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(JC3) You're A Shinigami? I Am A Shinigami! Death Note SI Early Access Chapter 2.1
🕑 Added 2024-12-27 21:30:58 +0000 UTC...
As we walked side by side through the desolate streets of the abandoned part of town, I could practically sense the weight of the silence surrounding us. The cracks in the pavement and the remnants of once-vibrant structures loomed like ghosts of the past. I had no doubt there was a contrast to the chaos of the city just a neighbourhood away.
The police station we were headed to was, according to Misora's phone, a small one that had aged badly in terms of resources and priority in regard to the city itself. That it was one with a relatively underwhelming reputation which, to the woman, meant it was unlikely to be of any help.
But L was a neurotic mess that likely made sure it had a way of connecting to the main precinct, if only because the man likely wouldn't have settled for any risk at missing out on information.
Naomi Misora herself walked with purpose, her brows furrowed, reflecting the depth of her thoughts. I could see traces of determination in her pace, the way her shoulders squared against the oppressive atmosphere. Yet the underlying tension was hard to miss. It looked like she was catching whispers of danger lurking just beyond her reach, though she couldn’t quite name it.
I wonder if that was the aftereffect of the Death Note's hold over her... Aizen's false voice remarked idly into my head.
Talk about dramatic. And of course Doflamingo mock of a voice sees nothing wrong with the idea of human puppetry.
Sweeping her gaze down to her phone, I watched the woman nod to herself slowly. "It's a few blocks away," She muttered with a strength to her voice, despite the uncertainty that shadowed it. "How are we supposed to get L's attention by the way? He's not exactly open to strangers reaching out to him."
“Oh, I have a few ideas that might grab said attention,” I replied, keeping my tone casual. The only question was how much I ought to reveal.
“Do you think it's safe?” she asked, glancing at me, her piercing gaze searching for reassurance.
I blinked at the question, briefly looking back to her.
"Safe?"
She nodded slowly. "I am just concerned that..." She bit her lip. "You said that Kira can't use his power on me anymore, we're you telling the truth?"
I idly glanced up to her stricken name and the numbers that danced above them. "Well, it certainly won't stop him from trying to kill you the old fashion way," Her gaze turned bothered at that. "But as far as his power goes, yea, I'd say you're safe."
She mulled my words over for a minute before giving me another frown. "When are you going to tell me how he kills his victims?"
I grinned at that. "If I could help it? Never." The suspicion on her face grew tenfold at that. Along with the annoyance for that matter.
"Why?"
"Because it'd ruin the fun." I answered, absolutely serious.
She didn't think that was a good enough answer judging by the way she stopped moving with one hand gripping her phone tightly while the other latched onto an arm- She couldn't very well reach my shoulder with the same grip, hell barely her head did. "This isn't a game-" She made to say before I cut her off.
"To you." Idly reaching for the hand and grabbing an arm, I pulled it off slowly. "And we're not there yet Misora." A beat passed as I watched her stiffen a breath at the look in my eyes- Or the deranged smile.
Definitely the smile. Both voices in my head remarked at the same time.
"Try not to forget that next time." I finished with the same smile. I was painfully aware of how close she likely presumed I was to her- Saving one's life tended to have that effect on people but she seemed to be taking it a little too far already.
She fell silent following that as we continued our way past the last bankrupted storefront and reached an alleyway that was to serve as a shortcut.
...
As we turned the corner, I spotted a trio of strangers ahead, loitering against the crumbling wall of an abandoned building. They were slouched and doing their absolute best to be menacing, their laughter echoing through the deserted alleyway. My heartbeat quickened though for some strange reason as something felt off about them- specifically the one with the lean figure and wild-eyes.
Peaking into his name, my eyes widened at the sight of the numbers above it.
He was under the thrall of the Death Note's power...
Naomi’s body language shifted as she noticed them too, a subtle tension lining her posture. I could feel her adrenaline spike as she tried to assess the situation.
That king of theirs evidently works fast... Aizen muttered, an annoyed tone to his voice.
...A death note can't entice one to kill another- I blinked and noted the fact the noted stranger's companions seemed to listen to his every word- Ah.
He took control of the leader... And if my guess was right-
“Let’s try not to draw any attention,” She murmured, trying to steer me away. evidently choosing to ignore the hoodlums’ presence that held a kind of sick allure.
"I thought flocks of a feather were supposed to recognise each other," I muttered jokingly as I ignored her concern and pocketed both hands.
"What do you-"
"The lanky one's under Kira's power," I answered quickly and watched her stiffen in result. "But it's not Kira who put him through it,"
She didn't have time to process my second statement fully, even if her instincts made her shudder.
