"I'm sure you're wondering why I called you both here today"

What was this? An investigation? L's detective personality must have really rubbed off on Mello. It was almost midnight and he's snuck up past lights out to get Matt and Near. After walking them up he dragged them back to his room and made them sit on the rug in front of him.

"We're going to get in so much trouble if Roger finds out about this Mells" Matt said.

"We'll be fine if you're quiet, and Near stop falling asleep"

"I'm a kid Mello it's past my bedtime. We're all kids" Near sassed.

Mello had gathered them here tonight to officially launch his first ever investigation. He wanted to grow up and he a detective like L, so he needed to start practicing.

"Listen up. We are officially starting an investigation. You two are my taskforce and I'm the leader" Mello began.

"Why you you get to be the leader? I'm the oldest" Matt asked.

"Because I'm the one that came up with the idea duh, now shut up and listen"

Whatever this was, clearly he was determined and by now the other to were curious. So they indeed shut up.

"L has been sneaking out every other night, and coming back before the sun rises. I've seen it happen, and when I got up to talk to him one night the ends of his jeans were wet and he was acting all... what is it when adults drink wine and stuff?"

"Drunk?" Near suggested.

"Yes that. He was out doing something, and he's been doing it all the time. I want to know what he's doing" Mello announced.

At first Matt and Near were a little confused. So L was going out at night? So what? He's a big kid and he can do big kid things. He didn't have a bedtime like the little kids.

"So... he's going out at night? And? He's an adult he can do what he wants?" Near questioned.

"There's more though. The other day I was listening to him talk to the librarian. He was saying something about a disguise and getting 'clocked' as a human... whatever that means. So Miss applebee knows about it. But no one else does, none of the other adults have mentioned it or anything. So L's doing this secretly" Mello explained.

Now this was getting interesting, the attention of the other two peaking at the idea of L having a secret double life.

"Where would he be going that needs a disguise?" Matt asked.

"I don't know, that's why I want to investigate. There's no way he's doing a case since he's on break for the year, and Mr wammy would roast his ass for overworking himself. I saw that happen once"

"Wait when did he talk to Miss applebee about it?" Near asked.

"When you fell into the creek. How the fuck did you manage to do that by the way?" Mello asked.

"MELLS- you can't say that it's a bad word" Matt cut him off.

"Oh relax no one else is here. I said it all the time before I came here"

Well, that's slightly alarming that parents were letting their child walk around swearing at people but that's not the point of the conversation.

"Hang on... you said he comes back with wet jeans?" Near asked.

"Yeah sometimes" Mello replied.

Wet jeans... like he'd been to the creek maybe?

"Maybe L knows the siren..." Near mumbled.

"Huh? What's a siren?" Matt asked.

"They're like mermaids but they can sing magic songs. When I fell into the creek one saved me... maybe L knows the siren and that's why his jeans are wet? Because he's going to the creek to see them?"

The others gave him a confused look. Sirens? Magic songs?

"Near mermaids aren't real you know?" Matt said.

"They're a siren it's different! And yes they are, how would I have gotten back out if the creek if someone wasn't there to help me? Mello saw me soaked and everything" Near insisted.

"What did this person look like?" Mello asked, slightly intrigued even though it sounded crazy.

"They had (h/c) hair... and (e/c) eyes. Their tail was really long and had little fins near the hips and a big fin at the end like a dolphin kind of shape. They had scales on their chest that matches the ones on their tail. They can sing really nice and it sounds a bit echoy. I saw them with legs ones too, they gave me some rocks for my fairy houses. They had fins on their ankles when they had legs and their ears are webbed" Near explained.

That was way too elaborate of a description for a kid to just make up. And the fact he'd seen them twice meant he wasn't just dreaming the first time. Now the other two were more inclined to believe him.

"But... don't merpeople live in the ocean?" Matt asked.

"I guess they can be anywhere that's got water, since they can swim wherever they like" Near added.

"Hang on... so you've seen a siren in the creek behind the orphanage... and in the woods giving you rocks. L disappears at night and comes back with wet jeans... and he was given a shell necklace by a 'friend'?" Mello said.

In that moment it clicked in their minds that if Near was telling the truth and this siren was real, L was most likely going out to see them. Wet jeans from water... sirens live in the water. A shell necklace... sirens would have access to shells all the time.

"Oh... and when they had legs they were wearing a white shirt like it was a dress. One that looked like L's" Near added.

"Ok, that's it. L's sneaking out to see a siren" Mello decided.

"But why? And were are they going?" Matt added.

That just bought them to another dead end.

The boys had grown close with L, and they looked up to him a lot. Being curious kids, they wanted to know everything about him. So something like L having a double life with a siren was like finding buried treasure to them. They had to know more, and they had to dig up the rest of this story. They weren't the smartest kids in the orphanage for nothing, they could figure out hard questions really fast and very efficiently.

This was just another tough question for them to answer, but this time it was personal. They needed to know what L was up to with this siren, they knew no one else would believe them if they said L was seeing a siren. The adults would just say they were kids using their imaginations. But they knew the truth, since the evidence was right in front of them.

This little group is junior detectives was determined to know what L was up to, and who this siren was.