Author's Note: The character of Demetre Draycott was first introduced in my Death Note novel: 'The Draycott Factor', and has been a prominent character in every Death Note story I've written. Each story is connected and contains Demetre or he is mentioned. I wanted to expand the Death Note universe (primary for myself), because I felt there was was room. Aside from L, I wanted to give Light a worthy rival with a dynamic history.
So, if you want to enjoy more stories with Demetre, please also visit my other Death Note stories.
And please review, favourite, and follow.
Continues the events in the 'The Draycott Factor'.
Chapter One:
"Empathy"
Two years ago, they began their venture out from the confines and sanctity if the Savant Society's homage, and drove away by motorcycle with three Shinigami in tow in their hunt for Zurn Wellington for the murder of Dana Chika.
But it had had not been going well.
In fact, Adam Rothschild believed, now wiser and older and close to eleven years old, that they kept getting denied because the League of Darkness was protecting Zurn. The weasel kept slipping through their fingers. The moment they got close to him, the League of Darkness would send their minions against them to safeguard the ex-policeman and owner of a Death Note, turned traitor.
Adam had been tracking Zurn's comings and goings by way of a sophisticated computer software system and pin pointing certain incidents that he suspected consisted of LOD victim anthology. It was like a trail of bread crumbs that if a person knew what they were looking for, like Adam, it would be blissfully obvious.
Adam had an empathic gift whereas he could sense a person's emotions, but he had to be close enough to a person to feel them.
Over the last year, he had learned to better hone and focus his power and extend its range, but only at considerable risk to his health and mindset.
Once, when they were extremely close to Zurn, he overexerted his gift and was bedridden with exhaustion for three days. Demetre had to stop him, knocking him unconscious for his own good to cease his ability. Adam had been using his gift much like the time he read Zurn Wellington's mind and saw Christian Troy's name and face—the man Zurn sent out to assassinate Light Yagami. When he looked inside Zurn's mind again this time, he had a similar experience when he saw the face of another man whom he didn't know.
He sensed the man was a powerful member of the League of Darkness and very high up within its ranks. The only thing Adam got of his identity was a pseudonym: The Evangelist.
Right now, his efforts to track Zurn down through the internet had come up fruitless. He even visited the site Kira's Underground and put out bait to lure Zurn out without success. Angel and Geist even returned to the Savant Society and spoke to some of its members about Zurn's past affiliations. However, most recently the League of Darkness had subjected the Savant Society with a number of attacks that had weakened it.
The League of Darkness conjoined with Kira's reign was becoming a dangerous situation. While Kira punished criminals, the LOD subsequently unleashed Shinigami and began to systematically lower the world's population with 'natural' heart attacks. The media was blaming everything on Kira and people were afraid. The world's law enforcement agencies were powerless to stop Kira, and what the LOD was doing in secret, as Kira ruled seamlessly through absolute authority. And L, the so-called greatest detective in the world, appeared impotent to do anything about it.
Of course, L was dead, and Light Yagami was posing as the detective as he headed up the Kira Task Force. But only those who were familiar with what was truly happening knew of this fact. Hence, Kira/Light Yagami was in complete and utter control.
However, Light Yagami could be dealt with by others. He and Demetre were after Zurn Wellington who was equally troublesome. Zurn had become some sort of general amongst the LOD's ranks and he commanded minions on missions for the League. And he acted like a dictator and didn't care who he harmed or killed to complete his task.
Adam sighed and leaned back in his chair that was seated behind an oak desk in the Study of a large wooden cabin that they had commandeered as their base of operations soon after their departure from the Savant Society. Demetre claimed it wasn't being used anymore by its owner, not since Soichiro Yagami stopped bringing him and Light Yagami to Hokkiado-Jozankei Forest on their annual sabbaticals years ago.
The cabin was a little dusty and a few things needed to be upgraded, but with the allowance they got from a secret bank account Tacoma, one of the High Council members, set up for them from the Savant Society, it afforded them the funds for supplies they needed to settle in. After the most recent attacks by the LOD on the Savant Society, however, the bank account was repatriated, and they had to manage on their own. But they had saved up enough money and Adam has a few external resources he could borrow from his family.
Nevertheless, it was a place to stay with an abundance of amenities, equipment, and there was a main road with a corner market only miles away.
As soon as they moved in, Demetre purchased and set up a sophisticated CCTV system with twenty exterior cameras facing every which way of the forest and several more within the interior of the cabin. He also tapped into a satellite where they were able to get free cable and wifi.
