February 16th, 2032
With Iris
Iris Abernathy dropped her backpack on the floor at her feet and sank into the couch in the living room and turned on the TV.
It's been five days since the KIA Killer's bomb challenge. Eleven Seppuku had bombs surgically implanted in their stomaches in addition to the EMP devices used at the police station and those bombs detonated inside a prison bus and killed a total of a hundred and thirteen prisoners across several prisons. Hours after the incident, conversations were being made over phones, messages left behind on social media, stories were being told on the news.
It's like the Keiri incident, Iris thought. Instead of Kira supporters fighting against nonbelievers, it's a war of morality. People are debating if they should save the criminals or have the KIA Killer kill them.
She went to the kitchen and took out the ingredients to make fish and chips. She ordered more ingredients from Amazon a week ago and decided that this was the best time to cook dinner. After finishing preparing the food, she absentmindedly turned on the stove and let the fish cook.
She took out her phone and flipped through the photos that Knight sent her to identity. She could still see the names floating above their heads.
These yakuza are still alive. I thought Knight was going to use them to kill the KIA Killer somehow but… the KIA Killer is taking over and it seems that the yakuza are over.
She chuckled.
It amazes me how one can rise to power in an instant. Everybody knew the KIA Killer as someone who killed criminals in self-defense and they considered him to be a nobody, even with his astonishing high kill count. He became a feared individual when he used to yakuza to escalate and became the second most feared mass murderer after Kira.
She subconsciously put her phone back in her pocket and stared at the food cooking.
If the Seppuku were used as unwitting suicide bombers then who's to say the others aren't aces up his sleeves? I have to kill them. But what if there's a reason they're still alive? What if Knight is using them as his puppets? Then again, if he were to control them, it would only be for twenty-three days but you can't set the death date beyond one's predestined lifespan and if they're due to die in less than twenty-three days then they can't be manipulated with the Death Note.
A short while later, she takes the fish off the stove and finishes cooking.
I have to kill the yakuza before the KIA Killer can use them. It's been five days since the bomb challenge but that could be because he's prepping for the next challenge. Assuming that the yakuza are cooperating with him, willingly or not.
She makes herself a plate of fish and chips and eats at the dinner table, staring into the television set to check for news updates.
The news segment talked about how Sakura TV had another call from the KIA Killer about the next challenge and they played the recorded audio.
"Hello," the KIA Killer's voice rang through the screen. "Hello, hello. Uh, hey, so no introductions needed because I sure made headline with the bomb challenge five days ago." He sighed heavily. "I must say, I don't know if you're indecisive or just cruel; I'm talking to you citizens of Tokyo. I gave you a challenge and based on what you read on social media, some of you approved of me blowing up those criminals while others thought that I had no right. Then there's the case of people saying that only Kira is allowed to judge."
He snickered. "Kira worshippers, you didn't approve of me blowing up criminals but you approve of Kira killing criminals? You Kira worshippers are so interesting so the next challenge will test the reactions of Kira worshippers and those who do not approve of killing."
Iris leaned in the direction of the television and paid close attention.
"Suguru Aoyama is the name of the Matsuri Samurai Surgeon. As you all know, he is a mentally ill surgeon who likes performing operations on people until they die. Suguru is the one who implanted the bombs inside the stomachs of the Seppuku and he's been useful for nothing more. If the Samurai Surgeon doesn't Yamato the Vampire by nine o'clock tonight, then I'll kill all Matsuri gangsters. Suguru, to confirm that you killed Yamato, then you must call Sakura TV and confirm for yourself but you can only call thirty minutes before the deadline; if you all thirty-one minutes before the deadline then it will be considered invalid and I must see the body for myself. Aside from that, that's all."
The call dropped.
Iris blinked as she absorbed this information. She checked the clock on her watch.
"It's seven o'clock," she told herself. "Only two hours for Suguru to kill Yamato."
Masi materialized behind her. "Sounds interesting; what do you think is gonna happen?"
"We know the names of every yakuza thanks to Knight's plan," Iris said before taking a bite of her food. "If all the yakuza die prior to Suguru Jiro killing Yamato the Vampire then the KIA Killer will have no one to kill." She leans back in her chair and ponders her plan. "It's possible he thought this far ahead. If we kill every Matsuri gangster before he does then the Samauri Surgeon will have no need to kill Yamato the Vampire and the KIA Killer will be left without targets to kill. But, what would happen if Kira manages to kill every Matsuri gangster prior to the Samurai Surgeon acting?"
"He'll realize that we're a step behind him," Masi answered. "And that you know the names of every yakuza that worked with him."
