Point of Succession Chapter 2, a death note fanfic

A/N: Thanks to everyone who alerted this, I appreciate it. And much love to Dark Miko, TwilightHaseo, Blob no. 1, and Beyond Birthday's lover for reviewing.

I don't own Death Note.

Chapter Two

Matt was bored. The summer heat had dulled his brain, turning it into an all too familiar mush. Of course it was hard to discern if that particular brain melt was a product of summer boredom or the fact that he'd gone through all seven hundred and forty three of his video games twice in the last thirty six hours. It was a new personal record for him, but one that didn't contain that much accomplishment to it.

Briefly he contemplated trying to wash is hair out again. It was still pink from two weeks ago when he'd dyed it just to prove a point to his dumb, blonde best friend. Matt could have sworn the dye was temporary, but eighty nine washes with industrial strength shampoo later, he was beginning to think otherwise. Seriously, if the stuff was approved to clean oil from a goose's fucking feathers it should be able to remove the pink from his damn hair.

Flailing backwards the once red head pursed his lips and stared up at the ceiling of his room. Paint splatters and suspended chords smiled down at him mockingly. The grays, blues, and greens tangled together in a mixture of what was supposed to be entertainment, but had instead done nothing more than collect dried skin and particles that made up the dust of stogy uselessness. There was nothing to do.

Where was that stupid blonde call boy of his when he needed him?

Rolling off the mattress, he collapsed onto the floor in a make shift belly flop. Grunting, he crawled to his feet and stumbled out the door into the hallways of Wammy's House. It was quiet, which was never a good thing for a house of adolescent geniuses. Wearily, Matt set off for the room three doors down from his. He already knew Mello wasn't in his room; otherwise the walls of his own bedroom would be quaking with the occasional explosion and burst of righteous anger. But everything was quiet.

Matt didn't want to ask Near for help. Although he didn't hate the albino child with the same intensity his best friend did, the kid really wasn't one of the easiest people to get along with. Not to mention the creepy, souless eyes. Those just freaked Matt out.

The pink disgruntled teen reached the room of his best friends rival unnecessarily fast. Steeling himself for the conversation he knew he'd later regret, Matt knocked on the albino's door.

A commanding voice came from within. "You may only enter the inner sanctum if you have the appropriate password"

Matt sighed in annoyance. "I'm not in the mood Near, open the damn door"

"What is the password?"

Matt banged his head against the door, the pink locks that fell in front of his eyes did nothing to ease his growing sourness. Boredom really didn't suit Matt. Not that he was one for action, there was a reason he was only number three in Wammy's House. He lacked the drive that Near and Mello had to exemplify his brilliance. Though, the fact that he'd reached third place without even trying did say a lot about his intellect, a whole hell of a lot in fact. But no, Matt enjoyed simplicity more than anything else in life. That was why he was a gamer. Gaming was simplistic, reach the next level, get the points, and reach the next level. Only now, he was bored and ready for reality. At least he thought he was.

"Damnit Near, open the fucking door!" Matt yelled through the solid wood, pounding on it relentlessly.

A scratching noise came from the other side of the door and Matt backed away quickly, leaving room for Near to open the door a crack.

"I don't believe that's the password," the petite boy said solemnly. But he swung his door open fully and allowed Matt to enter.

Matt didn't contemplate why Near had given up so easily on his little game, and he didn't argue it either. Doing so would be counterproductive to his cause.

The inner sanctum, as Near called it, was a mess of towers and toys. Racetracks ran in loops through the air, held together by duct and electrical tape, some even touched the ceiling. Aparently Near's room defied all basic laws of physics. Matt ducked beneath a suspension bridge constructed of domino's and an erector set. Near brushed passed the older boy and sprawled himself back across the floor where monkeys, transformers, and stuffed toys were prepping for battle.

"Have you seen Mello?" Matt asked, observing the boy's playtime.

"No," was the albino's stoic response as Optimis Prime crushed Barney's neck.

"Oh." Matt looked at the floor awkwardly. Being in Near's room always set him on edge. It was disorienting to see a seventeen year old playing like a two year old, but in a way no two year old would ever play. "Well do you know where he might be?"

"Why would I know where Mello would be? He's not my property," Near said succinctly.

Matt scratched the back of his head, the awkwardness of speaking with Near grating on his brain. This conversation was going to get him nowhere, not that he'd ever expected it to, but it was a nice thing to cross of his "How to Find Mello" list. "Yeah, but he likes to torture you. I'd think it'd be an act of self preservation on your front to keep tabs on him."

"Well it may seem that way to you, but that is not the case. Mello may try to hurt me, but his endeavors have never been successful." Barney's head was now being placed on the tip of Optimus Prime's sword. When Optimus Prime had acquired a sword, Matt wasn't entirely sure.

