Ok guys- I've had to replace Chapter 9 with this one. It's the same one but I changed some information in it that was vital so that the story made sense :3

Also, I'm going to start a short story based on the Ace Attorney Series/Miles Edgworth Investigations, so I hope you guys can check it out if you like the game :3

Please keep the reviews coming! I love you guys! :3

"Why are you here!"

"Calm down- I'm here for you…"

"No- it's not my time yet. Hneh hneh... You can't take me! "

"You have a long time left so don't talk like that. I'm real, B."

"You're… How!"

"I don't know myself, Beyond…"

Playful colours of purples and oranges streamed through the solemn atmosphere, swirling into the dark pink clouds surrounding the dimming light, that cast a black silhouette shrouding over the tall, stately buildings of Tokyo. The Sun, itself, had an ambient glow slowly disappearing into the shadows.

Shadows.

Everything seemed to disappear into the shadows. The dark. Even after life.

"Shadow, you ok darlin'?" Aiber's strong, Californian accent shone through his concerned look. I smiled, and nodded. Not wishing to take matters further than they needed to go. He sat across from me, feeling the whiskers of his beard thoughtfully. "You sure?"

"No need to worry, Aiber. I'm just tired." I lied.

"You know, lying to a con man is pretty hard." He took a match in his hand, striking it across its box and lighting the cigarette in his mouth. "We're expert liars." he smirked.

"Hmmm, you don't have to tell me twice." An aloof, tall woman had swept in almost silently. She hid behind her glasses, but it became apparent that the older blonde was bored. She faced Aiber, her expression indifferent on her powdery face. "Gimme a light?"

"Sure." Aiber struck another match. She flipped out a long, black filter from her handbag fixing a cigarette onto the end. She leaned in towards the flame, and took short drag from the end, her dark glossy lips pressing to it tiredly.

"You know what, girl?" Wedy exhaled the smoke slowly. "You look familiar. We've worked together before?"

"Perhaps." I said. "Normally, L would have me work in the background. But I don't think we've ever encountered one another."

"No, we've met you before." she sighed, peeking over at me past her shades. "I remember your face."

"Well I don't know then, Miss. L liked to keep me out of the way. I can honestly say this is my first-"

"What do you mean liked?" A scornful gaze. Challenging her intelligence, I laughed.

"Well, L is letting me meet who I'm dealing with now. Therefore, he liked keeping me out of the way, but he doesn't now." I stripped her conceited smile, reducing her of her pride.

"Don't mock me," she flicked the gathering ash on her filter into one of the few ashtrays on the surface dividing us. "I'm right, aren't I? You're here for other reasons than the Kira Case."

"I don't see how that's relevant, W."

"Ah! Ryuzaki." Aiber stood.

"Hello." L smiled, standing in the doorway that Wedy must have come from. A shiny plate of fine china was being grasped loosely in his hand. A large slice of cake. Strawberry cake. "You're not busy are you, Shadow?" he spoke softly.

"Not at all." He smiled, again. He held up his other hand allowing a clean fork to dangle back and forth like the pendulum of a grandfather clock.

"Care to join me?"

"Sure!" I smiled coyly, bouncing up from the sofa and waddling shortly after him. We settled in the main room, where the only available light source were the electronic glow of the large projector centred in the middle of the room. Quickly, L lifted his knees to his chest, taking on his monkey-like posture on his chair, balancing the plate on his knee caps. I took a seat on the floor in front of him quietly. Gazing up, I smiled. "Thanks for the help back there…"

"No need to thank me." he smiled, passing me a fork with a chunk of cake skewered on it. "It is important that your identity remains a mystery. Your life is potentially at risk just being here."

"I know." I chewed on the end of the fork.

"Then again," he dragged on. "I do not think Kira could kill you without your name… But Kira has proven himself to be capable of much more- killing with a face alone. This is why I do not want you socialising to much with Wedy and Aiber. Considering they are connected to that case…"

"I understand, L"

"Good," He softly smirked down at me, and I smirked back. I nibbled on the end of the clean fork puckishly. He laughed and showed me the plate. There's was enough left for another bite, but nothing more. "Would you like it?"

"Yes please," I anticipated, but at the last minute, a counter fork had appeared battling my own. My cheeks warmed, my glance returning to the sly face of a detective.

"Too bad," he smiled, locking the utensils together. I struggled to gain control again, and became irritated. "You cannot free your fork? Then I suppose that means that-"

I banged on the plate with my opposing hand sending the morsel soaring upwards into the air. L let out a little cry, stumbling forwards with his hands held out. I pounced up and catching the cake in a quick snap of the teeth, a small sense of accomplishment spread through me. But, forgetting that previously L had lost balance, he landed clumsily on top of me. His face buried into my chest.

And before we could both properly react, a rather camp, selfish, well-groomed boy that neither of us were very fond of graced us with his unfortunate presence. "R-Ryuzaki?" he stifled a laugh. "I should have known there was something going on behind the scenes…" L turned his head, his deep-set, dark eyes watching Light carefully.

"Hello Light." he murmured. "Do you need something?"

"Um, yeah.." he said. "Could you… get up first? I feel kinda awkward with the position you're in."

"Very well.." Slowly, L peeled his thin body from mine, and retreated to his seat. He tucked his knees in tight to his chest, and chewed thoughtfully on his thumb. "What is it, Light-kun?"

