Hello! And welcome to my first installment of a Death Note fanfic! I would just like to say thank you for taking the time to read this, and that your thoughts would be very much appreciated. This is an LxMisa fanfiction, and it will be divided into two or three chapters, depending on how long my next chapter will be. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Note: though this story is T for the time being, be aware that future chapters will include graphic scenes that will raise the rating to M. Thank you.

~Hana

...

L Lawliet was a liar.

Of course he was; his profession practically demanded for deception, and he was quite a natural to it as well. He could give a false name without a second thought; he spouted out faux truths like a fountain, and never even blinked. His life was a complex, tangled web of lies and truth, full of simplistic patterns that smoldered and knotted together into bigger, more intricate designs. The world could be thankful that the great detective had not chosen a life of crime over a life of fighting it…because, L Lawliet was a liar, and he was good at it.

But he wasn't so good that he could hide things from himself.

He had been crouching in the same seat in front of his monitor for maybe four hours, his mind drifting aimlessly from one aspect of the case to another, ghosting the intricately complex corridors of fact and logic, and where those two led him. Ordinarily, he mused, the killer would have slipped up, or would have gotten too cocky and left some half-ridden clue that the detective could have used to bring the criminal to justice. But then again, this was no ordinary case; his wits and genius could only take him so far into this little game of cat and mouse, and as much as he hated to say it, he needed to let go of his perspective of "logic" and begin looking at things with an open mind…not only open to the natural, but also to the supernatural.

His musings floated idly, his hands playing with the pyramid of sugar cubes that he had absentmindedly built. He chewed on his thumb in thought while he recalled the structure of the interior of an actual pyramid itself; full of traps and false leads, with one misstep leading to one's untimely demise. A cold shudder sinisterly ran down L's spine; this was very well the first case he had ever taken that had made the face of death so clear, and so close, and so very real. And somehow, he knew that there was a very high chance that he would die. Of course, he had taken the situation calmly and carefully, and had been careful not to show any fear those around him- especially Light. But he was not as cold and unfeeling as he let on, oh no…he was scared. Not for the ending of life, for he reasoned that sooner or later, death would come and stake its claim on his life. Seventy years, or seventy days, it didn't matter. Death was death, and it would come.

No, he was afraid of being alone, of dying and no one missing him. He had once told Light that the brunette boy could very well be considered L's first real friend. It wasn't entirely true; L had people he considered friends. But then again, it wasn't entirely a lie—though L had friends, they were far from being close mates. The truth was that the dark haired insomniac spent considerably more time crouching in his strange manner in front of a screen, catching criminals and eating sweets alone, without any companionship with the exception of Watari, than he did going out and having any sort of social life. In fact, he was not sure if it would be accurate to say that he had a social life. No family, no real friends…if he died, his successors would make sure that L the detective lived a long, prosperous life…but L Lawliet the person would not be missed; in fact, it would be a feat to think that anyone would have noticed his absence at all. L had become quite good at pushing these scenarios to the back of his mind, but the thought of death being so near made him feel so terribly alone and friendless.

The noise of a body shiftingsnapped the detective out of his thoughts. He glanced away from the laptop towards the bed that was right next to his work desk. Light was fast asleep, his brown hair hanging loosely in front of his closed eye, his lean body sprawled out rather elegantly across the king-sized bed. The thought of slumber crossed the detective's mind, prompting L to look over towards the flashing red numbers that had been nagging for his attention for the past few hours. It was nearly 5 AM. Everyone else had long ago either left the building to join their families, or had gone to their adjacent rooms and fell asleep ages ago. L, with his black, slightly eerie eyes framed with reminders of sleepless nights, had not had a drop of sleep for around three days, and he could easily find himself a fourth night full with thoughts and musings, but empty of any trace of slumber. Though, he had found himself nodding off a bit for the past ten minutes, and that meant a 10% chance of his thoughts clouding and not being as accurate as he would have liked them to be.

He reluctantly placed his beloved sweets to the side, rising from his chair to the bed. His uncombed, unruly dark tresses were snug against the soft, white pillow; his pale body was covered by a thin, but warm blanket. Yet his wide, blank eyes stared up sleeplessly. His mind refused to stop its wandering, refused him any thought of slumbering through the night. He hated nights like these; those nights when his mind did not allow him to focus on his work, but did not let him sleep either. In times like these, he was forced to think about things he pushed to the back of his head so religiously; things that he did not want or need to be brought up. But he had let his mind delve far too much into the topic of his life for it to stop now. Now, he was faced with his deepest fears- the loneliness and the night.

He was so fucking scared. That was something he couldn't lie to himself about.

It began to rain.

...

Misa-Misa was a liar.

A twirl of yellow ringlets and lacy black bows danced happily in the dimming room, bubbly giggles and happy grins were given as light bulbs continued to flash. Happy, sugary-sweet, epiphany of seductive innocence…Misa Amane struck another cutesy pose as the photographer eagerly took photo after photo of the teen pop idol. Her brown eyes were absolutely sparkling, and a girlish wink gave her the photogenic distinction of being one of Japan's rising stars. There were even talks of her taking on more movie roles…she was rather good at acting, her fans agreed.

