Here we go again. The final act starts!

Before you read this chapter, I must tell you something about it. "Eyes" was supposed to have just one part, but I've decided to split it in two because there is much information. I thought it might be a bit overwhelming to put it all in a single chapter. The bulk of revelations appear in the second part. Anyway, I think this first half features enough surprises to keep your interest alive. Maybe you will even find out an answer or two to your questions :)

I hope you enjoy it. Thanks a lot for reading this.

Summary: What Misa saw #1

Zero—1st part

Eyes #1

Find what you love and let it kill you.

Bukowski

Misa had a perfect childhood right until her ninth birthday. Dotted and beloved by her relatives and peers, the child soon learnt to take advantage of her natural charm. She was popular at school, had lots of friends. She had a best friend, Kyo-chan, a clever and sensitive boy who lived in a nearby house. Boys around her age were mostly gross. Kyo-chan was different. He was not much strong, so he might have had a tough time at the playground, but Misa got along with him. If someone as cool as Misa were friends with him, he had to be alright, hadn't he? They spent a lot of time together, even when the boy's bronchi often had him stuck in hospital. Misa would cheer him up, would put on fancy costumes and model for him. They would make dolls out of pieces of cloth, draw animals. "This is a cat?! Things don't look like that," Kyosuke's big sister used to say. "You can't see them like we see them because you don't have our eyes. Our eyes are special," he would reply. "Yes, we have special eyes. You're jealous," Misa would say sticking out her tongue. That was their secret. For them, the world was beautiful and bright and full of wonderful colours.

Misa's family planned a great party for her ninth birthday. Unfortunately, Kyo could not attend it because he had just left hospital. Misa told her parents they had to finish the party, for she wanted to visit her best friend. They did so. Misa came round Kyo's house. He had made a drawing of her as a birthday present. She hugged him and pecked him on the cheek.

Ten minutes later, he started coughing and choking. His face darkened and swelled with the lack of air, his weak chest heaved because of the spasms, the inhalator turned into a useless tool. Misa screamed, calling the adults. They arrived almost at once.

He was already dead.

Doctors said it was normal for Misa to start referring to herself in third person as a way to distance herself from her pain.

Doctors said it was understandable for her to tear away the dolls, destroy the paintings and draw pictures in black and dark red instead.

What doctors did not know was that Misa's eyes would never be innocent again.

...

Unlike so many others', Misa's teenage years ran smoothly. Any childhood trauma long gone, the cute child blossomed first into a pretty girl, then into a radiant young woman. Academic life was not her forte; she did not mind, as far as she knew she would become a model and an actress. Adolescence was simple—beauty, popularity, and sympathetic parents were the key. She pitied the ugly and awkward. Anyway, it was not her business. When faint memories of having once taken sides with the misfits appeared, she just shrugged. It was great to have a circle of friends just like her. It was awesome to have an attractive, smart, sweet boyfriend. They loved one another so much. People said teenage love was fleeting, but theirs survived their school years right into early adulthood, theirs would last. "The agent I told you about? I'm meeting her next week! And I have another photo session. I'll be wearing the pale green dress," she said to him while cuddling in bed. "The camera loves you. It's great your parents support you. You'll be a star and I'll write the scripts. We'll be famous and get married," he marked his words with tender kisses. "My parents will be your new parents then. You'll find them a little soft," Misa laughed. "I prefer this softness," he said with a wink. They smiled and made love and dreamt of bright futures.

Bright futures shattered in bloody red (red and murder and two corpses that had been her parents) right in front of her, the murderer running away right before her eyes.

...

Misa did not know about legal procedures, but she knew that was not justice. Her parents were dead, and their killer was not going to be punished.

"Misa was there. Misa saw him!" she bellowed.

PTSD, doctors called it. She knew the truth.

Misa's eyes were powerless.

...

Her boyfriend stood by her side in the horrible weeks that followed. She found no shelter, however. Almost as devastated as she was, he cried a lot. He went on crying even when Misa's tears had run dried.

He was so sweet, so soft. Soft people did not do well near Misa.

She split up with him.

...

Misa-Misa was the most promising model in Japan. People were delighted by the blend of her upbeat personality and the suggestive darkness of her looks. Misa-Misa always wore black or dark red clothes and gothic jewels. Everyone thought she was a brave woman who had overcome a tragedy. She worked and trained. She smiled and enchanted the public and met important people and flirted and had some intimate encounter or another to numb herself, and cried when she was alone.

