7. GAMBLE

Light can't recall the last time he'd walked this far. In his past life, he'd been a top athlete, capable of absorbing any game's mechanics and using them to his advantage to defeat opponents. But somehow the stress of not having found his name, seeing apparitions from his past, and now losing Ryuzaki has made him lethargic. He finds rest on a rock.

Light's eyelids droop, and he crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the rock for leverage. He wants to keep moving, find the one called Deridovely, obtain the necessary compensation to reach the City of Gods and retrieve the Death Note with his name inside. However, every time his body goes to stand, it sinks back down onto the rock.

Fighting sleep, Light surveys the foothills. The terrain is no different from the rest of this gray world. The desert sand still lingers beneath his feet, and the black mountain looms over like a giant watching him. Several levels of rock sit in between him and his path. The air has thinned, cooled, but that brings no satisfaction or relief.

Light slumps and closes his eyes.

When he awakens, voices surround him. He looks up and nearly falls back in shock from the small amount of space between himself and the one that stands before him. The creature has no eyes. Instead, a plate mask covers half of its face. Bandages form its attire, and it's full lips spread apart to laugh. The creature stands like a human, but Light knows better than to assume a Shinigami has any human qualities other than an insatiable desire for thrill. Something leans against its shoulder. A scythe.

"Look what we have here, boys," it says. "The old man's new mutt."

Two other voices laugh in response, and Light cranes his neck around to see one Shinigami with an animal-like skull for a head, and another Shinigami with pulled-back lips, revealing a line of shark teeth, and a Native American headdress.

"Go on, mutt," the masked Shinigami says, nudging Light in the arm. "Bark like a dog for us."

Light frowns but says nothing.

The animal-like Shinigami barks to the amusement of the others. "He must be a shy one!"

"Maybe we should give him a little more confidence. What do you think, Deridovely?" The sharp-toothed Shinigami says, finally putting a name to the masked one. "Gukku?" It looks at the animal-like Shinigami.

"Hmm, I don't know, Zellogi," says Gukku, still teasing Light by barking. "Any ideas Deridovely?"

The masked one ponders. "I have a few."

"So you're Deridovely?" Light says.

"That's right," Deridovely replies with a slight bite in his tone. "You know me, mutt?"

Light stands. "Yes, I've been looking for you."

"Is that right?" His full lips form a crooked grin. "For what reason?"

"I'm here to challenge you to a gambling match," Light says with resolve. "If I win, you give me all the money you have."

Deridovely's smile holds firm, and he scoffs. "And if I win?"

Light looks away to consider. There's only one asset he has that's valuable enough to risk. "You get me."

The gaggle of Shinigami burst into laughter.

"What the hell? How would a mutt like you be of any use to me?" he asks under his laugh. He sounds like he's being choked. "Your ass is better off wandering back through the desert and getting lost."

Light's hands curl into fists. The insults keep flying at him, but they're much weaker and more tolerable than Ryuzaki's. He needs to use any trick in the book to convince these guys how worthy he is lest the god king smite him where he stands if he fails. "Have you guys ever heard of Kira?"

The threesome fall silent and exchange looks.

"Kira?" says Gukku, tapping his chin. "Wasn't that the name of some celebrity from the human world?"

"No, you idiot, it was definitely some serial killer," Zellogi says, slapping Gukku over the skull. "That's why he was named Kira."

Light gives a pleasant smile. "Kira happened to be a mixture of the two. He killed those he thought were harmful to the world and thus became a worldwide celebrity to the masses. He grew so revered that some even considered him their savior—just like they would a god. Even though he was technically human, he still has followers long after his death."

Gukku seems the most intrigued. "Why bring him up?"

Light shrugs. "Why not? A human considered a god? How can you say that doesn't pique your interest?"

"Who gives a shit?" Deridovely says, leaning on his scythe like an old man leans on his cane for support. "He's dead."

But Light remains calm. "Because even though you three are gods of death you waste your time and power on frivolous, mundane things. Humans don't know who you are. They assume that death comes naturally—that there's no supernatural influence behind their demise when there is. Unlike Kira, you're immortal beings. Aren't gods supposed to be worshipped, feared, and, above all, respected?"

"What are you getting at, mutt?"

Light forces back a mirthless grin. "If you win, you get my knowledge. You get my abilities. I can show you how I became a god even though I was mortal. I can show you the power of Kira."

For a moment, none of the Shinigami speak. The gray world moves by while they stand still.

Deridovely's smile rots, and he licks his thick lips. "All right, mutt. I like your spirit. Will like it even more when I break it."

Light smirks.

With a beckon if his boney hand, Deridovely takes Light out of the foothills and to higher ground where the remains of a waterfall and a stagnant pool rest. The sewage smell irritates his senses. Light hesitates as Deridovely enters the pool. The water comes to his ankles.

