((Author's Note)) okay so the flash drive holding all my fanfiction Got ruined and I was stupid enough not to make any backups. It's times like these where i feel extremely stupid. What's worse was I had this chapter saved on it and nearly finished. Oh well, shit happens, I guess. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Also, don't forget to check out the poll on my page regarding who you personally ship Yugi with. It's only for the sake of my curiosity, but I would love to know your opinions.

Now, without further ado, i give you...

Chapter 25

What I was going through for the past several days was something simmilar to a horror movie. I was put through multiple different cycles of torture from physical (she gouged an eye out and put cockroaches in my ears) to psychological (hallucinogenic drugs and sadistic mind games). All for this bitch's experiments.

Today I was lucky not to be tortued. Nisiko told me last night, so I could "Mentally prepare myself for the future". But how could I prepare a mind that was already broken from day after day of abuse?

I never thought my mind could have ever been so easy to destroy. After all I had been through...losing my memory when I was nine, watching the closest thing I had to family kill innocent people, murdering the girl I loved, even if I only knew her for a few days...I use to think those things somehow made me stronger. Kind of like the lyrics to that one American song: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

However, now that I think about it, all those things that happened before I was taken to Wammy's didn't make me stronger. In fact, it was the opposite. All that death and despair helped destroy my mind. I was on the brink of insanity; and when I was at Wammy's, those happy memories merely numbed me to the harsh reality of the real world. All I needed to break was a tiny touch of torture...and here we are. I was now clinging on to a spider's thread of sanity.

"Aruki..." Nishiko came into the room and called out to me in a sing-song voice. I didn't even have the strength to raise my head and look at her face. "are you ready, darling?"

I managed to mutter a "yes" even hough it was a lie.

"Good." Nishiko lifted up my head.

"What...what do you want...from me?" I weakly asked. "D-don't you...don't you have...enough research?"

Nishiko chuckled. "You're right, Aruki. I do have enough research. In fact, I had so much, I was successfully able to clone your exact DNA and make almost perfect replicas of you; although with artificial memories, thanks to an old friend of Esther's."

"M-mom?"

"However, I'm keeping you for a completely different purpose now, my dear. You see, since you are more, shall I say, closer to L than anyone else, I've decided to test him; more specifically, his emotions." Nishiko let my head drop and she began to walk around me, like one of those evil scientists on tv. "You see, I've discovered that during your heat cycle, you have this tendency to become sexually aggressive when not in the vicinity of your current mate. Therefore, the only way to calm you down completely would be to either allow you to mate with your current partner, or push you to mate with someone else. Using some items from the hotel room you were in at the time, I've determined that the world's greatest detective himself was the last person you've encountered in that way by using one of his shirts, which happened to be in your room."

I remembered when Nishiko injected me with the serum that stopped the sterilizer in my bloodstream to stop working. I could still feel the unbearable heat within me, although it had been dulled as much as the rest of my senses over the course of my time here.

"I want to see if it affects him too." I gritted my teeth as she whispered in my ear, "I want to find out if he'll toss aside the Kira case just to search for you, The only company in his lonely, pitiful life of hiding behind a computer screen."

Nishiko then left me there to think about all the information she gave me. When she closed the door I let a single tear fall down my cheek.

Mello's Pov (3rd Person)

What Equal told Mello and Matt about Yugi's older brother saddened him. The child didn't even get a chance to live a day, since he was stilborn; and to think that his death resulted on Yugi getting experimented on for more than half her life all because Equal was afraid of losing her too.

"I hope to one day explain everything to her," Equal explained, "but with everything that's been going on, I fear i'll never get that chance..."

Matt glanced at Mello and nodded, signalling that it was time to tell her. Mello nodded back. "Equal, we believe that we found a lead on Yugi's wheraboutsas well as her captor."

Equal's eyes widened as Mello stated that. "What?"

"Earlier, a pair of girls came to headquarters. One of them is injured and she needs help," Matt explained.

"The thing is," Mello continued, "They're both like Yugi."

Equal tilted her head. "In what way?"

Mello tried to figure out how to explain. "Well...in every way, I guess."

Matt nodded. "Yeah. Basically, they're carbon copies of her, almost exact, except for their hair and fur color...and maybe a slightly different personality."

"L wanted us to make sure you were mentally prepared before taking you to our next headquarters."

