518Disclaimer: Death Note is not owned by me; I only own this story and make no profit from this.
AN: this story will be based on the anime, since I have never read the manga. It's possible that there are some mistakes since I'm not versed in Japanese tradition and culture, and I'll always appreciate it if someone wants to correct me. Nevertheless, I'll try to make it as accurate as possible. Furthermore, some elements and characters of the manga might be included since there's a lot of information about the manga on the internet, and many things have captured my attention when I saw that the manga was much deeper and interesting than the anime. Regardless, this fic is an AU so many things will be different, though I'll take most elements from the anime.
Warning: this story will be slash, and it's rated as M because of it and due to language and violence. If there's an explicit slash scene, I'll put a warning like this one on the chapter. If the chapter doesn't contain explicit slash scenes, then I won't warn again about language and violence. THIS chapter does have violence, adult language, and non-explicit non-con scenes.
Note: it's implied, in this chapter, that the characters are speaking Japanese, though the dialogues are in English.
Chapter 1
October 31, 1999
A handsome, thirteen-year-old boy was gracefully seated in front of a computer, his chestnut eyes fixed on the screen with focused attention, while his long fingers deftly punched the keyboard.
Yagami Raito blew out a breath to flick an auburn lock of hair from his eyes, and his pouty lips curved upwards with satisfaction when he punched the last key. His computer screen briefly flickered black, before it glowed with green flashy letters; the screen being covered by masses of information, pictures and profiles.
The young boy smirked. He had just hacked into the NPA's database. He did it often and easily but this constituted one more victory for him, since his father, whilst being the Chief of the National Police Agency, still forbade him from studying criminal records and ongoing cases.
Yagami Soichiro upheld the belief that he was too young to get involved in police cases, and no amount of cajoling and smooth persuasions from Raito's part had dissuaded his father from that idea. Granted, he had subtlety manipulated his father into allowing him to help the Japanese Police Force once he turned fifteen, but that wasn't good enough, because frankly – he was bored.
He was the best student in Eishu Junior High School, and he was the most brilliant pupil at Gamou Prep Academy, where he took supplemental classes in advanced English, Math, Science, and Law. Given his test records since the age of five, he possibly had the most outstanding and brilliant mind in Japan. Furthermore, he had won several National Chess Contests and yesterday he had won his Junior High School Tennis Championship.
Nevertheless, everything bored him.
His classes were too easy, his classmates nowhere near his genius, he had no friends because he had never met anyone who could capture his attention with intelligent conversation, and he regarded everyone else to be too inane, ignorant and foolish. Nothing and no one seemed to be challenging enough for him; not even his parents.
Admittedly, he cared for them in a mild sort of way, but they were uninteresting as well. His father was the Chief of the NPA but never revealed much about his work, and that was the only thing remotely interesting about the man, in his opinion.
Therefore, since last year, Raito had taken the matter into his own hands, hacking into police databases, not only from Japan but from other countries as well.
Every night before dinner, he accessed databases and studied ongoing cases. Then, his brilliant mind pieced information and clues together, coming to conclusions about the case and the identity of the criminal. Following, he would send untraceable emails with tidbits of information which would help the investigators realize who had committed the crime, or he pointed out specific details which would help them solve the case.
This was his hobby and the only thing that brightened his tedious existence.
He had started doing it since last year. His identity as an informant hadn't been discovered yet, since he always sent his emails under the pseudonym of Y, and he always redirected his emails through several worldwide servers so that they couldn't be traced back to him.
And Raito loved every second of it, since it was his ambition to become a worldwide famed detective, so that he could capture criminals and clean the world from filth, just like his father did. Only that he wanted to do it more gracefully, slyly and efficiently.
He had a strong sense of justice, thanks to the teachings of his father, but he also considered himself to be vastly cleverer and more cynical, and thus, he knew that criminals should be dealt with utter ruthlessness.
Raito carded his fingers through his silky, auburn hair, rearranging it to make sure that it was neatly fixed, as always. Then he gracefully leaned back on his chair, his gaze intently reading the information displayed on his computer screen. It pertained to the case his father was currently working on, and he had already sent the NPA several emails with his conclusions regarding the killings.
About a month ago, a string of seemingly unrelated murders had rattled Tokyo, but it had been easy for him to conclude that the Yakuza were behind it. Several well-known businessmen, owners of 'entertainment' houses, and low-profile thugs had been killed with a clean shot to the head, after their hearts had been cut out from their chests.
