AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am basically writing a novelization for some of my favorite chapters of the international smash-hit manga Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. All due credit belongs to them for creating a truly beautiful masterpiece. I do not own Death Note in any way shape or form.
About the novelization and the chapters therein: My Death Note novelization is written with all information of the manga at hand, including (of course), the Black Editions of the manga, as well as the Death Note 13:How to Read by ShonenJump. So you can be assured I will likely not get anything wrong regarding Death Note rules and such. Please feel free to suggest your own favorite chapters that you would like to see "novelized", and I will most definitely consider them.
This novelization was written with exact words taken from the manga, as it is a novelization. However, thoughts and speech bubbles have sometimes been changed. If you have any questions at all, feel free to drop a review or PM me! I hope you enjoy this novelization, and I will be back soon with more Death Note chapter novelizations.
Write on,
WriteFF13
DEATH NOTE NOVELIZATION
Chapter 1- Chapter 36, Father and Son
"The human whose name is written in the note shall die."
CONFINEMENT-DAY 50
L stared at the bright screen, watching all three prisoners in confinement. Each one had their head hung, evidence of severe mental exhaustion. His dark eyes flicked from watching Misa Amane and Light Yagami to the latter's father. Soichiro had grown a beard in the last month, and his hair had been shot through with grey streaks since he had been a free man in the force against Kira. He was at his limits of impatience and worry, no doubt fearing the worst: his own son was Kira, the mass-murder of countless criminals.
L clicked the small microphone on to Soichiro's room. "Are you all right, Yagami-san? There's no need for you to still be there."
The chief never looked up, but instead closed his eyes and slouched over in his wooden chair.
"It's been over a month since Kira started killing again…I'm convinced my son isn't Kira. Now only you need to be convinced, Ryuzaki," the voice crackled over the microphone. "I'm not leaving here without my son."
"…"
Matsuda bent his head close to Aizawa and cupped a hand around his mouth to shield the sound. "The chief sure is stubborn…" Matsuda whispered, staring at the surveillance screens.
"…"
Ryuzaki's eyes snapped over to Light, who had fallen on his side. With his hands and feet handcuffed, Light didn't even bother to try and regain his sitting position. His eyes were dark and tired. Ryuzaki spoke through the microphone to him, feeling a small bit of worry about the suspected Kira. Ryuzaki didn't know what it felt like to be confined to a cell for a month and a half. After watching Amane and father and son, he didn't think he ever would.
"Light-kun, are you okay?"Ryuzaki asked, watching his reactions closely.
From inside the cell, Light flinched and rolled over to better face the camera. Even though he had been imprisoned in a room for almost two months, he showed no signs of resigning, or as Ryuzaki had wanted, confessing to being Kira.
"Yeah…I'm fine, but…" Light stared at the camera, knowing that not far away, Ryuzaki was staring straight into his eyes. "Ryuzaki…the killing has stopped since I've been confined…from that, I think that Kira must know what's going on here…using that line of reasoning–"
"No, the killings have stopped because you are Kira," Ryuzaki interrupted, watching Light's face closely. He analyzed each movement, each change of expression, waiting for that moment when Light would reveal himself to be Kira by a small slip of a mistake.
It never came.
"No!" Light cried, "I'm not Kira! How many times do I have to tell you?"
Ryuzaki knew he could never trust a person on just his word. Idiots screwed up because they "trusted" a person…and then they died. But L was the greatest detective in the world, and not an idiot. However, Light was not acting like himself…could it be the strain of being confined for nearly two months? Or was it the strain of keeping the secret of his being Kira that was causing him to act like this?
If he was Kira, then he should know that the killings have resumed…yet he doesn't seem to know at all…L thought, chewing on a fingernail.
Aizawa shook his head in amazement. "Ryuzaki's rough…he still hasn't told Light that the killings have resumed…"
Ignoring Aizawa's comment, L spoke through Misa's microphone.
"Amane."
Her once-chipper voice was gone, replaced with a desperate and irritated whine that rather made Aizawa want to reach for a set of earplugs. He realized that Misa was basically strapped in a straight jacket, but still…
"Yes…?"
"You don't seem to well, are you okay?" L remarked. "Misa-Misa" was slouched over in her strapped chair, the plastic visor over her eyes preventing her from seeing anything. L had requested her sight be taken away in the case that she tried to kill the people who entered her room to give her food. He still believed her to be the Second Kira, after all.
"Are you an idiot? I've been in here for weeks – how could I be well?" she snapped.
"Yes, good point."
"Let me go already…I miss Light…" Misa whimpered, swinging her head slightly.
Matsuda watched from a distance, slightly sickened by Ryuzaki's approach the "Kira confinement". He understood that if Light and Misa were indeed the two Kiras, then they would have to be imprisoned, but nonetheless…if looked painful.
