I give you chapter ten...AND THANK YOU: michi-nin, Water-Chick-1214, XXThe Wish GranterXX, redwood-ribbons, Diabolus Kara, crawlinahole, and Aeris_x!! All within twenty four hours...I'm impressed. haha! Thank you so much!!!!!! :D
No Light...please no, let go of me...let go!
Katsuko let out another squeak and shoved Light away before their lips could touch.
"I--I'm sorry--but--I can't--"
Katsuko dropped the manga then darted out of the book store into the crowded mall, Light staring after her.
He almost kissed me, and I almost let him...I almost let him kiss me...L...Ryuuzaki...forgive me...please forgive me. We've only been together for a short time and already this is happening...forgive me L...
"Katsu? Are you okay? You look like someone tried to assault you or something," Akasuki came up behind her, two chocolate milkshakes in her hands and Katsuko wiped her eye, just realizing they were dripping light tears.
"Yeah, I'm alright. I saw Light in the book store and--"
"Say no more, I get it," Akasuki said professionally and handed Katsu a milkshake, "here, chocolate always make you feel better."
Katsu took a sip of the heavenly shake and smiled as the freezing ice cream slide down her throat.
"Thanks Akasuki-chan," Katsuko said and the girl smiled.
"No problemo! Come on, let's go to that awesome clothes store we were headed for before my stomach interrupted."
"I'm all for that!" Katsuko said and followed Akasuki through the crowd and into the next department.
Later at L's Suite...
"Katsu, what's bothering you?" L asked and Katsuko turned to him.
"Huh--?"
"You've just been staring at that bush for the past ten minutes, so I figured something was wrong," he said softly and walked up to her, "did something happen to you?"
Katsuko pondered weather or not to tell L what had happened with Light, and she just looked at her bright green flats. L sensed her feeling upset and placed his hand on her head and pulled her to rest on his chest.
"It's okay Katsuko, you can tell me. I won't be angry at you or anything," L told her and Katsuko hugged him.
"Akasuki-chan and I went to the mall today to celebrate me getting into To-Oh," she started and L held her, his chin resting on her head, "I saw Light in a book store while I was picking out a manga. He was just acting so weird; he just broke up with me, I get into a relationship with you, somehow he finds out, and the next thing I know, he's trying to kiss me."
"Did he?" L asked and Katsuko hugged him tighter.
"No, he didn't, I pushed him away before he could."
"Then what is there to worry about? I figured Light would try to do something like this since the break up was incredibly sudden," L told her and Katsuko sighed.
"But the thing is, I felt like I almost let him..." Katsuko stopped, totally ashamed of herself and L didn't say anything.
He let go of her and walked over to the rose bush, then motioned for Katsu to follow.
"You know the saying 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn'?" L asked and Katsuko nodded.
"Yes, I do," she answered and L studied the bright red rose in front of him.
"I knew from the start there would be some complications to being with you, romantically or not. You just seem to be that type of girl that the world just can't seem to leave alone. No matter what, you get sucked into some kind of hurtful situation."
"Thanks Ryuuzaki," Katsuko said sarcastically and L chuckled.
"I guess I phrased that wrong. But what my point is, no matter what, I know that we're going to get through a lot of rough spots together. All I care about is that you're happy, even if you leave me now and go with Light," L said and Katsuko stared at him.
"No L--!" she started but L put his hand over her mouth.
"Don't go ballistic on me," he teased and Katsuko's glittering eyes shone even more from her attempted smile.
L removed his hand off her mouth and turned back to the rose bush. He fingered the red roses silk petals and then reached down to pick it. Katsu watched him carefully and L came back over to her.
"Even though roses have thorns, you over look them once you see how beautiful the blossom is," L said quietly and folded Katsu's hand over the rose's stem, and placed his own over hers, "you're worth every obstacle that may be thrown at us. No matter what, I will always be here for you."
L laid his forehead against Katsuko's and closed his eyes. Katsuko smiled again and L opened his eyes half way before tilting his head and kissing her. The rose stayed between them, they're hands on the stem, and a faint wind blew making Katsu's hair float up and lightly brush her face and L's. Her heart wasn't beating as fast as it was when L had first kissed her, but it was a calm, steady beat that made her whole body feel as if she were drifting on a cloud.
His kiss...erasing my memories for one moment...making me forget every pain I have ever endured.
At Katsuko's House...
"Damn, this is going to drive me nuts," Katsuko muttered to herself as she paced her bedroom.
