X listened in amusement at the other detectives’ deductions. They all had valid points. He had to disagree with Y, though. Considering they had no clue how Kira killed his victims, that L girl’s analysis was not as obvious as he implied. He thought it was a brilliant deduction, especially since it came from a ten year old. X was also intrigued by the notion that Kira was among them. He had toyed with the idea, himself, on the way to the meeting. What if Kira was hiding among the detectives, just waiting for the opportunity to kill them off one by one? It was a cunning way to get rid of one’s enemies.

“Considering the fact that we all are very secretive about ourselves,” X mused aloud, leaning back in his chair again and rocking in it. “Isn’t it possible that Kira could have already killed one of the detectives who was supposed to meet here today, and is impersonating him? Given his record of finding classified information, I think it’s possible. I mean, we didn’t have any idea what anyone else looked like before we met here, so Kira could have slipped in and we’d be none the wiser.” He paused, sweeping his gaze over the other detectives’ faces to judge their reactions. “It makes sense. Here is a group of Kira’s greatest intellectual rivals. If he had an opportunity to infiltrate and get rid of us, why wouldn’t he take it?”

The police chief held up his hands in another completely unnecessary gesture to calm everyone down. He waited until he felt like he had everyone’s full attention. X got the impression he was a very self-important guy. He dropped his front chair legs back onto the carpeted floor and looked at the chief expectantly.

“Now,” the chief said, clearing his throat loudly. “I merely called this first meeting to hear your initial thoughts on the case, not point fingers or start a witch-hunt. I was hoping you’d all get along,” he glared at the detectives in turn. “But it seems that is not going to happen. Anyways, now that the first part is over, I’d like to hear what you think the best methods are for capturing Kira. I think I speak for everyone when I say we want him brought to justice as quickly as possible.”

---

M sighed under his breath. The chief had just said he wanted them to get along, but asking for the separate opinions of eleven detectives –all of whom think they are the most important person in the room– was just asking for a fight. He already had a plan, but he wasn’t about to share it with these people. Instead, he just sat back to watch the chaos ensue.