Kara-2 years later
I stand beside the men in the observation room and stare down at the newspaper headline with worry. It's the same every day. Just lists of criminals that have been dropping dead of heart attacks for months now. L is investigating in japan, but there isn't much he can do. Another Shinigami is in the human realm.
I glance at the screen that the observers are watching to see B staring at the camera and seemingly gesturing with his eyes. I understand, immediately returning to the cell and sitting beside him.
"What's going on Kara? Why do you keep going in there? Somethings going on that you're not telling me about." B speaks quietly, facing down so his lip movements aren't caught on the cameras. I hesitate, earning a slight glare from him.
"Another Shinigami has come to the human world and given his death note to someone calling themselves "kira"."
"As in "Killer"?" B cuts in. I nod and B narrows his eyes as he listens.
"Yes. It's rather fitting. He seems to believe he is some kind of God-he's been killing off the criminals of the world one by one." B's eyes flash a deeper red than usual as he turns his head slowly towards me. He subconsciously raises a hand over his heart.
"Is… L investigating these murders?" B asks, voice sad as he turns his face away.
"Yes. He's gone to Japan to look for him, but we both now he's unlikely to find him. There won't be enough evidence." B reaches for the envelope in his trouser pocket and digs out the photo of L and Elsie at the breakfast bar. Those with Shinigami eyes can see the names and lifespans of people, even in photos. We both see L's flickering red numbers.
"He won't survive this case. He's going to die next year. I doubt this case will be solved by then. And if Kira is killing criminals, I won't either." B reply's coldly. "that's right isn't it Kara? I know you can still see my lifespan." He turns his head away, dropping the photo on the floor and clutching the padded floor harshly. His breathing speeds up as he stands pacing around and biting his hand angrily.
The voice intercom turns on with a beep.
"What's wrong, Birthday?" A man's voice asks. B stops pacing, turning towards the camera slowly.
"What do you think?!" I try to catch his attention by placing a hand on his shoulder, but he jerks away.
"Beyond, calm down. If you make a scene they'll sedate you again." The intercom clicks on again.
"Im afraid we don't know what you're referring to." B glares at the camera, seemingly about to say something, but thinks against it, letting himself fall back into a seated position with his arms wrapped around his legs.
He refused to respond to the guards attempts to calm him, instead opting to go to sleep.
Once he's asleep the lights are turned off, and im left sitting in darkness besides B, humming to myself sadly. I watch his numbers, the only light in the darkened room, flicker red. I must tear my eyes away to stop myself from crying out to him. I sit alone for hours, trying to clear my mind, but I hear a gentle knock on the door, startling me a little. Curious, I unfurl my limbs and walk to the door, fazing through to be met my someone standing at equal height to me. Im over 7 ft tall so this strikes me as odd. After the effect of the sudden bright light fades, I focus in on the figure in front of me, taking note of the single earring, the wide grin, and the apple poised in one of his hands.
"Ryuk?"
"Hey Kara, it's been awhile. Like, I dunno… 24 human years? Something like that."
I stare at him in shock. My inner thoughts are just reeling with questions.
"Why are you here Ryuk? I mean obviously since you're in the human world, that means you've dropped your death note. But why have you come here?" Ryuks smile never once falters. And he shrugs, looking behind me to the cell door.
"You know that Kira? The one that's been killing all the criminals? Well im the Shinigami who gave him a death note. He's an... entertaining character to say the least…I heard him talking about that human you seem to dote on. Beyond right?" I sigh at him.
"Get to the point Ryuk."
"Well anyway, he doesn't believe Beyond is really insane and thinks he's just evil. He's decided to kill a large portion of the people here, those he believes are faking mental illness to avoid jail. He said he will be doing it in a few days' time once he's finished with the jails he's cleaning out. Beyond's name was mentioned." Ryuk stopped talking and looked down. His smile faltered slightly for the first time in the whole conversation.
"I felt I should tell you, to pay you back for that thing that you did all those years ago. But I can't stop Kira from killing him. It's not how I roll." Ryuk looks back up, smiling again.
