So, this is my first Death Note fic. I took a while on it, and I probably have the next chapter done, but I don't know, andyways, Echo is MINE. If you think Mello is protective of Matt, then you are idiots. Echo is in a real book I am writing, so, sorry if you wanted to use her, but no. Nope. No no nononononononononono. Soooo sorry, but I don't care. My friend, who lives in my head, helped me write this, and now she says she should get credit, but she's a little voice in my head, so screw her. She just threatened to sue. Ha, my mind just threatened to sue itself. And now she has a lawyer. If you think I'm kidding, as Nightmare Realm, she will confirm, I talk, argue and scream at myself, inanimate objects, and make the freakin NOM sound while eating.

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note, and you do not own Sophie 'Echo' Star.

"Okay, students. Before we start this mornings lecture, I'd like you all to meet Echo. She'll be joining us."

A girl, about twelve, stood next to the teacher. In her hand was a beanie baby puppy, she had a thumb nail shoved under her tooth. But neither of these was what the so called super-geniuses noticed first. It was her hair. Her hair was a light green. It went all the way to the backs of her knees.

They all observed her quietly, waiting for her to speak, which she did not. She sat in the only empty spot, next to Near, and ignored them all. Near raised an eyebrow. From what he could see, her eyes were closed.

"Hello." Near murmured to her. After a few seconds, when she didn't answer, he turned back to his toys. "Hello." She replied in a slight whisper a few seconds later. He raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to play?" He asked. After a brief hesitation, she nodded.

Mello and Matt, from their spot behind them in the row, observed this all quietly. "Wow." Matt whispered. "He made a friend."

"Pff." Mello scoffed. "She'll come to hate the little bastard eventually." Echo's head snapped up, and a pen embedded itself in Mello's chair, half an inch from his... family jewels.

Mello turned an unhealthy shade of green. Matt giggled. "Looks like she disagrees, Mels."

Echo nodded sharply, and Matt grinned. She still had yet to face them. After class, at about six, she disappeared outside. Mello, Matt, and (because he was curious, though he'd never admit it) Near, followed her at a distance.

She sat below a tree and began to read. Five minutes later, Echo was approached by a group of students, four girls and seven guys. That was when it got interesting.

"Why is your hair green?"

"Did you dye it?"

"What happened to your parents?"

"What's your new rank?"

"Why are you ignoring us? Don't ignore us!"

The most annoying girl in school, she named herself Princess, tried to punch her.

The key word here is 'tried'. Echo gripped her wrist in an iron fist without having looked up from her book. A loud snap resounded in the deathly silent clearing.

Princess began to scream. Her wrist stuck in an odd angle. Mello nodded in approval. Little demon or not, the girl could fight.

The girls began to drag Princess away. All seven boys attacked Echo. Mello moved to get up, annoying or not, Echo deserved to be protected, but Matt pulled him down and nodded at Near, who was approaching the group.

Both Matt and Mello settled back to watch. It was known Near could fight well. Not as well as Mello (of course) but he could hold his own. The boys, however, ignored the white haired prodigy.

Echo punched the first boy in the... ouch. Mello winced. That had to have hurt. The boy, predictably, went down fast, but Echo ignored him. The other six boys began to overwhelm her when Near showed up.

One unfortunate boy was met with a robot in the same area in which Echo's fist had met another's previously. Again, Matt and Mello winced.

But this boy retaliated, and punched Near hard enough in the gut to make him bow over. That was how Echo spotted him, laying on the ground, clutching his stomach in pain. Echo saw red.

She began to attack and really fight back, breaking bones and splitting heads easily. The boy who punched Near was on his feet and running by the time she had finished the other five.

Echo ran after him, grabbing a rock as she followed. She throw it, with a much force as she had thrown the pen, and beamed him in the back on the shoulder. He went down with a scream, and didn't get back up.

Matt and Mello ran to help Near to his feet. Echo jogged back to them, as both Matt and Mello put their hands up in a gesture of peace. She nodded at them and approached Near.

"Are you alright, mon cher?" She asked, her voice flowing out like water. He nodded tightly. She smiled brightly at him.

"Good. We must get you inside." Echo handed him the toy and grabbed Near, Matt's and forced the red head to grab Mello's. She then proceeded to drag them inside.

If any of the boys had been paying attention to it, they may have noticed she dragged them to Near's room, but the boys were all going over the fight in their minds.

She released Matt's hand a produced a key, unlocked the door, and let herself into the room. That was when Near's mind caught up.

"Why do you have a key to my room?" He asked.

Echo smiled, her eyes still not visible. "We will be roommates, they think that since you do not get along with others, and I do not get along with others, we will work with each other ."

Near nodded. "Very well." She grinned and replied.

