Chapter 4: Ryuk

Welcome back to Justice! (No pun intended) I've known that you guys have been waiting to meet Ryuk, so I decided to stop stalling and mention the guy a few times…

I do this with all of my works, and I see that you guys do have questions for me! So what I do is a Q&A session before every story if I don't make something clear. For example:

(You): Q&A: Do these characters have any pets?

(Me): Q&A to (your name/username): I may introduce a pet that belongs to Matsuda, cause he's Matsuda, but other than that no.

So yeah! And some peoples did ask me questions so…..

Guest: This chapter made me think on how exactly does one accidentally steal somebody else's motorcycle?

Me: To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I should've done more research on the subject but I'm busy writing this so that way you don't kill me.

Guest: Awesome! When do we get to meet this world's Light?

Me: In good time, my friend. However, I can estimate that it won't be until the next chapter or the sixth one. I apologize for the long wait, but it'll be worth it—trust me.

So now that I'm all done blabbing my face off, on with the story!

Without going over the speed limit, Ryuzaki sped his way home. To be perfectly honest, he didn't care if the things that he had bought went flying out of his bag, even if it was safe in the small bag that was firmly attached to the back of his motorcycle. All he needed to do was research this notebook a lot more—find out its secrets and the catch. His mind was pondering all sorts of options, such as how long it would take to fill the notebook with names, what his afterlife would be like—that is if the afterlife did exist.

Was this gonna be on the news? Most likely. Would they find out that he's the one that killed Shibuimaru? Not unless they found the Death Note. Even if the police did find the notebook, the truck driver would be punished for murder.

Ryuzaki had guilt building up inside of him. He had killed two men by only writing their names down. He didn't feel like anyone should have that kind of power. Killing people just by knowing their face and full name didn't seem real enough to him. It seemed as almost as he was living in a haze, never knowing what to think.

In the Shinigami realm…

Ryuk sat on a black cliff. He was deep in thought as he looked out across the wasteland that was the Shinigami realm. Even if the Shinigami were gods, their realm was that of a human dump site. Bones and game cards littered the ground, and the sky was grey and smelled like smoke. Shinigami were moving along about their business on the ground, which matched the sky in color. Strange rock formations came up from the ground like fingers, gnarled and black. The only source of light remained on the horizon and covered by the storm clouds that never went away.

"Eh, Ryuk, you want to play?" another Shinigami had asked.

"No, I have more interesting things to do," he said.

The other Shinigami laughed his voice more like gravel than anything else.

"What could be more interesting than playing this game, Ryuk?" he said.

Ryuk got up and spread his long, thin, feathery wings. "I dropped my Death Note," he said.

The other Shinigami had begun to cackle, because they were remembering the last time a Shinigami had dropped their Death Note. It was in the human realm, and it wasn't pretty, but entertaining.

Ryuk dove into a dark hole that lead into the human realm, feeling the stale wind in his face.

In the human realm (Ryuzaki):

The house was silent and still, just like every other house on the street. In fact, it would seem peaceful if there wasn't a crazy-haired kid speeding down the street on his motorcycle. The wind tore at his face and made him look even wilder than he already was. In the light of the lampposts that lined the street, the dark circles under his eyes made Ryuzaki look fierce and in some ways insane. Even if there were the occasional car going down the street, he knew that they would get out of his way.

He pulled into the driveway of his house, and all the windows were dark. Ryuzaki parked his bike there, took off his helmet, grabbed his wiretaps, made sure the Death Note was still in his pocket, and then he sped to the door, unlocking it with the house key that always hang around his neck. The halls were dark, but the silence was so still that even the silent opening of a door seemed to scare him a bit.

Up the stairs he went, straight to his room. Before entering, however, he checked the pencil lead. It wasn't broken. That's good. Even if they had to, my parents know to ask before coming in my room. But one can't be too precautious, he thought.

He opened the door and stepped inside. It was as if he had never left. Throwing his wiretaps and helmet onto his bed, Ryuzaki went over to his desk and set the black-leathered notebook upon it. For a while, he just stared at it. That was until he heard someone—or something enter his room through the window. Ryuzaki looked up, ready to face whatever it was. It was not was he was expecting.

