Part Four:
"Trust"
Light watched as Ryuk left the Boardroom after he gave him some further instructions. Most often, he sent Ryuk on missions to complete—they would keep him busy and he could entertain himself in the meantime while Light ran his company. All were for a purpose. He told Ryuk to hunt down stranglers from both the Savant Society and the League of Darkness, so Light could eliminate them.
Ryuk used his Probable Orb to send back images of those people he found, so Light could kill them using the Death Note with its usual method. He kept his Death Note in a safe place. The Probable Orb was a miniature version of what Shinigami called a Hole, that showed them visions of the past, present, and future. Light also kept it in safe place to retrieve. It was a simple way for Light to see both the face and name of a potential victim, so he could kill them on the spot. Since it wasn't against the rules, and Ryuk wasn't directly killing them for Light, therefore, Ryuk would not suffer any consequences.
The Savant Society and the League of Darkness were nuances and had been in co-habitation with Shinigami with different ideologies. With the help of Demetre, both were destroyed—using tactics that utilized the Death Note in ways no one could have imagined while Light battled Near, the Kira Task Force, and the SPK. Light had to rely a lot on Demetre to do the dirty work while Light remained on top of Near. But with it came a price, and Demetre paid a heavy toil emotionally, which was the main reason he joined Light, he later explained. The world needed a new path of existence, it needed Kira.
When Light first began his business, in secret, in between killing L and his battle with Near, later merging all his branches together to form a conglomerate, and branding it the "Tsuku-Yoki Corporation" (it literally meant 'Moon God', the same kanji characters of his name), he was pleased that it was accepted so quickly, garnering trust. He later stepped out into the world as Shinto Izanagi with a new purpose.
The story he told everyone about a rival splashing acid in his face was fake, but no one disbelieved him. Why did anyone have the need? No one remembered Shinto Izanagi from before and there were no pictures anywhere, like he had just came out of nowhere, and yet, he was well known as the corporation's CEO, and had been for a while. A mysterious masked man, some called him. To others, Shinto Izanagi was just good business, and with the Tsuku-Yoki Corporation's stamp of approval on their merchandise, why would anyone question the man behind the throne who made them tons of money?
Before leaving the Boardroom, Light put his mask back on, and then headed to the elevator that lead to penthouse floor of Tsuku-Yoki Tower. He would be passing though public areas, including the secretarial area just before he would reach his office, so he needed to don the disguise of his other self again to keep up appearances. If anyone knew he was faking it, it would destroy him.
With a special keycard, the elevator moved. He stepped off into a hallway and into the main lobby where his secretary stood, bowed, and greeted him properly behind a large glass desk. The only things on it were a computer laptop and a phone. His secretary informed him that Mr. Hayward, as requested (so far as she was told), was awaiting him in his office. Shinto thanked her, gave a small nod, and walked into his office. He locked the door after him. A moment later, his office completely secure, he removed his mask. There were no cameras inside for privacy reasons and everyone close to him knew of Light's secret.
Light smiled when he saw his friend and personal protector Ritchie Hayward wearing a suit and tie standing in his office, but he knew the young man felt uncomfortable in it. He knew Ritchie was simple a man who didn't like suits. But he wore one, nonetheless, because his job called for it.
Ritchie was a former American Ultimate Fighter boxer that had a run afoul with the Yukaza while in Japan. He failed to throw a fight and then became a target. Light paid off Ritchie's debt and then out of gratitude, Ritchie became Light's personal bodyguard. Ritchie could be trusted implicitly.
"Hey, boss," Ritchie said. He had made a living travelling, and had lost a great deal of his accent, but Light still detected a slight Brooklyn, New York one. "You look happy."
Light frowned. "What have I told you about calling me that? I hate it when you call me 'boss' when we're alone. Call me—L." He chuckled to himself. "We've known each other for many years, so you're not only my protector, but you're also a friend—like family."
Ritchie smiled. "Sure," he said.
Light put a hand on Ritchie's shoulder and patted it. He smiled. Despite his new social standing, Light attempted to stay as down to earth as possible. He had power and influence as Shinto Izanagi, and as Kira, and he did a lot of good as both, but he could still be a ruthless bastard as some people believed Kira was with his judgments. Criminals still needed killing. He had made a few mistakes over the years with his judgements, but he believed he had made amends with most of them.
