((Author's Note)) Hello once again, my flowers. I have returned once again.

I dont really have anything else to say before this chapter, so I'll just go ahead and present you with it and hope you enjoy it.

So, Here you go.

Chapter 24

Mello's Pov (3rd Person)

It's been several days since the broadcast on Sakura TV. Cheif Yagami had broken out of the hospital and crashed into the station getting all of the tapes from the broadcast; L had reviewed the tapes and deduced that this Kira was indeed a copycat, dubbing him the Second Kira; and the three boys continued their search for a lead on where Yugi could be. Needless to say Mello was getting restless.

Damn it. This woman knows how to stay under the radar. He glanced over at Near, who was once again interracting with Kani, rather than making an effort to find their companion. "I need some air," he muttered to Matt before getting up and leaving the room.

The day was a bit chilly, so he grabbed his jacket on the way out the door.

"Hey, wait up!" a voice squeaked out. Mello stopped and turned around to see Kani running to catch up while slipping his own jacket on. Mello sighed and walked toward the boy and helped him with his jacket. "Thanks."

"Whatever." Mello then turned around and continued to walk along the street with Kani following close behind him.

"You know, we could probably get some copies of Near's drawing and pass them around and see if we could get leads to finding the woman who took Yugi that way," he suggested to the blonde.

Mello shook his head. "Yeah, and what happens if she gets wind that we're looking for her?"

Kani looked down at the sidewalk, dejected. "Oh...I'm sorry...I just thought it would be a good idea."

Mello glanced at Kani and felt a bit of guilt wash over him. "Hey," he nudged him. "I should be sorry. I shot your idea down without considering it."

"That's okay," Kani smiled. "You're worried about my sister. I understand."

As Kani continued to talk, Mello noticed something about his speech pattern. "When did you start talking like that?"

"What do you mean?" Kani wondered as they entered a shopping district.

"You've been talking normal all day, and I just realized that," Mello clarified.

Kani nodded in understanding. "Oh, well...a while ago I turned four, and so i figured that I might as well start talking my age, so I did."

Mello would have pointed out that Kani was talking like a ten-year-old and not a four-year-old, but something caught his attention.

It was a girl wearing a white dress, standing across the street looking through the window of a flower shop. She had firey red hair that reached the nape of her neck growing from beneath a white beanie and slightly tanned skin, but Mello couldn't see her face, since her back was facing him. He watched as she walked into the store and come back out with a bouquet of what appeared to be daffodils.

The girl smiled at the flowers before looking up and locking eyes with Mello. He tensed slightly at the sight of the girl's face. She looked exactly like Yugi. All the facial features were precise right down to the golden Irises he was familiar with. The girl quickly looked down and ran off with the flowers clutched to her chest.

Mello followed the girl with his eyes until she was out of sight. He continued to stare in the direction she went until Kani got his attention.

"your phone is ringing," he told the blonde. Mello looked at him for a moment before answering the phone.

"Hello?"

"Dude, where are you right now?" Matt asked.

Mello looked around briefly as he answered, "In the shopping area near the hotel, why?"

"I just saw this weird looking girl exiting the lobby as I was comming to get you. She had Purple hair and was wearing this dark blue dress and-"

"So what?" Mello interrupted.

Matt hesitated for a moment before stating the reason he brought the girl up. "She looked like Yugi."

Mello couldn't help but gasp.

"Mells, what is it?" Matt asked, "Is something wrong?"

Mello looked around himself again. "I-I'll tell you later. We're heading back to the hotel now." He hung up and grabbed Kani's hand, quickly making his way back to the current Kira headquarters.

~*TimeSkip*~

"What? No way!" Matt exclaimed as Mello explained what he saw just before he called.

"Are you sure these girls were real and not a figment of your imagination?" Aizawa asked.

"Look, the three of us have known Yugi for almost three years. I'm pretty sure we all know what she looks like," Mello snapped.

"Not to mention that it has been scientifically proven that everyone has at least seven other people that look just like them," Matt stated.

"But the odds of running into one alone is very slim," Matsuda explained. "As much as I want to believe it, I dont think those girls are real."

Suddenly there was a frantic knock on the door. "Please help, someone!"

Yagami looked up from the paperwork he was going through and glanced at L. He just stared blankly at the door.

"Is someone there? Please, I'm begging you!"

"Watari," L said, "go see who it is and find out what what they want."

Watari did as he was told and cracked the door open. "What can I help you with?" he asked before he let out a small grunt of surprise.

"Watari, what is it?" L demanded.

"Please," came a familiar voice. "My sister is hurt and needs medical attention, but I don't have a cellphone and nobody was at the receptionist's desk."

Matt, Mello and Near turned toward the door as L told Watari to let them in.

One girl came in, with the other's arm around her shoulder. Matt and Mello gasped. They were the same girls they had seen earlier. The one with purple hair was carrying the one with red hair, who was unconcious and had a head injury.

Forgetting the argument about the existance of the girls, Matsuda and Aizawa quickly ran to help lay the redhead on one of the couches. Meanwhile, L Just stared blankly at them, observing their movements with great detail. Mello was certain he was analyzing whether they were a threat or not.

Yagami approached the purple haired girl and asked, "Can you tell us what happened?" The girl nodded and sat down on the other couch. "What's your name?"

The girl played with a ring on her index finger before answering, "We were just going to give her flowers...but we saw something...and she wasn't happy..."

"Can you please explain?" L asked. The girl looked up at him, visibly surprised.

"W-we were looking for flower shops that sold her favorite..."

"Who's favorite?"

