Judgement from the Heart

Emi listened as the teacher droned on and on, her head resting in the palm of her left hand, her right taking notes seemingly subconsciously. She turned her head slightly to examine Light next to her. He was taking notes as usual, only he seemed tense and almost jumpy, which was very strange behavior for him. In the entire month they had been dating, Light had always been calm, cool and collected no matter what. His new manner worried her slightly.

“Light?” As she muttered his name, Emi couldn’t help but notice his hand tighten on the pen. She had to get to the bottom of this; it was just too odd for him.

He averted his gaze from his notebook to her. “Hmm?”

“Could we hang out after class today? Or at least talk, since you’ve been so busy lately?” asked Emi, keeping her voice low.

The question seemed to have caught Light off guard for a second, but he quickly regained his composure. “Sure.” He smiled softly at her. “Sorry I’ve been practically blowing you off lately.”

Emi returned her attention back to the front of the classroom where the teacher was finishing up the lesson. She shrugged, then replaced her chin on her palm. “If you’re busy, you’re busy. You should have realized by now I’m not clingy or paranoid about your actions. I can stand to be away from you, meaning you’re not totally irresistible.”

“I don’t know whether to take comfort or offense from that.” Light closed the notebook he was writing in and placed it and the rest of his materials in his bag just as the bell rang.

Once Emi had placed her own supplies in her messenger bag, she along with Light exited the room and parted ways for their lockers. Emi was beginning to be able to tolerate the hallways a little better. It seemed that the news of her scrap with the three bullies had gotten around. Some people had even started referring to her as “Emi the Brave.” Even though she found it totally inane, it had a nice ring to it and probably discouraged people from trying to push her around.

She stopped in front of her locker and turned the dial as she did everyday. At this point, she didn’t have to even think about the numbers or how far to turn; it just came naturally. Emi eased the locker door shut, revealing Light leaning against the locker next to hers.

“That was quick,” Emi pointed out with a quirked eyebrow.

With a shrug, Light replied, “Yeah.” He pushed himself away from the locker, returning to his full height. “Ready?”

Emi nodded once, and followed Light out the doors. “Hey Light!” Almost grudgingly, Light turned to the source of the call. Emi peeked around him to see two of the guys Light sometimes walked home with. She sighed softly, then returned her eyes to the front. While she wasn’t near as socially awkward as she used to be, she still wasn’t much of a people person.

Light smiled down at her reassuringly as the two guys approached, knowing how she still felt about talking to people. “Hey,” he greeted the two once they were next to him.

“Are you avoiding us or what, Light? We haven’t seen you for-” He stopped mid-sentence when his eyes rested on Emi, causing her to want to just sink into the concrete. “Oh, you’ve been hanging out with Emi again, huh?” A sly grin was on his face as he said this.

“That’s part of the reason you haven’t seen me much, yes,” Light answered, a tinge of annoyance laced in his tone. “But, I like hanging out with her. She is my girlfriend after all. Plus, I’ve just been busy with other things too.”

“Wait, girlfriend?” the other guy asked, obviously shocked.

What great friends. Didn’t even know Light has a girlfriend. Emi straightened her skirt and kicked at a pebble on the ground, scuffing the toe of her shoe. Not that I care for it to be publicly advertised.

Light fought an eye roll at their ignorance. “Yeah. We’ve been going out for a little over a month now.” He stole a quick glance at Emi, who was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet and staring up at the sky. “But, we’re going to get going. We’ve got a lot to do.”

The one who had spoken first wolf-whistled as the other one snorted and said, “Alright. Don’t have too much fun now.”

The two boys’ lack of maturity made Emi scowl up at the sky. Light just ignored to two, wrapped an arm around Emi’s waist, and led her in the direction of his house. “Sorry about them. They’re a bit juvenile, as I’m sure you noticed.”

Emi stepped closer to Light so he wouldn’t have to stretch his arm out so far. “I think I’m used to that by now.”

Light smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “So, you wanted to talk to me?”

“Well,” Emi started, trying to think of how to put it without being completely insulting, “you’ve been acting sort of strange today and I wanted to know why.”

“Strange?” Light chuckled. “How?”

“Tense, slightly jumpy…just different than you normally act. Almost the exact opposite, really.” Her cheeks began to heat up in a blush. “I was a little worried. Is everything alright?”

Light hesitated, then replied, “Yeah, everything’s fine.” They stopped in front of Light’s house. He turned Emi to face him and tilted her chin up. “I apologize for worrying you though.”

Emi bit her lip, feeling like he was lying…or at least keeping something from her. She couldn’t quite place why she thought this; she had just recently acquired a talent for knowing when someone wasn’t being honest. But, she nodded anyway.