It was clear to him that Japan's largest crime syndicate was behind the killings and he had already sent his anonymous conclusions to the NPA, but his satisfied smirked dropped when his gaze landed on the last sentence of the case's file.
The case was closed. Apparently, yesterday, the NPA had broken into the Red Dragon's Tokyo headquarters and captured several yakuza, albeit not the leader, since the man hadn't been found.
That wasn't what angered him, since it filled him with gleeful joy that he had been right. What rubbed him the wrong way was that the NPA had acted under Eraldo Coil's orders, and not because of the information provided by 'Y' – by him.
Raito's fists clenched with anger. This wasn't the first time that Eraldo Coil had solved a case at the same time he did, and it wasn't the first time that the worldwide-famed detective was acknowledged for it, instead of him.
Despite all the emails he had sent under his pseudonym of Y, police task forces around the world still didn't publicly acknowledge Y's genius or existence. His anonymous email account for Y still didn't receive requests for his help to resolve cases. The FBI, CIA, Interpol, and other agencies still just sought out help from the three best detectives of the world; the mysterious L, Eraldo Coil, and Denueve.
Who were these people and why wasn't Y sought out by police forces around the world, after all the aid he had already provided?
Raito sighed with angered frustration. Well, he was young, he had time to elevate Y's fame to public knowledge and acclaim, and to surpass the other three detectives.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of the main front door being opened and his father's muffled, stern voice reached his ears, accompanied by his sister's buoyant greeting.
Raito quickly logged out from the NPA's database, and he approached a mirror. He smoothed any wrinkles from his shirt, neatly arranged his impeccably groomed hair, and gazed at his reflected image, his lips curving with satisfaction.
His body was athletic and lean, his face was incredibly handsome, his skin smooth and unblemished with a golden, sun-kissed hue, his auburn hair glossy and silky, and his almond-shaped caramel eyes soft and amiable without revealing his sharp, sly cunning – just as he wanted them to be, since this was the mask he always presented to others.
The pride he took in his breath-taking good looks was not that of a narcissist but rather of one who knew well what power it conferred him over others. He had had ample proof of it throughout his life: how it always made him popular with both girls and teachers without needing to work on it, how he instantly became the focus of attention when he entered a room, how others vied for his interest or opinions.
No matter who it was -girls in his Junior High School that flocked around him, and blushed when giving him bento lunch boxes or coyly giggled when amassing to watch him practice tennis in the school's sporting courts, or even teachers who always picked him first in class to answer a question when he rose his hand- they all saw the beauty first, and reacted to it as everyone did, with admiration, covetousness, and a desire to always be in his presence.
Raito didn't complain. It was the way of the world, and he fully milked it for all it was worth. People were mindless sheep, superficial in the extreme no matter how smart or profound they believed themselves to be, fawning over and pricing handsomeness much more than actual intelligence.
That his own astounding handsomeness was only surpassed by his unparalleled genius was what made him a god amongst fools. And no, he didn't think his egotism was blown out of proportion. It was simply a fact.
He checked himself on the mirror once more and then began to gracefully amble towards his door. However, it was wrenched open before his hand could reach the doorknob, and an energetic little bundle of buoyancy rushed inside.
"Onii-san, father's home!" excitedly said the ten-year-old girl, grabbing Raito's hand and attempting to pull him after her. "Dinner is ready and we're going to celebrate your tennis championship victory!"
"Sayu-chan," said Raito sternly, inspecting his little sister while his lips quirked with fondness, "you should behave like a proper young lady and knock before entering my room."
Sayu spun around, her pigtails bobbing in the air, and she huffed indignantly while crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't want to be a proper lady, onii-san. You're the model son in this family, not me." She stuck out her tongue, and her brown eyes sparkled with mutinous mischievousness. "I'm the rebel."
Raito held in an amused, reluctant chuckle, and ruffled her hair.
As all little sisters around the world, she was a pest to her big brother: always careening into his bedroom, touching his things, being nosy and bossy, asking him about which girl at school was his girlfriend, if he thought she was pretty too, or wanting to gossip about this celebrity or that.
Yes, Sayu was a pest, but she had potential too.
His little sister was the only person he truly cared about and perhaps even loved. She was an annoying spitfire, but fun to irk and taunt. And most importantly, he looked forward for her to grow up and become more interesting.
