I sat on the ledge separating the slightly raised levels of the suite of our new hotel. It was much nicer than the previous one. Taking up the space around me were my laptop, various rubber bands and bouncy balls, and several dessert dishes now empty. We had intercepted another message from the Second Kira, this one containing a diary entry.

The more time I spent with the Task Force, the more I found myself reverting to old habits. I had stopped using the wig and often wore my hair in a sloppy bun with loose strands framing my face. I wore more comfortable clothes, usually consisting of a loose white halter-top and gray bloomer style shorts. The beginnings of dark circles began to form under my eyes.

I barely glanced up from my laptop as Light joined us, "He wanted the journal shown on TV?"

"Yes, this is it," Mr. Yagami handed Light the paper. I've read that paper enough times to know that this was the entry about the game at the Tokyo Dome on the thirtieth. Eighteen days from now.

"Please take a look at the entry he made on the thirtieth," L requested. I closed the laptop and watched Light as he read the entry. The shadow was there, in all its horrific glory, but I ignored it. It hadn't gone away, not since my last terror. I saw it all the time now, and it always hovered around Light. I heard it snicker, but I kept ignoring it. My focus remained on Light.

Honestly, this journal was a joke. It was so blatantly obvious, but at the same time, I couldn't underestimate an opponent. Especially not one with the ability to kill people on sight. L got up from where he sat and joined the others, "What do you think? Is it real?"

"At this point in time, all I can say for sure is, he must be stupid," Light stated.

"Yeah, I agree," Matsuda remarked with some amusement, "I mean, it's completely obvious he wants to meet Kira at the home game." L lost interest and returned to the coffee table. Oh, Matsuda, he had so much to learn. It's never that simple. The second Kira might not be a genius, but he or she was certainly clever.

"Doesn't he understand what would happen if we aired this message?" Mr. Yagami wondered, "It would create an immediate panic and the game would have to be cancelled."

L picked up a chocolate from the box on the coffee table, "To be honest, it's so stupid," he popped the candy into his mouth, and continued talking, "I'm not even sure how to deal with this whole situation anymore." I scoffed, L not know how to deal with a situation? That's almost funny. "If we make the diary public, then we'll be forced to make some kind of televised announcement cancelling the game on the thirtieth. But if we don't broadcast it, we can be sure the second Kira won't do anything."

"Won't cancelling the game make him angry?" Matsuda asked as the other detectives moved to join around the coffee table. "There's no telling what he'll do."

I jumped down from my perch and moved to the sitting area, grabbing a chocolate from L's box before sitting on the edge of the table opposite of the other detective, "You worry too much, Matsui."

"Frankly, that's not a big concern," L responded. "From what we've witnessed, it's safe to say the second Kira admires the real one." Now what could have possibly led him to make that conclusion? Maybe it was the fan-girling of the previous tapes sent in by this second Kira. "He gave his word to the Kira we invented that he refrain from killing aimlessly. I'm inclined to believe that." He took a breath and turned to the Yagamis, "I say we make it public and air an announcement cancelling the game. At the same time we'll announce that on May thirtieth, we're going to set up check points on all roads leading to the Tokyo Dome. And, finally, we'll send a response from our invented Kira, something like 'I understand, and I agree to meet you there.'"

"Ryuzaki," Mr. Yagami said sharply, as if chiding a child, "you don't honestly expect him to go there if we set up check points around the dome, do you?"

L held up the journal with two fingers of one hand and a teacup in the other, "I don't think that Kira would even consider it, but it's possible the other one might. Hnn, it all depends on how stupid he really is. However, assuming he's not actually the idiot we think he is, there could be another message hidden in this diary, one that's not so obvious. If there's a message here written in some code only people who have this shinigami power can understand, there'd be no way for me to decipher it. Endo, you're the expert here, what do you have to say?"

He handed me the paper. It's about time. I read the entries one by one, immediately discarding various forms of code that I knew wouldn't be used in this journal. It was child's play, honestly. So simple a child could figure it out. "Our second Kira sure is popular," I remarked jokingly. "It isn't so much a code as it is a rudimentary attempt to distract us. I would suggest checking out the other dates mentioned in the journal in addition to what we already have planned for the thirtieth. Aoyama on the twenty second and Shibuya on the twenty fourth." It was disappointing. I had been decrypting more difficult codes at the age of eight. That was my specialty.

