Coincidence

"And thus the miracle… no, the coincidence occurred."

- Narrator

Coincidence (コインシデンス, Koinshidensu) is the eight-forth chapter of Death Note. This chapter delves into Mikami's background in a series of flashbacks. This is probably about the only chapter that centers around a single character.

Plot
As a child, Mikami’s sense of justice developed through the over-observation of, according to the manga, “his surroundings”. Even at a young age, he had already begun categorizing people as either “good” or “evil”. Raised by a single mother, she is often described by Mikami as his only ally and sole confidant during his youth. His analytic behavior was indicative of his intellect which, coupled with his ambition and sense of justice, allowed him to become elected president of his class from elementary to middle school. As class president, he defended his classmates from bullies, often leading to physical altercations.

Although Mikami was eventually successful in uniting his entire class against the bullies, he found his efforts making little headway once he began attending middle school. Constantly being bullied himself and even beaten, Mikami’s sense of justice became warped as he began to wish for the “deletion” of his “enemies”.

Worried about his safety, his mother attempts to convince Mikami to give up trying to help his classmates. In response, Mikami lost faith in his mother and begins to hold her in contempt. His mother would eventually be killed in a car accident along with four of Mikami’s “enemies”. Although Mikami initially mourned for his mother’s death, he was content to know that his classroom became more “peaceful” as a result of the accident. Since then, Mikami subscribed to the belief that anyone who did wrong should be punished and took it upon himself to enforce this belief as his hatred for evil grew "stronger and stronger".

These feelings eventually seep into his career aspirations, and after "passing through high school and university with excellent grades" he becomes a prosecuting attorney. Shortly after adopting the profession, Mikami learns about Kira through various media outlets. Feeling that his sense of righteousness was confirmed through Kira’s actions, Mikami begins to obsess over Kira. Mikami eventually becomes a member of Kira’s Kingdom, in hopes of being noticed by Kira through televised appearances.

Conception
Ohba said that the chapter's title "Coincidence" relates to all the coincidences in the chapter about Mikami's past. So many coincidences happened to Mikami that he refused to believe that they were simply coincidences and he felt he was born for something special. Ohba said "To put it coldly, he misunderstands everything."