Guest: Finally indeed. Ahh, and now that she's figured it out, will they catch him?
Yeahh, B's gonna have to fall at some point... But you're right. At least he has Sophia this time around.
What is Near doing now? I forget. Ahh, but he's coming up again soon~

Amy: Ohh, yes. Natalie drunk should be 'interesting' indeed, eh? Sorry, but no...L won't be getting drunk. xD Sorry. But there are more reasons behind that, soo...

(Also) Guest: Oooh, better run BB; ya got more after ya now~~ Haha, it's fine to pick your sides, Light's got a lot against him in reality already anyway~ Though he also has a majority of the population on his side in his world, so...
But...you really think so? ;v; Thank youuu.

Mrs. Lawliet: Yay sleep? .u. Ahh, yes, B has something to worry about, doesn't he?~

Whelp, enjoy this chapter. Really. It's actually quite long.

...Sorry.

When my mind first came out of its dreams and into the waking world, golden light was pouring into the room from a small portion of a partially exposed window. It had been cooler than normal lately (for June, anyway), so typically the mornings were cool as in mid-spring or fall. I found myself wrapped in warmth, however, which I thought to be pretty cozy. I opened my eyes.

…To see Light there. To be honest, I knew he was there because of the whole Bond thing, but it still scared me a little. Both of us were awake, of course, since we usually woke up at the same time. His eyes were open just as mine were. And, to my great discomfort (which was actually rather comfy), I found I was curled up into his embrace.

Suddenly the cool morning air wasn't cool enough.

Oh well.

I looked back upon the recollections of last night, belonging in Light's memory. After I'd gone to bed; you know. No new developments had been made, and we were still pretty much in the same place as before. And….

"You cuddled into me in your sleep," he said. A vague sense of amusement laced his tone, and of course I knew he was smiling ever so slightly because of it.

I closed my eyes again, ignoring the heat in my cheeks. "I know," I muttered in response. Damn my subconscious, naturally snuggling things in its sleep.

"You're very warm," he added.

I frowned slightly, fighting the heat rolling over me again. "I know," I repeated. Saying that would only make me warmer, you know. He was doing this on purpose, wasn't he? Why am I asking? Of course I know the answer.

He pulled me just a little bit closer. Then, "Your heart is beating very fast."

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. "I know." That jerkface. Make me die on purpose, why don'tchya? Meh. I gave a little sigh and opened my eyes again.

Light was still smiling that little smile of amusement. He moved his head slightly closer to mine, lowering his voice a bit. "I know you know." And with that, he gave me a kiss before turning himself so he could sit up and leave the bed to begin his day. I just lay there for a few more seconds, then sat up and swung my feet over the edge of the bed, keeping my expression blank.

We decided that I would go back to my house to have breakfast. So, I got to my feet and subconsciously began fixing my too-short-to-be-that-messy-anyway hair. I soon walked out the door and onto the sidewalk, where I began making my way back home. Anna and Sam would wonder where I'd been all night….

Oh God. Sam.

…Well, I supposed I'd just have to take what came at me from her. She had been practically living with L, so it didn't really matter anyway. If I reminded her of that, she'd be quiet.

As I walked back to my own home, I kept my eyes fixed on the ground. The whole dying-on-the-inside thing kept coming back in waves. Damn it…. At least I had that inner anti-blush mechanism, so Sam wouldn't be likely to notice. Yeah, I could rely on that.

So I kept walking, eyes never leaving the sidewalk, as I eventually reached my driveway and began making my way up to my house. I opened the door and closed it behind me carefully, unconsciously keeping my eyes lowered.

And Sam was waiting for me.

She was sitting on the couch with her sketchpad again, only this time she stood up the moment she saw me, setting her sketchpad back on the couch and crossing her arms over her chest. She was smiling.

I looked up at her to face her, my gaze finally leaving the ground.

"So, where were you all last night?" she asked, amusement plain in both her expression and her inflection.

I closed my eyes, hanging up the jacket I hadn't had to use on the rack. "If you wish to know, I ended up staying too late and stayed at Light's house instead."