"What's wrong, mutt?" Deridovely asks. "Afraid of a little bath? You could benefit from one."

Gukku and Zellogi chortle from the edge of the pool.

Light ignores them and steps into the water. It's room temperature, although he feels like he's walking through septic sludge. He gags but composes himself by the time he meets Deridovely in the middle of the pool.

The masked Shinigami spins his scythe around and sinks the base of it into the water, spreading the liquid apart and revealing the damp bottom where a deck of cards has been laid out. Pellucid water drops rise up as if being evaporated and hover in midair. The stage has been set.

Deridovely sits down cross-legged. "Ever gambled before, mutt?" His voice has a hint of suspicion that Light makes note of.

Light sits, mirroring him. The sand is moist and seeps into his clothes. "Not particularly."

Deridovely picks up the cards and shuffles them between his gaunt hands. "What about Uno?"

"Yes. Plenty." Light remembers the family nights his mother would insist on having when his father had time after work. The four of them, including Sayu, would sit around and engage in card games, preferably Uno, Crazy Eights, and Go Fish. And they'd bet that whoever won would get the last slice of pizza or a movie of their choice or something else just as small yet seemingly valuable. Light would win almost every time, and Sayu would cry and complain that he had cheated. The act of winning grew so tedious that eventually he let his sister win.

But losing to his sister is nothing compared to this game. This time, Light has only one chance. And his freedom happens to be on the line. Should he fail, he'll either spend eternity as this thing's slave or return to nothingness. Either demise feels just as disheartening as its alternative.

"We'll play three rounds. First to win two rounds wins the game," Deridovely explains and deals seven cards for each of them. He slides Light his deck.

"Before we start," Light says, hovering his hand above his deck. "I want to know you have the money."

Deridovely's lips curl into a crooked smile as if he's offended Light would distrust him. He reaches behind his back and pulls out a coin bag. It plops to the ground, jingling with the promise of payment. "Well? Are you satisfied?"

Light nods, plucks his deck from the damp ground and spreads the cards apart. Instantly, he knows he's at a disadvantage. He's absent any wild cards or draw twos. Each card's number moves as if mocking him. The cards themselves feel heavy in his hands. He lowers them and his sight but remains cautious of Deridovely, even though it's impossible to know if the Shinigami can see through his mask or not. Does he even have eyes? Does he need to feel the cards to know what number they are? How does he recognize the colors?

Light pushes the thoughts aside as Deridovely flips the first card over from the deck. The red number reads five.

"You first, mutt."

Light matches it with a red three.

Deridovely switches the color with a blue three.

Already switching? Light glances at his deck that contains mostly reds and greens. From Light's experience, red and green are the most popular colors to draw, even though every deck has an equal number of color-coordinated cards. He only has two blues, and neither number match any other card of his. If he's to rid himself of these blues as soon as possible, Deridovely needs to have either number. If he's switching so early it's because he genuinely doesn't have any more reds or he's trying to throw Light off. The unreadable look on the masked Shinigami's face doesn't help. His eyes, Light thinks, narrowing his own. Why does he have to hide his damn eyes? Based on their short interaction so far, Deridovely seems like the type who would be cackling or smirking right now, not so relaxed. This guy must have gotten a bad hand, too.

Unless…

Light puts down a blue seven, and Deridovely responds with another blue three. Light licks his lips and lets go of his last blue, a nine. If Deridovely puts down a card that doesn't match any other card of Light's, he'll have to draw. A red and three greens remain in his hand.

Deridovely's face remains unchanged as he slides his fifth card from between his fingers and drops it into the pile.

Light's throat tightens.

"Draw four, mutt," Deridovely says beneath a hacking chuckle, and his friends echo him from the pool's edge. "Yellow." He puts down a yellow five.

Light gathers four cards from the deck. He tries not to acknowledge that Deridovely only has three cards remaining in his hand. Only one of the cards Light picks up is yellow, but thankfully it's a skip that matches with a red skip he has and another red one he's picked up.

He places the three cards down on the pile at the same time, "Skip, skip, and one." A smirk crosses his lips. It may not be a wild card or a draw two, but at least he's able to throw the masked Shinigami off.

But his smirk disintegrates when the laughter that built inside Deridovely's throat returns. "You're making this too easy, mutt." He places all three cards down simultaneously. The first is a wild card, the second is a green reverse, and the last is a green four. Deridovely leans in close. "I win."

A/N: Uh-oh, looks like Light's in the doghouse (no pun intended). I always found Deridovely to be a cool and creepy Shinigami, and yet he had about less than a minute of overall screen time in the anime, which is disappointing considering that fucking awesome scythe!

I will provide an explanation and cheat sheet in next week's chapter for any non-mathematicians (*cough* like me *cough*) or Uno players out there. Will Light be able to decipher Deridovely's trick? Place your bets!