STORY SUMMARY: Being reborn into a Japanese story was bad enough. Being reborn as the twin sister to a certain notorious mass murderer, was another thing entirely. Told in a series of drabbles. Warning: Mild incest themes.

Rating: T (Subject to change)

GENERAL DISCLAIMER: It's not my sandbox. I'm just playing in it.

AN: Thank you all so much for your responses! They really make a world of difference. Enjoy!

DESTROY SHE SAID

Chapter Twenty-Five : Together

I settled rigidly on the corner of my bed, legs beginning to feel a little too much like a newborn colt's. Ryuk didn't need any more invitation than that to begin.

"Shinigami is a name humans gave my kind, Gods of Death. But that isn't exactly the case. We shinigami are not the embodiment of death as you mortals seem to think. Death doesn't need shinigami the way shinigami need death. We can't survive without it, ya see. This is why when one of us writes a mortal's name in our book, they die but it is not required because with or without a shinigami's interference, all humans will eventually die." His head slanted to the side and he raised one elongated claw, pointed towards the ceiling. "So what, then, is the purpose of Shinigami if not to bring an end to the natural cycle of human life?"

The uneasy feeling in my stomach was back.

"Our true purpose is to weasel out the cheaters. The mortals that escaped their fates. That is the true reason for our existence. I've never been one to follow all the old man's rules. In fact I break them often. Even managed to swipe an extra death note. But he wouldn't let it go so easily if he knew I'd allowed you to live."

I dug my fingernails into my arms and tried to channel a calm I did not feel. Being hunted by a swarm of shinigami didn't appeal to me in the slightest.

Guessing my thoughts, Ryuk grunted, "Though to be fair, our true purpose isn't exactly on the top of most shinigamis priority lists these days. Most of the time they just sit around the wasteland, not doing much of anything. Even I wasn't looking for you. Our meeting was purely accidental."

That made me feel a little better, I guess. A little.

"What about this 'old man' you keep mentioning? Is he…" i hesitated for a moment, struggling to find the right pronoun, "...like your dad?" Even as I said it, I knew it sounded wrong. And kind of stupid, frankly. But bypassing the fact that beings such as Ryuk wouldn't have conventional parents, the idea of a potentially taller version of Ryuk was less intimidating than what was likely the truth.

"Are you trying to be funny?"

"More like optimistic." I mumbled, fidgeting my cardigan between two fingers.

"Daiō is the king of all shinigami. He rules our realm and the next and is the most powerful of us all."

I made the mistake of looking up and I happened to catch a glimpse of Ryuk's smile. I felt my stomach drop when I saw how it had turned sickening. My gut told me what Ryuk wasn't.

"Is he—" I licked my parched lips, "is he the terrible thing?"

His dark chuckle was all the confirmation I needed. Excellent. Apparently not only did I have a target on my back when it came to every shinigami in existence, but also the behemoth of all shinigami had my number. When would this end?

Shaking my head I tried to refocus.

"Okay, so that explains this whole," I waved my hand about, "attempt at my life-er-thing but why didn't it work? You being a shinigami and me being a 'cheater of death'," I framed in air quotes. "You did your job so why am I still breathing?" To my disappointment, his reply left much to be desired.

"No idea."

I narrowed my eyes, bringing a knee up to my chest.

"You promised you'd tell me everything."

"And I did. I have no clue why the death note didn't succeed. It's a tool crafted by the Shinigami King himself and is meant to be infallible. So your guess is as good as mine."

I frowned. "Well then…what can you tell me about the others like me. The other 'cheaters'." More air quotations. A million questions flooded to mind but I only asked the most important one. "Why am I here?"

I waited on baited breath, feeling excitement build up within me. Impatient for the answers that would bring clarity to my existence. The motive behind my rebirth and why I was living in a world that shouldn't exist outside a story book. Was it the plot of some malevolent entity or did I simply slip through the cracks like I'd always suspected? I must have been gradually leaning forward because suddenly I was slipping off my purchase and was forced to catch myself by the tips of my toes.

"How would I know? The old man isn't exactly the talkative type. He molds us from the decaying ashes of humanity, gives us a death note and a purpose and nothing else." He loomed closer as I tried to swallow my disappointment.

