AN: Thank you all for the support! Please R&R!

And because I forgot... Disclaimer: I don't own


Five: Enter – Sasuke Uchiha


Sucking on a lollipop, L slouched his way through the doors of the academy. People stared as he walked, uncomprehending and almost not recognizing him.

That wasn't too surprising. L knew he looked nothing like what they were expecting. He hadn't come out of his home in his real appearance for three years. He had always transformed into someone else when coming out, usually female, since it meant less people would connect his appearance to Naruto Uzumaki.

But now, "Naruto Uzumaki" had apathetic blue eyes, dull, messy blonde hair that reached his shoulders and a permanent hunch. He wore baggy blue trousers and an equally baggy white shirt. He constantly snacked on sweets and other confectionaries, bit his thumb, and sat crouched on his chair. He was pale as if he had never seen the sun and his eyes were unusually wide. He had entered a class with his yearmates a year later than he should have.

This was a surprise for all of his classmates and his teachers. They, of course, stared and whispered. Or most of them did.

Some of the more stoic, such as Sasuke Uchiha and Shino Aburame, merely gave him a wary look. The lazy ones, Shikamaru Nara in particular, continued sleeping, and the shy ones, Hinata Hyuuga, didn't say anything. Their teacher, Iruka Umino just stared, wide eyed, for a moment before shrugging it off.

That was what L noticed as he walked inside. He had researched information on all his classmates and teachers before he had even considered stepping into the academy. He should probably start putting their surnames before their first…

L took a seat next to Sasuke Uchiha, who twitched as L hopped onto the chair and crouched there. A small frown found its way onto Sasuke's face but quickly disappeared to let boredom take over. L smirked behind his thumb. The kid might be good for his age at putting on masks, but L had dealt with Light, whose masks were impeccable. The young Uchiha's anguish and anger was obvious. Apparent by the slight crease between his brows, the narrowing of his eyes, the downwards tilt to the corners of his lips and the way he was clenching his hands.

"Uchiha-kun," L murmured, just loud enough for his desk mate to hear. Sasuke glanced over with narrowed eyes and L turned his head just slightly to look at the other and meet his gaze. "It turns out your brother wasn't as loyal as they all thought, am I right?" Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and his teeth grit. "It's unfortunately very inconvenient for me…"

L was cut off with a furious punch to the face that sent him flying back. He was slightly surprised at the power and speed behind the attack. That comment must have really set him off.

What do you expect? You were incredibly insensitive. Kira's voice echoed in the back of his head.

He's far easier to piss of than Light-kun is. L replied as he caught himself with his hand.

Well, I did have an exceptional control over my emotions. It had gone quiet around them.

Hm… Light-kun is very arrogant. L lashed out with a foot, catching the young Uchiha in the chin with a kick.

It's not arrogance if it's backed by skill.

L had enough time to register the surprise and fury on Sasuke's face before the tragic survivor went flying back and crashed against the wall. L flipped back onto his feet with ease, rubbing at his jaw before he had to duck as Sasuke recovered, throwing another punch.

L wasn't expecting the leg aimed at his head though, but still managed to block it with both arms, but was sent skidding back. In the midst of motion, he kicked his attacker in the stomach, causing Sasuke to double over in pain and stagger back. L rolled into a crouch following the kick and stood again, rubbing his arms. "You're very violent, Uchiha-kun," he commented aloud.

He punches harder than Kira-kun. L informed his tenant.

Do you want me to punch you the next time you come in here? Because I can, and I will most likely pulverize you considering my immense size. Light's voice was cheerful, but with a sadistic edge to it.

L blanched, remembering Light's kitsune form. No, thank you, Light-kun. He grabbed the incoming foot while replying. Sasuke had tried to kick him this time, but with a sweep of his leg, L had the angry seven year old on the ground again. The next time Sasuke attempted to attack though, there was outside intervention. Their teacher, Iruka-sensei, had stopped him, grabbing his fist.

