Chapter One
-You put my back against the wall; watching, waiting...-
...I have no idea what the hell the purpose of this device is.
Huh? I can read my own thoughts with this thing?
This is one weird cell phone, if one could call it that... but there's no way to call anyone on it. It's crazy enough that my so very messed up in the HEAD captor let me hang onto this.
This can pick up on my exact THOUGHTS too! Shit, that's so weird, and crazy... The way this text shows up-it's almost like the way I'd update my blog.
At least it's not making any noise as I'm-what the HELL? I can't BLOCK certain thoughts from showing up on this thing?! Erase! ERASE!
Shit, I can't mentally erase any of this?! This is bad, REALLY BAD, considering the TROUBLE I'm in...
To whoever it is that designed this for me, I just found out I can do all the telepathy text all I want-but who is all of this going to? You?! I don't know if there is any sender at all!
I hope you're fucking happy. You're sick. YOU captured me somehow, and placed me in his ROOM! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! Could you really be some kind of other GOD as he says, apart from the Shinigami?!
You can't be any saner than Light, because of what happened. ARE YOU ON HIS SIDE, AND NOT MINE? IS THAT IT?! Oh god...
WHY couldn't I just-?! He's way off-his-meds CRAZY! He's gone insane so fast, in under FIVE DAYS! Ryuk hasn't even appeared yet! Light caught me, and now...
What if he FINDS all this text?!
What's the POINT of this thing anyway?! So what, Light will be able to know my thoughts... Shit. Meaning I wouldn't be able to hide anything from him?! No, I can't let him KNOW out about this, if I'm to survive.
No. If I try to hide that... He'd probably make me hold this thing whenever I'd refuse to talk—but then again I could just think up nonsense. But wouldn't that ALSO make him very angry?!
You know WHAT, Mr. Entity of Telepathic Hi-Tech?! Will you spare me a moment of your time and let me know why the fuck I'm here, before I lose it?! I've pissed Light off so much already, and I don't want to give him any clear incentive, in his term, to kill me...
Damn me and my big mouth. I just had to go there... I HATE the idea of cowering and giving in to him though! I wouldn't know how to live with myself, if I ever develop something similar to Stockholm's around the bastard.
It's because of the both of you that sleep won't come! That's not happening. I'm sure Light won't be sleeping very well either.
I know how he thinks, at least... This is also of course bad since he sees me as a really dangerous threat. I guess I am, and I'm locked in one seriously bad—DAMN HIM!
I should have blocked his damn door. Why didn't I make extra time to DO THAT?! Because I was so AFRAID of making any noise?! I could have been able to finish what I knew I had to do, and get a running head start!
I hope he dies the way he does in the manga, in front of Near, the SPK, and the task force he'll use as puppets! I won't feel sorry for him, when that happens. If he wants to destroy himself and fuck everything up so bad... If he really has to be such an asshole to me while doing so then maybe I should just let him.
HE. DOESN'T. FEEL. ANYTHING!
He doesn't care about me, or anybody. Not even his family. Not really. If he did then he would have tried to go to Soichiro for help after writing that first name down.
Did he ever stop and THINK about that?!
I told him how I felt, and tried to get him to think about what he's doing. I thought I reached him there, for a moment but my words don't mean much to him at all. This is so crazy. Light doesn't know what he's doing. He can't see it, it's so scary.
And this is all really happening. He's...
Why? Why am I here then, if I can't...?
Wait. Breathe... If I could really succeed in helping L, and prevent him from dying... Could I manage to contact him somehow? Tell him all I know? Let the grim reaper tag-along write down Light's name sooner? What do you think of THAT, Mr. Sadist Deity? He may threaten my life, but I know of his doom.
Maybe you were expecting this! Maybe THAT's what you want?! I don't know! How the HELL would I know?!
You could just be laughing your ass off, from wherever you are! Whoever, whatever you ARE! You're probably the SAME as RYUK who dropped that nasty Death Note!
Oh shit, RYUK. I touched the notebook, so I will be able see him, when he comes. He will laugh in my face. Mock me and pester me while fucking Kira writes more names in, murdering, and they both will know it will bother me.
And Ryuk might let Light know, even indirectly, about me trying to do anything behind...
AND MISA, SECOND KIRA. LATER ON SHE-!
TELL ME WHY I'M HERE! You possibly couldn't have sent me here to DIE, RIGHT?!
Hard to breathe. Losing it. So scared. Chest feels tight again. I'm so scared I'm scaring myself holy shit...
Deep breaths. Deeeep breathing... I have to calm down.
Please tell me why this is happening. Please tell me now. Please...
The past few days, since first finding the notebook of death that had been dropped from the sky, have been intense. Amazing... The Death Note, to which looked like any ordinary black college notebook, was truly a force to be reckoned with. The mysterious, complicated, incredible power was the ideal way of cleaning up the world of vermin that spread violence and filth.
He did it. Light Yagami had just single handedly disposed of the world's most terrible criminals-without having to leave his room. Of course, that had only been the beginning. The media, the Internet and the news on the TV in his room, these things provided the faces and names he needed. Everything had been going smoothly.
Naturally, the police would start to grow suspicious and concerned about this very soon. Light had been counting on it. Not that there was anything they could do to stop them from dropping like flies of heart attacks, he knew but they will be concerned about that, even afraid.
Tonight differed from that though... Things had become so very complicated, and irritating. INFURIATING! For once, Light thought the universe had agreed on his sentiment, that this world was so rotten, so messy! He felt a sense of certainty and resolve that felt so good, so right! Someone, perhaps a higher power out there, had to have a shared viewpoint on the way civilization was slowly degrading and wasting away on itself. Whether or not anyone really looked upon him to start fixing it, he was glad to do it, one name at a time. The current world just couldn't go on. It was time to change that, and Light had a powerful instrument to use to absolve and cleanse it of evil. The transformation would be neat and orderly without second guessing.
