Well it's taken forever, but here's an update! I have rewritten the first chapter and now present to you, chapter two. In my two year absence, my beta and I have fleshed out Allie, giving her a full-on character. We attempted to make her as diverse as the rest of the cast, with a background, personality, and dreams. Hopefully, our hard work pays off and others enjoy her as much as we do.
Warning : This is not a love-story, or for the faint of heart. Sexual situations will make an appearance later. Depression, and suicide is written about, in detail. Death, is written about. This story is not sunshines and rainbows. It is meant to be a story that finely walks between "white and black". 'Cause the real world, it's an ugly place and not everything fits cleanly into good or bad. This is the only warning you are getting from me.
~ .~ Disclaimer ~ .~
Death Note and all the characters in it, belong to their rightful owner who is not me. I just write for fun and any characters, dialogue or places you recognize do not belong to me. The Kagome, Kagome song is not mine either though it was a big inspiration for this story and was therefore given an honorary place as the title of this story. I do own all mistake, so feel free to point those out so I may disown/correct them.
They called it adopting an alias. They claimed it was for protection but to her, it was throwing away the only thing she had left. Living on the streets, surviving from day to day, moving from family to family, it was made clear to her that the only thing that could never change was her name. It belonged to her. Others may have the same name as her but her name had her life, her memories connected behind it.
So when her last foster family couldn't handle her behavior anymore, she was forced to take a dozen random tests. A few days later, she was taken into Wammy's House, where she was told that she would no longer be allowed to use her name. The one thing she owned, the one thing that could never be taken from her, was gone. Wammy had explained his reasons and even though she understood, she could not bring herself to abandon her name fully. So, she became A, in memory of her name and the life she previously had.
Her first few days in the orphanage were rough. She felt like she was always being judged by the other children and their gazes caused havoc on her nerves. For the first time in her life, A wondered if she had an anxiety disorder. She often hid away in her room, ignoring her older roommate and finding refuge in her books. Any books she could read, her mind consumed them. History, math, science, mythology, criminal science, she would read anything, and everything, as long as it kept her mind busy. Her mind soaked it all up and after the first week, A no longer cared what others thought of her, and she didn't notice when they looked at her.
She had been staying in Wammy's House for only two weeks when she first caught news of the monthly tests. She was sitting in the cafeteria, eating some spaghetti for dinner, surrounded by other children of all ages, who were ignoring her. A's attention was mainly focused on her food, and the small book she was hiding under the table, when her ears caught some of the conversation that was happening to her right.
"-tayed up all night and I still don't think I'm ready for tomorrow's test."
"Why do you even try? You won't beat them."
"I might have a chance. I doubt males know much about children."
"Except they are children."
A's curiosity forced her to look up. By her side was two girls, one around her age, and the other one was a few years older. The youngest one had curly blonde hair, and the older girl had extremely short, nondescript brown hair and brown eyes. The eldest noticed they were being watched, and rudely pointed her finger at A, which caused her blonde companion to turn and look at her.
A grimaced as she caught a look at the blonde's face. She had a lot of makeup on and most of it was smeared in a horrified way that resembled a clown. Around her sunburnt neck was a pretty silver necklace, with a plastic flower charm hanging from the center. A always hated clowns and the blonde's dark glare made A concluded that she would hate this copy clown too.
"What are you looking at?" She-clown sneered.
A slowly blinked twice, unsure why the girl was being so hostile when she had down nothing to entice such actions. "Excuse me, what was that about tomorrow's tests?"
"You're the new brat, huh? Ouch!" The blonde clutched her head as she glared at the brunette who had just smacked her on the back of the skull.
"What Barby meant to ask, is if you are the new orphan." The brunette was much kinder than her companion.
"I've only been here a few weeks," A explained shyly.
"You'll take your first test tomorrow then," the brunette concluded. "Every month, all the children are required to take a test. It'll rank us based on our results."
"Why do we have to take them?" A questioned.
"It's required if we want to stay here, stupid." Barby snapped back. "Wammy's is a privileged orphanage for only the best."
"I've been told that those who rank in the top three, receive even more special treatment." The brunette continued. "Nobody has beaten the top three since they've been here though."
"You obviously won't beat them either since it's tomorrow, and you didn't know about it until now," Barby finally dismissed A, and turned her back to her.
The brunette gave an apologetic smile and stretched her arm out, extending her hand in friendship. "I'm Jenna and I wouldn't worry too much about it. There's always next month."
"I'm A," she ignored the rude sound that Barby made when she heard the simple name. A reached out and took Jenna's hand, giving her a soft handshake before A let go, and threw herself at Barby. A's thin arms wrapped around the girl's neck and she gave the blonde a faux, friendly hug. "Thank you for your help!"
Barby growled and shoved A off of her. Giggling quietly to herself, A bounced off the bench and collected her book. She skipped back to her room, leaving behind her unfinished spaghetti, and two girls who were unsure what to make of their quick conversation. A had some studying to do.
o.0.O.0.o
May, 1990
Two days later, A put on her cleanest dress, and skipped out of her room. She immediately joined the herd of children that were pushing their way into one of the dozen of different common rooms. She used her small size to her advantage, and wiggled her way between the other bodies who were trying to use force to get their way to the front. With minimum effort, and only having her toes stepped on twice, she made it to the front where a sheet of page was pinned to the wall.
1.) A - 243 Test Results
2.) B. - 241 Test Results
3.) Z - 198 Test Results
"You did it!" There was an excited squeal and then a heavy weight slammed into A's back, almost sending her to the floor.
Jenna caught her before gravity could take ahold of her, and the cloud of tangled blonde hair from the corner of A's eye told her that Barby was the one wrapped around her. A frowned for a moment at the blonde's friendly attitude, which was a vast difference from her previous behavior. 'Two-faced harpy,' A thought.
"How did you do it?" Jenna asked.
"Can you tutor me?" Barby squealed even louder.
The girls' excited attention was like forcing a spotlight on A. Soon the other children quickly concluded who she was, and the attention that was focused on the test results, were now turned to her. Other kids wanted to meet her. Demands to be tutored, screams about her cheating and even bribery were thrown at her. A didn't like being the center of attention, but her sharp mind knew that it was better to make friends than enemies. So she put on a false smile and pretended to make friends, but in her mind, they all blended together to create a large crowd that she could possibly use.
A tucked her hand into the pocket her dress, and fingered the silver necklace with the flower charm, to remind herself that none of them truly wanted to be her friends. None of them even noticed her until her name was at the top of that paper. They just wanted her knowledge and help. She couldn't let herself be fooled no matter how genuine they seemed.
o.0.O.0.o
June, 1990
"You know, someone is looking for you." Jenna informed A one evening.
"Hmm," A nibbled on the tip of her pen as she scanned the page. She was aware of Jenna talking to her, but the young girl wasn't paying much attention to her. She underlined a section of the page before pausing to look up. "Do you know who it is?" A murmured.