"What on Earth are you two doing?" the annoyed teacher asked harshly. "There will be no unprovoked fighting in my class. Sasuke-kun, I expected better of you." Sasuke snarled and ripped his fist away, glaring at L.

"But it was provoked, sensei," L spoke up, hunching over and shoving his hands in his pockets. Iruka looked at him with surprise, as did Sasuke. "I had said something without thinking that was, perhaps, very insensitive of me. For that, I apologize, Uchiha-kun." L had thought about it, actually, but he had no social skills. He didn't realize how insensitive and blunt it was until Sasuke had attacked and Light had commented on it.

"Hn," was the only response L got, and Iruka frowned at Sasuke for it.

"Go back to your seats, class is about to start. Getting into a fight on your first day isn't a good thing, Naruto-kun. Please don't provoke your classmates," Iruka admonished sternly.

L blinked at his teacher for a moment before nodding and going to his seat. Sasuke, too, sat down.

Perhaps you should run your replies by me next time. Light sounded amused.

Perhaps. L agreed grudgingly.


Six: Enter – Umino Iruka


Iruka found Uzumaki Naruto to be a very odd individual. He was well aware of how the village felt about him, but also very aware of how the Hokage felt about him. Iruka, unlike the rest of the village, was able to see past the events of that night and see Naruto as his own person rather than the fox. The Hokage had warned him about Naruto's oddilities, which had begun to develop after his third birthday and a nasty accident. Iruka had experienced a moment of doubt at that. What if it was the fox? To his surprise, the Hokage had burst out laughing at that and told him to 'just wait and see'.

So Iruka waited and saw. It was apparent that Naruto had become incredibly… quirky. There was the obsession with sweets, the crouching, the thumb biting. However, Naruto was also a very skilled and intelligent individual. He had fought and defeated Uchiha Sasuke at Taijutsu, his grasp of concepts, shinobi related or not, far surpassed his classmates, and he was able to match a Nara in Shogi. The only fault Iruka could see was his social skills. Naruto was insensitive, blunt, apathetic, able to read body language and facial expressions but unable to fully understand or care about their implications, lacking in emotional intelligence, a lone wolf, ignorant or uncaring of social cues and norms, arrogant, and finally, operated on his own schedule. His only saving grace was his apparent interest and relatively friendly relationship with Uchiha Sasuke and the wish to stay in a class with his yearmates rather than graduate early.

This worried Iruka greatly since teamwork and loyalty to the village and one's comrades were very important. However, the Hokage appeared to be fond and smitten with these oddities and flaws that Iruka brought up, urging him to get closer to the apparent genius.

Iruka wholeheartedly put himself on that mission since Naruto's eating habits were worrying and made his protective instincts rear up in revulsion and horror.

When he invited Naruto to eat Dango, the response was for the other to tilt his head at him and say, "There is a seventy-five percent chance the Hokage asked you to look out for me and a ninety percent chance you are doing this because you cannot stand my eating habits. But, yes, I'll be delighted to join you."

Either way, Iruka was not expecting that but managed to strike up a sort-of friendship with the quirky genius.

Somehow.


Seven: Camaraderie…? – L and the Uchiha


L decided to try and gain Uchiha Sasuke's favor again the day after he made small talk with his teacher over Dango and three days after their brawl. He had used it as a chance to try out a system of communication and improvement of social skills set for him by Light. L would provide a response in his head and Light would make improvements, scolding him when something was very unacceptable or just plain crazy. The now-kitsune would then explain why L shouldn't say such a thing as L delivered his modified responses. Light did let him keep some of his idiosyncrasies though, like his percentages. Unfortunately, this lengthened his response time.

"Uchiha-kun," he began that day during class.

Sasuke twitched and glanced over with a wary look. Sasuke had continued to let L sit next to him because L kept his fangirls away. Or, at least, that's what L had deduced. He had a ninety-eight percent chance of being correct.

"I wish to apologize again for my words that day. As you have probably realized, I'm not good with being social."

