Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 3

The pair remained in this comfortable silence until the following morning, though B was not in the mood to move. He felt lazy this morning and didn't want to do anything. A thought occurred to him about the exploding rats and decided he would try some more experiments with those near the hideout today.

L gave a quiet groan and opened his eyes slowly to see his friend looking down on him protectively.
"Morning sleepy head," said B.
"I don't feel like working today. I have to speak to Watari later to see about those applicants then I'm going to have some fun later on."
"Alright..." the elder mumbled and yawned, closing his eyes again for a few moments.
"Are you going to return to your job today? If so, I have no reason to bug you." He just did not want the older to pry into his business unnecessarily at all today.

"Perhaps I will... a little later though..." the elder mumbled.
"I still do not feel 100% and don't want to make myself worse..."
"Fair enough. Did you want me to get you anything from breakfast today? I'll bring a plate back for myself also."
"Whatever everyone is having will be good..."

"Alright." He gives the older a hug and kiss before taking his leave. He walks quickly to the dining hall and arrives earlier than a few other students. He looks at what's available and piles food on different plates and puts that on a tray with juice on both before trekking back. L slowly sits up, deciding to eat breakfast quickly before having a shower. Today he would just sit back and relax.

The younger hands the tray to his friend and takes his plate, slowly picking away at the food he chose. He avoided the jam they used from now on, only eating the good jam he would get in raids.
"Something curious happened at work yesterday that I was not expecting," the younger mused, forking an egg into his mouth and chewing slowly.
"Oh?" The older raven wasn't much interested in his food even though his stomach was growling loudly.
"Yeah, I had unintentionally made one of my poison compounds stronger than I intended it to. 36% stronger to be precise. The test result was not what I was expecting. I'll leave it at that."
"How so?" the dark eyed boy mumbled and looked up at his friend curiously.
"Do you really want to know?" He raised his eyebrow and ate some pancake.
"Is there a reason why I wouldn't?" The detective moved to get another bit of honey covered toast.
"Perhaps this is not the best context to discuss the results." He chews the pancake slowly and takes a drink of the grape juice.
"I'll just settle for it being... interesting..."
"But you have my curiosity..." he mumbled quietly.

The younger raven sighed and swallowed the pancake in his mouth.
"This was an isolated incident, but the rat given the accelerated poison exploded... literally." He bit into more pancake and chewed.
"A was a witness to this. Needless to say, she was horrified at my accidental addition to the compound."

"That is an interesting response..." the elder raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Was it from a build up of gases in the stomach or perhaps heightened blood pressure?"

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I was using two entirely different mixtures together and their combined result caused the swelling before the rat became deceased." He ate more egg and chewed before deciding he was full.
"I'm going to shower, visit Watari then go outside."

"Alright..." the detective mumbled and took a deep breath.
"I think I will lay around here..."

"Ok. I'll be out for most of the day. I may even camp out in the hideout again if I do so feel like it."

"I would like to join you if you will be gone tonight..." the elder mumbled softly.
"I don't mind being alone during the day however... you should take Bear with you..."

"I'll be fine today, but if you want to join me, feel free. I don't need Bear with me. He can keep you company." He smiles and approaches the older to peck him on the cheek.
"If you want to join me, you're going to have to leave earlier as it's still in winter solstice and it gets dark sooner and we don't want a repeat of what happened before."

"I was referring more to the fact I think he may be a little bored here on his own where as he can go out for a run with you..." the elder corrected and kissed his friend on the cheek back.
"I know now that you will be alright, and I am happy for you."

"Well since you put it that way, I am required by default to bring him with me. Wouldn't you like that, Bear?" The large dog became more lively at the mention of an outdoor trip and began to wag his tail rapidly.
"I've never felt this much confidence before Lawli and I feel I'm going in the right direction. Shower first, so hold your horses Bear." He strips his clothes.
"By the way, I'll get Watari to send someone to clean your bed so it's clean for you again." With that, he finally walks into the bathroom and starts his morning routine.
"I am sure one day you will flourish." L smiled and took a deep, calming breath.
"Can you request he sends meals and a simple case for me as well as I would like to stay in bed..."

