Hi fanfictioners! My first actual story, i was reading stuff on here for so long i just felt like i had to write one.

I do not own Deathnote, or anything related to it.

Chap 1

I woke up to the sound of my alarm buzzing in my ear. I got up and looked around approvingly, about to start my very first day of living here. It was a small apartment, but clean and rather expensive for me too. The best I could afford with my newly acquired job as a game programmer. The only thing really, but the freedom was nice. Freedom at home, that was. As a twenty year old woman in programming, my gender made up about ten percent of all my colleagues. I did not have many friends at work yet. They were all the typical nerds everyone thinks programmers are. iPhone in hand, I walked toward the bathroom while checking the news on the device. I was a major addict when it came to computers, and my iPhone was the next best thing. It seemed so weird and stereotypical for a game programmer like me, but I knew I would panic if it wasn't there on my nightstand every morning.

Waiting for it to recognize my wireless network, I ambled on into the bathroom and picked up my toothbrush, putting it back down as soon as I saw the network sign appear. I clicked on the world news app, the same routine I did every morning. Check the news, check email, and THEN get ready for work. When it loaded, I moved up and down the screen, hungry for any new news. Nothing really caught my eye. There was a serial killing somewhere nearby, but I wasn't that interested in police news. Then I saw it. Something about prisoners dying in Japan. There wasn't much detail added. For a second I stood there, something was on the very edge of my mind…something important that I felt I was about to forget. I stayed still for a while, trying to pry the thought out, but it slipped away. I shrugged and picked up my toothbrush again.

After a quick shower I dressed myself, choosing slacks instead of my usual skirts, and made my way down to my kitchen. I turned the TV on and loaded my Wii, a present from my parents, before going to the kitchen and making myself coffee and toast. After eating and cleaning up the coffee I'd spilled, I walked back to my TV and went on my Wii news, knowing it would give me much more detailed news than my iPhone. I was still a little curious about that news in Japan.

Hmm…criminals in Japanese prisons dying of heart attacks. I stared at the TV, was this an epidemic? A type of disease maybe? One that spread in prisons? Something clicked in me again, a memory in the corner of my mind…something about a notebook…I almost had it! It was right there in my mind but I couldn't remember! Soon, I gave up and checked the time. It was 7:32. If I didn't hurry I was going to miss my bus. I grabbed my purse and rushed over to the shoe closet, pulling out a pair of flats. I was obviously going to be running for my bus today so heels were out of the question, and as comfortable as my tennis shoes were, I couldn't wear them to work.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard Mozart's sonata for two pianos in D playing inside my apartment. My personal phone. I ran back in and picked it up. This one was an Android. I only used my iPhone for work.

"May? Really sorry to bother you cause I know your late now but have you checked the news?"

I sighed, "yeah, there was something about criminals dying on it. Anything you want to know?"

My friend yelped dramatically. I'd known her since I was a high school freshman and she still yelped like a little girl.

"Exactly! What happened to you? You're usually a total sucker for the news! Criminals are dying from heart attacks! Isn't that creepy! That's even creepier than the Bermuda triangle stuff! It's like someone can kill supernaturally! What do you think it is? A type of NLP? That would be so cool!" I could almost feel her excitement leaking through the phone.

"So?" I said, "Yeah its cool but what if it's a plan made by the Japanese government to get rid of criminals? I've never heard of anything that could do this but I'm sure there's someone out there who can whip up a gas that makes people die of heart attacks."

For the next ten minutes I was lectured by her about how heart attacks worked and why something like mustard gas or another bio weapon had a very little chance of producing something so natural. I reminded myself that this was why Lena was my friend. She was loud and obnoxious most of the time but her intelligence was the real thing. That was the though that kept me sane while listening to her speech.

"…but forget about that, this is causing a growing uproar May! A lot of people think there's a real person behind this, or a god of death! Justice itself! There are a whole bunch of people that think this is a passing of judgement on evil. That someone is out there killing these criminals because they don't deserve to live. If this continues it'll be the most exciting thing since World War II!"

I smiled a little, "that's silly Lena, a person who can kill people with heart attacks? It's way too supernatural. And anyway, a god of death would know that killing itself is evil if you want to take it that way. Everyone knows that no form of murder can ever be justice."

