A/N: So . . . sick . . . of reading . . . I picked too many English-based courses for this semester, so I have way too much crap to read (and many papers to write). I should probably be reading right now . . . but I need a break. So, yeah, if I don't update for a while after this, you'll know the reason. /sweatdrops/

L didn't know how it was possible, but he felt extremely worn out. After so much walking and asking questions, he needed a break. He had asked someone why he felt tired, considering it was strange to feel that way when you're dead, but they told him that it seems to happen to every soul; there is no explanation for it. Besides discovering that, he found out that a soul is naturally attracted to other souls that they knew during their life. So now it made sense why Mello was able to find him not once but twice. Other than those pieces of information, he had nothing. Yet, he was grateful to find out about the attraction of familiar souls. This meant he would come across Raito at some point. He would have to mentally prepare himself for such a meeting.

The wide-eyed man sat gracelessly and drew his knees up to his chest as always. Though, just as he did that, a high pitched voice called out to him. He recognized it immediately and was tempted to roll his eyes. I almost would rather be faced with Kira than her right now.

"Ryuuzaki-san!" the former model shrieked. Once Misa reached him, she knelt and asked quickly, "Have you seen Raito?"

"Not yet," he answered monotonously.

"Ohhh," she moaned, ruffling her hair with both hands. "I really want to find him!"

"So I guess, to you, he's already dead."

"Yes," the pesky woman responded forlornly, looking as though she would cry. Her love for Raito seemed to have intensified in those five years. "Misa committed suicide some time after she found out." Then she went back to being her perky self. "So now I'm desperately trying to find him!"

Since L really didn't care anymore, he blurted out, "I find it very unlikely that he'd be happy to see you, but go right on ahead. He doesn't deserve anyone less aggravating."

"W-what?"

He sighed, not even bothering to look at her. He could picture the appearance impeccably. A quivering bottom lip, eyes filled with hurt and brimming with tears, and curled hands drawn up to her chin. There was no point in holding back his sharp comments. They were all dead. The social norms no longer applied, like L paid attention to them, anyway.

"Ryuuzaki-san, how could you be so mean?" she wailed.

"Because I can. Since Raito-kun was Kira, you must have been the second Kira. Therefore, I have no reason to be kind towards you," he stated frankly.

The conflicting tenses were starting to get on his nerves. According to Misa, Raito was dead, but with time not existing, he wasn't sure if using past was correct. For the sake of not confusing the former model, he decided to stick with that tense.

Misa stood and put her hands on her hips in frustration. "What are you talking about? Raito wasn't Kira. And how many times have I said that I wasn't the second Kira? Geez . . . "

"Why are you still denying it?" he asked, finally looking at her. The detective didn't understand why she was so passionate about refuting her guilt when there was no point.

"Fine, be that way!" She sounded like a spoiled brat. Stomping her foot, Misa stated firmly, "I'm going to continue looking for my Raito." And with that, she disappeared off into the distance.

L merely shook his head, glad to be rid of her presence. He wanted to be alone and have some peace and quiet to think. He had to calm himself for whenever he met Raito. Although it was quite rare for him to lose his temper, it had happened. And he was about 99.9 percent sure he would want to punch the younger man in the face the instant he saw him. No, that was an understatement. He wanted to do far more to Raito.

"Hey," Mello said nonchalantly as he walked over to him, Matt following once again. "I don't know how the hell I keep finding you."

"We are naturally drawn to those we knew during life," L stated while getting to his feet. As much as he didn't mind talking with Mello, he really did want to be alone at the moment.

"Before you go and ignore us," Mello said with irritation, "you should hear me out. We found something very interesting."

The detective looked at him and urged with his eyes to go on.

"Apparently, it's taboo to talk about, so you're not gonna get any info from most people. We happened to run into a real bastard, worse than Kira, who told us all about it. Since no one likes to hear it, he loves jabbering on and on to get people riled up or something."

"Mello," the redhead interrupted.

"I'm getting to it! Geez! Anyway," he said as he walked closer to L, "there's this thing that looks like a hole in the ground, and if you jump into it, your soul gets destroyed." He smirked devilishly. "Obliteration of your very existence."

L couldn't believe his protégé had found out about something so astounding. There was a phenomenon in this world that was like the living equivalent of suicide? He had to know more.

