Okay, this--this was stronger than me. Much stronger than I would like to admit but it was fun to do once i got started working on it.

I got this bizarro idea about what would happen if out beloved L had someone at his side that he never really noticed before and when he does, what would happen. Well, needless to say, this is what that bizarro idea turned into.

It is a little AU...okay, possibly even more AU than I've done...maybe but it works. I have made it work and it does work. Anyhoo.....

AGES:

-Light: 18

-L: 24

-Near/Lyserg: 14

-Matt/Jun: 19

-Hotaru/Naruto/Mello/Hao/etc: 15

-Sai/Neji/Rock Lee/Tenten: 16

-The Inners: 25-26

-Haruka/Michiru: 27-28

-Mamoru: 30!

Sailor Moon/Shaman King/Death Note

Naruto/Bleach/Karas/InuYasha

"Trials and Investigations"

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Chapter 1:

"Pwned by a Girl"

-

For as long as he would care to remember, L had never really been on his own. There had always been one person beside him that wasn't Watari. This lone person was more like L's babysitter than a friend, a fellow investigator, looking up whatever he needed on the fly and supplying information collected in their perfect memory. Of course, this person had been brought to L's attention by Watari earlier in life and they had been at L's side ever since.

The company this other presented was nice, comforting but their absence left L uneasy, more on edge. It was probably for the sheer fact that L was used to them being in the room, no less than anywhere from 1 foot to 10 feet away at ant time. This person was so apart of L's surroundings that he'd probably get fixated on their absence, rather than on a case.

As sad and pathetic as it possibly sounds to everyone else, it sounded even more so as well as depressing when L thought about it and he couldn't help but think about it. After all, they had been together for such a long time.

"This is ridiculous." L said aloud. "Why the hell did you have to come into my life?"

"I thought we agreed to not take your sugar downs out on me anymore. You do remember what happened last time you did so, don't you?"

Oh, he remembered, all right. His body ached at the memory and it was only because he had been stupid enough to strike out at them when he had been in a bad mood. The sugar down and the unpleasant turn in a previous case had made it too much for him to keep bottled up and he had then lashed out at the most convienant person…and had his arm broken effortlessly as his repayment after getting knocked around a couple times, because he had chosen to hit them again since they had only fought back.

"I'm not going to hit you this time." L replied, half scowling at their back.

"That's good to know."

"Is it?" L asked darkly.

"I'd hate to be forced into breaking your arm again just because you wouldn't learn your lesson the first time. You know me, I don't like hurting others but I will, if left with no alternative."

"Yes, I know." L muttered, wondering why they just had to have their back to him. It was the umpteenth time that week that L had looked over and only saw their back instead of their profile or their face. It was beginning to grate his nerves. "Is there a specific reason why you have your back to me?"

"This way it's easier for you to look over my shoulder when curiosity gets the better of you. You don't have to lean over the top of my laptop or practically fall into my lap to look at the screen."

"It makes me feel like you're ignoring me." The detective admitted with a grumble. "You know I hate being ignored."

"Yes, I do but I assure you that I'm not. Unless you're purposefully being absolutely ridiculous, my MP3 player won't leave my bag."

And whenever he did get "ridiculous" about something, they'd just fish out that little device and put the headphones on to drown him out with whatever was on there. It wouldn't be the first time they had done that and it wasn't going to be the last either but so far, during the Kira case, they had yet to drown him out.

"You do realize that it's not fair to have you be the only one in the room and only have your back to talk to." L retorted, trying to pick a fight. He wanted to argue, to get them to react. However, they had been with him long enough to know how to defuse each tactic he had.

"My apologies but it seems foolish to complain when your back was to mine until you turned around in your seat."

Damn, he got defused again. Maybe he should just get physical already. It would get them to react at long last but having various bruises and a broken arm might be hard to handle while on such a bizarre case.

"Then would you get off your ass and get me some cake?" L asked, still trying to pick a fight.

"L, do yourself a favor and consider what day it is before I get up and 'remind' you myself because I'm not in the world's best mood to be sniping at."

What…day it was? Of course L knew what day it was. It was—oh…yeah, bad time to pick a fight. He would definitely pay for it if he continued.

