Death Note: Chapter Zer0: Chapter Seventeen: Cookie.

                                          Chapter Seventeen: Cookie

  L sat in his chair, waiting for the rest of the task-force to arrive. A coffee pot was set on the table, and a large plate of extra large cookies, chocolate chip, sat on a silver platter. He was going to inform Light of Taro's involvement, that he knew about the existence of Shinigami and the Death Note. He hoped it would garner some kind of reaction.
  The others soon arrived, Light included, and L began the meeting. "Before we begin, I would like to ask if any of you know why I called you here."
  "It's because of Taro, isn't it?" Light asked. "You think his heart attack has something to do with Kira."
  "Taro had a heart attack?" Matsuda asked. "Is he okay?"
  "Yes, he is fine," L told him. He looked at Light. "Light, you know about The Boy, the one I've been looking for; do you think Taro Kagami is him?"
  Light seemed to give this some thought. L figured he would yes, seeing as the probability of it not being him seemed low. "Yes, I do," Light told him. "If Kira somehow found him, then he would have without a doubt been killed. The strange thing is that he survived, so I can't say for sure."
  "I came to the same conclusion, Ryuzaki," The Chief added.
  "Are we sure this is Kira's work?" Matsuda asked. "I mean, Kira hasn't failed to kill anyone yet; maybe Taro wasn't targeted by Kira?"
  "I doubt it," L said. "Earlier today, I visited Taro Kagami, meeting him after his school day ended." L made sure to focus on Light, hoping to see something incriminating. "I confronted him about Kira, and he told me everything." He saw Light's eyes widen. He seemed surprised.
  "You mean he's The Boy?!?" Aizawa asked loudly. "He actually told you?!?"
  "Yes, he did," L told him, picking at his ear with his pinky. "He told me that he had acquired Kira's ability a few months before Kira himself did."
  "Did he say how he kills?!?" Light asked. His surprised look was gone, and had been replaced with one of conviction. "Are you sure he was telling the truth?"
  "I'm certain of it." L removed the lanyard around his neck, the one Taro Kagami had given him., and held it up for the others to see. "He gave this to me. He gathered what information he could and stored it all on here."
  Matsuda grabbed the flash-drive carefully, as if it were made of glass. "What's on it?" he asked, inspecting it.
  "Taro Kagami was very good at his job," L said. "He typed down every single confirmed Kira victim, as well as ones that were suspected. He wrote of his encounter with Naomi Misora, and her sudden disappearance. He wrote about the death of Raye Penber, the F.B.I. agent whom he had followed."
  "But what about the way he kills?" Aizawa asked. "Did he tell you? Is it on the flash-drive?"
  "Yes, he told me. And it is on the flash-drive," L told him. "You may not believe this, but he told me that they way Kira kills is through a tool called a 'Death Note'."
  L saw Light's reaction; it was strained, as if he had hit a nerve, as if he was holding back his true reaction. "According to Taro, as well as everything he put into the flash-drive, it seems that this notebook of death, this Death Note, is used by Shinigami, as a way for them extend their life-spans and stay alive."
  "Shinigami?" Mori asked. " Are you sure?"
  "Ryuzaki," Light said, "do you really think that Shinigami exist?"
  "Yes, I do. After the talk I had with Taro, as well as looking through his information, I firmly believe that Shinigami exist, and that one came to our world, to give one away."
  "What exactly is a Death Note?" The Chief asked. "You said it was 'notebook of death'."
  "Apparently, a Death Note is an ordinary looking book, one that can kill any human whose name is written inside it, given they are spelled correctly, and the writer knows the person's face."
  "That would fit the profile," Matsuda said, putting his hand on his chin. "If all you have to is write down the person's name, then maybe you can write down the cause of death as well."
  "That's right, Matsuda." L took a sip of his coffee. "That little detail is also in the drive."
  "But why would a Shinigami drop a Death Note?" Light asked. "Didn't you say it needed it? To stay alive?"
  "Yes, I did say that. However, Taro noted in the drive that the Shinigami who he had met, a dark looking one, had a second one. This Shinigami, whom Taro said was named Ryuk, might have simply gotten another one."
  "But why drop it in the first place?" Matsuda asked.
  "Probably to have something to do," Light said. "I mean, if these things survive by killing humans, then all Shinigami must be extremely old."
  "And having seen the exact same thing for centuries would get pretty boring," Aizawa added. "So it makes sense; this Ryuk probably just wanted something to do."