Misa-Misa was a perfect shell for the blank space within.

...

Her parents' murderer had finally been punished, and it had been Kira's deed. Therefore, she learnt about her hero, she supported Kira in public even when her agent scolded her. It did not matter. Kira was the angel of justice.

...

A month later, death caught up with Misa. The stalker said he would kill her in the name of love. Maybe love and death were two sides of the same coin for her. However, she did not want to die like that, killed in a dark alley, alone with a crazy stalker. She screamed for help. She prayed for Kira to save her.

The stalker collapsed and died.

...

The notebook had black covers and strange letters. The angel had wings, but did not look like an angel at all.

"Are you Kira?"

...

Rem was neither Kira nor an angel. She had not even been the one to save Misa—it had been another Shinigami called Gelus, who had sacrificed his life for her.

"What a beautiful way to die," she whispered.

"Death is death," Rem replied.

No. It was not the same to die saving the life of the one you loved than to drown in your own phlegm, to be butchered in your own home, to be stabbed in an alley. And yet.

"Such love. Sweet Gelus," Misa day-dreamed. She felt a little angry with the unknown Shinigami who had died and abandoned her.

"For a Shinigami, love means death."

For Misa, love and death were two sides of the same coin. She would demonstrate her love for justice through death. She would become the Second Kira.

"Rem, Misa needs to find Kira. Help Misa!"

Rem told her about the Shinigami Eyes. She made the deal without a second thought. She was ecstatic.

Misa's eyes would be powerful at last.

...

"Rem, will the headaches ever be over?"

"Your body still needs some adjustments. You will get used to the eyes soon."

Misa sighed. She was dizzy with all that wavering red. She looked at the mirror and refreshed her make-up, trying to ignore her name. At least there were no numbers. What meant—

"Rem, how do you know the deal has worked? Owners have no numbers, so you can't say if Misa's life span's shortened."

"The eyes of a Shinigami and the eyes humans get because of a deal are not identical. Our eyes are given directly by Nu, so they are not so constrained by the Death Note rules."

"Who's Nu?"

"Nu is one of the higher-ups. She gives the eyes to every new Shinigami."

"Oh! She's like a mother for your race?"

"We mustn't talk about Nu. What I can tell you is that with age and experience, Shinigami rise in rank and our sight improve. I can see the changes in a life span due to the deal and to the action of a Death Note. If I focus hard enough, I can tell if they have been shortened because of the threat another human embodies for that one. Higher-ups' eyes can perceive any fluctuation in a human life span. Nonetheless, you can see things with the eyes you got that other humans can't."

"Enough, enough. Headache, remember?"

She was not in the mood for boring rants. She had much work to do. They will be moving to Tokyo in a few days.

...

Misa was proud of herself. She had put into motion a complex plan. She was sure Kira would contact her after the tapes.

"Those you wrote down were not criminals," Rem remarked.

"They were Kira's enemies," Misa replied. Since she had got accustomed to her new eyes, she had noticed human beings were the same at their core—a mix of red letters and numbers. Her hero and she were the only ones that stood out in the crowd. She giggled as she took out the red contact lenses she wore sometimes when she used the note. It was empowering to look at her reflection and see the red eyes. And they suited the gothic look.

"As far as you don't take unnecessary risks..."

Misa waved her hand. "Don't be a spoilsport. Misa's meeting him soon."

"You are convinced Kira is male."

Misa giggled again. It was true, she thought of Kira as male. A young, powerful, handsome man who would be Misa's soulmate.

...

Yagami Raito embodied everything she could wish for. It was not only him being gorgeous or being a genius or having a never-ending list of graces. It was not even the fact that he was Kira.

When they finally met at his house, Misa had some epiphanies.

Rem did not like Raito, she threatened him. Rem wanted to protect Misa so much. Misa's heart got cold. Would Rem be able to sacrifice herself?

She had to know and had to show her loyalty to Kira. She betrayed Rem's secret about how a Shinigami could die. Then she supported Raito and asked Rem to kill L even if that meant her death. The Shinigami promised to do so. Misa-Misa put on a show of giddy happiness. Misa's heart froze.

She had been getting attached to Rem. That had to change. She started to get detached from the creature at once, disappointed.

Rem would not last. Sooner or later, she would leave Misa behind.

Her Raito was different.

He would not die for her. He would not die on her.

He was perfection.

...

