here's the next chap...kinda random...but i hope you'll like it...

Over the course of the next few days, L and Light's classmates noticed that the two seemed to be growing closer. This caused quite a stir in the school and there was mixed reactions.

Of course, it goes without saying that Light's fan girls were enraged that L was hanging out with their Yagami Raito. Many of them had already made voodoo dolls of 'the pale decrepit ghoul from the darkest pit of Hell'.

For the academic oriented students, they felt envious that two of the greatest minds in school were getting to pick each other's brains, something they had longed to do themselves.

For the jocks, they were bewildered that a cool guy like Light would hang out with someone as uncool as L. they couldn't comprehend it, but then they could barely comprehend anything outside of the sports they play.

As for the teachers, most of them were glad that L had finally found a friend. They had been concerned about their favourite student's lack of socialising and it seems that they could cease their worrying.

One afternoon after school, one of the teachers, Rem, was watching the famous pair from the staffroom windows.

The two of them were apparently talking about something and then, to Rem's utter shock and delight, L appeared to be chuckling at something Light had said. This was most unusual.

Ryuk, who was in the staffroom munching on an apple, noticed the soft smile on Rem's face.

It was no secret to the school population that Ryuk had a soft spot for the Chemistry teacher.

The two of them were similar to each other. Both were tall and had spindly limbs, they both had a somewhat lazy demeanour and they were both of the same age.

However, they were also very different.

Ryuk was laid back and seldom took his work seriously. He was also very easy going with his students and open to them at any time. He smiled or rather, he grinned a lot.

His red-haired, female counterpart was an altogether different story. She was strict and very serious in her work. She rigidly followed the rules when it comes to punishment and did not socialise with her students during her lesson hours. She very rarely smiled but when she did, it lit up her pale face and made her look younger and more welcoming.

"Rem-chan, what are you smiling about?" asked Ryuk lazily.

Rem turned to her colleague, frowning. The smile on her lips earlier vanished.

"We are still at work, Ryuk-san," she said severely. "It is inappropriate to call me that now."

Ryuk sighed. "Sorry, Rem-san. So, what were you smiling about?"

"Have you noticed that Lawliet-san is becoming more open with Yagami-san?" Rem asked.

"Those two always stand out in my class," said Ryuk, chewing away at the piece of apple in his mouth. "Of course I noticed."

Rem's eyes narrowed as she watched Ryuk.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" she said accusingly.

"Did what?" asked Ryuk innocently.

"You purposely decided to assign a socialising project to get Lawliet-san to open up more. You did it because you were worried for him. But then, since you were bored, you also thought it might be interesting to pair him up with Yagami-san."

Ryuk merely grinned.

"Ouch, that's a little harsh, Rem-san," he said. "I didn't actually tell L to group with Light."

"You didn't have to," retorted Rem. "You banned Yagami-san's fan girls from grouping up with him while they were fighting over him. You knew that the guys wouldn't try to ask him during that time because they couldn't get near him so they'd group up with other people. Lawliet-san, being the social outcast would be overlooked by them. So that would just leave him and Yagami-san, wouldn't it?"

Rem chuckled, impressed.

"All right, you cornered me," he said.

"What I want to know now is why?" asked Rem, folding her arms before her chest.

"You mean you don't know?" asked Ryuk, feigning innocence.

Rem scowled.

"Don't play with me, Ryuk-san," she snapped.

Ryuk laughed as he stood and drew himself up to his full height.

"All right, I'll tell you," he said. "But on one condition…"

Rem's eyes widened as she realised that she had fallen into Ryuk's trap.

Her black haired colleague was looking at her straight in the eye and grinning broadly.

"You're having dinner with me tonight."

LLLLLLLLLL

"So, how about it, L?" asked Light eagerly.

He had been pestering L to visit his house for the past two days. L hadn't been able to go because of Near. Today however, Near had the day off, so L had no reason to refuse him.

But this was L he was talking about.

"I can't, Light-kun," answered L.

Light resisted the urge to groan.

"Why?" he asked, forcing a smile on his face.

"Mello has sports today," replied L.

"What sport does he play?" asked Light curiously.

"American Football," answered L.

Light could only stare.

"What?" asked L, surprised by Light's reaction. "Mello is a lot stronger than he looks."

"What does that have anything to do with you not being able to come to my house?" asked Light through gritted teeth.

L looked away.

"Near would be at home alone," he answered softly.

"But Near has been alone today while you and Mello are at school," answered Light, confused.

"He expects me home by afternoon, so he could bear with it," explained L. "If I don't come home by then, he might freak out."

Light was immediately curious.

He had already noticed that Near was unusually attached to L, but only now did he realised that the attachment was a lot more stronger than he had thought previously.

"Why?" Light asked.

L hesitated.

Should he tell Light? Did Light deserve to know? It was true that he and Light had grown closer over the past few days, but did that give Light any right to know. He decided not to tell Light everything, just a glimpse of it.

"Near is extremely attached to me, not just because of the fact that we're brothers, but…let's just say that I was the first father figure Near ever had because our parents…they were never there for him…"

Light blinked in surprise.

