1 Chapter 1: Just Before Sunset

Reflecting the brilliance of the moonlight was a minor porthole at the middle of the road. Not long before a cyclist bumped through it, distorting the original image of the stagnant moon. As it may seem only this individual road unethical along the midnight street, having just a torch attached to the machine's head to provide light. Though it was hardly enough light.

Momentarily, the luminous moon was able to accentuate the image of the individual. It was a boy, riding a bicycle at a very late hour of the day. One would wonder what made a young individual like himself be out at night so late.

After heavy rounds of pounding the chainring, he arrived at his location. A not so decorated bungalow hidden inside a section of the area covered by a fragrance of flowers and bushes beside. He jumped off the saddle of his bicycle and ran towards the entrance of the bungalow leaving the bicycle to ride astray.

Just as he was about to enter the front door of the house, it was opened from the inside by another man.

For a brief moment, the two individuals watched themselves in silence.

"You're late Light. Again." The man broke the silence and said after a slight chuckle.

The boy's countenance shrank into a purposeful look of disappointment.

The man brought his hand to Light's shoulder and walked closer to him, "Maybe next time, I know you'd score better and the past."

"But you're here now..we can still make it."

"Haha, Light, time doesn't wait for anyone. You have to be where you need to be at the right time. There are no excuses for that."

"But what if…what if…there was…"

"Nah, Nah, Nah, we had a deal, be here before sunset and I would take you to a crime scene.." The man glanced at his watch as he continued "..its past eight. I need to be at work by nine."

"Well, it's not nine yet."

"A deal is a deal Light. Best my expectations next time, and you'd get it." He said with a smile. "Now, did you get it?"

Light handed a meal wrapped in foil paper over to the man. The man collected it with an even wider smile.

"Now go in Light, it's getting late." He said as he walked past Light.

With nothing else to say Light sighed went through the door. The man stood at the front yard and watched Light, making sure he locked the door. Light rolled his eyes and slammed the door after which a short muffled clang was made. He peeped through the curtains to see if his brother had left, surprisingly to him his brother still stood with a winsome smile at the entrance. Light angrily pulled the curtain to the other side.

The man chuckled while his smile began to fade slowly. He thought to himself the consequences of bringing a child to a crime scene. Was he even normal to make that kind of promise?

He shook his head.

Although Light was a bright and smart boy, who outsmarted him most of the times he couldn't let a boy indirectly talk him into losing his job.

He shook his head once more. This time he walked into an old 1968 ford mustang, passed down from centuries to centuries if you asked him. The engine refused to run but for some reason, after consecutively slamming the steering wheel it made a loud engine noise and he drove away.

Light walked into a room, he switched on the light by the side of the door. His room was rather congested with many of his uncleaned cloth and items he barely made use of. By the side were his reading desk and a wooden chair. On top of the desk were A4 papers littered everywhere. Both the ones with the drawing of people and objects and empty sheets. Hanging to the wall near the desk was his criminal puzzle work. A combination of cut out pictures, printed photos and many other personal photographs of people. How he got them was a story for another time.

Pinning this evidences was a red thread running without patterned across all the frames on the wall.

Light walked to the seat in a disenchanted manner and sank himself inside. It took a moment for him to raise his head to see the world of criminal activities he was able to decipher even before his brother.

During the past few years, he was able to gain access to his brother's criminals data and help him apprehend the culprit from the comfort of his home. This was something, not all 13 years old child could do.

He looked at a particular hand-drawn photo of a humanoid canvas silhouette. This case was still a mystery to him. This mysterious figure helped him help his brother from the comfort of his uncharted location. Light tried to trace most of the cases to the mysterious man but it was no use. Since his brother was a hand of justice, a detective, the mysterious man used him, Light, as an intermediary to his brother to help solve cases.

Light had the idea that if the man could solve cases with ease as he did, then the man was rather affiliated with two-thirds of the crimes.

