Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.

Wow…college is nothing like I thought it would be…

Classes had just ended for the day, and I was headed back to my house, book bag slung over my shoulder. The cool air whipped my brown hair off my shoulders, making my eyes water. The classes aren't that difficult…the work just takes a lot of time…that's the worst part.

As I strode down the campus path, I noticed a crowd of people standing near the tennis courts. I wonder what's happening down there, I thought, veering in that direction. As I got closer, I realized that the crowd was watching a tennis match; at a glance, I knew that both of the competitors were seasoned players.

I stopped near the top of the stairs leading down to the courts, wanting to avoid the crowd. Now that I was closer, I realized that the players were Light and Ryuga, each holding his own against the opponent. I arched my eyebrow in surprise. I knew that Light had dabbled in the sport a few years ago, but I wouldn't have thought that Ryuga was a tennis player.

He's so fast…Outside of the court, Ryuga moved slowly, as if calculating the repercussions of every move he made. But here, on the court, his eyes never left the ball. He responded to its movements seemingly without thought, the exact opposite of normal. He's very intense about this…

Light was equally intense, if not more so. His eyes were narrowed, teeth gritted as he raced from one side of the court to another. The ball sped, almost too fast for the eye to follow, from one end to the other, making a familiar hollow popping noise as it hit the rackets.

Finally, Light got the ball past Ryuga's defense, and the match ended. As the crowd dispersed, the pair stepped forward to shake hands. I sat on a nearby bench, waiting for the two to finish up, checking the messages on my phone. The metal door creaked as they left the court; the bar scraped into place on the lock.

"Hey, Light! Ryuga!" I stood, replacing my phone in my pocket as I greeted them. The pair looked up, blinking in recognition.

"Oh, hey, Mayu," Light smiled. "I didn't see you over there."

"That was amazing, you two! Ryuga, I had no idea that you were so good; where did you learn?" I asked, walking up to them.

"I played in England for several years," Ryuga stated.

"Really? England, wow. I've always wanted to go there."

"Do you speak the language?" L asked.

"I was born in America," I said in English.

"I can tell," Ryuga nodded, joining me in that language. "From your accent, I would guess that you come from…the state of Washington?"

I blinked, arching an eyebrow. "Not bad, genius."

Light coughed. "Excuse me…"

"Oh, sorry, Light." I immediately returned to Japanese. "I forgot; English was one of your weak spots, wasn't it?"

"Not anymore, but that's not the point," Light sighed. "Do you two mind if I join in…?"

"That won't be necessary," Ryuga blinked. "We were just about to leave, weren't we?"

"Right," Light nodded, relieved. "Sorry, Mayu, but we were…"

I held up a hand. "It's all right. I just came over to say 'hi,' anyways; I have to get my homework done." I paused. "I'll see you two later, then?"

"Yeah. See you, Mayu," Light said as I began to walk.

"Bye! Nice talking to you, Ryuga!" I waved before turning away.

Hmmm…So L's trying to get close to Light, eh? Why would he do that? It's not as though L has a lot of free time right now, with the Kira case going on. And why Light? Unless…could Light be a suspect?

I turned onto the busy city street, bringing one hand up to rest on the strap of my bag.

I can see why L would suspect him. Maybe…

I shook my head. No. Light could never be Kira. His father's the police chief, for heaven's sake! He would never, no, could never, do something like this.

I stopped at an intersection, waiting for the 'walk' light to come on. Suddenly, caught a flash of color caught my eye, and I turned my head, eyes widening in surprise. A tiny bundle of blankets lay in the middle of the road, directly in the path of an oncoming bus. As I watched, the blankets moved, and I glimpsed a tiny little hand push its way out of a fold.

I dropped my bag. Oh, god, no! Without thinking, I launched myself into the street, sprinting with all my strength towards the blankets. The bus sped closer; it wasn't going to stop. On the other side of the road, a woman screamed, realizing what was happening. The scream gave me a jolt of adrenaline, and I pushed forward even faster.

I was upon the bundle. I barely slowed down as I scooped the blankets into my hands, tucking it to my chest protectively. I saw the bus, mere feet away, out of the corner of my eye, the driver only now beginning to put on the brakes. I closed my eyes, putting all of my energy into one final leap.

I felt the bus just miss me; the wind whipped my hair into my face as I stumbled onto the sidewalk. I stopped, breathing heavily, wiping the sweat off of my forehead. People surrounded me, asking if I was all right, but I barely noticed them; only one thing seemed to matter at that moment. I lifted one of the sides of the blanket to reveal a tiny blonde-haired newborn, yawning and blinking its eyes tiredly. Its blue eyes looked up at me innocently, as if saying, 'any particular reason why you woke me?'

