First of all, thank you for all the lovely reviews last week! I do understand about 'quiet' periods, it was just the fact that there was physically nothing that occurred last week that made me wonder. Anyway thank you to High on the Rainbow, MasqueradingChaos, Izumikii and bookgirl98 for reviewing.

In answer to bookgirl98's question, Near may or may not cameo in this later, but he is not really a mojor part of this story and since this is only three months after the 'death' of L and Near only made himself known six years after L's death, I'm taking liberty to say that the SPK has not been set up yet as it is not clear whether L is dead or not. I know Mello ran away after the news of L's death, but I did say that I was tweaking some things a bit and that is one of them. Hopefully, that is helpful for you and anyone else wondering the same things.

Anyway, moving on to this chapter, I will have to say bear with the beginning a little bit. It has a lot to do with the plot, even if it seems like a completely different story, but it is essential to setting up something later ;) Otherwise, I hope that you guys will enjoy this chaper, and please let me know what you think!

Doctor Collins was fairly sure that this was a bad idea. It had been three weeks since the request had been put to her and, even now, she was struggling with the implications that this might bring. It was true that the patient in question had been doing much better of late, but she didn't think he was ready to leave quiet yet. However, the request wasn't for him to leave treatment completely- merely, to pay her double to come with him across continents. Why they had to move, she was not privy to, and considering her patient's rather… unusual behaviour, she was certain that she didn't want to know either.

She took in a deep breath as she flicked through the file once more. It was filled with the details of those first few days in which he had resisted help completely. The file reported that he had seen thirteen different psychiatrists before being transferred to the Brooklyn Psychiatric Hospital and put under her care. Apparently she had made an impression by refusing to run screaming out of the room when he threw a complete tantrum at having to talk about how he felt that day. Since then she had been closely analysing his every movement, taking note of each and every one of his eccentricities. Personally, she thought he dealt with life far better when removed from anything that might trigger another psychotic episode- namely amongst great masses of people. He struggled at times with the small number of inmates even here and had long since been transferred to a room of his own.

But this request… she sighed as there was a knock at the door. Exactly at eleven o'clock. Punctual as usual.

"Come in," she called, knowing who was waiting behind the door. As expected Dr Johnson opened the door, glasses pushed as far up his nose as they could possibly go and an irritated expression on his face that only darkened the moment he spotted the file she was reading.

"You can't be seriously thinking about this," he snapped. If he hadn't been the head of the board who ran the hospital, she might have said something about his tone, but held her tongue. It wasn't her problem if her boss had an inferiority complex.

"So long as he is properly looked after, I can't see any huge drawbacks. He would be kept contained and isolated from a huge amount of company under my advice and among old friends. The likelihood of any more incidents is low." She didn't mention the money. It didn't matter anyhow- she wouldn't take the risk if she didn't think he could handle it. She was professional that way. Dr Johnson might not see it that way though.

"You and I both know that he is unstable. This… quietness is just him biding his time until we relax enough for him to strike!" Dr Collins raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't think so. He's been rather talkative of late and I don't think it has anything to do with the way we have been treating him," she stated, thinking back a few weeks ago to their rather unorthodox visitor. She always enjoyed Miss Rue's visits- they made for entertainment in the staff room while the others worked themselves into a rage, contemplating her actions of the day. "Besides, he has proved in the past three outings that he is capable of controlling himself at least to the point that he is more likely to do injury to himself than others."

"He is deeply disturbed."

"So are many other of our patients and you allow them to go home of the weekend," she pointed out.

"Yes, but none of them murdered anybody!" DR Johnson snapped. "You should never have agreed to take on his case in the first place!" Dr Collins internally sighed, knowing that it would have come back to this. Every conversation they had about her number one patient always returned to this matter of fact- that she shouldn't have taken on his case. There were plenty of other, older and more experienced psychiatrists out there. Why this one? Personally, she wasn't entirely sure, but having been an orphan herself, she felt that she could at least partially relate to what he might be going through. However, she did not suffer from delusions and photographic memory, a rather dangerous combination.

