Author's Note: It has been one month and six days since Bambi left Washington DC.

* * * January 17 * * *

It was the day of the entrance exam, and L had decided that he and Bambi would take separate cars to the exam building. Watari had left ten minutes earlier with L, and Bambi was currently in the passenger seat of Matsuda's car as he drove her to To-Oh University. She rested her head in her hand as she watched the scenery go by and mentally reviewed the plan. Light knew Matsuda from working with the police to help solve a few cases, so the detective would not return to pick up Bambi until after Light had left. Bambi had already hacked into the university security cameras, so all they would need to do is watch for the young man to leave.

It had been silent for most of the ride before Matsuda decided to break the ice. "So, Bambi, what kind of subjects did you like in school?"

The brunette shrugged. "Frankly, I never cared for school. It was too boring." After a moment of thought she added, "I did like the breaks, though. I was able to hang out with my friends and do things that actually interested me then."

"Really? I guess I-"

"Matsuda!" She pointed as they passed the entrance to the building.

"What? O-oh!" He sheepishly pulled over to the side of the road several yards past the building. "Sorry, Bambi."

She quickly checked her watch, relieved to find out that they weren't late. "It's okay, Matsuda. At least you stopped."

Before he had the time to turn the car off and run around to her door, Bambi had already opened the door and maneuvered herself and her crutches out the door and onto the sidewalk. She shivered as she realized that her jacket was a bit too light for the weather, and picked up her pace.

As she trekked onward, Bambi heard Matsuda open his door and yell out, "Good luck!"

She cringed at the unwanted attention that he drew to her, hoping that Light didn't see it. After making her way up a set of stairs to the entrance, Bambi followed several signs to the designated testing room. As she entered the half-filled room, she followed the instructor's directions to seat number 87. Several people watched curiously as the brunette crossed the room on her crutches. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Light Yagami watching her with a bored look on his face and L watching him from a few seats away.

After about fifteen minutes, the rest of the room had filled up and the tests had been passed out. The instructor looked at his watch for a few seconds before saying, "Begin."

Bambi opened the test book and began to mentally translate the exam into English as she went along. She quickly began chipping away at the test—the sooner she was done, the better. Not even a minute had passed before the young woman heard the instructor walk toward the middle of the room.

"Student 162, please sit properly."

She glanced up to see L still sitting with his feet on the chair and his knees to his chin. The hacker rolled her eyes at the sight as she returned her attention to her own exam. Hours upon hours had passed as she took the exam, but she got through it. After the exam, she packed up her pen and pencil, put on her jacket, got up onto her crutches and walked out the entrance. Flurries fell from the sky as Bambi paused at the top of the stairs before moving to the side and preparing herself to descend.

She had just transferred both crutches to one hand when she heard a familiar voice call out, "Excuse me, miss."

Bambi frowned briefly before turning her head. As she looked to the owner of the voice, she saw none other than Light Yagami hurrying next to her. In the background, she could see L passing by, a slightly concerned look in his eye.

"Do you need something?" She asked Light as he stopped next to her.

"Please, let me help you down the stairs—the snow is making them slippery, and I wouldn't want to see you get hurt." He gestured to the crutches in Bambi's hands.

She hesitated for a moment as she looked down at the steps. "They do look slippery... Okay."

He held onto her free hand as she grabbed the railing with the other and the two carefully descended down the steps. Bambi quickly took her hand back and thanked him for his help before maneuvering her crutches under her arms again. She then moved off to the side and pretended to look out into the road for her ride.

He walked up next to her and smiled. "I'm Light Yagami, by the way."

She mentally cursed as he spoke. He's not going to leave, is he? Having done undercover missions before, she knew that it was best to try not to interact with the suspect too deeply, but ignoring him could set him off.

Bambi smiled and said, "My name is Emily Stone. Normally I would shake your hand, but mine are a bit occupied at the moment." She nodded downward at her crutches.

He briefly glanced to the side before smiling at her. "Emily, huh? That's quite an English name you have."

"Close, but not quite."

"Where are you from, then?"

"Canada."

"Really?" He asked, curiosity clear in his voice. "What is a Canadian woman like you looking at a university in Japan for?"

She raised an eyebrow. "This is a good school, why wouldn't I be interested?"

"Touché."

During that bit of conversation, Bambi noticed L leaving out of the corner of her eye. She looked back out to the road, away from the young man standing next to her.

After a few moments of silence, Light spoke up again. "So, Emily, where are you staying?"

"I'm staying with a family friend a few towns over. I can't remember how to get there, though, so I'm just waiting here."

The young man smiled warmly at her. "Why don't I wait with you, then?"

She cooly responded, "Thanks for the concern, but I'll be fine."

