I don't own Death Note, Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata do. I also don't own any of the songs and soundtracks used either, they're owned by their original composers.


Opening: Breathe On Me, by New Cinema Tokage

-

Chapter 2: Snow and Forte

Snow was able to calm herself from the unexpected wake-up call she just experienced. She got off her bed and went to sit down at her desk. The notebook laid there in her lap. She checked her clock; it read 9:52. Her parents wouldn't be back in a few more hours, which was good for her. She turned her attention to monster in her room. "So what are you again?"

"As I said before, little girl, I'm a shinigami. On your side of this world, I'm more recognized as either the Grim Reaper or Death. And that notebook you have there use to belong to me." Forte replied, his index finger pointing at the white notebook. His voice made a shiver go up Snow's spine. "Aw but don't worry, little girl, you can keep it. I have a lot of notebooks on me anyway."

"My name is Snow," the light blue-haired girl replied, not liking the title 'little girl'. "And shouldn't the Grim Reaper be carrying his scythe instead some notebook?"

"Scythes?" Forte chuckled at the remark. "Aw, those were the good old days. But I can assure you, such tools are now obsolete to us Shinigami. Death Notes are a lot more useful than a giant stick with a sickle."

"It doesn't matter anyway," said Snow as she picked up the white Death Note. "What matters is that this 'Death Note' now belongs to me. However, even though I killed one person with this notebook, I haven't bared witness to it. I only heard the person dying through the telephone but even though I wish to believe that it's power is real, I have to test it again, this time as a visual witness. After all, seeing things with my eyes is the most reasonable way to convince me that this power is real." Snow explained, staring at her Death Note. But then a sudden thought crossed her mind, regarding the shinigami. "But why are you here, Forte? This notebook is mine now, so I take it that you can't get it back. Unless you changed your mind, why would you be here if you don't need it anymore?"

"Quite a sharp and quick thinker, aren't you?" Forte answered, his teeth glowing through the darkness of his hood. "Alright then, I'll tell you why I'm here. At first I was just curious to see who the lucky human who picked up my Death Note would be, but I didn't expect someone to find on the same day that I dropped it this quick. Also once you own the notebook, I can't return to the shinigami realm until either you die or the notebook is destroyed."

"So I take it you're gonna be living with me?" asked the adolescent girl.

"You do seem interesting, and I can sense potential in you to use the Death Note regardless of whose life you take," Forte answered, taking a few steps closer to the human. "And... you do look kinda cute."

Snow's left eyebrow twitched at the last sentence. The last thing she wanted to be called cute by a twisted creature from another world, especially when such a creature would be living with her. "Thanks for the compliment." she replied sarcastically. She placed the notebook on her computer desk and sighed. "Such a pain." she said tiredly and stood up from her chair.

"Where are you going?" Forte asked, following the human.

"I need a shower, this conversation is making me feel dirty." Snow answered. She opened her drawers, took out some fresh clothes, and walked over to a closed door in her wall. Opening the door revealed her personal bathroom. The insides were bright white and contained pleasant scent. She turned her head to see Forte standing behind her. Her eyebrow twitched again.

"Do you mind?" she asked bitterly. Even with a shinigami, she wasn't gonna tolerate any vulgar activities such as peeping.

"Well you're no fun." Forte said disappointedly, turning his head to the side.

"Just stay in the corner," the girl pointed her finger at an empty corner in her bedroom. Before closing the bathroom door behind her, she quickly added. "And you better not peek."

Once the door was closed, Forte picked up the notebook and stared at the only name that was written on the first page. 'Wonder what she has in mind for tomorrow,' he thought, then turned to the closed door. 'Such an interesting little girl.'

Snow had already taken her jeans off but stopped to look at herself in the mirror. She pulled down her lower eyelid while she was still digesting everything that is happening... to her. 'I have power.' she thought. 'If the power of that notebook is truly real, then I can do what I couldn't do before. I've been a loser for far too long, and I've waited and waited for a chance to rise. But now I've finally grasped that chance. I'll no longer be a loser. I can be...'

