Chapter 1, An Heir to the Throne

     

     A young boy with ash blonde hair walked slowly home from school, his clear grey eyes fixed to the pavement. Norio Koji had been beaten up by the school bullies for the third time this week and his mother was sure to make a fuss over his uniform when she got home. He didn't blame her for it though. She worked long hours as an english teacher both at the high school and at cram  school to support the two of them and her frustrations at having to fix the tears in his uniform and banish the blood and grass stains yet again were understandable. Koji wondered why it was that the bullies came after him; what anyone would have to gain from harming a blameless person anyway. He wanted to know what made them think that way. 

     "Maybe they had a reason" he thought. "But then again maybe they're just twisted people. They don't seem like they'll ever want to stop hurting people."

      He climbed the stairs of his apartment building and noticed that the delivery man had left packages addressed to the neighbor in front of their door by mistake again. There were only two small packages and a black notebook, so he collected the neighbor's items and took them down the hall, hoping that he was off duty today. He knocked on the door and was promptly met by his neighbor, officer Nakahara Hansuke.

     "Ah! Koji-kun, how are you today?" Officer Hansuke smiled and asked before noticing Koji's battered uniform. "Having trouble with the other kids again?" He asked, his brow furrowing.

     "Yes," Koji replied sheepishly. "The delivery man delivered your packages to the wrong appartment again."

     "I see, thank you for bringing them." He took the packages under one arm and held the black notebook in the other looking at it with a puzzeled expression. "I think you might have handed me one of your school notebooks by mistake, Koji."

     Koji tilted his head to one side, confused. "I found that with your packages"

     "Death Note..." Hansuke read from the cover of the notebook. "Huh, I didn't order this. Maybe it's a gag gift. It's yours if you want it Koji."

     "Thanks," Koji said as he took the notebook from Hansuke.

     "Sure thing. Enjoy the rest of your day."

     Koji went back down the hall to his appartment, unlocked the door and went inside. He riffled through the notebook as he walked to his tiny room. He sat down at the crowded desk adjacent to his bed.

     "The human whose name is written in the Death Note shall die... huh, maybe Officer Nakahara was right. It sure sounds like a joke." He pulled out his homework assignment and realized as he was about to start his essay on current events that he didn't have enough paper left in his own notebook.

     "Well," he said looking at the black notebook, "I guess I can make do with this until I can get a new one."

     He ripped out a few pages and began writing about Osama Bin Laden and the war in Iraq. Earlier that day his class had watched a video on the subject and he wanted to finish his essay while the details were still fresh in his mind. When he was done with the bulk of his homework, he decided to take a break. He turned on the television in the living room and was met with a breaking news report.

     "This just in: while broadcasting a live podcast demanding ransom for the Taliban's latest hostages, Osama Bin Laden suddenly collapsed from a heart attack. The podcast was immediately ended, but officials suspect that Bin Laden may indeed have died of this episode."

     Koji stared wide-eyed at the news reporter on the screen.

     "The notebook said that the person whose name was written in the death note would die... could this have happened as a result of me writing Osama Bin Laden's name in my essay?" He thought. "No, it's just a freak incident. How could a notebook kill someone? That's stupid." He went back to his room and picked the notebook up by one corner, looking at it skeptically. He dropped it into the top drawer of his desk and locked it. "Just in case..." he thought. He sat back down at his desk and switching on his ancient desk top computer he started to type his essay, thinking that he would rather not hand his teacher an essay written on paper from a notebook of death. Far better, he thought, just to print it out at school before it was due.

     "I'm being stupid," he thought. "A notebook can't kill people..." He continued typing unnerved by the very idea that he could kill someone on accident just by writing their name. And it had been an accident. He would never kill someone, it was wrong...wasn't it? He stopped typing and leaned back in his chair.

     "Is it always wrong to kill people?" he asked himself. "I mean, innocent people obviously don't deserve to die, but what about murderers? And if it is ok to kill murderers where do you draw the line?" If he could go back and make the choice to kill a terrorist again, would he do it? Koji went back to typing and at length, as he finished his essay, he decided that he would have.

     By the time Koji's mother returned that night, he had already gone to bed. He woke up when he heard her key turn in the front door, followed by soft footsteps past his room and the closing of her bedroom door as she turned in for the night. Soon all was quiet except for the rustling of wind through his window. He rolled over in bed and stifled a scream. In the corner sat a ghastly figure in a tattered suit and silver goggles. Red eyes glowed with a sinister light out from skeletal sockets and he sat with a scythe propped against the wall.

     "You know, that notebook wasn't meant for you. It was meant for your neighbor," the shinigami growled as Koji gaped wordlessly. "You've made a mess of my plans and I should just kill you now... still, you killed a high profile terrorist on your first day. Maybe you can be useful to me."

