I just found the rest of this story buried in my documents. Reads previous chapters *facepalm*.

Well, if anyone's curious how this story originally was meant to play out, I can probably squeeze out another few chapters out of what was written but left unpublished from this story.

To those of you faithfully reading and who stuck with Juri for so long, hopefully this can grant you some sort of closure.

Previously:

"Well, be positive," Akamine responded forcefully, putting a loose fist on his chest to make sure he was listening. L blinked at her- Juri ignored him. Her mahogany hair poured like hot tea down her shoulders. "Let me help you," she said. "I want to find the person who killed my brother."

"...and so, she'll be assisting in our investigation."

"Nice to meet you, Akamine-san!" Matsuda said enthusiastically, shaking her hand. He had bright, happy eyes, and the light-hearted feel of someone who wasn't on a search-to-the-death for a mass murderer. "I'm Matsuda Touta, and I used to be an officer for the NPA!"

"Nice to meet you, Matsuda-san," Juri smiled kindly, gently loosening her hand from his grasp. "It's nice to meet all of you. I hope we will work happily..." she glanced at L, who stared at her from his chair, like, what is that supposed to mean? "...productively together," Juri corrected herself.

Unfortunately, Matsuda's enthusiasm hadn't spread so eagerly to the other members. There were three other men present besides him, excluding her and Ryuzaki. The two Yagami men were nowhere to be found.

Juri, for a first, felt rather uncomfortable in front of people.

The three were frowning, middle-aged men, in formal suits and ties. If she had to guess, they were part of the NPA, working with L now, since the police force had given up on the Kira case.

Righteous men, she decided. Working off the books.

Akamine respected them more than she could say out loud. If Senri hadn't been killed, she probably wouldn't have come here. They were dedicated to protect society as well as their own families and didn't need any other reason besides that. It made Juri question if she could ever have such integrity.

So of course they'd stare at her with distrust; she hadn't proved herself yet. Akamine quickly stopped her fingers, which had taken to tapping repetitively on her dark jeans again. For all they knew, she could be a criminal, or a confidante, or even...Kira. Or a special girl with the natural affinity to be kind, which wasn't actually that natural, because Juri could hardly hold that girl up by the end of the day. There was just Akamine Juri. As to what 'Akamine Juri' meant, she needed to find for herself.

"I hope to gain your trust and confidence as a coworker and acquaintance," Akamine bowed, surprising them all. Her hair spilled gently over her shoulders as she bent her head. "I will try my hardest to contribute on behalf of my brother, who was killed by Kira when he twelve."

The one with a small afro nodded grimly. "We hope so too," he told her. He clasped her hand. "Shuichi Aizawa."

"...Hideki Ide."

"Kanzo Mogi."

Juri suddenly understood why they had been so reluctant at first; she'd said things like nice to meet you like this was a walk in the park or a game. Akamine was only a student, but things unfolded themselves in front of her eyes, and right now, they showed her a map of the perfect way to make them trust her. Charm and wit paved an easy way to success for them...it did for everyone.

Juri didn't hesitate ripping it to shreds to be carried away by the winds in her mind of a moving train. She would earn their trust, like the others already had to, like people with integrity.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Akamine blinked, automatically reaching for her pocket, then remembered L had made her leave her phone downstairs.

"L, here," Ryuzaki said, speaking into the device dangling from his fingers. "Of course...Yagami-kun." Ryuzaki flipped it closed, dropping it back in his pocket, before pointing a small remote at one of the monitors in the panel in front of him.

"What is it?" Aizawa asked, fists clenched. "What did Light want?"

L ignored him, continuing to flip channels before reaching a news station and spreading the picture so it displayed on every one of the many screens in front of them. Juri was wondering why Aizawa and Mogi looked so dark at the mention of Light, but she couldn't ponder, because then, the monitors flashed from black to static to the color of a news station:

"Breaking news," the anchor said, finger posed on the earpiece dangling out of his ear. "It appears that a series of recent terrorist attacks have been miraculously stopped. A recent tape from the government surfaced about a month ago of bomb threats around Japan's nuclear power plant, though the NPA has profusely argued up until now that the video was a fake. However, only two hours ago, news reporters have flocked Japan's nuclear power station to witness the hauling away of a defused bomb and the body of four suspects—"

Click.