Certainly, she wasn't a brilliant genius as he was, but she showed some promise if her mischievousness could be guided to become sharpness of mind.
Sayu impatiently stomped her foot on the floor, and grabbed his hand. "Don't mess with my hair, onii-san. And let's go, I'm starving!"
Raito let out a loud sigh to convey irritation, masking his indulgent amusement, and followed her towards the staircase which led to the first floor of their home.
Abruptly, a strident crashing noise resounded from the ground floor, followed by an alarmed, urgent yell, "SACHIKO TAKE OUR CHILDREN AND FLEE!"
Raito hardly knew what happened next. There were screams, yells, the sound of furniture being wrecked, accompanied by sounds of forceful struggling and the rushing of feet.
Alarmed, he instinctively pulled his sister behind him, his gaze frantically inspecting his surroundings. His father's command had been clear, they had to leave the house, someone was attacking them.
He quickly made up his mind and lifted his little sister –who was screaming and crying, frightened and confused- into his arms, and he swiftly rushed towards his parent's bedroom.
Just when he opened the door, he saw, from the corner of his eyes, how his mother stumbled out from the staircase. Her clothes were disheveled and torn, and her gentle face was streaked with tears, her expression terrified.
She rushed to them, while sounds of struggling still came from the ground floor, as she yelled frenziedly, "Raito, into the bedroom! We have to-"
Suddenly, he heard a piercing scream of pain and his father's voice enragedly shouting about revenge and justice, followed by the clear sound of a gunshot.
Then came the 'thud' of a body crashing to the floor, his father's voice was heard no more, and a deathly silence encompassed the house.
Raito's eyes widened, his mind swirling in a frenzied fog. Distantly, he heard his sister crying and whimpering, and his mother wretchedly choking on sobs.
Abruptly, a commanding voice was heard coming from the ground floor, and Raito pushed all frightened thoughts to a side and he rushed into action. He tightened his arm around his little sister and pulled his mother into his parent's bedroom.
Quickly, he settled Sayu on her feet and he pulled a chair under the door handle, to lock it. He turned around and saw his mother still sobbing, though she had rushed towards a nightstand, opening the little door, revealing a security box.
Raito understood immediately, she was frantically entering the code to open it, since inside laid the gun his father kept at home.
Instantly, he sharply told Sayu to be quiet and he propelled into action; they had to leave the house, somehow. He rushed towards the large window and quickly grabbed an armchair, smashing it into the glass panes.
He felt some glass shards piercing his skin, but only faintly and distantly, his mind too detachedly clear and focused to acknowledge pain. Swiftly, he spun around to grab Sayu; they would have to jump through the window, there was no other choice. Hopefully, the fall wouldn't break any of their bones.
Sayu was now openly crying, though her terrified sobs were silent, and his mother now stood in front of the locked door, her face pale, strained, and drenched with tears, her hands trembling, grasping a gun aimed forward.
Raito grabbed his sister, pulling her towards the window, but before he could do anything else, several gun shots were heard and the door of the bedroom rattled and splintered. Quickly, it was being brought down by fierce kicks and more gun shots.
His mother let out a horrified, alarmed whimper, and her eyes snapped to his, while she whispered in a quiet, broken voice, "Hide, Raito, and protect your sister."
Raito's gaze urgently glanced around, flickering to the smashed window, turning gauging. They wouldn't have time to jump and the fall itself could damage them enough to leave them splattered on the ground, easy targets for the killers.
He instantly made up his mind and fiercely shoved Sayu under the large bed, following her and tightly wrapping his arms around her, pressing a palm against her quivering lips to silence her.
He didn't know if his choice had been the right one; probably, he should have stood beside his mother. But on the other hand, he needed to gain some time to decide how to escape from the situation, and he had to take care of Sayu.
Without him by her side, his little sister would be crying too hard and she would give herself away. Not that their current position was a smart hiding place, but it was either under the bed or inside a closet, and none of those options were good ones.
Raito inwardly cursed. He should have taken the gun, even though he didn't know how to use one. Hopefully, his mother would shoot as much as she could.
Abruptly, the door was wrecked open, and he forced himself to breathe evenly and quietly, while he saw two pair of legs entering the room.
"Well, what do we have here?" said a mocking, harsh voice, laced with amused cruelty. "Yagami-san's little wife. We could have some fun with her, don't you think?"
