Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.

White Ivy

"You'll Always Be Here, I Promise"

"Do it." He said quickly, without hesitation.

"No," she replied weakly, wishing that the decision were as easy as he made it out to be.

Five letters down, six more to go, she thought carefully, her hand hovering over the paper.

"Think about it," he said convincingly, "This is justified revenge. You don't need to feel remor-"

"I don't need to feel remorse?" she whispered to him harshly, "Murder is murder, it doesn't matter how justified." She finished half-heartedly.

"If you don't write that name," he said hastily, "Then I will."

"No," she said suddenly, "I-I'll do it."

Light Y-.

She stopped, clutching the pencil so hard that her nails dug into her skin. She shook violently which made her hand too unsteady to write legibly with the pencil.

Damn it, she cursed inwardly, I don't have time for hesitating, she thought, staring at the limp form beside her, a tuft of white hair poking out from under the blanket, why can't I do it?

"You stopped." Zellogi commented from beside her. She clenched her teeth and bit her tongue; it was all she could do in order to keep herself from screaming in outrage.

Why can't I do it? She screamed at herself, it should be so easy, he killed him! Her thoughts grew more and more violent, and she began to shake even harder.

Why can't I do it? Why can't I do it? Why can't I do it? Why can't I do it? Why can't I do it? Why can't I do it? Why can't I do it? Why can-

Her thoughts were interrupted by hand that had suddenly grasped her shoulder. She looked up and saw Zellogi, shaking his head. She looked away from him and felt him close the notebook on her hand.

"Never mind," he said calmly, walking towards the door, "Don't." He finished, floating through the door, leaving her alone.

"I wish the decision were as easy as you say it is," she commented quietly, hiding the death note under her shirt once more and then carefully laid down again. She didn't want to wake Near; he already slept barely two hours a night.

He's working so hard, she thought sadly, he barely ever sleeps. It's not healthy, she thought, staring at him, I wish I could do something.

Her hand stung painfully, and she raised it to see four fresh crescent-shaped cuts lining her palm. She cursed inwardly and balled in her hand into a fist.

Why can't I seem to do anything? She asked herself angrily, they died… L… Matt… even… Mello. I could have done something… anything… and now Near's practically killing himself trying to catch Kira. I could have ended it all, before there were any real casualties.

She stared at Near's sleeping form and felt a tear escape her eye, Kira, she thought harshly, Kira should have been the only casualty of this war.

She rolled over, facing the nightstand. She hadn't been able to sleep in the two days that she had been at Near's, even though he had given her the shiny white bottle that sat on the nightstand. He had said that it would give her dreamless sleep, which really didn't sound too terrible. Every single time she closed her eyes she saw him, and she would be lying if she said she didn't ache with longing every time she did. She missed his beautiful eyes and his asshole personality; she even missed his girly-blonde hair. In all reality she had decided; she wanted nothing more than to forget about Mihael Keehl.

She shook herself from her thoughts, immediately hating herself for bringing him up again. I want to forget, she thought quickly, raising her hand to her forehead, I don't want to remember him.

She stared at the silver handcuff that was neatly around her wrist. Near kept the key on him, and she could probably easily get out of she wanted to, but it didn't feel like a restraint to her, and she was pretty sure Near knew that.

She hugged the manacle to her chest, closing her eyes for just a second. As odd as she was sure it sounded, somehow the handcuff made her feel safe. It made her relax, even if just a little bit.

He can't get him, she thought happily, turning over to face Near, He can't get him if I'm right here.

Suddenly there was movement from Near's still body and Silver turned her head to look at the clock, 6:45, she thought, right on schedule. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, trying her hardest to ignore the images glued to the backs of her eyelids.

She hugged herself tighter, trying to differentiate a difference between reality and her imagination. She could feel Near staring at her but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. Images flashed violently through her memory. Mello. Near. L. Mello. Near. Matt. Sarah. Near. Mello. The images flashed faster and faster, and she felt her hold onto sanity grow slightly weaker as the images scrolled through her mind in some sort of a sadistic slideshow.

