「 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚏𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 」- 𝙻. 𝙻𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚝 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

[ 𝙸𝙸𝙸.𝚅 - 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚚𝚞é ]

__________
S?: It is rumoured that there are ways to know if a person will Crumble soon, though this is little more than hearsay, so I do not suggest you take any of this as fact. The most agreed upon symptoms seem to be increased drowsiness, decreased appetite, a loosening of ones inhibitions and a reversal of disposition — extroverts becoming introverted, or the meek becoming bold. Again, this is just speculation. It is disputed as to whether these changes are psychological or physiological in origin.
___________

☥ ☥ ☥

[ B — Day 6, A.D ]

While reading over these entries, I've realised that besides a handful of people, most of you would have little clue of what happened during A and B's nine years of torment at the hands of the Wammy's House. Murky details allude to some degree of abuse, but it was never explained in detail what exactly occurred.

Above was right to assume that many of the children from that wretched orphanage would develop soul anomalies. And now that they've passed on, I'm the only one left that can fill the gaps in this memoir.
I'm the third person to read Above's accounts, taking it upon myself to edit these writings and add passages from our guidebook for future Inhabitants associated with the Wammy's House.

But before I speak further, I want to ask you — what exactly do you think happened to me and Above? Do you think Above was simply too stupid to be L? That they were too weak? Do you think B went mad because, what? I knew when people died with my oh-so-tragic shinigami eyes?

Yes, this is B. Failure No.2.

As you know, we were the first generation of successors. Prototypes, expected to fail. Really we were more test subjects to tinker with while they were figuring out how to forge a brilliant mind. Their approach was 'tough love', to put it mildly. To be strong of mind and will, to know hardship, to be forged by fire. Any deviation from perfection was unacceptable. In short, they were cruel and overbearing.

Of all the gifted children they gathered, Above demonstrated the most potential by far. Really, I was a backup for the backup, and naturally I loathed such a position. I resented how gentle and mild they were. But back then, Above possessed an airy warmth that, by the time they died, had been thoroughly extinguished.

I've always been an outcast. I've been surrounded by Death as long as I've existed, and you can see it in my eyes. People can tell, and they've always been wary. Above is the only one who's ever treated me like a person. Every other one of L's successors save for Above was selfish and vain, myself included. We never cared about justice, only our own personal glory.
But all Above ever wanted was to find purpose, to make the world a better place. They were a sweet, introspective child with misty eyes, always so curious and incisive. And although I hate to use such a hackneyed line, I suppose only the good die young.

Maybe you remember when they constructed a small house a ways away from the main orphanage. I'm sure that the building has been repurposed by now. But I wonder, did any of you notice that the entire house is soundproofed? And if you did, did you wonder why exactly they would need to cover up any noise?
It was to muffle the sound of our acutely vicious training; relentless barking and scolding. As you lived a relatively carefree life, two children were being hounded to their wits end, day after day after day after day.

Our life consisted of nonstop academia crammed into our heads. It wasn't unlike ordinary schooling, except that the school day was fifteen hours long and seven days a week. Our caretakers would scrutinise us endlessly, pushing us past our limits. The smallest imperfection would result in an immediate and harsh reprimanding.
It was an unrelenting hell. At first I embraced it, hoping that one day it would pay off. I may have been considered brilliant, but I was unmistakably naive.