"We are not discussing why I took him on," she said tiredly, closing the file and pushing it to one side. "In fact, I am sure you came in here for an entirely different reason. Now, what was it? I am rather busy at the moment." Dr Johnson looked miffed at being spoken to in such a way but she refused to bow under his glare. She was used to it by now.

"Well, if you are going through with this, I came to sort out who would take over your other cases while you were away," he stated in a tone of voice that just screamed you remember them? Your other patients?

"Katherine and David have agreed to take a share of them while I'm gone, depending on when either of them is free. Same time slot, different person," she replied. She had already told him this, and he had been there when she had made the inquiries into who would take over- although she was certain that the only reason she had had so many volunteers was because she would be taking the most feared patient out of the hospital altogether. Dr Johnson looked as though he were trying to think of another reason why she couldn't go, but they had had this argument enough this week. The tickets were bought, the transport covered, their accommodation sorted. She wouldn't be able to stop it if she tried and she was sure that the whole country wouldn't be sad to see him go either and Dr Johnson couldn't stop their opinions. He sniffed before leaving the room in a huff.

"Well then, I wish you luck with your suicide mission," he snapped as he slammed the door shut.

It annoyed Raito that it had taken him three days to track down the person claiming to be Ryuzaki Yagami. At first he had been too shocked to do much more than speculate (and bury that annoying little voice) but after that he had set his mind on tracking him down. Unfortunately his only lead was the vague glimpse of a girl getting into a taxi and after some serious debate he had decided that it had to have nothing to do with L if this imposter was even him. L had had very little to do with the opposite sex, barely even mentioned them, and spent as little time as possible in the presence of Misa if he could help it- personally Raito couldn't blame him. Weddy, he seemed to regard in a different light, but what exactly his relationship with her, or Aiber for that matter, was ambiguous at best, but the overwhelming evidence was that the girl had little to do with anything. So he had placed her right back into the 'random fan' category.

The trouble with that was he was now right back to square one. He had a name but no address or face to compare it with. He had hacked into the hospital data records to find that all trace of Ryuzaki Yagami had promptly disappeared, leading him to believe that it had something to do with L (who else would delete their own records at such a speed) but that was it. He had tried to tag along with either Matsuda or his father, but both had politely turned him down. Apparently, Raito's charm had finally failed him since both claimed to either be heading straight home or to meet up with some old friends. His father had once allowed him to come with him, but they had literally gone back home and Raito had been forced to sit through his mother's queries into his relationship with Misa (as strong as ever) and Sayu's inquiries about work (boring). Eventually, he had resorted to asking Ryuk, who had abjectly refused to help.

"I told you, I'm telling you nothing else," the death god had rasped, although Raito suspected that he had about as much of a clue as to L's whereabouts as Raito did. On the second day he had visited the grave that the Task Force had set up for L. Someone had laid fresh flowers- blood red roses in a glass vase, prompting Raito to hack the security footage of the graveyard, only to find a girl with dark hair and a rather European fashion sense (who wore berets?).

Finally he had simply gone to the old headquarters, wondering whether or not it would be a waste of time. After all, L wouldn't go back there unless there was a good reason he thought and there was nothing left of the old system. Watari had deleted everything to the point that not even Raito had been able to salvage more than L's voice alteration system and even that had been a miracle. When those two plotted together, they were thorough, which was more than annoying but also helpful (now all the evidence that pointed towards his being Kira was destroyed irrevocably). Despite the fact that he hadn't been expecting much, he was very much mistaken.

The bus stop was in sight of the building and he was just in time to see a girl- the same girl in fact that he could tell from the security tape- shoving two boys into a car, exasperation written clearly in all her features. He waited at the stop as she got into the car and drove away. For a moment, he watched it pause at the top of the street and he was certain that she had seen him from the rear-view mirror, but the car carried on its journey once the lights changed and disappeared into the flow of traffic. He made a mental note not to be too long- it wouldn't do for her to return while he was snooping around, especially if she was living in the building. Perhaps he was going to have to reconsider the idea of L and girls.

