A/N: I sincerely apologize for making seemingly everybody cry yesterday. I hate killing off characters. OK, I know that in the manga, it says, "Death is equal." Even though I have agonizingly stuck to every aspect of this series, I want to ignore that part. I just didn't want to end this story with death. Rather, an afterlife that the dead characters' spirits can enjoy. For, I admit, I have a weird fascination for what happens after death.

Disclaimer: Don't own Death Note, do own V and two surprise OCs.

Chapter 23: Rejuvenation

I felt like I was floating as soon as I passed away at age nineteen. A floating sensation is all I can say as to what death itself consists. It's basically the departure of the soul from the body. And the feeling thrilled me, as though peace swept over me with no more worries as a bonus. This will probably be the only time you will ever hear from someone as to what life after death possesses. Back to the story—I drifted through black for a long time. It served as a kind of tunnel from one life to the next; technically speaking, all of us mortals only have one life at our disposals. But, ah, once we die, a new experience welcomes us to another realm filled with wonders. Of course, though, rules surround this place, including what criteria must be met when one has lived back in the real world. I will relate that later, when the time calls for it. For now, I continue.

A practically blinding light banished the darkness I had found myself drifting through, as though I became the wind. Too poetic? Yes, I think so too, only because I normally remain sensible. However, I recognized that this place where I currently stood could stray from all human sensibilities. What confirmed my theory came in the form of an imposing gatekeeper who held a long, seemingly endless list of names.

"Name?" he questioned in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

Since Kira probably still lived back on earth, I supposed giving my full name wouldn't result in my death. For, obviously, I was already dead.

"Victoria Celeste Lawliet," I told the man with disbelieving awe in my voice. What happened to impel me to tack on the middle name I had never used in life anyway? My gaze lazily landed on the list, which made me speculate on its content. If my name was not on it, would I go somewhere vile? Or, if it was on the list, would I go through the gate? Really, all of this seemed like a dream to begin with, but I pinched myself to feel flesh between my fingers. This. Was. Real. To say the least, I was shocked.

Finally, the gatekeeper glanced up from the extensive scroll, nodding. "Your name is indeed on here, right before your mother's. Welcome."

Another light flashed to announce the pearly white gates opening their doors to me. No longer did I fear the strange man, for I had been accepted. I sighed with relief.

Timidly stepping through to see the sights of the location before me, I had no idea where to begin. My surroundings resembled one's idea of paradise, teeming with everything imaginable. I would describe what I saw, bit I have decided that you should find out yourself if you ever die. Oh, morbid, I know! But, as a narrator weaving her tale from beyond the grave, I am not only forced to secrecy but am qualified to be enigmatic. I apologize if I have infuriated in any way. So, as I wandered through this realm, I sought out for any familiar faces. All I observed were the faces of deceased people I had never met before. This keenly reminded me of the first day of my classes at Wammy's. All those children glaring distastefully at me—I hoped none of them ended up here.

My instincts couldn't aid me when it came to where to start searching for my deceased loved ones. Stepping further inside the sanctuary the gates protected, I slowly enacted my self-proclaimed mission. More phantoms of what people once were moved past me as I furthered my search. After what seemed like half an hour, it became a bleak failure, the crowd still parting. I almost gave up when I heard someone call my name.

"Hey, V! V!"

"Could you move please?" I requested of my fellow dead, who thankfully obliged.

There he stood behind those who parted: the one who I wanted to be there with me.

"Matt!" I called his name gratefully, my dread that he had vanished lifting from my heart. At last, I had found him when it seemed so impossible! Sprinting toward him, I leapt from the ground into his arms; I proceeded to embrace him, refusing to let him stray from my sight ever again.

"Um, V, you're strangling me," he remarked, to which I responded with a laugh and my arms releasing their tight, protective hold.

"I'm sorry. I'm just glad that you are here."

"Where'd you think I'd be? That other place with the lake of fire?"

Laughing blissfully again, I proceeded to kiss Matt like mad, treating ten minutes ago (when the last kiss happened) like they had never existed.

Another familiar voice interrupted the reunion strictly between the two of us. This one sounded almost less than thrilled to see us. "And what do you think you're doing with my sister, Matt?"

Of course, I identified the voice's owner just before I turned around. "L!"

Indeed, my brother smiled slightly at me, though eyed Matt distrustfully. He had never predicted that the gamer and I would become a couple. So, of course, L chose to mask his surprise with paranoia toward my beloved. I hoped at that moment that no capoiera would be used.

"Trust me, sir—I mean, L—V started kissing me," Matt confirmed, nervously grinning as L continued to glare at him.

"Mm, that's fine and all, but V's happiness is important. Should I even trust you?"

Heaving an exasperated sigh, fed up with L's need for testing people, I assured my brother, "L, Matt's my boyfriend. And, as my boyfriend, he has all the rights to kiss me, hold my hand, tease me, etc. as he so wishes. Honestly, must you interrogate?"

His profoundly black eyes appraised my facial reaction. Apparently satisfied with the end result of the inspection, he replied dourly, "Yes, I do. He might have done something inappropriate of which I would extremely disapprove. Confess, Matt, or you will no longer be allowed to be within five hundred yards of V."

