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Light woke up some time later. His room was back in its orderly fashion, as if whatever it was earlier never happened. There was no symbol on the wall, no stuff defying gravity, or creepy snow felines dressing as death gods. Nothing. Light looked over at the clock. 7:01am. There was a knocking coming from downstairs. Light tucked the Death Note under his shirt and threw on his hoodie.

Daylight stung his eyes for a second until his vision adjusted. Standing outside of the front door was a woman wearing a blue coat. She perked up when she saw Light come down the spiral staircase and waved at him. Aunt Natalie. She looked younger than Light remembered; brighter smile, leaner frame. She was also at least a foot taller than him.

Light unlocked the door and let her inside. The second the door flew open, Natalie rushed up and scooped Light into a tight embrace. "Hey, sweetie. I heard about what happened with my brother. Are you okay?" Light had no idea if he should run. He stayed in his aunt's arms, new to the idea of this warm sensation.

Then remembered she asked him a question. "Yeah," he said. "I'm fine." She looked down at him, a little confused. Right, I'm supposed to be more upset at the death of a family member. The thing was, Light wasn't sad at all. More thrilled than sad. Thrilled that he was going off to live somewhere that was not riddled with terrible memories of being dragged across the floor and beaten.

Natalie held him at arm's length. "How about we go get your stuff. I have a room waiting for you at my place."

For the next hour and a half, Light and Natalie went up to his room, gathered whatever they could fit into Natalie's car, and brought it downstairs. The only things that would not be coming in the end were his TV, bed, dresser, and bookshelf. Light grabbed a pen from the kitchen on the last trip out and tucked it in his pocket, right next to where the Note nestled against his stomach, which felt queasy.

Light took a deep breath when Natalie backed out of her parking space in front of the store. The young cheetah took one last look at the place. Who was going to run the store now? The answer: no one. Odds are, it would be sold and dismantled. It was rather symbolic, getting to leave the only life Light ever knew for over ten years, heading off into the unknown. At the very least, if something went wrong, he had the Note he could use to turn to.

Natalie turned on the radio to more cheerful music. Light simply looked out the window. "You know, your father and I really never got along. Even after we moved out of our parents' house. But I still loved him a lot."

He risked a glance over at her with mixed emotions. Should he tell her how he really was? All the abuse he suffered? "He... he told me he wanted to visit you again someday," Light told her. It wasn't true. But the last thing he wanted was to ruin Natalie's image of his father and make her even more upset. She needed to grieve first.

Natalie sniffled. Light was sure she was going to break down while they were driving to her house. But she kept it in while they sped towards the edge of town. The more they drive, the less houses Light saw. They were more spaced out. Natalie took them through a back road leading out of town. Before they passed the sign saying to come back soon, they turned right onto a country road where she cruised up until they reached their destination.

Just on the edge of the woods was a three-story house made of white glass and white scaffolding. Outside was what looked to be wooden playground equipment for kids. Natalie parked at the bottom of a large set of stairs that circled up to the front door, right next to a few other expensive-looking vehicles. Light had never seen a house this big before. It almost reminded him of how small his old room was.

"Woah," he gasped. "You live here?"

"Yes. Just me, Jessie-Belle, and Genevieve the hamster." Light didn't ask who either of them were. He stayed silent as her and Natalie grabbed a few of Light's things and carried them up the porch steps to the front doors. When she unlocked the French doors and pushes them open, a new world opened for the young cheetah.

The front room had a giant kitchen space with a large dining table for seven and a crystal chandelier. To the left was a living room, a seventy-inch TV screwed up in place. A large blue couch and loveseat sat along the wall, facing the stairs. "Woah," Light said in astonishment. "This place is huge." He noticed a slight echo bouncing off the walls.

"Yeah," Natalie said as if it was nothing. "Me and Jessie's room is downstairs. Come on. I'll let you choose whichever room you want upstairs."

Light followed his aunt up the stairs. The second floor seemed smaller than the first, but the number of rooms makes up for that. A few guest bedrooms lined up one side of the hallway, while a couple bathrooms with noticeably large showers made up the other side. Natalie told Light the other staircase led up to the attic, which has another bed and a bunch of old keepsakes.

He felt like a kid in a candy store picking out his room. He settled for the one that seemed to be the largest. This one had a great view of the woods. Light's new room was already fitted with a big twin-XL bed, a desk with a lamp flickered off, and another flat screen mounted next to the window.

