Here's another chapter! It's more of a filler, so there won't be too much action. However, this chapter will explain a few things, and will hopefully shed some light on a few important issues of the Wammy Boys' characteristics. I would have updated sooner, but a Jurassic Park marathon was too tempting. XD

"So he's been declared incompetent by the courts?" Quillsh asked as he looked over the file in front of him.

"Yes. They say that he's regressed to his four-year-old self, but the nurse caring for him doesn't believe that. She believes that he is either a savant or an undiscovered genius."

Looking over the images of the child's former adoptive father, Quillsh couldn't help but wince. "And Mr. Childress survived?"

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?"

"Hmm, I wonder what made that child go crazy on his father. After all, injuries like this are caused by prolonged experience to high stress situations. The mutilated genitals make me think that the father was sexually exploiting the child, but there is no mention of that in the hospital reports or the police reports. The only injury he has is a broken hip."

"Well, there were other bruises and such, but the child is prone to bruising because of his delicate body, so they omitted those. Even patting his shoulder could leave a nasty mark."

"Well, I'm not sure we should look into this, Roger. What do you think?"

The static from the phone hissed for a moment before the younger of the two men spoke. "Since you're too busy right now, why don't we wait a little longer?"

"That's-" Mr. Wammy paused as L snatched the papers and pictures out of his hand. He watched curiously as the young boy (no, it was man now) flipped through the papers; his head was tilted at an awkward angle and the pictures and papers were help precariously by those nimble fingertips. Once those dark eyes scrolled over a page, or picture, and absorbed the necessary information, it was carelessly tossed to the floor. "Hold on, Roger. L looks interested."

"Oh great," Roger sighed in annoyance.

Once the papers had been looked through, L quickly sifted through the rest of the files. After those papers were scattered across the floor, L turned to the curious old man. "I want to see a recording of him."

This intrigued Quillsh even more. What was going on in that boy's head? "Roger, I'll call you back in a little bit." Hanging up the phone, Quillsh searched through the box he received from Wammy's House. "Ah, here's a tape of a session he had with a psychologist at the mental institution."

Slinking towards the television, L hopped onto his chair and pulled his knees close to his chest. The recording was simple enough. Nate played with his stuffed animal for the most part and he could only answer simple questions. However, Quillsh could understand why Ms. Lynn would call Wammy's House. There was an indescribable feeling he got as he watched Nate; it was as if there was something hiding behind that innocent face. An amused grin spread across L's lips.

"He can't really keep his thoughts from showing on his face, can he?"

"Huh?" Quillsh was taken aback by that comment and focused on studying the child's face. L just stared at him oddly before he turned back to the video.

Although the elderly man focused on the child's face, he could only spot some facial gestures that seemed unreadable. Once the tape ended, L hopped off the chair and approached the table covered with his sweets and bowls of strawberries and cherries (the only source of nutrition in his diet besides the milk he poured into his tea). Before sharing a large slice of cake into his mouth, L made another surprising statement. "His new name is Near. Bring him to Wammy's House as soon as possible."

"May I inquire as to why?" Quillsh asked as he witnessed the quick death of the chocolate cake slice.

Frosting smeared across the pale young man's lips, nose, and cheeks and his cheeks puffed out like a blowfish. Gulping loudly, L then smiled widely. "Take him in, Watari, you won't be sorry."

"…of course, L. If you say so."

~_~_~_~_~_

Excitement seemed to infect everyone at Wammy's House. News of a new kid coming spread like wild fire and that seemed to be the only topic of conversation. The only one not leaping for joy was Roger, who was too old to do such a thing anyway.

"Aren't you excited?" Mello squealed happily as he and Matt walked to their room. Since they were practically attached to the hip, Roger moved them in together and prepared Matt's old room for the new kid.

"Eh, not really," the younger boy replied.

The two boys were walking down the hall hand-in-hand and Matt couldn't help but feel a little weird. No one else in the orphanage would hold hands except for them and they always had strange looks directed at them. Although Matt was uncomfortable, Mello seemed oblivious. He was the one who always initiated their hand holding and it always seemed to make him happy.

"I wonder what he'll be like," Mello ranted, squeezing his best friend's hand. "Do you think that he'll like football? Oh! Maybe he'll like video games, just like you! Wouldn't that be great?" To be honest, Matt was hoping that that wouldn't be the case. He didn't want new friends, need new friends. All he wanted was Mello. Was that wrong? Was that weird? "Even so, it would be fun to make a new friend, right Mattie?"

