The First Cycle

The evening was freezing in the city of Los Angeles. Everyone on the streets were wearing thick coats and knit hats. Some had hot drinks in their hands to help warm themselves up, while others held eachother for warmth. Of couse that was all except Beyond Birthday, who walked down the street in a simple shirt and bluejeans as if it were May.

He was on his way back to an apartment in the more secluded part of the city. There he held a secret from the world. It was a young girl he picked up from an alley almost a year ago. The girl was strange; much more stranger than him, he believed. She had the face of a persian girl with piercing golden eyes, and teal colored hair; not to mention the animalistic qualities like her pointed wolf ears just a shade darker than her hair and a tail the same color. It was obvious she had gone through a great ordeal before he came across her on that fateful night.

Beyond unlocked the door to the apartment and opened it, stepping through the entrance like river flowing through a creek. "I'm home, Little Pet," he said, softly calling out to the other occupant in the complex. There wasn't an answer and he looked around. "Aruki?"

"I'm here," whispered a soft voice as a pair of tired eyes peeked through the bedroom door. "BB, I don't feel good."

Beyond approached the eleven-year-old and knelt down to her level, holding out his hand. She took it and slowly stumbled out into the open. Her face was pale and there were dark circles around her eyes. He put a hand to her forehead and noticed the unnatural heat that radiated off of her entire body.

"Did you get my present?" she asked and he brushed his hand down her cheek. He nodded.

"Yes, but you're gonna have to wait until Christmas, got it?"

"Okay..." Aruki let out a small cough, and then another, and another until it became a series of raspy hacks and wheezes. "B...*cough*...I feel so hot..." Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to stop herself from coughing.

Beyond picked up the sick girl and carried her to bed, bundling her up tight. "You have a fever, Pet. I'll go get medicine, but for now just rest." Aruki nodded and closed her eyes, eventually falling into an uncomfortable sleep.

Beyond returned to the main part of the apartment and threw himself onto the couch. "What am I going to do with that kid?" he muttered to himself. He weaved his fingers into his evergrowing mop of dark brown hair and gave out a long sigh. He knew he had to get medicine for Aruki, but he was debating whether to get it now or wait until morning.

He knew that her fever was not a normal one, and it wasn't just because the girl wasn't normal either. Then again, maybe it was. Could it be possible that she gets worse because of her difference in genetics? Would regular medicine even work for her? There was only one way to find out.

He stood up and grabbed his keys before leaving the apartment, locking the door behind him. Hopefully Aruki won't wake up before he's back. The world outside was much different with the sun down. No longer full of people on their way home, the streets were now occupied with thugs and gang leaders that would kill those who so much as looked at them a funny way. Beyond easily kept his eyes glued to the ground as he walked several blocks to the nearest cornerstore.

Once inside, he made his way to where all the different medicines were at and looked at each one individually, trying to determine which one would work the best. Pepto, Zantac, Norco, Ricola, Robatussen, Benadryl...none of these will work...aha! Children's Motrin...ooh extra strength; bonus!

Beyond took the motrin and set it on the front counter where the woman running the cash register scanned the barcode without so much as glancing at it. "Photo ID?" she asked.

"Don't have one," Beyond told her. "How much for the stuff?"

The woman gave him a blank stare through small, thin glasses. "Can't sell to you without an ID. Against store policy."

Beyond returned the stare. "I need that medicine," he told her evenly.

"And I need my job," she said back. "If you don't have an ID I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Beyond let out a soft growl before glancing above the woman's head and reading her name and lifespan. He quickly looked back down, stuffing his hands into his pockets, and left without the medicine. "Whatever." When he was out of the woman's sight, he gave a small smirk to nobody in particular. "We'll meet again someday...Backyard Bottomslash...such a strange name, almost as strange as mine." He let out a soft chuckle as he made his way back to the apartment once more.

"Excuse me, sir!" A young voice called out. "Hey, you with the black shirt!" Beyond turned around to see a young blonde girl, possibly only a couple years younger than him, approach him with something clutched in her hand.

"What do you want?" he asked in a slightly rude tone.

The girl held the box out to him. It was the medicine. "My mom got it for you. Said that woman was heartless for being inconsiderate."

Beyond took the medicine from the girl and glanced above her head like he did with the store clerk. "Thanks."

He turned and headed for the apartment once more. "Quarter Queen," He pondered in a low voice. "Another strange name, yet a much kinder heart...but I saw darkness in those eyes. Yes, a darkness that I'm certain won't ever see the light of even a cloudless day. What secrets lie behind those emerald orbs, I wonder. One day, I will find out."

