"…What…?"
"…I'm sorry…But L is dead…Wammy too"
The girl felt her legs wobble and give out, Mellow caught her as she fell. Fresh tears poured down her cheeks.
"…How…?"
"He was murdered…by Kira…"
"…Kira…." She growled, she then groaned clutching her stomach.
"Are you alright?" Mellow began, distressed.
"…Yes…Please…I just…need to sit down…" She panted.
"I'll get you some water" Mellow said, helping her into a chair.
Near sat on the floor, putting together a puzzle, "I'm surprised you came all the way out here already knowing that the news was grave. All this stress can't be good for the baby…"
The room went silent.
"Attentive as always, Near" She sighed.
"…You're…pregnant…?" Mellow began.
"…Yeah…and I wanted to keep it a secret but of course my bratty little brother had to let the cat out of the bag"
"…is it…his…?"
"…Yes…it is…"
Flashback...
The little girl sat sobbing on the floor of the hallway. Her long ash blonde hair in tangles about her face.
"Quiet down, you're making a racket"
She looked up at the boy now standing over her, he had black hair and big dark eyes. He looked as if he hadn't slept in months and had a book tucked under his arm. He wore a shirt that was much too big for him and jeans coming down over his bare feet.
"How do you expect people to get anything done with you carrying on like that? What's wrong with you?"
"…My mama died and…some strange man brought me here…they took away my baby brother and…I see…scary things all the time…" she sniffled.
"You have problems…" he whistled. She began to cry again.
"No more of that now…why don't you make yourself useful and go read or something?"
"…I…can't read…" she sniffled again. The boy gave a sigh, "What's your name?"
"…Marisol…"
"Alright, Marisol, if I teach you to read will you stop crying?"
She looked up at him, "…You…would do that?"
"Only if you promise to stop making so much noise"
"…Okay…" Marisol said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. The strange boy offered her a hand and she took it.
"…You haven't told me your name…"
"My name…Hmmm…call me L"
"My brother!" Marisol cried peeking into the crib.
"See, he's not gone, they just moved him to the nursery…"
"I'm glad he's okay" she smiled.
"What happened to your family?" L asked. Her smile faded.
"…It was just me and my mama and little brother, my papa died a long time ago…He left us a mansion and a lot of money. My mama could see things and would entertain people with the things she saw. I see things, too, but most of the time they're scary…sometimes angry…Mama said they would never hurt me…my brother won't be able to see them because he's a boy and only girls get to see them" she said, brushing back his pale hair.
"…Some people didn't like what mama said she saw…Mama saw them coming…she hid me and my brother in the garage when they came…the police said they violated her then shot her and set the house on fire to cover it up…I heard my mama screaming but I was too afraid to do anything."
L stared at her intently.
"…I saw my mama for a little while after that. She said…it wasn't my fault and she was glad me and my little brother were okay…She kept all the bad things away from me…but…when we came here…she said she couldn't come with us and to take care of my little brother…There are a lot more scary things here and they always pick on me at night…"
"There is no such thing as ghosts…" L said simply.
"What?!"
"Their existence cannot be proven, therefore they don't exist"
"…Well…it hasn't been disproven!" Marisol snapped.
"…True…you pose a very good argument…"
She beamed in triumph.
...End Flashback
Marisol shut the door to the apartment, she sighed taking off her coat and flicking on the light.
"So you really were dead" She said turning to the chair. A ghostly apparition of L sat huddled in the armchair.
"You knew?"
"I suspected it" she shrugged. "…You came home before the Kira investigation was over…you're not one to do that…"
"You know me too well"
Marisol looked away, tears running down her face. A cold hand wiped them away.
"…You know I can't stand your tears…"
"…How long will you be here?" she asked as he went over to the window.
"Until the investigation is finished…"
"…do you know who Kira is?"
"Yes…but the trouble will be unmasking him…"