Author's Note: Yea, I'm totally using this to procrastinate when I should be studying. Thanks to -279, Spark10111, and xXRitz-aholicXx for the reviews! I super appreciate you guys giving your input, and I lover hearing your suggestions/reactions. It literally keeps me going.
Chapter 30
October 25, 2004
Misa did it. She exposed who the real Kira was—or at least, she got a confession out of Kyousuke Higuchi. Sometimes being on this task force makes me feel a little worthless. Everyone is so good at…everything. I feel like I'm falling behind.
L and I haven't spoken since I told him. It's understandable…he's been busy planning how to catch Higuchi.
I just thought maybe he would make a few minutes for me.
Light told me investigating Namikawa isn't necessary anymore—that I should just stop interacting with him. But it feels like Reiji is the only friend I have right now.
Eva wandered down the stairs and took her seat on the couch, watching Light dial Namikawa's number from the landline. She should have been more excited about this moment. Kira would finally be caught. His killing method would finally be revealed. This is what she and Light had been dreaming of since the first killings…when they were just high school students, studying in his room. It felt like a lifetime ago.
"Namikawa speaking." Eva heard his voice come through on the loudspeaker.
"It's L. Before I go on, are you by yourself?" Light asked.
"No."
"Then just act like it's a normal call again." Light instructed.
"I don't think there's any need for that. One of the people here with me was just expressing his suspicions about your last phone call." Namikawa explained.
"Who is that on the line, Namikawa?" Shimura asked.
"It's L." Reiji replied nonchalantly. "L, Mido and Shimura re here as well. I'm reasonably certain neither of them are Kira. In fact, they seem fed up with it at this point. I'll speak for them and say they'll choose to stand back and watch your face-off with Kira, like I plan to." Light paused for a moment and exchanged a troubled look with L.
"That's fine." L whispered, encouraging him to go on.
"Tonight, I'm going to catch Kira." Light started. "But I'll need a favor form you."
"Hm…." Reiji hummed. "Then it's the end for Higuchi."
"What? You know that it's him?!" Light glared at the phone.
"Ha! So, even the great L can be tricked." Namikawa laughed into the line. Eva was sure it hurt Light's ego. She could tell from the way his shoulders tensed. "Based on your reaction, I'm now a hundred percent sure that Higuchi is Kira."
"Namikawa's pretty smart, huh?" Misa chimed in. "But then, I always thought he was from looking at his face. I guess this proves it."
"No." L interjected. "That was just because Light messed up."
"I'm baiting Higuchi with a staged TV special tonight: Sakura TV." Light ignored the criticism and went right along with his plan, regardless of the shame he felt. "A few minutes into the program, I want you to contact Higuchi, tell him to tune in. Do that for me, and I won't go after you, or any of the other five. As for the others, Kida, Takashi, and Ooi, if they try to do anything, make sure to stop them."
"I understand." The phone clicked and the live feed of Higuchi's cameras were brought up onto the screens. A moment of silence passed through the room as preparations began for Higuchi's downfall and eventual arrest.
"Can I come along this time?" Eva asked. Her voice sounded so loud. It echoed uncomfortably against the marble as the rest of the task force turned around to face her.
"No, it's too dangerous." Light repeated his standard line.
"Sure." L contradicted, turning back to his screens.
"What? Ryuzaki, you can't—"
"She wants to come, Light. Let her make her own decisions." L abruptly cut off the brown-haired boy, swatting away his concern as if he were speaking to a small child.
"What's gotten into you two?" Light huffed.
"It's him!" Misa called out, holding out her phone, pointing to Higuchi's caller ID. She quickly sent him to voicemail.
"That didn't take long at all…." Eva mumbled. A few more moments passed before Watari tuned into the monitors.
"Ryuzaki," he began, "Mogi is in position in front of Yoshida Productions. He's just received a call from Higuchi."
"Yes, it's time for phase two." L replied. "Everything's as planned." Watari patched through the call and Eva listened to Higuchi's panicked and angry demands to find Misa. Mogi refused the information, saying she was on a much-needed vacation. Eva began to wonder when the girl even worked. Eventually, Higuchi gave up on finding Misa, instead, shifting his attention to uncovering 'Taro Matsui's' real name.
"This is going exactly as I planned." Light whispered, in awe of the phone call. "It's almost scary."
