The next day Raito entered the hotel room to see the coffee table covered by a large sheet of white butcher paper. On the paper L had written the names of the murder victims (and the first two suicides). Raito couldn't help but notice how scraggly the detective's handwriting was. He'd save that comment for a less productive occasion. Mello had arrived first, and nodded in Raito's direction when he took the seat across from L.

"What do you see?" L asked Raito with a sly smile.

Raito didn't bother wondering if L would ever get tired of testing his mental ability.

"The names of the dead boys," Raito answered.

"Be more specific," L instructed.

"The full names of the victims," Raito corrected.

"That's not entirely true," L told him. "I've written the first and last names of each of the boys as well as the initial of their middle names."

"We can see that," Mello said curtly.

"Yes, I know," L replied dryly. "What else do you see?"

"I see that L is in the mood to toy with us," Raito deadpanned.

"Exactly!" L exclaimed, standing up from his chair and startling both Raito and Mello.

"Wait," Raito blinked at him. "What?"

"I'm toying with you," L continued with a wide grin. "In other words, I'm playing a game with you. A game in which you are a pawn that I am directing into making the conclusions that I want you to. Sound familiar?"

"Naomi Misora," Mello's voice was emotionless as he spoke the name.

"Yes. B set up games to direct Misora," L sat back down. "B likes games. He uses them when he wants to get my attention. That being said, what do you see?"

"A puzzle," Raito answered.

"Yes," L grinned.

"A puzzle you know the answer to," Mello added.

"Naturally." L leaned over the desk and drew a long circle around the middle initials. "B didn't give us any hints to solve this, because he knew that the two deaths were enough of a hint on their own."

"A and S," Raito remembered.

"B is trying to get my attention, but he still wants me to work to find the answer," L said.

"Sounds counter productive," Raito muttered.

"We'll blame his inferiority complex," L told him.

"So the middle initials spell something?" Mello brought them back to the topic.

Under the circle, L wrote the words Wammy's House. He underlined the first letter 'a' and Hadley Jenson's middle initial. He then underlines the first 's' and Adam Smith's initial. Raito immediately noticed that these letter were four spaces apart.

"He was lucky that the first two matches the name and one of his numbers," L continued. "From that point forward, he follow the pattern: S, M, H, ect. Finally leaving us with W, Y, and U."

"So the next three victims will have these initials," Raito rephrased.

"Yes."

"And after that?" Mello asked.

"I'm only forty-percent sure, but I believe he'll repeat the pattern until he believes I've noticed it," L explained. "Of course, middle initial is not the only thing that he's using to select his victims, if it was it would be nearly impossible for us to correctly guess who is next. For the last eight deaths, B has be cycling through social class, grade, and mental health. The last is most likely due to the depression that Jenson was in and lack of that Smith possessed. After factoring this in, I've narrowed down who the next three victims will be."

L produced his computer from it's hiding place under his chair. He opened it to three student profiles. The first two Raito did not recognize, but he shared two classes with the third boy.

"I know that one," he voiced.

"Mello?" L glanced at the blonde.

"Haven't met any of them," Mello admitted. "But I can befriend them if that'll help."

"I highly suggest that you do," he looked back to Raito.

"I will too," Raito agreed to the unspoken question. "When do you think the first will be attacked?"

"So far, there has been no pattern in the date and time of deaths," L said. "B had been spacing them out, and I assume it's because he doesn't want the school to catch onto what's really happening. The less attention he draws, the easier it is for him to maneuver in the shadows."

"So what should we do?" Mello asked.

"I need you to report that you think these boys will be the next victims to Roger and Watari," L instructed the blonde. "Don't tell them about my involvement or that you think the killer is B. Make up some other reason, and ask for more resources to catch the murderer or at least have school officials on the look out. We shouldn't expect the next death for at least another two weeks, but we need to be on guard from this point forward."

"Got it," Mello rose from his chair.

"And I need to see your rosary before you go," L told him.

"Why?" Mello's fingers closed around his neckless.

"Since the two of you are so dead-set on staying, I need to know where you are at all times," L said.

