Amy: Yayy! :D And here, you shall find out!

Mrs. Lawliet: L and Mello's past will come up in this story; I promise. In the next one, Matt's will. Not sure yet when Near's will come up in full, but it will. Even BB's will come up. c: All of it's a part of this~

Mysterious Guest: Well, normally they are, but every so often you find something interesting...like that article I found about a genius child. It was actually rather sad... Aw, I'm sorry for your sister. I mean, it's both a good thing and I bad thing, I guess... Hm. Well, at least you get to see her more often, ne? Ehh, BB is the way he is because...I guess in a way that's how he grew up. Maybe it isn't really his fault; I mean, he grew up seeing death everywhere, right? Blah. Ahh, maybe I'll have Real-Life Sierra pet your hair~ I'm sure she'd enjoy it~ (Actually, she's sitting behind me right now. She says you're awesome. :3)
Ah! Happy Fourth of July to you too! :D

Random: Yeahh...we're losing her, aren't we? Ahh, Natalie... Whelp, hope you enjoy the scene; it be right here~

BB really needs to stop stalking Sam. =.=;

Happy Fourth of July if you're American? If not, I hope you have a wonderfully wonderful day~

Sam was sleeping. She'd stayed too late at the hotel again, and L had led her to the bedroom to rest. She was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. It was, of course, better than falling asleep right beside L, like last time. She found herself dozing off, but L was able to get her to bed. L, meanwhile, was in the other room, working. Roger came in at some point to give him some tea. Roger wasn't as efficient as Watari, and didn't make L's tea as often, instead allowing the workers at the hotel to prepare it. Once he could better make tea, he swore to make it for him every time, but until then he would rely on hotels. Soon after Roger served L his tea, he left again.

L found himself falling into darkness….

Sam was awoken by someone prodding her shoulder incessantly. Her eyes opened blearily, though she was more asleep than she was awake. Drowsiness clouded her thoughts. She wasn't awake at all, really, but she wasn't quite asleep, either. Before her was L, smiling ever so slightly down at her. "L," she mumbled, "why aren't you working?" Something seemed horribly off about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Her brain was too dead. But… he seemed too distant. Like he was no longer a part of that never-ending Bond they shared. But that couldn't be… the Bond could never be severed. And besides, he didn't feel him in any other place. It must have been her imagination.

B was rather satisfied with this. She thought he was L, just as he'd hoped. "I just wanted to check on you, Samantha," he said in the most L-like voice he could create.

"Did you have to wake me up?"

He leaned closer to her face, keeping his own expression blank. "I'm sorry, Samantha. There is a new development, you see."

She blinked slowly. "Really?"

"Yes," he said, leaning ever closer to her. L did have a habit of invading personal space. "I do believe B will be caught soon. Isn't that wonderful?"

"It's great," she agreed. She gave him an odd look. "Why are you leaning so close to my face?"

He blinked. Oh well. "Well, I—" he began, but Sam leaned in to kiss him.

What?

Well then, he hadn't foreseen this piece of Sam and L's relationship, but….

Now what?

Was he supposed to kiss back?

Or he could pull away and pretend to laugh, alerting her that he wasn't L. But that wouldn't really scare her as much as it would make her feel like an idiot. His goal was to freak her out, not to make her feel foolish.

Kissing back it is.

And of course he'd stay in character as the creepy, messed-up murderer once the kiss was over. Because, of course, if she kissed someone she thought she knew, but right after he smirked and leaned in to glare tauntingly into her eyes, he did believe that would be a bit creepy. Almost like a nightmare. And the fact that he would actually kiss back would make him seem rather twisted. And that, after all, was his job: making himself look like a creepy, evil killer with a warped mind.

Sam, on the other hand, immediately sensed something was wrong when their lips touched. At first it was just that odd distance again, the fact that they didn't feel in sync, but then….

He tasted like strawberries.

L did not taste like strawberries.

L tasted like sugary candy sticks; like the sweet taste Root Beer leaves on your lips.

L almost tasted like Dr. Pepper, for Pete's sake.

Not strawberries.

So she opened her eyes and pulled back, looking closer at this supposed L as she willed her mind to wake the hell up.

This L look-alike smiled darkly, and Sam could swear his eyes were glowing red. But then, that could just be her eyes being dramatic. In any case, she knew one thing for sure: that was not L.

"Nice meeting you again," B greeted, his voice low and even menacing.

Sam stared at him dumbly for a second, then decidedly rolled away from him, jumping to her feet the moment she reached the other end of the bed. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" she cried.

He gave a little heh. "I get that a lot."

"L… you sedated him, didn't you?! You ass!"

"Yes," B confirmed nonchalantly.

"Again: what is wrong with you?!"

"Oh, come on, I only wanted a chat." He curled the corners of his mouth upward again. "And I can make anything possible."

"Dude. Why the hell did you kiss me?" she asked flatly.

"If I remember correctly, you kissed me, not the other way around."

Sam let out a wail. "That just isn't right!"

"A lot of things involved with me aren't 'right.'"

"Get the hell out of here!"

"I see I am unwanted. That's too bad."

