Authors Note: HEYO! XD Please tell me what you think; I would love to know XD

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.

This is my FIRST Death Note fic, so 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

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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 ;)

Chapter 11

L

The next morning, I found myself waking up on the sofa, a light blanket covering my body. Stretching out, my back bowed, bones cracking as I moved, and an involuntary groan escaping me. From the small amount of light coming through the window, the sun was only beginning to rise. However, despite the early hour, I wasn't alone.

"Good morning, Near." I croaked, my voice rough from lack of use.

Near was curled up in one of the armchairs at the end of the sofa, still submerged in darkness. I heard Near move as the fabric of his pyjamas slid across the leather, turning in his seat to face me.

"Did I wake you?" he asked, softly.

"No, you didn't," I assured him, sitting up. "Is everything alright?"

Switching on the table lamp next to me, I could see Near clearer. He was twirling a lock of his hair, as always, his knees up against his chest. In the artificial light, he looked paler, smaller than he did before I left England for good. He looked, almost, sickly. As if something was eating at him from the inside. As he bit his lip, Near tugged on the hair around his finger and stared down at his lap. He wanted to tell me; of that, I knew. He wanted to open up and ask for my advice. If only I knew what was holding him back.

"Come here," I told him, stretching out a hand as I moved over. "Come on."

Near didn't think about it much before he got up. He moved quickly, practically throwing himself down onto the sofa next to me. As Near huddled into my side, I wrapped my arm around him and covered him in the blanket, his head burying under my chin. Contrary to what some believed, Near was a very touchy person, even after everything he had been through. From a young age, he seemed to crave touch yet never sought it out. Of course, this only applied to those he trusted. He would cower away from the touch of others but, with Mello and Matt or even Watari and me, he would lean into it, trying to make it last as long as possible. Many a time had I gone to wake the boys up and found Near in Mello's or Matt's bed, the white-haired boy encased completely by the other. On the odd occasion, I would find all three in the same bed; Near sandwiched between the other two. In all honesty, I was never surprised.

"Missed you," Near murmured, pressing his face into me.

"I missed you too – all three of you." I smiled, softly. "It was strange not having you boys here with me."

I felt Near nod against me, curling up a little tighter as he tried to shuffle closer.

"We understand why you didn't come back," Near mumbled. "You're happy here. With Light."

"I was happy in England too." I protested.

"Not as happy as here. You love him. Yes, you love us, but you would never find someone like Light back in England. For us, on the other hand, it's easy to come see you. We don't have to worry about school or family like Light does. We're happy you stayed here, even though we knew we wouldn't see you every day."

I never did figure out a way to respond to him.

It was around eleven in the morning when Matt and Mello finally emerged, rubbing sleepily at their eyes. They said nothing as they plopped themselves down on the sofa, Mello pulling Near to his chest, as Matt lay across them both, all three of them still touching me and each other somehow. All I could do was laugh at them, sweeping away hair that had fallen into their eyes.

"Will Light be joining us today?" Near asked, as if he hadn't just been manhandled.

"He will be, yes," I chuckled. "At some point after lunch, I believe."

"Good," Matt yawned. "We like him. He's good."

"Yeah, he's not an idiot." Mello agreed, his voice still a little hoarse.

Rolling my eyes and softly jabbing Mello in the side, I managed to sit up as Watari walked into the room without jostling the boys. On a silver tray, he carried in drinks for the five of us, as well as a small something for Mello and Matt to eat, so they wouldn't be too hungry whilst waiting for lunch. Matt rolled onto his side, instead of sitting up, to be able to take a sip of his drink, refusing to leave the comfortable space he had created; Mello, taking advantage of this, decided he'd use Matt's head as a plate holder. Not that Matt seemed to mind all too much. I watched as Watari sat down, grinning over the rim of his teacup.

"I let Roger know you boys arrived safely," Watari announced, a knowing look glinting in his eyes. "He said you boys forgot to let him know how long you'd be here for."

"Oh, yeah, about that," Matt laughed, a little nervously, the three boys sitting up slowly. "We, uh…. We haven't quite decided on that, you know?"

"Well, we kind of have, in a way," Mello added. "That is to say, we won't."

"We were going to wait a couple of days to ask," Near sighed, emphasising the 'ask' and tugging at a lock of hair as he scowled at the other two boys. "We decided we would like to move here. To Japan. With you."

I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head, that my jaw would unhinge and detach from my body. I was sure I was dreaming and that, any moment, I would wake up and find myself at my laptop. As discreetly as I could, I pinched the skin on the back of my hand as hard as I could. I didn't fully believe I was awake until I began to bleed.

"You boys do know this is a big decision, yes?" Watari asked after a moment of silence, his voice calm and steady.

All three of them nodded their heads, slowly, moving to sit shoulder to shoulder with each other on the coffee table.

"We've been talking about it for a while," Near admitted, ducking his head as he leant into Mello's side. "Since you first left, if we're being truthful."

"England just doesn't feel like home anymore." Mello shrugged, staring at the wall to the right of him.