"—and what's more, the impact of such an explosion would be highly detrimental," a stern-looking woman in a lab coat responded. "Northern Japan would be completely destroyed, and the radiation effects would be even more so devastating. The police and specialists have named the situation 'stable' for now, though civilians continue to question what exactly 'stable' means anymore in the eyes of authority after this recent outbreak—"

"—the strangest thing—I was in for a weekly check-in to make sure everything's stabilized. I heard noises, you know, weird crashes and stuff..." This time is was a grungy man in a protective suit and hood, his face in pixels to mask his identity. "—I take a look into the vents and there's this guy in there with a big wired-up thing around his chest, and his buddies or whoever around him, all choking and clutching their chests. My dad had a heart attack when he was sixty, so I was going to, you know, help him and all, but the thing on him looked like one of the bombs you see on TV, with a big button as a fuse. It was just in time too—that heart attack, I mean—"

Click.

"—it has just been acknowledged that the government has kept the severity of the terror situation under the public's eye for several months," the anchorwoman recited, squinting against the sheets of rain blowing around her. The glowing nuclear facility was visible behind her in the blurry night. "Videos and threats from this reportedly independent group have recently surfaced from the NPA archives, unbeknownst to the public. In light of these recent drastic events, the public is questioning just exactly how well we are being protected by our authority—"

Click.

"—the group of dissidents promptly marched into the police, disclosed the location of their hideout, and committed group suicide by slashing themselves with desk scissors. Only one was missing from the group; the other terrorists' actions were luckily stopped before detonation by a sudden, seemingly-freak group heart-attack—"

Click.

"—many have been wondering about the credibility of the other news sites," a large man crooned into the microphone, "but yes, it's true; Kira killed the terrorists. We here at Sakura TV support the actions of the divine being Kira. Kira's Kingdom is growing. All hail Kira!"

It went to a colorful commercial about almond milk, and L forcefully pressed on the up scroll button. Channels flashed by in blues and blacks, illuminating Ryuzaki's wide-eyed face into an expression of stunned silence so desperate Juri couldn't help but snatch the remote out of his hand and press the off button.

The monitors all blinked off, black screens still echoing, All hail Kira!

"This is bad," Ide was first to say. His hand trembled where it pressed into his leg. "The NPA had the media stop any more leaks on Kira cases because they only spread panic and mayhem...but this..."

"Damn it!" Aizawa suddenly slammed his fist against the wall, startling everyone except for L, who still stared silently at the blank monitors. "Blasted TV stations can't keep their mouths shut. Kira's actions are gaining him supporters—stopping a terror strike! The suspects weren't even leaked to the public!"

"...How Kira gained those names and faces is obvious," L finally said, his thumb thoughtfully touching his mouth. "The only place that information can be found is in NPA documents."

"So you think Kira's a member of the NPA?" Matsuda asked incredulously. "I wonder who it is! Fifty bucks it's—"

"Matsuda-san," Mogi reprimanded sternly. "This isn't a game."

"O-of course not, Mogi-san, but at least we're all not...blown to bits, right?"

"Might as well be," Aizawa said through gritted teeth. "At least the rest of the world would be safe from Kira's influence. He's becoming someone the public is supporting. And Kira's definitely going to use this in his campaign, not to mention the media blowing it up and TV stations like Sakura TV..."

"He's got the world in check," Juri realized, stunned. "This could be the last day for neutrality; after this fiasco, everything's going to change."

They turned to frown at her—they weren't disapproving frowns however, but contemplative ones.

"How so, Akamine-san?" Matsuda inquired, wide-eyed. "What do you mean 'in check'?"

Juri crossed her arms uncomfortably, her fingers drumming on her green sweater. "Kira's obviously going to rally a lot of support now," she said, "not to mention as Aizawa-sama pointed out, the press and media is going full-out. So the Kira advocates are going to grow, and those who oppose him that are sane will have no option but to play it safe for fear of riot. On the off chance that we do find Kira, we won't be able to...capture..."

