Random: Well, I'm glad I made L's childhood seem cute, then. :3 Unfortunately...his actual past as a whole isn't so adorable... I'm rather glad I added that bird bit, though, even though it was on a whim and I still don't know exactly where I got the idea for it...haha. Lovely that you can't hate Natalie... Yay; she's special~ And even your dislike for Kira/Light is alleviating, even if only slightly?
...Yay.

BB: Oh, but of course, BB! I do my best to address every one of my reviewers. A new hobby, eh? What was the first, might I ask?
Gymnastics, huh? I cannot do that sort of thing for the life of me. I don't doubt that you could, however, B. It's quite alright, and I accept your apology. In all honesty, this is starting to rather amuse me.
...Come over soon? As in, here? YIn that case, you shall be a welcome guest, BB!

The Reading Kind: Yay... We're adorable children. ;v; ...Aw! You're pretty adorable as a child yourself! Wahh...
I got you to giggle? Yayy... c: I like making people smile. Though I suppose it would be pretty weird if you were Anna at that point. xD
Now that the test's over, I'm not worrying so much about it anymore, actually, haha. I'm just glad it's over with. All the other exams coming up don't worry me so much... =w=

There'll be (another) double update this week! Why? I'm going camping this weekend. .u. Plus, I like to think that L's mother's birthday is on May twenty-third, which is tomorrow. Therefore... another double update!

Wow. Double updates galore, eh?~

Well, anyway, enjoy the chapter~

Sierra wandered into the main room late that Wednesday night, planning on snatching a chocolate bar to satisfy the hunger gnawing at her. It was about three in the morning (technically it was Thursday), so it was only to be expected that staying up that late writing names would throw off her eating schedule and make her hungry at the wrong times. Knowing how things usually went, she wouldn't be very hungry in the morning….

As she walked into the main room – her current personal space was a little room beneath broken-down staircase that she insisted upon having – she noticed that Matt sat upon the couch, still playing his video games, as always. There was another couch, bigger than the one Matt was on, but it didn't seem to have anyone occupying it at first glance. "Hi, Matt," Sierra greeted, not bothering to lower her voice. She didn't see Mello anywhere anyhow.

He looked up, pausing his game. "Would you be quiet?" he replied in a low voice. "Mello's actually sleeping right now, and I think I know well enough not to wake him."

Sierra covered her mouth. "Sorry," she whispered, then tilted her head to the side. "What, did you wake him up before?" she inquired, amused at the idea.

Matt made somewhat of a grimace. "Yeah. Back at Wammy's."

She stifled a giggle with her hand, then looked to the larger couch again. On closer inspection, there was a Mello lying there beneath the covers. An idea occurred to her. "Cloud Nine!" she squeaked, trying to muffle the noise with her hand.

Matt frowned, setting his game down. He figured Sierra would be making conversation for awhile. "Cloud Nine?" he repeated, still using a hushed tone. "You mean that game kids play… the one where one is sleeping, and—?"

"And one massages the sleeping one's temples, and asks them questions," Sierra said softly yet excitedly. "And they answer truthfully, no matter what, because it's their subconscious answering."

"I somehow doubt that would work on Mello," Matt replied doubtfully, eyeing the sleeping chocoholic. "…Or anyone, actually."

Sierra deflated. "Aw…. Please?"

"And if he wakes up?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Then… then…." She thought a moment. "…Then I'll stuff chocolate in his mouth and run," she said matter-of-factly.

He gazed at her with a blank expression, then sighed, getting to his feet. "Get the chocolate." Sierra squeaked in joy. "Just remember that the blame's going on you if he wakes up."

She nodded vigorously. "Got it!" she yelped, then ran off.

"Remember to be quiet, too!" he hissed, then shook his head as a hasty, "Sorry!" was called back in a strained whisper. Sierra came back with the chocolate to find Matt sitting cross-legged on the arm of the couch. "Alright…," said Matt. "How long do I rub his temples?"

Sierra squinted up at the ceiling. "A minute, I think."

