True Elision Chapter 12: Muddled Musings, a death note fanfic

HiYAA!! It's me again. Obviously, I don't have to tell you that my sacred oath to finish the fic by the end of July has failed(!) I'm very sorry! I really tried, and I truly was working on it day and night!

Until finally, my brain kind of just...exploded! I hit a writer's block the size of Mt Everest! I'm serious! And even now I'm not sure I'm actually satisfied with what I've created in this chapter!

I hope everyone likes it – I tried to make it piquant and keep the anxiety of the readers going until the very end. Writing this chapter was pure torture, to put it simply. This was because I was too impatient to get to the end of it that I kept missing the point and having to rewrite things!

Please excuse the multiple errors that I'm sure are everywhere in the text! I'm looking for a new beta now, so that I'll avoid as many errors as I can!

I hope you enjoy this! And I promise I'll do my very best for the next update to come much faster than this.

(OMG I can't believe I got all those reviews! This story has the most reviews I've ever gotten!! Thank you! And the funny thing is that I always thought I'd get no reviews for this!)

Muddled Musings

«This is...Mu...» Raito muttered, his tone a fusion of disbelief and surprise as he stepped forward, dragging his feet over the pebbles and red dust of the soil. Right now, though, he couldn't care less about the friction between his shoes and the dirt, since he was too preoccupied with the horizon to pay attention to the ground.

The intense light which had blinded him was only starting to fade, and the illumination still made it hard for Raito to discern his environment, since the light made the edges of objects seem vague and crude. And so, Raito dared to take a few more steps outside the wooden cabin, staring around with inadvertent wonder as the image of this Brave New World settled in. And what a world it was.

At this point, there was no helping it. Raito's jaws dropped open slightly, unprepared as he was for the sight that greeted him. He didn't know what he'd been expecting: some Ghost Town, perhaps...or an abandoned desert of some sort. At least this was the way he'd imagine the world of the Shinigami to be, based on Ryuuku's descriptions.

And now, just below the small hill he was standing on, as far as the eye could see, stretching deep into the edges of stereoscopic vision, was a throng – a huge, never ending crowd – of people.

Presently, Raito was standing on the top of a small hill, upon which a few wooden huts – including the one he'd just exited – were situated. From up here he had an incredible view and could observe the heads of millions of people – like little coloured spots – in front of him. Seeing such a great gathering was a tad intimidating, especially since all these people seemed to have no unity in any way. They were dressed in any kind of strange attire the human mind can fathom and, when combined together, looked like a huge cosplay group – each person so different from the other that they all created a discordant melody. Raito's eyes widened involuntarily as he even caught sight of what looked like a Roman soldier walking around the grounds...and the rusty armour looked like the real thing, not like cosplay.

Were all these people...dead? Like...Raito? And these Romans...had they stayed here in Mu for entire millenniums...would Raito...have the same fate? He felt a chill run up his spine at the sheer thought of it.

And strangely, very few of all these people were talking to each other. In fact, as Raito stood there at the top of the hill, there was a strange, bizarre silence stretching over the valley in front of him...as though the sound was muted. In fact, only now and then Raito thought he heard a sound, like some kind of shriek or siren, ring upwards from the crowd. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. It felt...the whole atmosphere of silence, despite the huge gathering...as though they were all...ghosts.

'Well technically, that's what they are...' Raito thought before he could stop himself, and immediately a chill ran down his spine 'And I'm one of them.'

People, people and more people, walking, running...but not talking...Raito, who had spent so much time isolated and without any other real soul – except his own hallucinations – to communicate with, now felt overwhelmed at the concentration of all these humans, who he could surmise were not at all hallucinations...they looked autonomous. And quite real. He suddenly felt extremely exposed, standing there in plain sight, probably sticking out like a sore thumb. Even though no one seemed to be looking at him, Raito suddenly longed for the quiet reassurance of his isolation.

But, despite his unwarranted and inexplicable feeling of self-consciousness and annoyance, he couldn't ignore the fact that there were no monsters coming to chase him and no one trying to force him into undergoing tremendous pain...he supposed the panic was...over? This realization after so much time, was crippling in its force. Even if this place, Mu, eventually turned out to be the worst place he had ever been in, the fact that it was real alleviated most of his irritation. But even so, all the time he'd spent in the Trial of Souls had taught him never to make assumptions without knowing all the facts. Truth be told, unfortunately, he knew nothing about the nature of this world of Mu...he shouldn't assume that the panic was completely over without knowing all the facts first.

Even though there were no visible monsters around, Raito was not yet prepared to let his guard down. After all, the worst kind of monster is the one that catches one unawares.

Raito forgot about the humans for a moment, focusing instead on the environment. In front of him stretched a huge, pit-like valley, where all the humans were assembled. The hill that Raito was standing on, on closer inspection, looked less like a hill and more like an ancient tomb – the kind of tomb where great amounts of soil are thrown to cover the structure. Raito turned around to look at the hut he'd just exited, and was surprised to notice that, all around him, there were various other 'hill-like' tombs, all with huts on top of them. And curiously enough, some of these hills had a single person standing on them, with the door of the wooden hut open, staring around curiously, looking overwhelmed.

Raito wondered if these other people standing on hills were just like him: had they just arrived here? It certainly seemed so, judging from the confused expressions on their faces.

The plane in front of Raito, the one where people were gathered, looked like a desert – a desert full of pathetic little ants, humans. And, since the sky was filled with the orange-blue hues of sunset, Raito felt a shiver run up his spine. It didn't only look like a desert, but it felt like a desert as well, even though it was full of people instead of grains of sand. But even though the world seemed dark, as though a dark cloud of burgundy rust was over their heads, the light of the sun – if there even was a sun, Raito wondered, as he tried to check the sky – was still here, discreet and light orange as it illuminated the fancy white robes of Arab women who passed.

But it wasn't a desert in the conventional sense, since it didn't only include flat planes. Perhaps the most genuinely terrifying, absolutely crippling part of all was that, jutting out haphazardly from the desert in front of Raito, surrounded by the endless crowd of people, were buildings.

Raito felt his innards freeze as he recognized the shape of the twin World Trade Centre towers, piercing like pillars of ice through the horizon in the distance – looming ominously over the crowds. The man was left speechless for a few moments, staring at the buildings at a loss. Hadn't they been...? He noticed that, even thought they had the normal shape and height of the Twin Towers he remembered, they didn't have the same...colour, or material.

Judging from their warm orange and brown colour, these Towers, in Mu, were comprised by...rust. Raito observed the other buildings around, recognizing a Byzantine-looking palace structure, a cowboy ranch, and even a concentration of rust-coloured wooden huts. He thought he managed to recognize the ruins of an ancient Buddhist temple... but overall, judging by their pathetic appearance, all these structures looked like utter ruins. But as Raito stared at them, trying to observe them in greater detail, he gasped.

Could it be...? He wondered, the wildness of the idea overcoming his brain. Could it be that not only dead humans come here in Mu...but...'dead' buildings as well? Of course, at first sight, there was no way these buildings could serve as functional places, seeing as they even seemed to originate from different eras...but their presence, strong and overpowering, gave this place a sense of...geography...The geography of ruins. The atmosphere seemed even more oppressive now than before, and Raito felt a very keen frost grip his heart as he evaluated the situation.

Despite the warm colours around him, the only thing he could see was a mass of...obviously dead humans, moving mechanically like zombies, without speaking to each other...roaming around in a land covered by...dead buildings.

Everything around him was...dead. Raito couldn't help but wonder if the buildings were here to accentuate the nature of the people: crumbling, rusty, silent...and forgotten by those who live.

There was some new coldness in Raito's veins now, as he realized that, indeed, he hadn't found his long-awaited nirvana after all. Despite all the trials he'd faced...

Of course, perhaps his sadness could be due to his active realization – which hadn't really happened until now – that he truly, indisputably and honestly was...dead to the world. Of course, he'd already theoretically known this, but it was difficult for one to feel dead when their consciousness is still alive. And yet, now that the gruesome vision was set in front of his eyes, Raito could see the morbid truth: alive, yet dead. All these people...obviously had no purpose.

Raito turned backwards, looking at the small wooden hut, with its door barely staying on its hinges, which looked darker and more desolate the further away he walked – an unpleasant memory of the horror he'd experienced. Looking around now, in the distance, he could see more of these huts around him, some of them in the valley amongst the ground, some elevated on hills, like Raito's had been.

Were these huts...channels? Channels out of which people travelled and arrived to Mu?

Slowly, Raito moved away from his own hut, feeling comforted by the fact that, in this whole world of chaos, where the ground seemed completely flat and not circular like that of the Earth, he at least had originated from somewhere.

Looking around more carefully, Raito also noticed some trees in the distance – like a forest. He thought he even saw some vague shapes, which may have been animals, and started moving forward as if to observe better. But he didn't have the chance to investigate the matter any further, because, in his attempt to leave the hill he'd been standing on, he'd unwittingly stumbled on something and lost his balance. Rolling in the red soil for a few paces and tasting the ashen flavour of the soil in his mouth – as though the ground had been scorched, or something – he reflexively tried to shield his head. Eventually, he stopped, and sat up shakily.

Unwilling to admit that his knees had grown a bit unsteady, he tried to gather himself and stand, careful to steady himself on the incline of the ground. Noticing that his khaki trousers and forest green – by now half torn – sweater were covered by dirt, he turned around crossly to determine exactly what he'd stumbled on.

A few metres overhead, he could see a stray piece of...rusty...metal? It was a...a small heap of junk: Raito thought it vaguely reminded him of an old bicycle. Squinting his eyes and observing his surroundings more carefully, he noticed that, cradling the various hills around him, gathered on the edges of the crowd of people, there were entire...entire...junkyards. And all the rubbish was metal or plastic – there were no organic compounds, or food. Heaps of trashed cars, which looked as though they'd just come from a car accident...broken refrigerators with seemingly rotten moss inside their shelves...all kinds of rusty electrical appliances.

As Raito carefully walked downwards to observe, careful not to tumble down the hill again, he thought he even caught sight of a...a rusty Super Nintendo! There were broken televisions, trashed light bulbs, batteries...analogical clocks, even a steamboat! And wait, was that a...a...

A two-wheel chariot!?

Every single thing that humans have created – and which was destroyed in the real world – was here. All kinds of things, originating from different eras of human history...Raito caught some of some strange devices vaguely reminiscent of mobile phones, but he didn't recognize the technology. He could only guess that, as strange as it sounded...these devices had been invented...after his death! A part of him – the scientific ingenious part – cheered at this discovery, realizing that it was amazing he could now see the technology of the future. But he was quickly disappointed, realizing that he would never manage to see this technology at work – obviously, he'd only ever see the rubbish...or the 'dead' pieces.

And in any case, he should probably feel grateful that he knew as much as he did. He could only imagine how out of sorts the other people in Mu must be feeling – those ancients must be feeling horrible at having missed out on all those years of technological development. So Mu was the place, Raito decided, where humans and all their dead creations...ended up after they died. Just like Ryuuku had said. After this discovery, strangely, Raito felt a little better, believing he had placed yet another piece in this huge riddle called afterlife. But just as he was thinking about this, Raito saw another one of those unnamed futuristic electronic devices – broken, of course – materialize on the top of the garbage stack.

Was it possible that...this device had just been destroyed in the living world, and had now been transferred to the dead? But...but a device is not a living creature, is it...? How was it possible that humans shared Mu with all other creatures and with inanimate objects as well. Raito had assumed that...well...in the afterlife, he'd only find...humans.

Most probably, for the people still alive on Earth...this place, Mu, did not exist. For those on Earth, these ruined buildings around Raito had collapsed and these millions of people had died. The things that Raito was now seeing did not exist...for those outside of Mu. Just as, ironically, the living world now seemed like a pleasant dream. Strangely, looking around, it felt as though Raito was now in the real world – regardless of how strange this world may be.

The living world, Earth...Mu was nonexistent to Earth. But even so, strangely, the two seemed to be connected. Since everything that had once been on Earth, after losing its substance on Earth, could come to Mu...

Just as he was thinking, and looking at the new device, however, Raito thought he saw something moving at the edge of his vision. Alarmed, he narrowed his vision down of the small device. Before he knew what was happening, as his eyes focused on it, he saw a shape moving on the edge of his vision – the translucent shape of a...human? It looked like a hologram, but Raito knew there was nothing that could have produced a hologram quite so realistic.

Immediately cautious, Raito took a step backwards, staring at the image of the man. The person in this hologram did not seem to notice Raito – he was staring intently to the left, as though looking at something specific. Raito turned his eyes where the man was staring, but could only see the horizon. He turned back to the man, only to notice that the holographic image was holding something in his hand...a thing that looked like a device...

It was the same broken device that had just recently appeared in front of Raito's eyes. But as the man was holding it, the device didn't look at all broken – on the contrary, it seemed to be in perfect health. Raito watched the translucent person – who was wearing a rather bizarre combination of clothes – stare at the screen of the device in his hand. Raito waited with bated breath and tightened fists at his sides, seeing the man's expression twist in different grimaces – one angrier than the other. Raito opened his mouth slowly, considering it may be prudent to check if he could communicate with the other.

«Um...» he started saying, but before he could finish his statement, unexpectedly, the man in the...hologram, or optic illusion, exploded.

«Fine!» the man barked all of a sudden, causing Raito to falter in surprise. However, the translucent hallucination wasn't shouting at Raito, but at the screen of the device he was holding. «Fine! Obviously, you're always right! Of course I'm stupid, and didn't deserve to know!» the man shouted again with cold sarcasm in his voice, and Raito realized that he was hearing what sounded like some form of...unusual Chinese dialect, even though the holographic man looked like a Chinese-Caucasian. «Did you even consider asking me before guessing how I would react?...but you went ahead with it nonetheless, didn't you!» Overall, the entire scene reminded Raito of someone who was talking on the phone.

And then, before Raito could do or say anything, the irate man squeezed the device in his hand, and, with one steel hit, the man hurled the small electronic thing to the ground. Raito saw the delicate parts of the thing shatter to smithereens, small shards of plastic exploding everywhere. When the shattered pieces settled down, the device looked exactly the same as it did when it had appeared on Mu, trashed and useless. The last thing Raito managed to see was the man, who had turned his back to the broken device and seemed to be covering his face with his hands. He looked positively nerve-wracked – if Raito's assumptions had been correct, and if the man had indeed been speaking on the phone, then the conversation was obviously very important to him.

Raito caught one last glimpse of the small device's translucent broken parts, and the man's fisted hands, before the hologram-reminiscent hallucination withered away. The man disappeared to thin air, right in front of Raito's very eyes. Even though Raito realized that some part of him must have been prepared for this, it still seemed so...so...unnatural...Now he was left alone again, standing on the hill, in front of the garbage.

Raito turned around slowly, looking warily at the small, rusty-coloured, broken device. He hadn't done anything before, he just looked at it. And suddenly, the hallucination had burst to life – the hallucination Raito had witnessed was most obviously the memory of the way this device had...died, or been destroyed.

It was a...human memory.

Looking at the endless stash of rubbish in the nearby hills, Raito thought he could reason out why these objects were here, even though they were inanimate. Each of these broken things had been associated with human life. And as such, each one of them had a story...a memory stored inside them. Raito could only guess that he'd managed to see this memory because he'd been there when the device had immediately appeared. Perhaps if he stayed here, waiting for more broken objects to appear, he'd witness more memories, and see how each one of them had come to be destroyed...

So, at least in some way, Raito thought he now had some understanding of the reason why these things were here, and why they all had the aura of...ghosts. They weren't here as dead objects – they didn't represent the dead metal, plastic and sulphur. Most likely, they were here as manifestations of the human memory: since they were incorporated – they had existed in a human's mind at some time...they were now brought to Mu. More like...projections of human consciousness, of human thoughts. A great stash of memories from the real world, in the form of objects that had been destroyed.

Raito couldn't help but think, with an uncontrollable small shudder, if the...buildings around here were the same. Obviously, all these objects were incorporated with the memory of their destruction. Following the same logic, Raito couldn't help but wonder. If he approached the 'Twin Towers' and tried to enter them...

...what would he see?