It had just reached midnight and it was storming furiously outside, but Katsuko didn't feel the least bit tired. She had been trying to figure out what exactly Kira used to kill people and already, three hours of pacing and writing down ideas had passed with no success. So far, Katsuko had already come up with the possibilities of a knife, gun with a silencer, some type of notebook, and a fork. The fork was really from her own experience when she had about poor L in the head with one.
"But he doesn't have to be there to kill someone...he can kill from a distance...so if he stabbed anyone with a fork or knife, people would see him. The gun makes sense with the silencer but...the heart attacks...maybe if the victim was shot then it would seem like a heart attack because of the bullet and no one would hear it due to the silencer. Then the media...maybe they would just say it's a heart attack so no one would panic when a released criminal is in a public place. Then what about the criminals in prison?"
Katsuko rubbed her forehead and continued pacing around. Thunder rumbles above her house and lightning streaked through the sky, making Katsuko jump.
"That just leaves me with the notebook then...but how can you kill someone by using only a notebook? Paper cut them to death?" Katsuko resumed pacing after the lightning and thunder had become quieter and braided a strand of hair deep in thought.
"Kira needs a name and face to kill...the notebook makes sense and yet it doesn't...the more I think about it...but what kind of notebook can kill...?" Katsu stopped dead and then gasped.
"Unless Kira has...? No, that's completely absurd...insane...do those things even exist?"
Katsuko rushed over to her lap top and logged onto the Internet. She hurriedly typed in Death Notes in the search box and clicked the second link labeled Death Notes: Most Deadly Weapon Known to Mankind.
"Death Note: A type of notebook used by Shinigamis (gods of death) to kill of people at the end of their life. A Death Note is fairly simple to use, by merely writing down a person's name in the notebook the person will die of a heart attack within 40 seconds unless the type of death is specified. A person's name as well as their face must be known to the user in order to kill them..." Katsuko stopped reading and slumped back in her chair.
"Then the next question is...how the hell did Kira get a Death Note? And after that is...who wrote this essay? Oh something for an Mythology class or something like that..."
Katsuko scrolled back up to the top of the screen and closed the browser before pulling her pajamas on and crawling into bed.
"Kira has a Death Note...it doesn't make sense and yet it does...yet, the mere existence of such a thing is questionable..." Katsu relaxed her hands behind her head staring up at her dark ceiling and listening to the radio over the storm outside, "Kira managed to get his hands on a Death Note. Ha, I wonder if L will buy that one..."
Katsuko murmured her last words before drifting off into a deep sleep.
..............
I didn't know where I was...in the middle of a deserted but beautiful meadow...the ocean was just over the cliff...where was I? My yellow dress fluttered around my knees and I walked to the edge of the cliff to look at the sea.
Dark clouds started to cover the area, and the ocean waves started thrashing against the rocks. The spray dampened my faced and I spread my arms out and closed my eyes. I felt a strong gust of wind behind me and my eyes snapped open. The meadow remained beautiful and I lowered my arms. The ocean continued to pound again the cliff as I stood, then sat down, dangling my feet over the edge. The wind continued to blow and the ocean kept tossing until I stood up.
I walked back from the edge then turned around and started running to it once more. I pumped my arms as I saw the crystal blue water again, reached the edge then jumped off. I spread my arms out like a swan as I fell closer and closer...my hair and dress flowing behind me...I was inches from the crashing waves...my eyes closed and then...
Katsuko woke with a start, drenched in sweat. She didn't know why but her heart was beating a million times a second and she felt as if she had to gasp for each breath. Panting still, Katsu looked at her clock and read 9:37.
"I have to get up and go meet L and the team in the suite anyway," she thought and shoved the covers off of her.
She did her usual of eating breakfast, changing then getting into her car and driving to the suite. The storm clouds still hung in the sky and rain drops splattered against Katsu's windshield as she drove down the highway to the hotel and Katsuko thought back to her dream.
Does it mean anything? Should I pay attention to this? Meadows...they represent the promise of a bright future, stormy oceans mean anxiety and confusion and falling represents trusting my instincts...at least this is what astrology says...
Reaching her destination, Katsuko stepped out of her car and headed into the building. She shivered from the icy rain falling on her bare arms and jogged into the hotel to the elevator.
Light acting weird, dreams that aren't scary but I'm still anxious, what is with my life right now?
Katsuko stepped into the elevator and then felt as if she were being watched. Looking behind her the lobby was empty, and Kastu shook the feeling and pressed the button to the top floor.
I'm being crazy, she thought and hummed a pretty tune to herself but the feeling didn't leave her.
