All for a Name

Sessha-chan

"We'll need some apples for tomorrow, Watanuki," Yuuko said as her helper left for the night, "Be sure to pick some up on your way here. Ten or twenty should do,"

"Apples? What for?" he asked out of curiosity.

"We'll be having a particularly special guest tomorrow," she said with a knowing grin playing about her lips. Watanuki frowned, not liking the smile, but nodded. A lot of strange people and creatures came into the witch's shop with their requests and it was hardly something to worry about. So far.

That was last night. Now, after school and with a shopping bag of apples tucked under his arm, Watanuki was ready for another day working for his employer/slave driver. He didn't really know why bringing the apples was so important but he had learned not to argue too much with her. After all, she was the witch.

He sighed as he turned into the courtyard for the shop, stepping out of modern Tokyo and into a seeming glimpse of the past. With a heavy sigh he shed his shoes at the door and announced his arrival. Maru and Moro greeted him with excess amounts of cheer and enthusiasm. He patted them on their heads and wandered through the large house in the direction of the kitchen. Once in the kitchen he washed the apples and set them in a colander to drip while he started preparing dinner. He could hear Yuuko moving about, getting ready for a customer, he assumed. Just another day in the shop that granted wishes.

"Watanuki," Yuuko called, leaning against the door frame, "Bring those apples, would you? They should be arriving soon,"

"Who?" Watanuki asked as he rubbed the fruit dry with a towel and carefully placed them in one of the decorative baskets that Yuuko had.

"Just someone who has been playing at God," her smile was unamused. It sent shivers down Watanuki's spine and he quickly averted his eyes, picking up the basket with more care than was strictly necessary. Yuuko led the way into what Watanuki considered her reception room and arranged herself importantly on an arrangement of cushions and pillows, twitching her long sleeves into place and flicking her hair back over her shoulders. He set the basket down in front of her and to the side, out of the way but accessible and then knelt down behind his employer, ready to wait. Yuuko only did this when she had someone she wanted to impress, even in the slightest, someone she thought could be of use to her or had something important and valuable she could extract as payment.

Maru and Moro slid the doors open, revealing a young man, probably only a couple of years older than Watanuki, and a monster that floated behind him. The young man stepped into the room and Watanuki almost gagged on the tangible aura of evil that surrounded him.

"Good afternoon," Yuuko greeted calmly, "Welcome to my shop,"

"Good afternoon," he replied, nodding politely.

Yuuko studied him carefully. "Shinigami-san, would you care for an apple?" she offered.

"Don't mind if I do," the shinigami grinned and reached down to snatch up one of the red apples that Watanuki had brought. Watanuki watched the creature of death with wide eyes. The only feelings he got from the shinigami were that shivers that ran down his spine and the feeling that he, the shinigami, was only there to be amused. Disconcerted, Watanuki tried to avert his eyes.

The young man's eyes flicked over to the shinigami, glanced at Watanuki and trained on Yuuko once more. "You grant wishes here," he stated.

"I do, but for an equal price," she nodded, "It is an equal trade, one object of value for another. What are you willing to pay for your wish?"

"Anything," his lips tightened and Watanuki shivered as the black clouds around him pulsed with animosity.

"Anything is a lot to promise, young man," Yuuko said with a hint of caution in her voice, "What is it that you wish?"

"A name," was his prompt answer.

"A name is much to ask for in your line of work," Yuuko said slowly and Watanuki wondered why she was dithering so much. Usually she was such a pushy salesperson. What was it about this man that made her cautious?

"Can you not give it to me? I'm disappointed," he said, raising an eyebrow, affecting a disappointed air.

"It is not that I cannot give it to you," Yuuko said slowly, lifting her pipe to her lips and taking a deep breath, "But are you willing to pay the price for this particular name?"

"I already said I would," he sounded so confident. Watanuki wondered what he wanted a name for and why it was so important to him that he would pay anything for it.

Yuuko smiled at the young man, but there was no humor in the expression. "Then I will name the price. For this particular name I will require your Notes, both of them,"

Watanuki felt the strange urge to scoot backwards as the young man's aura pulsed and rage flared to life in his face. He spun on his heel and stormed out of the shop without a word. The shinigami chortled and helped himself to another apple. Yuuko sighed, her shoulders drooping.

"Mou, and here I was really hoping for my own," she sighed, "But I guess it is all for the better that he refused the deal,"

"You think so?" the shinigami asked, staring after the young man that had already, thankfully, left the grounds.

"Indeed, because this world does not need another self-appointed god," she quirked a wry smile and got to her feet, "It has been a pleasure to have seen you and your pet, shinigami-san,"

"Pet? Yuuko, who were those people?" Watanuki asked insistently, "What did you mean when you said that this world didn't need another god?"

Yuuko smiled at him over the rim of her sake cup, "Watanuki, do you watch the news?"

"I don't have a television," he huffed, serving her another cupfull when she waved the little dish under his nose, "And you know that,"

"So you don't," she acknowledged, "But surely you have heard of 'Kira,'"

"The guy that's been killing all those criminals?" Watanuki rocked back on his heels, "You mean that was him?"

Yuuko continued to smile, "The shinigami that was with him is how he is killing all those people, with the Shinigami's Death Notes, actually,"

"Death Notes?" Watanuki didn't like the sound of that. "Alright, but why did he want a name? Why just a name?"

"Because wanted to kill the person that is looking for him, the person that wants to stop him from attaining his goal of running a world by fear," Yuuko frowned, "The price I offered was fair but that young man has a lot of pride. He would not part with his goal even if it would get him what he wanted,"

Watanuki shivered and didn't even complain when Yuuko waved her cup under his nose again. That explained the aura and the shinigami. He promised himself that if he ever ran into that man on the street he would quickly hide.

