It perched on the top shelf again….
Legs folded like a skeletal bird.
His lantern-eyes flickered softly, filling my room in a never-ending feeling of despair.
I sat at my desk, Death Note was, yet again, open in front of me.. And I just stared at it.
"Alright," I said, tapping the page with my pen, "we're going to do this like responsible adults."
"You are barely an adult," Shekai murmured.
"Only legally, alright."
I leaned back, taking a slow breath. Reading a supernatural murder notebook shouldn't feel this normal, yet here it did.
"Let's go through the rules one by one," I said. "I want to understand exactly what I'm holding."
Which is the only right thing to do now I've established the fact that this notebook is indeed a real deal.
"Good. Most humans begin using the Note before they understand it. They treat it like a toy. You… are slower."
"That's just your way of calling me careful."
"Or dull."
"Your emotional support is inspiring." I said flatly
Shekai's antlers glowed faintly, his version of laughter, I was beginning to suspect.
I read the first rule aloud.
"The human whose name is written in the Death Note shall die. The core rule of Death Note. This one is simple enough."
"This is the spine of the Note. Everything else is just a rib."
"That's… anatomically accurate."
I continued.
"You have to picture the person's face to kill them. Prevents killing everyone named 'John Smith.' Again, standard. It would be insane if it killed everyone with same name."
"If I write a cause within forty seconds, it takes effect."
"Accurate." He said.
"If no cause is written, they would die of heart attack."
"Honestly, I always thought this part was lazy. Couldn't it have been, I don't know, tripping and falling into something sharp?"
Shekai tilted his skull.
"Heart attacks are quick, and balanced. They do not disturb the flow of the world."
I keep forgetting shinigamis do not have humor.
"After writing the cause, I have 6 minutes and 40 seconds to write the details."
I nodded. "Got it."
If I remember correctly, Light used it to play with prisoners and in bus hijacking, didn't he?
I should rewatch it, that would do me some good.
"Try not to treat that as a creative writing exercise."
"..."
Multiple Notes, losing ownership, losing memory…
Most of these were straightforward. Write a name, a person dies. Lose the notebook, lose your memories. Touch it again, regain memories. Blah blah blah.
I summarized the rules that were originally present. I took a breath, feeling the weight of the textbook-sized list still to go. Really, why are there so goddamn many?
"Alright. That's the canon stuff. Now let's look at the… extra additions."
Shekai's posture shifted… looks like he got more focused.
"These are the rules your world has grown around the Note."
Different world, different rules.. huh..
Now that I think about it, he mentioned about a German using this notebook before.
Could it be from different worlds? If so, what rules did they have? I wonder.
Shaking off the unnecessary thought, I continued.
"If the owner sees the target only through a reflection (mirror, camera feed, screen), the cause of death must include time.
If no time is written, the Note defaults to a heart attack in a random interval."
"Seeing someone through a reflection means I must include a time, or the Note delays the death."
This explains why the death of the arsonist wasn't precise.
Hmm.. This one seems important to consider. It's not like I want to re-enact the potato chip scene but still…
I sighed.
'Writing the full name of a pregnant person will not kill them unless the cause of death is explicitly stated.
If the cause is not specified, only the unborn child dies.'
"Hm, If someone is pregnant, writing only the name kills the fetus, not the parent…"
Huh? Shouldn't it be the other way around? In a way, it could be double murder.
"Why?"
He didn't answer.
That… Why's that?
I brushed it off and continued.
"If I'm interrupted mid-writing, the cause becomes whatever I'm thinking most strongly about."
"Now, that sounds easy to exploit…"
"It separates intent from accident." He said.
"Ah.. It works on intent.."
"Correct."
Now that I think about it, most of the rules are carefully based on intent.. Having a person's image in mind, cause of death, killing the fetus instead of the parent…
"If a human holds the Death Note for over 30 days without using it, they will lose the ownership over it.."
It really wants us to kill that badly, huh?
'Multiple kills must be linked. Otherwise only the first works.'
"So I can't just write a chain of nonsense deaths."
"That would be correct. It's all to maintain balance."
'The Note remembers every erased name, even though I can't see it.'
"So, If I write someone's name but then regret it, erasing the name won't stop the killing?"
Shekai nodded slowly.
More I read these rules, more I feel like there won't be no turning back.
'Hesitate on the last letter for 40 seconds, and I lose the ability to kill that person forever.'
"That's… merciful."
"The Note respects certainty."
Certainty…. back to where we started.
"If I write something impossible, the Note substitutes the closest real-world equivalent. Without telling me."
That sounds dangerous as hell… Hm. If I write someone to die by time travelling, would it be equivalent to them hallucinating about time travelling and dying of shock? I don't get this one at all
And 'without telling me'.. The Note really wants to fuck the writer up huh…
'Anything planned beyond 23 days may be altered by the Shinigami to maintain balance.'
"If I plan something to happen 24 days after, are you gonna change the time of death?"
"...Perhaps"
So.. Will he change the time of death to 23th day or… whatever his favorite number is? What the fuck is he gonna do?
It's hard to predict someone like him. The fact that he's neither my ally nor my enemy makes it worse.
I would appreciate it if he seriously just took sides.
But, after what felt like hours, I finally completed reading all the rules.
I closed the notebook gently.
Soon my fingers felt abnormally cold. I always feel cold. I always feel like I'm freezing.
I know this feeling too well… I was afraid.
Afraid that I don't know what to do next..
I really want a meaning..
This eternal emptiness makes me wanna fucking die.. But no more.. no more.. please
And for the first time, the weight of all the rules felt real.. It felt heavy.
I let out a quiet scream.
"..."
"Alright," I said.
"Let's try not to ruin the world."
And with my eyes glowing with anticipation, I fell asleep.