"There's nothing to confess...sir."

Matt resorted to addressing L formally since the former wished to approach this delicate situation cautiously. Even though we would never marry, he noted that my often overprotective sibling acted like a cold in-law toward him. Seriousness was the only way to talk himself out of this ordeal.

"Look," he continued, wrapping an arm around my waist, "V is probably the most amazing girl I have ever met. Sure, I was always commenting on girls looking cute way back when, but she's the cutest. She's intelligent, brave (she tried saving me when we were getting shot), funny—she has a great personality. I love her."

I couldn't help but blush from all the praise bestowed upon me; realistically speaking, no one other than the people closely connected to me had ever complimented me in life.

However, L still looked unsure, for he inspected Matt's expression for honesty. Unlike me, he required seeing things before actually believing them, whereas I merely needed to hear them.

With a tone of reluctance, he decided to negotiate. "I will take your word for it. But, one false move, and I will ensure that you won't come near my sister. Is that understood?"

"Yeah, definitely," Matt agreed with a confident, alleviated smile.

"I still don't trust you, though."

"Give it a rest, L!" I groaned and strode over to him.

My boyfriend observed that I planned to converse with L alone, so he left me for the time being.

In the mean time, I sighed while giving one of my more genuine smiles. I knew that my brother cared about me, though he didn't need to take such drastic measures. Matt would look after me and love me like he had always done. I assumed that L did not possess the enthusiasm of passing the torch to someone else when it came to watching over me. No matter how many times I assured him that I was old enough to fend for myself, I realized he would never truly accept it. He was my brother, after all.

"L, I love Matt. He has been there for me ever since you died. So, try to be a little nicer to him."

"Perhaps, as time goes on, I will. For now, I will remain wary," he stated firmly.

Discerning from the intensity of his eyes that he had made up his mind, I realized that I really had no control over his decisions either. He would trust Matt whenever he deemed it the right time. For now, I would endure his cautious attitude toward this recent concept of me having a boyfriend.

"I understand," I murmured to him, though maintained my smile. "I have missed you greatly. And I tried my hardest to avenge your death...but I feel like I have failed."

L patted the top of my head briefly. "Something tells me what you did before you died will have an effect. And, if I'm correct in assuming this, it will lead to Light's death. In retrospect, you haven't failed at all."

Even after death, he had thought of the Kira case above all else. It amazed me how sure L was that it would end in Light's passing away. Sure, the Yagamis would be devastated over their loss, but their loved one had become a murderer. Whatever pure intentions he had starting out, his personality had transformed into something horrible. If nothing could convince him that what he did turned out very wrong, the only thing left was death.

"I'm proud of you, V," L interrupted my inward reflections on Light's personality. "I have been watching you for a while. Maybe Matt was right, but I knew you had all the qualities he mentioned long before he discovered them."

"You would say that," I joked before Watari came to welcome me.

"Hello, Victoria," he greeted, smiling his grandfatherly smile, "it has been a while since we've seen you last. I did not expect you to come here so soon, however."

"It's only because I got shot trying to save Matt," I told him as though I had given a comment on the weather.

"That was indeed noble of you. As I was going to say, I planned a surprise for you."

A surprise for me? I wondered what Watari would divulge that would induce immense joy for me. I was certain that the surprise would give me just that. Agog with curiosity, I proceeded to follow the caretaker to our destination.

What I saw both shocked and thrilled me.

A couple who appeared to be in their early thirties stood in front of us after our short walk. The man wore a polo T-shirt, khaki pants, pair of oxfords, and glasses that showed off his intelligent eyes. These eyes matched my brother's and mine, which excited me. I identified this man as my father, for it couldn't have been more obvious. The woman next to him had come from the dream that impelled me to nearly weep two years ago. I recognized her jet-black curls, though had not seen her face, which was definitely a maternal one. She smiled at me even more brightly than my father, her also dark eyes gleaming accompanied by the upward tilt of her lips.

Jonathon and Lydia Lawliet—I had finally found them!

"Mom? Dad?" I inquired to make sure that I really saw them.

Mom spoke first and hearing her pure, soft voice that I had merely dreamt of before delighted me in more ways than one.

"Vicky, you're all grown up. We've been watching you for all these years through the good times as well as the bad. Our only regret is that we weren't there for you."

"We would have loved to watch you and L, so that you didn't have to go through so much in your lives," Dad added. "You two have turned out great."

"I...never thought I would ever get to see you," I said quietly, overcome with bliss. "And, it's V, by the way."

"V...that sounds better than Vicky, doesn't it?" Mom laughed.

We spent for I don't know how long conversing, mainly me bringing my parents up to speed on my entire life. I basically told an abridged version of my extensive autobiography. Everything I have addressed to all of you, I passed on to them. I especially ensured to stress how Matt brought me fun and laughter to my life. Of course, I mentioned the case, my ordeal when L died, reuniting with Mello and Matt—everything. My parents listened with great empathy, providing occasional remarks that showed that they cared. I only wished that they had been the ones to raise me instead of a blasted orphanage.

