Hello again, loyal readers and new ones. I've been wanting to start posting this for a while, but swim has been seriously interfering with my actual life. I can't wait till it's over. I was originally planning to wait it out, but obviously I gave up. I don't know how often I'll be posting with swim going on and all, but I shall do my best to keep you guys supplied with fresh content. This idea took me a while to formulate, so I hope you end up as pleased with it as I am. I wanted to create something you didn't usually see from Death Note fan fictions. And I somehow ended up with this. I've taken quite a liking to my main character, as I hope you guys will too. As with all my stories, I will be omitting physical descriptions of her so you can imagine her however you like and/or you can put yourself in her place. I look forward to this journey. Please take care of me!

Strange. There's nothing. I can't seem to find a single thing. Not a single person, place, or time...it's just empty. A void. Why isn't there anything? Why can't I drudge up my birthday, or my home? Why is it that when I try to remember something, there's only blackness? Do I...do I even have a name?

I force my eyes to open against the light, the effort strained with the heaviness that has descended over my body.

The ceiling is white.

The thought jolts my eyes wide. The black emptiness is the first thing I can recall, my first memory, and this realization accompanied by the stark white of the ceiling is the second. It's as if I was born mere seconds ago, and yet, I know that's preposterous.

The weight of sleepiness diminishes as I push myself upright, sheets falling into my lap. The light seeping in from behind the tan curtains signifies daytime, while also serving to illuminate my surroundings. Panic sets in when my location registers.

This is a hospital room. This is where people die.

I throw off the blankets, about to swing my feet to the floor when I freeze. My eyes meet those of a creature that clearly does not belong to this world. It's eyes glow red, its teeth bared in a grotesque grin. Giant, black feathered wings sprout from its back, not moving despite the fact that it's levitating. Stitches sew together what looks like white skin and furry pelt. Something in my brain clicks and I find myself able to put a name to the monster. It's a shinigami.

How do I know that?

The door swings open and my attention diverts. The man who walks in is Mr. Yagami. Who is he? He doesn't pay the shinigami so much as a glance and it crosses my mind that he can't see it. In that case, I shouldn't be able to either, so I should I act like I can't?

"How're you feeling?" he asks, crossing his arms. I blink up at him, unsure how to respond. When I don't say anything, he goes on. "His death came as a shock to all of us, but you seemed to take it the hardest. We had no idea the two of you were so close."

I hesitate for a moment, but somehow manage to coerce sound from my mouth. "What...what are you talking about?"

"Oh, did we assume wrong?" His stoic expression gains a hint of surprise. "We just thought that with how you reacted, fainting and all, that you two had started a closer relationship than just coworkers."

Relationship? Coworkers? Is that what Mr. Yagami is? A coworker? Who...is he talking about? Someone died? And I just fainted? Doesn't loss of memory usually come with a head injury? Maybe I hit my head when I fell, if I was standing up.

"When we told the doctors, they said it was all just shock and that you'd have to sleep it off. You slept through the entire day."

"Is that so?" I murmur, searching in the murky abyss for any piece of information on Mr. Yagami or the event he's talking about. I find nothing.

I jump when he sits on the edge of the bed, his awkwardness glaringly difficult to miss. "I know it's hard to see someone you know die like that. It's for reasons like this that we began searching for Kira in the first place. Even with him gone we're going to continue the investigation. I know we're not supposed to talk about our work with outsiders, but we'll make an exception if there's anyone you want to call to talk this through with."

He offers me his phone and I take it absently, realizing as I do that I'm wearing black leather gloves that stop abruptly at my wrists. Do I typically wear these often? I'm about to set the phone down to take them off, but… Is there anyone for me to call? Maybe if it was my own phone, I could look through the contacts and spark a memory, but do I even have a phone? If I did, wouldn't he be handing me mine instead of his?

"I...can't remember," I finally admit, hand trembling. "I can't remember. Are we coworkers? Shouldn't my family be here to see me in the hospital? Do I...surely I have a family, right? I don't think we're related, are we? So where are they?" If they're here, people I was close to my whole life, wouldn't I remember something seeing them?

Mr. Yagami takes in my words, understanding dawning on his features. "Well, L requested that we don't look into your background. We don't know any of your family or have any way of contacting them."

I can't meet his eyes. So, no family. Even if they're out there, I have no way of finding them. My head falls into my heads, uncertainty clouding my thought process.

"Is she alright?"

I peek up to see a man with light brown hair standing in the doorway. Light Yagami. The name is the same, so is he Mr. Yagami's son? He seems a lot more open about his concern than his father is. I wonder if he's younger or older than me. I can't seemt to pinpoint my exact age, but I appear much closer to Light's than I do to his father's.

"She seems to have amnesia." Mr. Yagami runs his hands through his hair, letting out a long breath. Light's surprise is also a lot more expressive than his father's.

"You're kidding! Has she really forgotten everything?" His disbelief somehow makes me feel small. I shrink away, timid. This reaction seems to astonish him all the more. This time, he addresses me. "Really? Do you not know who we are?"

I slightly shake my head. I may know their names, but knowing a name is a far cry from actually knowing a person.

"Do you remember where you were staying before?" Mr. Yagami inquires, studying me. I repeat my head motion and he sighs. "Then I guess you can stay with us for the time being, until we find out where you were housing. I'm sure my daughter Sayu would be glad to share her room."

"As for who we are," Light picks up after his father, "we worked together. My name is Light Yagami, and this is my father. We were all trying to solve the identity of a serial killer by the name of Kira together, with the help of a genius detective who went by L."

