Hello, everyone! It seems I've developed a trend of updating every nine days... xD Anyways, I've nearly finished writing this story!

Also, if it seems like the POVs are a little weird in this chapter... I'm not really sure how to fix them. They seem to switch back and forth weirdly.


Chapter Fifty: Final Confrontation

They left headquarters at eleven fifteen, reaching the warehouse Shinta had indicated ten minutes ahead of schedule. Once there, they all waited in silence for several moments, waiting for the time when they would have to go in.

"Well, guys," Gevanni said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them, "If I don't make it out, I just want all of you to know that…that despite all the near death experiences, it's been really fun knowing you guys. If we all make it out…let's go to dinner together again sometime, okay?"

"Yeah," Matsuda said quietly, "We should do that, Gevanni."

"But this time, let us not end it with more near death experiences," Amity said.

"It's funny," Matsuda said, "For the past few weeks, it seems like we've gone from one close call to another almost without stopping. And yet… I've made some great friends."

"We all have," Aizawa said, "No matter what happens in there, I'm glad to have known all of you. And that includes Amity."

Amity nodded.

"At last, I find a point on which we can agree, Mr. Aizawa," she said, smiling slightly.

There was a long pause, and then Mogi broke the silence.

"It's time."

Matsuda looked around at his friends. It felt strange not to see Sayu and Callie there, and the absence of other members was painfully obvious. But those who remained, although a ragtag group, were united in their cause.

"Let's go," Aizawa said.

And, together, they entered the place where all their fates would be decided… The place from which they might not return alive.


It was dark. That was the only thing Matsuda really noticed. However, after some searching, the group finally reached a room that was actually lit. As he and Amity had somehow ended up in the rear, Matsuda could not tell at first whether or not they had come to the right place.

But as he stepped through the doorway, his belief that they had reached their destination was confirmed. Stationed at intervals around the room were several guards, armed with guns, their faces concealed with masks. And there, in the center of the room, was Shinta. However, it was not Shinta that attracted Matsuda's attention, but the girl who knelt on the floor next to him, her arms bound tightly behind her back. Sayu Yagami.

"She's alive," Matsuda thought, "That's good, right? It means there's a chance…"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the door swing shut behind him, and two more guards step into position, blocking the only way of escape.

"Maybe we are all gonna die," Matsuda thought, "But…nobody will die if I can stop it. I promise that."

"So, you have come," Shinta said, sounding almost happy at the idea that they were there.

"Yes, we have," Aizawa said. It appeared that someone-probably Amity-had elected the older man to be the group's spokesman.

Shinta laughed. It was a cold, hard sound, but at least it did not sound insane, like some laughter Matsuda had once heard in a place much like this one.

"You fools," Shinta said scornfully, "You really thought you would accomplish anything by coming here?"

"No," Aizawa said, "I, personally, did not. However, it was preferable that there be even the slightest chance of rescuing Sayu, rather than to simply let her die."

"You idiots!" Sayu gasped, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, don't worry," Shinta said, "Once we're done here, I will release her. And I promise you one thing. Neither she nor Callie Suzuki will be harmed."

"So what you are saying is that the rest of us will be harmed," Amity said, speaking for the first time.

"Precisely," Shinta said, "You are evildoers. And evildoers…"

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun.

"…Must be punished. Starting…with their leader."

The gun swiveled, pointing directly at Aizawa's chest.

"Consider this," Shinta said, smiling, "You could have died in that fire, and saved yourself the struggle of recovering, only to be killed now."

Aizawa glared at the other man, but made no move to defend himself. Amity, however, had her hand in her pocket, and was evidently feeling around for something.

At the moment the girl appeared to have found what she was searching for, Shinta had brought the gun into position, ready to fire.

"Anyone have anything to say?" Shinta said with a laugh.

There was a long silence. Then, there was a movement from somewhere in the back of the group, as someone started trying to push their way to the front. It was Matsuda. The dark-haired man placed himself directly in front of Aizawa, and then faced Shinta.

"Back when all this started, you said that you were doing all this because one of us killed Kira," he said, "And you said you didn't know who it was, so you were going to kill all of us. But what if the person who killed Kira came forward? You wouldn't kill everyone then, right? You wouldn't punish the innocent for the crimes of the guilty! That isn't the way Kira would want you to do things!"

