Well, this is only my second story. I got the almost uncontrollable urge to start a Death Note fic after I read the last couple of chapters of the manga. The outcome just didn't sit right with me. Plus, I always liked the LightxMisa scenes.

No, I don't own Death Note. Kinda wish I did.

"Near, victory is mine." Light Yagami declared, milliseconds before the countdown hit zero.

"It all hinges on Mikami's diligence in what I told him." Light thought. "The existence of his fake notebook could easily be revealed if he ever took it out of his hiding place. And if that happens, Near will have done something to that notebook as well. It's obvious that Near tampered with the 'Death Note' that I sent to Mikami, but there's no way he could know it's a fake. The names of the victims, along with cause and time of death, match perfectly with what's written in the notebook. Thankfully, Takada and Mikami were able to keep in contact at all times. My only problem will be if Mikami acted on his own, trying to kill Takada the same way I did. If those times didn't match up, Near will have figured it all out. The only thing to do know is watch."

For Light, the last second of Near's life, as well as the lives of Anthony Carter, Stephen Loud, Halle Bullook, and the members of the task force, drug by painfully slow. This was the deciding moment. This would be the moment that either Kira would rise up as the true God of the new world, or the moment that Light Yagami would be arrested, sentenced to die.

"The suspense is killing me." Light thought, chuckling to himself over the irony of that thought.

"Now, obviously, we can see…." Near started. From his position on the floor, strangely reminiscent of the late Ryuzaki, Near suddenly froze. Light watched as the blood drained from his face. He could hear the final thump as Near's heart finally gave out. He slumped forward to the ground. One by one, those closest to Near, those members of the SPK that still remained, began to fall to the floor.

The members of the task force knew from the moment that Near had fallen over that this would be the day they died.

"I'm sorry that it ended this way, Ide." Light said, addressing the person whose name had been written last.

"So…Kira…wins" Ide sighed, slumping to the floor.

"Yes. With Near and Mello dead, there is no one at Wammy's House who can possibly be of any match to me! No matter who they send to replace L, that person will simply die. Now, I can create a new task force, under the guise of catching Kira, which will actually be made up of Kira's supporters. After all, for the moment the public needs to believe that L is still hunting Kira. If any of L's successors come to the case, they will obviously try to make contact with the L who isn't really L. None of them will ever have the deductive reasoning of L or N, or even Mello, and could only hope to work with L. Of course, it would be better if they were never told that the original L, Ryuzaki, was dead. Then, L can simply express a desire to meet them. With Mikami acting as the head of the 'task force', he can obtain their name. Then we can kill them whenever we like. And Mikami will only stay alive as long as he is useful. He's too much a liability now that he knows my name and face." Light said to himself, mulling over his new situation.

"God, what do we do now?" Mikami asked, still slightly surprised from witnessing the victory of Kira.

"Mikami, first I need you to return to me the real Death Note, which you have just written those names in. I'm not asking to give up ownership of it, you are far too valuable to me with the eyes. But the notebook MUST stay with me. Next, we will be keeping up the pretense that L is hunting for Kira still. There is no guarantee that these will be the last detectives to hunt us down. Therefore, we will be using only Kira's most loyal supporters, and they will be manning this new task force. I want you to act as the head. Anyone who tries to hunt down Kira will most certainly wish to speak with L. That's when you will obtain their name. Until we can be sure that no one is looking for Kira, you will be in charge of the task force. I will act as L when necessary, but I won't actually be with you at the task force HQ. Instead, I will interface with you just as L did, though an anonymous computer voice." Light told him.

"As God wishes. I will do only as you ask, just as I have done before."

"You did well, Mikami. Had you acted to kill Takada, it would have surely alerted Near to your false Death Note. This would have resulted in not only your death, but mine as well. For this, you have my immense thanks."

"If I may speak candidly, God. I had thought of killing the Takada woman. But I knew that if I did, you would be displeased with me, for disobeying your command. Therefore, I did nothing." Mikami admitted.

"As you should have. For now, please return to your home. I will be in contact with you soon."

Mikami said nothing, and instead simply turned around and walked through the open door of the warehouse. Light sighed. Putting up the act of a high and mighty God was tiring work. Still, he needed to have Mikami's complete devotion. So, the act was necessary.

Pulling out the cell phone that he used only to contact Misa, he quickly punched the 2 button down long enough for the speed dial to register. Holding the phone to his ear, he listened to the ringer until he heard Misa's voice on the other end.

"Hi Light!" Misa screamed, ecstatic that Light was calling her. "What's up?"

"Misa, I need a ride. How quick could you be at this address?" he asked, giving her the directions to the warehouse.

