Red
Summary: Ryder Penber-Misora is Naomi's thirteen-year-old son. After hearing of his mother and father's death, Ryder is taken to live under Wammy's house, where he makes a few friends, and a couple of enemies.
AN: I know Naomi was probably too young to have a thirteen year old, but I kind of needed Red to have about the same age as Mello and Near if he was going to be competing to become L. I just wanted to try this idea out, and if it doesn't work, oh well, at least I gave it a shot
(I'm procrastinating doing my French homework right now)
Introduction
Red dropped his tattered leather case onto the edge of the bed, wincing at the sharp sounds of aged bedsprings echoing through the empty room. He'd only been at Wammy's house for about an hour or so, but regardless, the building was beginning to feel rather familiar. The damp wallpaper and cracked floorboards reminded him of the house he'd used to live in. In hindsight, everything was going relatively smoothly for a first day in a new environment.
As he removed his rain-soaked coat from his shoulders and placed it behind his study desk, he began to fiddle with the iron cross he wore around his neck, biting on the piece of silver and toying with the chain, before he pulled it from his chest and placed the item upon the small wooden bedside beneath the rusted metallic window frame.
It was only after he heard a sudden bellowing call down the hall that Red snapped back into reality. "Mello! Get back here right now or a swear to God- MELLO!"
The door upon the left side of the room was jolted open and then immediately shut. A young boy, maybe a year or two older than Red, with shoulder-length blonde hair and ice-blue eyes propped himself up against the door, locking both bolts upon the tarnished frame and pressing his ear up against the face of the wood to listen in.
Red stared in slight shock for a moment or two, blinking his eyes and scratching the back of his head. A few minutes of awkward silence passed by, before the stranger stood up straight and leant his head against the wall. "Too fucking early for this shit." He uttered beneath his breath. He then seemed to notice Red standing on the far side of the room, a look of unreserved confusion written upon his face. "Do I know you?"
"…Uh…" Red stood awkwardly for a moment, realized he was actually talking to him, and attempted to form a sentence. "Uh, no…I don't think so…"
"'Could have just said so ya' buzzkill." He chuckled, pacing towards the other side of the room and jumping onto the left side of Red's bed. "I'm guessing your new then. I'm Mello." It took Red a moment for his brain to turn on, and after it did, he'd wished it hadn't. "This is the part where you tell me your name."
"Oh, it's…Red."
"Like, the colour?" Mello refused to hide the fact he was about to burst into hysteric laughter. "Man! I thought I got it bad. Roger sucks. What the fuck kind of a name is Mello, right?"
"…Why are you in my room?" Red questioned as his brain slowly began to function again (in honesty, he hadn't really used his brain for the past five weeks).
Mello smirked slightly, but it soon faded as he stood from the bedside and grabbed his satchel he'd dropped by the door. "Needed a place to hide and your room was the closest to the corridor. I kinda' sorta' robbed the main office. See, I have this thing where if I don't eat chocolate at least once a day, I. Will. Die."
Red figured Mello was joking, but that was before he tossed the satchel onto the bed, and as it fell onto the covers, about thirty or more chocolate bars fell from inside the bag, scattering across the sheets. Red arched an eyebrow in shock and somewhat disbelief. "You're gonna' eat all of that?"
"Probably, if Roger doesn't find it anyway." He stated, walking over to the windowsill, looking out over at the nearest tree that just brushed up against the glass of the window. "I'm usually pretty good at this. I think they've started putting more cameras in the office to keep me out."
"Doesn't this…make you fat?" Red questioned with a genuine look of curiosity on his face.
"If you use your head you won't get fat, even if you eat sweets." Mello smirked, grabbing a bar of chocolate from his bag. "So, are we friends now, or what?"
"…I'm sorry, what?" Red questioned, his eyes wide with confusion. Mello laughed, though whether it was with him or at him was unknown (most likely the latter). He then placed a hand on the younger boys head and ruffled his raven black hair.
Mello then glanced at the clock that hung lopsided upon the wall. "Ah, shit. I gotta' go. Thanks for letting me hide up here." He saluted as he tidied up his things and swung his bag over his left shoulder. "See you around."
Red watched as Mello slid the side window open and crawled out rather faultlessly, jumping onto the nearby tree and beginning his descent down. Red couldn't help but wonder what was up with him.
"Everyone, this is Red. He's our newest member of the house. Remember to treat him nicely, he's only been in England for a few days." The teacher motioned for Red to take a seat by the back of the class. Red had noticed that most of the students were rather welcoming. One in particular was a young girl, probably the same age as him, with a cute smile and hair tied back into a ponytail. She'd been the one to lead him around the building the night he'd arrived. He couldn't remember her name exactly, but he'd probably find out sooner or later.
Red took his seat at the very back of the room, where only two other students sat.
He noticed a white-haired young boy who sat in a rather peculiar position. His eyes were dark and he appeared to be twirling a lock of his hair with his index finger. As the lesson began, Red noticed that every so often, the boy would glance at him, rather offhandedly, but still noticeable.
About five minutes into the math lesson, the boy said something rather peculiar. "Was your mother Naomi Misora?"
Red stopped writing for a moment and turned his head towards the boy. "Maybe. Why, who is she?"
"A woman whom had formerly worked under L himself. I'm just asking because that's what your history file read." The boy spoke with such an even tone; Red began to wonder whether he was human.
"I don't talk about my parents." Red stated, gripping his pencil a little tighter.
"Ah, so she is your mother. Good to know." The boy placed a light smile on his lips. "That's quite a reputation to live up to. The son of two FBI agents, one of who practically matched L's own intelligence."
"…I'd be a little more impressed if they hadn't gone and got themselves murdered by Kira…"
The white haired boy turned his head towards Red. It was obvious the subject was rather difficult for him to handle, though he did an extensively good job at hiding it. He was rather impressed.
"I have a puzzle, and I'm having a little trouble working out the answer. Would you like a go?" The stranger asked. Red glanced over once again.
"…I suppose it couldn't hurt."
"My friend gave me a present, but it was delivered in a block of ice. The note attached said that you can use one-hundred and fifty milliliters of hot water to melt thirty grams of ice, and that I must now work out how many cups of hot water are necessary to melt two kilograms of ice to retrieve the present. How many cups of hot water are necessary?" The boy watched as Red crossed his legs and thought for a moment.
"And you couldn't work it out yourself?" Red questioned.
"I assume you have the answer then." The boy smiled.
"The amount is zero. You said how many cups of water are necessary to melt the ice, but the ice would simply melt by itself. It's simple if you thought of it from a real life perspective. A child could do it." He chuckled beneath his breath, turning back to his work in front of him.
"Actually I worked it out before I gave it to you, and yes, I agree it is rather simple. Perhaps I'll give you something a little more challenging next time…please, call me Near."
"Nice to meet you Near. It's Red."
To be continued (hopefully)!
It's a little rough, but I'm only just starting. Tell me what you thought in the comments if you liked it or follow if you want more. If not then I'm sorry I wasted your time :D