Unlocking his apartment's door once more, he entered the complex, this time much more quietly, so he wouldn't disturb Aruki, who was thankfully still asleep. Exhausted, Beyond went into the room and carelessly kicked off his shoes before climbing into the queen-sized bed next to the sleeping girl. He fell asleep listening to her raspy breaths, and decided to give her the medicine first thing in the morning.

At a sudden bang at the front door, Beyond jolted awake several hours later. He sat up, carefully moving Aruki, who had moved so that she was slightly on top of him, and went up to the door and opened it.

In front of him stood a man in his late thirtys and wide around the waistline. His face was in a deep scowl. It was his neighbor, Believe Bridesmaid, a freelance writer who never really had any famous works...at least, any that were good, in Beyond's opinion.

"Can I help you?" he asked his portly neighbor.

Believe Bridesmaid huffed. "Yes, I'm sure you can. I don't know who or what you've been keeping in here, but I want you to keep it quiet. I've spent the entire night listening to nothing but this loud moaning as if I was listening to a pair of dogs fucking each other throughout the night."

"And you're certain it's coming from my apartment?" Beyond asked bluntly.

"You're the only other tenant here."

Beyond rolled his eyes. "Your point being?"

The man moved so that he was right in Beyond's face. "If I'm awoken by any more noise coming from your apartment, I'm calling the police." He then stepped back and slammed the door shut.

Beyond sighed and went back to bed. As he entered the bedroom, he noticed that Aruki was awake.

"Who was that, BB?" she asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

"Just the neighbor," he replied. "Are you feeling any better?"

Aruki shook her head as Beyond grabbed the motrin from the nightstand and read the instructions. "Here, this will taste bad, but it might help." He gave her the appropriate dose of medicine. She gagged.

"It's gross," she complained.

"Told you," Beyond stated. "Now go back to sleep. It's late."

"It's Christmas Eve tomorrow, isn't it?" Aruki asked, as she snuggled back into the blankets.

"Yeah," Beyond replied as he, too lied down. Aruki coughed.

"Maybe if I'm better, could we go to the ice rink and go skating?"

"If you're better, then maybe."

Aruki seemed satisfied with the answer and curled into a ball, falling asleep thanks to the effects of the medicine. Beyond, however, didn't go back to sleep. He wanted to keep an eye on Aruki; see if Believe Bridesmaid was right in assuming that the noise was coming from his apartment and not somewhere else. However, drowsiness soon clouded his thoughts, and he soon fell asleep himself.

The next morning, Beyond drowzily poured himself a large cup of sugar with a side of coffee. Unfortunately he didn't have the ability to live several weeks without sleep, unlike his world famous opposite.

Aruki was, unfortunately, still sick so they wouldn't be going to the ice rink. To make up for it, though, Beyond let her open one Christmas present early. She chose one that had a weird shape to it and tore through the wrapping paper. It was a dull grey beanie that Beyond had found several weeks ago. She loved it and put it on, using it to cover her large ears. "Now I don't have to worry about getting weird looks from people anymore!" She hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much!"

There was a knock on the door and Aruki looked up curiously. "Is that the neighbor again?"

Beyond looked toward the door as another knock was heard. "I sure hope not, Little Pet." He went over and opened the door. It wasn't Believe Bridesmaid, but a couple of police officers.

"Hello, are you Rue Ryuzaki?" one of them asked.

"Yes, can I help you?" Beyond asked.

The other officer held up his badge. "I'm Officer Kole, this is Officer Ferris. We recieved a call earlier involving a possible distrubance. Do you mind if we come in?"

Beyond knew from past experience that if you refuse to allow police into your home it makes you suspicious, so he moved to allow them inside. "Sure thing, but I don't reccommend it. I'm taking care of my little sister, and she's really sick...I don't know if it's contagious, so I wouldn't touch anything."

The two officers entered the apartment and looked around. Nothing was out of the ordinary to them.

"Care for some coffee or something?" Beyond asked as he cleaned up Aruki's wrapping paper. Both men refused.

"Mr. Ryuzaki," Ferris, began to ask, "the call we recieved came from your neighbor. He said something about a strange noise coming from your apartment last night. Did he confront you about it?"

Beyond stopped what he was doing for a moment and looked at the officer. "Yes, he did. But I was certain he was mistaken. Both my little sister and I were asleep throughout the whole night, except for when he woke me up to confront me about it."