"It's too bad I can't arrest you here and now."

"Who, me? For what?"

"I'm pretty sure you know damn well what. Now get the hell out."

He smiled. This was L's Bond? Funny. If she were intelligent...or skilled physically...she would have tried to detain him here and now. Obviously L's Bond was... well, she wasn't as good as L. He didn't think he was underestimating her, either, and he was very careful with that after what happened with Naomi Misora. Once L woke up, though, she would be inevitably smarter... He wondered if, perhaps, she'd be skilled in capoeira as L was. Interesting. In this evaluation he'd found Samantha to be interesting...although a bit disappointing. He expected more of someone who became L's Bond. Oh well. But he decided to humor her nonetheless. "Of course, Samantha." He gave a little bow. "I suppose I'll see you again soon enough." And he left, leaving Sam confused, feeling violated, and now wide awake. The first thing she did was check on L. He was still sedated. He eventually woke up, of course.

They moved to a new hotel the next morning.

As for Light and I, Light spent his time planning the funeral while I went to the NPA building to train. I still wasn't perfect when it came to shooting guns, so I suppose it was good to work on that. I would occasionally help with the funeral preparations, but not much. Not being on that case irked me immensely, but I supposed it did no good to think too much about it.

Saturday, June 12 was Misa's funeral. She had tons of friends, so she had people to care for her. People to cry for her. Light was the one who gave the eulogy, and even though I knew every word he would say before he said it, the speech moved me, to be honest. Misa; dead. It was unthinkable. And by a criminal, no less. You would think she'd be killed because of L, or Near, or Mello. But… she ended up killed by the hand of a lowly murderer. It was cruelly ironic and simply unfair. Criminals were the scum of the world… she was above them… how did it come to her being killed by one?

She was beautiful, even in death, of course. A laced Lolita dress clothed her – just like her to wear that, even now – covering the marks on her stomach. Her golden hair wasn't pulled into two little ponytails atop her head; instead it lay around her head and seemed to flow downward to where her elbows bent…. Her hands rested peacefully on her chest, and her face was made up beautifully by the mortician. She honestly looked like she was only sleeping, and I know that's been said thousands of times in other stories, but it's true. She looked… at peace. I could only hope she was…. Ryuk had never specified if those who forfeited before they died still went to Heaven or Hell. He just said 'those who use this note will neither go to Heaven nor Hell.' Of course, that implied she'd just end up in Nothingness whether she forfeited or not, but I suppose I could hope there was peace there, too. It really depended upon what was meant by 'Nothingness.' Did you cease to exist altogether; or were you constantly aware of the lack of feeling, the lack of being, the lack of anything for all eternity? I could only hope it was the former, and not the latter. I could feel anxiety sink into my chest at these thoughts, but Light's influence quickly eased them, and I was fine.

That didn't stop the tears from coming once they were lowering her into the ground, though.

Here I was, a girl who didn't even belong in this world, messing up poor Misa's love life. Not only that, but I could have saved her. If I'd grabbed her arm, not letting go, and wished for home with all my might, she might not be dead at that moment. I could have stopped her; I knew it. But what could have been doesn't matter, a part of me would remind myself. It didn't matter if it was me or Light, but it was true. All that mattered now was what was, at that very moment.

And, at that moment, I had to say goodbye to someone I considered a friend. Because of the Death Note, I couldn't just believe she'd moved on to someplace peaceful. It wasn't that simple anymore. I could always hope, though, and so I hoped and hoped as I watched the casket go lower into the ground. But as the preacher spoke kind words and I realized I'd never see her again, the tears came, at first only slow, one by one, but eventually falling a littler faster to the point where I was trembling and shaking as they slid down my cheeks.

Never again would she taunt me playfully (or sometimes murderously). Never again would she smile. Never again would she joke around with people like Matsuda. Never again would she see her Light. Never again will she truly live. She'd never see the New World come to fruition, if it ever did, and so she'd never see Light's dreams come true. And of course I knew that would make her happy, because Light would be happy and she only wanted to please Light. She was stubborn, sure, but she really did love him…. I honestly felt so bad for her.

It was eventually time for the funeral to conclude, and the people began to slowly disperse, red-eyed or somber or both. Near said we were bad people because of what we did; what we were doing. Well, at least Misa had someone to cry at her funeral. Multiple someones. Who did Near have? Anna? The SPK, maybe? But that was all.

I was there when Light bade his farewells to his mother and his sister. Sachiko mentioned how horrible it all was; first Sayu getting kidnapped, then Soichiro's unfortunate death, and now this. She gave her son a warm hug, then smiled reassuringly at me and teared up a bit before giving me a hug too. Sayu, at least, was long out of her wheelchair. Her eyes were a bit hollow at the funeral, but that was only to be expected. She was hugged by both of us too before they got in their car. Light's mother smiled again and gave him something he'd asked for beforehand before they left, and Light thanked her. Sachiko and Sayu then drove away.

In Light's arm now was a bouquet of white chrysanthemums. Beautiful, really. We walked in silence back to Misa's grave, just to be able to set the white flowers at the base of her tombstone. He knelt down carefully, riffling through the blooms to make sure they were perfect.

