Father and Son



Father and Son (御父と御子, Onchichi to miko) is the 2nd chapter of Volume five and 36th chapter overall.

Plot
With Rem looking on, another human is using the Death Note to kill criminals.

After 50 days, Soichiro is still confined to his cell, refusing to come out until his son is exonerated. Light still begs to be let go and Misa still believes that she is being held by a stalker. However, L still refuses to believe that Light is not Kira, and he still has not told Light that the killings have resumed during his confinement. Aizawa pressures L to let Light go, and L agrees only after he has spoken personally with Soichiro.

Light and Misa are led in handcuffs to a car that is being driven by Soichiro. Light asks his father if they’re being released, but he answers that they are being executed! L has concluded that they are Kiras and it has been decided in high places that they should executed without trial.

Soichiro stops the car in a deserted spot and announces that he is going to kill his son and then himself; Misa will be executed when she is found later. Misa and Light beg him to reconsider but he pulls out a gun and fires at Light!

Nobody is killed! The bullet was a blank. Overcome with relief, Soichiro addresses L who has been watching from a miniature camera hidden in the car. The whole thing was a bluff, L assuming that if either Light or Misa were Kira then Soichiro would have been killed with Kira's power before he had the chance to kill Light. L would not put it pass Kira to kill even his own father &mdash; though he also assumes that Light would have seen through the ruse long before his father shot at him.

L announces that they can now be taken out of custody, but there are conditions. The evidence that links Misa to the Kira tapes still has to be explained, so although she can resume a normal life she will be watched over by a police officer.

As for Light, he is to join the investigation full-time. He readily agrees with L: They will capture Kira together!

Conception
The chapter title refers to Soichiro and Light. Ohba said that he had trouble creating some of the chapter names for a lot of chapters and so he retrospectively wondered if "perhaps" he did not put enough thought into the chapter names.