*Disclaimer: All characters belong to the amazing Ohba-sensei and Obata-sensei.
An overly cherry ding-dong came along with the sound of the opening door. The coffeehouse was empty, besides two baristas and a pale twenty-something young man. The beep boop boo bop of the young man's vintage gameboy interrupted the quiet of the shop.
The lone customer had auburn hair and a black-and-white striped shirt, making him look rather like an old-time cartoon burglar. His jeans were torn and worn-out to the point where they would soon no longer be considered wearable jeans. The man's sneakers appeared to be white, but were so caked in mud no one could really be certain of the color. His most out-of-place feature was the amber-colored goggles he wore on his face.
The two baristas chatted about a new art exhibit opening downtown, when their eyes widened in shock, and perhaps a bit of fear, at the incoming customer.
Rather like the other customer, this one was unusual, but in a much more intimidating way. It was another young man, but with blond hair in a choppy bob. He wore a leather vest and leather pants with a silver belt. A rosary hung from his neck. His body was surprisingly slender, making the leather suit him quite well. This young man's most striking feature was a scar, a circular burn over his left eye. His slightly bent forward posture and the loud clanks of his steel-toed boots made his walk menacing.
Walking straight past the counter, the blond man stopped at the booth the only occupied booth.
"I need you, Matt." The blond man's voice was gruff.
Matt looked up from his game, and jumped when his eyes met the blond man's.
"The hell happened to you?"
"Near happened. L's death happened. Kira happened."
At the mention of "Kira," the two baristas became even more frightened. Matt's eyes widened slightly.
The tense moment was broken by the old gameboy, as it made a static-filled "wah-wah" then said, "game over."
A smile twitched in the corner of Matt's face.
"Dammit Mello, you made me lose."
Mello just snorted as he sharply turned around.
"C'mon. We have bigger fish to fry than Mario and Luigi."
Matt snatched his cold coffee and followed Mello out. The ding-dong seemed almost eerie as the door closed behind them.
#######
"How did you even find me?" Matt questioned as he fell in step with Mello. The pair had turned the corner from the coffee shop, and were now in a desolate alleyway.
"I joined the mafia after I left Wammy's. A few of them aren't as incompetent as you might think."
"Oh." Matt said softly, kicking a rock into the darkness. He turned his face to Mello. "I missed you, you know."
Mello quickly jerked his head away. "Sure you did."
After a sigh, Mello looked onward, as a cat's hiss came from a grimy dumpster a few yards ahead.
"I'll cut to the chase: I'm after Kira."
Matt said nothing.
"I'm going to get Kira before Near does. I'll be number one. After all this time, I will be number one."
Mello's voice shook with resentment.
"No more being number two. Not to Near, not to anybody." These last words were a dark almost-whisper, sounding as if hatred wrenched them from him.
Matt looked sympathetically at Mello, who was glaring at the ground.
"What do you need me to do?" he whispered, breaking Mello's loathing.
"I'm not quite sure yet, but I know I need your help."
"I'm down. I never liked Kira anyways."
Mello gave Matt a smirk. They had reached the end of the alleyway, and walked onto a fairly crowded business street. A few passerbies gave them double-takes and gossiped to their companions, but the two paid no attention to this.
Reaching the end of the block, they anxiously waited for the crosswalk to change.
"You'll be number one, Mello. I promise."
Mello quickly looked at Matt, expecting him to blush and look away. Instead, his gaze met Mello's. His eyes portrayed nothing but honesty. Mello could feel his face heat up, and hated himself for possibly showing weakness.
Like it was scripted, the crosswalk changed to the stick figure. Relieved, Mello stepped out onto the street, but a comfortingly soft hand grabbed his. Mello stopped in his tracks, causing curses to befall him from the man who had bumped into his back. Matt made a move to pull his hand away. On instinct, Mello's hand desperately grabbed Matt's, squeezing it tightly.
Suddenly, Mello threw Matt's hand away from his, and shoved both of his hands in his pockets. For the next several blocks, Mello trudged a few paces ahead of Matt, not even turning to see if he was following. During this time, Matt couldn't stop himself from smiling, no matter how hard he tried.