Disclaimer: I do not Death Note.

Haha, supposed to be studying for my AP US History exam. #nope

. . .

Sayu woke up way before Seraphine did, L noted. He felt the T.V. flicker on at about ten, when Seraphine was in a deep deep sleep. He glanced over at her, sleeping peacefully, splayed out across the bed with no idea as to what was happening. It was an enviable sort of naivete, sleeping. The possibility of just being able to turn off your brain and let your guard down and just sleep was something L hadn't understood for a long time and something that he probably never would.

Now that Sayu was awake, L had to head back to the Task Force Headquarters, where he was sure that everyone was also fast asleep. After the Kira tapes had aired, the entire search for Kira had grown more and more intense. They had lost Ukita and while it had boosted the entire Task Force's morale, L was not about to let the loss be in vain.

Besides, L had a feeling that this wasn't exactly Kira… But more of a second Kira that they were dealing with. Kira wasn't nearly so careless, so public, or so stupid. Although the tapes had lead to a dead end, it could have been an easy trace back to the original sender if they had just made one mistake, which wasn't a risk that the normal Kira seemed to take. This was definitely a second Kira, the percentage was over 75%.

He got up, scribbling a quick note for Seraphine, and headed for their bedroom door. Taking one final look back at her, he headed out…

… And was promptly stopped by Sayu.

"Good morning!" The girl said, smiling at him, "Do you want breakfast? I was just making some for Seraphine,"

L didn't know (and didn't want to) explain to the girl that his diet consisted of one thing: sugar, "No thank you," He declined, trying his best to be polite. Sayu was Seraphine's cousin after all, "I'm actually on my way out. I'm supposed to be tutoring,"

"Gotcha," She said, although L sensed a certain sort of relief. Not that he blamed her, he knew he wasn't exactly the most approachable man out there, "Well, I'll tell Sera when she wakes up,"

"Erm… thanks," L said, making a beeline for the door. The whole situation was awkward and he wanted to be as far removed from it as possible. But just as he was about to turn the door handle and push out the apartment, Sayu stopped him.

"Hey, uh, Ryuuzaki?" She asked, calling him the name that Seraphine had probably called him in front of her.

"Yes?" He asked, facing her.

"I'd rather say this now… " She paused and stepped forwards, playing with her hands nervously, "Sera's asleep, so she can't chase me out of the room or tell you I'm being crazy but…" She sighed and looked up at L, who was thoroughly interested by now, "You make her happy. You drive her crazy but you make her happy. I can tell, I just can. And I'm happy that you do but at the same time… Sera is like an older sister to me, I love her like she is, and because of that, I have to say this," She stepped closer to the man, looking a little more firmly put in her resolve, "If you plan to leave her, do it now. Don't make her happy, really happy and then just let her down. Please,"

L regarded every word she said carefully… Could it be… Was it possible that Seraphine had feelings for him? The notion filled the world's best detective, someone who solved case after case, with a strange, muted content which forced to consider an additional question. Did he have feelings for Seraphine?

Choosing his words carefully, his goal being appeasing Sayu, he replied, "I don't plan to," and with that, the detective left the apartment, adding his own feelings to the ever growing list of complexities he carried within himself.

. . .

I waited anxiously all day for the second Kira broadcast.

I'd ended up taking Sayu to class with me and then directly back to the apartment. I'd had this growing dread within me all day, almost as if I could feel some catastrophic wave of disaster looming over me but anytime I looked back, it wasn't there. Somehow, I knew that another Kira broadcast would be airing today and I had to get Sayu away from it all, especially with her dad in the hospital (Whom she still wouldn't go see).

It wasn't that bad, having Sayu around. Actually… It was kind of nice. I hadn't noticed how much I missed Sayu until I was spending time with her, reading trashy magazines with her and listening to her school gossip. I missed having a girl around and I missed Layla and Diana too.

We were sitting on the couch, sharing a tub of iced cream and watching Sayu's favorite American movie, The Notebook on T.V. when the channel changed to Sakura T.V. We both glanced at each other, worry written all over our faces.

