AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I don't own Death Note or the cover art so... don't sue me plz

Mello glared down at his test result. A ninety-nine out of one hundred. That one damned point. He could have gotten a perfect score if not for that one mistake! He crumpled up the paper in disgust and threw it onto the ground.

"Hey, Mels!" Matt yelled cheerfully, running over to the raging blonde. His demeanor changed though, as soon as he saw the look on his friend's face. "You ok there buddy?" Matt asked carefully. He knew Mello pretty well, and judging by the current look on his face, he was a ticking bomb. One wrong move and Matt would probably get yelled at. Mello had always had some kind of trouble, dealing with his anger. Matt knew this all too well, and he had witnessed this anger more than once in their childhood friendship. The fact was, if Mello yelled at someone, it wasn't always because he was mad at them specifically. Of course, that could always be the case as well, but when it came down to Matt at least, the blonde was probably just trying to blow off some steam because something had frustrated him. Matt didn't mind too much because Mello had always been like a brother to him. Bottling up his anger would probably be much more dangerous for Mello anyway, so Matt would much rather feel these small bursts of rage, rather than the blonde having a full-blown fury attack later on. In any case, Matt had immediately recognized the cause of his friend's anger after he saw the crumpled up piece of paper on the ground.

"Ninety-nine!" The blonde boy shouted, "I was one point off!" Matt looked at him sympathetically for a second and then decided that he should probably say something to try and make him feel better. He knew that Mello took his grades very seriously, especially when he was competing against Near.

"Hey… You know you did way better than me Mels!" Matt exclaimed, holding out his own test result. "You see! I got a ninety-four. You know, you complaining about your grades when mine are even worse, just makes me feel worse." The brunette explained with mock-hurt. It was meant to be lighthearted. His jokes usually calmed Mello down when he was like this so it was worth a shot. Not only this, but he had mixed a slight guilt trip in his words that he thought would help his case as well. Matt, you're a genius. He gave himself a mental pat on the back when he noticed his technique seemed to be effective. Mello had let out a huff and then seemed to calm down. The keyword here was seemed, because as soon as Matt was done internally commending himself he noticed that Mello had stormed off and his eyes widened when he noticed where. Crap, he's going towards Near. He's gonna be even more pissed when he finds out that Near got a higher score than him! "Hey! Mels wait!" Matt yelled. He knew Mello hated Near because Near had always managed to top him in all academics, but Matt couldn't bring himself to feel the same way. He didn't have any sort of grudge against Near as the pale boy had never wronged him in any way. Matt never approved of Mello hurting Near but this was, unfortunately, a norm now. Mello tried to beat him up mostly when he was pissed off about Near being Wammy's top student in his stead. Matt attempted to interfere as much as possible, usually being able to break up the one-sided fight when it started getting violent. Any time where Mello went close to Near, the brunette automatically assumed that a fight was about to break out. He hadn't been wrong yet and even this time, he could see that Mello was already grabbing Near by the collar. He had already snatched the test results out of Near's pale hands, staring at the percentage written on top. Matt could tell by the way his face twisted that Mello was not happy with the result.

"You cheated, didn't you! You little freak! It makes no sense that I study my butt off and you just sit here twiddling your thumbs and still end up with a better result." Near looked a bit surprised at this outburst but he still managed to reply in his normal voice.

"Mello. I promise you that I didn't cheat. Let me go please" The lack of emotion in his voice caused Mello's blood to boil even more.

"Hey! Mello, calm down" Matt yelled, rushing forward between the two as soon as he saw Mello raise his arm up to punch Near. Mello looked at him for a second and then aggressively shoved Near aside.

"This isn't over. I'll definitely get the better score next time" The blonde swore and then walked away. Matt sighed.

"Near… I apologize on his behalf, I understand that you probably hate him, but he's just really serious about being L's successor. He doesn't have any right to do what he does to you, but if it makes you feel any better, he doesn't treat everyone this way..." Wow… I'm pretty stupid. How was that last part supposed to make him feel better? That probably made him feel worse!

"No… I don't hate him, Matt, I really don't… He hates me, but if possible, I would actually prefer it if the two of us could… get along." Near said quietly. Matt gave him a small smile.