"…It's more of a private matter, Ryuzaki" he murmured. His face twisted into a kind smile, and he knelt down at my side. "I think Watari was looking for you, Shadow. He's in his office if you want to go talk to him."

"Alright." I sighed. I ambled towards Watari's office door slowly. I smiled, reminiscing the sweet memories of Watari's office at the orphanage. The winded corridors of varnished wood echoing each step my small legs would allow me to go. Watari would greet me, ruffling my long black hair softly between his fingers, and we would sit and have tea with L. He would ask me the most peculiar questions.

"Miss Shadow, why do you dye your hair unnatural colours?"

"Because I feel like it."

"S, would you risk your life for justice?"

"Without justice, life isn't really worth living."

"Can you describe how you're feeling right now?"

"Hungry, haha!"

"Shadow, are you happy at Wammy's?"

"M-more than happy, Lawliet…"

Coming back to the present day, I knocked, and allowed myself in. Behind a small computer desk, Watari relaxed into his large leather chair, his tired arms folded neatly on his lap. He looked up through his thin-framed glasses and chuckled. "Hello Shadow."

"Papa, " I nodded.

"I have something to show you…" He flicked the drawer on his desk open, and pulled out a yellow file. "There's this case I wanted you to take care of for L. Do you mind, Shadow?"

"Why can't L take care of it? Isn't he taking on cases as well as the Kira case?"

"Well, yes… But I think this one is a bit more personal to you." he said quietly. He pushed the file closer to me across the desk. "Please take a look…" I grabbed the file, skimming through the pages.

"She's from Wammy's?" I said to myself. "There's not much in here to work with, Papa. There's not even a name, or any clue as to what the case is about." A piece of paper slipped out of the folder and hovered down to the floor. "Is this the girl?" I picked up the paper, a sketch of a young woman done in black and white.

"Since she is from the orphanage, and we're working the Kira case, it'd only be dangerous to send an actual photograph out."

"Does she have a name?"

"Still as sharp as a tack I see…" he laughed merrily. "Her alias is Hope. However, we don't know her real name…" His face dulled down a tone, his voice becoming humourless. "Roger found her in the park next to the memorial..."

"!" My body tensed briefly. I stared at Watari in disbelief. "She doesn't remember her name, does she?" He shook his head.

"She's joint second in line to succeed L, and can't trace of her past other than her likes and dislikes." He removed his glasses, polishing them on his crisp clean suit. "A phenomenon…"

"It is indeed." I frowned. "I assume there is more to the case than that."

"Yes… She is a suspect in a vital case." He collected the files from my hand, handing me another file from his drawers. I scanned the text inside carefully.

"Oh-!" I coughed, dropping the sheets onto his desk warily. "Papa, a murder case?"

He nodded in reply.

"I can see why you reacted so suddenly to the case…" He pulled himself from his chair and walked towards me. "You are correct, the victims are, in fact…"

"B's parents.."

"I can allow you to keep this with you, but I think you know you can't take Hope's file with you…"

"Wait, take it with me where?" I growled, crossing my around the file. "Oh I see. L doesn't need me at the moment, so I'm being sent back, aren't I?"

"No, Shadow. Don't jump to conclusions like that. You will be returning, don't worry, girl." he wrapped an arm around me and hugged me gently. "L wants you to stay here. You're very useful in our investigation."

"No he doesn't…" My eyes became fuzzy and shook violently behind tears. "He'll send me back, and then I probably won't see him again."

"Shadow.." Watari clenched onto my shoulders firmly. "You'll be coming back, I promise. L is just a bit concerned about your safety-"

"Oh please! And I'm not concerned for his!" I pummelled his hands away. "L is in more danger than anyone here, because if Kira gets his scent at all, he'll directly attack him. And then what use am I? And I'm 80% sure that Light is the first Kira as it is, so he's definitely a goner!"

"S, don't get upset. L always puts his life on the line."

"And I don't?" I spoke angrily through bitter tears. Alas, Watari was speechless, staring sadly at me like a kicked puppy. "I'll take on the case, Papa. But just know that you aren't getting rid of me that easily." I stormed towards Watari's little desk, taking Hope's file and crumpling it up in my hands and tossing it in the waste paper bin. "I'll let you burn it…" I swallowed, and left the room as quick as I could walk.

I sauntered around the corridor for a while longer, regaining my calm posture, until a familiar looking pale-faced man wondered lazily down the corridor. "Shadow?" L said, a look of boredom glazing itself across his dark eyes. "Is there something wrong?"

"Ah, um- no. But…" L's blank facial expression distracted me, listening carefully to what I had to say. "Watari has a case for me to do back in England…" to my surprise, L's empty eyes filled with an emotion other than boredom. Disappointment?

"For how long?"

"Only about a week or so- don't worry." His lost look of a child fell sadly to his feet. "Perhaps not even that- I want to dedicate as much time as I can to the Kira Investigation."

"Ok, just stay safe and keep contact with us." he mumbled, scratching behind his ear lightly. "And don't be gone too long."

"Why? Will you miss me?" Trying to break the awkward tension with a joke, I only built up more when I didn't receive an answer. He hastily lifted a hand and dropped it onto my shoulder.

"I'll be seeing you soon." He massaged my shoulder lightly, before retreating to Watari's office.

