Raising the Stakes [Kunuru]

[Claw]

How does such a warm, friendly day turn into such a crappy, freezing night?

Claw's gaze over the streets was calm and frozen. Wind whipped her red highlights all across her face, their color almost completely lost to the darkness. She sighed, peering over the edge of her apartments balcony, at the people walking to and fro six stories under her. Part of her wanted to stand there watching them. Another wanted to pick up her gun and start playing a carnival game...the one where you shoot the moving duck-targets. She ignore the impulse and focused on a much more annoying issue.

There hadn't been any progress with the investigation, and Claw was losing her patience. Since the police had stopped giving out any detailed information on the Kira case to the public, it had been nothing, nothing, and more nothing. She hated watching as every outlook she had disappear. She had tried to hack into police files, but of course she had been blocked. She wasn't a hacker, dammit! She was a chaser.

I need to find a way to catch Kira before the police. Before L. I need a clue. Anything to aid me. But...what can I do?

She pursed her lip against the mask on her face, her tongue pressing lightly against her cheek. She had always known this case wouldn't be easy alone. It was a one shot. A girl seeking destruction. A fools gamble. Her frown changed to a sullen smile.

To bad I'm petty...I hate to lose such a challenging game.

She turned to reenter her apartment, her eyes focusing on her bare feet. It was getting so cold. She should go inside before her toes started falling off. She reached for the doorknob slowly when a soft breeze caught her off-guard, matting her hair all across her face. "Damn wind..." she swore, turning barely to push her hair back. She noticed something in the dark of the alley. Falling...falling from nowhere, until it hit the concrete. Claw felt one eyebrow rise, her legs pushing her towards the other end of her balcony. Did something drop from another apartment? She leaned over the railing gently and peered over to the deep abyss. Just there, barley showing over the black ground, was a book. A regular college notebook.

"What the hell? Did someone drop it out the window?" she blink a few times. Finally, she turned towards the balcony steps and started slowly down six stories to reach the cold earth. The book was a bit larger than it looked from so high up, but it's color was the same. Deep, deep black, just like the night sky. How strange that it fell from nowhere. She didn't bother to open the cover, so she just turned it around to see the front. Two words were written there in strange, cryptic white letters.

"Death Note"

[Kunuru]

Earlier that day...
Flapping, flapping, the wind blowing down from above felt like a gentle breeze on the people below. How dumb they were to not notice the huge beast only just above the tree line above, flying with an evil grin on his face. Instead, the insignificant humans went about their daily lives, existing only to say they existed. Nothing, no point, but the live the lives they have. Kunuru continued looking down on humans, with their stupidity in their supposed beliefs and ideals. How could they honestly call themselves superior beings on their planet? It was easy to get to the top of one's food chain if they don't know what's above them. As Kunuru flew though, he saw it. There was a chance to have some fun. The girl Kunuru had been watching for a few days now, finally led him to her home.

Flapping, it never ended. Kunuru got so bored of walking, so instead he flew everywhere he went. There it was, in the distance, the building in which Claw had gone in. Even she was to ignorant to see a shinigami, or rather she hadn't touched his Death Note, leaving her blind to the near future. Kunuru however saw his target as clear as day. She had an appearance that stood out a bit to Kunuru, even though he had no idea why. A brief pause as she slipped from view left Kunuru to wait. He stood on top of a telephone pole, watching the empty balcony, soon she would come out. If she had the eyes needed to see a shinigami, she'd be astonished at the beast staring back, but until her skin comes in contact with the note he carries, Kunuru would simply be a figment unseen in the world.

There she was once more, a grin brought now to Kunuru's face. She was watching the peons below, the look on her face representing the feeling Kunuru had. They are useless, but killing them is boring. Kunuru couldn't read her facial expressions however, he had not taken the time to learn much about human behavior, just enough to know how to con them from time to time. As she turned to walk inside, Kunuru lept from the tree, and flapped his wings. The strong breeze would blow along the area, and carry the book from his hand down to the ground. She seemed to notice the book, and even more luck was that she went to retrieve it. Kunuru moved to land on her roof, waiting just out of sight. It wouldn't be long now before her curiosity would get to her, and Kunuru would wait on the roof, an eerie wait, waiting for her to kill.

