Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Famous model, actress, singer, and idol Misa Misa committed suicide yesterday at 7:30 p.m. According to witnesses, she was seen walking the streets of Japan earlier that day while singing. Misa Amane was seen wearing all black and said to have a blank, haunted, unhappy expression and air to her. A rumor has spread that says she committed suicide due to the death of Kira; she was a known Kira supporter and follower. In order to end her life, Misa walked off the top of Teito Hotel, a large and well known skyscraper. Some information that we were able to pull up on the idol is that Misa's family was murdered before her eyes. That is horrible and would affect any one mental, physically, and lemotionally... A mass funeral will be held for the beloved and worshiped model on..." the reporter said with a stern expression.

Thunder sounded and echoed through you apartment after lightning flashed, briefly lighting the room. In the corner of your television was a picture of the vibrant girl with her long blonde hair in two pigtails. Her green eyes stared happily at you from behind all her make-up and a huge smile was on her face. A sigh escaped your lips as you picked up the television remote and hit the off button.

"No more of that," you grumbled to yourself and stood from your comfy place on the couch. This morning you had waken earlier than usual, and very little light crept into your living room through your curtains. All that could be heard was the ticking of your grandfather clock, rain hitting the roof of your apartment, and thunder. You peered around your empty apartment before sighing.

"Will things ever get better in the world?" you asked aloud as you made your way into the kitchen with your now empty coffee mug. The huge Kira case had been ended by L and it was announced that Yagami Light had been Kira and had contributed to the horrifying and terrifying crime. You were relieved that all of that was over but still only bad events seemed to turn up on the radio, television, and news papers. The world just couldn't seem to recover after the whole Kira case. You turned the knob and began washing the mug as you stared out the window above your sink. The sound of your cell phone ringing caught you off guard since you had been so deep in thought and the mug slipped from your wet hands and to the floor with a loud crash while shattering.

"Shoot!" you snapped and looked down at your bare feet, not able to move due to fear of stepping on glass. Very slowly and with care, you squatted down and scooped the pieces of glass into your hands as your cell phone continued to ring. Your ___ colored eyes glanced towards the noisy electronic and you stood, tossing the pieces of glass into a trash can.

"Ouch!" you said with a gasp as one of the pieces cut into your hand. Quickly you shoved your hand under the water that was still running in the sink and you took deep calming breaths. You cell phone stopped ringing, and instead a beeping sound was emitted, signaling to you that whoever had called had just left you a message. With your uninjured hand, you turned the water off and pressed a towel to your injured hand to stop and slow the bleeding before wrapping it carefully with bandage wrap.

"That was my favorite mug," you grumble unhappily. Slowly you clenched and unclenched your fists, wincing each time. After shaking your head, you snatched the phone off of the counter and check the caller ID to see just who had called; you didn't recognize the number at all. Slowly you pressed the phone to your ear so that you could listen to the message.

"Hello ____ ____, your help is needed, you will not be able to reach me on this number after you listen to your message so if you agree to help me on my case then you can reach me at 832-465-9987... this is L," a synthetic voice said into your ear. You had worked as a private investigator for years but you couldn't believe someone such as L, a great and widely known detective would call you.

'Could it just be a prank?' you thought and moved the phone away from your ear. Many of your friends liked to pull pranks and such, but none of them were crazy or stupid enough to pose as L... so that meant this was really him...? Slowly you hit play and listened to the message again, this time writing down the phone number that was given.

"I'm not sure what to think... but if I want answers then I will just have to call the number," you told yourself and slowly dialed the number given by the synthetic voice.The phone rang once, twice, a third time. For a moment you thought this really all was a prank and no one was going to answer but at the last moment there was a click.

"Hello ____ ____, I knew you would call. What do you know about the serial killer Jack the Ripper?" said a synthetic voice in your ear. 'This guy is all business... but I guess that is understandable' you thought and looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Jack the Ripper is the most popular name given to an unidentified serial killer who killed mostly prostitutes in England in 1888... why?" you replied. Slowly you grabbed a kitchen chair and lowered yourself into it; the response you were waiting for did not come right away.

