Chapter 8
The next morning couldn't come fast enough for Mello. He was up and dressed before the other two had even moved. He jumped onto Matt's bed shaking him awake and laughing when the red head kept pushing him away.
"What's the matter with you, it's not time to get up yet!" he whined as Mello pulled the covers from him.
"Come on, we gotta get through class so we can see L!" he told him as Matt reached down and grabbed the covers back.
"Waking up earlier isn't going to make the day go by faster stupid!" he told him pulling the covers over his head.
"I know but I can't sleep anymore! Come on…Matt…let's go get breakfast!" Matt groaned again and sighed heavily.
"Okay, okay I'm up. Give me time to clean up and get dressed; go bug Na..Near," he said remembering the new name.
"I'm already awake," came a sleep filled voice from across the room in the other bed, "How could I sleep through that noise?" Mello laughed and leapt across the room to the white haired boy's bed and jumped on it.
"Aren't you excited? Today we start learning how to be L!" Mello told him and Near pushed him away.
"Keep your voice down, what if someone walks by and hears you?" he warned and Mello immediately jumped up and went to the door and opened it. He looked up and down the hall and sighed in relief when he found no one around.
"No one was around, but I'll be careful from now on and just say Mr. Ryuzaki," he said as the new Near slid out of bed.
"You were lucky this time, Mello. You have to learn to control yourself," he said to the blonde who immediately turned on him.
"Shut up Near, I know what I have to do I don't need you to tell me anything!," he turned back to his best friend, "Come on Matt, hurry up!" Matt laughed and grabbed clean clothes.
"Okay, I'm going to shower. Meet me in the cafeteria, okay?" he said and flew out of the door, Mello close on his heels.
Near sat in his bed after the door closed behind them, his finger twirling furiously in his hair. He hadn't thought he'd said anything wrong to Mello, at least nothing to deserve the anger he got back. He sighed, he already knew dealing with Mello was a volatile situation; he had a feeling it was only going to get worse as he got more involved with L. He slowly got out of bed and began to get ready.
The day couldn't have gone by slower for Mello; it seemed every time he looked at the clock it had only moved by minutes. He and the other two endured the quizzical looks from the other students when they were referred to by their new names, and some giggles when the students used their new names themselves when speaking to them. They ignored it, they knew why the names were changed and were proud of the situation even if they couldn't explain why to anyone.
At long last they finished with their last class, stopped by their rooms long enough to drop their books off and headed for the private stairway leading to L.
Mello almost didn't wait for Watari to open the door after he knocked, and came running into the apartment, the other two close behind him.
"Hi L! I'm ready to get started!" he called to the figure sitting in the chair at the desk. L looked up from his computer and gave the boisterous boy a small smile.
"That's very good, Mello. Watari will get you started," he answered and went back to his screen. Mello looked slightly disappointed but then looked to Watari with a smile.
"Alright gentlemen, let's begin with the basics, so that you know exactly what it is the L does and then we'll pick up one of his cases that he has completed and work on it as if it were yours. It is best to learn by doing and you will be able to apply everything you have learned so far in classes and we'll see what your strengths and weaknesses are." He pointed to the table and they all went to it and sat down as Watari opened a folder that was there, and handed them each notebooks and pencils, and began to explain to them what the case was.
There were periods when L got up from his desk, hands in pockets and walked over to where they were sitting and listened to the proceedings. He interjected when he thought they were missing the point, explaining the thought processes involved in certain decisions and asking them pertinent questions as to what their feelings/thoughts were.
The boys were amazed at what L extracted from small clues, and were forced to try and figure out how he came up with what he did. By the time Watari gave them a break for dinner and left the apartment to get their food, the three of them were exhausted and brain weary.
Matt had slid out of his chair and was lying on the floor, his arms over his goggled eyes; Mello had done the same but was lying on his stomach, his face buried into his arms and Near was still sitting at the desk, one leg under him and the other dangling towards the floor with his fingers twirling in his hair, his eyes still glued to the file in front of him.
"Come on Near, take a break. Doesn't your brain hurt?" Matt said with a laugh when he noticed the albino was still at the table.
"I admit I have been stretched further than I have been before, but I find it interesting. I wish to know what else I have missed," he answered as he continued to read. L, who had gone back to his desk when Watari had declared a break, once again moved from his desk and joined Near at the table.
"What is it that you are looking for?" he asked and Near shook his head.
"I am not sure, but there is something that we have not covered, something that is waiting to be found,' he answered and L smiled at him.
"Very good, let me know when you have found it," he said, a thumb resting at his lips, "I will then explain to you why it was so difficult to find."
Mello heard the exchange and sat up, staring at the two of them sitting at the table. He could feel a ball of anger growing in his chest as he watched L seemingly doting on Near, waiting for him to come up with whatever it was he was looking for. He couldn't allow this to happen; he wanted to be L's heir and on the first day Near was doing what he always did to him, best him in whatever it was they were doing. He started to get up and go back to the table to intervene when he felt a hand wrap around his ankle. He looked down angrily and saw Matt holding his leg, a warning look in his eyes.
"Don't be stupid," he said simply and Mello snatched his leg away from his grasp, but decided it might be better to wait until later to show L he too knew that something had been missing, but didn't want to bring it up until after dinner. He'd get L alone before the night was over and explain it to him so he wouldn't think he wasn't as smart as Near; and then it would be okay.
