(but normal, what is normal, normal isn't -)

Bastille

| as a friend, as a friend |

.

.

There's a split second –

Split, split, split (a split second, just like a head, split, split, split in half, pretty girls that bleed in the dark, an axe, cutting through and red, red, red on the sleeve of the uniform, the stolen uniform and –)

(Pretty girls that bleed in the dark, split in two, maybe four, five, six, an axe that is easily found, but not easily concealed and the stolen maid uniform that is a tad too tight, stained with blood).

And the world stops.

(Watari falls and BB hits him, hard, behind the head and B hits to hit, not to kill, because she can't help the hint of fondness she has for the old man and the orphanage of freaks he keeps; quiet, hush, shhh).

Her and L (no, it's never that easy).

BB blinks upwards, innocent and childish, red splattered on her cheek matching the colour of eyes and stares, stares, stares and that man – her an L, it's never that easy – stares right back, black eyes quick and calculative and taking her in.

What is it with you and L and the staring, Mello had asked, eleven-years-old and observant in all the terrible, terrible ways.

'It has been three years', the voice offers as answer, bored and already detached from the whole thing (Beyond Birthday and L Lawliet will always have a past, a present and a future).

"You are in Japan." He states, no, not a question. He probably already knows why and, even if he doesn't know, he won't bother to ask (she is here, why is not important, no, but what she plans to do that –).

"Mello said you might die." She offers as an answer to a question that was never asked, still childish and innocent (because Wammy teaches lots, but it does not teach you how to grow up).

He sends her a flat look and she smiles (and there is nothing nice about that smile, no, it's dark and gruesome and her teeth have always been particularly sharp).

"BB." Her name is his mouth (it's been three years and BB has never been quite free, no, she'll never be, she can run and hide, she can, but that won't do any good).

"Yes?" She bats her eyelashes.

"Make sure he's not dead." He sends a look towards Wammy, still sprawled on the floor, still unmoving and he's breathing, but somebody should probably try to wake him up, look for a commotion, give some pills and a tall glass of water.

"Okay." She nods her head and he turns around, showing his back to her (and BB would like to say how foolish that is because everyone who's ever did has ended up dead, dead, dead, but him, no, it's different).

'This…' the voice whispers in her ears as BB grabs one of the old man's legs and pulls him all the way to one of the plush, expensive couches in the fancy hotel room. 'This will be interesting.'

BB would like to answer, but the voice is entity of itself, with only words screamed or whispered in her ears and the truth is the voice never takes what BB would like to say (words are already jumbled inside Beyond's head and the voice, sort of, it makes better).

No, the truth is, the truth is, BB cannot tell the future (but the voice, the voice that whispers sweet nothings into her head and feeds that red, hot, burning inside of her to kill, kill, kill, well…), but –

But the voice can.

'You're supposed to be dead, caught and killed, Kira was supposed to kill you.' It mutters exactly as Watari opens his eyes, confused and dazed and old, he's not young anymore, but you already knew that and stares at her.

She had the decency of sitting him on the couch (sometimes, sometimes she thinks about killing him, about hanging his body from the rafters at Wammy's and his feet dangling from the abyss and then she stops herself, finds some type of fondness for him, a usefulness while he's alive, even if stupid people die at Wammy's).

"Beyond…" His voice is hoarse and yet (stern, paternal, a little disappointed, but overall glad that she's alright because it's been three years and maybe, just maybe, he was worried about her). "You're here."

He notices the stain on the uniform when she hands him that glass of water – he doesn't drink it (not that he should, not without sniffing it first and Beyond is not cowardly enough to use poison, but maybe she would, you never know; she is known for impulsiveness).

"Mello said L might die." Here it is once more (stern, paternal, disappointed) and BB knows that when this conversation is over, the phone in Roger's office will ring (not that she finds anything wrong with what she just said, really, it's what she came for, what she wants to see).

But since it's Mello and everyone sorts of expects it, that stern look doesn't stay for long (Watari is old now, older than before, older than when he first came to fetch her at her parents' funeral, older than when L first started the job, he's older, wiser, boring).

Finally, the old man stands up from the couch, takes her in (three years and she knows he's analyzing, the fact that her fashion sense is still nonexistent, that she's lost weight since no one is forcing a meal down her throat three times a day, her head that is in desperate need of a haircut, her nails that dirty and worn, her hand calloused).

And then, there's the blood on her cheek and on the uniform she stole (it reminded her, it reminded her of jam and she tried, tried to lick it, but pretty girls that bleed in the dark don't taste that good, no, not sweet at all).

"Have a shower. Leave the clothes on the ground, I'll get you knew ones." BB nods her head and his smile, well, it's paternal and a tad warm and it's no wonder that they've all turned like this.

And it's almost, almost normal, but –

(but normal, what is normal, normal is not burning someone's blood covered clothes without asking questions, normal is not offering a killer a place to stay and a warm bath and food, normal is not finding teenage boys hanged from their necks and never once thinking that it's your fault).

BB doesn't know normal (she crouches in the shower and draws patterns on white porcelain, the water a murky, reddish brown).

'Pretty boys…' the voice says. 'Pretty boys with killer notebooks and Shinigami pets, oh, oh…'


a/n: Slowly, very, very slowly, we're getting there. hahaha, this was very draining to write and probably not the update anyone was expecting, but the thought of BB and her crazy SI! voice head is just, well, it's fun to write, if a bit tiring. I was very pleased that my idea seemed to interest people, so, thank you all for the lovely reviews and the favourites and just for reading it in the first place. If it's a bit fuzzy as you read it, it's meant to. Honestly, it's also fuzzy to write. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed, thanks for reading and drop a review to let me know what you thought. See you next chappie.