Daughter

Sani Wammy goes to Kamakura, Japan to visit her aunt and her family to celebrate her uncle's would-be 62nd birthday. She reflects on the time she stayed with them during her first visit to Japan.

July 2020. Already in Japan, Sani invites the other members of the task force for dinner. Aizawa, Carter, Bullock and Matsuda arrive first. Matsuda brought along a “newbie” who joined the task force shortly after the Kira investigation ended.  Shou Yamamoto has been with their team for six years now, but he still acts like Matsuda when he was the rookie; unpredictable, social, empathetic and has an inferiority complex being the only one of them that hasn’t work with L before or knows what he looks like. While waiting for Mogi, Ide and the arrival of L and Kiara they reminisce on the previous Kira investigation. Sani is cooking in the kitchen with Carter while the others sit at the breakfast bar.

“Wow, everyone looks so different. I haven’t seen any of you in a while! I have to ask how you all have been. How are you, Bullock?”

“Single, no children, don’t plan on having any. Currently, I am working as a special agent for L.” Her response as she stirs sugar into her coffee.

“Straight to the point as ever. How about you, Carter?”

“Top crime scene investigator in England, you should call me Sherlock Holmes. Hoping to retire soon, I am almost fifty. My daughter just recently had her first children and now I am a grandfather to twins!” He proudly says as he chops up vegetables for a stir fry.

 “Oh how nice! Grandpa already…times flying by. By the way, Aizawa, how’s the wife and kids? They have to be leaving the nest soon, right?”

“Well Yumi is in college, Eriko is stressing about it and Sota just hit puberty, so it’s a pretty hectic time right now. Sota needs me now more than ever but he and Eriko know how my job is. We made it through the first Kira investigation with little trouble, although the kids were much younger then.” Aizawa pulls out a photo of his family he recently took and passes it around.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s hard trying to raise children in our line of work.”

“Especially for single mothers, Sani. That’s why I don’t want kids.” Bullock reiterates.

“Yes, I just got lucky that my family has been so helpful and supportive. I know I should be there more for them, but they are turning out ok.”

“Yeah, our family is great!” Matsuda confirms.

“I’m still not talking to you, Matsuda. How can you marry my cousin? You’re more than a decade apart in age!”

“It’s only eleven years…besides we helped each other get through our mental health recoveries.”

“Yeah, no kidding. I thought Sayu would be traumatized for the rest of her life after Mello and his gang kidnapped her in exchange for the death note. I thought you had lost it too, Matsuda after trying to shoot Light in the head.” Aizawa puts his family photo back into his wallet.

“At least you stopped me.”

“Well, he snapped rightfully so. When I found out my cousin was Kira and about all the people he had killed after Near showed me the death note… I would have wanted to kill him too. That was a dark time. I felt responsible for his mentality of the world by being a criminal justice major in college and prolonging his exposure to horrifying crime stories; the ones I and uncle shared with him. It was something we all bonded over, unfortunately.”

“Chief Soichiro Yagami. He was like a father to me and now in death, legally he is. His birthday is in a few days. Will you visit Sayu and Sachiko with me?” Matsuda begs.

“Yeah, I was planning on it. Besides, I want to see my little cousin, Tekken! He is four years old now, right?”

“Yeah; he’s growing pretty fast too!”

“Tekken…your favorite video game growing up?” Carter thinks.

“Father’s name. Ironically he didn’t rule with an iron fist, he was pretty chill compared to most Japanese fathers.”

“That explains your maturity level back then, you’ve come a long way though.” Aizawa tells Matsuda as he puts his hand on his shoulder. The rest of them laugh.          

       The doorbell rings and Aizawa answers it with Sani’s permission. Mogi and Ide finally arrive passing on the news that L and Kiara are stopping in Australia to follow a lead they got. For the time being, the rest of them plan out where they should go and with whom. They have to divide themselves between The United States, Mexico, North Korea, Brazil and Egypt. Aizawa and Ide decide to tackle North Korea while Bullock decides the United States would be easy to infiltrate due to her past jobs as a Secret Service and FBI agent. Sani has always wanted to go to Brazil and wants to go with Matsuda knowing they would fit in best in that environment. Mogi and Yamamoto will head to Mexico while L and Kiara are in Australia and will eventually meet up with Stephan in Egypt. With that decided, everyone heads home, to a hotel or stays with Sani at her house.