"You're going to put a tracking device in my rosary?" Mello gave him an annoyed look.

"I promise to remove it once Beyond is safely in prison," L added. "But you could always go back to Wammy's. Tracker or dismissal, your choice."

"Fine," Mello sighed and handed L the necklace.

Raito watched L insert and metal chip at the base of the cross.

"Raito-kun, may I see your wrist watch?" L asked after returning the cross to Mello.

He slid the watch off and handed it to L, who skillfully removed the glass face and inserted another black chip.

"There you go," L gave it back to him.

Mello was already walking to the door, and Raito got the sense that the both of them had been dismissed.

"One more thing, Raito-kun." It was only when he had reached the door that L called him back. L waited until Mello left before continuing. "How are you so certain that Amane-san is safe from B? If the shinigami killed him to protect her, she would die instead."

"Yes, and I'm not completely certain," Raito admitted, sitting back down. "But Rem didn't have to come here to give Misa the book in the first place. It's not exactly easy to read a shinigami's emotions, but I think that she feels inclined to help Misa because of the death of her friend. She must think she's honoring Gelus."

"I see. And if she does not prevent harm coming to Misa?"

"Misa's not walking alone at night anyway," Raito told him. "Not to mention that, according to Rem, her lifespan increased when Gelus died for her."

"I'd prefer not to stake a life on those odds," L drawled. "But if she is so set against returning home, I will trust your judgement."

"She can't go back right now," Raito confirmed. "It's a personal thing."

"On the subject of personal problems," L shifted gears. "Now that she knows that there is a murder at Lowood and a notebook that can kill people, would it be that difficult to tell her that we are not in a relationship?"

"Actually, yes," Raito nervously chuckled.

"Why?"

"She stopped flirting with me after I told her I was gay and in a relationship," Raito stated.

L looked taken aback.

"And a pretty girl's interest is such a bad thing?" He wondered.

"I guess not," Raito ran a hand through his hair. "But she's not my type and it's easier to be around her when she's not hanging off of me."

"I see." Raito watched L process this. "What is Raito-kun's type?"

The question brought a blush to Raito's face and a knot to his stomach that he had not anticipated.

"I don't know," he projected a carefree facade.

"But not Misa Amane?"

"Not Misa Amane," he nodded.

"Very well," L sighed. "On the occasion that I am in the same room as her, you may continue to pretend that we are dating."

"It didn't bother you earlier," Raito pointed out.

"Earlier I was a voice on your phone and no physical contact was involved," L deadpanned.

"Oh," Raito felt his stomach churn again. "Sorry about that."

"It's not a problem," L's tone said otherwise. "Just warn me the next time you are going to behave affectionately."

"Will do," Raito meant to leave then, but for some reason he couldn't get his legs to work. "L, how old are you?"

Of all the random questions that could have popped out of his mouth, why on Earth had he voiced this one? Judging from the look on L's face, he seemed to be wondering the same thing.

"Does it matter?" L asked.

"No," Raito admitted. "But, you're a lot younger than I imagined."

"Yes," L smirked. "That's understandable."

"Can you tell me?" Raito asked.

"No."

"If you trust me enough to show me what you look like, then why can't you tell me this?" It didn't necessarily bother him, but he was curious to know how young the world's greatest detective really was.

"It's not about trust, after all my age is just a number to you," L had a sly look on his face.

"Then why can't you tell me?" Raito asked again.

"Because I enjoy watching how flustered you get when you don't know something," L told him honestly.

"That's rude," was all Raito could say.

"I know," L smirked again

Raito rose from his chair. He needed to get out of the room.

"You'll let me know the next time we need to meet?" he asked the unnecessary question.

"As always."

"Right," he nodded nervously but forced himself to walk to the door at a normal pace.

As Raito walked home, he let his thoughts run rampage. It was true that he idolized L, he could admit that. From the beginning it was impossible not to be in awe of the man, even when he had no idea what he looked like. L was arguably the smartest man alive, yet for some reason he still enjoyed talking to Raito. At first Raito had been starstruck, but soon this had grown into an addiction to the attention.

