A/N: Hello, everyone! Thank you muchly to all those people who reviewed. You're basically the reason that inspired me to write this anyway. :)

Some more feedback regarding this would be nice. (Just saying) I mean, this is sort of an experiment for me.

I was the baby nightmares were made of.

Everything felt so off to me that in the beginning, that I couldn't help but shriek in rage. My reedy, baby lungs were on a constant workout, and it gave me some sort of grim pleasure to see my new mother scuttle around like her ass was on fire. It also didn't help that every time I woke up, Misa soon followed, her high-pitched whining added to mine.

I'd never know how Honoka managed us, but she was always there, always smiling. It would strike me later, that when she left us alone in the crib, she'd go off to silently cry in her room, body driven to exhaustion. Once she'd leave, I would hiccup softly, and turn to the newcomer in charge of us. It was almost always our older sister, Misaki.

There was something off about Misaki too. She wasn't… normal, I suppose. Her beady black eyes would take us in - our porcelain skin, our innocent baby-blues, and almost automatically, a sneer would curl her nose slightly. She stared at Misa more than she looked at me - a fact that wasn't lost on me at all.

Also, Misaki was old. I'd estimated her age to be around 15 when Misa and I were born. It didn't even occur to me she was our sister until Sousuke (our father) had introduced her to us, making cooing baby noises.

Sousuke was another odd character in the household. If Honoka coped with life by smiling, then Sousuke laughed. He was always laughing. And I'd tried everything - from pooping on him to throwing up to screeching in his ear for an hour straight. Nothing fazed him. He'd still chuckle, tickle my sides and call me his little 'Sayu-darling'.

Which brings me to…

My name.

Amane Sayuri.

Ridiculously simple, utterly feminine, and... . probably short enough for Light to pen it down in… say… under a minute?

Oh, it didn't take me long to figure out which sort of fucked up world I was in at all. Both, Misa's name and face were a dead giveaway. One could perhaps argue that the last I'd seen her, she was in anime-form, but it was ridiculously easy to match her current features to that… gothic monstrosity that had skipped past my laptop screen.

But she was an adorable baby. Even as a child, she craved companionship. I'd lost count of the times I would end up huffing furiously in my crib because she'd simply never let go. As babies, we were both cursed with poor motor coordination, but even then, Misa never failed to curl to the right and snuggle into me. It didn't matter how fucking hot it was. I suppose, as a child, her brain was unable to recognize the symptoms of sweating through your cute pink onesies, but I did, and it was annoying.

It didn't help that once Honoka and Sousuke actually got around to buying me a new crib; she'd shriek the house down as soon as we were separated. Seriously, I didn't know where this bond was coming from, but I did not like it. I had theorized earlier on that if Misa had an elder sister in canon as well, then she had probably escaped relatively unscathed. I wanted that life. I wanted to be away from her - away from that psycho-bitch who'd kill people for a man that didn't even love her.

But Misa and her clinginess weren't the least of my problems. For one, breast-feeding. Oh, how I abhorred the very process! It just felt so wrong to be suckling at another woman's boobs and I had almost thrown up my milk the first time. Luckily, it didn't take long for Honoka to figure out I preferred bottles, because otherwise, I swear I would've thrown a tantrum so big, the world would be feeling it for yearsafterwards.

Another one was boredom. There was nothing to do apart from fidgeting and blinking and sleeping. And waking up in your own poop. This was, arguably, the worst.

Oh, and teething. I didn't even want to think about teething.

Understandably enough, I couldn't wait to grow up. It felt like every second was stretching on until it would simply snap like… well, like Light, I suppose.

I couldn't help but giggle at the image. Accept it or not, watching him egotistically announce that he would be God of the New World was fucking hilarious. He was so serious about it too. My smile faltered as a very unwelcome memory came filtering through my brain. I firmly slammed the proverbial lid on it.

To be fair, I still didn't know what exactly was going on. Why was I a baby? Why was my sister an insane bitch? Was I even in the Death Note or was this a big, fat coincidence that was playing out in my head?

But the truth was… I had this… niggling feeling... - something that kept me on a constantly on the edge, causing my fingers to drum nervously all the time.

It wouldn't go until finally, one day, Dad would drop onto the sofa, holding both me and Misa in his hands. I looked around curiously even as I nibbled furiously on the big Hello Kitty soft toy - finally glad to be out of that stupid pink crib. The flashing lights in front of my face drew my attention to the small TV smack in the center of the room. Even as I watched, unblinkingly, the scene shifted to an abandoned warehouse and a dead body.

The reporter cleared his throat. "And the famous detective, Coil, has solved yet another case -"

It was then that my world would finally go cold around the edges.

When I woke up later, hooked onto IV drips and on the same fucking white sheets I had entered this Universe, I'd realize I had actually fainted.

Misa wasn't my stepping stone for long.

Oh, I tried - how desperately I tried - but she was annoyingly ditzy. She'd somehow climb to her feet and then almost immediately topple over, giggling harmlessly all the way through. At first, it was cute. Then slightly overbearing. Then after nine months, I glanced at her latest attempt, a completely unimpressed look on my face before staggering upright and forcing my knees to lock.

