Disclaimer: By now I think you'd have the drill. Don't own the stuff I write about; not here anyways.

Chapter One:

Bitter Beginning

*Watari is temporarily staying at the Wammy House in London, England when he receives a video call from the world famous detective L. He takes the call at his computer.*

"L, how are you?" Watari asked distractedly as he sat down at his desk.

"I am fine, thank you. I would ask how you are, Watari, but it is apparent that you have something troubling on your mind," L replied in a tone that only hinted at amusement, with his mouth set in a barely noticeable smirk.

Watari mopped his forehead with a handkerchief embroidered with the Wammy House crest before stuffing it in his front pocket. "Oh you're right of course. I'm currently dealing with a most disturbing situation at the moment," Watari sighed.

L's smirk faded. "Oh, how so?" he inquired while stirring a cup of tea.

Watari shook his head. "I'm not sure if it's something that you would want to know," he admitted.

L cocked his head to the side. "No, no, now I am most curious. You know I'll find out eventually," he added lightly, spooning three more lumps of sugar into his tea.

Watari nodded, resigned. "Mello, one of your protégés, was recently apprehended while um...vandalizing the snack machine outside the dining hall."

L's eyebrows came together. "Your intonation of the word 'vandalizing' implies a deeper meaning. How exactly was Mello 'vandalizing' the machine?"

Watari sighed and deliberated for a moment. "To put it simply, it appears that Mello was...how shall I say this...sexually assaulting the machine," the old man said in a hushed voice. L twitched involuntarily in his chair.

"I see...so he was raping the vending machine," he said dryly, gazing carefully at his tea rather than the screen of his computer. "So it would seem," Watari grimaced, hanging his head. L contemplated his tea thoughtfully. "Might I ask what...event lead to such behavior?" he asked lightly.

"If you recall, the maintenance for such a trivial item as a vending machine here at the House is highly irregular, as most of the pupils here are more interested in their studies." Watari inclined his head in acknowledgement of L's former attendance; L did not respond.

"Because of this, the machine is slightly outdated and, at times, malfunctions. Just as much happened to young Mello while attempting to buy a chocolate bar. The machine took his money, but failed to register that fact. The boy does love chocolate..." he broke off, smiling slightly. L cleared his throat, bringing his old tutor back to Earth.

"So...because of this machine's error, Mello took it upon himself to teach it a lesson by way of rape?" L finally glanced up at the monitor. "You have, I assume, tried talking to the boy?"

Watari grimaced and shook his head. "At the time of his apprehension, he kept shouting something about being near revenge. We had him sedated after he bit Roger on the nose."

L stared off into space, a puzzle quickly coming together in his brilliant mind. "Watari..." he began.

"Yes, L?" Watari answered as he extracted the crumpled handkerchief and mopped his forehead again.

"I would very much like for you to revive young Mello. Get his side of the story. Also, question Near; I would like to see whether or not he has some part in this fiasco. At the very least, find out about his knowledge of the incident. Then, after you have questioned both boys, contact me immediately and disclose your findings."

"Very well, I will do as you say," Watari conceded. "Until then, my friend."

L finally looked up and smiled at his former mentor. "Until then."

After closing the window on his computer, L swiveled around in his chair a few times. Sometimes it helped him think. While Watari's predicament was intriguing, he still had to think about the Kira case. He thought he might have a new lead. The names, it all added up to the names. He bit his thumbnail. Was Kira consciously killing these people off because their names matched up to Kira's favorite...

L shook his head. Whatever Kira was up to now, it would be almost too obvious to have the names match up again and again to send him a message. Besides, Light Yagami was still his prime suspect. Unless he could prove that his unconscious behavior matched up with Kira's...

From the pit of his stomach came a menacing growl. Kira could wait for a snack, at the very least.

He stopped spinning in his chair, and when he did so, he spotted a crystal candy dish on the coffee table across the room. Shards of reflected light danced on the wall behind it as he shuffled across the floor.

The candy within the dish was unfamiliar to him; he took it to be a licorice of some sort. A bright piece of red paper under the candy dish caught his attention as he flipped the checker-like candy into his mouth as though it were a coin.

As he read what was written on the note, his sensitive taste buds registered the unsavory flavor of the foreign candy. While spitting out the bitter confection, he cursed Light Yagami out loud and in his heart, for the note said this:

Gotcha, Ruyuzaki! This licorice is from Denmark. They don't use any sugar or sweetener to make it. Looks like your sweet tooth led you to fall for it. Enjoy!

Most unashamedly,

Light Yagami

L crumpled the paper and tossed it into the trashcan. Then, smiling mischievously, he loped over to the intercom beside the front door.

"Yes, excuse me, I'd like to order a pint of red dye." He grinned in spite of himself. "Would you like it delivered within the hour, sir?" the intercom buzzed. "Why yes, thank you," L replied.

In no less than forty-five minutes, the dye sat on the table where the candy dish had been.

"Excellent," thought L, rubbing his feet together.

He could hardly have imagined that already, a pair of unseen eyes was already in on his little scheme.

Review if you see any major malfunctions; if you enjoyed the fic thus far, just add it to your favorites please…unless you really can't contain yourself that is and just have to say something nice. Toodles! RED DAWN!