"The Secret Rule" Chapter 5: The Meeting in Aoyama

Death Note fanfiction
Rated T for mature themes related to the Death Note manga

Okay, I know most of you don't exactly care that much, but I do feel I should point out an error. I had originally dated Light picking up the Death Note (the beginning of Kira's reign, in Chapter 1) as being in October, 2003, when it's actually on November 23, 2003, according to the timeline on the Death Note Wiki. I went back and fixed it, and now that I have the timeline at my disposal, all new dates should be "correct."

 

It turned out that Mr. Kagami's boss, Hitoshi Demegawa, had chosen to broadcast the tape from Kira without the permission of the network executives, placing his employees in danger to get higher ratings. In an indignant rage, Mr. Kagami had quit his job at Sakura TV, and was promptly hired by NHN, who were disgusted with Sakura TV's actions but impressed with Mr. Kagami's courage while on the air.

NHN weren't the only ones who were angry about the broadcast. Many of Japan's citizens were outraged that Kira had gone so far as to kill people who had merely criticized him. A lot of people who had previously supported Kira now claimed that he had gone too far, and began to see him for the murderer that he was.

So when it was announced that there was another message from Kira, which the police had given the TV station permission to air, many people were much less receptive to the idea. But when the broadcast started, the calligraphy was smoother and more flowing, and Taro could tell that the voice was more authoritative than the previous broadcast. As much as he hated to admit it, this one did feel much more like a god speaking to his people, and less like a terrorist.

"I am Kira. The person who sent in the tapes a few days ago is nothing more than an impersonator."

Taro gulped. An impostor? But he had definitely killed people, which meant that he was no ordinary impostor. That must mean that there were now two Kiras, which meant that there were two Death Notes in the human world. At least. Had reigning death upon Earth now become a popular sport among the shinigami?

The real Kira spoke directly to the new one: "Killing innocent policemen to cover your tracks is unacceptable. Such actions will only create panic and destroy my reputation. If you are truly on my side and wish to help me, then do not act so brashly. If you do not heed my warning, I will punish you without hesitation."

Taro scoffed. Kira had some nerve to scold the impostor over creating panic and killing innocent people. However, that did explain why the broadcast had been sloppy enough for public opinion to backfire; the new killer had been too brutal, even by Kira's own twisted standards. However, by distancing himself from the fake Kira murders, the real Kira was working to get back the public's support. He was definitely not an idiot.

Things became even stranger two days later when the fake Kira responded with another message. "Kira! Thanks for replying! I'll do what you say!"

Taro frowned. Now that the fake was no longer masquerading as the real one, the tone seemed very different. It wasn't just that he agreed with the original (to some extent); he seemed almost like...a fan. Also, just from listening to the words themselves (because the voice was still synthesized), Taro thought it sounded like a girl. A fangirl?

Great, Taro thought. First the Death Note falls into the hands of a megalomaniac who thought himself a god. Now another one is in the hands of someone who sounds like a teenage fangirl. Could things get any worse?

The fake Kira continued. "I want to meet you, Kira."

Definitely a fangirl.

"I don't think you have the eyes yet, but don't worry, I would never try to kill you."

Eyes? Maybe that's how the fake Kira was able to kill people without already knowing their names. She...saw the names somehow.

"Please think of a way that we can meet without getting caught by the police. When we meet, we can just confirm our identities with our god of death."

Taro gaped. The fake Kira had actually mentioned the shinigami. Had she forgotten that the whole world would see this message along with Kira? If she wasn't careful, she would spill all of his secrets, which was bad for Kira, but good for Taro and the police.

Whatever the eyes were, they obviously were something significant, which was just another reason for Kira to get mad and try to shut her up. Which might be a good thing, since she was obviously so dangerous, but...since she was so sloppy, it might be easier to find her, and through her, Kira. Especially since she seemed to be planning a meeting...



The original Kira was strangely quiet for several days, most likely to discourage furthering their public conversation and avoid the meeting. Then again, if he did meet her, he would be able to kill her, and Taro was sure that was tempting for him.

With no response, the fake Kira sent another message. It was a diary from this time last year, with entries and events written on certain dates. Judging from some of the entries, it was even more apparent that this fake Kira was a probably a girl, roughly in upper high school or college (unless the fake Kira was deliberately maintaining that illusion). The whole thing was obviously supposed to be a message written in code.

