I heard noises. Voices. Sirens and even barking dogs. Their sound wasn't much clear, so I guessed they were probably hallucinations due to me being unconscious. My eyes half-opened
distinguishing a purple ceiling. A few meters away was a shadow of hedgehog-like hair. It stood there, staring at something.
I soon realized my body was inside the helicopter lying on a mattress. The cops probably noticed I was passed out on the street so they picked me up. Good thing I woke up in a helicopter and not in a hospital room. It could have been worse... "L?" I managed to utter.
He turned to face me. "You're awakened."
"As you can see, yes..."
I tried to stand up on my own. "Please don't get up yet. Maybe your body is still recovering."
"I wouldn't do anything. Just trying to glance through the window."
"I insist. Stay where you are." his voice sounded stern. As if he yelled at me, due to I was found lying on the street.
He kneeled next to the mattress. "By the way, Matsuda found this on the street and wondered if it's yours."
He then showed the marker. "Oh yes. That's mine..." I giggled.
As soon as my head stopped feeling dizzy, I got off the helicopter to face the unexpected sight. It would have never occurred to me that such a thing was true of Kira, let alone my partners who were professionals and had more experience than me. They should be aware of it, right?
The highway was too noisy. Cars honked, and police sirens echoed incessantly. Every now and then illuminated the passing cars with their red and white lights. I saw the third Kira in a corner trying to get away from some cops who had handcuffed him. All of them wore helmets for protection since we thought Kira could see someone's face and immediately kill them. Naturally, nothing was certain yet. It was all a matter of speculation.
I noticed my colleagues who looked surprised and scared at the same time. They were all gathered next to their police vehicle. I assumed someone would be injured, so I approached out of curiosity. Fortunately, there wasn't any injured person. The chief looked at something in the air but nothing was visible. Matsuda looked also at the same spot.
"What happened, guys? Do we have any new information?" I asked and Mogi looked at me hesitantly.
"Should I show it to her, Ryuzaki?"
"Anyone would be horrified by a similar creature. Why wouldn't it scare a child?"
"Do it, but just hold her in case she faints." Matsuda worried.
"Matsuda, don't be so melodramatic! Nothing will happen to her!" Mogi said, while my curiosity grew as I listened to their words. Did anyone die? Well, they would probably have covered the corpse with some special material. It almost looked like all of them stared at something dangling over us.
Mogi handed me a black notebook with white letters written on it. "Death Note". I wondered why, but did as was told anyway. How could a black notebook with a strange name be relevant to all these events?
Above the heads of the others, there was a black creature with a terrifying appearance. Its hair looked similar to L's, except it seemed like the creature had put its hand on a socket. It slightly hunched and smiled, showing its pointed teeth. Its wings were like a vulture's, except they were a little longer and with fewer feathers. On its back, I could see, narrow spines that reached up to the shoulders. We didn't know if it was hair or thorns. Its eyes were yellow and stared into space. Involuntarily, I clinched L's hand as soon as I saw the creature.
"There's one more, Marina," Matsuda said handing me another notebook. Touching it, I noticed another creature similar to the previous one, but this one was white and had purple hair.
"I don't understand why y'all are acting like this! We can't be that scary!" said the black creature in a raspy voice.
"What... What are you?" My own voice was shaking.
"Didn't your friends tell you? We're shinigamis. Gods of death. Whatever the words, the meaning is still the same."
"If you want my honest opinion of mortals, you're hideous creatures!" said the white shinigami.
"Merci" Light joked.
"I'm Ryuk and this is Rem," the black shinigami pointed to the one next to him. He turned to the police.
"Excuse me for making the introductions again, but I saw a member of yours was missing."
"You're pretty kind for a God of death..."
"What did you think we are? Just because we take mortals into the next life, doesn't mean we're rude too! You have a very bad view of death!" Ryuk said.
"They justifiably have a bad view, as their loved ones leave and never see them again. No mortal can fully come to terms with death, not even the elderly." Rem added.
"Well? Shall we have a philosophical conversation or explain what's going on?"
"We have nothing to tell you. Whatever questions you have, ask your friends." Ryuk giggled.
In the end, L bothered to explain what was going on while I was still passed out. They discovered these notebooks cause death when someone's name is written on them. According to the two shinigami, the prospective victim either dies within forty seconds of a heart attack, or the owner of the notebook has the ability to write down how the victim will die, or even control the time of the kill. For example, the owner may write the victim should die within two hours and eventually get hit by a car. The owner of the notebook must have the victim's face in mind, so people with the same name will not be affected.
Each shinigami has its own personal death note unless they decide to give it to a mortal like Ryuk and Rem. Ryuk didn't have a specific reason for dropping his notebook into the mortal world, he was just bored and wanted some intrigue, hoping someone would find it. As for Rem, she wanted to protect a girl in danger. I asked her to tell me which girl she was talking about but didn't go into details. As for the third Kira, it was finally learned his name is Higuchi. Higuchi Kyosuke.
