I can't believe my diligent son is looking at a magazine like that!
Light, it's time for dinner.
I'll solve equations with my right hand...
SUSPECT: TAYOSHI MURAO
...and write names with my left.
I'll grab a potato chip and eat it.
The witness to my alibi is L himself.
ENCOUNTER
Are you sure, Ryuk?
Yes. You definitely aren't being followed.
Give it to me quickly. My withdrawal symptoms are...
You're not saying that just because you want an apple, are you?
Hey, hey.
I flew around and checked up to a hundred-meter radius around you.
I'm sure.
But there was the news report
about Interpol dispatching 1,500 investigators.
You know they were bluffing. You said it yourself.
If it were real, they would sneak in and investigate secretly.
All right, Ryuk. I'll buy you an apple.
All right!
Thank you very much.
Light! Hurry! Hurry!
The way you go around treating a Shinigami...
You had me search for cameras
and made me give up eating apples in the house.
Eat the core too.
I might just end up writing your name on my Death Note and kill you.
What's so funny?
That's right. There's just one thing left to top everything off.
Ryuzaki.
Yes?
About the purse-snatcher and embezzler's heart attacks two days ago...
that happened before my family had any knowledge of it.
Have they been cleared?
I suppose you're right.
Even though Kira can control the time of death,
I don't think that there's any way he could set up his victims
without watching that...
Your son has come home again.
So you're gonna ignore me and act like you're studying again, huh?
I already have an idea of where all the cameras are.
But I was only able to kill a purse-snatcher and an embezzler
MURAO TA...
with the potato chip trick.
They ended up being minor criminals compared to those I've killed until now.
-Next on the news... -Are you going to watch TV?
I killed criminals whose names and faces were broadcasted
when I didn't have access to TV or the Internet.
But there still is a chance that I'll be suspected
because only minor criminals died when I don't have any information.
An investigation has been opened...
In other words, if I also kill minor criminals
being broadcast on TV,
I won't call attention to myself.
Also, when I go out,
regardless of the severity of the crime,
I should remember the names of the criminals aired
and kill them at random times
MAINICHI ASAJ...
with the piece of the Death Note I left in my wallet.
Now, my countermeasures against the cameras are perfect.
During these past few days,
I have checked the tapes and video footage many times.
I've come to a conclusion.
Of the people in the Kitamura and Yagami families,
suspicious activity was observed in...
no one.
I shall remove the cameras and wiretaps.
So in the end, the culprit wasn't here, huh?
Don't lower your guard.
We'll narrow down our possibilities once more.
Please don't misunderstand.
I just meant there wasn't anyone suspicious
from what I could see from our footage.
Even if Kira is among them, he wouldn't give himself away.
No.
It means that he was killing criminals as usual, without showing it.
So are you saying one of them might be Kira?
As I said,
there's a five percent probability.
Kira was still killing people
even while the cameras were in place.
I don't know how he does it.
But even if he's able to kill just by imagining it,
any normal human being would show a change
in their facial expressions or behaviors while committing the murders.
"Kira is not among them,"
is what most people would conclude.
But if one of them is Kira,
his state of mind has already reached god-like levels.
Judging sinners without any change in expression.
I want to believe that Kira doesn't really exist,
that this really is divine judgment.
But to think that a god would need
a person's face and name in order to kill them is ridiculous.
This isn't divine judgment.
It's the actions of a childish killer who thinks he's a god.
That's all it is.
The mass murderer known as Kira definitely exists.
And I will catch him.
But I don't think that Kira will expose himself
even if I keep these cameras in place.
What should I do?
It would be best to get him to tell me himself that he's Kira,
and have him show me how he kills.
But there's no way I can.
Hey, Light. All the cameras have been removed!
All of them, all of them.
Hey, Light, are you listening?
Hey, Light.
Oh, I get it. The wiretaps might still be here.
I'm no longer a suspect.
It went exactly as I'd planned.
But L will probably continue to pursue Kira.
And if he's still working with the Japanese police,
my father will be among them.
If that's the case,
I'll use my father to find out L's identity,
so I can eliminate him.
If I just get rid of L,
Kira will be one step closer to becoming the god of the new world.
Light, hurry up.
Do your best.
Good luck, Light!
Really, you're making such a big fuss over this.
I'll be going now.
It sure feels good now that we know that there aren't any wiretaps.
Well, it's nice to know
that one cause of stress is gone before my test.
2007 TEST CENTER FOR UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS
Once I start college,
I'll have more time to operate as Kira and search for L.
You there! The test will start in ten minutes! Hurry up!
I plan on going in three minutes before the test.
I didn't want to wait around.
I sure got here early.
You've got a lot of confidence.
CIVICS EXAM PAPER
You may begin.
You there, number 162.
Sit properly.
There's been a lot of Shinigami
looking really hard into the human world lately.
What's going on?
It seems that Ryuk has turned into some human's pet.
What in the world is he thinking?
Really. He's a disgrace to all Shinigami.
No, I'm talking about the human who's keeping him.
Ryuk's probably not a very cute pet.
Well, yeah.
So, what kind of human's keeping him?
Is it a woman? A man?
Who knows?
Guess I'll go take a peek as well.
Good grief!
