I know this update is stupidly late, but I've tried to get it done! Just to make it up, this chapter is extra long for your enjoyment. I'm trying to string in some thick tension but... Alas, I believe I've failed O.O I haven't written in over a month (As my laptop had been confiscated by officials for doing stuff that I shouldn't have been doing that may or may not have been too legal... Matt would be proud *happy tears*) But I've finally gotten it back :D

I see I've missed a few public holidays, too!

*Ahem* Happy Easter! (despite it being AAAaaaGGGeeeSSS ago) Hopefully you've managed to avoid Mello or even L from stealing your chocolate :D?

And happy ANZAC day for the 25 of April, if anybody is familiar with it! (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.)

Oh... And yet another "public" holiday (I'm only saying it because it was on a weekend) but my birthday has passed during this time, too ;) I'm 16 now so it's probably not as big a deal if I write lemons *evil grin*

Disclaimer: Do I look like an old Japanese man? I do? Well yeah, I own Death Note, then! *cough cough cough*

One more thing: If I didn't make it clear in the start of the chapter, it's a few months later ;)

Song: Hands Open- Snow Patrol

.-.

Chapter 22:

Summer disappeared as quickly as it had started, for Hood. The entire season felt like Winter. Sure, she'd see the odd stream of sunlight through the gray of the clouds, but it was faint. Nothing like what it was back at home.

Hood even found herself so upset about the weather that she'd sob over it. But, all in all, it wasn't just the state of the weather that triggered this, of course. She missed her mother. She missed her grandmother and grandfather, hell, she missed her dad, even. She hadn't even been given an opportunity to go live with her remaining family! They just sent her here, to an orphanage! They probably thought she was dead!

Meanwhile, there'd been no contact with Kay, and no leads to where she'd disappeared to, not that Roger had really been searching, of course. She may have been young, but her ability was not to be underestimated. She was smart and capable. She'd be able to manage, and it was her choice to leave. Kay wouldn't have left on a whim, nor would she have left on something as ridiculous as a rebel streak. She would have thought her options through, and followed her heart.

Beyond's good mood hadn't really lasted as long as what Hood had hoped. Instead of a cheeky grin, it transformed into his usual flat expression which was literally enough to send shivers down her spine. His playful attitude with her burnt into ash; He'd resorted into treating her like an animal, again.

A rarely left his room, anymore. And when he did, he'd avoid the other orphans if they came within a metres distance and he always kept his head low.
One time, Zero had left Xanthus and had chased after him, making a scene outside on the field. A was quite a fast runner and Zero wasn't the quickest, but he'd caught up with him eventually. He gripped onto his shoulder and the second he did A's eyes collected tears and they flowed down his cheeks. He didn't even care to spare a thought at wiping them off before other people saw him in this state, and most definitely every other orphan had witnessed this:

A... Crying... In front of everyone, in Zero's embrace.

But nobody understood anything. They didn't know why he'd only let Zero go near him, in the end.

Zero... Was his friend. Zero was there for him, and even though that fucking razor blade brought back painful memories for him, he stayed in that bathroom just for A, that fateful morning.

Zero made him forget about B. He made him happy.

But, in Zero's mind... He didn't quite understand what B was to him, and A rarely uttered an explanation, let alone a complete sentence. Sure, he'd seen him in his room before, with or without the presence of A. Only once he'd seen B on top of his friend, forcing his lips on his...

...Were they once together? Oh, he didn't even need confirmation from either of them to know that! It was obvious!

But, A should have been smart enough not to get involved with him, right?
B played him and messed up his head, and it wasn't the first time he'd done it, either, and by the looks of it, as soon as a new shiny toy walks through the doors, he moves away from the old project as it grows stale to start anew.

God only knew what was wrong with that boys head. God only knew why he found pleasure in hurting people with such a strong impact. God only knew what that thing they called a boy, was.

In fact, God probably didn't even know what the fuck was wrong with that bastard.
The devil probably had no say, either.

He was something of human creation. Just... A monster. The kind that lives under your bed and haunts you; striking when you least expect it; unleashing hellish horrors leaking through the plaster of the walls like blood and dragging you forever in the darkness, never to return.