I traded L the diary for the box of chocolates. He held the page up with his index finger and thumb, "We have to be prepared for the possibility that all of our efforts will be fruitless. Let's keep our eyes out for people who have notebooks in Aoyama and people in clothing stores in Shibuya." L set the page down in front of him, "All we can do is place more security cameras in Aoyama and Shibuya in hopes that we can capture something. We should also arrange to have undercover officers in both locations on these dates."

"I should probably go to Aoyama and Shibuya since I blend in with the crowd there, yanno?" Matsuda volunteered cheerfully.

"I'll go too," Light volunteered as well.

His father looked up at him with concern and protested, "But, Light…"

"I'll be alright, don't worry. Aoyama and Shibuya are places I'd go anyway. Not to mention, out of all of us, I'd probably look the most natural hanging out with Matsui there. Besides, the second Kira will be there looking for Kira, not for the police." Oh, this would go well. The most inexperienced cop taking Kira out on an undercover mission. Now that didn't sit well with me.

"I'm going with them," I announced.

"Actually," L turned his attention from Light to me, "I'd prefer if you stayed here and worked on the diary."

"I can work on that diary any time between now and the twenty second," I pointed out. "I fit right in with the crowd there, and it'd draw less attention to Matsui and Light if they traveled in a small group rather than in a pair. Besides, I'm sure that it'd soothe some of Mr. Yasashi's concerns about letting his son go."

Before L could tell me no again, Mr. Yagami spoke up in my favor, "It would be comforting to know that Endo was there with Light, Ryuzaki."

I smiled gratefully at the police officer before turning my attention to L. The other detective was working his options through in his mind. I could practically see the wheels turning in there. I don't understand why he even had to think about it. I could handle myself. I've been out in the field before, and the second Kira doesn't even know who I am.

"Fine," L finally drawled. I smirked victoriously.

By the time Light had to go, we had developed a very simple, basic plan of action. It was open to improvements, which could be made another time. I went to my room and opened the Naomi Misora case while the Task Force returned to their homes. I wasn't making much progress regarding her case. It was one dead end after another. I sighed, there was very little I could do for the woman who had helped so much in the case against Beyond.

I closed the laptop and sighed again, I've had enough of that case for the night. I decided to do some more work on the diary page since L was so eager to have me inspect it more closely. I highly doubted that there was more to it than what we had already figured, but it wouldn't hurt. I got up and walked to the room next door in order to retrieve the page from L.

The door to his room was open and the lights were out, and I found him standing right in front of the window with his back to me. For someone with such a disheveled appearance, L's room was nearly immaculate, save for a box of files and evidence next to the desk identical to the one in my room. "When you three are working together, I want you to keep a close eye on Light the entire time, and please keep this between you and me," L instructed. Matsuda must be on the other end of that line. L pocketed the phone.

L looked out the window, watching Matsuda as he walked back into the hotel. He had never stopped suspecting Light Yagami, and he certainly didn't trust him to be in Aoyama with Matsuda and E. "Keeping secrets, L?" Everest's voice questioned lightly. L turned and found the young woman sitting in his chair with one leg tucked under the other. He felt a spark of irritation at the invasion of his personal space. She appeared to be rather comfortable there.

"It wouldn't hurt to have an extra set of eyes at the scene," L responded in the same casual tone. "Don't you ever knock?" He shuffled to stand a few paces in front of the girl.

She shrugged and spun the chair around once, stopping it when she faced him again, "Privacy's overrated. What was that about?" She was referring to the call he had made to Matsuda.

"I'm taking a precaution," he stated coolly. The situation warranted one. Matsuda wasn't necessarily unreliable, but L was aware that allowing Light Yagami on an undercover stakeout was risky. He was certain that Everest knew it too. He was eighty seven percent sure that that was her reasoning behind joining the two at Aoyama and Shibuya.