2007 TO-OH UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE CEREMONY
So you're a college student now, Light?
I'm kind of filled with emotion.
Now for our freshman address.
Our freshman representative, Light Yagami.
Yes.
Oh, wow.
And another freshman representative, Hideki Ryuga.
Oh, yes.
Hideki Ryuga, the pop idol?
No way. There's no way he's smart enough to enter To-oh.
You're right. He doesn't even look anything like him.
I heard there's two of us giving the speech,
but I never thought it was going to be him.
He's the guy who was acting weird behind me on the first day of exams.
He completely stood out from everyone else.
"Life springs renewed in the breath of Spring."
The person who scored highest on the test is supposed to do this, right?
That just means there were two top scorers this year.
I heard they both scored 100 percent in all subjects.
Seriously?
I guess there really are people like that.
I definitely like the guy on the right.
What? Kyoko, you're weird. Most would choose the one on the left.
But those two sure are different.
Yes.
One looks like a brilliant genius from a sheltered family.
The other...
"Life springs renewed in the breath of Spring."
...seems wild, or at least very weird.
Is that what people would call a genius?
He's doing the address for the ceremony dressed like that.
He is either not taking this seriously or an idiot.
Thank you very much. Hideki Ryuga.
Yagami.
You are the son of Soichiro Yagami, Detective Superintendent of the NPA.
You have a sense of justice
which rivals that of your respect for your father.
What is with this guy?
You aim to become an NPA official
and have helped the police to solve several cases in the past.
You're now showing great interest in the Kira case.
I have faith in your sense of justice.
And if you swear not to tell anyone,
I'll tell you something very important concerning the Kira case.
What is this all of a sudden?
Should I just ignore him?
But what is this important information concerning the Kira case?
I won't tell anyone. What is it?
I'm L.
It couldn't be. What is he talking about?
There's no way that L would say he's L.
I thought he was weird, but is he actually insane?
This isn't good.
Don't be shocked. If he really is L,
I have to act naturally,
like how Soichiro Yagami's son, Light, would act.
If you truly are who you say you are, I respect and admire you.
Thank you.
I revealed myself because I think
that you can be of help in solving the Kira case.
Light Yagami.
The probability that you are Kira is just under five percent.
But out of everyone we were watching, I sensed something from you.
You're too perfect.
And if you're Kira,
nothing could pressure you more than this.
If this guy's really L, he's something else.
Indeed. If he really is L.
No, even if he isn't L,
I...
I can't do anything to him.
If what he's saying is true,
he's probably already shown his face to my father.
If he dies as soon as he reveals himself to me,
then it would immediately cast suspicion onto me.
And he's using an obvious alias like Hideki Ryuga.
If his name really isn't Hideki Ryuga
and I try to kill him by writing his name...
Ryuga, the pop star's face will pop up in my head whether I want to or not,
and he may die instead.
But L won't die and he'll deduce that I'm Kira.
Is he really L?
And does he suspect that I'm Kira?
I don't know how much he knows, but I'm sure he suspects me.
There's no other reason for him to tell me that he's L.
Does this mean that he's still focusing on the people
that Raye Penber was investigating?
But why would L approach me directly?
Not now.
It's better to keep my mind empty.
I need to look calm.
He's definitely watching me to see if I'm rattled or not.
Light, that was a fun college entrance ceremony.
Yagami.
Hey, Light. He's calling you.
It was nice to meet you.
No, the pleasure was all mine.
-What an amazing car. -A limousine?
Well, I'll see you around campus.
Oh, yeah.
Where is that rich kid from?
And he's even at the top of the class? What a jerk.
Welcome home, To-oh University student!
Damn it! He got me!
He got you?
Damn it, L. I've never been so humiliated in my life!
Hey, why don't you just do the Shinigami eye deal with me
and just kill him?
What good would that do if this is a trap?
If he's not really L,
then that would be just like telling L that I'm Kira!
Sorry.
A Shinigami killing people and humans killing people
aren't the same thing.
I want to kill him, no matter what it takes.
But it'll be traced back to me.
The Death Note can only kill a person whose name I write in it.
I cannot make someone kill someone else.
The Death Note is a pain in the ass!
Light is usually calm, but he's fuming now.
He's pretty annoyed.
I thought that when I found out his name,
I'd have him get in an accident or commit suicide.
But it's no good unless I know 100 percent that he's L.
No. Even if I do know it's him,
it may be too late.
No matter what the cause of death,
if L dies, I'll cast suspicion on myself.
I underestimated him.
I never thought he would come up to me and say he's L.
He just has to tell all the suspects that he is L.
Even if he is his double or the real L.
This is a solid defense as well as an attack against Kira.
He beat me. It was a good move.
Ryuga will continue to play dumb
and will probably continue to approach me
and manipulate me at the university.
This is great.
There's nothing to worry about.
This proves that they don't have anything on me.
It's a contest between L and me.
It's a game of wits!
We'll just be friendly acquaintances on campus.
But in truth, we'll be investigating each other's identities.
This will be fun, Ryuga.
If it's friendship you want from me, I'll gladly accept.
I'll make you trust me.
And once I've pulled everything out of you, I will kill you...
with my own hands.
TO BE CONTINUED