There was a lot of children who were searching for her. Some wanted her knowledge. Others wanted to know how she cheated the test. Even more just wanted to bully her, unhappy that she had been scoring the highest results without even trying. A considered Jenna one of her rare, few friends now, and the older girl was good at sorting through gossip. A had managed to escape bullies because Jenna's intel either warned her ahead of time, or the older girl's presence kept them away.
"I just told you," Jenna growled out. "Nobody is sure who he is but I've seen him. He looks like the creepy sort and he's trying really hard to find you."
"You don't know who it is?" A couldn't believe that. Jenna knew everybody either by association, personally, or through gossip. There wasn't a face around that Jenna didn't have a fact or rumor about. So she was surprised when Jenna shook her head, her own brown eyes upset at the thought. "Do you have any ideas who it might be?"
"There's only two people here who I don't know about," Jenna started to curl a strand of hair around her finger. A knew that Jenna only did this when she was nervous. "It's either B or L."
A snorted at the thought of it being L. Since she had gotten here, she had heard so many rumors and legends about Mr. 'Legendary' and frankly, A didn't believe he existed. It was just a false God that the children had created to justify their competitive behavior. As long as they become 'L', then anything they did to get there was okay. It was a stupid thought. B, on the other hand, was a child who was being ranked every month, and there had been sightings of that strange boy, even though A had never see him herself. Unlike L, A knew that B was real.
"So, B wants to see me," A murmured to herself. "Jenna, want to play a game with me?"
"What kind of game?" Jenna raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow at the thought.
"How many kids want to share my name?"
o.0.O.0.o
A was a thief. There was no nice way to label her. She was a drifter, running from foster family, to foster family. Most of the time, she didn't even learn her foster family's name. She chose to be on the streets, where nobody judged her and her face was never remembered. To survive on the streets though, one had to do illegal things and A was very good at being a thief.
It was like a second nature to her. Sometimes A stole things in a form of revenge, like when she stole Barby's necklace when they first met. Other times, she did it for the thrill and rush of escaping with the object. Most of the time, she didn't even know she was doing it. She was like a cat, stealing and hoarding things, but never having a reason for her behavior.
A was thankful that her roommate was a private person. A didn't know much about her, she was a quiet girl who would give a fearful squeak if A even look at her. So, her roommate never tattled on her about the hoarding problem she seemed to have and the strange items that just appeared in their joint room.
The children here were too privileged though. Whenever something went missing, they would be upset for a day or two but when they couldn't find it, they would just get a new one. 'That made it no fun.' The children bounced back too quickly, and the dose of adrenaline that A was searching for, was short lived.
So, she switched her targets to the adults. The adults were moodier and while most of the teachers at Wammy's orphanage were good at their job, they had a natural distrust of the children. A couldn't blame them that much. They were surrounded by children who were easily smarter than them, so whenever anything went wrong, they blamed the kids. A loved watching them try and figure out how the necklace around their necks disappeared, or how the expensive watch that hugged their wrist was suddenly gone.
A's favorite person to mess with was the grumpy, overweight chef. Every time A broke into the kitchen, usually to steal some fresh fruit that was in the locked fridge, she would take satisfaction in the knowledge that come morning, his outraged shouts would fill the orphanage. Amongst the children, it was no secret who was stealing the adults' possessions. Everyone knew that A had sticky fingers, but they thought of her as their friend, so they refused to turn her in when the adults questioned them.
Her friends were also good for creating a cover. A few days after Jenna had spread word of the game, there were a dozen of different children pretending to share the name 'A'. All ages, sizes and genders, lended her a hand and a couple of days later, rumors were spreading. B, whoever he was, was persistently continuing his search for her but A kept herself cleverly hidden away, and let the others act as her eyes, tongue and shield.
A, having run into a limited amount of room in her bedroom, had to become choosier on what she stole. Expensive items were stored away. Junk that she once liked, but had no interest in anymore, was given away or tossed out. To continue gaining her adrenaline rush but to curb back on her nasty habit, A decided to focused her attention on stealing from the kitchen.
Every time that night fell, A would creep her way through the dark halls. Her socked feet made no sound on the carpet, and she would wear her loosest pajamas, just in case she had to make a quick getaway. She paused in front of the large door that guarded the orphanage's gigantic kitchen. Out of habit, she wiggled the brass doorknob, but it didn't move. Every night, the cook made sure to lock it but it was a stupidly simple lock. A reached into her messy black hair to pull out a hairpin.
Within seconds, the locked door was open but A didn't immediately sneak in. Instead she peeked a single green eye in, searching the walls carefully. The cook had recently demanded that cameras were installed in an effort to catch the thief, but A could spot all seven of them. 'There's even one under the bread box. How paranoid,' A snickered internally.
Her advanced mind quickly formulated which route was the best for her to take. She brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and then dropped down to her hands and knees. She moved quickly, calculating where the blind spots were and keeping to them. It was with ease that she reached the fridge. A was annoyed to find yet another lock on the fridge door, and she had to use her trusty hairpin to open this lock too.
As she snuck back out, A mused to herself that with the new locks and cameras, she would be unable to sneak in as often as before. This would be the last theft for a few days. She needed to give the cook time to relax his guard after he discovering her brilliant thievery. It would be stupid of her to grow too confident and make a mistake now.
She crept away with her prizes, being careful to not leave a crumb trail behind her. This time her hands were filled with strange sugary treats she had found instead of the naturally sweet fruit she favored. There had also been some candy in there but the small pieces didn't appeal to A as much as the cookies and biscuits she had found hidden in the back of the fridge. Come morning, she would share them with all the children who had been sharing her name and helping her to distract B. Even if these kids were not her friends and only wanted her knowledge, A had a soft heart and she couldn't ignore them no matter how rude they were to her at times.
o.0.O.0.o
August 6th, 1990
In her mind, the days blurred together. Her stay at the strange orphanage had blended into an unknown amount of time. Mornings lead to afternoons, the afternoons lead to nights, and then it would repeat. The only thrill in her little life was the weekly break ins at the kitchen, and the cook's outraged screaming the next morning. So far, there was no evidence against her, but A had a feeling that the old man who had originally brought her to the orphanage, knew everything. His appearance was rare, but when she did she catch sight of him, he was usually patrolling the halls, and their interactions were so short that A no longer remembered his name. However, when A did catch her rare glimpses of him, he would stare at her with his blue eyes surrounded by wrinkles, and the sharp gleam there made A puff out her flat chest, as if returning an unsaid challenge.
He never returned the challenge though, and so her life stayed bleak. Her boredom had increased, and when she was bored, A was stupid. She took unnecessary risks, becoming mean or temperamental, and she wasn't aware of her behavior until later. So at the time, A thought it was a brilliant idea. She wanted to break into the kitchen during the day. She was craving strawberries, and she wanted a more challenging issue. Trying to wiggle past the cameras, and the cook at the same time, and getting out without being caught, was the best thing she could think of to give her that adrenaline she was searching for.
