone from within.

Light's expression transformed into one of confusion.

Was L already in the building?

Light blinked and he made for the handle again, cracking the door open as slowly as possible. He peered inside and was greeted by the mess that was left in the wake of relocation. Light slowly entered and glanced around. There were overturned furniture everywhere, debris cluttering the place up and a dirty mirror hanging just above a lone sink on the wall of the hallway that stretched vertically in front of him. A faint light lit the long hallway as it stretched out into the darkness. But there was nobody in sight.

Light swallowed as he felt his heart beat quicken. Well, he was inside now. There was no use turning back. Now, all he had to do was look for a power switch of the sort. He did not even question why an abandoned building such as this still had working electricity. He was actually grateful for it so he wouldn't have to go on in the frigid dark alone. He felt the wall as he moved forward, his eyes already adjusting to the dimness of the building. Five steps away from where he was currently standing was another hallway that cut perpendicular to the hallway before him, and a soft red light seemed to be coming off from the left side. He slowly moved toward it, peering around the corner just in case and was only greeted by an empty corridor that stretched into another patch of darkness.

Light looked up and there was the power box. He reached up and fumbled around for a moment before his hands met a lever. He pulled on it and the building groaned as electricity was zapped back into its foundation, the lights flickering on after a few seconds. And that was when he heard it again.

It was the tinkling of a cellphone. The only reconciliation Light had was that it was not the melody of death playing. It was an ordinary tinkling and he just hoped it was either L or one of the other detectives.

"Ryuuzaki?" he called as he followed where the sound was coming from, gaining confidence with every step he took now that he could actually see where he was going. Although the hallways still remained dim, at least he wasn't fumbling around in the dark anymore. He shuffled back to where he was standing before when there was a clattering of a pan from somewhere deep in the building.

He looked up to locate the noise and he ventured forward, turning his back to the mirror he had seen when he entered. And as he moved away from it, he failed to see the figure of a woman with black hair framing her downcast face silently follow him.

He didn't turn back and just continued to walk until he came across a staircase. He climbed it as he was sure he heard the clattering from the floor above.

He was regretting his decision of entering the building alone now and realized that it was a total dick move a protagonist from a horror movie would pull entering abandoned hospitals at night knowing that some crazy vengeful ghost was after their ass. Light vowed he would never criticize a horror movie protagonist ever again if he somehow survived… this.

When he arrived at the second floor, he was immediately met with another hallway that stretched perpendicular to the stairs. He peered at the hallway to his right and found nothing worth mentioning before the faint tinkling of the cellphone assaulted his ears again. He snapped his head to the hallway to his left where he heard the ringtone was coming from and gulped.

"Ryuuzaki?" he called out again as he followed the sound, nearing a few doorways cautiously. His heartbeat was loud in his ears and his palms were starting to get clammy. Slow baby steps forward, he neared the door where the ringtone was coming from and as he slowly closed in, he thought he saw a brief flash of a white cotton shirt and faded blue jeans disappearing behind the doorway.

"Ryuuzaki, wait!" Light quickened his steps but when he stood just inside the doorway, he paused when he was met with an empty abandoned room, the lights flickering from above. He had been sure that he saw Ryuuzaki entering the room just a second ago.

Unless…

Light froze, suddenly aware of his surroundings at the notion that he had been purposely led here by the ghost. Swallowing loudly, he stepped further into the room, his shoes clicking ominously against the tiled floor as the ringtone still blared from further inside the room.

He stepped away from the entrance and neared the curtain divider he could see separating him from the room itself. With each step forward his right hand steadily reached for the curtain as the ringtone still rang around the room, bouncing off tiled walls and floors, ringing in his ears until it was the only thing he could hear.

He shoved the curtain aside. The ringtone stopped. However, his body was wound up so tight that he'd probably jump at the slightest sound. His eyes quickly scanned the room as lights flickered above his head.

Nothing.

He entered the room as he took notice of another curtain shielding another table from view. This was where the ringing was coming from, so there should at least be a cellphone somewhere, and it only left the room beyond that curtain. Biting his lip, Light strode forward with his heart beating erratically against his ribcage that he thought it might break out of it.

For a second time he reached for the curtain again, and he watched with wide eyes as his shaking hands shoved the curtain aside one more time.

Ting~!

He froze.

La do mi do la ti re ti…!

This was not fucking happening. His heart stuttered in his chest as a cold chill ran the length of his spine, making his knees buckle in raw fear. He heard someone whimper in the supposedly empty room but he paid it no heed as he stared with wide, crazed eyes at the phone in the table before him.