"I wish that too, you have a good heart Near, I'm sure Mello will see that one day." Near didn't respond to that, but Matt didn't mind, Near wasn't the most talkative kid anyway.

"These are the kids right?" A buff looking man, known as Vito asked his partner while staring into a window outside of the orphanage.

"Yep! We found 'em now we just gotta find a way to snatch 'em without anyone noticing." Another man exclaimed proudly.

"We're gonna be rich Randy!" The man known as Vito exclaimed, "This place'll do anything to get the kids back!"

"Yeah, just need to stalk 'em a little more, let's abduct them when they're all asleep." Added another man named Wade. All three of them snickered at their plan. So far, everything has been going extremely well for them, and tonight, they would make their move.

Night-time was approaching quicker than Mello wanted it to, as he was still busy studying.

"Mels!" He heard his name being called. "You wanna play this video game with me? It's really good!" Mello turned around and stared at Matt, who was excitedly standing at his doorway with his Gameboy clutched in his hands.

"Matt, not now, I need to study," Mello said, gesturing to the pile of books in front of him. He noticed Matt's expressed drop a bit, causing Mello to feel slightly guilty. Come to think of it, he'd been a bit more distant towards Matt lately. It was mostly because of all of the exams going on, but he could tell that the brunette was still affected by it. Without thinking, Mello let out a small sigh and then pushed his books away from himself. Matt had already turned around, deciding to go back to his own room to play by himself. "Hey, wait," Mello said finally. Matt turned around in confusion,

"Uh… you need something, Mello?" He asked timidly.

"No, I just-" Mello took a soft breath and then continued, "Matt, let's play that new game, I'm getting kinda tired of studying," Mello emphasized his words by dropping the book he had been holding onto his desk and standing from his chair. Matt looked beyond happy. He looked like he wanted to start jumping up and down, but he forced himself to keep his composure to not seem uncool. Both of them sat on Mello's bed and Matt began to explain the rules of the game. They seemed to lose track of time as they chatted and they played and only realized how late it was when their yawns became too frequent.

"I guess we should head to bed now," Matt said, covering his mouth as he yawned once again.

"Yeah," Mello agreed, before checking the time on the wall clock, noticing that it was already 11:00. It was extremely dark out now, and Matt wished the blonde good night before walking out of the room. Mello clicked off the lights and lay down on his bed, tossing and turning a bit; sensing something to be a bit off. He had a weird feeling in his gut, and it refused to go away. His gut feelings were unusually accurate but the blonde decided to ignore his gut, just this once, and just close his eyes to rest his head. That was a big mistake on his part, and the blonde realized this as soon as he felt someone roughly grab him and cover his mouth with their hands, as to make sure he wouldn't make noise. His eyes widened.

"Hey, kid. Cooperate and no one get's hurt." The large figure whispered to him in his ears. Cooperate! I'm not some sort of coward. Mello thought and instantly began struggling with all of his might. There was no point in this because unfortunately for him, this man was strong. He held him in a painfully tight grip which made even breathing difficult. Before he knew it, the man had firmly restrained his wrist and then wrapped something around his mouth so that he wouldn't be able to yell for help. Mello was then dragged out of the room, silently. Of course, he wanted to beat this man up, but he wasn't stupid enough to believe he could actually overpower him; especially not in his current position. For now, he thought that it would probably be best to cooperate. The man silently opened the exit and walked out of the orphanage. He shoved Mello into an open car causing his eyes to widen when he realized he wasn't the only one there. Another kid, he was wearing goggles. Wait... Matt! Crap they have Matt too. They can't get away with this. Matt stared at him with wide eyes, full of fear. Those eyes lit a fire within Mello, We're both going to get out of here together…

