Chapter Fifteen

I heed Mr Matsuda's warning and force myself not to check. The monster looking at me may not be fooled but there is a chance it won't talk if I go now. 'Mr Matsuda,' I call.

'Yes?'

'Is it still staring at me?'

'It's still staring at you. In fact, ever since it got here, it hasn't taken its eyes off you.'

'Alright. Thanks.'

'Should I be worried?'

'Not at all.'

I copy the report from the Word and email it, deleting all transactions immediately for safety. As for the report, I print it and keep it in a file by Ryuzaki. My place on the Task Force may or may not come to an end and with the way things are progressing, I may have to go back to France soon it looks like. I suspect the entity known as Kira is still out there, smiling a sinister, victorious smile at successfully using the pawn in his place. But if that's the case, nothing should be on my way to France, in shame if not my mission partially accomplished. But the issue of the Shinigami doesn't leave my mind. Slowly, I get up, giving no pretences to where I'm going. Light returns from his rendez-vous at that moment. As I pass him, what feels like ominous energy oozes out of him, disappearing almost instantly. Trying not to react to it proves almost too difficult. I continue walking up until I reach the next room on the same floor, a small space allowing some view into the outside world. For a moment I wait, just standing there. As much as I want to get lost in my own thoughts, I remain alert.

Wait.

Wait.

My hand reaches for the knife holstered in my sleeve, and without hesitation, I swing it at the door leading into the room, backhand. The knife goes through the only visible eye of the Shinigami, doing it no harm. It stares at me, perplexed but also dull, the mouth hanging open slightly revealing its fangs.

'What do you want?' I demand.

It silently stares back, as if studying me and then, slowly, it walks closer to me. I stay still, knowing that no hamr will come to the thing even if I try but also prepared to defend myself somehow. Its eyes peer directly into me and I suddenly feel very uncomfortable in its presence. Finally, it speaks, its voice deep and slow: 'Your lifespan. I can't see your lifespan.'

'Excuse me?'

'You're human but I can't see your lifespan.' A pause. And then: 'Perhaps you're not all human. But you're not a Shinigami.'

'Last I chicked, iam more or less human.'

'Then how is it that I can't see your lifespan?'

'What's this lifespan you keep talking about?'

'We Shinigami can see the lifespan of humans, a series of numbers atop their heads that determine how much longer they have to life. All I see above your head is your name. that's how I'm sure that some of you, maybe most of you is human.'

'Right.'

'Frejda?' Light calls, coming into the room, 'is everything okay? I thought I—' the knife stuck to the wall beside him catches his attention. 'What's going on?'

'Nothing. Do you want something?'

'Yeah. We're going to go over a few things regarding the notebook. I just came to get you for that.'

'Alright.'

I follow Light back into the main room. Ryuzaki commences over the meeting, making it clear that the existence of the notebook is meant to be kept between us, implying to Light to keep Misa in order. As for Kira, for now we can be safe and say that he's caught and that criminals should not be dying any time soon. All that's left is to clean up a couple of things regarding the case. On that note, Ryuzaki dismisses us, ordering only the Shinigami to stay on sight. As I retreat to my room, a hand sizes my wrist. Light: 'What did the Shinigami want with you?'

'I'm—honestly not sure.'

'You threw a knife in her direction.'

'She was following me around. It's not every day I take an effect on something like this either.'

He chuckles, releasing me but does not walk way: 'I guess that makes sense. By the way, now that we've caught Kira, does that mean you'll be headed back to France?'

'Yep.'

'Oh.'

'I mean, I've been here past six months. I stay any longer and I may look like an illegal immigrant.'

'Okay. So, when are you—'

'I'm not sure yet. But I'll let you know once I have it figured out.'

'Yeah, I'd hate for you to leave without saying good-bye.'

'Slow down there; don't you have a girlfriend?'

'Yeah, I know.'

'So, are you going to go home?'

'I think I'm gonna stick around.'

'Right. Well I don't know about you but I'm starving and, oh, Misa's here.'

We both turn our attention to the camera showing Misa at the front door.

