P. 50: "Some of it - the Cain business, for instance - was, of course, too much for me to stomach."


I accustomed myself to his presence quickly enough. After all, it was only right that one who ruled the world by controlling death should be allied with a being who presided over the laws of death, that a living god should have a veritable death god at his beck and call - or at least at his side, as Ryuk was hardly interested in helping. To have the grotesque creature here, if only as one more tangible symbol of my power, was more than worth the few bushels of apples he cost me.

But some of it - the dancing business, for instance - was just too much for me to stomach.

Watching him twist his lanky black body into mid-air pretzels when he was desperate for his fruits was one thing, but his discovery of the world of dance could only be described as nauseating. (And I'd thought having a younger sister obsessed with pop music was bad enough.)

Ryuk tried out Sayu's DDR game one night when the rest of my family was absent; seeing him twist and stretch his feet to match the screen's directions was horrific. When he couldn't keep up he made a sort of Twister game of it, joining in with his hands to hit the pads. He bounced and bobbed on all fours, always with that hideous clown's grin on his stitched blue face, and I could only watch in amazed horror, wondering if he'd start foaming at the mouth to complete the rabid dog image he exuded. Instead, he just let his long black wings unfurl and flap joyously above him.

Let it be said that, if my grades should fall, it will not be due to the stress and time-consumption associated with using the Death Note, but instead to the sickening sight of a gruesome beast dancing gaily atop my bed while I'm trying to study.