And this time, the victim was something as innocent as a little, 10 year old girl.

B really was nightmarish bastard.

.-.

Ever since that letter... Since C was mentioned by something as simple as a slip of the tongue by Xanthus, the sentence she'd spoken was on constant replay in Hood's mind.

What was a C? No... Who was C? Why was Xanthus so freaked out when she mentioned it?

Was it taboo to speak about 'C'?

Immediately forgetting about her untouched homework, Hood raised from the wooden seat by the desk in her room. She was going to find out.

Standing by the mouth of her doorway, she scanned all the doors in the hallway.

Next to her room was Beyond's door. Across from her was Kay's old room and next to that, was Xanthus's room, she remembered. Swallowing what felt like a thick lump in her throat, Hood slowly began to make her way towards that very door, next to Kay's across the cold wooden floorboards.

She knocked loudly three times, half hoping that Xanthus wasn't actually in there. She held her breath as she awaited an answer. She didn't even understand why she was nervous. Xanthus was too... Gentle? To be afraid of. Sure, she probably hated Hood's guts, thinking she was a crazy little brat and she was three times her height, and probably a lot stronger that what her long, spaghetti-like arms showed, but that was no reason to be perspiring against her forehead, right?

It felt like a fortnight since she'd been standing there, waiting for the door to open up in the quiet hallway. Taking another breath, she knocked on the door yet again, louder and harder against her clenched knuckles. When she heard the familiar click of the door opening, her heart nearly leaped, and she took a step back, staring at the door, but confusion suddenly marred her features when she realised that the door hadn't actually opened.

"H? What are you doing?"

The blonde's entire chest felt like it suddenly exploded as she jumped into the air with widened eyes. Nearly falling backwards, A reached a hand out and caught her from underneath her tiny waist, lifting her back up onto her feet.

The confusion on her face faded and was transferred to the older teen when he watched her expression suddenly pale deathly white. He couldn't have scared her that much, could he? She felt stiff as a board under his arm and her skin had been covered in large goosebumps.

The blonde's mind was whirring too fast for her to be able to calm it down; constant flashes of colour from her past burnt her mind, reminding her of painful things she'd rather have forgotten, just from a simple shift from the teen, catching her as she fell backward.

The warm feeling underneath her was too... Familiarly uncomfortable. She could feel her heart hammering at her ribs; Sharp pains aching through her entire body.

Her eyes were closed, but she could still see his face. A face she could never forget. It was the face of somebody she was supposed to trust, but she couldn't; It was the face of a monster. The face of the one she hated the most.

Tarnished green eyes hidden underneath a head of fading blonde hair stared back at her, making her entire body shake from a cold wave of fear as her blood boiled and her stomach twisted and turned. Her mouth and throat felt dry. Nothing she ever said worked. Screaming didn't do anything, either. Nobody else was there to hear it.

She watched as the man's expression softened, eyes widening. His hands, for some reason supported darker skin, grabbed onto her arms, yelling something in her face. But what was he saying? She couldn't hear a word. His lips were moving, his hair was... Darkening? The green of his polo shirt was fading and his eyes...

She could hear something, now; An echo. She could still feel his hands... Those stupid hands! They have to go! She has to go! She has to run away! Hood tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth. She tried to struggle, but she couldn't move. The echo was louder, now; Bursting her eardrums, pain shuddering through her body. Her eyes were stinging.

"GO AWAY!" She screamed. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

The man staring back at her- his grip on her arms tightening. She could hear another voice... No, she could hear several voices. Were they here to save her?

"HELP ME!" She yelled out. She was gaping now. She wanted this to go away. The man before her... His face had smoothed out- he looked younger. She didn't even know if it was the same man, anymore but as her gut ached, she couldn't decide.

Sobs were chortling her, exploding from her lungs in wheezes. She was out of breath, no- she couldn't breathe! She was choking! She wanted this to go away. It's just... Not happening! Not again! She shut her eyes, teeth gritting. She was trying to hold her strong emotions back- she wanted to feel nothing.

