Clues

Death Note FF: Clues: One Shot/Friendship/ Humor /Family /Rated K+

This one shot is the first Death Note fanfiction that I am posting and I am happy to say that it's a one shot dedicated to Near, for his birthday.

No Pairings.

Okay, so just for some information about this one shot, it's slightly AU. What I mean by slightly? It means that the characters are still the same, including their smartness and odd habits, just NO shinigamis or their death note. I'm sticking to their real ages, so yes; L is 12 years older than Near, Mello is 2 years older, and Matt is 1 year older. (Whoa. L is much older than I thought...)

This one shot is especially dedicated for Near, for his birthday! In this slightly alternated universe L isn't as secretive as he is in the original, that's how he's able to talk to everyone in person, though he is still slightly antisocial. Near is a child he found during a case he was doing, same with Mello and Matt. He's pretty much an older brother to Near, Mello, and Matt. Anyways, enough about L, though I love him too, but this is about Near. Near is at the sweet age of 6, becoming 7, in this story. You know, his cuteness must've been doubled when he was at this age. ;)

A little boy that looked about four or five years old sat on his bed, with both knees up to his chest, one arm wrapped around his little legs, while his other hand played with a lock of his silver'ish white hair. His dark eyes scanned his white room, which was only barely lit by the moonlight through his window. His room seemed big for him, with only a few furniture; a little black wooden desk at the corner beside a little black and silver drawer. His eyes stopped at the big black wooden chest with white and silver designs surrounding it. He lifted the hand that was on his leg and brought it to his lips and bit on his thumb, his eyes moved to the window with white curtains covering it, the moonlight shining through it. He then looked towards his white door and noticed the little piece of paper at the floor beside the door. It was a clue that meant someone went in and out of his room.

He had woken up when he heard shuffling behind his door and sat up, his mood not exactly at its best. The child shifted his eyes again to the chest before he gave a small shrug and got up from his bed. He had to go on all fours on his bed before his little feet tried to reach the ground. When his feet touched the softness of his white wool rug, he glared at the bed, probably due to him feeling it was too big for him, before looking at the piece of paper again.

He then turned his eyes away and walked over to his chest on the other side of the room and glared at it like what he did with his bed. The wooden chest would be able to fit around 3 of him in it, and he didn't like having to open the huge thing all the time. He ignored his annoyance at his smallness and opened the chest with both hands, giving a slight huff. The child looked inside the chest, glad for the light coming from the moon, and looked for anything that didn't look familiar. His big, dark eyes passed over his puzzle pieces, toy soldiers, dies, cards, and other things he played with. He then noticed the yellow piece of paper that was folded in the corner and took it before shutting the chest.

The white-haired boy unfolded the piece of paper and looked inside. There was a drawing of a chocolate bar wearing goggles with a big grin on his face. The child grimaced before folding the paper again and putting it in his pajama pocket. He then shuffled his way to the door and left his room quietly.

He continued shuffling his way down the hallway until he reached the other end of the hallway. He looked at the light browned wooden door and entered, just as quiet as he did when exiting his own room. He scanned the room, still grateful for the moonlight, and looked at the two beds on opposite sides. He saw two bumps in the bed. gave another grimace, and walked directly to the two desks in between the two beds. He stood on his tiptoes to see if there was another piece of folded paper on either desks and gave a small smile when he found one.

This time, it was a picture of glasses. Just glasses. The boy wrinkled his nose and put the paper in his pocket before leaving the room. He walked down the hallway again and took a turn at the stairs. He went down slowly, due to the fact that it was dark and he didn't want to slip, at the end of the stairs, he took another turn to his left and walked straight to a big ebony door. He stopped in front of it and bit his thumb slightly before opening the door and entering.

"Near!" a sharp whisper stopped him in his tracks just as he was about to close the door.

The boy slightly rolled his eyes before he heard feet lightly thumping on the carpetted hallway coming towards him. He opened the door and his dark eyes found a blond and a redhead slightly panting.

The redhead straightened himself, grinned and then said, in a slightly high-pitched tone of an excited boy, "You were supposed to wake us up, Near!"

The white-haired child gave a quiet sigh, "I was pretty sure you two were supposed to be awake," he said, his voice flat but soft.

"Well...yes... Wait! How would you know?" the blond exclaimed, his eyes widening.

Near slightly shook his head and motioned the other two in, "Mello, Matt...it's obvious that you two planned this along with L and Watari."

"Hmph. Well, whatever. You should be glad that we at least planned something for you," Mello said to him, his tone hinting a slight annoyance.

"Of course we'd plan something for you, it's your 7th birthday!" Matt exclaimed, "You know, 7's a lucky number." He patted Near's head with a wide grin on his face, "Congrats!"

Mello smacked Matt in the head, "It's 8 you moron."

Matt glared at the blond and rubbed the back of his head, "Whatever," he grinned again, as if forgetting the fact that he was hit, "Just hurry up and go in!"

