As Mello straddled his Kawasaki and sped through the now obsolete traffic back to his gangs Head-Quarters, his beaded rosary flicking in the wind. With a somewhat sincere swipe, he stuffed the rosary into his dark leather vest carefully. It was one of his most treasured possessions. Though he wasn't quite sure what brought upon the statement of wearing a bright red rosary around his neck, but he wore it all the same. But...it had the downfall of people, strangers and colleges alike to mistake him for a faithful and proud Christian. Mellos faith was not one of Godly description, hell! He doubted the form of any ether-spectral being having such an important role in the development of the Earth and its people. But...then again...there could be something...but right now, it truly wasn't his place to say.
As his leather pants flapped in the rushes of wind, Mello kicked his speed up a notch, wanting to get back as soon as possible. He needed to check back in with his gang boss and tell him about the extra surveillance staff he had hired. Matt will become a useful resource...he'll keep an eye on Amanae for the time being, watching for any slip ups while I further this...Notebook fiasco, Mello smiled a little. Then his thoughts swung to Matt...Matty-boy, as Mello had nicknamed him back at Wammy's.
You see, Mello and Matt had both been raised in an orphanage for the gifted and brilliant. Children that lived in that institution were trained to become the next 'L'. Mello grimaced at that title. 'L'...L was like...a father? No...(perhaps a brother?) to the kids of Wammy's House. Children whose own biological families had been killed or murdered or had otherwise departed from the picture. These kids were different, anyone could plainly see that, each with their own odd little habits and idiosyncrasies that were uniquely their own. Like for example, Mello had a serious perchant for chocolate. He would be seen almost every waking minute with a bar hanging from his fingertips, a chocolate smear ever-present on his lips.
His rival, Near, sat oddly ("Almost like L," Rodger had always said, proudly.) and played with toys all day long, using them to explain all of Nears theories and analysis. L apparently would only eat sweets all day long and never slept. Well, at leat I'm like L in that aspect, Mello thought snidely. Number Two, Number two! That's all he'd ever been to everyone at Wammy's House! The second best, the dummy prize, the silver medal always goes to Mello. It wasn't fair.
"I will win...I know more that you do Near...just you wait..." Mello hissed to himself outloud, his voice drowned out by the ambience of a big city.
Guiltily, he thought back to Matt. That kid...he was the third in line to the throne. Yet he didn't complain. He just played his video games all day. Mello remembered back to the first time he had met Matt. Mello had just recently moved to Wammy's House after a Mr. Quilish Wammy had found him trying to explain an advanced and somewhat impossible math equation to a fellow student at Mellos former orphanage.
.oOo.
Matt was the quiet kid that sat in the back of Mellos classes, always drifting off in space with a lollipop sticking out from his mouth. "The underachiever", as Rodger liked to call him, petting his mossy brown hair. Mello was intrigued with this guy. Why was he so quiet? What was he always thinking? Did he even have a name? When the bell rang, Mello pounced on Matts desk, a grin on his mouth.
"I'm Mello!" he had barked out in Russian confidently.
"Huh?"
"Oh..eh, I'm Mello...who are you?"
"Matt." One word. One simple word. Matt wasn't much of a talker.
"Pleased to meet you, Matt! Wanna go and beat up some dummys?" Mello, as a child, despised those who didn't have the same level of intellect as him. By picking on them, he believed he was proving his worth.
Matt had shook his head.
"Nah, we're all the same level here. It doesn't work like that."
"Oh..."
"Yeah. I gotta go."
"Okay! Bye Matt!"
"Bye Mello."
Their first convocation was the longest they had ever held with each other. Well...till now. Thinking of the small geeky kid with the raver goggles made him smile a little. You could call them friends, but really, Matt was Mellos accomplice. The supplier of chocolate, the source of information on Near, the silent back up. Rodger was somewhat glad with this. Matt had been a problem child from the start. He was capable of being the next L but lacked the pure motivation and determination of a true successor. Sure, even L was not big on socialising with people, but at least he could hold a convocation that would be of some substance. With Mello, Matt was improving, or so Rodger had though; when Mello had run away from the orphanage to America, Matt had become more of a recluse, hiding in his room for days on end, missing classes and tests.
"Matt, you need to tell me; what motivates you? What do you want most in life?" Rodger had implored him time and time again but with the same result;
"Nothing."
With frustration rising and Matt's fifteenth birthday around the corner, Rodger broke down and asked Wammy for help. Wammy, then swung this question to L.
"He's not...he's not the 'L' type. He finds no pleasure in solving mysteries or crimes. He doesn't attend classes. He hides in his room, all the time." Rodger pleaded to his eldest ward, almost giving up on the child.
"Hmmm...what about some games?"
"Games?" what did games have to do with anything? Rodger was confused.
"Yes, games. A video game might work for him. Buy him a gaming device and leave it on his bed one day...say it's from me."
And would it be by miracle, the gaming device worked! Although not fully engaged in learning, Matt was now subconsciously answering questions in classes...it was odd...but it worked.
.oOo.
Now entering the Head-Quarters Garage, Mello patted his hair down, confident of his upper-hand in the game...