That should have been it. There didn't really need to be anything or anyone else. He didn't need all this other weird shit.
The night visitor he found, the intruder dressed in red and pink sleepwear with cats all over, was so out of context and unexpected. Not only that, but she had tried to put an end to his plans. No, he wasn't going to take his eyes off of Mari Broderick (the claimed false name she gave out), and he intended to get her to tell him everything she knew about him, and his Death Note. All he needed was time, enough time to do that and how to make her go away.
There was a mystery object too. A uniquely shaped device that had been activated fifteen minutes ago-he still didn't know what it was exactly. He still didn't know how it had been placed on his desk, in his room. He kept his door and window locked, most especially when he wasn't there. This had been a habit long before he found the Death Note. No one he knew, certainly not anyone in his family, would try to get in while he was in school, or elsewhere. The only likely person he asked, just to be sure, was his younger sister Sayu. Her expression, in addition to her questions of confusion and disbelief, told him otherwise.
It didn't make any sense to him how or why she would go in and leave some strange metal object, something that could have been used a prop for a science fiction show or movie Light wouldn't care about, in his room as a present. (She would know that he would never take any interest in such things, he had no doubt about that...)
He initially wasn't nearly as concerned as he was now about the unusual and highly advanced whatever, and had considered to have someone he knew from school examine it. He also thought of just keeping it as a paperweight, or decoration. Its design was very sleek, unlike anything Light had ever seen. The shape seemed to slightly curve out in the middle, and in towards the straight ends in a rather unusual oval. It was a similar size and appearance to a cell phone. The dark front resembled a touch tone screen, with two buttons that matched the rest of the sides and back of it. There was nothing on the buttons though, and as he tried to see if it had a slide out keyboard, he couldn't push and slide the top of it to the side.
There was nothing really decorative on this foreign, enigmatic object—except for the etching of a capital silver "V" from the English written language just above the top of the screen.
Sure, it may not have looked like any brand of phone he would not have been able to recognize-but unlike the Death Note, it didn't come with instructions. There wasn't so much as a post-it on what it did. Light tried to press the buttons or touch the screen to see if anything would happen. When nothing happened, he assumed it had to be broken... and then his mysterious and uninvited guest had shown up, to prove otherwise.
The Death Note didn't have to require someone else, that someone else in particular who had spoke a fake name to make it light up and glow blue on the front. The text on the touch tone screen had saved her fake name in English print. He suspected it was designed just for her to use. How or why this happened, none of them knew. The foreigner from whereabouts unknown right now, alias Mari Broderick, looked surprised. Then she was confused and afraid over this. For only a few moments did the terror come to her face, only to be covered up again in her transparent shell of anger and pride once again, as predicted.
Going back to sleep was not going to happen. Light needed to finish going over everything that had happened, and how he was going to explain to his family about her. In his gut, as much as he felt Mari Broderick had to die, there were still a lot of secrets she was keeping. Also, if the handheld device was to have any value, he would have her operate it and show him how to do it himself (if possible). He also had to figure out what to do if more people like her would show up.
In time, she would reveal all her secrets to him. He had cornered her, and had taken her in when she had nowhere else to go. She knew far too much, and he intended to find out why...
Light had left his door open, and he had told her to leave the door open to the spare bedroom beside his. They both knew she had nowhere to run. She had no one to turn to for help, and he knew he had damn well better keep her where he could watch her. She had been right about one thing; he wasn't going to give her another chance. She wasn't going to sneak by him, not ever again.
There was still a risk that she might slip, or resist enough to penetrate the boundaries of their arrangement. He knew she could be smart enough not to, if she could keep that big mouth of hers shut when necessary. In a few hours, he would see for himself if she could hold her own around his father. If she really couldn't, then Light would have no choice but to make her disappear. No information or secrets were worth having if Mari wouldn't be able to swallow her pride and do as she was told.
As his patience and the need to keep up the Norman Rockwell appearance of an innocent courteous seventeen year old had been given a shove to their limits, Light was trying not to let her get under his skin too much. He knew he had to wait, and make sure he wouldn't overlook anything, or end up looking back to something about her he may have missed. No, he couldn't have that happen. He had to not miss any details. There couldn't be any loose ends, for any mistake no matter how small would cost him dearly.
How Mari appeared into his house, neither of them knew, but she had very quietly moved around inside the house with the stealth and patience to TAKE the Death Note from his upper desk drawer, then leave after unlocking the door and making sure to quietly close it behind her. That alone should have enraged him enough, but this was actually the spark in which started them to hate each other.
At two in the morning, everyone in the Yagami family would be asleep in their rooms; Light in his room, Sayu in hers, and his parents in the one they both shared. The house would be all but silent, apart from the soft snoring from his mother all the way down the upstairs hall, and the walled heater vents turning on through the soft metallic tapping. Light had just opened his eyes as the smile had remained a mere minute from a blissful dream he must have had. He would have remembered its content if he hadn't been distracted by a distant, subtle noise. There was more of it to follow just after.
If he hadn't heard, he would have never noticed anything out of place. Light wouldn't have looked towards the door to see the lock in the center of the handle was horizontal, not vertical. No one else in the family had the key to unlock his door from the outside. He had earned himself the respective right to his privacy so long ago, and his parents never thought twice about it.
Light remembered feeling the mixture of confusion and a cold grip of panic when he noticed the lock on the handle had been turned. Impossible, he thought! There was just no way someone could have entered the room from outside, and definitely not knowing it-but it had somehow happened...
He had slipped out of his room and was careful to step over the places in the wood that creaked as he proceeded down the stairs. The kitchen light had been turned on, and the intruder's back had been turned; a cartoon of a portly female cartoon cat on the back of her red night shirt worn loosely over her pink pajama pants. She hadn't noticed him, not at all as her bare feet padded along the tiled floor as she was rifling through some counter drawers. Her thick disheveled dark curls bounced and swayed a little to her harried movements.
