((Author's Note)) No need to fear, for the next chapter is here!

Please note that the majority of this chapter is completely original. I've had this idea rolling in my head before even starting this story and now I'm excited that I can finally share it with you all.

ALSO: You'll finally get to know what Yugi's real name is.

I was debating whether or not to do this, but then decided, "Hey, she's going to see someone who was born with Shinigami eyes, might as well go ahead."

So, here ya go.

Edit: a few grammatical edits and that's it for this chapter.

Chapter 14

"So wait...Why are we going to California again?" I asked Watari as we made our way to the airport. I was sitting in the back seat of a black car while Watari was driving.

"Ryuzaki felt that you need a short break from all of the stress and asked me to take you on a small vacation," Watari replied.

I huffed. "We're not going to Disney Land, are we?" I asked. "I've had bad experience in theme parks and I don't want to relive old memories." I shuddered remembering the trip that the orphanage took that one time. I got stuck in one of the tunnels of the supposed "best ride" at the park...with Mello of all people. God that was a nightmare.

Watari shook his head. "I think you'll be alright with our destination."

"What do you mean?"

The old man just chuckled. "You can just think of it as a small birthday present."

I was super confused. It was only the seventeenth of January. My birthday wasn't until the 21st. "Exactly how long are we going to be there?"

"A week."

I nodded in understanding and sat back in the seat. Within a few minutes, Watari and I made it to the airport, got our tickets, and caught the plane that would take us to America.

I looked around the passenger area of the plane, bored out of my mind. I pulled my cards out of my pocket and went through them to occupy myself for a while. Eventually I fell asleep.

"And here we have Mr. Akiteru's greatest breakthrough..." I heard someone say in a deep voice. I managed to open my eyes to see people dressed in white lab coats. Some of them had clipboards and were writing notes.

I was in a cyliner shaped container, suspended in some sort of liquid substence used for preservation. I was curled up naked in a tight ball, an oxygen mask over my mouth and nose and tubes connected to various parts of my body. I could see bubbles floating upward from the corner of my vision. Where am I? I wondered. What is this?

"This particular specimen of Genetic Science has been under construction for the past nine years. With the help of his wife, he was able to acquire the items he needed for this success."

Specimen of Genetic Science...Is that all that I am?

"Are there any questions?"

"Does it have a name?" A young woman asked.

The man with the deep voice replied, "Akiteru had the tendency to name quite a few of his test subjects. This one he had always refered to as Aruki, which is quite unusual due to the fact that unlike other names he had given, this one did not have any significance to the tests performed. It was simply someting to call it."

"What is the secret to this discovery?" A young man asked. "How did he do it?"

"I'll tell you how he did it," someone said. Another man appeared in my line of sight. I couldn't see his face, but he appeared to have blonde hair. "Ukyo Akiteru had discovered that to fuse the genetics between human and animal it had to rely not only in simmilar DNA, but also other various cells; Body cells, Blood cells, even Reproductive cells had to be just right in order to create the perfect combination. One slight difference in something as simple as blood type could dramatically alter the results of what you see here today."

"Is it able to reproduce?" A woman asked.

"That factor is unknown at the moment, but as soon as it is fully matures we will be able to test that ability."

Testing reproduction? I don't think so. I tried to move. Tried to stretch at least, but only managed to do so slightly, causing the closest people to step back from the sudden movement.

"Don't worry about that," the man with the deep voice said with a chuckle, "it does that once in a while, showing that it's alive...something simmilar to a fetus in its mother's womb."

Fetus my ass! Enraged, I moved more violently, eventually pulling the mask off of my face. The people stepped back even more. I pulled my head back, hitting the glass behind me and causing it to crack.

The cylender soon shattered, causing the liquid around me to flow everywhere. Without the stuff keeping me suspended, I fell onto the wet floor, sprawled out slightly.

My sight was fuzzy for a few seconds as people began to scream. I shook my head to get rid of whatever liquid was on my face and looked up. People were running away from me now. But weren't they fascinated not ten seconds ago? I asked myself.

I sat up and my eye caught the sight of my reflection. I was humanoid, but had the face, fur, and general physical appearance of a teal colored wolf. I tried to stand, but I tipped something on the nearby table over and the wood burst into flames.