"In the mid-nineteenth century England experienced an influx or great increase of immigrants which strained living conditions and major cities. Cities became overcrowded, work and housing conditions worsened. With these worsening living conditions came an increase in robbery, violence, alcohol consumption, and many women became prostitutes. The public became restless and paranoid, only adding more fear to the situation," L continued, not answering your question. You leaned back in your chair a bit so that it only stood on two legs.

"Right, then there were the Canonical five: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly. These five were highly believed to all be killed by the same person. For these women, their throats were severely cut, their abdomens received deep jagged wounds and sometimes they were even missing an organ, the murders got increasingly worse, but people were still unsure of Stride's murder since she did not receive any wounds to her abdomen. Kelly is generally considered to be the Ripper's final victim," you supplied since he obviously wanted you to focus on what he was telling you now rather than why he called you in the first place.

L was quiet for a long time, you wondered if perhaps you had impressed the detective. Well, at least you could hope that you did, you were pretty sure it would be really hard to impress such a great detective who has solved the hardest cases. Thunder echoed through your apartment again, causing you to jump and lose your balance, resulting in the chair falling backwards with you in it. You winced but managed to keep a hold of the phone.

"Butchers, slaughterers, surgeons, and physicians were suspected because of the damage done to the bodies, some people believed that the culprit was a butcher or cattle drover. Cattle boats were examined but the dates of the murders did not coincide with a single boat's movements that the transfer of a crewman between boats was also ruled out. Many speculations were made about who could possibly be Jack the Ripper, no possible solution was agreed on by everyone. Some thought the killer was an educated upper-class man, a doctor or aristocrat, the suspect list was well over one hundred," L's synthetic voice told you. You slowly sat up and rubbed your sore back.

"Your current case has something to do with Jack the Ripper," you stated since he was giving you a whole history lesson. You stood and pulled the chair so that it stood upright.

"Yes and I am requesting your help, there is an organization that I am very familiar with and want you to work with, SPK, Special provisions for Kira. The organization had been closed down but it is now reopening and will be called SPJ... Special provisions for Jack the Ripper. You will meet in there several trust worthy people such as Hale Lidner, Stephen Gevanni, and Anthony Rester," the synthetic voice explained. This was too much to take in at once, you didn't know L personally yet he trust you enough to put you with a special organization in order to work on a Jack the Ripper case in the United States. Your mouth felt dry as you licked your lips.

"How did you get my number... and why me?" you asked hoarsely. Though you couldn't see the person you were talking to, you imagined that they were currently smirking.

"You've done excellent work ____ ____, I've heard a great deal about you. You will meet up with the SPJ in a week, the address will be texted to you from another phone, we look forward to working with you," L responded then hung up. You moved the phone away from your ear and stared down at the electronic in disbelief. L trusted you enough to allow you to help on a case; you didn't know if you should be scared or proud.

"Right," you whispered and slowly looked around your apartment. Now you walked into your room and began to pack some of your things while you thought about everything the two of you had discussed. In 1888 the Jack the Ripper had been all over the Media, in news papers and magazines such as the Illustrated Police News. Either the case was new and hadn't yet reached the news or you just really hadn't been paying too much attention to the news which was a possibility. With all the murders, accidents, riots and such, you really didn't like watching the news any more. You plopped down onto your bed and looked up 'Jack the Ripper'.

"The nature of the murders and of the victims drew attention to the poor living conditions in the East End, and galvanized public opinion against the overcrowded, unsanitary slums. The legend of the Ripper is still promoted by guided tours of the murder sites. After the murders, 'Jack the Ripper' became the children's bogey man," you read aloud,skimming over the large paragraphs. What caught your attention in particular was the information about the victims.