"You think, huh?" he repeated, leaning over to smother his cigarette in the ashtray. He took a deep breath, letting it out in something like a sigh.

"You know, you're gonna get lung cancer," she frowned. "You should stop smoking."

He shrugged, then put his hands before him to begin rubbing Mello's temples. "This is just weird," he muttered.

The moment Matt's gloved hands touched Mello's head, Mello's eyes opened. He looked up at his red-haired friend irritably. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked dully.

"You seemed tense," Matt answered smoothly. "I thought you needed a massage."

Mello rolled his eyes, then spotted Sierra. He eyed her suspiciously, sitting up.

"We wanted to play Cloud Nine," Sierra explained simply, staring at Mello.

Mello frowned deeply. "You idiots know I'm a light sleeper, right?"

"I did," said Matt. "I was just humoring her."

Mello scowled, getting to his feet. "So much for getting some sleep," he muttered.

"Where're you going?" Anna asked Sam as she wandered towards the door.

Sam frowned, then looked back at her. "I'm just going on a walk," she told her. "The Bond's being annoying."

"Well, I'm just glad I'm not the one at the final step," Anna said with a hint of indignation. "I don't really want to reach that."

Sam smiled vaguely and sighed. "Of course you don't. No one does, but the moment you get there, you can't imagine life any other way."

Anna made a face.

Sam laughed. "I'll be back soon," she called, then made her way out the door.

Through the streets of Tokyo she wandered, not paying much attention to what or who was around her. She twitched occasionally, though, of course, and she found herself jumping in surprise at a car horn honking unexpectedly. She scowled at the latter. "Stupid Bond," she muttered. Not that she wouldn't have jumped without the Bond, anyway…. She continued to restlessly walk among Tokyo's pedestrians, and time passed. She didn't care how long she was out; it didn't really matter. If L needed her, she'd know right away anyway.

Being the twitchy way she was – damn that stupid Bond – she jumped again when a hand went to her shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry," said the man behind her. His voice was bright; slightly higher, like Matsuda's. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"No, it's fine," Sam replied, trying to look back at the pedestrian visitor. He laughed lightly, stepping just out of range of her vision. "Uh…."

"Well, I noticed you were restless today, fellow citizen." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders like a playful old friend, still managing to stay in her peripheral vision, ducking behind her whenever she tried to look.

"Well, yeah," Sam agreed, suspicion building.

"What is it, hmm?" he asked. He had a sort of teasing air about him. When he next spoke, his voice was soft and low, right near her ear. She could feel his breath, warm against her skin. "Catatonic schizophrenia, right?" he murmured. She could hear the smile in his tone. "People like us should stick together."

The hand left her shoulder, and Sam wheeled around to face the man. By the time she looked, though, he was gone.

Sam cursed under her breath, and continued on with the day with a bit more caution than before. BB's back.

L stood abruptly the moment the man – possibly B – whispered the words catatonic schizophrenia in Sam's ear. He could hear it just as well as if he were the one wandering the streets. Ha, like he'd ever walk the streets on a whim…. He wasn't one for crowds. He never was.

Leaving his half-eaten piece of cake and his scarcely touched cup of tea behind, he walked towards the computer at a brisk pace. He was already typing, searching, before he even crouched on his chair. No, not the Japanese database, he needed the American…. California. Atascadero State Hospital.

There was nothing.

L bit his thumbnail, glaring at the screen. No records of any sort of escape. No records of Beyond Birthday's second breakout. Damn Kira, and damn B. There were two possibilities here. No… three. One, that had not been B that had spoken to Samantha. It was possible, but it most certainly wasn't very likely. This theory was discarded quickly. Two, B had deleted the records. This was also possible; he had the potential to do it. Third and last was on the point that Atascadero State Hospital was under a lot of pressure from the public, under Kira's influence. Atascadero saved criminal's lives, and helped them. It gave them a chance. Many believed that went against Kira, who judged criminals as the evil that plagued the world. With this pressure from the public, it was possible, too, that the hospital had not disclosed the information that Beyond had escaped. Atascadero needed to keep its reputation up; else it could be shut down. However… L, as L, was able to access information that hadn't even been disclosed to the public. And unless Atascadero, a helper of the lost criminals in need of help, a lamppost to stand against the darkness of Kira's reign, had suddenly turned against L and blocked him somehow, L would know of B's escape.

