Kyoka: Two updates in one night? This is tiring!

Baka: I'm psyched! Kyoka, do you know? L is a genius!!!

Kyoka: No. I thought that he liked apples. No, that's shinigami, I guess.

Baka: He saved What if L Never Died?! I luffles himmm! Even though stupid Light looked Korean, unlike the rest of the cast, I'm really happy that you brought live-action Death Note! *Glomp*

Kyoka: -snores- If I don't fall asleep at this computer, maybe we'll figure out this one-shot. However, it seems that I've forgotten the details in my fatigue... On with the story.

"Battle Ship?" Mello questioned. This was a game he could actually get excited about. To him, violence was always the answer, and if he got to play against Near… That would be fun. Unlike the other games, this time, he was sure that he would be able to win.

"Yes," L replied softly. "We will pair everyone with different partners and do a bracket tournament again. This is a true game of strategy."

Mello bit off a chunk of chocolate. The one time he actually wanted to be with Near… "What will the groupings be?" Near asked, twirling a white strand of hair around his finger.

"You will be with Watari," L began, "I will be with Matsuda, Matt will be with Misa, and Mello will be with Light." Everyone was silent for a moment until L suggested, "Shall we begin?" This was met with no verbal response, but everyone paired up and went to their separate tables.

Near and Watari settled into their seats and began to set up their ships. The game didn't last long--only about ten minutes--and Near was the victor, losing only his patrol boat in the process. Not being one to rub his victories in his opponent's face, Near began to play with the ships. Watari, who was far too mature to complain, excused himself from the room, returning several minutes later with sugary snacks for L.

Matsuda was excited. He was certain that he could win this game, as most of it was luck anyways. He set his ships up in such a way that they formed a smiley face, then glanced up at L, beaming proudly. The more times that L fired, however, the smaller that proud smile became. Every time L hit one of his ships without fail, and every time, Matsuda missed. Until the very end, that is. He finally struck one of L's ships, but unfortunately he struck in every direction except the way the boat was, and before he could strike again, L had won.

Matt and Misa's game took quite a while. Matt had to read the directions three times to Misa, and even after that, he had to explain the setup of the game to her, as she was moving the pieces upon every turn. When they finally began, it didn't take Matt long to figure out the configuration of Misa's ships. She had placed them all together in the center of her board, making it very easy for Matt to move from one ship to another, destroying everything in his pass. Misa, dumbstruck, stared at Matt when she finally realized she was losing. "You must be cheating," she accused, "You saw my board, didn't you? How are you hitting my ships every time?"

"Your setup is so predictable that it's not even funny," Matt replied easily, dodging the accusation. "You placed them all together in rows in the center of the board. Because I went straight across them and didn't sink a single ship, it's obvious, even the aircraft carrier isn't that long."

After counting the slots on what she believed was the 'aircraft carrier', she announced, "It's not! It only has two-"

"That's the patrol boat." Matt told her with a somewhat annoyed sigh. It was starting to become apparent to him why the phrase 'dumb blonde' was used so often. Mello obviously didn't fit that stereotype…. But Misa, it seemed, was the reason why it started.

Misa, frowning, asked, "then which one is the aircraft carrier?"

Mat pointed to the diagram on the instructions, showing her the boat labeled 'aircraft carrier.' "It's the biggest one. It has to be, because if it were small like the patrol boat, it wouldn't be able to hold, let alone land a plane." He needed a cigarette. This was getting too ridiculous. How many things did he have to explain to this stupid girl? True, before he had thought she was cute, but now she was just annoying.

"I don't think I have one of those." Misa announced, adding to Matt's annoyance. His usual cool demeanor was beginning to wear off.

"You do, I checked to make sure-"

"So you did see my pieces! Cheater!"

"That was before you put them down." Matt continued before completely blocking her voice from his head as he told her where he wanted to shoot next. And people say video games were good for nothing. How else was he supposed to perfect the aft of selective hearing? He smiled to himself at the thought as he finally finished off his opponent, vowing never to play against Misa again.

Mello was determined to win. He was almost positive that Near had won against Watari, and if Matt lost to Misa, he had no place in Wammy's. He was far too intelligent to lose to the likes of her… But now, Mello didn't make it, he would be the only one of L's three successors to lose. That would be a blow to his pride. He knew that Light was smart, but since the game was based on both luck and strategy, he hoped that he would get lucky… And he did. Kira or not, it seemed that Light was unable to win this game. Unfortunately for him, plastic boats had neither a name or a face. The game was very close, but in the end, Mello won, and celebrated by nomming chocolate… Which he would've done anyway. After a few moments, L questioned, "Is everyone ready for the next match?"