[Claw]

"Is this a joke?" Claw mumbled to herself, her eyes reading the inside cover of the notebook feverishly. She had been suspicious when she'd seen the title on the note, but now she was sure this hadn't fallen from anybody's window...at least not someone sane. At first, Claw wondered if the book was a hit-list set up by one of the many psycho kids that lived in the neighborhood. But when the pages were empty...and the note falling from the sky? It was something out of the "Twilight Zone". Half of her, 'Kirimi' per say, wanted nothing to do with such a cryptic book. Lucky for Claw she never listened to reason. She started up the stairs and to the aparment door, which she reached in swiftly to grab her backpack. As she pulled out a pen from the front pocket, only one voice echoed in her head.

Test it.

Wait... Her hand froze just above the paper, hovering there with the pen she held. What if it's real? What if I write someone's name and they really... Claw shook her head. "Stupid, stupid Claw. Notebooks can't kill people." She lowered her hand and began to write. She wanted a result fast, so the only person she could think of was the man who worked across the street. Hell, he wouldn't be missed. He sold drugs to kids anyway, so he would be killed by Kira someday. "S...h...i...K...u...m...i..." She looked to the clock on the big-screen in town. 40 seconds and she would have either a fun prank to pull at school the next day...Or a weapon that was beyond her control.

3
2
1

Shi Kumi swayed, then stopped. His eyes widdened and bulged like they were about to pop from his skull. His mouth opened wide as he gripped his chest in pure agony. People aroung him jumped back in surprise, some screamed in terror. A few journalist that were around snapped quick pictures. Finally he colapsed, his eyes white and very, very dead. Claw stood on the balcony, frozen in place as the scene unfolded just a block away. Her body shook, almost as violently as Shi's had, and she slammed back into the concrete wall behind her.

"I...I killed him..." she stammered, slidding down the wall in shock. "The 'Death Note' is real..."

[Kunuru]

A laugh could suddenly be heard, a twisted evil sounding laugh of a creature not from this world. The only thing one could say by hearing the voice, was that it was spawned by the devil himself. For in the corner of the room, a head began to pass through the wall. The once thought of protective barrier from the outside world. The demon kept passing through the wall as if it hadn't existed at all. The twisting head soon gave view to shoulders, then a body, then following were two long lithe legs. As the creature made his way in, he seemed oddly harmless, though the similar book as the one Claw had resting on his hip begged to differ. A second Death Note was in his possession, maybe not so unusual for a human to see as it sounded, but to a Death God that meant he was quite the shrewd or dangerous among their kind.

"I am Kunuru, the shinigami who dropped that book.", he claimed while staking previous ownership over the note that Claw had used to kill another needless human. It seemed as if this amused creature was actually laughing at the loss of a human life, however as Claw had thought, no one would miss him, especially a shinigami. His twisted form squatted down, though with his height he was still the same size vertically as the other in the room. He stared with huge eyes, glaring in a curious manner that would lead only to questions if left unchecked. He spoke nothing else, as if he figured she wouldn't care, or he had nothing important to add. It was hard to fathom how a creature like this could claim something so blandly, and simply expect it to be accepted with no questions.

The part that made Kunuru's claim so frightening, was that he didn't claim that she needed to hand it back. Neither did he demand back his book, nor did he give her permission to keep it. Clearly this otherworldly being had some special powers, and could likely kill humans just as easily as Claw just had, but his trickery had already began. His curiosity, 'how will she accept this phrase?', thought process. He had no concerns, but the game was a new one, and she was going to be the puppet. He stared at her carefully, watching with the twisted grin that seemed plastered to his demonic face. Kunuru was a hard sight to look at, and even harder to understand. His facial expressions never even twitched as he spoke, only moving enough to make the sounds.