He distinctly remembered feeling a surge of shock and urgency when he noticed the Death Note on the center counter. She had placed his cup of pens beside it-not that this extra detail mattered. The fact that she was intending to steal his Death Note meant she was a problem from the moment he first saw her.
Right then, Light didn't say anything at all. There were no words he could say, for this to him was just horribly wrong, unthinkable. Only a single thought fleeted through his mind; STOP HER!
It wasn't until the pace of his walk quicken when the woman turned around and noticed him. The thief looked like a foreigner, not at all of Asian blood as her blue eyes widened in fear before narrowing to an fierce look in a split second, almost feral as she swept an arm over the center counter to grab for the his cup of pens. Through that glint of desperation and determination to flee, there had been a recognition of who he was. Light never met her before in his life, yet she knew who he was. She took the Death Note, giving him another startling realization. She also had to have knowledge about it not being just a notebook when Light had never spoken about it to anyone. He had been very firm with himself to keep it a secret, even from his father.
She hurled the cup with force towards his head. Why she chose to take his pens too, he wasn't sure on yet... He dismissed this detail for now.
Rage punched right through the shock he had felt. Light used that and the adrenaline to its peak to bat the flying cup away as he rushed toward her. It had been to distract him as she grabbed the Death Note and began to run out the other entry way into the dining room. His pens went flying and scattering as he lunged for her, tackling her hard onto the tiled floor.
Mari had retaliated in an attempt of self defense to elbow Light in the chest, but she failed. He could feel one of her arms quickly moving to do so, just as he anticipated. Her look to him of recognition gave it away; she wasn't going to give up without a fight. That was why Light wrapped both arms around her, pressing them to her sides as they both went down. He heard her body hit the kitchen floor when she landed on her side. Quite a bit of sharp pain went into his side too, but he landed mostly on top of her as they went down.
She yelped in pain, then let out a sharp gasp. Light quickly clamped one hand over her mouth to muffle her scream and quickly yanked the Death Note from her grasp. While she had been momentarily stunned from the pain, certain that she was, he took that chance to toss it aside on the floor for now. He could feel her mouth opening under his palm. She was preparing to bite him there. He clutched a firm hold of that that thick hair with his free hand to have her not to. Her limbs jerked as she twitched, then attempted to scramble and get away as he used his own body weight to pin her to the floor-as if the pain along her hip, shoulder, and arm she landed on didn't bother her when it obviously must have. Upon witnessing this, along with how stiff and tense her muscles felt underneath him, Light knew she was really terrified of him. Good, very good. She SHOULD be scared!
Light clearly remembered feeling the rush of excitement climb up into his eyes and on his face as he clutched the back of her scalp tightly and pulled, sending her the command to stop moving. Her warm heavy breath brushed up against his open palm he pressed it firmly to muffle her other cries. He was a hunter who had just caught a rare wild animal with his bare hands. Even though he didn't necessarily want to skin her, stuff her, and mount her body on display for all to see, the initial feeling behind such an intention was kindled inside like a red hot flame.
She had tried to steal his Death Note. Her attempt to run away with it was a very serious sin, something that had to be dealt with. This could NOT happen again! If this hadn't been taking place at home... If they were far away from where his family would hear, he no doubt would have raised his voice. Resorting to inflict pain however had proved to be more worthwhile in the long run.
For the first time ever, right then, Light found himself in a situation in which he was forced to drop the facade as a selfless ace student most people liked. He hadn't wanted it to happen, because he didn't want anyone to ever see or touch the Death Note, but the damn bitch HAD! The thief he just caught had her fate already sealed. Her actions of this offensive crime were going to lead straight to her death.
As Light still clutched at her scalp, his furious rage silently screamed at her. As he waited for all of her useless squirming and struggling to come to a halt, he wondered if this what it truly felt like to see someone tremble before an almighty god.
Light started the discussion, fluently speaking in English. He wasn't sure if she knew his country's native tongue. His conversational voice had a sharp edge to it. "I must admit, I'm impressed you've managed to come this far. I have no idea how you snuck into my room, when it was locked from the inside. Without waking me up... I commend you even further for coming all the way here without being noticed, dressed like that."
As Light could see and feel her body shaking a little from under him, the swell of victory and relief he had stopped her felt so good. The rage rode on top of it, yet he kept that in check. A catastrophe had indeed almost happened, but if he allowed himself to freak out, then he would alert unwanted attention. His family was still asleep upstairs. He couldn't let either of himself nor Mari raise their voices. "We both know all of that should be impossible. So, who are you, and where did you come from?"
That last question felt absurd to ask, but who was to say her attire and manner hadn't meant to make sense? What if she was sent to throw him off guard...? Light didn't have the slightest on which secret intelligence or government would pull off this sort of thing, but who else but some expert lock picker could have been successful to open the door, without waking him?
Was there back up outside, ready and waiting to break down the front door?
All this was going through his mind as moved his hand away from her mouth to let her answer him. He thought that Mari would have given him some insight as who she worked for—yet her very shrewd tone of voice delivered something he hadn't expected to hear. "Wouldn't you like to know, Kira. You want to write my name down? Well, tough, 'cause I won't tell you."
Kira? Light at the time had no idea what to think about the name she called him, using it like a swear word. Somehow she knew how he killed criminals through usage of the notebook. What had he done? What slip up did he make?! He wouldn't do any harm towards anyone he didn't know that would do no harm onto him, or innocent people. She couldn't possibly have known what he was doing, yet she did!
Light shifted and moved to turn her over to have her look at him. There was so much hate in those blue eyes. Her voice of ice was a little shaky at the seams. She was trying, and not succeeding very well, to cover it up with anger. Her round face and overall features didn't look all that threatening, but she acted so brave. Such a brave, brave fool she was. She almost amused him then, to put up such a front, a mask that would crack and shatter sooner rather than later. Almost. She just confirmed him on another thing he wanted to know as he stared at her. "You really do know everything about the Death Note." His gaze narrowed. "How?"
