"Rynn!" Misa squealed, jumping onto Rynn as she opened the door and squeezing her tight.

"Oof!" Rynn stumbled backwards a bit and returned her embrace. "Hey Misa."

Wiggling out of the small girl's grasp, she dug through her purse and pulled something out.

"I stole these tea leaves from Ryuzaki's pantry," she grinned. "Want to make some?"

Misa clapped her hands in delight. "Yes!" She giggled. "You're so sneaky, Rynn."

"Heh." You have no idea, Rynn thought to herself as she headed for the kitchen. "Where's your teapot? I'll brew it."

Misa ran over to show her where everything was.

"I ordered sushi for us," the blond girl chattered as Rynn set a kettle on the stove. "I knew you'd like that!"

"You know me well," Rynn smiled. "Thank you."

Misa chattered on for a few minutes, with Rynn occasionally nodding and responding with small talk as they waited for the water to come to a boil. The doorbell suddenly rang.

"Sushi delivery!" Misa cried, grinning. "Misa-Misa will be right back!" She skipped out of the kitchen.

Rynn watched the girl leave, then turned to the tray of tea cups. Pulling out the bottle of crushed sleeping pills from her pocket, she carefully tapped a small amount into the cup intended for Misa.

Forgive me Misa, she thought, biting her lip as she poured hot water from the kettle into the cups. But I have to make sure...

"Tea's ready!" She called out.

"Okay!" Misa called from the next room. "Bring it over to the living room!"

Rynn picked up the tray and carried it to the next room, setting it down on the coffee table beside the couch where Misa was sitting, digging through a large brown paper bag.

"Okay," said Misa, pulling out one container, "This one's mine. And this," she put the bag on Rynn's side of the table, "Is all yours."

Rynn laughed out loud. "You really do know me too well," she smiled, raising her cup of tea to her lips.

Misa giggled, reaching for her teacup. Rynn watched her take a sip. Her eyes lit up.

"This is delicious!" She exclaimed. "Who knew Ryuzaki would have good taste?"

"What are you talking about?" Rynn grinned. "He has delicious cake."

"Yes, but that's fattening," said Misa, downing her tea. "Tea is healthy!"

Rynn gazed at the girl as she gulped down the tea. "That it is," she said softly.

Misa licked her lips as she finished her cup.

"Did Misa tell you," she said, setting down her cup and starting on her sushi, "That she got booked for ten photo shoots last week?"

"That's wonderful," Rynn said absently as she glanced around the room. If Misa does have the notebook, where would she put it?

She continued to survey the room as inconspicuously as possible as Misa continued to talk. After a while though, she noticed that it had become silent. She turned to Misa. The girl was leaning against the back of the couch, eyes closed and snoring gently.

"Misa?" Rynn said softly. She gently nudged the girl. "Misa, can you hear me?"

The blond girl continued to snore. Rynn stood then, and gently laid Misa down into a lying position on the couch. Then she straightened to face the room, narrowing her eyes.

"Shinigami," she said aloud. "I'd like to see you and speak with you. Where is the notebook?"

She waited. Nothing happened. She clenched her fists, willing herself to keep from trembling.

"Fine," she huffed, and started walking towards Misa's desk. "I'll find it myself. Let's start here."

_______________

One hour later…

…

"Damn it!" Rynn screamed.

She stared furiously at the safe that she had just discovered behind a panel in Misa's wall.

Why didn't I ever learn how to pick locks? She mentally screamed at herself. Why?!

She had spent the last hour searching through every nook and cranny of Misa's room, finding nothing. Just when she was about to give up all hope, she had noticed the inconsistency of the wallpaper on the left side of the room and discovered the hidden wall panel. But that was as far as she could get.

She banged her fists against the metal safe like a child, despite knowing that that would get her no where. Standing with a huff, she paced the room with clenched fists, muttering to herself.

What if the notebook isn't even in the safe? She thought to herself as she continued to walk through the room in a rage. What if it's just full of stupid jewelry or something? What if Misa doesn't even HAVE the notebook?

She stopped in front of Misa's desk as this final thought struck her. Unable to take it, she delivered a vicious kick to the wastepaper basket, toppling it over and sending crumpled balls of paper bouncing off the wall and ricocheting back at her face.

