Chapter 7: Daniel Waters
January 30th 2023
School had finally started and Eva was safely behind its walls of laughter and learning. The morning was still fresh and new with the hour passing nine. With nothing urgent to do in town, Daniel returned back to the park with his thoughts, troubles and a desire to rest.
Dragging his feet over the lush green, Daniel could feel the once calm wind turn to a bluster as he ventured further within. Cold cut like knives as he shoved his hands into his pockets, his brow and nose numbed as Daniel tucked his mouth and chin into the neck of the coat.
But still he was in no hurry to return home. Not while the police could still be outside Mr Jones's front door. Though doubt bugged him relentlessly, Daniel still believed that maybe this time, the police would arrest the fat lard.
Near the entrance on the other side of the park stood an Aviary. Not too large or impressive in design, just a cage blocked in by brick walls on three of the four sides.
A chain linked fence faced the open world and opposite that sat a wooden bench. Seating himself on the smooth furniture, Daniel leaned back into a slump as he observed the birds in their lightful dance.
Squarks and caws chirped like incoherent music. It was loud and often piercing, a nice distraction from the real world.
Much more so than his demon who loomed over his right shoulder. Like the devil that sat there, Ryuk started to bug him again, speaking with an irritated tone in his ear.
"When are you going home Daniel? I'm getting bored. Standing here out in the open is not what I would call ideal fun. Why don't we go back into your room and play video games. Ohh! Do you have Mario Kart? I've missed playing that"
"I'm not going back yet, Ryuk. Not for another two hours. I don't want to face reality just yet" Daniel replied.
Scoffing at the lack lustre answer, Ryuk stomped his way through Daniel and faced him with an angry scowl.
"You know you could make this easier on the both of us, right? Just scribble that man's name in your Notebook. It's simple, you know how"
Through the warmth of the neck of his coat, Daniel smiled in light amusement.
"Was it ever that easy with Kira?"
"Huh! Hmrr" Ryuk grumbled as he scratched his chin. The question made the Shinigami think as the demon turned away from his human.
Sighing in defeat, Ryuk threw his arms up and shook his head. Replying in a tone that sounded of fond memories "no. But it was fun"
Stepping over to the fenced cage with his long legs, Ryuk seemed to stare with his empty soulless eyes as he continued to talk, fixated on the caged birds.
"Kira was the type of guy that never backed down from confrontation. Even when it put himself into danger, that guy fought on with every choice he made. He would never admit it but… to me he seemed to enjoy it. Especially when it came to L. That man tested his intellect like no other human could. L hounded Kira throughout the investigation against him, waiting for him to make a mistake. But Kira matched him every time"
Ryuk's gaze turned to the floor as his words ended to almost a whisper. Sharply facing his human once more, Ryuk took two strong steps forward before announcing sternly.
"You are not him. That is plain for me to see. You will never be like him. Even with the Notebook in hand, you could not replace him"
Strong yellow eyes met with his own as Daniel could feel his chest tighten, like a cold hand had grasped his inner self.
It was the feeling of disappointment he felt deep inside. He didn't know why he felt it. Daniel never wanted the Death Note, but to hear Ryuk outright state he was not like Kira. It hurt him in a way he could not understand.
"I'm sorry, Ryuk. I-"
Daniel's trap shut tight all of a sudden as a figure appeared in the corner of his eye.
Shifting his head lightly as not to release the warmth in the neck of the coat, Daniel's eyes observed the man heading his way.
"Ah! It was you I saw! Good morning, Daniel. Pleasant day, is it not?" greeted Mr Hardy, taking every step with a slight limp while carrying a plastic bag.
Daniel nodded in kind and replied curtly "morning Mr Hardy. What brings you to the park today?"
Stopping a short two steps from the bench, Mr Hardy shook his head in light jovial annoyance.
"No! Not mister Hardy. Please call me doctor or Frank if you must. Never mister. Makes me feel too old"
Limping the final two steps to the bench, Frank planted himself next to Daniel and placed his plastic bag onto his lap.
The bag ruffled noisily in the wind as Frank opened it and revealed a loaf of bread.
"Ahh, here we go. Nice and fresh. Just as they love it"
Smiling pleasantly, Frank pinched at the bread and tossed a small number of crumbs onto the floor. With nary a bird in sight, the bread landed at the feet of Ryuk who stepped back in puzzlement.
"Was that for me?" the Reaper asked.
