Yes. I did it. I redid this chapter. I also redid a couple of other chapters. It's mainly the earlier chapters for more details and tense corrections. Any others would be the ones I tried, and failed miserably, to write in present tense. I'm hoping on making this story a bit better because, I'll admit, the first couple of chapters suck compared to the later chapters.

Well, I now give you the new chapter one!

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. I do own my OC, who is now (if you can't guess) nameless.

Chapter 1

Kira's reign for the past almost five years had taken its toll on L.A.'s nightlife.

The mafia, as well as several other gangs and mobs, had to go further underground. Clients had been lost and enemies were even harder to find.

Mello had proven himself to be able to find such enemies when he had brought the head of one back when he first joined the mafia. Ross had found Mello to be useful, and over time, Mello made his way so that he was pretty much in control of the whole mafia. He had almost everything he needed to take Kira down.

And nothing was going to stand in his way from his goal of being number one. He was going to stand above everyone. That included Kira, Near, and L. He was going to beat Kira and Near and avenge L.

He was going to gain everything. He wouldn't need anything else.

…

Outside of the mafia's hideout, although she didn't know it was the mafia hideout, was a girl. Well, actually, she was more of a young woman. She was just a bit on the small side.

She was worn and tired. She needed to find someplace to sleep soon. But, all of the motels were booked and she couldn't afford one of the expensive hotels. She was stuck sleeping out in the streets of L.A.

She had been wandering around the back alleys for a while, keeping her guard up in case someone was going to try to mug or rape her. But, she was at her limits for the night. She would just have to find a spot and just hope that she would be left alone.

She looked around her surroundings and found what looked like a warehouse. She had never been here before and the warehouse looked like it was abandoned. Maybe she would have a roof over her head after all.

That was when she saw it. It was over in a corner, not moving but probably observing her. A shinigami. She didn't think that there would be one here. But she shouldn't have to worry about it.

She picked a spot along a wall of the warehouse. She needed to rest and she figured that if she stayed long enough, she would see what it was doing here.

The shinigami did notice her. What she didn't expect was for him to talk out loud.

"Just a human female. Nothing special."

She wasn't sure what he meant by that, at least she was sure it was a he by the sound of the voice. She was also slightly surprised by the last comment. She thought that he would take some interest in her. That was when she remembered that most shinigami didn't take any interest in the human world at all, let alone individual humans.

She did a sweep of the shinigami watching her. Her eyes widened when she realized something. Even if it wasn't for certain circumstances, she would have been safe from him anyway. He didn't have one on him.

There was only one reason she recalled for a shinigami to be in the human world. Someone here had its Death Note.

…

"Hey, boss." Ross and Mello turned their heads to see Jack, the one who traded half of his life span for the eyes. He had his eyes on the monitors when something suddenly came up.

"What is it?" Ross sounded a bit annoyed. Mello just sat on the couch and waited quietly to see what the deal was.

"There's someone just outside the front. I don't think she knows we're here though."

Mello turned his attention to one of the camera feeds on his laptop. He was right. Out front there was a girl walking over to one of the walls and sitting down, leaning back against it.

Mello was pretty sure that she was just a lost person and that she didn't know that there was someone in the seemingly abandoned warehouse. She didn't act like an undercover cop and she looked too young to be one.

That was when Sidoh spoke.

"Just a human female. Nothing special."

So, Sidoh didn't see an ambush forming outside. That just confirmed that she was just lost in the wrong area. But they couldn't afford anyone to find out the mafia was here.

"I have to say, she's starting to creep me out a bit. I swear it looks like she's staring right at me."

That had set off an alarm in Mello's head. He took a closer look at the girl. Sidoh was right. She was looking in his direction. But, they had the notebook. She shouldn't be able to see him. It was probably a coincidence.

"That's probably a coincidence," Ross said, echoing Mello's thoughts.

"She's obviously not a smart one to be wondering around here this late at night. Hey Jack, what's her name?"

It was useful to have someone with the shinigami eyes around. They wouldn't have to deal with aliases when looking for someone and the Death Note made it so that they wouldn't have to reveal themselves when taking someone out.

Mello felt a bit guilty about the fact that she was going to be killed, but they couldn't afford to take the chances. They couldn't let Kira or the Taskforce find them. They couldn't afford any witnesses, especially when some of the guys were supposed to come in through that entrance later.