"I think we should," replied another voice, gruff, hoarse, and taunting, "Look how she trembles." The man let out a vicious laughter. "Is that gun supposed to scare us, slut?"
"Don't move," said his mother's sobbing voice. "Don't move or I'll shoot."
"You're going to shoot us, bitch?" jeered one of the men, snidely cackling. "I don't think so. We're going to have some fun with you and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. We'll have you moaning like an alley whore."
It happened so quickly that Raito didn't have time to do anything. He saw the legs of the men advancing, his mother cried out, and he saw her gun falling to the floor, far away from the bed.
Under the bedspring, Raito's eyes widened with alarm and he immediately pressed his hand tighter against Sayu's mouth, covering her ears with an arm.
He was frozen in place and didn't know what to do. He should wait a bit longer before acting. He cleared his mind and forced himself to think clearly, detachedly and coldly. There was no other way, he should wait until the men were busy with his mother, and then he would come out, grab the gun and threaten the men.
He felt Sayu trembling against his chest, her terrified tears soaking the hand he had pressed against her mouth, but there was little he could do to offer her comfort or reassurance.
Then, abruptly, he heard his mother yell, her legs disappeared from his line of sight and a body was forcefully pushed on the bed, the weight sinking the mattress above him.
Raito clenched his jaw with blazing fury when he saw one the men's legs disappear from his sight, more weight added on the bed, since the man had certainly climbed on it. But the other man's legs were still visible - that man was standing a few feet away from the bed, watching what his partner did.
His mother's cries, sobs, and screams reached new heights, and Raito gritted his teeth so tightly that he was sure they would break. He felt a mantle of coldness wrap around him while he heard his mother's struggles. He heard the ripping of clothes, the sharp sound of a zipper being pulled down, the snickers of the man who was attacking his mother, and the vicious laughter of the other who observed.
Raito's felt as if his heart was freezing, he felt completely impotent, ripped from any sense of control, and he hated it.
And like a mantra, he coldly repeated to himself that he couldn't act yet. The other man was observing, if he came out from the bed, he would be instantly attacked. He had to wait… he had to wait until that man was busy as well…
His mother shrieked, her voice laced with agony, as the mattress above him began to sink as if someone was pounding into it, grunts and moans were heard, now meshed with his mother's sobs and whimpers and with the other man's cackling.
It seemed to go on forever, the viciously delighted moans, the cruel laughter, his mother's broken sobs, the pounding of thrusts… and with each passing second, Raito felt a fist of coldness coiling and tightly clutching his chest.
His eyes were wide and unseeing, his heartbeat low, his breathing forcefully quiet and even, while he pressed his little sister tighter against himself, trying to muffle the terrible sounds from her ears, as he repeatedly told himself that he had to wait… he had to wait…
Finally, a last grunt of pleasure reverberated in the bedroom, his mother's sobs were now a quiet, agonizing whimper, and Raito saw how the legs of the man who had observed the rape approached the bed.
"Do you want to fuck this slut now? She's no beauty but her cunt is tight enough."
"Hm," said the man who approached the bed. "We should look for the brats. The boss ordered that we had to kill the whole family."
"Come now," interjected the other man with a hoarse bout of laughter. "We'll have fun with the brats later. Enjoy this bitch. We can fuck her at the same time."
Raito briefly closed his eyes, his jaw clenching tightly, but he impelled himself to wait. Sayu was with him and he just needed the other man to get on the bed, then he would act and help his mother…
"At the same time, you say?" said one man, his voice cruelly amused while considering the option. "Nah, I'm bored already. And I'm tired of the whore's whines."
Raito's eyes flew open, alarmed and frenzied, his muscles tensing, and he was about to jump into action when a clear gunshot loudly resounded throughout the room.
Sayu froze by his side, but he didn't look at her - his eyes simply widened, their expression empty and haunted while he felt the mattress above them still, his mother's whimpers no longer heard.
Distantly, he heard the voices of the two men, their tone viciously amused and congratulatory, as he felt something wet and slick sliding on his face.
Frozenly, Raito touched his cheek and then gazed at his fingertips, stained with blood that wasn't his. More drops splat on his face and he felt his hair plastering and drenching.
With wide eyes, he gazed upwards, and saw how the mattress was rapidly being covered by dark red patches – his mother's blood.
