Death Note 1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Death Note nor any of its characters.**

**L's POV**

What was happening to me? This was not supposed to occur. The probability of my death was supposed to be only 37 percent. Kira had gotten me somehow. He had won.

I clutched my chest where my aching heart struggled to continue beating. I couldn't breathe, no matter how hard I tried gasping for air. The monitors all continued to show the evidence I was looking through. I could hear the muffled shouts of the police force, but I could not for the life of me make out what they were saying. I would have laughed if the pain hadn't been absolutely excruciating. My body had started to give out. I was falling…

Then I wasn't.

The pain in my chest continued, only it wasn't pulsing like before, just constant. Still clutching my chest, I looked up at the monitors. They were all paused. The room was silent, and as I spun my chair to look around, I noticed that there wasn't a single person in the room who didn't resemble a statue. Was this what it was like when you die? Instead of just eternally blacking out, time froze until you did? That was an interesting alternative that I had never considered. However, even considering it, the possibility before this of it even being plausible would only have been .6 percent.

"Is that brain of yours still running at the same amazing speed?" I looked over and saw a girl poking her head out from behind Matsuda. By the youthfulness and smoothness of her skin, I would assume that she was in no way older than me, but I couldn't rule out that possibility. She looked as if she had just turned 18 or so. For the life of me, other than that I couldn't notice much else about her other than a basic outer shell. Oh, and that her accent was obviously British.

"What's going on here?" I asked, pulling my knees back up to my chest in the chair.

"Right to the point I see. Mr. Lawliet, I have come to offer you a contract." I kept my eyes from widening at the sound of my name. Considering the variables, it shouldn't be too surprising that she would know my surname as well. Was she an angel?

"What kind of contract? What's going on here?"

The girl bowed to me, "Sir, I am a demon. Now, before you allow your brain to run wild over the improbability of this, I would like you to remember the fact that you are dealing with people who can kill others without ever having to have met them, touch them, or even speak to them."

"That's nice of you to tell me, but I had already taken those facts into consideration. You may proceed with your explanation now."

Instead of getting irritated like most people, she seemed amused by my rudeness, "As I said, I am here to make a contract with you. Your life is being cut short, you have lots of business unattended to, and that's why I am here. I can grant anything you wish, help you do anything in this world, and all I require is one simple thing."

"What would that be?" This was getting more and more interesting by the minute.

"When all is said and done, I get to take your soul."

Well, that was an interesting turn of events. Although, it was one of the many possibilities that would have arose considering I am dealing with a supernatural creature of my own.

I began chewing on the nail of my thumb, "And why would I give you my soul just to catch Kira?"

A faint smirk lit up her ruby lips, "Listen, I may not know details of your predicament, nor do I care at this moment. All I am aware of is that you need revenge, and a soul that has had it's revenge is oh so delicious. As of right now, this 'Kira' person has most likely assumed victory over you. Can you really cope with that?" She had a point. The advantage that I would have given Kira's imminent surprise at my survival was most certainly enticing, and improved my chances of victory, as they stand, by roughly 27 percent.

"Still, I'm not entirely certain that this is worth my soul. After all, who knows how long this case will take. A week? A year?"

"And that's better than leaving it unsolved right now? Besides, I never said that the end of our contract had to be when your little case was solved." Now that was an idea. This made everything more interesting.

"You're telling me that if I agree to make a contract with you, then you can just bring me back to life and assume a life according to my wishes?"

"Of course," She walked over and got onto one knee, bowing in front of me as a servant would, "After all, if I couldn't do this much, then what kind of a Lawliet servant would I be?"

"Ryuzaki." She looked up at me, her red eyes reminding me faintly of Light's.

"Pardon me?"

"I use an alias so as not to let anybody know who I am. I've always used an alias, you can abide by that, correct?"

"Of course. Now have you considered the terms of our agreement? I can give you anything you ask, just request it and it shall be done."

I paused and took a look at the girl bowing before me. It would settle my mind a little more if I knew exactly what this woman looked like. I felt invigorated at this turn of events. Having a demon on my side, would this be cheating? Of course not, Kira obviously has some sort of leverage, and this would only make us even. I certainly would never ask this demon to solve this for me. She would be there as my… Servant.

"I will make a contract with you on one condition." I finally got out of my chair and walked over to her, hovering above, "Do you know how to make pastries?"

**Light's POV**

38... 39... 40.

I heard a gasp come from my enemy in front of the monitors and I couldn't help but smirk. It was happening. I've won!

"Ryuzaki!" I yelled, watching him clutch his chest in pain. It was so gratifying, seeing the person who had been giving me the most problems this entire time dying right in front of me. At last, my perfect world would be completed. No more would anybody stand in my way, and never again shall any person oppose Kira.

L gave one final gasp as he fell over. His body hit the floor almost in slow motion. The sound was almost echoing in the newfound silence of the room, the only real sound other than his strangled breaths was the clink of L's fork hitting the floor after him.

After about ten seconds, L was still struggling. Was he really that much of an adversary that he could prolong his agony? No, that wasn't it. Something was wrong. The strangled noises in his throat changed to more of a choking noise, and the hands previously grasping his chest were now around his throat. I looked at Ryuk, who was now beside me watching L with his usual amused smile.

L began coughing into his hands, his blue tinged face showing incredible struggle. Suddenly something popped out of his mouth into his hands, he immediately dropped it onto the floor. It was a... Cherry? He had been choking on a part of his dessert this entire time? T-that was impossible! His name had been written down, it had been over a minute! How could this happen?

L began gasping for air, his face the picture of death. The color, or lack thereof, began to come back to his face. His breathing eventually calmed down until he took one look at us as if we were all crazy.

"What do you all think you're doing? Get back to work." He ordered and stood up, picking up his cherry and flinging it across the room into the trash. He sat back down in his chair and pulled up his legs. "Hey, can somebody get me a new fork? I refuse to eat cake with my hands while I'm working on a computer."

Everybody except me began moving again, obvious relief flowing through them. They all thought L was being killed by Kira. He _was _being killed by Kira!

"Well well well, now _this_ is an interesting new development." Ryuk chuckled, as if he knew something I didn't.

"Ryuzaki," I stepped forward and put my hand on his shoulder, still appalled at the fact that he was still _alive, _"Are you sure you're okay? It looked like you were... Well... You know..."

"Dying? Yes, I was. Choking does that to you. It's been recorded that 3,000 people every year die from choking on food. Silly me for trying to swallow a cherry whole. I guess I was eager to tie the stem into a knot." He stated in his usual 'matter of fact' voice. It shouldn't have, but it infuriated me. No, I take that back. It was completely justified that I was angry. Was he immune to the Death Note? Impossible, it said in the Death Note specifically that anyone with their full name written in the book will die. I know nothing went wrong. Well, except for the fact that he _didn't die._

"... Right. Well, I'm glad you're okay, Ryuzaki."

"Yes, me too." L said quietly. I nodded and went to walk out of the room.

"Light, where do you think you are going? You have suspects to narrow down." Right, if I acted any differently right now or questioned any further, it would only look suspicious. But I needed to interrogate Ryuk. I needed answers.

"I was just going to get you another fork, Ryuzaki. Didn't you say you needed another?"

L nodded, looking over me with that same calculated look, "Indeed I did. Thank you for your generosity, Light."


	2. Chapter 2

**Light's POV**

I slammed my fist onto the counter as hard as I could. I needed to calm down, if not then it would be too obvious. When I heard a familiar maniacal laughter I spun around.

"Ryuk, tell me what the hell is going on! Why didn't L die?!"

"How am I supposed to know? I thought your plan was 'perfect' and 'foolproof'." He mocked.

"The Death Note has never failed me before, Ryuk! I know that I planned everything out perfectly, and there wasn't a single thing that I did wrong! Now, I know that you know something that I don't so just spit it out!"

Though Ryuk's face had never changed the entire time I had known him, it seemed as if all amusement had been wiped off of his face.

"Light, I am a shinigami. This is a punishment as I am allowed into neither Heaven nor Hell. I know my place, and if you're so curious about what's going on, you better figure it out very quickly, or else you're gonna get yourself caught." With that, Ryuk disappeared on me. What the hell was all that supposed to mean? This wasn't a fucking game anymore! It wasn't even me who wrote his name in the book, it was a shinigami, which means that there definitely wasn't any room for error in the use of the book. Maybe…

I snapped my head up as the clock chimed. Shit, I needed to get back to L. I got into the silverware drawer and dumped all but one of the forks into the sink with the dirty dishes. Quickly, I rushed back to L and handed him his fork.

"My, that took forever, Light-kun." L looked me over suspiciously.

"Yeah, well it wouldn't have taken as long if _somebody_ had done the dishes after eating." I spat, looking at Matsuda.

His expression was priceless, "Did I forget again?! Oh jeez, my bad…" Thank God Matsuda was too stupid to argue with me.

"Well regardless thanks for the fork. Now would you please get over here and narrow down this list of suspects?"

"Why don't you do it yourself, Ryuzaki? You don't seem to be doing anything but eating cake."

L yawned. L _yawned?!_

L approached the stairs, "I actually think I'm going to go upstairs and sleep for a bit. Even a superior brain like mine can't go forever without resting. Although, if someone could figure out how to do this I would give them insane amounts of money." So, even the infamous L slept huh?

"Well, goodnight Ryuzaki. Sleep well."

"Yes, I think I will." He continued up the stairs nonchalantly, forcing my anger to boil back.

_L, when I find out what you've done, I _will _kill you._

**L's POV**

It was rather surprising that I was drained this much during the middle of research. The only possible explanation would be what happened earlier. I wasn't aware that it would affect me this dramatically. But then again, I was almost dead.

I opened the door to one of the guest bedrooms and plopped down on the bed, pulling the covers over myself. My body felt worn out, but laying down made it feel as if it were aching even more. Closing my eyes, I fell unconscious almost immediately.

_I opened my eyes, taking in the scenery around me. I was seated at a small table, perfect for one person. I was in a high-tea setting, beautiful springs and elegant decor all around me. This was odd, though. I hadn't dreamed in years._

"_I hope everything is to your liking, Master." I looked behind me and saw the same woman - no, demon - as earlier. She was wearing a maid's costume._

"_I'm dreaming, aren't I?" She nodded, and for the life of me I still could not make out any details of her face._

"_Rest assured, Master. You are still sleeping, and everything except for you and I is just a figment of how I have manipulated your unconscious mind."_

"_Well, that's reassuring…" I muttered, "Why are you here? Is this going to become a habitual thing?"_

"_Oh, of course not, Master. At least, unless you ask for it to be."_

"_No, I think I'm good." This was all becoming a little overwhelming, even for a superior mind such as mine._

"_Would you like some tea and tiramisu? Or could I change the setting to one more suitable?"_

"_Yes. Also, put me in an aquarium setting."_

_My servant with the crimson hair bowed to me, "Yes, Master." She snapped her gloved fingers and suddenly the entire scene changed. All around there were beautiful tropical fish and sea creatures I had only read about. She wasn't playing around._

"_And your snacks, Master." She set my tea and dessert in front of me. It all smelled so good. I took one bite and almost felt myself melt. I was in love. The way the tiramisu melted in my mouth was complimented only by the citrusy warmth of the tea._

"_This is wonderful. You weren't kidding when you said you could bake for me." I said, devouring it all within 30 seconds._

"_Well Master, being as this is a dream, the most I can do is manipulate your senses into believing that you're eating and drinking something delicious. Looking at all of this, is there anything I can do in the real world to make myself more suitable to being your maid?" I swiped up the last few pieces still left on the plate and put my finger in my mouth._

"_Don't wear that dress. I don't like that maid costume. And don't refer to yourself as my maid, it's awkward. Just servant is fine. Or butler."_

"_Butler, Sir?"_

"_Yeah, why not? It's out of the norm, and by all means, I can't stand normal. But if it's that uncomfortable for you, then just servant is fine."_

"_I will do my best to accommodate, Master. Is that all?"_

_I gulped down the rest of my tea, "So I know that cake and tea isn't the reason why I'm here. Neither is a uniform and call code. So why don't you spit it out?"_

_Her ruby lips turned up at the corners, "Such a clever master. Much better than my last one. The reason I needed to speak with you is because there was one little detail that needed to be addressed about our contract." She told me, pouring more tea into my cup._

_I took a drink of the citrus tea, "Alright, please continue."_

"_Well, you see Master, a contract between a demon and a human must be notarized with a… seal of sorts."_

"_What kind of seal? A stamp?"_

"_No Sir, every demon has their own marking. And they mark the human with whom they have made a contract with. It seals the deal on the agreement."_

_My eyes widened, "So you're saying that you need to put your mark somewhere on my body?" I felt oddly uncomfortable with the idea of having a hickey on me permanently. My servant let out an amused chuckle._

"_My apologies for laughing, Master. However, that isn't the kind of mark a demon gives their prey." _

"_You're reading my mind." I stated._

"_Not really, Sir. Your brain processes are something that I'd rather not keep up with in a dream state, as that would cause your dream to run wild. I do tune into thoughts regarding our contract though."_

"_If that's the case, then what kind of mark are you referring to?" With that the table disappeared from in front of me, and the tea with it. Well damn, I wanted to finish that._

_She stepped closer to me and leaned down, face to face with me._

"_Just sit back, Master. It'll all be over in a moment." With that she pressed her lips to mine. My eyes widened as I felt her pry my mouth open with her own. This was the first time I had ever been in this kind of predicament. I wasn't sure how to feel, mainly because I seemingly didn't have the strength to fight her. I felt as if I was going to die from lack of oxygen just as she slipped her tongue into my mouth and caressed it with mine-_

I gasped as I opened my eyes. I sat up and rubbed my face, making sure that I was really awake this time. There was no way that that was a dream. It was too real. My body felt better from resting, yet my mind was just as worn out as before.

What was that? Was I really just kissed by a demon, no, _made out with_ by a demon? This was too confusing. Once the supernatural become involved in logic, it no longer stands true. However, in order to pursue logic, I needed this demon to keep me alive.

I looked at the clock and was almost surprised. It had been six hours since I fell asleep. I got up and walked to the bathroom and turned on the water. I splashed it over my face and relished in the coolness of it. After that dream, my body felt unusually hot and uncomfortable. It had been a long time since I had slept that long. Actually, I hadn't slept that long since I was a toddler. I took a look at myself in the mirror and looked at myself. What had I been reduced to in this case? Turning to a demon? It was almost disgraceful. It was sinful.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and almost choked. I stuck my tongue out and examined it. There was a tattoo on my tongue! It was a star surrounded by intricate designs. Was this what the demon was telling me about? Was this why she had gotten so intimate in my dream?

Well, it made more sense this way, so I couldn't be upset. It was a rather difficult thing to get around, though. Would I have to talk with my mouth mostly closed? How would I ever hide this thing? It was so noticeable every time I opened my mouth. Whatever, it wasn't like any explanation I gave wouldn't be believable to those buffoons. Except for Light, but he's a suspect anyway, so I don't really care what he thinks about it.

I walked back downstairs to continue research. It was surprising to me when I reached my computer that everybody had seemed to go home. I at least expected Light to be here working. I sat down at my computer and flipped it back on.

Then I heard knocking.


	3. Chapter 3

**Light's POV**

I yawned as I walked into the research building. After what had happened with L yesterday, I couldn't sleep at all. Nothing made sense to me, and I doubt that Ryuk would give me any information. I hadn't seen him since he disappeared on me, but he would be back. He always was.

The sound of furious typing was something that I had grown accustomed to hearing this early in the morning, being as L never left this place unless absolutely necessary. However, what I wasn't used to hearing was a female's voice.

"This morning I have brought you a peaches-and-cream french toast with pouchong tea, imported from China. I added extra sugar as you requested." I noticed the British accent as I walked into the room and saw a woman in front of L. She was pouring his drink into a cup while explaining to him the health benefits of the imported tea. After setting down his cup gently in front of him, she abruptly turned to me and gave me a courteous smile.

It was amazing, this girl was very aesthetically pleasing. She had waist-length red hair wrapped in a ponytail and eyes to match. The youth in her admittedly adorable face was accompanied by her pale skin and slender figure. She was shorter than both L and I, but she stood with a confidence that was rather unsettling. She was wearing a butler's uniform, the only thing abnormal about it was her black shorts instead of slacks.

"Do you have business with my master?" She asked me. Her tone wasn't unkind, but it was stern.

"I uh-"

"Saya, he works with me. Get him some tea." She turned and bowed to L, "Yes, Master. Allow me to go grab more teacups." With that she walked out of the room. L immediately began to dig into his food.

"Ryuzaki…" He looked up at me.

"What is it, Light-kun?"

"Who is she? What is she doing here?"

He didn't even bat an eyelid as he put another bite of his food into his mouth, "This case has been going on for so long that I decided to contact Watari and have him send me my butler to ease my frustrations."

"Butler? Sorry Ryuzaki, that's a woman."

"I am fully aware of that, thank you. I don't like the word 'maid', and apparently 'servant' seems too submissive, therefore we have decided that she will be referred to as a butler." He couldn't be serious. He had his own maid, er, butler? And she looked like _that_?

"What's going on in here? Why does it smell so good?" Matsuda and the others walked in, smelling the air. Now that they brought it up, it did smell absolutely wonderful.

Careful footsteps sounded in the room as Saya came back… With a table. Over her shoulder. She was carrying a fucking table over her shoulder.

Quickly she set the table in the middle of the room. With lightning speed she threw a white table cloth over it and placed five chairs at it. She basically flew back into the kitchen and brought back out a tray of food and teacups, setting the table beautifully. We all watched as she walked back over to L and bowed, "Breakfast has been prepared for your guests, Master."

