For My Daughter, Be Happy.
A derivative work based on DEATH NOTE.
Summary : A tired office worker finds a Death Note.
Unlike Light Yagami, she has no interest in changing the world.
She only wants her father to stop suffering.
Rumors had spread through the Shinigami Realm.
Apparently, Ryuk had once dropped a notebook into the human world and stirred up something interesting. The whole thing had been an excellent way to kill time.
One Shinigami heard the story secondhand and became intrigued.
Excited, they dropped a notebook into the human world as well.
They secretly hoped someone like Light Yagami would find it.
To improve the odds, they even wrote the instructions in Japanese before letting it fall somewhere over Japan.
A woman was walking home late after overtime during the busiest season of the year.
Something landed on her head.
The object slid awkwardly and opened slightly before coming to rest there.
She took it in her hands.
Standing beneath a streetlamp, she read the cover.
"...'Death Notebook'? That's embarrassingly lame. Bad taste."
She looked up at the sky.
"...Where did this even come from?"
For now, she decided she'd bring it to a police box tomorrow and carried it home with her.
Back at her apartment, she placed the notebook on her desk and gradually forgot about it.
Afterward, wanting a small reward for surviving another day, she cracked open a can of cheap alcohol.
While drinking, her eyes drifted toward the notebook.
"...Seriously. What even is this thing?"
Feeling mildly guilty about snooping, she opened it.
Inside, there were detailed instructions.
Written entirely in Japanese.
"...What is this awful notebook... A murder notebook? Even as a joke..."
"...I wouldn't want to write someone's name in here."
The explanation was absurd.
Still, it made decent entertainment while drinking.
"Nothing's written in it anyway..."
"...Maybe I don't need to bother turning it in."
"...I don't exactly have spare time this season."
She flipped the Death Notebook face down on the desk.
Finished the rest of her drink in one gulp.
The empty can collapsed in her hand before she tossed it into the recycling bag.
"Maybe I'll watch some comedy."
"This duo's always reliable."
Afterward, she plugged her phone into the charger by the bedside and slipped beneath the blankets.
Sleep took her almost immediately.
The stars shone brightly,
to a god unlike the gods of death.
As though they understood
what people ask of the heavens.
And whatever lies beyond.
the stars continued to shine.
The next morning, when the woman woke up,
there was an intruder in her room.
Something barely resembling a human.
It blended into the space so naturally that she hadn't noticed at first.
Only after putting on her glasses did her eyes truly register it.
Her hand immediately searched for her phone.
The creature raised both hands lazily.
"I'm Railroad. A Shinigami. Get it?"
Of all mornings, her bedside table was cluttered enough that she couldn't immediately find her phone.
"Yeah! You picked up a Death Note yesterday, right?"
"...Wasn't it called Death Notebook?"
"Huh. Guess I wrote that."
"...That thing was yours?"
"...Your taste is awful."
"Oh? You haven't tried it?"
"Ryuk said when he came down to the human world, he'd already filled in over a hundred names."
"Maybe I came too early."
"...What are you talking about?"
"You know about the Kira case, right?"
"That was done with a Death Note."
"You know about Kira, but not the Death Note?"
"...Information like that wouldn't be made public."
"It'd throw society into chaos."
"The Kira case is proof."
"The more humans investigate, the more they'd end up thinking:"
This would've been impossible without something supernatural.
The woman held her head beneath the blankets.
"You've got someone you'd wanna erase too, don't you?"
"...Anyone with normal morals wouldn't want to touch something like that."
work wasn't going to wait.
While fixing her appearance for the office, she spoke.
"...Are you actually a real Shinigami?"
"Only people holding a Death Note can see me."
"...Meaning I'd have to make someone touch the notebook if I wanted proof."
She fastened her black business bag shut.
Then glanced at Railroad.
"...Just so we're clear."
"I'm not writing anyone's name."
"And I'm not giving this notebook to anyone either."
"...If this thing is real, even by some tiny chance..."
"If you're bored, I'll show you stand up comedy."
"Fine!! Then I'll tell you something better!"
"There's this thing called the Shinigami Eyes Deal."
"Please just take your Death Notebook back."
"And don't ever come down here again."
"I won't go back until you kill at least one person."
"...What do you mean alright?"
"I wanna watch humans use Shinigami stuff to kill each other!"
The office pantry buzzed with whispers.
"Section Chief's been making creepy comments again."
"Seriously. He's the worst."
The woman had come to make coffee before getting back to work.
The conversation drifted into her ears whether she wanted it or not.
"I heard one of the women on his team developed an adjustment disorder."
"...Guys like him should just die."
The coffee machine hummed.
"...Don't call me by my surname.
"They said he should die, right?"
Back at her desk, she sat down heavily.
The copier nearby rattled endlessly.
No one noticed quiet voices beneath office noise.
She took a sip of coffee.
"There are humans who kill for justice."
"But that's not for me to decide."
Railroad folded his arms.
> "How much longer does your father have?
Make sure he lasts as long as possible.
You owe me for raising you.
Your father's paying that debt now.
I raised you so I'd have security in old age. You understand, right?"
"Don't read over my shoulder."
She hid her screen while eating a packaged banana cake.
As if explaining away her discomfort.
she opened a hospital website.
Made a visitation reservation.
"...Long term care ward?"
"...Look it up yourself."
She swallowed the last bite.
The department manager finally returned.
"Could I leave at four today?"
"I'm checking on my father."
The hospital corridors smelled faintly of disinfectant.
Her father's condition embodied the phrase.
His face looked strained.
Fluid had swollen his abdomen unnaturally.
drawn out beyond dignity.
"...He's in worse shape than I thouht."
The woman lowered her eyes briefly.
"...My relatives receive my father's pension."
"'Keep him alive as long as possible.
Your father caused me trouble when he was healthy too.
...That's what they want."
"My mother died when I was little."
"When she was younger, she made mistakes."
"So I can't forgive Kira."
"...That's why I'd never do the same."
Then she stopped speaking.
Pressed the nurse call button instead.
"...What did the doctor estimate?"
"My father's remaining time."
The woman stared at her father.
His expression seemed to plead:
"Your father's expected survival is over ten years."
The words settled heavily.
Written during one of the few moments her father had regained enough awareness.
Crossed over the ruled lines.
She read it beside his bed.
The nurse lingered briefly.
The woman remained where she was.
Watching only her father's suffering face.
The evening sun spread over the city,
Children walked ahead with their parents.
Maybe going somewhere together.
There was no envy in her eyes.
"...I take back what I said."
"I'll use the Death Note."
Railroad's face lit up instantly.
"It's the relatives, right?!"
"I can make 'em die screaming!!"
"I'll tell you a secret."
"When you write a name, humans get forty seconds to specify cause of death."
"Then another six minutes and forty seconds for details."
"It's all written inside!!"
she dropped her bag onto the floor.
The sun had already disappeared.
She took the black notebook from the desk.
Held it briefly against her chest.
Looked toward the darkening sky.
Opened the notebook again.
A cheap black pen from a hundred yen store.
Passes away peacefully in his hospital bed.
Her hand tightened around the pen.
"And don't come down here again."
She held out the notebook.
of time a Shinigami accompanied
The stars shone brightly,
to a god unlike the gods of death.
As though they understood
what people ask of the heavens.
And whatever lies beyond.
the stars continued to shine.
・Yoko Hiruma's name was intentionally chosen as a thematic mirror to Light Yagami's.
・The Kira follower responsible for killing Yoko's mother was imagined as : Teru Mikami.
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