"You can't quit!" shouts Coach, her expression irate and her eyes murderous. "We need you, Matsuda! We'll never win without you."

I smirk. "I can, and I did, and there's nothing you can say that will make me change my mind."

"I won't write you a letter of recommendation for To-Oh," she sneers, and I shrug.

"My grades and test scores will tell them everything they need to know," I say flippantly. "Besides, any teacher I ask would gladly write me a letter. Anything else?"

"Why are you quitting?" she demands, smacking her fist against her desk as if that's supposed to scare me. "Is it because of what that girl did? Because she's been taken care of, Matsuda, she won't bother you again."

I glare at her, and she noticeably shrinks back in her chair. "I know, and I'm disgusted by it and you." I turn on my heel and head for the door. "Oh and don't bother calling my parents to try and get them to force me back on the team, they already know what I'm doing and support my decision." It's a lie, but she doesn't need to know that. I look at her over my shoulder and just as I thought, her hand is on her phone. "I wouldn't do it, Coach. Who knows what it might cost you?"

Her hand leaves the phone, and I leave her office.

Outside the team is huddled around the door, their eyes wide with surprise and I meet their startled gazes calmly. They probably thought they would be able to escape and pretend like they weren't eavesdropping but they apparently weren't fast enough. My eyes find Rika, and she looks away from me, her face full of shame and I'm glad that she at least feels guilty for being part of this massive lie and cover-up. The rest are staring at me like a zoo animal, waiting to see what I'll do next, maybe hoping they'll catch a glimpse of the monster I was the last time they saw me. They'd probably enjoy that, to say they'd seen me in a way no one else has.

I'm not about to give them the privilege.

"Good luck this weekend," I say before heading down the hall towards my locker. I can feel their eyes on me, but I don't turn around or flinch.

"Well, that was certainly interesting," says Kira as he floats beside me, phasing in and out of solid objects with ease. I wonder if he's doing it deliberately or because he doesn't care. "I didn't think you'd quit the team."

"I can't be around them," I say quietly, barely moving my lips as I speak. There are several people in the hall right now, and it is fairly loud, but I can't risk someone overhearing my conversations with Light. They probably already think there's something wrong with me, I don't need to give them confirmation. "They're all part of the conspiracy, and I can't trust any of them."

"It's probably wise to stay away from anyone associated with that incident," agrees Kira as I stop at my locker and he sits on top of it, looking down at me. It's still unnerving to speak to, essentially, a walking, talking skeleton but I'm getting used to it. "What's next?"

"Talking to my homeroom teacher about graduating early," I mumble as I pull out the forms I filled out the previous night. Graduating early and possibly taking my entrance exams early means I can get into To-Oh sooner and with that, gain access to my inheritance; I need that money to fund my investigation into my adoptive family, friends, school, and whomever else I can think of.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asks as I close my locker door. "Your teacher will call Matsuda about this."

"I'm sure," I say coldly as I start walking towards the teachers' office. I don't care if they call Matsuda, he can only do so much before he tips his hand that he and Raku are controlling aspects of my life. They can brush off the tennis tournament incident as something the committee decided but forcing me to stay on the tennis team and forcing me to stay in school when I'm perfectly capable of graduating early, without legitimate reasons as to why I should stay, would look suspicious.

When I arrive, I knock on the door, and I hear someone say, "Enter." I go inside and repress a shudder when I see Mr. Irie already looking at me. Just as always, his gaze makes my skin crawl.

"What can I do for you today, Miss Matsuda?" asks Mr. Irie as he puts down a paper and gives me his full attention, something I wish he would divert away from me.

I take a deep breath and go over to his desk, handing him the form. He takes it and skims it for a few moments.

"You're petitioning to graduate early," he says, and I nod. "Any particular reason?"

"I thought it might be best for the school's reputation if I left early," I reply smoothly. "After the scandal at the tennis tournament, I feel like it's brought a great deal of negative publicity to the school and after all this school's meant to me, I would hate to bring the institution down further with my continued presence."

Mr. Irie regards me carefully. "That's a very noble reason, Miss Matsuda. You're correct, the school has received a great deal of attention from the incident last week, and the vast majority has been negative." He puts down my form on his desk. "I can't make a decision now and by myself, but I will consider this request. I will speak to the principal about it, and you should know our decision by tomorrow afternoon. Is this satisfactory?"

"Yes, sir," I say, giving him a slight bow. "Thank you for your time."