"Yeah, thanks." L said, not even looking up from his computer monitor. Saya turned to all of us and bowed, "If all of you would take a seat, please." Tentatively we all sat down while she ran back to the kitchen.

"W-what's going on?" Matsuda whispered frantically.

"How should I know?" Aizawa snapped, looking just as confused.

"Light, can you please explain?" My father asked.

"She's Ryuzaki's butler." I told them.

"Butler?" They all asked.

"Yeah, just go with it." I sighed. The food in front of us seemed to be the same as what L had been made. It looked delicious. Saya came back out with a teapot and began pouring us all tea.

"Breakfast this morning is a peach persimmon and brown sugar crumble on top of french toast with a side of refreshing fruit salad, made with only the freshest and ripest available this season. The tea is of the imported variety, made to accompany the spices added to the french toast. I do hope that everything is to your liking. If you need anything, just ask." She bowed to us and walked back over to L, taking his empty dishes and replacing them with an entire plate of sugar cubes before walking back to the kitchen. Instead of thanking her, L only began playing with them, organizing them into patterns.

"She works for Ryuzaki? Since when?" Aizawa asked.

"Apparently for a long time now, she just hasn't been here with him. He found this case was taking too long to not have her back." At least, that's what he said.

"This all tastes amazing!" Ide said, awestruck. We all took a bite of our food. It did taste really good. The tea only complimented it. She must have changed it so that it wasn't as sweet as it was when she served L his.

"Uh, Ma'am?" Matsuda asked hesitantly. Saya faced us, "Yes Sir?"

"Where did all of this stuff come from?"

"Yeah, we never had a dining table or fine china stored anywhere in this building." My father added, taking a big bite of his food. Now that I thought about it, it had been a while since I had eaten breakfast with him at a table.

"I brought it all with me so as to serve my master with the finest available." Saya said matter-of-factly.

"That's dedication." My father said with approval.

"That's amazing!" Aizawa commented.

"No Sir, it is simply what is expected of me. If I couldn't do this much, then what kind of a butler would I be?"

As soon as we all finished Saya took all of the dishes at once and put them in the kitchen. She hurried back and removed the table cloth, folding it and taking all of the dining stuff back with her. When she came back out L handed her a piece of paper.

"Saya, go to these people and find out what they were doing three nights ago between eight p.m. and midnight."

"Are you asking me to assist with your investigation, Master?" The redhead asked.

"Are you hesitating?" He challenged.

"No, Master. My apologies." She bowed and left the room, leaving us all dumbfounded.

"Uh, Ryuzaki? What are you doing?" I asked.

"Whatever do you mean, Light-kun?" L asked, biting his thumb.

"You know exactly what I mean. We don't confront before we research. And why would you send out a girl to do this?"

"What do you think I've been doing all this time? Saya's job is to do whatever I ask whenever I ask it. She's perfectly capable of getting the information I need."

I shook my head, "You're crazy."

"That is quite possible."

**L's POV**

This was a test. If this demon really could do anything I asked, then she should have the information I want.

Only a half an hour passed when Saya returned with the piece of paper I sent with her. I did like the change in uniform, it suited her so much more than a stupid dress. All of my colleagues watched her as she came straight to me and got on one knee, bowing her head.

"Ms. Hidikawa was late at her work as a nurse at the local hospital. Mr. Shinjuki was taking care of his child as he is a single father. Mr. Samuels had fallen asleep at work and was there until four in the morning. Consequently, Mrs. Tsuka, Mrs. Hida, Mrs. Inoda, and Mr. Forms were all with their other lovers. I'm sorry Master, but none of these people are of use to you. Of course," She looked up at me, "You already knew that, didn't you Master?" She was a cheeky one. I could clearly see my reflection in her red eyes.

"Of course I knew that. I was only testing you."

"How was my performance?"

"Suitable enough." Saya stood up and clapped together her white-gloved hands.

"Such kind words, Master. Shall I go and fetch some more tea?"

"And fruit. Just choose some, I trust you." She bowed and left the room, all of the detective's eyes following her. I would be lying if I said that I didn't know why, but it was still confusing how simple minded they were.

"Damn Ryuzaki," Matsuda whistled, "I would give anything to have her as my servant." The other men, not including Light and his father, made sounds of approval.

"Aizawa, you're married." Light commented. Aizawa blushed and bowed his head, resuming his work.

"Honestly, is nothing sacred?" I asked amusedly just as Saya walked back in with the tea.

"Ryuzaki, is there something on your tongue?" Matsuda asked. I caught a quick glimpse at Saya and noticed how utterly undeterred she was. As if she didn't even hear what he had said.

"You only just noticed this? It's been here for quite a while." I stuck my tongue out for all of them to see. Saya simply kept pouring the tea.

"Yeah, I never once noticed it." Light said suspiciously. I gave him a look. Between the two of us, he certainly shouldn't be finding me suspicious.

"I brought a second cup, would you like some as well, Light-kun?" Saya asked, face lit up in a smile. Light looked up at her and hesitated before accepting. Well, she certainly knew how to distract people. She was useful. Speaking of useful…

"Saya,"

"Yes, Master?"

"Matsuda." He looked up at me, almost scared, "Yes, Ryuzaki?"

"Saya, can you teach Matsuda to become competent? Or at least good at something?"

"Hey, that's offensive!" Matsuda protested. Saya didn't bat an eyelash, she only bowed.

"I will do my best as an instructor." She assured.

"I don't approve of this!" Matsuda yelled, "I am a good cop dammit! I don't need-" Saya brought her gloved hand to the side of his face, "Mr. Matsuda, you don't want to hang out with me?" A blush appeared over Matsuda's face. Oh, she was good.

"T-that's not…" Eventually he hung his head in shame, allowing Saya to pull him upstairs.

"We will be back shortly, Master." She bowed before they disappeared upstairs.

"We have cameras in every room, right?" Aizawa asked.

"Why?" I asked.

"She's with Matsuda. Alone. We don't know what crap that idiot will pull on her!"

Sigh. "She will be fine. Saya knows how to take care of herself."


	4. Chapter 4

**Light's POV**

It was relatively silent in the room. The most you could hear was the clink of L's spoon against the side of his teacup.

"Are we seriously stalling our investigation to wait for a girl? Aren't we supposed to be trying to catch Kira?" I was getting seriously irritated.

"Why don't you have patience, Light-kun? It's only been about twenty minutes." L told me in his monotone voice.

"Why do we have to wait for her? She's trying to make Matsuda good at something, which, by the way, we have no idea what it is, so that has to take _hours_ at the least. Can't we keep ourselves busy with doing our _job_? We've known this girl for what, four hours? It isn't like our world stops simply because Saya walks out of the room."

"That is very true on everybody else's part, actually," L took his thumb and started chewing on the nail, "So why don't you all get to work?"

Everybody turned then, and began resuming their work. I didn't understand why I was so on edge. Scratch that, it's for the same reason as before.

Everything had been going perfectly according to plan up until yesterday. First L survives the Death Note and then some mysterious supergirl shows up claiming to be his maid. I wasn't stupid, there was something wrong with her. Was she a shinigami? No, that couldn't be it. Ryuk knows though, and that didn't sit well with me.

We continued to work for another twenty minutes in near silence. The tension in the room was rising for no apparent reason. I didn't like this. The way this team was being affected by a single girl was pissing me off. I would have to get rid of her.

"Seven." A voice said rather loudly. I looked over at L.

"Six."

"Ryuzaki?"

"Five."

"What are you doing?"

"Four." The others turned around and looked at L as well.

"Three."

"Stop counting!"

"Two."

"One, Master." Saya was standing at the bottom of the stairs, Matsuda behind her. He looked as if he had been awake for days. He seemed utterly exhausted, but other than that he looked a bit... determined?

"How did you two get there so quickly?" Aizawa asked. Saya and Matsuda both ignored him as L began typing quickly into the computer. He pulled up a dark webpage full of randomized numbers and letters. In the top right corner was an insignia that all of us knew rather well.

"Ryuzaki, why are we about to log into the files of the Japanese government?" I asked.

"Now Matsuda," L pushed his chair away from his monitor and slid over to Saya, "I want you to hack this website and change Ide's legal name to Phil McGraw." Ide jumped up and almost knocked over the coffee that Saya had brought out for all of us.

"Excuse me? Why would you even ask him to do that?"

L shrugged, "Well, I've somewhat gotten into American television lately, and I happen to like Dr. Phil."

"Ide, just stop arguing," My father spoke up, "This is about seeing whether or not Matsuda can actually do something like this."

"There's no way." I scoffed, "The girl worked with him for not even half an hour. Even if she were the best teacher in the world, it isn't logical that she could've taught Matsuda to hack into an official government website." While the others voiced their agreement with me, I noticed that Saya's eyebrow slightly twitched in annoyance, but her composure remained as she walked over to Matsuda. She placed her hands on his shoulders and led him over to a chair that she pulled in front of the monitor.

"Now Mr. Matsuda, if you would please do as the Master ordered." She gave a light smile. A really… _disgustingly cute_ smile. I didn't think I would ever hate anybody as much as I hated L, but this girl was proving to be an anomaly.

Matsuda nodded tiredly and his hands moved slowly over the keyboard. I smirked, there was no way he was going to be able to do anything on this. There were so many firewalls on this website and so much defense on those files that not even I could hack it if I tried.

Suddenly Matsuda's hands began moving at a rapid speed, basically flying over the keyboard. The screen kept changing as he continued pressing buttons, and multiple windows began popping up before disappearing just as quickly. I felt my jaw drop slightly as firewall after firewall came down. Matsuda's expression didn't change once though his eyes were moving all over the screen everywhere.

Finally all of the jumbled numbers and letters disappeared, replaced with a massive folder of documents. The names of them gave away how obviously confidential they were.

"You've got to be kidding me." Aizawa whispered.

"Well I'll be damned!" My father got up and patted the happy-looking Matsuda on his shoulder. Soon all of them, minus L, Saya, and myself, were crowding him. I looked at the red haired girl.

"How did you-"

"Satisfactory job, Saya. Although, I'm a little disappointed that you didn't have him understanding this sooner." L spoke monotonously. Saya bowed to him.

"My apologies, Master. Mr. Matsuda was quite a hard shell to crack." She was so irritating. How did she even…?

I stood up and walked over to her, "That is amazing Saya! How did you get Matsuda to be good at anything?" I smiled, but it faltered after a second. She didn't even look my way when I spoke to her.

So. Damn. Rude.

"Why don't you ask Mr. Matsuda yourself?" I looked over at Matsuda, who was staring proudly at his hacking job.

"She lectured me for hours and wouldn't let me leave until I had memorized every data configuration there was. I have to say, I don't even remember half of it, but I knew what to do when I got on!"

"Hours? Matsuda, you were in there for less than half an hour." My father said.

Matsuda laughed, "Yeah, right."

"He's telling the truth, Matsuda." I told him, "You were hardly in there any time at all."

Matsuda's smile fell a bit, "T-That isn't possible. We went over hundreds of configurations and substitutions… It was hours, trust me."

"They're correct, Mr. Matsuda. You learned all of that in about 24 minutes. The last minute I spent dragging your almost lifeless corpse back down here." Saya told him with a small smirk. I swear her eyes were dimly glowing, illuminating her already red eyes. But it was gone after she blinked. She was different.

"You've got to be kidding me," Matsuda plopped his head down onto the keyboard, "After all of that I still have to work?"

"Actually, I would suggest you go home and rest," L interveined, "Now that I think about it, all of you can go home early today. Except for Light-kun and his father. They can stay here and sift through the files that Matsuda has pulled up for us. We need a record of anybody affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in the files gathered yesterday afternoon."

"Excuse me?" I asked, "Since when do you dictate when we can and cannot work?" L turned to look at me.

"Nobody else seemed to mind. They've already fled. None of them are very good at skimming files quickly and effectively without asking a million questions. Also, if you haven't noticed, I _am_ lead investigator. Do you have a problem with my directions, Light-kun?" Was L blatantly challenging me? Or was he trying to irritate me?

"... No. I don't have a problem, Ryuzaki." My pride died slightly, "Just… What are you going to do?"

"I have a few errands to take care of," L got up, "Let's go, Saya."

"Wait, you're not going to tell us what you're doing?" My father asked, "What if something happens?"

"Don't worry. As long as Saya is with me I'll be fine." L walked to the door.

"Master, would you like some footwear?" Saya asked.

"No."

"Very well." She followed him out. It was silent for a moment until I heard the light tapping of the keys on the keyboard. I decided to follow my father's lead and begin working.

How could I continue my work as Kira now? I couldn't follow the same pattern as I was before. L was already so close to figuring me out before. I would have to contact Misa soon, and possibly recruit another to continue Kira's work. Either way, I was completely certain of one thing:

I needed to do something about Saya, and fast.

**L's POV**

"Master, I thought you said that L was just as smart as you are." Saya asked as she swerved through a barricade of vehicles. We were currently in a car so expertly stolen by my butler. She was breaking so many rules on the road, but she was a damn good driver.

"I did." I answered.

"Then how did he not know that you were lying to him?"

"Which time?" Saya rolled her eyes. Her eyes were so big and round, yet they perfectly accompanied her pale face. If I looked closely, I could see faint, very faint, freckles on her cheeks under her eyes. Her beauty definitely wasn't human.

"When you told him that you were going to run errands. If he had told you that, you would've caught on in a second-"

"Less, actually." I interrupted.

"_So_," She resumed, "If you're telling me that his mind is on the same wavelength as yours, why didn't he pick up on your fibbing?"

"How do you know that I was lying?" I questioned.

"I am your servant, my Lord, as well as a demon. It is my job to understand you, and lying is my specialty. Now, if you would answer the question."

"I haven't gone a single day without lying to Light," I explained, "If you incorporate a word into your daily vocabulary, those who are always around you don't even think about it when you say it. The same goes for lying. It isn't few and far between, it's almost every other sentence. It becomes harder for those around you to differentiate between the lies and the truth, thus making everything easier. Light thinks that I don't know when he's lying or uncomfortable with a topic, and that just makes him an even bigger suspect in this case."

Saya was silent. I looked over at her and was slightly surprised.

"Saya, why are you smiling?"

"I am not, Master."

"Smirking, then."

"I just…" She paused, "I think I picked a very delectable soul this time around." I didn't know how to answer that. Part of me wanted to accept it as a compliment, and the other part of me was slightly uncomfortable with her choice of words.

"I'm sorry Master, did I make you uncomfortable?"

"No, not at all." I answered immediately.

"I do apologize, I'll make a better choice of my words next time around." Of course she would know I was lying. Demons always lie, right? They're bad. Evil. That's what humans are brainwashed to believe. It couldn't be that black and white. After all, I was here, conversating normally with one. Never in my life was I able to speak with someone honestly, but this happens to be the one person-demon-whom I could not lie to.

"Are you evil?"

"Pardon me, Master?"

"We are brought up to believe that angels are good and demons are evil. I wanted to know if that was true."

"You're asking if all of the stories you hear about demons are true."  
"Sort of. More detail would be nice."

"Yes, they are," She explained, "But you have to take into consideration that your race is filled with evil as well. Simply because we happen to have more freedom to bend earth and space doesn't make us very much different. I mean, imagine if every being was petrified by the fact that a large portion of humans were under the control of Hitler. Or Osama Bin Laden. Or Mao. There are always horrible beings no matter what species you're looking at. You think angels are saints? Well, they are, but not in the way you think. They do horrible things too, much worse than you've ever heard of a demon doing. Only they get by with it because it's 'in the name of their lord'. Nobody is ever completely good once they've been exposed to the real world. Purity is just a fantasy created by those who want to feel special for being too scared to do anything in the world. Put very simply, yes, we are evil. Everybody is. To pretend there is no bad is to concede the certainty that there is no true good in the world."

"So you're saying purity is a farce?"

"Yes, I am. There are pure qualities in some humans, but purity itself is a very powerful thing. An illusion."

"That's very interesting. So you're saying that you and I aren't so different."

"It depends on what aspect you're speaking of, Master."

"The only real difference in us is our species. What we are. But we have the same goal: To survive. To live. To be selfish."

"I suppose you're correct."

"Of course I am, it comes with the territory of being a genius." I began biting the nail on my thumb.

"I hope you know that if Light is Kira, he's probably going to-"

"Get rid of me? Yes, I've already considered that." Huh. And I thought that I was the only one who interrupted people.

"But what would you like me to do if the person who is Kira, be it Light or not, attempts to do anything in my presence?"

I thought about that for a moment, "Just do what any normal person would do. That is, until I order you to do otherwise. Like I said, this case does nothing for me if I'm not the one to catch Kira. Hey, stop here." Saya pulled the car over in front of a store.

"I want you to buy food for the kitchen back at the station."

"What kind, Master?"

"I don't care. You're the one that cooks, and it's been proven that your cooking is exceptional. Just go and get some." I handed her the credit card that I swiped from Ide's pocket earlier.

"Right. Are you not going to come in?"

"No, I'd like to stay in here and listen to some music." Her eyes roamed mine skeptically. Eventually she bowed her head and got out of the car, "Yes, Master. I'll return shortly." She locked the doors and quickly sped into the store. No doubt she'd be good on her word to return in a short time. I pressed the button on the door and heard the click of the doors as they unlocked.

Not a minute later, my door was flung open and I was dragged out of the car. I felt cold metal press against my back as disgustingly warm breath fanned over my neck.

"You're going to keep quiet, you hear? You're gonna get into the van, and you're gonna keep your mouth shut." With that he pulled me over to the awfully stereotypical white van parked just on the other side of our car and threw me in the back. I felt the pull of gravity as the van quickly pulled away. I brought my legs up to my chest and sighed.

"Well, now we wait."