The wild-eyed one, took a step forward, a smirk creeping across his face. “Well, well, what do we have here? Lost little lambs in the wrong part of town?”
Ugh.
At least villain right! I ignored the sudden agreement from both my inner voices.
Naomi squared her shoulders, her instincts kicking into high gear. “Just passing through,” she replied, her tone unsteady as she hesitated behind me, her gaze switching between me and the wild-eyed's companions squaring up beside him.
The Shinigami King was likely held to the same rules he created- Even if he could make newer ones. The ploy here was to likely coerce the two followers into killing for him.
“Passing through? Not a smart move in this neighbourhood,” he said, his smirk widening as he glanced back at his friends with a pointed look. “Well?”
But before we could move, the lead hoodlum's friends stepped closer, blocking our path. Their faces twisted with cruel excitement, emboldened by the one who held the hidden weight of the Death Note’s curse.
Naomi was breathing out a little louder than usual as she watched the two brandish knives.
How utterly human of them. Aizen mocked into my head.
But all that bravado on their faces went out the window the moment I started laughing. “You don’t want to do this,” I said, my voice low yet firm and promptly spread my arms out wide. "But if you insist, I'll let you swipe first before I snap your neck."
There was a benefit to being tall, unhinged and very much a cackling loon.
I knew the wild-eyed one couldn't really attack, at least with nothing fatal thanks to the Death Note's rules, which meant my only problems were the two idiots beside him and in response to my little showmanship, one of them hesitated and took a single step back and taking advantage of that, I promptly swung at the other and very quickly realised that human or not, my body came gift wrapped at the highest level it could in a normal world.
In other words, the fucker's face crunched at the sudden attack as his body fell backwards.
When the other knife-wielding idiot, now visibly angry, made to swipe at me haphazardly, I watched Naomi Misora surprise him with a foot to the face.
Oh. Right. She's the one that told L that kicking people worked wonders.
Not letting him get any momentum back up, I followed it with a kick of own- And crunch.
Look at me breaking noses and fixing dead people.
I was basically a poor man's Batman!
Naomi, adrenaline clearly seeping through her, blinked wide-eyed as she took a step back, her gaze squared on the wild-eyed one in the middle who wasn't paying his friends any mind, his eyes distant and lost.
The Death Note's rules forbade him from taking matters into his own hands, and with my and likely Misora's death impossible at his own hands- I watched him clutch at his chest as his body sprawled onto the floor.
"...Save him."
I could.
Naomi Misora grabbed at my arm again, this time with conviction as she appeared in my face. "Save him!" She repeated, louder.
Judging by the way my body was reacting to the poor sod, I had enough juice to save three people right now and I wasn't sure when I was getting any more.
"If I save him," I remarked slowly. "Kira wins." I watched her freeze at that and before she could make another attempt at pushing for the man's survival all the same I shrugged her hand off and started walking past the Shinigami King's victim.
...
As we moved through the narrow alley, the dim light filtering in from the street beyond cast long shadows on the walls. The tension from our encounter with the hoodlums slowly dissipated, but Naomi’s shock was palpable as she walked alongside me, her brow furrowed in thought.
“You just let him die, just like that?” she finally asked, breaking the silence. There was a mix of admonishment and confusion in her voice, and I could see the gears turning in her mind as she sought some sort of answer. "...How... does it not bother you at all?"
I shot her a quick glance, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “If I said no would that surprise you?” I chuckled, attempting to deflect her question with humor.
Her eyes widened as she grit her teeth. “This isn't funny!” She remarked indignent. "That's a human life you just- just- you could've helped him!"
I leaned my head in slightly towards her as we stopped moving. "And why is that my concern?"
"It's the human thing to do!" She replied back easily and quickly. "It's-"
"I am not sure if you noticed yet," I cut her off again. "But humanity isn't really my strong suit."
She searched my gaze at that, her brow knit together as she bit a lip once again. "...You're lying," She shook her head. "You're lying, you wouldn't have helped me then- you wouldn't be helping me right now if that was true!"
"What can I say, you're amusing darlin'" I snorted, to her utter annoyance.
"Stop being glib-"
"How many family members do you have, Misora?" I questioned her, catching her off guard.
"What?" She questioned back, thrown off. "What does- what do my parents have to do with this?" She added on, answering my question in the same breath.
"What do you think Light Yagami's going to do, the moment he finds that not only are you still alive but he can't kill you using his power anymore?"
She stumbled at that question for a moment, her eyes searching for an answer she didn't want to find as she took a slight step back. "What are you..."
