CHAPTER 13:
"Moon God"
Two hours later, after an exhausting and thorough roundtable with all parties involved, all leads to Light Yagami's current location ended flat.
Nate River said that he had had an encounter a fourth Kira after Light Yagami died, but it was a short stint and it only yielded a handful of bodies. In the end, the killings stopped quickly. He wasn't sure why. As long as the killings stopped, that's all he cared about. He assumed something happened to the fake Kira, like some moral conscious dilemma, because it ended so abruptly without proper closure.
And as for any of Light Yagami's allies, still living, none could be defined. All past associates were dead, either by the Death Note or of their own design.
Basically, they had to start over.
Light Yagami was staying in the shadows, and one year had passed since his escape from Quindecim.
Why Clavis and his party had arrived one year later than their original destination was still unexplained. Yet Ginti had purposely brought L to this moment in time. The only thing that they knew was Morph had been involved. All agreed that he was using his powers to somehow mask Light Yagami from detection.
They had moved to a lounge area when they began to talk and had sat down on some couches and chairs that were on the other side of Roger Ruvie's office. L sat in his unusual fashion of crouching while sitting. He said if he didn't, his deductive reasoning would suffer. It was one of many quirks he had.
Nate Rivers sat beside him, one leg up and folded into his chest. It one of his own quirks while sitting and it helped him to concentrate. He was seventeen years old, almost eighteen, but when sitting next to L, he felt much younger. His admiration showing like a kid and his father.
Nate had come with a member of the former SPK (Special Provision for Kira) and had been was dropped off, he was to be picked up in a couple of hours.
On the far wall, a widescreen television was switched on, but muted. It showed a news channel, with a stock market index ticker scrolling across the bottom strip of the screen.
Throughout the two hours, L had looked over at it several times, seemingly watching the stocks. Not because he was looking for good tips—although when Watari was alive, he had a talent for picking the best stocks to invest in to earn extra money for his string of orphanages—but L kept seeing a particular company name, and it intrigued him. Its stock kept rising, as well.
L's eyes were tired, and he rubbed them with two fingers. Around the room were crumpled up pieces of papers with theories and ideas everyone presented on what had occurred both in the Human World and in Quindecim, past and present, brining everyone up to speed with the Kira Case and recent events.
"Okay, let's start again," L said. "I often had to re-start when pieces of a case refused to fit together like a puzzle, being too many abnormalities. The Kira Case being one of the more bizarre and abnormal cases I ever worked on, and for good reason. Ironically, after everything that has occurred, and from what Nate has told me, I can't believe I missed so much of the action with Kira. I may be losing my touch. But dying could have had a role in that."
He smirked, but the inside joke that Kira had killed him, however, didn't go over well in the room.
"Light Yagami was given a supernatural book that killed people," Nate said seriously. "Logically, that would confound anyone who was educated in analytical thinking. It wasn't your fault."
"I appreciate your sentiments, Nate, but I should have caught Kira sooner. I had my suppositions, and I conjectured hypotheses and formed sound conclusions on theoretical information before. But we know none would hold up in a court of law. You need concrete evidence to convict a person, not fantasy stories like that conjured up in a manga."
"Who would have thought the Death Note's existed?" Raye Penber put in.
"Good point," L replied. "We defeated Kira once, but now we have to do it again. This time, however, the stakes are higher, because a supernatural being with unknown abilities is involved, and he has allied himself with Light Yagami." L cocked his head. "Wait, something just occurred to me. Are all of Light Yagami's associates dead?"
Nate named them off.
"One is missing: A childhood friend of Light Yagami. I believe his name is Demetre Draycott? I spoke to him once when he witnessed Misa Amane's kidnapping at Light Yagami's university."
"Yes," Nate said. "I met him briefly after an encounter with The League of Darkness." During the two hour session, the League of Darkness and the Savant Society were discussed. "He and his girlfriend, Dana, I believe her name was, had gotten involved in those events. I don't know if he was in possession of a Death Note."
"Let's play to the notion, if others had Death Note's, he also possessed one," L said.
Nate nodded. "If he was involved in The League of Darkness Affair, then that is prudent reasoning."
"But he hated Kira, from what I could recall," L said. "Kira murdered his grandfather. But things could have changed, and we don't know how involved he was with everything. The profile I designed on Demetre Draycott was he shared an intelligence similar to Light Yagami, very smart. Let's try and locate him. He may not be involved here, but we can question him, nonetheless. On another note, tell me what happened directly after Light Yagami died."
