Mello's eyes widened a fraction before he schooled his expression into something more neutral. "Hey J." He relaxed back into his pillows. "Didn't think I'd be seeing you."

"I—" She floundered for words. "Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah." He tapped at his bandaged face. "This is just a scratch. You should've seen the time one of the kids back at home tried building an airplane and I was the test pilot."

She let out a shaky laugh, then stuck out her hand. "Nice to officially meet you."

Mello snorted but reached out and gave her hand a firm shake. Then he eyed L quizzically from where he was standing behind Jubilee. "Who's the guy?"

L stepped forward slowly. "Hello, Mihael," he said softly. "I imagine I'm not what you expected."

Mello stared at L for a second, and then his eyes grew round. "Ry—Ryuzaki!" he sputtered, dumbfounded.

L gave a short nod. "I am glad to see you made it out of that truck incident alive."

Mello flushed a little. "About that," he began nervously, rubbing the back of his head, "I admit it didn't quite go according to plan, but—" He lowered his hand as his expression grew more serious. "The end goal was still reached. We now have the location of the Death Note."

"Yes," agreed L.

"What do you plan on doing with that information?" Mello asked, quickly reverting to business mode.

"I have some ideas," replied L, "But I thought the three of us would discuss the matter and come up with a plan together, since we are all here."

How cute, remarked Hellenos. It's like a family reunion.

"It can't be a reunion if we're meeting for the first time," Jubilee muttered under her breath.

You're right, I should have said family meeting, said Hellenos with a broad grin, just as L said, "What was that, J?"

"Er..." She racked her brain for something relevant to say. "Could we just do the same thing as before, with the notebook that was in Mikami's locker? Switch it out with a fake?" She wrinkled her nose as she remembered the details of that incident. "Except that time, it didn't really work since I guess we switched out a fake for a fake...right?"

"It appears so," said L. "However, that doesn't mean that it isn't still a good idea—now that we've found the real one."

"We've got four days until you two have got to be at the warehouse," interjected Mello, the miniature cogs over his head lighting up and spinning as he did some rapid mental calculations. "Depending on how many pages in the notebook are full already, it might be a close call...but just enough time to construct a fake."

"We can't risk removing the notebook from its location, in case Mikami goes to check on it again," L said. "So Wedy will have to break in again to take clear photos of all its pages, as well as the front and back covers."

"I can help her with constructing the fake, once she's got the photos," Mello volunteered.

"Very good," said L with a nod, then turned to Jubilee. "Can you contact Wedy and let her know?"

Jubilee blinked, her mind whirling from the speed of the conversation. "Uh, yes," she managed, pulling out her phone. Pulling up her last text from Wedy, she began to type as the two continued their conversation.

"By the way," Mello was saying. "Once Soichiro Yagami...passes, there will only be eight of you left to go to the warehouse."

"Yes," agreed L slowly.

Mello paused, before continuing, "But the email strictly said that nine of you need to show up."

"The email was concocted by Light in the first place," said L, waving a hand unconcernedly. "He'll know perfectly well that we won't be able to produce nine task force members, if his own father dies. And in any case, his main targets are J and myself."

"Yes, but the task force doesn't know that he knows that Soichiro is dying," Mello argued.

L raised an eyebrow. "What is your point?"

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"The rest of the task force will probably raise hell over it. As far as they know, Kira's going to start killing people just because one of the nine didn't show up."

"Their worrying about it is a moot point," said L. "As long as we remove the notebook from the equation, nobody will be killed that day."

"But there being eight instead of nine of you is a brand new factor," persisted Mello. "It could potentially influence the circumstances to change beyond what we are predicting. Say the Task Force becomes so worried that they try to come up with some other plan, or reach out to Kira before the date of the meeting? Or say Kira proposes a change in plans so that Light can cover his tracks in regards to inside knowledge about his father?"

L narrowed his eyes. "The chances of something like that happening are only fifteen percent at best. The chances of you having an ulterior reason for making all this superfluous speculation, however, are eighty-five percent."

Mello looked abashed. "Okay, fine. It was kind of an excuse for a request I'd like to make."

L sighed and rubbed his temple, like he knew what was coming next. "And what would that be?"

"I want to come with you guys to the warehouse."

L didn't look the least bit surprised. Jubilee, on the other hand, nearly dropped her phone.

Here we go, said Hellenos, sounding a bit fainter than before.

"You what?" Jubilee demanded Mello, ignoring the angel.