"But don't ask me where the thing is. It's almost impossible to find, and finding it more than once is unheard of. At least, that's what he told us."

L wanted to smile at hearing such information. It wasn't that he liked the idea of annihilation; he just found it amazing that such a thing existed. Perhaps it was used as punishment for the truly evil. Maybe even wars had been fought over it. Ideas were flying through his head, and he suddenly felt alive again.

"Hey! Snap out of it!" Mello yelled as he shook L's shoulder.

The former insomniac looked at the two sharply and said, "Don't mention this to Raito-kun."

"Have you met him already?" Matt questioned.

"No, but I will eventually, and that means you two will also."

"But I never met the guy while I was alive," the redhead countered.

"You're naturally drawn to me, and I'm naturally drawn to him. That was what I was referring to."

Matt looked to his friend and said, "I really didn't know L, so how—"

"God, Matt! You're following me around, aren't you? Just shut up already!"

L sighed, growing tired with the direction their little chat had taken. Now all he wanted to do was find someone willing to tell him about that "hole in the ground." Judging from what Mello already told him, only certain types of people would probably say anything about it. Criminals were the best bet.

But what if Raito already found out? Surely, he would try to lure the his rival to it in an effort to destroy him completely. He knew Raito would not put up with him for very long. He'd boast a little about his accomplishments, like getting L killed, then would get extremely frustrated with his presence.

"You two . . . Don't try to find me. I need to go do some research," the older man said, somewhat monotonously.

"Sure, go for it," Mello replied.

It's not just research I need to do, though. I need to find Raito-kun.

--

L's "investigation" was not going smoothly at all. He had yet to find a single person willing to give up any kind of information. No one would even say they knew it existed. It was greatly frustrating for him, since he was used to getting answers, but he had to keep reminding himself that this world was severely unlike the one he grew up in. It was an entirely different game that he was playing. The only thing he needed was patience, but he never had much of that to begin with.

"Excuse me," he said for what felt like the millionth time.

"Whado you want?"

The gruff response made L perk up slightly. All of the others simply ignored him or forced themselves to be civil.

"Well, ya freak?"

L took much comfort in the man's poor attitude. Finally, something different. "I would like to ask you about a hole in the ground that is considered a taboo subject."

"Oh, that."

The man did not continue, but just the fact that he acknowledged its existence made L almost hyper. He had to stop himself from grinning.

"Yer pretty bold to go askin' 'bout it. Why should I tell ya anythin'?"

L wasn't sure why this man had an accent, since the language barrier was extinguished, but he was too excited to really pay attention to that. "I have nothing to offer you. Is there something I could do, perhaps, in exchange for any information you have?"

He scratched his chin in thought. "Ya could offer me somethin'. Ya have a body I can beat around, maybe yerself even?" he asked, smirking.

L didn't even have to think about it. "I do, actually, but I haven't found him yet."

"Ah, someone ya wanna get revenge on from the livin' world, eh?"

"You could say that."

The man's smirk widened. "I'll let ya in on a little secret to make this a sweet deal fer myself," he said in a hushed tone. "If ya meditate like hell, thinkin' only 'bout that person ya wanna meet, you'll find 'em pretty quick. Ya can do that fer people ya just met here, too."

"Really . . . That's very interesting. I shall do that, then you can 'beat him around.' Now, what about the hole?"

"Ahh, quit callin' it that. We got a name fer it, y'know. We call it 'Suicide Crater,'" he said proudly.

L only stared at him with dull eyes. "Pardon me, but what kind of name is that? Who came up with such a—"

"Hey! It's what we cons came up with!" He grabbed onto L's shirt and held his other fist in the air as if we was going to punch him. "Got a problem with that?"

"Don't you mean ex-cons? We're all dead."

"But we still commit crimes. Well, heh, that's what the livin' call 'em anyway. Nothin' here is a 'crime.'"

After his temper subsided and he released L, the former insomniac said, "So you were criminal when you were alive. I figured as much."

"Why? I look the part?"

"No, never mind."

"What were ya in the livin' world? A nerd?" At this, he laughed hysterically.

L let that slide and didn't answer him. If he said what he was, the man was sure to clam up, even if he was promised a body.

"Alright. So about the Suicide Crater."

He cringed at hearing the poorly named phenomenon.