Secretly, Misa agreed as well.

Her face seemed so flawless and cheerful, like there was not a care in the world for the teenish star, but there was something dark growing in her heart…fueled by the desire to be loved by the one she loved most- Kira. He had become her hero, her knight in shining armour; he had done that which police and government enforcement officers could not do- give her parents justice. A year ago, she wouldn't have dreamed that she had a bone in her body to kill; but the loss of the only two people who truly loved her was too much to bear. Pain, she found, could rewrite people in ways they would not dare think of. And when she saw a chance to repay a debt she felt she owed to Kira, she took it. Hopefully, her prince charming would love her back, and she could have her happily ever after.

She walked out of the modeling studio, deciding that walking alone and unnoticed would be the fasted way for her to go back to headquarters and sneak a visit for Light. Mogi, her "manager", had lost her, it seemed, so she felt positive she would be able to access the building and find her beloved. A happy smile was smeared across her face as she skipped towards her destination. She heard the sound of beating wings behind her, followed by a familiar casual voice.

"Hey Misa, got any apples?"

The blonde turned around to see the hideous, yet seemingly harmless shinigami. She bit her lip as she fished through her purse for a spare fruit. "Um…no…." Misa responded with a pout while she pulled her grasp out of her handbag, fondling a yellow banana instead. "Uh, do you eat bananas?" she asked.

Ryuk was immediately curious, taking a long look at the strange fruit. He sniffed it precariously before taking a large bite. His eyes widened –if they could go any wider- and he immediately spat the portion from his mouth. Misa scrunched her nose in disgust.

"Eww, Ryuk, that's nasty!" the model whined, immediately stepping away from the unidentifiable mass of pale yellow gunk. The apple loving death god let out a strange cackle. "I think I should be saying that, princess," he stated, carelessly tossing the unfinished banana over his shoulder. "That was just nasty." He towered over the pig-tailed girl with a toothy grin. "Wanna play Mario Karts? It's been a while since I've played, and Light barely plays with me."

"I don't play video games" Misa replied absentmindedly. What was Light doing at that moment, she wondered. They had not seen each other for over two weeks, and he had yet to answer any of her calls or even call her back. Not so much as a text message. She pretended to brush it off, that it was not that big of a deal, and that he just conveniently forgot. After all that Light look-a-like was definitely not him, because he was with a dark haired girl, holding hands…and Light would never do something like cheat on Misa, right? Because deep down, Light loved Misa, she just knew it. He just had a very funny way of showing it.

Because he definitely wasn't just dating her because she had the shinigami eyes, and he was overreacting when he said he would kill her…he wouldn't really kill her right? Not just because Rem threatened his life, but because she was special to him…right?

The grotesque entity hovering next to her let out a mischievous chuckle, almost as if he were mocking her hopes and musings of a loving, deep relationship with the Death Note killer. And deep in her heart, she knew he was. But it did not matter –Misa had acquired the Eyes once more, at the cost of her lifespan being quartered. She did it for Light, her Light…and she would find L and find out his real name, and prove to her love that she was worth it, and that he could really love her, if he tried. Not that he didn't already love her…but she supposed that it would be nice to be treated like his queen once in a while, just like he said he would. All she needed to do was kill L.

L. He was such a pervert, first installing cameras all over her living space, and then treating her like a suspect (though, she concluded, he had good reason too). He was so creepy, with his hollow, sleep-deprived dark eyes, his messy, uncombed black hair that had been undoubtedly unwashed for months, and his little annoying quirks and habits, like eating candy day and night and not gaining a pound, or that strange way he would sit. He was frustrating, cold, calculating, and arrogant. So very arrogant. He could never be wrong, only right, and if things did not work out for him as he planned, he somehow twisted every other piece in the circumstance to fit his ideals. When he spoke, he had an aura of self-assertiveness, one that was almost inhuman; unearthly…he was such a creep.

But…during those days in which she had no recollections of her past with the Death Note, he had proven to become a kind, if not downright strange friend. When she talked to him, his eyes never left the screen before him, but he always seemed to be paying close attention to everything that came out of her mouth. He would respond when necessary, but not with short, curt answers. They could be brutally honest, to the point in which Misa would not want to talk to the man anymore, but it was better than talking to Light and not having a single word given to her in response. Or, if a response was given, it would me a muttering mess of "uh-huhs" and "go away Misa"s, and "I'm busy"s. Now that she thought about it clearly, L usually gave her more time of day than her own boyfriend.

No. She could not let herself think that way. She needed to find out L's true name, and kill him, for the sake of Light, of Kira, of the new utopia that was to come. Because once that was done, she would be happy, and loved, and adored, for just who she was. Because Light only wanted the best for her. Right? The darkness continued to gnaw at her bones, urging her to reach into the deepest parts of her subconscious and reveal to herself the ugly truth.

Because Misa Amane was a fantastic actor. A fantastic liar. But there were some things that no amount of pushing and burying could deceive her into forgetting.

It began to rain.