Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. At all. Whatsoever. And I need a better disclaimer.

A/N: Thanks to Master J633 for Favoriting!! And domo arigato to ShinigamiKittens for reviewing and correcting my French. XD Hope you enjoy!

A New Light

Chapter 28: Time Pressure : ticking clock

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June 28th, xxxx.

Carlia Jason, 36, suspected of killing her third husband, dies in prison before her trial is complete.

Her three children/stepchildren (19, 22, 30), all but convicted of assisting in the murder, die on the same day.

Causes of death: all heart attacks.

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(The quiet Bishop contemplates his opponent's moves.)

Anthony Marcus.

Could be a coincidence. On the other hand, might not be.

Andrea May. Death by cardiac arrest, and not at a late age. A pretty safe bet that she was another one of Kira's victims. She used to be a thief, and she and her husband both opposed Kira. So that makes sense-at least, as much as any of this does.

Anthony, though..he was Andrea's husband, but other than that, I see no motive for killing him. He was an anti-Kira diehard, but that seems like a petty reason for Kira to strike him down. He wasn't a criminal…unless you count opposing Kira as a crime.

And that's if he was even a Kira victim at all. Car accidents happen every day; he could have just been another quiet, everyday victim of recklessness.

That's a pretty substantial coincidence, though. Dying within 12 hours of his wife, when she was almost certainly a Kira victim…?

But if Kira did kill Anthony, then why make the cause of death a car accident? If Kira is trying to reinstate belief in himself, then why waste a death on a cause that's out of the ordinary for him?

Think about it…Kira kills criminals using heart attacks; he-

Hold on. Criminals. Anthony had no criminal record. And Kira hasn't been killing people solely for opposing him this time around. So why was Anthony a target? Simply because of his wife? But that doesn't seem very like this Kira either. And in any case, it still doesn't answer the question of why a car accident was used instead of a heart attack..

Michael stares at his blank computer, dead again by another one of his uncle's traps. He waits for it to reboot, just as he waits for his path of thought to eventually lead him somewhere helpful.

Shame?

The idea is sort of ridiculous. But it can't hurt to explore the option a little, right?

That is a possibility, albeit a small one…If Anthony had no criminal record, then would Kira feel guilty about destroying him? But that suggestion does leave some gaping holes..Why, for instance, did Kira kill Anthony in the first place? Why would he suddenly start targeting Kira-opposers with no warning?

And why or how would a mass-murderer feel guilt about one life lost, anyway? Guilt is an emotion that is so far away from Kira's probable mental profile, it's not even funny. Nobody can kill so many people-in such a short amount of time, too-and all of a sudden feel bad about it. It just doesn't happen.

Trying to prove his personal belief that anything can make sense if thought over sufficiently, he continues to dig through his stores of reason. There has to be something going on here that nobody knows about…was Anthony killed for some personal reason?

Maybe, dare I suggest it…a human reason?

Kira is obviously not God. That fact is easily apparent to anyone with an ounce of common sense. So the most likely options remaining are a Shinigami (which he finds unlikely for a multitude of reasons), or a human. And humans feel human emotions, just like everyone else around them.

Say something made this Kira angry. Killing someone would certainly be an effective, though disproportionate, way to vent-at least, until the guilt (if he has any) caught up with him.

Or maybe if this Kira is a child…a bullied or abused child, insecure and picked on. Alone. Proving to himself that he has his own great power would help increase his self-confidence.

But I doubt-wait, no, no; got to keep an open mind. Kira could be a young child, of course, but would a child have the mental strength to continue with this…methodical massacre?

In my opinion, the youngest this Kira can possibly be would be…fifteen. Fourteen, maybe, but anyone younger than a highschooler…

He pauses in his thoughts. The thought of such a young sociopath is almost too awful to contemplate.

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(The confident Knight contemplates his plans.)

Two more days…two more days….two more days…

He's been repeating those same three words in his head over and over again, all day long. He can't seem to help it.

And in Anata's defense, when one is facing an imminent life-threatening situation, one can imagine it would be a rather difficult thing to put out of one's mind.

But at least he's not alone.

