Twenty Things – Part 2

Mihael Keehl

1) Mello can't actually remember the last time that he's done anything for fun. Everything has always been about being the best and clawing his way to the top. But that's fine, because back when he'd had fun, he had been nothing, just another brat. Now he was almost at the top of the world and he didn't regret it for a second.

2) He killed his first person when he was five. The hazards of having a mafia boss for a father. Still, it wasn't like Mello had known what the gun did. All he'd thought it did was make noise, until one of his father's cronies had tumbled over and started bleeding all over the carpet. Later, when he'd realised just what he'd done, he felt sick to his stomach. Still, once you learn something, it never goes away, and Mello's aim with a gun is always accurate, even when he doesn't want it to be.

3) He wears leather gloves so he doesn't have to touch the people that he kills with the mafia. LA is a dirty, sticky place and the gloves give people a different idea of what he actually is, as the gloves hide the calluses of hard work. People think he's a spoiled brat who's never worked a day in his life, until he slits their throat. Of course, they also hide his skin, which tends to end up looking more and more like they are constantly bloodstained, even when they aren't. Mello has no intention of becoming Lady Macbeth, even if his mind seems to be pushing him in that direction.

4) He's not actually insane. He just acts like it, because it gives him a weakness and people tend to underestimate him once that occurs. He does have an issue with his temper, but it's never as bad as he acts. It's just, he made a decision a long time ago; that if Near was cold logic, Mello would be fiery emotion and beat him.

5) His best friend is Matt. They'd probably be something more if Mello actually had the time, but he's busy enough and for now, a friend is all he needs. Even if he has the weirdest dreams about his supposed best friend.

6) Contrary to popular belief, Mello does not actually spend that much time on his hair. Only ten minutes; washing, conditioning and straightening included. Most girls would kill for that sort of speed. Matt always teases him when he sees Mello's impromptu ponytail in the mornings, but Matt looks like an escaped prison convict in his stripes. He can hardly talk.

7) Mello loves chocolate. This, everybody knows, but what he'll never tell anyone, is that before Wammy's House, he'd never eaten any chocolate and when he first did, he'd cried for an hour.

8) Mello hates Near more than anything in the world. This is also pretty well known, but he actually appreciates Near for existing. If Near hadn't existed, Mello would have never gained that urge to be the best and he would never have reached his full potential. So Mello is grateful to Near, but it doesn't stop the overwhelming loathing that swells ups inside when he looks at Near.

9) He's really not quite sure why he and Near are always paired up when it comes to partner projects. Every single time, they get Ds or Fs on the grading scale and every single time, one or both of them get 'accidently' injured. He'd have thought that the teachers would have learned their lessons, but no! Every single chosen group project is always with Near.

10) He hates Kira because Kira killed L. But really, he also hates Kira for another burning reason. His parents had been in jail, serving time for being caught drug smuggling and for murder. Mello had wanted to talk to them when they'd gotten out, ask them why they'd betray his trust like that, why they'd turn to crime. But before he'd come of age, Kira had killed them. And now, Mello would never get a chance to speak with them again. He loathes Kira, more than he will ever hate Near.

11) His most treasured memory is meeting L in person. He's kind of embarrassed about how he must have sounded so awkward and wonder-struck, but apparently, L hadn't minded. He'd actually progressed to telling Mello three stories about his cases, stories that Mello would never forget, especially since the story about B seemed very pointedly aimed at him.

12) Having a good position in the rankings meant that you were popular in the rankings at Wammy's House, but Mello had never had many friends besides Matt and occasionally Jason. People tended to steer away from him in general, especially with his bad temper and tendency to be overly violent. He tells himself that it doesn't matter, because they'd just be an annoyance anyway, but when he sees Near flocked and surrounded by admirers and friends, he can't quell the rebellious feelings of jealousy in time.

13) Mello's always had a soft spot for animals. He thinks that animals will always be there for you and that they can't do much wrong. It was why he'd been secretly thrilled when most of the students got to choose a pet to look after. Most people had chosen a cat or a dog, but Mello had chosen a bird. He'd trained it to sing and to parrot his words back to him inbetween his studying sessions and had been devastated when he had been killed by another bird.