  "I guess immortality isn't that great, huh?" Matsuda laughed. "But seriously, what about Taro? Ryuzaki, do you think this was really Kira?"
  "I do," L told him. "However, I visited him an hour ago, to check on him, and he seems to have lost all of his memories regarding the existence of Shinigami, as well as the Death Note."
  "What?" The Chief asked. "How is that possible?"
  "I read it in his flash-drive; apparently, if you lose ownership of the Death Note, your memories of it are erased, and you cease to see or hear Shinigami."
  "Really?" Matsuda asked.
  "That doesn't make any sense," Mogi said. "If this Death Note was given to Kira, then it wouldn't be Taro's anymore."
  "I thought the same thing," L told him. "However, Taro told me that the Shinigami, Ryuk, simply took the book. I suppose that would classify it as being stolen, and therefore still his. I assume he lost his memories because he had been dead for a short while, and thus he couldn't actually own anything, so it went to Kira, who now has the book."
  "That's quite a loophole," Light commented.
  "But what about the seeing and hearing them thing?" Matsuda asked. "You said they would stop seeing them?"
  "Yes, apparently you can only see and hear a Shinigami if you touch a Death Note. I assume that you would stop seeing and hearing them when you lose ownership, seeing as it erases your memories as well."
  The others absorbed the information, trying to understand everything. It was Matsuda who spoke up first. "Wait, wouldn't that clear Light of suspicion?"
  The others looked at him. "No, it wouldn't," Light told him, beating L to the punch. "The Shinigami may have seen Taro, and flown away to avoid being seen."
  "Oh." Matsuda sat back down.
  "Ryuzaki," The Chief said, "did Taro Kagami admit to the earlier deaths? The ones involving the children and the detectives?"
  "Yes, he did. He told me that he had killed them by mistake, as I had originally assumed. Except for the detectives, actually; he said another other boy, Miura Asahi, killed them and the other boys after he resurrected them."
  "Oh, yeah," Mogi said, "did you ask him about that? Did he put it in the flash-drive?"
  L stopped for a moment. Did Light know about the Death Eraser? Should he tell him? "No, he didn't tell me that." L reached for a cookie, grabbing it and taking a large bite out of it. "He said he didn't know what happened. I'm not sure if I actually believe him on that, but I didn't want to press him for information, seeing as he had provided us with this beauty." He picked up the flash-drive, which Matsuda had put on the table, next to the platter of cookies.
  "Are you going to talk to him again?" Light asked. "You should do so quickly."
  "My son's right, Ryuzaki," The Chief added. "And we should also put him and his mother into protective custody, just to be safe. Maybe Kira doesn't know he survived."
  "I have already talked with Watari about that, Mister Yagami. And I do plan to talk to him again, tomorrow in fact."
  "Are we gonna go with you?" Matsuda asked. "I think we should all go."
  "Yes, that would be rather helpful, actually. Having actual police officers with me might help him in becoming more talkative. Assuming he remembers anything."
  They sat in silence for a few moments, until Chief Yagami spoke up. "Ryuzaki, it's late, and I think we could all use some sleep."
  "Yes, it is rather late." L looked at the clock, seeing it was close to four in the morning. "Well, I suppose I will see you later in the day then."
  The task force soon left, leaving Ryuzaki alone with the platter of cookies. He began to eat the large cookies, taking sips of his coffee with every few bites. He had decided against informing the others about the Death Eraser, and felt he did the smart thing.
  L had gone through many scenarios in his head, and finally found one that made sense. He had guessed that The Second Kira was the one who killed Taro, and brought him back. He knew the original Kira would never do such a thing, but The Second Kira might. After all, it was a child, not a grown man or woman he or she was killing. The Second Kira wasn't as maddened, wasn't as corrupted, by the power of the Death Note.
  If Light Yagami knew about the Death Eraser, he would simply kill Taro himself. L didn't think he knew of it's existence, otherwise he would have dealt with it already. He probably wanted Taro alive for now, seeing as his dying would only increase his suspicion. As a plan formed in his head, L picked up the last of the oversized cookies and took a bite.

  Light woke up from his troubled sleep. Taro Kagami was alive and well, but had no memory of the Death Note, or anything related to it. It was good for Light that he didn't remember anything; he couldn't see Ryuk, he couldn't implicate him, he couldn't do anything. But he was still bothered. Something told him Taro was still a threat, and that he would continue to be one until he was dead, and until he would stay that way.
  "So, what're you gonna do?" Ryuk asked. "I mean, what if Taro remembers something?"
