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Description
While L and Light were secretly practicing in the basement, Near and the others were getting to know their own apartments. All of them had been furnished according to their own wishes, and when Near had finished looking around, he went to his bedroom and opened the closet. He had told them to put not only his clothes, but two other boxes in there as well. The first box contained his favorite toys, and the other box, which was considerably larger, held some computer equipment as well. Near smirked and took them out. Then he removed the cardboard slot, revealing a secret compartment. He reached down, pulled out the case within it and opened it. He smiled as he held one of his most prized possessions in his hands once more - his white Gibson Les Paul guitar.

Meanwhile, Mello was busy in his apartment downstairs with opening the boxes that contained his drum set. Matt had joined him and volunteered to help with setting up the drums if it was needed, and right now he was tuning in his bass with a passionate look on his face. When they finished, Mello found his favorite pair of drum sticks and moved to the drums. "Oh God, I've missed this feeling," he said as he sat down and gave them a try. It was nothing big, just a small drum solo, but he felt that he hadn't lost his touch despite not being able to practice for the past two weeks. "The acoustics are good in here," Matt remarked. They were sitting in Mello's private thinking room, which was sound-proofed for obvious reasons. "Yeah, really good. This will be a fine practicing area," Mello said with a smirk. "By the way, how's your bass skills doing, Matty?"

Matt jumped to his feet, bass in hand, and gently ran his hand up and down the fretboard. Then he took off his goggles - the number one sign that he was going to get serious about something - and began to play.

One rocking, fast-paced solo later, he flashed a toothy grin to his best friend and put the bass down. "I'm sure that spoke for itself," he said. "It sure did," Mello replied. "But try listening to this! It's something I began working on a week before we left…" Just then, they were interrupted by Mello's laptop announcing a caller. "Oh, it's Near!" Matt exclaimed. "What do you want, Near?" Mello asked. "Can you two come up to my apartment, or can I come down to yours? I have something I'd like to discuss with you," Near answered. "You can just come down he… Wait a minute. How do you know I'm with Matt now?" Mello asked, looking over at his best friend. "Are you spying on us or something?" "It's really not that hard to figure out," Near said. "Matt was the one who answered the call…" Mello facepalmed. They were all constantly linked through their laptops, all they needed to do was for one of them to push a button, and they would have a common connection that allowed them to speak to each other. "Well, just come down here anyway. And bring your guitar with you," he said before closing the laptop.

"You forgot about the permanent connection whenever our laptops are open, didn't you?" the white-haired boy asked with just a hint of teasing in his voice. Mello grumbled. "Yeah, I forgot. Sorry. In my defense, we first set it up like that four days ago." Near shook his head. "It's fine. Just remember it from now on…" "Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk to us about?" Matt quickly interrupted before their exchange of words could turn into a fight. Near sat down in one of the chairs. "Do you remember our third night here?" he asked them. "Of course we do! We played with that band - Lawlight, wasn't it?" Mello said. Matt nodded. "Well," Near continued, "later when we went out, we discussed the fact that one of the guys reminded us somewhat of L. The guy with the white hair…" Mello snickered briefly. "You know, Near, I could make a really lame joke about your hair color now, but I think I'll refrain from it…" Matt chuckled. "Thank you. Now, will you let me continue?" Near asked, and the others nodded. "The probability of L being Rou Ryuuzaki from Lawlight is roughly 2%, but I'm still convinced it's him. There's still the other member to consider - however, I think we might have come across him today. What do you think about it?" he asked.

"Well, I'm sure that if L's the first member, then Light Yagami must be the second member of Lawlight," Mello said. "He's L's best friend, and I think he matches the 'profile' we made on them. And if either of them is a member, it only increases the likelihood of the other being a member as well. If we work with that assumption, how high will the probability be then, Near?" "Still quite low, but higher. Only about 6,5%. But then we'll just need to figure out how to fill in the remaining 93,5%. That is, if we choose to act upon this at all, of course, and we haven't decided that yet," he answered.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Matt asked. "We're going to find a way to prove it, of course!" Mello answered. "We'll prove it, confront them with it, and after that, we'll join them on stage!"

There was complete silence in the room as the two others contemplated the situation briefly. "Come on, guys. Are you with me?" Mello asked them, holding out his hand in the air. Matt smiled. He had already decided. "I'm with you through thick and thin, Mells," he said as he placed his hand on top of Mello's. Near looked at them. He felt as though he still needed to think it through some more, but then he noticed the fire in Mello's and Matt's eyes. He remembered how he, even through their sunglasses, could see the fire in the eyes of Lawlight's members when they had played together that night, and he remembered how he himself had felt that night, as well as how he'd felt the first time he held his guitar in his hands and picked out a chord. He had never felt more alive and happy, and he had never felt more like a winner. All he needed to do to feel like that again was to reach out and accept the challenge. Either way, he would win. They would all win.

