“Whatever you say, by the way my name is Lanza.” she informed L as she peered into his sleep deprived eyes and a silence followed.
“Be careful about doing that. Telling people your name.” L said, breaking the silence.
Lanza giggled at this. “The Death Note is unable to kill a Watcher.”
“So it's as I expected. If the Death Note were a viable weapon against your kind, I'm sure the Shinigami would have killed you all.” L mused as he stared off into space, the look on his face inscrutable. “I wish I was a Watcher. I also wish I had some ice-cream.” He then turned to Lanza. “How exactly can I stop the Shinigami Yagami Light from here?”
“Of course you'll be returned to the world of the living but first, you'll need a few things.“ Lanza slowly and gracefully stood up from the glass like floor then took a few gentle footsteps away from L. She turned around to face him and suddenly pointed her thumb at him, causing a white notebook to appear in front of him and fall to the ground. L quickly took hold of the document before it fell and looked at it curiously. “This is the weapon that can defeat death.” Lanza informed. “The name of any human written in this notebook shall live. It is the opposite of the Death Note.”
“Hmmm...'shall live'....” L mused as he placed on hand on his chin while holding the notebook with the other. “This notebook must be able to save the lives of those whose names have been written in the Death Note.”
“It's called a Life Ledger,” she began, “a Watcher has a near infinite lifespan, ranging from a billion to a trillion years. Anytime we write the names of a potential Death Note victim, in other words, a victim of the Death Note whose death has not yet occurred, the individual's name vanishes from the Death Note and his or her death is cancelled. However, we end up losing a portion of our lifespans to recompense the individual for his shortened lifespan as a result of the Death Note. Also, that individual will be immune to the Death Note's effect.”
“A potential victim? Meaning this Life Ledger cannot bring back the dead. It can only save the lives of those who are yet to be killed. What would happen if the name of a dead person were written?”
“The Life Ledger can resurrect the dead, though it happens very rarely. It requires a highly forbidden process to accomplish. Much more complicated than writing an individual's name.” she explained with her small mouth straightened into an horizontal line across her puffy cheeks and her eyes dimmed into a piercing glare. “Don't even think about performing such a task.”
“This forbidden process was used to resurrect me, wasn't it?” L asked in a gentle voice as he peered at the child-like Watcher.
“I performed the ritual.” she informed with a serious expression as her eyes met L's. A silence followed.
“What kind of trouble did you get into? Are you...going to die?” L asked with wide-eyed curiosity, breaking the silence.
“No,” she replied, “Death does not exist in our realm. My punishment is set to be determined in a couple of millenia. I don't know what it will be.”
“What happened to the other Watcher's who brought back the dead?”
“They were sentenced to the absolute most shameful fate; cursed...to become Shinigami.” she informed as her tiny right hand clutched the fabric of her snow white gown and a tear drop streamed down her right cheek. “They were cast down from beings with a near infinite lifespan and who lived to protect man to parasites who feed off others in order to survive. I may have to face such a fate.”
“Do you...regret it?” L asked, he was overcome with heavy guilt and it gave him a sombre expression, his eyes dimmed in sadness as they peered at his saviour.
“No, I don't. I did it to save mankind from falling into the hands of Kira once more. For the same reason, I am giving you my Life Ledger. I believe in you Lawliet.”
“I see.” L said. he suddenly move towards Lanza and wrapped his hands around her small body and pressed her to himself. “Thank you. I won't fail you.” he promised with a cheerful grin on his face which brightened his otherwise dull features.
“I'm not quite used to being hugged, you know.” she said with a smile as L created some distance between them.
“I assume writing the name of a living human will simply make them immune to the Death Note. I have a last question.”
“Shoot.”
“What happens if a Shinigami's name is written?”
“A Shinigami is the embodiment of death so if its name is written in the Life Ledger, the Shinigami will cease to exist.” she explained.
“I see. However there must be a catch otherwise you would have killed Light and wouldn't need me.” L deduced while his heavy eyes shifted in every direction, as if in search of something.
