Chapter One

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"Over one hundred inmates have died simultaneously in a continental suicide pact. At 4:00pm, prisoners from the U.S. to Japan brutally stabbed themselves to death…"

They died at 4:04pm. To Alice, the news was always such a fascinating piece of misleading information. So much information was missing and everything was estimated, never the exact number. Probably because this world was full of wretched and dumb creatures that were too dimwitted to pay attention to said details. They just wanted their depressing entertainment. Murder this. Suicide that.

This world is rotten.

An electronic ding resounded through her apartment. Alice sighed and pouted her lips. That's one way to ruin my wallowing. Standing up from her white, leather couch, she looked around at her surroundings. A high-end condo with floor to ceiling windows greeted her, with a large, open concept and modern furnishings. Maybe I'm too high up on my pedestal. Maybe that's why this world seems insignificant.

The clicking of her heels echoed as she approached the foyer. A small video screen was mounted on the wall next to the front door, which showed the face of one of her neighbors down the hall. Red lettering hovered above her head, "Suto Amaya, 9 3 31 26 3 9". She was a cute girl overall, a standard japanese beauty. Dark brown hair with light brown eyes and a doll-like face. Plastic surgery sure can make a person beautiful.

"Alice-chan! I'm going to Ōta City in Tokyo, want to come with? I want to do some shopping and I know your favorite designer is in town!"

Her voice was so high-pitched and whiny that Alice considered denying her request. But ShIro has a new line coming out and he might let me buy some pieces before the summer season photoshoot. Alice pressed the video button to respond, "Sure Suto-chan. I'll meet you in the lobby." Her voice reaching a sweet, calm tone as she waved goodbye to the video image. Turning off the screen, she then walked across the living room to her dark bedroom.

"I hate that doorbell tone. And that annoying woman."

In the darkest corner of the room was a tall rock, whose height almost reached the eight-foot ceilings. Slowly, a gray bubble burst through its surface, and opened, revealing a piercing red eye. More followed until most of the top-half of the creature was covered in them. Alice smiled slightly at the rock, "Not much we can do about that, Nu. I kind of missed your constant complaining."

Nu could hear the teasing tone to her voice with just a hint of fondness. She moved towards the girl as Alice walked into her closet. The platinum beauty was searching her closet for a piece she hadn't worn yet. As she was looking, she decided to strike up a conversation.

"How was the Shinigami World?"

Nu watched silently for a moment before answering, "It was too noisy. Apparently some low-level, Shinigami scum decided to drop his notebook in this world."

A wooden hanger clattered to the ground softly as the pale woman threw off her plain t-shirt and yoga pants. She then pulled on a robin's egg blue dress. It hugged her waist and chest tightly and then flared out, reaching to her mid thigh. Thin spaghetti straps were the only thing preventing the dress from falling off her as the neckline was a deep V that reached her sternum. Her white heels from earlier complimented the outfit. She turned to Nu briefly before going over to her vanity, "Who's the lucky victim?" A hunt is just what I've been waiting for.

While Alice was applying a fresh face of makeup, the shinigami responded.

"Light Yagami."

A cheshire grin greeted the creature.

"Sounds like the name of a unsuspecting sheep. Shall you or I play the wolf?"

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"Alice-chan! That is so cute!"

Stupid Nu! Leaving me alone with this annoying child!

Photoshoots with ShIro usually meant that other models would be participating, in order to add more variety to the season's catalog. He was often good at booking quiet and mature girls, but somehow he missed the mark on this monstrosity. Misa Amane. She is the bane of Alice's existence. Well, not really.

As of right now, Alice was posing for the Summer collection, appropriately named "Essence of Summer". It was a genius collection, full of fit and flare dresses of pastel colors with deep V's or sweetheart necklines. It was close to the middle of Spring, a little late for shooting, but ShIro wanted to wait for a chance to have Amane model this line. Apparently she wanted to finish filming her latest season of Misa-Misa, a show about girly shit.

Alice bent her back more in order to stretch her body longer, posing expertly for the picture she knew they would use for the front page. Two more clicks and she was done. ShIro was sitting beside the photographer, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. Alice pulled out of her pose and walked over the other girls.

"Thank you all for coming for today's shoot! Tonight I'll be hosting a private party with a few designers and I welcome you all to join!"

Misa's shriek of happiness was right next to Alice's ear, resulting in it ringing. Great. Deaf in one ear is a great way to get the hunt started. The sunshine blonde grabbed the pale beauty's arm excitedly and started talking her ear off.

"Are you going Alice-chan? Misa would love to go with you! Maybe we could flirt with some guys at the party!"

Ok, she's not that bad. She just a kid, who also happens to be noisy. Maybe Nu is rubbing off on me too much. Alice smiled down at the girl, who was surprisingly short for being a model. Only 5'0" and she packed an entire cheerleading squad inside of her.

"Sorry Misa-chan. I actually have plans tonight."

Her whole excited act dropped and soon she started pouting at the platinum blonde, "But Alice-chan! You never hangout with Misa!"