	5. Chapter 5

**L's POV**

I could feel the rope around my wrists and ankles digging into my skin. The knots were horribly tied, but it was sturdy enough to do its job of holding me down. The room was too dark for me to survey my surroundings, but they brought me into some sort of a beat up old house, so I couldn't be entirely too far away from the city.

I groaned as the door in front of me was opened and the light flooded in. I had to shut my eyes to keep the headache from setting in. I was already slightly moody from not having had any sweets in almost two hours, and this was not helping any.

"You ready to talk now?" Three men stepped into the room. The one talking was the same guy who had manhandled me outside of the store.

"It wasn't like I refused to talk earlier. You just decided to tie me up and leave me here. Horrible tactic for scaring someone, I might add." One of the guys smirked and came closer to me. He was dressed in blue and black clothing, very appropriate.

"You're funny." He slammed his fist across my face, almost knocking the entire chair over. Too bad it wasn't a wooden chair or I could've broken it and kicked this guy in the face. I spat out some blood onto the floor.

"What, not talking now?" The guy in blue taunted me.

"What am I really supposed to say after you hit me? Thank you?" I got another hit across the face before the guy shoved a gun in my direction.

"Quit being a sarcastic little shit." As if that gun scared me.

"Hey, we're not killing him yet." The guy who first spoke shoved the gun out of my direction. He turned and looked at me.

"So, tell us what your affiliation is with Captain Yagami."

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"That's bullshit. We saw you exiting the same building that he went into this morning."

"Well then I guess you could assume that we work together. You know, if you were completely stupid."

"Assume?" This time he was the one to point his gun at me, "Don't fuck with us. Just tell us how to get into the building undetected."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"We owe Yagami for putting our buddy behind bars a while back. Now tell us what we want to know."

"Now why would I tell you that?"

The chair was knocked over and I was kicked in the stomach. I had forgotten how painful it was when you couldn't fight back. This was the entire reason why I never worked with people, because it was always the other people that screwed you over or betrayed you. I felt a slight burning in my mouth, on my tongue. Somehow, I knew this wasn't from the injuries I had received.

"Just tell us!" He yelled at me, "Or do I need to teach you more of a lesson?"

I could do little more than smirk at him from my bloody lips, "An eye for an eye, my friend."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked me, frustrated as he raised his foot again.

"Have you not noticed that your companions aren't next to you anymore?" He looked behind him.

"Hey, where did you guys go? Get your asses back in here!" It was silent for a few seconds before two figures came flying into the room, knocking my interrogator over.

He sat up, "What the hell?!" Then he got a good look at what had knocked him over.

"W-What is this?"

"I apologize for my tardiness, Master. But I had to make sure I bought everything that you would've liked." I could see Saya standing at the doorway, her shadow darkening the already dim room.

"Oh no, don't even bother. I appreciate you taking your time and thinking about me. It's not like I was tied up here getting the crap kicked out of me or anything." She walked over to me and picked the chair up with no problem and set me up right. I felt her hand touch my face as she observed the bruises that were beginning to form.

"My my, it looks like you did quite a number on my master."

"Who the hell are you?" My interrogator stood up and pointed his gun at Saya. He motioned to his friends, "Did you do this?!"

"Indeed. Think of it as recompense for assaulting my master." She didn't even look at him as she began untying my wrists. Now, I could've sworn her eyes were dimly glowing.

The man's hand was shaking as he continued to point the gun at Saya. I doubt he could comprehend how such a small, slender woman could pull off taking out his friends without a single sound. His fear seemed to get the better of him, because all that could be heard was the deafening ring of the gun going off.

Saya was still, standing up straight with her back arched right where he shot her. I noticed that she had only gotten my wrist partially untied as she fell to the ground in front of me. She wasn't moving.

The man who had shot her began laughing, "Ha, she wasn't so tough after all! I don't even know why I thought she would be that tough." He didn't lower his gun, but instead pointed it at me, "I didn't think this was going to be that hard of a thing. Now, give me the information before I kill you like I did your little maid." I stared at him incredulously.

"Saya, stop screwing around and get up." Immediately the redhead bounced back up like a child, smiling devilishly.

"How are you-?" The man stuttered as Saya examined her coat. It had a gaping hole right in the middle where the bullet had gone through.

"Oh, and I did so like this uniform, too. I shall have to get a new one thanks to you." One of her gloved hands came up and she opened it. In the middle of her palm was a bullet. Was that seriously the bullet he had shot her with?

"That's impossible!" Sweat began to drip down his face as he stared at the demon.

"Master?"

"No, don't kill him. We can take him to the police station. I'm 84 percent certain he's wanted for something."

Saya hesitated before answering, "Yes, Master." She threw the bullet at him and he went down, clutching his leg. Jesus, she seriously just shot him by throwing a bullet. She then drew closer to him and bent down towards him.

"As much as I would love to rip your disgustingly pitiful soul to shreds, I will spare you on the orders of my master." She said gently before slamming her hand across his face, effectively knocking him out.

She walked back over to me and finished undoing the ropes. Instead of throwing them to the ground, she used them to tie up the man who had shot her. When she was finished she stood up and assisted me in standing. It was difficult being on my feet, and I was aching quite a bit.

"It would seem as if those ropes cut off your circulation quite a bit, Master." She took my arms and wrapped them around her neck, basically piggybacking me out to the car.

"You meant to get taken." It wasn't a question. She knew that when she left that car I wasn't going to be there when she got back. She wasn't easy to fool, stupid demon.

"Yes, I had noticed those three watching us suspiciously when we left. Not to mention their horrible attempt at discretely following us." She opened the car door and never-too-gently threw me in the passenger's seat.

"Why in the world would you subject yourself to that, Master?" Her expression was unreadable.

"I was curious." I answered honestly.

"But you had to have known that you weren't going to leave unscathed."

"But I knew that you were going to rescue me." At that her eyes widened a little, only for a fraction of a second, before she bent down towards my face. Her red eyes searched mine, and I couldn't turn away. She was so close, I wanted her to give me some space, but I couldn't talk. I became hyperaware of her hands on my face. Her smooth skin was touching mine, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what she was looking for in my eyes. God damn her and her demonic appeal.

"Yes, a beautiful soul indeed." She chuckled before standing up and closing the door. The air around me suddenly felt lighter, for I hadn't realized that I hadn't been breathing. If I had, I surely would have been intoxicated by her smell as well. So this was how demons got their prey. It wasn't my fault that I was acting like this. I _was_ a human being after all.

"I've informed the local police department of their whereabouts, Master." Saya told me as she got into the driver's seat.

"They're going to look for us as soon as they see the other two dead bodies."

"I didn't want to make any assumptions on whether or not you wanted me to kill them, so they're only fatally injured. Enough to scare the ringleader with the blood. Don't get me wrong, they _will_ die if help is not given, but I didn't kill them."

"Oh, that's… Good. Good job." I mumbled and looked out the window as she started driving.

"Are you alright, Master?"

"Of course."

"Where am I driving to now?"

"Just drive for a while."

"Yes, Master."

**Light's POV**

Dammit, it's been hours since L left my dad and I to do all of the work. We had gotten everything finished just like L asked. Nothing we came up with would lead to anything, of course.

"Light, should we go home if we're done? Or would you suggest we wait for Ryuzaki?" Dad looked at me, obviously tired. At his age, he really wasn't cut out for staring at a computer for hours on end.

"You go home, Dad. I'm sure Mom would love to see you come home for dinner for once."

"What about you?"

"I have some stuff to finish up for L. Confidential stuff." I lied. Of course my father bought it, just like he always does. As soon as he left me I got to work. I quickly got out my cell phone and dialed Misa.

"Light! I'm so glad you called!" Her voice sounded so excited to hear from me. Girls were too easy.

"Misa, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything!"

"I need you to go into our room and into the closet." I could hear her movements over the phone, as well as the sliding of the closet door.

"Okay, I'm here."

"Remove all of the shoes that are scattered on the floor."

"But they're designer!"

"Just do it, Misa!" No, I shouldn't lose my temper or rush her. Nonetheless, I heard shuffling as she did as I told her to.

"It's done."

"In the very back you should be able to see a little tab sticking up. It's slightly hard to see."

"I found it!"

"You can pull up the tab and I need you to grab the book that's inside the floorboards." I heard her curse as she struggled to pull up the tab. Of course it was a bit difficult to pull it up, it was supposed to be a secret that it was even there in the first place.

"I did it!" She cheered as she got the floorboard up. My chest tightened in anticipation as I knew she was going to touch the Death Note.

"Oh, Light. Who did you need taken care of?" Her voice was suddenly serious. My Misa was back.

"We'll talk about that when you're here. I'm going to come and pick you up sometime next week. I want you to spend the day with me at work."

I could hear the elation in her voice. She was too damn easy. "Do you mean it, Light? Aww, you are so sweet. The best boyfriend ever!"

"Right. I have to go now, Misa. I have tons of work to do."

"Okay then. I love you!" I hung up as if I hadn't heard that. As if I would tell her I loved her back and mean it. I mean Jesus Christ, how stupid were girls? They were so easy to manipulate. I don't think I've ever met a girl who-

Instantly an image of Saya flashed into my mind. She was so slender and beautiful, and so absolutely dangerous. Too risky to allow her to live, even if all she was was a servant to L. Not many people could see it, but I could. She was lethal. I don't know how, but something told me that I would have to get rid of her to get to L. She wasn't just a servant, it was like she was a fucking body guard. Something was wrong with her, and either I'll figure it out…

Or she'll die trying.


	6. Chapter 6

**Light's POV**

"Oh Light, I'm so happy you wanted me to come to work with you!" Misa gushed. We were almost to the office, and I was itching to have Misa get a lockdown on Saya.

I reached over and took her hand, "I'm glad that I'll be spending this time with you too, I feel like we hardly see each other anymore," Now it was time to lay it on her, "It's especially convenient that the _girl_ I need you to take care of is at work with me."

Her ears immediately perked up at my words, "A girl? Light, you never told me there was a girl working with you guys!"

"Misa, it isn't like that. She only showed up earlier last week, and she's L's butler."

"Butler?" She questioned. Yeah, any normal person would question why he has a female referring to herself as a butler.

"Yeah, just roll with it."

"You two haven't done anything, have you?!" I almost rolled my eyes at that. But I squeezed her hand tighter and spoke softly.

"Of course not. You're the most important person to me, and I've told her that. But she, well… She won't stop. That's why I called you. I knew that you wouldn't want me around that kind of influence."

"Oh hell no. I will end her!" She fumed, her face going a bit red. Sure, it was a little white lie, but it would get the job done.

Misa leaned over and kissed my cheek, "Thank you for being honest with me, Light. Don't even worry, I will take care of it."

"Thank you, Misa." Thank you for being as dense as you are.

We arrived at the office and got inside quickly. Apparently Misa was eager to get a look at Saya. I don't blame her, I would want to get a look at her, too. She was quite a sight to behold.

Misa all but stormed into the main room with me following close behind. It wasn't a shock that we walked in just as Saya was pouring L his morning tea.

"This morning's tea is a specially sweetened Da Hong Pao tea, imported from China. For breakfast I have made french-style crepes with a fresh strawberry drizzle." The air smelled wonderful. Just as always, the table was set for the rest of us, with a full plate each, just like every morning. She had been cooking for us ever since she came here, never serving the same thing unless specifically requested by L. All of the men except me were seated at their respective seats, chowing down as if they hadn't eaten in years.

"Your cooking is always so wonderful, Saya! It's almost addicting!" Matsuda gushed through a mouth full of food. Saya turned from L and bowed in Matsuda's direction.

"Oh, it isn't much. If I couldn't do this much for my master, then what kind of a butler would I be?" Her voice was so velvety that it could send chills down your spine. I inhaled a big breath of the sweet air that was filling the room and my mouth began watering. Only then did Saya notice my presence in the room. She looked uninterested whenever she looked at me, and I would be lying if I said it didn't infuriate me. Not because I wanted her to notice me, but because there has never been a single person who _didn't_. Even L, the smartest person known to man, noticed and took an interest in me.

"Oh, Light. You have brought Miss Amane to visit. What happens to be the occasion?" L asked, putting a strawberry in his mouth. Saya was still looking at me disinterestedly. Apparently Misa didn't know the difference in the looks people give, because she stepped directly in front of me, as if trying to shield me from Saya's view.

"Because he wanted to spend the day with me. Because I'm his _girlfriend_. That's what people who are in a _committed _relationship do. The spend time together because they _love each other._" Oh. My. God. If I could've slapped her across the face, I would. I mean, I knew she was a jealous bitch, and I was aware of how stupid she was, but this was ridiculous.

Everybody in the room was quiet as they stared at us, the food forgotten. I observed every second as Saya's gaze finally shifted to Misa. I noticed the slightest widening of her already-wide eyes. She took in Misa in a split second before turning back to L, "Master, shall I prepare an extra plate for your extra guest?"

"Yes, that would be fine." It seemed like Saya moved slower than normal, almost like a feline stalking its prey, as she approached Misa and gave her a courteous smile, "I apologize, but I'm not accustomed to your eating habits. Would you mind following me into the kitchen so I can prepare a breakfast to your liking?" Misa seemed shocked at her politeness, as if she was expecting the girl to be jealous of her. It wouldn't happen. Saya has less interest in me than a cat with water. Of course, Misa would never grasp that.

"Y-yes. I will." She tried to still sound in control as she followed Saya to the kitchen. She stopped in the middle of the room and turned around.

"Light, I want you to come with me." I would have questioned why, but there was really no use without embarrassing Misa. Instead I just walked over and sighed internally as she clamped her hands around my arm. Together we followed Saya into the kitchen.

Now, I hadn't been in the kitchen since Saya began using it, but holy shit. It didn't even look like our work kitchen anymore. It looked like a kitchen that you would find in the house of some famous chef. Saya was cutting up more strawberries when she noticed the look on my face as I looked around the kitchen.

"I couldn't prepare acceptable meals for my master in such tight quarters. I had to renovate it the night that I began working here." Wow. She never, _ever_, talked to me. Her attention made me want to squirm, like I was about to become prey to some animal. I started to open my mouth to respond when Misa cut in.

"Excuse me? Don't talk to my boyfriend. I know what you're really trying to do, and something stupid like this wouldn't impress him!" The look on Saya's face was really something to behold. Not because it was pretty, but because the look of confusion wasn't usually seen on her.

"Pardon me, Madam?"

Misa scoffed, "Don't act stupid. I know what you're up to, and you're not getting him!" I could see her eyes begin glowing as she used her shinigami eyes on Saya. This was it, this was what I needed. When Misa got her name, she would write it down and nobody would suspect a thing. After all, Saya had never actually had an interest in me, and everybody knew it. Therefore, no trace back to Misa.

We stood in silence for a good thirty seconds before I realized that something was wrong. The shinigami eyes should have given Misa her full name in no more than 3 seconds. I looked at Misa and saw her eyes wide as she continued to stare at Saya.

"Light, I can't… Nothing is there." Misa whispered in a confused tone. I was going to reply when I heard a loud sound. It was Saya, she had slammed the knife she had been using into the cutting board, almost penetrating through the entire thing. Her red eyes glowed, making them an even deeper red than Misa's.

"You honestly thought that that stupid little pony trick would work on me?" Her tone was different. It wasn't courteous as it always was. It was dangerous.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Misa protested. It seemed like she was slightly better at lying, I'll give her that.

"You know, I knew something was going on when I first came here. But I never thought all of this drama was because of a stupid shinigami." Wait. What?

"How do you know about shinigami?" I asked. Just who exactly was this girl?

"The same way that I know that you're Kira. I'm not stupid. I've known it since I first saw you." There was no hesitancy in her voice. She knew. She fucking knew. How?

"Who are you?" I asked. I felt Misa shake a bit as Saya walked closer to us.

"I am the person who will rip your disgusting, ignorant soul to shreds if you ever do so much as lay a hand on my master." Her voice was low and menacing. Huh, I never thought that of all people, I would be intimidated by a five-foot girl who works as a servant for a living.

"Does this mean that L knows who we are?" Misa asked.

"I haven't told my master anything. And I don't plan to," She turned back to her disinterested side as she resumed making the food.

"Why? Why, if you knew, would you not tell your master, the person who wants to catch me more than anything?" I was growing desperate.

She opened her mouth to respond but closed it quickly. I swear her eyes stopped glowing as she looked over and gave us a polite smile. She held up a perfectly made plate, "I have finished your plate, Miss Amane. Would you like for me to carry it out for you?"

"Wait, what about yo-" Misa started, but was interrupted.

"Saya, what is taking you so long?" L entered the kitchen. She knew that L was about to walk into the room. That was why she changed her demeanor so quickly.

"I apologize, Master. I had to change the entire composition of the crepes in order to suit Miss Amane's tastes," She then turned to Misa, "It now has no fat, no sugar, and is entirely made for heart health. However, it still tastes the same as the other food. Please, allow me to take it to the table for you. Please, follow me, Miss Amane." She walked out of the kitchen, leaving the two of us alone.

L looked over at me, "Are you all right, Light-kun? You look distressed."

I smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired."

"Maybe you shouldn't have come into work today, then. You may as well have stayed home with Miss Amane." I could tell by Misa's reaction that she wouldn't have minded that one bit.

"Ryuzaki, that's kind of rude. I'm fine, and I can do my work."

"Well then, you should finish breakfast and get to it, shouldn't you?" There was a tone that I couldn't place. Nonetheless, I did as he said and went back out and sat down. Another chair had been set out for Misa, and it was really, entirely too close to mine. Our arms were basically squished together as we ate, not that Misa minded. I looked over at Saya, who was bringing L some more sugar cubes.

She wasn't human. Or maybe she was, and she was like Misa and I. She knew more than she should, and we couldn't use the Death Note to get rid of her. And now she knew about Misa. Saya knew the shinigami eyes as soon as she saw Misa use them. If Ryuk were to come back to work with me, would she be able to see him, too?