With a smile, Light pecked her lips, then headed toward his door. Emi joined him at the door and they entered the house together.

“Light? Is that you?” Light’s mother walked into the entryway as the two were removing their shoes.

“Hey Mom,” said Light cheerfully as he pulled his uniform jacket off. “We’ll just be upstairs studying.”

“Okay. I’ll be down here if you need anything.” Light nodded to her and she returned to the kitchen.

Light waited as Emi finished removing her shoes and placed them in her usual place by the door out of the way. Once she had finished, they made their way up the stairs and into Light’s room.

Emi ambled over to Light’s bed and plopped down on it, crossing her legs and digging around in her messenger bag. Light closed the door behind him, then wandered over to his desk where he sat down in the chair.

After a few seconds of rummaging, Emi slid the textbook she was searching for from her bag. She cracked it open and began reading over the content inside.

Light sorted his materials out on his desk and swiveled around in his chair to talk to Emi properly. But, he found that he and Emi were no longer alone in the room. A tall beast with overly long arms and legs now stood near the window staring at him with red eyes surrounded by yellow. His mouth was a permanent, creepy grin. The visitor was almost completely blue: hair, skin, lips, and clothes. His wrists had skull armbands on them and his long fingers were adorned with skull rings.

“So, you’re the guy that found my Death Note,” the thing said, amusement in its voice.

Light yelled out at the sight of the creature and fell out of his chair, half wondering why Emi hadn’t noticed it yet.

Emi’s eyes snapped to Light, who was on the ground staring up toward the ceiling with terror in his eyes. She quickly tossed the book aside and hopped off the bed. “Light! What’s wrong?”

Being too distracted by the monster that was towering over him, Light didn’t notice Emi. The thing laughed, showing yellow, pointed teeth. “Why the surprise? I’m the owner of that notebook you found, Shinigami Ryuk.”

Light’s eyes widened as he stuttered, “Sh-shinigami?”

Emi wrinkled her nose at this comment. “What are you talking about? Shinigami? Light, are you feeling okay?” She knelt down and placed her hand on his forehead gently. His temperature was normal, confusing her even more. After removing her hand, she bit her thumb nervously.

“Don’t you see it?” Light asked her, calming down slightly and pointing at Ryuk, who was only thin air to Emi. “There’s a shinigami right there!”

Emi shook her head. “I don’t see anything, Light.” She tried squinting at where he had pointed, even though she knew it would be pointless, but still saw nothing. “Are you on drugs or something?”

The shinigami laughed, causing Light to stare back up at him. “You’re the only one who can see or hear me. Unless she touches the Death Note, that is.”

Light contemplated this concept for a moment. He didn’t really have a choice now; it was either let her touch the notebook and take his chances from there, or have his girlfriend think he’s on drugs and a total nut job.

Pushing himself to his feet, Light held out his hands in order to help Emi up. She accepted, placing her hands in his. “Emi.” He cupped her cheeks and stared into her questioning, gray eyes. “Can you promise me that you won’t tell anyone about what I’m about to show you?”

Emi bit her lip. “I can’t promise you anything until I know exactly what I’m supposed to keep secret,” she replied solemnly.

“Fair enough.” He removed his hands from her face and moved over to his desk. Emi watched as he pulled a slim, black notebook from his bag and realized it was the one he had been writing in earlier. Light held the note out to her.

Emi stared down at it, taking in the white title scrawled at the top of the cover. She knitted her brow and muttered, “Death Note?”

“Touch it.”

Even though Light’s request seemed silly, she reached a hand out and touched the notebook. “What is this go-” The sight of Ryuk caused Emi to stop and stare at the rogue shinigami. Her eyes widened as she tried to say something, but no words came out. Instead she stepped toward the death god and placed a hand on his arm. “Whoa…” Her voice was hoarse and filled with surprise. “But, why are you here…uh…”

“Ryuk,” the shinigami answered, “and I’m here because that,” he gestured to the notebook with his long index finger, “now belongs to this world.”

Emi pulled her hand away and looked to Light, confusion written on her face. Light just smiled a little at her, then turned back to Ryuk who had begun speaking again. “So, did you use it?” Ryuk pulled the notebook from Light’s hand and opened it. He let out a creepy, other-worldly chuckle. “Well, now I’m surprised. Most people would be too freaked to write this much.”

Light stared at Ryuk, his face solemn and emotionless. “So what are you going to do? Steal my soul?”

