A/N: Hola. Ok, explanation of this story. I've been working on Godless for awhile now. MattMello is my all time favourite pairing and I love writing them. I like that story because they seem human. i wanted to do that with Near, too. It's easy to forget sometimes that he is human. Anyway, I mention him several times in Godless, but he never has a direct role in the story. This is a companion piece to that, so I'll try to intertwine the stories as best I can, but this is about Near rather than Matt and Mello. So if you don't like Near with emotions, this isn't the piece for you. Oh, and this is short because it's just kind of an intro. The next chapter will be longer.
Thank you to everyone who's read Godless!
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.
Anomaly – (n.) One that is peculiar, irregular, abnormal, or difficult to classify.
Finally it was quiet. The day had been far too loud. Everywhere he went the corridors had been filled with whispers. Whispers about his hair and the way he dressed, whispers of people who doubted he was smart enough to be here. They thought he was strange. But for all the whispering, not one person had tried to talk to him. That was alright with him, though. He couldn't stand people anyway.
With a sigh Near closed the door and glanced around the room that was to be his for now. It was empty except for his few belongings, but it was quiet. The road that had led him here had been a long and difficult one and he was just glad for the silence. This was his chance to begin again. This place would be good for him. They would teach him and teach to his level, and he would be safe here.
Near wasn't really an orphan, but it seemed the other children didn't know that. If they had they would have whispered about that too. It was better that they didn't know. They could speculate all they wanted, it didn't bother him, but if they found out what really happened he would never be able to face them again. It was hard enough now. He knew and that was bad enough. It was something he would have to live with for the rest of his life, however short a time that might be.
It was a little after nine, but Near didn't feel like sleeping. He wasn't used to this place yet, so he was a little anxious about going to sleep. He wasn't even used to his new name yet. Near. It was such a strange name and he wondered why that had been chosen as his alias. He hadn't really taken much notice of the other children or their names, though.
Quietly he set to unpacking, which didn't take long, before curling up on his bed. There was too much to think about. Under normal circumstances he could process things with incredible speed, but these hardly counted as normal circumstances. Right now he could hardly think. He didn't want to, though. Didn't want to look at why he was here, didn't want to remember.
The taunts of the other children still echoed in his mind. He was tiny, much too small for his age, with pure white hair, pale skin, and coal coloured eyes. He kind of looked like a ghost. His appearance wasn't his fault and he had long ago learned to ignore the stares and cruel comments, but today that had been hard to do. Soon enough he would prove to them that he did belong here, that his appearance meant nothing, but there was nothing he could do until tomorrow, so perhaps it would be a good idea just to go to sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day.
