Building Blocks [Open]

[Near]

The living room, although a public area, was somewhere Near had grown to like. It was peaceful and rather relaxing in this room. It was empty of other students, he supposed they found this room boring. This was convenient for him, it meant he would be left to his own devices and undistracted by incesant chatter.

The living room was a lot more spacious than his own small room. It was the perfect place to construct a mini city out of lego- and that's exactly what he was doing.

Since he had finished all the work he needed done for the day, he had carried his large box of lego out into the living room- which was a very difficult task for him, mind you. He decided to spend the afternoon building a city until he ran out of blocks. He had roughly three hundred and ten, so he had a fair idea of how big his city was allowed to get before he had no more to use.

In front of him were two multi-coloured sky scrapers, one a few inches taller than the other. He had set to work on a small convenience store- he didn't have enough lego to colour code his work, but he was sure the little army men he'd brought along to act as the cityfolk wouldn't mind.

Although he enjoyed building cities, lego weren't usually as satisfying as blocks or dice were. Unless lego was intentionally knocked down, it wouldn't fall and there were no challenges posed. Blocks and dice tended to require a higher level of concentration, but alas, he didn't own enough of those as of yet to build a large city.

He reached up to twirl a lock of white hair around his index finger as he placed the next block down, just a few more layers of 'brick' and he'd be done...

[L]

L had heard a lot about the Kid before him, his name was Near. At least that was the name that the child went by within the house, his real name was something else. Something that would never be spoken in this house, for his own safety, and for the safety of everyone else. To many people this would not make sense, however L knew the reasons. After all, he was the one that made the rule. However, now was the time to see near in person for a real inspection. The two had spoken before, but never in depth. Leaning lightly against the arch into the room L watched Near with keen eyes, rubbing his feet together as he stood there.

His shirt hanging loosely from his shoulder, swaying lightly in the wind from the windows. A pair of old jeans clinging to his legs, stopping just under his ankle. Two large black bags under both his eyes, betraying to on lookers his lack of sleep. Yet his body still had the energy to work on many cases at once, solving all very quickly.

Watching as Near played with the Lego, laying each piece down in unison. Staying silent until Near begun to fiddle with his hair as he seemed to look over his work, “Why the Lego? Why are you not outside with the others?”

[/font] He asked with a light tone as he begun to enter the room, his feet striking the carpet soundlessly. Eventually he feel upon the couch, pulling his legs up so his knees were against his chest he looked over the city the child had built.

Lifting his right hand he pressed his index finger lightly against his lip as his breath ran past his lips, lightly touching his finger. He knew the boy was quite un-social, never going out with the other children. Instead always seemed to be playing with the lego or another creative game, why? With a light smile his eyes wandered to the young boy. How old was he now…ten…many years to turn this boy into a true successor. That was, if he didn’t bend under the pressure. [/blockquote]

[Near]

Near hadn't noticed the older man's presence until his voice shattered the silence of the room. His hand hovered over the lego box as he considered the question. 'Why'? If he recieved a block for each time somebody asked him that question, he'd be able to build a replica of the empire state building- a mild exaggeration, perhaps.

He pulled another piece of lego from the box, "I prefer to remain indoors," he muttered simply, fiddling with the colourful block in his hand, "I like to keep my mind stimulated..."

At the sound of the couch creeking under the other's weight, Near's gaze wandered over curiously. Ah, he'd spoken to this man before. He was L, the person he was meant to one day succeed- given that he maintained his position at number one, of course.

It was hard to believe that such an oddball was the world's greatest detective- but he supposed none of the children here were quite normal, perhaps the successors were truely picked based on their level of weirdness as well as their intelligence.

He continued to silently study L, noting the dark rings under his eyes. It was probably common for him to go for long periods without sleep, Near himself avoided sleep unless it was neccessary.

The way the detective sat was odd and quite similar to how Near did. His clothes seemed to be a few sizes too big, just like Near's. L seemed to have a habit of biting his thumb which was not unlike Near's habit of twirliing his hair. This was the first time he'd ever met somebody remotely similar to him, perhaps there were more similarities between them both.

His gaze finally left the other man to finish the city, "...Would you like to help?" it was a rare for Near to invite someone to join him, but he could feel some sort of connection between the two. Besides, it would probably be beneficial to study L so he knew how he was expected to act, he'd certainly be asking himself the question 'what would L do?' frequently in the future.

[L]

L watched as the boy grabbed another bit of lego and got ready to place it on the city somewhere. "I prefer to remain indoors," L nodded at the words, he had assumed that much so far. "I like to keep my mind stimulated..." L remained still at these words, the mind was the most important part of the human body. It had total control, without it nothing was possible, that was obvious and known by all.