"I'm with you too!" he said with as much force as he could muster and placed his hand on top of theirs. His friends smiled at him with more happiness than ever before, and he knew he smiled back the same way. They were really going to do it! "Then it's settled! But before we do anything else about it, we have to play something together," Mello said. "Near, where's your guitar?" "Right here," the younger boy answered and put the strap over his head before plugging it in the amp next to Matt's bass plug. "Just jamming, right?" Matt asked, receiving a nod from Mello as a reply. The blonde clapped his drumsticks together above his head and began to count the beat. "One, two… one, two, three, four!"

"I wonder where the others are," Light said as he and L came up from the basement and entered the common area. "They could be anywhere here," L said, "but my top two bets are that they are either enjoying the view from the roof terrace, or that they're all gathered in one of their apartments, discussing the events of the day. I'm almost 98% sure that they're together now." Light suddenly remembered something. "Now that I think about it… L, I think one of them might be on to us," he began. L turned to look at his best friend. "When I said hello to Near, he had this strange spark in his eyes, like he had just realized something when he looked at me. I think he thinks that I might be the other member of Lawlight," Light continued. L crouched down in one of the sofas and put his thumb to his lower lip.

"They're probably discussing the probability of this as we speak," L said. "Near's observational and deductive skills are very refined, but he would never draw any finalizing conclusions based on such a vague assumption. He would search for more incriminating evidence while keeping that assumption in mind. Mello, on the other hand, is more intuitive and impulsive, and if they work together - which I'm certain they do, of course - I believe it's safe for us to assume that their further work will be based on the assumption that I am Rou Ryuuzaki, and you are Raito Asahi, further based on what they saw, heard and felt that night when we played together." Light's expression became slightly concerned. "Should we be worried about this suspicion?" he asked. L shook his head with a grin. "This simply proves that they are worthy of being my successors. I have a pretty good idea of how they will try to solve the mystery from now on, so we can probably adapt our own strategies to suit theirs," he said. Light smirked deviously. He had just gotten an idea.

"How about we go offensive now, then? If they suspect us now with more certainty, they would expect us to try and lay low for a while, since we're trying to keep our identities secret, giving them time to prepare several different plans for different desired outcomes, and maybe even strengthen their suspicion. But if we do the opposite instead…" "I like the way you're thinking, Light," L said approvingly. "I doubt that anything we do can make them suspect us any less. However, by moving offensively we can essentially force them to move offensively as well, and that in turn will leave them more open to discovery." "Exactly!" Light exclaimed. "We'll be adapting to their strategies while forcing them to adapt to ours as well. Either way it goes, it will be advantageous for us, as long as we still remain careful of our own steps," he continued. L agreed. "This will be an entertaining challenge," he said. "Let's try and throw them off their rocker!"

"Wow, we're still going strong," Mello said approvingly after they had finished their jamming session. "But it still feels a little rusty. We need to practice daily if we want to be on Lawlight's level." The others agreed. If they were to perform with Lawlight on a regular basis, their current skills definitely needed more honing, perfection, and practice before they could properly say that they were on the same level. "We'll need more stage performance practice as well," Matt remarked. "It was pure luck that we were able to match their performance and presence that night, and if we want to be able to hold our own on a stage like they can, we'll have to perform for real audiences more often." It was going to be busy for them, but as Near put it: "If L and Light can maintain a double life and still have time for everything they need to have time for, so can we." And they were going to follow through with it, no matter what, and looking forward to it at the same time.

"Speaking of Lawlight," Near said, "have any of you thought about how we are going to proceed with proving their identities from here?" "No, not really," Mello said. "I'm much too tired to think realistically about something like that now. We all are. So I suggest we keep playing for a little while longer, then go and have dinner with the others, and tomorrow, we'll discuss our next move. It's not like we're running out of time or anything, remember?" "Mells is right," Matt said. "If anything, time is what we need to prepare ourselves properly." "It's settled then," Near said, ending the brief discussion. He then proceeded to drag out his phone from his pajama pocket and called a number.

Below them, in the common area, L's phone rang suddenly. L and Light immediately stopped their conversation, and the dark-haired genius answered his caller. "Yes?" "L, it's me," Near said on the other end of the line. "I have a question for you… no, actually two or three questions…" "Go on," L said. "Are all of us eating dinner together tonight? And if so, when and where?" the white-haired boy asked. "Oh, we didn't tell you that? Watari is preparing dinner for all of us as we speak. You're free to come down and help him, Light and I are already on our way to the kitchen. If everything happens according to plan, we'll be eating at 19.00," L replied as he rose from the couch and began walking. "Thanks, L," Near said, "see you soon." "See you," L said, closing his phone and ending the call.