'You don't keep a lady waiting Light,' Chief Yagami says, 'go see her.'

'Right.'

As he leaves, I notice Ryuzaki watching him go from the couch. I decide not to stick around and despite my hunger, make plans to swim first before eating. At the pool, relaxation hits me with every reminder of slumber I could possibly have. My body excites for the water, so I dive in and do some laps but its short lived. As I get out and dry off, I slip on my shoes intending to have a meal and watch a movie, if I can find one. I walk out of the pool and nearly bump into Light who stands there with his hands in his pockets. 'What in the—'

'Sorry,' he says.

'You okay?'

'Yeah. I'm fine. Um, I was just wondering if the Shinigami snuck off to follow you again.'

'Uh, no. I think it knew to stick around Ryuzaki.'

'Yeah, I guess.'

I turn to leave but Light's full figure suddenly gets in the way, a protective and intruding force pushing against me. Before I know it, his lips contact my ear, whispering: 'If the Shinigami comes near you again, I need you to watch it, especially finding out why she's interested in you. She hasn't stopped staring at you since she came here and it's making everyone nervous.'

His warm breath against my ear and neck carries the warning more than his voice, which sounds almost threatening. My voice fails me, so I nod to let him know I've received the message. If I hadn't noticed it before, I notice it now: there's something different about Light, a reversion to the boy who first walked into the hotel room to confess the possibility of being Kira. Cold, calculating, distant but also close. I can't help but think, in these few moments, he's back. I glance up at him. His eyes. They've reverted to the way they've been when I first met him: narrow, stressed, almost like there're things that he shouldn't see but wanted to see, and resulted as part of the damage. But maybe I'm reading too much into them. After all, they're the eyes of an agemate whom I've known in the time I've been with the Task Force. In fact, I met him before I met the rest of the Task Force, including Ryuzaki. There's so much I could miss because Light is not the kind to interact with people outside work. He's a soul unto himself. Still, I can't shake off the feeling that he hides something behind those stressful eyes. But who am I to talk? I smile at Light in acknowledgement and move to my room. I almost expect him to follow me but am not surprised when he doesn't and spend the rest of the day relaxed. Come evening, I find myself wondering to the roof, where I sit in thought over everything that has transpired. There's a lot missing from the puzzle. Even if I sit here all night, the puzzles I look for won't simply be yielded to and if I have to stay longer to figure them out, I wonder if I'll have enough to make that sacrifice.

The next day presents a normal day in the office, a casual work day which we use for watching out for new developments regarding the case. For some of us, that includes taking a break from the Kira case and pursuing other cases from the police station. Much to my dismay, I remain the subject of the Shinigami's. it looks at no one else, not even the most eccentric person in the room. I wish it would stop, for my own sanity. Feeling a little useless, I walk over to the couch I pull out the new book I'm reading, giving it a go until I'm called for something. But even as I read, my mind wonders back to the mysterious notebook. I don't think I've figured out everything there is to know about that book yet. Dropping the one I'm reading, I pull out the Death Note from its bag and study the rules one by one.

Each rule plays part in the next, carefully describing exceptions and sometimes, cancellations to the note's relationship with the human. Note rule that jumps out to me almost instantly thought, is the rule regarding the god of death:

The person in possession of the Death Note is possessed by a god of death, its original owner, until they die

If these are the rules of the Death Note, then the Shinigami must be part of that human owner. In other words, the Death Note owner and the god of death are either one entity or the owner becomes the god of death, albeit not an immortal one. I wonder if Higuchi ever achieved that status. But the presence of the Shinigami causes me to question all of this. Possession usually implies that the spirit or supernatural being takes control of the host's body by slipping into the body. But if the Shinigami is here—then again it does say 'until they die'. Higuchi's long dead. So, the Shinigami is free. But, in all technicalities, Chief Yagami was the next person who touched the notebook. Even with Higuchi's death he seems his usual self. The Shinigami follows us around, but it doesn't really seem interested in Chief Yagami. Is it because he hasn't submitted to the temptations of the Death Note or is there something else going on? What if, what if the word 'possession' here is more of haunt? My thoughts snap for two distractions: first, the following rules listed in relation to the god of death, and second, the camera showing Misa at the front.