My thoughts were interrupted by my father's voice, "Hey Light, did you hear that people were after me?"

"What? When?"

"I don't know how long, but they kidnapped Ryuzaki and Saya yesterday because they wanted information on me for locking up one of their gang members." I looked over at L and Saya, who were listening, but they didn't look interested in the slightest.

"Something like that would have been on the news." I told them. A kidnapping would have been of big importance, especially since all media attempts to expose criminals so that Kira could take care of them.

"It would have only been on the news if the police had gotten involved in getting us to safety." L piped up.

"Are you telling me that both of you got away from a gang without getting the police involved?"

"They were taken care of, and now they're locked up. That's all you have to worry about."

This was ridiculous. I couldn't believe that there was so much I couldn't trust now. It all started when that.. That _thing_ got here. But if she knew who I was, and she still wasn't ratting me out to L, didn't that mean that she was on my side? No, it was more than that. She hated me. She was visibly repulsed by my presence, something that I had never experienced from a woman. But women were stupid, they could be made to come to your side all of the time. Hell, with Saya at my side, I could get rid of Misa if I wanted to.

My mind swirled with the possibilities that would open up if only I could get Saya by my side. It would be easy. She was a woman, and no matter what, women wanted to be loved and attended to. I looked over at her making another pot of tea for her 'master'.

L, I _will_ take her away from you.


	7. Chapter 7

**L's POV**

"Saya, give me your opinion on this one." I stuck a lollipop in my mouth and looked at the wide expanse of the bare home.

"My apologies, Master. I have no opinion to give on living quarters, as I do not take residence in human homes." I looked over at her. She was keeping her eyes on me, following my every move. I didn't know how I felt about that.

"Yes, but you'll be staying here with me. From a logical perspective, tell me what you think of the house."

"I think that you won't use all of the rooms, although I could easily renovate the three rooms on the third floor to be one giant room specifically for your research purposes. The kitchen is pristine and satisfactory for preparing meals for you every day. This house is more extravagant than anything, and you could potentially be putting yourself at risk because of your stance in the police and justice community. This house leaves a lot of room for a human to break in and attempt to inflict harm upon you. Your safety is at risk here, Master."

"Good analysis," Of course, I already knew all of this, "However, my safety shouldn't be an issue if you do your job, correct?"

"Of course. There shouldn't be any doubt about that. But why are you so set on this particular house? You were not nearly as adamant about the other four." I wished she hadn't asked that question. I didn't want to answer that truthfully, it would be too embarrassing. What would I tell her? That I wanted to live somewhere away from the men who were ogling her every minute, despite my original intentions with her? She questioned the extravagancy of the house, but what did she want me to say? That I wanted to buy a house that I thought suited her? It had to be something extravagant, because _she_ was. Of course, these feelings were completely platonic, as this was just a sentiment of appreciation. Saya deserved a house for all of the shit she's had to go through, and will have to go through, because of me. Demon or human, male or female, servant or colleague, I know when to show gratitude. I watched her as she gently ran her gloved hand over the spiral staircase.

"Do you ever take your gloves off?" I asked her.

"Would you like me to, Master?" Was her immediate response. It was almost confusing how this woman was so compliant, yet such a dominant person. I constantly had to remind myself that she was a demon.

"Only if there is a reason that you keep the gloves on all of the time." She walked over to me and lifted one of her hands. Instead of just pulling it off with the other hand like a normal person, she put the middle finger of her glove into her mouth and bit down on it. From this angle I could easily see that some of her teeth were slightly sharper than others. As she completely slipped the glove off of her hand I grabbed it out of her mouth.

"Why was that so sexual?" I heard myself asking. Amusement twinkled in her eyes as she looked at her glove that I now held.

"My apologies, Master. Being a demon, I seem to forget that my movements are all instinctively predatory."

"As in, you normally move provocatively because your basic instinct is to lure people to you through your aesthetic properties?"

"Correct. The majority of the human race seems to respond the most successfully to sexual motivation. I, a being whom preys on homosapiens, am built to automatically repond accordingly." Well, that actually explained quite a bit. My innate attraction to her made sense. Of course it did. Logic always prevailed.

"You still haven't showed me your hand." I noticed a slight smirk on her face as she lifted her hand up posteriorly. My eyes widened in amusement. On the top of her hand was a very familiar tattoo.

"It's the same." I said.

"Yes, the one on your tongue does resemble this one. I believe I did inform you that I would put my mark on you."

"And why did you have to mark me again?" At this something flickered in her eyes, something that made my stomach turn.

"It's to let other demons know that you're mine. You nor any other humans will notice, but you have my scent on you. That mark allows me to mark you as my territory. No other demon will lay a finger on your soul as long as you are marked as mine." With every word she came closer and closer to me, forcing me to back up. When I was backed up against the wall was when she finally noticed what she was doing.

"Oh, my apologies, Master. I suppose I get… What's the correct word… _Possessive_ when it comes to you." I couldn't help the chill that ran down my spine. I couldn't tell whether she was intimidating me or attracting me anymore. I would've liked to assume neither, as both of those were completely illogical.

Almost all of the tension was ripped from the air as the front door to the house opened and a shrill voice was heard, "Are you both done looking at the house? How do you like it?" God, was a grateful for that old woman.

Saya quickly stepped away from me, finally giving me room to breathe, "It seems suitable enough." I called back.

"Oh goody! Shall I get the paperwork situated?" I could hear the excitement in her voice. With the price of this house, any real estate salesman or woman would be thrilled to seal the deal.

"Yes, please do." Excited footsteps echoed throughout the empty house as the elderly woman ran out of the door, no doubt wanting to get it all done before I changed my mind. When the door slammed shut Saya immediately dropped to one knee, bowing in front of me.

"What would you care to partake in next, Master?" All of the predatory aura from earlier had vanished. I pulled a lollipop from my pocket and threw the wrapper on the floor, popping the sweet treat into my mouth. Saya grabbed the trash without hesitation.

"Well, I suppose I do need some furniture now…"

**Light's POV**

"I swear to God, Matsuda. If you unnecessarily hack one more international government agency, I will shove your laptop up your-" Okay, so maybe I wasn't in the best mood. I couldn't help it. L had left two days ago with Saya, and we haven't heard a word from either of them since. How in the hell was I supposed to put my plan into motion if L was constantly taking Saya away from me?

"S-Sorry Light. I guess I've just been a little-"

"Well stop it. If we get caught and arrested by a foreign country, then it's going to be your fault that Kira continues to kill."

"Light, calm down. Matsuda isn't doing anything that will get him caught. Saya trained him well." My father urged me to lower my temper. That pissed me off, too. Everybody was constantly talking about Saya, singing her praises. Why? Because she was a pretty face with some talent?

"Well, you have to know that that's all you are, too." My eyes widened but I made an effort to not look suspicious. Ryuk was back.

I stood up, "I'm gonna go use the restroom, I'll be right back." As soon as I got away from them and turned the corner I whipped around, glaring at Ryuk.

"Why have you been gone for so long?" I seethed. How many of my questions had gone unanswered? Just how inconvenienced had I been because he had left and refused help? A lot.

"I just had to visit a couple of friends, that's all." His ever-grinning face plastered back.

"Really? Because it seemed like you left in such a happy mood last time I saw you." I spat sarcastically.

"You're still mad about that?"

"No, I'm mad that I needed you and you weren't here."

"Oh, so now you're getting dependent on me? Since when did you ever need my, or anybody else's, help?" I stilled at that. Part of me wanted to deny his implications, but the rest of me understood that my anger with him was indeed due to stupid human impulses. I had no right to be angry with Ryuk. It isn't his job to help me with everything, he just needed to sit back and praise me for being better than the average human.

"Okay fine, I'm sorry." I rolled my eyes.

"No you're not. But I'll take it anyway," Ryuk looked around the empty hallway, "So, you got any apples?"

"Probably in the kitchen." I walked past him back into the main room to get to the kitchen and stopped.

"Light, what's the hold u- Oh." Ryuk had almost bumped into me. L and Saya were back, L sitting in his usual position at the computers and Saya standing ever so professionally at his side. Her demeanor changed though, once Ryuk and I had entered the room. Her eyes locked on my direction, but somehow I knew she wasn't staring at me. She was looking behind me.

At Ryuk.

Well shit, that totally answered my question.

"Light-kun, did you get those files I asked you to retrieve before I left?" L didn't even look my way.

"Yes, Ryuzaki. They're in the file labeled 'Gorbachev', although I don't know if they'll be of any use or not."

"I'll be the determinant of that." God, always with the superior attitude.

"Shall I make some lunch, Master?" Saya asked L politely.

"Yes, but make it something light. I would like to have dinner soon, too." Saya made off towards the kitchen.

"What're you making today, Saya?" Matsuda asked excitedly. I swear, he literally only lived off of her cooking now. He's got an admiration complex, apparently.

"Oh, I'm not sure. Probably something with… Apples." Her gaze flicked quickly at me, but it was gone in a moment. Damn, if I wanted my plan to work, I had to act fast.

I turned my body towards her, giving her a polite grin, "That bag of apples in there is pretty heavy. You want me to help you lift it?"

"I am positive that I can do it on my own, but if you feel you must assist then by all means," With that she walked briskly into the kitchen. I followed her, feeling L's piercing gaze on me as I did.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, I saw a blur hurling towards my face. I instinctively closed my eyes and felt immediate relief when I heard the sound of the apple being caught. I opened my eyes to look up at Ryuk, who bit into the juicy apple in his hand. He wasn't even looking at Saya, who had her right arm outstretched, looking like a pitcher who had just thrown the baseball at 80 mph.

"What did you throw an apple at me for?" I snapped.

"Shinigami like apples, I was just trying to help." She looked at me with wide, mischievous eyes. Her innocent look wasn't fooling me one bit. Saya _never_ acted this way in front of L.

The thought of me seeing a side of her that L hadn't sent a pleasant chill up my spine, but I had to stay cool. I needed my plan to work, even if it took all that I had.

"So, it uh, it looks like you really didn't need my help after all," I gestured to the entire sack of apples that was now lying on the counter. Seriously, how did she get that onto there so quickly? That bag had to be at least 50 pounds if not heavier.

"I believe I informed you that you were going to be useless from the beginning," Although her cold words were directed at me, her attention was not. Her eyes were on Ryuk, looking at him with a fascinated expression.

"How can you see my Shinigami? How do you know anything about what's going on?" I asked. Saya kept her gaze fixed on Ryuk.

"Look at me." She commanded. Though her voice was low, the authority in it was obviously not something to be toyed with. Ryuk's head immediately snapped to her, making me gawk. Why would he ever listen to her?

"This _boy_," I could almost hear the sneer in her voice, "What does he know?"

"Absolutely nothing." Ryuk responded.

"Good, let's keep it that way."

"For the love of all that is holy I'm right here." I sighed.

Ryuk chuckled darkly, "Oh, the irony."

"Somebody explain to me what is going on!" I fumed. Ryuk just looked at me and shoved the rest of the apple into his mouth before disappearing again. Jesus Christ, how long was he going to be gone for this time? I had to take a breath and calm down. Getting worked up would only get something even heavier thrown at my head.

"Do you two know each other?" I couldn't help but ask.

"No." Saya turned on the stove and placed a skillet on the top, "And frankly, it isn't any of your business." That was it. That was my moment.

"Oh, I think it is," I slipped my body between her and the stove. Her eyes widened at my sudden intrusion of her personal space. "You see, Saya. I've grown to become very interested in you." Her crimson eyes widened as she looked up at me. That's right. Like I said, all girls are the same. They want attention, they want to feel wanted.

I didn't account for the outright glare that she gave me, "Light, I am going to say this very nicely one time. Get out of my way before I do something to you that my master would not approve of."

"Oh, there are a lot of things that I would like you to do to me that your master wouldn't approve of." And with that perverted line, I effectively got slammed head-first into the entire sack of apples. I crashed onto the floor with the apples falling onto the ground around me. I felt as if my head were spinning on a loose axis. I was certain that she gave me a concussion.

The noises made must have been louder than I thought, because suddenly everybody rushed into the kitchen.

"Are you alright?" My father asked, looking at me on the floor.

"It seems the apples were too heavy for Light. He put the entire sack over his shoulder and they just took him down." Saya sounded incredibly concerned, that lying bitch. My father came over to me.

"Is your head alright?" He asked.

"He hit his head when he fell. I believe he may have a concussion." Saya turned off the stove and came over next to me. She began picking up the apples that were scattered all over the floor, and she had a damn smirk on her face as she did it.

"You really should be more careful, Light-kun." I looked up at L, and through my dizziness I could see a smirk on his face that matched Saya's. What was he smirking about? There was no way he could have known what was going on in here. He was nowhere close to the kitchen.

"Yeah, I uh, I think I'm going to go rest for a bit." I let my father help me up.

"If you have a concussion, you shouldn't rest. Mister Matsuda, please take Light upstairs and lay him down. Keep talking to him, too. If he falls asleep while in the first stages of a concussion, he may not ever wake up." Was I seriously the only one who could hear the maliciousness in her tone? She wanted _Matsuda_ to continuously talk to me? She was pure evil. And I think I liked that.

"Of course, Miss Saya!" Matsuda took me from my father and began to carry me out of the kitchen.

"I'll call you both when lunch is done!" Saya's satisfied tone echoed from the kitchen as Matsuda dragged me upstairs.

Damn, she wasn't to be taken lightly.


	8. Chapter 8

**L's POV**

"Saya, wear this from now on." She looked up at me. She was standing in the kitchen, and I was looking down at her from over the second floor railing. I tossed the object in my hand over the railing and she caught it smoothly.

"A ribbon, Master?" For the first time, I saw her face scrunch up in confusion.

"Yes. I thought it would suit you." It was a silk black and white ribbon with a good sized bow already tied in the middle of it.

"May I please ask why?" Her demeanor was intriguing me. At this moment she actually seemed more human than anything. Was that what confusion did to demons? Made them break out of their carefully crafted façade? I had to admit, seeing Saya looking like a normal human was rather cute.

"I saw it, and I believe I already said that I thought it would suit you. Now please, put it on." Suddenly a new aura radiated off of her. I could visibly see the agitation in her movements as she brought up the ribbon and swiftly began to tie it around her neck.

"Saya, what are you doing?" I asked, making my way down the stairs to her.

"What you requested, Master," I could hear the slight venom in her voice, "I'm putting the ribbon on." She finished tying it and there it was, like a larger than average bowtie on her.

I almost laughed at her, "Saya, it was meant to go in your hair. It was never meant to act as a collar. I would never treat you like a dog." If I didn't laugh before, I sure chuckled now. A blush crawled up Saya's cheeks as her eyes widened in realization.

"Well, this is rather…" _Embarrassing._ She didn't have to say it out loud. It was obvious that for the first time since we had met, she was flustered. Her hands fumbled over the knot she had created on the ribbon. With her current agitation she was sure to rip it or something. I couldn't have that.

"Here, allow me," I moved behind her and began to carefully undo the knot. I almost smiled again at what Saya had thought originally. She assumed I wanted to put a collar on her? What kind of selfish, moronic bastard would do that to someone like her? As I moved my fingers, I briefly brushed the back of Saya's neck. Her skin was indeed smooth as I had thought. Not that I thought about touching her or anything. It was a simple observation from many weeks of looking at her. Not that I was looking at her with purpose, she was just there all of the time. Not that I minded.

I finally got the ribbon undone from around her neck and began wrapping it around her ponytail.

"Master, you don't have to-" She attempted to grab onto the ribbon herself, but I gently brushed her hands away.

"I am fully aware of all of my options at any point in time. Trust me, you don't have to tell me what I do and don't have to do." It sounded a bit colder than I had intended, but those words seemed to put her more at ease as she let me finish.

"Perfect." I breathed as I looked at her. The ribbon in her hair really did suit her.

"Thank you, Master. I appreciate your generosity." She bowed. And she was back. Before, I wouldn't have been able to tell that she wasn't an ordinary girl, which proved that Saya could function with the normal human population.

"Are you finished with your cooking? We need to get to the office."

"Yes, I am. I thank you wholeheartedly for allowing me to prep at home before beginning the cooking at the office. The appliances that you provided me with here are much more suitable to preparing a suitable meal for my master." So polite. So subservient. It made me feel weird for no reason.

When Saya had finished packing up her preparatory ingredients, we headed out. Saya's driving was still extremely fast and erratic, but I had grown used to it by now. In fact, the speed at which she drove actually made for a smoother trip. As we turned the corner onto the road which held my place of employment, I noticed Saya sitting up straighter in her seat. Saya's arm shot out to hold me still in my seat as the car spun out of control. Saya had just made the fastest illegal U-turn I had ever seen. She drove in the opposite direction even faster than before.

"Saya, what do you think you're doing?" I demanded. I didn't like not knowing what was going on, it was a pet peeve.

"I apologize, Master. But I'm going to get you somewhere where you can't cause trouble while I'm gone." What the hell did that mean?

She answered none of my questions and ignored my berating as she parked the car in some dark place. I could hardly make out where we were, which was unsettling considering it was the middle of the day. Saya undid her seatbelt and turned to look at me.

"Something is wrong at your work, Master. I am going to go and take care of the disturbance. It wouldn't be safe for you to get out of the car, so I would like for you to promise me that you'll stay in here."

"Saya, I can-"

"_Promise me._" Her voice left no room for argument, and all I could do was nod. She breathed a quick sigh of relief before reaching over me. I fell backwards very quickly, not really understanding.

"It will be much safer for you if you stay down, Master. Now, I'll be back as soon as possible." With that she got out of the car and was gone. I reached up and jiggled the handle on the door. Of course she locked it.