"Oh, thank god," I breathed in relief. "You're all right."

"Where's my baby? Where's my baby?" An American woman pushed her way through the crowd, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her hair was the exact same shade as the baby's. Wordless, I handed her the bundle. She took it gently, stroking the baby's face and hugging it close.

After a few seconds, the woman looked up at me, eyes shining with fresh tears. "How can I ever thank you enough?"

I shook my head. "Please, I don't want anything."

"What is your name?" She asked.

"I'm Mayu. Mayu Kitamura."

"My husband and I hadn't decided on a middle name for her," the woman smiled, nodding at the baby. "So, now her name shall be Elizabeth Mayu."

"I'm…I'm touched," I stuttered, bowing my head. "Thank you."

"No," the woman smiled, slowly backing away through the crowd. "Thank you, for the life of my child."

I stood there for a few more seconds, ignoring the crowd's cries of, 'you're a hero!' and 'that was so scary!' Finally, I headed back across the street, but when I got there, my bag had disappeared.

"I believe that this is yours," a voice said behind me. I whirled around, to see a tall, muscular man holding my book bag. He held it out to me.

"Thanks," I nodded, taking it back from him and slinging it over my shoulder before heading away.

I was almost halfway home, cutting across a deserted street, when…

"I saw what happened," the man said, to my right, and I shot him a surprised look. I hadn't known that he was following me. "That was very brave."

"Well, I can't just stand around when someone's in danger," I stated, continuing to walk. "If I can do something to help, then I'll do it. That's the way I am."

"Interesting. So, if someone was being murdered, right in front of your eyes, what would you do?"

I stopped walking, turning to stare at my companion. "I'm sorry. Do I know you? Because, I'm pretty sure that we've never met before today."

"You're right. We haven't met, but you do know who I am."

"Well, then, please. Enlighten me." I rolled my eyes, beginning to walk again.

"I am L."

I whirled around. "Excuse me?"

"I said, I'm L."

I laughed. "No, you're not."

"What makes you so sure of your opinion?"

"The inflictions on your words are all wrong. You don't have the same voice."

I could tell that that gave the man pause. I smiled ruefully. "Good bye. Don't follow me any further; I don't know how kindly my dad will take to you."

I had eyes on the back of my head the rest of the way home. Thankfully, the stranger wasn't following me, and as I walked in the door, I breathed a sigh of relief. What a nut job…coming up to me and saying that he was L!

"You're home late, today." My step-mother came in from the kitchen.

"Sorry…there was this random guy following me, saying that he was L, so I had to go tell him to leave off."

"What?" Her eyes widened. "Why on earth would he say that?"

"Trust me, I have no idea. I'll be in my room if you need me," I called, tromping up the stairs.

As soon as my door closed behind me, my cell phone rang. The caller ID read, 'Yagami House.' I flipped the phone open, bringing it up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Mayu?" A voice sniffled.

"Sayu, is that you? What happened?"

"It's my dad…he had a heart attack!"

I stopped breathing. Dear god, no!

"Could you come over to the hospital with us?"

"Of- of course," I stuttered. "Do you want me to meet you there, or come over to your house first?"

"The hospital," Sayu sniffed.

"Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes, all right?"

"Okay. Mayu, hurry!"

"I will," I promised, before snapping the phone shut.

I fairly flew down the stairs, muttering something along the lines of, "Hospital, Mr. Yagami, heart attack," before bursting out the door.

Grabbing my bike, I pedaled as fast as I could to pick up speed, coasting down the large hills. My mind raced franticly. Oh, god…Mr. Yagami…Did Kira kill him? Oh, no…Wait, why would he be in the hospital if he's dead? He has to be alive. A small glimmer of hope blossomed in my chest, giving my feet wings.

So focused on my goal, I barely noticed as I sped past a familiar black Rolls-Royce with tinted windows.

As I pulled up to the hospital, I left my bike outside as I sprinted into the building. Running up to the receptionist desk, I gasped,

"Which room…Yagami?"

"Let's see, here… Yagami…Yagami…do you know what he's in for?"

"Heart attack."

"Oh…there he is! Room number 207."

"Thanks," I gasped, before jogging down the hallway.

I spotted Light halfway down the corridor. He was sitting on a bench, head in his hands. I slowed to a walk and caught my breath before coming up next to him.

