B: I'm...so sorry? .-. I blame moonlight.
Gah, I'm glad that tiny snippet satisfied you! Matt and Mello tend to be skimmed over, probably because Mello irritated me around this time of writing, and Real-life Sierra was doing a good job of exhausting what tolerance I had of him, ahaha. (Yet the first scene of this chapter has them. Well.)
Ahh, and I do live in the US. Even got some school off from the cold, haha. Happy freezing~ Though I think it's getting better now...right? Ah.

July first was an important day to Sierra. It had been the day she had moved in with her father, all those years ago. Of course, now that time was gone, but it still meant something to her. It brought back memories. Nostalgia and sadness and longing. Matt, being the oblivious guy he was, didn't notice. Mello, being her Bond, noticed all too well. But of course, being the way they were, neither of them expressed it.

And besides, Mello was too busy being angry.

"What the fuck was that guy thinking?!" he snapped at no one, pacing back and forth. The date didn't help his anger in the least. In fact, it probably made it worse.

"I dunno," said Matt calmly. "Calm down a little, Mels."

"He can be angry if he wants to be," mumbled Sierra.

"Yeah, well, doesn't that make you angry too?"

"Yeah. Very much so. But I don't care."

Matt looked at her. "…Okay. I'll be sure not to piss you off, then."

"Good idea."

"We had her, Matt. We had her," said Mello, still pacing the floor.

"Yes we did, Mels."

He paused in his pacing to look at his friend. "Stop freaking calling me that, or I may shoot someone," he said flatly, then continued pacing.

"Just trying to remain good-natured, my friend."

"Fuck that," Mello uttered under his breath. "Back to my point." He shot a look at Matt. "We had a main Kira. Near put Mikami on the wanted list, probably even kept Light in custody. It was perfect. Kira would have ended. We almost won, Matt. We almost won. And what now? What now?" He stopped in his pacing and stared at the desk. Gazed at the notebook.

Matt noticed that he'd stopped, and looked up at Mello as he walked over the desk and flipped through its pages, a smile gradually appearing on his features. Flipped through pages with names like Anthony Shea along with so many other names that Sierra had written as Kira. "You got an idea?" asked Matt.

"Yes…. I'm piecing something together…," he responded.

He would be putting that notebook to use.

There were papers; so many papers scattered everywhere. Covering the walls, filling the table. There were even insignificant pieces on the floor that B simply hadn't bothered to pick up. Each piece of paper had its own purpose; its own meaning; its own reason to be in B's humble abode. It was all research. Research for Near, for Kira, for Light Yagami. For his new goal in mind.

There was a space on the table that wasn't covered with papers, and in that space there were multiple markings; slices in the wood. And a knife, its point embedded in the wood and its hilt sticking up into the air. That space of the table was for when he felt the Full Moon phase coming on; the shaking and the laughing and the frenzied eyes. No, no, he had to be productive. So whenever he would feel it, he would grab the knife and swiftly mutilate that part of the table even more with the weapon until he was satisfied and the Full Moon had been warded off. For the moment, anyway. It was like wiping up and plugging a hole in the ceiling with cotton. The cotton would eventually become soaked and allow the water to come again, a little more abrupt than the last time. But he would get rid of it and get rid of it…. Once he was done here. Then maybe he could give into it.

For now, though, B would work, connecting the dots and making his research. There was a wall that had a large map pinned up, and there were different colored tacks stuck in the wall where certain locations were. Lines had been drawn in marker, also of specific colors. They were mostly connecting the tacks in special paths. Somewhere on the table there was the key to the colors and their meaning…. B's head snapped to the side, and his neck cracked at the twitch. No, it had been pinned beside the map; the key wasn't on the table…. He shuddered, then swiftly grabbed the handle of the knife and gripped it so hard his knuckles were stark white before he swung the weapon down and embedded the metal into the wood. The Nothingness began curling around his senses again, and he was fine. He was fine. He would return to his work, and he would grow closer to his new goal.