It was his fucking phone; his phone that had been snapped in half and dumped in an aquarium by an irate detective the night before. And yet here it was, still in half and with a revolting pile of wriggling maggots and rot in between the two cellphone parts. Light heard the whimper again as he noticed that there were black feathers mixed in the nauseating mound and he realized after an agonizing beat that this was a decaying corpse of a bird, a crow, in the same room as him with live disgusting maggots feasting on it.

And then out of absolutely nowhere, two droplets of blood appeared on the phone as it read in flashing text:

Incoming Call:

Yagami Light

Fighting the bile that rushed up his throat, he whirled around just as he heard the screaming start.

He belatedly realized that those whimpers and screams he heard were from his own mouth as he ran mindlessly out of the room.

He had to get the fuck out of here.

With shaking legs, he stumbled out of the room with his mind trying to grasp the last semblance of his sanity. He shouldn't have come here, he should have waited for L to return, he shouldn't have, he shouldn't have, he shouldn't have…

Do la ti re ti…!

He fell on his knees as his legs wouldn't stop trembling just as he made it out of the room and into the hallway. He flipped around, not wanting to take his eyes away from where his cellphone was still continuing to torment him with that awful ringtone that had plagued his head ever since day one. His breaths came in shuddering pants as he pawed backwards, trying to put as much distance from the room as possible. He knew there were tears leaking out of his eyes and running down either side of his face as he sobbed but he didn't care.

He was terrified. So fucking terrified, he could hardly move his legs anymore.

And then the lights went out with a groan.

Light yelped, whirling around on his spot at the floor so he could glance at the hallway behind him, dreading the worst.

There was nothing. Everything was silent, even the melody of death was gone. He couldn't hear anything but his pants and his sobs as he tried to calm down, tears still running their course on his cheeks.

He struggled to control his breathing else he'd start hyperventilating which would not help his situation at the moment. He stayed still, his breaths still coming out in pants as he gazed at the darkened hallway that stretch before him in trepidation.

Behind him, long strands of coarse black hair descended from the ceiling just an arm's length away from where he sat. It went lower and lower until a pale face came into view, staring menacingly at the back of Light's head as it slowly brought its arms up and shaped it as if it were holding someone's neck in a chokehold. It moved slowly as it walked upside-down, its steps leaving bloody footprints on the blackened ceiling.

Light felt an ominous presence behind him that made the hackles behind his neck stand on end. He whipped around for the nth time that day and was greeted by nothing but an empty hallway. He puffed out a breath he had not known he was holding and shakily stood back up, wringing the front of tails of his scarf as he did so.

There had been something behind him then. He would know, it had been the same feeling he got back at the Mizunuma apartment right before he turned around to look at the cupboard behind him.

He took a step backward, his eyes frantically regarding the hallway in fear that something would jump out from one of the doors. He took another step back, and then another. Not noticing the woman tucked behind him with smoldering beady black eyes and black hair framing her pale face. He stopped moving backwards, feeling cold air behind him that seeped through his scarf and coat, literally freezing him in place.

Oh shit, he chanted in his mind as he felt cold air brush against his left cheek. His breathing quickened again as his eyes shakily regarded his left side.

The smell of rot and death filled his nostrils as he turned his head fully to the side and stood frozen as he regarded the blackened decaying emaciated hand that writhed next to his face. Its fingers snapping and curling backward in a painful angle and maggots suddenly broke out of the skin were it tore.

Light screamed and ran forward, mindlessly opening and shutting doors that led to other hallways and stairwells but he didn't care. He just ran, anything just to get away from the dead woman who walked the hospital walls just to kill him. He ran and ran deeper into the hospital until he knew he was lost but he didn't care.

Light tucked himself in a hallway corner where he knew nothing would ever sneak up on him from behind. Wiping the tear tracks from his cheeks in frustration, he fought to control his breathing again as he hugged his knees close to his chest. He didn't know what to do anymore. All he knew was that he wanted to get away from this hospital and sleep and hang out with Takada, Mikami and Sayu. None of this bullshit. He wanted to eat his Mother's homemade cookies again, he wanted to just curl up on her lap and sleep and hopefully when he would wake, everything had been one clusterfuck of a nightmare conjured from childhood tales and fears.

He wanted to go home.

Light grit his teeth. Where the fuck was L anyway? When the detective arrived, he would demand that he be sent home immediately and he will indulge in all the cake the man could offer.

