Chapter Text
When the time for the new world arrived, Light Yagami truly gained divine power, because he could decide who would live and who would die. Criminals and anti-Kira dissenters alike were among Light’s victims, while the lives of his loyal followers were spared.
This was how it happened that Light left Teru Mikami alive, believing that he would be hard-pressed to find a more devoted follower. For this reason, Light decided to entrust Mikami with this task as well. Light figured it was no longer risky to meet on the open street, so he arranged a time and a meeting point with him. Currently, Light was waiting at this very meeting point for Mikami to finally arrive, which happened shortly thereafter.
When Mikami appeared before him, he bowed, then dropped to his knees on the ground.
"Dispose of me as you wish, my God," Mikami said humbly, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground the entire time.
"Get up and look at me, Mikami" Light commanded, and after the older man did as he was asked, Light continued. "Since the time has not yet come for me to reveal myself as Kira, I wish to entrust you with a task that you must execute in my name."
Mikami grew increasingly curious about what this task could be, but he did not interrupt Kira’s speech, knowing full well how much the other man hated being cut off. Therefore, he remained silent, hoping that sooner or later he would receive answers to his questions or permission to speak.
Mikami turned out to be right, as Light continued his explanation:
"More and more posters criticizing Kira have been appearing around the city lately. I want you to find out who these figures are distributing them, and then hand down the severest punishment upon them. Do you understand what I have said?"
"Yes, my God," Mikami replied.
"I almost forgot to mention this, but I would appreciate it if you involved Takada in the investigation as well," Light added, trusting that if the two of them worked on the same case, perhaps the problem would be resolved sooner.
"Plus, this way I can keep both of them under surveillance, and if one of them screws up, the other will report it to me immediately," Light thought to himself.
"Very well," Mikami replied, even though he was not pleased with this news at all. He felt that Kira was trying to signal to him that he could not handle this case alone.
"But I will prove to him that he can trust me, because I am capable of catching the poster makers," Mikami thought to himself. Naturally, he did not contradict Light’s command, despite not truly wanting to work together with Kira’s spokesperson, as he had no desire to share the glory.
"If you have no questions, you may leave," said Light, realizing only then that Mikami was still standing before him. "And if you run into any problems, notify me immediately."
With that, Light set off back the way he came, leaving the black-haired man behind.
*****
"So, Light entrusted us with catching the poster makers?" Takada asked back, after Mikami delivered Light’s message to her.
"Yes," Mikami replied as they crossed to the other side of the pavement.
"Is there any lead yet?" she inquired further. "Actually, where are we even going right now?"
"We are going where those figures put up the latest poster," Mikami said.
"Alright," Takada replied, knowing that following this answer, the man would certainly not speak for a while so he could focus better on their mission.
At that moment, they turned into a deserted street, where Mikami instantly spotted the solitary poster on the wall. For a while, the man studied the poster's blood-red letters speaking out against Kira, but since he couldn't deduce any conclusions, he decided to take the poster down, bring it home, and examine it again there.
"Perhaps if I looked it over with a magnifying glass or a microscope, I might find some sign indicating where the anti-Kira dissenters meet," Mikami pondered to himself after removing the poster from the wall. "It is imperative to make faster progress with the mission, because Kira will be angry if I cannot show him any advancement. And if I am incapable of resolving this matter, it might even happen that Kira replaces me and puts someone else in my stead."
This thought terrified him so much that he didn't wait any longer. He began planning his next steps right there on the street. Consequently, he completely forgot that Takada was still walking beside him. Thanks to this, the woman had to address him three times before Mikami finally turned toward her.
Takada knew that Mikami was capable of staying silent the entire way, but she wanted to talk, so she began thinking about what their topic should be. After a brief hesitation, she managed to find one. Although she had always been interested in Mikami's worldview and his thoughts on Kira, now she wanted to bring up a more personal subject. Naturally, she knew how difficult a task she was undertaking, but she resolved to give it a try nonetheless, wanting to get to know the man better.