"Very well. In this next round, I will play Near and Matt will play Mello." He didn't see Mello punch his fist in the air as a gesture of victory. Matt would let him win if he wanted to, and he would be able to play Near in the final round… well, if he, by some miracle, won against L. "Let's begin, everyone."

Everyone grabbed a game and went to play. Light sat in a corner, morose because, even in Battleship, he hated to lose--especially to a child. Misa cuddled against his arm. Her opponent had been so mean, she thought! How dare he outwit her! Didn't he know who she was? Either way, she was still content with cuddling up against her boyfriend's arm. L was munching away happily at a nice, frosted cookie that Watari had brought for him while he arranged his ships in the perfect strategic position that he knew Near would never guess--a position that was neither obvious nor out of the ordinary, and something that couldn't be deduced by mathematical equations. Near, looking bored, arranged his ships in a more random manner than his mentor. Then again, doing a random set-up would prevent L from deducing his way into predicting the set-up.

Matt, knowing that Mello wanted to win, decided to do the most obvious think of: a straight line, symbolizing a cigarette, running across the "C" line, for "cigarette.," as well as the "D" line for "death," as Mello liked to point out, cigarettes tended to cause early deaths. Mello was clever enough to catch on to that. Besides, he would be sure to drop some hints beforehand… And if it looked like Matt was getting too far ahead, he would simply select a random place, far away from whatever ship he had been attacking. "Mello…" He mumbled, glancing up at his friend with a mischievous look in his eyes, though, of course, the expression was hidden by his golden goggles. "I need a cigarette. That game with Misa wore me out."

"You're going to have to wait, Matt." Mello mumbled, but, the more he thought about this sentence, the more he began to wonder. He finally looked up at Matt, who was smiling slightly. Yes, that was what he had meant by it. Giving Matt a knowing look, he selected C-1 as his first attack point… Naturally, this was a hit. The game didn't last long… And if anyone had been watching, it would've been obvious what had happened… But nobody was. Their secret would remain their own. Matt would always help Mello, even if it meant getting himself hurt in the process.

Near and L were just about neck and neck. They both seemed to have memorized the other's hand movements as they placed the pieces, so they both seemed to know a general area of where all of the other's ships lie. Of course, there were a few misses from both parties, but, in the end, it all came down to one more ship for each of them. L had to strike the second slot of Near's patrol boat, and Near had to strike the fifth and final slot of L's aircraft carrier… But L made a fatal mistake. He aimed to the space just to the right of the ship, when, in reality, it had been the left side that he needed to attack, while Near hit the final piece of L's carrier. The results were actually quite shocking to most of the others… But they all understood. It seemed that Near was even craftier than L himself.

"Mello," L called softly, "Have you finished your game?" He had already assumed that the blonde had won… He understood their relationship, and knew that Matt would allow Mello to win, even if he should've been the victor.

"Yeah, I won." He replied, standing.

"Big surprise there, cheaters." Misa said loudly, from the safety of Light's arms, still annoyed at both of them. She was ignored, however.

"You will be playing against Near then." L announced as Watari began to clear the game boards.

Mello stared at his rival for a moment. Near beat L? The concept was difficult for him to grasp (It really must have been by some miracle), but, nonetheless… It meant that he was able to face Near in a violent game, just as he had hoped. "Mello," Near murmured, "This is what you wanted all along, isn't it?"

Mello glared at Near, hating the fact that he was so easily able to analyze his actions. "That's not your business," He growled defensively, sitting down in L's former chair, "All you need to know is that I will win this time."

A small smile came to the boy's face, "I accept your challenge." He said softly before setting up his pieces. Again, the game was extremely close… But Mello, it seemed, was too easily distracted by Near's antics. Every time Near lost one of his ships, he would pull it out of it's slot and play with it…And every time he did this, Mello became even more annoyed, bothered that Near was not at all bothered by the fact that he had lost a ship. As Mello became more annoyed at what Near was doing, his judgmental abilities weakened, and, like L, his fatal flaw was that he had gone to the wrong side of Near's ship on the very last turn. Near had won, yet again… But this time, Mello did not complain. There was no point, he figured… If Near could be so calm about losing in Monopoly, he had no reason to be excited about losing in Battleship… No matter how much he hated the thought.

Mello stormed out of the room to find some way to vent his emotions while Near, unperturbed, played with one of the battleships absentmindedly.

"Well," Light said this time, " I guess Mario Karts next."

"Yes!" Matt shouted in victory. Finally, payoff for helping Mello.