The Shinigami Wing Deal Ch 31 As The Worm Turns
A/N: This is a Death Note fanfic. I don't own Death Note.
***
Ryuk flew; his shoulder feathers pressed down by the weight of the grey book bag thrown over his shoulder like some sort of conspicuously banal souvenir from the human realm. His cold black heart ached for his Light-o and was anxious about what the detective would no doubt do to him but he knew that both he and Light were both prepared to do what was necessary to secure their future together. The Shinigami’s yellow eyes hardened with resolve as he swore that in the end Light’s bag would hardly be the only souvenir he stole nor would this be his last visit to the human realm. Ryuk wasn’t too bothered by the weight of the bag, though he was burdened with the knowledge of that which was inside the bag-succulent, tangy, crisp, sweet, juicy APPLES! Like, a ton of apples. More apples than most Shinigami see in a century. And these weren’t the shriveled up, rotten grey-green ones found in the Shinigami realm either but the human world kind! However, Ryuk didn’t dare open help himself to any of them. The Shinigami was aware enough of his own faults to know that if he began eating those damned juicy fruits of temptation he wouldn’t be able to stop and he needed the apples for bribes. The Plan depended on it. So Ryuk just did his best to ignore the withdrawal symptoms and assured himself that there would be plenty of time to indulge in apples, and other things, later.
As Ryuk glided over the skyscrapers through the stormy night Rem silently trailed along behind him, like the looming specter that she was, always watching him and making Ryuk feel a bit paranoid. He wondered if this was how most humans felt when they picked up his notebook. It wasn’t so amusing when the shoe was on the other foot.
The Shinigami flared their wings as they felt for the membrane between the two worlds. Theoretically the Shinigami could access the portal network anywhere however it was an unwritten rule that they do it high up in the atmosphere away from humans to avoid fatalities. Not out of concern for the safety of humans, of course but while a Shinigami’s whole purpose is to take human lives, they were bound to only kill using the notebook. In fact there were harsh penalties leveled to Shinigami who caused humans to die without using the notebook; be it an accident or murder using their fangs and claws. It just wasn’t done.
Ryuk suspected that this antiquated rule was first devised back in the days when humans were much fewer in number and highly susceptible to population decline thanks to things like plagues, famine, and war but over time it had just become part of Shinigami general etiquette-playing with one’s food was acceptable but never wasting it. If a Shinigami killed without writing the name than no Shinigami benefited from that death and all that lifespan just went to waste. Ryuk rolled his eyes, yeah, for some reason you were supposed to leave some for the morons who forgot to write names for a few millennia and crumbled to dust. It was just considered common courtesy. It never really made sense to Ryuk that his fun should be limited over another Shinigami’s stupidity.
Crossing over was always an…. interesting experience. It was kind of like diving face-first into a pool of ice water… Wait, no that comparison didn’t do it justice. No, the whole experience was more akin to leaping into the freezing, turbulent waters of the Bering Sea just after the waters had been further disturbed in the wake of a meteor impact that would soon result in a massive tsunami-as a certain bored Shinigami had once done on one exceptionally dull afternoon. It had taken him ages to get his notebook dry again and on that day Ryuk vowed to never again take advice (or dares) from Shidoh.
Moments after opening the portal Ryuk and Rem burst out the other side into familiar grey skies to glide over an equally grey plain of dust. The barren lands of their homeworld were only broken by the occasional viewing pool, junk pile, or rock formation. The residents of the Shinigami tended to congregate around such landmarks to while away eternity by taking naps and gambling. Rem locked eyes with Ryuk as she flew past him, sending a final hateful glare his way, before taking off towards one of the groups of conscious Shinigami to fulfill her part of the plan. Damn, she didn’t even bother to wish him good luck! Ryuk had a feeling he could’ve used it. She must’ve still been pissed at him about his threatening to kill Misa. Ryuk hoped that this wouldn’t be detrimental to her new role in the Plan.