The strangest creature stood—rather, it floated, right in front of him. It had a bad slouch—much like Ryuzaki—and the creature was clothed in black. It wore black boots, black pants that looked like tights, a torn and ragged black skirt, a long-sleeved black shirt that hugged his skin and was torn at the elbows, and a pair of black gloves that stretched up to just below the wrist. The creature's fingers were decorated with silver skull rings, and his right wrist bore a silver bracelet that had a screaming human skull on it. On its waist was a dark leather belt, from which two pouches suspended by silver chains. The belt buckle reminded Ryuzaki of pirate skulls, since it was deformed and one side was darker than the other. However, the most terrible part of this demon was its face. White flesh was stretched over his shoulders, and the hem of the shirt was sewn into it. Its eyes were orange and large, and the only other thing that was noticeable about it was its mouth. Its lips were black, and they always remained parted to show rows of sharp, white teeth. Even if that looked natural to some, his mouth was seemingly carved into an upward smile, like the creature had taken a knife and gave itself a permanent smile. Even though the creature had a wide face, it was angular, but not ugly. Black, feathery spikes stuck out from its shoulders, like deformed wings. Bluish-black hair was styled in a spiked format on his pale-skinned head.

Ryuzaki had never seen anything like it before in his life.

He cried out and fell off of his chair, frantically searching for a weapon. He knew that he had a pocket knife somewhere, but where was it? As he frantically looked for it, the creature laughed.

It was a raspy laugh, and it was hardly ever heard. The creature's mouth would remain open as he caught his breath, revealing a blackened tongue. Ryuzaki was terrified by this, and it paralyzed him.

"What're you so scared of?" it asked, its voice raspy but clear.

Ryuzaki struggled to speak. Usually, he knew what to do because he had been faced with the situation before, however this time was different. He wondered if anyone deals with demons on a daily basis—anyone besides a priest, that is.

After a while, Ryuzaki mustered up the bravery to stand. His palms were sweaty, so as he got up, he wiped them on his jeans. He straitened his face to look emotionless, and looked the demon straight in the eyes. It raised its eyebrow.

"I am sorry to have acted so irrationally, however it isn't every day that a human comes in contact with the likes of you," Ryuzaki said as smoothly as he could.

"True. Well, aren't you going to ask my name or what I am or something?" the creature said.

It's just testing its boundaries, Ryuzaki thought.

"You are the one that burst into my bedroom uninvited in the middle of the night, so proper edict would be for you to ask my name," he said.

The demon considered arguing, but there was just something about this human. He was different from the rest. The creature didn't understand this feeling, but decided to go with it. The only reason he dropped his Death Note was because he was bored.

"Fine, then. Who're you and how'd you find my Death Note?" he asked.

"My name is Ryuzaki, and I didn't exactly find your Death Note. It rather fell from the sky and landed in front of me. One could say that it found me," Ryuzaki said, choosing his words carefully. He found this monster easy to play with. "So what is your name, and I hope you don't mind my asking, but what are you?"

"I'm Ryuk, and I'm a Shinigami," Ryuk said simply.

Sh-shinigami!? As in a god of death? IN MY BEDROOM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!? This can't be good…

Even if Ryuzaki was shocked by this, he was skillfully trained in the art of being emotionless. However, he did allow himself an eyebrow raise, even though his dark eyes remained cold and soulless.

Ryuk almost took a step back—this human was intimidating.

"A Shinigami, eh? They're gods of death, correct?" Ryuzaki asked flatly.

Ryuk nodded in an almost nervous manner. "Yep, I'm a god of death. Is there an issue with that, er, Ryuzaki?"

"No, there is no issue with that. The only thing I'm curious about is why you dropped the notebook," Ryuzaki said, glancing at the open-faced notebook on his desk. "Were you bored or did you just need to kill a certain someone?"

Ryuk was shocked by this, and he gasped—if only slightly. "Y-yeah, that's exactly why. I was bored, because now, there's nothing to do anymore," he said, trying his best to hide the shock.

Ryuk followed Ryuzaki's eyes and saw the familiar notebook. He only saw two names in it—which was typical. No one ever used the Death Note too much at first.

"Well I might as well explain some things to you about the notebook, since you've had it for this long," Ryuk said flatly.

