January 29th, 2023 – 9:30 PM
Tokyo Airport
OK, I’m finally here. Tokyo. And to think that, 15 years ago, I’d have done this trip with much more joy. Now, only to think at what I’ll have to eat for the next months… Yuck!
Kira… Is it possible that he has returned? It’s all I can think at while I drag my luggage across the airport, trying to find the way out, and a cab. I enter the first one I find, and collapse on the passenger’s seat. A long trip, crossing no less than seven time zones… It’s not easy.
“Where to, sir?” the driver asks in poor English.
“Juyoh Hotel, please. No need to rush”, I answer in Japanese, better than his English. He seems unamused. I try to break the ice with the most interesting subject I can think of at that time. “So… Kira, uh?”
“Yes”, he answers, unenthusiastically.
“Is that true?”
He faces me when he stops at a red light. “Yes. That’s me.”
What?! Have the long flight damaged my brain or something? Only after a while, I look at the driver’s license right in front of me. “Kojiro Kira”. I laugh.
“God, you’ve scared me! For an instant I thought...” I look back to him, and he continues to face me with that unique Japanese gaze, capable of making you feel the most idiotic person in the world. “Stupid gaijin”, that’s what he must be thinking right now. I shut up for the rest of the ride.
Finally at the hotel’s room – a tight cubicle with a so-called bed on the floor – I drop my luggage and start thinking. Has Kira really returned? And, if he did, why would he be on Japan, again? Why to start looking for him here?
Smiling, I remember why. I was still a dumb teenager by then, but I learned that well. How did that “L” guy pinpoint Kira’s location at the first time? He went after the first mysterious death, and assumed that was a test of Kira’s powers. And I found the same pattern. Well, almost. Natsukiho Takamura. After being declared innocent by the Japanese courts, he walks out through the front door. And then, out of randomness, he attacks a reporter and dies in an orgy of blood. Quite the exquisite death. Is that a good clue about Kira’s whereabouts? Well, it’s better than nothing.
Anyway, here I am. First step: interviews. A small essay, just for start. What does the Japanese people think of the rumors of Kira’s return? First impressions, just so that the boss doesn’t think I’m doing nothing around here. Then, maybe I’ll contact the police. What will they do about it? And, one day, who knows? A one-on-one interview with Kira himself? Imagine that… I could write a book out of it! “Interview with Kira”!
I think of it for awhile, and then start laughing at myself. OK, it’s official: jet lag has damaged my brain. Wearing the same clothes, I collapse on the bed, hoping that my body clock will be back to normal by tomorrow.
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Finally, I’m a part of this RP! Sorry for taking so long, and for any English mistakes! Marco is up for a slooow start, LOL.
It’s been a long time since I last tried first-person narrative, so I’m open for critics and suggestions.
