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20 seconds to go…He didn’t want to die…He was god! He was the god of this new world! He didn’t want to—
The moment that Light opened his eyes and saw the world around him, he knew that Ryuk had lied about the afterlife. He felt like screaming, but Light knew that that would be a waste of energy and time. He picked himself up off the ground and looked around him. The world around him was desolate and tinged an almost orange colour.
Light looked down at his hands. Normal and unstained by blood. He looked down at himself and frowned a little. He was wearing his school shirt and the green jumper that Sayu had bought him for his 16th birthday. He also wore his usual fitted trousers, though he was lacking shoes and socks. He placed a hand to his face. No blood. In fact, there weren’t even any scars, like the ones he had gained from constantly fighting with L. Actually, every part of him was smaller and younger. Light presumed that it was his body before he’d picked up the Death Note, if he was wearing this green jumper. He looked up and around him.
To the distant east seemed to be a lot of caves and rock formations. To the south were large black shapes sticking out of the ground, covered in what seemed to be metal from their glint. The rest of the area was desolate and covered in sand. Light himself was on the top of a large, reddish, rock plateau. He thumped the ground. It felt firmly solid underneath him.
“Ryuk…?” Light asked, looking around for his near constant companion for the past six years.
“I’m impressed. Your first word in a new world and it’s my name. I’m very honoured.” came a voice from above him and Light looked up. Ryuk landed on the ground with a thump and grinned at Light, munching on a juicy red apple.
“You lied.” Light said, calmly. It seemed obvious in death, that shouting would do nothing. He was in a foreign world and Ryuk was his only guide. Angering his guide this early in the new game would be foolhardy.
“I did. Well, not exactly. Every human when they die, go to Mu. But if a user of the Death Note is killed by the Death Note, they end up here.”
“Here, being the shinigami realm?” asked Light, as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“That’s right.” Ryuk said, chuckling.
“So that’s how shinigami are born. Curious. Tell me though, will I run into Higuchi and Takada here?” asked Light, as a terrible thought occurred to him. After all, they’d been users of the Death Note and he had killed them both with the Death Note….
“Yes.” Ryuk said, chuckling madly.
Light frowned. “By that laugh, you’re omitting some information. Tell me what I’m missing.”
Ryuk laughed even further, almost coughing and Light sighed a little. No apples to bribe the shinigami with…it looked like he would have to wait until the shinigami calmed down.
“They’re missing their memories,” Ryuk said, smirking a little. “You’re very lucky in that I managed to persuade the shinigami king to not wipe your memories. They can’t remember a thing about the human realm.”
Light nodded, that was good news for him. If either Takada or Higuchi had been able to remember him, that would have been terrible. The last thing he needed were revenge-filled shinigami with Death notes after hi—Death Note.
“Ryuk, if I’m a shinigami now, do I get a Death Note automatically?” Light asked, pressing a finger to his face.
“Nope. You can get a notebook from the Old Man, though.” Ryuk said, quite nonchalantly.
“Old Man?” asked Light, a plan already formulating in his head.
“The Shinigami King. He’s a pain to deal with, though. If he likes you, he’ll make you play a game with him before giving you a Death Note.” Ryuk said, rolling his eyes. Light was pretty sure that Ryuk hadn’t done that before. Clearly, he’d been picking up human mannerisms.
“So, does he make Death Notes, or does he have a ready supply of Death Notes to give to shinigami?’ asked Light, as he leant back.
Ryuk shrugged as he finished the apple core. “Haven’t a clue.”
Light suppressed his growl. Typical. Was Ryuk just permanently useless? “Is there anyone who would know?” asked Light, forcing a smile that felt more like a grimace unto his face.
“Sure. Armonia Justin is the second ranked shinigami and he actually cares about rules and the like. He might help you.” Ryuk said.
“Might.” Light stated and Ryuk shrugged.
“Well, I don’t claim to know his mind.” he said and Light sighed.
“I just can’t count on you, can I?”
“Nope.” Ryuk said, smirking, “I persuaded the king to let you keep your memories because I would be bored otherwise. If I just told you everything, it would get boring.”
Well, at least, Ryuk didn’t change. Still, it brought up the interesting question of whether Ryuk had ever been human. By his appearance, it certainly didn’t seem to be the case.
“Come on then, Ryuk, take me to this Armonia Justin person.” Light said, looking bored, “Where does he live, anyway?”
Ryuk merely pointed towards the south and Light sighed. “How do we get there? It’s not like this rock has handholds so I can climb down.”
Ryuk chuckled and outstretched his wings. “Just fly, idiot.” Ryuk launched off the rock and Light scowled.
“Just fly? I DON’T HAVE WINGS!” Light yelled back at Ryuk. He could hear Ryuk’s laughter as he flew off into the distance. Just to check, Light stretched behind him and groped at his back. No sign of wings. Nope, Ryuk was just being facetious. But, what reason would Ryuk have to lie to him? That was stupid, obviously entertainment. Ryuk would find it entertaining to watch Light flail.
Still….he was already dead. Couldn’t hurt. All birds instinctively knew how to fly, even if they couldn’t tell they had wings. And Light had always wanted to be able to fly. To be as free as a bird, with no obligations and the power to stand on his own two feet, yet still be able to survey the world around him…It appealed to him a lot.
Light gazed down off the edge of the rock plateau. It was a long drop. It gave him more time to figure this whole flying thing out. Light took in a deep breath and threw himself off the edge.
Light didn’t scream, that was undignified, but merely willed his wings to open as the ground zoomed closer and clos—
Light breathed a sigh of relief as he started gliding forwards instead of falling. He looked behind him and saw a pair of silvery-grey tendon-like wings extended out of his back, as if they’d always been there. Light shook his head and followed the black speck in the distance. Once he felt more comfortable with the feeling of soaring, Light willed himself to be faster so that he could catch up with Ryuk.
Feeling the wind across his face and the sheer freedom, Light let out a whoop of excitement as he twisted mid-air. He couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. He might have been dead, but he was in a new world. A world, that according to Ryuk was filled with lazy ingrates who had no idea of their purpose…. Well, Light planned to change that fairly soon. It would be more difficult without the media to help him spread his name, but he was sure that overthrowing the shinigami king would be more than enough than to get him recognized.
“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?’ asked Ryuk, looking amused as Light caught up to him.
“Of course. How many humans have spent their entire lives dreaming of this of this sensation? And yet, I am the first to achieve this state. Why wouldn’t I be happy?” Light explained.
“You aren’t human anymore Light.” Ryuk said, his grin only getting larger. “You’ve never acted much like a human. More like a shinigami from the first. That’s why I stuck around.”
Light rolled his eyes. “Why do I care about that? It matters more about what I think, than what I’m technically classified as. And I’ve always felt human.”
“The ultimate optimist, aren’t you? Even after you failed? You are very interesting, Light.” Ryuk commented wryly, as they neared the metal structures.
“Of course I am. I told you, I couldn’t have even imagined a new world free of crime and bad people without being an optimist. And I didn’t lose. I retreated and am trying a new technique to achieve what I need to. The moment I get a Death Note, don’t think I’m going to become like the rest of the shinigami here. I plan to upheave this world. Will you help me?” Light said, coldly.
“I’ll help for as long as it interests me.” Ryuk said and Light smirked.