Ryuzaki laid down on his bed with his hands behind his head—now knowing that Ryuk was not a threat. "Go right ahead," he said.

"Now listen closely, 'cause I won't repeat it twice," Ryuk motions to the notebook on the desk.

"Since you picked up my Death Note, I'll have to write your name in my own notebook. That would be the only way to kill you, unless you commit suicide and write your name in your own notebook yourself," Ryuk said, and then he laughed. The laugh sent a chill through Ryuzaki's bones, but he refused to show it. "And when it is your time to die, you won't spend the rest of eternity in heaven or hell."

"Is that all?"

"No, of course not. Anyway, the notebook belongs to the human realm as soon as a human—in this case you—touches it," he paused for a strange moment, then continued. "Since the notebook now belongs to you, giving it away is an option, but I'd have no choice but to erase all your memories of the notebook."

Ryuzaki nodded, carefully considering what Ryuk had said. The lengthy silence began to bother Ryuk, and he shifted uneasily. He really didn't have anything else to say, and this Ryuzaki kid was beginning to scare him.

It seemed like ages before he spoke again, and Ryuk sighed with relief when he did.

"You didn't specify why you dropped the notebook, Ryuk," Ryuzaki said.

"Well if it's because I chose you for some heroic reason, you're wrong. I simply dropped it, where it landed was none of my concern," Ryuk said harshly. His voice changed into one of anger—it made Ryuzaki assume that other humans that have picked up and thought that their destiny was to kill people and that Ryuk was an all-powerful god who declared them something important.

"I never thought that—there are many other humans on this planet that would be much better at killing other humans than I," Ryuzaki said. "I do have a question for you, however."

Ryuk became nervous. This dark-haired teenager was scary, if anything intimidating.

"Why did you drop the Death Note? Was it simply an accident—or were you bored?" he asked, taking his thumb off of his bottom lip and positioning his hands on his knees.

"It was kinda both—the thing slipped out of my hand and fell. But I guess that I was bored because the Shinigami realm is nothing compared to what it once was," Ryuk answered truthfully.

Ryuzaki was dying to ask about the realm, but he assumed that Ryuk may have been tired from the journey. A food offer would be good. He stood.

"Would you like anything to eat, Ryuk? We have apples, cake, strawberries, and some other things downstairs in the refrigerator," he asked politely.

I am kinda hungry… Ryuk thought. "Sure," the Shinigami said, shrugging.

Ryuzaki nodded and opened the door to his bedroom. As Ryuk began to follow, Ryuzaki looked back. "You may not want to follow me—the doorway is too small and you may knock some things over downstairs. Besides, my parents are still awake and downstairs."

Ryuk laughed. "They can't see me, and I just pass through objects, see?" He said, waving his hand through the wall. "And besides, only those who touch the Death Note can see me."

Ryuzaki shrugged, and he led Ryuk down the stairs to the fridge. His parents were both asleep on the sofa, and credits were rolling across the TV screen. Silently, carefully, Ryuzaki pulled out a slice of strawberry shortcake topped with icing for himself, and an apple for Ryuk.

Ryuk was handed the apple once the pair went back up to Ryuzaki's bedroom, and he eagerly bit into it. It was the most delicious thing that he had ever eaten in his life—the small amount of tartness was evenly balanced with the sweetness.

"This is so good…" he said, pieces of apple flying from his mouth as he spoke.

"It would be better if you saved speaking for after you swallow," Ryuzaki suggested, sitting down on his bed with his cake.

Ryuk ignored him and ate the apple slowly, savoring each bite. Ryuzaki found Ryuk's newfound love for apples interesting—and this made him ponder about the anatomy of the Shinigami. How were his wings attached? How much muscle or even how was the muscle aligned so that way Ryuk could fly and move his arms and legs? It was so interesting; Ryuzaki didn't notice that he was staring at the creature. Ryuk noticed Ryuzaki's strange behavior.

"Is something wrong?"

Noticing his mistake, Ryuzaki shook his head and took a bite of cake.

"Nothing's wrong—I was just thinking," he paused and suddenly noticed how comfortable his bed looked. He felt his eyelids begin to droop; he was exhausted. "I need to get some sleep. Good night, Ryuk."

"Night, Ryuzaki."