Her smile widened ever so slightly. "Did you sleep together?" She thought over her words. "Well, not like that, but… you know what I mean."

I gazed at her, unable to respond but keeping my expression utterly blank. I was coming to realize that when I was dying enough, I refrained from showing any outward emotion. Huh.

"No comment means it's true!" she sang. Sam stopped, and squinted at me. She got closer. "…Are you blushing?"

"Am I?" I asked dully.

"Yeah… I think you are!" She squealed in delight.

"Well, you were the one who was practically living with L, so I wouldn't be talking," I said flatly.

She frowned. "You shut up," she told me, and dropped the subject. I smiled ever so slightly; I'd been right about that. "Anyway," she said, "we were wondering – I mean L and I – if we could all have a little dinner together tonight. If L can come over, and Light can come over. What do you think?"

I eyed her with suspicion. Why exactly was she asking permission for this? It usually just happened, but to actually ask would mean that she'd need absolute certainty about something happening tonight. But what? What were they planning? We ran through every move we'd made on this case so far, making sure there were no mistakes in any plan. I eventually left that to Light as I tried to figure whether I should give a yes or a no…. No, it would be best to act as though nothing was different. All of this happened within a few seconds, and so it wasn't noticed.

"Of course, that sounds good," I said, quirking my eyebrow slightly. "At least, I don't see a problem with it. Why?"

"Oh, we just wanted a little night together, that's all. Me, you, Light, L, and Anna for dinner. We thought it was a nice idea for it to happen on something other than a Sunday. Make things a little different."

"Well, I guess that makes sense," I replied, putting my hand to my chin thoughtfully. "After all, variety is a good thing to have in life, isn't it?" I paused, contemplating. "…Now I just need to figure out what's for dinner…."

After I had something to eat as breakfast – this morning I had cereal; a very chocolaty and delicious kind, too – I headed to NPA headquarters as normal. I trained for awhile, then went out with Matsuda on his lunch break and just talked as we ate; it was nice. He informed me the case wasn't really going anywhere, and openly expressed his opinion that Light and I should be still on the case. I agreed with him, of course, but also reminded him that there was good reason to be off of the case. "Besides," I told him, "now I can actually get some training done!"

After this, I trained some more before eventually heading out to the store to buy what I needed for dinner. This didn't take long, and soon I was walking back to my own home, food in tow. Sam and L were already there when I got home, L apologizing for any inconvenience. I only smiled and told him it was fine, though I put my guard up for any moves they might make while they were here. There could always be a special reason L was here early, after all…. And don't call us paranoid. We're not. We have good reason to put our guards up against people like L, because they are geniuses, and they are out to get us.

Well, that sounded paranoid.

I began preparing the food in silence, and in time Light and Anna got there. They talked while I cooked, and eventually it was time to eat. Some pork and rice; everyone had their own respective drinks. Sam had some orange juice; Anna some grape juice; and Light and I had water. L, of course, wasn't eating what we were, instead eating some brownies with some sugary coffee. Honestly. I don't know how he survived.

After dinner, we relaxed for awhile. Anna managed to convince all of us to partake in a game of Uno, which was nice. After a few rounds of that we stopped and just talked for awhile. And, of course….

"I'm hungry," Anna remarked.

"Me too," Sam came in.

"What would you like to eat?" I asked them, immediately getting to my feet.

"Ah," said L, getting to his feet as well. "I brought a snack."

"Did you?" I asked.

"Yes. Chips. I knew all of you liked them. Samantha, however, would like something else."

"I'll just have a donut," said Sam, and I nodded as L and I headed to the kitchen.

"Thanks for bringing your own snacks; it was very thoughtful of you," I commented to L.

"Yes," he agreed. "I also brought something to drink. Would you like some?"

"What is it?" I asked, glancing at him as I set a donut on a paper plate.

"It's sparkling grape juice from Italy; a foreign beverage I thought you might like," he answered, pulling out two bottles.

"Huh. I think I might try some." I looked to those who were still in the living room and called to them, "Does anyone want something to drink?"

"Grape juice please!" Anna responded.

"Uh, milk for me," said Sam.

Light didn't need to respond.