Tearing his eyes forcefully away from the metallic rubbish around him, he resolved to try and bypass the garbage and enter the crowd of people. He didn't like the idea of ambling around mutely, like these people were obviously wont to do...But on the other hand, what other choice did he have? He wondered idly why the man in the hallucination had been angry enough to destroy his machine. But since Raito had heard only the one side of the angry dialogue, he couldn't even begin to surmise the reasons. Involuntarily, he kept thinking about what he'd seen and trying to solve the mystery in his mind, without realizing what he was thinking about. Obviously, the event had affected him more than he realized.

After the first few moments of gingerly trying to walk around the various broken objects around him, he caught sight of a motorcycle. It looked completely pulverized. Raito wondered what kind of memory this object would carry. Judging from its current state, Raito did not wish to see it. Thankfully, however, the motorcycle seemed to have been left there a long time ago, and it didn't produce any memories as Raito looked at it. On the other hand, various other objects were newly appearing around Raito every second. Unwittingly, his eyes feel to another strange object.

It looked very much like a technologically advanced car, like some kind of hover-

But no sooner had Raito started staring at it than a new hallucination appeared. He could see the hovercraft, not broken but completely robust. There was a woman driving it. Technically, the hovercraft wasn't moving around, and it seemed as though Raito was watching the whole driving sequence through a filmstrip. Raito noticed instantly that the translucent woman in the hologram was wearing strange clothes, very much akin to those the man of the previous hallucination had been wearing. She also looked like some kind of Chinese hybrid. Raito was privately amazed at the similarities.

The woman wasn't saying anything, and Raito kept watching, quickly tiring of the mundane spectacle of watching someone driving. However, no sooner had he thought of moving away than he heard a deafening scream. Looking up hoarsely, he saw the woman's face twisted in a grimace of absolute horror. Even though Raito could not see what had scared her so, he felt the hair on his forearms stand on end under his blazer, in response to her panic. But before Raito could clearly understand what was happening, a loud crash was heard. The next second, he saw the hovercraft in the hallucination pinned on what looked like a solid surface. The vehicle was completely trashed. And on the driver's seat, albeit stifled by airbags, the translucent woman was hunched with unblinking eyes and red liquid on her face. Dead.

The memory – or hallucination – faded away slowly, and Raito was left frozen, standing there. He could still see her dead eyes and broken teeth behind his eyelids. It took a few moments for his mind to start working at full capacity again. He looked at the trashed, rusty hovercraft and remembered the horrid memory of the car crash. Immediately, he resolved never to look at one of these broken objects again.

But if only it where that simple. Unfortunately, in his effort to walk through the huge conglomeration of ruins and rubbish, he was forced to endure this particular scathing brand of melancholy many more times. Even though he tried not to let his eyes rest on objects for too long a time, new objects were spawning around him constantly – probably because many objects of the living world were breaking all the time. And since Raito's inherent curiosity made him eager to look at new technologically advanced things, he involuntarily looked at some objects for a little too long, and was then forced to endure the hallucinations.

Of course, by the time his seventh hallucination appeared, he decided to try and walk away, ignoring it. However, he was dismayed to realize that, even if he refused to watch it, somehow, it would still appear in front of him – no matter where he ran to, or if he closed his eyes.

He soon realized that the only objects that could produce such hallucinations were the new arrivals. The old objects, like the various twentieth century appliances and vehicles around Raito, or the more ancient machines, never produced any hallucination – only the ones that had been freshly destroyed had a story to tell, it seems. Apart from this, after watching about a dozen of these hallucinations, Raito realized one more thing: it could not be a coincidence that all the people he'd seen in the holograms seemed half-Chinese. Raito astutely remembered that, at the time he'd been alive, it had been estimated that the Hindus and the Chinese would eventually augment tremendously in population and affect the entire world. Perhaps what he was seeing, this...lack of racial diversity...was the long-term result of the twentieth century globalization?

Obviously, a longer time must have passed since his death than Raito had supposed, if he was now seeing these effects. And judging by the technology...at least a hundred years must have passed on Earth since his death. Wait! That didn't mean that...his Trial had consumed an entire century, had it? It certainly didn't feel that way...

But then again, Raito could not be sure of anything. What if, when he was in his Trial, what had felt like a day to him had actually been a year in the real world? What if he had lost his sense of time?

If the entire living world on Earth was now half-Chinese, half-Hindu and even half-African, he supposed he very well might have lost all senses, not only that of time.

Finally, after what felt like – and probably had been – hours of difficult trekking, he managed to find himself at the edge of the garbage lot. Now, at last, he was on the level of the crowds of people, having descended the hill fully. In front of him, he could see the endless throng of different bodies walking around, seemingly aimlessly. The silence became pronounced once more. Gathering his wits and courage, Raito walked forth, reminding himself to mark the hill he'd come from and remember the way back to the hut in case of emergency – although he didn't want to think of what kind of 'emergency' he might encounter in this obviously...metaphysical...place. It would prove difficult to remember the exact location of this specific hill however, since there were at least a hundred identical ones around Raito.

Truth be told, he now didn't feel much better than he did when he'd been in the Trial. The only comfort now was that, at the very least, he wasn't alone. Billions of people were here with him, experiencing the same exact things. This was a small consolation.

Then, suddenly, just as he was watching the solid crowd of people, he noticed a few of them break away from the group, and run out of the crowd, with a panicked look on their faces. Those few hurried away, running toward the hills, the faraway forests, or even the garbage lot where Raito was standing. Raito spotted a tall African woman walk by him in tribal apparel, looking as though she'd just come from the depths of the black continent and not paying Raito any mind, as though he wasn't there. The chestnut haired man stared in wonder for a few minutes, amazed by what he was seeing. Then he shook his head lightly to recover his thoughts. He was utterly confused...

This was truly – Raito shivered lightly – the world of the dead. This was a place where all of those who had died in the world of the living...gathered. From every age, and every place...And now he was one of them. One of the dead. Again, without realizing it, his fingers started shaking lightly. No matter how many times he tried to convince himself that he was all right, that he wasn't alone...some part of him was still insecure.

Had all his trials...all the things he'd learned...been for nothing?

He then looked at the monocle of a man in a tuxedo suit, who was walking at the edge of the crowd at the moment, and Raito restrained himself from scratching his temple nervously. Would he actually stay here...for all eternity? Because he could see ancient Greek-looking people mingling with the crowd as well. If they'd stayed here for a few thousand years...then was Raito meant to suppose... That he'd stay here just as long...? In this...this huge, endless...isolated ghost-place? And even though all those people were here, somehow, strangely enough, Raito still felt incurably and awkwardly alo-

«Yagami Raito.» a voice was suddenly heard beside him, startling him to the point of fright, since he'd accustomed himself to the silence. He whirled around immediately, expecting to see some kind of demon, threatening puppet or hallucination. Actually, when he first turned around, he actually thought he saw himself. Blinking a couple of times, the shape in front of him shifted, and his eyes finally focused on what looked like a beautiful girl, complete with light chestnut hair and refreshingly tanned skin. Raito was a tad surprised and temporarily disarmed by the suddenness of her appearance...he could have sworn that he'd just seen...

In any case, she continued without waiting for an answer. He noticed, with a small amount of inner horror, that her voice, despite her great beauty, did not sound entirely...female. It was as though her tone was some kind of bass mixture between male and female voice. Technically, it was not unpleasant to the ear...but it was still disorienting to watch. Raito reasoned with himself that her voice was probably the reason he'd initially mistaken her for a man.

«This is Mu.» she spoke with a mellow voice and a sunny smile that seemed a bit eerie in the bleak landscape, but nonetheless genial. Raito had convinced himself that the theory of contagious reactions did not apply to him – he could listen to an entire laughing fit without even cracking a smile – but nevertheless his frown softened a bit at her expression, and his attention focused on her words. He thought that perhaps he should say something, but she spoke immediately in his place, preventing him from speaking.

«All humans come here when they die.» she continued, nodding. Well he had surmised as much, he thought shrewdly, but didn't feel like antagonizing her. Her white dress made the sparkle in her warm hazel eyes become pronounced, and Raito was temporarily allowed to forget about his cynical thoughts. However, the ominous tone of her words clashed with the gentleness of her appearance. Overall, it seemed like...like her voice was incompatible with her body.

«From all the people you see here» she continued, making a sweeping motion towards the crowds of walking people «you can only speak to the ones you have already met during your lifetime.»

Well that explained why not so many people as Raito would have imagined were talking to each other. If you could only talk to the people that you'd already met, then... Raito looked at her with a completely lost expression. He didn't remember ever having met her in his lifetime, so how was he able to talk to her now? The girl continued her speech, still not allowing Raito to explain his problem.

«You must find the person who is searching for you,» she started, and yet again, her voice sounded ominous, even though her face seemed cheerful. She was looking at Raito with a serene expression «and then, you shall be in heaven.» she finished.

Raito's eyes became fixed on the girl's face, as his attention narrowed down on her completely. 'Be in...Heaven?' he thought, as he felt his stomach twist in knots. 'Does this mean I am now...in Hell?' Once again, he repeated in his mind that Ryuuku would one day be punished for being a liar, or something to that effect. At least there was a way, he thought eagerly, with a small glimmer of hope lighting in his mind, that he could enter this...'heaven'.

But...'Find the person who was looking for him?' Raito turned to stare at the limitless amount of people moving in front of him. Find a single person in this huge, limitless crowd, the end of which Raito could not even see? That was impossible!! Especially when most of the people were in near-constant motion!

This woman must be playing him for a fool!

Raito wanted to tell this to the girl, but the moment he turned back around to speak to her...she was gone. As though she'd never existed. The only thing left behind was a puddle of water in the soil, where she'd been standing. Raito leaned forward, seeing his reflection on the water of the small surface. He stretched a finger forward and, thinking he had nothing to lose, sunk it in the water.

However, strangely enough, it didn't feel very much like water at all. It was...too...gooey. Pulling his hand out slowly, Raito stared at his finger. He lunged backwards immediately, losing his balance. There was an insect...like a huge cockroach, lodged on his knuckles. Its disgusting legs were moving, making him flinch from disgust at the sensation. And that wasn't the worst of it: the cockroach's head, strangely enough, was not the head of an insect...but the head of the woman he'd just been talking to!!

With a disgusted yelp, he reflexively started shaking his hand, trying to dislodge the disgusting creature. Suddenly, he heard a small cackle. And the next second, the cockroach was gone. The man rubbed his finger against his blazer, in an unconscious effort to wipe it clean. A few moments later, he was left kneeling on the ground in front of the puddle of water, gasping, and cradling his face with his hands.

«Shit...» he muttered, very much aware that he was being unreserved and unable to stop himself. 'Isn't this stuff supposed to be over...? Isn't the Trial over...? Then why...' He wondered, and then fought to make himself stand back on his feet. Was he truly in Hell...? But the possibility didn't seem plausible. This was Mu...it was only one place, not separated into heaven and hell. Perhaps that woman...cockroach...wench, had been speaking metaphorically...?

Or maybe he'd had another hallucination...? He was quite prone to these lately, apparently. He was left to stare at the empty space beside him for a few more moments, watching the particles – probably dead particles – floating in the air – dead air, most likely – around him. After all, everything seemed to be dead in Mu. Either dead or in the process of perishing and decaying.

After a few moments, and having fully replenished his courage after the incident, Raito managed to recover from his temporary cynical mental rant but turning back toward the crowd.

Perhaps he really ought to search for the person who was 'searching for him'. The whole concept seemed rather ridiculous, but, after undergoing his Trial, Raito had learned to try and detect reason even in the most seemingly random things. Quite like Ryuuzaki, actually, who always seemed obsessed with explaining everything – even the most preposterous of things, like the Death Note or the Shinigami – with logical arguments. But the mere thought of something as familiar as Ryuuzaki in a place as vast and unfamiliar as Mu sent a sudden wave of strange nostalgia in Raito's heart.

In any case, Raito thought gathering his thoughts again. Since he had no other indication about what he was supposed to do, it was worth a try to test the truth in what Cockroach Coquette had said, before he attempted to enter the crowd and search for a specific person.

And Raito knew exactly how to test her claims.

Seeing a person that he had most definitely never met in his entire life, he approached the old man in a friendly manner, smiling genially at him in order to gain his interest. Thankfully, Raito had perfected his fake smile over the course of all his life – and afterlife – to the extent that it could fool most people. And indeed, as the stranger saw him, he smiled back a little curiously. Raito took courage from the responsiveness of the other, and approached the man – who was dressed in twentieth century clothing – with a brisk pace.

Truth be told, Raito felt strange – and uncharacteristically nervous – as he realized that he was talking to a different soul for the first time after his Trial. One would have thought that, after all that time of extensive isolation, Raito would be rejoicing in the presence of another human. However, truth be told, Raito currently felt as though he wanted to crawl somewhere, in some dark cave, and just be left alone. That crowd was huge, and he'd been so accustomed to thinking for himself by now, that...his attempts at communication, albeit polished after years of training, seemed rather half-hearted.

In any case, he reminded himself that it would be necessary to mingle with this crowd if he wanted even a small chance at...progressing – whatever 'progress' he could achieve. In any case, even though he currently felt like it, Raito doubted that he would benefit by staying locked in a small wooden hut, in the long-term.

He stopped in front of the stranger and started speaking in English, which was considered the universal language. And since this man looked Caucasian, Raito could only hope.

«Excuse me,» the young man started, «do you know where I may...» but his voice faded out immediately, as he realized that he most obviously wasn't being heard. The moment he'd started talking, the stranger had just kept smiling at him with a completely ignorant look. Then, whilst Raito was still speaking, the other turned to walk away, as though he hadn't even realized that Raito was talking to him, let alone heard him.

So the girl – whoever she had been – had been telling the truth. He really could not speak to strangers...but why? What was the point of this? It disturbed Raito a bit; the notion that someone might be trying to talk to him right now, and Raito would be unable to hear them. What if one of these countless strangers was trying to talk to Raito right now? It would seem so stupid of Raito not to answer them and ignore them...somehow, even though his public image was currently the least of his worries, it still bothered Raito quite a bit.

So he had to find someone he could talk to, who would help him understand this place more. Someone he had already met when he was alive...and anyone would do! No – not anyone. He had to find the person in this crowd who was looking for him...and in order to search, Raito had no choice but to mingle with the crowd. No choice...

'...I'm hating this already.' Well, in any case, he reminded himself as he grit his teeth and walked forward, with the unwilling steps of a man who is about to enter the sea in December, he'd been through much worse than a little street traffic. The worse had already come and gone, he reminded himself, and the memory of the fountains of his own blood beneath the Headquarter building was quickly squelched and suppressed.

Delving into the depths of the ocean of humans was one thing...but finding a familiar face – anyone that he could at least talk to – was a different matter altogether.

'Someone who is now looking for me...', Raito thought. After a quick scan of his acquaintances, he came up with a rather dissatisfying short list of people. Apparently, if he'd known what was good for him, he would have socialized a bit more during his lifetime, in order to have a wider selection. As it was however, Misa was at the top of his list for potential fans, followed closely by Takada. Most likely Misa would be looking for him. Who else? Misa always preached she 'loved him with all her heart', and Raito knew for a fact that she always wanted to be beside him – even though he didn't want to – so it would only be logical she would be looking for him.

However... Misa had used the Death Note, hadn't she?

And if she'd undergone a trial of souls anything akin to Raito's... then there was a possibility – high possibility, when recalling Leeru's words – that she might have failed and become...Shinigami.

Still, there was a slim hope that he'd find her. And if there was anyone in this crowd who would be looking for him, then that would definitely be Misa, who had loved him so desperately when they were alive. Of course, Raito realized that he was thinking of manipulating her love for him once again...however...if it meant that he could 'go to heaven', whatever this was...Besides, as long as he manipulated her for her own good, he wouldn't be harming her...would he? If he used her to get to heaven, then she would use him equally, wouldn't she? Just like she had when they were alive.

Actually, Raito thought a bit crossly, now that he really thought about it, it may have been wrong of him to condone in a course of action that would lead her to lose her lifespan for his sake, but, in return, he'd granted her permission over his whole – nonexistent – 'love life', which was the thing she'd always wanted, wasn't it?

True, he'd still manipulated her...but at least she'd been happy...hadn't she? She had been happy, he tried to comfort himself. And then, in a sudden flash, he remember the fissure on the porcelain puppet's face, and the red-eyed demon's words as he broke her.

