IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the last chapter of The Story of L. It shall be continued in The Story of L: For the WorLd.

Thanks to all who read and reviewed. Please read the continuation and review this last chapter :P

~oOo~

"L! Welcome back, L!"

L gave a tired smile at the swarm of children surrounding him, rubbing the heads of the shorter ones as a reassuring gesture.

"LLLLLLLLL!"

He had just broken free of the crowd when he nearly fell to the ground as Mello quite literally threw himself on him.

"Welcome home, L."

Mello beamed up at him with his beautiful smile- the one that made the world slow down a bit to make it last a little longer. (L hadn't seen that smile in a long time.)

"Good to be back, Mello."

"Meeeelll, c'mon, I'm bored!"

L almost hadn't noticed Matt. He must have been tired- his brilliant red hair made him pretty hard to miss.

"Gimme a second, Matt," Mello pouted. He turned back to L, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. "Did ya catch B, L? Didja catch 'im?"

L's smile fell.

"Yes…I caught him. He's being put on trial next week, charged with three counts of first degree murder."

"Hey, since they're trying him over in America, does that mean he could get the death penalty?" Matt asked offhandedly.

L nodded robotically, suddenly feeling very hollow.

"Yes…yes, he might."

Not B...not him.

He wasn't sure how he would feel if Beyond were executed. A part of him ached at the thought of losing him in such a permanent way.

"He…he said my mother was a demon whore! He called me devil boy! Am I…am I a devil boy?"

"No. You could never be. You're special, Beyond. You could never be evil."

I suppose…even I can't be right all the time. No matter what, everyone makes mistakes, and does things they can never take back. But we must keep moving forward. That is human nature. We all fall every once in awhile. We can't stay standing.

Not all the time.