Main characters: L Lawliet, Beyond Birthday, A

MalexMale, Rated MA for Mature. (Varies in chapters)

DARK!

Authors Note:

"The year is 2020 and Beyond Birthday fanfictions are still a thing? Welp. To me yes.

Death Note has always been a series close to my heart and the untold stories of what happened at Wammy's House when L and his original successors were young, were always an interest to me. The boys at Wammy's are twisted individuals as we all are aware, L is not as calm and sane as he looks, B is an obsessed murderer, A couldn't bear the stress and comitted suicide, Near, Matt and Mello are equally as messed up. It makes you think what kind of place Wammy's House is."

-Overview of Trigger Warnings and Content warnings!-

Dark themes, Non-con, smut and sexual themes, physical and sexual abuse, grooming, death, self harm, torture, descriptive gore.

NOT ALL CHAPTERS! All chapters will have relative warnings at the beginning!

Overview:

B wasn't always a monster. But what makes a monster? Isolation? Pain? Losing those closest to you? Years of lies?

This is a dark, twisted story of how the stress of being trained to become the Worlds Greatest Detective can lead to so much grief.

(Please be sure to read the trigger warnings for each chapter. This is a dark story, and could be triggering for some readers.
Do not upset yourself. And with that, please do enjoy! )

...

CHAPTER 1 - Best Friend

(No Notable TW/CW)

"Ew... that weirdo's looking over this way again. " The small group of the young orphans, grouped together in their friendship circle spoke just loud enough for the young Beyond to hear, but quietly enough that he didn't hear specifics. Something about his appearance, his hair, his eyes.. It was always about his eyes.
Abnormal, weird, freak, all words he was used to hearing.

For an eleven year old boy, B's capacity to ignore and pretend he didn't care about the ridicule from some screwed up kids was stronger than most. Along with his intellect. It seemed no one really wanted anything to do with him. Being an outcast was normal for him but isolation was something he didn't really care for all that much.
Even so, he found himself wandering the halls in search of somewhere to eat his lunch without bother from the rest of his classmates. He searched for a while, before stumbling on a closed off room that otherwise seemed unoccupied.

As he turned the light on, he soon realised he wasn't alone, his eyes peering above a small boy's head, a name he didn't recognise.

"Oh, um. Hi!"

Peering from over a book, the older boy, probably around twelve or thirteen years old, stared up at Beyond, rather unsure if he'd even seen him before. "...Hi. Can I help you?."
His voice broke the minute of silence, his gaze returning to his law book.

L rarely came out of this room, preferring solitude against being social with the rest of the children considering most of them were a little too 'touchy-feely'. L disliked that. Greatly.

"That's a weird way to greet someone, don't 'cha think?" Beyond approached the other boy, sitting down next to him, close, but not close enough to be touching him. Confidence exuded from the young boy, a happy yet devilish smile being one his notable features. He stuck out his hand politely, his head tilted to the side slightly. "Beyond! Nice to meet you! What's your name?"

L was taken aback by how forward this 'Beyond' was. Weird name, probably foreign. "I'm not sure, I don't tend to socialise often." He explained, shuffling back a little to make more space between them. "Uh.. I'm L."

"Okay...?" Beyond noted how uncomfortable this 'L' looked around him, it breaking his spirit a little. He awkwardly lowered his arm, his handshake being completely ignored making him feel a little awkward.

"Just L? Like the letter? Is that it?" He rested his head on his hand, intrigued as to why this kid only had a letter as a name.

L placed his book down to the ground, allowing the other more of his attention. "Yes. My surname has been kept from me for some reason. I believe it is for my own safety." He murmured, his wide eyes focused upwards as his thumb found itself upon his lip.

"Oh? Really..? Weird."

He peered above his head at L's full name, floating above his head in an ominous red hue. B found it rather interesting that he knew something someone else didn't. It was usually the number that confused people, but he'd never known someone's name like this before.

"So, what are you doing in here on your own? Don't you have any friends, L?"

