Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? ((sighs)) I don't own Death Note.

A.N: Thank you for reviewing, KoiPondOfPeace, I-KNOW-I'M-CRAZY-NOT-INSANE, deathnoteno1fan-codegeasslover, Dark Miko, Prince Raiden Ruler of thunder, and Nightwing Gurl.

Chapter 11

"You want me to give it to anyone?" asked Rem.

Light took a seat beside Misa on his bed. "Well, not anyone. Someone who'll use it to kill criminals."

"Misa," said Rem. "You don't mind that I'm giving away your Death Note?" For that seemed to be the condition. Light knew Rem was only doing this because she thought it would be beneficial to Misa.

"It doesn't hold my memories, and it's not like I'm even using it," said Misa. Her big blue eyes caught Light's gaze. "Light? Am I going to remind you of everything, like you did for me?"

"No," he said, the mere words distressing. Losing his memories? Not even knowing of them? He forced out the rest of his sentence. "I'm not even going to know that I'm- that I was Kira. I won't have to keep on my guard around L that way."

"Oh." Misa didn't look too pleased. He couldn't blame her. She was going to be alone with the knowledge that Light had been Kira, and she the second Kira. "Alright. I won't let anyone know. Counting you."

Light turned his attention to his own shinigami. "Ryuk. I need you to bury the Death Note you gave me." Really he had planned on burning it, but the words wouldn't come out, and his mind couldn't force his body to do such a thing. If burning wasn't an option, burying would have to do. He hated that it was the chance that he'd get it once more that made burying it alright with him. And even that was uncomfortable. He didn't want to give it up.

"Hyuk, hyuk. Why should I do as you tell me?"

"Because I'll give you 30 apples."

Ryuk's amused cackling broke off. "Fifty."

"Fifty?" Light asked. "...sure. Misa will go with you to bury the Death Note. I'll give her some money so she can buy you apples afterwards. Can you do this for me, Misa?" When she nodded, he continued, "Remember where it is. Don't write it down. Just commit it to memory. And don't ever go to dig it up."

"You can count on Misa," she said, cheerfully. It was obvious that her happiness stemmed from the fact that Light had trusted her with such an important task. Nonetheless, there was a hint of sadness in her voice.

Light had waited until Misa had returned before he forfeited his Death Note. So he wouldn't be alone while he did it. Or so he tried to convince himself. Because everything in him screamed that he keep the black notebook. It was his. Only he could use it. Only he should use it. And he most definitely should use it.

He grimaced. The only way he could possibly get such thoughts out of his head was...

"I forfeit the Death Note."

And then the world went black. The last thing Light saw before succumbing to unconsciousness was Ryuk eating apples.

Misa cringed when Light toppled out of his desk chair, head hitting the floor with a loud thunk. She was hoping the lack of a crack meant that nothing had been broken. She knelt before him. She wasn't a nurse, and knew nothing about checking for injuries. "Light?"

When honey-hued eyes fluttered open, as pain-filled as they were, she could only feel relief. He went to sit up, only to groan and lay back down. "What happened?"

This was it. The start of lying to the best friend she had ever had. The man that had turned her life around. But he had asked her to, and she had promised she would. "You fell off your chair and hit your head. I was afraid you wouldn't wake up." Light had told her that the best way to lie was to use facts, so as not to lose track of what had been said. The closer it was to the truth, the better.

"That would explain my headache. Maybe it's low blood sugar. I haven't been eating as much lately, with all the stress of the Kira case."

"What do you think about Kira?" Misa had to learn this before she could say anything further to Light.

He slowly sat up, wincing all the while. "He's a criminal, obviously. He needs to be caught." He paused, clearly deep in thought, perhaps fighting a major headache. "But I don't think he's evil. The crime rate has been going down. I can see why he does what he does. He has a messed up sense of justice. Still, murder isn't the answer, as justified as it may seem."

She barely managed to hold back a sigh. At least he was still alive.

Light arrived at headquarters earlier than intended. Upon entering the building, he found that only he and L were present. Not like he cared. It would mean the usual distraction of the rest of the task force was gone.

He chose a chair beside L's in front of the monitors. Unsurprisingly, the detective, was eating away at a sugary treat. "Lemon cheesecake?"

"Vanilla," L corrected, "though they both do have a similar look about them. Would Light-kun like some?" L held it forward to further offer it.

"Um... no, that's alright. I don't like sweets, remember?"

"Have you tried any recently?" asked L.

"No. Because I don't like them." Light wasn't sure he liked where this was going. "Is anything happening with the Kira case?"

"There has been no real change, and I have found no clues. We must keep an eye out. Kira will slip up eventually."

Light was pleased to see that L's drive had been restored, and that the conversation had taken a different turn. "I'll double check the list of deaths for this week."

"That's unnecessary. You went over it with me a few days ago, and there has been no change. It is more important that Light-kun tries this cheesecake."

Light mentally cursed. So he hadn't escaped that conversation, after all. L was holding the fork out for Light to take, the dessert itself on the desk so L could lean over and eat it in his strange sitting position.

Rolling his eyes in an obvious manner, he took the fork. Distantly, he noted it was the same fork L had used.

And licked clean.

"Ryuuzaki, this is unhygienic." Anything to get me out of eating this thing...

"I assure you that I brushed my teeth this morning. Light-kun will not be harmed by using my fork."

Light bit back a sigh, digging the fork into the cheesecake, breaking off mostly crust. He lifted it to his mouth...

...and found it gone.

"What was that for?" Light demanded, having a very hard time keeping his temper down. L ignored him, scraping the bite off on the side of the plate. He then scooped out a bigger bite, this one having mostly cheesecake and barely any crust.

Light took it with a glare. He locked eyes with L as he tried to force himself to eat it, glaring to display his disdain. He grimaced as flavor burst across his tongue, the sweetness of it shocking his senses. But he wasn't one to wimp out, so he chewed it.

To his horror, it started to taste good.

"Light-kun likes it," L stated, simply.

Light swallowed the evil dessert before speaking. Light, unlike a certain detective, refused to speak with his mouth full. "It was disgusting, because I don't like treats."

"Light-kun showed clear signs of pleasure. There is no reason to deny that you love the cheesecake."

Before Light could respond, the sound of the task force entering filled the air.

"Hey, Light's here already," said Matsuda, voice as enthusiastic as ever. "Was any progress made?"

"Not yet," L answered. "There are a lot of files that need to be sorted through before we can know anything for sure."

"Oh! I'll sort them, then."

As Matsuda went about organizing papers, Light asked L in a whisper, "I thought there were no clues?"

"There aren't. Matsuda is merely annoying when he doesn't feel useful."

Light watched the enthusiastic man go about his task. Well, someone needs to sort the papers...

Maybe the task force was useful, after all.

A.N: ...thus leaving you with some answers to questions.