Strange, how I keep writing, without any support. No, I am not complaining. Quite frankly, I am indifferent. Like it says on my profile, this is just a creative outlet. Yet, I had not expected to have this story take up all my time. Whoever is reading this, I am failing my classes for you. You're welcome. And, like last chapter, Italics mean thoughts, and "Italics" mean speaking German. I know the dates are off, but I had to make it work with the story.

Warning: Flashbacks, spoilers, and screwed up timeline.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.

Broken

***

Alone. B laughed bitterly, most of her former self so far gone, tearing away at her sanity. She walked through Wammy's House, running her fingers across the walls as she went. It was quite empty now. Near still remained, but prepared to leave. Mello was gone. Matt was here until Mello called him away. She stopped, hunched over slightly, and shuddered. She ran her hand backwards through her hair, causing it to fluff up slightly. Thinking back, she remembered the day Roger told Near and Mello that L was dead.

***

B stood outside Roger's office, following Near and Mello like a lost puppy. They closed the door, closing her out. Out of sight, out of mind. Out of their lives, although she didn't realize it at that moment in time. The first thing she heard made her cringe back into the wall. "WHAT? He's DEAD?" Mello's rough voice barked out. "Who did he choose?" She stopped listening at that point, and sunk to the ground. She held her head in her hands, trembling slightly. Not crying. Definitely not yet. The sharp sound of the door being flung open startled her out of her reverie, but she wouldn't move. She was frozen in place, paralyzed in sadness. He spared one regretful glance to her, then turned his back, leaving the one thing L had left for him. Failing him. Failing her.

The first tear in the fabric.

Near walked out at his normal speed, and glanced at her curled up form, then followed Mello.

The second tear.

And the third, having been L's death.

She sat there, abandoned for all counts. After what she assumed was around half an hour, she stood, hearing a loud commotion. Mello. Matt. Even Near was yelling. Still standing unsteadily, she heard the Mello get louder, angrier. She ran after him.

***

Emptiness. What the fucking hell happened to this place? It should still be fucking alive. Mello will need successors. Near will need them, too. It should be THEIR place now. But no. It died with L, didn't it? She shook out her hair, before getting a grip. Sighing, she started roaming the halls, like she had done so many times before. She did it blindly; an impulse, not a proper action. She was still stuck in her memories, something that would forever trap her.

***

B slammed into Mello, not realizing just how close she had been to them. "Watch it!" He snarled out, not yet realizing who it was. He pushed her down. She yelped in pain, then scooted backwards, a scared and pained expression on her wide-eyed face. He looked down, looking more pissed off than she had ever seen him before. She cowered back onto a wall upon seeing his expression. His pissed off expression slowly turned to one of horror.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Mello?" Near bit out, his voice cold as ice.

He spun around, facing Near, his golden hair flying around his head. It looked like a halo in the light that shone down on them from the windows by the front door.

"I am getting the hell out of here, and the hell away from YOU!" He snarled, infuriated. She stood up quickly, but stayed at her position by the wall. Matt soon joined her, his gloved hand holding tight onto hers. At only 15, she was obviously afraid, but sad. Was this really it? "So, there are many deaths in the world today. The day a detective is murdered is the day his most impulsive successor snaps." The devastated expression on the 4th ranking girl's face took all the bite out of the words, making Mello stop dead. He turned slowly, looking her straight in the eye, tears washing gently down his smooth cheeks. "I don't give a damn how young I am. I am going to catch Kira. That bastard is going to die." He spoke, his German accent more prominent as his voice shook. B stepped forward, wiping tears off his cheeks. He held her hand on his cheek. "Rose, I'm so sorry…" He said, quiet enough so only she would hear.

"I know damn well that you are leaving today, but you better come back. Remember where your home is, Mihael." She whispered. He kissed her forehead before picking up the small suitcase and walking out the door. She wouldn't see the 16 year old for two more years, although she did not know that. Tears ran down her cheeks, silently betraying her before splattering on her breasts and on the floor, leaving round spots on her shirt. She curled back into Matt's open arms, his goggles over his eyes, and held onto Near's hand. His other clutched at the hem of his pajama shirt, watching Mello leave with tearful eyes.

***

"Oomph!" A male voice huffed out as B ran into them, nearly toppling over until the strong hands held her upright. "Sorry, I didn't see where I was going, I—" He stopped as she shook her hair out of her face, looking up at him, eyes wide. "B?" He asked in confusion.

She stepped back out of his reach, eyes dark. She looked up at the 18 year old, then grabbed his arm, looking at his watch. Dropping it, she looked up at him warily. "What the hell are you doing back here at 3:36 in the morning, Mello?" Her attention then snapped to another thing; staring at his face, she slowly reached her hand up, tracing the brutal burn scar that covered half of his face. His leather-gloved hand caught her wrist, before his long black coat covered his arm when their hands were lowered.

