L intently watched the security footage of the robbery, his eyes not blinking. The thin man pointed a gun with a shaky hand at the man standing at the counter. There wasn't any audio, but it was clear that the thin man was demanding money. L zoomed in on the thin man's face, then even tighter. He watched the haze over those blue eyes become thicker and thicker. Zooming out again, he observed the way the thin man's hand quivered as he pointed the gun. L knew that he was not going to shoot, he knew that the gun was not even loaded. Yet, if the man had fired. L doubted that he would be able to hit what he had been aiming for.

L watched as the police arrived. The thin man directed the gun to the two officers. He staggered towards them. The second officer shot before the thin man could.

Only later was it made clear to the police that the thin man's gun was not loaded. L wondered what the officer must have thought. L doubted that the bullet was meant to kill the man, and chose to assume that the officer had poor aim. It wasn't his job to worry about what happened to this man now. This incident opened the door to far more pressing matters.

"And you're sure that it's him?" L directed the question to the laptop that he was currently communicating with Watari on.

"The DNA is a match," Watari informed him.

"He wasn't very intelligent," L thought out loud. "None of were intelligent enough to get out alone."

"They had help," Watari reminded him.

"Exactly," L pounced on the subject. "He helped them, but how were they any help to him?"

L knew Watari didn't have an answer for this. He couldn't answer it himself. Not yet at least.

The first week of classes had gone by, and Mello was painfully aware of the fact that he stuck out like a sore thumb. He had never been a people person, and hadn't seen the point of making friends in the orphanage. Occasionally he talked to Linda, who he realized was the only one of the other orphans who was not afraid of him. Befriending Matt hadn't been very hard, but that was partly because there was an effort made on both sides. Although Mello and Matt we're the only new students, it was clear that the majority of their peers had attended the school for a few years and already had groups set up.

"We're becoming loners," Mello stated.

His eyes didn't leave the English homework he was trying to push through to say this. After receiving no response, he looked over to where Matt was lying on his bed. Matt was on his stomach, his DS was in front of him and his dark blue headphones covered his ears (and accented his hair oddly). Over the past few days, Mello had observed that whenever Matt was not working on homework of trying to help Mello think up clues or leads, the redhead was absorbed in a video game.

"Earth to Matt," Mello said loudly. "Do you read me?"

Matt glanced up.

"I can't hear you," he loudly informed him without removing the headphones.

Mello rolled his eyes, walked over to him, and pulled the headphones over his neck (where the goggles were currently resting).

"What?" Matt looked annoyed, but Mello didn't appreciate that the game was given more attention than he was.

"We're becoming loners," he repeated.

It took a second for Matt to process the relevance of this.

"Wouldn't that only work if we were alone?" he asked. "If we didn't hang out together."

Matt had a point, but Mello knew that his was better.

"It doesn't matter," Mello brushed him off. "What I'm saying is that we don't have a group."

"You never struck me as the sort of person who would care about being popular," Matt told him dryly.

"What I'm getting at, is that most of the victims didn't have a lot of friends either," Mello continued. "There's no point in solving the case if we both become targets in the process."

"I can get us a group," Matt decided, not needing to say that he knew he had better social skills than the blond. "Or at least make it look like we have one."

"You do that," Mello agreed.

He knew that Matt was far more friendly than he was, and that the majority of people the red head talked to liked him.

"By the way," Mello brought the conversation back to being directly on the case. "Did Jenson's parents get back to you?"

"Yes, but they didn't answer most of the questions." Matt took out his laptop and pulled up an email. A few days prior Mello had asked him to see what families of the victims he could contact. So far few had wanted to answer personal questions, but most were willing to say some things. "I might have lied about not knowing him."

"Didn't you say that to all of the parents," Mello dismissed.

"Yeah, but I still sort of feel bad," Matt admitted.

"Don't," Mello told him. "You're doing what you have to in order to stop whoever killed their kids. They'll be grateful in the end."

"Yeah," Matt shrugged him off and looked back at his game.

Mello's determination was only slightly hindered by the fact that they had gotten practically nowhere. While Matt contacted the families, Mello had been sneaking into the former rooms of the victims while their current occupants were in class. This had not shed any light, but at least had given him a better idea of the format of each room. He also had access to police pictures of evidence. Aside from noticing that Smith's initials were written vertically instead of horizontally on the pocket knife used to slit his wrists, this gave Mello no new information.

We've only been doing this for a week, he mentally reminded himself. He knew he was being impatient, but it was nearly impossible not to be. There was a strong possibility that the killer was on campus that very moment. However, given how spread out the deaths were so far, he doubted that there would be another anytime soon.

