A/N
Now presenting, the much awaited sequel to my Death Note au: The Notebook New Beginnings (only this time with a much better name)
If you haven't read the first installment of this story it's recommended, but not necessarily needed to understand the plot
Without further ado, The Successor Conundrum
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of its characters
Light P.O.V.
Light Yagami rolled his eyes as he leaned over the back seat of the car to buckle it's other passenger safely in, earning himself an exasperated sigh.
L shot him a glance. "Must you always do that?"
"It is the law in England. You should know." Light raised an eyebrow at him and snatched his hand away from where it was already struggling to undo the seat-belt. "We're almost there anyway, surely you can survive five minutes with your seat-belt on." Light wasn't about to repeat their never ending debate about how he wasn't going to die in some stupid car crash, instead choosing to intertwine their fingers so that he couldn't reattempt an escape.
"You place too much faith in me, Light." L smirked at him when Light didn't bother to reply. "You look nervous." He stated.
"As observant as ever, Ryuzaki." Light rolled his eyes, "I am in a foreign country, moving in with my boyfriend," he didn't fail to notice the way L's lips still quirked upward at the term, "and I'm meeting his family. All in one day. Can you possibly see how that might cause me a bit of stress?"
"Relax Light, they'll love you." He smirked, "As do I."
Light made a face at the cheesiness of the statement, though this didn't stop him from leaning in. L's lips tasted like sugar, as usual, and Light's inhibitions, however slight, calmed at the bizarrely familiar taste.
Light's decision to move in with L after the first three, admittedly rocky, months of their relationship, was still a decision he wasn't completely sure he wouldn't come to regret. Despite L being a world famous detective and his own brag-worthy deductive abilities, they had both nearly died quite a number of times since they had met, and most of those near death experiences had happened due to their own blinding of one another.
Light hoped that their issues were in fact resolved, as they both had decided. Though, as they drove toward their new life together, Light couldn't help but worry that this was all moving just a little bit fast.
"You'll be fine. Just be yourself." L coached him as the car turned into the long driveway leading to Wammy's Orphanage for Genius Children.
Light licked his lips when the building came into view as they passed through the iron gates, "So tell me about your successors again, I need to know as much as possible before I meet them."
"Light," he said tiredly, rubbing his eyes, "We've discussed them for the last three hours of the plane ride, even I get tired once in a while, you know. We'll be there in a few minutes... and besides, this isn't a research project, you don't need to know everything about them."
Light folded his arms, "Yes but Ryuzaki, they're basically your brothers. I need them to like me..."
L snorted and recaptured Light's hand, "And you won't accomplish this by knowing every single detail about their lives. Besides, if Mello decides he doesn't like someone, there really isn't anything you can do." He leaned over and kissed Light's cheek.
"You know," Light raised his eyebrows in mock surprise, "knowing that actually helps."
"Really?"
"No."
Near P.O.V.
Gotta find Matt and Mello.
Near's thoughts were rushed as he hurried through the orphanage as fast as his five year old legs could carry him; which is to say not fast at all. He cursed as he nearly tripped over an abandoned toy lying in the middle of the hallway.
He hated being small. He was practically helpless in physical situations and always ended up having to rely on Matt and Mello for help... However that was not his reason for seeking them this day.
"Near!" came a shout to his left, he slowed down just long enough to see who it was; Linda. One of the few people who didn't despise him. Not worth my time at the moment, sorry Linda. He continued his quest.
After about ten minutes of searching he finally came to a screeching halt in front of the East Wing playroom, having caught sight of Matt's scarlet colored hair through the open doorway.
"Guys!" he shouted, running over to them.
Mello groaned, but Matt grinned at him from his position on the floor. After pausing their video game he turned, "Hey Near, what's up?" he then cocked his head to the side curiously, obviously noting his breathlessness; which was quite unusual for him he had to admit, "What's wrong?"
Near straightened up, allowing a grin to split his face, "Nothing's wrong. Roger just wanted me to tell you... L is back."
Matt and Mello sprang to their feet, the game all but forgotten, "What?!" Matt yelled.
"I thought he wasn't getting back until next week!" Mello exclaimed.
Near shook his head, grin still in place, "Nope! Roger said he's coming back early, Wammy just called him from the airport."
"Wait!" Mello blinked, "What about that boyfriend of his?"
Near bit his lip, "From what I gathered, I think he's here with L."
Mello frowned but Matt pumped a fist in the air, "Awesome! Now we get to meet the guy L's so hung up about!"
"What's the ETA?" Mello asked him, still scowling slightly.
