Important author's note: In this chapter, someone commits suicide in Light's future visions/ dreams. If this is at all triggering to you, then please stop reading when you see 'Opening his eyes' in italics.


"Hello, Misa Amane, or should I say the Second Kira."


Amane stared at Light; her mouth hung open in shock as her eyes stared above his head. Light waited for something, some accusation, screaming, something from the Second Kira, but she said nothing as if the sight of his zero lifespan had sent her into shock. He heard Ryuk laughing behind him, and for a moment, Light wished he didn't have the shinigami following him around; it didn't look good on him if shinigamis could see each other, but Light didn't dare tell Ryuk to shut up. He had enough happen to him today, being held hostage by L, barely escaping only to run into Kira's freaking Shinigami, who was bored. Some freaky power situation happened to him; honestly, Light didn't want to think about what that could mean. Running into the second Kira should be considered the new normal in Light shitty day.

"Y-your lifespan," Amane said, and Light rolled his eyes. In the first timeline, he didn't have long from this broadcast to his arrest and subsequent execution, but Light had believed that the Second Kira must be as smart as the original, but seeing her now, he wasn't getting the same impression.

"It's not important. I will only say this once: stop looking for Kira; he will kill you the second he gets his hands on you. He won't care about your twisted worship; he will kill you to protect himself," Light said. Misa reeled back as if Light had slapped her across the face with his words.

"N-no, Kira would never harm an innocent. I-I believe in him, his desire to make a new world. I-I won't stand for your false judgment," Misa stepped back, pulling a thin black notebook from her back and throwing it open. Light recognised the Death Note from the one the Shinigami King showed him; he knew he should fight her for the Death Note, get it far away from her, but a part of him didn't want to fight, staring Misa down as she wrote his name.

"In 60 seconds, you'll die from a heart attack, and I'll find Kira. We'll rule this world together, and there's nothing you can do to stop us," Misa grinned. Light stared her down, silently counting down from 60 until he hit 0. Nothing happened. There was no tightness in his chest, pain in his neck, back or arms or shortness of breath, although Light can't breathe anymore, so that sign was a bit redundant. Misa looked horrified as she put more distance between them.

"Y-you're not dead. You should be d-dead," She stuttered.

"You can't kill the already dead. Ask your Shinigami; they'll tell you the meaning of a zero lifespan," Light said, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets.

"What is going on?" She screamed, her eyes darting between Light and an empty space, presumably her Shinigami.

"You want to find out what's going on, Misa Amane, meet me tomorrow in Aoyama at 1 pm. I'll prove that your precious Kira isn't who you first thought him to be. Listen, from what I can tell, you haven't killed that many people; you can still save yourself," Light said. He heard the sounds of police sirens getting closer; the longer he stayed here it's more likely he'll get caught. He didn't know whether L had put out a warrant for his arrest yet, and he didn't want to stick around to find out.

"Why should I trust you?" Misa asked.

"You shouldn't. You don't know who I am, but if you want answers, I'm the only person you can get them from. The police are on their way; if you don't want to get caught, then I'd leave whilst you still have the chance," Light said, turning his back on Amane and slipping out of the building into an alleyway. He didn't look back as he hid in the shadows; the entrance to Sakura TV was crawling with cops. Sticking to the darkened alleyways, Light disappeared into the night.


Misa arrived home feeling a little worse for wear. Running into Light Yagami, someone with a zero lifespan, had thrown everything she'd believed and thought she knew about the Death Note. Rem hadn't told her that a person could have a zero lifespan and that somehow Yagami was immune to the Death Note, which was impossible. The only way someone won't die is if their name is misspelt four times in the Death Note, and yet Misa had spelt Yagami's name perfectly the first time, and yet, he didn't die. Collapsing onto her bed, Misa looked at her Shinigami. Rem stared back at her, not saying anything.

"Rem," Misa started, "What does a zero lifespan mean?"

"A zero lifespan appears above a human's head for a few seconds after they die; it will then disappear once all bodily functions stop and the human's soul passes to the next life," Rem said.

"So Light Yagami is dead or stuck between the last second of life and death, but how is he still moving around," Misa asked, confused. Her brain went straight for a picture of a zombie, but Light looked nothing like an undead being walking the earth looking for brains. He looked normal.

"Yes. Light Yagami is no longer truly alive, but neither is he fully dead, living in a half-state trapped between life and death. There has only been one instance of this happening centuries ago; the old Shinigami king became fond of a human child; they would watch over him for hours, never interfering, just observing. Then, a great human plague came, and the child died. Desperate to save him, the old King captured the child's soul and brought it back to life; however, Shinigami can only deal with death, not life, so the child was restored to the moment before his death but never truly being alive again," Rem explained. Misa looked up at Rem in wonder.

"What happened next?" Misa said.

"I do not know. The child and the old King vanished, and our current king took the throne. We searched, but no one could find the old king, and it was believed that they died," Rem said. Sitting up on her bed, Misa started to think that Light Yagami must've been brought back for a reason; he seemed dedicated to stopping Kira or at least preventing Misa from finding Kira.

