Sigh . . . with how old this fic series is, I really should just rewrite all the chapters. But I'm lazy, so you guys are getting this update instead. It has less parenthesis-abuse, so be happy for that!

Okay, let me get this out of the way first. This is a Digimon Savers crossover, yes, but none of the digimon and stuff are going to show up at all. Just wanted to make that clear. Now that it is . . . onward!

I don't know where Digimon Savers was set, so I'm making the story set in Akita.

Chapter Two: L (Part One)

Another day, another dozen criminals dead. Of course, Touma didn't refer to them as dead. They were being punished for their crimes. He had been doing so for a month, and nobody was trying to stop him! It was almost laughable. Touma flipped through the notebook. He had filled four and a half pages with names of criminals. I killed . . . all of them . . . he thought, staring with disbelief at the sheer number of names on those pages (once people had realized Kira had returned, he had stopped writing the cause of death). But they were bad people. They did not deserve to live. That had to justify it. Because if it didn't . . .

Touma wouldn't know how he would live with himself.

The conversation he had with Aya the previous day flitted into his mind. "You're just like those people who got their hands on Death Notes and started killing criminals with them. Kira," the shinigami had said. "Sooner or later, people will try to catch you, like they did last time. Hell, maybe L will try to find you."

He had responded by telling Aya that L didn't care. As odd as it seemed, it actually made sense. A month went by and L had not announced anything about going after Kira. And if L decided to take on the case, then he wouldn't find any evidence leading to Touma. He only acted as Kira when he was safe in his room, pretending to study. Nobody in the mansion could have heard him watching the criminal reports, as he was always careful to turn the volume down.

Nobody will ever figure it out, Touma decided. The reason the first Kira failed was his overblown ego. If I lay low, not even L will figure it out if he has nothing to go off of.

Suddenly, the words "EMERGENCY REPORT" flashed on the screen. Apparently, a serial killer had escaped from jail and had begun attacking people again. Touma just gave the small, reserved sigh and wrote the name down.

The reporters picked up on the killer's death incredibly fast. "This just in: Kira has just struck the serial killer down! Strange, I thought Kira had already finished his killing quota for today —"

Suddenly, the broadcast was cut off and replaced with a blank white screen. In the dead center of it was a large, stylized "L". Touma changed the channels repeatedly, but every channel showed the same symbol — L's symbol.

"Told you so," said Aya, who had just appeared in the room.

Touma sighed. "It's not like he's going to find me, at any rate. I haven't left any evidence behind."

The shinigami groaned. "Give me some candy. Or better yet, just die already so I can go back to the shinigami realm."

Touma absentmindedly tossed her some candy. He was too busy listening to L's message to bother with anything else. "The serial killer's release was a test," the masked voice announced. "The 'emergency broadcast' was, in fact, the serial killer in a simulated environment. From this, I have figured out that there is, in fact, another Kira on the loose. Also, I have studied the alleged Kira killings, and I have learned that this Kira's kills take on a pattern. Every day at three in the afternoon, they kill twelve criminals, all in the Akita prefecture. Tomorrow, I am going to Akita and setting up a headquarters there. If you have any information or such, call this number." The "L" on the screen was replaced by a phone number.

On that somewhat awkward note, the broadcast ended and switched back to the news. Unsurprisingly, the reporters talked of nothing but L after that. Touma felt overwhelmed. L is really coming here . . . no, I've already got it figured out! He won't find me! He punched the remote and the TV turned off. For what seemed like hours, the only sound in the room was Aya inhaling candy.

"I'm going out," Touma muttered, jumping to his feet and throwing the door open. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he was mad. The worst part was, he couldn't understand why. Touma couldn't let L get to his head. That was dangerous. That would expose him as Kira.

Touma swept down the hall, heading for the front door. He needed to go to the police station and talk to Yoshino. She couldn't know about his role as Kira, of course, but she would be able to comfort him. Hopefully.

"Touma," Franz, his father, stopped him.

"What is it, Father?" Touma asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"Relena and I will be returning to Austria next week," his father said, "and I have made a decision. L and his team shall be staying here. I have already made the call."

Touma almost had a (non Death Note-induced) heart attack. "O – of course, Father," he said weakly, walking away. "I will take proper care of them after you're gone. If that's all, I'll be leaving now."

He trudged to the old DATS station, feeling even worse than he had the first day he had found the notebook. L was staying at his mansion! That was bad. He'd be found out for sure! Wait . . . that's good! I can join the task force and sabotage the investigation, Touma realized. I'll need to change my pattern, though. L will surely notice if I retire to my room at three PM every day. And then . . . and then I need to kill L and his team. I'm sure their identities will be protected. I'll need allies. Yoshino will probably side with me if I explain everything to her. Miki and Megumi will side with me no matter what, I'm sure.

With that, he arrived at the police station, workplace of his potential allies. But it wasn't the time to enlist them. L wasn't even there! Jumping the gun and asking them right away was too risky.

