Note : Thanks for reviewing my story , y'all ! hope you like this one, just as much :)
Also, if you find any new words in Japanese, that you cant comprehend at-all. Then look into the glossary at the end of the story.
CHAPTER 2 : DEATH BITES PART I
Harsh winds blew out, making the barren landscape shiver. The land looked like it hadn't rained in decades. The ground had cracks all over its surface. The sky was brimming with clouds as if the thunder gods had been enraged and were tempting the dry land beneath them. Brief yet bright bolts of lightning struck every few minutes and the bang of thunder shook the earth.
Thousands of birds that looked like a hybrid of Pelicans and Eagles stared down at their prey. Lumps of slowly decaying, but alive shinigami were crawling at snail's pace. The winged beasts, ooki tori, were massive in size. Their body was covered with hardened-glass like feathers from which their beady eyes protruded out. Their beaks were crooked into shape like a pirate's hand hook, that helped them make a quick work of their prey. They would swoop down once a millennia, to fight for their prize: a shinigami, who was about to perish.
Shinigami who had broken the rules, death gods who simply didn't wish to exist any longer, and humans who had been granted the power of a shinigami all rotted away in this place.
This place.
It was not the realm of Shinigami. It wasn't hell. The decaying masses, just knew it as This Place. This place…where they were doomed or eager enough to fall into.
In the midst of such lowly rotting creatures was a particularly interesting, bloody lump of flesh. It didn't seem to move at-all to the naked eye. But the ooki tori's eye's were better magnified than the naked eye of an human. They knew that this ball of flesh had a good number of days to go before it could become their food.
Even so, they zoomed in with their big-beady eyes to check upon their targeted prey, when it suddenly gave a jerk and pushed itself up. They stared at in amusement, as the lumpy figure didn't turn out to be one of those ugly shinigami that they'd always hated the taste off. It was a human girl. Probably no more than twenty years of age.
Well this was a first, the ooki tori screeched in unison. No, woman had been brought up here before…at least not any human woman.
The woman finally managed to get up on her limbs. Shreds of plain black, something that must've been like her external skin, fell off her back as she started staggering towards an unknown destination.
The plain, black external skin was most likely, the remaining part of her frock that she was wearing before she was dragged into This Place. It was obviously not known to the ooki toris
She shivered as a strong breeze went by. Her long, golden-yellow mane fell loosely over her naked frame, as she tried to steady herself in the unfamiliar surroundings. She was dirty and blood and sweat slowly dripped from her smooth, tanned skin. Small cuts and bruises adorned her body. Her face was cast downwards and she used her right arm to support her left, as she dragged herself across the land of the decaying masses.
She looked delicious, The beastly birds, decided.
They would've swooped in and swallowed her whole right at that moment but that would result in their death too. They were barred from feeding off their prey as long as they were alive... sort of.
So they simply sighed and flew along to a different part of the land. It was a fairly large expanse, and though the probability of finding another human girl in the vicinity was unheard of, they couldn't put off that temptation.
~o~o~o~
Near sat on the leather couch waiting for his underlings to return from the recent pressing, press conference that they'd been forced to attend.
He sunk deeper into his couch and stared harder at open newspaper in front of him. As if that was merely enough to make the answers come right at him . There was some connection between the two deaths. He knew it. But whether that was because of some emotional connection that the victim felt or was it because of some supernatural force behind her death. That he couldn't be sure of... But yes, he was certain that if the circumstance were the same then there was absolutely no way for her to be alive. How he'd explain it to the public out there, was another matter.
His eyes went over the contents of the newspaper again, and this time he dint plan on leaving out anything. Not that he did that the first time around...
The Japan Times
Date : 23/3/2009
Miss Misa Amane, Our Beloved Kukoo, Can no-longer sing.
Misa Amane-chan, twenty-one years, poster-girl for the Amai Hayari magazines. Renowned mostly for her modeling skills and her charming personality is believed, to have fallen of the Reinbo bridge in the Kanto region of Japan on Tuesday afternoon.
Her clothes were found on the other side of the Kanji river, last evening at 7:42 pm by local fishermen. Her body however has yet to be recovered.
She was last seen, taking the train to the Baki plains and if the paparazzi is to be believed, she visited the grave of her long time boyfriend before she fell.
Many believe that she was tired of being under suspicion for committing a major felony.
The FBI seems to be tight lipped about the circumstance of her mysterious disappearance.
"We are investigating this matter. As soon as we find anything of importance, we will surely let the public know " Mr Mogi Kanzo, assistant officer of Tokyo police, said.
Let us pray for the loss of our beloved, little model. Anyone, who wishes to pray for her safe return home, please visit the town hall on Saturday evening between 5:00pm to 9:00 pm . A candle light, march will be held.
~o~o~o~ ~o~o~o~
Light felt something pointy jab him on the shoulder. His head throbbed, but the gun-wound in his abdomen seemed to have stopped bothering him. Every part of his body still hurt like crazy. But he didn't feel like he was on the verge of death. His life force was drained out of him the very moment he hit This Place. Yet, he was alive.