            A few days later, Sani arrives at her aunt’s house with Mogi, Ide and Aizawa in a smaller city just southwest of Tokyo called Kamakura. This city has many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines and is located near the ocean making it a tourist attraction. Even with all the tourism, it is a more peaceful place for Sachiko, Sayu and Touta to raise Tekken in. This place became a sanctuary for Sayu while she was recovery from trauma and Sachiko when she was grieving over the deaths of her husband and son. Sani was the one who told Sachiko of Light’s death, telling her that, “his death was a great sacrifice that helped put an end to the Kira investigation.” Only recently did Sachiko tell Sayu of their passing; she was waiting for the right time to tell her so she wouldn’t fall into a state of reclusion again. Today would be Soichiro’s 62^nd birthday. They all go to one of the shrines to pay their respects to Soichiro, Light and Misa. Light and Misa were both winter babies, so their birthdays already passed, but they can’t pray for one of them without praying for all of them. Sani and former JTF members know that Light and Misa were Kira and that Light caused his father’s death, a secret they kept from Sachiko and Sayu.  

            Father of Light Yagami and brother to Sani’s mother, Soichiro Yagami was the police chief before joining the Japanese Task Force. Working with his trusted former police officers turned investigators, L Lawliet, Light and Watari he was determined to prove to L that Light was not Kira. After volunteering to be confined with Light and Misa Amane, saving his daughter from Mello who kidnapped her in exchange for the Death Note, cutting his life in half by making the shinigami eye deal in an attempt to kill Mello and being shot to death- he died believing that his son wasn’t Kira.

Not knowing that Quillish Wammy was Watari or who he was besides Sani's grandfather; he never made the connection she had with L until it was revealed after their deaths. This information he kept to himself. He was surprised that someone from his brother-in-law’s family took Sani in after him being so adamant that Sani wasn’t his daughter. He also wondered why his sister didn’t leave her with his family instead, but he just figured that she had her reasons. It was most likely because his career as a cop was taking off and he and Sachiko were not ready for children yet; Light was born in 1989, Sani’s mother died in 1987 when Sani was five. However, Soichiro allowed Sani to stay with his family so she could go to college in Japan for law school back in 2002.

            After they pay their respects, they head back to Sachiko’s home to eat lunch and enjoy each other’s company. Sayu pulls out old photo albums filled with pictures of the years before Light was born, when she and her brother were young, when Sani was living with them and the years when the death note was in the human world. Sani sees a picture of baby Light with his mother in their front yard back in Tokyo. He has a big smile on his face as he watches his mother water their flowers. Sayu pulls out a photo of her and Light on her first day of school. She remembers them walking to school together feeling no fear because her   big brother was by her side. Matsuda sees a picture of Sachiko and Soichiro on their honeymoon in Hawaii. He laughs seeing the chief’s style-clothes, hair and glasses- back in the day. A note falls out the back of the album. Mogi picks it up and reads it aloud:

“Careful what you do, cause God is watching your every move. Hold my hand in the dark street for if you do I know that I’ll be safe. Even if I’m far away and alone, I can be sure that you will find me there, this I know. You draw me close for a while, so quiet. You tell me everything. If I forget what you say then you’d come to me and tell me again. Yes, you’d tell me once again. But what happen when I know it all then what should I do after that? What then? ~Misa Amane’s Suicide Note.”

“Misa didn’t just love Light, she worshipped him. Light was Kira, wasn’t he?” Sayu asks Mogi but really addressing the question to everyone in the room.

“Yes, Light was Kira. Misa was Kira as well. Soichiro died trying to clear Light’s name from suspicion.” Matsuda answers for everyone that knows.

“Thank you for the truth, sweetie. Mom and I knew for a while now. I overheard a conversation you had with Aizawa.” She kisses Matsuda on the cheek letting him know that hiding the truth was okay.

            Sachiko hands a picture of Sani and Light at the beach when she first arrived to Japan for college to Sani. Light sits on a boulder in the water near shore- looking out to the sea in a contemplative position-while Sani gets her feet wet near the shore smiling at the camera while the wind blows her hair away from her face.

