#even though the other person is literally Standing Right There like “gevanni please tell light that his idea will never work”

[mikami]

Death Note Audio Drama 11

Disc 11: Flame - a summary / partial translation

Prior translations / an explanation as to what the fuck this is.

This disc features: a lot more infuriating debate between Mikami and Virilio (the writing team really can’t be bothered to even pretend Mikami has a point for the sake of narrative), an absolutely unreasonable amount of sex, and also someone being called a high functioning sociopath.........

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Aizawa and Mogi are out for drinks, because Aizawa wants to discuss Near’s suspicion. Aizawa wants to place Light under surveillance before. Aizawa is very frustrated with five years of investigation having gone nowhere yet.

Aizawa points out that the task force hasn’t been targeted by Kira for five years. They suspect the task force has been protected because Kira is among them.

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TITLE MUSIC

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We’re back on the TV debate program. Paula Virilio is giving a lengthy speech about things we don’t expect of minors and the responsibility society has over minors. She asks if criminal law regarding minors is meant to punish or to course correct and raises the thought of juvenile criminals growing up to be upstanding adults. 

TAKADA: General prosecutor Teru Mikami. I am sure you have an opinion on this matter.

MIKAMI: I do, indeed, Kiyomi. And not a very popular one, I’m afraid. 

VIRILIO: It is way too popular. That’s part of the problem.

MIKAMI: Please, Paula. I didn’t interrupt your lengthy answer either.

TAKADA: You’ve spoken about your personal involvement in this matter before.

MIKAMI: Yes. There are cases where I would have liked the criminal justice system to have punished more harshly. My own mother was killed by a teenager who was wasted behind the steering wheel of his car. Of course. I wish we’d have put him into jail before it got that far. My mother would still be alive then.

VIRILIO: This is bottom of the barrel and you know it.

MIKAMI: You’re the one who’s always so concerned about cases from real daily life. This was one.

VIRILIO: With all due respect, this is not a case from real daily life. It’s a personal anecdote. 

MIKAMI: I was merely 14. It felt pretty real to me.

VIRILIO: And the law is in place to protect us from our feelings. I am convinced you were angry and bitter and that you wanted revenge. But in my opinion that’s no reason to put a child that stole from the neighbourhood convenience store behind bars.

TAKADA: Harsh words and raw emotions tonight on our show. We’ll be back in a few minutes with the discussion between jurists Paula Virilio and Teru Mikami. Right after the break.

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Aizawa calls Near. Near asks for his argument that points toward Light’s innocence and Aizawa retells the confinement. Near is really outraged by all of their arguments. (He also points out during the mock execution that maybe Kira just needed to use their hands and that’s why nobody killed Soichiro). Near ends up practically yelling at Aizawa.

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TAKADA: Welcome back, dear viewers. With me are still Paula Virilio and Teru Mikami. We’re arguing about today’s topics and especially about the question of whether or not lawyers are still needed in this era of vigilante justice. Teru Mikami. You’re position is more towards the right on this.

MIKAMI: I don’t believe it’s right wing to simply want justice. I think there is one thing we can all certainly agree on: a lot of adult criminals are actually juvenile criminals who haven’t been stopped. Society would do well to step in earlier.

VIRILIO: Of course it should step in! But not with punishment! There are many ways to step in. Something that deeply unsettles me about Kira’s most recent victims is that even children who were still in school are among them.

MIKAMI: It doesn’t unsettle me in the slightest. I wish Kira had already been active when I was being beaten up by the bullies in my class.

VIRILIO: Is Kira supposed to take you too, when your girlfriend whom you dumped is airing dirty laundry on social media? Because that seems to be exactly what happened last week in Saitama. 

TAKADA: You are referring to the sudden death of a school boy who was wrongfully accused of bullying. Teru, your answer?

MIKAMI: If that is truly what happened, that is of course regrettable. False accusations are a crime as well though. And maybe it’s one this girl should pay with her life for.

VIRILIO: Oh please.

MIKAMI: Kira is making a better society! Without frauds, liars and thugs, we’ll all be better off.

