Father

"So Near was meant to be L's successor. There's no mistake. He has to be N. He's the one commanding the SPK. As for Mello, he would have wanted to become L’s successor, but he probably lost out to Near. That gives him a motive for wanting to get his hands on the notebook first."

- Light Yagami

Father (父, Chichi) is the twenty-ninth episode of the Death Note anime.

Synopsis
The episode begins with an unresponsive Sayu Yagami in a wheelchair being pushed by her mother. Soichiro looks on sadly, and is depressed by what has happened to his family and his giving the Death Note to Mello's gang.

The Shinigami that went to retrieve his Death Note—named Sidoh—confronts Ryuk about his missing Death Note. Ryuk instructs Sidoh to find it himself, as he has no idea where the Death Note is. Meanwhile, Matsuda and Aizawa return from a trip to England to tell Light the orphanage where Mello came from was actually a facility that brought together gifted children and trained them to become L's successor. They also learned the most gifted was Near, assumed to be the N of the SPK. They also bring sketches of what Mello and Near looked like as children. Afterward, Light receives a letter from the current owner of the stolen Death Note (which he learned by Misa looking at the faces of mafia members until she found one without a lifespan) with the address of Mello's location (through manipulating him using the Death Note). As Light burns the letter with the address, Sidoh sees the address (somewhere in Los Angeles) and goes to find the current owner.

Sidoh arrives in Los Angeles and has the current owner touch the Death Note in order to see him. The frightened mafia member instructs the others to touch the Death Note as well, and they all see Sidoh. Sidoh explains to them that the last 2 rules of the Death Note are in fact fake, and Mello wonders if the Death Note originally belonged to Kira. Mello also tells Sidoh to guard their facility. Meanwhile, Light tells Ryuk he will give up ownership of his Death Note and will borrow Misa's in order to keep his memories. Light then begins to explain his plan to Misa. The next day, the Investigation Team receives a call from the distorted voice of Misa claiming to be Kira. 'Kira' tells them that he will be giving them his Death Note soon and that they'll only need to see a person's face in order to know their name. Kira also tells them that most of the members of Mello's mafia will die at 11:59 pm on November 10 and that that will be their best chance of retrieving the stolen Death Note.

After receiving their second Death Note, the Investigation Team decides to go through with Kira's plan. Soichiro decides that he will make the deal with Ryuk for Shinigami eyes because he was responsible for giving away their first Death Note to Mello. On November 10, the Investigation Team storms Mello's facility immediately after most of his members are killed. Ryuk is there to keep Sidoh from interfering, and the team members successfully retrieve the Death Note, but Light (still at their headquarters) tells them to find Mello.

Once discovered by Soichiro, Mello sets off an explosive, destroying the entrances. Mello then threatens Soichiro with a gun and tells him he can set off another explosive that will destroy the entire building. Soichiro, who is currently looking in Mello's face, reads Mello's true name out loud; "Mihael Keehl. Your real name is Mihael Keehl". Mello, who is surprised that Soichiro knows this much, is then threatened by Soichiro that his name will be written in the recently recaptured Death Note. However, one of Mello's members shoots Soichiro with a sub-machine gun. Soichiro falls over and holds onto the Death Note tightly. While Mello and the mafia member try and take the Death Note away, other members from the Investigation Team arrive. The mafia member is shot dead, and Mello then detonates another blast, therefore ensuring his escape and injuring the investigation team members.

Afterward, Soichiro is taken to a hospital. Soichiro tells Light that he knows he cannot be Kira because he can see Light's lifespan. Because Soichiro is the only member of the Investigation Team who knows what Mello looks like, Light asks his father to kill Mello before he dies. Soichiro dies before he can do this. Later that night, Light returns the Death Note that once belonged to him back to Sidoh, and he flies away. The episode ends with Ryuk stating that people who use the Death Note become miserable. Light's father, having never used a Death Note even though he had the chance, died in happiness, believing that his son wasn't Kira.

Notable Events

 * Sidoh, the owner of the Death Note that Ryuk originally gave to Light, has entered the Human World in order to retrieve it.
 * In order to kill Mello and get the original Death Note back, Light formulates a plan:
 * He has Misa use her Shinigami Eyes while going through pictures of known Mafia associates in order to find the owner of the Death Note in their possession, as the owner's lifespan would not be visible. After she identifies him as Kal Snydar, Light writes Snydar's name down and makes him forward the address of the Mafia's whereabouts; Light also writes down the names of the known Mafia associates.
 * Light forfeits ownership of Rem's Death Note, which Ryuk is attached to. However, as he no longer in ownership of any Death Note, he keeps Gelus's Death Note tucked into his pants under his shirt; so long as his skin is in contact with the notebook, he would not lose his memories of the Death Note.
 * Misa, as Kira, contacts the Japanese Task Force and notifies them that he will be sending them his Death Note so they may retrieve the older one from the Mafia. He informs that the Mafia members are slated to die regardless and that they should use the deaths to infiltrate the warehouse.
 * Rem's Death Note arrives at Task Force Headquarters, where Soichiro Yagami takes ownership of it and makes the eye deal with Ryuk. After seeing the name and lifespan of the mafia associates disappear, the unit makes their move. They manage to obtain the original Death Note, and with his Shinigami Eyes, Soichiro announces that Mello's real name is "Mihael Keehl". However, Soichiro hesitates to kill Mello and is shot by one of Mello's henchmen.
 * On his deathbed, Soichiro states his happiness that Light is not Kira (as Light is not under ownership of any Death Notes, Soichiro can see his lifespan). Soichiro then succumbs to his wounds and passes away.
 * With Soichiro's death, Light gains ownership once more over his original Death Note. However, he forfeits ownership and returns it to Sidoh, who takes it back to the Shinigami Realm.

Episode Guide
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