“That’s fine by me.” If Light had his way, he wouldn’t need the wayward and frankly, unreliable shinigami for much longer.
“Here we are.” Ryuk said, as he descended downwards towards a large area filled with chains and other rusty metal remnants of a civilization. It only served as making Light wonder about what the shinigami world had previously been. And there, in the corner, hiding underneath the shade of a large looming metal piece was the shinigami.
He lounged in his throne, his body made entirely of precious metal and jewels. There was what looked like a white notebook next to him and he looked bored.
“So Ryuk, we have a new shinigami. Shouldn’t you be taking him to the King so he can get his notebook?” asked the shinigami. His voice sounded as brittle and cold as the jewels he was made of.
“Actually, I requested the detour. What can you tell me about the Shinigami King’s powers and abilities?” Light said, turning on the charm as he always did.
The shinigami’s eyes glinted. “And why should I help you..?”
“Kira. My name is Kira. And I have been told that you know everything about the rules of this world and about everybody in the realm. And I wish to change the hopelessness that has pervaded the shinigami realm for so long. I changed my world, I intend to give the shinigami their purpose back.” Light said, standing straighter and gesturing boldly as he had not been able to before. Kira was feared, loathed and revered in the human realm. Here, Light intended there to only be one of those connotations associated with his name.
“From the seat of the Shinigami king? You intend to kill him to gain your notebook.” said Armonia Justin.
“Yes, that is correct. I will not ask for your help in defeating him, merely for the information that will help me kill him.” said Light. “Please.”
“Give me something.” Armonia said, “Something valuable to you. And then I will be your ally in your venture, in every way.”
Light blinked. Something valuable to him…his wits? No, that was something he would never give away. Why had it even crossed his mind as a possibility? Without his wits and his smarts, he was nothing. “I have nothing. Nothing that I can give away so easily, in any case.”
“But you do. Those wings of yours, they are not valuable to you?” asked Ryuk, smirking, as he leant back against one of the chains, chomping on what looked like a rotten and mouldy apple.
Light sneered at him before sighing. He did need that Armonia Justin’s help…Light shut his eyes tightly. Was he willing to give up that sheer happiness of flight for a new shinigami world with purpose?
He’d done it before. He’d given up his life, his soul, his heart and his mind to the cause of Kira. And he was going to do it again, he already knew that. His happiness in trade for a new world. Would he do that for all eternity? Maybe this attempt to reach godhood would end happier.
“Very well, Armonia Justin. Take my wings and in return, you will tell me everything that I ask for.” Light said, opening his eyes, again.
The bejeweled shinigami looked surprised. “You’re dedicated to this aren’t you? You have no hope of beating the shinigami King. He’s been here forever. He supports this entire world. When he dies, so does this whole realm.”
Light growled. “It is not your place to worry about that! I am the one who shall kill him. You just take my wings, then tell me what I need to know!”
Armonia nodded. “Come forward then. Let me remove those pretty little things…”
Light breathed deeply as he stood outside the black cave. It was darker than the rest of the realm and Light could hear water dripping inside.
“This as far as you’ll come with me, Ryuk?” asked Light, as he circled his fingers around his wrist. There was no longer the scar tissue from where he had been chained to L, but it still had a twinge of phantom pain. His back ached more than his wrist, with the stumps of his wings, but it was his wrist he automatically went to.
“Sure, come back out when you’re king.” said Ryuk, pretending to yawn.
Light rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
With that, he walked into the cave. Light looked up as Armonia had told him to and kept his face schooled into bored nonchalance. But, what a sight! What he could see of the King, was already triple the size of Ryuk! But size was nothing. No, what mattered, was Light’s speed and his brains. If he kept his wits about him, he’d be fine.
“You’re the shinigami king?” asked Light.
“That is correct. You are the former human Light Yagami?” asked the deep voice.
“Also correct.” Light said, sternly.
“You have…come to kill me?” asked the Shinigami King. “It is not the first time that someone has tried to do that. I’m afraid that you will not succeed.”
“I have no intention of killing you. The only way that a shinigami can kill is with their Death Note; this, Ryuk told me a long time ago. If I kill you with my hands now, I weaken myself later, instead of dying instantly like other shinigami that already have Death Notes. No, I have no intention of killing you.” Light said, taking a seat on the cold hard floor. “I’ve heard that you like a good game. So do I, and it’s been a while since I’ve played a good one. It’ll pass the time in any case.”
The King paused. “So you have talked with Armonia Justin.”
“Yes.” Light said, softly, “I wanted to know if the rules were different for shinigami using the Death note and humans using the Death Note, and Ryuk was useless on that aspect.”
“You are lying. A very well said lie, but a lie nonetheless.” uttered the Shinigami King and Light sighed, convincingly.
“You will not play? It will be a boring few hundred years, then.” Light said, looking nonchalant and somewhat depressed.
“A few hundred years? You really are a very confident human, Light Yagami. How do you know that I won’t just kill you?” The voice was booming and the hair on the back of Light's neck stuck up, in fear. but Light didn't let his body's betrayal affect his face.
Light examined his fingernails, pretending to feel a little bored. “You can’t kill me with your Death Note because I’m a shinigami, not a human, and shinigami can’t die with their names in the notebook. And you can’t kill me with your own hands, a rule that you yourself set in place. If you break it, the shinigami realm will collapse.”
“You are very bright, aren’t you? Very well Yagami, let’s play a game. I think, a game of succession would do. An older one. Seiryuu Gazamo vs Thierry Morello for the title of Best Con Artist. You shall play as Thierry. Prepare yourself.”
“Wait, what?” asked Light before he was plunged into the suffocating white light…
(x)
The first thing that Light thought about, as he drifted through the unconscious stream, was that the name Thierry Morrello was the conman Aiber’s real name. Light had killed him, back when Rem had killed L. That was confusing and a glaring problem, because if Morrello was dead, how was he playing a game with him…?
And what the hell was ‘succession’ anyway? How the hell did you even begin to try and define what the hell was going o--
Suddenly, Light felt a jerk on his spiritual self. It was like a shackle adjusting to his back and Light gasped at the sheer pain of the shackle’s weight, combined with the existing pain of his lacking wings. Suddenly, it all disappeared, and Light was left suspended in the unconscious stream. The only sign that anything had happened was a silver cord that extended from Light’s back, downwards. Light tugged at it, warily. Nothing happened, so Light followed the cord downwards, against the current of the white fog until he reached a very familiar blonde human. The cord disappeared above Aiber’s head.
Aiber currently appeared to be talking with an attractive brunette who was wearing a very skimpy dress. Light reiterated that fact, Aiber was flirting with her and very subtly, scoping for information. He could see that she slowly, slowly seemed to be giving Aiber information about the company that she worked for, despite her initial distrust of this younger Aiber.
He was good. Almost better than Light at twisting with her emotions. The moment that he finished, he walked away from her towards the bathroom. Much to Light’s annoyance, he was forced to follow because of the stupid bond. The moment that Aiber reached the bathroom, Light tried to talk to him.
“Hello?” Light said. Aiber did nothing, just adjusted his hair and started scribbling on his notebook. Light peered at the notebook, but it only seemed to be the information that he had gathered. “There’s no one here, you know. You can respond to me.”