Mello stared at the email that had just been forwarded to him. Another boy had been murdered. Mello hadn't been able to do anything to prevent this. Hell, he wasn't any closer to tracking down the killer than he had been since he got to the school. Anger was rising inside of him. Anger that he hadn't done anything. Anger that he didn't know when he would be able to do anything. Anger that he had to read the email that the police had sent "L" to find out that the eight victim had been killed in the first place.

"I'm going to the crime scene," he said to Matt after explaining what had happened.

"Isn't that off limits?" Matt wondered.

"The room is blocked off, but no one is monitoring it."

The email had stated this incase L's undercover agent wanted to have a look at the scene. It had been made clear to both the school and the police that Mello's identity would not be told to them. However, it was helpful for them to know that he existed.

"Do you want me to stand guard outside while you investigate?" Matt asked.

"No," Mello decided after mulling the question over. "I work better when I talk out loud. Besides, you might catch something I don't."

"Okay. Are we going now?"

"Yeah," Mello decided.

He was glad that Matt didn't object to him taking the lead on this, despite the fact that he hadn't made it clear to Matt that the only reason he had brought him onto the case was because he knew he may need an assistant. Mello hadn't yet felt like this was cheating, since L had far more resources at his disposal than Mello was aloud for this case. He couldn't even change his school schedule without contacting Roger.

They didn't run into any students or faculty on the way to the dead student's room. Once inside, they didn't feel the need to lock the door. If they got caught they could either say that they were friends of the boy and wanted to say a few words to him in the place that he had "taken his life," or that they had a morbid fascination. Matt had opted for the first one, feeling that it would get them into less trouble. Mello would still probably use the second, purely because he'd find the teacher's (and Matt's) reaction to this more amusing.

The body was gone, replaced by a tape outline. There was a reddish-brown stain in the middle of the floor, engulfing half of the chalked body. The boy's wrists had been slit, according to the pattern.

"Did he leave a note?" Matt asked.

"I don't think so," Mello answered, looking over the room. He walked to the window. "This is the third floor."

"So the killer couldn't have gotten in through there?" Matt asked.

"Unless he was spiderman," Mello quipped.

"It sort of reminds me of the second episode of Sherlock," Matt couldn't stop himself from pointing out.

"Great," Mello said dryly. "Let me know when Cumberbatch shows up, other wise I'm going to look for clues."

"Got it, boss," Matt rolled his eyes.

"He'd have to had used the front door," Mello turned away from the window, ignoring Matt's remark. "Even though it was locked."

"It's not that hard to get someone's room key, or even pick the lock," Matt pointed out.

"Not the mention the office has copies of every key," Mello added. "But how he got in isn't the issue."

"No, the issue is who he is in the first place," Matt concluded.

"Yeah," Mello agreed. "Did we ever talk about motives?"

"No, but I can't think of any," Matt answered.

"Neither can I," Mello said. "And I've thought about it a lot."

They spent the next twenty minutes looking for evidence, but came out empty handed.

"Remember when you said you were a genius hacker?" Mello asked as they left the room.

"I don't remember using those words," Matt muttered.

"Do you think that you can get into the computers of faculty members that were either new last year or hired for this semester?" Mello asked.

"I'd need a list," Matt didn't deny that he could accomplish this task.

"I'll get it to you as soon as we get back to our room." Mello had a list of new students as well as faculty.

"You think a teacher did it?" Matt asked.

"We have no leads," Mello said through gritted teeth. "Maybe they got a key from the office."

"It would be easier for them to get one than for a student to," Matt agreed.

"I need to follow something," Mello sighed. "Before someone else gets hurt."

"This isn't your fault," Matt tried to look him in the eyes, but Mello avoided his gaze. "You're doing more than anyone else is to help."

"Not enough," Mello said more to himself than to Matt.

L was angry.

No, he was furious.

No, he was outraged.

Although there were serval different ways that L could be contacted by various police departments while working on a case, he was accustomed to alternating between the most convenient. This, as well as the fact that any information involving "L" would surely make it's way back to himself, should have been known to the select few that he trusted with his personal information. He wasn't sure if he was more upset that information had been kept from him or that Watari and Roger had done such a sloppy job covering this up.

L was very clear on the fact that he had not accepted the Lowood Institute suicides case. Due to this fact, he had been surprised to find an email as well as a few files sent to one of his secure alias accounts. The email included details on the Lowood case. Whomever had written it seemed to be under the impression that, not only had L accepted the case, but he had someone working undercover at the school. It took L seconds to realize what was really going on. Watari and Roger were using this as a test for one of his successors.

What enraged L was the fact that he had made it clear to the both of them that he did not want either of the boys to be exposed to such danger until they were older. No matter how bright they were, they were still both children. When it was time for one of them to take up his mantle, he had hoped to eliminate the possibility of either of them inheriting the habits that he had gained from starting at the young age he had.

