Hey everyone! I'm Tune, and welcome to the first chapter of "Justice"! As you know, this is a Death Note fanfic, and I hope you guys like it! Comment what you think, and thank you for reading my fanfiction.
"For the final time, sit at your desk properly, Lawliet!"
The high school student known as Ryuzaki L. Lawliet sighed, and moved his legs down underneath his desk so he could, in Mr. Adam's point of view, sit properly. Ryuzaki usually made an excuse for sitting the way he did, with his legs folded up against his body, feet on the chair. He would remove his thumb from his lower lip and tell Mr. Adam that he had to sit the way he did, or else his deductive skills would drop forty percent. Then Mr. Adam would say that Ryuzaki was not a detective, so therefore his argument is invalid. Ryuzaki would then go on to say that he has helped the police solve many cases in the past, and he was working on a case with them right now. He refused to tell Mr. Adam which case, exactly, and that is what got him into trouble.
Since Ryuzaki didn't make the excuse that he usually did, Mr. Adam smirked. He was certain that he had won the battle that had raging between himself and that student for the entire school year.
The battle started on Ryuzaki's first day as a senior in high school. He had come into the classroom with his books and supplies, and chose the desk three rows down on the far left end, right next to the windows. Ryuzaki sat down as he usually did. He had stepped into the chair, and then the rest of his body followed. I guess you could say that he was in sort of a fetal position. He had taken out his textbook on translating Japanese to English, and began to study the first chapter. With his thumb on his lower lip, Ryuzaki calculated how much time it would take him to finish this chapter's homework and start the next chapter.
I can probably get all of chapter one done tonight in an hour if I finish my other homework early. How many chapters are in this book…?
Ryuzaki flipped to the table of contents in the front of the textbook to check. The textbook was surprisingly thin, so it wasn't too hard to navigate. He ran his finger down the pages to see what was in each chapter and what pages they were on. Right before class started is when Ryuzaki had found out how many chapters were in the book.
Only sixteen chapters in this? I can have this finished within a month if I want, and I can hand in the appropriate homework on time, so that way it can seem like—
"Good morning, class," a booming voice had said from the front of the room, interrupting Ryuzaki's thoughts. "I will be your Japanese-English Translation teacher, Mr. Adam."
The man at the front of the classroom was short, only about four and a half feet tall. However, the American man had broad shoulders, and Ryuzaki could see that he was muscular. Mr. Adam was very lean, and with his angular face, short nose, and neatly groomed red hair, Mr. Adam was kind of handsome. "Open up your textbooks to chapter one and we will begin to read it aloud." Mr. Adam had said.
The sound of rustling papers had filled the room. No one spoke, because they all knew that the man in front of them was not to be messed with. Ryuzaki had already begun to read the chapter silently to himself, and so if he was called upon to read aloud to the rest of his class, Ryuzaki wouldn't be nervous. He usually wasn't, but it is better to be prepared for a long journey than to have not enough supplies, I suppose.
"Now, who would like to read first?" Mr. Adam had asked on that fall afternoon. He scanned the classroom for hands. Out of the fifteen students before him, only two had their hands raised. Mr. Adam had no problem displaying his disappointment on his face. His lips formed a line, his bushy, red eyebrows dipped slightly towards his nose—which had its nostrils flared—and his eyes were squinted in a threatening way.
He had then scanned the classroom like this, and more hands went up, five more. As Mr. Adam scanned, he noticed a particular, pale-skinned student in the third row of desks, all the way to the left, right next to the windows. The student had wild and spiky black hair that was pushed to the one side, black lines underneath his dark brown eyes, a slightly angular face, and a smallish nose. The student was wearing a baggy, long-sleeved, white shirt, baggy jeans, and no shoes. He student was sitting in a most peculiar way. He was sitting with his legs tucked close to his body, in kind of a fetal position, left thumb on his lower lip, and his arm was reaching over his legs as he stared at his textbook while writing notes into an open notebook on his right side.
Mr. Adam cleared his throat, and instead of disappointment all over his face, there was something that looked like a mix of confusion and surprise. He raised his eyebrows, widened his eyes, moved his head back slightly, and stared at the student. Then the student raised his head, and caught Mr. Adam staring. In fact, all of the other students in the classroom had noticed the strange sitting pattern, and were staring as well.
