A Thousand Birds. Chapter One: The folding of birds equals the unfolding of a story.
The idea for this story comes from a Japanese story about a thousand origami birds and something about a wish that could come true. More information about this can be found at neonbird dot com I strongly suggest you'd take a peek. It's such a beautiful idea!
If Yagami Raito would let anyone in his room, something that wasn't bound to happen anytime soon, that person would notice the ridiculous amount of folded paper birds decorating every inch of his sanctuary. At one time, a few days after he had locked himself in his bedroom, Sayu had tried to enter and Raito had completely freaked out, leaving the door in smithereens. Not long after that door was replaced, no one had even had the courage to try and come in to reason with the young man again. He was instantly forgiven since he had to deal with the loss of a friend.
"It should be a thousand soon...maybe a few more..." Raito muttered to no one in particular while folding a bird out of a blue square piece of paper.
"Materialize."
One word spoken by what seemed like a voice in his head. His head? A young man stood in a field of grass and withering flowers. It had been so extraordinary and immensely peaceful where he was before. So peaceful and yet so...boring! But he was back now, wasn't he? But why?
"Why indeed?" The young man said and stuck his thumb between his lips. The slightest hint of a smile was present. He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a sigh. Or was it a whisper, perhaps?
"Yagami Raito..."
As Raito started folding the last bird he waited a few moments before finishing the beak.
"There is something missing" he mused and then he figured out what it was. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk which was filled to the brim with sweets. He selected a pink bag of cotton candy and opened it.
"I still don't know why he liked this stuff" he murmured. Then he picked up a tiny piece of cotton candy and put it on top of the beak of the final origami bird. Suddenly his window, which was nailed shut, cracked open a tad, enough to let a cool gust of wind surge through the room. He could have sworn he heard...but no. That is impossible.
Behind Raito a sinister figure appeared. One look at the creature and you could easily tell that he wasn't from this world. His eyes glowed a menacing red and he had a childlike grin plastered all over his stitched up mug. "Raito..." he said.
"What is it, Ryuk?"
Raito got up from his desk stretching a bit before double checking his achievement, looking very pleased with himself.
"Hey, Raito, don't ignore me again. You have been very boring these past few weeks. All you've been doin' is folding those birds instead of writing names in the Death note. Normally I couldn't care less but...YOU COULD AT LEAST GIVE ME APPLES!" The Shinigami shouted that last part from his upside-down position, his head tilted at an odd angle and his right arm wrapped around his neck. His legs were intertwined and his wings were curled up into balls. The only thing holding Ryuk slightly aloft was his left arm on which he tried to keep his balance, but utterly failed.
"Stop wining Ryuk. Your discomfort is nothing compared to the intense pain I had to go through ever since he died..." The part about pain was spoken so quietly that even the Death God had trouble understanding a word he had said. The weary boy caved in though. Rummaging through his laundry, he found what he was looking for. A wrinkly apple dangled in front of the apple-deprived Shinigami. Enough is enough. The origami birds would either do the trick or they would abandon him and every hint of hope he still possessed.
A young man with unruly black hair stared at the reflection of himself in a tinted window of a small establishment in some unknown street.
"Interesting. It seems to be the self I remember. All that appears to be missing now is a bar of dark chocolate" he acknowledged. The man wasn't even aware of the stares he received from by passers on the street. No shoes, not even socks were permitted to caress his feet. The chilly breezes an early autumn brought didn't seem to bother him. Almost as if the black haired man wasn't entirely a part of this world. And maybe he wasn't.
"Alright then, a few more tasks I should get done before I can finally pay a certain someone a visit." The young man softly said. He had to withhold an insane grin he felt creeping to the surface.
"It should not take me very long to get a hold of one of those bank accounts I set up for emergencies like these. Although I did not foresee dying and subsequently getting back to the realm of the living." He shrugged at that and continued his slow paced walk. Every step would be one step closer to the completion of his plan that had started to form in his mind the moment he had materialized.
It felt good to feel the wind blow through his hair again. It had been a few weeks since the last time he was out of his room. Yagami Raito knew that if he didn't keep the Shinigami either happy or entertained, the chance of him dying would be, well, huge. He didn't want to think in percentages because that would remind him once again of the deceased detective. The one he killed. Murdered.
"Think about something else, think about something else." He whispered, frantic. Raito bought a couple of random apples to please Ryuk. "Ten of those would have to be enough for now. Let's head back home.
Once outside the convenience store, Raito noticed much to his disdain that it had started to rain. The Shinigami didn't care, Ryuk was happily gobbling away the apples Raito threw at him. Luckily, it didn't take long before he'd arrive at his home, his sanctuary. His safe...wait a minute, he remembered very well how he had closed and locked the door to his room, yet at the moment, the door was definitely slightly ajar. Moist footprints decorated the floor up to his room. Maybe Sayu again? It seemed highly unlikely. Trying very hard not to make a sound, he opened the door a bit further. A shadow appeared in the door opening. Step. Step. And then a gasp. Raito's normally enormous vocabulary failed him miserably for the sight right in front of him. Ryuk's eerie laughter echoed through the with paper birds filled room, which enhanced the effect the apparition had on Raito.
"Hello Yagami Raito-kun." A familiar voice said, not without a hint of humor.
End of chapter one.
Please review! Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed this chapter. Cheers!