“Light had this photo on his desk in his room for the longest time. He told me it was his favorite photo of you two.” Sani smiles and lets a tear fall from her right eye onto the picture.

“I remember that day. He was so curious about me and my family, England, and criminal justice. He kept bragging about uncle being a cop and how he wanted to be an investigator when he got older. He was very talkative and that was the only time he was quiet.” She laughs. She thinks back to her time living with her uncle’s family and life in Japan.

 

            Winchester, England 2002. Sani is packing her things, ready to head to Japan to pursue a law degree. Her grandfather, Watari feels like it is not a good idea considering her current situation. Only a couple of years ago, Sani had a child. Watari knows that she will be in good hands with Sachiko but he feels that it would be best if at least one of her parents raise her.

“Sani, I know you have wanted to go to Japan for a long time to get to know your mother’s side of the family, but now is not a good time. You will have plenty of time to get your degree when Kiara is older. Right now, she needs you-to recognize that you are her mother and not one of her caretakers. The same goes for L, he needs to be in her life more…but I know he won’t stop working.”

“He needs to grow up and both of you need to stop making me everyone’s mother. I worked, went to school and basically raised Nate, Mail and Mihael. I can do it again, just in a different country. She will need me more when she gets older too and by that time we will have our own home, I will have an established career and maybe L will slow down. I don’t want to be dependent on you or L for the rest of my life.”

“Sani, your aunt has two children she already has to worry about. She doesn’t need a third. There is nothing wrong with being a stay-at-home mom, here in England.”

“Grandfather, I am going to Japan. If leaving Kiara here with Roger is easier than inconveniencing my aunt, then I will do that. I’ll come visit every break and eventually move Kiara to wherever I find a job. Everything will work out, I promise.” She hugs Watari and continues to pack her things. Watari knows her mind is made up and allows her to leave and to leave Kiara at Wammy’s House until she is done with school. At the airport, Avon, Bran, Mello, Near, Matt, Roger, Kiara in Watari’s arms send her off while L watches in disguise.

            Arriving in Japan, Soichiro picks her up from the airport on his way home from work. Exhausted from the flight Sani falls asleep in the car on the way home. Sachiko is surprised to see that she came to Japan without her child, but respects her decision. Their home being not that spacious, Sayu shares her room with Sani. She makes this a temporary arrangement until she can save up enough money to get her own apartment. At first, Light didn’t like being outnumbered with another female in the house while his dad works long hours but quickly he learned that she was a girl who is “one of the guys”. She enjoys helping Light with homework, playing videogames and tennis during free time, watching anime and scary movies with much supernatural content and watching court cases on the TV. She hangs out with Sayu as well when they want to pamper themselves, go shopping or talk about a crush she has. Sani feels at home with the Yagamis and happy that for once she is doing something for herself; not raising the next successor of L, not taking care of their child on her own because L is always gone and not putting her life on hold for her grandpa, boyfriend and their child or any of the orphans she never adopted. She loves them all but knows she must be self-aware of her own independence and self-reliance in order to help those she loves.

            By the time she gets into graduate law school in 2006, she moves a now six year old Kiara with her to Japan. She gets a small apartment for the two of them. Sani kept her promise and visited her on every break she had, Skype with her and sent her presents in the mail for her birthday and holidays. Kiara grew up at the orphanage with many other kids without parents so compared to their situations, she was lucky to have one parent who was there for her. Kiara had a hard time believing that her father was real or even alive. She never saw him in person or heard his real voice. Watari showed her a picture of him when he first arrived to Wammy House. Sani was the second person he met. In the picture they sit on a bench in the yard, well Sani sits on the bench and L lies in the fetal position under it. Kiara could see where some of her weird habits come from seeing how eccentric her father is; from the way she holds utensils by her fingertips, having a sweet tooth for lollipops, likes feeling things with her face instead of her hands to name a few. Watari tells Kiara these are the only pictures of her father and that she should never show them to anyone besides her mother and him. He allows her to take a couple with her to Japan in a locked jewelry box with a fake bottom.

