For now, let's leave Misa and Light reconcile by themselves, and let us see how things are on TV, and more specifically on the Sakura TV channel. As we already know, the news and journalists dramatically present the incidents to increase their audience, although most of the time things are not so tragic.
Hitoshi Demegawa was the director of the channel news service in Sakura TV. A short and chubby guy who loved scandals taking place on TV. That's why he chose this job after all. He was chief of the staff. He was the one who decided what topic would be presented on the news and how it should be presented. Naturally, the topics they presented on television had to be based on recordings of the events. Although, he did not particularly mind if he sometimes «played» a little with the TV audience. Just like then in the scandal with Misa's cassettes, at the beginning of the Kira case. After all, he was thirty-eight years old and had started working as a news director from the age of twenty-three when he finished his studies. For about fifteen years, he knew very well the tricks of television and its power to the public.
--
--
And now he was at the train station waiting for the next train, even though it was over ten minutes late. He looked at the watch in his hand. A quarter to eleven in the morning. He wondered how come the train delayed its itinerary. It usually comes just on time.
He looked at the inspector. He gave each passenger a certificate explaining why the train was late so that they could justify it at work. This is how trains in Japan work. Even if the train is delayed for five minutes, passengers will receive the certificate. The director saw the inspector approaching him holding this supporting document.
"We are really sorry for the delay, dear passenger! Next time we'll try to fix the itinerary of the train. Here is the appropriate certificate which will justify your delay on your work" The inspector bowed formally and gave to Hitoshi a paper with both of his hands.
The inspector continued distributing the certificates, pronouncing the exact words he had told to Hitoshi. The young director read the message written on the paper:
«Due to a power outage, the train arrived ten minutes late. We are very sorry for the inconvenience! We hope you won't get fired by your boss»
What a nice sense of humor... Hitoshi commented sarcastically by his thoughts, as he noticed the train arriving at the station. He folded the paper, put it in his pocket, and entered the crowded train.
Trying to find a free seat, he accidentally stepped on some other passengers, though he didn't really care about it. He didn't even bother to excuse himself. When he finally found the seat he wanted in this sea full of people, he quickly ran into it so anyone else wouldn't take it. The thought that his day began conveniently, passed by his mind. The seat was now his and only his! He would be in this position with this relaxed atmosphere for the rest of the fifteen minutes that have left until he arrives at his station.
Next to him, there was a young man around 25 to 30 years old. For as long as he was on the train, he didn't take his eyes off his cell phone. He wrote as reverently as if he was writing a novel on the phone screen. And while Hitoshi was thinking about what the young man was writing with such dedication, an idea exploded like a bomb inside his mind as he read the messages:
«Did you see the news? Kira was going to be executed last week, but he escaped the court»
«He indeed escaped. But, didn't they show his face or real name?»
«They didn't show his face. I heard someone had taken a picture of him and posted it on the internet, but they banned it from the public. We learned his real name eventually! It's Light Yagami!»
«What? Isn't he a student of the To-Oh university? Nobody says anything bad about him»
«See? He was beyond any suspicion»
*
*
After Hitoshi arrived at the company of Sakura TV, he rushed into the entrance and took the elevator so he can go faster to the newsroom. Some people greeted him as he entered the building, but he didn't bother in greeting back. He had come up with a satanic plan, so he and the other Sakura TV could easily make money. He felt a slight pleasure when he entered the room panting.
"Welcome, Mr. Demegawa. You're late. We were waiting for you" one of the staff said to him.
"Only I can make sermons around here! Got it?! I'm the director and you should respect me!" He shouted at them.
"I... I just... I would never..."
"If I ever see that kind of behavior, you're going to be fired!" He threatened them.
"Hitoshi, can I ask why you're late? Am your friend after all" A tall black-haired woman asked him.
"Yeah, Kumiko... You see, the train got late cuz the power went off its ass. Here's a shitty paper who says it" He said giving the certificate to Kumiko.
