Well, I seem to be getting better. So...here's the next chapter. But ugh...so much math with the ages. I practically spent an hour on it last night just trying to sort all of it out. But yay! Enter A and B.

Jadedone-Heh, yep. According to the thirteenth manga, L is supposedly part Japanese, part English, part Russian, and part Italian or French. Yeah, I don't think Sasori trusts Orochimaru enough to let him babysit. Now Tobi...that could have quite an amusing turnout. About the candy thing...yeah, I just couldn't resist. And I find the image of Orochi with sugar and a crouch practically fanart-worthy. Heh. About Tobi, I'll never tell. At least not yet. But yes, Kabuto and Itachi shall be making an entrance quite soon. And...I'm not entirely sure I can imagine L with red hair, but I'm certainly trying now. Orochi and Kira meeting...gah...I don't think the world is ready for that. XD

Kikino-Aw, thank you! I'm starting to feel better...still a bit sore, but an adjustment from my chiropractor helped quite a bit. And yep, L is talking now! Now L can begin rivaling Kidomaru in conversing about percetages. As for the candy...heh, I'll never tell. Not yet, anyway.

thexamimi-Really? I'm glad you like the fic. I agree, Chibi L and Sasori are quite kawaii. No worries, Deidei shall be in this fanficceh. As for the grammar...heh, yeah, it's kinda something I'm used to. Mello's gonna be making his appearance...actually pretty soon, if all goes well. And as usual, Matt won't be far behind.

Disclaimer...I do not own Naruto! Nor Death Note, nor Another Note. So do not sic lawyers on me! All they could possibly get is ramen and maybe a little change.

Time passed quickly.

Perhaps it only seemed like that, since he could really no longer age…since he could no longer feel the passage of time wearing and tearing at his body. But a few weeks had quickly become a year, and an official caretaker-a godparent or something of the sort-had yet to be found for L.

But then, considering the state he had found the boy in…would he just end up undoing everything he had done if he gave him away at this point?

Whatever the case, the passage of time had brought them into the month of October. Halloween had been the first thing that would naturally come to mind, but he had come to learn at some point that it was also L's birthday. His seventh one, to be precise.

However, that day…rather than L receiving a surprise, it was the other way around.

The day was going by just like any other day. Working, reading, mostly silence… Surprisingly, L hadn't complained about the lack of caring for his special day, but then again…it was actually rare for him to ever complain, really. L did seem a bit more distracted than usual, thinking more than reading, possibly even debating on something inwardly. But it wasn't until around noon that that Sasori had received his surprise.

"Sasori-san..?" L spoke up from the back of the room, nibbling on his thumbnail.

Sasori didn't look back at him, but acknowledged the imploration. "Hm?"

"I…" There was the sound of L climbing to his feet and closing a book, crossing to room to stand beside him. Briefly, Sasori inwardly noted that L still wasn't that much taller than the day he had first spoken, and wondered if it was the damage done to his spine had stunted his growth. "I learned something new… Would you like to see?"

The redhead was tempted to reply that no, he was too busy for such petty matters. But after a few moments of consideration, he figured that he could spare a couple minutes to humor the child. "Sure," he replied, setting down his tools to turn to L and look down at him.

L smiled a little at this response. Had he already anticipated that Sasori would say yes, or was he just happy that his caretaker had decided to comply? In any case, he held out the book he had been reading and placed a hand on the middle of the cover, concentrating for a moment.

What was this? All he was doing was holding a boo-

…No… It couldn't possibly…

But as the hand underneath the book slowly began to draw away, it became clear that…L was. The book didn't fall away, even though it had no support underneath. There was nothing holding onto the book…so all that could possibly be was…

…Chakra…

For a moment, L didn't seem to notice Sasori's shock. Instead, he proudly explained that he had heard of chakra and jutsu from the others around here. While nobody really seemed too willing to teach him, he instead learned how to do this trick in one of the books he had read, and had been practicing how to do it all by himself for a while.

It was at that moment that Sasori truly realized: this was no ordinary child. This boy was…special.

Noticing the redhead's reaction, L looked up at him and stared, unblinking eyes innocent and…a little worried. Did he do something wrong? Did he do something to make Sasori-san angry at him? Perhaps there was a reason that Sasori-san hadn't taught him how to use chakra...

This break in his concentration was worsened by the sudden jolt of unequally distributed weight, causing his hand to dip a little. There was the sound of pages rustling, the book falling open but the cover still being held to L's hand. But that little interruption, that break in concentration had only served to make the surprise even more of a shock: not only had L been holding onto the book with chakra concentrated into his palm, but…he had been using his chakra to hold the book shut, as well.

For the second time of keeping L in his care, Sasori wondered if he should consider providing the child with some instruction. This time, he didn't oppose the idea so immediately. Granted, the book wasn't nearly as thick as many of the other books that L tended to read, so it wouldn't be too heavy. Even so...it was clear that this boy had talent. It would be a shame, no, a crime to let that talent take on no direction and languish… If nothing else, it wouldn't do too much harm to at least instruct him in the basics.

Without a word, he reached down to take the book from L's hand. It came away easily enough, and he straightened to open it and flip through the pages. The Shinobi's Path, Volume One: The Beginning. Of course…

"Sa…sori-san?" L spoke up, a worried frown on his face. His caretaker's silence was unnerving… He did do something wrong, didn't he?

But instead, Sasori shut the book and set it down on the table. "It's your birthday today, isn't it?" he asked, putting some of his tools away. It was around L's lunchtime, anyway. He made his way to the door. "Let's get you something at the market…"

The worried frown first went from a look of surprise, but then to a smile as L nodded, quickly following after the scorpion.