"It's always a pleasure to assist one of my favorite students," says Mr. Irie with a cold smile and I quickly head out of the room, eager to be as far away from him as possible, at least until class begins in a few minutes.

"What a creep," says Kira once we're no longer in the room. "How was that man hired to be a teacher? He was looking at you like he could see you naked."

I shiver harshly at the thought. "Oh god. I knew there was something wrong with him, but I never would've pegged him for a pervert."

Kira chuckles. "Well, you were doing everything you could to not make lingering eye contact. Not that I blame you, it isn't always easy to meet the eyes of a predator."

I return to my locker to grab my bag before heading to my classroom. 'And yet I can easily make eye contact with you,'


After school, I find Parisa standing by my locker, her bag over her shoulder and glasses slightly askew. She gives me a slight smile when she sees me, and I return it. I open my locker and begin sorting through what materials I needed for the evening and which I could leave until tomorrow.

"I got your message," she says quietly as if we're talking about something private. In a sense we are, but she doesn't need to know the truth of that. "What do you need?"

"I need you to hold on to something for me," I say as I pull out a large yellow shipping envelope. It's been sealed with several layers of clear tape, and she looks at it curiously. "I promise, this isn't anything illegal." At least not what she's thinking. "I just can't have it at the house right now. I need you to hide it somewhere at your place until it's safe for me to have it again."

"What is it?" she asks as she takes the envelope and puts it in her bag. When she looks back up at me, I breathe a massive sigh of relief that she isn't screaming or demanding to know what the thing is behind me. It seems that my precautions are sufficient.

I covertly glance around while at the same time making it visible to her what I'm doing before I lean my face down towards her. "Can you keep a secret?"

Parisa nods and her eyes are sparkling with anticipation.

"It's something that used to belong to my father," I reply softly, "my biological father."

Her eyes widen, and she looks ready to ask me several questions, but I silently tell her to not.

"The Matsudas aren't my biological family," I say sternly. "They adopted me when I was a baby. My birth parents are both dead, my mother committed suicide, and my father was murdered." Parisa's jaw falls in shock, and I stifle a giggle. She's a captive audience and tends to give the appropriate expressions when the situation presents itself. "I know, pretty crazy. Anyway, I found this, and I don't want my adoptive parents to know that I have it, so I need you to keep it safe for me until I can put it someplace else. Can you do that for me?"

Parisa nods her head, her light pink hair flying out from the enthusiasm of her response. "Of course! Oh Noriko, I had no idea. I'm so sorry."

I shrug as I close my locker and put my bag on my shoulder. "It's alright; it's not like I knew them."

"Do you know who they are?" she asks curiously and I hesitate for a moment before shaking my head.

"Yes, but not much more than a first name," I reply with a slight grimace. "I only just found out about being adopted when I found what's inside the envelope I gave you. I'm going to investigate more now that I have it."

"Won't you need it for your investigation?" she asks.

"No, I've already copied all of the information down," I say confidently. It's not a lie; I did write down all of the rules of the Death Note on a separate piece of paper now taped down to the inside of my shoe. "That part's easier to hide than it, so that's why I need you to hide it for me. Don't worry, it shouldn't be for very long, and I'll compensate you for any trouble."

Parisa shakes her head. "This shouldn't be any trouble, Nori. I'm glad I can help out. Just promise you'll tell me about your biological parents when you find out who they are."

"I promise," I say with feigned enthusiasm. "So, have you seen much of Sango and Haru lately?"

Parisa shakes her head. "No, but I haven't been trying, and I'm quite certain they're avoiding me. Apparently, if the rumor mill is to be believed, they're now officially a couple and got together last Saturday at Spaceland."

I nod, having heard as much myself during lunch that day. Apparently, it's all everyone talks about, because my dramatic exit from the school on Monday hasn't been brought up once.

"And I heard something interesting about you, too," continues Parisa and I momentarily freeze. "Are you dating Ritsu Saga, the captain of the baseball team?"

I let out a nervous laugh. "I'm surprised you even know that much about him, I didn't peg you as a baseball fan."

"I'm not especially, but that's the title attached to his name," explains Parisa with a shrug. "Just like you're Miss To-Oh. Everyone's incredibly surprised that you're dating him, and I didn't even know you knew him."

"It's a recent development," I say, smiling slightly. "We met each other last week, but we aren't dating."

Parisa nods her understanding. "I see, well, that makes more sense. I was starting to think you'd turned into Sango and started dating someone you didn't know just because he was good-looking and was the captain of our school's best athletic team."