"You shouldn't be scared, Light. You should be happy." L responded with his monotone. Eva couldn't tell if it was dry humor or if L truly didn't understand Light's turn of phrase.
"I'm patching you into Higuchi's call with the president of Yoshida Productions." Watari stated before changing the lines. The interrogation began immediately. Higuchi stated Taro's name was fake and wanted to know his real name.
"He's not even pretending to hide what he's asking about now, is he? Stupid Higuchi!" Misa giggled.
"If he's acting like that, it's proof he's beginning to panic." L agreed. The president eventually grew tired of Higuchi's endless tirade, offering him the pin code for the office lock to view the personnel files himself. It took only moments for the tracking device in one of Higuchi's cars to register movement and begin moving down the road at ridiculous rate of speed.
"I see Higuchi. He's only carrying a single bag. I'm in pursuit." Wedy checked in. Eva quickly pulled up Sakura TV and Higuchi's audio and video feed onto the monitors.
"As expected, Higuchi is watching every second of this from his car." Light commented.
"Rem, what do you think?" Higuchi suddenly asked.
"Rem?" Eva tilted her head in confusion. "Who is he talking to?"
"There's no one else in that car, right?" Light squinted at the darkness of the vehicle. "It's impossible for someone to be hiding without us knowing."
"He isn't using his cellphone." Eva added, abolishing any possibility of Bluetooth.
"Could it be a hidden radio?" Light offered.
"No, there aren't any radios or other devices in that car. Only the bugs, cameras, and tracking beacons that Wedy placed. I have no doubt that she did a thorough job." L chimed in.
"Do you think I'll get to Yoshida Productions only to find his file isn't there?" Higuchi asked the darkness.
"Maybe he's just talking to himself to plan things out?" Eva reasoned.
"If this guy was smart he would destroy everything that connects him with his real name before he appeared on TV." Higuchi continued. "And don't you think it's a little too reckless for Yoshida Productions to just let me into their offices unsupervised? Hm…maybe not. If there was a robbery, they'd figure out right away who did it, since I know where the key is."
"This isn't sounding very good…." Misa mumbled.
"He'll still go there. Don't you worry." L reassured her.
"Even if he does have a file at Yoshida, it could be just another alias." Higuchi grumbled. "Dammit! I wouldn't put it past this guy to do something like that. No wonder he's confident." There was silence for a while. "Yea, I already know that much myself. But just to be on the safe side, I should also kill the people I contacted at Yoshida Productions. That includes the president, Misa, and that manager of hers."
"What? No way! He's gonna kill me!?" Misa harped.
"It's alright, don't worry. He's talking about doing that after he's killed Matsuda." L quickly dismissed the concern. "There'd be no point in killing the rest of you until he's gotten rid of the main threat."
"That's true, but stil—" Light began, Eva chimed in and quickly cut him off.
"He said 'yea, I know.'" She glared at the screen, peering deeper into the darkness.
"Hm?" L turned to look at her.
"Higuchi said, 'yea, I know.'" Eva repeated. "Like he was having a conversation."
"Yea, he's talking to himself." Light explained.
"No, I've never heard a rational person talk to themselves like that—like they were getting extra information to consider." Eva insisted.
"O yea!" Higuchi spoke up again. "Rem, I didn't think you were so smart. Then I'll make them all erase their call histories before they die."
"See!" Eva pointed to the screen. "That's not how normal people talk to themselves."
"…you're right." Light hesitantly admitted. "But who is Rem? Who is he talking to?"
"If he's talking to someone right now, it could be a god of death." L offered. Eva definitely recognized that as dry humor.
"Maybe he's having a psychosis from the panic? We need to be careful." Eva offered the more serious explanation.
"Perhaps." L acknowledged, taking a bit out of his banana.
"No!" Higuchi yelled. "I'd end up being ruined if I did that. Even if I forgot the notebook, this guy says he has concrete evidence to back him up. If he points out Yotsuba's recent growth on the air, no one would ever doubt his claims. They'd believe whatever he said. That means whoever he says is Kira will be marked as Kira. Even if he didn't have proof and I got rid of the evidence by returning the notebook, my life would be over. I wouldn't get promoted. I wouldn't even be able to stay at Yotsuba."