Alice looked down at her like a mother scolding her child, "Yes I have. We've gone out shopping in Aoyama several times." Seeing her still pouting, the wolf softened her expression, "How about we go out one night next week? I hear the Blue Note closes it's door to the public around 10 and turns into a club for VIPs. I can get us in."

Her face lit up again. God, how did she switch so fast? She's like an energizer bunny. She started talking Alice's ear off again while the wolf saw ShIro wave her over. She easily dismissed Misa as she walked over to him. He was smirking and scratching his goatee, then winked at Alice when she approached, "Did Misa manipulate you into hanging out with her again?"

Alice winked back and chuckled, "I let her." He smiled before turning serious, "Are you not going to the party tonight?"

"Yeah, I actually have a date tonight. He's pretty cute."

ShIro's eyes lit up before pretending to pout, "You mean I'm not the most important man in your life?"

The wolf smirked and cooly replied, "Never have been." She then turned and walked away, laughing.

"I'll get you back for that one Alice-chan!"

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Young, masculine hands ran across the pages of a well-worn notebook. Names upon names littered the pages. The screen of his laptop illuminated a sinister smile as faces of criminals shined in his honey-colored eyes.

A ping interrupted his madness.

A facebook message. From a person with just a one-letter name? Who is "A"?

I know who you are, Light Yagami.

His heart beated a bit fast before leveling out. There's no way anyone could have caught him so soon. There was no evidence that could possibly exist.

Oh, who am I then?

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Oh, the little sheep thought he was clever, did he?

A sheep trying on wolf's clothing.

Crunch. Slurp.

Ping.

Not a wolf in sheep's clothing?

That bold motherfucker.

Alice opened a separate window and began typing. Prepare for your worst nightmare, little sheep.

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The room went dark as his computer screen went black. The only indication that it was still on was the light from the keyboard. The screen turned back on but did not show the desktop or any other window he had open. Not even the menu was visible. Instead, a victorian letter "A" sat in the middle of the screen on a white background. The letter A on his keyboard started blinking obnoxiously.

"Hello little sheep."

I'VE BEEN HACKED! And by someone using a voice scrambler too!

"We're going to play a game."

The man was growing angrier by the second. Rage filled up every inch of his body, yet he still remain posed, knowing that if he gave his rage an inch of leeway, it wouldn't be pretty.

"If you press the button, I will leave your computer alone and delete my presence from it."

He was too eager to press the button but hesitated when the voice continued.

"But, if you press it, it will show you all the evidence I have of you trying to wear wolf's clothing."

Seeing the light for his microphone on, he spoke back to screen, "What if I do nothing?"

An ambiguous laugh came through his speakers, "Then you have 40 seconds until I hand the evidence over the police."

He didn't hesitate this time. He pressed his index finger down on the blinking button so hard it almost became stuck. Images flashed on the screen. It was video of him in his room, Ryuk behind him, lying on the bed and eating an apple.

"Hey Light."

Light continued writing in his notebook. Ryuk got up and swallowed his apple, "I'm talking to you."

The young man continued writing names, disinterested but still replying, "What is it?"

The shinigami floats over to him and looks down at the notebook, "Why are you working so hard?"

Light sighs and puts down his pencil before turn to the creature.

"I can't afford to waste any time. I have a very small window to write names in this notebook. I only have from when I get home from school until I go to bed. I still need to sleep so I can maintain my average and stay at the top of my class. Obviously, I can't be sleeping in class."

He sighs again for continuing, "Plus, there's all the studying at home and at cram school. I can't let myself get too tired. It will start to affect my health and my mental performance. If I'm serious about trying to create an ideal world that's free from evil, then I need to make the most of my time."

The sound of a door knob turning then clicked, as if locked, sounded before the video paused.

A new video appeared, showing an open space in an abandoned building. Light was kneeling on the ground, mixing some bottle together.

"What are we doing here anyway? I don't understand why we're sneaking around this dump."

Light didn't respond, prompting Ryuk to continue pestering him, "Tell me."

Light continues mixing chemicals together as he responds, "Isn't it obvious? Anyone who touches the Death Note will be able to see you. I can't afford to carry something this dangerous with me anymore. Up until now, I thought that if my family ever saw the Notebook, I can tell them I was keeping records of various criminals in preparation for becoming a detective one day. But I'm walking a very fine line right now. I don't want to think about it, but if I make one mistake, I might end up killing my own family."

The video ended as the screen returned to the victorian letter.

"Penny for your thoughts? My cinematography skills could you a little work but you gotta work with you got."

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Alice could hear the poor guy grinding his teeth in anger. He's gonna need to see a dentist if he keeps his jaw locked for too long. Might chip his canines.

"What do you want?"

A cheshire smile emerged from her lips.

"To give you an invitation to the Wolf's club. Shed your fake skin, little sheep, and become a true predator."

Yagami stayed silent on the other line so she continued, "Go to the address I'm sending to your phone. It'll be deleted in one minute so be sure to memorize it. Also, wear something nice."

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Yagami stared at his computer screen as all of his windows popped back up. All except the facebook messages.

GOD DAMN IT!

Ryuk's chuckle was barely heard over his fuming.