Everest was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. L was fully aware of that fact. Yet, he simply wasn't comfortable with allowing her to accompany Matsuda and Light Yagami. He reasoned that this was because of the three percent chance that she was Kira or the twenty percent chance that she was in league with Light Yagami and couldn't be trusted. "A precaution you intended to inform me of, correct?"

"You wouldn't have liked it if I told you I asked Matsuda to keep an eye on Yagami," L stated. She would have been offended that he recruited Matsuda to be his eyes in his absence. "You understand why I couldn't have gone to you."

She seemed to be observing him carefully. Her shockingly vivid blue eyes seemed to be analyzing his every movement, every detail. It made him uncomfortable. He did not appreciate being scrutinized so thoroughly. She nodded in understanding.

For a moment, L wondered if she hated him. If their roles had been switched, if he had the ties to BB that she had, and if she was the one to cause his imprisonment, L would probably hate her. However, he knew that it was unreasonable to assume. Everest might have hated him at one point, but she had moved past that. At least, he would prefer to believe that. He also knew that he couldn't assume that she had forgiven him. In fact, it made more sense to assume that she wouldn't ever forgive him.

L moved to the bed and crouched on its edge while Everest continued to swivel from side to side in the chair. "And you understand why I dislike that you went to Matsuda instead of me," she stated.

He nodded in the same manner as she had. He understood perfectly. By going to Matsuda instead of Everest, he had advertised his lack of trust in both Light and E. Although, the second had been, for the most part, unintentional. They fell into silence before L asked, "Was there something you needed?" There must have been a reason for her to come to his room. It hadn't been her primary goal to eavesdrop on him…unless, that was exactly what she had been doing.

She reached behind her and picked up the diary page from his desk, "I just came for this." She gracefully rose from the seat in one fluid motion and walked towards the door.

"Everest," L said abruptly. The girl stopped and turned back to face him, "be careful when you go to Aoyama."

She smirked at him, "I don't intend to go unarmed. Good night, L." Then she walked out, closing the door behind her, leaving him in the darkness. He kept his eyes trained on the door while his mind processed innumerable thoughts. For some reason, that knowledge didn't provide him any comfort.

I returned to my room and turned on all of the screens mounted to the wall. I re-read the entries, wondering what else could possibly be in this journal. Number codes were a definite possibility, considering that the entries were made with dates. Although, I still found it unlikely that there was any actual code that needed deciphering. I began with picking out the relevant words of every entry. First, I searched the three locations we were putting our time into investigation. The Tokyo Dome, Aoyama, and Shibuya. Then I added the possible key words from each corresponding entry. Giants, notebook, shopping. What I found for the Tokyo Dome and Shibuya were all very broad and random, but I did find something of interest for Aoyama.

Looks like you aren't as stupid as we all thought, I smirked as I clicked on a link. It really wasn't much of a code, but it was still very well hidden. First, a painfully obvious message intended to mislead the police. Along with numerous entries of upcoming dates which we'd be forced to investigate. Finally, leaving a location for Kira to find.

The Note Blue, a club in Aoyama that just so happens to be hosting an event on the twenty-second. Very convenient. I probably should have sent a copy of the flier to L, but I wasn't feeling very generous. I would have sent one to Light, but something tells me that he had figured it out himself. I decided that that was enough for one day, and prepared to go to sleep. Unfortunately for me, sleep had become an enemy, one I couldn't shoot down.

I was sitting at a table in the Wammy's House library. Set out in front of me was a notebook, a journal. The entire journal seemed to be filled, but the entries were all the same.

22 Met up with friends in Aoyama. Saw their names.

It was the exact same format as in the second Kira's diary page. What the hell was this supposed to mean? I was going to Aoyama on the twenty-second with Light and Matsuda, but I already know their names. See their names? With what? ID cards?

I looked around the library and found that it was empty. Not even Beyond was in sight. I heard the laughter from behind me and turned around, "What is this?"

Beyond just laughed and took off running. Despite my better judgment, I chased after him. I couldn't see him, but I heard the laughter, and I followed it. It seemed to be bouncing off the walls, and I couldn't be sure, but I just kept running. I was chasing him through the maze of bookcases blindly. "You know, just once I would like it if you answered my questions," I called out while I ran.