I'm almost there, he thought with a cruel smile, and moved on.

I woke up at around four the next morning to a horrible coughing fit, worse than all of the ones before it. I ended up having to get up to get some water, but it didn't help and by the time I finished I decided I couldn't get back to sleep. Karma for picking up the Note again? I thought drily, and chuckled without humor.

I headed downstairs to clean up the house. I had to do something productive with my extra time. Anna came down at around 7:54, and looked at me confusedly as I read a book. "Aunt Natalie," she said, "what are you doing up?"

"Woke up early," I said with a shrug. "I started coughing and couldn't stop. And since I couldn't get back to sleep, I decided to stay up."

"…Huh," she said, and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. Anna would eventually leave for SPK headquarters, just as Light would leave for NPA headquarters from his own home. Sam came to the house in the early afternoon. This called an end to my reading, and we would talk.

I stood to greet her, and it became harder to breathe the longer I stood. "No one else is home, right?" she asked me.

I blinked. "No. Why?"

She looked around, then led me to the couch, I sat down gratefully, taking slow, deep breaths. "I want to tell you about what happened Tuesday night."

I furrowed my brow. "What happened Tuesday night?"

She looked away. She seemed suddenly very awkward. "Uhm… well…. L…."

I sensed how this might go – something to do with her and L – and forced a teasing smile onto my features. "Ohh?" I grinned.

"Well—see… uh…." Her gaze was still averted from mine. "L and I… did things…." Her face was going red.

I raised my eyebrows. "What do you mean by 'did things,' Sam?"

"You know what I mean!" Sam snapped.

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Oh? Whatever do you mean, Samantha?"

"Well, see, we were all depressed, and it was all sad and stuff," she explained, suddenly all bright and happy about it, like she was telling me an amusing story. Probably because she hadn't gotten to an awkward part. Yet. For now, she would tell me of the bitterness and tears that came before the sugary sweet vanilla. "And we were all sad and thinking of pasts and crap like that, but then the moonlight came and apparently we were lovey, so yeah."

"So... you had sex," I said flatly, still looking at her with my eyebrow quirked.

She stared at me for a moment, then looked away hastily, her face going utterly red.

"No comment means it's true, Sam," I said, and she mumbled something like a 'Shut up,' in response. I plastered a grin on my face. "I don't know whether to congratulate you or scold you for it."

She glared at me. "What the hell?" she asked flatly.

"Well," I said anyway, and patted her on the shoulder, "congratulations."

She looked away again, her face flushing all over again. "He... he told me he loved me…."

I merely smiled, gazing at her intently. There was silence for a long moment, and she looked at me, wondering what my response would be. She frowned deeply at my content smile, flushing a deeper red.

"Shush," she said.

"I didn't say a word," I sang in response.

"Meh."

I merely shrugged. "You know, of course you would tell me these things, Samantha."

"…Shush…." There was a pause in which I smiled at her expectantly and she frowned back, eventually looking away and waiting to stop feeling the smile on my face. I myself didn't feel it there. Or rather… I did feel my smile, but it felt off. Like I wasn't smiling at the right things; like it wasn't a real smile. And it wasn't. My half-brother once told me he thought that if Light were to lose his memories and then gain them back, then he would have more doubt and thus be less corrupted. But he had been wrong. It was the exact opposite…. As the corruption and the memories came rushing back, it became all the more overwhelming, and thus even worse than before. At the time, we couldn't tell these things (because one could never tell when they were corrupt), but it was so, even if we didn't know it. We had once thought, when Light had first began with the judging again, that because we were still two different people, we could look upon the other with a different perspective and thus be able to tell if the corruption was going too far…. But the moment the final stage was reached, that couldn't be done anymore, even though we thought it could. And that would be our downfall, when it came to the poison called corruption.

But in our heads, we were fine, so let's leave that topic alone.

"…What about you and Light?" was her weak return, even though her voice was small and her face was still red.

