Princess Noodle: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope you'll like this chapter as well!

Ryuk hovered nervously behind L and Light. While Near and the others brought L and Light up to speed on what had happened since the two had been dead, Hiroko and Naoko kept their eyes on the Shinigami.

"Hey, you two should be thanking me," Ryuk grouched. "If it wasn't for me, these two wouldn't be here right now."

"If it wasn't for you, neither of them would have died in the first place," Hiroko hissed. The office supplies near her were floating in the air.

Naoko didn't say anything. She simply glowered at the Shinigami with her arms folded across her chest. She had half a mind to throw one of the letter openers at Ryuk, even though she knew it wouldn't do any good. "Why are you here?"

The room fell quiet at that. Ryuk began cackling. "Well, the one you are looking for is interfering with things in the Shinigami realm. The king didn't like that, so he had me bring these two back and deal with the situation. It sounded fun so I agreed."

"Would you care to elaborate?" Near's voice said through the speakers.

Ryuk cackled and looked at the girls. "Not really. That would take all the fun out of it."

Light kept attempting to catch Naoko's eye, but she refused to look in his direction. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, L and I know a bit more than all of you do, I guess. The guy goes by Beyond Birthday."

"He was one of the candidates to take over for me at the Wammy House," L added. "He was always a bit…unstable. He went on a killing spree quite a while ago and then just disappeared. The last people to see him are actually here in this room." His looked over at the twins.

"The man that killed our mom," Hiroko breathed out. "The man with the red eyes."

"What does he want?" Matsuda asked.

Light glared up at Ryuk. "That we don't know. What we do know is that it's something big and he needs the girls to do it."

"Us?" Naoko asked, surprise clear on her face.

Aizawa sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that. Girls…"

"Oh no," Hiroko growled, "you are not trying to pull us off this case again."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Near's voice broke the silence. "I think it would be best if we adjourned for the day. Hiroko, Naoko take the next couple of days off." His sigh resounded through the room as both twins began arguing with him and shouting. "I am not saying you are off the case. I myself feel that would be unwise. However, you two are too emotional right now. Take a couple days off and then come back with a clear head."

Naoko placed a hand on Hiroko's shoulder when her twin continued shouting angrily. She gave her sister a look and Hiroko immediately deflated. They both knew Near was right. Between having it confirmed that the man they were searching for was the man that had killed their mother, L and Light suddenly coming back from the dead, Ryuk popping back up, and finding out the man was after them, they were both running on high emotions. "All right, Near. We'll be back in the office on Monday."

Aizawa dismissed everyone. Hiroko hesitated for just a moment before going over to L. "Where will you stay?"

L bit his thumb and hummed thoughtfully. "I believe Aizawa-san will be boarding us for the time being." He blinked as Hiroko threw her arms around his neck. "You are much taller now, Hiroko."

Hiroko let out a small laugh. "Well, yeah. I'm not a seven year old girl anymore. I'm all grown up now."

L nodded. He hesitantly put one arm around Hiroko's waist and petted her hair with the other. "You cut your hair."

"Yes I did." She said. "Do you like it?"

L pulled away from Hiroko. He smoothed her hair down with both his hands. "It's very nice on you." He suddenly squished her cheeks between his hands. "You still make the dumbest faces."

"That hurts you jerk!" Hiroko wailed. She huffed as he finally let her go. She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "I'll see you on Monday, right? You're really here? I'm not dreaming?"

Despite her being a young woman now, L could still see the little girl that he'd known all those years ago. "I will still be here. Go get some rest."

Hiroko nodded and reluctantly stepped away from him. She looked over to Naoko whom was quietly talking to Light.

Light wasn't sure if he should try to hug Naoko or wait for her to make the first move. Their last time together had not been the most pleasant and he wasn't sure what her reaction would be. "You're all grown up."

"Yes," Naoko said softly. "How are you…you? I mean, your aura…it's not like when you were Kira."

"I'm not really sure myself," Light admitted. "Ryuk isn't too keen to share that information either."

Naoko hesitated for a moment before finally hugging Light. "I'm glad you're here. You and L both."