“The possessor of the Life Ledger will die as well.” she informed will a dull expression. “It is as it is to maintain balance. If a Watcher could simply kill a Shinigami in order to stop his use of the Death Note then our kind will massacre them and death will cease to exist.”
“Is the reverse also the case? If a Shinigami writes the name of a Watcher in their Death Note, will the Watcher die?” L asked curiously.
“Only if the Shinigami has a life span equal or more than the Watcher's. Only the Shinigami King has a life span equal to a Watcher. The rest of the rules are written on the last page of the Life Ledger, you can read them there.” she then took the white notebook from L and turned to its very last page where a set of rules were neatly scrawled. She watched as L screened through each one.
“So that is the forbidden process that can bring back the dead?” L asked after reading one of the rules listed in the notebook.
“Yes.” she replied while looking away from the black-haired human. “Don't do it.”
L gave no reply, he silently went through every rule and closed the notebook with a small thud when he was done. “Well, I guess that's it. I should be on my way now.”
“Yes, you should. I'm giving you my Ledger along with 4000 years of my lifespan. For every human you save from the Death Note, you will lose a part of that lifespan. Also you are now able to see Shinigami and see the names of others. The name of a potential victim of the Death Note will appear different to you. If you ever need to talk to me, instructions are in the Life Ledger.” she added and placed her palm on L's chest, causing a pitch black beam of light to shine down on the human and he disappeared with the notebook. “ Goodluck Lawliet.”
L found himself speeding through a black colored realm. The world seemed to squeeze tightly around every inch of his body as he moved until he suddenly landed on a slab of concrete with a loud thud. “Ugh.” L groaned in pain as he picked himself off the ground and began to dust himself off. His eyes scanned the environment and he saw that he was in a construction site. The sound of metal being drilled into, the melody of the mix of cement and the loud, incoherent babbling of the construction workers filled the air as L stood motionless with a white notebook in one hand. “I'm back.” he thought as he began to walk towards the yellow tape which acted as a barrier to prevent civilians from entering the site and placed one hand on the lower left side of his chest, feeling his heart beat with a smile.
He left the construction site and hit the streets where he saw a discarded piece of newspaper, he picked it and scanned through it in order to get a sense of where he was. The language of the newspaper informed him of the fact that he was in Japan.
The story in that particular page of the newpaper informed him of the opening of a new newspaper company in Kanto, Japan called the Notebook. Apparently, the head of the newspaper gained funding from several wealthy investors who readily agreed to supply the capital shortly before they each died of various accidents. “Since their agreement was verbal and was not put into writing, the head of the Notebook, one Mr. Enishi Takamaru, has no legal obligation to pay back the loan.” L read out loud from the newspaper.
“Hmmm...each investor died shortly after they agreed to give the loan. It was also not put into writing and the new newspaper company is called the Notebook. This must be the work of a Death Note.” L thought to himself and he continued on his way. “Is it one of Yagami Light's human subordinates? No, if the Death Note user was taking instructions from Light, they wouldn't be so sloppy, the murders would be well disguised by other deaths. Also, the name 'Notebook' is obviously referring to the Death Note used to murder the investors. It's too obvious to be Light's work. Perhaps this is simply an individual who has come to possess a Death Note.”
L stopped at the side of the road amongst other civilians who were waiting at a pedestrian crossing. Once the traffic light gave the signal, everyone darted across the road including the revived investigator. “Another coincidental possession of the Death Note in the same town in Japan? No, this is a trap.” L thought to himself. “If Near stopped Light then Near has taken the mantle of L. Near must have also come to know about Death Notes and their power. This incident involved the deaths of major movers and shakers in the world of business so it has undoubtedly reached Near. Near will be inclined to investigate since its nature suggests that Death Notes are involved. Light is luring him to Japan in order to kill him!”
Elsewhere in the skies of Kanto, Japan, two monstrous beings glided slowly a small depth below the clouds. One of them had a very human appearance with the exception of pale bluish skin, large bulging yellow eyes with red irises, extremely long limbs and feathers emerging from his back. He had sharp serrated teeth, partly covered by blue lips which seemed to always be smiling and seemed to lack a nose. His dark, spiky hair flowed to his back and he wore tight-fitting black clothing with its collar sewn to his chest.
