This is being beta'd by Mistyeyedreamer. We own nothing, which, considering the contents of our minds, is probably a good thing.

The lounge room was dark save for the small electronic glow coming from behind the couch. It radiated, it turned out, from a DS in the hands of a young boy.

The sound of footsteps began to fill the adjoining hallway, but the goggle-bespectacled boy didn't even flinch.

"Hey," he greeted the intruder. "What're you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep," answered a heavy tenor that didn't seem to fit the body sliding down beside him. It was a boy the same age as the first, with shoulder-length blonde hair and clad all in black. "Which one are you playing?"

"Pokemon Silver."

"You've already beaten that three times."

"Yes," The boy gave a screen-illuminated grin, "but not with the help of the God-Hand move."

His companion glanced over his shoulder at the screen. The text clearly red off, Onix attacks with God Hand! Within moments, the opponent was crushed by an enormous pixilated hand from the top of the screen, squishing it flat.

The blond boy frowned. "That's cheating, Matt."

Matt grinned. "It's more fun that way. Besides, since when have you of all people ever been opposed to cheating?"

"Fair enough," he shrugged. "So, do you just think "giant hand", and it just appears?"

"I can," said Matt, "but I've started learning binary code, and it's a lot easier to control things that way."

Yet another shadow appeared from the light in the hallway. It was distinctively hunched over, and the blond boy's sharp eyes recognized it immediately.

"L!" He ran into the rustic-lined hallway to greet the older man.

"Hello, Mello," He smiled awkwardly at the younger boy. "You're still awake this late at night?"

Mello raised his eyebrows. "This is coming from L?"

"Who is older than you, and doesn't have lessons in the morning."

"What's with the bag?" Mello glanced behind him at the backpack slung over his shoulder. "Are you leaving somewhere?"

"Yes, for a case. It shouldn't be to long."

"Where?"

"You know I can't tell you that," He began to pad toward the front door. "I should be back fairly soon. You should go to bed. You too, Matt," he called into the darkened living room. Matt raised his hand in response, not looking up.

"Oh," Mello looked down at his feet. "Well, bye."

"Goodbye." L padded out and quietly shut the door.

............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Things were going well for Yagami Light.

He had just graduated at the top of his class, and was already enrolled to begin at To-Oh University in the fall. Plus, he had just landed a summer job at the local Daimaru, so he'd have some extra yen to file away for later.

Always best to be prepared, after all.

"Mom, I'm going to work. I'll be back by diner."

"Alright, Light. Have fun," his mother called distractedly from the kitchen.

"Bye, Light!" his younger sister, Sayu, yelled from the same location.

Walking down the busy street, Light spied a crying child standing outside a candy shop. "Hey," Light squatted next to him. "Why are you crying?"

The boy looked at him, Tears glistening in his bright blue eyes. "My daddy kept walking but I wanted to look at the candy store and when I turned around he wasn't there and…"

"Come on, don't cry!" Light said, smiling kindly. The boy's sniffles immediately ceased. "Why don't you go to the police station and wait for him. It's just around that corner over there. I'm sure he can find you there."

The little boy smiled. "Okay." And off he went.

Light smiled after him, and continued walking.

After another block, Light finally reached the store he worked at. It was lucky that he worked at a place so easily reachable. But then, Light had always been lucky.

One could, of course, attribute it to hard work. But it wasn't just that.

Light had an incredible way with people. It was way beyond natural charisma. Some people thought it was spooky, even. Light didn't believe that, of course. But the fact was, people always seemed to do what he wanted. Whatever he wanted.

He'd had this ability for as long as he could remember. Where most small children would have abused it towards treats and favors, he was above such things. Well, most of the time, anyway. Light was determined to use his power to make the world a better place, in whatever small way that he could.

And today, he was making the world a better place by selling as many shoes to unsuspecting customers as possible.

Hey, a guy needed money, right?

Walking through the doors, Light strolled into the back room in order to check in. His boss, Takamoto-san, was there as well, looking hassled.

"Ah, Light-kun. Good to see you," he said, looking up. "Sorry, but we're really rushed today, do you think you could show our newest employee around?"

"Of course, Takamoto-san." Light smiled. "It'd be my pleasure."

"Thank you so much, Light. It's a great help. Now where…" Takamoto-san glanced around. "Oh, there you are! Yagami Light, this is Ryuzaki…what did you say your first name was?"

"Ryuzaki will suffice, Takamoto-san. Thank you," said the man, who Light assumed was the new employee. Giving him a once-over, Light was shocked. Ryuzaki's hair was a disheveled black mess sticking up every which way, and he was staring at Light with an enormous pair of black eyes. His back was hunched over, making him look like a bird of prey. Or a zombie. Neither looked very appealing, and both seemed unsuited for work at a (rather high end) department store.

Oh boy, Light thought. This is going to be fun…