Never had this been attraction, because he had no idea what L looked like. Alright, that was a lie. Maybe what he had said to Misa about his pretend boyfriend's voice was true. At that time he could spare himself from acknowledging this because he had never met L face to face. Not to mention the fact that he had imagined the man to be much older.

"Great," he muttered to himself. "The one time I'm actually interested in someone, it has to be the only person completely out of my league."

"I don't get it," Matt told Mello.

"I know," Mello sighed, regretting trying to keep his friend in as much of the know as he could. "But these three are the next victims."

"And you can tell from their emotional issues?" Matt gave him a skeptical look.

"Yes." Mello couldn't explain the middle name pattern to Matt, and had hoped that the smaller details strengthening L's conclusion would be enough to convince him.

"If you haven't noticed, half this school has emotional issues," Matt said bluntly.

"I know what I'm talking about," Mello huffed.

Matt looked him over silently for a moment.

"Fine," he shrugged. "I'll just act like I think you know what you're doing."

"You do think that," Mello pointed out.

"For the most part," Matt informed him.

"Whatever."

Mello didn't want to talk about the case with Matt. Whenever he tried to distance Matt from it, he was meant with rock hard stubbornness and some anger. Yet, when he did tell Matt things like this, he couldn't keep from feeling guilty. It was one thing not to tell Roger that he'd enlisted his roommate's help, but this was something he should have made clear to L after their first meeting. Part of him knew that eventually L would figure it out, after all he was the world's greatest detective (and if L didn't, Light might and would definitely tell him). Mello knew that, the more this was delayed the stronger L's wrath and disappointment would be. It was the latter that Mello doubted he'd be able to stand. He'd been able to get this far without L comparing him to Near, or even to Light. Yet, Mello knew that this mistake would forever seal his fate as second best.

He told himself that this was the only reason why he kept Matt's involvement to himself. It was easier to rationalize his own mind, and blame everything on the inferiority complex that he was barely comfortable acknowledging. Still, he knew that there was another more confusing reason why he didn't tell L about Matt. Friendship was never something that Mello had been good at. Oddly enough, he hadn't managed to drive Matt away yet. He wanted to keep Matt to himself, because he liked that he was the only one who knew. He enjoyed having a secret. He wanted Matt to stay only his. That was messed up, right?

"Do you have any idea who's behind it?" Matt's voice broke through his thoughts.

"No," Mello lied.

"Do you think it's a student?" Matt tried.

"I don't know," Mello pretended to sigh in exhaustion. "Do you?"

"I don't have any theories," Matt confessed. "But I'm not the one who thinks he knows who the next three victims will be."

"I do know," Mello argued uselessly.

"So how are we going to save them?" Matt looked at him expectantly.

Mello hadn't thought of this. He knew L would have a game plan, but this was one of the things that he couldn't explain to Matt. If he said nothing, Matt would know something was up. Mello was more likely to risk life and limb than stand back without any ideas.

"What do you think we should do?" Mello redirected the question.

"We can't stop him by ourselves," Matt said practically.

"Him or her," Mello interjected.

"Right," Matt nodded. "Maybe we could call the police. They'd have to listen, right?"

"I guess." Mello resisted shrugging. "Yeah, you're right, we'll do that."

"What did you plan on doing?" Matt asked. "Before I answered."

"Burst into the victim's room and shoot the killer," Mello made his face as serious as he could.

"Very funny," Matt rolled his eyes. "You don't have a gun, idiot."

"I'll steal one," Mello told him.

"From who?"

"The headmaster," Mello decided. "If anyone has a deadly weapon, it's the headmaster."

"As much as I agree," Matt laughed. "Let's just stick to my plan."

"Fine," Mello crossed his arms. "But if it doesn't work I get to shoot someone. Deal?"

"Deal."

Mello took in the goofy smile on Matt's face. He realized that once the case was over he would have to say goodbye to his friend. It was unlikely that they'd ever see each other again, and they hadn't any reason to. For the first time since his arrival at Lowood, Mello wasn't sure he wanted to catch the murderer.

