Monsters. Everywhere. L retreated to the safety of the trees, clutching the handle of his luggage bag in his sweaty palm as he stared wide-eyed at the mass of humanoid students and those that were clearly the furthest thing from human. He was able to absently note the various monsters he'd read about, heart racing in fear everything it looked as though someone so much as looked in his direction. 'What should I do?' The sound of crackling filled the courtyard as speakers came to life, students turning to face the entrance of the school as silence fell across the crowd.

"Attention all students, attention all students. Welcome to the Yagami School for the Gifted, or YSG for short. Attached to the notice boards you will find your name, class and room number, we encourage you to head straight for your dormitories and get settled in. You will find your timetables, maps and other information within your dorm rooms. We hope you have a pleasant school year here with us, but first, some ground rules. No student is permitted to force another to reveal their monster identity. No students are to attack, challenge or kill another. The train to the human world runs only one day a week, every Monday at 9am, if going to the human world you are reminded to go in your mortal forms. Curfew is 7pm with dinner at 5pm, kitchen closes at 6pm. Any questions can be answered within your packages within your rooms. Again, we hope you all do your best and have a pleasant time here at YSG."

L's heart had dropped at the mention of the train schedule, how was he supposed to flee now? And he had to share with a monster? Despite L having come from money, and made quite a bit on his own, Quillsh had decided not to allow L his own room, claiming that it would help his social skills if he was forced to live with another. Quillsh had clearly never taken into account the possibility of L ending up at a monster school.

The crowd had begun to move towards the notice boards, groups parting away towards two buildings in the distance with luggage carried behind them. L could try getting his own room, but judging by the number of students he doubted he would gain access to one immediately. All he could rely on was the rule stating that nobody was allowed to force another to reveal their monster identity, but that could only last for so long. The crowd had thinned significantly, L now stood amongst the stragglers and no longer could he put off the inevitable. He approached the notice board with his heart in his throat.

He scanned the hundreds of names before he came across his own. L Lawliet: room 242; building B. Was typed in a column, with a sigh and heart thumping wildly, L followed the small trickle of students down a tree-lined brick pathway that led to two identical multi-story buildings with the letters 'A' and 'B' painted on their fronts to distinguish them. 'A' block was clearly for females, clusters of girls stood outside talking loudly, 'B' block was for boys, and only nobody stood outside the building for long. L didn't linger, steeling himself L entered the lion's den. He took the elevator up instead of the stairs, unwilling to allow himself the time to talk himself out of what he was doing, the doors opened and L carried his luggage down a crowded hallway until he reached his room.

He took a deep calming breath and swung the door open. The room that greeted him was uniform in its unoriginality. The door opened to a small common area where the kitchen joined the study area, there were three doors that would lead to what L assumed was the bedrooms and the bathroom. A quick check behind said doors proved him right. Choosing the unoccupied bedroom on the left, L dropped his luggage and collapsed upon the bed with his head in his hands.

'What was he going to do? How was he going to survive until the following Monday?' He felt his breathing increase and he fought to calm his breathing and heart. He would manage, he could act his way through the days until he was able to leave. He heard the door open and someone shuffling though, electronic beeping filling the room. Gritting his teeth and getting to his feet, L walked into the main room with a forced smile.

His roommate was a red head, eyes hidden behind orange goggles, dressed in a black and white striped sweater with a faux fur vest over top and a pair of tight blue jeans and black ankle boots. An unlit cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth and his focus was solely on the handheld he had clutched in his glove clad hands.

"Names Matt, you?" The redhead said and asked without looking up once.

"L," He replied, slowly easing into the conversation. Matt looked like a normal teenager, L couldn't believe that he was actually a monster in disguise. "Nice to meet you." He prayed his roommate wouldn't kill him in his sleep.

/:/:/

Light hadn't bothered to join the crowd in front of the notice boards, he was already well aware of where he'd be staying for the school year. Instead he hung back and watched as happy students wondered off in groups, not one of them aware of how jealous Light was of their easy comradeship. He heaved a sigh and followed the main clusters, keeping his head down to avoid unwanted attention before he slipped into building 'B' and rode the elevator up to the top floor where all the single dorm rooms were located. The rooms were for the wealthy students, or the ones who had to be separated from others to limit any fights breaking out. Light fit into both of those categories, his family were wealthy and he was an S-Class Monster. It helped that his family owned the school.

He opened his door and walked in, closing it firmly behind him as he took stock of his surroundings for the second time that day. Large kitchen/study area that led out to a balcony that overlooked the school gardens, one bedroom off to the right and a moderate sized bathroom that also held a small laundry. It was one thing he was happy about, he may have to suffer through school, but at least he'd have his privacy. 'Not as though it'd matter much considering nobody is willing to give me a chance.'

The sound of the bell echoed throughout the buildings and across the school grounds. With a long sigh, Light picked up his information folder and book bag then promptly left his room, joining the flood of students heading off to their first period classes. Light had history first period followed by advanced mathematics. He was quick to spot Misa, Kyomi and Teru under the shade of the main building, he purposely avoided them and in doing so spotted Matt, Mello, Near and the guy he'd run into earlier, L, walking in the same direction he was.

He bit his tongue and kept walking, this time he refused to allow himself to melt into the shadows, straightening his posture and walking with his head held high. If the other students were going to treat him as a pariah then he'd act the way they'd expect him to. S-Class Monsters were treated like royalty, people feared them but at the same time went out of their way to challenge them to prove themselves. Light had no interest in such things, but he was willing to do so to prevent himself from being harmed. He'd made an overture of friendship only to be shot down, he didn't want to be hurt in making another mistake.

Upon entering the building Light headed straight for his classroom, faring a lot better than the other students who were referring to their maps and fellow students. He could hear Near's group following behind him as Mello complained loudly about the rules against monsters fighting one another, Near and Matt added their opinions but L remained quiet on the topic. 'Perhaps he's a weak monster species.' Thinking back on it, Light didn't pick up on a monster vibe from the other teenager. 'Not that it matters.' He entered the classroom, the first to enter it, and sat within the middle row near the open window. The quartet entered after he did, suspicious glances thrown his way as the group sat a distance away from him. He was aware of L's dark eyes upon him.

…