1.28

"On the other side of that door is X-Kira. My guess is, in roughly 40 seconds, he'll look inside to see if we're dead. That's when we'll restrain him and seize the notebook. Whoever's name is not written down must be Kira."

- Near

1.28 is the thirty-sixth and penultimate episode of the Death Note anime.

Synopsis
As Takada's death is announced, Aizawa grumbles to himself, now even more suspicious of Light. As the next three days go on, more and more people try to become Kira's next spokesperson, to the disgust of Ide and Matsuda. Light, meanwhile, is certain that Mikami and Takada were able to keep in touch, so there should be no more issues with his plan against Near, just as Near contacts the Japanese Task Force. Near asks Light to confirm the previously-planned meeting is still set for January 28th, and he does. Matsuda and Ide appear to be excited, but Aizawa becomes more and more apprehensive, as one that day they may all die. The SPK then makes their own preparations.

The day finally arrives, and as Stephen Gevanni is on his way, Near announces that Misa has been moved to a luxury hotel, essentially freeing her. After Light confirms this, he asks Near to contact Mogi, who is with Lidner on their way, as to unlock the Death Note from a secure safe, each member has to put in a pin number that only each of them know individually. After Mogi gives his code, Aizawa goes last. As he thinks over the (actual) rules and the many Kira deaths, he straps the Death Note to himself, with Light having chosen him since Near would prefer that.

The group then prepares to depart in the rainy weather. While he is in the car, Light thinks to himself that this is the beginning of the New World now that everyone who knows of the Death Note will die. When they arrive, they began to walk through the halls of the Yellow Box Warehouse and eventually come face to face with the members of the SPK; however, Near is wearing a humorous L mask. Light silently rebukes this, feeling Near is too inferior to L to be wearing his guise, while Matsuda questions why only Near would get a mask and the others won't as a means to protect them also. Near answers that it is just a precaution, although Kira has probably already seen everyone in the room except his, or is even writing down their names as they speak. He instructs them to wait 30 minutes to see if anyone is being controlled right now, and Aizawa says that this makes sense since Light probably has no more use for them right now. As the minutes go by, Light, who can barely stop himself from gloating, realizes that he is waiting for "him" to suddenly come in, as he had predicted.

When the 30 minutes are up, Near takes off the mask. He then says that they are now waiting for the person who will solve everything. Near says that this person can only come in via the building's sole entrance, and that that person, Mikami, will kill everyone in the room upon arriving, having the notebook in hand. Matsuda and Ide are shocked at this idea, but Near continues on to say that if Mikami comes in full throttle, they shouldn't resist, and if he creaks the door open, they should pretend to not notice him. Just as this happens, Mikami pokes his eye in the creak with everyone aware of this. He discovers Near's real name, Nate River, as well as the other people in the room, while deducing Light as "God" the same way Misa did years before. He then begins frantically scribbling down everyone's name in the Death Note. As Mikami continues writing names, Matsuda pulls out a gun, but the SPK members pull guns on him also. Near then says they won't die because he modified Mikami's Death Note. He explains that Mikami has been doing Kira's killings, as well as exactly one page every day. With that in mind, Near replaced all of the blank pages with fake pages. When Mikami finishes, Near then says that 40 seconds from now he will peak his head in to check and subsequently be arrested, while the only name not written will be Kira's. However, Light, while given a crooked smile, reveals to himself that he prepared for this the whole time. The notebook Gevanni had found in the locker and subsequently tampered with was actually a fake notebook, and Mikami has the actual one with him, untampered. The thing was that Takada got Mikami to create the fake notebook, and in the fan letter from before, Takada did all of the killings while Mikami simply sent the names via his cellphone, creating the diversion that Mikami was X-Kira. He also had Mikami check daily to see if the fake Death Note had been tampered with, and later told this to Takada. Light then concludes to himself that Near is nothing like L, and is disappointed that Near didn't conclude the possibility of more Death Notes, claiming that, although the victory was perfect, it was also anti-climatic. Light then asks Mikami if he has finished with the names, and he confirms this. Near becomes suspicious as to how fast Mikami answered Light, then asks him to come in. Again, when Light reiterates Near's statement, Mikami comes in. Light then asks what the countdown is for the last name, and Mikami, grinning devilishly, begins counting down. Light overconfidently whispers, "Well, Near, looks like I win," and the countdown ends.

Trivia

 * This and the following episode are the only two to be rated TV-MA, unlike the previous 35 episodes, which were rated TV-14-DLSV.
 * The name for the episode, 1.28, refers to the date of the meeting: January 28th.

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