I have a feeling that this is it; I won't be making an epilogue for this story. I feel like everyone's done that. It's not very creative in my eyes.

L's real name is stated many times in this chapter.

So this is it, this is the last of Adopting and Adapting. If you want a sappy and sad speech written by me, it's after the story… Thanks for all the kind and constructive thoughts you shared in you reviews… I love all of you…

Adopting and Adapting

Chapter 22

After the invasion of Wammy's House, the Yagami son, daughter, and father all went back to Japan to see the mother again. Once they arrived, Sachiko wrapped her loving arms around her son and spun him around, kissed his cheek, then carried him inside as if he were incapable of walking. That night, there was no question about it; Raito was sleeping in her brother's bed with him. That, she felt, was the only way to make sure that they wouldn't be separated again. They slept peacefully.

…

In Winchester, over a period of several weeks, the English police talked to every teacher, administrator, and student of Wammy's House to sort out the guilty adults and the child victims. There were 386 children. 4 were abuse victims. 3 were not adopted yet and still in Winchester, and those 3 were taken to therapy sessions that were paid for by the government. The rest of the 382 children were not victims of any sort of abuse, just neglect. They were all taken to several other orphanages in the country.

There were 2 administrators in Wammy's House, Quillish Wammy and Roger Ruvie. They admitted to abusing the 4 children and were both arrested and put in jail without any chances of parole. They are to live out the rest of their lives in prison. There were 30 teachers at Wammy's House, and 8 were found guilty by a jury. Abby Smith, George Williams, Hunter Green, Thomas Miller, Caroline Jeffries, Gregory Evans, Edwards Phillips, and Sara Newman were all found guilty in the English court. All were put in jail without any chances of parole. The 22 other teachers were released and no bad marks were to be put on their teaching resumes.

…

Back in Japan, a week after the successful invasion, L arrived in an orange jumpsuit; his hands handcuffed in front, two Japanese officers escorted him into the courthouse. By now the story captivated the world, and there were local and national anchormen and women trying to get a statement from the teen. And by now, his real name was a household name and the fact that he was 'L' was no secret to the general public. There was a survey of 10,000 people from Japan, and it turned out that L Lawliet is the most hated person in the eastern-most country. The Land of The Rising Sun hated L Lawliet. The whole world was watching live as the news cameras were rolling.

L Lawliet stepped into the courtroom where all four members of the Yagami family were. Raito and Beyond were dressed in their school uniforms since they were picked up by their parents right after school and didn't have time to change. There was a man beside the family, Haru Manamiko, their lawyer. On the other side of the room, L saw his defense lawyer, Saki Oe.

L stayed standing up as the judge asked him, "How does the Defendant plea?"

L Lawliet spoke into the microphone, "Not guilty, Your Honor."

Beyond Yagami, as his new Japanese birth certificate called him, was called to testify against L. The wonderful lawyer also had a stand with pictures on it, a blank piece of paper covering them from the eyes of the jury. Beyond started answering the questions that his family's lawyer asked him, "Beyond, what kinds of things did Mr. Lawliet have people do to you?" Beyond was nervous as the jury's eyes were all on him.

Beyond spoke into the microphone, seeing all the cameras from the news stations pointed at him. "He had me locked in a room for seven years. I was only allowed to go outside for an hour once a week." Some people looked at the sick bastard in orange. "And he would only feed me old, dried-out cakes."

"What about the abuse? What did he have people do to you?" The kind eyes of Manamiko-san looked at Beyond in a caring and friendly way.

Beyond looked sad as he told everyone what happened, "It happened when I had to take tests. If I got an answer wrong, I was told to get on my hands and knees. The teacher would take a yardstick and hit me with it. It got worse when L told them to put uncooked rise on the floor, because some of the rice is not in my kneecaps."