'Poor girl,' Mr Matsuda says, 'as long as we're here, we can't turn our phones on. She has to come all the way here just to hang out with Light.'

'Light, would you hurry up and go see her?' Chief Yagami says, 'You should never keep a girl waiting.'

'Okay.'

Light turns to leave, giving me a helpless look on the way.

What the—

For the first time, I notice the Shinigami eyes land on Misa, turning to her with what I perceive as concern. That's odd. Why would—

Saints!

I watch the Shinigami and the exchange between Misa and Light simultaneously. The reaction of the Shinigami gives confirms my suspicions all the more but I'm not sure it's enough. This thing appears to care for Misa, its eyes anxiously glazing at the screen, almost terror stricken as some secret between the two reveals itself. The more I watch, the more I'm almost certain that this Shinigami may have been in the confinement room with Misa the night I stayed up with Ryuzaki. I'd already through the voice sounded familiar. This can't be a coincidence can it?

As I watch Light hug Misa, the earlier invasion I felt as he was close to me returns and suddenly, just as I feel it, I notice a large black shadow looming over the embracing couple, with a pair of familiar red eyes flashing. It disappears as quickly as it came. Something is going on here, something I've missed and suddenly, I feel a cold embrace, not of Death but of a warning. As if I'm told that this, whatever it is, will get much, much worse. I catch a glimpse of Ryuzaki glancing at me as I think this and something about it seems to be an omen, a decision decided not by fate, but by a cruel manipulator of fate that shouldn't even have that power. Up until this point, I'd hoped that it would be no one else; only do I realise how wrong I will be. As I gather my thoughts around the Death Note, continuing to look over the rules, I sense the closing presence of the Shinigami. Its eyes study me about as closely as I study the rules. 'I suppose I cannot ask you questions about this,' I say.

'You can ask, but the answers I give will have to suffice.'

'No point in asking then. I have to study these on my own first. Besides, Ryuzaki's been asking you and he's gotten nowhere so—'

'I have questions for you.'

'Like?' I sigh.

'Where is it you come from?'

'France, why?'

'Do you tell tales of the Shinigami there?'

'Not really. I never knew of the Shinigami until I came here.'

'Is that so?'

'Why do you ask?'

'Because I need to know what it is that I can't see it.'

Right. It mentioned not being able to see my lifespan.

'I saw you earlier.'

'What are you talking about?'

'You were watching Light Yagami and Misa. Then you seemed paralysed and I felt it.'

'Felt what?'

I'd thought to be the only person asking that but the sound of two male voices in sync with mine almost startles me. The Shinigami glares, despite its rather stoic look, at Light but also at Ryuzaki who seems keen to ask it more questions. But since I have hold of the Death Note, he can't he can't observe it enough to ask more. A hand grips my shoulder and Light speaks saying: 'Are you planning on turning her into the next Kira, Shinigami?'

I give Light a confused look but the Shinigami only glares at Light before walking away.

'I think the Shinigami is not particularly fond of humans,' Ryuzaki observes.

'I agree,' Light nods.

I would too, if something about the way the Shinigami glared at Light didn't look personal. But how would it know Light? If I were to jump to conclusions, I would say that Ryuzaki's theory about Light being make sense but even thinking about that possibility, something seems to be missing, a puzzle. I wonder what I can get out of the Shinigami. So far, the thing has approached me only if it knew that I was alone. The best time for that would be when everyone else is sleeping, which, through more frequent, is very late at night. Ryuzaki, who works with little sleep, could be awake and alert at any time at night. Light sleeps a bit longer, mainly on the couch since being released from the chains. I'd have to stay here, which wouldn't be unusual for me but…

