A dark room was illuminated only by the faint, blue glow of an alarm clock. Outside the sky was still dark, though dawn was approaching. Just within radius of the blue glow was the slumbering body of fourteen year old Melissa Young. Her budding chest rose and fell in a rhythmic pattern as she slept soundly. The serene scene was interrupted in an instant as her alarm blared to life and her almond shaped eyes flitted open, revealing emerald green irises with reddish brown corona bursting from around her pupil.
She groaned as she reached over to her nightstand and shut the alarm off before sitting up, revealing her black night shirt and white soffe shorts. She set her feet onto her hardwood ground and recoiled instantly at the cold surface. She sighed before setting her feet on the ground more hesitantly. She cringed slightly, but rose to her feet with a groan. She yawned loudly and stretched her arms up, arcing her back before returning to her slumped posture as she grabbed a change of clothes and made her way towards her bathroom.
She quickly stripped from her "pajamas" and stepped into the shower, running the faucet first, but instantly switching to the shower head; a big mistake. She leaped back as scalding water sprayed against her body. "Today is not my day." She grumbled as she lowered the temperature of the water before stepping back into the stream, this time content with the water. She sighed happily as she began to wash her body and hair.
Roughly thirty minutes later Melissa was pulling on the last article of her clothing, dressed in her school uniform: dark grey thigh high socks, a red plaid skirt that stopped at her mid-thigh, a black leather belt, a white blouse and a black cropped vest with her school symbol on it, and her own signature item, black converse sneakers. After getting fully dressed she applied black eyeliner and ruby red lipstick before styling her brown hair into semi-curls. Finally satisfied with her appearance she left the confines of the steamy bathroom to grab a breakfast bar.
Melissa's eyes surveyed the streets as she strolled to her school. The world seemed peaceful enough, but she knew the truth. The world is rotten, corrupted by its inhabitants. The world has never been perfect, perhaps not even during the age of Adam and Eve. But ten years ago… it had been so close! Kira was cleansing the world of the filth that plagued it. But in an instant his presence was snuffed out like a flame. Without warning the beacon of hope had been destroyed without reasoning. All progress to a better world was wiped away and the world returned to chaos, progressively getting worse without hope of halting. In recent years alone, the world's crime rate had gone up twenty percent.
Her porcelain face etched itself into a scowl. She shoved her hands into her skirt pockets and continued her pace towards school. Her mom barely nearly forbid her to go out alone, frightened that some psychopath would gun her down within the ten minute walk to her school. The fear was more than unprovoked paranoia of course. A child was murdered two blocks from his school a couple weeks ago. Of course the child was from another state, but Melissa's mother remained frightened nonetheless.
She's frightened with good reason. The world needs salvation, or we will all find ourselves dead or corrupted. There is no one to save us, not anymore. The legal system is flawed, the law enforcement is corrupted and anyone who tries to fix the world is quickly shut down… have I always been this cynical? Her thoughts briefly changed their course as she found herself closing in to her school's court yard.
More than a few hours later Melissa was shifting around uncomfortable within her desk. Her eyes repeatedly found themselves watching the second hand move ever so slowly as it counted down to the end of her school day. She tapped her fingers impatiently as her gaze drifted to the window. She was about to flick her eyes back towards the clock when something caught her eye. A black book plummeted towards the ground from the sky. She furrowed her brow. "Since when does it rain books?" She mused, a slight smirk forming on her lips. She raised her eyes to see where the book had possibly come from, but the sky was empty. Not even a cloud billowed through the evening sun.
Evening… winter days go to fast. Melissa was in the process of returning her gaze to the clock when the bell rang, causing a slight jump. Finally. She grabbed her back pack off the ground and hurried from the detention room. A hand caught her by the shoulder, she spun around to face the teacher charged with manning the detention.
"Maybe next time you won't let your tardies catch up to you?" Her tone was stern, but her eyes gave away to her pleading nature. "I don't like punishing you." She admitted.
"Ms. Briggs, I don't intend to be tardy. It just… sort of happens."