...

Lovatt would be seven today.

Seven years old, if he were still alive.

Quillish Whammy let out a sigh, looking at the photo that sat at the corner of his desk. It had been taken three years prior, showing himself, one of his college students-a young woman with long black hair named Emiko, and Emiko's son Lovatt-a small, thin, cheerful little boy with wild black hair and wide eyes.

But that had all changed after the accident.

It had happened one day when Emiko was picking up Lovatt from painting lessons. It had been particularly rainy that day…storming, really. The rain had been pounding down, much thicker than just a sheet. The car had spun out of control…

Emiko had been killed instantly. Her son survived.

Mr. Whammy had been the godfather of Lovatt, but he had been unable to gain custody. Rather, Lovatt had been sent to live with his father…and in turn, ended up enduring so much abuse from the drunkard. Even so, he would come visit the boy every October 31st. He would give Lovatt a birthday gift and large slice of cake, and Lovatt would tell him about all of the many things he had learned since he had last seen the inventor. But…the child never did paint again.

All the same, Lovatt had clearly proven himself to be a genius.

But things had been getting worse. When Lovatt was in the hospital for a great deal of time due to spinal damage (which, his spine was already in poor shape due to the accident; a shove down a flight of stairs only made it worse), Mr. Whammy had filed for legal custody a second time, right then and there, but to no avail.

Even after that little incident, as soon as Lovatt was out of the hospital and returned home, the abuse had begun to escalate further. Finally he received a call from Lovatt. The child sounded quite frightened.

"Mr.…Mr. Whammy? This is Lovatt… Please come here, right away. He seems serious this time. I'm afraid he might-"

The phone had gone dead.

Mr. Whammy had rushed to the scene as fast as he could, but all he was greeted by was an empty doorway that was wet with more than just rainwater, the absence of a child, and an enraged drunken parent.

Forensics scoured the scene and found bloodstains in the doorway.

John Lawliet swore up and down that he didn't know where the boy had gone, and that he certainly hadn't killed him. But he was arrested all the same. This was the same man that dubbed the abuse he'd inflicted upon Lovatt as 'light disciplining,' after all. The case was difficult to win without a body, but Mr. Whammy had hired some of the best lawyers in the Great Britain, and there had been a great deal of circumstantial forensic evidence.

The jury deliberated…

John Lawliet received twenty years in prison.

But he continued to swear that he hadn't done anything to Lovatt, and he wouldn't reveal where the body had been hidden.

Mr. Whammy hoped to find poor Lovatt's remains someday, and bury the boy next to Emiko so he could actually rest in peace…it would be the least he could do.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his office door creaking open. A pale, thin boy with messy chestnut hair and blue eyes quickly crossed the room, a frown on his face. "Mr. Whammy," he said. For a seven year-old, he certainly tried to conduct himself like an adult. But his tone was frustrated, agitated. "You have got to do something about B! He won't stop following me around and telling me that I have only five more years to live."

"I'm is only saying what's true…" a quiet monotone said from the doorway. The first boy-A-whirled around to look at the six year-old that stood in the doorway.

B-a boy that looked and acted eerily similar to Lovatt with his messy black hair and bent back and wide eyes…though red, not black-calmly sucked on his thumb as he pleaded his case to the orphanage owner. "Apple Azure will die at the age of twelve years. That's when his lifespan will run out; I've seen it happen before."

A turned back to Mr. Whammy with a look of exasperation. "You see?" he demanded. "He won't stop! And he must've been going through the files or something, because as you instructed, I haven't told anybody my name, not even to the other kids here!"

"You're just angry because of your disadvantage…" B replied calmly. "That I can see your name and lifespan but you can't see mine."

Mr. Whammy sighed. B was brilliant, practically equal to Lovatt himself. But there were times when he was left wondering about B's sanity…like now, for instance. He was used to strange behavior, really. He even encouraged it in the other children, but when it began to scare the other orphans, that's where problems began to develop. So hence, B had managed to grab the title of successor, but it was A that Mr. Whammy had officially taken under his wing.

"B…" he began. "This is a very serious matter. You can't be sneaking into my office and looking at personal records and documents, even if you are A's successor-"

"But Mr. Whammy, I didn't. You can check for fingerprints if you don't believe me."

Of all the days…

"B," Mr. Whammy said firmly. "A's role is a very important one, but it is also very dangerous. He can't afford to have his name given away freely. I realize that you are A's successor, but this is the fifth time you've broken into the records and scared the other children. If you can't behave then you will be punished for your misdeeds."

Wide red eyes were focusing on something above Mr. Whammy's head, like they often tended to do, but then looked away. "…I understand," B replied quietly. He looked over at A, tilting his head to the point where it appeared that he lacked bones in his neck. "I apologize, Azure." He turned to go, but then as an afterthought he added, "…I'll let you find out for yourself, come five years' time. And then I will truly surpass you and take your place…"

And with that, he was gone.

A stared at the open doorway for a moment, mouth hanging open from shock and outrage. Mr. Whammy sighed.

…He really needed to hire his friend Roger for these things.

Author's Note-Gah...short. But I have at least brought in B and explained a few things about L's past. Um...for anyone that doesn't know who B/BB/Beyond Birthday is, he's a character in Another Note: LA BB Murder Cases, and he was born with Shinigami eyes. Anyways, please review! Evil flames will be set on fire by B (did that even make sense?)