"…get rid of the evidence by returning the notebook?" Eva tilted her head the other way this time, maintaining her squint. "Did you see any of them taking notes during the meetings? Are they keeping track, like in a black book?"
"I don't think so…." Light tried to think back. "I don't remember any of them writing anything down. It would be stupid to put evidence of your crimes in writing, right?"
"Then what is he talking about? Did he keep one just in case? But why would he if he was Kira? And who would he return it to?" Eva frowned. What was this man saying? The task force watched Higuchi pull into the Yoshida Productions parking lot and make his way to the back of the office.
"We're in position and ready to take him down." Mogi came in through the radio. "We'll move in on your command."
"Right." L replied, keeping his eyes glued to the screen.
"The notebook?" Eva whispered when Higuchi pulled out a thin, black notebook and began writing 'Taro Matsui's' 'real name' into it. "Maybe he was keeping track…."
"He's not doing it!" Light slammed his hand down on the table, standing up from his seat. "He just made a note of his name before leaving. So, he's not gonna kill him here?"
"Ryuzaki, do you want us to apprehend him?" Mogi asked over the radio again.
"Negative. We still don't know how he kills." L answered. "Perhaps he's planning to do something once he's back in the car. Let's see camera one again." Eva switched the feed to the internal car camera. Higuchi sat in the driver's seat, an air of calmness about him. He quietly watched the feed on the TV in his car.
"It's weird. You'd think he'd be desperate to kill Matsuda this very second, but he's calm." Light pointed out.
"It is strange." L agreed. "If all he needed was the name, then he should've simply taken the personnel file with him, but he just put it back in the drawer after taking a note."
"Maybe he didn't want the missing file connected back to him?" Eva's explanation was flimsy at best.
"Damn! He didn't die!" Higuchi yelled, slamming his fists against the expensive leather of his steering wheel.
"What's he talking about?" Light's voice shook. "Did he already try and kill Matsuda?"
"Was writing his name all he had to do or was it..." L trailed off, unsure of what to make of the current situation.
"What do we do now?" Light asked. "Should we just continue watching what he's doing? What if he can cause a death by just imagining it?"
"That's going to be hard to prove…." Eva's head hurt just imagining the legal gymnastics a case like that would require. Higuchi tried called Misa again in his panic, and she sent it straight to voicemail…again. He yelled and tossed the phone across the car. He huffed and puffed, running his fingers through his spiked black hair, until finally, he took a moment to take a few deep breaths and calm himself.
"Rem. Let's make the deal." Higuchi said.
"See…like there's another person." Eva whispered.
"Could it be that Kira's powers come from another realm or another being?" Light postulated.
"I really don't want to think that's the case." L grumbled.
"Then what is this Rem he keeps talking to?" Light pushed.
"A Shinigami?" This time, L's suggestion wasn't dry humor. The task force watched Higuchi speed to what they could only presume were the Sakura TV broadcasting station. They had prepared for this eventuality. It was nothing to worry about…at least until Higuchi was pulled over by a traffic cop who nearly immediately fell over dead trying to pursue him in escape.
"This is very bad." L commented.
"Rem…a deal…." Light mumbled.
"If he had the power to kill just by looking at someone's face, Matsuda would be dead by now. Did he know that cop?" Eva asked.
"Everyone—it's too dangerous to allow any further action by Higuchi, let's bring him in. I belive he has the same powers as the second Kira. He is able to kill just by looking at someone's face. Please keep this in mind when you move in to arrest him." L suddenly commanded. He quickly contacted the NPA, directing them to stop officers from interfering. Light gave instructions to the Sakura TV team, and Eva was left with the unpleasant task of restraining Misa.
"Hey! Stop joking around!" Misa yelled, pushing against the chains around her.
"Sorry, Misa." Eva was hardly sorry. As much guilt as she felt over it, there was something satisfying about chaining down the girl L had been ogling for the past few days.
"What do you say we go join the fun?" L asked, leading Eva and Light to the helicopter pad at the top of the hotel. Watari stood at the top waiting for them. He helped Eva into the helicopter, and she tried to ignore the sniper rifle in his hands. It was a strange picture. The bulter-esque man who wore tuxes and rolled carts of sweets into L's rooms was now perched with a military-grade weapon, ready to…presumably blow someone's head off?