Something scraped the floor from somewhere behind him and he froze, going silent as he strained his ears to make out what it was. He peeked around the corner and scanned the hallway behind him anxiously. The lights were still out so he had to squint in order to make out what was 5 feet away.

One of the doors in the hallway suddenly creaked open and he held his breath as little pale hands, the hands of a child, he observed, placed a glass container out into the hallway. Just far enough that he could make out what was floating inside it.

It was a human fetus.

Light's breathing hitched as the hands withdrawed back inside the room, leaving the fetus in the hallway. Despite his mind screaming no, Light crawled away from his nook in the corner to get a better look on the fetus inside it but froze when another door just a few meters away from him (but much, much closer than the first one) opened and then the same tiny hands placed another glass container in the hallway.

Light wasn't surprised that it also contained another human fetus inside it, although this one looked more bloody and its head more bulbous and wrinkly.

What the fuck was happening? What was with all these fetuses?

Another door opened on his other side, and this one was much closer than the other two as it was the door just right next to him. The same pair of hands placed another glass container on the hallway next to him and that was when he noticed his heart was beating a hundred miles per minute, sweat was trickling the sides of his face in anticipation as he shakily sat back against the wall and gawked at the newest glass container.

He didn't know what the hell was inside it but it sure as hell looked gross.

Something shuffled behind him and he stilled as he stared straight ahead at the yellowed wall in front of him in dejected acquiescence. He somehow knew what would happen next as he felt cold arms slide around him and something heavy and cold settled on his lap.

Oh please, oh please, oh dear god. NO. No no no nonononononono…

He still continued to stare at the wall in front of him, frozen to his spot and afraid that any sudden movements would trigger the ghost into harming him. So he slowly, painstakingly, looked down, a scream bubbling up in his throat even before he confirmed that yes it was indeed a glass container on his lap right now, bluish pale hands retreating from either side of him as he let out an ear piercing scream.

He screamed at the face he saw staring up at him from inside the glass case. Grunting, he heaved the glass container out of his lap and threw it as far away from him as possible, breaking into a thousand wet pieces in the hallway before him that flashed bloody for a brief second before it returned to its natural dirty state.

Oh god, he couldn't take this anymore, Light thought as he shakily started crawling away from the mess he had made, not trusting his legs to stand at the moment. He had to get out of here, he couldn't think, he couldn't breathe. He had to, he had to find a fucking way out. Someone, someone, where are you?

Something grabbed his left leg. Light could not even let out a scream as he sucked in a shaky painful breath. He quickly looked behind him when the grip tightened around his left ankle and what he saw made the scream that had been lodged in his throat escape, ripping away at his vocal chords as he was harshly dragged backwards across the hallway floor. Right towards a gaping black hole of a room he did not recognize with wide black bloodshot eyes that glowed against the oppressing darkness of the room.

Light struggled to find something to latch on to. Anything, anything to make the fucking thing stop. He found purchase on the doorjamb, momentarily stopping himself from being completely dragged inside the room as his boot came off his leg with a loud pop.

Holy shit, holy fucking shit, holy shit. He internally chanted as he struggled to take all of that in. He had been assaulted by a ghost, he was still alive, he was still breathing judging from the harsh pants and the sobs that were racking his chest like a windowpane during a storm.

He started crawling out of the room again, sobbing and panting as he went when a beam of light suddenly assaulted his eyes. He cried out and started to drag himself away from the light source as quickly as possible in all fours before arms wrapped around him from behind.

"No!" he screamed as he struggled, "Let go of me! Stop!"

Hands grabbed both of shoulders and he was forced to look back up at his assailant. "Light-kun, it's me!"

Light took in the detective that knelt before him, his wide black worried eyes and white long-sleeved shirt and faded blue jeans and Light thought he had never seen something so angelic his entire fucking life.

"It's me, Light-kun, calm down." L continued to say when Light only looked at him like he was Christ's second coming.

Light gazed unbelievingly at the detective for a second before he let out a sob and buried his face in the distraught man's chest, crushing L's ribcage in the process as he held on tight.

L allowed the contact as he noticed just how much the young man was shaking. He wrapped an arm around Light's shoulders as he stroked his sweat-soaked hair, making soothing noises as Light continued to sob on his chest.

"Light-kun knew better than to enter abandoned hospitals by himself."

Light chuckled against the detective's neck as he struggled to calm himself down. He gently pulled away from the older man and rubbed at his bloodshot eyes, "I thought you were already inside." He sniffed, "I mean, I saw you."

