Disclaimer: I do not own either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Death Note... but wouldn't it be cool if I did?

New World's Guardian

Chapter 1 – Lack of a Slayer

The rain fiercely hurtled down onto the town in sheets, mercilessly pelting the streets and buildings with water. It was ironic really, considering that the town's name was Sunnydale. On this dreary night, a lone figure was hurriedly making their way home through the rain, a jacket pulled up over their head in a vain attempt to keep dry. However, despite the rush the figure was in, they still managed to spot something odd lying a few feet away at the side of the road. They slowly moved over and picked it up, gazing curiously at the black cover and silver letters that declared the object's name.

Death Note

"Death Note?" muttered the figure scathingly as they idly flipped the book's

cover open, "sounds like a corny horror movie."

The human whose name is written in this note shall die

"Lame," they muttered, closing the books again dismissively, "pretty bad taste prank though. Probably just wanted to see who people would kill." They dropped the note again, moving away again down the street. However a moment later they ran back, seized the Note off the ground and tucked it under one arm, not looking back until they had reached their home and locked the door behind them.

1 month later…

"There were 24 more victims reported today as the recent trend of mysterious heart attack death continues," stated the news announcer in the cold, impersonal voice that news announcers seemed to use in every report from cats up trees to mass murders, "These deaths bring the estimated death toll from this incident to 320, with more deaths occurring every day. Global police forces today announced they were officially treating this case as a murder investigation, in spite of the fact that every one of the victims has died of a heart attack." As the report ended, the rooms occupants who had previously been sat in silence, returned to the conversation that the news had interrupted.

"Do we really have to hunt Kira?" asked one girl seriously, glaring at the middle-aged man who seemed to be leading the discussion, "I mean he seems to be a good thing. Crime has decreased by 70 since he started killing, leading to an altogether better and more productive society, with benefits for all."

"Anya," replied the young man who was sat beside her, "not that I don't love you, but if there are murders going on, as the good guys we have to stop them."

"You humans are all so confusing!" exclaimed Anya in frustration, slamming down the book that she had been reading from, "first you all complain about there being to much crime then you complain about the thing making crime go away." Whilst she too was human, she hadn't always been. For over a thousand years Anya had been Anyanka, a vengeance demon who lived to exact punishment on men who had wronged women. However through a series of events that she deeply resented she had been stripped of her powers and trapped in the body of a teenage girl.

"Sorry…" muttered Rupert Giles, the middle-aged man who had been the target of Anya's glared daggers, "who is Kira?"

"You haven't heard?" exclaimed Willow, a red-headed woman who was both a powerful witch and the technical expert of the group, "it's all over the internet. Their calling the guy behind these murders 'Kira the savoir' and claim he's some sort of god sent to cleanse the world of all evil doers."

"Well excuse me for not being up to date on your internet fads," retorted Giles, his impatience for computers and everything to do with them well known to the entire group, "but the killer's name is not the issue here. What's important is that there's s supernatural murder going on and as one slayer is dead and another is in prison we're the only ones who can stop it." A moment of sorrow passed over the group as they were reminded once again of Buffy's recent death, seemingly affecting two figures the most as a teenage girl hurried from the room in tears, a tall man with bleached hair hurrying after her, however not before shooting an extremely dirty look in Giles's direction. Dawn Summers was still deeply traumatised by her sister's death to save her, whilst the vampire Spike was not much better himself.

"So it's definitely supernatural then?" asked Xander, the one who had replied to Anya earlier in the conversation, "it's not just some sort of chemical warfare of government conspiracy?"

"I'm afraid that it almost certainly is supernatural," replied Giles, grimly removing his glasses and wiping them on a handkerchief, "it's very unlikely that an individual, or even an organization, could carry out this many murders this quickly and make all of the deaths a heart attack." It was at this point that the room's final occupant, Tara Maclay, another witch and girlfriend of Willow, finally spoke.

"If this is supernatural… then what's causing it?"

"I'm not sure," admitted Giles, uncertainty crossing his face for the first time that night, "this is unlike anything I've ever encountered before. I've been looking into a type of demon known as a Shinigami, literally meaning 'the reaper'. Unfortunately they don't seem to be a very well researched type of demon as information is almost impossible to come by." He sighed, quickly packing away some of the books that he had brought with him. "Well, that's it for tonight. I've asked Spike to patrol for us in case of any regular demonic activity, however since Glory opened the dimensions for a while things have been surprisingly quiet around here."

As he left, Xander and Anya stood up to leave as well, as it was at Willow and Tara's house that the meeting had been held.

"So… is tonight definitely still on?" asked Xander nervously, glancing at the other occupants of the room.

"Yes," replied Willow, the resolve coming through clearly on her voice, "I don't care about the risks, I know I can do this." She lowered her voice, making sure that neither the girl nor the vampire heard what they were talking about. "Meet me at her grave around 11:30 tonight… because we're going to bring Buffy back.

Meanwhile…

A lone figure was sat in their bedroom, feverishly copying down the names that were displayed on a small portable television into the Death Note, knowing that these people would be dead within seconds. They turned in their seat, staring up at the inhuman face of the Shinigami that also stood in the room.

"Soon Ryuk," they muttered, putting down their pen for a moment, "with the Death Note's power I'll soon have created a new world… one where I'll be the guardian… I'll be the one with power!"