Getting in was easy since the door wasn't locked during the day. The pudgy cook was busy baking some kind of cake, and he had his back to the entrance and the fridge. A stuck to the route she had created, which toured through all the camera's blind spots and she reached the fridge, which the cook had also left unlocked. 'Good, don't have to waste extra time picking this lock,' A thought to herself as she carefully opened the door, aware of the squeak it made when it was halfway open. She stopped just before then and squeezed her thin arms through the tiny crack. Her fingers searched blindly, and she grabbed the first thing she could see that had a picture of strawberries on it.
'Jam', A grumbled internally. She didn't hate jam, but she found it sickly sweet when eaten alone, and there was no way A was going to be able to grab some bread, because it was by the cook's side, right in his view. 'Well, I did crave something sweet.'
Now, if A had left at that moment, she would have been fine, but the easy theft made her over-confident. So she decided she wanted a spoon too. How else was she suppose to eat the jam? She slipped away from the fridge, and opened one of the drawers that held the expensive silverware that the orphanage somehow owned. She stayed crouching, so she was unable to see into the draw, and had to rely on touch alone.
'That's a butter knife. Fork. Smaller fork? What is that? This drawer sure has a lot of silverware. Ah! Finally, a spoon!' A had to suppress a sigh of joy as she finally found a spoon.
Clink, Clink!
It was like a scene from a horror movie that A had once watched. At the small sound, such an insignificant sound, the whole world seemed to freeze. A could feel sudden weight on her shoulders and she swore she could hear the cook's neck creaking as he turned his head slowly towards her. There was no cheek-splitting, serial killer grin on his face but the triumph, dark glare was scary enough to her. The two enemies locked eyes for a second, each one registering what was happening in their heads, before A snapped herself out of her horrified daze, and raced out of the kitchen.
There was an angry roar, like an enraged bull and then she could feel the ground shaking beneath her as the cook gave pursuit. His footsteps were loud, and with how fat he was, A was surprised by how fast he was too. His longer legs would soon eat up the lead she had, and she didn't want to know what he would do to her once he caught her. She had been stealing from him for so long, that there must be a lot of suppressed rage built up.
A took a desperate turn around a corner, and raced through one of the common rooms. She could hear the other children, all surprised at her quick retreat, and some of them were hollering after her to make sure she was okay. The cook was only a few feet behind her, and when they saw who was pursing A, the excitement level jumped. Giggles, joyful screams and encouragement followed A out of the hall, and the sound of smaller feet joining the pursuit echoed behind her. A was too busy trying to keep on her feet, while dodging around as many corners as she could, to pay proper attention to the crowd she was creating with every group she raced through and every room she ran by.
'Why do all the walls look the same?' A prayed she was not going in circles, but this orphanage had never heard of landmarks. The walls were made of the same wood, and the giant oak doors were not allowed to be the decorated, so they stood as sentries, each one the same as before. She ducked down another corner and finally spotted something different from the edge of her eye.
There was a large spider web in the corner of one of the walls. It was so small, but it stood out in her mind. The orphanage was always kept an unhealthy amount of clean, and the fact that one spider was still alive and had created a web, was odd. It was like no one went down this hallway.
A had no time to dwell on it though. The cook was gaining ground fast and A knew she had to lose him somehow because her stamina was wearing out. She had to be crafty. She had to figure out a brilliant, unique way out of this situation that would make the other children respect her and piss off the cook.
So when the hallway opened into a large common room, A didn't have time to question herself. She caught a glimpse of two other children in the room, and she hoped they wouldn't give her away. She launched her body up and over the lone couch and took shelter behind it. She pressed as close as she could to the fabric, while clutching the jar even closer to her body. She felt like a toddler, hiding from the parents who wanted to bathe her. Just the thought of the pudgy chef attempting to give a toddler a bath made her giggle before she quieted down and held her breath.
She could hear the cook's heavy footsteps as he made his way into the room. The excitement of her crowd had only increased as each child tried to speak over each other. There was one heavy moment where the cook looked over the area and then she could hear him stomped his way down another hallway. The excited children followed him blindly, leaving blessed silence after them. A felt the tension leave her body when she realized that she had escaped!
"Give me one reason to not call the cook back here," an ominous voice reached her ears.
A peeked up through her messy hair to see the oddest child she ever had the misfortune to meet. Granted, she couldn't see much of him since he was surrounded by a black spiky mane that might have been his hair, but she could see two pale white hands which were gripping the edge of the couch tightly. His face was also pale, making the one burgundy eye that wasn't covered by hair, stand out. To the young girl, he looked creepy, but she feared the cook's wrath more than this boy.
So she offered the only thing she had at the moment to secure his alliance. A raised the jar of jam and said, "I'll split it with you."
The jar was quickly swiped out of her hands as the boy took it and disappeared again. She gave an outraged squeak, and immediately launched herself back over the couch so she could pursue the creepy boy who had stolen from her, a fellow thief. She was ready to pursue him, if needed, but he hadn't chosen to run away with her prize. Instead, he was sitting on the couch, struggling to open the airtight lid.
A took her jar back and easily opened the lid he was struggling with. Instead of thanking her, the strange boy reached over and stuck his hands in the jar to scoop out a large glob with his bare fingers, and then proceeded to lick his fingers. A's face scrunched up at the unruly, disgusting sight. His strange brown eye was watching her reaction carefully as he proceeded to do it again. He stuck his fingers, the ones that he had just licked clean, back into her jar of jam, much to her disgust. A considered surrendering the jar to him, but a tiny part of her protested at the idea. She had stolen it. She had gotten chased for it. Why should she submit? Despite her not wanting to admit it, she had eaten grosser things when she was on the streets.
"Why was the cook chasing you?" Creepy boy licked his lips to catch any traces of jam that might have been lingering, and then moved to clean his hands. 'Was his lack of manners even worth mentioning to him?'
A decided it would be more effort than it was worth, and just sighed, before pulling out the stolen spoon from her jean pockets. She casted a meaningful glance at the boy on the couch but he seemed unable to understand her message. 'Or he doesn't care for my manners either,' A mused as she scooped out a bit of jam.
"I might, or might not, have been breaking into the kitchen to get snacks. He tried to catch me this time." A was not going to mention how it was her mistake that alerted the cook to her presence.
"So you were stealing?" A new voice drawled out.
A forgot that she had glimpsed two boys in the room when she had raced in. Now they probably thought she was rude because she had ignored the other boy. A slyly moved her eyes so she could see the other orphan from the corner of her eyes without giving away her surprise. He was just as strange as the boy who had used his fingers to scoop out her jam.