"Not a problem," he called from the bathroom. He took his quick shower and dried off normally this time as his plans dictated his actions. He walked out and pulled clothes out.
"The shower is ready for you," he said as he re-dressed. L nodded and slowly got to his feet, briefly petting their huge dog before disappearing into the shower.

When he was done, he wasted no time and walked outside and directly to Watari's office and knocked on the door before letting himself in.
"Watari, I have a few things I'd like to address today."
"What is it my boy?"
"First off, have any new applications come in for the remaining positions at the center?"
"Roger is reviewing those at the moment and he'll give them to me to hand to you when he's done."
"Second, when Lawli was ill, he threw up a lot and his sheets are absolutely soiled and foul. Can you send someone to change the bedding please?"
"Yes, I will attend to that right away."
"Thank you. Last of all, Lawli would like for you to send him a small case file and would request his meals delivered today. He's not in the mood to go out at all right at this time."

His adopted father nodded and absorbed the information before filing it away.
"Understood. Where pray tell will you be?"
"I have some things I want to do today. My studies are all caught up and honestly, I feel I don't need to take them with the classes anymore. My memory is incredibly strong as it is and I've memorized nearly all the available material. I am interested in participating in your hands-on mock scenarios still."
"I see. You're more head strong than you have been before and I suppose if you are confident enough, I will allow this."
"Thank you Watari..." B takes his leave and returns to the shared room as promised.

Oddly L is only just coming out of the shower, taking even longer then usual today.
"Is everything alright then?"
"Yes," he replied with a grin.
"Watari will have the cleaners in here today and he'll drop off a case file for you to work on. I'll be out all day with Bear. I'll bring him back inside before I camp out. Everything is taken care of." He softens his grin and steals another peck to the cheek before getting Bear's collar and leash and leading the happy canine outside to go outdoors with him. For now the elder contented himself to lay down on the other male's bed and take a short, but still much needed nap.

On the way out, he detoured to the lab and made sure no one was inside before setting Bear to the floor and mixing up more of his stronger poison compound. He made enough to last him the day before taking them into his pockets and leading the dog outside and at last to the cooler air outside and unlatching the leash to let the large dog run freely. The dog looked up at his pack leader with wide and curious eyes, something the canine did very well. it was as though he knew mischief was afoot and he himself wanted part of it.

"If you were not called Bear, I'd certainly call you Eru-san just because you and him look the same. If you really want to come with me, then by all means, join me, but you cannot ingest my target subjects, no matter how tempting they look otherwise." He starts a slow jog to the hole in the wall and crawls under to begin his hunt for rodents, relying solely on his eyes to reveal them. The huge black dog wriggled under the fence behind the boy, tail wagging and tongue hanging out lazily. He had no intentions at all of leaving the raven to his own devices when there was fun to be had.

While the pair had their fun outside, the cleaning crew finally came around, knocking on the door politely before entering inside. The smell of vomit still lingered in the air and it became apparent where it had come from.
"L, we will not be here too long, so you need not have to leave while we take care of things in here."

Back outside, B's first 'experiment' was found, a squirrel. Taking out his compound, he removes some and force feeds the animal and lets it go, watching again with morbid fascination at the animal's inhumane death. The blood eyed raven's canine companion stayed close the entire time, chasing down and capturing a rabbit as it hopped by and bringing it back to its sick minded master still very much alive and kicking, though not for long.

"Good boy Bear!" He pets the large dog and repeats the process, trying a slightly larger dose and letting it go. The reaction was a lot more gruesome, with the animal's insides forcing themselves out of the oral cavity. He tilts his head like a curious puppy before taking the corpse and adding it beside the squirrel's body.
"Get me another one Bear."

Back inside, Watari showed up a little while later with a cup of tea and 2 small case files.
"Beyond told me that you'd like a case to work on as well as some lunch later on. How are you feeling my boy?"
"A lot better then I felt last night, thank you Watari..." the dark eyed raven mumbled and rubbed his eyes slowly, clearing the sleep from them, "though I don't trust that if I was to get up and exert myself my stomach would remain calm... I am quite sure I would either vomit or just generally become ill once more..."
"It's best that you take it easy right now until the illness has completely passed on. You don't get ill often, but it hits hard if you do get one. I've noticed that Beyond is a lot more lively than he was before. You must have been the first to notice this, I'm certain."

