CHAPTER 2:
"Revelation and Reasoning"
Light Yagami decided to have two drinks since the first one didn't settle his nerves. In truth, neither had the second one. And he didn't feel drunk in the slightest. He could taste the alcohol, but it had no effect on him. Considering he wasn't a drinker, he thought that is unusual. He verified the "proof" of the alcohol given and its value would affect even the heaviest drinker.
Decim gave him a separate glass for each drink and Light had two Banana Daiquiri's. They were delicious. It hadn't been the first time he had drink. When he passed the first written exam to the police foundations course, Light went out for a drink to celebrate with some of his classmates. He remembered he got a little drunk even from one drink. But now after two, not even.
For a bartender, Decim wasn't much of a conversationalist and Light was left to his own thoughts. Only after when he finished his second drink did Decim ask him if he wanted a third. Light declined. He knew some people drowned themselves in alcohol when they were depressed in the hopes that it would make them feel better and to forget their problems. But he also reasoned that, if left unchecked, alcohol could ruin a person's life. It also dulled the senses. And for a detective, that was a negative.
"Do you still not remember anything of your arrival here?" Decim asked Light Yagami.
Light Yagami looked at the white-haired bartender. His eyes were cold and his skin was fair. His body was slender. It may have just been his training taking over, but he began to analyze the man. Thinking logically helped him calm down. He could handle himself if things got tough, but he preferred an orderly world where he could be in control. He didn't know why he felt this way, but when he was studying to get good grades, he organized his time accordingly. Perhaps that's where the inclination came from?
He had still not been told where he was other than a name and he'd been here for over an hour with no sign of a Special Arbiter.
"Nothing," Light replied. He sipped the last of the Banana Daiquiri and returned the glass. "The drinks were great. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Decim replied, taking the glass and putting it in the sink behind the bar. "I once had a guest that experienced severe long-term amnesia. She became my assistant for a time, now since departed. She had been given a choice, but ultimately felt it unwarranted. I find it odd that two such people with the same affliction would be sent to me, here, to Floor Twelve?"
Light shrugged. He wanted to ask him what this choice was this other guest was given, but suddenly he felt a pang of hurt in his left arm and the thought left him. It felt a little dull ache and he rubbed his upper arm. It didn't hurt, but it did feel sore. Maybe his arm did have some connection to his arrival here? Was it a psychosomatic response? Was be starting to remember something?
The body itself had a memory like the brain, he remembered reading once in a Psychology magazine, and it often recalled things sooner, triggered from an outside source. The nerves fire and the message is then relayed to the brain. Sights, smells, and touch, often help forgotten memories resurface.
Through a sliding door, down a little ways pass the end of the bar, that was ever popular in Japan, situated next to a sitting lounge with leather couches and a picture of a flower, someone who looked like who had just stepped out from an argument with a woman came forward. He had angry eyes, redish/brown hair and tanned skin. He was dressed much like Decim, like a bartender—the white and black—with his proper attire, but he had a more muscular build. With him, was a cat with a bandage wrapped around its left leg, that walked with him like pet and master. Light wondered if he was another Arbiter.
This more brazen Arbiter walked up to the bar where he was, and his cat leapt up, walking along the surface. Then the animal sat down and began licking its paws and wagging its tail. The new Arbiter leaned in and eyed Light close, inches away.
Light blinked, taken aback, and actually leaned back. "May I help you?"
"You look different in the photo I was given, dressed different, too," he said, looking Light up and down. "Slightly older, maybe a look alike? A damn good one! Or maybe it was just a trick on me by the higher ups for her to make a decision, to get rid of her, because she kept hanging around—who knows? All humans need to depart or they start to deteriorate."
Light had no idea what this man was talking about. But then he reasserted himself and gave the new Arbiter a narrowed gaze. "It's customary to give one's name before addressing someone else, especially rudely."
"He is correct, Ginti," Decim said, as he began to dry some more glassware with a towel, after washing them.
