I've been trapped here for too long. I long to see the surface of this rotten world once more. I need to taste the rays of the sun that dares to rise every day, for better or for worse. I will rise again, and when I do, I will be the god of this new world.
Ame and Kid left for Mexico the next morning. When they got there, they just saw a huge drop off where Monterrey, Mexico was supposed to be. It stretched all the way across Mexico, splitting it in half. Kid brought his skateboard to a stop and Ame leapt off cautiously. She peered over the edge of the drop, trying to see if something was down there. The split was so deep that she could see glowing orange lava at the bottom. Since Monterrey was on the coast, the lava seemed to be spreading out into the ocean.
"We need to get a better look," she said, getting back on Kid's skateboard and wrapping her arms around his waist. She hated flying; she wished she could just walk. The air was hot and humid from the steam rising from below.
"Alright," Kid nodded and soared higher. They drifted closer to the edge where land met water. The lava was starting to cool off by now, but the water was evaporating in plumes of steam. Kid kept as much distance between them plumes and himself; the chlorine from the salt water could be poisonous.
"Why would someone split a continent right here?" Kid wondered. "I can see lava mixing with the ocean out there. It's almost as if the ocean was the target."
"I feel like I've… been here before," Ame mumbled to herself. Her eye suddenly started burning again and she put a hand up to cover it. Her vision went black and she felt a moment of panic before vivid images started playing in her mind.
She was in her wolf form, and she was running. She saw a figure to her left, floating in the air. Was that Death? Yes, it was, from two thousand years ago. He was fighting someone, a human. Ame felt herself leap into the air and hit the human. It was a man with a black book in his hands. Ame felt her teeth rip into his flesh, wrapping chains around his arms and neck, as she threw him far down into the earth, never letting him out.
"Kid, we have to get out of here," Ame said urgently.
"What? Why? I thought you wanted to look."
"Just go!"
Kid hesitated, but turned in the direction of home and began leaving. He wasn't aware of someone watching them leave.
"So, it's true," the figure murmured from where he was in a tree at the edge of the break. "The little wolf girl has visions of her past selves. Things will go exactly according to plan."
Once they were far enough away from the crime scene that Ame's head wasn't fuzzy, she started speaking again.
"Kid, I think I know what's going on," she said. "We need to get back to the Death Room now."
Once they did reach Death City, it was nighttime. They went to the DWMA and entered the Death Room. They hesitated, looking around the room as if they expected to be pounced on by reporters any moment.
"It's okay, you two," Lord Death said. "I sent them all away. We're safe."
"Father, we searched the area," Kid reported. "The entire place is a wasteland; I don't think whoever is doing this is anywhere near there anymore."
"Actually, Kid," Ame spoke up. Her voice was strange. She no longer sounded as cute and bubbly as she normally did. She was firm, mature. She sounded older than she was, actually. "I had a vision when I was there."
She looked up rather accusingly at Lord Death.
"There was a human there. When Rin opened up the ground, he was bound to the core of the earth by chains."
"My, that was a long time ago," Lord Death said. "I think this calls for the Book."
"The book?" Kid asked. "You mean that old thing you and Ame published for Miss Harumi's class?"
"That's right," Lord Death said, tapping the mirror behind him. The surface rippled and they saw the attic of Gallows Mansion. The trio stepped through and entered the much feared area that not even Kid dared to enter. The room was dark and dusty, filled with spiders and rats. Never mind how large the space was; it was so overrun with boxes and trunks and old things that there was only a thin aisle of clear floor for the three to stand in. Kid automatically began straightening what he could. Meanwhile, Lord Death rummaged through a couple things before finding his copy of the Book.
This Book was so old that it didn't have a name. It contained all history of Inochigami and Shinigami thus far. It was bound in white leather with a red emblem on the front. Lord Death dusted it off a bit before opening it and flipping through a few pages.
"For good reasons, Ikiru and I decided not to put the whole story in the textbooks you students have," Lord Death began. "Because, well, it would be too long. This particular chapter was written by the Celestial Envoy Kohaku, Rin's companion. This was a couple thousand years ago when Shinigami still traditionally killed using the Death Note, a notebook that kills and harvest the soul of anyone whose name is written in it."
"A human somehow got a hold of that notebook," Kid recalled. "He became a Kishin. Wasn't he killed?"
"No, at the time he was too powerful to kill," Lord Death replied. "So Rin locked him in the ground underneath the ocean. I believe that he has somehow found a way to escape."
"So, this is a human, trying to become a Shinigami?" Kid asked.
"I'm afraid so," Lord Death nodded, turning back to them. "If Sidoh returns, he will try to enslave all mankind once more."
"Sidoh?" Ame bristled. She remembered her vision. The chains wrapping around Sidoh's body, trapping him into the earth's core to burn. It was a battle of power, a war of godhood.
"I think we need to tell the others," Kid suggested.
"And the media," Ame added.
"Ame, are you insane?" Kid demanded. "They'll eat us alive if we tell them something like this."
"No, they'll eat us alive if you tell them this," Ame corrected. "Sidoh is powerful, and if we can't do anything about his return, humans will blame us if humans start dying again."
"Ame's right," Lord Death said. "We can try calming the public; they might just be on our side again."
Ame and Kid nodded.
"I'll call an interview in the Death Room tomorrow," Lord Death said. "You two make preparations. Memorize lines, whatever you need to do. I'm going back to the academy in case I'm needed."
Soul Eater
Ame was in the dining room setting the table when the phone rang. She ambled into the kitchen and picked up the receiver.