"Pretty sure you heard exactly what I said, J, judging from the look on your face," said Mello dryly.

She sputtered. "I'm sorry, this isn't a party we're going to. It's a planned massacre, which we're still not sure if we can prevent or not. What on earth—why would you even want...?"

"Look, I didn't come all the way to Japan just to sit on the sidelines," said Mello, irritated. "This is my job. This is what I was raised and trained to do."

"But Light's doesn't know who you are and has never seen your face!" cried Jubilee. "And that's a good thing! It means you're in the clear. That you're safe. Why would you change that?"

Mello gave a bitter laugh. "Honestly, J, have you ever known me to do or not do something based on how safe it was?"

Jubilee threw up her hands and turned to L. "Tell him!"

L looked impassive. "You'll have to give more specific instructions than that, J. But I can say that what he's proposing will not threaten our plan. Just his life."

"Just?"

L sighed again and looked to the ceiling. "I was prepared to call upon my other associates to take your place at the meeting instead, remember? Light knows that. So, it wouldn't be totally out of the question for me to do the same in this situation, in order to appease the rest of the task force who'll undoubtedly draw the conclusion which Mello has brought up."

Jubilee was at a loss for words. "Are you seriously considering letting a fourteen-year-old come with us to have a face-to-face showdown with Kira?"

L gave a shrug. "When I was his age, I had already been in at least three life-threatening situations."

Hellenos, still looking a bit dim, gave a long whistle. He saluted the space where L's guardian angel usually stood. And I thought my job was hard, he commented.

L went on, "And to be fair, Mello could pass for sixteen. Only a couple years younger than Light."

"But—" began Jubilee.

"I'm not saying that your concern is unfounded, J," said L quietly. "It is perfectly within reason. But you ought to remember that, for my successors and I, what is considered normal for others our age is...well, different for us."

Jubilee quieted, and L turned to Mello.

"And you need to understand the seriousness of what you are asking," he told the boy. "If you come with us, you will be walking into a life or death situation that you may not walk out of. None of us know for sure what will happen in that warehouse. Our predictions are not going to be a hundred percent accurate, I can guarantee that. As much skill as we may have in this field, we are not able to predict every detail of the future. There may yet be something that we do not foresee."

"I understand," said Mello solemnly.

Jubilee wrung her hands. "What if—what if we're wrong?" she asked softly. "What if the notebook's just another fake? What if Light predicted this move and it's a part of his plan and—"

"Hey." Mello reached out and gently knocked Jubilee's shoulder with his fist. "You should stop saying those two words."

"What?"

"That's one of them. The other one's 'if.'"

Jubilee let out an exasperated breath. "Mello, I'm being serious."

"So am I," said the boy. "Would you quit doubting yourself? I'm doing this because I trust both of you. Not because things are a hundred percent guaranteed, because they're never going to be. But because—" He paused and then rolled his eyes. "Well, you know." The air around him blushed darker even as it glowed with vibrant color.

Jubilee hid a smile. "No Mello, I don't. Because...?"

He glared at her. "Bet you already know."

"Say it anyway."

"If I do, will you let me come with you guys?"

She sighed. "It was never up to me anyway. Like you said before, I'm not your mother." She glanced at L. "And I think you're already okay with it, aren't you?"

L gave a short nod. "I'm aware of the risks. But I want my successors to be able to make their own decisions."

"Well, that settles it then," said Mello, reclining back onto the bed. "I'm going to get some shut eye before the big day, yeah?"

"Not so fast," said Jubilee. "What were you going to say?"

Mello rolled his eyes again and turned away from them, throwing the sheets over himself.

"Little thing I learned from you actually," came his muffled voice from below the covers, which couldn't hide the blush of colors around him. "Just that I believe in you. Both of you."

Jubilee smiled broadly. "Thanks Mello."

L cleared his throat. "The...ah...sentiment is shared," he said in a serious tone, although the air around him also flushed with color. He turned for the door. "We'll take our leave now then, shall we? Get some rest, and we'll see you in four days at the warehouse."

"Yes," Jubilee agreed as she followed L. Feeling suddenly more cheerful than before, she called over her shoulder, "See you at the massacre prevention party!"

L nearly tripped, catching himself with the door. Hellenos, who was back in focus, gave her a look before he sighed and looked to the ceiling.

Lovely. Every single guardian angel in this room will be working overtime for the next several days.

Jubilee smirked, exiting the room with L. Weren't you all already?