Oy. This is going to take a lot of health out of me. But if what I'm pursuing is worth it, then this should be a sacrifice. Throughout the day, I focus on the rules, marking them on my notes where I find any confusion or something contradictory. I approach the Shinigami with questions about the rules, which it answers carefully, and sometimes, with a little more detail. The notes I take help gather some thoughts as I look through the notebook and Highuchi's form of killing. He mostly writes the criminals names to let them dies of heart attacks while writing the cause of death for the business competitors. Looking through this, I begin to consider how many accidents we overlooked because Kira's signature moves have been heart attacks. It would take someone clever to set people up as accidental deaths, especially if you're Kira and you wouldn't want people to get in your way. No wonder we caught Higuuchi so easily; the killings were set up to locate us directly to him. It was almost too clear that punishing criminals was a guise to confuse the public and the police. The original Kira rose to create a world free of crime; an idealist with a childish mind. Higuchi's traceable lead was a greedy man for power. Two opposing ideals, two opposite characteristics, one entity. I look at the notebook again. The page its on reveals the last set of rules, the ones I suspect to be fake.

Taking spare pieces of paper, along with a pen, I approach the Shinigami. It looks at me as it has since it got here, curious, filled with questions that it can't ask in privacy. 'Shinigami, can you do me a favour?'

'What's that?'

'Can you write the rules of the Death Note down? In English?'

'What's the point?'

'Please, just do it. Write as many of the rules as you can fit into these papers.'

Although it's confused, it does as I ask. To give it space, I pull over my book and read. In five minutes, it's done. I take the papers back and look at them. It's just as I suspected. Even if it's a god of death, its human traits stand out plainly: the Shinigami's handwriting. It's different from the notebook in my hands, meaning there's a strong possibility that a god of death can write fake rules into this notebook for some twisted reason. I guess the question is: what might that reason be?

'Have you found what you're looking for?' the Shinigami asks.

'Sort of,' I answer. 'But it's also produced more questions.'

'I see.'

A pause.

'Earlier,' it continues, 'I wanted to say that I felt your eyes open and your fear rise. Somehow, you're connected to death and it gives you a vision most ordinary humans don't have. I just want to know why.'

'What do you mean by that? How did you feel my eyes open?'

'I don't know. I—I just knew what I felt.'

I remain calm. No one seems to hear our conversation. But from my peripheral vision, I can see Light glancing in our direction and it makes me more curious as to why that is. Somehow, he seems frightened by my interaction with the Shinigami. I'm not sure I have the time to find out why. But my suspicions rise. Later, a little exhausted from all that pondering and theorising, I lie down on the couch hoping for a nap. No other Task Force member seems to mind my taking to the couch, except for Light who feels appealed to join me, not to sleep, but to sit by me. My head rests against his lap but he doesn't play with my hair, which I appreciate. 'Is everything okay?' he asks.

'Yeah, why?'

'I meant with you and the Shinigami?'

'Yeah, everything's fine. I think it's just interested in my foreign appearance, that's all.'

'Huh.'

He doesn't seem to believe me.

'Can I confide in you about something?' I ask.

'Sure.'

'Earlier, I approached the Shinigami with a theory. I didn't tell it what I thought but I had it write down the rules of the Death Note.'

I glance at him, managing to catch what looks like a twitch in the eye.

'And?'

'Well, I compared the rules, which as it promised, are the same.'

'Okay?'

'But, I've always noticed that when it comes to polytheistic gods, they tend to have human traits, little details often ignored by their worshippers, maybe even the gods themselves. Shinigami are gods of death, their role to bring souls to the other side. But they may be distinct amongst themselves, each to their own personalities, like we humans are.'

Now he seems confused. 'Where are you going with this?'

'The Notebook. I suspected that the rules were handwritten by a god of death but to test that hypothesis, I had a god of death do exactly that. The Shinigami wrote identical rules to the Notebook, but its handwriting differed from the original.'

'Wait. How are you even sure that the rules are handwritten in the first place? Couldn't they have been printed some other way?'

'They appear that way at first, but you have to look at the writing carefully. I can see how the pen was pressed against the Notebook. That's why I had the Shinigami write the rules out for me, because I needed to know if that was the case. They write perfectly, which is why one can mistake it for print but—I saw the way the pressing of the pen worked on the paper, I could say the same for the notebook.'

Light seems to consider my thoughts but the look he gives me can almost be described as a glare. 'So, you know that the rules in the Notebook are written. Why's that a problem?'