'Nichols' body was discovered at about 3:40 a.m.... the throat was severed deeply by two cuts and the lower part of the abdomen was partly ripped open... Chapman's body was discovered at about 6 a.m.... the throat was severed by two cuts. The abdomen was slashed entirely open... Stride and Eddowes were killed in the early morning..the cause of death was one clear cut incision... Stride's murder had an absence of injuries to the abdomen... Eddowes' throat was severed and the abdomen was ripped open by a long, deep, jagged wound... Kelly's body was discovered lying on the bed in the single room where she lived.. the throat had been severed down the spine, and the abdomen virtually emptied of its organs...' you read and shuddered. The killings had been horrendous and now someone is mimicking this terrible time in history but in America, an American Jack the Ripper. Disgusted and already tired of doing research, you slammed your laptop closed.

"L... why do you need my help? You didn't answer any of my questions," you said, frustration obvious in your voice. You ran your fingers through your ___ colored ___ length hair and picked up your phone when it vibrated. You studied the screen, yet another number had been used to contact you but this time through a text and in the text was the address to a specific coffee shop that you were to go to in order to meet the members of SPJ and to learn about the case.

'In one weeks time, how will I be able to wait that long?' you thought and lay back on your bed. Currently, all you could think about was Jack the Ripper, various ideas about how to approach the case, facts that you read online now seemed to be imprinted on your brain and you couldn't forget them, and also thoughts of L. L... this detective was what was really bothering you, the fact that he needs help even after he had solved the Kira case.

Well, you couldn't just sit around, you'd have to get rid of all this stress somehow. You scooped up a jacket and yanked it on before walking out of your apartment, deciding that taking a little jog would clear your mind. The weather was cloudy and windy so there was a particular chill to the air. The sky seemed to be gray due to all the clouds and there was a high possibility of rain. You pulled your jacket around yourself more tightly and zipped it up.

"Stupid weather," you grumbled and glanced about. After being a private investigator for so long, old habits die hard so you always take in your surrounds to see who is around or what activities are going on. There actually weren't many people outside, just a small group of children getting ready to play hop scotch. One of the children, a girl had pulled out a piece of chalk and carefully drew out the boxes that looked more like just blobs because her hand shook, not making straight lines. You laughed softly at the girl and she looked up at you, smiling sheepishly. It was your neighbor's child, Jessica.

"Do you want help?" you asked with a grin. The girl nodded, causing her curly brown hair to bounce. You accepted the small piece of chalk and bent down, drawing ten boxesin a pattern. One box, then two boxes next to each other, one box then two boxes next to each other. Next you wrote one through ten, putting one number in each box before standing upright to study your work.

"Pretty good if I do say so myself," you said which caused Jessica to giggle. She grabbed your hand and jumped up and down happily.

"Thank you ____! Would you like to play with us?" she asked you sweetly. You ruffled her hair with your free one and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I would love to but I can't right now, I promise we can play later though, okay?" you told the little girl. A frown graced her lovely features for a moment as she nodded her head.

"Okay Miss ____, but you have to play later!" Jessica insisted. Lightly you drew and X over your heart with your finger. She did the same, copying you.

"I promise," you assured the girl and stepped back. You watched for a moment as Jessica and her friends played hopscotch, it lightened your heart to see them having so much fun and being so innocent, not knowing about all the terrible things going on around them. Sometimes you wished you could be like them, innocent and happy again but that was imposible. You turned and out of your jacket, you pulled out your i-pod and chose a song before sticking the ear buds into your ears. A small smile crossed your face, this jog had been a good idea. You stopped at a light and jogged in place while waiting for the light to change. To occupy your mind, you counted the seconds it took until the light changed.

'One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six...' you thought and gasped as hands came over your eyes, blocking your view. With all your strength, you grabbed onto the attackers arms and flipped them over and away from yourself.

"Gyah! Ouch, ____, it's me!" cried a tall man with black hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. You blinked in surprise as you studied to police man.

"Matsuda?! What are you doing here? I thought you were in Japan?!" you cried out in surprise and grabbed onto his arm. With your help, Matsuda stood and rubbed his back, one eye closed because he was in pain.

"I was in Japan until a couple of days ago, I thought I'd surprise you with a visit but I don't think I'll ever do that again," he said and laughed a bit. Even after getting hurt, Matsuda could still be cheerful and laugh.