She closed her eyes tighter, willing them to shut for a second time – praying for some sort of second eyelid to protect her from the images. Just as she was about to force herself to tear open her eyes and look at Near she felt him pull her into his arms.

It had been a routine ever since she'd arrived two days ago. Every night before he'd sleep he'd hold her. Every morning when he woke up he'd comfort her. She hated herself for crying in front of him, he didn't deserve that.

I don't deserve him; she thought bitterly, I shouldn't get to cry in front of him. Not over him…

It had been five hours. Silver was starting to get a little bored, stacking dominoes and knocking them down, but she didn't really mind. Dominoes kept her mind off things. She just wished that Near would talk to her… he hadn't spoken much at all in the three days she had been staying with him.

"Silver," Near finally spoke, "I have to go somewhere today."

"Oh," she said, slightly startled, "Where are we going?" She asked, staring at the handcuff chain that Near was fiddling with.

"You're not coming with me," he stated, taking the key out of his pocket and undoing the light silver chain that hung around her wrist.

It didn't really bother her, his words at least. She was used to defying the petty rules that Near and… others had set for her. She didn't let anybody tell her what to do. But this time was different; Near didn't say it like a rule. He didn't say it sternly, or even warningly. No, he stated it like a fact.

Silver thought for a moment, "You can't tell me what to do," she decided, trying to forget his tone of voice.

"I'm not telling you," he said quietly, "I'm stating a fact." Silver noticed that as he finished he braced himself for an outburst.

A flurry of rage hit Silver, starting in her stomach. That's how it always started when Near or… anybody else told her she couldn't do something. It bubbled and boiled, up her esophagus, and just as she was about to scream at Near she bit her tongue. She closed her eyes and thought for a minute, "No," she finally said after a moment, her voice surprisingly weak. She surprised herself and Near by her sudden wave of calmness. "No," she said again, more confidently, "I'm coming with you."

"No, you'r-" Near started, but Silver quickly raised a hand to silence him.

"I don't care what you do," she said calmly, "But I know what you're heading off to do. I don't care if you make me carry a gun. I don't care if you make me wear a mask, but I'm coming."

"I don't think you understand," Near started but Silver slammed a fist down, knocking all of her dominoes down.

"No," she said harshly, taking a breath. "I don't think you understand," she said quietly, and Near looked at her imploringly.

Silver stared ahead for a few minutes, not daring to look at Near. She took a deep breath, and then another; she was trying to get her thoughts and emotions in order, but couldn't seem to grasp what she was feeling. "I-I wasn't t-there," she started, roughly managing to translate the complicated emotions that were twisted into her heart into words, "I wasn't there," she said stronger, "I wasn't there when he di-" she stopped.

"There wasn't anything that you could possibly have don-"

"No," Silver said sternly, "I wasn't there when he died," she said finally, a sense of relief overcoming her as if she were confessing her sins, "I let him leave. I could have stopped him. I could have gone after him. No, I didn't do any of that," she continued, feeling stronger as she spoke, "I sat on the floor and cried. I wasn't there when he died," she paused, trying to muster everything she had left, "He would have been there if it were me dying, and I wasn't there for him." She finished, fresh tears spilling from her eyes, Near staring at her astounded.

"I'll be fine," he said calmly, picking up his dominoes again.

"And what if you aren't?" She asked, staring at him, "What if you die there? What if I sit here, on this god damned floor while you die?"

He didn't look up, and continued to pick up his dominoes. She stared at him as he began to set them up again, getting angrier with each satisfying click of a domino being placed on the ground.

"Look at me," she said harshly, "Look at me and honestly tell me that you're going to be safe."

He slowly raised his eyes and stared at her. "I promise I'll be perfectly…" he stopped. "I promise that there'll be no possible…" He stopped again. He thought furiously and opened his mouth again, "I can guarantee one-hundred percent that…" He stopped again and looked down.

Silver stared at him, "You'll be what?"

Minutes went by and Near didn't say anything. Silence began to settle in, but Silver kept her gaze trained on Near.

"I can't," Near said shakily, "I can't promise that."

Silver gently grabbed the Silver handcuff in Nears hand and snapped it around her own wrist.

Click.

Click.