"Fuck my LIFE!" She screamed to the ceiling. Taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she kneeled down to right the basket, and started returning the trash back into it.

"Fucking Kira," she muttered to herself as she stood up again. "Fucking notebooks, fucking death gods…"

She turned to make her way back to Misa, then suddenly stopped, eyes widening in horror.

Standing on the other side of the room was a creature as tall as Rem, dressed in black but with pale gray skin and large, terrifying red pupils against the yellow of its eyes.

A stifled scream escaped Rynn's lips as she brought a hand up to her mouth in shock, stumbling back against the wall.

The thing jumped slightly, as if surprised.

"Eh?" It said in a low, raspy voice. "You can see me already?"

Rynn was shaking from head to toe. "H-how…is that possible…?" she whispered, her voice barely coming out in a squeak. "I…I didn't touch the notebook…"

"Huh." The creature laughed then, a chilling, guttural sound. "You must have touched some of its paper."

Paper? Rynn's eyes went to the wastepaper basket that she had knocked over, then back up to the death god. Keeping her eyes on him, she slowly knelt down again and began sifting through the crumpled up pieces of paper.

After a few moments, she smoothed out a piece of paper to examine it, and gasped. The page was filled with names. She scanned it quickly, recognizing dozens of criminals that had died in the past few days.

She looked up at Misa's sleeping form. Apparently the girl had never suspected someone to go through her trash.

"Shinigami," she said in a steady voice, standing and turning to face the death god. "Is the notebook in that safe?"

"My name is Ryuk."

"Ryuk," she corrected quickly. "Sorry. Well? Is it in there?"

Ryuk's sharp teeth bared themselves into a wide grin. It sent shivers down her spine.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," he said gleefully. "What does it matter if it is? You can't get into it."

Rynn gritted her teeth. "Alright," she said. "Then can you please tell me this: Is it true that a user of the notebook will die after 13 days of not writing names?"

He cackled then. "Why should I tell you that?"

She took a breath. "I'll give you an apple," she said, trying to ignore the voice in the back of her mind that was telling her that she sounded absolutely ridiculous.

Ryuk stopped laughing, his wide eyes settling themselves on her. "You have apples?" He asked. If she didn't know better she'd have thought there was a tone of delight in his voice.

"Yes," she replied.

"Hmm," Ryuk scratched its chin. "You're clever, human, but how are you going to know if I lie or not?"

Rynn's heart sank. Clearly, this death god was not going to cooperate and give her simple answers. There was only one thing left that she could possibly get the answer to.

"I won't," she admitted. "So forget it. Let's make a deal."

Ryuk's eyes gleamed. "A deal, you say?"

Rynn nodded. "You demonstrate to me how a death can be stopped once a person's name is written down in the notebook. In return, I'll give you all these." She unzipped her purse and held it out towards Ryuk, showing him that it was full to the brim with large red apples.

The shinigami's eyes bulged. "All of those?" He asked delightedly.

"Yes." She zipped up the bag then and held it close to her chest. "But first, you must show me what I asked."

Ryuk tilted his head and grinned at her. "So…you want me to kill someone?"

"No!" She almost shouted, before quickly catching herself. Taking a deep breath, she tried to sound calm. "I want you to write someone's name down, but prevent his or her subsequent death."

"How do you even know if that's possible?" Ryuk asked.

Rynn narrowed her eyes. "If it's not possible, then we don't have a deal. Do you want the apples or not?"

"Alright, alright!" Ryuk relented. "Who'd have thought the day would come when humans started bossing death gods around…pfft," he muttered to himself as he whipped out a pen and a black notebook.

Rynn's heartbeat quickened at the site of the notebook. She stood there and waited, unmoving.

"Hmm…" Ryuk looked up at the ceiling in thought and tapped his chin with his pen, musing to himself. "Let's see…whose name should I write down?"

Rynn was silent.

"You'll have to witness that person's actual revival, won't you?" He continued, then lowered his gaze to grin at her. "How about I write down your name, Rynn Harper-Lee?"

Her breath caught in her throat. She had forgotten about shinigami eyes. Panicking, she did the first thing that flew into her mind. She ran to the window, threw it open, and held her purse out…12 stories above the ground.

"If you write my name, the first thing I'm going to do is drop these apples and let them splatter on the ground," she announced, trying with all her might to sound threatening.