"Friendships are distracting, I prefer to be left alone to study. Attachments only lead to heart ache." L was blunt and to the point, though seemed to be rather talkative considering he was alone for extended periods.

"Heart ache huh? I mean we all lost our parents right?" Beyond didn't seem to realise how personal that question might have been, most of the children being used to the fact they all shared the same realisation that they were orphans. He was intrigued, eager to start to figure L out bit by bit.
"Still it's gotta be lonely? Having no one to talk to, being cooped up on your own all day?" He picked up his jam sandwich lunch, taking a huge bite out of it, not fully finishing before talking again. "You wanna be friends?"

L's brow furrowed, realising this other boy had just dismissed half of the point. "I've never considered having a friend. I study. As a hobby." L shuffled, clutching his knees closer to his chest, getting a little irritated by the other's loud and messy eating.

Beyond had only really payed attention to the parts he wanted to, more distracted by watching this strange boy. "Sounds boring, wanna do it together? I can be quiet, you won't even know I'm here." He stated as he chewed loudly on his sandwich, jammy crumbs lining his lips. "Please?"

"My opinions don't seem to bother you, so stay if you want. Go if you want." L suggested, his eye quivering at the sounds of his eating. "Just don't touch the pages, your fingers will get jam on them."

"Oh yeah sure, of course." Beyond shuffled up closer, peering over L's shoulder reading through the law book. The boy found it oddly refreshing that he was able to talk to this guy without him having even questioned his eyes. Maybe it was down to L having not even really looked at him for more than a second since meeting, but even so. It felt nice.

"So what interests you about-" He read the front of the book, returning back to his original position, "-Criminal Law?"

'Law, weird, did L even know that they were the first three letters of his secret name?' B thought to himself, the correlation too much to ignore.

Automatically tensing, he peered back over his shoulder, his eyes connecting with Beyond's. "I solved my first case a few years ago at eight years old. Watari sees potential so I'm doing all I can to pass my A levels. Once I've done those, I have a few courses lined up." He turned his attention back to his book, opening it to the page he'd carefully folded over. "Do you not have other friends, or were you simply bored?"

Watari was the founder of this place, he and his trusted friend Roger, who helped him run the orphanage. Watari had scouted some of the most intelligent children in the world to take in and mentor, if he had seen something in special in L, then it really was a big deal.

"Me? Pfft, I have loads of friends. I just fancied spending my break time in here, on my own, not playing out with everyone else." His voice only got sadder the more he spoke, "Heheh... So you must be super smart to be doing A-levels already, that's pretty cool."

He found himself feeling a little awkward, L not giving him much leverage for a conversation, he figured he already didn't like him too and that he should just quit. He was only making a fool of himself.

He noticed the sadness, his demeanour changing slightly to accommodate the stranger. "I don't suppose I could have that other sandwich. I like sweets..."

Beyond's eyes brightened, perking up to the topic of conversation. "You do too?" He held up the bread, oozing with jam. "Jam is one of my favourites, and I'd be happy to share it with you, L." He reached out, handing it to him, watching him closely as he took it.

He took the corner between his thumb and forefinger, lifting it over his head and lowering it into his mouth, taking a enormous bite. After about three the sandwich half was gone entirely, leaving only his sticky fingers to suck clean. Beyond found himself staring in awe. This kid ate just as weirdly as he did, and was equally as gross about it.

"You seemed to enjoy that, were you hungry? I have some chewy sweets in my pocket if you want? I usually eat them myself but I don't mind." B emptied his pockets, an unused tissue, crumpled up paper notes and a few wrapped candies.

L took one immediately, placing down on the floor beside himself. "Thank you, sugar helps keep my deduction skills more efficient. Without them, my performance isn't anything to be impressed about." He sucked his thumb, then began to unwrap the sweet.

"You're a bit of an oddball aren't you.." B watched L closely, his strange sitting position, mannerisms and complex use of words. "Not that it's a bad thing. I guess I've just never met anyone like you before.."

