I'll be waiting

Author's Note: Hope you like this chapter. This story will be told in various points of views, mostly Aaralyn's. If I don't mark it, it's probably Aaralyn's POV. I might switch between characters POV but I will write that the perspective has changed to someone else. This chapter is Aaralyn's, Light, and Aaralyn's in point of view. Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. Never have, never will.

Chapter 1

Aaralyn's POV

Waking up from a dream only to find yourself in the middle of a nightmare that you cannot hope to escape is a very horrible feeling. I felt as if I was being in the middle of a large body of water, being tossed and turned around by waves crashing all around me, dragging me further beneath its cold, relentless waves. I was drowning in a river of sorrow. As hard as I fought, I couldn't win.

My heart lay broken. Shattered by the wind into a million tiny shards that can never be put back together. No matter how many times I try, I'll never be able to pick up the pieces. I was broken. The only thing that held me down was the baby that was growing inside me. I had to be strong. For my baby. And for L.

I don't know for how long I had been wavering in limbo, stuck between consciousness and unconsciousness but I knew I could not continue on like this. I opened my eyes slowly, looking carefully around at my surroundings. I was in the same room where that man, Matsui had told me to wait in. It was lying on a large bed, tucked in a blue cherry blossom print comforter. Above me, hung a white canopy. The walls were painted a very faint pink that they looked white.

I had not the strength to go on. How could I when I knew L was dead. I feel so alone. As I lie on the bed, I think back to the day I met L all those years ago. I had only just arrived at Whammy's house with Matt, after we'd been allowed to leave the hospital where we had been, healing from the injuries we had gotten in the accident. We had been told that we survived by some miracle but I knew better. Our mother had thrown her body over us to protect us. She used her body as a shield.

Our parents died before they reached the hospital but we survived. Since we had no other living relatives, we were to be taken to an orphanage, where they would perhaps separate us. I fought with all I had to keep Matt with me; after all I was all he had.

Then they discovered that Matt and I were extraordinarily gifted. Matt more so than me. They called Watari. He came and took us to the orphanage for gifted children. That was where I saw L for the very first time. He was always hiding in the shadows, watching us. He was a strange boy who didn't like to be in the company of others. He preferred to be by himself.

I remember that one day, a few months later, on Matt's birthday, all the other children gathered around to celebrate with us. Of course L kept his distance. I watched him. He was eyeing the cake and sweets that cook prepared. But he didn't dare come too close. I had heard from a boy my brother's age called Mello that Ryuzaki, the name they knew him by, was anti-social. None of the children dared to get to close to him. They feared him. The young children said he was an alien or some sort of monster that ate brains. They would tell the wildest tales about Ryuzaki.

I thought it was ridiculous. I remember grabbing a plate and piling it with cake and sweets and I offered it to him. L only watched me, studying me before he accepted the plate. He was a strange boy but he never ceased to amaze me. I sought him out a lot, always prepared with sweets. He was my age, only a few months younger but taller. We became good friends. I think I was the only person other than Watari that he trusted wholeheartedly. He trusted me enough to reveal to me his greatest secret. He told me he was L, the World's Greatest Detective. I believed him and even helped him in various occasions. We were a team and I slowly vegan to fall in love with the strange young man with an extreme love for sweets.

My mind was whirling with memories of L. I still couldn't believe that he was dead. I think if not for Matt or the baby that was growing inside me, I would have lost the will to keep on living.

I looked up as I heard the door open. Matsui came in, holding what seemed to be a tray of food.

"You're awake...I would ask how you're feeling but I'm sure that's a stupid question." He said with concern. "I've brought you some food."

I looked at him but didn't speak. In truth, I wasn't hungry. I didn't feel like doing anything, truth be told. I just wanted to forget. I wanted to think that this was all a nightmare but I knew it wasn't.

"This isn't a dream. Ryuzaki is really dead." I managed to say but barely above a whisper. It wasn't a question but a statement of fact.

Matsui only nodded looking at me sadly. "Yes. I myself find it hard to believe. If I hadn't seen him die, I probably wouldn't believe it." He went silent for a moment. "I'm sorry."

I smiled sadly, feeling tears in my eyes. I didn't want to cry nor had the strength. I fought the tears forcing myself to keep myself from crying. "Yeah, me too. Where is Watari?" I asked.

Matsui shifted uncomfortably. He didn't have to say anything because I understood. Watari was also dead.