Back outside, B's killing spree of rodents continued. With Bear's help, his rodent victims were including 7 mice, 4 rats, 6 rabbits and 9 squirrels. The canine seemed to be enjoying hunting and had proven to be quite successful at trapping the innocent creatures, scooping them up in his mouth doing minimal damage and taking them back to his sick minded master. Only once did he have a slight incident when trapping a small rabbit when he accidentally punctured the little creatures body with his huge fangs, dropping the body on the raven's lap expecting his due reward.

"Hmm... This won't do Bear, it's already dying. Hmm... on the other hand, you can have it as a reward for your hard work..." He snaps the animal's neck, getting a very short scream from the animal and handing it over to the large dog.
"After this, you must only bring me living animals, no more teeth marks, ya hear?" He showed the puncture wound to the dog and stated very sternly, "No," before handing it over to him. The dog gave a soft whine, but chomped down the little animal before racing off after their next victim, managing to bring the rest of their prey in alive.

Meanwhile, L was thinking hard on the changes in his friend, trying to best explain them to his adopted father.
"Yes, in fact he said his confidence is due to his conquest over the night terrors... though I'm not sure that's all there is to it..."
"I've received word from Roger that Beyond's language has gotten a little rougher. S, one of H's friends can confirm with some other witnesses that Beyond and H had a very negative verbal confrontation. The main things exchanged were insults and calling each other homosexuals."

The elder male made a thinking sound.
"What would you guess as to this increase if his claim of night terror victory is only half true?"
"It is true a victory over the night terrors would make him more calm and increase his self esteem as well as his independence. However, this change seems to go right down to the core of who and what he is..." the panda eyed male mumbles and drinks some of the sweet tea Watari had brought to him.
"It is as though something in his subconscious has been awakened... perhaps he simply became tired of being a victim... he has lashed out before so such strength has always been in him... something has simply allowed this to be brought to the surface..."

"The possibility that his own subconscious waking itself up seems to be very high indeed. I am aware of the previous outbursts and that under certain stressful conditions, he can be rather violent, but this confidence is a good thing. It is a manner of channeling that confidence into more positive stimuli that will keep him under control. As long as there are activities that he enjoys, I don't doubt he'll remain calm and positively motivated."

Back outside, 13 mice, 10 rats, 12 rabbits and 22 squirrels fell victim to Beyond's tirade, but his supply was starting to run low and his boredom was becoming apparent. This time the great canine came back empty handed, unable to find any more prey no matter how hard he tried. They sat down beside the pile of dead animals and tilted his head to the side curiously, wondering what his master wanted with so many dead animals.
"Hmm... Well that didn't take very long, but it was as fun while it lasted. We now have a problem... I think I have a spot for them... Don't touch the rest."

He carries the rats and mice and finds a pile of rocks, removing them to reveal a small hollow. He tosses the rats and mice into the hollow and returning to carry loads of rabbits and squirrels and tosses those into the hollow before covering the corpses with more rocks.
"Let's head back for lunch, but no talking to anyone about this. This is purely our little secret." He makes a hush symbol and calls the dog to follow him back. As soon as the canine squeezed itself under the fence it started to race back to the boys room, barking and looking back every now and then to make sure the younger raven was following.

B called Bear to his side to properly restrain him before leading it beside it so they could walk back to the room safely without incident. Inwardly, his morbid curiosity was not sated, it expanded and wanted more answers. He walked inside the room to see Watari and L finishing off a sentence in their discussion, though he never caught what it was.
"Hey Watari, hey Lawli."

"Did you finish what you had to do?" the elder mumbled, taking another sip of his tea. L's demeanor was so perfect there was no way of telling that the previous topic he had just walked in on was in fact about him.
"We went rabbit hunting. I caught and killed 3 of them for him and he caught a couple others as well. I am training him to be a great hunter. One day, rabbits will only be on his menu, no more dry food for him. I got bored and walked back after we were done."

"Ahh once I had a wonderful hunting dog, her name was Bonni and no rabbit or fox could escape her!" the elderly man declared, full of pride over his successes.
"You should keep that fact from A..."
"Why is that my boy?"
"She dispproves of hunting, she feels that it is most inhumane..."
"You should never pick up a gun if you are not confident you can kill the animal in one clean shot."

