Chapter 5: Shinigami

Julia watched as Mello held the Death Note in his hands triumphantly. She couldn't believe how that little thing brought so much pleasure to him, especially since it was so evil.

"The next step is for me to figure out just how much I can control people with this thing," Mello stated.

Julia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "And you really need to go that far with the notebook?"

Mello turned to retaliate, but the notebook was suddenly snatched out of his hands and flew across the room where it landed on Snyder's head. Mello and Julia watched it in awe, as no one had touched it.

"The uh…the notebook just flew…" Mello said obviously.

Ross, who was sitting with two prostitutes this time, scoffed at the blonde. He was shirtless again and Julia didn't even want to acknowledge the existence of the women in the room.

"It's a notebook that kills people," Ross stated. "Hell, nothing surprises me anymore."

"That's true…" Julia said quietly.

Suddenly, Snyder began screaming, falling to the floor in fright. His sudden actions caused Julia to jump. What was wrong with him?

Snyder looked absolutely terrified now. "Boss! Who is this? The guy in the freaky costume! Who the hell is he? Who brought him here?" He was silent for a moment and Mello and Julia exchanged confused glances. "A Shinigami?" Snyder asked the air. He then began laughing nervously like he was afraid he was going to lose his mind. Julia already thought he did. He was paused again before he lifted up the Death Note and held it out for everyone else. "He says you can see him if you touch the notebook! Please, everyone touch it! I swear I'm not crazy!"

Ross groaned. "Fine, whatever. C'mon guys."

All the members of the Mafia, Mello included, reached out and touched the notebook quickly. Julia was the last one to lay a hand on it and she did so hesitantly, unsure of whether or not she really wanted to see if a Shinigami was real. She figured gods of death were creepy as hell, and she really didn't need nightmares.

The headquarters was filled with loud screams as everyone came face to face with a Shinigami. It had a round face with yellow and red eyes that stared at everyone with boredom. Its hands were skeletal and it had long yellow teeth protruding from its mouth. Julia grabbed onto Mello's arm, frightened.

The other men were just as surprised and brought out their guns, shooting toward the monster. Julia covered her head as to not be shot by the rain of bullets. Mello saw this and wrapped his arms around her so that if she were to be hit, Mello would be the one taking the bullet.

Once the gunfire had stopped, they all stared in shock. It was still standing, completely unharmed.

"Nice try," it said. "You humans can't kill a Shinigami."

Ross was the first one to speak. "Jack's right. That ain't no costume. That's a real life Shinigami. So now what do we do?"

Julia just couldn't stop staring at that disgusting thing. The Shinigami, Sidoh, had just told them about the notebook and all its rules. He had even explained about the Shinigami Eyes, which allows the user to see the lifespan and name of any person at the price of half of their remaining life span. Mello quickly told Snyder to make the deal and so he did. Apparently Julia wasn't the only one who would do anything Mello asked.

As a sign of gratitude, Mello handed Sidoh a bar of chocolate. The Shinigami was cautious at first, but after its first bite, it was suddenly chowing down. "Chocolate is so good…" he said dreamily.

"Hey! What about that stuff you told us?" Ross asked from behind the couch. The others were near him, still surprised by the presence of the death god. "Is it true? If the person using the note fails to consecutively write names of people to be killed within thirteen days of each other, then the user will die. If you make this note unusable by tearing it up or burning it, all the humans who have touched the note till then shall die. Are you saying those two rules are made up?"

"Oh yeah," Sidoh told them. "Those rules are definitely fake. My guess is that some Shinigami wrote those rules as a joke before giving the notebook to a human."

"Do Shinigami usually like playing tricks on humans like that?" Julia asked.

"Well, we're bored all the time so this gives us a laugh every once in a while."

"And why would a Shinigami drop a Death Note into the human world to begin with? Especially since it's so dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands?" Julia inquired. She didn't like anything about the black notebook, but had to find out all the details about it that she could. It seemed like this would be the best opportunity, having a Shinigami there with them.

Mello cut in before Sidoh could say anything. "Sidoh, go keep watch outside. It'll be very convenient for us that you can't be seen by humans. Go outside and keep watch, got it?"

Julia shuddered at his tone. Mello sure knew how to be scary when he wanted to be, and judging by the look on the Shinigami's face, she was sure he agreed too.

Julia had to admit, it was nicer not having Andrew Miller around. She didn't exactly wish his death on him but it was easier without having that sleazebag feeling up on her every chance he got.

She was sitting next to Mello, who was preoccupied at the moment, looking at the small screens in front of him. Surveillance cameras had been set up to keep an eye out on everything, especially since Mello now had the Death Note in his possession.