L softened a little, feeling comfortable around him all of a sudden. A small smile spread across his face, tucking quickly back into his book as he plopped the sweet into his mouth. "I suppose I could say the same. Though you're the first one I've bothered to make conversation with."

"Well, I think that makes us friends L! Ooh! Hey what if you called me B? They we can both be letters!" He chuckled, finding it oddly funny how weird it was for the two freaks to be making friends like this, even if L wouldn't accept the word, Beyond felt like he was making his first real friend and it felt relieving.

"B? Huh, sure." L nodded, then closed the book once he'd read the last page. As if like clockwork, there was a short beeping tone. L took out a flip phone, checking a message he'd just recieved. "I have to go." He murmured, shuffling to his feet and then handing over the book. "Here. I'm done with it. Maybe you'll go into law too one day."
Without giving B a second to respond, L had left the room.

B's eyes followed him until he was out of sight. "Woah.." It was a surreal experience, meeting someone so intelligent and weird like that. He wondered when he'd see him again, maybe he'd have to hunt him down and find his secret hiding places. Smiling, he took a candy, popping it in his mouth, picking the book up clutching it to his chest, rushing off to his room to start reading it.

The next day, L had found a secluded spot in a room upstairs, going through a small case that Watari had assigned in the hopes he would succeed. The room was scattered with papers and empty sweet wrappers, the same sort which B had gifted him a few days ago.

Once again he had found himself excluded from the rest of the activities, instead in search of his mysterious friend.
That night he'd been wondering more and more about what was so secret about L's last name, why L himself didn't know it, should he know it? Did B have classified information? He'd been reading through the book and he'd always prided himself in how fast he could read and retain information, hardly any work for him to learn quickly.

"L? Where are you?" He checked a few empty rooms, finally finding his strange friend surrounded by a sea of papers, files and newspaper articles.

"Oh hey, found you!"

L didn't look away from his laptop, through raised a hand in response. "This room is technically mine. Room 404. Nobody else, well apart from you comes here." He turned to show a bright smile, then beckoning him to come over.
B beamed, pacing quickly over to join L in the mass of papers, noting all of the empty wrappers. "You liked those huh? What's all this?" He asked, gingerly picking up a crime scene photograph.

"A new assignment." A hint of excitement in his voice. "I have a preference for the more.. exciting ones." This would have sounded rather sick to anyone else, but he enjoyed it, he found thrill in the chase and satisfaction in the capture.

"So you're like a super cool police detective? You do this kind of thing all the time?"

He looked through some of the photos, some much more graphic than others. "This guy is.. pretty sick in the head."

"He is. A true maniac." He uttered, lifting a photograph of a man with his head caved in. "He has a tendency to use a hammer in his murders."

"Huh.. how many victims? If he's a serial killer using the same weapon every time, he wants people to know it's him, he's making a name for himself. Usually these types of killers would leave more than one recurring factor than the cause of death.. well according to pages 370 to 395 of that book you lent to me yesterday, I mean."
B spouted out information like a computer, quoting parts from the book that he'd taken in, almost embarrassed to have shown his secret intelligence in front of his new friend.

L gave him a rather astonished look, seemingly very impressed. He began to talk him on through with the case, showing him each and every bit of evidence and helping him along with it. Within a few short hours they had completed it, L smiling with pride alongside B.

"I think that calls for a slice of cake!"

"Ooh! I like cake! I think we deserve it, but where are we going to get any, I don't know if you've seen the cafeteria here but it's.. not exactly great enough to have edible cake." B scoffed at the thought, his mind thinking about nothing else but the real stuff.

L shook his head, reaching for his phone and texting a short message to Watari. "I have a secret stash that Watari keeps safe for me." He smirked, "I bought it after all"

After a few moments, the old man turned up, two slices of cake on a plate which he passed to L with a nod before promptly leaving with the case files.
B's eyes widened with wonder, this was by far the coolest thing he'd ever seen, Watari coming in with freshly made cake, it looked like something out of a movie.