I could hear her take up an arguing voice, "No, it can't always work that way. Some people deserve to die you know. This could be the work of a person who thinks the world is too corrupt, which it is! There's too much crime in the world, we would be better of with evil dying. We should cheer this person on and…"

"That's something I'd expect to hear from my grandma, Lena", I interrupted. She could get really heated in a debate, and god knows she always won. It didn't help that I was her opponent most of the time. "Killing is wrong. Period. Nothing more said. No one has the right to take human lives into their hands. That's just how it is."

She sighed, "well I'd love to get into a good debate with you May, but I gotta leave now, and I'm sure you do too. Call me in the evening ok?" Any normal person would feel victorious because she was leaving the argument but as her best friend I knew better. She was dedicated to her job. She worked as a nurse, but she was still studying to become a surgeon. A neurosurgeon to be exact. She was also always urging me to go back to uni and study team management so I could be promoted as a manager and later become a director, but I was happy where I was. I used to be a hardcore type A personality, always wanting to be the best in everything. Lena had mentioned that was why she had become friends with me because of it. That, and we'd both loved the same anime. We excelled in high school and I had saved up money by taking up private hacking jobs. I was really proud of my hacking skills, and they'd paid off really well. I had been a real genius, just like Lena, except even more respected since I looked really smart too while she had looked like the typical airhead before you heard her speak.

I smiled a little, "Alright then, talk to you later", I was about to press the end call.

"Wait a minute, I know you're going to research this news as soon as you get to work so ill give you some news that wasn't broadcasted, this person who's killing, the Japanese people are calling him "Kira". Sounds kinda like the word "killer" doesn't it? I think its very fitting."

For a second my mind went completely blank. That word…Kira. I'd heard of it! I knew it, somewhere! Suddenly it clicked the right way and my mouth was open in shock. That anime that we'd read back in sophomore year! Deathnote! I'd loved it to pieces, and now this was just like it! Criminals dying in Japan…I think I needed to go back to bed.

"Wait, Lena!" I stopped her, "Deathnote! Remember! The anime with Light Yagami and L! This is just like it! Its like Deathnote's come to life!"

"Pardon? Are you alright May? What's a death note? Anyway, I really need to go now. I'm gonna be late, bye!" With that, she ended the call and left me wide-eyed. If it was on the news, it had to be real, Kira was real! Lena and I had been addicted to the series when we were in high school. We had spend recesses sitting under a tree reading the manga together! How could she not know!

I could feel that it wasn't a dream. It didn't have the dreamy feeling to it that dreams always had. I slid my iPhone out of my pocket and entered Safari. I typed in "deathnote" into Google and waited anxiously. When the results finally came up I looked over them impatiently. A website about funeral organizations…a memorial service…an obituary writer…no anime. That was impossible, I had searched up deathnote many times back when I was reading it, for episodes to watch, for the movies, there had been hundreds and hundreds of pages for it! Deathnote was famous! I tried vainly again, searching "deathnote episode 1". Still nothing. I tried "L Lawliet". Nothing again. I noted in amusement though, as a few people came up with the name Lawliet in my search. Then I ran to my bedroom, looking through my still-unpacked boxes of stuff for the bundle of deathnote manga. When I finally found it, I beamed at it in pleasure and took it out, flipping to the very first page. To my horror, the drawing on the page were slowly fading, disappearing, starting from page one. The title page was already fully blank.

I called in sick to my boss, clutching a ball of paper in between my teeth to make myself sound like I had a throat infection. He seemed unpleased that I was already taking a leave on my third week of work but believed my sick-sounding voice and gave me a leave on the condition that I bring a doctors note the next day. Then I locked myself in my bedroom and took out all the books in the series. I had every single one, and I had watched all the movies. The second page of the first book was starting to fade, so I started there and read. I read and read for hours, beating the fading of the pages. I tried to photograph some pages but all the photos came out blank, and when I scanned them my scanner broke down. In desperation, I copied down all the important stuff onto my laptop, on Microsoft Project. The names of the hotels they stayed in, times and dates that things happened, everyone's real names, hints and tips for kira's movements, answers to L's riddles, everything I could before the fading caught up.

I continued to read. The fading got faster as time passed so I had to read quickly. Luckily I had a high reading speed from my love of books, so I didn't bypass me until the end. On the very last page, the final words faded seconds after I read them.

After that I sat in my chair for a while, putting my feet up like L to amuse myself. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew one thing for sure. My curiosity was getting the better of me again. It had always been a ruling factor among my emotions, but now it was way up there. Suddenly I knew I had to do it. I had to go there, and see if everything happened just like it did in the anime. I needed the excitement, the sense of content that I had developed about my life and my job began to disappear. I had to go there.