The building was as much the same as he remembered, apart from the fact that it refused him entry. Someone had deleted his details from the system, of that he was certain- he had ensured they were there the moment that he reset the system. Swearing under his breath, he wondered if he could bypass the system when the speaker next to the scanner crackled, as if there was someone on the other end. Raito blinked, staring at it. Having never had to use the call button before, he hadn't considered the option, nor considered that someone might be left in the building to be monitoring the cameras. A distinctly American accent lilted down the line in English.

"Having trouble there?" Raito glared at the speaker, wondering who would dare to address anyone, much less the God of the new world in such a tone.

"I'm here to enquire after my cousin," he lied, following his leads and only slightly stumbling over the English. Two could play at this game if it even was L on the other end- he knew that L was good at modifying his voice but this much? Last time he had considered L's accent, he had settled on slightly British, if only for his mannerisms and copious consumption of tea- that and he was certain only the British had butlers. "Ryuzaki Yagami?" There was a pause.

"Sorry, man, there's no one of that name here. Maybe the next block?" If Raito could see the man he might have smacked him. Instead he took a deep breath and tried again.

"This is the address I was given. Maybe you're mistaken?" he asked in his most innocuous voice. It worked on the Task Force and had even worked on L once or twice (although only on minor infractions which Raito took to mean that the older man just didn't care).

"Nah, I know everyone in the building. I'm certain that there is no Ryuzaki Yagami here." Raito resisted grinding his teeth together before deciding that he might as well take the chance. He needed something to go on and even if it was an annoying, ignorant American security guard on the other end, he had nothing to lose by it and everything to gain.

"What about someone of the name L?" he asked, this time in Japanese. There was a long pause as if the other person was thinking hard. Then, surprisingly, the door clicked open. Another voice, this time clearly British echoed down the speaker.

"Take the elevator to the tenth floor. Third door on the right." He heard the line cut off and wondered what on earth had caused this change. Uneasy, he followed the instructions ending up in a sitting room much like the all the others in the building, except it was clearly unused. The sofa was still covered in sheets to protect it from the dust that puffed up under his feet. Coughing lightly, Raito wondered what would happen now when TV flickered on of its own accord. There was no background, not even the blank screen with the gothic letter L, just static. Feeling more uneasy, Raito took a step back, suddenly feeling that this hadn't been a good idea. He got the feeling that the other occupant was having the same thoughts.

"What do you want with L?" Same British accent, except speaking fluent Japanese. He wondered if this person and the security guard were the same person- they had to be considering Raito knew that L didn't hire personal security other than perhaps Watari (just what had the old man been to L?).

"He's the head of the Kira investigation," Raito said, thinking quickly, knowing that he wouldn't have much time to convince this person of his intentions. "I thought he would want to be updated on the last three months." More silence.

"Why wait three months?"

"I thought he was dead."

"And if he truly was dead and your lead is nothing more than an imposter?"

"Then I plan to bring the imposter to justice. There can only be one L." Raito was surprised at the conviction in his voice. There was another pause before the person replied, this time in a more subdued voice.

"And what would you do if L didn't want to have any part in the Kira case anymore." That stopped Raito for a moment. L not want to finish a case? It seemed absurd. L chased every lead, no matter how out there or obscure, and had never once given up on anything. Even his (justified) suspicions of Raito, despite it being an unpopular belief.

"Why would he do that?"

"Perhaps he got too close. Or he suffered personal injury and wanted time to adjust." There was a longer pause and Raito wondered if they were speaking hypothetically or not. This sounded nothing like the L he knew, but then, what did he really know about L? He had a raging sweet tooth, was socially unacceptable and overly intelligent, enough to rival and surpass Raito. Perhaps underneath it all, there had been a person there after all, one who was kept underneath a mask even more watertight than his own. Somehow, Raito couldn't imagine it and yet, a part of him wanted to know more about the eccentric detective.

"Would he consider letting an old friend help him out?" Raito wasn't sure how intentional the pleading note in his voice was- he was certain at least part of it was put on, but not all of it. For once his stupid emotions might actually help him out here. The pause here was even longer.