Light seemed slightly taken aback by her rejection before trying again. "Please, I insist. I couldn't just leave an injured and defenseless woman to wait by herself." His expression became stern. "The streets are dangerous this late in the evening."

Bambi frowned as she looked down at her feet in contemplation. She knew that he would just keep insisting until he got his way, and if she kept rejecting his offer, Light might get suspicious. There was no way out of it.

"Alright," she said with a sigh. "You can wait with me."

Light smiled at her as they waited for the ride that would never come. Over the next half hour, the pair conversed about little meaningless things like school and how the people in Japan are different in from the people in Canada. Then Light checked his watch and brought up how late it was getting.

"Why don't you call the person you're staying with?" He suggested.

Bambi smiled awkwardly. "I kinda left my phone at home—like, in Canada—and I'm horrible at remembering numbers." It was sort of true anyway: her phone was still in Los Angeles with Near and Matt.

After thinking for a minute, Light offered, "Why don't you walk home with me? My dad is the Chief of the Japanese Police. When he gets home, we can give him your friend's name so he can find the address and drive you there."

Bambi was glad that Light wanted to get his father's help—that meant that L would be able to tell him what to do, and she would be brought back to Headquarters without suspicion unless Soichiro said anything funny. He probably wouldn't, though—Soichiro would do anything to prove his son innocent. A toothy grin found its way to her face.

"Oh! I thought your name sounded familiar. Knowing that, I'm comfortable coming with you."

Light's face lit up with relief. "Great! Let's go."

Bambi turned and followed him down the sidewalk. As the amount of snow falling began to increase, snowflakes began to stick to the young woman's hair, though they melted when they came into contact with Light. While they walked, the young man caught several glimpses of her bandaged arms as she moved forward with her crutches.

After a few minutes of casual conversation, he asked, "So, Emily, what is your opinion on Kira?"

She raised her eyebrows in shock as she glanced at him. She looked down at her feet as a light breeze swirled around them, weaving more snowflakes into Bambi's hair.

A few moments passed before she confessed, "I haven't really thought about it much."

"Really?" Light raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"I don't know," she truthfully answered. "I guess I just always had other things on my mind." She frowned.

He seemed slightly disappointed by her reaction, but said nothing. His eyes trailed up her figure, lingering only at her casted ankle, her bandaged arms, and the visible scar on her cheek.

After a few moments, Bambi apologized for her lack of a true opinion before asking, "What about you, Light? What do you think of Kira?"

He waited for a moment before responding, "I haven't decided yet. I ask people to help form my own opinion."

"Maybe I should start doing that too, then." She laughed. It's a convenient answer if he is Kira. I hope for his father's sake that he isn't, though. The two were silent for a few minutes as Bambi focused more on walking. Over time, her arms began to grow tired and she started moving slower and slower. Light took note of this and slowed down to match her pace.

"We're almost there—just a few more blocks." He assured her.

It took another fifteen minutes, but they both made it to Light's house. Bambi followed him through the gates and up to the door.

He let her in and called out, "I'm home!"

An older woman walked toward the door. "Where have you been, Light? You were supposed to be home—Oh." She cut herself off as she saw a young woman standing next to her son.

Light gestured to Bambi and said, "Mom, this is Emily."

A younger girl ran over. "Is she your girlfriend?!"

The detective raised an unamused eyebrow at the suggestion. I guess it makes sense that she would jump to that conclusion, she thought. He didn't bring any girls home during the surveillance, even when Soichiro said that he was out on a date.

"No, Sayu." Light cleared up, addressing his sister. "Emily's friend forgot to pick her up after the exam, and I brought her here so that dad could help get her home."

Sayu pouted at her brother's response. "Aw, okay. Nice to meet you anyway."

The middle-schooler ran back to the other room as Mrs. Yagami spoke up. "Well, Emily, my husband might not be back for a while, but you are welcome stay for dinner."

Bambi bowed her head to Light's mother. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"It's no problem, dear!" Sachiko then walked into another room.

As Light took off his shoes he explained, "My father is very busy with his work and has his cellphone off when he's out, so there is no way of contacting him during the day."

"I see." Bambi frowned as she looked down at him. She realized that she probably sees Soichiro more than his family does now because of the Kira case.

The brunette carefully moved her crutches and sat down to take off her one shoe. Light then helped her stand up again and led her to the dining room table, where Sayu was already sitting.

As the four of them began eating, Sayu asked, "Hey, Emily, how did you break your ankle?"

Bambi paused as she remembered her arguments with Mello, slipping in the bathroom, and Matt helping her out. She smiled and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly as she said, "I slipped on a puddle. It's really embarrassing, actually."

