Chapter Nineteen Remembering You

Sitting there was the hardest thing I've done in months. Feeling those hateful glares from my former teammates and, in some cases, friends, made me feel lower than ever. Matsuda wouldn't even look at me. I think that hurt more than any of the glares I was receiving.

"Don't worry, guys," Light said, settling himself in a comfortable chair in the sterile room, "She's harmless."

Indeed, there was nothing I could do: my hands were bound behind my back by tight ropes. They dug into my wrists so torturously that I was barely able to conceal the clouded pain in my dull green eyes.

"That's not the point," Aizawa muttered darkly, seemingly unsure of who he trusted more, "She had us all fooled. Who knows if there are others within our ranks like her? Maybe she has companions," he gazed suspiciously at the people around him, his eyes finally landing on Light himself with an unvoiced doubt.

Light pretended not to notice the seriousness of his words and shrugged nonchalantly, "Well if she does, we'll get it out of her."

I scoffed quietly and leaned back in a careless manner, "What are you gonna do, lock me in a room till I go mental? C'mon, guys, you wouldn't want to hurt your only lead," I said those last words with such spite that I felt like my old, sarcastic self.

For the first time in months, I missed Commander Rester and our little arguments. I'd do anything to be back with the SPK: every single one of them.

Light chuckled, and spoke before any of the other members could retort, "Alice, please: just remember how much information I have about you. You wouldn't want any of your past leaking out to the police, would you?"

I threw him a hard glare and scowled, "I'm not giving you any information about anything."

"What about her past?" Aizawa suddenly asked, eyeing me indignantly.

Light answered before I could, "She's had some...bad run-ins with some people. Ended up doing some dirty work for cash."

My eyes turned annoyed as I shot back a soft, "You make me sound like some kind of prostitute."

Light merely shrugged and went back to ignoring everyone and fiddling with a notebook in front of him. I eyed it with scrutinized care, but decided that it was impossible that it was the Death Note. Light seemed to realize what my eyes were wondering, and he got up.

"Silly Alice, why would I leave the Death Note in plain sight?" he asked, walking over to the side table and getting a cup of coffee.

I furrowed my brows, "...So you have it then? You have the Death Note?"

He didn't answer, and I took his silence as confirmation.

Light turned around and leaned against the table, facing me with a strange look in his eyes, "I wonder...if Alice and I could have a chat...alone?"

The other members understood and got up to leave. A fearful emotion rose inside me: I was afraid of being in the same room as him.

As soon as everyone filed out of the door, Light walked up to my bound form and knelt in front of me, staring into my eyes with a strange mournful look.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

Light's hands ran to hold my bound ones. He stroked my pale fingers as he murmured, "Alice, you're a criminal. Do you know how much I despise criminals?"

He wouldn't let me answer that question: he just kept talking, and I listened with waning ears, wondering what he could possibly be getting at.

"But I don't hate you," he said wondrously, as if he didn't quite understand it himself, "I don't hate you one bit."

He moved his hands to my face, and he cupped my cheek as he continued, "In fact, I think you might be just the woman I need. You're strong, and intelligent, and of course...beautiful," he whispered, removing his hand from my cheek and returning it to my hands, "Alice, be my companion. Help me rule the new world by my side."

I realized, in that moment, that this really wasn't Light Yagami anymore. This wasn't the man I had worked with when I went undercover for Nate. This was Kira. A killer.

I opened my mouth in shock, and closed it again, not finding the words to describe my emotions.

"...By your...side?" I asked, staring at him in a mixture of mistrust and thoughtfulness.

He leaned closer, so that our faces were merely inches away, "Be my wife."

Then something inside me snapped. I wasn't sure what was going on. All I knew was that I had to get away from him. I couldn't spend one more minute in this presence.

"...N-No! I won't...I won't marry you, I-I can't m-marry a murderer!" I exclaimed, throwing my knee between his legs as an act of defense.

But honestly, how could I have been so stupid? Alice Newbury, the most calm and rational thinker you would ever find, losing control like that...? And Light was so angry. He growled in fury and stood up, grabbing my wrists and throwing me into him as the rest of the Task Force threw the door open at the commotion.

"Light, what's going on?" Matsuda exclaimed, his eyes wide as he watched Light pull out a gun from him pocket.

"Mogi, get Near on the line. I have a proposition for him," he ordered, grinning manically as he pushed the gun close to my head.

My whole body reacted to that name. I hadn't heard it in months, and in that time, I had tried so hard to forget everything that happened in my past. I would have almost succeeded, too, if Light had not taken me from my seemingly normal life.

Light noticed my discomfort and smirked, "I know who he is now: I've seen his face before. We've worked together in the past weeks in our quest to uncover Kira. But you haven't seen him in a while, have you? Ever since he dropped you."

My eyes were huge: I stared at the far wall emotionlessly as Light wrapped his arms around me, pointing the gun at the crevice directly under my chin. I wasn't sure how he knew about that, but I couldn't question him. The TV screen on the near wall suddenly lit up with a blank white N.

Then, the screen flashed once more and the connection between the computers was final. I only saw white hair at first, but then my eyes connected with those black orbs, and I was immediately thrust back into past memories. I shut my eyes tightly and looked away, a hole in my heart tearing itself up in intense loneliness.

