Mangafreak666: You'll have to read this chapter to find out what happens to L, and what happens to the girls next :)
Tailsdoll123: Please don't give up on this story! I promise it'll still be good!
Sakura02: Haha, that was the inspiration for their flour fight. Ah…those were good times. We didn't make our Young Justice cookies!
pepe1800: You'll have to read the chapter to find out :)
Thanks: BANEHiwatari, Sakura Ichigo Morihiko, Saiyuri Haruno, smokeyuchiha, TabooElf, Tetra Muffins, QueenOfAshes, ilovezim123, SaiyukiSucker, Ratt9, Angel Lawliet, Live-Laugh-Love-Till-The-End, Fullmetal HawksEye Flames, and Princesa de la Luna for your reviews!
Hiroko held Naoko's hand tightly in her own. She had heard her sister say that Watari's aura was disappearing, and she knew what that meant. The two girls lingered back from the panicked group of men. "It's okay, Naoko. Don't cry." She whispered, hugging her sister when she felt her trembling.
Naoko sniffled and clung to her sister. She always hated the feeling of someone's aura disappearing. It was even worse when she knew who the person was. She hated the way her stomach would sharply drop and it would feel like a piece of her heart cracked. She rubbed her eyes at the blindingly white screen on all the monitors with only a single sentence scrawled across the screen. "What's 'all data deleted' mean?"
L frowned at the screen. "I told Watari that if something were to ever happen to him, that he should delete all the data he possibly can. His system is set up to erase after a certain period of time as well. Girls, get over here. I don't want you out of sight right now." He placed a comforting hand on Hiroko's head as soon as the little girl was near him.
"Where'd the shinigami go?" Matsuda suddenly shouted. The rest of the group looked around, only just now realizing that Rem was no longer in sight.
"Ryuzaki, I'm scared." Hiroko sniffled, clinging to L's arm. She was about to crawl into her customary spot beside L. She blinked when he suddenly stiffened. "What's wrong, Ryu…Ryuzaki!" Hiroko screamed when L suddenly fell out of his chair. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Hiroko after that. She barely registered Light pushing her away from L or Naoko hugging her. It took her a moment to realize what was happening; L was dying.
"Hiroko!" Naoko tried to hold her sister back, but Hiroko was too stubborn.
"Ryuzaki, hang on!" Hiroko pushed Light away and knelt beside L. She clutched his hand tightly in hers. Tears rolled down her cheeks with no end in sight. She couldn't do anything for L. She couldn't stop his eyes from slowly fading or stop his shallow breathing. "Ryuzaki, please don't die. Please don't leave me."
L could barely make out Hiroko's face or Naoko's when she joined her sister at his side. He could barely feel their warm little hands holding his cold ones. He managed to pull his hands from theirs and place his hands on their cheeks. Though he could barely seem them, he could feel their tears. There was so much he wanted to tell the two girls, so much he had wanted to teach them. He couldn't use his voice, though. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed forever, was Light hovering behind the two girls with a wicked and triumphant smirk on his face.
"Ryuzaki…" Hiroko called softly. She grabbed his hand before it could completely slip from her cheek. "Ryuzaki, you can't sleep right now. We've got to find the shinigami. We've got to stop Kira." She squeezed his hand with one of her own and shook his shoulder with her other hand. "Wake up, Ryuzaki. This isn't funny."
"Hiroko…" Soichiro reached out and tried to pull Hiroko away from L's cold and lifeless body.
Hiroko shrugged Soichiro's hand away. She could hear Naoko sobbing beside her, but she couldn't will her body to move to comfort her younger twin. Hiroko reached out and played with L's bangs. She was surprised at how soft it was. He'd never let her touch his hair before. She couldn't stop crying. She placed her trembling hands on L's cheeks before leaning down and kissing his forehead. "Please don't leave me, Ryuzaki. I love you so much. I don't want to lose you."
The next hour was a complete blur to Hiroko. She didn't move from her spot beside L. She absentmindedly stroked his cheek and hair, hoping against hope that he would open his eyes. She hoped he would jump up and scare her. She wanted him to tease her for being a cry baby. She just wanted him to wake up. She wasn't even aware that Soichiro and the others had called an ambulance until they tried to pull her away from L's body. She suddenly came alive and began screaming hysterically. Light finally had to come over and pick Hiroko up so that they could move L's body.
