A/N: I am quite happy/surprised to see that this story is getting positive reviews. O.o Such kind people, you are~

Fleeting Dawn: I intend to. :3

Maiden of Autumn: Thanks! Things will begin to deepen in a little while.

Chillybean: Yeah, I suppose, now that I think about it, I was going more for the shock value rather than horror. xP Also, don't worry, there will be a more dialogue as the characters begin interacting with one another in the story!

Maki-chan: Good, it was my intention to make readers curious~

blondebutnotblonde: Thanks, you're reviews give me lots of motivation! :D I'm glad you like the story/writing style so far~

By the way, I know that in most fanfics, Watari is kind of the "how may I help you, sir" kind of character, but in this case, he ranks slightly above L. I know, I'm so original and cool like that. xP


L was trying to focus on baking bread for the children of the orphanage. He kneaded dough between his hands, but was staring off into space, distracted with thoughts of the past couple of weeks. He had not stopped thinking about that night ever since he got home from being interrogated by police officers.

After Raito had spoken to him and fallen unconscious, L had been reluctant to touch him again. There was something wrong, he just knew it. He had carefully approached Raito again, as though the other male would jump up and attack him at any given moment. Thankfully, he didn't. In fact, he didn't move at all after that. L wondered if what he had seen was all just some hallucination, produced from his shock and internal panic. It seemed like the most logical conclusion to make.

The ambulance and police had arrived minutes later. Those were the longest minutes of L's life. Raito was deathly still in his arms, growing paler and paler with each passing moment. When, at last, help had arrived, Raito had become cold. L watched as EMTs hurried the brunette into the back of the ambulance and began working to save him. He could feel the blood on his hands become cold, then begin drying on his sickly white skin. Few questions were asked before L was able to get himself cleaned up, a new shirt given to him. He felt dazed and slightly traumatized by the experience. He couldn't offer many words, and at one point had gotten sick at the sight and smell of blood on his body. Not to mention, so many people crowded him at once, demanding to know what had happened, but what was he supposed to tell them? He didn't know any more than they did. Raito had been in complete distraught when he heard the devastating news, and his condition couldn't have been made any better with reporters shoving microphones in his face. L didn't think he had ever seen someone so upset, so broken...

"L."

A voice behind the Being caused him to snap back into reality. He jumped slightly and turned his head to see who was behind him. Watari.

L offered the older male a small grin before looking back down at the dough. "Watari, you know better than to sneak up on me like that," he said softly. Though, he had been only half-joking. Honestly, he had been paranoid these past couple of weeks. The last thing he needed was people popping up out of nowhere and startling him.

Watari chuckled and laid a hand on his shoulder. "My apologies, L," he said, patting L's shoulder.

"Did you have something to tell me?" the younger Being asked, continuing to knead the dough. Watari's smile faltered slightly.

"I have news concerning Raito," he said, getting straight to the point and standing beside L, watching his hands. L stopped suddenly, his eyes darkening. Raito...he wondered how the young man was doing. The last time he had seen him, the brunette was unconscious and could barely even breathe on his own. He had only visited him in the hospital once, and never again. It was too much for L to see a young life slowly wasting away. He felt as though it was somehow his fault.

"...Yes?" he pressed on after a long moment of silence. Clearly, Watari was trying to build suspense for L, but he was having none of it.

"Well, he is...mentally fragile. Recovering from his physical wounds, but the mental scars remain. He needs a place to stay, where he can feel safe and protected by the Father," he began, looking up at L's face. L looked back, not liking where this was going. He didn't particularly fancy the idea of living with Raito, not after what he had seen (or, thought he had seen) that night. However, as a Being, it was his duty to protect and ensure his safety and well being.

Seeing the hesitant and knowing look in L's eyes, Watari quickly added, "And, you know, he's been asking for you."

L could feel his chest tighten slightly. He couldn't just pretend that Raito didn't exist. There was no reason for him to. In fact, he didn't even know why he felt this way. Something about Raito made him feel uncomfortable...but that didn't mean he could just leave the poor, suffering child in his time of need.

