Author's Note: The next chapter will probably come some time in November or December (likely the latter.) Just as a heads up, there are less than ten chapters remaining. I hope that you have been enjoying the ride. Thank you for sticking with me and this story.

* * * September 22 * * *

It was near the end of Bambi's shift and she was eagerly awaiting the time she could return to headquarters. Thanks to some digging, the teen was able to narrow the bribery suspects down to three women. After a glance to make sure that her coworker was preoccupied and that Higuchi was still in his office, Robin Hood quickly rushed off to hack into the suspects' computers one by one. Not willing to stay there too long and risk getting caught, she downloaded all their files and emails to access from her computer back in her room.

Just as she finished, Near chimed in through her earpiece. "Soichiro just discovered that Kira's murders all take place between Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. This leads us to be more suspicious of the meetings, but you should continue to investigate the briberies."

Amelia frowned, irritated that it took the task force this long to notice something so simple yet important. She tapped twice in front of the camera to acknowledge her partner's words.

When the agent's shift was finally over and she was back at headquarters, she retreated to her room and changed out of her work uniform. Once the computer genius was in more comfortable attire, she made her way to her computer and opened the files that she downloaded from the bribery suspects earlier. The first set of files she opened belonged to a woman named Akira Watanabe, a financial analyst on the ninth floor. Her company profile showed Bambi that she was a slightly overweight woman with short hair and a warm smile.

According to the photographs she had saved as her background and screen saver, Akira was a mother of three children. Her emails indicated that she was having an extramarital affair with one of the executives on her floor, a man named Takeshi Ooi. Further investigation revealed that he was the vice president of the Yotsuba VT Enterprises. Amy looked through Akira's bank accounts that were linked to her computer, but none of them indicated any bribery between them. This led the hacker to doubt that the analyst was the Yotsuba Kira. Sure, she wasn't a good person, but Robin Hood was confident that she would have been able to catch her if she was involved in bribery.

Bambi closed out the files and opened the next set. These new ones belonged to a secretary on the tenth floor named Rin Tamura. Her company profile revealed that she was a beautiful woman in her early thirties - everything about her appearance from her makeup to her outfit just screamed seductress. As the teen went through her files, she found an encrypted folder that Rin was clearly trying to keep hidden. Naturally, it took the hacker only a few seconds to break into it. Inside she found thousands of photos and videos, many depicting a man who she had seen roaming the halls from time to time. He was clearly an executive, though the agent couldn't recall his name. Not to mention that many of the videos and pictures were pornographic, depicting Rin and the man together much earlier in the year.

After exiting the folder, the brunette checked this suspect's emails. While her Yotsuba email gave the hacker nothing of importance, there was a private email account that Rin had gone to great lengths to hide. It was clear that she was using this account to blackmail the man in the photos, who was apparently the executive she worked for - a man named Suguru Shimura. It seemed that Rin had never accessed her bank accounts from her work computer, so Bambi had no way of knowing if Suguru was giving her money to keep her quiet.

Although blackmail and bribery are two different things, she was far more suspicious of Rin than she was of Akira. Rin seemed to fit the more ambitious profile better, and she was clearly looking out for herself by blackmailing her executive.

With that decided, Amelia moved on to the final set of files. These belonged to a newly appointed executive named Yuko Noguchi. Before she could read further, her brows furrowed. Yuko was wearing thinly framed glasses and wasn't smiling in her ID picture, but that wasn't what puzzled the brunette. Rather, it was disconcerting just how much this woman resembled her. Yuko's hair was tied back and looked just like Bambi's, though a light blonde. Her eyes may have been largely obscured by her eyewear, but they still mirrored the teen's to a frightening degree. Even the shapes of their faces were nearly identical.

Amy swallowed her unease before proceeding with her task, though the question had already been planted in the back of her mind. Yuko's company profile revealed that she was eight years older than the hacker. At first glance she appeared to be a fiercely determined woman - though this could also be easily grasped from the fact that she was the only female executive in all of Yotsuba. The lack of any personal photos, backgrounds, or emails also told the teen that Yuko clearly put all her focus on her work - after all, she had more to prove in the male-dominated Yotsuba Corporation. She was incredibly clean, almost to a suspicious degree. No unusual salary. No blackmail. Nothing. Only the idea that a woman being so high up in Yotsuba would be easiest accomplished through bribery.

