Author's Note: Hope you like. Got bored the other day while I was supposed to be doing Bio homework, and decided to write up the ways L, BB, Matt, Mello, and Near ended up in the Wammy's House. Might add more minor characters later, like Linda. Don't count on it.
It was recess. Lawliet Lawsford sat in the shade beneath a large elm tree, bundled up in a thick, gray coat and maroon scarf. He was sitting in his usual way, the way usually referred to as crouching, balanced on his feet, knees pulled up to his chest, hands wrapped around his legs for extra stability. His deep, dark eyes, hardly visible from behind his unkempt raven-black hair, scanned the playground. Other children his age ran, played, and screamed in delight, only confirming even more now that Lawliet wasn't like the rest of them. Oh, he'd always known. Eight years old, and already able to solve advanced Algebra I problems? It most certainly was not common.
A bit of movement caught his attention. An old man, maybe in his late sixties, made his way through the front gate, up the walkway and into the school.
How strange, Lawliet thought. He's far too old to have a child at this school.
The boy studied the man through the window a bit longer. The tinted window made it slightly difficult to see through, but nonetheless Lawliet made out just enough to know what was going on.
The old man was speaking solemnly but hurriedly to Lawliet's teacher. As their conversation progressed, his teacher's expression changed from confused, to shocked, with her hand over her mouth, to sorrowful, with tears in her eyes that threatened to spill over. Lawliet watched her nod quietly, and then she did something he was not quite expecting. She turned and looked in his direction, a small hand pointing at him.
The raven-haired boy looked away quickly, so he would not get caught spying. His mind was racing at a slightly faster pace than usual, and his mind worked pretty fast on a regular basis. Was the old man here for him? No, he couldn't be… he looked like he had a message to deliver to his teacher. Maybe something happened to her family. Maybe something went wrong somewhere that his teacher was counting on. Maybe… maybe… He couldn't come up with any other excuse for why he was not somehow involved in the eerie message the old man had brought to his teacher.
By now, thick clouds started to make their way across the sky. Chances of snow… about 67%, Lawliet thought. After all, it was definitely cold enough. He spotted the old man and his teacher coming towards him from across the lawn. Chances of me getting caught spying have just risen by 12%.
"Lawliet," his teacher said, not bothering to hide the sadness in her voice, or the grief-stricken expression on her face. "This man is Mr. Wammy. I'm afraid he has some very sad news for you."
The dark-eyed boy listened emotionlessly as Mr. Wammy proceeded to tell him about the death of his parents, Samuel and Rebecca Lawsford. The two were driving to work together when a large bus rounded a corner, not seeing their black car speed down the street. It was a head-on collision, and while no one on the bus was severely injured, a two-inch thick metal door wasn't even close to enough to save his mother. Further examination showed his father died from being impaled by thousands of tiny shards of glass, from the bus' headlights and their car window. It was estimated that they were both quick deaths, and that the Lawsfords felt only a brief amount of pain and shock as the two vehicles collided.
Mr. Wammy, for one, was shocked at the child's calm complexion. You just don't tell a normal, eight-year old boy his parents have perished, and expect him to say "I understand" in response. "The Wammy's House was the first orphanage contacted when the police realized Samuel and Rebecca left behind a child in their wake, so you will be coming with me now. I will allow you half an hour to gather your things from your home, before we must make our way to my…" Quillsh Wammy was hesitant to use the word "orphanage." "…home," he decided.
Lawliet got to his feet. "Alright then, sir," he said politely.
Back at the Lawsford residence, Lawliet was on his knees, kneeling in front of a bedside table. On the table stood a frame with Lawliet's favorite picture, one of he and his father sitting on the edge of a dock, fishing poles to their sides. His mother just barely made it into the picture, and he could faintly hear her calling to his father not to let him fall into the lake.
Lawliet picked up the picture, studying it, eventually deciding to take the picture and leave the frame. He folded the piece of paper and tucked it into his bag, running down the staircase to meet Mr. Wammy. The elderly man gave him a half hour to gather his belongs, when all he needed was ten minutes.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
Snowflakes began to fall as the church bells clanged loudly in the distance, painfully distracting to the young boy. He stood in front of Mr. Wammy's orphanage, on the outside of the gates, hand in hand with Mr. Wammy. There was a sign hanging on the left side that read, "The Wammy's House."
A bit of a strange name for an orphanage, Lawliet thought. He felt Mr. Wammy tighten his grip around his hand, as if trying to be reassuring.
The orphanage's owner was worrying incessantly. With a boy as brilliant as Lawliet was, his talent could be easily exploited. There was a large chance he would not fit in well, if at all. In the brief time the elderly man knew the child, Lawliet had shown numerous quirks and traits that were unusual for a normal eight year old. The child was brilliant, but oh so strange! Mr. Wammy pondered for a moment how he could somehow protect the boy. It seemed as though he cut himself off from the world already, but what if he went by a complete other name, an alias, so any possible exploiters would never hear of the boy's intelligence and seek to go after him…
"Mr. Wammy," the boy said, for the first time looking at the man who would escort him to his future, "would you mind walking me in, so I wouldn't be alone?"
It was a bittersweet moment for the caretaker. For the first time since they'd met, Lawliet exhibited some form of normal behavior. He didn't want to be alone. It proved Lawliet was more than physically human, but emotionally as well.
The old man nodded. "Of course. But Lawliet, would you object to going by a new name here?"
The child's eyes sparked for a moment, as if for once in his life, he didn't know the answer to a question. "A new name? I suppose I could comply. I suppose I shall go by…" a thoughtful look crossed his face as he pressed his thumb lightly to his lip, thinking. "I will go as L. For… learner."
And so he was, and would remain. As the years would progress, Mr. Wammy would only realize more and more of L's vast intelligence. Lawliet's last name faded into little more than a memory, until he could barely remember his true first name at all, adopting the name "L Lawliet" as his legal name. Soon, the young boy holding Mr. Wammy's hand would grow into the world's greatest detective. But even sooner, the name of "L" would come to stand for "liar".
Though the media would never hear of it, he would die at the hands of that incomprehensible. Eighteen years after writing in the deaths of Samuel and Rebecca, the same shinigami would write their son's new name, L Lawliet, into the Death Note.
Hurrah. Fin. The End. Next up, because I'm going by age, Beyond Birthday! If BB does not appear next, it's because I had no flippin' idea what to write for him.