Chapter 3

Yatsuki had landed in L.A. and was now looking around with a disappointed look. It looked to her like nothing had changed. There were still prostitutes on the corners, still gambling casinos in every hotel, and still jam-packed with people. She hates crowds.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Y? It's Yatsuki. Just wanted to tell you that I've landed safely."

"That's wonderful, dear. What's it like?"

"It's not any different from when I left."

"You sound disappointed."

"... Maybe a little."

"Well, try to have fun."

"I will."

She hung up and looked around her with a disgusted look. God, did she hate people. She walked out of the airport and hailed a cab.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Mrs. Yagami hung up the phone and turned to her family with a smile. "That was Tsuki-chan. She just wanted to let us know that she landed safely."

"She never told us why she left in the first place." Saiyu complained.

Mrs. Yagami looked at her daughter with pity. Yatsuki had specifically asked her not to tell anybody where she was going. "I forgot to ask her. I was just relieved that she landed safely." she lied.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The cab left her in front of the vehicle transport building in the airport and she got out and paid the guy before going in and claiming her blue motorcycle. She paid the guy at the counter and left. She strapped her only bag, a shoulder bag, into the box on the back and sped off in the direction of the high security prison.

It took a couple hours, but she got there with sunlight to spare and walked in the door, flashing an FBI badge. "I'm here to see Beyond Birthday."

"Certainly, Miss Okida." The man behind the desk said, leading her to the back.

"Let me make myself clear." She said to the man as he led her past cells where men were wolf-whistling at her and asking for stuff. She gave them a disgusted look as she passed. "I require no guards and no one watching through one way glass."

"But ma'am, its protocol--"

"I know its protocol. But I have permission from the president himself to do this and to do it my way."

"Y-yes ma'am."

The man led her to a windowless room where there wasn't even a two way mirror or cameras and left her there to wait. As she waited, she leaned against a wall and thought. 'Maybe I should just stay here in the states. It's on the other side of the world from L and I'll be closer to B...'

"S-chan must be thinking really hard."

Her head shot up and there was B, looking at her with red eyes and his thumbnail between his teeth. Immediately, a smile lit up her face. "You're alive!" she exclaimed, throwing herself at him in a hug.

He hugged her back. "That's my line." he said. "Why are you here? If the FBI figures out you're here, you could get in trouble."

"I'm aware." she replied. "It's just, with all the Kira crap, I was worried about you."

"Worried about a killer? You need to worry about yourself… Why did you run away all those years ago?"

Yatsuki sighed and sat against a wall, signaling for B to sit next to her. "I didn't like what Old Man Whammy was trying to do, trying to find a replacement for L. It seemed to me like he thought of him and every other kid as machines that could be replaced and he was trying to find the one for L. I blew up in his face and stormed out, saying that you can't replace a person like a machine. Never looked back." She turned to see B looking at her with a thoughtful look on his face. "What about you? I have a feeling that your challenge to L wasn't the only reason you left."

"It wasn't. Everyone was convinced that you were dead, but I knew otherwise. I managed to track you to L.A. and went there in hopes of finding you. While I was there, I thought of my challenge for L and figured that maybe it would attract your attention as well."

She hit him over the head. "You dumbass! That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard you come up with! You nearly killed yourself! Did you ever stop and think about what I would do if you died? Well did you? I swear, sometimes I wonder--"

She got cut off when B grabbed her arm and pulled her into a kiss. It felt weird to her because of the full-body burn scar but she let him kiss her. After he pulled away, he settled his forehead on her shoulder. "I missed you, Sora." he whispered.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and ran her fingers through his hair. "I missed you to, Beyond." She whispered back.

"...You don't think of me that way, do you?"

"... No. I love you in a different way. But it's still love."

She felt him nod. "You don't have a death date." he mumbled

"Um, yeah. About that. Do you believe in Shinigami?"

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

"Why would Tsuki-chan go to L.A.?" Matsuda asked.

"I don't know. She only told us she was leaving for a few days." Mr. Yagami replied. "She seemed in a rush, to."

"Well, you know her. It's probably a personal thing." Aizawa said, joining the conversation.

"Did she say anything else, Yagami-san?" L asked, catching everyone off guard. Usually L didn't even let this kind of conversation go on while they were working, but he seems to have taken an interest to Yatsuki. Fortunately for L, Mr. Yagami was the only one to notice this.

"She said that if all goes well, she might have a room-mate come back with her, but not to count on it."