"Besides, Near lives for the details. When you take over for L, we'll let Near do all the shitty stuff!" Matt whispered to him and they both burst into laughter. Matt could always make him laugh no matter how pissed off he was and he liked that, no one he'd ever met before could make him laugh like Matt did, or keep him from losing his cool. He lay back down on the floor to wait for dinner, sneaking a look back up at L and Near at the table, feeling the ball of anger floating around again, but this time he kept it in check. He'd have a chance to prove himself to L later, he wasn't worried.
After dinner they went into the study of the criminal mind; something that they had been studying in class as well, and how it related to the case they were working on. This was fascinating to Mello, and turned out to be his favorite part of the day's lessons as L was involved in it more than he had been in the beginning and he hung on to every word.
It seemed in no time the evening had passed and Watari was suggesting they go back to their rooms to get some sleep. The boys looked at each other, not believing that much time had gone by.
"What time is it, Watari?" Matt asked as he tried to stop a yawn.
"It is 9:30, definitely time for bed," he answered gathering up the files, "This is your first evening and the excitement is keeping you going. Very soon the excitement will wear off and there will only be the work and the exhaustion after a full day of classes and a full evening here. I suggest you get used to getting to bed at this time, very soon your body won't give you a choice."
They all stood up from the table and said their good-night's to Watari. Mello walked over to L who was at his desk and gently touched his arm. L started slightly at the touch, it was not something he was used to. He turned and looked at the youngster, his eyes wide in question.
"I just wanted to say good-night L," he said quietly, unnerved by the deep stare. L looked behind the boy at Watari who smiled gently and nodded. L let a small smile grace his porcelain features and reached up slowly, his hand gently patting the top of the blonde's head awkwardly.
"Good-night Mello, and good work tonight," he said and then looked at the others, "You all worked well for your first night, I expect nothing less from now on. In fact, I expect more." He added and then turned back to his computer. Mello's happy grin could not have possibly been any wider as Near and Matt ran from where they were to L as well, surrounding him in happiness. He looked from one to the other and then to Watari for guidance, who only smiled and continued to clear the table. He finally stood and faced all three and was nearly knocked over when they all engulfed him in a group hug.
At first his face registered almost horror at the sudden contact, looking to Watari once again who merely laughed and pushed his trolley out of the apartment leaving L to deal with this situation on his own. He slowly lifted both hands and patted each boy's head gently, and even though it was still awkward they all understood and appreciated the gesture. They finally released him, told him goodnight again and left the apartment.
L continued to stand there for a few more moments, before sitting down and bringing his thumb to his mouth as he try to understand what had just happened.
Time seemed to fly for the trio as their days and evenings were constantly full and busy. It seemed in no time three months had passed by as they were learning from books during the day, and from real life in the evenings. Their world consisted only of L, Watari and the classroom. On certain days Matt sat with L on a separate computer and L quizzed him on what he already knew, then giving him a case that computer centric to work on, offering help only when Matt needed it.
On other days Near sat with L sifting through cases to find clues that Watari had hidden and were nearly impossible to find; and on certain days Mello sat with L and worked on cases that required out of the norm thinking, and L was certain that was Mello's strength. On those days Mello was so happy he could barely think straight. He had to struggle to keep his focus on the work and not the fact that he was actually sitting next to and working with L.
During these times L was allowing himself to relax more with the boys, being more hands on with their training than he had been with his first set of heirs made all the difference. He was learning that they were as individuals as well and was finding that he actually enjoyed them. As part of the problem with the first try was the intense pressure the two original heirs felt during training, he made sure during their evening training there was break time, usually right before dinner. He began to see them as more than just his eventual replacements; he also saw them as the boys he never allowed himself to be. He sometimes watched them during break periods as they played with each other, sometimes wrestling on the carpeted floor, playing with toys or sometimes when they went outside he stood on the balcony and watched them running through the yard, jumping into leaves or playing with toys near the pond.
As he stood watching them one early evening and sipping his coffee, Watari walked up behind him and joined him in watching the boys below.
"Does that look like fun to you?" he asked the young detective who answered him with a sigh.
"In a strange way it does appeal to me these days Watari, although it never has before," he answered and Watari nodded. He then leaned closer to L and whispered in his ear.
"Why don't you join them, you could use a break yourself and I am sure they would enjoy it," he suggested. L turned to look at him; refusal on the tip of his tongue when suddenly a smile found it's way on his face instead. He handed Watari his cup of coffee, turned and left the apartment.
Matt was lying in a pile of leaves, playing with his video game as near lay nearby creating a battle with his robots. Mello was running across the yard, intent on leaping into the pile of leaves where Matt was lying when he saw something as he ran past that he couldn't believe. He skidded to a halt and turned back to where he'd just run from to see if he had been hallucinating and discovered that he had not. Coming up closely behind him and then eventually passing him was…L. He watched in disbelief as the world's greatest detective continued running and then leapt into the pile of leaves scattering them everywhere. L sat up, leaves sticking to practically every part of his white shirt and clinging to his unruly hair. Matt had looked up after impact expecting to see Mello and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw L sitting in the middle of the pile of leaves. He leaned over and got Near's attention and pointed at the pile of leaves, laughing at the wide eyed look that crossed Near's face when he saw who was sitting there. L grinned at them both and then looked to where Mello was still standing in shock.
"Well? Do you think you can do half as well?" he called to him. Mello laughed and ran towards the pile, jumping as high into the air as he could and landing practically in L's lap, leaves once again flying all around them. Suddenly the other two had leapt into the pile with them, flinging leaves into the air and at each other.
Watari looked down from the balcony, enjoying watching his ward finally allowing himself some enjoyment and interaction with the boys. This was what had been missing from the first time, this was what was necessary in order to make this work properly. He walked away from the window and began to put dinner on the table.