His skin was almost a bleached white, and it looked unhealthy. He was wearing a plain white shirt and blue jeans, both of which were so baggy on him that it swallowed his tiny frame and pooled on the floor. He was currently sprawled out on his back, his own black hair messily spread out over the floor. The two boys looked similar, almost like brothers, but their hairstyles were different, and this boy had grey eyes instead of the burgundy color of the other one. By his side was an abandoned, mismatched chess board, and twirling between his fingertips was the white queen.
"If they didn't want me in there, they should lock it up better." A explain with a huff. "All the best food is locked up, just begging to be found."
The boy on the couch tilted his head to the side and A watched as his eyes moved to look at her hair. The boy on the floor tensed for some strange reason, causing A to tense in response. What was wrong? What was going to happen? She glared at the other boy, silently challenging him to do something against her.
"Maybe they were being saved for a special occasion, Al-"
Whatever attack she had been expecting, it wasn't that. A didn't have a chance to think, only time to react. She launched her small body across the couch, and tackled the stranger who dared to utter her name. Her attack took the boy by surprise and he fell back, with A on top on him, clamping both of her hands over his mouth so he couldn't finish the name. In the background, she heard the sound of glass breaking and shards bouncing off the floor.
For a second, the world froze around her. A part of her questioned why she was acting so hostile towards a name. Didn't she cherish and love her name? Did she not, at one point, want to keep her name? So why? Why did it upset her when it was almost muttered?
Another dark part of her mind whispered the answer back to her. Like many of her stolen possessions, it was something she no longer needed to share. It could belong to just her, and nobody had the right to know or say it anymore. Her name was her most prized possession and she was not going to share it unless she chose to. To others, she was now A, and her birth name belonged to only her.
"That is not my name," A tried to say as menacingly as she could.
The boy pushed against her and being the bigger opponent, A didn't stand a chance against him. She felt herself starting to fall back and she panicked, trying to right herself, but her actions only caused her to fall to the floor instead of falling back on the couch cushions.
Crack!
She whimpered as her skull harshly impacted with the floor and the taste of blood filled her mouth. She reflexively swallowed and then ran her injured tongue over the roof of her mouth to see how bad the damage was. She continued to taste blood, but it didn't hurt when she applied pressure, so she assumed the injury was small. It was now her skull, which was imitating a marching band, that pained her. 'At least I didn't land on the glass shards.'
A used one hand to push herself up, and used her other hand to cradle her bruised skull. She scooted herself back so she could keep both of the strange boys in her view. None of them seemed to care about her injuries. The one on the couch was snickering to himself, and the boy on the floor hadn't even bothered to look up from his position. He was still on his back, twirling that stupid chess piece between his fingers.
"Then what is your name?" A didn't like the glint that had entered the boy's eye. It made the weird brown color a sinister red, but A refused to be scared by a color. She took turns glaring at the red eyed boy, glaring at the useless one on the floor, and staring mournfully at the broken jar of strawberry jam.
'The struggles I went through, all for nothing. I hope one of them steps on the shards. Maybe it'll teach them some manners.' She decided it would be rude of her to not answer the question, but before she could fix her mistake, the boy on the floor answered for her.
"Her name is A."
The room filled with sudden tension at the sound of her name. The boy on the couch narrowed his eyes, and his gaze flickered from her, to the the boy on the floor. The other kid seemed unfazed at the look, or too concerned about unwrapping the piece of hard candy he had just pulled out of his pocket. The creepy boy moved so he was crouched on the couch, with his feet on the cushion and his knees tucked into his chest. It would have looked cute if done by a younger child, but this boy seemed too old to be pulling such childish actions.
"The A?" His burgundy eyes were locked on A, and a dark smirk pulled on the edge of his lips.
A knew that tone. It was the voice of someone who had just found the unobtainable, and only one child would pretend to be excited to meet A while the air around him screamed of hostility and tension. 'Guess the game is up.' "Nice to meet you, B. I've heard you've been looking for me."
"You were hiding from me," B stated monotonously.
"I was playing a game with you." A smirked victoriously. "You lost."
"I never lose."
A, still clutching the back of her throbbing head, pushed herself to her feet and stumbled towards the boy on the floor. His grey eyes watched her carefully, analyzing her every move. A gave the sweetest smile she could and stuck her hand out. The boy just stared at her hand, not moving to shake it. "I'm Amalia," she offered.
He blinked slowly, but still didn't move. After a few seconds, A's arm began to feel weak, but she stubbornly kept it out there for the boy to accept. Finally, he moved, but not to accept her offer of friendship. He just used his elbows to push himself up to a sitting position, and A finally let her arm drop in defeat.
"If you're going to lie about your name, you should use the letters B already revealed."
"Then my name is Alyssa," A smoothly corrected.
"It's a better lie, but still a lie."
"Can you prove otherwise?" A challenged back.
"Not yet, but there is a ninety-seven percent chance that you are lying."
"I know she's lying." B muttered to himself.
"And your name is?" Alyssa ignored B, and spoke solely to the still unnamed boy.
"Holmes." B snorted from his spot on the couch, but A already knew that the name he gave was a lie. Not an alias like most of them had, but a flat out lie. He didn't even hesitate to give out a name. He sounded like he just chose one at random.
"You told me to not lie about my name. Don't you think that's a little hypocritical?"
"I said if you are going to lie, lie using the facts that were already revealed about you."
'Odd. They were both odd boys,' the young girl concluded. Alyssa was beginning to feel uncomfortable under both of their gazes, and neither one of them seemed inclined to ease the growing tension. Alyssa pulled a strand of hair over her shoulder and started to nervously fiddle with it. Should she just leave? The cook probably forgot about her by now or found some other unsuspecting kid to unleash his wrath on.
"Well," Alyssa rocked back and forth on the balls of her heel, "I really should be leav-"
"It's unlike you to make a mess," a new voice intruded the common room.
Alyssa turned in surprise to see the elder that originally brought her to the manor. He was wearing a black tuxedo and his eyes looked smaller than usual behind his wire-rimmed glasses. His snow white hair was messy and tousled, which seemed unlike his normally collective self. If he was surprised to see Alyssa in the room, she couldn't tell. He just gave the small girl a friendly smile. "Hello, A."
'Of course he knows who I am. I told him my name when I first moved in.' "It's actually Alyssa now."
"Oh?" He didn't sound surprise. The three children watched as he walked closer to the broken jar on the carpet. As he passed by Holmes, he reached a hand down to tousle his hair and Holmes leaned slightly into his touch. When he passed B, he repeated the same action but B didn't react at all to the touch. "For how long will you keep this name?"
Alyssa shrugged her shoulders. "Until I get bored of it."
"And how did you meet these two?" The older man questioned as he bent down to pick up one of the larger shards of glass.
"By accident," Alyssa chirped up with a false smile. Her eyes glared at the other two boys, warning them to keep quiet about how they really met.
B, took her glare as a challenge. "She was running away from the cook," he smugly informed.
