Author's Note: Hey guys, here's another chapter for you all, sorry for such a late update. Thanks so much for the patience :) My story is going to be coming to a close rather soon. If anybody has any radical ideas they can give me, now's the time.

Also, to those of you who are reviewing/favouriting, you seriously make my day ^_^ 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

Warning: This chapter may contain slightly mature subject matter. I mean, I personally wouldn't call it too mature, but I think others might feel that it is, so what the heck :)

Spoiler Alert: This chapter contains material to episode 33.

For once in who knows how long we were just us. We were three teenaged kids, with teenage problems and teenage angst. We were three teenagers who were goofing off and having fun. We were three teenaged kids with teenage fun and teenage love. For once we didn't have to be the overly intelligent Wammy's kids or the, overly cautious Kira investigators. For once, we were just us.

But one of the things about being who you are, is there are a lot of different parts that make you, you. And sooner or later, those different parts come out. The fact remained that we were teenagers, we were just kids. But we were also Wammy's kids; we were also investigating Kira.

By mutual consensus however, we'd decided to take a couple much needed days off to recharge. Matt spent his allotted time playing video games. I'd pulled out some of my old physics textbooks and ran through some problems to keep my brain in top working order. Mello was actually gone for most of the time. I didn't want to be nosy and ask what he was up to, but at the same time I worried that he might be getting into trouble... or worse, working on the case in secret.

Somewhere along the line Near had graced us with a call, letting us know he had relocated to New York and that he and his team were for the most part, in one piece. I was most relieved, Matt seemed uninterested, Mello was still MIA.

Matt was using his hand held gaming devise and I was reading a book when the door slammed. Matt and I must have both been secretly on edge because my book ended up in the intruder's face and Matt ended up on the floor on the far side of the loveseat.

"What's the big idea?" Mello asked, catching my book and strolling in.

"Good grief, you're asking US what the big idea is? You almost gave us heart attacks," ...No Kira reference intended.

"Heh, speak for yourself, I wasn't scared," Matt stated shakily, pulling himself up off the floor. We both looked at him like he was crazy.

"Sure Matt. You just made the Cowardly Lion look like Mark Twain," I rolled my eyes at him.

"Mark Twain?"

"He was the one who once said something to the effect of, 'Courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it.'"

"Whatever," Matt said flatly and planted himself back on the recliner.

Mello came to sit beside me on the loveseat; I bolted up and headed for my bedroom. I caught the look of confusion on Mello's face as I passed him.

I made sure I closed the door behind myself, but not thirty seconds later it opened and Mello came in.

"What's up?" he asked me, a concerned tone in his voice.

For the past couple days I'd been considering the worst. And no, the worst wasn't even that Mello was getting into trouble over the case; the worst was something I scarcely had the nerve to admit to myself.

"I didn't know if you were coming back or not." I said flatly.

"Where else was I going to go?"

"That's not what I mean."

Mello took a moment to process what I'd just said before it clicked.

"Why would that even occur to you? Why would you even think that?" He took another moment before he was able to answer his own question. "You?" I nodded, and I felt him stiffen behind me. He grabbed my arm and spun me around so that I had to look at him. "Why! What were you thinking!" he was almost shouting, but not quite.

"What was I thinking?" I scoffed, "One, obviously I wasn't. Two, you know what I was thinking? All I could think about was how L had died, how Kira had won. How you'd left and how Near'd left, and how I was told I might never walk again. All I could think about was how Matt..." I jabbed a finger at the closed door, the subject in question being on the other side, "...was all I had left in the world, but it just wasn't enough, because I wasn't strong enough."

"Jewel..."

"Look, it's no big deal alright, it's over."

"No it's not over! How could you do something so reckless, so destructive?"

"You want to talk about destructive, go talk to your friend out there. You think he started smoking because it was 'cool'?" I snarled. "And you're the one who tried to make it on your own at fifteen!" I tried to keep my voice down for Matt's sake.

Mello started ranting then and I all but zoned out, only hearing bits and pieces, "...Jewel... Irresponsible... responsible decisions... destructive..." Finally as zoned out as I was I couldn't take it anymore.

"Destructive? You want to see destructive?" I tore my hands free from his grasp and reached down to my belt. After undoing it, and the button and zipper on my jeans, I let the denim fall to the floor to expose my bare legs.

All the way from my ankles to the bottom of my black briefs, angry white and pink lines crisscrossed over my flesh. "One for every painful memory," I told him. "Just enough to keep me alive, and just too many to let me live." I paused to let it sink in. "You think YOU had teen angst? Tch, you have no idea." I picked my jeans up from the floor and fastened them back around my waist. Mello hadnt made a sound.

Suddenly Matt burst into the room, television remote in his hands.

"Guys! Come check this out!"

We rushed into the living room as the last man standing on Demegawa's new program clutched his chest and fell to the ground. Followed closely by Demegawa himself.

Nobody in the room spoke. We all just stared. Kira had just killed his own man... it was clear that no one was off limits.

The events that had just taken place already a forgotten memory.

It wasn't too long after our little episode that we'd had to relocate to accommodate our surveillance needs. Near had asked us to keep an eye on Misa and Mogi while they were around. I couldn't believe we were doing this again. I'd already trailed Misa for a month, I hadn't discovered anything. I may not have been the best tail in the world, but did anybody really hope to discover any more than I had?

This was pointless; and it was an extra drag that our 'relocation' had lead us to the grungiest building on the planet. I was sure that at any moment the Department of Health would burst in to condemn the roach motel... Nope, this place was even to dirty for cockroaches. It was dark, the wallpaper was tearing off, the flooring was chipped and the shades on the windows weren't fit to be used as grease cloths in a mechanics shop. I missed my apartment.

