Sorry it's taken so long, I had writer's block. u_u This chapter is probably rather weak because of that, but I hope you enjoy it anyway~
Ugh… The news is so boring! A dark haired girl shuffled her feet, watching the screen absentmindedly. She was laying belly-down on her bed, her feet kicking against each other rhythmically. She was lucky she was allowed to have a TV at all. Most of the children there at Whammy's didn't get TVs, Roger was just lenient with her because she was number one after Near and Mello left. Not like being number one mattered, though. Now that L was dead, the rankings didn't matter. Near took L's place, but she had a feeling that he wouldn't be nearly as good as L. The white-haired boy had always sulked around the orphanage, mumbling to himself and playing childish games with his toys. And when he wasn't doing that, he was solving the same puzzle he solved a million times before. The brunette wasn't going to lie; he scared her. "Where's Kira lately?" she mused to herself. "The coward hasn't shown his face in quite some time. Did the police scare him off?"
The teenager sighed, rolling over to her back and staring at the ceiling. After she finished her sentence, the girl felt something brush across her arm. Huh? She pushed her dark brown locks out of her face and went to scratch the area her arm was touched.. She then froze in shock. A tall, ugly black creature hovered in the middle of her bedroom, holding piece of lined paper in its sharp nails. Its yellow eyes were bulging out of its dark gray face, red pupils staring blankly at her. Its mouth was pulled into a twisted, toothy grin. "Hello, Raven." the creature cackled evilly.
The young woman sat up quickly, her bright blue eyes fixed on the other creature's. "How do you know my name?"
"Can't tell you that," he replied. "I'm only here to make a deal with you."
Raven hesitated. As much as this strange creature scared her, she was intrigued. "What kind of deal?"
The creature's body shook in laughter, before pulling out a small black notebook. He held it out in front of him. "You can have this notebook, or my eyes."
"Why would I want your eyes?" the brunette retorted.
"Oh, you don't get my actual eyes. Just the power that comes with them."
"Power…?" Raven's face lit up with interest. "Can you elaborate?"
"Sorry, you're just going to have to choose. I can't tell you anything." he replied blankly.
"…Is this some sort of joke?" she demanded, her gaze fixed on the notebook he was holding out.
"Nope, no joke. You should also keep your voice down, you're the only one who can hear or see me."
Raven examined the black demon-creature, her eyes narrowed. Who… Is this? A better question would be what is it. I've never seen anything like it. But I do kind of like the idea of a power.. Maybe it can help me catch Kira. Or more…
"Alright, fine," she huffed. "I'll take the eyes."
The creature erupted in a fit laughter that lasted for a few moments. "Forgive me. I'm just thinking about how amusing this is going to be."
Raven blinked, focusing on the TV. Names and numbers hung above the new reporter's heads. "What did you do?" she hissed, whipping towards the cackling creature.
"You have the eyes of a Shinigami now. You can see people's names and lifespans. Oh yeah, and my name is Ryuk. And I wouldn't mind it if you gave me an apple."
"Ryuk, huh…" Raven muttered, examining the Shinigami carefully before chuckling. "Alright, I'll get you an apple. But answer a few more questions first."
L and Light arrived on time at their new apartment in Tokyo. The apartment was already fully furnished, thanks to Watari, and Light had a set of his taste in clothing. He even took the time to fill the refrigerator with L's favorite sweets. "Wow, Watari really knows how to prepare."
L chewed on his index finger. "I wouldn't expect anything less."
The apartment consisted of a kitchen, a bath, a living area, a dining area, and a bedroom. It wasn't very large, but that wasn't important. Light collapsed on the plush couch in their living area, turning on a flat screen TV. After only a few moments of watching the news, he felt the chain tugging against his wrist. Light looked up and watched as L began to walk towards the kitchen, pulling his wrist forcefully. He huffed irritably, grabbing it and stopping L in his tracks. "Ryuzaki, I'm not going anywhere. These handcuffs aren't necessary."
L paused, standing there for a while. Light began to wonder if he said something wrong. As even more moments passed on, Light gave a small tug on the chain, snapping L back into reality. "Oh, Light-kun. I apologize."
"It's fine. Now about the chain…" He rattled it loudly for emphasis.
"I'd prefer it if you wore it." L replied bluntly, pulling Light off the couch and towards the kitchen with L.
Light's eyes narrowed. "Why? I have no where else to go. All of Japan is probably looking for me."
"It's just a safety precaution, Light-kun." L said as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a fancy-looking strawberry cheesecake. He cut two slices, one for him and one for Light. He then proceeded to make them both a cup of tea, filling one glass to the brim with sugar cubes. He guided Light over to a small kitchen table to eat their snack.
Light was less enthusiastic about his cake than L was, mostly because he didn't really like sweets. He toyed with it, rolling a strawberry around before penetrating it and bringing it to his mouth. By then, L had already devoured half of his treat. Light shook his head. "I don't see how you do it."
L chewed ignorantly. "Do what, Light-kun?"
"You eat like a couch potato, yet you keep the physique of something between a normal weight and a starving child." Light replied, bring a small chunk of cake to his lips.
"I've found that you don't gain much weight as long as you burn calories using your brain." L stated matter-of-factly, scooping up his last bit of cake.
Light remembered when he had said the same thing to Misa all those years ago and felt a wave of nostalgia rush over him. Then a thought dawned on him. Misa. Where is she? I haven't heard anything about her in a while… And knowing her, she would be searching the globe trying to find me. "Hey, Ryuzaki, do you know where Misa is?" Light asked, turning to the detective who had begun to eat from his plate.
