Once again I would like to thank RavenclaWrtieRules in helping me create this chapter. It was the second draft. Originally Yura was suppose to be an enemy to Aero and now she is being manipulative to him. Thank you for continuing to read this story.

XXX

"No!" Yura threw herself at the well but Aero held her back.

"No," Aero spoke quietly, "we need to leave. You said it yourself; as long as you can write my name in there I can't trust you, and vice versa. Let's go."

Yura growled at him and snapped, but Aero held her back and growled just as loudly back at her. She retreated momentarily in fear, then took a step forward and leered at him again, but he held up his notebook suddenly her face rearranged itself into a pleasant, servile expression.

"Of course, little brother, let's go now," Yura crooned, "we wouldn't want to miss our chance to avoid getting caught for mass murder now, would we?"

XXX

Aero and Yura raced through the dark, panting and checking behind corners for watchmen or strangers. Yura sometimes tripped on something or bumped her leg but she seemed quicker than Aero, always a step ahead and full of energy, hissing "Hurry up, whoever is after us might find us!" Aero huffed and panted, wincing from the pains in his sides and bruised body from the fight. He had taken a lot more damage than his faster sister.

"Any ideas?" Aero huffed tiredly.

"Shhhhhhhhh!" Yura shushed him. She crouched behind some bushes. Aero uncomfortably and slowly lowered himself, his ankles groaning from the twigs and leaves' rough points digging into them. She stood absolutely still, but alert, her back leg slightly flexed and ready to spring into action and sprint away. "Hurry!" Yura quickly dashed off towards another bush. Aero panted. They were coming across a very tall, spiked iron gate. Aero tripped across a pile of something and fell forward into something wet, scraping his hands and nearly calling out in desperation.

"Oh, are you slow!" Yura cursed under her breath, haphazardly seized one arm, and sprinted again. Aero held onto her like a rag doll, flapping lifelessly in the wind and barely keeping up as she flew from spot to spot, every now and then whisper-shouting at him to keep it down or to go faster. Aero grunted and fell to his knees, breathing deeply and looking at his scratched up hands.

"Listen, we just need to climb this," Yura hissed. Aero had no idea how they got over the tall gate. Yura climbed very agilely, as if she had done this since she was a little kid, climbing all over him and onto his shoulders and head and sometimes right there, one foot on his shoulder and the other on the brick wall, hissing at him to hold her waist so she didn't fall. But she moved very quickly and easily, he doubted there was any danger. But Aero could not tug himself over the gate nor the brick walls to its sides, so Yura sprang down from the brick wall and, with the unusual strength of a bear, easily heaved him over her shoulder and onto the wall on his stomach.

Aero clung to the wall like a baby, panting deeply, with Yura groaning and sweating from frustration and effort, and far off he could hear "Aero, you're not a baby, get down! Oh, you're so helpless! You take away my Death Note, only to die clinging to a wall like a little child?" Aero half expected her to grab his Death Note and run, but Yura grunted and groaned and pushed and slid him over the wall, and easily climbed over it and dropped down as if she never needed any help. From then on she was a little slower, but somehow they had made it out of town and into the dark streets.

"From now on," Yura panted, "I can't help you."

"Why not?" Aero asked, rubbing his eyes and adjusting to the sudden glow of streetlights. Yura sighed, "Aero, I just ran us through the entire town and pulled both of us across the wall, I'm tired, you understand, I'm tired, Aero." She sighed and rolled herself into a ball next to him, but he knew if she wanted to she could jump up and run away any time.

Aero sat there duly on the sidewalk, calling out to cars and jabbing his thumb in a universal hitchhiker's sign. Out of luck, a car finally stopped.

"Hello?" Aero spoke. "I need a ride to-"

"Boy, if you're running away from the law, I ain't having it," the driver growled. The shinigami laughed, scaring Aero as he was reminded of its presence.

"Wait," Aero said tiredly. "Sir, I-"

"Not gonna work," the shinigami cackled again.

Aero glared at the shinigami, when a solution suddenly appeared to his Japan's highest honor student's mind. He coughed and smiled pleasantly at the driver, "Actually, sir, I do have some official papers-here's my passport and ID," he spoke, handing the driver the notebook in the dark.

"What? This isn't a passport, this is a notebook-" the driver grumbled. "Here! Take it," he shoved it at Aero, and looked up, then suddenly his eyes widened.

"Do you see him?" Aero asked the driver quietly.

"Wh-wha-" the driver gaped in horror at the shinigami's monstrous form.

