Me, November 1st: oh i got plenty of time to finish chapter 16 lmao

Me, today: fuck

ANYWAYS... its here. I reply to reviews at the end of the chapter.

Grey skies loomed over Tokyo. A heavy somber feeling followed it's citizens during the dreary morning. It's been days since the Sakura TV incident, yet not a soul would be able to tell. The lives lost that day lingered in the nations heart.

The fresh rain from the night brought the smell of mold. With her umbrella shielding her from the remaining rain drops, Kiyomi walked along a stone path. Tall trees loomed over her, their trunks growing closer and closer together as she walked deeper into the forest. The stone path slowly disappeared, leaving her to follow a dirt path with uncertainty. Nevertheless, she went on. In her free hand she held a camera, taking pictures of the empty forest while she walked.

In a few weeks, Light would most likely be in the same spot as she was. Kiyomi had plenty of time to find the location of where he'd bury the death note. It was a difficult task. She only had a handful of pictures in her memory to lead her in the right direction. She had to find the trees and bushes that lined up exactly as one single frame.

But Kiyomi was a quick worker.

She took another picture.

Currently, however, Light was speaking to L at the hotel. Kiyomi knew exactly what the two were saying, despite not being told of their meeting. She had their voices in the back of their head, every breath they took to every time their eyes met- she knew. She memorized it to a T during another sleepless night.

Kiyomi pushed her sunglasses up. Her blonde wig hide the curves of her face well, and her coat made any figure she had disappear. She couldn't risk even the smallest chance of her little search being found out by a certain detective.

Considering that this is the third forest outside of Tokyo that Kiyomi has had to visit, she considered her paranoia well founded.

But right now, she wasn't Kiyomi. She was yet another nameless face who lived in Japan. Another casualty in the wake of Kira's reign, wrecked by stress and insomnia.

The undergrowth of the forest whistled as wind passed through. The plant life seemed too grey for April. All the deer she'd encountered stood too still, and the squirrels ran at even the faintest of sounds. It was as if the earth itself knew of the unbalance brought upon it by bored gods of death.

A dread in Kiyomi's heart was brewing.

A dread that Kiyomi knew was coming. How many close encounters to death can one woman deal with? How many dead bodies does it take to forget the sight of her father's body on the staircase?

Kiyomi gritted her teeth and took another picture.

The guilt is getting to her. She knew it. The idea of Mido's death coming too soon, solely because of her-

Perhaps,

Click.

Perhaps she envied her other self. The one who died believing a god who brought forth justice. Ignorance is bliss, they say.

.

Don't start.

.

You're better than this.

.

.

You're better than all of this.

The sound of a rustling bush snapped her attention. She peered over the bush, seeing a squirrel amidst the fog run further into the forest.

She glanced at the dirt path she had followed. The damp air already erased the steps she had made.

Gripping her camera just a bit tighter, she stepped over the bush and followed the fading path the creature made. Past winding vines and watching yellow eyes, Kiyomi went deeper into the forest.

Then suddenly, fire was rushing through her veins.

"Dear friend what can I do, To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you?" Kiyomi's own voice sounded foreign to her ears. She leaned against a window, her hand just barely touching the glass where a spider crawled up the screen.

The warm hue from a single lamp filled the hotel room, casting the two detectives in light. The rest of the force left hours ago, but Kiyomi always stayed late. Whether it be with Naomi or L, it didn't matter. She liked getting lost in work, especially in light of her recent decision to quit Sakura TV.

"It seems like Kiyomi-san is reflecting on the notes Beyond left."

"It seems like Ryuzaki is correct." Kiyomi spoke with a slight quirk in her tone as she turned to face L.

L leaned forward in his seat, just a bit. "Care to elaborate?" He asked.

Kiyomi sighed, letting her head rest on the wall. "I don't like Light. I'm flattered that you think I can deceive him, however," She paused, "I won't do it for long. Anything more than a month is impossible. For the sake of my own sanity" Not that I have much of that left.

"Kiyomi-san has proven herself able to adapt to any situation. Even the smallest detail you learn from him could prove his guilt, however your terms have been acknowledged" L tilted his head. "Is there a particular reason of Kiyomi-sans dislike of Light-san?"

Kiyomi looked back at the window. The spider had disappeared.

"He creeps me out." Her reply was curt.

"Ah. It seems like Kiyomi-san is keeping secrets."

