Ruby's Death Note

Episode 2: Savior

Ruby woke with a fright. She had a dream where she had died from a heart attack because someone close to her wrote her name in a notebook. Weird. Class didn't start for another 2 hours. It was still dark outside. All the other teammates were asleep in their bunks. Ruby decided to go on her scroll and go on her social media site. She saw some funny stories, some funny pictures, and a news story every so often. Something suddenly caught her eye. A news article, the title reading, "Roman Torchwick, infamous criminal, found dead in abandoned warehouse." Ruby's eyes widened. Her heart started beating out of her chest. She clicked on the article so frantically and hard she could have broke her device. The article read, "As of 11:00 last night, Roman Torchwick, the world's most infamous criminal, was found dead in an abandoned warehouse near the southwest docks. According to doctors, he died of a sudden heart attack at around 9:00 that very night. Since the outlaw had a heart attack at a considerably young age, hunters and huntresses are investigating the possibility of murder." Ruby shivered at the news, and her scroll slipped out of her hands, dropping to the floor. Ruby grabbed the notebook and ran into the bathroom, shutting the door quietly behind her. She frantically searched through the book, for any rules on how to reverse the effects, or make her forget, or SOMETHING. All she found was the same rules she had already read. Ruby threw the notebook across the room, and slumped down against the door, and began crying. She killed someone. She actually went and murdered someone. Sure, he was a known criminal who everyone wanted dead anyways, but it was still no excuse! People would find out. She'd go to jail. Or executed. She cried harder, before coming to a sudden realization. How would they find out? The heart attack cannot be traced. And even still, they would never find the notebook. Ruby slowly crawled towards where she threw the Death Note. She could use this. She could be a hero. She could kill all the criminals in the world, and no one could stop her. She chuckled, and eventually broke out into laughter. She turned around to head back to her bunk, and froze when she saw who, more like what, was there.

He was a tall creature, with arms and legs like a human being, but that's where the similarities ended. He had wings of a vulture behind him, and he had black feathers covering most of his body, except his pale white head. His eyes were that of a savage cat-like creature, and his hair was tied up into a punk fashion. He looked like a mix between a human and grimm. Ruby screamed, and fell backwards. The creature stepped forwards, and spoke, laughing as words flew out of his mouth. "Man, you should have seen your face! You look like you've seen a ghost!" Ruby reached behind her to pull out her weapon, only to remember she left it beside her bed. "What do you want?" Ruby asked, still terrified by the creature. "I am Ryuk, a shinigami. A god of death, is what that term means." The god of death pointed to what Ruby held in her arms. "And that, is my notebook." Ruby realized what he was looking for and thrusted it out towards him. "Take it! I don't want it!" Ryuk laughed, harder this time, and replied, "I can't take it. You picked it up. It's yours to keep until you die, or pass it onto another human." Ruby's face turned pale. "Then why are you here?" Ryuk replied, "To spectate, basically. I'm here to watch what you'll do with that notebook, and when you die, I will take it back." Ruby stood up, trying not to fear the creature anymore. "So, I'm the only human who's used the notebook?" Ryuk nodded, "Yes." Ruby looked at the accursed object in her hands. "So no one else knows about the book?" Ryuk nodded again. Ruby sighed, then said, "I'm not going to use it again." Ryuk chuckled, then said, "Fine by me." Ryuk then walked out of the bathroom through the closed door and disappeared.

Ruby stood there for a few seconds, pale as a white rose. She looked at the notebook in her hands, and realized she was lying to herself. She had to use it. It was the only way she could rid the world of the evil it had spawned. She walked out of the bathroom, sat down in her bed, and got to work.

The next morning, a dozen more criminals would die from heart attacks. Ruby looked at her written names. There as now blood on her hands. She couldn't go back now. The cycle had begun again.