Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note or any related characters! I think they may actually own me.

A/N: Well...here it is! Chapter 9. This one should be interesting...hehe. I'm going to type out chapter 10 later (it's longish) but then it might be a while for chapter 11 considering I haven't even started it yet...oh well. BY THE WAY...please review! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far!


Chapter 9:

It took Naru a few days to calm down and recover from her encounter with Mello. He hadn't tried to contact her since, which worried her somewhat. What was he up to? Her thoughts came to Matt and she questioned if he was involved in anything that Mello was doing. He and Mello were best friends after all who had just found each other after a three-year separation…but was that separation all somehow a lie after all? Mello seemed to be quite untrustworthy and his motives were undoubtedly far from pure. It wouldn't surprise her if everything that had involved Mello had just been a setup to get closer to Near. Naru worried about Near more than ever now. She just couldn't bring herself to tell him about her encounters with Mello and Matt anymore. Rester had informed her that Near was 90 sure that the kidnapper now in possession of the death note was Mello. This alleged criminal also happened to be a leader in the Mafia. What would he say if he knew that she had gone behind his back to meet him in a hotel?

And of course, there had been the kiss. That abrupt, confusing kiss from that dangerous, sinister boy. Naru knew she no longer thought of Mello as anything except a possible criminal, but it had caught her completely off guard. Did it mean anything? Was he just messing with her head? She didn't know, but it only strengthened her resolve to not tell Near. If he were to find out, he'd probably kick her out of the SPK entirely. Not that she felt like she was even a part of the SPK anymore. This last thought set her off completely. Naru angrily stood up from her chair and marched to the back of the building, back to the workspace where she and Near once spent the majority of their time together.

Instead of knocking on the door, Naru burst in, a hard look on her face.

"Near!" She called out, obviously pissed, "We need to talk! Now!" She added. Near stared at her in shock. He had been brainstorming the Kira case and the second L's motives right before she had barged in. He hadn't seen her at all in about a week and all the information and ideas in his head vanished the moment he set eyes on her.

"Naru…Halle told me you might come…" Near carefully stood up and mumbled something inaudible as he nervously played with a piece of hair.

"Oh, really? Why didn't you try to stop me then, eh? It's not like you want me around. I don't feel like your equal at all anymore, Near!"

Near fell silent. She was angry with him. He hated the all too familiar feeling as it made uncomfortable knots in his stomach.

"Naru, please. I am sorry that you are mad…but I just felt that -"

"Don't give me this crap, Near." Naru interrupted. She wasn't letting herself hold anything back now that she was way past her limit. "I'm barely even involved in this case anymore! I really thought we were a team! Don't you care about me at all, Near? You don't even give a damn lately about anything I do…heck, I could be getting myself into a horrible mess out…out there…" She vaguely pointed in the direction of the front entrance to the building that led outside, "and you would just sit idly by at your stupid workstation and do nothing!"

She was yelling now, each word feeling like a satisfying spark on her tongue. "I'm sick and tired of this, Near. I want to do more with you or not be here at the SPK at all. I've decided it's time…I want a codename, Near! I want to be right in the action!"

Near hadn't even let himself blink as Naru had told him off. A vague sense of shock was visible on his face. Naru breathed heavily on the other side of the room, rejuvenated.

He tried to say something to her but found he couldn't. For one of the first times in his life, Near was completely speechless.

"I want to be called 'K'…you know, for my last name."

Near knew that Naru, like all those from the Wammy's House, kept an alias at all times. Even though she knew she shouldn't, Naru had divulged her true name to Near at one point in their friendship. He had never forgotten it.

"I understand." Near fidgeted for a moment, unsure of what to say as to not make her yell at him again. "I…like your real name, Naru. It is very much like you."

"What do you mean…like me? I prefer Naru." She scoffed at him, not understanding what he could possibly mean.

Near wanted to tell Naru what he meant by the statement, but part of him just couldn't. It was too out there, too direct. Something else inside of him, however, was screaming out to him to just say it. They were the words he thought whenever he lay eyes on her and there was no doubt in his mind that they were the truth. He took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Your name…Nikita Kareen…" he said clearly, just loud enough for Naru to hear, "Is beautiful. Just like you."