"That's all I can tell you Kara. See ya." And with that, ryuk leaves, leaving me standing stunned and concerned. I turn back to the cell and stare at B's peaceful sleeping form. My mind wonders, memories rushing in and cutting me off from the terrible reality that B will be dead in a matter of days.
I watch the child's sweet, innocent expression watch the people passing by as he perches ably on a tree branch. The people walk past the house with no knowledge he's there, watching from the garden. The look of sad confusion on his face draws in my attention.
"What's the matter B? You look sad." The tiny 4-year-old snaps out of his daze and turns his face towards me, trying to smile, but it doesn't reach his eyes. I notice a violet bruise blossoming under his right eye and clench my fists.
"Its…nothing..." He answers, turning his face away quickly. I frown.
"No it isn't. You can tell me anything B. You know that." B considers me for a minute, nodding his head slowly.
"I was just wondering what those are." He asks, pointing to a passing person. I look at him in confusion.
"What do you mean B?" He points again.
"What are those numbers above their heads? Can you see them too? I asked A but he said he couldn't see anything. And mummy wouldn't tell me." My eyes widen a little, and I sigh deeply. Nodding. B looks at me expectantly.
"I can see them B. Im surprised your mother hasn't told you about this, but I suppose it's because she feels bad." As I explain the lifespans, and why he can see them, his face drops. But he nods again and tries not to let it bother him.
"Is that all that's wrong B? I think there's something else. Is it your father?" Again, he nods, holding back tears now.
"Why is he so angry? Is it because he thinks im evil? Is it because of my eyes?" He turns to me with a look of fear, tears falling onto his bruised cheek.
"Is it my fault? Am I evil?" He cries. I break at his sad eyes, hugging him close.
"No B. It isn't your fault. He is the evil one. If you would let me kill him, this could all stop." I reply. He shakes his head.
"No! you mustn't kill him! Then mummy would be sad." I look at him sadly.
"See B? You're not evil. How could anyone as sweet as you ever be evil?" B smiles as I ruffle his hair. We sit on the tree branch until the sun goes down, and I help him sneak back into the house and lock himself in his room.
Another memory.
I watch as the Nine-year-old B opens the front door of the house, followed by me to see his father raise his fist to the tiny Alodia. Only three years old, and cowering in the corner. His strike hits B on the back of the head as he leaps in front of Alodia. He falls unconscious, and as I see his father go to hit him again, the doorbell rings. A neighbour coming to complain about the noise, giving me enough time to grab the children and lock them in B's bedroom. Again.
Then, when the children were locked in the basement…
None of this would have happened if I had killed their father before that. That is when the innocent child I knew had died.
I cringe with guilt, watching B sleep quietly for the rest of the night, unsure of what to do now…
B
Memory after memory weave into my dreams at such a rate that it become difficult to distinguish the events from each other.
"You don't get to apologise. Not ever!"
"I'll KILL YOU B! ILL KILL YOU!"
"B, I think you're losing your mind."
"Im Beyond Birthday."
"I'm Elsie Keehl."
And I wake up slowly to the now brightly lit white room. As soon as I open my eyes I see Kara watching me closely, leaning over my face about 10 centimetres away. I think of complaining at her for making me jump. But I register the depressed look in her eyes and think against it.
"Kara what's the ma.." I trail off as I consider her eyes. That's strange, there's something so familiar in her eyes... I shake off the thought and finish the sentence.
"What's the matter Kara?" She leans back a little, turning her head away from me slightly.
She looks hesitant to answer, looking back in my direction before lowering her eyes to the floor again as I sit up.
"It's nothing." She replies finally. I search her eyes, knowing that she's lying and knowing the reason. But I don't ask her again.
Throughout the next few hours, we sit in silence as memories flood back to me. Eventually I fall asleep again.