As he stared, Kunuru made note of the room with his peripheral vision. His eyes remained unmoving, though the major points of the room that stood out would go noted. He watched for anything that would give him an edge over her, although he had one in the Death Note. There were few rules concerning the relationship between user and shinigami, and none of them expected him to quote off rules that could be read by her. Instead, Kunuru took a neutral standpoint, and decided to let her walk into her own traps that he would set. Temptation was his game, but first she needed to understand what kind of game she was playing. This game would be her last. If she chose to accept it, Claw's life would end because of Kunuru, though the time was completely undecided.

[Claw]

Her head turned sharply at the unfamiliar laugh that echoed through her apartment. Claw froze, still slumped against the wall, when the cause of the voice became clear. Her hand gripped the note tight like a support, despite the fact it had just taken another humans life. She looked over the ghoulish creature with large, terrified eyes as it stated its name and, if even more unbelievable, what it was. However, Claw felt no fear when the so-called ‘shinigami’ phased through the walls and sat just a few feet from her. If anything, she was most frightened by the fact she’d used the murder note…the shinigami’s murder notebook. Now she knew this was no accident that it had fallen.

“Sh-Shinigami…?” Her voice shook lightly. One arm reached her backpack and helped to hoist her up so she was looking right into the haunted eyes of the ghoul. “You’re real…? And this note…” her voice trailed as she held the Death Note up, “…is yours?” She realized how silly she must sound, but she was taking to a god of death for Pete’s sake! How was she supposed to come up with a normal conversation?! She looked to the table where her gun was. Next to the gun was the photograph of Momo, her sister. Would shooting it work? She doubted it.

The room felt very cold in the presence of this creature. Her shaking stopped after a minute or two, giving Claw some time to think. So a shinigami dropped his notebook of death and I nabbed it. Does that count as stealing? No, he dropped it. There must be a reason. A few breaths (and a quick pulse-check) later, Claw let a smug grin show behind her mask. If anyone would laugh in the face of danger, or death, she would. “So? I’m guessing you’re here for this,” she waved the note before her face, “Or what? Are you going to eat my soul?”

(Bet her soul wouldn't taste good...yuk )

[Kunuru]

The cackling beast who introduced himself as Kunuru slowly dropped his laughing until it was nothing more than a quiet chuckle. His beady eyes stared at her, watching her as she quickly thought of her next thing to say. Every motion, every twitch, it was going to be a fun game with someone like Claw. She would do just fine, as expected. As she continued to contemplate, in just the brief moments she took to think, Kunuru seemed completely motionless. Finally she spoke, her logic would probably make sense to most humans, but it only sounded stupid to Kunuru. After all, it was dumb to think a shinigami would have the desire to eat the lowly humans. Kunuru tilted his large head, smirking slightly at the question of ownership and edibility, before he opened his maw of a mouth to reply.

"If I were here to eat you I would have. I grew bored, so I decided to lend my book to whoever saw it fall." The lie was blatant, but she would have no way to tell. He knew she couldn't have seen him stalking her that day, waiting to find her alone before dropping the book before her eyes. His sick grin didn't change as he continued to explain, "Feel free to enjoy it as long as you want." He stood in the corner though, eyes watching without judgment. It was oddly comforting that he didn't seem to care that she used the book to take the life of another human, if anything he simply just didn't seem to worry about it at all. In all, Kunuru was hard to predict for the human.

After just a few moments passed, Kunuru began to turn himself slightly, now looking about the room more openly. His eyes would look at the things that he couldn't decipher before, seemingly more interested in the pointless nick nacks that the book of death with the adequately titled cover "Death Note". Such a powerful thing had no baring on him, after all why would one be interesting to someone who had two? Instead, Kunuru simply began wandering around, a bit amazed at all the unusual things that would to a human seem so normal. As Kunuru slowly circled the room, he turned his attention back to Claw. He tilted his head slightly tot he side and watches with curiosity, wondering what her next move will be. After all, his simple hope was that she was amusing.

[Claw]

Claw continued to watch the shinigami with intense curiosity. Never in her life, even as a child, had she believed in ghost or monsters...much less gods of death. Such things were impossible and held no interest for her. Yet this creature 'Kunuru' sat mere feet away from her and he was very, very real. She anticipated her soul-eater question to be shot down since they superstitions against a crazy legend, and this was no crazy legend. Kunuru's cracked voice made Claw shiver again. Even more so when the book was 'given' to her with such indifference.