As I walked back to my room to pack for my memorable business trip to Winchester, Matsuda rushed towards me excitedly. I stopped, narrowing my eyes, as his speed didn't seem to decrease as he ran towards me. Realising I wouldn't have time to dodge the rushing Matsuda, I braced myself for impact. He braked, his feet tripping over one another until he fell clumsily into my arms. "M-Matsu?" He blushed, regaining his weak composure and smiling anxiously at me.

"Shadow! What a surprise!" His voice broke.

"Not as such," I smirked, smoothing the creases made in his suit. "You did come running straight at me."

"Ah, well, you see-" he coughed, covering the sheer embarrassment he had cast upon himself. "Well, Misa and Light want to leave the building and go to the bar a few blocks away from here so I have to stay with them but the is I don't really want to go on my own so I was !" he gasped for air urgently, and I smiled sadly up at him.

"Oh Matsu, I'd love to, but-"

"Really? That's great!" He laughed nervously, his shaky smile growing wide and all the more anxious. "Huh? But…?"

"I have a case, so I need to start packing for my flight tomorrow." His face dropped, resembling the same look that L was expressing only minutes beforehand. His big, deep set eyes hurting with rejection. It wouldn't hurt to spend a little time with Matsuda. He's been working so hard lately.

No. I can't What about L? My conscience counter attacked itself. L seems to be warming up to me again- I can't let this opportunity slide like so.

But he'll hurt you again. I frowned, there was always that likely possibility. You've dedicated your life to L… So going out just once wouldn't cause any harm, would it?

Would it?

"How about a rain check?" I smiled up at Matsuda. "I'll only be gone a few days… Can you ask them to post-pone it until I get back?" He glanced down at me delightedly, and wrapped both arms around me into an excited hug.

With terrified eyes, my head slammed into the side of his neck. What is he doing! I nudged gently at his ribs to encourage him to release me, but nonetheless he nuzzled even further into the space between my neck and shoulder. "Thanks! I'll ask right away." he pushed me away softly, but still had a confident grip on my thin upper arms. "I'll see you soon, then!"

"B-bye?" I stammered as he let go and rocketed back in the direction he came from. I fast-walked to my room hurriedly realising how little time I had left to pack for my early flight. I briskly opened the door and whisked inside. "BWARK!" I screamed, my foot catching something as I dramatically fell to the floor. My knee rubbed against rough carpet as I banged into the side of the bed. What the-? I massaged my stinging knee, looking over at the black little suitcase parked neatly in front of my door. I stumbled over, ripping th e little tag of the side and reading it:

Shadow!

You didn't let Misa-Misa know that you were going away for a few days! Now who's gonna look after Matsu while me and Light… *tehe* ;) What happened to Ryuzaki anyway! I thought you were an item? Anyway, Misa-Misa got you a little present to take with you. Ciao!

Misa + Light-kun~ 3

I laughed, grabbing hold of the suitcase's handle and dragging it over to the bed. I unclipped and unzipped the case lid and was bewildered by a full suitcase of Misa's new clothing line: Misa-Misa Chic! I pulled out bits of lace fabrics and leather materials out form the case. "Please tell me this isn't underwear…" Very stringy pieces of thin cloth. It was, indeed, under garments. Of different colours and patterns; accompanied by a matching bra that Misa had somehow got the exact measurements for. It was all the while abnormal that Misa had managed to retrieve all this for me in the space of an hour or so.

Strange girl. But I wasn't going to waste time dwelling on that thought.

I folded the clothes I had taken out back into their original place. One thing I knew for sure was that Light had put these clothes in. No offence to Misa, but she lacked the precision and patience to prepare a suitcase so expertly packed…

As I finished up placing everything where it had been put before, I cringed. The loud knelling of tubular bells gonged outside. "Weird…" I muttered aloud. "They seem strangely out of tune…"

[Seven Years Earlier, LA]

"So, sugar. What are we doing next?" Ryuk followed closed behind me, his wings sprawled out on either side of me like a large protective shield.

"I guess we'll settle for a while." I sighed, flipping the hood of my jacket over my head and forcing my hands into the pockets. "Since Lawliet keeps any evidence of him existing scarce, he's going to be hard to track down. It's a waste of time if we start looking for him now." I pulled my hand out with a roll of American quarters approaching the phone box across the overcrowded streets of LA. "Sooner or later, L will get a case. So we need to keep record of any unusual cases L would take interest in…"

"Lawliet? Heh, that's a freaky name."

"Whatever." I snarled, gaining a few concerned looks from the flocks of working-class citizens flooding around me. I felt nauseous, crowds of clueless, vulnerable people strolled by with out a car in the world. Completely unaware the emptying hourglass passing each grain of sand down to the bottom, until the top remained empty. Children passing by with their mothers, some with many years ahead of them , and some doomed to face the end.

The sudden realisation of how lucky people were not to hold such power depressed me. I realised how privileged I was to be so incompetent, and regretted ever wanting to explore the theories of life and death. Of heaven and hell.

Because the blunt truth that everyone seemed to deny was that after death… was nothing. Emptiness. A world where your life ceased to exist.

And that is when your life as a Shinigami begins.

"Ryuk." I beckoned him. He leaned forward in front of me, his head dangling upside down that was in it's usual still expression. "I can't see me own life-span… Why?"

"Nobody with the Shinigami eyes can see their own life-span. Not just you, Sugar. Heh."

"So… Can you see it?" He grunted softly, lifting his head back up.

"No."

I sighed.

Talking about it just made me wonder when his time would be up. And would I live to surpass that?

