VII.

The Kingdom and The Power

By the time the sky had grown dark with sunset-shadows, Misa and Takari had made all the preparations necessary for Kanzuka's broadcast. Bright electric lights were strung along the sides of a makeshift platform that would serve for a stage. The two of them were shining under the florescent glow in white, flowing robes. A black curtain had been lowered over a tall bar at the back of the platform to block out the equipment and moving people that were accumulating, but it also made an excellent backdrop.

A second curtain had been dropped across the front of the platform to hide the stage from the crowd, and Misa kept peeping out through it at the flickering faces of the audience. She could hear voices raised in song, and in prayer; a few of those nearest the edge of the platform were looking up with rapt faces as if waiting for God to descend from on high.

She was pleased by the general mood of the assembled believers - and the crowd was huge! There had certainly been enough people gathered in front of the TV station; she had expected a few hundred people from the area to show up, maybe even as many as a thousand. Instead, the pair of broadcasts announcing the vigil and Kira's identity had been shown often enough, and over a wide enough area, that many of the viewers of Sakura TV from all over Japan had had time to get themselves to the designated beach.

Maybe I should have picked a bigger place!

The sand in front of the platform and around both sides was already packed, and there was still ten minutes before the vigil was set to begin. Misa turned to Takari, who was standing nervously behind her, and surprised him with her warm, friendly tone.

"Hey, Takari-kun, have the last buses arrived yet?"

"U-uh! No, Misa-sama – I mean, High Priestess!"

Misa grinned. Being High Priestess for Light was the best fun she had had with him so far – better than taking on L, and less dangerous...and more rewarding than staring at endless screens looking for Near.

Near! I hope Light gets him good! I wonder how he's going to kill him? Maybe Light'll let me read what he wrote down...

Thinking of her Light and his vengeance gave her face a dark and exultant expression, and Takari turned respectfully away from the rapture of his High Priestess. He was just in time to be confronted by Kanzuka.

"Hey, you – Doctor! Doctor, you come with me now, we've got to get these documents scanned into the system and verified! Kanzuka was waving Light's death certificate around in one hand and his birth certificate and police ID in the other.

"Oh, right. High Priestess, should I -"

"Just call me Misa, Takari-kun, unless there are people watching, or Kira-sama says so. Now go on, Kanzuka isn't really the patient type!"

Misa waved him off as he attempted to bow repeatedly, and turned back to her view through the curtain. In the few minutes their little exchange had taken, the crowd had continued to swell; she couldn't even seen the limits of the gathering now. Neither could she see how anyone else was possibly going to fit into the tightly packed space before the platform, but chattering groups were still filing off buses, out of cars, and off of the boardwalks. As she watched, the boardwalks jammed with spectators as there literally was no room for them; they had pushed standing room only to its maximum application.

"Misa-sama! Are you ready for the cameras?"

Kanzuka was back, but Misa noted that he was much more respectful with her now that Kira had – apparently - proven himself. As soon as the criminals that Light had named over the phone had died, he had secured Kanzuka's trust – and while Misa was not sure that Kanzuka was truly a believer in the divinity and mission of Kira, she knew he was a believer in cold, hard cash.

And airing this broadcast is going to make a ton of money, I know that! Misa-Misa should get some, or at least Light should buy me something nice...

She shook her head; now was not the time for such thoughts! She had to be the High Priestess now; Kanzuka was waiting, and so were Light and thousands of people.

I have to give Kira-sama a good introduction so he will be proud of his Misa!

"I'm ready, Kanzuka-san. Has Kira-sama arrived yet?"

"Huh? Kira-sama? No, Kira-sama informed me by telephone that he would take care of his own arrival and that we should just make sure everything starts exactly on time. Down to the second, he wants it! That means you've got three minutes, Misa-sama, and then we start!"

Misa took deep breaths, and let them out slowly. She had rehearsed carefully what she was going to say, but there hadn't been much time; it was difficult, without Light's approval – but she was reasonably sure he would be happy. Takari had agreed to the parts that had been assigned to him without question, and had proved his intelligence by quickly memorizing his few lines. He'd been helpful, too, in writing out the words that Misa had prepared for herself, and his stuttering formality had somehow reminded her more than ever of Matsuda.

Two minutes left now.

She felt a sort of bubbling excitement just beneath the surface, a wave of joy that was waiting to overflow. She had begun to doubt, had even believed that Light had finally been defeated, that he had been killed – but now everything that had been promised to her was coming true. She could see it glittering just within reach; a perfect future, a world without violence, without despair, a world where justice was dispensed equitably by Kira-sama...her Light.