"...Alice?" his soft voice asked, and I knew he was staring at me, in the arms of Light. He must have noticed the metal barrel directed at my head, because his voice turned hard and emotionless when he next spoke: the way I remembered it did when he was thinking very hard about something, "What is the meaning of this, L?"

And that was when the real commotion began.

It was a rainy day at the SPK building, and a white haired detective was staring mildly out the window. Seemingly emotionless, he was lost deep in his thoughts as he recalled memories he had promised himself he wouldn't remember.

But, for him, forgetting was harder than he had wanted to believe.

The rain that pelted off the clear panes of glass seemed to scream in agony. Or...maybe that was just simply his own mind as he unwillingly reminisced his days with the beautiful woman he had fallen so deeply for.

Don't forget me, she had pleaded before leaving. He could still hear that caressing voice as if she had just walked out of those doors. Soon, he thought, when all this was over and Kira was put in prison where he belonged, he would go back and take back what he truly believed to be his.

But not yet, he reminded himself, and with an audible sigh, began flipping through a few files on his computer, his eyes skimming over words that didn't seem to stay in his mind.

It was then that a loud noise filled the room, and the other three members shot up from their seats as they raced to find places beside Near. The new L was trying to contact him again. He sighed inwardly and lazily flipped the switch, allowing the connection through.

At first he thought he was dreaming: that the image of Alice was just in his mind. When his eyes connected with hers, he felt no alarm or panic. Just ease: he murmured a soft, "...Alice?"

It was then when he saw the raw fear in her eyes: she looked away from him, seeming to struggle in Light's binding arms. He noticed the ropes around her wrists. Then he saw the gun pressed tightly to her head, and that was when he snapped.

In a hard voice, he said, "What is the meaning of this, L?"

Beside him, Commander Rester shifted nervously, his eyes fixated on his former companion as she stood there in the line of danger. Halle and Gevanni said not a word as they realized just how much could be jeopardized if one wrong move was made.

Light's voice was just as malevolent when he responded, "I just wanted to let you know what you're missing over here. Perhaps we could come to an agreement? You would receive Alice, of course."

The white haired man did not fail to notice the annoyance in the woman's eyes as Light bargained for her. But now was not the time for petty arguments. Near replied in an even tone, "What did you have in mind?"

Light's eyes glinted with malice as he held the woman in his arms ever tighter, "Your notebook for the girl."

When Near didn't answer right away, Light chuckled, "Come now, Near: I know you have the other notebook. You stole it from Mello."

Those words made him think about everything: what was more important. Finishing this case had always been top priority. After all, Near had gotten rid of Alice so she wouldn't be in the way. So was he willing to give up everything he had learned for one simple human life?

His grey eyes traveled to the woman held captive in his enemy's arms, and he realized that yes, he was willing to give everything up for her. He loved her. He would do anything to save her, even hand over the source of information he had so vigorously won. Her life, he decided, was far more important that any amount of power.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Alice glared at him and yelled something that cost her terrible consequences.

*Page Break*

He was going to do it. I saw it in his eyes: those trusting faces all looking at me from the SPK building, wherever that was. Nate was going to save me and hand over what Light so desperately wanted: the other notebook. But I wouldn't let him do it.

I had spent to much time away from him, and just looking at him made my head spin. I needed to be with him, and yet...if Near traded the notebook for me, I would never forgive myself. It was the one thing that Near had which Light didn't. If Light got the other notebook in addition to his own...

So I did something so blatantly stupid that no one could ever expect it. I glared at Nate and suddenly twisted im Light's arms, dipping out from his hold and slamming my knee into his stomach. He doubled over in a fit of coughing, and I took advantage of his weakness to grab the gun from his loosened hand and fling it across the room. It collided with the wall and fell to the floor with a dull thud.

Light was just recovering when I yelled out my next words. Glaring angrily at Nate, I exclaimed, "He already has a notebook! He's just-"

But that was all I was allowed to say, because Light had grabbed my ankle and dragged me to the floor. I collapsed beside a table: which I used to try and pull myself back up. It didn't work: it clamored to the floor and knocked against my rib cage. Momentarily out of breath, Light grabbed my neck and pushed his weight against it, causing me to cough in a fit of hysterics.

"You stupid-!" he yelled, furious, and in the confusion of the minute, I tried to get up again. But this time, Light made sure I couldn't move. He grabbed the first thing his hand made contact with that had fallen from the table, which happened to be a clock, and smashed it against my head.

It was a crystal clock, and when it collided with my vulnerable skin, it broke off into millions of pieces and dug into my hair. I wasn't sure what happened after that, because in my hazy sight, all I could see was Light's irate face. Then, everything faded to black.

Ohh do you all hate me yet? Haha BUT Near is baaccckkk which is a very, very good thing, ne? Thanks to all who took the time to review - I love reading them~! =D

So I decided that I don't like that I split this story up andd =( I should have kept it with my other part. So I'll probably move it back sometime and make it less confusing. ...Though I think i'm about to make it MORE confusing... ^-^' Ah well...I'll warn ya'll before i do...

Message me~! ...or you can review. I wouldn't mind that ;)