With the new Arbiter's name announced, Light said, "My name is…"
"Oh, we all know who you are," Ginti said with a sly smirk. "You're the special case everyone is talking about. Everyone knows what you did. It caused we Arbiters massive amounts of overtime for a brief period. Listen, we don't need someone like you giving us more work. We have enough to do already. There are more humans living now than ever before and thousands die daily. They all need to judged and there are not enough Arbiters at the moment to deal with the backlog. It's no wonder you had to wait."
Decim put up a hand. "Ginti, he doesn't remember anything yet. What you just revealed breaks the code of conduct."
Ginti slammed a hand on the bar. Light was startled. "I don't care! I don't normally care what humans do. But you" —he pointed at Light— "I take except to! You're a mass murdering, psychopath, with a God complex!"
Light Yagami's eyes went wide with complete shock. "Me?" Then he became angry. "Oh, I see. What the hell is your problem? L's dead, so you're taking over now? You think I'm Kira, too? I never killed anyone! I am not Kira! Where's the exit? I'm leaving!"
Decim dried another crystal glass, then proceeded to fold the towel properly. "I'm afraid, you can't, sir," he said, after Light burst up from his barstool. "Once a person has departed the land of the living, they can never return."
Light looked at each of the Arbiters in turn and then laughed. "You must be joking!" He folded his arms across his chest. "There's always a way out of every trap. And this is a trap someone's placed me in because they believe I'm Kira. To try to make me say something against my will. Well, I won't say a lie. I am not Kira! So, you can stop this trickery right now!"
"Is this dolt truly this delusional?" Ginti voiced, eying Decim, straightening up.
"He's obviously blinded to the reality of the situation, no matter how fantastic it may appear," Decim replied. "I'm sorry, sir," he then addressed Light, "but you're dead. The circumstances, however, cannot be rendered to you, as I don't have the authority to do so."
"You were shot multiple times," Ginti instead revealed. "No mercy, no remorse—by a fellow police officer—and frankly, you deserved it. We Arbiters are supposed to be unbiased in our judgements and opinions, but god man, you are one major sicko!"
Light blinked several times, shocked. He suddenly felt his arm. The numbing began to arch even more. "I don't believe it! Why?"
Decim finally put an end to it and put the towel down to create a thud sound, grabbing attention. "Enough, please," he said. "Ginti, the human brain cannot comprehend one's current reality if the mind has forgotten the important issues. While what you said was true, but the Special Arbiter will make the final decision in this case. We are not authorized to say anymore."
Ginti growled under his breath. "I bet I'm going to get an ear full from Oculus," he said. "Sorry, my emotions got the better of me."
Light slammed a fist on the bar. Ginti's cat jumped. "No! Damn it! You can't leave it there! I want to know more!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Yagami," Decim addressed him formally. "You have been given more information that we should have allotted."
Light opened his mouth to protest, when the sound of an elevator dinged. Around the corner of the same hallway he had ventured down, came the estranged elevator operator Decim had referred to as Clavis. He came with another man, the same height, and approximately the same age, youthful looking by appearance with dark hair, wearing a dark blue suit. In his hand, he held what looked like a smart tablet.
When the pair arrived at the bar, the unnamed name looked at the tablet and then at Light, as if to compare pictures. "Visual identification confirmed," the affirmed man said. He then went about reciting Light's statistics—height, weight, eye colour, hair colour, even blood type, as if anyone truly cared about that until it was for medical purposes.
"Who the hell are you?" Light demanded, suddenly angry.
"You're angry, that's to be expected. A guest normally decries a wide range of emotions once they begin to understand the truth of their situation. My name is Duo. You can call me that. It's an acronym, because I do double duty here in Quindecim."
"Truth? What truth? What the hell is going on here?" Light began to shout. "These two" —he pointed at Decim and Ginti— "gave me pieces as to why I'm here, but then they stopped short of telling me the rest. I'm a detective, I can put things together, but I shouldn't have to if people have the information I need already. Are you going to tell me the rest I need to know?"