Natalie assisted Light in moving his stuff into his room. During which, the Note pressed against Light's belly, reminding him of its existence. How could I forget? Death Note had just changed his life. Yesterday, he was that weird kid living in a run-down apartment with a drunk bastard. Now he was living-it-up in a new home, with a new family. (Light met Genevieve the hamster, a small fellow who had golden brown fur and lived happily in a cage in the living room.) The moving took less than an hour. When they were finished, Natalie ordered from a Chinese place in the center of town. They sat on the porch as they waited for it to come.

A grey 2017 Dodge Challenger pulled up next to the house. A puma with blonde fur (not as dark blonde as Light's fur was, but close) climbed out of the car. She was wearing a dark black coat. Her hair had streaks of pink dyed in it.

"Hey honey!" she greeted. The puma had a very thick Staten Island accent and a sway in her step. She came up and kissed Natalie on the cheek. "Is this the little kid that's coming to stay with us?"

"I'm not a kid," Light pointed out. "I'm going to be 18 on Friday."

The puma -- Jessie-Belle from what Light could pick out -- gasped. "Oh snap! Does this mean we need to plan a party?" She said it like paw-ty.

"It's fine," he said, then held a paw out. "I'm Light. And I'm assuming you're Jessie?"

"The one and only," she giggled and grasped Light's paw. She had a firm grip. And minty breath. "I'm guessing Nat here has told you all about me."

"She's brought you up a few times."

Jessie patted him on the head like she didn't hear the bit about him being 17-almost-18. "Well, it's nice to have you hear, little sport. I'm going to get a shower, hun. Work was a mess for me." She headed inside without another word.

Light looked down at Natalie's paws, which were folded in her lap. Just as Light suspected, there was a diamond ring on her left paw he didn't notice before. "She seems interesting," he said, hoping he wasn't coming off as rude.

Aunt Natalie smiled. "Jessie really means well. She can be just a little... outgoing. She gives this place personality if you ask me. I think she likes you."

It warmed his heart to know he had not one, but two caring adults in his circle. Light, Natalie, and Jessie ate lunch together when the food arrived. Jessie pegged Light with a bunch of questions. "What was your life like?" "Do you have any hobbies?" "Please tell me you watch TV." "You thinkin' about going to college?"

Light did his best to answer them. But with Natalie around, he didn't have the heart to tell either of them about his father. When Jessie asked how he felt when Father died, he simply shook his head and said, "I'm doing my best to get through it." He felt even worse when Natalie broke down in the middle of dinner. She buried her face in her paws and cried. Light teared up as well. From seeing a family member upset.

Jessie took Natalie into their room. "Sorry you and Nat have to deal with this," she told Light. "I'll calm her down." Light interpreted that as he could go to his room.

The cheetah quietly ran up the stairs to his new bedroom and shut the door. He took out the Death Note. From the dream this morning, or whatever one would call that, that snow kitty -- Ryuk -- told him he could have the Note so long as he wasn't separated from it for seven days. Light had already killed the only person in his life that was a true burden. What do I do with it now?

Light sat on his bed, thinking about life when Father was alive. The world seemed to be against him, giving him a parent with an uncaring paw. Light took off his hoodie and shirt and looked down at his body. Though barely visible through his dark colored fur and the normal black spots, there were a few fresh bruises from a few days ago when Father came home from the bar and lashed out on his son. Along Light's chest are four long scars from when Father clawed him hard enough to where he bled horridly. Father blackmailed him into telling the doctor he got into a fight at school.

His life was miserable when Father was alive. With the Note, Light accomplished something incredibly extraordinary to turn the tables in his favor. However, Light thought it selfish that he had such a power to benefit his own life. Imagine what he could do to help others. The world was full of people that made life miserable for others; criminals, bullies, politicians.

"Looks like you're thinking about a lot, kid." Light jumped when he saw Ryuk sitting on his bed like he was a close friend. He was giving the cheetah a smirk that said I know more than you. "What's on your mind?"

Light did not trust Ryuk at all, whatever he was. He was still sure Ryuk was only a figment of his imagination. But the Shinigami knew more about the Note than he did. It was better to ask him than to not, he supposed. "Are there any consequences of using the Note?" Light asked.

"No," Ryuk answered. "Using the Note doesn't affect your lifetime at all. The worst it does is you can neither go to Heaven nor Hell. Check Rule 8."

Neither Heaven nor Hell. Well, Light never believed in an afterlife anyways.

He grabbed the remote to his new television, turning down the volume so the ladies downstairs wouldn't overhear. At the same time, he turned on his phone and pulled up Google News. If he was going to keep the Note, he was going to use it for good.

He clicked open his favorite pen.