"Right, which means, I have to find the Samurai Surgeon, prevent him from killing Yamato, and then have the KIA Killer kill off the remaining Matsuri gangsters. Maybe this way, we can catch him in the open. Given that he killed prisoners who weren't working for him, it's not such a long shot for him to use to Matsuri gang to achieve a higher kill count."
"But how are you going to find him?"
"Hmm," Iris pondered and began stroking her chin. "That's a question I was just about to ask myself before you beat me to the punch." She scratched the back of her head, digging the nails through her hair and scratching her nails against the surface of her flesh. "I'm trying so hard to think of a plan and I can't come up with one." She leans forward and sets her elbows on the table, lacing her fingers together inches from her face. "I'm trying so hard to think of a plan."
She couldn't think of a plan on the spot so she started digging into the food she made. She was deep in thought before she was pulled back to reality when she tasted the lukewarm temperate of the fish and winced in disgust.
"Gobsmacked, the food's a bit taters!"
"You've been staring into outer space for years, of course the food's going to get cool," Masi exclaimed. "Assuming that 'taters' means cold."
Iris forced herself to swallow the piece and went back to her inner thought.
You've been staring into outer space for years, of course the food's going to get cool, Iris replayed mockingly in her head.
You've been staring into outer space for years, of course the food's going to get cool-
You've been staring into outer space for years-
You've been staring into outer space-
Iris gasps with wide eyes. "I know how to find the Samurai Surgeon!"
Masi blinked and tilted her head. "How?!"
"You," she pointed, "you're going to find him for me."
Masi pointed at herself. "Why do you expect me to do all the work?"
Iris raced into her room. She came back forty seconds later holding her Death Note.
She held the Death Note up to her head. "You chose me to own this Death Note."
"I-"
Iris cut her off. "You implanted your memories in me and the memories tell me that you've been watching Knight from above and you purposely chose me to pick this Death Note. You've been watching me from a portal in the Shinigami realm."
"So?"
"If you can spot me from the portal in the Shinigami realm, you can spot Suguru Jiro in the Shinigami realm."
Masi shrugged. "Maybe so; if a Shinigami knows a human's name or lifespan and has seen their face at least once, they can find them from anywhere from the hole in the Shinigami world."
"That's how we're going to find Suguru Jiro." She handed Masi her Death Note.
She accepted it. "In order for me to go back to the Shinigami realm, I need you to forfeit ownership of all Death Notes you own that I'm attached to."
"And once I get rid of all three of them, I'll lose my Shinigami eyes and my lifespan gave up for them won't be refunded." She sighed pensively before licking her lips. "I don't fancy the idea of cutting my life in half twice. I'm going to Knight's house to retrieve one of his Death Notes. If I can get him to forfeit ownership of one of them, I'll become the owner of that Death Note, and Gilth will become attached to me and I won't lose my Shinigami eyes."
Masi quickly put the pieces together. "And I'll be free to go back to the Shinigami realm."
"And once you locate Suguru Jiro, you come back down and let me know."
Masi saluted like a soldier. "Yes, ma'am."
She wasted no time packing up the rest of her notebooks in her backpack before jogging over to Knight's apartment. She unlocked the door using a key Knight had given her months ago and raced up to his room and burst through his bedroom door. She quickly grabbed a pen and undid the booby-trapped drawer and retrieved one of three Death Notes that had been hidden.
She takes out her phone and calls Knight.
"What is it, Iris?" Knight asked, sounding emotionless.
"Did you hear the KIA Killer's next message?" she asked.
"Yeah," Knight said, a nod evident in his voice. "Oh yeah."
"Still at the police station?"
"How'd you guess?"
"Whenever I break into your house with the key you give me, you're never here."
"Iris," Knight growled, "what are you doing in my house without permission."
Let's see if he remembers the code.
"I needed to borrow your notes." She held her breath and hoped Knight remembered the code they came up with together.
"What notes?"
"The ones Watari gave you. He gave you three notes and I want to know if I can borrow one. I promise to give it back."
She could hear nothing so she pushed her ear into the phone and listened.
"What do you need my Watari notes for?"
"Geography."
Translation: Location reasons.
"You can have my notes but I expect you to return them."
Iris nodded. "Aye."
"I turn over ownership of the notes in your hand to you."
He hung up.
He didn't question me aside from using the Death Note. Does he trust me or does he already have a plan?
She held the Death Note in her hand close to her chest, hugging it to her heart.
I am now the owner of four notebooks.
She turned to Masi. She tucked Knight's notebook into the front of her pants and hid it with her shirt. She opened her backpack and took out the other two Death Notes she had and turned them all over to Masi.