Alyssa flinched, expecting for the man to be mad. She had stolen the jar, caused a ruckus and lead an orphanage-large chase through the house. Her foster families would always be mad at her when she caused a disturbance, and she had no reason to believe this situation would be any different.
The gentleman straightened up, and even though he had his back to her when Alyssa had flinched, it was like he sensed her preparing for punishment. He turned to look at her and gave another smile, his face looking even more gentle with the wrinkles on the edge of his lips and eyes. Resting in one of his hands was shards of different sizes, each one carefully cradled in his palm so they wouldn't hurt him.
"Charlie could use the exercise." So the pudgy cook had a name. Alyssa wondered if Jenna knew about this or not. "He's still looking for you though. I would run back to your room before he comes back."
Alyssa knew a dismissal when she heard one and for once, she was more than happy to disappear. She didn't want to be blame for the broken jar, a feat that B was not above, and she wanted to leave the company of the strange boys. "Of course. Nice to meet you B, Holmes and . . .," Alyssa trailed off when she remember that she didn't know the gentleman's name.
"Wammy." Alyssa wanted to smack herself. 'Of course.' This was Wammy's Orphanage, and this was the man who had brought her to her new home.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Wammy."
Alyssa turned on her heels and bolted out of the room before anyone could change their minds. Alyssa was sure that this was the strangest encounter she had ever had and she had once spent time with hobos and bums. At least she got to escape them, even if it had cost her her stolen jar of jam. Hopefully, this would be the last time she ever saw them again. They did live in a large orphanage so the odds were in her favor.
o.0.O.0.o
Alyssa was left alone for a week. For her, life continued as normal. She studied. She gossiped with Jenna. She did stop stealing from Charlie, for the time being. Alyssa had even pushed the odd encounter with Holmes and BB to the back of her mind. There were many odd children in the orphanage, and while those two were the oddest she ever met, they were just children in her mind.
Alyssa liked to spend her mornings outside, under the rising sun with whatever book was her current obsession. Today, it was some kind of strange fantasy book. Typically, fiction doesn't catch Alyssa's attention, she loved facts and history more, but the cover art was unique and there was a lot of killing in it.
Alyssa, despite her current reading material, was not obsessed with death. She valued all life equally, and that was one of the reasons she wanted to be the best detective ever. If she was the greatest, undefeated by all, then she could save many lives. Nobody, and nothing, deserved to die for no reason.
Around her, the world was quiet. Other children typically slept in if they didn't have morning classes, and if they were awake, they were studying in the library. These peaceful moments were something she treasured dearly. It was a time she could collect her thoughts and center her mind.
"Should a little girl be reading something so bloody?" Alyssa lowered her book to glare darkly at whoever dared to intrude on her tranquil time.
However, she wasn't prepared for what was on the other side of the book and she gave a loud, frightened yelp. At first glance, all she could see was glowing red eyes, a pale face covered in some kind of red liquid, and teeth bared in a mocking smile, which was also stained red. Her heart seemed to stop and her eyes felt like they were going to fall out of her head, before the logical part of her mind took over and put a name to her living nightmare.
"Hello again, B," Alyssa squeaked out.
Like a rabid animal, the boy crawled forward a few steps, still on his hands and knees. Alyssa couldn't stop the shudder that ran down her spine at the sight. B grinned widely and crept even closer, his eyes flickering from her eyes to the top of her head.
"Ready to admit your name, Al-"
"Hey! You're going to get me in trouble," Alyssa snarled out, "if you continue to try and reveal my name. Can't you just call me Alyssa?"
"It's a lie."
"You can't prove it," Alyssa slammed her book closed. "Unless there is solid evidence behind your thesis, you have nothing."
"That is true," BB quietly agreed.
His steady gaze made her feel uncomfortable, and her fingers started to twitch as she resisted the urge to play with her clothes. It was an old habit of hers that she had yet to stop, but she knew that BB would catch on to what it meant, and she did not want him to know she was nervous around him. He seemed like the type who would take pleasure in that.
After a few minutes of just staring at each other, Alyssa started to grow annoyed. 'I've never been very patient.' "What do you want, B?"
"I'm just watching you."
"Well don't," Alyssa made a shooing gesture with her hand. "Leave now."
"I don't want to," B calmly stated. While it was a childish statement, he said it with such conviction that he sounded almost threatening.
"It's creepy when you're watching me!" Alyssa protested loudly.
"How unfortunate."
Alyssa tried to ignore him. She turned her attention back to her book, forcing herself to enjoy her morning like she always did. Her mind kept wandering to the boy by her side though, remembering his odd brown eyes, the way he crawled like something out of her nightmares, and the strange crimson goop that was covering his clothes. After a few seconds, Alyssa could no longer ignore the weight of his gaze.
"Please tell me that's not blood," Alyssa begged quietly. It certainly looked like blood at first glance, even if the young girl knew that was a ridiculous thought.
"It's not blood," B repeated monotonously. Alyssa made a face at the emotionless answer, and he grinned before swiping a finger over the goop and sticking it in his mouth. "It's jelly."
"You have got to be kidding me," Alyssa grumbled. 'How the hell did he get it all over himself? Did he roll in it or something?'
"I do not lie," he answered her rhetorical question.
"B," Alyssa sighed and looked him right in the eyes. 'Or the one eye I can see through that mane.' "What do you want?"
"Shouldn't you be studying? The test is soon."
"I have it handled. Shouldn't you be studying?" Alyssa smirked at him. "Don't want to come in second place again, huh?"
"I will win," B vowed darkly.
The dark timber in his voice, paired with his narrowed eye resting over huge black bags, sent a shiver down her spine. She still thought that B was odd, but at this moment, he was also scary. Alyssa, for the first time in a long time, felt afraid. Her animalistic instincts were screaming at her to fight or flight. She knew she could take down B if she wanted. He was a scrawny boy and A had fought on the streets before, but she also knew that if she fought him, Wammy would be mad at her and she would be punished. So that left only one option, flee.
"There's no need to be so hostile," Alyssa closed her book and pushed herself to her feet. "It's just a test. It's not that important, and you're still better than everyone else here."
B didn't respond to that. He only watched her as Alyssa dusted her overly feminine skirt off and started to walk away. She could feel his eyes on her the whole time and she only felt safe when she got inside and had a solid wall separating them.
Alyssa did what any young genius would do. It was obvious that B avoided other children unless it was required, and he was antisocial. He also creeped her out and made her want to hide inside her own skin. Therefore, Alyssa went to find Jenna and Barby, hoping their presence would act as a ward against B and keep him away from her.
o.0.O.0.o
August 22nd, 1990
Alyssa was wrong. It wasn't very often that this happened, in fact it had never happened before, but she had met her match in B. For a short amount of time, she was able to keep her distance from her rival. Her two loud, feminine friends stuck by her side, not even questioning why she suddenly wanted to spend so much time in their company.