She rolled her eyes. No point in hiding it. Well, no point in hiding some of it. "If I have to be honest," L raised his eyebrows as Kiyomi spoke. "The first time I ever saw him, he made me sick. Puked up everything I ate the second I got home, and he barely even said a word to me. I like to think that maybe the universe was trying to tell me something. Considering that he's now the main Kira suspect, it makes sense."

"Does Kiyomi-san believe in a higher power?"

"I don't believe in a God, no. But... I do believe in souls and reincarnation." She said, choosing her words carefully.

L took a loud slurp of his coffee. "Interesting." He said, "I didn't take Kiyomi-san as a spiritual person. Do you also believe in psychics? Maybe even witchcraft?"

Kiyomi knew L was just messing with her, she could tell even when he spoke with such a deadpan voice. Naomi mentioned that L was just like that, it's inevitable to eventually get used to it.

The conversation was veering in a direction Kiyomi didn't expect. It wasn't a big deal, this would be the type of conversation she'd have with Mido after classes. He'd be cooking and she'd be watching TV. She doubted that they'll ever have that again.

Instead she was talking with L. Odd how things work out.

Rather than giving L any type of response, she simply rolled her eyes. Maybe a bit too much. Her eyes kind of hurt now.

"That's a 'no' then. Going back to the topic of Light. Kiyomi-san could have a phobia of men? No, you have a history of dating and you have multiple strong platonic relationships with men." L began to muse out loud. "Perhaps an inferiority complex, seeing as you ranked number two on the nation wide exam in high school? You could have recognized his name since it was above yours. Or again, it could be a simple coincidence. Long work days, stress of school, staying out late at night-the panic attack could have been completely unrelated to Light."

"Careful, you're almost talking as much as Light now." She sat down in the seat across from him. Her tea had gone cold a while ago.

"He does seem to like the sound of his own voice."

"You think? Remember how long his freshman representative speech was?" She said, "If I didn't have to give a speech after you two during orientation, I would have fallen asleep."

"Your speech was rather lengthy as well, Kiyomi-san."

"Yeah, but mine was good."

"Of course, how could I forget." L muttered. "Kiyomi-san is narcissistic."

"Can you blame me?"

"Yes, rather easily."

Kiyomi threw a sugar cube at him with a frown, which L quickly dodged.

It was nearing five a.m. by the time Kiyomi left the hotel.

She sighed as she walked across the street. Openly sneering as a drunken businessman nearly walked right into her.

She knew where one Death note was going to be, but not the second. Luckily, she had the phone number of its current owner.

Hopefully Misa won't mind an early morning text.

Kiyomi's well manicured nails tapped away as she sent a text with too many emojis. If Kiyomi is lucky, then Misa might remember her, but Kiyomi wouldn't be surprised if she didn't.

She smirked as she put her phone back in her pocket. In her other pocket was her lighter, sadly it had been ignored for the past couple of weeks.

Maybe it was time to give it some attention again. She felt a bit pent up. With her retrieving Mido tomorrow night, she could use a spark to energize her. Plus, if she's able to meet up with Misa today (which is likely, seeing as Kiyomi snagged the models schedule through a contact at Sakura TV) , god knows she'll need a pick-me-up to handle the ditz.

She twirled the lighter in her pocket and nodded to herself. Picking up her pace, she walked to the same building she always went too.

Spring Snow Artist, kitsunez00, Leoneshia, Avisian , and homelybiscuit: Thank you for keeping up with the story! (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑

Blaise Welshman: is that a gosh dang jojo reference

RimK10: Hey! It's nice seeing your username again! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Alexandra Vupre: Thank you for your review! And yeah, when i was first writing this i felt obligated to add some sorta romance? Now that ive reread the story im almost in awe that I thought I could ship her with anyone (anyways...Kiyomi gives off Big Lesbian Energy) It's ether chapter 17 or 18 that the three are gonna be stuck talking to each other again, and im p sure kiyomi is not gonna be happy abt it lmao. OH AND YEAH BB being the joker to L's batman is :100emoji:

missawsomesauce and iMayBeACatLover: Thanks! And im gonna give it my best shot at least! haha

Nekoburi: Thank you for the corrections and continued reviews! They really kept me motivated to remember to update. I'll get around to editing past chapters eventually (•̀o•́)ง

Reviews feed authors! Please let me know what you think of the story so far!

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