Thirteen-year-old Near was bored, staring out of the window, when Lawliet entered the room.

"Have you heard, Nate?" Lawliet said, sitting next to his younger brother on the bed. Near tilted his head and watched Mello and Matt play, his head resting on the cool glass of the window.

"I heard." He said quietly. Lawliet sighed.

"Raito has agreed to stay, and that he wouldn't do anything." He said. "What about Mello and Matt?"

"I don't know." Near said softly. "They don't speak of it around me. I hear them talk about it in whispers when they think I am asleep, but other than that..." He sighed. "It's almost as if it never happened."

"That could be a good sign." Lawliet pointed out. Near stayed silent and Lawliet stood up.

"Nii-san." Lawliet turned to Near and tilted his head, placing his thumb in his mouth.

"Yes, Nate?"

"When did you realize your feelings?" He asked quietly. Lawliet smiled lightly.

"A few years back, little brother." Near was quiet, but Lawliet answered his silent question anyway. "If you love each other, it shouldn't matter. Aunt Takada and Grandfather Watari don't mind in the least. The only problem comes if it comes out, and then the rest of society will be against you."

"I don't agree that it's 'love' just yet, Nii-san." Near corrected softly. Lawliet shrugged.

"A crush, then." He said. "It doesn't matter. Aunt Takada and Grandfather Watari don't mind so long as the two of us are happy."

"Thank you, Nii-san." Near said, closing his eyes. Lawliet shut the door as he left.

When fifteen-year-old Mello and Matt were out one day, getting groceries, they were approached by two female servants, one with black hair in a bun on the side of her head and the other with long bangs, covering one eye. Behind them came a male with spikey black hair, standing behind the female with the long bangs. They both were almost inhumanly tall, towering over the other girl. They looked around, before pulling them into a slave's quarters on someone's plantation.

"You two are good at keeping secrets, yea?" The male asked, his voice a weird rasping noise that made Mello wince slightly. Matt leaned against the wall, Mello frowned and crossed his arms, but both nodded solemly.

"The President of the United States issued an Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, saying that any Confederate States will lose their slaves if they don't return." One of the female slaves said excitedly. "On January 1, 1863, was the time we were supposed to have returned by, but we didn't, and our state was one of the ones that lost their slaves!"

"Lincoln isn't our President, though." Mello pointed out softly.

"So what? We're free." The slave replied, her dark brown eyes shining happily. "Me, Ryuk, and Rem can finally leave our master and mistress, and be free. As can any other slave."

"We aren't part of the United States." Mello said angrily, getting annoyed. He didn't want to hear about things like this. At home, with Near, they could pretend it didn't exist and they didn't have the choice to leave---they both knew that Near would give them that option, and Mello didn't want to deal with it. So he and Matt only talked about the Emancipation Proclamation when Near was asleep, knowing that neither of them really had the heart to leave Near.

Matt watched silently from behind Mello as he shook his head at the three slaves. "We're the Confederate States, and therefore we don't have to listen to Lincoln. He can make as many Emancipation Proclamations he want, and they won't affect us at all!"

"That's not true!" The second female slave (Rem?) hissed. The first slave's black hair was coming out of the bun she had it in, and she pushed it back angrily. Rem continued as if her friend hadn't done anything and the male behind her (Ryuk) placed a hand on her shoulder gently. "We're free, and they won't let us go. So we're going to rebel, and attack our slave owners. Can we trust you two to do the same?"

"Attack... Near-sama?" Mello said, eyes wide, panting lightly. The girl nodded. In a second, Mello had her against the wall, his hand around her throat. Her eyes widened in fear.

"Mels!" Matt called, coming to life instantly and placing his hand on Mello's, trying to pry his hands from the girl's neck.

"HEY!" Rem cried, going forward as well. Ryuk followed her, grabbing her arms to pull her back so that they didn't make the situation worse.

"Don't ever ask that of me ever again." Mello snarled at her, ignoring the chain reaction he set off. She whimpered. "Understand?"

"Y-Y-Yes..." She gasped out. Mello dropped her to the floor and picked up the groceries he dropped. Matt sighed in relief and helped the girl up.

"Will you tell anyone about this?" Ryuk asked quietly, not letting go of Rem's arms. Rem looked like she was going to kill Mello before he stood up and Ryuk thought it to be a good idea to just hold onto her until Mello was out of her sight.

"We'll stay silent, don't worry." Matt promised, glancing at Mello, who was glaring at the groceries. "I promise." Ryuk smiled, making Matt shudder involuntarily. Matt smiled back tentatively and followed Mello out of the quarters.

"That was uncalled for." He commented off-handedly a few blocks later. Mello scowled and shrugged.

"She made a stupid suggestion." He said. "She's lucky I didn't just kill her right at that second." Matt shook his head.

"Mello, that's horrible." He said, just as the house came into view.

Two weeks later, and Mello and Matt still refused to leave the house. It was strange---they wouldn't even go out to the plantation. Takada debated on whether or not to find one Teru Mikami and strangle him with a scarf for injuring her slaves (again) until they both assured her that Mikami had nothing to do with their behavior at all. She seemed to believe them, but she still scowled when Mikami's name was brought up.

Another two weeks later, and Aiber was leaning in the doorway talking to Wedy. Mello and Matt were on the top of the staircase, just out of sight, as they spoke.

"A what?" Wedy gasped out lightly.

"A rebellion, from slaves." Aiber said, sighing heavily. "Seems as if Lincoln's Proclamation went to their heads, and they rebelled."

"Oh, god." Wedy sighed, making a quick sign of the cross over her. "What happened to them?

"They lost." Was all Aiber said, and Mello stood up and walked into Near's room. Matt followed him solemly.

It took another month before they went out into the plantation, and anther month to go past that.

Well, stupid me got the dates wrong, and the war will end when Mello's seventeen, not eighteen like i had originally planned (stupid Mello didn't mention that before...) but it'll work out in the end---never fear! XD yea.

Thanks to Hikari Yagami, MyColdHeart, and Chocolate Flavoured Robots for encouraging reviews.