"Raito Yagami is a leading suspect in the Kira case, with recent events making him as guilty as ever. Why on earth would he let you help?" The sudden venom in the voice was like a slap to the face. But the accent had slipped, only slightly, but enough for Raito to recognise the voice for certain. It was L! The relief that spread through him was almost as alarming as the voice that exploded into sudden squealing happiness- he didn't want to begin to even go near it and for once let it do what it wanted. He's alive, he's alive, and we're not alone anymore!

We were hardly alone in the first place he thought dryly, still too shocked to take in what L might have been saying.

We have someone on our level again. Misa and the task force don't count the voice snapped back. And you might get a few extra sneaky peeks… Blushing furiously, Raito realised that the TV screen had turned off once more. Any further thoughts (dirty or otherwise) were cut off however when somebody tapped him on the shoulder.

"Is Raito-kun in shock?" The voice was the same, no trace of an accent, American or British and Raito, strangely, was suddenly afraid to turn around. There was no emotion in the words, back to the usual monotone he was used to, but Raito wasn't sure what he wanted when he turned around. Did he want to gloat that he had beaten L at his own game? Did he want to rejoice that the man was alive? Or was he just nervous that this could be another trick, merely someone talented at morphing their voice into L's so expertly that he had been fooled once again? But it would do no good to merely stand there for eternity, fearing that this wasn't L and he truly was alone (and that was ridiculous because Gods were the most powerful but loneliest creatures in existence- wasn't the Christian God all alone and happy?).

Slowly, Raito turned, still unsure as to what his actual reaction to L's resurrection was. Trepidation filled the few miniscule seconds that it took to do so, but they seemed to stretch out for aeons, longer than time ought to move. At first, he was nothing more than a speck in his peripheral vision, then a blurry image and finally, Raito had to admit that, if this was an imposter, he was an expert. The same height, complete with stoop that made him slightly shorter than Raito (it was annoying to know that he would be taller than him if the man could be bothered to stand upright), coupled with snow-white skin and pitch black hair. Those same large grey eyes (too dark and deep for their own good) were staring at him like they had so many times before and for a moment, Raito felt a thrill of dejavύ.

And then he noticed the differences and they hit him harder than a landslide.

L was not dressed the way he usually was. He still wore a baggy pair of jeans, but gone was the white shirt- instead he was dressed in a black T-shirt sporting some kind of band that Raito had never heard of. He wondered vaguely if L actually liked the band, or had just bought the shirt to fit in with others before discarding the idea. L had no shame (repeatedly proven) and had no time for social conventions. His hair was longer too, brushing past his shoulders rather than the tips tickling them, and he was thinner, so much thinner it was frightening. He looked fatigued too, not just in the usual I-haven't-slept-because-I'm-an-insomniac, but tired, as if crushed by the weight of everything. But the worst change, and Raito wasn't sure exactly why it was so awful, was that there was no spark of recognition in those fathomless grey eyes, no hint that L knew who he was past a suspect.

What happened? He wondered, too confused to speak. It must have showed in his face because L didn't say anything either and they merely stared at each other, one trying to beat down his rampaging feelings, the other trying to work out his own thoughts and feelings about the person in front of him. But Raito had spent years perfecting his mask, and now the pesky emotions he had tried so hard to push away would actually prove useful to him. They would enable him to regain L's trust, to draw him into the spider's web, like a moth to a light, and, when he was too entangled to escape, Raito would strike him down, delivering justice as the God of the new world ought to. Pushing a smile onto his face through the myriad of emotions, knowing it probably looked strained, he attempted to make some kind of conversation.

"Hello L," he said, running his eyes over the older man again. "You've changed."

"That does tend to happen when one spends three months in hospital," L noted dryly. Clearly his wit was still an integral part of him- Raito remembered vastly enjoying the brief flashes of it when chained to the man for all those months so long ago. He allowed an eyebrow to twitch up as that annoying voice ran in panic around his head. Hospitalised for three months? Who hurt him that badly? They will die at Kira's hand! He repressed the surprise at that thought, knowing perfectly well who had put L in the hospital.

"Three months? What happened?" he asked curiously, partly because he wanted to know himself and partly because there was something off about this whole situation. L merely shrugged, the movement so different to what he had seen the man do before, that Raito questioned once more whether this truly was L or whether it was an imposter.

