Author's Note: To begin, I would like to thank those who reviewed. Your words mean very much to me indeed, and I'm pleased to hear from you.

In response to inquiries about which of the L/Light pairing would be a 'seme' or 'uke', I'm afraid that I will have to disappoint. I am not fond of the terms, much as I am not fond of the terms 'butch' or 'lipstick' lesbians. Such terms are generally an attempt to classify the partners as the 'man' or the 'woman' in the relationship- and, as the dynamics of homosexual relationships are rather different from those of heterosexual relationships, I find it both confusing and a little insulting to classify them in such terms. In regards to one partner 'submitting' to the other... in an ideal relationship, both partners are equal, and feel equal regardless of positioning. If my readers would like to see a definite 'top' and 'bottom', I recommend that they look into either heterosexual or S&M fiction.

Now, having climbed off of my soap box, I would also like to note that much of the dialogue in this chapter and in following chapters will be taken directly from the anime, and therefore present the following disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. The rights belong to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.

~*~I am afraid my transitions do not make the transition to , so you must suffer through squiggles from now on.~*~

November 28th, 2003

Sayu woke up early this morning. She was already dressed and alert when I entered the kitchen this morning, which was odd. I asked her how she slept and it's a sign of her perceptiveness that she understood that what I was really asking was, "Is the stress of this keeping you up at night, too?". She smiled and shook her head, giving me a slightly pitying look, but it disappeared before I could bring myself to feel angry with her.

"I wanted to talk to you before you left," she said, and she gave me a cup of coffee she had prepared. It wasn't hot enough, and it tasted like she had added sugar, but I appreciated the sentiment and the caffeine, so I said nothing. My mother gave me breakfast, and I thanked her. Sayu waited for her to leave before she began.

"Did you know that I keep a diary?" She asked, making eye contact with me. She looked very serious, and it felt odd to see her doing anything but smiling or teasing. It made me uncomfortable, but proud, because sometimes I forgot that my little sister could be clever, too.

It took me a moment to process her question, and when I had, I frowned. "If you're asking if I've been reading it, I'm-"

"I'm not accusing you of anything," Sayu said quickly, and she flashed a small smile. It disappeared as quickly as it came. "I just..." She seemed lost for a moment, before blurting, "They're not just for girls, you know." I didn't question this statement, sure that she would explain herself in the absence of a response. "You've been looking really bad lately, big bro," she said, breaking eye contact now, blushing lightly and tracing patterns on the dining table. "You've got so much on your mind all the time, and I know you're keeping track of all of the stuff... all of the stuff that's going on, but I think that maybe you're so caught up in everything that you're not really paying any attention to what you feel. And I know that I always feel better after I write in my diary. It helps me understand myself, and the feelings don't hurt as much once they're on paper, you know?" She looked up at me now, then smiled another sad little smile. "Anyway, I just... thought you might want to give it a shot." She stood from the table, walked around, and gave me a hug. It was slightly awkward, as I was sitting down, but I returned the embrace. "...I'm going to get ready for school," she finally said, extricating herself from me. She paused at the doorway. "Love you, Light," she said, then disappeared up the stairs.

Sayu is not book smart, but she knows about feelings. I think she knows me better than I have ever given her credit for. I have decided

"What's the matter, Yagami?" Light froze in his writing and looked up at the teacher. Ask me a question about the reading, he thought, assume that I was taking notes. "Please translate the sentence."

"Follow the teachings of God," he said, dutifully. "Then the blessings of the sea will become bountiful...and there will be no storms." Once Light was satisfied that the teacher had lost interest in him, he picked up my pencil once more.

I have decided to try it.

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A shadow lurked in the courtyard, dark gaze fixed upon a school window. Just visible through the glare of the sun, a young man could be seen writing in a notebook. The shadow took a shuddering breath, hands shaking with excited tremors at the sight of

"God," he breathed, looking reverently at the oblivious student in the window. "Please," he begged in the empty courtyard, partially hidden behind a tree. "I know that I am not worthy, but I do not know how I can become worthy! How can I serve you? How can I show you my devotion? Please, God! Tell me!..."

The shadow's breath hitched as the object of his devotion turned his amber gaze to the window. The student cocked his head, seemingly puzzled, as he watched something black plummet to the ground outside the window. The boy shook his head, turning back to the front of the classroom, as if dismissing the occurrence.