Silver watched as the car doors locked. She turned her attention to Near and looked at him quizzically.

"I'm not taking any chances," he said, staring outside the window, "You and I will be wearing masks." He finished, handing her a panda mask, while putting on a mask that looked remarkably like L. Silver smiled at the similarities between the two masks.

I suppose L always did look like a panda, Silver thought, chuckling to herself.

"Any other… guidelines?" Silver asked, noticing that the car doors hadn't been unlocked yet.

Silver listened to Near drabble about how she was not to talk, move, or even really act like she was there, but Silver got bored quickly, and she manually unlocked the car, dragging Near out with her. She smiled at the warehouse that they were to have their meeting in and walked inside.

When they got inside Near immediately plopped down and began taking out an amount of finger-puppets and other various toys, laying them out in front of him. Silver smiled and sat down next to him, letting her mind wander off into space.

Some time passed and eventually a man walked in to speak with Near, and Silver didn't really pay attention, but stiffened involuntarily. Everything would be coming to an end shortly, but she couldn't figure out which end it would come to.

She scooted slightly closer to Near when four men came into the building, positioning themselves across from Near. Silver felt slightly awkward, but stayed close to Near. They were the only ones sitting. Silver grabbed onto Nears arm, wanting to feel that he was still there, but otherwise didn't move.

Silver stared at Light and sent a sidelong glance to Zellogi who was making weird motions to the men across the room. She rolled her eyes and examined the men. All of them seemed confused, except for one, their expressions were even quizzical… and then she realized they were looking at her.

Thanks, Near, this mask is a savior, she thought happily, feeling the heat behind her cheeks.

There was one among the four who wasn't looking at her… no… Light was staring at Near. Something inside Silver itched… his look was completely malicious. She grasped Nears arm tighter.

"It's them," one of them spoke, "Those four are the SPK, and the one wearing the L mask is Near… and the other I don't know."

"She's another case I'm working on," Near said absentmindedly. The others stared at them for a moment, but didn't say more on the subject.

"Hang on," another one of them spoke, "Am I the only one who sees something wrong? He can go around accusing people of being Kira, but the fact that they're wearing masks says that they're only trying to protect themselves, not anyone else!"

Silver clutched Nears arm tighter, and wondered if she was cutting off his circulation. "It's just a precaution," Near said smoothly, "There is a good possibility that Kira has already seen the faces of everyone in this warehouse except for ours," Near said and the agents exchanged a look, "In fact, he may be writing down your names as we speak. So, I'd like to wait one hour… no thirty minutes, which should give us more than enough time to see if anyone is being controlled before they die. She will not be removing her mask."

The agent from earlier gasped, "What? You're going to wait and see if we die?" The agent exclaimed, but Near didn't reply.

Nobody spoke for a long time, and Silver's heart rate was finally managing to descend. A half an hour came and went and soon enough it had been forty-five minutes. Silver was starting to get nervous again.

Near, Silver said angrily, you better have a damn good plan, or I'll be the one to kill you.

The agent from earlier was anxiously checking his watch and glancing at Near, "Near!" he shouted, "It's already been over thirty minutes – nothing's happened yet!"

"Of course not," Light said sweetly, "That's because Kira's not here with us." Silver clutched the Death Note to her chest.

Zellogi glanced at her. If this weren't such a bad time I'd kill him right now, she thought evilly.

"Very well," Near said, and Silver glanced at him in horror, "Everyone seems to be safe." Silver clutched the Death Note tighter, "I'll remove my mask now."

Silver wrenched herself from Nears arm as he reached up and gently pulled of his mask. For a second Silver thought she had had a heart attack, because for a few moments she couldn't breathe. The anticipation of something terrible was finally getting to her. Zellogi cackled in response to reaction and she scowled at him from under the mask.

Silver's stomach churned as she stared at Near, who continued to look at Light. Suddenly, his mouth curled up into a smile and she felt reassured for a moment.

"You're quiet, Near," Light commented, "What's wrong? Are you still waiting for something?"

His tone, Silver thought carefully, it's too sweet. He knows something we don't. She thought, nervously glancing at all of the openings of the building, including a small window with a fan.

