The Last Chapter

Fair Warning: major spoilers are here for those didn't read the Death Note One-shot Special.

One week later.

"I'm home!" Touta called from the hallway, followed by a door slam. He lay down his briefcase and took off his coat. Before he got to fully looseing his tie, though, his children ran up to him with the familiar childish screams of joy. Ayumi, as always, latched onto his waist in a bear hug, causing him to stumble forward.

Touta laughed at the gesture of affection. "Good evening, Ayumi, Soichiro. Have you both been good to your mother today?"

Ayumi rolled her eyes. "Duh, Otousan, why do you keep asking this? You sound old fashioned."

"Because-" Touta peeled Ayumi's fingers off his waist and clasped them tightly, "if you love Okaasan so, then remember to love all your family members equally." He gave her a subtle but knowing smile meant to remind Ayumi of last week's episode. In other words: what about Soichiro?

"Otousan!" Ayumi protested.

Touta walked into the kitchen with both children clinging onto him, to find Sayu preparing tea and dinner for everyone.

"Hey, Sayu." He greeted Sayu with a kiss. "How are you today?"

"Good evening, Touta. I'm relieved, that's what."

"Whatever for? Wait – wait! Don't tell me – because Death Note bedtime stories are over."

"For once you guessed right, Touta."

"But that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about!" Ayumi whined, pulling on her father's sleeve. "You didn't finish all of the story, actually..."

"What do you mean, he didn't finish all of the story? Of course he did!" Sayu groaned. She was recovering from recent migraines, and she was not in the mood for reliving a past that, unfortunately, involved a bit of her role in it (Aka when she was kidnapped a long time ago. She still had nightmares).

"I thought we were through with this!" she said. "Oh, and I stand by my previous statements: children should not be exposed to such mature content."

"No, no!" Ayumi protested. "I'm fine! Otousan, you still didn't tell us about that other Death Note incident that happened three years after Kira died."

"Wait, there's more to tell?" Soichiro asked curiously, in spite of his wariness.

Touta chuckled awkwardly. "Why, yes. In fact-"

"Ahem," Sayu cut off Touta reproachfully. He was getting ahead of himself again.

"Come on, Sayu, I promise the outcome of this story will not be scary this time!" Touta pleaded, eager for an audience again.

Sayu rubbed her temples before giving in.

"You people give me nightmares with your obsession with scary stories! Fine, go ahead, knock yourselves out for all I care," Sayu replied shortly, crossing her arms over her breast.

After dinner:

"...It was 2016 when yet another Kira emerged," Matsuda began. "Ayumi, you were only a year old when this happened. This new Kira murdered the elderly to 'relieve their pain.'" Touta scoffed. "That's when Near comes into the picture."

Soichiro's eyes widened while Ayumi squealed with anticipation.

"Unfortunately," Touta continued, "Near didn't get much involved in the case because he deduced that this Kira, or Cheap-Kira for short, wasn't working the way a real Kira would; therefore, Cheap-Kira wasn't a worthy adversary."

"Sucker," Ayumi muttered.

"Near took on L's way of looking at cases. Like Ryuzaki, solving difficult cases was his hobby and not meant for justice at all."

"So much for my role model, L," Soichiro muttered darkly.

"Now, now, Soichiro," Touta laughed. "At least, that's just what I heard. I still think it's hard not to get physically involved in a serial killer case without getting emotionally involved, too. You-" he patted his son, "-are so sensitive to injustice that if you become a police officer, you'll be hunting down baddies 24/7!"

"No wonder he's such a sensitive wuss," Ayumi murmured. When her mother threatened to send her to bed right away, she blinked innocently and stuttered, "Uh – um, what I mean is, good sensitive. Sensitive in a good way. Yeah. Continue?"

"So 'L' announced on national television that he didn't care about the case, only calling Cheap-Kira an 'abominable murderer'. And guess what? The attacks halted completely. Yes, the life expectancy in Japan had gone up from number 6 internationally to number 1 again. What's more, a dead suspect showed up on the same day. The likely cause of death was determined to be a heart attack."

"Maybe that suspect was the C-Kira!" Ayumi screeched.

"Because maybe it was more than just heart attack – he committed suicide via Death Note," Soichiro added thoughtfully.

"Right you are, Soichiro," Touta said encouragingly. "That's what we think, too."

"So is that the end of the story? Well, that was short," huffed Ayumi. "But you also forgot to tell us how you and Okaasan got together in spite of your age ranges.

Sayu giggled, for this was often the question she encountered.

"Well," Touta chuckled hesitantly, "it's nothing extraordinary. One day, we just fell in love. Age is but a number."

"That isn't what Okaasan thought at first!" Ayumi pointed out.

"True," Sayu admitted. "But what did I know about love back then? At first, I was only a college freshman when I met Touta. He was cute, but frankly-" she smiled, "-he was a bit immature for his age. "

"Was not!" Touta cried out, half indignant.