The laughter continued, but it wasn't Beyond's. Instead, I heard his voice speak over the laughter, "So impatient, Essie. You just have to wait. Time's running out. You're almost there." I ran in the direction of the voice. That was ominous, and not at all useful.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I shouted, "Maybe if you'd answer my questions I wouldn't be so impatient!"

"Maybe you just aren't asking the right questions," Beyond countered.

"You really aren't helping," I kept running, still not seeing him. Still following the voice of a dead man.

This time the voice was so loud that the entire dream shook as if there was an earthquake, "At least you have help! I had to go through it alone! I had to figure it out by myself!" The bitterness of his voice surprised me, but more than that, it pissed me off.

"You didn't have to!" I shouted back angrily, "You could have come to me. You should have! We would have worked through it together. I would have helped you."

I heard Beyond's laugh over the sound of the laughter in the background. His was a sarcastic bark, devoid of humor. "You? What could you have done? You were just a little girl then, Essie. You didn't know, you wouldn't have understood. You would have thought I was crazy."

"And going on a killing spree is supposed to make me think otherwise?" I demanded irritably.

Beyond kept talking, ignoring my outburst completely, "But now you understand, E. You're all grown up now, and it's your turn."

I finally found him. Just the back of his frame and a mess of black hair, but nonetheless, I caught sight of him. We kept running, but I never got any closer. The aisles of the library disappeared until it was just one never-ending road, walled on both sides by bookcases. Laughter surrounding me from every direction. Finally, Beyond stopped running, and I stopped chasing him.

Beyond started laughing, and I saw his shoulders move up and down with the sound, "You're running out of time, Essie. I see numbers, E, tell me, what do you see?" He finally turned around, and I saw it. I felt my eyes widen. Floating around his head letters and then characters and then letters again. They alternated, but they always spelled the same thing.

Suddenly, the bookcases flanking us burst into flames. Everything caught fire, including Beyond, but even as the fire took him, it was still there. Floating in glowing red and white, as if it was in existence but also not, was one word.

Birthday.

I hadn't gotten another nightmare since the night we intercepted the diary from the second Kira, but that doesn't mean that my sleep has been any better. I still had nightmares, but Beyond no longer made any appearances. Surprisingly, that only made them worse. The familiarity of Beyond's presence had provided me with some sort of sick comfort through each of the dreams, and now that he was gone, they seemed worse.

When the twenty-second finally rolled around, Matsuda picked me up from the hotel. He was a cheerful man. Matsuda was so much more relaxed than the others on the Task Force, and it was refreshing in a way. Some time during the drive, my eyes and brain started to ache. I closed and rubbed my eyes, trying to relieve myself of the ache, "Hey, are you alright?"

When Matsuda spoke the discomfort lessened slightly. I opened my eyes and stared out of the window, "I'm fine, Matsui, thanks. Just a headache."

"Oh, alright. If you don't mind me asking, Endo, what's it like living with Ryuzaki all the time?" Matsuda asked casually as he drove. As soon as he finished the question, he floundered to amend himself, "Wait, uh, I don't mean anything against Ryuzaki…"

I turned away from the window and smiled at the officer next to me, "Don't worry about it. He's an odd one, even by my standards, but it's nothing I'm not used to." I understood how people saw L, and I also understood that he didn't care. At Wammy's, one never has to care about the outside world and their standards, so we never felt that those social rules applied to us. But some of us just had more of an inclination for fitting in than others.

Beyond and I were good at making ourselves disappear in the crowd. We could disguise ourselves; make the rest of the world look right past us without them realizing it. We were always the best at doing that. L simply eliminated the crowd and locked himself in hotels and communicated without showing his face.

Matsuda seemed to have that quality about him. The one that allows him to fit in well enough that he doesn't have to disguise himself in order to do so. He was so average, it was almost unusual, no it was unusual to me. He seemed like the kind of person who had a nice normal family growing up, an average high school life, attended a local university, and now works as a police officer. "He's definitely something else," Matsuda remarked. There was definitely awe and respect in his voice as well as amusement when he spoke. "Uh, Endo, how do you know Ryuzaki? You seem like two old friends or something."