Then the boy cocked his head and asked, "Is there something you need, sir? Do you want me to read or…"
Mr. Adam again cleared his throat, and then spoke. "Why are you not sitting properly," he paused to look at the clipboard of names. He saw the student's name there, and began to speak again. "Why are you not sitting properly, Ryuzaki? Is this your idea of a joke?"
Ryuzaki took his thumb off of his lip and smiled, only slightly, at this question. "I am forced to sit this way. If I do not, then my deductive skills drop by forty percent."
"You are not a detective, Ryuzaki L. Lawliet. You are a high school student that most likely wants to do deductive work. So please sit properly." Mr. Adam had boomed. His face was contorted with anger and frustration. However, the student didn't respond to it.
"Actually," Ryuzaki said, putting down his pencil and then lacing his fingers together. "I have assisted the police in solving many cases in the past, seven to be exact. In fact, I am working on solving a case with the police as we speak."
A gasp emitted from the other students. Indistinct conversations and mumblings were exchanged between them. They seemed excited.
"Oh, really? Then which case is it, eh?" Mr. Adam said, crossing his arms.
Ryuzaki sighed. Isn't he smart enough to know that I cannot tell him? Isn't he smart enough to know that it may be classified information? He thought.
"I am not allowed to tell anyone about it outside the police. It is classified information." He said without looking at the red-haired man. All throughout this argument, Ryuzaki's tone had remained steady and calm, whereas Mr. Adam's tone changed with his emotion.
Mr. Adam inhaled shakily, and then exhaled, eyes closed. "Ryuzaki, please sit properly when you are in my classroom. If you do not, then I will have to send you to the principal."
Ryuzaki considered telling him that sending a student to the principal because of the way they sat was immature and almost an act of desperation. However, he also considered that after he did that, it would only get him in more trouble and his parents wouldn't be too happy about it. So, Ryuzaki moved his legs under his desk.
"Thank you."
The only reason why Ryuzaki hadn't given Mr. Adam his usual argument today was because of the most recent case that the police were working on. It had consumed his thoughts, so Ryuzaki was glad that he had already read the entire Japanese to English textbook and done all of the homework that Mr. Adam would assign. This case was the most complicated one of all of the cases that Ryuzaki had been asked to help solve. There was hardly any evidence for whatever suspicion they brought up. Even the most logical of suspicions had hardly any evidence to back it up.
At least, that's what the police thought.
Ryuzaki knew that they were missing something, that there was one piece of evidence that he didn't have or didn't notice. He had already linked what evidence the police had together, but even though the answer was clear on which suspect was the culprit, something didn't make sense.
Stop. I can't think straight without sitting like I usually do. If only Mr. Adam was like the other teachers—they don't care, so why should he? Does he think that I won't pay attention if I'm sitting incorrectly? Did I not tell him that I basically get smarter if I sit like I always do?
"Lawliet." Said a voice. Ryuzaki raised his head to find the source. It was, of course, Mr. Adam.
"Yes, sir? Is there a problem?"
"I asked you a question. Can you please tell us the answer?" the red-haired man said with a slight smirk on his face.
Damnit! I got lost in thought again! I need to work on that…
Ryuzaki looked down at his textbook, wrote something down in his notebook, and then looked back at Mr. Adam.
"I did not fully understand the question, sir. May you please repeat it for me?" Ryuzaki asked with his silver tongue.
Mr. Adam didn't see anything hidden in this response. The question he asked was difficult. That was the reason he asked Ryuzaki. The student was always finishing his homework with top scores, and either handing it in on time or early. Mr. Adam was confident that he would finally outwit the young man that always outwitted him.
"If human beings originally spoke only one language amongst themselves, then how is it so many languages exist now? Why do we not all speak the same language?" Mr. Adam asked. No one in his other classes could answer this question so of he had to ask the smartest person in the grade.
Ryuzaki pulled his legs up onto his chair, so that way he could get his deductive skills back. Mr. Adam made no comment about this, so Ryuzaki knew that he had won the raging war between them. Putting his left thumb on his bottom lip, Ryuzaki began to consider the question.
This is simple, and the only reason that it's difficult is because of how well-worded it is. Human beings have existed world-wide; therefore, it is impossible for them to think of communication in the same way. Further development of language and the ability to contact other humans and learn their language contributes to an invention of a new language. That is what I will answer.
