Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, Olivious, Black Black Gum, Higurashi, or... any other form of copyrighted chiz. I own my original characters and the plot.


Chapter Three: Cloud of Frustration

"When you fall asleep, your dreams will be safe. There is nobody here, so the mesmerizing light of the stars will last forever…" – A Little Pain, Olivia

***

There's something kind of funny of sitting in the front lawn of a place you've never seen before, yet feel like you should know, especially when this place—yeah, the same one right in front of you—is burning to the ground before your eyes, and then behind you is a mass of firetrucks and an ambulance or two.

Yep. Complete and endless funniness there, alright.

Ariana blinked a few more times before coughing, holding her sleeve over her eyes as the wind changed directions and a bunch of smoke went into her eyes.

Where the hell am I?! She growled, jumping but not resisting as two someone's grabbed her arms and started tugging her away from the building.

"Little miss, are you alright?" Someone asked a little too loudly for her taste. Her mind was still making an effort to process what was going on.

How do you fall out of a tree during the daytime, and land in front of a burning building at night? It's kind of one of those lifetime mysteries eleven year olds can't figure out so easily, she guessed.

"YES!" She snapped, in response to the nagging fellow in her ear. "I am perfectly fricking fine! I'm alive, I think, and I don't feel any limbs missing. I call that 'fine'!" Although, I said nothing about mental stability, which is still being questioned at the present time. Yep. Definitely questionable here. Hey, is that ambulance guy British? Nifty.

"Bloody 'ell…" A fireman said, sighing as he came up to them. "Where'd she come from? We canvassed the 'ole place… She'd be the only one t' get out."

Ariana slapped her forehead. I wasn't even in the damn fire to begin with, you genius! And why are you all suddenly British?! This is Ohio, we're all a bunch of… Ohioans! Damn!

"'Eadache, kiddo?" One of the men from the ambulance asked. "We'll need to get you to the 'ospital on the double, kiddo."

Like Hagrid, you do not pronounce the letter 'h', I see. Ariana mused sarcastically. "And just why in the name of the almighty puppeteer would I want to do that, Mister?"

"You just were in a 'uge fire, love. You got the right mind to be sore in some way."

Aha. Logic wins around here, Englishman.

"Now, I'll be needin' your name."

"I'm Ariana Black." Ariana answered, rubbing her head. She was rather confused as she listened to the chaotic clamor around them. Everyone here had an English accent but her and one of the firemen about thirty feet away, manning the hose. His accent had a clearly French ring to it, though, so that didn't count to her in a way.

She looked at the burning building, putting a tighter hold on her backpack. "Damn. What the hell happened there?" She asked softly. The ambulance man who'd been talking to her blinked twice; his face was showing obvious confusion.

"You were in the fire, kiddo. Everything's gone, and everyone…" His voice echoed pity and compassion for Ariana, as if there was something to be sad about. Very sad, actually. As if she'd lost a home and the friends with it.

…A revelation for Ariana there. Obviously, they thought that she had something to do with this place, whatever it may be.

The girl ran a hand through her hair, still as confused as one can imagine someone being in a situation like this. Okay, calm down, think this through. You don't know where you are, but it's kind of weird here, no duh. Like England or something. So, again, I don't know where I am, or who anyone is. And this situation… Don't know that, either. You got a bad card on this one, Ariana. She chided herself, only half sarcastic. Geez, what am I doing? No wasting time… Until I can figure out where I am, I just gotta think on my feet quickly, and lie my butt off. Just like always. And if I'm caught in a lie, blame a concussion. Yep, perfect.

"Girl, y'alright?" Another ambulance worker asked her.

Time to set the plan into action.

"Y-yeah," She choked, biting the side of her mouth as hard as she could for a moment, feeling her eyes water a bit instinctively as she hugged her bag to her torso tightly. "J-just… r-realizing what happened… It's k-kinda painful, and confusing… W-why…?" She whimpered. "M-My head hurts! I want my t-teddy bear!" She sobbed, jabbing a sensitive area of her wrist with her backpack zipper and picturing a poor dead platypus until the waterworks could come.

The reaction from the workers was to be expected. They panicked at the crying girl, who'd also said she had a headache, and put her on a bed in said ambulance, preparing to go off.

As unappealing as the idea of a hospital visit sounded to Ariana, she knew she had to roll with it for now.

Smirking to herself in light satisfaction when no one was looking, she watched the fading scene of the burning building warily. The sign by the road said Fairborn's House, and it took little to piece together that Fairborn's was the burning place.