Am I a Shinigami?

"I hate these eyes." I expressed openly to Ryuk. "All the trouble they've caused already, all the new emotion they've mustered up… I hate it."

"Heh, you'll learned to love them."

"Oh please." Like I would believe him. "Hey Ryuk,"

"I liked you better when you didn't talk in public."

"Where are my eyes?"

"What?"

"Well, these aren't my eyes. So I'm guessing you either gave these eyes up to the original owner of the eyes I currently have, or you chucked them."

"None of your business," he bared his teeth. Did I scrape a nerve? I remained silent as we reached the phone box. I walked inside, flicking a few coins into the phone and dialling the number on the back of my hand: Los Angeles, Downtown Apartments..

Over the next few years, there was no development in the search of L. Ryuk eventually disappeared, leaving me alone to live in my apartment. Apparently, my life was 'a lot more boring than he had imagined'. After that, I had a couple of people move in with me; an older couple that attended a nearby university. Surprised by my age, they were reluctant in moving in at first. But they warmed up to me and my strange ways if dealing with things, and moved in all their furniture. We got along fine, but I wouldn't classify us as friends.

About a year after that, news reports and tabloids began to fill with news of the new god of the new world: Kira. Panic arose, everyone dreading that soon they would be victimised by him for their sins. That he would hunt them down until he had recreated a 'perfect world'. We all huddled together watching the Japanese news across 'Good Morning America'. Slowly, a broad, muscular figure that bulged through his light blue suit stepped towards a podium centred in the middle of the screen.

"-Good evening Kira.-" he confidently growled from the back of his throat. "- I am L-"

I stood suddenly, flinging my arms into the air in shock.

My flight was scheduled for that night.

"Why are you leaving so suddenly?" Anya, the woman I was staying with, trembled. "You can't leave, we were getting along so well."

"It's important business, Anya." I buckled my backpack together tightly and swung it over my shoulders. "I'm sorry…" She sniffled softly hiding behind her long blonde fringe. I swept her fringe to the side gently; a large black bump pounded off her head. "Did he do this…?" I muttered, keeping a low tone. Anya needn't reply. It was astonishing to know that two lovers who had a perfect lifestyle and relationship, could be hiding behind false hopes.

"B-Ben? I got him angry it's all my-"

"Nonsense." I sighed. "Report him. Or I'll do it for you." She agreed to promptly. We bid our farewells, and I set off to find the person I had been waiting for years to emerge to the surface again. I sucked hard on a mint lollipop, smirking unwaveringly as I crossed the road and passed the phone box I was standing at years before.

I was going to be reunited once again.

"Shinigami? You met one?"

"Yes"

"So you…. Have the eyes?"

"I…. Y-yeah."

"Interesting, I've never met one."

"Really?"

"Duh!"

"What do I do then?"

"What do you mean?"

"How do I get rid of them?"

"HAHAHAA… You think you can get rid of them? Ha, nope. Never. You're stuck with them for life.

Well….BAH, never mind."

"What!"

"Well, there is one way I think…"

[Present Day, Winchester]

"Just a word of warning, but Hope's very feisty. She may be confined to a bed, but she's not the type to let that get the best of her." Roger informed me. We strolled side by side down the hospital's lifeless corridors. Each ward reeked of latex; a doctor snapped their gloves onto their hands as he advanced into a patient's private ward.

"It's no problem, Roger. I'm used to dealing with awkward youngsters. Do you remember that case I worked with the six children some years ago?"

"Ah yes…" he mouthed, rubbing his rough calloused hands together. "I… I still can't believe you're alive, Shadow. The whole of Wammy's were devastated to learn about your passing."

"I had a feeling it would cause some controversy…" We edged slowly to the side, allowing the surgeons to pass through easily. They rolled the bed down into the elevator at the end of the hall, the woman in question, was masked, but her eyes were froze open staring unresponsively up at the ceiling. Roger heaved another sigh.

"That could have been Hope if it wasn't for Near." he disclosed, as we approached the chairs standing just outside Hope's room. "Mello won't be happy about that, for sure. Rather than asking of the two boys, I continued to poise towards the two teens sat indifferently outside her room. One boy was drenched in the colour black, unlike his lightly toned blonde hair, that was neatly combed down the middle, resembling the same cut of a young girl. The other had a more rebellious, but oddly fashionable, look. His hair was a delightful shade of red, that had been messed up by a big pair of what looked like swimming goggles wrapped around his forehead that tugged back at the strands of crimson. His clothes were casual, not including his oversized, fluffy, sleeveless jacket.

"Nice jacket…" I conversed. He snapped up his head startled, revealing a gameboy that had been cleverly hidden under his long fringe. "It's a bit big for you though, isn't it?" He shrugged lazily, half-smiling up at me.

"I'll grow into it." He eyed me up and down. "Hey Roger, who's the hot chick? She doesn't look like a doctor." I recoiled.

"Hot.. Chick?" I curbed, glancing worriedly at Roger. "I've travelled from Japan to assist Roger and the police in the investigation of Hope."

"You're British." The gothic blonde cut in. "And you're from Japan? Are you're working on L's case?" His blue eyes darted up at me. "The Kira case!" He blundered, causing some heds on the ward to turn.

"That's none of your concern. All that matter's at the moment is getting Hope of the hook, ok?" I conveyed, smiling politely down at the uptight teen. He nodded, and faced away from me.