"This. This is awesome." He picked up a fork starting to chow down, taking big bites of the dessert. "We did good huh!"

"We did." He smiled, picking the strawberry off first and eating it. "Have you thought about your future, Beyond?" He asked, sliding his fork into the soft sponge and taking a large mouthful.

"My future? Not really? I guessed I'd just get adopted by some weird couple lead a normal life I guess, but that hasn't worked out too well so far, I've been here years." B had saved the strawberry til last, chomping down the delicate sponge with no grace at all. "Why'd you ask?"

"I have no desire to be adopted. That sort of relationship would only smother my work. I have requested to work instead." He fingered the last piece of icing from his plate, looking rather cocky.

"Must be nice, having someone think you're good at something."

B poked at the strawberry with his finger, rolling it around the plate watching it intently, cream soaking into the fruit. "I'd kill to be in your position.. hypothetically I mean."

L pouted his lips. "Don't go killing now. I'd hate to hunt you down." He joked, then reached forward, placing his cold palm on the man's shoulder. "I believe you'd be a great detective some day."

"You .. really think so?" B was taken rather by surprise when L lay his hand on his shoulder, having already figured he didn't like touching. "Wow.. maybe you could teach me? I had fun today, I felt like I actually put my skill to some use."

"By the looks of things, I doubt you need much help. You did more than me, I mostly watched." He reassured Beyond, taking his hand back and resting it back upon his knee.

"I want another one!" Beyond smiled widely, his face beaming, voice filled with excitement. "Can I do another one? I wanna put more bad guys in prison! Maybe some cool one where the guy has a cool alias or something!"

"I'll make sure to find you when I do get one like that. I doubt I'll even need to help." L assured, looking to him, a kind expression adorning his face.

"Thanks L. This has been really cool, I don't wanna sound like I'm looking for sympathy or anything, cause I'm not. But none of the other kids here really let me talk to them, they wouldn't even give me the time of day if I asked for it, so this has been nice."

"It has, I've never made a friend here, until now." L admitted, their friendship had only been set for less than 48 hours, but he could tell they had connected in some form.

He couldn't hold back his smile after hearing L refer to him as a friend, having never had one before, finding a friend in someone like him was amazing.
"So can we do this every day? Hang out, talk about murder cases?"

"I don't see why not. Though sometimes I'd prefer to read alone. Though you're welcome to sit in the same room to study too." He set out his terms, moving to stand and burying his hands in his pockets.

"I don't see any issue with that. We all need our space sometimes.."

Still smiling, he stood up along with him, his crimson eyes meeting L's dark voids.

He blinked hard, his vision going a little skewed as he tried to concentrate on L's face. His lack of interaction with other people and actually conversing with them meant he never had to ignore the obvious names and numbers he saw over every human's head that he came into contact with. Seeing L's name and numbers, this close up was enough to give him a headache.

"Is everything alright?" He tilted his head to the side, staring back with those wide eyes. "You seem distracted?" He mumbled, his voice breaking a little as he talked.

"Distracted? No, no no I'm okay." Beyond looked down at the floor for a moment, trying to refresh his blurry vision. "I just get a lot of migraines, that's all. No need to worry."

"Perhaps you've had too much cake." He looked up in thought, itching his calf with his foot. "I find I get headaches after staying up for a few days. Unfortunately the brain can only withstand a few days without sleep before it starts making you."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm probably just tired.." He noted the eye bags under L's eyes; dark, sunken in circles and decided to change the subject away from his headache. "You don't sleep much? I don't know what I'd do without my full eight hours, I like to get up nice and early but I'm usually in bed for Ten-pm at latest, up for six without fail.."

L looked actually dumbfounded, focusing for a moment before looking to Beyond. "I last slept two days ago I believe. I lose track when I'm working." He admitted, already a tad sleepy from talking about the subject.

"Well you should definitely get some rest tonight, too little sleep can be really bad for you, can kill people you know. You should take better care of yourself L." He looked to him again, his eyes aching as he tried desperately to not focus on the red hued floating numbers and letters.

