𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬|𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐘𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐢 𝐗 𝐎𝐂|𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐲𝐲_

-12-

If home is really where the heart is, she'll never make it home again.

The raven-haired girl had experienced a trauma she thought wouldn't come for a lifetime. Not only had she lost her own mother, but she had also lost her forever friend. But the loss that hit her like a semi-truck, crushing any pieces of her heart that were left, was the loss of herself.

Losing her memory of her death note had changed her in many ways. For one, she no longer was as evil as she once was. She slowly switched back to her hoodies and sweatpants here and there, keeping her persona for work purposes only.

Secondly, she became uncomfortable around Shinigami Ryuk. She couldn't remember what exactly she had found so beautiful about him before, nor did she remember the horrors that they caused together.

Her last memory before everything went blank was of her negotiation with Misa Amane.

"Misa, in exchange for your death note, I will let you live, ultimately keeping both of us alive. Wouldn't you like that given the fact I'll hurt you worse than you hurt my mother?"

I made an offer she wouldn't be able to refuse. She was a naive, air-headed little pop star. She doesn't have the critical thinking skills to say no to such an offer. "Fine... I accept."

Everything after that was an irritating blank state of consciousness.

Her black guarder and butterfly knife had become foreign to her. She now felt uncomfortable with the tight strap around her thigh. And the heels she usually wore were now found uncomfortable by her judgment.

Her personality had shifted once more, but she was still missing something deep down inside of her: Her sanity.

She straightened up, walking into the familiar task force room. But instead of finding L, Matsuda, Watari, or even Lights father, she instead found two familiar successors of her now-deceased friend.

They continued their conversation before the knife jamming into the wall caught their attention. Mello's eyes widened at the realization of who was now in the room.

"Near, how wonderful it is to see you again." Near's brows furrowed at the sound of Katsuki's voice. It didn't match his memory. It was no longer sweet and supple. "Katsuki, long time no see, huh?"

"I presume you two have taken over the Kira case? L and I had an arrangement before his... I had fifty percent control over the investigation." Katsuki had only known this due to Light and Ryuk filling her in on some of her missing memory.

Ryuk had never let her forget that Light could've killed L if he really wanted to though, and so she grew distant with him although being partners for years.

"I did catch the second Kira, after all. You need me, and I'll be happy to hop back on board with you two. Just some food for thought, I'll let you chew on it." Her knife danced in her beautiful hands, eyes being glued to no one other than Mello. He watched I awe, it seemed as if it was only yesterday that he was helping her.

He snatched the gauze out of my hand, pulling a chair up in front of me. I watched as he gracefully wrapped my hand, not looking up at me once given his moment of concentration. I  stared in awe at how perfect the wrap was. I would've done a shitty job if it wasn't for him, not that I would ever tell him that.

"Don't keep your hand in such reach of the blade next time."

༻❁༺

The time I spent with Near would never compare to the amount of time I had spent with L. And it was all too much of a reminder of what I was missing, actually, who was missing. Near was amazing to be around. He had his quirks like L. But instead of candy, he liked... Toys?

It was odd, he wasn't that young after all. For a child his age to like toys so much was slightly off-putting.

But our time came to an end when I would take a trip to the states, entering a facility I had never wanted to go back to for as long as I lived. I was greeted by security, ones that clearly didn't understand my position here.

"It's alright, guys. She's with me." The men stepped out of the way, revealing the one and only James doppelgänger. I wanted to slit his throat at the sight of him, only choosing not to for the simple fact that he wasn't his brother.

"We meet again, Ms.Hinata." Linking my arm with his, he led me to his office. It was beautiful, decorated in a white and black theme with silver accents here and there. "What exactly was so important I had to take a flight from Japan to the states, Eric?"

"I'm sure you've heard about my brother's death-"

"I was ecstatic, actually." He sighed in response, taking a seat in his office chair. He gestured for me to do the same, but I kept my spot near the window. I envied his view of the city.

"I know you and my brother had never really gotten along, but he was your boss, for christ's sake. Show a little empathy, Ms.Hinata." I felt something in me snap, like a light switch being turned on.

"I have no empathy for your scum bag of a brother. He got what he deserved. He died a terrible way, yes. But he still got what he deserved." We sat in silence, clearly sizing each other up. "Did you have anything to do with it, Katsuki?"

"No, Eric, I did not. I put away the second Kira, for your information. I worked alongside..." She couldn't bring herself to say his name. It was weird. She was perfectly fine when she mentioned him to Near and Mello, but mentioning him to Eric felt wrong.

Eric didn't know L, so he shouldn't even have the experience of hearing his name.

"Speaking of, how are you? You know the company will always be here for you, we're a family." She scoffed, hastily sitting in the chair in front of him. "Family doesn't hurt their own, Eric."