"Touma! You're here again?" Yoshino asked as soon as he entered the station. "Not that I mind, though. What are you here for, though? If it's not an emergency, then I suggest you get out. We've already got the Kira case on our hands, and then we have to prepare for L's arrival tomorrow. We'll be helping L on that, you know," she finished.

Yet again, L had thrown another wrench in Touma's plan. He had to act fast, or Yoshino and the others would be working against him. Then again, he could always get them to help with his sabotage . . . "Ah, I see," Touma said. "L's staying at my mansion, and I'm going to help him with the investigation. You know, I'm looking forward to seeing you more often after that."

Yoshi beamed. "Aw, you're too kind. You have to remember my visits are strictly business, though. With Kira on the loose, there's no room for slacking! So, what are you here for, again?"

"Well . . ." Touma began tentatively, thinking of a way to state his problem without mentioning his role as Kira. "You know how I was feeling depressed last month?" Yoshino nodded. "I'm starting to feel the same way again, but it's not as much depression as it is helplessness. I'm in a bit of a situation, and I don't know how I'll get out of it."

Yoshino reached out and took Touma's hand. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll get out of it." She turned and gave him a quick kiss. "We'll get out of it. Now, what's wrong? You can tell me. You're not having more trouble finding a cure for your sister, are you?"

"No, it's something else," Touma replied. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can tell you yet. Right now, I can't tell anyone."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll get through just fine," Yoshino said. "You're one of the smartest people I know. If you can't solve a problem eventually, I don't know who can. Maybe you can ask L for help, if he's not too busy with the Kira case. If the two of you worked together, you could probably solve any problem." Asking L for help would be suicide, but there was no way Yoshi could know that.

"Thanks for your insight," Touma said. "You're right, I just need to be confident I can solve my problem. I'll be going now."

Before he went home, Touma stopped by a convenience store to buy some candy. He needed to spend time with his sister. Ever since he had found the Death Note, he had spent more time being Kira than talking to Relena. He hadn't brought her any candy, either. All of his reserves had been given to Aya. Now that the shinigami was on his mind, Touma bought another bag of candy for her. From what Aya had told him, withdrawal from lack of candy was horrible.

He arrived at the mansion and went straight to his little sister's room. Relena lay in bed with a listless expression on her face, but as soon as she saw her brother, she smiled. "Touma! I'm going home soon, and you've barely come to see me!"

Touma apologized and sat in a chair next to Relena's bed. "I've been busy this month trying to find a cure for you." I can't lie to Relena about that, he realized. But I — this is so I can rid the world of crime! Once I'm done, I promise I'll work on finding a cure! "I have something for you," he finally said, taking out the bag of candy."

"Thank you!" exclaimed his sister, inhaling candy at a speed that could rival Aya's.

He didn't know what possessed him to ask, but he said to his sister, "What do you think about Kira?"

"Kira? I hate him," Relena replied resolutely.

Touma just about went into shock. She hates me! I — no she doesn't! I am Touma and not Kira. Kira only exists in my room when I'm using the notebook. Right now, I'm not Kira. Relena doesn't hate me. She can't.

"He is killing criminals, yes, but he doesn't understand that he is one. The most dangerous one of all," she went on. "Murder is murder, and it doesn't matter why." Relena was echoing what had gone through Touma's head the day he had found the Death Note. "I'm glad L's coming here to do something about it. You'll help him, won't you? You're smart enough to do it."

She was the second person to insinuate that if Touma and L worked together, Kira would be good as caught. Since one of them was Kira, that was a given. "Yes, I am going to help L," he replied. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure nothing will happen to you." He would never hurt Relena for any reason, but saying it made him feel better. But what if L or his team figured out he was Kira and threatened Relena to get him to confess? He needed to kill L and the investigation team. From that day on, Touma would be dedicated to finding their names.

"Aya, how do you figure out people's names?" Touma asked once he got to his room. "You've used the Death Note before, and I'm sure you didn't spend time to learn names."

"I can see them," the shinigami replied. "My eyes allow me to see a person's name and their remaining lifespan when I look at their face. Humans can acquire Shinigami eyes, too, but you'd have to trade half your remaining lifespan to do so." Okay, so that didn't sound very appealing to Touma. "In fact, I even heard of one case where someone was born with Shinigami eyes . . ."

That was interesting information, but it wouldn't help Touma in any way. "L is coming," he said to himself, cutting the shinigami off. "Tomorrow. L is coming tomorrow . . . L is coming tomorrow . . ."

He sat in his room muttering to himself until someone came to inform him it was time for dinner.

"Ugh! Why do we have to carry all this crap with us?" asked a young woman with long black hair. She was dragging a giant suitcase towards a car. "I know it's for the case, but we don't need all this equipment! I think."

"Do you think the Norsteins have any of this monitoring equipment with them?" asked her companion, a feminine-looking man. He, too, was taking equipment to the car. "We need to set up stuff in our HQ."

