Standstill

Standstill is the 3rd chapter of Volume eleven and 91st chapter overall.

Plot
A new program on Sakura TV announces that anchorwoman Kiyomi Takada has chosen four women to be her top bodyguards, among them ex-CIA agent Hal Linder. Light realizes that Linder is probably one of Near’s SPK members. However, Light is not worried, and if anything should happen, Linder will face the judgment of Kira.

As he is watching several news channels in Japan, Near poses the question to Rester that if he was Kira who should he have chosen as his next spokesperson. Both Rester and Gevanni cannot answer that, but they agree that they would not have chosen a rookie anchorwoman like Takada. Near theorizes that Kira may have picked her because he knew that she was secretly a Kira admirer. However, he comments that Takada was chosen as Kira’s spokeswoman several days after Light’s first meeting with her. If Kira wanted her to be the spokeswoman, then why did he wait several days to tell her to speak her opinions as a Kira supporter? If Kira had really picked her, then he would have told her to speak her opinions on the first day that it was announced she was Kira’s spokeswoman. Near believes that it must have been X-Kira who picked Takada.

Near continues scouring through videotapes of past Japanese shows in order to find a clue. Then, Near watches Teru Mikami’s appearance on “Kira’s Kingdom” asking Kira to give him instructions in three more days, or he will carry out Kira’s will himself. Four days later, Takada is chosen as a spokeswoman. It all makes sense. X-Kira is Teru Mikami.

Conception
Ohba said that the chapter title "Standstill" relates to three different happenings in the chapter. Mogi preventing Misa from saying something that could result in her death, Lidner preventing Misa from attacking Takada, and Near pausing footage of Mikami on his display monitors.

Chapter Guide
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