Adam questioned him on the method of getting free cable and wifi, but Demetre just said he was borrowing them for a loftier purpose. Basically it was thievery, which went against the core of the religion Demetre practised and the standing principle of Do Not Steal. It was the Seventh of the Ten Commandments that Demetre swore by to uphold in the name of his Lord.
And yet, over the last six months to a year, Adam noticed, the bright, cheerily, and normally caring person that Demetre was had begun to change. He had become depressed, bitter, and a recluse, and he didn't care much about breaking the law as long as it got him what he needed. He often spent time alone sipping from a silver flask he bought at the market. They also sold alcohol of different varieties.
Adam turned to look at the wall of flat screen televisions within the Study. Each camera had its own screen and each screen was fifteen inches in width to accommodate multiple on the wall with HD quality. He looked at one screen which showcased the flickering, dancing flames of a campfire off in the distance, away from the cabin. This is where Demetre was and had been going almost every night alone for weeks.
Once, Cerberus, Adam's Shinigami, whose most favourable form to take was that of a Pomeranian dog, had come to him in the middle of the night worried because Demetre had not returned from the campfire. Adam rose from his bed and found Demetre drunk and unconscious near the burning unattended campfire that could have begun a forest fire. He had a difficult time dragging Demetre back to the cabin that night by himself.
Most recently Angel and Geist had not been around and went off on their own because they did not want to see Demetre for what he had become. Despite the countless times they tried to help him, Demetre continued to get drunk on an almost nightly basis.
Demetre had a problem, and Adam knew what it was. He could felt a deep sadness in Demetre's heart, the pain in losing Dana, and it was eating him alive. Even after all this time, two years, it seemed the pain was as fresh as the day she died, and would not go away. Demetre loved Dana with all his heart and every time he thought of her, Adam could feel Demetre's heartache and sadness. Some pain will never went away, some say.
Cerberus whimpered next to Adam as they both watched the television screen with the campfire. Adam pet the Shinigami and he dreaded what he most likely would have to do tonight, and alone—once again drag Demetre's butt back to the cabin, drunk as a skunk.
But tonight was exceptionally distressing and Adam could feel with his empathic gift a horrible misery coming from Demetre, one of utter despair with suicidal thoughts. Today was the anniversary of Dana's death. She had been killed on top of the Kira Task Force Headquarters building by Zurn Wellington after Demetre finished confronting Light Yagami for the death of his grandfather with the power of Kira.
Demetre learned his grandfather had terminal cancer and it would be a particularly painful and agonizing death since there was no treatment for it. Demetre loved his grandfather very much and he hated to think that his grandfather would suffer. But he hated the thought of Light Yagami taking what life he had left away from him in a moment of trickery to outwit his rival L even more.
This then gave Demetre conflicting thoughts.
He hated his friend Light, but after the diagnosis had been confirmed, he then wasn't sure how he felt. Light/Kira had given his grandfather a way out from the pain. It was a quick death, but the methodology in which his friend killed was not right and went against the law of God, according to Demetre's religion. Light killed an innocent person for a crime he didn't commit. And yet, did he do Demetre's grandfather a favour with an accidental mercy death because of the cancer? But there was no way Light Yagami could have known about the diagnoses.
To Demetre, it confused the hell out of him. He didn't know what to think, so he drank so he didn't have to think.
Cerberus jumped into Adam's arms and the boy cradled him, pet him. They were inseparable, and chose each other to be partners in life at any early age. Adam was the youngest member of the Savant Society with a Death Note, and he chose to travel with Demetre because he, too, wanted to make Zurn Wellington pay for the death of Dana Chika.
She was killed so mercilessly by Zurn, revenge against Demetre for killing his assassin.
Kira claimed he was justice, but Zurn was untouchable with the Death Note, and therefore he had to be dealt in a more mortal manner. But normal law enforcement would not get involved or go after Kira. This was why they set out to hunt Zurn Wellington down. Someone had to deliver justice. And the universe was in need of some balance.
Adam continued to look at the screen. He forgot how many times he had seen the exact same thing played out on a nightly basis with his friend. Most of the time he left Demetre alone to wallow in his own self-pity, but he decided not tonight.
He turned to Cerberus. "Do you know what I'm thinking, Cerberus? I'm thinking we shouldn't leave Demetre alone tonight, tonight of all night's, on the second anniversary of Dana's death. He was a mess on the first year of her passing, but since he's begun drinking, he's far worse now. He needs a friend right now. Do you agree?"
Cerberus barked in agreement.
"Then let's go save our friend from himself."
Adam got to his feet, cradled Cerberus in his arms, and then left the Study.
To be continued...