"Looks like they're all at their limits," Matsuda remarked.
Aizawa put his hand on the back of Ryuzaki's chair. "Ryuzaki…why do you keep Light confined? He should be released. Then the chief will come out too.
"People are being killed without these two gaining information about it. That's enough to see that…"
"No…the only thing I see is the abnormal strength of Amane's love for Light Yagami," Ryuzaki said, toned enough to hint that he had something up his sleeve. That, or he had nothing else left to give.
"Ryuzaki…I'm sorry, but to me it looks like you're doing this because you don't want to admit that you were wrong about Light being Kira," Aizawa blurted.
L wasn't surprised. "I figured you might think that."
"…"
"We know that Kira killed Lind L. Tailor and the agents. They'd never be any kind of threat to him."
"Kira doesn't kill without a reason. That was your conclusion as well, Ryuzaki," Aizawa pointed out.
"I see…if he could kill under these circumstances, then he had nothing to fear from the FBI…" Matsuda muttered.
So what did it mean?
"A search of Light's house revealed nothing. All we found was a diary in his desk that showed he was working hard on solving this case. Thought he final line in it said 'I might be Kira…'" Ryuzaki said.
"It's been 50 days now. There's no point in this. We need to concentrate on finding the true Kira!" Aizawa said, gritting his teeth. Why wasn't Ryuzaki willing to just accept that he had been wrong?
"…I understand," Ryuzaki said slowly, sipping from his glass of water."
"Yagami-san."
Light's father turned his head to face the camera, haggard and etched with new lines of exhaustion.
"What?"
"I want to speak to you directly. Will you return to the task-force headquarters?" Ryuzaki asked slowly. "I will share my conclusion on this case. As Light-kun's father, I want you to be the first to hear it…"
Soichiro sighed.
"Fine…"
Minutes later Soichiro was facing Ryuzaki in a private room at the task-force headquarters. Ryuzaki began to explain his plan.
~THREE DAYS LATER~
A white car sped on the highway, swerving dangerously between other automobiles on the road. The driver was in fact Soichiro Yagami, and Misa Amane sat in the back of the car, blue eyes disbelieving what she saw. She could hardly grasp that after what must have been two months, she was free from confinement. Misa leaned forward to better get a glimpse of the reckless driver. Up ahead was a large building that she didn't recognize. Her driver was zooming towards the underground parking lot entrance after exiting the highway.
"I never imagined the stalker was an old man…so you're finally letting me go?" Misa asked, her deep blue eyes flitting around their surroundings.
Soichiro's face was dark and showed no emotion. "I'm not a stalker, I'm a detective," he snapped impatiently. Was this girl really that dull?
Detective?
"Oh, now I remember! That thing about the second Kira…you were serious about that…?"
No answer.
"No way…the police wouldn't tie me up like that…" Misa said uncertainly, remembering the months she had spent strapped to a chair and forced to constantly sit. "Anyway, if you're letting me go then what's with the handcuffs?" she asked, jingling the metal rings around her wrists.
"Shut up."
Misa pouted and sat back.
As they screeched to a halt inside of the underground parking lot, Soichiro opened the door quickly and got out. Two men approached the parked car, one with his hands cuffed behind his back. As the handcuffed young man neared the car, his eyes widened in shock.
'Dad!' Light Yagami wanted to cry out.
His father's expression hardened when his eyes fell upon his brilliant son. Then Light's eyes noticed someone else was inside the car.
"Light!" a girl called, and Light immediately knew it was Misa. He became a little uneasy, but still kept his cool. Only one thought lingered in his mind now: –
What was going on?
Aizawa, the man who had accompanied Light to the vehicle, closed the door behind Light after the latter had sat inside of the car. His superior got back in the car and revved the engine.
"You take it from here, chief."
The car turned and sped off, disappearing from Aizawa's view. Letting out a small sigh of relief, Aizawa allowed his face to become more relaxed. Maintaining that depressed look for more than ten minutes gave him a headache.
Misa cried out when Light was rather shoved in by Aizawa. Tears sprang to Misa's eyes as she gazed at Light, happiness overflowing in her. If her hands weren't handcuffed, she would have thrown her arms around him. She leaned over the middle of the seat, trying to get a better look at him.
His hair was longer than it had been two months ago, and his face looked exhausted, but Misa didn't care. He was just as beautiful as ever to her, and he was alive. That was all that mattered.
"I missed you so much, Light!" she whimpered, struggling against her handcuffs even though she knew it was pointless.
Light gave her a tight smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Misa." How long would he have to pretend to love Misa as her boyfriend? True, he did care about her, but her personality sometimes pushed him to the brink of annoyance, especially in serious times like these.
