A/N: Well here is chapter two! Thanks everyone for the awesome reviews that you left for chapter one. I was kinda worried about what kind of criticism it was going to get, but I'm glad that you guys enjoyed it! Hm... what to say here... Well... I can't remember. Anyway, thanks again for all the reviews, and please keep them coming. I don't base whether I upload or not based off reviews, but it does make me feel better about the quality of the work that I'm putting up here for everyone. I very much appreciate it. Speaking of appreciation, I also appreciate Belletrist Word Salad for talking me through so much of this all the time, and keeping me inspired, and giving me great ideas to make this better! And I appreciate the work of Lumorai for putting up with my bullshit time limits when it comes to edit jobs. Sorry for having to threaten to post this un-edited, my dear, but desperate times, love...

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or anything in this story.


Chapter 2: Introductions

There was a part of Mello that couldn't believe what he was doing, or that any of this was happening; he couldn't believe he was actually back in this damn country. After he'd left the institution, he'd sworn he would never return there, no matter what happened or how hard he fell in the end, and yet here he was, walking the familiar empty path towards the place he'd called his home for so long.

Perhaps in some way it still was his home, if he was going to go so far as to attach such a sentimental word to the place, but at that moment it was the target in his line of fire. At any moment he felt like he would snap and his anger about this entire situation would get the best of him and something would end up destroyed. However, this entire situation was precarious; he couldn't let himself take the impulsive route. He had to think things over and plan his attack carefully if he was to have any hope at all of resolving this situation.

His fists clenched tight in his pockets at just the thought of everything Near was forcing him to deal with. Blue eyes narrowed on the space in front of him and for a split second he was transported back to that moment, which was still alive, and breathing fires of rage within him. All of this had transpired so quickly he hadn't fully had the time to think about what he was doing, or what effects it would have.

For the first time in his life it felt as though the roles had switched, and suddenly it was Mello who had to clean up his rival's incompetent shambles.

He took a deep breath as the memory of himself at the SPK flashed before his eyes, unable to let him move past what he had done. The sick sound of his fists hitting flesh vibrated between his ears; the sensation and the metallic smell of the blood which hit Mello's skin still felt as fresh and present no matter how many times he'd washed his hands. The following was what made the blood run cold in his veins. The conversation… the words he'd screamed in frustration rang in his head, never fully leaving his side.

"How could you do this to me!" He heard himself scream, the pain flowing from behind the walled up dam Mello'd tried to hold it all behind. But this level of betrayal had been too much.

"It was for the best, Mello! It would be foolish to have taken any other course of action!" Near had tried to tell him from where Mello had thrown him to the floor. There was a steady stream of blood down his face and staining his white hair from the strikes the blonde had thrown at him. Dark gray eyes watched him with a dexterously hidden level of fear at the power Mello suddenly held over him, but in that same instant the only thing Mello could see was how desperately Near was trying to convince him and therefore justify his actions.

But Mello was altogether consumed and blinded by his frenzied emotions. "That wasn't your decision to make! You had no right, Near! None! I deserved a say! How could you do this to me!"

"I did what objectively needed to be done! I knew you would never be able to realize that, which is why I found it best to not include you in this. You can't change this now, Mello!" In a singular moment Near took back the control which had been stolen by Mello's outburst and instantly those endless eyes were filled with daring. Daring Mello to go, daring him to try and change what he'd already done so many years ago, and in his own way consciously enticing the blonde to hit him again.

Perhaps Near had been ready for the physical abuse which Mello put him through, Mello mused in hindsight. Perhaps Near knew he deserved it.

Mello shook the memory away from his mind with a sigh. 'Like hell there's nothing I can do.' He thought to himself as he finally reached the familiar gates that acted as a barricade between Wammy's and the rest of the world. Matt had mentioned that the place hadn't changed, but even the offhanded comment hadn't prepared him for the surge of memories just the building's façade brought with it. For a brief moment he remembered what it'd felt like when he left, looking back over his shoulder at the cold, unforgiving building that'd harbored both his greatest feats, and his lowest failures. He'd vowed that he would never return to this place; the thing which was the reason for his every nightmare. And yet…

'How could you overlook this, Near?' Mello considered, slipping through the gate with ease and continuing up the path. 'If you really hadn't wanted anyone to know about this, you wouldn't have made such a simple mistake as not clearing up all the loose ends before leaving him at Wammy's. You care too much about the succession of L for your own good.'

