Matsuda (chapter)

"Stupid Matsuda."

- L

Matsuda (松田, Matsuda) is the seventh chapter of volume five and forty-first chapter of the Death Note manga series.

Plot
Touta Matsuda is posing as Misa Amane's manager in order to keep an eye on her since she is still suspected of being the Second Kira. For some time now, he has been feeling somewhat inadequate as regards the Kira investigation itself. Kanzo Mogi has been collecting data with great efficiency and Soichiro Yagami has come up with facts in the current enquiry which even Light and L missed. Matsuda meanwhile is just reduced to escorting Misa to a location shoot for a film she is appearing in.

The filming is taking place near the main offices of the Yotsuba company and Matsuda recalls Soichiro's discovery that Kira-linked deaths occur between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon. Today is Friday and since Misa will be occupied with filming till late in the evening, Matsuda leaves her at the set and hurries off.

Meanwhile, at the Kira Task Force HQ, Light Yagami is thinking back to a time when he was caught in a bus hijacking staged by Kiichiro Osoreda who was then killed when he was hit by a car. Light and L have recently established that Kira can kill by means other than heart attacks. Could Osoreda's death be an example of that?

On the same bus, Light encountered FBI agent Raye Penber, who was later killed by Kira. He also recalls meeting Penber's fiancée Naomi Misora who had come to the same conclusion regarding Kira's abilities. Misora has since disappeared, presumably deceased.

Light wonders why he never thought of those incidents before and even ponders if L's belief that he is Kira could be true. He admits to himself that the world would be better off without certain types of people but can't believe that he would actually kill them even if he had the means to do so. He decides that it would be wiser not to raise these issues with L and focus on the Kira case.

Light has been hacking into Yotsuba's computer network but has found nothing related to Kira. L remarks that with his skills he could also hack into the police computers. Privately, Light recalls hacking into his father's computer but is sure that it was part of his own personal investigation into Kira, not because he was Kira!

At that moment, Watari calls from a separate location in order to inform L that a private detective called Eraldo Coil has been hired to track him down. He has been offered US $1.5 million for his work and although the arrangements were made through various contacts, Watari has traced the original client to Masahiko Kida, a Yotsuba executive!

Soichiro is worried since Coil is reputed to be the world's greatest detective, second only to L. His services can be bought for money and he has a great reputation for finding missing people. Like L, he is also anonymous to the general public and therefore hard to trace.

L tells Soichiro not to worry since the truth is that he is Coil! He is also Deneuve, another leading detective, and this a way for him and Watari to find anyone interested in uncovering L. The fact that Yotsuba is interested in L, who is leading the hunt for Kira, proves the company's connection to the mass murderer and he decides that it is time to involve Aiber and Wedy.

Meanwhile, Matsuda arrives at the main entrance to the Yotsuba offices and realizes that entering it will not be easy. Visitors need appointments and staff have to use special cards in order to get past the turnstiles in the main lobby. He thus makes his way to the back entrance where a single security guard is based in a booth. While the guard's back is turned, Matsuda sneaks past into the building.

Pacing through the corridors, he discreetly overhears two men discussing a secret meeting that they are due to attend and how it is regularly held on Fridays. The men enter an elevator and Matsuda notes that they are going to the nineteenth floor. He then hurries up the stairs.

At HQ, Aiber and Wedy have been briefed on their respective missions: Aiber is to contact Kida and get close to him, while Wedy is to get around the security cameras and systems at Yotsuba. L then reminds all those present that caution and discretion are essential. They are up against Kira but cannot be sure if it is a single individual or several persons. What is more, there is a strong possibility that Kira can pass his power to kill on to others which makes things even more complicated. Therefore it is necessary to investigate Yotsuba and Kira as carefully and discreetly as possible and, once they have identified Kira, get hard evidence of his identity and ability to kill from a distance without him knowing. Panic must be avoided and personal initiatives must be cleared by L first.

Unaware of all this, Matsuda reaches the nineteenth floor of the Yotsuba building and makes his way towards some closed doors. Putting his ears to the doors, he can barely make out what is being discussed inside. After an hour, he suddenly makes out words like "Kira" and "kill", but at that moment the door opens and two men appear!

At HQ, L's briefing is interrupted by Watari who informs him through his computer that he has just received a distress signal from Matsuda's belt buckle. L and Watari gave the policemen special belt buckles which send off distress signals when activated in dangerous situations. The signal is coming from inside the Yotsuba Tokyo offices. With a sigh, L announces that they are going to have to rethink their plans and mutters "Stupid Matsuda!"

Conception
The chapter's title "Matsuda" relates to Matsuda running around everywhere in the chapter. Ohba said that when the editor saw the planned title name "Matsuda," the editor laughed and then gave the okay.