She could still hear those voices. They were louder, this time... Some... She even recognised.

The hot hands around her forearms were suddenly yanked off, leaving them throbbing and cold.

Everything was grey when her vision slowly returned to her. Her heart was hurting; thudding against her chest. Her blood was still boiling and burning her skin and her stomach was doing flip flops.

Her breath was coming in short and sharp ragged gasps. Her eyes slowly scanned the room, taking in each object and trying to figure out where she was, but, the only thing was... She didn't know. She could see several faces crowding around her, looks of alarm coursing through their expressions. They were all silent and it took too long for her to start remembering who they were.

Hood's hand cautiously ran up one of her forearms, remembering where those man's hands had been. Silently, she pushed herself into a sitting position. Her cheeks were wet and her eyes were burning. She wiped at them, drying off her cold tears.

Looking amongst the faces again, she realised that none of those people were of that man, but the first face she recognised was A's. He was being held by L and Zero, mixed looks of worry and flat annoyance between them.

"Where did he go?" She asked them, her tone sounding more frantic than what she wanted. The few orphans exchanged looks of wonder. Hood's eyebrows creased. "That man!" She yelled out. "He- He was just here!" Subconsciously, she gripped onto her throbbing forearms again.

L looked from A back over to the girl. "Who is this man?" He pressed, but he wasn't expecting a proper answer from her, and according to his assumption, he'd received it correctly. She didn't say anything, just stared back at him. Roger, who was standing behind the group of orphans cleared his throat. "Did this man... Do something?"

"L." Roger warned, his voice was sharp and startled some of the children. L gave him an off-hand glance and looked back over to the girl.

"There was no other man in here, Hood." He said. "It's only us." He gestured around the room and silently, the girl spared another scan through them.

She could see Beyond standing closest to the door. He seemed uncaring, compared to the others. His hands were casually dug into his jeans, and he looked like he was staring into space. His vision was above everybody's heads, maybe staring into the corner of the ceiling on the other side of the room, his eyes were blank.

The blonde's gaze sharpened at him and remained sharp when her eyes met with L's. "Where am I?"

"I took you to the nurse's office." A spoke up. "You fainted."

L nodded. "I believe stress was the cause, for this, but that's understandable, of course. You're family is dead-" The blonde felt a pang of sadness burn into her heart, especially at how easily he'd said it, like it was nothing. "-And you've been taken to an orphanage that's located in a completely different area of Europe, from where you've grown up."

"L!" Roger snapped. L rolled his eyes at the old man.

"I suppose I'll be going, now." He muttered, stepping through the scattered orphans, towards the door. Most of them stayed silent as he did so, shifting so he could get through, easier. As he got closer to B, leaning against the wall beside the door, their eyes met. L's entire system suddenly flooded with malice and he suppressed a glare at him, as B's expression raised into a sickening smirk, making his blood curdle.

After a few seconds of staring out the door from where L had left, her eyes fell upon Beyond yet again. His smirk (which she didn't catch him doing, just before) had completely disappeared, leaving absolutely no trace of him doing so. Beyond's vision met with hers before he trailed out after the older teen.

Xanthus gave a look of concern over to Hood, which only made her annoyed, before she looked over to Zero, tugging onto his shirt sleeve. "I might go." She said. "And Hood, I hope you'll stay safe."

What was that supposed to mean? 'Stay safe'? She wasn't in danger, or anything, anymore, right?

A waved her goodbye as she left, staying planted on the ground. Zero remained with him. Hood jumped to her feet from the bed, her legs felt wobbly, like jelly and she gripped onto the side of the bed that she'd been lying on for support.

"How did you get me here?" She asked both teens.

"I... Carried you and Zero told Roger and... Soon enough everyone else here found out." A explained, rubbing the back of his neck. Hood silently asked for confirmation from Zero.

"It's true," He began. "A found me downstairs. He was carrying you and I asked him what happened. All he said, was that you fell backwards, he caught you and then... I don't know, you fainted, or something."