"Huh? Oh, I wouldn't say that," I replied, turning my attention back to the window. "Ryuzaki and I met a few years ago, and he took on a case involving someone of mutual interest." It was a very general summary of how I came to know L. There was much more to it than that, but it really wasn't anything that would benefit the Kira investigation. Therefore, it was irrelevant. "How about you, Matsui?" I glanced back at him, "I don't know anything about you, or anyone else on the Task Force for that matter."

"Me?" Matsuda asked in surprise as he parked his car. "I'm not that interesting." Matsuda laughed and scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.

"Sure you are," I chirped brightly. "So, where did Light say he was going to meet us?" I took off with a slight skip in my step, and Matsuda followed behind me. With every step I took, I felt my purse bounce against my side. Inside that purse was a handgun that I'd utilize if necessary. It was a beautiful day in Aoyama, a perfect day to scope for Kira and the second Kira.

"Hey, Endo, is that Light over there?" Matsuda asked, pointing out a group of young adults and a figure that undoubtedly was Light Yagami. I narrowed my gaze ever so slightly at Light, who waved us over with a smile, but I forced the smile to stay on my face. What the hell is this?

"Come on," I said brusquely, striding up to Light in a way that could be perceived as cheerful by the others surrounding him. I recognized them from To Oh. Surprisingly, Haruka was one of the people in the mix.

"Hey, Reika!" she greeted brightly.

I waved at her and smiled, "Haruka, I didn't know you were going to be here." I sent a subtle, sharp glare at Light. He just kept smiling and acting cool. That irritated me horribly.

"U-uh, excuse me," Matsuda said uncertainly, "Light? So, what's going on here?" The unexpected crowd of people was confusing Matsuda, who probably followed procedure more often than not.

"Oh, these are some of my friends from school," Light answered. Matsuda and the To Oh students exchanged pleasantries quickly and Light went on to introduce Matsuda. "This is my cousin Taro. It's his first time ever in Tokyo, and he wants to see Aoyama and Roppongi, so I figured the least we could do is show him a good time. I'm countin' on you guys." Matsuda looked so surprised and mortified by the role Light had decided for him. "Oh yeah, he's also told me he's lookin' for a girlfriend, so does anyone want to volunteer?" Light continued.

Haruka and the others laughed at Light's good natured teasing, but Matsuda was so genuinely lost with the situation and protested quickly, "Hey, I never said that."

"Light, you're embarrassing him," I laughed lightly.

"Maybe a little bit," Light laughed too. "Come on, guys, we've got a lot of ground to cover." The college students and Matsuda started to walk as a group. Light headed the small crowd, and Matsuda followed close to him. Haruka and I stuck close behind them in the crowd.

"When did you and Light Yagami get so close?" Haruka asked with a wink.

I cast my eyes down embarrassedly, "Haruka, please. Light and I are just friends."

"Oh really?" Haruka crossed her arms and smirked at me, "Come on, Reika, you can tell me!"

"There's nothing to tell!" I insisted.

The other girl pouted momentarily, but she perked right back up, "What about Light's cousin? He's kinda cute."

"Who? Taro?" I glanced back at the officer, "He's a nice guy."

"You must've been a big help," Haruka grinned knowingly. "Driving Light's cousin here and all."

"Haruka," I muttered warningly, "I hitched a ride with him. He needed directions and I needed a ride." I couldn't have cared less about what she thought of Light and me at this point, but she was starting to annoy me with this topic. The aching sensation in my brain started up again. I clenched my teeth together and brought my hand to my head, trying to massage out the tension behind my forehead. The headaches were becoming more frequent, and seeing the shadow had become a daily thing. Now, I didn't even have to see the stupid things in order to bring on the headaches. "Ugh, can we talk about this later, my head's killing me," I grumbled. Great, what a time for this to happen, I thought scathingly.

"Is everything alright, Reika?" Light asked with convincing concern in his voice.

"Just a headache," I stated. "It'll pass. This was nice of you, Light. Putting all of this together for your cousin." Yes, very nice. Editing our plan of action without consulting me or Matsuda first. I couldn't help but feel annoyed with Light for doing this. He must have some sort of reason for doing this, of course. One that has to do with the second Kira.

