Authors Note: HEYO! XD Please tell me what you think; I would love to know XD I own nothing and no one apart from the following: Andrew Harrison

JUST SO YOU KNOW: I have taken creative liberties with middle names, so please take that into consideration. Also, I've only seen the Anime and have only JUST started the Manga.

This is my FIRST Death Note fic; I suppose you could say I'm new to the Fandom! Also, I live in England, I don't know Japanese, so any Japanese I use in this story I get from Google Translate XD

Please review XD

P.S. This is an AU - Light was never Kira, but still helped during the investigation; obviously, Light and L did not die; the Kira case took 1 year to clear up, not (about) 7; set in 2016. Sorry for OOCness, but it IS an AU ;)

Chapter 3

L

"Mello's had nightmares since then - even now, he still has them." I told Light. "It's been hard for him."

I had watched how, through my recount, Light's face fell. He went from smiling, hearing that I was exactly the same when I was teenager I was now, to looking like a kicked puppy the moment Mello came into it. He didn't even know Mello and this was his reaction.

Though, I suppose, anyone would feel badly when hearing about an abused child.

"H-He's better though, right?" Light whispered.

"Better wouldn't be the word I'd use. He'll never be 'better'." I admitted. "It'll follow him everywhere and it'll affect every part of his life. But he's found ways to try and cope and he's dealing with it the best he can. Roger says he's 'healing'."

Light nodded, his mood not improving yet not seeming as tense as he was before.

I didn't really know what to do. I was still getting used to this kind of relationship. I wasn't very good with any kind of relationship, full stop... But that was because of my own story, one that I was still debating whether or not to tell Light. I didn't want him to view me differently. I didn't want him to change his opinion of me.

Slowly, I reached out a hand, placing it on one of his lightly. He knew what I was trying to do, knew I was trying to be 'comforting'. He knew I was trying.

"Who was next?" Light asked, clearing his throat, giving a weak smile.

"That would be Matt." I said. "His story is different to Mello's, however, the outcome was the same."

By different, I meant that Matt didn't have as...well, I suppose, as bad as Mello. Still bad, yes, considering he was taken away from his parents, but not like Mello. Matt was always understating his own story. He would always say 'it wasn't that bad, the other two had it worse'. He seemed to think that because what happened to him wasn't 'on par' with Mello and Near, it was nothing to complain about. He was forgetting that it was the worst thing to happen to him so, yes, he was allowed to feel badly for it.

We were still having to remind him of this.

Sighing I began my recount:

"Watari brought Matt to the house a few months after Mello..."

Thursday, March 15th 2007

It was a, surprisingly, nice spring day. Yes, it was a little chilly, but it wasn't anything like the winter.

Mihael had started to settle in nicely at the house - yes, he was still adjusting, but he was doing fine. Well, I assumed he was. I wasn't entirely sure. He had nightmares, that was obvious. He was still wary around others - to be expected. He was still attached to my hip, something I was still baffled by. But he seemed...happy? I didn't know if that was the right word. I didn't know if that was right, full stop. But he didn't seem as scared as before anymore.

The boy was now obsessed with chocolate. Apparently, that first day, when I had given him the sweet, it had been the first time he had ever tried it. He would eat a large bar every day and no one could stop him - he knew how to work the staff, able to pull at their heartstrings. He was a valuable asset when getting more cake...

On this day, Mihael and I were in the kitchen with Andrew Harrison - one of the few adults Watari had hired to work in the house. I still couldn't figure out how this man had ended up with the job. He was a completely idiot! He knew nothing of how our minds work! Well, he knew nothing, full stop. A monkey was more intelligent than him. I had tried many a time, along with the others in the house, to get the man to just quit already!

Obviously, nothing had worked.

Harrison was blocking the doorway as Mihael sipped at the hot chocolate in front of him. Harrison had this 'rule' where none of us could leave the kitchen with a hot drink. He was the only adult in the house with this rule. For some reason, the man thought things were spilt or, as he always labelled it, thrown on purpose.

We all hated him. Even the others that worked in the house.

"Where's Wammy?" Mihael asked, swinging his legs as he sat in the chair.

Mihael hadn't yet been told about Watari's alias, always calling the man by his surname. Watari and I had both understood that, for now, it was for the best - it was what he knew Watari as. Watari and I had both agreed we would let Mihael call him Wammy, as long as it wouldn't blow my guardian's cover.

"Collecting another child." I told him, carefully building a tower out of bottle caps.

