Wammy's Boy
By: Super NEET
Beta'd By: SensiblyTainted
V: Settling In, Part Two
Harry woke early on his second day as a Wammy's resident, blinking slowly into consciousness with a half-smile. He was going to spend the day with Matt, who had agreed to help him pick out his classes the night before. The redhead had also muttered something about introducing him to 'Near', who Harry guessed was a resident he'd yet to meet.
He dressed slowly, feeling sluggish from his full night's sleep in a comfortable bed. Half of him wanted to simply go back to sleep, but he knew that Matt was probably already waiting for him in the commons downstairs with Mello. Harry wasn't particularly looking forward to spending time with the loud-mouthed blond, but he reckoned he'd be doing so on a day-to-day basis for a long, long time. It was best he got use to it as quickly as he could.
Once he was somewhat presentable he left his room, panicking for a moment when his mind refused to recognize his surroundings. It all rushed back to him after a few seconds and he sighed happily as he easily found his way to the commons where Matt and Mello were indeed waiting for him. Well, where Matt was waiting and Mello was glaring at everyone in the room with his arms crossed.
"Hey," Matt said easily, glancing up from the game in his hands. Mello just glared at Harry with his lip curled.
"Hi," Harry said shyly, smiling and attempting to ignore Mello completely.
Matt stood up and pocketed his game, gesturing for Harry to follow him as he left the room. Mello got up first and fell in step behind Matt mutely, but Harry could tell that he was dying to say something nasty. He wondered if Matt had told Mello to keep his trap shut, at least for a little while.
"I'm going to introduce you to Near," Matt said, and Harry saw Mello's hands clench into tight fists and his face twist into something malicious.
"Why just him?" Harry asked curiously.
Matt shrugged, frustrating Harry quite a bit.
They walked to the opposite side of the building, deep in the East Wing, and eventually came to rest in front of a door that was just like all of the others on that hallway. Harry glanced at Matt, who looked as uninterested as ever as he knocked on the door twice. Mello's face was a soundless snarl by then, and Harry idly wondered if he had something against this 'Near' person.
"Come in, Matt, Mello," a young and boyish voice called from inside, and Matt pushed the door open and entered with Mello and Harry trailing behind him.
"Hey, Near," Matt said.
Near was a strange creature of around Harry's age with white hair and dark eyes. He sat oddly in a chair with one leg bent, his eyes on level with the knee, and one leg situated normally with his bare foot resting on the floor. He wore white pajamas that were only a few shades lighter than his pale skin, giving him an eerie appearance. A plastic army man was being marched up and over his knee, and despite the fact that he had guests his eyes never left it. Harry marveled inconspicuously at the boy for a moment, and then more openly at the state of the boy's room. There were all manners of toys scattered about, more than even Dudley had owned…
"What do you want?" Near asked bluntly, still not removing his eyes from the toy in his hand.
Matt didn't seem phased. "I wanted you to meet our newest student."
Near finally glanced up, his head tilted slightly. Harry wondered if he was albino, although he'd always thought that albinos had red eyes. Near's eyes were bizarrely dark and dull.
"Why?" Near asked, his tone flat but not unkind.
Mello snorted, but Matt just shrugged for the second time. Near stared at the redhead for a moment before nodding as if his question had actually been answered.
"I see," he said monotonously.
Mello was attempting to glare a hole through Near's head, though Matt seemed perfectly at ease with the situation. Harry, on the other hand, began to shift uncomfortably at the silence and the almost unwelcoming vibe that Near was now giving off. The white-haired boy had turned his eyes back to his toy soldier and was no longer paying them any mind.
"Good bye," Near finally said, in a flat, not-quite-polite tone.
"'Bye," Matt said, before strolling from the room, Mello and Harry once again following him like obedient puppies.
The second they had shut the door behind them, Mello exploded.
"That runty little bastard!"
Matt sighed and busied himself with a video game without a word. Harry glanced at Mello warily, but he couldn't help but wonder why the blond seemed to hate Near so much. Sure Near didn't seem like best-friend-material, but he hadn't seemed like nemesis-material either. In fact, Harry was willing to bet that Near never bothered anyone. Not that Mello needed a reason to have violent tendencies towards another person.
"—thinks he's better than everyone else, the little shit! I'm gonna show him who's the best one day, and man is it going to hurt!"
Harry rolled his eyes and decided he didn't want to know after all.
"Have you chosen your classes yet, Harry?" Shiho asked politely.
Matt had left Harry to run off with Mello some time ago, leaving Harry in the commons with Shiho, Sister, and the girl named Dahlia. Sister was unsuccessfully trying to get Dahlia's attention, providing a rather amusing spectacle.