"Well, we're a couple," I shrugged off her weak attack. "We aren't making love anytime soon, like a certain pair I know," – I eyed her meaningfully, and the blush came rushing back to her cheeks – "…but we're fine." I smiled again at the irate look on her face. There was a measure of satisfaction in shooting her attack right back at her.

"Maybe I shouldn't have told you," Sam scowled.

"Oh no, no, I'm your best friend, Samsam. You must tell me these things!"

She huffed. "Fine; fine…." She tried again. "What about love?" She glared at me. "Not making love, but… you do love your Light, right? Maybe at some point you'll get there too."

I shrugged again, still smiling. Was that the best she could do? I wasn't fangirling at all. "Why yes, I do. And maybe, but not exactly soon, I think."

She smiled impishly, her eyes dancing. "And does dear Light-o love you back?" she asked playfully.

The smile dropped from my face. I did not respond.

Sam waited. Then, "No comment means it's true," she sang, and the corner of my mouth twitched. After all, lack of expression on my part usually meant fangirling, so it was fair enough. She began going on about how that must mean something and that surely, surely it would soon be her turn to tease me about what happened one night.

But she was wrong. The moment the notebook had been picked up; the moment the memories and the corruption rushed back…. The moment Innocent Light became Kira Light (this Kira Light, not the old one that no longer existed), the love he'd almost confessed was drowned by the memories and the coldness that came with the job we had. Somehow I kept it, and of course I'd like for him to return the feeling, and thus he wanted to, too…. It was the way the Bond worked. But no, Sam, no comment does not mean truth; not in this instance.

But of course, I wouldn't say any such thing. "Oh, come now, Samsam, you and I both know that you're more liable to be teased. You were the first, after all, and besides… it really is something; sleeping with your lover. I honestly didn't expect it from L."

She was glaring at me again, and her face was slowly going red. …Again. She looked away. "He didn't really expect it either…," she mumbled.

I raised my eyebrows at her, then laughed. It wasn't entirely mirthless, though, and soon she was crossing her arms and muttering something like, "Oh, stop laughing like Light, you weirdo." But the laughter turned to wheezing, and then to coughing, hard and painful as I tried to catch my breath.

"Well fine," I choked out, "no more laughing, Natalie."

"Um," said Sam. "Don't die."

"I'm not going to die," I rasped, and choked again. But it was a dry choke that only induced another cough or two before the coughing was done and it was only the breathing that I had problems with. I could only take shallow, unsatisfying breaths. I could swear I saw a bright light for an instant, and there was a fleeting moment where I thought I was entering the In-Between…. But I wasn't, and it was over. Yet… there was still a horrible pressure on my chest; one that stifled my breathing and caused an anxiety that only being Kira had brought back from my childhood.

But none of it was as bad as the pain that began to center in my chest.

I nearly panicked, but stopped. Held my breath to make sure it wasn't my imagination. But the pressure was getting worse and the pain was growing. Heart attack? I thought in disbelief, terrified.

I didn't want to die.

Hell, I didn't want Light to die.

Sam was gazing at me with her brow furrowed. "Natalie, are you okay?" she asked, traces of concern in her tone.

I was trying very hard to breathe normally as I spoke in a low voice, "I don't know." There was a vague panic filling my mind as I remembered dying in the In-Between. How it had been to have a heart attack and die…. To die and live through it. I didn't want to die again…. Nor did I want to die and not come back. I felt the weight of anxiety again and clenched my teeth. We noticed that, although Light could feel the pain and the pressure, he could still breathe. Now, what was that supposed to mean? Those Bonded always had the same things happen to them….

"…Should I call 911? Or, 119, I mean?" she asked me blankly. "Is it that bad, or are you fine?"

"Light—Light says the hospital, maybe," I said, forcing the words out almost nervously. I didn't like the nervous tone. It sounded weak. But the pain was getting worse and even Light was sitting down now, simply waiting for the pain to ease with an impassive, calm expression. At least he could breathe better.

