CHAPTER 5:
"A Plan to Retry"
Sorta Yamamoto dropped to his knees in utter shock and held his hands to his head in a sudden sensation of pain.
It only took Light four moves to defeat the little Grandmaster. Each move was precise and perfect and no move was wasted.
Light had thought out every move before he made it, playing the game in his mind, every scenario, before he called out his moves. He took into account Sorta's method of playing, and quickly turned the tables, destroying him without remorse.
Only one pawn was sacrificed, for which, as punishment, Light suffered a slight sensation of an electrical shock to his brain. The boy suffered worse. And suffered greatly after his King was put in Checkmate.
The whole game of Chess was based on out-thinking an opponent, so it would only stand to reason that the brain would suffer the consequences and the pain of defeat.
After Sorta Yamamoto got to his feet, he breathed heavy, and said, "I can't believe it! I can't believe it! It was like you knew exactly where I would move before you counterattacked! How the hell?"
"Did you?" Decim inquired.
Light said, "No, but I have played a game or two." He smirked, putting the kid in his place was fun. "Like you mentioned, Decim, I often played with my friend, Demetre Draycott. He could never beat me, but he did give me some of my best challenges. Sorry to say, Sorta, I didn't even break a sweat with you." And then he explained why.
Sorta cursed. "A game or two? No way! You are on a way higher level than some of the best that I know. Have you ever played professionally?" The boy seemed more intrigued than sore. "I want to play you again!"
"One: No, I won't play you again," Light said. "And two: I have never played professionally."
"You didn't relent, not once, and you crushed me viciously, showing no mercy. Just like me. I have to the best! No one has ever beaten me like you just did. When my parents died, I thought the universe hated me because it took them away from me, so I had to crush everyone else, and used my gameplay to do that, as if to get back at the universe. You know what now? Looks like I found one last person to crush! If I do so, I can then die happy. Play, me, NOW!"
Light looked at Decim, then back at Sorta. "If only you knew…" he began to say, then stopped. The boy's memories had not fully returned yet. Until they did, judgement could not be rendered. So, there was little choice. "Very well, let us have another game. Maybe it will humble you…"
What an annoying brat, Light thought, and suddenly he had a recollection of myself as Kira and of his demanding ways. L once described Kira as "acting with a child-like sense of justice".
This kid, acting like this, and against the universe, because he demanded justice for the injustice the universe paid to him in taking away his parents was ludicrous. People died, life went on. The silly notion the universe hated people was laughable.
As Kira, he helped the world. And now, he'd help this kid see the folly of his ways that he thought he was better than everyone.
As the main game was won, the subsequent games requested—three more in all—they contained no side-effect pain. However, the boy lost all of them, and in quick succession, and how Light won caused the boy severe mental stress and agony.
And he started to throw a temper tantrum.
"No! I won't accept this! How are you—a nobody—beating me so easily? This is a trick, this game is rigged, and she knows it!" Sorta pointed at Amari. "She's in on it! That's why she asked you to play for her. I think you two are working together, and this entire thing is one big hoax to goad me! You have me on camera, right? You're streaming this on the internet to ruin me!"
Suddenly, Sorta Yamamoto folded over, collapsed to his knees, and clutched his hands to his head, as if suffering from another memory recall. He cried out: "Don't hit me, don't hit me! Please!"
Moment passed, then he settled down. But when he looked up, he was breathing heavy, with tears in his eyes. He put his hands to his mouth as if a massive realization hit him. "My guardian…he's actually my uncle. And my father was a drunk. What if…"
"What if your father caused the accident that killed both him and your mother when you were five?" Amari chimed in. "And now your uncle is taking care of you, doing his best to raise you because his brother is no longer around?"
Sorta looked up. "You think so? I suppose that's why he's not much of a business manager. He acts with the intention of both. He seems to be more concerned with my wellbeing than getting me matches; he's too overly protective. I remember he once he said he was heavy in debt, and he owned a lot of people money. I even saw some people approach him in the crowd after one of my chess matches. The crazy thing was, even with all the money I had saved up with my winnings, he never asked once for any of it. He was always so protective me when it came to my father drinking too much. He said it could one day get me killed one day."
