Hey! I am so very sorry for the super late update. Things came up with the family and there were so many events in my life that just demanded all of my attention. Sorry for that. I hope you have all remembered this little fic of mine and will read it and enjoy it like you have done so previously. So here it is, the new chapter and it is the longest chapter so far. And this year I do hope that you will all leave me reviews. Please leave me reviews. Please encourage me with reviews, and tell me how you are liking the story. Anyway, Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note...

My Protector

I was back in my bedroom with L. A sudden flash of what had happened between him and I came to my mind and I buried it deep back in my mind. I had almost kissed him and it was a very well known fact that I did not want to kiss him. I was not attracted to him, I barely even knew the guy. It must have been something else and I was hell bent on finding out what it was and how it happened. But I wasn't scared or panicked like I was before about being alone with him. I was in much better control of myself.

I looked around my room and suddenly felt like touching every single item of my room. I felt like memorizing every part of my room, the place where I had spent my entire lifetime in. I was probably not going to be seeing it ever again. The chances were that even if everything did go according to plans and I came out of it all clean and back into this house, things were never going to be the same.

I silently wondered if I could replicate my new bedroom in the new house based on this one. If I asked Gilbert to do so, he would do it without a question. I told myself to think about it; to seriously consider it, because that might be the only thing that I would have of my old life when I would shift into my new one.

I needed a small nap. I gave a longing look to my bed as I asked L, "Would you mind if I took a nap, L?"

He took a seat on my favorite reading chair near the window. He sat in his usual odd position and watched me silently. I took my long hair out of its tight pony tail and ran my hands through my hair a few times. I took his silence as the message that he didn't mind me napping, so I took off my shoes and crawled onto my bed. Just when I was about to snuggle my head into my soft pillow, he spoke up.

His voice was soft and oddly teasing as he asked, "And what if I did mind, Miss Iris?"

I didn't even consider his question for the faintest second and replied back honestly, "Frankly, I wouldn't give a damn."

Then, I somewhat thoughtfully added, well as thoughtfully as someone drowsy with sleep could, "But, you are welcome to take a nap as well. Just take a pillow from the bed and make yourself comfortable on the couch."

I sighed contentedly as I sunk my head into my soft pillow. My eyes were almost closed, but I kept my eyes on his pale figure. He looked so out of place in my room and on my reading chair. Sleep was slowly calling me, but the sight of L kept my mind awake. Barely awake.

I knew I was blinking drowsily. My eye lids feeling heavier each time I blinked. I heard his smooth voice floating right into my ear, "But L is not tired Miss Iris."

I frowned irritably; he was talking in that odd manner again. I mentally scoffed at him and told myself to argue with him on that when I wasn't so tired. I mumbled as a tiny yawn escaped my lips, "But Miss Iris is very tired, L"

Even with my eyes closed I could picture his dark eyes, those haunting dark eyes. I could see that messy mop of black hair and that quirky smile on those thin lips. His voice was low, smooth, dark and just as lulling as it was before in that very room, but I couldn't help but detect that odd tone of cheerfulness added to it.

"Then Miss Iris should sleep. L will be here to wake her up later."

And just as I let sleep take me away from him and the conscious world, I recognized another tone in his voice. He sounded content.

One would expect wild, disturbing and extremely frustrating and frightening dreams after such a stressful day. But miraculously, I slept like a log. No dreams, no nothing. I just slept and woke up feeling quite energized. That nap was much needed.

I smiled and snuggled my face further into my pillow and started stretching out. If I slept well, that was how I always woke up. Happy, smiling, snuggling with my pillow and stretching like a lazy cat.

I stretched out my body as much as I could and sighed blissfully each time I heard a distinct pop from my joints. That one low pop from my lower back as I turned around to get up made me moan loudly. As disgusting as it may sound to certain people but, there really was nothing as good as stretching out one's body after a great sleep, especially the feeling of popping those joints.

You know that feeling when you are flying really high and somebody grabs you by your ankle and yanks you right down hard and fast on the unforgiving ground. Well, metaphorically, do you know that feeling? Yes, well that was what I had experienced next.

I was enjoying the warmth and comfort of my bed; it was then in my appreciative mid-moan that I heard it. A very sharp breath that someone took. And the same someone was in my bed and the cool rush of air that hit my face was undeniably mint flavored. And it hit me right then that L was in bed with me. I froze and opened my eyes in shock. I didn't need a mirror to know that my face looked completely horrified then.

I yelped really loud and pushed that pest of a spirit away from me. I took sadistic pleasure in the fact that I had pushed him so hard that he was flat on his ass on my bed. And I hoped that it rattled his brain against that thick skull of his.

