A/N: I'm probably going to take longer to update the next chapter since I'm gonna start my exams next week.


Beyond Birthday rubbed his hands and fingers in a violent motion. It seemed as though he was trying to rip off his fingers during his outward gestures only to then smooth and massage the ever bruising red skin.

Once he had woken up that very morning- well, he didn't truly know if it was morning since the knowledge of time was a luxury he did not receive in his cell, a statement that didn't really bother him since time was a nuisance in the confined world of four walls- a laptop was mockingly staring at him from the other side of the room. The white laptop stood menacingly over a simple school desk which had only appeared recently; BB knew that was a fact, though the laptop's natural blend into the monochromatic cell led him to suspect that it were there all along.

Beyond Birthday continued rubbing his hands, a habit he had only created recently, though the purpose of it was a mystery to Beyond Birthday himself. He didn't know if he was angry, exited or simply anxious about the events that will inevitably unfold because of the presence of the laptop. His newly found habit did not do anything to subdue his feelings but rather enhanced them. Strong feelings had been absent in Beyond ever since he lost to L and labelled that as an act of betrayal from the world. Escape, a feat that Beyond Birthday could achieve easily, was not appealing to him since he had no plan or motivation to follow after such an act, and so he sat there pathetically in his cell waiting for his next visitor, a victim to his mind games.

Beyond Birthday finally stared directly at the laptop's camera. He knew his opponent had been watching, analyzing and judging him- an unfair advantage that came with his opponent's title. He waited for his opponent to make the first move, to disrupt the laptop's white screen with his Gothic black letter that would soon be followed by an altered robotic voice. Beyond Birthday didn't have to wait long as the letter L presented itself on the screen.

"Good evening" L stressed on the word 'evening' knowing about B's lack of knowledge of time and using that little hint as a sort of peace treaty.

'A peace treaty with a murderer is quite absurd, especially when you have bragging rights' BB thought 'that is, unless the murderer's help is needed'

BB smiled deviously at the realization of L's embarrassing need for his help.

"Hello L Lawliet." By using L's real name, something highly guarded and only known by a couple, BB had declined L's peace treaty.

A pause came from the screen, L was angered. BB's refusal had kept them in worse terms; where L once saw Beyond Birthday as simply a failed experiment, he now saw him as an enemy he would not lose to.

"What name do you go by now? Backup? B? Beyond Birthday? Or have you created a new name to fit that insane persona you've created?" L stated monotonously which contrasted with the feelings the words were drenched in.

"Oh Lawliet, I don't create the personas, they create me. Though, what happened to my latest name, Rue Ruyuzaki? Is it still mine or have you chosen to steal it from me?"

"I am simply burrowing it. I didn't think you'd have much use for it while being locked up as you are"

"Well you are not forgiven for stealing" he stated with an underlining message suggesting he was not simply talking about the name.

Beyond Birthday still blamed L for the lack of attention and love he received from everyone, including Wammy, and now he had added his lack of motivation and the world's betrayal on his mental list of 'All things that are L's fault'.

L did not reply to his statement instead settling on a smirk, something BB could not see but knew was happening for it was in L's nature to be prideful. L knew what BB had meant by his statement and he was glad. He was glad Wammy favored him and in no way was he ever going to share Wammy with BB, though BB would have done the same if he were in L's position.

"How do people not see the monster you are?" BB laughed out loud disguising the state of defeat he was in.

Beyond Birthday bit his thumb trying to hide the frustration he felt. L was a monster; he was an embodiment of the seven deadly sins- gluttony, lust, sloth, greed, wrath, envy and pride. A selfish being that always overshadowed BB and even when BB challenged him he chose to send someone else to hunt him down implying that BB was not in his league nor was he worth his time.

"Tell me Beyond, do the ends justify the means?" L asked.

"Only if you are the winner for then you don't have to suffer the consequences"

"Ah, aren't you a sore loser?"

"Takes one to know one"

"How immature"

"I repeat, it takes one to know one"

A light air surrounded them as they bonded. That very realization angered Beyond Birthday; he was not going to bond with L. He was not L; it took him getting burned alive to finally accept that fact. Though, after pretending to be L for so long, it was inevitable for him to adopt some of L's characteristics as his own.

"You are no better than I am. You kill, you destroy lives and you only help when the situation sparks your interest," BB stated returning the mood to a grim one.

"I only catch the criminals they are sentenced by the law depending on their crime"

"Yet you are a criminal who is never sentenced because you are protected by the law. Oh wait, no, you are not protected by the law you are the law," Beyond stated in a tone meant to insult the other.

Beyond Birthday hated the fact that L justified his wrong doings. A sinner that knows he should repent is much better than one who thinks god will overlook his sins simply because he himself did. L constantly states that he only accepts cases which interest him; that is only true because he seeks attention and attention interests him. L only chooses cases that are showy flowers, ones that are so beautifully different they attract all the butterflies. L does not care about the greater good he cares about the goodness of being great.

"As much as I'd love to win this argument, my time is precious and cannot be wasted," L stated smugly "I would like your input on a murder case"

BB was no going to allow L's disguised embarrassment slide by him undetected and unexploited.

"Oh, goodness! The world's three greatest detectives wants my help. I'm honored," Beyond pitched his voice and flung his arms around in excitement faking an exaggerated enthusiasm.

"I simply thought you had so much time to spare and would enjoy some mental exercises," L tried forcibly and rather pathetically this time to hide his embarrassment "Isn't it true that light can only be understood by the wisdom of darkness?"