B laughed. He knew that his source would prove useful. Now that he knew the other players were ready, he would change the rules of the game. This was only fair. After all, they had the advantage.

L's emotions were a blur of fury and disbelief. He ignored both as he processed the information on his computer screen. It was moments like this where cold, hard facts were his allies. The less he felt and the more he analyzed, the easier it was to make sense of what happened. The cake was helping. Cake always helped.

What did he know for certain? All three of the potential victims he had named the day before were dead. He doubted that either Mello or Raito would have had time to approach all three, but made a mental note to verify this later. Mello may have already contacted Roger, but it was highly unlikely that Roger had already confirmed that he would give Mello extra help and have notified the school.

What were the chances that B had happened to kill all three of the victims in one night on his own accord? Although L did not put drastic action past B, he knew that B would want confirmation of an audience before putting on a show. This meant that B knew that L, or someone working for L, was watching him. Yet, it was still unlikely that B would coincidentally take this action at the same time that L had figured out his pattern. No, it was impossible. This meant that B was somehow getting information on L's progress.

Someone was giving B information.

L refused to believe that Raito or Mello would betray him, but they were the only two that he had told his reasoning to. Wether or not he thought they would conspire against him, all facts pointed to the affirmative. Taking another bite of cake, L went over the candidates for B's next three victims. He wrote the first two down on a new sheet of butcher paper, but instead of writing the third he wrote the name of a boy that he had immediately ruled out due to economic stance and grade. He then notified Mello and Raito, telling them to come to the hotel room immediately.

The trap was set.

After L's impromptu meeting, and the grave news that it carried, Raito and Mello had been told to go back to their rooms and not take any immediate actions. Raito had to admit that he was slightly annoyed that L didn't want his help figuring out what to do next. Yet, given his unsorted emotional (and hormonal) state, he was relieved that he wouldn't have to be around the detective of a long period of time.

"Sayu, I need to ask you a very, very serious question and you are not aloud to laugh at me."

Since L's arrival, Raito had been keeping his phone calls to his family short. Every second of his spare time became devoted to his studies, since he couldn't use the fact that he was busy solving a murder case with the world's greatest detective as an excuse to his teachers or parents for hid grades slipping. His parents didn't seem to mind the quick conversations, but Sayu wanted to gossip and tell him about every little thing that was happening to her. If she was bitter for him cutting her time, this conversation would surely make up for it.

"Okay," she agreed. "Unless you're asking about birth control, because I can't contain my reaction to that subject."

"What? No." Sometimes he had no idea how thoughts got themselves into her head.

"Alright, then I won't laugh," she told him.

"Promise?" he sounded far more ernest that he intended to.

"Now you're making me nervous," she said.

"Sorry," he ran a hand through his hair. "It's just...what makes you think I'm gay?"

"That's what this is about?" She exclaimed loudly, and he heard her guffaw through the phone.

"You said you wouldn't laugh," he muttered.

"Sorry." He could clearly picture the smug grin on her face.

"Well?" he impatiently drummed his fingers on his desk.

"If I said I can just tell this sort of thing...?"

"I would hang up on you," Raito confirmed.

"Okay," she paused, presumably collecting her thoughts. "Well, where do I start?"

"Is the answer that complicated," Raito had been under the impression that he came off as straight to most people.

"It's mainly the way you present yourself," she decided. "You care more about your appearance than most men."

"But not excessively," he argued. "Wanting to look nice has nothing to do with sexual orientation."

"Do you want my answers or not?" she asked.

"Sorry," he decided to hold his tongue. "Continue."

"There's the fact that I don't remember you having a single girlfriend in your entire high school experience," she added. "But I think we've already gone over that. Why is this bothering you so much?"

"No reason," he lied.

"Did you meet a boy at school?" Sayu burst into a new fit of giggles.

"No."

"You're such a liar," she declared.

"Fine," he sighed. He'd have to tell her at some point, right? "Maybe I met someone I'm attracted to."