"It's...amazing."

She whispered the words faintly to herself.

One minute...guess I should be in place now.

Misa took one last look through the curtain at the still-growing crowd, and then walked lightly back towards the side of the platform where she was supposed to enter the view of the cameras. She heard a crash, and then Kanzuka shouting, and a rapid shuffle to put something back into place – and then the curtains were pulling open and Misa was walking forward into the sudden glare of a dozen brilliant lights and the near-instantaneous hush of thousands of voices.

Misa took a deep breath and addressed the silence with as much dignity and force as she could muster. The sound of her own voice surprised her, blaring loudly from hidden speakers; the crowd had gone so quiet that she wished Kanzuka would turn the sound down a little.

"Believers, we are gathered here in the name of Lord Kira; we seek to call him to us, who has given justice to so many of those gathered here! Who among you has been saved by Kira; who among you sleeps easier because of his Great Work?"

She was answered by a mighty shout of affirmation.

"Yes! We all have been blessed by Kira-sama's watchful presence, by his commitment to true justice! He delivers us from evil and from the false promises of our leaders!"

She heard muttering at that, a wave of whispers that moved through the crowd, but she had been prepared for some of their contention.

"Yes – false promises, I said! What president, what prime minister, what governor, mayor, principal, parent, has not promised peace? Less crime? Safer streets, safer schools? But I ask you - who has fulfilled these promises?"

There was silence.

" It was not the governments of the nations that brought down the criminal's reign of terror! Those governments sought to destroy the one who came with Justice; those governments sought to protect the criminals who had transgressed against the people! The true believers among you know who it was that saved you; you know who your lord must be!"

Misa's words ended on a passionate cry; she panted briefly as the assembly in front of her answered her words with a subdued and rumbling roar.

"Kira, Kira-sama! Kira!"

She had put her heart and soul into her words, had slaved over them with Takari's help and Kanzuka's occasional interjection. She wanted Light's approval as badly as she was making the crowd want it. He was not yet there to watch, but even without his supervision Misa was doing exactly what Light had foreseen she would do - she was becoming his perfect disciple.

Out of the corner of her eye, Misa saw Kanzuka trying to get her attention. Takari was at his side, and Kanzuka held up one finger; Misa gave him the barest nod. Quieter now, her hand in the air to calm the shattering noise, Misa resumed speaking.

"Yes; Kira-sama. But Kira-sama was not always our lord. Kira-sama was born of a woman; like any of us He was given a name, like any of us, he grew to manhood on this earth. Before Kira-sama was Kira-sama, He was Yagami Light."

The roar had faded into a low chant. Misa saw candles being lit here and there, their light swaying back and forth with the rhythm of Kira's name.

"As Yagami Light, Kira-sama saw the suffering that was spread throughout the world, and suffered for it Himself, until one day the knowledge came to Him that He possessed the power of God, the power that has made Him Kira-sama. And He took that name unto Himself, for it was bestowed on him by the first believers; and He began to judge men for their most terrible crimes, sending them into Nothingness."

More candles were flickering to life now in the crowd, tiny red and orange glimmers of light, as people looked around and realized what others were doing. Misa watched the mouths open and close, not in unison but all making the same shapes, the same name. Kira-sama. In the firelight of a thousand candles, the faces beneath her took on an unearthly glow; fitting, she thought.

"For a time, all was well. Yet among the men on earth are some so wicked that even faced with Justice they seek to destroy. Hunted by such men, sought by the very forces which once were responsible for our safety – police, national Army, FBI - Kira-sama remained in secret, continuing His Great Work and revealing Himself only through His Purpose."

Misa's words had taken on the tone of scripture, but none of those listening seemed surprised or disappointed. This was their own personal Holy Story; this was the new Word, the Book of Revelations for the new age. The rhythm of the swaying candles had changed to match the rhythm of Misa's words; the chant of Kira-sama, Kira-sama, had faded to a faint and eerie croon as soft as the whisper of a single voice, but made up of many.

"Despite His care, Kira-sama, without even the protection and care of His family by His side, was nearly discovered. Kira-sama might even then have suffered the violence which was recently done to him; but it was then that Kira found me, and knew that He had come across a true and worthy believer. He named me His High Priestess, and shared with me His Holy Purpose and His Holy Power."

