The Shinigami Queen

A/N: I do not own Death Note. The Death Eraser is a concept from the pilot manga. The Shinigani Queen is an original character of mine; besides her I own nothing. Art of the Shinigami Queen can be found in my gallery on Deviantart (username is Hawkheart29). For any readers who are curious, the unnamed human in this story is Beyond Birthday.

Even Shinigami have myths.

Well, maybe myths was too strong a word, as it indicated some form of belief. Perhaps a better word was rumors. Rumors circulated by bored Shinigami when they tired of complaining about their boredom and laughing at the humans with their ridiculous and pointless lives.

Rumors of an object that could cancel out the power of a Death Note.

Rumors of the one who held said object.

The Death Eraser. Capable of removing a human's name from any Death Note and therefore preventing said human's untimely death. Wielded by a being who rivaled the Shinigami King in power and authority.

The Shinigami Queen.

But of course such things were nonsense. Those few Shinigami who said they had seen her, claimed she had silently appeared and plucked their Death Note from their hands, erasing the latest name they had added to their long list of unlucky humans with an eraser whiter than oblivion, only to hand the notebook back when she was done and disappear as quietly as she had arrived, they were insane. Driven mad by the boredom of long life.

If there was such a Queen, why didn't she command her people with her presence alone, the way the Shinigami King did? Why did she hide away in the corners of nothingness? Why wouldn't she lord over them all with her power to remove names and render their Death Notes useless?

Because she didn't exist.

At least, that's what most Shinigami would say, if anyone ever asked them.

A few brave reapers had, over eternity, asked the King about her, but he never answered or even acknowledged such inquiries. Because such questions were too stupid for him to bother with, the naysayers would say. Less brave Shinigami would direct their questions to Armonia Justin, but his answer was always the same, "I've never seen her." That seemed to settle it. If Armonia Justin, who knew every Shinigami and their business, had never seen her then she obviously didn't exist.

Sidoh knew better.

The latest rumor being passed around by his fellow Shinigami was that a human had been born with Shinigami eyes. Hadn't traded for, but been born with. How and why no one knew, nor did they particularly care to. Sidoh decided he had to view this human for himself, to see if the rumors were true. Of course they wouldn't be, because no human would be so blessed to have Shinigami eyes without first paying the price.

They were.

Sidoh could scarcely believe it; a young, orphaned human boy, with the eyes of a Shinigami. Eyes that could see the names and lifespans of his fellow humans.

It made him sick. How dare this insignificant mortal creature wield what rightfully belongs to the Gods of Death without consequence.

Well, Sidoh could fix that.

Pulling out his Death Note Sidoh wrote down the boy's name, taking joy in knowing that this universal mix-up would soon be corrected.

He had just written the last letter of the human's name when it happened. The air around him changed; a feeling of doom and foreboding, dark and heavy, suddenly surrounded him.

Sidoh turned around and there she was. The Shinigami Queen.

She was not physically intimidating the way the Shinigami King was, but she still radiated all the same power, authority, and danger that he did.

Wordlessly she took Sidoh's Death Note with one hand from his trembling arms. Without speaking a word she slowly lifted her other hand, allowing Sidoh to see the object that she carried.

An eraser as white as oblivion. The Death Eraser.

"W-what are you doing?" Sidoh, paralyzed with fear, managed to whisper, as he watched the Shinigami Queen run the Death Eraser across the page of his Death Note.

She said nothing as she handed back his notebook, before spreading her wings and flying off, silent as the grave.

Sidoh did not know how long he stood there, watching her retreat into the distance. Even after she had long vanished from his sight, still he stood, unmoving as stone.

When he finally did manage to shake off his shock, the first thing Sidoh did was open his Death Note.

He gasped.

The human's name was gone from the Note's pages, as if it had never been written in the first place.

Sidoh checked on the human. Still alive.

Sidoh trembled. Though the idea of a human born with the gift of Shinigami eyes still made him angry, he didn't dare try to write the human's name down again.

He had no desire to find out what would happen to any Shinigami who dared defy the will of the Shinigami Queen.

According to the rumors, those humans whose names the Shinigami Queen erased were those who hadn't yet fulfilled their destinies.