Ryuk was bored.

Sitting cross-legged atop a stone precipice, he gazed out at the barren, dreary Shinigami realm; he could see Gukku, the horned and hairy Shinigami, dealing out bones and sticks. Apparently this was some kind of new game he'd come up with to entertain himself, and was currently sitting with Midora. The unusual-looking female Shinigami let out a long high-pitched laugh as Gukku finished telling one of his supposedly riveting jokes. Ryuk didn't wish to join them. Although he normally would have done, just to pass some time, he was feeling so lethargic at the moment. Attempting to escape into sleep would prove pointless, since everywhere you went around here, there was always some inane, mundane activity going on that was bound to rouse you.

Hell. This place really has turned to crap…

In fact, it hadn't always been this way. Ryuk could remember that many, many years ago, he and his fellow Shinigami had been happier. With so few humans in the world below at that era, the Shinigami had had to carefully monitor how many they killed, for if they ran out of people, then they, too would eventually crumble to dust. This was hardly ecstasy, and the Realm was as dry and empty as it was today but…there was a purpose in their lives. Ryuk could not remember much further back than that time, and why would he? There were no events that occurred worth making a mental note of. He assumed that he had been created by the Shinigami King, whom everyone seemed to remember, but theoretically, there could be any number of ways that a Shinigami could be created. Asking about it seemed like a taboo subject.

A lot of the time, Ryuk wished that he had never descended to the human world at all. Witnessing true meaning to life…it had been the only worthwhile thing he'd ever done. Which, it had to be said, was more than most of the creatures around here had accomplished. But now his home seemed all the more worthless.

Ryuk looked at Midora, still giggling away to herself, her large belly shaking. Ryuk liked Midora, as much as a Shinigami was generally permitted. She was the only person who he could ever have proper conversations with about the human world, which was pretty much all that interested him. Midora had experience of her own as far as dropping notebooks went, but in truth, she didn't seem to be altogether as enamoured with humankind as Ryuk, and so their adventures in the human world had become a thing of the past. He still had the spare notebook, so could easily try to find some more entertainment in the human world…but it was only just a year after he had returned, boring every Shinigami senseless with every detail. Word had quickly spread, and it was rumoured that the Shinigami King was not pleased with Ryuk. Not that he cared, but Ryuk couldn't risk going to the human world again so quickly, for fear that it may enrage the king so much that he'd get the death penalty. So he had to wait here for the time being, but he wasn't planning on waiting much longer. All he had to do was mentally relive the highlights of the past seven years and he'd be able to survive this hell.

It was times like this that Ryuk wished Rem were still alive, not to mention the humans who had entertained him. Rem and Ryuk may have had precious little in common, but there was something in Rem that Ryuk had recognised in himself: a desire to find a role in life. Only upon his return to the Realm during the time of Light Yagami's confinement did Ryuk learn of what had happened between Rem and Gelus: Misa and Rem had kept it to themselves, and Light had, to Ryuk's knowledge, never asked either how Misa had gotten her notebook. It had been irrelevant to him. Yeah…Rem was alright. Sometimes he wondered whether Rem really had cared about Misa Amane as much as she made out, or whether Rem had acted simply as a friend to Gelus, a Shinigami Ryuk hadn't known at all. Perhaps Rem hadn't even wanted to live anymore, and rather than wait until her lifespan ran out naturally, or suffer agony after breaking the rules, had chosen a less tragic option....Ryuk hadn't been present when Rem died, but easily deduced what had happened. That was a cruel trick even for Light.

"What's up, Ryuk?" a nasally, drawling voice sounded behind him. Ryuk hadn't noticed Sidoh standing behind him; he'd clearly wandered up the jagged path through the cave to get here.

