L had decided that the best way to do this was to avoid placing people in charge of the ingredient they would cause the most trouble with. This meant that Near should not be let close to the eggs, Matt should be kept away from the flour, Mello should not be in charge of the chocolate and he himself should leave the sugar well alone. As for B... well, L knew that trouble was unavoidable with him. It was in no way foolproof, but it would have to do.

"B, you're in charge of measuring the milk. Mello, you weigh the flour. Matt, you get to be in charge of the chocolate. I'll crack the eggs, and Near, you do the sugar. Once you're done, place it in the bowl there."

"Alright!" Mello said happily, smirking. L picked up an egg and approached the bowl, desperately hoping that his second attempt at cracking an egg would be more successful than his first. No such luck. L smashed the first egg on the side of the bowl. The inside dropped neatly onto the table. He sighed and tried again. This time he actually managed to get it in the bowl, along with a fair amount of shell. He left it there. He just didn't care anymore. Now, just one more egg and his part would be done. He lifted the egg and brought it down on the side of the bowl... and the bowl flipped over.

While L's back was turned, Mello was having a conversation with Matt.

"I'll swap. I get to do the chocolate, and you get the flour..."

"Deal!" Matt grinned, handing Mello the chocolate. Mello grinned and took a bite, while Matt began preparing another flour bomb. Meanwhile, B was "measuring" the milk.

"Whoops," he said happily as it sloshed onto the floor. Near dipped a finger into the sugar experimentally.

"This tastes rather good," he commented. "I can see why you like it so much, Ryuzaki." L turned round, horrified.

"Don't eat it!" Then he noticed that Matt and Mello had swapped.

"Mello! Don't eat it! Matt... ah!" The flour bomb hit him in the face, coating his whole head in flour.

"I said no flour bombs! And weren't you meant to be in charge of the chocolate?"

"We swapped."

"Well swap back. Actually, on second thoughts, Mello, give that to me." Mello reluctantly handed him the chocolate. L handed Matt the egg box and gave the flour to Near, removing the sugar from his hands and giving it to Mello. He kept the chocolate for himself.

"No swapping ingredients, alright?"

"Fine," sulked Mello.

"Don't worry, I can cause just as much trouble with a bag of sugar," he muttered when L turned his back. L turned round.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing!" L walked to the saucepan and began breaking chunks off the chocolate. He looked longingly at it. This was stressful, and although it wasn't sugar it was still sweet. Surely a couple of chunks wouldn't matter? He looked around him to check nobody was watching, and broke off a piece.

He raised it to his mouth... and jumped as something cold and wet sloshed across his face.

"B! Watch where you're pouring that milk!"

"Whoops," smirked B. L hastily dropped the chocolate into the saucepan.

"Ryuzaki, there's a hole in this bag of sugar!" L turned round to see Mello waving the bag, spraying sugar everywhere.

"What? There wasn't one before!" L inspected the hole. It looked suspiciously finger-shaped. "Well, just weigh it out before it all spills. Actually, on second thoughts, just put all that in the bowl. That's probably the right amount." Mello dumped the bag in the bowl, not bothering to pour the sugar out. L didn't care enough to correct him. At least, not until Matt had his third (and successful) attempt to crack an egg into the bowl. The egg dripped over the paper of the bag.

"Matt!" L rushed over and extricated the sticky bag from the mixture. Holding it between finger and thumb, L threw it away. Flour spilled over his head.

"Ma..." L stopped as he realised that Matt didn't have the flour anyway so it couldn't have been him. "Near?" He turned round to see Near sprawled on the floor and Mello standing beside him smirking.

"There was no need to trip me up, Mello." Near said. "Now I've spilt flour everywhere."

"I'm sorry, it was an accident." Mello said. "Here, I'll help you up." He offered his hand to Near, who looked suspiciously at it, obviously suspecting a trick. However, Mello surprised everyone by actually helping Near up without any tricks. L suspected that Mello had only tripped Near so that he would spill the flour on him.

"Well, there's not much flour left now so just put the whole bag in. And I mean tip it in and throw the bag away, not just throw in the bag as well." Near obediently tipped the flour into the bowl. L looked. There was now sugar, flour and one egg in the bowl.

"B, tip the milk in." B walked over and sloshed some milk in carelessly, getting anyone standing too close wet.

"Matt, crack the other egg." Matt cracked the egg. It dropped into the bowl, along with a large amount of shell. L ignored this. So, they had the flour, sugar, milk and eggs. What else was there? He knew there was something he had missed, but what?

Beep beep. Beep beep. The smoke alarm.

"The chocolate!" He ran to the hob and switched it off. Too late, however. The chocolate had melted and burnt, sticking to the bottom of the pan.

