When invited to Wammy's House, Beyond did not picture himself being groomed, brushed and clothed just so he could be presented to another boy like a prized pig but that was exactly what was happening.

As soon as the woman responsible for his two hour torture session excused herself, Beyond got to work on fixing what she had done. His hands threaded through his hair, dispelling any hairspray or sense of order within the black flicks of hair, and his shoulders shrugged from the suit jacket that had been fitted to him. He wasn't meant to be held within a suit anyhow and he did not much care for this other boy's critique.

Let him think what he will and make his decision.

The noose around his neck was loosened to a point that was moderately comfortable as his sleeves were rolled to just above his elbows. The trousers and shoes were something he couldn't, unfortunately, change and so, after one last alteration, he left.

Go to the courtyard at nine.

Beyond turned up at ten minutes past nine to find a moderately annoyed looking man stood beside Quillish. Roger. That was the name of the easily frustrated, little man. But that was information he could use at another time, now was the time to focus on the other boy stood beside Quillish. His eyes narrowed, not impressed by what was being presented to him.

"Is this it?" He asked, inclining his head towards the boy but aiming his question to Quillish. However, his clear disappointment was met by nothing but a polite smile from Mr. Wammy himself.

"No, this is not your predecessor, B. This is A, the other potential successor in this program."

He was almost relieved. Or at least, he would have been if he had any amount of interest in the seemingly younger male. "There are others?"

"Yes, I am hoping there will be many of you. The continuation of the program will depend entirely on the results we get from the two of you. Myself and Roger will be judging your progress throughout the course of your time here, we will make the decision when we feel we have enough evidence to formulate a precise decision."

"I see. So you're nothing but an old man who likes to entice orphan boys into his lavish home, offering them respite from a life they quite clearly despise, just so you can study them?" His lips pursed in an attempt to restrain the smirk which was threatening to escape. Now was not a time to appear too cocky. "How interesting."

"How dare you talk to Quillish li-"

Beyond turned to fix his gaze on Roger and tilted his head slightly, unimpressed by the male's outburst. It appeared he felt as though he was above Beyond, something which the child would have to fix soon enough. But no matter, dominance was something Beyond was extremely familiar with, something he found easy enough to exert.

"I suggest you fall silent, Mr Ruvie. Your defence will do nothing to aid the man you admire so much. Unless, of course, you'd prefer for me to turn my attention on you?"

This time, B did smirk. He couldn't help himself, the look of defiance on the older man's face was amusing enough, but to see it so quickly replaced by one of utter confusion at the casual utterance of his last name, despite such a fact having not been announced just yet, was nearly too much. Perhaps Roger was going to be something Beyond could toy with more often while encased in this prison.

Roger's fists clenched at his side and a sudden look of outrage fixed itself onto his features but that only spurred the child on, his smirk spreading into a complete and frightfully nasty grin.

"Oh? Could it be that you've prepared a comeback? Please, do go on. I'm ever so enthralled to hear the words of wisdom which I'm sure will leave those disgusting lips of yours. I'd seat myself so I could offer you my undivided attention but these floors most likely offer no end of dirt and grime and I would just hate to ruin these lovely trousers miss Tunstale so kindly provided me with."

"You little brat. Quillish, I don't see this boy as a worthy contender for the name, I don't think we could do any-"

"Is there a problem, Roger?"

A new voice caused Beyond to turn quickly, his gaze fixing on a boy who appeared to have just rolled himself out of bed, someone who seemed to feel this ordeal was nothing but an inconvenience to him. But Beyond and A seemed the only people who were even slightly surprised by the sudden appearance of this male. In fact, Roger even seemed slightly ashamed to have been speaking in such a manner in front of someone such as himself.

It didn't take long for Beyond to put two and two together. This dishevelled and unimpressive looking boy was to be the man that B succeeded. Although what there was to succeed was still a mystery to Beyond, the only thing the newcomer appeared in need of was a good night's sleep.

"Ah, L, thank you for joining us."

Mr Wammy's voice cut through the tension like a knife, changing the atmosphere to something much more pleasant, something Beyond didn't prefer. But L's gaze did not shift from Roger's face and it was made clear that he would not be satisfied until his enquiry was met with a response. One Roger was, quite clearly, unwilling to give.