Sayu laughed at the deliberate jab. "Then why did your colleagues always say that?"

"Oh, like that Aizawa?" Touta scoffed. "Ugh, it's just so like him to be uptight about everything! He couldn't take a joke if it hit him in the face!"

"I think he means the 'joke' as himself," Sayu whispered to the children, and the three of them burst into peals of laughter, to Touta's bemusement. For Sayu was referring to Matstuda's first encounter with Aizawa. As the story went, before they even met, Touta accidentally hit Aizawa in the face, provoking the latter and making him rant nonstop about inexperienced members' clumsiness. Later both became properly acquainted and grudgingly made up. Unfortunately, Matsuda hit Aizawa in the face again while demonstrating to another colleague how he accidentally hit Aizawa.

"Let's just say that with your polar personalities, it's no wonder you two don't get along," Sayu teased.

"Yeah...but actually," he said in all seriousness, "I think Aizawa and I have started getting along more nowadays. For instance, he offered to come with me when I went off to investigate a tricky case in one dangerous region." He chortled. "Told him it was very nice of him, but as always, he passes off the reason as 'because I am stupid enough to get mugged without even knowing I'm mugged.'"

The rest of his family laughed till their sides split. When Sayu recovered, she landed him a lingering kiss on the cheek, making Touta mildly but pleasantly surprised.

"Thanks, Sayu, but why all of all sudden-?"

"And that's what makes 'idiot' Touta Matsuda so lovable and cute," Sayu purred. "...Matsuda-chan." And she lovingly stroked Matsuda's chin-length hair and slipped part of it over his ear, making him blush a bit.

Kissing? Stroking? Calling me by -chan again? She...she hasn't been this affectionate in a while! True, we've had tensions along the road, but...

"Ah, I see what you did there," Touta replied, beaming. In response, like a bashful young schoolboy, he edged closer to Sayu.

One was never too old to flirt.

"Ugh," Ayumi groaned. "Otousan and Okaasan are being kissy-wissy fuzzy-wuzzy with each other again! I'm going to bed. C'mon, Sochiro, there's nothing else to look at." She dragged her older brother away and upstairs.

"We'll say good night to you both!" Sayu called after them. She squeezed her husband's hand, smiling up at him. "Well, that's one way to send the kids to bed."

"Hm. Definitely." And Touta responded by sweeping his wife up in an embrace, not willing to break the magical moment. Then, still lapping up the affections, he laid his head onto Sayu's lap while she lovingly stroked his hair.

"Sayu," he said, for his head was still filled with questions.

"Hm?"

"I never asked you this: Why are you so content to put up with an idiot of a husband?"

"What? Just because I love you, you lovable idiot," she teased.

"I know. Look, what I'm saying is, why did you choose an idiot who was called that for most of his career ? Who is terrible at picking out bedtime stories? Who could be as intelligent as Light, for once?"

Sayu's fingers faltered in his hair.

"Whoever told you that you have to be as intelligent as Light, let me write their name in the Death Note for once," she responded coldly. Touta felt revived over his wife's zeal and strong love for him. "It depends what you call 'intelligent', Touta. What, do you want to be like my brother, who started killing because he thinks he knew better, since he was so smart? Touta Matsuda, you are nothing like him. Sure, he hated evil as much as the next normal person, but he was cold and proud; this much I know now. And look what it turned him into. No, you're not like Light. You're you. I couldn't be more proud of that."

"And what makes me the 'me' that you're so proud of?" Touta asked, prying.

"Well, you're still a little unpredictable..."

"Eh?!"

"...and sweet. And affectionate. And moral. And geniune. I love you just the way you are."

"I- I have to admit, though, I'm no better than him. Light, that is."

"And why's that?"

"Ehhh," Touta started off nervously, "Like him, I- I kinda saw – and even found appealing – the benefits of a new world order where crime and war would decrease significantly. I mean, what would you think about such an amazing world?"

"Well," Sayu responded thoughtfully, "simply put, I think such things exist because humanity chooses to be this way. I'm not saying this is necessarily a good thing, but don't individuals come into the world with the gift to choose how they want to live?"

"That's a good question," he said, and he yawned sleepily. After that, they didn't say much more, and the only sounds that filled the room were the tinkling of the LED water fountain somewhere, Sayu stroking Touta's smooth hair, and his steady breathing as he was dozing off in her lap(It had been another long, tiring day).

Then Sayu leaned towards Touta's ear and whispered, "And I didn't want to acknowledge this at first, but a Death Note bedtime story is a genius plan, actually. What better way to teach our kids to question life and morality?"

Touta was relieved.

Maybe I'm not such a bad parent, after all...

At least he could sleep better tonight with this knowledge.

There need to be more Sayu/Touta Matsuda ships in the fandom, amiright?

Headcanon: Sayu and Matsuda and known to frequently have a strained relationship, but by the end of the day, they are still in love with each other. :P

Thanks for reading! Review, maybe? :)