"….I can't see it."

Everyone looked up at this.

"I can't see her name."

Mello looked down and frowned. Did that mean she just died? She didn't act like that she had a heart attack, so it wouldn't have been Kira's doing. Maybe she was sick? Either way, she just died in the back alleys of L.A. like some dog. Nobody but them knew that she was there. One thing was for sure, he didn't want to die like that. In fact, he had no plans to die in the near future at all.

"So, she just came here to find a place to die, then? Fine by me. It just means that we didn't have to do it ourselves." Ross obviously felt nothing about a random person dying in front of him.

"I don't think she's dead."

Mello looked up, confused and alarmed.

"What do you mean?" What was this about?

"I can still see her life span…."

Mello's eyes widened. Her life span could be seen, but not her name?

How was that possible? Didn't everyone have a name that could be seen? Did this mean that she would be immune to Kira? Was it something that you had to be born with or could it be acquired?

Mello had to know how this was possible. He wanted to ask Sidoh if he couldn't see the name either, but if she was still alive, she might hear him through the speakers and make a run for it.

He had to question her. If immunity from the Death Note was possible, he had to know how so that he could beat Kira without any worries.

"You two," he pointed to two guys by the door, "bring her in so we can interrogate her."

They looked confused.

"What for?"

Mello looked over to them.

"If she's alive and has no name, wouldn't that make her immune to Kira and the Death Note? If such a thing is possible, I need to know how."

Ross nodded.

"So move your lazy asses and bring her in!"

With the command from Ross, they left through the door.

They had reappeared on the monitor, approaching the girl.

Apparently, she was alive because she looked up and got up quickly, as though planning on getting away.

One of the guys pulled out a gun and aimed it at her, making her stop in her tracks. They couldn't hear from the monitors what was going on, but the guy with the gun was motioning her to follow them in.

Something else was said and she removed the backpack she had and kept it in her hand. The other guy snatched it and she began to follow them. It was then that they realized they underestimated her.

Before they walked more than three feet, she grabbed the arm of the guy with the gun and pulled him towards her. He was thrown off balance from the unexpected attack and she slammed her fist right below his ribcage.

While he was stunned, she brought him forward until she was able to hit the back of his head, causing him to black out.

As he fell to the ground, the other guy made to grab his gun, but she was a bit faster than him.

As his hand gripped the gun, she kicked him in the shin and as he hopped on one leg and fell forward, she raised her elbow up and got him in the jugular. As he wheezed, trying to get some air, she grabbed him by the shoulder. She seemed to be looking for a particular spot, and apparently she found the pressure point she was looking for because that guy went down out cold.

She grabbed her backpack and started rummaging through it. She looked up and saw the security cameras. She seemed to be glaring right at Mello.

Before anyone could react, someone off-screen started shouting and shots were fired. The girl ducked and found what she was looking for. She pulled out a gun and aimed it at the shooter.

She fired and as she took off running, gas could be seen entering the camera's line of sight.

She had fired a gas grenade.

Mello sat there shocked for a minute. This girl was not as she appeared. She had weapons on her and she knew how to fight. Was she a cop, then? Was she working for the Taskforce? Who was she?

"Don't just stand there! Go after her! Bring her in!"

A couple of the guys jumped at Ross's command, but complied, nonetheless. She now knew that they were there. They couldn't allow for witnesses.

Mello sat there staring at his laptop.

He couldn't believe that they let themselves get one upped by some girl. It didn't even look like she was older than him. Something felt familiar about that, but he wouldn't let himself go down memory lane. This wasn't the time or the place for that.

Instead, he grabbed another chocolate bar and started to play the waiting game.

….

Mello was starting to get irritated. It had been over a half an hour since they had sent them out to catch the girl.

Mello prayed that they didn't lose track of her. The mere thought pissed him off, mainly because it reminded him of something he didn't want to remember. Besides, his past had nothing to do with anything now.

He had finished yet another chocolate bar as he saw movement on one of the camera feeds on his laptop.

It looked like the men they sent out had returned. At first, he wasn't sure if they caught her. Then he saw one guy walking behind the girl, pinning her arms behind her. She was struggling very hard to get out of his grip. Apparently, the others were worried because there were two other guys flanking the one that held her, making sure she didn't get away.

In the next minute, one of their men came inside and looked towards Ross and Mello.

"We got her."

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