"That's what family does, especially when children lose a loved one, even both parents," she replied to the over-protectiveness. "And your uncle knew it was your money." She paused, introspectively. "Speaking of money, I remember looking at my husband and I's shared bank accounts, and saw some erroneous bills: clothes, a hotel room, even charges to fancy restaurants. When I asked him about them, he said they were for business, and not to worry about them. He even said to mind my own business. But…"
She blinked her eyes, as if she was suddenly recalling something, momentarily freezing, her eyes wide with shock. "That son-of-bitch, I remember now! Him and her! His secretary at work! He was having an affair! I followed him one night and caught the both of them in the backseat of his car, and confronted them!"
And then Amari began to cry, a sudden realization hitting her.
Decim went over, and said, "You remember now, don't you? How you died?" She nodded.
"When I confronted my husband about his affair, he pushed me, accidentally, into the path of an oncoming car. Oh, my, god!"
Just then, Sorta began to cough. Even hack! And suddenly, he spit up a chess piece. It was the black King. Spittle dripped from his mouth. "What the hell?" His voice was raspy and he felt his throat, it burned. "Ow…"
Light went over to Sorta and knelt down beside him. The boy looked shocked. But Light was sympathetic.
"I'm dead, I'm dead…" the boy kept repeating. "I'm dead, too! Those mafia guys, they wanted their money, but my uncle wouldn't give it to them, and he wouldn't ask me for it. If only he did…" He looked up at Light. "Would I have giving him it to him? Would I? They killed me for the money, didn't they? Because it would then all become my Uncle's, he's the Executor of my will. Then, he could give them the money he owed them. He liked to gamble."
Light looked to Decim to confirm. Decim nodded.
"I'll never see my kids again!" Decim then looked to Amari, Light observed. "Is this the after life?" Decim semi-nodded.
Neither of them deserved what happened to them, Light thought. Was this how some people thought about Kira's judgements?
He admitted he had had made some mistakes, but he murdered criminals to make the world a better place. Now with Kira longer judging in the Human World, would these victims get their justice? Would Kira have been able to find the mafia person or persons who killed Sorta Yamamoto? And would Kira have killed Amari Watanabe's husband for an accident?
Kira made his judgements based on the acts of criminality, but before action was taken and names written down in the Death Note, he researched their deeds. He knew Kira would not kill the woman's husband when the truth was learned, and the sole person who murdered the boy by shoving he chess piece down his throat would probably never be found out for Kira to kill him.
So, Light had a little moral crisis of his own. How would he judge these two?
Based on the information he had, despite Sorta's arrogance and self-absorbed attitude, he was innocent. And Amari was also an innocent victim in her death. Neither deserved The Void.
He hated feeling defenceless and he clenched a fist. Kira was needed in the Human World, now more than ever!
"I'm sorry for your loss, you're a good kid," Light said to Sorta. "And please note, you're an excellent chess player, so don't be angry with your losses. I just have more experience."
Sorta wiped tears from his eyes. "Thanks," he said. "What now? What will happen to us?"
But Light was not allowed to make an immediate judgement.
He told Decim what he thought in private, as Amari and Sorta stood away and out of earshot, and Decim conferred, but it would be the Judgement Elevators that would send them on their respected journey's. One elevator had a Devil Head and the other an Angelic symbol, as both entered the elevators. Suddenly, the Devil Head changed, and both became Angelic.
Light smiled. They were both set for Reincarnation.
"Good luck on your journey," Decim then said, and the elevator doors shut, and dinged.
They were, in principle, good people. And Light was glad his thoughts allowed their souls to be carried on. But he would file their situations in his mind, and when he returned to the Human World—if—he would hunt down the boy's killer and write the murder or murder's names down in the Death Note, once he was able to acquire another one.
After it was over, Light sighed. He felt exhausted.
Both he and Decim walked away from the elevators. "Are all your cases similar in nature?" Light asked.
"No, most of them do not go as smoothly," Decim replied. "However, what you did in playing for that woman was unorthodox. We do not play for our guests, we must allow their emotions to flourish in order to determine their true nature. Thought is method, a true verdict cannot be heralded by this way. You were lucky and nothing was spoiled. Oculus does not like when things do not go well."
Light knew who Oculus was, he was the creator of Quindecim, and the last say to everything that went on. The final say. He hadn't seen the man yet, but people described him as eccentric 'old man', and he enjoyed playing pool a lot.
"Over time, you'll get used to how things are done here," Decim then finished.