I grabbed three glasses and Sam's donut before following L into the living room; he held the chips and the sparkling grape juice. "Do you want me to pour mine and Anna's drinks?" I asked L, but he shook his head.

"No. I'll get that."

"Alright," I shrugged, then handed Sam her donut, set two of the glasses on the table, and went back to the kitchen to pour milk for Sam.

Sam was smiling happily as I walked away. She was getting pretty excited. Ha, me drunk, what a thought. See, the two bottles, though both said grape juice on their labels, were in actuality two different drinks. One was sparkling grape juice, sure, but the other was actually wine. To be specific, it was Arbor Mist Blackberry Merlot, a carbonated wine that tasted less like wine and more like… well, sparkling grape juice. It was perfect.

L began pouring the sparkling grape juice into Anna's glass. "Is that fizzy?" she asked in awe.

"Yes, this is carbonated."

"Awesome!"

"Yes." And L began pouring my drink.

Light noticed the change in bottle out of the corner of his eye, but of course couldn't be absolutely sure because he hadn't been looking.

I came back with Sam's milk just as Anna opened the potato chips. I set the milk in front of Sam on the coffee table, and sat down in my place between Sam and Light on the couch. L soon went back to his chair, and Anna continued sitting on the pillow she had on the floor.

"I wonder how Sierra's doing," Anna commented, popping a chip into her mouth.

I took a sip of L's drink before speaking. Hm. It was actually pretty good; it'd been years since I had sparkling grape juice. "Well, the last time I talked to her, she was alright," I said to Anna.

"I wonder how she and Mello are doing, then," remarked Sam, then took a bite of her donut. It was a Boston cream, one of both of our favorites.

"Oh, I bet they're doing great," Anna said with a giggle.

I finished a sip, then gave a little heh. "Jeez, guys, make sure we can include the guys in this conversation. Don't go all girly on them."

"Technically, we're both mind synced to girls," L pointed out.

"So… does that mean you guys can girl out too?" Anna asked.

L and Light glanced at one another. "I do suppose we could…," said L thoughtfully.

"…It'd just be a little awkward for us, and you, don't you think?" added Light, who then chuckled.

"That's actually a really creepy thought," said Sam. "…Really, really creepy."

Anna giggled. "I think it's funny."

"Then try imagining Near acting girly," she responded, earning a glare and a whack on the leg. Sam only laughed. "Exactly."

"You know, I've never seen Near 'girl out' before, actually," I said thoughtfully. "In comics, I mean. I've seen Light and L and Mello, but not Near. Huh."

"Well, good," Anna huffed.

"So, you're taking over that case we were working on, L?" asked Light.

Sam snickered. "Yeah, Light, change that subject."

Light only smiled at her. "Well, I might as well try to keep up a conversation L and I can partake in when I know the girls will eventually take over."

She laughed. "I guess that's true."

"In answer to you, Light," said L, "yes, I am now working on those murder cases."

"Do you already know who the murderer is?" asked Anna.

"Yes," responded L, "I do."

My niece gave a little nod. "Yep, 'cause your epic, L."

"I suppose I am."

"And I'm going to hope you and Near are doing well on the Kira case," Light added.

"Oh, yes," agreed L. "Although, I'm currently trying to get rid of the murderer of the Sinful Murder cases. I can do both cases at once, but I have reason to believe the Sinful Murder cases will naturally be taken care of first. Near, however, is giving the Kira case his all."

"L, you're doing it again; you should be putting your all into the Kira case too!" Light frowned. "That case has been going on far too long; it needs to be put to an end."

L eyed him. "I completely agree."

"Speaking of Near… how are you and him doing, Anna?" I asked with a grin. This only earned a hard glare, and I laughed.

"Well, I kinda wonder about Mello and Sierra…," Anna muttered as I took a long sip of my grape juice.

"How 'bout you, Sam?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "How're you and L doing, hmm?" My drink was nearly gone, and so L refilled it for me. I didn't really notice. I mean, I did, but I thought nothing of it and soon forgot about the matter.

I only received a tch from Sam.

"It seems our conversation has gone to the girls again," Light sighed, smiling in vague amusement.

