Watari stepped into the office he had once called his own, Roger obediently in tow behind him. He paused momentarily as he passed through the doorway, reflecting nostalgically upon all the times that were spent here, both the good and the bad, and all of the various capricious little rugrats that had stormed both in and out of this institution at some point. This "house" of his truly was his life's work, his dream, laid out before him. Solid to the touch. Roger sat down at his desk and started organizing paperwork as Watari gazed wistfully out the window and at the world outside.

The world he had dedicated his life preparing these special children for.

Its citizens, whom he had dedicated his life preparing these special children to protect.

"It's good to be back, Roger." He hadn't regretted a single minute of it.

"Well, Quillish, I suppose it does stimulate the old mind theater to be back where it all began, eh?" Roger said, feeling a hint that Watari could use the extra pep.

"Indeed." he replied, still stargazing, in a monotone that suggested he didn't actually catch whatever it was Roger had just said.

"What is it that's bothering you, sir? Is it the boy, Nakanishi? As we discussed over the phone, it really was nothing vital enough that demanded the attention of both you and Ryuzaki."

"No, Roger. Not Ryuta…" he replied, trailing off.

"Ah." said Roger, feeling a sly grin begin to creep upon him. "So this is about your boy then, is it? Ryuzaki seems in high spirts, sir. Well, high by his rather unorthodox standards, I'd suppose, but…"

"He's growing up, Roger. All this time I spend at his side, and still I am caught surprised to see my student become a teacher himself."

"That is indeed the parent's way, sir."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thank you again, Ryuzaki-sama." Ryuta said in the reverent tone that L was finding difficult to get used to. "When I originally heard you were devoting special attention on my behalf, I assumed you were going to attempt to parent me. I appreciate your offer of friendship as opposed to that."

"Huh?" L was momentarily distracted by the donut-kebab that had beautifully made its way into his life. "Oh, it's nothing, Ryuta-kun, and please, just Ryuzaki is fine." The two were playing chess, both hunched awkwardly, and L had just decided on his move. "I'm not used to being addressed with such honorifics."

"If you insist, Ryuzaki." Ryuta made his countermove. "So no tennis? I have to admit, I was kinda looking forward to that actually. We seriously don't get enough P.E. in this place."

"As intricate of a game as tennis is, Ryuta-kun, I was hoping to get to know you on a more… cerebral level first."

That could mean a lot of things. "Fair enough."

L picked up his white knight and twiddled it back and forth between his thumb and the base of his index finger, focusing on it entirely, as if the two were having a silent conversation over what move he should make. "Those I have worked with in the past have made the mistake of assuming that what I do is but a game to me, that the people and consequences involved have no intrinsic value as far as I'm concerned. I cannot begin to stress to you how inaccurate this notion is." He moved the knight, taking one of Ryuta's pawns.

"But you do treat your cases like games, don't you?" Ryuta said, taking a pawn in return.

L looked up from the game board, wide-eyed and with that devilish smile that, Ryuta surmised, came about only when L was genuinely intrigued or impressed by whatever he had just heard.

"What is your basis for the question?" L answered back, and in the process took the knight Ryuta left open with his last move. "A conclusion lacking a beginning and a middle is about as valuable as it is tangible."

"True. I guess I just think it's how I would be, in your position. They tell me we're similar in method if not necessarily skill; I guess I could see that somewhat. It's hard to take something you excel at seriously on a consistent basis. You solve so many cases rhey probably start to resemble equations to solve rather than any sort of dire situation. Turning it into a game keeps things..." He trailed off in search for the words. "I don't know, interesting." Ryuta took another pawn.

"Perhaps," he conceded, "but while your reasoning is impressive - and since we are here playing chess at the moment, allow me to segue to a particular story someone once told me that will help better illustrate my point." He shifted his gaze fully to Ryuta. "A man was paying a chess grandmaster to play against him. Each game would end with the master winning. This became a regular appointment and the master was able to supplement his income rather handsomely with these games."

Ryuta nodded along, as if he wasn't having enough difficulty figuring out what his next move against a player the caliber of L should be without having to follow this story now as well.

"One day, the master arrived at the conclusion that perhaps he should let the man win a game, so as not to discourage him. After all, if the man lost interest and stopped playing, the grandmaster would surely lose this substantial income."