  "I've already got an idea," Light told. "I doubt he'll be able to remember anything, seeing as he would have to come into contact with a Death Note."
  "And you're not gonna let that happen?"
  "Not yet. I want to get some information out of him first. I'll have him hold the Death Note, or maybe just a piece of it, and question him."
  "And then what're you gonna do?"
  "Then I'll kill him, of course. I can't have someone like him roaming around."
  "Hm. I suppose that makes sense."
  Light got dressed and left for school.
  Sitting in his math class, Light quickly answered all of the questions with immense ease. After finishing the test, Light stood and handed the test to the teacher.
  "Done already, Mr. Yagami?" The teacher looked at the test, reading over his answers. "No doubt another perfect score."
  "Thank you, professor." Light left the class room, and decided to find something to eat.
  Walking to his usual cafe, Light wondered if L was telling the truth, that Taro didn't know how the resurrections happened. Light entered the cafe, and bought a pack of chocolate chip cookies; it seemed that being around L afftected his eating habits.
  Light walked out of the cafe and went to a nearby bench, sitting on it. He was about to open his snack when he heard someone say his name. "Light Yagami?" He looked up to find a beautiful young woman, his age, in front of him.
  'Dear God, not again,' Light thought. 'It's a good thing Misa's not here right now, or she'd be dead by now.'
  "You're Light Yagami, right?"
  "Yes, I am," Light told her. "Is there something I can help you with?"
  "Yeah, there is. My name is Akiko, Akiko Yasada, and I wanted to know if you've seen Hideki Ryuuga around?"
  "Ryuuga?!?" Light asked, surprised at the girls request. "You mean the guy I played tennis with? I haven't seen him in a while. He doesn't come to school much, you know."
  "Yeah, I know. But I figured since you're both geniuses, then you two would be in touch."
  "I know how to contact him, though," Light told her. He wondered why this pretty little girl wanted to see L, but he didn't care. He wondered if he could use this to his advantage. "May I ask why? I mean, he's pretty private person. Not very social."
  "Yeah, I could tell that from the way he looked and spoke." Akiko reached into her pocketbook and took out a cigarette. "Do you mind if I smoke?"
  "No, go ahead." Light actually liked the smell of a burning cigarette. He would never smoke himself, but he wouldn't stop others from doing so.
  "Thanks." Akiko reached once again into her pocketbook, this time producing a lighter. She lit her cigarette, and put the light back in her bag. "Anyways, the reason I want to know is because my friend likes him." She took a puff of the little white stick, and blew some smoke out of her mouth.
  "Your friend likes him?" Light asked, honestly surprised. He wondered what kind of person would like someone like L. "Are you sure about that?"
  "Positive. She said so during his speech." She took another drag of her cigarette. "I caught him at an ice-cream shop by chance, and had them talk to each other."
  "He was there alone?"
  "At first. Then some old guy took him away. Looked like a butler."
  "Yeah, he doesn't leave his side. Ryuuga's kind of awkward when it comes to social situations."
  "Yeah, I noticed," Akiko laughed. "Anyways, I told him to come to my birthday party next week, and I gave him my friends number, but he hasn't called her yet. I'm not surprised really; it's only been a day, but still, I just don't want her to ger her feelings hurt. So, I wanted to ask you if you could make him."
  "Make him?" Light repeated.
  "Yeah, you know. Make him call her. I think they would be a good match."
  "I can try," Light told her. "But don't get your hopes up. Or your friends; he's kind of a workaholic, so I doubt he'll go."
  "Well, if you could try, that'd be great." She threw her cigarette on the ground and stomped on it, twisting her foot for good measure. She then produced a piece of paper from her bag. "Here's my number. If you manage to convince him, just call. Or, you know, just call." She winked at him with a large smile. "Bye!" She walked away, leaving Light by himself.
  Light knew L would never go to a stupid birthday party, but perhaps he could distract him somehow with it. Even if he couldn't, he found it amusing that he could use something like this on him. He wondered how the others would react, then thought of a way for him to use this information. Light opened his pack of cookies, and put one in his mouth.

  Taro ate the plate of hospital food the nurse had given him, forcing down the food with a little effort. Hospital food was horrible. At least this hospital's food was. He wanted to go home, but the doctors wanted to keep him for the week, just in case. 'A child having a sudden and fatal heart attack isn't normal or good', the doctors told him. He said he was fine, but they wouldn't have any of it.
