Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or its characters. They belong to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
Warning: AU. Shounen-ai. Eventual LxLight.
Summary: L was amused by it. But Raito was not. Not when his teacher was dating his father. AU. Eventual LxLight.
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Chapter 1.
Mr.L—as the kids referred to him, was an eccentric man who lived on Fifth Avenue across from the school. Unlike the other teachers, he refused housing on campus—a decision that brought much unwanted gossips among the school's staffs. It was rather strange for a person to choose a small, cramped apartment to a wider accommodation that was much closer to his work. His strange appearance, a daily arrangement of wild, unkempt hair, jean, and a long-sleeve white shirt, did little to lessen the rumors. But L did not mind them as much as he did his job.
It was not that L disliked kids. It was the fact that they thought they were adults when they were but kids. L could barely tolerate the presence of children, let alone working with them.
Nevertheless, he found himself as a teacher at some fancy academy for gifted children—the key word here being "children" and not "gifted." Children, after all, were but children, and despite their ability to compute huge calculations in their brains within split seconds, their maturity did not went beyond that of a regular child.
Yet they demanded to be treated like adults without giving the same treatment back. When L was younger, he thought that was cute. Now that he was wiser, he could not see those kids any more than spoiled little brats. It was by some horrific miracle that life had bestowed these children with the ability to absorb knowledge faster than the others—L refused to call this "intellect" because that word would suggest that the students were able to think critically.
Spoiled, for nature had given them a gift that they did not have to work for, they grew arrogant for being naturally advantageous over others. Thinking that just because it was easy to memorize f'(x) = lim h 0 [f(x+h)- f(x)] / h, they were just as mature—no, even more so—than adults. There was a fine difference between being smart and being mature, and L despised the way the school easily blurred out the distinction.
The children—no, adolescence—in L's class ranged from thirteen to fifteen years old, whose arrogance had been steadily built up each year to crystallized at their current age. There were ten of them. The leader of the group was a Japanese boy named Yagami Raito who had received too much praise for his own good. Yagami was famed for supporting radical solutions to social and economic problems discussed in his various classes. L had heard of them. He was not impressed. Yagami's thoughts, in L's opinion, were a series of poorly constructed beliefs based on the lack of understanding information.
L disliked dealing with this boy the most. Not only was he a child who demanded the excessive respect and attention, he was also too stubborn to admit his faults. He resisted the authority that bound him, as if he was above it. Since he was so "intelligent," he thought that only his way was correct, that others—namely adults—were too narrow-minded to see the light of his thoughts. In this belief, he had failed to recognize his own short coming.
Raito disliked "Mr. L" the most, from all of his teachers. It bothered him that Mr. L did not give out praises like the others. He also gave out long, difficult homework and expected it the next day. Raito was used to simple homework, like finding the derivative of an equation or completing equilibrium calculations for chemistry. However, Mr. L's homework was different. One did not memorize in his class—he had to think—he had to develop something beyond the materials learned in class. Perhaps the reason why Raito dislike "Mr. L" so much was the red X's on the homework that was handed back to him.
In his frustration, Yagami had pointed out that, in the classroom, L valued his own opinion too much, that he should accept the children's as well. L merely replied that he was paid to value and to teach his opinion, and if the children wanted to do the same to theirs, they could all go get an office and a PhD of their own.
"May be you should quit teaching," Misa laughed as L poured out his grievances over the phone.
Misa was L's half sister. Sharing the same father, it was not unexpected that they shared the same unnaturally pale shade of skin. However, being of different mothers, Misa's bright blue eyes, blond hair, and bubbly character served as a complete contrast with L's dark hair, liquid black eyes, and reserved personality.
"Nah, I don't hate it that much," L played with his nails. "Besides, what else could I do?"
"Hmmm. I don't know. You always seemed like you could be a pretty good detective to me," Misa teased, being half serious. It was a mystery that someone like L, who was so passionate of crimonology and justice, to choose teaching as a career. The blond had always imagine that her brother would be a world detective, sitting behind a computer and solving great crimes for all of his life. Nevertheless, she was happy to see that he was in a job with less stress and danger than the one she thought of.
"Right," L was sarcastic, restraining himself from adding a snide comment.
Misa, even though she was preoccupied with washing the dishes, could practically hear L's contemplating on saying something smart-ass. She rolled her eyes at her little brother's predictable manner.
"So, are you coming over my place for Christmas?" Misa asked.
Christmas was coming, and L had yet to formulate some sort of plan. Not wanting to admit to Misa that he had no other options beside what she had suggested, L opted for pointing out:
"You know I don't like your husband." L was still a firm believer that Matsuda was a poor choice on Misa's part. Not only was he clingy, he was also not very bright.
"Well, you better learn to like him because you're coming over whether you like it or not." Misa knew L well enough to know that he had no holiday plans. It saddened her to see that her little brother was still alone without someone by his side. Acting on the maternal instinct that L's mother had lack, Misa always fretted over L, often checking up on him and demanded that he spent the holidays with her. Occasionally, when her job allowed it, she would visit him.
"Besides," L could sense a smile dawning on Misa's face. "I have a surprise for you."
"You're going to hook me up with someone," L guessed, although it was more of a statement of fact than a prediction.
"You're too smart for your own good, you know that?" Misa pouted.
"Not really. You do the same thing every time I visit you."
"Admit it, you enjoyed every second of it."
"Yeah, I actually do," L confessed with warmth that surprised even him. It was one of those rare moments between them where L would open himself a bit more. Misa smiled at the thought.
"You'll like this guy, I promised. He's kind-hearted, honest, unselfish, and mature. He has a stable career, and he's smart too."
"What's wrong with him?" L got straight to the point. There was no way that there was not a catch in this seemingly ideal man. His previous experiences with men had taught him well.
"Well," Misa hesitated. "He's a bit…on the older side."
L raised a delicate eyebrow, "How old?"
"He is about ten years older than you."
"Oh," was all that L said. "That does not bother me that much." It was convenient, actually, that it was an older man. L preferred dating people who were equally or more mature than him.
"That's good," Misa sighed in relief. " I already told him about you—that you might want to meet up with him, and I was afraid that you would disapprove."
"Misa, you shouldn't make plans that early if you thought that I might be opposed to it." L reprimanded, although there was playfulness in his voice.
"Yeah yeah. Sure. Just don't forget to bring your Santa suit with you when you come over."
"Don't worry. That'll be the first thing that I'll pack." The last time that he forgot the Santa suit, he was forced to sleep on the couch for two days.
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Note:
This is my first Death Note fanfic. I'm not sure if it's good enough to continue. Please read and review.
Tell me what you think :]. Every review is appreciated.