Matsuda gaped for a moment. They were kissing. Kissing. On the lips.

It wasn't exactly like adult kiss, but it was too long to be an ordinary, sibling kiss.

The rain washed over them and the wind ruffled their hair. Mello raised a hand and cupped his younger brothers face. For a split moment Matsuda wasn't sure who he was seeing. As a flash of lightening bolted across the sky and lit up the world for one second in its ghostly white light, Matsuda thought he saw two dark haired boys kissing instead of a red-head and a blond.

But as quickly as the vision had appeared, it disappeared and the two brothers still stood before him, locked in an embrace.

The thunder rumbled, sounding heavy and loud like the growl of an angry god.

Matsuda blinked the rain out of his eyes, suddenly coming to his senses.

"BOYS!" He bellowed across the wild terrain, his voice deeper and rougher than he had known it to be before. It sounded like his fathers.

The brothers turned and faced him, looking guilty and frightened at once.

"Come inside! Now!" The dark-haired tutor allowed anger to colour his tone. He turned and began to walk back to the house. He did not turn to see if they had followed him. He couldn't look at them. He was too conflicted and confused. He did not know how he felt. Shocked? Frightened? Confused? Disgusted? His insides felt like they were squirming and writhing. He winced and wrapped his arms around his torso. He was beginning to shiver. His bones ached and he ground his teeth anxiously. The rain was so heavy that he was beginning to develop a headache. His long hair was plastered to his head and affecting his eyesight.

What was happening? Why had they done that? Was it his fault? What if they did it again? What if someone else saw? What would Miss Misa say? He imagined her beautiful cerulean eyes cold with anger and contempt. "Did you ruin my nephews?" Her ghostly visage whispered to him in a cold voice. He shivered. No, he couldn't allow anyone to know the boys were wrong. Who had taught them such ways...had...had he somehow? Had he...infected them...?

No, no, that made no sense. How could he have infected them? And with what?

The red tops of Applegate appeared on the horizon.

He felt his face burning. His throat felt swollen and sore. He felt feverish. Was he ill? Had he perhaps, imagined the whole thing.

Matsuda turned to face the boys. They were both there, clear as day. They had been looking at the ground, but now they stopped and looked at him. They sky was a dark grey, the land a dirty green. The atmosphere was aggressive and cruel. In silence they stared at each other momentarily. Then Mello leaned towards his brother and began to whisper something, all whilst keeping his eyes on the tutor.

Matsuda felt like he should stop them from talking, but then noticed something. Beyond the boys, who were still glancing worriedly at Matsuda before muttering to each other, a figure was striding towards them. Matsuda squinted and saw, yes, it was him! It was a Light! Light Yagami!

He stared for a moment, the figure was coming closer. Matsuda could see the details of his face. The rich auburn hair, handsome contours of his face, his slightly golden skin tone. And then his eyes...Light Yagami's burning red eyes...

Matsuda managed to pull his eyes away from the figure long enough to observe the boys. Mello was facing him, his face seemingly blank compared to the few moments before Light had appeared, but Matsuda caught the tail end of Matt looking behind at Light. Matsuda believed that both of the boys had turned and looked behind them as he had spotted Light. Though it was the tail end of the glance, he was certain that Matt had been looking exactly in the direction of the ghost.

Mello had a strange facial expression, as if he couldn't decide on how he felt. It was a half smirk, but his blue eyes were frightened. Matt on the other hand looked terrified, bright green eyes turned from Light Yagami to Matsuda.

"They can see him," Matsuda realised. His suspicions were correct, the children were aware of the spirits. Both boys were! Did that mean the spirit of this corrupt damnable man was able to affect them? Did that explain the lapses of peculiar behaviour?

He suddenly felt that burning need to protect the boys at all costs. "Leave them alone!" He cried towards Light, who continued his stride towards them. "Quick boys, run to the house!"

The brothers looked frightened. They ran against the howling wind and rain towards the house, quickly passing Matsuda, who stayed to watch the ghost a little longer. It moved strangely, as if it were walking under water.

"What do you want?" Matsuda called to it. He remembered what Sayu had said. "The boys? Are you after the boys? You will never get them!" With that, Matsuda decided the thing was too close now, and he began to run to catch up with the boys.

