"S-Shinigami? I…I guess that makes sense…but why was I never told that they were connected to the notebook?" you wondered, half to the hovering death god in front of you.
"Maybe because a certain detective wanted to keep you safe and ignorant," the death god grinned, fixing you with a knowing stare.
You almost stepped back in surprise but restrained yourself at the last second. It would not help you to look weak and foolish in front of such a formidable being. "How do you know these things?" you queried, feeling suspicious.
"As soon as this world began to change because of 'Kira'…I couldn't help but take an interest in human happenings. Turns out that humans are more amusing than I thought-"
"Our lives are amusing to you? Is that all we are? Just a bunch of stupid pawns to be laughed at?" you spat, angry at how he had phrased his words.
"Well, to us…you are," Hado said, an almost apologetic tone entering his voice.
You exhaled and tried to take in all this new information. "You said 'this world'…does this mean you're from another?" you tried again, trying to find a subject where no conflict could arise.
He inclined his head and you waited for him to elaborate. Silence fell between you and you frowned up at him, crossing your arms. "Don't feel like talking about your world, hey?" you inquired, trying to hide your curiousity about this strange creature.
He scowled back at you and you realised that you were no longer feeling so surprised about the existence of other worlds and gods of death. 'I guess believing in notebooks that can kill and self-proclaimed gods has really had an effect on my open-mindedness…'
"So…if you're a shinigami…does that mean that every Death Note comes with one?" you questioned, wanting as much information as possible from your new ally.
"Shinigami do not 'come with Death Notes' as you say…we are the owners of these notes and it is only because of us that humans acquire the knowledge of our existence," Hado bristled, seemingly insulted by your allegation that shinigami were enslaved to mere books.
"Sorry…but I don't exactly know everything about your world…I can only guess at something which is so foreign to me," you apologised, smiling slightly.
He nodded, as if accepting your apology, and spoke again, "We, Shinigami, write names of humans in our Death Notes and take their lifespan for our own…it is this which prolongs our empty lives and is the reason why we must take an interest in the human world."
Your eyes widened as you considered the concept of living on other people's lifespans. "But how do you know how much life you're getting?"
"Aoyami Ren, 637529," Hado replied, his face showing that he was looking somewhere just above your head.
Resisting the urge to feel the air above your hair, you tentatively asked, "My lifespan…hovers above my head?"
"Can you think of a better place to put it?" he challenged, as though defending the idea.
"I guess not…" you admitted, trailing off.
It was then you noticed how dark the surrounding area was, and that you were technically all alone in the park at night. "Maybe I should get home…" you murmured, a wave of unease washing over you.
"Don't you mean maybe we should get home?" the shinigami grinned, amused by your shocked expression, "Everywhere that notebook goes, I go."
You stared for a minute before sighing and gesturing for him to follow you, "C'mon then. There's nothing I can say to convince you otherwise…"
"Ren! You're finally home!" your grandmother exclaimed, the happiness in her voice making you wary.
Your eyes darted to the arm concealed behind her back and you exhaled as you realised what had happened. "It's okay, Grandma…I won't be angry just because you read that letter."
The smile faded quickly from her face as she brought her arm around to gaze at the white paper. "I'm sorry, Ren-chan…I just saw it lying there and picked it up."
You both stood there in silence before an ominous presence registered behind you. "Oh, I have a question for you," you started, waiting for her to meet your eyes.
"Yes?" she asked, her response slightly delayed.
"Did Higuchi tell you about Death Gods?" you queried, your voice sounding too cheerful to carry the weight of the question.
When she only looked at you in confusion, you waved your hand quickly in front of your face and told her you were only joking. "I'm going to my room now," you said, wanting to escape the growing tension in the small living room.
On your way out, your grandmother grabbed your arm and handed you the letter. "No matter what happens, Ahiru…I will be here for you," she whispered before grasping you in a clumsy hug and leaving the room.
