Yay! A snow day! I've really been putting off this story a lot, but rereading this chapter, I feel like I should start working on it again!

So yeah, I'm going to put up the standard disclaimer and actually work, instead of putting it off like I usually do. So, I don't own. Wait, I want to make this a bit more humorous.

Roses are red, violets are blue,

I don't own this shit,

But neither do you!

---humor?---

Naeko closed the door to her bedroom with a satisfying click. Luckily, her uncle had been at work and her aunt had gone shopping, so sneaking Light into the house hadn't been all too hard. The taller boy now stood in the middle of her room, unsure whether to take a seat or to remain standing. Ryuk had plopped down on the bed like he owned it, but not before looking around a bit to familiarize himself with the room.

"Now, care to explain?" Naeko said, gesturing from Light to Ryuk and vise versa. Light sighed and pulled out the death note, handing it to Naeko.

"There are instructions on how to use the death note on the first page." Naeko took the book and flinched after reading the first few sentences. Reading further, she finished the instructions and went on to flipped through the covered pages Light had filled with names.

"Well, you sure have been busy, haven't you?" Naeko said sarcastically. She knew a few of the names from television and newspapers, but most of them didn't ring any bells. Light made a small noise of agreement. Naeko looked up to see him staring at her, and her face immediately contorted to that of annoyance. "Could you stop looking at me like that? It's creeping me out."

Naeko sighed and handed the death note back to Light, who accepted it but didn't put it back into his school bag. "So, what do you think?" Ryuk asked, watching Naeko from the edge of her own bed.

Naeko thought for a moment before waving a hand dismissively. "I don't know if I can believe it," she admitted. "But if it is real, I don't want to be proven wrong. Killing an innocent person is just wrong, and I don't think a silly notebook can do anything anyway."

"Yes, but this is a shinigami notebook," Light said calmly. "It has special powers that humans would never have on their own."

"I still don't want to believe you," Naeko said stubbornly. "Besides, what would any normal, sane person do with a killing notebook?"

Light took a moment before he answered. "That person could create a new world," he said softly. "A world devoid of criminals and wrong-doers. A world where only the pure and loyal were allowed to live without fear of pain and suffering."

Naeko looked surprised for a moment, and then she contemplated the boy's words. "But, in order to get that pure world, you have to have a mass murder spree!" she concluded, a shrill tone edging into her voice. "I agree that a world like the one you described would be wonderful, how many people do you think are really pure? There are plenty of people in the world who have done small things, like stealing on accident, or accidentally defacing or breaking something."

Light scowled. "How do you accidentally steal something?"

Naeko thought for a moment again before slamming a fist into the palm of her hand. "I know!" she said enthusiastically. "When we were little, my mom took me and my friend shopping. When we found a box of bracelets, my mom said that we could each pick one out, but I couldn't find one I liked, so I just helped my friend pick one out. My friend was so thrilled, she immediately put it on. But when we got to the checkout, we had already totally forgotten about the bracelets, and the door alert didn't beep when she walked through. So she sort of accidentally stole the bracelet. See?" Naeko asked, happy she had been able to think of a good example.

"The girl has a point," Ryuk said, looking to Light to see the boy's reaction. Naeko looked to Light also, and realized the boy was having some sort of internal struggle.

Finally, Lights response came as a gruff admit of defeat. "I suppose that a case like that could be overlooked, but later, did your friend ever think of giving the bracelet back to the store, or going back to pay for it?"

Naeko laughed a little, nervous, laugh. "Well, we were sort of only passing through the city, so she really didn't get a chance to go back. Otherwise, I'm sure she would have"

Light nodded, satisfied. Ryuk felt his stomach rumble a little, so he rudely asked, "Hey girl, got any apples? I'm starving!"

Naeko look at Ryuk, and then at Light, thoroughly confused. "Apples?" she questioned, as though she hadn't quite heard the shinigami correctly. Light sighed and put a timid hand on Naeko's shoulder.

"Come on, I'll go with you to the kitchen." Ryuk smirked gracefully, positive that Light intended to do something dirty while he wasn't watching.

"I'll be waiting, so hurry back up!" Ryuk said as the two teens left into the hall a moment later. Ryuk snickered and then glanced out of Naeko's bedroom window. He was surprised to find Naeko's window was right across from Light's. What kind of game is the guy upstairs playing? Trying to get the two together, is he?

Meanwhile, Light and Naeko were heading downstairs, Naeko leading the way. Light had only been in the neighbors' house a few times, and that was only when he stopped by to see if they would buy for a school fundraiser. Well, that was one of the times, but he couldn't remember the one other time he knew he had been there. It had been a time he didn't want to remember, that was for sure, because the memory was locked up tight in the back of his head. He could remember several people wearing black, most of whom he didn't know, and then he was hugging a little girl tightly. The girl was crying, and he was trying to comfort her but her tears just kept coming. Something vibrated against his chest, and he knew the girl was talking into his shirt, but he couldn't hear the words she was saying. Those were locked up too, just as tight as the rest of the memories were.

"…Awake? Hello? Anyone there?" Light shook his head, not realizing he had spaced out for the whole walk down to the kitchen.

"Oh, sorry. I was just…trying to think of something." Light smiled to Naeko, who just gave the guy a look that clearly said he was crazy.

"Well, whatever. If you want something to drink, you can grab a coke or a glass of juice from the fridge. I'll wash the apples once I find them…" Naeko glanced around the kitchen, trying to think of where it was her aunt always used to keep the apples and other delicious fruits.

"You don't know where they are?" Light asked, a small smirk set at the edge of his mouth.

"No," Naeko answered back almost immediately. "I just got here last night, and I went to bed almost immediately. Woke up, had breakfast…never questioning where anything came from. I bet you don't even know where the Windex is in your own house."

