Part Six:

"Plans"

After Asumi fixed him up and told him that he would most likely have a couple of scars for a little while, Light smiled despite himself. A few small scars meant nothing to him. He wore a mask after all, as Shinto Izanagi, so one would see them as they healed.

Asumi left, returning to the kitchen. Light could smell a whiff of what she was cooking, a little bit of curry and rice, and his stomach grumbled. Ritchie chuckled under his breath.

Light's heart eased. He felt comfortable in his penthouse, it was where he could be himself without worrying about Near's New Kira Task Force.

Sometimes, when he recalled the past, it made him laugh. He had overcome so many odds to get to where he was today, even cheating death. It was funny how things worked out, and it was all because of the Death Note. He wouldn't change a thing if given the option.

Ritchie cleared his throat, drawing attention. Light turned. "Excuse me, Light. Now that I remember, I spoke with Dr. Lovecraft in her lab about an hour ago. She was in the middle of an important project, so she asked me to relay a message." Ritchie did so.

Light smiled. "Good," he said. Dr. Xena Lovecraft was Shinto Izanagi's personal physical and head technologist for the Tsuku-Yoki Corporation. She had a longer title, and she would recite it in full if asked, but its full sobriquet eluded him at the moment.

The Tsuku-Yoki Corporation did not officially design or distribute anything, however, Dr. Lovecraft did have her own secret lab where she dabbed in applied cybernetics. Nothing was stamped by his company without the merchandise going through marketing research or her approval. "I look forward to seeing the final product. The good doctor has not disappointed me yet."

He had indeed seen a sample of her work, a cybernetic arm with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence wired within that allowed someone who had lost a limb to use it connected to their synoptic neurones. The brain would believe that the hand belonged to its owner and would mimic "ghostly" responses. Demetre even used a VR simulation device and tested out her devices from time to time.

The last he had seen of Dr. Lovecraft's design was a prototype a few weeks past. The Tsuku-Yoki Corporation owned a few patents on items in general public use, medically and militaristically—this belonging to former. Patents were another source of capital. But nothing was weaponized—yet.

There were times when he missed his old life, but those reminisces didn't last long especially after what he had gone though, even without the Death Note—psychos such as Jasper Yuta*, sickos such as Ken Kuzushi**, and killers such as Cameron Cross***. He was just lucky he had survived them all. But it made him angry that some childish brat, Near, had taken him down in the end. Although, if it hadn't been for others, Near would've been hoist with his own petard later.

And Matsuda! The damn fool shot me!

Light thought about writing his name down in the Death Note, but that would be too much of an easy death for the man and Near would immediately suspect foul-play.

I can kill you at anytime, Touta Matsuda. But it will be by my own design and when it find it most amusing!

"Are you okay, Light?" Ritchie asked, waving a hand across Light's face. Light blinked, the sudden motion kicking him out of his reverie. "You zoned out of it for a moment."

Light looked at him. "No, Ritchie," he said with a smile. "I'm was just thinking. It's time I bring my Grand Agenda to the forefront. With the globalization of the Tsuku-Yoki Corporation, Phrase One is near complete, but Phase Two will be a challenge. My brand new world will be difficult for some to accept, and if it wasn't for L and Near, it would have already be a reality. Kira needs to remake the world. Crime and war have erupted again because my judgements are few these last few years. But that will change."

"You know Near's face and real name, why not just kill him?" Ritchie suggested.

"Because that wouldn't be smart. It's best to face the devil you know than the devil you don't, and someone else from that blasted Wammy Orphanage would just take his place. Something needs to be done to dissuade that from happening, a pre-emptive strike, per se."

"Killing children?" Ritchie looked aghast. "I thought you would stoop to that?"

"Hardly," Light said, shaking his head. "Scaring them would be more like it, but I need to think outside the box. Merely attacking the orphanage would serve no purpose. What I need is something special."

"Like sending the Shinigami to act like poltergeists, that might do it," Ritchie muttered.

Light produced a wicked smile. "Oh, that is brilliant, Ritchie. I'll take it under advisement."

Light went to a bookshelf and searched for a particular book. He found it and pulled it down from a third shelf. It was from an obscure Russian writer, a crime novelist, about a usual case with a crafty villain. It used pseudonyms, but Light knew it had to be written by a friend or a predecessor of L.

It was a Number One Best Seller and was called the "BB Murder Case". It was told from a first person point of view and gave a remarkable reenactment of possibly true events despite written fictionally. It was a case before the 'Kira Incident'. The main protagonist, a master detective, solves the most difficult cases assigned to him by world police agencies—much like L—and who is pitted against a genius antagonist. According to the date of the book, it was published after Near had solved the Kira Case.

