Author's Note : Thanks so much for the reviews, favorites, and alerts. I'm glad the story is being liked especially since I've really been thinking this one through. It let's me know I just might be making some good decisions in the story.

Black-Dranzer-1119 and Ulaire : How could I deny either of you with such kinds words you've both reviewed with, of course I'll supply interpretations for both of you, lovelies!

Raito : " Koizumi-san! How have you been?"

Koizumi : "Oi, Raito-kun! I've been the same as usual. And you?"

Raito : "Fine, fine. So what's the special today?"

Koizumi : "Dorayaki!"

Raito : "Honey? Is that actually good?"

Koizumi : "Yes, yes it is."

Koizumi : "No good?"

Raito : "I'm sorry, but…"

Raito : "That look's delicious. I'll take that."

Raito : "I'll take that!"

Koizumi : "Anything else for you?"

Raito : "No, thank you."

Yoshiluvr : Thank you very much, dear! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Kyorose : Thank you, love. I'm glad you liked both the chapter and story. I hope you also enjoy this chapter. I'm glad you liked the first interaction between L and Raito. I thought it might not be liked as I feared there was too little of Raito. Thank You again.

jesus-of-suburbia2o2o : Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked Raito's charm. I'm hoping Raito comes out a well rounded person who is really taken by L. I still hope to have both Raito's and L's flare, but for them to truly care for one another no matter the obstacles that may come between them. And I have to say as well, I was quite pleased with the protective L. After I saw L change the world where L is able to show his more human side, it was truly refreshing to see an L who was protective of Maki and Near. I wanted to incorporate that side of him when it came to his successors. I think in the future, it'll help his successors. Oh, and I meant to tell you before, you have a very lovely name. I'm quite fond of it

EDIT : I have changed the first line of the fourth paragraph in ch.02. I had to change it because it sounded as if Near hadn't met L before. You will understand why in this chapter.

Disclaimer : Death Note © Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

Fanfic : Conspicuous Doctrine by Enelle of Enelle Illustrations

Beta Reader : jesus-of-suburbia2o2o

From jesus-of-suburbia2o2o : I hope Enelle doesn't mind me writing this little bit, but I had made a mistake in beta-ing the last chapter… Lester is actually Rester D: I messed that up. So sorry lovelies!

Enelle : I certainly don't mind at all and I should apologize as it was my mistake for misunderstanding his name. Thank you so much for catching it for me, you are wonderful!

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Conspicuous Doctrine

The Apple Of My Eye Is An Intriguing One

Chapter 03 Four Are Restless

Two weeks had gone by without anymore mishap making it's presence known to the teens of Nascent Manor. For the past days, Mello and Matt had been studying many different subjects in their room. When they weren't studying, Mello was reading books (more like still studying) while Matt played games on his Play Station. There room's door was left open as well as Near's door. There were times when the older two would settle down in Near's room while Near constructed amazing fortresses out of playing cards. Matt would play a portable game, with Mello having a light conversation with Near. Today was one of those days except Near ventured into Mello's and Matt's room. He was laying on the floor with crayons in front of him as he drew a Fibonacci spiral on a large sheet of graphing paper.

Mello was sitting beside Near as the albino worked. He clucked his teeth out of sheer boredom and tossed one of Near's crayons at the back of Matt's head. Matt didn't react so he got up and laid in his bed with a sigh of irritation. "Near, you ready for tomorrow?"

"Rester brought me the school uniform, the texts, and materials I will need tomorrow, so yes, I am ready."

"That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?"

Mello sighed, "Never mind. Matt, how about you?"

Matt continued playing his game while bent over to see his DS screen, "Little nervous."

It was silent after Matt's reply, Mello simply thought about how tomorrow would come out. He knew Matt would get nervous but if he could keep himself occupied, he would be fine. The adults were the ones who mostly made Matt panic so Mello wasn't quite worried about him. Matt could normally keep his cool. Mello was more worried about Near. Since the incident at the bakery, Near never left the manor, though that was also L's orders. It was planned that Near would go to school and return to the Manor right afterwards. After sometime, they hoped to slowly bring Near out into the public more often to see if he could deal with his social phobia as much as L himself could. None of them were going to attend a cram school since that would be too much stress and they didn't need extra classes.

Mello had to be honest with himself, he was also nervous. He did better than the other geniuses in social situations, Matt following close behind, but he was afraid his emotional side would get the better of him at times. Luckily Matt always tried to keep his friend in check. And Mello was always around to back the adults off Matt. Normally, the two didn't have such a hard time in public, but being in a school was going to be way different. It wasn't anything like their studies at the orphanage. But Mello wouldn't back down a challenge. And plus, they were going to be under direction of L. That itself, was a huge opportunity and honor for L's successors. None of them were going to let the chance slip by. And for some reason, Watari's persistence in all of them going to school seemed genuine, so they had all decided to go through with the old man's wishes.