"I forfeit ownership of all three of these Death Notes," she said sternly. "Go back to the Shinigami realm, find Suguru Jiro, then come back to earth and lead me to him."
Masi shrugged and played with the three Death Notes in her hands, throwing them in the air and catching them. "I can do that."
I'll finally prove to Knight that I'm useful. No, I'll prove to myself that I'm useful. Once the KIA Killer starts killing off the Matsuri gang, he'll be running out of pawns to use in this chess game and he'll be checkmated.
Unnamed Fishing Spot, 8:15 PM
The Remnant Yakuza fell apart after the KIA Killer's betrayal and they all went their own ways. If the Seppuku had been tricked to explode then they thought it was better to be separate in case someone had a bio bomb shoved down their throat ready to blow and gas everyone in the vicinity.
Suguru, Yamato, and the two remaining Matsuri gangsters hid in a tool shed situated in a dock above water at a lake. Well, it was the four of them but after Yamato went outside to take a leak, one of the Matsuri gangsters took out his phone and replayed the KIA Killer's message. On a possibly unrelated note, Yamato hasn't returned to the tool shed so he either got spooked off by some giant catfish or he listened to the message on his phone and bolted.
"He bolted," Suguru said. "As soon as we planned to kill him, he bolted. Like, what the hell is wrong with that?"
"Let's find that bastard," a Matsuri said as he pulled out a knife.
"Let's stab that blood-sucking vampire."
"But wouldn't you need silver to kill a vampire?"
Suguru slapped his companion across the face. "That's a nickname given to him you imbecile."
The Matsuri gangster rubbed his red cheek. "Why?"
"What do vampires suck; you just said it not ten seconds ago."
"Blood?"
"Blood!"
"Why does Yamato suck blood?"
"Renfield syndrome. He served four years at the Akame Asylum for the criminally insane before escaping."
"Let's find that bastard," the Matsuri repeated his statement from earlier.
"Y'all ready said that," the other Matsuri gangster said. "Don't go repeating yourself, Two-Timer."
"Sorry," Two-Timer apologized. "We should chase after Yamato and kill him."
"That's what I have been saying for the last ten minutes!" Suguru exclaimed. He turned his back to grab the duffel bag he threw down earlier and took out a bone saw and a pair of handcuffs. "I've developed a fascination for slicing and dicing since I was young. I hated the way my face looked so I tried rearranging it but plastic surgeons put my ugly face back to the way it was. Matsuri gang allowed me to channel that hate and anger and use it towards those who returned me to my ugly form."
"Why you tell us this?" Two-Timer asked.
"Because I'm going to handcuff that vampire to a gurney and fuck up his face with this bone saw."
"But wouldn't you need silver to kill a vampire?"
"SHUT UP!" Suguru shouted and charged for the door. "Two-Timer, Bepo (Bee-poh), let's go."
"Coming," Bepo announced before running after him.
The three charged out the door. It was a waxing crescent out tonight so there was enough moonlight to guide them to the path of the cars. They took one car to get here and since the car was still here, it proved that Yamato had gone out to take a piss and bolted soon after, deciding that risking a U-turn to the car in front of the shed of homicidal Matsuri gangsters wasn't worth it.
"Good thing that fucker didn't take the car," Suguru laughed as he climbed into the passenger's seat and absentmindedly cuffed himself to the door handle. He turned to Bepo, who was taking the driver's seat. "Let's kill him."
THUN-THUMP!
Two-Timer clutched his chest and collapsed face-first into the dirt, convulsing and screaming.
Bepo immediately abandoned his task of starting the car up and ran to assist his friend.
"My chest!" Two-Timer screamed. "It hurts!"
"Hold still," Bepo said as he put his hands around Two-Timer's neck cautiously.
"My chest, it hurts!" Two-Timer repeated.
"We can't afford to have you attracting attention," he murmured.
"My chest-"
SNAP!
Bepo's emotionless face suddenly shifted into a wide-eyed scared expression like the flip of a switch. "Oh my god," he cried, "what have I done?!"
He runs back to the car and climbs in. He takes the keys he found in the console and starts the car up.
"Where's Two-Timer," Suguru asked.
"I killed him," Bepo cried...
... before his crying expression faded away into a teeth-baring Cheshire grin. "I fucking kill him, YEAH!"
He stomped on the gas and took off.
A silhouette hiding in the dark shook its head.
"I don't think so."
THUN-THUMP!
Bepo's eyes suddenly went wide. He stomped his foot on the brakes, comping to a complete stop before he started convulsing.
Then he stopped.
'Whether the cause of the individual's death is either a suicide or accident, if the death leads to the death of more than the intended, the person will simply die of a heart attack. This is to ensure that other lives are not influenced.'
