L moved his hands from his knees, which were pressed against his chest, to receive gifts from the children at Wammy's house.

The children brought artwork that was on par with any famous artist's paintings, complex puzzles they themselves had made, and pastries that no French cook could even compete with.

L took each gift and thanked the child that had given him it. He knew all of there names, but referred to them by their aliases.

"Ah, here's Mello" Roger, the head of the house, said as he took an Advil. The four year old walked in wearing a cape and black pants. He walked with confidence and sense of superiority as all the other children gazed in aw. All except near. The two year old sat in his corner playing with legos.

Mello handed L a letter .It read:

Dear L,

I just wanted to let you know that I, the greatest mind here, respect you. And that I will beat that big headed cotton ball Near in becoming your successor. Also, could you tell Roger to let me have more chocolate?

Roger read the letter over L's shoulder and took another Advil.

L mustered up a smile and laughed. 'You seem rather bold. That's always a good trait in a detective." Mello beamed with satisfaction and strutted away. "Let's go Matt! We have to get some chocolate"

L scrunched his face. Matt? He hadn't heard the name before. Was it possible he had forgotten a child? No, that wasn't even worth considering.

Roger cleared his throat. "Aw, yes. It seemed to have slipped my mind. L, we have a new member, he's very bright and is close behind Mello in succeeding you." Roger walked over to the red headed child who dressed in a stripped shirt, black shorts and a pair of over sized goggles that hanged around his pale neck.

"Go say hello to L, Matt" Roger said to the shy boy. Matt nodded and timidly walked towards the thin, pail, black haired man in front of him.

"Here. I made it myself" he paused, as if he remembering something "But my friend Mello helped me!" He added eagerly. "I didn't know what color to choose, and he told me black because it matches the circles under your eyes." The three year old said with pride, while still shying away from L as he read the card.

It wasn't like the other gifts he received. It wasn't showing off any of his thinking capabilities, or even his confidence. It was a simple card that read "L, you are very nice and cool. Thank you" L was perplexed. Why did this child choose such a simple message? L looked for a hidden message, or code. He found none. Was this really all the child chose to write? How was L supposed to take it? As a compliment? Perhaps the child was mocking him?

L looked at the innocent, shy, red head and looked into his pale blue/green eyes. L quickly discarded the though of Matt doing something so cruel at to mock him.

L supposed that this was really a compliment. "Thank you Matt that was very kind of you" The child's cheeks turned a bright red as he bowed and walked away.

12 years later and the Wammy house was still the same. Near was number one, which only angered the second in line, Mello, who often took out his anger on his close friend number three, Matt.

Matt sat on his bed and starred at his DS. He had finished the game he purchased this morning and was now contemplating weather or not he should find Mello.

I probably should Matt thought to himself, who knows what trouble Mello was getting into right now.

It had always been this way, ever since Matt first came here. He and Mello were extremely close. Matt was Mello's favorite thing next to chocolate and Matt liked Mello almost as much as he liked Portal 2.

Matt dusted of his hands and went into the kitchen, it was full of other boys eating and talking. They're probably chatting about the principles of physics and rocket science. Matt thought to himself while he grabbed a grape. He couldn't spot Mello near so he decided to try the toy room. If anything Mello was in there picking on Near. Even when they were young, they were always at it. Mello would knock down Nears Lego castles, Near would snitch, Mello would get in trouble and then seek revenge on Near. Somehow Matt always got mixed into it, usually helping Mello with his revenge seeking.

Yep Matt mused It's always been Near versus Mello. Number one versus number two. And what about three? He didn't matter, nor did he care.

"Hmm" Matt said as he noticed Mello wasn't in the toy room. He also couldn't find Near. However he did spot Roger, who was helping one of the kindergarteners with her German. "Roger. Have you seen Mello? Or even Near?" Matt was anxious. He felt as if he had failed Mello as a friend.

"ah, matt. Just the young gentleman I was looking for. Yes. I know where they are, and you are supposed to be there too. Didn't Mello tell you? Damn Mello, he didn't tell me.

"He did, but I forgot. Could you please tell me where I was supposed to be again?"

Roger gave Matt the location (which was the separate, smaller house in the backyard)

Matt walked in ready to give Mello an earful when he spotted a Ghost.

A Ghost, who came and went as he pleased. Who barley spoke a word in most cases.

The Ghost he hadn't seen since he was a toddler. L.

Matt has spent so many nights wishing to see him again. he thought of nice L was, how attentive he was towards each child, and how he looked. His looks were unusual, yet charming in a sense. Most kids thought he looked sick, but Matt found him to be one of the most attractive people he had laid eyes on.