1. This is a Role Play between myself and RipJawWolfFang. I am role playing as Beyond Birthday and she is role playing as L.
2. I have altered this story to that of a fan fiction format so it not in script style in accordance with the rules.
3. This story is primarily B x L, but will feature appearances from Roger, Watari as well as some OC's.
4. This is an Alternate Universe, set in Wammy's House era.
5. This is a shota, which means underage BL. Nothing explicit, but every mature part will be separate with a warning in the chapter before. If you find mature parts offensive, do not read them! Common sense.
6. There be chapters here now instead of parts. Edited content further for better story flow.

We do not own Death Note or its characters. They belong to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.

Chapter 1

L took a deep, calming breath and cast his gaze out the window for a long moment. It was strange. His room mate had not yet returned and his studies today where on a subject that was so far beneath his level of intellect, though with Watari away he would have to settle with Roger's idea of homework.

-Elsewhere-

"G-gotcha! You are not ge-getting away from me this time!" B pounced upon the speedy little pale colored dragon by the pond, holding it softly, but firmly in his hand before trotting victoriously back to the empty jam jar he'd wisely placed holes and dirt in ahead of time before putting the wriggling lizard into the container with a self satisfied grin. He brushed off the scuff marks on his jeans and proceeded to trot to the front step, setting his prize on the top most step before going off to hunt for its food. Crickets and worms sounded like a great idea for dragon food this day.

One of the older boys came running out of the dorm after his friends when he almost tripped over the jar. It was a common sighting, A jar, once filled with sweet, sticky jam now filled with some kind of creeping, crawling creature.
"What do we have here?" He smirked to himself, lifting the jar up to examine the contents. It was a rather angry lizard, puffing up to make itself look larger though it was clearly just a baby. With jar in hand he made his way to the pond, opening the lid and tipping the little creature out at the base of the tree. He didn't like B much and he intended to give him the shock of his life and put a big spider in the jar instead before replacing it.

With a handful of worms and a grin on his face, B returned to the jar, intending to give the little lizard a healthy meal, only to find that the lizard was no longer in there, replaced instead by a large spider. He became panicked at first, thinking the critter crawled out somehow, but he knew that he'd sealed the lid tightly. It occurred to him that someone might have taken it out on purpose.

Red eyes glared hard and he began to seek out his suspect. He only had a few in mind that would do this to him, but they had never acted on it before. He sought out the one named 'H' first, letting his fists clench tightly.
"H! Did you take my rare puff dragon from me?" B knew how to spot a liar and made sure to use those skills with all his suspects.
"I did no such thing B," the dark haired boy stated calmly, though inside he was chuckling that his plan had worked even for a moment. He intended for B to think the lizard was eaten by the spider but this was close enough.

B gazed into the older boy's eyes, seeing his true name flash above him and his death numbers made clear as day. They still did not make any sense to him, but that was the least of his concerns, H was lying. B glared harder and lunged forward, tackling the older to the ground and began to pummel any open skin made available to him.
"You're lying! You stole Lawli's present from me! You stole it! Where did you throw it?"

H put his hands up above his head, trying to protect himself from the savage attack he had not seen coming.
"I... I... I j-just... freed... i-it... b-by the pond... s-stop!"
B had not heard where the creature was dropped off and continued to beat on the older. A was nearby and witnessed the attack as it was still happening before running inside to retrieve Roger to stop the attack from continuing further. Meanwhile, a small crowd of kids began to gather and egg on B to continue, chanting their encouragement loudly.

It didn't take long for the elderly male to see what was happening.
"Stop this at once, B!" Roger scolded and made an attempt to separate them, one which was quickly stopped dead when the young raven leaped out of his arms and onto the boy again like some kind of rabid animal.
"Stop!"
"B... B come on..." A whispered, creeping up and taking his arm. Whether it was her voice or the action itself the boy stopped his assault mid swing, panting heavily.
"I'll help you catch him again, don't worry..."