"Oh." Before the hacker could take another bite, Sayu interrupted her again. "How did you get that scar on your cheek?"

She froze.

Her heart raced as her calm vision of the dining room table was replaced by her dark cell. Bambi's arms were chained above her head and she watched in terror as her captor rushed toward her and sat on her legs.

She squeezed her eyes shut, but that did nothing to stop the clear images from playing out before her.

"Do you know what name I like better than Bambi?" Beyond's voice echoed in her mind. "Amelia Stein~."

It's not real, she told herself as she felt the Yagami's cool table under her shaking fingers. 

Beyond grabbed the lower half of her face, forcing he to look him in the eye as he reached behind his back and pulled out a knife.

Bambi took a shaky deep breath and focused on the sensation of the table. It was cool to the touch, maybe wooden. The horrific memories began to fade as Mello's face flashed across her eyes.

"Bambi, look at me." His voice echoed as her vision turned to black. "I'm gonna get you out of here..."

She opened her eyes and saw an empty plate between her hands. The brunette felt three sets of eyes gazing at her, but she couldn't make herself raise her head to meet them.

A few moments passed before she mumbled, "I'd rather not talk about it."

Sayu looked disappointed at her lack of a detailed response, but Light and Mrs. Yagami picked up that there was something off about the way that their guest answered. Luckily for her, Soichiro opened the door and walked in before Light could ask. He walked into the dining room, where the rest of the Yagami's greeted him.

Light spoke up. "Dad, this is Emily. She's an international student and is staying with a friend, but he forgot to pick her up after the exam. Could you please help her find his address?"

"It may not be that difficult." Soichiro responded before turning to his fellow Task Force member. "Emily, is your friend's name Takeshi Moto?"

She knew that L had to have planned this out so she smiled and said, "Yes, that's him."

"There was a young man by that name who came to the station earlier looking for an Emily Stone who looks just like you."

As Soichiro finished, Sachiko smiled at Bambi. "Isn't that lucky? Your friend was looking for you after all."

Soichiro spoke again. "I'll call the station and have them contact him so he can pick you up. I think he lived not far from here, so you shouldn't be waiting for too much longer."

Bambi bowed lightly to him. "Thank you, sir."

He walked into another room to make the phone call to the station—which really meant that he had Watari call him so he could signal whoever was picking Bambi up to leave. After about twenty minutes, the doorbell rang. Soichiro had Bambi follow him to the door, and Light tagged along too. The door opened to reveal Mello standing there in his fur-lined sweatshirt with his face half bandaged. Bambi's eyes momentarily widened, surprised that L decided to let the blond out of Headquarters looking the way he does. After a moment, she realized that he was the only person who really could get her. She smiled sheepishly at him. I bet he's happy to finally be in on some of the action, even if it is a lame rescue mission.

Mello smirked at her teasingly before turning to Soichiro. "Chief Yagami, thank you for helping me find Emily."

"You're welcome, but please be on time to pick her up next time."

"Will do, sir." Mello answered before turning back to Bambi. "C'mon, Em. Get your shoe on so we can go—I left the oven on."

The brunette suppressed a giggle fit at the mental image of Mello baking cookies before sitting down and quickly throwing on her shoe. She was helped up by Light behind her and Mello in front of her, both young men sending light glares at each other. Bambi felt uncomfortable, but pushed the feeling aside. After bidding her thanks and goodbyes, the young woman followed Mello down the path, out the gate, and to the car he drove.

~o~

A while after Emily left, Light was back on his computer in his room looking up criminals to kill. In his search, he ran into an article from the previous month about an unnamed woman who was found tortured and chained to a wall in an abandoned building in northwestern California. The article stated that the kidnapper had not been located yet, but he was suspected to be the escaped criminal, Beyond Birthday, who was also the main suspect for a set of recent murders in Los Angeles.

When Light looked to the attached image, he was shocked. The image was of a bloodied young woman with brown hair, a cut on her cheek, and a swollen ankle. He recognized the mutilated body as the Emily he was just conversing with. In the photo, she was being carried by a young man with blond hair and harsh burns down his left side, whom Light identified as Emily's friend Takeshi.

Of course, he thought. It all makes sense now. Ryuk laughed when she told me her name because she is going by an alias that her kidnapper wouldn't be able to track. Even after going through what she did, she still needs to continue on with her life. That must be why she's applying to To-Oh. Thinking about it, 'Emily' probably agreed to go with me so easily when I mentioned my father's position because it made her feel safe. Now I know that she was uncomfortable when Sayu asked about her scar because of who did it and all of the experiences around that.

He narrowed his eyes at the image of the suspect on the screen before taking out the Death Note.

Beyond Birthday will die in four days.