I sighed and pulled my feet up onto the seat. It was useless to argue with her, and I didn't think I could disobey her even if I wanted to. Wasn't I the master here? Since when did a puny little girl with an intellect that I highly doubted matched mine get to order me around? Why would I even allow her to?

Well, it seemed that I would have time to think about all of those questions while Saya did her job.

**Light's POV**

"I'm telling you, you don't have to do this!" I looked back and forth from the men who were currently holding guns toward us. I wasn't even sure how they all managed to get in here. There had to be at least fifteen men holding very dangerous firearms.

"You don't know anything, little boy. Now, where's your daddy?" They were here for my father. Were these the same guys that L had told us about? I looked over at Matsuda and Aizawa, who had their hands behind their head, just like I did.

"W-We don't know who you're talking about." Matsuda stuttered unconvincingly. The guy nearest him hit him in the face with the butt of his gun, sending him to the floor.

"Get back up!" The man yelled at him. Matsuda shakily raised himself back up. His nose was bleeding, and a nasty bruise was already beginning to form on his right cheek. The man with his gun aimed at me, the man who looked to be in charge, began pacing.

"Alright, no nobody has to get hurt here as long as you give up Yagami's location." He had a rough voice, one that you would expect to hear come from a longtime smoker.

After a few moments of silence, Matsuda just had to open his mouth. "You can't honestly think that we're going to-" A loud gunshot rang out. Matsuda went down quickly, groaning and clutching his leg. Blood was oozing from his thigh. That probably hurt like a bitch.

"It didn't have to go this far!" The leader cried out, most likely trying to get the attention of my father, whom I had instructed to hide behind the steel railing on the second floor. They would never see him there.

"First you put my right hand man in jail, then you had to fuck up another three of my guys before sending _them_ to jail, too! I'm not playing anymore, Yagami!" There was still silence. The only thing I could take solace in was the fact that my father wasn't coming out of his hiding spot. Damn, if only I had my Death Note, or if Misa were here. These guys would be toast.

What would they do when L got here with Saya? Would they get hurt, too? A smile almost broke out on my face at the thought of both of them getting killed by these gang members just for walking in the door. Then everything would be perfect. L would be out of the way, Saya would be long gone, and the best part was that Kira wouldn't be to blame at all!

"Alright Yagami, you've got to the count of three before I shoot your precious baby boy." The leader pointed his gun at me once again. I could feel the sweat almost dripping off of me. Was my dad really worth my life?

"One."

I mean, it was _me_ who was making the world a safer place. I was the one making sure that no crime went unpunished.

"Two."

In his entire line of work, my father never issued half of the justice that I did. Out of the two of us, it was I who deserved to live.

"Thr-"

"I'm right here!" Just as I thought, my father rose from his hiding spot, "Just take that gun out of my son's face!"

"Aw, daddy came to your rescue little boy." The man patted me twice on the cheek with his gun before bringing it hard across my face, sending me to the floor.

"Light!" My dad cried out.

"I'm fine!" I assured. Man, my jaw hurt. Even though I was down, when I looked up I saw no less than five guns still pointed at me. At least these guys were efficient.

"Yeah, he's fine. Now get down here and take your punishment like a man." None too slowly my father walked to the stairs to come down.

"No, Dad!" I feigned horror before taking a boot to the same cheek I got hit on. I could taste the blood in my mouth as I saw my father place his foot on the very last step before all of the lights went out.

"What the hell?" I heard one of the guys yell. This shouldn't be happening. The power generator assured that even during massive storms the electricity wouldn't give out. It was almost pitch dark in here as our assailants had put the blackout blinds down over all of the windows.

"Somebody get one of those blinds up so we can see!" I stood up quickly, ready to disarm the gang's leader. At that moment the light flickered back on. Then off. Then on. Then off. Seriously, this was too weird. But then I noticed.

Every time the light came back on, there would be less and less gang members. In the span of our fifteen second power shortage, all of the gang members were on the floor out cold. Except for the leader, of course.

With finality the lights came back on and stayed on. The leader was looking around frantically, not comprehending the sight before him. Hell, _I_ couldn't understand what was going on.

"What the hell?" I could hear the fear in the man's voice as he raised his gun at the empty air. I had unconsciously backed away from him, towards my father.

"I believe I have already been through this before." That voice sent chills down my spine. I knew that voice, but it was dangerous. Dripping with much more venom than I had ever heard before.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Saya appeared behind our assailant, "Just how many times are you _scum_ going to inconvenience my master?" Her hands were behind her back, but her stance was entirely predatory. How did she even get in here without anybody noticing? Even more than that, how did she take out almost fifteen men with large muscles and even larger guns? The man turned quickly, pointing his gun at her.

"You did this? Impossible, you're just a girl. There's no way…" Saya had begun circling him, much as a lioness circles her prey before pouncing.

"That's exactly what one of your friends said before I shot him." I could hear the antagonistic tone in her voice. Was she trying to piss him off?

"You bitch." He spat before putting pressure on the trigger. A loud shot rang out again, only this time nobody was hurt.

Saya had the barrel of his gun in her hand, pointed upward. Almost immediately her other hand shot out to the butt of it. So quick were her movements as she flipped the end of the gun upwards, hitting him in the face with it much harder than either Matsuda or I got hit. There was a sickening crunch as his nose broke from the hit and he let go of the gun. I expected Saya to use it or something, but she just tossed the gun to the side. Her leg shot out and got him directly in the stomach, making him hunch over. She didn't let up as she continued to kick the crap out of this man. All of Saya's movements were sharp and precise, like she was made specifically for killing. She didn't look like she was exerting much force at all, although the man surely proved that she was hitting hard.

When the man stopped moving was when Saya finally calmed down. She looked with unpitying eyes at the man who she had robbed of defending himself.

"I-Is he dead?" Matsuda asked, trying to get up but failing. He hissed and grabbed his leg again.

"Unfortunately not. My master wouldn't approve of me taking a life in his honor, even if it were scum like these." She sounded disappointed, as if she wouldn't have even cared if she killed all of those men. Like she said though, they were scum. Saya and I, we were alike. We dealt out justice where it was needed. If others couldn't get to the bad guys, then we would.

Saya's eyes scanned the room, looking over each one of us quickly before sighing, "If you'll call the authorities now, that would be quite beneficial. And clean yourselves up, please. Mister Matsuda, I will take care of your wound when I get back." She turned to leave, as if nothing had even happened.

"Wait! Where are you going?" I wasn't going to lie, now that I knew about her unconventional ways of promoting justice, I felt like she was perfect for me. Together we would take out all of the wrongdoers in the world. Forget the crime rate dropping 70 percent, with her, it would be 100 in no time.

"I'm going to get my master. I've kept him waiting long enough." She didn't even spare me a glance as she walked out, her red hair swishing attractively behind her.

I couldn't make a move on her like I did before. Last time, she gave me an outright concussion for being so audacious. I needed to get her to fall in love with me. Or, at the very least, want to work with me. It would be incredibly advantageous for us both, as we would both be ruling the new world together.

_Together_.

The word made my hair stand on edge. I could easily get rid of Misa. She was of basically no use to me until I ordered her to start killing again. Saya would be able to help with that, as she obviously had no real regard for the horrible inhabitants of this world. She was obviously good with fighting as well, as shown today. She was also close to L. If I could shift her loyalty over to me, it would be a piece of cake killing him. But how would I go about obtaining Saya?

"Light, are you okay?" My father closed his phone and looked over my face. I assumed I had bruising along my left cheek, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

"Yeah. You already called the police?"

"Yes, they will be here momentarily. Would you mind helping Aizawa and I get Matsuda to the couch?"

"Yeah, no problem."


	9. Chapter 9

**Light's POV**

Well, it was official. I had only known Saya for a few months, and already she had kicked my ass, saved my life, shocked me, amazed me, infuriated me, and infatuated me in the time allotted. I spaced out as I stared at her. She was patching up Matsuda, her normally gloved hands in another pair of latex gloves. The bullet that had invaded his leg was on a paper towel on the table next to Saya. She had done a pretty quick and efficient job at getting it out with just tweezers and a pen. The police had left long ago with all of the gang members, thankfully.

"T-Thanks a lot, Saya. I don't know what I would've done without you." Matsuda commented, rubbing the back of his head.

"You most likely would have continued bleeding until the paramedics got here, then you would have been transferred to a hospital like any normal person, Mister Matsuda." Jeez, Saya sure wasn't one to use metaphors with.

"It was an expression of gratitude," Matsuda tried to explain, but Saya seemed to be having none of it.

"I wouldn't have done it unless it was in the best interest of my master. So please, spare your thanks for someone more deserving." You see, it was when she said things like that that I felt like I had no chance. She was so loyal and thoughtful of L, and that was irritating. And did she not hear the way she talked about herself? It sounded like her doing an excellent job was actually just something to berate her about. Did she have low self esteem or something? No, with her demeanor and looks, that couldn't be farther from the truth. When she walked, she had more confidence in her step than a lion in the middle of his pride.

Dammit, if I couldn't find a weakness in her, then how could I ever hope to win her over?

"Saya, would you please look at Light, too? He was bleeding from his mouth earlier and I just want to make sure…" My father asked kindly. He, as most people, had taken to Saya quite well. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he saw her as a child of his own. That was ridiculous.

"You told me that Light got hit in the face, right? Bleeding from the mouth is common, especially if he bit his cheek or a tooth got loosened." She looked at my father, no interest in her voice whatsoever. Did she act like that when it was about me on purpose? She knew something about me that nobody else, minus Misa, did.

"Yes, but I'm just… It's a parent thing. Please?" Saya sighed and gave a small, respectful smile to my father.

"A parent's love and worry. What a truly interesting thing." She walked over to me at the couch and got down on both knees in front of me so that we were face-to-face. I said nothing as I stared at her. She stared right back at me, her red eyes seeming to pierce into my soul. Why was she just staring? Was there something on my face? Blood, maybe? Or did she find me attractive? With any other girl I wouldn't be surprised, but Saya? I should have known my looks would win her over.

"Are you going to open your mouth or not?" She snapped, and suddenly I felt stupid. She was just waiting to examine my mouth. I could have punched myself.

I opened my mouth wide and felt her delicate hand on my chin as she moved my head to get a better look at the inside of my mouth. In the blink of an eye she had one of her fingers in my mouth, feeling around. Oh god, I hope I don't drool on her or something. That would be embarrassing.

"Oh, I found it." She murmured to herself. She tilted my head down slightly so that we were at eye level.

"If you bite me, I will kill you where you are." What did she mean by that?

I was about to ask until I felt the sharpest pain in my mouth. What the hell was she doing? As excruciating as the pain was, it was over in a flash. Saya took her hand out of my mouth and smiled an evil, wretched smile. She had enjoyed causing me pain.

"You had a tooth that was about to come out of its socket. I put it back for you." She said sweetly. I had to admit, my mouth didn't hurt. I mean, my jaw still felt sore, but now I didn't feel uncomfortable with the alignment of my own teeth anymore.

"Thank you, Saya." I told her.

"Oh, don't thank me." She politely smiled and started to walk back towards L while pulling off the latex gloves that were on her hand.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because these were the gloves I used when I was working on Matsuda." I could hear the amusement in her voice. I immediately began to spit out whatever remnants I could from my mouth. That complete bitch! How dare she? Never in my life had I been treated as shitty as the way Saya had treated me since I had met her.

Of course, my disgust wasn't completely sympathized with, because I could hear laughter coming from the others in the room.

"That's not funny! Do you know how much bacteria could be in Matsuda's blood? I could get sick or something!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Light-kun. The amount of blood on Saya's gloves was virtually nothing, and you have nothing to worry about." L took a sip of the tea that Saya had brought him. I wanted to argue with him, but I couldn't. Not without sounding like a complete idiot.

"Saya, where'd you get that ribbon?" Aizawa asked. Instinctively her white-gloved hand reached for the ribbon.

"Don't mess with it, Saya. I like it the way it is." L ordered and her hand immediately dropped back down to her side.

"It was a gift from my master." Saya told us. The tone in her voice was off though, as if she didn't feel comfortable saying it to us.

"Ryuzaki got someone a gift? A _girl_a gift?" Matsuda chuckled before coming face first with L's foot.

"I don't like what you're implying, Matsuda. So if you have any brain cells left I would suggest you keep your mouth shut." His voice was monotonous as ever, but even I questioned his intentions with that ribbon. Was he seriously trying to mark her? As if that ribbon showed us all that Saya belonged to him? What absolute crap. How did Saya even put up with that? Why was L even possessive over her? Did he… No. That couldn't be it. Even if it was, Saya would never feel the same. If she were even close to being interested in him, she would have already told L about me being Kira. But she hadn't, which meant something.

"Sorry, Ryuzaki." Matsuda apologized, his voice muffled by L's foot that was still crushing his face. L let up his foot and obvious relief flooded Matsuda's features. Saya stood back, her eyes on L as if he were a proud mother gazing upon her only son. What the hell?

"Saya, are those prepared ingredients still in the car?"

"Yes, Master."

"Go get them. I believe we are all more than a little hungry now after that fiasco earlier." L ordered. Saya was immediately out the door, doing as L had requested.

I got up to follow, "I'll go help-"

"She is more than capable of getting everything herself, Light-kun." L told me sternly.

"I was just trying to be nice, Ryuzaki." I snapped. I was tired of him always ordering me to stay away from Saya. Did he think that I would steal her away from him or something? Yes, that had to be it. L was afraid of me taking Saya away from him! I almost smiled at the thought, but I knew that it wouldn't help matters.

"And I'm just trying to assure you that my butler will never be in need of assistance. She's independent and strong, she doesn't need anybody else."

"You sound quite fond of her, Ryuzaki." My father commented. L seemed to ponder that statement for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, I believe I am. She is very useful to me, and I do enjoy having such a capable servant." See, that I never understood. One moment he's acting possessive as if he likes her, then the next he's talking about her so distantly. Like strictly employer and employee. What exactly was going on between them?

Saya walked in through the doors carrying various tupperware containers and seasonings, heading straight for the kitchen. She spared none of us a single glance, not that we expected her to.

"Yes, quite useful." L murmured to himself. Sometimes I just wanted to bash his skull so I could get a look at what was going on in his head.

In no time dinner was done. Saya presented an impressive fettuccini alfredo with fresh seared scallops. She even made us crème brûlée. How I got better food at my work than at a five-star restaurant I will never know.

"Saya, do you want to sit down and eat some of this?" Aizawa asked. That brought another thing to mind: I never saw Saya eat, drink, or basically do anything that normal people did. Saya responded to Aizawa kindly and respectfully.

"Thank you for your consideration, Mister Aizawa. However, it is not in my job description to partake in these sort of things. I cook specifically according to my master, that is all."

"Jesus," Matsuda breathed, "Ryuzaki can have this cooking anytime he wants?"

"Of course," Saya smiled politely, "After all, if I couldn't do this much, then what kind of butler would I be?"

After that, seemed as if time had passed extremely quickly. All of the food had been eaten and everything had been cleaned up and put away by Saya. L checked the clock and sighed.

"Well, even though we got virtually no work done today, I'm going to suggest we all say goodnight. Unless Light-kun would like to continue working. I trust that he can continue working by himself." It was getting pretty late. And L was right, we hadn't gotten any work done besides what we had finished before that break-in we had. I looked at the rest of the team, they were all exhausted, and I had a couple of errands to run.

"No, actually, I think it would be a good idea for us all to go home and get a good night's rest. After all, a rested mind works the best."

"That isn't actually true. After all, I happen to have one of the most brilliant minds in history, and I hardly sleep at all." L commented. I wanted to roll my eyes so badly at that comment.

"Saya, let's go." The two of them took off immediately, leaving the rest of us to bid our goodbyes before taking our own leaves. I got into my car and started it, pulling out my cell phone and dialed the number I had previously memorized. I couldn't help the grin that came over my face as I thought about what was in store for Saya tomorrow.

She wouldn't be able to resist temptation.

**L's POV**

As always, the drive home was a quick one. Huh, it was still weird having an actual home to come back to every night. I looked over at Saya in the driver's seat. I now shared my life, my soul, with this demon who wished to devour every ounce of it. I wondered how many souls she had consumed before mine, how many other people she served with the sheer perfection that she did me. I knew that I wasn't a special case for her, she had done this with other humans who knows how many times. I felt a slight tightness in my chest. Had I eaten my food too quickly?

"Master, we are back." She got out of the car and quickly came over to my side, opening my door for me as usual. I got out and she followed me to the door. I pulled out my key and placed it in the lock, where, surprisingly, it didn't do anything.

"Is something wrong, Master?"

"The door. It's already unlocked. Did you forget to lock it when we left?" I felt her hands on my shoulders as she pulled me behind her.

"I would never forget something as simple as that." I could almost see the anxiety radiating off of her. This wasn't the same thing as those thugs trying to get back at us. It was something else, and that made me curious.

"Stay behind me, Master. I don't want to leave you out here alone, just in case." I followed her as she opened the door and cautiously and stepped foot into the house. It seemed that Saya's previous statement had been true, this house was completely susceptible to break-ins. I would have to have her get a top notch security system for this place.

We proceeded at a slower-than-normal pace throughout the house until we got to the spacious living room. Suddenly Saya stood up straighter, her stance no longer waiting to rip somebody's head off. Instead, she had more of a confused look on her face.

"Oh, look who finally decided to show up!" An accented voice boomed playfully. A boy emerged from behind the couch as a little kid would. This boy couldn't have been older than 17 or 18. He was tall, his legs long enough to give a nice kick to my face if he wanted. He was wearing very fancy clothing, and while his blond hair was obviously well cared for, his blue eyes held all sorts of mischief. His gaze was fixed on Saya as he smiled a sadistic smile before opening his arms as if he were going to hug somebody.