In short, he was completely and utterly exhausted.
Light felt as if he was awakening after a long and bitter dream. As if all the things about Shinigami and Death Note were nothing but a figment of his wild imagination.
Alas, that was only a wish..
The jabbing continued.
Light slowly cracked his eyes open. For a moment he wasn't able to focus on anything clearly. His surroundings were bleary. He heard someone lightly grunt and cough near him, but the only thing he could clearly detect was the awful stench of decaying flesh.
As his eyes slowly adjusted to his surroundings, the first thing that became visible to him was the blood-red sky and the hungry looking vultures flying in circles above him. Atleast, he thought they were vultures.
A small pull of his torn sleeves resulted in the entire sleeve falling off. This forced Light to pay attention to the being beside him. He had to tear his eyes away from the hungry looking, maniacal birds above him. It wasn't easy, because the look in those little black eyes, no-matter how high in the sky they were, was mesmerizing and threatening at the same time.
At last he looked down to meet the beckoning creature next to him, and he almost wished he hadn't.
She was on lying on the ground, her legs and arms were half sprawled out. Her mouth was agape, not in surprise, but in pain. The blonde locks were all too familiar to him. Even though her face was somewhat constricted, Light recognized her immediately.
"M-Misa!" He gasped, half in frustration and half in confusion.
Her eyelids flew open and she looked more alive than before. Almost as if her name was a magic drug that could keep her alive.
"Light I finally found you." Misa stated simply and smiled. Then all of a sudden she sat up and bear-hugged him.
Light put an arm around her exposed body and hugged her back. His action was involuntary. It was something so regular, that he didn't think much about it. The weather was anything but cold. Sweat was dripping of both of their backs but no one seemed to mind the physical closeness. Even if they were stark naked in the middle of nowhere.
It is...comforting, Light thought.
After all the running and shunning he'd been through, it felt kind of right to be held by a ...friend.
It's such a cliche'd word don't you think, pal?
Light nearly jumped outta his skin upon hearing that strange yet familiar voice in his head.
'What the fuck? Where did you come from! Thought I told you to stay away, moron!'
"From your little girl? Trust me, I have no interest in such a petty creature. Although, she looks quite ravishing right now."The voice purred in his head, like an overgrown wolf.
'You dirty pig! You know damn well, what I was talking about so just get the hell outta my head! I'm tired as shit already!'
"Hey! With all due respect, Captain. I'm not the one cuddling with a naked woman. So who's the dirty pig now?" The voice chuckled darkly.
This seemed to have jerked Light back to reality and that brought a really huge blush onto his cheeks.
'See ! You're even blushing!' The voice continued to tease him.
'I swear... If you dont shut up in the next three seconds. I'll...I'll... Kill Myself! Then you can live on - oh wait, you can't live on. 'cause you'll be dead too! MUHAHAHAHA!' Light Laughed sarcastically, hoping that would at least shut Kira up.
And it did.
Light smirked bashfully at this silly victory over Kira. Forgetting the rather compromising position he was in.
"Um- Light ? Where are we?" Misa questioned him, sounding as tired as she felt. She mistook his smirk for a satisfied smile that had probably been prompted by her hugging him.
Misa's ironic question brought Light out of his reverie. He looked down at her tired face, trying his very best to not look anywhere else.
"I've got no damn clue. Hey, you were awake for a longer time than I have been. Surely, you must've picked up on something by now?" Light questioned her with a straight face.
He knew that Misa probably wouldn't have noticed anything. She was always so ignorant of her surroundings. A trait which made people believe that she was stupid. A bimbo. Heck, initially he believed that himself.
However though, Light knew now that wasn't the case. Misa reserved her bouts of smartness only for the direst of situations. Very few people ever got to see her in action and he was one of those rare few.
'Doesn't this qualify as a dire situation though?' Light thought.
"I've b-been awake only for a couple of minutes, m-more than you...t-the First thing I knew...was that you w-were here. ...so I set out to find y-you." She tried to sound chirpy but her eyes were already closing.
Light was about to ask her how she had managed to find him. But upon seeing her struggle though, he shut his trap.
She was slowly fading away in his arms, but the strangest thing was that she didn't look like a dying woman. Her face was serene, regret was absent. He could almost hear her thoughts out loud. I'm glad that I'm dying in his arms at least.
A brief pang of guilt and fear pulsed through his veins. It wasn't because he loved her or cared for her. The feeling of fear was so sudden, that he wondered why he even felt anything for his pawn.
'Was, she a pawn though? '
'Like duh, she was! But just maybe, not now... Having second thoughts, eh?'
'Hey! Didn't I tell you to shut-up? and NO! I'm not having any second thoughts...it's just that... she could have been alive, still. She could've led a good-full life...It's just that...that... she didn't have to go this way...BAH! Screw it! Why the heck am I even speaking to you?'
"..."
" Oh! So now you choose to disappear on me?!'
There was no-reply.
Not because Kira didn't have any comeback, oh he had plenty!
But unknown to Light, Kira was undergoing some severe personality changes at that moment and the process was pretty, disabling.