"No, I can't say I do." L answered.
Light frowned. "She hasn't been featured in any of the recent magazines and she hasn't appeared on TV. Doesn't that strike you as abnormal?"
"Perhaps she's taking a break?" L suggested, breaking another piece of Light's cake off.
Light shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I think the Task Force is involved."
"Are you worried about her?" L asked, his wide eyes watching him blankly as he bit into a strawberry.
"It's not that I'm worried. It's just that Misa isn't involved in all of this, she's innocent." Light replied, crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair.
"She was involved, Light-kun. There's no doubt in my mind that Misa Amane was the second Kira." L told him as he sipped his sugar-loaded tea.
"Then she was controlled by me." Light said hesitantly, but firmly. "If Misa still had Kira's power, she would be killing. But she isn't."
"Yes, Amane did lose her memories like you did…" L murmured thoughtfully. "Are you wishing we try and find her?"
Light winced. The rising model had been quite a burden on him. She was very loud and clingy and insisted that she loved him, even though they had nothing in common. But Light couldn't help but feel guilty for letting Misa get captured like that, especially if he caused it. "…Yes, I suppose."
Light noticed that L had frowned at his response, clearly not wanting to go through the work of retrieving the blonde. "Light-kun, I understand what you are saying. But I don't think there will be any easy way getting to Amane. Locating her will have to wait."
"What if I had gotten captured?" Light argued as his eyes challenged the insomniac. "Would you have waited?"
L's gaze fell to the floor. "Light-kun, that is a different situation. I faked my death to save you, not Misa-san."
"I don't care." Light snapped, his tone serious. "Misa got captured because of me. I was given a second chance, so should she."
"You're being serious about this, aren't you…" L murmured quietly, stirring his tea with his finger.
Light nodded. "Yes. We don't have to keep her with us, but I don't want her to be in prison."
"…If she is in prison, then there won't be any way of retrieving her. But if the task force his still holding on to her, then we have a chance." the sugar addict sighed after a moment as he chewed on his index finger.
Light smiled slightly as he sipped the rest of his tea. "Thank you, Ryuzaki."
Misa stomped her feet- or attempted to. She was strapped to a chair, much like she had been before when L had captured her. She had the same black blindfold over her eyes, leaving her unaware to her surroundings. "Misa isn't Kira!" she cried, struggling against the restraints. "Release me, I have to find Light! He's probably worried sick!"
A synthetic voice came over the speakers, chilling her to the bone. It reminded her of L. "Light was confronted with being Kira. Misa Amane, do you know anything about this?"
Misa's eyes widened underneath the blindfold. Light… Kira? No, it couldn't be. They're lying. Not that it matters, though. I adore Kira almost as much as Light. "Light isn't Kira, we live together and he hasn't once done anything suspicious." Misa retorted. "Now release me, this game is getting old! You're almost as bad as L, tying me up like this. Are you a pervert too?"
"A pervert?" the voice echoed. "No, I am not. As for releasing you, I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, you're suspected of being the second Kira. We have a lot of evidence against you."
Misa groaned. "That again? That's what L tied me up for too, but he released me. Because Misa isn't Kira!" She screeched the last sentence, continuing to writhe underneath the straps.
"L provided impressive evidence against you, he just never got around to testing it because he was killed by your fiancé." the synthetic voice sounded very calm as it spoke to her. "Amane, if you are faking, please drop it. Your confinement like this will drag on until you give us answers. Now I will ask you again. Do you know anything about Light being Kira?"
"No, I live with Light and I know he hasn't done anything that has to do with Kira!" Misa cried. "Why can't you believe me?"
Near thumped his fingers against the desk as he spoke with Misa. He was growing more and more frustrated as the conversation continued, becoming convinced that she had once again lost her memories. But unlike L, he didn't want to let go of her that easily. "Roger," he spoke in a low monotone as he watched Misa's movements. "Has Stephen come up with a list yet?"
Roger was like a Watari to Near. He assisted him and cared for him, even paying for the expensive price of all his toys. "Yes. He says the people closest to Light were the task force members and Misa Amane. Light didn't go out much so he didn't have many friends."
Near's eyes narrowed. "I see… Let's take the time back before L died."
Roger raised an eyebrow. "Before L died?"
"Yes. Did he have any friends then?"
He heard Roger and Stephen quietly conversing behind him. Grabbing the microphone in front of him, Near pressed a button before speaking. "Misa Amane, who all has Light established relationships with?"
"Only me!" came the high pitched shriek. "We're engaged, after all. Light wouldn't cheat on me."
Near rolled his eyes. "No, I mean on a friend level." he explained.
"Oh." Misa paused, thinking it over. "He never really leaves the apartment unless he's with me. The closest he's ever gotten to people was the task force. He's always so busy!"
Near frowned. Just what Stephen had said, only Misa and the task force. He swiveled his chair towards Roger and Stephen. "Have you come up with anything?"
Roger shook his head. "No, the only friendship he established during that time was with L, but he ended up killing him."
"Light befriended L?" Near asked, raising an eyebrow.
"More like an alliance. Probably so the two could pry out more information about each other." Stephen sighed, leaning back in his office chair. "Obviously the friendship didn't matter much since Light killed L in the end."
"Light befriended L…" Near repeated and trailed off, his eyes deep in thought.
Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you think it deserves it! ;D