Co-written With: I Love Lawliet
L-chapter 2
"Watari, there's something I want to tell you."
"What is it L?" asked the aged man seated across from him, in fuselage of the private jet.
"It's about my job…" he paused. "I'm going to quit."
Watari remained silent for a while before asking why.
"It's just… It's just that I want to move on with my life," he said. "Ever since I've met Suiri, she's all I think about… I love her, Watari."
The older man was smiling with empathy. "I see that, my boy. Have you asked her yet?"
"Not yet; I want your opinion on the matter," he stated matter-of-factly.
Watari let out a laugh. "Oh L, you know that I approve. I'll miss working with you, but you must follow your heart." He then removed the picture he was so fond of from his pocket
"You never know how long you get with the one you love," Watari said with some regret.
"I'm sorry, Watari…" he said, eying the picture.
"L, promise me that no matter what, you'll follow your heart."
"I will my friend, I will."
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The large mansion came into view as he drove onward with excitement. This was the first time in two years that L was making a live appearance at Whammy's house. The detective got out of the Ferrari and entered the front gate of the magnificent compound.
"There's no place like home," exclaimed L as he stretched out his arms
"Indeed," replied Watari.
They were greeted with Roger who marveled at the sight of the young boy who now stood as a young man before him. After friendly hugs and good natured greetings, Roger led the two partners into the mansion; with L's plans to quit, there was much to discuss.
Suiri stood alone on roof of a large company building. She sighed as a light breeze swept through her hair. She knew this wouldn't be easy and was afraid of the consequences. The sun was starting to set and she was beginning to wonder how long she would have to wait up here.
"You wanted to talk?" a voice came from behind, surprising her.
Eden was standing ten feet away from her, posture at ease with a smirk on her face showing that she was pleased with herself for catching Suiri off guard. She was very small in stature and her dark, shoulder-length hair was done up in a high ponytail as it usually was, but there was something about the way that she held herself that made her deadly intimidating.
But Suiri knew better; she smiled over at Eden and brightly greeted her with a "Hey Eden!"
Eden's brows furrowed. "Don't you 'Hey Eden' me! It's obvious that we're not here for chit-chat so get to it! I'm on a busy schedule, you know. Some of us follow through with our original plans," she said, becoming impatient.
"How many times do I have to apologize for that? You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?" Suiri asked, annoyed.
"It's that stupid boyfriend of yours," Eden continued, ignoring Suiri's comment. "He interferes with just about everything."
"Come on, Eden, don't be jealous!" Suiri teased.
"I'm not jealous!" Eden exclaimed. "He can have you all to his corny self, for all I care. Besides, I hate to break it to you, Suiri, but I don't swing that way… Sorry."
Suiri scowled. "Not what I meant, Eden. How can you say that to me and keep a straight face?!"
Eden shrugged. "What can I say, I've got acting skills! But we're getting off topic. Why did you wanna see me anyway? This has to be important, otherwise you would've just told me at work, so quit stalling and spit it out already!"
Suiri bit her lip. How was she going to tell her best friend that she wouldn't be able to see her again? She knew that once she quit, she wouldn't be able to see, speak to or even talk about anyone or anything she had done while working there, this included anyone there contacting her.
"Su, are you okay?" Eden asked, her tone was no longer joking and was instead full of concern. It was a situation that Suiri was unfamiliar with.
She hadn't even noticed the tears welling in her eyes, but it didn't escape Eden's watchful gaze. She wiped the tears away, frustrated.
"Eden, I'm quitting," she murmured, but she was sure Eden would hear.
Her concerned face changed into indifferent in a matter of seconds. "Mind if I take a shot at the reason you've decided this?" she asked, coldly.
"Eden, don't," Suiri pleaded. "Please don't be mad"
"Oh, right because I'm going to be perfectly fine and happy with this," she said sarcastically. "We're right in the middle of a mission, too! Talk about horrible timing, Suiri!" she said, not even attempting to hide the freezing tone in her voice.
"I'm sorry it's inconvenient to you but—"
"Inconvenient?! Suiri, you really have no idea, do you?" she said, walking over to the edge of the building. "You're probably the last person I would have expected to quit on us…" she said, quietly, "But I hope you and your precious boyfriend live a long and happy life and that you never regret the things you've been a part of." She looked at her with cold black eyes. "Just like that, you leave everything we've worked for."
Suiri was surprised by how bad her words cut into her. They had been practically family for so long and now she was being so cold. She could see the betrayal and anger in her eyes.
"This is why you refused to tell me who he was, isn't it?" she asked. "Because you knew that under certain circumstances… I would probably kill him."
But before she could respond, Eden was gone. Probably back to work where she'd report what happened and have Suiri's name taken off the database.
"Eden…" she said sadly, though no one was listening. "I'm so sorry."
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"They've both been working extremely hard, but so far they tie in overall scores."
"You said overall scores, but what about their individual strengths?" inquired the detective
"That's just like you, L," smiled Roger. "You always break down the general observations. Well, in this case it really depends on who you're looking for. Near displays very advanced deductive reasoning skills and has the patience to match; Mello, on the other hand, is a smart young man who often takes the law into his own hands."
L sat back and pondered on his two successors for a moment; it was true that while his successor needed to be intelligent, he also needed to be dynamic.
Roger observed L's analytical expression; a look of understanding passed between him and Watari.
"L, perhaps you'd like to relax and unwind before you analyze your potential successors?" Watari asked with some concern. "You've had quite a long day."
"You're right, Watari," he rose as he spoke. "I'm going for a walk. It's been a while since I've been in the fields." He headed towards the yard gates, leaving Watari behind with Roger.
"My, that boy hasn't changed, has he?"
Watari smiled, "You'd be surprised." He started to prepare the evening tea; the two friends had a lot of catching up to do.
L walked for hours in the vast garden, being back at Whammy's house brought on a slight nostalgia but even still he never felt such freedom. He lay down on the grass watching some of the youngsters play soccer.
He must've dosed off because the next thing he knew, a young boy with bleach blonde hair was gently shaking him awake.
"Mello," L found the boy's face right above his head.
Seeing that he was finally awake, Mello stepped back "Hello mister, I saw you laying here and decided to check if you were okay... How do you know my name? I don't think we've met."
L smiled, "Oh, we've met alright, just never in person."
It took a moment, but suddenly a look of realization hit the boy. "L?"
"The one and only," the detective replied.
The boy's face automatically lit up. Excited beyond belief, he stammered and blurted out greetings before suddenly grabbing L by the arm, hollering for Near. The startled detective could do nothing but run with the boy seeing how his arm was now at Mello's mercy. This should be interesting, he thought to himself as they neared the yard entrance.
