"I don't get it," started Hide, "I mean, I know there's something supernatural behind Kira, as no one can kill hundreds of people all over the world at the same time with heart attacks, but why do you suppose he needs a name and a face to kill? A supernatural entity which can kill anyone at any time shouldn't be deprived of such trivial powers."

"The criminals whose faces haven't been made public weren't killed, and the criminals whose names were reported incorrectly were also spared. I do not think Kira would ever actually spare a criminal, so the only reasoning behind that was that he couldn't kill them. Besides, if he didn't need a name and a face to kill, he would have killed off the first L during the fake worldwide broadcast." Another die was placed carefully on top of the last one.

"So you think he just needs to imagine the name and face of a person to kill them?"

"No. If that were the case, he would have accidentally killed off many other people. He has a method of killing, an object or simply a supernatural power."

"...That's awesome."

"I do not think of the power to kill someone as 'awesome', it shall be more like a curse if it were given to me."

The blonde sitting opposite to Near paused. Although not much could be made out, through the carefree and extroverted exterior lay a brilliant mind, and even within all his naivety, it was obvious that he also had a a fair taste of reality. Whereas he himself had to experience trauma in his past, Near doubted he would feel anything from them. He was far from emotionless, and he knew that himself. It was simply the way he was- but others made the common mistake of seeing it as a mask. That was the trick to it all- and Near, who at first felt threatened by the way Hide could look through people so easily, had relaxed once again when he discovered that Hide had also fallen for it. Good, everything stays impenetrable for one more day. Not that he minded if someone managed to see through the trick- after all, he had nothing to hide. In fact, perhaps that person may as well be more disappointed seeing that there was nothing really there to discover in the first place.

"But what would you use it for?" questioned Hide, after a while.

What would I use it for? The answer was obvious to the white-haired boy. He had no enemies as of yet, except for Kira of course, but he could tell the question was more psychological than practical. He knew he wasn't highly ambitious, or delusional enough to see a perfect world. He never really did see himself as a God, either. In fact, he actually thought of himself as quite ugly. He knew very well of his ugly soul, and never did he see himself as physically attractive. Not that he wanted to appear attractive to people, either. It simply wasn't a necessity when it came to solving cases. If it were to ever come to that, there'd be no reason for him to not send out Hide as a proxy of sorts. After all, the blonde was friendly and quite appealing. Which kind of made him wonder for a bit, Would he ever use it?

"I would never use it in the first place." Near answered.

"What about psychological factors? Maybe, since it's a supernatural materialistic object, something could compel a person to use it."

"'Something'? What are you suggesting here? That 'something' is haunting the object which has the power to kill people?" Although Near never really believed in ghosts, he supposed that an idea wasn't completely impossible unless proven otherwise.

"It doesn't necessarily mean that- any human could be curious to know if such an object actually works. I wouldn't be surprised if Otoharada Kurou, the kidnapper who held the children hostage in Japan, was the first victim of Kira's curiosity. No doubt he would have felt an enormous amount of stress on himself after knowing he killed someone, even if he's a sociopath or a psychopath. Which he probably wasn't at that point, since Otoharada seemed more like an experiment, if anything. A psychopath or sociopath wouldn't have hesitated. Seeing all those children safe and their families rejoicing must have produced a reaction which motivated him to kill off more criminals. But yeah, maybe 'something' is haunting the notebook and forcing Kira to use it."

The room was silent for a while. Late evening sunlight shone through the windows and made shadows on the walls. Silhouettes of blocked structures stood high, looming above the room's two occupants. Any doubts he'd had before were cleared now- Hide was definitely the right choice he'd made in order to pursue Kira. Perhaps not the first or most desired choice, but useful, nonetheless. Hide knew people better than he did, at least the emotional side. That could come in handy one day. But then that brought him to wonder whether if personally meeting Kira would be enough for someone to deduce or raise suspicion over whether or not they were Kira. Hide was observant and good at telling if and what people were hiding, but when it came to facts which were directly thrown on to him, he wasn't all that reliable. For example, his complete disregard for societal norms. Sure, Near himself was an outcast, but he knew when to halt and what to ask. Hide's barriers could only be built when he got emotionally attached to someone. Not to mention, his lack of a mask could prove to be dangerous- alright, Near didn't have a mask himself, but he had acted like he had one, anyway.