"It just sort of happens a lot." Ms. Briggs said with a slight eye roll. "Listen, Melissa you are a bright kid, but you are lazy, unmotivated, and frankly it's a waste of your potential. You could do so many great things." She sighed.
"Don't worry, I don't intend to settle for anything less than great."
"You could have fooled me."
Melissa sighed, her toe brushed against the ground, and her right hand grabbed her elbow as she looked away awkwardly. "I'm sorry." Was all she could mumble.
"It's ok." Ms. Briggs sighed, her tone almost apologetic. "Just try and be more punctual."
"No problem." Melissa said, her smile returning as she left the class room. She found herself the last one on school grounds by the time she emerged into the court yard. She was about to make a bee line to the parking lot when the black book caught her eye again. "Still here, huh?" She jogged over to its spot on the grass. "Now where did you come from?" She grabbed the book, turning over to read the cover. She gasped lightly.
"D-death Note? Like the kind serial killers use to list their victims?" She reluctantly flipped through the book to find it strangely empty… except a few black pages at the front that had some strange sort of rules, written in both English and Japanese. She read the first rule. "The human whose name is written in this note shall die." She gasped. "What is this?" She questioned, pondering if she should take it or leave it. "I guess…. I guess there is no harm in taking it home to examine." She slipped it into her bag with nervous hesitance.
She glanced around, suspiciously before hurrying off. Her heart was racing. What am I thinking? It has to be a joke, or a gag… or a real life murderous notebook. No that's ridiculous. How can a simple notebook cause someone to die? She shook the thoughts from her head and sped up her pace.
She found herself reading the last of the hundred and fifteen rules. "This is a detailed prank." She said, feeling a little dizzy. "Ok so… I guess I should try it out." She muttered. She grabbed a pen from her desk and tapped it against the first page. "But… who?" She laughed nervously. "I guess, anyone since it's not going to work." Can I really risk that?
Her head began to pound. She flicked on the news to a live broadcast. "Ok… uh… no emotional attachment to a Mr. Henry Truman." She said jotting down the name onto the page, in her curly hand-writing. Her eyes returned to the screen. "One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi…" She felt a little foolish counting the seconds off to an imaginary event but kept her voice at an even count. "…Forty Mississippi."
Nothing happened initially. "I knew it was a fa-" Her voice broke as the handsome newscaster cried out before collapsing onto the desk… dead. "I-I-I didn't mean to!" She cried to no one in particular. "I didn't think it would work!" Her voice cracked as she felt tears well up into her eyes. "It's impossible!" She rose to her feet, sending her chair rolling back. "No!" She felt a panicky sensation well up into her chest as she backed away from her desk. She fell over onto the ground, her eyes flicking from her entertainment center to her desk where the death note rested.
She felt herself begin to pant as she broke out in a cold sweat. "I killed a man… I killed someone… I Ki… I can kill someone… just by writing their name in a book…. I… Oh god what have I done… I… I…I used a notebook to kill someone…" Melissa began to hyperventilate as she felt the world spin. Her eyes narrowed as the sickening realization slowly melded into intrigue "I destroyed a life… but… Oh my God! I'm a murder!" She began to rock back in forth as she crawled up into a ball.
"No. I can't afford to think like that. I can't feel self-pity. Not now… I killed a guy. I can never take that back. I can't fix things, I can't make up for it! … can I? Can I avenge his death. No, I can't avenge it… but can I honor it? Can I use this power for good? Killing is still killing! … Or is it? The authorities kill criminals they deem fit. C-can I do that? Do I have the right to judge others? I just killed a guy!"
Her chest began to resound with a dull ache as her shaky hands pushed herself to her feet. She returned her eyes to the damn book that caused her troubles. "What the hell did you do?" She screamed at it. "You killed a person! What are you?" Her throat began to throb as she continued her break down. "You weren't supposed to work!" She collapsed to the ground. "I've become a killer… I've become… Kira." The name, the one that was once feared above all, had entered her head at random.
