February 21st, 2032

The Bathroom

After Knight finished the tale, he went to the sink to grab some paper towels to wipe his mouth.

"I am so grateful that I am alive and I will stop at nothing to make sure that the KIA Killer gets what he deserves," Knight said before turning on the faucet. "KIA Killer, I'm going to kill you with my bare hands." He began washing his hands.

Soma nodded reassuringly before grabbing Knight's shoulder. "I'm sorry for what happened to you, Knight. I had no idea what kind of trauma you went through. I never knew your love for Kira came from Kira saving you that night."

Knight dried his hands off. "It wasn't Kira that saved me that life but someone with his power."

A Shinigami, he thought. My life was saved by a Shinigami watching me from above. It looks like guardian angels DO exist.

"That man who killed my parents, they… he didn't want to change the evils of the world, he wanted to embrace them." Knight sighed with a shaky breath. "He is proof that Kira needs to exist in this world to combat those who embrace evil."

"But, Kira is still evil for killing innocent people. The FBI, he's responsible for Break, Roach, and Maroon dying, even if they had a Death Note of their own, and he's responsible for the Keiri incident."

Knight looked at Soma menacingly in the mirror.

"You left one out," Knight hissed. "The KIA Killer. Unless… you're starting to sympathize with him because he's killed off every single Remnant Yakuza remaining."

"No," Soma shook his head, "I think you're missing the point here, Knight. Evil only breeds more evil. Had Kira not existed in the first place, the world would've returned to normal."

"Where people like the Midnight Slaughterer get away with their crimes?" He turns to look Soma in the eye. "I thought you understood Kira."

"I do understand Kira but I also understand that an evil person like him brings out the evilest demons within people. I.e. Keiri."

Knight sighs with content. "Soma. I just told you a deep and personal story tying back to the earliest age I could remember and you're trying to taint that memory?"

After this, I think I'll kill Soma.

"Knight, I-"

Hayate opens the bathroom door and points at the two.

"Get back to work," he shouted. "The Remnant Yakuza may be all but wiped out but we still got a lot of work to do so get to it." He left.

Soma and Knight looked at each other, the two redheads coming to a nonverbal agreement to end this debate and get back to it later.

Soma left first and Knight turned to look at himself in the mirror, holding himself by his arms against the sink and sighing. He looked up in the mirror to see Gilth materializing behind him.

"Who saved me that wretched day, Dad? Who wrote down the Midnight Slaughterer's real name and killed him?"

Gilth shrugged.

Knight's face turned red with anger. "Don't give me that; what Shinigami sacrificed their life to save me? The Midnight Slaughterer spoke my real name which could only mean one thing: He had the Shinigami eyes and saw that October 6th, 2018 was my destined death day. He had his bandages concealing his face removed for over a minute so somebody must've been spotting me from above." He turned to look Gilth in the face. "Who. Saved. My. Life?"

Gilth shrugged but answered, "Do I look like an omnipotent being? Do I look like I know everything? I had no intention of sacrificing my lifespan for yours and since your mother is still alive, it can't be her."

"What Shinigami had feelings for me?"

"You really think I can answer that? I have no fucking clue."

"Goddamn it. If some Shinigami loved me enough to die for me, who could it be?"

"Either some random Shinigami in the human world or a relative of yours who reincarnated into a Shinigami."

"Like Grandpa?"

"No, you have to write in the Death Note in order to be reincarnated."

"Raye Penber?"

"You have to own, not borrow, a Death Note in order to reincarnate."

"Kyosuke Higuchi?"

"I doubt that greedy businessman would sacrifice his life to save yours. He was willing to sacrifice your mother's life to save his so not possible."

"Kal Snyder?"

"Don't know enough about him but if he worked for Mello and the mafia then he more than likely would be content with you dying."

"Sidoh?"

The Shinigami shot him a look.

Knight remembered Gilth telling him how he got the second notebook and brushed his candidate aside.

"Figuring out who saved your life will come later. For now, focusing on taking out the KIA Killer."

Knight wanted to argue but decided that killing the KIA was his number one priority and walked out of the bathroom.

Midnight

Knight returned home and found Iris in the living, sitting on his couch with a coffee in her hands and eyelids threatening to close permanently for the time being. Once Knight closed the door with a loud thud, Iris sprung to consciousness and stared at Knight with a guilty look. She puts her mug down and stands up, holding her hands up defensively.

"I killed off the rest of the Imperial gang," she said hastily, "I couldn't let that boy suffer."

"I see you're fulfilling your word on becoming more proactive," Knight said dryly, "killing people without my authorization." He stalks towards her.

She cringes away from him and avoids eye contact with him.