'She likes it.'

Suddenly, Raito felt sick. He was now a few feet away from the crowd, standing there silently and thinking. He wouldn't act in the same way this time. He wouldn't break her, even if she was happy with being broken – it was his responsibility, as smarter and more aware than her anyway. It was no crime trying to find her and take her to heaven, was it? If he succeeded in going to heaven as well, that was an added bonus.

However, judging by the rules of this system...Raito wondered if he really could lead Misa to heaven. After all, in order to go to heaven, you supposedly needed to find the person who was truly looking for you. Was he truly looking for her? Truth be told, after all, he'd never fallen in love with her, or even in lust with her to begin with. Fulfilling her desire to be his 'romantic interest' had been the price to pay in order for her to use her Shinigami's eyes for him...

However, she was definitely the person that would be looking for him. And as such, he was the person who would start searching for her too. In this way, they'd both succeed in their goals. And even if he was required to find her in this great crowd, then he would not abandon the effort until he succeeded! He hadn't gone through the kind of pain he'd experienced just to abandon the effort at the end. For goodness sake, he'd gone through the ultimate pain of...of those Hands. And if he'd managed to withstand it back then – it felt so good thinking about it on the past tense – then he could withstand another task.

With these hopeful, if not slightly pompous, thoughts, Raito took his first step into the valley full of people, expecting to find himself stifled by the press of strangers' bodies around him. However...slowly... something changed. Something in the atmosphere became...darker. The air became colder. Suddenly...

Raito slowly looked upwards, with a sense of disbelieving wariness. The sky wasn't burgundy and orange anymore – it was dark grey and ice blue – and there was no sun to illuminate the details of the environment...A chill ran over his forearms as he stood unmoving, and he realized the temperature must have just dropped tremendously in the few seconds that had transpired from the time he'd joined the crowd until now.

But he wasn't left to ponder this for much longer. Unexpectedly, a piercing scream shattered the silence that he'd become accustomed to. Unable to help himself, Raito jumped lightly from surprise and started looking around. However, just as he turned his eyes to see where on earth that scream had come from, he gasped.

His limbs froze, and he felt his ankles weakening as he stared around him.

This wasn't...this...

This was not like before.

«AHHHHHHH!!!!!» a distant scream was heard again, different from the one before. Raito watched the people around him – the people he couldn't talk to, who originated from all different kinds of places and ages – shuffle frantically, pushing each other in their effort to run away. Even Raito was manhandled, shoved around, as people around him moved.

Because suddenly, the world around him...had turned completely different.

It wasn't a valley full of people anymore, and the sky was not as warm as Raito had seen from on top of the hill. Now that he had descended and walked among the people, he could actually see that things were very different from the inside.

He looked around staring at people's moving bodies: instead of wide desert planes, Raito could see a narrow, dark street, filled to the brim with people, of course. The environment looked like a very complex maze, since there were side-roads, buildings on the sides of the road, along with crevices, dark nooks and crannies. And in every direction Raito looked, he'd see some kind of...some kind of... bizarreness. On closer inspection, there were staircases leading to and from nowhere, there were doors placed upside down literally in the middle of the street, there were complicated pathways and side routes...and strangely enough, there was even the odd apple tree here and there. Raito looked upwards on the closest tree, and actively winced when he caught sight of the apples.

Some of them were shrivelled, and rotten, almost grey in colour. But worst of all were the half-eaten or eaten ones, which were hanging on the tree normally. Raito could see worms on a few of them, and immediately turned his eyes away, to focus back on the road.

There were buildings framing the sides of this narrow road – and some of them were rusty buildings that Raito had seen before. However, as Raito stood in the middle of the crowd, the buildings didn't look rusty any more, or ruined at all.

The Twin Towers, for example, which were hovering a few miles ahead, looked in perfect health, with the windows sparkling... as though they'd never been touched, much less wrecked. However, Raito keenly noticed that no one was entering or exiting the buildings. He supposed that they must have known something he didn't. Raito stood there, unmoving, not knowing what to do or where to look. How was he supposed to find Misa – or any other person – in this huge, never-ending crowd? Suddenly, a hoarse shout caught his attention, and he turned to see what was happening. He caught sight of someone dashing hurriedly out of a building that looked like a pharmacy, with a haunted grimace on his face. Raito noticed that, even though the man was shouting, very few paid him any mind. Raito noticed a few others entering the buildings around them, but they all ended up rushing out with blanched faces. By the way their eyes kept sliding around warily, Raito was guessing that they were new in Mu, just like he was.

He decided to postpone his plans to visit the sights, at least until he managed to learn more about them. The problem with this place – probably an intentional problem, by the looks of it – was that there was no one he could talk to, in this place – no one he could ask for information or talk to about his problems.

The auburn haired man sighed, running a hand through his hair. His elbow bumped unintentionally against someone's shoulder, and he apologized quickly, only to realize that the woman had probably not heard his apology. In any case, judging by her disinterest in him, Raito could only guess that she had grown accustomed to this situation. This was a very sad thought indeed, and it made Raito wonder if he'd also end up spending a very long time here. He was already feeling weary of the fact that he could not walk freely and was forced to move with the flow of the crowd, or squeeze himself between others.

Just as he was finally adjusting and focusing back on his destination and the ever-changing crowd of people, he promptly heard multiple new screams. Seeing some people run forward – most just ignored the commotion – Raito followed their lead, sprinting to see what on earth was happening. The crowd finally stopped, and Raito stopped as well. He pushed forward and stood on the tips of his toes, trying to discern more clearly what was happening over the heads of those standing in front of him.

The crowd had formed a circle around a boy, a teenager dressed with conventional clothing, who was kneeling on the ground. Spread out in front of this boy, lying motionless on the ground, was another teenager. The cracked white lips, ghastly face and red stains on the chest of the boy who was lying down were enough to inform Raito that he was dead. However, Raito didn't understand how this could be happening here in Mu, if- Suddenly, the one who was kneeling over the corpse raised his head, turning his face toward the sky. And then, he released a great cry – a scream enough to slice through Raito's thoughts:

«I HATE YOU!!» the boy screamed, and several women in the crowd around Raito cowered back, whimpering in fear at the great voice. They skittered and ran away, and Raito was amazed at the fact that they could just up and abandon this situation in cold blood. However, he was even more flabbergasted at the fact that, even though he'd obviously never met this boy when he'd been alive, Raito could clearly hear and understand what the other was saying.

«WHYYY? Why did you leave me!? I HATE YOU!!» he howled again, and Raito watched as the devastated youth doubled over in his kneeling position, grabbing his dead friend's head and cradling it pathetically. He started crying uncontrollably – a rather overdramatic display for a respectable male, Raito thought – shaking the dead body's shoulders, as though trying to wring what little life was left out of it.

Suddenly, Raito saw a woman from the crowd, a brunette with a sombre, determined face, move forward in gingerly steps, coming closer to the kneeling, crying boy. She stretched her hand outwards a bit shakily and let it hover over his shoulder for a few seconds. And then, finally, with a solid sigh, the woman dropped her hand, letting it fall on the teenager's shoulder.

«It's all right.» she said, in a completely soothing voice. The kneeling teenager turned toward her, with his eyes wide and uncomprehending.

«All right?!» he shouted, shaking her hand away from his shoulder. «No, it's not 'all right'! It's not fucking 'all right'!» he yelled, and, as though never having heard her, continued his mourning, bending down and resting his forehead against his dead friend's face. For some reason, Raito felt a sold weight settle in his chest. «He's gone...he's gone...» the dejected teen muttered again, and Raito thought it strange that this boy was being so extremely sensitive about the death of his male friend. Was it possible that they were brothers or close friends? On second thoughts, teenagers' emotions were always-

«YOU TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME! YOU!» The enraged voice rang again, and, this time, the teenager was looking and pointing upwards, toward the sky, as though addressing the gods. «It's your fault!!» The boy spat again, anger and desperation seeping into his words.

Until finally, the portly woman who was hovering over the both of them bent down, kneeling next to the boy. And without another word, without any explanation, she solidly proceeded to pluck the crying boy's hands away from his dead friend's shoulders and, with almost maternal care, pulled the teenager's face in the crook of her neck.

«Shh...» she muttered, patting the back of the boy's head and holding him in place as he tried to writhe away. «Shhh...Let it out...» the youth's shouting voice was smothered and muted by her embrace, and Raito felt uncomfortable as he watched the scene. The same stood for many others in the audience, obviously, because Raito saw some more people leaving or turning to move away. Raito stayed put, curious to see where this was going...curious to understand why he could suddenly hear these peoples' voices.

It took a few moments, and Raito stared with true-blue amazement at the occurrences. The teenager struggled for a few seconds, trying to push the woman away and then, a few moments later, finally, he settled down. His crying intensified, becoming desperate. His howling voice was muted, but even what little could be heard sounded hoarse, as though a part of him was being torn away, along with his friend's death. Raito couldn't help but consider the display melodramatic...a few moments later, however, when he saw the teenager's hands come to wrap around the woman, in an obvious effort to find comfort, something tightened in the his gut. The way the teenager allowed himself to undergo such humiliation, crying with abandon...it did something to Raito's insides. He didn't like it. Actually, he'd had enough.

And he was just about to turn away, but before he could move, he saw, right in front of his very eyes, the kneeling and the dead boys' bodies start to dissipate, becoming translucent. The crying teenager turned to air in the woman's embrace, his voice the faraway dirge of an animal, and she patted his head one last time before he disappeared completely.

By the time the two friends were gone and the smoke from the disappearance was over, Raito's face was completely blanched, and there was an ill expression on it. He watched some people from the crowd send sympathetic glances toward the woman who had helped the grim duo – glances of gratefulness, since they probably couldn't talk to her directly – and then they slowly walked away, since the spectacle was over. Without realizing it, Raito held still, not moving at all.

There was a very bad idea running through his mind, as he observed the solid ground where the boys had been lying. A very bad idea.

«The place where minds join» Leeru had said.

What if, by escaping the place full of his own nightmares, he'd just entered a place...full of other peoples' nightmares as well?

That scene with the crying boy...that had looked like a bad memory. Just like the ones Raito had seen when he'd been staring at the dead objects before. The only difference, now, was that he hadn't realized he'd been watching a hallucination until the very end. In retrospect, it made sense that the one teenager was dead and that Raito could hear the voices – it was a hallucination, not something that was happening in Mu. The woman had not been part of the memory, obviously, or else she would have disappeared along with the boys. Therefore, the woman's external interference interrupted the memory. However, how was it possible that Raito had managed to hear her voice?

Not only that, but there was no way Raito could tell whether what he'd just witnessed had been the woman's own memory, or someone else's.

New screams were heard, in the far distance.

He looked around, and saw, true enough, a world comprised of nightmares. There was darkness in every corner, there were screams echoing around, there were people running around frantically. And amongst all this, he could see the identical expressions of hesitation, confusion and need for attention that were displayed everywhere, from people of all ages and eras. In the midst of all this panic, they were all trying to search. Search for the person who was searching for them, as ironic as that sounded.

How many of them had found that person, Raito wondered? How many had...'gone to heaven'? Judging on the traffic on the road, Raito was willing to wager it had not been many. Ryuuku had said that there was no heaven or hell...but on the other hand, Shinigami were never allowed to enter Mu, were they? Would Ryuuku really know about that?

Raito shook his head, trying to rid himself of the doubts. He walked forward, starting to recuperate from the mild shock he'd undergone. And just as he was watching the portly woman who'd helped the teenagers walk away, he turned to the left and gasped. Because there was something...something...on the tree outside the double doors of the black building, Raito could see a hanged person, a corpse. The hanged woman's hair was long and blonde, and she was wearing a white nightgown – the kind of thing they wear in psychiatric wards. Her throat was long and deformed...like a monster. But this was not the worst of all.

When Raito looked at her face...she was wide awake.

Her blue eyes were staring at him, blinking. Behind her irises, a stare of pure despair.

Raito took a few steps backwards, his eyes wide and his mouth opening and closing ineffectively, at a loss for words. He pitied her and was terrified of her at the same time. With a convulsion of her shoulders, suddenly, she raised her hands toward him, as though to touch him. Raito started breathing harshly, trying to retain his dignity and not flee. However, his back ended up banging against something, and he turned around to see he'd collided with on of the bizarre upside-down doors, which were located in the middle of the street.

Hoarsely, Raito turned around to look at the hanged woman again, and was surprised to see someone – an old man – standing in front of her. Raito watched, partly in wonder and horror, as the man found a grey barrel from the side of the street, and dragged it forward, until it rested under the hanging woman's feet. The muscles on Raito's thighs flexed in involuntary tension as the woman steadied herself on her feet, her long toenails scraping against the barrel. Until finally, with the old man's assistance, she managed to raise her hands high enough to loosen the noose from around her throat.

«Thank you...» a choked voice screeched from somewhere, and the old man nodded slowly, with a rather knowing smile, as though he'd been hanged many times and knew how bad it felt.

Raito watched as she pulled the rope off, and nearly closed his eyes to block away the sight of her deformed neck. He wasn't forced to look at her for much longer however, since she dissipated, calmly, into dusty air.

A hallucination.

Someone's nightmare.

Raito raised his eyes again and saw the old man, who was now sitting on the barrel himself, obviously resting. He didn't seem to be aware of Raito's stare. With his feet feeling numb, Raito walked away, trying to keep himself from running, if only to retain his sense of manhood and decency.

But it seems that the more time he spent in the crowd, the more aware he became of the true nature of this place. Of the people who surrounded him, at least one fourth were hallucinations. And the most problematic of the hallucinations weren't those with people...but those with monsters. Raito had seen a human-sized mantis terrorizing a little girl as a hallucination. He'd seen a huge black pit, full of petrol, where a person with a corporate suit had been constantly drowning in – Raito could still remember that man's mouth, puking petrol and shouting 'I didn't know!'

The place where minds meet? Indeed. Now Raito had insight in the guilt-infester worse nightmares of every single one out of the billions around him. He was living in this nightmare-comprised world. And ironically, his only chance at salvation was located somewhere in this crowd. What other choice did he have except staying here and fighting his way through? If he stayed outside the crowd, nothing would be resolved. He walked a bit further, trying to look at faces of people and notice if he recognized any of them. If only he could find Misa soon...but then again, judging on the presence of the ancient people around him, he had to face that there was a very real possibility...a possibility...that he wouldn't find anyone.

Hours passed, and he developed a strong stomach. He tried to keep moving forward and pay no attention to anything except the faces around. In fact, he'd managed to walk a fair distance without being harassed, before he heard a new shout of distress, coming from very close to him.

«ARGH!»

Alarmed by the suddenness and proximity of it, Raito looked at his right, where a stranger – an old man dressed in expensive clothes– was screaming as though his very psyche were being ripped off. Seeing that screaming face overcome by pain, Raito realized he must be witnessing a new hallucination. He noticed that there was a woman in front of the old man, tall and blonde, who seemed to be talking to the geezer and had her back to Raito. Feeling a bit relieved, Raito realized that she must be there to help the old man overcome his horrors. However, something wasn't quite right...the man had a look of terror on his face as he looked at her, as though she was the worst thing that could happen-

Suddenly the old man covered his ears, obviously not wanting to hear anything the girl had to say. And the more time the woman kept speaking, the worse the old man seemed to become – but the girl wasn't stopping, quite the contrary, she seemed content to torment him. Finally, after a few moments of watching the tyrannical display, Raito had had enough. Obviously, she couldn't deal with this situation. It didn't seem to be very difficult to try and calm this geezer down...Raito was fairly sure he could manage. So he shoved his way through the rushing people around him and approached the woman, intent on discovering what was going on, hoping he'd manage to understand what was happening even without being able to communicate with her.

He considered shouting, but thought that he wouldn't be heard anyway. Of course! In the spur of the moment, he'd forgotten that he couldn't be heard by people he hadn't met before. In any case, now that he'd come close, Raito could hear what the woman was telling the old man.

«...and then you killed her! Don't try to deny it!»

Her words seemed strange for someone who's trying to calm the other down. Finally, Raito heard the terrified old man whimper something. Then, in front of Raito's very eyes, the woman reached into the pocket of her trousers and produced a...was that a knife?

