ACT II, SCENE I
RYUK:
Your dedication is exemplary.
LIGHT:
It must be so; I have no time to waste.
I must maintain my studies and my rank,
And after class obtain my wonted sleep
Lest I should lose my edge. I've little time
To squander, ere I build Utopia.
To cleanse the world and re-envision it,
The amplest time will ne'er be adequate!
ACT II, SCENE II
INTERPOL:
Full fifty deaths this week we can confirm,
And all of those by cardiac arrest.
Arrested, aye indeed, for every one
A fugitive or felon behind bars—
And many wanted men may yet be found
And raise the horrid count. One hundred, more—
OFFICER 1:
But these are villains of the vilest kind,
Deserving of their fates if not of worse.
Why should we be concerned?
OFFICER 2:
How now, who speaks
With such a brazen and incautious tongue?
Murder is murder, whosoe'er it claims
As victims—aye, the guilty or the just.
The crime is yet the same.
OFFICER 3:
'Tis murder, then?
That claim has not been proven.
OFFICER 2:
I say 'tis.
So many deaths as this, of selfsame cause
And all the stricken likewise of a type
Would tax the most incredulous of fools
To claim coincidence.
OFFICER 3:
Then I'm a fool,
For I say 'tis beyond the pale of sense
That anyone could kill so many men
Across the far-flung reaches of the earth
All in an instant.
OFFICER 4:
We believe, i'faith,
Some vast organization is at work
And these assassinations we have seen
Most scrupulously plotted.
OFFICER 1:
Is that so?
Why then, I do believe it. For i'faith,
If such organization should exist,
Then it would be yourselves, Americans,
Most like to be the source.
OFFICER 4:
You three-inch fool!
Repeat it, if you dare!
INTERPOL:
Good gentlemen,
Refrain from brash and ill-considered jests.
This is a matter touching all our prides
And petty squabbles will not solve it.
OFFICER 2:
Nay,
Our pride is unaffected. Our concern
Is with the law, and with the law alone.
A man condemned should face due punishment,
Not die betimes.
OFFICER 3:
It seems to me we leap
To grave conclusions most unseasonably.
Before we bind ourselves to chasing ghosts,
I ask we first rule out coincidence.
OFFICER 1:
Upon what evidence? The cause of death
In every case was ruled a heart attack:
A natural death. This is no stabbing case,
Where we could track the murderer to his den
And fox him there.
OFFICER 4:
Let's put it to a vote.
INTERPOL:
The answer's clear enough. My friends, I fear
This is a case for L.
MATSUDA:
For L? What's that?
SOICHIRO:
Ah, Matsuda, I had forgotten quite;
You are a rank newcomer to this band.
L is a man, but little else is known;
He keeps his secrets and his solitude.
He is a sleuth, but a peculiar kind
Who takes his mysteries as dogs do meat
Digesting them with all attentiveness.
The coldest case is not beyond his means
To solve—though how he does it, I know not.
He is our trump card.
OFFICER 4:
Aye, but useless here.
He takes no case but those that interest him,
And leaves the rest.
OFFICER 3:
Nor can we contact him.
[Enter Watari]
WATARI:
Good gentlemen, you have no cause to fret.
L has already taken on this case
Some few days since.
INTERPOL:
Watari!
MATSUDA:
Who is that?
I know of no such agent of Japan.
SOICHIRO:
He's L's assistant, and no man of ours.
In truth, we know as little of this man
As we do know of L.
WATARI:
Lend me your ears.
L wishes to address you for himself.
[Watari sets down a computer]
L:
Good day to you. I am the very man
Whom you do know as L. The case at hand,
Unparalleled in manner and in scope,
Is nonetheless a clear and monstrous crime
Which I must halt regardless of the cost.
For murder 'tis, foul and unnatural,
And I must needs ask your assistance here
Grant me this resolution, make it firm:
That all police of every nation stand
Arrayed at my disposal, should I ask,
To thwart the killer.
INTERPOL:
Thus we are resolved.
You have our fealty 'til the case is solved.
L:
Then all is well. Now, in particular,
Of all the nations here, I will require
Cooperation from the Japanese,
For reasons I will show.
SOICHIRO:
The Japanese?
What are your reasons, pray?
L:
Whether it be
Some man alone or action by a group
That has these foul murders carried out,
I have on good authority deduced
The source is Japanese, or in Japan.
MATSUDA:
On good authority, you say? But how?
What evidence exists for such a claim.
L:
What evidence? Oh, that I hope to prove
In present confrontation with the cur
Responsible. Then shall I make my case,
That in Japan this probe should have its base.
ACT II, SCENE III
YAMAMOTO:
Each day the news becomes more riveting;
I cannot look away.
FRIEND:
No, nor can I.
YAMAMOTO:
To see so many criminals dispatched
At once—'tis an amazement.
FRIEND:
So it is.
It frightens me, but gladdens me as well.
God knows they do deserve it.
LIGHT:
Aye, amen!
But now we must be scrupulous ourselves,
Lest something should befall us.
FRIEND:
That is true.
I used to have light fingers as a boy—
It frets me now, in truth, a little bit.
YAMAMOTO:
I wager the police force is the cause.
Who else could pull it off?
FRIEND:
Oh, don't be daft.
The mere police lack power such as this.
'Tis something supernatural, I say—
Like heroes out of books.
LIGHT:
Ah, here's my house.
I'll see you two tomorrow.
YAMAMOTO:
Then farewell!
[Exit Yamamoto and Friend]
RYUK:
You seem to be enjoying this.
LIGHT:
Not so.
Whene'er I leave, the book remains behind;
That distance conjures fears within my mind.
ACT II, SCENE IV
SACHIKO:
Good day, dear son.