He nodded, "Perhaps you're right. I'll try tonight. I appreciate the thoughtfulness." L smiled still aware that Beyond seemed to be uncomfortable. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to try and settle down. Sleeping on an active brain wont work."

"Alright, sure, I'd better go off to bed too," He faked a rather dramatic yawn, handing L back the book he'd borrowed the day before. "Thanks for today!" He beamed, showing his teeth in a cheesy smile.

He took it back, then smiled, raising a hand to wave him off as he pulled himself up onto his bed and crawled towards the pillows. He'd often lay there for hours, not being able to drift off, though this time he was out within minutes, in a fetal position as per usual.

For the next few days, Beyond spent most of his free time along with L. Sometimes they'd talk a lot, share theories on controversial subjects, never really gossip though, he figured L didn't know enough people in order to talk about them. Others they'd simply sit and read in the same room in complete silence. Beyond would whisk through books much faster than L did, eager to learn more and more as fast as possible.

One day, the boy entered L's room with a bunch of the sweets he liked so much, "Hey L! I saved some just for you!" He noted L had been given yet another interesting looking case,
"Ooh!" He threw the sweets down between the two, settling down picking up the perp's photo, a middle aged man with a balaclava over most of his face. Still enough to see his name. "Is this the only photo of this guy?" He noted the case file being simply labelled 'The Suffolk strangler'. "That's not his name surely, is there no other info on this guy?"

"Nope, nothing." L seemed more focused today, his hand darting towards one of the fallen sweets which he unwrapped and slid into his mouth. "We hardly even have a name to go on. It is truly frustrating."

"Hm.." Beyond read through the case file. They police had brought in a man named Steve Wright, who claimed he had an alibi for the day of one of the woman's deaths, and all other evidence was deterring them from sentencing him. This masked man spotted on a CCTV camera coming out of the victims house.. it was Steve Wright but how could he say that without sounding crazy..?

L looked to Beyond, raising a brow as he then sat back and observed him. His eyes flickered up and down the other boy, he could tell he was rather confused by something. "Tell me you found something."

"Uh.. Yeah kind of. But I don't know how to put it." He had to find something else, he couldn't just come out and tell L his secret like that, he wouldn't believe him anyway.

"Hah.. nope, it's gone. Sorry."

L looked at him sternly. "It went. Just like that?" He leaned in closer, staring uncomfortably close. He often used this to pressure other kids into leaving him be. Though this method would also work in this situation nicely. B could feel L's eyes burning into his head, something about it being very unnerving.

"L.. I mean it, I don't think my information would be.. plausible. It's too much of a stretch..." He began to visibly panic a little, trying not to look at L's name too much, keeping his eyes away from photos, pretending to read the file over.

"I don't care. Plausible is better than nothing. Do you mean to withhold crucial information?" He leaned in more, wanting him to feel very much pressured into an answer.

"Okay! Okay.. It's him. Wright.. that's the guy." He pointed to the masked person, "It's 100% him. His alibi is broken." Beyond's heart raced, already dreading the follow up questions. "Don't.. ask how I know okay? I told you it's pointless information, there's no way you can prove it. "

L was stunned, then sat back. "There is no possible way you could know that." He looked rather troubled, then looked through the files, reading through them, scanning for leads. "Do me a favour and sit out whilst I do this. I want to see if you're right."

Without a word, B took no time in getting up and leaving, his heart in his mouth. He knew he wasn't wrong, but if L proved he was right, he'd definitely have questions, he had to think of some kind of lie...

'No he's too smart to believe lies.. but he won't believe the truth either.. shit.'

Anxiously waiting outside to be called back in, B bit at his thumbnail, tearing it with his teeth. After around an hour, L opened the door, taking B by his arm and dragged him in. "You are right. Now. I hope you have an explanation as I am stumped." He sounded more astounded than angry.