Something was definitely wrong here...Raito was not so sure she wanted to calm the other anymore-

She brandished the object in front of the old man's eyes, making crude motions. Raito's eyes widened as he stood a few feet behind her.

«...and now I'll make you pay, both you and your son-«

She lunged toward the old man, but before he could stop himself, Raito had pounced forward to stop her, restraining her hand and holding her back by the waist.

«What?!» her enraged voice echoed, as she turned around and tried to pry Raito away from her, in an effort to finish off the terrified old man.

«Wait!...» Raito started, realizing that he should have thought his actions through before acting «...have you gone mad?» he finally finished. Amazingly, as he talked to her, he saw her eyes completely focused on him, indicating that she was listening perfectly. How was this possible...? She could...hear him?

«Get off me!» she shouted, trying to shove Raito away, but failing because of her inferior strength. Raito tried to twist the knife out of her grip in front of the old man's frightened eyes, but the woman was strong and persistent. «Get off!» she shouted again, and Raito spoke.

Raito realized that, judging by the fact that she seemed so involved with this man, it was entirely probable that she was part of this hallucination too. Obviously, she felt wronged by this man enough to want to kill him, so...Raito cursed his own curiosity, and the predicaments it tended to place him in.

«Look...whatever he's done to you...» he spoke in a marginally calm voice, remembering what the woman had said before «You can't fix the damage with this!» he motioned toward the knife, and got shivers at the memory of the way the Hands had-

But the woman was unrelenting as Raito tried to keep her from kicking at his calves, or even poking his eye out with the unprincipled way she was waving the dagger. Then, finally, she turned to him again, with her eyes filled with the liquid fires of fury.

«No...» she spat, finally succeeding in shaking Raito off, her blonde her and red lips flashing in front of his eyes as she kicked him in the jewels «But I can make him pay!». Subject to the primal pain of all men, there wasn't much Raito could do as he reflexively doubled over, allowing her to escape.

«Wait!» Raito said loudly with a wince, recovering from his fallen position when he saw that the woman had poised the blade over the old man's trembling larynx. Even though that geezer was dressed in fancy clothing and looked like he came from a rich family, in Raito's eyes, he looked more like the quintessential pathetic existence than a serious criminal. He grabbed the woman by the elbow again and towed her backwards roughly, ignoring her wrath. She shouted in surprise as she felt his manhandling, but Raito didn't wait for her to hit him again. He pulled her aside and flung her to the ground with a neat manoeuvre. Belatedly, he realized that there were many people from the crowd who had gathered around them, watching the display. Raito groaned internally, but wondered if it was perhaps a good idea to draw attention to himself, under the circumstances. He needed Misa to find him, after all, or vice versa.

«You- You-...» the woman shouted, and now her voice sounded more desperate than enraged. Raito hoped that the old man at least had the good sense to escape while Raito was distracting this wildcat «How dare you!» she shouted again, standing back on her feet. She was wearing leather trousers and a red blouse on top, along with a pair of high heels on her feet «You don't even know what ha-«

«So tell me!» Raito loudly ordered, staring at her with the best piercing glare he could muster.

«Tell you? Who do you think you are?» The woman shouted again, as though scorning him.

«An outsider. So explain it to me and I'll tell you if it's worth killing him over.» he tried not to raise his voice more than necessary, but it was a useless struggle, since the woman had struck a nerve. Besides, it felt good to argue with an actual human – in a manner of speaking – after all this time.

And as he looked at her thunder-stricken face, he felt a sense of justification overcome him. He was getting through to her! He didn't have time to check what the old man was doing, but he could only suppose that he was gone by now. In the heat of the moment, Raito seemed to have forgotten that he was probably participating in a hallucination, and it didn't really matter if the old man escaped or not.

«You...» the woman started curtly, looking at Raito strangely, as though she was considering something «You wouldn't understand.» she finished, flinging her blond tresses over her shoulders. Her anger seemed to have deflated along the way somehow, and by the end of her statement, she seemed more resigned than she did irate.

«Try me.» Raito was tempted to grin, but held back.

The woman stared at him for a moment longer, then tapped her foot a bit rebelliously on the ground for a few seconds...until finally, she opened her mouth again. She pointed rudely at the geezer with her index finger, but Raito didn't turn to stare at the direction she was showing him, preparing to keep his eyes locked on her face. «His rich son met my sister and left her pregnant. And because this rich father didn't want his precious son to marry her» the woman exploded, looking as though she was releasing some gigantic weight from her chest «he paid her to have an abortion. And when she said she wouldn't have one, he sent someone to kill her! And now he's denying it – and since I have no proof to lock him in, I'm going to finish him off with these two hands!» she displayed her two hands in front of Raito's face, as though to accentuate her argument.

Raito stared at her for a few moments, looking at her as she panted. She looked as though she'd just run a marathon, even though the only thing she'd done was say a few words. He didn't say anything, waiting for her to finish.

«He killed her!» the woman repeated, and Raito saw tears building in her hazel eyes. Raito nodded slowly, not speaking, or breaking eye contact. Without realizing it, his face had taken an expression of mild disgust. He'd never be able to tolerate this kind of injustice...it seemed that this had been his curse. On the one hand, he could understand perfectly why the woman wanted this old man dead – Raito would have also wanted him dead if he'd been her. But on the other hand, after all he'd seen, somehow... this woman didn't look like a vicious criminal. Intolerant and angry, yes, but not vicious. It seemed...ugly, somehow, as Raito watched her trying to kill someone. He shook his head, not bothering to correct his expression, what was the point anyway.

He thought about what to say. Should he suggest something or would he just make things worse? There was no way to imprint in her stubborn mind the understanding he had recently gained about this kind of thing. But upon seeing him nodding at her with that disturbed expression, she started breathing a bit more slowly, obviously calming down. Soon, Raito ironically realized that he didn't even need to speak, really.

«He killed her.» she repeated, as though thinking about the words carefully. Then, she turned toward Raito again, with narrow eyes, and spat «Just because he didn't want her to have a baby! It's not like we would have asked for money or anything...Can you believe it?» and then, unexpectedly, tears started spilling over her cheeks. «My little Katrina! The person I loved most in the entire world! And she did nothing wrong! And now he doesn't get punished...!» she moaned, and her knees hit the ground. Then finally, after a few moments of blind crying, she spoke again, with narrow eyes, filled with ire.

«I can't believe people like him exist in this world...they don't deserve to exist!» she said between sobs, and this time, Raito couldn't suppress a small, rather melancholy smile. He didn't really realize he was displaying this expression, or else he would have immediately neutralized it. But it seems that somewhere along the line, along with his ideals, his face had become more passionate as well.

«No, they don't. But they exist.» Raito said, folding his arms across his chest. «What kind of animal arranges for women and children to be killed? And the fact that you're saying this now...proves that you've killed him already.» he said, twisting the notion in his mind. It's true, he thought intently. From the moment one rejects a person's humanity...that person stops having value...There's no point in creating more pain and more suffering, when there is no humanity to suffer. Is there?

And the satisfaction revenge will bring does not compare with the satisfaction of the return of what we have lost, Raito pondered, twisting the different aspects in his mind. Why make a murderer out of this woman as well? However, even though this all seemed completely logical to Raito now, in retrospect – and when thinking of Sai – he realized that the victim cannot see the world quite so objectively or clearly. It was natural that she wanted revenge...but allowing her to take it...after all, obviously, this memory was her nightmare. Obviously, she hadn't been as satisfied by her revenge as she'd planned, if the memory of it was still plaguing her in death.

Revenge, Raito wondered. In the end it's very little about retaliating and very much about feeling wronged. Even if that woman had killed the old man, what would she have gained? As long as the old man hadn't come crying to her, begging for forgiveness on his own volition, she would never feel satisfied, even after killing him. In the end, Raito reached the same conclusion as before. Forced suppression, in the long term, is largely useless. A change of heart is required to really shake a man's foundation.

But by the time he cleared his thoughts and looked at the woman again, he saw her staring at him with wide eyes. It was as though...something...some kind of spark had ignited on her face. There was calmness there – serenity, Raito realized – that hadn't been there before...

And as the woman closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as though to calm herself...Raito watched her body dissipating, fading and then vaporizing...leaving only smoke.

And as she turned into thin air, the trembling old man disappeared along with her, looking at Raito with an expression of mild confusion before his body disappeared. Raito was left standing there, frozen in the middle of the on looking crowd, with his fingers trembling. He hadn't done anything...he'd just...

And then he remembered the scene with the roaring teenager, and the way that kind portly woman had...consoled him, until she finally relieved him.

And just now, had Raito-?

He stared around, looking at various people of the crowd, who were looking at him with the same expressions of gratitude that he'd seen them give the portly lady before. He'd just...relieved someone's nightmare...! Suddenly, he felt a hand pat his shoulder and turned around, to see a genial man with Arabic apparel grin at him and walk away.

Strangely, Raito felt a sense of pride erupt in his heart...a wonderful feeling, which he'd been deprived of for far too long. Actually, the last time he'd possibly felt this kind of true pride was when he'd gotten all his memory back, realizing that his plan to bypass L's interrogations had worked after all.

But right now, he hadn't really been...trying to get involved in someone's nightmare, had he? He'd just...seen a crime about to take place and decided to stop it...

– which was something he probably would have never done when he was alive, he realized.

Confused at his own thoughts, Raito started walking again, trying to shake the strange, rather bizarre feeling off. As he progressed, he heard many more screams, and stood many times to observe the various ways in which people helped get rid of nightmarish hallucinations. And, as strange as it seemed, Raito was interested in each and every individual case, eager to see what would happen and whether the situation would be suppressed – and if it could, then how could it be done?

He'd come to the conclusion, after watching all of the different nightmares, that most people were suffering from thoughts of guilt, and unfulfilled wishes. Also, he'd realized that, as long as no one interfered with a hallucination, the nightmare would play on indefinitely, repeating itself over and over until someone from the crowd took pity or attempted to solve the problem. If the problem could not be solved with the help of a person, then the hallucination did not dissipate, staying there and replaying...for all eternity and for the entire world to see, Raito guessed.

It appeared that languages were never a problem in Mu, since, whatever nationality or from whatever historical era people originated, they seemed to understand the hallucinations perfectly. Raito, for example, had always spoken Japanese to hallucinations until now. And it was working quite well.

As he walked forward and even more time passed – the sky becoming darker and shadows becoming even more accentuated – he started to become exasperated. He could find no familiar faces, and certainly not Misa's. As he thought of the vastness of the crowd, and the fact that many people from the ancient times were still here and had not found their 'soulmate', as Raito cynically liked to call it, he started to despair. What was the purpose of only being allowed to talk to people he already knew? If he was going to find his 'soulmate', then being unable to talk to people was spoiling the idea of the whole thing, wasn't it?

He helped solve a few hallucinations, and as he walked, couldn't help but wonder if the people he saw in these nightmares really existed somewhere in this huge crowd...and would they recognize him if they say him? Probably not...paradoxically enough, the only way for him to communicate with others until now was to try and solve their psychological problems – not talk to them. He wondered if he'd that woman had found her sister, Katrina, in the afterlife, and if they were happy now. With a very strange thought, Raito thought he'd like to see them again, or at least verify that that woman was happy now, at least. That not all of her life had been quite as nightmarish.

Were his own nightmares being displayed somewhere at this very moment, he wondered. If so, he doubted there was anyone able to make them dissipate. His nightmares were... a bit too strong. Who would be able to stop the Hands? Surely no human.

He'd walked a long way before he realized that he wouldn't be able to return to the wooden hut he'd started in. He'd lost his sense of direction in this maze, inevitably. But in any case, he took comfort. There were countless crevices and dark corners around, as well as buildings that he wanted to explore but had never gotten the chance to do so. Surely he would find a place to sleep. The only problem was that he might completely become lost in the maze, and be forced to pass by the same people and the same locations he'd already seen.

Luckily, in this plethora of misfortune there was something fortunate: the most humungous buildings around, such as the Twin Towers and that huge Buddha, served as points of reference. Even if Raito lost his way in the small narrow streets, he'd at least manage to place himself in relation to these huge sights, and would manage to set his course.

This world had turned out to be...much more interesting in its panic than Raito had initially thought. True, it was horrific, but it was also...engaging. It was full of puzzles to solve, arcane personalities to uncover...He watched a new hallucination – a nightmare full of spiders and scared children – dissipate with the help of an old woman. Raito found himself thinking, strangely enough, that he was so fascinated by these hallucinations and their endless variety – the variety of human fantasy and human memory – that, even if he ended up never finding Misa, or Takada...or any person who was searching for him – then at least, he'd still have a purpose...If he made it the purpose of his existence to solve these mysteries and become better at resolving hallucinations...what if he could eventually become the one man capable of delivering Mu from all it's nightmares? Raito was sure that he had the mental power to achieve it!

If worse came to worst, he could make it push the idea of heaven at a second fate, and make the hallucinations his primary goal. After all, what would he do in heaven? Eat plenty of rice, watch pretty belly dancers and be peaceful in a salubrious happy place for the rest of eternity? Pfft – that kind of eternity would be so boring! Mu seemed much more real and complex, much more multi-layered than that. At least in here he felt he had a purpose, he thought, as excitement started to make his arteries pump harder.

Then, all of a sudden, completely unexpectedly as Raito was walking, something happened. Something that hadn't happened in a long, long...long...time.

Raito's eyes widened as he realized it. Frantically – if a bit comically, considering the circumstances – he started looking for a small crevice, or dark alley somewhere – although he despised dark alleys, which reminded him of-...

But he needed to go somewhere, somewhere where he could have some privacy, at least.

Finally, he detected an appropriate place. Without thinking about it much, since the need was most precipitant, he dived toward the small dark road at the side of a wrecked building. And then, trying to hide himself from the surreptitious glances of the various pedestrians, he relieved himself quickly.

Well, he thought a bit confusedly, as he zipped his worn trousers back up. Biological needs hadn't appeared in his body for...quite a long time...so it was strange that they now reared their ugly little head. Having existed without them, Raito could now freely admit that they were actually more of a hassle than they were worth. However, just as he was thinking cynical thoughts, Raito saw various people on the street walking with shrivelled fruits in their hands or ambling hand-in-hand toward dark places – in the case of a man and a woman – or sleeping at the sides of the road...he realized that this wasn't a problem that only he was encountering. Everyone around him seemed to be facing their own brand of problems.

So instead of questioning the situation, and thinking about the various tired, worn or unhappy faces he saw around him – faces of people who must have stayed here for a long time, without finding the person who was looking for them – he set out to walk again. Even though he was new to this routine, he still hoped that he wouldn't become as tired and grim as those people. Even though he wanted to stay here and see – and solve – as many hallucinations as he could, he still retained some hope...some careful slivers of hope...that he would find Misa. After all, trying to encourage himself was nice and all...but when it really came down to it, they must call it 'heaven' for a reason, right? And he wanted to have a chance at it, at least...

Oh everything was so confusing...that's why he'd favoured being a pragmatisitc when he'd been alive. Wouldn't everything be so much simpler – and admittedly, so much more futile – if Ryuuku had been right all along and if it was truly that once human died they became 'nothing'. Apparently, Raito's and Ryuuku's understanding of nothing had differed crucially.

As he walked, the faces around him were all the same. Regardless of who had been powerful, popular, rich or poor when they were alive on earth, now, in death, they were all equal...doesn't really matter after you cross the threshold of death. People dressed as thugs and women dressed like the ladies of the Court of the Queen of England were walking in the same street, wearing the same expression. After death, there is absolute justice, and everything is given in equal share. At least, Raito appreciated that.

At least here, no person could truly exploit another person. Apparently, whatever Trial each human undergoes after death seems to rob him completely of the desire to stay separated from the others.

This was rather helpful, when one comes to think about it. Whenever there was a nightmare or a monster around the corner in the land of the Dead, the common goal of the crowd was to vanquish it. And if the crowd were too frightened of it, they left it alone and tried to ignore it. But eventually, Raito was willing to bet, no matter how careless one is...they will be forced to deal with these monsters and hallucinations that were plaguing them.

Even if they didn't deal with other people's problems, then, at the very least, they didn't rub salt in the wounds, as the Living often do.

It was the first time in his entire life – and death, for that matter – that Raito had slept in the street.