Aiber ignored him and Light punched him. His hand went straight through Aiber. Aiber didn’t even react. Brilliant. He was stuck with someone who didn’t even know he was here. What was he even doing here? A game of succession indeed, what the hell did that mean?
Still, if Light was stuck to Aiber, then the shinigami King would be stuck with the other man, Seiryuu Gazamo, Aiber’s rival for the title of best con-artist? That made slightly more sense. So what was he supposed to do? Then it hit him, like a lightning bolt. Aiber was in the middle of that contest for the best con-artist. Light’s job was to help Aiber win and therefore, win himself. The problem, was figuring out how to do that.
How did you help someone who couldn’t see you or even sense you? Light sighed and tugged at the cord. “This is so stupid.”
Then he blinked as Aiber mimicked his posture and parroted his words. Then Aiber stopped, looked fairly confused and went back to write. Light grinned. He wouldn’t test this now, but he had to do it later. This…was going to be very funny.
(x)
“I’m an idiot.” Aiber mumbled as he slapped himself in his sleep. Light unwound himself from the white wire he had wrapped around himself. Once the connecting wire was tied around Light’s chest, whatever Light did, Aiber mimicked. This…this was so much fun! Light hadn’t particularly interacted with the cocky conman, but from what interactions Light had had with the man, he’d severely disliked Aiber and his way of doing things. Even Wedy had been more tolerable.
Of course, the testing time had to be when Aiber wasn’t awake and to Light’s delight, he could make Aiber do anything, even when Aiber was sleeping. This would be useful. He could make Aiber say anything and do whatever Light was doing. And all he had to do to hand the power back to Aiber was to duck out of the loop.
Suddenly, Aiber’s phone rang and the man woke up, cutting Light’s experimentation short. Light frowned and listened in. He blinked just a little at the japanese voice introducing himself as Gazamo Seiryuu. That was easy. A contest to see who could pull off the best con to the world. Aiber seemed reluctant but once Gazamo made a subtle threat, Aiber agreed, rolling his eyes. Gazamo ended with a statement about plane tickets and seeing Aiber in Paris in eight hours. They were currently in the West Indies.
“Well, shit. I’m screwed.” Aiber said, sighing, as he started to pack. Light had to agree.
(x)
The challenge was given to Aiber in an art gallery, where the two of them sat and pretended to not know who the other was. Whomever who get the most money from the most amount of people without drawing undue attention to themselves, won. Of course, Light knew that Aiber had a disadvantage. The Shinigami king was the driving force behind Gazamo and the King knew how the original timeline went. Light didn’t.
That was a problem. Had Aiber originally won? Light was assuming that Aiber hadn’t originally won, why would the Shinigami King let him have the side of the victor? Light would have to fight to win. Light had always wondered how L had even come in contact with known criminals and trusted them enough to show his face to them. Light wondered whether this was where Aiber had met L. Light regretted not being able to search through Aiber’s memories, but Light could only take over his actions.
Still, Light knew that Gazamo’s statement had said to not draw attention to the other, so…Aiber had to wait till Gazamo had managed to con a significant amount of people and then report it to L. Of course, Aiber also had to con a few people in the process to not make the plan look too obvious, so Aiber would have to plead immunity before saying anything. Also…Light had to find a way to get Aiber on L’s team. Therefore, Aiber’s action would need to be one of Light’s typical, five-steps-ahead plans. Light had the advantage when sparring with L and planned to take advantage of his knowledge of L’s character. A challenge left for the police, a cryptic message, akin to that of the Zodiac Murderer .
Light quickly planned ahead. He’d send the cryptic message now, arrange to chat with L in three days, con a few people inbetween those times, leaving most of the work to Aiber himself. Then, he’d get in contact with Gazamo every day with a tally count, sounding more and more smug every day. He’d have to make Gazamo angry enough that the Shinigami king couldn’t control his actions as easily. He’d noticed that it had been difficult to control Aiber when the two con-artists had met in the art gallery, where Aiber had been positively furious.
Light smirked. He knew that there would be an advantage to his games with L and with that pathetic excuse for a successor, Near.
(x)
“You won. How surprising, little human. It’s very impressive. I didn’t expect it of you.” said the Shinigami King, as Light gasped and struggled to not throw up as he adjusted to being back in the shinigami realm. The white cord, that connected him with Aiber, had disappeared and it felt like it had ripped away his stomach with it, which was ridiculous, because his skin was still intact.
“I told you before; I’m not a human, even if I look like it!” Light snapped, as he straightened. His stomach still twinged, but he wasn’t going to let that ruin his plans. His happiness in exchange for the world. It was what he’d pledged. He wasn’t backing out now. “I’m a shinigami. In any case, that was certainly interesting. How about another game?”
The King looked almost tormented from what Light could see of his face. “Why not?” he said and Light smirked. He had him.
(x)
Game after game was played and Light felt the time ebb and pass away. Light made sure to balance his losses and wins. He wanted to put the Shinigami King at ease, make them seem equal gameplayers, despite the truth of Light having seen a plan to win every single battle that had been thrown at him.
He’d played as many people in the little games of succession, mainly people he’d known in life. Deneuve vs Eraldo Coil vs L, Wedy vs Mafia even Soichiro Yagami vs Lapland Glacier. The ways of controlling them were simple and easy and Light slowly had started to lose the pain associated with leaving the game, with every game that they had played.
But most importantly, Light was starting to understand the shinigami King and that was key to what he was planning. The King…was addicted to the game. It was obvious in the way he played. The King wished to extend his time in the game, which was shown by his long, often overly complicated plans which were even more excruciatingly complex than Light’s own gambits.
But honestly, Light thought that the Shinigami King played with a naïveté which wasn’t warranted from such an old ruler. He played as if time was on his side (when anything could crumble around his shoulders at any point), he played like players weren’t expendable (which they always are; even the King is expendable at the end of chess), placing such trust and hope upon individuals other than himself (when other individuals were fickle and faithless). He played with trust in the fact that his opponent was honourable (fat chance) and overall, he played like a child. He played the games with the outlook of a child and the simple faith of a child.
And Light would be sure to make that the King’s downfall, because ruling was an adult’s world. It would be a mercy for all involved. Ruling was no business for a child. Better the peaceful oblivion of death than the strenuous process of ruling truly and the burden that that placed upon the shoulders of a child.
(x)
After what seemed to be their twentieth game, Light frowned and made sure to look weary. “I’m tired of playing like this.”
“What do you mean?” asked the Shinigami King.
“Well, games without stakes are so dull. What’s the point of playing if there isn’t a purpose behind it? What’s the point of playing if losing is nothing? Losing is bad. We should make losing bad!” Light said, and he almost hated himself for sounding like a child. He was no child. He had lost the ability to be a child a long, long time ago.
“What stakes do you propose?” asked the King. He sounded disapproving, but curious. Light internally rejoiced.
“The winner picks the next game and the loser gives up two of their players in the next game.” Light said. It was small fry now…but the stakes would increase. Light would make sure of that.
The King nodded and Light couldn’t stop the smirk spreading onto his face. Hook, line and sinker. Like stealing candy from a child…oh wait, wasn’t that exactly what he was doing?
(x)
Slowly, but surely, the stakes rose. Every round, the game became more and more frantic and Light made sure to lose and win equally, to keep the Shinigami King under the impression that he and Light were equals. His final win had to seem plausible, but unexpected. At first, he merely bet advantages and players inside the game itself, but slowly, Light had bet his shinigami eyes and his hair and his clothing and he had won them by a thread.