There were tears in his eyes and a frown on his face, glaring at the older who now lay crying on the ground before him. B grabbed A's arm and pulled himself into a standing position.
"H threw away Lawli's special dragon... There was no other one like it and I really wanted him to have it..." He sniffled and ignored the stern face of Roger.
"You will apologize at once for beating H, B. That behavior is unacceptable and not tolerated on these grounds." B shook his head side to side.
"I am not go-going to apologize to a thief! He stole Lawli's g-gift!"
A put one arm around Bs shoulders and pulled him close.
"He did say he was harassed into it!" A defended.
"He is clearly upset and H is just as much at fault as B is!"
"That doesn't excuse him fr-"
"No it doesn't, but your not going to treat him as the only one who did the wrong thing!" A never liked Roger much and they locked heads often though this time she was not going to lose.
"Come on B... we'll get him again..." with that said she lead him away before the elder could say anything more.

B held onto A's arm and let himself be led away, avoiding the elder's gaze completely. He was clearly upset about the whole ordeal; that puff dragon was special, just like Lawli was. He really wanted him to have it.
"We'll find it again... right?"
A smiled at him and stopped just by the pond.
"Of course we will, he will be around here somewhere." Somehow the small blonde girl always knew how to make him feel better. B grinned and began to find the little pale dragon, going all fours and re-scuffing his knees, seeking out the numbers that would give the little lizard away.

News of B's assault spread like wildfire, even reaching L's ears by means of loud gossiping, the story somehow evolving from a thievery to an outright rivalry that almost got H killed. The young raven wasn't sure what to make of the gossip, B after all had never really shown any signs of aggression. He also knew that chances are the story had transformed greatly since it actually occurred and it may simply be a rumor created from nothing. Either way, L saw need to investigate and climbed to his feet from his desk to slink outside and to his friends' favorite hunting grounds. To his surprise A was also there, a jar in hand ready for the tiny lizard gripped in Beyond's hands.

"You're not g-getting away this time! I'm g-going to make sure of it!" He maneuvered the little wriggling beastie into the jar which he'd tossed in 3 worms ahead of time. He closed the lid tightly enough so that escape would be impossible. He'd just finished cleaning his knees before he looked and saw his friend. He took the jar from A and hid it behind his back before walking almost shyly towards the older boy.
"Lawli! You weren't supposed to see! The surprise is ruined, but I want to share with you anyways." He brought the pale lizard into view, the creature had begun to eat the first worm in the jar greedily.

The detective took the jar and look closely at the little creature for a few long moments before a little smile creeps across his face.
"It is an albino, Beyond," he informs his friend and hands it back.
"We will have to find a tank for him."
B took the jar with a grin.
"We should make sure it passes the Griffin test first. If she shows no interest in it, then this little one is save from certain doom. Many other spiders and dragons have failed her test. Let's hope this one can make it through safely." He carried the jar and admired the feeding style of the little lizard. So raw and natural, there was nothing like it in the world.

L nods and his expression turns serious.
"Maybe we can ask Watery for a proper tank... one with a latch so she can't get in?" L put his thumb to his lip in thought. A nice tank for there room would be so much better than the jar. B nods his head in agreement.
"Fine, but the sooner it's done, the better. We'll also need a heater lamp, and some proper terrain for it." He tilts his head thoughtfully for a short while then forgot the stray thought that entered his mind. He shook his head clear before walking back inside, leaving A behind.

The onyx eyed youth thought hard on whether or not to ask about the rumor he overheard before deciding that it would be best to let this one slide. He knew he would find out the truth of the matter sooner or later and there was perhaps a 73% chance that it would end better if he simply let it play out on its own until his friend decided to tell him.

B trotted back to their shared room, his side laden with many empty jars with spiders and other bugs. He decided that he would need to stockpile as many fresh ones before he would get Watari to order some from the pet store. He hated the store bought pet food with a passion. He sets Lawli's lizard by his bed before spotting his work. He climbs onto the chair in a way that almost mimicked the dark-eyed youth's own and flipped through the work, scrutinizing his friend's in silence.