"You don't think it's…" Sayu asked, trailing off as the huge 'Kira' appeared on the screen.

"It is," I got up and locked the doors, thanking God that L didn't automatically lock them for us. That would have been impossible to explain to Sayu. I drew the curtains and sat down next to her, both of us stiff as boards.

"I can only say it's a shame that the answer is no. I can't believe that the police wish to oppose me. This will not go unpunished. I'll start by either taking the life of the detective general of the NPA or the detective known as L who is leading the investigation," The voice began saying quickly, the word's streaming from my television quickly.

I unknowingly paled. Kira had always wanted L's life but this… I had never believed that he'd have a way to get it, never.

Riots and panic forgotten, I got up from my seat, quickly slipping my coat and the first pair of shoes that I could find on.

"Where are you going?" Sayu asked, standing up, "Hey! Sera!"

"Sayu," I turned to face her, fiddling with a sleeve on my jacket, "You stay here. I have to go find Ryuuga and and," I was talking quickly, losing my breath, "And bring him back here,"

"Sera, you can't go out there!" She begged, grabbing onto my sleeve, "What if Kira sees you? He can kill with just a face now!"

"Sayu…" I sighed and looked at her, "I have to. I can't leave him alone out there. Just stay here," I handed her the key, "Lock the door, stay by the phone, and wait. I'll text you,"

She sighed, grudgingly giving in, "Fine. Just…" She looked up at me, "Be careful,"

I smiled at her, "I'll be fine. See you,"

I ruffled her hair and stepped out of the door. Once I was out, I headed down the stairs and dialed L's number on my phone. It took him three tries to pick up and, in the end, it wasn't even him who picked up, it was Matsuda.

"Uh… Hey Seraphine," He greeted uncertainly, " It's Matsuda," I could hear the fear in his voice, he still thought I was Kira, God damn.

"Hey, put L-Ryuuga on right now," I commanded, pulling my hood up as I began a brisk jog down the block.

"He's, uh, preoccupied," Matsuda answered, "Listen, can I-"

"Where are your headquarters?" I asked quickly, to the point, "He never told me and I have to see him right now,"

There was silence, "I don't know if I'm allowed-"

"Matsuda, I will search through all of Tokyo if I had to, godamnit, now tell me, where are your headquarters?"

There was a nervous silence on the other end before a response came in a high pitched voice, "Turn right, cross the street, and keep going for a block. You'll see it,"

"Thanks," I responded, feeling a little remorseful for my brashness. I was just on edge, Matsuda didn't deserve it, "Hey, I'm sorry for being so... " I trailed off, unable to think of the correct word.

"Don't worry about it," He responded, sounding genuinely cheerful, "Ryuuga can't wait to see you-OW!"

"I'll be there soon," I responded, hanging up the phone and jogging towards the task force headquarters.

. . .

Layla hovered around Light as he worked. This was perfect. Now he was in on the Task Force and was one step ahead. One step ahead to creating a brave new world order for them all.

Nothing, not atomic bombs, or biological warfare, or even actual warfare would affect the world like the Death Note would. Like Light would. He was perfect, his ideals were perfect and he would save them all.

The ghost floated around, stopping to look distastefully at L. So this was her, Light's, their opposition. This strange man. Not only that but he was the man that help her best friend's heart. Sera could do much better, Layla thought, giving L another glance, So much better…

Just then, the door swung wide open and Layla looked over, freezing in her place. There, at the door, was the one person in the world that she couldn't have wanted to see more, and at the same time, couldn't have wanted to see less.

"Sera…"

. . .

It's really short, I know, but I wanted to give you guys something. I'm trying to update once a week, and so far, I've been going strong and I didn't want to break that streak this week.

New chapter in about five days?

I'm done with AP tests so yay!

Btw, I'd like to thank this guest reviewer that I keep having. I always try to respond to reviews but because I can't respond to yours in a PM, I'm responding to it here. Thanks so much! :)

I'm sorry for any errors. I'm super tired from AP testing and only ran it through spellcheck and grammar check. Let me know if anything super bad stands out.

Please review? Even you guys who favorite and follow the story and me but don't review. I want to know what you think!