Glass Arrows
Prologue
Wammmy's House was never exactly the best place for a social child to make friends. The orphanage was gifted children was not without its "normal" kids, that is to say, as normal is you can be while still having the talent and intelligence required for admission to such a prestigious institution. Most of the children, however, were more focused on intellectual pursuits than social ones. Though the atmosphere of the orphanage wasn't cold and unwelcoming to those who did seek such pleasures, there just weren't many people to connect with. Everyone was much too busy with his or her studies, especially the higher-ranking students.
Sometimes, even the most hard-working students did make an effort to connect with their peers. One of these people was actually the second highest-ranking child in Wammy's House, a boy who went by Mello. Mello was very intensive in his studies; in fact, he probably worked harder than any of the other students. But Mello miraculously found time within his constantly busy life to establish actual relationships with other besides mere acquaintance. Or, at least, he tried to. While Mello did try to socialize, many people were put off by his notoriously bossy and obnoxious manner, his constant vitriolic rants about how the ranking system is skewed and he should be number one because it's only fair, or saw his willingness to be friends as just an excuse for him to brag about his accomplishments to someone that might be impressed. So, despite his efforts, he actually had few friends.
There was one person that Mello could consider his friend, however: Matt, the third highest-ranking child at Wammy's. Mello initially grew close to him to make sure he wouldn't rise the ranks and surpass him without him knowing. Surprisingly, the charade quickly faded, and Mello grew to genuinely like Matt. Their friendship was a confusing one. Nobody was sure why Mello, who was boisterous and intensely hard working, took such a liking to Matt, who was largely apathetic and a notorious slacker. The truth was a simple cliche: opposites attract, and Matt was fascinated by how completely different his friend was from him. Mello felt similarly, though he was not as quick to admit it, and was more than a bit frustrated at how Matt wouldn't take him seriously. Still, though, it felt interesting to actually have a friend who understood how he ticked, even if he could be frustrating.
While Matt's interests included playing video games and using his brilliant computer skills to hack into government databases for fun rather than to further his learning, Mello didn't have much in the way of hobbies. All the time he didn't spend with Matt, or trying to charm other people into listening to his rants, he spend working as hard as he possibly could to rise the ranks, pass that cheater first ranker Near, and secure his place as L's successor. Unfortunately for Mello, he didn't know he wouldn't have enough time to pass his rival before the race was brought to a screeching halt.
Unexpectedly to everyone at Wammy's House, L, the great detective they all aspired to become, suddenly died. And if Mello was going to take the coveted title, he would have to share it with the rivsl he so hated. That wasn't gong to happen.
Everyone was surprised to see Mello leave Wammy's House that day to do God knows what and go God knows where, bringing with him a precious few of his belongings and no ties to the home was abandoning. Mello wasn't especially well liked amongst the students, so few dwelled on it. Besides, with L's death, there was a much more devastating tragedy to focus on. Days, then weeks, and then months went by, and it seemed as if Mello dropped off the face of the earth. Nobody knew where he was or what he was doing, and his complete disappearance left few leads. A year after he had suddenly disappeared, he was presumed dead. By then, most everyone had forgotten.
Except for Matt.
Matt wasn't very open with his emotions, and it was easy for him to shove them to the back of his mind. But though Matt was as socially inept as most of his peers, he still desired and needed friends in his life. After Mello left without warning, without telling anyone where he was going and why, Matt kept up his usual routine and tried to continue life as usual. But there was obviously something off about him. He would be his usual self during classes - draw dinosaurs instead of take notes, respond to questions he knew the answers to in blatantly wrong and ridiculous ways just to piss off the instructor, and make snarky and vaguely insulting comments on lectures under his breath. But anyone that tried to talk to Matt after class had been dismissed and everyone retreated to their rooms noticed that he was less approachable and was usually found asleep in front of his computer, as if being his usual self during the day was a charade that exhausted him. Without a friend to appreciate him and let him act like himself without being criticized for it, life was much less interesting for Matt, and he had to resort through just going through the motions.
When he learned of Mello's apparent death, he wasn't as despondent as he thought he would be - in a way, he had anticipated that it would be the only foreseeable end to the case of his friend's disappearance. He still clung to the vague hope that he would see Mello again one day, and wasn't fully convinced that he had actually died. Mello must have had a plan; he was just good at hiding. Despite his hunches, it still stung to hear those words. There was little hope that he would be reunited with his best and only friend, and he became more and more mentally exhausted by pretending to be unaffected.
Matt left Wammy's House just before he would have graduated and been released under the program he was in. Finally sick and tired of living in an environment where he could relate to no one and couldn't do what he wanted with his talents, he left abruptly just after he turned 17. He disappeared without a trace, just like his friend before him, and moved from England to the United States to do various hacking jobs outsourced from the American government (and sometimes other nations). He lived secretly in a small, cheap apartment in Los Angeles that was full of the best tech he could get his hands on and littered with cigarette butts and beer cans. He was more content than he ever was at the orphanage he grew up in. At least now he could do whatever he wanted with his skills despite the ethics, and he didn't have to deal with the irritating and boring kids he hated having to deal with. Matt finally felt somewhat happy with his life.
Then, one ordinary day, he got a call from an unknown number.