A BATTLE OF WITS: LIGHT VERSUS L

"This isn't divine judgement, it's the work of some childish killer who's playing at divine retribution, that's all." -- said L.

L’s suspicions that Light is Kira grows stronger and now he suspected Misa. Light must do something and the only way is to eliminate the biggest obstacle in his path to achieve the utopia he dreamed. He must kill L.

But how can he do that? He doesn’t know L’s real name.

Two geniuses must battle against each other… a battle of wits and there will be only one victorious in the end.

As L’s suspicion is increasing, he finally decided to enroll at the same university where Raito enrolled. The two geniuses and the only two who ever achieved perfect score in college entrance exam finally met face to face. Since Light doesn’t have the shinigami eyes, he must use Misa who must met L and Light must arrange a very thorough plan for Misa to meet L and let her see L’s true name. On the other side, L invited Light to join the investigation team because he was amazed that Light thinks the same way as himself.

L’s guesses were quick. After the numerous announcement of the second Kira for the first Kira thru Sakura TV, L guessed that whoever met Raito in the place specified by the owner of the voice aired thru the said television channel must be the second Kira. Later, L came to a conclusion that Misa Amane is the second Kira after realizing the strange closeness between the popular actress and Light.

When Misa went to visit Raito in his school, at that time, Raito was with L. Raito got the chance for Misa to see L. It was victorious. L introduced himself to Misa as Ryuuga Hideki. Misa doubted the mention of the name because she sees L’s true name through her shinigami eyes.

Raito quickly rang Misa’s mobile phone after their meeting, but Raito was surprised when L was the one who holds Misa’s mobile phone. Luckily, Raito didn’t ask direct the question.

Driven mad by L’s intelligence after mentioning that Misa might be the second Kira, Light devised a very clever plan in order to eliminate L.

With Misa and the two shinigamis, Light instructed that Misa might be captured and brought to questioning as well as himself. Light instructed Misa to forfeit the ownership of the Death Note and let her loss the memory as the owner of the notebook of death. Light added that he too will subject himself to questioning and imprisonment like Misa and if the two death gods heard the word “forfeit” they must left them both even the fact that the memory of ownership will lost to them. Light buried his Death Note somewhere in the forest where no one will be able to know its whereabouts except him. After the imprisonment, they’ll be found not guilty and he will be recruited to the investigation team without any memory of himself as Kira but as the normal Yagami Raito. Light will wait until his hands touches once more the Death Note completely. But at the time, he will pass the power of death to someone else—the third Kira.

It happened. Misa and Light was captured. Both forfeited the ownership of the Death Note because few weeks after their imprisonment, the killings stopped and began again. L suspected that there’s another Kira on the loose with only slightest doubt that the first and second Kira passed their powers to the third one to mask themselves from being labeled “guilty.” But L doesn’t have any solid evidence until he realized how Kira kills.

In Yotsuba Company, Misa’s former notebook was in possession of Higuchi, the third Kira. Since Higuchi is not as witty and cunning as the first Kira, he was caught off guard. Despite with the shinigami eyes he traded for survival, he failed.

The shinigami Rem was in deep love of Misa, tore a piece of paper from the Death Note, and revealed himself once more to the woman she loved. Misa’s memory of the Death Note cannot be regained by a piece of paper; she must touch completely the notebook of death. Despite a tons of explanation Rem provided, Misa is still clouded with uncertainties of her past, only very little memory returned to her with slight doubts.

When Higuchi was captured, the existence of the Death Note and shinigamis revealed.

Police officers including L touched the Death Note which revealed the shinigami Rem to them. Light, the first and former Kira, also did the same and the lost memories of being god of the new world returned to him once more. Quickly without any eyes watching, he killed Higuchi by writing his name on a piece of paper from the Death Note hidden in his wristwatch.

L with other police officers realized that by writing names and recognizing victim’s face will instantly kill the person.