Misa flushed faintly, to talk about herself that way, but Takari and Kanzuka had both assured her it was necessary. She could see Kanzuka still out of the corner of her eye, gesturing frantically with both hands for her to hurry it along. She turned back to the crowd and ignored him. It was the mood that was important here, getting all these people ready for Light's appearance. Didn't the man understand that?

Still, Light will be angry if everything doesn't happen on time.

She spoke a little faster.

"Even with me by his side, Kira-sama was forced to fight every step of the way; the old powers and their evil did not wish to give way. Finally, overcome by numbers, betrayed by those He might have trusted to aid him in his Work, Kira-sama was killed, and fell into Darkness!"

A great moan arose from the assembled watchers, and Misa continued in a hushed tone.

"His enemies left Him to celebrate their victory. For three days, Kira-sama slept in Nothingness, the sleep of all who are dead, and on the third day, in the early hours of this very morning, He rose again. He is come to answer the cries of the Faithful who have need!"

It was the most fantastic claim that had been made about any one man in two thousand years; twelve hours earlier Misa wouldn't have believed it herself – but then she had seen Light, dead and still...and then talked to him, heard his voice and touched him. The crowd beneath her had been mostly lulled by the tale in her words – and they were ready to believe fantastic things. Kira's power had made them ready.

Still, there were a few who were unwilling to believe that Kira could really have been touched in such a divine way. After a moment of muttering, Misa heard the cry that she had been waiting for, the words of truth:

"Prove it!"

It was one voice at first, faint and female, and then it was joined by others; not many, considering the size of the crowd, but enough to make themselves heard. Misa smiled, and that reaction was enough to calm a great deal of the noise.

"Prove it?"

She waited for another moment, let that cry hang in the air, and then opened her arms wide.

"If it is proof you need, then this man is the one to ask. Takari Lin, one of the Chosen of Kira, step forward and be known!"

There was muttering again, indrawn breaths as Takari stepped forward. Anyone who had watched the second broadcast had seen his face before, heard his words, but there was something more than just the truth he brought in his manner now; perhaps it was having a live audience. Misa couldn't be sure what exactly was motivating him – but she was impressed.

Takari took six steps forward and stopped directly in front of Misa. Overhead, a projection blinked itself to life against the black curtain, displaying in clear characters a signed and officially noted death certificate for one Yagami Light. Next to it, just as clear, just as official, were shown his birth certificate and University photo ID.

It was the first time Light's face and name had been shown together, and deep in the crowd there was a startled contraction as a young woman and her friends stared up at the rippling image in disbelief. Masuyo Yori had finally realized who she had accosted at the bus stop, and her heart was pounding against her ribs. What was the name she had been given – Masunori...Masunori Michio? How could she not have guessed?

But from the stage, the confusion and fear of Masuyo Yori and her companions was invisible. On his knees, Takari scanned the crowd and missed them entirely; he let his head fall back against his shoulders and raised up his arms as if he sought to summon down heaven. His eyes closed, and his voice projected powerfully, all the stutters drained from his voice

"Fellow believers, here is your proof! This morning, I was like many of you; I believed in the mission of Kira, I desired his New World of peace, but I did not believe that I myself had any value. Before my eyes, Yagami Light stood and spoke, though the proclamation of his death was three days old. Without asking, he knew my name – and my companion in the sight of this miracle fell dead in the very moment of Kira-sama's arising!"

Takari opened his eyes and stared out across the crowd with visible fervor. There was a new murmur over the unending chant, louder now, more fervent; the supplicants were restless with desire. Misa stepped forward and held out her hands to the crowd, smiling a smile of divine ecstasy.

"Call out to our lord; Call out to him -"

And at the moment, something, perhaps instinct, made her look up. Her gasp of breath was audible, a loud noise on the speakers, and as it escaped her every eye focused on her, and then followed her sharply pointing finger. She saw Light, descending in Ryuk's hands – and realized abruptly that no one else could see the shinigami; to their eyes, this moment was truly divine.

"Kira-sama! It is Kira-sama, Kira-sama -!"

Light stepped onto the stage in front of her, and smiled down at the people, raised his hands to them. Out of the corner of her eye, Misa watched Ryuk flutter backward across the stage, his face set in a wide grin.

Wow, Light...

He spoke easily, authoritatively; Misa was reminded of the first time she had met him, the easy charisma and its spell-binding power.

"My people, welcome! I am Yagami Light; I am Kira. I have come here to reveal myself, to illuminate the path to our New World."