"Miss Yugi."

My eyes opened as I felt Watari lightly shake my shoulder. "Where's the Peanut Butter?" I asked groggily to show that I was awake.

"You need to wake up, we're landing," Watari told me. I slowly moved back into a proper sitting position and made sure I had all of my cards before reattatching my seatbelt, which I had taken off when we were safely in the air.

Glancing out the window, I noticed that it was dark. Maybe I can get more sleep when we get a hotel, I thought wit a yawn.

When we Landed and claimed our luggage, Watari rented a car and drove us to a nearby hotel. We were checked in and promptly went upstairs via elevator.

I instantly crashed in one of the rooms in the suite, not bothering to shower or change into pajamas, and fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I decided to clean up and explore the world around me.

One shower and a clean set of clothes later, I was in the living room of the suite, speaking to Watari about my planned ventures. He agreed to let me go, so long as I took a device, a tag of sorts, with me so that I could contact him if anything were to go wrong.

The device was able to attatch to the loop on my collar, so I hooked it there behind the cross that Mello gave me. It was small enough to be easily concealed behind it.

The moment I stepped out of the building, I notice the familiarity of my surroundings. Recognition crossed my features.

"LA..." I said softly to nobody in particular. "He took me to LA." I began walking down the street, looking around the familiar sites as I thought.

Of all the cities in California, why would L send me here, the city of [fallen]angels? ((see what I did there lol))

Then it occoured to me as I stood in front of a corner store with strawberry jam in the window for 75% off. When I had asked Watari about coming here, he had told me to think of it as a birthday present. I gasped in realization. He had put emphasis on the word 'birthday'!

That meant that L had Watari bring me here so I could see BB!

Excitedly, I ran into the corner store and purchased a large jar of the marked down jam. I'm gonna have to give L a big hug when we get back to Japan. I returned to the hotel within the next few minutes with a skip in my step and a smile on my face.

I entered the hotel and placed the Jam in the fridge to keep it cool.

"I thought you'd be gone longer," Watari stated behind me.

"I got something that needed to be refrigerated immediately," I explained.

"I noticed...is it alright to presume that it was Strawberry Jam?"

I turned around, the smile still on my face. "Yes it is," I replied. I then went up to him and hugged him, slightly to his surprise. "Thank you, Watari."

Watari hugged me back before I pulled away. "It was Ryuzaki's idea," He said, "but your welcome."

When Noon came around, Watari made me a few Peanut Butter Sandwiches (No Jam, since that was reserved for BB). As I ate I couldn't help but ask, "When can I see him?"

Watari gave me a small smile, like he was looking at his granddaughter. "I was thinking we'd go whenever you were ready."

I looked at him pleadingly. "As soon as I'm done with my sandwich?" I offered. He gave another smile and nodded. I tried to finish it as fast as I could.

~*TimeSkip*~

I bounced on the balls of my feet with impatience, the now cooler jar of jam in my hands, as Watari spoke with the guy he had to talk to in order to be able to see BB.

The guard finally agreed after seeing the art of perfect acting, and after checking to see if the jam had any weapons in it allowed, we followed him into some sort of visiting area.

"If you'll please wait here..." the guard said before disappearing for a brief second.

I looked down at the jar of Jam in my hands. "I hope he still loves it," I muttered.

"Aruki?"

My ears swiviled under my hat as I heard his voice. My throat tightened as I lifted my head and turned around.

There he was. His hair was no longer black, but its natural dark brown, and it was slightly longer. His skin was still pale, and dark circles still marked his red eyes. It was my only friend, still in the flesh.

I don't know how fast it happend, but I somehow made it across the room and into his arms. I was crying as I held him tight against me. The scent of strawberries still filled my nostrills, although it was rather faint.

"Shhh," he whispered, stroking the back of my neck like he use to when I was upset. "I'm here, pet." I continued to cry on his shoulder as the guard returned to his post.

"I'm here."

((Author's Note)) Holy mother of birds, the feels are killing me!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you express that in a review, although that isn't a requirement.

Hey, I managed to update earlier than I have been (even though it's only by a few hours).

Until next time...

-Garden