Lily sat in the backseat of the Rolls Royce limousine fiddling with the hem of her plain black dress. Her eyes strayed to L who sat beside her reading something on the screen of his laptop. She assumed he was going over his final notes to submit to the Chief of Detectives on the Kira case.

They were on their way to funeral home for Light's wake. For reasons L could not understand therefore she did not try to explain, attending this mourning ritual for Light was important to her. She needed to say good-bye, to bid her final farewell. She wanted to let him go without holding on to any of the good memories. Although it would take time, she would make peace with the bad ones.

"We're here," L announced when the car pulled to a stop at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the funeral home.

Lily smoothed down her dress before taking Watari's hand for him to assist her out of the back seat. Taking a deep breath, she stared up the tall flight of cement stairs built into the side of the gradually sloping hill. She straightened her shoulders, held her head high, and started up the steps as if her legs were not as wobbly as gelatin.

At the top, a lengthy sidewalk led to the glass double door entrance of the building. She could see many people inside through the wall of windows on either side of the doors. Some people stood in small groups talking while others walked and back and forth in the entrance way.

Once inside, she saw a hallway extending in each direction. Small black signs with gold lettering on them sat outside each set of open doors along the wall. To her right she saw a directory in the foyer. There were a disturbing number of dead people listed. At last she found Light's name on the lengthy list.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" L asked her, touching her elbow to lead her down the right corridor.

"Yes," she exhaled, releasing her deep breath. "To be honest, I'm doing this for myself. I need this to grieve properly, to let him go and get him out of my head."

"I don't understand."

"I know. I just need you to be here for me."

"I can do that," he promised.

Lily stopped outside the doors beside the sign bearing Light's name. She turned to L, giving him an apologetic smile. If she were not so nervous, so distracted, she would have laughed when he cocked his head like a confused puppy.

"However, I think you should wait out here. It would be highly inappropriate for you to come in," she told him. Only slightly more inappropriate than her being here.

"I don't understand," he repeated, but dropped his arm from hers.

"Please, trust me," she implored him. "Wait for me."

Lily took her place in the line of people waiting at the altar bearing Light's framed picture and a plethora of white roses and fragrant white jasmine flowers. There were an inordinate number of young women in the long line waiting to pay their respects. Some were holding bouquets of red flowers to place on the altar to express their adoration for Light.

Lily wondered how many of the women were ex girlfriends. Some had probably been mere hopefuls while others were only unknown fans who admired him from afar. Possibly a stalker or two lurked in the crowd. Whatever they were, none of them knew what kind of hideous beast had been hidden under that beautiful exterior.

Lily involuntarily shivered in response to the frigid tingle that ran up her spine. She had loved him once too. At least they would remain blissfully unaware like the rest of the world that Light Yagami was the infamous mass murderer who terrorized the world.

L had concocted a story and fed it to the press and other police agencies to cover up Light's identity as Kira. The official documents detailed a story of how Light had died in the line of duty so to speak while trying to apprehend Kira whose 'real' name and face would remain unknown because the killer had supposedly died in a fire. L had even set fire to an abandoned warehouse to add further credibility and evidence, no matter how fabricated, to the case.

Allowing Light Yagami to die a hero was mostly to protect his family, especially Soichiro Yagami. The only policemen who knew the true identity of Kira were the members of the Kira Task Force. Misa had been committed to an asylum and heavily sedated, kept in a special wing all by herself. According to all news agencies, she was on extended holiday, tucked away in a secluded chateau in the south of France.

Large funeral arrangements sent from law enforcement agencies from around the world lined the wall in two rows behind the Yagami family. The grieving family members politely greeted each guest who mumbled their condolences. Soichiro Yagami looked withered and world weary. His dark eyes were as cold and hard as marbles. His hair appeared to have gone nearly completely gray over the last few weeks.

His wife, Sachiko, leaned heavily against him, occasionally dabbing her eyes with the white handkerchief in her hand. Her chocolate brown hair pulled into a bun did not contain a single gray strand. Although her brown eyes were sad, they still appeared to be warm and kind. Lily remembered when Light's eyes had looked like that.

Sayu, his sister, stood beside her mother. Her features resembled Light's but her hair and eyes were slightly darker, almost black, like her father's. Shell shocked, not sure what to think or feel, she remained emotionless, staring blindly ahead of her with vacant, tearless eyes. She never spoke a word to any guest, only nodded and bowed in a robotic manner.

Lily found herself in front of the altar at last. She gazed at Light's picture, resisting the urge to reach out to touch his face in the photograph. He was smiling, those sweet brown eyes so full of innocence and tenderness. Her throat constricted to contain the sorrow and anger swirling inside of her, bringing tears to eyes and an old familiar ache to her heart.