Did L have a mask? The answer came instantly to him: yes. The greatest detective in the world had many masks- he was sure of it. He wouldn't be surprised if he had multiple identities as well. In fact, he largely suspected that Eraldo Coil and Deneuve- the second and third greatest detectives in the world respectively- were also just fake identities created by L. L itself was merely an identity- it just came to the matter of firstly created and most notable. After all, what better way was there to eliminate competition when the competition was yourself? The outside world would be fooled, and the most notable identity would stay at the top because in the end, the others were simply pawns.

Near halted on his way to stacking another dice.

L is dead, but the police are covering it up themselves by creating a fake L... The die went off its aim and hit the last die.

There has been no publicized report of progress in the Kira case ever since the fake L came into action... The tower of dice started falling.

It's possible that the police themselves haven't managed to create progress, but... The falling tower hit the other stacks of dice, making them fall.

Had the first L and Kira met in person? A chain reaction was created, the the entire fort of dice spilled down.

L was defeated by Kira... The falling dice hit the other structures, causing them to collapse.

Kira was under suspicion... One by one, all the structures in the room collapsed, and soon piles of blocks and dice were remaining.

Does that mean the fake L and Kira are now... One and the same?

"You have a lead, don't you?" Hide's voice broke the silence.

Near smiled.

After Near had explained his thoughts, Hide excused himself and left for his room. On the way, though, he couldn't stop his mind from drifting to Matt. Although he hadn't known Mello or him very well, he could only imagine what it must be for Matt, Mello's undoubted only friend, when he'd come to know that the blonde had left the orphanage. Matt usually acted indifferent to everything around him; engrossed in whatever screen he had in front of him, and he never really interacted with other people. Mello and him just hung out, in some sort of way. Maybe it was because Mello found Matt the only bearable person around. Hide wasn't surprised, though- Matt was the listener whereas Mello was the more talkative one.

Hide kind of related their friendship with his past friendship with Kaneki. The brunette had always listened when the blonde was spouting off about some upcoming event or someone's birthday party. He was reminded of how he'd felt went his parents died and he was sent away to an orphanage. He could still meet with Kaneki at that time, though. Then, a few months later, a man calling himself Roger Ruvie had arrived at the orphanage and convinced him to go to England. The only reason Hide had agreed was because he'd always loved foreign countries, and the man had said he'd get a chance to have more challenges and excitement in his life. Although, he only realized his mistake when he noted that Kaneki couldn't come. It had been too late by then, though. It had been pretty hard, especially since he and Kaneki had their first argument that day.

He wondered if his best friend ever thought about him as much as he did of him. Perhaps Matt also thought about Mello a lot, now. Was Mello too blinded by creating his own fate to miss his friend back? Was Kaneki, too?

Hide stopped in front of a door. It was fairly recognizable, due to it's location and the game sounds coming from inside. Knocking twice, he waited for an answer. Usually, he'd just barge into people's rooms, but after barging into rooms at somewhat awkward times, he'd decided to correct himself. The blonde took the grunt he heard as a 'come in' and entered Matt's room.

...Only to gape in shock at the sight in front of him.

His laptop was lying on the bed, the screen facing towards him and the tracking application running on it. Only there were now two red dots blinking on the virtual map. One was Near's, and the other was labelled... 'Mello'.

"What the hell, Matt?! I come here feeling sorry for for you, and you decide to steal my laptop?" Of course, he wasn't really that angry or upset. Instead, he petulantly crossed his arms and pouted in fake rage. Matt remained impassive, his eyes stuck to the screen of his age-old Gameboy.

"Why are you tracking Near?" he finally asked.

"Where did you get a tracking chip for Mello?" Hide huffed, childishly putting up a defense.

"Made one, connected it, all that jazz. Now, back to my question. Why're you tracking Near?" Ah, of course. Hide should have known. This was Matt. Had it been Mello, he would have said something like, 'I asked you first'. Childishness got nowhere with the blonde's video game-addicted friend. He remained calm and impassive, simply shutting off from the world around him. Probably had the attention span of a fish, considering the only things he'd hold long enough were his handheld game systems. That was probably why Mello had chosen to be his friend- the blonde didn't want reactions, he simply wanted someone to listen and give a sign of agreement every now and then. And whereas Hide knew Matt didn't always agree with Mello, he simply never cared enough to voice disagreement.

That was it. Matt never really did care about much. Even though he never studied, he was still in third place. Which got Hide wondering what it would have been like if Matt actually cared for once. Obviously, he cared for Mello, since he'd gone through the trouble of creating a tracking chip.