My heart ached. Watari was gone. How could it be? Watari had been so kind to us. He took us to Wammy's after our parents died. He wouldn't allow my brother and me to be separated. I cared a lot about him. He was like a grandfather to me. And now he too was dead.

Matsui looked at me with concern. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say to lessen your grief. I should probably not talk at all. I always tend to put my foot in my mouth." He said smiling sadly. "I don't mean to intrude and it's not any of my business to ask, but I was wondering how you knew L...Ryuzaki? You said he was your fiancé? Ryuzaki didn't mention you. And frankly I wouldn't have thought he had a fiancée. Sorry, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. "

I smiled slightly as I watched him try to ask questions without making me feel worse. Other police officers would have given me a full-blown interrogation. "its okay, Matsui. I don't mind." I sigh thinking clearly about what I was going to say. I didn't want to give away to much information that could lead to the discovery of my true identity or L's if they didn't already know. I knew that my words could jeopardize more than my life. I could jeopardize the lives of Matt, Near, Mello, Roger as well as my child's. Until Kira was caught, I had to be cautious. "I met Ryuzaki when we both were 15 years old. My parents passed away so my brother and I were taken in by Watari. Ryuzaki was already living in the orphanage where Watari brought us to. We became friends and he told me he was L. I helped him in various cases and I guess we gradually fell in love..."

Tears formed in my eyes but I bit my lip to hold them back. Taking a deep breath, I continued. "I told you that Ryuzaki was my fiancé when I saw you. That was technically not true but it's not a lie either. We weren't officially engaged. L had came to work on this case before that. This was going to be his last case before he retired."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. The Task Force probably will want to know but I asked them to let me talk to you first. They are probably listening to us as we speak." Matsui said.

I nodded in acknowledgement. I was aware that perhaps there were surveillance cameras and microphones wired in the room. L was always very thorough and I guessed that surveillance of the entire building was necessary. It was so typical of him.

I got up from my bed hoping to eat some of that delicious smelling food that was unfamiliar to me when suddenly I felt ill. I ran to the bathroom and puked whatever I had in my stomach. Great, I'm starting to get morning sickness, I thought.

Matsui looked at me with concern when I came out of the bathroom. "Are you alright, Crystal? What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just feeling a little bit out of the weather." I said. I didn't tell him that I am pregnant because I didn't want anyone on the Task Force knowing. I had made up my mind. I wanted to join the Task Force and help catch Kira. I had to. I wouldn't rest until that murder paid for his crimes. I would avenge L and Watari's deaths by bringing Kira to justice. Kira's reign of terror would end soon. I couldn't say that I was pregnant because I wouldn't be allowed to if they knew.

"Oh well, okay. I guess I'll leave you alone now." He said looking relieved.

"Matsui...now that L is gone...who'll take over the investigation? I presume that this investigation will continue? Am I right?"

"I'm not sure. I guess perhaps the Chief will or maybe Light." He said.

"I see...I want to talk to them, if I may?" I said.

A voice echoed through the room a moment later. It was a man's voice. "Ms. Reynolds, you wish to speak with myself or Light. Is that correct? May I ask, what do you want to talk to us about?"

I simply nod in the direction of the voice. "I want to join the Task Force. I want to capture Kira and bring him to justice. I want him to pay for what he's done. For all the pain and suffering he has caused. And I want to avenge L and Watari's deaths. I swear that I will not rest until Kira is dead."

I was determined. I put on the bravest face that I could muster. I wanted revenge and I would get it. After all Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Kira would pay. I will make sure of that.

Light's POV

I glared at the screen. Crystal Reynolds had openly challenged me without knowing that I was Kira. She was foolish. And soon she would be dead. I would have to make sure of that. For now, I would let her live for a while longer and then I would make her disappear like I had done with Naomi Misora.

Shame. She was a very beautiful woman. I still couldn't get it through my mind that she was in love with L. Perhaps, I could use her. She was much more beautiful than Misa. Perhaps there was no need to kill her. When I achieved my goal and became the god of a new world, I will need a woman by my side. Crystal will be mine. I would bend her to my will. I would have to get rid of Misa first. With Rem out of the picture, Misa was unprotected.

I smiled internally as I began to formulate my next move. I would try to get close to Crystal and I would break her spirit.

"Dad, I think we should let her join? She knew L better than any of us. She could help us catch Kira. I'm sure Ryuzaki would have wanted it." I said as I looked over at my father. He looked conflicted.

"I don't agree, Chief." Aizawa said. "She is not thinking straight. She wants to avenge her fiancé. She is hurt."

