"To you, what is justice?"
L stared at her. She was hesitant and timid, but unlike the other children (most of whom were also shy around him) it seemed that this was natural for her. She had settled herself at one end of the couch.
He thought a long while.
"Why do you want to know?"
She smiled to herself. "I... well... you said once, over the TV, that this was a hobby for you... that you were simply a sore loser. I guess I can't accept that..."
"Alright." He finished his cake. Watari went to get another one for him, and it left the two of them alone. They stared at each other.
Arrival played with the corner of a pillow.
"Justice is...
kindness, isn't it?"
She let go of the pillow, and let it rest in her lap. "What do you mean?"
"Well..." L started as Watari brought him another slice of cake. "A lot of the population thinks of justice as in the justice system, and that is partially correct. However, the justice system is prone to corruption, negativity and bias, resulting in injustice itself. I speculate that this is because of a fear of justice and its passing that has been bred into society. In a proper justice system, one would not think of the passing of justice as punishment, but as a chance..."
"A chance for truth."
L looked up from his cake, at which he had begun to stare. His eyes were wide with curiosity. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"
Arrival looked away out the window. "...I... I might be wrong... and my classmates don't seem to understand it, exactly, but... a desire for redemption when one has done something they consider wrong is common, right? To be able to come to terms with the past and make things better for the future is a human need. Corrupt justice systems don't allow for that, but if they did, the world would be better, I think. A good justice system wouldn't see itself as punishment, but as a chance to show people the truth about themselves, and to..."
"To let them improve. That's right." L's mouth curled up into an odd smile. "You're very smart, Arrival. Do you want to succeed me as L?"
She stared at him. "Ah... I'm flattered, really... but I don't want to..."
"Why not?" He took a bite into his cake, but didn't seemed fazed.
"If I was L, I'd crumble under the pressure. I'm not strong like you are, L... and I'm not a very good detective, either..."
"Things can be learned."
"No... well yes, I mean, they can, but..." Arrival stared up at him. She was shaking. "I have faith in the other students," she said. "You saw it, didn't you? They're ambitious, and kind. And they're amazing detectives, too. I just... have a lot of time on my hands, so I spent it thinking about justice, because you use that word a lot... you have to pick someone else..."
"If you were able to figure out my ideas about justice without meeting me, it is evident that your detective skills have more merit than you say."
"But if I can do it, so can they!" The pillow fell on the ground. L tilted his head to the side.
"I'm sorry. Have I upset you?"
"...No." She picked the pillow up and set it back down on her lap, and then looked up at him. "It's just that... I don't think of myself very highly... L." She caught his gaze. His eyes were wide and curious, as if he was always starving for knowlege. Hers, by comparison, seemed afraid and nervous, like a baby being given real food for the first time.
"Yes?"
"I want to challenge you... to find someone better than me."
"Better? How so?"
"More fit to be L. Someone with a sense of justice, but someone smarter than I am, and... more ambitious than I am. Stronger than me."
"Why?" L already knew the answer.
Arrival paused, and then smiled--she didn't mean it, but that was beside the point. "If in the entire world there's no one other than you who's like this, no one who could be a better L than me, what hope does the world have, anyway?"
"That's true." He smiled again at her.
There was a long silence.
"I wonder if I'll see you again, Arrival." He finished the slice of cake and laid the plate on the table. "I hope so."
"Me too, L. You know..." she hesitated.
"Yes?"
"Some of my friends said they didn't like you... but I do. I think we're a little bit alike..."
"I think so too."
She stood up. "Goodbye, L."
"See you soon."
---
Arrival only met with L once. She killed herself 2 months later.