L didn't say anything; he only sat there chewing on his thumbnail.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Yatsuki sneezed. "Someone talking about you?" B asked.

"Yupp." She replied with a grin.

"So you're saying that this notebook can kill people and there is a Shinigami attached to each one?" he asked.

"That's correct. And there are only allowed to be six notebooks in the human realm at one time."

"And you think Kira is killing using one of these notebooks."

"I know he is. Hell, I know who Kira is personally thanks to the Shinigami eyes. If a person doesn't have a death date, then they own a Death Note. Problem is, he was a very close friend of mine before all this and I don't have proof that the justice system will accept." She turned to him with a smile. "But on to a happier subject. I'm gunna try to get you out of jail."

"You know that's impossible at this point."

"Since when has that stopped me?"

B sighed and pat her head. "And how do you plan on making this work?" he asked.

Her smile grew. "The President owes me a huge favor. I'm sure releasing one little convict into my custody would be a more than fair trade. And he knows I can hold my own if you 'get out of hand'"

"But that won't protect me from Kira."

"I know. But it's better than dying in jail. Wouldn't you rather die in the arms of someone you love than dying alone?"

B looked at her. "Yes I would. But there's no way that the President will let me go, even if I'm with you."

"That, my dear friend, is why they invented blackmail. But that is my second to last resort."

"What's your last?"

"You don't wanna know."

B drowned the urge to ask, knowing that she was most likely right. "Just don't do something that would get you in here."

"Aw, man. That's no fun."

There was a knock at the door and Yatsuki put back on the cop act. "What do you want?" she asked the man who peeked his head in.

"I'm sorry, miss, but we're closing down the prison for the night." the man said.

"Of course. I apologize if my visit was an inconvenience." She said standing. She turned to B, who watched her walk toward the door. "Until next time, Beyond."

"Of course, Miss Okida." B replied, playing the part of a convict who had just been interrogated. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"I'm sure we'll find another use for you." She said, just before the door closed and she followed the young man back to the front of the prison.

"Yatsuki's coming back!!" Saiyu exclaimed, barging into Light's room. "She's on the next flight over here! And she's bringing a friend!"

"Really?" Light said from his computer, genuinely interested this time

"Yeah! It's that friend she told mom about. She somehow got him released into her custody! I wonder what he'll be like. From what she said over the phone, he's really weird."

"Well, of course he is. He's a serial killer! What the hell is she thinking!?"

"She's trying to help her best friend. Wouldn't you do the same?"

Light was silent. Would he help Yatsuki if she went bonkers? He more than likely would have before the Death Note, but know that he had the image of Kira to protect, he didn't think he would. Kira shouldn't play favorites.

They heard the sound of Yatsuki's motorcycle pull into her driveway and rushed outside. When they got out, they saw Yatsuki and a man who looked oddly like Ryuuzaki. She had him in a headlock and was giving him a noogie as he struggled to escape. The two spectators watched on with amusement that their neighbor was beating up a hardened killer. "Tsuki-chan! Cut it out! That actually hurts!" the man yelled.

"That's kinda the point, idiot! And you're supposed to be smart!"

"I am smart!"

"Then don't point out the obvious!!"

Light cleared his throat to show that he and Saiyu were present and Yatsuki grinned at him as B stopped struggling. "Waddup?" she asked as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Who's your friend?" Saiyu asked sweetly.

"Oh, this idiot? This is Beyond Birthday. Say 'hi,' B"

"Hello." B said from Yatsuki's death-grip.

"You mean from the L.A. BB Murder Case?" Light asked, surprised and slightly appalled.

"Do you know of another person named Beyond Birthday? If you do, I would love to meet the guy." Yatsuki replied.

"What happened to your face?" Saiyu asked B, who was still in a headlock, with curiosity.

Before he could respond, Yatsuki started to give him a noogie again. "The jerk had to go and set himself on fire!!! If you ever do something stupid like that again, I'll bring you back to life and pound the crap outta ya!"

B had finally had enough and wrapped an arm around her waist as best he could and stood up straight. The result was a couple POPS! from his back and Yatsuki slung over his shoulder. "Let me down!!"

"Is Tsuki-chan calmed down?"

Yatsuki took a calming breath. "Yes, Tsuki-chan is calm." she said. He let her down and then they both turned to the two Yagamis in Yatsuki's yard. "So... hi."

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The Task Force watched in shock as Yatsuki walked into the Yagami household with Light, Saiyu, and none other than Beyond Birthday. "That is the criminal she was talking about? How the hell did she get him out of jail!?" Aizawa asked no one in particular.