She couldn't believe it. Had Near just called her beautiful? Her heart leapt and the part of her that couldn't answer the question How do I feel about Near? was jumping up and down. It wouldn't stay in its seat and it made her want to do crazy, ridiculous things. The question had just been answered for her and she couldn't take it.

I-I have to go!" She cried out and made a dash for the door. Near didn't hesitate in running after her. After all, he had had plenty of practice in his dreams. To his dismay, he found that the unfamiliar action hurt his legs a lot more in real life.

Naru was quite a fast runner but Near's determination was fierce. He flinched when he realized that Naru was headed for the door that led outside, but he continued to chase her anyway. Just like in his dream, his goal was clear. He wanted to catch her, but the desire was so much stronger now. Everything that was important to him depended on this.

Naru was beginning to slow down now that she was outside, unaware of her fast approaching pursuer, but Near kept on running, pushing himself to his absolute limit. Finally, Naru stopped to catch her breath. Near, however, couldn't seem to stop his legs and crashed right into her.

They both went pummeling down to the ground. Naru, who had been caught completely off guard, let out a little shriek as Near landed on top of her. He was clinging to her shirt, hard.

"N-Near!" Naru gasped. The intense look he was giving her made her heart pound at a ridiculous pace. Now she knew how she truly felt about him, what she had wanted all along, but could she handle it?

"Naru…" Near stared deeply into her eyes. He had no desire to move from his spot beside Naru. Her face had never been so close before. His eyes traced down to her lips and a strange desire overtook him to do something completely unreasonable. At that moment, it clicked. He had always been somewhat unfamiliar with the complete range of human emotion, having had suppressed them for so long, but the feelings he was having towards Naru could no longer be ignored. At that moment he gained a slight understanding of what they truly meant.

Naru had started to cry, her tears running down the sides of her face into her hair, pooling onto the ground. Neither of them spoke, letting an understanding they had lacked about themselves sink in. Naru slowly reached out her hand, Near holding his breath in anticipation for the final piece of the puzzle that would finally explain everything.

She gently placed her hand on the back of his snow-white hair and intertwined her fingers longingly. She pushed herself up slightly from the ground and leaned forward over him. Her face was coming ever closer with each passing second. Near had an idea of what she meant to do and panicked. This, no matter how much he had really wanted it, was not something he had expected of Naru even in his wildest dreams. And he had a lot of those. Could the emotions he experienced around her really be…?

Finally the gap between them closed. In that moment in time, nothing else mattered. No one else existed. Naru pushed up closer to him, desperate for something she didn't realize she had needed all along. Near was utterly frozen in place, not knowing how to respond. This was the first time anythinglike this had even come vaguely close to happening to him. After a moment of Naru's patient encouragement, he relaxed and tried to kiss her back, unsure of whether or not he was doing it right. Naru had pulled him into a sitting position but had no intention of stopping what she was doing just yet. She hadn't realized just how much she had been holding back all this time.

Near pulled away much sooner than Naru would've liked. A new emotion registered on his face, one that she had never seen the likes of in him before. She thought she had an idea of what it might be, but was it just her hopeful imagination playing tricks on her?

"Naru…I…" Near whispered, not knowing how to say the words that had suddenly emerged in his head. The words made perfect sense to him and he knew he finally completely understood what he could not before.

"I…think I love you."

Naru's heart leapt out of her chest. Did Near just say…he loved her? To her surprise, a soft laugh escaped from her throat.

"I think I love you too, Near." She smiled, relieved that at last everything made sense. Near's face, however, had fallen slightly. He looked away and began to play with his hair again, deep in thought.

"We can't." He finally said. Naru was speechless. What did he mean by "they couldn't?"

"W-What?" She asked desperately.

"We can't…it's too distracting right now…the Kira case. We have to capture Kira first."

Naru took in his words and sighed.

"You're right…after the Kira case then. After the Kira case, then we'll be…"

Then we'll be together.

A low chuckle vibrated from behind the bushes around where Naru and Near were sitting. Neither of them noticed Mello as he sat and watched their every more. So tailing Naru had been a success after all…though he had never expected anything like this to happen.

He thought of his poor friend Matt. What would he say when he found out? But all this information was just too juicy to keep to himself. He slowly stood up from his hiding place and quickly made his way back to the mafia hideout, laughing the entire way. Getting to Near wasn't going to be difficult after all.