Manamiko-san pulled back the blank piece of paper to reveal an enlarged photo of Beyond's bare kneecaps. Some people gasped at what they saw. The photo was labeled 'Exhibit A' and clearly showed where the grains of rice that had dug into Beyond's skin. The skin healed over top the grains, so the boy would have rice in his knees for the rest of his life. "These are your knees?" Manamiko-san asked.

"Yes," said Beyond.

"Objection!" Oe-san, Mr. Lawliet's defense lawyer stood up, "How do we know that picture wasn't photo-shopped or if it's someone else's knees?"

Manamiko-san smiled smugly at his opponent, "Beyond-kun, if you don't mind, could you step out of the testification ward and show Oe-san your knees?" Beyond did as he was told, rolling up the black trousers of his uniform and revealed his knees to the world. Some people gasping could be heard as the camera flashes brightened the room for small instants. The female judge pounded on the gavel, and the flashes all stopped. "Okay, Yagami-kun, please go back to the testification ward. We're not done with the questions." Beyond, again, did as he was told after rolling his pant legs down. "Now, can you explain anything else?"

"Yes," Beyond said. "After I was adopted by the Yagami family, L kidnapped me and brought me back to Wammy's House, the orphanage where I was kept a prisoner for years."

"Where is Wammy's House?"

"Winchester, England." More hushed whispers from the news people, then another loud crack from the judge's gavel.

After the rest of Beyond's explanations, which L acted indifferent towards, it was Raito's turn to testify since she was a witness to the kidnapping and also to the fact that L had an illegal gun when he was under international age to own one as well. When Raito was talking, L was just staring at her with obsessive love and attraction.

After she was done explaining what happened and what she saw, Raito was allowed to go back to her seat. Then L's defense lawyer spoke to the jury for a small amount of time on why her client wasn't guilty, saying that L Lawliet never once laid his own hands on anybody and that it was all a huge misunderstanding.

The jury went into another room for deliberation.

…

They came back less than five minutes later. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" asked the judge.

One short Japanese woman stood up, "We have, Your Honor." She held a piece of paper in her hands. Everyone stood up, the Defendant, the Plaintiff, the newscasters, the cameramen; everybody. Raito held her brother's hand tightly in her own, and covered her mouth with her other hand. She felt ready to cry at whatever the verdict ended up being.

"I'll read the charges, and you will give the verdict," said the judge. "Abuse of a minor?"

"Guilty in the second degree."

"Isolation of a minor?"

"Guilty."

"Kidnapping of a minor?"

"Guilty."

"Repetitive torture of a minor?"

"Guilty in the second degree."

"The Civil Rights charge on the invasion of privacy?"

"Guilty in the first degree."

"Bribery in the English Court System?"

"Guilty in the first degree."

"And finally, illegal and underage possession of a gun in Japan?"

"Guilty, Your Honor," she announced.

Raito attached herself to her brother, crying her eyes out. Sachiko hugged her husband, a big smile on her face.

…

It was over.

…

L Lawliet was sentenced to 85 years in prison without parole. It would have been life in prison if he was charged as an adult. Outside the courtroom, L saw the Yagami family. He had the officers stop and spoke to the Yagami girl, who was holding her brother's hand. Beyond smiles as he looks at L, who says, "Please convince your parents to drop the charges, Raito-chan! I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you! You said before that all humans have the natural right to be free."

She replied, "Yes, I did say that. However, I also said what we do with that freedom is out own choice, good or bad, and that we are responsible for our own actions…"

L was now starting to cry. He reached his handcuffed hands to his love's head, the chain making clanging sounds. He strokes her hair slowly and softly. L makes a sad face. He has a sharp intake of breath through his sobs, "You're so beautiful…" he whispers. L is forcibly pulled along by the officers.

Outside the courthouse, as their parents are busy with talking to the news reporters, Beyond tells Raito, "We don't have to worry, he going to die in jail."

She asked him, "How do you know?" He'll be 99 when his jail time ends. How do you know he won't still be alive?"