"Is there something wrong with it?" He asked quietly, wondering what his friend thought of the many hours he had put into the one simple project in order to make it more interesting to himself. Red eyes peered into black and he raised an eyebrow before turning his attention back to the work in front of him.
"The work is good, but Roger seems to think that we're elementary dear Watson. Our high level intellect makes such lower class studies seem like... bloody child's play." He brings a pencil to his mouth and pretends to puff away on it like a pipe, exaggerated lip movements included.
"Methinks you may have also broken this down so far just to be entertained. Dear Watson, I do believe that you are in fact bored out of your mind."
"Very much so," the soon-to-be detective sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Do you think Watari will be back from America soon?"
"I certainly hope so. He is always looking for more children like us to adopt. Hard to say when he may come around again. Then again, Watari does not always go seek out new siblings. Whose to say what he's doing over there? I would not mind going there when we graduate, just for something to do... Umm... my mind wandered there..." He brings a hand to rub his neck nervously.

"I would go with you... though I don't honestly say I have much interest in travel..." In truth L wasn't really sure we had much interest in anything other then finding new challenges.
"Though I suspect Watari is actually hunting for money this time..."
"Perhaps, but the sooner he g-gets back, the sooner we will be rid of these annoying booklets my dear Watson." Just then, Griffin walked inside and trotted to L's leg to rub against it in greeting before repeating the process with B's leg.

"Running an orphanage is not an easy thing, especially with the amount of kids that are here." He picks up the scruffy cat and pets her slowly.
"Yes..." the elder sighed and moved to sit on his bed next to his friend and their scruffy cat. He slowly reached over and stroked her carefully, trailing his hand up to its little ears and scratching behind them. The scarlet-eyed youth let this happen before removing himself from the chair to lay on his back with the cat on his stomach, hearing her purr loudly and kneading his chest.

"Lawli... Why do you suppose I have special eyes? Do you think that I am supposed to be like some sort of prophet or something?" The red eyed youth had asked this same question in many varying forms, though this one was the same one from an older time.
"I told you already Beyond," his friend responded, "I think your eyes are special because one day you're meant to do something great..." It was the same response he gave every other time though he never got tired of his friends questions. He was the only one that knew how much having those eyes bothered him and one of only three people who knew what they could do, and A didn't believe him, or in anything else supernatural anymore.

The younger raven huffed out a sigh, seeing the young cat's numbers shrinking gradually.
"I hardly think that being able to see when someone might die counts as doing something g-great..." He lifts the furry cat from himself and sets her aside before getting up and going to a jar with mice he'd caught previously and pulled one out for their cat, snapping the neck humanely before tossing it to her.
"Why do you do that?" L asks after a long moment, realizing the violence the action he had previously considered to be harmless carried. It seemed that his friend enjoyed watching animals feed on each other though he never let something suffer, if it was he would simply walk up to it, being mice, bird or even wounded dragon and end its life without seemingly a second thought. The red eyed youth looks to his older counterpart and raises an eyebrow.

"Because, Lawli, mice are far healthier pound for pound as cat food than the store food garbage that industry generates today." He looks to his friend before looking to their cat eating the mouse with rapt attention.
"I don't want to make the poor things suffer being torn alive, that is just cruel Lawli."
"Yes you have said before, I was referring to the way you simply... end things..." L thought back for a long moment and he could remember clearly at least six other times he had done something just like that to a wild animal. Oddly none of those memories involved A and put in a similar situation around her he would not react the same.

B looked up, a hint of suspicion in his gaze.
"You've never been bothered by me ending the suffering of animals before. Why are you so interested in it now?" He does not remove his look until he gets an answer, listening to their cat chew the mouse apart.
"It is more a curiosity," the someday great detective explains.
"I have never seen you flinch at doing it before yet you would not do it in front of A..."
"It's a humane way Lawli and you know more than me that A is sensitive to seeing things dying, especially the 'cute' things. I used to do this before I came here. I am used to it. It is normal to me. I am making a difference and keeping predators that would like to eat them happy. Win-win scenario." He at last looks back down, keeping his red orbs fixated on their cat's feeding habits. He leaned more down and stuck his index finger into his mouth and let his head tilt slightly as he watched.