  His mother had gone home to speak with someone from the scholarship committee, the people from Wammy's House. Taro wondered why they didn't talk there, with him; after all, he was the student. "Must have something to do with that weird guy," Taro said himself. "He said he was L. Was he telling the truth?"
  Taro had wondered what he could possibly know about Kira. Did he really perform his own investigation? He did notice that he was a lot more observant; he would notice tiny things, like the way people talked, spots on their clothes, the way they walked. He knew something was different about him. He was never this observant.
  He thought of the panda eyed man's words. He talked of Shinigami. Did Shinigami exist? No, that was stupid. Shinigami are just fairytales. He thought of anything that would imply the existence of Shinigami, and remebered The Second Kira's messages.
  "That's right. The Second Kira said something about Shinigami, didn't she?" Taro thought of the diary entries, and the maniac's actual usage of the word, then realized what he'd said. "She? Why did I say that?"
  As he continued to think of L's words, assuming it was really L, a voice brought him out of his thought. "Mr. Kagami." Taro looked at the entrance to his room and saw his doctor. "Your mother is here to see you."The doctor looked to his right. "She's hurrying down the hall as we speak." The doctor backed away in time for Taro's mother to run passed him.
  "Oh, my baby boy!" His mother ran into the room, bypassing the doctor, and hugged him. "How are you? Feeling better?"
  "Yeah, I feel great," Taro told her. "I'd feel better you loosened your grip, though."
  "Oh, I'm sorry." She loosened her grip, and Taro felt himself able to breath once again. "I haven't seen you in hours, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."
  "I'm fine mom, really."
  Taro and his mother talked for a while, and Taro wondered if she knew anything about the panda-eyed man. He didn't think she did, considering her attitude.
  Taro's mother's clothes were all dishevelled and dirty. She hadn't cleaned up since his heart attack. He felt bad for worrying his mother, and couldn't wait to get out of the hospital, so she could calm down.
  Taro could tell just from looking at her that his mother hadn't slept at all. Her face was worn and red, most likely from crying. Seeing this just made him feel worse.
  A knock at the door made the mother and son stop talking. In the doorway stood Sayu, his girlfriend, with her mother, Sachiko. In Sayu's hands was a big plate covered with saran wrap. "I told you I'd be back."
  "Hey Sayu," Taro said with a smile. Seeing her seemed to always make him feel better. "Did you bring me those cookies?"
  "Yep!" Sayu walked up to his bed, pushing the plate of hospital food to the side and setting down the plate. She removed the saran wrap from the plate, revealed to Taro over a dozen malformed cookies. "Dig in!"
  Taro looked at the cookies with a raised eyebrow and an awkward smile. He grabbed one of the deformed cookies, which he noticed were burnt around the edges, and took a bite.
  Taro chewed the cookie with a smile, hearing the crunch of breaking cookie in his mouth. He forgot that Sayu couldn't bake. Or cook. Or do anything that involved food. He remembered when she brought in a cake for a party in his class; the cake was bitter and burnt.
  "They're good," Taro said, swallowing the bits he had chewed. "Crunchy. Just the way I like it."
  "Ms. Kagami, why don't we get some coffee?" Mrs. Yagami asked. "Give these two some time alone."
  "Yes, that sounds nice." Taro's mother followed Sayu's out of the room, leaving the two of them alone. Taro took another bite of the cookie; it was a little burnt, but still good.
  "So, how are you feeling?" Sayu asked. She grabbed a cookie and bit it.
  "I'm feeling better," he told her. "I'm gonna be here for the whole week. Doctors are really paranoid." Taro put the rest of the cookie in his mouth, chewing it into pieces and swallowing it.
  "You were dead for a few minutes," Sayu told him with a serious tone. "I don't wanna lose my first boyfriend, especially to some stupid heart attack. I only just got you."
  "That's ... nice?"
  Sayu laughed, as did Taro. The two talked about random things; friends in school, teachers, television shows. It was when Sayu told him of a rumor at school did Taro remember his earlier thought.
  "You know, some of the kids at school were saying that Kira tried to get you."
  Taro looked at her. "Really?" he asked. "Why would Kira try to kill me?"
  "I don't know," Sayu told him, taking another bite of a cookie. "You did have a heart attack, so it sounds plausible."
  "Yeah, I guess it does." Taro thought of the panda-eyed man's words. Having a heart attack at his age was rare. Having one so strong was even rarer. Did he really know something about Kira? Did Kira really try, and fail, to kill him? "I guess it does."
  Taro took the last cookie off the plate, and bit into it.
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