14) Mello doesn't actually like leather. It's sticky, uncomfortable and annoying. He'd only worn it in the Mafia because it made him stand out and well, looking like a prostitute yet acting like he was a CEO, always threw people off. It was rather funny also, watching the rather homophobic Mafia entertain thoughts they probably wouldn't have otherwise. They remained thoughts though; Mello might have looked like a prostitute, but he was never going to act like one.

15) He thinks that Mello and Mihael are too different people, really. Mihael is soft and quiet and happy, while Mello is brash, angry and too smart for his own good. He prefers being Mello, but he indulges in quiet moments, of being Mihael. He knows that Mr. Wammy had also suffered this problem, after he'd overheard Mr. Wammy and the Head Matron discuss it. He's not schizophrenic, but he definitely has two sides to him.

16) Its weird, but when he burned his face, he'd never once cared about his angelic appearance vanishing. He'd been more concerned about catching Kira again, and disguises and keeping the scar cold. Matt had been rather surprised by how coolly Mello had taken it, but Mello had merely felt that his inner personality finally reflected his outer appearance. It was a sad thing, but Mello had lost any beauty to his personality the moment that he'd killed his second person.

17) He really dislikes Misa Amane. He can't imagine why L thought she was the second Kira, because she doesn't seem to have any hidden depths beyond the model's exterior. He hates surveying her, but it's the only he can get close to Kira, without the money and the power of the Mafia. It had taken him four years of hard work, 50 people killed by his own hand and countless more bribed and /or threatened to get where he'd gotten. All ruined because he was buying too much chocolate. Sometimes, he hated himself.

18) Mello used to be a devout Catholic up until he left the orphanage. He'd prayed every day and knew the bible and the hymns off by heart. But, the moment he'd left and enveloped himself in the world of crime, his rosary became a mere accessory. Mello knew that the real God did not forgive murders, liars and thieves. He'd broken the most important of the rules laid out by God by the age of fifteen. There was no place for him in Heaven and there never would be. He was no hypocrite.

19) Mello never writes in the Death Note. Not even once. he knows that if he writes in it even once, the temptation to continue would increase, and the next thing you'd know, he'd take over Kira's place as that world leader. The risk is too much for Mello to become the owner of the notebook, and for once, Mello is glad that he doesn't know Near's real name, because the temptation if he had, would have been far too much.

20) Mello wonders sometimes, what happens after he becomes the best. After he beats L, Near and Kira all together. He thinks maybe about travelling the world, taking over L's position. Maybe he'll make Matt be his Watari. He isn't sure, really. He's…never once thought about it seriously. Mello wonders what happens after he wins. And he finds, that with all of his genius brain, he still can't imagine winning.

Mail Jeevas

1) Matt actually hates his real name with a vengeance and doesn't tell anyone who doesn't already know. Not even Mello. By the time that his real name actually matters in the real world, he's the only person alive who knows that name, and that's how it will stay, to even his death.

2) He's the best at coding at Wammy's House, but he can't figure out why. He thinks, perhaps, it's because he deals better with computers than he will ever be able to deal with people.

3) But, for some reason, he's the most popular kid in Wammy's House. It's weird, since he has pretty much no social skills, except for how to shut up and listen, but it seems that that trait is what is required here are Wammy's House. Mello's too scary and Near's too cold for people to be friends with them properly. That makes Matt laugh sometimes, when he's alone.

4) His friendship with Mello hadn't exactly been the smoothest one. If he recalls properly, they'd first met by Matt saying that he didn't talk to lower life-forms. Matt had been forced to eat his words after one week, when Mello had beat him for first and Mello had smugly said, 'I don't mind speaking to lower lifeforms'. Yeah. It had taken them six months to smooth out the frequent arguments they had, before they finally learnt to cope with each other.

5) He's fairly certain that the reason that Mello and Near are always placed together in group projects, is because they think that what happened between he and Mello, will happen again to Near and Mello. Fat chance.

