Light was five when his family was slaughtered by a gang of criminals his father, the chief of police, Soichiro Yagami was looking into. He remembers the bloodstained carpet and walls, the sirens from his father's underlings as they arrived at the scene. He remembers the folders his father had been working on before his death, the case involving something beginning with a 'Y' and a cult worshipping some God of years gone by. He was six when he was adopted by Kyosuke Higuchi, the head of the technology department of Yotsuba. He remembers leaving the small orphanage he'd been living at after the man inquired about a child of intelligence and capable of taking care of himself. As the son of a prominent business man Light was given whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, the price he paid was to play the role of the dutiful son. Higuchi was thrilled to discover that Light held an above-average IQ and saw to it that his adopted son had access to the countries best tutors. After the murder of his family Light's life revolved around business parties and school, showing his adoptive fathers partners that Light was the perfect heir. He was ten when he was introduced to Teru Mikami. Mikami was the one who introduced him to the horrors humanity could commit, as a lawyer Mikami had access to information the general public didn't and the older man took great pleasure in showing Light things no child, no matter how intelligent, should see. It was because of Mikami and Higuchi, Light grew up hating the criminal element of the world. He was fifteen when he met the World's Greatest Detective for the first time, even if he didn't know it at the time.