"We haven't got any chocolate left... I'm sorry. It looks like we will have to make regular pancakes."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but when making chocolate flavoured things isn't it normal to use cocoa powder rather than actual chocolate? I thought it was a little odd," Near commented. L stared at him.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?"

"I assumed you knew best." L sighed.

"Fine..." he pulled out a pot of cocoa powder from the cupboard and tipped some in the bowl. Someone jogged his arm and he dropped the powder all down his shirt.

"B!"

"Sorry!" L placed the lid on the cocoa powder and put it back in the cupboard.

"Can I trust you to stir while I put the ingredients away?"

"Of course," smirked B. L knew that he couldn't trust them, but it wouldn't make much difference. The kitchen was in a mess anyway, it couldn't get any worse.

Eventually, the mixture was made. L placed a frying pan on the hob and turned the heat up. He poured oil into the pan, and then a small amount of mixture.

"We'll leave that there for a minute, and then someone can have a go at flipping it," he said, knowing he was going to regret saying that. They waited. And waited.

"I think it's ready now," L said finally. "So who wants to..."

"Me!" Yelled B.

"... clean up," L finished, smiling. "Well volunteered, B. You can start by clearing up all that milk you spilt." He handed B the kitchen roll. B stared at it, horrified.

"But..."

"You can flip a pancake once you're finished." B glared at L, but walked off to begin clearing up the milk. L smiled. Maybe this could be controllable after all.

"So who wants to flip this one?"

"I'll have a go," volunteered Near. Mello grabbed the handle of the saucepan and thrust it at Near, rather forcefully. Near dropped it immediately.

"Mello, you just burnt my hand." He walked to the tap and began running it under cold water.

"That was unnecessary, Mello."

"It was an accident, Ryuzaki."

"Well maybe you'd like to flip this pancake then."

"With pleasure." Mello picked the saucepan off the floor, and held it gingerly.

"So, how...?" L shrugged.

"I suppose you just jerk it up and hope for the best." Mello held the pan tightly with both hands, and jerked it up sharply. The pancake flopped slightly. Mello frowned and tried again, harder this time. This time the pancake flipped out of the pan completely and smacked onto the floor. Mello shoved the pan back at L.

"I can't do it. You do it." L poured some more mixture into the pan, and waited until he thought it was done. Then, he picked the pan up and attempted to flip it. The pancake stuck to the bottom of the pan and did nothing. It didn't even twitch.

"Come on!" L muttered. No matter what he did, the pancake just wouldn't budge. He shook the pan up and down, and even turned it upside down. Nothing happened.

"I guess it must be burnt..."

After they had scraped the burnt pancake off the bottom of the pan, it was Matt's turn. He approached the pan, and picked it up.

"Super smash pancake flip!" He thrust the pan upwards enthusiastically. Unfortunately, instead of simply pushing the pan upwards, he also tilted it as if he was about to throw it backwards over his head. And of course, that's exactly where the pancake went. Straight backwards over his head and out of the open window. Matt brought the empty pan back down, and stared at it.

"Where did it go?"

Near's burnt hand had now recovered enough for him to have a go. He held the pan, and stared at the pancake for a couple of seconds.

"Are you sure this will work, Ryuzaki?"

"Just give it a go. This kitchen can't get any messier." Near extended his arm as far as it would go, turned his face away from the pan and tossed it up in the air. The pancake hit the ceiling and stuck there. Near looked at it.

"It seems to be stuck." L looked at the pancake too.

"It will fall down eventually. Let's just leave it there."

B walked over, muttering under his breath about the unfairness of being asked to clear up "gallons of milk". His bad mood intensified when, as he reached the hob, a pancake fell seemingly out of nowhere and landed on his head.

"...what?" he gasped, and tore it off his head. "Where did that come from?" L laughed quietly.

"That was my attempt, B. It stuck to the ceiling." Near said.

"... alright. Is there enough mixture left for me to have a go?"

"There's just enough for you." L poured out the remaining liquid into the pan. Once it was done on the bottom, B picked up the pan, and jerked it sharply into the air. The pancake flew out of the pan, flipped over, and landed on the edge of the pan, half in and half out. Everyone stared at B, shocked.

"I... I did it? Yes! I..." The pancake slipped off the edge of the pan and fell on B's shoes. B scowled.

"Never mind."

So now was the bit that L dreaded. The cleanup.

"Right, we need to get this tidy right away. We can't let anyone see what a mess we've made. Right, Mello, you clean up the..."

"Ahem." L froze, horrified, and turned around slowly. Watari was standing in the doorway, holding a pancake.

"My pancake!" said Matt.

"So then, Ryuzaki. Would you mind explaining exactly what has happened here?" L swallowed.

"Well..."

The End!