The communicator by the room's door made it's presence known as it beeped twice followed by the voice or said old man. "L, Near, Mello, Matt, and Lester would you all meet me in the main dinning room on the second floor for supper?" The transmission ended followed by two beeps.

Mello dashed over to the communicator box and pressed the button to allow him to answer Watari, "Mello answering for Matt, Near and I; we will be down." Mello let go of the button and was satisfied his message went through when two beeps followed it. Beeps were heard again as Lester's voice came through, "As will I, Watari." L answered back last, "Understood, Watari."

Mello, Matt, and Near made it down to the dinning area first, save for Watari, since they only had to travel one floor down. Rester came shortly afterwards and after three minutes, L showed up as well. Once everyone was present, Watari signaled for everyone to take a place at the table. The table sat six people, one person each at the ends with two people on each side. Watari sat at the head of the table as he was the man of the house. Rester sat at the other end of the table, being the next adult with authority. L sat crouched on his seat from the table's left side. Near was beside him while Matt sat beside Mello. Matt was in front of L while Mello was to Near.

Atop the table was English cuisine as well as sweets for L. Besides L's usual sweets, there was beef, mashed potatoes, peas, and corn-on-the-cob. For afters, There was bread and butter pudding, roly-poly, and apple crumble.

"Before we begin, we must talk of tomorrow's plans," Watari gently smiled. He received nods of understanding and continued on, "The school has agreed to let you all be in the same class. This was a huge rule they lifted and so I would greatly appreciate it if you all behaved properly. They will not hesitate to take away that bit of luxury for you all if you step a toe out of line, understood?" Watari waited for every child to voice affirmatively. "L, you are the oldest in your group at 17, and so your successors are to be placed in your same year. Mello and Matt, you both are at sixteen, but will be joining L's class in third year. Near, with your age at 15, you should be in first year, but you as well will be in L's class with Mello and Matt in third year. The reason they allowed you all to be in the same class is because they know of just how intellectually gifted you all are, so they felt it was agreeable to have you in the same class. They mostly want to be able to say they schooled children such as yourselves. Let us utilize such an opportunity." The boys once again nodded their understanding. "Remember to look after one another. I will give you all a cell phone, keep it on you at all times. " Watari paused for a moment before continuing, "I hope you all find what you may be looking for even if you do not know you are looking for something." If any of the young boys were confused by Watari's words, neither child showed it. "Let us eat."

Watari said grace before they all began to enjoy their dinner.

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Dinner had passed and the lights all around Nascent Manor where turned off. Everyone was in bed, but no one seemed to be sound asleep.

Mello had been going over what tomorrow could have in store for them over and over again. He knew that if he continued on this way, he wouldn't get enough sleep for tomorrow's day and he would just cause himself anxiety. Mello hadn't been in a public school since he and Matt were much younger. And both of them had a hard time of it.

Mello and Matt had known each other before they entered the orphanage. Mello could clearly remember his surprise when he found a little red-headed boy alone in a large pipe a ways off from the school's playground. He had been planning to skip the rest of the school day when the sounds of a beeping game could be heard, thus finding the red-head.

"Hey!" A nine year-old Mello called out to the boy who was about middle ways into the pipe. The boy with raspberry hair had lifted his gaze from his game's screen to look where the voice had come from. Once he saw Mello, he locked back down and continued on with his game.

Mello was quite annoyed to have been ignored so he crawled into the pipe till he reached the boy. "Hey, I've seen you around the corridors. You are always playing games." Again, the other boy hadn't answered but with one hand, he lifted goggles up and over his eyes which had previously been around his neck. Mello tried once again to strike up a conversation, "Those look pretty cool." The boy once again looked up at Mello, only to look back down to his game again. Mello's annoyance was beginning to increase but he tried again, "Is that game good?" The other boy was silent.

In annoyance, Mello swiped the game from the red-head and began to look at it more closely to see if he could recognize the game. Just then, the raspberry-haired boy yelped in defiance and grabbed back the game after pushing Mello aside.

Mello then let his emotion get the better of him as anger settled within him. He quickly back-handed Matt who dropped his game in surprise. Mello then push Matt who met the bottom of the pipe. Mello quickly climbed over the smaller boy and put both his hands over the younger's chest to pin him down, with brute force Mello hadn't looked capable of. Mello heard a sharp intake of breath and after looking into the face of the one who annoyed him, he was surprised to find the younger boy was crying. Mello lessened the pressure he had down on the boy.