Dazed, you stood still for a second before recovering and making your way to your room. 'I guess I'm worrying her a little with my behaviour lately…but that's to be expected, it's not as if I have the most normal life in the world, is it?' you mused, smiling bitterly to yourself.
"Care to share your thoughts?" Hado butted in, almost making you jump as you remembered his presence.
Ignoring his remark, you realised that you had forgotten to ask him a very obvious question. "Why was it specifically me who you were directing to this note?"
The shinigami seemed to grin as he looked down at you. "You finally noticed, hey?"
You stared defiantly back, waiting for him to answer. Instead, he retrieved a torn page he had hidden away, and handed it to you. "This note was from a…I suppose you humans would consider our relations to be…a friendship."
Hesitantly, you raised the page so you could read the hastily scribbled words.
Hado, my time is at an end. This is a request for you, for the only friend I can ever claim I had. I request that this Death Note which I give to you, you then pass on to the human, Aoyami Ren. It is important that she receive this, along with the knowledge of the eraser. I do not have time to explain the reason for this, I can only say that she befriended another human I cared for and that because of my shortcomings, she unfairly lost the human that she had cared for. I apologise for the shortness of this letter, but my time is also short so I must end this message now… please fulfill this request of mine and gain me my forgiveness. Rem.
The words, which you could only half-comprehend, stared blankly up at you from the paper. 'What does it mean…a human they cared for? Were they a Death God as well?'
You looked up, eyes wide. "This Rem…who were they?"
For the first time since you met him, the shinigami displayed an expression of sadness. "She died for the human she fell in love with," he said quietly, no evidence of judgement in his voice.
You looked down at the page and tried to construct an image of this fallen god from their scrawl. "Well whoever this shinigami was…from her words she must have had a heart and a conscience…something I can't say all humans are blessed with…" you mumbled to yourself, feeling loss for this shinigami you had never known.
Standing silently for a minute to show your respect, a word jumped out and brought itself to your attention. "Wait…eraser? What does that mean?"
"The Death Eraser…if you erase the name of a human with this, as long as their body is not burned, they will regain their life," the shinigami explained, looking at you curiously.
"What? Such a thing exists?" you stammered, shock reverberating up your spine.
"Why? Do you want it?" Hado teased, a white eraser materializing in his bony hand.
"Well…who would I bring back?" you frowned, unsure of what he was getting at.
"Take a look through the book, see if any name strikes your eye…" the shinigami grinned, fiddling with the eraser.
Feeling apprehensive, you opened the book and flipped through, shocked at the amount of names written on the tidy, white pages. You grew interested in the names and began to peruse through them. Taking your time, it was much later when you came to the last name written in Rem's Death Note. The breath caught in your throat and you felt like you were going to pass out. "This…L Lawliet…is it the person I think it is?" you stuttered, feeling dizzy.
"Depends…who do you think it is? If it's a human who constantly ate the food called sweets, then yes," Hado said, amused by your reaction.
"You mean…I could…bring him back?" you barely managed to choke out, daring to hope.
"Your darling human detective who you care oh-so-much about? Sure," the death god said.
Your eyes narrowed at his casual words. "At what price does it sell for?"
"Well, I don't think it actually has a price…you just have to ask for it," Hado admitted, stroking his chin with his skeletal hand.
"So…can I have the Death Eraser, Hado?" you requested, holding out your hand.
As the small, white eraser dropped into your hand, you curled your fingers around it and stared straight ahead, feeling as though all your hopes rested in this piece of normal-looking rubber. The eraser was poised above the name before something occurred to you. "Wait…won't he, uh…regain his life whilst he's still in a coffin?"
"The effects are immediate, so I would assume so," he replied, "Does it matter?"
"Of course it does!" you scoffed, a plan forming in your mind, "How would you like to find yourself buried alive? I need to make a phone call…"
You lunged for the phonebook you kept beside the phone, found the number you were looking for and quickly dialed it. "Hello, this is Detective Takashi. I am sorry to disturb you at such a late hour, Mr. Haraki but I am afraid that this is a matter of utmost importance. I believe that you buried a body early today in plot number 183?" you inquired, manipulating your voice to sound mature and full of authority.