Ryuk stilled his quaking nerves as he approached the Palace of Death, once the structure came into view the Shinigami was forced to land and continue on foot-the reason being the structure itself-Ryuk had to stop from staring too hard at its twisting spires and impossible angles for to just look upon it was flirting with the Edge of Madness. The Shinigami tried not to think about the dizzying way the dark castle sat suspended over the precipice of the chasm of Mu-the Scar upon their world; that black abyss of Nothingness where the Unworthy Dead were exiled to. Once exiled, there was no return and not even a God of Death could hope to out fly the void. There are few things that Shinigami fear but this, naturally, was one of them. Those who displeased the King and his servitors were thrown into the void; thus why Ryuk was nervous-he sought an audience with one of the most powerful beings in the Shinigami realm. The Palace of Death wasn’t a palace in the way humans would think of it. Its shape was more akin to a massive burial mound with odd ramparts and turrets tacked on, jutting right out over the cliff face at alien geometries. Though it looked just like a mound of ashes and dirt the palace walls were actually constructed out of whatever materials one might find in the Shinigami realm-so it was mostly made out of the bones of unknown dead things, each bone “brick” carefully interlocking with the other in, woven into intricate geometric patterns to show that Shinigami have way too much time on their hands (or claws as the case may be.) The structure is reinforced at key pressure points with the rusted scrap metal parts of junked ancient machinery. Few denizens of the Shinigami realm knew who made those ancient machines or what they once were and even fewer cared. Ryuk entered the Palace through the wall seeing as there was no visible entrance, not that Shinigami typically included things like doors in their architecture-it wasn’t necessary given that they could phase through solid walls. Shinigami dwellings (which were also quite rare since building them required said Shinigami to get off his or her lazy ass to do a lot of unnecessary work and it was unnecessary because Shinigami could typically “survive” in most conditions so few felt the need to bother with them) sometimes included windows but there were none here in the Palace of Death. Windows would be antithetical to the main purpose of the structure which was to keep several eons worth of dust and ash that were kicked up by the winds that howled above the void of Mu out and off the coils of Nu’s massive body for the sooty particulates irritated her many unblinking eyes.
From the moment Ryuk stepped through the palace walls he was assaulted by the distinctive musty odor of the ancient female worm. It was so strong that it overpowered even the Shinigami realm’s omnipresent smell of dust and decay and it smelled like Nu or, more likely, one of her servitors had made a feeble attempt to mask her scent with the smell of rot and lavender. Ryuk didn’t know or care to ponder where the lavender came from.
As soon as he entered he was suddenly under intense scrutiny from hundreds of unblinking, multi-colored eyes. Ryuk wondered if this was what his Light-o felt like under L’s damned surveillance cameras. Perhaps Nu had been the inspiration for that old human fairy tale of Argus-the Watcher of the Gods, though uh, eye candy aside she looked nothing like the pretty peacock the giant of legend became. Even Ryuk felt a visceral sense of disgust at the sight of the fat, massive worm-like Shinigami undulating in the dark. It was ironic really, here was one of the most powerful beings of the Shinigami world and she couldn’t even move-she had to be attended to by slaves, shades, and lesser Shinigami. Technically Nu wasn’t the ultimate authority. She was more like the King’s secretary but seeing as the King didn’t bother himself in their lowly affairs it was, as they said in the human world, the buck stops here.
Ryuk dropped to one knee, bowing low before the great Worm-God, and offered an apple at one of the abomination’s many orifices that might’ve been a mouth.
“I am sorry oh Great One. I have been lax in my duties…” One thing Ryuk knew about Nu was that she loved repentance. “In fact, we all have. I humbly propose a plan to restore glory to the Shinigami Realm…” Ryuk said, working to keep his voice strong and steady. This was such a dangerous game they were playing and it wasn’t just Death they had to fear if they failed and just one wrong move would constitute failure.
Ryuk had never been particularly ambitious so this request actually did the impossible. For the first time in eons Nu blinked. It was quite a sight to see on a being with so many eyes.
***
“How did it go?” Rem asked with genuine concern, though that concern was mostly for Misa’s sake-after all, Light’s Plan was her best hope for freeing the girl.
Ryuk looked a bit dazed as he stammered out a response. “It… went well, I think…”
He was still in shock that he was in one piece; his memory replaying how the worm had turned and gurgled in approval.
Light-o… the kid’s a freaking genius! Ryuk grinned with glee-they were almost there, he’d have his Light-o back soon.
It was time to initiate the next phase of the Plan.
Rem had already been sowing the seeds by engaging in conversation, making many of them reach the sudden epiphany of just how very dull things were around here. Together they had dropped hints, and began introducing a new game to the Shinigami realm, a game that was now spreading like wildfire. Soon most if not all the Shinigami would be “playing.” Rem would remain here and continue to fan the flames while Ryuk returned to the human world. Before he left Rem had passed him ownership of two notebooks-Gelus’s notebook that held Misa’s memories and a second notebook that Rem had reluctantly lifted from another Shinigami that had become engrossed in a century-long card game. This notebook had never before possessed by a human. Ryuk hadn’t been able to carry any spare books earlier because technically spare notebooks were supposed to be turned over to the Shinigami King and it wouldn’t do for Ryuk to show up at an audience with the King’s Secretary carrying contraband-that was what Rem was for. Ryuk had yet to retrieve Light’s notebook and that would prove to be the most difficult part of the plan since it now technically belonged to the human world but he would get it back in due time. He had to. When it came down to it, everything hinged on the Plan, or as Light had put it, this was all or nothing. All they could do now was trust in the Plan and trust in his Light-o.
Ryuk spread his wings and began his search of the human realm for “a greedy asshole who will use the notebook for his or her own personal gain.” Ryuk reflected that such a human wouldn’t be hard to find at all.
***
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