Author's Note= The reason that I haven't been updating so much is posted in the AN of the first chapter of SIYS. And I'd like to make a shoutout/thank MXM'sHolic for a wondrous fan-art she drew me for one of Mello's dreams, and for kicking my ass into gear. =) And on a note, I changed it back to the old summary, I think it was more dramatic...

Song For This Chapter= Hey There, Delilah by The Plain White T's.

Mello's POV

Everything hurt; my jaw hurt, my ass hurt, but most of all, my mind hurt.

I was lying naked on my side facing Bullet. Jackson and Jermane had left as soon as they'd finished. What they'd done, I wouldn't say, but I'm sure you can guess. A hand began to rub my back; I flinched away from it.

"Shh, Mello, I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Matt's voice was soothing as he continued to rub comforting circles on my back.

How could he know that they wouldn't do it again?

"Don't worry, just close your eyes and take a nap. You'll feel better after, I promise."

Maybe that would be a good idea; I closed my eyes gently.

~Dream~

"I am L." I stared intently at the black haired teenager with a slumped over posture.

My eyes widened. My idol was there in the flesh.

"Please introduce yourselves."

My eyes scanned over the other people in the room.

Old man Watari and Roger were no threat; but the other two orphans were.

Looking over I saw a somber redhead whose fingers were twitching; his orange goggles pulled over his eyes. I guess he isn't much of a threat.

What was his name? Math? No… Matt?

~End Dream~

"God… shit," I opened my eyes slowly, met with the sight before me.

Matt was forcibly leaned over a chair, hands secured behind his back by one of Bullet's own. Bullet's other hand was on Matt's shoulder, keeping him in place for the rough thrusts.

What… the fuck?

"'Ow 'bout it, blood pup?" the hacker visibly winced at the nickname.

"F-fine." Matt stuttered.

"Good," with that Bullet changed the angle of his thrusts until Matt cried out.

Bullet continued to hit the spot until eventually Matt came, spurting all over himself and the chair. Bullet pulled out, not having finished. He let go of Matt, who fell to the floor, and the African gang leader pulled Matt up to face him by the hair, pumping his dick rapidly. Bullet came all over the red head's face.

Once done, he dropped Matt. Before leaving, Bullet threw a few packs of what looked like cigarettes on the desk.

The gamer's body shuddered and convulsed slightly, but he didn't move, though after a while, that too died down.

"You saw it, eh Mello?" the worn out hacker let out a hollow laugh and then sighed.

Slowly, Matt got up.

"Let's have a shower, that's the best thing to do," he said, quietly walking over to me.

I could see that he was bleeding; I could also see bruises forming. I slowly sat up, wincing as my own injuries pained me.

Our shower was quiet, the only sound was of the water hitting the tiles, and neither of us spoke. We silently washed our wounds, providing help to the other when it was needed. We both tenderly got into the queen sized bed, back facing back.

"How?" I whispered shakily.

I had to know- how in the world did he plan on protecting me?

"I just have to do what I used to." his voice held false indifference; I could hear that it was just about to crack with hidden emotions.

"Why?" though I'd never admit it I was touched; the tears running down my cheeks told that story.

"I-I care for you, Mello." now his voice cracked.

"Why?" mine did too.

"...you care too." I froze.

"Get over it," I hissed.

I didn't wait for his reaction, instead I tried to sleep. Surprisingly, it came, but that didn't mean my dreams weren't haunted by memories.

~Dream~

I narrowed my eyes as the boy in the room across from me left. Why? I wasn't sure, that didn't mean I couldn't guess, or ask –threaten- someone to tell me.

I watched silently as the redhead walked through the snow, leaving deep imprints in the pure white blanket. It almost seemed as if they would never leave; always there, engraved into the Earth forever.

But that didn't matter, that kid was crazy. Who leaves in the middle of winter? Seriously, what made the kid think that he would survive the storm? What an insane child to leave when he was still eleven. February 1st, I thought idly, does that have some sort of significance?

And though it didn't occur to me that history would repeat itself, it did.

Only a little over a year later would I end up following those very footsteps; not once thinking of their original owner. Not until six years later. Not until I was able to understand at least some of the small boy's pain.

~End Dream~

I woke up alone; both Matt and his cigarettes were gone. I guessed that meant he was keeping his end of the bargain with Bullet.

Good, this gave me time to think about things.

What could I have possibly done to make him fool himself into thinking I actually cared about him?

Hmm, let's think Mello. Maybe it's the fact that you do care about him?

Fuck my thoughts, I don't care about him. I hissed at myself.

I examined the room some more. It was dingy white, with a soft but dirty beige carpet. There were no windows. I'd have to ask Matt about that later. The furniture was simple; there was a desk, a dresser, a bed and a night stand. All made of the same nearly white maple wood. Curious, I walked over to the dresser and opened the first couple of drawers before finally opening the last bottom drawer on the left hand side.

I found an extra pair of jeans there. When I lifted up the jeans to confirm the fact that they were the same as Matt's usual jeans, I noticed another pair tucked underneath. Gently folding the jeans I had in my hands, I put them back into the drawer.

I pulled out the hidden pair; they were a pair of bleached skinny jeans. I could only imagine what Matt would look like in them.

The pale shade of sky blue denim hugging his slim hips, thighs and calves, I had to get him into these.

"Heh," my head snapped in the direction of the sound.

Bullet was standing in the doorway, an amused smirk on his lips.

"What do you want?" I spat, and as an afterthought I added, "and where's Matt?"

"Th' cardinal is takin' care o' some… business. Don't ya' tink' e' oughta' wear it?"

I nodded in agreement to his last point.

"What is this 'business' he's 'taking care of'?" I demanded.

"Wanna' see?" I stared at Bullet, who was smirking and nodded.

Bullet left the room and I followed him. I memorized the route we were taking. The gang leader led me to what I recognized as the main room in The Bl00derz head quarters.

"What the fuck are you doing, Matt?"