"Killing the rest of those Imperial thugs was the part of the plan but the fact of the matter was you did it impulsively." He grabs her chin and forces her to look at him. "I get that you're trying to be better and make choices for yourself but think those choices through carefully. What if it had been a trap to lure Kira out into the open?"

He turns away from her with a sneer. "I expected more from you, 'Child-Who-Tied-Number-Two-At-Wammy's-House.'"

Iris bites her lower lip. "Don't call me that."

Knight laughed and looked at her. "Or what?"

"Or I won't give you the name of the man who force-feed Mitsu Amano the remains of Shin Sawada."

Knight's laughter was silenced. "Really?"

"Apologize for calling me a second-ranked child."

Knight laughed. "Wow, I never knew Iris Abernathy could be so touchy about coming in second place."

"I think I've earned the right to be called your equal. You are I are in this Kira business together."

Knight laughed. "Wow, you're even taking the initiative in the conversation. I'm going to have to put you on a tighter leash."

"I'm not a dog, I'm a human." She held her hand out. "A goddess."

Knight looks at her hand like he was looking for traps. "Goddess?"

"Knight, I killed every single member of the Matsuri gang and killed every Imperial gangster. I killed Minato Takada. I've identified people for you to kill. There is no going back from what I did so the only thing I can do is go forward. Please, let me be your goddess."

Knight's brows arched. "'Please'?"

Iris corrected herself. "I am your goddess."

She shook her hand again to remind Knight she was holding it.

Instead of shaking her hand, Knight dove in and bestowed a kiss on his goddess and co-ruler of the new world.

Iris felt butterflies in her stomach but they weren't flapping their wings rapidly as before which caused her to blush.

"The names of the people torturing Mitsu Amano?" Knight demanded.

Iris reached into her backpack and pulled out her computer.

Masi materialized and stood beside Gilth as they watched their heirs get to work.

"I'm so proud of our son," Gilth said, which made Masi sob into his shoulder. "He's succeeded us where we failed and his plan to kill the KIA Killer... phenomenal."

"And Iris," Masi huffed, still sobbing into Gilth's shoulder, "she's the perfect match for our little Knight-Light."

Gilth grabbed Masi by the shoulder and forced her to look at him. "Masi, I heard Knight tell a very interesting story to Soma. He told him how he solidified Kira into his heart."

Gilth and Masi floated into the room above them to retell the story.

Iris pulled up the photos on her laptop.

"Ever since their first appearance, I have been investigating these guys that are working with the KIA Killer and I think I found a few solid leads." She pulls up a picture of a man whose face was burnt off into an unrecognizable lump of flesh on his skull. Iris cringed and wanted to look away but quickly pushed away these thoughts and continued. "Based on what I got when I profiled these people, I can only describe them as 'amoral human beings'. Based on this description, they are not criminals because criminals are generally not amoral and yakuza typically follow their own code of conduct. They are mercenaries."

Knight's hair and eyes turn a dark red color.

'Amoral human beings'? I remember the KIA Killer describing them as 'amoral humans beings' too so they ARE mercenaries. And that pun he made, something concerning their faces. Mercenaries who burn off their faces?

Iris continued, "Since mercenaries aren't exactly legal, they wouldn't really have their own legal website I have no intention of logging onto the dark web. So I searched up articles about mercenaries and private military contractors that had something significant about their faces, specifically, self-inflicted burns."

She pulls up an article and points to the headline.

"The MIA Mercenaries."

The article wasn't able to go much in-depth about the organization itself but it provided useful information on activities they were known for.

The MIA Mercenaries were known for being hired bodyguards, fighting wars in third-world countries, documenting the cruelties of man, and protecting people with status. They were also known for torture, murder, assassination, and burning off their faces.

The article explains that while it may be a rumor, it's believed that MIA Mercenaries' initiation requires them to abandon their past, their families, and burn their faces beyond all recognition so they can't be identified by the police, surviving relatives, or Kira. The article speculates that their main motive is to escape boredom and entertain themselves in the ugly side of life.

How ironic if this is true, Knight laughed. The KIA Killer has no name and the MIA Mercenaries have no face and they are both amoral killers. One only kills in self-defense and the others went out to the ugly side of the world to see something interesting. KIA and MIA were made for each other.

"The KIA Killer and the MIA Mercenaries," Iris spoke aloud. "The Killer in Action Killer and The Missionary, Information, Assassination Mercenaries. Isn't this a world of irony or what?"

Knight chuckled before patting her on the back. "Good work, Iris. Now, you said that you could identify the man who was torturing Mitsu. Who is this person and how were you able to identify him?"

She pulls out her Death Note and opens a page with a forename written on one page and a surname written on a second page.

The Mia Merc's name was Albert Granger.

"His face was unrecognizable," Iris said, "but as long as it's your real face then the Shinigami eyes will always know your real name."

