Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 2

B had tried to do some of the easy work in front of him, but was too upset over letting A witness the beating that he could not bring himself to try. He slid out of his chair and trotted out of the room and sought out the last of their trio. L thought for a moment before deciding that it would be best if he followed the smaller raven. He would normally stay put unless asked to follow, but his friend was clearly upset and he wasn't going to leave him alone.
"Where are we going?"
"I need to see A and apologize... I think she's really upset with me too.." He sniffled again and picked up the pace, his slightly longer legs helping him to gain some distance between the older raven. He did not even flinch at the random screams of the girls in the female wing and ignored them to seek out their sister's room before knocking on it.

There was a muffled 'hang on,' and what sounded like papers shifting around before the door was finally open, revealing the blue eyed blonde girl standing in her rather messy room. Both her and her room mate shared the same opinions on cleaning and that was if it barely passes inspection, then it still passes. Studies where more important to her anyway.
"Oh B... You feeling better now?"
The younger raven hung his head and frowned.
"I'm so sorry that you had to see that A... I didn't mean for H to get hurt that bad... Did they say when he's going to be let out of the hospital?" He took a step back and held onto the dark eyed youth and kept his gaze low.

A sighed and mimicked her elder 'brothers' actions by biting at her thumb as she thought.
"I heard them say he has a broken nose and that he will be in over night but its not too serious..." she mumbled after a moment before moving to ruffle the young ravens hair.
"Don't worry about it though, I know you where just upset."
"Roger came into our room and tried to get me to apologize to H again. I don't plan on apologizing. H started it and I finished it. It ended with him bleeding and bruised, but he deserved it..." He held onto the older's arm tighter.
"I don't like hurting others on purpose... but H hates me, just like Roger and everyone else... I feel like a freak in here..."

"You're not a freak B," A whispers and pulls him into a comforting hug, "just different. And we love you just how you are, right L?" The elder nodded in agreement and put his arms around both of them.
"You're just saying that... You've seen everyone else... They call me down and they avoid me. You and Lawli are the only ones besides Watari who actually care about me... I don't feel accepted here..." This was not the first time B had these mini break-downs. They were in fact one of several during the time he'd been here. It was his connection to the future detective that kept him there for so long.

"They don't like me either..." the onyx eyed male mumbles, "people don't like things they don't understand... It is in their nature..."
"But at least you and A can interact with others without fearing that you're going to get called 'the freak with red eyes' or 'the devil incarnate'." He shrunk into the embrace, feeling like he wanted to disappear from view.
"Don't worry about them..." L soothed, "you have us and that's more then some people here..." It would be a long time before Beyond gained the respect the pair thought was worthy of him but for now he would only have the raven's.

B let his head look up after some time before letting his tear stained red eyes look at the older raven then to the blonde. He smiled a little before settling himself into the dark eyed youth's embrace.
"I know that Lawli, you two are the g-greatest." He felt warm and safe in the older raven's arms and that was where he was most content being.

"Alright, I'm going to finish this homework..." A smiled and pulled away to sit back at the desk, "It's so boring!"
"My dearest Watson thought so too," quipped B.
"I already knew that we were going to be hit with something akin to it the moment Roger handed those booklets to us." He looked to L and made a nervous face.
"We better get back Watson before something dirtier than crime comes afoot."

The grey eyed male moved took his friends hand and gave it a careful squeeze.
"Good luck A."
"Yeah... Like I'll need it!" She rolled her eyes and gave a loud huff as B was led away. B trotted beside the older raven and kept his gaze diverted from the other students. In his mind, the insults were already being projected at him even if the lips belonging to the insults didn't move at all. He took deep breaths and calmed himself down until they were back in their room.

"Don't worry..." the future detective patted his friends head before moving to sit down on the bed. B sat beside the dark eyed raven and went into a similar crouch that he usually did. His breathing problem decided then and there to act up on him, making him wheeze a little. He closed his eyes and evened out his breathing.
"I can't... help but worry... It's not... fair..."
Seeing the slight struggle with his friends lungs begin anew, he quickly moved to get the other raven's medication.
"Lay down Beyond..." he whispered calmly and pushed him back down in the bed, not caring that it was the wrong one.