"I'm sorry about that, I guess I'm just kind of jumpy," you told him and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. The Japanese man gave you a confused look and allowed you to walk him down the street to a donut shop. You led Matsuda over to a table and sat him down before giving him asmile.

"Chocolate covered donut with sprinkles right?" you asked. When he nodded, you turned and walked over to the counter, ordering him a donut and yourself a ___ covered donut with coffee. The lady behind the counter said she would bring the food over so you sat down at the table across from Matsuda, lightly drumming your fingers on the table.

"What's got you all wound up ____?" Matsuda asked and leaned forward a bit, studying your face and ___ colored eyes. You sighed and shook your head a bit.

"It's nothing, really Matsuda," you insisted as you continued to drum your fingers on the table to the beat of the song you were currently listening to. Matsuda reached over and pulled the ear buds out of your ears and lightly grabbed your wrists to stop your drumming.

"You know you can tell me anything, right ____? We've known each other and worked together long enough that I can tell when something is bothering you," the cop insisted, a serious look on his face. It was rare for Matsuda to be serious rather than light hearted and funny so you knew that he meant business.

"It's just a case that's coming up that I'll have to work on, it's just stressing me out a bit," you said honestly without being too specific. Matsuda slowly released your wrist and smiled at the woman as she set the twovcoffee cups on the table along with the donuts.

"Thank you," he told her contently andvpicked up the chocolate covered donut. He took a big bite out of it then a big sip of coffee afterwards before speaking again.

"You usually don't worry about your cases though; this one must be different in some way, are you not allowed to tell me?" he replied, concern and care obvious in the tone of his voice. Matsuda had always been a close friend of yours and he always took such great care of you, sometimes you weren't sure how he was able to put up with you. 'L didn't say I couldn't tell anyone... but I think that's because he knows I won't tell anyone' you thought. You shook your head in response to his question rather than using words as you took a bite or your ___ covered donut. The serious look returned to Matsuda's face and he gently patted your free hand.

"It must be a very serious case if you are worried about it, be very careful ____. The world has changed over the last few years, and not for the better, I don't want you to get hurt or anything. You know... its okay to turn down cases sometimes? You've never turned down a case but if this one is too hard or too dangerous, you don't have to take it. I'm sure whoever gave you the case would understand," Matsuda said, giving one of his rare lectures. You smiled fondly over at your friend and took a small sip of your coffee, burning your tongue. Quickly you set the cup down and blew on the steaming liquid.

"I know Matsuda, but I think this case is very important so I'm not going to turn it down. Just because things get hard doesn't mean I can just run away, but thank you for caring," you told the cop. Matsuda smiled a sad but understanding smile.

"I've always cared ____, you are my best friend, just be careful. Remember you can call me," he said and slowly stood. He pulled out his wallet and paid for both his donut and coffee along with yours, then he took his leave. You picked up your coffee cup again and took another small sip as you watched Matsuda's retreating figure.

"The world has taken a change for the worse huh?" you whispered to yourself and fingered your donut... you had lost your appetite now, especially when you thought about what you had just read about Jack the Ripper. Bile rose in your throat and you quickly ran into the bathroom and into the nearest stall.You managed to swallow the bile which was absolutely disgusting.

"Are you okay?" the woman from behind the counter asked from outside the stall, she must have followed you in when she saw how pale you had gone. You cleared your throat and stepped out of the stall, washing your hands in the sink.

"I'm fine, thank you," you said and gave her a very faint smile. She seemed reluctant to believe this but she did leave the restroom to go watch the counter again. Your reflection stared back atvyou in the mirror as you turned the knob, turning off the sink.

"It looks like I will be keeping in touch with Matsuda a lot more than usual after all," you told the girl in the mirror who had the same ___ colored eyes and ___ length ___ colored hair. A new look of determination crossed your face.

'Look out L... Jack the Ripper, here I come,' you thought and stuck your ear buds back into your ear, picking a new song to raise your spirits. You checked your phone to make sure there were no new messages from a number you didn't recognize, and then you headed out of the small donut shop.

Awesomeness!（≧∇≦） - All credits to Pokemonsoulsm on deviantART -