End Games

Chapter 20: Checkmate I

Teru Mikami sat at the bus stop across from Headquarters. His expression was stoic but on the inside, he was giddy with anticipation. Today, a great victory would be won for justice and the new world. He did not know much about this L but he did know that he was an obstacle in the creation of the ideal world. L wanted to put his god, Kira, to death so that criminals may live and walk freely among the innocent, unpunished. The way he saw it, someone like that is nothing more than misguided, perhaps evil, and as such, has no place in the new world and must be purged from it. As Mikami pretended to read a newspaper, he caught a glimpse of Light closing the book he had been reading, indicating that it was almost time to make their move. All he had to do now was wait for the unmistakable signal.
Light stood and prepared to retreat back into headquarters. As he did so, a car abruptly screeched to a halt in front of him. It was Takada. Light gave her a bewildered look, scanning his surroundings to make sure no one was watching. Once he determined that all was clear, he climbed into the car's passenger seat.
Mikami frowned, finding this strange. 'This was not part of the plan' He thought with concern, looking at the car as it disappeared around the corner.
"Kiyomi, are you crazy?! What are you doing here?!" Hissed Light as Kiomi gripped the steering wheel. "If someone sees you, it will draw attention to me. Go home and wait there until we're finished!"
"No! I won't let you do this alone. I want to be here with you, helping you." She said with determination, not taking her eyes off the road.
"Do you realize you're jeopardizing everything?!"
"Light, please understand. For a long time all I've wanted was to be by your side when you became god of the new world. That starts today, once you dispose of L and I intend to be here with you." She said, stopping in front of a parking garage.
"You will be but this is a delicate plan and I can't afford any distractions. Go home, Kiyomi. Please."
She shook her head, refusing to leave. Though she would not admit this to him, she was also jealous of Mikami for being able to play a direct role in Light's plans whereas she was simply told to stay home. She was Light's right hand accomplice before Mikami. It wasn't fair of him to treat her as a liability rather than an asset. Light sighed impatiently, realizing that no amount of chastising would dissuade her. He turned to Kiyomi, took her chin in his hands and kissed her.
When he broke the kiss he looked her in the eyes and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Fine you don't have to go home, but stay outside headquarters. If we need help getting away you will be our escape"
She didn't seem satisfied. Just before she could protest, however, Light softened her up with yet another kiss, and she relented.
"Alright...I'll do that" She said, disappointed. With that, she drove Light back to headquarters. Mikami watched as Light stepped out of the car, and Kiyomi took off, parking just around the corner. Then Light went inside, and it all began.
...inside Headquarters...
The Kira murders had finally dwindled down. Between reviewing the massive wave of murders and locating the Third Kira, the KIT members had their hands full.
Chief Yagami approached L, who was crouched in his chair, stirring a cup of extra strong black coffee. "Ryuzaki, I just spoke with Deputy Director Kitamura. He has given us the go-ahead to arrest Teru Mikami as the primary Third Kira suspect. All you have to do is give the order."
"Perfect. Thank you Mr. Yagami." Said L. He looked around the main investigation room. "Where is Light?" He asked.
"Eh, I'm not entirely sure. He seemed to have left without explanation a while ago" Said the chief, slightly embarrassed. "I will call him back. He should be here right now."
"That's alright. Please hold off on that, I'm sure Light had his reasons for leaving" Said L. 'If Mikami acted of his own accord, then Light must be dealing with him at this very moment. If we call him now and alert him to our plans to arrest Mikami, we lose our advantage. It would be in our best interest to capture Light with Mikami. Their association, along with all the other evidence against him, will further prove that Light is Kira" Thought L, sipping his coffee.
"Also, I would like everyone to remain silent about Teru Mikami being the Third Kira. I don't want Light to know just yet" He said, calmly. But it was too late.
"Know what?" Asked Light, walking into the main investigation room just in time to overhear that last statement. L was annoyed at Light's unfortunate timing. So much for catching him while he was still with Mikami. The other KIT members shared awkward looks, not knowing what to do or say. There was an uncomfortable silence as Light and L stared each other down. There had always been some tension between the two best and brightest of the KIT but ever since Misa's capture, the tension had been mounting to the point where it was very visible, even to Matsuda. They all speculated that soon, L and Light would no longer be able to work with each other, or even be in the same room together.