The man was a huge pervert if nothing else. His face was right there in my face. He was leaning over me and he was watching me sleep. Why wouldn't I panic and throw him off; his nose was brushing against mine. I shuddered at his perverse stalker-y ways. I felt so violated, as I stood there fuming.

And I would be lying if I said that I found having waking up to two coal black eyes inches away from mine not frightening. It was unfamiliar and most certainly uncomfortable. It was one thing to sit at a distance and watch me sleep. It was one thing to keep me safe while I was sleeping. But it was completely another thing to be in my bed and practically breathe on my face whilst I was sleeping in said bed. It was just wrong.

It took all of my self-restraint to not jump back on that bed and strangle the panda-man by his throat. I knew I would take utmost sadistic pleasure in that particular activity. I started reciting the English alphabets backwards in my mind to calm myself. I had calmed down considerably by the time I had reached J.

My voice was surprisingly very similar to Victor's cold tone when I asked L, "What exactly were you doing in my bed, L?"

That damned thumb was back to his lips as he answered innocently, "L was merely watching Miss Iris sleep."

He had this look on his face as if it was I who was acting strange. As if it was I who was in his bed while he slept. I swallowed down the intense urge to scream at him and as calmly as I could, asked him, "Was I snoring, L?"

He blinked like an owl and answered almost innocently, "No, Miss Iris."

"Did I seem to be having awful dreams, L?"

"No, Miss Iris."

"Was I thrashing about in my bed, L?"

"No, Miss Iris."

"Was I talking in my sleep or crying, L?"

"No, Miss Iris."

"Was there something in my bed that might have harmed me, L?"

"No, Miss Iris."

I had to fight extremely hard to not grit my teeth and had to remember all those times Gilbert had told me about how one must have complete reign over one's temper. And once again, as impassionately as I could, I asked him, "Then, may I ask, why exactly were you watching me sleep, L?"

I swear the bastard lived to test my sanity. He looked, and I don't know how he did it, even more innocent than before as he replied sweetly, "Yes, you may, Miss Iris."

I think I should have been rewarded with some kind of award for being that calm at that precise moment. I wondered briefly if I should beg him to not irritate me that much. God, if he continued to grate on my nerves that much, it would be hell working with him. For a second, I wanted to go find a comfortable chair, sit in it, curl up to myself and whine over how much of an ass L was.

And then I realized something. L was always going to be an ass because that was just who he was, an ass. He wasn't going to change, not unless he wanted to and I shouldn't want to change him. I should just deal with him just as he was.

Besides, he had more than enough reasons to be an ass to me. And it was really stupid of me to expect him to be anything else than that. I looked into those dark eyes of his. He was a spirit and from what little I knew of him, he was a man who was somewhat different from most men. My grandmother had clearly implied before that he was special as a human, in his past life. And now he was a supernatural being. Why should I expect him to be easy to get along with and easy to manipulate. It was very naïve of me to think like that.

L was very different and for better or for worse he was chosen to be my protector. He was unpredictable and manipulative and controlling and at times I found him impossibly intolerable, but despite all of that I was stuck with him for a long, long time. And it was about time I got used to him and all the strangeness he brought with him. After all, as I had found out that very morning, the world I lived in had far stranger things than what L was. And most of those strange things, it seemed were hell bent on harming me and it was L who swore to protect me from them.

I closed my eyes real tight and thought of all those people who were as strange as him if not more. The first image that flashed before my eyes was of my grandmother. She was eccentric, controlling and mad. I used to think she was some wanna-be witch or something. She was also the owner of one of the most successful businesses in the world. Sometimes I even thought that all the ghosts in the house and the moving portraits went to her head and made her think that she was a witch. But no, she wasn't even a witch, she was more than that. She was a very strong supernatural that ruled over quite a number of other supernaturals. She was a batty old woman who would fiercely love me and protect me, even if doing that meant pushing me away and sending me as far away from her as possible. And most of the time her scheming ways and her so-called good intentions got me in the most complicated of situations but I knew that she loved me.

Then I saw Gilbert and Victor. Gilbert for all his gentle ways and caring nature was an assassin and spy who was a half-succubus-half-elf. Gilbert was practically my nanny; and having an assassin for a nanny was the strangest thing on the planet. And don't even get me started on the part about him being part succubus. Or did him being a male make him an incubus?

Victor for all his fierce attitude and raging temper was actually a demon who was bound to my grandmother and was practically a gun to do my grandmother's bidding. Victor was the most aggressive person I knew. Well, he wasn't always aggressive, but he was someone who could make your knees shake with just a look of his eyes. And Victor was also the same person who read me my bedtime stories and hummed me lullabies when I couldn't sleep at nights. The man couldn't sing to save his life. He was also the one who would draw and color with me when I was little. And let me tell you, a fearsome big bad demon and a 'demon' in the boardroom he might be, but an artist he was not. At all. That man could make a complete arse out of himself just to make me giggle. That was how strange my Victor and Gilbert were.