Her eyes caught the sight of steam coming from the shower. With a sigh, she turned away from the mirror. She undressed herself and stepped inside to be greeted with hot pouring water. Having her body get soaked in warm water was a very relieving feeling to her, but then again, billions of people would've felt the same way. She grabbed a bottle of shampoo and began scrubbing her hair. Her flowing thoughts soon returned to Alisa Villa. The Villa family probably had the police take the body to the hospital by now. But what will happen then?

Snow was thinking of whether she should be quiet about the ordeal and pretend to not be responsible. She was, after all, the last person Alisa talked to before her death, so the police will likely suspect her of something. If that happens, then she'll have to create a sensible lie and make it sound like the honest truth.

(cue Trifling Stuff) (1)

'Gah, I'm worrying too much. Calm down, Snow, you'll cross that bridge when you come to it and...' Snow instantly caught the feeling that someone was watching her. She instinctively looked around to find noone in site, which bothered her. She could've swore she felt like there was someone in the bathroom with her, and if there was then it must be that Forte. Snow didn't really like the idea of a Shinigami staying with her, especially with how he's making a uncomfortable first impression. It got her think is he the one who was in here a moment ago. Was he peeping on her while she was showering? If he was, then Snow was gonna be very mad.

Now alert, she slowly turned back to continue scrubbing herself. In reality, Forte really was peeping on Snow and manage to phase himself out of the bathroom just before she turned around. "That was close." said the Shinigami as he let out a small perverted chuckle at the fact he at least got a good look at the human. She was fairly slender but unfortunately, for him, she didn't have much 'upstairs.'

'Ah well,' thought Forte. 'She'd be much more attractive if she wasn't so much of a shrew.' He began wondering if the guys back in the Shinigami Realm had already found out he's gone. It wouldn't be good for him if they did, or they would soon be showing up demanding for their Death Notes back. Forte has always a sneaky devil who enjoyed disturbing the peace among the other Shinigami, almost to the point where they wish they weren't immortal so they would easily kill him. When he heard about the Shinigami Ryuk's adventure in the Human World, it interested and even inspired him to see for himself what humans were capable of doing with a Death Note. But unlike Ryuk, Forte wasn't into it to relieve boredom. Forte enjoys chaos and from what he heard, he would be very thrilled to see how ugly the humans could get. And he wouldn't be satisfied with just one human; that's why he worked hard to steal multiple notebooks from other Shinigami. This was a double-edge sword for it would also get him into huge trouble with the Shinigami King.

Whatever might happen, it doesn't he's been found out yet. He would like to drop the other notebooks off in other places, but he also wants to know what Snow would do with the white notebook.

Forte heard the bathroom door opened. He turned to see Snow walking out in her pajamas and with a towel around her neck. She walked up to him and, without a word, took the white notebook from him. "Hey, what's with you?"

"I'm going to sleep," Snow replied coldly, hiding the notebook underneath her mattress. "We shall talk more tomorrow, Forte." she threw the covers over herself and turned away from the Shinigami, waiting for slumber to claim her.

'Not so friendly, are you, little girl.' thought Forte.


(cue Suiri) (2)

Hours of long silence came to an end by several knocks on Snow's door. The teenager took the pillow in her sleep and placed it over her head.

"Snow, honey, it's time to get up." Snow's foster mother called from the other side. Snow groaned tiredly, trying to block out all sound with the pillow. "You're not gonna sleep in. Get up, dear, or I'm gonna have to confiscate more of your stuff again."

Snow immediately woke up from that remark. She hated it when her foster parents take her stuff away, and she would be in serious trouble if her foster mother found the Death Note. It didn't take her long to shower and get dressed. She was wearing a long sleeved green shirt and a pair of jeans. She grabbed her wallet and the Death Note and stuffed them into a handbag she received as a birthday present last year. She wasn't into fashionable things most girls liked, but she at least found it useful to carry things; and right now it would very useful to carry a supernatural notebook that can kill others. But then she noticed that Forte wasn't here, hadn't seen him since she woke up. 'Where is he?' she thought. 'Did he say he was gonna be staying with me?'

"Snow?!" called her foster mother. Snow opened the door soon after.

"I'm up, geez!" she retorted as she walked passed her foster mother.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going out, mom," answered Snow.

"This early? You haven't had breakfast yet,"

"I'll get something to eat!" said Snow as she walked down the stairs to the front door, grabbing her coat in the process. She pulled the door open to find... "AAH!" she screamed.

