Yay! The L arc is over and I am out of my hideous long lasting writers block...Enjoy.

21

Six years. They had happened so fast, and in a slur, like someone had just let out a spool of thread and it twirled and unwired onto the ground. Cho was world-famous, her red and purple eyes made into a popular color of contact lens, much like Marilyn Manson's one blue-one-green-eye look.

Cho was nineteen and a half. It had been a while. She had grown, now about 5'2 but with her signature black hair streaked red on the edges and her gothic Lolita style perfectly intact, if not more vehement. Her body was still skinny and pale and she was still wearing those same adorable lace-up boots she had started wearing immediately after leaving L's domain. And not to forget the oversized sunglasses she wore on a regular basis. And the cherry red lipstick, with black liner.

She lived in Los Angeles now, and knew all very well that there was another L that was not in fact her "L." And then there was an "N" and the SPK. Cho wondered about this N, and sometimes a little smile would creep across her face thinking about it. Could it be….?

There was no M though, much less two Ms, but she still looked and waited. She was vital to the Kira case. Something told her that. But not yet. No one needed her, she was the little glass figurine waiting for Christmas. Cho wondered when she would get this call. Would she even be willing? What if it didn't work out?

It had to. Didn't it?

Cho sat at her kitchen table cramming her cheek with dark chocolate cherry cordials. Her absolute favorites that she ate near every day. Her TV was on to the news. Kira was everywhere, much more famous than any celebrity, he was a new Hitler. He had followers and enemies and groups and you could Google the four deadly letters and come with more than 8 billion results. More results than there were people on Earth. It made Cho sick and scared and angry, which led to her absolute need of cherry chocolate. Like she had right now.

Her phone rang. It was her agent. She rubbed her temples and listened as offers for her to work on three new projects were sent to her built in email system on her cell phone. Cho put her TV on mute with a flick of her black-painted fingernail and turned the cell on speaker as she looked at the email.

"Okay, Cho-bi." Her agent's rather pressured voice spit out into the air suddenly. She always called her Cho-bi. It meant little in some kanji, which Cho had found out while devouring "Chobits" volumes like life force. "We have three today! Let's see….there's the new movie from that one director….whatshisface."

"Comedy?" Cho asked with her mouth full.

"Yep!"

"Trash." Cho deleted the email with the corny R-rated comedy plot. "I don't feel funny today."

"That's odd Cho-bi….are you binging on cherry cordials again?!"

"Yep." She popped the "p."

Her agent let out an audible sigh then continued. "There's a commercial for anti-Kira."

"GAHHH! CAN'T KIRA BE LEFT OUT OF THIS FOR ONCE!! I AM SOOOO sick of the sicko today…"

"So that's a no?"

"Hm, lemme think…of COURSE it's a freakin' NO!"

"Watch the 'tude girl. Let's see. This third one is really…rather…different."

Cho sat forward in her seat and looked at the phone intently, her breath caught in her throat. The last different had been an offer for porno from some supposedly famous pornographer. Cho said no. Really loudly.

"Well. It's from some dude named Snyder. He lives here in LA. He wants to meet you and talks about something….I don't think you--"

Cho cut her agent off. "I'm gonna read it." She leaned forward and clicked on the unopened email. She read it slowly. Then gasped. And read it again. It was rather brief, a little fishy if you didn't…

Cho Noir,

Hello. My name is Snyder. Meet me at exactly twelve o' clock tonight. I live in the city and have some interesting prospects on Kira and….your past. If you choose not to come it is entirely your regrets!

I will come to your address. Or you can come to mine.

Snyder

His address was enclosed. Cho was breathing again, but quickly. She tightened her grip on the cell phone and closed her eyes.

"Yes?" asked her agent. "Cho?"

"I'll do it." Said Cho. "But I'm coming to his place. At eleven."

The sky was a silky black like Cho's hair. She wore a red silk pick-up minidress with a black sash, fishnets and her knee highs. Over it she placed a black waist coat and sunglasses. Her hair was pulled back in a waist length ponytail.

Outside it was rather chilly and dark as it could get in Los Angeles. A few gangsters leaning against the wall outside her apartment looked at her out of the corners of their heavy sunglasses, not moving as she dashed along, not daring to look back. There was no knowing what they could do.

Snyder lived rather close, maybe 8 or 9 blocks down, and Cho was fast in her boots. As she turned onto the main street, the loud bright lights and voices blinded her and she smiled. Unlike many, she loved this crazy city with its crazy people and their crazy hours. She let out a whoop as she began to run full-speed. A couple people waved at her from the other side of the street. She waved back and turned off into another darkened alleyway.

