Wee…I almost got a virus…wee… What a stupid computer…I had to shut it off so that the pop-ups would stop coming…LOL. But I'm back! Ready to work really hard on this next chapter!

I don't own…I PWN!

---pwnith---

Naeko stepped carefully out of the bathroom, clad in a little blue dress that was about the length of her school uniform, if not shorter. She guessed it had been her aunt's, because there was no way she would ever wear it. Damn her for reaching into her closet blindly! It was just an apple! She could have taken a hit! Now she was stuck in this stupid dress, and she would seem vain if she changed again.

"About time," Ryuk growled from the bed. "We thought you had died and come back to life in that bathroom."

"Well I'm sorry I kept you waiting!" Naeko growled back. Her wet uniform was flung into a hamper in the corner and Naeko plopped down into her desk chair. "Where's Light?"

"He went home."

"WHAT? What makes him think he can just waltz out of here?" Naeko immediately stood up out of her chair again, and Ryuk grinned. "I mean, doesn't he have any respect?"

"He left you the death note," Ryuk said lightly. "It means he's willing to accept you as his partner in crime, if only for now. I'd be on his good side, girl. Light can write down your name at any time, and you can write down his. But, I don't think you want to lose a childhood friend like him."

Naeko blinked. "A…childhood friend? I don't think I've met Light before, so there's no way he can be a friend from when I lived in this town." Gently lowering herself back down into her chair, Naeko turned around and tapped her fingers on the wooden desk. "Although…I remember I had a friend who looked a little like him when I was younger. He would always take me to the park and swing me on the swings…most of the time we played hide and seek…but when she died…"

"Oh dear, you've had a dramatic past, haven't you?" Ryuk uttered. It was hard to tell whether he was trying to be sympathetic or just a sadistic smart-ass.

Naeko smiled sadly and looked at the shinigami on her bed. "Yeah, I guess I have. I don't think that boy was Light, though. Light has a little sister, doesn't he?" Ryuk nodded the affirmative. "Well, if she's not that much younger than him, the friend in my memories can't have been Light. His mother was pregnant, but we had all heard it was going to be a boy."

"Doctors are often wrong these days," Ryuk said, a chuckle following. "Why don't you just admit it was Light? Everything adds up."

"Because! I don't want to admit it! The boy in my memories was kind, thoughtful…not a power-hungry mass murderer!" Naeko felt the tears sting her eyes, and she was glad her back was faced to Ryuk. A place in her heart ached when she called Light those bad words, but it was only there for a fleeting moment.

There was silence in the room for a while, the only sounds were of Naeko sniffling and trying to hold back her tears. She hadn't cried in…how many years? And she was crying over some stupid, unreal boy! She felt like a slut who had just had her favorite "client" break up with her. And she didn't even know why. Naeko had never cried over a boy before.

She had sworn that day that she would never cry again. Her older sister had been sitting in that mahogany coffin. Her sister had always told her never to cry. She had said it was unbecoming of her, but because Naeko had been so young she didn't know what the word "unbecoming" meant. A sudden, random thought hit Naeko, making her eyes widen in shock.

Wait a second. Earlier, she had told Ryuk that her friend's mother had been pregnant, and they were expecting a boy. But she remembered that at the baby-shower, she had seen the color pink around a lot. Does that mean…

"Ryuk…how old is Light's sister?" Ryuk thought for a moment before he replied, because he honestly didn't know the exact age.

"Well, I would say she is about 13 or 14. All I know for sure is that she is in the 8th grade, because she comes to Light often for help on math and such, and her hardback says "Pre-algebra 8th Grade Level" on the front."

"I'd have been there…" Naeko mumbled.

"Been there for what?" Ryuk actually sounded genuinely interested, but Naeko just laughed and shook her head.

"No, it's nothing. I just keep getting my thoughts confused. Move, I want to lay down." Naeko stood up and Ryuk scootched over so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, not entirely wanting to give up a magnificently comfortable spot. Naeko flung herself onto the bed and curled up into a ball. "Leave. Go back to wherever it is you spend the night. I'm going to bed."

"Actually, I usually stay at the owner of the death note's house, and since you have the death note—"

"No way in hell. Leave. Go back to Light's house. He's one of the owners."