I sat at my desk with my two laptops set up on either side of me, a piece of paper in front of me, and a pen behind my ear. There were a lot of flaws in my plan. For one, I was a newly graduated university student. I was just starting out, I owned only what I had with me, my laptops, my phones, my TV, and my paychecks were the type that disappeared after a month. I needed money, resources, advice. I had never traveled on a plane before, and I didn't exactly have an international network to ask help of. The people I was going to meet had all of these, and the authority to put me behind bars too. All I had were my computer skills, and my knowledge. That knowledge was worth a million bucks though, I told myself. I knew everything, and I knew how to get on L's good side. I sat back in my chair and wondered what I would do if I did get there. Would I help anyone? No…probably not. I wanted to watch. And maybe pretend to be hunting Kira too. The problem was still there though. The problem of how to get the money for my expenses. I waved the arrow around my laptop screen idly, thinking. I hadn't been in this state of mind since I was in high school…since I had been a genius…since…I sat up straight. That was it. The perfect way…

Casual or professional? I stood at my closet the next morning planning my disguise. It was a Saturday so I didn't need to go to work. I was going somewhere else. A coffee shop to be exact.

At that moment I got a phone call. I picked it up, not recognizing the caller ID, and found out it was my apartment's number. Lena's voice came tumbling through.

"Hi May, let me in OK? I'm downstairs at the apartment's buzzer" I pressed the number on the phone and heard the beep at the other end as the door was opened for her. No harm in letting her tag along, she would support my plans. I finished getting dressed in a t-shirt and light-washed jeans, grabbing my glasses and a baseball cap. My eyesight was good enough, but I liked my glasses, the frames were nice and big and they complemented my face. I put my hair into a high ponytail and wore the cap over it, as typical as possible for me when I wasn't at work.

My doorbell rung multiple times per second as I went over open the door. Lena had a habit of doing that. She loved pressing doorbells, and buttons in general. It gave me a little headache though. I walked over and opened it to be greeted by her in her typical outfit of denim shorts and a t-shirt.

"Going somewhere May? I planned to just hang out around here for the day but if you're going out somewhere ill come too."

I smiled, "yeah, I'm going out. My first contact in about five years I think."

She smiled back knowingly and then let out an excited squeal, "You're hacking again! Does this mean you're saving up to go back to university?"

I shook my head, "no, I need to travel to Japan." She stared at me, "Japan? Why?"

"Do you remember a person named L Lawliet, Lena?"

"Nope, should I?" She questioned. Well…it was worth a try.

"How about Light Yagami?" I asked again, hoping she would remember something.

"Not at all. I don't think you've ever mentioned either of them." She continued to watch me, "Who are they?"

"Lawliet is a…relative of mine. He's sick and I'm going there to visit him. He's in Japan for work at the moment", I made up quickly.

"And your gay friend?" She still stared at me seriously.

"Well he's…wait a minute did you say Light's gay?" I looked at her, perplexed. She giggled, "Ya-ga-Mi", she said, exaggerating every syllable, "im-a-gaY". We both laughed. Trust her to notice it that quickly.

"Well, we should go now. Wanna come?" I knew her answer already. She stuck her tongue out at me, pushed her purse farther up her shoulder, and gestured at me to hurry up.

We met him at Coffeetime at exactly 12:00 noon. The job I was briefed on this time was a lot harder than the others I had done before. My clients were a man and a woman, both dressed formally in contrast to our casual looks. The woman was the vice-president of a research and technology company and the man was a project manager working for her. They wanted me to alter a project that one of their rivals was working on by hacking into the computer of their CEO and changing them so they wouldn't make the two million they had invested into the project. I got five thousand in down payment.

I went home and worked on it for two days. I called in sick that Monday, saying my fever had gotten worse and bribing a doctor to give me a note that I sent to work with a colleague. The guy's security system was amazing, too amazing for a normal CEO. Lena immediately suspected a crime history. She stayed in my apartment all weekend, reading on my couch and passing time by baking brownies while I worked. Occasionally she gave me help. She wasn't as good a hacker as me but she did have some skills. I had always wondered why Lena, being a pacifist, approved of my hacking skills.