LIGHT:
Good mother, I am home.
I shall be in my room, as usual.
[Exit Sachiko]
Until I see the notebook's safely stowed,
My mind can know no peace. Ah, here it is.
And look, here's something to amuse you, Ryuk.
RYUK:
What ho?
LIGHT:
There are already websites made
Extoling me and cheering on my cause.
And here is one. They call me "Kira" now—
A vile name, but unavoidable.
It comes from "killer," but I dare not fuss
And 'twould be pointless, for the name has spread
To every corner of the Earth. Kira—
A simple query entered for that name
Returns results quite multitudinous.
As yet, the media will not confirm
The deaths are willful, but the people sense
That at long last, Justice unveils her eyes
To gaze upon the world and retribute.
And such is human nature, at the core,
That though in public we might all aver
That killing those who do not merit life
Is evil—for we must look virtuous
Before our peers; it is the right response—
Yet privately we feel the opposite.
These cowards do not dare support me now
With voices raised; but on the internet
Their anonymity emboldens them
To praise me to the skies. There, Kira reigns.
The innocent of conscience give acclaim;
The guilty quail in fear of my decree.
Indeed, I planned it so.
ANNOUNCER:
We interrupt
This broadcast for a worldwide bulletin
From Interpol.
LIND L. TAILOR:
Good evening, everyone.
My name is Lind L. Tailor, known as L.
At my command, and my command alone,
The masses of police in every land
Will mobilize and rally to my call.
LIGHT:
By God, what's this?
MATSUDA:
So this is L? But that is passing strange.
You told me that he never shows his face;
Why would he now?
SOICHIRO:
I guess it is a sign
Of just how earnestly he takes this case.
We gave him our assistance, all he asked;
Now we shall see how much his word is worth.
LIND L. TAILOR:
A killer walks among us, and his prey
The criminals whose deaths you all have seen
And wondered at. Murder most foul it is,
Of most expansive and most grievous scope
Unprecedented in our histories.
This Kira is himself a criminal
And must be stopped—as, verily, he will.
This I can guarantee.
RYUK:
He guarantees!
And what say you to that?
LIGHT:
I say he's mad
Or witless, at the least. I'll ne'er be caught.
The notebook is the only proof there is,
And that he shall not have. I was prepared
For some futile pursuit, and I was right.
LIND L. TAILOR:
I quite suspect I know your motives here,
But murder it remains. Aye, it is vile,
And you are evil too.
LIGHT:
I, evil? I?
I am the righteous hero of this tale,
The savior shattering the chains of fear
As Heracles unto Prometheus!
I shall remake the world, perfect it quite,
And be to it a god. I, evil? Nay,
Those who oppose me are the evil ones,
And you're a dunce as well. For shame, for shame!
'Tis pity, for had you the brains you claim,
This rivalry might prove most interesting.
LIND L. TAILOR:
Police worldwide, united in this cause,
Have launched a great investigation.
LIGHT:
Ha,
And now his name is written. "L," farewell.
The world will see you perish and will know
The fate that comes to those who challenge me.
LIND L. TAILOR:
O, I am slain!
[Tailor dies]
L:
I scarce believe it, yet
It seems my inkling was quite accurate.
You have the power, Kira, as I thought,
To kill your victims without touching them.
I stand perplexed, but I cannot reject
The true reporting of my own two eyes.
Well, hear me now. The man that you have killed
Was not myself, but just a criminal
Condemned to die today. His sentence and arrest
Were secret even from the media
And thus you knew him not.
RYUK:
He has you there.
L:
I am L truly, and I do exist.
So I implore you: kill me, if you can!
LIGHT:
You whoreson cur!
L:
What are you waiting for?
I did implore you. See, I am still here!
AIZAWA:
The man is mad! Has he no fear of death?
These are no stakes a chary man would dare!
L:
It seems you lack the power.
RYUK:
Heh, indeed.
And what a thankful breath he now must draw!
L:
So there are some you lack the means to kill.
You have vouchsafed me a most useful clue;
I shall repay. This broadcast was announced
As if it were to be for worldwide view,
But 'tis not so. 'Tis in Japan alone
The Kanto region, in particular.
It would have been repeated elsewhere, but
Your kind assistance has removed the need.
You are in Kanto, Kira.
RYUK:
This one's sharp.
You may yet cut yourself upon his edge.
L:
A man took hostages in Shinjuku
And perished strangely. Yes, he was the first,
Though your police were unaware of that.
His crimes were lesser than your later prey,
And only media inside Japan
Did feature him. I needed nothing more
To know that you were in Japan as well.
The Kanto region is most populous,
So it was chosen as our starting place.
'Twas purely luck that you should be there. Aye,
I dared not hope to meet this much success
So soon. Now I daresay it shan't be long
Ere you yourself will be condemned to die.
MATSUDA:
This L is brilliant!
SOICHIRO:
Yea, indeed he is.
He proved that Kira does exist, and where,
And that his methods function from afar,
All in one go.
L:
I am still curious
About the nature of your hellish power,
But I can wait to satisfy myself
'Til you are shortly in my custody.
LIGHT:
Condemned to die, he says? What, I condemned?
Then thus I vow, L.
L:
Kira, this I vow.
LIGHT AND L:
Whate'er it takes, however high the cost,
I shall discover you and take your life,
For I am justice!
L:
'Til we meet again,
I bid farewell.
RYUK:
O, what a charming twist!
You each know nothing of your counterpart,
Yet you must find him, or he must find you,
And then the loser shall forfeit his life.
O, humans are an entertaining lot!
LIGHT:
I will prevail.
RYUK:
That we shall see, my friend.
But come what may, I'll watch until the end!