Death Note : Mikami x Takada
Title: The Crusader and His Queen
Author: Viola
Fandom: Death Note
Pairing: Mikami Teru x Takada Kiyomi
Spoilers: Major spoilers for chapters 81-108 (the final parts of the manga).
Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
Never Meant to Be:
The Crusader and His Queen
Mikami Teru x Takada Kiyomi
I’m a big fan of Death Note (the manga) and this pairing means a lot to me, even though it is considerably far from being canon and is not overly popular in fandom. But I find both characters fascinating, so I would like to say a few words about them, possibly in order to attract a more attention to this beautiful and deliciously dark ship. Most manga quotes - with some minor exceptions - were taken from a fan translation (by The Ones Who Never Lie); all anime screencaps were made and edited by me. Since my ship is purely fanon, this manifesto relies on a very small number of canon facts and my own interpretations, which aren’t always serious; please forgive me if you find something simply too… light-hearted.
DEATH NOTE
Death Note is a popular suspense manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata; it originally appeared in Weekly Shounen Jump and was later collected into 12 volumes + 1 guidebook. Death Note tells the story of a remarkably smart young man, Light Yagami, who receives a death god’s murderous notebook and starts killing evil people (or rather, people he personally considers evil) in order to create a perfect world and rule it as a god named Kira. Predictably enough, there are people who disagree with his ideology and people who decide to side with him. Teru Mikami and Kiyomi Takada are among his allies.
TERU MIKAMI
[June 7, 1982 - February 7, 2010]
The manga introduces Teru as a young public prosecutor with an amazingly strong sense of justice who worships Kira as a god and eventually becomes one of his most important minions. His tragic childhood experiences shaped him as a profound hater of social evil, so when he receives the death note from Light Yagami, he starts killing criminals right away; in the final parts of the manga, however, he loses the battle of wits to Kira’s opponents, Near and his group of special agents, then goes mad and dies in prison. The story characterizes Teru as a stoic, purpose-driven intellectual with noble ideals, but he is also shown to be incredibly ruthless and psychologically unstable: he almost seems to enjoy the murdering processes much more than Light himself does, possibly because he views himself as a flawless, righteous judge whose beliefs coincide with God’s law. He is a rigid maximalist who is obsessed with order, routine and cleanness (to quote Gevanni, Mikami lives […] an extremely routine life, day in and day out. He’s somewhat of a neat freak as well, which makes sense [volume 11, chapter 96, page 3]). His childhood flashback portrays him as a courageous individual who is quite willing to stand against bullies and inert crowds for the sake of justice; at the same time, he is unforgiving and somewhat arrogant, as he tends to see himself as the only truly righteous person out there. As the story develops, he becomes more and more obsessed with his concept of divine punishment and pays less and less attention to actual human feelings.
KIYOMI TAKADA
[July 12, 1985 - January 26, 2010]
Kiyomi starts out as Light’s college girlfriend and a popular beauty; when she returns to the manga in the second arc, we see her as a famous TV announcer who agrees with Kira’s regime. Her role becomes more important than before when Teru picks her as Kira’s official herald since he views her as a suitable candidate: she actually turns out to be a work acquaintance of his whom he remembers as a staunch Kira supporter. Light later seduces her for the sake of his own aims and declares her his goddess, but then kills her in cold blood when she stops being useful; Kiyomi never learns anything about his true nature. She is consistently depicted as a well-educated and refined, albeit conceited young woman - Near actually questions her intelligence once and suggests that she is merely book-smart (You said she was smart, but it only meant she used to get high marks and she’s actually a stupid woman [volume 10, chapter 86, page 16]). She appears to be notably less cruel than Light and Teru: the death note’s power terrifies her and she doesn’t enjoy using it, although she approves of Kira’s actions in theory. She is generally more reserved than Misa, her rival, and while she is undoubtedly fond of Light, her attraction to him seems to have a lot to do with prestige and power; in other words, Kiyomi is a born queen who values herself and doesn’t like to ignore good opportunities. Even so, she is not necessarily as shallow as Near makes her sound at times: according to Teru’s memories, Kiyomi takes social issues seriously and detests evil. It is probably safe to say that Kiyomi is a multilayered, complex character with recognizable human flaws and human virtues.