"Well, I'll tell him you said that once I find him," Matt responded, backing out of the room slowly.

"You do that."

Matt shut the door to Near's "inner sanctum" and retreated quickly, shaking his head in wonder at the smaller boy's antics. He'd have to take a different approach to finding his elusive friend.

Mello flicked another rock down off the beam and watched it plummet five stories downward. On the moment of impact a ringing clink echoed back up through his ears. He reached for another stone. He'd set up a line of thirty or so rocks beside him. Extending his arm outward, he let the rock fall, this time sure to make it hit the bell that was suspended beneath him. The clear, sharp ringing gave him some sense of satisfaction. It was the one thing in this hell hole that allowed him to feel something. Being above it all and looking down on what deserved to be looked down on.

Mello grabbed two rocks this time and chunked them downwards at the same time. Physics taught him that they'd reach the bottom at exactly the same moment, given he released them from his hand at precisely the same moment. The likelihood of that, Mello knew, was slim. But the thick thud that reverberated from below and back up towards where he sat, bouncing off of beams and stained glass, it told him his release had been perfect.

A lazy smile graced the blond teen's features. Gripping the beam he sat on, he swung his legs through the air and jumped to his feet, cautious of keeping his balance. To fall five stories onto concrete would in no way make this a good day. Not that it had been that pleasant to begin with.

Matt had been bitching about his hair again. For some reason, the fact that it was no longer red bothered him. It was the bitches own damn fault though. Mello hadn't made Matt dye his hair. In fact, he thought it was downright hilarious that what had begun as an act to get back at him had transformed itself into a glorious nightmare for the previous red head. Karma was awesome.

With practiced ease he walked to the wall of the clock tower, treating the beam as a balance beam and ignoring the fact that one misstep meant that he'd be, well, dead, and peered through the glass that made up the clock face. The dim lines of the hour and minute hands said it was nearing two in the afternoon. Matt would be sending the Calvary out for him now.

Mello scowled at that fact. Matt really could be the most annoying thing on the planet sometimes. Did Matt ever think that the reason he couldn't find him was because he didn't want to be found? It was simple logic really. But then again, Matt just liked to use him for entertainment purposes more than anything else. Once the video games became trite, Mello became the game.

The blonde unwrapped a bar of chocolate and violently bit off a chunk, the creamy substance melting in his mouth deliciously. If Matt wanted a game Mello would give him one. The clock tower was usually one of the first places Matt checked himself after an hour of having others search. Mello figured the stack of neatly folded chocolate wrappers that decorated the banister he'd been sitting on were enough to let his friend know he'd been there. Hide and seek was a game that would never get old, as long as the stakes kept getting higher.

Suddenly, something from the street caught his eye. A small white car rolled steadily by the orphanage. Mello placed it at twelve miles an hour.

'Idiot tourists,' he thought to himself. 'Don't they know how to use a GPS system?'

Resting his forehead against the glass, his eyes followed the car down the street. At the end he watched it make a U-turn and drive back down. And then it did it again.

His game of hide and seek with Matt forgotten, Mello straightened, watching the car circle back around for a fourth time. A tingle drove itself down his spine in sync with the vehicle. Eyes narrowing, he zeroed in on the driver's window. The windows were tinted; a silhouette was the only thing he could clearly see.

Frowning, the blonde's eyes traced the car as it drove down the street once more, his rash mind building a tentative plan.

"Five year olds, assemble!" Matt's voice rang out across the mess hall, currently populated by himself and eleven other children.

The eleven kindergartener's attention snapped to the pink haired teen. A few giggled at the sight of his fuchsia tufts of hair, framed by orange goggles, but a strict glare shut them up.

"Now, I've arranged you all into four groups," Matt declared, walking between the children he'd organized. As he'd been hoping, enough of them were occupying similar states of boredom that it didn't take much to get them to 'play' with him. Now as long as they didn't find out who exactly they'd be searching for, all would be good.

"Teams one and two, you are recon. T.1. I want you to scope out every inch of the Wammy interior, T.2. take the yards, I want every piece of chocolate and chocolate wrapper found! Team Three, you're in charge of surveillance, position yourselves in the monitor room, you guys will be my eye in the sky. And Team Four, you're on guard duty, protect the kitchen chocolate stash at all costs, do you understand me?"

"Sir yes sir!" The two five year old girls that comprised Team Four shouted.

"Good! Now move out troops!"

"SIR YES SIR!"

Like an angry stampede of buffalo the five year olds raced out of the room, falling in line with their respective missions. Matt chuckled after them. You'd think after living here for the two or three years they had, they'd be aware that searching for chocolate meant seeking out Mello, or the "Monster Barbie Doll" as the younger children referred to him. Sometime Matt wondered if the children Watari and Rodger brought in to the orphanage really were geniuses.