"I'd ask you something along those lines," He said cockily, his voice deeper than it had been two years ago. She stiffened slightly, then bolted, pulling the shocked man along with the much smaller girl. Her 4'9" body could run much faster than one would expect, and they were in front of a bedroom door in a matter of minutes. She rapped on it lightly, a homemade form of Morse-code, then tugged him along. They quickly arrived in front of his old bedroom door, much to Mello's surprise. B burst inside, where Mello's boot caught on a wire and he finally fell, much to his relief. He had had it with all of the running at this point. She rolled her eyes at Mello, before going and sitting on the top bunk of the bunk bed. It had been there for a long time, since he had started living at Wammy's House. Matt had been sitting on his bunk on the bed, playing a game on his x-box 360 that looked vaguely like call of duty, but when Mello made his grand entrance, he paused the game and stared at him like he was a ghost.

Near made his entrance at this point, saying "This should be important, B. I have just discovered a lead on Ki—" He immediately stopped talking after stepping on Mello, which caused him to land on the hard floor with a bang. Mello's eyes shot daggers at Near, before he turned his glare to B.

"That was his door you knocked on?" He asked angrily in biting German. She laughed.

"Of course. What did you expect? Matt's already here." She spoke confidently, leaning back into Matt as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She reached into the nightstand drawer, pulling something out. Without looking at him, her wrist snapped out towards Mello, tossing an object at him which he quickly caught. "And take your hood off, Mello. You aren't going anywhere, at least not this early in the morning. You should go around midday tomorrow." He sad gaze spoke words she wouldn't say to him, or don't go at all. B watched as he looked in his hands and smiled at the somewhat expensive chocolate bar that lay there. He then realized that he was still laying on the floor, a passed out albino boy on top of him. Rolling his eyes, he picked Near's sleeping form up before dumping him on his own bed. Mello then pulled down his black fur-lined hood, exposing more of his face than B had seen in the badly lit hallway. Matt spoke up then.

"What the HELL happened to your face, man?! Why didn't you fucking call me?! I could have fucking helped your Mafia-leader ass! But you leave me and B here!" He snapped out, squeezing B slightly when mentioning her.

"I didn't want you guys to have to be in this Kira mess." Mello mumbled glumly, shocked and, although he wouldn't admit it, hurt by Matt's outburst.

B stood up then, walking over to Mello with a blank face and looking down at him. He saw a slight glimmer of disappointment in him in her eyes, hurting him nearly as bad as the scar had. "You think…" She spoke slowly, her German/British accent drawling out as she carefully chose her words. "that by losing all touch with us, that you were keeping us out of this shit?" The last six words a hiss. "No. You were wrong. I have been here, constantly making phone calls and doing research, all for the Kira case, and helping Near try and find you. Matt has been driving all over England and even making flights to the U.S. and Japan. You think you were keeping us out of this?" She spoke, her voice a deadly calm, the eye of a hurricane that she carried with her these days. B held out her hand at that point, helping Mello get up. "So," She asked, still in the deadly calm voice, "Where is the Death Note? I know you wouldn't be so stupid as to leave it with those Mafia assholes." He stared down at her in shock.

Matt laughed at his expression. "Dude, she's just as good at hacking as I am, maybe even better. You really think she can't hack yours? You should see her room. She's been sleeping anywhere but there because there's no room. Roger helped move her bed out, so she's been sleeping in Near's room, our room," Matt blushed under his auburn hair and orange goggles, along with B, contrasting against her pale skin, but he continued, "even L's room…" He trailed off at the end, blushing bright and hiding his face in B's hair as she sat back down with him. She giggled quietly, immediately being silenced by a pillow hitting her in the head and a quiet monotone voice muttering "shut up, I'm trying to sleep…" Mello rolled his eyes. A moment later, he realized that B was staring at him intently. It shocked him; it showed on his face a second before she tackled him to the ground, screaming happily, loud enough to signal Roger who had been prowling the silent halls.

Matt had joined the pile of people by the time Roger burst in the door. They were all laughing, except for Near, who had a pillow over his head. Roger stared in amazement at seeing their happiness; Wammy's House had been silent, and quite frankly, depressing for the past year and a half, since L had died and Mello and Near had left.

"Mello?" Roger asked tentatively. When Mello's scarred face emerged from the pile, Roger grinned, happy to see him. "Well now, I hope you all enjoy your night. Get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day." He walked out of the room, humming a quiet tune as he closed the door.

B got up, swaying slightly from the sudden wave of exhaustion. She covered her ears, hearing small whispering sounds in them, although it was fairly quiet in the room. They all decided to sleep in there for that night, because Near was already passed out. As the boys changed, they hadn't noticed how B was swaying, her eyes a little wider than usual.

***

When B slept, she dreamed. The dreams always turned into nightmares, sometimes worse. She woke up screaming, unintelligibly, or names, all in German. No one there understood. She wouldn't let them in. Her way of life was always different. No. It was never right.

For the first time in years, her thoughts were organized. The pieces fell into place.

She would leave in a week.

***

Yes, this chapter is short. I've been having trouble lately with life in general, although no one cares. There should be a new chapter up by the… 22nd, I suppose?