Karin will be at the rally, he knows; and she has been doing all she can to be helpful to Anata and their cause. He truly appreciates her help and support-but he can't say anything like that; it'd just sound stupid.

And Michael… Anata is overcome by a pressing desire to snort derisively. Michael may be against Kira, but he isn't even fighting. He just sits around in his weird little way, holed up, giving orders and waiting in the dark for others to take the risks for him. Coward.

The rally is going to commence in two more days. The location is a small local park in Anata's neighborhood that nobody ever visits because…well, frankly, he doesn't live in a very good neighborhood. At least they won't be interrupted.

He'll bring something with which to make a line on the ground, to divide up Pro- and Anti-Kira people. And Karin has promised to bring a wooden box or something to use as a pedestal so that one person can speak their piece at a time.

Oh, and a cell phone (his mother's-she won't even notice it's missing), just in case things get out of hand.

He sees great promise in the upcoming rally. He'll be able to deliver a stirring and mature speech on the evils of Kira, and hopefully gain some new allies.

And who knows, he thinks with a rare grin, where we can go from there?

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(The isolated Queen contemplates her next move.)

The killings continue.

Guilt was not enough to stop her. With strength and faith, Lina continues to carry out her duty.

She promised herself she would not falter. And she will not.

But now she has something new to worry about. Opposition that she knew she would eventually face, but is loath to deal with in the way it must be dealt. Even with the loudest voice in her head cheering for the death of the continual thorn in her side: Kuroyami Anata.

Now he is holding a rally. A debate, as he puts it. A gathering of those loyal to Kira and those who despise Him. She worries about the following he might gain if this goes well. Even one more soul sacrificed to the dark is far too many. Does Anata not understand he is sending them to their deaths by turning them away from Kira?

She has put this off for far too long already. Is this the time, when she will do what must be done?

Lina knows that she can't put off the inevitable much longer.

How much more time, how much more mercy can I afford to give him?

And how much more of this, a soft voice inside asks quietly, can your own soul take?

She pushes it away and turns to her Death Note.

Don't make me write your name, Anata…

She almost misses the soft inner voice's next words: No one is making you do anything.

No one but yourself.

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(The Pawn contemplates her fate.)

Karin Asiki moves pieces around her marble chessboard-a birthday gift-almost absentmindedly. White and black, shapes and squares..all melt together, blurring into one big blob as she struggles to pull herself out of her reverie.

The King, she thinks, fingering the ornate white piece. I guess that'd be Kira, then. She moves it forward a few squares, for no particular reason.

And…hmm, what else? Her gaze drifts to the black side, and she considers for a moment before grinning and moving another piece forward. The Knight. Anata-kun, definitely. Brave and..unusual. She giggles without quite understanding why.

Hmm..who else..? What about that ABF something-or-other guy that Anata-kun used to talk about? I think he'd be the…well, maybe the Rook? Or a Bishop, or maybe even a Pawn…guess it's kind of pointless to try and assign a piece to someone I know nothing about.

And I'd be a…a…

She eyes the board thoughtfully for a few long seconds before reaching hesitantly for a Pawn.

A Pawn. Yeah. That's me, I guess. She tries not to feel disappointed, because that would just be stupid.

After all, I haven't come up with any great scheme to rid the world of Kira. I'm just a helper. A Pawn. Heh..yeah, that's the perfect term for me.

She sighs a little before brightening.

But hey…if I make it all the way across the board, then I can be a different piece, right?

Versatile, that's me! Wonder who I'd be if I made it all the way…?

She leans back in her chair, smiling contentedly.

To be continued

-Rule XXIX of the Church of Kira:

Not everyone can be admitted to the Golden

Land where Kira reigns supreme.

In order to maintain balance and Right,

sacrifices must be made.

The needs of the Righteous, those who keep their loyalty to Kira intact,

outweigh, overall, the needs of those who scorn Him

and damn themselves.-

A/N: It occurs to me now of all times that I've been working on this story now for more than six months. WOW how the time flies.

Well, I hope y'all liked it. Have a great weekend and…well, I would loooove a review. Not that you have to or anything. X) -SS