He didn't like to think of it as 'sleeping in the street' and rather preferred the term 'sleeping beneath the stars'. He'd found a relatively isolated spot being a building near the broad high street. As he had discovered, this world was not as one-dimensional as he'd initially thought. He was allowed to walk anywhere he wanted, with the particularity that if he chose to leave the crowd of people, he would enter a more quiet, serene world – the world Raito had first seen when he arrived here.

So he left the crowd and walked around a building, evading all the fuss. However, the world of Mu beyond the crowded streets was an endless reserve of nature – a primitive world, a desert full of forest-like oases, jungles and roaming animals – all kinds of animals, Raito thought, as he remembered the Tasmanian tiger wolf he'd seen, a species long extinct from the Earth. He was willing to bet that the forests of Mu probably were the forests that had been burnt in the living world, and died. The same stood for the animals – all animals that had died on Earth were now roaming this land. Even the starts ornamenting the nocturnal sky were probably the stars that had blinked out of existence in the living world.

In fact, Raito liked to think of Mu as a version of 'Dead Earth', as he'd come to call it. It wasn't like Earth per se, since the ground did not seem spherical, and the horizon was literally endless. Mu was probably a discus like the one the ancients had imagined – a huge flat surface travelling the universe – the Dead universe, of course, Raito sarcastically thought. But it resembled Earth in the sense that it incorporated all the elements that had comprised Earth's terrain and biosphere. And in the central parts of Mu, clustered in the streets and buried in their nightmares, walked the humans. The Homo sapiens. Because of course, just as he'd been roaming around the closest oasis an hour ago, along with the tiger wolf, Raito had managed to catch his first glimpse of another kind of human entirely. Sure enough: Homo erectus, three of them crawling around in the darkness like the monkey-brains they are. Safe to say that Raito didn't exactly sleep calmly that night, what with the shadows of primitive creatures roaming the edges of the jungle-like oasis close by.

Although, if he really thought about it, he had nothing to be afraid of. He was dead already, was he not?

And now, isolated and calm, with a wonderful view of the forest and the stars – the stars that had probably been extinguished in the living world and now shone only for Mu – Raito could rest. He was aware, of course, that as he allowed himself to fall into the open arms of Morpheus, there may be many people who he could recognize, who may be searching for him – passing through the crowd. And by sleeping, he was losing the chance to meet these people.

But he took comfort in the fact that he had seen most people head out of the streets, receding into the muted calmness of Mu for the night, only to resume their search in the morning. It seems they were all subject to their biology, in the end.

But as darkness fell around him during the four fitful hours of sleep – the first genuinely autonomous calm sleep Raito had been granted since his death – all the good thoughts that had flooded his mind during the day started to submit to dark, doubtful musings.

For how long would he be forced to search for Misa, the person who might be searching for him? Even though he'd enjoyed solving problems and alleviating hallucinations...for how long could he continue doing it without despairing? And how was he ever going to find Misa if he wasn't even sure she was here or not? Most likely, if Leeru's words were true, then Misa had been turned into a Shinigami...and since there was no other person who may be looking for him, except perhaps his parents...what would he do?

He turned his face upwards, looking at the stars for answers. But then, some kind of movement drew his attention. He squinted in the darkness and saw, in the distance, the door of a wooden hut open. Out walked the shadow of a human. Even though Raito couldn't see his face, he was willing that it was wary and frightened. It seems that people arrived in this place even at night, Raito thought. Raito belatedly realized how lucky he'd been to come to Mu during the day.

The memory of that cockroach still stung him, and he shivered lightly in the cold air, squeezing his body in a curled position, in a largely failed attempt to warm up. Perhaps those who slept in the crowded streets had a better time sleeping, but Raito doubted the streets would be much better, what with all the screaming from the hallucinations.

Thankfully, during the night, as long as one didn't stay near other people...there were no foreign nightmares.

Only your own.

Raito felt something wet and smelly touch his cheek. But his mother had never tried to splash water on his face in order to wake him up...therefore...

Raito opened one eye, sleepily.

«Ugh!» he shouted, instantly shooting up and pushing himself backwards, when he came face to face with the eager snout and wagging tail of a roaming...creature. Dogs!! How they annoyed him! They were smelly, cheery, they liked licking people and they were just...all wrong for him!

«Mutt...» he murmured angrily and pushed the dog away as he searched for something with which to wipe the saliva off his face. Finally, becoming exasperated, he grabbed his green blazer and rubbed it on his face, feeling generally disgusted – both with himself and stray animals. He noticed, disgruntled, that the smell emitted from his clothing was anything but flowery. In fact...he reeked of sweat, dirt and exhaustion from top to bottom. Sleeping with one's clothing is not a good idea, much less in Mu. Raito wondered if he could search around and find a set of 'dead clothes' he could wear. But when he realized that he was seriously considering this option he immediately decided he was simply much too tired for this kind of thing.

He looked at the stray dog with a look of mild disgust and exasperation – the dog was a rather pathetic one, with brown fur full of fleas and patches of fur completely absent – and it stared back at him curiously, with its questioning wide chestnut eyes.

Raito shook his head, trying to deny that he had fallen to the level of weighing the reactions of a dog.

Dragging his feet upwards to stand, he pressed the balls of his hands against his eyes. Then he suppressed a stretch, trying not to look like a lazy good-for-nothing, even though there was no one watching. 'Isn't there any water around here?' he wondered as he felt the itch on his face. Finally, he detected a small well – rust-coloured, as was everything in this side of Mu – and walked to it, sighing.

Well, another day was starting. It had taken a long time for him to fall asleep last night, because of the thoughts that had been torturing him – and the animals that had been looking at him. But now, in the light of day – emitted by some unknown source, but surely not the sun – Raito's existence seemed more significant again. The mild desperation of the night lifted like a dark cloud, and, as he heaved the bucket upwards he felt better. That was until he remembered what had happened yesterday, and his previous unfortunate encounter with the water of Mu. He certainly didn't want to wash his face with a batch of cockroaches this morning.

Even the thought of it brought a chill to his spine, and he found himself looking around surreptitiously, as though expecting the freak of nature to appear in any minute. However, looking at the reflection of his hair in the bucket of water, the only freak of nature around him this morning was himself. And perhaps the mutt.

Deciding that he needed to test the quality of the water before using it on his body, he carefully spilled it to the ground, noting the fact that it seemed completely normal. Before he could bend downwards and touch it, the dog had already bounced forward, making strange noises on the back of its throat and trying to drink water from the ground.

'Stupid animal.' Raito thought sourly, as he tossed the bucket back in the well and started heaving it upwards again. He was trying to kick the retched dog away from his crotch, and wasn't paying proper attention to the bucket. As such, when Raito finally turned around to see the bucket he had raised, he yelped.

«Argh!!» he lurched backwards, watching the horror. The bucket was...was full of...those things. Those...cockroach things. They were rearing their ugly heads around, climbing on one another. And the longer Raito held the bucket in place, the more cockroaches seemed to appear, until they were practically bursting out of the bucket and trying to climb on the rope Raito was holding, cackling evilly with their screechy voices the whole time.

Reflexively, Raito let go of the rope, and took a few steps backwards as he listened to the satisfying sound of the bucket hitting the bottom of the well. He was panting, his chest heaving up and down continuously. The dog was whining softly, licking at Raito's knuckles, but the man didn't notice. He was frozen staring at the well. When a few seconds passed and nothing was happening, Raito shook his head, wondering how he could have been so stupid as to sleep next to a source of water. He was definitely sleeping in the street tomorrow.

Shaking his head lightly, he didn't even have the energy kick the dog for making a mess of his hand. Instead, he just wordlessly started walking toward the street and the gathered groups of silent people, wiping his hand in that poor mangled sweater of his. Not only was he not feeling refreshed after his little accident with the water – he was feeling worse than before. However, just as he was about to submerge himself back to the crowd, a movement on the far left side caught his attention, and he turned around.

There were people walking out of the streets toward the forests. There were some people out here too, in this forlorn side of Mu, and they were walking alone in the forest, Raito realized. Of course, they were much fewer than the ones on the street, and they didn't seem to interact with each other. Each person seemed to be in their own little world, enjoying the isolation.

Was this an alternative existence, Raito wondered. Staying isolated...not even trying to find the person who may be searching for you? How long would that person wait for you...? Did these people not want to be found, Raito wondered. Or perhaps they had tried, but were too frightened to enter the crowd of people again, and come in conflict with other peoples' nightmares...? Or perhaps...they had given up hope?

In any case, Raito noted this information, realizing that, even if he found himself unable to withstand a prolonged existence within this crowd of people...then at least he may find solace by staying completely alone.

However, the more he thought about that option, the worse he felt, for some reason.

As he walked toward the street, the mutt, who had been following him until now, mercifully turned and ran away. Raito grinned mirthlessly, realizing that even animals were too afraid to tread amongst the hell of human collision. However, just as he was pondering this, there was a sudden demanding growl heard, as Raito's stomach made its presence known.

Wonderful, he thought unhappily, now he was filthy, tired and hungry as well. He had to find some kind of routine for his needs. If he was going to be spending a long time living – or rather, existing – here, then he would need to find food resources, like a place to eat and wash.

He walked into the street, and was immediately greeted by the – by now familiar – sounds of terrified screaming. The world around him, predictably, switched from warm to icy colours. The streets of Mu, Raito thought, looked like an old black and white movie. The sky was icy grey, with dark graphite clouds, the shadows of the buildings on the paved grey street were completely, unnaturally black...Even the apple trees and their shrivelled apples barely had some colour. And even so, the world around seemed colourful, overwhelmed by the hues of different humans and different nightmares.

The bizarre staircases had a fluorescent green colour, as did many of the neon signs on the buildings. And the more time passed, the more dark the sky became, the more colourful the world seemed to grow.

Raito had conveniently forgotten what it had felt like to be pushed and shoved around by frightened people he couldn't talk to. Thinking that it was too early in the day for a panic like this would not help solve the problem. And also, the fact that he had just come face to face with a man sitting on a wheelchair with his wrists cut and a woman sitting beside him crying her eyes out was also not helping.

Raito tore his eyes away from the sight. Even though he knew he technically should try resolving the hallucination, he decided to tend to his basic needs first. There were plenty of hallucinations for him to take care of any way. Instead, he should search for something to eat...

Conveniently, just as he was shoved to the side by yet another terrified-looking pedestrian, Raito's eyes caught sight of something: the trees. The trees were tall and sturdy, very healthy-looking... but the fruit they carried was either rotting, or disgustingly shrivelled! Raito noticed that most people had no qualms about this, picking the shrivelled things and eating them eagerly despite their horrid appearance. One would have thought that the trees would run out of food, eventually, but apparently, each time a person picked a fruit from the tree, another fruit grew in another part of the tree. In this way, the residents of Mu were consistently supplied with a steady source of nutrients.

He wondered at the sheer insanity of the entire situation. Wasn't he already dead to the world? Why would he need nutrients? Apparently, this was just a simulation of his normal needs during life. He was willing to wager that it was impossible for him to get any older than the age he had been when he died, or to perish from malnourishment. This hunger, just like everything else in this place, was simply here to make his existence more difficult. He remembered what Ryuuku had told him once that Shinigami's bodies had become advanced enough as to have no need for food. And yet, Ryuuku seemed to enjoy eating apples...

Was it gluttony? The simulation of hunger? What was it?

And it was a fact that, even though he knew he wouldn't die from deprivation, Raito really was extremely hungry.

Discouraged by the lack of edible food on the trees, and thinking it probably wouldn't be self-respectful – not to mention plausible – to try and fry the mutt he'd seen this morning, he decided that he should test the buildings surrounding the road. Perhaps he may find something to eat – or even better, somewhere to bathe – in there, although he personally couldn't see how it was possible that there were functional structures in this place.

And even though he'd seen a few horrified-looking people running out of buildings yesterday, today, faced with this multitude of problems, he was feeling up to the challenge. After all, it would only be logical if these buildings contained something useful, and were not there just as ornaments.

So he selected the most inconspicuous looking building around, which reminded him more of a grocery store than anything else. He wasn't naive enough to believe he'd truly discover edible food in there, or he'd have seen people walking down the street with edible food before. However, if he were lucky, he might discover what was going on in each of these buildings. As such, he'd selected the smallest one of all to conduct his test.

With a steady hand, he grabbed the handle of the door and pushed it forward, hearing a bell jingle somewhere overhead. Feeling a bit stiff, and not paying proper attention to his surroundings, Raito almost tripped on the doorstep as he walked in the store. However, no sooner had he heard the sweet chime of the bell overhead, than he froze on his tracks, with one hand holding the door open and his jaw dropped.

This was...this was...

An absolutely normal room!

Everything was natural. No monsters creeping under the stairs, no bloody handprints on the walls. It looked like a very simple, basic apartment. And lo! On the far back, peaking seductively at him from down the hallway, was unmistakably the bathroom, complete with shower and all basic appliances. Raito almost felt his skin itch beneath his clothes, already craving the sweet deliverance of the water. But, despite his urgent needs, Raito gathered his self-control. Perhaps the normalcy of the surroundings was the most suspicious thing about them. Raito wondered what would happen if he let the door close. Would he be trapped in here forever?

It was true that, despite the casual, ordinary appearance, Raito could not be as simple-minded as to dare believe that there was nothing wrong with this place. He had learned that, when things seemed too good to be true, they usually were. If this place was indeed as comfortable as it looked, then Raito wouldn't have seen people screaming and run out of here – of course, when it came to screaming, Raito could perfectly hear people's voices, regardless of whether he knew them or not in life. Well, at least he comforted himself with the knowledge that everyone who he'd seen enter here had eventually come out, albeit horrified. At least he knew he wouldn't be trapped here for eternity, if he decided to enter after all.

His brain – and his heart – both told him that this was a very, very bad idea to begin with. There was a dark, oppressive gloom in the silence of this place, as though the objects inside were suspended in motion. There didn't even seem to be dust in the air.

Even so, Raito was, to put it plainly, very curious, and he couldn't suppress this urge of his. After all, this was the only aspect of the world of Mu that he knew absolutely nothing about. If he managed to unravel the mystery about what takes place in these buildings, then he'd succeed in setting his routine and his course in this world, until he could meet Misa.

Perhaps the promise of a shower also affected his decision to enter. In any case, thinking ahead, Raito decided not to let the door of the building close, in case he found himself the recipient of a nasty surprise after the door shut. The obvious solution to the problem was to put a stopper against the door. Looking around for heavy objects, he quickly caught sight of a brass umbrella stand nearby, which would surely be heavy enough to hold the door.

Working quickly, Raito lodged the heavy object against the door, keeping it open. After that, very carefully, he stepped in the room. When he'd walked five feet in the drawing and still couldn't see anything alarming taking place, he resolved to try and get this over with as quickly as possible. Losing no time, he walked in a brisk pace toward the bathroom, which was located in the end of the hallway.

The air around felt fine, but it seemed as though the entire atmosphere was covered by some kind of stifling, unbearable heat. Raito thought that, if he squeezed his eyes carefully, he could see small black particles in the air. He shook his head immediately, trying to make the cowardly thoughts go away. He'd been through the worst of it, and-

Just as he was thinking to himself that the furniture in this house was quite mundane, he heard the telltale creak of a wooden door, which made him unconsciously jump. Within seconds, he ran toward the living room. However, contrary to what he'd been thinking, the front door hadn't closed. It was just as he'd left it, with the umbrella stand holding it ajar.

Turning slowly backwards, Raito convinced himself to quickly do what he came for and leave this oppressive place at once. He quickly walked back to the bedroom. There was a closet right next to the bed, so Raito proceeded to open it, hoping he may find something to wear. He casually grabbed the metallic handles and pulled them. But the moment the doors opened, an entire avalanche of clothing fell on Raito's head and torso. Raito stumbled backwards, caught unawares at what was happening. When the back of his knees hit the side of the bed, he simply sat down, feeling the warm and bouncy mattress beneath him.

What a lovely difference compared to the rough ground he'd slept on last night. He sat there for a few moments, staring at the small pyramid of clothing now stacked in front of him, as though the closet had just spat them out. He narrowed his eyes carefully, noticing that there were all kinds of clothing there: male and female, clothes for little girls, clothes for a soldier...Raito noticed that the insignia on the military uniform indicated the clothing belong to a Frenchman.