In total contrast to the building was our new equipment; brand new everything, and top of the line at that. Laptops, listening devises, cameras. Matt had even picked himself up a new gaming system. Mello had gotten for himself a box of chocolate bars to sustain him, and I had enough bubblegum to last to the apocalypse... which might be closer than everyone imagined, assuming Kira came out on top.

"Guys, check this out!" Matt said suddenly, turning his computer screen towards us, unplugging his headphones and turning up the volume.

"Good evening, this is Kiomi Takada from News Six. Starting today it is my duty to spread the word of Kira accurately and completely. From now on NHN..."

"Kiomi Takada?" I chirped, "That's the girl Light used to date in college! L had done a side investigation on her because of her connection to Light but the finding's had been inconclusive."

"Sush!" Mello scolded. Matt turned the volume higher on his laptop.

"Good evening, this is the nine o'clock news. First I have an announcement that comes directly from Kira, his words are to become the new law of the world. Kira will never forgive those people whose existence is a threat to justice. But he will also not forgive those who live wastefully and refuse to use their abilities to contribute to the betterment of society..."

I just might throw up.

"Well it sure didn't take them too long to replace Demegawa."

"Thanks Captain Obvious," Mello said to Matt. He'd sure been in a terribly touchy mood lately.

I couldn't look at the screen anymore; I turned around, disgusted. This had gone too far. It had been bad enough when Kira was killing criminals; it had been had enough when Kira started to kill people who were after him, but now what? Now he was just going to start killing EVERYBODY? Nobody was perfect, not even L had been perfect! Was Light planning on just wiping out the planet? Was he going to kill every human being, every man, woman and child? What was he going to do after that? Was he going to kill dogs and cats and freaking gold fish next? That power crazed megalomaniac! Talk about an antisocial personality disorder, delusions of grandeur... Oh the psych paper I'd write about him if we ever got through this.

"This is sick!" I hissed, "This is just freaking sick! He thinks he's a god but he's not! God isn't like this! God is just and caring, he loves people, even the people who do bad... even tax collectors!" It sounded like a joke but I was dead serious. I followed the silver chain around my neck fished under the neck line of my shirt for my cross. "People who waste? People who are lazy?" I asked Mello and Matt, "Who's he going to extend his reach to next? He's already got wrathful people on his list, he just added slothful people. So who's next? Envious people, gluttonous people, lustful people? What about greedy and prideful people? Because quite frankly I think that describes Kira to a T! He's probably quite proud of himself right now, he's got everybody beat. And he's even greedier than I am! And that's saying something!" I shouted.

Mello shot up off the dingy couch and walked forcefully over to me. He grabbed my arm and shoved me backward into the adjoining room; closing the door behind him, leaving Matt all alone.

And then he embraced me in the tightest hug I'd ever had. I started sobbing instantly as I could no longer contain the flood of emotions inside of me. My knees buckled and I collapsed to the floor with Mello still hanging onto me. I bawled into his chest and got my arms free enough so I could wrap them around him.

"I'm so fucking scared Mello!" I shrieked. "He's got us all backed into a corner. We, we can't fight fair anymore Mello! There's no more time for that. We have to act now! We have to end this before it gets any more out of hand. We need to go in shooting if it calls for it! We, we..." my wailing had overcome me completely, I'd run out of words.

"Listen to me Jewel, I'm going to do whatever I takes to make sure you don't get hurt alright?" He said the next part quietly, "Near's working on a plan, I think I might be able to help, we might have this solved more quickly than it looks okay? You're going to be fine!" I didn't like the way he was saying 'you're' and not 'we're', but I suppose I was the one in hysterics, not him. He only needed to convince me.

He held me in his arms until I stopped shaking and then lead me back into the other room. Matt acted as though nothing had happened and for that I was grateful. The last thing I needed was any more pity.

I spent the next few days comatose at my computer. There was nothing left for me to do, and no more tears left in me to cry... at least for the moment.

"Jewel, are you alright?" Mello pulled me from my stupor.

"Oh yeah, sure, why?"

"Because..." Mello came over to the computer. He took the mouse from my hands and ran it over some command boxes on the screen, "...I've never known you to lose even one game of FreeCell. You've just lost eight in a row."

I stared at the screen and sure enough the read out on the dialogue box proved his accusation. I sighed with disdain and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Look, I know we're all sick of this, so actually, I have an idea," he kind of smirked at me.

"What's your idea?" Matt cut in from this kitchen, his head in the fridge.

Mello looked at us, "We're going to Japan."

Author's Note: Wow, this chapter was so hard to write. I ran out of stuff to have happen in this one ha-ha. I hope it was still interesting. And sorry about the timeline mistakes... again, lol.

Alright, time for a poll. You guys get to vote on my next FanFic. I'm going to give you a couple options, and a couple little facts about each:

1. BB FanFic. This Fic I've kind of already started, and am more or less ready to dive right into because I already know everything I want to do with it. Also, it's relevant because I'm working with Death Note right now. This would not be a canon obviously... unless I happened to join the LABB Murder Case file, or whatever later on.

2. L FanFic. Same as above. This would be a canon though.

3. Mello FanFic. This would be a prequel to the story I just wrote. All about Mello and Jewel's life at Wammy's before and leading up to the Kira case. Also, because I would want to make it a love story in its own right, I would have to alter some facts, like Mello and Jewel's first kiss, as well as their love-hate relationship.

4. Gaara FanFic. This one I'm really excited about and really want to write. As before, I know what I want to have happen, and have already written the skeleton plot for it. This one would be a canon, but have an UBER love theme ;P However, Naruto is still running as far as I know, therefore, there may be a large break in the story where I wait for something new to happen with Gaara on account of it will be a canon.

5. Suprise me. Tell me who you want to see me write about.