I took a step forward, bridging the distance. "You know exactly what I am asking here." A beat passed as I adopted a more serious expression, letting the gravity of my next question settle in the air. “What would you do, Naomi, if Kira realizing he can't kill you himself, decided to threaten your parents with his power?”
Naomi’s eyes widened, the fierce determination that had previously filled them flickering momentarily. It was as if I had laid bare a terrifying possibility she hadn’t fully allowed herself to consider. “That’s… that’s so twisted,” she said slowly, the weight of my words settling heavily in the air between us. For a moment, I could see the gears turning in her mind as she tried to fight off the ridiculous idea before remembering exactly the kind of eyes she'd seen before she'd fallen under the Death Note's grip. "...He... he doesn't know who my parents are-"
"Push comes to shove, Light Yagami can in fact ignore the need for a name." She blinked, startled again. "In exchange for half of his life, Light Yagami would only need a picture to kill your parents." She took another step back her gaze bewildered as she processed the information. As she took in the fact I somehow knew it myself. I took another step forward. "So tell me, Naomi Misora, what would you do if he held their lives over your head." Another beat of silence passed as her mouth opened and closed rapidly. "What would you do if he told you that the only way to save them, is to kill yourself."
“I…” she began, faltering. I could sense her strength as a whole faltering as she pictured her family in the crosshairs of Kira’s cruelty. “I would do everything in my power to protect them..." Her expression flickered, and I could see the realization washing over her. The determination in her eyes was suddenly tempered by the harsh truth I had drawn out. “You’re saying it like it’s a foregone conclusion,” she whispered.
"It might as well be." I calmly stated. "Light Yagami already has a connection to L- and the moment you come into the picture, do you really think you can play background?"I let out a snort at the thought. "You're the only piece L can dangle in front of his face that could push him into acting on impulse." I wondered what she was thinking right now. "You're the only one he can use to force Light Yagami to stop hiding. And the moment he does... Well, let's just say paying half of your life is a small price to pay to become a god."
Naomi’s expression shifted as she swept her gaze back the way we'd come. "...Your power's limited isn't it?"
I nodded at her, a smile on my face as she realised exactly why I was asking. "Three people to be exact." I pointed out. "I can save three more. And I don't know when I'll get another fix, so I'll be damned if I waste them with nothing to gain."
Her resolve cracked at that just slightly as she took a step closer herself, her voice dropping to a near whisper. “...Nothing to gain..." She opened and closed her mouth, her gaze turning distant again. "What would...What would it take to stop Kira’s power from affecting my parents the way you did for me?”
I looked at her, amusement dancing in my eyes. The thought amused me, how deeply she was delving into this scenario. “You really think your family has anything to offer me?” I challenged playfully.
...You really have become crueller, haven't you? Aizen's question was ignored.
I idly noted the fact that Doflamingo was eerily silent.
"Do you have any idea what the most powerful people in the world would offer me for that kind of immunity? For that kind of freedom?"
With confusion flickering across her face, “Would you really just stand by and do nothing if that situation played out?” There was a haunted tone to her voice.
I tilted my head at her. "You just watched me do that, Misora."
"...But that was just a..." She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Albeit for a moment before her expression shifted, a mix of frustration and concern knitting her brow. “My family matters to me... They're all I have left..."
“I’m not personally invested in your family’s safety in the same way you are." I scoffed, earning a flinch. "Hell, I don't even really have a connection to you- you were a whim," I added on with a shrug. "I wasn't kidding when I called you lucky."
"...What would it take?" She whispered, though this time there was a glint to her eyes that hadn't been there before. "What would it take?" She repeated.
"You're asking me to use up all three names here." I snorted. "You don't have the means to cover that cost-"
"I only have two parents-" She made to reply back, confused.
"And if you think anyone's going to prosecute Kira without L, you're insane." I tilted my head at her. "That's three, otherwise without L, what's the point of even playing the game right!?" I chuckled.
She glared at me for a moment, and I could tell she was struggling to reconcile my nonchalance with her desperation. "...You wouldn't be doing this if there wasn't something you wanted- So out with it already!"
"You know what I want. I told you already." I reached a hand out to her shoulder as I locked eyes with her. "I really wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to kill the Shinigami King."
She opened and closed her mouth at that, her eyes wide. "...How am I supposed to help-" And then realisation struck. "...You want Kira's power." Her eyes turned panic at the implications that swept through her gaze. "Kira can pass his power around."
Bingo.
...
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Comments
Zerak
Yup, no point without L, non of that other detective BS after episode 25.
