Note: All right, I plan for this whole thing to be six chapters long, so if you want to see the whole thing please review and tell me what you think. Forgive me if it's a bit boring at times. This first one takes place in the episode "Doubt", after Light and L's tennis match.
"Having fun, Mr. Yagami?"
Light nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn't heard anyone approaching, and he had been so frustrated that he failed to pay attention to the heavy footsteps that were quickly approaching him. He didn't need to turn his head to know who it was. L, the world's greatest detective. Or so he claimed.
"Actually, I was just drying off." Light responded politely. He was tip toeing over hot coal; one wrong move could cause serious damage.
"Good." was all L said.
It had been less than a few hours since their tennis match. Though it looked fairly discreet to outsiders, someone Light and L's intelligence knew better. They were profiling each other, watching for weaknesses, searching for clues. L must have been satisfied with what he found, or else he wouldn't risk approaching Light so suddenly.
"I have to say, you were much better than I was expecting, Mr. Ryuga." Light said after several moments of silence.
L nodded, but didn't say anything. You'd think that, being geniuses, they'd know how to make small talk. It was odd L was even here in the first place, seeing as it was dangerous for the two to be in each others presence. Light studied L, but L ignored him, instead staring off into the distance.
"Are you looking for something, Mr. Ryuga?" Light asked.
"Yes, and no." L didn't look at him.
A tense silence settled over them. L's thoughts seemed to be elsewhere, and Light chose to tune him out. It was almost hard to believe someone like this could be the world's greatest detective. If he could barely function as a human, how was he supposed to understand others?
"Do you believe in precognition, Mr. Yagami?"
Light turned and gave his pale friend an odd look. The question was so sudden and unusual, but Light knew that it wasn't random. Nothing he did was random. Light took a second to think about this.
"Well, in some ways, yes. I don't believe in supernatural forces, but I do believe that it's possible to gather evidence from the past and make an accurate guess about the future." Light considered going on, but left it at that.
"Interesting." L still wasn't looking at him.
"Can I ask why you want to know?"
"No particular reason. It's just a thought."
Light knew better, but he wasn't going to push it.
From the end of the hall one of the university workers popped out and alerted L that a friend of his was here. L nodded and began slowly trudging back from where he came.
Light knew it wasn't a good idea; he should have just left things the way they were. In foresight, this moment was really more crucial than either of them could have imagined. But then again, when it came to the two of them, which moment wasn't?
"Wait!" Light said, standing up and dropping the small towel to the floor. L cocked his head, but didn't make a move.
"You know, when you asked me that question about the future, it made me curious. What do you think?"
L stared at him for a moment, before turning his head back to the hall in front of him.
"I suppose you're right. Maybe people can tell the future, depending on the circumstances."
"Circumstances?"
"Yes. It's like walking on a bed of coal; you never really do know what will happen, but unless you're careful, you can count on getting burned."
Light stopped for a second. Where had that come from? Had he known he thought the same thing not a few minutes before? No, that was impossible. Their thoughts were completely separate from one another. But perhaps, Light realized, they were more alike than originally thought.
"That's a very interesting conclusion." Light paused. "So tell me, Hideki, based on that observation, what can you say about the future?"
L stopped walking.
"I can say, based on our previous interactions, that we have a very...close future together."
It was hard to miss the pause in L's words. Even he didn't really know what would happen next.
"And how about you, Mr. Yagami?"
Light smiled. "I see us working very closely in the future."
This made L pause. Light would have given anything to know what was going through his mind at that moment.
"Perhaps you're right."
L continued walking forward. In less than a few moments, he was gone.
Light plopped back down on the bench he had been sitting on. What was all that about? Absolutely nothing had happened; and yet, Light couldn't shake the feeling that their conversation had been more intense than it appeared. Had he said something he shouldn't have? Even as Light scrutinized every detail of the conversation, he couldn't find anything of importance. He was probably being paranoid.
It wouldn't be till much later that Light would look back and realize just how vital his words were. But for now, everything was little more than a guess.