Another long moment of silence stretched on between Watari and L, until finally Watari broke in. "L...what do you say?" he asked, though it was an unnecessary question. L knew that he would have to or his conscience would eat at him forever. Not to mention, Watari would have gone through with the plan, anyway. Plus, the Father would frown upon him for even thinking about leaving poor Raito alone.

L hesitated once more, then nodded. "Of course he can stay at the orphanage. He has nowhere else to go."

Watari smiled. "I knew you would make the right decision. Raito will be staying with you in your room."

Okay, that was taking things a bit too far. L liked his privacy, and he certainly didn't want it to be invaded by Raito.

"W-Watari-san - " he began to protest , but the old Being had clearly already made up his mind. He left L there alone, giving him another couple of pats on the shoulder before he did so. Damn...so L was going to have to share his room with someone? This did not sit well with him. Not at all. Somehow, though, he felt as though Raito was his responsibility.

Still, that didn't mean he wanted to share a room with him.

L sighed softly to himself. He had a feeling life in the orphanage was about to get a little more interesting.


The next day, L had been told that Raito was coming over later on in the day. How cruel of Watari, to refrain from telling him until the last minute. He had absolutely no time to at least clear some things out of his room...oh, well. Raito was just going to have to put up with his messy habits. Besides, the other male had many things on his mind at the moment; L was sure he wouldn't care if the room he stayed in was a little messy.

However, that didn't mean L had to be the same way. In fact, he hated being dirty. He showered for several minutes that morning, stepping out of his bathroom smelling like strawberries. He was instructed to go down to the courtyard to meet Raito and show him around the orphanage.

As he stepped out, only a towel wrapped around his waist, he noticed a figure standing in the middle of his room, looking through his things. L froze, eyes widening when the figure turned. He was now staring into Raito's face. "Good morning, L."

Okay, what the hell was this boy doing here?! He wasn't supposed to be at the orphanage for two hours. "Raito-kun..you startled me!" L said. He had been about to ask why in the Father's name he was in the room, but decided it would be rude to say such a thing. He held his tongue as Raito smiled at him like it was completely normal to be here two hours early...invading L's room.

"Well...I was getting very lonely in my hospital room, and they let me out early when I asked. I should have told Watari, at least...sorry for giving you a scare," he apologized, smile slowly disappearing from his face. He looked like a child who knew he was about to be scolded, which was just what L intended to do. Raito couldn't just walk into his room without permission! And he was looking through his things, too!

L quickly reminded himself, though, that Raito was still mentally fragile. He probably wouldn't be able to handle being yelled at right now. Besides, he probably hadn't even known he was doing wrong. And what kind of horrible person would L be to scold a boy who had just lost his entire family in a brutal murder? L quickly calmed himself and sighed softly. "It's okay, Raito," he said eventually.

From there, he waited for the brunette to leave his room so that he could get dressed. It was wrong to shamelessly flash your body in front of another person. However, Raito didn't move. Instead, he just stood there silently, making the situation even more awkward. L instinctively looked away.

"Could you...would you mind leaving for a moment while I get dressed?" he asked finally, after several long seconds of silence. Raito seemed to snap out of a daze and looked up at L with a pleasant smile.

"Oh, of course. Sorry, it's just that you're even more beautiful than I remember," Raito replied, quite boldly. A slight blush adorned L's pale cheeks. No one had ever complimented him like that, never so openly. It was very strange, especially since Raito was usually more reserved and never even seemed to take notice of him a year ago. Not to mention, there was something odd about being referred to as "beautiful" while he was naked.

"Eh...thank you...?" L said a bit uncertainly. Raito nodded as a sort of "you're welcome", then finally left the room, closing the door behind him. Well, that certainly was strange. L needed to talk to Watari about this. Did the older Being even know that Raito was in the orphanage-in his room? If so, it was even more cruel that he hadn't warned L beforehand.

Locking the door just in case Raito tried to enter again, L dropped the towel at his feet and tossed it into the overflowing hamper in his room. He put on his boxer-briefs, then plucked his usual attire out of his closet and began putting the articles of clothing on.