"It's just experimental." answered Hide.

"Testing it out on your friend, like a guinea pig, huh?"

"So are you!"

"I'm not testing it on Mello. I know it works. This is the real thing- I'm tracking Mello."

The blond dropped his mock-defensive stature. "May I ask why?"

"He's going to get himself killed. Can't have that."

Hide smiled knowingly. So Matt did care about Mello. His smile dropped when he realized he had made no efforts to stay in touch with Kaneki, though. They were too young to have cellphones, and Kaneki didn't have a laptop or computer to e-mail Hide. Still, the least they could have done was write letters back and forth, but unfortunately, Wammy's didn't allow students to remain in contact with people outside of the orphanage. Although, perhaps he could make up for this guilt by keeping his friendship with Near steady.

Then again, he'd seen Near shift his leg when he accepted Hide's friendship, and while that didn't necessarily mean he was lying and using the blonde for his own purposes, it still meant that the albino(?) was most probably hiding something.

Ha. Hiding things from Hide. He'd probably never get used to his name being pronounced like that, but he had no option now, after all.

"So, where's he headed?" he questioned.

"West. Probably going to America. Maybe Japan first." The blonde's eye widened.

"And how exactly is he planning to go to another continent?"

"Beats me." Matt added, "Then again, he's one of L's successors. A fake ID and passport shouldn't be too much trouble."

Hide raised an eyebrow. He knew L hadn't been a rightful, honest figure of justice, as the man had said so himself. While he couldn't figure out whether or not L simply said it because it was the truth, he hadn't neglected the fact that it was meant to be said for the purpose of showing the children that they may have to bend the rules every now and then if they became L. They had to be ready for that. So, in the end, Hide supposed that Kira and L hadn't been all that different- as long as the end justifies the means, it's all right.

Hide knew he was more or less the same, and he also knew Mello and Near were too. Using Near as a subject to test out his chip, Mello illegally travelling continents to catch Kira on his own, and Near- well, the kid hadn't shown anything which proved that, but Hide was sure he will, one day. Perhaps he could even be doing it right now, using Hide to capture Kira.

The concept of 'using' people had always struck up something in Hide. Would using others make them evil? Isn't using people people a psychopathic trait? Does Kira use people? Did L use people? Were they being used by Wammy's House? And, of course, all the question had the same answer- yes. Using people wasn't right, but everyone did it. Did that make everyone evil? Perhaps, not in the generic way, but it sure wasn't the right thing to do. Using people was a psychopathic trait, but it's certain that everyone has a deep, dark side towards them. It wasn't anything obvious. Kira used people all the time to create a better world. He aroused fear in people so that they wouldn't commit crimes, he killed bad people, he used the people around him to convince them that he was justice and he was God. L definitely used people. He used Watari for attending instead of going there himself, he used the police to solve crimes ever so often, he used criminals to stand off as him. Wammy's House itself was also using orphans to create and groom them into the perfect candidates to become the next L.

Whereas sometimes using others was judged as okay, when put bluntly, Hide couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Everything around him had a value, a utility. Even people. Did that mean people were of no use to themselves? Were they nothing but mere tools for others to achieve their goals?

Probably. Yes.

"Can I take my laptop back now?"

"Suit yourself. I won't be needing it anyways, I have the application copied on to my laptop now."

Hide walked over to the laptop, which was perched almost dangerously at the edge of the bed picked it up, shutting down the application and logging off. He turned to leave the room and uttered a quick 'Later,' before exiting the room and shutting the door behind him.

As a human being, he had little control of his thoughts. That's what happens with humans: they simply cannot stop themselves into stop thinking about something, and the more effort they put into not thinking about it, the more they actually do. That's why Hide braced himself when his thoughts wandered off to the Kira case. Kira is now L. No sooner did he have that thought did he bump into Near himself, quite literally too. The albino (he had yet to confirm it) looked up at the blonde, expressionless as usual. It befuddled him how his mask was so impenetrable, there was almost no slip of any emotion at all. What could have possibly happened to the kid to make him so distant? Hide had seen his own share of trauma and bad memories, but he locked them away. No matter how much he grieved, he could never change the past, and he was all right with that. The fog of doubt could only be seen through with the light of acceptance, and though impossible to clear completely, one could walk right through it having the light as their guide.