'It just gives my real suspicion a possibility: I think it's possible that a god of death, or Kira's coerced a god of death into writing down fake rules. I can't prove it but it's possible.'

'Why would a god of death need to do something like that?'

'They have their reasons, a lot of which make no sense. Bottom line of every complaint all religious people give and get. But if we're to hold on to the possibility of it, it's possible Kira and the god of death could be working together on this.'

'I thought that the god of death doesn't help the person who owns the notebook.'

'The rule is that the god of death isn't obligated to help the human who owns the Notebook. In other words, they can if they want to.'

'So, you're saying if a god of death found some sort of benefit out of this, they could help Kira?'

'If those rules are fake, as I suspect they are, I think that's what's going on. Kira, the god of death, or both of them have some sort of advantage out of this. That's what scares me about this the most.'

'You've really thought this through, haven't you?'

'Yes.'

And this is precisely why I feel tired, but I don't tell him that. My head literally hurts thinking about this over and over. One look at Light tells me he's willing to give my thoughts notice. One look at Ryuzaki tells me that he heard everything, I've only encouraged his quest to prove that Light is Kira. Lately, my suspicions about Light have been a little higher but I can't out and say that I believe he's Kira. What scares me is that if he does turn out to be Kira, I'd only be waiting to hear it confirmed.

Something jolts me awake from a nap too short. Perhaps a dream or just a simple thought, but the word 'notebook' repeats itself annoyingly in my head, to the point that I consider it a tune on a broken record. I've heard that in situations like these, yielding to it is better than fighting it, as it releases its grip on the mind at that point. So, I do. The more I listen, the more an image clears, attacking itself to the word as if they are one. The image in my mind is of the time I saw Light hug Misa, in the lobby, with the monstrous shadow hovering over them and red eyes glowing. But the person in the picture I focus on is Misa. It's to her that the word Notebook attaches itself, like they're connected. If I think about this too hard, I may end up fighting against the thought. Slowly, the pieces begin to fit: how was Misa mixed up in this in the first place?

She showed up more frequently around the same time that the Second Kira showed up. The Second Kira went through the most inconspicuous ways to get the attention of the real Kira, using Sakura TV. Proof tapes, timed killings and several pieces of journal entries were sent to the TV station. If I recall correctly, we discovered that the possibility of a hidden message was high on the journal entry, which prompted for investigators to look out for notebooks in Aoyama and Shibuya. Of course!

The Second Kira was clever to hide the message in the request for notebook exchange. Right under our noses! She was talking about the Death Note!

Zut! Zut! Zut!

Knowing Ryuzaki, he's probably already figured this out, meaning he's pursuing it which gives him time to search this out. Now I understand all the questions about the rules being the same in every notebook. I wonder if Light's already figured this out too.

'Frejda! Frejda! Earth to Frejda!'

A tap on the shoulder shakes me out of my reverie: Ryuzaki. 'Had a good nap?'

'Yeah. Why? What's going on?'

'I was just telling everyone that they can go home and relax for the day if they have nothing to do. You can go too. Get some fresh air. Go for a swim.'

I scoff, 'That's rich coming from you.'

'Touché. All we have to do is finalise what we've discovered and make sure that this is really over. I think that you should take this time off.'

I can't tell if he's sending me away or testing me by insisting I take a break. The way I see it, I benefit nothing from a day off and I may have to return to France soon. 'I'm fine.'

Ryuzaki sits on the couch across from me; the Notebook in his hands, upside down at that. If he's figured out that there's more than one notebook, I wonder what else there is to know.

'Interesting,' he muses, 'the corner of the page of this notebook has been torn off. Can you kill someone just by writing their name on a piece?'

'Can't say,' the Shinigami responds.

I do remember reading about that in the rules, a tiny piece can contain the full power of the Notebook.

'Then let me ask you, do gods of death love apples?'

'Not necessarily. Our internal organs have already degraded. We've evolved to a point that we do not require sustenance.'

'Lucky you,' I retort sarcastically.