TOGETHER
The story shows that Teru, while being a typical loner, does want to have allies. He resents his own mother for not sharing his views, but her support (or lack thereof, to be more exact) clearly means a lot to him and affects him deeply: Teru, who believed that his mother was on his side, told her everything [volume 10, chapter 84, page 9]. I believe it’s correct to say that Teru needs people, at least some people, despite his mediocre social skills (How to Read rates them as 5/10), and Kiyomi Takada, who agrees with his position, admires Kira and hates social evil, seems like someone he can respect and even like in his own quirky way. Teru’s own memories prove that: Later I met her several times through some cases. We found a common interest in each other and talked privately [volume 10, chapter 86, page 2]. Unfortunately, we never really learn anything about Kiyomi’s opinion on him because her point of view is hardly revealed at all, but Teru mentions their mutual interest in each other, so I assume that she likes him well enough. Besides, Kiyomi’s profile in How to Read says that she is generally fond of smart men, and if anything, Teru is obviously very intelligent and talented (and handsome… and male). On the other hand, Kiyomi usually appears as a generally calm person who might be able to bring peace into Teru's neurotic existence. Even if this possibility doesn’t get explored, especially since Kiyomi’s canon love interest is Light Yagami, it is there, and it is fairly realistic, seeing as they fit each other pretty well; it’s indeed a pity that we don’t know enough about their past and never get to see any detailed descriptions of their private chats. Both of them are highly educated, hard-working adults in important social positions: they could be successful partners under different circumstances.
This is precisely what I like about Teru x Kiyomi as a pairing: their relationship is initially based on similar ideals and mutual understanding, which is something I value a lot. They have something to talk about. They believe in the same things and are serious about their beliefs: it’s interesting how Kiyomi is the one who initially approaches Teru to share her thoughts with him, meaning that she, like Teru himself, probably wants someone to support and understand her. But since their object of adoration is Kira himself, their relationship also has a very dark aura: as we know, Teru eventually drags Kiyomi into his mission (while hiding his true identity), blackmails her into following his orders and, in the end, kills (or rather, attempts to kill) her when her very existence becomes dangerous for his and his God’s goals. Curiously enough, he doesn’t do it out of hatred (nothing in the manga really points to that, at least; Light definitely despises Kiyomi, but Teru never says or thinks anything openly negative about her as a person, even when he threatens her to achieve certain goals): this is simply how he understands his duty. This, unfortunately, proves that he puts his warped ideals above everything, and nothing can stop him. I’m quite willing to say that this doesn’t exactly sound like a good basis for true love, but this is also an exciting challenge for a fan writer (or just any reader with an active imagination and a taste for what if? interpretations). How did Teru’s generally positive feelings change into such extreme cruelty and ability to kill his own ally? How did Kiyomi really feel about her acquaintance? What did Teru think of Kiyomi’s not-so-hidden deep relationship with his God? How did he really react to their secret hotel meetings? All these things are barely hinted at in the manga, but there’s some great potential that, in my opinion, should not be missed, and, well - I’m a fan of subtext. Even if a romantic relationship between Teru and Kiyomi is definitely not canon, it is something you can easily construct and explore - possibly with amazing results. As someone who views fanfiction as an excellent tool of expression, I can’t help but consider their subtle connection very convenient for a Death Note fan writer.
So this is what it boils down to: their relationship is undoubtedly scary (because you just can’t have a happy fluffy romance with someone like Teru), but ironically, it’s based on inherently good things like mutual interest and strong beliefs. That’s the most fascinating part. I love how Death Note takes normal things and noble desires and twists them into something openly horrific: this is especially true for Teru and Kiyomi, which is why I’m so fond of them. And I’m also ready to admit that I like pairings that don’t have a lot of obvious romantic canon basis but have potential that can be analyzed and developed in fanfiction.