Light hugged Naoko back tightly. He pulled away after a few moments. "You and Hiroko go home and get some rest. Don't even think about work this weekend."

Naoko managed a small smile. "Yes sir." She walked towards the door where Hiroko was waiting for her. She looked back at Light one more time before walking out.

The two girls didn't talk the whole way home. There was just too much that had happened that day for them to process. When they finally got to the apartment, neither Mello nor Matt were home yet. "Hiroko, go take a bath. I'll make some dinner." Naoko said.

"Are you sure?" Hiroko asked. She could tell her twin was mentally drained from the day. "We can just get take out or eat cereal or something."

"I'm just going to make some omu-rice," Naoko answered. "I'll take a bath after dinner."

Hiroko hesitated for a moment longer before finally heading towards the bathroom. A bath sounded really nice at the moment. Hiroko even decided that she would add bubbles. As soon as the tub was filled with hot water and bubbles, Hiroko stripped down and dove into the hot water. She wasn't sure how long she just sat in the water soaking before she heard Naoko call her to dinner. She rinsed off and put on a robe before walking out of the bathroom.

Naoko was already starting to eat when Hiroko sat down at the table. Hiroko dug into the plate of omu-rice and let out a sigh of happiness. "You are the best cook ever, Naoko."

Naoko gave a small smile. "I'm glad you like it." The two made some small talk, but neither brought up anything about work.

After they had finished eating, Hiroko insisted on doing the dishes while Naoko took her bath. Naoko didn't soak quite as long as Hiroko had. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to just curl up in her bed and go to sleep. When she came out of the bathroom in her pajamas, she found Hiroko sitting on the couch in her own pajamas.

"Can you sleep in my room tonight, Hiroko?" Naoko asked. "I don't really think I'll be able to sleep tonight."

Hiroko smiled at her twin. "Of course." The two girls went into Naoko's room and hopped into the bed. Hiroko threw the covers over them and snuggled close to her sister. "It's going to be okay, Naoko."

Naoko gave her sister a tired smile. "I know," she whispered. "You still going to see The Hobbit with Matt tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Hiroko said after a moment. "I mean, we don't have any work this weekend. What about you? Are you going to go out with Mello?"

Naoko gave her sister a suspicious look. "How do you know about that?" She glared at her sister when Hiroko wouldn't look at her. "Hiroko."

"Matt may have stolen Mello's phone," Hiroko said. She held her hands up when Naoko opened her mouth to speak. "Come on! Everyone knows you have a thing for Mello and Mello has been in love with you for who knows how long."

Naoko crinkled her nose. A light pink blush dusted her cheeks. "No he doesn't."

Hiroko rolled her eyes. She pushed Naoko's cheeks together, much like how L had done to her earlier. "Just go out with him. It will help you get your mind off of everything."

"All right," Naoko said after a moment's hesitation. "If Mello still wants to go out tomorrow, then I'll go with him."

"I'm so excited for you," Hiroko cheered.

Naoko rolled her eyes. "Want me to help you with your makeup and hair tomorrow?"

"Yes, please!" Hiroko said. She hugged Naoko tightly. "You are the best sister in the world."

Naoko smiled. She was about to say something when they heard the sound of the front door opening. Mello and Matt were home. Naoko looked questioningly at Hiroko. When her sister shook her head, Naoko nodded. Neither felt like talking to anyone else that night. The two snuggled together and closed their eyes.

xXx

"Are you sure I look okay?" Hiroko looked at herself nervously in the mirror. Her short hair was held back with a simple black barrette. Her makeup was light, almost natural looking. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a light blue top with a yellow cardigan.

Naoko gave her sister a reassuring smile. "You look fine, Hiroko," she said. "Now, you go enjoy the movie."

Hiroko checked herself out in the mirror one last time. "When are you and Mello going out?"

"Same time as you and Matt," Naoko answered. She stood up from the bed and smoothed out the wrinkle in her shirt. "Come on. Let's go."

Matt and Mello were both waiting in the living room for the two girls. Matt grinned at the twins while Mello simply gave them a small nod. Matt leapt up from the couch. "Ready, Hiroko?"

Hiroko grinned and linked her arm with Matt's. "Of course. Let's go see The Hobbit."