'Say Light,' he calls to the boy who's moved to the stairs, 'you're finally free to leave headquarters on your own but it seems like you never go out. Even when Misa comes to visit, you only chat with her for a few minutes outside. You do realise you're free to have a relationship with her by now.'

'That can wait until after we've solved this case. I'm not in the mood for love or anything else right now. Anyway, are you suggesting that I'll be a nuisance for staying here?'

I can't help smiling at that.

'No.'

Okay.

I get up and return to the computer to work on getting ready. It looks like I have no choice but to leave Japan at the end of the day. Financing the tickets will not be a problem but the part where I'll have to choose a date…well, it's not like I have a choice. I have to go to Mr Watari to set up a contact commitment as well, in case they ever need our services again. The next available flight to France isn't for another week apparently, but I decide to set it up for two weeks from today. That'll give me time to say goodbye to everyone I've met, at least everyone who's stuck around and stayed alive. I think about each and every one of them for a minute: Mr Matsuda, Mr Aizawa, Mr Mogi, Chief Yagami and his family, Misa and of course, Ryuzaki and Light. The two guys in this very room with me. I can't believe that I'll have to leave them all. My heart sinks.

'You're checking out flight tickets already?' Light surprises me by sitting next to me.

'Yeah. I think I told you that my time here is almost over.'

'I don't think I'd be this soon,' he seems genuinely sad.

'Yeah, neither did I. but I can't stay here forever.'

'I'm really gonna miss you.'

'Save it for when I leave.'

'No, I mean, I don't want you to go.'

'Oh?'

'You, me and Ryuzaki, we make such a great team. And plus, you know so much about all this, I—'

'If you're worried about me sharing confidential information, it��s not gonna happen.'

'No, I mean, earlier when you talked with me about suspecting that there are fake rules and how you experimented with it to pursue it, I mean, it's hard to let go of a team member.'

'I was always temporary, remember?'

'Yeah, I know.'

'For a while, it looked like Kira would continuously slip out of our reach and I could have stayed. But with him dead,' (supposedly), 'I kind of am not needed here anymore.'

'Yeah.'

I place my hand reassuringly on his. It's enough to calm him down.

With the plane tickets set and the commitment made, I expect the rest of the time I have here to be mundane. Instead, the news sky rockets with criminals killed, Kira-style. Zut! This is far from over and I'm already set to leave! 'I think you should consider extending your stay,' Ryuzaki comments one day.

'I agree,' Light says.

'I don't know what I can do, but I'll try.'

It doesn't stop. The continuous killings fill the mouths of confused reporters, who were sure the police notified the world that we finally caught Kira. I can imagine everyone at home scratching their heads at this.

'What's going on?' demands Chief Yagami, 'Now criminals have gotten killed again?'

'Sixteen deaths yesterday,' Mr Aizawa reports, 'all of them after Higuchi's death.'

'Do you think this means that Higuchi wasn't necessarily Kira after all?'

'I doubt it,' I say. 'As far as we know, he was killing criminals until the moment we apprehended him.'

'Oh no!' Mr Matsuda groans, 'not again!'

'Damn!' Light growls, clenching his fists, 'Damn you, Kira!'

'These killings began immediately after Misa was freed right?' Ryuzaki ponders.

'You're still going on about that?' Light snaps.

'If it weren't for those two rules, I'd be suspicious of this too,' I back up.

'She has nothing to do with this!' Light insists, 'think about it. This started as soon as Higuchi died.'

'Well, as long as someone is out there using the Notebook to kill these criminals, we'll just have to bring them to justice.'

I don't miss how he crushes his biscuits when he says that.

Something about this seems off. It won't surprise me if the 13-day rule is set up to cover the truly guilty and to me, Higuchi's death makes it more convincing. But even if that were the case, why do I get the feeling something else is being set up here?

'Ryuzaki,' Light calls, 'even I we catch this person, would we really be able to convict them of mass murder?'

'What?' yelps Mr Matsuda. 'Of course, we can. This guy's intentionally writing names on the Notebook, knowing that these people are going to die. Even if we don't publicly acknowledge the Notebook, the least we can do is execute the killer.'