L's brow furrowed as he took this in. He reached forward and cupped Light's face with a steady hand. He scanned Light's face to look for cues that the boy was lying, but found none. He frowned, and Light before him mirrored it, too. "Light-kun," L said, "I only just arrived."

Light shuddered. Well, shit.

"Light-kun, Mogi-san and Matsuda-san are outside. Let's get out of here."

That proposition had both of their consents.

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

After retrieving Light's missing footwear, they stalked the hospital halls for an exit. L had his arm wrapped protectively around Light's waist as the other one held up a flashlight. They eventually found a door that led outside. They exchanged meaningful glances at each other and they both nodded. They had to get out of here first. They'd deal with other things later. Such as saving Light's life first.

L twisted to knob of the steel door before pushing it open, however a chain stopped it from completely opening fully. L cursed and handed Light the flashlight before he reached around to unhook the chain from the other side. He jingled the chain around before a pale bluish hand shot out from the darkness of the other side and made a grab for L's arm. He pulled away with a gasp before it could find purchase. Light snapped out from his self-imposed stupor and pulled the door back shut and then the creature from the other side suddenly slammed its face on the steel door. They both yelped. Whatever it was probably had a pretty solid face as it left an actual imprint on the steel before the imprint suddenly moved and its mouth formed a moan and Oh god, what the fuck was that thing.

L grabbed Light's arm and suddenly they were running again. They found a room before they locked themselves inside it and L settled Light to squat behind a steel morgue table before the detective stood back up again.

Panting, L eyed the door in fear that the ghost would come rampaging into the room, screaming bloody murder before:

Ting~!

Both geni froze as that single note echoed around the morgue walls. Light, who was peaking from behind the table's thick legs froze as the ringtone continued to play. Judging from where the sound was the loudest, it was right above him.

La do mi do la ti re ti…!

He slowly, excruciatingly lifted his head and just when his eyes breached the table's surface, his cellphone, pieces intact once again, was dab smack right next to his face on top of the table he hid behind. And on the screen were slowly appearing hiragana characters, almost as if someone was still typing the message out.

Your life expires at 56 seconds…

55…

54…

53…

Light screamed and this jolted the detective into action. L crouched in front of him before he wrapped his thin arms around the hysterical teen as he hid his head back on the detective's chest.

"God dammit, come out!" L screamed at the empty room in frustration. This had to bloody end now! "Come out, you son of a bitch!"

He scanned the room as he taunted the monster that was probably watching them struggle in morbid fascination before his black eyes zeroed on a blackened hand that was sticking out of a cemented crate at the far corner of the room adjacent to where they currently were. And on that blackened hand was a red cellphone with its screen still glowing in the darkness. L looked at in confusion as a little bit of hope filled his chest. He slowly untangled himself from Light and the teen let go without a fuss. L gulped as he straightened, nearing the cellphone as steadily as possible until he stood just inside the entranceway of that room where he could make out that words flashing on its screen.

Dialing:

Yagami Light

"That's Mizunuma Marie's phone," he whispered as he debated whether he should take it or not. He threw caution into the wind and viciously grabbed the phone away from the corpse's hand and he frantically pressed cancel.

"Stop!" he yelled, "Goddammit, stop doing this!"

Do la ti r-

Everything was silent as the ringtone cut itself off. L glanced at the ball of clothes tucked next to the morgue table before discerning that yes, Light was still alive, although shaking and flustered and generally just sad-looking.

Light looked up at the detective before him in confusion, blinking away the last of his tears before he pulled at his coat sleeve to look at his watch.

7:14 pm

Light let out a deep relieved breath. He was alive, oh Christ, he was alive.

L crouched before him again and reached out to cup his face, wiping away the tear tracks from his cheek with a gentle expression on his face. "It's over, Light-kun." He said, "It's ok, now."

Light searched the detective's face before he sighed, leaning on the detective's shoulder as he processed this. That they were alive, that everything was over.

L allowed a small smile to envelop his face before he turned to where he figured the corpse of Mizunuma Marie was. His smile fell and he stood up. Light looked up when the detective moved and shuffled over to the other room.

Gingerly stepping into room once again, L gently pried the wooden planks that obscured the corpse from full view. Making the smell of rot and decay permeate through the room now that it was open. He made a face at the first waft of the smell and he placed his arm over his nose to smother it. The smell made his stomach clench and the chocolate bar he had eaten on the ride here rise up his throat.