The younger complied and rested on his back, keeping his eyes closed. The light wheezes continued as he breathed.
"Here." L held the boy's puffer in front of his mouth and waited for him to take it before pressing down the button himself. The little device made a soft hiss sound as the wild eyed boy breathed it in.

Nobody was sure what was wrong with Beyond's lungs that made them so fragile and weak, but he was always very ill and a simple chest infection would completely knock him flat. Watari had taken him to all the best doctors and specialists, but they only drew blanks, presumably it was some abuse he suffered in the past that damaged them though they could neither prove nor disprove that.

B coughed a little bit and took one more shot of the medicine before the wheezing stopped altogether.
"Thanks Lawli," he managed, slightly breathless. He sat up slowly and took a couple deep breaths before determining that he was ok again. He stood and went to his desk before sitting down again.
"We should finish these quickly before Watari comes back with something that is actually worth working for."
"I will finish them," mumbled the older boy. He gives his friend a small smile and puts the medicine away again.
"You should rest, I don't want you to get sick again..."
"I'm fine," he insisted, taking deep breaths to prove as much.
"They don't happen very often, so it's ok." He picked up his chewed up pencil before continuing his work in silence.

The future detective nods and sits down in the chair next to his friend, starting his own work but at the same time keeping a close eye on the other. The red eyed youth worked at a relatively slow pace, not really putting too much effort into the studies Roger gave them. He could recite the entire Table of Elements in his sleep if he wanted to, alphabetically and backwards if need be. He paused halfway to see that he was being watched and rolled his eyes.
"I said I'm fine, honest." He goes back to work, more self conscious now with knowing his friend was keeping tabs on him.
"You said that last time and you collapsed..." he states bluntly as ever.
"I wasn't expecting to inhale that airborne dust at the wrong time either," he replies.
"Bollocks! I made a smudge on the paper."

"Then I shall watch you and make sure it does not happen again." The last time it happened it scared the young raven nearly to death to have his friend seemingly alright one moment and barely alive the next. B huffed out a defeated sigh, knowing that L was rather adamant and even stubborn when it came to certain things about him.
"Fine, but... never mind..." He returned to his studies until they were completed. L had finished completely by this time, having been nearly done when they started. This gave him even more time to watch his friend doing the simple and automatic act of breathing.

As B worked, his mind wandered back to the incident with H. He'd never acted out like that before, not even before he came into the orphanage. Maybe it was something he repressed and was unaware of it? He could not be so certain, but what was certain was that it felt... almost good. Scary, but good. L's mind had also wandered onto the subject of Beyond's sudden aggressive assault. He even gone so far as to break the other boys nose. He wondered if it was simply B unleashing the pent up anger he had been bottling since he could remember or if it was perhaps something darker in the boy's soul.
"And that is the end of that chapter of my life," B suddenly declared, closing the booklet and setting it into his desk. His stomach growled loudly then.
"I need a jam break, care to join me? We can raid the strawberries and have them with the jam."
L nodded and a smile crept onto his face at the thought of the small fruit dancing about on his taste buds.

The younger raven led the way, walking out and trotting down the hallways to the familiar kitchen. It was always fully stocked, reducing the chances of anything missing going noticed. He checked the space to be sure it was clear before sneaking inside and going to the pantry and digging around, finding his beloved strawberry jam near the top.
"They are getting craftier Watson, they only challenge me to work harder and so I shall!"
"They are, and sooner or later they are going to catch us..." Everyone got caught once in a while stealing food and the punishment was only a 10 minute detention, so it wasn't much of a risk.

B scoffs and rolls his eyes.
"You tell me the last time we ever got caught taking the jam and strawberries Lawli... Never happened yet, but I am not going to rule out that it very well could happen." He reaches up on his toes and manages to get a fingertip to grip the jar. He eases it until it falls into waiting hands and sets it down.
"Next are the strawberries!"