He smirked for a moment at the thought that Near, like this institution, never really changed. But almost as quickly as the expression had appeared it died away as the realization of the nature behind his return once again weighed on his shoulders. 'Why would you hide him from me for four years and then not deny it when I accused you? You could've denied everything, Near. You knew I didn't have any proof that I knew anything about him, and you knew you didn't have proof as to whether it had actually happened or not. Did you want me to do this?' Again he had to shake his mind of the thoughts before the weight of them completely consumed him. He had to remind himself that he had a goal, here, and that he wasn't going to get anywhere close to it so long as he let Near mess with his every thought.

Near clearly hadn't once taken Mello into consideration when he had made the decision to abandon their child; more than likely because he'd known that this was just how Mello would react. But that didn't justify his actions at all, either, and now Mello had every intention of fixing the mistake which had been done four years ago.

Near might've found it easy to give up their child, but Mello just couldn't let Near get his way by letting that happen. Wammy's House was their home only because they had had nowhere else to go and no other choice. But history didn't need to repeat itself now; it didn't have to be that way for his kid. Mello refused to let his kid go through the same hell he'd endured within the same walls.

He stopped just outside the front door of the orphanage, feeling himself frozen in place –in that moment completely unsure what the proper protocol was for a situation like this, whether he should just walk in or if he was expected to knock first. Was he still accepted in this place, or had they too turned their back on him when he'd walked out all those years ago?

Taking in another deep breath which held the air of his false sense of superior bravado, he decided that he didn't care one way or another. It wasn't in his nature to care what others thought of him or his actions anyway, thus barging right on in seemed completely within his right to do.

The inside, much like the outside, had remained unchanged, just as he'd been previously informed. The only noticeable different was that the place now seemed much quieter than he remembered it ever being when he was a kid. Though, perhaps everyone was in classes now, or perhaps this was just how quiet the atmosphere in Wammy's was when hellions like himself weren't there to make a ruckus out of everything.

He swallowed hard, suddenly feeling like an outsider within this place which used to be his only home. The place now felt as though, in a way, it had in moved on from him and his kind and that he wasn't fit to be within these walls now that he was no longer technically in the race to get L's title. Pushing it down, he proceeded through the building in the same familiar path he'd taken so many times towards Roger's office.

If he had any other option, he would've just found his child and taken him with him. But that was just it; he didn't have any other choice but forcing confrontation. Near had stubbornly asserted that he knew nothing of their child past confirming the fact that it was, indeed, a boy, but beyond that he either really knew nothing about him, or simply didn't want to too Mello. The blonde found the very notion of Near not knowing unbelievable, and attributed it instead to his rival simply lying in order to make things that much more difficult for him. But at the same time there was also the ultimately isolationist quality Near held himself in which also made the idea of him knowing nothing about the boy seemingly more believable.

Reaching the familiar door of Roger's office, Mello again found himself pausing a moment as his childhood memories once again assaulted him with thoughts and feelings he hadn't given any weight to in so many years. The office door no longer seemed quite as grand and overbearing as it once had when he would be called there to be punished for any number of tricks he had pulled, or kids he'd made cry.

He couldn't help a small grin. 'Good times.' He thought, 'Easier times…'

Finally, though, he forced himself to reach out and take the door handle, opening it without any consideration of whether Roger would even be in or not.

As the door swung open his blue eyes instantly fell upon the said old man sitting behind his desk with an open book lying in front of him. Brown eyes moved up to see whom had entered, though the moment they rested on Mello they didn't widen with surprise or shock as the blonde had imagined they would at seeing him having returned after all that time.

"I was wondering when I might see you again, Mello." Roger said, sitting back and closing his book as Mello stepped in and closed the door behind him.

His blue eyes narrowed on the older man, "You know what I came here for, Roger." He stepped forward, consciously having to hold himself back from pulling any sort of drastic action. If there was anyone who knew Mello better than the other two successors, it was Roger. The man knew what angered Mello, and what disheartened him. Even as a child drastic actions had never really seemed to fluster Roger, and Mello doubted it would be quite the same now.

"Yes, I do." Roger stated, stringing his old, wrinkled fingers together on top of the desk. "To be quite honest, I'm surprised you didn't show up a long time ago. I figured the moment you caught word of what Near did with your son then you'd be here within a day or so."