The other also had a humanoid appearance. He was dressed in a tattered suit with a tie which was knotted at his back rather than his front. He had narrow crimson eyes with no irises and a small wrinkled face partly covered by short, brown hair. One of his hands was slightly longer than the other and he wore a watch, which seemed to have a blood-stained piece of paper attached to it, on his left hand. His trousers seemed to be neatly ironed and he wore black shoes.
“Hahahaha....” the blue skinned humanoid laughed loudly.
“What's so funny?” the other asked while glaring at his companion with a grimace.
“It's so funny. You remembered your name, you remembered where you lived, you remembered your ambition to cleanse evil, but you forgot Near's real name. I mean, you found that out like two minutes before you died and you forgot so soon?” the blue skinned humanoid replied while holding back laughter.
“Shut up Ryuk.” the wrinkled monster retorted in anger. “Why don't you tell me his name? You were there, weren't you?”
“I already told you I'm not going to help you, I'm simply here for entertainment,” Ryuk replied in a casual tone, “and for apples.”
“It doesn't matter now. Near will no doubt notice the death of those investors and start investigating the use of a Death Note. Then I can find him and kill him. After that, there will be no one alive who can stop Kira's return. The final game of chess has begun.”
Elsewhere, L bumps into someone on the street in front of a restaurant. “Sorry.” he apologized with a smile while keeping both hands in his pockets.
The person in question, a man who seemed to be in his mid-fifties and dressed in a rather fancy suit, took one look at L's dishelved appearance and quickly stepped away from him. “Watch where you're going next time you bum.” he warned, as he entered the restaurant.
L turned away from the man and stood still on the sidewalk. “It's wrong to steal,” the black haired detective thought as he removed an expensive looking wallet from his pocket, obviously stolen from the man he bumped into, “but I need to get some ice cream.” He emptied the wallet of its contents which were a few credit cards and 15,000 yen. L then dragged his feet across the street to a convenience store. “I'll also need to contact Near.”
“Be careful about doing that. Telling people your name.” L said, breaking the silence.
Lanza giggled at this. “The Death Note is unable to kill a Watcher.”
“So it's as I expected. If the Death Note were a viable weapon against your kind, I'm sure the Shinigami would have killed you all.” L mused as he stared off into space, the look on his face inscrutable. “I wish I was a Watcher. I also wish I had some ice-cream.” He then turned to Lanza. “How exactly can I stop the Shinigami Yagami Light from here?”
“Of course you'll be returned to the world of the living but first, you'll need a few things.“ Lanza slowly and gracefully stood up from the glass like floor then took a few gentle footsteps away from L. She turned around to face him and suddenly pointed her thumb at him, causing a white notebook to appear in front of him and fall to the ground. L quickly took hold of the document before it fell and looked at it curiously. “This is the weapon that can defeat death.” Lanza informed. “The name of any human written in this notebook shall live. It is the opposite of the Death Note.”
“Hmmm...'shall live'....” L mused as he placed on hand on his chin while holding the notebook with the other. “This notebook must be able to save the lives of those whose names have been written in the Death Note.”
“It's called a Life Ledger,” she began, “a Watcher has a near infinite lifespan, ranging from a billion to a trillion years. Anytime we write the names of a potential Death Note victim, in other words, a victim of the Death Note whose death has not yet occurred, the individual's name vanishes from the Death Note and his or her death is cancelled. However, we end up losing a portion of our lifespans to recompense the individual for his shortened lifespan as a result of the Death Note. Also, that individual will be immune to the Death Note's effect.”
“A potential victim? Meaning this Life Ledger cannot bring back the dead. It can only save the lives of those who are yet to be killed. What would happen if the name of a dead person were written?”
“The Life Ledger can resurrect the dead, though it happens very rarely. It requires a highly forbidden process to accomplish. Much more complicated than writing an individual's name.” she explained with her small mouth straightened into an horizontal line across her puffy cheeks and her eyes dimmed into a piercing glare. “Don't even think about performing such a task.”