While he dressed himself, L kept glancing back at the door every once in a while in an annoyed manner. He couldn't believe Raito had already shown up and began going through his stuff like he owned the place. L could see that the room was an even greater mess now, as papers were spread all across the floor. He supposed he couldn't blame the young man for being curious, but honestly?

Something that really bothered him, though, was that Raito had not at all been what he had expected to see. L thought that the boy that came to the orphanage would barely be able to walk on his own, would be on the verge of breaking down emotionally. Raito, however, seemed just fine. It was as though nothing had happened. In fact, he seemed happy. Perhaps he was just trying to suppress his feelings of sorrow and forget about the murder completely. Maybe he had even convinced himself that it never even happened.

The Beings sighed as he finished getting dressed. He listened to see if Raito was waiting outside of his room, but couldn't hear a thing. Arching an eyebrow, L walked over to the door and unlocked it. He pushed it open, looked out, and saw no one. Damn...Raito would get hopelessly lost in this place if he wandered off! He needed to tell Watari about this.

L left his room (though he was a bit reluctant to do so) and swiftly began to make his way over to Watari's office. It was there that the older Being could typically be found. L made his way to that office, keeping an eye/ear out for Raito the entire time. Jeez, he hoped the other didn't get lost and end up stuck in some closet for days...

Shaking his head, clearing his mind of such ridiculous thoughts, L continued his search for Watari. He turned a corner, and bumped right into just the man he was looking for. "Oh, I apologize, L," Watari said, surprised and a bit startled. He readjusted the glasses on his face, but L didn't give him time to say or do much afterwards before he came right out with what he wanted to say.

"Raito is in the orphanage. He was in my room just a second ago," he said, sounding somewhat annoyed. "I really wonder if he was even authorized to enter the building..."

Watari looked confused. "But Raito isn't supposed to be here for another couple of hours. I didn't see him come in."

"I know, that's the point. He just arrived unexpectedly."

"Is this a problem?" Watari suddenly said. He looked at L seriously, who looked back at the elder Being, incredulous. Of course this was a problem! Raito had been in his room with no permission!

Just as L was about to point this out, however, he remembered that the room now technically belonged to both him and Raito. Well, the "it's my room and he shouldn't have been in there without my permission because it was rude and unexpected and he caught me naked" argument clearly wouldn't work here.

"No, I suppose not...I just wished someone would have given me a warning," L said with a small sigh.

"Well, where is he now? We must get him familiarized with the orphanage if he is to live here," Watari replied.

L bit his lower lip, knowing that the fact that Raito was wandering around on his own probably wouldn't make Watari very happy. "He...wandered off," he said honestly. It was sinful to lie, especially to someone higher than you.

At first, L foolishly thought that Watari would become angry. However, he had known the man long enough to know that he never became angry; instead, he became disappointed, which L thought was much worse. Though, this time, Watari simply sighed and looked as though this were a minor inconvenience. "Well then, you'll have to find him. We cannot let an emotionally unstable teenager roam around unattended in this large place, can we? Please make sure he sees me later."

"Of course," L replied softly. Well, he was glad that was taken care of. Watari gave him a silent farewell and began on his way to do whatever it was Watari did. However, L quickly stopped him. "Watari," he began, the old man turning back to look at him. "Have they caught the person who did this? Do the police have any leads?"

Watari remained silent for a long moment before saying, "No, unfortunately. Pray that he will be captured and brought to justice soon."

L nodded, feeling a bit disappointed at the news, even though it was to be expected. This killer was more difficult to catch than smoke.

After Watari left, L sat in the middle of the hallway alone and sighed. Now came the really hard part; finding Raito in this huge orphanage.


A/N: /huffs. I am not happy with this chapter at all. -.-
For those of you wondering where the action comes in, don't worry - all in due time, friends~

At the same time, though, I feel like the story is moving a bit too quickly...let me know if you think I should slow it down, and thanks to everyone who actually took time out of their day to read/review. :3