He surveyed the decaying corpse of Marie, its hair only in small black clumps on her skull and her skin black from deterioration. It was truly a ghastly sight, even for a detective of his caliber.

He backed away to get some fresh air and was not surprised to find Light hovering by the doorway. He looked over at the teen and coughed, "It's should be the mother's body, if my deductions are correct."

He coughed again, the smell so repugnant and heady.

He watched as Light hesitantly put a step forward into the room and L warned him with a quick "It's better not to look" but the bo disregarded him completely. His tired brown eyes gazed at the corpse in sadness, not even flinching at the smell it reeked. L figured his nose was still clogged with the amount of crying he had been doing the past half hour.

"She wanted to be found," Light said in a tiny voice as he gazed down at body riddled with slowly decomposing flesh. If only they had moved faster, they could have found her sooner. But Light wondered just how much sadness he can show to a woman who had abused her daughters. He bent down in front of the corpse and propped himself on the edge of the cement crate with trembling arms, right next to the corpse's hand.

Suddenly, the rotten hand that had just been next him suddenly became animated. And the next thing he knew something wet and slimy made a grab for his head, gripping and pulling at his hair, and he whimpered at the pain that shot down his neck. His body swung at the force of the corpse using his body as a bracing point so that it could stand. And now here it was in all its rotten glory, gazing down at him with red bloodshot eyes and flesh that slid slowly off its face, dragging clumps of black hair along with it.

Light couldn't move. Not because it had a very strong grip on his head, but because he was rooted to his spot in fear again. It was staring straight at him and he could only look on in horror as it slowly descended its repulsive face next to his.

He heard a wild battle cry from somewhere behind him and the next thing he knew he was being pulled away from the reanimated corpse by a frightened L.

It would have been comical for two grown men to be screaming hysterically and holding on to each other (so tightly you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began) inside an abandoned hospital if it hadn't been the two of them currently stuck in this situation.

Light held on to L as the detective practically dragged him out of the room, both of them screaming in tandem as the corpse staggered after them. L pushed Light behind him as he pulled out a gun that was tucked between the waistband of his pants and his back. He leveled it at the corpse whose bloodshot eyes were focused entirely at the boy behind him before he pulled the trigger and shot the woman right between her eyes.

But that didn't even bother her in the slightest. She directed her smoldering gaze at the speechless detective before she started moving forwards again, like she just hadn't had a bullet put through her head.

L clicked the safety of the gun back on before shoving the gun back to where it belonged. He grabbed Light off the ground before they turned back to the exit.

He pulled Light behind him as he shoved the door open. However, when he successfully crossed the threshold, some unseen force blocked the door and Light bounced back inside the morgue, the door slamming bolt shut with the detective on the other side, pounding on it mercilessly as he called Light's name.

"Light-kun!" L shook the door, pushed his body against it and shot at the lock, but it just wouldn't budge, "Light-kun!"

Light groaned as he held his head, feeling like he had been hit by a truck before wet footsteps patted right next to his head. He looked up and saw the woman right next to him. He sat up as fast as he could, his head spinning as he slid away from the woman making her way towards him.

He backed away with every step the woman took, his hands pulling his body backwards as his legs pushed at the floor. He gulped when his back met the wall. He looked up at the corpse but strangely didn't feel the urge to sob. He just looked at her with sad chocolate brown eyes as he accepted his fate. He was going to die here. Die at the hands of a decomposing zombie of a woman who abused her children.

Light sobbed. Was he always going to be plagued by abusers his entirely fucking life? He disdainfully thought as L continued to scream his name from the outside.

Light stared up at the corpse as it finally stood before him, not even half a meter away; its decaying, rot-infested flesh sliding off of its bones and landing in a disgusting splat on the floor.

But Light didn't see that, all he could see was the image of his step mother towering before him and he was back as a kid again, shivering and cold against the frosty tatami mats of his previous home.

The corpse reached out, just as the image of his stepmom did and they both raised their arms and formed their hands into a chokehold.

The image of his stepmom faded from his mind and all he could see now was the corpse of Mizunuma Marie, and the next thing he knew her hands were already around his throat, squeezing and holding on tight.

Light's eyes were wide as he fought for breath and he stared long and hard at the angry woman before him whose eyes were pinning him on the spot. He coughed, not even bothering to struggle or push her away as he said, "I understand, Mom," he sobbed, tears streaming down both his cheeks as he forced air into his lungs again, "I won't run away anymore."