"You tell me," he intoned, so emotionlessly that he might have been commenting on the weather, reassuring Raito that he was not, in fact, looking at an imposter. No one else could replicate that monotone.

"You… don't remember?" Raito queried, suddenly unsure. It seemed unlikely that L, who he was certain had a photographic memory, would not be able to remember exactly what occurred that had placed him in the hospital. The shock was helping to make the question sound genuine, but the surprise was not that he had been hospitalised- more that he was alive at all. Why is that? How did L survive when all others whose names have been written in the Death Notes die? The rules specifically state that any name written in the Death Note will end in death, especially in the hands of a Shinigami. Rem killed him! L was frowning, staring up at him, those eyes hard and so unlike the last time he had seen them. They were so wide that I could see that they were actually storm-cloud grey and not black…

"I do not remember anything since June last year," he stated blankly. "I do not remember you." Raito opened his mouth to say something when there was a distant beep, the sound of someone entering the building. L glanced back towards the door, eyebrows furrowed. "That will be Mitsu. You must leave now."

"Wait!" Raito shouted, but L suddenly had a hold of his wrist and was dragging him out of the room just as unceremoniously as he used to drag him around with the handcuffs.

"In thirty seconds Mitsu will be in the elevator and in another minute be on this level and searching for me," L said, sounding strained and slightly breathless. If Raito watched him closely, he was also swaying slightly, as if even the exertion of walking down a corridor was too much. "We do not have time to wait and explain." He was heading not for the elevator but for the back stairs that Raito had never used since it would take far too long. Soon, they were through the doors and heading straight down the stairs, L taking them two at a time. Time suddenly seemed to be going too fast, he hadn't even gotten to know anything about this new development yet!

"But Ryuzaki," he cried as he was dragged down further, much further down he was sure than ten floors. "What about the Kira case?"

"It is out of my hands for now," he said, "I was told that you had taken it over in my name." There was something in his tone of voice, something that was off but Raito couldn't quite pin down what it was. They had reached the bottom of the stairs and for a moment L seemed to stumble, catching himself with one hand on the wall. Raito leant forward to help him and was startled to find that he was shaking. This was nothing like the L he had known. It was like reality had suddenly taken a horrific turn and everything he had known about the man was turned on its head. Far above them he could hear the sound of someone clattering down the stairs, a girl's voice calling down.

"Who is that?" Raito asked, wondering why on earth L had come all this way down here when he was clearly unwell. He was warmer than he remembered the other man to be, and he got the feeling that he was running a fever by now. L shook him off, shaking his head.

"This way," was all he said, dragging Raito off once more, and keeping one hand on the wall to support himself. They turned a few more corners and suddenly he was standing in front of a stairwell, light glinting from above him. "Leave. Now." L's voice was hard, breathless as it was. Raito thought about arguing, but another voice echoed behind him.

"Ryuzaki! I know you're down here! What on earth were you thinking?" L was staring at him, eyes blank and still shaking. Raito wondered how he was still on his feet- he looked as if his legs would give out on him at any moment. He opened his mouth to say something- anything, he wasn't entirely sure what- but L cut him off.

"You must leave now Raito-kun or else you will never be allowed to leave," he stated. The sound of heels clicking on hard floors echoed ahead of the girl, whoever she was. Raito shook his head and bolted up the stairs, for some reason not wanting to meet this stranger who could control even L. What felt like three flights later he was out of the building, locks clicking into place behind him and standing on a different side to the building than he ever had before. Trembling, shaken from the sudden shocks of the past half hour and still entirely unsure of how he was feeling, Raito stumbled to the bus stop, feeling completely unlike himself and as far from being the God of the new world as it was possible for it to be.

Aw Raito, I'm not being all that kind to you and your self denial am I? So one meeting between L and Light, hopefully you enjoyed it even if it was brief. I took liberties from L altering his voice when Matsuda was in trouble during the Yotsuba arc, but I would think that doing impressions is probably something that goes along with Wammy kids training.

Please leave a review and tell me what you enjoyed or what may be wrong in this story. I don't mind constructive criticism either so long as it isn't flames.