That was the first time L had ever mentioned his parents. Did this mean that L was starting to trust him more?

"…so Near is quite paranoid. If I don't go back by afternoon after telling him that I would, he might start to think that I've abandoned him and that might make him…freak out…"

L stopped, he had already revealed a lot to Light.

Light didn't press for more. He felt that he was already lucky to be told this much.

"I trust that you will not speak of this to anyone?" L asked him, looking slightly anxious.

Light blinked. "Of course not, I promise."

Then, a thought occurred to him.

"Why don't you bring Near with us?" he said.

L blinked, surprised.

"But…" he began.

"Sayu can keep him company while we work," said Light eagerly.

"But…"

"It'll be perfect, they like each other!"

"But…"

"I swear, if you say 'but' one more time…" growled Light.

"But…" mumbled L again.

"But what?" cried Light in exasperation.

To his surprise, L was blushing lightly.

"I'm scared to meet you're parents," L said softly.

"Oh, is that it?" asked Light, resisting the urge to laugh.

"I've never met anyone else's parents, so I don't know how to behave," continued L, ignoring the mirth in Light's eyes.

Light realised how serious L was and sobered up.

"Hey," he said, putting a hand on L's shoulder. "Don't worry about it so much. Just be yourself, and they'll love you for it. Besides, you'll only be meeting my mom. My dad is too busy with his work so he only comes back late at night."

L looked at Light uncertainly.

"Please?" tried Light, looking at L beseechingly.

L sighed.

"All right," he said.

Light grinned in a very Ryuk-like way.

"So let's get Near and go!"

LLLLLLLLL

L quietly stood before Mrs. Yagami, holding Near's hand.

He felt so self-conscious, he was worried that she might dislike him.

But his worries were unfounded.

Mrs. Yagami was charmed by L's politeness and intelligent responses that she practically welcomed him to the family.

She was equally charmed by Near, whom she commented would be the perfect boyfriend for Sayu, making the two blush.

So Near was left alone with Sayu while L and Light were upstairs, working on their project.

Sayu smiled at Near, who smiled back and began twirling a lock of his white hair.

"So what do you want to do, Near-kun?" she asked.

Near shrugged. "What do you want to do?"

"Well, I'm struggling with the math homework our teacher gave us, maybe you could help me?" suggested Sayu.

"Okay," said Near, glad to be able to help her with something that he was really good in.

LLLLLLLL

"I can't believe you tricked me into this," grumbled Rem.

Ryuk chuckled.

The two of them were sitting in an Italian restaurant, waiting for their meal to arrive. Rem had to admit, for a talented but lazy teacher, Ryuk could certainly be charming when he felt like it.

Like now.

"It's not so bad," said Ryuk, looking comically crestfallen. "At least it's all on me!"

Rem suppressed the smile that threatened to reveal itself on her lips.

"So are you going to tell me?" she asked instead.

Ryuk smiled. He found her no-nonsense and straight-to-the-point attitude endearing.

"All right," he said. "I'll tell you. Did you know that L's parents deserted him?"

Rem stared.

"I'll take that as a no. Well, from what I've gathered, L was abandoned by his parents along with two younger brothers, Mello and Near. They were taken in by their grandfather, whose name I still do not know. What I do know is the grandfather is an extremely rich man who was extremely busy and travels abroad throughout most of the year. This left L with the responsibility to act as his brothers' father figure. For that reason, he started to think that he had no time for a social life. As the years went by, he no longer bothered to try and make friends. He also lives away from his grandfather, choosing to stay here rather than live in luxury. I suppose he doesn't want to become spoiled or allow his brothers to be spoiled. I believe he writes for a magazine as a source of income, but mostly they're supported by their grandfather. Between his brothers, works and studies, he felt that he had no time for a social life."

Rem was quiet.

"How do you know all this?" she asked at last.

Ryuk scratched his head uncomfortably.

"I…dug around a bit."

Rem raised her eyebrows sceptically but said nothing.

"Anyway, I wanted him to have a friend to help ease his burden," continued Ryuk. "And before you ask me, I'm too old to be anything more than a mentor or counsellor. I chose Light because he was the only one intellectually equal to L, but with a healthy dose of normality as well and yes, I was curious to see if they would get along."

Rem closed her mouth. Ryuk had answered all the questions she was about to ask.

"Seems they could get along," said Rem, smiling slightly.

Just then, the waiter came with their orders.

"Ah, this looks fantastic!" commented Ryuk, picking up his fork and attacking the pasta he ordered.

Rem looked mildly amused as she primly began to eat her own pasta.

"By the way," said Ryuk. "You should smile more often, it makes you look prettier, Rem-chan."

Rem frowned. "I told you not to call me that during…"

Her eyes widened as she realised that Ryuk had trapped her yet again.

He was grinning at her broadly, his mouth full of pasta.

"It's no longer our working hours, Rem-chan."

lllllllllllllllllllllllll

Ryuk/Rem?...yuck...anyway...tell me what you think of the story thus far...

next chapter coming soon...