After closing out her files, the brunette sat there and pondered her decision. She needed to choose which woman to send Mello to focus on. He would need to get a sample of her DNA to see if it matched the forensic evidence he found in one of the employee lounges. While they would still need to further investigate all three women, it would be important to have forensic work done on the most suspicious of the group. Although Yuko was suspicously clean, the person with the closest profile was Rin. Ultimately, to avoid accusations of looking into the executive for personal reasons, Amelia decided to have Mello focus on Rin first with Akira being the least important suspect.

With that decided, the young woman sent a text to the blond with his instructions and moved to shut down her computer. Just before she could give the command, a notification popped onto her screen. It seemed that someone had gone through the lengthy and difficult process of contacting Eraldo Coil to request an investigation into L - of course, there was a large sum of money being offered by this anonymous client.

Bambi made a mental note to inform L and Near of the request before her fingers flew across the keyboard, tracing it back to the source. Whoever contacted her was clearly cautious, having devised an elaborate trail with several leads that were barely still detectable. Although it took her longer than she had hoped to complete the trace, she eventually found that she was contacted by a Japanese man named Masahiko Kida - a Yotsuba Executive.

Kira was clearly in Yotsuba, and this inquiry about L - who was known to be investigating Kira - was even more damning evidence.

Amy pursed her lips as she stared at the information on the screen. What she wondered was whether this Kida person was really Kira or just being used by Kira. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, she decided to discuss this with everyone first. After powering down her computer, the teen rushed down to the investigation floor to inform the others of her findings. The elevator doors opened, revealing her coworkers. Some of the Japanese detectives were doing paperwork in the corner while others were watching the surveillance feeds of Misa's room. Matt and Mello were getting all set up for their shift while planning out tonight's mission. Near was discussing Bambi's day with L and Light near the wall of screens that was monitoring Mello's planted cameras. The young woman approached the geniuses with her news.

L smiled at her as he asked, "So, have you narrowed down our list of suspects yet?"

She frowned. "Not exactly. Things just got more complicated."

"I narrowed down my original list, but I just received a request for Coil to look into you," she told him. "It was from a Yotsuba Executive."

He pursed his lips. "We should investigate this person with top priority."

L continued, "In the meantime, someone should call him back as Coil to throw him off our trail. You and Near are too busy during the day to do this, so your roles as Coil will temporarily move elsewhere."

Light glanced between Bambi and her partner with furrowed brows, but kept his silence.

The raven-haired detective turned toward his other successors. "Were you listening just now?"

Matt nodded while Mello verbally confirmed it.

"Good. Matt, you will act as Coil over the next few weeks," the great detective decided. "Drive up the price to see just how desperate he is, and be prepared to feed him false information should he choose to hire you."

"Sure. I can do that." The redhead grinned slyly. "I actually have a few ideas in mind - I'll make sure to have fun with it."

L nodded. "Just make sure that he can't trace-"

"Uh, guys?" Light interrupted, his face turned away from the group and toward the Yotsuba surveillance screens.

Amelia followed his gaze to find that a small group of men was entering one of the conference rooms.

"Conference room six," L mumbled. "Bambi, are any meetings scheduled for that room right now?"

"There shouldn't be any meetings past four o'clock."

He grinned. "Then we have found our secret meeting."

Everyone approached the screens to listen to the contents of the meeting, hoping for some hint that it was related to Kira. The brunette watched as all eight men settled around the table. As she looked around at the faces her eyes went wide and her stomach twisted into a knot.

"Higuchi," Near pointed out.

L pursed his lips. "Didn't you say that his last secretary died suspiciously?"

"Yes, but not of a heart attack."

He grinned. "Then perhaps we should look more into the possibility that Kira can kill in other ways."

Bambi frowned. "He's not the only suspicious person there. The man sitting across from him is Masahiko Kida, the man who requested Coil to look into you. Next to Higuchi is Takeshi Ooi, who is the man that one of my suspects is having an affair with. A few seats away from him is Suguru Shimura, the executive who is being blackmailed by one of my other suspects."

"Then all of them are suspicious," Mello suggested.

Near twirled his hair and stared at the screens as he argued, "Not necessarily. They haven't begun the meeting yet, so we don't know if this is truly related to Kira or not."

