Three days later, the main room was filled with a palpable tension as L, Light, Jubilee and Misa gathered together, going over final preparations. The main monitor showed a live stream of the Sakura TV station—where Matsuda was currently seated in an interviewee's chair, TV staff surrounding him to hook up mics, lighting, and set up a tall, blurred glass pane in front of both him and the TV anchor sitting across from him. Another, smaller monitor showed surveillance from the residence of Reiji Namikawa, their Yotsuba mole. Namikawa himself was reclining on a couch, with his colleagues Shingo Mido and Suguru Shimura in armchairs next to him, sipping on glasses of sake.

Jubilee sat in her spot, watching the proceedings and biting her nails. Misa watched as well, bouncing on her toes behind Light's seat, her hands on his shoulders as he worked. Beside them, L stared alternatively at the monitors and at the clock on the wall. Hellenos was a mere, silent shimmer beside Jubilee. Between the commotion and the maelstrom of her own thoughts, his presence faded in and out of her consciousness.

She recognized Shingo Mido on the smaller screen, the man who had questioned her back at Misa's apartment. He had started having a change of heart about the whole Kira situation back then, and it was clear that that had only increased since then. Jubilee could just barely discern that the smoggy haze around him had lightened somewhat. At the moment he was speaking animatedly to his two colleagues. She briefly wondered what it was he might be saying, when L switched the input of the main monitor over to play the live feed of the three men. The sounds of their voices played through the speakers.

"This Kira business has gotten out of hand," Mido was saying. "I want out, and I think the rest of you agree."

"Indeed," affirmed Namikawa.

Beside them, Shimura nodded his assent.

"And that is why," Namikawa added, "We are cooperating with L and this plan of his. After tonight, our hands will be clean of this."

"I look forward to it," said Mido, raising a glass.

On a smaller monitor that now showed Sakura TV station, lights brightened. Matsuda's silhouette was framed behind the blurry glass pane, and across from him the TV anchor's shadow waved into the cameras and began gesticulating wildly towards Matsuda.

"It is time," said L softly. "Light?"

"I'm on it," said the younger man, picking up the black landline beside him and dialing a number. On the main screen, Namikawa's home phone rang.

"Yes?" answered Namikawa, his voice projecting through the monitor's speakers for all the task force to hear.

"It's L," said Light into the phone. "The TV special is beginning. Time for you to give Higuchi a call and make sure he is watching."

"Understood," said Namikawa, grabbing a remote and turning on his television.

"And keep the other Yotsuba members from interfering, once the reveal occurs," Light continued.

"Yes."

"Good," said Light. "We will be watching ." He hung up.

Onscreen, Namikawa began dialing a number into his phone. "It begins," he told the other two.

Yes, thought Jubilee silently from where she sat and watched. It begins.

"Higuchi," Namikawa said into the receiver. "Bad news. Have you seen what they're airing on Sakura station?" A pause. "They're saying it's a three-hour 'Kira special'—with an interviewee who claims to know the identity of Kira and who will announce it at the end of the program." There was another pause. The faint, stuttering sounds of Matsuda's voice could be heard in the background from his television. "I would take this seriously, Higuchi," continued Namikawa. "This guy, whoever he is, knows about our meetings. He's talking about it right now." At this, he held the phone away from his ear at whatever outburst Higuchi must have made. Then, holding the phone to his ear again, he listened intently for a moment. "Are you watching it now? Good. See, I told you. This guy knows way more than he should. Who do you think it could be?"

"They killed one of their own members," Matsuda was saying in the background, his speech distorted by a voice changer. On one of the smaller monitor at headquarters, Jubilee could see Matsuda's silhouette gesturing. "Hatori, I think was his name—" At that moment, the glass pane suddenly wobbled, then toppled over. Matsuda's surprised looking face was clearly visible for a good three seconds, before he threw his hands up to cover himself. From the background sounds of Namikawa's apartment, the TV anchor's voice announced hastily, "And now for a quick commercial break, as we get situated in the studio! Stay tuned for more, when we get back."

"That was Misa Amane's former manager," Namikawa stated in a pretense of surprise, the phone receiver still held to his ear. Jubilee could see the line over his head wobble from the façade he was putting on. "I thought he had died?" After a moment of listening, he went on, "Well, clearly he's still alive, so we have to do something. We have his name and face, don't we? Taro Matsui. Just have Kira kill him. I'm going to contact the others to update them." With that, he hung up.

"Misa," said L quietly from where he sat. "Expect a call any minute now."

As if on cue, Misa's ringtone, a bright and upbeat pop song, broke through the air. The blonde pulled out her mobile and looked at the number. "It's Higuchi, alright," she said with a grimace. "That snake." She hit the decline button. "Denied!" she declared cheerfully.