Light had read it. And it give him a wonderful insight into the mindset of L, or how his predecessor perceived L, and how he was able to track down Light during the Kira Case.

He had asked Ritchie to get it autographed, but then learned the author was deceased. It had been his only book. It was brilliant! Light had tried to look up the author's name on the internet after he had finished reading it, but it was like Mihael Keehl was a ghost! There was no profile about him and even the publisher had never met him, sent through the mail to the publisher through proxy.

He flipped through the pages and then slammed it shut. He laughed. He would use it to strike back at Near. L's own tactics would be used against his now living predecessor.

The world still feared Kira, but not as much as it once did. Kira rarely killed anymore and his targets were strategic. Criminals were again emboldened and unafraid. The world had returned back to once it had been before Kira came onto the scene. But every now and then, Kira would make a kill than sparked headlights and demonstrated his omnipotence, telling the world: "I am still here!"

That said, Near, who headed up the New Kira Task Force would always send his lackey's to question him, Shinto Izanagi, after a Kira-like killing, because Near suspected he had something to do with it, as it often benefited the Tsuku-Yoki Corporation in some small way. It would be so easy to kill Near, Nate Rivers, with the Death Note, but it was amusing to taunt the young detective with their little cat and mouse game.

He returned the book to the shelf. He had quite a collection of rare volumes, and Light enjoyed reading them. Plucking another book off the shelf, wishing to read it again, the mere touch enlightened him.

"Thus Spoke Zarathustra", by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche—about the ideal and relevant nature of an individual and how one could embodiment oneself as the "ubermensch", a person who transcended humanity to become more godly, imposing their own morals and will upon the world to transform it. It reminded Light of Kira.

He had lent Demetre the book once, a supporter of Nietzsche, and he read it in a single night. Demetre was exceptionally smart, and was fluent in several different languages including Japanese, English, French, Russian, and more. He enjoyed reading Light's suggestions, but preferred to in their own native tongue. He said the translation lacked the essence of the written material and missed its spirit.

Demetre was American born, but he came to live in Japan when he was very young because his father's law firm transferred him to run a new branch. Light couldn't remember the exact moment they became friends, and over the years they had their disputes, but they were inseparable now—religious differences aside. Demetre was very religious, while Light was agnostic. But Light respected his friend's beliefs and accepted it for what they were.

But there is no other god than Kira!

Light's cell phone rang in his jacket pocket that Ritchie was still holding. He looked at Ritchie and gave him a nod to answer it. Ritchie had taken calls before when Light was busy, this time would be no different. He would just tell whoever it was that Shinto Izanagi was busy and would take a message.

Work never stopped, even after hours.

Light was the CEO of a multi-national company, so he was basically available at all hours of the day under emergency cases. Anyone in his company that had his email address could contact him, or if they had his unlisted number, they could call or text him. At times, he had to put his phone down because he would get hundreds of text and emails a day, because they found it difficult to understand him on the phone with his mask modulated voice.

One media personality commented that he sounded like the physicist Professor Stephen Hawking.

Light wasn't offended, and later spoke with personality live on the air. He didn't know how his voice sounded to others. The anchor apologized for the remark, obviously afraid that he may lose his job. But Light/Shinto Izanagi took it in stride and even laughed about it. There was no harm done.

Ritchie reached into Light's jacket pocket. He looked at the caller ID. "It's Cottré," he said, as it continued to ring. Light knew it was Demetre. To keep up appearances, in his directory, he all those closest to him identified by their adoptive names for professional reasons. Ritchie answered it. "This is Hayward," he said, then listened for a moment. "Yes, I understand. I'll inform him. Thank you." It was quick, less than a minute. The call ended.

Light looked at him. Ritchie told him the particulars of the call. Light smirked. Demetre had been quick. It was about the Nicholas Leandro issue.

Demetre was on his way. But first, Light had a separate issue to deal with and it involved the Death Mouthguard's. They needed to be replenished.

Over the past year, Light had used up his supply of the Death Mouthguard's given to him by Morph. He had used them sparingly, but still, a dozen didn't very far. Morph said he would give Light more if he needed them, but they took time to make. Each mouthguard took one page of his Death Note. Light wasn't concerned, as Ryuk had said the pages of the Death Note never ran out. So, when one was torn out, another one "magically" replaced it. Even with an unlimited supply, the Death Mouthguard's weren't easy to mass produce, and Morph needed whatever time he needed.

Morph had more than enough time to make more. Now Light wanted them.

To be continued...

*Jasper Yuta: "The Case of Jasper Yuta"
**Ken Kuzushi: "The Twisted Kuzushi Affair"
***Cameron Cross: "The Crossbound Incident"