"This won't be an easy task, considering that in the few years we've known each other, Teru hasn't dropped a single comment about his past. But if I’ll talk about my family as an introduction, perhaps he will open up more easily," Takada thought to herself.
However, the woman was soon to be disappointed. Although Mikami willingly listened to everything she said and even asked a question every now and then, the moment his own life was brought to the table, he instantly shut down and steered the conversation back to their mission.
Takada's plan failed, but the change of subject made her realize that she had another meeting scheduled with a few of her colleagues.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your train of thought, but I just realized that I am meeting a few friends today," Takada said. "So if you don't mind, I will say goodbye to you now."
"Alright, go ahead," replied Mikami, inwardly glad that the woman was finally leaving, as he believed he could work more efficiently alone.
"This way it will be easier to prove to Kira that I am working harder, and therefore I deserve to be his supreme ally," Mikami mused to himself as Takada said her goodbyes and left him alone. "I am lucky that I do not have to go to such pointless gatherings where I would be forced to waste my valuable time on foolish people. I have no need for acquaintances who are only capable of gossiping, because such superficial nobodies have a far too one-dimensional way of thinking, and therefore they care neither about the shaping of the world nor about Kira."
Just then, Mikami walked past a small group of people talking, but after bypassing them, he resumed his thoughts.
"For me, the most important thing is to turn Kira's dreams into reality, so if someone is incapable of understanding its importance, then that person does not deserve for me to speak with them and lower myself to their level," Mikami thought, then pulled out his apartment keys, because he arrived home. This meant that he could finally dedicate his attention entirely to Kira’s task once more.
*****
Takada appreciated it when someone was punctual and precise, but despite this, she felt Mikami was taking it to an extreme. She thought the man relied far too heavily on his daily routine, restricting not only himself but her as well.
She thought this because next week, her boss wanted to meet with her at the exact same time as Mikami, whom she knew preferred to do everything at the exact same hour. Therefore, Takada knew how difficult it would be to get Mikami to agree to a different time slot.
"But since I don't really want to bargain with my boss, I have no other choice," Takada pondered. "And if Teru refuses to agree to change the time, then I will tell him that if we want to help Light, we cannot handle the situation so inflexibly, because then the poster makers will back us into a corner."
However, no further arguments came to the woman's mind, so she could only hope that this would have an impact on the man.
The next time they met to discuss the next steps regarding the poster makers, Takada explained her problem to him. To her absolute surprise, however, Mikami did not object. Instead, he reluctantly accepted the situation and suggested another date that suited Takada as well.
Following this, Mikami headed home. Along the way, he tried to suppress the frustration caused by this unexpected disruption, so that he could calmly reorganize his week once he was back home. Mikami hated changes, but he believed he had to do this if he wanted their mission to move faster.
"I am certain that Kira will accept no excuses as to why no steps have been taken against the poster makers yet, so I must do everything in my power to finally show him some results," the prosecutor thought to himself. "And if that requires me to change my daily routine, then I will undertake it."
*****
A week later, Mikami finally managed to achieve a breakthrough in the case, as he was able to narrow down the parts of the city where the posters were appearing, allowing him to start figuring out how to catch the poster makers. At that moment, the thought crossed his mind again that it would be better if he continued the work alone, but then he simply shook his head at the idea.
"If I were to act this way, I would be contradicting Kira's words, which is the gravest crime I could possibly commit," Mikami thought to himself. "Kira surely had a good reason for asking us to work together."
Before he could fall into temptation, he left his home to inform Takada.
However, the man did not expect that he wouldn't be able to get into the NHN studio, as a massive crowd was waiting outside the building, clearly intending to celebrate something.
"Great. Just what I needed," Mikami thought, drawing away in disgust from a group of university students. The youths had elbowed him in the side three times already, and the prosecutor feared it would happen a fourth time if he didn't move away.