"His body was found in the warehouse district," Nate said. "The EMT's who examined his body determined he had suffered a massive heart attack which would fit the cause-and-effect of having his name written in a Death Note. But it was later assumed being shot caused a shock reflection that caused the heart attack. His body was taken to a medical facility. Unfortunately, a doctor immediately autopsied his organs for transplant, according to his will. And his brain was removed and given to a medical science facility for study before a thorough police investigation could be conducted. I was told that timing of the organs' transplants were crucial. His eyes ere even removed."
"But he did suffer a heart attack, correct?" L asked, re-confirming.
Nate nodded. "That was confirmed when his heart was examined. However, I was unable to examine the remainder of the body. I did confirm the deceased was Light Yagami in the warehouse, but I was too late to see his body afterwards. Yet, his body—the remainder—was cremated at Detective Touta Matsuda's request and agreed upon by Light Yagami's family. Matsuda told Yagami's mother that her son was caught in an ambush by Yukaza gang members. They wanted revenge for Light's part in the murder of their leader, Terrance Claw, leader of the Dragon Sect, a secret investigation Light got involved with by chance. Police records can be found on the case. This incident took place within Kira's five year reign of terror and before I got involved."
"I would like to see those records," L stated.
"They can be provided."
Clavis had been sitting quietly listening to everything. He put up a hand. "May I interject?" L and Nate looked at him. "What if the body wasn't his? What if the doctor transplanted the organs of another person instead of Yagami's? What I'm saying is, our readings indicate that Light Yagami travelled back in time to one year prior our original destination. None of the events that took place at the warehouse were changed. What if his death was?"
"Are you saying he woke up in the morgue and switched bodies with someone?" L wondered. "To do something like that would take some ingenious work. And the doctor would need to have been paid off to fake records and to say the body he autopsied was indeed Light Yagami's. That would explain why the body was discarded so quickly." L turned to Nate. "This warrants merit. Where was his body taken when found? What medical facility?"
Nate told L. Then: "The morgue closed six months ago for illicit practises, and the main medical practitioner had his licence revoked for selling organs on the black market. He committed suicide soon afterwards."
"Light Yagami covering his tracks, no doubt," L mused. Then cocked his head, thinking. "First Misa Amane, then this doctor…Light Yagami obviously wanted all loose ends to be tied up…"
L looked at the television again. The name of the company that interested him scrolled across the ticker again. He turned back to the others. "Did Light Yagami have any added attributes that I was not privy to? Such as, let's say, marketing and economics? I don't remember seeing anything of the like on his school transcripts."
Nate said, "When interviewed afterwards, Light Yagami's defence trainer at the police academy mentioned Yagami had a hidden talent in using a bo-staff and escrima sticks. He was extremely flexible and nimble, but that's all."
"That doesn't help us much. I'm looking for anything that would surprise us, like he had a hidden talent to, say, draw—like one such young man I was pitted against. Sometimes, a person can have a hidden talent that goes unnoticed by others. Light Yagami is extremely smart, borderline genius. He may tap his vast intelligence for another use now. Something that we are currently overlooking, and something just under our noses…"
L looked up at the television again.
"Um, may I ask a question?" Clavis interjected. He looked at the television, then back at L. L looked at Clavis. "Why do you keep looking at the television? Is this boring for you? We're trying to hunt down a serial killer who escaped a realm that prides itself on its stringent judgement of souls. What has you so fascinated?"
"Forgive me, but something caught my eye. I don't know why it intrigues me so. Something in the back of my mind tells me it's important." He pointed at the ticker on the bottom of the screen. The news broadcaster was reciting a story about sports with the stock market index ticker scrolling across beneath. "There! Do you see it? The Tsuku-Yomi Corporation. I've never heard of it before. Watari was very familiar with all the large companies, and paid close attention to the market aptly. They appear to be very big; their performance high. Tell me about it."
"It's a business conglomerate and consultant corporation with multi-lateral firms and enterprises," Nate said. "They seemed to have come out of no-where but with massive influence. I'm familiar with them, because they purchased the building that was once used as the Kira de-facto headquarters in the Kanto Region of Japan. The building was just sitting empty after the Kira Affair and was becoming a money-pit. So, it was decided to sell it off. It is now the main Tsuku-Yoki Corporate Headquarters. But they have other citadels all around the world."
"Interesting choice of words, Nate…Citadel. As if to build a structure to stake your claim to a conquered land. And—as if I already didn't know where this was going—who is the name of the owner of the Tsuku-Yomi Corporation?"
Castra looked on her tablet, engaging with the school's internet. "His name is Shinto Izanagi," she said.
"Quite revealing," L said, almost introspectively. "And extremely clever, even for him."
Nate asked L why.