            Only a few weeks after she arrives, Kira is born. Sani worries about L for challenging him, but she believes that he will defeat Kira and when he has to face the court, she will be the one to prosecute him. Knowing that Kira is in the Kanto region of Japan, the region where Tokyo is, Kiara knows that her father is probably doing his investigation nearby and searches for him. She confirms her thought when her mother receives phone calls from him telling her where he is staying. Secretly and periodically, Sani goes to visit him and Kiara follows. Soon, Sani notices she is being followed and scolds Kiara for being so careless.

“Kiara, what if someone caught you following me and learned that L has a family? His whole investigation would be in jeopardy! I’m already risking my life by seeing him knowing that someone we both know may be Kira. If he found out, he would use us to dispose of your father and may even get rid of us too.”

“I just want to see him. Not once have I meet him in person! Why are you trying to keep me away from him?”

“He doesn’t know how to love…not you, not me, not Watari. He’s selfish and childish and”

“But, he still is my dad. I know he think about us, I know he asks about me when he calls, I know he loves me, he just doesn’t know how to show it. That’s something the orphans thought me. It’s hard to love when you’ve been abandoned, but I love no matter what. ” Kiara clenches her fist trying really hard not to cry. Sani pulls her into her arms,

“You’re too smart for a six year old. You remind me of him every day.” She wipes her face and leads her to his hotel room. At the door, Kiara knocks and says,

“Daddy, are you home?” She hears a commotion on the other side of the door before it finally opens.

“Hi grandpa!” She says as she runs past him to the sitting room. L gets up from the couch and turns to Kiara. He scratches his left foot with his right toes and his head with his left finger. He looks at Kiara and then his eyes shy away. Neither says a word for a good minute until she runs over to him and hugs him around the legs. He kneels down and puts his hands on her shoulders.

“You’re definitely not a baby anymore. I used to be able to hold you in one arm.”

“You actually held me?”

“Yes. I was there for your first year of life. I even held you at the hospital the day you were born. You were so small and so soft.” He pinches her cheek. "I was so scared that something would happen to you, your mother or me. You always liked to touch my face by rubbing yours to mine which made me feel better.” Kiara laughs as he rubs his cheek on hers. "Then, I knew that I wouldn't let anything happen to you or I. My job requires that no one knows my true identity or life, Kiara. I watched you grow up from afar and I never stopped thinking about you." Now that L has put his life on the line for this investigation, he doesn't mind spending some well needed time with his daughter-lowering the barrier that kept him from loving his family.

"A monster who seeks friendship but doesn't know how to love." Sani reminds him of his words he said to the children of Wammy House three years ago.

            Sani and Watari let them talk all night. He shows her capoeira and martial arts moves and she attempts to preform them. She talks about her friends at Wammy House and how she thinks Matt (Mail Jeevas) should be one of his successors too. He shares stories of some of the cases he solved throughout the years and even some stories of him when he was at Wammy’s house-especially the one about meeting Sani and the boy with the red eyes. This was before L knew that B’s eyes were shinigami eyes and that shinigami exist. This is the one connection he used to be 100% sure that Misa Amane was the second Kira. Before L and his team obtained a death note by confiscating it from Kyosuke Higuchi, head of technology development at a giant international corporation, Yotsuba aka the third Kira; during Misa’s attempt to meet Kira she had mentioned in a broadcast message to Kira that she doesn’t think Kira has “the eyes” and that they should show each other their “shinigami”. Confirming with Sani that B saw names and numbers above people’s heads, he knew that the second Kira had the same eyes B had. When he saw Rem, the shinigami attached to Higuchi’s death note, L knew his deductions were right. She only needed to see a face to kill having “the eyes”. This deduction however would cut his time short with finally getting to know his daughter.

            November 5^th, 2007. A storm is raging outside. L sits in his room with an uneasy feeling tugging on his heart. He goes to Watari's room and he asks him what is wrong seeing the sad expression on his face. L just wants to run into his arms like he is five again, but he doesn't say a word.

 He picks up his phone and dials Sani’s number. It rings a few times before she picks up.

“Sani…”He doesn’t know what to say.

“No, this is Kiara. Who is this? Caller ID says, Ryuga.”

“Kiara, it’s L. I need to talk to your mother. Please, put her on the phone.”

“Love you too, dad.” She sticks her tongue out at the phone and hands it to her mom.

“Yes. Do you need something?” All she can hear is the rain hitting a window at her house.

“L? Are you there?” Silence for a minute and then,

“I hear the bells.”

