((You guys are way too nice to me I s2g. Anyway, thanks for so many kind reviews! I'm gonna answer a few questions you guys had before going on to the chapter.

Does Ruri have Shinigami eyes, now? Yes, yes she does.

Will she go out with Aki? I do plan on making Aki have some kind of attraction for Ruri, but I don't know if it'll turn out to be anything serious.

Does Ruri know anything about Death Note, the anime/manga, or is she going in blind? A little bit of both. She knows a few details about the show, considering she's allowed to watch an hour of T.V. every week, and she got hooked on that show. She doesn't know every detail, but she knows most of the main characters and the such.

Anyway, that's all the questions you guys had. Ask more, and I'll get to them in the next A/N! Enjoy the chapter!))

Ruri Shinju- she would never really get used to saying her last name first- lived with Aki and his parents for the time being. She was practically adopted into their family once she told them about her past. She told them how her mother would beat her, to get the evil out of her she would say, she told them how her father had passed away a week before she ran away, she thinks it wasn't an accident, and then she made a quick fib and told them her mother was dead as well. She knew lying was bad; her mother made sure she knew that, but she was afraid that if they told her that her mother was still alive, they would bring her back there. She didn't want that. She decided lying was better than going back.

Ruri enrolled in middle school with Aki two months after she moved in with them. Of course, by the time she had been enrolled into school, Aki had turned 16 and the school year was almost over. When it began again, Aki was no longer in middle school with her- he was now in his first year of high school. Ruri was scared and nervous to be going to school alone, but the principle was kind enough to give Ruri a helper- the helper would walk her to class every morning and help her remember her schedule better, and, if need be, helped with homework or in class.

Although, as it turns out, and as everyone around her quickly learned, that last part was unnecessary. Ruri, like before, was a very quick learner. Because of her private tutor, she was already a few years ahead in school, which made homework and the like very easy for her.

The teachers loved her- she was soft spoken, kind, and loved to help others. They often trusted her to help them with tasks as well, such as grading, handing out papers, ect. Ruri would often volunteer to help in any way that she could, and she quickly gained popularity because of her trustable, friendly nature. Ruri didn't know exactly when she became popular in her school, but she knows that she made a lot of friends there.

She was no longer scared that Aki wasn't there.

Ruri never took the last name as the Fujitas, not for any reason in particular other than the fact that she loved her new name; it was beautiful. She didn't want to change it.

She always came home- she could call it that, now, she had a real home now- with straight As in advanced classes, and see the adoring and excited faces of her family- her new family- when they read her report cards. From then on, Aki always came to her when he needed help on his homework, and his parents even asked her advice occasionally. She learned that she was very good at giving advice to people.

Ruri's cuts and bruises healed up quickly- quicker than she'd ever seen herself heal, really- but she was still always careful to wear long sleeved shirts and no shorts. Wearing those would show her scars. Even now, she still was very afraid to show her scars to the people around her. Showing her scars made people pity her.

Ruri also came to terms with her new eyes. She didn't know how or why she had them, but she knows she did and there was nothing to do about it, so she simply accepted it. She also didn't know how or why she could look above someone's head and see their names, along with some floating numbers. She never learned what those numbers meant, or what they were for. She didn't care, either. She would never tell anybody what she saw. They never believed her, so she would ignore it.

Then the school year ended, and Ruri was sad to learn that the Fujita family was moving to another part of Japan- she also never learned how she got to Japan in the first place. The last she knew, she was in America-. Ruri was angry that she had to leave all her friends behind, but she was used to keeping to herself. No matter how kind and loving the Fujita family was, their kindness could never undo so many years of hatred. She was born and raised to be quiet, to keep her thoughts to herself, and not make a scene. That's what she was taught, and that's what she'll do.

But she was angry, all the same.

Aki managed to convince her that it wasn't worth staying angry over, as she had given them all the cold shoulder while they were packing, and the angry thoughts were wiped from her mind the second Aki brought up the subject of making new friends, and a new school. Ruri liked new things. It was exciting. So instead of being angry while moving, she was happy and excited.

As it turns out, Ruri was not very good when sitting in the back of the car. She got sick whenever she sat in the very back, so they always let her sit in the middle- they owned a family van. Aki's parents always wanted to have more kids- of the car. She was happy for this. She also decided that she loved rod trips, as they had called it. She had never been on one before. After hearing this, Aki's parents were determined to make her first road trip happy and exciteable. They stopped along the way to sleep in different hotels, and Ruri was happy just to bounce on the clean beds for hours on end. Aki made a comment on how she never ran out of energy, and she then promptly passed out under the sheets. Aki took his statement back immediately.