Just like every other thing in this world, there were different type of acceptance. One was where you could accept something had happened and move on, and the other was where you could allow it to plague you and distance you. In the end, which was better: living through life with the knowledge that even though you've moved on, you can never change what happened, or simply staying in place and allowing it to pressure you until you are strong enough to never have an incident like that happen again? Hide had chose the second form, and he didn't regret his decision. Putting on a smile even though it's completely fake and you're actually crying inside seemed much worse than letting it free to make you stronger so that you can not only help yourself, but others as well.

He wondered briefly what sort of acceptance Near had gone through, if he even had. He certainly didn't fake smiles or even try to help others. Perhaps he simply hadn't accepted anything yet. Maybe that's why he keeps ruining his puzzle right after he solves it.

"Hide."

"Hey, Near." the blonde smiled. He remembered his previous train of thought, and voiced it, "I was wondering... What exactly are the chances of this new L being Kira?"

"Seven percent."

Percentages were something Near didn't do often, but when he did, they were usually very low. The only leads they ever had never stepped out of the ten-percent line, and that slightly rattled Hide. If the chances were really that low, then why even try it out? Sure, as long as there was a chance, it was possible. But Near had to go around spouting off about the low percentage, and that definitely wasn't very good motivation. To know that the only lead you have is resting at such a low-

Wait.

Hide couldn't stop the grin from inching across his features as realization struck him.

"What are the actual chances of Kira being the fake L?"

"...I am impressed you managed to see through it." the white-haired boy started, "They are steady at ninety-three percent. No more, no less."

That was just it. That's exactly the thing Hide had needed to confirm his suspicion. Near hated losing, not being able to solve a puzzle, or in this case- being wrong. The only reason he gave off low percentages was to assure that even if it did turn out to be incorrect, he won't have to lose any pride- as the percentage was based off instincts, if anything. The thing was, every time he gave off a percentage, the event was always true. Perhaps this time could be an exception, but Hide sure as hell wasn't going to treat it as one, jinxes be damned. Sure, it showed how arrogant Near was, but also showed how insecure he was. Without someone's support, he'd crumble. He was smart when people surrounded him and listened to him. He was smart when people understood him and didn't treat him like a child.

The blond didn't want to imagine what would happen to Near if he was alone. Maybe that was the albino's greatest fear- being all alone. Hide's eyes twinkled as he found another similarity between Kaneki and Near. Kaneki had pretended to be happy so he wouldn't lose anyone, he suffered instead of making others suffer, simply because he feared loneliness. It's better to get hurt than to hurt others. Somehow, Hide knew Near didn't follow this line of thinking, and he was grateful for that. Who knows how much the kid would have to suffer if he did. Who knows how much Kaneki had suffered already... The boy had always been emotionally unstable (unlike Near), and Hide could only hope that he'd have found someone to lean on after all this time. He could only hope that his best friend hadn't gone under anything too drastic to change his opinion on what his mother used to tell him. No matter how naive the thought of it was, he knew only pure torture would be able to make Kaneki throw away the only thing which linked his mother and him together. Mentally shuddering, he diverted his attention back to Near.

"Are you albino?" Despite the suddenness of the question, Near was not fazed.

"No. I simply lack color pigment in my hair and skin. Not to mention, my eyes are not lacking in pigment at all."

"Oh. I thought those were dark contacts, you know, to protect your eyes from light."

"No, this is my natural eye color."

He was getting irritated. Hide could tell, even though there were absolutely no hints that he'd dropped. His monotonous, low voice had neither lilt nor rhythm, and his body language was lacking of twitches and tensing. Yet, the blonde had learned how observe the other boy in the short time they'd been friends. Near didn't like going into detail over trivial questions, and when he did, it was a sure sign that he was annoyed and did that just so the other person would cease conversation over the particular topic. Luckily, Hide caught that hint and halted from uttering more words.

Patience was a virtue he wasn't willing to lose.

People had habits. Everyone had habits. Ken Kaneki had one habit in particular, and it was less obvious than his tendency to touch his chin when lying. Self-sacrifice was a rather pesky little habit which followed him around wherever he went, but the thing was, he never really had managed to protect anyone before... Before it had happened. He knew he was selfish. Incredibly selfish. He simply masked his selfishness with the claim that he wanted to protect those around him, when in reality, he just didn't want to be all alone. He'd lie a lot, and most people wouldn't be able to see through it. Perhaps, even if they did manage to see through it, they wouldn't do anything about it. Ever since Rize, he hadn't managed to find a better liar than himself. That was really saying something, considering most ghouls lie to appear human. He lied even to other ghouls and himself to appear more human.