"I can't take all the credit, Reika," Light said modestly. Haruka nudged me and winked before joining a conversation with the two other girls in the crowd. Her lack of tact never ceases to surprise me. "You don't look so well," he remarked with that tone of concern in his voice, "are they getting worse?"

"They're not getting better," I replied dryly. The nightmares prevented me from ever sleeping all the way through the night. The lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll on my appearance. Just to go out to Aoyama, I had to wear heavy makeup just to conceal the shadows under my eyes, but there were more important things going on than my uneasy sleeping habits. "So, did you figure it out?" I asked lowly.

He scoffed, "Of course, Reika. It wasn't that difficult. I admit, I was surprised." He kept that light, playful tone to ward off any suspicion from our conversation.

"Me too. What are you going to do now?"

He sighed tiredly, "When are you going to drop it?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I retorted with a cheerful grin. I put my hand on his elbow, gripping his arm tightly. He looked down at me with a questioning expression of curiosity perfectly in place. I examined him closely, and reached my conclusion. I released my hold on his arm. "Whatever you're doing, Light," I said softly, "if anyone here gets hurt, Matsuda, Haruka, or anyone else, I'll kill you myself." There was an unwavering resolve in the warning. Light was the only one to hear it, but even though the whisper couldn't be heard by anyone else except for us, it carried more meaning than any exclamation could.

Light and I walked side by side, not stopping or falling out of step with the group, but it was as if the rest of them weren't even there. I felt a hand enclose mine, startling me, but when I pulled away, the hand tightened its grip. I looked up at Light, who kept his gaze straight ahead as we passed the Note Blue, and then down at our joined hands. "They won't, I promise," Light replied in a tone just as soft as mine, but there was something warm about his voice. It was surprisingly tender, surprisingly reassuring, and for some reason, I believed him.

I looked at the glass wall of the establishment as we passed. It felt as if time slowed for me. Standing behind a dark haired girl was another indistinguishable figure, just like the one that hovered behind Light. The accompanying headache pounded more painfully than it ever had before. No, it wasn't like the shadow I saw in my dreams. It was shaped differently, and it had an eye that was a golden yellow with a slit-shaped pupil.

But that wasn't the most surprising part of this encounter.

My eyes shifted from the shadow to the person it loomed over. My attention skimmed her appearance, her dainty hands holding her face, her short dark hair, her glasses, and her uniform, before locking on her eyes. They were dark in color, normal for an Asian country, but what struck me was her expression. There was such clear shock in her eyes. Shock, disbelief, and maybe even some fear, and it was all directed at me.

Then time started again, and the girl and the shadow were out of sight.

What the hell was that? I wondered to myself while we kept walking. That girl seemed to have seen something that brought on such a reaction, but what could it have been? Her attention was so clearly focused on me, but what about me could have caused that look on her face? I've never seen her before in my life, and nobody outside the Task Force knew who I am. So what could it be?

"What's wrong?" Light questioned.

"It's nothing," I mumbled, my mind still with the Note Blue.

We walked a little while longer until I couldn't take it anymore. My brain felt as if it was going to explode from the building pressure that had plagued my head all day. I came to a halt and pressed my palms against my forehead.

"Reika?" Haruka asked worriedly. I felt her arm go around my shoulders, and I leaned into her gratefully. Her presence was more comforting than it was actually helpful, but I still appreciated it.

"Hey, is she okay?" that was Matsuda. I closed my eyes, suddenly my mind couldn't handle the various colors of Aoyama. It hurt more than anything I've ever experienced. Hot tears slid down my face from the pain.

"I-I don't know," Haruka sounded panicked. "Reika, what's going on?" I wanted to answer her, but the pain was only getting worse. The sounds were getting to be too much. Traffic, voices, all of it. I tried to muffle the sounds with my hands, but it was futile. I heard voices near me, but I didn't care to make them out. No. All that mattered was stopping the pain.

Breathe, I ordered myself; not that thinking helped the splitting pain in my head.

"Does this happen often?"

"I wouldn't know. Light, is she okay?"

In.

"Reika, calm down. Is it your head?"

"Haruka, does she have any medications?"

Out.

