Two Choices

"Who will die… Misa or me…?"

- Rem

Two Choices (二回の選択肢, Ni no sentakushi) is the fifth chapter of volume seven and the fifty-seventh chapter of the Death Note manga series.

Plot
Since he is still working directly with the Kira Task Force, Light Yagami cannot kill criminals himself using the Death Note. He therefore instructs Misa Amane to do it for him. He advises her to be cautious: surveillance devices such as hidden cameras may be placed in her flat so she should only write names while going out and about and after making sure that she is not being followed.

After Misa has left, Light returns to the main meeting room in the Kira Task Force HQ to see Ryuzaki questioning Rem about the Death Note they apprehended from Kyosuke Higuchi. A piece of paper has been torn out of it, and Ryuzaki asks if it can be used to kill people. Rem simply answers that she does not know since she has never done it herself.

L remarks that Light is not obliged to stay at the HQ. Since he has been effectively cleared of being Kira, he can leave the building and go out on the town with Misa, which would be much more friendly than just a short chat at the entrance. Light replies that right now capturing Kira takes priority over his social life and asks if L has a problem with that. L replies that he does not.

Secretly L is actually uneasy. The fact that Light does not make the most of his freedom bothers him: it's almost as if it is Light who is now keeping watch on L rather than the other way around.

Light's real concern is that he is the current owner of the Death Note which is at the HQ, since he was holding it when he killed Higuchi, the previous owner. Shinigami are supposed to hang around with the human owners of their Death Notes and it would look suspicious if he and Rem were to leave the building together.

In the meantime, his father, Matsuda and Mogi are now back in the police force having quit some months ago. Soichiro Yagami is also expecting a promotion.

The next day there is consternation at the HQ when it is announced that over sixteen criminals have been killed overnight! For the detectives, this means that their worst fears have been realized: there is another Death Note in the human world and Kira is still at large!

L comments that these deaths have occurred soon after Misa's release. He is criticized by the others for this and is reminded of the 13-day rule that they found in the Death Note and which effectively clears her.

The Kira Task Force originally linked the Yotsuba company to Kira because the Death Note was being used to kill business competitors as well as criminals. If the current Kira only kills criminals then he or she will be harder to trace.

Light then raises the issue of if and when the case goes to court. Could the Death Note be admitted as evidence? L states that his only interest is Kira's capture, the rest he will leave to the lawyers. However, Matsuda raises the point that if they want to keep the Death Note a secret then Kira himself will probably have to be executed in secret and Aizawa concurs. L suggests that they will probably have to force Kira to write his own name in the Death Note.

Light discreetly grins. That is just what he wanted L to say! He glances at Rem!

Keeping her thoughts to herself, Rem has already guessed that Misa is the one who carried out the recent killings. At first she is puzzled. If Misa is captured and executed then Rem has vowed to kill Light in retaliation and he knows it! Then, Rem suddenly realizes what is really going on, what Light Yagami had planned ever since their meeting in the forest all those months ago!

Rem is convinced that it is only a matter of time before L will expose Misa as Kira. The more time passes the more he will be able to persuade the other detectives that there is a case against her. Rem will have to kill L, but if she does then this will cause her own death since Shinigami are not supposed to extend the lifespan of humans that they care for! Rem is astonished: Light has come up with the perfect way to get rid of both Rem and L, the constant thorns in his side!

Rem momentarily considers killing Light himself, but realizes that this will cause Misa to lose the will to live! She has already considerably halved her lifespan by making the deal for the Shinigami Eyes with both Rem and Ryuk and will not live for very long. There is also the fact that if L dies then Light is bound to take over and can thus protect Misa from any further enquiries. In fact, they could rule the world!

L himself is deep in thought. Rem has been very vague when answering questions about the Death Note, but L considers that if pieces of paper torn from the Death Note can be used to kill people then it might explain a few things, such as how Light killed people using hidden pieces while under surveillance from hidden cameras or how Higuchi was killed! But on the other hand, the 13-day rule means that Misa and Light should have died while in custody for over fifty days!

L announces that he is going to test the 13-day rule. Convicts scheduled for execution will be made to write their names in the Death Note and they will be able to see if they live beyond a fortnight. Through his computer, he contacts Watari who is in a separate location and charges him with contacting countries with the death penalty who will agree to carry out the plan. The other detectives are appalled, but he insists on doing it.

Rem realizes that if L proceeds with this plan then the 13-day rule will be exposed as a fake and Misa will again be the focus of the investigation. She remembers Watari from the scene of Higuchi's arrest and, like a ghost, goes through the wall into another room.

Moments later, while L is still talking to Watari through their computers, the sound of someone collapsing can be heard on the other side!

Conception
Ohba said the chapter's title "Two Choices" is about Rem's decision of whether she should save Misa and die, or let Misa be captured and put to death.