There was a wince of pain on her round face as she was trying to wriggle and scoot back from him. She, of course, wanted to free herself from his grip. "Let go."
Light ignored the threatening intent in her tone, and watched as she was no more than a worm on a hook now, hopelessly trying to escape her imminent death. He slightly smiled at that. "I think you know who I am, too. But Kira isn't my name."
"It will be the name the people call you, the people you'll have them believe you're the big damn hero," Mari seethed, "But you're not. Yes, I know who you are. I know about your nasty supernatural notebook too, but I'm just as fucking clueless as you are on how and why I'm here..." She clenched both hands around his wrist to try to pry his hand away from her scalp. "Didn't you hear what I said? Let. Go." She directed that last two words to come out a bit slower, and fiercer.
Who the hell was this woman, to speak such a way towards him?
"You're in no position to tell me or anyone what to do," Light told her, and forcibly yanked her hands away with his free hand before she could dig her fingernails into his skin. He pinned her hands down to the floor, and then applied a little ice to his own words. "It's not lady-like to take something that doesn't belong to you. You should know that."
Mari heavily blew air out her nose, and harshly interrupted him from saying more. "Ohhhh excuse me for being paranoid and not wanting to end up dead while trying to find my way back home, as soon as possible." Then she added, "I had to try something. Besides, I happened to be lucky as hell to notice your Shinigami buddy hasn't shown up yet." Her eyes moved away from his as a tear leaked out from one of them. She choked out a bitter laugh in her defeat. "I should have blocked your door with something, but then again, I was afraid you'd overhear. Oh well. Too little, too fucking late."
Judging from what this woman admitted, there was no mistaking the fact she was a very serious obstacle. She may not have been a real spy, or some secret agent, but she was almost on par to apply as one to have successfully sneak out of his room. There was no underestimating her vigor to fight back, despite the fact she didn't look athletically fit. No organization or branch of intelligence would be willing to risk one of their own like this though-most certainly not unarmed, and not dressed for the winter weather outside.
By now, he would have expected the cavalry to come storming in. There weren't any. The thief he had caught in the act was all alone. In that sense, he was so relieved. It would have been more than Light could really prepare himself for. He would've had to improvise and raise his voice to wake up his parents. It would have caused so much more stress and problems as he would've had to take the Death Note and run as his mother and father would be hurrying down the stairs. Light maybe would have take her as his hostage while he was at it.
Luckily, this wasn't the case at all.
The lone trouble-maker here was going to answer to him. Light figured that once he'd wring out all that he wanted to know from her, within at least a small frame of time he needed, he would end her. Right now, he was starting to feel angry and impatient. "Just what the hell is all of that supposed to mean?"
He could not blame her for being so furious at him though. He knew he didn't like having to do this either, but she had to disappear.
One would think she'd attempt to be a little nicer, to try and weasel her way from the inevitable. By now, Light realized that wouldn't happen. People reacted in all sorts of ways when afraid. Being rude and trying to threaten him with harsh words was probably just Mari's way of fearing the judgment he had been contemplating of passing onto her. She also seemed too proud for her own good to allow herself to completely surrender to him.
Light glared as she had spoke her confession, if that's what it really was. He remembered reading about the Shinigami from the Death Note's rules... This next question he knew he had to demand. He would forever be curious in not knowing if he chose not to. "What were you trying to do, use the Death Note for yourself? What were you looking for in the kitchen drawers?" The very concept of her using the notebook had him riled him up. It disgusted him, this disgust in which he had let out for her to hear. No one but himself could handle its power, its burden.
The power was for him to find. It was his DESTINY! His, and his ALONE! No one else would be able to handle the notebook. Only he would!
Did she seriously believe she could have made BETTER use of it?!
Mari glared back, defiant. The ferocity in her eyes and voice didn't die down, not completely. She was just waiting for the right opportune moment to strike. "Why bother to ask? I won't be able to do anything anyway."
Light's patience was wearing thinner, faster than he had been aware of. In observation of her behavior and how difficult she intended to be, it was causing his own mind to race. The gears in the clockwork of his consciousness were spinning so frantically. They couldn't be down here forever. His father was going to wake up in a few hours. Light could picture the scenario flashing through his mind; his father noticing the pens, cup, and Death Note on the kitchen floor, then looking in alarm at Light drilling Mari with his questions as he'd still hold a fistful of her hair in one hand...
If she knew about him, then so was a possibility of her knowing about his family too. She knows too much. I can't let her go free to tell anyone!
With precision and no warning, Light firmly tugged her hair, and gripped one of her wrists tightly. "I know you won't." He applied a little more ice into his impatience. "There must be a lot you don't want to tell me. I may not be able to get your name, but if I really must, I will kill you by any other means necessary. If you continue to be difficult, then I'll have no choice."
He thought he saw a sneer flicker in her judging, angry eyes. One more hiss of a remark came. "I know you haven't been killing for very long. You think it's so swell without getting any blood on your hands. So easy and clean. But with me, it's-"
Never in his life did he want to hurt a girl before. Tonight was proving to be exceptional. Mari had been nothing but a bitch to him! She wielded a big foul mouth for someone who claimed to be paranoid, and how she knew that information without him knowing was freaking him out. The gears were spinning so fast. He hadn't known anything about her then, but she knew how long he had been writing names into the Death Note. What else did she know about him?!
Light had come close to shouting, his mouth opening... NO, he wasn't going to let her provoke him like that! He wasn't going to let that scenario with Dad happen.
In the equivalent of how loud Light could have been, he pulled hard to prevent her from finishing that spiteful sentence. Her mouth opened to a silent scream. He pressed down just as hard on her hands while he still had her pinned to the floor. He couldn't lose to this arrogantly rude menace, and could not give up on what he had just started! "Your scare tactics won't work. Do you honestly think I can't kill you without the notebook?" He pulled and brought her face close to his, to direct his all rage right at her. "Should we find out?"
