Dear, dear, dear. I had actually hoped that I would get a bigger response from you guys! Really, it's like you guys weren't surprised that I was going to make a sequel! Although, it's not much of a sequel. It's just a scene change. But, I'm sure you'll be glad to learn that L will be appearing in this part of the story! A lot of you were wondering when he was going to come into play, so I felt inclined to make him appear. My gift to you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, just a few of my characters and places.

Also, I should warn you, I haven't really decided where I want Naeko's house to be, and so for now I'll just describe it and then decide later, stealthily slipping it into the writing.

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Naeko waited patiently as Light received hugs and kisses from his family. She had already said goodbye to her aunt and uncle, and the two were calling her mother and father at that very moment to announce that she was going back to the United States, and bringing a friend with her.

Light broke away from his mother with one final hug and jogged down the steps of his front porch, eager to get going. Naeko waved to the Yagami family as she opened the door to the cab that would take both her and Light to the airport. Sachiko wiped a tear from her eye as she watched the two teens climb into the cab, their possessions already in the back with the exceptions of carry-on bags.

The cab raced off once the teens were in, and Sachiko's tears fell even harder. It was so hard for her to believe that Light was really leaving the country. They had spoken together about him studying abroad, but somehow this was different. Sure, he was going to be going to Naeko's old school in the United States, but the reason he was leaving was totally different. He hadn't exactly told her his reasons, but because she trusted him and believed he was mature enough, Sachiko had let him go. She just couldn't shake the feeling that her son was holding something back from her, however.

Sayu and Soichiro walked back inside, leaving Sachiko to think outside by herself. The older woman looked up at the sky, wondering what had made her agree to Light's adventure out of the country. A feeling washed over her when she had heard Light's persuasive words.

"He said, 'I want to study abroad at Naeko's school'," she repeated softly to herself, "'I want to go back to the United States with her, if it's alright."

Sachiko shook her head and stood up taller. "Well, he's a smart boy, and he knows how to stay out of trouble. I'm sure he'll be fine." Despite her words, Sachiko couldn't help but look over her shoulder one more time as she turned to go back inside. A creepy feeling made its way up her spine, and she rushed through the front door, eager to make her way back to the rest of her family.

---

Naeko leaned against her plane seat. She sighed; things had actually been going really well for once in her life. Actually, they had been going great! The cab ride hadn't taken long, and getting on the plane itself had been a snitch! Naeko snickered when she recalled the older man who had asked Light if they were eloping. Light had turned an interesting shade of red, but Naeko had been laughing so hard you couldn't tell. Even if he was the one to initiate their relationship, Naeko felt that Light was uncomfortable to talk about it openly.

"So, how long is the plane ride?" Light asked casually, leaning over so that he was almost whispering in Naeko's ear. Naeko shrugged; she hadn't kept track last time.

"Don't worry," she replied. "It goes pretty quickly as long as it's fairly quiet and peaceful. Or so I've heard." Light made a face and turned to face out the window of the airplane. It was a nice view, he thought, but all of the clouds were in the way. Maybe they needed to be above the clouds for the view to be nicer?

"I heard it's already started snowing in the United States," Naeko said, also glancing out the window. "There are no pretty sakura blossom trees in the United States, but the snow in the winter sort of makes up for it. Especially where I live, because it's mostly trees and small cities."

Light turned to Naeko. "Where do you live?" he asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

Naeko smiled secretly. "Well, let's just say it's not even a dot on the map. Our house is sort of situated between two different cities, so it's sort of the middle of nowhere. The nice thing about living out in the country, however, is that we have our very own lake right in our backyard! It also means we have to travel for a bit before we get to a major grocery store."

Light sat back in his seat and looked up to the front of the airplane. "It sounds nice," he said truthfully. "I guess I'm so used to living in a somewhat hectic city."

"Somewhat hectic?" Naeko asked doubtfully. "It didn't seem very hectic to me, but then again I tend to not really care where I am or how busy it is." Naeko tilted her head to look down the plane's isle and observed the other passengers. Leaning back over to whisper in Light's ear, she asked, "Hey, when is Ryuk gonna catch up to us?"

Light thought while he rummaged in his carry-on. "Well, I think he said he was going to hitch a ride in the back of the plane, where they hold all of the luggage and stuff. He had a weird grin on his face, though, so he could very well be walking around all over the plane, causing terror." Light pulled out a book and leaned as far back in his seat as he could.