With company present, Daniel ignored Ryuk's ridiculous question but instead asked his own to the older man beside him. Watching as the middle-aged doctor pulled out another chunk of bread from the bag, Daniel asked with intrigue "Why are you wasting food Frank? The birds can't reach the food from the cage"
His face bore only a few wrinkles but as he scrunched his brow amused, Frank looked like a man passed sixty.
"Are you a man without patience, Daniel?" he grinned with a hole in his smile.
"Sorry! What?" Daniel blurted, the words left his mouth quicker than the wind could take them. it was an odd question posed by old man Frank, one that Daniel couldn't immediately answer.
Frank chuckled at Daniel's befuddled state.
"Sorry my dear boy. Perhaps I wasn't clear. Are you a patient man, I asked. Heh, Heh"
Shuffling his body back up the bench, Daniel sat more comfortably with his back against the wood as he chose carefully on his answer.
"I would say I'm patient. Not overly, as I do have things to do"
With more crumbs in his hand, Frank threw them again, spreading much of the ground in little brown particles.
"I would say… you are impatient. After my first throw, you prematurely presumed I was wasting food, instead of waiting to see why"
A light flutter passed Daniel's left ear as a grey pigeon flew by and landed before them. Pecking at the ground in delight, it cooed as it ate its morning meal.
"I come here often, did ya know. I spend a lot of my day's off here, feeding my friends. I don't always arrive at the same time though. A few mornings here and there, often later in the afternoon but I do arrive eventually. And when I do, I sit here. Right in this very bench with nary a bird in sight, except for those locked away in their cage of course"
Another pigeon landed with a soft flump to the floor, it immediately started to coo as it ate beside the other.
"They always visit me, because they wait and listen. It doesn't matter where they are. They could be high in the trees, or on top of one of those buildings and yet they wait. The birds will always come in time"
"They come because… they recognise food… by its sound?" Daniel replied.
A third pigeon landed, followed shortly by a fourth and a fifth. Soon the ground rumbled in grey feathers as more appeared by the handful.
Daniel watched with a pleasant smile hiding away in his coat as Frank scattered bread over them. but as he observed the feeding frenzy, his heart skipped as a sudden realisation bloomed in his mind.
"Frank-" he began with hesitation.
"You knew Father Curtis, right? Being his doctor and all"
Frank paused in mid throw, bread passing through his finger tips like a dripping tap.
"Charles, you mean?" he replied less jovial.
Daniel nodded with affirmation before looking around to make sure no-one else was around to listen in.
"Was he truly a bad man? did he deserve to die by Kira's hand?"
The older man released his hand and a clump of crumbs landed before his feet. A nearby pigeon saw and darted without fear towards the pile and ate happily beside his feeder.
Smirking with a smile that struggled, Frank replied "I knew Charles very well… He visited my home on a regular basis for a basic checkup and a cup of tea before his passing. Ever since his wife departed on years ago, that man seemed to search out for another's company, non- sexual of course… He just didn't want to be alone. I guess that's why he grew into the position of Father quite fittingly. The love and admiration from all of us was what he desired… but you asked if he was bad, yes"
"Hmm" Daniel replied, his stomach started to feel queasy as soon as Frank told his story, but he knew he had to bear with it to the very end.
"If that man had any notion of a bad bone in his body… he never showed it. Not even once, to me… but that was all on the surface. Daniel (sigh) would you believe me if I told you all humans have two sides to them. Two different versions of oneself, each with their own personalities…. And often times their own names"
As though the world wanted to listen, the wind died down, eager for the man to finish his tale.
"We knew Father Curtis, a faithful devout. A man pious in all things Kira. But to the world outside… they knew him only as Charles Curtis. We all live two sides Daniel… we each have our own secrets and desires that we keep from others. If Charles had one that defied the words of Kira, we never knew about it… we never truly knew Charles Curtis… just like I don't know Daniel and you don't know… me"
Pecking at the tiny stones on the ground, the pigeons soon swarmed around their feet looking for more food.
Crunching noisily the bag in his hand, Frank turned its messy contents to his friends below.
"If Kira… truly killed Charles… I do hope there was a reason behind it" Frank said in a sombre tone.
A flush of guilt washed over Daniel's face as he felt terrible inside.
I killed Father Curtis. To test out the Death Note Daniel wanted to reply but the words wouldn't leave his tight-lipped mouth.
Thinking about that cursed book, Daniel quickly remembered Mr Jones and his atrocities towards Kayla.