Naoko gave a small smile to Mello. She wasn't brave enough to try and take Mello's hand. Despite Hiroko's constant insistence that Mello had feelings for Naoko, Naoko just could not believe her. She twiddled her fingers together nervously as Mello continued to stare at her. "What?"

Mello shrugged as casually as he possibly could. "You look nice."

"Thank you," Naoko said. "Well, shall we?"

The ride in the elevator down to the lobby was completely silent between the two. Even after they had walked out of the building and into the street, neither of them said anything. Naoko was finally the one who broke the silence. "You didn't have to go out with me if you didn't want, Mello. I know Matt was the one who sent me the texts."

Mello sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "It's not…I mean…" he let out a frustrated groan. "You know I suck with words."

Naoko cracked a small smile. "You definitely aren't the most eloquent when it comes to words. At least, when you aren't using them to threaten someone."

The atmosphere around the two of them lightened considerably after that. Mello moved closer to Naoko. His fingers lightly brushed against Naoko's. Naoko reached out and took Mello's hand in hers. Neither of them said anything else as they continued walking hand in hand.

When they reached the chocolate shop, Mello's eyes lit up. Naoko didn't think she'd ever seen him look so excited before. She followed him as he went from shelf to shelf, staring intently at all the different kinds of chocolate. "I didn't know there were so many different kinds of chocolate."

Mello managed to tear his eyes away from the chocolate. He looked at her like she had grown another head. He beckoned her closer to him. When she was close enough, he put his arm casually around her shoulder and began explaining the differences between some of the chocolates in front of them.

Naoko did her best to pay attention to what Mello was saying. She could feel her face burning up. She hoped Mello didn't notice the bright blush on her face. She blinked when she realized he had asked her a question. "Sorry, what?"

Mello rolled his eyes and flicked her forehead. "You weren't even listening," he accused. He sighed at the sheepish smile she sent him. "I asked you what kind you wanted. Pick whatever you want."

While Mello began picking up a couple different packages and comparing them, Naoko picked up a simple looking milk chocolate one. She gasped when she saw the price. "Mello, this is way too much for chocolate. You don't need to buy one for me. Just get some for yourself."

Mello narrowed his eyes at Naoko and flicked her forehead again. "Don't worry about the price. Is that the one you want?" When Naoko gave him a hesitant nod, Mello snatched the chocolate from her and headed to the register before she could even protest.

Naoko waited by the door for Mello to finish paying. She smiled sheepishly at him as he came over to her. "Thank you," she said. She smiled as Mello looked away and gave a noncommittal grunt. Naoko reached out and took Mello's hand. They were heading back to the apartment, but Naoko didn't want to go back just yet. She hesitated before looking at Mello. "Want to go somewhere else?"

Mello looked at her curiously. "Where?"

"I don't know," Naoko said. "Anywhere. I just don't want to go home yet."

Mello was quiet for a moment. He turned them around and began walking away from the apartment.

Naoko looked at him curiously. "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere," Mello answered.

xXx

"Are you still crying?" Matt asked Hiroko. They had just left the movie theater.

"Shut up," Hiroko sniffed.

Matt laughed and wrapped his arm around Hiroko. He pulled her close to his side and kissed the top of her head. "You're such a crybaby," he teased.

Hiroko glared at him, but didn't move away. She leaned against him and held his hand that was around her shoulder. The two walked out of the movie theater and towards the station.

It was Matt that broke the silence. "Hey, Hiroko, we should make us official."

"Official?" Hiroko looked at Matt curiously.

Matt shrugged as casually as he could. "Yeah," he said. "I'll tell all the other girls I've been dating that I'm just going to be a one girl guy from now on."

Hiroko raised her eyebrows. "Other girls? Right. Well, then I guess I better tell all my other men that I'm just going to be a one guy gal from now on."

"Sounds good to me," Matt chuckled. The two were quiet again for a few minutes. "Hiroko, just so we're clear, I was asking you to be my girlfriend."

"I know, Matt," Hiroko said. "And just you know, I said yes."

Matt couldn't help the wide grin that spread across his face. "Awesome."