I ran a hand through my hair. I was still long, but it was now blue. My spontaneous attitude had not left me through the years, despite the fact I had three kids and a husband who couldn't cook worth crap to care for. Spontaneous actions could always help you out. I hoped to God it would now.

I couldn't hear Light's mind anymore. Had he gone out of range? There was no way he could have been RIGHT at that ten thousand mile mark. He couldn't have fit in that nicely. Or could he? Did he know my range? Or...or could he shut me off, like Near could? Like Nate? This was getting very bad. I had kids. He'd go after my babies—he'd try to kill my babies.

And then it struck me—he knew Near's name. He could write it down anytime. The same thing for L, too. Nate River and L Lawliet. But age progression...would that stop him? It was likely for Near, since he had grown so much. But did his child face count? I wasn't sure. I don't think any of the Shinigami knew.

I should have listened to Ryuk back then and kept his name in my stupid Death Note! That stupid eraser! Even if I died, I'd go back to being the Shinigami King. But what if Near died? What about Nate, and Tonks, and Saya? What would happen to them if they died? And if I died, who would care for them properly? God Dammit, I would never let Near remarry...even if it made him happy. I'm sorry, but Near was MINE, Shinigami or not!

I sat back onto the couch, and Near sat with me. "So what are we going to do?" he asked. Like he had to ask me. He was the super-de-awesome smart one. I should be asking HIM that.

"We can't leave the kids," I said. "We have to take them with us."

"But wouldn't they get in the way? What would happen if Light is after them, too?"

"I've thought of that. If we leave them, we can't keep an eye on them and know there safe, causing unnecessary worry." I sighed. "On the other hand, if we take them, we can keep them masked at all times, and know they're safe and alive. You'll have to wear a mask, too. I think that Light can't kill you because of your age progression. You'll all have to wear masks. I won't need one, anyway. I'll be fine if my name gets written—I'll just become a Shinigami again, and I'll always be with you, regardless."

And that was a promise.

"Kids, come down here! Your mother and I need to talk with you!"

Tonks and Saya flew down the stairs, jumping the last few, and rocketed onto the couch on either side of Near and I. Nate slowly dragged himself down, wiping off smudges of my makeup with the sleeve of his pajama-like shirt. A teddy bear was in his other hand, which he dragged on the ground behind him. He chose to crawl into my lap and sit. I was still amazed at how small he was for his age. Just like his father was.

"Okay, guys, we're going on a little vacation," I said with a smile. Saya and Tonks cheered, and Nate looked up at me with studying eyes. If he was like his father, he knew something was wrong by the way I spoke and the expression behind my eyes.

"But you'll have to wear Halloween masks," Near added. "Because where we're going, you won't be able to have any fun if you don't wear them ALL the way there, AND the entire time that we're there."

"Nice," I thought over to him.

He shrugged. "I used to be a kid that liked toys, you know," he thought back. "I know what kids want."

Saya raised her hand. "Do we get to choose what mask we get to wear?"

"Sure!" I said with a smile. "We'll go to the store right now to get them. We're leaving right after that, so pack your bags right now so we can leave!"

Saya and Tonks cheered again and flew back upstairs.

Nate stayed on my lap, refusing to move. "Don't you want to go get ready?" Near asked. He shook his head.

"We won't be able to leave if you don't get ready," I said, hugging him close to me.

"Mommy, I'm scared," he whispered to me so that Near couldn't hear. "What's going on?"

"I told you, sweetie, we're going on a vacation!"

"No we're not," he said sternly. "You're shaking, and in your eyes there's fear. You're scared for us, all of us."

"I can't tell you everything, honey, but all I can say is that there's a monster that kills people after us. The only way he can kill you is if he knows your name and face, and we're unsure if he can know your name just by looking at you, so the only way I can protect all of you from him is by having you wear masks so he doesn't know what you look like."

I felt my shirt getting wet. I hated it when my children cried, and I had never seen Nate cry before, so this shocked me. It scared me, too. "I don't want you to die, mommy," he sobbed. "You're not going to wear a mask, are you?"

