It was January 22nd, 2002, more than a full year before the first name was written in the Death note by the hand of Yagami Light, and also the day when Nate River, Mail Jeevas and Mihael Keehl were given one name only to go by from that point on. On that day, Near, Mello, and Matt were born and old identities were thrown away in the name of the succession of L.

Events were predicted to become very dangerous in the next few years, due to increased violence, thievery, and intelligence among the wrong population. The protection of L and these three orphans from the Wammy's House was of extreme importance nowadays, and while L was still alive the rest were to remain unknown to the world. In their own orphanage where they were discovered, they were tested and retested, in order to find who would be first in L's place in case of certain events. It was unthinkable for Near, Matt and Mello to simply become a team together upon L's possible death—no need to shoot every bullet at once.

It became clear immediately that Near was most likely to be chosen first, because of the talent he possessed to come up with results in amazing time under so much pressure. Mello was just behind Near, his only downfall being his inability to work calmly and collectively until his task was done. Matt, on the other hand, could have surpassed Mello if he actually took heart in his work. Instead, his interests seemed to be placed elsewhere while Mello and Near competed endlessly to either gain or keep the title of first successor to L.

Soon, Mello began to believe that Near hated him, and that he had a personal vendetta against the fact that he had emotions and Near appeared not to be capable of them. At first, he felt like he at least had one up on the kid, who was eleven years old and a little less than two years younger than he. But soon Mello feared that Near could see his weaknesses in his never ending fight against him, and thinking this Mello put more determination and care into never letting his weakness show through—yet, with this, his weakness became incredibly clear to Near, who in fact had no intention of putting one over on Mello whatsoever.

So, Mello would work tirelessly while Near did practically nothing, studying without any blockage in his mind. Matt continued to be a loner, doing little more than play video games and smoke the occasional stolen cigarette from the closest neighbor's. This was their routine, the one they would adopt until the end of their lifetime at the Wammy's. At least, so it appeared to Roger and the other children.

Chapter 1

Near had recently developed a liking for tetris. The only way he could play it was to manage to steal Matt's gameboy, which would eventually be taken back in Matt's calloused hands after a short time. Matt, however, did not like to get things returned to him the way Mello did—which was through violence. Instead, he would wait patiently on Near's bed in his room while Near finished, listening to the birds chirp outside and the occasional laugh of another child. Near would glance up every now and then, only to see a very serene looking Matt basking in the temporary sunshine and warmth of Near's room.

"You don't have to steal it from me, you know." Matt said after he found Near with his game for the third time. "I'll let you borrow it if you just ask."

Near paused the game and handed it back to Matt. The first time he had taken it, it was just because he wasn't very comfortable talking to Matt at all. Yet, when he saw Matt enjoying the sun's rays in his room while he waited for him as he played, something that he did not do voluntarily, he couldn't resist taking it again—and another time after that.

Even though Mello—the most active of the three—was Matt's best friend, it did not stop Matt from retreating into his room, surrounded in darkness and all lights turned off save for the glow from the inevitable video game player. Mello never tried to remove him from this habitat, for he could care less. He was a pale fellow, being between Near and Mello in age at twelve as soon as February came. It was not a healthy thing for a young boy and Near knew this, always trying to step outside every once in a while—still avoiding the sports lest he get blindsided by a wild ball or fist.

When Matt voiced his words to him, Near only nodded, knowing that he would simply steal the game once more when he felt like it.

Months passed with this custom, along with the growing rivalry between Near and Mello. Matt noticed this and tried his best to stay out of sides, thinking that Mello would urge him to keep on his more than Near would. Yet, with this assumption in mind, Matt saw that Mello kept to himself and withdrew a bit from everyone, leaving Matt alone in his room much more often than he was used to. In fact, despite Matt's obvious preference towards the solitude, he began to welcome Near's weekly steals and the following visit to his room.

In September, just before Mello's fourteenth birthday and after Near's eleventh, Near began to follow a set routine on taking Matt's gameboy every Saturday afternoon. Matt immediately picked up on it and instead of waiting for it to disappear, he would simply come to Near's room with it instead.

One particular Saturday, Matt was just turning around to leave Near alone for a while in the bliss of tetris when Near's voice—seldom heard by Matt—stopped him in the doorway.

"You can stay for a while, Matt."

Near continued to play expertly while Matt turned around and stared at him, contemplating. It was, after all, one of the only times he was ever faced with a different atmosphere (especially since it was still summer, and he was free to stay cooped up in his room until dinner). He walked back to Near's bed, deciding to stay and watch while the open window blew in a warm draft, gracing the curtains and eventually reaching Matt and Near themselves.

Matt stared at Near's face as he played, finding it disconcerting when it never changed at all. It was weird—for lack of a better word—that Matt could not constantly see the thoughts transparent on Near's features, as he was so used to with Mello. In fact, Near was not so different than the characters in his Sims game, and soon he found himself half expecting a heart bubble to pop up over Near's head at some point.

After an hour of Matt being alone with his thoughts and the perplexity of the child sitting in front of his feet, Near finally switched off the gameboy and sat forward to give it to Matt, who was shaken out of a stupor.

Near felt like apologizing to Matt for keeping him there, but then again…Matt didn't leave, and if he did it would defeat the purpose of Near using the gameboy in the first place. He had, after all, long since gotten rid of his interest in tetris, but not… Near paused for a moment as Matt smiled at him and took his toy back. Had Near begun to have an interest in Matt? He normally didn't care about anyone…and he supposed he wouldn't even think twice about Matt if not for his game. But, that day as he sat on Near's bed, enjoying the sun, Near must have changed his mind somehow. As Near realized this his hand stayed stuck on the game, while Matt paused. He wasn't the type to force anything to go his way. Near's eyes were staring at nothing, his other hand lost in his hair, and Matt knew that he was thinking deeply about something. At least he could tell that much.

"Near…" Matt said in a singsong voice, chuckling to himself. His stomach began to turn his own thoughts toward dinner. Near looked up.

"Thank you, Matt." Near said, his face lightening up a bit. Maybe, Matt supposed, the emotions that showed on his face could only be noticed by someone who could see the subtle change. Maybe he could be one of those people—it sounded like a good enough challenge to him. In fact, the project of trying to understand Near's face and know what he was thinking sounded rather exciting…even if it was inevitable that Near would notice exactly what he was trying to do. But something told Matt that Near wouldn't mind too much.

"We should both go…Dinner." Matt said, putting the game into one of the two vast pockets of his new jeans. He planned to find better ones when the time came, but for now these would have to do. He kept his eyes on Near's face.

Near didn't look at him. Instead he simply nodded and got up, not waiting for Matt to follow him. Near sure was strange, Matt thought…but better than most of the people in his video games. That much was definite.