In the writings of Oomizu the Baku, in the Year of the Baron, in the 30th day in the winter of D'Shambles, Juiceday (oopsy, it's supposed to be Woolsday).

What comes first, the chicken or the egg?

The chicken, of course. It would be rude if the egg wouldn't let his mother go first.  

Haha!  Made you look.

But I digress (for this, dear reader, I apologize.  A baku can't start anything without saying a joke.  It is my nature after all; I cannot help it).  I am writing in behalf of the Scholia Society in preserving stories, especially on the account of the Great WhiteOut Wave that many of the histories and memories of Felichi has been wiped out, including many of its mortal denizens.  Many a human, varu, chimaera, and other sentient being ask us supernatural creatures, both of day and night, for what has happened and why, but somehow we are affected by this wave as well, we could only remember a few events that has happened way back to the 1st Felichi (we are not sure whether it is the new 2nd  or 3rd  world of Felichi that exists now, but I was not assigned to speculate on that).

I now present to you, dear reader, the story of how the new Death came to be, only that he would be rather be called DamaShi the new Shinigami for that matter.  And why is it that the title is "Death Becomes DamaShi"?  Shouldn't it be "DamaShi Becomes Death"?  Please, dear reader, read on, and see the events on how this title is rightfully apt and appropriate for the story of how the new death came to be, and I hope that, like me, would come not to fear or malign the Great End of All Beginnings like a blight or a foe but rather admire and respect what he was before, and befriend and welcome what he has become.



OOMIZU THE BAKU



HOW DEATH BECOMES DAMASHI



“Dammit, you made her cry,” Damashi cursed, having watched his mother sob at the side of an  unmoving, reclined figure on the bed.  Bunny has been sick for a month now, and it has taken a toll to all family members, especially on Lady Stephanie, his mother.  This rather distressed him as well:  He was rather dismayed as his panacean flame ain't working: Being of star-maned dragon blood, his healing draconcast would have have fixed Bunny's disease, but it wasn't working at all; in fact, his little (adoptive) brother is getting worse.  Bunny hasn't gotten out of bed for 3 weeks, and  he has been unconscious for a week and a day.  He wasn't happy of his mom adopting the pathetic, battered lab specimen in the first place.  But that is his mother; she doesn't just pick up homeless cats and dogs,  she picks up homeless people, period.  Not that he is against that, no.  Whatever makes her happy, he doesn't get in the way, but Bunny's state left Stephanie completely drained in both spirit and body – this is what he doesn't want. And being someone who does more and talks less (and likes people crying even less), he resolved to find a way to make Bunny well again.

He left home and went to seek Daichy, the God of the Rainbow, to seek advice.  It was hard to find him:  Find the end of the rainbow, he's there, but hurry before the rainbow leaves, he remembers his mother's bedtime stories. Daichy has to pop out in different places, thus he has a very busy schedule. It didn't take long to locate one in his area – it has just stopped drizzling, and one with a full arch showed up in a flowery meadow past their farmland.  When he came to the end of the rainbow he reached for an opal in his pocket and threw it at the end of the arch.  Then, he waited.  A while later a gigantic fox with colorful 9 tails was bounding down that prism bow and landed in front of Damashi without touching the grass.

“You have requested for my presence, star-maned dragon varu?” The fox god looked down at the small standing figure near his large paws.  Such spunk, he thinks, looking up at him with no fear or hesitation whatsoever.

“I'm here to wish for my adoptive brother to regain his health.”  Damashi made his demand loud enough to be heard over the whole meadow, smug that he got the god's attention.

“Peh! Your wish is useless.  He is resolutely marked by Death himself:  The actions and experimentations done on him in the past has taken a toll on his little frame; it would be cruel that his spirit would be trapped in that weak meat of his.”  

Damashi was shocked at the god's words.  With all the stories he has heard from his mom, he thought that Daichy of the Rainbow would be able to overturn whatever odds there is, but hearing that Bunny's disease would never abate and worse, his flippant remark on his little brother's condition made him all the more pissed off.  There might be times when he ain't kind to Bunny, but woe to the person who would be doing that thing! (And no way that others would treat Bunny bad, that's his job!)  He shot an ugly look at that fox thing, angry and defiant, with gritting teeth and clenched fists.  The god, oblivious to Damashi's growing indignation, casually continued.

“I'd say you go home and help your mother and your siblings prepare for what is inevitable:  Your brother is going to die within a fortnight and there is nothing that you can do about it.”  

With this he turned around and prepared to jump back to the rainbow.  He was in the position to leap when Damashi called out.  “Wait!” he shouted.  Whereas the fox god faced him.  “Eh? Now what?” he said, with irritation in his voice.

“You're saying that you cannot change what Death has marked?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Now go back home.  I have to move to the next valley.  I've got a schedule you know,” Daichy already was in the position to leap, but the dragon varu's stare held him fast.  Something's up, he thinks,  so he faced the little, headstrong figure again.  “Well? I'm all ears. Spill it.”

“You might not be able to defy Death, but you might know a way on how to reverse it.”

“Ha! That won't do either.  The only thing that would make your brother live is to eradicate Death altogether.”

“Then.....can you?”  Damashi raised a brow.

"Definitely not! All creatures of the day and of the night know that there is no turning back once death comes:  He is the Cold Ender of Things Born and Made, and all that is will be taken by him."

"Hmph! And that's the problem:  Creatures believe that once death comes there will be no turning back.  I think that you can have a choice of not dying."

"Oh? What are you saying? That it is all in the mind, then?"  This quip made the fox god interested - he fully faced the little creature and sat on his haunches.

"Well...if people don't remember death, then it might be that he won't have a hold over anything..."

To be continued....