The tests were a bit more annoying than she wanted to admit, and it admittedly took much longer for her to be released.. (Approximately two days) But after a few more talks with Mister Asakura and Mister Yamanote, she was informed that she needed to be given a more semi-permanent residence.

It was just absolute luck that she wound up sitting in one of the most uncomfortable plastic chairs at the police department, kicking her legs back and forth as she waited for the debriefing to end. She had been given a small envelope, with enclosed instructions for the chief of police on her housing. There were no openings for shelters and all of the guest residencies were booked tight for police-coordinated travelling.

And why should they waste precious government funds on a teenager's hotel room for an indefinite amount of time?

She heard the sound of muffled voices, followed by the scrape of many chairs, and the double doors to the large conference room swing open. Many men and a few women in suits and uniforms bustled out, some urgent and some at leisure, talking all the while or nursing a cup of what she assumed was the lifeblood of the majority.

Coffee.

Waiting until the last few seemed to leave, she got to her feet, dusting the lap of the knee-length sky blue skirt she'd been given and tugging at the hem of the grey sweater. She'd never wound up in a police station before, so the protocall kind of threw her for a loop.

Hesitantly, she approached the least intimidating looking person in the final cluster, her teeth nipping at her bottom lip as she tapped his shoulder.

The obviously younger of the group of males turned to her almost immediately, and she vaguely wondered if he had whiplash. Pressing the thought aside, she gave a quick, polite bow, before rising again, a set to her jaw as she met his dark eyes.

"Hello, I'm looking for the chief of police..? I've been given a correspondence by Yamanote-san and Asakura-san.. But I'm unsure of where he is.."

"Oh-!" The man perked up almost immediately, and she felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips at his gleeful grin, "I don't think he's left his desk yet, I can take you to him, if you'd like?"

He had lifted his hand up to rub the back of his neck, his eyes flicking across her white hair and the gleam of golden eyes. She ignored his appraisal, and gave him a small nod. "Thank you, I would very much appreciate it.."

He gave her a quick, peppy nod, and excused himself from the conversation with a superior with a bow, gesturing to the conference room door when he'd turned back to her and leading her through quickly, "He should still be in here.. The meeting got out just a minute or so, ago.."

"Chief-!"

The hyper male's voice almost echoed in the nearly abandoned conference room, and the man at the lone desk near the back surrounded by piles of papers, a ridiculously outdated computer, and several cups of empty coffee looked up with a start, bewilderment in his expression as he tilted his head. His eyes squinted, and Natasha felt the urge to squint her eyes back at this particular cartoonish person.

He looked so goddamn familiar..

"Matsuda, what is it?" the elder male's rough, strained voice gave away obvious exhaustion, and if she looked close enough, she could see a sheen of perspiration on his brow.

She swore to god she knew these guys from somewhere-

"This woman was looking for you," the raven provided brightly, the chief seeming to just notice that a small female had been flanking the rookie with a hesitant, nervous expression. He sat up straighter in his seat, joints popping vaguely as a single lock of salt and pepper hair fell over his forehead. "What can I do for you, Miss?"

"Ah-" her mind clicked the exact second she caught sight of the 'Night God' kanji on the man's desk plate, a sort of stillness coming over her as she shut her mouth with a click, and jerkily held out the envelope, "I was told to give you this, sir."

Why the fuck….. was she in Death Note…!?

Yagami Soichiro took the envelope with a flicker of confusion, slicing it open with his thumb and quickly pulling it out to read. The helpful raven dismissed himself with a bow and a wave, before exiting politely, and Natasha stood with bated breath, arms folded behind her back, as she waited for the verdict.

"Oh my-" he cut himself off mid-letter and sat straight again to give her his full attention, a stern, yet sympathetic look coming to his eye, "And you've been unable to contact any legal guardians? Friends?"

"All of the numbers have been either switched over or shut off," she offered lamely, a sort of tense, uncomfortable tug at her mouth as she turned her eyes elsewhere, "There hasn't been a single report of me missing, either, that was one of the first things they looked into.."

Soichiro slowly lowered the letter again, briefly flicking over the last few lines before removing his glasses and wiping his forehead on his sleeve with a slow, deep breath. "Well, I suppose this is a bit of a problem.. And there were no open spaces at the registrar?"

"They checked, and they're booked for several solid months," the teen murmured quietly, her fingers fidgeting together as she bowed her head, "I'm sorry for the trouble.. I really am."