"I suppose so," L responded.

Sam took a swig of her milk to wash down the last of her donut as Anna began to speak. "How did L taste again?" she asked. Her voice was so innocent.

Poor Sam choked on her milk.

"…Yes, I do believe it's gone to the girls," L agreed, and Light chuckled.

"You're not supposed to ask that right in front of him, Anna!" Sam cried after she was done choking.

The thirteen-year-old shrugged. "It wouldn't matter. You're at the final stage anyway, right?"

"…Meh…."

"So what's he taste like?"

"Sweet; I told you," Sam frowned. "Sweet."

"Then what does Sam taste like?" I came in, raising my eyebrows at L.

"Vanilla," he responded easily, as if it were nothing.

"Oh God, Mello would hate you!" Anna exclaimed to Sam.

"He doesn't like vanilla?" she asked blankly.

"Nope."

"What the hell?! I'll kill him; vanilla is awesome!"

I laughed; or rather, I giggled in amusement. "No, you need to keep him alive for Sierra," I pointed out, still grinning like an idiot.

"Eh, I guess…," Sam mumbled in response. "Wait, Anna… what does Near taste like?"

"Peaches!" she responded immediately, and Sam and I just sort of looked at her. L and Light weren't really partaking in the conversation, at this point. Poor them. And they were the guests. Anna blinked. "Actually, I said that impulsively. He tastes like watermelon."

"Watermelon?" Sam repeated.

"Uh-huh! Watermelon!"

I giggled. "Isn't watermelon one of your favorite foods, too?"

"…Yeah, so?"

I only giggled some more, though I decided to try to stop myself by taking a sip of my grape juice. I wouldn't want to be whacked by an Anna.

"Well, Mello obviously tastes like chocolate; that's a given," Sam shrugged. "So, L's… sweet… Near is watermelon, and Mello is chocolate." She furrowed her brow. "Hey…. Natalie, you never told us what Light tasted like!"

This automatically stopped my giggling. "Well that's no fair," I sniffed. "Every time someone was first asked that question, the person they were talking about wasn't there."

"So?" asked Anna.

"You're at the final stage anyway," Sam grinned.

I pursed my lips, glaring at Sam. "Fine then," I said and looked to the ceiling. "He tastes like… apple cinnamon."

"How ironic that you taste like apples, Light," L commented dully.

"L, it isn't your place to speak here…," Light frowned.

"Oh, it isn't?"

"What the hell?" Sam asked. "Apple cinnamon? That sounds amazing; what the hell?"

"It is amazing," I answered simply and took another sip of grape juice. It can be said that I looked back on that sentence and felt like an idiot.

Sam giggled, looking at me with teasing eyes.

"So, wait, do you think of him when you have apple crisp, then?" asked Anna.

I frowned. "No. Apple crisp is sweet… it's not necessarily a sweet flavor…. Like, L is sweet, right, Sam?"

"Um, yeah," Sam replied.

"And then Near would be refreshing, 'cause he's watermelon, right?"

"Uh-huh; I guess…," Anna answered with slight confusion.

"Well, Light isn't sweet. I guess you can say he's refreshing because of the apple taste, but then there's also the cinnamon, which makes the taste spicy."

"Oh," Sam remarked, raising her eyebrows, "so Light's spicy?"

"I guess so; not really. It's a mix of refreshing and spicy…."

"Ohoho…," she smirked. "And do you like this taste?"

"Yeah; do you like the taste of L?"

She blinked twice, staring at me. "…Er… uh… yeah…."

"See? There we are." I giggled, then continued giggling for no apparent reason. I don't know; life just seemed amusing to me. I remember that at this point a part of me – Light, that is – kept drilling into my head not to give anything serious away. I'm glad he did, too. I felt rather at ease, you know, and was beginning to see no problem in admitting that, hey, I worked as Kira. It was like it wasn't that big a deal. Ha.

"But still!" Sam cried, then decidedly squealed.

"What?" I asked blankly.

"I'm just… just fangirling over you and Light!"

I pursed my lips. "Are you? Huh."

