Title: Chocolate Redemption
Fandom: Death Note
Pairing: none
Rating: M (just to be safe)
Warnings: spoilers if you don't know Mello's real name, non-descriptive Pedophilia, Atheism, mild language.
Description: Non-des pedophilia, atheism, lang, SP: Mel's real name Mello's childhood was a confusing and painful experience but was part of what drove him to work so hard…to work so that he would not once again become someone's subservient pet. Mello-centric drabble.
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note; it is the property of its creators Ohba Tsugumi and Obata Takeshi.
Mihael Keehl was a bright young boy. He was top of his class yet rather quiet and shy, with shoulder length platinum blonde hair and the insatiable appetite for sweets which any young child seems to have.
He lived with his mother and father in a white washed home with a large forest green front door, in the middle of suburbia. Pristine houses, well manicured laws, trendy cars, immaculate clothing…how were they to know what had begun to occur behind the closed doors of the Keehl household?
Mihael's mother would come in to tuck him in at night like always, however he would know when it was one of those nights when she hugged him longer than usual and her eyes were puffy and red from crying. He had picked this pattern up after the first few occurrences; he was quite good at reading people.
Exactly fifteen minutes after his mother had left, putting off her departure for as long as possible, his father would come in. He would never turn on the light, Mihael suspected that was because he was a weak man who knew what he was doing was wrong and had he turned on the lights then he would loose his nerve. It would begin with hugs and soothing touches, moving to chaste kisses and then degenerating quickly from there.
Mihael didn't really mind because this meant that his father would pay attention to him; tell him that he loved him, was proud of him, cared for him and that he was beautiful. Mihael reveled in this praise because outside of his bedroom his father didn't even acknowledge his existence. It would always hurt but Mihael had learnt that if he was quiet then his father would leave less marks, although truthfully the pain really didn't bother him anymore.
No matter what, once he was done his father would hand him a bar of chocolate, ruffle his hair and commend him on being such a good boy before leaving.
One afternoon Mihael came home from school only to find an ambulance and two police cars out the front of his house. He rushed inside the open door only to find his father sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. A woman he had never seen before approached him. She was young, with long ginger hair and blue eyes. She wore a pale pink singlet and denim jeans. Pinned to her chest was an ID badge which read, amongst other things, Penelope Roberts, Child Services.
"Hello dear, you must be Mihael. My name is Penelope but you can call me Penny." She said condescendingly
Mihael ignored her and walked towards his father, only to be stopped by a police officer and it was only then that he noticed the handcuffs and the blood on his father's hands.
"Sorry son but he has to come with us now." The man stated
Mihael ignored the officer and looked at his father "You killed mom didn't you?" he asked calmly
"Yes and it was all your fault." His father hissed, glaring at him
Mihael staggered back slightly "Wha…what do you mean?" he stuttered
"You sinful little whore, teasing me all the time…she was gonna tell…"
A police officer punched him in the face before he could spit anything else at his eight year old son. Mihael stared at the man, horrified, this was the man who said that he loved him, who hugged and kissed and caressed him, who engaged in acts which Mihael knew to be considered both legally and morally wrong within this culture with him but he still allowed it because of the attention he couldn't get otherwise. A shudder ran through his body before Mihael gazed coldly at the man who he should consider his father.
"I hope they give you the chair you pedophilic bastard." He spat
'Penny' gazed worriedly between the two "Uh…okay Mihael it's time for you to come with me dear." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder
"Don't fucking touch me." He hissed, slapping the woman's hand away and stalking out the door, the woman trailing behind like a puppy.
Mihael was shifted from home to home and orphanage to orphanage. He never stayed anywhere long because he got bored and when he got bored he liked to play with people, push their buttons and get a reaction from them. Needless to say this lead to many fights.
When he was thirteen he was sent to an orphanage run by a convent in Mexico, he wasn't quite sure why but figured that it had something to do with the family who he had been living with before that, probably requesting that they put him somewhere where he could save his immortal soul after they had discovered him wagging school to learn to use the guns which some of the boys from his school had stolen from their parents. It was a simple miscalculation on the arrival home of his adopted parents on his part, not that he cared anyway, they were uptight business people whose presence resonated too sharply with that of his parents. He would rather be gone from here anyway and besides they would have found some reason to get rid of him eventually.