     "Who are you?" Koji asked fearfully

     "I am Light. You found my note book, but I'm not here to take it back.... In fact, I think I want you to keep it. You see, there's only so much I can see from the shinigami world. On earth, I can pass judgement far easier. You and I could get rid of every evil person on this planet."

     "Why would I want to keep a book that kills people?"

     "I think you know why. I've noticed the ripped and bloody school uniforms. Those are no accident. And you're only in elementary school. It only gets worse. The man you killed today was nothing but a glorified bully. Think of how many people you saved; how many people's lives he ruined."

    Koji thought for a moment. "I just don't know. I... I'll have to think about it."

     "Fair enough," Light grunted. "But as long as you own the Death Note, I have to follow you. Only people who have touched it can see me though, so be careful. Even a piece of the death note has the full power of the whole notebook."

     "Ok.... so, um... are you just going to watch me while I sleep?" Koji asked.

     "I don't have to follow you around ALL the time. I'll find something to do to amuse myself." Light replied as he stood up, leaning heavily on his scythe. He turned and disappeared through the ceiling and Koji lied awake considering what he had said until he fell asleep.

............................

     As Koji was falling asleep below, Light sat on the roof of the apartment complex.

     "This would have been so much easier if the notebook had gone to the right person. Even if this kid agrees to be kira, It'll take him years to get into a profession I can use him in. The policeman would have had access to police files and criminal records, but now it'll be ages to get him into an advantageous position," Light struck the roof with his scythe and sighed. "Still, this kid could be promising if he was commited enough. Hmmmm..." He pulled out his own Death Note chuckling to himself as he wrote.

     

     Norio Ema- death by shooting at the hands of Teru Kenji

     Teru Kenji- death by suicide after shooting and fatally wounding Norio Ema, May 16 2011.

     Light closed his notebook.

     "Heh, that'll kill two birds with one stone. I've been meaning to kill that thief anyway. In two weeks, the kid's mother will be shot and killed. I'll make sure I'm not with Koji when they die and I'll tell him that I tried to stop the killer. I'll show him the killer's name written on a new page in my Death Note, then he'll be devoted to me and my cause. Norio Koji, you might be useful yet"

........................................

     By the time Koji woke up in the morning he had begun to suspect that everything that had happened yesterday had only been a bad dream. He got dressed in one of his less badly torn school uniforms and put a new bandage on his scraped knee, wondering all the while where the shinigami from last night had gone. It wasn't until he was standing in front of the bathroom mirror brushing his teeth that he saw him suddenly appear over his shoulder in the reflection. He let out a startled cry.

     "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" he shouted.

     "Light cackled. "If I were trying to give you a heart attack you wouldn't still be standing here."

      "Why would you keep me alive anyway? I thought it was your job to kill people," Koji replied as he returned to brushing his teeth.

      "It is, but I have a feeling that keeping you alive would be far more interesting. Besides that, I need your help with something and I think you'll find that I can be helpful to you too."

     Koji finished brushing his teeth. "I still haven't decided if I want to use your notebook again. I've been thinking about what you said. Maybe you're right. Maybe bad people do deserve to die, but if I help you kill them then I'll be a murderer too, and then I'll deserve to die just like them. I just don't know yet."

    "You're starting to see the truth. Take your time deciding, I've got nothing but time to kill," Light replied nonchalantly.

     Koji grabbed his bag and the death note and headed out the door, thinking that he had best keep it with him until he could find a safer place for it. Light followed silently as they walked down the streets, taking the back alley rout that Koji used every day to avoid the boys who bullied him. Eventually they came within several blocks of the school, but standing at the end of the block were his assailants, one leaning with his back against the wall and the other leaning against a street lamp. The two noticed him almost immediately.

    "Hey Gaijin!" they yelled as Koji looked frantically for an escape rout.

    "Allow me," Light said, imperceptibly ripping a small piece out of the death note. He glided over to them as they approached and touching them both with the piece of paper, made himself visible to them. The two boys screamed and tried to back away so quickly that they tripped over their own feet. Light towered menacingly over them, gesturing at them with his scythe.

    "If you value your lives, you'll stay away from him," he growled as the two bullies cowered.

    They scrambled to their feet and fled. Light turned back to Koji.

    "I doubt you'll be having trouble from those two again. Maybe now you can keep a uniform in one piece."

     Koji stammered, "I... I mean, thank you."

     "Consider it a favor; I help you and you help me. See how useful that notebook is?"

     Koji laughed, "I guess so."