6) He secretly thinks that Mello's morning routine is the funniest thing he's ever seen, especially when it involves Mello painting his nails, running around looking for the straighteners with half of his clothing haphazardly on him. He usually pretends to be asleep so he doesn't get roped into searching, but he can still watch the best entertainment around.

7) Sometimes, he thinks that the only reason that he puts up with Mello's quirks and weirdness, is because life would be boring without him. Take the two years that Mello had sicced him upon Near, as a spy for himself. That had been perhaps the dullest experience of his life, especially since Near wasn't prone to talking.

8) He really loves having an eidetic memory, because he can make it look like he's getting third place without even trying. He can just pretend that he knew all of these facts off the top of his head. The only two people who know that he secretly studies and only pretends to be asleep in class is probably Linda and Near. Linda, because she caught him once, when she was buying information from him, and Near because Near was good at reading body language.

9) He's privy to all of the secrets of the House, either by hacking the camera feeds, or by people just telling him. It's why he's the best person to come to for information. He usually sells it to them if they give him chocolate. Keeping Mello docile is the most difficult chore of Matt's life.

10) He loves smoking more than he can describe. It's that feeling of breaking the rules and that feeling of his mind speeding up that he really loves. Drugs were never allowed at Wammy's House, not even coffee, so Matt loves to indulge in these, in the years after Wammy's House. He's no chain smoker, but he definitely enjoys it.

11) He might just hate L. Yes, yes, he was one of those students who were completely disillusioned by the Q&A session they'd had. He doesn't know why Mello's hero-worship had gone up a notch after the Q&A session, but it had. Matt had hated L after that. He kind of thinks that he might have hated L before, for some other reason, but he firmly says that he started hating L at that moment.

12) Matt's only ever had two pairs of goggles in his whole life. One that was blue and black, which was given to him by Wedy, the most awesome lady in the world. He thinks that he had a bit of a hero-crush on her. The other was orange and brown, and that had been given to him by Mello while they were working on the Kira case. He'd been pretty lenient about wearing his goggles at Wammy's house, but he never took off the orange ones. He tells himself it's because his face is dangerous nowadays, with Kira on the loose, but really, it's for another reason entirely.

13) He's very good at gambling. He wins nearly every game at every casino when he was in Vegas with Mello. Even without having to count the cards. Mello passes it off as luck or cheating, but Matt thinks it's because he's used to it. His whole life is one calculated gamble, after all.

14) He's not quite sure why people think that Mello swears a lot. Maybe it's because Mello has a temper, but Matt finds that, as he reviews his conversations with Mello; Mello never swore. Not once. He says the strangest things like 'Fiddlesticks'(since when did Mello play an instrument?), 'Darn it' (was he asking Matt to mend his clothes or something?), and 'Bother' (there weren't words).

15) Actually, Near's the real pottymouth, and Matt's not exactly innocent himself. Probably because both of them came from an abusive environment and parents aren't likely to censor themselves. But, your dialect and your accent are shaped by your environment. Matt's Brooklyn slums accent and dialect is slowly being eroded away to be replaced by Queen's English. But Near's speech quirks remain the same as the time he first arrived at the orphanage. Matt thinks that this is because Matt's evolving and changing, but that Near's still stuck in that place mentally.

16) Mello often talks about wanting to see his parents again and ask them why they did it, but Matt has no such desire. His mother was a bitch who hated his guts, and his father was a layabout murderer. They're both in prison, and he's extremely grateful for that. He still has scars from when she hit him too hard, during the periods were she wasn't drunk. He's happier here at Wammy's even if they think that he should eat more than is actually healthy for someone.

17) He actually doesn't like video games that much. They're okay, but they're only a way of relieving boredom and not something to get addicted to. Matt finds that he only ever plays video games when Mello isn't around or when Mello is studying. Otherwise, his boredom is quenched. Mello certainly has enough interesting things happen around him, for Matt to not get bored easily.

