Note : Hey guys ! I'm back . (hope that's a good thing?) I'm sorry this took longer than intended. Life got in the way. Whats more, to make up for the delay, I made this chapter extra long! (word length : 4290)!

Before I leave you in peace, let me just say how loved I feel for all the reviews that you lovely people have decided to leave for me. Thanks a bunch!

Here's another chapter for y'all ! Enjoy!

CHAPTER 3 : DEATH BITES PART II

"That wasn't much fun. You really had to take her out so early?" Haneshiro, the white feather pen of the great Yama, spoke up for the first time in weeks.

The King of Shinigami ignored his little Yan knowing full well what would happen if he paid attention to the little monster in his hand.

Haneshiro was the most flamboyant Yan any King could ask for; however, he wasn't the ideal Yan. He was stylish and suited for the job alright, but his rather sarcastic remarks and sadistic nature made him unbearable to deal with. No King of Shinigami liked to get an opinion on their unbiased judgement.

Hanehiro, however did not get the point of ultimate decision. He liked to toy around with his prey quite a bit before going in for the kill, and that didn't happen with this human girl called Misa. Shiro had always had a penchant for trouble makers down on the mud-ball they knew as Earth, and this girl Misa, was easily one of the most mischievous ones. Plus, Hanehiro found himself rather bored in a realm where tick-tack, chess and other tiring games were the only ways for him to pass the time. So, when the possibility of a major change in their monotonous lifestyle showed up in the form of the tainted soul of Misa Amane, Haneshrio couldn't help but be a little disappointed at missing the opportunity to add her to his list of 'amusing' games.

Haneshiro's disappointment manifested in his sulking in darkest corner of Yama's pencil.

Having grown bored of sulking, the Yan finally decided to complain about his master's injustice. Damnit, he had as much right to fun as his master did. It was time Yan let his master have a piece of his mind.

Otherwise the old geezer would have picked up on my mood and said something by now, Haneshiro thought. Either that or he thinks he'll get away by ignoring me. Well, in that case ...

"Hey, old man! You know what happens when the loyal dog gets dementia? He bites his own master!"

The Shinigami king lazily rolled one of his eyes at the pen on his table stand and smiled casually at the implied threat. The king had prior experience with his little Yan to ignore the joke completely.

"Oh so he speaks afterall!" King said with a fake, bemused tone .

"Stop being such a spoiled sport, you old geezer! I know how you enjoy screwing with me!" Yan squealed like a child.

"Whatever are you speaking about, Haneshrio?" The old King chuckled and feigned innocence, which further angered the little white feather.

"She was the last one to arrive and you went totally against the rules this time! Did you have to kill her ahead of time?" Haneshiro shouted at his wielder.

"Oh hush. What are the rules but an extension of my wishes?" The king said shrugging his thin shoulders.

"Well it's still not fair! She looked like a really nice toy to play with...I almost never have any fun around here!" Haneshiro complained grumpily to his master.

"Don't worry, the next one is going to be a lot more fun." The king smirked evilly at his new plan.

That little piece of news seemed to have put Haneshrio in good mood instantly.

"The next one? Which one? Ooh is that a human girl too?" Haneshrio asked excitedly.

"Ah, just wait 'n watch my dear fellow." The old King smiled in his throne as he proceeded to write another name in the open notebook that was placed on his lap.

"...and I'll let you have all the fun this time, I promise."

~O~O~O~

Light propped himself up on his elbows and cursed as the very action painfully pulled at his muscles. He sat up slowly, wincing as the muscle strain got worse. After stretching a bit and yawning like a well-slept cat, he looked around to get a better view of his surroundings.

The area seemed a bit different from what he remembered. One major difference was that the sky was clear of those humongous flying beasts, the sun was shining quite brilliantly, and ground didn't seem as. In fact, he realized he was grabbing onto a handful of lustrous green grass.

After looking around a bit more, he almost thought he was living a dream. All that he was seeing now could not possibly be true.

He was dead and he knew that it was hell where he was sent to. Only in hell could you could find flames as 'chivalrous' as the ones that took Misa out. Light couldn't imagine a place so bright and happy to be...hell. So if this wasn't a dream, then it only meant one thing.