From behind me, I hear a gasp. I don't have to glance back to know it's the Shinigami. But why? Why would it be affected by that ruling?

'If they're convicted,' Ryuzaki says, 'they will receive a death penalty. Or a life sentence in prison at least.' With his mouth full he concludes: 'That's the best they could hope for.'

There definitely is something fishy going on around here, and it's all I need to mentally conclude to trigger it. A jab in the back, somehow affecting my lungs, forbidding me to breathe; my head feeling light, inviting the nausea, and to finalise it, a pair of brown-red lustful eyes sinisterly eyeing the Shinigami with a dark victorious smile.

My vision blackens.

I wake up, my head hurting and the remnants of near suffocation still there. I try to move but a pair of hands hold me back. It takes a while for my vision to clear along with my hearing. Above me, Light's worried face comes into view, slowly receding into relief. 'Hey,' he breathes, 'are you okay?'

'I think so,' I groan. 'What happened?'

'You just—fainted. It happened so fast, none of us responded in time. We thought the Shinigami got you or something.'

'Why?'

'It had you in its arms when we heard you fall. Ryuzaki's worried about you.'

'I can imagine. Tell him I'm fine.'

'It was weird. She usually shows that she doesn't like human company but when it comes to you, she's a little too interested. Anyway, I'm just glad you're okay.'

'Light, I'm fine. I really am. Don't worry about me.'

I begin to sit up, Light holding out his hands in case I feel woozy. My head hurts but I bare the pain a little longer, getting my body to move withstanding all weaknesses. Of course, it doesn't go away smoothly. The moment I'm up, I feel faith again and like a damsel in distress, I fall into Light's arms. 'Oy!' I snap, annoyed.

'Maybe you should stick to lying down.'

'Yeah.'

Once I'm comfortable, Light sits on the bed keeping his hand in mine. Sometimes, I wonder what's going through this kid's head. I know he sees nothing in me, apart from the friendship and workmanship we've developed. Yet, ever since the day we captured Higuchi, something's been off about him. Something that I feel I should have sense when I met him but didn't. I don't understand why it's eating at me now.

'What's wrong?' Light asks.

'Huh?'

'You're staring at me. Is there something wrong?'

I don't know how to answer that. 'Uh—ahem. Sorry. By the way, why aren't you with the others?'

'Oh. I just came to check on you actually. Now that you mention it, I was looking for Ryuzaki.'

'Where is he?'

'On top of the roof, last I heard.'

'Oh.' I look out the window. 'In the rain?'

'Exactly.'

I chuckle. After a pause I say: 'I'm really gonna miss you guys.'

'You know, you have the perfect excuse to stay.'

'I do. But, I'm not sure I can. You know, Visas and all.'

'It's a shame. I'm gonna miss your stern parenting.'

'You two gonna be good to each other when I'm gone?'

'I promise, we will.'

'No punching Ryuzaki in the face if he still thinks you're Kira?'

'I promise.'

'Good.'

'Alright. Well, you go find Ryuzaki and get him out of the rain. I'll focus on getting better until I at least can come down.'

'Sure. Take it easy okay?'

'Yeah.'

He squeezes my hand before he leaves.

Half an hour later, I'm well enough to walk down to meet everybody else. Light and Ryuzaki aren't anywhere around when I get there. But what I walk into at base is complete chaos and confusion. All the other Task Force members grumble at each other in angry confrontation, as if looking for someone to blame. 'What's going on?' I ask.

'We're about as confused,' Mr Aizawa grumbles.

Moments later, Light and Ryuzaki walk into the room as Mr Matsuda demands an explanation: 'You've somehow gotten approval from another country to use the Notebook for an execution?'

'He did what?' I demand.

'Watari, excellent work,' Ryuzaki says, ignoring us.

'Thank you.'

'First thing's first: please arrange for the Notebook to be transported safely.'

'Right.'

'What's going on?' Light asks.

'I'm gonna try out the Notebook for real.'

'You can't do that!' Mr Aizawa objects, 'and there's no point in testing its power if we know it's real.'

'And besides, who's going to write the name?' Mr Matsuda asks, reminding everyone of the 13-day rule.