One of the college students smelt of a perfume Misa had smelt faintly in Raito's clothes before. She whipped around, but the bitch's name was entangled with at least twenty more names in a large group, so Misa gave up, light-headed and irritated.

She spotted her love from afar—Shinigami eyes had improved her sight. He was with another student, a male one fortunately. She noticed something curious. She had observed Raito around other people; he acted out what he really was, a god among ants. Not now. Misa had taken a workshop on body language as part of her training to become an actress. Raito's body language showed tension and an unexpected interest around the other student's presence.

She hurried up towards her boyfriend. His face lit up when he saw her. She was so happy.

"This is Hideki Ryuga," Raito announced.

Misa greeted the weird young liar. His red glowed in foreign characters. Misa had studied some English at school, had been revising it out of late to write foreign names on the note. She could do it. "L", said the first word. And that was all.

L? As in L, the detective?

She smiled at the man's antics. Could it be true that weirdo was Kira's worst enemy? The other word started with the same letter. L...aw... Lawli... Lawliet.

L Lawliet. She could not forget the name. Raito would marry her after that success.

Someone touched her butt, L got to her defence. Poor silly thing. She said farewell.

"L Lawliet. Is it okay, Rem? L Lawliet," she murmured gleefully while she came back to the car. Rem was more serious than usual.

"I don't like this. Beware!" Rem started.

The attackers were already on Misa and her agent.

...

Misa was afraid she could not endure the confinement. That monster of L Lawliet was a cunning snake. He would catch her in a mistake. She could not even said the name to Raito. Rem could not, either. Misa would rather die than be Raito's downfall. Rem tried so hard to comfort her. She would not kill Misa no matter what. A part of her was moved by the Shinigami's commitment. Another part wanted to scream.

At the end, Rem thought of a good plan. Misa cried when she realised she would lose her precious eyes and the detective's name. At least she would go on living, and her love would survive. Her Raito would save her with Rem's help.

She renounced ownership.

...

Enough time had passed by to acknowledge that her kidnappers might not well be crazy stalkers. She had put on a brave mask to conceal her fear, but days went on and on and she was not damaged. Someone who had calloused, old hands helped her with her needs of feeding and evacuating.

The men questioned her again and again. They were convinced she was the Second Kira and that her boyfriend was Kira himself. She admired Kira, but that was stupid.

Were she Kira, she would have killed the kidnappers long ago.

...

Misa was a practical woman, so she quickly saw the bright side. For starters, Raito and she were out of their cells. Secondly, her looks had not suffered too much. Thirdly, she could go out and work again, and Mogi was proving to be an excellent manager. The best thing was the fact that she was living with her boyfriend. A dream came true, were not for that Ryuzaki. He had chained himself to her Raito, the creep!

Anyway, she had dates with Raito. To be honest, he did not seem much excited. It was understandable—he was working so hard, and men could be shy about their feelings. And yet, it was infuriating to realise that the one that fostered the dates was Ryuzaki. What a pervert! Probably he was delighted to have an attractive couple under custody. Maybe he thought of watching them while they were making out, or something that kinky.

To top it all, Raito behave oddly around Ryuzaki. In one of their dates, her composed, elegant boyfriend became a brute that punched the other, then the two geniuses were beating the hell out of one another like spoilt children. Matsuda stopped them by breaking great news about Misa's job. Instead of thanking Matsuda or hugging Misa for her success, Raito joined Ryuzaki in a friendly conversation about Matsuda's idiocy.

From Misa's point of view, they were the ones who were acting like fools.

That was only an example. They were always absorbed in each other, bickering or working or having something similar to a... friendship? Why did they have to sleep in the same bedroom? If Raito had to be chained, his father was there, wasn't he? By the way, what kind of father threatened his son with a gun and let a pervert share a bedroom with him? When they were free, Misa would take Raito to her house. The sooner, the better.

There they were again. Misa had displayed her charms, and he had ignored her.

But look. Ryuzaki makes a show with some cherries, and Raito is all about him again.

If Ryuzaki were a woman, at least Misa would know how to counter-attack, and her jealously would be less pathetic.

...

"Mogi, do you think there can be friendship between a detective and a suspect?"

She had just finished working. They were packing up to get back to HQ. Mogi had returned to his usual self, thoughtful and silent.

"You mean friendship between Light and Ryuzaki," he said after a while. Misa nodded. "I presume that people who are as intelligent as them can feel lonely and bored among common people. I think they might relish the fact of spending time with their intellectual equal for a change."

