Chapter One

I yawned and stretched my legs out beneath the warm comforter. Rubbing the sleepiness from my eyes, I looked over at my alarm clock. It was almost five o' clock in the evening. I jerked into a sitting position as I realized something. I was going to be late for my meeting.

"Crap," I muttered as I stumbled out of bed. I ran into my wall as I hurriedly left my bedroom, ignoring the small pain sent up my right arm. I found myself in the kitchen a few moments later, grabbing an apple from my fruit bowl. I headed back to my bedroom and placed the apple into my purse.

Pulling on a pair of dark jeans, I'm suddenly aware of the pounding sound vibrating around me. Just great; it was raining hard outside. That was going to slow me down even more. Driving was going to be rougher than usual. Temporarily ignoring the weather, I grabbed my largest black sweatshirt and pulled it over my purple tank top. I wasn't going to fret about my appearance too much.

Looking in the large mirror on the wall, I grabbed a hair tie and pulled my shoulder-length brown hair into a messy bun. Grabbing my favorite chap stick, I grabbed my purse and swiftly made my way to the front door. I panicked as I looked back at the clock. I didn't own a raincoat, and I was about to regret it. I pulled on some tennis shoes and headed out into the misty streets.

My car was sitting patiently in the driveway. It wasn't anything too fancy, but I loved my tiny blue car. It got great gas mileage, which was all that I had originally wanted. I still remembered picking it out with my parents a few years ago, when I still associated with them. I frowned and let the rain wash away the memory.

I unlocked the driver's door and climbed in. I was already too wet to be comfortable, but I was also too late to be complaining about it. Jamming the key into the ignition, I listened as the engine came to life. Turning on the headlights, I looked behind me and backed up.

I knew that I was speeding, but it was too important not to be. If I was any later…I looked back down at the clock and bit my lip. I was supposed to be there eleven minutes ago. I felt a flash of fear, but I turned my focus onto the road before me.

I parked as close to the building as I could get to minimize the rain I would meet along the way inside. I wasn't lucky and didn't get a good spot. The place was packed; there were at least forty other vehicles in the parking lot.

I sprinted into the restaurant, trying to not get soaked. Well, trying not to get soaked any more than I already was. The sign that read 'Open!' flashed before my eyes as I approached the front door. It was one of the most famous Japanese restaurants in the neighborhood. It was the perfect place to meet some friends and hang out.

It was also the perfect place to meet a killer. Or, in my case, to meet Kira. Stepping inside, I couldn't help but to feel much better. With the rain out of my face and the heat inviting me to stay, I headed towards the back room. Faces around me laughed and shared stories over dinner. I pitied them for the moment; they were unaware of the fact that Death was sitting in the same building as they were. I remembered being like that at one point in my life, but I had changed. I decided to stop fearing dying; I met it face-to-face.

That night had been so mystical.

I saw the light brown hair hidden behind a menu. I smiled to myself, excited, and sat down silently in the opposite side of the booth.

The figure froze immediately. The menu moved down slightly, revealing two merciless eyes. The hatred was replaced when he realized who he was staring at. It was replaced with nothing more than the knowledge of my existence. I didn't expect more from them; he was Kira, after all. It would have been nice if there was something that showed that I meant something more to him.

I laughed mentally at the outrageous idea. Killers learned quickly to put nothing near to their heart. It would only get stolen away. I learned that the hardest way that was humanly possible.

"You're late," he said coolly.

I smirked in reply. "Like you weren't. I was just later than you were today."

"You were planning on being late?"

"Absolutely not. I'm just saying that being late for the first time in almost a whole year isn't something to point out so crudely."

He threw his head back and laughed. I glared at him, not finding anything about our conversation even slightly humorous. When he was done, he flashed his bad-boy smile at me and said, "I was lonely. Don't ever make me feel like that again."

"You missed me?" I teased. His smile had left me breathless. Light was such a beautiful man, and he knew it, too. He had used it against Misa. You know, before he killed her and all. I wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to use it against me again, like he had when we first met. If he was, then he was winning. I just tried my best not to let him know that.

"All of the five minutes I was here, yes. I was worried that I had lost my favorite acquaintance."

I was only person that knew exactly how much of Light was compassionate underneath his hate-hate-kill-kill personality. Regardless of how long it took to find that little bit of humanity left in him (which took a very long time), there was still some left there. He was human after all. He couldn't escape his human body and emotions. I wanted to find a way to use them against him.

"That's so sweet," I replied, not able to look him in the face as I spoke the words.

"Not as much as that apple in your purse is," broke in another voice. I looked behind me to see my favorite Shinigami peering into my purse.

"It's all yours, Ryuk."