Shin Arata was working in the kitchen.
This had been his job for ten years, day in and day out. He'd practically become part of the kitchen's own history.
Sometimes he wondered if he should change his way of life.
But he had nothing else going for him. All he knew was how to cook.
He had responsibilities. A family to think about. He couldn't just do whatever he wanted.
Arata suddenly thought of Kai Fujin, one of the few truly free people he'd encountered in his life.
Daring to chase a dream. Doing what he loved.
It was enviable.
But he wondered whether Kai was still pushing forward, or whether reality had finally caught up with him.
"Arata-san! Arata-san!"
Someone was calling him, practically bouncing.
Arata poked his head out of the serving window and asked suspiciously, "What's gotten into you, Nozaki?"
"It's Fujin!" Nozaki was beaming, clutching a thick manga magazine. He didn't even bother opening it. He just jabbed his finger at the cover and said excitedly, "Fujin's manga is published in this! This is one of Japan's three biggest manga magazines!"
"He made it. He's a real manga artist now. And the story is incredible!"
Hearing this, Arata's head spun. Nozaki kept talking, then, like someone with zero attention span, darted off to the side.
He seemed to want to mail in a reader survey.
"Fujin is famous now? Then that autograph he gave me... does it actually have collection value?"
"I wonder how much it'd sell for?"
...
Time came to Friday. Kai had been sitting for so long that an itch crept up his right calf. He curled his left toes to scratch it, and only then turned his attention to the news Heishi had brought.
"What did you say?"
Heishi tucked away the manuscript for chapter two of Death Note and smiled. "Death Note chapter one was a massive hit. Absolute number one."
Absolute number one.
Kai nodded.
It wasn't that big a deal, honestly. Any decent manga could take first place as long as it didn't collide with something equally explosive in the same issue.
Seeing his indifferent reaction, Heishi brought up something more interesting.
"Remember the whole mess with people flooding the editorial department with complaints?"
Even now, the department was still getting hammered. The attacks hadn't let up.
But the complainers weren't the target audience for shonen manga, and most of them hadn't even read Death Note.
Thanks to Jump's influence, the print media hadn't widely publicized the actual content of Death Note. If those people found out that Kai hadn't held back at all, that he'd actually drawn a protagonist who uses the Death Note to kill on a massive scale, they would have lost their minds entirely.
"Of course I remember," Kai nodded.
"Editor Yahagi told me this one," Heishi said with obvious relish. "He took a call from a reader who was incredibly rude. Claimed to be a fan of Ichiro Fujima."
"She cursed for ages, going after everyone from ancestors to grandchildren. It didn't even seem like she was calling to demand Death Note be banned. She just wanted to scream at somebody."
"Yahagi couldn't even get a word in."
"She left a real impression on him. It's rare to encounter someone with that little composure."
"A month later, she called again. Yesterday."
"But this time her attitude was completely different. She actually said she loves Light Yagami."
"'The idea of bearing all the sin alone, saving the world single-handedly, and becoming the God of the New World is just too cool!'"
Heishi threw his hands in the air, his voice pitched high, but his expression was impossible to read.
"Just like that. Because she actually read Death Note, she switched sides and came over to yours."
Light Yagami's charisma was immense. It wasn't just the looks. It was his endlessly toxic ideology.
"Regardless of the means, pursuing a one-sided version of justice. Kill all the bad guys and the world becomes a better place." Kai nodded, showing he understood. "People who don't think too hard will absolutely be drawn to that kind of idea."
"You're really calm about this, aren't you?" Heishi looked at him in surprise. "I thought you'd be proud."
"Winning over one angry caller isn't something to celebrate."
"Fair point." Heishi nodded.
...
On Saturday, Kai went to a bookstore and bought a book.
Ichiro Fujima's I Am a Murderer.
He was curious about what was inside. Analyzing a killer's inner psychology might be useful for his future work.
"Could you wrap this tightly so nobody can see the title?"
Walking around in public with I Am a Murderer in his hands was practically asking to be judged.
What kind of person would willingly read a book written by someone who didn't even finish middle school?
"Of course." The clerk covered their mouth and laughed.
They'd seen all kinds of peculiar customers today. Rebellious teenage girls, bored housewives, all the types who rarely set foot in a bookstore.
But only this customer looked genuinely disgusted by his own purchase.
Kai didn't dare linger outside and headed straight home.
Rin greeted him, wanting to celebrate the outstanding success of Death Note, but Kai rushed through a few polite words and ducked inside.
This left Rin puzzled. She wondered if she'd been too harsh during her lecture last time.
Had she put too much pressure on the newcomer?
'Should I apologize?' She started to second-guess herself.
...
Spreading the novel open on the coffee table, Kai clutched his forehead in pain. "Does this guy even know what he's writing?"
'The word order is a mess. Punctuation is random. The plot can't even connect from one paragraph to the next. It's impossible to follow his thinking. Didn't the people backing him consider hiring a ghostwriter?'
He couldn't read any further. Something that couldn't even match an elementary schooler's diary belonged in the garbage.
Today just happened to be combustible trash day. Kai held I Am a Murderer between two fingers, walked outside, and tossed the book into the trash pile with deep satisfaction.
"Um, Fujin."
"Ah!"
A voice came from behind. Kai nearly jumped out of his skin, his heart slamming against his ribs.
"Am I that scary?" Rin touched her cheek, looking troubled. "I know I was harsh last time, but you don't have to avoid me like this, do you?"
She narrowed her eyes, looking like she was about to cry.
Her older sister had married and moved far away. Her friends weren't around. Outside of work, her only conversation partner was her black cat.
Kai was a neighbor she rarely had common ground with, and she didn't want to reach the point where they had nothing to say to each other.
"Huh?" Kai wore a look of total confusion.
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