Sidoh could be seen on one of the screens, standing watch outside. He was definitely an unusual Shinigami; not at all what Julia was expecting. He was creepy at first, being a death god and everything, but once he got talking and his whiny voice was heard, he seemed harmless and not the least bit threatening. Julia even thought he was somewhat annoying.

"Jules," Mello said, not even looking at her. "What are your thoughts on the fake rules?"

"Hmm?" Julia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the random question. She hadn't actually put much thought into it and was unsure of what to think now. "I don't know. I wasn't really thinking about it. The Shinigami freaked me out too much. Why?"

"I think it was originally Kira's notebook," Mello told her.

This peaked Julia's interest. "Kira's notebook?"

Mello nodded and finally faced the brunette. "Think about it. The rules in the notebook are fake. No other Death Note has these fake rules, which leads me to believe that these rules were written to maybe prove their innocence for whatever reason. Specifically the thirteen day rule. That would be able to prove Kira's innocence in only thirteen days."

Julia processed all this information. She had to admit, the way Mello's mind worked was amazing. She never would have even thought of that possibility. "I see…"

"I need to make a phone call," he said suddenly standing up. He began heading towards the stairs to his room and a sour look crossed her features.

"Let me guess," Julia started. "You're gonna talk to Lidner again, right? What new information could she possibly tell you? You just talked to her last night."

"I wanna see if Near's had any progress," Mello stated. "And green isn't necessarily your best color, Jules."

Julia crossed her arms in front of her chest in a huff. "I'll have you know, green looks amazing on me!" she retorted. She knew what he really meant and that hurt more than just an insult to her wardrobe. What did Lidner have that she didn't?...besides beauty, brains, and Mello's complete attention.

Julia groaned. Halle Lidner was definitely a better woman than Julia was, even though she didn't want to admit it. She wasn't going to give up though. She was determined to win Mello's affections once and for all!

But first, she was going to give Mello an icy cold shoulder for a few days.

A few days later, Julia still refused to speak with Mello. He was making it rather difficult, but she wasn't going to cave. He needed to realize that he would be lonely without her.

It was just a normal day in the Mafia hideout. Nothing special whatsoever.

Sudden screams brought Julia out of her "revenge for Mello" thoughts, and she realized that they were the Mafia members crying out in pain. They grabbed onto their chests before collapsing one by one. Only three other members, excluding Julia and Mello, were still alive.

Julia placed a hand over her mouth in shock. "What the-?" She ran to the closest guy to her and felt for a pulse. There was none. "He's dead…"

Mello snapped off a piece of chocolate angrily. "It looks like Kira's involved after all." He then turned to the surveillance screen and saw Sidoh standing there.

"If anyone was around, shouldn't Sidoh have warned us?" Julia asked. "He was our freaking lookout!"

"Worthless Shinigami…" Mello mumbled. He then jumped from the couch and grabbed onto Julia's hand. "We have to go." He pulled Julia behind him and he ran as fast as he could upstairs. While running, he noticed the Death Note under the now deceased Mafia leader. "Roy, Skyer, the notebook's under Rod's body. Bring it to the surveillance room upstairs."

He continued running, dragging Julia with him to safety. She could hear gunshots, and since Mello was being extra protective over the notebook, she figured that's what the intruders were there for. Could they be working for Near?

The surveillance room was straight ahead, but Mello took a sharp left. There was a door there that had a secret exit out of the hideout. She figured they were both taking it, but after Mello pushed her slightly, he made to head towards the surveillance room.

Julia grabbed onto his wrist before he could leave. "Where are you going?" she asked frantically.

Mello groaned. "Jules don't give me any of that. Just go. Get out of the building." He dug into his pocket and handed Julia what looked like a motel room key. "I almost forgot…" Mello mumbled. He shoved the key into Julia's hand and stared her in the eyes. "After you get out of here, go straight to that motel and I'll meet up with you once I get out of here."

Julia shook her head. "I'm not leaving you! Please, just come with me!"

Mello looked back in the direction they had just come from. He was sure the intruders were on their way there already and he needed to get Julia out of there fast. Who knew what would happen if she were caught? They would probably torture her for the whereabouts of the notebook or information on himself. That couldn't happen.

He placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her roughly into him, crashing his lips on hers. Julia was in complete shock. Her eyes were wide open and she couldn't believe what was happening. Just before she was able to kiss him back the way she wanted to, he pulled away quickly.

"Jules, go," he said. He then took the opportunity of her shock and left her, making his way to the surveillance room.

Julia could feel her cheeks burning. She heard footsteps nearing her and quickly opened the door and made her way out of the hideout, just as Mello had wanted.