MY EXPERIENCE
I've been madly in love with both characters for quite a while already. They are infinitely less popular than people like Light, L, Mello, Matt and Near, but I consider them absolutely amazing and complex - well, at least for secondary characters. I believe that Kiyomi is a beautiful woman who deserves much more love than she gets and that Teru is one of the most tragic manga characters ever. What attracts me to their relationship is that faint illusion of possible happiness: they fit each other almost perfectly well (like I've said before, both are intelligent and refined, serious and interested in social issues), but there are simply too many obstacles - Teru's insanity and Kiyomi's slightly fickle nature, the death note's power and Light's maniacal plans... Essentially, their relationship is both there and not there, and I'm very fond of its sad elusiveness.
MEMORABLE QUOTES
Volume 10, chapter 88, page 12:
Teru: You’re alone with your friend in a hotel room… was it your friend there who made you say that? I’m asking if it was the person with you who made you say your opinion about Kira. Answer me honestly. If you don’t answer, both you and your friend will die. While this dialogue obviously serves a totally different purpose, I often joke about how it makes Teru sounds like a jealous husband (with Kiyomi as the cheating wife and Light as her secret lover). And who knows - maybe he was a bit jealous?
Volume 11, chapter 90, page 19:
Kiyomi: Please send me a fan letter that only I can recognize as yours.
Although this line is only there to drive the plot further, there is something inexplainably touching and tragic about it: Kiyomi is not aware of the fact that her old acquaintance Teru Mikami is the one she’s talking to, but ironically enough, she’s asking him to make the letter easy to recognize. How did Teru solve this task in the end? Did she, by any chance, guess his true name? …We, the readers, never learn that, but isn’t that interesting to think about?
Volume 11, chapter 91, page 10:
Rester: Then why was Takada chosen?
Near: It’s possible that she is simply Kira’s type…
Naturally, Near is simply being sarcastic here, but I’m quite willing to agree with this!
MISC
Much to my amusement, Teru and Kiyomi often end up together on profile page spreads; they even share a DVD cover and a bonus DVD picture, and while it’s probably not wise to use this fact as proof, it’s still notable because it emphasizes the strength of their connection in the story (compare this to how Light, for example, shares a cover with L, his most important enemy; I’m sure that most fans will agree to call their relationship exceptionally memorable, regardless of its nature). Another entertaining fact is that Teru is the favorite character of Maaya Sakamoto, Kiyomi’s voice actress in the TV anime: according to Sakamoto-san’s own words, she has a soft spot for bespectacled characters [anime guidebook, page 130]. This, of course, is merely a coincidence, but I personally find it fun to think about. Last but not least, both Masaya Matsukaze and Maaya Sakamoto were previously involved in the creation of the Ouran High School Host Club anime series, in which they played Kyouya Ohtori and Haruhi Fujioka, a pair of characters who shared a non-romantic but intense relationship with many fascinating layers and aspects. Can we call that a trend?
FANWORKS
Let me be frank with you: Teru x Kiyomi is a rare pairing. It’s incredibly hard to find anything with them, which is why I’m going to rec my own stories as well: it’s bad taste, yes, but there’s not much I can do about it. …but maybe some of you can do something to improve this situation? Yes, please take that as a hint.
Recs:
Control - This fanfic was written for the Death Note kink meme by an anonymous author. I wish I knew the writer’s name, please contact me if this story is yours! It’s a brilliant piece of erotica that portrays the relationship between Teru and Kiyomi in a beautiful way. Warning: NWS.
Principles of Devotion - Another kink fic. NWS.
Vengeance Paid by Harley Cooper - This is a Death Note + Jigoku Shoujo AU crossover with an excellent and touching Teru x Kiyomi storyline; it’s a WIP, so we are to expect more development in the future.
Wrapped Around Your Finger by Brain Eater Jr. - A short dramatic piece about their last conversation.
Dio nel Cielo, Assassino su Terra by ShaggyDiz - An interesting AU one-shot.
My fics:
Put Your Hands On Me - I wrote this for the 20 Notes challenge.
Sketches - A quick and… fluffy drabble.
Explosions - This one is a bit strange.