"And now," L went on, "Things will really start to heat up." Swiveling in his chair, he hit an intercom button. "Wedy?" he said into a speaker.

"Yep," a woman's voice crackled back.

"Be ready," said L. He hit another button, and a new image filled the main monitor. It was the view of a cam fitted on the front of a motorbike, parked to face a large, upper-class-looking residence. On the sides of the screen, Wedy's slim, black-gloved fingers strummed the handlebars.

"Misa Amane's agency office is where you think he'll go, right?" said Wedy, her voice now playing from the monitor speakers. "That's about ten minutes away, due west." In front of her, garage lights turned on. An expensive looking vehicle pulled out, backed up down the driveway, and sped down the street with a screech of tires.

"That's the way he's going, just like you said he would," Wedy stated. "And with that, I'm off."

The sound of revving echoed through the room as Wedy took off after Higuchi, quickly accelerating up to 90 miles an hour to keep up with him as they turned onto a busy street and then a highway.

L hit another button, and this time the view from the interior of Higuchi's car filled the screen. Higuchi himself was silent at the wheel, steering steadily with a death grip and a scowl on his face. Jubilee noted the deep, dark haze surrounding the man. Slowly the haze formed itself into hundreds and hundreds of black knives, protruding from all over his body. She exhaled heavily. Now that she already knew he was the current Kira, it became easier to see him for what he was. How had she been unable to see it before?

Fear and doubt, whispered a voice in her mind. She figured that it was probably Hellenos, from beyond the haze of hyperactivity and distraction swirling around and in her. Then she noticed something else on the screen and nearly fell out of her chair.

"Holy—!" she gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth stifle a scream.

L had rolled his chair next to her in an instant, nearly tugging Light out of his. "What is it?" the detective demanded, staring into her face. A thousand lights lit up over his head as he scrutinized her and made calculations based on her expression.

"It's—it's—" She pointed a shaking finger at the screen. "One of those—things, sitting in the backseat! Like the thing I saw following—" She stopped short, whipping her head around to cast a fearful glance at Light, who only looked at her, confused.

That was all that L needed. "A shinigami," he whispered, turning back to the screen.

Light cast her and L a doubtful glance, and Misa gave her a particularly strange look. For the moment she didn't care, her attention riveted to the screen. Hunched in the backseat behind Higuchi was the demon that had flashed through her mind's eye several days ago while confronting Misa. The sickening familiarity of the image she was seeing now—a demon with yellow eyes and purple hair, seated in the back of Higuchi's slick sports car—settled over her like a heavy weight.

Why hadn't she seen this creature until now? She had physically encountered Higuchi once before and then watched him countless times on surveillance. She was sure that it wasn't just her spiritual sight being defective; there had been no hint or feeling of anything more than Higuchi's own dark haze in the past. The demon hadn't been there before, the way the other demon used to trail Light in surveillance videos. Did this particular demon come and go as it pleased?

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She, a voice in her head reminded her. Yes. This demon was a she.

Jubilee suddenly remembered another image—Misa, standing before a bathroom mirror. This demon standing behind her, speaking to her. Higuchi hadn't been there. And that had been right before Misa had come back to headquarters carrying that nauseating, oily tinge about her…

So then, this demon had gone off on her own to find Misa. Which meant that she must feel no obligation or desire to stay at Higuchi's side. Why was that? And, more importantly…why had she approached Misa?

One of the smaller monitors showed that Wedy had trailed Higuchi to the Yoshida Productions agency. L switched the main monitor over to play from a cam installed inside the office, where Higuchi now burst in and began pawing through filing cabinets. The demon was not with him.

"There you are!" Higuchi's hiss could be heard as he pulled out a document and held it high. "So, 'Taro Matsui' is your stage name or something, is it, Mr.—" He lowered the paper and squinted at it. "—Ryu Mizuki?" He laughed, then pulled something out of his briefcase and hunched over the desk in front of him. "No more writing down fake names this time," he continued to himself, then straightened up, closing his briefcase back up. "Now you're dead!" he said with a tone of satisfaction, and abruptly left the office.

"What just happened?" asked Light. "What did he do?"

L thumbed the corner of his mouth, still staring at the screen. "I don't know," he began slowly. "But clearly he thinks that he just killed Matsuda."

"Ryuzaki," Mogi's voice crackled over the intercom. "We just saw Higuchi come out of the office and back into the parking lot. Do you want Aiber and I to apprehend him now?"

"Negative," stated L. "We still don't know how he kills. Hold back for now, but keep following him from a distance, behind Wedy."

Light turned on L. "You're saying that he thinks he killed Matsuda already? But how? He didn't do anything!"