"Oh, are you implying that I better understanding goodness and justice," BB stated angrily for L did not truly believe his flattery "well then, shouldn't I be let out into the outside world because I am the best at understanding justice?"

"You may understand it but that doesn't mean you will choose to follow it"

BB smiled at that statement. It was obviously an insult, but a true insult was far less degrading than false flattery.

"But seriously Beyond, aren't you too bad of a person to use the excuse 'life's unfair'"

"Cheer up Lawli, you're way too irrational when you're angry. Life is unfair to everyone; it doesn't make exception for 'bad people'"

"Are you simply going to play Devil's advocate?"

"Unlike you, I do so without hiding under a pretense of a halo" Beyond stated confirming L's accusation.

BB could feel L's boiling anger, a rare occasion. Actually now that he thought about it, he had never experienced such wrath and frustration from L and until this moment he thought such emotion was extinct in L.

'This case must truly be interesting' BB thought to himself as he smiled widely in a way not too far off from the Cheshire's smile in 'Alice in Wonderland'.

"Well L, didn't you say your time was precious? Spit out with the case already"

"The most dangerous ranked criminals, who were sentenced to prison, have been dying off all by heart attacks"

"The killer gave them amphetamine, an anti-psychotic that releases monoamines by amphetamine ergo accelerating a person's heart rate; in high quantities it can cause untraceable heart attacks; it was probably a prison officer"

"The killings have been taking place all around the globe"

"There isn't one killer, it's an organization"

"Some of the criminals hadn't been sentenced to jail yet when they died"

"The killers are trying to push suspicion away from them"

"The killings happen moments after the results of the criminals' trials have been announced to the public"

"The killers are trying to make you believe that there was no fore knowledge of the criminals sentencing"

"The killer only needs a face and a name to kill"

Beyond Birthday exhaled in frustration. He knew what L was hinting at, he knew what L wanted him to predict. Though, it was so absurd L himself wouldn't say it.

"You think the killing is done in supernatural methods?"

"That is a possibility"

"A very unlikely one!"

"Just as unlikely as someone being able to see the names and death date of others"

Beyond Birthday closed his eyes and then exaggeratedly opened them showing off his natural red orbs. It was unlikely for someone to have his eyes. If someone were to have them they would either be a criminal or in an asylum or, in Beyond's case, both.

'L must be having little to no leads for him to actually consider supernatural methods of killing and feel the need to consult me about it' Beyond Birthday thought.

After moments of silence in which they both tried to decipher the other's mind, realization hit him. L knew of only one person that can simply see others' names. He was frustrated with BB during the whole visit. He actually tried to make peace with BB, something he never felt the need to do before. L didn't visit BB to discuss the case with him; L did so to confront BB about the case.

BB's eyes widened in sync with his mouth. His whole body was shaking as he once more started to rub his hands, the identity of the feelings accompanied by this action- be it anger, excitement or simply anxiousness- was still a mystery to him.

"You're losing," BB stated not bothering to hide the shock that stained his every feature.

"I am not. I know who the perpetrator is and he is already in his cell"

"The fact that you truly believe that simply proves my accusation"

"Admit your crime I am 78% certain that you are the killer"

"The killer kills criminals; I am not one for honor killing"

"You're not sending me on another wild goose chase. Simply give up"

"I no longer have an interest in having you hunt me down"

"Just admit that you are Kira!"

"Kira? The Japanese pronunciation of killer"

"I have you cornered; give up"

"If the killings just started then the person must have recently received these powers and must have practiced them. Try tracing the first unusual heart attack deaths"

BB felt like Back up, a frustrated boy at Wammy's House who constantly tried to outsmart L but was never given long enough attention in order to complete such feat. He was frustrated and overwhelmed. It was as though time was getting shorter and shorter leaving him with barely enough time to get his point across.

"Why do you care so much about the petty killings of criminals?"

"No life is more worthy than another; I am simply trying to return justice"

L's blunt lie caused both men to abruptly pause their argument. BB knew L; he knew L's reasons behind taking the case, or rather the basic reasons for why he took any case, and it was in no way as honorable as trying to restore justice. L's lie belittled BB; it made him feel as though L truly thought BB would be dumb enough to believe such utter bull.

BB no longer cared about trying to convince L of his innocence ergo no longer sending him closer to solving the case. He felt rather selfish.

"Lawli, Lawli, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockleshells
And pretty maids all in a row."

By replacing the name Mary- Mary I of England- with Lawli in the children's rhyme, BB was alluding to the comparison between the two. 'Quite contrary' reminds Mary of her unsuccessful attempts to reverse church changes effected by her father, Henry VIII, and her brother, Edward VI, as well as L of his failed attempt at retrieving his pride in the form of being the ever-succeeding detective. He asks L how his title grows just as the rhyme sarcastically asks Mary how her reign grows. Similar to how Mary tried to rule under the pretense of religious themes, silver bells and cockleshells, L did so under the pretense of justice. The rhyme ends answering the question; Mary's reign grows by killing off Protestants and L's title grows by killing his enemies.

The Gothic L disappeared from the laptop's screen as L withdraws from the argument. L had had enough from the conversation and it seemed apparent, even to him, that his reasoning ability was dropping far more than it would have had if he sat normally. BB was, once more, left in the silent darkness of his cell allowing his loud thoughts to pour into the vacant space. BB had finally won an argument against L, though he felt no satisfaction.


A/n: I'm kinda losing interest in this story so I'll probably just give it one more chapter (don't worry; I'll give it a spectacular ending)