Chapter Eight: Criminal Beginnings and Gods of Death

L typed away frantically on his computer.

"Did you get him?" he asked into the microphone. An affirmative response came back, and L smiled triumphantly. After weeks of chasing, they had organized the perfect plan to catch the person known only as the L.A. Hacker. He had scrambled so many bank computer systems, it was amazing. The level of skill that the person possessed was incredible. L himself was puzzled by only one element of the case: the fact that the thief in question never took more than a few hundred dollars at a time. He assumed that if one had the skill to pull off such an elaborate computer scheme, millions of dollars, if not billions, would be involved. But after weeks of rebounding signals, tracing ghost files, and being led in circles, they had cracked the code and figured out where the person lived.

L hopped out of his chair. He was intending to go to the scene of this crime himself. He wore a mask, a plain black mask leaving only his bottomless eyes visible, but it was only at Watari's request. L himself really wasn't worried. After all, he could always lie about who he was, as usual.

When he entered the small house in the wake of the police break-in, he was surprised. This was not what he had expected at all. A seemingly decrepit house, practically falling apart at the seams. He followed the officer in charge upstairs, seeing the redheaded man cuffed in one of the upstairs rooms.

L knelt to look him in the eyes, through his mask. "My name is Luke." he lied easily. "I'm the assistant to the detective in charge of this case, L. What is your name?"

"Ethan Jeevas." the man replied. He looked up at L with pleading eyes. "You don't understand! I didn't have a choice, and I didn't hurt anyone! It was only a few hundred dollars, nothing huge!"

"That is one of the things L told me to ask about." L said. "Why take such a small amount, when you could have taken thousands or millions?"

"I only wanted enough to get by." Ethan said sadly. "My wife died two months ago, and directly after that I lost my job. We were desperate. I have a four-year-old, and I have to take care of him. I wasn't out for personal gain."

"You realize that you will go to jail for grand larceny. What will become of your four-year-old then?"

The man cringed. "Can't you do something? Anything?"

L thought for a moment. "I may have a solution, but I'll need to see him."

The redheaded child was awake in the other room, his hair the exact same flaming shade as his father. He looked up at L with large emerald eyes, blinking.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Who're you?"

"I am a 'friend' of your father's. What's your name?"

The child smiled. "Mail." He was wearing striped pajamas. "My daddy's a genius. He works on computers."

L couldn't help but grin. "Your daddy has to go on a trip, and he's asked me to take you to a special school. Is that okay, Mail? We're going to visit England."

"Cool!" Mail chirped. L nodded, telling him goodbye, and went to explain the details to Ethan Jeevas.

"Your son will return with me to England. There is an orphanage there that doubles as a school for the gifted. I think he'll be very happy there. There are many children both his age and older, and I think he will learn a lot while he's there. You may return to retrieve him, if you wish, after your time in prison."

After L was finished explaining, Ethan could only thank him. All he wanted was for his son to have a good life. If he had to go to jail for it, so be it.

XxX

Three days later, L and Watari were on a plane back to England, both to visit the children of Wammy's House and to settle in the squirming child sitting between them. He kept trying to climb over L to look out the window. L finally gave in, letting the boy sit on his lap, though he looked distinctly uncomfortable. But as he looked at Watari, he cracked a smile. His first truly challenging case, barely a week after he turned sixteen. He felt like the luckiest teenager alive.

At Wammy's House, Beyond Birthday was seated in his favorite place: the roof. He lay stretched out in the sun, reading a book of Japanese mythology. Aisha had given it to him a few days ago, telling him that he would probably find it interesting. He was on the chapter about the different kinds of kami, when he noticed a familiar black car pull up in the drive. Could it be…?

L had been gone nearly six and a half months, without so much as a phone call. But as Beyond watched the car door open and his twin slip out of the back seat, it was all the confirmation he needed.

"AISHA!!" He scrambled back down the roof at speeds that were definitely unsafe, climbing back in the window and sprinting for the older girl's room. "Aisha, L's back!"

"Really?" She stuck her head out the door hopefully.

"Yeah, I just saw the car pull up! Come on!"

They raced down the stairs, reaching the foyer just as the front door opened. Watari came first, L following behind holding the hand of a redheaded boy of no more than four.

"L!"

L released the child's hand to hug them both, smiling.

"Hi. I'm guessing you missed me?"

"Only a lot!" Aisha scolded. "Call next time!" She looked to the little boy, asking then, "Who is he?"

"This is Matt. He's going to be going to school here as well. His father is in jail for grand larceny and computer hacking." L explained. Beyond peered at the child, his eyes glowing red. Mail Jeevas. He wasn't 'Matt', then. That was the alias that L and Watari had decided on. He grinned to himself. Oh the privileges of his sight.

"Aisha." Watari asked. "Would you please find Matt a room while I fill out the paperwork? Ask one of the caretakers to help you."

Aisha nodded, and both left to their respective tasks, leaving L and Beyond standing around. Beyond grinned.

"I wanna show you something!"

He led L back to the roof, where he had left his book of Japanese mythology. He held it up proudly, before flicking to a certain page.

"I'm reading about Japanese death gods – Shinigami! Look, L!" He held up the book, where there were several sketches of what Shinigami might look like. L looked carefully, noting that a defining feature on many was a set of piercing red eyes. He looked from the book to Beyond's red-onyx eyes, silently contemplating.

Shinigami eyes…?

"That's really interesting, Beyond. Tell me about what else has been happening around here." He sat down on the roof beside Beyond, and listened as the younger eagerly began recounting stories of things that had happened. The eyes of a Death God… Nah. Shinigami didn't exist. Everyone knew that.

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So, yeah. L's first experience with Shinigami eyes. Two more chapters to go!