There was a silence amongst the investigators for a few moments before the bald one - Takeshi Ooi - spoke. "We shall commence our regular meeting. Let us discuss for the brighter future of Yotsuba, whom to kill."

There was an array of gasps throughout the members of the task force, most notably from the Yagami's.

"But first we must discuss a matter of importance," Ooi added before turning to one of the men present. "Kida, did you send Kira's request to Coil yet?"

The bespectacled man nodded his head. "Yes. I sent out the request last week, but he hasn't contacted me back yet."

Inside headquarters, Matsuda furrowed his eyebrows and turned to L. "Then why did Bambi only get the message today?"

"It takes about a week and multiple contact points to get the message to her," L explained. "This protects the identity of Coil."

Turning her attention back to the screens, a man Bambi didn't recognize spoke - a stocky man with blond hair and a beard. "So, I guess we just wait until he gets back to us."

There appeared to be a general sense of agreement from the group except for the executive who is being blackmailed by his secretary, Suguru Shimura.

He hesitated before suggesting, "Shouldn't we also consider the possibility that Coil could be a member of some kind of police force or even an agent of L's?"

Higuchi rolled his eyes. "We cunningly contrived to ensure that those deaths brought us profit indirectly and discreetly. No one should suspect us, and even L shouldn't know that Kira can kill with more than heart attacks. How can he possibly connect us to Kira?"

"But if he does find out, it's still a possibility that he could sell us out," the nervous man argued.

Ooi commented, "Shimura, you always think things in such negative ways."

"No, I'm just pointing out the possibilities."

"All the possibilities you come up with are negative ones," Ooi added. "You can stop worrying. It's time that we returned to the main topic anyway."

Part way into the blunt discussion of who to kill next, one of the men Bambi didn't recognize became increasingly agitated, fidgeting in his seat until he couldn't take it anymore. "I... don't know which one of you is Kira, but I want to leave this team. I don't want to get involved too much and wind up getting caught as a criminal."

Higuchi chuckled before commenting, "You are so dead Hatori, probably by tomorrow..."

Amelia couldn't help but tense at the bold statement, all blood draining from her face at the ever increasing prospect that she was working directly under Kira. Her heart started to pound and beat more rapidly as the insides of her stomach began to churn.

Near caught the expression on his partner's face a quietly assured her, "You'll be fine. Take a deep breath and calm down."

Following his suggestion, she took a shaky inhale. Amy nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her back. She whipped her head around to find that it was Miles. She relaxed as the redhead smiled apologetically at her.

"It'll be okay," he whispered. "Just be careful. If it looks too dangerous, quit. Your life is more important than gathering evidence."

The brunette smiled softly and nodded before refocusing on the screens again.

As Hatori attempted to save face and his life, the others began to discuss the possibilities of him actually being Kira. It was made clear to the task force that the members of the group had no idea who Kira actually was. After the argument, the meeting proceeded as expected. The group decided on a few people to kill and benefit the company. They briefly mentioned that Kira left parameters regarding how to request a murder, implying that he has the original Kira's powers of needing both a face and a name to kill. Once the meeting was over, the men dispersed.

There was a short silence amongst the investigators before Mello spoke up. "Given the way Higuchi seemed so confident in telling Hatori that he will die soon, he seems to be the most suspicious of the group. I don't think that Bambi should keep working for him."

"She has an alias," Near argued. "She will be safe from Kira."

"What about Ooi?" Matsuda suggested. "He was leading the meeting, so it makes the most sense."

"Don't forget that some of those men have connections to Bambi's suspects," Light added. "It's too early to narrow it down to one person just yet."

L nodded. "I agree, but those listed appear more suspicious than the others." He turned to Bambi. "Remember to press your emergency button if you are in danger."

With that said, the investigators dispersed, leaving Amelia there with her thoughts. Mello is right. Higuchi acted among the cockiest of the group, making him the most suspicious in my eyes. I'll have to keep a more careful eye on him from here on out.

* * * September 28 * * *

Bambi sitting at her desk in Higuchi's office doing her work as usual. It had been about a week since the task force eavesdropped on the Yotsuba Kira's meeting, but they were still only in the preparatory phases of their investigations. Mello gathered the samples the young woman requested him to focus on, but there was a long wait at the lab to be tested. In the meantime, the hacker was planning a way to further investigate the women on her own.

