Watari was sitting at his desk rustling through some paperwork when there was a timid knock at the door. "Come in," he murmured into the quiet room. Slowly, the door opened to give way to a teary-eyed four year old Near. His real name was Nate Rivers, but no one called him that here. Near was only one of the orphans at the Whammy Orphanage. When he was merely two years old, he had been brought to Watari by an agent that had rescued him and one other child from an otherwise massacred town. Even at such a young age, Near was exceedingly intelligent. That is why he was brought to the Whammy Orphanage; it is a place for intellectual children who might someday become great detectives and masterminds.
"What is it Near, is something wrong?" Watari asked with expressed concern.
The voice that escaped the young child's mouth was beyond faint, trembling with each sob and sniffle that came forth. "Mello took my toy again. It's the Legos this time," he managed to choke out.
Watari looked down at Near with tender eyes. He had been a father-figure to each of the children at Whammy Orphanage ever since he established it twenty years ago. Watari had used the money he had earned from his new-age inventions to fund the construction of the orphanage. Near was one of the newest kids to come to call this place home; him and Mello were the two sole survivors from their village before they were brought here.
Watari widened his mouth into a smile full of white teeth. "Why did Mr. Mihael Keehl take your Legos?" he asked with the smile still playing at his lips. He knew as well as anybody at the orphanage that Mello always picked on Near, but there was always one way to cheer him back up.
"Well, Mello and Matt were talking about Matt's video game, and then they just came over and told me that they were taking my Legos, and for me to get lost," Near breathed out between sniffles.
"Ah! And why am I not surprised Mr. Mail Jeevas was involved too?" Watari exclaimed. From years of experience, Watari knew how to handle this type of situation, seeing as they were quite common. "Near, do you know where L is at the moment?" Watari asked. The tiny boy nodded his head only a fraction of a degree. "Would you mind running and getting him for me really quickly," he continued.
With that, Near wiped his tears, and took off down the hall, in search of L. When Near had exited the room, Watari closed his eyes and shook his head. He had often wondered why Mello, who was only two years older than Near, and Matt, who was only a year older than the child always picked on him. As far as he could tell, Near and Mello had been close friends at their village. When they arrived at his orphanage, they were holding onto each other and Mello was even comforting Near, telling him that everything would be alright. Watari wondered what had happened. It seemed now, that the only thing that either three of the young boys had in common was their admiration for their fellow orphan L Lawliet. L had become an older brother to all three of the boys. At the age of sixteen, he had become a symbol of kindness and justice to them.
After a few minutes of the continued silence, there was another knock on the door. Watari called for them to come in, and as he opened his eyes, he smiled at the sight of L entering with the tearless Near slung onto his back for a piggy-back ride. His smile widened as Near let out a soft giggle as L set him down on the chair opposite of Watari's desk.
"I see you found him Near! You see? Already, you are becoming a great detective, you managed to track down L and bring him here! L, you should watch your back, Near might just surpass you and your deduction abilities." Watari boasted with laughter echoing his words.
L took the moment to express one of his rare smiles, and rustled Near's white-as-snow hair. "Well, I'll just have to try to hide better next time, I wouldn't want to make anything too easy for Near here! Besides, if he is one of the possible contestants to take my place, then he deserves only the best training," he exclaimed. "So what's up Watari? Is their something wrong?" he asked, his face suddenly flipping the switch to serious mode.
Watari took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, you see L, Mello and Matt have taken Near's Legos, and I --" …
"What? Is that true Near? Why didn't you tell me?" L interrupted. He turned to Near to see a single tear making its way down his cheek. The small child nodded and looked down suddenly, as if he were embarrassed that he was not capable enough to get his toys back by himself.
Watari cleared his throat, which drew L's attention back. The teenager gave him a sheepish smile, and pressed him to continue. "As I was saying, I was wondering if you might talk to Matt and Mello, and try to coax Near's toys out of them. I know you are very good at getting them to listen to you, and everyone knows I'm not very good at it myself…"
L let out a short laugh and replied, "Sure, no problem. Near and I will go talk to them before it's time for dinner. Thanks for the heads-up Watari." L bent over and let Near jump onto his back, and flashed Watari a quick smile. With Near on his back, L headed out into the courtyard to track down his two other younger brothers.
In the court yard, on one of the stone benches, the two little thieves sat. Mello was laying on the bench looking up at the sky and eating a chocolate bar. Matt, on the other hand, was sitting in the grass with his back to the bench, playing his Nintendo DS. As L approached, he heard Matt shouting chaotically at his game, "Come on! Bowser, you suck! Kill him already, it's only a chubby, big nosed guy in ugly red overalls!" L smiled at his intensity and set Near down on the grass. He then took his hand, and led him over to the two older children.
"Hey guys, what's up? Mario still kicking your butt, huh Matt? You know Mello, all that chocolate isn't good for you!" L teased them. At the sound of his voice, both boys looked up and laughed.
Mello was the first to respond to his provoking teasing. "Look who is talking? I do believe you were the person who got me hooked on this brand of chocolate! Besides, you never eat anything other than sugar-filled sweets, I'm just following in your footsteps," he chuckled. It was true that L was renowned for his sweet tooth, so he did nothing but smile and shake his head at Mello.
By this time, Matt had been beaten once again by Mario, and turned off his game console. He then jumped up to defend himself. "I'll beat Mario soon, that mushroom head has got nothing on me, or Bowser! We will definitely dominate him, then we'll move onto Luigi." With that, he ducked his head as Mello swung his arm around his friend's neck.
"So what brings you out here L, weren't you working on a virtual detective case, and why did you bring him with you?" Mello sneered.
L was not fazed by his mood change, and replied calmly, "I decided I needed a break, even a well-established detective needs to take a break every once and awhile. Besides, I heard someone stole Near's Legos… you two wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Matt and Mello looked up at him and without saying a word, handed over the box of Legos to Near. They knew that L would make them give them back, no matter what reason they gave, regardless of the fact that they didn't have a legitimate reason for taking Near's Legos. Near smiled as he sat down on the grass and started constructing a replica of their orphanage.
"Don't you two have something to say to Near? He didn't do anything to deserve his Legos to be stolen from him," L reproached them.
Mello gritted his teeth and barked out, "Sorry for taking your Legos Near."
"That's better Mello!" L cried. For a second everything was quite, then L reached over and tapped Matt on the shoulder, "Tag! You're it," he shouted as he ran away laughing. Within a few seconds, the tension of the afternoon was dissolved into the pink-orange sunset. The courtyard became full with the sound of laughter as the four orphans became immersed in an intense game of tag until the dinner bell rang.