"Uh…yes. The Watanabe Aito plot?" the bemused cemetery overseer on the end of the line asked.
"Yes. New evidence has arisen giving us reason to suspect that this man was in fact, victim of a murder. How soon can you raise the coffin?" you spoke, crossing your fingers.
"Umm…well I can probably have it up in…half an hour?" he replied, sounding as though he wasn't looking forward to the task.
"This is much appreciated, Mr. Haraki. A police vehicle will be awaiting the coffin outside the gate, please load the coffin inside the vehicle," you said, hanging up the phone.
Quickly dialing the next number, you managed to rent a vehicle closely resembling something used by the police and you were off and out the door without a second thought. You picked up the vehicle, paying a hefty tip for waking the rental man up at this time of night, and drove it to the cemetery. Dressed in dark navy clothes, you flashed a fake badge before directing the man to place the heavy coffin in the back of the van. He did so and you thanked him before pulling yourself back up into the driver's seat and pulling away from the cemetery. It wasn't too long before you grew too excited and you had to pull over at the curb to instigate the last, most important piece of your plan. You climbed into the back of the vehicle and felt glad that you had the foresight to rent a van with a light in the back compartment. Turning it on, you felt a lump grow in your throat as you caught sight of the dark, wooden coffin sitting on the dusty floor. Pulling out the Death Note and the eraser, a voice asked behind you, "Are you sure this is what you want?"
You laughed humourlessly before replying to the shinigami, "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't…and if this works…I can bring back Watari as well…"
Hado nodded and receded back into the shadows of the van. Taking a deep breath, you placed the eraser on the page and rubbed out the name of the detective you would give everything for. Almost immediately afterwards, you heard movement in the coffin. You started, although you were supposed to have been expecting it. 'Did…it work? What happens if he's a…zombie or something? What happens if I've resurrected him and now he's going to kill me? Maybe that was why there wasn't a price…because no one in their right mind would go ahead with such a thing?!' you panicked, suddenly feeling as though you had made a dire mistake.
"Oh no! What do I do?" you cried out, not seeing Hado's grinning face in the darkness.
You silently had an anxiety attack before something abolished all of your fears – a muffled, slightly panicked voice. "Hello? Anyone? Can anyone hear me?"
Pulling your face out of your hands, you stared in surprise at the still-locked coffin. "Ryuuzaki?" you ventured, crawling closer to the wooden box.
"Ahiru?" called the voice, sounding more in control of their emotions this time.
"Ryu-kun? Is that really you?"
"Of course it is. Ahiru, where am I?"
"You-you're in a coffin," you explained, fumbling with the locks on the coffin.
The locks eventually opened and you hesitantly lifted the lid. As it opened, the figure inside sat up and stared around, blinking under the harsh unnatural light. You breathed out the breath you hadn't even realised you had been holding, as you saw that this person in the coffin was Ryuuzaki just as you remembered him. No zombie, no rotting flesh, just pure L with deep eyes and a hesitant smile. "Ahiru-chan?" he asked, sounding utterly confused.
Your eyes refocused as you were drawn from your thoughts, and you did the first rational thing that came to your mind – you threw your arms around the puzzled man. "Ryu-kun…I forbid you from ever leaving my sight for more than 5 minutes ever again!"
The surprised detective returned your embrace and chuckled softly, taking his sudden reincarnation better than you expected. He responded to your demand by saying, "I promise…I'll never leave you again, Ren-chan."
"You know…Ryu-kun, you never told me how you felt…" you said, trailing off as you waited for him to understand.
He smiled his adorable smile and looked you straight in the eyes before saying, "Ren-chan, I always loved you, even in death."
Right before you captured his smiling mouth with your own, you grinned and murmured, "So much for 'till death do us part…"