A Year of Jubilee [The Death Note Fanfic]

Chapter 30

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?"