Chapter 2: Beyond the Curiosity

Matt was always accepting of things, always faced problems with an indifferent attitude, but as I looked at him now that wasn't the case. He looked concerned. Genuinely concerned, like a scared fourteen year old boy and nothing more. He opened his mouth, looking almost scared to speak.

"B, i'm not gonna lie, you're scaring the living hell out of me. I know A's suicide has been tough on you ,but... you're acting-"

"Crazy?" I interrupted him, and stood up facing his direction. "Crazy? Right? Because I dare defy the all powerful L? Becuase I dare question his system?" I walked closer to Matt, forcing him up against the wall. "Well i'm not crazy, I just watched my best friend die because of that bastard! If I wasn't upset then i'd be crazy, i'd be a heartless robot just like him!" My voice had raised to a shout. I realized how close I had gotten to Matt in my rant, he was pinned to the wall and shaking out of fear. The anger slowly melted out of me as I backed away quickly. Guilt then took the place of anger, and my sanity returned.

"Sorry." I said scratching the back of my head. He didn't respond, just stood like a statue and stared at my hand. I didn't want to move, or scare him anymore. I understood that he needed a moment to realize that I, B, had returned and that the demon of insanity had left my body. I waited a few seconds for him to adjust, but he didn't. He stood glued to the floor, consistantly looking at my hand. It started to irritate me.

"Matt, what're you looking a-" I stopped and looked at my hand, lifting it in the process. I realized why he was watching my hand. I was still holding the knife. I dropped it immediatly. "I'm so sorry, I-I didn't realize." He continued to look at me, frozen in fear. There was no movement. There was a long silence that seemed like eternity was passing us by. The lingering silence was broken by the opening of my bedroom door.

A white haired young boy stood in my doorway. He was dressed in white from head to toe, and very young. To young for me to have seen him in any of my classes so I didn't recognize him. I studied him for a moment, he seemed familiar despite the fact that this was our first time meeting. His name flashed above his head. Nate (Near) River. Lifespan; 86 years.

"Backup? Mail? The two of you need to come to the main room. There's a new Wammy's House member arriving." He said this seriously, but with enough indifference that it was evident he was ordered to tell us this. He wasn't excited, or happy, or vaguely interested. He noticed the knife on the ground, but disregarded it and left the doorway.

The arrival of the Near had shaken Matt out of his trance and he began to walk out the door. Though he wasn't quite recovered yet, he walked like a phantom. He stopped for a moment when he hit the doorway, cleared his throat and said "Let's go, B." That was it. He had accepted my apology and with that I followed him into the main room.

All members grouped up by age in the main room. As the only sixteen year old I stood alone. I watched Matt slip into a group with other fourteen year olds, and Near stand with a group of eight year olds. So he was eight. Very mature for his age. My eyes shifted around as the different members shouted and scattered trying to find their place. Then all of a sudden they all froze, and stood still. The main doors opened, and the leaders walked into the main room. When they walked in ,it was like an icy chill enveloping everyone in their vicinity. All the members watched as they entered the room with girl trailing behind them. The leaders lined up horizontally with the girl in the center of the line.

The leaders lifted their hands, requesting undivided attention, and began to speak. "Members of Wammy's House, welcome the newest addition , Acadia, alias name; Akin." They said in unison. It was almost eerie the way they all spoke together. I shivered then leaned a bit to catch a glimpse of the girl. Her deep brown hair covered her eyes as she gazed at down at the floor. I looked above her head.

Name: Acadia. That much was clear. Lifespan... two weeks from today, no that couldn't be right she can't be a day past sixteen...and she looked perfectly healthy. Akin looked up and I saw her eyes for the first time. Her iris was a shade of brown that seemed tainted with a red tint. Not like mine. Not shinigami eyes. Just mysterious and though wide alert, difficult to read. She had a charm to her, almost boyish, like she placed a film of indifference over herself. Though the most prominent feature she had were darkcircles and bags under her obviously sleep deprived eyes. She seemed...different. Morbid, mysterious, yet simple, and open with a kind face. She just seemed complicated.

"Akin, go to the group with those your age." The leaders said to her, and pointed in my general direction. She walked over to me and stood just feet away from me. She continued to look down, but her eyes shifted to me multiple times. Each time she looked at me she quickly looked away as if looking at me was sinful. The leaders then lifted their arms, dismissing us, and all the members scattered about back to their rooms or classes.

The main room became loud again. Matt gestured that he was going back to class. I waited for the crowd to thin out, and she stood beside me silently. After almost all the members had returned to their places, I began to walk back to my room. Although I was quickly stopped. Akin stepped in front of me. She looked anxious, like speaking was painful. She mustered her courage and looked me in the eyes. She was awkwardly fumbling over everything she said , but tried to act smooth. As a result she said everything she needed to in one swift motion.

"I'm Akin, you're roomate died, we're in the same age group, we're roomates, show me to my room." She vomited her words and waited for a response. I searched my mind for the appropriate way to respond to this, but truthfully there wasn't one. So after a moment of thinking I shrugged and said " Alright, it's this way."