"You've been at that damn thing for over 4 hours." L replied, advancing from a different angle. "Would it be too much to inquire the fetching of a piece of cake for me? Please?"

A plate lightly scraped the tabletop, being pushed into view. "You can have mine. I'm not in the mood for such a sweet confection at the moment."

L got up from his seat and shuffled over to his companion. He looked at the slice of cake, then at the diligent worker who had pushed it aside. "You didn't touch it?"

"Concerned about my germs, are we?"

"No, it just seems unusual, even for you. You usually take a bite before declaring something's too sweet for you." L replied as he looked at the untouched serving. He looked at his colleague. "Are you sure you're all right, that it's only the time that has you feeling out of sorts?"

"Why does it matter to you? It's not like I can't be replaced."

L did not like that answer. He grabbed the back of their chair, jerked them away from the table and turned them to face him, his hands on the arm rests. This sudden reaction was beyond L himself but it seemed to surprise his company even more.

"Let's get one thing straight, shall we?" L growled unhappily at them. "You are not a teacup. You cannot be so easily replaced. Someone might take your place, your spot, your position but they wouldn't be you. It has always been you at my side when Watari is gone. It has always been you who kept a watchful eye over me during these investigations. And I will insure that it will always be you that I look over to see when I need the reassurance that I'm not on some damn rabbit hunt. Do I make myself clear?"

L was only greeted with a put off look. "Have your cake, sugar freak, before I put you in a straight jacket. Your Bipolar attitude was cute for the first 5 minutes. Now, it's going to put you in traction. Do I make myself clear?"

"I am the one supposed to be in charge here, not you." L growled, gripping the arms of their chair tighter in restraint.

"Then act like it, Lawliet."

That growl in return sent L over the edge. He knew better than to be violent but he had other options open to him. He grabbed their chin and kissed them firm and deep on the mouth. He felt them stiffen from pure shock but L…L had to admit, they had really soft lips…and such lovely skin. There were no blemishes, no visible imperfections and nothing to distract from how satiny it felt under his fingers.

As L pulled back, he realized that his company had only been a "they" to keep from getting too attached. They weren't a "he" for a guy would've pushed him off and delivered a right cross but they were always a "they" and not even a non-gender specific "he" either. It was because of one reason:

She was simply one hell of a beautiful creature.

Now that L realized in entirety that he had been working with such a young woman this entire time, he couldn't help but take in every detail about her.

She couldn't be any older than 15 or 16 years old but she looked older with her silky black hair pinned up, out of the way and her long bangs pushed to one side. Her amethyst eyes were framed by glasses but had been lined with black and accented with a solid dark purple line on her upper lid. Her lips were a soft rouge and she had 6 piercings in each ear with one in her right nostril. Her long nails were painted a dark, shimmery blue with silver metallic starbursts studded with white rhinestones in the middle. She had a silver ring that seemed to match the soaring bird pin at her left temple, since they bore the same red stone on her left middle finger and a gold ring on her right middle finger, a sky blue bracelet of prayer beads around her wrist and a circular tattoo on her palm.

She wore a black ribbon around her throat with the bow in the front, a blue crystal necklace and a gold star. She was dressed in a faded blue baby doll top dotted with owls, a pair of black capris slacks and a pair of black stiletto cut-away pumps. She had a claw like design on her left outer ankle and a type of swirl on her right bicep. She wore a gold anklet on her right ankle and she sat like a lady, one ankle tucked behind the other. She was simply beautiful.

How come he never saw her like this before?

Wait…what was her name?

Okay, that was pathetic—even for him. He ought to know her name. They had been working together for—what, 6, 7 or 8 years and he didn't even know her name? Wasn't it 'Cecile'?

"It's 'Hotaru'."

L looked at her. "What?"

"My name. It's 'Hotaru'." She answered mildly. "You were mumbling under your breath, 'her name, her name—what is her name?' like we hadn't been introduced 6 and a half years ago. And it's not like Watari doesn't use my name when we're alone."

"Then where did I get 'Cecile'?" The detective asked.

"It's my 'other' name, you know, like 'Ryuzaki'." Hotaru answered, using air quotes. "The story is that I'm a petite, baby-faced 20-year-old cursed with the fact that I look like I'm 5 years younger than I really am. I'm a profiler, one you recruited from the FBI's own BAU candidate lists. You got the idea from the shoujo manga called 'Midnight Secretary'. And I was an idiot to buy you the damn set."