He was dead and redemption was on its way.

He didn't understand why he even needed redemption, though. Sure, he killed a lot of people, but they were a lot of bad people, mind you.

He was God and no one ever had the right to point finger at God. Right?

Either this was what people called heaven or he was being played yet again. The very idea of being played made his blood boil. His body began to shiver terribly out of rage, and at that moment he remembered what had happened moments ago before he went unconscious.

Yes it all came back to him. He was screaming at the injustice being done to him, Then he heard a voice which was much gruffer than the one coming out of his own throat. It told him to stay put.

'Cause you are in for one helluva ride, boy. The voice had said humorlessly.

Light had blacked out right after hearing that strange voice and couldn't remember much after that. He wasn't even sure how long he was out. It could've been days or months even. At least he wasn't tired. Well, not tired from being exhausted but tired, because he had slept for longer than intended.

Man...all this is getting really confusing. I wish someone would just tell me, if I'm being punished. That way it'd be a lot easier to bear this shit.

Suddenly, he heard light footsteps approaching him from behind. From years of being a detective and a law enforcer, he judged from the sound of the footsteps alone that it was probably a female.

"Light."

He turned around at the mention of his name. The voice was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it until he looked up to her face.

She was smiling down at him. Her eyes were protected from the sun rays by a wide brimmed straw hat. Light noticed that her black hair was longer, as it swung to her waist now. She was wearing a flowing white dress and the hem was smudged with reddish stains. The stains caught his attention for some time, and he contemplated moving away from this creature. Maybe all this was the beginning of a nightmare and he was being fooled by the calm atmosphere.

She seemed to have learned what he was thinking, as the next moment she sat down beside him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about that. It's nothing." She said in a sweet voice, gesturing at the hem of her dress.

Light simply looked at her warily. He was always wary of women, especially the ones he had worked with. So Kiyomi Takada was no different. He shook her hand from his shoulder and stood up. The immediacy of his action made his head twirl a bit and he would have hit the ground again if Takada hadn't sprung up and caught him on time.

"I'm fine Kiyomi. You don't have to hold on to me anymore," Light said, annoyed at being supported.

"Hey, who's Kiyomi, mister?" The young woman asked in surprise. The look of surprise was clear and genuine in her eyes.

Light was confused as he looked into her face again. Yes, it was Takada alright. There was no mistake on his part. The possibility of her having lost her memories crossed his mind. After-all anything was possible right now. He decided to play along and ask her who she was instead.

"Oh sorry," He began in a weary voice. "She used to be a girl that I used to know. I swear you look just like her, Miss-?" He prompted.

"I'm Aya... Hanamo Aya." She said simply , but there was a slight tinge of surprise in her expression that Light couldn't attribute to anything.

So she's not only lost her mind but someone has been feeding her false memories of her life? Wow things just keep getting weirder and weirder!

"So Aya, tell me... do you know where this place is ?" Light asked casually.

"What do you mean? Have you not been here before, Light?" She replied, sounding bemused.

"You..." Now that Light thought about it , she'd called him out before too. "how... do you know my name?" He was baffled. If she didn't remember her own name, then how was she able to recognize him?

"We used to be friends right? How can you forget the days we spent fishing together?!" She exclaimed, unexpectedly.

Fishing? What non-sense! Has she gone mad?

Upon seeing the confused look on Light's face. Aya started again. "Oh you poor soul, you must've hit your head in the fall! Why don't you come along to my place and I'll give you something to eat while I find a remedy for your condition!"

Before she could bring her plan into motion and drag him to wherever her cave was, he spoke up. "Uh,that sounds great, Aya, but I don't think I need any remedy. And of course, I remember you! I was playing a joke on you, silly!" Light gave out a nervous laugh.

She looked at him skeptically, before shrugging and believing him. "Well, at least take up my offer of lunch? You seem like you could faint any moment."

"I'm not hungry." The rather audible growl from his stomach completely obliterated his point.

"I don't think someone agrees with you" Aya smirked, folding her arms.

And that was the end of discussion. Light was going to have lunch with a probably dead woman in her humble abode, which could well turn out to be the dungeon of a monster.

What have I gotten myself into now?

Lunch with a hot date? C'mon, you gotta agree. She's hot!