At that point he thought, maybe he should just put her out of her misery right now. This was getting to be too much, too fast. Because Mari knew a lot she really shouldn't, he knew that she had to GO! He didn't find all that much enjoyment in hurting and tormenting a person like this, especially when under pressure. He knew he was inexperienced, but she just had to be such a horrid, troublesome brat...
This woman was really dangerous, a lethal threat to Light's ambitions. She wasn't going to tell him anything; only continue to glare and use her secrets as a weapon to make him snap, and get caught. How was he going to silence her, without getting caught?! The clockwork of his mind started reeling in stress, desperate to latch onto the first option that came up.
A most hectic image revealed itself; him dragging her out in the cold, Mari kicking and screaming, fighting viciously with all she has to stop him from striking a killing blow with a knife, shears, or something else sharp from the kitchen.
No, she'd get much too loud. Someone might overhear and run over to the rescue-and then I would have to kill that person too.
How else could he get rid of her, then? Suffocation? No, that would led to an even worse outcome! He could only be so swift to grab for a trash bag in the cupboard behind him, under the kitchen sink-but not swift enough to stop her from taking a moment to lash out and hurt him very badly.
Maybe it would best just to strangle her. It was the fastest, cleanest, and most efficient course of action to do! She wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight or say anything then!
He had almost decided to go ahead with that scenario, until a series of questions began pulling him into another direction, demanding to know where she came from. Would there be any other interlopers to mysteriously appear, and have the same knowledge she had? Was there was any way to prevent the Death Note from being taken out of his room again?
This was all getting so damn COMPLICATED! Why? What did he do to deserve this? Who was she? Who-or what-sent her in his room?
That's when he remembered her mentioning something about Shinigami; gods of myth that were in his Death Note's instructions.
"No. No! Stop. I didn't... I don't know why I'm here. I-I don't know why I showed up here, and I..."
Mari's pitiful fragmented whimpers had brought him back to her, the problem that still breathed beneath him. In his grasp, she was trembling. He let up a bit on the pain, enough so that she wouldn't have to raise her voice to speak but also to let her know that she wouldn't be allowed to screw around with him. "You're going to have to give me more than that."
Mari looked away from him, lowering her eyes as she spoke in pitchy and broken sobs. As expected, the porcelain shell of that attitude of hers had shattered completely. "I was... I was in my own bed, but then I..."
Light studied the terror on her face. He was skeptical towards Mari's absurd answer, before filling in the blank. "You appeared in my room. Just like that?"
"Yes... I woke up on the floor, b-by your bed. No explanation. I-I know it doesn't make any sense, but it's the truth."
He tugged sharply, then pressed, "Are you sure about that? Because I remember you saying something about Shinigami? You somehow know they're mentioned in the Death Note, don't you? I remember you saying something about a 'Shinigami buddy'. Explain." That couldn't be her, because she didn't refer to herself as such. He didn't believe so, because it was so obvious that they weren't on the same side.
This notebook of death, according to what was handwritten in the rules, supposedly came from the death gods. This didn't seem all that surprising now, because she had mentioned at least one of them earlier. "...Did one of them send you here? To take the notebook back?"
Her face flinched in pain, then paled a bit as her wide eyes briefly looked to his. The pacing of her hushed voice quickened. "No. That's not-that's not Ryuk's style. That's not like any of them, I don't think. They wouldn't abduct or send people anywhere."
The uncertainty in her eyes and voice had him curious. She didn't think? Light had seen otherwise. He could see her trying to imagine what he had hinted at.
"How do you know? Have you ever met a Shinigami?" She seemed to know a name of one.
No. How could he ever believe that? How would he know whether or not she was lying to him?
Mari glared a bit at his skepticism and irritation. Her voice came out thicker layer of irritation. "It's complicated. Now will you please stop hurting me? I'm not going to run away, or fight."
He glanced up to the clock on the wall, to the left of the dining room table. It read two-sixteen; not quite time for Dad to wake up. Light quickly look back to her carefully. There was a sustained dark look Mari gave him. She evaded answering, but noticed she didn't choose to scream or fight him again. Reluctantly, Light moved off of her, and then watched her slowly sit up.
A bit of her original anger returned to her face. "Guess I'm stuck here." She sounded rather bitter about it. She wasn't at all pleased about this.
"Yeah, you are." He didn't want her here either, but he couldn't just kill her so hastily. He had to find out what to do about her quietly, and far away from prying eyes. He also had to think about what to tell his parents as he was coming up with a sure plan to keep her close by. Letting her walk free was way too risky.
Mari must have known that too, for she stayed right where she was. They both knew that if she would try to put up another fight, then she would only be in for a lot more hurt.
Light explained to her in a firm warning. "You are, oh, what's the right term... walking on thin ice. I don't quite have an incentive to kill you, because you're alone. You don't seem to be carrying any wires, or recording devices. If there was anyone else, they would have come for you by now." His glare intensified as the malice began to seep into his tone. "You know too much, so I can't let you go."
She looked very bitter about that. "I figured as much." The very reply puzzled him. Normally anyone would be more indignant or worried than that, but Light hadn't let himself dwell on it.
"You are nothing but a nuisance for me," Light pointed out. "You're in the way. Right now, you're on borrowed time, because I want to know what you know about me, and the Death Note... I don't know what else to do with you either. Believe me, I know you'll refuse to tell me your real name, but you'll need to have at least a name, so my family will know what to call you."
"A fake name? Really? Oh good, because I'm not going to let you kill me so easily."
That attitude was back again—but he held himself back from hurting the smart mouthed bitch, because she seemed to be reluctantly agreeing to this. "You're not going to resist? Because, if you agree, you'd be putting your life into my hands..." He felt himself beginning to smirk.