"No," he told Shiho. "Matt said he'd help me do that later."
Shiho nodded. "It's strange that he spends so much time with you," she said as-a-matter-of-factly.
Harry looked at her in surprise. "Really? Why?"
"He's never really talked to anyone besides Mello. And sometimes Near."
Harry found this hard to believe, as people always waved and greeted Matt when the boy walked by. Then again Matt never did more than tip his head in acknowledgement, unless it was himself or Mello (and, he supposed, Near).
"What's up with Near, anyways?" Harry asked at the risk of sounding rude.
"Well…he's really, really smart for one," Shiho said slowly and carefully, as if Near was listening to her every word. "He's special. He, Mello, and Matt are all special. I don't know why."
Harry frowned. "What do you mean, special?"
Shiho shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. "I dunno. They don't have to wear the uniforms or have normal schedules. They disappear from time to time and take special tests. No one really knows why."
"Oh," Harry said dumbly.
He'd had no idea that Matt and Mello weren't average Wammy's residents. Near he could imagine taking secret, special tests and never wearing anything other than his white pajamas. The redhead and the blond, on the other hand, had seemed just like everyone else at Wammy's…quirky and smart, but not special above all the others. Harry hoped Matt didn't drop him like a hot tamale when the redhead realized how average and not special he was.
"Look, I just want to know what you think of my new haircut," Sister said loudly, catching Harry and Shiho's attention. "Is it sexy? Yay? Nay? C'mon, answer me!"
Dahlia slammed the book in her hands shut and glared at Sister before standing with an indignant huff. Her plaited twin-tails bounced gently on her shoulders as she left with her nose turned daintily upwards.
Sister whistled when she was gone. "What a woman!"
Shiho shook her head. "You should leave her alone," she told Sister wisely. "I saw her beat up Hive once. It wasn't pretty."
Sister glared loftily at her. "Mind your own business, twerp. This is an adult situation."
Shiho lowered her head and clenched the edge of her skirt in her hands.
Harry glared at Sister. "Leave her alone."
"Woo hoo hoo," Sister sang, looking around as if he had an audience. "What's this? The little brat's got some spirit in him!"
Harry found himself disliking Sister more than he disliked Mello. It was strange, but Sister seemed wholly different from Mello despite the fact that they treated Harry in a similar manner. Maybe it was because Sister was less intelligent and was a few years older, but Harry doubted it.
"I have a name," Harry gritted out.
"Oh yeah?" Sister sneered, crossing his arms. "What is it then, newbie?"
Harry opened his mouth, floundered for a moment, and then closed it with an audible snap. His cheeks tinted pink as Sister snickered at him. He didn't have a name to give Sister, and he felt like an idiot for forgetting.
"Aww, the poor little kid don't have a name," Sister cooed maliciously. "Whatever shall we—"
Something seemed to shift in Harry's chest and burst up his throat and out of his mouth.
"Jinx," he said almost loudly, "My name is Jinx."
Harry had been stewing over names since the day before, wondering over which one he'd ultimately be stuck with. At one point he had decided that he would be the one to choose the name—not Mello, not Shiho, and definitely not Sister. He was free of the Dursley's harsh control and able to make his own decisions; he'd choose his own damn name and—even though the name was rather morbid—he'd like it. Or at least pretend to like it.
Sister's nose crinkled. "Jinx? Really?"
Shiho nodded a bit too enthusiastically, leaving Harry to respond in words.
"Yes."
Despite the tenseness of the moment Harry felt like smirking. He could tell that Sister desperately wanted to pick on the new name, but couldn't because his name was Sister. Harry idly wondered why and how the older boy had gotten such an outlandish name.
Sister glared at the two before him, his jaw and fingers twitching. Harry could tell how frustrated the older boy was, but felt nothing other than satisfaction. Served the git right.
"Cool." He finally said reluctantly. His shoulders rolled back and his nose was once again thrust upwards in a snooty fashion.
Harry was rather confused but said nothing as the older boy strolled haughtily from the room, deeming the conversation over and most likely on his way to find Dahlia. Shiho was silent for all of ten seconds before she squealed and latched onto Harry's arm.
"You picked a good one!" She gushed. "Congratulations."
Harry attempted to extricate himself from Shiho's grasp. "Er, thanks."
She nodded before smiling at him shyly. "So, Jinx," she snickered as she said the name, "Why Jinx?"
Harry glanced away from her and shrugged. That was something he didn't want to ever explain to anyone. They'd probably be scared of him when they learned that every person he'd ever been close to in his life was dead.