But this man, who'd introduced himself as Light Yagami, was no ghoul. His scent was completely human, although a chilly aura was around him. Kaneki had, for the first time in ages, found a better liar than himself. His politeness concealed something very tightly, and, though he had no idea of what it concealed, it had to something... Dark.

Which was rather ironic, considering his name was Light.

Then again, names can be pretty deceiving. It's not like his own doesn't accurately describe him, though. Ken Kaneki... 'ken' meant hard working and studious, whereas 'kaneki' was a combination of two kanji- 'gold/money' and 'tree' respectively. It was quite obvious for how his first name represented him. His last name was a little more difficult to conceive, but eventually one would get around to the conclusion that it represented a pure, golden heart and difference through uniqueness. Light Yagami was made up of the kanji for 'Moon Night God', something he'd found out when they'd introduced themselves to each other further. He'd also found out that Light was eighteen-years old, but that was it. Touka had called on him again for talking, but he didn't pay much heed to her.

"Say, isn't she a little too young to be working?" Light started, taking a sip from his coffee.

"Oh, Touka doesn't actually work. Since she gets bored, she prefers to do something useful in the shop." Kaneki answered. As his shift was over, the manager had allowed him to sit down and talk with the other man. "What about you? Shouldn't you be in university?"

"Yes, I go to To-Oh, actually."

"To-Oh? Impressive. I heard it has some useful courses regarding law and philosophy," Light gave out a sound of affirmation.

"You heard right. Which college are you aiming for?"

"I'm probably going to try out for Kamii. I'd like to ascend in the field of literature."

"Literature, is that right?"

Somehow, even with the darkness peering out through him, Light had an air of vibrancy around him. Fresh and clear, like he was adorned with flowers. Almost... God-like. His well-structured face and piercing gaze, his unbreakable posture, the unimaginable amount of confidence and charm lacing his every word and movement... It was nothing less than perfection. He seemed very intelligent, and it was confirmed that he was when Kaneki was told that he went to To-Oh, one of the best universities around which had international-level courses. Not to mention, he could vaguely make out Light's athletic yet skinny build, which probably meant he was good at sports too.

Just like Kaneki's hidden hair, the man in front of him was pure, unblemished, and perfectly white.

But of course, in retrospect, Kaneki had also realized that some of the most perfect things hid dark, black stains underneath. Not that there was anything dark about Light Yagami, other than that rather odd, chilly air that followed him around. Perhaps the auburn-haired man had a mask of his own. There was no shunning out the possibility of that. After all, Kaneki had a mask, too. It was imperfect, yet perfect at the same time. Most people would most definitely see the imperfect, breakable mask at first, but they won't realize that's exactly how he covers up himself. They'd probably be satisfied seeing the imperfection, and then move on after trying to help him.

He'd realized a long time ago that the most perfect mask was an imperfect one.

Judging from the way Light's eyes flickered all over him, analyzing and processing every single detail, he was pretty sure that the man had seen his imperfect mask, and had yet to break through and find the actual things he hid. Light had probably seen his tragic, broken eyes, which must have aroused his curiosity a little bit. After all, he didn't really seem like a person who was interested in other people, so he'd have no reason to actually go so far into a conversation with Kaneki. Perhaps that was because he was somehow above all other humans. The confidence was mixed with superiority, there was definitely something...

But maybe he should wait before digging deeper. Unlike Hide, who had been sunshine, Light was- well, light. Sunshine was warm, and comforting, and loving. 'Light' was bright, and it shone down on everything else.

All of a sudden, he noticed that the small television in the shop was switched to a news channel, which was delivering yet another report on Kira, the widely infamous mass murderer.