Therefore, B had deleted the file.

B had access to these things, too.

How? Hacking? That was most probable. L and Sam knew for a fact that B was not the hacker of Wammy's House – that would be Matt and Chip (Chip was another child of Wammy's) – but that wasn't to say he couldn't still hack. B was known to analyze things with a high level of calm detachment, and he picked up new things quickly. Assuming B and Sophia reached the final stage of the Bond right before he was first imprisoned on August twenty-second, 2002, eight years ago, then he had plenty of time for Sophia to learn, and thus for B to learn.

Something like a smirk upturned the corner of L's mouth. B, he thought, you've certainly gotten better. He chuckled monotonously. But so have I.

Challenge accepted.

His fingers danced across the keys as he switched to public news. It was much harder to erase public records, so there had to be something B had left behind. The most likely way he had escaped was by using the same method as before: using the In-Between to switch places with Sophia. He could have just broken out, but Atascadero took pride in its security… so as he most likely switched with Sophia, there had to have been some sort of story about a girl being found. Reunited. Something like that. The detective made it a point in his mind to get both Sophia and B caught this time. L's mouth twitched in amusement. Right now, this was nothing but a game. B hadn't done anything yet. This was only a small puzzle to put together before the real competition began. Nothing more than an appetizer to come before the main course.

Through the main news L hunted for any signs of B. Was he out, or was he not? Well, of course he was, but he needed the proof. Always, there was proof. Evidence. He had to admit, that was one of the irksome pieces of this world's system of law. The most irksome. But a challenge was always taken graciously, for L always did love a challenge….

Most of the news was meaningless – the story of a child miraculously surviving a car accident; a stabbing in Santa Barbara; criminals, criminals, and more criminals for Kira to kill; that sort of thing – but the thing he was looking for could not escape L's watchful eyes. A newspaper article, that was all. It wasn't big news, but it grabbed L's attention immediately because he knew what he was looking for. The hopeful story of the reuniting of a son and a daughter. The man's name was Brian Bachman, his daughter was Selena Bachman. There was a small picture of them hugging. The girl was in bandages, but the man was not. Brian was almost unrecognizable, he looked sallow and his eyes looked far too sunken for it to be B. But it could only be B. Of course it was B. And Selena was, of course, Sophia. L noticed, too, that there was a slight stiffness in the man's stature, as if he were also hurt. The same injuries the girl had, but hidden.

"Well, this confirms it," L said to himself, then tapped a few keys to contact Atascadero State Hospital. His voice would not be altered, and if the phone had caller ID, then it would be a private, untraceable number that L called from.

"Atascadero State Hospital," came a low, gravelly voice. "How may I help you?"

L smiled slightly. He remembered him already; an old, strong-willed, calculating man by the name of Mr. Myers. He pressed the button that activated his microphone, switching frames of mind to a slightly more casual voice for conversation. "Hello," greeted L. "This is Leonard; Leonard DeNero. Is this Mr. Myers?"

"Yes, this is Mr. Myers."

"You may remember me;" said L, "I came to visit a friend of mine about a month back. Beyond Birthday, diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia."

There was a pause. "…Yes," Mr. Myers said eventually, "I remember you. You came with your wife, didn't you? Mrs. DeNero; Samantha, correct?"

L frowned. She was supposed to be my daughter, he thought dully, scratching the back of his head. He decided to go along with it. It saved time. "Yes. I was just wondering how Beyond was doing in custody." He smiled slightly. "He's known to not stay in one place for very long; he's bound to be sick of the place eventually."