He felt that cold grasp around his chest relentlessly tightening, his emotions muted as if petrified. He had miscalculated; he had thought that the other man would join his partner. He had calculated and he had been wrong… And now his mother was dead… along with his father…
But he couldn't allow himself to think about that, he couldn't afford it.
Raito's jaw clenched and his eyes came back into focus, narrowing with chilly assessment.
He had to act now, before Sayu and he were discovered... He saw two pairs of legs now, the men calmly walking around the room, opening closets and inspecting the broken window… They would soon check under the bed…
Without a glance towards his sister, who now laid unmoving by his side, Raito immediately lurched forwards from under the bed.
The men instantly spun around, yelling at him, but Raito didn't pay any attention and he dived to the floor, instantly grasping the gun his mother had dropped when attacked.
Swiftly, he jumped to his feet and aimed the gun at them, his arms extended and stiff, his grip firm.
The two men had their guns aimed back at him, and Raito felt a flare of overwhelming rage and hatred, but he forced himself to inspect them, and to analyze the situation, coldly.
The men looked like thugs, heavily muscled, one of them with a long scar marring his face. Nevertheless, what caught Raito's attention was the large tattoo one of the men displayed. It had to be the man who had raped his mother, since his zipper was still down and his shirt had been discarded, revealing a heavily scarred chest that displayed a tattoo along his right arm and shoulder: a highly detailed red dragon.
And then, Raito understood. The men were part of the Red Dragon crime syndicate, the yakuza that had been attacked yesterday by his father and the NPA team, following Eraldo Coil's orders.
This was the yakuza's retaliation for having their Tokyo headquarters discovered and raided, but this was also because the NPA hadn't killed them, just arrested them without finding their leader. These thugs had either escaped the attack or they hadn't been at the syndicate's headquarters.
"Oh, look at this," jeered one of the men, the one who must have been observing how his mother was raped and who had finally shot her, since he was still completely dressed. The disgusting man licked his lips, leering at him. "What a pretty, little boy you are. I didn't know that Yagami had spawned something so beautiful-"
"Shut up," gritted out Raito, his voice tight and cold while he still aimed at the men. "Don't move a toe or I'll shoot-"
The other man, the rapist, viciously cackled. "Just what your whorish mother said, ain't it? Didn't do her any good, though. So drop the gun, brat, and we'll go easy on you."
"Yes," said the other man, his leer intensifying while his gaze travelled along Raito's body. "I'll have some fun with you, boy. You're more my taste." He smirked, and said with cruel mock, "But I'll be gentle and I'll kill you quickly afterwards if you please me, boy." His eyes snapped to his partner's, as he added sharply, "Get the girl. The boy came from underneath the bed, so Yagami's little daughter must be there-"
"Don't!" yelled Raito, aiming his gun at the man who had moved towards the bed. "Leave her alone or I'll-"
"Shoot you?" taunted the tattoed man, his voice dripping with vicious derision. "I bet you don't even know how to do it."
It happened so quickly that Raito didn't even blink. The man leaped towards the bed, quickly pulling out a petrified Sayu, and Raito's finger instantly pressed the trigger…
But nothing happened, just a 'click' was issued by the gun he was firmly gripping, and Raito's frantic eyes gazed down at the weapon.
The leering man let out a cruel cackle of laughter. "The little boy doesn't know how to use a gun!"
Raito's jaw clenched, twitching with fury, since it was true, his father hadn't wanted him to know how to use a gun when he was so young. But that hadn't been the problem; the safety lock was still on, and he had thought that his mother had removed it.
Swiftly, before they could react, Raito's finger surreptitiously clicked down the lock, before he reassessed the situation. The tattoed man had Sayu pressed against his body, as a shield, while the muzzle of his gun was pressed against Sayu's head. His little sister seemed completely unaware of the situation while her limp body was held by the man. Her face was pale, covered by streaks of tears and by their mother's blood, her eyes were wide and unfocused, and her mouth was parted while her breathing was haggard and heavy.
"Sayu-chan," whispered Raito softly, trying to garner her attention, but she didn't respond, and the tattoed man holding her cackled with cruel amusement.
"Drop the gun, boy," said the other man gruffly, though he still leered at him, "or we kill your little sister."
"Let's kill them both and be done with this," interjected the tattoed man. "We have to leave before the police arrive. They won't be long."
"Yes, but I want to have some fun with the boy first," said the other, his disgustingly lustful gaze never leaving Raito. "You had fun with the slut, now it's my turn to have a bit of fun as well."