Her eyes narrowed. She's never fainted before, but it was nothing to get suspicious, about. God, she barely even knew what was going on, anymore. Without word she left the room, closing the door behind her with a slam.

"She's heard about C." A mentioned, his voice slightly lowered, eyes hooded. Zero's heart skipped a beat and he frowned. "Xanthus told me she accidently mentioned it to her. That was after I told her I found Hood in front of her room." The teen spoke evenly, slowing each word to pronounce them clearly as he stared clearly into Zero's dark brown eyes.

"At the rate she's going, she'll be hearing a lot more about C, too." Zero replied gravely.

A's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

He glanced at him. "B. Hood is his new toy." He told him. "Having my bedroom right next to his lets me overhear their conversations... Sadly." He frowned, taking note on how A's expression suddenly stretched into surprise. He began to debate on whether or not he should tell him that he sometimes overheard a lot more than what he should have, regarding A.

"Is he... Treating her the same he treated C?" Zero stayed silent for a second, A waited for an answer but all he received was silence. "Zero?"

"No." He said. "C was worse."

There was an uncomfortable quiet in the near empty room for several minutes as Zero's stomach turned and his chest clenched. He was starting to feel queasy. A wasn't sure on whether or not he should try and give him a comforting gesture. He knew that all this talk about C and B upset him, even more so as it was seemingly happening all over again, but he didn't know if Zero would appreciate some sort of embrace, or not.

"I think... B hasn't quite effected her, yet... At least to the full extent." Zero continued. "But... Then again, we don't know that. C had a weak personality, it just... She was different after a couple of weeks of being with him."

"She disappeared not long after that." A added. He noticed how Zero's hands clenched.

"I know." He nodded. "I wonder how long his new 'pet' as he calls her, will last. If she's smart, she would have just... Stayed away from him!" He was growling now, A realised. His knuckles were white and his teeth were aching in results of his tight clenching.

"But she's only a kid, Zero. I think we need to save her. I... made a narrow escape when I'd encountered him before, but..." He trailed off when Zero's glance pierced into his.

Zero did mention just before that he was able to hear most of the conversations from his room... So did that mean he knew about him and B? Shit. Most likely.

"You were lucky he got sick of you." Zero snarled. A's eyes fell to the floor.

"I know." He muttered. "I was stupid to get involved with him- I don't know what I was thinking."

"You're number 1! You should have just thought it through!" The raven haired teen snapped. The brunette stayed silent. "He used you! He just wanted to hurt you! You're... You're just..." He tried to think of some sort of word to say; a word that wouldn't offend A, but nearly nothing came to mind. A was just weak. Full stop.

With wet eyes, he could feel his hands tremble as his heart ached. "I know." He sobbed. "I'm just... Nothing! I'm fucking unstable!"

"No! You're just like C! You're weak! At first it was fun to mess around with you, but then he realised that he'd just be treading in his old tracks if he hanged around you, any longer! Hood is different than C! She wants to stand up for herself and B knows it! That's why he left you for her!" He exploded. A cupped his mouth shut; his tears beginning to stream down his cheeks.

That all too familiar feeling of despair and sadness twisted through him, ripping his insides apart to pieces. Zero was right. God... Sometimes he was always right. He was always so quiet, but secretly... He was just observing everybody. That's why his deductions on people were almost always correct.

A was weak; he knew that himself but it only came to light with him when it was mentioned. Why hadn't he seen it, before? He was just... Pathetic.

His jaw trembled as he nodded in agreement, words escaped his tongue. Zero's glare softened as the minutes went by. A wasn't the only person effected by his little speech. Zero could feel his innards begin to burn and the grit of his teeth barely relaxed.

"How are those cuts healing?" He asked, breaking the silent air. The brunette flinched and he lifted up one of his sleeves.

"They're fine. They're just scars, now." He sighed, as he revealed them to his friend. Zero gripped onto the exposed wrist with a quick suddenness so much that it was shocking. A winced at the tight hold that Zero had upon him.

"What about your other arm?" Sourness and venom spilled in his words, poisoning the younger brunette ill.