"You know how to fly this thing?" Eva asked when she noticed L getting into the pilot's seat.
"You can figure it out with intuition." L replied. Eva paused and looked at Watari, shaking her head with doubt.
"This was a mistake." she whispered to the old man, earning a small chuckle from him. The helicopter followed Higuchi from his initial stop at the Yotsuba Group main office, where he found all footage of Matsuda erased, to the Sakura TV broadcasting station. The anticipation of the ambush was killing Eva. This was it: Kira would finally be arrested and tried for his crimes.
"L! Higuchi has a gun on him! The chief's been shot! Higuchi's escaping!" It was the worst call that could come over the radio.
"Is he okay?!" Eva yelled into the microphone.
"I'm alright." Soichiro reassured. "Sorry, Ryuzaki. If we pursue him right now, we can still catch him."
"This is bad!" Light yelled as the helicopter moved in pursuit of Higuchi's car.
"Watari, are you ready?" L asked.
"Yes." Watari replied, aiming the rifle at Higuchi's red sports car.
"Light, I think you should hold onto this for self-defense." L pulled out a handgun, offering it to Light.
"No thanks." Light rejected it. "Handguns aren't allowed in Japan." A soft chuckle left L's throat.
"You know, I'm sure your father said the exact same thing." The helicopter followed Higuchi's car onto an isolated lane. Eva gawked at the sight of a dozen police cars forming a blockade.
"What's going on? I thought we told the police not to get involved." Watari stated.
"The only one who would do this is—" Light laughed.
"Yes, you must be right." L agreed, already knowing the name.
"Aizawa!" Eva exclaimed gleefully. L moved the helicopter lower, turning on the spotlight right on top of Higuchi's car. He made another attempt at escape, barely covering any distance before Watari shot out one of his tires, sending the car fishtailing into the guardrails. The police cars moved in to surround him, and the helicopter gently landed.
"Stay back!" Higuchi yelled, holding the gun up to his head. "Stay back or I'll shoot, I swear!" He was barely able to complete the sentence before Watari shot the gun out of his hand.
"Your aim is insane…." Eva compliment, reminding herself not to cross Watari.
"It's over." Light said with disbelief.
"Yes, it's over." L restated, though seemingly unsatisfied. L began giving out instructions for the arrest. The police moved in, pulling him out of his vehicle, handcuffing, and blindfolding him. A headset was placed on him, and L and Light began their interrogation to reveal his killing method. Eva hopped out of the helicopter, keeping her headset on as she approached Higuchi's car. She just wanted to see it…what did he write?
"The notebook." Higuchi's voice came over the headset. Eva opened his bag and stared at the beat up, black thing.
"Notebook?" L asked. What was so special about this thing? How would returning it exonerate him? Eva took it out of the bag, and something strange happened when she did. All of the sudden, she felt inexplicable resentment, rage…hatred. The faces of all the people that she had felt hurt by suddenly began to appear in her mind's eye. Why was she thinking like this all of the sudden?
"You probably won't believe me, but I've got a special notebook. If I write someone's name in it while thinking about their face, that person dies." Higuchi explained. Eva opened the book and began flipping through the pages. Some of the names were instantly recognizable as people who had died. She was sure if she began to analyze deaths with what was written in this notebook, it would match perfectly. But how could a notebook kill people? She read the cover. Death Note.
"Eva." L called out to her over the radio.
"Yea, I've got it." Eva replied without having to hear anymore. She shut the pages and began to turn and walk back toward the helicopter. Suddenly, everything she had felt upon touching the notebook dissipated. It was replaced by pure fear. She opened her mouth, trying to form words, a cry for help, a scream, anything, but her voice betrayed her. It caught in her throat, and she could barely choke out a small peep. The monster towered over her, making no attempts to move. It reminded her of a snake. It's coloring: white and purple, as if it was a warning to stay away from something venomous, toxic, dangerous. The iris of its single, visible eyes: long and narrow. Two fangs poked out from between its lips. Its arms: like vertebrae. Its torso: like a single, powerful muscle. Eva held the notebook up to her chest as a shield of sorts.
"Eva!" L called again.
"Eva, what's wrong?" Light asked. "Eva!"
"…are you Rem?" Eva finally managed to ask. It came out as a meek whisper, and the monster smirked at her.