"This has never happened before. I-I've n-never seen her…"

"Should we take her to a doctor?"

In.

"Reika, it's okay. Everything's okay."

"What's wrong, Reika?"

Open your eyes. My breathing hitched. No. That wasn't my voice. It wasn't my thought. Time's up, Essie. Open. Your. Eyes.

No. No. No. No. No. Not now. You aren't here. You're not real.

Stop being so stubborn and just open your eyes, his irritated, bossy voice somehow managed to relieve the pressure, just a little bit.

For some reason, I listened to him.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. Once I could see, the pain was entirely gone. Just like that. But it was as if I was seeing the world through stained glass. Everywhere I looked, I saw a red tint. Even the sky that was a pure light blue appeared to be red. Haruka's face and Matsuda's face, both displaying obvious concern, were tinted with red.

Then I noticed the characters floating above their heads. Just like in my dream. Words that shouldn't be there. Characters and letters spelling out their names. Haruka Kanai and Touta Matsuda, but it wasn't just them. No. The letters floated above every person's head. I could see them plain as day.

My eyes darted from one point to another. The strangest part of all this was how natural it all was. I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my entire being and a blindfold had been removed from my sight.

"Reika? Are you okay?" Haruka asked apprehensively.

I nodded, "Yeah. My head just…I haven't been feeling very well." It was odd, looking at this red-tinted Haruka with her name printed just above her head, but at the same time, I felt as if I hadn't truly seen her until this moment.

Matsuda laughed nervously, "You scared us just now, Reika." I turned my attention to the officer. The same happened with Matsuda. He looked exactly the same – well, granted he appeared to be tinted red – but there was something different about perceiving him.

"I think we should call it a day," Light suggested with a good-natured smile and his hand outstretched to me. It was then that I realized that I had sunk to the ground during the fit. I felt heat creep to my face but forced myself to ignore the embarrassment. I had much more important things to worry about than my pride.

Starting with the figure hovering behind Light – the figure that I could now see as clearly as Light himself. It wasn't just a shadow or a blur or a collection of features. It was an actual being. I took in its full appearance for the first time since I started to see it in reality. The creature resembled something almost human. However, its limbs were unusually long by human standards. It appeared to be wearing dark clothes, of what color I couldn't be sure with this red-tint staining everything I saw, but I could clearly see that its clothing seemed to be stitched into its body.

It noticed me staring at it, and it chuckled, the same raspy sound that I had heard for a month. I waited for the panicked feeling, or the headache, but I didn't feel either. In fact, I didn't even have a physical reaction to the creature at all.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Matsuda agreed. "Uh, Reika, do you think you should see a doctor or something?"

Haruka nodded, "Maybe you should, just in case something like this happens again."

Hospitals? I'd rather not. Honestly, it'd be more of a hassle than anything else. "I'll be fine," I smiled convincingly at the two of them. So we headed back to where we all came before parting ways. Haruka made me promise to contact her later to make sure I was fine, and soon enough, it was just we three from the Task Force.

"Well, nothing seemed out of the ordinary," Matsuda remarked as soon as Haruka, the last of the university students, was out of earshot.

"We'll talk about this later," I stated firmly. "Light, I don't really feel like going back to the hotel after that. Would it be alright if I go back with you?"

"Huh? Yeah, that's fine, but Reika, are you sure you don't want to go see a doctor?" Light asked.

"I'm sure," I assured him. If I really needed medical attention, I would go to Watari, but that certainly wasn't what I needed right now. In fact, I felt better than ever. Better than I had in the last month. Hell, better than I've felt since I left Wammy's. It was as if I had renewed energy, and for some reason, I got this feeling that it was time to get the answers I've been looking for. Answers that weren't in the Los Angeles report. Answers that Beyond wouldn't give me. And for some reason, I get the feeling that Light Yagami is the person to go to about these answers.

"Maybe you should…" Matsuda started.

"Take a message for me?" I asked with a sweet smile that I knew softhearted Matsuda wouldn't be able to say no to, "Let them know that I'm going to the Yagami's, and I'll be home later? Please? I'm fine, Taro, I promise."

"If you say so…" Matsuda reluctantly allowed.