He was a criminal, he had to apprehend him. He had thought of ways to bring him down, even though faking crimes call sometimes, but the man was one step ahead of Light.

How could a thirteen years old boy compete with a man soaked in the criminal world for decades?

~RING!~

The telephone on the desk rang. Light knew who it was. The only person that calls him whenever his brother was out on a case.

He let the phone ring a little more before he answered It.

~ "YOU DIDN'T PLAN TO PICK UP BEFORE. WHO DO YOU THINK CALLS BY THIS TIME?" ~ the person on the phone used a voice changer so it would be difficult to discern the gender.

"If you're calling to leave a message it's already too late. He's out already. You should have called hours ago."

~ "YOUR PARENTS CALLED YOU LIGHT FOR A REASON.." ~ the man laughed on the call ~"BUT I BELIEVE I AM ALWAYS RIGHT. IT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN LIGHT"~

"Well, you don't expect him to handle two cases at once."

~"OF COURSE NOT, WHY WOULD I, WHEN WE HAVE ANOTHER DETECTIVE IN THE GAME"~

"Light thought for a moment."

~"YES LIGHT, YOU"~

"What do you want?"

~"IF I WHERE YOU, I'D PUT MY COAT AND HAT ON, LIKE A REAL DETECTIVE FROM THE MOVIES, ISN'T THAT RIGHT, LIGHT"~ It was very obvious that behind the telephone whoever this was had a bountiful smile carved on its face.

"Where?" Light questioned. Despite the maniac behind the call, one thing was certain. The man's predictions on crime were never flawed. Real people died on the scene, ex-convicts had their part to play, it was a real-life case only believe to be played by him as Light belief. If that was the case, Light knew people might die, he might be able to stop it.

~"SMART BOY LIGHT, YOUR PARENTS ARE EXCEPTIONAL AT NAMING THINGS. YOU THINK LIKE A REAL MAN"~

"Where?" Light nonchalantly asked again.

~"FEDERAL BUILDING. IT'S TICKING LIGHT, YOU NEED TO BE THERE BEFORE IT STOPS. A RED TRUCK CARRYING AGRICULTURAL FERTILISERS"~

Without further ado, Light flew out of his chair straight to his wardrobe. One couldn't miss the fact that he was just a thirteen years old boy, taking on the role of a detective was an indelible part of his imaginations. This was the perfect time to play that out. He grabbed one of his uncle's coat and wore it. Carried his magician hat and not to forget taking the pipe cigarette on a centre table situated in the sitting room.

He jumped into his bicycle and rode as fast as he could to the federal building.

Fast and steady, Light kept his paddles rolling none stop. In a short time, he approached the building. It was a rather tall and large building with numerous residential flat.

Again Light jumped out of his bicycle before hitting the brake. One would think he was accustomed to jumping out like this. He searched the vicinity looking for a red Hilux truck carrying agricultural fertilisers as the man described. Light went around searching the vehicles parked like he was wondering a maze.

It wasn't long before he saw a car so familiar. This car left him in a daze. He didn't want to believe it was the car he was accustomed to.

His uncle's 1968 Ford Mustang.

His heart raced as he knew his uncle was somewhere near the building. After another thorough search around the cars parked he couldn't find where his uncle was nor where the truck was located.

Only after a while, a phone rang inside his uncle's vehicle. He opened the door and took out the phone. He thought why his uncle would leave his phone in the car.

The phone kept ringing until he finally answered, "Hello..?"

~"YOU'RE LATE LIGHT. YOU'RE LATE."~

So as it seemed, Light heard sounds that bothered him. He looked at the passengers' seat of the car only to discover that there was a ticking bomb and several other packages along with it.

As if the earth slows down and time reduced its pace, Light turned around and made a run for it but the explosion was faster than him. It caught up to him fair and square, throwing him into the far off distance. Not forgetting every car, man or woman that were present that faithful night by destroying half of the building.

~BOOM!~