"It's fine." He said almost grudgingly as he tried to rip his arm from him and Zero's eyes widened sharply, a horrid glare pooling into his gaze.

"Show me." He snatched onto A's other arm. The teen struggled but unfortunately for him, it was far too late. The sleeve concealing his not-so-hidden secret had been pulled up.

The silence that followed as Zero's stare burnt marks into his skin was sickening. A could feel his stomach tightening and lifting to the cavity of his throat. His insides felt nearly acidic as tension began to scald his insides. Hot tears of pain were threatening to escape him.

Before long, he finally answered the unspoken question. "It's two days old." He met with his gaze almost nervously, dashed with expectancy, but he knew that he'd put Zero into a no-speaking mood. "I hate my life, Zero. It's obvious that nobody gives a shit about my existence, so why should I bother those who know me, with it?" He outbursted; each of his emotions slipping into every word, forming together the feeling of the need of a deathwish.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Zero's eyebrows stitched together. A had clamped his mouth shut with the palm of his hand as if to hold the rest of his feelings back; Zero didn't want to hear them, so why should he share? He'd made it completely blatant with his stupid act of silence the first time!

"Why should you be so selfish as to hate your very own life when there are so many people worse-off than you who are very grateful for even a few years!" He'd broken the spell of quiet as an angry explosion of fire was screamed from his mouth.

"Because I don't even have a few years."

A thick wave of confusion marred Zero's features. "Excuse me?"

"I can feel it. I have no will to keep going, so I won't. I want to die, Zero, and I will die. Everyone will be a lot happier. There will be no more medical bills costing Wammy an arm to pay off, from my purposely driven actions. There will be no more wasted energy from others, towards me; Making me food I don't eat; Giving me homework I've stopped doing; Teaching me lessons I no longer attend and lastly, no more wasted friendships. Being my friend will get you nowhere."

A witnessed Zero's jaw quiver in the slightest before he tightened it. He rested his dark brown eyes on the floor; He couldn't look at him. Not now. Not ever. Not after his little speech.

Zero had considered staying silent, but those thoughts were shrivelled when he brought his fist back behind his head and threw it forward with as much strength and muscle he could muster. A sickening crack erupted in the room upon impact and before either of them knew it or had even comprehended to realise what they were both seeing and experiencing at that very moment, A was flying in the opposite direction before he collided with a hard landing on the cold tiled floor.

A, cradled into a ball, cupped his throbbing, most likely broken, and bleeding nose. Shivers began to slide through his body and those held back hot tears fell from his eyes. He didn't care. He didn't even sob. In fact, he barely even acknowledged the pain that was sweltering across his face. The tears were just a vent- letting out his frustrations and whatnot, during that time.

"A? Oh my God! Are you ok?" Zero nearly screamed. He looked at his now red-bruised knuckles before shooting his gaze back at the teen on the floor. He really didn't know his own strength, did he? Biting his bottom lip, he flew over to A's side, gripping onto his shoulders and pulling him over, on his back. "I'm so sorry!" He apologised frantically. He could feel panic begin to rise up; twisting his stomach, kicking his hard-hammering heart and pounding his head with a thick wooden mallet.

A barely glanced at him from under his hooded eyes. His hands were hiding away the damage in which he'd caused, but Zero could see remnants of blood leaking through the spaces between his fingers. His eyes were wet and his skin was red and swollen. He must have broken something. There was no way he couldn't have.

As Zero carefully tried to pry away A's tender, shaking hands, a voice was sounded; A loud hum of apathy droning into the room.

Both teens turned their heads to see another form; One that was darkened by the different shading of light, but from what they could see, was wild, spiky, unkempt hair. The shadow was highlighted against the far wall closest to the door. From there, they watched as L's shape entered in the room in one step.

"What is it that's going on, in here?" He asked, a hint of curiosity in his normally authoritive tone.

Zero and A glanced at one another. The brunette had shifted so he was leaning forward into Zero's chest not only a few seconds earlier; Hands still holding his nose. They silently debated on telling him about what had happened only moments ago, but before they could get any word out, L began to speak again.