VIRILIO: So slander is worthy of capital punishment now, yes? Quarrel on the schoolyard can cost your life?

MIKAMI: That’s not what I said.

VIRILIO: Oh, of course not! Let’s note down what my opponent is propositioning here. He thinks the poison that Kira’s vigilante justice has spread in society over the last years is already impacting the behaviour of our children.

MIKAMI: You’re putting words into my mouth. I don’t think Kira’s justice is a poison. 

VIRILIO: No, you truly don’t. You think it’s the best thing to happen to us since vaccination. Because you are - and now don’t take this personally - still stuck in the thought pattern of a little schoolboy who is too angry to see the greater context.

TAKADA: Allow me to interject here. Paula is referring to what I’ll cautiously call your... wild youth. Is it alright for us to discuss this here?

MIKAMI: I have some battles behind me. I defended other children against bullies. My conscience is clear.

VIRILIO: Your criminal record begs to disagree, Teru. You’re lucky your juvenile misdeeds didn’t stop you from becoming a lawyer. You’re lucky we all believe that you’ve always been at the right side of the fight. But if you were growing up today, one word on social media would be enough for your highly revered Kira would make you feel this childish sense of justice on your own body. 

MIKAMI: Kira is certainly not a child.

VIRILIO: A teenager, yes. At least that’s what he was five years ago.

TAKADA: That’s news to me, Paula. Could you explain in more detail?

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Aizawa confesses his phonecall with Near to Light. He asks for Light’s permission to put him and Misa under surveillance. Light agrees, but tells them to not tell Misa.

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Misa welcomes Mogi and Aizawa in her... uh, Outfit. The apartment search plays out fairly similar to the manga. 

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Now we’re back on Kira’s Kingdom. Topic is the Kira temple that they built with donation money.

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Ryuk heavily criticizes Kira’s Kingdom for being a propaganda machine. Light agrees Demegawa outlived his usefulness. And then Demegawa dies on live TV, hurray.

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 Aizawa and Mogi communicate about Demegawa’s death and exchange the info that neither Light nor Misa have done anything suspicious at the time.

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Mikami and Ryuk talk about the Demegawa killing. Ryuk points out the difficulty of Kira no longer having a spokesperson. Mikami thinks of Takada.

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Swiftly done, Takada announces being Kira’s spokesperson on TV: The task force is outraged. But Aizawa recognizes Takada as Light’s college GF.

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Swimming pool noises.

RYUK: Your constant push for fitness really suits you, Light. The midlife crisis doesn’t stand a chance against you. 

LIGHT: Very funny.

RYUK: Alright. I know why you’re really here. No bugs.

They discuss Mikami picking Takada. Both Light and Ryuk thought he’d pick Virilio as a spokesperson (he only said ‘that woman I am always on TV with’). Light is displeased because Takada is his ex and has direct ties to him. (”She’s got my number, quite literally.”) 

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Light calls Takada. Woohoo. Light wants to meet her at a hotel, you know the drill.

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Meanwhile investigators are still chilling with Misa. She made popcorn.

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Mello calls Near again. He doesn’t think Misa is Kira II, since he’s been stalking her for a while already. Misa and the investigators are playing board games. 

Near is amused. “While you’re still following the old Kira, my guys are already on the heels of the new one.”

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Takada and Light had sex at the hotel. Congrats on the sex, guys??? Her phone rings after that. She claims its just her alarm and goes to shower, but of course it is not the alarm. Light picks up. It’s Mikami/Kira! 

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Near explains his theory of an X-Kira to his team. They suspect the person who picked Takada already knew she is a Kira-follower, despite her not showing this opinion in public. They search Takada’s social group.

Gevanni and Lidner suggests Mikami as X-Kira, since he’s public-ally Kira’s biggest fan.

Near and the SPK are traveling to Tokyo. Gevanni is assigned to tail Mikami.

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Light and Mikami communicate about plans. Then they hang up and Light confesses that he’s Kira to Takada, who’s back from the shower. Neither Mikami nor Takada actually ask for proof of his identity, but that’s fine I guess.

