A/N: Thanks so much for all those who reviewed/alerted/favorited this story. A special thanks goes to nunnythebunny, who reviewed the last chapter. Thanks so much (:

Chapter 7: Complaints of Violins

The soft pacing of bare, calloused feet came to an abrupt halt. L turned his head, raven locks of hair swaying gently as he attempted to locate the source of the noise that had interrupted his thinking. It sounded as if someone in the normally-quiet building had turned on a radio, set to a radio station that played classical music. The soft sound of a violin floated through the walls, falling on interested ears. Determined to get to the bottom of this unusual disturbance, the skinny detective wandered through the halls, silent and unseen, much like a ghost. He stopped in front of a slightly-cracked door, the sound having gotten louder. The door swung open just a bit more, creaking softly, but not disturbing the violin player that stood in the middle of the room. His back was turned to L, but he recognized him almost immediately. The disheveled, inky black hair glistened in the pale moonlight that streamed into the room from between parted curtains, the spine that was usually forced into a slouch that mimicked that of L was straight. Thin fingers cradled the violin carefully, and the melancholy notes that it produced were soothing to the detective's restless mind. When the song had at last ended, L clapped his hands together in a round of quiet applause.

"I had no idea you played the violin, Beyond."

The startled young man almost dropped the instrument, shaking off his apparent surprise as he turned to face his audience of one, dropping back into the slouch L was so accustomed to seeing. "And I had no idea you enjoyed stalking me, Lawliet." A smirk crept across his thin lips.

"I was merely investigating the sound I heard, was all. I thought someone had perhaps turned on a radio..."

The two fell silent for a brief moment, and B lowered his head to stare at the ground. "...Was I good?"

"Excellent."

"Ryuuzaki!"

"...Yes, Light-kun?" The panda-eyed man shifted his gaze from the screens in front of him to the annoyed teen beside him.

"I've been calling your name for five minutes! You've just been staring at that computer the entire time, like I wasn't even talking to you!"

"I apologize, Light-kun. I was just analyzing the data-"

Light gave the detective one of those are-you-serious-right-now looks before replying in a tone much like what one would use to communicate with small children, "Ryuuzaki, the screen is blank."

L's thumb found its way to his lip. "...I am sorry. My mind has not been able to focus today." He opened his mouth, as if to continue, but the presence of an elderly gentleman distracted him from his conversation.

"Ryuuzaki..."

"Yes, Watari?"

"May I speak with you?" The wrinkles on his face seemed creased even more with some unknown concern as he added, "Privately."

L nodded, reaching into his pocket for a small key, unlocking the handcuff around his wrist, and replacing the cuff around the desk before standing and following his caretaker out of the room. "What is it?"

Watari seemed almost reluctant to deliver the news which, L knew, must be anything but good. "Kira has killed another criminal."

The raven-haired detective adopted an expression even more bored than usual, pretending to be more interested in his bare feet. "Oh?"

"Yes." the old man nodded solemnly, placing a large, gentle hand on L's bony shoulder. "L..."

The detective's head snapped up to look at Watari, concern filling his normally unreadable eyes. "Watari, who was it?"

"L, I... It was Beyond. I am so sorry..."

The detective only shook his head slowly, holding back the tears stinging behind his eyes and swallowing thickly. "I am the one who should be sorry. ...I should not have given them his name. I should have thought ahead..."

"Kira is the only one to blame. L, it is no fault of yours, and you know that-"

The overwhelming emotion in L's obsidian eyes could have broken the coldest of hearts. "But I promised him, Watari." L said no more, allowing his caretaker to embrace him - something he had not done since L was very young. Only mere minutes had passed before they broke apart, but it seemed to L as if everything had simply frozen in place.

"...Would you like to lie down or have some time to yourself?" Watari finally asked, concern for his young charge obvious on his weathered face.

L merely shook his head, and turned join the Yagami boy once more. "No. I have to stop Kira."