I can tell im dreaming. The familiar halls I walk through are that of Wammys house. Yet I can't control where im walking. Somehow I just know where to go. As I walk down a stretch of corridor, my path is blocked by two boys. One I know, and the other I've never seen before. But somehow I know who he is. The one I know says nothing, does nothing. He stares blankly with his head slightly cocked to the side. His white hair falls over his face, dripping with blood on one side of his face, like he's been laying in it. He holds a creepy doll close to him with his arms crossed, Near? as the boy I don't know, slightly taller, leans on his shoulder gently and tilts his face towards me more with one hand. The look in his blue eyes that screams bloody murder is accentuated by the scar covering the left side of his face from what I can recognise as a burn. His face is framed by blonde hair, body clad in leather. He smirks, dropping Near's face
"BB right?" He smiles, staring at my awestruck face. He pushes off the wall and walks towards me.
"I suppose so. And you're Mello, aren't you?" I reply, backing away a little. He smiles darkly.
"That's me. I heard that Matt compared you, BB to me, Near's Mello. So, it makes sense you would dream us up. It's a shame. You know for a long time, I ruined Near's life. I controlled him. You killing his brother in cold blood helped. Cheers for that." Mello sighs, and walks behind me, so that im left staring at Near as a tear drips down his bloodied face. I find myself unable to move as I watch it fall.
Seeing me staring. Near drops the doll, raising a hand to his face, covering his fingers in blood.
"It's my brothers. I got bloody when I hugged him. He bled allll over." Near frowns, his voice out of character for him. As if mello is the one speaking. I hear Mello speak behind me, in a deep growl that no longer sounds like Mello.
"How many lives have you ruined?!"
I instantly react as I hear him move rapidly, swinging a fist towards me, I turn, ducking down and grabbing his fist as I turn, expecting to see Mello's burnt face and instead being met by the stormy grey eyes of Coby, glaring at me intensely. His voice wheezes angrily, like you'd expect of someone with a pierced lung. His white shirt is almost completely soaked in blood. He twists his fist out of my grasp and punches me hard in the jaw, shouting angrily.
"Why did you stab me Beyond! What did I do to you? All I wanted to do was live the rest of my life with my brother, save him from Mello, be a good person, and you stabbed me!" I hear Near's voice behind me and turn towards him to avoid the look on Coby's face and his punches that keep coming.
"Stop Coby! Please stop…" Nears monotonously breathes out. Coby goes silent eerily quickly, now behind me again as I pull myself to stand upright. I watch as Near looks down at the blood on his hand, raising his hand to his hair and dying it red. I blink. Opening my eyes to find not Near standing there, but Matt. Tortured eyes inches from my face in a blank glare. I jump back in surprise, observing as Matt sits back on his heels and looks up to the ceiling behind me, tears streaming down his face as he holds his hands around his neck, almost protectively. He pulls out a jagged knife, and suddenly rips it across his forehead, and with another scream and a blink, he is Miheal dying on in a pool of crimson yelling "Why? Beyond! Why!"
I slowly turn around to see what he's was looking at only to scream and recoil in horror. I am no longer in a corridor, but a bedroom with a pool of blood and a body swinging from the noose, still alive. Still crying, he chokes:
"You did this to me! This is your fault!" He goes still. Leaving me to fall to the floor and scream with my hand outstretched to him.
"No…A! Im sorry! Im sorry! Please come back!"
"He won't come back Beyond. You're a murderer. Just. Like. Me." I feel the presents and hear the chilling voice to the side of me, but I refuse to look at my father. He moves towards me and forces my face towards him. His organs are leaking out of the deep gashes covering his entire body, and he holds a knife to my throat.
"Lucky for everyone, you're not gonna last long." He tears open my throat, and I wake up screaming till my voice gives out, and cry into Kara's shoulder as she rocks me gently.
"A…A…" I repeat, sobbing. Kara shushes me calmly.
"I know Beyond, I know…"
I look up at her slowly, a thought crossing my mind that I had thought about often. But I'd never been more sure than this moment.
"I love you Kara… Do you love me?" Kara looks startled for a moment, but not long enough to be considered hesitation.
"Yes. Of course, I do. Why would you even have to ask?" She replies, calm and curious. I feel my eyes well up again, but I know what must be done.
"I want you to kill me."