The other boy's tears were gathering, but weren't trailing down his face as the goggles prevented it. Hesitantly, Mello removed his hands from the boy's chest and lifted the other's goggles so the boy's tears wouldn't be gathering around his eyes. He set the goggles beside the boy's head, upon the bottom of the pipe.

"Why are you crying?"

"Shouldn't I be, you hit me."

Mello stared down at the boy, "That's not why your crying, is it?"

"Leave me alone!" The redhead made a move to get up but Mello slammed the boy back onto his back before he could get up very far. The younger gasped at having lost some air in his lungs. "Your hurting me!"

"I wouldn't have to it you weren't such a prick!"

"YOU ALL ARE ALWAYS BEING MEAN TO ME!"

"What are you talking about? I just wanted to talk to you!" To Mello's surprise and confusion, the younger beneath him had started to take sharp breaths, as it he couldn't quite breath right. When the younger tried to reply between gasps, he sounded as it he was loosing strength.

"You all…are always hurting…me."

"Who is 'you all'?"

"Everyone."

"Why would everyone want to hurt you?"

The younger's eyes dimmed a little, "They say I shouldn't be the top of the class. And they think I'm weird."

"I don't think your weird, and I'm the top of my class. I just don't let anyone mess with me."

"I'm not weak."

Mello was taken by surprise, "I didn't say you were." Mello thought for a bit before he continued, "If people hurt you because they say you shouldn't be top of your class, they are only saying it out of jealousy. They want to be smart and get recognition for it. You should be proud and defend yourself and the position you obtained." The boy seemed to be calming down some, but he looked completely drained. The boy was suddenly back on guard when Mello had tugged up the younger's shirt. Now Mello could see why the boy was wearing a long sleeved shirt and jeans in such warm weather. The boy's body was littered with bruises. Mello tugged the shirt back down. "I have bruises too," Mello lifted his own shirt to show the younger his own bruises and smirked when he saw an obvious blush from the other. He put his shirt back down, "But it will be okay. Bruises go away after a while." Mello smiled widely.

"Who hurts you?"

"Well, most the time, I get into fights with the other's in my class."

"Most of the time? Who else hurts you?"

Mello's smiled faltered. He stared down the boy beneath him and then got off the younger and allowed the boy to pick himself up.

Mello put on a smiling face once again, "Hey! I was going to skip the rest of the day, you wanna come with me?"

The younger looked at the blonde, "No. I can't, my mother is sick. I do not think it is a good idea to have her worry over me while she is sick. I would cause her stress, so I need to be here in school like she would want me too." The boy was silent for a while before he asked, "You think my goggles look cool?"

Mello was caught off guard, but quickly smiled widely, "Well yeah!"

"I like your smile. And your teeth look very healthy."

Mello laughed at this, "You'd be wondering how that is so, with all the chocolate that I eat." Mello quickly changed the subject to the younger's surprise. "Who has been messing with you?"

The boy with raspberry hair flushed and mumbled his answer.

"Say it again."

"Today, it's been Richard. He's the worst one from my class." The boy looked downcast. The school bell could be heard signaling the end of recess. The younger grabbed his game, turned it off and placed it in his jean pocket. He then grabbed his goggles and put them around his neck.

"Which class are you in, what grade?" Mello took lead in front of the younger. Both boys began crawling out of the pipe.

"Mrs. Lunette's class, 3rd grade."

The boys made it out of the pipe and made their way to the school. "I'm in the 4th grade. What's your name?"

"Mail Jeevas, yours?"

"Miheal Keehl! I'll see you later!" With that last said, Mello dashed off into the school and out of sight behind the front doors. He left Mail behind and was speeding through the halls. He headed out to were he knew the 3rd grade classes were. When he arrived, he started looking up at all the classroom doors till he found the one with Mrs. Lunette's plate. He stopped in front of the door and schooled his features into one of aggression. He then slammed the door opened to find the class almost full of students already. Mello stomped in, "WHERE IS THIS BLOODY RICHARD?"

The class had gone quiet. There were about fifteen students in the class and the teacher was not yet there. Mello knew it would take a while for Mail to show up since the pipe was farther away than the playground.

"Why do you care?"

Mello turned towards the male voice he heard. To the back of the class sat three rough looking boys. Their leader was smirking towards Mello while the other two were snickering to each other.

"You've been messing with someone named Mail?"

"Yeah, so? He's a wuss. The little thing is weak. Plus…" The larger boy leaned over his desk, "I don't like the look in his eyes. But that's alright. He has tranquilizers with him, I'll just grab one of those and stick it through his eyes!" The two boys beside him began laughing hysterically.