L began: "The word: Tsukuyomi is translated as 'Moon God' in Japanese mythology with its common honorific suffix 'no-mikoto'. It means: 'the grand, the great, the exalted'. Kira believed he was a god most high, and above the masses when he was using the Death Note. Tsukuyomi is also used in the Shinto religion and is an indigenous faith that is as old as Japan itself and it is said to have created the islands of Japan. As for the owner's name: 'Shinto', it means: 'The way of the gods'—Kira's way, and no one else's. And last: 'Izanagi', loosely translated means: a 'man-who-invites'. Kira invites death wherever he goes. In Japanese lore, Izanagi was the husband of another god who lived in the Heavens. If you take all this into account, and Light Yagami's kanji—how he spells his name—you'll see 'Yagami' is written with the kanji 'night' or 'god'. And his first name can be written with the kanji for 'moon'."
"Oh, c'mon, L," Raye said in disbelief. "Isn't that a bit of a reach? That would mean…"
"There's too many red flags going off in my mind for it to be a coincidence. I want to investigate the Tsuku-Yomi Corporation for any connection to Light Yagami. I want everything you can find on this Shinto Izanagi, as well."
"There's very little on the internet about him," Castra stated, scrolling through her tablet. "It states he's a very recluse man and stays much out of the public eye. But when he does come out, he has an interesting idiosyncrasy: he always wears a red face mask. He says he is was badly scarred when a rival threw acid in his face. His right hand man mainly handles all business transactions, including personal affairs, and even speaks on authority for Shinto Izanagi. But I can't believe, and if it is him, that Light Yagami could amass such a great deal of wealth and business collateral in such a short time, say a year's time. It can't be done. It takes a lifetime to build up such a company."
"Unless you have a god's influence aiding your ventures," L remarked. "This Shinto Izanagi gets more interesting by the moment. The entire 'mysterious character' persona, however, is almost a bit too cliche." He turned to Clavis. "Clavis, this being you mentioned during our earlier talk session—Morph? What sort of powers does he possess?"
Clavis shrugged. "You name it, Morph has them," he said. "He even has the ability to alter time. So, my thinking is, we may have been thrust one year into the future from our projected course because of something he did in the past. We originally wanted to observe what happened in the warehouse where Light Yagami was shot. And if the events were altered, we would have intervened to correct things. But we found ourselves outside in the courtyard of Wammy House instead."
"Like a magnetic beacon to you, L," Castra than added. "Most likely because our original time pinpoint no longer existed, so it brought us here as a secondary point."
"That's sound thinking on your part," L mused. "Knowing Light Yagami, he may have had asked for things to be altered. Or this Morph purposely allowed things to play out as they did, made the switch in the morgue, revived him there after Light Yagami used the device he secretly acquired in Quindecim from the Shinigami, Ryuk, disguised as a Special Arbiter, and then fled the morgue, probably in a disguise in medical garb. Unfortunately, with that morgue now closed down, we can't see the video footage to verify this theory."
A groan of discontent suddenly came from Roger Ruvie, the facilitator of Wammy House, and everyone looked at him. He had been quiet for most of the discussion, merely listening. But now he spoke up. "You can't just waltz right in and hope to hell to get an interview with the CEO of a major business conglomerate" he said gruffly. "It just isn't done. There are channels you have cross, favours you have make, wheels you need to grease."
"What do you suggest then?" Nate asked.
"We appeal to Shinto Izanagi's very nature: his vainness. And yes, even under that mask of his, I know he is a proud man." Roger looked at everyone. "Give him an incentive to see us. Something he can't refuse. Give me a few days, and I'll work a little magic. Qullish wasn't the only one who had influence in shadowy places."
L nodded. "Agreed. Besides, it will give me a little time to orientate myself back amongst the living." L paused. "One more thing," he said, as an afterthought. "That young by who hugged me. He appeared to know me, but I don't ever remember seeing him before. I have an eidetic memory. Is he new here?"
Near gave a look to Roger, then looked back to L. "You were the one who brought him to this orphanage after his parents died. He was only three and half years old at the time. It's been five years since then. You said he became an orphan after Kira killed his parents with heart attacks. It was after the Jasper Yuta Case."
Clavis and Castra looked at each other. L noticed their shared glance.
"Am I missing something?" L asked.
"I wouldn't be too concerned about it, but it's not uncommon for those who have spend a prolonged period dead, for lack of a better phrase, for some memories to be lost or to deteriorate," Clavis explained.
"Jayden is an alias, much like everyone else here to protect them from Kira," Roger said. "His real name is Braydon Rise. He is the son of Matt Rise and Crystal Rise, or as you knew them better as Tristan and Isolde—friend's of Jasper Yuta. He's very smart, but a bit of a loner. And he pines for his parents a lot."
"Ah yes, now I recall," L said, quickly recalling the events of the Jasper Yuta Case. "He has his mother's eyes."
To be continued...