Her eyes had changed into something softer, but Harry couldn't figure out why.
"I get it," she said gently, removing herself from him, "Everyone's got baggage, Harry. Even jerks like Sister haven't had it easy."
He looked at her in a mixture of gratefulness and puzzlement. She was comforting him, he realized, and although he felt uncomfortable with the whole situation, he smiled.
Matt and Harry lay sprawled on their stomachs in the middle of Harry's room, flipping through a magazine-like pamphlet that gave detailed overviews of all the available courses.
"Jinx, huh?" Matt murmured with his lips quirked upwards.
Harry turned red. "It just kinda…came out," he muttered self-consciously.
"I like it."
Harry smiled, pleased. They said nothing more about his new name, something which he was grateful for. He was still slightly embarrassed about the whole ordeal.
"This one is fun," Matt said, pointing out a class entitled 'Music Theory'. "I took it my first year here."
Harry frowned. "I don't think a music class is for me."
Matt shrugged and continued to flip through the pamphlet in front of him. "Suit yourself."
There were so many classes. Harry had never been presented with so many academic options in his life, and it was at once exciting and a bit overwhelming to be able to choose how he'd spend his time. Making up his own schedule was not something that Harry had ever expected himself to do, at least not until he was much older.
Harry pointed out a class called 'Combat Analysis'. "What's that?"
Matt glanced over. "That's a hard class. You learn and analyze fighting styles or something. Sister took it last year, but he hated it."
Sister is a good-for-nothing prat, Harry thought viciously before he scanned the section of the pamphlet dedicated to the class.
Underneath the name and description it said: Japanese jujutsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, aikido, capoeira, kendo, Krav Maga, etc. Harry had never heard of any of those, but judging by the description, they were fighting styles. His eyes lingered on that class for a long moment before he continued his perusal.
"What languages are you gonna take?" Matt asked. He was propped up on his elbows, his eyes still scanning the pamphlet despite the fact that he'd asked Harry a question.
"I dunno," Harry answered half-reluctantly. "Which ones are you taking?"
"French, Chinese, and Japanese," he said. "Maybe Spanish later. Spanish, Chinese, and French are the most popular."
Harry deliberated for a moment. He wanted to learn every language, but figured he'd start off with three or four. His heart swelled when he thought about all of the possibilities.
"I guess I'll take Chinese, Japanese, and Russian," he said after a time. "I'll take Spanish when I'm done with one of those."
"You're never really 'done'," Matt warned. "Unless you drop it completely, you never really finish the language. This isn't a normal school."
"I know," Harry mumbled with a sigh, before perking up. "Okay, so I'll take Japanese and Chinese this year, and start Russian and Spanish next year."
Matt glanced over at him. "That'll be tough."
"I know."
A moment passed, before Matt sighed and said, "Okay, how about Chorus?"
"No way."
"You need at least one music or art class," Matt told him. "What about violin lessons?"
"No."
"Piano?"
"Nope."
Matt sighed again. "Why do you dislike music so much?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't dislike music. I just don't wanna make it."
"You could just take Music Theory, then. You don't make any music at all. You just study music in general."
Harry thought it over. Music had never really caught his interest, but neither had painting or any other form of art. He wanted to learn interesting stuff, not blow and bang away at kazoos and steel drums.
"Fine," Harry grumbled. "But I won't like it."
"You will," Matt assured him. "Everyone does."
Harry almost reminded Matt that he wasn't 'everyone' but refrained. He still had a few more classes to pick out and he hadn't even finished looking through the pamphlet yet. Matt appeared to have gotten bored and was twiddling his thumbs away at a video game, leaving Harry to do the rest of the course-searching by himself. Harry didn't mind, and an hour later he had all of his classes ready and had filled out the necessary form, which Matt pocketed and promised to deliver to the right people.
Harry fell asleep that night with a half-smile, much like the one he had woken up with that morning.
A/N: That was ridiculously difficult. Harry's name was originally Jade, but I decided (with a great deal of help from my beta) that Jinx would be more personal. I'm sorry if this isn't particularly well-written...it was an absolute bitch to write. I hope none of you are sick of Shiho, as she's probably going to be the most prominent OC.
The next chapter will be Harry's first week of school and his birthday, so it will be quite long. After that I will be skipping a year or so into the future so that the story can really get going. Also, I've decided that the Death Note storyline will be mostly nonexistant. I won't be incorporating most of the paranormal aspects, simply because I don't know Death Note that well. I know that if I attempt to learn all of the rules and whatnot I'll eff it up most spectacularly. As I said...not a Death Note expert. ;_;
I don't know when the next chapter will be out. Just wait and see. ;D