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Akechi Goro often drifts to sleep on long car rides. It brings him a sense of calm. Stability in his short life. Things have changed drastically for him and he couldn’t be happier.
No longer is he deemed an unwanted child. He can finally grasp the power to change his fate.
Goro’s distant dusty memories are covered in cobwebs and frosted over like window panes in late autumn. Inside it is a dark place. Much like the neglected orphanage he was cruelly deposited in by his father.
When mother died Shido didn’t hide his malicious distain for a worthless son. Seen as a useless weapon for selfish ambitions, Akechi was discarded like trash. That alone made the young detective hateful of society. Years spent waning miserably at the orphanage made him cynical, bitter.
What was there to look forward to when he left this horrible place? Was the rest of the world the same? Did everybody mask their wretched heartlessness under false compassion? It makes Goro shake with rage. Was he truly worthless?
To distract himself from torment circling his mind he dives into his studies. It’s the one thing he was good at. His only gift. If he lost this, then he’d really be nothing. Or so he thinks.
Then he heard of Kira. Who hasn’t? The mysterious entity is being called humanity’s savior. At first Goro only laughs. Save humanity from what? It isn’t worth saving. What kind of self-serving asshole thinks they’re better than everyone else?
But then, most of the kids in the orphanage perceived him like that too. They constantly mocked him for trying so hard. For acing every exam. They think him arrogant but he just wants to shine in this dark world. Their coldhearted insults lash at his flesh and burn, sinking below a brittle shield of hope and detachment.
Kira is the crucial centerpiece for real justice. Horrible vile monsters are paying for their crimes. And what a painful way to die. A heart attack that comes out of the blue. Now the evil are running scared, knowing that eventually, Kira will deliver them to their rightful awful afterlife in hell. Like a sports fanatic at a big game Goro closely watches the ongoing fight between L and Kira. It’s a comfort to him that such disgusting rot is being cleansed from the world. Too long had society became lazy and complacent to its own destruction.
Theories about Kira’s power and reach bounce tirelessly in Akechi’s mind even as he sleeps. Is it like mine?
Goro felt important to the universe, like he could shape the world’s outcome, because he was given a gift. Two strong godlike beings were in him, in the depths of his soul. And maybe, he believed, that Kira is special too. A person meant for greatness. It must be so.
From a young age Goro had horrifying nightmares about a deranged and haunting subway system. One designed as a passageway for the dead. There he found many inhuman monsters lurking, waiting to attack a lost soul. He was ambushed by them and in his desperate fight to survive, his guardians appeared. Personas.
Not only that but he realized that these weren’t mere nightmares. It’s a facet of reality. Akechi could travel anywhere he wanted and wake up somewhere else in Japan. He began to experiment with these newfound powers.
A dark fascinated took hold of Akechi. Like a greedy person drawn to gleaming coin he delved into the depths of Mementos. He soon found out that Mementos mirrored everything on the other side –even the people. And whatever he did to the copies here affected their counterparts. Even the Devil himself would back way fearfully from Akechi’s evil aura. Those bullies at the orphanage? He tortured them.
Loki’s villainous cackle would drown out all the screams. Blood spewed and soaked into the metal tracks of Mementoes, the tunnels whistling of a train approaching though none ever did. Not in these corridors anyway. The bullies begged for mercy, saying how they’d change their ways –which made Goro only laugh. Of course they’d say that because their lives are in danger. Loki skewered them mercilessly but left them alive.
When Goro woke up he quickly noticed a drastic change in the bullies. They became pale and sickly. They had no energy and looked like undead corpses walking around.
None of them ever took a blade to his face, cut his hair, punched him or pushed him around anymore. No more of someone dunking his head in the toilet either. Or dumping his only food for the day in the mud. Akechi became the leader now. He took what they so desperately wanted: power over others, pitiful as it maybe. To Goro it was a victory. He savored watching his tormenters waste away before him.
Goro quickly got bored of them. He’d enter Mementos and save those he saw hurt in the same manner as he had been. With Robin Hood, he became a hero, beloved by all. Akechi felt needed. He felt important.
Kira is his hero. They save the lost and protect the weak. Strengthen the goodhearted. He’s changing the world. If he has the same powers that Akechi has, then surely they were chosen? There has to be others too with Personas. Would they all meet and take over the world? It’s not like anybody else had the guts or the courage to. Goro believes that these Persona-users were meant to rule over society as a guide and as a vengeful nemesis.