That's the best you could come up with?! A voice screamed in the back of her mind. That's it, Rynn, you're going to die…

To her utter surprise and relief, Ryuk actually looked absolutely devastated at the proposal.

"No, no!" He cried, waving his arms frantically. "Don't do that! Pft! I was just joking! Don't you humans have a sense of humor?"

Watching him carefully, Rynn slowly brought her purse back inside. Ryuk let out a sigh of relief, then flipped open his notebook.

"Alright, to business," he announced, and he quickly scribbled something down. Grinning, he turned the notebook around so that she could see what he'd written.

Rynn squinted, and cautiously made her way over to the death god so that she could make out the words. As she came closer, the name became clear.

Misa Amane.

Rynn gasped, whipping her head up to stare at the death god.

"What have you done?!" she exclaimed in horror.

Ryuk cocked his head to the side innocently. "Didn't you hear me before? I'm making it convenient for you so that you can witness her death."

Rynn's heart felt like it had just stopped.

"NO!" She shouted. "I don't want to witness her death! You're supposed to save her!"

Ryuk gave an exasperated sigh. "I know that, human," he huffed. "But I chose her to make things easier. Who were you going to suggest anyway?"

"A criminal!" she cried. "I could've made some quick calls to find out whether or not he was still alive."

Ryuk grinned again, slouching down so that he was eye to eye with her.

"How would you have known if I had actually killed him?" He asked, his grin wide. "How do you know I'm carrying a real death note and not a fake one?"

Rynn stared at him as his words hit her. She hadn't thought this though. He was right. She could only have expected him to demonstrate on either herself or Misa. Had she been too hasty in coming here? Would I still have come…if I knew that I'd be risking Misa's life?

The sound of a sharp gasp interrupted her frantic thoughts. She whipped around to see Misa, still lying on the couch with eyes closed, as her back arched upwards and she coughed violently.

Rynn's mind shut down. She dashed over to Misa's side and held the girl's body in her arms as her heart went into cardiac arrest. Misa kept struggling to inhale air, but didn't seem to be succeeding. Rynn's head snapped up to stare at Ryuk, her eyes wide with terror.

"Make it stop!" She yelled, holding onto Misa's spasming body.

Ryuk simply eyed her with interest. "I said I would, didn't I?" he said. "What are you getting so excited about?"

"She's DYING!" Rynn shouted. "What are you waiting for?!"

Ryuk laughed. "Just making things a little more interesting. I've got time left before she's too far gone."

Too far gone? Rynn stopped breathing. That means there's a limited amount of time to save someone… She tried to calm the thoughts in her head. How much time had passed already? It takes forty seconds for the heart attack to hit…a heart attack can go on for…for how long? She bit her lip hard, realizing she didn't know the answer to that. All the past death note induced heart attacks had happened quickly though.

She looked back down at Misa. Slight tremors were still going through her body, and her forehead was crinkled as if she were in pain. Rynn winced and looked back up at the death god, who was calmly observing them both with amusement. Clearly, this was all just a game to him.

"Ryuk," Rynn said, trying to keep her voice steady. "If she dies, the deal's off."

Ryuk sighed. "Must you be so serious about everything?" he asked, flipping open his notebook again. He scribbled something else down, then shut the book with a flourish.

"There!" He said cheerfully. "She should be all better now."

Rynn looked down at Misa. The blond girl was still. Rynn felt her heart beating hard against her chest as she reached out a hand to feel Misa's pulse. It was strong and steady. Rynn shakily let out the breath that she had been holding, then stood, laying Misa back down onto the couch. She then turned to Ryuk.

"What did you write?" She asked him.

He cackled gleefully. "Can't tell you," he taunted.

Rynn's eyes narrowed. "I thought we had a deal," she said through gritted teeth.

"We did!" Ryuk grinned widely at her. "You asked for a demonstration, and I gave you one. You never said that I had to explain myself."

Rynn felt her heart sink. "That's not what I had meant," she said quietly, trying to push out all the screaming thoughts in the back of her mind. "I want to know how you did it."

"Too bad," Ryuk shrugged. "You should've been more clear. The apples, please." He held out one long, clawed hand.

"Tell me how you did it first," Rynn demanded, sounding a lot braver than she felt.