"When yer entire body is in it, yer gone fer good. No undoin' it. Some say that the soul gets reincarnated er whatever, but I say that's full of shit. No one's got any proof, though. No way to get any." He shrugged. "So c'mon. Find that guy. I told ya what ya wanted to know."

"Yes, and I thank you for that, but I prefer to have a private chat with him first. I'll find you later on so you can knock him around."

The man narrowed his eyes. "Why should I trust ya?"

"Why should I trust you? You're the criminal." He began to walk away. "I'm a detective, but even then, some aren't honest."

"A detect—WHAT?"

After hearing the man explode, L quickened his pace. He wasn't sure if he was being chased, but there was no harm in playing it safe. He knew from testing that he could still feel pain, so he'd rather avoid getting into a scuffle.

With becoming exhausted at times and being able to feel pain, he wondered what the real difference between being dead and alive was. Well, he hadn't felt hunger or thirst yet, but were those the only sensations that didn't cross over? He had to get the common notions the living people had out from his mind. What people thought about the "afterlife," regardless of their beliefs, were a bunch of fictitious stories that made just as much sense in the living world as they did here. Even though L had no faith, he never could have imagined that he'd end up in a world that was even more unforgiving than the one he came from. At least he had his sweets when he was alive. -1-

L shook his head slightly. He didn't want to begin thinking about all the confectionary wonders that he loved so much. It would only make him sad. "This void is truly a cruel place," he mumbled to himself.

"It definitely seems that way, doesn't it?"

L halted immediately. He didn't have to think about who that voice belonged to. Already? He slowly turned around, only to be greeted with that identical smug expression that he had died seeing.

"Hello, Ryuuzaki," Raito said with mock pleasantness, his tone utterly betraying his countenance.

He knew the name was meant as an insult, but he wasn't affected by it. He wanted to meet with Raito, so any kind of taunting would be useless against him.

"How have you been?" he asked in that same "friendly" tone as he walked up to L. He started to circle him, the smirk on his face deepening. "I assume that you've—"

"Don't bother," L cut in. "Anything you plan on doing will have no influence on me." In a return taunt, he continued, "So how did you die? Amane-san didn't tell me, and it slipped my mind to ask her." That was a lie. He knew she would mess with the facts and make his death seem grand, nearly poetic, and he didn't want to hear any of it.

Abruptly, the younger man's face went dark.

"So I struck a nerve then?" He bent down slightly and looked up at Raito in curiosity. It was always fun toying with him. "I suppose you went rather pitifully."

With that being said, Raito grabbed the collar of L's shirt with such rigor that the detective nearly lost his balance. He was yanked so close to Raito that their foreheads touched.

It truly amazed L how much he had changed. In the living world, the auburn-haired teen rarely showed signs of anger. Then again, L had suspected that he was concealing most of his emotions and only let a façade play on his visage 24/7. There was always something odd about Raito's movements and expressions. They all seemed too controlled. But he also had to wonder if the current Raito was due to whatever happened after his arch rival was out of the picture. Perhaps without the constant surveillance, Kira was able to behave more like himself. No, he still had to keep up some kind of act for the rest of the team. Now L was wishing he had asked Yagami what Raito's actions were during those five years. Well, he could always ask someone from the team.

It suddenly occurred to him that Raito was not saying anything. All he was doing was glaring at the former sugar obsessed man with the utmost hatred. He was definitely not used to seeing such an intense emotion in those eyes, but it didn't faze him. All he did was remain still and waited for the younger man to speak.

"What?" Raito growled. "You have nothing else to say?"

His tone was far lower than L could remember it being. Was this his true voice, or was he really that infuriated? How different was he from the act he had put on? L reasoned that, to be a mass murderer, his soul must have been drenched in malice and his judgment incredibly distorted. And from looking at Raito's face, merely centimeters away from his own, he knew those were the circumstances.

After more silence followed, L looked off to the side, slightly upwards. "How long do you plan on keeping me this close, Raito-kun?" He then looked directly into his eyes, almost as if challenging him. He wondered how far he could go until the man finally snapped. "I understand quite well how livid you are."

Kira's eyes became slits, and his voice was barely audible. "I know you can feel pain."

"Yes, I know that as well," L replied simply.

The detective could tell that his casual attitude with him was only making Raito angrier, but he didn't particularly care how angry he got. L could easily fight him if it came down to that. Though, when they had fought in the living world, it ended up being a draw, and Raito wasn't anywhere near as enraged as he was now.