"Oh my God!" It was hard to tell, but he could have sworn he could hear her jumping up and down. "What's his name? What does he look like? Did you tell him you're into him?"

"One question at a time," he told her.

"Fine," she stopped jumping. "Name first."

"Ryuzaki."

"He's Japanese?" she asked.

"Yes..." Raito wasn't sure on this. "It's hard to tell with him."

"Is he handsome?" Sayu asked in an airy voice.

"Unconventionally so," Raito answered honestly.

"Most people just say 'yes,' " she let him know.

"I thought you wanted a genuine answer," he teased.

"I do," she said. "What makes him so 'unconventional.' "

Raito considered this.

"He has very bad sleep bruises," Raito thought of the rings that were closer to black than purple.

"Hm?"

"Bags under his eyes," Raito clarified.

"Those are bruises?"

"Yes, those are bruises," he answered. "I don't think Ryuzaki sleeps much."

"Are you saying you're turned on by this, because that's kinda creepy," Sayu sounded more amused than disturbed.

"You know that's not what I meant," he let some annoyance seep through his voice. "It's just, contrasting with how pale his skin is, they're kind off..."

"Hot?"

"Alluring," he corrected.

"Is he smart?" Sayu asked.

"He's a genius," Raito admitted.

"Good," she sounded relieved. "Or else you'd drive the poor guy crazy."

"I think I do that anyway." Raito recalled how ferociously L had responded when he had tried to convince him to use the death note.

"Does he know you're into him?" she asked bluntly.

"No," Raito couldn't picture himself telling any man, much less L, that he had feelings for him. How would L even react to that?

"Why not?" Sayu asked.

He couldn't tell her the real reason to this. If he said that he was working for Ryuzaki or that he didn't even know how old the man was, Sayu's excitement would turn to concern.

"He doesn't see me in that way," Raito said aloud.

"How do you know?" She asked. "Most people keep their feelings hidden, the way that you are with him. Maybe he's doing the same thing."

"He isn't," Raito was certain of this.

Even when he is taking me seriously, he still sees me as a child. Raito leaned his head on his fist. He wasn't used to this longing that now filled him.

"It doesn't matter," Raito decided. "It wouldn't last anyway."

"You're very pessimistic," Sayu told him flatly.

"And very correct," he informed her.

"Like that really matter's when you're in love."

"I didn't say I liked him that much," Raito muttered. "Besides, I don't think he's gay."

"Oh," Sayu seemed not to expect this. "That sucks."

"Not really," he made his tone light. "It's better this way."

"You're really sad, you know?"

"I wasn't aware," he said dryly.

"Well now you are." He pictured her placing a hand on her hip as she spoke.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" He was ready to be alone with his thoughts.

"You better," she warned.

"I don't think I have to say that everything we just discussed stays between you and me." He waited for her affirmative.

"I won't tell Mom and Dad," she confirmed.

"Thanks."

Raito ended the call and flopped on this bed. His neglected homework sat tauntingly on his desk. He debated getting up to complete it or simply going to sleep. The latter won. He let himself drift off, trying as hard as he could to keep his thoughts far away from the dark haired detective.

Loyalty was never something that L needed to call into question before. The few who knew his private information about had known this since he first became L. Because he had never placed an large extent of his trust in some he did not know for years, L had never before felt the sting of betrayal and heartbreak at his own foolishness.

Beyond had killed the three boys that L voiced his suspicion on. This included the third boy that L knew B had not originally set his sights on. The only way for B to have known about this victim was if Mello or Raito had leaked the information to him.

Mello was young, rash, and more prideful than L had counted on. He would be lying to himself if he said that Mello didn't remind him of Beyond Birthday at that age. The both of them were second best and nearly driven mad by their motivation to prove that they were more capable than their proceeder. Had Beyond tried to use the boy against L, there was always a chance that it would work.

Yet, Mello was not a killer. L had known this since the boy was first selected as his second successor. Although the emotion that the boy felt could be harmful to himself and others, L knew that Mello's heart was always in the right place. Even if he hated L, and despite the respect L could tell that there was a small degree of resentment, Mello would not ally himself with a serial killer.

