Chap 2
Ryuk watched expectantly on the human realm. Seeing his Death Note fall on the grass, he began to chuckle to himself, knowing what he had just done and excited about what was to come.
"What's got you so cheerful?" a shinigami asked in passing.
"I dropped my Death Note into the human realm" Ryuk responded with a smile on his face. Seeing the reaction from the shinigami – complete shock – Ryuk responded with a shrug. "Whoops" and began laughing again.
"Look," he called on the shinigami, "a human boy is picking up the note" Ryuk's eyes glimmered with excitement, but dulled as he placed it back down again. It was the other shinigami's turn at laughter.
"Wait!" Ryuk interjected. They watched as another teenager picked up the death note; a chuckle rumbled from Ryuk's throat.
This is it! He thought to himself, smile widening again. He started to claim victory, knowing that the boys with the Death Note were his ticket out of sheer boredom.
His internalised victory was shattered as he heard the shinigami laugh again, pointing down to the human children. "What now?" he said annoyed, and peered down to the human Death Note owner, who was consumed by roaring laughter with his friend. Ryuk's face fell in defeat, knowing that boredom was still his accompaniment.
"Still watching those humans Ryuk?" the same shinigami asked months later, "we may start thinking you take this seriously," his teasing drawing laughter from the crowd of shinigami playing pointless games.
Ryuk sighed. It had been 4 months human time that he sat on this ground, staring at the humans, following their mundane, repetitive routine. They had yet to look at the Death Note again, disheartening Ryuk. He had thought his 'how to use' guide would peak interest, but it was reduced to a moment's joke.
If Ryuk really wanted his boredom relieved, maybe it was time to visit the human realm….
Taro stared at the note book until his eyes went dry. His blinking snapped him back to reality and began to process what he had just seen.
Choosing to ignore the note momentarily, Taro picked up the 'discard' pile and walked slowly to the refuse bin, mind still boggled by the Death Note.
As he returned to his now neatened room, Taro jumped a little at the sight of the Death Note on his floor. A chill crept up his spine, and thoughts raced in his head. "Calm Taro", this thought overpowering the others, "you've just gotta think."
Slowly, he closed the door behind him, and clicked it into the frame with precision. He crept around the Death Note and sat on the edge of his bed, cross-legged and glared down at it. For some reason, Taro felt he must be cautious around the Death Note, careful not to frighten it – a notion he knew seemed ridiculous, but in light of the note writing within itself, Taro put nothing passed this magical note book.
He punched in Light Yagami's number into his phone. Two rings later, Light picked up.
"Hey Taro, what up?" Light said cheerfully.
"Th-the –" Taro stammered over his words. They refused to be spat out his mouth; he gulped.
Light frowned at the unresponsive end, "Hey," his tone changed to concern, "is everything cool there?"
Taro gulped again, and glanced at the notebook out the corner of his eye, terrified to look at it, "The Death Note!" he blurted out.
Light began to laugh, remembering that practical joke from ages ago, "Ha, that thing!" he said with fondness, "Guess you found it today?"
Taro shook his head, but realised that Light couldn't see his solemn expression, "No Light – I mean, yes, I did find the note today, but… it's different," he paused, "There's new rules in the Death Note Light."
Silence.
Light burst into laughter, "Good one there Taro, I almost bought it. With your nervousness… Good acting there."
"I'm not acting." Those three words tore the smile off Light's face. "Light, something, someone – maybe the note itself, I don't know – wrote more rules on the Death Note. It's in the interior side of the back cover." He paused, "I don't think this is a practical joke anymore." He rushed through his words, "Maybe this 'Death Note' thing is legitimate; maybe it actually can kill people by having their name written down; maybe –" Light cut his babbling short.
"Listen to yourself Taro, you sound insane. Science, logical reasoning – both are missing from this story. This note book is straight out the pages of science fiction writings. Okay," Light sighed, "tell me these rules…"
Taro cleared his voice, "One page taken from the Death Note, or even a fragment of the page, possesses the full power of the note. Those who are not the human owner of the Death Note may still use the note to its full effect." Taro's face flushed, "To see the lifespan and name of humans who do not own a Death Note, the human owner of the note may trade for shinigami eyes, al–"
Light roared with laughter, "Shinigami! Oh, this is getting good..."
After Light muffled his laughter, he continued, "Taro, honestly: shinigami? Please, try tell me that this note book is not a practical joke?"
Taro's silence spoke volumes.
"You seriously believe it?" Light's laughter returned, "Okay, fine, just try it out – it won't hurt. I doubt it'll work, but give it a go; call me if something happens."
Taro was faced with the decision of who to write down alone. He was just psyching himself out – yes, that was it. Light's right: science, logical reasoning – that governs this world. It's bound not to work… right…? I mean, it wouldn't make sense if it did.
But who to kill…? No Taro, it won't work; the question is: who to attempt to kill?
There was a myriad of people Taro wanted dead; he was spoilt with choice. But this is just an investigation he reminded himself, he needed to choose someone ordinary… someone whose death (assuming it worked), wouldn't affect many people – someone unimportant. It took Taro a month to find someone fitting this description, the person dawning upon him in early October.
He picked up the note, and re-read the original 'how to use' guide, making sure he understood what must be done for this to work. He followed the instructions strictly, not making one error. Taro packed the note away, carefully sliding it into a compartment of his backpack.
"I'm going!" he shouted out to his aunt, bus card in hand.
Per usual, Taro sat in the back of the bus, passing a smartly dressed man who was seated in the front; the usual homeless lady; another teenager, seated on the other side of the bus at the back, listening to music, staring gormlessly out the window; and a giggle of girls gawking at their cell phones in the seats in front of him.
Taro fidgeted in his seat, glancing nervously at the time. The ticks on his analogue clock sounded like loud bangs as the second hand neared three o'clock; the time of death he had written in the Death Note.
Bang; the second hand met with the 12. Through heavy breath, Taro frantically looked at his fellow commuters. For less than half a second, he began to sigh from relief, but that was snatched by a yell in the front.
Taro was stunned; his eyes bulged to the edge of their sockets. He must have stayed in this position for minutes, as he watched the scene unfold in slow motion: all commuters whipping their heads to where the noise came from; the teen boy removing his ear phones, the girls gaze away from their phones; the finely dressed young man throwing himself across the aisle to catch the homeless lady who clutched at her chest, falling forward; the bus driver craning his head back, seeing all the commotion and pulling over.
The girls shrieked, one frantically calling for an ambulance. All passengers were at the front of the bus, tending to the lady – all except one.
Taro remained fixated on his seat, mesmerised by the scene in front of him. His mouth hung slightly ajar, getting drier by the second but he hadn't noticed. The speed returned to normal as the lady was ushered out swiftly by the paramedics who arrived promptly.
All people in the bus went outside to see if the lady was going to be alright, leaving Taro to digest the happenings. He broke from his stunned pause, and scratched through his bag for his phone: Light must know what just transpired.
As he punched the numbers in, the light that poured through the back windscreen suddenly became eclipsed. Puzzled by this, Taro turned around to see. He dropped his phone instantaneously as his eyes met the coverer.
"I see you used the note," and a cackle ripped through the air.