Then the gift appeared. If that's what you would call a gift, she mumbled in her head as her fingers poked the glass jar, treating it like a bomb. Alyssa had woken up, her roommate long gone, to see the innocent jar of raspberry jelly sitting on the nightstand. On the cap was a small folded note with elegant, cursive handwriting reading, 'Repayment'. One word, one jar and yet, Alyssa knew who it was from.
'How the hell did he get into my room?' Alyssa shivered at the thought of B crawling around, while her roommate and her slept, unaware of the intruder. 'That's taking creepy to a new level. Stalker, maybe?'
Still, Alyssa chose to continue her exposure to the chattering feminine duo that day. Maybe he had only approached her because she was sleeping and alone? There was no evidence to prove that he would chose to appear if she continued to stay with her friends. Armed with a book, and her new jar of jelly, Alyssa stormed into the cafeteria and joined Jenna and Barby at their usual table.
"Here," Alyssa slid the jar of jam across the table. It was only Jenna's quick reflexes that saved it from crashing to the floor.
"That looks disgusting," Barby spat out.
"Then give it back to the cook," Alyssa snapped back.
"You didn't steal this jar, did you?" Jenna asked in a cautious whisper.
"No, I just found it," Alyssa answered honestly.
Breakfast passed peacefully and Jenna even opened the jar and spread some of the jam on her toast. Alyssa watched her carefully, almost expecting her to fall over from poisoning, but Jenna was fine and soon afterwards, Barby ate some too. It was only Alyssa who refused to touch the sticky substance. She was not going to encourage her stalker to leave more gifts by appreciating this one.
After breakfast, they separated to attend their afternoon classes. Jenna and Barby went one way, while Alyssa split off to attend her more advance classes, which were held in another part of the orphanage.
There were other students with her in these classes. She did not know their names but she recognized their faces, and remembered some of the rumors that Jenna had told her about them. The boy sitting in front of her was afraid of the dark. The girl sitting near the front of the class had a little sister who died, and rumor has it, her mother was the murderer. The twins sitting behind her were brilliant, but only if they were together. If you separated them, they wouldn't be able to do even the most basic of math, as they had a crippling form of social anxiety.
Each child had his or her own story to tell. Each one had a dream, a hope and a fear. They were unique, even the identical twins and yet, Alyssa wondered why they were all here. Were they trying to score the highest? Was this the dream they were following? Or did they have nothing better to do than conform to the system?
Alyssa's classes passed in a daze. She participated, she answered the questions, and she turned in her work, but if anyone was to ask her later on what she was doing, she would be unable to answer. She was on autopilot, cruising through her classes.
When evening came, Alyssa could be found taking refuge in the library. The setting sun illuminated the dozens of shelves and she had already begun to complete the homework, all of which had nearly impossible deadlines. Everyone knew to leave her alone when she had homework and so, Alyssa was given a wide berth. The only sound to fill the library was her pencil scratching against paper and pages being flipped rapidly. She didn't even notice her eyes growing heavier and heavier by the hour, or how the sky was steadily darkening outside.
Alyssa wasn't sure when she fell asleep. The library door slammed shut, causing Alyssa to jolt awake. She had been using her open textbook and pencil as a pillow. Her neck creaked in pain and her pencil was stuck to her cheek for a few seconds before falling down, leaving an impression behind. She looked out the window in front of her to see a image of a beautiful sunrise, proof that she had spent the night in the library.
She blinked rapidly, removing the sleep from her eyes, and letting out a large yarn. She was aware of the shadow being casted from behind since she first opened her eyes, but she continued to ignore it for the moment. Sleeping in the library was painful, and she was determine to relax her body a little bit before facing her morning visitor. The odds were that it was Jenna, Barby or one of her fans, waiting patiently for her to acknowledge them anyways. She stretched as much as she could without getting up, extending her arms until they trembled, and then doing the same to her legs.
"Are you done, now?" A kind voice chuckled amusingly.
"Eh?" Alysaa turned in surprise to see Wammy behind her. In one hand was a silver tray filled with a variety of breakfast choices and oddly, some cakes. The children were never allowed sweets until after dinner, and her interest was perked immediately. Her bright green eyes scanned over Wammy and she reached up to brush a stray curl behind her ear.
"Can I help you?" Alyssa politely inquired.
Wammy smiled at her display and Alyssa blushed at the sight. "Are you still calling yourself Alyssa, A?"
Alyssa shrugged while giving a small sharp nod. "For today. I'm getting bored of it though."
"Well, Miss Alyssa, Holmes would like to ask you to join him for breakfast."
"No," was Alyssa's immediate answer.
"Why not?"
"He's creepy."
"Does this bother you?"
"Yes."
"Is there no way for me to persuade you otherwise?" Wammy's smile was slowly dying down and Alyssa was filled with the suspicion that he was disappointed in her. "It is rude to judge someone so quickly."
"I don't like them." 'Oops.'
"Them?" Wammy was quick to catch onto her mistake and Alyssa nibbled on her bottom lip as she tried to figure a way out of the situation.
"B and Holmes." Under Wammy's sharp, knowing gaze the words just spilled from her lips without her permission. "I know Holmes is lying about his name and I don't trust people who lie to me. B has also been leaving me gifts. They're both creepy boys, and I don't like them."
"What kind of gifts?" The older gentleman inquired cautiously.
"He broke into my room and left me a jar of jam . . . while I was sleeping." Alyssa dramatically shudder.
"I will have to speak to him then," Alyssa felt a little bit better knowing that Wammy was taking her seriously, but when he still didn't leave, Alyssa knew he was going to be insistent. "First impressions lasts a long time, but both of them are not as bad as you concluded. Please, have breakfast with Holmes."
He looked so sincere that Alyssa felt a moment of doubt. Maybe she had judged him harshly? She was just thinking yesterday that everyone was unique, and it would be terrible to judge someone off something she was mentally encouraging.
'Maybe only one of them will be there. I can handle a small breakfast if it's only one of them.'
She sighed, a sign of submission, and grabbed her book and notes. Carrying her school work with her, she followed Wammy as he lead the way out of the library and through the orphanage.
Alyssa glared at the floor, mentally scolding herself for her moment of weakness and dragged her feet the whole way there.
o.0.O.0.o
When they finally reached the private wing of the manor that nobody else seemed to know about, Alyssa was met with a strange sight. Alyssa already knew that fate hated her, so therefore, both boys were there, but that's not what was weird. They were seated on the floor in a library and from a distance, they looked nearly identical. They were both crouched in that childish way, wearing baggy blue jeans and styling messy black hair. Both of their eyes were locked on a small television in the corner, which was playing some strange scene that Alyssa couldn't make sense of yet. The only difference between the two was that one wore a white shirt, while the other wore a navy blue shirt.
"Please, take a seat," Holmes spoke without turning around.
Alyssa absently moved forward, her eyes watching the strange movie on the television. Was that security footage? It was odd, and the scenes were flashing by so fast that it was starting to hurt her head.