"You're giving this to me?" her glare intensified, the grip on the notebook tightening again. "This book has the power to take lives, and your just dropping it so some random human can grab it." she sneered. "Sounds to god to be true. What's the catch?" As any 'random human', Claw knew nothing of the shinigami's reasons for dropping the Death Note. As any 'random human', she felt slightly drawn to the power it possessed. But as a chaser, it didn't take long for her to piece the murder note with another string of killings. She would have to ask Kunuru later, once she fully understood the Death Note's power.

[Kunuru]

Kunuru stared intensely, even as he chuckled a bit under his breath as she inquired about the book further. "I'm lending it to you, when you die I'll take it back." Kunuru's grin widened a bit as he spoke again, "And the catch is simple. Any human who uses the Death Note may not enter heaven or hell. Your life will not be affected, and when it comes time for you to die, I'll be the one who takes your life." Kunuru basically told her that he would kill her some day, but the way he worded it was incredibly non-threatening. He wasn't planning on murdering her, but simply being the one who was there to kill her when she needed to die anyway.

The beast smiled wide, his shinigami eyes watching her name, the reason he didn't bother asking for it himself. He didn't need an introduction, he'd given his name and he knew hers. It was kind of odd how Kunuru replied to her question though, it was true and a lie at the same time. Of course it would affect her life, she owned a Death Note. Owning the note wouldn't do anything in itself, however using it would obviously change some things about her life. Kunuru began to walk toward Claw, looking down at her. He towered over her even when hunching over so much, staring down at her as if waiting for her to continue writing names.

[Claw]

Claw's grin hadn't faded since Kunuru had told her the notebook was her to keep, but now it slipped off her face. The note would be hers for as long as she wanted and she could kill whoever she wanted. That was a good thing. The fact that the shinigami was going to kill her in the end and how she was getting kicked out of the afterlife wasn't. Not that Claw believed that heaven would take her in the first place considering her life, but she'd always secretly hoped there was a slim chance. A very slim chance. The fact that Kunuru was standing over her menicingly wasn't helping. It was killing her buzz even more than the whole death thing.

"Personal space, Kunu-suke," Claw mumbled the new nickname quietly. Well, its name is Kunuru and its really big... (suke = masculine ending) She moved to push the creature away and wasn't at all fazed when her hand went right through Kunuru's torso. "I need to think about this thing. There are rules, as I can see," she flipped to the first page, "So what are my limitations? Name and face, that's it?" More imprtantly, Claw wanted to ask if there were more Death notes out there. The rules had fit when she'd first read them, but she hadn't believed it until the first kill. This book definatly had something to do with Kira, and she was willing to give anything to catch him. Even if it meant using the murder note.

(OOC: I AM BACK FROM THE GRAVE!! )

[Kunuru]

Kunuru's face finally changed, the grin had slightly lowered, and his left eye raised slightly, though he remained silent until he was posed a question, "Kunu-suke?", then he shook his head. "Shinigami are not required to explain the rules, however I will say that you're right, just name and face. But it has to be an accurate first and last name, and an accurate image." A grin crossed over his lips, he wanted so badly to propose the shinigami eyes, but he knew it would be better to wait until she was desperate to get a name. Kunuru lumbered slowly back as she tried to push him, a useless attempt but he took the hint. "What's there to think of though?", he posed so simply. Clearly Kunuru was not familiar with the way the human world worked, or how human's emotions and fears might make them weary.

The grin returned, Kunuru had thought of something. With a sagely maneuver of crossing his arms and closing his eyes with a nod, Kunuru spoke. "You've already used the note once, why wouldn't you want to use it more?" The words were indeed logical, she had already killed once, but the questioner was still lacking the mindset of a human. He was immortal, and that meant he didn't think things through thoroughly, why should he? Instead, Kunuru lived purely for the moment, and simply did without worry of consequences. On earth he was invisible, untouchable, and immortal, there were no consequences for his actions, but humans had to think further down the road to protect themselves.