Decim put the device he had picked up earlier back behind the bar, he never explained what it was. Perhaps at another time, Light would be told. It was best not to press things all at once. He didn't want to look too eager.
Allowed to rest, he was given furnished quarters.
Quite impressive, he thought.
It was like a luxury condo with its own separate bedroom and bathroom. It also had a sitting area. He looked the place over as he went along, looking for any cameras, like L had hidden in his room when the detective had spied on him. But he didn't see any. He would be on his guard in any case. However, he didn't think Quindecim would worry about spying on a newbie. Why would they? Because of his past? He didn't have his old memories, or so they thought.
On a coffee table was a wrapped gift, but there was no label. But Light figured it was probably a welcome gift.
He unwrapped it, and it was a book: "How To Be A Better Person", by some unknown author. It was an unusual gift. Skimming through it, he learned it was a book on Psychology. If he didn't know any better, he thought someone was giving him a message. But no one here, as if yet, knew that he had regained his memories of being Kira.
Just then, there was a knock on his door. He answered it, and it was Ryu, or rather, Ryuk, in human form.
"Did you give this to me?" Light immediately asked him, inviting him in, shutting, and locking the door.
Ryu looked at the title, and then laughed. "No, but that's a hoot! Probably someone in Quindecim hinting at your past, which you're not supposed to remember. But I have good news! My friend came through. It wasn't difficult to come by, believe it or not." He reached into a pant's pocket and pulled out a device that looked similar to the one Decim had, but never used.
"What is it?"
"This is the Retry I spoke about and it's used only under extreme conditions," Ryu explained. "For example, it can allow a Shinigami to go back into the past to an important moment and restore an existence if a mistake is make by some worldwide catastrophe brought on by the Death Note. And no, nothing to my knowledge has ever happened. But there is a Written Rule and the Retry, just in case. I was told that Oculus was thinking of using something similar on you—this realm's version—to bring your memories back, but then thought against it as it may create an unstable element, and you'd still be stuck in Quindecim."
Light took it, looked at it. It had all the characteristics of a wireless game joystick and quite childish looking, but simple.
Ryu further said, "I was told, all you'd have to do it press the top button when you're back at your chosen moment, and you can live again, starting from that period on. But retaining your memories, I'm not sure about. I originally thought of your idea of putting you in the body of someone else, I didn't think that was possible before because two souls can't inhabit the same body. But then I thought, 'Hey! I'm a Shinigami! Taking a person's lifespan would be easy'. Shinigami take life by writing people's names in their Death Note, after all. I thought of that afterwards. My bad! I must have had a brainfart at the time. But this method is way better."
Light continued to look at the Retry device. "How does it work?"
"Once calibrated, which I'm told this one is by my friend, all you have to do is travel back in time, and press the button. The tricky part will be convincing an Arbiter, like Decim, to do such a thing with a good reason. Arbiters do have the ability to time travel."
Light smiled, but it all seemed a far-fetched. "My resurrection would come at a price, correct? Like trading for the Shinigami Eyes? Half my remaining lifespan? I'm dead, I can't trade you that. If I could, I would make the deal knowing what I know. You offered me a deal, half my remaining life span for The Shinigami Eyes, the ability to see a person's name above their head. I wish now I took it."
"Not this time," Ryu said. "And this rule is similar for Quindecim: You must exchange your life for someone else's. Anyone would do, but it would be at random. A stranger, a friend, even a relative. The exchange would not discriminate. But the chance of you taking a life of someone you know is slim. There are over seven billion people in the Human World currently."
"This would be perfect. I could get my old body back and Kira would reign superior once more." He laughed. He literally had the power of a god in his hand. "I could go back to the beginning and start anew. If my memories don't come with me, I could write down notes to tell my other self what will happen in the future."
"Like playing a few stocks, lottery numbers. Stuff like that?" Ryu snickered. "You're a smart guy, so I know you can trick Decim into getting what you want. I just want to be entertained again. And if I'm attached to you again, I won't be punished in the Shinigami Realm. Rules are rules, and even the Shinigami King has to abide by them, or the whole fabric of the Shinigami will fall."
"If this can happen, then I'll give you all entertainment you want, Ryuk. And far beyond your wildest dreams."
"I'm looking for forward to it," Ryu(k) said.
To be continued...