Wammy didn't announce his own presence, and the boys didn't acknowledge him. Instead he moved forward with Alyssa but when Alyssa chose to take a seat, keeping some distance between her and the strange boys, Wammy chose to place the tray of sweets and breakfast food on the floor, between the two boys.
B stretched out and attempted to snag a plate of cake but Holmes was a second quicker. Holmes didn't even flinched under B's cold glare, a feat that amazed Alyssa, as he continued to munch on the sweet he managed to take. When B's glare proved useless against Holmes, the darker dressed boy reached out and snagged some pie.
"You should help yourself," B spoke around a mouthful of pie, and Alyssa cringed at the sight.
"You shouldn't speak with your mouth full," chided Alyssa.
B made a show of swallowing his mouthful, his large eyes staring unblinkingly at her before saying, "Holmes won't leave you anything if you wait."
The other boy did look ready to grab some more food and her stomach growled loudly at the thought of being without breakfast. B snickered at the sound, but Alyssa ignored him and reached out to grab the small bowl full of strawberry slices. Holmes reached out to grab another sweet, his eyes never moving from the screen, and B turned his eyes back to the movie.
Alyssa ate a few pieces to please her empty stomach before turning to watch the same movie. "What are you watching?" Alyssa asked curiously. Didn't she already see this scene when she walked in? Was the tape stuck on repeat?
"What do you see?" Holmes asked instead.
"A murder-suicide," was Alyssa's prompt answer as she watched the small girl succeed in killing her parents, before turning the gun on herself. "Who is she?" Alyssa cringed as the scene replayed, letting her see all the events from the night that lead up to the bloody killings.
"A suspect."
"Olivia."
Alyssa blinked as she received two different answers. Why had B answered with a real name? "When was this?" Alyssa asked before popping some more strawberries in her mouth.
"Last Thursday."
"Why are you watching it?"
"Holmes thinks the police overlooked something," B scoffed.
"And what do you think?" Alyssa couldn't help but challenge him.
"They're all dead," BB shrugged. "Nothing will bring them back. Records show that the father was involved in some black-market dealing and her mother was neglectful. It was probably their fault that she snapped."
"What if someone put her up to it?" Alyssa asked. She didn't even notice that Holmes had stopped watching the program. His dark grey eyes were now flickering back and forth between Alyssa and B, with his thumb resting against his bottom lip.
"You can't just convince someone to murder another," B tried to explain. "Even if someone told her to do it, she had to have the killing intent in her mind to go through with it."
"And then she just decided to commit suicide afterwards?"
"All humans have the capability to commit suicide. Maybe she couldn't live with the thought of what she did afterwards, or she knew there would be consequences for her actions. Pressure can do remarkable things to the human mind."
Alyssa gave B her deadliest glare, unsure how to argue with that. Research did show that the mental thought for suicide was capable of forming in everyone's mind. For a small girl who just murdered her two parents, it wasn't unbelievable to think she could commit a murder-suicide. With a huff, Alyssa folded her arms childishly across her chest and admitted defeat.
"That doesn't mean that is what happened here," Alyssa mumbled darkly.
Alyssa chose to glare at B, who just smiled back creepily at her, for a few seconds. Holmes' eyes were still dancing back and forth between the two, a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips. He looked like he had just watched his favorite program.
"Great minds often don't think alike," Holmes concluded with a nod.
o.0.O.0.o
September 3rd, 1990
"This much death can't be healthy for the mind," A grumbled to herself. She had somehow been convinced to spend every morning ,and afternoon, with the two boys since that fateful breakfast, but all they did was watch strange tapes and discuss cases. A loved detective work too, but even she had a few hobbies to keep her busy.
"Death is part of life," B muttered back.
"Can't you boys watch a comedy, or read a book?" B looked up and A knew there was a remark on the tip of his tongue so she quickly added, "One, that isn't a case file or related to a case."
"Well, what do you have in mind?" This morning the two proteges of Wammy's House were alone. Wammy had come in earlier, given them their customary tray of breakfast and sweet foods, and then Holmes and Wammy had left the room together without exchanging a word. Alyssa had convinced herself to just accept the oddness that was Holmes and B, so she didn't even question the change in ritual.
Like a magician Alyssa produced several small wooden blocks from under her baggy shirt. She dropped the pieces, ignoring the loud thunk that each piece produced when it hit the ground, and then pulled out two pocket knives from the pocket of her jeans.
"I want to learn to carve," Alyssa announced.
"That's a stupid idea," said B.
"I like making things with my hands though." Alyssa huffed out. How rude of him. 'It's not like he's doing anything besides stuffing his face and watching people die.' "Please, B? Please learn with me?"
"I will watch."
'Close enough,' Alyssa concluded. 'At least he's not watching those bloody tapes'.
Alyssa stalled a bit as she grasped the knife, and a block of wood. The hobby she was excited to start, now filled her stomach with nerves. She mentally blame the pair of burgundy eyes which were watching her every movement, judging her before she had even begun. Alyssa grimaced as she wondered why she cared what B thought of her.
"Do you know what you're doing, Alyssa?" B questioned.
"Sorta," A shrugged, "and it's Alanna now."
"Why did you just change it?" B curiously crept forward until he was in front of her, in his usual crouching position. His eyes were now on the extra blocks of wood with his thumb against his lips. 'I wonder who started that habit, B or Holmes?'
"I got bored," Alanna answer as she finally pressed the blade against the block and made her first cut. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously as she made another swipe, just barely missing the tip of her thumb.
B watched her movements with wide, unblinking eyes for several minutes before choosing to break the silence. "What are you carving?"
"I . . . don't know. Something."
"That's a bad idea. You should never start a project without knowing how it's going to end."
"If I know how it's going to end, then what's the point of doing it?"
"To reach the finished goal, of course."
"Oh, of course," Alanna rolled her eyes. "How foolish of me to want something different."
"I'm glad you agree." 'Does he not understand sarcasm?' Alanna paused her woodwork, unsure if she should explain sarcasm to him or not.
Without asking, BB reached out and grabbed the spare knife and some wood. His fingers traced the block before setting the blade against it and making quick swipes. He moved effortlessly, as if he had handled a knife before. Alanna paused briefly to consider the idea. It wouldn't be surprising, since some of the children from Wammy's House possessed darker talents. It wasn't her place to pry if he didn't want to share though.
"What are you making?" Alanna asked as B's movements became quicker and harsher.
"I don't know."
"That's hypocritical." Alanna growled. How dare he judge her for something he was going to do also?
"I know what I'm making, but I don't know what it is." B calmly explained. "I'll show you when I'm done."
o.0.O.0.o
B whittled away for hours. Alanna finished her piece, which was suppose to be a sitting cat, but as he unhelpfully pointed out, if her art piece was a cat, it was severely mutilated and abused. Alanna pouted as she examined the lump of wood before deciding that he was right, and she had messed up. Even after she was done though, B continued to craft his own creation.