Ryuk turned to look at Sidoh and as ever, his bandaged face looked forlorn and stupid at the same time. However, it seemed slightly more lively than usual, though Ryuk paid no attention to that. Sidoh had all but forgotten his own tour to the human world, having not visited voluntarily; he'd chosen to simply let all memories drift away. Well, at least that was the assumption that Ryuk made. Nonetheless, whenever Ryuk attempted to coerce Sidoh into reminiscing about their past, all he had to do would be to whisper "Mello" and he swore that Sidoh would flinch. Right now, he couldn't be bothered to talk with Sidoh, and merely continued to stare across the vast plains and not respond.

Sidoh wasn't quite dense enough not to take the hint usually, but this time, unbeknownst to Ryuk at the moment, was under special circumstances. Sidoh shifted nervously, stepping on a couple of skulls. He lost his balance and slipped over, having to extend his insect-like fingers to support himself. Ryuk's usual friendly demeanour returned to him, as he screeched with laughter. Seeing Sidoh shuffling to his feet in a flustered manner made Ryuk notice the anxiety that seemed to be stemming from him.

"Er…Sidoh was there something you wanted? You haven't done something stupid again, have you?" Ryuk's red and yellow eyes gleamed, as if he hoped that that was precisely the case.

"Nu asked me to come and get you. Don't ask me why." Sidoh walked to the edge of the precipice where Ryuk sat, and opened his wings. He seemed a little put out.

"Why?" Ryuk wasn't laughing anymore. His voice was deadly serious. Sidoh had probably gotten the wrong name; Nu was the enigmatic Shinigami who served as the King's right hand. She very rarely spoke to anyone, and if she did, it had to be an emergency of some sort. No, surely Sidoh was just being an idiot…

"I don't know. I was just asking her whether I could get a new notebook- I lost mine- but she said no. Then she asked me to pass on the message…'- he looked as though he was straining to remember what that was: "'I want to see you.'"

Ryuk looked, for one of the first times in his life, extremely worried. "I- is that all?" Then something else occurred to him. "Are you sure it was me?"

"Huh? Yeah, she said Ryuk."

Crap…what the hell? The King already knows everything about me and the human world…

Was it possible that the punishment for Ryuk's actions was to be made more severe? He couldn't think that Nu simply wanted some idle chit-chat. He knew of one Shinigami who had 'visited Nu' and never returned. Thoughts began swirling in his head…Hell; can she read minds or something?! Maybe she knows that I'm planning on dropping another death note!

"Oh!" Sidoh gasped so suddenly that it startled Ryuk. "She said something that I can't really remember how to say." His face took on another moronic expression.

"Oh…y-yeah? Well, I'll find out what it was when I see her. She'll be over at the temple, r-right?" Ryuk was referring to the domed building that was built entirely from bones, where Nu spent most of her time in solitude. It was rumoured that she even had her own viewing portal, where she could gaze into the human world. She was strange, even for a Shinigami, and Ryuk would not deny that he was quite afraid of her.

"Ryuk, did you do something bad?" Sidoh sounded almost concerned. If he was, it was more than Ryuk deserved. Having stolen his notebook once- and not offering to give him the spare one that he kept at the moment- Sidoh could probably be forgiven for thinking that Ryuk deserved whatever he had coming to him.

"Huh? No…I don't think so…" Ryuk stood up, his leathery feet making a crunching noise on the ground beneath him. He scanned the horizon, and could just about make out the rocky area of this region of the Realm where the Shinigami King apparently resided. Nu's home was located near there, though he couldn't see it.

"Do you want me to come?" Sidoh offered. "I can show you where-"

"Nah, I'll be alright. Thanks." Ryuk prepared to take flight, his black, feathers wings sprouting from his shoulders. Was he really about to go to his death? He'd soon find out. Ideally, he didn't want to die, but…what was worth living for?

"Oh, yeah. She said something about a human called…uh…Misa? And that she expects sui- suic- that she'll kill herself."

His back to Sidoh, Ryuk broke into a wide grin. His fear was instantly replaced by exhilaration.

Shinigami Realm, you just got…interesting…