Strangely estranged, and feeling the atmosphere become heavier and darker than ever – everything around him seemed to have a slightly faded out, blue and grey hue – he stood up. He'd changed his mind about borrowing some clothes after a-

But just as he sat up and turned around, he yelped in surprise. There were two people lying on the bed he'd just vacated, obviously an elderly couple cuddling under the comforters. Raito gasped and move backwards, only to stumble and fall over the stack of clothing. His eyes were as wide as saucers staring at the people on the bed. They seemed slightly...faded out. As though the colours of their skin and hair had been taken from an old photograph. Even though Raito could see them speaking to each other, he could hear nothing of their conversation, which only reinforced the strange impression.

And just as Raito was staring at them, he gasped again, because new people had just appeared on the bed. Impossibly, the new couple who'd just appeared was sitting at exactly the same place as the previous one. Somehow, their faces had changed, blended together and-

But just as Raito's mind was jumping madly to different conclusions, he noticed that there were more people around him. There was a man dressed in a soldier's uniform sitting on an armchair at the corner of the room, there was an old woman sitting by the window and knitting, there was another man dressed in a very old fashioned way compared to the other two, pacing back and forth in the room...

And soon, before Raito knew it, there were people everywhere, everywhere! All kinds of different people, dressed in varying styles, were walking around and overlapping with each other. Suddenly, there was an insistent sound, like the screech of television static, echoing from somewhere close by.

Losing no time, Raito stood up and moved out of the bedroom. Coming face to face with the bathroom, and trying to ignore his thumping heart, he remembered the reason he had come here in the first place, and decided to go ahead with his choice.

Walking quickly in the bathroom, he firmly shut the door. The fact that there were people all around outside, even if those people technically couldn't see him, was worrying enough.

So Raito lost no more time, planning to get out of this place as quickly as possible. With his curiosity quenched, he was now ready to return to the street, however horrid it may be. He quickly removed his blazer, tugging it roughly, since it was stuck on his back because of the sweat. He took this opportunity to scratch that horrid itch on his nape, and ran his fingers repeatedly through his hair, tugging at them wildly and making them stand up at gravity defying angles. When he was finally, blissfully, nude, he walked in the shower, not bothering to close the curtain, and simply proceeded to open the water taps.

The sigh that escaped his lips upon the moment the water first hit his neck was one of pure, unadulterated bliss. He stayed there, frozen with his eyes closed, enjoying the smooth sensation. After what must have been at least a couple of minutes, he opened his eyes again.

Only to see that he wasn't alone. There was a little girl with pigtails – the one he'd seen in the bedroom before – her height not surpassing that of the sink, standing in the middle of the room and brushing her teeth. She didn't seem to take notice of Raito at all, and she continued happily, rinsing her mouth. Raito, not really accustomed – at least not since Sayu had entered elementary – to been accompanied by little girls in the shower grabbed the curtain and closed it harshly.

He would not let this break him, he told himself, realizing that the ghosts that infested this house – probably the ghosts of all the people who had lived here, in all different eras, where still in here...as memories. However, even though he steeled himself and his resolve, his heart was hammering in his chest, and his fingers were trembling over the taps. He could see, even through the curtain, the shadows of various people out side the shower – not only of the girl, but of an old woman, a younger one, the soldier man who was wearing his dressing robe...Raito gritted his teeth, his hand gripping the faucet. The water that had soothed him so much before now felt like air on his back – as though the sensation had completely evaporated.

But as Raito raised his other hand to increase the flow of hot water, he saw that...that...

A hand was already there. Gasping involuntarily, the man turned around, only to realize that...

There was an old man in the shower...right next to Raito. No, the old man's body was actually even passing through Raito's...

The auburn haired man, with his wet hair now almost black coloured, lodged himself in the corner of the shower, trying to keep his distance. But no sooner had he moved away, than he saw yet another person, a young woman, appear in the shower as well, her body overlapping with that of the old man.

Raito wanted to move outside, but he knew that, if he did, he'd have to pass through their bodies...and he didn't want to...The entire surface of his body was now trembling, partly because of the coldness of his wet state and partly because of what he was seeing. And the worst of it was that...there was no sound. It was as though...as though...Raito was alone in this house...when he actually wasn't.

He was neither alone, nor did he have company...he was-

But before he could take his thinking process any further, yet another two people appeared in the shower. And this time, they were a couple. Raito turned his head reflexively away as they started rutting right next to him. Of course...they had no idea he was there. None of these people...these were all...ghosts. Memories.

Was this what a haunted house looks like? A place where the ghosts are unobtrusive and never care about the presence of the others? Where there ghosts in every old building...? Were there- Unable to take it anymore, he gritted his teeth, making the muscles in his jaw pump, and lunged forward with his hand outstretched. He pushed the curtain away with one fluid movement and decisively walked through the half-translucent bodies of the people gathered in the shower.

However, the sight that greeted him outside was completely beyond words. There were neither one nor two people in the bathroom. There were dozens. Masses of them, on the toilet, brushing their teeth, applying deodorant, checking their sexy lingerie. And Raito was entirely naked, facing this. And even thought they couldn't see him...in this huge crowd...he was the only one who did not fit.

His clothes, which he had carefully placed on a nearby towel hanger, where still exactly where he'd left them, with the only difference that there were foreign clothes now placed above them – the clothes just as translucent and faded-out as their owners. Without thinking about it, Raito reached for his clothes, trying not to run, since the floor was slippery and his feet still wet. He thought of exiting the bathroom, but knew that he'd probably find more of them outside that he did here.

Closing his eyes and forcing himself to breathe normally – or as slowly as possible under the circumstances – he quickly finished putting his clothes on. But his body was still wet, and the clothes still unwashed. And the hot fumes which made the bathroom air suffocating weren't helping the cloth slide faster over his slick skin.

He turned to look directly at the wall, ignoring what was happening around him and trying to convince himself that he was behaving like an insane person. He didn't find the courage to blame himself, however. Finally, when he'd successfully managed to pull his blazer over his lean abdomen, he lost no time in opening the door roughly and walking outside.

And sure enough, true to his predictions, there were people everywhere, overlapping with each other as they walked around the apartment. Some of them Raito recognized, some others not. Without thinking about what he was seeing, and feeling his insides tighten impossibly. Thankfully, he was wearing his shoes again, so he had the choice to run. And run he did because, unexplainably, even though nothing untoward was directly happening to him, he didn't wish to remain in this place a moment longer.

The door was ajar, just as he'd left it. And when he finally walked outside, meeting the bleak lighting of the street and the new crowds of people he couldn't communicate with he truly felt an edge of paranoia start to grow in his mind.

He really did feel like shouting, or screaming, but he held it in, knowing that everyone would hear. Trying to tell himself he wasn't quite as cowardly as that. Turning around to stare at the inside of the house through the half-open door, he noticed that, predictably, everything seemed normal. The house appeared completely empty on the outside. On the far back, Raito could see the bathroom light open and the water running, just as he'd left them. Seeing the house now, one would think that Raito was insane, and had been hallucinating all along.

Raito turned around immediately, walking away without looking back and feeling a sick feeling overcome his innards. Who'd just invaded whose privacy? What had just happened?

In this entire crowd of people, Raito thought, as he looked back and forth in the huge throng of the crowd, how could it be that he felt so utterly, oppressively, indisputably alone.

He was, wasn't he? Just like he'd been in that house. Surrounded by other people – practically suffocated by them...but ultimately, could he communicate with anyone? Could anyone see him? Did anyone care enough for him to search and find him?

No. No. No.

He was, in the end, all alone.

That's what he thought, and stopped walking mid-step. He raised his arm and rested it on the bark of a nearby tree. The wood felt dry and wrinkled under his fingers. He closed his eyes and sighed.

«Johnson? Johnson is that you!? Oh, Johnson!!» a voice suddenly echoed from somewhere, and Raito, as well as a few others, turned around to see a woman and a man hugging each other tightly.

«Cindy!» the man echoed, his voice almost a cry of relief.

It happened occasionally – they'd witness the reunion of those few people who were lucky enough to find the one who was looking for them. At those times, when two real people around where actually talking to each other, everyone around could hear their voices.

Raito grinned once again as he observed the looks of jealousy and envy that the people around were shooting the fortunate duo. He'd grin to hide his own covert envy.

He didn't know how many days had passed since he'd first come here, but they were plenty. Enough for his face to grow stubble – something which hadn't even happened during the month Ryuuzaki had confined him in prison. Therefore, he must have been in Mu for more than a month..

One month of searching...and one month of failing. Again and again and again.

Of course he'd recognized a few people by now. For example, he'd seen Namikawa some weeks ago, that long haired she-man who'd been in the board of the Yotsuba Corporation. At first Raito had been overjoyed, thinking that he at last had his chance to speak to someone. Unfortunately, however, this glee had lasted until Raito had remembered exactly on what terms he and Namikawa had parted. Would the man remember Raito's betrayal? Had he forgiven Raito for killing him? Had he forgiven Raito enough to wish to search for him?

The possibility seemed more than a little unlikely, since Raito and that man had hardly ever been close.

That was the first time Raito had avoided someone he could have spoken to, knowing that it would be useless to talk to them. He'd killed them – wasn't this enough to cultivate afterlife-long distaste? Over the course of the next few weeks, Raito had seen more of these people – and he remembered killing them. He'd avoided them all, turning his face away. Entering a building was obviously not a choice when trying to escape, since it would probably result in making one more noticeable than before when one came running out of the accursed place. So Raito always stayed on the street, subtly manoeuvring and evading a bunch of people he could have spoken to, recognizing the damage his Kira policy had done to his reputation.

Who would want to talk to their murderer? Perhaps the saddest thing was that most of these people didn't even know that Raito had killed them. But even so, Raito had hardly met anyone who he believed he could have asked for help. So he stayed alone, and focused instead on the other aspect of the world of Mu: the hallucinations. He liked to think of it as his occupation, much like he'd thought of the Death Note. At some point, he'd become so disappointed with searching for Misa, that he'd decided to dedicate his energy on the hallucinations and try to resolve each and every one he could see.

Raito felt the hair on his nape stand on end as he remembered one particular hallucination, which had involved a woman giving birth to a rabbit instead of a human child.

The hallucinations in this place, Raito had realized, where the absolute epitome of human fantasy. Even though some of them seemed realistic, it was impossible to judge whether they were a product of fantasy or an actual memory. After a few days, Raito liked to think that it was all pure fantasy, that nothing was real. He had to think like this if he wanted to keep going. At some point, he'd been very close to abandoning the effort all together, and simply resigning himself to this world. He'd thought he could exit the crowded streets and start enjoying an isolated existence in the forests, away from all other humans – and their nightmares.

But in the end, he reasoned with himself, where would that course of action lead? Nowhere. If he wanted at least a small chance at changing his current situation, resignation was not the answer. He had to persevere this continuous madness, and find a way to combat it.

He had taken to sleeping at the crowded streets come nightfall, except for some times when he simply couldn't put up with the screaming anymore and was forced to walk away from the street. He only ever entered a building when a bath became absolutely imperative, which was not all that often. In the meantime, the hunger was crippling him. After the first few days, when he'd starved, he'd decided that, compared to nothing at all, the shrivelled fruits from the trees were very satisfying.

They had no taste, and felt like paper melting in his mouth. Even though he ate, it didn't seem like his hunger was being alleviated. And even though his stomach was technically full, the agonizing gluttony was increasing tenfold with each unsatisfying meal. Days passed, days during which he walked amongst the nightmares, and imagined how he must look from the outside, as one of the endless cattle of wraith-like zombies.

Strangely, even though he was all alone, and longed for the comfort of mutual communication, he avoided it whenever it was freely offered to him, feeling more awkward and uncomfortable when faced with it than he did elated. Truly, an isolated existence like this was incredibly difficult...but at least it was safe. Who knows what may happen in this place when you allow yourself to become involved with someone else, Raito kept wondering, trying to ease his guilt at avoiding people.

Until, finally, after endless weeks of walking and occupying himself with hallucinations, trying to resolve disputes and accustom himself to this new, ghostlike existence, someone saw him.

Raito had been calmly staring at a hallucination when he raised his gaze that day, only to see Matsuda's round amber eyes fixed on his face. This man standing in front of Raito right now looked many years older than the Matsuda Raito had remembered, and Raito could only assume that Matsuda had died when he'd been older.

But even if there were wrinkles all over his face, those cowed naive eyes were still distinctive. Overall, however, judging by the newfound sombreness in the way he stood, Matsuda must have changed as well in some abstract way. Raito recognized him within a few seconds. Then he stood there, practically frozen, wondering what his old colleague must be thinking upon seeing him, the great Kira, now standing alone in the street – like all other humans.

For the first time in a long time, Raito wondered if, perhaps, he should approach the other person. After all, he and Matsuda had worked together. And even though the man Raito was now seeing didn't really look like the one he remembered, perhaps the two of them could still...that is, if Matsuda still didn't hold a grudge against Raito for being Kira...

Without realizing it, Raito had started moving forward. However, he hadn't even managed a few steps before he saw Matsuda moving backwards, a slightly guarded expression on his face.

Raito froze in his tracks, realizing his miscalculation...A muscle pumped in his jaw, and he clenched his fists, aware that his gestures must indicate nervousness but unable to stop himself. So he'd been right when he'd tried to avoid all the people he'd seen before...just like Matsuda, they didn't want to talk to him. He'd been right all along to avoid contact with them...and he cursed himself for not doing it again.

Raito opened his mouth slightly, as though to say something. A few uncomfortable moments passed. And then, finally, Matsuda gave a slight nod, as though acknowledging something. Had Raito been focusing more on the other's reactions and less on his inner rant, he would have realized that the other man was looking at him more with a gaze of silent respect rather than the mute derision Raito was imagining.

But as it was, because of his mental plight and momentary self-depreciation, Raito failed to detect the warmth in Matsuda's eyes and the small smile the older man was giving him. In Raito's mind, the expression seemed like a mocking one.

Not waiting for anything else to happen, Matsuda slowly walked past Raito, continuing toward the opposite direction of the street. Raito stayed there, standing still without even blinking. He must have stood in the same place for longer than he realized, because the next time he actually came back to his senses the sky was dark and the neon lights bright on the buildings of Mu.

Realizing he could hardly get any work done today, Raito found a dark orifice in some obscure corner of the street – that was not already occupied – and lay down slowly. His resolve, which he had carefully constructed in order to persevere through these hard times, was now crumbling extremely quickly.

This was hopeless, he thought. If even Matsuda, who was the most naive and compassionate of all the people who'd known Raito, did not wish to speak to the other...then perhaps Raito was really wasting his time here. There was no way he'd ever find anyone who'd be searching for him, or trying to talk to him. After all, who had he met during his life, except Misa and Takada, who was interested in him as a person, not as a genius?

Huddled in his narrow sleeping quarters, Raito unconsciously let his head drop between his knees. What was he trying to do here, anyway, he wondered in vibrant weariness. Find Misa? How would he find her? Was she even here or had she turned Shinigami? Did he even have a chance or was it all in his head? And since it was now certain, after his little encounter with Matsuda earlier, that there was no one else – especially from those who'd known Raito was Kira – who would want to associate themselves with Raito now.

Misa was the only one who'd accept him while knowing who he was...not even Takada would accept him, Raito thought, because even though she'd respected his status as Kira, he'd gone and killed her. Now she'd surely hate him. There was no way she'd be searching for him, except perhaps if she wanted to punch him in revenge.

And as he sat there, enveloped in the darkness, his thoughts of despair and doubt started to gain supernatural magnitude in his mind, to the extent that it suddenly seemed to him as though his whole existence was hopeless.

'This is useless...' he started thinking, gritting his teeth and letting his fingers sink in the cold ground beneath him – dead ground. 'There is no way I'll ever find her...maybe I should just leave this place once and for all, before any more damage is done...' Raito thought of Matsuda's face, which, in Raito's imagination, had gained a sardonic smile. Raito felt the desperation grip him all over again: 'They hate me...they still hate me...I'll never find Misa, and there is no one else who would...'

Suddenly, it seemed as though he couldn't breathe, because there was some kind of weight in his chest. This sensation was amazing, he managed to think through his panic. It felt as though there really was something chained to his heart, dragging it downwards – it was actually a physical pain. He'd only felt this aggravating – and yet truly astonishing – sensation once before, when he'd seen the demon who looked like himself shatter Misa's marionette.

