Grim Adventures of Death
Disclaimer: (these are so annoying) I don't own anything of Death note or The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. The rights to these characters are solely owned by their creators.
Chapter 1: Fade Away
A white-haired boy laid down on a blood stained floor. He silently stared up at the flickering lights as their monotonous illumination irritated his vision. He sluggishly turned his head to see a neatly folded piece of paper a few feet from his outstretched arm. The paper was on fire and the edges slowly began to be covered in a black, charcoal-like color due to the embers. It was burning and would soon be destroyed, but this is what he wanted. His eyes shifted to look at the large gash that plastered his chest; blood seeped out from the wound in large quantities. He said nothing, instead he merely thought to himself, 'I never knew how pretty the color of blood was…...how beautiful.'
His vision slowly began to darken, and his eyes closed as his consciousness waned. Then, he was dead.
A Few Minutes Before:
Nate River, otherwise known as Near, quietly sat on the floor close to a window that revealed the outside night sky. He carefully placed the final piece of the puzzle into its proper position; he stared at the large white puzzle set that was before him and he sighed.
He tended to enjoy the process of working on puzzles...it was fun, however the greatest feeling usually came from fully completing the task itself. The 13 year old child silently stood up and glanced out past the window; the room overlooked the surrounding area, providing a wonderful view of the city bellow. He took in the picture, hoping to remember it; to memorize it; to ingrain it into his very soul. But what was the point?
He never felt like he had a place in this world. It was always too limiting. He knew it was childish, but he yearned for someone whom he could call 'friend' - an individual who he could have a genuine relationship with; a relationship with no strings attached. He may have never admitted it, but L was the closest thing to a friend that Near ever had. No, not a friend - a brother. But L had been dead for what seemed like so long now. It hurt to think about him; it hurt to remember him.
Near sighed once again as he read a nearby digital clock that displayed the time: 11:58 pm. He solemnly pulled a single sheet of paper from his pocket a stared at the words that had been scribbled on it:
Nate River will be attacked directly by the Shinigami who owns this notebook on March 13th at 11:59 am. He will die due to blood loss at exactly 12:00 am.
He then folded the piece of paper and placed it back into his pocket. The notebook that the sheet of paper belonged to had basically been destroyed, but he had removed the sheet before the book's destruction. It would be fine, though; he planned on destroying this piece as well.
Near walked out into what seemed to be a living room of sorts and stood feet away from a quietly burning fireplace. He had rented this room the night before and had gotten the authorization from his superiors, although none of them knew what he was truly planning. A singular thought suddenly manifested in his head.
'Would anyone even care if I was gone?"
Just then, his thoughts were interrupted by a voice from behind him. He turned to see a tall, thin figure emerge from a wall.
"Ryuk," Near stated with an even tone, "it is once again a pleasure to see you."
"Near…" the Shinigami muttered as he slowly approached the boy, "it's been quite a while."
"Do you know why I have summoned you here?" Near asked.
"You want me to kill you," Ryuk answered.
Near nodded, "That is correct. But I clarified that I want you to do it 'directly', meaning without the aid of any death note."
"What?" Ryuk questioned, sounding somewhat startled, "Why would I do that? It's against the rules of the Shinigami. Do you know what will happen if I kill a human without any Death Note? The punishment would be steep!"
"Indeed," Near quickly answered, "however, the rule only specifies the fact that the Shinigami responsible for such actions shall be punished accordingly. It mentions nothing of what will happen when it is at the request of the human, or more specifically, at the request of the current holder of the notebook. In essence, it can be argued that I am 'forcing' you to do this."
There was a momentary silence that filled the room before the apple-loving Shinigami finally spoke.
"B-but there's no way you can know for sure," Ryuk said nervously, "there are way too many uncertainties in that scenario. I-I can't...I WON'T!"
Near gave the Shinigami an emotionless glance before he reached for the piece of paper in his pocket.
"I didn't want to have to do this, but it appears there is no other option" he said as he showed Ryuk the piece of paper, "do you know what this is?"
Ryuk hesitated a moment before he answered, "well, it looks like a piece of my death notebook."
"Yes," Near replied, "this sheet of paper is the only remaining physical piece of the death note; the rest of it has all been destroyed."
Ryuk didn't say anything and instead carefully listened to the white-haired teen.
"This is the only thing that keeps you in this realm. I know how much you like it here, or more importantly, how much you DON'T want to return to the Shinigami realm. This piece of paper is your anchor to this world and therefore is my main means of controlling you."
"Pffft. So what!" Ryuk nonchalantly said with a dismissive wave, "What are you gonna do with it?"
Near said nothing as he turned his back to the Shinigami and walked towards the open fireplace; he leaned forward slightly with his outstretched arm holding the paper.
"WAIT!" Ryuk yelled, "wh-what are you doing? Burning it in fire won't do anything so long as the note holder is still alive!"
"Yes, that is true," Near said without sounding surprised, "but I came here to die tonight. Do you really believe I wouldn't be willing to do it myself if this didn't work?"
"Near, wait!" Ryuk screamed.
"Farewell, Shinigami," Near muttered as he released his grip on the paper.
The folded sheet slowly fluttered down closer to the flames.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Ryuk yelled as he rushed toward the fireplace.
Almost immediately, Near stepped in front of it, blocking Ryuk from passing.
"MOVE HUMAN!" Ryuk snarled as he got closer.
In a fit of rage, Ryuk hit Near away from the fireplace and into a nearby wall. Ryuk froze in his tracks as he stared at the lifeless boy's body. 'No,no,no,no,no,no,no,no! What have I done?' Ryuk thought to himself.
"Ah, interesting," a voice said coming from the body. Near was alive, barely. There three deep cuts that adorned his chest as he struggled to stand up. Thick pools of blood were already forming on the carpet floor.
"I didn't...urggg... know those claws of yours could...uggh...do so much damage, Ryuk. It….hurts alot, but this is all going...according to plan," Near said through gritted teeth. His groaning was somewhat overshadowed by the small smile that covered his face.
"D-damn it! What did you make me do? I have to get out of here!" Ryuk said as he quickly flew up and phased through the ceiling.
Near got down on his knees, struggling through the pain, and eventually laid his body fully on the carpet floor. He noticed the folded piece of notebook paper a few feet from him; although it must have missed most of the fire, some of the sparking embers had gotten to it. Now it was decorated by a small flame that was slowly growing.
'Soon the notebook will cease to exist…..like me. We shall both fade away, and the world will live on without us….
End of chapter 1
Author's Note: Hey guys, tbh I don't know if starting a completely new story is a good idea, given that I haven't been focusing on my other stories for a while. But I was recently inspired by some Death Note fanfiction as well as some Billy and Mandy fanfic, so I decided that I wanted to somehow combine these two universes. This first chapter is probably the hardest to write, mainly because I had to get caught up on all of the "rules" in Death Note so that I could write something that at least made sense. Anyway, if you liked this chapter, please comment. If you thought I missed a Death Note rule, please let me know, because this anime has soooo much lore and background that it's not even funny. Thanks! :D
