"Does it hurt Mio-chan?"
This was it. This was the end.
She was dying.
And she felt what all typical humans felt at this time in their pitiful lives...
Regret.
She had done so many things. So many awful, terrible things that she wished she could take back. That she wished she had never done.
She wanted to rewind everything. She wanted to go back and try again.
She wanted to latch onto them with her frail fingers, and just tear them to shreds; she wanted to send them to oblivion, where they would never be able to return from. Just like what she should've done to that book when she first laid eyes on it...
But she couldn't now.
Because she was dying.
But dear god, this girl just couldn't let go. Not yet. No, not just yet.
She had ultimately led herself to her destruction. She had chosen this path.
Following him into the dark...
What a stupid idea.
What a stupid girl.
But there's no room for pity. She doesn't deserve it.
Not after what she's done.
So many lives...taken by her. Destroyed by her. Ended by her.
All because she believed...it was all because she believed him.
The girl was tricked, fooled by a wolf in sheep's clothing, deceived by a false god.
Kira.
Why had she followed him? Why had she listened and believed his lies? Why had she played this game? Why did she ever think she was important to him?
"Why?"
The girl thought she was safe from his power. There was no way he could kill her. No, she was important. She was vital, she was a link, she was information, and she was his faithful follower. There was no way he could kill her...
But how very wrong she was...
She had become useless to him, no longer worth the time and no longer worth the worry.
Because she had done something foolish. She had defied him.
She had gone against Kira's wishes.
She had gone against his wishes.
"Mio-chan, I'm disappointed in you."
How could she have betrayed him? How could she have made such a pathetic choice?
But she knew how and why. She knew it.
The girl was blinded; she was blinded by i that /i boy. She was shaded by one of Kira's opponents in this little game. That's why she was dying now.
She thought she was under control. She had the idea that he was wrapped around her finger, that he would do anything for her, that he was a perfect source of data.
And she wasn't quite far off...
And yet...that boy was her demise. He had gotten in her way; he had caused her to resist her god.
He proved all her truths wrong.
He shattered her faith.
He challenged her conviction.
He murdered her beliefs and ideas with his.
And then it happened...she hadn't realized what an impact he had made on her.
She never realized that she was absolutely in love with that boy...until...
He was killed.
He was murdered by her god.
She remembered that night, it had hurt so badly. The girl never expected it; she never expected to be there. She had only felt this much despair and anger once before...she had never wanted to encounter it again.
But there she was, experiencing the pain all over again.
"Oh my god..."
She had cried for the first time since her mother had died. She had screamed like she did when she first felt that despair and anger...
She was in pain.
She couldn't think straight, she didn't know what she was doing. Everything had just died along with him.
This is where the downhill spiral began...
And this night, this night where she lies here dying is where it's ending.
No, she hadn't foreseen this. She hadn't anticipated this.
This wasn't what the girl had planned.
She could see his eyes staring down at her, how his body was slumped and how his hands were shaking. She was able to see that creature behind him grinning, she heard him laughing.
But all she could think about was how this had happened, how she had gotten into this mess.
That's all.
She felt her breathing becoming labored, and the lights that shone above her seemed to grow brighter. The floor beneath her became harder and colder.
Her chest was on fire, and her vision was blurring. Her legs ached, and her head pounded.
But all she could focus on was him, how she could become this, and what she had caused.
She hated feeling this way: vulnerable, weak, and worthless.
However, at this moment, she hated herself more than anything. She didn't even hate her killer as much as herself.
All in all, it really wasn't his fault. She knew that.
It was hers.
But...he had caused it to be her fault. So maybe...the fault was split between them.
She cringed. It hurt. Dying, it was painful.
She didn't think it would be this bad.
And yet she couldn't help herself from laughing. "Yes, it hurts."
Her god knelt down, placing his hand on her pale cheek. His nails dug roughly into her, causing the girl to wince. But this wasn't enough. He wanted to hurt her more.
But how could he? He had taken everything from her...
Her family.
Her friends.
Her love.
Her will.
Her future.
Her life.
He had stolen everything away from her. But why did he choose her to tear apart?