That night, Raito fell asleep listening to each and every scream that echoed from outside, wondering the whole time if walking down this street was, perhaps, not meant for him after all.

But it seems that Raito would forever remain a slave of his own great intelligence, and his own will to conquer. Because the next morning, despite the fact that the bones in his legs and teeth were actually aching from the emotional pressure, he continued walking down the street.

Apparently, even when his internal monologues told him to give up and suggested that the logical thing would be to abandon the effort, deep down, his subconscious mind still made him continue. He just couldn't find it in himself to leave and resign himself to absolute, isolated submission.

Naturally, his determination was wavering. But when it came down to his course of action, the only thing he could really do was move forward. After all, he needed to find some kind of purpose in his existence, to keep himself from going insane. What purpose would he find if he went outside, to wander aimlessly in the forests and jungles of Mu? At least here, in the street, despite the panic and accentuated loneliness, the hallucinations gave him something to think about. Something to do.

He'd walked past the Twin Towers some time ago. Now, his next target was the gigantic ship, located on the east. Raito couldn't tell, from this distance, if the ship was the Titanic or not, but it surely qualified in terms of size.

And so he steeled himself and walked, feeding on wrinkled fruit, sleeping in dirty benches and trying not to think of the fact that even Matsuda – even the greatest pushover Raito had ever met – didn't want anything to do with him.

A week later, he'd come significantly closer to the colossal ship. He felt slightly refreshed, since he'd given himself a haircut this morning, using the scissors he'd found in one of the houses – during yet another one of his escapades. In any case, as he was walking down the street, trying to spot a hallucination to resolve, he was suddenly jolted out of his reverie.

«Yagami...Raito? Yagami-kun?»

Having become unaccustomed to conversations aimed at him, it took a moment for Raito to register the small, female voice he was hearing. Finally, when he realized that his name was being called, he turned around immediately, his heart beating madly at the possibility that it might be Misa and he might finally leave this place – in his excitement, he'd forgotten that Misa would never call him by his surname. But the moment he met the sight in front of him, the air was knocked out of his lungs and his heart dropped. Well, it surely wasn't Misa...it was an old lady instead. Raito didn't recognize her from anywhere, and was confused by the fact that he could talk to her.

It crossed his mind that the woman could be a hallucination, but if she were she wouldn't know him by name, nor would she have initiated a conversation with him on her own accord. Hallucinations never approached or interacted with a human – it was always vice versa.

Raito just stayed put, looking at the woman strangely and unwilling to admit he didn't recognize her from anywhere.

«Raito...Yagami Raito, is that you?» she asked, with a voice of amazement. Raito squeezed his brain to remember her, but couldn't come up with anything.

«Yes...» he spoke quietly, his vocal chords unaccustomed to strain. It seems that somewhere along the line, even though Raito could meet someone he could talk to...he had even lost the ability to carry on a decent dialogue, except when thinking to himself. Apparently, his inability to remember her must have become evident in his tone of voice and awkward way of standing, because the old lady – wearing a dark blue dress and short heeled shoes – spoke again.

«Oh!» the woman suddenly said, as though just realizing something «Of course you wouldn't recognize me...» she said, nodding slightly in realization «I'm Ogasawara Tomoko...from Todai, remember?» she asked again. At the mention of the name, Raito immediately scanned his memory.

Thankfully, he'd always been good with both names and faces.

Of course he remembered her...a girl with dyed auburn hair who was in the science division...She was the one who'd had that affinity for cats. Raito remembered her well, because her best friend, Katou Mai, had had an obvious crush on him.

«Oh...» he said, and his tone was a little stale despite himself «Of course...» he finished, hoping his awkwardness wasn't quite as obvious as he thought.

However, this old lady didn't meet his mental image of Tomoko at all, with her moon-shaped spectacles and calm demeanour. Now that he thought about it, there were some similarities in the facial characteristics, but apart from that...

«Have you had any luck yet?» the girl asked with a friendly smile, and Raito reciprocated without much enthusiasm. After all this time spent in Mu, and especially after his small encounter with Matsuda, he'd found that he'd lost his will to constantly lace his face with fake smiles. What was the point in acting friendly, anyway? There was nothing to hide now...everyone knew he was Kira.

«Found the person who's looking for you?» the woman asked again, jerking Raito away from his thoughts. Annoyed at the question, he sarcastically wondered if she was blind. Couldn't she see that he was alone, like everyone else? This was probably her – unsuccessful – idea of trying to break the ice, Raito reminded himself. He tried to be courteous, just for the sake of salvaging his public image. Obviously, this woman had never found out that he'd been Kira, or else she wouldn't have come to talk to him so casually.

«I can't say I have.» Raito said, and shrugged his shoulders «For now I'm enjoying the sights.» and he pointed at the huge ship behind the woman, who turned to see what he was pointing at. Upon hearing his words, she smiled, and the wrinkles in her face became deeper. Raito supposed that the reason she now looked old was because she'd died as an old lady. Unexplainably, a burst of jealousy erupted within Raito...why couldn't he have lived as long as she did...? Why did he have to face Mu...?

Her voice distracted him from his rather hateful musings.

«Oh, it's a wonder!» she said melodiously, referring to the ship, and Raito realized that her voice sounded youthful despite her old age. Just as Raito was about to ask her how she was faring with her own quest, she spoke again «Have you seen the dinosaurs yet?» she asked, and Raito mentally froze. He tried to keep a nonchalant exterior, however, and asked her carefully.

«Dino...saurs?» perhaps this woman didn't know what she was talking about. Were there really...dinosaurs around her?

«Yes, of course!» she said, nodding «Sometimes, if you walk outside» she pointed towards the direction of a path, which connected the crowded streets to the outside jungle-world of Mu «you can see them. You can see all the animals that became extinct on Earth!»

Raito didn't really want to tell her he'd already figured as much, so he simply nodded.

«But, don't worry, they won't harm you even if you come close to them.» the woman babbled on and, unexpectedly, as he watched her, Raito realized that she must be feeling...nervous. The slightly strained, anxious expression on her face as she tried to find the right things to say was a perfect reflection of the way he was currently feeling. Taking pity on her misery, more from a sense of empathy than anything else, Raito decided to make her more comfortable.

«Oh is that so...?» he asked, nodding along to show he was interested in her words.

«Yes! Of course!» she said with a strained smile, and Raito realized she must have pushed herself to the limit when she came and talked to him out of the blue.

«Well, I suppose that this place has some positive aspects as well...» Raito quietly said, reluctant to talk about the exact nature of this place, or even the general concept of death. Even though he was sure the woman was just as well-accustomed to her situation as he was, he was still reluctant to talk about it.

«Definitely.» the woman said, her tone a tad more natural than before «Even if this place is troublesome, we still get to see all this wondrous things! Actually, I think there are good and bad aspects to everything...even Mu.»

And this was how, Raito stayed and talked to her, at first because he thought if would be kind, and later because he realized he enjoyed it. It was comforting to know that someone was paying attention to him, enough to wish to talk to him. After talking to her for a while, Raito realized that, by the way she was speaking, she must have been in Mu for much longer than he, which was rather strange, judging from the fact that Raito had obviously died much earlier than her.

Raito considered it may be rude to ask her about whether she'd found the person who was looking for her, but then decided that, since she'd asked him, it wouldn't seem impolite.

«So...how is your search going?» Raito asked, expecting the woman to show a disappointed face. But on the contrary, actually, her face suddenly brightened, and she smiled.

«I haven't found that person yet,» she started, and her eyes clouded over as she seemed to be recalling the face of the person she was thinking of «But I will see him very soon.»

Raito looked at her rather strangely. How could she be so certain that she'd find that person in this huge crowd, even though she'd obviously been roaming Mu for a long time? So Raito, realizing he had nothing to lose and nothing to gain, decided to simply voice his incomprehension.

«How can you be so sure?» he asked, and succeeded in keeping his voice even and nonchalant, without even a hint of envy or curiosity. The woman smiled at him in return, and her face was alight with glee.

«Because he and I always had a meeting place.» she answered, nodding «And I'm sure he'll be waiting for me there...so when I find that place, I'll wait for him, and I know he'll come for me.»

Raito nodded, involuntarily feeling the telltale stings of jealousy poke his heart. The certainly in her voice, the determination in her face...it must be nice to view the world of Mu as a small trip, with an actual destination, instead of the chaotic ocean that Raito encountered every day.

It must be nice to have a place to call one's own. Raito had been planning to ask this woman about the buildings in Mu, wondering if she could tell him anything about the ghosts that roamed in each house. But now, hearing her talk to him about her 'special place', he didn't know how to broach the subject. How could he tell her that all the houses he'd been in, all the buildings he'd had the misfortune to enter, they were all laced of memories of people like her. People who'd lived in that space, contaminated it with their memories...

The talked for a long time after that, and the woman's laughter sounded refreshingly like a clear bell when Raito half-heartedly told her about his adventures with the various animals of Mu. Raito noticed that, as he was standing there and talking to her in the middle of the street, various people walking around would periodically turn to look at him with barely concealed envy. Raito belatedly realized that, now that he was speaking to someone, the others could all hear what he was saying.

They talked for the better part of the day, and even though Raito did not particularly enjoy this woman's sense of humour or her clumsy awkwardness, he still stayed there and talked. But even so, as he talked to her, it felt as though he was hiding something – some part of himself. After all, this woman didn't know how he'd died, or what he'd done. She didn't know he was Kira, or that he'd killed with those two hands. To her, he was Yagami Raito, the genius boy who'd entered Toukyo University with a written score of one hundred percent.

She didn't know him. Obviously, she was talking to him precisely because she didn't know him. And strangely, the more time he spent talking to her, the more he mentally began to despair all over again. Because he realized that, obviously, the only way he could actually speak to someone was if they didn't know who he was or what he'd done. The people who he'd worked with, who knew that he was Kira...none of them would wish to talk to him again, as Matsuda's actions had demonstrated.

This was a lost cause. It seemed that he only had two choices: either he would reject his own nature and accept this constant hypocrisy in order to find people to talk to...or he could remain himself – Kira and Raito – and be alone.

This is why his only chance at salvation was Misa, he repeated internally. She was the only one, along with Mikami and Takada, who had accepted him despite knowing his true actions. And since he'd double-crossed Takada and disappointed Mikami, Misa was now his only hope. Ironically, she was the only one who would care enough for him to search for him, despite knowing he was Kira.

By the time the sky began to darken, Tomoko and he had run out of topics to discuss. The woman had talked about the living world, about the things she had seen take place in her lifetime. Raito learned that, while he'd been busy dying and going through Trials, the Earth had been going through tribulations of its own. Judging by Tomoko's words, however, the judicial and legal system must have remained just as pathetic and ineffective as Raito remembered.

But in any case, at this point, this kind of thing hardly concerned him. He had learned that, regardless of criminal nature, all people end up going to the same place after death. Therefore, no one really gets punished for being himself, and society remains imperfect regardless of how many criminals are killed.

«It was nice talking to you...» Tomoko stated, bowing slightly «I wish you the best of luck.»

Raito couldn't help but thing, for the umpteenth time that day that she wouldn't be quite so jovial if she'd known what he'd really done.

«Thank you. And I also wish you the same.» he finished, not straining himself to sound sincere since his tone was already jovial enough «I hope you find that place and meet that person very soon.» he finished, nodding. She bowed again, and smiled at him.

«And in case I don't see you again, Raito-kun,» the woman finished, now in first-name basis after a day of chatting. It was strange to hear his name being called like this by an old lady, since he felt as though it was his grandma calling him, despite the fact that Tomoko was...technically...his age.

«Good bye.» she said, with a small, rather melancholy, smile.

«Good bye.» Raito answered, not thinking much about his words. Only when he saw her small frame moving away in the crowd did he start to understand. The darkness started closing in again, and he realized he was standing alone. He had the absurd urge to run and talk to her again, even though he knew that he didn't particularly enjoy her company.

But still, he didn't want to be alone again, one of the silent people. He didn't want to be one of those who ambled around like ghosts...he wanted to be free. If only he could be allowed to speak to whomever he wished...if only the world didn't have to work with rules. 'You will go to heaven when you find the one who is looking for you'. What does that mean? There may be many people out there looking for him, but Raito would never search for them because he didn't know they were interested.

Well, at least she'd had the courage to come talk to him, and see if he was the one looking for her, he thought sourly. And now, the thought that, as she had said, he might never, ever see her again was starting to sink in. And it wasn't the fact that he would miss her company...it was rather the whole idea that, along with her disappearance, some chapter of his life had just...finished, and would never come back again. Much like time, which doesn't go backwards, and once a birthday is over, it can never come again.

Raito had bypassed all those opportunities to talk to people he had known and now he was feeling a bit remorseful. What if they had been looking for him, despite the fact that he'd killed them? What if he'd underestimated his own effect on people? Maybe the very fact that he'd killed them had made them look for him to get revenge? Would he ever get that chance again...? He was losing time. He was losing opportunities. With every moment that passed...he might be losing...something. He may be losing Misa.

He turned around, raising his head to stare at the huge ship, which was full of lights – a shining beacon in the night.

If only he knew a place where he could find Misa, like Tomoko had said that she knew where to find the one she was looking for. If Raito had cared enough to seriously talk to Misa even once during his lifetime, he might have known where she liked to go, or may have felt assured where to find her. Now he had to work harder, search faster. She was the only person who might be looking for him, and as such, he could not allow himself to lose his chance to find her.

This was serious. Even though the world of Mu was so interesting, and it guaranteed Raito's intrigue...he could not allow himself to lapse. He had to search harder!

For the first time since he'd arrived in Mu, Raito walked during the night. The lights of the ship glowed like the full moon as he walked down the black street. The shapes of the old trees at the sides of the road looked like black, human shadows. At some point, as Raito was walking, he thought he felt something on his left – something like a floating...

He whirled around immediately, with his hands unconsciously raised in a fighting stance. He stayed tense for a few moments, watching. There truly was a shadow behind him...and it was shaped exactly like...like...Raito's heart started beating wildly as he stared at it, his shoulders tense and his jaw pumping.

But then, suddenly, just as Raito was preparing to strike, one of the neon lights around the street flickered to life, illuminating the shadow. Raito realized that it was just a man huddled in the side of the street, covered by a blanket that fell on his shoulders strangely.

Raito tried to calm his heartbeat, unwilling to admit it to himself. But it was true that, at some point, he'd actually thought...that the Grim Reaper was following him again.

The neon light flickered again, casting the shape of the man back to the shadows. That shadow truly was...shaped exactly like Ryuuku. Raito turned around quickly, walking away. He couldn't believe he'd almost punched the thin air. But the more that he thought about it, the more he remembered the way that Ryuuku had been floating around next to him all the time...strangely, the sheer memory of it gave Raito a chill down his spine, even though it had never bothered him before.

This world was strange, he decided, as he walked forward, not allowing himself to look at anything except the various hallucinations around. At times he thought that, despite his need to find Misa and leave this place...he might be better off alone after all.

It really was the Titanic. But alas, even though its size was great, Raito had seen bigger ships during his lifetime. The huge ship was steadied on land via a framework of scaffolds. Raito stood there, looking at it with interest. The more he looked at it, the more he found that he wanted to enter it and observe the actual architecture of the interior, as well as the structure of the engines.

However he knew that, unfortunately, if he even tried to go inside he'd immediately be attacked by a multitude of wandering ghosts – the ghosts of the people who had lived inside the ship and, possibly, even died in it. Raito looked around, noticing that there was a great amount of people gathered around, observing the huge structure with marvel. The chestnut haired man even noticed a Mongol soldier standing there, looking completely flabbergasted as he stared at a kind of technology he had probably never seen before.

After staying there for some time, Raito moved away, deciding to continue walking. It had rained the day before yesterday – the most disgusting, grey-coloured rain that Raito had ever seen – and so his clothes had mercifully been refreshed. However, even though some of the filth and stains had been washed away, his blazer was still shredded in multiple places, and his trousers had become a sad excuse for a kitchen mop. Thankfully, his belt was still intact, which was some small consolation.