"Is he…the one who died?" I inquire, glancing between the two of them. Light averts his gaze, but his father nods yes. "I see. And...what was my role in this?"

"You were L's personal assistant, in a way," Mr. Yagami ventures. "He brought you onto the case without our consent, saying you'd be a great asset on the condition that we didn't search into your background. You two could throw questions at each other like no one else could, all of them relevant to solving the mystery. After the first week, none of us could doubt that you would be a great help."

"I….I'm really sorry, but I don't remember any of this!" I cower. I don't know if I can be as useful as before. They keep saying we were working on a case, but I can't recall anything about it! How much of a help can I be if I don't even know who I am?

"Hey, don't worry about it." Light rests a hand on my shoulder, smiling down at me gently. "We'll get you caught up on the details so you can be back on the team in no time."

"Y-yeah." I fold my hands on my lap nervously. Oddly enough, something about the black gloves is comforting. I'll probably keep them on for a while.

Mr. Yagami stands suddenly, causing me to jerk away from Light's hand in surprise. "I'll send a doctor in to assess the extent of your amnesia, but don't worry. Once he's done, we'll take you out of the hospital immediately. We'll wait in the cafeteria so we can eat before leaving. Come down when you're ready."

"Um, okay," I accept. I don't know if I'm exactly comfortable going home with these people, but what choice do I have? Stay in the hospital? I don't exactly like the sound of that, either.

As the father son duo exits the room, the shinigami begins to laugh. I cringe at the haunting sound, uneasy as it echoes emptily around the room.

"What?" I mutter, wincing as I address the monster.

"This should be fun," he chuckles, sending goosebumps up my arm. "Very fun."

Then the door opens and Mr. Yagami comes back in, a doctor by his side. "This is Doctor Minagawa."

"How're you doing?" The doctor greets me. I don't say anything. Did I know this man before? I don't know. I don't really have any way of knowing. Whether we've met before or not, whether we're strangers or close friends, this is the start of our relationship with each other. Every person I meet will be a start, because right now, I don't know anyone. I don't know anyone.

I bite my lip, turning away from the doctor and hunching my shoulders. I don't want to start from scratch like this. I don't like it at all. Just one connection, just one person I want to remember, but there's nothing. Why did this have to happen to me? Why wasn't I at least left with a sliver of my identity?

"Not so well, then," Doctor Minagawa concludes, settling himself on the bed like Mr. Yagami had done earlier. "Do you know where we are?"

"A hospital," I mumble. There, I know that at least.

"Do you know where this hospital is?"

"Japan."

"Where in Japan?"

I remain silent, signifying my absence of knowledge.

"We are in the Kanto region, Tokyo to be exact," he informs me. "And how about the date? It should be one day past the last time you were awake."

Again, I don't respond. I don't know anything about that.

"I see. And what year it is?"

"Can you stop asking me?" I request, wringing my hands. "I'm already aware how little I know right now."

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask more," the doctor denies my request. "You may know, but I do not. What about that tattoo around your neck. Do you have any recollection of what it is or why you got it?"

A tattoo around my neck? My hand raises without my trying to touch my throat. What I touch has a vaguely different texture than the rest of my skin. "Can I...can I have a mirror?"

"I thought you might ask that." He picks up a hand mirror on the bed that I hadn't noticed before and holds it out for me to take. Wrapping my fingers around it, I tilt it to view my reflection. Hair tumbles around the face reflected, wide eyes staring right back at me. I don't even recognize my own face. Angling it down a little, I find a wide black strip around my throat. What was the point of me getting that?

"I don't know," I repeat the thought that's been playing over and over again in my mind, hastily lowering the mirror so I don't have to look at the unfamiliar person staring back at me.

"And how about those gloves? Mr. Yagami tells me you always wear them. How do you feel about taking them off?"

I pull my clenched hands closer to my chest protectively. "I like them. I don't want to take them off."

"Could you please?"

"NO!" I snap, tensing and drawing back. Then I collect my bearings, seeing the surprised expression of both Mr. Yagami and Doctor Minagawa.

This time, Doctor Minagawa's voice is much softer. "I think it would be to your benefit to take them off, if only for a moment. I just want to see your hands."

I release a shuddering breath, then nod slowly. He's not being unreasonable, I'm just being difficult. Hands shaking violently, I work to remove my left glove first. When the doctor asks to help, I refuse it with a sharp, "I can do it."

Both gloves come off easily, revealing two ordinary hands. Without the leather covering them, they feel horribly naked, but there's nothing extraordinary about them. Seeing my discomfort and the plainness of my hands, the doctor gives me permission to put them back on. I do so as quickly as my movement allows.

"I'd better get back to the others," Mr. Yagami says, turning to leave. "I leave her in your hands for now, Doctor."

"Wait!" I practically shout the word, panic once again crashing over me. Thankfully, he stops and turns to me. "Before you go, can you at least...tell me my name?"

His mouth sits barely open, unsure how to respond. Then he clears his throat. "Uh, well, it's Kameko. Kameko Suzuki."

Tadaa! Chapter one complete. So, how do you guys like Kameko so far? Obviously you don't know much about her yet, but first impressions? First impressions are pretty important, in real life and in stories. How do you guys imagine her as? I mean hair color, eye color, height, etc. etc. As I always do, in the last chapter I'll tell you guys how I myself see her and list off a couple descriptions of how you guys saw her (if any of you respond). I can't wait to hear your guys' reactions!

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!