That actually brought something to mind. Why had Raito acted differently during the time when he was locked up and when they were handcuffed together? He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was off with Raito's personality. He seemed . . . innocent. There was a "puppy dog" glint to his eyes at times that disturbed L to the point of making his appetite disappear . . . for a few minutes, at least.

Finally, Raito pulled away, rather slowly, but he kept his grip on L's shirt. Then in one swift motion, he brought his other hand back, already made into a fist, and aimed for the older man's face.

But L saw it coming.

He caught the fist and, in return, thrust his knee up into Raito's groin. It wasn't something he usually did whenever in a fight, but Raito deserved it. Well, he deserved worse, but it was a start.

Because of the excessive force that was used by L, he dropped to the ground almost instantly, eyes bulging. Raito refused to fall completely, though, for it would damage his pride even further. Instead, he sat on his legs as if kneeling and coughed slightly, desperately trying to hide his pain.

L got down to his eye level and said frankly, "I knew there was a 76 percent chance you would do something like that, so I was well guarded. You are too predictable sometimes, Raito-kun."

He shot him another glare. "Stop using such familiarity," he commanded.

"Ah, well, it's a habit," L responded, bringing an index finger to his mouth. "Would you prefer to be called Kira instead?" He made sure his tone held no disdain, for he knew how much his apathy was bothering Raito.

The ex-murderer chuckled softly as he got to his feet. Crossing his arms, he said through a malicious grin, "Sure, that's fine."

"Then Raito-kun it is," L replied with mock cheeriness, standing as well.

His grin turned into a scowl.

"So I heard that you caused quite an uproar in my absence. I'm sure posing as me was entertaining for you."

"Yes, it was," he said haughtily.

"But you weren't very good at it, since Near saw through it." Seeing the look of mild confusion on his face, he said, "Mello told me whatever he knew."

"So you've seen the little bastard."

"Now, now, Raito-kun. You shouldn't call him that, considering all of the things you did."

He snorted. "So you're calling me a 'bastard.' That seems rather immature, don't you think?"

"I never said I wasn't immature. Quite the contrary, in fact," he stated in a casual tone. "Anyway, you should know a few things. Although I'm sure you hate being in my presence, there's really no avoiding it. I have learned that one is naturally drawn to those one knew in the living world. So even if you try to run, Raito-kun, I'll end up bumping into you again at some point."

Raito looked off to the side and grumbled, "Fantastic."

"We may as well get some things out of the way," L suggested.

"Like what?" he spat back.

"Since you're in no good mood, I'll let you go first." It's best to let him think he has control. He should open up more that way. "Ask me whatever you wish, and I'll tell you the truth."

Looking at the sable-haired man, he raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What would I possibly want to know?"

He shrugged.

Giving an exasperated sigh, he closed his eyes and became silent for a moment. When his eyelids slowly raised, a smirk appeared on his face. "Alright, L. I have a question for you. How did it feel to be defeated by me?"

"Probably the same way you felt when you were defeated."

"And how would you know that I was 'defeated' and didn't simply die from some natural cause?" he asked smugly.

"You look too young. Perhaps you got hit by a car, but I tend to think that Near got the best of you."

Raito glowered at him. "Still think you know everything, huh?"

"I'm only making a deduction, Raito-kun."

He gave another snort.

"Now it's my turn." L took a step towards him. "How did you manage to do it?"

"Do what?" he asked with aggravation.

"Kill me."

"Oh, that."

L had to suppress a frown. He knew Raito didn't give a damn about him, that he never did, but the way he referred to his death was somewhat depressing.

"I ingeniously cornered Rem into writing your name down in her Death Note," Raito said as he raised his hands in the air, palms facing upwards. He had a satisfied look on his face that made L want to break his nose. "I found her as a pile of dust and took the Note before the rest got there. They never knew, those idiots."

L had to clumsily shove his hands into his pant pockets in order to conceal the shaking. He so desperately wanted to wring his neck. It was progressively getting more difficult to control his anger, but he didn't want Raito to know this.