The others were preoccupied with investigating those who attended the Kira meeting, needing more manpower for the group that was more likely to contain Kira. Amelia learned in her weekly newsletter that the CEOs son, Arayoshi Hatori, was found dead earlier in the week, pointing the identity of Kira even more toward Higuchi and the Kira group he was in. Near had also informed her earlier that morning that Matt was calling finally Kida as Coil.

As the teen waited for news from her partner, Sora called out to her. "So, what are you going to wear to the Gala next month?"

Bambi raised an eyebrow. "Gala?"

"Yeah, the gala. Don't tell me you didn't read the notice on the board? We have it every October after the third quarter ends," she explained. "It's on the 20th this year. It's a company-wide thing that's mandatory to attend - even the maintenance staff has to come."

Before she could go further, she got another call. Sora apologized before taking it and patching it in to Higuchi. The older secretary kept trying to tell the agent about the dress she bought for this year's event, but she was soon inundated with calls and unable to continue her conversation. Not much later, Higuchi emerged from his office in a hurry."

Near chimed in through Bambi's earpiece, "They are having an emergency meeting. I'll have Matt patch you into the audio feed."

She tapped twice in view of the camera to acknowledge his statements.

It wasn't long before the men began their discussions.

"Now, let's commence our emergency meeting. Have a look at the documents on your desk for details..." one of the men, presumably Ooi, began.

"I think Kida was wise in taking cautious actions on the phone," another suggested.

A third man argued, "I don't think not saying a word was a wise thing to do. We requested the investigation, and not replying to it might raise suspicion."

Bambi heard Higuchi laugh dryly. "You bunch of fools. Raise suspicion? Try to understand that it's not that kind of level anymore."

Another man chimed in, one whose voice seemed familiar. "Higuchi is right. Coil has a pretty good idea of what we are doing. Otherwise, why would he mention the hush money?"

"How far is pretty good?" asked the man Higuchi made fun of.

"Think about it. It's logical for Coil to want to find out who his client is," the smarter one argued back. "And if he wants to know, then he will find out. If he can't do that, then he is no good as a private detective. This is only logical - it's not rocket science."

One of the more blunt, but logical executives added, "So he found out that his client works for Yotsuba, but he didn't stop there. He found out about the growth of Yotsuba during the recent months... and then eventually the secret behind it."

"So what Namikawa means," Ooi began, "is that Coil already figured out that Kida has a connection with Kira."

Shimura, the cautious one, commented, "T-That's not good. Maybe we should consider the possibility of Coil really being an agent."

"Drop it, Shimura." Ooi commanded. "We already discussed this last week, and we won't let your pessimism hinder our decision making."

"R-Right."

Amelia pursed her lips. His cautiousness was certainly notable. He seemed to have Kira's interests more at heart than the others, clearly not wanting to be caught. Though, recalling that he was already the ongoing victim of blackmail, he may just be stressed about his situation, especially after Hatori's death proved that none of the members can quit. He was probably just trying to make sure that he didn't get sentenced for something he was forced into.

Another man brought the conversation back to the point. "So, what are we going to do? If Coil knows about us and Kira, then we definitely need to pay three million for the hush money..."

"If we are paying the three million dollars, I'd say we are better off killing Coil once he finds out the identity of L," Higuchi suggested.

Bambi's heart raced as she tightened her lips into a thin line. Another strike toward Higuchi - and a threat on her closest friend's life. No, she had to remind herself that he would be okay.

"How do we kill him?" Ooi asked. "We don't even know his face."

"We'll set him a condition and ask him to show up," Higuchi explained. "One of us can contact him and take a snap or something."

"We won't know that it is Coil."

"But we know his voice from the call, right?"

Ooi paused before pointing out, "There's a possibility that the voice on the call was his agent."

"Would a detective let his agent mention a word like 'hush money'?" Higuchi argued. "I don't think so."

The smarter man from earlier finally chimed in again to insinuate that he believed Higuchi to be Kira, especially given that he is so set on killing Coil. Namikawa then added that Coil also knows that Kira wants intelligence so that he can raise his social status, especially after the blow that the Robin Hood Hacker dealt to the company a few years prior. After further coming to the conclusion that Coil would be an asset, the group decided to pay him more than double what he asked for.

Soon, the sounds of the conference room were replaced by Near. "L and Light are fighting again."

