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Is Ryuk required to write Misa's name in their Death Note at the end of her life?

Death Note Rule LXIV states:

gods of death are obliged to confirm the death of the first owner and write down that humans name in his/her Death Note

Misa was the first human owner of the Death Note that was brought into the human world by Rem. Misa then gave up this Death Note, and then picked it up again later, and this time the Shinigami owner was Ryuk (Light made him and Rem switch notebooks). Obviously the responsibility of killing Misa would normally be Rem's, since she was the first to "drop" that DN in the human world. But then Ryuk also "dropped" it after he got ownership of it, and Misa "picked it up" and became the owner for the second time. Rem is dead, so she can't kill Misa. Does this mean that the responsibility transfers to Ryuk?

I know that the anime makes it look like Misa was about to commit suicide. And it looks like it's her idea, too--I seriously doubt Ryuk would have made her go through all that trouble (wearing the "handmaiden of death" outfit and fancy makeup, traveling to the place where Light died,etc). But we don't actually see her die. Would Ryuk be the one to kill her, now that her life is about to end due to her own intentions?

Does anyone know of anything in the manga, creator commentary, etc., that might clear this up?

(Rule is from the wiki here http://deathnote.wikia.com/wiki/Rules_of_the_Death_Note)

BCLC
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filistinist
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2 Answers2

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That rule is an expansion on the rules which state cases when Gods of Death are allowed to return to their own world (more specifically it's the second part of "How to Use: LXIV")

Point one of those rules start with:

The following situations are the cases where a god of death that has brought the Death Note into the human world is allowed to return to the world of gods of death

While it is true that at one point Ryuk had ownership over Misa's Death Note he wasn't the one who brought it to the human world, so in Misa's case those rules don't apply to him.

Gorzius
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  • **But when does a DN stop belonging to the Human World?** Light seems to think this is as soon as a Shinigami reclaims it. When he has Rem and Ryuk switch DNs, he tells Ryuk to drop the notebook on the ground. Now Ryuk is the one who "brought it" into the human world by dropping it. Rule 19 says that a DN can't be left in the human world without being found and used by a human. Rule 24 says a Shinigami has 82 hours to do this. If Ryuk didn't "pick up" the DN in some way after Light gave up ownership, he was in violation. But if he did, then he would've had to drop it again for Misa to find it. – filistinist Sep 06 '17 at 19:48
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    That's a good question. The rules state when the note becomes the possession of the human world, but they don't state anywhere when it would belongs shinigami world again. I think we have two options here: 1, Once a DN is possessed by the human world it will never belong to the Shinigami world again, even if it's brought back there 2, If a DN is retrieved by a Shinigami it'll belong to the Shinigami world again. But even if this is the case, during the exchange everyone involved was in the human world along with the DN. It isn't brought there again, hence the rule doesn't apply. – Gorzius Sep 06 '17 at 20:21
  • #1 doesn't really make sense: if the DN is in the Shinigami world, and a Shinigami is in full possession of it, in what sense does it "belong" to the human world? The "belonging" rule is connected to the rule that the Shinigami can't take the notebook back to the Shinigami world until the human owner gives it up or dies. – filistinist Sep 06 '17 at 21:00
  • As for #2, that was my question--when is the DN considered reclaimed by the other world? When it's physically in the Shinigami world, or when a Shinigami reclaims it? Light's actions suggest the latter--if the DN still belongs to the human world, Ryuk could just hand it to Light, there would be no need for the whole production of dropping it on the ground. The fact that the participants are in the human world at the time may or may not be relevant. Is there anything in the manga or commentary that clarifies this? – filistinist Sep 06 '17 at 21:04
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    I looked around, but haven't found anything that would clarify this. You might've stumbled upon a plot hole. – Gorzius Sep 07 '17 at 18:13
  • Thanks so much for looking into this, I really appreciate it! – filistinist Sep 07 '17 at 18:27
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He does not have to unless he wants to return to his world or for his own joy. Once the human owner is dead, he can reclaim the notebook, but it's not really a responsibility as he could let her live her full life. If she dies of old age or gives it up, he is free to go home, or if he simply lost track of who owned it, with Light gone and Ryuk being the owner of both death notes, Misa is now the human owner of at least one notebook.

It has been too long for me to confirm who wound up as the owner of Light's. It would have been the next person to touch it after he died.

Aki Tanaka
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Wolf
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    Misa gave up ownership and sent the book to X-Kira. She neither had any contact with a Death Note from that point on nor did she hold any memories let alone ownership for the rest of the series. And N had all Death Notes in human possession destroyed as soon as he doublechecked that this wouldn't kill anyone who touched the book. – hajef May 22 '19 at 16:49