Marie's hands only tightened their hold over his throat and Light winced as he breathed harshly again, his nose clogged enough to begin with. "I'll be a good boy for you," he choked out another painful sob as he lifted shaking hands to dislodge the hands around his throat, "I'll stay here with you. Just please,"

Light gasped as he forced air to enter his lungs again as he pried the rotten hands away from his throat, the smell not bothering him in the slightest as he continued to cry. "I'm sorry, I'll be a good boy. I'll be a good boy from now on, mom. I'll stay here with you. So, please…" Overwhelmed by emotion, he hugged the corpse of the woman who had killed all of his friends and sister, but that didn't deter him. He sobbed into her neck, the rot sticking to his cheek but he paid it no heed. He just continued to hold on to her and he didn't see the solitary tear that slipped passed Marie's eyes until she went limp in his arms.

When L finally pried the steel doors open, he stumbled haphazardly into the room; his head whipping back and forth as he tried to locate Light and the corpse of Marie Mizunuma. When he did spot them, he froze. His non-existent eyebrows furrowed so deeply at the sight and he was momentarily derailed at the oddness of the position they were in.

Sitting on the dirty grey floor, Light had his back pressed rigidly against the wall as he stared straight ahead, his eyes blank. He had one leg bent at the knee with the corpse propped against it and Light's arm was wrapped around its shoulders to keep it steady. His other leg was stretched before him with the corpse legs on top of it, creating this bizarre pieta-like scene in L's mind. The only thing that made it creepy was that the corpse had its mouth wide open as its head was tipped backwards and facing the ceiling.

L shivered.

At least it was hopefully, finally over.

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

The red and blue lights of the police cars bathed the outer perimeter of the hospital with an eerie glow as police officers and personnel fleeted about the scene. Most of them thought that this was kind of an over the top reaction to finding someone's body who had been missing for months. Some of them knew that this was indeed one hell of a big deal and just shushed the complaining cops into compliance.

Soichirou Yagami got out of the car that had just arrived and hurriedly hugged the heck out of his son in relief. He had almost lost him, he had almost lost him a second time to a woman who abused her children. But he was glad he was fine now and he released him to offer him a smile. The smile he got back practically wiped away his jittery nerves.

Everything was alright now.

Everything would go back to normal.

He heard footsteps behind him and he turned around to the weary but happy faces of Mogi and Matsuda who both gave Light and the detective beside him steaming cups of coffee. Light had wrapped his own scarf around L's neck as the detective had been shivering ever since they had gotten out of that godforsaken place and both were now perfectly content just staying by each other's side.

What they had seen inside that hospital had brought them closer together and served as something they could both value as common ground. Light had shared that mind scarring experience with the detective and found that as long as the other lived, then he would be that anchor that blared the gruesome fact that no, Light hadn't been crazy. They had both seen weird stuff happen inside that hospital that could make any grown intellectual mad. The truth that he had believed in most of his life had been proven false, after all. Ghosts, reanimated corpses, chain messages that killed you. Everything was real. And just the fact that someone other than himself knew of this was an extreme comfort.

Mogi turned to L and nodded. When he received a nod back, he continued, "The foster center called for you about an hour ago."

L raised one of his eyebrows, silently urging Mogi to elaborate. "The principal said they had something to show you," Mogi continued, "And since you were … engaged at the moment we had them come up to the investigation headquarters themselves and offered that they can spend the night over there before they made the trip back to the foster center tomorrow early morning."

"They?" L inquired.

"The principal and Nanako-chan."

L nodded as he stood and started to unwind the scarf around his neck but Light stopped him from doing so. The boy just smiled and asked him to keep it.

"I'll make sure Light-kun gets to his apartment safely." Matsuda chirped from behind them, "You must be tired, right, Light-kun?"

Light didn't want to admit it, but yes, he was mind-numbingly tired. He wished he could go back to the investigation headquarters with them but it was likely he was going to get some opposition from his father and L that he should get some rest. So he didn't bother to complain. He just nodded and took a sip from his coffee.

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

"We found this." The old female principal from earlier that day said as she held up a tape, one that would be used for those outdated video recorders. "It was hidden in Nanako's things."

Said girl was playing with her teady in the couch not 5 meters away from them.

Mogi accepted the tape and slid it into the appropriate compartment in L's investigation room. The large monitor above them fizzled and buzzed before it cleared away and the view of a dirty, topsy-turvy room was displayed before them.