Bambi internally groaned. Not again...

She heard a woman chattering in the background before Near huffed a sigh. "Fine. Misa overheard your conversation and she wants to take you shopping for your dress."

The chattering resumed.

"...and to 'do your hair up and paint your nails,'" he relayed. "Ryuzaki says you have to go." His voice got quieter as he addressed the model. "She said yes. Now go away."

The brunette snorted in amusement. It wasn't every day that someone could irritate Near to such a degree, and while Amy knew that she shouldn't find it funny, she couldn't help it. Besides, she was looking forward to spending more girl time with Misa anyway. Between their jobs and Misa spending so much time with her new boyfriend, they never really got to see each other anymore.

* * * October 5 * * *

It had been a busy week since the Yotsuba Kira group had their emergency meeting regarding Coil. They set up a new meeting at an irregular time to go over the information and quickly learned that their hire had basically screwed them out of their money - much to Matt's and Mello's amusement. Not to mention that the third quarter ended, showing that Yotsuba's stock increased even more than than the investigators expected - likely due to the murders that occurred after they used Kato's program.

While the many suspects had led to the task force being busier than ever, the Japanese Chief of Police forced his detectives to either drop the investigation or quit the force. All but Aizawa decided to stick with the task force, with L and Watari paying them just as they payed the Wammy Teams.

Despite the increasing suspicions of the group which holds the Kira meetings, Bambi and Mello still had to thoroughly investigate the three women that the hacker had narrowed down. Given that two of her suspects were in low positions in their offices, it wouldn't be too difficult to orchestrate a reason for Higuchi to send her to their offices. Although she could say the same for her third suspect, given that the woman was an executive, the teen decided that it would be too risky to speak to her in public and question their similar appearances. Still, the hacker planned on cozying up to her main suspect - surely Rin would start trusting her enough to spill the beans after having lunch together enough. Fortunately, Matsuda was willing to lend a hand in getting the agent that opportunity to meet her.

"For the last time, that form doesn't do that!" Sora snapped into the phone. "You need to go online and download the one labelled-"

Her eyebrow twitched as the caller interrupted her with what was likely another stupid question. Higuchi stepped out of his office with a thick folder in his hands and looked at Sora with a frown.

"Then why are you calling the Technology Department? We don't even handle that!" she argued with the caller. "Yes, I'm sure!"

He then turned to Amelia, just as planned. "Lola, I need you to deliver this to Mr. Shimura's office on the tenth floor."

"Yes, sir."

As the genius stood from her seat, she noticed that her boss was highly agitated, his brow furrowed and his posture tense.

When she took the folder from him, he instructed, "Don't stop to speak to anyone in that office, am I clear?"

While Bambi was curious as to his reason, she kept her suspicions to herself and smiled. "Of course."

With that said, he announced, "I'm off to my meeting now. Sora, don't lock me out again."

Sora looked up and nodded before narrowing her eyes and yelling into the phone, "No! You get me your supervisor. I want to know who thought it was a good idea to hire someone who's too stupid to read the words right in front of his face!"

Amelia tried to keep her grin hidden. Before her colleague could notice the expression on her face, the teen stepped out of the office and headed toward the elevator. Once on the tenth floor, she followed the signs to Shimura's office and let herself in. There was only one secretary present - Rin Tamura. True to her profile, she was dressed in a more lax manner than Higuchi's secretaries: no suit jacket, a tight skirt, and more cleavage showing than the brunette cared for. Rin's eyes were on the newcomer as she grinned and rose from her desk.

"Can I help you?" she asked with a cool tone.

Now I just need to talk to her and get her to like me. Bambi smiled. "Yeah, I have some paperwork for Mr. Shimura from the Tech Department."

"Just come with me," she directed before opening another door.

It was a large room - similar to Higuchi's - with an occupied desk in the middle and all sorts of cabinets lining the walls. The lights were dim, possibly due to the frequent headaches that the Head of Personnel was prone to. Shimura looked up from his desk on the other end and tensed, eyes flickering to the brunette.

Meanwhile, Rin pointed to a group of cabinets on the far side of the room. "Just put it in the top drawer on the right where the other incoming paperwork goes."

As Amy began to follow the older woman's instructions, Rin coyly called over to her executive, "Mr. Shimura, shouldn't you be at your meeting now?"