The shadow did no such thing. "God!..." He said fervently, rushing over to the item that had fallen from the sky. It was clearly a sign from God. His prayers had been answered! He picked it up, holding it reverently. It was a thin black notebook. He ran one hand over the words on the cover, Death Note. He glanced up at the window again, puzzled, but his God was not watching anymore. He was probably ashamed, the shadow thought. Ashamed that his servant was so incapable, that he needed such help in order to serve him. Swallowing, the shadow opened the notebook.

"Death Note..." He murmured, gaze traveling over the rules written on the inside cover of the notebook. "How to use it..." He gasped, and a broad, toothy smile spread across his face. It did not suit his features, and made him seem as manic as his next words. "The human whose name is written in this note shall die." A high bark of laughter escaped the shadow, and he briefly glanced around to see if anyone had heard. The courtyard was empty, though, and trembling hands closed the note as the shadow swept into a low bow. "Yes, God. Thank you, God. I love you, God."

The shadow hurried away from the school, eager to serve his God.

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"The assailant who killed six people yesterday at a busy shopping district in Shinjuku has now taken eight people hostage, including children and teachers, in this daycare center..."

Light listened to the news absentmindedly, debating between studying or writing in his journal. He eventually decided on studying. Journal writing could wait until he had caught up to where he needed to be... He couldn't let himself fall behind in his schoolwork, no matter the extenuating circumstances. He glanced up at the small television in his room, mildly interested, as he fished his books out of his school bag.

"...The police have now identified the suspect as 42-year-old Kurou Otoharada, unemployed."

They flashed a picture of Otoharada, and Light analyzed his appearance. He was gaunt, disheveled, and looked older than his years. Light suspected drug involvement or psychological instability, possibly a combination of the two.

"The police will begin negotiations with the suspect."

I will begin this religious propaganda, he thought, frowning lightly as he reviewed the reading from earlier in the day.

"...Well, that is not clear at the moment."

"I'm so worried for the hostages right now."

Follow the teachings of God...

"Yes."

Then, the blessings of the sea will become bountiful...

"This has been a report from the scene."

"Thank you very much. What do you think, Mr. Hashimoto?"

"Well, I'm hoping for a quick resolution to this."

...and there will be no storms.

"Just a minute. There seems to be something happening. The hostages are coming out!"

"What?" Light closed the text book, focusing on the screen and waiting for an explanation.

"They all seem to be all right! And now it looks like the SWAT team is entering! Has the suspect been arrested?- Yes! We just received word that the suspect has died inside the daycare center! The suspect is dead!"

Died? Light's mind was quickly running through the possibilities. He doubted any of the teachers would have been dumb enough to try to overpower someone who was clearly dangerous and unstable, and the children wouldn't have been physically able to do it, so that ruled out the idea that a hostage had killed him. The police had been outside the building... suicide, then? It seemed the most likely.

"The police are strongly denying that they shot the suspect!"

"Then could he have felt cornered... and committed suicide?"

"According to one of the hostages, 'the suspect just suddenly collapsed'."

"Suddenly collapsed," Light repeated, disbelieving. It was really very strange. It reminded me of stories where people spoke out against God and were immediately struck by lightning, even on a clear day. To just suddenly collapse... then again. There was no such thing as a God, sitting back and judging the wrong-doers of the world (though his stalker clearly believed otherwise). Even if such a being existed, surely they would not exercise their power against such a small offender as Otoharada... There had to be an explanation. It was likely that the stress of being cornered, coupled with the cocktail of drugs Otoharada was almost certainly on, caused the man's heart to simply give out.

Yes, that sounded reasonable. An oddly fortuitous occurrence, but nothing completely out of the ordinary. Still, he would document it in his journal.

"Light! It's almost 6:30, and your father wanted me to drive you to your prep course tonight!" Sachiko Yagami called up the stairs.

"Coming, Mom!" He called, gathering his books together once again. He'd document the instance when he got back.

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The shadow gaped at the television screen. It was... real?

He shook himself. Of course it was real. It was a tool delivered to him by God. But to see it in action was...

Amazing.

The shadow smiled broadly, chuckling darkly. He had asked his God for a sign, and he had been given a quest, and the tool with which to complete it. He had been gifted with a notebook of death, and he would carry out his God's divine justice with it. He would rid the world of all that was filthy, corrupt, and unjust. He would eliminate all those who opposed the reign of his God. He would place his God at the head of a brand new world.