"No, it's nothing like that," I say dismissively. "Ritsu and I hardly know each other; we're just acquaintances." Acquaintances that almost kissed and held hands for about an hour, but still acquaintances I suppose.

"Well, you should probably work on setting the record straight," suggests Parisa as we exit the school and come to stand at the bottom of the stairs. We live in opposite directions, and she needs to take the train home whereas I can walk back in a reasonable time. "There are some rumors you don't want to be associated with your name."

I raise an eyebrow and scrutinize her blank expression, looking for the hidden meaning in her words but finding nothing. "Alright, I'll see what I can do," I agree although I'm still not sure what I just agreed to in the first place. I begin walking towards my house. "I'll see you tomorrow, Pari."

"Are you going to be here or just run out of the school when homeroom starts?" she asks, her voice quiet but her words carry a heavy weight to them, and my heart stutters in my chest.

'People do know about Monday, they're just choosing to ignore it, or were told to,' I realize and slowly turn back to her, she's staring at me, her dark brown eyes squarely on me before she turns and starts walking away. I release the breath I was holding and start walking towards my residence, replaying her words in my mind. This is my first day back since Monday, as Matsuda thought it would be best if I stayed home after running out of there at top speed and then yesterday, I spent the day locked in my room with nothing but studying and homework. I honestly didn't think he would follow through on his threat that I couldn't go out until I'd agree to be reasonable but that's what he did; then Raku told him that he needed to let me out so I could attend school and he agreed. I haven't spoken to either of them since.

Koji was terrific company during my brief confinement. He did his homework outside of my door and asked me questions about what I was doing and for help on some of his work. Once he was finished, he then suggested we play chess through the door. I had my set in my room, and he had his dad's old one, so that's exactly what we did; we would loudly call out our moves and each move the pieces on the board to match what the other was saying. I've never played like that before, but it was somewhat entertaining.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to give her the notebook?" asks Kira now that I'm out of earshot of most people. "Can you trust her?"

"I can't trust anyone," I reply, glancing at him as he floats beside me with his leathery brown wings. They look like bat wings. "That's why I didn't tell her what it was just why I needed to hide it; something that personal, she won't think twice about not keeping it for me, nor will she look at it. Parisa isn't the most socially adept, but she respects boundaries and knows enough social etiquette to not invade someone's privacy."

Kira nods, and I can't tell whether or not he approves of my decision. "It'll be difficult to use now since you've taped and bagged it up."

I shrug. "Using it isn't a priority right now. My focus is on my adoptive parents and how they were able to cover up my crime."

"Then we should probably look into whether or not they're working with L, or at least the man claiming to be the detective," supplies Kira, and I almost trip when he speaks. "What?"

"How do you know about L?" I ask, genuinely curious.

Kira's bony jaw quirks into what might be a smirk. "Because I used to work with him during the Kira Case and I acted as L after the original died."

'I was right!' I think happily, recalling my earlier theory about there being multiple Ls throughout the last twenty, twenty-five years. Kira's last words ring loudly in my ears and dampen my initial excitement. "How did he die?" I ask with a frown. Something tells me that if Kira the Savior was working with L, he probably had a hand in his death, primarily since they were working on the Kira Case.

"A shinigami killed him," he says, and I can tell that he's doing exactly as I do, telling something that is more or less the truth and not an outright lie. I wonder if a skill like that is hereditary or if it has something to do with our intelligence and thought process. "Then I took over."

"And then you died," I say flatly, filling in the short timeline. "Do you have any idea who L is now?"

I'm hardly surprised when Kira nods. He already admitted to having watched me while he was in the Shinigami Realm, so it isn't unbelievable that he kept an eye on his successor. "Yes, as a matter of fact, he was L's original heir. His name is Near."

I give him a side-eye glance. "What do you mean by original heir?"

"I mean that Near was supposed to be L when he died, or rather he and another boy were supposed to be chosen by L, but he never did," replies Kira. "So, when he died, I became L based on his words that I was the only one worthy of succeeding him. It was enough of an endorsement for the rest of the Task Force to follow my orders."

"If L said that, why did his heir still take over?" I ask, observing his reaction. So far I have been unable to read him beyond knowing what a few facial quirks mean on a human face, and it's a little unnerving how he can just hide his expressions, and it has nothing to do with having an uncovered skull for a head. His voice or even the way his eyes move should give something away and yet, neither do, they remain completely still and unmoved.