"I need you to take me someplace very far away and convenient," Aero spoke, "other wise this monster will eat you."

The shinigami laughed and reached up with its horrible bony claw-like fingers, and pretended to scratch at the air, rasping "Roooooaar". The driver's face turned several shades paler. Aero patted Yura's head and tried to match the shinigami's grin, whispering a "Well, it's your choice whether you like your life or not-" to the terrified man. The driver whimpered and unlocked his doors. Aero opened them up and slid in, with Yura jumping in after him and breathing heavily as her eyes gazed blankly at the ceiling. "Hm...I need you to take me too..."

"How about a hotel?" the shinigami suggested. The man mouthed "mad, completely mad-" and Aero gave him a reproachful glare. The driver whimpered and whipped his head around as Aero coolly answered "Yes, I think I should like to stay in a hotel, if you can pay for my fine-"

"Yes! Yes! Anything! Just don't let your-your-spirit eat me!" the man howled.

"Get us a free room," Yura muttered with closed eyelids, "with a nice view.."

The man pulled up in front of a fairly comfy-looking hotel and Aero glared at him, saying "You must not talk to anyone of this nightmare." The driver vehemently nodded, and drove away rapidly.

"Hi, can we get a room?" Aero asked, sopping wet and with a tired Yura draping herself on his back and mumbling, her read hair ribbon fraying. The clerk sniffed and began to open his mouth, when Aero sighed ad held out his Death Note, "Sir, I know you don't believe us, but maybe if you read this recommendation by the hotel owner you might be interested in giving us a free room-"

XXX

"Any idea what to do?" the shinigami asked, taking a bone and cracking it between his teeth. Aero's eyebrow twitched at the noise.

"Well, I'm probably still chased by the police after killing that man," he answered. And I better do something because once she gets the chance Yura is going to steal that notebook back from me and she's currently stronger, he shuddered, thinking of how she had easily thrown him over that wall and his injuries from their fight. He shuddered as he remembered the knife, hidden somewhere on his person from Yura. He was not safe, he knew, and she could just as easily be pretending to sleep.

"Maybe you could use the Death Note to kill people and unlock its hidden power," the shinigami grinned as it chewed on the bone marrow. Aero shook his head, "I don't want to kill anyone. I've gotten into enough trouble...really..."

The shinigami cackled, "Is there anyone you want to kill?"

Aero glared at it. "No," he insisted. "I will find a good job."

"Where?" the shinigami asked.

"I'll...work in a restaurant," Aero hissed. The shinigami laughed, throwing its head back so he could see the bones making up his spinal cord jut out and crackle. Aero growled as the shinigami laughed and seemed to dance, its bones scraping together as it made a jerky, creaky dance. "Well, I'll go in there and show you if you don't believe me-" Aero stomped out. The shinigami followed him, muffling its laughter. They left the hotel and walked over.

"Hello, may I get you something?" the waiter asked pleasantly, accustomed to much dirtier customers than Aero and being an excellent host.

"Sir, if you don't mind, I would like to work here," Aero spoke. The waiter's face scrunched up slightly in thought.

"I believe you might have to take it up with the restaurant owner but we are grateful for any help," he smiled and bowed his head slightly.

"May I please speak to the restaurant owner?" Aero asked.

"Of course, sir," the waiter ducked his head behind the cloth curtains behind him and called out. Soon, the restaurant followed him over. "Yes, sir?" the owner asked Aero briskly.

"Sir, I would like to work here, if you check here these are my identification papers and resume," Aero spoke, handing him a few pages torn out of the Death Note. The restaurant raised an eyebrow, briefly looked at the waiter and reached for them. The instant he saw the shinigami, his eyes widened and his face paled. "Sir, what seems to be the problem?" Aero asked, as the restaurant owner backed up. The waiter looked between the two of them, horrified as the restaurant owner cried out and grabbed at his chest. He crumpled over howling in pain. The waiter cried out and kenlt by his side, but the owner's face was already dark. Aero wanted to turn away but found himself fixed on the spot, as if the shinigami had taken his head between its bony fingers of death and turned it towards the restaurant owner's twitching body until it stopped moving. The waiter's eyes were wide and incredulous.

Aero suddenly felt his legs' power return, as if Yura was snatching him by the collar, and ran out.

XXX

"Well, it's not a glamorous life, but this is all I can do with what I got," Aero sighed as he contemplated how much convenience store onigiri and dishes he could buy with his salary from washing dishes, getting ordered around and mopping up. He had just locked up the restaurant door with the spare key which he had hastily been issued.