"Oh right, I always forget to say this!" Anna yelped, then looked at Sam. "All of the SPK says hi, Sam."

Sam stopped squealing. "Even Gevanni?"

"Yep!"

"Yay!" she squeaked. "Gevanni is so epic."

"Well, I can certainly say he's capable," Light remarked. "He knows what he's doing and he does it right."

"Sierra doesn't like Halle very much…," said Anna. "I think I know why, though."

Sam snickered. "'Cause she seems close to Mello?"

"That's what I think," Anna confirmed with a nod.

"Well it'd only make sense," I sniggered.

"You know, I still sometimes look back and think on how unrealistic this all is," Sam remarked as I took a swig of my grape juice.

"You mean the whole 'going to another world' thing?" Anna inquired, tilting her head. It was an odd topic to speak of to her after all these years of living here.

"Well, I must say that was very unlikely to happen…," L conceded. "I suppose it was good you came here, though. Many of us would be dead had you not appeared."

"Yeah…."

"But then, there's also the whole pairing thing going on," Sam added. "That wasn't likely either. And don't glare at me like that, Anna, because I'm talking about all of us. Who would've thought the seemingly incapable-of-love Light would be with Natalie, the asexual Near with Anna, the hotheaded Mello with Sierra, and the stoic L with myself?"

I shrugged. "I say it's all weird, but hey, look, it still happened."

"Yeah, but sometimes it makes even less sense," Anna remarked. "Like, I'm thirteen, and Near is eighteen. Isn't that a little weird?"

"Well, L's thirty while I'm nineteen," Sam pointed out.

"Oh yeah…."

"Jeez, L," I scoffed, "that sounds slightly pedophilic."

Sam sputtered with laughter as I laughed with her. Anna was confused.

"L, I don't want your candy, old man!" I cried, still laughing.

L gazed at me blankly. "Thirty is hardly old, and I am not a pedophile."

"Suuure you're not." I giggled some more. My glass was nearly empty again. L refilled it. This time I didn't notice at all. My giggles bubbled into laughter.

"What?" Anna asked.

"I-I just remembered the creepy child… Sam and L… France…."

Sam sighed. "Apparently Sam and I are going to get married and move to France, then have a perceivably creepy child who can see right through you," L explained to Anna.

"I think your son is adorable, are you kidding, L?" I asked, stifling my laughter. I took a drink of my grape juice. "I mean, how could you call your own son creepy?" I gasped. "Maybe you should name him Harold!"

"One," Sam said, furrowing her brow, "what if the creepy child was a girl? Two, why would I name my child Harold?"

"Well then you should name her Tiffany. And you'd name him Harold because Harold is a beautiful name, and I want to be your child's fairy godmother." I scoffed. "Wait, I meant godmother. I'm not a fairy. Bippity boppity boo? No." I laughed again.

"I doubt we'd be having a child anytime soon anyhow," L responded dully.

"Or ever," Sam added, shifting uncomfortably.

"Aunt Natalie, are you okay?" Anna asked, stifling her own laughs.

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "I'm never okay! And besides, I guess my mind was just on Cinderella." I continued trying not to laugh.

Something finally changed in Light's expression that Sam could notice. His eyes flickered, and he turned to me with a confused look. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Even Light doesn't know!" Anna yelped. "Wow, Aunt Natalie, you're random tonight, huh?"

"Nah, I'm just actin' funny and I dunno why," I replied happily.

Sam and L, meanwhile, glanced at one another but once. They knew this wasn't normal. Those at the last stage of the Bond always knew what was going through the other's head. But they supposed that the alcohol-induced fog in my mind somehow confused the Bond itself, weakening it. Light's consciousness couldn't fully permeate this fog; it was stuck outside of it.

What an interesting development.

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure I was jus' talkin' 'bout the Disney movie Cinderella, right?" I replied, looking at Light blankly.

"Yup!" Anna confirmed.

"Something's wrong," Light told me. "I can't—"

"Light," Sam interrupted. "Chill."

Light looked at her with a slight frown. "I honestly thought I was relatively calm…."

My best friend just shrugged in response.

"Aw!" I cried, leaning into Light and hugging his arm. "Don' be worried 'bout anything, okay?"