Also, as he had moved through the world of Mu, he had noticed that there was a sense of geography in this place, however small. The flora and fauna seemed to deviate according to the terrain of the land, which was mountainous in some areas, completely flat in others, and even desert-like in some spots. Tomoko had warned him that there was even a part of Mu full of ice, 'as though it was the North Pole'.

On the one hand Raito wanted to see these things, but on the other hand he knew that, whatever he saw, whatever he heard...it was all...dead. Everything about this place tended to be slightly...off key. The food, for example. Or the deformed cockroaches that seemed keen on attacking Raito whenever he tried to drink water outside. It was as though everything in this place was a fusion of reality, memory and fantasy. Especially within the crowded streets, one could never be sure whether he was seeing a mentally-generated hallucination or a-

«Misa!» Raito suddenly spoke, and his hand automatically shot forward before he could stop himself. He grabbed the small shoulder of the woman in front of him and turned her around rather roughly, only to be greeted by a pug-like nose and two hazel eyes that were certainly not Misa's...

But from behind she'd looked exactly the same...the same height and haircut...

The woman looked at him with a slightly disgruntled stare, and then proceeded to shake his hand off and walk away. Raito paused for a minute, looking at her. Then, he started walking again, his mind sinking in his thoughts.

He was certain that he could recognize Misa very easily, he pondered, as he caught sight of a particular orange tree. Seeing as he was hungry and oranges were the only edible thing in the vicinity, he decided to have one. Moving slowly toward the tree, he took his time trying to select the juiciest of the shrivelled fruit. He remembered the way Tomoko had said that-

Tomoko! He hadn't recognized her at first... had he?

And just as he had taken the orange in his hand, a horrible idea occurred to him: what if Misa had lived much longer than he had? What if she'd grown older, and Raito would be unable to recognize her?

What if he'd already seen her without recognizing her!?

How could he have been so stupid so as not to consider the possibility earlier! Of course, he felt comforted by the fact that Misa, after conducting the Eyeball Trade two consecutive times, must have had a significantly short lifespan...however, what if she'd still grown old enough to become unrecognizable to Raito...what if...?

But thankfully, even if he didn't recognize her, at least she would recognize him...at least he hadn't changed at all since the last time...this thought was some small comfort to him.

But still, the very thought that his entire journey until now could have been for nothing almost brought him to his knees. What if he'd already seen her? It would be virtually impossible to meet her again...had he lost his chance? Had he lost everything? As he walked, he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost stumbled against a tree. And this situation continued for the rest of noon, as he ambled around, distracted, almost starting to panic.

But since he was moving at such a slow pace, and was paying more attention to the hallucinations than the other pedestrians, he ended up not having moved as far from the ship as he'd planned. By the time the evening had come, with its warm orange-grey sky and black clouds, he had made very little progress. Realizing that he was not in the proper state of mind for travelling, he started thinking of finding a place to rest for a while. Losing no time, and feeling unexplainably drained, he began looking around for some quiet place to sit. Unfortunately, however, Mu was always crowded and stuffy. And especially during the day. So all the available places were already occupied, usually by old geezers or the darker hallucinations.

It had become a habit by now for Raito to scan the faces of the people around him at all times, just in case he might catch a glimpse of Misa. Recently, he'd begun considering other possibilities, like his family: his father, mother or sister...they'd surely forgive him even if he was a murderer...they were family, for goodness sake. As such, perhaps he should abandon the quest for Misa and start looking for his father or mother, instead. At least he would surely recognize them. He wasn't so sure about Sayu, since the memories of his Trial had not yet faded, and since he wasn't sure he would recognize her to begin with.

This situation was annoying...why couldn't everyone in Mu have the same age? Why did people have to remain the same age as the time they died?

He'd just found a comfortable-looking place beneath the shadow of a tree. Seeing as he still hadn't found the time to sit and enjoy – as much as he could – his orange, he decided he might as well take this opportunity. As usual, he'd imagine a nice meat bun while eating his fruit, pretending he was actually eating something he even remotely enjoyed.

As he walked slowly through the crowd, he wondered what this so-called 'heaven' would be like. What kind of differences would it have from Mu? Would he be allowed to sleep calmly? Would there be no hallucinations, would there be-

He stopped walking suddenly, his eyes completely wide. Just as he'd turned his head right then, in a flurry of colour, he thought he'd seen... He could have sworn that there was something...but no... It couldn't be.

Slowly, very deliberately, he turned his head three quarters to the right. His eyes were completely unblinking. But even though he hardly moved his tense shoulders, he immediately detected the thing that had drawn his attention before. The pupils constricted in his eyes.

Suddenly he felt something wet and warm cover his palm. So utterly shocked was he, however, that he didn't even realize he'd squeezed the orange he was holding so hard that it had burst.

And even though he kept his jaw closed, he couldn't stop the muscle on the back of his cheek from pumping.

The throat had not changed a bit– the bobbing Adam's apple was just as pronounced as always under the white, fibrous skin...perhaps the shoulders were a bit leaner than Raito had remembered. But the long fingers and the web-like fabrication of the ebony, crow hair were exactly the same. Raito could only see a profile, but it was enough.

Raito stopped moving completely, not because he wanted to, but because he had no choice. It literally felt as though a thunderbolt had just struck his spine – his nerves had grown so high strung that his wrists were jerking for no apparent reason. His heart was thundering harshly in his chest, causing him to breathe somewhat erratically. He was so startled by the extreme suddenness, the knowledge that this was not a trial, nor a hallucination – the impact of this discovery. The sudden realization of what was happening – the impact of what he was actually seeing.

And indeed, there he was. Ryuuzaki, in all his wiry glory, in the midst of all the screaming apparitions and hellish nightmares. And on his face was the same lost, slightly hesitant, slightly hopeful but largely disheartened expression as in everyone else's. And just like everyone else in this land forsaken by the gods, the haunted grimness of his cheekbones belied he'd seen true horror. Raito watched as L looked over the heads and faces of the crowd, looking like he knew who he was searching for.

The usually sparkling, pearl white shirt was now dirtied with the red mud that covered the entire surface of Mu, and the same stood for the denim jeans and torn tennis shoes. Apparently, he must have been close by when it had rained a few days ago, because the mud seemed splattered on his clothes – something only water would achieve. But Raito noticed that, oddly enough, L's white shirt still seemed to be glowing a bit, under the filth.

But the man, oddly enough, seemed simultaneously exactly the same and completely different from what Raito had remembered – he didn't remember L's face ever being animated in any way. But now, with slightly open lips, and eyes not quite as wide – but just as dark rimmed – as Raito remembered, Ryuuzaki's face looked...rather less... Other people would look at L and call him expressionless now. But for Raito, who'd known Ryuuzaki for years, the fact that Ryuuzaki was now actually worrying his bottom lip with his teeth as he looked around seemed... seemed... inconceivable. And then Raito realized how he himself may now look in Ryuuzaki's eyes, after everything that had happened. At times, Raito himself kept forgetting how much he'd changed, and that his face was now probably much different than L had remembered as well.

But just as he thought of the possibility that L may see him, Raito's heart increased its wild beat. This was the real thing! The real L...the last time Raito had seen this man, L had been in a casket, buried under a field of white lilies. The very memory of the image made Raito's skin crawl. But the realization that he was seeing this same person again – not a part of a hallucination, but the real thing – made his heart rate increase with anxiety.

What would L say...what would he say? He knew that Raito had killed him...

The auburn haired realized that L hadn't spotted him yet, as strange as that should be – the detective appeared preoccupied with looking around the crowd. He must definitely have someone he's searching for, Raito realized with a small sting, thinking that he should also be looking for Misa.

He wondered if he should, perhaps, try and talk to L, but immediately dismissed the notion. What was there to say, anyway? He had nothing to talk about with a person who he'd murdered and who knew that Raito had murdered him...No, Raito didn't want to talk at all. Actually, it was an accident he'd even seen L...a very unfortunate accident.

He didn't want to see L at all, Raito thought, and yet, at the same time, his eyes were still fixed between the other man's shoulder blades. L seemed to be standing a little straighter than before...didn't he? Raito wondered a bit absently, watching the blue light reflect from the black hair. He still felt a bit nauseous when looking at it for extended periods of time, however, so he turned to look away.

But ever since he'd left the Trial of Souls all that time ago, Raito had tried to put everything he remembered behind him, and Ryuuzaki was part of that past. Raito reminded himself all the reasons why Ryuuzaki was the definition of a bad idea. They'd never been friends, after all, and Ryuuzaki would probably not be very forgiving of the fact that Raito had sent him here.

It was a miracle that the ever-observant L hadn't already noticed him, actually. Or maybe he had noticed, but didn't want to talk...maybe L was just like Matsuda, Raito thought and, unexplainably, the haunted darkness of before returned in his eyes. Yes...perhaps L just...didn't want anything to do with him now. Not that Raito could blame-

At that moment, as Raito was staring at the back of the other's head, Ryuuzaki turned around a bit. Raito, realizing he might be seen, automatically turned away, keeping his face away from the other and hoping that the back of his head was nondescript enough for L not to notice.

He waited like that for a few moments. Then, when more than thirty seconds had passed and he was sure Ryuuzaki must have turned away by now, Raito, unable to help himself, turned around again, just surreptitiously enough to steal another glance, and observe the unbelievable spectacle of L's expressive – at least more so than before – face.

But just as he was preparing to find see the black hair and curvy neck, he found, instead...a blank space. Unconscious of his actions, Raito's entire body turned around in alert. His eyes moved back and forth, scanning above the heads of the crowd. But Ryuuzaki was no where to be seen.

So that was it, Raito thought quietly, and felt a rather bitter taste assail his mouth. Ryuuzaki hadn't noticed him. He was gone now – probably took a turn somewhere. Raito stood there for a few moments, looking at the people walking back and forth in the crowded street, still trying, despite himself, to see where Ryuuzaki had gone.

He remembered Tomoko's words, suddenly, and the way Tomoko had said that 'they might never see each other again'. And just like then, Raito thought, without realizing it, this may have been the absolute last time he'd ever seen Ryuuzaki in his entire life. In fact, he may never see Ryuuzaki, ever again...

Rather than sit there and think about it then, Raito thought, he should just accept it and keep walking. He didn't think it was plausible that L hadn't noticed him. Probably he'd just chosen to ignore him, much like Matsuda had...Raito decided to forget about L altogether. He wouldn't have even thought about L if he hadn't just seen him, he thought. In general, he never thought about L, Raito told himself.

He really should resume his search for Misa. Better just...forget about what he'd just seen. It's not like anything had happened anyway.

He realized that he'd been standing there, staring at the far distance for some time, which was rather embarrassing in itself. Suddenly, as he came back to focus, the wetness in his fingers became pronounced. He looked downwards and saw the pulverized orange in his hand. Sighing imperceptibly he turned around, still looking at it, thinking that he should find somewhere to throw it.

So he raised his eyes to focus back on the street, and find a patch of dirt.

But instead of the street, floating right in front of him, was Ryuuzaki's face.

He could have sworn his heart suddenly stopped, then started a double beat. His eyes widened, his fingers becoming lax around the squeezed fruit. But even so, he retained his dignity and managed not to take a step back. He started gritting his teeth again – his new favourite gesture, apparently – while trying to keep Ryuuzaki from noticing how nervous he was.

L. to his credit, didn't move at all. He didn't even blink – it was as though he was a statue. The real...Ryuuzaki. And now there was no question...Raito was certain that this was the real man, not a hallucination or a simulacrum. It was obvious by the way L's eyes were fixed on him. Only the real detective had the power to enforce his stare with that kind of... relentlessness.

Naturally, the first thing that overcame Raito was white shock, closely followed by rabid anger. Of course L would do this to him. Especially when Raito hadn't been prepared for a confrontation. And the sheer humiliation! Ryuuzaki had probably seen how Raito had been staring at the street...Well, Raito hadn't been exactly discreet, but... L had probably noticed Raito from before...it was so typical of the detective to play these mind ga-

Didn't Ryuuzaki seem a bit...taller...than usual...? Come to think of it, he wasn't hunching as low as usual...still hunching, but not quite as much...it seemed rather different. Raito chalked it up to his general annoyance that he was noticing these things now.

But slowly, as their eyes bored in the other's, all thoughts slowly seeped away in the silence. Raito could hear none of the usual noises from the crowd, and suddenly, the constant screaming seemed rather trivial. Even the movement of the crowd around them faded out, at least in Raito's eyes and ears. The only thing he could see, clearly defined and prominent in his vision, was L's face, which was staring at him with an expression of... of...Raito didn't quite understand what it was. Not hatred or anger. It wasn't even derision, because Ryuuzaki seemed...unusually sincere. His expression was...quizzical, somehow...

Honestly, Raito wanted to run away, as fast as his legs could carry him. But at the same time, strangely, running away was the last thing he wanted to do. His entire system was on fire, his nerves were becoming hypersensitive. And the worst part of all was that, even though Raito felt unbelievably high-strung and tense, Ryuuzaki seemed composed and self-controlled. On the other hand, however, Raito was sure that, on the outside, he too must seem very mellow.

Finally, bracing himself, realizing that the thick sound he was hearing was the pounding of his own blood against his eardrums, he opened his mouth. Belatedly realizing he had nothing to say, however, he floundered and sealed his lips again. He was internally cursing himself already, for making a fool of himself in front of the other. What was there to say, really? What was he trying to do?...Finally, after so much time, he turned his eyes away, looking at the side of the road, beyond Ryuuzaki's right elbow...but Raito couldn't really see anything.

What did L want, the auburn haired man thought angrily? To gloat at the fact that Kira had lost? To taunt Raito for being alone in Mu? What? Why couldn't he just... leave? At this point, Raito conveniently ignored the way he had felt when he'd thought that he may never see Ryuuzaki again. With a mental angry shrug, Raito decided that he should just walk away and pretend they'd never seen each other in the first place. Ryuuzaki had probably appeared only to taunt him, anyway. It would be better if they just ignored each other's existence, in the end, be it in the living world of the underworld. And obviously, since Ryuuzaki wasn't planning to-

«Yagami-kun»

It was much like a gong in the absolute silence. An explosion of bells, or waves in the sea – it was deafening. Raito felt as though he was falling down from another kind of building entirely. It was enough to make Raito's guts tighten and make him turn to Ryuuzaki's face again, to see that Ryuuzaki's eyes were not expressionless...at least not like Matsuda's...or as falsely cheerful as Tomoko's or...

Because, after all...with the way L's retched white throat was so pronounced in the vague crowd, and his eyes so wide, and his face so unfamiliar-yet-familiar...Raito became disoriented, he lost the proper reasons for his wrath, he suddenly remembered what the empty street had looked like when he'd thought Ryuuzaki had left...and then he thought that L had been looking for someone before, and that L was also alone, and since L was now talking to him he mustn't hate Raito as much as Raito had thought, or perhaps if Raito could-

«Ryuuzaki» his mouth uttered before he could stop it.

a/n: OHHHH!!!!! WAHHHH!!! (okay, I know I sound stupid, but you have to share in on the excitement here! It's happening at last!!!)

You see, the basic problem with this chapter was this: I wanted to establish early on a situation where the reader expects Raito and Ryuuzaki to meet at any moment. And then, after establishing the status quo of the world of Mu, I tried to prolong the fatal meeting, hoping to intensify the reader's interest. I hope I did it, and I hope that all my reviewers mentally said «YEES!! FINALLY!!» the moment Ryuuzaki finally appeared. At least I know I did. This is what I was trying to do!

I hope you liked the last scene...I thought very carefully about how I wanted it to play out. And also, I think that at this point, Raito's hammering heartbeat upon seeing Ryuuzaki after all this time is totally excusable, don't you? I hope I didn't make him OOC, or something...From the next chapter onwards, the romance starts. And when I say romance, I don't mean soap-operatic romance. I'm not going to make them take walks around Mu and talk about their feelings. Prepare for more horror, more hallucinogenic adventures, more psycho panic! The only difference is that now, whilst trying to fight their way along the mysteries of the universe...they'll be together! MWAHAHAHA!!

I hope you liked my ideas about Mu, finding the person who's looking for you, etc. At the end of the fic, everything will make sense, and you'll understand why I invented the whole 'the person who's looking for you' thing! In the meantime, I hope y'all enjoyed it and that you excused my stupid grammatical and syntactical...and verbal and adverbal...and vocabulary...errors!

Until next time! Ta!

Ezan