A shiver crawled up Misa's spine, turned her skin cold despite the warm breeze coming over the water. This was it, everything she had ever hoped for; this was the moment when all the dreams began to make themselves true. The shiver became heat, a red blossom that opened in her middle and clambered happily in her veins, searching out a home.

Light.

Yes; Light.

Kira-sama.

She shuddered, and fell down onto her knees.

In a darkened room somewhere in the northeast United States, a boy just on the edge of adulthood sat in the light from a dozen flickering television screens. For the first time in years, his fingers were still, his toys discarded; his eyes scanned each television in blinks, but the multiple screens were not necessary. They were all filled with faces and voices promising the same thing - an impossible thing.

Return of Kira! But how?

The thoughts of N were clinical; he dove deep into an internal well of information and accumulated knowledge, but all of that still failed to give him any workable symbols to deal with this turn of events.

Is he really alive?

Over and over, his eyes returned from their glazed internal stare to peruse the television screens. The young woman he knew; Misa Amane. He could hear Light crying out in those supposed-last moments, calling for his Misa; but the man who was with Misa, introduced as Takari Lin, N had no knowledge of.

Where are you...Kira?

But at that moment, Light himself appeared on the screens; each station showed a different wild, swinging view for a moment as their respective cameramen refocused on the red-robed figure descending from the glittering sky.

His calm fled in that instant. N darted upright and across the room and made as if to pause the screens, but there was no need. The apparition of the shinigami that he had worried was a hallucination did not disappear; as Light landed on the stage-platform beside Misa and the strange man, the shinigami took a step backward and relaxed into a hovering crouch, the great wings beating gently.

N's eyes took in the sight of Light and for a moment, fear washed through him like ice. Perhaps this was truly an opponent it was impossible to defeat.

I saw his body with my own eyes, breathless; I saw the bullets hit him, and I saw the shinigami write his name.

The information clicked coldly into place, but the fact of what his eyes observed could not be denied. For a moment, he wondered if it would be worthwhile going into hiding, but discarded the idea immediately. If Light had truly resurrected himself...what would be the point? His name and face were known now; that was all that was needed.

His eyes trekked across the room to the darkest corner, away from the blue glimmer of the TV light to the darkness where a pair of evil objects sat waiting, a living weight on his thoughts.

Irrevocably evil; an instrument of death, and death only. But...

For three days, the Notebooks had stared at him from their corner, and he confessed himself...disturbed by their presence. Unsure. For a moment, a rush of anger filled him.

I should have destroyed them; is there time now?

If there had been an incinerator in the room with him he would have leapt up to fling them in; there was no doubt in him that the hours, perhaps even the minutes of his life were numbered. And he paused, wondering what kind of death was in store for him. How would it happen? Would he be aware, for the short moments during which his consciousness clung to this flesh?

I could kill myself now and spare him the satisfaction...but then perhaps, that is what he intends and even now I am on a road that goes one way only.

His fingers were steady as he lifted a Lego from the floor where he had let it fall, and turned it back and forth. The yellow plastic surface picked up reflections from the moving television images and he considered his options; he was not sure he had any.

The Death Note can kill from anywhere, can control my actions...the time and means of my death.

And he wondered if he would even know when it happened; if he would be aware of the theft of his body's sovereignty.

He felt something threatening, an emotion outside his experience, and still knew it for panic.

What now?

His eyes turned, and he found himself staring at the televisions again, their many views of Light; he couldn't hear the speech Light was making clearly, but the roar of the people gathered in front of him was terrifying. Were human beings really so witless, so so easily manipulated by an evil, charismatic man?

There were other instances in his memory, in history; he knew the answer. Now, they called him Kira, they called him God; but in the mind of Nate River he was murderer of the masses. As Kira, Yagami Light had killed more people with his own two hands than any one man N had seen or heard of. And yet, somehow...it seemed that he himself could not be killed.

The shinigami. The shinigami has something to do with this.

As he stood and turned away from the television, made for the Death Notes in the corner, he considered how unlikely it was that he would ever find out what happened.

My only failure; just like L. Why did you win, Kira? If there are shinigami, aren't there Gods somewhere too? Someone to look down and save us all.

A frown, a grin, a grimace contorted his face, and he felt the smooth, otherworldly surface of the Death Note sliding against his fingers and suddenly felt...empty.

What....now?

He knew suddenly that he was going to bury these Death Notes; yes. That was it. Bury them deep and dark, beyond all knowledge. Bury them. Somewhere....