I sighed and rubbed the back of his head and held him close to me with the other. "No, I'm not."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"If you love me, then wear a mask, too!" he said a little louder than he meant to. "I want you to stay here, with me! I know how daddy grew up, and I don't want to not have a mommy! I love you more than my toys and even everyone else in the family! You're the best mommy ever, even better than my friends' mommies!"

This little info kind of surprised me. Then again, he's his father's son, and we all know how Near was...please, don't make my son obsessed with me too. That would be horrible. Was I REALLY that likable? Because out of all the kind people who weren't as pissy as I was, I would think I'd be pretty low on the 'people I want to be obsessed with' list.

Even Near looked surprised. I looked over at him when Nate was sobbing into my chest, and his looked was as shocked as mine was. "Wow, I guess you're good to your family, then," he commented.

"Shut up," I snapped.

But I admit that Nate was always my favorite. That was mostly because he was just so much like his father, and I loved it. It was like having a pet Near in the house, one that always followed you around and wanted to be picked up and stuff. Now that I thought about it, he followed me around constantly. He almost never went near his father. When he wanted something, he always came and asked me. Then again, I didn't have to work and was always around the house. It was amazing how I still had my 20 year old figure after ten years and three kids.

I shook the thought away. No time to daydream about metabolism.

"It's okay," I whispered to Nate. "Mommy's not going anywhere. I promise. I'll always be right here with you. Go up and pack—I have to keep you four safe."

He gave me one last squeeze and bolted up the stairs to, I suspected, keep his father from seeing his tears. He left his teddy bear on the living room floor, and I leaned down and picked it up.

"He really does love you, Koyuki," Near said, throwing his feet in my lap. I shoved them off and snorted.

"Like father like son," I retorted.

"Hey," he snapped. "That's hitting below the belt. You're too pretty for your own good."

I chuckled. "Sure Mr. Slave-keeper. You practically raped me that first time!"

"I did not, and you know it! It was my natural smell that attracted you."

I glared at him, and he smirked at me. I threw the stuffed bear at his face and pushed myself off of the couch angrily. "Go pack for us. I'll make snacks for the kids in case they get hungry on the way there."

Near got up off the couch and shoved his face in mine. "But you know you loved me at first sight, just like I did you." And he tried to turn away to get up the stairs, but I grabbed his face.

"No, when I first saw you at that restaurant, I thought you were a stupid little punk who's mind I couldn't read."

And I kissed him for good measure. He smirked at me and kissed me.

"But I still have that smell you like, don't I?"

"Just go pack," I said with a sigh. He smacked my butt, half playing, half trying to arouse me.

"I'll take that as a yes!" he shouted and laughed, making sure to say it when he was well out of reach of my hands.

I growled in false anger and went into the kitchen and began making sandwiches and packing them into a small carry-on cooler with some water and juice. Near had definitely grown more playful and open with everything over time. I was happy about that, because we started having some real fun. He started wanting to go out and mess around a lot, which I thoroughly enjoyed. We messed with people using my mind abilities, making them think they were going crazy or something. That part was extremely fun...

And I also learned a lot about the Death Note from my own. I experimented with only the worst of criminals which were sentenced to die on the day I was experimenting. I was careful about that. The last thing I wanted was to kill people that were going to be set free. I wanted them to have the chance to restart their lives a new. They would have paid their debt to society by then.

"Do you want to bring this?" Near asked, holding out my Death Note in one hand, our bag with our clothes in it in his other.

I snatched it away from him. "Yeah, we'll have to." I held it to my chest. I couldn't let anyone else get there hands on this and turn into another Light. That was the last thing that I wanted.

And that brought the question...how did Light get another Death Note? Or, DID he have another Death Note? Despite the criminals dying, it could very well have been someone else killing people, and Light somehow contacted me to scare me.

"Ryuk!" I called. If Ryuk still had his own Note, and no one was using it, then he would come to me. I waited a few seconds, Near studying me (not really knowing what I was doing), and I called Ryuk one last time before he appeared, lowering himself through my ceiling.

"What is it?" he said shortly. "Three years of peace, and NOW you want me?"