"Then be quick," said the tattoed man with impatience.
The other man made a move towards Raito, but Raito instantly aimed his gun at him, and spat in a cold and threatening voice, "Don't move!"
His mind spun and rushed with endless scenarios, quickly gauging what he should do to get Sayu and himself alive from the situation.
He would only have time to shoot one of them, before he was shot back or before Sayu was killed. He could either shoot to incapacitate the man, aiming at the man's right shoulder so that he couldn't use the gun, or aiming at a leg or ankle, to make him topple to the floor. Or he could shoot at the man's head or heart… shoot to kill…
But his father had always told him that criminals had to be incapacitated first, and then arrested so that they would face justice. And the police would arrive soon, wouldn't they? How long had it been since these thugs had entered the house? Fifteen minutes… more? The police would take about twenty minutes to arrive if some neighbor called about hearing gunshots…
Then, he could make the men dally there for a while, until the police came, and he could use the distraction to pull Sayu away from the tattoed man…
"Drop the fucking gun!" yelled the tattoed man, his gruff voice impatient and annoyed, while he pressed his gun's muzzle to Sayu's head. "Do it now or I'll kill her instantly."
"Come boy, don't be a fool," jeered the other man, taking one step closer to Raito. "I'll kill you and your sister swiftly if you obey. Be pliant, and you won't suffer much. I'll show mercy to such a pretty thing like you. I'll kill you quickly after I have my fun…"
But Raito was barely paying attention to their words, his gaze kept assessing all of them and his mind was rapidly trying to find a solution… Maim or kill… Could he kill? He had never used a gun and he had never killed before… And, yes, he thought that criminals should be punished by law, and that they should be executed, but after being sentenced… and his father always said…
Though his father was dead, along with his mother… his father had been wrong, hadn't he? His father had been too weak, not ruthless enough, since he had been killed, allowing this filth to attack the rest of the family…
However, if he shot to kill, then he would be a criminal as well… A thirteen-year-old killer, and then what would he do?
Raito's throat dried, and his chest clenched with cold fury while he gazed at his petrified little sister. She had been traumatized by all of this… Sayu… Would she be the same after this? And where on earth was the police? How long would they take?
"That's it," sharply said the tattoed man, glancing at his partner. "I've had it and we have to leave-"
"It's my turn to have some fun," snarled the other man, taking a step closer to Raito. "You fucked the-"
"Yes," snapped the tattoed man angrily, his posture tense, while thick beads of sweat started to pour down his forehead, "but the police will be here in any minute-"
"Onii-san, help me," whispered a soft, broken, pleading voice.
Startled, Raito's eyes snapped to his little sister, but her voice had also startled the others, and everything happened in a kind of hazy slow motion... The tense, tattoed man had given a small jump in surprise, his finger jerking his gun's trigger… a loud gunshot echoed in the room… Sayu's head was pierced open by a gaping hole… rivers of blood poured from it while her lifeless body dropped to the floor… the men were screaming at each other, and then one of them leaped forwards… and Raito was barely aware of the shriek of despair, anguished hatred and fury that ripped from his throat while he madly and repeatedly shot everything that moved… his heart wildly pounding with rage, a rushing noise filling his ears, his sight becoming red… the red of flows of blood... And then, absolute, deadening silence.
Raito took a sharp intake of breath, his chest heaving haggardly while the gun dropped from his fingers. His body was rigid and stiff, his mind a cacophony of meshed and incoherent thoughts, while his wide eyes gazed at his surroundings…
Both men laid dead on the floor, their bodies pouring blood from countless gunshot-wounds, Sayu's small body was stiff, her head breached open and her face unrecognizable, his mother's body was covered by blood on the bed, her form nude around the clothes which had been ripped from her… and Raito almost screamed again, his hands tightly gripping his head.
But then, distantly, came the wails of police sirens, and it was as if something snapped in Raito. The deep-rooted despair and anguished sorrow seemed to sink into a deep pit, and he pushed it away, locking it away from his thoughts, while he forced himself into collected coldness, to think clearly. The burning behind his eyes, the swelling of unshed tears, stopped, since he wouldn't allow himself to cry. He had never cried and nothing would be accomplished by it.
His whole family was dead. He had no one left, he was utterly alone, and he had killed. Raito gazed at his bloodied hands.