When I finished, they assured me that whenever I required adults to talk to, I could rely on them.

"Goodbye for now, Mom and Dad," I bid adieu, pleased that I had finally got to speak with them. "It was great talking to both of you."

"Likewise, V," Mom said placidly as she touched my hand.

"It's just a good thing that we can actually converse with our daughter. You were so small when we last saw you. And you were an enthusiastic diaper user, I assure you," Dad joked for his temporary farewell.

I giggled blithely, turning away to search for Matt. I had spent probably hours away from him, so I just wanted to spend quality time with him. L had interrupted me kissing him, after all.

This time, though, Matt strolled over to me, so that it didn't take too long to find him again. He placed a hand eagerly on my shoulder, which made me look at him rather inquisitively. "What happened, Matt? Was it anything interesting?"

Nodding enthusiastically, he responded with, "Oh, yeah! I got to take you over there."

"All right...wherever there is."

He grabbed my hand as we wandered off toward where whatever was so important was located. Once we arrived to that spot, I saw a familiar face looking at us with an almost guilty expression. The scar still deformed half of it, and his blue eyes looked very haunted.

"Mello....," I muttered deliberately, unsure what to think at this moment. Out of the three of us, I figured he would be the one to survive—no such luck.

He merely sighed as a reaction, his entire countenance appearing morbid and sorrowful. The death he had experienced must have been a horrific one with much heart-wrenching pain. Only one possible reason existed in my mind: Mello knew that we had died. He suffered to the very end; I strongly sympathized with him.

"Hey," he finally greeted us, "that damn Takada probably killed me. I managed to kidnap her, but she got me. I don't really know how...unless she hid a piece of the Death Note."

Matt and I exchanged miserable glances that just showed how much we cared about our friend. We felt like he deserved a far better death than that.

I decided to attempt to convince him that it would have been hard to catch that clue. "It's all right, Mello. If it had been me, I probably wouldn't have seen it coming."

"Look, I should have been more careful!" he yelled out of frustration, which he seemed to vent upon himself. "And I could have been better in approaching this!"

"Dude, V's right," Matt contributed. "Takada probably had some tricks up her sleeve, no thanks to Kira. You shouldn't really take this our on yourself."

Relenting to these words, Mello sighed for the second time. "You're right. So, who killed you two?"

"Takada's bodyguards," Matt and I replied in unison, which made us grin from the weird telepathy. This had been the second time on the same day.

The blond chewed on his chocolate bar rather apologetically, ashamed of himself for putting us through the lethal mission he planned. It seemed like hours passed before he spoke again.

"Look, I'm...sorry for putting you two in danger. That wasn't really a good idea. You didn't have to come along, you know."

Matt let out a chuckle. "Are you kidding? If you told us we couldn't go, we would have made you reconsider. We're the only friends you ever had, Mello."

"Exactly," I chimed in, "for we are extremely loyal. We will continue that, even here in death."

And, for five seconds, a genuine smile crossed Mello's lips, though barely visible.

Those seconds came and went, so that the smile distorted into a smirk. "You guys are too stubborn! Stubborn enough to be stupid to get yourselves killed on my account—you actually blame it on loyalty."

"Not blame," I corrected smoothly with a return smirk, "only justify."

As soon as we settled into companionable silence, I noticed that L strode slowly past us. He proceeded to move like a ghost, descending down into earth. I wondered what impelled him to do that and the floating... That was just too eerie. Following him, I resolved to find out what went on with my brother.

I failed at the following, for I couldn't find him anywhere after a while in Tokyo. My friend and boyfriend had tailed me in the process, much to my unawareness. When I settled for perching on the fire escape of our once inhabited apartment, they did the same. This, of course, startled me.

"Y—you didn't have to follow me, you know!" I exclaimed, awkwardly placing my hand to the nape of my neck. "I wondered what L was up to."

"Well, I guess you'll find out later. For now, let's enjoy being ghosts," Matt suggested, grinning slyly. "Let's haunt people!"

"Can we start with Near?" Mello inquired.

"No," I smirked, "we should haunt Roger. Near, we will torment after that."

Floating speedily toward Wammy's, we set off to do just that.

A/N: All right, there are several things I want to mention. First off, I decided not to describe the afterlife "realm" simply because I think every person has a different mental image as to that place. For another, I know I used second person a couple of times, but this was because at this point I really felt like V was telling the story, not me. And another, sorry Mello fans for killing him off. I'm a Mello fan myself, but I wasn't sure how he would have faced Light if the latter was in that warehouse. Sorry for that lack of originality (sighs).

However, I do NOT like Near. So, for the Near haters (at least one of my reviewers is), I decided that V, Matt, and Mello plan to haunt him. XD I don't mention the specifics of the haunting, but I want the Mello fans to have some small comfort. It was a last minute edit.

OK, I put in a lot of sap in this one with V reuniting with her parents, but this chapter was planned to kind of cheer up you guys, because I knew you would be sad about the character deaths. Tomorrow, a really good thing happens that I think all of you will enjoy. Till now, sayanora!

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