Of Murder and Love

(Sequel to Selfishness)

Disclaimer: to all those lawyers out there, sorry but I don't own Death Note or its characters. Duh!

Warning: Slight AU; different ending

Summary: If you had second chance, what would you do?Each step Misa took, made her heart beat faster. Her memories…they had returned…all those people she killed. "Hey, Misa," the familiar motherly voice said. "… Are you…sure…about this?" Misa stopped for a moment, thinking. After a few seconds, she nodded and continued to her destination. She was as prepared as if she was born for it. Suddenly, she ran into something solid. She looked up. A door. She reached her swallowed. This was it. Her heart, which was already going a mile a minute, sped up so fast, she couldn't even count the beats. Her breath deepened, as she started to exhale from her mouth. Thoughts raced though her mind until L's voice cut though them, like light into darkness. "Misa-san, if you wish to proceed with our 'affair', then…" As predicted, he was interrupted by the sharp slam of his door, opening suddenly. Misa, face beet red, was about to retort when she saw that familiar successful, adorable, child-like grin. She sighed and looked down. "I can never argue with that face." All of a sudden, the smell of body wash reached her nose. She looked up. L was shirtless and a damp towel was around his shoulders. His body was still wet, as his hair was still dripping with water. Misa turned a shade darker. "D-d-did Misa come at a bad time?" "No, not at all," L sat down on his favorite swivel chair, as raised the towel on his shoulders to dry his hair.

"So, what does Misa-san want to talk about?" L said as he sat down on his bed. Misa froze. She had almost forgotten. "Y…yes, I want to talk about the…Kira case. L blinked in surprise. Misa never wanted to talk about the Kira case. She said it was too 'morbid' to talk about and usually changed the subject to whatever she wanted to talk about. "Have a seat, Misa-san." He indicated the seat across from him, which she took. "What about the Kira case?"

"I…" She stopped, shuting her eyes. She knew that she had started and she couldn't stop until it was over. Bravery overcame her and she opened her eyes. "I know who Kira is." L's eyes widened in amazement, as a spark came in. "…Who is Kira?" he said, gently. "…Light…" "…" " And to prove it, I'm the Second Kira." L took a minute to let the information sink in. "Misa-san…" L started, but the pop star suddenly realized what she had said and broke down. "Oh, Ryuzaki-san! I'm so sorry." "Misa-san…" "I'll take any punishment you'll give to me." "Misa-san…" "Even death!" "Misa-san!" L said, firmly. Misa stopped talking to listen to her lover speak. "I'm not going to hurt you; I just want information." Misa, visually, calmed down.

"…Now, how does Kira kill?" L asked. Misa quickly pulled out the Death Note and held it out to him. "This is…a shinigami's notebook; their Death Note. Basically, if a human's name is written in it and their cause of death is specified, it will happen. If the cause of death isn't specified, they'll just die of a heart attack. You also need the person's face in mind as you're writing, too."

L was about to take the Death Note, but Misa pulled it to her. "Wait, L – I mean Ryuzaki," L raised his eyebrow. "I'll explain after he sees Rem," Misa thought. "A shinigami named Rem will appear behind me after you touch the Death Note. She can't be seen until you touch the Death Note. I just wanted to warn you because she may scare you a bit," she explained, as she held it out to him, so he can take it for real this time. "Thank you, Misa-san, but you should know that I didn't get scared easily," L said, playfully, but Misa did not smile back. So, L changed his expression and, seriously, took the Death Note, gently, and looked up. He saw a pearly white skeletal figure. "Rem-san, was it? It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, L Lawliet," the white shinigami replied. L stiffened when he heard his real name spoken and turned to Misa to ask why she knew his name. Misa answered his question before he had a chance to even vocalize his confusion. "It's their eyes. Their eyes can see a person's lifespan and their name. …If you trade half of a person's lifespan, … they can give you a their eyes. I … I made the trade … to … please …" Misa broke off. L was silent.

