'Shueisha is really going all in on Death Note.'
Hasegawa thought to himself.
'Kai has finally made it big.'
He muttered the words under his breath, slapped his cheeks, and threw himself back into work with renewed energy.
Finish what was in front of him as fast as possible, and then... the sooner he could join the Death Note production team, the better.
Since high school, he, Kai, and the others were finally working side by side again.
He was still just a nobody in the grand scheme of things, but the feeling was incredible. Like rediscovering a passion he'd lost a long time ago.
...
Abe Noriyuki, the director of the Death Note anime, had been visiting Kai frequently over the past two weeks to discuss the storyboards.
He was trying to strike a balance. He wanted creative room for himself while also keeping Kai satisfied.
As a result, the storyboards for the first three episodes followed the manga closely.
Kai was pleased with them.
Togashi, when he heard about this, was not. He grumbled through gritted teeth that he'd been the one who fought those battles first, and Kai was just enjoying the shade of the trees his seniors had planted.
"Then let me buy you a drink tomorrow night to show my gratitude."
Kai tilted his head, clamping his phone between his ear and shoulder while mashing the controller with both hands.
Togashi refused immediately. "Tomorrow night? Can't do tomorrow. I've got plans."
"Plans?" Kai was surprised. "What could you possibly have going on, Togashi-sensei? You're clearly the most idle person alive."
"You're being incredibly rude to your senior," Togashi huffed. "I'm going for a run. Exercise."
"A run? I cannot picture you running." Kai set the controller down. In his moment of surprise, the character had stumbled into a brazier and burned to death.
He clicked into the next round and said casually, "It's not a date, is it?"
After all, whenever Kai himself went out, it was either Shueisha business or asking Tsukasa-san next door to hang out.
"Cough! Cough!" Togashi sounded like he'd choked on his own spit. He erupted into a violent coughing fit.
"How... how could it be that? Haha, you really are funny. Anyway, I have to go. Busy."
Before Kai could respond, the line went dead.
He hadn't expected that.
Kai tossed the controller aside. He didn't even want to touch the game anymore.
'That disheveled Togashi-sensei actually managed to find someone...'
'Damn it.'
...
When Heishi arrived at the Studio, he found Kai sitting in front of the TV. The flickering game screen cast shifting light across his face.
"Sensei, how... why are you playing games?!"
He was alarmed. It felt like watching his hardworking manga artist spiral into ruin.
"Togashi-sensei brought that over," Yuta explained. "Kai plays a bit when he's taking a break."
"That menace Togashi-sensei!" Heishi wailed at the ceiling. "He corrupted you too!"
Normally, when Heishi came by the Fujin home, Kai was always drawing.
It gave him such peace of mind. Without needing to be reminded, the manuscript would be finished on time.
Those days were gone.
"Sensei, are the storyboards for Death Note chapter seventeen finished?" he asked.
"Ah." Kai opened his mouth. "There are still a few parts left. Give me a moment."
"Sigh." Heishi let out a long breath. "Figures."
...
Weekly Shonen Jump editorial department.
The editors were busy as usual. Since it was Monday, they had to field reader calls and chase down the manga artists they were responsible for to submit their manuscripts.
Getting these creators to finish before the absolute last second was an eternal struggle.
"Where's Heishi?! Is Heishi here?!"
A booming voice cut through the noise, drowning out everything else.
The department fell silent. Everyone turned to stare at the source of the outburst.
"D-Deputy Editor-in-Chief Sasaki..." Editor Yahagi swallowed. "Heishi-san went to Kanzaki-sensei's place. He hasn't come back yet."
"Hasn't come back?" Sasaki frowned. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Doesn't he usually return long before this?"
"Maybe something held him up," Yahagi offered.
He asked tentatively, "Is... something going on?"
Sasaki Hisashi was the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Jump editorial department. He was always composed and never let his emotions show.
Right now, though, he looked ecstatic, like a man whose wife had just given birth. It was so out of character that the editors felt more unsettled than excited.
'Could it be that Editor-in-Chief Torishima died? And Sasaki is taking over?'
The thought crossed more than one editor's mind.
Dead silence. Everyone waited.
"Ah, well, it's good news, naturally." Sasaki waved a form in the air, beaming. "According to the sales department, the collected volume of Death Note has surpassed one million copies!"
His voice rang through the editorial department.
No one responded for a long time.
Some editors had their mouths hanging open. Others exchanged stunned glances. The news was so absurdly good that nobody knew how to react.
Until, a few seconds later, their brains finally caught up.
"That's incredible!"
"One million in just forty days!"
"This is Jump!"
"'Fallen generation'? We're the rising generation!"
"Can any other magazine pull off numbers like this?"
In that moment, every lingering trace of shame from being overtaken by Weekly Shonen Magazine, every sting from the newspaper articles, evaporated.
The roar was deafening. The ceiling practically shook. Down in the first-floor lobby, the receptionist looked up, baffled.
'What's going on with the Jump editorial department? It sounds like they're doing renovations up there.'
'Or maybe they're about to go on vacation? They sound awfully happy.'
She kept a professional smile on her face and went back to her work.
"I'll go check it out," Furuta said.
He took the elevator to the second floor, flashed a small smile at the Light Yagami standee, and walked up to the door of the Jump editorial department with the ease of someone who'd done it many times.
"Excuse me." He knocked. "Did something happen?"
The editor standing by the door grabbed him in a bear hug, looking like he wanted to plant a kiss on Furuta's round cheeks.
"Death Note broke a million! Hahaha!"
Furuta's body was being shaken back and forth. He held down the brim of his hat, dazed for a second.
"A million!" His eyes lit up, and he scooped the other man right off the ground and started spinning. "That's amazing! Kai is amazing!"
The noise carried through the floor, and the receptionist's brow furrowed.
'That sounds familiar. Isn't that Furuta's voice? Why is he so excited too?'
Her smile vanished. She rested her chin on her hand and thought hard.
'Strange.'
...
Five minutes later, Sasaki finally remembered to call Heishi with the news.
Heishi, who had been hovering over Kai's storyboards, reflexively ended the call without looking. When he saw whose name was on the screen, a cold sweat broke out across his back.
'Oh no. That was Sasaki-san.'
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