Light narrowed his eyes at L, waiting for an answer. L did not disappoint.
"Teru Mikami is the Third Kira. We will be arresting him and bringing him here for questioning shortly" Said the raven-haired man. 'It's a shame you're no longer with him. It would have been so convenient to catch you red-handed with the Third Kira...'
Light showed no emotion. He was not the least bit surprised that in his absence, L had managed to figure out that Mikami was the Third Kira. Perhaps Misa confessed to everything, or perhaps he decided upon Mikami based on his profile. It did not matter anymore. L was going to die today and he would be free to do as he wished.
Light looked directly into L's eyes. This would be the last time he saw that penetrating gaze that secretly accused him of being Kira. At that moment, Light yearned to smirk and spit the truth in L's face, to tell him that he's Kira. Oh yes, he would enjoy seeing the expression on L's face as he dies knowing that he had been right all along but unable to prove it. He wanted L to die knowing that he had come so close to the truth, only to fail.
"That's great news. Everything is falling into place, isn't it?" Said Light.
"It is." Responded L.
"That's a relief."
"I concur."
"As expected."
"As expected of the winner in this case." Said L, having the final say.
'Claiming victory prematurely, L. I will enjoy watching you die' Thought Light.
The two just staid there as though one were challenging the other to do his worst. Chief Yagami cleared his throat, breaking their intense glares.
"Well, boys, what do you say we pay Mr. Mikami a visit? We can rally with Director Kitamura's forces at the station" Announced the Chief.
"Actually, Mr. Yagami I believe you should be just fine with Ide or Mogi. The rest can stay here and monitor things. We do not want to draw too much attention by sending such an obviously large police force to arrest Mikami." Said L, turning back to his coffee. The chief agreed, and took Ide with him. Light watched his father exit the main investigation room, thankful that he would not be there to witness or interfere with what was about to happen.
Light excused himself and exited the main investigation room as well.
'This is goodbye L.' Thought Light as he headed toward the bathroom.
Once inside, Light leaned against the bathroom door, waiting for the right time. One minute passed. Then two. After all was said and done, Light had to admit that it was nice knowing that there was someone out there that could challenge him the way L did. He would never forget him, but the fact was that there was no room in the new world for both of them. So L had to go. Light looked at his watch again. Another minute. He was right on schedule. He exited the bathroom quietly. Having memorized the position of every camera in that hallway, Light carefully avoided their view. He entered a seemingly deserted part of headquarters, where there was no surveillance. At the end of that room, there was an electronic door that opened only through hand recognition. If he had calculated correctly, Watari should be emerging from that room at any moment to fetch L some evening sweets as usual. The old man had a predictable schedule so it was easy for Light to anticipate his movements.
Light approached the door that led to whatever control room Watari was in. He pressed his back against the wall right by the door, making himself as small and unnoticeable as possible. If this was going to work, he needed to catch Watari by surprise, before he pressed the emergency button on his belt. A bead of sweat ran down Light's forehead, and he swallowed nervously. This was not how he did things, but desperate times called for desperate measures. If L did not die today then Mikami would be caught, questioned, and probably tortured into giving him away. He closed his eyes and controlled his breathing. A moment later, Light felt the door click and open. Watari walked out and saw him.
"Light-?"
Before Watari could finish his thought, Light tackled him to the wall and punched him in the stomach. Watari grunted in pain as he grabbed Light by the shirt collar. The old man had more fight in him than Light originally anticipated. He was strong and Light was having difficulty keeping him down. Light soon noticed that Watari was reaching for the emergency button on his belt so he wrestled him off the wall and threw him on the ground. Watari began to yell but Light was soon on him with his knee on Watari's chest, and his hands choking him. Watari grabbed at Light's eyes and delivered a painful punch to his face, but Light simply took it and applied more force to Watari's neck. The old man gagged, struggling to breathe as he desperate pried Light's hands off his neck. It was no use. He tried his best to yell but he couldn't. Fear gripped Watari as he looked wide-eyed at Light's face, which looked possessed. He made one last attempt to knock off Light by bucking him off to the side with all the strength he could muster. Light panicked as he nearly went flying off but he held on, and banged Watari's head on the floor repeatedly, knocking him out cold. Once he felt the old man go limp, Light took his hands off his neck and checked for his breathing.