“How about one final game?” Light said, as he stood rather shakily. He didn't know how much time had passed since he had entered the cave. It could have been less than day, or it could have been one hundred years, and he would not be able to tell, in this cave, void of any light except that of the King's.
“The stakes?” asked the King.
“Our lives. If I die, you can take my life. If you die, you must take your own life and give me the reign of this kingdom.” said Light. “It is the only way to guarantee that this last game will actually be interesting.”
The King looked at Light and Light felt like he was being scanned by an X-ray. “You are transparent in your means and method of killing me, and you truly are despicable. But I agree to your stakes. I have no desire to even look upon someone who still wishes to kill me; after all of these games we have played.”
The King said all of this, but Light could see through him. The addiction of the game would never leave the King’s system. He would always want to play and continue to play no matter what. Had he truly been able to resist, had he truly been disgusted with Light; he would have refused. But he was hooked, like a smoker wanting that last high.
“The game is of succession. Near vs Mello for the title of L.” said the Shinigami King.
“What?” Light asked, before the white light blinded him again.
(x)
Light had played over one hundred of these games, acting as the puppet-master, pulling at the strings of his puppets but this was entirely different, entirely new, much to his consternation. Part of him drifted through the white fog that pushed at his very soul and the other half of him was inside the body of Mihael Keehl. He was still a puppeteer, pulling at the strings of a marionette that was the very young child, Mihael Keehl, better known as Mello.
But, it wasn’t that simple. When was it ever simple when he needed it to be? He hadn’t just displaced the soul of Mihael Keehl like he had with Aiber, Wedy, Deneuve and countless others. Keehl was still around and when he disliked some actions of Light’s, he would tug back at the strings, and usually, the younger boy’s spirit won, much to Light’s annoyance. Light realized very quickly, that he had to make the actions seem reasonable to Mello, by understanding him and persuading him.
It was certainly not a surprise to Light that the boy had joined the mafia as a teenager. It had ran in the family. His parents, from what Light had managed to glean with listening in at locked doors, was the head of the German Mafia. Light’s German was perfect of course, but it was useful being able to filter the slang words through Keehl’s mind. They seemed to be drug-runners and ran animal trafficking operations, but Keehl seemed clueless to this or just didn't want to know.
Keehl was kept away from his parents most of the day, looked after by a grumpy middle-aged woman who was pretty tough on him, but there was no doubt, that for those small moments of the day when he got to see them, that they loved him very much, judging by the presents they showered upon the child. And then, the unthinkable happened for Mihael, a week after Light had attached himself to the child. His parents shoved him into a small room, with a gun and a rosary and told him to not come out unless they called to him.
Mihael was for the first time since Light had met him, terrified and Light had to fight to keep the boy’s brain calm and almost put him to sleep when the sounds of screaming and gunshots were heard from the room outside. He hated being helpless in this body, but he knew that he had to let events play out. From what he'd uncovered through Aizawa and Mogi's inquiries in England, these children had never achieved their potential until they reached the orphanage in Winchester, run by the old Quillsh Wammy. He would have to sabotage Near when they reached the orphanage, but up until then, Light had no reason to change events.
It was three hours later that Mihael’s little room was disturbed by a policewoman coming into the room. Mihael pointed the gun at her. Light tried to get him to drop it, but Mihael’s mind was set and seemed to ignore his orders. Luckily, the policewoman seemed to know how to deal with frightened children and Mihael finally put the gun down. They took the boy to the police station and they told him that he was one of the only survivors of a shoot-out between two intersecting crime groups. At first, Mihael had refused to believe that his parents were criminals and now currently in jail, but when Light pointed out all of the evidence in his brain, the boy finally accepted.
And when the man in a black leather coat came to take Mihael away to become Mello, neither of the inhabitants of the blonde body protested. Light knew that the real battle began here, at the House. Light had no need to instill the need to do the best in Mello, who already felt that urge. Instead, Light struggled with Mello’s antisocial tendencies. People were important in getting to the top, since there were things that even the most determined person couldn't achieve alone.
Light knew this well and the moment he’d spotted a boy wearing bright blue goggles and a striped shirt, lounging around in the classroom on their first day, Light remembered the original timespan. An aide to Mello’s kidnapping of Takada had worn a striped shirt nearly identical to this and had the same hair colour. This was one of Mello’s friends from the previous timeline.
“My name is Mello.” Light forced Mello to say, “What about you?”
“The name’s Matt,” said the boy, not looking up from where he was almost napping on his desk. “First place. Don’t talk to me, I don’t speak with lower life-forms unless necessary.”
Light had merely lifted an eyebrow and taken a seat away from him, keeping quiet the whole while. Mello had wanted nothing more than to punch Matt, and it had taken all of Light’s control to stop Mello from doing just that, despite firmly agreeing with the sentiment. Bastard. Even if Light had thought that fact about his classmates so many times in his old life, you didn’t say things like that to their face for fear of being ostracized. Of course, here, all that seemed to matter was what you were ranked. No wonder Mello had wanted to be the best.
The next week, when Mello had reached number one in the rankings, Light sidled up to Matt, who was gaping at the sheet of paper in shock. “The name’s Mello. First place. You can talk to me if you like; I don’t mind speaking with lower life-forms.”
Matt sputtered a bit before laughing and extending his hand out, scratching his head a little. “I was a bit of an idiot, wasn’t I? Can’t we start over?”
When Light took his hand, another snaking white thread reached out towards Matt and connected immediately. Immediately Light had the same connection with Matt as he did with Mello.
“This is going to get complicated.” Light said, staring at the two minds that he could now read and manipulate in his head.
(x)
By the end of the year, using Mello’s angelic looks and his own charisma, Light had most of the orphanage under mind control. But Light knew that this was all temporary up until Near and the Shinigami King arrived. There was no doubt that the Shinigami King was going to be playing for keeps and would most likely turn some people away from his mind control. Light just had to make sure that they were the unimportant ones.
And so, that day came, unsurprisingly, on Mello’s birthday, that a small boy with white hair arrived in their classroom. Light could feel himself swell up with hate upon seeing the boy who had caused his reign as the god over that new world to crumble, but to his surprise, Mello too seemed to instantly hate the boy. Light wasn’t sure why, but wondered whether Mello could actually feel his emotions and thoughts the way that Light could feel Mello’s. Light sincerely hoped that their relationship wasn’t symbiotic. That would have been a pain. He just hoped it was Mello's ego kicking in for Near stealing his birthday spotlight.
Mello wanted nothing more than to avoid the boy and go beat something up, but Light had gotten better at knowing what Mello would acquiesce to and Light managed to twist Mello’s body up after class and go to Near.
“Hello, I’m called Mello. What’s your name?” Light said, being polite, and forcing a sunny smile onto his face.
“Near.” The boy said reticently before turning away and shuffling down the corridor.
“Will you eat lunch with Matt and I today, Near?” called Light, down the corridor, despite Mello fighting against the decision with anger. Near turned around, looking quietly perturbed. Light, this time, smiled sincerely. “We always ask new people to eat with us on the first day. It’s your choice what you do after that, but we like to get to know what new people are like. Please?”
Near’s hands had gone to his hair and started twirling, much to Light’s annoyance, but he started to shuffle back towards Mello. “Yes. I will.”