I managed to get the job done and receive the rest of the twenty-thousand. After it was delivered, I sat in my apartment, feeling happy for myself. I had a reliable source of money now. As soon as I had put in into different banks (in small deposits at a time of course) so I could access it internationally, I was going to be off.

The next day I quit my job. It wasn't needed anymore, I didn't need to worry about money. I booked a nighttime flight and left the care of my apartment and most of my stuff to Lena. I had to travel light so I just took my laptops, phones, and clothes. I was brimming with excitement. I was going to meet the best anime characters ever created, L and Light. When I got there I immediately booked into Tokyo Hotel. I didn't expect it to be so expensive! I could afford it of course, but still…

Japan was full of information about Kira. Everyone was talking about him. There were Kira supporters everywhere. I found myself disapproving of them, even though I had decided not to take a side. I stayed in the hotel for a few days under the name Mayra Amara. Mayra was my real first name, where the nickname May had come from. I was given that name by my Indian great-aunt, because of the little bit of Indian blood in me. I supposed that's where the silky black hair I was so proud of had come from. Amara was the last name of my Vietnamese cousin. Easy to remember. I sat in my hotel room and watched as L faced of with Kira on TV and dared Kira to kill him. I liked that, it's like he was showing the world that he wasn't the coward who hid his face like the world seemed to think, but an intelligent person. I took out my laptop and opened it to show the things I'd copied down. This was about the time L would take the To Oh exams and reveal himself to Light. I couldn't approach him before that, if I did, I wouldn't be able to explain why I knew he was L. I needed to be there when he revealed his identity.

I had come up with a plan already. I was going to take the To Oh university entrance exam.

On the day of the exam, I dressed up as immaculately as possible. I had already registered my name as a foreign exchange student. I pondered about the attitude I should take, and then came up with careless and sarcastic. I wanted to make L curious about me. Curious enough to get me involved. I wore a relatively tight dress shirt and dress pants with a delicate grey baby doll coat and grey flats with bows on them. I took a large tote bag-sized purse with me where I kept one of my laptops along with everything else I needed, and did my hair up in a slightly loose French twist.

I had to take the metro to the university. Worst. Experience. Ever. I found myself wishing desperately for a car. Or at least a bicycle. Maybe I'd buy one later. When I got there, I showed them my registration sheets and they told me I was number 76. When I got to the exam room I immediately searched for a messy black head and a neat brown one.

The one I saw first was L.

That's the moment realization hit me, and it hit me hard. I stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. I didn't show it though. On the outside I was merely peering around the room. L was real. Kira was real. SHINIGAMI WERE REAL. I slowly walked to the front and took a seat a little farther off from him. I was still a little shocked when the test papers were given to me. I surveyed the entire test first. I needed a good score if I wanted to get L's attention. Both he and Light would be getting one hundred percents. I needed a perfect here too. The brief thought came up that I would be considered for the commencement speech, but I pushed it away. I just needed to get a hundred percent.

When there was about ten minutes left, I was sure I had all the answers except one. I considered making an educated guess and crossing my fingers but decided that was out of the question. I had to be sure I would score a perfect. It wasn't essentially a hard question, being multiple choice, but it was something that I'd just never learned. It was also the very last question. When I looked up I noticed the two students in front of me. They were in very similar positions, with their heads propped up on their hands and leaning forward. One was writing with his left hand and the other was writing with his right hand, their writing hands were close to each other. Suddenly the one on the right began tapping his pencil very quietly, as if deep in thought. The other guy colored an answer in. I smiled, this was going to be interesting. I listened carefully for the next tapping. The guy on the left tapped his pencil a few times.

7…0 I smirked as I realized he was asking for the answer to question 70. They were on the second last question. The other guy started tapping now. One single light tap, and then a harder tap. The lighter one was probably to specify a letter. The one harder tap meant "a". the multiple choice answer was "a". Then they arrived at the very last question. The on I was stuck on. I leaned forward a little. The one on the right tapped the number 71, the last question. The one on the left then tapped "d". I started to shade it in hesitantly. The one on the left began tapping again: "u…s…u…r…e". He probably meant to say 'are you sure'. The other guy then tapped a longer sequence and I concentrated on counting: l…r…n…t…y...t…d. Lrnt ytd. I translated roughly into 'learnt yesterday". He seemed pretty sure, and I smiled and shaded it in a little more confidently.

Right then the time was up and the examiners started collecting papers. I handed mine in happily and headed home, waiting for the results.