Chapter 10: January 29, 2012
"So why have you come here?" I ask the girl sitting in my living room.
"As I said, I'm a big fan." she replies, and I think about this answer.
"A fan of what? What is it you admire so much about me that youd come all the way here?" I ask, and she pulls something out from under her top. A Death Note! How did she get one of them? I stare at it in shock and catch her eye. She sees my surprise and answers the question I was going to ask.
"I found it in my bedroom one day. When I picked it up I could see this monster in the corner of my room. I then learnt that it was a shinigami, a god of death." A cold chill seems to run between us both and I can sense Ryuk behind me as usual but I make sure to not try to give him away. I wanted to find out what this girl knew about me before jumping into anything.
"What is that?"
"It's the same thing that you have. The speech you made yesterday, when you spread your arms I caught the slightest glimpse. I wasn't too sure what it was but I had to make sure. If you were Kira I just had to meet you and now I have." she tells me. I reach behind my back and grasp my Death Note which is tucked into the back of my trousers. I pull it out and raise it in front of me. I consider my options and then extend my arm, offering her my Death Note. For some reason I feel I can trust her. She reaches out and gently touches it with one finger. I see her face and I know that she has looked up and seen the towering figure of Ryuk behind me, with his menacing grin that hardly ever leaves his face like he's hiding a secret that only he knows. If he wasn't my shinigami that smile would haunt me in my sleep. After regaining her composure, Misa holds out her Death Note and I grab it and take it from her. I don't even look up as I flick through the pages and see the names she has written. Not half as many as me. My eyes slowly move upward and catch site of her shinigami. Dressed in a faded white and looking slightly like a mummy it's as tall as has pretty much the same gait.
"Kira, this is Ren." says Misa.
February 4, 2012
Days pass and I learn more about Ren and how Misa obtaining the Death Note came to pass. Unlike me, she didn't just stumble across it. Ren had placed it in her room. Why would she do this? Then again, why would a shinigami do anything? I put it down to random opportunism for a bit of fun but I never stop wondering if there was some ulterior motive.
Around the apartment Misa makes herself useful but other than that I never really see any use for her or why I should spare her. In the afternoon I take a stroll around the grounds and take my Death Note with me. I needed this time to think and come up with a plan. I needed power. Sure I'm the pope but what good is that? I need something more. I need…I need people to have a reason to worship me. That's when the idea hits me. I rush back to the apartment and begin to jot down ideas. The first stage begins in the square outside the balcony. I compile notes and figure out how I can pull this off and finally come up with a plan. After this, word will spread and no one will be able to doubt my power.
February 10, 2012
My arrangements were in place. The plan was going to work. I had spread the word that I would be making an appearance again and as I walk onto the balcony with Misa, Ren and Ryuk I see that thousands have gathered. I had discussed my idea with them all the previous night and they seemed impressed. They agreed to what I had planned. That same night I took about twenty pages from each death note and ripped them up into the smallest pieces I could manage. The next step was to load them into confetti cannons and place them on the balcony. Standing on the balcony, I have the switch to activate them in my hand. However, that was the second part of this scheme. For the first, I address my congregation.
"People of Rome, those of you oversees viewing this on television, take heed of and remember what I am about to do." I check my watch. 14:08. "In two minutes, at ten past two here in Rome, three people will die. Unfortunately, they will be three of you standing here today. I am very disappointed to be losing such dedicated fans but sacrifices must be made to ensure the continuation of my faith." For the next minute we wait.
"Let's hope this works." whispers Ryuk in my ear.
"Don't worry, it's fool proof" I reply.
At ten past two the crowd looks around for a split second until screams are heard from those around the three who have died. It worked. This was a fairly ingenious plan if I do say so myself. In the time I had been pope I had gotten quite a bit of fan mail delivered. I had picked the ones that clearly stated that they attend every one of my speeches and wrote their names in the Death Note, specifying their time to die at precisely ten past. Now I had the crowd in fear and awe.
"My followers, these deaths were caused by me. I am sorry to tell you this but it's true. The god that you have believed in all these years is a lie." I can hear dissent from around the crowd. "I am your true god and I shall prove it to you. I shall reveal to you my servants, the angels who do my bidding when and if I command." I push the button in my hand and both cannons go off, showering the crowd in paper. The screams and yelling that follow are music to my ears for they signify that the crowd has in fact seen Ryuk and Ren behind me. This is where my rule really begins. To the crowd and to those watching at home, the cannons were just for show, but to those of us who knew, they were vital in revealing our shinigami to the world.
"People of the world," I now talk directly to the cameras. "You are in the presence of your true god! My assistants won't have shown up on your screens at home because they cannot be captured by cameras but take it from the people here today, the world has changed. And it's changed for the better." I turn to leave the balcony and my entourage follows. As I walk past one of my security team I give them a clear message.
"Stage three. Get it into the water."