And to Light’s surprise, Near put his hand through Mello’s. Mello seemed equally surprised, but unlike Light, seemed able to cope with it easily and rolled his eyes. “How old are you, anyway?”
“Six.” said Near as they walked into the hall and Mello laughed.
“No wonder you’re so titchy. Cook will want to feed you up, in any rate, so we’d better save her the trouble.”
Light felt an eyebrow rise but sat back and let Mello do the talking. Mello’s feelings were still interspersed with annoyance, but any hate had gone away at Near. Light wasn’t able to as easily let his feelings go, so it was better that Mello put on that front. At least Mello had managed to master some parts of Sun Tzu. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, indeed.
(x)
To Light’s surprise, Near, Mello and Matt were close friends through the next few years. From what Mogi and Aizawa had gathered from the orphanage when they’d been there to gather information, they’d been the worst enemies and often they had huge fights and debates between each other, both trying to beat the other to the top. There’d never been any violence, but it had been close sometimes.
The contrast between the two times was plain to see. And what was surprising, was that Near…was second. Mello and Light combined were soundly better than everyone else in the orphanage. It was strange, and any of Mello’s hatred towards Near was gone now that he was top and reaching to be the best. To be L.
It was strange too, Light was sort of starting to like Near. The boy had a quiet humour and a sharp wit that matched Light’s own, a humour that didn’t seem to come from the Shinigami King. And there was no mistaking the fact that Near was much less closed off in this world. Near seemed to be more open and more free with his actions compared to what Light had seen from his opponent’s actions previously. Which made Light curious. Being closed off would serve the Shinigami King well. Why was he letting Near be open with Mello?
…Unless the Shinigami King couldn’t control Near. If the shinigami king was having the same bond that Light had with Mello, this almost symbiotic control over the body…it was possible that Near was stronger than the Shinigami King. Still, that was rather unlikely. The Shinigami King must have played ten times the amount of games that Light had, and even if he was a child, you didn’t go that long without being able to master the people in the game.
No, Light couldn’t let his guard down, not now of all times. It was a game and this was one of the Shinigami king’s ploys. He had to make sure that Mello didn’t get too attached to Near, because Mello was fiercely emotional, despite Light’s best attempts to quell that aspect of the blonde boy and Light dreaded what would happen to his main body if the Shinigami King managed to get Near to betray Mello.
(x)
It was late at night when Mello was fourteen and unable to sleep. This would be about the time that the Kira case would start and another Light Yagami come million miles away would pick up a black notebook and change the world for the better. For the better, right?
Che, he hated doubting himself, which he’d been doing more and more lately. Being stuck in the game for this long annoyed him. All of the other games had been short, a few days to a month. Light had been stuck with Mello for nearing six years now. It had been interesting, no doubt, especially in a house for genii, but Light was so tired of waiting. He needed L to die so that he could succeed him and win the game.
Light was tensed and for some reason, the blonde boy had managed to pick up on it. Annoyingly. Sometimes, Light wondered what would happen to this world once the game was over. Did it blink away from existence because the events had changed or did it continue to live on, separate from the actual universe?
Light knew of the alternate universe theory, but he’d always been a little skeptical until he’d started playing these games. It would be a shame if these people he’d grown to like quite a lot in comparison to the people that he’d hated in the old world, just disappeared. Mello had finally gotten fed up of his musing it seemed, and was walking to the kitchen for chocolate. Nothing new.
What was new however, was the fact that a messy black-haired man was stealing cake from the sweet fridge.
“Who are you?” Mello asked but Light said nothing as he looked upon the face of his rival. Here he was. All Light needed to do was kill him. Make him dead, to end this stupid game so Light could rule the shinigami realm. There were cameras around, but wasn’t that what Matt was for? Then…why was he hesitating?
“My name is Dominic.” L said and Light took over Mello and gave him a flat glare.
“Please stop lying. It’s unsightly and irritating, especially since it’s so transparent. You can only be L.” Light said, as he reached for some chocolate from the fridge.
“Why ask a question that you already knew the answer to?” asked L, as he perched on a kitchen chair and licked his sundae, looking unconcerned by Light's answer either way.
“To see how you would answer. Your first reaction was to lie, which means that you’re here on a stealth mission or that you really don’t think much about our abilities. Any idiot could tell that Mr. Wammy and Roger wouldn’t just let a random man into the House without telling anyone and burglars don’t steal food from the fridge in such a conspicuous manner, however hungry they are.” Light deduced easily, as he took the opposite seat next to L and let Mello deal with the actions of actually eating the chocolate. He couldn’t kill his rival. Not yet, anyway. The Light Yagami on the other side of the world would do that for him.
He remembered the little meeting they’d had earlier that week, that farce of a conversation with L as he answered the questions of the children and revealed absolutely nothing about himself, despite answering with nothing but the truth. Light hadn’t felt any need to ask questions about L when he knew the man almost better than he knew himself and Mello had been busy watching the other children’s reactions and L’s hidden meanings to really care about actually asking a question.
“You’re very perceptive, Mello.” said L, as he licked the spoon.
Light rolled Mello's eyes again. “It’s not being perceptive, it’s called not being an idiot.”
L chuckled and Mello’s urge to smirk beat down Light’s façade of stoicness. “So then Mello, why are you awake so late at night? Surely you have some tests tomorrow?”
Light gave L a gimlet stare. The tone was monotonous but the wording was so patronizing. L didn’t seem to think much of his successors. In fact, there seemed to be a little bit of disdain hidden amongst the tightly wrapped layers of nonchalance. Perhaps it made L more human than the sweet-eating robot and that was a good thing for Light's emotions, but for Mello, it was a hindrance. “I couldn’t sleep.” Light answered.
L tilted his head sideways. “Any particular reason?” he asked. There was no interest in his tone, it was obvious he was just asking it to be polite as he had often done with Light when they’d been working on the Yotsuba case.
Still, Light answered as Mello would. “It’s stupid, really…but, it feels like something’s awakening, you know? That something big is gonna happen soon. It felt like this before the Lapland Glacier murders and before the Twin Towers fell. I can’t help but think that something’s going to happen that’s going to change the world, soon, and…I don’t know whether it will be for the better or for the worse.”
L had stopped eating his cake halfway through Light’s confession and had pressed a thumb to his lips. “That is certainly interesting, Mello. You’ve felt this before then? How many times?”
Light shrugged, fighting very hard to hide the smirk that wanted to reach Mello's face. “Umm, well the two times I mentioned, but there were another ten times or so, but I couldn’t find anything on the news or in any sort of media that would warrant the feeling. I even asked Matt to help me hack some databases, but I couldn’t figure out what had triggered it, you know?”
“No, I don’t know.” L said, as he resumed eating, a glint in his eyes that signaled that he was very, very interested in the individual in front of him. Light knew this expression well and had to suppress both his smirk and Mello's smile. Finally, he was treating Mello as something akin to an equal. “But it is likely that these incidents that you speak of were hidden from the public because they were too sensitive to reach the general public. It may not have even related to crime.”
Light nodded and lapsed back into silence. He had nothing else to say, so he just watched L. He missed the debates they’d had, but he was sure that even L would get suspicious if his successor, that he seemed to dislike quite a bit, just randomly instigated some sort of debate. Mello finished the chocolate and played with his rosary, which Mello had never let leave his figure since his parents’ imprisonment.