Near grasped one of his finger puppets and turned it around, "Waiting," he said, turning the Kira puppet over, "That's an excellent choice of words. Yes," he replied, "I am waiting – for the arrival of the one who will solve everything once and for all."

So it's true, she thought, glancing again at all of the openings, my suspicions were correct.

"Someone else is supposed to clear this up?" An agent stated, and Silver turned her head to see one of the agents that had been silent this entire time.

"He'll be here soon," Near said confidently, standing all of the puppets up. "It's only a matter of time. There's only one entrance to this building," he said, gesturing to the red door in the corner, and Silver subconsciously shifted away. "And the only way to look inside is by opening that door. That means, he'll walk through that door, or at the very least open it and peek through."

Silver glanced at Near, glad that he had thought of every possibility, but still clutched her Death Note protectively. There's no way you're dying Near, she said, taking a sharp pin out of her hair – prepared to use her blood as a writing utensil if it came down to it, no way I'll let you die.

"And just who is this person anyway?" Questioned the annoying agent from earlier, Silver rolled her eyes and stared at Near's puppets.

"X-Kira," he replied simply, "The one who is currently using the notebook and killing people on Kira's behalf. He's bound to come here with the notebook, and then he'll see me and write down my real name. Or rather, he'll write down the names of everyone here who knows about the notebook and kill them."

"What are you saying? This doesn't make any sense! What're you trying to tell us Near? That some other guy is going to drop by with the notebook, poke his head in, and kill us all?" The annoying agent exclaimed.

"And you want us to sit back and let it happen?"

"Yes, that's correct." Silver grabbed Nears arm again, "Now listen carefully: if someone comes in the warehouse through that door, just let them in without resisting. If the door opens slightly, simply act as if you don't notice anyone there."

"But, but that's just crazy!"

"He's already here." Near said quickly, and Silver hugged his arm tighter.

There as a ripple of shock through warehouse and then the scratching of a utensil on paper. The agents sat for a second, and then quickly pulled out their weapons.

"Hold it," Rester said, pointing his gun at the agents, "Don't do anything!"

"Everything is fine," Near said sternly, but Silver closed her eyes tightly, "You won't die!"

"How can you be so sure, Near?"

"Because I modified the notebook," he said, his tone bored again and the agents gasped, "We took brief possession of the notebook and replaced the pages. The person behind the door has been doing the killings for Kira – he has also been using exactly one page every day. Based on that, I was able to replace the page he would use today, as well as all subsequent pages so no one else would die."

"On the other side of that door is X-Kira," Near started again after a moment, "My guess is in roughly forty seconds he'll look inside to see if we're dead. Whoever's name is not written down must be Kira." Silver released his arm.

"I-it's true," one of the agents said, "Kira would be the only one that guy wouldn't try to kill… but, still."

Things were silent and Silver began to second-guess Near's plan. Light was extremely intelligent… she was sure of it. Something could go wrong… she hugged her notebook to herself, and thought briefly about taking at out… but Zellogi was shaking his head.

"You there," Light spoke suddenly, jostling Silver from her thoughts, "Have you finished writing down the names in the notebook?"

"Yes," replied a sinister voice, "I've written them."

"Don't you think it's rather odd?" Near spoke quickly, "Why would he answer you so quickly, calmly, and honestly when you asked him if you had written down our names yet?" Silver smiled.

"Who knows?" Light replied, "Maybe he's just honest - or confident that he'll succeed, or perhaps he's seen through your brilliant plan."

"Teru Mikami," Near said quickly, "If it's not too much trouble for you, won't you please come in and join us? I already know that you're the one who's been judging and executing people for Kira. If you've already written down our names, then there shouldn't be anything to be afraid of. You can come right on in."

"Teru Mikami, is it?" Light asked, "He's right, there's no reason to hide from us. You can come right on in." He finished, and the door suddenly jostled open.

Silver widened her eyes suddenly when she saw the man who walked in. He had messy black hair, and was continuously checking his watch, clutching the Death Note with all of his strength. But, none of those things were something that Silver cared about – or even really noticed. What she noticed was what wasn't there.