"There's no point trying to step foot in there. Near and Hope are having a fucking love-fest."

"Mello!" Roger scolded him."Oh big deal! I was only letting her know!" He spat back angrily.

"No, I'm going in." I plainly stated, shoving the door open. Mello hissed, jumping up for his seat and closing the door again."I don't trust you. You haven't even told me your name yet." There was no way I was going to let some kid interfere with this investigation.

"It's irrelevant. Now let me through or I'll have to force you to get out of the way." I ducked under his arm and barged into the door. Regaining posture, I walked in and professionally approached the two figures on the bed. Within seconds of entering, the trio I had left outside spilled in dramatically.

"You're just another cop after Hope aren't you?" The redhead announced distressed.

"What? No, you've got it wrong…"

"OI. GUYS." The girl squalled, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. She flaunted her upper arms in annoyance, dropping a small box to the floor that bounced into a dark corner. A fat, ginger, striped feline rubbed against the tubes connecting with her chest pleasurably. "Any reason for barging into my room, lady? I'm busy."

"Busy?" I viewed the state of her clean white covers. Small toys were scattered over her legs, and the small white-haired boy next to her held a doll near to her face. I studied the boy a bit longer; he sat almost completely on the girl's lap, hunched over like a monkey with one leg dangling over the side of the bed. His eyes were like two black holes, void of any emotion. Just empty.

Like L's.

"Yeah. Busy." She insisted, taking the fussy cat into her arms and cradling it like a baby. "Besides, I don't have any more time for the pigs."

"I'm not a cop…" I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face tiredly. "I'm Shadow. I was assigned to your case by Watari yesterday, because you and I seem to have a lot more in common than you think."

"So you're working with Watari. That means you're working in the Kira investigation aside L." She assumed, patting the top of her cat's head.

"Correct." The boy on the bed squirmed, his eyes sparking with a sense of respect for a split second. "Are you Near?" I lowered myself down to his level.

"Yes. I'm Near." His hand slithered into his hair, exploring the white jungle of curls resting on top.

"And I'm Matt!" The redhead popped up in front of me like a jack in the box, grinning stupidly at me. "Free tonight?"

"Matt!" The girl flustered, smacking Matt on the head with her hand. "She's in her mid-twenties! Find someone your own age?"

"Yes, miss…" Matt playfully whimpered, pulling the goggles over his eyes and sinking his head down into his shoulders. "She's Hope, by the way. A major killjoy." he whispered. "Just kiddin'- she's WILD."

"That's nice to know…" I promenaded to the side of Hope, crossing my arms patiently in front me and addressing my audience. "Could you please al leave? So I can talk to Hope alone…"

"They're not going anywhere!" Hope bit off my hand. Cheers of 'Yeah!' could be heard from Mello and Matt. Roger slapped his hands on their shoulders, turning them around and leading them straight to the door. Near hopped off the bed and crept out of the room silently, shutting the door on his way out. Hope leaned down with the cat in her arms and released it to the ground. She softly pushed it into the cage at the bedside, and latched the door shut. It softly cried for a couple of minutes, but slowly the noise died out into silence.

I watched Hope climb the floor, using her hands, into the corner where the box had landed. Her body remained slumped in the bed as she dragged herself forward and pawed at the little black container. She closed her hand quickly around it, backing away back into bed. She laid back into the gigantic pillow behind her head, fiddling with the small box.

"What's that?" Seeing an opening for conversation.

"I don't know…" she replied quietly, looking down at it flat in her palms. "It was in my stuff when I moved to Wammy's. I just feel like it's a part of the life I used to lead before I…" she stopped, mid-sentenced.

"Before you forgot who you were."

"!" She held the box to her chest defensively. "Y-yeah." She looked down at her bedding with a shimmer of shame in her eyes. Little bits of plastic building blocks and action figurines fell into the creases in the covers.

"…Can I play?"

"No." She continued to look down at them. "I don't' like playing with the other girls…" she eerily replied. "They're evil. They act all innocent and dainty, when in all actuality they are the devil. They enjoy to see you in pain. They enjoy to cause that pain. They're just self-centred, attention-seeking, lying little WHORES that only care about 'how pretty they are today' and 'does that boy really like me' and 'OMG that girl over there is a bitch!' and I dislike having to be associated with such behaviour just because I am one…"

"Hope…" I croaked nervously. Her short, jet black hair did not move no matter how much she ranted on. It looked styled, but overgrown, so the spikes she had moulded into placed fell limp an heavily back down to her scalp. Her eyes were an unnatural, piercing green that would make her very noticeable in a room filled with people. Especially with the amount of eyeliner she had heavily, but artistically applied under and around her eyes. She was also very mature-looking for a girl of 14, but also a little on the big side (in my opinion). Her chest was bruised, and had wires spurting out of it in every direction, and a little cross dangled just over all of the tangled tubes providing her with medicine.

Although she was ill, and bedridden, you could see that this girl was a natural beauty.

And strange in every way, shape, and form.

"I would like to question you about some things… Is that alright?" I pulled the chair from the side of the bed across the floor and sat down silently next to her.

"I guess." she shyly confirmed.

"On the day you were brought to Wammy's, Roger discovered you in the memorial park in Winchester. What reasons can you provide as to going there?" Hope stared at me, unconvinced.

"That has nothing to do with the case." She cleverly pointed out the obvious. "But I'm not sure why… I just felt like going there."