"Another one like me?" he whispered.

Looking towards the child, I found him stirring the warm liquid with his finger. He looked...worried. I believe that was the right emotion. He looked worried.

"In some ways." I said, slowly. "We won't know exactly until Wammy comes back with them."

(Small time skip)

Mihael and I were still in the kitchen when the front door opened. The boy looked up at me, his eyes wide and hopeful. I felt the corner of my lips twitch slightly, something that had happened a lot since Mihael had been in the house.

Leaping off of my seat, I watched as Mihael ran towards the kitchen door, barrelling past Harrison. He clung to the doorway, just pocking his head around the side to see who Watari was with. He didn't move until I was next to him - only then did he grab a hold of my hand, shuffling behind me as we walked towards the man and the child.

The boy with Watari was no older than four. He had brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a red and black stripped top and blue jeans. He just stood there, playing a portable video game, Watari standing beside him with a man and a woman.

"Would you like to say goodbye to your parents?" Watari asked the young boy, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Who?" he answered.

I watched as the man and woman's face fell. I watched as it seemed the reality of the situation was finally setting in.

Raising his head, the boy blinked harshly. Watari gestured towards the man and woman next to him, the young boy peering around him to look at them. The boy frowned, cocking his head to the side. He looked the man and woman up and down, really looking at them and thinking.

"Who are they?" he asked in the end.

(Small time skip)

The boy, just like Mihael, was left with me as Watari went to get Roger. Watari thought it would be 'good for me', thinking that maybe the boy would take to me the same as Mihael had.

I found out the boy was called Mail Jeevas - he made it clear that it was spelt: M. A. I. L; pronounced: M. I. L. E.

I found out that he had only recently turned four - his birthday was February 1st.

Surprisingly, Mihael and Mail seemed like the best of friends after only a few minutes. It started with Mihael subtly leaning over Mail's shoulder, watching the younger play his game, with a strange fascination. When Mail noticed, he started to shift round. Mihael grew sheepish, I though Mail was going to move away... The boy surprised us both by shuffling further towards Mihael, giving the older boy a better view of the game. Mail even detached himself long enough to let Mihael try.

"That is so cool!" Mihael grinned.

"I know." Mail giggled. "I've played it, like, a gazillion times!"

Just like that, they were friends.

Somehow, it even got to the point where the boys got me to sit properly, both of them clambering up onto my lap.

I did not understand children.

(Small time skip)

Mail didn't pay much attention to Watari and Roger when the two appeared. He just sat with Mihael, playing the video game.

It went without saying that Mail was going to be taking the room next to Mihael's - I think it was obvious neither boy would like being separated. That seemed to be the only thing the boys listened to. Which was why, as soon as it had been said, Mihael grabbed Mail's hand, dragging the brunet upstairs.

The moment the boys disappeared, Roger shrugged, telling us how he was going to check on the other children.

Watari and I, the same as when Mihael had arrived at the house, went to Watari's office. We took the same positions as that time, only this time we had some tea. Before I could even ask, the man even passed me over this small tin box - recently bought, containing a slice of chocolate cake with a strawberry on top.

"I had it picked up this morning." he smiled, passing me a fork.

"Thank you, Watari." I nodded, plucking the strawberry off of the cake. "I take it your day was far more pleasant this time?"

"You would be right. Whilst it was by no means ideal, thankfully, Mail's situation was far better that Mihael's."

Glancing up at my guardian, I waited for him to continue.

I knew that these days, the days where the child wasn't in any harm, were very few between. I knew that, the majority of the time, the child was at some level of risk. It wasn't always as serious as Mihael's situation, it was almost never anywhere near as serious as what mine had been, but there was always risk.

It wasn't often a child was, relatively, safe before coming to the house.

"Mail was, what you could call, a surprise baby." Watari explained. "His mother had no idea she was pregnant, until she was in labour, due to the way Mail was positioned."

Nothing too surprising; it happens.

"Mail's parents never wanted him, so they distanced from him as much as they possibly could." he continued. "They felt guilty, so they bought him that game he's so attached to."

"He's attached because it shows that his parents felt something towards him." I mused. "Sentiment is such a strange thing..."

P.S. This is an AU - Light was never Kira, but still helped during the investigation; obviously, Light and L did not die; the Kira case took 1 year to clear up, not (about) 7; set in 2016. I apologise for OOCness, but it IS an AU ;)

Please review XD

Thanks XD