"How do you know so much about Kira?" Shinta snapped.

"Because," Matsuda said, "He was my best friend, before I knew what he really was. And I was the one who killed him. Don't hurt any of these people, Shinta. I'm the one you want!"

"Matsuda!" Aizawa hissed, "Get back over here, you idiot!"

"No!" Matsuda shouted, without turning to look at Aizawa, "I'm the one he wants to kill! If I had just revealed that in the beginning, none of this would have happened! The others would still be alive! This is my fault, so let me… Let me be the one to pay the price, Aizawa."

"I'm not going to let him kill you!" Aizawa snapped.

Matsuda looked around at the room full of guards, all of whom had their guns pointed at the little group.

"You don't have a choice."

"If it makes him feel better," Shinta said, "Let him believe he had a choice. Let him believe it wasn't his decision that brought you all here. Whether or not you had come today, someone would have died. It might as well be you, instead of that girl."

And then, before anyone could react, Shinta shot Matsuda in the chest.


Chaos broke out nearly before the sound of the gunshot had faded away.

Sayu screamed.

Shinta laughed.

Mogi said nothing.

Aizawa screamed too, but whether out of anger, surprise, or grief, no one knew.

And Amity, Gevanni, and Rester pulled out their guns-the guns they weren't supposed to have-and started shooting.

It seemed to surprise even Shinta, although he must have known that they would come armed, that they would try as hard as they could to save themselves. By the time he and the others were able to react, three of the guards were down, possibly dead.

"Now," Amity said, pointing her gun at Shinta, "You have a choice. You can surrender, and be tried in court. Or, you can die here, now, without a trial. I doubt you have much chance of winning any right to your life in court… But I will respect your wishes."

"There are plenty of people here!" Shinta spat, "We outnumber you!"

"Not anymore," Amity said, "Besides, Shinta. These people should have figured out by now that Kira was not God, as you thought he was. God cannot be killed. And Kira was killed, as you well know. I do not wish any more lives to be wasted, but if your men resist, I will tell my people to shoot."

"Since when are we your people?" Aizawa hissed. He and Mogi had caught on to the SPK agents' plan, and had revealed their weapons as well.

"For the purpose of conserving words, I have not chosen to explain this complicated situation," Amity replied.

The girl glared at Shinta, anger evident in her eyes.

"Put down your weapon, Shinta," she said quietly, angrily, "Or I will kill you for your crimes."

"For my crimes?" Shinta retorted. "What about your crimes?"

"The people you killed were innocent," Amity said, "And, yes, I have their blood on my hands. But you have more blood on your hands than I do, and therefore, I will not hesitate to kill the killer. Put down your weapon!"

The older man glared at her, and for a moment, Amity thought he would not comply. Then, to the relief of everyone present, Shinta threw his weapon onto the ground.

"Now, tell your people to surrender," Amity said, "They have hurt no one, at least not today. They will not be punished unless I find on further inspection that their crimes are near equal to yours."

Shinta paused for a moment, then nodded at the guards.

"Put down your weapons," he snapped.

Amity's focus was broken for a moment, as she looked over to be certain that the rest of Shinta's group complied with his orders. And in that instant, Shinta moved. The others were also distracted. Mogi was kneeling next to Sayu, trying to untie her bonds, while Aizawa and Rester still had their guns trained on the remainder of Shinta's forces. Only Gevanni was watching Shinta, and only he saw the flash of metal as the other man reached into his pocket and then pulled something out…

"Amity!" Gevanni yelled. The girl turned to stare at him, taking her attention even further from Shinta.

Gevanni had no real way of knowing whether or not Shinta would aim for Amity, but who the man tried to kill did not matter.

"Nobody else is going to die!"

The dark-haired man leapt forward, managing to get in front of the surprised Amity, the instant before Shinta fired. Gevanni and Shinta's guns went off simultaneously, and Gevanni, caught up in the anger he felt at the memory of what Shinta had done, fired twice more before Shinta fell back onto the ground, staring up at the young man, who glared down at him, a small smile on his face.

"It's over, Shinta," Gevanni announced, "It… Is… Over."


I'm just gonna be... Hiding over here... Cause some of you may want me dead after this chapter...