Ryuk huffed in irritation. "Don't try me, human," he said, more serious now. "I'm done playing along with your little game."

Straightening up, he stretched out his wings and suddenly rose up into the air, gliding swiftly over to Rynn from across the room. She didn't move from where she stood, rooted to the spot in terror. He landed right in front of her, plucking her purse from her fingers. Tearing it open, he dug out an apple and immediately started gobbling it up with relish.

Rynn stared straight ahead but saw nothing. She felt like the world was falling apart around her. Ryuk reached for another apple, then halted, noticing her expression of devastation.

"Oh, lighten up," he told her as he bit into another apple. "I couldn't have told you anyway. It's against death god rules. What do you think would happen if humans were running around reversing deaths all the time?"

Rynn still didn't move.

Ryuk observed her as he ate, then let out a laugh. "You sure are one stubborn human though," he said between mouthfuls. "If it wasn't against the rules I'd tell you; you seem like you might make things more interesting."

Rynn glared at the ground furiously, barely paying attention as the death god went on.

"It'd sure be fun if you did manage to figure it out on your own," he was saying as he devoured the fruit at a rapid pace. He cackled then. "I'll tell you this; you can reverse a death by using paper from any death note, not just the one that was used to kill that person."

Rynn's head snapped up and she stared at Ryuk. "Are you telling the truth?" she asked.

"Suspicious, aren't ya?" Ryuk grinned. "Yes, I'm telling the truth, but that's all that I can tell you!"

Rynn looked down at the ground again, contemplating this information.

"Thanks, Ryuk." She said quietly.

He chortled. "Thanks for the apples!"

"Can I have my purse back?"

Ryuk obliged, pouring the apples out of the purse and tossing it back at her. She caught it.

"Thanks." She said, tucking the bag over her shoulder. "Do you think you can finish up those apples before Misa wakes up and sees them?"

"No problem!" Ryuk's eyes gleamed.

Rynn turned to Misa's desk then, where she had left the crinkled death note paper filled with names. Picking it up, she folded it into a small square and stuffed it into her pocket. Ryuk watched her curiously as he continued to eat.

"Aren't people going to suspect you if you show up with that?" He asked.

"Misa's fingerprints are on it," she replied, not sparing him a glance as she started returning the room to order.

Ryuk guffawed. "That paper's from the shinigami world! You can't test it for fingerprints."

Rynn froze. "You're bluffing," she said quietly.

Ryuk kept laughing. "See for yourself!" He said gleefully. "When they try testing it and find no fingerprints, then you'll see!"

Rynn's heart pounded in her chest. Fuck. Her eyes fell on the wall behind which the safe was hidden. The notebook's definitely in there, she assured herself. I can bring back the paper as evidence and then tell them to search the safe… Another thought struck her then, and she paled. Turning, she faced the death god.

"Ryuk," she said, eyeing him carefully. "Are you going to tell Misa about all this when she wakes up?"

The death god cackled. "That sounds like it would be fun."

Rynn stared at him, wanting to scream. She glanced frantically at the clock. Two hours had passed since Misa had first passed out. I don't have enough time… Her eyes fell on Misa then.

Shooting a quick glare at the death god, she rushed over to Misa and gingerly stuck her arms under the girl's limp body, lifting her up. To her relief, Misa was fairly light.

Thank you, Misa, for not eating cake, she thought to herself as she hauled the girl's sleeping form over her shoulder, ignoring Ryuk's laughter.

"Now what are you going to do?" he asked, watching her in amusement as she straightened up, Misa hanging over one shoulder and her purse over the other.

What an excellent question, she thought to herself as she grit her teeth. What the hell am I going to do with her? Could she risk taking Misa back to headquarters? If Misa was Kira and she had the shinigami eyes, she would find out L's real name. And if Rynn had miscalculated and the team actually couldn't find the notebook in Misa's home, then she would only have put L in more danger than he already was. No…I'll have to take her to the hospital or something. Yes…I'll take her to the hospital, tell them she collapsed, then leave her stranded there and get back to headquarters. That'll buy me time.

Not answering Ryuk, she turned and walked swiftly out the front door, Misa held securely over her shoulder.

Ryuk eyed the closed door as he continued to munch on apples.

"Things are going to get fun," he said to himself with a huge grin.