"Nothing?" A smirk could have possibly been heard through the way he spoke. "Looks like A's gotten a little hurt, Zero." His voice darkened sourly as he came into light. Only that he could see was a long sleeved white shirt that glowed luminously against his pale skin.

"Yeah." Was all he'd said.

"So are you two going to kiss and make up already?"

A long pull of silence fused between the three teens. That definitely wasn't something that L would have said, right? Zero glanced over at A; His eyes were glazed over with a new-bound feel of understanding.

"B." He muttered; Feigned monotone smoothing his words. Zero's jaw grew slack as his head suddenly snapped to the shadow standing by the doorway.

Three loud claps, tightening the harsh moods and strung out emotions of both A and Z were slapped across his pale hands.

"Correct." He cheered in a less than pleasant sound about him.

"What are you doing here?" The brunette growled, gripping onto Zero's shoulders in a plead for support. Zero glared in the eye-straining direction of the imposter.

"I can ask you the same thing. I thought everyone was to leave this room after L had left."

"And we were just about to leave." Zero piped up, hot poison melting like acid in his words. He wished that acid were real and aimed at him right at that very moment. Anger caused him to grit his palms and tightly as he stood to his feet, roughly grabbing onto A's arm to bring him along.

There was no way he was leaving A alone with that pig of a human being.

As they approached the doorway, B stepped by it, blocking their access out. Their only access out.

"B. What do you want!" A snapped- the tension pulled as B's upper lip curled into a deep setting smirk concealed by the darkness.

"Just came to tell you that L has found a new... Recruit to his army of personal Copies!" A grin was what had developed from that smirk as he emphasised the last word of his sentence. A reaction is what he wanted. A good one, and he was more than happy when he watched Zero flinch- and it was no subtle one either.

"Backup... You fucking bastard." Zero's heart and head was hammering right at that moment; He could feel heat waves of fire burn his insides to black, charcoal crisps. His stomach wanted to burst, and god... Oh god he wanted B to get a taste of pain.

Resisting that urge to hit him, to hurt him, to damage him was fucking horrendous, but he knew punching him would be more than what he deserved. He knew B too well. He knew that a reaction like that was what he craved, all the time!

"I know what you're doing, Zero. It's too obvious, with your clenched fists, and all. You're only hurting yourself more when you're resisting the urge to do something about it."

"Shut up!" Zero growled, hatred gnashing his words. On heart beat, a speedy hit was thrown at him cutting straight into the centre of B's stomach, but right before the punch landed impact, B slammed it away with his outstretched palm and flew to the side of him.

Zero drew his right leg back to gain balance as he followed him in this direction. He suddenly grabbed hold of and pulled on the collar of B's shirt; Dragging him towards him as he thrusted his elbow right into his jaw, drawing in as much possible force as he absolutely could.

Backup staggered backwards, cupping the side of his face. Zero's breathing was coming out ragged; adrenaline pumping like fire through his veins.

The imposter stared back at Zero and the other teen dared not remove his glare. B found support against the architraves of the wall. His heavy frown curled upwards, his fingers balled into a fist and a loud chuckle ruptured into the room. His rough, cackling voice sent the hairs of both A's and Z's on end.

"Perhaps I should have paid more attention in our Fighting Skills class instead of devoting my time to your sister."

.-.

I'm so proud of myself to finally have gotten this done :D

So, mini fights all around, hey? Heheheeh ;)
I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and I'm wanting to update once a week, like I did last year and the start of the year, but sadly I've barely had the time (As I've mentioned earlier)

Well, this chapter is extra long (Has about 3 chapters' length in one!) And I referred to a bit of Hood's past and made you learn about C!

And remember when B mentioned that L had found a recruit to his new army of 'Copies'?
My advice states, most of you might take a liking to this development ;)

Btw, I have a new poll on my page and a reminder: I've made a Facebook page for teB360 to keep you updated with the reasons why I can't or can update or when I'm planning to update/when I have updated, you know. Lol. SO JOIN EET! The link to it is on my profile page!

I'm not using Twitter, if you prefer that, though. (No mobile access, sorry)

Song: Sundial - Wolfmother