The elder keeps a look out at the door, making sure no teachers walk in and catch them breaking the rules.
"But A has been caught... Twice..." This was probably because she decided to steal an entire jar of cookies all at once... and having the jar in her room was a give away.
"A is reckless and tends to act before she thinks. I am not surprised at all that she was caught more than once." He goes to the cooler pantry and opens it before disappearing inside. Sounds of shuffling were heard inside before a basket of the red fruits was procured.
"Is the coast clear?" He takes his jam jar and shuffles behind the older raven.
"Wait," L whispers and waits for a teacher to round the corner with her books.
"Alright, now..."

B wastes no time and trots back to their room with the strawberry sweets in tow. He lets the onyx eyed boy lead the way back, making sure to shut the door behind them as soon as they entered.
"That was too easy as always. They could not stop us then, they can't stop us now. Ain't that right sleepyhead?" He sets the jam on his bed and goes to pet Griffin who had fallen asleep.
"One day they will install cameras on us..." he mused and headed straight for the strawberries, popping one in his mouth and sucking on it slowly.

B stopped petting Griffin to finally get to his beloved jam. He opened the jar and stuck in 2 fingers to remove the sticky confection and suck it off his fingers. When they were clean, he paused.
"Until then, we rule the kitchen raids; they don't stand a chance against us." He grins before helping himself to more of the sweet treat with a smile on his face.
"We will need to add a skilled hacker to our hunting party..." That was the perfect solution to the camera problem as far as L could see and as long as they weren't as good at getting caught as it would be no problem to steal extra food for a third person.
"Who do we know is a skilled hacker and are we willing to trust him or her enough that we can say we will not be ratted out anytime soon?" He sucks more jam from his fingers and looks thoughtful.
"Not too many, if any at all."
"One will come... there's always more..." There was no shortage of orphans after all...

B tilts his head before plunging his fingers into the sticky jam and sucking it off.
"Veewy twoo.." he mumbled around his fingers. The younger cleaned his fingers off at last.
"But right now, there is no such person, so we just have our instincts to guide us."
L takes a deep breath and slowly sucks on yet another little strawberry. There was no hiding the fact he was a little depressed, this whole situation with Watari being gone and B beating up another student... not to mention his friend seemed a little off his game from being sick even if he hid it well.

B sensed the change and took his jam and went to sit next to the future detective.
"What's wrong Lawli? You're not looking the same right now." He offered his jam to the older in hopes it might help. The older raven shook his head slowly but offered a small smile to the other.
"I'm just exhausted..." It was true, not physically exhausted but mentally; he just couldn't deal with any more of this stress right now.
"You let things get to you too quickly. I know that there is someone inside you that wants to relax and take it easy. You need to let that person out now and then, you know?" He pulled his friend into a hug and smiled.
"We're still kids Lawli, we should try to act it once in a while."

"You say that, but do you really believe it?" The stone eyed male whispered, "I don't think I have truly been a child since mother died... Its simply not in me anymore..."
"F, T, R and the rest of them are just like us, but you'd never be able to tell with the way they act. Even A... especially A. She's the spark to our trio that gives us life. I will find that person in you Lawli and I will lure that person out of you. You'll see."
"If he still lives..." the detective states rather bluntly, "I am sure he died with my parents..." It was true about A though, you would never know that she has such a tragic past just by looking at her. In fact of the children here, she probably has some of the worst memories and yet has healed the best.
"I wonder if A is really as happy as she appears... Or if she is simply hiding the pain..."

B frowned, seeing that his friend's rather stubborn behavior was not going to go away anytime soon.
"If I find that part of you and lure it out, then... I would like you to play a game of Precognitive Chess with me. Normal chess is too boring now. If you can out think me based on the movements of only 5 chess pieces and determine if you or I have the advantage, then I will get you something extra special. I will sneak out and go into the towns early in the morning if I have to."