Forte

(cue Kitai) (3)

"Morning," said the Shinigami, waving a clawed hand to her. Snow didn't say anything.

"What's wrong, honey? What happened?" said her foster mother from upstairs.

"Nothing. It was just a spider." Snow lied as she closed the door behind her. She walked down the sidewalk, sensing Forte following her. Something she'd expect to happen. She turned her head slightly to look at him. He was hovering behind her, with large straps of his robe spread out like a pair of wings. Most of his body was drooping down. He was floating in a very... realistic way, not like how you see superheroes from comic books and TV shows fly. "Where were you this morning?"

"Can't I watch the rising sun by myself? Are you gonna start giving me rules now? I'm not some kind of animal or slave, you know." Forte protested, yet he didn't sound angry or defensive at all. Actually, he sounded like he was expecting Snow to ask him that question.

'Is he messing with me?' the girl thought suspiciously.

"So what're you gonna do today?" asked Forte.

"I already told you. I need to see for myself if the power of the Death Note is real, so I'm going into town to find someone to test it on." Snow answered, her hands in her pockets.

"But won't anybody see or notice you when you're writing someone's name in the Death Note?"

Snow sighed in annoyance. "Then I'll have to make sure that nobody notices me. Speaking of noticing, Forte, you shouldn't be following me out in the open where other people could see you."

"Oh, but they can't,"

"Huh?"

"I'm a Shinigami, remember? Noone can see me except you. The reason you can see me is because you possess my Death Note. The only way others can see me is if they simply touch the notebook. Plus since I'm spirit, I can choose who or what I wanna interact with in your world. If I choose to interact with, say for example a rock, I can simply pick it up just like that. But to anyone who hasn't touched the notebook, through their eyes, the rock will look like it's floating in mid-air. And if I choose not to interact with, for example a tree, I'll just go through it as if it wasn't there. See watch." Forte pointed towards an upcoming tree.

Snow watched Forte suddenly went through the tree like it was nothing. "Impressive, most impressive. Okay, so as long as no one touches the notebook, they can't see you, correct?"

"Correct," said Forte.

Both the girl and Shinigami walked(and hovered) together for a while til they were now in town. Many people were casually walking by, minding their own business and carrying on with their sad little lives, from how Snow perceived the world around her. She thought of them all as losers, which she unfortunately admits she was one of them. Emphasis on was.

"Here we are." said Snow, turning to walk into a nearby diner. Forte followed. The girl looked around for an appropriate place to sit; she was in luck. She found a booth in the far back where noone was around. The fact that the diner wasn't busy or crowded was good news for her too. 'No one else could hear me talk to Forte either.'

A waitress came by when Snow took her seat. She was quite pretty with short brown hair and green eyes. "Welcome to Skips!" she said cheerfully. "Would you like a menu?"

"Yes, please." Snow replied as kind as she could. She couldn't afford to look suspicious if she replied with her real tone of voice. The waitress handed her a menu and took her leave. Snow already knew what she gonna get, she just needed the menu as cover for what she was really doing. She pretend to look at the menu while with one hand, she open her bag and felt around for the notebook. She pulled it out and placed it between the bag and herself, leaving enough space to open it and look inside. Her eyes repeatedly switched between the menu and the Death Note.

"You're gonna kill someone now?" Forte asked, standing next to Snow's booth. He was looking over her at the menu.

"Not yet," Snow replied quietly. She didn't need to worry about people seeing or hearing Forte, but she was still at risk because they could still see and hear her if she wasn't careful.

"Then why do you have the Death Note out?"

"I'm looking through more of the notebook's instructions, to better understand its power and how I can use it to my advantage." She said while reading. "So I can control people for as much as I want before they die, yes?"

"Huh? Oh, I don't know," replied Forte. "Shinigami don't bother with this kind of stuff. We just simply write names and that's it."

"That's sad," said a disappointed Snow. "You Grim Reapers are practically superior to humans, yet you don't even know the full extent or limitations of your own powers? How embarrassing." this was perhaps the most amusing things she has heard in a long time, something she could laugh if she wanted to.