B gulped, having not been able to come up with a believable lie in the hour he'd been out there, he'd mainly spaced out in a panic. "Uhm.. I don't.. not really. Not that you'd believe."

"I said tell me, Beyond!" He raised his tone, wanting answers. He was getting impatient, it clear by how fidgety he was becoming.

"You won't believe me! No one does!" He matched L's volume, B' sounding more desperate than assertive like L, his face falling.

"I.. saw it."

L squared up, then frowned, looking utterly dumbfounded. "You.. You saw it?" His voice had lowered dramatically, it being almost a whisper. "How?"

"I don't know how.. I just see things." He quietly tried to explain, sounding more embarrassed than anything, no one had believed him about this before, and he didn't want his new friend to judge him like everyone else, but he wasn't giving him much choice. "Names. Everyone's names.."

L backed off and went to crouch again, confused. His eyes darted left and right, the cogs of his brain almost visibly turning. After a long pause, he then raised his head.
"Can you see mine?"

B paused, hoping he wouldn't have asked that either. After a moment, he nodded slowly, looking anywhere but at L's face.
"Yeah.. I always have been able to since I first lay eyes on you."

L knew Watari was the only person who knew his last name, and thus if Beyond told him, he'd know also. He closed his eyes. "What is my name?"

"You.. really want me you tell you?"

He'd never known someone else's name without them knowing it themselves, and it seemed important, but he wasn't going to ignore him.

"L Lawliet. T." He spelled it out letter by letter.

L opened his eyes upon hearing it, not sure how he even felt about the entirety of the situation. "If that's true, you have access to a truly vital ability." He stated, then clutched his knees, still processing the sound of his name.

A vital ability? B didn't want to get on to the numbers, those were the more un-nerving parts of his eye power.

"Yeah..But L? How do you know I'm telling the truth? If you don't know your own name?.."

"Well I have conducted a test. I can find out easily." He smiled, then dragged his laptop to him, and pulled up a picture of a person at random on the internet. He turned it to him. "Name?"

"Stefan Carson" He didn't even need to think about it, he could see it floating over his head, along with his lifespan of a further 40 years. L turned it back, and with a quick search, found the man's identity. Beyond was correct. He conducted the test a few times, none of the people being even remotely related. Sitting back, he held his hands together, astounded by his discovery.

"It only works with photographs and real people though. Even the most realistic of drawings don't work. I tried that out a while ago.." B scratched his head, feeling awkward and fidgety. "It's also why I get headaches. You.. don't think I'm weird?"

"Weird? Perhaps. But it's fascinating." L lowered his legs, resting back on his hands. "Perhaps it's a condition. Supernatural?" He murmured, "I wont mention it to Watari, but will research it in my own time." He reassured, itching to know more.

"I appreciate you not telling Watari.." He'd tried to mention it before but he didn't really believe him, the last thing he wanted was tests and doctors seeing him.

"You really don't have to do that.. I know where they came from I just don't understand why I have them. I'd rather you didn't look into it actually." He didn't want L to know about the numbers part, but he feared L would only find out on his own anyway.

L raised a brow. Then realising Beyond knew more than he was telling. "I see.. Do you mind telling me where they're from?" He asked, not expecting a forward answer though.

"Ever hear of Death Gods? Japanese Death Gods specifically, Shinigami?" He looked up to him, his crimson eyes rather serious.

"It's said that they can see all of the names of every human being floating over their head."

He grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, scribbling what he saw down so L could understand. He drew a quick sketch of L's face, along with how he saw his name and numbers.

L moved to sit behind him, peering over his shoulder as he drew. Beyond had no reason to lie about this so the young detective believed his every word. "It's almost unnerving."

"Oh it is.. But that's not the worst part.." The last words were quiet, audible, but more B vocalising his thoughts than actually wanting L to have heard it. After realising, he sighed loudly, realising he'd only get questioned again.

"There's... numbers too."

L listened, then looked to him when he mentioned the numbers, already having a theory on what those numbers meant. "Yeah?"