The soundness of the statement did not make it less painful for Misa. "Do you think their affinity would go on? Misa saw that film years ago, the woman that fell in love with her kidnapper. May it be it?"

Mogi's face turned red. Misa moved her hands, horrified by the mistake. "No, no. Misa isn't talking about her. Misa's talking about Raito." Again, she realised what she was implying. She was the one to blush that time. "Not love. Friendship. Unreal. Because of the circumstances. Umm... forget it."

Mogi looked pleased to let go. Misa thought about it for a while. The confinement. Misa was okay, and Raito was stronger than her, so it made no sense. Besides, Misa had the memory of the day she was abducted. Raito and Ryuzaki were hanging around at college, and she had found Raito a little changed.

Then she thought of Ryuzaki still in their lives in the future, and she shivered. She shook her head. Too much thinking would not do. Direct action was called for.

After all, the most common way to break a male friendship was to throw a beautiful woman between them. Misa was beautiful and could become Ryuzaki's friend, as well, or fake it.

Who knew? Maybe Raito would get jealous and begin to show his love with more enthusiasm.

...

It was for real. They had a lead to Kira. Misa found herself torn between conflicting loyalties.

She admired Kira. Kira had avenged her parents and had saved her from a stalker months ago. Kira was her hero.

She had never thought the task force would catch Kira. But now they had Raito, who was more capable than all of them together. Kira's time might be running out.

She loved Raito, she wanted him free. She wanted her freed of charges, too. She could not protect Kira, because if they did not catch Kira, Raito would suffer the consequences.

It was terrible.

...

She had been an asset in rescuing Matsuda, and now Ryuzaki wanted her to keep on helping them. She was excited. She could show Raito how resourceful she was and, at the same time, she could get close to Kira. Perhaps she could do something that would make Kira help Misa and Raito and save them from the task force.

Raito did not approve of her involvement. He wanted to protect her because he loved her. And yet, Misa was a little down. Did he not trust her with a mission?

Ryuzaki, on the contrary, encouraged her. She felt a bit warmer towards the detective. Her efforts to charm him had been paying off. He was more polite than before. He trusted her skills.

He would give her the chance to risk her life for Raito.

...

Misa was beyond happiness. The ghost, Rem (the name Higuchi had said when he thought Misa was not listening to him) had told her the best news she could hear.

Raito and Kira were one and the same. Misa was the Second Kira. Everything was part of Raito's plan to save Misa and get L. And Misa had been willing to die for her hero, her love. (It was better to live together happily ever after in a perfect world, but for Misa love and death were two sides of the same coin.) And Rem was their ally. The three would be triumphant very soon.

(Ryuzaki had been right about them. He was so clever. What a shame he stood by L.)

What a silly thought! With Ryuzaki gone, most of Misa's troubles would be gone, too. She grinned.

"Misa, a final word," Rem said. "That Ryuzaki... There is an anomaly. Be careful, please."

Misa had to go. She did not understand the word, but she shuddered.

...

The big screens showed how Higuchi was running to his doom. Misa, Raito, and Ryuzaki watched them in the meeting room. Raito was focused on the display. Misa tiptoed towards the detective and whispered in his ear, "Ryuzaki, what does an anomaly mean?"

He blinked. "Is Misa-san calling me names? I do not think this is the best of times."

Misa blushed furiously. She turned around.

"An anomaly is a deviation from the normal or usual order or type. It is an irregularity," Ryuzaki muttered. "Misa-san has found a smart insult or an unusual compliment."

She stared at him. Then, she gave him her second and last peck on the cheek. The chain clinked. Raito was glaring at them.

"One peck meant I had a new friend. Does a second one mean I am your best friend, Misa-san?" L asked.

The chain rattled louder. Raito looked (jealous) annoyed. The men returned their attention to the screens. Misa gave some steps backwards, an old wound wide open.

She half expected Ryuzaki to choke and die.

When it did not happen, Misa was not sure how to feel about it.

...

The world was almost whole again. Misa was free of charges, she was at home. She owned a Death Note, had Ryuk, had recovered her memories. And she knew Ryuzaki was actually L. She remembered that day at college and knew she had known he had been L.

Almost whole. She could not remember his name, only that it was not Japanese. She had been seeing and writing so many names while she had had the eyes, and too many months had passed by, and she saw him just once.