A few minutes of silence fell on them. Rem thought it was best to leave the two alone, so she flew out of the room, to the busy street outside. After Rem left, Misa mumbled something that L couldn't hear. "Misa-san, did you say something?" "… I'm so sorry, Ryuzaki-san. I really am. I don't deserve your love. I've killed so many people." She cupped her face in her hands, as tears fell down her rosy cheeks. "I deserve to die!" L got up, looking down on her. His wet hair hid his expression. "Misa-san," Misa looked up at the mysterious detective, tears staining her cheeks. "I'm going to ask you one last question. Please answer this truthfully because it will decide your fate, all right?" he said, gently. Misa nodded and looked down, squeezing her eyes shut, prepared for the worst.

"Do you want to live?" L asked. Misa looked up at L, in wonder. "Do I …" "Want to live, yes" "… I … I …" Misa was at a loss. She should die, to atone for all those people she killed, but, for reason unknown to her, she couldn't help but screamed out, "I WANT TO LIVE!" Fresh tears fell down. It was as if her brain went on autopilot. She didn't care if what she just yelled out just sentenced her to death. It was true. She wanted to live. She really truly wanted to live with L and be happy. "Misa-san," She shut her eyes, ready to accept her fate. "You're cleared of all charges," Misa's eyes shot open, not believing what she just heard.

"What? … I'm … cleared …" "Of all charges, yes." Misa was confused. "Why?" L scratched the back of his head and turned away. "Misa-san, to every criminal I caught, I ask them this question. However, it isn't the answer I'm looking for. I look at how they answer the question," Misa still looked confused. L sighed. "Let's take this as an example; let's say a man who is framed for many robberies. I catch him and ask him my question. He is too scared to tell us this and answers in the negative. I'd be able to tell if he was lying because of his body language." "Yes, but what does that have to do with me?'

"… How about this? A young lady is guilty of mass murder and is terribly sorry about it. She confesses and I ask her this question. She was saying that she should die earlier, but she answers that she wanted to live. She lives and becomes happy. Do you get it?" Misa realized L's motitive and smiled. She went up and hugged L from behind. "Thank you, L." L smiled. "It was nothing, Misa-san." Misa buried her face in his back. "Now, we'll have to get proof of Light-kun." "Don't kill him, Ryuzaki, please." "I won't." "Thanks."

Thanks to L's cleverness and general smartness, they caught Light. During the scene where L was to "die", Rem just wrote his name on normal paper while Misa was somewhere safe. They were able to prove to the Task Force that Light was Kira and locked Light up in an asylum for the rest of his life, believing that L is dead and he is ruler of the world.

As Misa, it turned out that because she fell in love with L, she escaped her sudden death and her life span was returned to normal. Misa returned the Death Notes to Rem and Ryuk, freeing them to go back to the Shinigami Realm, much to Rem's happiness and Ryuk's chagrin. L took Misa home to England, where they lived happily. They got married a little time afterward. They had a pair of identical twins, a boy and a girl, named Mei and Lei. They both lived a long life and they were happy.

THE END!

Comments: -Whew- I'm done. Now, to eat! :3 Sorry for the general lateness. Spring Break seems to be the only time I can focus on writing fanfictions. It is also to the fact that I am out of my Death Note craze. :O I know, right? I got into a Saiyuki, then a Hellsing, back into Fullmetal Alchemist, and, now, -Man. I'm also into betaing/editing more than writing, so I'll focus on that and write every once in a while. Oh and if you like -Man and the Allen/ Lavi pairing, read my friend's, Bluebell Ren, fanfiction, The Rabbit in the Moon. I beta/edit it, so yeah. Even if you don't like one or either of those things, just read it; it's good. If you have anything that needs to be bata'd/edited look me up. Sorry if this isn't as good as the original, I tried. No flames, but constructive criticism is welcome. Well, thanks for reading! –waves- Bye Bye! 3