Ferris wrote down a small note just as the bathroom door opened, revealing Aruki, who let out a small whine. "BB, I think it's getting worse." Luckily she was still wearing her new hat and she was standing in such a way so her tail wasn't showing.

"Is this your sister, Mr. Ryuzaki?" Kole asked. Beyond stuffed his hands into his pockets and nodded. Kole approached Aruki with caution and held out his hand. "Hello there, what's your name?" he asked.

The girl stared at the officers hand and slowly stepped away, a fearful look on her face. "Please don't touch me..."

Kole didn't notice the fear in her eyes and leaned forward. "I'm not going to hurt you-"

Aruki let out a small scream and ran around him and behind Beyond, grabbing onto his arm. "Don't let them take me away! Get rid of them! Please, keep them away!" she cried.

"Is she alright?" Ferris asked, concerned.

"She's had bad expeience with police," Beyond replied. He then turned to Aruki to try and calm her down. "Hey, it's okay, they won't take you, I promise." He then felt her forehead again and noticed that her fever has gotten worse. "Why don't you go lie down and I'll give you some more medicine later, okay?"

Aruki reluctantly nodded and went into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Beyond turned back to the police.

"I must apologize for that, you see, she was attacked by an officer almost a year ago. He was drunk and she happened to be nearby."

"What exactly happened?" Kole asked. Beyond shrugged.

"She never told me." It was a lie, but they didn't need to know that.

Both officers nodded. Ferris spoke up once more, "Well we should apologize for bothering you. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing here that would cause such a disturbance as what Mr. Bridesmaid described." The two officers went to leave and wished Beyond a Merry Christmas.

Beyond sighed in relief once they were gone and went to give Aruki her medicine. She took it with a grimace and lied down to take a nap.

It wasn't until that evening for Aruki to wake back up again. When she did, Beyond was certain that something wasn't right.

"BB..." She cried, "Why do I feel so weird?"

Beyond became curious as well as desperate to help her in any way he could. "Where do you feel weird?"

"All over..." Her breaths were shallow as her skin grew a thin sheet of sweat from the unnatural body heat.

Beyond touched her forehead and brushed his hand against one of her pointed ears. Aruki suddenly let out a soft and inhumane moan as she leaned into his touch. Beyond recognized that sound from an experience he had before leaving Wammy's.

"Aruki, do you remember that talk we had back in the spring?"

"You mean the birds and the bees?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Aruki demanded, embarassment laced in her voice as her ears laid back against her head.

Beyond sighed, not entirely enthusiastic with what he was going to say. "That sound you made was a sound of arousal. You're acting like a dog in heat."

"Well maybe I am in heat," Aruki snarked. She then shifted her weight, bringing her legs close together. "BB...Do you see me as a little sister? Like what you told those police officers?"

"I only said that so they wouldn't get suspicious. This isn't exactly the safest part of town."

"So then, if it was the only way to stop this...would you..." Aruki shifted some more, "Would you...mate...with me?"

Beyond locked eyes with her, slightly shocked that she would ask such a thing. "Would you be willing to do that, Pet? You're only eleven, I'm seventeen-"

"Since when has Beyond Birthday ever cared about what was politically right or wrong? Wasn't it you who told me how you gave your virginity to the son of L's predecessor before he committed suicide because he couldn't handle becoming his successor? You told me you were thirteen, BB!" Aruki moved in front of Beyond and sat on his lap, stradling his waist. "If this is the only way to do this, then I don't care. As long as it's with you, I'll be okay. I trust you and only you."

Aruki leaned up and kissed Beyond with passion and need; and before he knew it, he was kissing back, enjoying the heat that radiated off of her. He brought his hand back up to her ear and stroked the soft fur that lined it and worked his way down her back to her tail, slowly finding all the spots she enjoyed being touched.

Her hands were also on an exploration. They slowly moved from Beyond's face down to his neck and back up to his mop of dark brown hair before moving down to his chest and abdomen where the skin was soft and a bit squishy (from lack of muscle).

Beyond broke the kiss and moved his face down to the nape of her neck where he licked at the exposed flesh right over a vital artery that ran beneath. Aruki gave out another moan of arousal as he softly bit down and began to suck on that very special spot. She grabbed onto the back of his head tightly and he bit down harder, causing her to bleed. She didn't care though; in fact, it filled her with ecstacy.

Beyond carefully laid Aruki onto her back, the bedsheets slowly turned crimson from her blood. He slowly slid off her shorts, feeling her desire for relief continue to grow.