"Where are we going?" Ruri asks, looking out the van window as she kicked her legs back and forth, holding a bad of chips. Aki had made her try it, even thought she was hesitant to eat something she had never heard of before, and she ended up loving them.

"We're moving to a new part of Japan, Ruri-chan," Aki's father, Kohaku Fujita, responded. Ruri was happy to learn that all of their names meant something pretty, just like hers did.

Aki's father's name, Kohaku Fujita, meant "Amber Field".

Aki's name, Aki Fujita, meant "Bright Autumn Field".

Aki's mother's name, Suzume Fujita, meant "Sparrow Field".

Ruri loved to learn what peoples' names meant.

"Yeah, but what part of Japan?" Ruri asked, switching back and forth between Japanese and English. She began to take Japanese lessons before she went to school. By the time she went, she knew enough to get the gist of what they were saying, and she continued to learn in school. By now she was almost fluent- she was a very fast learner, indeed- but wobbled between the languages sometimes.

"Kanto Region," Suzume answered.

"Ohh," Ruri nodded. Aki stayed quiet, having fallen asleep half an hour ago, resting his head against the glass window quietly. Kanto sounded familiar, Ruri thought. Where had she heard it before?

"I've been there before!" Ruri suddenly gasped, smiling.

"Really?" Suzume turned in her seat from the passenger side of the front, looking at Ruri with an expression of surprise.

"Well, I heard of it before!" Ruri fiddled with the hem of her sleeves. It was a nervous habit of hers. "In a show I used to watch."

Suzume went quiet when Ruri brought up the topic of her past. Everyone in the family never bothered to ask Ruri about it, and as days went by, Ruri slowly forgot about it as well. Suzume tried to keep the topic light.

"Ah, interesting! What show was it, darling?" She turned back to the front, smiling at Ruri from the mirror. Ruri hummed, thinking for a moment.

"Death Note."

Suzume furrowed her brows at the name. "That sounds like something a young girl like you shouldn't have been watching."

"Yes, it was very violent," Ruri nodded once.

Nobody spoke after that.

It took nearly 3 days of driving, not including the times when they stopped to sleep in a hotel or buy snacks from a gas station- Ruri found that she loved sugary things, and Suzume and Kohaku were very excited to give her plenty, making her promise to brush her teeth every night- before they arrived in Kanto. Then, another hour of driving before they got to their new home. Ruri was the first one to jump out of the van.

She ran up the steps to her new house quickly, ruby eyes wide with excitement. She turned the knob, pushing the door open, and then-

nothing. The door wouldn't budge. Ruri was still for a moment before stomping her foot once in frustration before turning around to face the other members of her family.

"The door's locked," Ruri pointed at the door angrily.

Suzume laughed. "Yes, Ruri-chan, I have the keys right here." Suzume held up the keys to the house, and Ruri was quick to run out and grab them. "Ruri, ask politely," she scolded. Ruri froze.

"I'm sorry. Can I please have the keys?" She asked nicely, lowering her eyes. Suzume must not have realized why she was suddenly upset, but she handed her the keys anyway. Ruri walked up the door this time, excitement dimmed, but not gone just yet. She unlocked the doors and stepped inside, not needing to flip on a switch as natural sunlight flooded in through the windows. The awed at the wide, empty room.

"It's so EMPTY!" She shouted, jumping around the room, her excitement back, full throttle. She could hear Kohaku laughing outside as he and Suzume unpacked the van, Aki bringing things inside.

"Hey, Ruri-chan, come help me bring stuff in," Aki grunted, placing down a heavy box full of things Ruri didn't care to find out.

Ruri nodded.

"Only if I get to pick my room!"

It was four hours later when everything was brought in, half of it unpacked, and only a third of it was put in their proper places. The table had been unpacked a moment ago, along with a few boxes of kitchen-ware, and they all took a break to begin making dinner. It was late, now, and Ruri had been asking for food all day. Yet, before they could began pulling things out of their newly stocked refrigerator, a knock sounded at the door.

"I'll get it!" Ruri jumped up with an excited smile, racing to the door after Suzume nodded toward her. Aki stood behind her protectively as she opened the door wide. She paused.

"Who're you?" She asked in English. The woman at the door paused for a moment, confused, before the young girl with her smiled.

"You speak English?" The young girl asked. Ruri nodded, completely forgetting about how Japanese people, in Japan, probably spoke Japanese.

"A-Also Japanese," Ruri spoke quickly, stumbling over her pronunciation. The young girl at the door laughed before the older woman, Ruri assumed she was her mother, hit her shoulder gently, scolding her in fluent Japanese about laughing at Ruri's pronunciation. Ruri's face flushed a tint of pink, looking down. She wasn't very good at Japanese just yet.