"Who has a Note?" I asked. Near stared at me, appalled, having no idea who I was talking to. He couldn't see Ryuk. But, since I was the King, I could see all Shinigami.

"Oh, are you referring to the new human that has a Note?" Ryuk asked with interest. "I'm not sure...I'll have to have my memory refreshed somehow..."

I growled and tossed and apple to him. Near watched in astonishment as the apple disappeared, to him, in thin air as Ryuk ate it in only two bites.

"Okay, then. It's not MY note, obviously. After what happened last time, causing all that ruckus, a lot of the other Shinigami got interested in doing the same thing. And plus, word got out that you made yourself into a human, so there's less chance of them getting caught, since they knew you wouldn't remember, but of course, thanks to me, you know who you truly are."

"Yes, yes, but who's note is it and who has it!"

"Well, I can tell you it's Deridovely's Note."

I smacked my face. I knew Deridovely through the notes of different Shinigami that I made Ryuk bring me a few years ago. He liked to gamble, and he always wore a large mask made of bone. He was humanoid, with spiky hair shooting from the back of his mask. He is usually hunched over, covered with dirty, loose gauze, and carries a sickle.

My problem was that he liked to gamble with Gukku, and I bet that it was bet between the two. "He did it for a bet, didn't he?" I asked with my face in one of my hands.

"Yeah, pretty much."

I sighed. "And the person who has his note is...?"

"I thought you'd already know. You DID bring him back to life, you know."

I groaned. I knew it was going to be him. I just knew it. There was no denying that it was going to be him. The human that became a God to other humans. The human that defeated death, because the Shinigami King was stupid enough to erase his name from her Death Note.

"Okay, Ryuk, you can leave."

I tossed him one last apple for his effort, and he rose back through the ceiling and left.

So it was the Kira case all over again. Except this time, we had a better informed culprit. And we had no idea where he was at the moment, except it was somewhere within and ten thousand square mile radius. That helped, right?

"What was that all about?" Near asked.

"That was Ryuk—he's another Shinigami. I'm the Shinigami King, remember?"

"Right. And...what did he say?"

"Deridovely dropped his Death Note in the Human world on a bet he made with Gukku, and Light found it so now Light has the Note, he knows my powers, and he's killing people, and we have no idea where he is except that he's within the range of my mind reading powers."

"So, we're going to have trouble, then?"

I nodded. "He's smarter this time around. He's not going to fall for our bait of provoking him out into the open—and it seems like he can shut off me being able to read his mind, like you used to do."

Just then the other kids shot down the stairs and into the kitchen with Near and I. They each had their own bags packed, like we had taught them to do (since we traveled a lot for vacation, anyway), and were raring to go. Nate was the most sullen looking of them, and his eyes were red from crying. I opening my arms for him to come and give me a hug, and he dropped his bag and ran into me.

"It's okay, Nate," I said with a smile. "I promise we'll have lots of fun together, okay? All of us will be together constantly this time, so we'll do lots of stuff."

He looked up at me with his puffy red eyes, full with tears again. I sighed and picked him up. I'd have to carry him.

"Near, can you grab his bag? I'll have to carry him." I grabbed the lunch cooler and handed it to Tonks. "Can you carry this for mommy?"

"Why do you have to carry him? He's the oldest!" Saya complained.

"Nate's upset at the moment, honey. He needs to be comforted. I'm only doing to him what I've done to you two when YOU were upset. He's never been upset before, so this is important."

The two girls shrugged and raced to the car. I sighed and adjusted Nate on my hip. He put his arms around my neck securely and nuzzled into my collar.

"So, are we ready?" I asked Near. He nodded. He didn't question why we were taking the car all the way there instead of taking a plane. Too risky. Anyone could be working for Light. It was a risk just to let everyone into the store. Near still had a creepy mask of L, which he'd wear into the store, so he was okay, but I was worried about Nate and the girls. We'd have to risk it, anyway.

The store went okay, but I was constantly wary. I still had to carry Nate, and he said to just get him a mask. He kept his face dug into my chest the entire time, hiding his face from strangers. He was such a smart kid, and so sensitive under his hardened exterior. I picked out something I thought he'd like—he had a thing about wolves, so I got him a realistic wolf mask. Tonks got her a mask of Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast', and Saya got a mask of Tinkerbell.