Light turned away from Misa and stared in the rearview mirror, glancing quickly at Misa. Did she know what was going on? Had his father told her anything? "What's going on, dad?"
Misa blushed and became flustered. "Huh? 'Dad'? Oh no, Light. I called your father a stalker…"
Light ignored her. "Are we really being cleared and released…?"
"No…right now you two are…being taken to your execution," Soichiro answered emotionlessly, his eyes on the road. "An underground facility has been set up and your executions will be carried out in secret. I volunteered to take you there…"
Light's eyes widened in shock. "Execution? What are you talking about, dad?"
"What? You're joking, right? Dad…ha ha…" Misa laughed nervously.
Was this someone's sick idea of a joke? Ryuzaki's? Soichiro's?
"L has concluded that Light Yagami is Kira an Misa Amane is thesecond Kira. He's declared that once you two are executed, the Kira killings will end."
Light sweated nervously, his mind racing. Was this true? Was he going…to die? Was Misa going to die?
Light talked quickly. "I thought the killings had stopped…"
"No, they continue."
"They do? That's not what I was told…"
"L was probably keeping it from you to procure a confession. That's of no importance to you now. L has promised that your deaths will stop the killings, and the police and government have agreed to this proposal. Kira will be eradicated in secret…"
Light almost jumped out of his seat. "No way! Wait, dad! I'm not Kira!" he cried, feeling like a broken record. Did they still not believe him, even when apparently the killings had continued?
"Yeah, what are you thinking? He's your own son!"Misa stuttered. She glanced at Light, whose face was unbelieving. Would her lover really be dead by tomorrow? Would she die with him?
Soichiro's voice was rough. "It's not my choice. It was L's. L controls the police. He's solved numerous cases and has never been wrong."
"Dad! You believe L over me?"
"L is even saying that if this doesn't stop the killings, he will take responsibility and end his own life," Soichiro stated, trying his best to keep his eyes on the road. They were nearing the spot that Ryuzaki had plotted for the plan to be executed.
What?
"L…what is he thinking…?" Light sat back against the leather seat, stunned. "I understand that from the facts we have, this may seem like a reasonable assumption but…this is a mistake! L is making a mistake…why would he come to a conclusion like this…?"
This made no sense…L would never…
His father couldn't…
"Something's wrong here…this isn't like L at all…L has always solved his cases with hard evidence. Why would he let one end like this?"
Soichiro exited the highway and rolled to a stop on open dirt under a highway bridge. "We're here."
Light and Misa looked around. There was no one around…
Misa edged closer to Light. He understood her fear. He didn't want to die today, either.
"Where is this? Why did you bring us out to the middle of nowhere?" Light demanded.
Trying to be optimistic for Light's sake, Misa threw out a pathetic answer. "Oh! Are you letting us escape?"
"Yes. Nobody will see us out there…I've brought you here instead of the execution ground…" Soichiro growled, and stopped the engine. "Light…"
"?"
"I'm going to kill you here and then myself."
Light shook his head frantically. "What are you saying, dad? Y…you can't be serious…!"
"Stop it! You're crazy!" Misa cried. "Your child is Kira, so you'll kill him and kill yourself? If you want to die, then die by yourself! Can't you even see that if you do that you'll be no different from Kira?" she said, angry.
Soichiro turned his head, his face dark. "No…I'm different than Kira…I have the responsibility of being his father and the police chief."
Misa tore her eyes away from his face, her heartbeat frantic. Tears overflowed form her eyes, sliding down her cheeks. "Ahhh! You're insane!"
"Dad! Misa's right! If we die here, we'll never uncover the truth! We should run away! The truth might come out. No, I'll find the truth while running!"
His father slowly reached into the inside of his coat. "It's too late, Light…It's already been decided by those above me. You're dying either way. This way it'll at least be by my hand…"
Light and Misa's eyes snapped as his hand emerged.
He held a handgun, his finger resting near the trigger.
"Stop, dad! I swear I'm not Kira! If we die here, we'll fall right into Kira's trap! Don't you see that?"
Soichiro pointed the gun at his son and turned to Misa. She cowered. "Amane…Light and I will die here, but I have no reason to kill you. The police will find this car soon. You'll be executed at the planned site…"
Light fought to keep from screaming, but it was hard. Could things really be going this way? Would Misa have to watch as father and son were shot and killed?
Is this how it ends?
"L-listen, dad! If we were Kira and the second Kira, then there's no way that we'd let you kill us! There are no witnesses here, if we were the Kiras, then–"
Although Light didn't know it at the time, he had hit the plan right in the nose.
"Shut up."