"We realize that, Aizawa, but we have to think of what's best for the investigation. She knew L. She knows how he worked. She could take L's place. Besides, since L is dead, this place now belongs to her. We need a base of operations. Why move now? Perhaps, we can recover the information from the hard drive." I said.

"I don't know, Light. We don't know much about her. How do we know we can trust her? How do we know that she is who she says she is?" Sochiro said.

"She is Crystal Reynolds. She was one of the very few people that L trusted." a voice said. Aiber and Wedy stood there, looking straight at the screen where we observed Crystal eating while she waited for our decision. Matsuda was talking to her. They seemed to get along already.

"You know her?" Aizawa asked still looking unconvinced.

"Yes, we do. We worked with L and she was always with him. Though we didn't know that they were engaged." Aiber said.

"I suspected that there was something going on between them." Wedy said. "I wasn't sure but I had the impression that they had feelings for each other."

"Aiber. Wedy. Do you think we can trust her?" I asked.

"Of course. She is intelligent. She is gifted and will be an asset to the team. And I believe that she may know more than she lets on. I don't think it is a coincidence that she appeared the same day that L died. He must have contacted her beforehand." Aiber said.

"Now that you mention it, it is rather strange." I said. "We need to question her further before we can make a decision."

I was about to press the button to turn on the microphone when I noticed Crystal running to the bathroom again. "Matsuda, what's going on?"

"I don't know. Crystal said she is just a little sick. It might be stomach flu." Matsuda said as he looked towards the door of the bathroom. "Light, what's going to happen to her? Is she going to join us?"

Before I could reply, Crystal emerged from the bathroom, holding her locket in her hand like if it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

"I have in my possession all the information about this case. L made sure that someone he trusted had access to it in case something happened to him and Watari. The only problem is that he thought I was at home, safe from all of this." Crystal said. "I saw the screens. You lost all of the data you had stored until yesterday. I have it all. You need me. Either you let me join the task force or I go and give this information to another member country of the ICPO."

Aizawa growled "Is she threatening us? If we don't let her join us, she'll give someone else the information we worked hard to acquire. We were willing to give up our lives to get all that information and now we have to abide by one girl's wishes to get it back!"

"That's Crystal, alright." Aiber commented, chuckling for a moment. "If she doesn't get her way, she plays dirty. She's just like L."

"I think we should let her join. She has the information. We have no choice." My dad said. Be turned to me and nodded.

"Fine, Crystal. You win. You can join us." I said. I made myself sound annoyed and defeated but inside I was excited. Crystal was walking straight into my hands. She was being foolish if she truly believed that she would catch Kira.

I watched her intently as she acknowledged what I just told her. I was going to turn of the surveillance cameras when she spoke.

"Before I hand over the information, I have to do a few things. I also have questions. But first, I have to go out and purchase a few things. When I came, I didn't bring very much with me. And I have to see a doctor. This stomach flu is getting to me."

"Alright. You may go and buy whatever you need. I presume you have money." I said.

"Yes, I have money. Watari made a bank account for me on Ryuzaki's orders." She answered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to change clothes. Please turn off all surveillance cameras. Matsui, you should go."

Not needed to be told twice, Matsuda left the room. I hesitated to turn off all cameras. Wedy turned them off after my hesitation. She whispered the word pervert underneath her breath. I turned and glared at her. A few minutes later, Matsuda returned followed by Crystal. She looked much more beautiful in person. Her long red hair was braided down her back. Her green eyes reflected intense determination. I took note of her clothes. She wore a loose fitted gray sweater and jeans.

"Hello, Crystal." Aiber said. She hadn't noticed him or Wedy because when she did her facial expressions.

"Aiber. Wedy. What are you two doing here? Nevermind. I'm so glad to see you." She said.

"We're glad to see you too, kid." Wedy said as she hugged Crystal for a moment before pulling away. Aiber kissed her hand like a gentleman. Aizawa uses that moment to break up their little reunion.

Crystal turned around and her eyes met mine. Time seemed to stand still.

Aaralyn's POV

When my eyes met Light's I felt a shiver down my spine. I sensed something sinister from him. I knew that L suspected him of being Kira and I was thinking that he was right. L never jumped to conclusions without thinking about things thoroughly. He never made assumptions. My heart told me that L was right. This young man is Kira. There isn't any doubts in my mind. But if I was going to prove that, I had to act as if I didn't believe that Light is Kira. I would pretend to be on his side. I would get close to him and get him to trust me. Sooner or later he would make a mistake and I would make him pay for what he did.