"Careful, Cho!" shouted someone behind her. Cho turned backwards and waved at the nameless person as she disappeared into the darkness. Cho had no fears at this point, as well as no shame, but she barely noticed this as she dashed into the dark alleyway full-blast, her bangs blowing off of her forehead.

There were 2 or 3 more blocks until the warehouse were Snyder had said he was. It was 11:14, Cho's lucky time as she showed up at the dark, looming place. She hurried up a flight of stairs and jiggled the doorknob. Locked. She rammed her fists against it and then turned, rubbing her hands together for warmth. It was surprisingly cold out this night, and Cho hadn't brought gloves. She wished she had thought ahead and looked at the weather.

Cho turned and knocked again, waiting for an answer. Nothing. Crap. The girl looked up and saw a window about 2 or 3 feet up to her left. She ran her cold, pale fingers over the railing and then hoisted herself up, hands gripping the top of the window sill as she pulled herself inside and her boots rubbed against her nose and she smelled the familiar fake leathery smell that he always smelled on them. With her elbow she slammed the window. It cracked easily and Cho was a little surprised as she dusted glass shards off of her elbow and sighed. The window led into a vent. Great. Crawling time.

Her body fit in fairly well and she began pulling with her elbows, hoping she got all the glass off, and even more hoping no one had heard her entry. It was completely dark ahead, but what lurked in vents and was deadly to a human girl with a mean right hook? Cho shrugged and her shoulder blades jarred against the top of the vent.

She hated small spaces.

About 20 or so meters ahead, a small vent pointed downwards. Cho pulled the edge of her eyes so they were just pointing down into the scene. A group of men were sitting on a long stretch couch and smoking or making out with sparsely dressed women or just lying. This was…Cho pulled herself over more, putting her front half on the vent. It creaked slightly and Cho winced, trying not to move.

"We've got the girl tied up in there. I gave her a Snickers bar to work with." Said someone in a wheezy voice. It sounded like they had smoked too many joints. A girl? Tied up with a snickers bar?? Cho jolted forward and all at once she heard a crack and then she was upside down, looking at the vent, except it was empty and the grids of the vent were whacking her in the knees as she collapsed onto a couch.

She was in trouble. BIG TROUBLE. Her sunglasses had amazingly stayed put, not like it mattered as two impossibly huge guys marched towards her.

Cho jumped/fell backwards onto the ground, her skirts flying. She blushed furiously as she heard snickers and felt a rough pair of hands wrap around her waist and lift her up.

"Who are you?" asked the voice. Cho did the only thing she could think of doing. Spit him down right in between the eyes.

The man cursed and tossed Cho backwards, where she was met with another big thick pair of hands she couldn't see. She kicked and squealed and bit childishly as the man forced her down on the couch and grabbed her around the shoulders. Using all her might, Cho managed to cross her arms over her chest and pull her knees up a bit. She could feel the hands yanking at her elbows and her waistcoat and her boots were half unlaced.

Her eyes were closed. She couldn't see anything but a swirling black sheet over her eyes. Groping mindlessly with her feet, she connected with what felt like a jaw and kicked again. Hard. And again. Someone gripped her ankles so hard she swore they were about to crack. Cho let out a scream and she was flipped over, landing on her knees on the hard cushions. Her sunglasses finally fell out, her hair slumping over her cheeks and rubbing her shoulders.

Cho pulled upwards, eyes intense and fiery. Her gaze met two beady dark eyes that widened in fright and yanked back.

"Her eyes!! They're red!!" the man howled and then everything went quiet. The hands disappeared from around Cho's small waist and she pulled back slowly, one bone at a time…intensely eyeing the room. Everyone was still and shocked and quiet. The vent grid lay still on the ground. She leapt up and grabbed it, shoving her sunglasses back on her face in the process. They were cracked.

"Anyone who gets CLOSE to me will face the roaring rage of the evil vent!" she growled menacingly. No one dared to laugh at her poor word choice. Then someone in the back of the room stood up slowly…slowly. They were taller than Cho and skinny as well as muscular.

"Cho?" said the voice. Cho backed away. The person came closer and not daring to look at their face, Cho dove forward at them, grid at attention. She felt pressure against her fingers and she was on the ground with her sunglasses covering practically her whole face.

"Cho?" asked the voice again. It was in her ear, trying and cool. Cho gritted her teeth and tried to punch. She didn't CARE who it was. But then she was in the air and on the couch and her sunglasses were being pulled off her face.

"Cho!" and then she recognized it. That one voice. The one she hated so bad she HAD to open her eyes. And she saw him. His blonde hair was in the same style and his eyes were the same aqua and scowling.

"Mello." Said Cho in a quiet voice. And slammed him in the face as hard as she could.