There was so much anger and bitterness directed at him, through her response. "Oh don't flatter yourself, Kira. No need to rub it in on the ego stroking. It doesn't matter what I do or say. You've already explained it like I have no choice."
Light began to feel the slightest amusement he towards her as he laughed softly at her expense. "Again with that name... What does it mean?"
Mari applied a mocking lilt to her tone. "Oh? You want me to give you a spoiler? Not that it'll be long before you find that out."
Light felt his brow raising. "That's an interesting word to use. Are you implying you're able to predict the future? My future, to be more specific?" Why did she happen to figuratively fall into his lap? It was a fact that she knew his name and the notebook, that had to mean she wasn't here by some unfortunate accident, or coincidence...
A wicked sneer appeared in her eyes. "Pfft. I'm not a psychic, exactly. It's complicated."
"I'm only trying to figure out why you're here. Is that all you have to say? 'It's complicated'? That's not going to help anybody, you know..." He smirked at her again. "By the way, you might want to watch attitude of yours. You can't stay here if you run that big mouth of yours around my parents and sister."
The confident sneer of hers went away, to be replaced with another one of her glares. "I respect them more than I'd ever respect you, so there won't be any need to worry about that. And, I know I'd give you a reason to kill me if I told them about your warped quest." Her glare became sharper. "I know your father is chief of the NPA... Do you honestly think he'd be proud of what you're doing?"
Light glared right back. It was just as he had thought-she DID know who his family was, or at least his father! Earlier, she really had tried to get him to lose it. He realized that her earlier actions were indeed intentional. Before his very eyes, she really was a serious threat. How did she know about who his father was?! "Who are you?"
"Someone who happened to show up on accident."
Warily, he told her, "I don't think I believe you... You know who I am. You tried to take my Death Note, and you know about my family too. How?" His gaze darkened. "You better answer me, or you'll regret it."
Another fierce glare came to her eyes. "This is going to take some time to explain, all right? Shit, it's not like I came here knowing I would end up in your room. I wasn't prepared for that, I swear."
He loathed that at the way she judged him; coldly, accusingly. If she didn't let her emotions rule her whenever she got so scared, then she would have been a more worthy and equal opponent to beat. This was very typical for any other woman he had ever met. Because of this, she was struggling to stay strong and confident—she was vulnerable. She feared him.
There was no mistaking on her cunning, and she so far had given her all to evade the questions he demanded out of her—but not for too much longer...
He never had anyone try to stand up to him like this. Light knew she was going to be quite a challenge, in the long run, but by the time she had outlived her use, he would send her on her way.
For the time being, the dust between them was appearing to settle. Mari became a little cooperative.
"Fine... We'll discuss more about this upstairs." He stood up irritably, and offered his hand to her. "For right now, you're going to have to help me with a little clean up in the kitchen, before we do that."
She looked at his hand, then glared up at him. "No thanks. I'll help myself up... And yeah, whatever. You won't let me out of your sight. Got that memo down." She was using one of the dining room chairs to help support her weight. "Ah, that really hurt."
Light still had a thin loose clump of her hair in one hand. He looked from that to her, and then stepped past her to drop the it into the trash. "You deserved every bit of that, for trying to steal the Death Note." Light turned to pick up the Death Note. His eyes were almost thin slits as he looked at her so fiercely over his shoulder. "If you ever try to do it again-"
"I know," Mari interjected. A little snarl entered her voice. "I'll be dead. I won't get another chance. Not that I'd want it."
Because she knew of that consequence, Light didn't let her response him affect him very much as he smirked. "You are one very rude girl. Must you snap at me at every chance you get? We can't have that around my family, because if you're rude to me in front of them..." He selectively drifted off, and let her picture or imagine what he might have to do.
For just a fleeting second, the terror returned in her expression. Then Mari looked like she was about to spout something else profane, but stopped. A heavy sigh came through gritted teeth. The vigorous resentment toward him was now sustained into a calmer anger. "It's not like you're not making it easy for me. It's not like I want to be here, and I know very well that you don't want me here. That we can agree on. I assure you; I'll act polite and smile for you at the appropriate time, Kira-Warden. I don't want to endanger them, or myself."
From what she mentioned to him about Dad, she said with such conviction. The display in her expression also seemed believable. "Good... So, what the hell were you thinking earlier? Just how were you going to get away, dressed like that?" Light crossed his arms. "It's rather cold out... You hadn't planned very far ahead."
Mari's reply was short, and vague. "It doesn't matter. Not anymore. You're probably better off not knowing." She started to lower herself, but she was moving a bit too slow.
For right now, he suppose he could let it go. This wasn't going to be unknown forever, and he knew he wasn't going to let that drop until she would fess up to him.
"Don't bother bending over if you're hurt too much. Let's not waste time," Light told her. "Just stand off to the side, and don't move."
"And stay where you can see me? Yeah, yeah..."
They both knew that bravado she put on wasn't fooling anyone. She was so terrified. She was even more terrified to let him see that she was. There may come a time in the not distant future in which she might feel less snappish and bitchy, a little at a time—but he wasn't going to let that get to his head. He wasn't going let his guard down as long as he had her around. As he was scowling and picking up the mess, that was when she gave him the false name.
"By the way? My fake name will be Mari Broderick. That is all."
As soon as she said that, there was a distant high pitched noise, something electronic. That was when Light heard his mind silently scream, Damn it, WHAT NOW?! Really, he didn't know how much more absurd happenings he could take until he'd explode.
He looked to Mari, who looked toward the stairs, perplexed. "What's that beeping sound...?"
Light regarded her warily before deciding to mention the strange cell phone anomaly. "I think I might have an idea. Recently, something else just happened to show up around me, not just you and the notebook..."