Click. Soichiro cocked the pistol and roughly grabbed his son's shoulder, holding the terrified child in place. Two inches were all that remained between the barrel of the pistol and Light's forehead.
"DAD!"
Soichiro rested a finger on the trigger…
"Light, we're both murderers. We'll see each other again in Hell."
Misa's heartbeat stopped.
He pulled the trigger.
"NOOOO!!"
Misa's scream shattered through the air.
Light Yagami slowly opened his eyes, his face covered in sweat and his entire being shaking. Was he dead? No…
This was not Hell. This was something worse.
He stared down the barrel of his father's pistol and into his dad's eyes, which were now relieved. Misa was sobbing when she, too, realized that Light had not been killed. Her beautiful face was stained with the cry of the weakened. A thin trail of smoke curled from the barrel of the gun, as if too were crying, yet its tears were pulled upwards to the heavens.
"A blank…?" Light whispered, still in shock and paralyzed. He was…alive? But…
Soichiro took the pistol away from Light's face and slouched in his seat. His pistol clattered to the floorboards, but he made no movement to retrieve it. He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief…or was it happiness?
"Thank God…" he breathed.
"'Thank God'…? What do you mean, dad?" Light asked cautiously. Misa buried her head in Light's arm, trying to control her crying. Light glanced at her, then Soichiro spoke: –
"Forgive me, you two…this was the only way to end your confinement." His father laid an arm on the steering wheel and rested his head on it, mentally exhausted an pushed to his limits. "Please understand that I only did it because I truly believe that you weren't Kira."
The silence that stretched on was suffocating. Light felt as if it were disarming him…showing him how serious this case really was.
Is this what the Kira case has come down to?
Soichiro fumbled with something in his pants pocket. A cell phone.
"Did you see that, Ryuzaki? I did as you said and I'm still alive."
Ryuzaki! He was behind this then? Of course. This was L they were talking about.
Misa sat up and listened in while she and Light leaned forward.
Back at the task-force HQ, Ryuzaki, Aizawa, and Matsuda were all watching the surveillance screens, which fed the action that was taking place inside of Soichiro's car on the side of the highway. Ryuzaki examined each person inside: Misa was still crying softly, Light was too shocked for words, and Yagami-san looked relieved.
Of course, to Yagami, the outcome of L's plan meant the release of Light and Misa from confinement, as well as Yagami himself. Yet…
"Yes, brilliant acting. In that situation, if Amane was the second Kira, who can kill with just a person's face, I think we can assume she would have killed you before you shot Light-kun…" L concluded after a brief pause.
Aizawa and Matsuda breathed a sigh of relief.
Back in Soichiro's car, Misa, Light, and Soichiro listened carefully to the voice that was projected through an almost non-existent speaker above their heads, carefully hidden by the car light.
"And the same is true if Light-kun was Kira. The Kira I know would kill his own father if need be…it's possible that Light-kun may have figured out it was an act before the end, but…as promised, I will end both their confinements." L's unblinking eyes stared at Light, waiting for even a flicker of abnormal reaction… "And also as promised, though Amane says they were tapes to send to an occult TV show, we do have various pieces of evidence connecting her to the second Kira. Until everything is made clear, we will put Amane under surveillance."
Misa made a pouty face at the camera and stuck her tongue out at him. "What? You still suspect me?" she whined, her tears dried.
Light's father looked at her over his shoulder. "Well, you will get to return to your normal life. If you're not guilty then you can just think of the surveillance as police protection."
"Oh yeah! Since I'm not the second Kira, I'll just pretend I got some bodyguards."
L interrupted their conversation. "And Light-kun, as also promised…I will work it out so that you and I will be together twenty-four hours a day, working on solving this case."
Light's eyes widened…this was unexpected.
"You got it, Ryuzaki!" he said earnestly. "Let's catch Kira…together!"
"Yes…I'm pleased to be working with you."
At the time, Light didn't know it, but…
L never stopped suspecting him of being Kira.
Never.
2nd AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, since this is my first Death Note, I figured I might as well say a few things about my opinion of the manga. Don't worry. It won't take very long.
Death Note is freaking awesome!
That about sums up my opinion on it. Honestly, manga doesn't get much better than this. I prefer Bleach's anime more than Death Note's, but Death Note's manga is phenomenal…a beautiful piece of work that is the ultimate battle between good and evil…
Thank you for taking the time for reading this sucker! I hope you find the tiny bit of time it takes to drop a review, but if you don't, then put this story on alert (it will be continuing as I do more DA novelization chapters), favorite I or the story, or subscribe!
Look out for the next chapter novelizations of Death Note, and feel free to suggest a chapter you would like to see novelized, and I'll take a look at it! Keep in mind, though, I am right now only novelizing chapters up to 55 right now.
-WriteFF13