"We know it's a lot to ask," Matt continued. "And we should have talked about it before we came here…. We just thought it would be better to talk about this in person and, well, we thought you'd say no."

I didn't remember much more after that.

The next thing I knew, I woke up on what felt like a sofa. My lungs were burning, my head pounding, I could barely open my eyes against the light. Lazily, sluggishly, I dropped my right arm over my eyes, a soft groan escaping me. Voices began swirling in my ears, but no words were distinguishable.

Does my father have friends round?

My body reacted before my mind could catch up with itself. I vaulted off the sofa, my foot catching the arm as I went, my body diving towards the ground. Before I landed, I was caught from the side. An arm wrapping around my torso as another hand was placed on the middle of my back. As soon as I felt the contact, as soon as I was stable on my feet, I tried to lash out; I tried to break free. The moment I began to struggle, the arm around me tightened, and another joined. My arms were pinned snuggly against my body, caught in the crease of my elbows. A hand wrapped firmly around my arm.

"Boys, go in the other room. Now." the person holding me ordered.

It didn't sound like my father.

It didn't sound like any of his friends. Not any that I knew of anyway.

But that meant nothing. I didn't want to face the abuse anymore! I couldn't stand to have their hands on me again; I couldn't stand the looks they gave me. I wanted it to stop, by whatever means necessary. I didn't want to live like that anymore. My mind went empty as I tried to fight back, kicking and throwing my head around in an attempt to connect.

"I said now," the person huffed again. "Light, take the boys into the other room."

Light?

Light? That name. I know that name…. Why do I know that name?

All my movements slowed.

Something wasn't making sense.

The person holding me wasn't trying to hurt me; wasn't trying to touch me. Their hold was firm and strong, but it wasn't trying to stop me from breathing. Or was it a trap? Were they waiting for me to let my guard down? Were they trying to confuse me? Yes. That had to be it; that was all it could be! They wanted me to relax so they could hurt me more.

I can't let that happen.

I began thrashing as hard as I possibly could, with all new vigour. My hands curled into fists, my nails digging harshly into my palms to the point I swear I drew blood. The person holding me was speaking, but I couldn't hear a word coming out of their mouth. It was noise; it was all just noise!

Then I got my right arm free.

I flung my arm out, my hand connecting with an object. Pain radiated through my hand, a sharp stinging pain. I felt myself cry out, a yell ripping out from my throat.

"I'm sorry, My Boy, but I have no choice." those were the last words I heard before things went black.

I woke up in my bed.

Confusion set in quickly. The last thing I remembered was talking to the boys; they had said they wanted to stay with me. After that, it had all gone black. I tried to lift my right hand to rub at my eyes but, as soon as I began to move it, stinging pains began to shoot through my hand and arm. Hissing, I attempted to relax it to stop the hurt, using my left hand instead.

What is going on?

As soon as I could open my eyes, I turned my head and looked down. My hand, wrist and part of my forearm were bandaged, a slight spattering of blood discolouring the white fabric. I didn't get a chance to focus on that too much before Watari walked in. The man wasn't in his usual full suit; instead, he was wearing just his trousers and shirt. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was a mess, and he looked utterly exhausted.

For the first time since I could remember, I couldn't formulate what had happened.

"Oh, you're up," Watari sighed with relief. "You gave us quite the scare, My Boy?"

He put down the tray he had carried in, fresh bandages and other first aid equipment placed on it, as he sat down on the edge of the bed, next to me. The man reached out a hand, brushing hair out of my eyes with the gentleness and care of a parent. His hand was cool against my skin, my face instinctually turning into his palm.

"How are you feeling?" Watari asked, softly, his brow furrowing ever so slightly.

"Disorientated, to say the least." I croaked before clearing my throat with a quick cough. "My arm –"

I cut myself off with a hiss as I tried to push myself up to sit, Watari quickly coming to my aid. As soon as I was propped up with pillows behind me, Watari gently guided my right arm towards him. As he took the bandage and plaster tape off of me, I was surprised to take note of the stitches that adorned my flesh. More scars soon to be added to my collection. I shook my head, slowly, as Watari examined the wounds. I couldn't understand why I remembered nothing. It was as if someone had paused me whilst the rest of the world continued.

"What happened?" I murmured, keeping my voice low and quiet. "Why can't I remember?"

"What's the last thing you remember, My Boy?" Watari asked, cautiously.

Frowning, I recounted the last memory I had of talking with the boys before I woke up in my bed. The entire time, Watari just nodded, focusing on redressing my arm and trying not to cause me any more pain. During this, I saw the small cuts on his hands and face that I saw the tired tension in his body.

"Well, let's start there, shall we?" Watari sighed. "You were so surprised after what the boys said that you stopped breathing, to the point of blacking out. Rightly so, we were concerned, so we laid you down on the sofa. Once you woke up, however, you had an Episode."

Fuck….

P.S. I know it's been a while, but I've been given the opportunity of POSSIBLY having an Author and Literary Agent reading an ORIGINAL book of mine, once I have more finished, so I've been focusing A LOT on that. And I'm doing my Masters Degree. THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT!

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Thank you XD