As they ran, they ripped up the long grass and ploughed through flower beds. The entire time the boys were slightly ahead of Matsuda, and he preffered that. This way, he could see them. There was no chance of Light sneakily stealing one of them.

"My god," Matsuda thought as he ran, the wind flinging heavy rain into his face, "have I gone completely insane? Is that what has happened? Have I gone mad? The boys, kissing...kissing like that despite being children and brothers...the images of other boys..." he remembered the flash of light and how he had seen two brunets, though that made no sense, "and now a dead man is chasing us...a dead man who I never met..." Matsuda almost began to laugh, a chocking terrified giggle emitted from between his lips. "Yes, I must be mad...I can't see how this can true...Oh god...Oh god..."

Behind the shadow of Light Yagami loomed ever closer. Matsuda did not even have to turn around. He could sense it. It was a thing in the form of a man, but it moved like a shadow. Matsuda felt his eyes widening and bile rising in his throat.

"HURRY!" He screamed at the boys, who fought to run against the powerful, howling wind. They were both far ahead of Matsuda now. "RUN BOYS! RUN TO THE HOUSE!"

The red house came into view, the front door was flung open and Watari ran out, the wind instantly ruffling his hair. He hugged the boys quickly and looked at Matsuda with an alarmed expression. "Why are you chasing them?" He cried, before huddling the boys inside.

"N-no," Matsuda stammered in response, "I wasn't- we were being chased!"

"What?" Watari looked beyond the tutor, "there's no one there."

"It was Light Yagami! He has returned! He wants the children!" Matsuda pointed behind him. "See? SEE?" But Watari did not see, and neither did Matsuda because Light had completely disappeared. Matsuda scanned the landscape for a few moments before turning back to Watari. "Well of course he is gone now! We are too close to the house and you are here, so he has gone!"

"Who had gone?"

"Light!" Screamed Matsuda, his hysteria was merging with anger and frustration. Why was Watari not listening to him?

"You look unwell," Watari continued, paying no heed to the fact that a dead man had just chased Matsuda and his two wards across the grounds. "Come inside. You need a warm bed and some sensible broth."

Matsuda looked up at Watari through jet-black bangs. "Don't patronise me," he muttered in a cold, foreign voice. Watari's eyes widened for a moment and he took a step back.

In that moment, Matsuda felt a dark chill course through his body at lightning speed. An image of a man pressed itself into his consciousness, and for a moment Matsuda knew everything about him.

The man was dark eyed and dark haired.

A foreigner.

He did not speak like the English nor did he act like them.

Despite their courtesy he did not fit in with them.

He was called Lawliet.

He loved the children and wanted to protect them.

And he also held a terrible secret. It wasn't just the children he loved, but there was another type of love he felt for another. Something that was looked down upon by society. Something perverse. Something that ultimately got him killed.

Suddenly, Matsuda felt himself being pushed away. The image of the pale, dark-haired man flew away from him and once more he was outside, inhabiting his body in a normal way. He was cold and wet and looking at Watari.

"Sir...Matsuda!" The elderly man cried out. "Are you...quite yourself?"

Instead of answering Matsuda looked up at the building. The window of his bedroom stared out of the red brick walls. A shadow suddenly passed it. "Who's in my room?" He gasped. Watari looked confused, but before he could hazard an answer, Matsuda pushed past and ran into the building.

"No, no more chasing the boys! You have frightened them enough!" Matsuda heard Watari scream. He ignored the old man and ploughed up the stairs.

The interior of the house was much darker than usual. The sudden change in weather outside had bought out all the shadows, making the house look like a strange place Matsuda did not recognise. Matsuda ran up the stairs, someone was in his room, someone, and he bet he knew who it was! The other one, the other ghost!

Anger pounded through his head. Why...why was he so angry? He couldn't think. His mind was too much of a blur. He felt strange as if his body was in two places at once...only it was the same place. Unable to think and unable to analyse his own emotions Matsuda came closer to the top of the stairs. All he could see in his rage-filled mind was the pale man with dark hair. Lawliet...the boy's teacher.