Knight laughed. "Wow, they're burning their faces for nothing then. The only benefit they get from burning off their own faces is to hide their identity from the public. Good work, Iris. So they're just as easily identifiable as the Remnant Yakuza."

"Yeah. Speaking of which, I looked over the names of every single Remnant Yakuza out there and not a single of them survived. Mitsu Amano was the very last of the Remnant Yakuza to survive."

Knight acknowledged this fact by nodding. "Great, so we can focus our full efforts on the KIA Killer and kill him."

"Easier said than done. The Mia Merc in this picture is dead and so are the two on the TV."

"Hm..." Knight rested his elbow on his knee and touched his chin. "I'm trying to think of a plan. The KIA Killer is within the buildings of the NPA but going through with our plan is going to be extremely difficult. We're going to have to catch him in the act and kill him as the KIA Killer, not the nameless agent working with us to find Kira."

"Any plans?"

Knight rubbed his lower lip, contemplating.

He gets up and heads to the fridge, taking out a caramel apple and taking a bite into it.

Even with the delicious, caramel-y taste in his mouth, his strategic planning had abandoned him in favor of going absentminded.

"I could have either Gilth or Masi keep taps on him at all times but at the same time..."

He goes over a dozen scenarios in his head.

No, since the KIA Killer doesn't have a name, that won't work.

Even if it was possible, the Shinigami rules would prevent that from happening.

Experiments have proven that it will work but finding the time and the place and my Shinigami unwilling to risk himself...

I have a plan for killing the KIA Killer but executing it is going to be extremely difficult.

Then there's the matter of the MIA Mercenaries and how they could act as a contingency plan should the KIA Killer be killed.

So far, I have to kill the KIA Killer and set up defeat for the Mia Mercs.

By the time he was done going over the anchor points in his head, his caramel apple was halfway gone and he still hadn't thought of a solid plan.

"Damn it," he cursed.

"Why do you like caramel apples so much?"

Knight looked at Iris.

"I just like them so much. Sometimes when I played chess with my foster father, I would challenge him to a bet and if I beat him, he would have to get me any kind of candy I wanted and at the time, what I loved most were caramel apples. The first time I ever tried a caramel apple was at a carnival they took me to. Just as the carnival was closing, we made one quick stop to a candy shop and Dad bought me one caramel apple for the road and-" He paused to lick the caramel apple in his hand. "I fell in love with them ever since."

Iris chuckled softly. "I remember one time when my sister and I were being tossed around from orphanage to orphanage, we would sneak out in the middle of the night sometimes to head into the cafeteria and sneak out these cartons of ice cream that the chefs kept hidden in the back of the freezer. We would steal the cartons and take them back to our room." She smiled and sunk back into the couch. "We hid under the covers and talked about whatever was on our minds at the time. It was general stuff like what we want from Father Christmas or what we were going to dress up for All Hallows' Eve or what food we were excited to eat at the harvest festival."

Knight took the rest of his caramel apple with him to the couch and sat down beside her.

"Interesting."

Iris chuckled once more. "It's ironic; I forgot about all of that stuff until Iona passed away." Her smile left her face. "Wow... I really can't believe it. It's been fourteen years since Iona and I were sneaking ice cream cartons and I'm only just now remembering it? It's amazing how much the human remembers when he forgets."

"Yeah." He took a bite of his caramel apple. "I can relate to that too."

"I remember only one conversation with my sister out of every conversation I had with her and it was when we were eating cartons of ice cream."

Iris looked down at the ground and licked her lips.

I don't anyone wants us, Iona.

Ire, why such a downer?

We've been in this orphanage for months and no one has bothered to look into us or want to adopt us. I think we're going to live forever in this orphanage.

Ire, don't say that.

Mummy and Daddy abandoned us.

They'll come back, I promise.

No, they're not. Mummy and Daddy abandoned us because they didn't love us.

Don't cry, Ire.

Iris could feel the emotions building up in her, the tears threatening to come back but she pushed them back down.

Someone will love us. I love yeh, sis.

I know. I just...

Just what?

...Want someone else to love me.

Iris's eyes widened. "Oh my god, did I really say that to my sister?"

"What?"

Iris looked at Knight, who was studying her hard. She realized that she had been thinking aloud.

"Nothing," she brushed off. "Just remembered something cruel I said to my sister."

I'm sorry, Iona, I didn't mean to say it like that. I loved that you loved me and everything, I said it because I just wanted to feel loved at that moment. I wanted to know that there was someone else in the world aside from my flesh and blood that loved me.

Knight sighed hard before throwing the stick to his devoured candy apple away.

"We have to kill the KIA Killer," Knight said with determination. "No. Matter. What."

Iris side-eyed Knight. "I couldn't agree more."

Recorded Message

The television screen shut off before turning back on.