"You… felt like it?" I was grasping at the ropes to pull this mystery to a close, however, Hope wasn't completely trusting my liability.

"Yes. And you know what else? I feel like you know nothing about what I'm facing here. I'm being accused of murdering a couple that as far as I'm concerned have never met. But yet, you're asking me about my involvement with a park that has nothing to do with the case?" She puffed out her chest and deeply breathed out, looking down at her cross. "Come back when you know more about the case. You've made it as clear as day that you only know the basic information to our current homicide. Then again, I'm not surprised, you had under a day's notice about the case… But this is messy work for someone working for this L guy, isn't it?"

"I-I guess…" Hope had stripped me of my pride as a detective. But her point was valid- I should have prepared my questions more carefully about the case and then asked about her past. There must have been a connection somehow between her amnesia and the murder. I stood up and strolled towards the briefcase I had dropped when tackling my way through Mello, and picked it up readying myself to leave. I twisted my head around and looked at Hope one last time. "Before I leave, I have one more question."

Whaaaaaaat?"

"Where did you travel from?"

"I don't know- I spent a while in Yorkshire before I came to Winchester. So probably around that area." I thanked her quickly, and left the room. As I walked out, Mello slammed something into the door.

I twirled around, watching Mello hold Near by the throat violently smashing him into the door. "You think you're number one! LOOK AT YOU. YOU'RE WEAK! Too weak to be hanging out with Hope!" he spouted in Near face. Near glared over at me, expecting me to do something. He didn't look frightened as such, but I don't think anyone would want the living daylights kicked out of them. I grabbed Mello by the collar, dragging him backwards like a ferocious dog.

"Look at you!" I shouted up at the significantly taller teenager. "You're supposed to be a successor for L! L promotes justice, not violence! Are you a criminal, Mello!" I grabbed Mello's face, squishing his cheeks together. He silenced himself, but bared his shiny white fangs at me. "Are you!"

"No." he gritted his teeth. "Why are you here?" he asked as I let go of his supple face.

"If you must know, Hope and I are in a similar situation. And Watari wanted me to handle the case because of that."

"Mello," Near called out softly to the blonde. "Do you remember how when L attended Wammy's, there was only one girl out of all of his successors?" He twisted a curl around his index fingers, crouching down to the floor. "Her alias was Shadow."

"Wha~?" Mello swallowed his words. He accepted Near's answer, slouching against the wall dispassionately. "Where did Matt go?"

"He went to check on Hope…" Near answered. The door opened slightly, allowing us to see a wisp of red hair through the gap.

"She's asleep," Matt whispered, bringing a finger to his lips. "So no more fighting guys, ok? And I don't think she's going to be awake anytime soon, Shadow so…"

"Fine." Mello groaned.

"I'll be leaving then. I have a lot more to look into about this case." I told Near, who had previously being staring up at me. "I'm tired anyhow. I had a long flight over here, and Hope isn't the nicest person to be dealing with."

"I don't understand." Near inquisitively glared at me. "Hope is the nicest person I know."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Intriguing…"

"Roger has prepared a room for you at Wammy's. He's waiting outside in the car if you would like to be taken back there." I smiled to myself. Roger knew that being back at Wammy's would make this trip a lot more enjoyable, so I paraded outside, spotted Roger's car, and earned a lift back to the house.

Roger escorted me to my temporary room next to Matt and Hope's in the orphanage, so that I could keep a closer eye on her when she was ready to be discharged. After that, Roger began patrolling the corridors and keeping an eye on the children. I threw my briefcase on the bed and lazily bounced next to it. This is going to be a lot more work than I imagined. I stretched out and plopped the briefcase on my lap, opening it, and pulled out a blue lap top.

"Time to do some homework." I rubbed my hands together anticipated, and began hacking into the local police station's documents, coming up short. I searched newspaper articles dating back to the time of the incident, but had no luck. As my investigation continued, I learnt that the couple that had been murdered had two missing children. One that I suspected to be Beyond, and the other was a little girl that would approximately be fourteen of fifteen years of age. The boy, however, had been missing years before the murder. Whereas the little girl had gone missing the day of the murder. "The murder happened four years ago… Which means Beyond was in LA when it happened. It would also make Hope about 10 years old… Well, the ages match…" I yawned, and naturally glanced down at the clock on the desk top. It was 12: 30am. "Better rest so I'm healthy for tomorrow." I told myself, shutting down the lap top and crawling into bed fully-clothed.

I turned a lot, attempting to get comfy. The bed was old, and the springs were giving way under me and springing into my back. I began to retrace my whole day through my head again in boredom. Hope's little outburst today was indeed strange. Especially after the conversation with Near I had. I grabbed the pillow from under my head and squeezed it in my arms.

The image of Hope's toxic green eyes had burned to my memory, along with her in a whole. That was when I realised: abnormal eye colouring, hair as black as matter, and not the most sane person on the planet all circled around another person other than Hope…

Beyond.

Hope is Beyond's sister. And I have no doubt about that.

"You'll have to find her."

"Who's 'her'?"

"I think you'll find out soon enough, Hnehh."

[Hope's P.O.V]

"Remember me? Hneheh….. I'm dead now!"

"What? Who are you?"

"Oh come on! You were 8 when I left! You can't have forgotten me so easily…. Hneh."