"—But what I can say for sure is that your mere existence is an insult to Daiō. You," he said prodding a finger just below my collar bone, "are an abomination. And while I might've been the first shinigami to write your name in my book, I won't be the last. And when they too fail to wipe you from this plain, word will travel beyond the living realm and Daiō will be upon you. That human, that, is the terrible.

oooo

So, yeah, there was a lot to unpack. I spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in bed; too hot for blankets but too cold without them. Never achieving a happy enough medium to reach a deep sleep. Outside my window, I imagined goliath monsters with a thousand arms and just as many eyes watching hungrily from the darkness. When morning arrived it was a welcome relief.

The faint shuffling of movement around the house lulled me into a sense of security and I knew my family was readying themself for the day. I found myself in a hurry to join them.

Exiting my room, in a rush to dress myself, I collided with Light as I struggled to get my uniform sweater over my head. Had he been standing outside my door?

His hands steadied me by the shoulders and though I couldn't see his face, I knew he was smiling.

"Minori, you're caught," he remarked, pulling firmly on the bottom of the article, trying to disentangle my arms and head from my clothing.

"You don't say." I deadpanned and then hissed, "ow, that's my hair."

"Sorry, I was trying to be gentle." He sounded genuine. "Hold still you're making it worse."

Impatiently I followed instruction and stopped flailing. There was a yank and a tug, and then I was free. Though thanks to the static electricity produced by the polyester blend, my hair was sticking up and to all manner of things—including my face.

Light smoothed it away without asking and I swatted at him for it. "Knock it off, you're going to make it worse." His jaw twitched.

"You're up early today," he observed on our journey down to the breakfast table. Mom and Sayu were already seated and ladling bowls of miso. "Trouble sleeping?" A snicker from somewhere unseen alerted me to Ryuk's presence not far behind.

I ignored him. So did Light.

"I just felt like having a warm breakfast today." I replied flippantly, taking my usual spot to his right and helping myself to a slice of rolled omelette. I could tell he didn't believe me.

The banter around the table was kept light, and mostly participated by Sayu and Mom; though Light contributing a passing comment here or there. After a couple minutes I gave up trying to look interested and allowed my mind to wander back to the previous night. One word, from mine and Ryuk's conversation kept resurfacing. Abomination.

It was Sachiko who broke through my isolation bubble. "Your father took the spare umbrella with him to work today, so you two will need to share."

I glanced up. She was looking pointedly between Light and I.

"What about Sayu?"

My sister beamed, happy to draw me into the discussion. "I'm gonna walk with Serinuma-chan. We have cleaning duty together after school today."

"That's fine with me," Light hummed from beside me. Resigned to the fact that at least half my body was going to get drenched, I nodded.

Sayu's classmate rang the doorbell soon after and she made off ahead of us. I was still collecting textbooks and stepping into my rain boots when Light appeared carrying two bento lunches, one for each of us. I looked pointedly from him, to my overstuffed bag, and back to him. As was usual between us, my twin didn't need anything more to grasp my wordless plea. Amber eyes rolling, in mock exaggeration, he stored both in his own messenger case and took hold of my elbow as we stepped out into the murky Monday weather.

Being a full head and a half taller than me, he elected to hold the umbrella with one hand and made a home at my waist for the other, presumably to save space.

We walked in silence for a bit, both of us content to bask in the familiar presence of the other. And for a short while it was just like back when we were children. Sharing umbrellas and personal space for the enjoyment of it. I sighed happily and let my head fall a little, to barely rest against his shoulder.

I must have startled him because he gave a slight jolt, though nothing else.

"Hey Light?"

"Hmm?"

"Everythings going to be okay, right?"

I could feel him peering down at me but couldn't be bothered to crane my neck far enough back to meet his gaze.

"How do you mean?"

"It's just...I want everything to be okay." I repeated, unable to phrase my deepest wish any differently.

There was a pause, the only sound being raindrops deflecting off the covering overhead.

Then came his solemn reply. "As long as we're together, it will be."

AN: Light POV still in the works I promise! Please keep those reviews coming. They are the jam and butter to my motivation!

Shameless self-promotion 2.0: Just began posting a new Twilight vampire fanfic if anyone is interested :)