Naeko just sighed once more and looked out the window, beyond Light's reading form. Glancing at the title of his book, she almost laughed out loud. It said Speaking English for Dummies, but Naeko wasn't so sure he needed the Dummies' version. That was an idea! She could create a new line of books. Knitting for Geniuses, or something like that.

Naeko felt the bright sun shine on her as the plane flew above the cloud level. The lull of the engines and the whispered conversations of the other passengers slowly pulled at her eyelids, causing them to slowly fall as her breathing leveled out.

Light looked at Naeko as she slumped over in her seat, fully asleep. Reserving a little smile for the sleeping girl, he adjusted Naeko's body so that she wouldn't be a walking pain when she woke up. She was mostly leaning on him, but that didn't matter. As long as she was comfortable.

Light sighed as he went back to his book. Even if he knew a lot of English, it couldn't help to brush up on it before they arrived in the country. Burying his nose back into his book, Light proceeded to ignore the rest of the flight, and the passengers on it.

---

"Thanks again, Amy!" Naeko waved goodbye to her friend as the friend waved back before disappearing back into the darkness of the country road they had just driven down. Naeko turned to face Light, her eyes showing how excited she was to be back in the United States, and him with her. "Come on, Light. It's a nice stretch we have to walk before we get to the house, and we have all this annoying luggage too! We better get a move on." Light silently complied as he picked up his suitcase and carry-on bag, following his girlfriend down the dirt path they had been dropped off at.

Sheesh, her friend could have at least brought us a little closer to the house! Well, she did say that she had somewhere else to be, but it's getting pretty late into the night, and she seemed pretty young. But, she was old enough to have a driver's license, so…

"Naeko! Darling, it's so good to see you!" Naeko flinched as her mother met her a few feet from the door, encasing her daughter in a huge hug. "We missed you so much and thought of you every day! Oh, and is this your friend?" Naeko's mother looked up from suffocating Naeko long enough to notice Light who, incidentally, was standing in the dark, outside of the house's porch-light's range.

"Yeah, uh, mom, this is Light Yagami. I'm not sure if Aunt Mayako told you about him or not, but he's agreed to participate in the exchange program with me." Naeko gave Light a meaning look and he nodded, a sign that he understood what she was hinting at.

"It's very nice to meet you," Light said, his English only slightly slurred. Light stuck out his hand for Naeko's mother to shake and the older lady blushed, shaking the male's hand gently.

"Well, you can call me Chiko," Naeko's mother went on, "and Naeko's father's name is David. I do hope you'll make yourself at home, Light. Oh, is it alright if I call you by your first name?" Light shrugged, and Chiko let out a high squeal of excitement. Naeko sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Well, Mom, it's late and Light and I have to go to bed since we have school tomorrow." Naeko pushed past her mother and into the house, dragging her heavy suitcase behind her. With one last apologetic look to Chiko, Light followed her, shifting his carry-on bag so that the shoulder strap fit more comfortably and didn't cut into his skin.

"Hey, Naeko," David said warmly as his daughter walked into the living room, having already taken off her shoes. Catching sight of Light, David waved and told him, "I'm sorry you can't have the couch. The dogs have claimed it as their own, and we don't have any extra rooms or beds. If you want, though, we can inflate a camping futon and you can sleep in Naeko's room."

Naeko turned red. "Why my room?" she snapped. It was like she had never been gone for more than 2 months.

"Because you have the biggest room," David replied with a shrug. Plus you have that little dresser that you can empty out for him." Naeko groaned. That meant work, and she was so tired!

"Er, actually, I can wait to put my stuff away," Light said quickly, catching the look on Naeko's face. "The plane ride was pretty tiring, and like Mrs. Chiko said, Naeko and I have school tomorrow." David leaned back in his swivel chair and looked up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, that'll work," Naeko's father finally consented. "Naeko, the futon and pump are in the hall closet, why don't you start setting things up?"

Naeko dropped her stuff onto the floor and made her way to the hall closet, letting out a long sigh. Something told her she wasn't going to get much sleep that night…

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Bwahaha, super short chapter attack! Well, basically you now know that Naeko and Light are in America and that they have school tomorrow (hinted several times). Light's bunking with Naeko (I used to have a pair of dogs that took up the entire couch when they laid down) thanks to the dogs' protectiveness of their territory. And…I still haven't decided where they are! XD

Thank you for reviewing, minna! You guys rock!