Mikami does his best to be a good person. He does not lie or steal. He does not hurt other people if he can help it. But when Kira starts his work, he can't help but agree with him. As a lawyer who fought desperately to put guilty criminals into jail, he knew well the thought of 'wouldn't it be better if people like them just died?'

Maybe that was wrong but he couldn't bring himself to care. He'd seen too many guilty people walk free, unrepentant, to have any faith in humanity or the justice system. He knew plenty who deserved to have died. Deserved to have been punished for their crimes. He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to suffer ridicule on either side, but as time went on he only clung tighter to those beliefs.

He kept up with his work, tried to make Kira's work easier by getting as many guilty people into jail as possible. It just didn't feel like enough. When one of them escaped without justice being done, without consequences, the hatred built ever more in his gut. He knew they were guilty- so what if there wasn't enough evidence? They needed to be punished.

Those thoughts toiled in his head like aged wine. Sitting and gaining potency in his mind. It felt already that Kira was pushing for action, for change. Would it really be so wrong if he… helped? He knew already who should have been convicted- who deserved to die. He wanted to help Kira, no matter what. His path seemed clear.

-=-1-=-

He's walking to the office on a cool morning. It's nearing fall and he's only just begun his real work. His God was telling him what to do. He knew this. He just had to look for the signs. He hears a voice and somehow it catches his attention.

"—People like them deserve to be punished, don't they? Maybe it'll make the world a better place."

He turned, trying to catch who had spoken. At first all he saw was an average high school boy. Then he looked to the person walking next to him. There was another high school uniform there, but the person wearing it was beautiful. He could've been divine, he was so lovely. He spoke again and Mikami's ears latched onto that voice like a drowning man to a boat.

"I'm not saying it's a perfect idea but there's a chance of it changing things for the better. Potential criminals might see this happening and choose not to go through with it. That's all I'm saying."

"I don't know. It seems pretty crazy to me, Light."

Light. That name seemed so fitting. It almost couldn't have been a coincidence.

Could it?

-=-2-=-

Mikami stopped by that area every morning, adding it to his morning routine. He listened for that lovely voice, let the words from Light guide him. He followed what that voice told him must be done. It was his calling. He was sure at this point- Light was Kira.

And Kira was God.

He'd started snapping small photographs when he could. For what man wouldn't want a shrine for their god so that they could worship him? He'd looked into the teen, going into whatever records of him were available to the public. Light, as it turned out, had been an outstanding student and community member, even going so far as to help the police in some of their investigations.

He was too perfect to be anything but holy.

"Did you finish that math work, Light?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah I did. I'm not going to let you cheat off of me, Haru."

Mikami breathed in heavily at the sound of God's voice. A shiver worked its way down his spine, his knees weak as he tried to casually lean against a nearby wall, attempting to listen in on more of the conversation.

"No, no! That wasn't why I was asking!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I was just. Y'know, hoping you could help me understand it?"

"Oh. Well then-"

They were out of range now. Mikami had to stand there for a long while to regain his bearings. Something about his God just had such a powerful effect on him. Standing in his presence, hearing his voice, was near impossible. He wanted to show Light just how much he appreciated him, appreciated his work, but he knew he had to wait.

Until then, he would just have to do his best to be worthy of meeting with him.

-=-3-=-

That night he set to his work. The work that God had gifted just to him. He knew what he must do.

He dressed for the night. He pulled his hair up into a ponytail, caught it all under a swimming cap, then put on a hat over it. He pulled on two pairs of latex gloves. This type was hard to track, but the finger pads were too thin on their own and might show his prints. He dressed in a generic black hoodie and pants.

Then he left for Murasaki Kaeda's (a criminal who he knew was guilty) home, a scalpel cradled in his palm.

He returned home much later, the gloves already thrown away in a dumpster on his return trip. There were only small splatters of red on his clothes but even that was unnoticeable. Black clothes were good for this sort of thing. He put them in the wash, even though he knew it would probably be better to burn them. But then again, people would likely notice that sort of thing, too.

He went to his desk and checked three names off his list. He smiled.

It was good to do God's work.

-=-4-=-

Something was wrong with God. He wasn't acting right.

This morning, when Mikami had gone to his usual hiding place, he'd looked over to see Light frowning at the ground. He seemed conflicted about something. Finally, his school mates dragged him into conversation. Mikami could hear him clearly when he spoke.

"I don't know anymore. Don't you think that Kira's methods might be wrong?" he said.

"What do you mean Light?"

"Well, when you think about it, Kira is very black and white about things. It doesn't seem like he really understands the root causes of crime."

"Huh. I hadn't thought of it that way."

"Yeah, it just seems… childish. Poverty causes crime in a lot of ways. People aren't just good or evil. They're complicated. You can't just kill them and think crime will go away."

Mikami couldn't believe it. What was going on? How could God say such things? Could it be that he wasn't-

No. Mikami refused to believe it. There was no way.

He continued with his work.

-=-5-=-

Another morning not long after, he accidentally ran into God. Light apologized and offered him a smile. It didn't seem genuine. He looked just as tired and conflicted as he always did. He left with his friends.

Mikami knew now who Light's father was. Knew that he could very well be influencing his child's beliefs. His peers could be pushing him too.

As he watched God walk away, the gears in his head turned, trying to interpret the meaning behind his expression. Then he realized. It was a cry for help- why else would he have run into him? Why else would he have said such things in range of his hearing?

God was surrounded by heathens who were poisoning his mind. He needed a way out.

Mikami could do that.

-=-6-=-

A/N: Just wanted to point out that Light is not Kira at all and has nothing to do with Misa at this point. Mikami is just delusional in a way that I feel reflects his personality in canon. More Misa appearances will be had in the next chapter. I'm just doing some set up right now :)