Common Interests - Even more pointless fluff. I’m predictable like that.
Author: Viola
Fandom: Death Note
Pairing: Mikami Teru x Takada Kiyomi
Spoilers: Major spoilers for chapters 81-108 (the final parts of the manga).
Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
Never Meant to Be:
The Crusader and His Queen
Mikami Teru x Takada Kiyomi
I’m a big fan of Death Note (the manga) and this pairing means a lot to me, even though it is considerably far from being canon and is not overly popular in fandom. But I find both characters fascinating, so I would like to say a few words about them, possibly in order to attract a more attention to this beautiful and deliciously dark ship. Most manga quotes - with some minor exceptions - were taken from a fan translation (by The Ones Who Never Lie); all anime screencaps were made and edited by me. Since my ship is purely fanon, this manifesto relies on a very small number of canon facts and my own interpretations, which aren’t always serious; please forgive me if you find something simply too… light-hearted.
DEATH NOTE
Death Note is a popular suspense manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata; it originally appeared in Weekly Shounen Jump and was later collected into 12 volumes + 1 guidebook. Death Note tells the story of a remarkably smart young man, Light Yagami, who receives a death god’s murderous notebook and starts killing evil people (or rather, people he personally considers evil) in order to create a perfect world and rule it as a god named Kira. Predictably enough, there are people who disagree with his ideology and people who decide to side with him. Teru Mikami and Kiyomi Takada are among his allies.
TERU MIKAMI
[June 7, 1982 - February 7, 2010]
The manga introduces Teru as a young public prosecutor with an amazingly strong sense of justice who worships Kira as a god and eventually becomes one of his most important minions. His tragic childhood experiences shaped him as a profound hater of social evil, so when he receives the death note from Light Yagami, he starts killing criminals right away; in the final parts of the manga, however, he loses the battle of wits to Kira’s opponents, Near and his group of special agents, then goes mad and dies in prison. The story characterizes Teru as a stoic, purpose-driven intellectual with noble ideals, but he is also shown to be incredibly ruthless and psychologically unstable: he almost seems to enjoy the murdering processes much more than Light himself does, possibly because he views himself as a flawless, righteous judge whose beliefs coincide with God’s law. He is a rigid maximalist who is obsessed with order, routine and cleanness (to quote Gevanni, Mikami lives […] an extremely routine life, day in and day out. He’s somewhat of a neat freak as well, which makes sense [volume 11, chapter 96, page 3]). His childhood flashback portrays him as a courageous individual who is quite willing to stand against bullies and inert crowds for the sake of justice; at the same time, he is unforgiving and somewhat arrogant, as he tends to see himself as the only truly righteous person out there. As the story develops, he becomes more and more obsessed with his concept of divine punishment and pays less and less attention to actual human feelings.
KIYOMI TAKADA
[July 12, 1985 - January 26, 2010]
Kiyomi starts out as Light’s college girlfriend and a popular beauty; when she returns to the manga in the second arc, we see her as a famous TV announcer who agrees with Kira’s regime. Her role becomes more important than before when Teru picks her as Kira’s official herald since he views her as a suitable candidate: she actually turns out to be a work acquaintance of his whom he remembers as a staunch Kira supporter. Light later seduces her for the sake of his own aims and declares her his goddess, but then kills her in cold blood when she stops being useful; Kiyomi never learns anything about his true nature. She is consistently depicted as a well-educated and refined, albeit conceited young woman - Near actually questions her intelligence once and suggests that she is merely book-smart (You said she was smart, but it only meant she used to get high marks and she’s actually a stupid woman [volume 10, chapter 86, page 16]). She appears to be notably less cruel than Light and Teru: the death note’s power terrifies her and she doesn’t enjoy using it, although she approves of Kira’s actions in theory. She is generally more reserved than Misa, her rival, and while she is undoubtedly fond of Light, her attraction to him seems to have a lot to do with prestige and power; in other words, Kiyomi is a born queen who values herself and doesn’t like to ignore good opportunities. Even so, she is not necessarily as shallow as Near makes her sound at times: according to Teru’s memories, Kiyomi takes social issues seriously and detests evil. It is probably safe to say that Kiyomi is a multilayered, complex character with recognizable human flaws and human virtues.