[Claw]

Claudia felt a bit of pride when she noticed the smile vanish from Kunuru’s face. Clearly the shinigami wasn’t used to nicknames, so this was all too much fun. From now on, she’d have to call him that just to tick him off. Perfect. Kunuru’s questions made her arrogance slip. “Oh, Kunu-suke? There are so many things to think about." She raised her free hand and pointed her index finger up. "Number one: I’m sure gods of death must know about other notebooks, am I right?? She paused, raising her middle finger, before continuing. “Number two: I think it’s a bit obvious there is more than one Death Note on earth. And three: I believe one of them…” for the first time since she’d found the murder note, she set it down on a table nearby. On the table was a newspaper with the headline ‘MORE CRIMINALS ARE FOUND DEAD?on it. ?..belongs to the mass murderer Kira.? Claw turned to look back at Kunuru. She lowered her mask so her full face, along with an arrogant little grin, could be seen clearly. “So tell me, am I right??
When Kunuru mention using the notebook again, Claw’s smile widened even more and her eyes glinted dangerously. There was something so evil about killing people at random that worked quite well with her own way of life, but killing another person from outside her window might make the neighborhood seem suspicious to the police. Claw didn’t need L checking her apartment for killers, or worse Kira. Her eyes glanced around the room brefley, attention returning to the newspaper. A man had just been charged with kidnapping, is picture was on the 'Wanted' list. She looked from the picture to the article, but found no name to go with the man’s face. “Dammit…” she hissed. She'd figured killing a criminal would be the best thing to do, but what was the point if she didn't have a name? Her eyes lead to the notebook, then at Kunuru. "I'd love to Kunu-suke, really. But I don't think murdering the neighborhood would look good," she chuckled, resting her hand over the Death Note.

[Kunuru]

A slight chuckle came from Kunuru as she asked her questions, nothing more than a mild laugh to indicate he was indeed enjoying her thoughts. Then as she finished he reached up to scratch his head, cocking it slightly to the side. "There are many Death Notes, but Shinigami don't know where each other are. We see each other, and we can recognize a user of a Death Note just on sight." He grinned wide, there was more to his thoughts than what he spoke. "However, I have no idea what a Kira is." The way he worded the statement made it easy to believe he wasn't lying, he didn't even seem to know Kira was a person, and not a thing or a creature. Kunuru was incredibly cunning, but he, like everyone else, did not know everything. On top of this, Kunuru didn't seem to gain anything from this if it was a lie, so chances were good he was not in the know.

As Claudia looked about the room, then to the newspaper, Kunuru watched somewhat disappointment. He seemed to think she was clever, but to resort to such basic means to use the note was discouraging to Kunuru. However, he did find her comment amusing about the mass murderer owning a Death Note. "There might be a user somewhere. That person might have their reasons for killing, or they might kill for fun." Even this seemed stupid for Kunuru to say, since Kira had so clearly set out a path of destruction for those who were law breakers. Kunuru reinforced the appearance of knowing nothing about Kira or the other Death Note. The existence of multiple shinigami however, had been proven. This is to say, if Kunuru was lying and he did know, it would be impossible for him to be the shinigami who worked with Kira, if Kira was still killing.

On the other hand, if Kunuru was not lying, it would mean he didn't know who Kira was, and a second Death Note was owned without Kunuru's knowledge or concern. It seemed like he backed himself into a corner, having given information that hadn't been directly asked or needed. It wasn't that Kunuru was planning on withholding that information specifically, but he never liked to give an answer to an unasked question. This was nothing he considered major, for two reasons. Claudia might not pick up on the fact that there were definitively two Death Notes, and even if she did, the knowledge might not affect how she uses hers. However, if she did know that there were two notes, she might ask more questions of Kunuru, which might lead to more information, something Kunuru wanted to avoid.