There, above his head was his name in crisp lettering. Teru Mikami. But, below it there was nothing. Most of the time Silver pretty much forgot that she had the Shinigami eyes, it wasn't something she really paid attention; by now it was just part of the background. But, she noticed quickly that Teru didn't have a lifespan, but she wasn't expecting him to.

People who owned Death Notes didn't have life spans. She vaguely wondered why sometimes, but Zellogi never answered her. She guessed he didn't know, but something about Mikami not having a life span sparked a thought for her. She slowly switched her glance and stared at Light… below his name was a life span.

That… that weasel, she cursed inwardly, he's been relinquishing ownership of the Death Note this entire time, but still remaining Kira… he's been doing it to conceal himself. How could I have been tricked so easily?

Fury bubbled up inside her and she clutched her death note tighter, and the cover was even starting to dig painfully into her skin; but she didn't care. For the first time she in her lifetime, she seriously wanted someone dead.

No, not someone, she stared at Light harder, He's not a someone, he's a something. It wouldn't even count as murder. It'd count as property damage – if that.

"How many seconds has it been since you wrote down the first name?" Light asked. The man checked his watch.

"Thirty seconds," he said happily, and then began to count up to forty, and Silver clutched Near's sleeve harder.

Just as Mikami had become seconds away from forty Light's mouth stretched into a thin smile, "Well, Near," he said happily, "Looks like I win."

Silver closed her eyes tightly, holding onto Near's wrist, feeling his heartbeat beat steadily against her fingers. She waited for five seconds, and when his heart continued to beat she relaxed, smiling malevolently. H-he won, she thought happily, he did it. He won. Don't have mercy, Near.

Slowly, Silver's vision turned red as she stared at Light absentmindedly. Her thoughts turned murderous as she continued to clutch the notebook, trying to decide whether she wanted Light to end or not.

"Do it," Zellogi coached from beside her, but she paid no attention.

He deserves to die, she told herself maliciously, but, murder is wrong, another part of her spoke up, but she was surprised how weak the voice sounded. No, the malicious voice inside her head sounded again, he deserves to die. He deserves to die. He deserves to die. He deserves to die. No monsters like him deserve to liv-

She was jerked suddenly from her thoughts by a loud gunshot. She looked up quickly to see the annoying agent from earlier holding a smoking gun, and blood coming viciously out of Light's wrist.

"Matsuda," Another agent called.

Light panted heavily, and slowly turned his grimace into an evil smile. Silver bit back the bile that rose in her throat as Light spoke, "Matsuda, you idiot!" He shrieked, and Silver resisted the urge to cover her ears, "Who the hell do you think you're shooting at? Don't screw with me," he panted, holding his wrist tenderly.

"What was it all for then?" Matsuda said through ragged breaths, "What about your dad? What the hell did he die for?" He asked cruelly, still holding his gun for.

"My dad?" Light asked, as if he'd never heard of such a person, "You mean Soichiro Yagami," He corrected, laughing slightly, "That's right, Matsuda, in this world all those earnest people like him who fight for justice, they always lose," he soothed, "You don't want a world where people like that are made to be fools," he convinced, "I know you understand, so kill the others!" He commanded, "Shoot them!"

Matsuda was crying heavily, "You lead your own father to his death," Matsuda charged, "And now he's gone you call him a fool?"

Things were silent for a few moments and Light raised his finger to his wrist, near his watch, "His blood!" One of the agents called and Matsuda shot at Light heavily, and Silver instinctively reached her hands to her ears.

"I'll kill him," Matsuda shouted, "He has to die!" Matsuda yelled, walking up to Light quickly and firing his gun, the agents just barely managing to restrain him.

Light breathed heavily, almost sobbing, "Damn you," he moaned, "What the hell is this?" He asked, struggling to get up, "Mikami," he called to the man, "What are you waiting for? Write down their names! Kill them now," he screamed at Mikami.

"It's all over now," one of the agents said solemnly, "Isn't it Near?"

"Yes," Near quietly confirmed.