The elevator doors closed and Katsuko rocked back and forth on her feet still humming. The number 11 lit up, and Katsuko looked at the buttons, not remembering hitting the eleventh floor button. The elevator stopped and the doors opened, but no one was waiting for it. The hall was empty and dead silent and Katsuko pressed her lips together before attempting to close the doors. The number 11 was still glowing bright orange and it seemed to glare at her like a little eye. Shifting her weight to her left foot, Katsuko tried to close the doors again but they wouldn't budge.
"Damn it, I'm gonna be late! Close already will you?!" Katsu hissed but the elevator didn't do anything.
"Fine! Be like that," she threw her hands up into the air and walked out of it and headed to the stairs.
There was a rustle behind her and Katsu turned slowly to face the curtains across the room. They were swaying slightly although the window was not open, and Katsu felt her heart begin to pound.
"Matsuda? Are you there?" she called, her voice coming out as a squeak but no one answered, "Ryuuzaki?" No answer.
Shinigamis...why am I thinking about that? Shinigami, get a grip Katsuko, Katsu scolded herself and then turned to walk up the steps.
The rain fell harder against the windows of the stairwell and Katsuko heard thunder rumble overhead as she walked up two more flights of steps. Out of no where, Katsuko heard another rustle as if paper was being dropped and she stopped dead, her heart racing against time. She didn't dare to look behind her, and Katsuko took a careful step to the top of the stairs as there was another paper rustle and a light thud. Terrified, Katsuko yanked the door open and ran down the hall to the bathroom.
Someone is following me...I'm being followed...
Katsuko locked the bathroom door and whipped her cell phone out before calling L.
"Damn it!" she cried as she lost reception and her call failed.
What do I do? What do I do? Someone...something is following me...it's definitely not human whatever it is...it's not human...
Katsuko walked slowly over to the sink and let the cold water trickle over her fingers then fill her cupped hand. She splashed it on her face and dried off with a paper towel so she could think straight.
Okay, I have a gun that Ryuuzaki had given to me a few weeks ago for protection when I turned eighteen, so I'll just keep that in my pocket...
Katsuko pulled out her hand sized, silver police gun but took the bullets out and filled it with a blank.
I have my badge as well so this is legal and whoever was following me, this will scare them into explaining.
Feeling much better, Katsuko tucked the gun into her pocket and unlocked the door. She cracked it slightly to peer out and when she saw no one there, Katsuko stuck her head out to see that the coast was clear. Katsu smiled to herself and then started walking to the elevator when she heard a thud behind her. Whipping her gun out, Katsuko pointed it over to the elevator door and saw a thin black notebook laying on the floor. Katsuko stared at it and looked around to see no one coming to claim it then slowly approached it.
"Why is there--?" Katsu asked herself and placed the gun next to her foot before pulling a tissue out of her bag to pick it up.
There was a flash of light and Katsuko felt blinded as she dropped the notebook back to the ground.
"What the--?" she wondered and bent over to pick the notebook up again.
There was a fluttering sound, and Katsuko saw a black feather drop next to the notebook. She froze and studied the feather then slowly moved her eyes up to see a huge shinigami at least seven feet tall with wild black hair and red, unblinking eyes staring at her. Katsuko gaped and then shrieked.
"WHO THE--?! WHAT THE--? WHY THE HELL--?! ARE YOU A SHINI--SHINI--?!"
"A shinigami yes, and I dropped my notebook," the shinigami said and Katsuko yanked it away.
"Why are you here? Do you have a name? Or is it just shinigami?"
"I'm here because I had to talk to you and my name is Ryuk. Calm down Katsuko, I'm not going to kill you, sheesh. Humans are so jumpy," Ryuk said and Katsuko flipped the notebook over in her hand to read the front cover.
"Death Note," she read aloud but didn't hand it back to Ryuk, "what did you want to talk about Ryuk?"
"For one thing, I want to tell you watch your step nowadays. Kira is going insane and I suggest staying on his good side. I mean that to your friends too. L especially," Ryuk told her and Katsuko glared at him.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I can't say much, but really be careful about what you do in this case. If you don't then there is going to be trouble. Just watch yourself Katsu, I'd really hate to see anything happen to you."
"What does it matter to you if I'm in danger?"
"Look, I'm not in love with you or anything, but I have been watching over you and I see you've got your fair share of people loving you. Just don't do anything reckless and keep the ones you love the most close to you, even if they have broken your heart," and with that Ryuk took the Death Note out of Katsuko's hands and floated away, leaving Katsuko alone in the hall with nothing but her dark feelings.
I apologize if anyone, Ryuk especially seemed OOC. Alright, well, I posted early so chapter Eleven will be up soon too!!! :D Review please!! You guys are amazing with that and I seriously can't thank you enough!! Thanks so much!!! :D