"You sound familiar… But I don't know…"

"Awwwwh, big bro is sad now! Hnehhh,,, I heard you killed Mom and Dad. Good job!"

"I didn't kill anyone! That girl wasn't me!"

"I wouldn't be so sure… You didn't deserve them eyes. You were irresponsible. And the NOTEBOOK- well! Well guess what now, lil' sis? I'm a Shinigami, just like the one you had…"

"I had a Shinigami? … Ryu-ryu…."

"Now you remember! Must be that thing you have in your hands… Hneh."

"The little box?"

"Maybe you should take a look inside… You might be in for a treat

Sweet dreams, Hayley."

"!" I flailed my arms high into the air, wafting them side to side. I wanted to escape, I wanted the memories to stay repressed deep inside my conscience. My heart pounded against my ribs, I couldn't draw any breath in.

Was I dying?

No.

I had a bloody panic attack.

Once I had controlled my breathing, I lifted my knees to my face and wept into them. For all of it to come back at once, it's traumatising… I snorted, muffling my cries with the covers. I just want to go back to sleep…

Suddenly, a soft hand brushed across my face. "Should I come back later?" the person asked.

"!" I howled, shutting my eyes and began to kick and scream. "GOAWAYGOAWAYGOAWAY!"

"…Ok…"

"WAHHH… Wait, what?" I dipped my head to the side and into the pillow facing the voice. It was Near, looking wide-eyed into my face. "Near! What on earth are you doing sneaking up on me like that! You almost gave me a freaking heart attack in a bloody hospital! I mean, it's bad enough I'm here in the first place but to scare me into staying here longer is just MEAN NYAHHH YOU'RE SO MEAN!" I coughed, choking on what I thought was my own vomit. I smacked my hands into my mouth, spluttering violently. I looked at my hands and squealed. Blood speckles.

Was I dying?

No!

It's apparently normal after the surgery I had!

"Are you done now?" Near logically asked, keeping a little distance. I nodded, feeling the colour flush from my face.

"S-sorry…" I blushed, grabbing the sheets from the bed and covering my face to shield myself from further embarrassment. "Nightmare…"

"I gathered."

"Did I miss anything while I was asleep?" Near shook his head, and mustered up a stack of cards out of nowhere, proceeding to create a house of cards.

"Shadow left hours ago. She's staying at Wammy's for the time being until she can get you proven 100% innocent." He placed a card onto the first two triangles he had created, they're placement not disturbed even by a millimetre. "I already know you're innocent."

"What? How?" I asked, in disbelief. Although my amnesia had faded off, I was certain that I was innocent. To be honest, I only just escaped with my own life. But the same question always haunted me from the moment I regained my memory.

Who did kill my parents?

"It's simple really…" He began to build the second shelf of the house of cards carefully. "Even if you are the daughter of the two that were murdered, it couldn't have been you." He placed the deck of cards aside him, looking confidently up at my from the floor. "The murder victims were slaughtered into pieces, disembowelled, and shot expertly in the left chamber of the heart. During the incident, you, or rather, the girl, would have been 10 years old. I may not have solid proof, but I really doubt a preteen is capable of carrying out a perfect murder. There weren't even any fingerprints left on the scene. Only the husband's."

"Then isn't that enough to proof me innocent?"

"No."

"Of course not…" Slowly, the cogs in my brain began to turn. "It's not solid proof. And the police can't just go off assumptions. They could argue that there was an accomplice, or anything. And although it's unlikely for a ten year old girl to do all that, it's still possible. And, plus, the girl would have had more of a motive." I watched Near progress in building his tower momentarily. "We need to start from the beginning… Examining all the evidence, and configuring different motives for different people. I mean, it's obvious this person must harbour a grudge for the victims, otherwise they wouldn't have killed them in such a gruesome matter and not killed again. It would also be sensible to check for alibis."

"However, Shadow is determined to find out who you are first." Near debated. "It's also sensible to do that, because then if you are not the girl in question, you're ruled out as a suspect instantaneously. And if you are, it allows her to investigate further into your life and into the investigation…"

"True…" I agreed, burying my head into my pillow. "She said that she's connected to me in more ways then I know it… What does she mean?"

"…" Near didn't acknowledge me, standing up and placing the last two cards on top of the house of cards. I nuzzled further into my pillow, observing Near a little closer. "Hope."

"Yeah?"

"Do you happen to remember anything before you collapsed… As in, before you collapsed on me." His back stayed facing the door as he crouched back down to his original level.

"Only you screaming for help. Why?"

"Ah…" A speck of disappointment crumbled somewhere in his voice. "It doesn't matter." he mumbled. No words fell between us for the next few minutes. He hovered over my bed, scooping bits of colourful lego blocks and green little soldiers gradually into a bag he had brought. I grabbed a few hands full and let them go over the fabric bag.

My hand and his hand collided, collecting the last piece on my blue bed covers. Our hands stopped, and minimal effort was made to move away. Soon, we realised our position, and Near picked up the last little soldier. "Last man standing, huh?" I joked, gaining a small smile from the white haired child.

"12?" he asked hopefully looking up at me from the side of my bed. I laughed softly, and touched his shoulder in response.

"Sure." I grinned. He stood up in a slouch and poised towards my door gradually. "Near.."

"What is it, Hope?" He spoke with a little voice.

