"Nate! Nate Rivers, where are you?!"
"Naaate, c'mon out!"
"C'mon, Nate! We won't hurt you…that much!"
"I saw him, this way!"
A flash of white, pure as a falling snowflake, sped through the Hal'Kon schoolyard. Four boys and one girl, clutching her arm in pain, chased after it as fast as they could go. They finally cornered it in a shadowed area behind the school, and then one of them stepped forward and grabbed they younger boy's hair roughly, tugging his head back to look him in the eyes. "You thought you could escape, Nate?" He smirked and then snatched something out of his hands – a doll of the girl, which had a pin stuck in the arm.
The girl pulled out the pin and rubbed her arm in pain,glaring at the white-haired child. "You little freak! You should be locked away somewhere!" She turned and clung to one of the other boys, sobbing into his shoulder.
"Back at you." The white-haired boy said quietly, then winced as a swift kick hit his side. He knew that pain was coming, but pain always hurt when it came, and he tried to avoid it as much as he could. The boy holding his hair released it and then he also joined in the abuse, hitting him hard again and again, his boots jabbing into the boy's stomach until he curled up in pain, whimpering for it to stop, and even then it didn't stop. "Ngh…hurts…please…"
"HAH!" The boy grabbed his hair again, brown eyes gazing into terrified gray eyes. "Look at you, writhing and begging on the ground! Have you no pride, Nate?" He kicked him again, still holding his hair, and the boy gasped in pain before he was dropped again. "Teach you to hurt people with Voodoo again!"
"Hey, knock it off!" A teacher ran over to break up to the attack, and the girl turned and ran with the boy she was hanging on while the other boys didn't care about the teacher and continued to kick the boy until they were pulled away. "I said to knock it off!"
The boys pulled free and scowled at the teacher before walking over and standing off to the side. The teacher sighed and knelt to offer the beaten boy a hand. "Here, take it." He smiled, then frowned when the boy shifted his hand slightly, but otherwise just stayed curled up. "Oh no…" He picked him up and looked at the boy's face. It was dirtied with mud and tears, and his body was bruised all over. "You rats have done it again, haven't you?" He glared at them, then ran to his car to take him to the hospital.
The boy, Nate Rivers, looked over at the kids weakly before he clung to the teacher and genuinely sobbed into his shoulder, his tears soaking his shirt.
He didn't even realize when he cried himself to sleep, and was surprised when he woke up in the hospital – for the fifth time that month – and saw a few different life-saving machines strapped to him. "…Mom?" He whispered softly, looking around with his eyes. They widened slightly as they saw a strange old man there and he stiffened up, fearing what he'd do to him.
"Ah, you're awake." The old man smiled slightly and reached over to brush the boy's bangs out of his face - the boy flinched at the physical contact. "Nate Rivers, right?" He looked so sad, why was the old man sad? "I'm here from Whammy's House, an orphanage. I was called to come and take an orphan before he ended up beaten to death on the street."
"So, why are you talking to me, then? Go talk to that orphan." The old man didn't look like he was from Thailand, but at least he spoke the Thai language alright.
The old man sighed and looked down. "Actually, Nate…you are that orphan. I'm sorry that I have to be the one to inform you, but your parents died five hours ago in a car accident." He said sadly. "You are now orphaned, with no one to turn to, and so I was called to pick you up."
Orphan…car accident…his parents were dead? Nate felt tears threaten to slip from his emotionless, gray eyes and he looked away. "This day just keeps getting better and better…" He mumbled, wincing in pain. "So…how soon until we go?"
"Well, it'll be at least a week until you've recovered, so as soon as you've recovered we'll go. Do you know much English?" He asked, smiling slightly.
"No. I never found the need to learn, although I am a fast learner. If I must learn it, you can teach it to me." He looked at him. "What is your name?"
"You may call me 'Watari'." He placed a hand on Nate's gently. "I know this is a tough time for you, but try to be strong." He stood up and walked over to pour a glass of water for Nate, then handed it to him. "Here. You must be thirsty."
"Dehydrated." Nate took it and drank it slowly. "So, what is Whammy's House like?"
"Well, it's sort of like a school and an orphanage." He nodded. "I'll explain more later, I need you to meet someone, first."
Nate nodded quietly. "I'd…like a moment alone, please."
"Naturally." He stood up and left the room, but stood by the door to keep jerks from slipping in and abusing the poor boy. After a bit, he got a call on his cell-phone and stepped away from the room to answer it.
Nate listened quietly as the door opened and shut without anyone speaking, and glanced over to see one of the boys from earlier walking in with a folder. "Here's the pictures of the crash." He plopped them on the bed and leaned over him. "Well, Nate, it looks like you're the last of the Black Magic-using freaks in this area." He fingered the IV tube, smirking. "If you die, we won't have to deal with your Voodoo or anything else." He moved his hand away and reached over to stroke his cheek. "But, you're so pretty, it'd be a shame to kill you. What do I do, Nate?"
"Let me rest." He whispered softly, his eyes closing. "Just wait a week, then you won't ever have to deal with me and my Voodoo ever again."
The boy laughed a bit and then stroked his cheek. "What if I don't like the Voodoo, but I want you to stay? Hm?"
"Don't touch me…" Nate growled dangerously."Just leave me alone."
"And what'll you do if I don't, hm?" He smirked and moved his hand to slip under Nate's white shirt, stroking his bare chest and making him shiver. "Little snowflake?"
A hand grabbed his and yanked him away from Nate. "You'll get off of him, now." Watari said firmly. "Go home."
The boy glared at him, then looked at Nate. "I'll come by tomorrow." He then turned and ran off, leaving Nate and Watari alone.
"Who was that boy?" Watari looked at Nate.
"Mokkhavesa. One of my classmates, and the leader of the bullies." He replied quietly. "I've run into him a lot, and we've never parted on good terms."
Watari nodded. "Well, it looks like I'll have to stick around until you've recovered." He smiled.
Nate smiled and then closed his eyes, sleepy.
Watari smiled and took his hand, holding it reassuringly as he the boy drifted off to dreamland.
-*N-*A-*T-*E-*N-*E-*A-*R-
Okay, I know this is a sort of confusing beginning, but there's a lot of added stuff. It didn't start out like "Mello", so you never met his parents, but there will be definate flashbacks, especially when Mello comes in, and you'll learn more about his past.
I'm going to post one chapter now, and if you want to read more, just review and let me know.