Mello's world suddenly froze as suddenly all his questions and doubts were set into stone. 'So I do have a son…' The impossibility behind the statements which came from his best friend and his rival hadn't done anything but set the idea in his mind that somehow he actually did have a son. Neither parties had given him enough to prove one way or another whether it was true or not. But as strange as it sounded even to him, Mello trusted Roger's word. He swallowed down the rising level of anger and hate he had towards Near in that second as it was confirmed how long Near had been lying to him.

"I did come the moment I found out." The blond stated, keeping his words few and tight.

Roger's brow knit together in confusion, but he remained quiet to allow Mello the opportunity to tell him exactly what had been going on between the two childhood rivals. Now that they were out in the world, it was harder for Roger to keep up with what was going on between them, and it'd be a lie to say he didn't worry about them, sometimes. It was obvious he had never expected this sort of situation from the two of them, even in the best of scenarios. Even Mello was interested in how he and Near had gotten to this point. Somehow everything just seemed like a blur now between the lingering states of what had been and what had come to be.

Mello sighed, "Near wasn't the one who told me about him," he explained, "Near didn't tell me anything until the other day, and even then I had to drag it out of him." The frustration which had been brewing within the blonde finally had a means to escape, and he let it, feeling as though if he didn't he might finally explode in a fit of either grief or anger. "He refused to tell me anything about him! He just said he'd 'taken care of it'. It's not surprising Near brought him here of all places but the twit never bothered to consult me first! About anything! If I had known any of this at the time I wouldn't have agreed to this then, and I don't agree with it now."

Mello stepped forward, placing both hands carefully upon the top of Roger's desk, his eyes aflame with unladed anger. "I want him. Now."

Roger was unfazed by Mello's temper as he easily responded, "I'm not surprised he couldn't tell you anything, Mello. Near did seem rather removed when he brought him here four years ago."

"What do you mean?" Mello asked, as his mind switched gears and began trying to get a gauge on what the situation had been and what exactly had been going through Near's head at the time. Roger could judge Near's behavior however he wanted, but no one knew the underlying complexities of the genius like Mello did.

"Near's always been quite distant from his surroundings, but this was much more than I've ever seen of him. I feared for what Near might do if I didn't give in and take the child in; he was quite adamant about getting rid of him no matter the strings he needed to pull to do so. He was quite disassociated physically from it all. His second in-command held the child, and Near never once looked at him, or even acknowledged him as being a human being, referring to him as 'it' for the most part."

Mello shuddered at what Roger told him. Mello had seen Near in ways he never would have been able to imagine before they both left Wammy's. He knew Near was cold and distant, but he was also passionate and sensitive. This was a whole new level of robotic which Mello would have never thought possible. No, even then it wasn't possible. There was something else going on within him that Roger hadn't been able to read. "Why didn't Near want him?" He asked, though he already knew how Near's every thought worked and knew the disconcerting reasoning behind it all. He needed to hear it from someone else, someone who didn't have an agenda to run.

"As he is considered L now, Near thought it was in the child's best interest to remain here in order to keep from putting himself or others at risk from anyone who might target L." Roger shrugged, "I didn't exactly agree with his reasoning, but in the end he left me no other choice."

Mello sighed heavily taking his hands off the desk and stepping back. He had figured as much as this from his rival. But now he wasn't quite sure what to think, but what he did know was that everything Near had done by keeping him out of the picture was wrong on every level and needed to be resolved. "I'm taking my son."

Roger shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."

Mello stopped instantly, "What?" He asked slowly, eyes focusing in on Roger as his target.

Roger exhaled heavily, his tired eyes closing for a moment, as if bracing himself for the fury of opposition he knew was going to ensue from the former Wammy's orphan. He knew from so many personal experiences what happened when Mello didn't get his way, and this would definitely be one to add to the list. "When Near put him under our care four years ago, I swore to him that I would not allow you to take custody of the boy."

"What?!" Mello practically screamed. "Roger come off it! You're just going to take that from him? You know that raising a kid here is not in their best interest when they have living relatives! He's my son, I deserve to have him! Why does Near's demands get to take precedence over common sense? Because he's L? Do you really let the title of L override your morals, Roger!"

Roger took every verbal blow in stride, hardly seeming to be struck by any of it considering how conditioned he was to Mello lashing out, and one way or another he had been prepared himself for this sort of reaction all four years -when Mello would finally show up after having traveled so far, just to be denied the one thing he had come here for.

"No, it doesn't, but Near's logic is correct. It is in both of their interests that he remains unknown to the rest of the world." Roger explained.