TOGETHER
The story shows that Teru, while being a typical loner, does want to have allies. He resents his own mother for not sharing his views, but her support (or lack thereof, to be more exact) clearly means a lot to him and affects him deeply: Teru, who believed that his mother was on his side, told her everything [volume 10, chapter 84, page 9]. I believe it’s correct to say that Teru needs people, at least some people, despite his mediocre social skills (How to Read rates them as 5/10), and Kiyomi Takada, who agrees with his position, admires Kira and hates social evil, seems like someone he can respect and even like in his own quirky way. Teru’s own memories prove that: Later I met her several times through some cases. We found a common interest in each other and talked privately [volume 10, chapter 86, page 2]. Unfortunately, we never really learn anything about Kiyomi’s opinion on him because her point of view is hardly revealed at all, but Teru mentions their mutual interest in each other, so I assume that she likes him well enough. Besides, Kiyomi’s profile in How to Read says that she is generally fond of smart men, and if anything, Teru is obviously very intelligent and talented (and handsome… and male). On the other hand, Kiyomi usually appears as a generally calm person who might be able to bring peace into Teru's neurotic existence. Even if this possibility doesn’t get explored, especially since Kiyomi’s canon love interest is Light Yagami, it is there, and it is fairly realistic, seeing as they fit each other pretty well; it’s indeed a pity that we don’t know enough about their past and never get to see any detailed descriptions of their private chats. Both of them are highly educated, hard-working adults in important social positions: they could be successful partners under different circumstances.
This is precisely what I like about Teru x Kiyomi as a pairing: their relationship is initially based on similar ideals and mutual understanding, which is something I value a lot. They have something to talk about. They believe in the same things and are serious about their beliefs: it’s interesting how Kiyomi is the one who initially approaches Teru to share her thoughts with him, meaning that she, like Teru himself, probably wants someone to support and understand her. But since their object of adoration is Kira himself, their relationship also has a very dark aura: as we know, Teru eventually drags Kiyomi into his mission (while hiding his true identity), blackmails her into following his orders and, in the end, kills (or rather, attempts to kill) her when her very existence becomes dangerous for his and his God’s goals. Curiously enough, he doesn’t do it out of hatred (nothing in the manga really points to that, at least; Light definitely despises Kiyomi, but Teru never says or thinks anything openly negative about her as a person, even when he threatens her to achieve certain goals): this is simply how he understands his duty. This, unfortunately, proves that he puts his warped ideals above everything, and nothing can stop him. I’m quite willing to say that this doesn’t exactly sound like a good basis for true love, but this is also an exciting challenge for a fan writer (or just any reader with an active imagination and a taste for what if? interpretations). How did Teru’s generally positive feelings change into such extreme cruelty and ability to kill his own ally? How did Kiyomi really feel about her acquaintance? What did Teru think of Kiyomi’s not-so-hidden deep relationship with his God? How did he really react to their secret hotel meetings? All these things are barely hinted at in the manga, but there’s some great potential that, in my opinion, should not be missed, and, well - I’m a fan of subtext. Even if a romantic relationship between Teru and Kiyomi is definitely not canon, it is something you can easily construct and explore - possibly with amazing results. As someone who views fanfiction as an excellent tool of expression, I can’t help but consider their subtle connection very convenient for a Death Note fan writer.
So this is what it boils down to: their relationship is undoubtedly scary (because you just can’t have a happy fluffy romance with someone like Teru), but ironically, it’s based on inherently good things like mutual interest and strong beliefs. That’s the most fascinating part. I love how Death Note takes normal things and noble desires and twists them into something openly horrific: this is especially true for Teru and Kiyomi, which is why I’m so fond of them. And I’m also ready to admit that I like pairings that don’t have a lot of obvious romantic canon basis but have potential that can be analyzed and developed in fanfiction.