While trying to find a less crowded spot, it suddenly began to dawn on him that Takada had explained something to him about a celebration. But as for what kind of celebration it was and when it would end, nothing came to his mind.
"Alright, then I will wait here for another hour, and if nothing happens by then, I'll leave and call her tonight," Mikami thought to himself.
However, in the next moment, Takada appeared, and as she began to address the crowd, Mikami resolved to wait for the time being. The speech did not last long, and afterward, people broke off into small groups to talk among themselves. Mikami seized this exact moment to begin forcing his way toward Kira’s spokesperson.
When Takada noticed Mikami, she instantly realized that the man had probably not come here to celebrate NHN's achievements, so the worst possible scenarios immediately flashed through her mind.
"What if something happened to Light?" the woman thought anxiously. "I last spoke to him a week ago, and anything could have happened to him since then. But surely that foolish Amane woman received the information sooner than I did, which is so unfair, considering that I am Light's girlfriend, not her."
At that moment, Mikami arrived in front of Takada, prompting the woman to gesture to the guards beside her that they could step back, as the man posed no threat.
"What is it you wish to say, Mikami?" Takada addressed the man before her, trying to maintain her mask of emotionlessness, though in reality, she was highly nervous.
This question felt cold and distant to Mikami, given that he had grown accustomed to Takada calling him Teru for some time now, making his surname sound strange coming from her mouth. But then he realized this was likely part of her act, as she didn't want the people nearby to figure out the nature of their relationship.
"I wish to speak of important matters," Mikami finally said, trying to phrase it in a way that revealed no concrete information from which onlookers could draw conclusions. "Let us meet where we have met before. Six o'clock this evening."
"That time will be suitable," Takada replied, attempting to frame the situation as if she were doing a massive favor. "But for now, I must go," Takada added one last time, signaling to her audience that from this point on, neither Mikami nor the people around her interested her. Following this, she gestured to the guards, and she and her entourage moved on from the scene.
Although Mikami was bothered that Takada treated him as if he were just another foolish fan from the crowd, he did not hold a grudge against her. He knew it was important for her to appear invulnerable and unattainable to the public, as the audience expected this role from Kira’s spokesperson.
Afterward, Mikami went home to work, as he still had plenty of time left until six in the evening.
When the time for the meeting arrived, both Mikami and Takada showed up at the designated location on time.
"You wanted to say something regarding Kira, right?" Takada asked, then added anxiously, "Light is alright, isn't he? He wasn't harmed?"
"Do not worry, everything is fine with him," replied the prosecutor, who could now read far more emotion in his teammate's eyes than earlier at the celebration. "However, a significant step forward has been made regarding the poster makers. What would you say if we discussed this at my apartment? It's just that there are too many people here, so we could speak more comfortably there."
"We can go, as far as I'm concerned," replied Takada, who was now much calmer after it turned out that everything was fine with Light.
Takada had never been to Mikami's home before, so she was curious to see what the prosecutor's house was like. Ultimately, she was not disappointed, as Mikami’s apartment was just as orderly as she had imagined. The floor practically gleamed with cleanliness, and there wasn't a speck of dust on the shelves. Takada had also expected the man to have a lot of books, but she hadn't thought she would see absolutely no trace of other personal items.
"Not a single small statue or a painting anywhere, and he doesn't even have pictures of his family," Takada thought to herself. "This is a bit unusual, but regardless, it is a neat and elegant apartment."
"You have a very beautiful home, Teru," the woman turned to the prosecutor after entering the living room.
"Uhm... thank you," Mikami replied, slightly taken aback, as no one had ever said such a thing to him before, and he didn't quite know how to respond.
With that, he cleared his throat and spoke again:
"So, regarding the poster makers..."
"My apartment is only a little bit smaller than yours, but for some reason, I can't keep it this orderly," the woman continued, wanting to chat a bit before they got down to work. "And I don't have half as many books as you do. Did you buy them all yourself, or are there some you received as gifts?"