"The day my mother died, her numbers were at 0. Same with my dad. They're lifespans. The amount of days you have left to live."

Beyond turned to face L, his voice full of an uneasy, almost scary tone, his eyes burning, "I know when every human being is going to die."

L was frowning as B turned to him, his face troubled. Beyond could see his lifespan, and it made him feel suddenly very strange. "I'm assuming you see mine, though I do not wish for you to tell me."

"I'm not going to. I've never told anyone that, it'd only scare people." He sat, pulling his knees up to his chest, holding them close to him. "I can't see my own, so it's not really all that useful, just a horrible curse that reminds me daily that everyone has a time...It's kinda depressing."

L could understand how horrible it would be to see that sort of reminder every day. He reached forward, attempting to comfort B, placing his arm around the man's shoulders.

Beyond's eyes widened as he felt L's arm slink around him, knowing he didn't like touching. B suddenly felt incredibly special, "Thanks..L. Don't worry, I'll keep your name a secret, it must be hidden for a reason. I'll honour that."

He nodded, letting the hug last a little longer before moving his hand back to himself.

Months of working cases soon turned into a year. Beyond was 12 and L had just turned 14.
Watari had began to encourage L to start thinking bigger than Wammy's. He insisted on travelling abroad to Japan to help help out with a case over there that needed a second opinion.

The day finally came that L was to leave, it being too short notice for L to even think of telling Beyond the news.

The boy had rushed towards L's room, excited to tell him about a new theory when he caught L packing up his things, not that he had a lot to pack to begin with. His smile dropped, his expression turning to complete bewilderment.

"What are you doing..?"

L looked up to him, his face red from having an argument with Watari a few moments before. He frowned, walking over and taking the man's shoulders. "I had not a moments notice. I'm being sent to Japan."

"Japan!? What the hell is in Japan?!" He became more frantic, the sudden realisation that L was leaving him. "When will you be back? You're only visiting right?.."

"I.. I have no idea. I've been told to help on a case." He looked to the side, feeling truly guilty about leaving Beyond. "I'm sorry."

"No no wait.. You can't just leave!" He gripped L's shoulders, as firmly as he could with trembling arms. "You can't leave me here! Take me too! Please L, don't leave me here.."

Beyond couldn't take it, his only friend he'd ever had was being sent thousands of miles away and he might not even see him again. The one person who had ever cared about him after his parents deaths, too was abandoning him.

L pulled him into a hug, resting his fingertips on B's neck. He could feel the other's heart racing, it making him feel truly cruel. "I'll return one day." He tried to reassure him, slowly pulling from the hug after a minute. "I promise."

He then turned and slipped the book he'd once gave him from the shelf. "I want you to have this." L smiled, passing it to him. The hug broke B, he was unable to keep tears back as he ended up sobbing into L's shoulder, feeling like the only person who ever understood him was leaving forever. Reluctantly he took the book after sniffing back some of his tears, trying to smile.

"I'll write to you.. okay? Make sure you write back okay? Promise me!" He cried out.

L passed him a slip of paper with his email address written neatly on it, his voice softening. "I will as much as I can. Update me on your work."

With a final goodbye, he left Beyond and the orphanage to go overseas.

Beyond ran to his room, watching L get into the car and be driven out of his sight, the lonely feeling setting in almost immediately.
For the first night since his parents died, he couldn't sleep, instead lay staring at the wall, trying to picture L's face, mapping out his features in his mind. If he thought about him enough, he wouldn't be gone. At least in B's logic.

That evening would start the first of many sleepless nights as the boy started to think about L most of the the time he was awake in order to cope with his loneliness.
Letters that he wanted to send in emails, but didn't think he could find the right words, crumpled and thrown in a pile, drawings, his name scribbled down almost obsessively.
He drew him so much that he was quickly getting much better at it. His art becoming more and more realistic. No one ever saw him or spoke to him so no one noticed his strange behaviour, and though it'd given him migraines before, he desperately wanted to see his name again.