Not too long after, the successors joined L, Light, and Watari in the kitchen and helped them all prepare the dinner. When they had eaten, they all gathered in the common area to talk and get to know each other better. Mello, who hadn't eaten a chocolate bar in several hours, was happy to see the coffee table full of sweets and coffee cups and quickly grabbed a chocolate bar from the tray. For once, Matt wasn't playing on his GameBoy, but focused on talking with Light and L. Light and Matt were rapidly becoming good friends, and it pleased L. He'd had a feeling that Matt and Light would connect better than he and Matt did, and he turned out to be right.

About 01.00, after the others had gone to bed, Light was walking into his bedroom getting ready for sleep. He wasn't very tired, but he could feel that it had definitely been a long and eventful day. It would be so nice to sleep in his new, soft, fresh bed in his new, fresh apartment. He closed the door behind him, letting out a relieved sigh - and nearly had a heart attack when he noticed the figure crouching on his bed. "GAH!"

"Take it easy, Light, I'm not dangerous," L said amusedly. Naturally, it was him sitting on the bed. "Didn't I tell you not to suddenly appear on people's beds?!" Light shouted. "You nearly gave me a heart attack - again!" "If I really must say it, I didn't suddenly appear, I was actually here the whole time," L began with a chuckle, "but I suppose I probably should have notified you of my presence." Light sat down next to his best friend. "I suppose so, too," he said, sounding a little tired, but he was still able to see the humor in L's statement. L chuckled again. "Was there anything you wanted, L?" Light continued. L nodded. "Remember our little offensive plan? I think it's time to set it in motion," he said.

Two minutes later, they were once again on their way to the basement. L had his laptop and a small video camera with him, and Light was carrying a notepad, which he was scribbling on while walking out of the elevator and onto the stairs that led them to their destination. L soon opened the door and let them in before shutting it tightly behind them. He then made his way to a desk standing against the wall in a corner, set down his computer on the desk and began plugging in the camera. Light was still pacing around while scribbling on his notepad, and from time to time he'd tap the pencil lightly against his nose with a pensive, focused expression on his face before beginning scribbling again.

"I'm done with setting up the equipment over here," L said, breaking Light's concentration briefly. "How is the manuscript coming along, Light?" "Oh, just fine. Here, take a look at it," Light said, making his way over to L and handing him the notepad. L grabbed the notepad delicately between his thumbs and index fingers and skimmed over the manuscript, quickly reading everything he needed to. "Yes, it does look fine," he said. "But this part here sounds too much like you, you'll probably have to change it a little bit." He pointed to the mentioned passage, and Light quickly looked it over. "Yes, you're right. I'll change it right away," he said and pulled out his eraser. Soon after, the manuscript was finished, and they practiced it in front of each other. Then, they went to change their clothes.

L, now dressed as Rou Ryuuzaki from the waist and up, pushed the 'record' button on the video camera, which stood steadily on the desk beside L's laptop to which it was connected, and seated himself beside his best friend in front of the laptop. Light opened his mouth and began to speak in the voice he used for Raito Asahi, his artist alias.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Raito Asahi…" "And Rou Ryuuzaki…" L added quickly before they joined voices: "… from Lawlight!" "We have a quick announcement to make. In the first weekend of October, the annual Nakano anime convention will be held, and on Saturday at 20.00, Lawlight will be playing on the main stage! If you haven't done it yet, be quick and buy your tickets right away!" Light said enthusiastically. "Not only will a lot of other artists, seiyuu, cosplayers and the like be there," L began in an equally enthusiastic tone, "but there'll even be a lot of other events that simply can't be missed! We're really looking forward to being a part of this, right, Asa-kun?" Light beamed at L at these words, staying in character. "Of course we are! Please, come and see us, and lend your support to the otaku world - and up-and-coming bands like us!" he answered. "Asa-kun and Ryuu-kun of Lawlight wish you all a pleasant night." "See you!" L said, finishing the announcement and turned off the camera. They took two more takes of the announcement before getting it completely right, and after a little bit of editing and grooming, the video was ready to be posted on Lawlight's website.

"We'll post it tomorrow night, right?" Light asked while they were changing. "It's 02.17, and I'm getting a little tired now." "Yes, that was the plan," L said. "Come on, we're going back." As they were making their way towards the door, Light suddenly noticed the pile of white still laying on the table. "Wait!" he said loudly. "Aren't you going to wear your shirt?" L shook his head. "I don't want to put it back on. It's bothersome." And with that, he took his shirt and the rest of his equipment with him upstairs. Light followed close behind. "Goodnight," he said, stopping outside his own apartment, "see you tomorrow." L replied with a smile. "See you tomorrow, Light," he said and continued upstairs.