The brunette was panting as he looked around, wild-eyed, hoping that no one heard the struggle. Luckily the door to the control room was still open. He dragged Watari's body into the room, removed his belt and bound his hands behind his back. He also tied his tie around the old man's mouth. He knew Watari was probably not going to wake up any time soon, but if he did, he needed to keep him restrained until L was dead.
"Ryuk!" Called Light. The Shinigami was right behind him in a heartbeat. Ryuk cackled as he saw Watari passed out on the floor, gagged and with his hands bound.
"That was quite the struggle" Said the Shinigami laughing. "For a second there, I thought he had you, Light. I was rooting for you, of course, since you still owe me apples."
"Only if you found the notebooks. Where are they?"
"I found them alright, but good luck getting them. They're in an air-tight chamber below this room, in a safe within another safe. Oh, and you need codes and fancy things to get in there. It must not be very fun to try to force your way in." He chuckled.
"I wasn't planning on it. That room and those safes are electronic you said?" Asked Light.
"Yeah, I believe so."
"Perfect. Now go keep watch for Mikami at the main entrance." Light ordered.
Ryuk sighed and left, thinking of all the apples he would eat later. Light watched him take off and then glanced down at his watch. He sat down in Watari's chair and looked at all the buttons on the keyboard in front of him. He pressed a button on the largest screen and found himself looking down at an unsuspecting L, sitting at his desk, stacking sugar cubes. Light smirked. Maybe he would get a front seat view of L's death after all.
He turned back to the keyboard and typed a few commands on it. It took him a few minutes, but eventually Light found what he was looking for. The building's power generators were controlled from this work station, just as he'd hoped. Light brought the power output to maximum and beyond, to overdrive.
'If I can't get the security codes, then I will simply have to disable the entire security system. Time for a little power outage...'
...In Misa's Apartment...
Rem watched Misa walk from one end of the room to the other for what seemed like the 20th time. Misa could not stop pacing back and forth. The word anxious did not even do justice to the flurry of thoughts and emotions going through her at that moment. She had already bitten her finger nails down to painful stumps, her journal was no where to be found, and besides Rem, she had no other outlets to help her cope with any of her stress. She looked at the Shinigami and sighed.
"I can't stand this anymore! I need to know what's going on!" She said, throwing her hands up in frustration.
"Are you sure you don't want me to kill L?" Rem asked. Misa shook her head.
"No Rem, if you kill him, every suspicion will fall on me and then I'll be sentenced to death for sure." She said, placing a hand on her stomach. "L may be an asshole but he's important to me. I don't want him to die." She said sadly.
Rem stayed silent, admiring how far Misa had come from the days when she swooned over Light Yagami. In those days, Misa had even asked Rem to kill L so that she could be with Light. It seemed like ages ago. Rem did not show it, but it pleased her to see Misa had become stronger than that. She still did not like L, but he was better than Light, and most importantly, he was trying to help Misa.
"Oh! I know! Why don't you go fly down there and tell me what's happening?" Misa suggested. Rem didn't want to leave Misa's side, but if that's what she wanted, then so be it. Without a word, the white Shinigami vanished through the nearest wall.
Misa watched Rem go. She stopped her pacing, remembering Dr. Rita's advice to avoid stress for the sake of the baby.
"I should really try to calm down..." She sighed. 'Laying down doesn't sound half bad I guess...'
Misa went to her bedroom and fell backwards onto her mattress. As she did, all the lights became annoyingly bright. She sat up on the bed, squinting to block out the brightness.
"What the...?" She muttered, confused. The lights flickered and flashed blindingly bright until finally, they all blinked and extinguished. Everything went dark. Then a huge explosion went off.
Misa screamed as she fell back onto the bed.