~0~0~0~
Light had forgotten all about the maiden in his lap, when all of a sudden she was thrown away into the muddy ground by an unseen force. Her unconscious figure was sprawled on the ground.
The striking of thunder grew louder and louder until it was deafening. The ooki tori were going hay-wire. Loud noises always bothered them, and they screeched like mad creatures. They thrashed about in the sky.
The ground was attaining a very high temperature, almost, as if it was being cooked on a frying pan. Thin, white ribbons of steam rose from the creeks.
Light watched in horror as Misa's body was flung into the air and was lit aflame. The flames were licking her body, taunting her, begging her to wake up so they could hear her scream.
And scream she did.
The lower half of her body was engulfed in bright red flames and she let out a scream that seemed to shatter their very environment. Even the loud thundering paled in comparison to her monstrous yell. The flames were not merciful in the slightest. They lapped her blood up like savage monsters.
Light moved away from the disgusting scene, afraid of getting caught in the fire.
Finally, before the inferno could take her life force away, dozens of the ugly birds swooped down at unbelievable speed and devoured her charred remains.
Light covered his ears, shut his eyes and doubled over in disgust. He felt the bile move up his throat.
This never happened before. He had killed a countless number of people by now, but he had never witnessed their death in person.
He wasn't sure how to handle it.
Misa was gone now. Every trace of her body was gone, but her screaming was still very much present. It still shook the earth like an earthquake.
Her pain… he could see it very well in her eyes. The way she silently called out to him with that look in her eyes made his stomach lurch.
It couldn't be helped now, however.
Hell...he didn't even know whether he could save himself, if the same sort of thing happened to him. So how could he possibly think of saving that girl?
~0~0~0~
Light seemed to have tuned out Misa's everlasting yell as he now tried to live through his own catastrophe.
It started out as small, cramp in his lower back, but slowly it grew to a more unbearable pain. This pain spread to his entire body. And he could feel his skin being peeled off. As he looked down at his bare arm. It was no-longer the color of light-tan that he remembered. It was now a bright rosy color. He couldn't see the flames. But he could certainly feel them. They were eating him from the inside, burning his internal organs.
He wanted to scream, but his voice wouldn't let him.
If , Misa's pain had been terrific. This pain that he felt, was much beyond terrific.
The screeching ooki toris, were still present. They jumped up and down with glee on overhanging branches. This potential for today's feast was exhilarating. It was not often they were able to feed on two beings in one day.
Light closed his eyes in fear. Yes, now only fear was left in his soul. He knew there was no-return from this now. He knew that he was going to die the same way Misa had. He knew he was seconds away from being eaten by those humongous ugly creatures.
Oh how little he knew.
For as soon as his pain had intensified to a point where he could barely breathe, let alone scream, the ooki tori took off. He's already on the ground…
He could breathe again.
His skin was repairing itself.
No more scratches or scars were visible.
He was alive now.
Light sat up straight and examined his repaired body parts with eyes as wide as dinner plates.
What the hell ?! ...what in the name of justice is going on here?!
Light was scared out of his wits. Someone here had the upper hand and it wasn't him. He didn't like that idea very much. He was supposed to be the one and only GOD. Only he was supposed to have the upper hand.
Fear and anger rippled through him. These two emotions were his drive. They had kept him one step ahead, always.
This anger intensified ten-fold when he realized that he was being played by someone.
NO ONE had the right to play with him like that. No one killed his allies without his permission.
He wanted Misa back. But bringing her back was impossible. He didn't care the slightest about the girl, but she was his pawn and ally. She was his. And he never took being robbed of his possessions lightly.
It is always wrong to take something that is not meant for you.
It wasn't right in the slightest, and being god himself; Light couldn't allow such a hideous act.
A few moments of dense silence passed by.
His head hung low and his bangs covered his face.
From afar, he looked like any other decaying body taking its last breath. However, the air around him told a different story. There was a dark, unspoken veil of killer intent flowing around his kneeling frame. So much so, that the few ooki tori that were still loitering nearby stopped their bickering to look up at him with a bit of apprehension.
After what seemed like decades of silence. His head shot up and a yell of pure agony rushed from Light's mouth.
His yell was even more tremendous than Misa's had been just moments before. His voice seemed as though two beings were yelling at once. One human, the other was not of a natural world.
Also, a very distinguished feminine edge could be found in that voice. It was almost as if Misa had materialized herself as Kira in Light's mind.
When it finally spoke up, it had a reverberating trait and shook the ground like an earthquake.
"I will not stand being played with! Come out and play straight if you've got the damn guts for it!"
Note :
Glossary :
Ooki tori : Meaning Huge birds . Well technically, 'ooki' means huge and 'tori' meaning bird!
I hope it doesn't have any another meaning in Japanese. If it does, please let me know. I'll change it immediately.
Amai ( sweet ) + Hayari (Fashion) = Sweet Fashion.
Shingami : God of death. (I know it's obvious, but just incase you didn't know...)
So in the name of whatever is sacred and good in the anime world. Review kindly ? XO