–she sent a stern eye at L, who had noticeably taken to staring at the blank monitors again—

"...him anyway. He'll be nothing short of an icon for change; his supporters will have a new reason to go against authority and law, there'll be complete chaos." Juri's blue eyes were stern as her fingers tapped in accelerando on her rib bones. "Kira will be nothing short of a martyr whether dead or alive—"

"—and he'll have us all in check," Light finished for her grimly, walking in through the doors with his father. "In other words, we're running out of time to catch Kira. And hello, Akamine-chan," Yagami softened.

She stiffened, but manually lifted her mouth into a smile.

"—Light-kun's right. We're running out of time," L cut in, staring as Yagami slid an arm easily around Juri's waist.

Juri couldn't help but shiver. Was it possible that L was right in saying Yagami Light was Kira? Was a murderer touching her with blood-stained hands? Had she let a killer kiss her face and hold her hand?

"We watched the news feed as we drove over," Yagami Soichiro said through his mustache. As he passed her, he gave Juri a short nod, whether acknowledging her attendance or her relationship with his son, she didn't know. "The police lines are busy with frantic and excited callers. I couldn't get hold of any old contacts in the force. Light figured out that someone hacked the NPA system and deleted the files on the suspected terrorists before we could find any trace."

"...So you hacked the NPA system yourself?" Akamine whispered into his shoulder.

"The only way to find someone is to think as they do," Light whispered back. "...And your hair is beautiful down today."

She felt strange; they'd talked like this before, and then he'd kiss her or brush the hair out of her face. L stared at her intently. Suddenly, she didn't fancy the feeling of Light's breath so close to her neck.

Juri cleared her throat and slipped away from his touch to stand by Mogi behind L.

"What can we do?" she said weakly.

Ryuzaki gave her a long look before swiveling back around. He picked up the remote with two fingers and pressed a button with the other. A news channel filled the screens, and Ryuzaki's eyes flickered as the two anchors presented statement after statement about the miraculous mysterious heart-attack and the lives of millions saved.

And in that moment when all attention was on the screens, Juri was watching as L flicked a sidelong glance at Light, who stared back with sharp eyes that shocked her: drowning in malice.

"We do what we have to and always do," L finally said, thumb finding its way up to his lips. He stared dark eyes at Light's frowning face.

"We wait."

It was still raining after the others went home.

L had told them to go early and spend time with their families; there wasn't anything they could do tonight anyway. Light offered Akamine a ride back to the dorms, but she had declined. It was Saturday tomorrow, anyway, and after L explained the notebook to her, it felt too soon to go back into her normal life.

So Juri had stayed with L, sitting in the dark room with buzzing monitors.

"That's frightening," Juri whispered to L.

"Which is why we have to stop Kira," he stated. "And today's only made things worse. Akamine-chan's reasoning was very good. If we move now, Kira will become a martyr, and even more, he will definitely forfeit the notebook onto a successor in the worst-case scenario."

After a pause, he said, "We can stop Kira now. We can save many lives and put an end to the case...but that is not how I will do things."

"You don't have any evidence," she supplied, experimentally placing her thumb to her teeth like L. He looks at her and she removes it quickly. "No one will believe you."

Rain still splattered outside. The room they were in didn't have any windows, but Akamine liked to think the thrum of the computers was like drops hitting pavement, and the blinking lights on the monitors were seams of dull lightening.

For some reason, they sat in the dark. L had pressed the switch and she hadn't objected, because things like secrets should be shared in the dark. She was curled up against the couch, as Ryuzaki perched on the coffee table across from her. And for the first time, she liked the way the dark melded the shadows of their faces, and the dead silence was continuously shattered by their living breaths, and the way the sparse light reflected off L's eyes and pale skin.

And like the rain in the night, she had the urge to melt into the ground and sleep.

A thought much too dark for the lively girl she was known as, but that was another thing Akamine liked about the lights off: no one could see when she took off the mask sewn by her own shaky hand into her skin.