"Human beings have existed world-wide; therefore, it is impossible for them to think of communication in the same way," Ryuzaki explained, taking his thumb off of his lip again. "Further development of language, the ability to contact other humans and learn their language contributes to an invention of a new language. That is why we do not speak the same language. It is also impossible to get the world to communicate in the same way. Even though most of the world may speak it, there will still be rebellious people that refuse to speak it."
Mr. Adam was shocked by this answer. It was perfect. It wasn't the answer written down in his notes; however, it was better than what the notes said. Mr. Adam decided that he would let Ryuzaki sit however he wanted. Besides, if he had a student this good, he could use it to his advantage.
"A perfect answer, as always." He said, trying not to show too much emotion on his face.
The rest of the day went well. Word gets around quickly, and soon, everyone knew about Ryuzaki's actions. Usually, he is made fun of because of the way he sits, and is lonely at every lunch period. Today, however, his table was crammed with popular and non-popular kids alike. They all asked the same question—more or less.
"Ryuzaki! How do you do it?"
"Can you teach me to be that smart?"
"Sorry I bullied you, Ryuzaki. You're actually pretty cool. Can you help me with my homework later?"
"Let's go party tonight, Ryuzaki! Right after we finish our homework of course."
He remained silent the whole time; all he did was eat his lunch, and then go outside to read. However, no matter where he went for the rest of the day, a pack of other students followed. Ryuzaki ignored every single one of them. The only time he got any silence—more or less—was after school. Everyone seemed to forget about the legendary Ryuzaki L. Lawliet as they went off with their friends.
On the way home, Ryuzaki saw a black leather notebook fall from the sky. It seemed to come out of thin air. The book landed right in front of him. Ryuzaki stopped his bike right before it. He laid the bike down, and then cautiously looked down at the fallen notebook. It was covered in black leather—on the cover, spine, and back. On the front of the notebook in white lettering read: DEATH NOTE. Thinking it a prank, Ryuzaki picked it up between his fingers, and held it out in front of him. He opened the notebook—still holding it far away from himself and pinching the corners in his fingers—and read what was written there in English.
Rules of the Death Note:
· The human's name that is written in this note shall die.
· If the cause of death is not specified within 40 seconds of writing the name, then the victim will simply die of a heart attack.
Noticing that there was no trace of an author, Ryuzaki put it into his bag. He was suspicious of it.
Even though it is most likely a prank, he thought as he picked up his bike and got on. There is still a small chance that it is real. Even if it is only a two percent chance, it is still a chance. I will try it out on a criminal tonight. If it doesn't work, I shall put it back where I found it.
With that in mind, Ryuzaki pedaled the rest of the way home. Once he was home after an uneventful ride, he parked his bike outside. Ryuzaki walked up the steps to his single-floor house and turned the doorknob. It didn't move that much, signifying that no one was home from work yet. Ryuzaki got out his house key, inserted it into the door, and unlocked his house.
In his bedroom, Ryuzaki studied the rules in the Death Note. They were very elaborate, and took up the first three pages of the notebook, front and back.
I wonder who would put this much time and effort into a prank…it's very convincing and elaborate, I'll give them that.
Ryuzaki then reached across his desk and logged into his computer. He opened up a search engine, and then typed:
CRIMINALS IN JAPAN
He hit the enter button, and waited for results to come up. Once they did, he clicked on the very first result link. It came to a website that was just a list of Japanese criminals in alphabetical order by their last name, and what their crime(s) were. The first criminal, Kanji, Takiman was guilty of murdering five people inside a movie theater.
I guess I could try it out on him…
Ryuzaki grabbed a pencil out of the cup on his desk, opened up the Death Note, and wrote the criminal's name in it. Let's see what happens… He thought as he turned on the local news. Since Takiman's crime was committed recently, there were still reports about him. Ryuzaki watched the television intently, his thumb pressing into his lip. Ryuzaki nervously rubbed his feet together as he watched what he did unfold.
"I guess so. It makes sense that that would be Takiman's motive…"
The anchorwoman paused and touched the Bluetooth device in her ear. Her eyes widened, her lips parted slightly, and she gasped.
"This just in, Takiman has just died of a heart attack!"
Sorry if the first two rules of the Death Note are a little off, everyone. Please follow this story if you liked it and look for Chapter 2!