"I don't think Kira killed Father Curtis" Daniel started as he let his mouth free from the warmth of his coat.
"Mr Jones is still alive, and you know well as I do what that man has done to Kayla"
Daniel truly knew that Frank understood his meaning just from one glance at his slightly wrinkled expression.
Kayla had been a patient of his a few times in the past. Often coming over with cuts and bruises, mysterious markings around her wrists and arms.
Frank was one of the few at the church who wrote Mr Jones's name in the Book of Kira years ago. He and a few others with mom and dad.
At the time, this man truly believed in the wrongdoings he saw each and every time he examined Kayla. But now?
The doctor squirmed in his seat uncomfortably, his limped foot seemed to be giving him pain as he tried to move it in a better position.
"Luke Jones… he's… he's hard to understand. I believe in Kira, I truly do Daniel. I've witnessed his power in person during his rising and I can tell you he does perform miracles…. But I do not have an excuse on Luke's behalf. Kayla's injuries… (sigh) I'm only telling you this because you care for her. You understand that, right, Daniel!... her injuries do not appear self-inflicted. And I doubt they are caused by accidents, as the man optimally puts it. No! they were caused otherwise"
Fingers tensed as Daniel clenched a fist. He always knew this to be true. Though anger welled inside, it pleased him to know he was not the only one to see.
"Why haven't you said anything then? As a doctor your words carry weight!" Daniel asked in haste.
The doctor lowered his head in shame, clutching both hands together as though he was praying, the man replied.
"I did do something… You may not remember this as you were young at the time… I first received Kayla as a patient when she was only seven. She came to my door with Luke over her shoulder. He said to me that Kayla might have broken her arm, playing games in the yard he explained. I examined the poor girl under his ever-watchful eyes. Her arm was deeply blue and purple but unlikely broken, not likely caused by "playing in the yard". I gave the poor lass painkillers and told her dad to take her to the hospital… he scoffed at my answer and stated "that's what you are for"… I called social services that very same day and waited"
Daniel's eyes widened with every word as he listened to the doctor's testimony. Astonished that the man cared for her well being while others turned a blind eye.
"They didn't do anything. Did they?" Daniel asked. Though he already knew the answer, he felt like it required asking.
Shaking his head lightly as he buried his face in his hands.
"They only asked for my opinion… I'm not a proper doctor, Daniel. I may have my degree but I work at home, not in a clinic… my opinion mattered little to them I suppose"
Silence befell the two as even the pigeons left them to their sorrows. It only broke for Daniel as he listened to Ryuk's loud and obvious yawn. The bastard was bored of listening to Kayla's crisis.
But the sight of the Shinigami made Daniel think of another question, a harder one to ask and yet simple at the same time.
"What would you do if you were Kira?"
The doctor lifted his head from his hands in shock, it was as though it hurt his very essence.
"Why the question Daniel? it feels blasphemous to ask such a thing"
Stuttering up a storm as Frank's judging eyes stared deep into him, Daniel quickly replied.
"H-hypothetically speaking. W-what would you do if you had the p-power to k-kill"
"Hypothetical huh!" Frank mumbled as his angry brows subsided a little.
Changing his gaze towards the sky as the doctor leaned back, the man thought for a moment before he could answer.
"I don't think I could kill… even without the power to do so, I just could not"
It wasn't the answer Daniel was expecting from a believer such as Frank. But he felt like the man had his reasons.
"Why?" he asked in a soft understanding tone.
A single laugh left his throat as he answered "I'm a doctor remember. My job is to save those that I can. Regardless of whether or not they deserve it… I must admit, though privately just between us. What Kira has done, I do understand that was wrong, evil even on a moral level. But… it was good on a grander scale"
Reaching out with his hand, Frank looked over and pointed towards the skate park over yonder.
"Killers and thieves grow bolder everyday Daniel. Over there at that park. A boy of eleven was murdered, stabbed six times over his bicycle. An older lad of seventeen wanted it, who knows why as the brute was probably too big to fit on it… and yet that boy died because of it… that was a month ago"
Daniel didn't know that. It was true that people were suffering every day at the hands of others, but he didn't know about one so close to home.
"During Kira's glorious reign. We never had to fear for our children as we do today… even so… if that murderer sat in my home, asking to be saved by my very hands…(sigh) even I don't entirely know if I would… two sides Daniel, we all have one"
Stretching out his arms and hearing a satisfying crack in the joints, Frank steadily stood from the bench, clearly having enough of the conversation.