The person on the screen was wearing a wolf mask and holding a dismembered arm like it was a microphone in front of a black background.

"Citizens of Japan," he announced enthusiastically, "I am proud to say that this month has been a successful purging of all yakuza in Japan. The Hidan Family. The Imperial. The Seppuku. The Matsuri Gang. Every single one of them is dead and it's mostly thanks to me." He pretended to realize that he was holding a dismembered arm and dropped it in mock disgust. "Sorry, wrong microphone."

He reached offscreen and pulled a real microphone out.

"Kira, thank you for killing the Imperial for me. Now that organized crime in Japan is all but gone, what's next? Do we go overseas to kill every triad in China? Kill off every serial killer in the FBI's ten most wanted list? Find the Hellfire Club or Illuminati and murder every single one of them? The sky's the limit, Kira."

He was laughing hysterically behind his mask before his laughter died down like a lightbulb turning off.

"Kira, I know that I'm breaking the law and killing criminals like you do but understand that we are one in the same. We. Are. Kindred Spirits. The only difference between the two of us is that I am a regular human and you... a regular human being with the remote ability to kill people."

He stalks towards the camera until his masked face covers the entire screen.

"The contest to see who is the better killer is still going on and you won't kill me because you don't know my identity and I won't kill you because you make my life interesting."

He whispered.

"Citizens of Japan watching this public broadcast, I want you to cast your votes on social media. Who is the better serial killer? The poll will open today at 11:59 AM and close on February 25th at 11:59 PM on all social media platforms including but not limited to: Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, and Snapchat. Whoever ends up with the most votes, whether it be Kira or me, gets the right to decide how to end this. Hint, hint, pick me as the best serial killer."

February 26th, 8:00 PM

The polls closed at 11:59 PM the night before as instructed and the poll ended in a draw. Thirty-two million people took the poll on social media and it was divided in half between Kira and the KIA Killer. In the beginning, Kira was in the lead by two million votes by the first day but by the second day, the KIA Killer was in the lead by thirteen million votes. By 11:59 PM, both sides had sixteen million votes and the KIA Killer made a second broadcast.

"Well, Kira, it looks like we're in a forever battle on who is the better serial killer. Kindred spirits indeed."

The NPA

"All hands on deck," Kudo shouted to the entire precinct that they loaded up their weapons and put on body armor. "We got an anonymous tip that the KIA Killer is going to be present at that construction site on Daikoku Wharf!"

Yamane was struggling to put on his bulletproof vest before Hayate helped him out.

"What with all the hardware?" he asked.

Hayate answered, "This anonymous tip told us that the KIA Killer will have gunmen with him, all ex-military and armed to the teeth with firepower. We can't afford to get caught unprepared."

"That's right."

Yamane and Hayate turned to the voice.

The nameless agent pulled out a gun from the holster in his back and cocked it like a soldier.

"Can't afford to get caught unprepared," 'Soldier' said. "We go in there, find the KIA Killer, and end this madness with the serial killer vs serial killer contest."

"Are you sure you want to come with us?" Soma said, joining the group.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He smiled. "Wait till the KIA Killer gets a load of me."

'Soldier's' hair and eyes turn green.

Kira, kill me if you can.

The Pound

Iris sighed heavily before walking through the doors. As soon as the bell above her went DING! the dogs started barking. She jumped slightly back when a giant black dog in a cage beside her barked into her ear. She backed away from the cage before scouting around the pound. She checks with the clerk working at the counter and asked for a very specific dog breed.

"Looking to adopt?" the man asked.

"For now," she answered.

"Forgive me but you don't look Japanese."

"I'm British."

The man smiled. "Ah, a descendant of the queen of England perhaps?"

"No."

The man sulked. "Shame, I've always wanted to experience the United Kingdom. With this Kira and KIA Killer contest going on, maybe I should leave the country."

"Before you do, can you get me a dog?"

"Of course. What dog breed are you interested in."

She told him.

"Ah, looking for something to remind you of home. Follow me."

He grabbed a set of keys and walked into the backroom with Iris following.

In the back room, there were dogs imported from other countries with their country of origin written on signs dangling above their cage. She followed him to the very back of the room and looked into a cage he pointed at.

"This guy?"

She smiled. "That's the dog breed I'm looking for."

The man opened the cage and let the dog run to the foreigner.

Iris got down to one knee and touched the dog's head, rubbing her hands over his ears and grabbing his chin.

"Good, Belgian Malinois."

AN: This is it, the final showdown of the arc. I can't believe I'm already almost done with the third arc with only three chapters remaining. I am proud of all that I accomplished and I'm glad you guys were able to give me love and support. Thank you all for the kind reviews and I wish to end this arc on a positive note. Well, a positive note by Death Note's standards.