Playing the Game

Hello from L

"Roger, why did you wake us up so early?" Mello rubs at his eyes, letting out a groan. His blond bob stands in every direction, resembling a bird's nest more than a common haircut.

"L has a message for the three of you." Roger enters the password to the ancient computer in his office, opening an app once the password is verified. He enters another password to gain access to the site's contents and another one to gain access to L's digital message. "There you all go. I shall take my leave now. Please behave in here. I will report any... foolish behavior to L."

Mello rolls his eyes, clearly unbothered by the threat. Mello always laughed off the idea of L caring about them or anything they did, arguing that he would be around more if he cared. Matt shrugs his shoulders, knowing that Roger isn't really talking about him. Matt blows things up in the backyard or plays video games instead of sleeping, but he doesn't fight like Mello and Near do. Near is the only one who takes Roger's warning to heart. Near respects L. Out of the three children who could become L's heir, Near knows he'll be the one to get the position. Everybody knows it. L's never officially said it or even mentioned having a favorite, but Near knows he's the only competent one.

Mello leans over Near's shoulder to read the message. "Could you move over a little bit, Near?"

"Why don't you lean on your boyfriend?" snaps Near.

Near hates that Mello and Matt are together. Whenever Mello and Near get in a fight, Matt never takes Near's side. He always tries to smooth things over and blame Near for their fights. He always insists that Near instigates their fights by acting like he is superior to Mello, which angers the hot-headed Alpha. It figures that a Beta would side with an Alpha over an Omega, but it still irritates Near.

"Stop it," replies Matt. "L could be in danger or something. We have a job to do."

The three fall silent and begin to read L's letter.

Dear Matt, Mello, and Near,

I hope this letter finds you in good health and a pleasant morning. As I am sure you all are aware, I have been working on the Kira case in Japan. I am not contacting you all for assistance in this case. If you turn on any major news station, you will find out that the Kira case is solved.

Contrarily, I am contacting the three of you to tell you that I will be returning to England for an extended period of time. It is ninety-eight percent certain that I will spend the next year in England, unless another major case comes up— I predict a two-percent chance of this due to the capture of Kira scaring other potential criminals. Capturing a godlike criminal many thought to be unstoppable does wonders on the criminal world. I plan to spend the next year with the three of you, solving cases we hand pick out together.

"See, he cares about us!" cheers Near with a grin.

"He caught Kira." Matt licks his lips. "I thought it'd take him another week. I suppose I made a mistake in my math. Perhaps I miscalculated the number of hours L would stay awake. Yes, that would explain it. Given the number of hours L spent asleep each day, paired with my faulty number-"

"Matt, please stop." Mello gives him a pointed look. "You know I have no idea what you're talking about."

They would be cases in England. I figure that you all could use some practice with the more hands-on aspects of being a detective. My usual policies of picking out crimes to solve— solving cases where there are ten or more victims, at least a million dollars at stake, or out of personal interest—will be disregarded. I will help you all solve whatever cases are available. The fictional cases or already solved cases Roger gives you all to solve lack the hands-on components you'll need to be successful. You will need to be able to interact with suspects, examine evidence, and understand any other hand-on components. Admittedly, I also lack certain skills in this area. However, we are very lucky. We will have two other professionals to help us out.