"Why are you so sure I'm not the killer? It just seems so strange that you would go on a hunch…"

"…Because I know you better than that, Hope. And I know that you're too much of a good person to t=een dream of hurting another like so…" He reached for the handle, and mumbled something else before he left. "You're an angel."

I smiled a lot after he left.

I took a second glance down at the little box I had concealed between the covers the whole time. I knew what was in it now, so I opened it just to be secure as to whether I had it or not. I removed the little lid- yup- inside was no other than the 'Death Eraser' Ryu-Ryu had presented me with.

Of course, that had been designed to erase names from the death note, as if they had never died. But what concerned me was where my death note Ryu-Ryu had gone to now. I hadn't used it, only once on a man with only minutes to spare on his life span, just to see if it was the real deal. And it was. But, after I had been stripped of my memory of the death note, and any other memory before that, Ryu-Ryu had taken the book away from me so that I wouldn't encounter it again.

My thoughts wondered back to the strange woman that was here- Shadow. I wasn't sure why, but her presence itself seemed to be increasingly odd as she spoke to me. Roger seemed to be surprised to see her when they had both been in my room at the same time. I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe she was hiding more than the actual reason shy she is here.

I just got this strange aura of death emitting off of her.

All I know is that once we met, the ringing sound in my ears hasn't gone away.

[Tokyo, Special Task Force Headquarters]

[L's P.O.V]

Under the dimming lights of the lounge, I interpreted the results the Task Force had collected for me on the deaths of CEOs and other important businessmen. I rubbed my sore, blackening eyes, being yet again the only person, other than Watari, to be working the late hours at the HQ. The pain in my head only surfaced that evening, but it continued to worsen throughout the night, resulting in myself working outside of my regular territory.

I hunched over my knees, scanning the graphs and other data in the blink of an eye. Kira was only becoming less responsible in his killings, and it was leading us closer to the third Kira with each step. However, Kira had not killed in almost a week now, being under my orders not to kill anyone for the next month. My suspicions landed mainly on Kyosuke Higuchi, because of his irresponsible behaviour with the girls in Misa's room. I had planned to set up an interview with Misa and her new 'assistant', played by Shadow.

They were unaware of what I was setting up for them, but I were to let them know as soon as Shadow arrived from England again. Watari tiredly took a seat next to me on the couch, two cups of steaming hot coffee in either hand. "Here you go, Ryuzaki." he sighed in relief, resting my cup and saucer on the table and taking a long, refreshing gulp of coffee into his system,

"Watari, I don't think I have much time left before I die." I awkwardly blurted out. "The investigation is progressing well, but I believe that in order for this case to be solved, I might just have to sacrifice my own life to do so."

"Please don't talk like that, sir. What if Shadow were to hear you talking like that?" he questioned me with sad eyes set on me.

"I am only stating a mere fact. I don't have long, Watari." I sipped my coffee, not pleased with its bitter taste, and added another five more cubes into my 'elixir'.

"Well, what will happen to Shadow one you're gone? Is there still going to be a wedding?"

"I doubt very much so, Watari. I have already told her this…" I began to organise the graphs into a neat pile in the middles of the table. "I am unsure as to how I will come around telling her about my near death, but I do not want to marry her if I am going to be dead in less than a month as it stands. It will only crush her, and I don't want that."

"I see, sir…"

"However, Shadow's protection is vital." I divulged, catching Watari's attention a bit more. "What S has done in the passed seven years is insignificant to this case, but her safety means almost as much as this case does."

"May I ask why?" His rubbed at his moustache, glancing straight into the side of my head.

"Because S is the next L." I shared with Watari.

My time spent with Shadow since I discovered she was still alive had been a very memorable experience. An experience that I would have loved to have shared with her for a lot a longer than I had planned to. The truth was that I had been wanting to declare something for her since the week she returned from her seven year absence.

But I couldn't. There was no point allowing another person to be a large part of my life if I was going to die.

I always pondered the possibility of what could have happened if I had not put marriage onto the table, or if she rejected the idea so many years ago. The LABB Killings would have most likely never happened, and Shadow would have lived to walk down the aisle, but not to be betrothed to me.

But to Beyond.

The LABB Killings were indeed a life-changing experience for me, and Beyond should have not committed the crimes he did. But given the choice of whether I preferred to have Beyond or Kira in the world,

I'd pick Beyond every time. Beyond was mentally unsound and in effect was not responsible for his own actions. He wanted to challenge me, and that is what he got. A battle. Kira, however, is completely aware of what he is doing to the world and isn't carrying out all these killings for any specific reason other than to rid criminals of the world by being one. Which was ludicrous in itself. And I was 89% sure that Light would end up being Kira in the end, but I failed to gather the proof to prove my theory correct..

That is why I want to die. Because once the part of L is passed onto Shadow, I believe that my death will provide her with all the answers she desires. And she's always being more capable of thinking beyond the lines than I have.

I just wished I had a little while longer.

"Is there anything you would like to eat to cure that sinking feeling?" Watari offered spontaneously. I nodded, feeling reminiscent.

"Could you fetch me a jar of strawberry jam please?"

Taken aback of my request, he rushed to the kitchen and into the refrigerator.

"Any guideline as to when Shadow will be returning?" I called out to him, He arrived with a unopened jar of Hartley's strawberry jam, and shook his head.

"She hasn't specified what day she will be returning, but she said a few days." I nodded accepting her rational answer to my question. But the real question was: Will that be a few days too late?

I'll let the odds decide.

R&R me if you want more :P