Light opened his mouth to answer, but then realized he had to think. They kept most of the cleaning supplies in the hall closet, but because he never really used anything but the broom and duster, and because some of the supplies were spread across the household, it was hard to tell where the window cleaner was.

"It's hard to tell," he answered, giving neither a yes nor a no to the question. Naeko rolled her eyes and opened a nearby cabinet, hoping there was a basket of fruit inside. No luck.

"Well, if you aren't going to get anything to drink, why don't you help me look?" Light made a secret look of disdain at the girl's back, and decided he wouldn't help in any way, shape, or form.

"Actually, I think I'll get a glass of water. Where are the cups?" the boy asked, leaning nonchalantly against the kitchen counter. Naeko threw him a furious look over her shoulder and Light smirked, glad to know he was the one to cause Naeko's fury and wrath. Although, he didn't honestly like the idea of the wrath being directed at him.

"Look. For. It. Your. Self." Naeko ground out. She slammed the cabinet doors shut and moved on to the pantry. It was Light's turn to roll his eyes – a very childish action he rarely expressed – and then flipped around to search through the hanging cabinets for a small glass he could put his water in. Not that he really wanted the water itself. It was just too much fun to watch this girl frustrate herself even more. Opening up a cupboard, Light found that luck was his today. Reaching up and grabbing a clear crystal juice cup, Light closed the cabinet and walked over to the sink, filling up the glass to its edge before deciding to check in on Naeko. It had been a while since she sighed, yelled, or just made any sort of noise.

Light moved to the pantry door just as Naeko was coming out. The two collided, and Light's glass fell to of his hand, shattering on the tile floor and sending glass shards and water everywhere. Light and Naeko stayed where they were, both having no shoes on and not wanting to step on any of the sharp crystal pieces.

"I'm sorry," Light said as he stretched to reach a hand-towel hanging off on the nearby stove. (You know how some stoves have those bars? Yeah, it was there, just so that you guys don't think I'm trying to burn anything down or anything…) Bending down, Light managed to wipe up a small area for the two to move around in safely.

"No, it's fine," Naeko replied. She just watched as Light moved around, trying to create a pathway to the living room. Naeko followed him, hoping to reach the broom by the kitchen door, but she accidentally slipped on a patch of water that Light hadn't gotten to and fell.

"Ouch! Dammit…"

"Naeko, are you okay?" Light asked. He had abandoned his previous job and was now hovering over the fallen girl, hand extended to help her up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Naeko took Light's hand and was about to pull herself up, but Light realized he had stepped in the same puddle of water Naeko had. Another moment and it was too late. With little traction on the wet ground, Light came tumbling down with a slight tug of Naeko's hand.

"Gah!" Naeko shouted as Light's form fell over her, partially covering her wet body. "Couldn't you have been a bit more graceful as you squished me into mush?" she yelled, pounding onto Light's back with her free arm.

"Will you shut up?" Light asked, pushing himself up. "It's not like I purposefully spilled my water so I could fall on you!"

Naeko pouted and then looked into Light's serious, brown eyes. A memory flashed through her head of a boy with the same brown eyes, but she shook her head thoroughly and the painful memory faded away. "Get off," she demanded.

"Why should I?" Light seethed. He did not take orders from anyone. If he was going to be the god of a new world, then he had to act like one.

In that case, why was he laying on the kitchen floor of a person he had just met, in a very suggestive position?

"Naeko darling, I'm home!" Naeko paled when she heard her aunt's overly peppy voice coming in through the front door. Damn. Why did the kitchen have to be so easily viewable from the living room?

"What are you…doing?" Naeko's aunt asked as she stepped into the kitchen, several large paper shopping bags in hand.

"Um, well, you see…"

"OH! I'm so happy! Already my popular little Naeko-chan has made a "friend"! Oh! But you probably shouldn't do anything down here; your uncle should be coming home soon! Why don't you two go up to Naeko-chan's bedroom. Just don't do anything you'll regret, okay?" Mayako winked, and Naeko and Light both felt their faces reach new levels of red.

"Um, Mayako, you should really watch where you're stepping. I dropped a glass and it shattered, not to mention there's a lot of water you can slip on…"

Mayako caught the meaning of the emphasized word and covered her mouth with a hand to stifle her laughter. "Ah, little Naeko, the trouble you get into! I'll clean up the mess, if you two want to get to a safe haven before Yuki darling gets home…"

Naeko thanked her aunt and started to follow an embarrassed Light out of the kitchen, but then she remembered the real reason she had come down. Stealthily glancing in each of Mayako's shopping bags, she easily found the small green bag of apples and stole one, planning to wash it in her bathroom sink. Hopping up the stairs once more, Naeko entered her bedroom and met face-to-face with a grinning Ryuk.

"Light told me everything," Ryuk said, the grin spreading on his face. Naeko's eyes shifted to Light, who was farther in the room, with his back turned to her. Naeko grit her teeth and threw the unclean apple at Light's back. Fortunately, it didn't shatter. Unfortunately, Light spun around with vengeance in his eyes.

Grabbing a dress quickly from her closet, Naeko ran into the bathroom to change out of her wet uniform, closing the door right as the apple connected with the wood. Naeko could hear Ryuk complaining to Light about how he wasted a "perfectly good apple", and the girl snickered. Light was actually a pretty funny person if you could break him out of his shell.

As Naeko changed, she made a promise to herself that she would keep Light out of his shell as long as she could. Maybe, just maybe…it might do him some good.

---so cute!---

How kawaii?! Ah, I ended this chapter in such a bad way...(sigh)...oh well. Just be glad I updated! I want to make use of a nice snowday!