Two years later and L is dead. Kira has slain his tenacious foe. Across the world people capitulate to Kira’s power.
The world has gone insane and Akechi finds it funny.
He’s still anchored to the miserable orphanage. He wonders if more paths will be open to him now. Why?
Kira’s Kingdom sent exams out to people to apply to a newly built school. If he got in he could get a position in a career to help Kira. It sounds ironic but Goro wants to be a detective. He could search for those still cowering from Kira’s justice.
More lonely days pass by in the orphanage, a place he considered as lifeless and callous as a prison cell. He wondered if he should go out and experiment today. The gun he buried in the woods further on is his only solace when he goes to Mementoes. The icy cold metal gives him a sense of strength, and he really wanted to use it. With Loki he could make others go insane and die, but the pistol was like a symbol of authority. Like how Kira probably feels wielding his powers.
By some miracle Akechi got a family. Someone who finally noticed his hard work and rescued him from the rundown home.
He’s shocked though. He never imagined his parents to be Misa Amane the pop idol sensation and Light Yagami, son of the police director. Akechi’s wits and awareness are as strong as ever: he believes they are Kira. There’s something about their demeanor and how they acted like nobles midst a crowd of weathered rustics. Kind smiles but it is strained.
And Goro is right. They are Kira. Misa wanted a child and Light wanted an heir. He wanted one to be chosen before appearing before the world as its savior.
The test. That’s how the two must’ve found Akechi. He’s thankful.
Their first meeting was tense. Akechi’s eyes mirrored Light’s. Sharp, inventive, cunning. He and Light looked similar and share the same characteristics.
Like father like son, right?
Dreadful monsters underneath an upstanding mask.
Akechi would be as crafty, dangerous, charismatic, and motivated as Light.
“We’re almost home, Yagami.”
Goro’s eyes opened as Mikami’s stern voice echoed in the limo interior. How long had he been asleep? “I told you before Mikami, call me Goro. No need for such painful formalities. You are father’s Eyes after all.” His tone is one of a lord talking scornfully to a servant.
“My apologies. You are God’s son so I-” Teru nodded.
Light Yagami’s envisioned world is very pretty. Past famous architects would be jealous of such serene buildings. Looking out a bulletproof window Goro sees a big courtyard freshly paved with marble bricks and outlined in gold. At the center is a tall statue of his father wielding a scythe of death. Thousands of lit candles are gathered under it and many people offer prayer.
Ahead is the most guarded place in Japan. Light’s own city. It’s a small cluster of houses given to the hardworking and visionary. Up the road is a gated town, home to Light’s most trusted people. Then there’s his estate. A mansion atop a hill.
The limo slows and Goro lowers the window when they drive by some flower gardens. Reaching out an arm Akechi plucks a flower from the greenery and stares at it. Twirls it in his fingers. With a tug he tears a petal off. Then another. He does this in absentminded rhythm. Akechi pauses when there’s one left. The once-pretty flower droops sadly, as if begging for him to stop the torture. Brown eyes darken unsympathetically.
Why does it feel like a part of him is missing? Something in life leaving him incomplete?
L lost the battle but not the war. His forces had to regrettably retreat but they aren’t dead. Light became overconfident when he killed L. That smug certainty will be Kira’s downfall.
Yagami isn’t the only one with an heir. After the arrest of Adachi in Inaba, Naoto Shirogane heard of her mentor’s (and Watari’s) death. She had been closely studying the Kira case and vowed to avenge them. Naoto isn’t alone either. When Kira killed Naomi Misora, Sae Niijima focused all her rage and talent as a prosecutor to stop Kira at any cost. Naomi had been her best friend, and a true fighter for justice. The two set up an HQ in Japan in a boring countryside like Inaba, to go unnoticed by Kira, or their followers. Nothing is more dangerous than a fanatical devotee.
Shinigami exist. Hell, if shadows and personas do, then who are they to doubt that Shinigami are real? Humans alone could never wield such devastating power. Kira either must have a persona or they were given power by a death deity. And all evidence points to the second theory. If L was killed by Shinigami, could the new task force survive? They’re dealing with magical entities, not a bored madman terrorizing a small town.
Even against the odds, Naoto and Sae’s resolve won’t falter. Who knows? Maybe something unexpected will give them the upper hand?
Something does. And that is the Phantom Thieves.