On the stage, Kira stood smiling benevolently out over the crowd; his greeting had been received with a roar of approval. He could hear his own name being chanted with the reverence of monks in a painted cathedral, but thousands of voices strong.

He stood silently for a moment, accepting their adulation. The dying gasp of the sunset outlined his red yukata, against the purple-faded sky, and suddenly he was haloed by a bloody glow that called out the promise of death to thousands of waiting white clad disciples. Some of the people had been pressed back into the water; some waist deep, others standing neck high in the chilly sea. There were people half-drowned in their attempt to get close to him; he saw men climbing on each others shoulders, women clawing forward over the crowd, their distant fingers reaching, reaching to be just another inch closer to the Holy Presence.

And then, from behind the gasping, floundering crowd came boats. There were rowboats, flimsy rafts, motorized craft and fishing trawlers; there were people crowded into every inch of railing space, people overflowing from hatches and diving free to join the clambering mob at the edges of the beach.

Kira raised his hands then, as the people began to leap from the boats, and as he did so a wave of silence moved from the front rows of the crowd all the way back. For a moment there were only ocean sounds – waves, birds, wind. And then -

"My people."

There was a whisper of answer, a hum of sustained sound that was lower even that the chant had been.

"I have come here, I have revealed myself finally, because the work of my Priestess is worthy of my attention – and because it is known to me that I cannot continue my work in secret any longer. My dream is not for me, but for all mankind, and all mankind must therefore be my partner in it."

His voice was calm, his expression eager, kindly, his eyes magnetic.

"You have been told how I suffered, but it is of no matter; those who seek to harm me can do nothing which is not already written."

His smile changed a little, became faintly sarcastic. Not many would see it; fewer still would recognize it for what it was – but he knew those few, and had designed these moments especially for them. This was his victory, and he wanted to take that victory and use it to crush the life out of each and every one of those who had defied him.

Except you, N. But you aren't worthy of the punishment I'm giving you; it should be L waiting in your place now; it should be L who gets to go down in a blaze of glory. Ah, well. It's the thought that counts, after all.

But he had other, more immediate concerns. It was nearly time for things to start happening; he allowed his eyes to dart down to his wrist, glanced at his watch.

Ten seconds.

Perfect.

A/N: And finally, another chapter! Sorry that took so long; I'm at the end of the semester and not only is everything due for everything, but I have finals the next two weeks and I've been exhausting my brain (and my fingers!) And Light requires brain! Writing someone who is a genius is tiring, ah...but anyway, ta-da! A lot of things are going to happen very quickly, so I thought I'd put in a little of Near so we could see what was going on with him! But exactly what Light thinks is so perfect...well, next chapter, of course!

Now, I got many awesome reviews, so I'm not sure where to start...at the beginning, right? :D

Naruto Namikaze the Legend: Much thanks! :D

Zero Panda: Also much thanks! I'm pretty sure that we'll see exactly what Light wrote in the Death Note, and for who, in the next chapter - probably from Misa or Ryuk's point of view.

ObsidianTheatre: Firstly, have to thank you for your compliment - I do try hard to be evil and a mastermind, so - :D. But you've also mentioned one of my favorite loopholes. I like to think of it like this; Ryuk, as a shinigami, cannot willfully extend a humans life beyond its natural span without dying. But, in the case of Light, Ryuk is not extending Light's lifespan, he is merely undoing his shortening of it. I thought about this for a while after I first read the pilot, and that seems to make the most sense. Never mind anything else, it would be kind of silly for the Death Eraser to exist if there weren't circumstances in which a shinigami could use it (without dying!) I've been swamped by school and finals, so I haven't had a chance to look at your fiction yet, but I will as soon as I get a chance!

And last but not least, Kleptographer of Alternates: Another great review, for which I must thank you! I have a lot of fun with the characters in Death Note; each one has particular quirks and psychological aspects which are interesting to explore and deal with. Light's evil genius is especially interesting. As far as Death Note loopholes go, I think of the Death Eraser two ways. One, it's not an ordinary eraser; it comes from the same stuff and the same place as the Death Note, so it isn't like trying to erase your pencil writing in the Death Note with the pencil's eraser. Second, the Death Eraser doesn't prevent the Death Note from doing its thing; it reverses the Death after it has been caused. As of yet, no one's tried erasing the name of someone who hasn't died yet!

So! Finals this week and then next, and then I'm free for the summer, so more soon! Please Review!