Silver pressed her hands over her ears and closed her eyes tightly as Light continued to scream for help; she didn't want to hear a single thing he had to say. All of his words burned like acid in her ears, and she pressed her hands tighter to her ears as she heard Mikami screaming.

Suddenly the room brightened suddenly from behind her eyelids and she opened her eyes to see Light running away, out from the door. She panicked slightly and watched as a few agents walked towards the door to follow him.

"Wait, Light!" Matsuda called.

"He's getting away, Light," An agent called, stepping out of the door.

"Mr. Aizawa," Near called suddenly, stopping the agent, "It's unlikely that he has any more pieces of the notebook, he'll stop running soon, even if we leave him alone," Near advised.

"Near," Aizawa addressed, "I'm not going to follow your orders,"

Near looked up, shocked for a second, but quickly changed his expression back to neutral, "Very well," he acquiesced, "I'll leave it up to you."

Once all of the agents had left Near got up to leave, holding his hand out to Silver, but Silver just shook her head, taking her mask off carefully. "Thank you Near, for letting me come," she said, setting the mask down, "But, I'd appreciate it if you could leave me alone for a few minutes." She said quietly, and Near nodded in response, exiting the warehouse with the agents in tow.

Silver slowly took the notebook out and opened to a fresh page. For a few minutes she just stared at the notebook, Zellogi standing over her. Slowly, she stood up, like a foal just learning to walk, and crossed the room where Light's pen lay, abandoned.

She slowly picked it up and laid it gently on the page. This, she thought angrily, scribbling down a small script L, is for L. Slowly, she picked her hand up and moved it over slightly, and this, she said, pausing to write down an I, is for Mihael Keehl. She moved her hand over, writing more letters, for Near, and my dad, and Matt, and Sarah, and Lilly, and Watari; she paused, breathing heavily, and for all the families you ruined, and all the lives you destroyed, she stopped. She only had that last letter to go.

She looked down at the letters and she thought about them; she thought about how she'd never get to see L scarf down a whole cake again. She thought about how she'd never be able to tease Mello about his chocolate addiction again, and how Near had devoted a large part of his life to bringing Kira down just to see him run away, and how Sarah might never smile again, and how she hadn't been able to be there for Lilly's childhood, and that she'd never gotten to meet up with her dad again, and she thought about how Watari had been forced to see the child he had raised die, and she thought about all the families that would never be the same again, all the lives that would never be lived…

And this, she thought firmly, scribbling down the last letter, is for me.

Light Yagami, she thought proudly, staring down his name, ends today.

She slowly tucked the notebook back into her shirt and exited the warehouse. Murder felt different than she thought it would. She didn't feel chained, or weighted down like she thought she would. She didn't feel like she'd just committed a terrible crime; no, she felt like the giant weight that had been resting on her shoulders for the past six years had finally been lifted.

Zellogi stared at her as she left, his hand resting on his own notebook, "Well, Silver," he spoke to himself, "It looks like you've finally won. Remember in the beginning, when we first met?" Zellogi asked, reminiscing, "I told you that I'd be the one writing your name in my notebook," he said, taking the notebook out, "That is part of the agreement between a Shinigami who brings a notebook to the human world and the first human who picks it up," he said quietly, opening to a blank page.

"Who knows when you'll die," he pondered absentmindedly, staring at her as slowly got into the car with Near, "But maybe," he thought to himself, "I really just don't mind waiting." He finished, tucking the notebook back away and setting out after the car.

"You should come with me today," Near said quietly while they sat at the breakfast table. Silver shrugged, trying to avoid his question, "Will you come with me today?" he finally asked her quietly.

"No," she said, almost in a whisper, "I'm not ready to."

Near remained quiet for awhile, slowly picking at his food but not really touching it. He slowly got up and headed for the door, leaving her behind like he always did, every single Sunday, "Okay," he paused, opening the door, "But," he stopped, unsure of his words.

Silver looked up, surprised. He normally didn't say anything other than 'okay' when she refused to go with him. She stared at him and for a moment he was quiet. Silver always got a little scared when he went quiet, because she knew that he was thinking of the right words to say to her. The words she needed to hear.

