VI.
Deliver Us From Evil
Ryuk watched Light pace back and forth through the apartment with a special gleam in his eyes. He was sure - well, pretty sure, anyway, of what Light was going to ask him for. Greedily, and also somewhat amused, Ryuk contemplated the flickering, floating numbers of Light's lifespan. Perhaps a human with a shinigami's eyes couldn't see the lifespan of a Death Note's owner; he had no such limits, himself. He had always known Light's lifespan; it was one of the things he liked to contemplate to amuse himself when Light was not sufficiently interesting.
"So what do you want, Light? You wanna make a deal, you said - and now you're all...twitchy."
For the first time since his resurrection, Light showed a spark of irritation, and Ryuk let out an internal cheer.
"I am not twitchy, Ryuk. I'm...thinking."
"It's not that hard, you know. One pair of eyes for one half of a lifespan -"
Light let out a little laugh, and Ryuk was surprised, and then pleased. Surprised was good!
"What're you laughing at, Light?"
Light only shrugged, and Ryuk was even more surprised. Such an easygoing reaction!
"Didn't I tell you already, Ryuk, that I would never consider giving away half my lifespan? Especially considering I don't know what it is, or how stable...no, it's definitely not worth it. Of course..."
Light paused, and Ryuk found himself caught in the sharp beam of his gaze, like a deer caught in headlights.
"There are certain...interesting options that are unavailable to me because I am unable to determine a person's name immediately upon meeting them. And there have been dangers; Penbar's fiancée, for example, and her pseudonym. And tonight...."
He paused for a moment, and Ryuk saw a flicker of uncertainty. Well, now! But Light continued almost as if he had not stopped.
"But it won't matter. The effect will be...essentially the same."
Ryuk frowned and leaned forward.
"Hey, Light, if its not going to be interesting than I won't keep hanging around, you know."
"Really? Will you write my name in your Death Note, Ryuk, and then be back in three days again? Honestly, the way you talk about the shinigami realm, I don't know why you'd ever want to go back."
Oh? What's this? Can't scare him any more now that he's come back from the dead?
"I could always find another human and give him the Death Note; I'm sure something would happen."
"You won't find another human like me, Ryuk. Someone less intelligent or with less noble intentions would prove incredibly predictable and boring."
This human, every time I think he's hit the limit - !
He was unable to think of any smartass reply, however, to what basically amounted to Light scolding him - him, Ryuk, a shinigami - for his own death.
And he's probably right, too! Hu...three days without apples again and I might do something really crazy!
"So what was this deal, Light?"
"Some answers for some apples - nothing too taxing. I don't have much time before the vigil, anyway."
"Sure, why not? But I can't think of much about the Death Note that I haven't already told you!"
Light cut him off sharply, and Ryuk was warned by the strange Light of his eyes that these questions might be a little...out of the ordinary.
"Ryuk, please - quiet!"
Ryuk peered forward with a raised eyebrow.
"Ehh?"
This is sure to be interesting!
Light frowned thoughtfully, trying to make sure he had formulated his questions correctly. Asking the right questions was important; without the right questions, the answers could be meaningless and he might not even know it.
"I don't want to ask you about the Death Note, Ryuk - although there are still some things that interest me - right now, I want to ask you about...shinigami."
"What about us?"
Light tossed a faint smile in his direction, as if to downplay the impact of his question.
"Tell me, Ryuk, where do shinigami come from?"
"The shinigami realm, haven't I -"
"No, Ryuk. I mean, what is your origin? How do you come into being? Human beings are born, but shinigami -"
Ryuk let out a huff of laughter.
"What a weird question! Shinigami aren't born; I'm not sure, exactly, where we come from...new ones show up occasionally, wander around and write a bunch of names. Sometimes they laugh, and sometimes they cry, and sometimes they disappear right away."
Ryuk shrugged; Light was watching him intensely.
"Couldn't tell you why, though. Do I still get an apple for that one?"
"Yes, Ryuk. Second question: the Death Notes, where do they come from? What I mean is, if a new shinigami appears, does he automatically have a Death Note? Or does he have to obtain one, or - "
"Dunno."
"But you - but you have to know, Ryuk! Didn't you just appear at some point? Don't you know what happened to you?"
Ryuk shrugged.
"Not really. Do you have any idea how long it's been? You can't remember being born, and you're just a human - I've got centuries of memories...look, I'll tell you what I know since you're so interested, but it better be worth my while!"