But the old man obviously didn't fare well under pressure.

"Good morning, L. Nothing is wrong; I was just discussing with Quillish a matter regarding your successors. Nothing to concern yourself with."

"They are my successors, are they not?"

"They are…"

"Therefore it is a matter in which I should concern myself, correct?"

Roger's head bowed slightly lower but Beyond did not miss the subtle glare he was offered as the older male's head dropped. Beyond's smirk returned.

"Yes, you are correct."

"I'm glad we've cleared that up. From now on, if there is an issue with my successors then I wish to be informed of it, does that sound reasonable to you, Mr Wammy?"

Now and only now was the other man graced with a flash of attention, but this was a different kind of attention. This attention was less harsh and more… respectful. It made Beyond question the relationship the boy and older man had. Quillish did not seem to be the type to adopt a child.

"Yes, it does. After all, you need to be made aware of the progress of our experiment just as much as we do." He smiled kindly at the boy, the lines beside his eyes creasing further. This was obviously an action which he did often.

"Now, regarding your successors," Quillish's hand extended towards me, almost as an indication for Beyond to proceed with introductions. He did not. "This is Be-"

"Beyond Birthday," The black, emotionless pits which appeared to be L's eyes slid over to Beyond's, his expression giving nothing away on how he felt about the matter. "Yes, I am aware. After his parents died, he spent a short amount of time within the custody of his grandmother who quickly surrendered him to a nearby orphanage after claiming to have been too overwhelmed to handle a child at her age. The 'suicide' of the local hamster, which was later proved to be the work of this boy himself, resulted in him being transferred into an orphanage for 'special' children where he then received therapy and his progress was monitored frequently. He was later adopted my Mr and Mrs Thomas who lost their lives after the unfortunate discovery of Mrs Thomas' affair and Mr Thomas' inability to handle the grief of killing his wife. Mr Birthday was then returned to his previous orphanage where you then discovered him."

This boy's knowledge on Beyond unsettled him and he quickly found his eyes narrowing in suspicion. He didn't believe anyone should know that much about him upon the first meeting. Knowledge was dangerous after all.

"That's correct, yes. He scored the highest in the test we administered and his personality suggested he would be a good candidate for the role of your successor."

"I see."

Beyond bristled in anger at the disappointment suggested in the other's tone. Who is he to decide whether or not you're good enough to succeed him?! Look at him! He can't even turn up on time for the meeting he's meant to be the focus of!

But before he could open his mouth to protest, L's gaze shifted to the boy stood beside Mr Wammy. In truth, even Beyond had forgotten about A's existence at this point, the chosen silence of the younger male making it incredibly easy to let him slip your mind. B made a mental note to watch out for that.

As if reminded about his presence by L's change in attention, Quillish cleared his throat and stepped away from A, gesturing towards him.

"And this is-"

"Alexander Matthews. But you already knew that…" The words made B look up quickly to find L looking back at him again.

Now, for someone to make such a pointed comment towards him was not something which happened often, especially not when that person was seemingly unaware of the ability Beyond had. For that reason, the young killer was set on edge, instantly aware of the possibilities of what L might know about him. But there was no way he could know about his eyes.

Was there?

Just as he was about to question him about what he meant, L moved on, returning his attention to the quiet boy who looked even more lost than usual now that he was out in the open.

"Alexander Matthews. Abandoned by his parents who believed you would have a better life without them. You have no recollection of them, correct?"

A's head shook slowly, obviously in awe of the intelligence of the boy assessing him. Idiot.

"He was bullied through the entirety of his stay at his first orphanage but was adopted by Mr and Mrs Pine after seven months of residence. They had a daughter called Sally. The two appeared to get on well. However, after a year of staying with them he was left at a new orphanage due to his decision to remain mute the entire time he was with them. He has been mute since and none of his matrons have heard him speak. However, you can speak, can't you?"

"Of course he can speak, Quillish wouldn't have taken hi-"

Roger's words were cut off almost as soon as they had started.

"I am aware of the circumstances, Mr Ruvie, but I would prefer if Alexander could perhaps answer for himself. I believe he has had people speaking for him for long enough, don't you?"