"Hey," I said. Light sat up, blinking blearily at me.

"Hey."

"You all right?"

"Yeah…Just a little shaken up, that's all." Light took a deep breath. "I never thought that this would happen."

"Me neither," I sighed, sitting down next to him. "How's he doing?"

"Better. The doctors said that it was from work-related stress, so he'll make a full recovery."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. I thought it might have been Kira…"

The door to Mr. Yagami's room opened, and Sayu and Mrs. Yagami stepped out.

"Mayu! You're here!" Sayu ran up, throwing her arms around me.

"I came as fast as I could," I smiled, returning the hug.

"Would you like to see him?" Mrs. Yagami asked, a sad smile on her face.

"I don't want to intrude…"

"Oh, please. I think he'd like to see you."

"All right, then." Mrs. Yagami held the door open for us as Light and I entered the room.

Mr. Yagami was laid out on a hospital bed, a heart monitor steadily beeping next to it. As I came in, a large smile spread over his face.

"Mayu. I didn't know you were coming!"

"Sayu called me," I explained, taking a seat next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better than I was before, thank you." Mr. Yagami sighed. "Work- related stress, can you believe it?"

"Yeah. It's bizarre."

A few days later, I was taking a walk downtown, scarf wrapped around my neck. A slight chill had fallen over the city, and the cold wind made me bury my exposed hands in my pockets. Suddenly, a police car sped past me, screeching to a halt in front of one of the skyscrapers. A man ran out of the car, leaving the driver's seat door open. As he passed through a streetlight, I caught a glimpse of his face.

Hang on…I know him! It's Ukita, from the task force! He must be doing work for L.

Ukita ran up to the doors of a building, a sign nearby reading, 'Sakura TV Broadcasting Center.' He pounded strongly on the glass, threatening to break it.

"Open up! Stop the broadcast! Stop the broadcast!"

Stop the broadcast? Why would L want a broadcast stopped?

"Damn it!" Ukita took a step back, pulling his gun from his pocket. I quickly covered my ears, but before he could take a shot, Ukita paused. His body seemed to seize up, and he clutched at his chest before collapsing, dropping his gun on the ground.

"Oh, no…" I froze. He just had a heart attack! Kira… I started to run up to him, but stopped just shy of the streetlight, waiting outside of the circle of light.

"We know that Kira needs a name and a face to kill." L's voice echoed through my head. But, if Kira needs both a name and a face, how did he kill Ukita? Have his powers evolved so that he no longer needs a name?

Pulling my scarf out from around my neck, I tied it around my face, covering my mouth and nose before running up to Ukita's body.

I checked his pulse, not surprised when I didn't find one. Regardless, I pulled out my cell phone, and called for an ambulance. As I snapped my phone shut, tears were trickling down my face, the scarf around my head absorbing the teardrops. Kira is protecting the broadcasting station…L wants the broadcast stopped, but Kira wants it to continue. That's reason enough to…I couldn't believe what I was about to do. I didn't know you well, Ukita. But, I swear to you, you will not have died in vain.

I grabbed Ukita's gun from where it had fallen on the cement. I leveled the weapon at the glass door, focusing. I had never fired a gun before, but the shot hit true; the glass around the doorknob shattered. Pushing my hand through the hole, I turned the knob, stepping into the building.

Stop the broadcast, he had said. I quickly sprinted down a hallway, following the signs pointing to the 'Broadcasting Room.' Breaking open the door, I grabbed the first person I saw, holding the gun to their head.

"Stop the broadcast, now!" I shouted.

"What the hell-" A heavyset man got to his feet.

"Stop the broadcast, or he dies! And I want the tapes, too!" I cocked the gun, eyes narrowed. Oh my god…what am I doing? This was a really bad idea…but there's no turning back, now…

"All right, all right! Just don't shoot!"

A few minutes later, I slipped out the back door of the broadcasting station, tapes in hand. I sprinted away from the station, keeping out of sight. After fifteen minutes of running, I hid in an alleyway to take a breather.

Pulling the scarf off of my face, I wiped the sweat from my brow. My hands were sweaty too; the bag holding the tapes was damp where I gripped it. I briefly closed my eyes, the horror of the situation flooding through me. What have I gotten myself into?

Author's Note: Cliff hanger! Sorry about that…*laughs nervously* I know how much I hate to be left hanging, but…I just couldn't help myself! ;) Please Review!

P.S. - Vote for your favorite OC in the poll on my profile page! The last time I checked, only one person had voted, so…yeah.