"Cecile Kanzaki!" L realized with a smile.

Hotaru sighed softly. "That's right. You are the one who came up with it, Lawliet. You shouldn't act so damn surprised."

L didn't know how to respond to that. He was starting to go over all of their conversations they had had, even the ones when she had been taking care of him after he had lashed out at her and she returned the favor. It struck him as bizarre on how she worded things in the past, like saying something about immortality didn't always pay and the like. Watari would also make some comment like "What does it feel like to live forever?" and Hotaru would give a response along the lines of "tiresome after the first decade or so."

And it struck L as odd that he had never realized that Hotaru was a girl, even more so than the way she had been talking. Of course, Watari had chosen someone to take his place and beginning the training with someone so young and along side the Great Detective was an excellent way to prepare that replacement. However, L didn't want Hotaru to replace Watari. For some reason, it displeased him to know that she could be stuck in this life when she could do so much more.

L pulled back from leaning on the arms of her chair. "Mind if I watch you work while I eat?"

"If that would make you feel better, then of course." Hotaru replied pushing her glasses higher up on her nose. "You'll want to bring up chair and leave the plate on the counter. You're starting to shake. You know you conditioned your body to live off sugar but not to handle the extended periods of time when you're without it."

L looked at one of his hands. He was shaking but it was so fine that he hadn't noticed. That attested to how well Hotaru saw things and knew him. "Yes, I see that you're right."

Hotaru pulled herself back to her laptop and resumed working, like L hadn't pulled her away to begin with. L got another office chair and wheeled it over before perching himself upon the seat. He picked up the fork on the plate and cut the first bite off the cake, watching the various windows popping up and collapsing as Hotaru merely glanced at the full page before transcribing the information down on a Word Document with surprising speed and efficiency.

L's eyes wandered from her hands to her lips, remebering how soft they felt against his. He had kissed her without thinking. He had given away his first kiss without even considering that he could have been kissing a guy…but perhaps at the back of his mind, Hotaru had always been a girl but he referred to her as "they" in order to not be distracted.

However, that was now proving to be the only way he could have gotten so much done. He sighed, dropping his head with the fork tongs in his mouth and the utensil upside down. "I can't believe I just screwed myself over."

"What do you mean?" Hotaru asked, not stopping the task at hand.

"I just realized you were a girl." L admitted, a soft blush coming to his cheeks.

"You wouldn't be the first to have disregarded my gender, even subconsciously." Hotaru replied.

"While it's not your gender I have a problem with, it's the fact that you've been at my side for 6 and a half years and I always referred to you as 'they' in my head and out loud. I've been a complete ass for almost 7 years and I even hurt you but not once did I think I was doing it to a girl." L explained, watching her long, delicate fingers fly over the keys. It made him wonder how it would feel to have those fingers woven into his hair, those long nails leaving marks down his back as he—

"Goddammit!" L snapped suddenly with a growl. He was turning into a horny teenager.

POKE

L was so surprised by the contact that he didn't really register it at first. All he knew was that something hit his right temple. It took a few minutes for him to realize Hotaru had poked the Great Detective in the head.

"What the hell was that for?" L asked, slightly annoyed.

"Feeling better?" She asked, not looking away from her work.

L shut up for a moment and gave it some thought. "Oddly enough, yes. What did you do?"

"I screwed with your perceptions, basically numbing them so you can get used to my being a girl gradually. It'll wear off over time." Hotaru answered, totally unphase. "Mori does thesimilar thing with a senbon when I get a new toe ring. It's so I don't mess with it. I merely did the same with your brain chemistry."

"And that required a poke to my temple?' L inquired, now fully interested.

"I could have done it without touching you but since you were having a tissy right next to my ear, I thougtht it would be best to preserve my sensitive hearing by distracting you."

Well, Lawliet. L thought to himself as he put a bite of cake into his mouth. You've met your match and have been put in your place. It's not Kira or any other target. It's the only woman who's never been offended by you being an ass. Congratulations—you've been outdone and outsmarted by the opposite sex.

