Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Obha and Takeshi Obata.
Cards and Alleys
Chapter Four: Jack of Hearts
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Mihael followed Matt through the streets, the red head keeping a tight grip on his hand. He felt the sweat that was caking his hand: his and Matt's. He knew that if Matt had known those girls, he might be dangerous himself, but Mihael didn't feel threatened. He actually felt safe. He hoped that following Matt wouldn't bite him in the ass later.
They walked out of the alleyway and Matt turned left. They passed many people, but none of them paid the two boys any attention. The two of them walked past a couple of bars and even a grocery store. That particular street smelled like alcohol, but Mihael did his best to ignore it. Matt turned left once more and they ended up in another alley. Matt broke his grasp on Mihael's hand and placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"Don't worry. You're safe now."
"What the hell was that about? Who are you? Who were they?" asked Mihael.
"I'm Matt and that was Frieda and Forgotten. They're a little messed up so you have to excuse them," said Matt. He walked over to a worn out backpack and opened it. In it was some bread. Matt pulled out a piece that was as moldy as the rest and held it out to Mihael. "Here."
Mihael thanked Matt and bit into the bread. Matt walked away from the blond and pulled off his stripped shirt. He rolled it up into a ball and threw it onto the ground. He lied down on the ground and turned to Mihael.
"Hm…Can I call you Mello?" asked Matt.
"Um…I guess, but why?" asked Mihael.
"Because using you're real name on the streets is dangerous," said Matt.
"Why?" asked Mihael.
Matt shrugged. "You can never be too safe."
Mihael sat down and reclined on a pile of clothes. The pile smelled rancid, but it wasn't much different than the rest of the street. In seconds, Mihael was asleep.
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Mihael woke up to a pile of cloth in his face. He shook it off and stood up. He came face to face with Matt who was trying to keep a boy back who looked like he was about to kill Mihael.
"He took my spot!" yelled the kid.
"Stop being stupid!" yelled Matt. "Mello's new! Besides, you're acting childish and unreasonable!"
"I just got back from a raid! I can be as unreasonable as I want!" yelled the kid. Then he turned around and stomped away.
Mihael sat up and rubbed his back. "What the hell was that about?" he said.
"Just Duncan being stupid," said Matt.
Mihael stood up and the two boys left the alleyway. It was about midmorning and Mihael was still a bit tired, but he followed Matt anyway. Asking for a few hours wouldn't have done him any good, anyway. He was sure he was never going to be able to fall asleep again.
Matt led Mihael back into the alleyway that he had met Frieda and Forgotten. Mihael shuddered as he walked into it, but calmed down when the two girls weren't there. Neither was Matsuda's body, but his blood was still there. Mihael shivered as the blood reminded him of the day before. He wondered where Matsuda's body was. He assumed that it was probably with Frieda and Forgotten and they were doing to it what the wanted to do to him.
Matt saw the expression on Mihael's face and he placed his hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "Don't worry, Mello. I'm not going to let them near you."
"I'm not scared," said Mihael, but his expression said otherwise.
Matt sighed. "Wait here. I'm just going to get water."
Mihael nodded and obeyed Matt. He saw the red head bend over and poured some of the water from the pipe into a bucket. Matt then walked back to Mihael and handed him the bucket.
"Can you hold this?" asked Matt. Mihael nodded and took the bucket from the other boy. They returned back to where the two of them spent the night before and they saw that there were more people. The boy that Matt had called Duncan was there talking to another boy. A white haired boy sat on the pile of clothes, twirling a lock of hair. A brown haired girl sat next to him. A black haired girl sat on the bottom of the pile, shuffling through it, but it didn't seem like she was looking for anything in particular. Mihael stiffened as he noticed Frieda and Forgotten giggling and whispering in the corner.
"It's okay, Mello," said Matt. "They won't hurt you with everyone else here."
"I'm not scared," said Mihael once again, but he was still grateful for Matt's reassurance.
Matt nodded and his hand returned to his side. "Anyway, that's Ragen talking to Duncan, the white haired kid is Near, the girl talking to Near is Linda, and the girl going through the pile is Sayu."
"Wow. I don't know why, but I thought there would be more," said Mihael and then suddenly regretted it.
Matt laughed. "Yeah. There are others. But they come and go. No one stays here for good. Some leave. Others…" his voice trailed off.
"Others, what?" asked Mihael.
"Well, we have to rob places, and…"
"Oh. I get it."
"That's how one of my friends left," said Matt.
Mihael looked away. He knew better than to keep asking.
"Don't feel bad. It was my fault, anyway."
"Huh?" asked Mihael.
"I told her not to go. She didn't listen. I should have tried harder to convince her to stay," said Matt. Then he changed the conversation. "Come with me. You need smaller clothes. We all loose a lot of weight when we first get thrown out here."
Mihael looked down and blushed. He pulled up his jeans and followed Matt over to the clothes pile.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Hi. It's Rasko. Yeah, this is kind of a filler chapter. And sorry I couldn't update, but school sucks out creativity. Plus, I was too busy to write. But today, I was sick. So, yeah, I suppose it's one of those kinda good/kinda bad situations. Also, sorry that it's kind of short. I tried my best, though.
Please review. I want to hear what you people think.