That left Raito.

Since L had first talked to Raito he had felt that the two of them were cut from the same cloth. He may have questioned Raito's morals when they had argued over what to do with the death note, but never had L thought that the boy would turn against him. What motivation did he have? Then again, what motivation did Raito have not to hurt L?

They had only been working together for a few months. The only loyalty that Raito would possess toward L would have been gained through his initial admiration of the detective. Admiration was something that L doubted his constant toying had upheld. On the other hand through teasing Raito, L had thought a bond between the two of them had grown. Raito could have been acting. The more L thought about it, the more he remembered the boy's skill at charming his way into the good opinion of others. L had always thought that he was immune to this sort of behavior, but he had never met someone like Raito Yagami before.

L picked up his mobile phone and dialed the familiar number. He needed answers and there was only one way to get them.

"Raito-kun?" His voice conveyed nothing.

"L," Raito greeted him.

L could clearly picture the smile on the boy's face. The smile that had to be false.

"I have gained important information," L told him. "I need you at the hotel room immediately."

"I'm on my way," Raito answered.

It was currently the beginning of the school day, and L reasoned that it would take Raito longer than usual to sneak off campus.

"Good." He hung up and prepared for his 'friend's' arrival.

The hotel suit had three rooms, the living room (where L met with Raito and Mello), the kitchen (where L stored his cake), the bedroom (which L only entered to change his clothes), and the bathroom. Not wanting to interrogate Raito in the room closest to the entrance, the bedroom was the ideal location. L entered the bedroom and pushed the small, lumpy bed so it was now adjacent to the wall. In the middle of the room he dragged one of the chairs from the living room. He debated bringing the coffee table as well, but decided that if he needed a table he could use the bed.

A swift kick to the head should be sufficient. He reasoned when he heard a nock on the door.

The back of Raito's head ached. It took seconds for his groggy mind to register that he was not lying on his bed. He tried to move his arms, but felt a cold and metallic restraint holding them behind him. His eyes opened to nothing, and he realized that he was blindfolded as well. Firm panic settled into his gut as he desperately tried to remember what had last happened to him.

L called me, he recalled. Was I jumped again on the way to the hotel?

No, he remembered walking through the lobby and up the stairs. Everything was coming back now. He had only just entered the room when something hard had whacked against his head. He hadn't seen who or what had hit him.

No, no, no! This isn't happening.

How was he still alive? If he was attacked in L's hotel room that had to mean Beyond Birthday had found them.

Beyond Birthday found L.

What if L was dead? Raito didn't have the time to be surprised that he was more fearful over the detective's fate than his own. Burning terror filled Raito, and he began to struggle wildly against what had to be handcuffs that were fastening him to a chair.

"Raito-kun, stop moving," a familiar voice instructed him.

Raito froze. L was talking to him. That meant L was safe. Relief rushed over Raito but was diminished just as quickly.

"What is going on?" he demanded.

"You tell me, Raito-kun," L's voice was more threatening that Raito had ever heard it.

"I can't tell you anything when I have no idea why you handcuffed me to a chair," he growled back.

"Think," L told him. "Pretend it's a game. You like games, don't you Raito-kun? You like games almost as much as B does."

Why was L comparing him to Beyond Birthday? Something happened. Raito must have done something. Awareness that he was now on very dangerous ground cooled his initial rage.

"I don't know what I did to deserve your distrust," he spoke slower now.

"Why don't you think on that," L suggested harshly. "I'll come back in a hour or so."

"No!" Raito knew he would drive himself crazy being stuck like this for a long period of time. "Is this about the death note?"

"You mean this piece of paper that I found inside your wallet?" L asked. "I had my suspicions, but thank you for confirming what it is."

"I wasn't going to use it," Raito heard how frantic his voice was.

"Then why did you keep it?"

"I don't know," Raito lied.

"Wrong answer."

"I kept it incase I needed it," Raito confessed. "For an emergency. I had a feeling that you'd take the notebook away, and I wanted some security incase I was attacked again."

There was a silence, and Raito hoped that this meant L was considering his argument.