“This forbidden process was used to resurrect me, wasn't it?” L asked in a gentle voice as he peered at the child-like Watcher.
“I performed the ritual.” she informed with a serious expression as her eyes met L's. A silence followed.
“What kind of trouble did you get into? Are you...going to die?” L asked with wide-eyed curiosity, breaking the silence.
“No,” she replied, “Death does not exist in our realm. My punishment is set to be determined in a couple of millenia. I don't know what it will be.”
“What happened to the other Watcher's who brought back the dead?”
“They were sentenced to the absolute most shameful fate; cursed...to become Shinigami.” she informed as her tiny right hand clutched the fabric of her snow white gown and a tear drop streamed down her right cheek. “They were cast down from beings with a near infinite lifespan and who lived to protect man to parasites who feed off others in order to survive. I may have to face such a fate.”
“Do you...regret it?” L asked, he was overcome with heavy guilt and it gave him a sombre expression, his eyes dimmed in sadness as they peered at his saviour.
“No, I don't. I did it to save mankind from falling into the hands of Kira once more. For the same reason, I am giving you my Life Ledger. I believe in you Lawliet.”
“I see.” L said. he suddenly move towards Lanza and wrapped his hands around her small body and pressed her to himself. “Thank you. I won't fail you.” he promised with a cheerful grin on his face which brightened his otherwise dull features.
“I'm not quite used to being hugged, you know.” she said with a smile as L created some distance between them.
“I assume writing the name of a living human will simply make them immune to the Death Note. I have a last question.”
“Shoot.”
“What happens if a Shinigami's name is written?”
“A Shinigami is the embodiment of death so if its name is written in the Life Ledger, the Shinigami will cease to exist.” she explained.
“I see. However there must be a catch otherwise you would have killed Light and wouldn't need me.” L deduced while his heavy eyes shifted in every direction, as if in search of something.
“The possessor of the Life Ledger will die as well.” she informed will a dull expression. “It is as it is to maintain balance. If a Watcher could simply kill a Shinigami in order to stop his use of the Death Note then our kind will massacre them and death will cease to exist.”
“Is the reverse also the case? If a Shinigami writes the name of a Watcher in their Death Note, will the Watcher die?” L asked curiously.
“Only if the Shinigami has a life span equal or more than the Watcher's. Only the Shinigami King has a life span equal to a Watcher. The rest of the rules are written on the last page of the Life Ledger, you can read them there.” she then took the white notebook from L and turned to its very last page where a set of rules were neatly scrawled. She watched as L screened through each one.
“So that is the forbidden process that can bring back the dead?” L asked after reading one of the rules listed in the notebook.
“Yes.” she replied while looking away from the black-haired human. “Don't do it.”
L gave no reply, he silently went through every rule and closed the notebook with a small thud when he was done. “Well, I guess that's it. I should be on my way now.”
“Yes, you should. I'm giving you my Ledger along with 4000 years of my lifespan. For every human you save from the Death Note, you will lose a part of that lifespan. Also you are now able to see Shinigami and see the names of others. The name of a potential victim of the Death Note will appear different to you. If you ever need to talk to me, instructions are in the Life Ledger.” she added and placed her palm on L's chest, causing a pitch black beam of light to shine down on the human and he disappeared with the notebook. “ Goodluck Lawliet.”
L found himself speeding through a black colored realm. The world seemed to squeeze tightly around every inch of his body as he moved until he suddenly landed on a slab of concrete with a loud thud. “Ugh.” L groaned in pain as he picked himself off the ground and began to dust himself off. His eyes scanned the environment and he saw that he was in a construction site. The sound of metal being drilled into, the melody of the mix of cement and the loud, incoherent babbling of the construction workers filled the air as L stood motionless with a white notebook in one hand. “I'm back.” he thought as he began to walk towards the yellow tape which acted as a barrier to prevent civilians from entering the site and placed one hand on the lower left side of his chest, feeling his heart beat with a smile.