“What do you do in your spare time, Mello?” asked L, looking as equally awkward as Mello felt.
“Study. Do homework. Usually, Matt and I drag Near away from his puzzles and go into town to solve the Winchester Police’s problems for them. Keep myself fit.” Light answered shortly, shrugging. His wording was very deliberate. L knew that Mello was trying to get his position by studying, that he was already doing detective work and that he was friends with the two people below him in the rankings. It was probably information that L already knew, but L liked to analyse people by the way they disclosed information and Light intended to try and win L over to his side rather than that of the Shinigami King.
“You shouldn’t let the police here get dependent on you. Who knows what will happen once I die and you have to take over for me?” L teased, as he licked his spoon again.
Mello’s fist clenched and Light managed to stop him from standing up in his anger but couldn’t stop the expression of anger nor the words that spilled out of Mello's motuh. “Don’t say that! You’re not allowed to die yet!” Mello barked. Light internally winced, but Mello was in control and wouldn't let Yukimura take the reins.
L looked rather taken aback. “Is that not your entire purpose here?”
Mello crossed his arms and looked away from L. “Look, you’re a legend here, okay? You’ve done so much for the world. Everyone wants to be you, but frankly, I don’t. I want to work with you and help you reach your goals or be a detective in my own right. Replacing you…is not on my list of things to do. I’m only here because the education is what I need.”
L was almost smiling now, his eyes big and wide. This was odd. L looked almost flattered. “Really now?” he asked, “How…interesting.” Light finally pulled away control from Mello as L made that comment.
“Please don’t try and act normal. It’s not working.” Light said, before he could control himself and he slapped his hands over his mouth. L outrightly laughed and Light made sure to look contrite. He had not meant for that to escape his mouth. He’d cultivated a personality for Mello that was brash but kind at the same time. He couldn’t ruin that now with L, no matter how annoying the other man was.
“You don’t hesitate to speak your mind.” L said. His emotions were hidden and Mello tugged the reins of the body away from Light.
“Look, I’m hardly going to keep quiet when I disagree with something. That’s the quickest way for evil to take foot. It’s how most dictators like Mugabe and Gaddaffi started.” Mello argued, as he tapped his fingers across the table.
“I never said that it was a bad thing. I knew someone quite like you before.” L said, smirking a little.
Light, besides himself, was interested. He pulled the reigns back from Mello. “Who?”
L suddenly looked slightly hesitant. “It’s not a happy story.”
“There aren’t many happy stories in life, and if they are happy, then there is no plot development or reason for the story to exist.” Light said.
“Most stories end happily though. This one ends with justice.” L said; his mouth in a tight line.
“Happiness is an ambiguous term in any case. One person’s happiness is always another person’s sadness. Every story is sad to someone.” asked Light, as he leant back. “If you wished to keep us away from unhappiness, we wouldn’t be being groomed for your position, where you see nothing but sadness.”
L smiled and there was something akin to pride there. “You are determined to hear this, aren’t you, Mello? Well then, let me tell you the story of the Los Angeles Beyond Birthday Murder case…”
(x)
The night ended with three stories about L’s cases and two of Mello’s stories about the orphanage and one of Light’s personal stories, twisted to suit the life of Mello. Light, besides himself, felt a little jealous. He’d never been able to talk with anybody in such a benign manner, who was his equal in intelligence. Even when he’d been chained to L, L had never been able to forget that Light was Kira, and any chance of civil discussions that were enjoyable had disappeared.
And the little game had certainly been interesting. But since that night, the Kira case had erupted in full spring and Mello followed it with something of an obsession. Everyone else in the orphanage looked at them like they were crazy, he knew, especially since Mello never turned off his laptop anymore and constantly monitored what was happening.
“Are you okay, Mello?" asked Matt, one day, despite Light attempting to control his personality and avoid that question.
“I’m fine.” Mello said automatically as he did another trace scan to reroute the Yotsuba group’s firewall to try and let him in. Really, Light should have remembered how he did this the last time, but that detail had escaped him and he’d been spending the last few hours trying his hardest to get it to work, once the criminals stopped dying for four days, signaling the start of other Light’s confinement and Higuchi’s reign as Kira.
“You’re not okay. Matt and I have been worried for you.” Near says, his voice quiet as he plops down on Mello’s lap.
“Get off.” Mello said, as pushed Near off in time to see the firewall push him out for the umpteenth time. “Urrgh!” Mello growled, despite himself.
“Why are you doing this? Near beat you for first this week.” Matt said, “And you haven’t been sleeping at all. I always see you working away into the night. Relax, dude.”
Light let Mello deal with it as he pulled hard at Matt’s personality to get him to shut up. Unfortunately, Matt was more stubborn than Light would have thought and clung like a limpet to the reigns of the brunette’s body.
“Yes Mello, this is unnatural. What is wrong with you?” Near said, his face furrowed and his eyes bigger than usual.
“Look,” Mello said, “Kira’s important. I don’t know why everyone else seems to be ignoring his existence, but he is important. Look at what’s happening to the world! And L’s struggling. This is his longest case yet, and you know it. He’s been on this for nearly five months now! Five months! His longest case took two months! As much as it pains me to say it, L will lose and die unless we can help him.”
Light’s attention snapped back to Mello. What? No… other him was going to win! Other him had to win this round, at least. That was the whole point of this. Mello was just doing this information surveillance so that he could have more information than Near when L eventually died. Not…not sentiment. Damn it, he needed to keep Mello in check, more than he needed to keep Matt in check.
Light jumped back to Mello’s body in time to hear Near’s question. “Then why won’t you let us help you?”
Because in this timeline, they were friends, there was no real reason that would actually be accepted. Time for some lying. “Because….because it’s likely that anyone who takes on this case will be in danger. I don’t want you two to be in danger. You’re my best friends. Please. Stay out of this!”
The sentiment was sincerely awful. Light could not believe he was actually saying this. The things he did for his plans. If Ryuk were here, there would have been a lot of laughter. The Shinigami King was probably howling with laughter. Maybe.
Matt, to Mello’s surprise, hugged him. Light froze as did Mello. “It’s exactly because you don’t want us involved that we’re going to help you. Honestly, how did you think you were going to be better at hacking than me, the master of coding?”
“You’re not arrogant in the slightest, are you Matt?” Light asked, keeping his composure together as Matt leant over him to have a go at Yotsuba’s firewall.
“He has a point though.” Near said, as he too decided to hug Mello. Light had to stifle the shout of frustration. What was it, molest-Mello-day, or something? Or be-affectionate–day or something else stupid like that, which only idiots came up with to make themselves feel good. He had hacking to do. If he remembered correctly, this was around the time Higuchi that
“Fine then. I’ll let you idiots help me. But the moment things get dangerous, you have to promise to leave and stop helping me.” Light ordered sternly.
“Only if you promise to do the same.” Matt said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I can’t—Can’t you see why I’ve got to do this? Kira killed my parents! They’re dead now, where they were just in jail before. I never had the chance to talk to my parents and ask them why they were criminals and now Kira took that from me! If he takes L too, I will have no choice but to hunt him down and kill him! L can’t die! He said that he wouldn’t!” Mello said, pulling the reigns away from Light viciously as he exploded.