Matt followed after his herd of Mello Seekers, thinking out the best way to draw Mello out of where ever the hell he was hiding. A bell rang out signaling the start of the two o'clock hour.

With a smile, Matt headed for the clock tower. At two in the afternoon, the sun still hung dauntingly high in the sky, its heat drying the grass on the lawn before his eyes. Each blade crunched unhealthily beneath Matt's shoes. Digging through his jeans, the boy took out a cigarette and lighter. Bringing the tightly wrapped, white stick in between his lips, he struck the lighter and brought the flame to the tip of his cigarette. Drawing in fumes, he felt his muscles relax a bit.

He was on edge for some reason, and it wasn't just the offensive color of his hair. Something was wrong. He felt like there were ants crawling across his skin, digging their way down beneath the organ and into his blood stream. His gaming thumb was tingling.

The sound of squealing tires drew his gaze from the clock to the street just in time to watch a white sports car floor it down the road. That's when Matt knew.

Unconsciously his pace across the lawn and towards the clock tower sped up, until he was flat out running. Cigarette bobbing uncomfortably between his teeth, he raced for the stone building, hoping to any and all gods that Mello would be there.

'Pleasepleasepleaseplease…' he mentally chanted, the words desperately ping-ponging themselves around his brain.

He was wheezing as he reached the other side of the lawn. The tar building up in his lungs was deriding him painfully. His cigarette had fallen from his mouth somewhere on the lawn, and he hadn't even noticed. His hands were drenched with sweat, though he'd been running less than thirty seconds. Wrenching the door to the tower open, he dashed up the tower stairs, clambering loudly. Pigeons squawked indignantly as he tore through their nests, mentally cursing the droppings he slipped on. He could've cared less for the ugly poultry.

The stairs ended on the third story of the building. Mello would usually climb the rest of the way up to the banisters by scaling the walls. But the beams were vacant; empty of the scornful, moody, blonde Matt had been hoping would be there. All he found was pigeon shit and the light sent of chocolate.

Ten Minutes Earlier

Mello grumbled across the lawn. His boots trudging over the yellowing grass quickly, drawing sloppy lines across the yard as he ran. He reached the wrought iron fencing to watch the white car meander by once more. That made thirteen circles in the last five minutes. They knew something.

Agilely, Mello jumped and grasped the top of the fence. Swinging himself over, he dropped to the asphalt. Scanning over the ground he spotted a rock. Picking up the stone he waited for the car to turn around and head back towards him. As expected, the vehicle made a U-turn and started rolling towards Mello. Heart hammering wildly, he waited, eyes focused on the windshield, the glare of the sun keeping him from getting a look at the person inside the car.

The car came closer, slowing down even more as it neared the boy. Some primal part of Mello's mind urged him to run, to flee in face of the oncoming, steel predator. But the more modern part of his brain, the logical part said to wait as his reckless spirit told him to win, beat the threat.

The car was less than ten feet from him and inching forward slowly when he hurled the rock at the windshield. Briefly, he wondered just how many times that rock would come back to haunt his ass.

Unexpectedly, the car swerved out of the way of the rock, the driver having been expecting the boy's actions. Burning rubber filled the air as the car made a tight turn, traction control keeping the car on the road and out of the bushes.

Mello stumbled backwards, falling against the iron fence, the car coming directly towards him. Eyes wide, he scrambled to his feet as the vehicle came to a stop directly behind him. Leaping wildly his fingers grasped the top of the fence, boots climbing up against the pikes that made up the fence.

His ears picked up a fast coming whoosh from behind him and he dropped to the ground. The pain that erupted as his head and butt bounced off the asphalt drove tiny explosions through his skull, but it was better than having a baseball bat make jell-o out of his brain. Then a boot made contact with the side of his head, and the world went black.

Near placed another card atop the tower, the pyramid already reached over four feet high. Skillfully he tilted the card against another, balancing them precariously. Backing away from the tower, he turned to grab another card, and then came the fluttering sound of doom.

Whipping around, he watched as the pyramid collapsed, cards sweeping across the floor. Blinking emotionlessly Near scanned across the mess for the culprit. A crumpled piece of paper lay innocently in the midst of the wreckage. Large black eyes stared at it from across the room and then to his bedroom window, mind rapidly putting two and two together.

A/N: So this chapter was actually harder for me to write then the last, mainly because I'm not as comfortable with Mello, Matt, and Near as I am with Light. I'm hoping this will change soon. Also, I know things have been a little dry at the moment, but I'm more concerned with setting everything up. With the coming chapters things should be getting juicer.

Anyway, thanks for reading!