CHAPTER 48:
"An Empathic Reveal"

Under the early morning sunshine, in an outdoor gardens just off the Savant Mansion at the base of Mount Fuji, near a Shinto Temple, Demetre and Dana took a stroll on a weaving cobblestone pathway. It was a little chilly, but Demetre didn't mind. He dressed for the weather.

Dana enjoyed looking at the many different species of flora and fauna, so carefully cared for by Buddhist monk botanists, while he merely came out for a walk to clear his head. But for some reason, he was more stressed now than he was before he came. Different thoughts flooded his mind about all sorts of things and he couldn't organize any of it, it wasn't like him. He could normally compartmentalize easily. Not this time, and it was stressing him out. Something was nagging at him.

Demetre had his hands in his jacket pockets, as Dana crouched, stopping to examine a species of Shibazakura flower, a pink flower that grew all around the base of Mount Fuji. In fact, when in full bloom, along with cherry blossoms, Mount Fuji, was surrounded with a necklace of pink.

"Aren't these beautiful, Demetre?" Dana said.

Demetre didn't turn, just said, "Yes, they are."

"Lovely sky, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"How about we take off all our clothes and then ravish each other like wild animals in these flowers?"

"Sure, sounds nice," Demetre said absentmindedly.

Demetre continued to look at Mount Fuji, his mind somewhere else.

Then Dana wrapped her arm around his right arm. It jarred him out of his reverie. He noticed her, then looked at her strangely. He saw a concerned look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"I should ask you that question," she said. "I just offered to have sex with you, but you shrugged it off like I was offering you a snack."
"You did?"

"Tell me what's wrong."

"I'm not sure where to begin."

"Is it about Light Yagami?"

"There's a starting point," he said. He sighed, nodded. "It's weird, but I still consider him a friend even after all the abhorrent things he's done, even killing my grandfather. I'm so conflicted. Why Am I the one who feels guilty?"

"Because you're a good person, Demetre," Dana said, giving him a peck on the cheek. "You're a member of the Savant Society now, but you're also an oddity. You don't use your Death Note. Those who possess Death Notes know the consequences of using their notebooks, but they accept it. In your case, and by not using it, I think you're actually saving lives. Not using a book of death, it's pages left empty, is unheard of. Kira would fill up the pages without question. This other Kira now is killing criminals, while Light and Misa Amane are trapped under L's thumb. You told us what Geist showed you of the Kira Incident from his future, but this new Kira is someone else entirely—the name you gave us, that person was murdered by this new Kira for a crime. We don't know who this Kira is. Although he does have similar qualities. Tacoma and the rest of the Council is looking into his actions now. And hopefully we can find him before he does any real damage."

"In Geist giving me a Death Note, did it somehow alter an aspect of the timeline? This 'Third Kira' is not the same I saw?" Demmy asked.

Dana nodded.

Then Demetre said, "Nevertheless, I could use it and be just like Kira and make the world safer, right? That is Light's goal. But I'm not like Light and I don't want to be anything like him. But if I had to, I would use the Death Note to save you."

"Would you use it to save Light?"

Demetre looked at her, but didn't answer.

Then: "I sent those cryptic messages on Kira's Underground not to warn Light, but as an invitation for him to join the Savant Society, so I could lead him away from the darkness. To save his soul. We need good people here if we are to protect ourselves from the League of Darkness. They feel the world should be controlled under authoritarian rule, instead of the Society's view of co-habitation with Shinigami. I know Light's soul can be saved and his sins absolved. Light sent back a message. I read it, but I didn't reply. It's now been deleted, and I went through the entire website and deleted all my known aliases. I won't be using Kira's Underground anymore."

"You're worried about something else, as well, aren't you?" asked Dana.

Demetre nodded. "Zurn's been gone for weeks now and no one seems to know where he went. Officially, he took some vacation time from the NPA, but he has had no contact with the Savant Society. The last person to see him was Adam Rothschild. Zurn's absence concerns me. And now rumours are floating around about his possible deflection to the League of Darkness. I'm worried he may betray us."

"Zurn is a breed of human of his own conception with a wicked soul," Dana said harshly. "It's against Society law, but I wish someone would…well, you know?"

Demetre smiled. "Now Dana, it's not nice to wish harm upon another, even a horrible person like Zurn. Trust me when I say, he'll get his just-desserts eventually. Besides, I still owe him for the punishment I went through. God accepts consequences of equal action, even though a lot of people frown upon it. It's also Newton's Third Law of Physics. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Since God created humans, and life in all its glory, we must follow His laws."

Dana giggled. "Oh, Demetre," she said. "I love your logic. It's so innocent."

Just then, they received a visitor.

Adam Rothschild seemed to pop out of nowhere from behind a collection of tightly knit trees close-by, near the multi-stacked-level Shinto Temple. He carried Cerberus with him, his small, puffy Pomeranian dog, which was actually a Shinigami in animal form. This was the form Cerberus chose to take with Adam, a cute dog, rather than his true form. Demetre had never seen Cerberus's actual form, but Adam described it like the legendary Greek folklore, a three-headed wolfhound. And he had multiple attacks. He breathed fire, ice, and wind.

"Hello Adam," Dana greeted with a smile. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"I was actually in the temple talking with a monk," Adam said with a smile. "I often come here to seek guidance from the temple monks when I'm feeling a little down with my gift. A little prayer helps with cleaning out the noise."

Demetre leaned over and ruffled the boy's hair. "Must be tough having such a difficult ability," he said. "Able to read people's minds."

"I don't read minds, I read people's emotions," Adam corrected. "I'm empathic. I know when a person is being deceptive. But Zurn Wellington is the kind of person I can't read when he gets angry. He seems to be able to put up a barrier against my gift."

"We were just talking about him," Demetre said, looking at Dana. "We were wondering where he's been for the last few weeks."

"You don't have to wonder anymore, he's back," Adam said. "I just spoke to him before coming here. He said he was away on a sabbatical to hone inner-peace. Right from the beginning, I knew that was a lie. He's not a peaceful man, he loves violence and chaos. He thrives on it. And for a split moment, I caught something within his thoughts before he managed to shut me out. He seems to know when I probe his emotions and immediately puts up a shield when his consciousness detects an intrusion."

"What did you see?"

Cerberus seemed to whine for a moment, Adam began to pet him. "I'm not exactly sure. The face of a man I've never seen before. Zurn and this man were talking about something, somewhere. The man looked 'wrong', that's all I know how to describe him." Adam's eyes fluttered, as if he was looking inward. "And I managed to get a name: Christian Troy. But I have no idea who he is and I wish you could see his face. Zurn plans to use this man to assassinate your friend, Light Yagami. I think there's a sinister plan to take control of everyone who owns a Death Note and eliminate those not associated under our banner. Light Yagami is a lone wolf. And lone wolves are very dangerous, unpredictable."

Demetre gasped shocked. "I need to warn Light," he said. "Damn it! I erased all my handles on Kira's Underground."

"Then we need to go to him, Demetre," Dana said. "And this way, you can confront him for what he did to your grandfather. Patch things up."

Demetre shook his head. "Things will never be the same between Light and I, Dana," he said. "But I think you're right. I need to speak to Light directly and clear the air. Only then will this hatred in my heart be subdued. I hate feeling this way. I think that's why I feel so conflicted."

"Let's go!" Dana then said.

"Good luck and god speed!" Adam said, and Cerberus yipped.

Demetre and Dana rushed back to the Savant Mansion. They spoke along the way, and agreed they needed to get a few things before they left. And one thing Demetre needed was his Death Note. Just in case.

Demetre just hoped he wasn't too late.

To be continued...