^O^ Hello, everyone. I recently had this idea for a fanfiction, and decided it couldn't wait. I really hope I finish this one, because I've never finished a story before...they just seemed to drop off. This is my first OFFICIAL fanfiction...so be nice. =P Rated T because I'm paranoid, and there might be stuff later.

I do not own Death Note, only Shara, Hayate, and any other OCs in this story.

Chapter 1

Rivulets of rain trickled down the windowpane, blurring the view to the dismal, outside world. The sky was an ominous shade of grey. The hunched figure on the chair raised a finger to his chin and tilted his head towards the ceiling, as if thinking. On the coffee table beside him, a few crumbs of cake were half-heartedly strewn across a plate. An elegant teacup sat next to the plate, its contents long cold.

The figure sighed and hopped off from his perch on the chair, making his way to the glowing laptop, the only source of light in the room. He lightly brushed his fingers over the keyboard as he scrolled through the list of cases from all around the world. Suddenly, a there was a low beeping emitting from the laptop, and the screen faded into white. A black gothic W appeared.

"Watari," L greeted him. "Is there a problem?"

"You could say that, L," a distorted voice said. "I have detected a bizarre signal. It has been bounced off so many servers that it is nearly impossible to trace back to. It seems to be a message written in code. I am struck as to how this anonymous person almost succeeded in breaking through all our barriers to reach you."

L felt his mouth twitch a bit at the corner. Someone with the intention of contacting him…But who would want to go through so much trouble? After a slight pause, a series of numbers appeared on the laptop screen. L let a slight smirk grace his features before he settled back into the mask of indifference. It was quite simple, really. The numbers symbolised the letters of the alphabet.

Greetings, L. It feels nice to know that you have received my message. I wanted to see if I could overcome the challenge of contacting you. In the future, I hope that I may be the best detective I can, because the good side will always win! Words are indeed important.

The message seemed innocent enough. An aspiring member of the public, most likely in high school or college, wishing to become a great detective like him. But no. L's darks eyes narrowed a bit as he nibbled on his thumb. A young man or woman intelligent enough to locate him…What would be his or her purpose? One did not just randomly send stealthy and untraceable messages to the number one detective in the world…and definitely not in code as well.

"Watari," he spoke after a few minutes. "Please try your best to trace this message to where it was sent from." It was almost frightening. This person knew that he would receive the message, hence the "it feels nice to know" part.

"Yes, L," Watari responded, before the connection was cut off and L was left staring at the unusual message. Message…he stared at it a bit longer before his eyes widened and he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled down the message furiously and crossed off some of the phrases, the harsh pen strokes almost threatening to tear the paper. Words are indeed important. It couldn't be…

Greetings, L. You have received my message. I challenge you. May the best detective win!

"A challenge…," he mumbled under his breath. His eyes flickered back to the screen. The seemingly innocent message was still there, bu the key words seemed to jump out at him now.

"A challenge," he repeated. L bit his thumb hard, wincing when he tasted blood. This individual seemed to want to beat him, the best detective in the world. He could be wrong…but then L was never wrong, right? Still staring at the screen, he clenched the piece of paper in his fist. Just who was this person?

Somewhere in Japan…

"You're challenging L?" a shocked voice exclaimed, before it was silenced when two fingers came over the speaker's lips.

"Calm down, Hayate," a feminine voice spoke. "I'm perfectly capable of handling this."

"But he might be this perverted old man who will molest you if you lose! I mean, you definitely will lose. He's not called the best detective in the world for no reason, you know!" Hayate stated stubbornly with a scowl on his face, crossing his arms and turning his face to the wall.

A soft chuckle came from the girl he was arguing with. She reached up and placed her hands on both sides of his face, turning his head so that he faced her.

"Oh…but I definitely will not lose," she whispered, locking her blue eyes with his brown ones.

Hayate sighed and ran a hand through his messy locks of equally brown hair.

"Just don't do anything rash, Shara…" he grumbled, giving in to her.

Shara smiled and pushed her bangs back from where they fell into her left eye. She turned to the laptop, her long black hair swishing as she did so. Her masked message of challenge glowed eerily on the screen.

"Of course I won't. It's a game, afterall."

So that's the first chapter, sorry it's short. Please tell me how you felt. PLEASE REVIEW! I greatly appreciate it!:DDDDD I shall try to finish the story this time. Oh, and Shara and Hayate are NOT evil, and they are not in a romantic relationship, although Hayate may or may not feel otherwise...^^