Mello was not impressed. He wrinkled his nose in disgust before he marched over towards the group. The class watch on as the boys stood up and took on a defense position. Mello jumped up on to the desk to the boy's surprise and kicked him on the side of his head. As the leader fell to the ground, the boy on the right tackled Mello, knocking him to the ground. The boy pinned him and started to punch him in the stomach while the other flunky gave a good kick to Mello's head.

Mello saw stars, but blindly struck the boy on top of him in the nose. Mello could feel a warm liquid drip on his face while the boy made to stand. Mello kicked at his feet and as the boy started to fall, his friend went to catch him, if only Mello hadn't flipped himself back up and knocked he boy out with a kick to his back. Mello was caught off guard as the leader snuck up behind him and grabbed a hold of Mello's thin neck. Mello had started to chock and in desperation, he kicked his leg backwards and caught the boy in the groin. The Leader made a horrible grunt And Mello finished him by throwing his head back to meet the boy's forehead. Instantly, the boy dropped to his knees and was hollering in pain.

The class erupted in applause and cheers. It annoyed him greatly, so he turned to leave the classroom, but stopped when he noticed the red-haired standing there. The boy looked shocked.

Mello smiled and made a move to step towards him, but stopped dead in his tracks. Mail seemed hesitant, then stepped back from Mello. 'Was he afraid?' Mello calmed himself down so that none of the aggression he displayed earlier would show. "I took some of your bruises for you", he tried to sound gentle. Mail looked confused, so he continued. "They won't hurt you anymore. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore. I'll take the bruises for you. I get angered easily, so I can't promise I won't ever bruise you, but I can promise no one else will give those to you but me."

Before Mail could say anything, the teacher had walked into the classroom with surprise clearly evident on her face? She took in the sight of her three beaten students and the blonde student that was not her own. "Come with me, now." To Mello's great annoyance, she grabbed a harsh hold on his wrist and was pulling him out of the classroom. Before she continued down the hall, Mello waved at his new red-headed, friend.

"See you later, Mail!"

Mello sighed. He climbed out of his bed and made his way to Matt's across the room. Mello gently trotted on the carpet and when he was by Matt's bed, Matt had turned to meet his gaze. Matt then lifted his comforter in a sign for Mello to get in. Mello did so and carefully slipped into the sheets. After both boys were laying comfortably, facing each other, Matt stated, "I can't sleep."

Mello smiled, "Me neither. I've been thinking back when we used to go to public school."

"So was I. If I had known you got beaten for all the times you got in trouble at school, I would have kept you from getting in trouble."

Mello rolled his eyes. "I didn't get beaten just for getting in trouble. That man would hit more for all kinds of stupid reasons. It wouldn't have mattered if I got in trouble less often."

"Still…"

"I'm glad we met."

Matt sighed peacefully, "Me too. I think we should look more brightly to our opportunity of going back to school. Even if it's just for a short while, something good may happen, like when we first met."

"Your right. We'll have to make sure Near will be okay."

"And L."

Mello nodded in agreement. No more words came from the two for the rest of the night as they finally were able to fall into sleep.

Across the hall, a younger boy with snowy white haired tossed in bed with distress. He had been trying to sleep for two hours now. He looked to his bedside table and found the clock to say 12 o'clock already. He lost two hours of sleep that could have been used for energy he was sure he would need for tomorrow. He huffed in annoyance. He wondered if Mello and Matt were asleep yet. He was certain L was still to be awake. He had learned from a past adventure that L was an insomniac. Near got out of bed and silently walked out of his already opened door. He got to the elevator and input the fifteenth floor.

As the elevator started it's destination upwards, Near thought about the older teen and the adventure they had years ago. Near's home was destroyed by a deadly virus and he barely escaped it. He was only able to do so because of a member of Wammy's. F died to bring Watari information on the virus and to bring Near to safety. Near remembered clearly all L did for him and another young girl. As the elevator came to the fifteen floor, Near got out and walked down the hall still thinking of the older teen who had named him and brought him to Wammy's House. Wammy's House was were he met Mello, a boy who would occasionally bully him, and Matt, another boy that tried his best to keep Mello… well, mellow. Near allowed a brief small smile to grace his face.

The elevator dinged to signify it reached Near's destination. It's doors opened and he walked past them in silence. He walked down the length of the hall passing a few doors for the largest door at the end of the hall.