The next day, everybody slept for as long as they could, with the exception of Light, who had to attend a few lectures at the university and therefore needed to get up at around 08.00. He ate a small breakfast with Watari in the common area kitchen and then hurried out the door. A little later, Watari went to check on L. The latter had already woken up and was currently looking attentively at his laptop, gathering information on the case he had come across in the news yesterday. After getting ready, he went downstairs with Watari to eat some strawberry shortcake for breakfast.

Meanwhile, Near was still sleeping peacefully in his own apartment. There were no disturbing noises around him or anything new he needed to relate to, it was all quiet and dark around him as he lay in his soft bed, surrounded by pillows, two dolls, and a teddy bear. The teddy bear was safely engulfed by his arms, and next to him, the guitar lay safely in its case. There was a small smile on his face as his dreams circled around the idea of coziness. In the apartment below his, a blonde hothead had just woken up with a huge yawn and stretched himself out across the bed. Mello hadn't slept particularly well, but it hadn't been particularly bad, either. He rose from his roomy bed and moved to the counter to get the chocolate bar that lay there. If he didn't get his morning chocolate, he would be worth nothing, or very little, for the rest of the day - much like people who simply cannot work if they haven't drunk their morning coffee. As he bit off the first chunk of chocolate and felt the heavenly taste enter his mouth, there was a distant knock on the door. Quickly chewing, swallowing, and biting off another chunk, Mello made his way to the door and opened it.

Outside, his best friend stood with a sheepish smile on his face. Mello couldn't help but let out a small chuckle when he saw him. Matt had clearly had a night much like his own, and his hair was very, very messy. "What's with the hair, Matty?" he asked. The brown-haired teen raised his hand to feel his head. "Is something wrong with my hair? I know I look really tired, but…" "Well, you better see for yourself," Mello said, leading him inside. When they stopped in front of a mirror, Matt couldn't help but let out a chuckle too. "Wow… I didn't know my hair could even do that!" he laughed, and he and Mello proceeded to sit down on Mello's bed and began talking about different things. Before long, they were both snoozing again, and they continued to do so until Watari and Near came and woke them up.

The successors soon had a new case to work on, and they chose to sit in Near's thinking room while they were solving it. Naturally, as they discussed the case, the Lawlight topic came up, and they came up with a plan for the day. "I think we should try and find every piece of information on them that's available to the public before we do anything else," Matt suggested, and the others agreed. They decided to go to a public cyber café later that night, since they couldn't risk that L discovered what they were up to. Meanwhile, the hours continued to pass, and at one point Light returned from his lectures and joined L in his working room to help him with the case they were going to solve. "I put the file on a USB disk, so all we have to do is bring this to a cyber café later and upload it to our website," Light said and volunteered for the job. L agreed.

"Are you going somewhere?" L asked his successors as they went to get their coats in the hallway. "Yes, we're going out to explore the neighboring area for a while," Near replied. "Don't worry about us, we'll be back in about an hour or two," Mello continued and followed his two friends outside. Light hid in the shadow of the apartment complex when he saw them going out, and a devious smirk spread itself on his face. 'Just as planned,' he thought to himself.

"This is really well thought out," Matt remarked as all three were sitting in front of different computers at the neighborhood cyber café searching for information on Lawlight. "There is absolutely nothing here that can obviously compromise them or expose their true identities. Any of you found something we can use?" Both Near and Mello shook their heads. "All we've got is that both supposedly are university students, that both are of Japanese origin, and all the trivia about their likes, dislikes, and so on…" Mello said tiredly. "Why don't you try hacking their website, Matty, and see if you can track their IP address or something?" "I'm on it," the gamer replied and began typing rapidly. "Oh! Guys, come here!" he exclaimed suddenly, and Near and Mello immediately scrambled to his side. "What is it?" Near asked. "Did you find something, Matty?" Mello inquired, looking at the computer screen. "Oh…" And then they watched the video clip that announced Lawlight's performance at the anime convention in Nakano.

"When was this uploaded?" Mello asked. "Today," Matt replied incredulously. "One hour ago…" "But L wasn't out at that time," Near said. "I don't recall seeing Light, though, but still…" "They could have made it earlier, of course. But it's very risky of them. We can trace their IP address and find out where the clip was uploaded, and if we can't trace the IP, it'll only make us suspect them more. And if it really is them, shouldn't they try to lay low now, so we won't find out right away?" Mello asked. "I thought so too… but it seems we might have been mistaken," Near replied. Mello smirked. "Anyway, this only makes it easier for us to meet them again! They've given us the place and time, after all," he said strongly. "Yes, they've given us a challenge now," Near said. "We need to think this over before we do anything. I don't want to lose to them!" And the others shared his sentiments. 'Damn you, Lawlight!' Mello thought. 'You're trying to force us to act offensively, aren't you? But don't underestimate us! If you want offensive, we'll give you offensive! No one messes with L's successors!'