"I don't really need the train certificate. We're friends after all. I believe your words"
"I can't let it go on waste though! Hahahaha!" He laughed.
By sitting on the couch, he got ready to announce his idea. Everyone turned to pay attention. He was the director of the news after all.
"Have you heard of Kira's fate? They were about to execute him but he escaped the court"
"We already know that, Hitoshi. I've heard he is a high school student or something similar"
"I need to clarify an important element: Did they show his face or not?"
The team took a skeptical look as they tried to remember last week's events.
"You mean like the whole face or just a part of it?"
"The whole face you idiot!"
"I heard his real name is Light Yagami, so once people know his true identity, if they search for him on Google they will still find something" Kumiko added.
"I agree with Mrs. Yazawa. The whole thing doesn't depend on a single face" Another member stated.
"Wait a sec. Didn't they uploaded a photo of his on the internet when he was still on the court?" One of the members asked.
"Hm... Now that you've mentioned it... A Facebook photo was shown to be Kira himself on November 16th, but they banned it the next day after the scheduled execution" Kumiko said.
"Oh, yes... That thing has been popular the last months..." Hitoshi said. Then he added: "Why did they delete it though?"
"Maybe because they didn't want to get in trouble with the law. Or maybe they were afraid he'd find out their real names and kill them"
"Do you think the police is chasing him right now?" Another member asked.
"Absolutely! The whole thing started in October of 2003"
"It has been a year..."
"Exactly! A year! And if the case continues, Kira's fans will do anything they can to get his attention, so he can notice them. Do you remember then? With the cassettes?" Kumiko asked.
"How can we forget? Everything got fucked up that day!" Hitoshi agreed.
"And... What's your conclusion, Mr. Demegawa? Is there anything specific you wanted to talk about this?"
"I mean, yes! Why there shouldn't be?" He answered.
"Tell us. We're listening to you"
-
-
-
"Okay, so... What if we filmed Kira's execution? Not the real one, but the fake one. If we make the script properly and ask some actors to have the roles, we can increase our ratings on TV! People will immediately think it's real, and Kira might thank us for that! It will be a perfect scandal! I know it's dangerous, but you know I love those kinds of stuff!"
The rest of the staff looked at each other confused. Somehow, everyone agreed to the fact that he's insane and thoughtless. But they couldn't disagree with him. He was the director, and he decided on everything.
"Wait a minute..." Kumiko started. "Are you asking us to bring to the studio some actors to fake this important event, that will probably be recorded in history, just to make our audience bigger?"
"Why you act like it's bad, Kumiko? I've been working with this since I was twenty-three. Do you think I don't know how TV works? I do know very well! This is how TV art is made!" He claimed his words.
"Mr. Demegawa... I don't mean to upset you, but I think this is not appropriate for a TV channel like Sakura TV. We have people who watch us regularly! I believe that there are people in our audience who are negatively affected by what they see. Do not you think this irresponsibility of us? I think it is better to look for lighter subjects to show to the world. Anything that's not related to Kira. Let's say... Some gossip rumors around actors and actresses"
The rest of the team were scared to express their opinions about his plan. Hitoshi was always acting like that, and they were afraid they might get fired. But this member seemed to be the less feared one. He was one of the cameramen. And he never seemed to be scared of Hitoshi. He wasn't acting like a hero in front of everyone. He was just a quick wit person.
The cameraman continued claiming his own words: "If I remember correctly, television in general, has a tendency to present dramatically events on purpose. You did it yourself! Not only in the cassettes of second Kira but also in previous broadcasts before the whole thing with Kira starts!"
"This is called audacity, kiddo! Did you just forget I'm the boss around here?! We are the TV staff, not a gossiping show!" Hitoshi shouted.
"You always take advantage of people's emotions just to get money! After all, fear is TV's strong point!"
Hitoshi slammed his palm hard on the table next to the couch. The cameraman's words were a boost to his ego and make it bigger. He felt personally insulted. Not Hitoshi himself, but his ego. His ego was badly offended by this young man who had the audacity to provoke him!