"The only person who can answer your questions is Light Yagami," Rem added. Misa sighed. She was desperate to find Kira, but now she was more intrigued with understanding why Light Yagami got a zero lifespan, why a Shinigami or even the new king brought him back.

"I guess we're going to Aoyama tomorrow, Rem."


Light returned to Naomi's, Ryuk still trailing behind him. Stepping through the hotel room door, he was suddenly bundled into a pair of arms.

"Thank god you're alright," Naomi said, hugging Light as tightly as she could. Light sank into her embrace, wrapping his arms around Naomi just as tightly. He couldn't remember the last time someone hugged him; it had been years, his mother stopping before he started elementary school at six. His father always told him he was at school now and needed to act like a man. He wasn't allowed comfort in his mother's arms, and even Sayu was shamed when she tried to show any sibling affection for Light.

"What happened?" Naomi asked, guiding Light to the sofa, her arms never fully leaving him.

"I sensed something was wrong when I left school. I could feel these eyes burning into the back of me. I tried looking around but couldn't see anyone, or at least no one was looking directly at me. I tried to lose them, but every time I did, it wouldn't take long until the feeling returned. Whoever was trailing me was trained, more so than Raye. I just knew something was going down, and it linked with L; I knew even if I tried to escape, I would end up caught, and I couldn't spend the next week on the run. Although, with everything that happened since, I'm effectively a fugitive," Light said, running a hand through his hair.

"Inside your bag were all your notes on Kira, the Death Note and your time travel. You prioritised hiding it from L then your safety," Naomi said.

"I know I can't hide from L forever; I wanted to elude myself into believing I could find Kira without ever having to deal with him again. After I messaged you, I left the abandoned shopping lot and ran. I wanted to put as much distance between the notebook and myself so they wouldn't find it before you had time to come collect it later. They found me, knocked me out, and I woke up in a cell. L interrogated me; he wanted me to confess to being Kira, but I lost it at L, shouted my head off, and called L a monster before going mute. A month had passed; it felt like years. I had nothing to do, just stare at some empty walls. The only person I saw was the man who brought my meals, but for the most part, he wore a mask," Light said. Naomi's presence was the only thing keeping him going.

"I didn't sleep or at least tried not to, but one day, I drifted off and had one of those future dreams. It was Sayu crying her eyes out in her room, begging me to be alive and with her; she didn't believe I was Kira. I guess that's some consolation that not all my family turned on me. Seeing my sister broke me. L tried to taunt me into confessing, and I called L out about when he was planning to execute me. I think being trapped inside that cell, part of me was giving up. I wanted this all to be over, and even if I went down for being Kira, again, at least I'd be at peace, but before I could say anything too damning, the Shinigami King pulled me. I can only imagine what L and the others thought when my body collapsed," Light added.

"The Shinigami King kept my consciousness in his realm for half an hour before sending me back. I wasn't fully with it when I woke up; I knocked some guy out, stole his security card and fled. I ran into L, saw his face, his name, everything. I said his name stupidly, but it seemed to shock him long enough that I could get past and escape. The Shinigami King warned me, and I vaguely remembered the appearance of the Second Kira," Light said.

"The broadcast on Sakura TV? It's a different Kira," Naomi asked; the TV in her hotel room was still live on Sakura TV with staff already talking about the terror and honour they experienced being used by Kira.

"Yes, this Kira, she worships the original and is desperate to meet him. When I escaped L's prison, I went to Sakura TV, sneaked inside, and when the message started playing, I stole the taps," Light lied, his hand waving over to the bag he dropped by the hotel room door. He wasn't sure how to explain what had happened in the control room at Sakura TV, so for the time being, as Light gets his head around it, he'll keep what happened a secret, that and Ryuk. Naomi won't be happy he let Kira's Shinigami follow him home, no matter how much Ryuk says he isn't on Kira's side.

"She? You think the Second Kira is female," Naomi asked.

"I know she is. I saw her leaving the building across from Sakura TV. I confronted her and everything," Light said, and he could tell from the expression on Naomi's face that she wasn't happy with him.

"Confronting the Second Kira alone, Light, what were you thinking?" Naomi said.

"I know, but at the moment, I was safe. The only weapon on her is the Death Note, and I've already established that I'm immune to it. Kira, the Second Kira, they can write my name in the notebook a hundred times, and I won't die. She wasn't expecting someone to confront her, especially not someone like me. I know I wasn't thinking properly; most of my decisions lately have been a spur of the moment, but Kira is dangerous on his own, and the last thing we can do is let another Kira reign terror across the world, especially when I discovered her identity to early on. If we can convince her that Kira isn't the saviour she first imagined, we can dissuade her from using the Death Note. I asked her to meet me tomorrow in Aoyama; if I can't persuade her, I'll contact the task force and hand over my information anonymously," Light explained.

"This is a dangerous game you're playing, Light," Naomi said, and Light nodded; he knew every move he made could lead him back down the road of his death, but ever since coming back, he knew that catching Kira wouldn't be easy and Light is ready to make the necessary sacrifices he needs to stop Kira.

