Prologue
Shinigami. Death gods. Using their notebooks called Death Notes, they kill people off before their time to take their remaining life span. If a shinigami saves the life of a human he or she loves by killing another human, that shinigami will turn to dust. A Death Note that falls to the human world becomes the property of he or she who finds it…
I've read all of this before. It was back when I got tied up in the Criminal Victim Mass Murder case… or the investigation that later became known as the Kira case. The name Kira was derived from the English word "killer." Reason being, Kira murdered countless criminals in an attempt to create a utopia in which he was the god… and I despised him. However, I can understand the morals from both sides and still avoid agreeing with them. Yet this case wasn't just about morals, but the innocent lives ensnared in Kira's twisted web of fate.
By murdering so many people, Kira pitted himself against God and His world… and lost. For this, I saw he that had taken everything that mattered to me fall before the Almighty. I was happy then, somewhat. But, as they always say: "There is no triumph without loss, no victory without suffering, and no freedom without sacrifices." Of each of these there were many.
My name is Kita Matsuyama, and I knew Kira's archrival L-and supported him- perhaps more than any other. As I write these words, I am nearly 28 years of age. Fate led me to the path winding in the direction of the Kira case a few weeks after I turned 18; the date was September 11, 2001.
End Prologue