flonnebonne | [Death Note] Ficlet: God Have Mercy (Reply)

Okay, before anyone has a spaz that I'm writing non

blind_go fic right now, I should mention that I originally wrote this DN ficlet back in July for ye olde anonymous meme in

svz_insanity's journal. She accused me of being Michael Jackson at the time, for which I can never forgive her. Anyway, I edited it slightly and I'm finally posting it in my journal and yeah I'm procrastinating on blind_go shut up shut up shut up.

God Have Mercy

In his youth, Yagami Raito granted justice and peace to all the world, and for a while he was content. But when he attained the wisdom of age, he realized he must become more than a mere God of Justice. He must also become a God of Mercy.

It began when his mother fell ill.

The doctors only made things worse, with their tests and treatments that stripped away her vitality, her dignity. There was surgery first of all, then drugs and radiation therapy, then increasingly experimental medicines, as if she were a pathetic lab rat, a mass of rotting animal flesh scheduled for death under the gaze of the white-coated watchmen. It sickened him and shamed her. He was sure his mother was thankful when he finally wrote down her name.

Yagami Sachiko dies painlessly in her sleep on April 16, 2021, at 3:17am. Cause of death is stomach cancer.

The incident opened his eyes to how much suffering he was letting slip by, even in this world without crime and evil that he had created. He would have to change things again.

He began first of all by killing any man or woman who had asked to be euthanized but whose wishes were blocked by the judicial system. These were high-profile cases and it was easy to find photographs of the sufferers. He then expanded his mercy to long-term coma patients who were unlikely to awaken, since these were often photographed and publicized as well.

As he'd planned, people began to take notice. Anti-Kira sentiment flared up and investigations into his identity were renewed, but Raito had played this game for too long now to be caught. He began writing down the names of terminally ill patients who were in terrible pain, like his mother had been. Finding names and photographs was difficult, but he had good resources and he expected that people would soon start volunteering information without any trouble. The world would come around as it had before. Everyone would see how peaceful their loved ones looked in death, how hospital beds were opening up for those who truly needed them, how life was better for everyone this way.

He had so many ideas now, so much excitement running through him for the world he would create. He had not felt this way in years. He would write down their names, all of them. The weak, the infirm, the disabled. Children born with AIDS, children born with genetic defects, children born without mothers. Soon everyone would be like him, like God, healthy and smart and conscientious, and when they died they would die with grace. He only hoped that when Ryuuku wrote down Raito's name one day he would show so much compassion.

-End-

Author's Notes:

You know you're writing a Death Note fic when you look us synonyms for "justice" in a thesaurus.

Just so's ya know, I won't be continuing this fic, because I don't have any ideas on how to, and because I don't think I could stomach spending more time in Raito's head. Not just because he's a sicko, but because I'm not a genius who can plot evil genius things like he can.

But if any of you happen to be evil geniuses who would like to continue Raito's train of thought, please feel free to do so.