Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of its characters... yet :)
Cuteness about Near and L before the Kira case. Maybe a little of after too, I'm not really sure where it's going yet. This was really fun to write though, I hope the next chapters are as fun!
Note: L is about 15/16, Near is about 3/4. Yes, I know Near sounds really sophisticated, that's just his "power" speaking.
The little boy looked up from the blocks, watching the men with interest. He ignored the older man, who visited the orphanage often, and instead watched the teenager who stood beside him. The teen's hair was untidy like the boy's, but while the child's was a snowy white, his was inky black, like the color the pens wrote on the adoption papers. The older man looked around and whispered something to the teen, who nodded in agreement, smiling softly. The boy stacked a blue block on a yellow one, smiling to himself. He couldn't help but like the older boy's smile, even though his face seemed weighed down with some unspoken pressure.
Sister Mary pointed to the tower, and the teen nodded. He walked over and crouched next to the child, looking at his tower with interest.
"Hello there. That's a nice tower you've got there." He said gently, touching his finger to his lip, a gesture that interested the snowy-haired child greatly. "Are you Nate? Sister Mary said you were."
Nate nodded, stacking a red block on top of the tower.
"Why are you still building? I think it looks great as it is." Nate noticed that the boy's eyes had dark shadows under them, and he couldn't help but wonder why his eyes were like that.
"It can always be improved." Nate whispered, stacking another red block.
The boy nodded a silent agreement. "True. Nate, is there anything you want to ask me?"
"Yes. Why are you here? Who are you? Why are you wearing makeup like the Sisters do?"
The boy laughed. "My name is… Ryuzaki, and it's not makeup, honest." He ran his finger under his eyes and held it out to show Nate that there wasn't anything on his face. "As for why I'm here, I was hoping you could help me figure that out."
Nate tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"Nate, I was told by my mentor that I would need to find somebody to teach for the future. He said that the Sisters had told him that you possessed certain talents that we could teach you to adapt to situations they could be helpful for." Ryuzaki smiled gently at Nate, who seemed slightly confused.
"Umm, so you're saying that you want to take me away from here? Like to a home?"
"It depends on you, Nate."
Nate frowned slightly, pulling one of the green blocks out from the tower. The whole thing collapsed, making Ryuzaki jump back to avoid the colorful bricks and Nate laugh at his reaction. "I think I know what you mean. My mind, it's all about my mind. It always is." He stopped, surprised to feel something wet on his face.
The older boy reached forward and gently wiped the tear away. The child ducked his head, embarrassed to have cried in front of other people.
"Nate, I don't think you understand. People with great minds, like you and me, we have a purpose that we must fulfill. Whether we want to or not."
The older man, the one that had been with Ryuzaki before, walked over to stand next to them. "Ryuzaki, the papers have been filed. We can leave now."
Shadowed eyes looked into the clear, dark ones of the child. "Well Nate? Do you want to come live with us?"
Nate nodded, his white hair bobbing with his head. "Yes. I think I want that very much."
The two men laughed, a sound Nate was unfamiliar with. Ryuzaki rose and held out a hand to his friend. "I don't really think Nate suits you that well. What did you say his full name was, Watari?" He asked, addressing the other man.
"Nate Rivers, sir. The papers were filed for a Nate Rivers."
"Nate Rivers. Hmm, Nate, do you mind if I called you… 'Near'?"
That's it so far! Next I hope to show Near's habits as determined by L. If you have any suggestions, let me know! I'll do my best ^^