"Honey, I'm home!" He leaped towards Saya and I. Saya rapidly wrapped her arms around me and in a flash we were on the complete opposite side of the room. When she let go of me I felt dizzy from the speed at which I had just been moved. Sensing this, Saya kept her hands on my shoulders to steady me. I had grown accustomed to her touch, it was soothing.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Her voice held complete confusion accompanied perfectly with malice.

The blond boy stuck out his lower lip in a childish fashion, "Aww, you don't look happy to see me, Saya. And here I am, coming all this way just to see you again."

"Mister Trancy," Her low tone held finality, "Explain to me why you broke into my master's house before I am forced to assume you are a threat." The boys face scrunched up in disgust.

"Master? Oh, that?" He pointed at me.

"You would do well to respect my master in his home. Do not make me repeat myself." The boy shrugged and plopped himself down on my couch.

"Can't I just want to see you again? How you left me wasn't fair at all, after all." God, even the way he spoke made it clear that he was a spoiled brat.

"Saya, who is this?" I asked. Her grip on me involuntarily tightened on my shoulders as she stared at the boy who looked quite comfy on my furniture.

"That would be Aloise Trancy. My former master."


	10. Chapter 10

**L's POV**

I looked back and forth between Saya and Aloise. Former master? That made absolutely no sense.

"If he is your former master, then why…?" How should I have finished that? _Why was he alive? Why did he still have a soul? Why was he __**in my house**__?_

"I'm here because Saya's coming back with me, honestly." His British accent coated his words.

"Pardon me? Little boy, you should be grateful that you're not _dead._ Now get out before I remove you from the premises." Saya snapped, all previous composure gone. Aloise once again took on that sadistic grin.

"Oh, you're not going to lay a finger on me, Saya." He raised one hand in the air and snapped his fingers. It was so loud, it was as if it had echoed throughout the entire house, which wasn't possible.

In a flash there was a man standing behind Aloise. His posture was great, his face stony, and his clothing incredibly unnerving. He was wearing a butler uniform, the exact same one as Saya's only in menswear. His cold golden eyes stared at the both of us uninterestedly.

"Yes, Master." His voice, though much deeper, reminded me of Saya's obedient tone. Saya's hands which were previously supporting me fell, as did her face. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the two men in front of her, both of whom she was obviously familiar with.

"Claude Faustus." Her voice was soft, unbelieving. It seemed as if her mind spun a sudden one-eighty as her expression hardened into one of anger, "What are you doing here?"

"He is my new butler, Saya." Aloise grinned.

"You two do not have a contract." Saya stated.

"Of course not. Do not fret, Saya. I still belong to you," With that he stuck his tongue out, almost making me choke on my own spit.

On his tongue was the exact same tattoo as I had. That same star with that same intricate pattern of designs. Though, the coloring was quite a bit different. Whereas mine was dark and neat, his looked worn, like a child's apply-it-yourself tattoo that was peeling off. What was going on?

"I'm not quite understanding what the both of you are trying to accomplish by breaking into my master's house."

This time it looked as if Claude were going to speak up. He pressed his thin glasses farther up his nose before opening his mouth, "I have been recruited to bring you back to my master's place of residence."

"That's crazy!" Saya yelled for the first time since I had known her, "You don't even have a contract with him, why would you do anything that he asks of you? Do you have any pride?" The look on Saya's face told me that she was more confused than anything. There was so much I wanted to ask her, but that would have to be saved for later.

"I have my reasons, Miss Abernathy. Now, if you would make it so much easier on all of us and just come along-"

"You can't have his soul, you know! Why are you trying to make this brat happy when there is nothing in it for you? He's human, he's gonna die, and you're going to be left with nothing, Claude. You wouldn't even want his soul. I didn't." It was so quick that I couldn't keep up. Claude's hand shot out and something flew straight at Saya. She, not surprisingly, caught it in her hand before it could hit her straight in the eyeball.

"It would do you well not to speak ill of my master." Claude warned.

"Funny, I said the same thing to your master a few minutes ago." Saya spat. She looked down at what she had caught and her eyes widened in amusement.

"Gold plated silverware? Mister Trancy, I thought you would've gotten rid of these old things." Her tone was condescending, yet not once during this ordeal did it ever lose its undertone of politeness. Maybe it was just because of her accent, though. Terrible of me, I know.

"Look Mister Trancy, Mister Faustus, as much as I would love to continue this, I'm afraid I just don't have the time to fit you into my schedule tonight. We will settle this another time, on _another _battlefield. So, if you would please," She gestured to the door. Aloise stared at her and seemed to consider it.

"Claude, get her." Just when I had assumed things were about to calm down, Claude quickly lunged toward Saya and I. I felt her arms wrap around me as she placed me in the corner, farthest away from Claude, before going after him herself.

All this time, every time I watched Saya use near-deadly force, it was as if it were nothing to her. Like she wasn't even trying. Now was different. As she and Claude struck each other, you could easily hear the impact of the blows. It seemed as if the two were on equal footing, going in for the kill before retreating and blocking more attacks. I noticed Saya going more on the defensive, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why. Couldn't she just beat the crap out of this guy and get Aloise out of here? Why was she being so careful?

I would probably have come to a conclusion, if my thought process hadn't been interrupted. I saw a figure approach me quickly and turned just before a fist struck out at me. Instinctively, I put my hand up to block the blow that was about to come. A sharp pain came through my hand and I pulled away quickly. Standing there was Aloise, and he hadn't been about to hit me. No, in his hand was a very new, very sharp pocketknife. I looked at the blood that was now pooling in my palm. Aloise had cut me.

"Oh, that's a shame. I missed." His childish tone put me more on edge as he came for me again.

"Master!" I heard Saya call. I looked over and saw her worried expression as she evaded hit after hit from Claude. She was currently out of commission, I suppose. I looked at the boy wielding the pocketknife.

"I'll have you know that I'm not as weak as I look." I told him. As soon as he was within distance, I shot out my foot and kicked him in the face. The knife flew out of his hand and I kicked it under the couch. I had no problem fighting this brat, but I did have a problem with physically fighting unfairly.

"Why you slimy-" His insults were cut off as I repeatedly kicked him in his boyish face. It wasn't hard, he was really rather weak. He certainly wasn't made for fighting, but then again, I really wasn't either.

I went to kick Aloise once more, just one more time would knock him out. However, my body was pulled back by hands that were definitely too big to be Saya's.

"Get your hands off of me." I told Claude. He kept his grip on me, though. With his height, it would have been a stretch to try and kick him. I reached around and slammed my hand across his jaw. It didn't do much, but as soon as I did that Saya was beside me, grabbing me and pulling me away from him. It was a bit awkward, though she was shorter than me, she kept her arms around me as a mother would her infant child.

"Do not ever touch my master again, Claude. Or you won't live long enough to regret it." Saya spat. I looked at Claude and saw a bit of blood running down his face. It was my blood, as it was still running down my hand. Claude said nothing as his tongue flicked out and he tasted my blood. I would have shuddered at the thought of someone willingly putting my blood in their mouth, but Claude's eyes quickly flashed before he looked over at me. He looked at me like I was the greatest thing he had ever seen in his life.

"Claude," Saya's tone was harder this time, a tad more desperate, "Take your master and go, before I am forced to kill the both of you." Oddly compliant, Claude nodded and picked up Aloise bridal-style before carrying him out the door without a word. Saya quickly shut the door and locked it, coming back over to me and grabbing my injured hand.

"My sincerest apologies, Master. I… I didn't protect you." Her eyes seemed to hold great shame.

"Well, yes, you did. Who knows what would have happened to me if you had allowed Claude to injure me? That little boy didn't even know how to properly hold the knife, so he wasn't a huge issue." Was I attempting to comfort the demon? Her movements were steady, but her eyes told me that she was agitated, shaken up. Without saying a word to me, Saya quickly got up and grabbed medical supplies from the bathroom, then began fixing up my hand.

"Okay, explain it to me now. All of it." Her red eyes widened.

"Master, you really wouldn't ca-"

"If I didn't want to know then I wouldn't have asked. They invaded the sanctity of our home, and I demand answers. Now, who are they?" She hesitated before obeying.

"Aloise Trancy and Claude Faustus. Claude is a demon, like myself. However, I do not quite understand why he is working under Aloise-"

"You said Aloise was your previous master."

"Correct."

"Shouldn't that mean that his soul should be, well, inside you or something? However you demons store the souls that you eat."

"I didn't devour his soul like I was meant to. I couldn't."

"And why not?"

"Because he was in love with me," her eyes seemed to harden, "A 15 year-old human boy, clingy and convinced that he was in love with me. The dependence clung to his soul, making it nauseating to even be around him. Instead of grasping the life essence of his fears, his life, his greatest wishes, all I could feel was his absolute desire for me. It ruined everything." Her nose scrunched up.

"So, you didn't want him because he fell in love with you?" The question made my chest tighten slightly for unknown reasons.

"Yes and no. I have devoured souls with that feeling before, however, with the kind of person Mister Trancy is, his desire tainted his soul. He is a selfish being. I knew that before I even started serving him. But he was a cruel child, and whatever he wanted consumed everything about him. It wasn't just that he had an obsession with me, it was the fact that his soul was so easily tainted and swayed. I couldn't consume something that foul." So love wasn't a horrible thing, it was the fact that Aloise was a complete little shit that turned her off?

"Wait, so you can just choose to not take someone's soul if you don't want to?" Saya shook her head.

"It isn't that easy. I cannot just _not_ take a soul. Once my part of the contract is completed, the soul is automatically given to me whether I want it or not."

"Then how the hell did Aloise get away from that?" Saya was quiet for a moment before answering me.

"An angel," She whispered, "I asked an angel to help me break the contract. Surely enough, the angel was more than happy to assist me, considering it would cause a truck load of pain to do."

"How did the angel break the contract?" I asked.

"I don't really know, I was passed out for half of it. The pain was excruciating. But she ended up breaking the seal, and I no longer felt Aloise as a connection."

"You were that desperate to not take his soul?" Wasn't a demon supposed to not care about that kind of stuff? You know, it doesn't matter how you win as long as you do kind of thing?

"I wouldn't be able to stand having that kind of a soul reside within me." She finished wrapping up my hand and stood up, "Would you like to take this conversation over to the couch, Master? It would be quite a bit more comfortable for you." I nodded, heading over and sitting down on the couch. Saya stayed standing in front of me.

"You sit down, too. It's awkward if I'm the only one sitting."

"Master? It isn't my place to-"

"Just sit down and stop acting like I'm royalty or something." She stopped talking and complied, sitting down on the couch as far away from me as she could.

"You can continue explaining now."

"What would you like me to explain?" I thought about it for a moment. Aloise's obsession with Saya, though completely creepy, did stem from love. Now that I've spent time with Saya, I could completely understand why he wanted her back so badly. She was beautiful, but that was miniscule in comparison to what I had already observed. The very few times that she had let her guard down, she was so _normal_. When she was confused, she was adorable. When she was angry or irritated, she would bite her lip and tap her right foot. I noticed everything about her, even though I didn't actually mean to. I couldn't help but feel so attached to her.

"Would you still take my soul if I fell in love with you?"

"Most certainly." Was her quick reply. She didn't even have to think about it, apparently. Noticing her quick reply, I swear I saw the faint outline of a blush come onto her cheeks. It was rather cute.

"What I mean is, your soul is different. It wouldn't be clouded or tainted by things such as emotion. Your soul is so spectacular because it is full of knowledge and intellect. You can think of souls being delicious in two ways. The first way, would be, as humans call it, mother's home cooking. It's full of pleasant emotions and is dripping in care for the world and all its inhabitants. The second kind would be the category that you fall under, Master. No emotions, yet the finesse and delicacy to match any other. Such as a five star restaurant. No emotions are put on the plate, only perfection."

"You just compared me to a five-star meal." I deadpanned. She nodded.

"Indeed. Regardless of the emotions you possess, they cannot cloud your soul. It's rare really, the kind of soul you-" She stopped talking. Her eyes widened and her brow furrowed in thought.

"Well, now it all makes sense." She murmured to herself.

"Care to explain?" Not that I would give her any other choice.

"Master, do you remember the very first time I came to you?" I thought back to when I was certain I was going to die. The horrible pain in my chest, the fact that I could hardly breathe. Then when everything stopped, there she was to save me. Yes, I remembered everything. I nodded at her to continue.

"Well, back then, I could feel something interfering with me preparing our contract, hence why I had to come to you later on in order to even mark you. I had just assumed it was Kira and his shinigami or whatever, but…" She tapped her chin, "Now that I think about it, that couldn't have been it. No, now I'm positive that it wasn't a shinigami." She quieted down and seemed to be thinking.

"Well then, what is it?" I asked impatiently. Who would try to keep her from making a contract with me? It had to be another supernatural being, one with the power to match a demon's.

"Claude." I answered my own question. Saya nodded.

I sighed, "So, they had been plotting to take you away from me from even that early on." My voice took on a depressed, bored tone.

"Not exactly," Saya reached up and put her hand on my head, and I would be lying if I said it didn't feel nice, "I mean, yes. But nobody is going to take me away from you, Master. At least, not for the reason that you're thinking."

"What do you mean? Aloise wants you back, right?" I knew she could see the wheels turning in my head, because she smiled at me.

"Yes. However, I have reason to suspect that when we first met, Claude and Aloise were not even partners."

"Then why would Claude try to ruin our contract?"

"Because he does indeed want to take me away from you. But it's got nothing to do with me, not really. You shouldn't even have to worry about Aloise much at all. The reason Claude is here, the reason why he's so intent on screwing everything up, it's all because of you." Oh. Well, that made too much sense.

"He wants my soul?" Saya nodded.

"Indeed. He never wanted me to make a contract with you, I'm assuming, because he wanted your soul to devour for himself. As for him being here, I can assure you that Aloise gave him the excuse he needed to get me out of the way."

"But you've marked me. I thought other demons couldn't do anything to me if your mark was here." I pointed to my tongue.

"He doesn't have to worry about my mark if he kills me." She said softly. Her eyes, though, sharply contrasted with her voice. They were hard, challenging, and territorial as I'd ever seen them.

"So, he's going to keep coming after me?" Saya nodded.

"It would seem so. Especially after he got a taste of your blood." She regarded me annoyedly, as if I had done something wrong.

"What is he, a vampire?" I asked sarcastically.

"Your blood holds your life essence, Master. Honestly, what am I going to do with you?" Her polite, playful tone was back for a second before she got up and came in front of me, kneeling down on one knee.

"I am truly sorry for this, Master. It was supposed to be my duty to make things easier for you, not more difficult. I ask that you forgive me, though you have every right to dismiss me if you see my imputence as a breach in our contract." Forgive her? If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be nearly as happy as I had been lately. Just because she had some psycho ex-master that brought along a demon that was obsessed with me, she thought that I would dismiss her as a servant?

"Don't be sorry, just… Just go make me some cake or something." She looked up at me with wide eyes, as if she hadn't actually expected me to say that. Saya got up quickly and made for the kitchen.

"Right away, Master."

Now, what were we going to do about Claude and Aloise?


	11. Chapter 11

**Light's POV**

I set the last plate down and wiped my forehead with my sleeve. Jesus Christ, this had been a lot of work. I looked up at the clock and almost swore out loud. Saya would be here any minute! I quickly grabbed the white cloth that I had sitting on the back of one of the chairs and threw it over my forearm before standing next to the front door.

Right on time, I heard someone approaching the front doors. I took a big breath and felt the anxiety rising in my chest. I closed my eyes tight as the doors opened. I slightly bowed, my face down in embarrassment. It would be worth it, though. No woman would be able to resist this.

"Welcome back!" I said smoothly, my voice coming out more charming than I was expecting it to. Yeah, she wouldn't be able to turn this down.

"Light, what are you doing?" I looked up and felt the blood rush to my face in embarrassment.

"Dad? You're here early…" I trailed off. My dad looked me up and down before raising an eyebrow.

"Why are you dressed like a butler?" He questioned. This couldn't get much worse.

"I, uh… I thought I would take the load off of Saya for a day… She works really hard for us and… You know…" I stumbled over my words. I had called my cousin last night who owned a clothing shop and asked him if I could get an outfit specifically for this. I had even gotten here three hours early to prepare breakfast for everybody because, for the life of me, I couldn't cook. Any girl would swoon over what I had been doing, and Saya wouldn't be any different. I would be _her_ servant for the day.

My father smiled at me, "That is very kind of you, Light. I'm so proud that I raised such a fine young man." He patted me on the shoulder before going over to the table where the food had been set out.

"What the hell is this?" Oh God no. I turned around to see Saya with her hand over her mouth, as if she hadn't meant to say that. She was looking around the room, noticing that I had cleaned the place to the point that the room was practically sparkling. L, on the other hand, just looked at me skeptically. I wanted to punch myself in the face. I was supposed to greet Saya at the door, and I had already fucked that up! Everything else needed to go smoothly.

"Please, take a seat." I ushered them over to the table, where L took a seat, but Saya didn't.

"Please, Saya. I made breakfast this morning so you wouldn't have to." I pulled her chair out for her, but she just stared at the table disbelievingly. I had to admit, when she didn't have her servant's mask on… She was really cute. Like seriously.

"But… That's my job." It almost came out as a question, "Why did you do my job?"

"It's okay, Saya. Light-kun put in all this effort, which by his body posture I would estimate it's been about four hours, so why not just accept it?" Saya looked at L as if she couldn't believe he was making her do this. Hesitantly though, she ended up seated in her chair. I could easily tell that she was still caught off guard.

"Woah, this is new." Aizawa and Matsuda walked in together, looking at the table, more specifically Saya that was sitting at it. They walked over and saw the food already made and sat down immediately.