MY EXPERIENCE
I've been madly in love with both characters for quite a while already. They are infinitely less popular than people like Light, L, Mello, Matt and Near, but I consider them absolutely amazing and complex - well, at least for secondary characters. I believe that Kiyomi is a beautiful woman who deserves much more love than she gets and that Teru is one of the most tragic manga characters ever. What attracts me to their relationship is that faint illusion of possible happiness: they fit each other almost perfectly well (like I've said before, both are intelligent and refined, serious and interested in social issues), but there are simply too many obstacles - Teru's insanity and Kiyomi's slightly fickle nature, the death note's power and Light's maniacal plans... Essentially, their relationship is both there and not there, and I'm very fond of its sad elusiveness.
MEMORABLE QUOTES
Volume 10, chapter 88, page 12:
Teru: You’re alone with your friend in a hotel room… was it your friend there who made you say that? I’m asking if it was the person with you who made you say your opinion about Kira. Answer me honestly. If you don’t answer, both you and your friend will die. While this dialogue obviously serves a totally different purpose, I often joke about how it makes Teru sounds like a jealous husband (with Kiyomi as the cheating wife and Light as her secret lover). And who knows - maybe he was a bit jealous?
Volume 11, chapter 90, page 19:
Kiyomi: Please send me a fan letter that only I can recognize as yours.
Although this line is only there to drive the plot further, there is something inexplainably touching and tragic about it: Kiyomi is not aware of the fact that her old acquaintance Teru Mikami is the one she’s talking to, but ironically enough, she’s asking him to make the letter easy to recognize. How did Teru solve this task in the end? Did she, by any chance, guess his true name? …We, the readers, never learn that, but isn’t that interesting to think about?
Volume 11, chapter 91, page 10:
Rester: Then why was Takada chosen?
Near: It’s possible that she is simply Kira’s type…
Naturally, Near is simply being sarcastic here, but I’m quite willing to agree with this!
MISC
Much to my amusement, Teru and Kiyomi often end up together on profile page spreads; they even share a DVD cover and a bonus DVD picture, and while it’s probably not wise to use this fact as proof, it’s still notable because it emphasizes the strength of their connection in the story (compare this to how Light, for example, shares a cover with L, his most important enemy; I’m sure that most fans will agree to call their relationship exceptionally memorable, regardless of its nature). Another entertaining fact is that Teru is the favorite character of Maaya Sakamoto, Kiyomi’s voice actress in the TV anime: according to Sakamoto-san’s own words, she has a soft spot for bespectacled characters [anime guidebook, page 130]. This, of course, is merely a coincidence, but I personally find it fun to think about. Last but not least, both Masaya Matsukaze and Maaya Sakamoto were previously involved in the creation of the Ouran High School Host Club anime series, in which they played Kyouya Ohtori and Haruhi Fujioka, a pair of characters who shared a non-romantic but intense relationship with many fascinating layers and aspects. Can we call that a trend?
FANWORKS
Let me be frank with you: Teru x Kiyomi is a rare pairing. It’s incredibly hard to find anything with them, which is why I’m going to rec my own stories as well: it’s bad taste, yes, but there’s not much I can do about it. …but maybe some of you can do something to improve this situation? Yes, please take that as a hint.
Recs:
Control - This fanfic was written for the Death Note kink meme by an anonymous author. I wish I knew the writer’s name, please contact me if this story is yours! It’s a brilliant piece of erotica that portrays the relationship between Teru and Kiyomi in a beautiful way. Warning: NWS.
Principles of Devotion - Another kink fic. NWS.
Vengeance Paid by Harley Cooper - This is a Death Note + Jigoku Shoujo AU crossover with an excellent and touching Teru x Kiyomi storyline; it’s a WIP, so we are to expect more development in the future.
Wrapped Around Your Finger by Brain Eater Jr. - A short dramatic piece about their last conversation.
Dio nel Cielo, Assassino su Terra by ShaggyDiz - An interesting AU one-shot.
My fics:
Put Your Hands On Me - I wrote this for the 20 Notes challenge.
Sketches - A quick and… fluffy drabble.
Explosions - This one is a bit strange.
Common Interests - Even more pointless fluff. I’m predictable like that.