Sam snickered. "Yeah, Light. You're too stressed."

Anna giggled. "Aunt Natalie, you're funny."

"Thank you!" I responded. "I'm here all week, plus the rest of my life. …Unless I move… then I won' be here anymore."

Anna giggled again. "Oh, Aunt Natalie, I love you."

"Aw, I love you too, Anna!" I told her. "And o' course I love Sierra, too, and you Sam, as my best friend. And good lord, how I love Light." I gave a little sigh as I leaned my head on his arm. He could only give mental acceptance and an awkward little pet on the head as Sam struggled to restrain her laughter.

Anna didn't restrain herself at all.

"In any case," said L, breaking through the laughs and the silence between, "what have you been doing now that you're off the case?" He tilted his head. "Of course, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine," said Light, turning his head to look at L. "I have gone to work in my own branch of the NPA, in the Intelligence and Information Bureau. Then, in my spare time, I sort out Misa's things and work to decide where they must end up."

"Yes, that makes sense," L agreed. "Misa's will didn't specify everything, did it?"

"No, it did not."

Anna gazed at the ground. "It really is too bad she was killed…. I feel so bad that she's dead…. I still can't believe it happened, just like that."

"I suppose a lot of deaths are like that," L said, his voice low. "One moment someone is alive and well, and the next they're gone forever. You almost never see it coming."

"Yeah…," Anna agreed softly.

"My regret is that I can't do anything to catch the man who killed her," said Light, his voice tight.

"Yes," L concurred, "I can understand how that might be frustrating."

Sam shifted uncomfortably, honestly not feeling all that bad for Misa.

There was silence for awhile, but at some point Anna looked at me and asked, "Aunt Natalie, are you falling asleep?"

I blinked at her, taking a moment to process what she'd asked. "I'm a li'l tired, I guess," I responded in a mumbling tone.

"Perhaps you should get some rest," said L. "It is, after all, getting late. It will soon be time for Light and I to go anyhow."

"Hm…," I hummed, contemplating his proposal with closed eyes. I opened them again. "Okay."

"I'll help her upstairs," said Light, getting up and pulling me up carefully as he did so.

"Why, thank you, sir," I slurred slightly, and giggled.

He began leading me away towards the stairwell as Sam, L, and Anna started up on their own conversation once again. ("So, wait, Anna, does Near ever let you play with his toys?")

The moment I was put before the obstacle known as stairs, I proceeded to trip up them, being barely caught by my escort. With a sigh, Light pulled my arm over his shoulders in order to help stabilize my balance, and we made our way slowly up the stairs. After the top of the stairs were reached it was much easier going, and eventually we were in my room. At this point we were surely out of earshot of the others, and the 'don't give anything away' thing pounding in my head disappeared.

I soon stopped, however, halfway through my room to my resting place. There was a pause, and Light silently waited for me to keep moving again. "…Light?" I asked, my voice soft.

"Yes?" he responded. It felt odd; we hadn't had a real conversation since the final stage had been reached.

My mind was slow, my thoughts thick yet light, yet I forced my conscious to work its way through the fog to speak meaningfully. "Light… we're gonna die."

He turned me around to face him, looking down at me. "What are you talking about?"

"You and I, what we're doing, we… we're gonna die. You're losing yourself again and… and I think I'm gonna lose myself, too. And then… then we…. We're…."

"Don't talk like that." He spoke with both firmness and gentleness.

"But…." My breathing hitched. "We will die, Light. If it's like Misa… or on death row… or killed by someone like Mello…. We can't just go on like this forever. We'll die, and both of us will end up in Mu, nothingness, an' I don't want either of our souls stuck like that…. Plus… with L an' Near an' Mello in the world… it's inevitable that one of them should catch us. We're only human, Light, and we're gonna make mistakes…. And even if, at some point, they're not threats anymore… then what?"

His gaze seemed to intensify. Well, it wasn't so much that it was intense, but that unidentified fire in his eyes seemed suddenly more prominent than it was before. "Once our obstacles are gone… the path to the New World is open to us. The world is so close to salvation. We'll rule, and this world will finally be good. At peace."

