Love (chapter)

"The way to kill a Shinigami… is to make them fall in love with a human."

- Rem

Love (愛, Ai) is the twenty-seventh chapter of the Death Note manga series.

Plot
L is shocked by the mention of "Shinigami" in the Second Kira's latest video and the thought that such creatures exist. Light Yagami suggests that it is just nonsense—Ryuk, unseen by all but Light, makes no comment—but L is concerned since the term "Shinigami" was also mentioned in a coded message written by convicts who were then killed by Kira.

Soichiro Yagami wonders if this is actually a video from the original Kira and Aizawa suggests that the Kiras have joined forces and that they are using the term "Shinigami" in order to confuse the investigators. L and Light both state that this is unlikely since this latest tape—in which the Second Kira has agreed to follow the instructions of their fake Kira video—is making L's appearance on TV and possible death unnecessary. If Kira had met the Second Kira he would certainly have not missed such an opportunity to kill L.

Light then suggests that "Shinigami" is a code word describing the killing method used by the Kiras and that they will use it to kill third parties in order to confirm each other's identity when they actually meet. L agrees with this conclusion and it appears to ease his concerns.

In the new tape, the Second Kira has expressed the wish to meet the original and L believes that this is actually the whole purpose of the exercise. He decides to have it broadcast but not to respond to it. Instead he intends to let either of the two Kiras make the next move. It's possible that the real Kira is getting bothered by the latest events and will make a response of his own. If, on the other hand, things go quiet then the Second Kira, who has proved to be reckless and foolhardy, will probably also take action and thus inadvertently provide the police with more clues.

So far the Kira tapes have been posted to Sakura TV and this is likely to continue. L orders for the post of all the TV stations to be checked and anything Kira-related should be cleared by him first before being broadcast. He hopes that they may thus get actual physical clues and evidence that may even lead to Kira himself! The detectives then proceed to discuss the evidence they have so far from the Kira tapes.

Some time later, the Shinigami Rem tells Misa Amane about how Shinigamis are always required to have their own Death Notes and how Ryuk tricked the Shinigami King into giving him a second Death Note which he then gave to Kira. Rem herself got a second Death Note through very different means: The actual death of a Shinigami!

Rem goes on to tell the story of a Shinigami named Gelus, who had been watching a human girl from the Shinigami realm. Rem joined him one day at a time when they both knew, through their Shinigami Eyes, that the girl was due to die. They assumed that it would be through some accident since she was still young and healthy. The girl was walking down a dark alley late at night when a man suddenly appeared before her with a knife. He was a crazed fan, a stalker, and, when she turned down his love, he announced that he was going to kill her and then himself. Gelus quickly took out his Death Note and manipulated the man into dropping his knife and die of a heart attack, thus saving the girl.

Had Gelus just killed the man on a whim—like most Shinigamis do in order to extend their life spans—then it would have been fine, but he was in love with the girl and deliberately prevented her from dying at her appointed time. Shinigamis are supposed to shorten life, not extend it, and, because he saved someone he cared for from dying when she was supposed to, Gelus himself died, turning to dust, leaving behind just his Death Note.

Rem is now one of the few who knows how to kill a Shinigami and she took Gelus' Death Note to Misa, the girl he had loved and saved.

With a sigh, Misa reflects on what she has just learned. Catching on to her mutterings, Rem says that she cannot hope to kill her—which Misa does, in fact, admit to have been thinking about.

Misa then wonders as to why Kira has not responded to her request for a meeting and considers whether or not she should make a move.

It's been almost two weeks since the Kira tape that mentioned "Shinigami" was broadcast. At home, Light brainstorms as to how he can control the Second Kira without L finding out about it. He could use his own Death Note to manipulate a criminal into sending a message to Sakura TV which only the Second Kira could understand, but that message will then be passed on to L who may block it if it is not to his advantage.

Light then gets a call from his father who tells him that the Second Kira has sent Sakura TV another video and what appears to be a diary. Light fumes at the fact that the Second Kira keeps making all these potentially dangerous moves.

Light joins Soichiro and the rest of the Kira Investigation Team in a hotel. The diary is a single page from a notepad describing the days in the life of a typical child in the month of May 2003 (the previous year), including references to school and social activities. Light is directed to a critical entry in the diary:

"30th — We confirmed our Shinigami at the Giants game at the Tokyo Dome."

Light, however, then notices another entry:

"22nd — My friend and I showed off our notebooks in Aoyama."

Conception
The chapter's title "Love" refers to Gelus's feelings towards Misa, as well as Misa's feelings towards Kira, and the stalker's feelings towards getting Misa.