“He said that he wouldn’t?” asked Near and Light growled. Mello was an idiot. A real idiot. Brilliant, now the Shinigami King would know that Light’s advantage and disadvantage was L.
“The day that he spoke to all of us, he was actually in the House. I met him when he was stealing cake from the fridge at night. I couldn’t sleep and we chatted for most of the night. And he said that he wouldn’t die. He promised.” Mello said and Light let him do it. No point in lying; Near would see straight through it.
Near looked a mixture between betrayed and curious. “That’s quite a promise to make. What will you do if he can’t keep it?”
Light finally managed to get a chance to grab the reigns and did. “You know the answer to that, Near. You aren’t stupid.”
Near nodded and their conversation stopped as Matt finally cracked the Yotsuba firewall.
(x)
The day that Roger called Mello and Near to the office was the day that Light knew the game would be decided on. He had to win. He simply had to win.
“I’m afraid that L is dead.” Roger said, in his annoyingly slimy tone and Light let the expression of shock and horror and sadness and weakness slip over his face. Near didn’t even seem to react, which was how Light would have liked to have acted, if he was being himself.
Light let Mello’s hot anger and sheer frustration slip towards the reigns of the body and let him rage at Roger, before Roger finally protested. Light grabbed the controls back and looked at Roger with a frank contemplation.
“So who’s his successor then? Me or Near? Who did he choose?” Light asked, making sure to sound like he was still suitably distressed.
“That’s just the issue, Mello, Near. He died before he could choose.”
Light blinked. What? He thought that he would have been able to convince L enough to put him forward as his successor. He’d practically hit L over the head with his charisma and his intelligence and his confidence.
“Mello, Near, can’t you two work together?” asked Roger, looking desperate. “I couldn’t make that decision myself. And even Mr. Wammy is dead now, so he cannot either.”
Light stared at Near. He…had to win. He…just had to win. He couldn’t die in his world…not without making that change to the shinigami realm….he had to cheat.
“All right.” Near said, easily, looking up at Mello. Light bit his lip in frustration. No, no, a draw would not be good enough. He had not spent 7 years in this body to even up with a ‘draw’ between him and the Shinigami king.
“Can’t…can’t you give us a test? See which one of is truly better? L…L said that he worked best when he was alone, because he was confident in his own decisions. We need to be able to emulate that. Whether it’s me or Near…we need to be able to see which one of us would be better. Because only one of us can be L.” Light asked, looking hesitant. Quickly, he switched his hand to Roger’s controls and made the old man nod.
“Very well. I will consult with the teachers and with the police and see what I can create to test both of you.” said Roger. Mello nodded and walked out, with Near following slowly afterwards. Light quickly switched controls back to Mello
“Why Mello? Why can’t we just work together? We did it before!” Near said, looking almost betrayed, as they made their way back to the rooms. His voice was filled with an emotion that had been lacking during the conversation with Roger or any of the other times that Light had talked with Near, really.
“I will win, Near. Because I’m not putting you or Matt in danger. L died from this case. I’m the eldest; that means I look after you two, which means not letting you work on cases that killed L. I’m sorry Near, but I can’t lose. I’m not letting you put yourself out there.” Mello said, without Light’s prompting. This was problematic, Mello was supposed to be more detached than this.
Near’s look as Mello walked away was both heartbreaking and chilling at the same time. Neither of them wanted to lose. For Mello and Near, it was a game of succession and of friendship and who was going to be more stubborn. But for Light and the Shinigami King…they won or they died. And with their death went their ideals. Kira’s ideals were etched on the human world forever, even if his reign had evaporated, but Light refused to go to Mu without etching his presence onto the shinigami realm permanently. He would become the god of the shinigami realm and make the wicked fear him.
(x_
The challenge wasn’t much of a challenge at all, really. He knew exactly the clues and the answers that needed to be found from leeching it from Roger’s mind. All Light needed to do was backtrack and backtrack he did.
There was no doubt that Mello would win. And win, Mello did. Spectacularly. But, when Roger bowed his head and declared Mello the successor of L, neither Light nor Mello felt any happiness, as the white fog engulfed Light and ripped him away from the people of Wammy’s Orphanage and the boy, Mihael Keehl, who Light had finally begun to understand.
Strange, how they’d had six years with a symbiotic relationship, and Light still hadn’t fully understood everything about him. Maybe humans were more complex than he’d previously assumed.
(x)
“So….you won.” The King said, and he looked old and tired.
Light nodded. “That’s correct. But I wouldn’t worry about this realm. I will build it up from the ground and make it better than currently is. The realm languishes and the shinigami have no purpose. I strive to change that.”
“And do what, exactly?” asked the King.
Light tapped the side of his nose. “That’s for me to know. Goodbye, Shinigami.”
The King threw Light a glare that would have destroyed him, had Light still been alive, before bits of sand started to fall from the ceiling and the Shinigami King slowly disintegrated and died. Perhaps it was too maudlin for Light, but Light felt sorry for the childlike King. He hoped that Mu still had games for the shinigami to play, however unlikely that sentiment was.
The moment that sand stopped falling, a small red book fell from the ceiling and landed in front of Light. It was slightly larger than Sidoh’s and Rem’s Death Notes had been, but it was mostly the same.
Light picked it up and the moment he did so, a warmth filled him and he felt complete. Light laughed, he hadn’t even realised that he’d been empty. Light opened it and blinked. The only name written in the entire Death Note was…. The Shinigami King?
Light stared at it. He was unsure whether it was his Death Note that detailed the deaths that he’d caused or whether the Shinigami King had killed himself using this notebook…or whether this wasn’t the first and only Shinigami King. Still, it hardly mattered, Light strode around the dark, watery cave. There were a bunch of Death Notes in various colours in the corner and Light strode over to pick them up. To his surprise, his hand was deflected away from it. Interesting. So the King couldn’t touch the Death Notes. It did make sense, in a twisted way. He had so much power already, why would you wish to add to that? It didn’t matter anyway, Light had his Death Note and that would be enough.
He was the ruler of a new world.
Light smirked and to his surprise, Ryuk strode into the cave. “So you’re finally King? Took you long enough.”
Light tilted his head sideways. “How did you figure it out?”
“Hmm? Oh, the whole shinigami realm will have felt it. The entire atmosphere changes, because the shinigami king is what keeps this realm alive. The moment that the shinigami King is killed without an immediate successor, the entire realm would fall, remember? So, the moment you picked it up, you made the atmosphere different. Somehow, I’m not as bored anymore.” Ryuk said, smirking.
Light laughed. “Interesting. This works out in my favour in any case. I can explain my purpose here and what I intend to do.”
Ryuk smirked as he saw what Light was holding. “Aren’t you going to write some names in your notebook? You could die if you don’t have enough lifespan.”
Light shrugged. “Yes, I think I shall. It wouldn’t do to die in the middle of my speech.”
He opened the book and turned around to Ryuk. “Ryuk, can I borrow your pen?”
Ryuk laughed, his eyes bugging out. “Can’t you just make one? You are King, after all.”
Light felt his eyebrow lift but stared at his hand and imagined a pen there. To his surprise, a fountain pen similar to the ones he liked to use appeared in his hand. Light smirked triumphantly and wrote down the first names that came to mind. Nate River, Stephen Loud, Anthony Carter, Halle Bullock. Revenge was sweet, even if a part of him still remembered the small boy with white hair fondly.