"She probably has some very good connections." L mumbled from where he sat.

"But how... why... I can't picture her even looking in that guy's direction!" Matsuda said as they watched her interact with the three people in the house like it was a normal thing to do.

They watched as Beyond made some smartass comment about her hobbies and she bonked him over the head while giving him a come-back that at any other given moment would have been funny, but the men were too shocked to really pay attention to it. She was friends with Beyond Birthday. The Beyond Birthday. The man who killed three people in such hideous ways that it made the toughest cops squirm. The man who sent complicated puzzles meant for L himself to rub it in his face. They couldn't believe that lovable, trust worthy Yatsuki would even know him, let alone be friends with one of the most notorious killers mankind has known. They were even too out of it to notice how much like L the man looked despite the full body scar that marred his skin.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Yatsuki waved to the two Yagamis as she and B walked to her house. They put the motorcycle back into the shed where she kept it, but on the way back around, they were confronted by Envy. "Is this the one you were talking about?" He and B asked her at the same time.

She laughed and walked toward the house before Envy stopped her. "Some men came while you were gone and planted cameras and bugs in every room except the garage."

"I see. Thank you, Envy." She grabbed B's hand and dragged him toward the front of the house. "You're not allowed to talk to Envy while in the house. Act like he isn't there."

"It's L, isn't it?" B said, turning the question into a statement. Yatsuki nodded, keeping her sarcastic comments about it being Barney to herself.

"According to Ryuk, L has been showing interest in you." Envy said.

"Ryuk?"

"Light's Shinigami." Yatsuki said, bluntly, as she pulled out her house keys.

"So I was right." B mumbled.

Yatsuki gave him a questioning look, her key in the lock, waiting to be turned. "What do you mean?" she asked. She knew B too well to think he was talking about death dates.

"I've been in jail for the past five years. And being in those shoes myself, I can safely say that I know a murderer when I see one."

She nodded. "But that's still not enough to convince a judge, let alone an entire jury."

"I know. I'm saying that I believe you."

She opened the door and walked in, a large smile on her face. "FINALLY!!!" She exclaimed. "Home sweet home! Your room is upstairs next to mine."

"And that would be where?"

"You're supposed to be smart. Figure it out."

He gave her an annoyed look before walking off into the kitchen. "Strawberry jam's on the top shelf behind the milk." Yatsuki called to him as she went upstairs.

"Thank you." B called back, opening the fridge. There, as she said, was a full, unopened jar of jam. "Did you really have that much confidence in your... connections?" B asked as she walked into the kitchen with a box.

"Since when have they failed me?" she asked, tossing him the box. He caught it in one hand and opened it to find a pair of black pants and a white long-sleeved shirt. Before he could thank her, she had disappeared again, 'I could swear she was Houdini.' he thought.

He wondered up the stairs with the box of clothes and the jar of jam, looking for his new room. He could immediately tell when he found hers.

Yatsuki's room was a dark red color, the color of Envy's skin. There was a desk with a laptop on it against one wall and on the opposite wall was a bookshelf stuffed with books. The windows were open, giving it a cheery feel. Her bed was pretty average with red sheets and comforter and it rested under one of the open windows. She had a dresser next to the bed and a closet facing the side of the dresser. He looked up to see that the ceiling of her room was painted dark blue and had glow-in-the-dark stars on it, some of which formed constellations. He smiled slightly and shook his head before turning to the only room next to hers.

When he opened the door, all he could do was stop and stare. The walls were black with white blotches here and there. The bed was average and had white sheets and comforter. There was a desk with a computer and a temporarily empty bookshelf, a dresser with a closet right next to it, and a single window with the black curtains closed. "Do you like it?" Yatsuki asked, walking in behind him.

He looked at her, a small smile on his face. "Yes. It is perfect." He said.

"It better be. It was a bitch to paint."

"How? All you would have to do is paint the wall black and splatter the white paint with the paint brush."

She laughed. "Come now, B. You know I'm more creative than that. I put the white paint in balloons and chucked them at the wall. But the part that sucked was the cleaning up part."

B smirked. "I can only imagine."

They were in silence for a few minutes, just standing in the doorway to B's new room. Yatsuki grinned. "Hey, B. Guess what."

"I'm afraid to ask."

She jumped on his back at an angle that caused him to spin a little before regaining his balance. "WE'RE HOME!!!!" she yelled out in glee.