"Don't be mean, Snow. It's not like we don't know how the Death Notes work. It's just that we aren't permitted to help out those who own a Death Note. It's kinda like a law. Plus we easily watch down on humans from the Shinigami Realm, so there isn't any need for us to kill them in fancy ways. As far as knowing the full extent of the Death Note's power, I'm afraid you're just gonna have to figure it all out on your own." Forte suddenly noticed something that made him smiled. "Ooh, are you gonna order their that?" he pointed at one spot on the menu. Snow followed where his finger led.

"Madeleines?" the blue-haired sour girl asked confused. 'They serve that here?' Her eyes trailed upward at the cloaked phantom. "Why would you want this? Aren't you suppose to be immortal? Why would a Shinigami need to eat?"

"Actually, it's more of a luxury than necessity. Shinigami don't need to eat, but it's one of those things we do either because we're bored or we wanna be different. To me, I just happen to like madeleines, so why don't you order some?" Forte said, almost in anxious.

"I don't think so." Snow set the menu down.

"Aw, come on, Snow. Don't be a sourpuss. Please?" Forte retorted. "Please, please, please, please, please..."

The waitress came back over. "Are you ready to order?"

"Please," begged Forte. Snow didn't had to worry about the waitress seeing him, but she couldn't bare to lose face due to his begging. "Pretty Please?!"

"Yes," Snow answered and began. "I would like some pancakes with strawberry syrup..."

"Pretty Please with sugar on top?!"

"A cup of milk..." Snow continued.

"Come on, man, PLEASE!"

"And some madeleines." Snow finished.

"YES!"

"Alright then." The waitress took the menu and walked away.

"Thanks, Snow." said Forte with a smile.

"I'd only did it to shut you up." said Snow coldly. Soon the waitress came back carrying everything she ordered and set it down in front of her. She poured her strawberry syrup over the pancakes and began eating.

"Hey, hand me a madeleine." said Forte.

"You sure noone is watching?" asked a very cautious Snow.

"Yes, noone is looking over here." with that, Snow picked up a madeleine from the small basket that came with her breakfast and quickly handed it to Forte. He took it and munched down on it. "Thanks." said Forte with his mouth full.

"If you're this bothersome already, then I hate to wonder what're things gonna be like between us in the future." Snow took bite of pancakes and drank her milk. She soon handed him another madeleine.

"Oh, I'm not so bad." Forte accepted the treat and ate it. "Hey, let me make it up to you."

"I thought you said Shinigami weren't allowed to help humans with Death Notes?"

"I did, but I'm allowed to fill you in on certain things," Forte snickered.

"And what are these 'certain things'?"

Forte began speaking. "Well, as I told you before, whenever a human has picked up a Death Note and late meets the Shinigami who originally owned that Death Note, the Shinigami has to stay until the note book is destroyed or that human dies. But in the mean time, the Shinigami has the option to make an offer with that human."

"An offer? What kind of offer?" Snow asked with another bite of pancakes. She ate very fast so there was little left. She took two madeleines, one to hand to Forte and the other for herself.

"We can give humans who own a Death the Shinigami. You see, our eyes have the supernatural power to the name and life span of humans. That way, we can know exactly how long of humans before they die. With the eyes of a Shinigami, you too can see the names and life spans of any human you see. Therefore, you don't have to worry about working so hard to find out the names of people you wanna kill." Forte explained, again with his mouth full. "However, receiving this power isn't free. It comes with a cost."

"What kind of cost?" Snow began drinking the rest of her milk. Forte's smile stretched into a psychotic-looking grin.

"Half of your remaining life span."

Snow choked on her milk, her eyes wide opened. What Forte said took her completely by surprised. She put a hand to her mouth to prevent herself from pouring milk out and making a mess. She gulped it down and then coughed heavily. She saw that little bit of milk got onto her hand. Now she had both a soaked hand and a soar throat. She immediately grabbed some napkins to clean her hand. When she was done, she took her wallet out and pulled out the money to pay for the food. She put everything, including the Death Note back into her purse and got up from her booth.

(cue Kodou) (4)

"Where're you going all of a sudden? Snow, wait, I haven't told you the rest." Forte followed Snow.

"Excuse me, miss," called the waitress who served her. "What about..."