"The only one to finally get it was Aizawa. He was wary of me for a quite a while towards the end." He gave a short laugh. "I wonder what knocked him on the head. As for Matsuda, well . . . he really was a blind follower. But he drove me so insane that I would have liked to kill him if it wouldn't have cast suspicion on me." Suddenly, Raito stopped and looked at L with a ridiculously fake grin. Really . . . he wasn't even trying anymore. "You got me rambling. I've said more than I wanted to."

"I didn't get you to do anything, Raito-kun. But since you had the Shinigami take me out, that means you don't know my true name."

"Ah, good point. I don't suppose you'll tell me?"

L shook his head. "It's my turn to ask a question. Had you previously knows that I had you under surveillance in the very beginning?"

"Yes. I had a few traps set up at my door, so I knew something was wrong." He was talking almost monotonously, as if he was completely bored. "Ryuuk confirmed that there were cameras and bugs all throughout my room. Oh, excuse me," he added, a smirk gracing his lips once again. "You never met Ryuuk. He was the Shinigami who possessed my Death Note."

"Hmm, as I thought."

"What's that?"

"You're actions were too perfect, too innocent."

Raito shrugged. "It's not like that made me guilty of anything."

"Yes, but I still had my doubts about you. It wasn't 0 percent."

"Why are so obsessed with percentages?"

L looked upwards. "I'm not quite sure myself. I always have been. And I've never been satisfied unless the percentage was either 0 or 100. I'm sure you found that part of me very bothersome, especially since the chance of you being Kira constantly went up and down."

"Anyway," he said with irritation, looking L directly in the eyes, "what is your name?"

The detective only blinked in response.

"Well?"

"I was backtracking. You used up your question."

"You're counting that?" he bellowed.

"Yes."

One of his eyes twitched, and he said, "You're as impossible to deal with as ever. Even in death you annoy the hell out of me."

Ignoring his remarks, L asked, "Why did you allow your genuine emotions to surface as I was dying?"

"I won. I couldn't help it," he said as he massaged his temples.

"Raito-kun . . . you don't have a body. There's no need to act like you do."

"Oh, shut up, you demented freak."

He let himself smile. It was fun harassing Raito, and it was much too easy to do so. But he found it rather odd how he was constantly going from being completely irate to almost joyful in dealing with the former killer.

"Again . . . what is your name?" the auburn-haired man asked forcefully.

"L Lawliet." -2-

Narrowing his eyes, he said, "I'm serious."

"And so am I."

Silence followed.

"Your . . . real name is actually 'L'? What kind of idiot would . . . "

"Don't look at me like that, Raito-kun. I didn't name myself. Ah, there's something that has been bothering me for a while. Why did you act so differently during your imprisonment and the time while we were handcuffed together?"

He crossed his arms again and turned away from the detective, a look of utter tedium plastered onto his face. "I gave up ownership of the Note, so I lost all my memories of being Kira."

L blinked. "So then . . . I'm assuming that you regained those memories when we obtained the Death Note." He looked upwards and placed his thumb between his teeth pensively. "I distinctly remember that you screamed while holding the Note when we apprehended Higuchi. That must have been when you remembered being Kira. How interesting . . . "

The younger man peered at him from the corners of his eyes. "I'll never understand how you can infer such things from the little information that I give. The fact that you remembered—oh, wait. That was soon before your death, so it's fresh in your mind. For me, that's five years ago."

He didn't respond.

"Raaaaaaaaiiiitoooo!" came a sudden shout.

L sighed as he watched Misa run to them at full speed, knowing that this session of Q and A was over. There would be plenty of other chances, though. Plus, he knew it would be fun watching him deal with the obnoxious woman. Just the look on his face alone made him want to burst into a fit of laughter. He really needed a good laugh.

"Oh dear god . . . "

1- It was never said that L was an atheist, but I tend to think that he was one.

2- This information was stated in How To Read 13, and his last name is pronounced "law-light." (Some say it's "low-light" because of the katakana, but I know someone whose name starts with the "law" sound and it's written the same way as L's name in Japanese. Judging by the romanization, "law" fits better.)

I really wanted to end this chapter with Raito finding L, but I thought that'd be too clichéd. (I love writing cliffhangers, but that's going a little far.) So, instead, it ends on a rather amusing note. /smiles/ Misa and L have an odd conversation in the next chapter. I never really liked Misa, but she's kind of fun to write. (Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the pwnage, Dai-chan.)

Minna-san gokigenyou!