Trash

"It's garbage day. Bring any trash you have downstairs."

- Sachiko Yagami

Trash (芥, Gomi) is the seventeenth chapter of the Death Note manga series.

Plot
Light Yagami is reading a pornographic magazine spread in his room in front of the camera. L divulges to Soichiro Yagami that it's almost as if Light was simply playing the part of a normal 17-year old. Soichiro is still frustrated that his son has been placed under suspicion.

Ryuk finds cameras all around the room. Meanwhile, Light has to figure out what to do. If he sees new perpetrators on T.V., and they die, he will still be under suspicion. If he doesn't turn on the T.V. and criminals stop dying, he will still be under suspicion as well. Light figures that he needs to find someway of gaining information on criminals and killing them, but without turning on the T.V. or looking them up on the Internet. Light goes downstairs to eat dinner where his family is watching T.V. Director Kitamura's family is also watching T.V. L tells Watari to run the fake special bulletin saying that 1,500 detectives have been sent to Japan to hunt down Kira. Light figures L did this on purpose to see his reaction. Upon hearing the report, Light tells his family that he thinks that this bulletin is fake because Interpol would never be so stupid as to publicly announce a secret investigation. Light says that this was probably done to put pressure on Kira. L smiles and tells Soichiro that his son is very intelligent. After dinner, Light goes back to his room with a bag of potato chips.

Ryuk tells Light of the location of each camera in his room. Light then sets up the potato chips to open up facing a blind spot among the cameras. Earlier that day, he put a tiny T.V. into the potato chip bag where he could see it. He pretends to do homework problems with his right hand while reaching into the potato chip bag with his left and writing down the names of criminals he sees on T.V. When he's done, he throws away the potato chip bag.

Immediately afterwards, Watari enters and tells L that two minor criminals that were reported on the 9'o clock news that night have died of heart attacks. Watari notes that the wife of Deputy Director Kitamura and her daughter watched the reports while the Yagami family was watching a drama at that time. Soichiro exclaims that this is enough proof to end any suspicion on his family, but L remarks that the Yagami family's behavior was a little too clean for comfort.

Conception
The title "Trash" relates to the fact that Light put a tiny LCD mini T.V. into a potato chip bag and then threw it out in trash afterwards to hide evidence, despite its value.

Trivia

 * The cost of the mini T.V. Light used was ¥39,800 (roughly $360 US, £212).

Chapter Guide
Roskat