"He looked like he was writing," mused L, more to himself than to anyone else. "And he said something about not writing down any more fake names…"

Jubilee paled, remembering yet another image. A black notebook—a name written inside of it—a black shard inside Misa's heart. What if…She turned to cast a discreet glance at Misa. The blonde girl was oddly silent, watching the screen. The oily black tinge around her churned, shrouding her usual pink light. What was going on in that head of hers, Jubilee wondered? And…what could she see?

"So?" said Light. "So he wrote down the new name that he thinks is Matsuda's, so that he can use it to kill him later. That doesn't mean he's done anything with it yet."

"Perhaps," said L. "But his intonation implies that he believed the job to be complete." He pressed a button, switching the main monitor over to the inside of Higuchi's car again. "Let's just see what he does next."

Higuchi slid back into the driver's seat. "There, Rem," he said. "That should do it. That idiot should be dead now."

"Rem?" repeated Light. "Who's he talking to? Is he on a phone call?"

"No," said L. "He's not." He exchanged a glance with Jubilee.

"And why does he think Matsuda's dead?" Light continued, the frustration in his voice increasing. "What did he do?"

"He wrote down a name," whispered Jubilee, watching the screen that showed a shadowed man and demon that only she-and, perhaps, one other person in the room-could see.

Before Light could turn to question her, Higuchi had turned on the small television monitor in the front of console of his car, and then promptly burst into a string of obscenities. From the tiny screen, Matsuda's voice still spoke.

"How is that man still alive!" Higuchi seethed. "Was that another fake name?" Then, despair seemed to wash over him and he banged his forehead into the steering wheel. "This is going to ruin everything," he moaned. "How do I find out what his real name is?"

There was a beat. Then, slowly, he raised his head.

"That's right," he whispered to himself. The haze around him blackened even more and then opened up like a void, allowing in a new and dark idea. "There is a way…" he continued softly to himself, tapping nervously at the steering wheel with his fingers. Sweat dripped from his brow. Then, with a sudden resolve, he cried out, "I'll make the deal…give me the shinigami eyes!"

Jubilee felt her blood go cold. These words…she had heard them before, in a dream.

"Are you sure?" said the demon's voice from the backseat of the car, speaking up for the first time since Jubilee had been watching. Its eerie voice matched the one Jubilee had heard in her dream. "It will halve your lifespan."

"Yes," said Higuchi softly. His grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Yes, I'm sure. Give them to me."

Something happened that only Jubilee could perceive-a shift in the ether, an exchange in the spirit. And then Higuchi's eyes were glowing red. But only Jubilee could see it.

Higuchi gave a gasp, then looked outside his window. Whatever it was that he saw made his lips curl up into a sinister smile, and a malevolent gleam formed in his eyes. Starting the car, he revved the engine and took off down the road at a roaring speed. On another monitor, Wedy zoomed after him.

"We're going after him," crackled Mogi's voice from the intercom.

Jubilee trembled with a premonition that she couldn't quite place her finger on. Something bad's about to happen, she thought, but didn't know why she thought it.

"Who is Higuchi talking to?" asked Light from beside her. "And what's he doing now?"

"Going to Sakura TV station, I presume, as some last resort to take out Matsuda," said L. "We'll have to start enacting phase two of the plan."

"Ah," said Light. "Right." He pulled out his cell phone. "I'll call my dad and let him know to start switching out Matsuda and the TV anchor for dummies."

Onscreen, a siren began to blare and red lights flashed from behind Higuchi's car.

"This is bad," came Wedy's voice over the intercom. "Higuchi's getting pulled over by a traffic cop. I'm going to have to pass him and leave the pursuit to Aiber's team." She sped past the cop and the red sports car, which was pulling to a stop.

"You were speeding," said the cop's reproachful voice from the main screen. He was mounted on a motorbike, leaning over to speak to Higuchi through the window. "License, please," he said sternly.

"Sure, just a second," said Higuchi, sounding apologetic. He grabbed his bag and riffled through it. "Let's see, it's got to be in here somewhere…"

Jubilee felt the knot of dread in her stomach grow and churn, like a volcano about to erupt. Something bad's about to happen…

Onscreen, Higuchi's eyes flickered over to the officer's face, then back to the contents of his bag. He reached in deeper, as though still searching. Then, without warning, he grasped the steering wheel, stepped on the gas, and sped off.

Mogi's voice came over the intercom again. "I'm coming up behind Higuchi now!" he reported. "He ditched the cop and he's driving away."

"Yes, I see that, Mogi," said L dryly.

"Cop's pursuing him now and so are we," continued Mogi, ignoring the slight.

The foreboding feeling reached a peak inside of Jubilee, making her head feel like it was about to explode. With sudden clarity the premonition sharpened into a precise intuition.

She leaped up and grabbed the intercom speaker. "Veer right, Mogi!" she screamed.