"For you, Light? I can be there in 10 minutes. The police wouldn't dare keep Misa-Misa waiting if she was going somewhere important."

"Thank you Misa. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. And, I've got something for you." he told her.

"Like, a present? Forget 10 minutes, I'll be there in 5." she cried, already rushing out the door.

"So what do you plan to do now, Light? Things are going to get a lot more boring around here, aren't they?" Ryuk asked.

"Probably, Ryuk. It can't be helped. No one else can be the challenge L or Near was. But you stick around. I promise there'll be lots of apples in it for you." Light told the shinigami.

"You can't bribe me there, Light. I've got to stick to you until I write your name in my Death Note. Don't forget that." he reminded the young man in front of him.

"You've got me there, Ryuk. Saw right through my plan. So how about a different deal? You be more cooperative with me, and Misa, and I'll give you all the apples you could ever want."

"You know what, Light. You've got a deal. I don't really feel like just floating along behind you all the time. But Misa? I thought she gave up the note again. She can't see me." Ryuk answered.

"For now, Ryuk. For now."

"Oh, I get it. That's what you're going to give her. The Death Note that she gave up, the one you sent Mikami. The one you buried."

"Then she'll remember everything that we've both been through. I don't want to slip up around her, and this way, I'm free to use the note even if she's there. And besides, she really isn't as stupid as she lets people think. She can be a big help."

"Coming from you, that's quite the compliment, Light."

"And then, when she's remembered everything, we'll have you, Ryuk. If you keep to your bargain and cooperate with us, that will give us the advantage of being able to always communicate with each other. After all, both of the Death Notes that are here in the human world are yours."

"That's true, Light. So I'm free to haunt both of you." Ryuk said, grinning.

Suddenly, the screech of tires could be heard outside the warehouse. Light looked down at his watch. Misa had kept to her word. It had been about 5 minutes since he'd called her. Light couldn't help but admire her for her punctuality. Her trustworthiness, if only to him.

"All right, Ryuk. How about you go say hi?" Light said, walking out of the warehouse and into the sunlight.

There was Misa, standing by the door of the car she'd driven over. It was nothing special, just a simple black hybrid. She'd become very environmentally conscious recently. Forced Light to make some changes to the apartment they were living in. Solar power, organic foods, the like. Light wasn't going to complain, though. He'd done it just to shut her up.

"Hey Misa. How was the drive?" Light asked.

"Eh. It was okay. Nothing to talk about. Too short." she said, moving from where she was standing to give Light a hug. "So, Light, what were you doing out here? It's pretty out of the way."

"I'll explain it in a minute, Misa. First, I want you to have this." Light said, pulling the Death Note from the inner pocket of his jacket.

"Ooo. What is it? A notebook? Looks kinda grim." she commented, taking hold of the note.

Suddenly, Misa stopped. She glanced around, taking in her surroundings in a new light. Turning her attention back to Light, her eyes flickered to Ryuk floating along behind him.

"Well, hey there, Ryuk. How have you been? It's been a while, hasn't it?" she asked, smiling at the death god.

"Yeah, yeah. Good to see you too, Misa. I think Light's got some good news to tell you, though."

"Oh really? Something to do with the case, Light? Is it good news for Kira, or for L?"

"Well, Misa, since Kira is L, I guess this is beneficial for both of them." he responded, taking hold of Misa by both of her arms. He looked her straight in the eyes and said, his tone serious, "Near is dead. Mello is dead. The remaining SPK is dead. The task force is dead."

"Does that mean you killed Matsu? I really liked him. He was funny." Misa said, not fazed in the least by the murders.

"I didn't kill him. There was no way I could have killed any of the people in that building. Near met with us, knowing that the new Kira, the one I created, had the eyes, and that he would be there to kill everyone but Kira. He believed that he had replaced the pages of the Death Note that my Kira would be writing on today, and would therefore not be able to kill anyone in that warehouse. He thought to capture Kira after he'd written the names, and, by process of elimination, find me. But he didn't know that I'd anticipated this. My Kira had never actually killed anyone. The Death Note he was writing in was a fake one. Someone else had been given pages of the real Death Note, the one you've got now, and the two of them were communicating so that the fake would appear real. He tampered with the fake, believing it was the real one. And then, today, my Kira showed up with the real Death Note, took their names with his eyes, and wrote them all down. And now, they're dead." Light said, never once looking away from Misa.

"Really, Light? You thought that far ahead? That's really amazing! So, what's going to happen now?" she asked.