Light's features shifted into a hard smile.
"Fair enough. You can tell me while I get dressed."
Light had chosen a red yukata, a deep, royal color; he would stand out in the sea of white-dressed followers that were waiting for him, and that was his intention.
Ryuk grinned as Light pulled out his clothes; the kid had style, had to give him that.
"Well, Ryuk?"
"Huh? Oh, right. Well - I was told once that as long as there have been humans, there have been shinigami. Shinigami are supposed to shorten human lives, as some sort of penalty - don't remember that part exactly - and the reward for all this work is that we get to keep the human years...but you know all about that."
Ryuk lay on his back in the air and flapped his way disturbingly back and forth.
"Anyway, shinigami use the Death Note to kill humans, and if we want we can give the Death Note to a human, and observe. The farthest back I can remember, that's what I've been doing...and let me tell you, that's a long way back, eleven or twelve human centuries, at least."
Light raised an eyebrow in surprise and finished tying his yukata.
"That long? I would never have guessed."
Ryuk frowned. There was something sarcastic in that last comment, but he couldn't quite pick it out.
"Alright...one more thing, Ryuk, just because I'm curious."
"Oh?"
"Shinigami can come to the human world; can a human visit the shinigami realm?"
Light was holding his breath; he had maneuvered carefully with less important queries and a casual attitude to make this question, this single, all-important question, come across as careless. Ryuk shrugged, scratched his head.
"Sure, I guess. At least, there's no rule saying a human can't go, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't kill one of you just to be there...don't know why you'd want to visit, though - boring, full of sand...some bones. Everyone gambles all the time, and what's the point of gambling with something when it doesn't matter whether you win or lose? I mean, sure...you could gamble with your last few years just to make it interesting...but who wants to die over a coupl'a bones turned the wrong way, right, Light?"
He frowned then, because it appeared as if halfway through his little rant Light had stopped listening entirely.
"Hey, Light!"
"That's all the questions I have, Ryuk; I'll get you your apples after we get back from this ceremony, all right?"
Ryuk grinned.
"That's all I need to know!"
Light stepped over to stand in front of the mirror, and smoothed his collar carefully. With equal care, he combed his hair and then reached for the Death Note, tucked it carefully into a nondescript bag.
Quite suddenly, he heard Kira's name blaring from the television in the living room, and took a few hurried steps out of the bedroom.
"...yes, I saw him myself. He was brought in with six bullet wounds, several of which could have been the fatal wound, and he was placed in cold storage in the morgue pending an autopsy. I heard some of the men who brought him in speak of him as Kira, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it. Kira-dono would never abandon those of us who have faith in him; he couldn't possibly die! I was wrong, but then I saw him rise again before my own eyes!"
"But surely, you're not telling us that Kira-dono is resurrected, and that you have met him face to face!"
Light grinned; he recognized the voice of Kanzuka, the production manager, and only hoped the man didn't try to draw out too much disbelief. For now, he was quite good; almost too good, actually.
"Yes, that is what I'm telling you! Kira-dono is a man, yet he is resurrected; I have met him, and talked to him: his name is Yagami Light!"
Light's smile became almost manic in its spread across his face. Everything was going according to his new plan. The only uncontrolled elements at this point were the fine details of the public reaction, and the fine details of his own personal situation.
He was hoping that neither his mother nor his sister had been watching that broadcast, because it might just drive them insane...but there was no time now for such concerns. Light checked his watch - 5:43.
Time to get going.
As he was leaving, he grabbed another yukata, this one white, and wrapped it almost carelessly around himself, hiding the red silk beneath it from view. To a casual inspection, he would look like just another Kira follower; as long as no one required his identification who had watched the broadcast, his anonymity would be safe for the little while that was needed for him to reach the beach. He smiled a little, amused by that thought. It would not last long, that anonymity - not long at all.
Before tonight is over, the world will know not only the name, but the face of its new God!
On the walk through the city towards the bus stop he had decided on, Light was surprised to see that there was almost no one on the streets; he didn't think he had ever seen the place so empty. It looked like a ghost town; here and there he saw a few lights on, shops and restaurants open for customers and diners who had devoted themselves to something else this evening, but no one moving around, no one going in or out. At the bus stop, there were finally other people, all of them white robed and chattering excitedly, exchanging information and discussing the revelations that had been made on Sakura TV.
Smiling a little, keeping to himself, Light listened to the chatter, sampling the public opinion.