Despite not being the older of the pair, L would have been slightly less uneasy if hew knew that it was Near who had taken on the case. However, knowing the puzzle loving boy, it was likely that Near had denied this opportunity. Like L, he would have passed the case off as tedious or dull. Mello, however, would have been excited at the chance to prove himself and get out of the orphanage for a month or so. Although Watari apparently thought otherwise, L knew that Mello was far from ready for this task. Mello was rash. It was true that this was a quality that L liked about him, but it was something he had been hoping the boy would be able to have more control over as he matured.

While Near kept his emotions at arms length and rarely displayed them, Mello was practically ruled by what his heart told him was right. This coupled with Mello's difficultly to over come his anger when upset was what worried L most of all. It was likely that, in a whirlwind of emotion, Mello would over look a crucial fact and endanger his own life.

L considered calling Watari that very moment and ordering that Mello be dismissed from the case and L himself solve it. Two things stopped him from going through with this. The first reason was that Mello was the third most stubborn person that L knew (the first being himself and the second being Raito Yagami). Mello would not back down without a fight, especially if he had been working on the case for sometime. L didn't doubt that Mello now felt that it was is job to catch the killer and save the potential victims. The second reason was slightly more selfish. L wanted the case solved before anyone else got hurt.

Officially L had accepted the case, and that meant that it was going to be solved. However, the case that L was currently focusing on was not only taking all of his time, but required him to be in the same area that he presumed his suspect was. In order for him to catch the Lowood murderer, it would help for him to have access to the campus, students, and faculty. When he compared the two cases, the one he was working on at the moment was far more imperative. He knew he could contact Mello and make the boy share the information that he had uncovered. This way L would be able to point the boy in the right direction, while making sure that Mello had his emotions in check.

Yet, although after this secret had been kept from him he didn't feel he had anything to prove to the man that he had raised him, he did not want Watari to know that his attention was not solely on his other case. Although it was common for him to solve two cases at once, the Lowood suicides were amounting into something bigger than L had originally assumed they would be. L knew that he could solve both cases, had he the right resources. Still, he didn't want it to look like he was distracted from what was the most important.

Therefore, L needed someone on the inside that he could trust to observe and report every detail. This person would be his eyes as he solved the case, and could help him watch out for Mello as well. Given the skill level and cover he would need for his inside man, there really was only one possibility.

He supposed he could spare a day or two to stop by Japan…

Raito was reading at his desk when his computer turned itself on. During the NPA investigation, he had learned not to be startled by this, but this time he had nearly jumped out of his chair. Excitement coursed through him when the gothic L appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Raito-kun," the electronic voice said.

"Hello, L," Raito face molded into an expression of complete joy. God, how he had missed this! "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I have a situation," L stated.

"Really?" Raito raised an eyebrow.

Say it, he determinedly thought.

"I need your help."

There we go.

"Okay," Raito beamed. "What's the problem."

There was a short beat of silence.

"I would need to discuss it with you in person."

"What?" Raito knew that he was gaping, but couldn't control it. "But you're…you!"

"Yes, and I don't intend to fully expose my identity to you, Raito-kun," L admitted. "However, I do not feel comfortable explaining what I need from you through this method of communication. Are you familiar with the Teito Hotel?"

"Yes," Raito said slowly.

"Can you come to room 122 in exactly an hour and a half?"

"Yes," Raito answered.

"Good," L seemed to find this acceptable. "Please tell no one that I requested to meet with you."

"Is it that confidential?" Raito needed to ask something before L ended the conversation.

"Yes."

"How do I know this isn't some sort of trap?" Raito shuddered at the thought that it wasn't really L that he was talking to, but some sort of impersonator who had found out about Raito's connection to the detective.

"If you don't trust me, then don't come," L said curtly.

"That's not what I meant," Raito interjected.

"Regardless, please do not think of this as an order. I would like your assistance on something, but you have more than the right to refuse. Just—please—give it some thought."

L hung up before Raito could get another word out.

Raito knew that if he left his house at that moment, he would arrive at the hotel with enough time to deliberate backing out. L hadn't said anything to dissuade Raito from thinking that he was being contacted by an impersonator. Yet, Raito knew that there was only a slim chance of this. Was working with L again worth taking that chance?

"Yes," Raito answered out loud.

He quickly scribbled a note to leave on his desk incase either his parents or Sayu came into his room while he was out. Him disappearing in the middle of the night would definitely be something that would worry them. After changing out of his pajamas and into a collared shirt and jeans, Raito left his house to see what it was that L wanted from him.

Upon arriving at the hotel, he waited in the lobby until the precise time that L wanted him at the room. He could feel his nerves start to tighten as he stepped out of the elevator and into the first floor. He checked his watch before knocking on the door of L's room.

Right on time.