"I suppose it's because L never got the chance to tell them that he wanted me to succeed him," replies Kira, his tone thoughtful. "I don't know why Near and Mello decided to fight for the position when it was already mine, but they did."

"It's possible they saw you as a usurper rather than a legitimate heir," I offer, and he scoffs. "You can't tell me that L meant for you to succeed him, no matter how smart and talented he thought you were when he had two perfectly good heirs waiting in the wing. He probably made that comment to see how you'd react and whether or not it would reveal something sinister about your intentions." A thought crosses my mind. "Did L suspect you of being Kira?"

Kira chuckles low in his throat. "I'm impressed. You are his child. Yes, L suspected Light early on of being Kira and made it his goal to bring him to justice. It didn't quite go as planned. Even devoid of his memories, my influence on Light was still strong enough for him to continue down the path I laid out months in advance."

I look at him curiously. "What do you mean you were devoid of memories? Did you have amnesia?"

"Something to that effect," he replies with a shrug. "You see, when a human owns a Death Note, they can maintain or give over ownership whenever they please. If the owner were to choose to give up ownership, then the shinigami attached to them would erase their memories of the Death Note. It would subsequently create gaps in the human's memory, like amnesia."

My eyes widen, and panic floods my system. "I just gave it to Parisa! Why can I still see you and remember you?"

"Because you're just lending it to her," says Kira, somewhat amused. "You can give a Death Note to another human temporarily and still maintain ownership, even if that person starts using the notebook. Another difference between an owner and a temporary holder is they can't make the Shinigami Eye Deal."

"What's that?" I ask as I check my phone for messages. There's one from Matsuda, saying that we're going to dinner at Ritsu's family's restaurant and to meet them there. I turn left at the next road.

"It's a deal the owner of the notebook and the notebook's shinigami can make," says Kira with a slightly menacing smile. "In exchange for half of your lifespan, you can see the name and lifespan of anyone you see. It would make the Death Note easier to use, and for all intents and purposes, you'd be a walking goddess."

I refrain from smirking and adjust my bag strap, so it lies more comfortably across my shoulder. He talks about godhood as if it's someone every mortal wishes to achieve as if it's the be all end all of existence. In every sense of the word, he is a god, and yet he's bound by rules and conditions to his presence just the same as I am. The only differences between us are our purpose and lifespan.


When I arrive at the restaurant, I'm more than a little surprised to see Koji playing outside with Ritsu and Sora. I honestly didn't expect to see Sora again, considering he isn't Mei's favorite guest, but given that he's Ritsu's best friend I suppose that his presence is to be inevitable. They're tossing a baseball back and forth, keeping it within Koji's reach while at the same time showing off various pitches and dive catches. I smile at the scene, somewhat content with watching the three of them play together, and it almost makes me forget about school and my unavoidable discussion with Matsuda and Raku later on this week regarding my recent decisions.

"Nori!" shouts Koji when he finally sees me and he abandons the game with Sora and Ritsu in favor of hugging me. I can't say that I mind. He throws his arms around my middle and squeezes me tightly, and I do the same to him, hugging him as tightly as I can before we let go. "It's so good to see you, Nori! How was school?"

"Bearable," I reply as we walk over to Ritsu and Sora.

"Hey Nori," says Sora brightly, tossing the baseball in the air and catching it. "Nice to see you again."

"Likewise," I say pleasantly. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, Sora, according to Ritsu, you're terrified of being here."

Sora misses the ball, and it lands on his foot. Ritsu and Koji start to laugh as he flails around, trying to pick it back up and rub his injured foot at the same time.

"Who told you that?" asks Sora, once he's recovered his voice and his ball.

"He did," I reply with a smile and he frowns.

"I'm not terrified, I just happen to know that Mrs. Saga is much prettier when she's happy with you," explains Sora, glaring slightly at Ritsu. "So to help her maintain her youthful glow, I only come by for a few hours and then stay the hell away."

I laugh, and Sora blushes. "How considerate of you, Sora."

"That's Sora, always the considerate one," teases Ritsu as he comes to stand beside me.

I smile up at him, and he smiles back, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. In fact, it seems almost strained.

"Kids!" calls Mei from inside the restaurant. "It's time for dinner! Come inside and don't you dare try to play running catch, Sora, Ritsu. We can't have Koji catching any of your bad habits."

Sora snickers as we go inside. "I'm the perfect gentleman, Mrs. Saga; you know that."