L vaguely noticed that it was from the angle of where they found the recorder on the cupboard that morning.

"Where's this?" Mogi questioned.

"That's the Mizunuma's flat. Light-kun and I were just there earlier today."

No one spoke after that as they watched a shadowed figure hover by the front door

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

Light sighed as he let the warm water cleanse his skin, unwinding the stress from his muscles as he ran his hands over his wet hair. When he had gotten home, he had immediately stalked towards his shower, eager to get the grim and dirt away from his body as soon as possible.

He sighed again as the tension slowly left his body. Everything was going to go back the way it was now, he thought.

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

L and Mogi stared long and hard as a girl appeared into view. Mizunuma Mimiko, the older daughter who had died from an asthma attack, L's mind hurriedly supplied as he watched the girl grab her younger sister, teddy bear and all, and sat her on the ground, right in view of the camera recorder.

L frowned as he unconsciously neared the large monitors, wanting not to miss even the slightest detail as worry began to crop up in his stomach.

He watched as Mimiko left his sister on the floor for a while and then she came back with something in her hands. L squinted but his eyes immediately widened when the object in Mimiko's hands glinted.

Was that a knife?

L's brow creased as Mimiko lifted her sister's left arm slowly and then she ran the knife along her arm in one forceful swipe.

Mogi gasped as L jolted in shock.

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

Elsewhere, Light had just finished shampooing his hair when he felt a presence behind him. He stilled before he looked over his shoulder.

Nothing.

Shrugging it off to leftover paranoia from the day's events he turned back around, grumbling to himself as he bent his head under the water's stream. When he bent down, it revealed the countenance of a little girl staring at the back of his neck with gleaming round black eyes.

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

L, Mogi and the principal watched as Mimiko pushed her sister away and the little girl cried out and sobbed on the floor, holding on to her wound that had started bleeding profusely. She cried and cried as her older sister towered over her, holding unto a familiar looking cellphone.

"Don't worry," Mimiko said as she stared down at her bawling sister, "I'll take you to the hospital."

"Sorry, I'm late!" came a greeting from the door and Mimiko visibly froze. Mizunuma Marie came into view of the shot and she stilled by the doorway as she took in the scene with wide confused eyes.

Neither of them moved as the two females stared at each with wide frightened eyes. Mimiko started heaving, her shoulders visibly straining to draw in oxygen as she inched her way into an asthma attack.

Marie stared on as her eldest daughter started coughing. "It was you all along, wasn't it, Mimiko?" she breathed out, her eyes and stance tired from the sleepless nights and long shifts at work. Nanako's wails still loud in the oppressive silence that enveloped the slowly falling apart family.

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

Light sat in front of his bed as he blow-dried his hair. He knew it was bad to go to bed with wet hair. He was busy trying to make sure that he got everywhere dried off that he did not notice the clock that sat atop the dresser next to his bed stop ticking.

It read 10:15, the sweep hand stopping its count of the seconds before it started ticking counter-clockwise.

10:15 and 20 seconds, 10:15 and 19 seconds… it continued moving backwards, going counter-clockwise faster and faster.

10:15

10: 14

10: 13

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

L and Mogi watched as the truth unraveled before them, mutual sinking feelings in their chest as they heard feet padding towards them.

They turned to Nanako, who was looking up at the screen above them with fascination before she turned her wide-eyed gaze at the detective rooted to his spot.

"So it wasn't your mother who was hurting you all this time," L said as he turned to fully face the young girl, "But it was your older sister."

The girl didn't respond.

L knelt before her, grabbing her thin waist in a silent plea to please, please answer me. He stilled when he felt something bulging from the little bag that was slung around Nanako's shoulders. He had accidentally placed his hand over it, which was just as well because when he opened the bag and reached inside, he froze when its smooth round surface met his palm.

L knew what was inside the bag even before he extracted it.

A red jawbreaker.

He held it up to the little girl in silent horror.

"But she always gave me sweets afterwards," was Nanako's sweet little answer, "'Get well soon', she would say."

L froze when he heard commotion from the screen above them and he turned around just in time to watch Marie push Mimiko away as she grabbed the knife and cellphone from the little girl's hands.

Mimiko fell on her face and she coughed and coughed as Marie glared at her before the nurse grabbed Nanako and held her against her chest protectively. She was about to leave and get Nanako to a hospital and leave her Mimiko to fend for herself when the girl's unceasing coughing whacked her conscience over the head. She gave her eldest daughter one last apologetic glance, her coughs wracking her thin frame, before Marie bit her lower lip in despair before she eventually, finally left.

