An eleven year-old boy stood silently in front of a desk, watching an elderly man. It had been a year since the boy had seen anybody at all, and he appeared to be slightly nervous about seeing the elder man.

"I'm so glad that you accepted my offer, Thought," the man called sweetly from behind the desk. He seemed used to the whole routine of picking up a child from their home, and bringing them to the orphanage. "You might get along well with Near and Mello, I'm sure. L is a great person as well, though he is...busy. We cannot contact him at the moment, therefore you cannot meet him yet. Near and Mello however would be glad to meet you, to have another friend." The man smiled, which looked a small bit strange on him.

Thought nodded slightly, having had pulled out a pen and a pad of paper, starting to scribble in neat handwriting on the page, all letters clear and legible. He lifted the pad and turned it to face the man, so he was able to read it.

THANK YOU. FOR EVERYTHING.

The man only smiled more. "You're welcome. Come, and I will introduce you to Near and Mello," he replied, making a move to stand up, keeping his gaze on Thought, who shook his head and scribbled more on the paper.

NO, PLEASE. I CAN GO AND FIND THE PAIR MYSELF AND INTRODUCE MYSELF. THANK YOU, THOUGH, MR. WAMMY.

"If you wish, Thought," the elderly man replied quietly, sitting down again. He kept his gaze on Thought as he bowed slightly and allowed a small smile to escape his lips. The young boy turned to leave after straightening from his bow, walking out of the small office.

The halls were so different and unfamiliar, though Thought continued walking on. He eventually found were Wammy had shown him his room, and peeked inside, seeing two boys he hadn't noticed before.

One of them sat on the edge of one of the three beds with one knee brought to his chest, his hand resting on top. The young boy had snow white hair and glowing silver eyes, his gaze on the ground. He fiddled with his hair for a few moments before finally looking up, a smile seeming to creep his lips. He appeared to be only a year older than Thought.

The second boy appeared several years older than the first boy. He had blond hair that reached his shoulders and electric blue eyes that seemed to work perfectly with his small smirk and black, Gothic attire. He was leaning carelessly against a wall, his arms crossing his chest, a chocolate bar in his hands. He appeared to be chewing on something, seeing as the chocolate bar was missing part of itself.

Thought hesitantly waved at the two boys when he felt both their gazes on him. "Hello," the white haired boy called softly, his tone sounding rather bored. "You must be Thought, correct? I am Near. And this is Mello." The blond boy frowned slightly at the white haired boy commenting, and shrugged.

"He's right. They call me Mello, they call him Near. M and N," he couldn't help himself and chuckled at the end of his sentence. "Sounds like M'n'Ms..." he mumbled to himself, taking another bite from the chocolate bar.

Thought bit his lip slightly and scribbled on the pad of paper, glancing up every few seconds at Near and Mello. Near watched Thought with interest, where as Mello watched with boredom, but curiosity.

YES, I AM THOUGHT. I HAPPEN TO BE A MUTE, AND WRITING IS MY QUICKEST WAY OF COMMUNICATION. SORRY IF IT GETS ON YOUR NERVES THAT I AM CONSTANTLY WRITING.

Near shook his head, watching the letters for a few moments. "Not at all. We do have computers that you type, and sound is produced. You could use an artificial voice instead of paper and pen, Thought," Near replied quietly, fingering his hair again.

"Mute, huh?" Mello questioned, standing up slightly. He smirked again, looking Thought up and down. "We do have computers, yes, but if you're quicker at writing than typing, I'd say stick with writing than use the artificial voice. I would however use the artificial voice during calls...." his voice trailed off, as if he was somewhat afraid he'd given too much information away.

"Mello..." Near frowned slightly, glaring a bit at Mello. "Leave Thought alone. I'm sure it was not his fault or idea to be mute. Do not tease him about it." Near straightened himself a bit, giving a little bit of a relaxed expression.

Thought glared a bit at Mello as well. He seems to be a jerk...Please tell me I am to share a room with Near and not Mello... he thought to himself, scribbling on the pad of paper again.

I WAS BORN MUTE. I WOULD PREFER IT IF YOU DIDN'T MAKE FUN OF IT.

Near nodded slightly and frowned at Mello even more. "Thought was born mute, Mello. He didn't have a choice. Leave him alone." he replied sourly, leaning into his knee.

Mello rolled his eyes and flopped onto the bed closest to him, pulling an ankle on top of his other knee, leaning against it as he took a bite out of the chocolate bar again. "Wa effer," he replied through the mouthful of chocolate.

"Just be happy that he technically shouldn't be in this room, Thought. He should be in the older boy's dormitories. For the ones who have already hit puberty." Near added with a slight smirk to himself.

Mello glared at Near. "Leas Iff hig pubry!" he scowled, swallowing the chocolate. "You're only twelve, and have yet to know more about it, so you have no room to talk, bud." Mello frowned at Near, who smiled playfully at him.

Thought let out a heavy, silent breath, sitting down next to Near, scribbling on the paper again. Near heard the scratching of the pen on the paper and turned to look at Thought, watching him write.

THERE ARE ROOMS FOR OLDER BOYS? WHY IS MELLO HERE, THEN? HE LOOKS TO BE MAYBE SEVENTEEN OR EIGHTEEN.

Near shrugged slightly. "Mello has this fondness to be around me to make fun of me. He enjoys it, if he's got a bar of chocolate," he replied quietly, just enough so that Mello could hardly hear him.

Thought grinned and appeared to laugh, but didn't make any sounds. Near gently placed a hand on Thought's shoulder, as if to tell him it was alright. Thought smiled even more, scribbling again.

I AM SURE THAT MY TIME SPENT HERE IS GOING TO BE WORTHWHILE.