Light was a little surprised to hear a comeback from Kira. His voice also sounded a bit different…but strangely familiar. Light wasn't in the mood to go into a verbal sparring match with this thing, so he simply played along.

Yeah, hot and dead.

You mean dead hot, right?

'...'

Riight?!

~O~O~O~

The interior of Aya's home wasn't the least bit scary. In fact, it was nothing like Light had expected it to be.

The walls weren't adorned with the skulls of dead animals and there were no-signs of any pagan activities. The candles were not arranged in some kind of hex circle, there were no floating ghosts. There was nothing to indicate that this place was a witch's idea of having fun.

Light sighed in relief. At least the cottage seemed ordinary enough. It was a plain county-side style home. The walls were adorned with nothing but the bare essentials, like a cutlery cupboard, a couple of picture frames and a few small wall-lamps. The house was small. It consisted of two bedrooms. Well, one was a store-room which had been furnished differently to pass for a bedroom. There was a kitchen, a bathroom and a dining room in which Light was currently seated.

He looked over at Aya, who had just brought in a tray full of god-knows-what to eat. She placed the covered tray on the table and pushed it over to his side, knocking down a candle in the process.

"Oh em gee! I'm so sorry Light," she proceeded to put out the candle, but Light beat her to it.

"Never mind I got it." Light said, stubbing out the lit end of the candle with his brown shoe. Yes, he still wondered who clothed him. Because he wasn't aware of putting them on himself.

"Well, c'mmon then, open it!" Aya gestured at the tray of food with impatience.

Light carefully took hold of the handle of the steel cover and slowly slid it off. He half expected to find the head of a monster or a dead man sitting on the plate. Instead he breathed in the delicious smell of roasted turkey. He opened his eyes to find that it was in fact a roasted turkey.

He looked at Aya's impatient expression and figured she was simply curious to find out whether he liked her cooking or not. He picked up the carving fork and knife and started carving the meat. Firs,t he delicately sliced into the legs and the juices ran clear, indicating that the meat was well cooked. Then using the fork, he held a part of the meat rigidly and used the knife to separate the joints neatly. After having divided the pieces equally between the two of them he handed her a plate.

They didn't eat in silence like civilized people were expected to.

"So you have been staying here alone all this time?" Light questioned trying not to sound like a lost-puppy. After all, if he had known Aya for as long as she said he did. He wasn't going to risk being called out as a fake.

"All this time? You mean from the time you left ? Yes. Yes I have." She sounded sad.

"Forgive me Aya but I don't quite seem to remember how long ago that was." Light said sincerely.

"Well it was a long time ago. You went away to bring my father back from the woods and then he returned and you didn't. We sent out a search party and then they too got lost. Those who went in search of the lost men from the search party were also lost to us forever. Slowly a rumor spread that the woods were haunted and that anyone who dared enter would be taken away from humanity. Over time, everyone left the area in fear of losing their loved ones to the haunted woods." She smiled at him sadly. "My father and I were determined to stay until we found you. Everyone tired to talk us out of it, but we told them the same thing every-time. We weren't going nowhere without you."

Light listened to Aya in utter amusement. He had almost finished his plate by now but he was still hungry. Seeing his dilemma, Aya pushed her plate over to him.

"Here you can have my share too." She smiled at him prettily.

"Thanks...so then where is the old man?" Light questioned, curiosity getting the better of him.

Her face fell as she tried not to shed tears at the thought. "He...passed away one night while I was out in the woods searching for a remedy to his illness."

"But you said that no one ever came back from the woods. Then how...?" Light was getting more and more curious about Aya's bizarre little tale.

"Well you did, didn't you?" She diverted the topic. He figured it was too painful for her to talk about something so closely related to the death of her father.

"I... guess so." Light admitted falsely.

Light had finished his lunch and was looking forward to hearing more of her bizarre story, when she abruptly stood up, pushed her chair into place and called out to Light before moving out of the dining room with dirty plates in hand.

"I'll get them cleaned. Meanwhile you can take a stroll outside if you like. But don't wander too close to those damned woods. You hear me?"

Light did as he was told and moved out. He wanted some time to clear his head anyway.