He explained all about the odd phone shaped device as he hurriedly finished gathering up all those pens, before putting them in the cup. As he did, they continued to hear the device, that chirped at what must have been every thirty seconds. "So, what do you think? Is there some kind of connection going on here, or is it all just coincidence?"
Mari shrugged, and didn't make much of an effort to think about it. She was trying evade him again. "No idea. I just know such a phone is definitely not mine."
"Let's go," Light commanded, motioning to the stairs. "You first." He didn't trust her to follow him, for he believed that she may try to seek the opportunity to run away again.
However, truth be told, they found out the device actually was for Mari-or at least it had been prepared for her.
Light thought back to the time she looked so scared as he gave to her. When it came down to it, she was mostly a scared little girl on the inside. It was so easy to see through her. Little by little, as he would predict, the information she knew would spill. "Wh-what the hell?"
"My thoughts exactly," he replied. He paused a moment to consider. What other higher powers that be are there? This is getting to be too much... "If a Shinigami hadn't sent you here, could it be some other kind of god, or two? A Shinigami drops a notebook from the sky. Another strange being leaves this device, and now here you are."
She blinked at him in horror as a soft stammer came out. "M-Maybe you're just thinking too much."
When he showed her to the spare bedroom reserved for people his mother would take in, because she would feel sorry for them. She would feel just as sorry for Mari later-once he would think up a convincingly tragic story to tell them.
"I need to think for a little while," Light said. Mari was still taken back from the last thing he said to really say anything as she sat down on the bed, so he proceeded to give her a simple instruction. "Until I come back, I want you to find out what that does, if you can." He lowered himself to look at her evenly at eye level. He applied a warning. "Stay here. The door to this room is going to stay open. I'll be leaving my door open too, so I hear you try to sneak out, you're only asking for more trouble."
"Whatever," she breathed, and looked away from him.
He moved her face so she could look him in the eyes. His eyes narrowed as he addressed the matter . "You're going to be here for quite a while, Mari Broderick. There's a lot you seem to know and, for some reason-you don't wish to tell me. That's going to change..." His eyes burned with determination as he added, "I believe you were sent here for a reason. There's no point in denying it."
She glared that fierce glare of hers, and smacked his hand away. "Go plot then. Do it. I'll look at the damn thing. I'm not going anywhere. But just so we are clear; I'm not someone you can just control. I can only agree to cooperate to an extent."
"We'll see about that." Light calmly stood up, and rubbed his eyelids a little. The few hours to come were going to be very long and strenuous. Sometime later, he might receive a headache from all this. "May I ask you one more thing?"
She glared at him more. "Whatever. Go ahead."
"Is there something in particular that you have against me? I don't know anything about you right now, and it seems to me the things you shouldn't know cause you to despise me..." He glowered. "Don't tell me it's because I hurt you. We both know that's not it."
"You're seriously asking me that?" Mari inhaled a shaky breath before letting it out. She looked nervous as her eyes lowered.
Light stared, his eyes boring in on her. "I am."
"Fine. Better get it out of the way then..." She breathed in once more, and slowly shook her head before she looked to him again. "I cannot stand that someone like you actually exists. I never wanted to find this out... No matter how much you want to believe you're the good guy-you're twisted." Her arms were trembling as she found it hard to keep her eyes focused on his. "You lie to the people you love, just so you can keep using the Death Note. You resent murderers and the like, and you believe you're so much better to justify their actions with murder. None of that bothers you, like it would bother me..."
Her voice cracked, and then became thicker. Through the dim light coming from the window in the spare bedroom, two slivers of tears streamed down her face. "I wouldn't be able to do it. I value life too much. It's a crazy world, sure, but is it any less crazy to change it with a killer notebook? To make good use out of something so evil? Are you really being selfless here for the greater good, Light?"
It was right then that he wondered how old Mari was. She looked older than him, or maybe she was in her twenties. In some spec of respect, Light discovered she was a little more intelligent than he had initially thought.
At first, her statement of accusations startled him as he heard them. Her resentment combined with that cut right into him like cold steel. The questions she asked had brought a wave of some indescribable feeling, some mixture of shock and disbelief.
"You know way too much..." That was all he could say for that moment that somehow had taken longer to pass than usual-until he felt very suspicious about her taking the Death Note again. He began to realize that he had assumed wrong about Mari.
She didn't want to take the notebook to use it. No, she was trying to do something completely opposite of that.
Light looked at her with utmost intensity, his voice low and calm. "Mari... I want you to be honest with me on something."
Her shoulders tensed as she looked to him. Her eyes widened a little.
"No more dodging the subject," Light insisted.
Very hesitantly, Mari nodded.
"You took the Death Note to get rid of it. You didn't want me finding out about it either, and you were searching the drawers for something."
"Please don't be mad," Mari whispered.
From the building terror in her eyes, in addition to how her voice had shrunk so fast, Light could see that this was true. The look on her face told him a silent and obvious Oh Shit expression. He sat down on the mattress beside her. "What were you looking for in the drawers?"
From the dim light coming from the spare bedroom window, he could see her face was paling. She was scooting away from him.
Light remembered how much she had tried to repel this question away. He now knew why. She ALMOST DESTROYED the Death Note, he heard his mind scream. He blew out a heavy sigh, and quelled down the raw and hot rage he felt. That was close, TOO CLOSE!
She really is a threat to everything, whoever this damn woman really is...
"U-Understand... I had the best intentions in mind," Mari whimpered.
Part of himself just wanted to end Mari here and now, while another part of him pitied her. He also believed she asked the right questions, and in some small pathetic light he felt she was right on some of the things she said about him.
Whether or not her actions were really well-intended, wherever she came from, he now realized what she meant by paranoid, to some degree. Whatever kind of god or other mythical being that sent her his way had to know she would have to die, eventually. He wasn't sure what the purpose of her being here was, not yet, but it deeply angered him to no end that she had almost got away with disposing of the Death Note.