The head priest at the convent had taken Mihael under his wing, tried to redeem him but Mihael simply scoffed at the man. Watched as he devoted his life to this 'Supreme Being' who he wasn't even sure existed. Watched as he handed over all the control, all the blame and all the power to this invisible force which had never shown itself to be true to this man, yet he followed blindly all the same. Mihael felt disgusted, truly disgusted that day as he knelt in the pews with the other children of the orphanage to pray. He bowed his head but did not clasp his hands together as he finally realized how pathetic human beings actually were and it sickened him to think that he too had been following blindly and hoping things wouldn't seem so bad after awhile. He stood during the middle of the service and left, returning to his bedroom. He sat on his bed and stared up at the picture of the Holy Mary, this image was almost entirely in reds, oranges, yellows and deep pinks. She was strong and powerful. Mihael balled his hands into fists and promised himself that he would never be a slave to anyone ever again, he would be the one that everyone would worship, and he would take control of his life.
After this day Mihael got into a lot more fights, however his grades increased dramatically as he began to study harder. He read books on psychology and forensics, not only pressing the children's buttons but the adults as well in such a subtle way that they never realized what had happened and how they had suddenly gotten mad or talked into something they had been unsure of doing before.
One day the priest took Mihael to the front gates where another man was standing. This man appeared old to Mihael as the grey in his hair was beginning to overtake the black, yet he held himself like any young man would. He wore a grey suit with a crisp white shirt beneath, his shoes were a highly polished black and he carried a ebony wooded cane, though it looked as though it were mostly for show as he didn't seem to be leaning on it as he waited. He was dressed as though he was on his way to a business meeting, it appeared out of place here in Mexico…then again Mihael must have seemed out of place in his sleeveless zipped vest and low-slung black leather pants as well. Mihael could see that the man was confident, probably coming a little bit from age and a little bit from wealth which was apparent by the quality of his clothes and the shining black limo which was waiting just beyond the gates. Obviously the man had made the effort to walk that last distance in order to greet them, a sign of manners which Mihael was not accustomed to. They reached the man whose eyes had not left Mihael the entire time he and the priest had been walking down the drive. Mihael smirked slightly as he noticed that the man was also making mental observations.
"Mihael this is Mister Quillsh Wammy." The priest introduced him
Mihael shook the man's proffered hand
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mihael." The man said, in an accent which Mihael roughly guessed to be English, one he had only heard on the TV.
"I would say the same but I don't know why you are here." Mihael replied
The priest gasped and chided Mihael but Quillsh simply laughed.
"Yes I do suppose that was rather rude of me, I apologize. I am here to offer you a place at my orphanage for gifted students." Quillsh explained
Mihael frowned slightly "How do you know that I am gifted?"
"Your test results are recorded by the school; I have access to the scores and keep track of those who do exceedingly well." Quillsh explained
"Mihael you are already studying higher than the sisters here at the orphanage are qualified to teach. Think of this as God's will, maybe you will find peace with a new family." The priest said kindly
Mihael inwardly sneered at the man's blathering on about god, however the prospect of finding new people to play with and a more challenging environment did strike his fancy.
"If you come with me Mihael you must know that you will be leaving America and coming with me to England." Quillsh warned
So he had been right "That's fine."
Quillsh nodded and then looked to the priest. The priest handed Mihael a rosary, it was black with a silver cross dangling from the end.
"May God watch over you and guide you down a better path Mihael." The priest said gently
Mihael took the rosary and hung it about his neck. The priest was right, he needed this rosary but not to remind him of god and ask for his blessing but to remind him of how pathetic and helpless human beings were and the day he decided not to be like them and took his life into his own hands.
He sat in the back of the limo with Quillsh in silence as he munched on a bar of chocolate and fingered the cross absently; pondering what would await him in this new land.