~O~O~O~

"Seriously? A dead father and a maiden in distress? Is that how you plan on having fun?!" The Yan complained yet again at having been denied the chance to play with this probable prey.

"Well how do you suppose we play then, Haneshrio-chan?" The old King mocked his Yan in a silly girly voice.

"Don't you dare, old man! It's san! Haneshiro-san!" Haneshiro screeched, annoyed at the pure lack of respect.

"And how many times have I told you that it's, 'Yama-san' not 'old man'?" The old king sighed.

"Well you certainly don't act like a king! Tell me, what kind of king would base his punishment on a plot like a damsel in distress?!" The Yan screamed.

"Okay then, since you're sure that you can write a better story, I give you full permission to punish him based on your judgement. But this will be the one and only time. If I do not enjoy your story, then I'm exchanging you for a better and more obedient Yan. You get my point Haneshrio-san?" The Shinigami challenged.

But Haneshiro had long stopped listening to his master. He couldn't care less if he was exchanged. He just wanted to have a good time and it was worth losing his position as the Yan to the Shinigami.

By the time the Shinigami had finished the challenge, Haneshrio was already scribbling his story.

The old king glanced at the manuscript and smirked. "I don't see much difference between damsel in distress and death of the Maiden."

~O~O~O~

Light was strolling in the backyard and trying to figure the head and tail of the story that Aya had spun. He didn't know what to believe by this point. He was thankful to her for the food. But that didn't mean he'd believe every lie that she'd say, right?

Maybe it ain't all lie, Light-Dono!

Light was mildly surprised to notice a change in Kira's voice. It wasn't because of its sudden appearance.

…No, there was something much more to it than that. There was a distinctly female edge to his voice and there was something about it that sounded sharper, more direct. It also had traces of the old Kira's voice, as though two people were speaking at the same time… He decided to forego questioning this change for now. Light barely had any idea of what was happening to himself, much less to a being who had elected to take residence inside his own head.

Instead, he decided to avoid the subject and get Kira's opinion on the subject.

You again...

Yep! It's me, the almighty Kira!

Almighty Kira my ass, Light thought , totally unaware that Kira had heard that.

Do you intend to give someone else my title then, Light Dono ?

The use of the suffix, jolted Light's memory of a very annoying girl. Light's eyes widened with realization and confusion. It wasn't so-much about the suffix, as the way it was said. It was exactly how Misa would croon in his ear every time she wanted something done, back when they were alive.

Without thinking Light blurted out her name,

"Misa!"

Where is she? I dont see any Misa around here... by the way, that blockhead doesn't deserve MY title !

Light had had it with Kira's gibberish talk. He decided he needed to think things through and that couldn't be done with this stupid voice around.

Shut up please?

What if I say no?

I dunno...

Geez , Man you're no fun at all!

Then why are you still hanging around?

Uh, 'cause you want me to?

What part of, 'get-the-hell-outta-here' do you not understand?

Dude face it. You're lost, and the best person to go to right now is me and you know it.

No. I don't!

Whatever makes you feel better Light-Dono.

Light tried to compare Misa's and Kira's personality. Misa was childishly bossy, selfish, unpredictable and annoying. But also obedient and never said 'no' to him. This voice however was ...bossy, annoying,popped up at random times, meaning it was unpredictable.

The voice was not obedient before, but now however, it listened to him after a few round of arguments. So it was somewhat ...obedient?

Yep, Light hated to admit it but Misa's personality and that of this new voice known as Kira were almost similar.

Okay, that settled it.

Light was pissed and just plain frustrated. He wasn't going to think about some non-existing,imaginary voice anymore. He had bigger things to worrying about right then!

After walking around in circles for a little longer, Light decided grudgingly that he'd need second opinion on Takada's strange behavior. It didn't matter whether it was from a voice inside his head that he found to be irritatingly familiar to one girl that he hated the most. Atleast he'll get some closure to his dilemma.

'...So you think she's telling the truth?'

'...'

Hey, you there, fool?

'...'

'Cmmon dammit answer me! I'm asking you for your help!'

There was no-reply yet again. Light finally decided to try his trump card and addressed the voice directly with respect. After spending a little time with Kira, Light had learn that he craved respect more than anything.