He'd have to keep an eye on her as much as he could, and he wasn't looking forward to that at all. Learning more about her and knowing how and why she knew about him and his family was at least going to be something interesting. That, and what the phone did, were the things he would forward to later.
The new world had to come. It was counting on him. It would come whether Mari liked it or not, and there was nothing she could do or say to prevent it.
As he felt this, Light felt he could spare her a little mercy right now.
"Let me explain something to you... This world needs to change. I understand how you feel about how I do it, I really do, but the law is fractured. Corrupted. It can't go on like this." He glowered. "I'm sure there must be some people you feel don't deserve to live."
The soft reply she gave surprised him a bit. "No I don't."
He then stared at her, expressionless. "You've never felt that way about anyone?"
She shook her head no. The voice she carried now was a small and timid one. "I... I never grew up around much crime. Never felt or thought that way about even the people I never got along with."
Light lowered his head a bit in thought. "Maybe you're a sentimental pacifist." He paused. "Look, someone needs to clean up this rotten world. There should be a world where only honest and the good-hearted exist. With the Death Note, I can accomplish that."
The crude attitude didn't come springing back this time, to which was a nice change for once. (That was the one trait about her he really despised.) For the time being, Mari was quiet.
"You already know about that, right? You probably already know my place in the new world... I can't have you or anyone standing in my way. Just because you're someone who just happens to be here, wrong place at the wrong time, you're not excused." He leaned forward. "You almost ruined everything."
Mari sat still, and didn't look at him as more tears were leaking out. Again, she spoke softly. "So, I'll just be another expendable person to you. Is that it?"
Light wondered slightly if she said that in resentment, or in fear. He almost told her that yes, she most certainly WOULD die by his hand someday, but this was too far ahead to decide. "It really depends on how cooperative you'll be. I'm not sure about this deity of yours, or why it sent you here-and I won't decide to do anything about you, not until I know more."
Mari shivered. "Th-this is going to suck. How can I stay here while you continue to...?"
He looked at her, unamused. "I know what I'm doing bothers you, a lot. Although I have to ask; do you feel sympathy for criminals?"
"No, that's not it..." She shook her head. "That power is so corruptible. The more you use it, you'll..." She inhaled sharply. "I won't help you with that, and I don't know how I'll stomach it when..."
Again, she was to be pitied. He realized that she must have felt like the most unfortunate person in the world right now-not that he necessarily felt sorry for Mari. He only understood. "Will you feel compelled to try and stop me, Mari?" Because if you do, you'll know what will happen.
"I won't touch it again, if that's what you're asking. No, I'm not going to repeat that mistake." She looked to him, crying her pitiful tears. "I just won't help you with that. I can't sit and do nothing either. I don't really want to fight you—no. That would be exhausting. I know it... but I'd rather not watch you destroy yourself."
Light stood up, annoyed. Such a nuisance. Is she really going to be like this the whole time? "Destroy myself? I know better than that... It's the world that must be saved. It's not just about us... It's because of people who'd feel the way you do is the reason why anyone else can't know about the notebook. Got it?"
Mari said nothing for a long minute as he felt he like he needed to leave. Light told himself that he shouldn't let all she said bother him. No. He would stray far from his noble mission to make this world a utopia if he did! "We'll talk more later. Right now, I have to think about what to tell my parents about you, and..." He picked up the sleek device from between them on the mattress, and placed it into her hands. "You can figure out what this does while I do."
She looked down at it in silence. The screen lit up and the text of the given name she gave him faded into view just after. "Just do as I tell you, and don't get in my way. As long as you do that, we'll have less problems," Light said, as he moved towards his bedroom.
For a while, Light had been in his room on the computer. He hadn't been able to come up with something for an alibi for Mari by himself, so he started looking up online articles for some inspiration. Her words still ticked loud and clear in his inner clockwork, causing him to sulk in his chair. Her sentimentalism was not needed. He didn't want anyone saving him, or stopping him, especially not her! He was a new brand of justice, without flaws and nothing that would lead the police straight to Light's doorstep. Those responsible for their wicked deeds just dropped dead to the ground. They would come to fear his will, and people will start to change their ways. Violence and wars would end. There would be no more world hunger. The world's most deadly diseases would be cured.
Things like that mattered so much more. Light would use the Death Note to make them happen. Mari whole-heartedly resented it, but so what?
Maybe she would one day realize this during the time she'd have to stay, maybe not. He just knew her feelings weren't going to change a damn thing...
Arsonist. Aparment building burned down. Three people died, Light calculated as he was skimming over an online newspaper article. The apartment was somewhere not very far from here. Light could say to Dad that he found Mari wandering around because she was scared of the fire, was the sole survivor and took pity on her. It would work out. Light could add that everything burned away in the fire, so that would be why she didn't have any belongings or clothes with her. Yeah, that should work.
On occasion, he heard a soft gasps, shaky breathing, or hiccups from Mari in the room next door, yet he tried not to let her crying bother him. He didn't even want to think about her or her heavy baggage of drama right now. She had her task to do, and she just needed some time alone. Maybe it would do them both some good if they spent a little bit more time away from each other.
He decided to spend a curious minute or two to look up information about "Kira", before he would go check back with her. (Could she truly be right about people knowing of his work, calling him by this name?) However, as he was about to left click the search button, her breaths were becoming sharper, and a bit louder. This prompted him to sigh and get out of his chair. He'd better go check on her then. Is she having a panic attack? Damn it...
Just what was this other entity's deal? Did it get pleasure out of her being there to irritate him? It must have gotten pleasure to just let her suffer. Her suffering added onto his-such a pain. At least the Shinigami did something acceptable to drop the Death Note for him to pick up. This other being was, if anything, a horrible trickster. He didn't need anybody already knowing about him and the notebook! He didn't need this AT ALL!
He just wanted to be left the hell alone. However, considering the gods that found great interest in him for whatever reason; that was possibly too much to ask of them.