Equal sighed. "I understand. I'll need a minute to find my medical supplies, and then I'll be ready."

L's POV (3rd Person)

L knew Watari was concerned when he told him that he would walk to the next hotel. When asked why, all he said was, "I need to think."

Watari nodded and left with the rest of the task force.

L stood there in the middle of the room silently. He had a strange feeling inside him that he couldn't quite explain. It wasn't lonliness; it wasn't depression or desire; he was certain it wasn't even love. Ever since those girls showed up...no, before that...the moment the woman that took her challenged him...the moment he discovered that Yugi had been kidnapped...he cod only describe the feeling as...

...Empty.

Of course, most people would sum it up as a feeling of longing toward another person, but that would contradict with L's conclusion regarding romantic emotions. Typically, those feelings would seem to surface in one's chest area, right where the heart was. This wasn't the case with L.

The empty feeling inside him wasn't focused in his chest. It wasn't focused anywhere for that matter. This feeling was just there.

L shook his head, pushing the thoughts out of his mind. There will be a better time to think about this, but for now, he needed to focus on the Kira case. He began his trek toward the next hotel, not bothering to blend in with the crowds that stared at him in silent judgement. As he walked, he planned his next move.

He had already determined that there was a second Kira acting inependent from the first, so the next thing to do was to draw him out. To do so, L decided that it would be efficient to recruit Light Yagami, the suspected First Kira. That way, not only would L use his excellent deductive skills to help solve the case, but he could also help determine if L's suspicions were true; help prove what he was certain of...that Light truly was Kira the whole time.

The empty feeling within him surfaced again and L foun himself sitting on a park bench in his usual, crouched position. if Yugi were here, she'd know what this feeling was.

"Ryuga?"

L looked up at the familiar voice to see none other than Light staring at him. "Oh, hello there, Light. Fancy seeing you here."

Light gave a small chuckle. "I could say the same to you." He walked over to the bench. "Do you mind if I sit here?" L shook his head and allowed the college student to sit next to him.

"How's Yugi been?" Light asked, "I haven't seen her since her mother picked her up from my house."

L looked down at his shoes and scanned each if their features as if they held the secrets of the universe. "She's missing." His voice was hollow as he said that, and the empty feeling grew. What he said next not only surprised Light, but also himself; "And it's all my fault." L finally understood the empty feeling inside him. It was guilt. A feeling he often forgot about.

"What?!" Light exclaimed with worry. L visibly tensed, gripping his knees as he fought off surpressed feelings he was so use to ignoring.

"She was kidnapped the same day she returned to headquarters," L explained slowly, so he could keep himself together. The inaudible shivers building in his voice terified him. Please refrain from bursting out, he begged himself. "I told her to leave me alone. She tried to apologize for her behavior, but I asked her to go away. She went into her room...and then she was gone."

Light's POV (3rd Person)

Light had never seen L like this. As the detective explained what happened to Yugi, he could tell that he was fighting back tears. With these emotions coming from L, Light was unsure whether or not they were genuine.

"Sounds more like she ran away to me," Light stated after L's story. "What makes you say she was kidnapped?"

L looked up toward the sky at the dull clouds. "Her mother recieved a call from her kidnapper." Light contemplated on that statement as the wind began to grow slightly colder.

L gave out a small shiver as the wind ruffled his hair. Light figured it was because his baggy clothes were quite thin. Without giving it a second thought, he shed his coat and put it around the detective's shoulders. L glaced at him curiously, but he didn't speak.

"Is there anyway I can help?" Light asked.

L put his thumb to his lips. "Actually, in order to keep on schedule, I would have to coninue working on the Kira case while searcing for Yugi simultaneously. Your deductive skills could be quite useful in both."

"So, you'll let me join the task force?"

"I suppose...however there are a few things you must know once we get to headquarters."

Light nodded and the two of them stood up and began to head toward the new hotel. As they walked, light couldn't help but ask, "Ryuga, is Yugi really your cousin?"

L stopped for a moment before facing him, as small, dark smirk played on his lips. "No. That was only a cover up due to the age gap between us. In truth, Hatsune is my girlfriend."

((Author's Note)) Oooooo the bomb has been dropped!

Again I apologize for taking so long, and hopefully, I will be able to get the next chapter done soon.

Until then,

-Garden Of Time