Another pause. "It is with utmost regret that I tell you that Mr. Birthday has escaped." He sounded like he didn't want to say this. Which only made sense, all things considered.

At first, L considered thanking him and hanging up, but he had the notion that would seem off. So, he continued. "He escaped?" he asked, carefully placing a sense of worry into his tone. He still did not change facial expression. "What do you mean, he escaped? What about Atascadero's reputation of an amazing security?"

"Don't misunderstand, Mr. DeNero," Mr. Myers answered in a low, somewhat cold voice. "Some fool on the outside helped him get out, I can assure you. It is a rare occurrence that I do believe will never happen again. Not with Kira in this world."

"I should hope not," L responded. "I assume the police are out to find him, then?"

"Of course."

"Alright…. Goodbye, Mr. Myers." L hung up before he could reply. "Hm," he said to himself. "I'm very blunt." He tilted his head slightly. "Oh well." He pressed a key, and soon a fancy W was floating in the middle of a white background.

"L," Roger greeted.

"Watari," L replied, "B is on the loose again. I'd like you to keep an eye out for any sort of killing, anywhere in the world, that could be him."

"…Of course," Roger answered.

"Actually," L corrected himself, "pay most attention to the Japan area. Then, if a big murder happens somewhere else, pay mind to that as well."

"Japan?" Roger repeated.

"Yes. Goodbye." And he disconnected. L turned to look back at his coffee table. "…And now I can finish my cake," he said, getting to his feet.

"Near," asked Anna, idly rolling a marble around on the floor, "when will we be able to do something other than wait?"

Near dropped a marble of his own into a tube, and it jumped out again with a pop, landing in another tube and continuing down. "We will stop waiting when it is time to take action."

"Well… yeah. I knew that. When will that time come?"

"It will come when it will come."

"Be more specific," Anna frowned.

Near looked at her a moment, and then back to his contraption. He put another marble in its opening. "I don't know," he told her.

Anna scowled. "That's no answer!" she snapped.

"Que sera sera, Anna. I cannot tell the future."

"What is that? Spanish?"

"Actually, it's not grammatically correct in any language."

She huffed, frustrated. This isn't getting anywhere.

He smiled slightly. You're right, he thought. It's not. I appreciate your perseverance.

"Poo you!" she said aloud.

Gevanni chuckled.

"Technically," said Near thoughtfully, "if it were correct in a language, or at the very least wasn't well-known, then wouldn't you have heard it in English with your special hearing?"

"That is true," Halle conceded.

Gevanni scratched the back of his head. "I still don't get how any of that is possible."

"Yeah, well, apparently it is," said Anna, crossing her arms. "So deal with it."

He raised his eyebrows. "Alright then, Anna."

"Exactly."

"She does have a point, though," he said. "We're not doing much."

"We are," Rester disagreed.

"Yeah, right," Anna responded, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you have to take into consideration the fact that L is back in the game," Halle came in.

"But wait," Gevanni frowned, furrowing his brow, "I thought that Near wanted to surpass L. Not let him do the work."

Near glared at him, looking up from a robot toy he'd begun to tinker with. "I never said anything about letting anyone 'do the work,' Gevanni." He looked back down at his robot, toying with it again. "And that is true; I do want to surpass L. But I also want to succeed him. Think about it. If I am working with L on this case, and I try to surpass him, then this will only turn into the very battle Mello and I are inevitably destined to have. Right now, we need to work together. And until I figure out a way to get rid of every Kira at once, we will not carry out any sort of plan."

"How many Kiras are there, anyway?" asked Anna.

"If my deductions are correct," said Near, "right now… three, possibly four, depending upon if Misa Amane has been included once again."

"How are we supposed to prove all of them to be Kira at the same time?" Anna frowned.

"See?" said Near, looking at her. "I don't know yet. That is why we have to wait." He turned back to playing with his robot figure, and there was silence.

"…Well, feh," said Anna.

Fun Fact: While I was editing that L scene, L's Theme came on. It was perfect.

Review? For marbles!