"Calm down, you're all jittery."

"Sorry, these past few days have been so different."

"I know, but it was important. We won and can relax for a little while. In fact, why don't you come over here?" An outstretched hand beckoned him over.

I won, but it was sloppy. It was practical and a total severance of those holding me back. Nearly everyone who knew how the Death Note works was killed in that explosion. Between the news that it was a group of anti-Kira conspirators and the sockpuppet accounts I still have in the police, there won't be an investigation into it. Those who look into what reports are there will see that Light Yagami also died in that explosion. I will leave it with Kira as the main suspect, as a sign of what I will do to those who get in my way. That should scare off any other investigators.

And those who do choose to investigate should be entertaining to play with. They won't be anything like L; they might even not match Near, who couldn't match L but came close. He was audacious enough to break into a bank deposit box. Heh, but that whim to treat him as if he were L came in handy. That notebook roulette… you had no idea which notebooks were the actual Death Notes. Was it the one in the hands of the Tokyo police? The one you'd stolen? The one Teru had? The one I had that you didn't know about? You had to be bluffing about yours as it should have been clear it was a fake.

It wasn't the Death Note that killed you, Near. It was a bomb, that had followed an assortment of noisemakers and smoke bombs that let me get away, that had followed my Kira investigation team going crazy from the Death Note killing them, supposedly including me. Practical, it worked, and yet it was a sloppy means that could have killed me if one of you had the sense to grab me when talks broke down. It could have failed if the warehouse staff hadn't followed my instructions for whatever reason. It could have even failed if I hadn't had the inspiration to replace the one in the bank.

It worked… of course it worked. I willed it to work. I am the God of this new world and that is now uncontested. I can orchestrate better shows of power, better events to instruct people on how they should behave now. No one can stand against me. Unless L's ghost becomes active. There are shinigami in the world, so ghosts can't be ruled out.

Seriously, what's wrong with you Teru? You want this. Are you that unused to close company? But you'll be as easy to manipulate as a woman, so that's fine by me. Just come over here.

He wants me to sit by him? This is crazy. God asked me to help him and that was a blessing. Not speaking to him in person caused some problems. I already apologized for those mistakes. And he's right, I didn't do things right without his guidance. But he's here now; I don't have to worry about making mistakes anymore. We'll make the world perfect, as it should be.

It was a surprise to meet him at the warehouse. It had been the plan, yes, but his name showed up to the shinigami eyes like anyone else. Not the date of his death, which showed him to be an owner of a Death Note. Before, I had thought there might be some sign of him being a god when I saw him. Like a halo of light, or an incomprehensible pattern for a name. Maybe he's taking a human form for the time being? He's God, I shouldn't question what he does.

Then he wanted to come to my apartment. I had no idea what I should do; I admire him more than anyone else in the world as he's the only person who understands what's important. He's the only one who agreed with me on those who should be deleted from the world. But, having someone else in my home? That hasn't happened before. I'd never been interested in inviting friends over, or having a relationship with anyone closer than a friend. If it were to be anyone, though, I'd want to be close to God… Light…

Then he asked to live with me. Of course, he has just faked his own death and has to sort out everything as if he were his own most trusted friend. It makes sense for him to stay here, stay quiet. And then, he told my landlord that he was my boyfriend! I should not have freaked out at that; I should have just played along, acted like he was right. I apologized for that too. Thankfully, Light said we'd just got together and I was too happy to be sensible. That embarrassed me; being insensible in love shouldn't be like me. Ah, but I am acting like that now, and the landlord just laughed and said that it was fine.

Now he's asking me to sit by him, maybe in his arms. I didn't want a relationship before. Everything surrounding that idea seemed so boring. Plus, I've seen so many cases with people who did terrible things because they claimed they were in love. I don't want that; I don't want to be improper. Although, the idea of sitting close to someone I adored is something I've thought of. Usually at night, when I feel like that would make a bad day better. But that's the only thing…

Oh no, I'm taking too long to think about this, aren't I? I don't know what I should do if I do treat him like a boyfriend… but he's God! He's always been on my side. So, I should be at his.

I hope he doesn't think I'm a bore.

"Oh, um, sure, sorry." Stopping himself from muttering more, Teru sat by Light, his posture stiff with uncertainty.

Light put his arm around him and pulled closer. "It would be nice to actually have you as a boyfriend, if you want," he said, his soft words running across Teru's cheek. "An intelligent man like you would be more stimulating than most of the women I've dated."

Intelligent, but prone to simple mistakes. He's easy to predict by anyone who bothers to think. But his loyalty is valuable. I need to keep him.

If L's ghost became active… that would be very interesting. He and Near have mentioned an orphanage, one where they now train L's heirs. Only Near and Mello have come out of that so far, yet there will be others. One of them might be good; some might even be better. I need to get information on them, to obstruct them before they move. That could be fun.

