CHAPTER 0
Don’t think about nothing. Nothing. Nothingness. Nothing at all… Not a thing. No. Do not. Nothing. Nope. Not a word. No. Nothing. Inescapable nothingness… No. Don’t do it. Nothing. Nothingness. Nothing. No. Don’t. Nothing, nothing, nothing. No. Don’t do it. Nothing. Don’t think about it– No…! And he ruined it. He’s thinking about it.
He’s a fool. He keeps trying very, very hard not to think about it, but he fails every time. He has tried and tried and tried so many times not to even fathom it, but he can’t help himself. The last couple of times, he just separates himself from the group, finds the most empty spot of barren land he can find, lays on the ground and just… stares at the unchanging sky; trying to empty his mind, to prevent any thought from going where it shouldn’t. He focuses on the dark, empty dome on top of him. Nothing at all but that awful taste of dust in his mouth. But he cannot keep this up for too long –not long enough, anyway. The memories of those times keep coming back to haunt him, to taunt him, to entice him.
He’s a fool, and he knows it. Because now he’s also getting back up and trying that back-up plan of his, the one he keeps a secret. A shameful stash of hope he keeps hidden away as a last measure. Of course it has failed and failed and failed and failed again over the course of… many years? He doesn’t know actually how many. He doesn’t own a clock and it won’t help him much around here, because time is funny in this realm. Or is it ironic? Just the cruel kind of funny. The kind of funny where maybe, just maybe, his little scheme really does work this time. Maybe it’s not been too long, maybe he walked fast enough, and maybe the whole thing hasn’t been infected with the putridness that roams this world.
It’s here. He looks over his shoulders four last times so none of those idiots catches him being this foolish. It’s bad enough that he knows, but if they knew too of what he keeps doing? Of the kind of thoughts that infest his mind? Of those memories of… fun and excitement and life he keeps indulging in? It’s not illegal, and it’s not like there’s much to do with those notebooks, anyway… But they must not know. They must not know he’s lying when he says he’s bored with them, their stupid games and this forsaken world. They must not know he misses that rush, that feeling, that sweet taste in his mouth.
He pushes some dirt around, careful not to move the rocks that mark the spot, and there they are: four beautiful apples, apparently still fresh! Maybe it will really work this time, how wicked of time to make him wait eons to enjoy some damned apples here! He picks up the biggest one and he takes a bite.
“BLEEEGH”, it’s rotten.
Not a good start. But that’s why he brought more than one. He picks up the most red of the remaining apples, but he bites it more reservedly this time.
“BLAAH”, rotten as well.
He doesn’t have a heart, but he can feels his insides rush with worry already. Only two left. He clenches and relaxes his hands a couple of times before going for the third apple. Surely, it’s not the biggest nor the most vibrant of the bunch, but this one feels more solid. More like it’s supposed to feel. More like… they used to. Back when things were supposed to be too– No. Not thinking about that now. Apple. Bite.
“EUUGHH”, deceptively rotten too.
Just one left. He doesn’t need to breath, and yet, he can feel himself panting. This is the last apple he kept for when he needed it most, the last apple he brought from the last time he was in the other world. This is his last opportunity for a change of fortune and to not be proven a fool again. This is his last straw. And as he reaches for the only apple left in his hidden spot in the middle of nowhere… it crumbles into dust as soon as he touches it.
Everything stops and the hope that for a moment burned inside him, halts. He collapses to the ground, this time, face down to the lifeless ground. He really is a fool. He crushes the rotten evidence and buries it as soon as he comes back to himself. He cannot let the others see him like this. He never has, and he never will. He has seen others succumb to foolish tendencies like these before, and he’s not like them. No, he’s better than them, he’s above their crying and yearning for ‘more than this’, as they always said. They’re long gone now, good riddance. And he’s not joining them in the dust.
No. If this barren land won’t indulge him, then he’s doing it himself. Yes. This is not the first nor the last time he gets bored, so he’s doing something about it. He’s not like those vegetables that do nothing but stare at the windows, spit the same stories at each other and gamble the same miserable trinkets. No. He knows what he wants, and he takes what he wants. Yes. He’s a… a God of Death! And what this god wants now, is to feast like a king and to be entertained, of course.