Then there were so many, many others. My paintings, the statues, the roaming ghosts and spirits, the people who worked for my grandmother, who or what wasn't strange. Every single one of them was strange and had even stranger quirks and I had grown up accepting them and working with them. So, like I accepted them, I could accept L too.

Now the question was, could I or could I not tolerate his little problem about invading my personal space?

I opened my eyes and looked at the barmy spirit before me. And for a second I forgot to breathe. He once again had that hypnotic thing going on. He was staring at me with dark eyes and I swear, the air around me felt heavier and warmer. His voice was that smooth, velvety, dark voice again as he asked me, "What are you thinking about, Miss Iris?"

I felt my body shiver at the sound of his voice. And once again, I could feel myself falling into that familiar trance induced by that voice of his. And it was precisely that what saved me. The knowledge that I was falling back into the trap. That realization made me force myself out of it just as easily I had fallen in. All I had to do was concentrate on anything other than L's voice and his presence. Whatever that he did intentionally or unintentionally, was just making me focus on him and on him only. So I did the complete opposite. I unfocused myself when it came to him.

As soon as I had utter control over myself, I smirked at him and didn't bother replying to his question. To my amazement he didn't even notice what he just did. He was looking at me, expecting an answer. So, I asked him back my original question, "Why were you watching me sleep?"

That intensity of his eyes didn't leave or diminish even a little; if possible I think it increased a little. His voice was smooth and confident as he replied, "I prefer watching Miss Iris as much as I can and I will continue to do so in the future."

That was most definitely an odd answer. For a second there I thought there might be some other supernatural reason or something that made him want to watch me sleep. I mean, who watches someone sleep for a few hours? So I asked, "And is there any specific reason as to why you prefer watching me sleep, L?"

"I am your protector, Miss Iris. I will stay by your side and protect you, always. And that also entitles the time when you sleep."

I gave him my darkest smile at that answer. He was twisting his words around the point I was trying to make. So, I bluntly told him, "No, you were watching me sleep and that too while you were in my bed. You didn't need to go that far to protect me. You could have sat in your previous seat by the window and kept me safe."

His response was very quick, "I can also protect you while I sit in your bed and watch you sleep, Miss Iris."

I glared at him furiously and asked him, "Do you not understand the concept of personal space, L?"

His reply, quite frankly stunned me, "Of course, I understand the concept of personal space. I just avoid it when it comes to you, Miss Iris. Because I put your safety above that of that stupid concept. Not that I will not respect your privacy when I know you need it. I will not accompany you when you need to bathe or change your clothes or do anything in the washroom."

God, how I wanted to punch him when he used that matter-of-fact voice and that self-righteousness that dripped from his voice made me sick to my stomach. He was giving me orders and actually trying to get back the control from me.

I snapped at him heatedly, "L, you sound more like a stalker than a protector. And what makes you even think I will let you do something that makes me uncomfortable?"

I really had expected him to argue with me on the fact that I had called him a stalker. But he didn't. In fact for a whole second or two, he gave me a slow smile; those pale lips of his stretched into a cat-like grin. And he asked, "And why would L being in your bed make you feel uncomfortable, Miss Iris? After all, L did not even touch Miss Iris. Or is it that the thought of L touching Miss Iris in her bed makes her feel all kinds of emotions she cannot identify?"

I think I hissed at him venomously at that point; hell, I wished I was Medusa at that point, with all those venomous snakes at my command, "The thought of having a pervert like you in bed would make any sane woman worry for herself. And yes the thought of you touching me while I am asleep does make me feel all kinds of emotions. Emotions I had never felt before for anyone, ever. But, they are emotions which I can identify though. Emotions like disgust, anger, rage and repulsion."

And while I continued my rather enraged speech, he was smirking at me. Which of course, made me only angrier, "And heavens forbid, if you do touch me inappropriately whilst I am sleeping or not, L. Because I will find the longest nail made by man and hammer it up one of your nostrils until it punctures your brain."

I can't even begin to tell you about the sudden waves of satisfaction and sadistic pleasure that rushed all over me, when I saw L's face get that horrified and that look of complete fear. It was a bloody miracle that I didn't break down and started cackling like a mad witch. I was pretty sure by the way he was staring at me with panic in his eyes, he was imagining me chasing after him with a huge hammer and a really long nail in my hands.

