John sat down on the couch.
"Hello, Mr. Bacchus."
"Hello, Ms. Sugiura."
"Mr. Bacchus, why have you decided to run for re-election?"
"Have you seen the alternative?"
Both of them laughed. The camera briefly zoomed into Tsubaki standing in the hallway, both middle fingers extended.
"Mr. Bacchus, please state your age and date of birth."
"Fifty-six and April 30, 1960."
"So you're the oldest Diary Holder?"
"Correct."
"Have anyone special in your life?"
John laughed. "Well, there is someone I've had my eye on...but nothing has happened yet."
"I'm sure you'll get her. What are your policies if re-elected?"
"When re-elected, I essentially won't change anything. This city's fine the way it is."
"You've been called the 'Donald Trump of Sakurami'. How do you feel about that?"
"I am a big, big fan of President Trump. He's doing an excellent job. But the difference between him and I is that, tying into my previous statement, I don't need to 'Make Sakurami Great Again', because it's already great."
"How do you feel about the other Diary Holders that support you?"
"Well, I previously considered Yukiteru to be a rude, vulgar idiot."
"I'm not fuckin' vulgar!" shouted Yuki off-camera.
"But recently, he genuinely seems interested in helping me. I guess he finally grew up. Mr. Hiyama was a bit of a surprise, as he's never really seemed to have been interested in politics. But I think that he simply wants a chance at redemption, a chance I'm prepared to give him. After all, he saved quite possibly the entire world during the Observer Incident." John neglected to mention two things: Murmur did most of the work, and Takao only wanted to save the world because he lived on it.
"And what do you say to people like Keigo Kurusu, who strongly oppose this?"
John smirked. "I'd like to remind Inspector Kurusu that he's the one who started the Diary Holder Reformation Program for Minene Uryu, who has a much higher body count than Mr. Hiyama."
"The primary argument seems to be that while most of Ms. Uryu's body count is collateral damage, Mr. Hiyama deliberately set out to kill those five women. And he also hospitalized a nine year old girl when she witnessed his fifth murder."
"Hey, nobody's perfect."
"I see. And why have you chosen Marcus Matthews, a rather unknown person, as your deputy mayor instead of one of the Diary Holders?"
"Have you met the other Diary Holders?"
Satsuki laughed. "Well, thank you for your time, Mr. Bacchus."
"And thank you for yours."
John walked into his room. Tsubaki was talking to Keigo in the hallway.
"Dude, your reformation bullshit is gonna bite us in the ass."
John closed the door behind him. Murmur was waiting for him on his bed.
"Eleventh, Third is going to drag you down with him. It's suicide. Why did you make him part of your team?"
"Because, Murmur, it's not suicide. It's simply a risk. If Takao fucks up, I'm finished. But if he genuinely reforms, or at least pretends to-"
"The latter is much more likely."
"Yes, I know. Look, if he at least pretends to reform, I'll look amazing. And with you on my side, I'm not sure if I could fail even if I wanted to. You know the human mind inside and out! That's why you're on my team."
"All I'm saying is-" Murmur's phone rang.
"You have a cellphone?"
"Yeah, shut up." He pulled the pink cellphone out of his right stocking and answered.
"Hey. Oh, Moloch, what's up? Wait- okay, but- look, just- dude, calm the fuck down, you're freaking out!" Murmur's eyes widened. "You- you want me to come NOW?! Look, I- hey, don't you pull rank on me!" He sighed. "Alright, fine, fine, I'm coming, just chill out."
Murmur hung up, placed the phone back in his stocking, and sighed.
"What is it?"
"I gotta go to Hell for a bit. See you later."
"Well, don't be gone for too long. I'll need you when Yomotsu's interview is over."
"Fine, I'll be right back." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke. John smiled.
"See you soon, 'Mr. Matthews'."