I need to instruct everyone on how they should be too. Now that I'm free to act, I can focus on doing so properly. Yes, it may have seemed sloppy, but it was the perfect plan as usual.

He wants to make this real? Of course, I'd love that! But am I worthy of him? I don't mind being his hands and eyes, and I adore him more than anyone or anything else in the world. But, he is God. I nearly failed him too, nearly got him caught by his enemies. I barely deserve to be here by his side, but he would accept me like this?

But he wants this, and I'm thrilled just to be near him. To be like this, I'd do anything for him. I'd already do anything for him, and I'm not sure what I should be doing being anyone's boyfriend. Would he want anything more carnal? I don't find anything interesting in that. Just this is fine. I hope he agrees with that. He should; he is like me, just better. Perfect.

Now that he's not pinned down, we can make his ideal world, together.

Resting his head on Light's shoulder, Teru nodded. "I would be honored, and happy to be yours, however you like. You're the most important person to me. You're my God, the one who justified my ideals. Being with you like this is something I never even dreamed of."

Light smiled. "I knew from the moment I saw you that you were the best one for me. Actually, I would like to hear from you, in your own words, how long you've believed in me."

With public knowledge of the Death Note now down to rumors, more people will take me for a God. To convince the still skeptical, I have to find means other than the Death Note to spread my ideals. The competition over who will be my spokesperson is already starting up again. This time, I can send them a clearer set of my ideals along with more misdirection for whoever tries to investigate me. That will allow people to start instructing children properly, so that the good ones rise to prominence instead of having their hopes crushed by the bad ones. Any who display misbehaviors will have that trained out of them so that they don't end up killed by me. The future is looking bright.

Listen to this tale. Teru really believes that I'm God. Which is right, how everyone should see me. I've been admired, respected, suspected, loved, hated… but no one has truly put me at the center of their world. It's a wonderful place to be. He'll do what I say, without question. If everyone else around me had been like him, I might have kept them alive too.

He looks at the world with the pure eyes of a child and uses justice to deal with those who taint it. I like that about him. While adults teach many good ideals to children, they didn't keep those ideals themselves. They made excuses that the world was too complicated for such simplicity; they indulged in their selfishness without a thought to others. And they made the world complicated for themselves when they could have been like Teru, holding firm to what's right and what's wrong. I am clearing out all that complexity and allowing people to live happy lives under simple ideals. Once the world realizes that I'm right, then everything will be as it should be.

I need to keep Teru seeing me like this, as his perfect God. I also need to keep him close so that he does exactly what I need him to. Fortunately, he should be easy to please. He won't be pestering me for anything more than this, just some time cuddled together. But how to be perfect for him past that…

He seems satisfied with this; that's good, as I hoped. I can feel his breath this close to him, even the pulse of his blood. With others, this would be boring. With him, I feel giddy and yet calm. The one I've waited years for is here with me and he says that I'm his. All these crazy days have been worth it for this moment.

Light is human. He's physically here with me. Light is also God. His power is immense; he will make the world right. And he wants to listen to me, unlike many others. Maybe he knew all about me, maybe he didn't. Maybe he just wants to hear me talk… wow, who else has felt like that about me? No one, I know. People dismissed me as obsessive, as too strict, even as being stubborn and delusional. But he understands. He also sees what is right and what is wrong. It's all so simple; I don't know why people ignore morals when it would make life better for everyone if they all lived moral lives.

I need to be with him. I want to be with him. Whatever it takes to stay at his side, I'll do that. But he has dated others and given up on them. He has relied on others and gotten rid of them when they failed him. How do I not fail him? How do I get chosen as truly his, forever his?

With news that even the legendary detective L had fallen to Kira, the world became converted to worship of Kira. There was no other choice. People hungered for the word of Kira, out of mad adoration or fear of opposing him. Within a year, no one dared to act violently and many hesitated on anything selfish. Even alcohol consumption dropped, because what if one acted criminally or violently while drunk? Many thugs tried to become enforcers to beat on who they pleased and claim it was all for Kira, but they quickly found that they were not exempt from Kira's wrath in doing so. People pushed themselves to be seen as law-abiding thoughtful citizens not because they wanted to be, but because they didn't want to get themselves killed for any misstep.

There were times when the Kira-style deaths slowed, even stopped. There were times when Kira sent out many messages, and times when he was silent. When the deaths stopped and Kira was silent, there would inevitably be some fools who relaxed their guard and thought he was gone. They would indulge in a revelry of crime and violence, proving themselves to be the remainder of the rotten world that had come before. And they would all die publicly for their sins, proving that Kira was still in power.

Kira lived and people lived peaceful lives of complete fear.