"You must be Light Yagami." I said as I put on an act. "I read about you in the files I received. I know that L believed you are Kira."

Light looked taken aback as did everyone else. He looked away for a moment before he turned to me. There was sadness in his eyes that looked too sincere to be real.

"Yes, he did. But I am not Kira." He said silently almost as if he was hurt.

"L was wrong. Light isn't Kira. We proved it." Matsui said trying to convince me. He sounded as if he truly believed what be said was true. Light was a better actor than I thought if he was able to fool the Task Force with ease. Sochiro Yagami, Light's father obviously believed in his son's innocence. I mean, what father would want to believe that that their child was a murderer. If I was him, I would probably believe the same thing.

"I know. I don't believe that Light is Kira either. As much as it hurts me, I believe L was wrong. Although he had never been wrong before, I'm inclined to think that this time he was wrong." I lied. I knew that they believed me, I was a good liar which was why I helped L in several cases. I was a master at manipulation, something I wasn't proud of but now I had to be. For L's sake, I would pretend. I wasn't sure if Light himself believed me.

"Thanks, Crystal. I'm glad that you don't think I'm Kira. Working with alongside would be very uncomfortable if you doubted my innocence." Light said.

"It's alright. I just want to find the real Kira and make him pay. But in order to do so, we will have to work together." I said holding out my hand to Light. He took it and we shook hands. I smiled. I had to earn his trust.

"It's good to have you on the team. With your help, we'll catch Kira. L's death will not have been in vain." Light declared. I just nod in agreement.

"Yes, we will bring Kira to justice. I will avenge L. And the world will not suffer from Kira's reign of terror anymore." I said.

"Where is the information." a man with an Afro said. "If you in deed have it?"

I opened the locket, extracting the microchip with the files I'd received. This was only a copy of the original. The original had more information that L kept to himself. He didn't trust them enough with these files. Within them, were instructions in the situation of his death. And I planned on following through with them. I had to find a way to contact Near, Mello and Matt without being discovered. They would investigate the case separately as L's successors. I would keep their existence a secret for now. And of course, I had to keep L's true name a secret. For now I would take over as L. No one else, other than the Task Force, Near, Mello, Matt, Roger, myself and another select few would know that L was gone.

"Within this microchip, I have all of the information pertaining to this investigation. I will keep it for the time being, for security purposes. I need to know if I can trust you." I questioned looking at everyone gathered.

"That seems fair." Sochiro said.

I carefully place the chip back in the locket. All eyes are on me. "Okay, now that that is settled, I'll have to ask to be excused for a couple of hours. As I said before, I have a few things to take care of before I start the investigation." I say.

"Of course. Take the time you need. Just be careful if you're going out. It's dangerous out there." Sochiro said. "Matsuda, you are to escort her to where she needs to go."

Matsui or rather Matsuda nods. I wasn't happy about having been assigned someone to guard me while I was out but I was glad it was Matsuda. He looked like a good person and I felt I could trust him.

"I'll go with them." Wedy says. "It's been so long since I've seen you, Crystal. We have to catch up."

I smile and nod. As I am about to turn to leave, Light speaks up. "Crystal, before you go. Would you mind telling us L's real name. We have to make preparations for his and Watari's funeral."

I paused for a moment. I expected that Light wanted to know the name of his greatest enemy but he wouldn't know. I would never reveal that to him.

"L's name...His name is L Ryuzaki." I lied again.

"L Ryuzaki? Are you sure?" Aizawa asked. "He said that was an alias?"

"Of course he said it was an alias. He was always careful. He never revealed his real name unless absolutely necessary. He gave you his real name and led you to believe it was an alias as a test. If he died, it would prove that one of you is Kira." I said, explaining L's methods. "Watari would then have contacted me or someone else and continued the investigation."

Without waiting for further questions, I walked away, with Matsuda and Wedy following close behind. I did notice the expression on Light's face before I walked away. Disbelief was etched in his face. I smirked as my plan was already set in motion. Soon, Kira would be caught and I would avenge L's death. Not for myself, but for my baby. L's child that I carried. I had to make the world safe for this innocent child to live without fear. The world today was too dangerous even if it didn't seem like it. I wanted my son or daughter to live in a world free of Kira. This was what L would have wanted. I know it.

Author's Note: Wow, this was one really long chapter. I really do hope that you like it. This is the first time I have written a story and I want to know honestly if im doing ok. I want to thank Cherry Blossoms 1991 for being an awesome friend and beta reader.