"Is this how the great Kira killed?" She pondered aloud. "The angel of death, who could kill with nothing more than a name and a face, used a death note. It has to be! How else could anyone kill so many criminals? Kira used a death note to rid this world of corruption, and now I have possession of a death note. Was it a mistake? A coincidence? No. It has to be fate."
" I have the power to kill someone just by picturing their face and writing their name down… maybe I killed an innocent man… but I can make up for it. With this power, I can create a better world. I can improve society; I can rid it of evil, of ignorance… of weakness." A shadow crossed her face in an ominous manner. "I was given this power for a reason. Fate chose me to eliminate the world of the darkness binding it." She rose to her feet. "And I will accept the burden that fate has put upon me."
She yawned, and her posture relaxed. "But first… I guess I'm going to sleep." She chuckled lightly as she stripped from her school uniform and replaced it with cheetah print pajama pants and a black t-shirt before collapsing into her bed. She practically fell asleep the second her eyes closed.
The next day Melissa found herself dressed in a similar school outfit, once again shifting restlessly in her seat, this time; however, she wasn't in detention. She was simply in her last class of the school day. A small trace of guilt mingled with her impatience, but she brushed it off and focused her thoughts on righting her wrong. According to the death note it was impossible to bring back someone from the dead, but making sure the reporter didn't die in vain… that would fix things. He had been a test, and now that she was aware of the power she possessed Melissa could save the world from its corruption.
She tapped her pencil against her desk as she tried to decide who to kill… the word seemed a little dark to her. Perhaps remove was more fitting? No that would be sugar coating it. She sighed audibly. Does this make me a murderer? Obviously… but I guess I will have to be a murderer if it means saving the world. She leaned back in her chair, her hair splayed out on the empty desk behind her. She crossed her legs around the ankles as she gazed at the ceiling. Who to start with? Her thoughts returned to the trivial matter of who her first criminal victim shall be. Decision, decisions. An amused half smirk crossed her face as she stared at the ceiling.
The bell rang, signaling the end of school. And the beginning to a new era. Melissa slowly gathered her things, playfully torturing herself as she prolonged her first cleanse. Cleanse. That's right; I am cleansing the world of evil. She slipped her text bugs into her bag and strolled from the class room. She drew one strap of her bag across her shoulder and let the other dangle as she left school grounds. Who knows. A new thought began to form in her brain. Maybe that newscaster was a reporter by night, criminal by day. Who says that the bad guys have to adopt the shadows of night? She smirked as her own fabricated explanation erased all shreds of guilt from her adolescent mind.
"Hey Melissa!" A teenage males voice called out. Melissa slowed her steps, her way of inviting company without stopping all together. "Hey." A breathless, dark haired boy said catching up to her.
"I hope you didn't run all this way for me, Tod." Melissa flashed her signature half smirk.
"Actually I did." The handsome sophmore boy admitted. "But with good reason."
"Oh?"
"Well… I… well you see, I kind of have this crush on you."
Whoa. Melissa stopped walking as her cheeks burned. Is a boy hitting on you… rather bluntly, all it takes to get you flustered? She asked herself. Kira must be rolling in his grave. You think you'd be used to this thing by now.
"I see." Melissa squeaked. Melissa Young, master of seduction.
Tod chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies this weekend?" He asked.
Does Kira date? If it was at all possible her cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red as her ears joined in on the burning. She bit her lip, somewhat flirtatiously as she weighed her options. "What do I got to lose?" She asked aloud. She blushed at the possible suggestion he could make.
"Great. I'll pick you up at seven on Saturday then?"
"Sounds like a plan." She smiled.
And the goddess of the new world gets a date. She stopped for a moment as Tod bid her a farewell. "Goddess, huh?" She smirked and resumed her gait.
"Time to find a victim." Melissa smirked as she flicked through the news channels till she found a savory victim.
"Alleged serial killer Edward Millton has just been apprehended and will be transported to Pine City Fedral Jail where he will await a court date." Melissa's eyes rolled over to the latest picture of said killer.
"Wrong. He has already been judged." An evil glint filled Melissa's eyes.