And voila!

I had taken my first steps.

Ironically enough, I wasn't even allowed to have that freedom for long. Honoka swept me into her arms, shrieking her husband's name excitably while I looked on, bored. Seconds later, Sousuke himself came bouncing into the drawing room before lifting me straight out of her hands and throwing me into the air.

The fearfearfear of dying again made me shriek loudly before I realized I was already safely secure in his arms once more It still didn't stop me from glowering at him, although I'm sure with my current face, it came off more as a 'I'm-trying-so-hard-to-poop-right-now!'.

"My darling Sayuri-chan!" Sousuke nuzzled my tummy, his shaggy hair making me shriek loudly and squirm in his hold because goddamn, I was ticklish - "What do you want from Daddy? Hmm? Name your price, sweetheart. I'll get you whatever you like!"

Honoka giggled next to him, but I had long since tuned out of the conversation.

Because Misa was standing, blue eyes arched upwards, one hand fisted in Daddy's pants. Her other hand went into the air, almost as if asking Sousuke to pick her up too.

And he did, laughing loudly at his little twins while Honoka clapped in glee at the fact that both her babies had started walking on the same day. But I wasn't focusing on that.

Instead, I was watching how Misa's arms were still outstretched -

- Towards me.

And that's pretty much when I realized something very, very important:

She was never going to leave me alone.

"Sayu - li?"

"Sayuri," I corrected firmly, refusing to be swayed by her pretty pout. "Repeat, Misa-chan. Sayuri."

"Sayuli?" She echoed, tilting her head to one side with wide eyes. "Sayuli… cha?"

I bobbed my head around impatiently. This was taking too long! Mum and Dad might be back to check on us soon, and I needed Misa to say her first word so I could follow. The calculating look in Misaki's eyes once she had seen me stumbling around the house on two feet had terrified me. It wasn't that she would do anything, or that she would question someone. It was the ever-burning question of what-if-they-knew.

What if she could look into my eyes and see the 21 (now 23) years old woman behind my cold blue orbs? What if she could sense that some otherworldly entity inhabited this body? In theory, I knew it was impossible, and yet...

It wasn't a risk I was willing to take.

Ergo, trying to teach Misa. The problem was, Misa had already said her first word. Ironically enough, it was my name. Sure, she had mangled it to pieces, but it was still my name. And now, she refused to say anything in front of someone else.

Seriously, I didn't know where this worldly awareness was coming from, but it was super-freaky. Death Note's Misa had been an idiotic, bitchy blonde - but this Misa… this Misa sometimes looked at me with recognition in her eyes. She followed my movements. She did what I did.

This could be useful. Perhaps, later on, I could use this ability to manipulate her into staying away from Light. But I knew as well as anyone that people changed. She could follow me now, and just as easily follow Kira later.

"Sayuri!" I tried again, crossing my arms. I tried glaring at her too, but by now, Misa was already absently tracing the leaves on our bed sheet. "Misa-chan, say Sayuri!"

Her head shifted upwards to look at me, and a vaguely thoughtful look passed over her face. Then she cupped her hands around her chubby cheeks and smiled.

It was an innocent cherub's smile. And then:

"Sayuli!"

Ah, fuck it.

"Da…" I gurgled all over Sousuke's white shirt, completely unrepentant of the fact that the stain probably wouldn't go. "Da…"

From across the table, Misa threw her cup furiously against the wall. For the first time ever, sister had chosen to take an action on her own and I was insanely amused. It was no secret in the household that I disliked the stupid, gooey baby food Honoka found healthy for us. I'd make that clear pretty fast.

But to see Misa following my lead, even if it was a few months later was hilarious.

Honoka tutted exasperatedly, running to swipe the goop before it spread. Meanwhile, Misa had crossed her arms and was now glaring at the back of her head. Dad rushed towards her. "Misa, princess, your food -,"

She stubbornly shook her head, blonde curls framing her face. "No," she said clearly, ignoring the look of shock on Sousuke's face. "No, Misa no!"

"Honoka…" Dad began weakly. "Misa just spoke her first word!"

Or sentence, I added in my head.

Mum rushed to the table, fallen bowl forgotten on the floor as she wiped her hands on the apron furiously. "What?! She did?! What did she say? Mum or Dad?"

"Neither," Sousuke shook his head. His shoulders stiffened, and for a second, I actually thought he'd start crying, until he threw his head back and laughed. "My princess's first word was no!"

From the other end of the room, I saw Misaki's eyes narrowing at my sister, and I grinned, comfortably settling further into my seat.

Crisis averted.

"Sayuri!" I coaxed, reaching out with one hand to pull Misa's pigtails. Honestly, I don't know why I couldn't let the mispronunciation go, but I just couldn't. Possibly just a mild after-effect from my OCD in my previous life, but I was determined to not be the same person here. Nuh-uh. No crazy could even exist in Amane Sayuri's life.