"Money's on the table." Snow answered without making eye contact. She'd did the math in her head and didn't need to be told the total price. Before turning to the door, Snow caught from the corner of her eye another waitress serving an adult man. She spot her name tag, her sight zooming in at what it read.

Tabitha Stoll

Snow walked out the diner and crossed the street with Forte right behind her. She found a clothes store. 'I can use this place for cover.' she went inside. She walked around a bit, trying to not look suspicious. She soon stopped at a rack of coats of different colors and styles. Ahead of her was the store's front window, giving her a good view of the diner from across the street. All she needed to do was think of what to do for her test. An idea quickly popped into her mind. She pulled out the white Death Note and a pen. She flipped it open and wrote Tabitha Stoll just underneath the name of her first victim. As she wrote more into the notebook, she thought back on Forte's offer. Though it would give her a huge advantage in things to come, is it really necessary to give up half of her remaining life span? It could be more risky if she wasn't gonna live for long any.

'I'll think about this later.'

When she was finished, she'd closed the note book and waited. "Oh, I get it. You didn't want to kill the waitress who was serving because that might make you suspicious, so you're gonna kill that other waitress instead." Forte stood beside her to watch.

Snow counted in her head. A second after she reached forty, she saw the diner's front doors open showing Tabitha Stoll walking out. She walked down the sidewalk away from the diner. Up on the balcony of nearby building, someone was trying to fix the small chains that were holding her pot of plants up. As she tried to unhook them, they slipped from her hand and the pot fell down. The pot shattered when hitting an old rusted sign. The impact caused the nail to fall out.

"Watch out!" a random civilian shouted to Tabith Stoll. She spotted the sign above about to fall. She ran out of the way, but hit a fire hydrant which caused her to fall and tumble onto the street. The last she saw was a car wheel coming at her face.

Commotions of screams, cries, and panic roared in outside the store. Snow stood there motionless, watching people either running away or calling 911. Her eyes were wide open in utter disbelief, and her mouth hanged open in shock. Her gaze moved slowly down to what she written.

Tabitha Stoll-Dies of Accident.

Leaves the Skips Diner. A civilian on the balcony of a nearby building attempts to fix the chains of a flower pot. Loses flower pot which breaks the nail that holds the building's sign up. Tabitha Stoll spots the danger and escapes, only to hit a fall onto the street by a fire hydrant. Gets run over by coming car and dies.

Snow observed the area outside for what to use in her test. And everything that has happened all followed what she had written.

(cue Kyrie) (5)

'It's real.' she thought, filled with horror.

"Nice trick you pulled there, Snow. I'm impressed." chuckled Forte as he enjoyed watching the commotion outside. Snow didn't answer. She silently put the notebook back in her purse and made her way out of the store. She turned and walked away from the "accident." Her bangs fell down in front of her eyes. "So what're you gonna do now?" asked the Shinigami.

"I know exactly what I'm gonna do now." Snow answered in a low, sinister tone. With everyone focused on the accident, no one could hear her, let alone notice her. 'Yes,' she thought. 'Something I've been wanting to do ever since the day I was taken from that orphanage. I'm tired of being a loser. Now I have the power to finally be somebody. I shall be at the top where I belong, where I deserve to belong. I shall...'

Her eyes glowed red from the darkness of her bangs as her lips curled into an evil smile.

"I shall become the Goddess of this world."

To Be Continued...

Ending: War and Peace, by Ali Project


(1), (2), (3), (4), & (5): music tracks from the Death Note Soundtrack.

Something use I do in the past is pick voice actors for my original characters and I've decided to get back to it. Here's what I've chosen so far for the two main characters. I'll show more as more characters are introduced in the future.

Snow

Japanese: Satsuki Yukino (Kagome Higurashi in Inuyasha, Mion/Shion Sonozaki in When The Cicadas Cry)

English: Tara Strong (Raven in Teen Titans, Presea in Tales of Symphonia)

Forte

Japanese: Ichirou Mizuki (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo in Bo(x7) PS2 Game, Keisar Ephes in Super Robot Wars Alpha 3)

English: Paul Dobson (Naraku in Inuyasha, Alastor in Shakugan no Shana)

Thank you for reading my newest chapter.