"Fine, fine, I'll leave. But, before I go, I would advise you to hide the death note. If another human touches it…" Naeko lifted her head and listened intently. What would Ryuk do?

"I would have to kill them. Now, it wouldn't be pleasant if your aunt or uncle wandered in here to clean, now, would it?"

Naeko frowned and sat up all the way. Swinging her legs off of the bed, she stood and walked over to the desk. Picking up the notebook, Naeko gazed at it before clutching it close to her and walking back over to the bed. "It'll be fine as long as I don't leave it out in the open," she said, hugging the notebook tightly to her chest.

"Whatever you say," Ryuk laughed, disappearing through the bedroom door so that he could head on back to Light's house. Naeko frowned, haunted by Ryuk's last words.

Meanwhile, Ryuk was snickering as he passed silently through the Menshi household. I think Light will get a real kick out of this girl, he thought. Plus all the help they are getting from upstairs…there's a real possibility the two could fall in love. Che! The very thought make me sick. Shinigami are supposed to kill, not fall in love. Although, that would be pretty funny to see. So far, Light has only used women to his advantage in his schemes. Now that there's a girl that knows of those schemes, what shall the boy do now?

Appearing in Light's room, Ryuk immediately settled down at the edge of the bed. Light's surprised voice rang out. "Ryuk? I thought you decided to stay at Naeko's home?"

"That stupid girl kicked me out. It looks like she's willing to protect the death note's secret, though. Which means she'll probably play right into your hands."

Light stared at the ceiling as he listened to the greedy tone in Ryuk's voice. "No. I don't think I'll use her. Something tells me that if I mess with her, I'll get burned."

"Oh? You know, she's having quite the internal struggle over you." Seeing that he had perked Light's attention, Ryuk continued. "I was talking to her earlier, and she can't seem to decide whether she's met you or not."

"It's her. I just know it is," Light said quietly. "There's no mistaking it. The timeline, her sister, being sent to America…there's just no way I can ignore it anymore. She's my neighbor's niece, the one that would always come over to play. While we were heading down to the kitchen, I remembered something. I remembered the day of her sister's funeral. She was clinging to me, crying so hard I could feel the sobs racking her body. And then…" Light just slowly lowered the volume of his voice, and Ryuk was getting impatient.

"And then what?"

"And then she was saying something to me. I can't remember those words, even though I so desperately want to…"

"Eh, you'll remember them later," Ryuk said, shrugging Light's disturbed words off.

"You're right," Light said, lifting his head and then slamming it back into the pillow. "I think for now I should get some rest. Although, I have to say I'm a bit pissed."

Ryuk chuckled, hearing the usually calm boy swear. "Oh? And why's that?"

"That girl has the death note, and I didn't get any names written down today."

"Is that the only reason?"

"…yeah."

"What a stupid reason."

"You think so?"

"You humans are so trivial."

Light laughed a little. "Whatever. Goodnight, Ryuk."

"Goodnight, Light."

I wonder, Light. Will you ever be her light? Would you be willing to light the road she must walk to stay with you? It's a hard road as a shinigami. Are you sure you want that for her?

Are you sure you won't fall in love?

---love---

BAM! Yes! I absolutely loved the ending! Woot! Somehow, Ryuk's thoughts are a tad bit corny! LOL! Yet another cool chapter, even if it's a bit short! It was mostly the internal battles between the two shinigamis, and you just KNOW Ryuk's going to chose sides. So, to sum it up…

Naeko thinks Light might be her childhood friend, but she's not willing to believe it or doesn't want to admit it.

Light's accepted the fact that Naeko is the girl he once saw as a little sister, but he's having a hard time admitting it to anyone but himself.

Ryuk's sure that someone is trying to make the two an item, and we aren't entirely sure whether he supports it or not. But we can be sure as hell that he'd beat Light's ass if Light dared to hurt Naeko emotionally. Writing her name down is still allowed, you know.

Please keep reading! I know I've been neglecting this story, and I want to make it up to you guys! Review, and for the number of reviews I get, I'll write that many pages. So, 5 reviews equals 5 pages of scrumptious, lovey-dovey action! Um, but 20 or more isn't allowed, and I'll just split it up into two different chapters! Although I doubt I'll get that many reviews for such a lame story…(sigh)