Description
While L and Light were secretly practicing in the basement, Near and the others were getting to know their own apartments. All of them had been furnished according to their own wishes, and when Near had finished looking around, he went to his bedroom and opened the closet. He had told them to put not only his clothes, but two other boxes in there as well. The first box contained his favorite toys, and the other box, which was considerably larger, held some computer equipment as well. Near smirked and took them out. Then he removed the cardboard slot, revealing a secret compartment. He reached down, pulled out the case within it and opened it. He smiled as he held one of his most prized possessions in his hands once more - his white Gibson Les Paul guitar.

Meanwhile, Mello was busy in his apartment downstairs with opening the boxes that contained his drum set. Matt had joined him and volunteered to help with setting up the drums if it was needed, and right now he was tuning in his bass with a passionate look on his face. When they finished, Mello found his favorite pair of drum sticks and moved to the drums. "Oh God, I've missed this feeling," he said as he sat down and gave them a try. It was nothing big, just a small drum solo, but he felt that he hadn't lost his touch despite not being able to practice for the past two weeks. "The acoustics are good in here," Matt remarked. They were sitting in Mello's private thinking room, which was sound-proofed for obvious reasons. "Yeah, really good. This will be a fine practicing area," Mello said with a smirk. "By the way, how's your bass skills doing, Matty?"

Matt jumped to his feet, bass in hand, and gently ran his hand up and down the fretboard. Then he took off his goggles - the number one sign that he was going to get serious about something - and began to play.

One rocking, fast-paced solo later, he flashed a toothy grin to his best friend and put the bass down. "I'm sure that spoke for itself," he said. "It sure did," Mello replied. "But try listening to this! It's something I began working on a week before we left…" Just then, they were interrupted by Mello's laptop announcing a caller. "Oh, it's Near!" Matt exclaimed. "What do you want, Near?" Mello asked. "Can you two come up to my apartment, or can I come down to yours? I have something I'd like to discuss with you," Near answered. "You can just come down he… Wait a minute. How do you know I'm with Matt now?" Mello asked, looking over at his best friend. "Are you spying on us or something?" "It's really not that hard to figure out," Near said. "Matt was the one who answered the call…" Mello facepalmed. They were all constantly linked through their laptops, all they needed to do was for one of them to push a button, and they would have a common connection that allowed them to speak to each other. "Well, just come down here anyway. And bring your guitar with you," he said before closing the laptop.

"You forgot about the permanent connection whenever our laptops are open, didn't you?" the white-haired boy asked with just a hint of teasing in his voice. Mello grumbled. "Yeah, I forgot. Sorry. In my defense, we first set it up like that four days ago." Near shook his head. "It's fine. Just remember it from now on…" "Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk to us about?" Matt quickly interrupted before their exchange of words could turn into a fight. Near sat down in one of the chairs. "Do you remember our third night here?" he asked them. "Of course we do! We played with that band - Lawlight, wasn't it?" Mello said. Matt nodded. "Well," Near continued, "later when we went out, we discussed the fact that one of the guys reminded us somewhat of L. The guy with the white hair…" Mello snickered briefly. "You know, Near, I could make a really lame joke about your hair color now, but I think I'll refrain from it…" Matt chuckled. "Thank you. Now, will you let me continue?" Near asked, and the others nodded. "The probability of L being Rou Ryuuzaki from Lawlight is roughly 2%, but I'm still convinced it's him. There's still the other member to consider - however, I think we might have come across him today. What do you think about it?" he asked.

"Well, I'm sure that if L's the first member, then Light Yagami must be the second member of Lawlight," Mello said. "He's L's best friend, and I think he matches the 'profile' we made on them. And if either of them is a member, it only increases the likelihood of the other being a member as well. If we work with that assumption, how high will the probability be then, Near?" "Still quite low, but higher. Only about 6,5%. But then we'll just need to figure out how to fill in the remaining 93,5%. That is, if we choose to act upon this at all, of course, and we haven't decided that yet," he answered.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Matt asked. "We're going to find a way to prove it, of course!" Mello answered. "We'll prove it, confront them with it, and after that, we'll join them on stage!"

There was complete silence in the room as the two others contemplated the situation briefly. "Come on, guys. Are you with me?" Mello asked them, holding out his hand in the air. Matt smiled. He had already decided. "I'm with you through thick and thin, Mells," he said as he placed his hand on top of Mello's. Near looked at them. He felt as though he still needed to think it through some more, but then he noticed the fire in Mello's and Matt's eyes. He remembered how he, even through their sunglasses, could see the fire in the eyes of Lawlight's members when they had played together that night, and he remembered how he himself had felt that night, as well as how he'd felt the first time he held his guitar in his hands and picked out a chord. He had never felt more alive and happy, and he had never felt more like a winner. All he needed to do to feel like that again was to reach out and accept the challenge. Either way, he would win. They would all win.