"Considering it took me approximately ten minutes to find you... I'd say twenty minutes tops."
"Let's go greet them!" Matt grabbed Mello's hand after stooping to grab an extra nerf gun - just in case, as he had always claimed - and dragged him out the door with a quick, "C'mon Near!" thrown over his shoulder. Near was just grateful that Matt thought to bring him along.
It had been nearly a year since Near joined their little makeshift family, having been invited by L himself; though part of him still argued that it was only because of his intellect.
If he weren't number one, then he highly doubted that L would have taken him in as he had with Matt and Mello. In fact, he was sure that Matt only liked him because L did, and Mello... Well, Mello didn't really like him anyway. At least he was straight forward about it.
Near followed them down the halls and out through the front door, struggling to keep up.
Despite his qualms about L's reason for favoring him, Near couldn't help looking up to him as an older brother. His home life before the orphanage hadn't been the best, to say the least, and he was almost ashamed to admit that upon arrival he had immediately become attached to the first person to show him kindness. This person was L of course, and Wammy, Matt and even Mello soon after.
Despite everything that had been done to him before, despite all of the distrust and ice that had lodged itself into his heart at the hands of his parents, Near simply couldn't keep himself from trusting these four. A year later and he hadn't yet come to regret it; not that he was able to convince himself that he never would.
For now though, he thought, he would accept his small makeshift family. He would trust them. Though he wasn't sure how he felt about this new member that would be arriving shortly.
As the three of them reached the midway point of the winding driveway, Matt stopped, "So how are we gonna prank them?"
Near groaned inwardly, those were the words he heard most often before he found himself in Roger's office, along with Matt and Mello themselves.
"Hmm..." Mello contemplated. Near decided to leave the plotting up to him; that way he would be implicated less if they did end up in trouble with Roger.
"I got it!" his eyes lit up in a mischievous way that almost made him wish he hadn't followed them out there. Almost.
He quickly explained his plan and they each got into position, Matt handed him one of the nerf guns he always kept on his person, and Near shuddered to think of the future when he would be able to carry real firearms.
"Here we go..." he muttered, beginning to feel the thrills of excitement despite himself.
Light P.O.V.
The car had made it about halfway down the long driveway, Light's anticipation growing with each foot, when the car came to a sudden stop, a heavy object having dropped onto it from the tree branches above.
"What the hell was that?" He exclaimed, frowning when L stopped him from scrolling the window down to check outside.
He sighed, "A blonde most likely... Perhaps a redhead..."
Light punched him on the arm, "Not funny."
L looked him in the eye, "Not kidding."
Light raised an eyebrow skeptically, but unbuckled his seat-belt and followed Ryuzaki out of the car anyway.
No sooner had they stepped from the vehicle when Ryuzaki was ambushed by a flying assailant. Light stepped back in surprise when a small voice called out "Freeze! We have you outnumbered and surrounded!"
Slowly, he turned to the left to catch sight of a small red headed boy with orange goggles pointing a yellow plastic gun at his chest, his face set in a mask of concentration. Light couldn't help but smile inwardly at the successors' tenacity, This must be Matt, he thought, and the blonde one holding Ryuzaki in a headlock must be Mello... But where was Near?
Light heard a loud click from his right and a foam bullet with a suction cup at one end stuck to the car window just next to his head, "He said freeze." Light turned and caught sight of the smallest five year old he had ever seen.
Near had a shock of pure white hair and piercing grey eyes that almost made up for his small stature. He was also pointing a gun at his head, though Light elected to ignore this fact.
Ryuzaki chuckled, extricating himself from the Mello's grip and clapping loudly, "Nice plan, excellent execution and teamwork. Also, Near, your aim has improved greatly."
Just like that, every ounce of seriousness evaporated from all three of the boys' eyes and they convened upon Ryuzaki, smothering him in a group hug. Light couldn't help but think it was really sweet to watch him interacting with these children like this.
"L! L! We missed you so much!" the one he assumed to be Matt was shouting.
Near had wrapped his arms around Ryuzaki's right leg and it didn't seem as though he was going to let go anytime soon.
Mello had both Ryuzaki and Matt wrapped up in a tight bear hug, smiling up at his mentor and idol like he was the world to him.
Ryuzaki ruffled Mello's hair then turned, with great difficulty, to face Light, "Boys, I have someone to introduce you to."
Three small faces turned to him and Light suddenly felt strangely self-conscious. Only Matt seemed to have an open face, the other two were clearly reserving their judgment.
"This, is Light Yagami. He'll be living with us from now on as my partner."