She knelt at the altar, lighting one of the incense sticks before stabbing it into the tray of sand holding dozens of other sticks. Thin wisps of white smoke twirled into the air to disappear. Despite her reluctance to believe in any god anymore, she sent up a small prayer to whoever might be listening.

Getting to her feet, Lily went to the family. Standing in front of Soichiro Yagami, her brain failed immediately when his dead eyes met hers and erupted into searing flames of hatred. Not only did the words flee from her mind, her ability to speak deserted her as well. As if sensing her discomfort and the animosity in her husband's glare, Sachiko took her hand.

"Thank you for coming today, dear. You were a friend of Light's?" she asked, holding Lily's hand.

Lily swallowed, trying to find her voice. Her name had been Sachiko too. She was supposed to have dinner with his family, to meet his parents, to meet the woman who shared her name. But instead her whole life descended into hell the night before that could happen. Light could have stopped it - could of stopped her uncle - but he did not. He was too damn concerned about getting caught to save her so she had been forced to save herself.

"We were friends in high school," she answered. There was no need to try explain her true affiliation with the woman's son. "I wish I had other words to say, but I am so- "

Before she could finish the word they had heard hundreds of times already, Sochiro Yagami slapped her forcefully across the face. Lily stumbled backwards, pressing her hand to her injured cheek that burned as if boiling hot oil had been thrown in her face.

"Soichiro!" Sachiko shrieked in astonishment. She grabbed her husband's arm, tugging on him imploringly when he stepped forward, hand drawn back, ready to slap Lily again. "What's wrong with you?"

"You should not have come here," he snarled at Lily, spittle flying from between his gritted teeth.

Lily felt a pair of strong hands grasping her upper arms. Her head whipped to the side, and she saw Detective Shuichi Aizawa standing behind her.

"You should leave," he suggested, firmly but kindly, turning her toward the door. He placed his body between her and his irate boss.

As Lily fled to the door, her hand covering her stinging cheek, she heard Soichiro Yagami break down into howling sobs. Her steps quickened when she exited the room. Ignoring a startled L who called out to her when she ran past him, she hurried away.

"Lily, stop," L ordered her.

Lily did not stop until they were out of the building and away from the people. She closed her eyes when L's strong, thin fingers enclosed her wrist to pull her back into his arms.

"Please, don't say anything. I know I shouldn't have come. I don't blame him for reacting that way. I suppose I deserve it actually," she said, turning to press her face into L's soft white t-shirt.

"I just received a call," he said, changing the subject entirely. "I'm needed on another case. I have to go to the United States. New Orleans, Louisiana. I'm afraid a part of my past might be coming back to haunt me."

"I know a lot about that," she murmured, putting her arms around his waist.

"I have to leave tonight," he informed her.

Lily's heart dropped into her belly like a rock with a painful thud. Over the last month they had not had time to think about the future because the present required too much of their time and attention. L had been too busy tying up the dozens of frayed ends created by the Kira case. She had been occupied reconciling her involvement in the Kira case, in addition to dealing with the bakery and what was left of the life and possessions of the man named Itachi Okada.

Lily had no idea if their future would be together or separate because their plans for each other had not been discussed. She had not even come up with a plan for herself, having to start over once again after being forced to close yet another chapter of her life. Obviously, L would continue to be a preeminent detective with a next case waiting to be solved. But what about her?

Lily hugged L tightly, pressing her face into his chest. She did not want to let him go. She did not want to be without him, but she did not know if she belonged in his life.

"Come with me," he whispered in her ear.

"What? I can't," she scoffed, backing up to see his face. His eyes moved back and forth between hers as if searching for the reason.

"Well, why not?" he asked incredulously. "You have no friends, no family. You cut ties with the bakery because you did not want to draw any unnecessary attention to the Tanakas or your friends there. You've sold Okada's house and all of his possessions. Why stay here? Come with me."

As usual, everything he said had been completely valid, voiding her argument in only a few words.

"And do what? Be your assistant? Your personal baker? Your lover?" she snorted derisively.

"You were already all of those things. Weren't you?" he inquired in the open and innocent manner usually reserved for children and not found in grown men. But he was definitely not the typical man lest she forget. "Who knows what else you can be. You can discover that for yourself...with me."

"All right then. I'll go with you, and be - " She was not sure what to say next, how to classify herself.

L pulled her back into his arms, kissing her lips gently.

"Just be mine. You'll figure the rest as we go along."

I felt the story needed a more conclusive ending yet I've left it open to write a sequel...just in case. :)