Have you ever seen or for that matter heard a little puppy dog whimper after someone kicked it very hard? Well, I know it is something very horrible of me to ask and even more horrible of you to think about, but that was exactly how L reacted. His huge owlish eyes glazed with slight moisture and he bit his lower lip as it trembled ever so lightly and he let out the most pathetic whimper I have ever heard in my entire existence. And the next thing he did?

He wailed. That's right; he wailed out, "Miss Iris is so mean to poor L. Why is Miss Iris so mean to L? When L likes Miss Iris so very much."

I think I was watching him with horrified fascination at that point. And no can blame me for that, after all I had never seen a grown man cry and wail like a child before. I swore that I would so hit him with the nearest item I could get my hands on if he broke into tears. But thank the gods above that he didn't. Break into tears, that is. But he did pout at me and did childishly proclaim, "Miss Iris might be as mean as she wants to be with L. But L will always like Miss Iris a lot and will watch Miss Iris sleep."

I rolled my eyes at him and was about to open my mouth to tell him to stop acting loony, but he switched on that dark voice of his on again. His voice was a dark whisper, "I find Miss Iris so very beautiful. So I cannot help but watch her."

I could feel all that blood rushing up to my face and I knew my face was glowing bright red. I clutched on the nearest pillow I could find and jumped back onto the bed. I repeatedly hit the loon with as much force as I could while he let out little yelps every now and then. Of course his yelps only made me angrier and I hit him even more.

It was a well established fact by then that L lived to tease me and annoy me. He enjoyed making things difficult for me by acting like a complete jerk. At least he was being courteous by letting me hit him with that pillow and release all the frustrations he created in me. He didn't move away from me at all. And so I took advantage of that. I did not stop hitting him for quiet a while. And just when I was entertaining the thought of stopping (not because I thought he had enough, but because I was getting a bit tired and his yelps started sounding fake), Gilbert knocked on my door.

Now, how do I know it was Gilbert? See, he always knocked thrice on my door. These three sharp knocks on the door; that was the code for him. Victor always called from the outside of my room, he never knocked nor did he barge in. My Grandmamma never knocked either, she barged right in. But her barging had more dramatic flare to it. Jill knocked once and would always coo my name and keep at it until I answered or I asked her to come in.

Without a thought I invited him in, "Come in, Gilbert!"

Gilbert entered the room and stood quietly as he closed the door behind him. I expected him to say why he was there; like he always did every time he entered my room. I felt a small dose of confusion as only silence met my ears as I was getting up from my bed. So I decided to ask him, unfortunately my voice died right in my throat as I took one good look at Gilbert.

He was glaring menacingly at L and his mouth was pinched into a frown that told me that Gilbert was absolutely seething. I started panicking, well on the inside. I knew that I had to do something really fast before Gilbert decided to jump and start doing god knows what to L.

Of course Gilbert would be mad; he had every right to be mad. He just found L in my bed and knowing about L's rather perverse habit of teasing me with inappropriate comments, he was right to assume L did something inappropriate to me. His assumption was right though, but I wasn't going to inform him of that. Entirely for L's well-being, of course. See, I could be kind when I wanted to be, especially to someone like L.

But the thing was I didn't exactly know how to respond to Gilbert's all consuming rage about finding a man in my bed. Because the truth was that I never ever had a man in my bed ever, let alone Gilbert finding said man in my bed. But I knew how overly protective Gilbert was about me, especially when it came to other men.

I acted quick and smiled brightly and exclaimed loudly, "It's good to see you, Gilbert. I had a nice nap. I hope you have something for me, Gilbert."

And just like that Gilbert's sharp green eyes slid onto me and all that boiling rage slowly left him. He gave me a small smile and replied monotonously, "Yes, Little Miss. I do have something for you."

I smiled warmly at him and walked over slowly to my reading chair. Gilbert had turned on more lights in the room. I could see from the window beside my chair, the sun had just set; the slight pink and even lighter orange fading into the deep lavender and navy blue of the night.

Just before I was going to take a seat, Gilbert appeared right beside me. That's right, he appeared, as in he disappeared from where he was standing and just appeared out of nowhere right beside me. I felt this slight whoosh of air hit me when he appeared and for some reason my mind told me that he had moved. He had moved, just very fast. So fast, in fact that my eyes were unable to keep up with him. I swallowed that large lump that suddenly appeared in my throat.

His sudden burst of speed unnerved me but it didn't surprise me amazingly enough. I remembered how as a child I would always refer to him as Superman because of how fast he finished all of his work and still make time for me. Or how he always appeared out of nowhere at my side when I needed him. So why should it surprise me when he did it this time right in front of my eyes. He gave me proof of his ability.