18) His pride and joy, as far as creations go, is a neon-yellow, large machine. It's a bulky thing and carrying it around is an eyesore, but it unlocks every single digital door imaginable. As long as the person who uses it, codes for his absence in the camera feed beforehand, they could get away with anything. It's how he and Mello usually manage to cause chaos, and Matt never fails to laugh at everyone's faces when they see the machine.

19) He thinks some days, that if he could actually get away with hiding in some underground cavern for eternity, he would. He really does hate the sunlight, even if he knows exactly why it is useful. It's why he wears his goggles and covers up his skin all the time. He can't really do anything about his face though, unless he wants to permanently look like he's about to rob a bank. Mello already makes enough snarky comments about him looking like a prison escapee (which is rich coming from a Mafia Boss), he doesn't need to add to it by wearing a balaclava. Still, as he stares at the sunburn and the new freckles that now decorate the bridge of his nose, he would happily brave the comments. He hates sunburn.

20) Matt wonders some days, what life might have been like if he'd refused to follow Mello. If he hadn't just ran after Mello straight into danger, if he'd declined Mello's friendship. He tries, but he can't imagine it. He'd follow Mello all the way to Hell, if Mello asked him to.

Nate River

1) He hates being called an albino. It's the correct scientific term to describe him, of course, but it implies persecution. Near knows about what happens in Africa with the witch doctors and body parts, and he's not too pleased about that connotation. Of course, there's also the evil connotation, which Near hates even more. It's fucking disgusting that this kind of prejudice exists in the modern world, but Near knows that this world isn't perfect.

2) He doesn't actually dislike Mello, for all the hatred that Mello seems to bear for him. Near actually quite appreciates the blonde boy, because he's the only one on the same intellectual level as Near. Maybe Matt would be able to match it, but for some reason, the other boy prefers to pretend that he's not interested.

3) An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. A line from Mahatma Gandhi. Usually, Near loves quotes from Gandhi, one of the most inspirational figures in the world, but Near disagrees with this one. If someone was going to hurt him, Near would hurt back. Simple. It's the reason why Mello occasionally ends up injured after they are paired up in group projects. They both take self-defence, after all.

4) He'd not actually been interested in becoming a detective until Kira came unto the scene. Kira broke every moral rule that Near had ever stood for, and that requires punishment. By the time he defeats Kira, he's too entangled with the world of crime, and he knows that it is his duty to stay working as L, even if the job is bitter-sweet and unfeeling.

5) He doesn't like L that much. Near finds, that a man who only does detective work because it's more interesting than being a criminal, is a cold excuse for a person. Near knew, that the moment detective work became uninteresting, L would probably throw it away and hand it along to his successors. And that, to Near, for whom duty came first; was unforgivable.

6) He didn't actually find toys all that interesting. They were just a way to be able to visualize the case that he was working on. Besides, it was probably a way of trying to make up for his childhood, he knew. He'd never had any toys as a child, only his own imagination.

7) He didn't like the term genius. He felt that it set them apart from the world, gave them yet another isolating barrier from normal people. It also made everyone feel afraid or place the 'genii' up on a pedestal. Near thought that it was stupid; genii weren't exactly unnatural. It was simple population variation, and this time, it was in intelligence. Obviously, teaching them a different curriculum, so that they wouldn't get bored, was a good idea, but the problem was, he didn't think some of the children remembered what it was like to be 'normal' which was a bad thing, because nobody could stay at the House forever.

8) Near wasn't a mute, thank you very much. He just preferred to be quiet. There were enough stupid people who talked on and on about nothing of consequence. Near preferred his words to be meaningful and to actually be necessary to the conversation. It's probably why he doesn't have many friends, but Near's fine with that.

9) …Yes he does actually have friends. He's actually got quite a few of them. More than Mello, in any case. He even has a girlfriend, if his long-distance relationship with Linda can be called that. They probably weren't girlfriend and boyfriend in the traditional sense, but she understands him and he understands her. It's more than his other friends did, so Near counts her as that other significant person.