"Misa wants to do the deal!"

"Hyuk! Fine by me, but your life span will be reduced by half another time."

"Misa understands."

As the eyes came back to her, she felt whole again.

...

She chose the black dress carefully, put it on, and left for the cemetery with Ryuk on her tail. Raito had not been clear, but she had understood several things. One, there had been an attack at HQ. Two, Watari might be dead or not. Three, Raito needed her eyes. Four, she might meet L and find out his name!

Watari was dead. She did not care. The old butler had witnessed her most humiliating moments during her confinement. He had what he deserved.

Ryuzaki's red was mute. He had chosen that day to hide his face, the weirdo! There was a glow here and there, but glasses, hair, hood, and the high collar of the outdated trench coat were enough to hide his name. She started growing nervous. She could not fail Raito. She approached her target, gave her condolences, pretended interest.

"Watari was like a surrogate father. He was family. A monster killed my family," Ryuzaki said.

There was a flashing red, but not because of names or numbers. Misa saw her parents' corpses, felt her own despair, saw the crime scene, blood everywhere. She could understand Ryuzaki's feelings.

"Misa is sorry for your lost." She was sincere.

The memory of her mother brought her the memory of Rem. Where was she? She might be there. Unless...

She looked around, searching for Rem. A red flash shone. Ryuzaki's face was available. She studied the red, frantic. Foreign characters. Two words. But the red was so similar to blood and her parents' corpses would not go, and she shook her head.

The glow disappeared. His face was hidden. No!

She had to leave. She could not. She stood at a certain distance, watching the men. Ryuzaki's name was not visible anymore. It was no use. She had not had enough time to figure out his name.

In the park, Raito was very angry at her failure. Anger made him rude. He chilled down at knowing of Watari's demise. When he asked about L's numbers, Misa was the one to get angry at his lack of empathy. He had never had the eyes, did not know the difficulties. Names, numbers! However, she complied with him, she loved him. Then the truth about Rem's absence showed up. She had done it. She had sacrificed her life and abandoned Misa. Misa-Misa came to the rescue. She finished listening to his love's speech with a heart full of gratefulness. Then she felt the touch of something in her earlobe and forehead, like scraps of paper or confetti.

The monster appeared out of nowhere. She screamed.

...

It was heaven. She could get lost in Raito's kisses. She had been starving for them. In the park, they had made up, and he had kissed her. Cold kisses, devoid of passion, until they had become passionate. Now, in the privacy of her dressing room, they were sharing their love. She wanted to take the next step so much. They were adults. She would help him get rid of his shyness.

He stopped her. It was vexing to be rejected. They had been a thing for quite a good time now. Was she not attractive enough for him? What else did she have to do to get his attention?

He left her with Sidoh, the new Shinigami who was dictating the names she had to write down. She peeked at Raito in the other room. His gestures were similar to those she had made when she had stopped Higuchi's lecherous advances. They revealed disgust.

It could not be possible. Her eyes were lying to her.

...

"Ryuk, I've been thinking about something," Misa said.

"So?"

"You said there had been an anomaly. When Sidoh appeared and talked to you."

"And?"

Misa frowned. Rem would have not done this. She would have been collaborative. "Rem once warned Misa about Ryuzaki. She said there was an anomaly. Is it the one you were referring to?"

"Hyuk! Rem warned you? What did she say, exactly?"

"What Misa has just told you."

"She didn't elaborate. Neither will I. Anomaly, anomaly. Two plus two. Use your brains."

He was not funny at all now that he possessed her. "Umph, forget about it," she pouted. She stood up from the chair and went to the kitchen to take some fruit.

Ryuk had not finished. He phased through the thin wall and startled her. She almost cut herself with the paring knife.

"Hey!"

"Use your brains or use your feet. Go to the headquarters with a silly excuse. Go where the party's going on, hyuk!"

"Misa and Ryuk must wait for Raito to tell them." Her pulse was running fast from the fright.

Ryuk groaned. She understood him. She also wanted to go there and stay with Raito and kill Ryuzaki once and for all.

In fact, why did Raito have to still be there with him?

...

Ryuk would not stop complaining. "Sidoh's a pain in the ass. He should have remained in our realm for years before noticing his note was gone. Beyondormason must have warned him. And now, I have to listen to Sidoh slurring the names of the killing list. Where's Light? He must be near! Why doesn't he come and see us? I'm booooored."

"Take an apple."