"Hn."

L felt his eye twitch a little at the noncommittal response. Hn? What does that mean!?

Sorry, I don't translate caveman. Came Light's sarcastic voice. Calm down and put that brain of yours to use. His mask can't be anywhere as perfected as mine was.

L took a deep breath. If I didn't know better, I'd say Light-kun has narcissistic personality disorder.

Well you obviously need to relearn your psychology. If you keep making amateur mistakes, I'd think I could commit suicide in your mind.

L was confused by the statement, though he didn't show it physically. How?

By standing on the immense size of your ego, falling off, and then achieving terminal velocity before smashing against your IQ.

Light-kun is mean. L had to withhold a smile at the snarky responses. He preferred this Light, to be honest, to the always charming, always lying Light. Though L couldn't really say anything against that either. They both appeared to have a knack for lying, though Light's lies were on a far larger scale. L deceived with his percentages and his apologies and occasionally his motives, but he was true to himself and his character. Light's entire life was a well-maintained and constructed lie. Or it had been.

L studied the Uchiha sitting next to him. Sasuke had marginally relaxed from his slight agitation with L, accepting his apology apparently. He seemed disinterested, but that disinterest was fake. Sasuke was very much interested in L because L beat him. And Sasuke was interested in power and strength. However, Sasuke's attention was only half on L so L had to change that. Being a detective of his caliber was great in the fact that he had information and he had the intelligence to make connections with that information that no one else did.

"I do not believe Uchiha Itachi was truthful in his motives when he murdered your family."

Sasuke's head snapped around and his eyes focused on L with an intensity L found surprising. However, he didn't lash out.

"Or, rather," L continued, bringing a thumb to his mouth and biting on it, "I do not believe Uchiha Itachi killed his clan of his own will." Many facts had stood out to L in that case. Many illogical little tidbits that cumulated into a tangled mess of a case that L was very interested in. He had no doubt that Uchiha Itachi was a part of a bigger plot.

"What?" Sasuke hissed, glancing to make sure the teacher, Mizuki or something (L didn't trust the man), hadn't caught on to what they were saying. He hadn't.

"There is a bigger plot to this that I am trying to unravel. I've always been interested I your clan, mainly because they were the face of justice in this village. And because of that, I looked up to them and studied their ways so that I, too, could become a part of their police force one day. I do not like physical confrontations, but I believe I would make a good, if not quirky, detective," L lied easily, ignoring Light's cackle of amusement that was in the back of his head.

He had thought about how he was going to approach this, and Light had made adjustments to his mental script where appropriate. Speaking of justice would do nothing for Sasuke, Sasuke wanted vengeance. He could see it in the determined and tense lines of his body, the focused and burning gaze. He also knew that once that vengeance was completed, Sasuke would be left grasping for something to hold onto and, if L's theories were correct, Konoha would become a target of that burning rage in Sasuke's eyes.

L paused before continuing, noting the way Sasuke was tense, eyes alight with questions and suspicions and even hopes. He had not yet been completely consumed by the desire for vengeance, which was good. L would use that doubt, that hope. "Do you really think that your brother would kill so many for such meaningless reason? You knew him best. Can you honestly tell me that he would kill as a way to test his skill? Would he truly have killed everyone in order to do so? This was not a test of his skill, this was systematic genocide… but he left you alive. He killed the defenseless and weak, but he left you? Who was closest to him, who did he loved the most out of all his family?"

L almost felt guilty as he watched the conflict in Sasuke's eyes. It went on for a while, before hope and determination consumed it. Hope, that his brother was innocent no matter what he had done, determination to at least get to the bottom of this tangled mess, if not to make the one who started this pay. But there was also an unstable doubt there, one that spoke of the same sort of darkness as the beginning of that all-consuming vengeance and lust for power that had been there mere moments ago.

"Why are you telling me this?" Sasuke eventually asked suspiciously, "Why are you so involved?"

