Matt finally gave up. His large green orbs closed to the world as his hand laid on top of his goggles. The blood draining from his body was sickly warm and melted though a shallow layer of snow revealing a soft grass that was now under his fragile body. Matt heard a set of footsteps approach him. He was done and he knew it. But that didn't mean he didn't hate losing.

"I've found you what are you going to do, demon?" He felt the cold harshness of a blade tingling on his neck. No one would find him, no one could save him. The people who were supposed to care for him, wanted him dead. Matt wouldn't give his mother the satisfaction of begging, he let his eyes slip into darkness and ignored the knife's feel on his numbed skin.

"GET OFF HIM!" Matt's eyes opened so slightly, he saw his mother right next to him, only knocked out. Damn. She wasn't dead.

Matt woke up and was shocked, quickly sitting up, ignoring the wounds opening in his side, as his eyes flew over the room. It was clean, well-kept and overall nice. He picked up the goggles someone had put by him and placed them happily over his eyes.

"Thought you wouldn't make the night." Matt looked over to the thin boy, only slightly older than him that entered the room with his washed clothes.

"I got the stains out... but I can't fix the tears."

"That's alright." Matt's voice quiet next to his, partially bcause the pain.

"Who are you?" Matt gulped.

"Mail Jeevas, you?" The blonde didn't laugh or question his first name like many would.

"Call me Mello."

"Then call me Matt."

"Alright Matt why was that woman trying to kill you?"

"I'm a demon." The large goggles fell off Matt's face as Mello stared down into the boys bright eyes.

"You a demon? How?" Matt realised what he had said, he also didn't want Mello to try and kill him too.

"My mother said that I was a demon, and when she said I couldn't be purified she tried to kill me." Mello ruffled the younger boy's hair "One great mom." Matt nodded,

"I liked my first mom much better." Mello saw the boy wasn't kidding,

"Where is she?"

"Off in heaven."

"Do you have any other family?"

"Nope." Mello put his face in his hand,

"your helping me with my job then and around the house."

Mello turned around as he greeted a man who came down the stairs, he looked back at Matt,

"This is my father." Matt eyed Mello's father and saw they shared the skinny frame, but is father's hair was much longer and put back into dark ponytail with only a few bangs escaping. His glasses lit up as he looked at Matt and he began to smile widely.

"One of your friends Mello?"

"He'll be living with us."

"You should have told me sooner-" He went down to Matt and began to look at his wounds, he nodded as he rebandaged the young boy. "What's your name?" Matt asked politely.

"Call me dad, since it seems you'll be here a while-"

"-I see my son has failed to notice, you are in fact not human." Matt stopped and looked at him wide-eyed.

"Don't worry, I wont tell. There's no telling how Mello will react, he hates any demon-" Dad stopped and smiled eyes closed.

"Here take this bracelet, it will protect your identity from anyone, no one will know unless you tell them. Wear it at all times, Mello will gain the ability to identify demons in the next few weeks." Matt nodded and smiled and hugged him around the neck, crying ever so slightly. "Thanks dad." "Thank you, get some rest."

Matt woke up again to Mello chanting something while his wounds were drenched in some kind of burning liquid.

"What are you doing!"

"Using holy water and an old spell to help heal you up faster." Matt began to shoot up but doubled in pain,

"Stop!" Matt cried out. Dad came rushing down the stairs and grabbed a towel cleaning up the holy water.

"Mello, you performed the spell wrong! Let me take care of this..." Dad's hands began to glow as Matt's wounds began to close and lessen, leaving a large scar on his stomach. Dad got up to begin breakfast and Mello dropped down by Matt's head,

"I thought that it would help-"

"Don't worry about it, maybe I'm allergic to magic." Matt laughed pathetically as he sat up, grabbing Mello's hand and dropping to the floor. "You've already healed me up enough don't you think?" Mello smiled and led Matt to the kitchen.

Mello called to his father, "Whatcha makin'?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes." Mello threw a fist in the air and sat down. When dad had made two peoples worth of pancakes Matt went over and offered to finish while he ate.