The teen threw a glance over her shoulder to see the man tense before glancing to Bambi again and meeting her gaze. Feeling foolish for being caught, she tightened her lips into a thin line and returned to the task at hand.

She heard his chair drag across the floor as he stood. "Of course. You're right, Ms. Tamura. Thank you."

The door closed, leaving the women alone in the office. Amelia's brows furrowed as her temper began to rise - although she wanted to speak to Rin, she wouldn't be able to do that if she couldn't find the right damn cabinet! A few moments passed before the auburn-haired woman was beside her.

"Oops, I meant the cabinet beside you," she corrected before reaching over and helping Bambi.

The agent laughed. "That would explain it." After filing the papers away, she turned to her suspect and grinned. "Thanks. I'm Lola, by the way."

The corners of her lips curved into a cat-like grin as something sparkled in her eyes. "Oh, Higuchi's new secretary? It can be so hard being one these days, especially under men like him."

The brunette raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. "You know what he's like?"

"Oh, honey," Rin cooed, her comforting voice like a siren's song. "He has quite the reputation - it a wonder that he's still working here."

"Yeah, I guess it isn't too surprising," Bambi commented with a laugh. "Hey, would you want to go to lunch together sometime soon? It'd be nice to make friends other than Sora - not that she's bad or anything," she frantically tried to amend, "but she's the only person I really know around here."

She laughed - a melodious sound. "I accept your invitation."

There was a short pause as Amy wondered why she was still standing there, and why her heart was racing.

"You look so young," Rin purred as she reached up and stroked the teen's cheek.

Bambi's eyes went wide as her whole body tensed. When did she get so close? Her mind was screaming for her to run, but she couldn't fight against her unmoving feet. There was something so calming about that voice and her touch as Rin complimented her again.

Near called out to his partner through her earpiece, "Bambi, get out of her reach."

Ignoring his repeated warnings, the brunette remained still in her entranced state. Rin traced her finger down the faint scar on her cheek.

"Oh, marring such a perfect face," she commented with a pout. "Tell me, Lola, how did you get this?"

Amelia frowned as she realized just how disarmed this woman had made her, faking a cough as she scrambled for an excuse. "I-I was in a car accident. The glass shattered."

Rin hummed, silencing the teen as she reached back and began to run her hand through brown locks. "Don't lie to me."

"Get out of there!" Mello commanded through the microphone, jolting Bambi out of her trance.

She roughly pulled herself away from the predatory secretary and rushed toward the door. "I-I have to go."

Rin watched on as the teen disappeared from her sight, eyes narrowed as she repeated, "Lola Montez..."

That afternoon, Amy and Sora went out to lunch as usual. It took a while for her to calm down, shaken from how easily Rin had disarmed her. After her coworker went on and on about the idiot who called earlier and mysteriously hung up in the middle of the conversation, it was Bambi's turn to get a word in.

Her tone and expression were serious as she leaned forward and asked, "What do you know about Rin Tamura?"

Sora's smile immediately dropped into a frown as she furrowed her brows. "...She got you alone, didn't she?"

"Just answer the question."

Sora tightened her lips into a thin line before sighing. "They call her the shadow CEO. It may not be official, but she has more power than even most executives - and more people under her control than you realize. She's not someone you want to mess with, and - for your own sake, and mine - don't ask about her again."

With her hectic day finally over and Bambi back in her room, she thought back to Yuko Noguchi. It quickly spread around the task force that one of the teen's suspects looked surprisingly like he, and she wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. Ignoring the gossip she was the topic of, the hacker thought back to how Mello sent those sample to the lab a while ago - shouldn't the results be back by now? Almost as if on cue, she heard a knock at her door.

The young woman craned her neck and called out, "Come in!"

Immediately after her instructions, the door opened, revealing Mello. Amelia raised an eyebrow. It wasn't often that he visited her in her room.

"What's up?" she asked.

He walked up to the brunette as he explained, "The results just came in. Yuko wasn't the person who had sex in the lounge and neither was Rin."

"I can't say I'm surprised with Yuko. She doesn't seem the type." Bambi winced. "Rin on the other hand..."

"Yeah, I watched," the blond reminded her. "I'm surprised that worked on you, though. I could see it working on me or maybe Matt if he weren't so..." He shook his head. "You know what? Nevermind."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "If he weren't so what?"

"Forget it."