He knocked twice and waited. L didn't open the door. Instead of knocking again, Raito tried the door handle. The door was not locked. Cautiously, he opened the door and stepped into the room. His eyes scanned his surroundings, nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the slightest.

"Please close and lock the door."

The voice startled Raito, making him jump back slightly. It wasn't the electronic voice that L usually communicated with him through. This was a real human voice. What caught Raito off guard was not that L had apparently decided to reveal this to him. What surprised him was the fact that there was no one else in the room.

"Raito, I can not give you any information until you close the door." The tone of the voice was now annoyed. This time Raito's eyes followed where it was coming from. There was a device that resembled a walkie-talkie sitting on the coffee table in the middle of the room.

"Sorry," he mumbled, turning around to close and lock the door.

"Thank you."

Raito sat down on one of the cushioned chairs in front of the table.

"So this is what you meant by 'in person'," he remarked.

"I apologize, but I do not reveal my identity to anyone," L didn't sound apologetic in the slightest. "However, the reason that I am letting you hear my voice is because I want you to know that I trust you and hope that you can trust me as well."

Raito nodded, then felt rather foolish for doing so.

"You have cameras in here, right?" Raito knew that L must have, since he had known that Raito hadn't closed the door an minute prior.

"Yes, I can see you."

L's voice was different than Raito had imagined it being. He had always thought that it would be hard and rigid, leaving little of the emotion L wanted to convey unclear. However, the voice that Raito was listening to now was airy. L drawled most of his words, talking at a slower pace than Raito did himself. Some would think that this meant that he was bored with each subject he spoke about, but Raito knew better. Although he doubted that he would ever admit this to anyone, Raito liked listening to L speak. Hearing the music of the syllables he pronounced was almost as thrilling as the words that he was saying.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Raito crossed his arms comfortably as he spoke. "I'm guessing that it's top secret."

"Yes," L agreed. "I have a job for you."

"Another case?" Raito didn't attempt to hide the excitement from his eyes and body language.

"Yes," L confirmed. "One that I am personally involved with and can only entrust to someone I know is capable. Are you interested?"

"Do I look interested?" Raito laughed.

"You do," L sounded amused. "I'll tell you the details."

L went on to explain to Raito the murders disguised as suicides and how his successor had been sent to solve the case. Raito listened with few interruptions, wanting to be as clear on what he would have to do as possible. When L finished talking, Raito decided it was the right time for him to ask questions.

"You want me to go to England?" was the first one that he blurted.

"Yes," L said. "I can arrange for it to look like the school has granted you a full scholarship. In reality I will be paying for your tuition, but I'm sure that the scholarship will convince your family that you have to go. Aside from the killings, it is as good of a school as the one you are currently enrolled in."

"I won't mention the murder bit to my father," Raito told L. "Or anyone for that matter. And, yes, I'm sure my parents will let me go."

"You are fluent in English, correct?" L asked.

"Yes, I've been studying the language for years," Raito didn't mind bragging.

"That will be helpful," L said. "But you'll need to make a few mistakes here and there, since everyone will know that you are an exchange student."

"I'll be as convincing as I can," Raito assured him. "On the subject of your successor, what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Befriend him," L started with. "Do your best to keep him out of danger, or at least inform me if you believe that he is unsafe."

"Alright," Raito nodded.

"I will be sending you more information," L let him know. "But be ready to leave the country in a week."

"That soon?" This caught Raito slightly off guard. "Well, I supposed that's best. The sooner I get there the sooner I can start. My family will definitely be surprised when I announce that I'm moving to a boarding school located in the a part of England no one has ever heard of."

"I'll send the scholarship notification to both you and your father tonight," L decided. "That gives you the remainder of the night to think up all of the reasons why you would want to take advantage of the opportunity."

"Sounds good," Raito said.

"Thank you for doing this." The sincerity in L's voice surprised Ratio.

"Thank you for coming to me," Raito meant these words.

"Who else would I have come to?" It was unclear is L was asking Raito this or wondering it himself.

"I don't know," Raito mumbled.

"That was everything that I needed to discuss with you tonight," L's end of the conversation was rather abrupt, but Raito was used to this from him. "I think that it's time that you returned home. It is getting late."

"It was already late when I got here," Raito pointed out, but stood. "I'll be awaiting your further instructions."

"Yes."

Raito left the hotel, running through the conversation in his head as he made his way home. Part of him could not believe what was happening, and was barely able to stop himself from jumping for joy The other part of him couldn't help but be a little anxious at what he was getting himself into.

No matter what happens, it's going to be better than spending the rest of the school year boring myself to death. He reminded himself.

No matter what happened, as long as he was in contact with L he was definitely not going to be bored.

Sending imaginary Mello chocolate to Kiii and SadlyNotLawliet for their reviews!