"C'mon, you stupid kid…" Another man grunted. Both Mello and Matt turned their heads to see what was happening. Mello was shocked to see they had brought yet another kid. How many more of us are they bringing? "Stop fighting back." Mello squinted his eyes to see who it was that the man was talking to. It was really dark out, and the panic rising in his stomach didn't help with clearing his vision. Everything was moving too fast. He then finally caught a glimpse of the third kid the men were restraining. His white locks caught Mello's eye instantly and then with a rush, he knew exactly who it was. Near too!? This couldn't have been random; They had just taken the top three Wammy's kids. There was definitely something that these men wanted from them. The man roughly shoved Near into the car and then sat down next to him. Right after this, Mello heard multiple doors closing as the other men got into the car and slammed their doors shut. Matt jumped slightly at the loud noise. This isn't good. What are we supposed to do in a situation like this? Not to mention, I'm stuck here next to Near! Can this get any worse at this point? Mello forced himself to keep a straight face, deciding that all of them would just have to be patient right now. These guys are probably trying to get money out of the orphanage. Wammy will probably pay up soon enough and then we'll be free. We just need to stay calm for now. He had no way of communicating this idea to the others, but to be fully honest, they had probably already figured this out themselves. They were Wammy's top three for God's sake. The car had started moving, and the man next to Near looked to be glaring at the boy.

"This stupid kid bit my arm." The man complained angrily.

"Quit being such a baby Wade." So that's what his name was. "He's a little kid, how the hell does that little nibble even hurt?" Another man asked him smugly.

"Shut the hell up, Randy! He's small but he bit hella hard… Don't ask me where any of that strength came from though." The man driving sighed.

"If it hurt that badly then feel free to do whatever to him to make up for the pain" He grumbled in a slightly sarcastic manner. Despite this, Mello felt Near stiffened at those words. The blonde actually felt a bit of sympathy for him until he realized that his sympathy was wasted on someone like Near. He instead glanced up at the man known as Wade only to realize that he had a big ugly grin on his face. The man suddenly grabbed on of Near's thin arms and asked,

"How 'bout I break an arm?" The man voiced eerily. Matt's eyes widened and even Mello began to feel a bit nervous. Yes, he hated Near, but that didn't mean that he wanted him to suffer this badly. There was a heavy tension that filled the atmosphere of the car but it was thankfully broken due to one of the men talking.

"That's a little much don't you think?" He scoffed, "Actually, we were gonna rough him up a bit anyway cuz he's the smallest of 'em. they'll be more desperate to pay the money if they see the little kid injured. You can do the job if you want" the man in the driver's seat explained while laughing. Mello couldn't help but look at them with disgust. He wanted to feel relieved that they were only deciding to hurt Near and not him or Matt, but it felt so wrong. Even if it was Near, these men hurting him like this didn't feel satisfying at all.

"Fine, I'll wait until we get to the base." The man blurted in annoyance. He roughly shoved Near's arm away and gave the white-haired boy a creepy look.

"Don't let yourself feel like you're off the hook, kid. Once we get to the base, you'll get punished for this." The man growled out. Near didn't respond, he was unemotional as always. Mello was starting to get a bit annoyed at how Near refused to show any emotion, despite the situation he was in. Right now, he should be afraid of what was about to happen to him, but he looked unfazed. Maybe they should beat the crap out of him. Maybe then he'll finally show some normal human emotion, even if it's just pain. It was a horrid thought, yet for some reason, Mello really didn't care. He drew his attention towards Matt, who was still slightly shivering, no doubt from fear. Mello had never really been good with comfort, but he decided that with the situation all three of them were in, it would be best to at least try. He nudged the brunette a bit, hoping his small attempt was at least a bit helpful. Matt turned his head to look at his friend. Matt, we're both in this together, so don't be afraid. This is what Mello was trying to say with his gaze, and Matt seemed to understand as no more than a few seconds later his shaking decreased a bit and he seemed to have calmed down. None of them noticed the car slowly come to a halt until one of the men shouted,

"We're here! Get out." Mello looked up only to see that the car door had opened and that Near was being roughly pulled out of the car. Mello and Matt followed behind him without another word. We have to make it look like we're cooperating at least. We'll be rescued soon anyway. This was Mello's plan for now. It really wasn't in character for him to just easily comply with something he didn't want, so this was pretty difficult for him. He had convinced himself that this had to be the best way through this problem though. Mello looked around at this new area they had just stepped foot on. It was some sort of old abandoned prison; the aura was dark and clammy. The men shoved the kids through the door of the building and a slight chill ran through their spines. It was scary, not that Mello would ever admit it to anyone, but this place smelled of pain and death. They were all then taken to a large open area, and it was then that they noticed a row of large prison cells. They're gonna trap us in those until they get the money... Mello had already seen something like this coming, so it wasn't much of a surprise, but that didn't mean he was happy about it. There are multiple cells so maybe they'll separate us all from each other. It was as if the men had somehow answered his thoughts when they stuffed all three of the kids into one cell.