Light’s plan succeeded but the shinigami Rem placed in tough decision. Misa was put to a terrible danger. After Higuchi’s death, Light instructed Misa to retrieve the Death Note to a place he instructed her. Consequently, Misa’s memory as bringer of death returned and traded shinigami eyes with Ryuuku. Rem was aware that Misa’s life span decreased again by the deal (she had a deal once with Misa and now Misa’s life span decreased to another half). She’s aware that L’s suspicion will lead to Misa as Kira once more. If Rem killed Light, Misa will lose all the will to live. Rem was cornered. She must kill both Watari and L so Light will lead the investigation team and the suspicion will not turn to Misa.

She loved her. She must do it.

For a shinigami who loved a human as Jealous (the owner of Misa’s Death Note), Rem did what the first shinigami had done. She sacrificed her life by extending Misa’s life span and killed both Watari and L.

Two names were written down on Rem’s Death Note.

The first was Watari’s real name was the famous inventor Quillsh Wammy.

And L’s real name: L Lawliet.

Light was victorious. But the victory doesn’t end here.

KILL WITH THE EYES OF SHINIGAMI

"I can't go on in a world without Light." -- Misa Amane

As L and the few remaining Japanese police officers are busy chasing Kira, somewhere in Japan another Death Note was dropped not to a man—but to a woman.

Misa Amane, a popular celebrity girl was followed one night by a man who attempted to rape her. Suddenly, heart attack befalls the man who trailed Misa and then another notebook of death was dropped beside her. She touched the notebook without knowing what consequences will lies ahead of her upon possessing the Death Note.

The shinigami Rem appeared to Misa and the second Kira was born.

Rem explained that the notebook of death which Misa owned was the property of another death god, who died for Misa’s survival. This shinigami was known by the name Jealous and according to Rem, Jealous watched Misa for a long period of time for he had fallen in love with her. Upon realizing that Misa is in terrible danger, the shinigami decided to extend her life but the cost was death of the shinigami. But Jealous decided to sacrifice his life for the human he loved and thus the Death Note was passed to Misa.

Furthermore, Rem added about the deal between the death god and a human. With the eyes of the shinigami, human who possessed the Death Note will have another extra powers, he/she will be able to see people’s true names (if they’re using the fake one like most agents do in fear of Kira) and their life span. Additionally, a human who has the eyes of the god of death will be able to kill just by looking at the person’s face. Any human who agreed on this deal will have his/her life span reduced to half but in exchange was terrible and far greater power.

Misa accepted the deal which makes her more powerful than the original Kira.

In addition, Misa knows the existence of the first Kira and she did her best to meet Light. Somewhere she met Light and quickly recognized him with her shinigami eyes because whoever possesses the Death Note doesn’t have life span labeled when the person who has the eyes of shinigami look at them. The same was experienced by Misa.

She let Light touch her notebook and Light met shinigami Rem as well as Misa and Rem met Ryuuku and Light. The two teamed up to create the Utopia which Light dreamed.

However, L suspected that the second Kira is... Misa herself.

CODE NAME: L

“Justice will, without fail, prevail,” said L.

Death tolls are increasing and heart attack is the main cause. The whole world is in riot and people are starting to believe that judgment has finally bestowed to evildoers. Japanese start to believe that Kira has finally descended to earth and brought judgment. Police officers and special investigators around the world couldn’t even solve the puzzle of these mysterious deaths. This brought the world’s greatest detective to start his move.

He was first introduced through connected computers to the Japanese police because he believed that the culprit was in Japan. However, there were other police officers who feared the lost of their dear lives in the hands of Kira which led to their resignation to solve the case. With only few remaining members left including Light’s father, they requested to meet personally, the greatest detective of the world who solved many difficult cases without any single miss.

Watari, a special agent and assistant of the world’s greatest detective informed them that they’ll meet him finally in one hotel somewhere in Japan and the detective is very pleased to inform the Japanese officers that they got his trust.

L finally revealed himself.

L was quick in his guess. He quickly decided to monitor the movements of two families where Souichirou Yagami’s family was included. But Light was aware of that someone is watching over him.