“The bells? The church bells…are they chiming?”

“They sound sad and are getting louder by the minute.”

“A funeral, did someone die?”

“I’m sorry but they are ringing for me. I guess I will never hear the bells chime and I’ll miss the wedding. Will you still get married in that church, even if I won’t be there?”

“L…are you proposing to me knowing that you will die soon? What happened, are you closing in on Kira?”

“Your deduction is correct. I will be leaving this world soon. Please, accept my proposal before I die. You should have gotten a ring in the mail.” Sani fiddles with it on her left hand ring finger.

 “I’ve been wearing it since I opened the box. I love you, L. Please, don’t go.” Tears steadily flow down her face like a stream.

“I’m afraid it’s too late. Kira won this fight, but not the battle. Light is Kira. I am sure of it.”

“I will make sure he is brought to justice, I promise you that.”

“Thank you, I love you too, Sani. Tell Kiara I am sorry for not being around more…time isn’t on my side.”

            L hangs up the phone and heads outside to the roof. A storm is lingering but he can’t help to look at the sky. He is instantly soaked but too busy mesmerized by the dark clouds, the sounds of thunder and flashes of lightning. He listens to the invisible bells. Dong. Dong. Dong. He is listening with great focus that he doesn’t realize that Light is calling to him.

“What are you doing standing out there by yourself?” He yells, but L can’t her him over the rain. Light walks out into the rain so he can hear him.

“What are you doing, Ryuzaki?” He asks as he tries to block the rain from his face with his arm.

“Oh, nothing really just I can hear the bells.”

“The bells?”

“Yes, the sound is unbelievably loud today.” Light looks around and listens.

“Huh? I don’t hear anything.”

“Really, you can’t hear them. They have been ringing nonstop all day. It’s very distracting.” He looks at the giant satellite on the roof. “I wonder if it’s a church, maybe a wedding or perhaps a funeral.” Light lowers his arm down finding no point in blocking the rain that soaks him.

“What are you getting at, Ryuzaki? Come on, cut it out. Lets get back inside.”

“I’m sorry. Nothing I say makes any sense anyway. If I were you, I wouldn’t believe any of it.” He stares sadly at the ground and Ligt can see that L knows he is defeated.

“You know you’re right. Honestly, most of the things you say sound like complete nonsense. There would be no end to my troubles if I took you seriously all the time. I probably know that better than anyone.”

“Yes, I would say that’s a fair assessment. But, I can say the same about you.”

“Hmm…what’s that supposed to mean?” L faces him directly.

“Tell me light, from the moment you were born has there ever been a point you actually told the truth?” L stares straight into Light’s eyes as his facial expression freezes with downturned eyebrows. Light response with a long answer as he knew he would but he does hear his lie,

“I make a conscious effort not to tell a lie that can hurt others. That’s my answer.”

“I had a feeling you’d say something like that. Lets go back inside, we’re both drenched.”

            Not so soon after they head inside and dry off, L gets a call from Watari saying that they can carry out their plan to prove Misa is the second Kira. As he tells the team his plan, the security system goes off. Watari deletes all the information they have gathered thus far for the Kira investigation before he dies. L knows it is the shinigami and tries to warn them but before he could finish the word, Shinigami he falls over from a heart attack. His life flashes before his eyes and the bells ring loud in his ears. Light catches him before he can hit the ground, telling him not to die on him.

As L’s eyes close he can see Light’s facial expression go from panic and shock to an evil grin; he swear he can see red in his eyes like a shinigami. L dies knowing that Light is Kira.            

 

            Sani hands the picture back to Sachiko. She remembers that when L and Watari were killed, she knew that if she was going to help L catch Kira, Kiara would be better off in England-out of harm’s way. Sachiko collects all the photos and puts them back in their proper spots. As the night goes on, everyone gradually starts to leave knowing that tomorrow starts their individual missions. Sachiko is glad that everyone was able to reunite for her late husband’s birthday. She knows he is watching over them and he is proud of all of them. Sachiko wanted to join him many times but she enjoys being a grandmother. Sayu loves being a mother and the small family that she has left keeps her going. Sani can’t wait to see Kiara and Near because she can feel L’s spirit living inside them. Like Sachiko, she too doesn’t plan on joining her first love anytime soon.