"I'm sorry, your Japanese is very good!" The girl quickly spoke in Japanese before switching to English. "My English is not well," she mumbles, smiling. Ruri laughs at her terrible pronunciation.

"Ah, well," The mother speaks up, holding out a tray for Ruri to take. Aki takes it instead. "We heard about new neighbors moving in, and we wanted to come say hello!" She bowed politely, folding her hands together as she introduced herself, and her daughter.

"My name is Yagami Sachiko, and this is my daughter, Yagami Sayu." Sayu also bowed politely, smiling.

Ruri nodded once before returning their bows. "My name is Shinju Ruri!" She said excited. "I'm 15," she added as an afterthought. She technically turns 15 next month, but close enough. Sayu perked up.

"Oh? So am I!" She grinned.

"We would love to have you over for dinner, if you'd like to come by," Sachiko smiled warmly, looking around for the parents. Suzume and Kohaku came up to the door behind them, smiling.

"We would love to!" Suzume answered in fluent Japanese.

Ruri almost had trouble keeping up with their conversations, as it was all in Japanese and they spoke rather quickly. She simply stayed quiet, sitting up straight in her seat. The Yagami's house was very nice, she noted. They kept it very well clean.

Ruri perked up, hearing her name come up in conversation. She listened closely, trying to decipher what they were saying.

"Ohh? Light-san seems like a genius! My dear Ruri-chan gets the highest scores in her classes, as well," it was obvious Suzume was flaunting Ruri's abilitied. Ruri felt very proud about this.

"Really?" Sachiko awed, glancing down at Ruri. "She definitely seems like a proper genius!" She laughed politely, Suzume and Kohaku joining in. Ruri glanced around the table.

Sitting next to her was Aki, he was talking with Sayu, who sat across from him. Ruri wanted to talk to Aki but she did not want to intervene. That would be rude. Sitting on her other side was Suzume, and Kohaku was sitting next to her. Sitting right across from her was a boy, he was taller than her and very good looking. She flushed every time his gaze landed on her. He didn't talk much int he conversation, only when he was brought up or was asked a question. Finally, across from Ruri's adoptive parents sat Sachiko, conversing with them politely yet friendly. There was no Father, Ruri noted.

"What's your name?"

Ruri looks up in surprise. She straightens her back and looks around, her gaze locking on the handsome boy in front of her. She flushed again, keeping her mouth shut as she thought.

She was definitely very jealous of his chocolate brown hair swept off to the side neatly, which looked soft to the touch. Her own onyx black hair only reached to her shoulder blades- she had cut it two months ago- and she never liked her red eyes, whereas his golden honey-colored eyes glanced down at her curiously.

"R-Ruri," she squeaked, eyes slightly wide as she continued looking at the handsome boy.

"Ruri, hm? That's a beautiful name. You're definitely as beautiful as a pearl," he smiled. Her tummy felt weird, and she nodded numbly. "My name is Yagami Light."

"N-nice to meet you, Light-kun." Light laughed quietly, Ruri loved the sound.

"Please! You can just call me Light." She nodded once more.

Ruri could hear the table go almost silent, and she looked around cautiously, glad to have broken her prolonged eye contact with the boy. Sayu was gigling, covering her mouth as if to stifle the sounds, and Sachiko and Suzume were smiling with something akin to pride in their eyes. Kohaku looked very protective, like a father should be when a boy talks to their daughter. Aki was smiling, looking down at his food quietly

Sayu was the first to speak up. "Awh, you two are sooo adorable together! Two beautiful geniuses talking is, like, my secret OTP," she laughs. Ruri doesn't know what "OTP" means, but she assumed she didn't want to know. Sachiko and Suzume laugh together, seeming to get a joke that Ruri didn't understand.

Light just looked at her, smiling with that dazzling smile of his.

She felt very cornered. Light, seemingly noticing this, plays it off by saying, "Please, guys, you're embarrassing me!" They go back to their own conversations, and Ruri smiles at him genuinely.

"Sorry about them," he spoke quietly, eating some food after speaking. Ruri shook her head.

"It's fine."

"I meant to ask, actually," he began after swallowing. Ruri followed his movements closely. "Are those your actual eye color?" He asked. Ruri stiffened. Up until now, nobody had really asked about it. She assumed they never noticed it, but she never knew why as it was obvious to her.

Ruri nodded. Light grinned.

"They're beautiful. Like rubies." Ruri nodded again, looking down. Her face was probably just as bright as her eyes by now. Light simply laughed it off politely, ending the conversation there as he continued to eat his dinner.

Ruri wasn't sure what it was about him that made her feel weird, but she thinks that she liked it.

Yes, she thinks, looking up at Light who was now talking with his mother about some project in school.

She did like it.