Near glanced up at Ryuzaki as if to say "Why him?" An odd expression on the face of a five year old.
Light smiled at them hesitantly, "Hello. Ryuzaki has told me much about you."
He was glad for his many years of English classes that he was able to speak the language without too much difficulty. Ryuzaki had taught him one or two slang words, though he was reluctant to use them. Light wouldn't put it past L to trick him, and "swag" just didn't seem like an actual word.
Mello squinted like he didn't quite trust him, though Light couldn't say he blamed him, they had just met after all.
Matt was quick to smile back and Light felt a small amount of relief.
It was Near whom he was worried about. He was the one that Ryuzaki had warned him about the least, and yet he seemed to distrust him the most, his large eyes narrowed almost to slits, his mouth curved down in a scowl. It looked almost comical on him, but Light was far from laughing.
"Hello." they chorused together, each of their voices holding a different tone.
Ryuzaki reached down to scoop up Near; Mello immediately taking his free hand as he shifted Near to the side, "Alright, let's all head back inside, seeing as Wammy has already seen fit to drive back by himself."
Light smiled wryly, noticing that the black car had indeed driven off, leaving them to walk the rest of the extended driveway. Not that Light minded a morning stroll with Ryuzaki and his successors.
Ryuzaki shot him a small smile before beginning the walk. Light stayed a few paces behind the rest, not wanting to intrude on their reunion.
He listened as Mello began to fill Ryuzaki in on everything he had missed while he was away, and Light couldn't help but snort in disbelief at the clearly fabricated stories of mischief, though L seemed to be taking him seriously.
L glanced back worriedly once and Light gave him a reassuring smile, he would try to win them over later, but until then he didn't want to cause them to distrust him more by getting between them and L.
Matt P.O.V.
After a few seconds of walking with Mello, Near, and L, Matt began to feel bad for Light, who was trailing awkwardly behind the four of them, obviously unsure whether he should join in.
He slowed down his pace so that he was walking beside him, Light seemed pleasantly surprised, and Matt took his reaction as a good sign.
"Hello!" Matt greeted, grinning up at him, his nerf gun now stowed safely back in its holster at his waist; he wouldn't want to accidentally shoot the guy he was trying to be friendly with.
"Hi." Light replied, smiling back tentatively.
"L told us about you, you know." Matt began, still smiling, "He was really distraught that one time you two almost broke up."
He frowned, his eyes becoming troubled, "I'm so sorry... I never meant to cause him pain." He bit his lip, glancing up at L, who was smirking at something Mello had just said.
Matt decided that he was being genuine, and almost felt bad for testing him; but not really. He had to know if Light was good enough for L, and so far he had one point in the Pros list. A good sign.
He just hoped Mello and Near would warm up to him soon. He was worried about the look in Near's eye earlier when he told them that Light would be coming.
Light. Such a funny name.
"So why did your parents call you 'Light'?" Matt asked curiously, wanting to change the subject.
He blinked in surprise and began to laugh, "I'm not sure, I've never asked them..." he looked thoughtful, "In Japanese it's written with the character for moon."
"Moon Yagami?" Matt wrinkled his nose, "I think I like Light better."
He chuckled, "Me too."
Matt decided right then that he liked Light.
"So do you play video games? Aren't the Japanese famous for them or something?" Perhaps Light would be able to help him with his newest acquisition; it hadn't taken Matt that long to complete a game in a few years. He had even been forcing Mello to help him up until Near had come running into the room.
"I've played a few." He shrugged, "Which ones did you have in mind?"
Matt grinned up at him, giving him his most mischievous look. He knew he would be able to get Light to play any game he wanted, since he seemed to be trying almost too hard to get on their good sides. "Oh..." Matt shrugged back at him, "A few..."
L P.O.V.
L mentally breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed Matt skipping alongside Light. He had been much more apprehensive about this meeting than he had let on... L knew his successors could be quite calculating and judgmental at first, though he supposed if they weren't then they would not have been his successors in the first place.
Mello had been known to make snap decisions about people, and Near was not the most social being in the world...
Thank everything for Matt however, he had no doubt that he was testing Light in his own way, but at least he was giving him a chance. He knew Light was rather anxious to have all three approve of him, L just hoped that he didn't get his hopes up too high.
L shook his head, dispelling these negative thoughts; they were his brothers, and Light his partner, each of them as intelligent as the next. There was no way they wouldn't get along.
A/N
Yeah, there's NO WAY Mello of all people WON'T get along with another human being, good thinking L.
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Good Memories and Nightmares
-MDL