Sam would flip out her cell phone, and I would be taken to the hospital. The ambulance would come (which I deemed to be completely unnecessary) and take me away to the home of the sick and the wounded and the artificial lights. Eventually I would pass out, Light wouldn't, and things would move forward.

What a nice day it was.

"What do you mean Aunt Natalie's in the hospital?" Anna asked worriedly into Sam's ear as the Bond to L stood in the waiting room while I was treated.

"Well, she got sick, so she had to go to the hospital," Sam explained simply, shifting her position as she gazed out the window and to the parking lot. What a nice view, she thought dully.

"What do you mean sick?" Anna demanded. "Aunt Natalie will be alright, won't she?"

Sam sighed heavily. "Of course she'll be alright, Anna. She just had a little trouble breathing, that's all."

"You think it's the asthma from when she was little?"

Sam shrugged, even though she knew Anna couldn't see her. "Maybe. But I don't think that's the case here."

"Then what is the case, Sam?"

She shook her head. "We don't know yet, Anna."

There was a rush of static in Sam's ear as Anna huffed. "Am I allowed to come to the hospital to see her? I can have someone drive me, I think."

"That's fine, but you can't see her yet. I'm still stuck in the waiting room, so…."

"That's fine. They made us wait for you, too, when you had to have that surgery for your collapsed lung. And they made us wait for Near and Light that time in March when Near died. I can wait."

Sam nodded. "Alright. See you soon," she said, and closed her cell phone. She breathed a sigh as she put it into her jean pocket. She turned so she could lean against the wall, gazing wearily at her surroundings. God, how she hated hospitals. So much. Not only did she simply not like them, but they made her sad. Upset.

Whatever.

Anna was soon dropped off by Gevanni, and awhile after that came Light, driven in by Matsuda. It wasn't long after that that a woman with her dark brown hair tied back in a bun came out and called all of them in. "You may visit her now," the woman smiled. She was carrying a clipboard and there was a pencil stuck in her bun. She was talking to them as they walked. "Now, technically, I should only be accepting family for now. But, since she is relatively good condition, I can let all of you come in. She's stable. She's got an IV and an EKG, along with an oxygen mask, but I can assure you she's not as bad as it looks."

The young woman stopped and turned to look at them and smile again. "This is her room," she said, and opened the door. They filed in. "For now, she's sedated, but that's only so she can get her rest. The oxygen mask is merely to help her breathing, as there seems to be something wrong with her lungs…. The IV is to help her get her strength back, and the EKG is only to monitor her heart. The worst news is probably that she had a heart attack, but… her heart is stable now. We still need to find causes." She bowed. "I'll leave you with her for awhile," she said, and left, closing the door behind her.

"…What did she do now?" Matsuda sighed as Anna went up to my sleeping self. She poked my cheek.

"Anna, don't poke her," Sam frowned, her brow furrowed. She eyed the IV sticking into my arm and shuddered. She decided instead to look to Light. "So how are you doing with all this?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I don't like when the Bond breaks off like that."

"Because of the medicine drugs?" asked Anna.

"Yeah…."

Matsuda looked confusedly between the two of them.

Sam sighed lightly and stepped up to the side of the hospital bed. "Um," she said to me, and everyone looked at her. She glared at all of them for that fact, and Matsuda looked away awkwardly. Light only raised his eyebrows at her. Anna merely continued gazing at her, used to her glares at people she deemed fit to glare at.

She frowned and looked back at me. "Well, um, you probably can't hear this, but I'm glad you're alive. I hope you don't die, and… good luck with the hospital. I know you'll be getting out of here alive, so… yeah," she finished lamely, and patted my hand.

"Yeah, Aunt Natalie can do it!" Anna beamed, and Matsuda joined her in the grinning.

"It isn't that bad…," said Light weakly. He raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like she's dying."

Matsuda blinked. "Oops."

"Good job, Sam," said Anna, and Sam frowned.

"Well, meh."

Fun Fact: For the record, Real-life Sam actually told me her character would tell Natalie about hers and L's scene there.

Review? For, eh, hospitals?...