He left the construction site and hit the streets where he saw a discarded piece of newspaper, he picked it and scanned through it in order to get a sense of where he was. The language of the newspaper informed him of the fact that he was in Japan.
The story in that particular page of the newpaper informed him of the opening of a new newspaper company in Kanto, Japan called the Notebook. Apparently, the head of the newspaper gained funding from several wealthy investors who readily agreed to supply the capital shortly before they each died of various accidents. “Since their agreement was verbal and was not put into writing, the head of the Notebook, one Mr. Enishi Takamaru, has no legal obligation to pay back the loan.” L read out loud from the newspaper.
“Hmmm...each investor died shortly after they agreed to give the loan. It was also not put into writing and the new newspaper company is called the Notebook. This must be the work of a Death Note.” L thought to himself and he continued on his way. “Is it one of Yagami Light's human subordinates? No, if the Death Note user was taking instructions from Light, they wouldn't be so sloppy, the murders would be well disguised by other deaths. Also, the name 'Notebook' is obviously referring to the Death Note used to murder the investors. It's too obvious to be Light's work. Perhaps this is simply an individual who has come to possess a Death Note.”
L stopped at the side of the road amongst other civilians who were waiting at a pedestrian crossing. Once the traffic light gave the signal, everyone darted across the road including the revived investigator. “Another coincidental possession of the Death Note in the same town in Japan? No, this is a trap.” L thought to himself. “If Near stopped Light then Near has taken the mantle of L. Near must have also come to know about Death Notes and their power. This incident involved the deaths of major movers and shakers in the world of business so it has undoubtedly reached Near. Near will be inclined to investigate since its nature suggests that Death Notes are involved. Light is luring him to Japan in order to kill him!”
Elsewhere in the skies of Kanto, Japan, two monstrous beings glided slowly a small depth below the clouds. One of them had a very human appearance with the exception of pale bluish skin, large bulging yellow eyes with red irises, extremely long limbs and feathers emerging from his back. He had sharp serrated teeth, partly covered by blue lips which seemed to always be smiling and seemed to lack a nose. His dark, spiky hair flowed to his back and he wore tight-fitting black clothing with its collar sewn to his chest.
The other also had a humanoid appearance. He was dressed in a tattered suit with a tie which was knotted at his back rather than his front. He had narrow crimson eyes with no irises and a small wrinkled face partly covered by short, brown hair. One of his hands was slightly longer than the other and he wore a watch, which seemed to have a blood-stained piece of paper attached to it, on his left hand. His trousers seemed to be neatly ironed and he wore black shoes.
“Hahahaha....” the blue skinned humanoid laughed loudly.
“What's so funny?” the other asked while glaring at his companion with a grimace.
“It's so funny. You remembered your name, you remembered where you lived, you remembered your ambition to cleanse evil, but you forgot Near's real name. I mean, you found that out like two minutes before you died and you forgot so soon?” the blue skinned humanoid replied while holding back laughter.
“Shut up Ryuk.” the wrinkled monster retorted in anger. “Why don't you tell me his name? You were there, weren't you?”
“I already told you I'm not going to help you, I'm simply here for entertainment,” Ryuk replied in a casual tone, “and for apples.”
“It doesn't matter now. Near will no doubt notice the death of those investors and start investigating the use of a Death Note. Then I can find him and kill him. After that, there will be no one alive who can stop Kira's return. The final game of chess has begun.”
Elsewhere, L bumps into someone on the street in front of a restaurant. “Sorry.” he apologized with a smile while keeping both hands in his pockets.
The person in question, a man who seemed to be in his mid-fifties and dressed in a rather fancy suit, took one look at L's dishelved appearance and quickly stepped away from him. “Watch where you're going next time you bum.” he warned, as he entered the restaurant.
L turned away from the man and stood still on the sidewalk. “It's wrong to steal,” the black haired detective thought as he removed an expensive looking wallet from his pocket, obviously stolen from the man he bumped into, “but I need to get some ice cream.” He emptied the wallet of its contents which were a few credit cards and 15,000 yen. L then dragged his feet across the street to a convenience store. “I'll also need to contact Near.”
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