Especially when it came to the killing of Demetre's grandfather, he thought.
Light killed people who deserved divine judgment. When he was starting out, he had a death count in the hundreds—later thousands. To date, if the numbers were correct, Kira was responsible for nearly 400,000 deaths globally under his moniker umbrella. This included the Savant Society and the League of Darkness, that had used the same killing method. While the world didn't know the truth behind the mysterious 'heart attacks'—Kira were nonetheless implicated in them all.
The office of Shinto Izanagi wasn't as large as some would have thought, and it only took up a small area on the top floor. It contained a moderate-sized glass desk, some standard office equipment, open floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to a beautiful skyline of the Kanto Region, and a few other amenities. The rest of the floor was reserved for his private residence that resided through a reinforced steel door with a palm reader on the wall—Shinto Izanagi's penthouse took up two-thirds of the top floor.
Ritchie and Light walked to the door, the palm reader read Light's bio-metric readings, and they entered.
If one was first entering the penthouse, they would be struck with awe. The foray alone said luxury and power. A dark polished mahogany floor greeted a person with two half-moon light grey leather couches facing a round oak table with a glass top. There were shelfs with varying literature and decorative pieces, with valuable paintings on the wall, pot lighting in the ceiling, and a magnificent Satin Nickel 24 1/2 inch wide crystal Chandelier hung over the round oak table that sparkled like diamonds.
To off set the room, the visitor would be once again struck with amazement with a view of the skyline seen through several window tinted panels that opened to a large balcony. Just to the left from the current room was a Study (Light's secondary office, and where he kept both his Death Note and Probable Orb to communicate with Ryuk when the Shinigami was out in the field), and down an adjacent stone faced hallway was the rest of the penthouse with bedrooms, kitchen, an out of the way sitting room, and an entertainment centre with a private home theatre. All of which were hidden from immediate view. It was on purpose. He separated his private life from his business one. However, if he ever had to invite anyone into his private domain, they would only reach as far as the Study.
When the building was converted from the old Kira Task Force building to the new headquarters of the Tsuku-Yoki Corporation, an old theatre L had built on the sixteenth floor was dismantled and then reconfigured into a multi-level activity centre for the employees. Light prided himself on the happiness of his workers, and sometimes, a little distraction and fun helped productivity and overall mental health. And it was a lot less expensive than insurance claims and mental health counselling services.
Light removed his suit jacket and handed it off to Ritchie, he loosened his tie. He was glad to be home. Ritchie took the jacket and slung it neatly over his arm like a butler.
"It's nice to finally be myself," Light said. There was a small vanity mirror on a table. He took a moment to pick it up and look at himself. Smiling coyly, he put it back down. "I managed to strike a deal with a representative from 'Freedom First!' today that hits at the heart of justice!"
"Freedom First...Yeah, I've heard of that. That's that civil organization that is hoping for judicial reform in the United States and other Western countries, right?" Ritchie asked.
"Correct," Light said.
"Money won't stop them. Some people just want to watch the world burn."
Light agreed. "Nothing is without organization, Ritchie, and on that note, no one is without pride. 'Freedom First!' is an organization with its own hierarchy, is well organized, and it's funded with third party sources. The money Tsuku-Yoki Corporation would have given them would have been a small token."
Ritchie nodded. "Would have?"
"Correct." Light told Ritchie what had occurred in the Boardroom. "Sufficed to say, Nicholas Leandro will not be getting a job with my company, but he will serve it by way in another purpose. I'll make allowances for reasons later. The money will be given to another charity, however, which will make the Board happy."
Ritchie nodded. "It's always good to help out those in need," he said.
Light agreed.
It was a good idea, in fact it was Demetre's idea. But after Nicholas Leandro's true intentions were revealed after questioning him with the Death Mouthguard, Demetre felt betrayed. He had put his trust in his someone and also embarrassed Light/Shinto. Now he had to deal with that someone who had put him in touch Nicholas Leandro and create an excuse on why the money will not be going to Freedom First!
Light trusted Demetre would handle things. He always did.
As far as Light was considered, Demetre was like a brother to him, and beyond loyal—a blood brother!
Just then, Light heard something—a nasty growl and the sound of hissing. He turned, and his eyes widened, as he was suddenly attacked by a big, black, furry blur—jumping directly at his face!
To be continued...