"I'm with you too!" he said with as much force as he could muster and placed his hand on top of theirs. His friends smiled at him with more happiness than ever before, and he knew he smiled back the same way. They were really going to do it! "Then it's settled! But before we do anything else about it, we have to play something together," Mello said. "Near, where's your guitar?" "Right here," the younger boy answered and put the strap over his head before plugging it in the amp next to Matt's bass plug. "Just jamming, right?" Matt asked, receiving a nod from Mello as a reply. The blonde clapped his drumsticks together above his head and began to count the beat. "One, two… one, two, three, four!"

"I wonder where the others are," Light said as he and L came up from the basement and entered the common area. "They could be anywhere here," L said, "but my top two bets are that they are either enjoying the view from the roof terrace, or that they're all gathered in one of their apartments, discussing the events of the day. I'm almost 98% sure that they're together now." Light suddenly remembered something. "Now that I think about it… L, I think one of them might be on to us," he began. L turned to look at his best friend. "When I said hello to Near, he had this strange spark in his eyes, like he had just realized something when he looked at me. I think he thinks that I might be the other member of Lawlight," Light continued. L crouched down in one of the sofas and put his thumb to his lower lip.

"They're probably discussing the probability of this as we speak," L said. "Near's observational and deductive skills are very refined, but he would never draw any finalizing conclusions based on such a vague assumption. He would search for more incriminating evidence while keeping that assumption in mind. Mello, on the other hand, is more intuitive and impulsive, and if they work together - which I'm certain they do, of course - I believe it's safe for us to assume that their further work will be based on the assumption that I am Rou Ryuuzaki, and you are Raito Asahi, further based on what they saw, heard and felt that night when we played together." Light's expression became slightly concerned. "Should we be worried about this suspicion?" he asked. L shook his head with a grin. "This simply proves that they are worthy of being my successors. I have a pretty good idea of how they will try to solve the mystery from now on, so we can probably adapt our own strategies to suit theirs," he said. Light smirked deviously. He had just gotten an idea.

"How about we go offensive now, then? If they suspect us now with more certainty, they would expect us to try and lay low for a while, since we're trying to keep our identities secret, giving them time to prepare several different plans for different desired outcomes, and maybe even strengthen their suspicion. But if we do the opposite instead…" "I like the way you're thinking, Light," L said approvingly. "I doubt that anything we do can make them suspect us any less. However, by moving offensively we can essentially force them to move offensively as well, and that in turn will leave them more open to discovery." "Exactly!" Light exclaimed. "We'll be adapting to their strategies while forcing them to adapt to ours as well. Either way it goes, it will be advantageous for us, as long as we still remain careful of our own steps," he continued. L agreed. "This will be an entertaining challenge," he said. "Let's try and throw them off their rocker!"

"Wow, we're still going strong," Mello said approvingly after they had finished their jamming session. "But it still feels a little rusty. We need to practice daily if we want to be on Lawlight's level." The others agreed. If they were to perform with Lawlight on a regular basis, their current skills definitely needed more honing, perfection, and practice before they could properly say that they were on the same level. "We'll need more stage performance practice as well," Matt remarked. "It was pure luck that we were able to match their performance and presence that night, and if we want to be able to hold our own on a stage like they can, we'll have to perform for real audiences more often." It was going to be busy for them, but as Near put it: "If L and Light can maintain a double life and still have time for everything they need to have time for, so can we." And they were going to follow through with it, no matter what, and looking forward to it at the same time.

"Speaking of Lawlight," Near said, "have any of you thought about how we are going to proceed with proving their identities from here?" "No, not really," Mello said. "I'm much too tired to think realistically about something like that now. We all are. So I suggest we keep playing for a little while longer, then go and have dinner with the others, and tomorrow, we'll discuss our next move. It's not like we're running out of time or anything, remember?" "Mells is right," Matt said. "If anything, time is what we need to prepare ourselves properly." "It's settled then," Near said, ending the brief discussion. He then proceeded to drag out his phone from his pajama pocket and called a number.

Below them, in the common area, L's phone rang suddenly. L and Light immediately stopped their conversation, and the dark-haired genius answered his caller. "Yes?" "L, it's me," Near said on the other end of the line. "I have a question for you… no, actually two or three questions…" "Go on," L said. "Are all of us eating dinner together tonight? And if so, when and where?" the white-haired boy asked. "Oh, we didn't tell you that? Watari is preparing dinner for all of us as we speak. You're free to come down and help him, Light and I are already on our way to the kitchen. If everything happens according to plan, we'll be eating at 19.00," L replied as he rose from the couch and began walking. "Thanks, L," Near said, "see you soon." "See you," L said, closing his phone and ending the call.