    On the morning of the sixteenth, Koji woke up early enough to have breakfast with his mother before she left for work. They sat at the tiny kitchen table and talked over their bowls of cereal. His mother had a lot of the same features as he did. The same ash blonde hair, the same clear grey eyes, the same permanently concerned expression upon her brow. It was unclear if this expression was the product of being a young single mother who had taken a leap of faith and started teaching in Japan to support the two of them or if it was merely a coincidence.

     "Seems like you managed to fix your bully problem," she said, smiling at him from across the table. "I haven't had to patch a school uniform or a scraped knee in a couple weeks now"

     "Yeah, I finally got them to leave me alone," Koji replied.

     "Good! Looks like your grades have improved too. Top marks in all your classes, good job."

     "The other students think it's just because my mom is a teacher."

     "Ahh, but we know better than that don't we? You're a smart boy and I'm proud of you."

     Koji looked down at his cereal bowl a bit downcast.

     "Hey," said his mother, seeing his expression. "It's true, and someday you're going to graduate and go to a good college. You'll be able to do whatever you want with your life and I know you'll be the best at it. Do you know how I know that?

     Koji looked up. "Why?" He asked her.

     "Because you're my son and you're the best person I've ever met. You're going to make the world a better place someday." She said assuredly.

     Koji smiled. His mother always knew what to say to make him feel better. "Thanks, mom," he said as she finished the last of her coffee.

     "Of course, sweetie," she replied as she stood up and cleared her place at the table. "I'm going to have to run, but cram school gets out early tonight so maybe I'll see you at dinner time."

     "Ok, sounds great." Koji said as she came over and gave him a hug.

     "I love you and I'll see you later."

     "See you later mom. I love you too."

     In a moment she was out the door headed off to work. Koji finished the rest of his breakfast and cleared the table. As he grabbed his things from his room and headed off for school, he noticed that Light was nowhere to be found and wondered where he had gone off to.

     Koji walked to school without incident. Even though Light wasn't standing guard next to him in class, his bullies still kept a healthy distance from him and cast him nervous looks every now and then as though expecting Light to appear at any second and execute them. In the middle of the day his teacher pulled him out of class. He was escorted out into the hallway where he was met by two police officers. He recognized one of them as Mr. Nakahara and was about to wave before he noticed the officers grave expressions. He instantly became uneasy.

     "Koji-kun," officer Nakahara began after taking a deep breath as though steeling his nerves for what he was about to say. "I'm afraid we have bad news. On her way to work this morning, your mother was attacked by a man whom we've identified as Teru Kenji. He was a thief who had managed to fly under our radar for months. This morning, he shot your mother and killed her before shooting himself."

     Koji's heart felt as though it had dropped to the floor. He stared at the officers lost for words, not wanting to believe what he had heard.

     "I really am sorry Koji. Truly I am. I promise we'll get you to somewhere you'll be taken care of though. I know it's hard to believe, but eventually everything will be ok."

     Hansuke Nakahara's word's sounded distant and muffled to Koji. All he could hear was the blood rushing in his head and the phantom sound of gun shots. Helplessly, he fell to his knees and began to cry profusely as his teacher tried to comfort him. He spent the rest of the day in the head master's office. Everything was a blur to him. Eventually officer Nakahara returned no longer wearing his uniform to pick him up. He was to spend the night next door in his apartment and in the morning they would gather his things and he would move to the orphanage. That night, Koji sat hunched over on the bed in Hansuke's spare room. Although it was a mirror image to Koji's room, it felt cold and alien to him. Light appeared in the corner of the room, sitting as he had before with his scythe propped against the wall.

     "And just where have you been all day?" Koji demanded. At the moment he couldn't have cared less that the death god could easily decide to take his life if he offended him.

     "I know what you're thinking. I saw it happen. I tried to stop him," Light said.

     Koji scoffed contemptuously. "You tried to stop him? You're a shinigami. It's not your job to save lives, only to take them away."

     "I did. I wasn't fast enough to save your mother, but I still avenged her death by killing her assailant. Look here if you want proof," Light pulled his Death Note out of his pocket and opened. Koji took it from him and saw that he had indeed written Teru Kenji's name in the notebook next to suicide as the cause of his death. It was strange to him that a shinigami would be so willing to help him. Maybe, he thought, Light is right. Criminals like these who kill for no reason are just bullies. They were nothing more than scum really. None of them were going to change unless they were scared enough to, and he had the power to scare them. He had heard about Kira. Some said that he was a murderer but to others he was a god who made it safe for innocent people to walk the streets alone. This was his chance to take up his mantle. His mother had told him before she died that he would make the world a better place some day. He owed it to her to do so.

     "Light-san, I will use the notebook to help you. I don't ever want anyone to feel this way again; to lose a loved one to senseless violence. I'll do whatever it takes to eliminate criminals like the one who killed my mother."

...........................