catboymettaton

Her eyes lit up as she twirled for the mirror.

"Wow," she giggled — it seemed the euphoria had overwhelmed her mask. "It does spin. Thank you, Ryuzaki."

"Of course."

He had worried that helping Light would make him grow softer, would make him let down his guard. But his fears had not come to fruition. He remained as cautious as ever.

Her happiness was not contagious. Rather, it sent a knife twisting inside his gut. A bitterness coating his tongue that no amount of sugar cubes could cover.

But he couldn't dwell on these thoughts. He had cases to solve.

The police, for the most part, agreed. It was self defense, they ruled, and so you were released. The only one at fault was Nakaokaji himself.

Of course, this wasn't true at all. Nakaokaji was nearly as blameless as you. But the police had no way of knowing this, and no way to punish a dead man.

Funny, isn't it? No one can punish a corpse. In the end, all humans turn out the same.

Self defense or not, as you wash your hands for the fifth time in twenty minutes you can't forget that you killed a man.

You've always been a good upstanding Japanese citizen. Or maybe you haven't, maybe you've made your fair share of mistakes — no one is perfect, after all. But you've never been arrested. You've never been caught.

And, of course, ever since the news broke about Kira, you've been trying your very best to keep it that way. You follow the law to the letter. You discourage bad behavior in your peers. You show up to work five minutes early and remain focused and diligent till the moment your shift ends. Because you're a good person. You're not a criminal. Not like the late Nakaokaji.

You're sure Kira had nothing to do with Nakaokaji, of course. Kira only stops the hearts of the wicked. You are the only one who killed him. You are the only one with blood on your hands.

You're just as bad as he was, aren't you? He was a killer, and now you are too.

Self defense, you remind yourself, self defense. You were in danger. If you hadn't acted first he would have killed you. And you didn't mean to kill him. You just wanted to stop him. You wanted to save yourself. You didn't mean to kill him.

Does it matter that you didn't mean to kill him? The outcome is the same. It doesn't matter what you meant. A man still died at your hands. You're a killer.

And the grand killer, Kira, is watching.

Of all the beasts I am the best!

All day I’m hard at work, and so -

I curl up to get some rest.

In my tuxedo, finely dressed

I strut about and make a show.

Of all the beasts I am the best!

I never let myself get stressed.

I’ll catch that little dot, I know!

I curl up to get some rest.

No door can stop me, east or west,

From trav’ling where I want to go.

Of all the beasts I am the best!

All day I spend out on a quest,

Running, jumping, to and fro.

I curl up to get some rest.

When evening comes, I seek my nest -

Under the bed, where I lay low.

Of all the beasts I am the best!

I curl up to get some rest.

• The mid autumn festival was next week.
• They had a train ticket to see Jenny.
• Jenny loved red bean mooncakes.
• The Asian grocery store nearby had mooncakes.
• Polly was willing to drive them to the Asian grocery store.

• How to read any of the Chinese characters labelling the moon cakes.