Kaneki thought of him as a mass murderer because all those criminals were dying at almost the same time, way too soon for a serial killer to move. Sure, all of them probably died at second-long intervals, but there was only so much difference between one killing and the next. Honestly, he kind of supported Kira. True, murder was a terrible act, and he could never bring himself to do it, but all those people who were causing direct harm to the lives of innocent people perhaps really deserved to die. A man like that would never change, and he'd keep causing harm to those around around him. Why would anyone waste precious resources on these... These bad beans? They had to be picked out and thrown away, because they were of no use to the blend of coffee and would only ruin the overall taste. True, although the world's crime rate had decreased noticeably, it would never really reach zero percent. There would always be crimes of passion and force... Maybe those people didn't deserve to die. It was quite obvious Kira wasn't a God ever since the live death of Lind L. Tailor, but what if Kira was actually God and knew the guy was an inmate? No... That can't be right. If Kira was a God, he'd be able to wipe out all the bad people, missing out the passionate or forced crimes. He'd punish everyone who deserved it, like, like... His aunt?

Kaneki couldn't bring himself to completely block out that thought.

Maybe Kira should have killed Jason, the man who'd completely ruined his life. But then again, no ghouls seemed to be dying due to heart attacks at all.

"So, what's your opinion on Kira?" Light asked.

"I suppose I support him, although his methods are a little unorthodox. I mean, what about the people who are forced to commit crimes, or commit them out of passion?"

"Who's to say they'd never get passionate or forced again? Crime is unarguably addicting, just like lying. Once done, you have to commit a hundred more."

"But then Kira wouldn't be a God, would he?" Light's expression almost seemed to falter for a bit, but it mustn't have happened, because it disappeared so quickly. "I mean, this is my personal opinion, but I think a human God would be the best one. That's why people got riled up when it got pretty obvious that Kira was human. A distant, unreachable God seems to leave a little to be desired, a human God would be able to understand us better. But... Kira, although most definitely human, seems kind of ruthless and emotionless. Judging without every piece of information seems a little unfair. True, court trials can be twisted to turn in favor of the guilty, but surely some criminals deserve a fair trial."

It wasn't like the members of his odd little ghoul-family hadn't ever killed someone. But that was only when their hunger got a little too out of hand, and they couldn't control themselves. Kaneki restricted himself to hurting only those who hurt his family, judging only those bestowed unfair judgment upon his loved ones. Basically, he only switched when it was personal. It was needless to say that Kira was a little naive, hence the huge percentage of youth in his large number of supporters. Their ideals were more or less the same as Kira's, but whoever the guy was, Kaneki held a little respect for him to actually do something about what he desired... No matter how morbid it really was. Sure, he himself was once blinded by naivety, and he won't ever deny that, even now, he's still naive (which is ironic itself, as admitting that would be considered mature). Kira probably hadn't experienced personal trauma, unlike Kaneki, which is why he was selfish yet selfless at the same time. He probably thought he was doing it for the sake of a better world, when it could have simply been because he felt like only he deserved to be God. Likely to be an intelligent youth feeling out of place with the normalcy of society.

"I guess it all comes down to whether or not he gets caught, huh?" Light's eyes twinkled with what looked like amusement, yet his expression remained neutral.

"Hm. If he does, he's wrong. If he doesn't, he wins."

"Your wording for those sentences varied. 'Wrong' is not the antonym of 'to win', but your implications apart from those words were opposite. Why is that?"

Kaneki was not surprised that Light had noticed that. He noted himself that the other man had voiced his thoughts, which gave him more confidence on his following reply. "By getting caught, he won't necessarily lose. But it does mean that his ideals were delusional, thus making them incorrect. That would make every one of his actions wrong. If he doesn't get caught, it also doesn't mean that what he does it right and justified, because it if it was, there probably won't be any opposition." The auburn-haired man smiled. It somehow wasn't the same as his previous smiles, though... Even after trying to figure out what was different, the half-ghoul just couldn't capture it.

Light glanced at his wristwatch, which was just as attention-catching yet utterly casual like the rest of him, and then turned back towards Kaneki. "It was nice chatting with you, but unfortunately, I need to head back home. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ken," Another dashing smile. The difference was clearly visible to Kaneki now, but he still couldn't describe it.

"Kaneki is fine, most people recognize me by that. It was very nice to meet you too, Mr. Yagami," the boy smiled. Even if it couldn't compare to the older youth's brilliant one, it was only polite to smile back.

"Light is also just fine, Kaneki. I don't particularly mind by what name my friends recognize me by." Easy-going, charming, polite, handsome, intelligent... Light Yagami was a little too perfect. Was it just a mask? The most perfect people seemed to be the most ugly behind, after all... Somehow, there was almost no conceivable way to imagine a man like Light to be ugly. After paying for his coffee, he got up and left, waving back at Kaneki and smiling one last time. No, there was no possible way there could be something ugly beneath his attractive exterior.