"Now, you and I will finish killing off the criminals as Kira. The man who had your notebook still retains possession of it, so please don't lose contact with the Death Note. If you do, you'll forget all this. It won't be long before you can write down his name in the note and take back full ownership. He will be my eyes. I am putting him in charge of a new task force, just in case someone else decides to hunt down Kira. I doubt anyone will, but it's a safety measure. If they do, L will ask to meet with them, and we will learn their name and kill them. I'll let him go for the next 2 weeks. That will be fine. Then, you'll kill him. Until then, don't lose contact with the note." Light said.

"Okay, Light. I guess that means we don't get to have any fun until then, right?" she asked, hoping he'd prove her wrong.

"I'm sorry, Misa. But you're right. Don't worry. 2 weeks. That's my promise to you." Light told her. "Now, how about we go home?"

"We? Home? That's a really nice idea, Light." Misa said, latching onto his arm.

"I've surprised even myself with regards to Misa. I never actually expected to develop actual feelings for her. But I have. And there's no going back from that now. She was actually willing to die in order to save me. And now, I can't help but think I'd do the same thing for her. Misa Amane, you've proven to be an interesting variable in everything." Light thought.

"Hey Light, I've been wondering something." Misa said as they drove back to the apartment.

"What's that, Misa?"

"Well, I've just been wondering, when are we finally going to get married?" she asked.

"Misa, you certainly have a one track mind. Although I can't say I'm surprised. And to be honest, the marriage was never anything to do with out cover. After all, everyone seemed content that the two of us were just living together. The only reason I did this was because…I wanted to marry you."

"Misa, you decide. Whatever you want is fine with me." Light told her.

"I get to choose? Well, then, I choose 2 weeks from today. The same day that I get to kill this Kira that you created. We'll get married, and then I'll kill whoever this Kira is. After that, I will give myself to you. That is how I want our wedding day to go, Light." Misa declared.

"If that's what you really want, Misa. I'm not going to tell you the name of my Kira. That way, I know you won't kill him before I want him dead. Well, we've got a lot to do in the next 2 weeks if we're going to have a wedding. We'd better get started."

"Okay, Light. But first, let's go home. You could probably use a good rest, couldn't you? Taking out Near and the others was probably stressful, wasn't it?" Misa asked.

"You know what Misa, I really could. You're right. In the end, I only won by pure luck. There was just as great a chance that I would be dead right now." Light admitted.

"Well, you're not, and that's all that matters to me." Misa told him.

Back at the rather spacious apartment that Light's father had provided for Light and Misa, as well as for the new task force headquarters, Light headed towards the single bedroom he and Misa shared. Misa headed towards the couch, hoping to catch some news and see if any new criminals had been found. She figured she could at least record the news broadcast if anything interesting showed itself, and Light could decide what to do with them later.

She was surprised when Light stuck his head out of the bedroom door and directed his confused stare to Misa. "Misa, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, Light. I was just going to watch the news while you were asleep. I thought I could look for any new criminals, and then you could do something once you'd woken up." she told him, smiling uncertainly at him. Surely he would have been able to figure that out.

"Ah. That's a shame. And here I was actually hoping you'd be following me in here." Light said thoughtfully, heading back into the bedroom.

"What!? You actually want me to come join you? But you'd usually sleep on the couch when I was asleep in bed. So why do you want my company now?" Misa asked, jumping up to follow Light.

"I'm not entirely sure myself. But I find I'm craving your company today, Misa." Light told her, taking off his jacket, his shirt, his shoes, and his pants. He slid himself into the bed and turned his attention to Misa. She was trying to recover from what she had just seen. Light had all but stripped right in front of her! Why was he being so different now? Was it because Near was dead? Was that it? Misa knew that Near's death left the world entirely powerless against Kira, so was Light allowing himself to calm down? Well, whatever the reason, all that mattered to Misa was that Light seemed to be showing more affection towards her. Whatever was the cause of that, she didn't care.

Misa decided that there was little to gain in thinking about it anymore, and decided to join Light in the bed. She stripped down her bra and panties and slid into the bed next to Light. She wiggled her way under the covers until she could feel herself fit into place in the space directly next to Light, with her back pressed against his chest. It was a gutsy move on her part, but Light had been acting more open, and Misa hoped she could get away with it. Her surprise doubled when Light didn't push her away, but rather snaked his arm underneath hers, wrapping it around her stomach and pulling her closer.

"Light, have you really changed for the better?" Misa wondered, closing her eyes.

Before she fell asleep, Misa thought she heard Light whisper, "I love you, Misa." But she couldn't be sure. She fell asleep with the Death Note clutched in her hands, and a smile on her face.

Be on the lookout for chapter 2 coming sometime soon. I'll be switching back and forth between this fic and my other fic. It's a zelda one, check it out if you want.

Until next time,

BlakBlt2