Those words of wisdom made L realize that he had said everything but what needed to be said. And he had to say it before he forgot and ended up doing something stupid to offend her again. He looked at Hotaru, setting the fork on his plate and turned to face her.

"I apologize."

Hotaru stopped typing and looked at him. "I beg your pardon? Did Lawliet the World's Greatest Detective just apologize to someone less than himself?"

L scowled at her. "You are not less than me. If anything, we are on the same level. You often see things that I don't right away."

"It's what I'm trained to do, Lawliet. Often, all you get is that one chance to see everything before someone comes along to change that." Hotaru responded, going back to her computer. L leaned in close to her ear.

"Does it bother you to be working with me?" He murmured. Hotaru put his hand on his face, surprising the detective, and pushed him back.

"Observe my personal space and respect it before I severely hurt you in ways you can't even fathom." Hotaru warned, pushing him back until his back touched the back of his chair. "And no, I won't spare you. It wouldn't take long to get Near or Mello up to speed and have me at their side."

"You're no fun." L said around her palm and God, if her skin didn't smell like dewberries. It had to be the lotion she kept in her travel kit and oh, it made her skin soft.

Hotaru took back her hand, much to L's disappointment. "Just eat your cake, Lawliet. I've got work to finish before the SPK arrive in Japan and they need the progress report sent to them before they get here."

"Do those 3 honestly have to come?" L asked with a slight pout. "Near won't leave your lap and Matt smells like cigarette smoke."

"And what about Mello?" Hotaru asked, knowing there was one missing complaint.

"He agrees with me too much."

"Let's see, you're jealous of a 14-year-old, you don't like the fact that Matt smokes and Mello's too agreeable for your tastes." She said, getting L to slightly scowl at her with the fork in his mouth. "Aren't you supposed to be the one setting the bar?"

"When you say it like that, you make it sound like I'm pathetically selfish." L sighed heavily, the fork not leaving his mouth. She gave him a side glance that said "And?" quite clearly. "Don't say it like that and don't look at me like that. Technically speaking, you're mine—not theirs and I don't see why the hell I have to share you with them. Near has Gevanni and Mello has Matt. That means you're supposed to stay by me and not tend to their egos. Just mine."

"Watari's your aid, Lawliet." Hotaru reminded. "I'm merely a trainee."

"For 6 and half years?" L retorted. "According to most countries, we'd be married, you and I. Just another 6 months or so and we'd be commonlaw by the States' standards."

"Congratulations. You've noticed I was a girl and become possessive all in one swoop. You rival Sasuke Uchiha." Hotaru retorted, not looking away from her computer screen.

L blinked at her, feeling a bit angry. "Sasuke Uchiha? You're comparing me to that asshole?"

Hotaru arched an eyebrow as she looked at him. "I never mentioned Sasuke before." She gave him a slight scowl. "You're just assuming that he's an asshole from what I said. And while you're right, I'm the only one who gets to call him that. He can't strike me without getting hurt before he actually makes his move."

"Preemptive strike?" L asked curiously, putting another bite of cake in his mouth.

"No, he's just too predictable."

Too predictable? "When you're older than dirt, everything's too predictable."

"Not necessarily." Hotaru remarked, not looking away from her work. "It's an old clan rivalry that sparks it. I usually can't tell if he's going to be nice at the start of something but it usually ends with him being an ass and attempting to strike me. He can land a couple blows but most of the time, I can have him on the ground without really trying in no time flat."

"Am I too predictable?" L inquired in a low voice.

"Sometimes, if only to me."

"Really?"

Hotaru smiled ruefully at his minor disbelief. "What you did 5 minutes ago wasn't something I saw coming, not from you."

L felt a bit of pride swell in his chest. "I am supposed to be unpredictable, after all. It keeps the bad guys unhinged and the good guys on top."

"Okay, that's it." Hotaru muttered, closing her eyes. "I am never buying you another manga again."

L looked at her innocently, his fork upside down in his mouth again. "Why not?"

Welll, that was interesting....

Hotaru: Why do I have to put up with Le Sugar Freak?

B/c it was either you deal with L or Misa.

Hotaru: ............I'll take the junk food junkie.

L: Should i feel lucky or insulted?

-Shrugs- Ya got me. I'm just the writer.

Anyway.....

-Bows- plz read and review!