Embarrassingly enough I felt a slight sting of tears in my eyes when I abruptly let myself fall into my seat and looked pitifully up at him. He was taken aback after seeing my expression. His mouth fell open and his eyes behind those glasses looked so pained. Never had I seen those green eyes so pained. I was surprised to see his hand shake ever so slightly as he reached for me. He placed his hand on my cheek, cupping it lightly. As if he was scared that he might hurt me. As if I was that fragile or as if his touch would frighten me. As if that could ever happen, he was my Gilbert. The sky was blue, tigers had stripes, my Gilbert could never harm me and I would never be frightened of my Gilbert. That was just that.

His voice was slightly husky as he whispered, "I am very sorry for startling you so, Little Miss. Please forgive me."

I pushed my cheek adoringly into his hand and smiled brightly at him as I replied, "You have nothing to be sorry for, Gilbert. I always knew you were my Superman."

And with that everything was alright once more. Gilbert smiled at me and dropped his hand away from my cheek as he stood up straighter and handed me what was a laptop. A sleek, ultra-thin, glossy black laptop was offered to me. And I took it and turned it on. With it on my lap, I asked Gilbert, "What do you have for me, Gilbert?"

Gilbert was silent for a few seconds. I looked at him to find him obviously thinking over something and then he finally asked me confidently, "May I be permitted to speak freely, Madam?"

Immediately, I understood what he meant when he used that particular title of mine. He wanted to speak to me as the Head of my house and him a mere member of my house. I was to drop all my attachments as he was going to drop his. I let that familiar cold detached aura surround myself. Just like I had steeled myself in the kitchen that afternoon, I did it once again.

My voice was cold and in the back of my mind I idly thought that I sounded a little like my grandmother as I replied, "You may, Gilbert."

Gilbert replied in a way that all of a sudden made me think that he had done this numerous times before. He looked like a robot as well as sounded like one as he sprouted out what he had to say to me, "Madam, all the information that you had asked me to gather for you is on that laptop. All of it has been sorted into separate files and there is more that will be presented to you by me within the next few days."

I was browsing through the files on the laptop. Gilbert always did do his work efficiently and the files were very detailed and everything was just as I had wanted it. It was a lot of information and I didn't even know exactly where to begin with but I did know that I had to get all of this sorted out before I left for my new residence. From the corner of my eye I noticed L making his way over towards me. I barely held back the snort at that. As soon as the word 'information' came out of Gilbert's mouth I knew L was going to drop his loony-perverted act and get all serious.

I took a quick look at him. He took his seat in front of me. Yes, he was crouching again and most interestingly he was staring at the laptop that was situated in my lap. I smirked at the intensely longing look he was giving my laptop. As if staring at it like that would give him all the knowledge that piece of technology held within it. Then again, the way his long spidery fingers were tapping and itching against the fabric of his faded blue fabric of his pants, maybe he was really into computers and gadgets. I knew for a fact Gilbert was really into computers, whenever he saw one he just had to go through it or check it out. So, if L had worked closely with computers, it would only be natural for him to want to get his hands on my laptop.

But his staring contest with my laptop didn't last very long. Soon enough his thumb was back at his mouth and his cool gray eyes were staring right back at my brown ones. I held his gaze steadily. I really wanted to see how he would react to this entire scenario and also there was a part of me that wanted to see my own reaction to his reaction. I wanted to see how I would deal with him.

My voice was crisp when I asked Gilbert, "I thought you had said that you would have everything ready for me by the time I woke up, Gilbert. Why do I not have all of it now and why am I waiting for it?"

His answer was soft and almost apologetic, "My apologies, Madame. I was only referring to the list of candidates for your house and the list of members for your team. All other information has been obtained for you and filed out."

I shot Gilbert a quick pleased smile as I started looking through the files again. I wanted to start on myself first. I wanted to know more about my family, my heritage and my bloodline first. I wanted to know what my grandmother was; what my parents were; what Gilbert and Victor were; and what exactly we all were capable of. But to even begin to understand all of that I needed to understand certain important details about the supernatural world. And as weird as it sounded, I needed to understand magic.

Even though I had my fair experiences with ghosts and talking portraits and moving statues, I still was having quite a hard time to believe the fact that my grandmother, Victor, Gilbert or even I were capable of doing things that weren't normal. It was so hard to believe that there were supernatural creatures in the world and even harder to believe that my family consisted of those creatures. Hell, even I was one; although I didn't exactly know what I was. To say that all of this was overwhelming would be the understatement of the year.

