Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note and I sincerely apologize to Freidrich Nietzsche for the use of his quote.

"Against boredom, even the gods contend in vain," Near muttered as he sprawled out on a couch in Wammy House. He was the exceptional child in an orphanage full of exceptional children. By the age of five, he was well-versed enough in western philosophy to quote Nietzsche off-hand. He was a genius. He was an outlier. He was, already, the most likely to succeed L.

He was also an incredibly bored little boy.

"Against boredom, even the gods contend in vain," Near repeated his Nietzsche quote. "Against… Why am I bothering?"

He glanced up as the door opened. It was an older boy, twelve at most, with messy, dark hair and bags under his eyes. He slouched as he stepped into the room and looked around. Probably just another guy to whom he had managed to give an inferiority complex, searching relentlessly for the prodigy to teach him a lesson.

Too bad for him. Near had already learned how to fight from this sort of thing.

"You…" The boy finally took notice of Near. Here it came. Did his type never learn? "You…"

"You look really bored."

Maybe he had misjudged the boy. Yes… He had never seen this boy before in his life.

"Here…" The boy rummaged through his pockets and pulled something out. A top…? "Go on. Spin it."

Near took the top and spun it on the floor. It was… well, boring, but slightly less boring than the unchanging ceiling.

"They call me Near," he said as he watched the top. "What's your name?"

The boy snatched up the top and handed it to Near. "Here, keep it. If you want, we could do a jigsaw puzzle."

"Jigsaw puzzle?

"I'll show you. After a while they start getting repetitive, but hopefully you'll find something better by then."

"L!" The two boys were rudely interrupted by Roger. "L! Where have you been? I've searched all over! Watari says it's time for you to go."

"If Watari says so…" the boy sighed. "Good-bye, Near." And then he was gone.

So that was the great detective L. Near stared at the top in his hand as he sat down on the couch again. L…

Near spun the top again. Definitely better than Nietzsche.