"BB..." Aruki became scared. It was understandable, since this was her first. So Beyond tried to be as gentle as he could.

He placed his finger at the edge of her opening and began to massage around it. He read about female masturbation techniques for virgins and used those to his advantage. Starting with a simple stimulation would help Aruki to relax a bit.

Aruki gave a soft sigh of pleasure from the stimulation as Beyond continued to massage her, occasionally pressing against her bud to give her a jolt. Moisture began to accumulate from her opening which Beyond took as a sign to take the next step.

He leaned foreward and put his mouth to her nether regions, placing his tongue flat against her, tasting the juices of her eagerness as she gripped the sheets for stability.

"BB," she nearly shouted. "Stop teasing me, please..."

Beyond pulled his mouth away. "Just a little longer, Pet." He then took his finger and put it inside her, feeling her inner walls for that special piece of skin. Aruki let out a squeak in shock and the sudden intrusion, but the shock turned into exhilleration as Beyond found the spot he was looking for and promptly inserted a second finger and scisoring them to stretch the opening around them. Aruki began to feel a small knot forming in her lower abdomen and she gritted her teeth at the discomfort.

Beyond decided that she was ready and promptly removed his jeans and underwear. He then moved above her and kept his eyes locked with hers. "Look away, Little Pet. It's gonna hurt more if you don't."

Aruki nodded and closed her eyes, turning her head away from Beyond as he positioned himself at her entrance. "BB..." She muttered.

"What is it?" he asked.

Aruki turned her face to look at him. "...Merry Christmas, BB."

Beyond couldn't help but smile. It wasn't one of his fake or crazed smiles either. It was a simple and genuine one. One he hasn't had for many years. "Merry Christmas, Aruki."

Aruki leaned up and kissed Beyond once more. He held her into the kiss as he slowly entered into her. Her body tensed and she grabbed ahold of him tightly as the pain began to cloud her senses. Once he reached the barrier, Beyond broke the kiss so that he could brush the sweat away from her face. She put her hands into his and he held them tight as he pinned them by her head.

Beyond brought his lips to hers and pushed himself completely inside her, breaking her as quick and painlessly as he could. She let out a pained scream within his mouth, muffling the sound as tears pooled in her eyes. He continued to move inside her as she silently cried. He moved one hand to wipe away the tears as she held on tightly to his other hand, trying to divert her mind from the pain.

Soon her screams died down as the pain gave way to pleasure and she began to let out a series of relaxed moans. Aruki felt the knot form in her stomach again and she broke the kiss to breathe.

"BB...I...I feel..." she tried to say, but Beyond shushed her.

"It's okay, Pet," he whispered. "Just let go when you're ready." He began to suck on the dried blood on her neck and she gasped. Her breath became quick and shallow as Beyond sped up the pace of his thrusts. Aurki couldn't hold back any longer and she let out a deep howl as the knot suddenly unraveled and she realeased her juices onto him.

This motivated Beyond to keep going until he, too, released. When he came inside her he froze for a moment before pulling out. Both of them were breathless from the experience.

Beyond moved off of Aruki and sat at the edge of the bed for a moment. He glanced over at Aruki to see that she had passed out. Leaning over, he felt her forehead to find that she was significantly cooler. She might even feel better tomorrow.

Beyond took the time to clean the two of them up as well as replace the messy sheets. When that was done, he laid Aruki back down on the bed and climbed in next to her. In her sleep, she moved so that she was slightly on top of him like she always did at night. Beyond didn't mind though; he never did. This time, however, he felt a deeper connection to the strange girl he brought into his life, and he knew from that moment on, he would never see her the same way ever again.

((Author's Note)) Hello there, guys. It's me. This was kind of a holiday fic, and it was also a form of request by someone who read my other lemon Unbearable Heat. I really wanted to write something for you that involved the strawberry jam obsessed freak, so I decided Why Not?

So a bit of explanation before y'all who have read Death Note: Another Note go ranting in the reviews; I know that Backyard Bottomslash isn't a store clerk; but since this is a fanfiction that takes place before the book I figured I could do whatever I wanted and explain my reasons later. I do plan to write the book into this series at a later date so it will be explained then...Unless I forget to...

Anyway, I hope all of you who read this have (or had) a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. And I hope you at least enjoyed reading.

And if you haven't yet, Please go over to my page and read all of my other stories involving Aruki's adventures.

Until Next Time,

-Garden of Time

Disclaimer: Death Note and its characters belong to Tsugumi Obha and Takeshi Obata. I only own the story and the characters Aruki, Ferris, and Kole.