Takada and Light fuck again. Grats on the sex.

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L: Maybe Mello just got the wrong job.

RYUK: Stop sneaking up on me.

L: Look at him, down there. He’s been watching Light’s apartment for two whole days. You rarely see this level of commitment from normal policemen. 

RYUK: Hah. Are you gonna tell him? Or should I?

L: Tell him what?

RYUK: That he’s wasting his time. Misa isn’t worth it.

L: That’s not very nice.

RYUK: No, I mean she doesn’t remember a thing anymore. Not a single death note she touched, no murders, nothing about the years she did Light’s dirty work.

L: I am grateful that you’re freely admitting that I was right the whole time. And this also explains why she’s such a wreck. 

RYUK: What are you talking about? She loves it. She wanted this stuffy life with Light from the very beginning. 

L: The person you’re describing is a high-functioning sociopath. A mass murderer. A criminal.

RYUK: Yes, I always liked her.

L: You can’t just cut out a part of such a person without them collapsing inward. 

RYUK: Yes, maybe.

L: Misa has always been unstable. Kira was the center of her world, for a lot of reasons. You think this is some kind of mental witness protecting program? You’re wrong about that. It’s lobotomy. 

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Near tells Light that he’s in Japan. He tells Light that he is using himself as bait and tells Light to tell Takada that they’re following here. Since Kira would want to finish them once and for all.

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Takada calls Mikami and asks for the notebook pages.

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Light comes home to Misa. Misa’s been drinking heavily. It’s a regular thing, every night now. She half-remembers doing something together with Light, but not what. She’s desperate to recall what they once shared.

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Gevanni is watching Mikami’s daily life and updating Near. Near is secretly meeting Aizawa.... in a bar. Near is in a bar. Not a drill.

Near hears that Light is fucking Takada, and he’s outraged, because that prevented bugs on their first meeting. Near is just. so fucking pissed.

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Misa and Takada meet at the TV station, since Misa is going to be a guest on the show. She’s supposed to talk to the death of her parents and her stalking incident on TV. 

Takada lists things that are hard on Misa, and she mentions a break-up. Misa is understandably confused.

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Mikami killing the drunk harasser on the train, confirming his X-Kira identity to Gevanni. Mikami is somehow reading a greek newspaper???? And he’s wearing a hat. Apparently he’s famous enough that he needs this to not be approached in public.

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Mogi tries to pick up Misa from the TV studio, but she isn’t there. She’s been crying. The interview on the show upset her, since they treated her as a random civilian with a Kira-story rather than as a celebrity. 

Misa wants Mogi to drive her to the Hotel Imperial, since that is where Takada went. 

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Near and Gevanni discuss the possibility of Mikami having a shinigami who could warn him about surveillance.

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Misa approaches Lidner in front of the Hotel, asks her about her bodyguard work.

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We hear Light and Takada having sex. Again.

During the act, Takada confronts Light on Misa not knowing about the break-up. 

Matsuda is listening in and commenting on this love triangle for a bit.

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Misa waits until Takada comes out from the Hotel room. She tells her that Light is hers. Takada calls bullshit and points out that Misa doesn’t even remember anything about her and Light’s story. She also calls out that Light never wanted to date Misa and only attached herself to Light.

It’s just... a giant bash-fest. In this universe, Misa never had major work again after the movie during the Yotsuba-arc. She spent the past 5 years pretty much exclusively working as Kira, but of course, she can’t remember what she did.

Also we get the absolute worst dialogue ever:

TAKADA: Also... do the Bechdel test sometime.

MISA: How dare you! I don’t have an STI!

TAKADA: You only ever talk about him. He’s all you got.

After a few more insults, Misa has to be physically held back from attacking Takada. 

MISA: Light Yagami is mine!

TAKAKDA: Light Yagami? This whole time, I was talking about Kira.

MISA: ... what?

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Near and Aizawa figure out that Light and Takada are talking via notes in truth.

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Gevanni updates Near on Mikami’s gym schedule. Gevanni says he can open the locker and then does so. He takes the Death Note.

#death note #audio drama translations