Not too long after, the successors joined L, Light, and Watari in the kitchen and helped them all prepare the dinner. When they had eaten, they all gathered in the common area to talk and get to know each other better. Mello, who hadn't eaten a chocolate bar in several hours, was happy to see the coffee table full of sweets and coffee cups and quickly grabbed a chocolate bar from the tray. For once, Matt wasn't playing on his GameBoy, but focused on talking with Light and L. Light and Matt were rapidly becoming good friends, and it pleased L. He'd had a feeling that Matt and Light would connect better than he and Matt did, and he turned out to be right.

About 01.00, after the others had gone to bed, Light was walking into his bedroom getting ready for sleep. He wasn't very tired, but he could feel that it had definitely been a long and eventful day. It would be so nice to sleep in his new, soft, fresh bed in his new, fresh apartment. He closed the door behind him, letting out a relieved sigh - and nearly had a heart attack when he noticed the figure crouching on his bed. "GAH!"

"Take it easy, Light, I'm not dangerous," L said amusedly. Naturally, it was him sitting on the bed. "Didn't I tell you not to suddenly appear on people's beds?!" Light shouted. "You nearly gave me a heart attack - again!" "If I really must say it, I didn't suddenly appear, I was actually here the whole time," L began with a chuckle, "but I suppose I probably should have notified you of my presence." Light sat down next to his best friend. "I suppose so, too," he said, sounding a little tired, but he was still able to see the humor in L's statement. L chuckled again. "Was there anything you wanted, L?" Light continued. L nodded. "Remember our little offensive plan? I think it's time to set it in motion," he said.

Two minutes later, they were once again on their way to the basement. L had his laptop and a small video camera with him, and Light was carrying a notepad, which he was scribbling on while walking out of the elevator and onto the stairs that led them to their destination. L soon opened the door and let them in before shutting it tightly behind them. He then made his way to a desk standing against the wall in a corner, set down his computer on the desk and began plugging in the camera. Light was still pacing around while scribbling on his notepad, and from time to time he'd tap the pencil lightly against his nose with a pensive, focused expression on his face before beginning scribbling again.

"I'm done with setting up the equipment over here," L said, breaking Light's concentration briefly. "How is the manuscript coming along, Light?" "Oh, just fine. Here, take a look at it," Light said, making his way over to L and handing him the notepad. L grabbed the notepad delicately between his thumbs and index fingers and skimmed over the manuscript, quickly reading everything he needed to. "Yes, it does look fine," he said. "But this part here sounds too much like you, you'll probably have to change it a little bit." He pointed to the mentioned passage, and Light quickly looked it over. "Yes, you're right. I'll change it right away," he said and pulled out his eraser. Soon after, the manuscript was finished, and they practiced it in front of each other. Then, they went to change their clothes.

L, now dressed as Rou Ryuuzaki from the waist and up, pushed the 'record' button on the video camera, which stood steadily on the desk beside L's laptop to which it was connected, and seated himself beside his best friend in front of the laptop. Light opened his mouth and began to speak in the voice he used for Raito Asahi, his artist alias.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Raito Asahi…" "And Rou Ryuuzaki…" L added quickly before they joined voices: "… from Lawlight!" "We have a quick announcement to make. In the first weekend of October, the annual Nakano anime convention will be held, and on Saturday at 20.00, Lawlight will be playing on the main stage! If you haven't done it yet, be quick and buy your tickets right away!" Light said enthusiastically. "Not only will a lot of other artists, seiyuu, cosplayers and the like be there," L began in an equally enthusiastic tone, "but there'll even be a lot of other events that simply can't be missed! We're really looking forward to being a part of this, right, Asa-kun?" Light beamed at L at these words, staying in character. "Of course we are! Please, come and see us, and lend your support to the otaku world - and up-and-coming bands like us!" he answered. "Asa-kun and Ryuu-kun of Lawlight wish you all a pleasant night." "See you!" L said, finishing the announcement and turned off the camera. They took two more takes of the announcement before getting it completely right, and after a little bit of editing and grooming, the video was ready to be posted on Lawlight's website.

"We'll post it tomorrow night, right?" Light asked while they were changing. "It's 02.17, and I'm getting a little tired now." "Yes, that was the plan," L said. "Come on, we're going back." As they were making their way towards the door, Light suddenly noticed the pile of white still laying on the table. "Wait!" he said loudly. "Aren't you going to wear your shirt?" L shook his head. "I don't want to put it back on. It's bothersome." And with that, he took his shirt and the rest of his equipment with him upstairs. Light followed close behind. "Goodnight," he said, stopping outside his own apartment, "see you tomorrow." L replied with a smile. "See you tomorrow, Light," he said and continued upstairs.