"So Saya didn't cook this time?" Aizawa asked.

"Of course not, when Saya cooks, it smells-" I smacked him on the back of the head.

"Don't finish that." I spat. I stood up straight and cleared my throat.

"This morning for breakfast, we have, uh…" Dammit, I needed to have the confidence that Saya had when presenting her food, "Uh, scrambled eggs and pancakes and, uh, toast with orange juice…" God, this was so degrading. How did Saya do this everyday? How did she make this look easy?

"Thank you, Light. It all looks delicious." My father smiled at me and scraped a forkful of eggs in his mouth. Almost immediately he began coughing, spitting the eggs back onto his plate. Uh oh. That definitely wasn't a good sign.

When my father was done coughing, he took a sip of orange juice and coughed once more to clear his throat. He looked at me apologetically, which just embarrassed me more.

"It just is… A little…" He trailed off. Nobody said anything or made any move for the food as they all just stared at each other, at the floor, at the table, anywhere but me. Except for Saya.

She grabbed the fork and stabbed one of the eggs and placed it in her mouth. She seemed to chew carefully and thoughtfully before swallowing. Her face didn't look completely horrified though, and that gave me hope.

"This is really terrible." I groaned and hung my head in shame. How was my plan to woo her supposed to work if I couldn't even cook fucking _eggs_ correctly? I put my hands in my hair and rubbed my head in frustration. I was about to flip the entire goddamn table over before I felt a very strong tug on my sleeve. In no time I was being hauled into the kitchen by Saya, who had every one of the plates I had set out in her other hand.

We entered the kitchen and immediately all of the food I had made went into the trash. Saya got out four clean plates and set them aside before going to the fridge and grabbing the eggs.

"Hey wait," I stopped her, "I am supposed to be doing the cooking." Her eyebrow twitched in irritation and she opened her mouth to say something before shutting it. She carefully placed the eggs on the counter and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fine. Grab me all of the ingredients that you used when you made breakfast." In no time I had all of the things I used scattered on the counters. Saya looked at it all with a horrified look on her face.

"Light. You used literally every spice and seasoning we have."

"Well yeah, aren't these what you use when you cook?" I asked. She sighed and walked over to one of the seasonings and held it up.

"Light, what did you use this on?"

"The pancakes. Why?" I asked.

"... This is garlic salt." She deadpanned. I felt really stupid all of a sudden. I hadn't really thought about what I was doing when I had started putting ingredients in the food, I just poured whatever I found in.

"You're hopeless." She placed a hand over her eyes and took a big breath before looking at the stove. She gave me a disgusted look.

"Did you use this pan to cook everything?"

"Was I not supposed to do that?"

"Christ, for someone that my master considers intelligent, you surely are stupid as hell." I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or not.

"Please let me cook this breakfast. I can do it." I clenched my fists at my sides. I needed to prove to her that I was very capable, otherwise my plan would never work. Eventually Saya looked at me, that look of annoyance still on her face.

"Okay, first, you're gonna have to grab a new pan."

It was quick paced as she ordered me around, never once stepping in and helping me. I actually expected her to kick me out of the kitchen after punching me in the face for even trying to do this. However, she seemed more worn out today. There was a certain look in her eyes that screamed weariness. Whatever had made her so tuckered out, I was slightly grateful for it. Her orders were stern, but more teaching than angry. This had been the most she had ever talked to me, without injuring me, that is. I enjoyed listening to her, and I assumed that she was actually really nice when she didn't completely hate your guts.

When all was said and done, I had four perfectly made plates of food. It looked a hell of a lot better than what I had put on the plates earlier. Wait, four?

"Saya, why are there only four plates?"

"Your father, my master, Mister Matsuda, and Mister Aizawa." She answered me, wiping down the counters.

"What about you?" She was the entire reason I even cooked in the first place!

"I'm not hungry. Now, pick up two of the plates." Instead of arguing, I did as she said. She picked up the other two and I followed her out to the main room, where everybody was still seated at the table, just chatting away.

"We sincerely apologize for the wait. Here, Light improved his food, and he hopes it is to your liking." She talked smoothly. Regardless, I felt sort of dejected. Saya wasn't even eating the food.

"This is delicious, Light!" My father told me.

"I have to agree, this is much better." L stuck another forkful of Syrup-drenched pancakes into his mouth.

"How would you know? You didn't even taste it." I countered.

"It was obvious by the smell of it, as well as your father almost choking on the food." He told me in a bored tone. God, I hated him with a burning passion. Saya walked up behind him with the entire pitcher of orange juice. I hadn't even seen her leave. She began pouring everybody more orange juice before taking it back into the kitchen. When everybody was done eating, Saya quickly gathered up the plates and ordered me to get the glasses and silverware. I followed closely behind as we walked away from my co workers.

When we got into the kitchen Saya almost threw the plates into the sink before taking the stuff in my hands and doing the same thing with them. Noticing how close I was to her, she pushed me away. Her red eyes glared at me, and as much as I knew I should be intimidated, I found it endearing.

"Okay, now you can explain to me what the hell you think you're doing."

"What does it look like? Thank you for helping me, but I'm going to be the butler for the day. You can just relax." My words just seemed to irritate her more.

"That isn't how it works. I can't allow you to do my job. Just what are you getting at?" I couldn't fool her. She knew that there was a reason that I was doing what I was.

I took a step forward, moving closer to her, "I wanted to show you that I could take care of you." Her face scrunched up to one of confusion.

"What? Why?" I almost rolled my eyes. Did I have to explain everything to this girl? I leaned in closer to her, lowering my voice.

"Join me, Saya." I breathed.

"In what? Cleaning?" She quipped quickly. It seemed like as soon as she said that, her brain processed what I had actually meant. "Oh. No." She said casually, as if I had asked her if she wanted a piece of candy. It infuriated me that after all that I did, she would still say no.

"Look, I just wanted to show you that if you were with me, you wouldn't have to coddle me like you do Ryuzaki. In fact, _I_ can be the one making sure _you_ have everything in the world, not the other way around."

Saya chuckled, though it held no humor. "This has got to be the most ridiculous-" I slammed my hands on either side of her on the counter. She didn't look intimidated nor frightened, she looked at me as you would a little kid who was challenging your authority.

"Listen to me, Saya," My voice lowered, "You and I, we would be the perfect pair to rule the new world. I know that I'm basically trying to kill your master, but I also know that regardless of that, you're still not telling him that I'm Kira. You have to be doing that for a reason. As long as he doesn't know, I have every chance at winning this. And with you at my side? Piece of cake." I reached up and took a lock of her hair between my fingers. Her hair was so soft. "Look, I know that we've had our differences, but wouldn't you love to be a queen? The ruler of the new world? Stand by my side, and I will have no problem doing anything for you." I was laying it on thick, I know, but it must have been working, because Saya hadn't interrupted me once. She stayed silent, staring at the wall right behind me. She was obviously processing all that I had said. After all, I had a lot to offer her, so much more than L did. She was smart, she _had _ to realize that.

I suppose I overstepped my boundaries when I put the lock of her hair up to my mouth and kissed it, because it was straight-up deja vu. I was slammed into the wall behind me, hitting my head with a loud thump. Immediately Saya was beside me, leaning in close to my face to whisper menacingly,

"Just because I didn't kill you when you were trying to do my job earlier, does not mean you can insult me or my master by thinking that I would _ever_ associate myself with scum such as yourself. You? Better than _my_ master? Heh, he is a much better specimen of human life than you in every way, shape, and form. Your entire plan for world domination rests on the fact that I haven't informed my master of your deceitful, disgusting self? Don't test me again, or you will come to seriously regret it." She whispered so quickly, with such malice in her voice that it sent a horrible chill down my spine. I was wrong to think that she'd be swayed by any of this. I was _so_ wrong.

She put her hands on my shoulders and gripped my shirt. My head was still spinning from hitting it, but instead of hitting me, she pulled me up and helped me stand up straight. Was she being nice to me? After those words she just spat?

Apparently not, because everybody ran into the kitchen at that moment.

"Are you two okay?!" My father asked, his voice concerned.

"Light fell and hit his head again. I don't know if he has a concussion or not, but just to be safe I don't think he should lay down or anything." Saya's voice was back to her courteous, polite tone. She handed me off to my father, who sighed.

"Light, you really need to be more careful. You're going to end up with brain damage." I nodded slightly. I wanted to tell them that she actually fucking _threw me against the wall_, but I didn't want to have to explain why.

As my father helped me out of the kitchen, L looked at me suspiciously. It unnerved me. His gaze always penetrated through my being, as if he knew everything. I knew he didn't, but his all-knowing eyes still creeped me out. Saya told me that she wasn't going to tell L about me as long as I didn't try hitting on her again. While I appreciated that, it still meant one thing.

To win this war, I was gonna be on my own.


	12. Chapter 12

**L's POV**

"Master? Are you sure there's nothing that you need? You've been in there an awfully long while." I heard Saya's voice on the other side of the door. As much as I thoroughly enjoyed her presence, I needed to work. It seemed that it didn't do much to have her in a completely different room, as she was still dotting on me every two minutes.

"Saya, I'm fine. You don't have to check on me so frequently. Just go sit down and relax." I called.

"I'm sorry, Master. But that isn't something that I am accustomed to," I heard her voice take on a more childish tone, "However, if that is what you wish…" The sound of her retreating footsteps was like music to my ears. She had no idea what I was doing, and I wanted to keep it that way. At least, until it was the perfect time to show her. I wondered whether or not Saya would be shocked. I didn't think she could keep up with my brain, and that would definitely be an advantage.

**Light's POV**

Ever since that first day, the day the Death Note hadn't worked on L, work seemed somewhat meaningless. I knew that in order to establish my perfect world, L could not be allowed to live, but it wasn't like I could do anything about that at this point.

I continued typing away on the computer, researching a 'possible lead' that L had wanted me to look into. I hated him, I really did. I worked for absolutely everything up to this point, and somehow the man who had simply been born intelligent had everything served to him on a silver platter - _literally. _

My phone began ringing, cutting through the silence that came only with staying behind after everybody had gone home. I looked at it and hesitated. It was Misa again, and I wasn't sure if I had the patience to speak with her today. Or tomorrow. Or ever again.

"Hello?"

"Light! You're going to love me!" I doubted that.

"What did you need, Misa?"

"It's about that girl." Her tone turned snobby, as it always did when it came to other girls. However, she had actually caught my interest.

"What about her?"

"I did so much research. I know what she is. I know why I couldn't see anything when I looked at her with the shinigami eyes. It all makes sense, Light!" She spoke quickly and excitedly.

"Woah, woah, slow down, Misa. Tell me what you're talking about."

"Light, Saya is a _demon._"

"... Excuse me?"

"Think about it! You said that she's superhuman, Ryuk is afraid of her, and hell, nobody should be able to pull off those ugly clothes."

"Where are you getting your information from?"

"Rem's friend."

"That shinigami?"

"Yeah. Apparently, when she went away, she needed to be replaced with another shinigami to look after the Death Note that was still in the human world. His name is Len, and he says hi."

"And you're sure that Saya is a demon?" It would make sense.

"Yes!"

"But then why would she be working with L? Why would she even care? Don't demons only live to make humans turn evil?"

"Len said that humans are funny. Apparently demons make contracts with humans so they can take their souls after they've completed a task." So, she's indebted to L because she made a contract with him? For what? _Oh._

"Thanks for this, Misa. I have to go."

"Anything for you, Light! Love you bunches!"

"You, too." I replied absentmindedly before hanging up. I slammed my cellphone down onto the table.

"Dammit!" I yelled. L had a _demon_ on his side? Sure, I had had Ryuk this entire time, but Ryuk made it clear that he would never help me. How was that fair?

Huh, fair. This entire situation occurred because I used a magic book to kill bad guys and _fairness_ has me reeling? There was no justice in this.

"Perhaps, Sir, I could be of assistance." I jumped from my chair, pulling the gun out from underneath the table. I pointed it straight at the intruder.

"How did you get in here?" He looked harmless. He was dressed just like Saya, in a butler's uniform.

"I find that things are quite easier when you aren't human." His accent was the same as hers, too. What did he mean he wasn't human?

"Sir, you know what I am." He was reading my mind!?

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Claude Faustus. I, as well as the young woman you are acquainted with, are demons."

"So, are you here because of Saya?" Was he her friend?

"Yes, I am. But no, I am not her friend. In fact, the entire reason I am here is because I would like to make a contract with you." No. No way this was happening. It was too good to be true.

"What kind of contract?"

"I can kill her for you, you know. If you entered into a contract with me, I could get rid of her for you. Then you could have everything you want."

"But that would mean giving you my soul. I plan on living for a long time after I become God of this new world, so I don't plan on dying anytime soon." Claude smirked at me and pushed his glasses up with his gloved hand.

"I thought you might have already thought of that, however, I am not really interested in consuming your soul."

"Then what do you want?" Demons couldn't do much else than consume a soul as a part of the deal, could they?

"If one demon kills another demon while that demon is in the process of completing a contract with a human, the demon that committed the murder is allowed to replace one of his own contracted humans with one of theirs, regardless of whether or not the dead demon has completed their part of the contract." I raised my eyebrow at him.

"What are you even saying?"

"I'm trying to tell you that once I've killed her, I can simply consume her charge's soul instead of yours." Oh my lord. This was too good to be true. I could not only get rid of Saya, but L would be out of the picture right afterwards.

"Why would you do this? What could you possibly get out of this?"

"I get a scrumptious soul." He said it nonchalantly. It sort of irritated me that he was insinuating that L's soul would be better than mine, but I let it go. This was it, the turning point that I had been waiting for.

"So, what happens now? I sign some contract, we leave, you kill Saya, eat L's soul, then we never see each other again?"

"Essentially." I almost laughed at how easy this was all turning out to be.

"Alright then, Claude. Looks like we have a deal." He came closer to me, bowing.

"It seems so, Master."

The last thing that happened before I passed out was Claude digging his nails into my neck.

**L's POV**

I continued typing onto the computer. I just needed a little bit more. I was so close. If everything went as planned, I would have everything that I'd ever wanted. But now that everything that I could get done was finished, I had the biggest craving for sweets.

"Saya," I called, "I need-" I stopped when I heard a loud crash, accompanied by the subtle shaking of the floor below me. I ran out of the room and grasped the stair railing, looking down at the scene before me.

It was obvious what had made that huge crash. The door had been torn off of its hinges, as if someone had literally bum rushed themselves into the house. Next to the poor door on the floor was... Light? And Claude?

"Get out, please." Saya's tone was polite, but she was so tense that she was almost shaking.

"Saya, what's going on?" I asked. She looked up at me, obviously no enjoying seeing my presence here. It was dangerous to be here, I realized.

Claude looked at me, too. Well, more like stared. He wanted my soul, right? Was that what he was here for? He couldn't, though. I belonged to Saya. The mark on my tongue proved that fact.

The male demon went to make a move towards me, but Saya was quicker. In less than a second her arms were around me, throwing me over her shoulder as she took off at an impossible speed out of the house. I closed my eyes so as to not throw up, but a million thoughts were running through my head. Why was Light with Claude?

Eventually Saya slowed, allowing me to open my eyes. We were definitely nowhere near any other people. It was literally just an open plain, not a person could be seen for miles. I was finally allowed to walk on my own, but the speed at which we went made me unsteady on my feet. Saya grabbed me by my forearms to steady me.

"Are you alright, Master? I apologize." I shook my head.

"There's nothing to apologize for, Saya. You were doing your job." She nodded, but in her eyes I could see uneasiness.

"They're here to try to take you away from me." She said hurriedly, "They're going to try to kill me and take you away." She pulled a blade from her pocket and took off one of her gloves. Immediately she dug the knife into her skin, allowing blood to pool onto her palm.

"What are you doing!?" I asked, not receiving an answer. Quickly, the blood began to solidify, leaving behind only what looked like a hard, blood-red gem. It was really quite beautiful.

Saya shoved it into my hands, "Keep this. It will shield you from whatever is about to go on here. It will keep you from getting hurt. Stay out of the way, try not to get yourself into trouble, and stay the hell away from Light Yagami." I couldn't really do anything more than nod, because in an instant Claude and Light were about ten feet away from us.

"Well, you did well to get away from any humans who could be casualties." Claude said bemusedly.

"I assumed my master would want this little get together to be away from prying eyes." All worry seemed to have left her, and all that was left behind was pure energy. Was she excited to fight?

"Master Yagami, you may want to move farther away from this position."

"Same to you, Master." We began moving away, me making sure not to walk close to Light. However, I couldn't help but notice the new mark he had on his neck. I assumed it was the Claude's symbol for contractual agreements.

"Saya," I called. She looked towards me inquisitively.

"Win."


	13. Chapter 13

**L's POV**

"You play dirty." Saya spat. Claude only smirked at her, bringing his gloves up to his mouth and quickly taking them off.

"Find your own soul. Do the dirty work yourself." Her face seemed to grow increasingly frustrated. The probability that Claude had already attempted to do something like this was roughly 70 percent. Though, it didn't seem as if he had ever gone as far as he's going now.

"Aren't you going to take your gloves off? It is an official fight, you know." He completely ignored her earlier statement.

"And get my hands dirty because of you? Heh, you aren't worth the gum on the bottom of a human shoe." His movements were quick as he wasted no time in lunging for her throat. Even with my brain, I could hardly keep up as she ducked out of the way, only to ram her fist into his abdomen before moving behind him.

"You'd do well to remember your manners, little girl. You've been a thorn in my side since day one." He spoke as if he hadn't just taken a hit that would rupture any human's internal organs.

"Day one? You're so full of shit!" Her voice had raised to an octave that I had never heard come from her. "You seem to just be angry that I get to the good souls first. It isn't my fault that you're just slow."