"If you say so," Matt grumbled as they finally reached their room.

"Melllooooo, I've got news!"

Catching the scent of gossip, Mello jerked Matt to a halt and dragged him away from the sanctuary of their room. "Tell me, Linda, tell me!" Matt just rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall.

"The new kid's gonna show up tomorrow! And they say that he's ten years old!"

"Wow, he's just about our age, Mattie!" Mello squealed excitedly.

Linda giggled at the blond's reaction and tugged on her pigtails. "You guys look like a couple," she giggled shyly as a blush darkened her cheeks. Matt blushed in embarrassment and jerked his hand away from Mello's while the Slovenian looked confused.

"Huh? What does that-"

"We are not a couple, Linda!" Matt interrupted, his face now the color of a cherry. "Stupid girl, how could you think that?!"

"Mattie," Mello whined, trying to get his friend's attention, "I don't understand!"

"Don't call me stupid, you big dummy! It was a compliment!"

"Matt-"

"How the hell is that a compliment?!"

Pink tinted Mello's features, and it wasn't from embarrassment. "Stupid jackass!" he screeched at his inconsiderate friend before stomping into their room and slamming the door shut. The sound of the lock clicking followed right after. "You can just stay out there tonight!"

"Great job, Linda," Matt hissed. "Look what you did."

"I didn't do anything," she huffed as she crossed her arms. "You made him angry all on your own." With that, she stomped off and left Matt to deal with his own friend.

"C'mon, Melly," Matt begged as he leaned against the door. His Gameboy was dead and all the spare batteries were in the room.

"Bugger off!" Mello yelled as he snuggled with his favorite pillow. "You ignored me."

"I was defending you! Linda was making fun of us!"

Hopping off the bed, the blond boy padded to the door with the pillow clenched tightly in his arms. "What's a 'couple', Mattie?"

Just hearing that word made the younger boy blush. "I-it's kind of hard to explain."

"Try me," Mello demanded sternly.

Matt covered his face with his hands, the blush burning even brighter. "It means we're dating."

"What's dating?"

"Dear lord almighty, are you kidding?!"

Now it was Mello's turn to be embarrassed. Why was it that Matt always seemed to know so much more? And if he was acting like that, it meant that this "dating" thing was common knowledge. "Uh, I know what dating is, I was just testing you!" he said to cover up his lack of knowledge.

Matt knew better than to fall for that, but he didn't want to antagonize his friend any longer. He really needed those batteries. "Ok, I know you know, Melly. Can I come in now?"

Mello bit his lip and clenched the pillow tighter. "Sure, I guess you can." With that, Mello unlocked the door and stepped aside.

The brunette stepped into the room cautiously, hoping that Mello wasn't in the mood to punch him in the face. When a fist didn't coming flying at him, he took a deep breath and stepped closer to the blond. Without even talking, Matt could tell what his best friend was thinking and feeling. He was really upset. Smiling crookedly, Matt pulled the older boy into a hug and stroked his back.

"We're just getting older, Melly, and we can't do things like we used to. It's just how things are."

"But that's not fair," Mello pouted, enjoying the way warmth spread throughout him. "Why? Why can't we just stay the same?"

"It's just a…well, it's a society thing. You know how society sucks."

"Then let's rebel, ok?" Those beautiful eyes were so hard to resist.

"How about this? We can hold hands all we want inside our room, but outside we can't. That way no one will make fun of us."

"I'll just kick their ass if they make fun of us," Mello snorted decidedly.

"Uh, that's not a good idea," Matt chuckled. "Besides, wouldn't you like it more private?"

Mello tilted his head. He had never noticed any differences between holding hands in private and in public. The physical contact was comforting, and that's why he did it. However, he could tell that Matt had been getting more and more uncomfortable with the public displays of affection. It wouldn't kill to give in to his best friend's needs every once in a while.

"Well, if you want to, Matt," he mumbled.

That lovely grin spread across Matt's face, and Mello couldn't help but feel better. That smile, along with kisses, was a magic cure all. Smiling widely himself, Mello snuggled closer to Matt and intertwined their fingers. The brunette grinned stupidly; if you knew the right buttons to push, Mello was a pretty easy guy to keep happy. Just hold him and pay attention to him and he would be the happiest chap on the darn planet.

After a few minutes, Matt's ADHD kicked in and he began to shift around. Taking his cue, Mello released his friend and walked over to his bed. Matt jumped on his own bed and found the spare batteries he always kept under his pillow. A few seconds later and the Gameboy beeped to life gaining a little victory cry from the boy.

