Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OCs and imagination. I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it for you. Please remember to R&R! Enjoy!

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Chapter 4: Moonlight

He had always watched her. From the moment she stepped into his room, he had been fascinated by her. Her small, slow, fluid steps were so adorable yet mysterious. Everything about her was a mystery - one which he bowed he would solve. If only she would let him…

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Her little white hands grasped her white teddy bear tightly as she hid in the furthest corner in the closet. She stared at the door in front of her, no emotion present on her face. The only sign of fear she gave off was the clutching of her stuffed animal as if clinging onto it would bring her family back and save her from the horrible man invading her home.

The sound of footsteps alerted her that someone was near. Still, not even when she heard a loud thump and more footsteps trespassing in her home did she close her eyes and huddle in fear. She stared in wonder at the white door in front of her--the only thing separating her from her death. Her head began to spin as memories of her family clouded her mind. Regardless of how awful her mother and father were to her, she never wished them dead. She was only four years old and didn't know about such things as love and hate nor death.

The door abruptly opened and she looked up, ready to die like her mother and father had. But instead of staring into the cold green eyes of her murderer, she found herself looking at a gentle elderly man who smiled kindly at her.

"Come here little one. You're safe now. The bad man is gone," he said in the gentlest of voices that she immediately believed him. She withdrew one hand from her teddy bear and grabbed the hand he offered her.

Together they left to Wammy's House where her new home would reside. She forgot the incident almost as if it had never happened. When asked what her name was, she just stared blankly at the owner of the orphanage. Many began to doubt she was capable of talking and instantly labeled her a mute. The caring old man just smiled and quickly handed her a new pair of pajamas so she could change out of her torn, bloodied ones.

"Little one, I would like to introduce you to someone. He was the one who lead us to your home and to your rescue. This is L." That was the first time she laid eyes on L, the world's greatest detective--well one of many that is.

L didn't look up at her as she entered but continued to pile up his little sugar cubes into a variety of towers. The pale little girl watched the thirteen year old boy with great curiosity. She observed how he carelessly stacked the sugar cubes yet managed to keep them standing long enough to create his cute masterpieces. L finally looked up when he heard no reply from the little girl. He saw her watching his every movement carefully. He picked up a sugar cube and offered it to her, noticing how interested she seemed to be with his creations.

She blinked in confusion. She looked up at his face and for the first time in that day her face reflected fear. L resisted the surprising urge to wince. He was not one to show his emotions but he was still young and new to the title of L. He was only human and could feel emotions like everyone else. He was just better at masking them. In time, he would learn to ignore them completely without any effort. But for now, this little girl before him was puzzling him. It was logical she would be afraid and silent but her eyes… They were so…beautiful, despite the fear present in them.

He stretched his hand a bit further to her, encouraging her to take the sugar cube. Why he did that instead of taking back his precious treat, he didn't know but it annoyed him greatly. She looked down at the sugar in his hand before glancing up to him to make sure it was alright. Not seeing any objections, she slowly reached out and grabbed the cube. Almost instantly, they both withdrew their hands from each other and looked away, the sugar cube now on the floor, long forgotten.

She looked down at her hand, a slight blush crawling on her cheeks, the first of many to come. How did a brief touch of skin affect her this greatly? L, with the same thoughts in mind, risked a glance at the little girl in the room. He suddenly felt his cheeks burn. He looked away and returned to his sugar.

"Please escort her to her new room, Watari-san," Watari nodded, a bit surprised by their reactions but he smiled nonetheless. These two would make an interesting pair.

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She sense his presence before he even appeared. It sent a shiver down her form but she remained still, not uttering a word just yet. They watched with mournful eyes the death of Kira and the rise of L's successors. She couldn't help but feel a sick sense of happiness upon witnessing Kira's demise. This was the man who killed the one she loved and the man who threatened all which she had grown up to protect. She also knew, L shared similar feelings although he mourned the loss of a friend.

As if reading her mind, he turned to her, his eyes slowly drifting from Kira's corpse to Shadow's ghostly figure. She looked up at him too, her eyes shaking slightly with wonder. Her heart gave a tug as she took in his form. He looked just like the last time she had seen him.

"You came…" She felt a lump rise up in her throat and he eyes moisten slightly as L's voice drifted between them. He smiled softly at her, his voice still as gentle as she had remembered it to be. She nodded, not trusting her voice to convey her true feelings.

He took a few steps towards her, his hunched form still so much taller than hers. Slowly, his hand reached out to touch her again and she let him. He withdrew his hand slightly after a brief grace of skin but then smiled more before letting his hand disappear into her long, dark locks.

She leaned into his touch and grabbed onto his hand, not wanting to lose him once more. He smiled slightly at this before resting his forehead against hers.

"I'm not leaving…not this time…not when we now have forever." She let a soft, short laugh escape her before she let the tears finally fall. She was happy. She was loved.

He softly wiped away her tear with his thumb, overwhelmed with happiness now that he finally had her. After all these years of watching her….watching her watch him, he finally had her in his arms.

He pulled away and gently grabbed her hand. She entwined her fingers with his before following him into the moonlight. She picked up her pace slightly to whisper something into his ear. He stopped and looked down at her, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Is that….your..?" he didn't finish asking the question, not wanting to get his hopes up. Shadow, however, just smiled.

"Hai…my name….my real name," she replied, her voice once again held that cute, soft ring to it. He smiled brightly before tugging her hand slightly towards the light. Where they were going, she no longer had to worry about hiding and watching. She had no reason to be Shadow anymore nor did she have a reason for being a stranger to others - a stranger caught in the middle of a crowd of brilliant minds striving to become like L.

She looked up as L called out her name - her real name - and smiled before looking around her. This was their paradise now - their moonlight.

The End.

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After so long, I have finally found the time to update this. I'm so sorry if it's awful. I had to write segments of this chapter in an extended period of time. It probably doesn't flow but I owe you something for leaving this story unfinished for months now. Anyways, I certainly love how this story turned out even if it was completely different from what I had begun with.

I'm probably going to get yelled at for not adding any more romance into this but I feel that this version of Shadow-chan isn't the type of person to be all romantic and clingy after having her feelings for someone be reciprocated. As for L, he's not one to love so I picture him being content with just having someone by their side.

I had planned on adding a scene that explain Shadow's infatuation with L. I wanted to show her spy-like abilities develop as she settled in at Wammy's and observed how the other children were like. I wanted to develop her character as the watchful, silent yet brilliant mind caught up in her own world but, because of my delays, that scene didn't seem to find a way to fit in on this chapter. This much is certain: Expect an editing of this chapter during the summer, lol.

Anyways, my final words to you are: I hope you enjoyed this reading and please remember to R&R! Thanks so much and stick around for my original creating of Shadow in my next Death Note fanfic coming this summer: Shadow. Ja ne!!!