Naoto guesses they are persona-users like her. She enlists their help when she figures out their goals align.
Futaba had hacked into HQ’s network to demand help. Their vigilante group can only do so much outside Mementoes. They became resistance fighters who wanted to change the world without giving criminals heart attacks. To combat Kira’s senseless killing the Phantom Thieves change hearts.
Akira, Makoto (Sae’s surprise and protest at her sister putting her life on the line to stop Kira took a long time to die down), Ann, Ryuji, Futaba, Haru, and Yusuke all wear masks. They look like comic book superheroes. It protects their names and faces from enemies. Naoto smiles. Now she can send agents out to investigate.
They also give her and Sae shocking news. There are two other people operating from the shadows. This confirms Naoto’s theory that there are more supernatural powers happening in this world. She had traveled to the other world, sensing the shadows getting more restless and aggressive by the day. A scarily powerful entity is lurking around.
For now she focuses her efforts on the Yotsuba Group. They just recruited more than eight members, and all she had to do was set up bugs and send the Phantom Thieves out into their castles.
“Welcome home!” Misa hugged her son and smiled at the stone-faced Mikami. “Thanks for taking care of him. You’re the best.”
“I only do what God asks of me,” Mikami replied with a bow.
Light smiled. “How was your school debate, Goro?”
“Flawless. The crowd was enamored by my views.”
“That’s my son! You’re a star just like your mom. I’m so proud of you!”
Akechi smiled at Misa. She reminded him of his birth mother. He promised to keep Misa safe, unlike how powerless he was to save his mother when Shido was around. That asshole left Akechi’s mother to die when she was sick. He left them with nothing.
“Lunch is almost ready. C’mon Mikami, you can eat with us too,” Amane dragged the shy man by the arm into the mansion. He felt like he was unworthy to even breathe the same air as them.
An hour later Light called his son to the underground bunker. Despair sunk into Goro’s gut. He’s never stepped foot into the bunker. He just knows that’s where Mikami retreats to when he isn’t hovering by Light’s side.
It must be where the Death Note is.
Akechi has only seen it once, when Light told him about his powers, and Shinigami eyes.
What a phenomenal power. Probably even better than being a persona-user.
And even though Goro was unafraid of most things (and people), he always felt as if Light could kill him at any time. Son, heir, or not.
An apple flies up into the air and Ryuk catches it. The god of death amused Akechi, he looked a lot like Loki. He often wondered if Shinigami and personas were similar.
Goro never told his father about his persona or Mementos. Call it bad luck or inherent hatred, but Goro never trusts men. And like Light he has the talent of deception. Like father like son –and Light is a manipulatively charismatic bastard.
“I’m proud of you. You get top scores on all your exams and easily charm the masses. I think you’ll even surpass me some day.”
His compliments are superficial but that’s okay. So are Akechi’s.
“Thank you, father. But I’m guessing you didn’t invite me down here just to talk?”
Light smiled coldly. “I adopted you because I need an heir. One day I’ll die and someone has to carry on the title of Kira. This will be a test. If you can eliminate this enemy, the Death Note will be yours when I’m gone.”
“But L is dead. Is there a new threat?”
“Yes,” Yagami’s eyes darken. “Have you heard of the Phantom Thieves?”
“Gossip. Everyone at school talks about them. But anybody who goes against you, against Kira, is foolish. They’ve sealed their fate.”
“A threat is still a threat,” he snapped. Then his voice became calm again. “I think you should handle it, Goro. Or do you want to stick to being a detective?” The question is pointedly tinted with a mocking tone.
Fear surfaces on Goro’s face. His smile drops but briefly. Would he be thrown away again? When he looks at Light all Goro can see is Shido. For now he must quell his rage. Akechi must be careful. Light can read people easily and won’t hesitate to act on the emotions the person is displaying, no matter how subtle they are.
Akechi has worked too hard to fail. If he must be a heartless monster then he will.
“I have an idea who the Phantom Thieves can be,” Akechi said. Maybe this vigilante group will be a fun challenge. It’s been a while since he’s used Loki to cause some mayhem. “There’s a girl I often debate against from Shujin. She might be their leader. But I need more time to be sure.”
Light smiled. He grabbed the Death Note from a hidden compartment in a desk drawer and tore a piece of paper from the book. He folded it and handed it to Goro. “Let’s see if you are worthy of being the next Kira.”