"So I said to him, of course I believe it! This is Kira we're talking about!"
"I know! It's incredible -"
"Well, I won't believe it's him until I see some proof! Do you think Lord Kira plans on punishing any evildoers tonight?"
"I bet he will!"
"Yes!"
"No way! In front of the cameras and everything? Then the whole world will know how he kills, and -"
"Shut him up, will you? As if normal humans could ever understand the power of Kira-sama!"
"You tell 'em, Masuyo!"
The words of the little group came directed at Light now, and he smiled with his back turned and wondered what they would do when they found out who they had been asking their questions of. It gave him an idea, but the details could be complex...
"Hey, you - what do you think? Is this guy really gonna be Kira-sama?"
Light turned a little, eyed the questioner through the fall of his hair. She was the one they had called Masuyo; pretty enough, a little younger than he was, but with hard eyes - eyes that said this girl had known violence, and darkness. He looked away, and his answer was almost emotionless, very soft; they were all leaning towards him now, victims of his unconscious charisma.
"Why not? Kira is human like the rest of us, so he's as likely to be that person as anyone else."
He heard muttering, grinned a little. It was Masuyo who spoke out again, her voice a little harsher this time.
"Why does Kira-sama have to be human, huh? What if he's really a god!"
Light shrugged.
"Who said humans can't be gods? We're the ones best qualified; we know what we need! Anyone, anything that isn't human, how can it presume to say what is best for humans and how we should live? Kira has done that, but in a way that proves he understands what humans need. Killing criminals, ridding the world of vicious killers, rapists, the ones who have violated our social contract the world over!"
Light calmed himself a little; it wouldn't do to go wasting his speech on these kids before he got to the main event. The girl, though - Masuyo, was looking at him with those steel-robed eyes of hers, and then she let out a little hmph and grinned in his direction.
"Guess you're right about that, Stranger-san. You're pretty smart, aren't you? I'm Masuyo Yori; Kira-sama avenged my brothers and my sister. What about you?"
Light contemplated for a moment.
"I'm....Masunori Michio. Kira avenges the whole world, Masuyo Yori; I'm not special."
"Hmph."
Light smiled thinly and turned his back again; momentarily the bus appeared, already almost full of white-robed and chattering Kira supporters; there was a cheer as the last of the group from Light's stop got on the bus, and he heard a swell of voices that rose quickly to a roar. It had been the last stop; they were going along now to the vigil without delay, and Light noticed that even the driver of the bus was sporting a white T-shirt and a pair of white pants. As he sat, Light made note of the girl who had spoken to him, her name and her face, and continued to listen to the flow of her conversation with her friends.
It took only ten minutes for the over-crowded bus to make its way to a parking lot at the edge of the beach; the flow of people disembarking blended in almost immediately with the greater current of individuals moving down the parking lot towards the sand, and Light saw that the beach was already packed with people, many many more than he had expected might show up. Kanzuka's announcement had more than done its work; ignoring the cackle of Ryuk from over his shoulder, and the hubbub of people moving back and forth, running around and in general causing havoc, Light moved away and hid himself behind a group of parked cars.
In the distance, at the other side of the parking lot, he saw Misa and Takari, but did not go near them; he wanted to draw no attention to himself now, it would take away from his entrance. Looking about carefully, Light seated himself on the sand a short distance away from the very edge of the group of cars, and drew out the Death Note.
"Ryuk, do me a favor and keep an eye out? There are just a few more things I need to take care of before I step out under the lights."
"Huh? Okay, Light, but what's left to do? Didn't you already set all this up?"
"Yes - but there are some people I want to make aware of my existence."
He smiled a murderous smile.
"I want them to see the broadcast of my identity, and know my victory, and then not have time to take any action against me whatsoever. It is absolutely necessary; you do want your Note back, don't you Ryuk?"
The shinigami flapped behind him for a few moments, his face thoughtful.
"Yeah...but you know, I'm gonna get in trouble for giving it to you in the first place, so I dunno if how long you've got it really matters."
Light spoke firmly.
"Well, it matters to me. It's most effective to have more than one Death Note, not to mention there's still Misa to worry about; I can't have her carrying around loose pieces of the Note for too long, it's too dangerous - and without her memory she can't perform as effectively as my High Priestess."
Never mind the fact that I know already how far I can trust you, Ryuk...
As he turned to writing the names that concerned him in the Note, each one with its specific, perfectly-timed cause of death, Light remembered something that had struck him earlier.