"Edward Millton, Heart Attack. 9:35 PM September 19th 2017" The words were scrawled in red ink in the death note. The killer would be given twenty minutes of life before he would die; plenty of time to get to the prison. Now for the details. "Edward admits to killing all the so-called Sister Slayer's victims." Melissa smiled. Her first victim was a truly sinister one. He had killed in pairs; his victims were always pre-adolescent sisters.
"Edwards, your reign of terror is over."
Three more days had passed. Three more days' worth of criminals died and Melissa found herself at her desk on Friday night adding even more names to the death note. A single lamp illuminated her desk as she jotted down the name of a convicted rapist, setting him to die of a simple heart attack. A chill ran down her spine, but she ignored it as she surfed the internet for another victim.
Something cleared its throat. Melissa jumped out of her seat and turned towards her far wall. A tall silhouette hugged the shadows. The only discernible feature Melissa could make out was two glowing dots. She took a step back.
"W-who are you?" Her voice shook.
"I believe the proper term is what." A cold voice called out from the shadows. He stepped out from the shadows and a shriek emerged from Melissa. A tall skeletal monster loomed before her. A sinister grin was perpetual drawn across its face. Near empty eye sockets glared at her, red, ember like pupils glowed in a menacing manner in her direction. Brown hair spiked back from behind a black bandana and goggles. A menacing hammer that appeared to be constructed from bones hung across his back .
Melissa was utterly terrified. Another shriek escaped her lips and she tumbled backwards. She pushed herself against the far corner of the wall, keeping as much distance from the monster and herself.
"What are you?" She managed to choke out as her eyes darted to the death note. Damn! My only weapon! Panic swelled in her chest as she tore her gaze from him and began to gasp and scream in utter fear. She became aware of something warm and wet begin to soak her butt and legs. Oh god! He got me! I'm bleeding. She didn't try to reason how he couldn't have possibly cut her from that distance, but she was near hysterics.
The warmth spread across her lap and past her knees. That's too much blood! She panicked as she risked a glance down, to find her cheetah print pajama pants soaked with dark wet stains expanding from the inside of her thighs to her crotch, seeping downwards to beneath her. A brief moment of confusion crossed her face as the sickly bittersweet scent of urine waferred upwards into her nostrils. The next thing she noticed was the pale yellow puddle expanding beneath her, soaking her legs further.
A blush cut across her cheeks for a moment till her attention returned to the monster, now closer. She couldn't even scream now and only gaped at the monster as she wet herself in fear. She shut her eyes and waited to die, after what felt like of eternity with only the sound and feel of warm urine soaking her pants and spaying across her floor she opened her eyes to find herself alive, albeit soaked.
"I must have made a huge mistake in who I gave my death note to." The monster spoke cynically.
"A-are you the Shinigami, whose coming was foretold to me by the death note."
"Obviously." He scowled.
"Are you here to kill me?"
"No. I came here to… accompany you. Of course I didn't think you would be a fourteen year old girl only capable of wetting yourself."
"Shut Up!" Melissa yelled, rising to her feet. "I am Kira!"
His eyes widened, almost in amusement. "I suppose I can give you a chance. Don't expect me to ever lend you a hand. You have to earn my assistance." He scowled.
"So then… Kira did kill with a death note."
"Yes, he did." The Shinigami said as he picked up the notebook.
"The same one as this?"
"I don't believe so."
Bummer. "So… I can still continue his legacy."
"I hope so."
"You don't say much, do you?"
"Not particularly. You on the other hand are quite loud. How come your parents haven't come to check on you after you just screamed your head off?" He wondered aloud.
"They aren't home at the moment."
"Lucky you." He said, sprouting ugly black wings as he began to hover. "Well, I am going to rest." He said floating through the ceiling without another word.
Melissa relaxed immediately with a loud sigh. "Well… that was terrifying." She muttered as she noticed the sounds of urine dropping from the back of her legs. She glanced down to find another puddle on the ground and a set of wet footprints leading from her large puddle.
She blushed brightly as she stripped from her urine soaked clothing. "Gross." She muttered as she set about cleaning her mess.
