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A 'notebook of death', huh? There must be something wrong with me to even consider it... Not that I didn't know that already. A twisted talentless human such as I... maybe this is what I can do to for the greater good. Not create hope, per se, but crush the despair that threatens it. That is, if it even works. I've seen some supernatural things due to my luck, but this is might be too out there.
Komaeda ponders this, then pulls out a pen.
If this works... does that make me a murderer? My luck has killed people before, sure, but to choose to do it?
...no, it's impossible. I shouldn't even worry about that.
A small tube TV near his desk announces that there's a hostage situation at a nearby orphanage. Komaeda's eyebrows raise.
A hopeless situation... But could I change it? How does that old saying on morality go? "If you kill a killer, the amount of killers in the world stays the same"? But if this works, I definitely won't stop at one. Cutting off the split ends of society could hardly be considered immoral. Would anyone really care if those people were to die?
Komaeda reads the criminal's name and stares at his photo and writes the name in the notebook. If he doesn't add any details, it'll only take 40 seconds....."Oh, what is this? The hostages are running out of the building!" the reporter yells in joy. Komaeda gasps and stands from his chair.
It worked?! No, it's a coincidence! It has to be a coincidence!
He wheezes out a laugh and grasps his hair.
What am I thinking? There's no such thing as a coincidence in my life... it's all destined. All luck. It was my luck that brought me this notebook, and now I have the power to wield that luck into killing villains...
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Komaeda has used the notebook enough to fill two whole pages in just 5 days. He could have written a lot more, if his goal was just to kill every criminal, but his plan was a lot more nuanced than that. The Kuzuryu clan, for example. They cause a lot of despair, but the things they do require talent and have a purpose. Nothing like the senseless criminals Komaeda was eliminating.
Like the second name he wrote in the notebook, for example. An older man and his gang was harassing a timid girl around Komaeda's age wearing medical scrubs, likely a nurse in training walking home from work. The man was boastful, announcing his name like it meant something, but Nagito knew the stink of the talentless. This was not someone worth keeping around. The talent of the worthy must be protected..."Wow, you've certainly taken a liking to it" a gravely voice says from behind Komaeda. Komaeda turns with a start and sees a horrifying creature. "I am Ryuk, a Shinigami from the realm of the gods. And you" He points a long almost skeletal finger towards Komaeda. "have my notebook."
"Ah... have you come to take away my rotting soul, then?" Komaeda rasps. Ryuk tilts his head.
"Is that some myth you humans have come up with? No, I have no interest in 'souls', if they even exist." Ryuk waves a hand dismissively.
"Oh, so do you want the book back? I'll be honest, I was hoping for more time with it, but I'll give it back if need be." Komaeda says with a patient smile.
"Such a strange human you are... how can you keep calm when face to face with a Shinigami?" Ryuk questions. Komaeda chuckles.
"A god of death... Certainly the most direct of my near-death experiences, but I'm not new to looking death in the eye." He says.
"Oh ho ho, well now I have to ask!" Ryuk says with some humor. Komaeda smirks, like he expected this reaction."Be it plane crashes, kidnapping, mysterious illness, or just pain clumsiness I've always been unlucky. But that bad luck always balances out with some act of good luck..." He turns his back to the Shinigami and walks a few paces over to his desk, which the Death Note is sat on. "Take this notebook... I was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this week, and now I find this? My luck is an incredible thing."
"Quite an optimist, huh?" Ryuk comments.
"I'm not sure I'd say that. I'm actually very pessimistic, at least when times are good. I'm always fretting over the next act of bad luck... at least with this I have a little bit of control." Komaeda grins.
"That you do. The second that notebook touched ground in the human world, I lost ownership of it. And since you were the one to find it, now it's yours. And because you've written in it, you can no longer go to heaven or hell. You can give up ownership, if that scares you, but you will not remember it's existence once you've given it up." Ryuk explains. Komaeda turns to him.
"And who said I wanted that? Where I'm standing, confirmation I won't end up in hell is well worth never being able to go to heaven. Though, I suppose I never considered either were real before today." Komaeda says as he picks up the book. "Any other unwritten rules you'd like to tell me?" He asks, flipping to where the rules that were written are.
"Just one..." Ryuk says, then floats right in front of Komaeda's face.
"When your time is up, it will come to me to write your name in my Death Note." He taps a notebook in a holster on his side. Komaeda's face goes blank.
"Does that..." He blinks and looks up to look Ryuk in the eyes. "Does that mean you know when I'm going to die?" He asks."I've got no obligation to tell you anything more." Ryuk says dismissively as he floats back to a more comfortable talking distance. "Anyways, you got any apples around here, kid?" He asks, looking around Komaeda's bedroom.
"Apples?" The human questions. That was a sudden tone change. "No, I don't keep fruit of any kind around. I don't prefer sweet things." he answers, setting the notebook back down because they weren't talking about it anymore.
"What about your family or roommates or something? Any of them have some juicy apples I could steal?" Ryuk continues to ask.
"Oh, I live alone. One of my bits of bad luck ended in me becoming an orphan, but the good luck was I ended with a large inheritance. While I'm not technically old enough to own my own place yet, a little bribery goes a long way." Komaeda explains, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"Damn. Well, if you're gonna keep using that Death Note, could ya buy some for me? We're kinda tethered together as long as you own it." Ryuk asks. Komaeda looks him up and down.
"Sure, but... why apples?" He questions, face scrunched up.
"Apples are the only reason the human world is worth the trip, they're amazing. Up in the Shinigami realm all the trees grow are these terrible dry things that couldn't even be called fruit." Ryuk complains.
"Well, if you're such a big fan... why don't you stay here and I'll walk to the market to get some?" Komaeda offers.
"Oh, no way I'm waiting! I'm coming with!" Ryuk does a silly running animation mid-air, before looking back at Komaeda. "Oh, right, only people who've touched the Death Note can see or hear me. Now let's go!"
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"Are you going to have all those right now..?" Komaeda judges, staring at Ryuk eating comically quickly while holding a large basket of apples as they walk back in the door of his apartment. The shinigami sighs.
"No, I should pace myself." He sets the basket down on the nearby kitchen counter. "Anyways, since we're alone again, I've got something I've been meaning to ask you." Ryuk starts. Komaeda raises an eyebrow as he locks his door.
"Oh? What is it?"
"Who are all those people who's names you've written in the Death Note? You got a lot of enemies or something?" Ryuk asks. Komaeda's surprise melts into a small smile.
"Ah, I should have expected this question. No, none of them have spited me specifically, it's more... people who hinder the growth of society. Those who cause despair without reason." He explains. "I believe that hope is true goodness, and despair is evil. While most despair can help those who experience it bolster new hope, some despair is simply... evil for the sake of it. Taking away hope without a return on investment. The people who do that, those are the ones who need to be erased." He claims.
"Wow, and you have the power to do that, huh? Creating a 'better, more hopeful' world for everyone... are you looking to be a god?" Ryuk questions. Nagito chuckles innocently.
"Me, a god? No no, I'm not looking for that. I'm not nearly egocentric or vain enough to claim it as an honorary title either. Just think of me as... Hope's Faithful Executioner."