"Bepo?" Suguru whispered. "Bepo?" He poked him in the neck. "What the fuck's gotten into you?" He looked over his shoulder to see how far they were from the fishing dock and he could still see Two-Timer's body lying in the dirt. "We barely got anywhere," he complained. "Worse uber driver there is."
The window on the driver's side made a humming noise before lowering, the button to lowered being pushed seemingly by an invisible hand.
Suguru nearly jumped out of his seat before he remembered that he had handcuffed himself to the handle on the door. He starts yanking at his hand to break the handle but his weak arms made this impossible. He tried using the bone saw he packed but it couldn't cut through. When he saw that the window had lowered all the way down, he held the bone saw up as a weapon, ready to slash anything that poked its head through the window.
Why the hell did I do that? Why did I handcuff myself?
Stomp...
He froze in his seat when he heard the unmistakable sounds of footsteps.
Yamato?
The soft footsteps got louder as they drew closer and he raised the bone saw above his head, ready to slash when-
Iris Abernathy poked her head through the window, her face covered by the skin-colored face mask and a chocolate brown wig, both used by her during the Keiri incident.
SUGURU JIRO, 3 4 51 01 5 0
"Hello," she whispered.
Suguru slashed his bone saw at her.
Despite being out of range and having more than enough time to react, she jerked her head away from the window.
"I can't allow you to kill Yamato Tao," Iris said in a strict manner.
"Who are you?!" Suguru demanded and went back to trying to saw his handcuffs. "I'll kill you!"
Iris chuckled. "You can try, Suguru Jiro, but it's not going to work." She looks over to the dashboard.
As expected, no dash cams.
She turned back to him. "Don't you think you should've found the key before handcuffing yourself in the car?"
"Don't mock me," he snarled. "I'll kill you and cut open your stomach."
"Your fate's already been sealed. Once the time reaches nine o'clock, all members of the Matsuri gang will be killed by the KIA Killer. Thing is, I've killed off all of the Matsuri gangsters with you and Yamato being the exception through other means aside of a heart attack."
"You're sorely fucking mistaken."
Iris tilted her head. "Am I? Please, enlighten me."
"First of all, tell me who you are."
"How about you tell me what I want to know then I'll make Yamato come back here and you can cut him open?"
He eyed her suspiciously. "Where is Yamato?"
Iris took out her Death Note from the back of her pants. "If I write that Yamato Tao comes back to the tool shed before dying of blood loss, it will happen. It's how I killed Hiroshi Sheh with a heart attack and prevented you from taking off by killing Jun Takeuchi at the wheel. It's how I manipulated you into handcuffing yourself." She slipped open the notebook to show the entries with their names in it.
His death wet set at 9:00 PM.
"You're my puppet and you're about to expire."
"You bitch!"
"But... I can reverse it. I can undo it all if you tell me what I was wrong about earlier. I said that I've killed off every Matsuri gangster and you said I was wrong. Please, enlighten me."
Suguru dropped the bone saw in his lap and contemplated. He sighed in an oh well way before speaking.
"Akane Asylum."
Iris narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"
"Akane Asylum, an institute for the criminally insane and where the Matsuri gangsters are mostly sentenced. The Matsuri gang members that were arrested and not killed by Kira were sentenced to Akane Asylum for rehabilitation. A large chunk of Matsuri gangsters are there so if you forced me to tie myself up so the KIA Killer can kill them there then maybe you can catch him in the act."
Wow, Iris thought. Akane Asylum is littered with criminally insane Matsuri gangsters. The KIA Killer wants to prove he's a better serial killer so there's no doubt he'll try and sneak in people to kill. He blew up the Seppuku with bombs and killed bystander prisoners so how does he plan to get rid of the criminals at Akame Asylum?
"Thank you," Iris said. She pacts her notebook away and beings walking in the opposite direction.
"WAIT!" Suguru called out. "You said you'd free me."
"I lied," Iris hissed under her breath. "I also lied about reversing anything I wrote in the notebook. Once your name's been written, there's no going back."
"I performed surgery on the Matsuri gangsters in the asylum so I can undo whatever it is the KIA Killer is using to kill them with!"
"I lied and now you lied full circle. The Matsuri gang in the asylum was sentenced before the KIA Killer came to Japan and I doubt you would put a chemical weapon in the bodies of Matsuri gangsters for no reason. I doubt you can even make a chemical bomb."
"I can help!"
"You already are helping."
"COME BACK HERE!"
Iris vanished in the darkness.
Warning: Slight sexual content.
