Sahxyel: Since I've been alerted for my first chapter, I decided to place a second chapter. Which means I need to change the first chapter…
Disclaimer Guy: Oddly enough, with no quip from Danny or Random Moogle, there is the disclaimer that says, no own of the Death Note. Not even a fake one.
THWACK!
Halfway around the world, in the orphanage of Wammy, three runners up to the great detective L were having another day of monotony and studying to maintain their stranglehold on their positions. The day outside was murky and grey, suggesting rain or perhaps an overcast condition. Knowing England's weather patterns for the spring, most inhabitants of Mr. Wammy's Orphanage expected rain.
Indeed, fat raindrops started to slowly drum against the roof, echoing in the wide halls. It was unusually quiet in the orphanage considering the previous day was filled with screams of laughter and a muddy football. Roger's disciplinary actions must have quelled the children's uproarious spirit for now…
Within a locked room of the Wammy Orphanage, one particular orphan scowled at his daily work, tapping his pencil against his desk impatiently. On the other side of the room, another orphan sat on a squishy red beanbag chair, a handheld gaming system clasped between his hands in a death-grip. The two had been at it for hours, one to studying, the other to his new game.
However, the twitch in the studying orphan's eye was becoming more noticeable. It was fairly obvious that his patience was wearing thin. His eyes kept flicking towards a silver-wrapped chocolate bar that lay not too far away from his hand. A wastebasket near his desk gave testament to how much of the confection he ingested in one day alone. He was starting to get stressed out, he knew it, but the need to beat his rival was almost as strong as his need for chocolate.
It still made it a hard decision though. Sighing in frustration, he brushed his fingers through his blonde hair to calm down. The red-haired orphan glanced upwards for a second, before glancing right back down to his game. The glare from the screen reflected off of the goggles he wore, casting a light upon the wall instead.
Raindrops splattered against the window near the desk. Briefly, the blonde-haired teenager glanced upwards to look out at the gloomy grounds. He noted the grass becoming soggy, and the pavement of the walkways to be dotted by the telltale dark marks of the rain. Absent-mindedly, his hand snaked towards the chocolate-
THWACK!!
"OW!"
Both teenagers flinched simultaneously, something definitely hard smashing into their heads at the same time. The two objects naturally bounced off and landed onto the floor. Immediately, the two stood from their seats, items forgotten, and at each other's throat.
"What the hell was that for Matt?!" The blonde-haired teenager snarled, his eyes blazing with unrepressed anger.
The red-haired teenager was not intimidated by his friend's anger, instead glaring right back. "What do you mean?! You chucked something at me!"
The two glared at each other for a second, before a soft knock interrupted the two in their battle of glares. With an angry huff, the blonde haired teen marched to the door, unlocked it, and swung it open. Upon seeing who was standing there, his temper only worsened. "What do you want?!" He spat, sorely tempted to send the visitor flying down the hall.
The orphan twirled a strand of white hair with his fingers simply, holding something in his free hand. His face suggested no emotion, however there seemed to be a touch of annoyance represented within his wide eyes. "I came to return the object you decided to assault me with Mello." He replied smoothly, offering the object to the teenager. The teenager, Mello, blinked at the object.
"That's not mine." Mello said, then glared down at the white-haired boy. "I haven't left this room since breakfast Near. Not my fault that someone else agrees with me about you."
"Hey, Mello, you seen these-?" Matt approached the door, holding the objects that had hit both of them on the head mere moments ago. Near's eyes locked onto the objects, before glancing down at his own thoughtfully.
"How interesting…" Near muttered. Mello rolled his eyes, snatching the two objects from Matt's hold. On closer inspection, it seemed to be a collection of DVDs that had all found their way to attacking the top three orphans of Wammy's House.
"Death Note?" Mello flipped the first DVD and examined the back. "Someone went out of their way to chuck a bunch of stupid Japanese Anime at us?"
"It possibly could have been O." Near said, ignoring the overzealous eye-roll Mello was performing. He twirled a strand of hair, staring at the DVD pointedly. "She owns a large amount of Manga and Anime, these could belong to her."
Mello snorted loudly, enough for Near to glance upwards at him. "Is there something wrong with my assumption?"
"Oh. Nothing. Just that O is SIX. She's too young and stupid to break into our rooms. Let alone throwing these at us to the point of near-concussion!" He looked over the DVD once more, seemingly nonplussed. "Plus, Roger wouldn't let her keep something like this. It shows a sign of psychological problems."
Matt looked to Mello, obviously skeptical. "What?"
Mello sighed in annoyance. "It's why Roger won't let you have games like Grand Theft Auto or Devil May Cry. Something that has to do with some kid that left here and turned homicidal." Shrugging, Mello turned to glare at Near. "So are you trying to get us in trouble or something?!"
"No Mello." Near replied, blinking. "Why would I harbor such malignant ideals?"
Eye-twitching, Mello glanced Near's DVD and glared down at it. He stopped, his eyes widening in bewilderment. He knew who was on the cover of Near's DVD. "Impossible!"
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Near gazed at the cover, seeing a black-haired man with black bags under his wide eyes grace the cover. A three was imprinted on the side of the cover, allowing the white-haired orphan to conclude that Matt and Mello, logically, had the first and second. What he didn't understand was why Mello looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel in his head at any moment.
SLAM!
To Near's surprise, Mello stepped back with Matt, promptly slamming the door in his face.
"…" Tucking the DVD under his arm, Near shuffled back to his room, softly closing the door as soon as he arrived. He took another curious look at the DVD, then opened it. What harm would come from viewing what was given to him? At most, he would be able to conclude whether or not the DVD belonged to O. She preferred the fantasy or humor sort of Anime, and if this didn't fit in either category…
As he turned on the small television in his room, Near mused on the idea of the DVD being an intricate plot to label himself as a potential psychiatric problem to Roger, the case of which would put Mello in an advantageous position as L's successor.
Still, Mello wouldn't stoop to such underhanded ways to gain the first position. It was like…cheating almost. Mello would want to win fair and square, otherwise the victory would not be as sweet. Near had always known that was why Mello studied so hard, and zealously, to try and surpass him. Plus, it was an insult to his intelligence to think of something so ridiculously simple such as this. If Mello did try something underhanded, it would be more secretive, more complex.
No…this had to be something else.
The television flared to color and life. Near sat upon his bed and stared at the screen, twirling a strand of hair between his index finger and thumb in a thoughtful position.
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Again, if one were to jump halfway around the world from Wammy's House, yet another person was beginning the day as normally as possible. It was as normal a life one could have, and there was nothing very special about the person anyway. Had this person truly known what exact future they were destined to, how much would be disrupted in the ideals they had? Or even, what would have been done differently if knowledge of a great, and yet so terrible, future were at hand?
THWACK!
A simple USB drive collided with the person's head. Unlike the other objects, this one held massive amounts of information upon its memory banks. The drive was small and silvery, with creepy letters carved delicately into the aesthetic plastic silver.
The words 'Death Note' gleamed invitingly from the darkly carven letters. Curiosity alone prompted its quick retrieval.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Sahxyel: Another amazingly short chapter, but it should appease some people with it. The final person mentioned was purposefully not named. It could be an interesting queue of people! Guesses are appreciated! :D Also, the USB drive contains the last media-related Death Note format! Go to Wikipedia if you want to know what it is…
Danny: It looks like Sahxyel will make this into a short 'work-on' project for now.
Random Moogle: Kupo! This chapter has been edited by Sahxyel!