"I see..." L slowly processed the information, letting it run through his mind before being put into storage. It was Roger who came to interrupt there thoughts, still angry about the happenings outside. Roger didn't have the same love for the red eyed male that Watari did. In fact, he and the boy never got along right from the start so as soon as he entered the room the elder raven got in between him and his friend protectively.
"B, I cannot believe you did that to H. Do you realize that course of action is grounds for expulsion? Unless you apologize to him right away, I'm afraid you leave me no choice in the matter." B's eyes widened and he went farther behind his friend.
"H started it! He hates me! Lawli is the only one who cares! Lawli and A!" He clung to an arm and didn't let go.
"You are wrong in this matter Roger," the elder stated calmly as always.
"Beyond and I are not simply students, we have been personally adopted by Watari and we do not answer to you. Even if we where simply students the rules state you are required to give three warnings, this would be his first, so do not threaten him with consequences that you are not able to follow through with."

"Watari left me in charge while he is away L. There is protocol that must be followed in the event that there is violent behavior. I will not ask you again to apologize to H." B glared at the older male.
"Then don't because it's not happening. H was in the wrong the whole time. I don't care what you try to say otherwise." Roger seemed shocked and appalled that the youth was acting in a defiant manner.
"I will bring it up with Watari when he returns in a few days. This will not be a silent matter B, and I will make sure that it is properly dealt with." With that, the older male left the room at an annoyed pace.

The stone eyed male waited until the elders footsteps could no longer be heard before leaving the defensive position he had taken up between the pair, turning to face the red eyed male instead.
"I defended you, however I am not sure what from, and you are going to tell me." L knew he couldn't protect his friend without knowing the details of what happened in full, otherwise he would be simply repeating the rules which where in fact against B no matter what he said.

B's gaze went downcast for a moment before returning his red eyes to the black.
"H tried to throw away your puff dragon earlier and I got upset... I might have went a little overboard, but H never liked me and his punishment fit the crime. I felt that it was fair with what I did to him." His gaze went back down and he muttered, "I beat him up..."

The future detective moved a thumb to his lip thoughtfully. This brought two things to light for him; the first being how he was able to defend his young friend, but the second being the issue of his friends' aggression that had seemingly came out of nowhere. B looked like a puppy that knew it did something wrong and moved in to cuddle the detective from behind, keeping his head low.
"I'm sorry Lawli... I didn't mean to hurt H badly, honest I didn't. I just didn't want him to take away your dragon like that. It was really special, and I really wanted you to have it." He pulls the older closer to him and nuzzles his back with his nose.

The older male sighed and moved to hug his friend back tightly.
"Its alright Beyond." He assured the wild eyed male.
"But you must behave from now on. We cannot afford to let you get in trouble again this year."
"I-I'll do my best... I just don't want H to steal from me like that again..." He buried his face into the detective's chest more and sniffled. Inwardly, he liked that sort of power over H. To have that sort of revenge on him, it was... empowering.

"I am sure he won't..." L still couldn't understand it. His friend had never shown any signs of being capable of something like this. Even when they sparred, B pulled his punches and was very careful not to hurt him in any way... this kind of aggression was new to him. A few moments passed before B parted from the embrace to clean up the mess Griffin left behind. He put the waste into the garbage and looked to his friend, frown on his face.

"I never meant it, you know that right? A saw everything though, and I feel even worse because of that." He went to his desk and sat in the seat and took his pencil and chewed on the eraser end nervously. The eraser had long been removed and bite marks accumulated across the wooden surface.
"I know..." L said in reply after a moment of thought. That's why A was at the pond with him for then. The raven knew that his friend had a special place in his heart for his sister and that he would normally never do something like that in front of her.
"Don't worry, I will sort this out with Watari when he returns..."