I force myself to keep walking when I see Matsuda and Raku sitting at the counter with Mei, the three of them drinking tea from Mei's robin's egg blue cups. Raku pointedly ignores me when I come in, not even making eye contact with me as I head for the table Ritsu's directing me towards. Matsuda smiles at me, and I make myself smile back, hoping it's passable. It seems to be enough because he easily drops eye contact with me as I sit down between Koji and Ritsu at the table.

Mei gives Sora the perfect look of skepticism and annoyance as she and my "parents" head over to the table. I've seen that look many times from Raku, most of the time it's directed at Matsuda, but on occasion, she's given it to Koji and me.

"Noriko, lovely to see you again, dear," says Mei kindly and she smiles at my "parents" as they sit down. "You're so lucky, Mrs. Matsuda, Noriko is a perfect houseguest. She even does laundry!"

Raku gives her a falsely cheerful smile as she busies herself with her napkin and chopsticks.

"That's great to hear," says Matsuda with an otherwise nervous chuckle, putting an arm around Raku's shoulders. "We've taught her from a young age to be considerate and mindful of other people. It's good to know the lessons stuck."

"We enjoyed having her over," says Mei just as Yoshito comes in with a tray full of bowls steaming with beef stew. She then stands and assists him in serving their guests. I move to help but one look from Mei has me back in my chair.

"Ritsu," says Mei, looking at her son who is looking at his empty plate. "Why don't you get your friends a drink? There's fresh tea in the back and some cups."

"Yes, ma'am," says Ritsu as he stands up, his gaze cast on the floor as he walks to the kitchen and I wonder what's bothering him. I didn't get a chance to speak to him at school today, but that isn't anything new, we have different lunches and are in two different classes. My mind wanders back to what Parisa said about the rumors at school, and I wonder if that's what's bothering him.

"We can't thank you enough for looking after her," continues Matsuda, bringing me back to the conversation. "If it weren't for you and your generosity, Noriko might not have recovered as well as she did."

Sora nods his agreement. "I don't know what you did, Mei, but you can't even see the bruises on Noriko's face."

"I don't think that's what her father meant," says Mei, giving a sympathetic glance to Matsuda.

Koji cocks his eyebrow and stares at me curiously. "What bruises? Nori, what's Sora talking about?"

"You mean, you don't know?" asks Sora incredulously as he reaches into his pocket, probably for his phone.

"Know what?" asks Koji, clearly getting annoyed at being left out of the loop.

"Some girl beat the cra—snot out of Noriko at the tennis tournament," says Sora, correcting himself mid-sentence when Mei leveled a stern look his way. He brings up his phone. "Here, I can show you the video if you want. Your sister was great, took it like a champ." He flashes me a smile, and all I want to do is crawl under the table and hide.

Koji stares at me with wide eyes. "Really, Nori? Some girl beat you up?"

I open my mouth to answer, but Mei cuts me off, "Oh yes, she was covered in blood and had some nasty bruises on her face. Ritsu found her and brought her here, and I looked after her, using a home remedy to help with the swelling and bruises. I'm glad to see that it's working so well." She flashes me a cheery smile and continues to serve. She puts a bowl in front of me and pats my shoulder before continuing to Koji and then Sora.

I look down at the bowl and nearly push it away. I don't think I can stomach anything of substance at the moment. Mei lied. She blatantly, boldly, completely lied. She knew what happened, I told her exactly what happened and didn't change any details. How could she get the story so wrong? Why? What happened between Monday and today that would make her change the story to match what everyone else is saying happened?

"It seems Matsuda and L got to them," says Kira from behind me and I barely manage not to jump from fright. I'd nearly forgotten about him. "I bet they even told their son to lie about what transpired. You were right, Noriko, you can't trust anyone."

'You're wrong, Ritsu wouldn't do that,' I think defiantly as I reach for my chopsticks. 'He can't be easily swayed. He's not the type.'

Just then, Ritsu enters the room looking utterly dejected. He's carrying a small tray with four cups of tea on it and passes them out to Koji, Sora, himself and me before he sits back down beside me. He doesn't even look at me.

"Ritsu, did you know about Nori getting beat up?" asks Koji as he picks up his chopsticks. "Sora said some girl hurt her."

My hands are shaking as I lift a bite to my mouth.

Ritsu turns and looks at Koji. "Yes, that's exactly what happened."

My chopsticks clatter on the table.