A/N: Yaaay! I got such wonderful reviews! You're all such lovely readers, I swear. Anyway... And now you find out why there are five chapters even though there are only four stages! L APPEARANCE FOR THE WIN! -Gushes and gurgles happily- ...lol sorry about that, but L is my all-time favorite character. I love him even more than Mello, and I've been looking for ways to slip him into my MelloxNear DN stories for... well, ever. I could not allow this opportunity to pass me by. Even though it means taking a lot of liberties with the timeline that may or may not be AU. I don't know exactly how long Mello and Near were supposed to have been in the orphanage together before the whole L... thing... -dies of sadness, again, but resurrects- But uh, yeah... so I just made some assumptions for the sake of the story. These assumptions do not apply to my other stories. So Mello and Near are in the story, for the sake of the timeline, about thirteen (Mello) and eleven (Near). That is all.
Disclaimer: Nope. No Deathnote owning goin' on here.
Interlude: L's Visit
It was surprisingly long before Mello ran into Near in the flesh again. Near was more often than not found in the first floor playroom and Mello saw no reason to seek him out. Not until he had a victory to rub in the albino's face anyway. So they went on, each following his own schedule, until one special day. The one day a year that L himself came to visit the orphanage.
It was a different day every year, for security purposes. The youngest orphans were put to bed early, the older but lower-ranking orphans were sent on a field trip. Only the five highest ranking orphans were permitted to attend the L visit. At the moment, those rankings were thus:
1. Near
2. Mello
3. Matt
4. Core
5. Octo
Octo was a freckled glasses-wearing boy who liked gossiping, microbiology, and not much else. Core was a black-haired girl who was quite tall for her age (ten) and very self-conscious about it; her specialty was forensics. When the five met in the parlor of Wammy's House, Mello was in a particularly poisonous mood. This would be his first L visit where he wasn't the highest rank. Matt stood, as always, just behind Mello and played his game. If the redhead was a little more desperately focused on his game than usual, his goggles would prevent anyone from noticing.
Near was in a corner of the room, sitting in his usual position. His expression was just as apathetic as ever, although he was twirling his hair rather violently. Core was leaning against a wall with her knees bent and her hands in her pockets. She was chewing fiercely on her bottom lip, which looked as though no amount of chapstick would restore it, and her eyes kept darting around anxiously. Octo was carefully staying as far away from Mello as possible, even though the blonde's rage was clearly directed at the albino in the corner.
This was the scene that L, accompanied by Roger and Watari, walked into. The detective inspected the orphans carefully as he moved to an easychair in the center of the room, where he assumed his usual position of knees against chest and bare toes curling over the cushions edge. Near, having never met L before although he'd heard a great deal about him, was returning the examination full-force.
"Well… Hello to you all." L began. Core blushed and cut her own lip with a particularly hard bite, though if she noticed it she gave no sign. Octo shoved his glasses up his nose. Matt shut off and tucked away his game, and Mello transferred his attention from glaring hatefully at Near to an idolizing gaze resting upon L. "I see that someone new is here… and that Linda has had to abstain this year. I don't believe I know you…?"
"…I'm Near." Near stated simply, and tugged at his white hair viciously. He didn't seem to have anything else to say.
"Ah yes. Well, as you all know, this is no mere orphanage, but a training facility in which young geniuses can hope to become the world's next greatest detective. The next L." L continued. "On that note, I must inform you that my visits here will be ceased until further notice."
"What!? But you only visit once a year!" Mello protested. "If you're taking on a new case, surely it won't be that long before you've solved it!" L smiled at the blonde.
"As you deduced, Mello, I am planning to take on a new case. The Kira case, in fact." L replied. There was a gasp from Core, and Octo cleared his throat once or twice, though he remained silent. L went on. "Kira is very dangerous, that much I know already. I do not want my visits to be hazardous to you, myself, or Watari. I cannot yet say how long the case will take to solve, but one thing is certain. Kira is not your average murderer, at least not in the method he uses, and I have surmised that he is quite intelligent in his own right. Therefore I am informing you now, so that I may do it personally, in the event that the case does span years." Silence reigned.
"Kira has killed people in prisons, people who had no visitors. From this a guess can be chanced that he does not require physical contact to commit murder. Mind you, it's not proof, but the odds are good. If Kira does not need to make physical contact or even be in close proximity to his victims, then doesn't that mean that he could kill you if you go up against him?" Near asked, in what was the longest speech anyone in the orphanage had heard him make before. L appraised the small albino, as though trying to memorize every detail.
"That is true." L answered. Angered, and not to be outdone, Mello broke in.
"But Kira can't just kill anyone he wants. Only the criminals whose names and faces are known have been killed. So he probably needs one or both of those to kill someone." The blonde smirked, proud of his own realization. L raised an eyebrow and glanced between Mello and Near. L wouldn't have needed to be a genius to see that there was tension amidst those two. Then again, he had thought there probably would be. He was aware that Near was currently ranking higher than Mello, and that Mello did not take defeat well.
"I had already come to those conclusions. The question here is, why is it that you two seem to know so much about this case?" L inquired. "Has it not been made clear that you are merely in training here, and that it is not considered safe for you to be involved in any cases until you come of age or I die?" Mello and Near were quiet. L sighed. "Nevermind. I am proud of the two of you, that was incredibly good detective work considering where you likely obtained your information. However I do not want you meddling in any more active cases. Am I clear?" The two rivals nodded, Mello looked extremely pleased though. "Now, surely you all have more to talk about."
Hours passed as the five discussed their lessons, L alternately quizzing them, praising them, and correcting them. In the beginning all the orphans were able to speak, but slowly Mello and Near began dominating the conversation. Not long after a heated argument in which L proclaimed them both right, much to Mello's frustration, the black-haired detective rose from his seat to go.
"It has been a wonderful visit." L smiled warmly at the group of assembled children. "And I will see you as soon as the Kira case is solved." Just as L went to leave though, Near posed a final question.
"But what if you fail?"
Everyone in the room turned to stare at the small boy. The possibility hadn't even occurred to the other orphans. Fail? L couldn't fail. He was L.
"I won't." L stated confidently. "I wouldn't stand for it if I lost. I'll beat Kira, and see him punished for his crimes. Because I am justice. And justice always prevails." And with a small wave, L walked out.
TBC…
A/N: -Squees- OMGLISTHEBESTTHINGEVUR! -Cough- Sorry... BUTITSTRUE! -Ahem- Yes... So yeah, chapter is a bit longer then the previous one, though still short. But it has L, which (provided I did a good job of portraying L) makes it the best chapter so far. In my opinion anyway. Gawd I am such an L-fanatic. I'm going to go bash my head against the wall until I stop craving strawberry cheesecake and wanting to write an L/Raito lemon. I scare myself sometimes... Do keep up with the marvelous reviews please darlings!