"She gets queasy enough when I have to snap rat necks as it is..." B removed the leash and collar from Bear and gave him a generous petting before sitting himself beside the older raven.
"I remember going pheasant hunting with you too Watari."
"Ahh but alas Bonni was in her senior years then and was not at her peak, you should have seen her when she was young!"

L sighed and shook his head slowly.
"A definitely would not approve of you turning her patient into a killer... best we keep this between ourselves... you know she can be... sensitive..."
"Ah, but she shouldn't be! Perhaps this young canine has hunting in its blood!"
"He most certainly does. He's even fetched me live rats for me to kill on sight. He's very good at it I must add."

B knew this was not helping the situation, but Bear has proven himself to be a good hunter already, and a great aid in his experiments.
"In fact," he mused,
"I'd like for him to accompany me out more often. He's a great outdoor companion."
"I suppose it would be better for him as well to have the time to run around and exercise..." the elder raven mumbled, feeling slightly left out of what sounded like it was a lot of fun.

"Watari, can Lawli and I go out camping tonight? We won't be gone far from the school grounds and it's only for tonight, I promise. I've seen the camping gear already in storage."
"Well if you're feeling up to it, why don't I take you back to my house and you may camp out there," the elderly male says with a smile.
"As you know my property is large and you can camp wherever you please without breaking rules... Roger does get upset with me when I allow you boys to bend them..."

"It's not Roger's building to dictate these things though, right? You personally adopted us and we're YOUR children. Then again, so is everyone else here, but you get my drift. Either way, I wouldn't mind camping out on your property. What say you Watson?"
"It's alright by me..." the dark eyed raven mumbled in reply.
"Ahh yes well you two are officially my children where as the others are 'in my care' there is a slight difference however ether way I would like to keep him appeased as he must run this place when I am away..."

"I understand, but it's already well known that he does not like us as it is. I swear he has it out on us... That aside, when can we be ready to leave?"
"Well we cannot leave until I have finished my work for the day so that will be around 7:30 tonight. Please come and see me in my office then."
"Very well then. Thank you Watari." B smiles and stands up, feeling very hungry from the morning's activities.
"I'm going to get some lunch, I'm starved."

"Can you bring me some back Beyond?" the elder asks, sliding out of bed to stuff a fresh set of clothes into a bag.
"Not a problem Lawli." He winks at the older before trekking to the dining hall where about half the students were now seated. He takes a tray and two bowls, seeing a slightly heavier soup being offered as well as some sandwiches. He fills two half bowls since it was tomato with some vegetables. He inspects all the available sandwiches before settling on ones that would have to do before returning and walking inside.
"Not much for lunch today, but it's better than nothing."

"Oh I think I shall get myself something as well," the elderly male mumbled and gives a polite bow before leaving.
"That smells good..."
"Um.. but..." He didn't get to finish his statement and looked at the other half bowl and shrugged before pouring it into his. With a reluctant sigh, he digs a spoon into the soup and begins to eat his meal as quickly as he could manage. Halfway, a hallucination of the soup suddenly becoming like blood and the vegetables like entrails caused him to spit out the soup and toss it to the floor, missing Bear by a small area. He panted and tried to get calm over himself.

"What was that about?" the elder raven asked. There where a few signs of shock showing in his face, but his voice remained calm as usual. B's eyes were wide with fear and he backed up. His stomach gurgled and before he could answer, he disappeared into the bathroom to empty his guts.
*It's... It's not real... That didn't happen... It's not real...*

L slowly got to his feet and padded after his friend, crouching down next to him by the toilet and silently rubbing his friends back. He knew he would talk when he was ready and until then he would not make any assumptions. The younger raven was shaking and breathing hard. He was trying to flush the image out of his head, but it stayed. He threw up more until he had nothing more to throw up before easing from the toilet and curling on the ground.
"Not real..." He murmured breathlessly.

The dark eyed raven pulled his friend up to rest his back against his chest.
"Are you alright?" he whispered quietly, patiently waiting for a response.
"I... uh... no..." He managed after a while of being unable to generate an excuse.
"I just... had a really disturbing image that came out of nowhere..."
"Oh?" L wasn't sure what to make of this and he simply held his friend closer.
"It was too vivid... I had to tell myself over again in my head that it was not real, but it's still in there... I saw... I saw... blood... I was eating blood..."