The stench of decay pervaded the air. Frightened eyes glanced behind as bare feet slapped the ground. An uneasy quiet settled as exhaustion took hold. However desperation drove tired legs to continue to stand. Escape was their only thought. But as small hands reached out to grasp their freedom, a cold voice rang out from behind them.

"Going somewhere, pet?"

Mu awoke with a start, her throat tight with fear. For a moment, she still saw the cruel black eyes she has run from for so long, but when she blinked they were gone. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she steeled herself for another day.

Smoothing down her apron, Mu flipped the 'closed' sign to 'open' on the door of the small café she called home. Working here was a small price to pay for the room and board she received from the manager, Aiko. She was a kindly old woman, like a mother to her, and one of Mu's only friends. Aiko took her in when she was alone on the streets and gave her work, food and a home, even though she wasn't normal.

"Come now dear, I can handle this, up, up, it's a big day for you, get ready, you'll have to be going soon!" Aiko smiled as she descended down the stairs. Mu nodded in return. Today was the entrance exam for the university Aiko wanted her to get into, To-Oh. If she got over 95% in the exam she would get a full scholarship from her circumstances. Of course, it was unlikely she would get over 95%, but she didn't want to disappoint Aiko so she studied hard for her.

At the exam hall Mu quietly sat in her seat, anxious. There must have been hundreds of people there. How likely would it be to get the scholarship in this crowd? She started to rake her fingernails over the grooves in her leg in nervousness, nearly breaking the fragile scar tissue there and leaving red marks in their wake.

"You may begin"

Mu picked up her pencil and looked over the exam paper. Thankfully it was a lot easier than she thought and was able to start with relative ease. She was about halfway though the first page when she heard the instructor.

"Number 162, sit properly in your seat!" She glanced behind her and saw a dark haired man with dark bags under his eyes crouching on his seat seemingly staring at something. She followed his gaze to see a rather attractive brown haired man. They were rather interesting, but she had to do well in this test so she turned and ignored them for the rest of the exam.

Mu sighed silently as she walked out of the exam hall. She finished with time to spare but wasn't confident. Lost in thought, she didn't realise someone was in front of her until she bumped into them. Startled she tripped backwards and landed on the ground in front of the person she ran into.

"My apologies, are you alright?" A smooth voice purred above her. Looking up she saw the brown haired man from the exam offering her his hand. He had a beautiful smile, but it was... Off, somehow. She started reaching for his hand when she heard laughter to her right, in her blind spot. Her head snapped to the right, and she saw what could only be described as a monster. Her eye widened in fear and she scrambled backwards, a silent scream on her lips. Noticing her looking at the monster, the brown haired man scowled and turned away as she sat shaking and fearful.

Light sat at his desk, twirling his pen. Ryuk was laughing in the corner as usual. He frowned. That girl that ran into him today could see the shinigami. How could that be? When could she have touched the Death Note?

"Ryuk, do you know why that girl could see you? If only I had her name I could just kill her..." Ryuk just laughed in response. Light growled and turned back the the news, writing down the names of more criminals to continue cleanse this world of evil, one criminal at a time. A manic smile appeared on his face.