"What is the last thing you remember, Mr. Yagami?" Duo asked. "This is important for things to proceed."
"Running," Light said shortly, "also being afraid when doing so. Then nothing, darkness, and I suddenly found myself here."
"Nothing?" Duo looked at Decim and Ginti. "He's very upset. What have you two told him?"
"I was told I was shot multiple times by a fellow police officer," Light said instead. "Who, I don't know…"
Just then, a blonde haired man, again, youthful in appearance, entered the fray from the hallway. The elevator had not dinged, so he may have been there all the while and listening, hidden from sight. Now, he made an appearance.
"Mr. Yagami, you are experiencing a double form of amnesia," the blonde haired man said. Duo looked to appear to stop him from revealing any information, but the man waved him off. He said he had been authorized by Oculus, the head of the facility. "One from after the shock of death and the other by way of having your memories erased and forgetting everything about the Death Note."
"The Death Note? What is that?" Suddenly Light grabbed his head when he felt a sharp pain in his brain as if something was trying to come to the surface quickly and he took an involuntarily step back crashing into some barstools. Ginti's cat scampered away and hopped onto a couch from the action. "Ow...my head! Wait! Why does that sound familiar to me?" He looked at the man.
"Allow me to explain the facts. Since you are a special case, warranting a unique nature, I have also been allowed to act as Special Arbiter, aside Duo. Both ends of the spectrum must be laid out to collect all the facts. We may come to an impasse, or we may come to a path where a judgement can be made. But first, everything must be said." He spent the next fifteen minutes reciting Light's entire life, up to the point where he was shot by a fellow police officer, another detective, at a warehouse wharf.
Light shook his head in utter shock. His eyes went wide as he collapsed to his knees. "No! That's ridiculous! I couldn't do anything like what you told me." He didn't believe any of it. "I am not Kira, I am not Kira, I am not…"
"Human's call it psychopathic behaviour, and statistically 1% of the human population suffer from this affliction. Morality is secondary to a desired goal and a neurological disruption causes a lack of empathy towards others' feelings. Judging by your reaction, and the removal of the Death Note's influence, forcing you to forget about it entirely and all the actions that resulted from its use, you are obviously not subjected to this behaviour right now. You are in denial, but you are not apathetic."
"This means," Duo chimed in. "We are in a situation where our methods of judgement cannot conform to you. And this is why you are a unique case. Without the influence of the Death Note, your memories cannot surface even if recited to you, you must recall them naturally—telling you is like reading words without understanding them. You life's record is only half complete, according to how you remember it, and an Arbiter can't render a verdict with only partial information."
"Yes, things are incomplete," Decim said, his eyes seemed to focus inward as if he was attempting to access information. Light wondered if he was some sort of inhuman entity. "Huge gaps are missing. I don't like that."
"So, here'e what is going to occur…" Duo explained everything he had in mind and what was discussed with his colleague, but even after it was all said, Light still couldn't believe the situation. "So, if you pass the tests, you may stay here."
"What if I recall my forgotten memories?" Light asked.
"Unfortunately, it wouldn't matter. The rules of the Death Note are firm. You can neither go to Heaven or Hell, or be reincarnated or enter The Void. You are, quite literally, stuck between life and death. And special provisions will be made in your case. You will be able to keep your body as you see it and it will not deteriorate. You will become an Arbiter and weigh judgement upon others."
"How long will the tests take? How do I know I will be good enough?"
"That's how well your teacher does?" Duo looked to Decim and smiled. "Decim is an excellent educator and he has been certified to teach others. We are in need of more Arbiters, so despite the situation, you being here, will benefit us greatly."
Light turned to the blond haired man, who finally introduced himself. Light asked, "Am I truly dead?"
"Yes, Mr. Yagami, I'm afraid so. And like the author Charles Dickens once referred to Stooge's partner Jacob Marley in his parable A Christmas Carol: You are as dead a door knob," Ryu said back.
To be continued...