Even he didn't understand his reasons, did he have a reason at all?
Of course the selfish little boy had a reason, what a silly question.
He was jealous of her.
She had everything he had wanted.
Including herself. He wanted her.
He wanted her to be only his, no one else's.
The boy was selfish.
But he didn't see that, he just saw her as a tool and then an obstacle. She had ultimately stood in his way.
And for some hopeless purpose, he had not granted mercy on her.
He was surprised when her hand suddenly gripped his wrist. And he was shocked when she spoke again.
"You're pathetic."
Rage. Annoyance. Hate.
She had stung him with those words. He had heard them all before from that detective, the one who had cornered him and from the media and from those idiots that called themselves people.
But it dug deeper when she said it. It felt sharp, like a dagger. It felt like someone was stabbing him.
How could she have enough courage to say something like that to him in this moment?
His nails sunk deeper into her cheek, causing her to gasp. He felt good when she squeezed his wrist in a weak attempt to defy him, because he knew he was causing her pain.
The boy towered over her as he leaned his face down beside hers, his lips barely touching her ear as he spoke. "You have no right to say something like that. Look at all that you have caused..."
She was silent. She didn't know what to say against those words.
The god smiled cruelly. "That's right; it's not all my fault. It's yours too."
No response.
"I'm not pathetic, you are."
Stillness.
"You deserve this. You betrayed not only me, but everyone else as well." The boy pressed himself closer to her; he knew that she had caused herself this pain. "I'm doing everyone a favor. The world doesn't need people like you."
He had expected quietness. He had thought she had finally given up. He thought he had finally broken her.
After all, it i was /i her fault. She killed her family and friends in a way, along with her will, future, and love.
The boy was convinced of this.
However...
She was far from quitting.
She shuddered under his body. "I know what I am. I know what I've done. I regret everything, I admit to that. I wish I never placed myself beside you." She paused while the boy glared down at her. "But you're not describing me. You're describing yourself..." Her voice was becoming weaker, and yet she began to laugh once again. "You're trash."
How dare she...
"Shut up!" The boy said, knifing his nails into her cheek and crushing her beneath him. "You're stupid; you don't know what you're talking about." He laughed, because he was causing her to hurt. "This is what you've been all along..."
There was a moment of silence as they both got used to the other's touch and feel.
"What have I been Kira-sama?" The girl asked with venom that could have killed him. This time, she hadn't caught him off.
The god was shaking with laughter, he couldn't control himself. "You've just been a pawn in my game, you're just a puppet. No one cares what happens to you anymore, you've messed everything up for yourself." He paused to let it soak into her, so she could feel his wrath. "I'm not trash, you are."
But the god didn't realize he was merely amusing his doll. "You're just repeating yourself!" She said in a hysterical voice, cornering the god and leaving him speechless. Her laughter tore at his insides, making him feel sick with fury.
But then she threw him off. "We've both changed a lot, haven't we?"
A pause...
The boy said nothing; he was stunned with these sudden words. And she continued. "I can't believe what we've become...look at this mess we've made. We're destroying everything."
The girl took in a harsh breath. "Can I tell you something...?"
He didn't know what to say, he was at loss of words again.
"I feel like...no, I don't feel...I know I could've been different. We could've been different." She wanted to cry, but she didn't want him to see that. "Raito...what have we done to ourselves? What have we done?"
Raito was confused. His doll had just turned everything upside down. This wasn't how this was supposed to be.
He wasn't supposed to feel...
Guilty.
"Mio..."
The girl tilted her head up to him. "I remember..."
Raito looked at her in the eye. His deep mahogany eyes clashed with her dull black ones. And he noticed something...
Looking at her in this state made him feel sick.
He didn't know Mio felt the same way.
But she couldn't stop now. No, she couldn't let this go.
Mio could feel her life slipping away, but this wasn't her time yet. She had to tell him, she had to.
She had to tell him her story.
"Raito-kun, I still remember everything...will you please listen to me...one last time?"
And that's when Raito nodded and when Mio began.
They ignored Ryuk's laughter that echoed around them.
Because this is where they're story begins...and where they're story ends.