Epilogue

A ridiculously smug smile couldn't be helped.

She knew his name.

She knew his name.

She knew his name.

"Ha!" she did a sort of jig, brought her hands to her face. His name. She knew his name!

Lawliet. He was L Lawliet.

Lawliet was actually his given name, strange thought it was. He didn't know the full story, but he supposed his mother either hadn't cared enough to give him a proper name or lacked the mental capacity to do so. It seemed the surname, L, was also false because he'd done as much research as possible and could find no connections. He wasn't bitter and she tried not to be either.

The boy she'd seen in the second to worst dream she'd ever had, almost a full two years ago now, was called Near. She didn't know his actual name and didn't think she ever would. It didn't matter to her one way or the other, she liked him regardless.

And Mello too, though she suspected, and L did as well, that he liked her a bit too much. He knew full well he didn't have a chance, but that seemed to have no bearing on his actions.

When she'd first met him he'd accused L of loosing focus, called him weak and all manner of names with many expletives thrown in for good measure, but after a week he'd retreated and five days later he confessed his own failing to Watari who told L who told her. She thought it a bit funny and bit depressing, but mostly it was fine.

Most things were fine.

Her career had plateaued and she was fine with that. Work was consistent and she now had the ability to be more discerning about the jobs she took. Downtime was easy to schedule and her finances were all in order.

Her family was also fine, all things considered. Grief no loner reigned supreme and lives were moving forward, but she doubted they would ever fully recover from the loss they'd suffered. How could they be expected to? It was impossible.

One thing was better than fine. Her life with L was fantastic in ways she hadn't known were possible. He had married her, though it was nothing extravagant and the public was unaware, but it was more than enough for her. His love was incredible in every way, he was incredible in every way. Weird, but in an amazing manner. Also sometimes annoying and irritating and bothersome and she occasionally wanted to chop his head off, but in the big scheme of things she loved him and that love kept him alive despite all of his numerous imperfections.

He was still a detective, three detectives, but there had yet to be a case similar to Kira's and she fervently hoped there would never be one either. One family's loss was bad enough; it didn't need to happen to someone else.

She rarely traveled with him, but he hardly left Japan anymore. Most of the things he did could be accomplished with little effort on his part, he wasn't above having others do most of the real work, and as long as the cases were solved it didn't much matter where he was or who gathered the intel.

Haruka was content. She'd done her best to put away her sadness, though she didn't think it would ever leave entirely, and all signs pointed to a calm life from this point on.

Those were her thoughts as she walked along a dirt pathway, alone, in the middle of the night. Her light, white dress was warm enough as the spring heat was unexpectedly high and she would return before her twenty minute break was over. This shoot was for clothing line with an interesting release plan. It was a collection for this summer, but it had been announced with only a couple weeks until the official start of the season. Buzz was high.

She didn't realize she'd been followed until she heard a mindless laugh directly behind her.

Whirling around Haruka quickly assessed the situation. She was without her cell phone, she had no weapon and this creep, whoever he was, looked certifiably insane. She had no idea who he might be, but his intentions were obvious.

Dirty and grimy in every possible way the man appeared young, maybe in his early thirties at the latest, and he held a gun.

"I've been following you," he whispered as he took an unbalanced step forward. She wondered how she'd not heard him before, he looked drunk. "Always, always, always following you."

Of all the things that had scared her in her life this man was giving the rest of it a run for the money.

"And I–" he broke off suddenly, his eyes widened, and clenched a fist at his chest. Over his heart.

She waited until his body hit the ground to jump over it and run, screaming as she went, back to the group of workers.

/~/~/~/~/

"He just died," she told L as he held her on his lap. He'd not let her out of his grasp once she'd returned. "Heart attack, bam! Body fell."

He had his suspicions, but–

Her shriek of terror forcefully pulled him out of his thoughts and he jumped up with her when she launched off the couch.

"What the fuck is that and where in the hell did it come from?! Lawliet!"

It was a notebook, similar to the ones he'd seen before, but this one had English lettering and it read, 'Death Note'.

"Don't touch it!"

He ignored her order and swiftly opened the book to find multiple pages of rules and then came the names. So many names and he recognized them all as his eyes fell upon them. The criminals who had died by Kira's hand and along with names many had a written cause of death, times included.

"What? This– But, it's..."

He'd never told her what he'd discerned and she'd never asked. "This is the weapon Kira used. Two others were found. One appeared out of thin air when Amane, Misa was arrested and the other was hidden within her home. I'm absolutely certain that my conclusion is correct."

She peered over his shoulder, watched as he turned page after page, staggered at the number of names within. This was impossible, yet it made perfect sense if she disregard the fact that it had come from some other world, some place where a thing like this could be created.

The last name contained was Minamoto, Haguchi and he was the man who'd tried to harm her.

The second to last name was Yagami, Light.

Author Fact

I frickin' love fanfiction.

Fanfiction Fact

This one is DONE. Duces.

Another Fact

The sequel is coming. Just like winter.

Super Short Summary:

What happens to a shinigami who has given their life for that of a human? Haruka is about to find out.