"O-our mother's..." she trailed off. "At least...I thought she was our mother..." The girl wouldn't speak more after that.

L began to think about the situation and he soon came to a decision. "Everyone, gather as much equipment as you can. Watari will lead you all to the next hotel."

"Wait!" The girl stood up and approached L. "What about my sister? She needs help!"

L turned to look at the girl. "I will assist you and her to the nearest hospital where she will get proper medical attention."

"you can't!" She exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm.

"And why is that?"

The girl hesitated, looking among everyone before heaving a huge sigh. "Both of us...We're different..." She then pulled off her blue beanie to reveal a pair of dark violet wolf ears. Everyone gasped and Kani tilted his head.

"You're just like Yugi..." he said softly.

Mello and Matt looked at each other as Near began twirling his hair between his fingers. "Ryuzaki," the albino adressed L,"Perhaps it would be beneficial for them to come with us."

L hummed in thought at Near's suggestion and nodded. "Yes, you could be right..."

"Hold on," Aizawa butt in. "We can't just keep letting kids tag along like this is some fanfiction!" he exclaimed. "I don't care if they look like Yugi, this is a serious investigation! Criminals are continuing to die as we speak and them tagging along isn't getting us any closer to catching Kira!"

"Mr. Aizawa, I would appreciate if you keep your negative opinions to yourself for the time being," L stated before adressing Mello and Matt. "Get in contact with Equal and inform her of the situation. Make sure she is mentally prepared before she comes to the new hotel."

Matt and Mello both nodded before leaving to head to Equal's apartment. By the time they got there, it began to rain. They knocked on her door soaking wet.

"Who's there?" Equal's voice was shaky behind the door.

"It's us," Matt said, sivering from the cold. "Matt and Mello. Ryuzaki sent us, there's something important we need to tell you."

Equal opened the door slightly. "What is it? I'm kind of busy."

"We think we've got a lead on Yugi," Mello said, almost excitedly. "But we need to explain everything to you before we go to the new hotel." He then let out a small sneeze.

Equal went into complete "mother mode" and opened her door completely and pulled the boys inside.

"Would you like something warm to drink?" Equal asked. "How about some hot chocolate?"

Mello nodded vigorously. He had run out of chocolate a while ago and was on the brink of going through withdrawl symptoms. That has happened once before and it wasn't a pretty sight.

Flashback

"You little bitch!" Mello exclaimed at Yugi, who had once again swiped his chocolate and was waving it in his face. "Give it back right now!"

"Oh please," Yugi smirked. "I bet you couldn't last two weeks without this stuff."

Mello saw this as an opportunity to surpass the wolf girl and gave a dark smile. "You're on!"

"If You win, I will personally eat enough of this shit to kill me," Yugi decieded.

"And if you win?" Mello asked.

"If I win I want you and Matt to become friends." And so, it was set that Mello woouldn't be allowed to touch chocolate for fourteen days. He started out strong and confident at first, but by the fifth day he had become extremely moody.

By the second week, he would barely move, kind of like if a night owl was woken up at five in the morning. He went pale with dark circles around his eyes by day eight. By day ten he was on the brink of losing it, and then the next day, he did.

He broke into the pantry and devoured everything that had choclate in it, including raw cake powder and brownie mix. Of course he got in trouble for it, but he fulfilled his bet and became friends with Matt.

Yugi was impressed with how well he managed to get through without chocolate. So much, in fact, that she willingly ate enough chocolate just to get her hospialized for about a month.

End Flashback

"Here you go," Equal said, handing both boys a hot cup of cocoa. Mello took his and savored the taste. "Do you like it?"

Mello nodded while Matt stated so with a "Yes, Ma'am."

Equal smiled. "Good. That's my grandmother's recipe, and I've never got to try it until now."

"How come?" Mello asked. He knew Yugi's allergy to chocolate would be a reason, that and she didn't know Equal was her mother until somewhat recently; but what about Kani?

"None of my kids were able to try it."

Both Mello and Matt caught on to what she was saying almost instantly. None? Wouldn't she have said Neither since she only had Yugi and Kani? Mello wondered. Unless...

"Equal?" Matt asked. "Did Yugi have any other siblings...other than Kani?"

Equal looked down at her own cup of cocoa. Her face was blank as she seemed to revisit the past. She then let out a small sigh and slowly nodded. "Yes. She did."

((Author's Note)) *huff*...*puff*...finally...*huff*...done! Oh man, this chapter took me FOREVER! Hey, you guys still alive? If you are...I'm sorry it took so long! I've been in a bit of a brain deflation...Don't worry guys, i'm getting by.

Anyway, if you guys want to [somewhat] talk to me directly, why not check out my story on Wattpad: Time to Chat with Author-Chan. So far I only have a beginning note and a stupid story on what I do when I get bored at work. Trust me when I say, "You wouldn't believe it was written by me."

Then again, maybe you would...

Anyway, here's the link to that story (you will have to remove the spaces for obvious reasons):

www. wattpad story/77859848- time- to- chat- with- author- chan

Well I hope you try to talk to me, because I'm kind of lonely and I don't want to bore you with my life so go on over there and ask me something...anything so I don't have to reveal my insanity!

...Please?

...Pretty please?

...Pretty Please with L eating a cherry on top?

...No?

okay, fine.

If you enjoyed this chapter could you at least put an effort into writing a review and tell me what you liked, didn't like and maybe what you think I should do?

I don't even care if you cuss me out about whether this story is terrible or not. At least then I'll know that you read it.

Until next time, I hope you have a Plantastic day!

-Garden of Time