His eyes watched as near fiddled with the lego piece, was he lost on where to place it? Had he planned out the whole city before hand or was he making it up as he went along? The latter seemed less likely, yet still not impossible. Near seemed to be the one that placed a great deal of thought in before acting, the opposite to Mello.

Catching the gaze of Near L sifted lightly in his seat, brining his right foot on top of his left before leaning back into the couch. It was obvious what was going on now, both would begin to study each other. This happened everytime, when L met Mello and Back up. Both times this occurred, it just showed how each of them wanted the new knowledge. Which was something L wanted within his successor.

After a moment the gaze of Near fluttered from L and returned to the city, so he had gathered all the information he wanted for now? Curious L watched as the boy carried on with the city, hearing his words "...Would you like to help?"

For a moment he was silent as he thought about it, it would be interesting to interact with the boy. Perhaps he would learn a little more about him, with that thought he nodded his head lightly. Placing both his palms on the edge of his seat he lifted himself up without moving his legs and lowered himself to the floor.

Now sitting upon the carpet he kept his knees tucked in close as he pressed his back against the lower part of the sofa. With his right hand he went forth to grab a small block, bitting away at his left thumb as he did so. His eyes focusing on his right hand as it held the small brick between his thumb and index finger. Lifting it slowly, as if it would break if treated harshly, he placed it upon once of the un-finished buildings to form another brick in the wall.

“Are you not annoyed when you take them down?” L asked, he was assuming that Near did take them down. Otherwise there would be many more lego buildings in the house.

[Near]

As L had assumed, Near had more or less planned out his city before hand. He had mentally mapped out how many buildings he would be able to construct and roughly how many lego pieces he could use for each.

It seemed that he was being studied back, which was to be expected. He was going to be tested and observed for the remainder of his time here. L needed to be satisfied that he was an appropriate candidate to succeed him, after all. This didn't really bother Near, he was fine with whatever the future decided to throw at him.

He didn't see the nod, but heard the couch creak again when the other went to move onto the floor. So was that his way of accepting the invitation? His question was answered when the older man joined him on the floor and picked out a block from the box. He trusted that L could figure out where to place it, so he didn't bother to prompt him unless asked to.

The small boy got out three more pieces from the box and placed them all down beside each other. He paused at the question. Annoyed? He rarely felt frustrated, especially from something so trivial.... "Not particularly," he answered, "The city has no purpose but to be built, it's no trouble to reconstruct. I can improve on its design that way."

He took a moment to watch the one he was supposed to succeed again. This was the first time somebody had expressed genuine interest in him- and the first adult that hadn't tried to force him to go and play with the other children.

L was sitting in that odd position with his finger to his lip again, he wondered why. "Is there any particular reason for sitting in that position?" most people would be unnerved by his staring by now, but somehow he had figured it wouldn't bother the detective. "And do you have a habit of biting your thumbnail?" Wasn't that a little unsanitary?

[L]

'What makes you so great?'

"Not particularly,"

That was the answer that L got from the boy, from all the things L had seen and heard about this boy he had not once shown anger. While many other students did, yet again. It was rare for Near to show any real emotion, the boy did not smile much, nor laugh. It seemed he was more like L than he first thought; he had little use for emotions. However, a new question rose up, was it that the boy knew nothing about emotions? Or that he just did not show them? Both are very different, one of them being a downfall, while the other being a benefit. At least in the eyes of L.

"The city has no purpose but to be built, it's no trouble to reconstruct. I can improve on its design that way."

L nodded at those words, no smile crossed his face but he was happy to hear that reply. From how Near said it L was sure he had learnt something vital about the boy, he was one to learn from his mistakes. As he said, he could improve the design, he had learnt of the defects and knew how to correct them. Which meant, in time Near would only get better. Yet it showed he still had a long way to go, he had made the mistake in the first place.

Grabbing yet another block L placed it lightly onto an unfinished building and pushed on the top of it, making sure it was held firmly in place. This was the first difference L had spotted, if near had spotted mistakes or faults it seemed like he had carried on. If it was L, he would have started from scratch, only perfection is allowed in L’s mind.

"Is there any particular reason for sitting in that position?" L turned to face the boy with the question, his hands falling to the top of his knees. Looking into the light Onyx eyes of the boy L was silent for a moment as if waiting to see if there were any more words from the boy.

"And do you have a habit of biting your thumbnail?"

At the second question L looked down at the nail in question, his eyes taking in every bit of the nail that had been removed by force. When compared to all his other nails it was obvious the thumb was the imperfect one. At the first L looked towards the arch way as a few of the children walked past, their footsteps echoing lightly into the room. A few of them shifting their gaze towards the two in conversation, yet only one child stopped to watch, and listen. If he heard the question L was unsure, but it seemed likely.