Near remembered how it was L who accepted F's gift while Watari was away. Near was tested for the deadly virus and when he repeatedly came out negative he was finally released. Near could remember how terrified he was, of all the poking, prodding, and the slight pain he had to endure during the testing. When he was released, he ran out of the lab and frantically held on to L, the only person who was always present while Near endured the bodily invasion. He could remember L's surprised eyes at being held on to, the sweets the young detective offered him as a way of consoling, the moment L tried to reassure him when it became evident all L's data was lost. Near remembered the first toy he was ever gifted.

Near finally made it to the large door and timidly knocked thrice. After only a few seconds, the door was opened a crack to reveal one deep obsidian eye. The door opened fully to show all of L. Without a word, the pale raven stood aside to allow Near entrance, and so he walked in. L looked over Near in silence. He seemed to be checking for anything that might be out of place towards his youngest successor. L must have found what he was looking for, "Don't worry." Near regarded L with a nod. "Go to sleep." L was now steering the younger towards his own bed. L lifted up the covers while Near crawled in beneath them. Once Near had laid himself as he wanted, L began covering him with the sheets and a blanket he obtained from a nearby chair.

After L was satisfied with tucking Near in, he walked to his computer station on the other side of the room and resumed working on a case. The room was already dark save for the blue haze the computer emitted. It was very relaxing to Near, but the boy still could not find sleep. He merely listened as L typing away on his keyboard.

Near wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he heard the light typing cease. Curious, Near focused his sight on the spindly detective to find him staring at him. "Why are you not sleeping?"

"It hasn't come yet. I am trying."

L continued with his staring before replying, "You are still worrying." It had not been a question but a statement and so Near did not answer back.

L went through the process of saving his work on his computer. He then had it shut down and when he was done with that, he stood up on his chair to step off of it. He grabbed his laptop from aside his computer and walked towards Near and his own bed. He then climbed on top of it and crawled over to where Near was. When he reached the side of Near's head, he lifted the pillows there and flung them on to the floor below. L resumed his crouching position as he had been at his computer station and opened his laptop. As it was starting up, he skillfully balanced it on top of his knees. He immediately started typing away.

"Do not worry. I will be with you tomorrow, just as I am right now. Sleep."

As Near continued to listen to L's soft typing, Near did fall to sleep.

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Author's Note : Hello. Um, I'm going to need some input on one of my decisions. In the first chapter of CD, I made the decision that L and B are related and I was going to get more into that when a topic with Watari will make itself present in the future of this story. I am now second guessing that decision and I'm sure I stated my discomfort of the decision before hand. So I wanted to know you all's take on it. Should the two be related? I can write out the story either way concerning the situation so it is no problem if the majority would rather L and B not be related. I strongly believe they aren't brothers but for this story, but I was going to make it so. Please consider these two factors if you want to give me your input on the idea.

• It is stated that B was born with Shinigami eyes, meaning he could see the name and lifespan of others. He used the knowledge of his victim's life spans to his advantage when murdering them. It was obvious that B never knew L's name. With one look at L, he would have already knew his name. This has me assume the two have never met face to face before, indicating they could not be brothers.

• Beyond Birthday looks exactly like L. He is wearing heavy make up to achieve this feat, or at least I strongly believe he is doing so. He knows just how to act like L as well, down to the bad posture and little habits. How is B able to mimic L so well without ever having met the other? He couldn't have learned how L looks or acts like because no one has ever seen L. The only thing I can come up with is that B learned from another person who was in the orphanage who had seen L when L may have been growing up there. But I must keep in thought, it was never confirmed that L even grew up at the orphanage. Nor that B was good at mimicking L, we just usually assume so.

Your help in the matter would be greatly appreciated.

I hope you all liked the chapter, it is quite short, only to explain a little more on the pasts of L's successors. I hope you like Mello's and Matt's scene. The chapter is also just to tie you over for the next chapter since it will be of the first day of school. Oh, and I did include the happenings of L Change The World. I did in fact enjoy the movie very much. We all got to see a human side of L that we did not see in the Deathnote manga so much which is really great for us fans. And the more light hearted parts were also nice. I smiled when L was riding the bike. I added the LCTW happenings to anchor a past for Near and to bring an existing closeness to him and L. Obviously, L would have been much younger at the time, but I think it's cool to think of a young L already saving the world from people wanting to take it over or destroy it blah blah blah. I was set on Near being English, but now that I've added his living in Taiwan into the story, it's a little weird now. But since Near only spoke English in the movie, I think I'll have it that Near is English and ended up in Taiwan lol I don't know. Some of these kids have strange pasts. I'd like it if Ohba discussed a little more of L's own past.

I'm sorry again for writing such long author's notes. It's quite obvious I don't have much of an outside life and I'm not quite sure why I fee the need to explain trivial matters. Fan art in next chapter. Have a lovely day.