"By the way, Ryuk, what did you mean when you said earlier that the Death Note's memory could only be regained a certain number of times?"
"Pretty simple, Light. Humans can only regain their memories of using a Death Note six times; after that, you can still use it, but you won't remember that you ever did before."
Light nodded slowly.
"Six times...interesting."
He sat in silence after that and finished his writing relatively quickly. The daylight was closing in on the horizon; sunset had come, the hour of his revelation.
There was, however, an unexpected problem. From where he was sitting he could see the crowded beach perfectly well, and there was no longer any pathway open between the crowd and the platform that had been built up like a stage, halfway down the sand. He could see Misa climbing the stairs from behind, the direction of the Sakura TV production crew, but if he came from that direction it was likely many of these followers would assumed he was a plant by the television station.
How do I make an entrance? I could part the crowd, but there's a good chance I wouldn't make it to the stage.
Ryuk flapped close to him and hung his head over Light's left shoulder.
"Ready for your big debut Light?"
"Almost..."
The wind from Ryuk's wings ruffled his hair, and suddenly, an incredible idea blossomed in Light's brain.
"Ryuk! How would you like as many apples as you can possibly eat?"
He could have sworn that Ryuk's eyes bulged a little.
"Heh! Do you have any idea how many apples that would be, Light?"
Light grinned a little; this would definitely work!
"As many as you like, Ryuk, but -"
"So what d'ya want me to do?"
Light raised an eyebrow.
"Anticipating me, Ryuk? Yes, there's something I'd like you to do. Remember way back when you first came to me, and told me about the eye deal? Do you remember what I said?"
Ryuk scratched his head, shrugged.
"Just that you said you'd never do it -"
"Not exactly, Ryuk; I said that if it was wings, I might have considered it. So what about it, Ryuk - will you fly me over to the stage?"
Ryuk stared at him for a moment as if were stone-cold crazy, and then leaned back slowly, laughing more deeply than Light had yet heard.
"Carry you? Fly you? Yeah, I can do that - but you know, anyone who's touched a Death Note will be able to see me, Light, so all those guys -"
Light smiled.
"That's what makes it so perfect, Ryuk. Come on; it's time."
Ryuk shrugged.
"Alright, but you better hold on. If I drop you, you'll die - and then I'll get in some real trouble!"
Light discarded his white outer robe and straightened the seams of his brilliant red yukata. Ryuk grabbed him under the arms and seemed to strain for a few seconds - and then they were aloft.
"Go down to the right, Ryuk; can you hover for a second?"
Come on, Misa! Look up!
Ryuk swooped down, and Light heard Misa's intake of breath even from where he was in the air, and smiled.
Good girl.
"Kira-sama! It is Kira-sama, Kira-sama-"
Immediately, all the attention of the crowd, every eye, every camera, was on Light's descending figure. Only Misa could see that it was Ryuk holding him suspended in the air; the others, Takari included, saw only Light coming down from over the crowd. There was a great, swelling shout, and Light wondered what Misa had been saying to them before he had shown up; there was less distrust in this audience than he had expected.
Slowly, Ryuk let him down onto the stage-platform, and the swell of people, the cries of Kira-sama and Kira-dono and Lord Kira, Lord Kira!, rose around him and beat against him and supported him; he could feel, like binding threads, the will of the people. Light looked out over the gathering, felt a warm pulse of adoration, carried on the shout of his name, and basked in it.
He raised his hands, calling for silence, and almost immediately a tense and waiting stillness fell over the crowd.
"My people; welcome. I am Yagami Light; I am Kira. I have come here to reveal myself, to illuminate the path to our new world."
A/N: Kira reveals himself, finally! But what was he writing in the Death Note? Who is going to die next? How many apples can Ryuk actually eat? Coming Soon: The Vigil!
Much thanks to my reviewers!
MeddmaLyd - Ah, typos! The bane of my existence! I try to get them all out, but after a while of re-reading the same chapter I think my brain starts to just skip over that stuff! I like giving Light some creepiness - I mean...he's Kira, a mass-murdering justice fanatic who thinks that he's God. That tilts the scales a little bit...heh. But behold! The suspense has ended, and Light flew! Ahh, I so wanted to see that the whole time I was watching and reading Death Note!
And Naruto Namikaze the Legend: I have no idea, but as long as I get a few, I'm happy! Thanks for taking the time to review!
Everyone else - push the button! It's magical! (and easy!) So Please Review!