He’s decided. Oh, he’s been a fool not to just go for it earlier. He grabs the spare Death Note he gave to that kid that tried to sell it the last time. Yes. Yes! He can already taste it. He can only think about it, now! This won’t disappoint him. Maybe even this time, he will possess someone as fun as Light! That someone better deliver. He’s not making this trip to accompany weaklings that can’t write a couple of names, much less unimaginative bastards wasting his attention. He’ll go for the smart and capable ones, after all, it worked pretty well the couple last times! He grins in anticipation. Ryuk feels the excitement rush through him as he spreads his wings, and the dust around him rises as he flies hopeful towards the mortal world… once again.
[...]
“AAAAAAAAHH!!!!”, screamed Ryue Nishizawa, currently the top scoring high school student in Japan, as he stumbled on the ground, trying to get away from Ryuk.
They always scream when they first look at him. That’s just how it is. But this one is screaming for far too long. It’s not even attracting attention (thankfully, he decided to throw the Death Note at him when he was walking through a pretty desolate park), but it’s getting annoying. He’s not even letting him speak.
“AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”, continued to scream Ryue Nishizawa.
Ryuk is starting to seriously doubt this kid. He seems to be… crying, already. Now he’s stumbling on his own backpack as he tries to get back up. And now he’s running away, not even picking up the Death Note! Wow. They don’t make them like they used to. Ryuk is in the middle of deciding whether: to pursue the kid and try to get him to listen, write the kid’s name on his Death Note for being a crybaby, or just let him go tormented for the rest of his little life and subsequently try with the second top scoring high school student in Japan; when he hears a woman’s voice behind. He didn’t see where she came from.
“Hey, eh, shonen! Your notebook!”, she said in English and with a… Russian? Eastern European? Or somewhere else…? He doesn’t know much of those kinds of accents, but hers was very noticeable.
And then she picked up the Death Note. And she saw him. He turned slowly towards her, already relishing the screams. But she didn’t scream. She gasped very loudly, yes. She didn’t drop the notebook, nor bulge either. She just, looked all over at him with her mouth agape.
They observed each other for a while. She was a young woman, with blonde hair with a salmon tone and visible roots. Her eyes were black, her nose a bit bent, her skin brown. She was wearing a big overcoat, a white shirt, a skirt over jeans? Most importantly, her name above her was… illegible. Of course he has seen mortals change so much in such a fundamental level, that their name and lifetime got overwritten, but this? This was beyond anything he could even imagine. Only a couple letters managed to untangle themselves from the mess, those most be tens of names, of identities! This woman is certainly not normal. When he noticed, she was done looking all over him and now she was looking straight at him. Now she looked at the Death Note. She opened it. She read some of the rules. She closed it. She clenched her right fist for a bit, and then stopped. And now she was back staring at him.
Something changed. She didn’t scream before, but surely she was mostly shocked; but now, her eyes were shining with possibility. With hope. With it. Most interestingly, he saw another name definitely get stamped over all the other ones above her. She’s a nut job, alright! Finally, she spoke:
“Hi”, she extended her hand, expecting a handshake, “my name is Emporio, how may I address you?”
Yes, 'Emporio’ could fit in that name that just appeared. She’s smiling now, not in a particularly welcoming way but with personal satisfaction. She’s up to something. And she also continues to expect his answer and a handshake. After some thought, he entertains her:
“Ryuk”, he said as he shook her hand.
Emporio tightened her grip lightly, barely noticeably. She’s definitely testing how real he is. She continued after a beat, still not letting go:
“So Ryuk”, she rolled the R and stressed the K, “I am most intrigued by this entire encounter! What would you like me to do, in exchange of your answers to some questions?”
He doubts any of those questions are even anything like the usual ones. He’s intrigued, alright! And she’s being very polite about it even!
“Get me some apples and I’ll tell you everything”, he answered.
NOTES:
25.11.2023: Second version of this chapter, first version posted on this site:) Very excited! Starting to think I will make further adjustments on Ryuk's perception on his situation and his first impression of Emporio...