My finger hovered on the mouse pad of the laptop and there was this nervous twitch in my hand that was barely noticeable but I knew it was there. I couldn't decide if I wanted to open the file named 'The Ravenhart Family Tree' I knew that if I opened that file I would soon find out what my grandmother was and what my parents were and of course what I was. My heart thudded too loud and my stomach left like lead filled it. I wasn't ready to read it just yet.

I could have asked Gilbert to just tell me what I wanted to know. And I knew he would do it too, but that would be taking the easy way out. And that just didn't sit too well with me despite what my cowardly side said. I needed to face all these facts on my own. I needed to face my history and my heritage by myself if I was to accept it. So I let it go for a bit; deciding that I would go through all those files when I was alone later that night.

I was clicking through the files and wasn't the least bit surprised to notice that there were many files linking to Ravenhart Pharmaceuticals and Technologies. It was that Ravenhart Pharmaceuticals and Technologies was a heavy part of all of this. It explained the financing of all these houses and the company would be a nice cover to employ plenty of supernatural creatures. This certainly explained a lot.

I sighed and then told Gilbert, "I need you to come to me tonight after you are done with all your work for today, Gilbert. I need to you to help me study these files."

His answer was unsurprising, "As you wish, Madame."

There was a moment's silence before he continued, "There is something else that I need to inform you of, Madame?"

I raised an eyebrow and waited for his answer. He looked happy for some reason. Even had a little smile gracing his lips and his eyes literally looked a decade younger as he replied, "I have been relieved of my duties in this house by Lady Ravenhart. As of this afternoon I am free to serve my next master without any other obligations. And that master being you, Little Miss."

Him referring to me as master bothered me. It always bothered me since I was a child, but no matter how many times I had our legendary arguments over him to just forget calling me that, he never stopped. Then again, why am I calling those moments' arguments? He didn't argue back at all. I nagged and he stayed quiet and held his ground. It is very difficult debating with a man whose lips were sealed tight and eyes met the ground. In the end I grew tired and strategically retreated for that moment and came back later on with underhanded tactics. I threatened him with not eating, or talking to him or not doing my homework. But he came up with worse tactics. The time I threatened not to eat anything, he baked brownies and when he saw that I wasn't giving up, he informed me that he wouldn't eat anything either until I ate something.

The time I threatened to not talk to him, he went ahead and had a huge fight with Victor. And when I say a fight I mean a hand to hand combat. Apparently they were sparring and Gilbert lost on purpose talking a lot of hits from Victor. He got hit so bad that I forgot everything else and was by his side immediately crying and scolding him for not taking care of himself.

And the time I threatened to not do my homework, he sat down in front of me and started doing my homework. And on my defense I just couldn't sit and see someone else do my work and give me credit for it later on. So I jumped up and snatched my homework from him and did it grumbling about how unfair he was.

I asked him something that had been bothering me for quite some time, "Gilbert, are you happy leaving behind this house? After all, you had been working in this house for years."

I was almost scared to look at his face. I knew I had to if I wanted to know the truth. Gilbert's eyes always told the truth even if his tongue didn't. It would be completely selfish but I didn't want to see the hesitation he would have in his eyes about leaving this house. But I needed to look at his face to have my answer. And like always Gilbert didn't play fair.

The moment I looked up at his face, I was stumped. He had the most beautiful smile on his face and I thought that no normal human could be that beautiful. He definitely was of elfish and succubae descendant. He looked at me as if I was the most precious thing in the whole wide world. His green eyes sparkled and suddenly I had to blink back the tears I felt gathering in my eyes.

His voice was so soft as he said, "I am hurt that you would ask me such a question, Little Miss."

I swallowed down the huge lump in my throat and replied huskily, "I have to know, Gilbert."

He reached down and brushed my hair and said, "I may have been employed by your grandmother, but I always followed you. In fact, your grandmother had no power over me since I was your mother's comrade and later after her death I chose to follow you. It has always been about you, Little Miss."

I didn't know what to say to that. And I didn't trust myself to say anything in that situation; god knew how I'd bawl my eyes out if I said anything. He continued though, "Your mother was like my older sister and hence, you are my beloved niece, Little Miss."

I sniffled out a laugh and replied cheekily, "That explains why you always hated sharing me with Victor."

He smirked a smug little smirk and replied, "Yes and I always knew I was your favorite and I told him so, so many many times, Little Miss."

I snorted and replied, "I never said that, Gilbert. I love you both."

He replied nonchalantly, "Of course, you love us both, but I am your favorite and you need not say it, Little Miss."

I poked him playfully, "You just love picking on Victor. Then again I shouldn't just tell you that. Victor loves picking on you too. It's this weird bond you two have."

He replied politely, "Indeed, Little Miss."