He considered killing the Japanese Task Force, but thought that he’d save them for later and imagine some more interesting ways to watch them die.
Ryuk started laughing the moment that Light had finished writing down their names in neat immaculate English. Light suddenly felt himself double over in pain and coughed pathetically as he got back up. His vision was now coated by a slight tint of red.
“Did I just gain shinigami eyes?” asked Light as he turned around to look at Ryuk, whose name was above his head. No lifespan though. Weird.
Ryuk was still laughing and Light stared at his feet. They were tinged with black and he had shining scales and jewels coating his shins. Light also felt like he weighed a little more and extended a hand behind him. He had large wings protruding from his back. Instead of the elegant grey feathers he’d had before, these felt like ligament and bone, like the rest of his body.
“What happened, Ryuk!?” Light demanded, angrily.
“Every time you write a name in the Death Note, your human appearance changes to reflect your inner soul.” said Ryuk, laughing again, as he clutched his sides.
Light took in a deep breath and created a chair to sit in. He perched himself upon the resplendent throne and glared at Ryuk. “Information is power, Ryuk. And I intend to be very powerful. The next time you keep information like that from me, I promise you, there will be a very painful punishment.”
Ryuk grinned, not looking in the least repentant. “King Light. Aren’t you proud of yourself?”
“Lord Kira. You will address me as your majesty. And I am the god of a new world, Ryuk. Let me show you what real change is.” Light said, as he leant back into the chair as some shinigami came in to gape at him.
He had won.
(x)
You look around you as you arrive. You distinctly remember dying. So where are you? It’s a dull world, the clouds congregate above your head as you look around. But the place itself looks lovely. There are a variety of structures everywhere and neat gardens and plants growing everywhere. The fruit looks plump and bright.
There’s someone in front of you, their silhouette looking like they were wearing a monster costume. Maybe it’s Halloween. You walk towards them and recoil in surprise as they turn to face you. The things you’d taken as a costume, are real. They have large spikes sticking out of their shoulders and eyes that burn with fire. They are carrying a black notebook in some kind of holster.
“Umm, can you tell me where I am?” you ask, a little hesitantly. You’ve never been one for discrimination, but this person freaks you out.
“You’re a new one, aren’t you? You’re in the shinigami realm.” says what you can now distinguish as a man.
“Shinigami?” you ask hesitantly. It’s familiar as far as words go. You just can’t remember why…
“Death god. You are also a death god, like me. Look, I don’t deal with newbies. Keep following the blue signs and you should arrive at Armonia Justin’s house. He’ll explain the rules to you and if you’re lucky, you’ll meet Lord Kira.”
“Kira…” you repeat. It’s another word that sounds familiar, but again, you can’t remember why. Everything is just so fuzzy in your memory. You are a death god, though, that much is clear. “Isn’t it a little backwards to have a monarchy? A democracy is all the way to go, right?”
The death god laughs. “Haha, sure, if you want to be as corrupt as the human realm is.” You feel vaguely insulted, though you aren’t really sure why. It’s not like you disagree.
The death god goes back to staring down the large shimmering structure and scribbling away at something. You watch it for a while, but as it seems to be ignoring you, you walk down the road. Blue signs…blue signs….
There aren’t any blue signs. You don’t know if the other death god was having you on, but whatever the reason, it doesn’t change the fact that you are now lost. “Hello?” you call out.
There’s a large amount of noise behind you and you whip around quickly. Another death god, dressed all in black and white, with bright red lipstick looks at you coolly, her wings folding behind her. “You are new here?” she asks, her voice without emotion.
You nod. She rolls her eyes and taps her very long nails, which you would prefer to call claws, against her arm. “My name is Sanaz. Welcome to the shinigami realm. I will take you to Lord Kira. He wishes to see you, for some reason, he seems to think that you’ll be special. Follow me.”
Without even waiting for you to answer, she unfolds her wings again and soars into the air. You feel nervous but jump upwards and hope to stay there. To your surprise, you do, so you follow the elegant shinigami. You can see the blue signs clearly, now that you are in the sky.
“What…what are the duties of a shinigami?” you ask. Usually, you wouldn’t phrase your words in such a formal way, but the female shinigami’s aura seems to demand sophistication on your behalf.
“We kill the people on the human realm who are not worthy of being there anymore. Those who are evil, die. We are silent in our judgement and to those whom we deem worthy of our favour, we give them our powers also. In your life, though it is unlikely that you will be able to remember it, you were one of those people who were granted our favour and our powers.” She explains, coldly.
“Why can’t I remember my human life?” you ask.
“Humans who have used the Death Note, go to Mu and there, their memories are erased and they are bought here. I too used the Death Note in my life. I aided Lord Kira in his quest to rid the world of evil. My name was Kiyomi Takada, in life.” She explains, looking sour. You wonder why that name also sounds very familiar. You also wonder why everyone seems to revere this Lord Kira. Is he really that great?
You voice this thought to the shinigami and she smiles for the first time. It’s not a great look. “You will see when you meet Lord Kira for yourself.”
You are now very curious as the two of you sweep down to a castle-like structure. It’s very opulent and doesn’t look very practical, but it’s lovely to look upon. You fly through the main gates and pass through a large apple orchard, where a shinigami all in black, waves at Sanaz, his clown smile spreading wider. Sanaz ignores him, sniffing slightly.
Finally, you enter something that looks like a courtyard. It’s a large room made of rock and it’s very simple and understated in comparison to the rest of the castle. At the back of the room, there is a throne where a man sits lazily back.
He is the most human and handsome looking person you have seen here yet, but there are jarring discrepancies. His eyes are a deep crimson red and his auburn hair is longer than you remember human hair to be. His skin is still a deep tan colour rather than blue or black like you’ve seen upon other shinigami, but it’s cracked, like a mirror that’s been smashed and there are scale-like jewels decorating his hands and legs, that look out of place upon him.
He wears fitted trousers and an unbuttoned black shirt, over which, there is a large purple cape, fastened by a gaudily opulent fur-covered clasp. He smiles as you come in and rises, removing the cape to uncover large batlike wings that end in grey feathers. You feel slightly overwhelmed and hasten to copy Sanaz’s posture of kneeling.
“I have told you many times, Sanaz, to stop bowing when you come in. It does embarrass me so.” He says, his voice warm and pleasant to listen to. You wish that he would talk more.
“You are my Lord, and it would be a disgrace if I did not show you the honour befitting of your status.” says Sanaz stiffly and he laughs, and it is slightly brittle.
“You are stubborn, dear Sanaz. But enough about me. I bid you welcome, young shinigami. Please, rise.”
You hasten to obey and he smiles as he places his hands on your shoulders. “What is your name?” asks Lord Kira and you stammer.
“I…I can’t remember…” You finally manage to say.
He smiles encouragingly. “Don’t worry, that’s normal. If you wish…I can give you a name?”
You nod; that would be an honour indeed, to have the King of the Shinigami give you a name! He laughs. “Let me think… how about Misa?”
The name is unbelievably familiar. “Yes, Lord Kira. It is beautiful.” You say, letting a smile cross your face. He smirks, and if it isn’t entirely friendly, you pass it off as a trick of the light. He is pure and wholesome and you are unworthy for even thinking anything against him.