"—What?" Mogi sounded confused. "Is that you, Julie? But—"

"Just do it!" she yelled. "Now!"

The sound of squealing tires, a faint crash, and Aiber cursing in the background filled the speakers. Mogi gave a yelp of surprise. The sound of blaring sirens stopped.

"That motorcycle cop just rear-ended a truck!" Mogi exclaimed. "He's dead!"

"Dead?" echoed Light, shocked. "Was it an accident?"

On the screen, Jubilee saw a black knife form in the air, then plunge itself into Higuchi to join the many others. She felt sick.

"No," she whispered in response to Light.

"Julie," said Mogi's voice from the intercom. "How did you—You knew that was going to happen?"

Jubilee didn't answer. All she could do was clutch her stomach and focus on breathing in and out through her nose, in an attempt to stay calm and keep herself from throwing up.

"This is very bad," said L quietly from beside her, not paying attention to the state she was in. The colors above his head darkened and began to churn in a frenzy. So intense were his thoughts that, for a few brief seconds, Jubilee could hear some of them.

—Hand in his bag…what did he do?

How did he get…name?

Only needed a face…second Kira…

"Rem…" Light was musing aloud to himself, chin in hand and equally engrossed with thinking. "A deal…" The yellow around him swirled, darkening and lightening, then darkening again. A deep and slightly discordant tone resonated from the color, making Jubilee's head throb.

She clutched her head in her hands, suddenly overwhelmed by both the situation and the storm of sounds and colors, thoughts and feelings that were assaulting her mind. The whirlwind of L's thoughts was the most deafening of all, but moved too fast for her to keep up, like an overpowering hurricane.

Killed…Matsuda…What…Unless…

"Everyone!" L suddenly announced into the intercom speaker, his voice tight. "It's too dangerous to allow further action by Higuchi. Let's bring him in. But," He leaned forward, his dark hair falling forward to cover his eyes. "Take caution. I believe that he now has the same powers as the second Kira. He is able to kill just by looking at someone's face. Please keep this in mind when you move in to arrest him." Then, without missing a beat, he swiveled in his chair and pressed a button on his own computer, speaking into its microphone. "Watari?"

A boldface, scripted "W" appeared on the screen. "Yes," came the old man's voice from the screen.

"Connect me to the director of the NPA."

"As you wish," said Watari,and the screen switched over to a new call.

"Director of the NPA, who is this?" said a new voice.

L hit another button, turning on his voice filter. "This is L," he said. "We are now aware of Kira's true identity. He is currently heading towards Sakura TV station along Highway 1, in a red sports car. Our group will handle the arrest. In the meantime, please instruct all officers to refrain from approaching his car."

"Understood," said the man's voice.

L promptly hung up and without further ado turned to Light. "Well, Light," he said, sounding suddenly calm. "Shall we go and join the others?"

"Yes," said Light, rising from his chair. "Let's go."

"And you, Miss Amachi." L turned his head towards her. "You should come along as well."

Jubilee, still recovering, gulped and nodded, rising shakily to her feet.

"What about me?" asked Misa.

"Ah," said L. "As for you, Miss Amane…" He held out Light's vacated seat. "Please sit here for a moment."

"Huh? Uh, okay," said the blonde, sitting.

Quicker than Jubilee could blink, L had the girl handcuffed and was tying her to the chair with a piece of sturdy rope. Jubilee's jaw dropped, as did Misa's.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, Misa," said L, though he didn't sound sorry. "But we're going to have to make sure you don't go anywhere for now."

"What?" cried Misa, indignant. "But—hey!"

L had already turned and was starting to walk away, the chain connecting him to Light rattling. "Come along, Light, Miss Amachi," he said.

Light cast Misa a sympathetic glance and followed L. Jubilee stood before the blonde girl, staring at her.

"Miss Amachi," called L. He was at the foot of the stairs.

"You go ahead, I'll be there in a minute," replied Jubilee. She gazed down at Misa, who was looking back up at her with a defiant pout. The dark, oily tinge pressed in on the smaller girl like it was trying to suffocate her, except that she didn't even notice it. The black shard was still in her heart, sharp and jagged. Jubilee felt her own heart crack at the sight.

Leaning over, she enfolded Misa in her arms, surprising the other girl. "I'm so sorry, Misa," Jubilee whispered, tears prickling at her eyes. "I'm sorry for whatever it was that…that happened, and what's happening now, and—" She choked back a sob. "We'll fix this later, somehow. I promise."

She stepped back. Misa looked confused, but softened slightly at the downcast expression on Jubilee's face. "Sure we will, Julie," said the younger girl placatingly. The line over her head wobbled and cracked.

Jubilee couldn't look anymore. She turned and went to the staircase to follow after L and Light. Stopping at the bottom of the landing, she suddenly looked up, puzzled.

Why were they going upstairs?