"Yes, that is correct. Without the necessary evidence, every plan could backfire," L continued solemnly.

"I want to help you," Juri responded dully. "But how do I know my family will be safe?"

Ryuzaki could tell something was different about her now. She had soon stopped trying to keep her words light. But even though Juri was showing her true self, that didn't mean her love for people stopped. She wasn't selfless to the point of recklessness, but L could still imagine her strong eyes glittering through the dark.

Because the first thing she asked about was her family.

"You can't know," L deadpanned. "Kira could kill your family, your friends, and your coworkers."

If she wanted to stay, he wouldn't oppose. If she wanted to leave, so be it. There wasn't any sugar-coating coming from his mouth either way, even though all he ate was sweets anyway. Perhaps he would be sad. Perhaps.

"I guess that's a decision I have to make then," Juri said quietly.

He heard her shift on the sofa. In his mind's eye, L could see her fold her legs under her.

"You'd have to sacrifice everything," he warned her one last time. "You could lose everything."

"Not everything," came her quick reply. A pause. "As long as I have something, I have everything to look forward to."

"After this is another case for me. There's nothing past this life for me," L echoed. "This is the only thing I can do."

"You can do anything you wish, L. There's never a time as 'too late' or 'too hard', especially for a genius like you." He could hear the smile in her voice. "Meanwhile, I, on the other hand, have to catch Kira, even if I die. I have unfinished business."

"...Your brother?"

"...Something like that."

"What does that mean?"

There was a period of silence in which L thought of exactly twelve different things he said wrong that could be considered offensive.

"Akamine-chan?"

"Mm?"

"Have I offended you?"

"Of course not. You're conversational skills are amazing," she said in a dry voice. "But no. You didn't offend me. I was just thinking about Senri."

"I wish I had a brother. But then he could be killed by Kira. I think I'd be quite upset at that."

"...I know I was."

"How upset?"

"Let's just say I would rather...die than live through that again."

"But, 'as long as you have something, you have everything to look forward to'."

"Not for people who do bad things," Juri said sadly.

"I've done bad things."

"But L tries to atone for them by helping others," she pointed out.

"...I've done bad things," L repeated. "I've killed and failed and died inside."

"I've died inside twice: when Senri died and just now."

"I've died three times."

"Okay, you win."

There was a long silence.

Juri thought about why she couldn't tell him the truth, and L thought about Akamine's optimistic philosophy. He had always moved forward: it was what made him distant. It was very unlike Juri, who lived in her sadness: it was what made her kind.

If only he knew. She tapped her fingers against the couch. Juri couldn't tell him: not yet. Maybe not ever. But feeling like she owed him at least something, Akamine did what she did best: make other people happy. Suddenly, to his upmost surprise, L felt a pair of arms touch his sleeve and reach up to wrap around his neck. He blinked in the dark. People didn't touch him. L wasn't someone who gave off the vibe of a touchy-feely type of person. Even Wammy—the closest to a father-figure Ryuzaki had—would never do anything more than give him an affectionate pat on the head when he was young. It was a weird feeling, really, to not remember the last time someone gave him a hug. It was weird...and...if not anything else...warm.

On the opposite end, Juri had filled that desire to touch L. No, she wasn't a creep—touch and grope are different things, pervert—but ever since Akamine met him, he'd sent off a very distinct aura of inwardness. But everyone needed someone else to be their friend, Akamine reasoned. So she had reached out to touch a cotton sleeve. And then before even she could realize what was happening, was feeling the warmth of his neck on her arms and his breathing in her hair.

"I will help you and everyone else on this team to capture Kira," she vowed quietly. "And I want to be your friend."

"Is this what it feels like to be happy?" L asked loudly in the dark.

I wouldn't know, she thought, screwing her eyes shut tight. All I can do is make other people happy. I've done a terrible thing, L, if only you knew.

That was something else she loved about the dark: no one could see if she cried.

I planned something very tragic and complicated for Juri's backstory...should try to remember what exactly what it was...

Anyway, thanks for reading :) Leave a review!