But this still explained little. Where was she, and how did she get there?

***

"Doctor Bennett to ICU. Doctor Bennett to ICU."

Ariana relaxed as best she could for being in an uncomfortable hospital waiting room, sighing as all the frantic grown-ups scampered around hurriedly. The fuss-and-buss of daily hospital grind was endless it seemed, and she could find means of entertainment through watching it. Not to mention, listening in on conversations was proving itself to be a rather useful tool. No one really paid mind to an eleven year old girl reading a ratty hospital copy of Goblet of Fire in the corner, now did they?

Nah, they didn't. Or at least, they didn't seem to, as the week and a half she'd been in this hospital had gone by without much suspicion.

In that time, she'd figured out that the Fairborn's House was near to a town called Dursley, and she was now at a hospital in Cainscross. Both towns were in Gloucestershire, and this was in England. The year was 1999, and it was May. The exact date though, she'd forgotten, although she was sure it was Tuesday.

She'd also discovered that Fairborn's House was a very small childcare home run by the church of the town is was located in, dedicated solely to protecting children who'd lost their parents from being tossed around by the system into bad situations. It provided a stable environment in the country to kids until they were of legal age. It was admirable to Ariana, moral-wise, but the downside of being so secluded and small was that there seemed to be some neglect by the government. Paperwork never seemed to be filed correctly, and things could easily escape the system.

But this misfortune in tax filing seemed to be Ariana's lifesaver. If all her papers were lost, then she could quite easily blend in as the only survivor of this fire, and take advantage of anything she could get out of it.

Of course, a tiny little part of her felt bad for abusing the privileges of all the dead people. But then again, Ariana had very little compassion for death unless she knew the person dying. She did not know these people, and was basically unable to harbor great sadness or pity for them, outside of the false emotion she put on for her act.

Not that this 'act' isn't causing me a little trouble, she mused. Everyday I've had to talk to different government-y people and social workers about where I'm going next. Heh, even here, in a different continent, it's like I don't fit. No place to be.

Sneakily, Ariana shoved the Harry Potter book into her backpack, and pulled out the Death Note manga she'd been reading earlier. The page had gone back to normal, it seemed, as if nothing had happened.

"Fine then. You'll go."

She still had yet to know who's voice that was, if it was even real. Geez, what am I thinking… It was in my imagination! I was stressed and sleepy… No worries.

Ariana shook her head, flipping casually through the drawn pages of the Death Note manga, contemplating this predicament. She seemed to not only be in a different country, but, had gone back in time. Which, as we all know, is currently impossible in this day and age. That settles it, I fell out of the tree, and am in a coma. Simple as that. All of this is a wild a hallucination that, when I wake up, will be used by grown ups to 'prove' sugar and television and happiness are all bad for children's brains.

"Sweetie," Ariana looked up as a nurse came over, smiling politely. "I've come to escor' you to wherever you need t' be 'bout now. Lavatory, lunch…"

Thank you for putting both of those in the same sentence. "Sure…" Ariana sniffled, putting on that sad, lost little puppy act. "Ah, you remind me of one of the caretakers back home… So nice…" She whimpered, standing and rubbing her eyes fakely. "Still hard t-to believe… Um… Yes. I-I'd like some lunch…"

The nurse made a pitied face, patting her on the head before leading her off towards the food. Ariana inwardly cringed; some people just saps for sob stories, it seemed.

"I hear that today they're finding a place you can go live at." The nurse chirped. "I bet you'll be right pleased to be gettin' out o' this 'ere place."

Ariana blinked. So they were sending her to another home now? This she had not been informed of prior.

When the arrived at the cafeteria place, the nurse placed Ariana at a table and asked her preferences before skipping off to get her a meal. The young girl sighed, digging into her backpack and pulling out her homemade duct-tape wallet, looking through it in hopes there would be something useful.

Fiddlesticks. Nothing in here. She sighed in defeat, listing through all the little things in her head. School ID, ten dollar bill, used iTunes gift card, expired coupons to Burger King and Chic-Fil-E… Ah, there's my report card, right next to the detention slip I was supposed to present to my beloved guardians…

By this time, the nurse had scampered back with a tray of food, smiling. "Here you go!" She smiled, sitting it down. Ariana nodded, sitting the contents of her wallet on the table and digging into the ham sandwich on her plate. The nurse eyed the contents as she sat down nosily, blinking at the report card. "May I 'ave a look, dearie?' She asked.

"Go ahead." Ariana grumbled, devouring the food like a wild animal.