"I bought most of them, but there are a few I received as gifts," Mikami lied. He didn't dare admit that he had bought every single one for himself, because he felt it would imply that he had no close acquaintances, making him look like a pathetic figure. And Teru Mikami had no desire to appear pathetic in anyone's eyes.
"You have a great deal of books regarding history," Takada spoke up again. "Was history your favorite subject during your school days?"
"Yes," Mikami replied. "What was your favorite subject?"
"Perhaps literature was my favorite," Takada replied. "But I gladly studied history as well. Well, looking at your bookshelf, I am certain I don't know half as much about the subject as you do."
At that moment, Kira’s spokesperson realized they needed to get down to work, so she spoke up again:
"Alright, as much as I would enjoy talking with you further, we must begin our work now. So, what did you find?"
At this, Mikami's eyes lit up, as he finally felt the topic had shifted in a direction he could perfectly control. He hesitated no longer, he pulled out two maps where he had marked the anti-Kira posters that had appeared so far with red circles. Following this, he spread the maps across the table and began to explain how they would catch those rebels.
However, Mikami had barely been speaking for a quarter of an hour, when he noticed that the woman wasn't paying as much attention to his words as usual. Since he didn't know why this was, he addressed her:
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes," Takada lied, as she didn't want to burden Mikami with her own problems just yet. "Why do you ask?"
"You haven't spoken for quite a while, which is not characteristic of you at all," Mikami replied.
"Up until now, I could talk to him about anything, so if I told him about my problem regarding Light, perhaps he could help me," Takada thought to herself. As she raised her gaze to the prosecutor, she wondered if she had truly seen a spark of concern in his eyes. This gave her enough courage to confess what was troubling her.
"It bothers me that I feel Light is neglecting me," Takada finally spoke up. "I last spoke to him a week ago, and even then, it was only for an hour over the phone. Furthermore, no matter how much I asked him, he refused to break off his relationship with that foolish model."
Mikami had no idea how he was supposed to answer this, as he was entirely out of his depth in such matters. But because he wanted to help somehow, he began to speak again:
"Could it be that he hasn't reached out because he has too much work? I think you shouldn't worry. I am certain that everything will be fine sooner or later."
"I wish it were as you say" Takada sighed bitterly. "But I am certain the matter is not that simple, as he texted me a few hours ago saying he wishes to meet with me, and after everything that has happened, I have no idea what to say to him."
"I am certain Kira will ask her how we are progressing with catching the poster makers," Mikami thought anxiously. "This means I shouldn't just tell Takada what conclusions I've reached, but we must also figure out how to move forward. To do that, however, we need to end this conversation that is leading nowhere."
"Listen, I know your situation is difficult, but by the time you meet with Kira, we must discuss a thing or two," Mikami finally said, trying to maintain an empathetic demeanor.
"You are right," replied Takada. Although it hurt that Mikami hadn't said anything useful, she made no comment, knowing that the man was right. "Continue what you started."
An hour and a half later, Mikami had explained everything he deemed important, so Takada began to get ready so she could make it to Light on time.
With that, Mikami went back to his room, and since he also wanted to be useful in Kira's eyes, he pulled out the Death Note, resolving to do nothing else today until he had written fifty names down.
Just then, Takada entered his room to say goodbye. However, when she saw the flame of madness in the man's eyes, she paused for a moment.
"Perhaps I shouldn't trust Teru so blindly," the woman thought, giving up her attempt to draw Mikami's attention to herself. At this moment, only the criminals to be eliminated existed for the man, and Takada soon realized this, choosing to leave him alone instead.
This all-consuming commitment to Kira's ideals was terrifying to her, even though she supported those ideals herself and had already used the Death Note.
"This obsession could be dangerous even to me, so I'm better off keeping my distance from him," Takada thought to herself.
Yet, she had barely walked three meters down the street when the fear she felt earlier vanished in an instant. The image of the mad fanatic faded from her soul, replaced once again by her friend, Teru, who had worriedly asked her if everything was alright.