It happened once when Light realized that he was being followed by one of the twelve FBI agents who introduced himself as Raye Pabner. As Light was bothered by Pabner’s sudden appearance and continuously tailing him as well as the eleven other FBI agents, he quickly decided to use Pabner to eliminate the eleven agents and then killing Pabner at last when they met at the train station. Kira also killed Naomi, the wife-to-be of Pabner.

Light’s wit was felt by L and realized that Light is not a person easy to be tricked for he grew up with strong influence from his father, and knows how the police and investigators moves.

Knowing that it will cost his own life, L has only one option left. He must reveal himself to Light without revealing his name.

Will L succeed in capturing and proving that Light is Kira without losing his own life?

DEATH IS JUSTICE: LIGHT IN DIFFERENT LIGHT

"This world is rotten. Rotten people should be killed off to cleanse the world,” Light said.

With the Death Note in his hands, a very powerful instrument of death, Light begins to create a new world and eliminated all those he wanted—the criminals and whoever stands in his way.

Light Yagami is the son of a chief police officer named Souichirou Yagami and a bored 17-year old but extremely intelligent student.

In my own perspective, Light grows in a society where violence and crime are both widespread like a contagious virus. Numerous reports of crime and violence incidents often reached his ear from his very own father and like some people out there who hated crime and violence, he may too wanted to do something to get rid of it. The madness of the world and the way it rotates shaped Light in a different light after acquiring the Death Note. He sees the world as a place that polluted by evil which is rapidly increasing and there are so many humans who shouldn’t necessarily live in this world and should be erased. They are humans who painted the world with unnecessary colors that ruined the beautiful masterpiece of art the world has once became.

Hence, Light used the Death Note as his instrument to create his own ideal world. It is a world. By using the Death Note, he will reshape the world by eliminating those entire he thinks doesn’t necessarily live; the evil humans who destroyed the world. In Light’s eyes, when people start to see that death is the consequence of doing evil they’ll stop doing it and the world will rotate normally once again. Many people feared death and if death is the judgment for those who are evil other people will never imitate evildoers.

Light remained firm on this goal and brought judgment to evildoers. For this reason, he became Kira the god of the new world.

In Japanese fiction, the name Kira means “light” or “shininess.” It can also mean any good qualities in a person.

A single question arises as Light becomes Kira, the god of the new world.... Can Kira bring light to the world?

THE DEATH GODS

“Humans are so interesting,” said Ryuuku.

Shinigami literally means “death god” in Japanese language. In the series, the shinigamis live in their own world watching the humans and choosing which human name should they write on their own Death Note and die. It’s their job or a boring job (as Ryuuku mentioned).

Each of them possessed their own notebook of death and also they have their own rules to abide in order to keep themselves alive. One of those rules is continue writing names on the Death Note which extend their life span. Any shinigami who didn’t write names on the notebook of death for a long period of time will surely die.

There were at least four shinigamis introduced in the series. Ryuuku is the first, a bored shinigami who dropped his Death Note on the human world and picked by a bored genius named Yagami Light (Raito Yagami). He is the shinigami who love apples. As Light become the owner of the Death Note, Ryuuku became his companion and partner in crime.

The other was Jealous, a death god who had fallen in love with Misa Amane and therefore sacrificed his life to save Misa when she was in terrible danger. A shinigami may die if he/she extend human life whom he/she had fallen in love with and it is done willfully by a shinigami—a sacrifice.

Rem, another shinigami did the same thing as Jealous. She was a female death god and tricked by Light by bringing Misa to danger where the only way left to save her is Rem to write the true name of L and Watari on her Death Note and kill them instantly. But the price to pay is her dear life which she offered willfully just to save Misa.

Shidou is the chocolate-loving shinigami introduced in the series. He was the true owner of the notebook which Ryuuku dropped and picked by Light. The notebook of death which Shidou really owned was now in Mello’s use but later returned to the shinigami who really owned it (Shidou) after raiding the Mafia headquarters which believed to be the hiding place of Mello. The raid was led by Light who succeeded L. However, the terrible price paid in the raid was the death of Souichirou Yagami, Light’s father.

On my next post, I'm going to expose the main character of the series, Yagami Raito (Light).