A/N: WARNING: This first chapter is about how Matt's and Mello's parents died. It's pretty sad, so...you've been warned. Okay, proceed.

The teary-eyed five-year-old looked at his severely injured mother. The doctor had just come in and told him that they'd done all they could to keep her alive, but she still most likely wouldn't make it much longer; she'd lost too much blood.

"Mom...Mommy, y--you can't die!" the young boy sobbed, holding her bandaged hand. "You can't! I--I won't let you!"

"Mihael," she sighed, her voice so quiet that her son had to lean in to hear her. "I can tell I don't have very long...I'm sure they'll take good care of you once I'm gone..."

"Mom, stop it! Stop saying that," he said again. "You'll be just fine, Mom! Just...just f-fine..."

"Mihael..." the weak woman repeated her distraught son's name. "Don't cry, Mihael. I love you...I love you, my son..."

"If you love me, then don't leave me!" Mihael cried, clutching the sheet on his mother's bed. "Please don't die, Mom!"

She smiled sweetly at him and raised her arm slightly, ignoring the immense pain it caused. She wiped a tear from Mihael's eye, then her arm collapsed onto her chest and the heart monitor flatlined. The high-pitched tone was drowned out only by the sound of the small boy's sobs.

"Mom...Mommy...wake up!" he yelled, throwing himself on her lifeless body. "Mom..."

Soon, a young nurse came into the room. The sight before her was heartwrenching; she knew that the boy had lost his father not even 24 hours ago, in a fire. And now his mother had finally succumbed to the gunshot wounds from where her husband shot her. She carefully approached the grieving boy.

"I'm terribly sorry, dear," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Mihael didn't bother turning around; he continued to sob uncontrollably over his mother. The nurse didn't pressure him to speak; she only sat in the chair next to him.

Meanwhile, on the next floor up of that same hospital, another boy had finally woken up after being unconscious for nearly twelve hours.

"Huh? W--where am I?" he asked himself, looking around. Then everything came back to him. His father was in a drunken rampage again; he tried to run but the angry man had cornered him. He punched him, slapped him, pummeled his defenseless young son until he'd lost consciousness. Judging by the absence of his mother, who actually cared about him and would have been in the room with him, the boy had no choice but to assume the good-for-nothing bastard had killed her. Hopefully he'd killed himself too.

After a few minutes, a nurse came into his room.

"Mail! You're awake," she said cheerfully.

"Where...where are my parents?" asked the boy known as Mail Jeevas. The woman's expression changed.

"Oh...well, your mother...she had called for an ambulance after you'd been knocked out--she was terrified; she thought he'd killed you. But while she was on the phone...your dad pulled a knife on her. When the paramedics got to your house, you were the only one alive. Both your parents were dead by the time they'd arrived. I'm sorry, Mail..."

The young red-haired boy said nothing; he only stared incredulously at the nurse. "My parents...they're dead?"

The middle-aged woman nodded sympathetically and took the now-weeping five-year-old in her arms.

"B--but my mom...she--"

"She loved you very much, Mail. That much I do know," the nurse said. "She wanted to make sure you were safe...oh, and while the investigators searched your house, they found something of yours."

Mail looked up at her through wide, tear-filled green eyes. "W--what?"

She handed him a small package. "Here. They thought about unwrapping it, but then decided to let you do it, since it's yours."

Mail took it from her outstretched hand and smiled. "T--thanks..." He carefully tore the wrapping paper off, then noticed that a note fell out. He picked it up and read it:

Mail, I'm sorry you couldn't get this for your birthday, but I knew that your father would probably confiscate it and hurt you. I couldn't let him do that to you, so I hid this so I could wait until a safer time to give it to you. I don't know when that will be, but when you do get this, I hope you enjoy it. Love, Mommy

He tried to fight the tears as he folded the note again, setting it on his bed next to him. He turned his attention back to the package in his lap and removed the rest of the paper. It was a Gameboy, with a Pokemon game included with it. Seeing the device managed to bring the smallest hint of a smile to Mail's face.

"Thank you," he sniffled, looking at the nurse. She smiled back at him and gave him a heartfelt hug.