"What're those?" asked Ryuk, pointing to the chrysanthemums. It was the first time he'd spoken throughout the whole funeral.

Light smiled ever so slightly before looking up to the shinigami. "They're white chrysanthemums, Ryuk." He looked down to the bouquet again, picking two white roses out of the bouquet of chrysanthemums. "They represent grief and mourning and, of course, death. They're often used in funerals." He got to his feet, holding the two blossoms and turning them as if to inspect. "There's a language of flowers, you know, Ryuk. It's a way for humans to communicate without speaking. For example, if I were to give someone a daffodil, then that would mean I respect them. Then the freesia is the flower of immaturity…." He gave a little heh, then allowed his expression to darken again. It soon softened, though, as it always did eventually. He handed me one of the white roses, placing his hands over mine to curl my fingers around it, making sure not to stab me with the thorns. "And the white rose," he said, "means innocence; silence and devotion." He let go of my hands at this, but continued to face me.

I only looked down at the rose, twirling it around slowly with my fingers.

"So our Light knows a lot about flowers, then?" Ryuk asked, sounding rather amused.

Light looked up at him again. "My mother knows a lot about flowers," he corrected him. "When I was younger, she used to talk about them with me, and as a good child, I would listen. I remember most of what I'm taught, even with things like that. Sayu, of course, enjoyed the topic more than I did as a kid."

"Oh," Ryuk replied, and Light began walking away, me following behind. "Hey, where are you going now? The exit's the other way…."

"We're going to my father's grave," Light answered simply.

Ryuk made a little sound of surprise, then was quiet.

We passed by multiple gravestones on the way, none of which had names I recognized etched into their stone faces. The sun was beginning to set, making the sky a burning red color that I can say set the mood of a funeral well. Soichiro's grave wasn't that far from Misa's, and so it didn't take long to get there.

"What're you coming here for?" the shinigami inquired, looking down at the tombstone engraved with the name Soichiro Yagami.

Light only looked down at the white rose in his hand as the breeze blew on by, making the rose sway and ruffling our clothes and hair. "We can't be slowed by what happened last Wednesday. Just because Misa is an ally doesn't mean we can be affected, for we must go forward to be able to create the New World. Things like grief and mourning aren't things we really have time for. With what we're doing, we, of all people, should understand that death is inevitable. It must eventually come, and after all we're all risking our lives to do this. We've committed ourselves to this dream, and this isn't something to be taken lightly. It's not any small goal. We have to give our hearts and souls – even our minds, if we have to – to create the world we want to create. We're killing countless people, and we know that in itself isn't holy. However….

"We, as Kira, are sacrificing our own purity, to be within the blackness to dispose of the bad. We're the light within the darkness that's shining ever brighter in order to cleanse this world. But… in doing something of this scale, ridding the world of all evil and becoming justice, creating a whole new world… is it even right to say we're completely human at this point? We're standing above it all, now, and we have to; it's us who must lead the world in the right direction, because of course who else can do it? We know we're mortal, but we're mortals with the power of a god and with the right to act as such. We've become a holy icon to the world.

"Yet… in order to be truly God-like, to be truly above humankind… things such as death should mean nothing. Misa is dead now, and we must continue onward no matter what. We must do whatever is necessary. Even if someone close to us ends up killed in the process, it'll all go to creating a better world. We need to act without hesitation or bias. We need to be above humanity. The only thing is to throw it away. We'll admit we are human, and so only so much can be accomplished, but here and now we will begin our ascent. This…" – he set the white rose on the top of his father's tombstone – "…is my final apology to Father, and my last goodbye." His hand wavered near the rose for a moment, but then it dropped to his side. Light's eyes were shrouded by his hair.

"…Huh," Ryuk remarked, then chuckled darkly. "This'll be interesting, eh?"

There was some hidden part of me that was hit by Light's speech. It was this part that said it wasn't a good thing, that humanity was something to be cherished, that it was right to mourn and cry over loss, that if you tried to get rid of it all it would be just like last time and so Light would become corrupted all over again. It said that it was Light clinging to what was about to be gotten rid of that kept him from becoming so corrupted. It was this part of me that was saddened in knowing this was what was to happen. So, I shed but a single tear as I gazed at him. I was actually slightly surprised as it trickled down my cheek.

It was then Light's hand grasped mine as we both gazed down at Light's father's grave, each of us filled with the same longing, the same sadness, and the same thoughts swirling in our heads. We knew we'd be fine, though. He knew and I knew that he was beginning to lose himself, but that was okay. In the end, I'd always be at his side, and as long as we were together we were sure we'd be fine. It was really going to be alright. We would create the New World, and no matter what happened, we'd still be with the other. It's always lonely at the very top of the world, but we had each other. And even if one of us was eventually killed, we'd die together anyway. It was much better than losing yourself all alone to the point where you have nothing but that one ambition left….

Thus, we moved forward.

Fun Fact: The song Together Burning Bright by The Used helped me to create that last bit of that last scene there.

Review? For humanity?