Mimiko thrashed in the ground calling for her mother that it hurt, she couldn't breathe, help! Mama, I can't breathe! Don't leave me!

And above her the recorder's little red light still caught everything in tape.

Even as she heaved her last breath.

L immediately scrambled away from the monitors just as Matsuda burst through the investigation doors, yelling about how he had safely delivered Light home only to have L practically frothing in the mouth, come up at his face yelling that they should "Get back in the fucking car, Light's in fucking danger!"

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

Light turned the blow dryer off when he heard a sound. He looked over his shoulder at his empty apartment before shrugging again. He was tired, he just needed sleep. He placed the blow dryer on top of his dresser and noticed that his clock was ticking back in the wrong way. He frowned at it uncomprehendingly before someone banged at his door.

"Light-kun! Light-kun!"

Light jerked away from his dresser and shuffled back to his sitting room warily. He was already dressed in his pajamas, he did not want to be seen in public like this. Even if it was just L at the other side of his door.

"Ryuuzaki?" he questioned at the still closed door.

"It's me." L said, still frantic, "Light-kun, are you alright?" This question was followed by two knocks.

Light moved two steps forward before he hesitated. He turned back towards his broken clock. Forehead creasing when he realized what time it was.

7: 30

7:29

7:28

7:27

Light immediately noticed that it was steadily ticking back to 7:13 pm. Panicking, he turned towards the door to let the detective in. He needed L here, something fishy was going on.

"Light-kun, are you alright?" L questioned again when Light didn't answer.

Light started unlocking his numerous locks when L asked again, "Light-kun, are you alright?" in the same tone he used for the previous questions.

"Light-kun, are you alright?"

That's when Light froze.

"Ryuuzaki?" he asked hesitantly.

"Light-kun, are you alright?" was the only answer he got.

That was definitely not L behind his fucking door, he thought as he slowly started backing away from his door.

"Light-kun, are you alright?"

Jesus shit, holy fucking Christ.

"Light-kun, are you alright?"

Light eyed the peephole on his door and shuddered.

"I'm telling you I'm serious! He just can't look through holes! He's terrified of 'em! Even if you promised him a million yen, he'd still refuse to look through them!"

He remembered what Sayu said that night when everything changed.

He steeled his expression and manned up.

The clock behind him struck 7:12 before it started ticking back the regular way. Clockwise.

He leveled his eye on the peephole and indeed it was not L behind the door.

It was a pale little girl with a fucking knife.

Light gasped as a sharp metal rod went through the peephole and he pressed against the wall beside his door in shock. Holy shit!

It withdrawed back and Light mindlessly went further back into his apartment. His shaky legs couldn't take him any further so he dropped down in the floor of his living room.

That was when he noticed he was definitely not alone anymore.

Because right there, sitting comfortably in his couch was the unearthly form of one Mizunuma Mimiko, eating what looked like broken pieces of a red jawbreaker.

Light could only stare at her as the girl gracelessly stood up from the couch, her stare piercing Light's and he sat still on the floor, unable to move.

Light breathed in shakily as the girl stepped forward, she disappeared for a moment before she reappeared and a whole lot closer now.

"…Why?" Light asked in a painfully tiny voice, tired and confused and miserable. Why? Didn't they already solve the case? Why was Mimiko here? Why was she still haunting him?

Why?

Mimiko walked forward and she tilted her head to the side as she regarded the teen in front of her in fascination.

"…Why?" she threw the question back at him and Light didn't know the answer.

She disappeared again and this time she reappeared right next to Light.

And then Light screamed for the last time that night.

; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ; ~ ;

A/N:

Oh gosh, wow! That was long! I seriously wanted to cut it off when L finally arrived at the hospital but thought, "Eh, I haven't updated in so long so I should make do with a long chapter."

The next one should be the last chapter. It should be considerably shorter than this, don't worry. Also, L's coming to Light's rescue! DUN DUN DUN DUN!

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you for joining me in this horror roller coaster ride! Seriously, you guys were my driving force! Every review I got made me so flipping happy that I could even write this in the middle of the night and freak myself out!

Seriously guys, thank you thank you thank you!

Please review, again? I would like to think that I worked extra hard on this chapter so critics and comments would be lovely!

Even reactions entirely made out of keysmash works, too! I know I do that a lot when I review!

Once again. THANK YOU FROM THE DEEPEST PITS OF MY SOUL.

Rai :)