Ryuta finally settled on a move, and showed his obvious frustration, already knowing that it was a futile play.

"So they play again, and this time the master intentionally loses the game. After that, the man never invited the master back for another game." L makes his next move almost unconsciously, in perfect rhythm with his cadence. "Upon further inquiring from the master, the man tells him 'I wanted to beat the grandmaster and so I did. I don't need to play anymore games."

Ryuta was silent at first, opting instead to concentrate on what the least embarrassing way to lose would be before shifting his attention back to Ryuzaki. "Hm. Okay, so what's the point of the story for you?"

L's demeanor grew uncharacteristically serious. "I always play to win, Ryuta-kun. No matter the stakes." Suddenly it seemed as if Ryuta was looking at a whole different detective. "In a game, a person can play and lose without any real sort of consequence. As L, I can't afford to lose. Ever." L moved his knight a final time, and quickly fell back to his usual vacant smile. "I believe that's checkmate?"

It was incredible for Ryuta. He had never lost a game of chess in his life, and Ryuzaki, half-distracting himself no less, just went straight on through as if he were playing a different game entirely. If the board had been a stage, it would have looked like Ryuta was constantly trying to improvise his lines while the great detective just sat back and read the script of what was already written to happen.

"Hn. Good game. Don't worry though, I'll find something to beat you at before you leave." Ryuta promised. "Right now though I think I could go for a steak. Care to join me?"

"Gladly. Come, Watari has already had a cart prepared for us…"

"He's everything they made him out to be, that's for sure."

The pair headed down the corridor and around the corner to their mutually favorite room of the building, the dining hall. Students at Wammy's House, due to their international roster, could find the finest cuisine from every corner of the world in this room, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and everywhere in between.

"Watch where you're going." a voice said, bumping shoulders with Ryuta as they walked into the hall.

"What the -" Ryuta stumbled a step and spun around to put a face behind the voice that -

Mello. Figured. He was usually well-intended enough, Ryuta thought, but a little too self-serving for his own good. Never quite played well with others. The guy behind him was Matt, Mello's best - and probably only - friend. Soft-spoken usually, but there was certainly nothing soft about his language when he did speak up. Kid had the mouth of a sailor. Ryuta never really understood where one of Wammy's kids could even pick up a mouth like that. The two were inseparable more often than not.

"I said watch where you're going, lapdog!" he belted out. Matt made a half-hearted show at holding him back.

L had spent quite enough time at Wammy's in his life as it was to put up with more tried and tired schoolyard drama. "Mello-kun." he calmly scolded.

"Eru-sama!" he immediately bowed, quite low in fact given L's posture. "Forgive me for speaking freely, but this outcast has done nothing to earn your apprenticeship!"

"I'm not his -"

L stepped in again. "All these conclusions today without due diligence... Mello-kun, Ryuta-kun here is not my apprentice. We are merely getting to know one another." He leaned in closer. "We've discussed 'rationale before action' before, haven't we?"

"Yes sir. My apologies. Come on, Matt, let's go."

"Yeah." Matt said, and the two hurried off, rightfully embarrassed.

"It appears our friendship has made you somewhat of a target around here?" L quickly asked, even though he had clearly just witnessed his own answer.

"Yeah well…" He trailed off. "I don't sweat Mello. Guy's just got a hard-on for you."

L stood there quizzically, index finger fish-hooked on his bottom lip.

"Nevermind. Come on, I feel like we're never going to eat."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in Roger's office, the night was growing old, but Roger still couldn't shake the feeling that something was bothering Watari. He didn't have the smile he was so accustomed to seeing. Quieter than his normal self. But then, as if becoming aware of his own negative body language, Watari took the initiative to speak up.

"We haven't been entirely forward with you, Roger, and I'm sorry for that."

Roger looked up from his papers, caught off guard. "W-What is it, Quillish?" He squinted slightly and paused. "Is there something about the Nakanishi boy that should be brought to my attention?"

Watari stiffened. He never liked the idea of what he did.

Roger pressed. "Who is he?"

He was an exception, even for them.

"We told him his family was murdered." Watari said.

His idea.

"…And?"

Was there an alternative?

"That's not entirely a true statement."