Although, death sounds like it would be quite ugly, and Kaneki couldn't help but notice the unusual aura which clung to the man smelled eerily like death itself.

November 21st, 2007

Mello was infuriated.

Unlike what most people thought, he was no less achieving than Near when it came to academics. No, both of them got perfect scores and perfect grades. He was not second, just less desirable. Unlike himself, Near wouldn't allow his emotions to get in the way. He'd calmly think the situation out, waiting for the perfect opening instead of taking his chances and acting. So no, the difference between a ninety-nine and a perfect one hundred wasn't lack of preparation, a silly mistake based on rushing, or that one damned question. The difference was that he was the ninety-nine, and Near was the one hundred. Those values were attached to the two of them, because of who they were. But of course, the puzzle had one hundred and ninety-nine pieces, making it impossible for either the hundred or the ninety-nine to finish it. Either way, he was still second, he was still inferior, and if he couldn't finish the puzzle on his own, there's no way he'd join up with Near to finish it. Because in the end, one hundred was still more than ninety-nine.

He huffed. Now he started acting like Near.

But, for once, the reason for his anger wasn't the bane of his existence.

It was the fucking never-ending rain.

In no way was Mello less accomplished at handling his expressions and emotions. He was far better than the average person. The thing that could really get him to crack was Near. Oh, and perhaps the news that L was dead.

In all honesty, he'd never actually liked the man he was raised to become one day. The memory of the 'conversation' between the orphans and L was still fresh in his mind. L was like himself in some ways- how he was willing to confuse and disturb the children to get his results, and whatnot. But he was also like Near- the monotone voice was deeper, yet still clear. How his words were purely intentional, and he was giving out his secrets without giving out anything at the same time. It was all tactful. Mello had practically felt his gaze piercing through the webcam, scanning every piece of information carefully and putting it together as a whole... Just a like a puzzle. That's also supposedly why his handwriting is bad.

Every time the memory of the gaze of the eyes Mello had felt upon himself that day, he couldn't help but imagine black, emotionless eyes which looked a lot like Near's.

The same eyes which would now never open again, and the twin set of those which Mello would now never have to meet again.

Because now, he was going to bring down Kira. He'd finally beat Near, because it was a known fact that the first to strike wins. If he couldn't beat Near at being the next L, he'd beat him to his goals. Let him have the title of L, Near will fail even if he wins. He wouldn't deserve to be L any more. Not that Mello even cared about being L now.

Maybe, just maybe, Near was a perfect one hundred when it came to being L, but Mello could be a perfect one hundred when it came to catching Kira.

So now here he was, his blonde hair soaked and clinging to his face, even though he was sheltered by a small roof. It was seven p.m., and usually he'd be having dinner in the cafeteria right now. Instead, he was sitting on a bench at the bus stop, clutching to a ticket he'd bought earlier. He would go to Japan first, using his spectacular hacking skills to buy a plane ticket and use some inheritance money his parent left behind to stay at a hotel. After bringing up his reputation and gathering basics of Kira, he'd leave for America and get into some well-known, yet well secured organization with plenty of power and resources... Perhaps the mafia. He almost laughed at the thought of himself, an ex-successor to the world's best detective, leading a mafia group. He'd most likely be looked at like another BB... Then again, he'd make sure his identity was completely covered up. Which meant new name, older age, and fake history.

He'd already decided he could go by Masaru Kita, which translated to 'victorious' and 'tree-field' respectively. It was supposed to be symbolic, by all means. He was also now eighteen years old (Always been a little short, he'd planned on saying) and heading to Japan where his grandmother, the only member left of his family, was living (Terribly sick). If somehow all that didn't work out, his sneaking and manipulation skills were still in tact.

Honestly, he'd considered bringing Matt along with him, but in the end, he decided he would allow his friend to make his own choices. Matt was smart, he'd figure out Mello's location. Though not as smart as him or Near, he was still third without applying himself much. Though his ability to get easily distracted was a mean of depriving him of being L's successor, he'd never bothered to change the habit as he never really had cared much about being L. Matt had never really cared much about anything, really. Apart from his games, of course. Hence, the easy-to-be distracted nature. Even if he had studied, he just make up for his missed gaming time by secretly playing during tests and end up getting the second-best score, like always. Even though he may be able to academically catch up with Near and Mello, his overall intelligence was being numbed, thus he won't make it to become a likely successor any time soon. If he was intelligent, he'd make use of himself and create some goals instead of sticking to passing game levels or simply wasting away his life.