Light tried to calm Hiroko's sobbing down and avoid being hit by the little girl's flying fist all at the same time. He gently pulled Naoko from the floor and into his free arm before finally making his way over to the couch. He had both girls on either side of him, both resting their heads against his legs and crying. He stroked their frazzled hair and murmured soothing words to the distraught children.
Hiroko reached over and took Naoko's hand. She pulled her sister's hand to her chest and continued crying. She held her hand out so Naoko could mimic her actions. "Ryuzaki's aura…?"
Naoko shook her head and cried. "It's gone…Ryuzaki-san's aura is gone…"
Hiroko woke up to find that the others were nowhere in sight. She sat up on the couch and looked blearily around. Naoko was still asleep beside her. Just as she was about to get off the couch, the others walked back into the room. "Where's Ryuzaki? Did you find the shinigami?" Her voice was hoarse and weak, even to her own ears.
Soichiro knelt down beside the couch in front of Hiroko just as Naoko began to stir awake. He held Hiroko's face between his hands and gently kissed her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Hiroko. Ryuzaki is dead, as is the shinigami. We think the shinigami was the one that killed Ryuzaki and Watari."
"Ryuzaki can't be dead." Hiroko whimpered out. She could feel more tears brimming in her eyes, but they didn't fall. "I want Ryuzaki…"
The next ten days passed in a blur for the twins. Hiroko remained almost completely silent, only speaking to Naoko. Hiroko felt completely dead inside. She hadn't felt this hollow and empty since her mother had died. Every night, she cried herself to sleep and all she dreamed about was L's hand on her cheek and the fading light from his eyes.
"Hiroko, do you want to go eat something?" Naoko asked quietly. They were up in their room doing their homework.
"Not right now." Hiroko said, her voice cracking. She didn't immediately respond when Naoko hugged her. She rested her head on her sister's shoulder and sobbed. "Ryuzaki…"
Light walked into the room at that moment and smiled sadly. "Girls, you need to pack. We won't be staying here anymore."
"Where are we going?" Naoko asked, standing up and pulling her sister up with her. "Are we going to live with Soichiro-san again?"
Light knelt in front of the girls and shook his head. "No. You two will be living with me from now on. The police still believe L is alive, and we have to keep it that way. I will pretend to be L from here on out, and we will continue the investigation. We will find whoever is responsible for Ryuzaki's death."
Hiroko nodded slowly. She watched Light leave the room to give the girls time to pack. She did her best to hold her tears in. She vowed to herself then and there that she would not rest until Kira was brought to justice. She would make him pay for taking away someone she loved so much. She abruptly turned to Naoko. "We have to practice."
Naoko blinked. "Practice?"
"Our powers." Hiroko clarified. "We have to become stronger. I don't ever want to lose someone again."
Naoko nodded. "We will. We won't let Kira hurt anymore of our precious people."
Both girls looked up when Matsuda cautiously entered the room. He had his hands behind his back. He gave both girls a sad smile. "How're you two feeling?"
"Okay. I miss him." Hiroko said quietly. "We both do."
"I know." Matsuda said. He knelt down and finally took his hands from behind his back. In each hand was a picture frame. One frame was a pretty emerald green with butterflies on it and the other one was cerulean blue with different colored flowers decorating it. In both picture frames was the picture that Matsuda had taken of the girls and L only hours before he had died. All three of them were covered in flour and while L looked irritated, there was a warm light behind his eyes as he held both girls in his arms. "I know this isn't much, but I thought that having a picture of him might help."
Naoko took the frame with flowers and held it close to her chest. She gave Matsuda a small smile as tears fell from her eyes. "Thank you, Matsuda-san."
Hiroko took the picture frame slowly from Matsuda. She traced her finger over L's face. She sniffled and let her tears fall. She flung her arms around Matsuda's neck and sobbed. "Thank you, Matsuda." Was all she managed to choke out.
Matsuda reached out and pulled Naoko into the hug as well. "Everything is going to be okay, girls. We're all here for you. None of us will ever replace Ryuzaki, but we all love both of you and we'll always be here for you."
Neither girl said anything. They continued to cry and cry. Everything was changing so quickly, and they were both afraid. Kira was still out there, and L was gone.