"But," he spoke up again, taking in a breath, "I think he's waiting for you." He said simply, walking out and closing the door behind him.

Silver stood shocked for a few moments, too shocked to even move. For a long time she sat there, her fork suspended in air, trying to think of the right thing to do.

"I think he's right," Zellogi spoke up from behind her. Silver swallowed with difficulty and looked up at him, "It's about time you go."

Silver nodded slowly, "I think so too," she agreed, standing up. "I know he would have done it for me," she noted quietly, trying to convince herself. She hadn't even been outside since the warehouse, and now she was going to face her biggest fear.

"What if he doesn't want me there?" She asked Zellogi, reaching for the door handle.

"I'd be surprised if that were the case," he reassured her, opening the door for her. Silver slowly stepped outside and suddenly felt herself walking quickly, almost running to the place that just a second ago she had feared more than anything.

I'm coming, she thought, I'm sorry it took so long, but I promise, I'm coming.

Silver was kneeling in front of it now, the place she'd been avoiding for the past three weeks. She stole a glance at it.

Mihael Keehl

She looked at the name that was engraved in stone and smiled, remembering all of the times that she had spent with him, and then she frowned. I still miss you more than anything, she thought sadly.

"I'm sorry," she spoke aloud now, "I'm sorry that I took so long to come, and I'm sorry that I didn't save you," she said, noticing the tears that were spilling down her cheeks, "And I'm sorry that you had to die alone, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you," she continued to sob. For a long time she just sat there, crying inconsolably.

"I'm sorry for crying, too," she said once she had managed to calm herself down a little, "I know that right now you'd be yelling at me to live my life," she said, gazing at his tombstone, "But, I'm sorry Mello… I still love you."

She paused for a few moments, trying to think of the right things to say, "I'm sorry if you thought I forgot about you," she said, "I know it took me a long time to come, but I promise that I didn't forget," she breathed, "I know I didn't because it's really hard to forget when there's such an empty space in my heart now that you're gone."

"I had to relearn everything, you know," she said quietly, "When I found out I forgot how to breathe, how to walk," she said, more tears pouring out of her eyes, "I had to relearn how to do everything without you – how to laugh, and even how to smile."

"Near did a really great thing," she told him, "He caught Kira, and when they found him he had died of a heart attack," she smiled, "It was really all thanks to you."

She was quiet for quite some time again, still staring at the stone, "I'm sorry," she apologized again, "I know that you didn't want me to need you," she said, remembering the first time that he left, "But I proved to you that I loved you, and I proved that it was okay to need someone,"

She paused, "But," she sighed, standing up, "Maybe the hardest thing I'll have to prove is that I can live without you, I've got to be strong for you," she said sadly, placing a hand over her heart.

"And, maybe this isn't the end," she thought to herself, "I'll always have you with me, in here," she gestured to her heart, "And if it isn't the end, then maybe it's the beginning to something new." She said smiling, "Thank you for teaching me that, Mello," she thought turning around, walking back home, "And I promise, you'll always be with me, right here in my heart."

Yeah, she thought happily, stopping to glance back at the tombstone, I may not be able to hold your hand or kiss your lips anymore, but as long as you're in my heart you're never really gone.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end," – Closing Time, Semisonic

Wow, I really can't believe it's the end. I'm sure if I told myself that I'd actually reach this point when I first started writing this, I'd be amazed.

Thanks time!

Frogata: I hope you liked the ending! I was quite surprised that I ended up with her truly falling for Mello. But, I suppose writing brings out things about yourself that you never really knew!
P.S. – Keep up with your story, I was really interested!

The Night's Wish: I hope my ending was satisfactory for you :) and I'm sorry I made you cry, but I'm glad my story made you feel something… maybe that sounds weird. :) Thanks for reading!

PutTheLNearTheLightYagami: I hope you liked the ending, even if it is a little Mello-centric. But then again, Silver can't hog your Near, right?

;)

Near accepted your hug and kiss and returned them! (He always will)

I really don't know how to say goodbye in a good way to you guys, it feels like we've been through so much!
Or, at least I've been through hell and back trying to get myself to keep updating on time with this story.

Keep on reading!

Sastars429