So we bought the masks, and I made them all put them on right that instant. The lady that checked us out looked at Near funny, because truthfully, his L mask was horrible. It looked so weird.

And the trip to Tokyo took about five hours of heading north to get there. Near was driving, because Nate refused to unlatch himself from my chest. We made it to the agreed building that L had booked for us. It was similar to the building that the task force had ten years ago.

We had of course made it before L, since it would be another couple hours before he made it, but we checked into the appropriate room L had booked for us, and made our way up. It had five bedrooms—an 'ultra suite', as the hotel called it. Again, Near had to unpack, because Nate wouldn't let go. He helped Saya and Tonks unpack, unpacking Nate's clothes by himself, then went to our room to unpack our clothes. L had his own room, one room would be for the girls and Nate, one for Near and I, one for Watari, and then the other one for whomever would be joining us this time around on the case.

Of course, the entire time, they all had their masks on.

When L finally joined us, he didn't look a day older than before. Which was bad. I was surprised he wasn't dead yet.

"Had my name legally changed," he said as he walked in, reading the look on my face. I could read his mind, and he thought it in his head instead of saying it out loud for safe measure.

"Oh, I like it," I complemented him. "Nice choice."

Near looked at me curiously, wanting to know, too. "His name is 'Ryuzaki Taylor'," I sent to him in my mind.

Near nodded in agreement with my statement before.

"So, is this the famous Nate?" L asked, looking down at my son.

Nate was still wearing his wolf mask, and he nuzzled into my chest even more when L acknowledged him.

"Go ahead, Nate," I urged. "You can take off your mask now. I promise it's safe in here. L is a good man."

Nate slowly reached around my neck and pulled off his mask. He looked at L nervously, not fully sure about revealing himself to this new man.

"Well, how about that, Near, he looks exactly like you!" L said with his unnatural smile. Watari began unpacking L's things in his room.

"What can I say? I was thirteen when he was born. Of course he looks like me!"

L put his thumbnail in his mouth as he studied Nate's posture and actions. "He definitely likes his mother pretty well, doesn't he?"

"Like father like son," I said with a smirk, in the same way I had said to Near earlier that day.

L laughed out loud. "Let's hope not. Incest genes are a big problem in the smaller countries these days."

I kicked a flipflop off of my foot, aiming for L's head, but L ducked and it miss, flying past and hitting the opposite wall. "Careful, you don't want to loose this," he said, grabbing my foot while it was still outstretched. He smirked and stroked the my sole, and I laughed uncontrollably. That was one of my extremely ticklish spots.

"Stop! Stop! I give! I won't do it again, I promise!"

Unexpectedly, Nate turned and launched himself at L. L fell back onto the ground, and Nate rolled over to the side of him.

"Nate, what are you doing?!" Near shouted.

My instinct was to jump up off of the couch and grab my baby to make sure he was okay, and I did. "Nate, oh, are you okay? What in God's name did you do that for?"

I kissed a spot on his cheek that was beginning to form a bruise. "He was hurting you, mommy!"

I laughed and hugged him. "He wasn't hurting me, sweetie, he was tickling me."

Near helped L off of the ground, and L was smiling over at us. "Protective, too, huh?"

"I'm sorry, L, he's just really scared about what's going on," I apologized to him, knowing I'd never get Nate to apologize to L himself.

"He's really just like his father." L slapped Near on the back.

And a voice entered my head suddenly. "Tomorrow at ten A.M. I want you to meet me at Karuchani Shrine. You can bring whoever you want, but if they interfere with anything, I WILL kill them."

I froze.

"M-Mommy, what's wrong?" Nate asked me, shaking.

Near and L looked over at me. "Nothing baby," I said as softly as I could. "I'll just be taking a little trip outside tomorrow. I don't want ANY of you coming with me or following me. If you do, I'll...I don't know what I'll do, but it'll be bad."

And I instantly knew that none of them would listen and stalk me to wherever I was going, anyway.