There was another small smile and the elder hugged his friend back finally.
"Alright... we will see..." Though thinking about it made him all the more sure that much of A's happiness was just a ruse. B grinned and hugged him tighter and held the older raven in the embrace for a good while before parting from it to return to eating his jam. This time he tilted the contents into his mouth and puffed out his cheeks and made a serious face, looking at nothing in front of him.

Most people would be surprised or disgusted by Beyond's behavior, however this to L was as normal as the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening so much so that his day would be put out of sequence if his friend ever started eating jam on toast like everyone else in the orphanage. He sucked on the last strawberry lightly before nibbling it away until it was gone, leaving him with nothing further to do for the day. It was getting late anyway and Roger would soon be around to do his room checks before curfew.
"You should hurry and clean that before Roger comes..." If it was clean then he would simply assume Rue got it from the recycle for his bug collection. While they didn't encourage such collections, Watari considered it important for them to have some kind of hobby and did not allow anyone to interfere with that.

The red eyed youth nodded and swallowed the jam in his mouth before draining the remaining contents into his waiting mouth, then going into the adjacent bathroom to clean the jar and remove the paper wrapping and discarding it in his waste bin with the other jam jar wrappers he'd tossed in there, careful to put it on the bottom. He set the new jar with his empty collection and went to his bed and sat cross legged.
"Roger doesn't care about us the same as Watari does, everyone knows that."

"That may be true, but we have no choice but to listen and obey his rules while Watari is away..." The two of them had been special to the elderly man. Lawliet was the son of his best friend and her husband before they died, and adopting him personally was a favor to them, to have him raised how they would have wanted. Beyond on the other hand was found near dead by a young L and adopting him was almost a way of fulfilling his promise to the raven's mother and giving him a family.

The younger only rolled his eyes, but got changed anyways, pulling out his night wear from under his pillow and stripping to his underwear before re-dressing in the lighter material. He tossed his clothes into the hamper and had his legs under the covers just as Roger had knocked on their door. B looked at him and glared, but otherwise made no attempt to communicate with the caretaker. L had not yet changed when Roger walked in, earning him a brief scolding but beyond that there room passed the inspection as it always did and soon he was out of there hair once again.

"I wonder if A will pass again..." the older boy mused as he got changed into a grey pair of boxer shorts. Their adopted sister seemed to know exactly where the line was and how to just barely be on the right side of it... It was a talent of hers that L wasn't sure anyone else knew how to pull off.
"Knowing her and Q, I don't doubt that they will once again stay within normal room cleanliness boundaries." He waited until the older raven was settled in his bed before turning off the lamp next to his bed. He was on his side before rolling over, keeping his back faced away.
"Night Lawli..." he mumbled, evening out his breathing.
"Good night Beyond..." The detective mumbled back and lay there with his eyes open as he usually did, sleeping was never something that came easily to him and the nightmares had only gotten worse and worse the older he got.

B's nightmares were no where near the ones he was sure that 'L' suffered. They always consisted of numbers rapidly counting down and seeing everything around him dying at an unnaturally fast pace. As a result of this, the red eyed boy would toss and turn in his sleep, whimpering and even crying out loud if they were bad enough. Not all dreams were in a time lapse, though those were bad enough. The others were of his mother and this shadow he only knew as the 'Grey Man' who always was on top of him, doing unspeakable things to his young body.

L saw his friend thrashing about rather badly tonight and decided he would crawl out of his bed and into Beyond's. It would only be a matter of time before his friend would wake himself and want a cuddle for the rest of the night anyway and it was just easier if he caught them early. He curled up against the younger boy and stroked his hair, whispering soothing words to comfort him.

The young scarlet eyed boy immediately clung to his friend, leaning in and shivering the whole time, but not waking from his sleep. Whimpers were heard and some tears escaped, but he did not once let go. This nightmare was another time lapse, this time of seeing Lawli rapidly aging and suddenly collapsing in front of him for no reason. Whenever it was L, it was always the same. He had no explanation for it and that made it worse for him.
"Shh... I'm here to protect you... don't cry Beyond..." The older tried to sooth his whimpering friend, but whenever the nightmares were about him it was no use trying to console him.