He hissed, took the apple and went on spilling names and websites where Misa could look for the photographs of the criminals. Her eyes were sore, her heart, too.

Why didn't Light want to meet her?

...

At the studios, the staff were barking against Kira and the purge. Not the twenty names Misa had written the night before that were still unknown, but the politicians and other Kira's enemies. They were also making a fuzz about some drama of several criminals judged by Kira long ago (Raito-Kira, Misa had not written those). It seemed that new evidence had shown them not to be guilty in the first place. Bah! Her boyfriend was never wrong. Misa-Misa had to do her best not to let Misa told them off. Ryuk looked entertained for a change.

Then the presents arrived: two huge boxes and an envelope with a card. Oh! Raito had been acting oddly because he wanted to give her a surprise! She shut herself in her private space. She took the card first.

It was signed by Ryuzaki. She could not believe her eyes.

After a second reading, she understood. He was apologising for everything she had been through for his mistake in thinking she was the Second Kira. Too much for being a genius, silly thing! There was a cheque with a pretty sum of money written on it, as salary for the help Misa had provided the Kira Task Force. She opened the boxes. There was a big cake that looked delicious. It was a fruit cake, not much fatty, with a shiny frosting and lots of ripe strawberries. Misa-san can eat it because she is smart enough to burn the calories, the card said. There was also a gothic doll, a rare collection piece. She admired the details: the silk of the witch costume, the black lace, a bag with four tiny dolls in one hand, a shiny cauldron and a broomstick in the other. How could he know her taste? Well, he had investigated her for the Kira case, hadn't he? She shrugged. This must be so expensive. Then she unpacked the portrait.

She gaped at it, speechless.

She left the room for a moment, closed the door.

"Ryuk, look for cameras or bugs in the presents."

"Hyuk! They are clean."

She grinned. Then, she shared the cake with the crew, Hideki Ryuga included. She excused herself for not eating. Diet. She ordered an errand boy to deliver the boxes to her house.

The working hours finished. She have supper at a café. After that, she walked the last two streets towards her flat. There were a few people walking down in the opposite direction. A strong wind blew. Out of a sudden, a new red gleamed near her. It belonged to an odd old man who was wearing torn clothes and a hat that had flown away. Misa scanned the red and realised the characters were foreign. T- Thie- Thier- Thierry... No red. The man had covered his bearded face and unrealistic huge nose (seriously, it looked fake) with a ragged scarf. Then he was gone. She kept on walking. The characters had made her curious because they were foreign. She had thought they might help her remember Ryuzaki's true name. Thierry did not awake any memory. Just a stupid foreign name of an ugly beggar.

Finally at home, she admired the portrait. It was a picture of her, inspired by one of her most famous photographs. The artist had taken it to another level. She looked like a queen. She would not write Ryuzaki's name until he told her who the artist was. He or she had to paint Raito and Misa together—the King and the Queen of a perfect world.

A hiccup stopped her musings, and she realised she had been crying. She remembered someone who had drawn pictures of her long ago, she thought about Raito and her, she thought about the departed. She was not sure for whom she was shedding tears.

She pulled herself together. If Ryuzaki was capable of being so thoughtful and choose those gifts for her, what would not Raito give her, being his boyfriend? She smiled.

Next morning, after checking that no one of the staff had died because of any poison in the cake, she gratefully ate a piece of it. She was acting like a detective. She was clever enough to burn the calories, indeed!

...

The only gift Raito gave her was a photo of a certain Takada Kiyomi, the cow that wanted to steal him from her.

Misa had just packed her clothes in the suitcase for the impending business trip. She crossed out the items in the checklist. She had been absent-minded since afternoon, when she had seen Raito, and would stop from time to time to glare at the hateful photo. Takada was pretty. No big deal—Misa was prettier than her. But she was a college student. She looked intelligent. Big deal. To make things worse, her hair was inky and her eyes, although with a different shape and a lighter shade, were grey. Just like Ryuzaki.

How unnerving!

She took the Death Note. How she wanted to write her name! She stored it in a safe box, locked it, and put it inside the suitcase. She would write it soon, when Raito told her to eliminate her brother. Raito did not care about that bitch.