I noticed Light who looked calm and relaxed. As if he wasn't impressed by everything that was happening. Or at least as if his gaze was fake-calm. I couldn't find an explanation for his reasoning. Some minutes he seemed calm and other minutes, as if he pretended he didn't care. L told me shortly before I woke up, they were examining the notebooks as well as the two creatures. At that time, Light let out a scream of terror so intense making L was momentarily confused. I then told him anyone would be frightened by such creatures that didn't even look human. He had a different opinion though.
"You always know everything, don't you?"
"It's not that. But something seems awfully suspicious. You'll see it for yourself!" he was quite certain about these words.
*
*
When I fully recovered, we returned to the secret base after Higuchi was captured first. The death notes would be part of the examination.
Higuchi entered one of the interrogation cells where we had placed Light and Misa I expected L to start brutal procedures to make him confess but he just said:
"We're going to act on something simple this time."
"Like what?" we asked.
"Normally, a criminal as brutal as Kira would need a method similar to Misa's. —If we remember the time we locked her with Light in the cells.— Now, I'm thinking of doing the simplest method: The one with the strongest hand will enter Higuchi's cell."
Apparently, by that phrase, he meant that one of us should go and start beating him up until he confesses.
"Alright then, who's going?"
"Don't count me as a candidate. The only thing I drank this morning is coffee, so am out of gas." Matsuda said.
"No one said you should be the one. The person who's got ten dans on Karate is enough."
"Like what person, Mogi? With a black belt or something?"
"I'll beat him up. I believe am quite strong. And who knows? Ryuzaki's particular method may pay off," Aizawa said in the end.
"I wouldn't exactly call it a method, but an alternative to being tied down and missing basic needs."
That's how it went. The policeman entered Kira's cell with the intention of getting him to reveal the coveted evidence. As if trying to force him to reveal the elements. Higuchi on the other hand, didn't seem contrite at all, or defeated at being caught by the police.
"Here we are!" he swaggered. "Say it! Who's your master?"
"What... What master?" Higuchi pretended to be innocent.
"The one you mentioned in that video. Don't tell me you don't know who I'm talking about!"
"Ah... Him. Yes!" he giggled. "It's not what you think, Mr Cop. I was just joking around with my friends! If we can call it that... We were just rehearsing for April Fools."
Aizawa laughed in irony. Apparently, Higuchi was fooling us around. "Yeah! Sure you did!"
And out of nowhere, Higuchi was slapped hard on the cheek. He wasn't deterred though. Aizawa persisted, making four more similar moves.
"No! Stop! I told you it was a rehearsal for April Fools' Day! I mean... For a movie coming out on April Fool's Day!"
"You're not convincing me..." said the policeman and continued hitting him. As if his confidence rose for a moment because Kira spit out a few of his teeth. In the end, he relented.
"Me'cy! Don't hit me! It's a pity of God!"
"You're talking about God, yet you pretend to be him!" the other man taunted and punched him again.
"Alight, fine! I'll tell everything, just stop hitting me!" the criminal lispered. He spat out his broken teeth while a few drops of blood ran out.
"The master started all this. I'm just following orders! He told me to take over his role, as he voluntarily wanted to lose the memories from the notebook. You know... When someone loses their memories of the death note, they don't remember anything related to it until they get it back in their hands. Only then that person remembers they yuhet... I mean, used it!" he explained while trying to correct his lispered speech.
"Do you understand? He trusts me! And am not going to betray him! You're wasting your time, Mr Cop!"
We looked at each other trying to analyze his words. At one point, Light attempted to leave the room. He quietly walked like a cat, so that others wouldn't notice him. But, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the movements. Quite dubious I would say, at a time when he should be particularly interested in Higuchi's words. I connected Higuchi's words talking about the "master" and death note, and what L told me about the capture of the candidate Kira. Light screamed as the notebook fell into his hands. Meaning that before touching it, he was okay. Was Light directly connected to Higuchi? It might be a coincidence, it might not. I wished it wasn't.
So I tiptoed after Light. I was lucky enough as the lighting was too low for him to see me. He entered the small kitchen next to the computer room and closed the door. I placed my right ear on the door. He was talking to Rem.
"Rem, I sense that sooner or later I'll be discovered. At this point, I'll instantly be sent behind prison bars. I gotta save myself!"
"Tell Ryuk to do that for you..."
"I don't think he's interested much, instead of eating apples and being lazy. You know how he is."
"Looks like I have no choice... Well then, listen carefully."
Just thinking she might be telling him a possible escape plan, I grabbed my cell phone from my pocket and started taking video of them through the door glass. I would take the video to the Sakura TV studio and ask them to show it on the news since that's where the craziest things have happened. Japan had to finally find out who the real Kira is at last! Who is behind all this chaos! You've been in the dark long enough, dear Light... It's time for justice to shine!