"From what I can see, here, it's not your fault in the slightest," his tone was much less probing than she expected it to be, and when she glanced down a bit to meet his eyes, he had given her a more careful, relaxed look, "I have a daughter about your age, and if she were going through this, I would want anyone and everyone able to help her." Confusion settled around her mind like a thick blanket when he began gathering up the papers into neat piles, and moved to stand with a push of his chair, he adjusted his tie, grabbed his jacket, and looked to her with a nudge to his glasses, giving her a slow, gentle smile as he motioned toward the door, "What would you say with staying in my home? I have a wife, and two children, so it wouldn't be too much of a problem to set up the guest room."

'Did he just offer to house me?'

Holy shit, I think he did.

"My children aren't that young," he offered with a bit of a chuckle, absently scratching his stubbled cheek at her silence, "My son is seventeen and my daughter is fourteen. It shouldn't be too much of an age gap."

"I'm seventeen as well," she murmured after a moment, shuffling her feet as her toe dragged on the ground behind her. This was actually pretty embarrassing and stressful. Did she say yes or no to living with a potential serial killer..?

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM-

BITCH- CHILL THE FUCK OUT AND SAY YES.

"Perhaps we could even get you enrolled into school, here, as well," Soichiro offered carefully. He probably saw the bruises on her neck and shoulders, for how his tone had drastically softened when she'd taken to playing with the end of her hair, "My son could show you around and help you with studies in his free time..? Not to mention my wife and daughter would love to have some more female company.."

"Are you.. Sure.. that this wouldn't be a bother..?" she asked quietly, he was gradually leading her out of the office, and with a start, she realized exactly how late it really was.

If people were frantic to leave earlier, they looked practically dead now. It was almost nine o'clock. Some of them had probably been there since four in the morning. Yagami included.

"Positive," he nodded, more firmly this time as he motioned for her to exit the hall. He waved back to the calls from others as they wished him goodnight and the night shift began trickling in. "I'll just make a quick call to the house to see if anyone is awake, and if they can get the room ready for you. If not, you wouldn't mind sleeping on the sofa for the night, would you..?" he looked sheepish as they neared his car, though he tried to smother it with a tentative smile, "I know it's not the most hospitable, but it would be only for a night."

"Even having a place to stay is more than I could ask for, Yagami-san," she gave him a deep, grateful bow as he unlocked the car, his surprise fading away with a soft sigh as he motioned for her to move quickly, "Careful now, it's getting colder out."

As if on cue, the wind seemed to pick up, and a shiver raced up and down her spine. While she was motioned to wait in the car, Soichiro stood outside with his cell raised to his ear, calling the house.

Natasha took to inspecting the scruffs on the grey sneakers she'd been given, an the knee-high white socks that seemed a tad too big for her calfs. The skirt was lightly ruffled near the bottom hem, but fell just to her knees, and the white button up beneath the grey sweater kept a bit of the cold at bay.

Absentmindedly, she began feeling at her pockets, looking for lint or maybe a loose tag. What she didn't expect to feel, however, was the hard, firm rectangle outlining the fabric of her pocket and pressing dutifully to the side of her leg.

She almost wanted to squeal in surprise because there is no way that had been there before-

And Why the FUCK did she have her phone-?!

SHE DID NOT HAVE IT THIRTY SECONDS AGO-!

Repressing the urge to jolt and scream, she swallowed down her instincts and sat quietly as the drivers side door opened swiftly, and Yagami climbed in with a soft sigh.

"My wife answered," he spoke while simultaneously buckling up and getting his keys into the ignition, "She'll be setting out some leftovers for you to eat, as well as setting out a temporary bedroll in my son's room. He's currently on a class trip, but will be back by the end of the week. You can use that until we manage to get the guest room cleaned."

"Thank you, again," Natasha spoke quietly, rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. "I really.. Really.. Hate being a bother."

"It's no bother," he shrugged off her tone with ease, coasting along nighttime traffic with a similar, practiced proficiency, "I'll have the office look into getting records built up so you can attend school, and we can work on figuring everything else out, then."

Natasha only hummed politely, toes curled in her borrowed shoes as she clenched her fingers in her lap.

'This is going to one dandi-fucking adventure.'

Careful with that sarcasm, you could poke out someone's eye.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

I will probably be taking this story down and repost it on a newer account. Loking back on all of my cringe-y-ness on this one now makes me kind of ashamed..

Anyway, this will be available on my newer account Natasha-Tenshi in a few days or so, whenever I find the time to post it.

Rest assured...

I.

AM NOT YET DEAD.

Thank you.