And yet, he had smelt of her perfume, had groomed himself to meet her, damn it, Sidoh himself had talked about the beautiful girl! And Raito had been acting so rude. He had made cruel remarks, had gripped Misa's arm. Didn't he realise the difference in height and strength between them? Misa had not had a good day: a terrible headache, stress, so much noise, so much dancing red. Ryuk had not helped, either. He had been particularly annoying, chanting about some Armonia. Nonetheless, Misa had done her best. She had had her nails polished, had been wearing a juicy lipstick colour, had concealed her eye bags. She laughed bitterly. Perhaps she should have appeared with black shadows under her eyes Ryuzaki-style to appeal to Raito. He had only reacted when she had mentioned Ryuzaki's letter and present. (Only the cake, she did not want Raito to doubt Misa, and she wanted to find the portrait's author to draw him as a surprise.) Finally, he had accused Misa of marring the latest purge. If at all, it was the Shinigami's fault; Misa had followed the list and instructions to the letter.

She glanced at the pic again. The Takadas' red mocked at her. They would see soon. Despite everything, Raito had chosen Misa, had given her Takada's life.

She sat down in front of her computer and browsed some websites. She had not made any mistake. Fine. She sipped her chamomile tea. There was expectation among fans about Misa-Misa and Hideki's film. Fine. She gossiped SeKond Coming. They were a little freakish, but they were always saying good things about Kira. She used an account she had convinced a lovestruck colleague to do for her; there were no traces of Misa's email there. Misa is smart enough to burn the calories and beat Takada. Is Misa-san smart enough to beat Ryuzaki? Yes. Misa has eyes that will bring you down, L.

Beep. A private chat room had opened.

"Excuse me. I've seen you around here a few times. Pleased to meet you." It came from some E.D.

Misa looked at the screen, entertained. "Pleased to meet you, too."

"Can I ask you a question? I have been asking before, but no one here seems to give good advice. I may be lucky this time! It's a bit personal, about how to attract a particular person, how to make him notice me."

That was interesting. A girl in love with some boy. Misa had never had trouble with attracting men. Raito was only playing hard to get, and after all, he was already her boyfriend. He was so perfect he deserved to be a little hard to get.

A thought. Umm. She had to check it. "You aren't talking about Kira, are you, E.D.?"

"No! Kira is like a deity for me, I would not dare. It's a young man here, a devoted Kira's supporter."

Love between Kira's supporters. Misa giggled. "Pay attention. The ideal thing is that it was him that got attracted to you. But men can be shy or indecisive, or blind to love."

"Yes, they can!"

"Do something great, something loud with a degree of mystery to catch his attention. Do it in front of an audience, as it is aimed at many people, but in such a way he realises he is the real target. Must be something important for him, in a way that makes him be proud of himself. Don't be timid. Give it all. And dress yourself to look real good, beautiful, when you meet for real."

"That sounds great. Thanks so much."

Perhaps the girl was mousy and unattractive, but anyway.

She surfed a bit more. Just before she was going to log out, she saw the file E.D. had uploaded to the forum. The file was encrypted, it could not be opened. The message read, "If you are worthy of the gifts I can give you, you will be able to open this file. The first in doing it will prove to me how loyal a supporter he could be. I am waiting for a hard-working, intelligent, devoted man, a lover of justice. I am thinking of you, Sakujo. Show me I am not mistaken. Open this file and reveal the picture it contains. Open it and receive the gift ex deum."

She is not doing bad, Misa thought.

Sakujo answered.

"I will show my devotion.

I will not fail you."

Wow! Misa's advice had worked brilliantly. She would be able to beat anyone and everyone to make Raito hers forever!

In a better mood, she went to bed.

Ryuk's laughs lingered for a while.

If you have any questions or doubts about the scenes in this chapter, please ask me. I know you are great readers and will sort out the difference game, but if you want me to guide you to a particular scene in the previous chapters, you only have to tell me. I look forward to reading your feedback. Your words keep me going :)As I don't want you to be confused about the chronology in this chapter, I will give you a little outline:
1) From the start until Misa recovers her freedom and makes the second Eye Deal with Ryuk: This part happens before the beginning of this fic, that is, before Rem writes in her Death Note.
2) The cemetery: Watari's burial service and appearance of Sidoh - Chapter 3 (Hypotheses)
3) Meeting with Light, subsequent scenes with Ryuk, and the receiving of the presents - The events take place at the same time as those in Chapter 4 (Nightmares and Delusions)
4) The date with Light in which he gaves Misa Takada's picture, the evening she meets Thierry and enters SeKond Coming - It relates to Chapter 5 (Spectrum)
I hope this will help you.
Best wishes :)