[Claw]

Again, the smile on Claw’s face was wiped clear from view. Kunuru’s answer wasn’t what she wanted. “Well, aren’t you a dictionary’s worth on knowledge…” she hissed under her breath. The reply wasn’t much, but had given her a hint. So there could be more than one notebook on earth. Check please. Her mouth twitched into a sneer once Kira was brought up again and, to her irritation, Kunuru had no information to give to her. Something about the shinigami’s bright grin made Claw very uneasy. She didn’t trust him at all (he was a shinigami for hell’s sake) and that smile seemed too much like a façade. There was something she wasn’t getting from him. Not that he’d tell her.

Claw’s gaze went from the newspaper to Kunuru in a split second at his comment. Her eyes narrowed, always glaring, in his direction as her fist tightened slightly. “Kill for fun? What a sadistic reason for killing…” she felt a smirk creep up on her face, “...Sound like something I’d do.” Her eyes returned to the paper again, reading over the same article about the kidnapper. Something popped into her head. She turned again, her smirk still on her face, and she stared out the window. “So this second book that you said might be on earth and this second user who might be Kira…he has a shinigami too, I’m guessing.” Her arms crossed across her chest. “Suppose Kira’s shinigami saw you. If they can recognize users by sight, that would mean I was screwed, wouldn’t it?” She watched Kunuru out of the corner of her eye.

"Also, one of these rules doesn't fit the Kira I know." She flipped open the Death Note and pointed at one of the rules. "A name and a face. That doesn't work. I saw an incident recently that lead me to believe Kira can kill with only a face." Claw's grin showed again. "Explain that, Kunu-suke."

[Kunuru]

It wasn't enough that Kunuru was obviously withholding information, but she gave him information she didn't know that she was giving. She was confirming her knowledge by asking questions, allowing for Kunuru's game to become fun for him. "Realistically, most shinigami dislike humans, or find you boring. I would imagine that this other shinigami wouldn't let the user know they saw another shinigami. Likewise, I likely wouldn't tell you if I see a shinigami." He thought for a moment, before a grin crossed over him once more. The question was posed in a way that his answer would be fun. "However, there's a way that you could tell this 'Kira' person just by looking at him. I can give you the eyes of a shinigami, which allow you to see people's names, and their life span. With that you'd be able to identify anyone who has a Death Note."

Kunuru lowered himself down tilting his head. He grinned, not having given any further information. He didn't tell her of the cost, instead letting Claudia get sucked in to the idea of knowing just by sight alone. It would be easier to tell how to reply based on how she accepts this added information. If for any reason, Claudia was not interested, it would be left at that, ready to be brought up another day. If she would instead show an interest, Kunuru would simply reel her in like a salesman. This wasn't a fair game, but that was Kunuru's style to begin with. This was a gamble for Claudia, but for Kunuru it was impossible to lose. He was not the type to hide the fact that he was pleased with the conversation, but he was able to dominate this aspect of speech with sheer knowledge that she couldn't possibly posses, and unfair advantage.

[Claw]

If it was humanly possible, Claw would have been sure her heart had stopped. Kunuru's offer for the shinigami eyes hadn't been in her thoughts at all, probably since she didn't know they existed, but all at once they became her main point of intrest. To be able to see any person's name and lifespan...that would explain how a shinigami knew a persons name to kill them (though she didn't see the importance of their lifespan). But what really caught her attention was the last bit about how she could recognize another user...another Death Note holder...possibly even Kira. It seemed to good to be true. Claw looked into Kunuru's face, moving her hand in front of it and 'pushing' him back (or really just going through him) before moving across the room like she was pacing.

"What did I say about personal space Kunuru?" Claw didn't bother using her new nickname. The conversation wasn't right for it. Her hand lowered after it went though Kunuru's cheek. "These eyes sound intresting," she mused, then her grin turned sour. "But I'm not so sure about them. Doesn't seem like something you'll just give me for free. What's the catch?" Claw felt like she'd been asking that a lot... First about the note, now these 'shinigami eyes'. But despite what her head was saying, she wanted them. She wanted the notebook, it was a useful way of killing those in her way and for eventual use on Kira, and she wanted the eyes. She was willing to do anything to caputre the murderer...wasn't she?