With a snort, the god of death replied, “Is that some kind of superstition you humans have about us?” The two kept their eyes fixed on Ryuk. “I’m not going to do anything. I just have to stick around until you either die or relinquish ownership of the Death Note.”

Emi crossed her arms, starting to get frustrated at the fact that she had no idea what was going on. “Can someone please explain what all this shinigami, Death Note crap is?”

In one, quick motion, Light’s arm was around Emi’s waist and he had sat her on the bed gently. He knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his. “Okay, don’t freak out about what I’m going to tell you. We don’t need Mom up here investigating.”

She began to tell him not to worry, but Light placed a finger to her lips. “Just hear me out.” He took a deep breath and continued. “As I’m sure you guessed, the Death Note is exactly that; a notebook of death. The person whose name is written in the notebook will die of a heart attack in forty seconds unless specified otherwise.”

Emi stared at her boyfriend, unsure of what to say. “But…You…That means…But why?” she stuttered as she squeezed his hands, not sure of what to do.

“I’m doing this for the good of the world.” Reaching up, Light moved Emi’s bangs from her eyes. “I’m using the Death Note to rid the world of criminals that live to take people’s right to happiness away.”

Ryuk laughed behind them. “Well, that’s an interesting use for it.”

“So, it’s you…” Emi closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again with a small smile. “That’s why those criminals have been dying off like that…I thought it was just a coincidence but now…”

Light, back to his calm self, stared up at her. “Have the police noticed this? Or are they like you and still think it’s just coincidence?”

“Coincidence,” she replied shortly. “But are you sure you want to risk this? I mean, besides the fact that you could be caught and killed, couldn’t there be…” She looked up at Ryuk. “Other consequences?”

Light joined her in staring at the shinigami as Ryuk stroked his chin. “Well, not really, unless you count the stress and misery that seems to follow the user of the Death Note around.” He paused, turning his gaze on the couple. “Oh, and he can’t go to Heaven or Hell.”

“So one last thing.” Light had stood back up now, and Emi was still on the bed, biting her lip. “Why did you choose me?”

Ryuk snorted. “Don’t be so conceited. I only dropped the notebook and you just happened to find it.”

“But why?” Emi blurted, taking the words right from Light’s mouth.

“I was bored,” he answered with a shrug.

“Me too.” Emi and Ryuk looked at Light inquisitively. “At first I didn’t believe in the powers of the notebook but then, I decided to try it on a criminal that was broadcasted on TV. When I saw that it actually did work, I decided to use it to change the world.”

Emi pulled her legs up onto the bed and crossed them. Propping her elbow on one of her knees, she rested her chin in her palm, now more intrigued than anything else. “So,” she started, fixing her skirt with her free hand, “you were acting strange the last few days because you felt guilty, I assume?”

Turning his attention back to Emi, he nodded. “I was taking lives…I even doubted I’d be able to do it because I knew the risks. But, after giving it some thought, I knew I was the only one who can do it.”

Emi just nodded, at a complete loss for words, and stared down at the floor. The bed sank beside her as Light sat down, causing her to look up again. “If you want me to stop, though, I will. Since you now know about the notebook, you could be in danger too, and it wouldn’t be right for me to continue doing something that endangers you as well.”

“Well…” Emi stood up and circled around the bed, wringing her hands nervously. Light watched her, assuming she would ask him to stop, for her sake and his own, which he was completely prepared for. “Maybe this is what the world needs…”

Light blinked at her, being caught off guard. Ryuk, who had been silent for the most part until now, snickered. “Oh?”

“I mean, think about it.” Again, Emi plunked down onto Light’s bed on the opposite side. “How long has man wanted to create a perfect world and has obviously failed? Sure, this may seem a bit harsh but…nothing else seems to have worked. Of course there’s the death penalty but, how many criminals do you think actually care about that? Most of them probably think they’d never be caught. Maybe if people realize that they’ll die if they do unjust things, maybe then the world will finally take a turn for the better…”

Light turned his head to look at his girlfriend, having no clue what to say. The death god was still chuckling in the background.

Emi faced Light and pushed herself up onto her knees. “But, I want you to promise me something.”

“Okay, what?”

“Promise me that if this whole thing doesn’t work, you’ll give up the notebook. Even though that won’t change the fact that people were killed using it, it will make it a lot harder to pin the murders on you.”

Light smiled gently at her. “Alright, if that’s what you want.”

After giving a slight nod, Emi crawled across the bed and wrapped her arms around Light. Light returned the embrace and kissed the top of her head.

Ryuk, who had monitored the whole exchange with high amusement, sniggered quietly to himself. I don’t think I’ll have to worry about being bored anymore. Humans are so entertaining.