He blinked. "Um. Seven, I think."

She grinned again. "I know... uh...thirty nine I think. I lost track somewhere past thirty."

Matt and Mello observed them quietly.

That night, as Near lay in his bed, he watched her quietly. She sat in her bed, book in hand, reading quietly. She stayed like that all night long. The next few weeks, Near and Echo were seen walking down hallways together, not talking, just enjoying each other's company. Soon, they and Matt and Mello became inseparable, though Echo and Near were as close as Matt and Mello.

Finally, when they were in Near and Echo's room, Near finally got the courage to ask her the faithful question.

"Why are you here?" Near asked gently. It was obvious she liked him, so he was the one she would most likely tell.

"I... I shouldn't tell you. You would hate me." The smile slipped off her face.

Mello glanced at Matt, who nodded. "My father..." Mello began, "Was an addict. My mom was too. They came at me when I got home from school when I was seven, tied me up, and shoved me into a car

A long time later, they pulled me out and stripped me in front of a man, I... he tried to touched me, so I took his gun and... I shot them, both, and the other man, dead."

"Later, I found out they were selling me to that man to be a slave. My name was Mihael Kheel." Matt gripped his hand tightly. A tear ran down Mello cheek at remembering.

Matt looked up at her. "My father was a gang boss. I told the cops, and he ran. He tried to kill me, and put me in the hospital for a few weeks. When he came for me again, while I was in the hospital, I shoved the needle of a syringe full of carbonic acid into his eye and squeezed.

It melted through his skull. He died on me. My name was Mail Jeevas."

Near looked at her, straight in the eye. "My father was a serial rapist and murderer. I found the three women he kept in his closet, literally, and freed them. I killed him in his sleep.

Later, I found out the women I had released had gone to the cops, and that one of them was my mother. She was mad at me. She had been whoring herself out to him, and when they gave her custody of me, she threw me into a bathtub full of bleach. I killed her as well. My name was Nathanial River."

Echo sighed, and pulled Near into a tight hug. "My past... I will tell you... but please do not judge me until I have finished."

All three boys nodded, and glanced at the clock. It was passed seven pm, and dark. Dinner was in about an hour. Echo released Near, and sat on the other side of the room, on her own bed.

"My... I can't call him my father, because he wasn't. My... keeper's name was Derek. He was the right hand man of the Mafia leader in New York. He trained me to... to kill people. I was an assassin. I hacked things for them, like the Met's security system, and helped this that huge art theft last year. I was...perfect.

Who would suspect the little girl with the pretty hair? I was taken everywhere, and I was one of the most trusted people in the Mob. I killed so many people. Then one day, I met him... A normal person, a little boy that was my age, at the time I was nine, and we made friends. His father was the next hit, and I was to take care of him. In mob talk, I'm sure you've seen the movies, it meant I was to kill my first friend's father.

I tried not to let him get to me, but it happened. He invited me to stay the night at his house, and in the dead of night, I snuck out of his room. I killed his father, and his mother to keep her quiet, and I turned to leave, only to find him in the door way. He'd seen me kill his family. So to keep him quiet I had to kill him, but my time with a normal family had left its mark.

I decided, the Mafia had to go down. So I destroyed them. I... every single person I knew, I killed, all but one... Derek... I couldn't kill him. He was the only parent I'd ever known. So I let him go, he ran, and I turned him in to the police. He told on me. Gave them my name, and soon, I was all over the news, a little girl took down the Mafia when the police failed. My name... My name was on the news, two weeks ago, my name was Sophia. Sophia Star."

The room was quiet, and tears slipped down Echo's face, and she brushed her hair away from eyes, revealing the palest shade of purple. They seemed to glow, and soon all three boys were drowning in violets.

Near got up, eyes still filled with visions of purple flowers raining into a meadow like sakura blossoms in the spring. He wrapped his arms around the girl, finally breaking eye contact as she laid her head on his shoulder and cried.

"Thank you." She whispered, over and over as if it would make the hurt go away, make the tears stop.

Near brushed her tears away, even as more came to fill their place. Matt and Mello also came over, engulfing both younger children in a tight group hug.

"I would like to tell you its ok, but its not. And nothing I can say will ever make it such, but if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, we're here for you, Echo, we're here for you." Matt murmured.

She cried even harder. Echo was just so happy. She had lost her first friend, but she had three new ones. She smiled, even as she cried, and for once, she felt content to just be silent.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, REVIEW. Light (god) DEMANDS it of you. Ummm, oh right, I am taking character designs. Your confused aren't you? I mean, if you want to be in this story, I'ma need a name, a background, and a appearance. Sooo... yeah... bye! Oh, and, REVIEW! =)