"I know, but I have no choice but to play," Light said. Naomi let out a loud sigh.

"Fine, if you're going to confront the Second Kira, I will be your backup. I'll stay in the shadows and observe, stepping in if I believe your life is at risk," Naomi said, giving Light a stern look, telling him that she won't back down no matter what he says.

"Okay," Light agreed with much reluctance; he didn't want to put Naomi at any more risk than he already had.

"Good, now we should get some rest," Naomi said, standing up. She grabbed the pillow and duvet from the cupboard and placed them on the sofa.

"I'm going to stay up and finalise more of the plan for tomorrow, but you get some sleep," Light said. Sleep was the last thing he needed.

"Light," Naomi said, but Light kept his eyes trained on the floor, "Look at me."

Reluctantly looking up, Naomi cupped his face with her hand, "Listen, I understand that whenever you're sleeping, you have these dreams, but from what I can tell, they're horrible, and I don't want you to suffer from them, but forcing yourself to stay awake won't stop them and the longer to fight them the harder it will be when it finally drags you under. You can't fight all your battles head-on, but you can fight this one. Use what you see of the world you left behind and work towards never letting it happen. You can't control what you see, but I'll be damned if I let any of them happen. We'll find Kira and stop him, but you can't do that if you evade sleep."

Light looked at Naomi; he couldn't deny it; his eyes felt heavy. Nodding his head, Light kicked his shoes off and lay on the sofa, resting his head against the pillow. Naomi covered him in the duvet, her fingers brushing through his hair.

"Goodnight, Light," she said as she walked towards her bedroom.

"Goodnight, Naomi," Light replied quietly as sleep took hold.

Opening his eyes, Light noticed he was in his room. It still looked the same: his book dropped on the floor, his curtain partly pulled back to let some light in without flooding the whole room with artificial light from the street lights. His bed was neatly made, his clothes hung up for the next day, and his homework piled on his desk, waiting to be put in his bag. Everything looked the same except for the fine sprinkle of dust and cobwebs.

Looking at his bedroom door, Light could tell it was locked. No one dared enter his room after his death.

"Sayu, I'm going shopping," his mother's drained voice said. Sayu didn't reply, nor did their mother give her time as the front door shut. Half of him didn't understand why he was seeing this; all his last 'dreams' had some significance to his family's future, his father's alcoholism, his mother's abused form and his sister's grief, but this wasn't like that, watching his family's lives continue in this altered state through his locked bedroom door. The second, louder part knew something was coming, something terrible. Light never saw any kind of happiness in these future dreams.

The sound of a key rattled in the door before it swung open, and Sayu stepped inside. In her hand, she held a kitchen knife. Sayu shut the door behind her, walked over to his bed and sat down, dropping the knife beside her.

"Light, I don't know whether you're watching me from wherever you are. I know you never believed in Heaven, but I hope it exists so I can see you again," Sayu said.

"I'm here, Sayu," Light said, crouching beside her.

"It's been hell here, Light. Dad is drunk all the time, abusing Mom, abusing me. I can't stand it; we've lost everything, yet he believes he's the only one suffering after your death. It's his fault to begin with. He wants a smart child, someone to show off, and I don't meet his expectations. He wants to replace you, Light. No one can replace you. I'm not smart like you; things like that don't come easy, and I've had enough. I've had enough of the constantly studying, him always hovering over my shoulder, punishing me if I get a single question wrong," Sayu said with tears streaming down her face.

"I can't live like this. I tried running away, but they dragged me back here," Sayu said as she pushed her long sleeves up, revealing red cuts and scars littering her arms. "I wanted all the torture and suffering to end."

"Sayu, don't," Light pleaded, even though he knows his sister can't hear him.

Sayu picked the kitchen knife up, deeply dragging the sharp blade against her wrists - one, two, three cuts. Fresh tears fell from Sayu's eyes as she cut her other wrist. Dropping the knife to the floor, Sayu lay back on Light's bed with a small smile. Blood poured out her wrists, staining her clothes red.

"I'm tired, Light. I'm just so tired." Light lay beside his sister, his hand lightly resting on hers.

"I promise you, Sayu, I'll fix this. I'll stop Kira and make sure you'll never think that taking your own life is the only way to save yourself. I promise I'll be better. I'll be with you whenever you need me," Light said. Sayu's head turned until they looked each other in the eyes, and her smile widened.

"Light, you're here," Sayu said, then the light shining in her eyes dimmed and she died.

Light shot up, his body shaking. Burnt into his mind was the peaceful look on Sayu's face as she died, and he hated that his little sister was drawn to do that to save herself from the monster that their father had turned into. Light screamed, and waves of black mist shot from his body, smashing anything they hit. Light heard a commotion from Naomi's bedroom as she rushed out, calling his name, but Light didn't respond, and he screamed. Pulling at his hair, Light wanted nothing more in the world than to cry, and no tears would fall with how cursed he was.