"So you think that by locking him here and letting him live in a lie that somehow you're actually sparring him and doing what's best?! Roger, I am about as far from being L as I've ever been, what could I possibly do?" He felt his heart clench with grief at having to put his own defeat to words, but within the grand scheme of things, he needed to use it to get even remotely closer to getting what he wanted. What he needed.

Roger was quiet for a long moment in careful consideration of the points Mello rose. "You have ties to L, Mello. It's a threat." He exhaled heavily. "I do not agree with Near's demand. If I could, Mello, I would indeed give him to you, because I do believe every child deserves a family. However, I do not think that you, Mello, are capable of providing that stable family for him that he needs." His brown eyes slipped open and locked onto Mello.

The said blonde had to take a step back at Roger's blatant honesty towards not trusting him with his own child. His eyes narrowed, knowing he had to remain firm if he was ever going to get his way. "What basis do you have for that assumption, Roger?" He asked calmly, venomously. "What I've done as a child? You know nothing of what I-"

"You're absolutely correct, I don't know anything of what you are today, Mello." Roger interrupted. "I do not know where you've been, what you've done to get by, I don't know the sort of living conditions you possess. I know absolutely nothing about what's been going on between you and Near, either. What basis do I have to think you have what it takes to give him what he needs and keep him safe?"

Mello was quiet for a long moment, letting his mind play over the memories between Near and himself in his mind. Memories of nights they'd shared in hours of conversation based only off their past -because it seemed to be the only thing they could ever agree on without a fight. So many nights of building endless amounts of new ground on top of a rocky foundation of the competition and rivalry Mello had forced upon them. Breaking it all down within the same night, not out of spite or hatred, but because they knew they could, and that they knew the way each of the destroyed pieces fit together. There'd been so many moments of silence between them where they lacked the words or emotions left to convey how they were feeling to the other. It was those moments of silence which were the absolute loudest between them.

"You no longer have a right to know what goes on between Near and I." He stated, feeling like the sole defender to a dynamic he couldn't even put words to. "The fact of the matter is instead the question of what basis do you have not to trust me with my son? Right now I have done nothing to show that I am incapable. Near robbed me of any chance to know anything of my child, and decided his fate before I even knew he existed. As far as I'm concerned, I'm owed that time back. But I can't have it! The least you can do, Roger, is allow me the chance to have my son so I can prove that Near made the wrong decision!"

The blonde stepped closer to the desk again, his careful stare showing the older man both conveying the truth of the matter as well as the fact that, if he did not give Mello what he wanted, the blonde fully intended on taking it for himself -whether he liked it or not. "Until I give you a reason to doubt my ability to take care of my own son, you will let me raise him." His voice was sickeningly calm and quiet.

Roger was quiet for a long moment, watching Mello before finally sighing, "At least tell me what's been going on, Mello. I watch the news about the Kira case, but with the way the news has been swayed in favor of him, it's hard to keep up on progress."

Mello stepped back, glaring down at him, the bitter taste of failure flooding his mouth. "You mean what's Near been doing against Kira. Well sorry, Roger, but you're talking to the wrong person." No matter what he did, Near would always the first one on everyone's mind. It sickened him sometimes.

Surprisingly, Roger shook his head, "No. To be completely honest, what I meant was… what's happening between the two of you? How did that happen? How did you get to the point of bringing a child into this?" He paused a moment, "But more importantly," One hand reached out towards the left side of Mello. He knew instantly what he was motioning to, and he felt himself clamming up at the thought, "I'd like to know how that occurred."

He hated that disgusting scar which marred his face after the accident in his headquarters in Los Angeles; he hated that not only had he allowed such a crucial mistake to occur, but now he was forced to wear it for the world to see. He hated himself so much for it, but he hated its very existence even more so when anyone pointed it out.

"That," He started firmly, leaving no room for argument, "Is none of your business, and has nothing to do with my ability to handle a kid."

"You mean to tell me that even though you somehow allowed that to occur to yourself, that you could keep that mistake from happening to a child? Mello your argument is not faring well for your favor at the moment."

"I'm not irresponsible, Roger, despite whatever any of you probably think. I don't care what happens to me in order to get what I want," His eyes diverted away a moment, "which is proof enough through this mark." Blue eyes flicked back to him, "But the well-being of my own flesh and blood is something completely different. I'd sooner die than allow something to happen to him."

"How can you say such strong words towards your son who you've never met?"

Mello gave a small, but confident smirk, "Because he is my son. Knowing him or not doesn't change the fact that we're ultimately still one and the same, and that I need to protect him at any cost."

