Disclaimer: No, really, I don't own Death Note. Just my OCs.

Warning(s): Late chapter.

Chapter 10

Connecting Dots

December 5th, 2007

Sheri knew that she wasn't normal from the moment she opened her eyes, waking in a small bakery with no memory of where she came from nor who she was, just a name and the clothes on her back. Things had become even stranger when she realized that no one could see her or hear her. The enticing aroma of the sugary delicacies was the only thing there to comfort her. She had felt so detached, watching things play out before her like some sort of movie. The thing that scared her the most was the occasional blurring of her vision and the soft beep of some machine that immediately followed. In those dizzy moments, the world seemed to spin, and she would faint in the middle of the small shop, waking up much later only to find herself in the same place, no one watching over her nor caring about her state. The cycle repeated with no signs of stopping, and she was powerless to go against it.

That was until she met Justin. Young but quiet, he appeared the same age as she, and immediately her interest was piqued. Of course, other children, too, had come to the bakery before, but there had been something different about him, and the way she felt watching him. In a rush of excitement, she had blurted out her favorite kind of cake as a recommendation, fully expecting him to ignore her but not able to really help herself. A nagging question quickly surfaced itself, and she wondered when it was that she discovered her love of cherries. To her surprise, he had heard her, although he couldn't see her at first. It was mind-blowing, having been alone and without attention for so long, to finally have someone notice her.

Days later, Sheri woke up someplace different for the first time in what felt like forever. A carnival, and a crowded one at that, which only served to confuse her. Looking back on it, she could kick herself for having not taken full advantage of the situation to play the games and ride the attractions. Justin had been there too, and this time could see her rather than just picking up on her voice. It was then that Sheri had managed to put together the pieces, following his eyes as he watched Naomi disappear into the crowd. Lonely people seek out each other, whether they realize it or not. This case didn't seem to be any different.

She noticed later, around the time the two of them took up the Bluejay name, how skilled she was with a computer. The funny thing was that she couldn't seem to recall how she knew the language of code in the first place, or where she'd learned it. Nonetheless, Justin's compliments of her talent with programming made her all too happy to pay it much mind at all. And, to make matters more interesting, she wondered to whom the face she kept seeing in her mind's eye belonged to, but, then again, the only person she really knew was Justin. It was silly to think that she remembered anyone else when she couldn't even recall how she learned her favorite food.

Disorientation still seeped into her body at times, but it was more predictable now. She could tell when Justin's attention was diverted elsewhere or when the overheard the sound of footsteps grew closer. Any slight distraction and she'd fall again, and to prevent him from seeing her in such a pitiful state she would run as fast as her legs could carry her until she was no longer within his line of sight. It was embarrassing, and far too difficult for her to explain when he questioned her actions. However, things had seemed to be getting better, and she felt as though she could handle this kind of lifestyle.

It was when her heart stopped pumping blood through her veins that she actually registered the bizarre state she was in.

She was dead; there was no doubt about it. And yet here she was, talking and thinking just like Justin did, although a little bit slower than him. No matter the amount of research she put into it, she still couldn't find out the science behind her existence. Sometimes, when the days were slow and uneventful, she wondered if it was possible for her to be nothing more than a figment of Justin's imagination, something he conjured up to keep him company. But, that theory didn't really hold any water, as she had drifted aimlessly around the bakery long before they'd met. Yet still, she found no purpose in her "life", as it were. How could something like that even be possible? The only good part about it seemed to be that the dizziness had stopped, and she no longer was startled by the beep that came from no immediate source that she could find.

"Wow, L sure made quite the statement, huh?" Sheri asked, her slim finger poking Justin's arm. He rolled his shoulders, shaking her off, eyes still firmly pressed up against the television screen, a huge grin shaping his dry lips. She sighed, pulling away for several minutes, pretending to have given up, before pouncing on him hard enough to knock him over and off the bed.

"Sheri!" Justin chided, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing. "What on Earth was that for?" Sheri giggled and helped him to his feet, wiping the hair from her eyes. She turned and clicked off the screen, putting her hands on her hips.

"You know full well what that was for. You ignored me!" she accused, sticking out her tongue in defiance. "Besides, he cut off the signal. L clearly doesn't plan on saying anything else, so why glue yourself to the television like that?"

"Still," he berated, huffing. With one hand he clicked back on the television, and, with the other, waved Sheri away before she could steal back the remote. "You have to admit, though… That was pretty cool." A laugh left Sheri's soft pink lips and she shook her head.

"That is the attitude of a classic fanboy," she declared, watching as Justin glared at her. Shrugging she continued, "Now, then, what're we gonna do next? If we don't act, L's going to steal all the glory." Justin muttered something under his breath and began fidgeting with his chain bracelet.

"I doubt that there will be much more he can do while still hiding his face," he sighed. "We may just have to do the same, too." Sheri tilted her head to the side, brows furrowing in confusions.

"What do you mean?"

"The investigation will go on, but it won't be in ideal conditions. Think about it; how long will it be before L and the police can no longer stand working together? Realistically speaking, it's impossible to work comfortably along with someone whose name and face you don't even know," Justin explained, biting his lip. "I'm not silly enough to believe that L will be able to miraculously solve the entire case within a few weeks. He's only human, after all, just like us, and he's bound to have his limits. L usually quickly deduced the suspect and handed the case back over to the authorities, but, with how long this case will likely take, it's possible that their relationship will take a turn for the worse."

Humming, Sheri folded her arms, shifting her weight to one foot. "Okay, I get that. Someone in the police will slip up, L will investigate, and tensions will arise. So what? I'm asking what we're going to do, not how we can help L. This is a challenge, right?

"I'm not skilled enough to win a challenge will L." Justin rolled his eyes as if that were obvious, but Sheri saw the way his face dropped at those words. No, not on her watch.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a hug, ignoring his struggling. "You totally are." She released him and watched as he floundered backward, completely muddled. "I mean, maybe you won't solve this case, but I bet you'll get something that L won't. All we can do is hope that it will be something crucial, just one tiny piece of evidence that could flip the entire case over on its head. So perk up." Poking his cheek, she handed him his notebook.

"I… I suppose that the first thing we need to do is set up a connection within the task force."

A/N: This is such an overdue chapter. Sorry, everyone... Midterms suck. Anyways, here y'all go! I'm going to try and get back on schedule, but as of right now I can't make any solid promises. Again, I'm soooo sorry!

Warning(s) Details: Backstory-esque.