Looking at the last entry, Taro groaned. It read: "May 30th: saw god of death at Giants game in the Tokyo dome." Some code; if this were aired, everyone in Japan would know that the two Kiras were planning to meet at the Giants game on May 30th. Which meant that the real Kira wouldn't dare to show up, and if the two Kiras didn't meet, it would be that much harder to catch them.

Then Taro looked at the diary a bit more closely, and gasped. There was an entry for May 22nd: "met with friend in Aoyama and exchanged notes." Hmm...notes...as in, Death Notes? Maybe the fake Kira was more clever than he realized; the police would see the god of death reference, and ignore everything else, while the real message was to meet in Aoyama on the 22nd. But that would only be apparent to those who knew about the Death Note, which was only Kira.

And me.

Kira would probably risk trying to meet the fake Kira there, thinking that no one was on to them. And even if the police did go, they wouldn't know what to look for. Which meant that Taro would have to look for Kira on his own again.



When May 22nd rolled around, Taro set out to Aoyama with a notepad. He had debated whether or not to come up with some excuse for going to Aoyama on this particular day; among other things, asking Sayu on a date had occurred to him. Eventually, he had just decided that he would say nothing if he was asked (although he would have to be careful, since it was possible the fake Kira would be able to see his name and kill him). Besides, if he ever decided to ask Sayu out, he wanted it to be a real date, not a reconnaissance mission in disguise.

Now that he thought about it, she had been taking up some of his thoughts during what little free time he had...

Come on, focus. I need to find Kira.

The objective was simple: spot two people who were carrying black notebooks. The diary had specifically said they would exchange notes, so they had to bring the Death Notes with them. Taro would try to get a good look at them, then write down what they looked like, either to bring to the police or to use himself.

One thing was for sure: he couldn't afford to fail. If both Kiras were bringing their Death Notes, this would be the best opportunity he would have to catch them in the act. He wouldn't get another chance; that much was obvious.

The only problem was that Aoyama was huge. There were thousands of people here, and most of them were walking from place to place, so he had no idea where to start looking. He turned around and saw a young woman sitting in the nearby cafe with a black notebook in front of her. She was writing in it.

Well, might as well start here, Taro thought. Stepping casually out of the woman's field of vision, he took out his notepad and started writing down the features of his potential suspect. Short black hair, blue eyes, short stature, red-

-wait a minute. The notebook in front of the woman was too small to be the Death Note. Now that he was standing behind her, he could see that she was writing a check. Just an innocent woman paying for her meal. False alarm.

Taro then glanced out across the plaza...and froze, having spotted something moving along the street. "No way," he breathed.

It was Ryuk. Taro could still see Ryuk.

Of course, Taro realized. Ryuk never took away my memories of the Death Note, which means I can still recognize him, the original owner. Why did I not realize that before? He'll lead me straight to Kira!

But Ryuk was moving in the opposite direction. He was almost out of sight already.

Taro ran out into the street after him. But in his rush, he accidentally bumped into an old man, who fell sprawling to the sidewalk. "Pay attention to where you're going, you hooligan!" he shouted. But Taro didn't stop, pushing and shoving his way through the crowded shopping area. Someone shouted, "Watch it, asshole!" but Taro still didn't stop; he had to catch up with Ryuk. He reached for the notepad in his pocket, and-

-it was gone. It must have fallen out in all the commotion. Taro looked behind him, but saw only the old man, clutching his arm and looking straight at him. "That's him! The idiot who knocked me down!" Standing next to the man were two angry looking police officers.

Taro panicked. He began running as fast as he could.

"Stop!" ordered the policemen.

"Stop!" shouted Taro at Ryuk. "Come back!"

He finally broke free of the crowd. Now, there was no one between him and the person Ryuk was following. Taro stopped to get his first look at Kira-

-then his heart fell into his stomach. Ryuk was hovering above a large group of older teenagers, who were all walking so close together that it was impossible to tell who the shinigami was shadowing. Kira had been prepared for this. The group didn't even notice him.

Just then, the policemen caught up with him. "Causing a disturbance? You're in a heap of trouble, boy," one of them said gruffly.

As the teenagers turned the corner, Ryuk glanced back. He and Taro locked eyes. The shinigami smiled and winked. Then he vanished from sight.

"But he's there!" Taro wailed in despair as the cops carried him away. "HE'S RIGHT THERE!"

Go to Chapter 6