Roger thought for a long moment, a tense silence building within the office; broken only by the sound of the ticking clock hanging on the wall. Mello bit his tongue, keeping himself from just screaming that this was a waste of time and storming out. But that's exactly what it felt like; a lot of effort being put in for nothing in return.

But finally Roger's brown eyes moved up to him and he gave a small smile, standing up as he did so. "Alright, Mello. You win. I'll bring your son to you." As he stepped out from behind his desk, he stopped for another moment, "But, if I find out you somehow compromise his health or well-being I will not think twice about taking him away from you."

Mello glared at him for his gall to say such a thing. "As if I would." He shot venomously, but followed him out of the office none the less; back out into the familiar hallways of Wammy's.

This time there seemed to be just an ounce more life within the building now. He could hear noise from kids on the upper floors, and the sounds of play and chatter from within the different rooms. As they passed by the library Mello paused a moment to look inside, remembering all the sleepless nights he had spent over countless numbers books. All of it for nothing. As he watched the children inside do quite the same thing, he wondered for a moment if they knew anything of what they did.

He wondered if they knew anything of the new L. Of the old L. He wondered if they ever heard stories of the competition that had raged between the new L and himself. He wondered if they had been told the same stories he had heard and were filled with the equal desire to be L that his generation of orphans had. It felt odd, to him, to be looking in at this new generation –to be viewing the competition as an outsider instead of a participant.

Tearing his eyes away he continued after Roger back to the main entrance of Wammy's, where Roger cued him to wait. He huffed, but did as motioned, resuming satiating his interest in looking around from one room to another. For the first time since any of this had started he felt nervousness begin to build up within his chest and slowly spread throughout the rest of his body.

A part of him knew he should've expected this reaction, but at the same time, another part of him hadn't ever really believed that Roger would actually allow him this opportunity and so he hadn't given much thought to the actions that'd follow.

'What am I supposed to do now?' He thought to himself. 'How am I going to be able to take care of him? I'm part of the mafia syndicate for God's sakes! That's no life for him to be in.' He bit his tongue and closed his eyes a moment, calming himself down and trying to reassure himself that he could do this. That he had to do this. It wasn't fair for his son to think he had no family at all.

'I'll think of something.' He reasoned. 'I'll figure something out to make ends meet…'

"Mello." Came Roger's voice again, to which his eyes suddenly snapped open, his heart clenching as if he expected Roger to have read his every self-doubting thought. But the smile on the older man's face said the insecurities remained safely locked within his own mind.

Azure eyes travelled downwards and for the first time his eyes rested on the little four year old boy standing beside him, and instantly Mello's breath caught and stopped all together. The boy beside him looked up at him with confused, dark grey eyes that were so reminiscent of Near's, but were almost covered by short blonde hair that was much like Mello's own, though a much lighter shade. The boy's skin was pale, but was touched with just enough color to show he didn't stay inside nearly as much as Near always had as a kid.

"Mello, this is M, your son." Roger said, bringing him from his thoughts and memorizations of the boy in front of him. This was the first time seeing him, but it felt like he'd known him forever. Something instinctual in him unconsciously knew his own family, and in an instant he knew this wasn't some gag or some test rigged by Near. This was M… this was his son; his little boy.

Mello could only watch, speechless as M shifted a bit in place nervously, his eyes diverting for a moment before looking back at Mello and asking in a small meek voice, "Are you really my Daddy?"

In an instant all the demons of worry and other anxieties which had plagued Mello died away and left him consumed in the overwhelming feeling of love for the little boy in front of him. Coming back to this place hadn't been for nothing at all, and all the fighting with Roger had not been a waste of time. Near might've stolen the first four years of his child's life from him, but he'd be damned if he didn't find a way to fix all of that.

He couldn't help but smile lightly, "Yeah. Yeah, I am."


A/N: Well, what did you think? In a way, I guess a lot didn't happen here, but at the same time, it was pretty needed. Roger's going behind Near's back and against his word by giving Michael to Mello, and Mello's destroying Near's constructed plan of hiding Michael. Also, before anyone asks, I do know that I revealed Michael's name in the first chapter, but this is Wammy's... and I'm supposing that they would still give him an alias and introduce him by it. Trust me, it'll come up next chapter. I've already got it planned out. I would expect it to be out... maybe by the end of the week. We'll see. Anyway, please let me know what you think of this chapter! I definitely put a lot of effort into making it of good quality for you all.

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-Forbiddensoul562