She covered her head as the whole building shook. Pieces of plaster fell off the ceiling and she heard decorations and other things throughout the apartment falling and breaking in the aftershock. Misa rolled off her bed and crawled out to the bathroom where she knew things were less likely to shift out of place. Then another big explosion happened. Misa screamed again.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" She yelled. As she crawled, she felt a crunch under her hand, and pain, as though needles were poking her hand.
"Ow!" She cried. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" She cursed, lifting her injured hand slowly. In the dark, she couldn't make out exactly what she fell upon, but it felt like glass shards.
Frightened and wincing in pain, Misa continued to crawl into the bathroom. Another large piece of plaster fell right over her, but before it could break on Misa's head, Rem shielded her.
"Misa, are you alright?!" Yelled Rem.
"Maybe! I think I cut my hand on glass. What the hell is going on?! Is someone blowing up the whole building?!" She asked frantically.
"Light Yagami did this somehow. I don't know what he's up to but it is not good. You must leave."
Misa held her injured hand on her lap as she gently ran her other hand over it. The darkness was making it near impossible to determine the extent of her injury. With her good hand, she felt the wetness of blood as well as the sharp little objects jutting out of her hand.
"Yep, it's glass alright... " She determined, leaving her hand alone for the time being. She felt her baby give sharp kicks to her stomach as though it required her immediate attention. Misa patted her stomach with her good hand.
"It's OK, baby. We're OK!" She said. "We're getting out of here."
The emergency lights came on, casting everything in a red glow.
Misa looked around at the damage around her apartment. It wasn't too terrible, but there was a lot of debris and dust clouding the air, and a lot of things had fallen onto the floor. She inspected her hand and was glad to see that it wasn't terribly cut up either. She looked up and heard a voice over the intercom. It was L.
"Misa! Can you hear me?" The voice asked.
"Yes!" She responded.
"Are you hurt?" He asked.
"Not very. I cut my hand on glass but that's about it! Rem is with me."
There was silence over the intercom. Down in the main investigation room, L sighed, relieved to know that Misa was Ok. He feared the worst when the power generators exploded. The generators were on the rooftop above the 23rd floor of Headquarters. Misa's penthouse was on the 20th floor so she would have felt the explosion worse than he and the others did on the first floor. Currently they were on the emergency power supply which provided limited lighting as well as limited power to the communication system throughout the building.
"Hey Ryuzaki! We're going to check out the damage!" yelled the others as they ran up the stairs to the 23rd floor.
"No! Don't all go." Yelled L, but it was too late. They had all disappeared. 'There's something very wrong here. Where are Light and Watari?'
"Hey! Are you still there?!" asked Misa's voice over L's speakers.
"Yes, Misa, I'm here. Whatever you do, stay there." He told her as he hung up on her.
Back in her apartment, Misa stood up slowly, calling for L's voice on the intercom.
"L?! Are you there?! HELLO!"
There was no response.
"Ugh! Is that really all he's gonna say to me, "are you OK?" I want to know if he's OK too!" She complained. When there was no response from L via the intercom, she sighed and slumped back down on the floor, looking at Rem.
"That's typical L for you! Never gives me straight answers! Ugh!"
...Back in Watari's main control room...
Light could not have hoped for anything better. With the power generators blown and unable to supply electricity to the security system, retrieving the death notes was a piece of cake. Light now held both of them in his hands. He made sure that Watari was safely knocked out before exiting the room and meeting up with Mikami.
Mikami entered the building exactly 5 minutes after the explosion occurred, just as his god had instructed him to do. He could still hear Light's voice in his head, telling him step by step what to do. 'Teru, as soon as you enter the building, look into the room straight ahead. L should be there, alone. Next look for Ryuk. He will guide you to me. I will give you the death note and then you will go back to the main investigation room. You know what to do from there.'
Mikami found Ryuk and followed him to a deserted hallway. Light stood at the end of that hallway, with his arm extended, as if welcoming him. He had a death note in each hand, and one of them was for him. Mikami was elated.
"God! Everything is going as planned! The main investigation room is deserted except for L. All the police officers are gone!"
"Yes. I wanted them to leave. If they're not there to stop you from killing L, then I can spare them. They're innocents and should be spared from judgment. L is the one that has to die. " Said Light.