"Death residence," she answered. She glanced at the caller ID. It was the news station. Shit. She kept her voice excessively friendly. "This is Amaterasu."
"Amaterasu herself," a man's voice said. He sounded rushed and a bit nervous. "Good to talk to you. You sound friendlier than I thought you would. Anyway, I'm calling from the Channel 8 news station. This is a private call, so you're not on the air or anything. We were just wondering if you'd come in for a private interview with our girl Tanya tomorrow at eight."
"To discuss the crisis?" Ame asked.
"Yes," he replied. He sounded young; he was obviously just an assistant.
"I'll be there at seven forty-five," Ame said. "I'm always happy to help my people."
"Thank you, Amaterasu."
Ame hung up and dragged her hands down her face in exasperation. Kid saw this motion as he entered the kitchen. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her cheek softly. She smiled, leaning back against him.
"Tired?" he asked.
"Yes," Ame whined.
"The food smells great," Kid praised. "How about after dinner you take a bath and get to bed? We have another early morning tomorrow."
Ame smirked at him. She didn't tell him about the interview partly because she wanted him to be surprised and she wanted to delay the moment when he kills her.
The next morning, Ame got up early and headed to the station alone. When she got there, she noticed the stagehands were nervous around her, as if she'd bite them. At least they knew not to poke a wolf with a stick, but it was so constrained that Ame couldn't feel any praise at all in the building.
"W-welcome, Inochigami Amaterasu," a stagehand greeted her. He reeked of fear, but Ame forced herself to be polite.
"I'm here for the interview," Ame said, smiling warmly at him.
"Of course," he nodded and showed her backstage. "Um, Hannah will take care of your makeup for you, and do you want some coffee? Water? Anything?"
"No, thank you, dear," Ame shook her head politely as she sat in the chair Hannah offered her. "Don't trouble yourself with me, I'm alright."
"She's a lot smaller than I'd expected," she heard one of the assistants say.
"Do you really think she attacked that guy?" another whispered.
Ame was left with Hannah the make-up girl. Hannah was tall and wore a lot of make-up herself, as if to make it clear that she knew what she was doing. However, when she tried putting the brush to Ame's skin, Ame held her hands away.
"My apologies," Ame said politely, just like Kid taught her. "Shrine maidens, and hence Inochigami, rely on natural beauty. Thank you."
She touched her feet back to the ground and made her way to the stage where Tanya was waiting for her. Tanya seemed to be the only person that wasn't afraid of her. She waved Ame over and Ame sat in the white leather chair next to her.
"Hi, Ame," Tanya greeted her. "Are you ready for this interview?"
'The girl did her homework,' Ame realized. 'She knows I am not really as old as I would like to think.'
"I'll tell you all you need to know," Ame smiled at her, her ears plushing slightly as she said this. Tanya smiled.
"Alright, we're live," the director said. "Action!"
"What do you mean she's not here?!" Kid demanded. Lord Death motioned to the mirror.
There was Ame, in her best kimono, sitting next to the best reporter in Death City.
"She is so dead!"
'Behave yourself, Ame. They have cameras.'
"Hello, America," Tanya greeted the cameras. She became slightly more serious. This was her work front. "Today I'm here with the Goddess of Life, Amaterasu. Tell us, Amaterasu, what was your first reaction to the earthquake?"
Ame thought her answer through carefully. "Natural disasters happen all the time. Death isn't necessarily a part of life, more like part of existence. Nonetheless, I felt mourning for the people I knew were dying."
"Where were you, when this split happened?"
"I was walking home with my friends when we felt a tremor," Ame replied truthfully. "When we got home and checked the news, we saw that it split the continent. Then I got worried."
"But you said natural disasters happen all the time," Tanya said.
"Yes, but there was something about this disaster that wasn't natural at all," Ame said. "After our last radio interview, Kid and I went to investigate the crime scene personally; the other meisters and weapons we were sending weren't finding anything useful."
"Did you two find anything when you were down there?"
"There is a great evil in the core of the earth, and it's finally regained enough power to break through the surface of the earth. It's a threat, and we'll be dealing with it soon."
"Is this threat as dangerous as Asura?" Tanya asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Ame nodded. "And in order to stop it, we need every human's help. With only our own power, you know the consequences. Lives will be lost."
"Well, what do you know?" Tanya turned to the cameras, her voice getting a bit quiet with anxiety. "We were always wrong to doubt the gods. Ame, is there anything you can do to prevent this Kishin from rising?"
"There's always something," Ame nodded. "But finding whoever—if anyone, this is just a guess—is trying to free him is a total inopportunity right now. We haven't any leads."
"Well, we can help there," Tanya nodded. She turned back to the camera. "If anyone sees suspicious activity, please contact Lord Death in the Death Room. 42-42-564. It's the least we can do to make up for our transgression. I myself speak for the majority of Death City in my apology, Amaterasu."
"Forgiveness knows no bounds, Tanya," Ame smiled. "This isn't the first time a goddess has been down on human praise. As wolves, we are always hunted and shot at, and generally just treated as a nuisance. At least now you all have the decency to address me as a human person. Thank you for that."
This one is kind of longer than the others. Anyway. I'm going to put the traditional 'I would have put this up sooner but….'
We got a new kitten. I'm calling him Teacup while he's little. Then when he grows up, we can call him Mr. T or something XD And our older cat is pissed. He won't stop sulking about it. Haha, enough with my pointless existence except to slave away to make fanfictions for your personal enjoyment. Please review and all that jazz if you feel so inclined and I'll see you in the next chapter.