Title: Rudbeckia

Rating: T

Pairing: None

Disclaimer: Me no oooooown 'cept my shinigami.

Summary: AU. L supposed that it could be an imaginary friend, though it didn't explain the notebook with the ability to kill people with a swish of a pen.

A/N: Inspiration is the cause of this.

During my late night ponderings over different things (i.e. sugar, lawyers, homosexuals and how many people you can stick into a phone box), I wondered over the OCs in the death Note fandom. Then tried to figure out how many of them were Mary-sues and how many were Shinigami.

Then I had a splendid idea to have an AU Death Note fanfic where L picks up a DN before the original timeline with an OC shinigami! It's my attempt at writing a believable OC without there being the messy web of romance or godly super powered females thrown into the mix.

Criticism is very welcome! If my OC Shinigami shows signs of being too unbelievable, tell me so I can adapt!

This chapter is short, I know, but this is just a prologue. The next chapter will be at least 2'500 words…but that's if I get a positive feedback XD Enjoy!

(P.S. The title is a plant representing Justice :D )

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"I've made my bed, and now I've gotta weasel out of it."

-- Bart, The Simpsons

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CHAPTER 000: PROLOGUE

Thump thump

"Hn…you lose again."

Fen's canine skull covered head lolled to the side lazily, the androgynous Shinigami unable to muster enough energy to fully turn to observe his two companions' game. "What're ya bettin' anyway?" He rumbled, voice husky and muffled from beneath the unmoving mandible of his skull.

Clawed hand raised high, the mummy-esque Shinigami paused. "Nuthin'…" He threw the dice down anyway.

With a contemptuous snort, Fen's head swivelled back round to the frothing depths of the pool, casually picking out a human amongst the seething masses. His life span had waned down to only a mere ten years, the Shinigami having lost track of time in his despondent mood of ennui inspired depression.

Scratching out the human's name in uncertain English (damn humans with their multitude of languages), Fen uncoiled his long tail from its position round his splayed feet, accidentally-on-purpose knocking over his two companions' board where their game was held.

The two squawked, leaping back from the lithe appendage. "Fen, you clumsy idiot!" The mummy-esque Shinigami smacked the beast like Shinigami round the head, clawed hand impacting the soft flesh under the spiky mane and dishevelled black feathers.

It was that rash action that started everything.

Fen grunted again, grip slackening on his precious Death Note and half turning to snarl at the other Shinigami. But angry words were halted when he felt that a certain something was missing from his grip, and immediately whirled back round to watch, with horrified golden eyes, his Death Note bouncing off the edge of the pool and into its depths.

The silence that usually smothered the Shinigami World took on an awkward tint.

"Oops."

X.x.X

L had an IQ well over 200.

He was also logical, and did not understand why some of the children his age within the orphanage believed in fictional characters such as the tooth fairy, or Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny. It was obvious that they were the by products of bedtime stories, and yet, children still thought that they were real.

It simply baffled him.

He nibbled on his cookie, curled up comfortably against the tree as other children raced by playing some form of tag. Mr. Whammy told him that he could take this nice day to socialize as a break from his studies, but the young prodigy saw no need to do so with those who could not understand his great intellect. He was quite content being by himself with only his candy and Mr. Whammy to keep him company.

Stuffing the rest of the baked good into his mouth, the ten year old glanced up at the clear blue sky through the canopy of the tree's leaves.

And was immediately hit on the head by some object.

As he blinked the stars from his eyes, he wondered if the teens playing football kicked the ball at him again. Rubbing the sore spot he concluded that no, it wasn't, as it didn't feel like a leather bound ball of pressurized air. He glanced down, wide eyes blinking at the offending object lying at his feet.

A black book.

Did someone throw it at him? Glancing round, there was no gaggle of giggling children, or a smirking teen. He looked up again, pale fingers dragging through wild ebony tresses around the spot where the book collided with his head. Where did it come from?

Curiously, he picked up the innocuous item, blinking at the strange tingling feeling that rushed from his fingertips throughout his whole body. He shook it off, perturbed by the illogical series of events and glanced at the scrawled title on the book's front, recognizing it from his many lessons as Katakana, a writing form from the Japanese language.

Death Note

Curiosity growing, he opened it gingerly using only his forefinger and thumb and swept his wide eyes over the first page. His brows furrowed at the spidery list of languages, all translated into the same sentence: 'This Death Note belongs to the Shinigami Fen, any human, on the off chance that they may pick this up, who writes in this book, may kill whoever they wish.'

Shinigami? A Japanese creature, a God of Death…was this a joke? Turning the page, he took note of exactly twelve names, written in the same spidery writing of the sentence on the first page. Though there was a ninety nine per cent chance that this was a complete joke and nothing would happen if he did write someone's name; on the one per cent chance that it was real, he would be classified as a murderer, and he would not take that chance.

Maybe he should hand it in to Mr. Wammy. Nodding to himself, the young prodigy stood, hunched over and clutching the black notebook to his chest as he shuffled back into the orphanage for gifted orphans.

But first, he needed to see if these people whose names were written in here were actually dead.

X.x.X

Ten miles away, walking down a dirt track through a field full of sheep, Fen grunted as he felt a tug on his being. Someone had claimed ownership of his Death Note.

"Goddammit."

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A/N: That's the prologue, tell me what ya think and look out for the first chappie!

Man, I can't wait for the final chappie though… ¬.¬ No spoilers…hehehehe…