I smiled and looked down at the laptop. Even though I didn't look, I knew that stupid spirit was staring at me. I didn't like sharing my bonding moment with Gilbert with L. It felt a little intrusive. I don't know, maybe it was wrong of me to think that. After all, poor L had nowhere to go and maybe I was just a little too much used to my privacy. And regardless of my feelings, I had to grow more used to L's presence. He was going to stay for a long, long time.

For a person, I was telling myself to accept, I didn't know a thing about said person other than his age and his intense liking for all things sweet. I looked at him and found him staring right back at me. He was watching me with a curious smile on his face. I really didn't know a thing about L.

I held L's gaze as I asked Gilbert, "Anything on L and that Light Yagami fellow?"

And as those words had barely escaped my lips, it was as if a dark shade fell over L's face. His eyes hardened and glared at me with the intensity of the hottest of fires and those thin lips of his tightened into a narrow line. He was looking at me as if I was a disgusting bug that needed to be squashed underneath his shoe. But, for some reason I felt very brave at that moment and his glare wasn't doing anything to intimidate me at all. If anything, I wanted to giggle at him and then dig out every one of his secrets.

Gilbert seemed to agree with that particular intention of mine. He sounded especially smug and downright gleeful as he replied, "Madame, now that particular task was quite difficult to complete."

I knew what was coming as he took a moment to pause. To build up the suspense and as well as enjoy the look of irritation flash across the panda-man's face. I had this mental image of Gilbert cackling like a wretched old witch. And I know it was mean of me, but I couldn't resist, so I played a long. After all, L did have his fair share of teasing me and well, I wanted my share too.

"Was it a very difficult task, Gilbert?"

"Oh, indeed it was, Madame. Master L here, has led a life that even more secretive than our supernatural society. It would be nearly impossible to find information about him by humanly means. But, for a creature such as myself and with contacts, the task was manageable. Difficult, but manageable."

I had expected L to look enraged, but the look on his face still surprised me. His jaw was tightened and his lips pressed tight. That showed his anger and frustration. But the look of fierce pride in his smoldering black eyes completely threw me off for a second. I smiled at that. He was actually proud of the fact that his secrets were that greatly kept. Sure, he was pissed at Gilbert for uncovering it now, but he was still taking it as a backhanded compliment that it was humanly impossible to find out his secrets.

There was Gilbert gloating for doing something against L and well, something that pleased me. And on the other hand there was L who was a whole mix of emotions and still a mystery to me. An annoyingly complex mystery. And I was right between them, feeling both irritated and terribly amused at the same time.

"Now what could it be about L's life that would be needed to be kept that secretive, Gilbert? Do tell me, I am awfully curious."

"Madame, Master L's secret is his life. His name, his face and his job. Those are his very secrets."

Okay by then I was getting a little bit impatient. And peevishly curious. Just what was L and what the hell was Gilbert going on about. But before I could demand that Gilbert just tell me what he was talking about, L finally lost his patience. And it was him who demanded in a surprisingly stern voice, "Mr. Red-hair, what of the request I made? What of Light Yagami?"

Gilbert shot him a rather devious smirk. A smirk that told me there was so much more than to what he was going to say, "Light Yagami died on January 28th, 2010."

What I expected was to see the relief in L's eyes at the mention of a supposed danger to us dying, but what he looked was well unconvinced. He asked again, "Was his death confirmed?"

Gilbert's reply was very pointed which frankly confused me a little, "Light Yagami died of cardiac arrest and his body was found and buried. So yes, Master L, his death is confirmed."

He still didn't show his relief or any emotion for that matter. Because after that very moment, L had closed up tighter than Fort Knox. He nodded his head slightly at Gilbert and went over to my window, staring into nothing.

I looked at him and for a few seconds I didn't know what to say to L or if I needed to comfort him. But I did wonder, did he lose a friend or a foe?

I looked back at Gilbert and motioned him to take a seat. It was after he sat down comfortably did I ask, "So, to know the whole story who do I need to know about first? Light Yagami or L?"

"Madame, L's and Light Yagami's lives are entwined with each other. Especially when it comes to this story. So, whichever you choose, in the end you find out about both."

"Who is L?"

"L was the greatest detective in the world once upon a time, Madame and Light Yagami was the one who murdered L."

The last part of that statement did not surprise me much. I was somewhat expecting it, but the first part did shock me beyond belief. My barmy perverted panda-spirit-man was a detective and that too the greatest there was once upon a time?

What was going on? I was completely confused, "Tell me everything from the beginning and about L, Gilbert."