"Shut up all of you!! You're all complete assholes! You know nothing 'bout this art of TV! The world needs to see Kira stuff! They're thirsty for it!! See the good side! We'll make lots of money!"
"But... Hitoshi..." Kumiko was ready to say.
"I know it's bad but who cares? In ten years no one will remember Kira anyway! Life is short and we have to feel it! Just do what I say!You won't make my channel ass!"
His scream ringed inside their ears as they stared at him frightened of his bossy attitude. They nodded nervously their heads and didn't comment on his behavior.
Hitoshi though wasn't always like that. Before he gains large fame on Sakura TV, he was a child. A naive child who knew little about television, even though he was just in his twenties. But years passed. And his behavior changed for the worse when he saw the art of TV with his own eyes. He loved this piece of art. His own art as he called it.
Thus, over time, when he gained fame on this channel, he started becoming bossy. At first, it was out of his character for the people around him. He may not have consciously understood it, but he played people like balls. Like a little child playing football with lots of balls.
And now, this specific time was his own business time! He would search to find reliable actors who can perfectly adapt to their roles. The rest of the team would just make their own stuff they usually do. They knew it was wrong, but they had to deal with Hitoshi once again. Because the main reason why the news presents a distorted reality is that because the producers will make money based on the audience. In short, it's like a movie. Viewers will be intimidated by what they see, and producers will get rich. It's like killing two birds with one stone.
*
*
A week passed. The filming was about to begin. One could say that the shooting would start immediately, since Tokyo is a big city, so they would soon find the actors. But it is not so. Apart from Kira, they had other issues that they had to present in the news, and at the same time they had to set up the stage, make the directing, find words for the actors to say, and anything a movie production does. So this day, Monday, November 29th, 2004, a new scandal was about to begin.
Hitoshi was holding a notebook checking with a pen to see if everything's okay.
"Alright, let's see! Actors!"
"We're ready!"
"Your lines? Have you learned them by heart?"
"Yes sir!"
"Check!" Hitoshi checked with his pen on the notebook next to the sentence «actors lines»
"Directing is already checked. Okay, what about the setting? The court, the chairs, the audience, everything!"
"We are ready!"
"Surely?"
"Surely yes!"
"Check! Next one! Lights!"
"Yes sir!"
"Is the lighting ready? Don't fuck it up during filming you useless shits!"
"No sir, we're ready!"
"Well done! Check! Next one!"
After he finished checking everyone and their progress on filming, he sat on the director's chair and held the megaphone in front of his mouth.
"Listen to me all! Don't make me swear right now! Every job has to be done properly just like this one! Be convincing! Make it seem like what you say is true! Don't you dare to laugh! Not even giggle! Am I clear?"
"Yes sir, you are!" They nodded their heads.
"Surely? Do you want me to repeat my words?"
"No! We all heard you, Hitoshi!" Kumiko answered instead of the rest of the staff.
"Kumiko says it and I'll believe her! The same goes to the rest of you!" He continued screaming inside the megaphone. "If anyone wants to drink water or to use the bathroom, should wait after the shooting!"
Everyone was in their correct positions ready for the shoot. They had mixed feelings about this filming. Because they knew what was going to happen after that.
"Okay, now let's get ready! Lights... Camera... action! Go!"
The clapperboard was held in front of the camera ready to film the source of Hitoshi's money. He could see the new Ferrari and his own company he was about to buy with that money. But most importantly... The fear. The fear he was about to create through the screen!
I was planning to post this chapter after I finish the 14th chapter, so I can post them without making you wait, but due to technical problems, I couldn't keep it longer on my computer folder. Sometimes I hate technology and the internet. I feel like a boomer right now, even though I was born in 2003 lol
Hope you enjoy the chapter. Ι believe that by the middle of May I will have finish chapters 13 and 14. Because as you already know, Ilovethis story, and I want the best result I can have. Also, if you have any questions related to the story, you can leave it on comments. Until next time, take care! (3)