Perhaps Matt did that on purpose, now that Mello thought about it. Perhaps the brunet had already realized that life didn't really have much of a practical point, and a moving screen was much more exciting than the continuous boredom that was existence. If that was the case, then Matt had shifted a little more on the intelligence scale than Mello had previously tagged him.

After realizing so much more than he previously knew, he wondered if the true reason he didn't bring Matt along was because he didn't want him to get in trouble... Or die...

And just as he came across this epiphany, he felt a presence sit down on the same bench he was sitting on. Turning his irises to glance at the person, Mello saw that it was boy roughly around eleven or twelve years old. He had rather odd black hair which almost looked as if it were a really dark shade of blue, and his eyes were hidden by his bangs. His hair was almost as long as Mello's, but it was more messy. He carried nothing on him, and was wearing black jeans with a grey, full-sleeved shirt, combined with black shoes. Looking at how young he was, carrying no luggage, and that fact that he was waiting for a bus which was heading to the airport, Mello could only come up with the conclusion that the guy was a runaway.

How stupid...

Although, he didn't judge him further as technically, Mello himself was a runaway.

"Do you have a problem?" The blond hid his shock and turned his face completely towards the younger boy. "I know you were looking at me." Observant? Instinctual?

"Not really. You a runaway?" The boy turned to face him. Mello noted that he was probably of Japanese origin, but the fact that his eye color matched his hair color was a little sketchy.

The boy let out what sounded like a grunt, but it was muffled by the sound of the heavy downpour. "Technically, yes. Practically, no. Why do you care?"

"How are you practically not a runaway?"

"Excuse me if my English is faulty, it's pretty obvious I'm not of English origin."

"I can see that. It's was still probable that your parents are Japanese and you grew up here,"

"My parents are dead, I didn't grow up here."

"So are mine, I've been here for five years."

"Ayan Kougar,"

"Masaru Kita,"

'Masaru' knew he'd captured 'Ayan's' attention when his lips quirked up into a smirk. "Tell you what, since we're both orphans, my name's Ayato Kirishima."

"Is that some kind of orphan-pact?" Mello smirked back. "In case it is, you can refer to me as Mello."

Ayato scowled. "Still sticking with the aliases, huh? Fine."

Mello did not know how he came to start small talk with a stranger he met at a bus stop. Perhaps if one day they become good acquaintances, it'll be a funny first-meeting story he can share with his future mafia buds. "So, what brought you here?"

"Wrong plane. Decided to explore a little before catching the right one again."

"Where exactly did you get the money for that?"

"My methods are unorthodox."

"Funny you tell me that when Kira's running around. I could report your name on the internet, you know."

"Kira doesn't kill kids."

"If Kira doesn't kill kids, can he still kill a Kirishima kid?"

"...You're a nerd, aren't you?"

And so, Mello's anger with the rain had washed away with his boredom. He never really thought that someone with a lower intellect could entertain him for so long, but it was managed. By the time the bus came and they continued their conversation on it, all his previous thoughts had suddenly vanished, but neither did Mello notice, nor did he care. Because now, he was going to start anew, and hopefully not isolate himself like he used to. Ayato was a start. Though he could never see the odd-haired kid ever replacing Matt, it wouldn't hurt to gain a few acquaintances, would it?

Besides, Mello could see that there was something beneath the arrogant, rough mask the boy displayed, and maybe uncovering it could be tackled as a side-case.

Fanfiction writing is not job, it's a hobby. Thus, I am not late, I simply contradicted what I previously said.

If anyone is confused about the whole 'mask' thing, I'll have you know it serves a very valuable point in the future. What's going on is that they're misunderstanding each other and creating an illusion of friendship. The exciting part comes when the person below the 'mask' is revealed, and the so-called friendships are put to the test. Of course, the outcomes will affect the plots of both the series. I, as a fanfiction author, will alter the fates of more than one character, meaning some will avoid their canon death and vice versa. I have the ending planned out, and honestly, I really can't wait.

In case you were wondering why Hide is a natural blond, I noticed that in the anime flashback, he still had blond hair. I doubt a kid would be allowed to dye his hair.

Anyway, thank you for the reviews (I didn't expect that much of a response, but I'm grateful for it). Hopefully you'll see an alert for this story in a few weeks.