She hesitated before asking, "He isn't gay, is he?"

Mello burst out laughing. "That's the first thing you thought of? No, he's into women." He paused for a moment as he thought. "Right now, the word I would use to describe both of you is 'oblivious'."

The brunette's eyebrow twitched before she folded her arms and stuck her tongue out at the man.

"And childish," he added. "But that's just you."

"Whatever." She put her hands on her hips. "Why did you come to tell me the results personally? Not only is it unlike you, but it isn't exactly practical."

He took on a more serious expression. "Look, we both know that she looks a lot like you. Since her DNA is already sequenced, it wouldn't be hard for them to compare it to yours. I have to head to the lab again later, so I could just bring your sample directly."

Bambi pursed her lips as she considered his offer. Whether she liked it or not, the question had been on her mind ever since she saw Yuko's picture. No one knew who the genius' mother was at the orphanage since she was dropped off anonymously in the middle of the night as a newborn. Growing up without knowing anything about her family weighed a heavy toll on her childhood, and Amelia was well aware of that. If Yuko turned out to be related to her, then she could learn about her family and become a part of it as she had subconsciously yearned for so long. Of course, there was the chance that this woman could reject her, but what were the odds of that?

She looked up at him. "I'll take you up on that offer."

* * * October 11 * * *

Nearly a week had passed since Mello sent Bambi's samples to the lab to be tested and the hacker had been home for a while now, unable to sleep - of course, it didn't help that she was still dressed in her usual clothes and pacing around the room. At some point, she heard a knock at the door. Her heart raced at the thought that this might be it, so she ran to the door and opened it, revealing a fully cloaked Watari.

"May I come in?"

The teen nodded and stepped aside.

Once the veteran was inside and the door was closed, he explained, "I just received the results from the lab. While there is not enough of a match for you to share both parents, there was enough information to determine that you share the same mother as Yuko Noguchi." He smiled as he put a grandfatherly hand on her shoulder. "Congratulations."

Amy's heart soared in that moment. While Yuko wasn't her full sister, they were still related, and that was enough to set the teen's mind racing. She would have a family, and someone to teach her about them. It could only get better from here... or so she thought.

* * * October 14 * * *

It was finally here - the weekend and the day Amelia would finally get to know her sister. The hacker sent her an email last night from a more personal account to introduce herself, explaining that she saw Yuko while on business at Yotsuba and since they looked so similar to each other, Bambi looked into it. The email went on to explain that they shared the same mother, and that the teen never knew her since she grew up in an orphanage. She ended the email by telling Yuko that she was incredibly excited to learn that she had a sister and that she was looking forward to getting to know her and becoming a family.

Amy took a deep breath before opening her reply, eager to hear about her long lost relative.

"You are not a part of my family and you never will be. Did it ever occur to you that you grew up in an orphanage with no knowledge of that woman for a reason? My mother left with no warning when I was very young and I never heard from her again. This was difficult on my father and I for many long years, and I do not need another reminder of the pain that woman caused my family.

Never contact me again."

The teen's heart stopped as she furrowed her eyebrows. Maybe she just read it wrong? Still, after countless rereads, the message remained the same - Amelia's only known blood relative was pushing her away and making sure that it stayed that way. Only then did it fully hit her. Bambi's get wrenched and her lips quivered as tears began to accumulate in her eyes. Never would she have expected something so promising to lead to such heartbreak, and with every ounce of her being she regretted ever agreeing to look into it.

There was a knock at the door and she turned to face it, fighting off her tears as it opened and Matt stepped inside.

"Hey, I just wanted to see how it was-" He froze upon locking eyes with her, glancing to her screen for only a moment before he quietly added, "Oh, no... It didn't go well, did it?"

Amelia pursed her lips as she silently shook her head, sucking in a breath as tears beginning to steam down her cheeks. The redhead carefully made his way to his crush before pulling her into an embrace and looking over to read what the email said. When he was done, he sighed and tightened his arms around her.

Miles started out hesitantly as he softly called out, "Amy, I'm so sorry. You don't deserve any of this..." He sighed. "Maybe she'll turn around one day. Even if she doesn't, you'll still always have me, and Mello, and Ryuzaki, and even Light. We all care about you and want the best for you... I'll do whatever I can to make you feel better. I..." He stopped himself, unable to utter those three words.

Not yet.