The nurse nodded, tucking a strand of her light brown hair behind her ear as she took the report card. Mostly As, with good notes from the teachers it seemed.

Ariana was indeed a good student. She paid attention to what was important, and had a knack for taking decent notes and remembering what she read. She had a study strategy that she used, and it never seemed to fail. Of course, she did have moments of laziness or a rebellious phase, in which she existed solely for pissing her teachers off, it seemed.

"No need to look so surprised." Ariana deadpanned, taking a drink of her soda. She knew she looked nothing at all like a smart kid. "It's all a strategy. You have to figure out the best way to lay out those books and notes for your learning type and figure it out. Once you get the jest of it, it isn't that hard."

The nurse just blinked. "Mind if I keep this, for the worker getting your files together?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just tell me you've got some marshmallows around her somewhere." Because no meal is complete without marshmallows.

***

"Now that we've got your files worked out, we can start calling the homes and orphanages to see where to put you. I already have one place in mind, I just need to call my mate there and see—"

"Orphanage?" Ariana asked. "I'm not being shoved into one of those." The very idea of being labeled 'orphan' pissed her off.

The social worker just eyed her for a moment, reminding her wordlessly that her opinion on where she went from here did not matter, nor did it affect the decision-making process in the slightest.

"Yeah, yeah…" Ariana shrugged it off. She still wasn't happy with it though.

The man in the suit picked up his phone and sent her to the waiting room. Through the glass door, Ariana could see him tapping his pen on the paper while laughing happily. She thought the laughter, in the context, was a bit annoying, but just looked away.

If this is a comatose dream, it's sure a boring one. She grumbled inwardly, listening to the sound of the clock ticking. Couldn't a random bunny just hop out and start singing to me, so I know this isn't real?

Quite a bit of time passed. No bunnies came, and the social worker did not call her back in, even after the phone call was done. Still clinging to her backpack, Ariana sighed.

She just wanted to understand what was going on.

***

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock…

Ring, ring, riiiiiing…

Tap, tap, taptap, tap, tap, taptap, tap, tap, taptap, tap…

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

The sound of a clock, a cell phone, and a pen tapping.

All of these sounds, together, make one single sound.

The sound of a child going insane.

Three hours Ariana had been waiting now. Every second seemed to drag on for double the time, making every minute longer, and then every hour longer from there. Not to mention, the place she was stuck in was boring, and she was getting very hungry. The slow, boring pace of the day was exhausting, and all she wanted was a bag full of marshmallows. Right now, the dark haired girl hated nothing more than the world around her, and wished it all would just die or something.

No, not die. That would be boring. Maybe it could all just spontaneously turn purple. Yes… That'd be cool. Ooh! And this chair can turn into a giant edible marshmallow…

She sighed in contentment, imagining a world entirely of marshmallow substance. She'd eat that world until there was nothing left, even if she ended up being the size of a whale with a mouthful of cavities. She'd even eat the people, if they were made of marshmallow.

That truly would be a great day.

Suddenly, the unchanging environment… changed.

The main door into the office opened, causing an annoying chime to ring. The sound make Ariana jump, then wince from the sudden movement as she eyed the intruder into the boring bubble.

It was an old man with a large white mustache (matching his white hair), and glasses. He was dressed rather nicely in a black suit, and when he saw her, he smiled kindly.

Ariana deadpanned at the smile, and looked away with a frown and furrowed eyebrows. The old man just chuckled as he walked into the office. Brushing some dark hair out of her eyes, she glared at the floor, frustrated with confusion.

That man… He seemed so familiar to her somehow.

The person he reminded her of… Well, that was preposterous in itself. It had to be someone else then. Maybe a random guy off of the street or news, perhaps a patient at that blasted hospital? Someone though. Someone she most likely knew, if the sense of déjà vu was leaning in the right direction.

She huffed, and pulled some Black Black gum she'd gotten at a bookstore back home. Wherever home was, be it an alternate universe or back in the US. (The easiest thing to say would be she got in back in Ohio, but, whatever). She popped a piece in her mouth and chewed angrily.

Whoever he was, she wanted to know who he reminded her of.

Not knowing killed her brain cells.

One could say it killed them with a bloody hatchet as if they were the victim characters in a Higurashi arc, but less amusing.

She smirked, and wrote that analogy down for further use.

There went another minute and twelve seconds out of god knows how long she'd be there.


A/n: This chapter was a bitch to write, but hey, now things can get interesting. =w=''

Review, no flames, hope you enjoyed.

-Dice