Night fell, and while B showed no signs of finishing, Alanna was growing tired. He didn't even glance her way when she curled up on the floor, her own green eyes continuing to watch him. B kept his eyes on his project, his knife now making slower, more precise cuts. Wood shavings surrounded him and some pieces were even tangled in his wild hair.
"Can I see what you are making?" Alanna asked sleepily. Ever since the piece of wood started to take a vague shape, B had been careful to keep it hidden by wrapping his larger hand around it and only revealing the section he was working on.
"No," he answered.
She was too sleepy to argue with him and so she asked, "When will Holmes be back?" Alanna had not seen the strange boy all day and she was starting to grow worried. Holmes didn't look like he spent a day of his life outside, he was too pale and unsocial. It was concerning that he was gone so long from his sanctuary.
"I'm not sure. Sometime he disappears for days, other times just a few hours." B shrugged his bony shoulders. "Why do you call him Holmes? You know it's not his real name."
"I don't know his real name."
"It's L."
Alanna, more asleep than awake, snorted from her position on the floor. "Right and Alanna is my real name."
"One of us is lying." 'And we both knew that Alanna is an alias.'
Alanna sighed, unsure what was going through B's mind now. "You really believe that that boy is L? The L that we are all trying to replace?"
"The same one."
"B," Alanna stretched out her arms until she felt the muscles quivering, and let out a large yawn. "L is a legend. A myth created so all the children here can excuse their destructive behavior to become number one."
"L is a legend," B agreed, "but he is real."
"I don't believe you," Alanna answered around a wide yawn.
"Try challenging him yourself then. We both know Holmes is not a real name, and his name is never mentioned in the ranking, leading to a ninety-three percent chance that he not ranked like the rest of us. If you're truly number one, it shouldn't be so hard to beat him, right?"
Alanna groaned loudly before rolling away so her back faced him. "Why is everything a competition with you?"
"Life is a competition." B paused his carving to assess his progress. "If you want to be remembered, you have to be number one."
o.0.O.0.o
Sometime in the night, B finished his carving, and Alanna fell asleep. Even deeper into the night, they somehow found themselves curled against each other, sharing their body heat. In the future, they would both deny it, but when L and Wammy wandered into the room the next morning, the sight of the two rivals, both sleeping on the floor in front of a fire surrounded by wood shavings, was adorable. A's long curly hair was wrapped and tangled so tightly with B's wild mane that it was nearly impossible to guess where one began and the other ended. Wammy was even smiling when he walked forward and draped a large blanket over both of them.
"I thought they hated each other," L mused quietly.
"Humans are often complicated creatures. They can't be understood with a simple book," Wammy explained.
"She wants to challenge you." Wammy jumped at the voice of B, previously believing him to be asleep. L just tilted his head to the side, either unsurprised that his companion was awake, or hiding his shock. "She doesn't believe you are, who you are."
"Why did you tell her?" L asked quietly, not sounding upset or angry. His emotions for the new revelation was hidden, making it impossible to know how he felt about A knowing the truth.
"She knew you were lying already, Holmes." B sneered out. "Just don't go easy on her because she's a girl."
"You wouldn't dare." This time everyone was startled when A's voice entered the conversation. The girl they all believed to be sleeping, was now glaring at them all with one opened eye.
"Aren't you suppose to be nice to girls?" L's question was now directed at Wammy, his father-figure and mentor. The elder ignored A's glare, which was now directed at him, and nodded to the boy he considered his first son.
"Then I will be nice when we compete," L answered A.
"Because I am a girl?" A was doing a fine job keeping her temper, in check but the deadly whisper that escaped her lips was more terrifying than her yelling.
"Exactly."
"It's ridiculous to treat me differently because of my gender." A growled out as she pushed away from B and freed herself from the blanket. She got to her feet and glared at the two boys, insulted that they would consider being kind to her, or going easier on her because she was a girl. Her gender didn't matter, she was just as good as any of them. "I could be a boy and it wouldn't change my test scores, or my personality. You don't have to treat me differently!
"I'll show you." A vowed as she stomped out of the library, heading towards her own room while ignoring the three gazes that lingered on her retreating figure. "Gender does not matter."
o.0.O.0.o
September 27th, 1990
A, now insisting that everyone called her Alanna, woke up to see a new gift on her bedside table. This one was not a jar of jam like before, but a lump of wood carved with intricate details. Alanna picked it up, bringing it close to her face so she could see all the details. She knew this was the same carving B had been working on several weeks ago. 'He managed to carve this with just a pocket knife?'
The main piece was a round lump, that vaguely resembled flesh. Eight chains were carved so they came out of the mass and pointed above, which gave it the look of a grotesque chandelier at first. Closer inspection showed a large gaping skull hanging from the bottom of fleshy mass, and inside the skull's mouth, was yet another skull that sneered at the world. Behind the skulls, hanging straight down, were four skeletal legs that were too tiny to support the disgusting creature.
The very sight of the carving sent shivers down her spine, and made A uneasy.
Still, she held the object carefully in her hands and took it with her into the bathroom that was connected to her room. She placed it on the edge of the sink, having the face of the creature facing her despite her anxiety of its appearance. She rummaged around in the bathroom for a bit, searching for the objects she would need. She placed the tools in the bowl of the sink, and then lifted her eyes to glance at her appearance.
Bright moss green eyes stared back at her. She was small for a girl her age, but she had found it useful when she on the streets, thieving to survive. Nobody ever suspected the little girl. She had cream colored skin that spoke of a healthy, active life outside. Her body was thin, still too young to grow the curves that a woman would have. Her hair was thick and wavy, falling in untamed waves around her face and neck. She ran her brush through it, untangling the untamable mass and watching as it grew in length, falling to the middle of her back. She had always been slightly vain of her hair, loving the dark color and texture.
She pursed her pink lips and exchanged her brush for her next weapon. She gathered her hair in one hand and stared deep into her reflection's eyes as she made a choice. She would not let gender define her.
Snip. Snip. Snip.
Strand by strand fell to the floor with every cut from the scissors. Her hair was shortened until it was neatly trimmed behind her ears, and didn't fall any further than the base of her skull. Before the eyes of the Shinigami King, A transformed herself until it was impossible to tell what her true gender was.
Good news! There are five total chapters, spanning the childhood of our lovely A, BB and L. They are all finished and written! They just need to be edited and have my beta pre-read them. After the four chapters, we return back to the Kira Case.
If the name changes for A (we have dubbed her Allie, despite it not being her real name) get confusing, please let me know. I'll start to list them at the top or something. If you are confused about something, let me know. I know that my readers do not live in my head, so some details may not be explained as well as I like. Let me know for future reference, so I can fix it.
Got questions? Feel free to ask them. I will try and answer all the questions left behind without spoiling future plot leave behind a review for me! I have to hear it all, the good, the bad, and the disgruntled.