Chapter One
The Book
Slam.
"Hikari-chan, I'm home!"
"Thank the cherries!" a feminine voice squealed from the stairway and the next minute; Imari became vividly aware that her fraternal twin sister was careening down the sandy-carpeted steps, ignoring the laws of gravity and heading straight for her.
"You almost missed Criminal Minds! It's starting, now!" Hikari crashed into her, mystifying navy eyes swimming with anticipation. She grabbed Imari's porcelain white hand with her magnolia one; there hardly a difference between the two shades that painted their skin. Hikari practically dragged Imari to the small living room of their apartment, passing the diminutive kitchen and assorted dried flowers of brilliant crimson and amethyst that hung on the light walls. And all the while, she chatted animatedly about what the episode was supposed to be about this time.
Being the smaller of the twins, Hikari was also the younger by a few minutes. Her twenty-one year old body was rather petite and pixie-like, with her features and body scaled down to perfect size. Imari was slightly larger, yet the miniaturization inherited from their mother was still comparatively apparent. She had been blessed with slightly more pronounced curves, taking the womanly figure to its fullest. Yet, the younger of the two had managed to receive a thinner body to compensate for the difference.
"Hikari-chan, I brought you cherries," Imari whispered conspiratorially and her soft ruby lips curved into a gentle smile. From a black work case she lifted the small transparent plastic bag of deep red cherries into her sister's view.
"Cherries!" Hikari exclaimed excitedly, losing all train of thought and reaching eagerly for the bag, which Imari gladly dropped into her outstretched hands.
"TV!" Imari yelled happily now that her sister's needs had been filled. She ran with abrupt swiftness and jumped into the small cream couch situated before an undersized television set. The opening credits began to roll and Hikari, already opening the bag, hopped down beside her sister. She curled her legs close to her chest, sucking on the succulent sweet red fruits that had already began to slowly turn her fingers pink.
This was a tradition. An every Friday routine. When Imari finally got home from work at five – which also happened to be the exact time Criminal Minds aired – the two sisters would sit down and enjoy or make fun of the assorted criminals. Watching how scientists contemplated on the function of their mind… it was amusing to see what outrageous theory they would come up with for the next psychopath.
"Ha! This asshole doesn't have a clue what he is doing! I'm surprised this bonehead managed to slaughter people for as long as he did!" Hikari shouted at the TV indignantly as the program reached its midpoint. This time it was about a serial killer from Texas, apprehended a few years ago in Houston in a regular traffic jam for cutting off a cop.
"Oh, I know! I mean, he doesn't even conceal the murder weapons he uses. Or dispose of the bodies in an interesting fashion," Imari grumbled folding her arms, evergreen eyes glaring at the man on the TV as his interrogation with the FBI was broken down by the 'professionals'.
"He sucks," Hikari muttered coldly as she grabbed another cherry from the quickly emptying bag. She brushed back a strand of long midnight hair from her face that was obscuring her vision.
The sisters were not identical, though the similarity of their physical appearance was admittedly, a little uncanny. They had similar coloration in nearly every aspect with the exception of their irises. Hikari had stolen her father's dark navy eyes, inheriting their uncharacteristic darkness and ominous gazes. Imari had taken their mother's irises, that of a brilliant evergreen found only in the pine forests after a downpour.
They spent the hour like this, shouting insults at the analyzers and advice to the criminal. Hikari interpreted the true purpose and meaning of every deed done by the murderer, even taking into account his posture and voice tone. Indeed, Imari found herself ignoring the television and listening to her sisters – probably – much more accurate explanation.
"That was a horrible episode. I mean…" Hikari glanced around as though looking for something that could help her express her opinion. On their small TV, the episodes credits rolled as the all-new episode was advertised, due to air that Friday.
"I mean, the guy wasn't even murderer material. Hell, he couldn't even lie about his crimes!" Her cherries had been practically devoured during the course of the episode, the bag now filled with the pits and stems. Hikari was, at the moment, gently placing the last deep ruby fruit onto her now cherry red tongue with exaggerated delicacy.
Imari frowned, the movement only a slight upset of her mouth. "It kind of reminds me of this one case I worked on about a year ago." She chuckled inwardly at the memory. The case had been solved so quickly that it had become an office record.
"So, how was your day?" Imari asked, turning to look at her sister now that their TV requirements had been filled.
"Absolute crap! I swear my supervisor at the Tokyo Tribune wants a death sentence… cause, one of these days, nothing is going to stop me from stabbing Miss Kyo in the eye with a paperclip." Hikari's chin jutted forth in an attractive pout as the frustration and irritation swept once more through her being. Ug! The indignity of being forced to work under a moron was absurd!
Imari burst into a fit of quiet giggles. "Well, maybe this will cheer you up." She reached into her workbag again and this time took out a small black notebook. Across the front, the title Death Note was written in a white font.
"I found it on the hood of my Suzuki Swift, as though someone had left it there for us."
Hikari stared for a moment at the object swinging from her sister's fingertips. Curiously, she took the notebook, the soft black material encasing it unlike anything she knew of.
"Death Note?" she questioned almost as if to herself. With excessive tenderness, she opened the book, her eyes drawn automatically to the first page. Black, it also held white writing… instructions.
"The human whose name is written in this note shall die," Hikari mumbled to herself, almost absently. Then, her dark mischievous eyes lit up and her pale pink lips curved into a malevolent smirk. If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.
"Uh oh… I know that look," Imari said, her lips curling in response to her sister's smirk. "What is it this time?"
"I think, I just found out how the great Kira kills people. And," she paused for dramatic effect. "I am holding that power in my hands…"
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A/N: Please review! What did you think? Constructive criticism is appreciated! We apologize for the shortness of the chapter