Target (chapter 7)

Target (標的, Hyōteki) is the seventh chapter of the Death Note manga series.

Plot
Light meets up with Yuri at the bus stop for their date. As they approach Yuri, Ryuk ponders the date's relevance to finding out the name of the person tracking Light. This causes Light to question if he Ryuk had seen what Light wrote in the notebook, to which Ryuk replies that he did not, because that would be boring. Having reached Yuri, the girl clings to Light, telling him how eager she is to go to Space Land with him. The follower then tails Light from behind, thinking to himself that Light usually goes to school or night school, but now he goes to an amusement park, thus he making him an excellent student. The agent then writes that Light is no longer under suspicion by him, and says that after that day’s assignment, he is done. He then boards the bus along with Light and his date.

Then, the marijuana addict, Kiichiro Osoreda, shows up on the bus. Light notes that the timing is perfect——there are only eight people on the bus. Osoreda points the gun towards the driver and says that he is hijacking the bus, and when the people scream, he says that he’ll kill anyone who makes a scene. Next, he tells the driver to call Space Land to tell them that the bus is hijacked, and when he does so, he takes the phone and confirms this, demanding that a financial report from Space Land needs to be brought by a girl two stops before Space Land. He threatens that if they do anything, like call the police, that the passengers on the bus will die.

As the follower watches, and Light sits in the seat, he passes a note to a now terrified Yuri, saying that he will try to attack the busjacker's hand holding the gun, with a technique that his fatherhad taught him. Seeing this, the follower leans over to Light and tells him that it is too dangerous, and that he will handle it. At this, Light quickly writes on the paper, to which the guy who was tailing him says that he doesn’t have to write on that paper since the hijacker can’t hear them. Light then stuffs the note into his pocket, and Light tells him that he can tell that he (the trailer) isn’t Japanese from his accent, to which the trailer agrees, saying that he is American. At this, Light asks him to prove to him that he isn’t the criminal’s partner. Yuri is confused by this, and Light explains that this sort of thing happens a lot——when there are actually two criminals, and one is hiding somewhere as a bystander. The trailer then thinks to himself that there is no way around it, and that Light can’t be Kira because, if he was, then the criminal would have died of a heart attack by now. Thus, he hands over his ID card. The ID reveals that the man is an FBI agent, which surprises Light, and that man’s name is Raye Penber. Light then tells Penber that he believes him, but doesn’t know why the FBI is in Japan. Light asks if Penber if he has a gun, which Penber replies is the case. Light then says that he’ll leave the situation to him. Penber then thinks to himself about Kira, and why the police think he is in Japan. Furthermore, more American criminals have been dying, and thus, finding him wouldn’t be in the Japanese police. In either case, Penber wants to concentrate on saving the lives at hand, and he then realises that the busjacker is the same man who had robbed a bank a couple of days ago after killing people, so he is very dangerous. The criminal stares ahead, and the note Light was writing on falls then from his pocket. The criminal heads over, asking what the scrap of paper is, as Penber puts his hand in his jacket for his gun, worrying that it's the scrap of paper Light had used earlier with his plans to fight the busjacker.

Instead, the paper is actually a date note, and the criminal throws it back on Light, who thinks to himself that everything is perfect. When Osoreda starts to make more threats, he turns around, and then screams, asking what that “thing” is at the back of the bus. It turns out that the “thing” is Ryuk, who stares at Osoreda, amused that he can see him. When Osoreda goes to shoot him, Penber tells everyone that Osoreda is hallucinating, and to get down. Ryuk then comments, that he now understands that notebook paper that Light ripped out was a piece of the Death Note, and the criminal can now see him. The criminal fires bullets into Ryuk to no avail, as Ryuk tells him that Shinigami aren’t hurt by “that sort of thing”. He recalls what he had previously told Light, and says it is no wonder that Light is the student in the Japan, since he used Osoreda to figure out the name of his trailer. The criminal runs out of bullets, and flees the bus. However, after he steps out, a car comes from the other side, and runs Osoreda over, killing him. Looking down, Light notes that everything is perfectly on time. What he wrote in the Death Note can be seen in the background, everything matching the events which took place.

Conception
Ohba chose the name “Target” since Kiichiro Osoreda attempted to shoot Ryuk, and because Light was trying to uncover Raye Penber's real name.