"This world is rotten. Everyone must be punished for abandoning their God." Light soars over Tokyo, death note in hand, and drops it.
It lies abandoned for days until finally it is picked up, and tested.
Woman dives off of balcony in Okinawa. Double suicide in Osaka. Suicide. Suicide. Left and right, people die. Again people ask if this is divine punishment, again people begin to live in fear of the invisible hand of Kira, smiting whom he sees fit. Except, these people aren't criminals. Model citizens, in fact. People riot in fear. Streets are ghost towns except for protestors. New bodies pile up as more and more people die.
The SPK, now disbanded, meets to discuss matters. The riots have been put down successfully, with few fatalities. "It's not Kira, or even a Kira supporter." Near says, immediately, adding a piece to his matchstick castle. "It's another notebook, I'm sure of it." He tips over his creation, and Lidner looks down at him with a hand on her hip.
"How can you be sure?" He smiles and points at his wall of newspaper clippings. She looks over, confused.
"What do they all have in common?" She walks over to the board.
"They're all thirty or older." He nods. "None of these people seem to know each other. But the deaths are very personal and morbid. So even if these people don't know each other, the killer knows all of them." Near begins stacking matches again.
"You're missing the most obvious clue." He says, twirling a lock of hair.
She looks closer. "They're all parents?" He makes a whooshing noise. "Parents of kids under 20."
"Bingo." He says, childishly. "Our killer has or had abusive parents. The mother most likely committed suicide while they were young and the father continued with abuse until adulthood. The first kill was most likely the father."
She nods and kneels near him. "How should we proceed?"
"This case is more clear cut than the Kira case, no one will support him. So it is likely we can get the police force to assist in the investigation."
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Misa turns on the television and is shocked at what she sees. "A new threat arises—Kira's legacy continued?" She speaks it aloud to L who is twiddling his thumbs and fidgeting from sugar withdrawal.
"It's not Kira, obviously." He chimes in, tapping his foot against her sofa. "This is just a serial killer. It's not moral or clinical like Kira was. This is personal, emotional, and targeted trwards adults with children."
"How do you know that much already?" She asks, stalking over to him and plopping down. He holds up a newspaper. The obituary page is marked over in red pen, indicating his deductions. "Why parents?"
"Most likely emotional trauma at a young age. The killer is male and in his mid-twenties to early-thirties. Probably had an abusive father and a suicidal mother." He slows down a bit because Misa looks confused. "The female parents died from self-inflicted injuries. All of the women committed suicide, you see?" She nods slowly and feels a nervous shiver in her spine.
"He expresses resentment for both male and female parents, but particularly the men. " She takes the laptop from him and shuts it off.
"He's being really careless." She says, trying to impress L. "The pattern is almost too obvious." He huffs a small laugh at her, amused.
Ryuk sits in the corner, bored out of his mind. "Can I have the notebook now?" She looks at him immediately and L, having already touched the notebook earlier that day, responds. "No."
Misa laughs, L smiles, Ryuk pouts.
"You can have it back as long as you promise not to give it to any more people." Misa teases, and Ryuk must reluctantly decline.
"I guess you need it for this investigation, huh?" L looks to Misa for her response and she bites her lip, torn. "It was Rem's anyway so I guess technically you could keep it."
"I promised though." Ryuk shrugs it off. Like the other shinigami before, he feels a bit of affection for the girl.
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Near is contacted by L, and one week later, they arrest the perpetrator. Naeko Chikari pleas insanity and receives a life sentence by a private trial. The notebook is not among his personal belongings.
Misa Amane feels a sense of atonement for her past crimes.
And then Kira, the real Kira, now a God of Death, begins killing.