"Whatever you do, Watanuki," Yuuko said, sounding unnaturally serious, "Do not ever give him your true name, not if you want to live,"

The young man hesitated, "That's how he does it, isn't it? That's why he wanted a name,"

Yuuko nodded and downed the sake in one swallow. Watanuki looked down. Sometimes he really hated his life. Why did he have to run into people like that? It was one of the many pitfalls that came with working for Yuuko. He sighed and didn't even stop himself from pouring another drink for his employer. He knew he'd have to deal with her hangover in the morning but at the moment that was not a pressing situation that had to be waylaid. So, feeling resigned, Watanuki made a mental note to pick up some ekikyabe on his way past the drugstore.

When Yuuko decided that it was time for him to go home for the night Watanuki silently packed up his school bag and bid her a soft farewell. She waved a limp hand in his direction, acknowledging him. He patted Mokona on the head and waved to Maru and Moro as he stepped through the gates to the ensorcelled shop.

The night was cool, but not cold thankfully. It was getting on to summer and he knew he should be studying for his exams but he truly doubted that in his present state of mind that studying would be of any use. He had met the person that was being broadcasted all over the airwaves. He had met Kira. And Kira had looked like any other student, a little more well-groomed than the average teenager but normal nevertheless. Normal, and not like he had envisioned a cold hearted killer would be. And that was probably the most frightening aspect of that meeting.

Watanuki had just managed to put the Kira-meeting behind him when Yuuko declared that they were going out. He could feel his heart sink into his shoes at the look on her face. She only got that secretive-triumphant half-smirk of a glorious victory whenever she was planning on being a pushy salesperson.

"Where are we going this time?" he asked, resigned to his fate.

"To see a client, of course," she laughed, throwing open the doors that led to the aurora path she had secreted away in a back closet. Watanuki shivered. He truly disliked walking this path, no matter how much time it took off the trip. It always left him feeling a tad vague whenever he walked it, which wasn't a very pleasant feeling, no matter how he looked at it.

"What sort of client?" he asked, hanging his head a little and trailing obediently after her.

"You'll see!" she sang, laughing merrily. She led the way over the otherworldly path with confidence and a bounce in her step. Watanuki dragged his feet but kept as close to her as he could. He didn't want to get lost here. Who knows what Yuuko would charge for finding him again.

They exited the path in an ally where no one would notice them. Yuuko led the way onto the street and straight towards a hotel. She waved a hand at the clerk, who had started to rise from her seat as they passed, and the clerk sat down, blinking. Watnuki didn't even want to know what Yuuko had done to the poor woman. He averted his eyes and scurried after his boss. They got into an elevator and Yuuko punched in a floor.

When the doors opened Yuuko strode confidently down the hall and knocked on a door. There was a long pause. Watanuki shifted uncomfortably.

"Maybe no one's home," he said after a full two minutes.

"Be patient, Watanuki," Yuuko advised, knocking again, "He's here, I know,"

Watanuki knew better than to ask. He heard a shuffling sound getting closer to the door and someone fumbling with the locks. Soon the door opened slowly to reveal a scruffy-looking young man with the darkest circles under his eyes that Watanuki had ever seen.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I'm DimentionWitch," Yuuko introduced. "And I'm here to grant your wish,"

The young man's eyes widened. Watanuki sighed, resigned. She was being pushy again.

"How did you find me?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"Can we discuss this inside?" Yuuko asked with a cheerful smile, "Maybe over some of the chocolate cake my assistant made?" The young man considered before nodding. He stepped aside and pushed the door open more to permit them entrance. Yuuko breezed in with an air of confidence. Watanuki shuffled in after her.

The young man slouched over to the chairs in the sitting room and sat down on one in the most peculiar fashion. He had his feet pulled up close to his body and he peered at them from over his knees. His bare toes gripped the fabric of the upholstered chairs like a monkey would.

Watanuki gingerly sat down beside Yuuko as she enthroned herself on the only chesterfield. He nervously smoothed the fabric of his school uniform pants and waited for Yuuko to begin.

"This is a nice base of operations," Yuuko smiled. The young man nodded and picked at the piece of chocolate cake that Watanuki handed him.

"Call me Ryuuzaki," he said.

"Wise," Yuuko nodded.

"I have to be careful," he said seriously.

"With Kira on the loose everyone that stands in his way does," Yuuko nodded again. "So, shall we discuss what it is that you wish?"

Ryuuzaki blinked at the witch. He started chewing on his thumbnail before he nodded. "I want to know how much time I have left to catch Kira before he finds me,"

Yuuko looked away, serious and thoughtful. "That is quite the wish, Ryuuzaki-san," she murmured. "To know your life and your death,"

"I know," he said, just as serious.

"And payment…" Yuuko said, arching an eyebrow.

Ryuuzaki tilted his head to one side, "What is it that you would require for this?" he asked.

Yuuko smiled.

Watanuki looked at the photocopy with an air of confusion. "What's so great about a birth certificate, Yuuko?" he asked.

Yuuko clicked her tongue and waved a finger under his nose, relieving him of the document. "What's in a name, Watanuki, would be a better question," she said, "Ryuuzaki-san wanted to know his life and his death and that was important to him. Important enough to give me something that only he knows, the one thing that he valued over his life," she smiled over the birth certificate.

"What's in a name?" Watanuki looked back at the paper, "You man that's his birth certificate?"

"Indeed,"

"And who was he? He said he was looking for Kira. Was that L?"

Yuuko laughed at Watanuki's questions and started walking back to the shop. "You really are smart sometimes, Watanuki," she teased.