At least not until her sister found the Death Note.

This, again, was an event I hoped would be diverted. I wasn't very hopeful about it though. Gelus would kill, Rem would meet Misa. It was pretty much set in stone.

I flipped over, onto my back and considered thoughtfully, absently rubbing my forehead. Perhaps this Misa would love me enough to keep me away from the crazy in her life? Frankly, I didn't mind if Light went around killing criminals and became an overall psycho. I couldn't care less. I had no reason to be a criminal, and hence, I was safe.

Unless Misa tried to off me for some reason.

Suddenly suspicious of the prolonged silence, I shifted to the right. As I watched with lidded eyes, my sister stumbled towards me, holding out both hands for balance. I didn't know why, but I ended up stretching my own arms towards her. Misa's chubby little fingers entangled in mine and she fell straight onto me, giggling all the way through.

Now on her butt, she carefully poked my forehead, smoothing the crease in the middle. Then she smiled, an absolutely fucking angelic smile, and said:

"Sayuri!"

We were finally allowed to go to the preschool when we were four. On my part, I wasn't very excited because hey, more kids! Yay! But Misa was absolutely ecstatic. She simply wouldn't stop jumping around like a little maniac, running circles around me and generally being a nuisance. Every time I managed to lay my hands on her, I pulled her pigtails pretty hard, but she definitely considered the interchange to be a game, because she'd shriek and run even faster, forcing me to give up sooner than not.

It was the same in the car. Sousuke had been pretty sly about the whole thing, reading us stories from a picture book and generally amping up our enthusiasm (or Misa's, at least) by showing us pictures of swings and toys and sandboxes and more children.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't take Misa long to demand for a trip. I say demand because… Well, we both were brats in our own way. We threw tantrums when either of us didn't get what we wanted; a tactic I had realized was effective pretty soon. When Misa wanted more time with Mr. Chubby, I wanted more time with Mr. Chubby. So when I wanted to stay up for a little longer, Misa wanted to stay up for longer. Little things like that. We were a good team.

"Now, Misa, Sayuri, behave yourself, okay? And listen to whatever your teacher tells you." Honoka said, a worried frown on her face. She turned towards her husband. "Do you think it's safe to leave them like this? I still think we should go with them. What if one of them gets hurt?"

Sousuke responded by flinging a lazy arm around her and winking at us. "They're big girls now, 'Noka," And Misa and I giggled slightly in unison, because the way Sousuke implied 'big' was always a little funny. "Besides, they're the teacher's responsibility now, yes? Don't be so worried. The teacher will be here soon anyway."

As if on cue, an older man came rushing towards the big group of people, waving a clipboard around. "Thank you, parents. Now, say goodbye children!" He sounded harried and tired, but his eyes still shone with enthusiasm. Clearly, he liked his job.

Some kids cried, but Misa and I were mostly busy with hugging our parents tightly. Honoka sniffed a bit, but quieted once Sousuke sent a warning look towards her. He wanted us to go happily - I'm pretty sure he thought that if she started crying, we would too.

Yeah, I almost snorted at the thought, crossing my arms together as we waited in line outside the classroom. Like that was going to happen. Next to me, Misa adjusted her tiny backpack, blue eyes wide as she looked right and left. She was most interested in the other kids though. I could see her eyeing them periodically.

When we were finally let inside, and seated, the same man came bouncing in. "Hello, my cute little students!" He all but cooed, and my nose wrinkled slightly. I hated baby-talk. "I'm Haneda Takeshi, but you may call me Takeshi-sensei! Is that fine?"

Some students muttered in agreement, but mostly the class was silent. So he cleared his throat loudly. "When I ask you something, I expect an answer, kids~."

As everyone chorused in agreement, I propped my face on my knuckles and sighed deeply. This is going to so boring.

And it was.

When he was finally done with having us introduce ourselves (some students absolutely refused to, by the way, so he spent around half an hour each coaching them through it), the bell rang, signaling the break. I tuned him out as he explained we'd soon start having to serve lunch. Misa, on the other hand, was listening to everything with childish enthusiasm.

Soon enough, she was dragging me to the playground. "Come on, onee-chan! Stop being lazy!" She huffed as she pulled me out of my seat. "Misa wants to meet other children!"

I acquiesced, grumbling all the way through. I'd tried, earlier on, to tell Misa I wasn't particularly interested, but she'd just steamrolled past me with childish logic. Apparently, if she was going to socialize, then so was I.

She dragged us outside, finally coming to a stop in front of three other girls in pigtails. Then her smile impossibly widened. "Hello! I'm Amane Misa!" She all but chirped, before pushing me forward. "And this is my twin sister, Amane Sayuri! Pleased to meet you!"

As the girls ooh-ed and ah-ed over the concept of twins (what? really? you were born on the same day? so coooooooool!), I found myself absently picking grass and cursing my existence. If this was what kindergarten was like, then I shuddered to think of primary school.

And ugh. High school. Puberty. College, all over again.

Clearly, some God above hated me.