"Quite lucky there's more than one restaurant in the area," the shinigami said, but Aero lost attention. He watched a man in a hakama walk by in the shadows. Aero's curiosity was piqued, however, when he noticed a little black notebook behind pulled out and carefully opened in the dim light. Aero's body froze up. The man fumbled around and pulled out a pen and very quickly a name appeared onto the notebook's pages. Aero's eyes widened as he read his own name.

"Oh, looks like we get to see something cool," the shinigami smirked. Aero's heart thudded loudly and he gasped, a pain in his chest, wondering if this was the heart attack. His head was starting to hurt on the left side and his tongue was feeling numb. Aero looked about himself and, running on adrenaline, used his spare key to unlock the restaurant back door. He fumbled with it loudly and heard a shout and steps running away behind him. Aero panted and jammed the key into the keyhole, twisting it furiously, but reminded himself that the door would only open if he slowly turned it. Forcing his shaking hands to obey, Aero jumped into the room, hearing sultry voices stop their chatter. A corner of the hazy yellow streetlight's light cast across the shocked faces of an employee and a woman who was scantily dressed, sitting across from each other. Aero's panicked, sweaty face swept across the room, not sure whether to run back out or run past them.

Suddenly the man began to gasp and sweat and clutched at his chest, and groaned, falling backwards. The woman as well started to scream out loud and grasp at her heart, and Aero watched them horrified. "I'm sorry-I didn't-" Aero said panicked as he saw the woman's wide, scared eyes. The woman beckoned him and choked out something, pointing to her throat. "I can't-" Aero gasped. The womans eyes pleaded. Aero closed his eyes and reached for her neck. The man fell over, red-faced, and the woman fell next to him, her neck bruised. Aero shuddered in the corner.

There was a loud knocking and the door flew open, showing the face of an incensed policeman doing his night rounds.

"Boy!" the policeman turned towards Aero. "I heard some screaming, what are you-" he looked down and saw the dead bodies of the woman and employee. His face turned horrified, and he turned towards Aero, leering angrily, "You killed them? You killed these people?"

"No, sir, I swear I just walked into here and they started to-"

"Come with me!" the policeman roughly grabbed at Aero. "You killed them, boy? You killed them?" The policeman inspected the woman's neck, noticing the bruise marks. "You look mighty worried for an innocent bystander, boy...why does it look like you strangled this woman?" the policeman turned around angrily. More policemen poured in, glaring at Aero and hissing "Better hope you have not already a criminal record, boy, it'll only make things worse." Aero gasped and clutched at his chest, realizing he had not died.

"Want to write their names?" the shinigami cackled. Aero stared around him as more policemen stalked over to him and surrounded him, pressing him with accusing questions. "Just tell me their names." Aero's throat felt dry and his tongue was still numb, but he barely rasped "Tell me their names and point at who is who..." The shinigami laughed and whispered to Aero as the policemen escorted him out, Aero's hand discreetly scribbling what he hoped were the write names and faces. His clothes were wet and cold (or was it hot? He couldn't tell the difference) from sweating and his tongue begged for water. As he noticed the policeman to his right gasp and reach for his chest, Aero knew it was over. The policemen started to crumple and cry out. In his hands, he felt the Death Note slim and turn, and looking down found a crossbow.

"Who's there? Was that you?" voices clamored and more policemen appeared, finding only two of their comrades alive and still clutching to Aero. "Hands in the air or we'll-"

"This isn't America, your guns are not the same and you don't have backup handguns!" Aero hissed under his breath. He wasn't Japan's highest student after all. He took the massive crossbow into his arms and heard a sound like paper wrinkling, finding an arrow in it. He stood up and, using as much strength as he could muster, pulled the string back and let go of the arrow fletching. The first time it hit the ground and fell, but he thought of the sports anime he saw and Edo period manga and hours he had boredly read up on archery. As the hesitant policemen watched him, he raised the bow and grabbed the newly formed arrow's fletching with his entire hand, aimed, pulled back and let go. The arrow swooped clumsily and barely touched the policeman closest to him, when the policeman's eyes clouded over with confusion and he looked around himself.

The first thought that occurred to Aero was to ask the shinigami if his hypothesis, that the arrow erased memories. The second thought that occurred to him, was that he needed to shoot every one of the policemen holding their guns up to him. The policemen ran up to him, so Aero turned, ducked and jabbed an arrow into the nearest man's thigh, pushing him over. After he had touched every man with an arrow by causing massive confusion, Aero turned and fled. He had the funniest feeling he would do this quite often.