“The reason for the sitting is simple, it increases my deduction skills by 40%.” He said, his face calm as if this was trivial knowledge. A few people had asked him the question in the past, all of them got the same answer. However the second question was different, only near had ever asked the question. Was he the only one to notice?

For a moment L was silent, there was no real reason, it did not boost his thought process in anyway. Nor did it help him in an investigation, was it just a habit? “The nail…no reason, I guess a habit, just like how you twirl your hair.” He said as he pointed at the finger he saw Near use earlier to twirl his hair.

[Near]

So far, there hadn't been anything that could spark a great deal of emotion out of him. Feelings were alien to him. He understood what they meant and what usually triggered them, but he had no idea what most of them felt like. Emotions were essentially a weakness- take Mello for example, he could easily match Near if he didn't let them cloud his judgement. No, feelings were of no use to him. It would be problematic if he let them get in the way, they would only hold him back. It seemed L was able to keep his emotions in check also, the world would surely suffer if he lost control.

Near certainly did have a long way to go and he was prepared to accept that. Yet to him, in the end the result was more important than the process. Of course it would be reached much more smoothly and quickly without any mistakes. Not that he was one to often make errors, and it admittedly disappointed him when he did.

It seemed that L had considered his question carefully. He wondered if he was often asked about it, but then again, there probably weren't many people who had met him in person, though those who did would probably question it straight away. People were usually perplexed by the abnormal after all.

Sitting with his knees drawn to his chest increased deduction skills? "I see..." it seemed unlikely, but L had no reason to make up such a thing. Maybe he should try it out himself? He pulled the leg which lay idly by his side to his chest slowly and rested his head on his knees. ....Nothing felt different, perhaps it was only effective on L?

So the nail biting was just a simple habit? He was somehow expecting a different answer. L was hard to predict, which was rare. He could read most people like an open book, why was L different? "I twirl my hair to keep my hands occupied," he stated, "It helps me think, I suppose." He wasn't sure why he was so talkative today, it was probably because this was the first time somebody had tried to understand him rather than nag at him.

[L]

"I see..." L nodded at the words, it was good to know the boy was not blind. L smiled to himself, it was a bad joke. However, the boy had replied as if it made sense, but did it? Could near think up a plausible reason to why his knees being pulled to his chest made his thought process so much greater? L could reason with it, but many years ago all he knew was that it worked, not why or how. However, with time came knowledge.

With that L pulled up his knees and rested his head upon his knees, so was he going to take the same approach as B? B was a strange one, he was not himself, instead he copied L in every aspect. The way he spoke, walked, sat, perhaps he was hoping to become L via acting like him? Perhaps Near was thinking the same way, yet L was not one to comment. AS long as one turned out to surpass him, or at least equal him, then it did not matter who or how.

"I twirl my hair to keep my hands occupied. It helps me think, I suppose."

L nodded at the words, it was good to stay occupied. However, just have to make sure that the person stays occupied with the problem or challenge at hand. Not something that would distract the person. For a moment or so afterwards all fell silent, the single student leaning against the arch trying his best to stay undetected. “You suppose?” L repeated, not a word he used to much, he was either certain…or gave a percentage. Something he loved to give, the percentages. With his eyes focusing on Near he spoke once more, “Near…Do you know that Mello has over taken you within the house?” He muttered, the words were a lie. L himself was not yet sure who was top. It seemed to be between B and Near, with Mello in close suit. Yet B had caught L’s attention with his latest stunt, breaking into L’s very own room.

However the statement was not made to annoy or aggravated Near, to monitor him. Would he show any emotion after hearing the words? Would he even care about the words. It seemed likely, but not L was not certain on this matter. He still had to many blanks on the boy.

[Near]

Near certainly was not hoping to become L. His purpose was to succeed him, not be him. He was merely testing out the claim that sitting like L did increased his deductive abilities- which seemed to be ineffective after all. No matter, his concentration was just fine without sitting in such a way.

He had in fact noticed the student lingering by the archway, but he wasn't about to tell him to stop evesdropping. The student was obviously curious about L and it wasn't as if he was over-hearing anything classified.

He paused when L called him out on using the words 'I suppose'. Well, he hadn't really thought about it. He did tend to twirl his hair when he was thinking, which led him to the conclusion that it was helpful in improving his thought process. He simply nodded as a response, not really wanting to elaborate on it.

The albinoesque boy turned to face L when he declared that Mello had taken his position at number one. That seemed unlikely. Not that he was concieted and refused to believe such a thing, Mello seemed the same as always, how could he possibly beat him all of a sudden? It sounded like a lie. L could simply be testing him, wanting to judge his reaction. Then again, it could be the truth. Mello was very close behind him.