Saya's leg shot out, barely missing Claude's head. He grabbed her ankle and went to slam her body to the floor like a rag doll, but her movements were obviously quicker as her other foot shot up and got him in the jaw. His jaw was visibly out of place when Saya moved away, but he seemed undeterred. He… He just snapped it back in place. It seemed to be no time at all before they were back at each other's throats, moving too quickly for me to comprehend.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Light walking towards me. The smirk that covered his face was that of someone who had already won. Normally, it wouldn't have annoyed me. Statistics were usually on my side, however, I didn't know anything about demonic combat.

"Pretty nice fight, huh?" Light asked, looking up at our two servants, both of whom were trading blows quicker than I could recite the first 3 digits of pi in my head.

"Yes, it is quite an interesting sight."

"You know, at first I was confused as to why the Death Note had no effect on you, but now everything seems to be going just fine." He mused.

"So, you are Kira, after all." My deductions were never wrong.

"It wasn't like you didn't know. You just never had the proof." I looked over at him. The grin he had on his face was that of which I had never seen. It made him look absolutely insane. I had put tons of criminals behind bars, but this man, this person who was, for a while, a friend, was going to be the most satisfying.

"Tell me, Light," We both kept our eyes trained on the two bloody individuals fighting in the air above us, "Would you have told me this had Saya not come into the picture?"

He hesitated, taking time to think about it, "No, I would have maintained my stance of innocence. You could've been safe from me, you know. We both just want what's best for this world. We both want justice."

"That's twisted."

"Excuse me?"

"A world that lives in fear has no justice at all. I may have not been as intent on pursuing you had innocent people not been involved. But no, it wasn't enough to get rid of those who committed the worst crimes, you had to get rid of anybody who opposed you as well. You're no better than Joseph Stalin, or Mao Ze Dong. You're just a murderer, Light Yagami. A sad, poor excuse for a vigilante." I knew that the punch was coming. It was impossible for Light to not lash out after such insolence. But I wasn't about to let this turn into what it did on the day we were with Misa Amane.

I moved out of the way. "I'm not going to fight you, Kira."

"I'm going to enjoy watching Claude rip your soul out." He seethed, "This world is rotten. You think you can fix it? You've been a detective for years, and yet the world kept getting worse and worse, I am the only reason why global crime rates are down 70 percent. I did it all on my own, because none of you fools could."

"Light, Kira, I already understand that your sanity has deteriorated. Why don't we leave the fighting to the demons?" I suspected that he was going to throw another punch, but he never got the chance. Right in front of us, something hit the ground. Hard. Pieces of ground flew at me, but before they could hit me a wall of red went up in front of me. It was the blood rock that Saya had given me that protected me. I looked at the cause of the debris, not necessarily expecting what I saw.

"Saya?" I asked disbelievingly. When had she gotten so bloody? Surely I would have heard her scream, or at least I would have heard something.

Claude dropped to the ground, walking towards Saya's seemingly unconscious body. He had blood on him as well, his eyes glowing bright. I heard an insane cackle from my side. Light was enjoying every bit of this.

Claude approached Saya, picking her up by her collar. I couldn't see her face, but if it looked nearly as worn and defeated as her body did, then it was obvious who the victor was here.

"Are you ready to give up, Miss Abernathy?" Claude asked.

"Claude, I… I can't." Her voice sounded weak. Was she giving up?

"So, you relinquish his soul to me, correct?"

"I can't." She repeated.

"You can't what?" His voice began to grow frustrated.

"I can't…" Was her brain damaged? Did that happen to demons?

"I'm just going to kill you now." He reasoned. He brought his fist back, presumably ready to dig it into her chest.

"Wai-" I began to shout, but it was unnecessary as Saya disappeared from his grasp and appeared behind him. Claude's back arched as Saya's hand penetrated his chest from behind.

"I can't believe you think I'd give up to someone like you." She said. I had never seen so much life in her eyes, such a stark contrast from the girl that had been in his arms just a few moments earlier. Sure, that may be helped by the red glow that makes her eyes alight, but still. Looking at her normally, you would never guess she was something that the most popular book in the world warned humans against. Now, if you took her in her current position, with her fist shoved inside the chest of another being, it may be plausible.

"... My glove came off!" Saya fumed when she ripped her hand out of Claude. True, her contract mark was now in plain view for the world to see. He fell to the ground. The girl seemed honestly concerned about the glove, because she grabbed him and turned him over, punching him in the face repeatedly.

"Give it back! Give me back my glove!" Her absolute rage at losing her glove was sort of cute in a morbid way. Claude, somehow still having strength, pushed her off of him. He struggled to get up, and I doubted that the gaping hole in his back was doing anything to help. It was quite disgusting, really.

"You were always so finicky about your clothes. So like a woman." He remarked. The sheer ridiculousness of what I was witnessing was astounding.

Claude's hands flashed gold. Looking closer, I realized that he held the same silverware that he did at the house. They flew through the air at Saya, who dodged every one of them easily. It was only a distraction, though, as the next second Claude was behind her, gripping her by her ponytail, effectively crushing the ribbon in her hair. He brought his face close to her ear.

"I do believe that if I'm going to die, I'll just take you with me." His hand reached around and dug itself into her side. Her sudden intake of breath was interrupted by a coughing fit of blood. Time seemed to stand still as her eyes widened in excruciating pain. No, there was no way this was going to be the end for her. I wanted to believe that, I wanted to believe that she was fine, that she would just bounce back like she did earlier. But probability was not on my side at this point. Slowly, Saya brought her hands over her head, wrapping her hands around Claude's neck.

"Still trying to choke the life out of me? How pathetic. Yes, this is how I've always imagined you in my wildest dreams, at my mercy. You-" With a yell and seemingly last of her strength, Saya brought her hands forward, taking Claude's head with her. She decapitated him with only her hands, then she threw his head down to the ground.

A scream escaped her as she placed her hands on the hand of his that was still inside of her and ripped it out, taking with it a good lot of her blood. Her steps were shaky as she moved towards me, her eyes never wavering.

"W-What? How did she-?" Light stuttered, not seeming to comprehend what had just happened.

Saya stopped just short of me and bowed. "Master, it… It is done." It came as no surprise to me when she collapsed. I caught her easily, getting her blood onto my shirt. I fell to the ground with her, cradling her petite body in my arms. I looked up at Light.

"You were so sure of Claude's abilities that you didn't even bring a weapon, did you? I wouldn't stay here if I were you." I told him.

"W-What are you-"

"I recorded your entire confession with my phone. It's already been sent to HQ, and the police are most likely on their way. If that wasn't enough, I've compiled a series of incriminating statements from you."

"How?" His face told the story of a man whose world was falling apart. I reached for the ribbon in Saya's hair and carefully undid it, holding it up for him to see.

"Normally, you wouldn't be able to notice, but thanks to that brute of a butler you had there, the broken recorder in the knot is very noticeable." Light's eyes widened. His face turned to one of pure rage

"Like I said, you may want to run. If you think that I haven't allowed HQ to track my phone location, then you're very much wrong." I brushed Saya's bangs out of her face as I heard the quick footsteps of the boy who used to be a star athlete. Huh, even with all of my taunting I didn't expect him to actually run away. What a coward.

Who would have thought that L, the great super-detective, would be sitting in the middle of an obvious battlefield, beautiful-yet-bloodied woman in his arms, having already caught Kira, yet feeling like the biggest piece of crap in the world.

"Hm, what could I possibly do?" I questioned. Saya had to be in an extreme amount of pain. I didn't think that demons could pass out from anything, but her shallow breathing was the only thing giving away the fact that she was still alive. I looked over at the disembodied head only ten meters from where I was sitting. He didn't deserve to live. Whatever the reason, I couldn't imagine wanting to put my hands on this girl in anger. Demon or not, it was horrible. Was this what Saya meant when she talked about the ignorance of humans? My superior mind may be able to comprehend something, but it wasn't good enough to be able to identify with it, to completely understand what was going on.

I used the end of my sleeve to wipe the blood off of Saya's face. It was actually the first time I had ever gotten to touch her face like this. The demonic appeal was so tantalizing, even through the bloodied mess that she was. Wait. I had an idea.

I regrasped the ribbon and ripped the recorder out of it. Sure enough, sharp pieces of plastic fell out along with it. I took one and ran it across the tip of my finger, drawing blood. I stuck my finger at her lips and let the blood drain itself into her mouth. When Claude tasted my blood, it seemed to reinvigorate him. I only hoped that it did the same thing to Saya.

After about a minute, my finger didn't seem to want to bleed anymore. I was about to grab another piece of plastic and cut my hand again when I heard the slightest mewl come from the girl on my lap.

"Saya?" I asked, tightening my grip on her. Her eyes blinked open, I'd never been more pleased to see the color red.

"Master?" She spoke confusedly. She looked at me for only a moment before grasping the situation and in an instant she was out of my arms. She had one knee on the ground, bowing to me.

"I apologize for my conduct. It was unprofessional. Forgive me." I stood up, wiping the imaginary dirt from my jeans.

"Uh, the other agents will be here any moment…" I told her. She nodded and proceeded to clean up Claude's corpse. Looking at it, I was surprised that I hadn't felt more grossed out. I mean, I had never flat out watched someone get killed so gruesomely.

When it was all said and done, the entire scene looked like nothing between two otherworldly beings had happened. Police sirens could be heard fast approaching as Matsuda and the others ran over.

"Is it true!?" Aizawa asked.

"Everything that I sent you was real. I have other proof for the rest of the police department. Where is Deputy Director Yagami?" The men shifted uneasily.

"We didn't inform him when you sent the information."

I shrugged, "It was probably for the best. We don't need him compromising the capture, which, by the way, you should get a move on. He has 22 minutes and 14 seconds on you." At the news they dispersed, once again leaving me alone with Saya.

"Why were you staying all the way over there the entire time?" I asked.

"I didn't think that you would be particularly fond of them seeing me in this state." She answered. The wound on her side had just about healed, but her clothes were torn and bloody.

"Come on, Saya, let's go home." She nodded and went to grab for me when she froze.

"Master?"

"Yes?"

"You got proof that Light Yagami was Kira?" Her tone was inquisitive, borderline nervous. I smirked at her.

"Well, I'm glad you asked about that."


	14. Chapter 14

**L's POV**

The feeling radiating from Saya on our way home was indeed a peculiar one. It was the first time I had ever actually seen how ecstatic she was. Of course, to her, this was the last time she would have to take me anywhere, the final time she had to obey any of my rules. Her feelings then were so different compared to now, I would assume. Now, I was sitting on my couch, sipping tea as my butler stood in front of me. Saya's eyes were wide, and her mouth was hanging open. She looked like an innocent child. She was obviously still processing what I had just told her.

"W-What?" She asked disbelievingly.

"Like I said, you violated the contract." I mused, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

She shook her head back and forth, "No. No! That's impossible! I did everything perfectly. There's no way I violated the contract!"

I pulled my phone from my back pocket and pressed the center button.

_"Tell me, Light, would you have told me this had Saya not come into the picture?"_

_"No,"_

I pressed the button again, putting the phone back into my pocket. "The details of our contract were as follows: I am to be the one to catch Kira. If you assist with the investigation or capture of Kira in any way other than keeping me safe and comfortable, then you lose your part of the contract, leaving any and all decisions on what happens to you to me."

Saya's fists were clenched at her sides, revealing a stark emotional contrast from her blank face. It was as if her body wanted to revel in rage upon the news, but her brain didn't want to accept it.

"You…" Her eyes closed, frustration building i her voice, "You _planned_ this, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. Do you honestly think that I would make a deal with a demon without being at an advantage?" She reached up into her hair, feeling where the ribbon that I gave her used to be.

"So, that gift-"

"Not a gift. A tool." I took a sip of my tea, half-expecting her to kill me on the spot. I stared at her, her obvious anger seeming to visibly dissipate until she began laughing.

"Oh my, was I right in choosing a wonderful soul." She held out her hand to me. I looked at her confusedly, hesitating before putting my hand in hers. She shook my hand jubilantly before withdrawing, bowing to me.

"Well, you win, Mr. Lawliet! I suppose I'll just be on my way now, take care!" She made her way towards the door happily.

"Excuse me? Where do you think you're going?" She froze, turning to me with a smile.

"What ever do you mean?" She asked, as if nothing were wrong. I smirked at her. Did she honestly think she could use her childish charms to make me forget that she still belonged to me?

"Saya, get back over here." Understanding her situation, she wasted no time in following my orders.

"Sit down for a moment." She hesitated. "Just do it. Stay here until I come back." She did as I said and I quickly made my way upstairs. I passed by the computer that held all of the recordings of Light talking to Saya, and grabbed the small container from the drawers. I paused, closing my eyes. In a mere few months, this girl - demon - had managed to turn my life upside down. Just how much had this case taken out of me? Hell, it took my life at one point. But now, I was the one still standing. I was victorious.

I walked back downstairs, noticing that Saya was frozen still on the couch. She look absolutely uncomfortable.

"Is something troubling you?" I asked. "Other than the obvious, that is." She looked at me with an expression that I've seen many times since I first began working the Kira case. Resignation. To what, exactly?

"I accept it." She said softly.

"Your defeat? Yes, I think it would be appropriate to do so." She shook her head.

"No, I mean… You're going to take them, right? My powers?"

"What in the world are you talking about?" I asked. She stood up and walked closer to me. I could see two things in her eyes: Anger and fear.

"Humans, they all want the same thing. You have the power now, Master. The power to require anything that you wish of me in recompense for not upholding my end of the contract. There's only one thing any human has ever wished from a demon that has been in the position that I am now. So, go ahead." She held her arms out to her sides, leaving her body vulnerable to any advances.

"Although I would like to sarcastically assume that you're referring to intercourse, I'm going to just allow you to explain to me what you're going on about." If anything, her hostility only grew at my comment.

"Kill me." She requested.

"Pardon?" I asked. She looked entirely fed up with me.

"If you want my powers, take them. Kill me and do what you wish. I accept my fate, I should have been smarter."

"True, for a demon, you probably should have suspected more dishonesty from me. However, I am not at all interested in becoming a demon myself." Her arms dropped, her face going slack.

"What do you want from me?" She asked. If she were a normal girl, I would say that she sounded broken. She was confused, and for the first time in her demonic existence, she was vulnerable. I made her that way. She was so beautiful, carried all of the grace in the world. She was smart, intuitive, and frankly, she was everything that I never even considered that I wanted.

I walked closer to her, and she immediately tensed. Her apprehension didn't deter me as I continued to make my way closer to her. She took one step back, staring at me with a fierce expression. It was quite amusing, actually.

"Saya," I sighed, pulling the box that I had out of my back pocket. I reached out and grabbed the hand that still had the glove on it and pulled that glove off, tossing it to the side. I opened the box, pulling out what was inside and sliding it onto her hand, then did the same to the other.

"... Gloves?" She asked incredulously. I took a step away from her.

"I noticed early on how, no matter what you did, you were always careful to keep your gloves clean and intact. The probability that something would happen to them was roughly 83%, so I ordered a pair that was exactly like the originals." Her gaze was soft as she looked at the gloves which were no doubt identical to the previous ones.

"Are these…?"

"There's nothing wrong with them. No recorders, no chips, nothing. Light Yagami is on the verge of being caught, I have interest in using you for that purpose anymore. They're just simple gloves." Saya held her hands to her chest, shaking her head. Did she harbor the same confusion now as she did when I gave her the ribbon?

"Why?"

"Is everything that comes out of your mouth going to be a question?" I asked her.

"Why did you give me these? _What do you want from me_?" Goddamn you, woman. Was it really that difficult to grasp what I was trying to say?

I closed the distance between us, reveling in the fact that her gaze was on me, and me alone. Before, Saya was always watching everything, doing her job. Now, she was obviously baffled by my hand as it gently brushed her bangs out of her face, only to have them fall back perfectly into place.

"I need you to stay with me." I told her. I was L. I had never felt this aware of anybody else, especially a female.

Confusion gathered into her beautiful red eyes, "I don't understand. You want me to continue being your butler?"

I shrugged, "In a way, I guess. I'm sure you're aware of the effect your demonic appeal has on humans." Her expression turned into one ebbed with disgust.

"Oh, so you want me to stay here as your lover, is that it?" I chuckled at her.

"Saya, I want you to make another contract with me. No, not a contract. I want to make a deal with you."

Her interest was obviously piqued, "What kind of contract?"

"Well, Miss Misa Amane is still out there. No doubt Light Yagami has contacted her, and she's already well on her way into planning a way to live happily ever after with him."

"You want me to stay your butler for the duration of that case as well?"

"Yes. With one more added factor. This is where the actual contract portion comes in." Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"Saya, by the time our next investigation ends, if I have gotten you to fall in love with me, you are to do everything in your power to ensure that you can stay by my side for the rest of our lives." She tensed and stepped away from me.

"W-What kind of a contract is that!?" She asked.

"The kind that you have no choice but to agree to." She looked at the ground.

"And what if you lose, huh? I'm a demon, and a lot of emotions come easily to me. Anger, hatred, malice, but not love. You have to realize just how impossible your goal is."

"If I lose, then the terms of the previous contract are reinstated. You can have my soul. So, do you accept?" Saya hesitated, looking at me as if trying to solve the most complex puzzle in the world. Eventually, she dropped to one knee, bowing to me.

"Of course I accept, _Master_."

**Well, that's the end! Do not fret, my lovely companions, there most certainly will be a sequel. Thank you to all who followed this story, and big hugs to all who found my work good enough to review. You'll never understand how happy it makes me to know that you all enjoyed my work. I hope you continue following! Have a good day.**

**L.S.**


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Death Note, Romance, Supernatural