Part VII

Mello

Tears of anger pricked the corners of my eyes as I wandered down the hall. Mello stood before me and looked up at me with sympathy when he saw the tears in my eyes. "Don't worry about him, Kita," he said with a smile. "He's never acted like this before, but I know he'll come around. Come on. Lemme show you the rest of the house." Mello told me the locations of two bathrooms, Watari's bedroom and bath, and the kitchen. There were also some classrooms and study areas and the rec. room Watari mentioned. One of my favorite features was a balcony with a beautiful view of the forest land out back. Last, Mello showed me the room he shared with Matt. Mello's side was very neat, not a single toy or article of clothing on the pale grey carpet. His trash can was full of chocolate bar wrappers. Matt's side, however, was cluttered. Videogames littered the floor and three or four game systems were stacked in the corner. A PlayStation 2 was hooked up to a television on Matt's dresser.

As I was looking around, Mello walked over to a toy chest in the closet on "his" side of the room, and pulled out a smaller box. He sat it on the bed beside me and opened it to show me the contents. "These are my favorite toys." Inside it was a plethora of plastic toy soldiers. "Sometimes I simulate battles. It's a strategy game for me, really." he explained with pride.

Mello's open closet contained an array of toy guns and other things involving them. The young boy seemed to be happy that he could share his interests with me. So for awhile, I was Mello's opponent in a battle with his toy soldiers. It turned into an actual game before long, and I temporarily forgot about Ryuzaki's mysterious problem.

The blonde boy's mood changed, however, when I allowed my curiosity to take over. "So, when will you succeed L?"

Mello left go of his soldiers and turned away from me. "I'm second to Near at everything. He's the first to succeed L. I don't care if he's smarter than me, I just want to prove to the world I can be someone. I want to protect it like L does!" The poor boy's dejected mood began to rub off on me, and I felt the need to cry once more.

However, I ignored that desire and said to Mello: "You can save the world someday! Maybe you and Near should try to get along and become friends. They say there's always safety in numbers. You can protect each other and the world… after all, sometimes the bitterest of enemies can become friends. Trust me, I know."

I told Mello about Sharon and how we weren't always the best of friends.

In fact, we were worst enemies when we first met in 9th grade. Unbeknownst to the two of us then, we had a crush on the same guy. His name was Brandon Sakir, and he didn't seem to notice either of us until the first school dance of that year.

Sharon and I were off with our own groups of friends when Brandon walked over to me. We talked for awhile, when he asked, 'Do you want to dance, Kita?'

'Yes,' I replied as I blushed. So, the two of us danced for a couple of songs.

'I have to go to the bathroom,' Brandon said then and I returned to my friends while I awaited his return. About ten minutes later, I was getting bored and tired of scanning the crowd for him. I happened to glance at Sharon, and she and Brandon were dancing. Even though I liked Brandon, I didn't yet officially consider him my boyfriend. However, that still didn't stop me from being angry when I saw him with my worst enemy. Until the end of the dance, my friends and I waited for Brandon to come back over. Instead, it was Sharon who came over to us. 'I saw you dancing with Brandon,' she said, 'I just came over to make sure you weren't his date.'

I was shocked. 'No, he's not my date," I told her, ' I do like him, though.' Oddly, instead of fighting over Brandon, we ganged up on him for two-timing. That's how Sharon and I became besties.

Mello smiled at me as I finished the example from my past. "Thanks, Kita," he said. "I'll think about what you've told me, but it's my turn to get a shower." He walked over to his small oak dresser and pulled out a few clothes. I could see just under some of them a large stash of chocolate candy bars. I chuckled. Mello frowned. "What?"

"It's nothing," I told him with a smile.

Mello returned the smile as he opened the door to walk out of the room. "Oh, and Kita," the blonde boy said without turning around, "thanks again." He closed the door tightly behind himself.

"Sure," I whispered. He was already gone.

End Part VII