Beyond just smiles and says, "I'll tell you later." And Beyond smiled because he saw that L will die when he is 87 years old. Only 12 years before his jail time will be over.

…

Back in Winchester, Wammy's House was ordered to be torn down by the Queen of England. A beautiful park was built in its place, with a long walkway and benches and a playground for children. It is named Yagami Park in honor of the Japanese family.

A plaque with the date of the invasion was placed on a concrete stand. The plaque also had an engraving of Beyond's and Raito's smiling faces. There was also another larger plaque on the other side of the concrete stand with all the names of the officers who served to help make the invasion possible.

Soon, Wammy's House was nothing more than a distant memory.

…

The Yagami Residence – Monday Morning:

"Raito, Beyond, it's time to wake up. Get dressed and ready for school," said Sachiko before she snapped a photo of her young children sharing Beyond's bed.

…

Things were slowly becoming normal again.

…

They groggily got up, and Raito went to her room to get dressed. Soon, both children went downstairs in their uniforms for breakfast. They had to eat quickly before rushing out the front door for school.

As always, Raito and Beyond walked down the sidewalk on their way to Bandmaster Academy. In the middle of their quiet walk to school, Raito suddenly grabbed her brother and hugged him tightly. Beyond was surprised at first, but then hugged back. He heard his sweet sister say, "I love you so much." She said it with a smile.

He held her tighter before kissing her cheek. "I love you too."

That hug made all if his pain and suffering worth it. Because Beyond Yagami knew that if he didn't live through the abuse, he never would have met the person he's come to love the most; Raito Yagami, his little sister. Never again would he remember the orphanage and be filled with feelings of grief or hatred. Instead, he would be happy and thankful to himself for toughing it out and, above all else, surviving.

…

His scars and tears were now good things.

…

His sister was his best friend and companion for life.

It was just Beyond and Raito.

"I love you so much… I'll never stop loving you…"

Owari

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Even though there are streams of tears running down my face as I sadly close the curtain on this story, I sincerely hope that Adopting and Adapting has found a special place in all your hearts, and I hope it has become on FanFiction that you will always remember. I hope that the ending wasn't a disappointment at all, and I sincerely hope this story moved you and I genuinely hope the end of every chapter made you want to read the next one. Unfortunately, though, there will not be a next chapter.

I feel that I'm connected to all of you strangers in some way, that we are all connected as a whole in this big world. All of us on FanFiction are connected, and we share out thoughts and ideas with other strangers who have curious and welcoming eyes to our ideas.

That just shows that we are never alone, that there is always someone there for us and that someone will always be there for us in our times of need, just as Raito was there for Beyond and vice-versa. That is the moral of this story: Know that you are never alone.

Throughout the rest of my life, I promise to myself to never forget that moral. We are never alone. During the time that I was writing this story, some very dramatic things have significantly changed my life. My father cheated on my mother, and my mother kicked him out. And since she is currently the only one financially supporting me as her 14-year-old daughter, we don't have enough money to keep our house. We are currently looking to find a new place for rent. (August of 2011)

My father showed me how horrible people could be to each other, that we could like to and deceive the people that we are supposed to love the most. But now my eyes have been opened to how wonderful and supportive people can be to each other. And that is all thanks to you, as a reader of Adopting and Adapting.

And now, and I take my final bow for Adopting and Adapting, my last message to you all is, "I feel so honored that you've taken the time to look at something that I created. Thank you for showing me the better half of human nature. Please be good to one another. Never purposefully do anything that could cause pain to others, even if you don't love them. Since we are all connected, chances are someone we know does love that person.

I hope you enjoyed my work. Thank you for reading. Thank you for the love.

Sincerely,

Charlotte Ann Johnson

PS – I want to thank JiffyPeanutButterGirl for looking up "What's a judges hammer called?" on Google for this story. Here's a virtual hug for you! Love you, sis! *hug*