Iris Abernathy's Home, 9:00 PM
Just as promised, if the Samurai Surgeon did not announce publically that he killed Yamato then every member of the Matsuri gang was due to die. Iris switched to the news and waited for something interesting to happen. Remember Akame Asylum, she pulled up live footage of the asylum itself on her computer and was shocked to discover that the outside of the building had been set on fire.
"Wow," Iris gasped. "The KIA Killer is going to burn the place down to the ground?"
She switches camera feeds to get different angles of the building. She flinched when she saw a bottle with a firey rag on the top collide with the building.
"Molotov cocktails," she said. "Is the KIA Killer there in person or?"
She switched camera feeds to see a large rock break down a window on the third floor before a Molotov was thrown in immediately after.
A man set on fire jumped out the window and fell to his doom.
She kept switching camera feeds to get as many views of the asylum as possible and no matter what camera feed she switched to, Molotov cocktails had been thrown at the asylum from all angles.
"Who the hell is throwing the Molotov?" Iris exclaimed.
One of the windows was broken down and a spherical object was thrown in.
"What was- WHOA!"
The section around the window blew up with rubble and caused the walls around the window to crumble away.
"A grenade!"
More and more of these grenades were being launched into the windows in addition to the Molotov.
Iris wanted to do something. She wanted to switch camera feeds to find out who these people throwing explosives and Molotovs are but all assailants were standing outside the camera's field of view. Not even a shadow could be seen.
She figured the slaughter might end in a few minutes but things escalated when the building went completely ablaze.
It was 9:45 by the time the emergency services managed to get to the asylum and put out the fire and save what's left of the building.
Details were being hidden from the media but Iris kept watch on the cameras. She felt the fish and chips stir in her stomach and held a hand to her mouth as she felt herself about to vomit. She sealed her lips together in a successful effort to stop herself from throwing up when she saw charred bodies being loaded on gurneys and stretchers.
The orderlies in the asylum came out mostly unharmed but the inmates themselves had burned to death with only a handful or less surviving.
"Did I do the right thing?" Iris asked herself. "Should I have killed Yamato and stopped the KIA Killer from attacking?" After some pondering, she found her answer. "No. This was the necessary choice because now I know that the KIA Killer has people operating under him and given that they have grenades with them, it can't be any small-time yakuza."
Masi made herself visible on the couch. "You know, there were innocent people inside that asylum. You can mass murder with fire but eventually, an innocent is going to get burned."
"There were three orderlies burned to death and we'll know the details of how they survived when the media finds out. But this was necessary because we need to know what kind of force is backing up the KIA Killer."
KNOCK KNOCK!
Masi quickly flew over to find out the identity of this uninvited guest knocking on her door.
"It's Knight," she yelled.
Iris sighed in relief before going to answer it. When she opened the door, she met an emotionless Knight staring at her with an empty, hollow expression that sent chills down her eyes.
He stepped in the doorway, making Iris step back, and shut the door without looking.
"Do you realize what you've done?" he whisper hissed at her.
"Proved that the KIA Killer has accomplices of his own?" She continued to stare into his eyes, the question nagging her with persistence as to what she could've possibly done to make him hiss at her.
"Exactly!" he yelled with cheer in his voice.
Iris stared at him like a deer in headlights.
That took a quick 180, she thought.
"I've been shacked up with the KIA Killer all day and all night, making sure that he doesn't do anything outwardly suspicious and catch him in the act. Now that I know that he has someone working for him, someone not part of any yakuza in Japan, I think I found a way to beat him, trap him, and kill him!"
He grabbed her by the back of the head and pulled her into a kiss.
"You know how to act without taking orders and it proved to be a big help."
He kissed her again, harder.
"Why did you do it, Iris? Why did you act without me giving orders?"
Iris could hear the words but she couldn't comprehend them at first from Knight attacking her mouth.
"To prove that I'm useful," she whispered huskily, "to prove to myself that I can be proactive and I don't need to be codependent on you."
He frowned for a brief second before returning to smiling form.
He initiated the kiss once more but it was she who introduced her tongue into his mouth.
They backpedaled to the couch to burn off energy.
KIA Killer, kill us if you can, Iris thought.
AN: Today, I achieved something: I've crossed the 200,000-word threshold. I am proud of the progress and I'm am proud that I finally gave Iris her own chapter.
Also, today is September 11, 2021. It's been twenty years since the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks and it saddens me how so many people died that day. I hate it when innocent people who have their lives ahead of them are mass murdered. It's a tragedy that so many people died that day twenty years ago. I wish we weren't at war. I wish that those who died that day got a second chance to live. My deepest condolences to all those who have suffered a tragedy, 9/11 or not.