"Mello you brought home a real sweetie!" Mello blushed a little and Matt slid the goggles over his eyes and examined the tight bracelet Dad had given him. It was made of some kind of organic material and had metal laced into it connected to a red jewel with two faces one on each side. Matt pulled his long sleeve over the bracelet and continued with his pancake cooking until he had deprived the small bowl of its batter. Matt sat at the table and cut a pancake into neat little squares with a knife and fork before he finally began to eat it. He finished before Mello and Dad, since he only ate one pancake and they ate A LOT.

Mello whispered to his Dad "Why did he eat so little, and all the cleaning and cooking." Dad whispered back

"He was abused by his mother Mello, why do you think he acts this way?" Mello stopped and put a large pancake and tapped Matt's back, "Your so skinny, here eat this." Mello did the dishes while Matt compliantly ate the pancake, Dad began to speak

"Don't worry you can eat till' your full." Matt nodded and picked up Dad's dish and his own and put them down a few inches from the sink and made sure he went the long way around the counter as not to touch Mello or step over the dish washer. Dad Motioned to Mello

"I'll finish up, you come show Matt what we do-" Mello nodded.

"That boy has a nasty curse, don't touch him with anything that would vanquish a demon, and be careful, it's a rare curse I'm not sure of all of it's affects." Mello stopped and stared at Matt before he took him upstairs. Mello led him into a large room,

"Mello, what do you guys do?"

"Were exorcists. We get rid of anything between ghosts and demons." Matt looked around the dimly lit room, there were weapons, and a magnitude of other items he couldn't name. Matt walked over to an object that was emanating a strong blue light. Mello picked it up and it wrapped itself tightly around his left arm and he shot a low blast at the ground.

"You can try it, it shouldn't hurt you, it just pulls power from the exorcist and shoots it." Mello put the object around Matt's frail hand Matt shot a small blast at the ground, that instead of blue the flames carried an white iridescent hue. Mello's eyes opened wide and he pulled the charm of of Matt's hand.

"What is it?"

"These, aren't supposed to change color." Matt nodded, "Your not hurt are you?"

"Not in the least." Matt opened a small box and a small lizard-like creature crawled out and Matt picked it up.

"Matt! Don't that's a-!" Matt smiled at the creature that brushed it's dark red skin against Matt's cheek.

Mello held up his gun, "Matt move away from the dragon." Matt brushed the side of the creatures head, "Why?"

"That's a very dangerous demon."

"He seems harmless." Matt's eyes closed half-expecting Mello to fire at him, he didn't want the creature he would call a demon to die. He just didn't. Dad came into the room and grabbed the gun out of Mello's hand and set it down.

"Dad, he let out the-"

"Dragons are dangerous, but Mello it looks like this hatchling just bound himself to Matt."

"But dragons only bind to great excor-" Mello stopped himself and Matt smiled a cheesy grin, guessing he wasn't the only demon getting away with it. The goggles fell of Matt's head and the young dragon tucked itself into Matt's neck.

Dad laughed and patted Mello's back. "He's a natural." Matt stepped closer,

"He's harmless now see?" Matt turned his head to the little creature, "You wouldn't hurt him right?" Mello stared widely at Matt stepping back,

"Where'd you learn how to speak like that?" Matt's head turned to the side, and dad stepped in.

"It's not uncommon for curses, calm down Mello." Mello nodded and pulled out a small weapon.

"This is my favorite, it uses determination and power to shoot this kind of flame along the sides of the sword." The small piece of metal exploded into a long sword coveted in flames.

Matt nodded, "What am I gonna use?" Dad pulled out an unassuming bright object, that bound itself to the bracelet Matt was wearing. "What is it?" Mello interrupted,

"I've never seen that before-"

"With this you can stun, well anything. You can also kill if you use enough raw power. Mello will bring you to the basement to get used to the weapon." He turned to Mello, "Stay out of the room when he uses it, get some meat out of the fridge."

Dad turned back to Matt when Mello left the room,

"Matt, talk before you stun and it takes a great deal of force to kill with that, but you are strong. Never fight angry."

"I won't." The little boy ran his fingers over the bracelet that had just given him another power that wasn't quite so human.