Whatever the case, he wasn't really very concerned about his position. If he was forced down to number two, then he would simply have to try a little harder. He didn't like to lose, but he wasn't so obsessed with it as Mello seemed to be. "Is that so?" his voice was it's usual monotone, not reflecting any sort of emotion whatsoever, "It seems I must work harder, then."

[L]

L watched Near as he spoke about Mello taking the position of number one, yet he didn’t seem to bothered. Perhaps he did not see it as the truth? It was possible, after all Mello had major down falls, just like Near. However both were in different areas, the only one that had no real down falls was B. But there was something odd about the child, something so odd it in fact stopped him becoming number 1.

"Is that so?"

L nodded at the words, the words were as normal as anything. The boy seem unbothered, a good and bad thing. As he didn’t show his emotions it would be hard to tell what he was thinking, a good thing If he was ever to come face to face with a possible opponent. However, it seemed that near had seen through the lie. Would he call L up on it or not?

"It seems I must work harder, then."

L smiled at the words, picking up yet another brick he looked at it for a moment before laying it back on the floor. “I have something a little harder than this if you like a challenge Near, you should like it.” He said as he stood up, his hands digging deep into his pocket as he stood there. His shoulders slouching forwards as he looked towards Near awaiting for a reply, the child at the arc quickly left the two in private. “Do you enjoy jigsaws?

----------[ ♣ ] ----------

Ooc: I was gonna give him the ‘blank jigsaw with the L on it’ like seen from the animes. That okay?

[Near]

Although he was quite certain now that it was a lie, he wasn't going to call L up on it. There was obviously some reason for it other than trying to aggravate him. If it had been someone else, they might have gotten upset or angry, but not Near. It was pointless to get emotional about it. It was as he said, he simply needed to try harder.

He eyed the brick that was placed and continued to twirl his hair again. As L spoke again, he stared up at him curiously. Something harder than this? Well, building a city was quite simple, it was something that occupied a lot of his time, though. A challenge, too? Well, Near always enjoyed being challenged.

He nodded at the inquiry, "Yes, I do," the answer was simple, but it was a stretch for Near to say he actually liked something. Jigsaws were great if they were hard to complete. He was beginning to grow tired with the ones he already owned, though. They were too simple. The pictures on the board made it easy to complete.

Why was L asking him, though? Was he going to give him a new, more challenging puzzle?

*************

ooc; Of course~

[L]

L watched the boy with keen eyes, taking in the speed the boy spun his twirl of hair. Had it changed from the start? Gotten a little quicker?...No…It seemed he did not care about the words L had spoken before. Not even a little, Near had kept his cool in the situation. Which was good, but L would not go off from this alone. After all, this was a very small amount of stress. When Near would take up his first crime, knowing he had to find the killer within four hours or have seventy-two people die….that was real stress.

"Yes, I do,"

With those words he gave a faint smile, L had already guessed, but it was good to check. With a light nod he stood up, slouching forward he lifted his hand as if telling Near to stay. “I will only be a second.” With that he begun to step other the lego buildings with somewhat graceful steps, something not one would expect from the detective.

With that he left the room, ignoring all around him as he swaddled to his room at a light and relaxed pace. Opening the door to a small storage room he stepped into the cramped room, going to the far end of the room he picked up a box a little larger than that of a normal jigsaw box. With the pure white box held steadily in his arm he made his wasy back to Near.

Appearing at the arch way he wandered towards Near and held out the box to the boy. Awaiting for him to take it from him before taking his seat upon the couch once more. “Only seven pieces, but it should be harder…it was one I used to use before I found it too easy.” He said, perhaps there was a joke in there? He himself could not be sure.

[Near]

Near nodded as L got up, told him to wait and left. Although, it wasn't as if Near was about to go anywhere else, not until his city was completed, at least.

It was silent in the room again as Near reached over to get a few more pieces of lego. It was odd to have somebody to talk to, and somebody that he liked talking to. It seemed both he and L were more or less on the same boat, was that why L didn't scold him for being the way he was like the others did? Whatever it was, he was glad.

He turned his head this time when he heard L return to the room, eyeing the box in his hands curiously. Was that for him? His gaze followed L as he approached him and held out the box. With slight reluctance, he took the box from the other man and set it on the floor. Well, he was assuming it was some sort of game since he asked him if he enjoyed jigsaws.

Delicately, he lifted the lid as if pressing too hard would soil the box with his fingerprints. Sure enough there was a pure white puzzle inside. He could already tell that this one would be more challenging than the ones he had already.

He lifted his head, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly into a ghost of a smile, "Thank you...."