Haruka seemed to be taking this exchange a little differently than its intended purpose. "Hey, Matsui, do you mind driving me back to my place? One of my friends dropped me off on her way to work, and I don't have a ride."

"Huh? Uh, yeah," Matsuda confusedly agreed.

Haruka grabbed Matsuda's arm and pulled him after her, "Bye Light, Reika, I'll see you two tomorrow!" she threw a wink over her shoulder and continued to lead Matsuda away, stumbling after her. Once they were gone, it was just Light and I.

"I think my mom would like to have some warning before someone visits," Light said in a politely mannered way. It bothered me that he was still keeping up this charade of being the well-mannered golden boy that he kept up when it was just us. Two people who knew the truth that he would never admit.

I laughed and pouted jokingly, "Light, you make it sound like you don't want me to stop by."

"As long as you don't mind a mess," Light remarked.

"Not at all." Light and I continued the friendly small talk and banter. From the outside, it might have looked like two friends leaving Aoyama, or even a young couple going home from a day out, but it was so much more than that. There were times when Light would try to trap me, to find a weak link, or something to compromise myself, but there were also the times when I would do the same thing to him, the times when I tried to cause him to reveal himself.

Upon entering the Yagami household, Light and I removed our shoes by the door. "I'm home," Light stated.

"Oh, Light, how was Aoyama?" Mrs. Yagami appeared in casual clothes much unlike the semi-formal dress I've seen her husband and son wear daily. Sachiko Yagami was a plain looking woman with short hair and slightly aged features.

"Did you see your girlfriend?" a much younger, higher pitched voice teased. She seemed to be a few years younger than Light, three years. The letters floating above her head read Sayu Yagami. I would be lying if I say I hadn't conducted a background check on them along with the other families involved in L's investigation. She stopped when she saw me, "I didn't know you were bringing a friend home, Light."

I immediately lowered my head to the woman, "I'm so sorry for intruding."

"It's not your fault, Reika," Light said smoothly. "Mom, this is Reika Endo, she's a friend fromTo-Oh. Something came up, so I invited her to come here for a little while."

"Well, that's fine, but some notice would have been nice," the Japanese woman's voice carried no ill will. Actually, she sounded almost fond.

"I'm really sorry," I apologized again, genuinely feeling guilty for appearing on such short notice. "I really just need to talk to Light about some notes for school. It won't take long."

She smiled kindly at me, "How about you stay for dinner? Is there anyone at home waiting for you?"

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose. Uh, no. My house mate should be working," I answered sheepishly. It was strange to me. I had never interacted with the parents of my peers. Often, I avoided interacting with many people, but now that L and Watari were in my life, I no longer had anything to hide from.

"Of course," Light answered for his mother and put his hand on my shoulder, leading me into the house, "it's not a problem at all, Reika. We're going to go look at the notes upstairs." I let Light practically push me up the stairs to his bedroom. It was relatively tidy, but obviously lived in. He closed the door behind us.

"Your family seems nice," I remarked casually as he passed me to sit at the edge of his bed, motioning for me to take the chair. Rather considerate of a killer if you ask me.

Light replied, "We're nothing special, just an ordinary family." For a moment I wondered what it was like to be someone like Light in an ordinary family. I wondered what it would be like to have an ordinary family. Mine certainly wasn't, but I never thought of that as a problem. "I assume there's something you wanted to talk about," Light prompted.

"Hmm?" I sat down on the chair in my favored position and eyed Light's room distractedly before focusing on him, "Oh, right. Yes, well, I'd like you to explain to me just what the hell that is." I pointed at the creature standing in the corner of the room. The very same humanoid figure that haunted my dreams and caused me to question my sanity on more than one occasion.

The same figure that chuckled in that strange quality I've heard so often lately, but this time something new happened. A voice that accompanied that laughter so well spoke, "Ah, looks like the cat's outta the bag, or whatever you humans say."

A/N... Now we're getting somewhere ^.^ I'm sorry it's taking so long for me to update. I hope you all enjoyed this ^.^

I'd just like to say thank you to everyone showing so much support in the reviews, you guys are awesome, and also, everyone following and favoriting this story. Thanks so much ^.^