Despite the harsh tone underlying L's words, Beyond had worked out his true motive, although he respected him less for it. He never had held much respect for those who were overly kind.

"Yes, L."

"Good. Now, you can speak, can't you?"

A had begun to nod his head again but L was quick to motion for him to stop.

"If it would not trouble you too much, I would prefer it if you would answer me verbally."

The conflict present on the face of the young boy was nearly too much for Beyond to handle, he was struggling to keep a straight face as it was, but the constant reminder of L's previous comment kept him sober. What could he have meant?

After at least two minutes of painful and boring silence, Beyond was close to ripping out the boy's throat, just so he'd have a reason not to speak. But his suffering came to an end at the sudden inhale of breath that sounded through the space.

"I can speak, yes. Although I prefer not to."

Well. That was unexpected.

"Finally! It speaks!" Beyond groaned, almost relieved that this hell would be over soon. Or at least, he hoped it would. He couldn't take much more of this nonsense.

A cold and bitter look was shot at him from Roger but L stayed fixed on the other successor, his expression unchanging.

"And why is that?"

"I've found people tell you more when you're silent and it's easier to assess a situation if you have very little presence."

"I see…" The dull, monotonous voice of the predecessor trailed off, his thumb lifting to press on his upper lip as he slouched lower, something Beyond didn't think was possible. "Very well. I do require you to speak more often while present here, though. Your silence will not get you anywhere if you are wishing to become my successor."

The silence had returned and L's words were simply met with a curt and understanding nod of his head. But instead of challenging the boy's reluctance this time, L simply moved on, turning his head to look at Mr Wammy.

"I'm done here. Is there anything else?"

"If you don't feel like there is, then no. We will handle assigning them their classes."

"Good."

Beyond was dumbfounded. That was it?! That!

"Are you kidding me?" B snapped, catching the attention of the other's present. "I was picked at, groomed and sprayed for hours for this? Just so some scruffy, exhausted boy could come and state my past to me, make indirect and vague comments about me and force a boy to speak? That was it?! This has to be some sort of joke."

Although his outburst was something he would regret as soon as he was alone again, Beyond couldn't hold himself back. It seemed ridiculous that someone who called himself L would be able to pass judgement on him. Someone so unremarkable. Someone who wasn't even worth being one of Beyond's victims.

But then, first impressions never did really give much away.

"I am afraid you are mistaken," L's voice forced Beyond to turn his rage entirely on him, although he remained unfazed by it. That only angered him more. "This is no joke. I do not need longer than the time I have allocated to make my decision. You have been judged and my decision has been made."

A low growl vibrated its way through Beyond's chest at the mere sound of his bored voice.

"Oh? And what might that be?" On this occasion, he did not try to hide the hostility towards him. It didn't seem to make a difference if he did or didn't anymore.

"My decision? That you two are plausible candidates for my succession. From now on, you will be referred to by A and B. You will not leave this place without permission, a valid reason and a guard. You will attend the classes assigned to you at the times assigned to you and you will be taught how to utilise the skills you were born with. That is your role here. You will fulfil it."

Seemingly finished with his judgement, L turned his back and began to walk away, his hands in his jeans pockets and his back curved in a slouch. This was not the person Beyond had been expecting to succeed and this was not the person Beyond wanted to work beside. This was the person Beyond wanted to crush with every opportunity he had.

"I'm not done speaking to you!" He called after him, his arms folding over his chest.

L did not turn or even make a move to acknowledge Beyond's words, but his voice carried over the distance easily.

"That may be so, Mr Birthday, but I have finished speaking to you."

*Author's Note*: Well, what a seven months this has been, hm? I'm ever so sorry for not updating in a long time and I didn't mean for it to be so long between my updates, I've just been incredibly busy these past few months and haven't had time to write anything up. I don't know how many of you live in England, or how many of you went to MCM in London in May but I was there as Maka from Soul Eater all weekend so that was great. And then, in June, I went to America for five months for work experience. So I've been a little too busy unfortunately.

But yes! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed, read, recommended or favourited. You're amazing and it's very much appreciated, thank you. Hopefully I'll be able to update again soon and I apologise if this chapter is not quite up to par with the others.

Thanks again. Speak soon!