Arriving at the top of the stairs Matsuda suddenly tripped over the forgotten apples and fell backwards. He yelled out and time seemed to go in slow motion. He was right on the top of the stairs, the fall would kill him. He flailed wildly, his impending death striking a bolt of fear through his heart. The world drained of colour, all became monochrome and lines became blurred. Out of this, he saw the image of Lawliet. The spirit was glowering at him. It was angry and hurt and blaming him.

But why?

Just then, without thinking, Matsuda's hand gripped the banister. He stumbled with no grace but did not drop down several flights as he feared he would. He panted so heavily it hurt his chest. When had he moved his hand? His body lurched itself forward, without his say so. He clawed up the last few steps like an animal, before righting himself at the top and looking around. There was no Lawliet. Everything was normal.

Matsuda felt a sudden lightness. He blinked a few times, and everything became clear and concise again. The feeling of absolute rage was gone. He stood dazed and stunned until he heard a polite cough behind him. He turned to see Watari looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Are-are you quite yourself Sir?" The old man asked with a humility Matsuda's had never known.

"Of course," Matsuda replied, his throat sore from when he had cried out. His arm and shoulder hurt from where it had supported his falling body. "Who else would I be but myself?" He turned back ground and looked at the floor. The apples were still there. "Does no one clean up here?" He asked.

"I will send someone up sir," Matsuda gave Watari a cursory glance. The man was staring at the apples as if they were rats. Matsuda picked one up and toyed with it. He did not see Watari's alarmed facial expression. Matsuda tossed it up and caught it over and over again all whilst looking down the hall where the boys bedrooms were. "Mr. Watari, how close are the boys?"

"Oh, very close Sir," Watari sounded relieved. "They are very loving brothers. They only have each other."

"Is that normal?"

"Pardon? Sir?"

"Is it normal or brothers to be very close? Very, very close?" Matsuda looked back at Watari before taking a bite from the apple and walking away.

Everyone stayed inside for the rest of the afternoon as the weather did not improve. Matsuda had both boys bathed, fed and sent to bed early. He said the reason why was because he was angry that they had run off in the rain and not woken him. But that wasn't the real reason. The real reason was because Matsuda could not handle even looking at them for the moment.

He lay in bed that night, thinking over it all. "That Mr Light Yagami was a cad, a ...a sexual deviant," he mused uncomfortably, "My father always taught us of those. And now Light Yagami spread his wicked ways unto the boys. What kind of people will they grow into at this rate? And...and will they ever get to heaven, when they are already sinning so shamefully?"

He sat up in bed, turned on his side light (a small, old fashioned gas lamp) ad took out an old Bible from under his pillow. It was a Bible he had had since his youth, the sides were tattered and the pages yellowed. Most Christians, when looking at a bible feel comforted and hopeful, but Matsuda didn't.

Opening the Bible he saw all the lines his father had highlighted for him. The destruction of lands and peoples, the mass genocides done in the name of God because the people were sinners, the deaths of insolent children, babies being dashed against rocks because of their morally deficient parents. Verses about lambs, love and calm streams and rivers had been marked out. His father had never believed Matsuda needed those lines. So instead Matsuda just read the horror and misery the Bible held. And he thought of the boys.

Who was their role model?

Watari was kind but weak and inefficient.

Misa was too busy.

Lawliet and Light were gone, and before they had left they had taught badness to the boys.

"It's down to me," Matsuda whispered. He looked at the wardrobe where he had seen the ghost of Lawliet, "what did you do to them? What did they see under your care?" The wardrobe remained silent. Nothing was in there that night. Seemed Lawliets spirit had nothing to say.

The rain, soft and consistent and miserable continued to pour down his windows as Matsuda prayed fervently for strength. The strength to save two young souls.

A/N Thank you so much for the reviews! They were really appreciated and I took on everyone's advice! So, now we are kicking into the meat of the story. I know it took some time to get to this point, but I wanted everyone to know the characters quite well in this enviroment. I also wanted the readers to become suspicious and to work out on their own that there was 'ghostly' carrying on's at the house. I also wanted you guys to work out on your own that something was up with Matsuda's past. Do not worry, I will delve into it and into the story of Applegate before he arrived.