But as the man took a step forward, he turned to Daniel and said "regardless of right and wrong. I do believe this world needs Kira. A counterbalance to all that is evil, to give hope and security to all"
Later in the afternoon, long after Daniel had taken Eva home. He found himself alone in his room. Alone with Ryuk by his side, and the Death Note sitting on the bed in front of him.
Badump, Badump.
Black as midnight was its cover, pages as pure as snow. The Death Note lay undisturbed on Daniel's soft bed covers as the sounds of beating drums banged inside his head.
Badump, Badump, Badump.
The orange glow of the sun warmed the corner of the notebook while the afternoon slipped away. From his room, Daniel could hear Eva gleefully bouncing with energy as she recalled her day at school to mom. Her loud sweet and innocent voice echoed up the stairs and reverberated through Daniel's bedroom floor.
Warm smells followed from underneath the door as mom prepared dinner. Curry, Daniel knew. Spices and other pleasing aromas tickled his nose like a tempting dream.
But no warm feelings churned inside as the dream felt more of a nightmare.
"Ryuk-" Daniel started as he turned the cover of the notebook. Charles Curtis's name stared back in dark graphite. Scratched and angry, like he was when he wrote it.
The room felt cold. Not as a winters chill but unnatural as Daniel tore out the page with his first victim's name and held it between his fingers and thumb. Henry Price's name quickly revealed itself from underneath the page's shadow. Deep blue ink as thick as the sea drank in his name into the Death Note. But Daniel did not touch it. The page held no thought or feeling, no guilt or pleasure was to be had as he briefly glanced at the dead name before turning away.
"Who am I if I am not Kira?" he asked as he held out the torn page in front of him.
The reddening sun outside caught the paper, it glowed in its light as though it were aflame.
"What? Is that some kind of riddle? If you are not Kira, then it's obvious to me that you are still Daniel"
Taking slow steps, Daniel moved over to his nightstand and opened the top draw. Inside sat his watch, a cheap little thing with its gold metallic paint chipping and eroding away. Underneath the time piece in its large green colours was another notebook. Untouched by God's curse, this book was as ordinary as any other. It held no secrets nor held any significance to Daniel's life.
It was just a book that Daniel doodled inside whenever he got bored or when the power went out.
Pinching the corner of the book, Daniel removed it from its resting place and in one hand, flipped over to roughly the centre of its pages.
"All humans have two sides, Ryuk" he repeated the words Dr Hardy said earlier that day. The meanings behind them weighed heavier on Daniel, more so than the good doctor probably intended.
Besides the drumming beat of his heart and the ever-calling noise of the cursed book, these words distracted him more so as he nestled the page of the Death Note between two ordinary pieces of paper.
All humans have two sides
Slamming the book suddenly with his hand with a thump, Daniel turned his head and looked over his shoulder with eyes of uncertainty towards Mr Jones's house.
From the side of his bed, Daniel could barely see the balding scalp of the fat lard next door. Smoke drifted occasionally in small puffs as the man inhaled on a cigarette.
Luke Jones had escaped justice once more, despite Daniel's repeated attempts to rectify that mistake. And he knew, deep in his soul that any further attempts would be fruitless if the end result would always be the same.
And that was the problem.
"I want to be Daniel. A loving brother. A devoted son. A man struggling to find his place in this world"
Edging closer to his bedside, Daniel reached out with his fingertips towards the book that ceaselessly called for him.
Badump, Badump, Badump.
"Now that I have found it… I eagerly reject the power and responsibility given to me… I don't want it. Not if that means murder… that's not who I am…"
Bending down, Daniel's knees buried themselves into the fibres of the carpet below. Grasping the Death Note from its resting place, Daniel held the object up high and into the descending suns light.
All humans have two sides
"Who am I if I am not Kira?"
Authors Corner:
This chapter was to set up Daniels choice in the next. Would he use the Death Note? Could he kill to save another?
These questions and the build-up is what I felt was missing in Light Yagami's story. The man does struggle with killing at first, but that is swept away in a few scenes like it was nothing. At the end of the first chapter/ episode Light has already killed dozens because it had been a few days.
I wanted to justify Daniel's use in the Death Note before the main event starts… and yes, that will begin soon.
Next chapter will conclude this mini arc and answer Daniel's resolve. And then the game can begin…
Are you ready?