Near rolled his eyes at the two older boys, who were now glaring at each other, and did as Matt said. He entered the big room, with the other two following. Near glared at the tall and wide wooden book racks of the huge library. He ever liked going in the library, the huge book racks and the heavy-looking books in them made him feel even more tiny than he already is, not that he'd ever admit it to anyone, especially Mello. He already knew he was much smaller than the other kids of the same age, but he didn't need Mello to always mention it either. Near remembered the picture of the glasses and immediately knew where to find his next, and hopefully last, clue.

He walked past the many book racks and continued towards the very center of the library, where there was a big opening. There were many different types of chairs and couches, randomly arranged with little tables beside each. In the center of the mess of chairs and tables, was a big antique desk. He opened the drawer and frowned when he found that the paper in it was a picture of a ladder that was slanted to the right.

The boy immediately turned away from the desk and shoved the third paper in his pocket and half ran to the door. Near's sudden burst of energy surprised the other two boys but they just grinned at each other knowingly before running after the white-haired boy. They continued following Near, who turned to a hallway in the right, turned another right up the stairs, turned another right, another, and one last right up the stairs, where they found themselves panting in the highest floor of the orphanage, the attic.

"How the heck did you figure that out so easily?" Matt panted out, trying to catch his breath.

Near took out the piece of paper, "L normally wouldn't draw 5 steps on a ladder, he'd probably normally draw just 3, and he wouldn't draw it tilting to one side either. Besides, you just proved that I got it right."

Matt grimaced and said under his breath, "Know-it-all..."

Mello snorted, "You figured it out so slow, I would've figured it out sooner."

This time, Matt smacked him in the head, "Liar."

The two continued bickering while Near walked to his right again, where a piece of folded paper was waiting for him by the window. He smiled when he finally saw something written on it.

"Congratulations on getting this clue, Near.
It's probably 2 AM right now and you're probably
slightly annoyed at having to walk so much at
this time. So this is the last clue, good luck!"

At the bottom of the text was a picture of Taz, from Bugs Bunny, with glasses on. Taz was at the top of a ladder that looked exactly the same as his last clue and he was also holding the chocolate bar with goggles on. Near wrinkled his little nose, "All the clues are put together?" He quickly turned around as he thought of the word clue. Mello and Matt were gone, meaning his first clues were also gone. He looked at the paper once again and scowled, he knew what Taz meant. The impatient/annoyed one.

He shoved the paper in his pocket and ran from the room and down the stairs. He took the same direction he used when going up, but this time, on the way back to the library. His annoyance of having to run and tire so much increased as he got closer and closer to his destination. The thought made him stop in his tracks and laugh, "So I really did become Taz!" he continued his way and arrived at the front of the library.

Near didn't hesitate as he turned the knob and entered the room, still panting from his run. He noticed that the room was unusually dark, unlike earlier. He sighed and made his way towards the center, he heard a muffled chuckle to his left, "Matt," he immediately guessed right.

As he reached the center, and he knew he did when he bumped into a random table, he said, "What's the point of having the lights closed? I already know everyone's here. I heard Matt laugh."

He heard another smack from the same direction he heard Matt chuckle. Near bit his lip to prevent laughing out loud.

The lights opened and the first thing he saw was L sitting on the chair behind the desk, with Watari standing beside him. The two had big smiles on their faces, they looked so happy that Near couldn't help the smile that immediately lit up his face.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Good job on getting here so fast!" several voices yelled out from behind him.

Near, surprised, turned around to see everyone in the orphanage clapping and grinning. He thought that it would only be him, L, Mello, Matt, and Watari. Not that he was complaining though. Even though he doesn't talk to anyone else much, it doesn't mean that he doesn't like them. So he was definitely glad to see everyone behind him, greeting him and smiling for him. He couldn't help the tears that blurred his eyes. Near immediately wiped his eyes, preventing them from falling, and smiled at everyone, "Thank you..." he half-whispered, his voice soft and toneless, but those who knew him well enough knew that he truly was happy.

"You better be!" Mello yelled, "I don't like having to wake up so late just for you!"

Matt smacked him in the head, "Be nice for once..."

Near gave the two a small grin before turning around to see L already standing right behind him. Near immediately threw his arms around L and whispered, "Thank you..."

He felt Watari pet his head and L lightly tapping on his back, "No problem. If it's for my younger brother, I'd do anything," L whispered back, "Oh, and don't worry."

Near looked up at L, wondering at what he might be worrying about, "What is it..?"

"You'll get taller," L gave the small child an amused smile, "Probably taller than me."

The white-haired child gaped, L seemed as if he'll always be unreachable, "Don't lie..." he murmured.

L grinned at Near, "I'm not, I was smaller than you were when I was your age. You might really be taller."

Near tilted his head then glanced back at Mello, who was glaring at him, "Taller than Mello too?"

"Probably," came L's reply.

Mello's jaw dropped, "NO WAY!"

Near looked back at the blond and gave a mischievous grin, "I hope I will be."

"I'd love to see that!" Matt exclaimed, "But you better not be taller than me."

The others laughed. "We'll see," Watari chuckled, happy at seeing his big family having fun.

"Anyways, Happy 7th Birthday Near!"

So? How is it? Slightly rushed at the end, mom's yelling already, haha. Anyways, hope it was alright.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEAR! :3