This is part one of a three-part drabble.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.
"Watari, I trust you have done as I requested yesterday?"
"Yes, L. I placed a video camera and wiretaps into each of your potential heir's bedrooms. Although I'm still uncertain why you feel the need to observe them secretly."
The black-haired detective carefully examined the cake on his plate. "It's simple. If I choose my successor based solely off of test ranking, it would be Near. But there is a 20% chance that he will fail for reasons other than his intellect. Strength, for example. I need to take the over-all evaluation of my heirs into consideration along with their rankings. So I've decided to observe them each for a day, to see if they harbor any secret weaknesses or strengths that could affect their ability to act as the next L."
Without waiting for the older man to reply, L turned on the monitor showing footage from the camera placed in Near's room.
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Near sat in the middle of his spotless white room, his own white clothes, hair and skin practically acting as camouflage. He sighed in happiness as looked at the smooth, white walls and ran his hand through the plush alabaster carpet.
There was nothing that made Near happier than the color white. He was obsessed with it. In fact, you could almost say Near loved white so much, that he was afraid of other colors.
Then Near saw something that filled him with horror. What was that on the carpet? Was that-? A… stain?
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L watched for half an hour as Near frantically scrubbed the same spot over and over again, two heavy jugs of bleach next to him.
"Hmmm… displays rather obsessive-compulsive tendencies. That could be a problem. Maybe, however, it's just- Wait a second! Watari… is he doing what I think he's doing?"
"Yes L. Rodger mentioned that last time I talked to him about the children. Apparently Near does that from time to time. Something about Near wanting to stay 'clean and white'. It's amazing it hasn't had any effect on his test scores…or his health. It's almost a medical miracle."
"Okay, then." said L. "I'll have to observe Mello now. Near is out of the running. I can't have a successor who would willingly drink bleach."
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Next time we spy on Mello!