(Author's Note: Well, thank you to the fabulous lawlietlivesforever and the creative powerhouse that is Shinigami117 for their lovely, motivating reviews. I apologize to the latter; in the summary I referred to this user as 'him', and called is 'his' story. I have now been shown the error of my ways, hence this retraction. SHE is a genius for coming up with this idea, and all credit for this story goes to HER. Now, readers please take note; the only reason this chapter was able to be finished was because their reviews were so nice and motivational. HINT: the more people who review, the more reader's I'll know like the story, so, logically, I will be more motivated to write more chapters. So please, those who read this, tell your friends, and have them review it. It would make me such a happy bunny.

Now, once again we come to the writing playlist. Today, those songs were Get Over It by Stars Go Dim (applause and lots of grovelling goes to Sports Direct Exeter for playing this, thus introducing me to that band), Broken Strings (Feat. Nelly Furtado) by James Morrison (yes, it's an old song, but it has a lot of sentimentality attached to it for me) and Bring Me To Life by Evanescence. Thank you, and on with the story.)

Ryuk woke to the sound of traffic. He'd heard it before, back when he was shadowing Light Yagami, but somehow it seemed closer now. His eyes opened, and his head turned as he took in the surroundings. He was sat on a metal bench by the side of a busy road. The noise was overwhelming; horns blaring, people talking in loud voices, children screaming… and the smell. He'd never noticed the smell before… wait, smell? Shinigami couldn't smell.

And then Ryuk remembered what had occurred in the Shinigami realm, and his punishment. He remembered the King writing his name in the strange Note he had…

If all of that happened, and Ryuk was certain that it had, then he was human now. It was… strange. It didn't feel a whole lot different to being a Shinigami. He looked around at the people walking past, and he could see their names and lifespans. That was good; he still had the eye. A quick glance down to his hip revealed that he still possessed his Death Note… but the trousers he wore, normally so tight, were too long now, and really baggy. The same was true of his top; it didn't fit him. His body was… different.

A little girl who was walking past saw him and giggled, before tugging on her mother's arm.

"Mummy, there's a funny man on the bench."

"That's nice dear. Now keep going."
Ryuk frowned; funny man? Just how much had he been changed?

Ryuk stood up, but then a strange moan caused him to look back. L Lawliet was asleep on the bench next to him.

He was sleeping in his familiar crouch, knees pulled up, feet on the bench, hands resting on his knees. His forehead rested on the backs of his hands, his face shielded by the untameable mop of messy black hair. He was wearing scruffy jeans and a white top, the same as he had been when he died, and his feet were bare, showing bitten toenails. Ew.

He didn't look any different to how he did when he was human… except that his toes and his fingers were a little bit longer. They were long to begin with, but almost an inch had been added on. Strange. Also, his hands seemed paler than they had been before.

Ryuk looked at the young man as he started to stir. At first it was a strange little groan, then his fingers twitched, and then he stood up on the bench, stretching his arms high above his head, letting out a massive yawn.

And Ryuk saw the difference.

His skin was a lot paler, that much was clear, but he was taller than he had been before, and his face was somehow… sharper. His nose was angular, his eyebrows slanted like a second-rate comic-book villain, his chin tapering to an almost point. His cheekbones seemed more defined, and the whole thing gave him a cat-like look. His hair, when the light caught it, seemed to show hints of blue, implying that the black was now just a very, very dark blue. Like his own. Wait, did that mean his hair was black now?

Then L slowly opened his eyes, blinking. And then his slanted eyebrow elevated.

"Ah… I distinctly remember dying…"

He stepped down off the bench, and looked at Ryuk. His eyes flicked all over his body, and then he let out a quiet chuckle.

"You… I feel like I should know you."

Ryuk chuckled.

"Not likely, human. You never… whoa."
His voice, which was normally slightly croaky, and distinctly his, was… well, normal. It still had that hard edge to it, but it had a slightly English accent to it, even if he was talking in Japanese.

"How strange", he muttered, and then turned back to L.

"Look, you never met me. And you did die… do you know it there's anywhere nearby where we can talk without being disturbed. Because there's an explanation for all this, but you might not want to hear it in public."

L didn't speak for a while, and closed his eyes.

"Canto region… High street… right, left, left…"

Then he opened his eyes.

"Yes, there is. Follow me. Uh, what do I call you? I don't like not knowing peoples names."

Ryuk chuckled.

"Sure, I don't care. I'm Ryuk, and I'm a Shinigami… sort of."

L's eyebrows shot up, and he nodded slowly.

"I remember meeting one of them before… is your explanation something to do with the Kira case?"

Ryuk nodded.

"You're a smart one."

L nodded.

"Yes, I know. Follow me."

Unlike Ryuk's, L's voice hadn't changed at all. It was still that same bland, bored tone that he always used, as if he really wasn't interested in anything going on at that moment. Then he started walking up the pavement, slouched over and hands in his pockets, and Ryuk follow, grimacing as his boots, now far too big, flapped about on his feet. The world's greatest detective (Author's Note: No. Just no. Sherlock Holmes all the way) led him a while down the main street, then they turned right, left and then left again, and continued for a while until L stopped by an old flat.

"This will do", he said, still sounding bored out of his mind, and pulled out two paperclips from his jeans. A quick jiggle and he'd picked the lock, and when they finally sat down on a tatty sofa in the front room, Ryuk started to explain what had happened since L's untimely death.

L didn't speak until he was done.