The next day, everybody slept for as long as they could, with the exception of Light, who had to attend a few lectures at the university and therefore needed to get up at around 08.00. He ate a small breakfast with Watari in the common area kitchen and then hurried out the door. A little later, Watari went to check on L. The latter had already woken up and was currently looking attentively at his laptop, gathering information on the case he had come across in the news yesterday. After getting ready, he went downstairs with Watari to eat some strawberry shortcake for breakfast.

Meanwhile, Near was still sleeping peacefully in his own apartment. There were no disturbing noises around him or anything new he needed to relate to, it was all quiet and dark around him as he lay in his soft bed, surrounded by pillows, two dolls, and a teddy bear. The teddy bear was safely engulfed by his arms, and next to him, the guitar lay safely in its case. There was a small smile on his face as his dreams circled around the idea of coziness. In the apartment below his, a blonde hothead had just woken up with a huge yawn and stretched himself out across the bed. Mello hadn't slept particularly well, but it hadn't been particularly bad, either. He rose from his roomy bed and moved to the counter to get the chocolate bar that lay there. If he didn't get his morning chocolate, he would be worth nothing, or very little, for the rest of the day - much like people who simply cannot work if they haven't drunk their morning coffee. As he bit off the first chunk of chocolate and felt the heavenly taste enter his mouth, there was a distant knock on the door. Quickly chewing, swallowing, and biting off another chunk, Mello made his way to the door and opened it.

Outside, his best friend stood with a sheepish smile on his face. Mello couldn't help but let out a small chuckle when he saw him. Matt had clearly had a night much like his own, and his hair was very, very messy. "What's with the hair, Matty?" he asked. The brown-haired teen raised his hand to feel his head. "Is something wrong with my hair? I know I look really tired, but…" "Well, you better see for yourself," Mello said, leading him inside. When they stopped in front of a mirror, Matt couldn't help but let out a chuckle too. "Wow… I didn't know my hair could even do that!" he laughed, and he and Mello proceeded to sit down on Mello's bed and began talking about different things. Before long, they were both snoozing again, and they continued to do so until Watari and Near came and woke them up.

The successors soon had a new case to work on, and they chose to sit in Near's thinking room while they were solving it. Naturally, as they discussed the case, the Lawlight topic came up, and they came up with a plan for the day. "I think we should try and find every piece of information on them that's available to the public before we do anything else," Matt suggested, and the others agreed. They decided to go to a public cyber café later that night, since they couldn't risk that L discovered what they were up to. Meanwhile, the hours continued to pass, and at one point Light returned from his lectures and joined L in his working room to help him with the case they were going to solve. "I put the file on a USB disk, so all we have to do is bring this to a cyber café later and upload it to our website," Light said and volunteered for the job. L agreed.

"Are you going somewhere?" L asked his successors as they went to get their coats in the hallway. "Yes, we're going out to explore the neighboring area for a while," Near replied. "Don't worry about us, we'll be back in about an hour or two," Mello continued and followed his two friends outside. Light hid in the shadow of the apartment complex when he saw them going out, and a devious smirk spread itself on his face. 'Just as planned,' he thought to himself.

"This is really well thought out," Matt remarked as all three were sitting in front of different computers at the neighborhood cyber café searching for information on Lawlight. "There is absolutely nothing here that can obviously compromise them or expose their true identities. Any of you found something we can use?" Both Near and Mello shook their heads. "All we've got is that both supposedly are university students, that both are of Japanese origin, and all the trivia about their likes, dislikes, and so on…" Mello said tiredly. "Why don't you try hacking their website, Matty, and see if you can track their IP address or something?" "I'm on it," the gamer replied and began typing rapidly. "Oh! Guys, come here!" he exclaimed suddenly, and Near and Mello immediately scrambled to his side. "What is it?" Near asked. "Did you find something, Matty?" Mello inquired, looking at the computer screen. "Oh…" And then they watched the video clip that announced Lawlight's performance at the anime convention in Nakano.

"When was this uploaded?" Mello asked. "Today," Matt replied incredulously. "One hour ago…" "But L wasn't out at that time," Near said. "I don't recall seeing Light, though, but still…" "They could have made it earlier, of course. But it's very risky of them. We can trace their IP address and find out where the clip was uploaded, and if we can't trace the IP, it'll only make us suspect them more. And if it really is them, shouldn't they try to lay low now, so we won't find out right away?" Mello asked. "I thought so too… but it seems we might have been mistaken," Near replied. Mello smirked. "Anyway, this only makes it easier for us to meet them again! They've given us the place and time, after all," he said strongly. "Yes, they've given us a challenge now," Near said. "We need to think this over before we do anything. I don't want to lose to them!" And the others shared his sentiments. 'Damn you, Lawlight!' Mello thought. 'You're trying to force us to act offensively, aren't you? But don't underestimate us! If you want offensive, we'll give you offensive! No one messes with L's successors!'