'It's all been arranged. The person who will write the name is a criminal scheduled to be executed in just two weeks. If he survives, he'll be pardoned from execution.'

'But still,' the Chief objects, 'to sacrifice—'

'We're very close!' Ryuzaki insists. 'If we work this out, the entire case will be solved.'

Lightning strikes with thunder clapping loudly above our heads, causing a black out and emergency red lights to switch on. We look to each other, a rushed set of panicked voices shouting:

'What is this?'

'A blackout?'

'What the hell!'

A set of groans suddenly erupt from the speakers, quiet at first and then loud and pained.

'Watari?'

Surprised to hear Ryuzaki's quiet voice, I move closer to the screen, hearing the groans, before the screens flash white, all of them containing three words:

ALL DATA DELETION

'Watari!' Ryuzaki screams.

'What the hell's going on?' Mr Aizawa demands.

'I told Watari to make sure that he erases all information in the event that something were to happen to him.'

'If something were to happen?' Mr Aizawa repeats.

'Where's the Shinigami?' Ryuzaki asks.

Zut! The creature's disappeared!

'Everyone,' L calls, 'the Shiniga—'

An incomplete sentence. I turn to see my friend.

Frozen, stiff; eyes wide with shock!

The spoon falls from his hands, clanking against the ground.

His body slumps, taking the chair with him.

No one can react fast enough…

Except Light.

Ryuzaki barely hits the ground before Light grabs him, cradling L in his arms.

'Ryuzaki!' Mr Matsuda's voice echoes.

L silently stares at Light.

The pain, the jab, the loss of breath return all at once. I manage to stand upright, awake and alert.

Seven slow seconds…

Six

Five

Four

Three

Two

One

L's eyes close.

'Hey,' Light shakes L, 'Ryuzaki, come on, snap out of it.'

'Come on,' I beg.

'Light?' someone calls.

'AHHHHH!'

Light's scream pierces the room with panic.

'Light,' I fall down beside him.

'We're gonna die! Watari! Ryuzaki! We're next!'

The room freezes in impatient fear, waiting to be killed. In the silence, I hear the held breaths, as we wait for Death. It touches no one.

Multiple stab wounds sting my back. I don't bleed. I feel them, but I don't crouch in pain. They're not mine.

'Damn you!' Light shouts. 'Where are you Shinigami? Come out!'

'Wait, Light?' Chief Yagami starts but Light ignores him.

'You know something about this don't you? Come out!'

I pull L to me. each moment sends an electrifying sting against my heart. My veins. My limbs. Everything. Not enough tears can be shed to express my loss. The hurt. The shock. The frozen fear seizing me.

It stops the moment my body touches L's.

Suddenly, I'm overcome with complete deafness and my vision blackens.

Then I hear it: a loud church bell. Before me, in the cold, snowy day, stands a tall, vast Gothic mansion, surrounded by fences designed to look like crosses. The bell doesn't stop. In seconds, flashes and sounds of children crying and laughing join. Stained glass windows, more children, more windows, then classrooms, then stairs with children playing, studying, and then a dark hall.

The bell stops.

The crying stops.

Silence.

Quiet vibrations of a working computer sound. Visions of murders and arrests flash like fast-moving pictures, all black and white. My head spins as it registers each one of them.

Then the coloured pictures. Chief Yagami, his voice; Aizawa, Matsuda, Mogi, Ukita…

Light.

His face, as I see it all the time, his eyes wide and frozen with fear.

The bell returns. Ringing faster, faster…

Red light illuminates Light's face. His wide worried eyes narrow, his gasped open mouth reduced to a tiny opening, his cheekbones almost relaxing.

The eyes narrow further, the lips tighten tighter, the cheekbones relax faster.

What remains, I feel, is the truth, the reason for the pain to cease, the answer to the electrifying battle in my heart. The true image, a relaxed, victorious, contorted demonic smile of the very culprit behind everything we've been fighting, the one I've been looking for; the double identity revealed, L's last memory:

Light Yagami, Kira

Light Yagami is Kira

The vision clears as the final bell rings.