"Sweet, it's working!"

"Hey, Mattie. What do you think the new kid will be like?"

Looking down at his beautiful game, Matt shrugged. "Like everyone else, I guess."

"I hope he'll be nice," Mello mumbled before throwing himself onto his bed.

"Eh, I'm sure he'll be nice enough."

~_~_~_~_~_

Wammy's House. Such a fancy name for nothing more than an orphanage. Sure, there were supposedly intelligent children here, but that didn't make a difference. An orphanage was just an orphanage.

Nate River gazed miserably at the wet country side whizzing past him. How ironic. Some people came to take him to an orphanage all right, but they weren't Social Services; they weren't even Americans. Pain flared up in his hip again and all he could do was squeeze his eyes shut and smother his stuffed animal. Because of the delicate balance of all his medications, it was impossible for him to take stronger pain killers.

Constant pain, another beautiful gift for staying alive.

Large, beautiful gates creaked open to let the sleek black vehicle into the grounds and the grey eyes peeked open to take in his surroundings. No wheat fields or mountains; al least England didn't remind him of either of his "homes". There was a large group of children playing soccer and a little ways further was a pack of girls yapping away. To Nate, these children didn't seem any different from normal kids. If one were to put any of them beside a decidedly average child, no one could see a difference. Looking down at his small hands, Nate found a new thing to hate. He would never be seen as normal.

As the car pulled up to the entrance, dozens of eyes turned in excitement. The soccer game had ceased and everyone came closer to get a look at the new kid. All that attention was making the young boy feel sick; nothing good ever came out of drawing attention. The driver parked the car and looked back at the shivering child.

"There's nothing to be scared about here, kid. The other children are harmless, so you can relax and just be yourself."

Nate's only response was to squeeze his white lamb tighter. 'Be myself? What kind of nonsense is this guy talking about?'

How was a child who had been suppressed and force-fed lies supposed to know who he was? He had spent almost seven of this ten years being someone else, anyone else. Now? This was just another role to play.

Sighing softly, the driver stepped out and opened Nate's door. He fiddled with the boy's buckle for a moment before successfully pulling him out of the car. The children's chattering grew louder, but Nate couldn't focus on it if he wanted to. Pain was shooting through his leg and pelvis, and it took all of his energy not to scream or cry. Never had a set of stairs looked so long.

~_~_~_~_~_

"Melly, my butt hurts," Matt whined as he adjusted himself on the floor. Looking up from his game, he could see that Mello was comfortably swinging his legs over the edge of the balcony that stretched out over the main foyer. Dark wooden balusters were held gently by those soft hands and Mello's pink lips whispered the strange words of the song that he was singing to himself. Frowning, Matt poked his friend's soft thigh. "Do we really have to stay here?"

Mello rolled his eyes in annoyance and swatted away the harassing finger. "Of course we have to stay here, Mattie. Where else can we get the best view of this new kid?"

Matt just shrugged. "What's the big deal, anyway? He's going to be human too, you know."

"I know that, dummy. I just wanna see him. If it bothers you so much, you can leave."

Now it was Matt's turn to eyeroll. Darn Mello and his stubbornness. "No, I'll stay-"

The brunette's sentence was cut off as the front door creaked open and a flood of chatter echoed in the grand foyer. Two pairs of eyes widened as the young chauffer walked in carrying a small, delicate looking boy. A fluffy lamb peeked out from the alabaster arms and a mop of curly white hair rested on top of the boy's head. Grey eyes gave the impression that the strange boy was bored, but the two friends could sense something different about him. He wasn't like all the other kids here.

~_~_~_~_~_

Turquoise eyes. Such an unusual and vivid color. It was like looking into the Caribbean Sea; ah, he could drown happily in those eyes. Golden hair framed the flawless face and those eyes continued to bore into him, into the closest thing he had to a soul. Oh my, Nate River was anything but bored. All thoughts of pain had vanished and there was only that girl.

Author's Notes: And yay for a kind of cliffhanger! Yes, unfortunate Near thought that Mello was a girl. Don't worry, he'll learn soon enough. XD Hope you enjoyed this little chapter. Next chapter will be a lot more interaction between the Wammy Boys. :) You just gotta love L. (random side-note)

EDIT: Thanks to Kat, I've added that squiggly line thing before the last paragraph. Sorry if there was any confusion before! And special thanks to Kat for pointing it out. XD