End Games

Chapter 36: Paragon II

-at Wammy's House-
Roger sat in his office with Watari, waiting. It had been a long time coming, but today was finally the day when Casey and Quinn would be receiving their first assignments as full-fledged detectives. For the past two-and-a-half years they'd been studying hard under L's tutelage, passing arduous tests, overcoming daunting frustrations, until finally they were ready to assume the title of L. Watari handed Roger the fat envelope, straight from L himself, stating the details of Quinn and Casey's first case.
Several minutes later, the large mahogany door opened. Quinn walked in first, followed by Casey. They were now 16 and 12 respectively and although they were still children, their time with L had transformed them into confident young people that were not afraid of any problem. Watari beamed with pride upon seeing the two L successors now. It seemed like only yesterday when he'd first laid eyes upon them. They looked like scared children then, whereas now, they had a determined, fearless look about them. They'd both come such a long way.
"Well now that we're all here, let's get started, shall we?" Said Roger, running a fancy letter opener under the seal of the fat envelope. Quinn and Casey looked on intently as Roger slit it open. Inside the large envelope, there were three things in total, two small packages and a letter. one of the packages was addressed to Quinn and the other one was addressed to Casey. Roger placed those on the table and moved on to the third item, a letter handwritten in L's neat chicken scratch. The old man unfurled it and frowned at it's brevity.
He read the first few lines and then put the letter down on the desk with a heavy sigh. He shook his head and pursed his lips while holding out the letter to Watari.
"He's done it again, Wammy! Read this rubbish!" Said Roger, his voice betraying his anger. The two children looked at the letter with curious eyes. Watari read it and he too frowned.
"Hm...I'm not quite sure what he meant by this..." Said Watari, wrapping up the letter. "I shall have to ask him myself but I have no doubt that this is what he intended."
Roger removed his glasses and massaged his temples, feeling his blood pressure skyrocket.
"What is it Roger? What's our case going to be?" Asked Quinn, looking unsure.
"Nothing!" Said Roger at last. "It says you've both been rejected."
"What? What do you mean we've been rejected?!" Said Casey.
"Yeah, what gives?!" Asked Quinn.
"L has rejected you both as his successors." Said Roger mournfully.
"I can't believe this! More than two years of work preparing us to be his successors all thrown into the garbage!" Said Quinn outraged.
"Yeah, we worked so hard too! Unbelievable." Said Casey, crossing her arms angrily.
Roger looked at them both, not knowing what more to say. He simply sighed and muttered something along the lines of "I'm getting too old for this." He remained silent, looking upset.
Watari excused himself to go speak with L. As Wammy exited, the two children grabbed their individual packages and turned to leave with subtle smiles on their faces. They walked out and once they were certain that they were out of earshot, the two threw their hands around each other and cheered in a small victory dance.
"Yes! We're free!" Said Quinn, joyfully.
"I know! I'm so happy! I really didn't want to be L!" Said Casey with a giant smile on her face.
"Me neither!"
"Well...we dodged a bullet there." Said the girl.
"Yup..."
"So what do you think these are?" Asked Casey, feeling the weight of her package.
"Beats me, I guess they're parting gifts." Said Quinn eyeing his own envelope.
Casey shrugged and the two burst into laughter again.
"You acted pretty upset for a moment there, you almost had me fooled" Said Casey, walking alongside him.
Quinn smiled and snorted, his bright green eyes full of mischief.
"You weren't too shabby either." He said as the two walked side by side to the cafeteria, all the while talking about how priceless Roger's face was when he read L's letter.
...
Meanwhile, outside in the wintry field of Wammy's House, two men sat talking by the pond. One was standing, smoking a cigarette and making grand gestures as he talked, his jagged brown hair bouncing with each sentence. The other man was perfectly still, perched on the bench, listening to the other man talk while eating a chocolate bar. Watari approached the two men with mild hesitation. He still hadn't grown accustomed to L and Moresly actually having cordial conversations with each other.
It appeared that Casey and Quinn weren't the only ones who'd made a lot of progress these past 3 years. L and Moresly had matured quite a bit as well, to the point where they could even be considered friends. Before they could barely stand each other, but as of late, they were often seen carrying intellectual exchanges in peace. It really did warm Watari's heart.
"...so they did that with the control group for the chimps" Said Moresly, wrapping up his story.
"But that doesn't make any sense, they would obtain biased results..." Said L, snapping off a bit of chocolate.
"Precisely! See this is why I like you. You know what's up...and my god, I have not seen Roger look that pissed off since the time you stole everyone's candy on Christmas morning." He said pointing toward the director's office. Indeed Roger was looking out the window at them with a very sour expression. L looked at him and smiled, which caused Roger to frown even more and shut the curtains, obstructing their view of him.
"Also, your father is coming, I think you're in trouble." Said Moresly.
"I think they read my letter." Said L, standing up.
Moresly looked at him and snorted. "You know, I think that deep down you do have a sense of humor!" He said, throwing his cigarette in the pond. "Good luck, and try not to die out there. If you come back in the same shape you did last time, I will lobotomize you." He said, walking off so that he and Watari may talk alone.
"Goodbye" Said L with a small wave.
Watari greeted Moresly as he passed him and then turned toward L.
"L, what is the meaning of this letter? Roger is furious and Quinn and Casey are extremely upset." Said Watari, holding the letter out to him. L looked at it but did not bother taking it.
"It's exactly as I said, I'm rejecting them both as my successors on the basis that I'm not going anywhere and we have a lot of work to do..." Said L, looking off into the distance.
"I don't understand..." Said the old man.
L finished his chocolate and began to walk past him. "Wammy, we're leaving this place today. My latest case will require some light traveling, besides, there's a lot of work to be done and I need some sort of outpost better suited to my needs than Wammy's House. Let's go." He said nonchalantly.
Latest case? Lots of work to be done? Watari put the letter back in his coat and smiled, realizing how much he missed hearing L say those words.