He was a killer.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, and his jaw clenched with blazing fury, for that was the only thing that he had left, the only thing which he could use to go on.
His father had been wrong; criminals had to be killed before they had the chance to do things like this. Waiting for sentence and justice didn't work. His father and the NPA should have killed the yakuzas and they should have found the yakuza boss before the man ordered the execution of the Yagami family.
The wail of sirens came closer, and Raito immediately came to a conclusion, his hands clenching into fists. It was clear, the NPA assault of Red Dragon's headquarters had failed; they hadn't captured the yakuza boss because there had been an informant in the police force. That was the only explanation possible, he knew it with blazing certainty.
Furthermore, he had killed in self-defense, but if the NPA had a mole, then the yakuzas would find and kill him.
He knew how it worked. When there was an order to execute a whole family, the Japanese mafia didn't stop until the last member of that family was killed.
And now that he had no family left, he would be sent to an orphanage, if he was lucky enough not to be sent to a juvenile reformatory. And the yakuzas would find him if he went to an orphanage.
They would find him if he stayed in the country. The Red Dragon was the largest crime syndicate in Japan, they had bribed contacts and spies everywhere.
He had to leave Japan, and more importantly, he would have his revenge.
He had lost Sayu, his little sister, the only one he had cared about… Raito's throat tightened, but he refused to look at her body. He looked at nothing but his own reflection in the mirror which hung on a wall.
Automatically, with his shoulders stiff and with his body cold, he wiped his mother's blood from his face, feeling nothing but an eerie detachment and sense of purpose.
He quickly snatched the largest shard of glass from the window he had shattered. He gritted his teeth together and quickly slashed his forearm. He paced the room, allowing thick flows of his blood to splatter on the floor. Then, he quickly grabbed the gun he had used and he wiped it clean from fingerprints, using his shirt's sleeve. Subsequently, still grabbing it with his sleeve, he pressed the gun into the hand of one of the men, and he left it there.
Let the police wonder if he had been kidnapped and then killed by a third attacker. That would serve his purpose, since Yagami Raito could exist no more, for his own safety.
With his mind now clear and coldly focused, Raito rushed to the bathroom and splattered water to clean his face and hair from any traces of blood, making sure that none of his blood remained in the sink. He quickly ran back into his parent's bedroom and he pocketed all the cash his father kept in the security box; their safety-blanket if the family needed money for some emergency.
The sounds of sirens came closer, and Raito ran to his bedroom, quickly snatching his school backpack but only filling it with one shirt and one trouser, nothing that could be missed by the police, and he grabbed his unused passport.
After making sure everything was set for the police to suspect about his possible demise, he quickly rushed down the stairs.
Briefly, he halted in his tracks when he saw his father's body, with a gaping gunshot wound in the chest. He felt a faint pang of sorrow, but he felt anger the most.
His father had failed his own family, and the police was clearly corrupt if the NPA's Chief's family had been executed and the police had been unable to prevent it. His father's sense of justice lacked the ruthlessness and cold-heartedness required to dispose of criminals. His father hadn't killed the murderers of his little sister and of his mother.
Yes, his father had failed, and his whole family had been killed because of his father's weakness - raiding the Red Dragon crime syndicate and making some arrests instead of killing them, working in a police force that was corrupted, not suspecting that there was a bribed mole in their midst.
And Eraldo Coil had been the one who had ordered the NPA to break into the yakuzas' headquarters. The detective had failed to detect a mole in the police force too, and his family had paid the price.
Now with his father already dead, there was no one to blame but the Red Dragon crime syndicate -most particularly the yakuza boss- the corrupted Japanese police force, the mole, and Eraldo Coil.
Raito averted his cold gaze from his father's body and wrenched open the front door, running as fast as he could with his backpack perched on a shoulder, and instantly taking a dark alley to hide from the police cars which rushed along the street.
Their action too little and too late – the police as always ineffectual.
He crouched in the darkness of the night beside a garbage bin, and his hands clenched into fists, shaking with blazing fury and determination.
He would have his revenge on the yakuzas, the corrupted policemen, and Eraldo Coil. That detective who gave orders from the safety of his anonymity, without getting personally involved when the police had to take action, and who had, with his mistake of not detecting a mole, allowed the murder of the Yagami family.
The Red Dragon and Eraldo Coil. Those names would be forever branded in his mind until he got his revenge.