"Tomorrow we're gonna call that orphanage of yours and if they pay up, you kids'll be free." The man known as Randy told them. "We won't hurt you if you don't try to escape." The man added. So I was right, thought Mello. The man then came forward and untied the fabric around their mouths and hands. They could finally speak and move but there was really no point in screaming for help or trying to escape. Judging by the lack of buildings near the warehouse that they were in, no one would hear them scream anyway and there was nowhere to really go either. Besides, If they did try to yell or escape, they would probably end up getting caught and beat up. Either way, nothing good would come out of it.

"Yeah, we won't hurt none of y'all 'cept for that one," The man known as Wade pointed at Near, "He needs to be punished for this," the man grunted out, pulling at his sleeve and revealing the bite that he had been complaining about. The bite mark in it of itself wasn't too large, but it was an angry red and bleeding. Near had bitten him so hard that there was already some bruising forming around the wound. Wow… That looks painful, Near did quite a number on his arm. Mello spared a glance towards the white-haired boy, who didn't react to seeing what he had done. He had to admit that what Near did was pretty cool, but now he was about to get pummeled for it.

"You sure you wanna beat that kid up yourself?" Asked the man who had previously driven the car.

"Hell yeah I do Vito, the little punk deserves it," Wade shouted giving the man known as Vito a long hard glare causing the buffer man to sigh and shrug his shoulders.

"Fine then, just make sure not to kill him," Vito replied walking away along with Randy. Wade grinned evilly,

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The man didn't waste any time stalking inside of the cell and grabbing Near by his shirt. Near glared up at him. Slap. The loud sound echoed through the vacant prison. Near didn't make a sound, but his pale face was already turning red from the harsh smack. Matt's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. He just slapped Near… we have to do something or else he might really hurt Near badly.

"Don't look at me like that you brat. I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget." Wade pulled on Near's shirt, dragging him out of the cell. "Don't try anything funny". Mello and Matt suddenly heard Wade say. They noticed that this set of words was directed not towards Near, but for them. They then heard a loud sound as the cell doors were closed. Matt opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He was too late, Both the man and Near were probably far out of listening distance by now. This caused Matt to feel really panicked and he tried to stand up and reach the bars of the cell. Before he managed to fully get on his feet, Mello grabbed his arm and forced him back down.

"What are you doing Matt?" Mello whisper-yelled. "Do you wanna get beat up too?" Matt shot him a look.

"Mels, I know you don't care about Near, but I can't stand by and do nothing when he's getting hurt! I have a really bad feeling about this." Mello looked at him in thought for a second before replying.

"Matt, since when did you care about what happens to that emotionless freak anyway?" There was an uncomfortable silence in the cell and Mello heard his friend take a deep breath.

"Mello, he's still a human being. He's never done anything to hurt me, so I don't have any reason to hate him." Matt's explanation wasn't exactly wrong, but it seemed to rub Mello the wrong way. I swear if Near steals my friend from me as well, I'll kill him. This was obviously just an empty threat conjured up by Mello's raging mind, but at the current moment, he seemed pretty sure of himself. In response to what Matt said, Mello just glared at him for a second before sighing. He wouldn't admit, even to Matt, that he too was starting to feel a bit of panic in the pit of his stomach. He found himself slightly hoping that the man wouldn't do anything horrible to Near. He didn't know why he was thinking like this right now. Not more than a few hours ago, he hadn't thought twice before raising a fist at the white-haired boy, so why did he care if someone else were to do it. It's because I wouldn't kill him, this man probably would have no remorse in doing so… This had to be the correct answer. It was the only reason that made sense to Mello at least. For now, it was just a waiting game. They had to put up with this only until tomorrow so that these criminals finally contacted Wammy. Then, Mello had no doubt that they would be rescued.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello my readers!(Assuming there are any) \('-')/ I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!

This is the first chapter to my first ever story! (at least the first one here on ) Please review and let me know what you think of it so far! It really encourages me to write more if I know there are other's enjoying my work. Also if you wanna let me know of any errors I made in my writing (grammatical or even plot holes) feel free to let me know. I know that I'm far from being a perfect writer but I'm always trying to improve! See you in the next chapter!