L tilted his head like curious bird. He would take a gamble with this, but it should be worth it. Somehow, Sasuke reminded him a little of Light, and L was going to do a similar thing with Sasuke that he did with Light. He let a smile stretch across his face, finding it a miracle that his teacher hadn't noticed his and Sasuke's talk yet.

From his pocket, he took out a card with a gothic letter 'L' on it. There was a seventy-five percent chance that Sasuke would recognize it, since he knew Fugaku had given up on Itachi taking his place and wanted to groom Sasuke to run the police force instead.

He knew he was right when Sasuke's eyes widened. "Eru…" the title slipped from his lips in a sound of awe.


Eight: Alliance – L and the Uchiha


Sasuke had known, of course, about the genius detective L, Eru, since his fourth birthday.

It had all started when his father had walked home with an irritated, but awed expression on his face. At the time, Sasuke hadn't known what had happened but it wasn't soon before the rumors of a genius detective had been aiding the police force who's appearance was unknown by all. The only thing that made L stand out was the symbol he had chosen to represent himself with with.

He had only been hearing stories then, but Sasuke had gained a sort of hero-worship towards the elusive detective. He had heard of how L was able to solve cases that stumped even the cleverest and most motivated of the Nara. He had heard about how L was like a face of justice, even if that face was only a symbol.

He had worked extra hard to gain his father's approval, too, because he really, really wanted to meet L one day. And perhaps, if he succeeded his father as the head of the police force, he could maybe work along this bringer of justice.

When his brother had gone and murdered his clan, he had been prepared to let go of his dream in favor of hunting down that traitor and making him pay in a way that he was sure L wouldn't approve of.

Yet, here he was, sitting next to the weirdest person he had ever met, and doubting his wish for vengeance. Here he was, with that weird person bringing out a card with 'L' on it, just like the one his father had shown him on his sixth birthday.

The awe was unintentional, but L was like a legend to him, a childhood hero.

But then his eyes narrowed in suspicion at Uzumaki Naruto. How could he be L? It was impossible. Uzumaki would have been three when he first started solving cases if that were the case. But he also knew that no one except the police force, the Hokage, the ANBU, and L's agents (who delivered the cards, of course, Sasuke didn't know that most of L's agents were actually just L under his own powerful version of the Henge), knew about this symbol. Uzumaki couldn't have possibly gotten his hands on a card or on such knowledge.

Unless…?

He was an agent of L's.

Sasuke opened his mouth to question, but Uzumaki shoved the card at him. "Take it, Uchiha-kun. L wishes for you to have this," The mostly emotionless boy said. So he was right! But how did Uzumaki become one of L's agents? (distantly, he noted that Uzumaki said 'L' a little differently from everyone else) "Don't let anyone else see it, the words there are for you only and-"

"Uzumaki!" the teacher seemed to have finally noticed their conversation and snapped. "Stop talking, or do you think you can answer this question?"

Sasuke wanted to kill his teacher for interrupting what Uzumaki had to say, but settled for looking at the card. He tuned out Uzumaki's obviously correct response (the teachers were pretty stupid for picking on him when it was obvious he would get everything right) and turned the card over.

Sasuke Uchiha (L was known for putting first names before surnames and it chipped away at Sasuke's suspicions a little more)

I have tasked Naruto Uzumaki with giving you this card. As you know, the destruction of your clan was detrimental to the law enforcement. The police force is in shambles. Naruto has probably already voiced some of his doubts about the entire event to you, of which I share with him. I hope I can gain your cooperation for getting to bottom of this mess and also rebuilding the Konoha Military Police. I wish for you to become one of my agents in order to carry out justice once more.

Be aware that you cannot reveal your position to anyone without my permission if you accept.

Please think about it and give your answer to Naruto. Burn this once you are done.

L

Sasuke sucked in a breath. There was no hesitation in deciding.

He'd obviously accept.

And from the knowing smile on Naruto's face, it seemed that Naruto knew this, too.