Yo Kira? ...Kira-dono?

and it worked like a charm.

Whazzup?!

Excuse me ?

Dude, it's an American expression. People there use it all the time! how can you not know?!

Maybe 'cause I haven't been there?

Oh cut the crap! I know you have!

Well, Anyway. As I was saying... do you think she's telling the truth?

No, I think that she 'thinks' that she is telling the truth.

So do I. But...

But , you want this to be real? Face it Light-dono, you died and all this is possibly a trap. Someone out there is waiting for you to let your guard down and then bam!

Maybe so, but where the hell is this place? What am I doing here?

Obviously this is hell and you're here to draw out your punishment,baka! If it looks anything like heaven then it's obviously hell.

What the heck was that supposed to mean?

Light didn't get the time to speculate further, as a shrill voice rang through the calm evening air. He turned around in time to see the door to Aya's cottage close with a thud.

Light wasn't sure why he was running towards what could possibly be danger. It was like his legs had a mind of their own.

When he finally made it to the front door steps, the door opened from the inside and there stood a frame of charred flesh. It was Aya.

She was looking straight ahead. An agonized expression was permanently etched on to her face, her eyes were shut tightly close and her mouth was agape in a silent scream. The scene was all too familiar to Light. He knew what was coming next... the birds.

But it wasn't so, as slowly her leg was torn away from underneath her. Blood gushed out of the gaping wound and she fell to the floor in an unceremonious heap.

She wasn't dead yet. It would be too easy and Light knew that nothing here happened the easy way.

Slowly her joints were broken and she was diced into pieces by an invisible chopper, much like how Light had cut the Turkey during lunch.

Light watched with a mixture of horror and curiosity as her body became a morbid mess. After there seemed to be nothing left, the room was lit aflame and Light could hear the very familiar screeching of birds closing in.

Light dint wait to find out what happened to Takada. He knew what would happen next. It would be his turn to feel the pain. To be diced like a piece of cooked meat. He dint want that, so he ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

He ran out of the barn and into the woods, ducking below low-hanging branches, racing through tall-grasses and swatting away blood-sucking bugs as he ran. He ran as though his very life depended on it.

He ran until he could no longer hear the roar of the flames and see the smoke flare up from the cottage.

He didn't know how long he'd been running like a blind man or whether he was far enough to be safe from those beasts. But when he did stop, it wasn't out of weariness but of the pain that had eventually caught up to him. No amount of running could save him from the inevitable pain that accompanied every death he had witnessed. Light knew that. Yet he had attempted to escape the pain and now he paid dearly. There was a saying that played through his head:

"The more you run away the more dearly it catches on."

And catch on it did. First, his limbs were torn apart like pieces of paper. Then one by one, his joints were dislocated so he stumbled down on the forest floor.

The earlier death that he had experienced was better in this aspect. He was torn to shreds from the inside so he didn't actually have to see himself become a bloody dump on the muddy ground. However, this time around he could both see it and feel it. It wasn't a good feeling in the least.

He screamed out in pure agony. Pain was pulsing through his veins and it was excruciating enough to make a man pass-out. But not Light. He wouldn't pass-out until he had experienced every ounce of pain that the universe had to offer. That was his punishment and his punishment would last the longest.

~O~O~O~

"Thats it then? That's how her story ends? "The shinigami shook his head in disapproval.

"Yeah, wasn't that beautiful and absolutely fantastic to hear her scream? I love that sound! its music to my ears. Mmmmh-hmmm." The Yan said, sounding satisfied with his work.

"Yeah but it didn't come as a surprise to my intended victim. He knew what was coming. Man I wanted to see the surprise on his face. You totally ruined my soap this evening, Haneshrio!" The death god scolded his Yan .

"Awe well, you could've said so in the beginning!" The Yan casually said and laid back into the Shinigami's throne to relax.

A/N :

Glossary

Yan : The most efficient assistant of the King of shinigami/Yama.

Yama : God of Shinigami's or king of hell, based on the Hindu/Buddhism mythology.

Haneshiro : Is a name, but technically, Hane means feather and Shiro = white. Haneshiro is a Yan. He is believed to be more powerful than rest of the Yans.

Kindly review? Kudos! :D