'Yes! I will do it. I'm honored to be the one to do it. Thank you!" Said Mikami, taking the death note from Light and running back to the main entrance. Light followed shortly thereafter. He wanted to be there to witness L's last moment.
Back in the main investigation room, L was attempting to connect with Watari's intercom.
"Watari, are you there? Are you alright?" He asked. There was no response. "Hello. Watari, can you hear me?"
Again, L waited for a response, but there was none. He was getting worried. Was Watari hurt? Was he trapped under some debris? He needed to know.
"Watari, hold on. I'm coming to you." He said, getting up from his chair. As he got up and turned to leave, he was faced with a man with dark hair, glasses, and wicked smile. It was a man whose face L had only seen in pictures before, yet recognized without a doubt. It was the third Kira, Teru Mikami.
'oh...well this is definitely not good.' He thought, facing the Third Kira.
L looked at Mikami's hands and saw that he was holding small black notebook, surely a death note.
'Actually, this is extremely dire.'
Mikami simply looked at him with a wicked, deranged, smile on his face. The madman could read the red letters and numbers floating above L's head clearly. Meanwhile, Light was standing right behind the door, watching everything transpire. Oh how he dreamed and waited for this moment. He could barely control the urge to laugh out loud and proclaim his victory over L. In only a few moments, his true reign as Kira would begin.
'Go on Mikami, write his name down. I'll reveal myself right when he's about to die'
"Your name! It is L Lawliet!" Announced Mikami. "L Lawliet, your misguided ideals and crimes against Kira make you unfit to live in the new world, and so you must be deleted! In the name of the new god Kira, I will delete your existence! I, as the disciple of Kira, will help him wash this dirty world by expunging all evil, including you. Prepare to meet your judgement. Be deleted!"
There was a brief pause.
"Are you done?" Asked L. Mikami looked at him confused.
"W-What?"
"I asked if you were done giving me your sermon." Explained L. Mikami looked outraged. "You're too late you know. We've already dispatched a police force to arrest you, Teru Mikami. No matter what happens to me now, you're going to be tried and most likely executed. But I didn't need to tell you that, I'm sure. You're an attorney. You understand how this process works. You must also know that if you surrender now and give up Kira, I promise that I will do everything in my extensive power to protect you. You have my word." Said L.
There was another moment of silence, during which Mikami pretended to consider it. L watched him closely until Mikami started laughing.
Mikami pointed at L.
"You are not my god. I don't care about your self-proclaimed relations with the police. You're all just as helpless as any other person when it comes to serving true justice. I only believe in Kira's power and the new world!"
L looked on with fascination. He knew that the Third Kira would be someone with a similar mindset to Light's, but Mikami exceeded every one of his expectations. He was now convinced that Teru Mikami was actually far worse, and even more dangerous than Light. The man was a complete lunatic, a blind follower who actually believed in Kira as a god and in Kira's rule as some sort of perfect divine doctrine. It was blind fanaticism like his that caused wars, massacres, and genocides. There was no doubt in L's mind that if there was someone who deserved to be 'deleted' from this world, it was Mikami.
"Think about it, Teru. You have a chance to live if you put that notebook down and come peacefully. If you kill me, you'll only make things worse for yourself" Reasoned L.
'What is happening? Mikami, write his damn name in the notebook already!' Light thought impatiently.
Mikami regained his composure. He took out a pen and opened the notebook on the floor, but just as he was about to write L's name, he stopped. Light looked on in anticipation. It was the moment he'd been dreaming of for over a year!
To his desperation, Mikami stayed frozen in place, with his pen hovering over the notebook page. The Third Kira stared at the page of the death note with a horrified expression, not saying a word.
'What's the matter with him?! Why won't he write L's name down?!' Light asked himself, getting angry. At this rate the KIT members would return from upstairs and catch them in the act. L looked at the flabbergasted Third Kira with a bored expression.
"I already told you, you are too late. Not just to save yourself, but to kill me." Said L.
"What the fuck is going on with you Mikami?! Write his name down! Now!" Hissed Light from behind the door.
Mikami turned around slowly, his eyes wide and his hands unsteady as he held the notebook up.
"But God...he's already dead!" Said Mikami.