"Well, it's not like it's the real HQ! The boss is gonna be somewhere else! Unless you guys lied to me so I don't screw up the plan."

"We'll still be doing investigations, but we're stand-ins for the boss. It's too risky to have him out in the open like that. Remember last time?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Boss almost died. But you still shot Kira, so what does it matter? I think we're better off as the boss' bodyguards than faking at being the boss."

The car was finished loading, and the two people got in the car. "Just go with the plan. The boss made it, so it'll be good. Let's get to the airport already. It's been an hour since the boss left."

The car drove off, following a freshly-made set of tire tracks almost exactly.

The next day, Touma woke up early in the morning to find a note from his father. It stated that due to urgent matters, he and Relena had already left for their home in Austria. He would have to be the one to receive L and his team. They would be coming at five-thirty . . . and it was already five-fifteen! L and his team had probably already arrived at Akita Airport. Hopefully, someone had sent for them already.

The only thing he could do now was wait. He'd just have to see L and crew at the mansion. Almost instantly, Touma's eyes flitted to the locked desk drawer where the Death Note lay.

"I get it, you're trying to change up your pattern now that L knows," Aya said, flying into the room. "But won't doing this right before L gets here be cutting it a little close?"

Touma pulled the notebook out and turned on the TV. "No. And I'm going to wean myself off that pattern. It'll be suspicious if I change it up right after L's televised message." He scanned through the criminal report, wrote five names down, and returned the notebook to its original hiding place." I'll need to work on a different type of lock for this," he mused, locking the drawer. "Maybe a voice recognition lock . . ."

The airplane landed, and two people were the first ones to stand up. The one closest to the window was a woman with black hair tied up in a ponytail on her right side. "Dammit! It's cold!" she yelped, looking out at the snowy landscape and drawing her red jacket closer to her body. "Do we have to go out there?"

"Yes," her leather-clad friend groaned in exasperation. "We need to get to that mansion and set up. The boss is counting on us." He smirked. "On us, and not Near."

"Whatever. I'm getting the equipment and waiting for this 'Touma' dude to show up. The faster we get out of here, the faster we contact the boss," proclaimed Miss I-Hate-The-Cold, walking down the jetway.

"We better do it when nobody's around," Mr. I-Hate-Near said, following her to the gate. "Nobody else can know the boss' location."

They reached baggage claim and took all their suitcases of equipment, loading them onto a cart. After walking around for a while, they found a man with a limo, due to pick up L and his team. "That's us," Miss-I-Hate-The-Cold whispered to her friend, heading towards the man. "Excuse me! We're L and the rest of the investigation team. Yeah, there are only two of us. Are you Touma?"

"No," the man replied. "Touma was not able to make it today. He will meet you two at the mansion. Load your things and get in the car. You two are expected to arrive soon."

The two detectives put all their equipment in the limo's trunk and got in. "I don't think this'll work out," Miss I-Hate-The-Cold whispered. "Who's gonna believe us? Ever since the first case, people know about the boss."

"Didn't I tell you not to worry?" Mr. I-Hate-Near hissed. "Relax. Everything's been figured out."

"Why'd I have to wake up so late?" Touma asked, pacing around in his room. He was dressed and ready for the day, but he refused to leave his room. "If I was a little earlier, I could have gone and picked up L personally. Scoped out the situation. Right now, I know nothing about my enemy besides the fact that he's the world's greatest detective, and that's not very reassuring."

Aya shrugged noncommittally. "You'll meet L soon. Quit worrying about it."

To blow off some steam, Touma spent his last minutes of freedom as Kira killing as many criminals as he could. The newscasters talked a lot about the Kira attacks, wondering when L was coming. It had been reported that he had arrived and was heading for the mansion. Touma's stomach just about dropped to the center of the Earth.

"Looks like you better go meet him, kid," Aya said. "Don't worry about me or the notebook or anything. Unless L has a Kira sense, then he won't zero in on you right away."

With that, Touma made his way down to the foyer, waiting for the entourage to arrive. He straightened his tie once. Twice. Thrice. Ten times. L was going to arrive at the mansion very soon. From then on, Touma would have to keep on his toes at all times.

The faint sounds of a car pulling up could be heard from behind the doors. This was it. Touma took a deep gulp of air and exhaled slowly. The doors creaked open at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Whatever Touma was expecting, this was not it.

Standing in the doorway were two women — wait, the blonde one was a man. Behind them, they dragged giant cases. L's entourage was only two people? Wait, that would actually be one person, since one of them was L.

Shaking his surprise off, Touma held his hand out. "Hello, you two. I'm Touma Norstien, and I'll be helping with the Kira case. Which one of you is L?"

After a brief pause, the black-haired woman stepped forward and shook his hand.

Waitwhut? Teshi and Mello? Why's Teshi posing as L? All this will be explained soon!

This is an AU if you can't tell. The first Kira case was resolved in TnT, and that's why L and Mello are still alive.

Great, now I can visualize L/Mello as GLaDOS.