Once she was out, she had barely made it from the scene when every available exit was blown up. That would make it nearly impossible to escape, and Julia stared wide-eyed at the scene, wondering what Mello was planning.

She so desperately wanted to go back in to make sure he was alright, but she knew she had to keep going. Mello had told her to go, and so she would.

Hours passed, and Mello still hadn't come to the motel room like he said he would. Julia was worried as she paced the room in silence, coming to the worst possible conclusions of what had happened to the blonde.

He could have been shot, or blown up, or maybe arrested.

Julia groaned in frustration. She was just being paranoid. Mello was probably just fine, handling everything perfectly like he always did.

Julia still couldn't seem to shake that uneasy feeling.

Finally, a knock on the door made her heart hammer against her chest. Was it Mello? Had he finally come back in one piece? Julia rushed to the door, eager to make sure he was alright. She thrust the door open and gasped when she saw the man in front of her. It was Mello, but half of his face was badly burned and he looked beaten. He leaned his arm against the doorframe, barely able to hold himself up anymore.

"Mello? What the hell happened?" Julia asked fearfully. She grabbed onto his other arm and tried to support him as they made their way to the bed. He lay down without any hesitation, and in the light Julia could see the extent of his injury. The burn covered half of his face and it still looked fresh and painful. She didn't know what to do. "Mello, I have to get you to the hospital."

Julia got up from his side and made to walk toward the phone. Mello stopped her however.

"No, I don't need it," he told her.

Julia looked at him incredulously. "Are you joking? Half of your face is freaking burned off and you don't want to go to the hospital? Are you crazy? You might need to get some skin grafted."

"No. It'll heal eventually."

"What is the matter with you?"

"Jules, they have my name…and the notebook…"

The scowl on Julia's face fell when she realized what he had just said. They knew his name… "How is that possible? I've been with you for two years and I don't even know your name."

"Soichiro Yagami had the Shinigami eyes," Mello explained. "He saw my name and managed to get the notebook." Julia's eyes widened as Mello continued with his story. "Jose shot him down, but then the other task force members joined in. I had no choice but to blow up the building."

Now Julia understood. He had done it to give himself the chance to escape. "You could have been killed," she sighed.

"But I wasn't," Mello said curtly.

Julia nodded slowly. "So what do we do now? All the Mafia members are dead."

"I have an old friend who can help us. But first, I'm going to see Near. He has something I need."

Julia didn't bother to ask what it was that he needed from Near. She had to stop pestering Mello with questions when he needed to heal. Besides, she would be accompanying him anyway, whether he liked it or not. "I'll be right back," she said. "I'll see what I can bring you for that burn."

She got up and headed for the door. Before making her way out, she said, "I'm glad you're okay." She paused to see if he'd say anything back, but he didn't so she kept walking in disappointment.

Mello lay still on the bed, waiting for Julia to return. He was enduring the pain in silence, mostly because he couldn't let a little burn distract him from his goals.

His fists clenched tightly. "Damn it!" he yelled out loud. How could things have gone so wrong? His plan was supposed to be perfect! Soichiro Yagami having the Shinigami eyes and Sidoh, the pathetic Shinigami, ruined the entire plan. Now what was he going to do? Without the notebook, it seemed like he was back at square one.

There was also the issue with Julia. For whatever reason, he felt like he needed to get Julia out of there as fast as possible, and he had thought that the kiss was the best way to do it. More for his own protection than hers really. If she had been captured, they could have easily tortured her for information on him. That thought alone caused his blood to boil.

Julia came back into the room, a container of medicine in her hand and a pained expression on her face. She marched straight into the bathroom, getting a rag and running it through with cool water. She made her way back to Mello and looked down at him.

"I asked around to find out how to treat a burn and they said it depended on the severity," Julia explained. "Yours needs medical attention or it could lead to infection. Please Mello, let me take you to the hospital or something."

"No, Jules," he responded. "I can't go. If you can't take care of me, then fine."

Julia sighed. "I figured you would say that. I'm supposed to put cool water on it. I'm not sure if this'll hurt or not." She placed the wet rag and the burned side of Mello's face. He didn't flinch or make any indication of pain, so she didn't know what to think. "And I brought you some medicine for the pain."

"Thanks."

Julia sat next to him on the bed, and he rested with the wet rag over his face. She sighed quietly, hating the awful timing of his injury. Mello had kissed her just a few hours ago and she wanted nothing more than for him to revel in his sudden affections for her. And she wanted to tell him how she felt about him as well. Maybe when he was starting to feel better would be when she would make her move.