10) It's probably because of Linda that Near has such a proclivity to Art. Usually, he prefers Maths and Science with the cold, rational logic, but Linda's creativity and his own, work very well together, and it is the reasons his many towers and structures all look like they'd belong in a modern art museum.

11) Near thinks that if he had to dress like a normal person, he'd probably collapse. In Wammy's House, kids were allowed to wear whatever they wanted, as long as it was decent. Near had tried some other types of clothing, but they'd all been so uncomfortable, that he eventually settled down in pyjamas for the rest of his life.

12) The caretakers of Wammy's House seemed to think that he had an eating problem. Near honestly felt that they were being overprotective. He wasn't anorexic or bulimic; he felt no need to starve himself or eat food and then throw it all up. Near just never felt hungry. And anyway, it made sense that he didn't eat as much as the other students, because he simply didn't do as much as the other students.

13) Near felt very grateful for the fact that he had an eidetic memory. It meant that he didn't have to spend his every minute studying, but merely pay attention in classes. But for the days that he couldn't do that, Near had a mini tape-recorder. The only person who knew that it existed was Matt and he wasn't spilling.

14) He appreciated the members of the SPK, very much. They did all of the hard work and the meeting with other people on Near's behalf and they were willing to follow orders, even if it was from someone younger than all of them.

15) He was grateful to them, really, he was. He just wished that they didn't feel the urge to treat him like a child. Just because he still managed to end up looking like a child, didn't mean he was one. Eighteen years old. Eighteen years old, not eight! But however many times he told them that, the boxes of vitamins, the random milk bottles and the pointed remarks about his eating habits never stopped coming his way. It drove Near up the bend.

16) In particular, he wishes that Lidner would stop treating him like a child. It's weird enough that she practically looks like a female version of Mello, but when she treats him with kindness and concern, it's particularly disorienting, especially after he realized that Mello had been collaborating with Lidner.

17) He thinks that's why he likes Rester the most. He's quiet, reliable and treats Near like his employer rather than like a child. It's refreshing, even if even Rester is prone to a few patronizing moments that Near can only girt his teeth at. But, Near owes him that much at least. After all, Rester had to put up with flying to and from Japan because Near had never been on a plane all alone before.

18) …It's a little quirk of his, but he twists his hair when he's nervous. It's kind of irritating, but it calms him down, because it stimulates his brain a little bit, so he also does it when he's thinking. Near dislikes having a personality quirk like that, because it makes his feelings more oblique, but try as he might, he can't get rid of it.

19) Near really disliked Roger. It was one of many things that he had in common with Mello, but people disliking Roger was something that was shared by every Wammy's House student. He was not only crabby around everyone, but he was also the main enforcer of punishments. And Near wasn't as much of a rule-breaker as Mello or Matt, but even he stayed up past curfew and got in trouble for injuring Mello during their fights. When this happened. Near hates going to Roger and listening to his patronizing voice and attempts at empathy. Near had been so irritated when he'd had Roger as Watari, that he'd switched to Rester as soon as he could.

20) He's not ashamed. When he heard of the deaths of Matt and Mello, he cried. Not in front of the SPK, of course, but back inside his room. Two people who he'd grown up with, knew practically everything about, were gone, because of Kira. Near thinks that he hadn't really been serious until then. Until their deaths. They'd been a sharp blow to him, and had jerked him to realise that Kira was slyer than they'd thought and that Kira'd been using on Near's confidence on the second L being stupid. He was grateful, but he blames himself and always will.

AN: Yay, Part 2 is finished! Mello and Misa have always been the easiest to write, and so has Light. Matt was also surprisingly easy, considering I don't really like his character that much. But despite Near tying for the spot of my favourite character, it was really difficult to write him in this story. Maybe because he was reluctant to spill his secrets. Come on Near, sharing is caring!

Near: But, I don't care… *twirls hair*

Ttch. Anyway, Part 3 will be coming up soon with Matsuda, Mikami and Takada. I will have a lot of fun writing Takada and Mikami. They're perhaps the most hated characters in the series. I want to see if I can make them likeable.