"Madame, L was born on the 31st of October, 1979 and he was an orphan and was raised in an orphanage in Winchester named Wammy's House. L was exceptionally gifted and was perhaps the most intelligent man in the world. It was his choice to become a detective and he has in his life solved numerous hard-to-crack cases all over the world. It was also his choice to not reveal his face or name to the world. His only connection to the world was through his handler code-named 'Watari'. In fact, L isn't even his real name, Madame."

My mind was swamped with the information I was getting. I was literally building a whole new image of L. My reaction was a sharp look at L's back and an even sharper, "It isn't?"

Gilbert shook his head lightly and answered, "No, Madame. L is the alphabet he chose to be his symbol to be referred by the world. L isn't his name. L is the title given to whoever was the greatest detective alive in the world. Master L here is the one who created the title."

It was then when something clicked in my brain. Something I had read about somewhere and not paid much attention to. L was the name of some detective who had solved some serial killer case not too long ago. Last year, it was in fact.

"So, the serial case solved by L last year was…"

My voice was a faint whisper and my statement didn't need to be completed. But Gilbert did so nonetheless. For whom, L or me was the unanswered question.

"The detective you speak of, Madame is the greatest detective in the world and he is the third L so far."

My reply to that was, "Then who is my L?"

Gilbert's voice carried just a hint of sorrow in it as well as a little admiration, "Madame, the choice that Master L made years ago to keep his name and face a solid secret was what had prolonged his life. Master L had many aliases though. Ryuuzaki, Hideki Ryuuga, Eraldo Coil and Deneuve are just a few of his aliases, but they are the most important ones."

Eraldo Coil, Hideki Ryuuga and Deneuve kind of were poking at me for some reason. Where did I hear those names before? So I asked, "Gilbert, why are the all those names except Ryuuzaki so familiar?"

Gilbert's answer was short and very precise, "Eraldo Coil and Deneuve are the names of the second and third greatest detectives in the world. They were identities created by Master L and he maintained them and used them as he saw fit. Hideki Ryuuga is the name of the Japanese pop singer who married the daughter of the owner of Glens Technology and died of a drug overdose two years ago. Master L used the name Hideki Ryuuga as because it used to be a very popular name some years ago."

Suddenly, it made sense as to why it was L who was chosen to be my spirit guardian. Also L's famous plan of changing my name and starting a detective team made so much more sense now. Everything from his calculative looks, to his desire to use me as a puppet and his abnormal need for secrecy was making sense.

Gilbert continued, "Master L, like Lady Ravenhart had mentioned, Madame, was a special human. He had special powers and he had spiritual awareness. It is almost always the case that supernatural creatures or objects are either drawn to such special humans or the special humans are drawn to the creatures or objects. In Master L's case, he was the one drawn to a case. A case of a serial killer who killed his victims through a supernatural object, although it was much later that Master L confirmed that the killer killed with a supernatural object. So, one could say, Madame that it was the object itself which called onto Master L."

I was almost horrified at the prospect of knowing that one object could cause that much chaos at the hand of a killer and cause the death of a man who earned the title of the greatest detective in the world. A very small part of me mourned the death of L or whatever his real name was.

Then it hit me, I still didn't know L's real name. And here I was planning out a life and a foreseeable future with him in it. So I asked Gilbert and this time with a lot of conviction, "Gilbert, what is my L's real name and what is this object you speak of?"

"Madame, Master L's real name is L Lawliet and the object that I speak of is a notebook carried by creatures called Shinigami or Death Gods."

L Lawliet. That was his name. I turned my gaze towards L, or Lawliet. He had his back towards me and through out the entire conversation, he refused to look at us. Lawliet, the name somehow suited him. It went with his looks, persona and even his job. I wanted to call him Lawliet, but something told me that he would want me to call him L. There was also that possibility that he would pick a new alias since I now knew his secret.

Shinigami. I didn't know what kind of creatures they were, but they were called Death Gods so I hazarded a guess that they specifically dealt with deaths. Handing out deaths, that is. But this notebook business completely confused me. My voice was a little skeptical as I asked, "Notebook?"

"Each Shinigami carry their own notebook and they call their notebook, Death Note."

Death Gods calling their notebooks Death Notes. Can they get any weirder? Couldn't they be a bit more original? Death Notes? Really? And how could a notebook make a serial killer that unbeatable and then kill L?

Gilbert's sharp green eyes met mine and I knew he say the utter look of incredulity on my face. And I was even ready to bet that he knew exactly what I was thinking. He knew me that well. But as a sliver of light flashed a little on his spectacles, I suddenly had this feeling that what he was about to explain would make me feel very uncomfortable if not a little scared.

His voice was soft and yet firm as he explained, "One only needs to know the face and the real name of their victim. Just write the name of the victim on the page of a Death Note. It is that easy to deal death with that notebook. Hence, the name Death Note, Little Miss."