My eyes wandered to the ground. I grew slightly frustrated in being unable to express what I was trying to say. 'We're damned; we've sold our souls and are doomed to fall from grace eventually.' That's what I meant. Words came slowly. "Light, I… I sometimes get scared, you know." I gripped my stomach lightly. "And it's weird, but… only now I feel a little anxiety just knowing we'll end up nowhere in the end, and…. But then there's the whole thing with the Death Note where your mind gets corrupted, and… well… I don't think that's a good thing…."

"Of course it's not a good thing," Light agreed. "But it's a sacrifice that must be made in the long run if we're to make the New World. Neither of us want to end up in Mu, in nothingness, that's true; but we made a commitment to our cause to give even our souls away. We're giving our minds, too, now, if we have to. We'll do whatever it takes."

"I do want the New World," I mumbled. "I know that. It's just… we can't end up like you almost did, okay?" I began tearing up. "We can still care about people like Sachiko and Sayu and Anna and Sierra and Sam, right? We'll protect them, no matter what, right?"

He gripped my shoulders. "We'll do what we can to protect them; you know that. One of the reasons I wanted to create this world was for them, wasn't it?"

I didn't look up at him, not bothering to wipe any stray tears away. Once I figured out what had happened, I blamed the alcohol. "Light… you know…. I really do love you."

I still didn't look up, though his eyes were ever on me, searching, searching. Then he pulled me into his warm embrace, his voice softening when he spoke. "I know," he said, and we just stood there for a minute, silence blanketing the two of us. "You'll be fine," he assured me eventually, easing away the quiet. "We won't be dying anytime soon and what we're doing is right and it is for the better. Believe that, and you'll be fine. Sacrifices must be made in everything we do, because, after all, we are only human." He paused, closing his eyes a moment. "Now you should probably get to bed; you need to rest."

"Okay." My voice was still soft and small. He led me to my bed and lay me down; I closed my eyes almost immediately after lying down. It was after this that he left the room, closing the door with a soft click behind him.

After closing the door behind him and walking down the short stretch of hallway, Light headed down the stairs, and he was frowning when he reentered the living room. He looked right to L. Said detective, Sam, and Anna stopped talking upon his entrance. Light made his way toward them and, once he felt he was close enough, he looked straight into L's eyes and asked in a hard voice, "What did you do to her?"

"Well," said L, "I gave her some wine, that's all."

"Wait, what?" Anna asked blankly.

"Wine?" Light questioned. "Why?"

"To be specific, it's Arbor Mist Blackberry Merlot," L added. "I used it as a test to see if there was a loophole in the Bond."

"Loophole or no loophole, you shouldn't test on people like that!" Light snapped. "If you really wanted to figure that out so badly, then you should have asked!"

"So sorry," L responded dully.

"Sorry?"

"No harm was done, and you know that!" Sam pointed out with an irritated look in her eye.

"'No harm done' doesn't mean that he should have done it!"

"Again, Light. Chill! Look, I got upset when L let those children you killed die, but something good came out of it in the end. In this, at least it was a safe thing, and now both of us know more because of it!"

Light relaxed his expression, though his eyes were still hard, and straightened up. "I suppose you're right. I still believe you shouldn't have done that, L, but I'm not going to fight about it. In any case… I suppose it's about time for me to go."

"Yes, Roger will come for me soon as well," said L.

Light nodded. "Goodbye and goodnight, all of you," he said, bidding them farewell. Anna gave him a last hug goodbye before he left out our front door.

So...there's that. .-. You enjoy?

Fun Fact: Actually, Real-Life Sam made tons and tons of suggestions for that drunk scene. ...While she was hyper. So a lot of what she asked I simply couldn't put in. xD Among them were "Have Natalie name her left foot Harold," "Have her wipe L's hair with a napkin," and "Have her have a 'moment' with a lamp." She came up with a lot more, too, but...nope. xD Sorry, Sam.
I was able a few of her suggestions in there, though. Like calling L a pedophile and saying 'I don't want your candy, old man!'

Yep.

Review? For a drunk Natalie...!