"The death note is not why you are restrained and blindfolded," L informed him.

"I haven't done anything else wrong!" Raito desperately exclaimed.

"I have no reason to trust anything that you say to me," L snapped.

"You think I betrayed you?" Raito drew this out, not knowing any other reason why L would have knocked him out.

"Yes," L confirmed.

"You think I'm working with Beyond Birthday?" Raito's shock bled through his voice, but he doubted that this would sway L's opinion of him.

"It would make everything easier if Raito-kun would confess to what he has done," L said.

"I'm not working with a mass murderer!" Raito's anger was back.

"I suppose that Mello was the one who has been passing information to B, then?"

"Passing information?" Raito recalled the sudden deaths of the last three victims.

"Yes," L replied. "You and Mello were the only ones who I told."

"You think I'd betray you before he would?" Ratio snarled. "I have no reason to go against you."

"Do you remember why we first met?" L's tone shifted as he asked this.

"We were both working on that case back in Japan," Raito answered.

"And why, exactly, were you involved Raito-kun?" The way L asked this made it clear to Raito that he already knew the answer. "You're a high-school student, and the fact that you had to contact me directly proves that you knew that working on it was not your place."

"I knew they wouldn't take mer seriously," Raito said honestly. "I thought that you'd listen to what I had to say before dismissing me because of my age."

"But why was it so important for you to help on that case?" L pressed. "What was motivating you? And we both know it was not your burning need to prevent more deaths."

"I was bored," Raito heard himself shout. "Helping with the case was more stimulating than my everyday life, and for those few months I wasn't plagued with the boredom that comes with being a genius."

"Boredom can cause many to do unspeakable things, Raito-kun."

"Don't you dare twist my words against me!" Raito seethed.

"Here is what I think happened," L continued, ignoring Raito's last comment. "Up until I denied you the death note, you saw me as a means to cure your boredom. Having to uproot your life in order to solve this case must have been the most exciting thing you've ever experience. However, when I refused to let you play with the murder weapon you and Amane-san acquired, you realized that I had too many rules.

"As any childish person would know, rules obstruct excitement and indirectly enforce boredom. From there you decided to help Beyond, a man who arguably has no rules and could provide the entertainment you crave. Should Beyond prove too challenging to handle, you could always kill him with the death note. That is, if you decided to make the deal for the shinigami eyes, or had Amane-san get the eyes for you. Am I correct, Raito-kun?"

"No."

"Would you like to provide a counter argument?" Raito imagined L leering as he said this.

"No."

"That's alright," L's voice was back to neutral. "You can take as much time as you need, but I doubt that your acting skills will last forever."

"Go to hell," Raito hissed.

"What was that?"

"You're wrong about me," Raito said a little louder.

"Raito-kun, I am rarely wrong about anything," L remarked.

"I don't understand how you can think those things. I may be bored with normalcy, but I wouldn't go so far as to hurt innocent people to cure my boredom. I wouldn't betray someone that placed so much of their trust in me. I don't hurt people that I care about!" Raito felt tears sting his eyes and was oddly grateful for the blind fold concealing them. "I thought we were friends."

"So did I," L whispered.

"See," Raito force his voice still. "That's something that you were wrong about."

"I don't intend on being wrong about Raito-kun again," L said darkly. "You will not be released until you confess and tell me where Beyond is."

Raito heard L open and close the door. He waited then seconds before letting a shuttering sigh escape his lips. His head dropped between his shoulders as he did his best to force away the tears of frustration and rejection.

I feel like I bully Raito-kun in all my stories...

Callicanios, it's okay to swat Light with a newspaper (I just made L tie him to a chair). I wanted the throw the death note in there because I feel like it's out of character for Light not to have some Kira thoughts (and I wanted to work with the Kira thoughts). Your reviews always make my day! Thanks!

Kiii, thank you so much for what you said about my portal of Misa. I also don't like when she's shown as "in the way of Light and L" especially since cannon Light has no romantic feels towards her.

Guest, thanks for your review!

Blazedoll, thanks for your review!