Mello and Matt were out running in the field after abandoning their basketball game on the pavement, managing to already get into some sort of playful arguement. The redhead was running for dear life as Mello streaked after him, brandishing his chocolate bar like a weapon. Anna sat beneath an orchid tree at the side of the yard, listening to music through the headphones she had dangled around her neck.

L was also sitting beneath one of the vibrant-leafed trees of the property, his hand making smooth strokes across his notepad as he wrote quietly into it. Parker's hazel gaze travelled over to the genius boy, feeling that usual sense of curiousity sink into her once more. The dark-haired prodigy was always silent, and so very mysterious.

After a brief hesitation, and thinking whether or not to even approach him, she pushed herself off the wall of the side of the orphanage building and walked over to him, halting when she stood in front of him. She knew L noticed her prescence, but he clearly chose to ignore her.

"Hi, L," Parker leaned over slightly, glancing over L's pen and at his sheet of paper curiously, "What're you doing?" With a pause, he glanced up at her, arching a thin black eyebrow at her.

He finally just shrugged, averting his gaze, "You know," he began, his voice calm and completely indifferent, "I thought this was a place for children with talents, or geniuses, as they say." He glanced at her pointedly, and she crossed her arms. L smiled as he watched the annoyance rise in her immediately.

"Are you calling me dumb? You are, aren't you! Why would I be here if I was some sort of stupid, demented freak?! You just think-"

L put down his notepad into the grass next to him, barely refraining from smirking, but managing to remain emotionless as always, "Relax, would you? I'm just teasing." He leaned back against the trunk of the tree, the sunlight hitting the dark irises of his eyes and turning them into an icy, clear ebony, "I'm just working on homework for class. I-"

"Homework? Since when do you have homework?" She bent over and sat down in front of him, running her fingers restlessly through the uneven green stalks of grass, "I thought you always finished your work in class."

He shrugged again, "I'm not perfect. I try and get it done as much as I possibly can, but sometimes taking a break isn't so bad, as long as I get it finished on time." Parker nodded slightly, her chocolate brown hair falling into her gaze slightly.

Silence passed between the two for a moment, L's gaze fixed on the world outside of the fence that kept them inside of this place, while Parker watched Mello and Matt roughly tackle eachother, Anna, who had gotten up, was trying her best to free Matt of Mello's tight headlock.

"So what do you think of Mello?" Parker finally asked, glancing over at L, whose spiked and messy hair had now fallen over his eyes, hiding most of his expression. He frowned, shifting so he sat up slightly.

He looked at her through locks of black hair, "What do you mean?"

Parker scoffed, "What do I mean? I mean, what do you think of him? Technically, he's your rival, since he is competing with you to become number one not only in this instituition, but number one in our own group of potential successors for Spade."

L hesitated, "He's rebellious and no doubt ambitious, but he's clever. He seems to notice things others do not, although, I do think his amount of ambition in the end might not be a good thing," he shrugged, "But he's been here longer and he knows what he's doing. He's more likely to directly succeed someone rather than I."

Parker nodded slightly, letting out a sigh and stretching out. L picked up his pen and notepad once more and continued writing for a few more minutes, before carelessly throwing back on the ground next to him.

"I guess if the opportunity arrises, however, there's no doubt I'll try to somehow overpower Mello in intelligence- and stradegy."

Parker closed her eyes and smirked at L's sudden statement, "Just be careful." She said, subtle. L's eyes narrowed questioningly.

"Mello enjoys a challenge," she said in reply, "But he doesn't play fair when it comes to anything."

L shrugged.

"I'm sure I can handle him."

Parker smirked.

"Sure."

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Matt had finally collapsed onto his side in the grass, breathing heavily. It wasn't a suprise at the redhead's sudden lack of stamina, however, considering how many cigarettes the young boy smoked each day. Mello stepped back, smirking, as Anna shook her head at them behind him.

"Are you considering quitting the cigarettes anytime soon?" Anna came alongside Mello, who still had a smirk stuck onto his face, "They aren't good for you, ya know, especially at your age." The redhead glanced up at Anna just as Mello turned and grabbed him by the back of his striped shirt, pulling him back to his feet roughly. Bits of dry grass stuck to his clothing, and he quickly brushed them off.

He put his hand tentatively on his own shoulder, "I'm not stupid. I know what they can do to me," he shot back, running a hand through his copper hair before he lets it drop down limply to his sides. His say in this conversation has apearantly abrubtly ended.

Mello grunts irritably and turns away, losing the smirk as boredom becomes more obvious on his features. His icy gaze averts briefly up to the sky, which is slowly beginning to darken as storm clouds form.

"It's going to rain," Mello announces, brushing past his companions and heading through the grass of the field at the side of the yard and back towards the main building to get back to his room. Matt and Anna exchange a brief glance, before following behind rather slowly.

Whatever. Let the idiots get rained on, he growls to himself, preparing to open the door to enter the building when he stops, hearing something.

Mew!

"Matt, stop that, you moron."

"Huh? Stop what?"

Mello stops again, Anna and Matt halting behind him as he halts, turning on his heel and looking around the yard with a raised eyebrow. Then he spots it.

Behind Matt's leg.

A tiny, completely and utterly pathetic, as Mello defines it, tabby-striped kitten waddles behind part of the wall where Matt stands, letting out its pitiful cries as it backs away, completely uncoordinated and unbalanced, and ends up falling over onto it's sides a few times. It's scrawny and emaciated, with dull, big blue eyes.

"Aw shit," Mello sighs and slides his hand to his forehead miserably as Matt suddenly brightens and turns, Anna joining him and trying to urge the tiny cat towards them, using encouraging(and rather scary, as Mello thinks once more) tones of voices.

Finally, it just plops down and lets out a big wail, its eyes half closed as rain begins to pour down from the sky. Anna quickly shoots forward, scooping the creature into her arms and putting it in the side of her sweater to hide it from the downpour.

Matt and Anna, who are now soaked from the rain, slip past Mello and into the building, who had stayed dry by taking shelter in the overhang by the front door.

"Are you two fucking crazy?" he snarls after them, coming up beside Anna and peering down at the little animal. It's stopped crying, but it's trembling so much you'd think it had some sort of disorder. "Where the hell are you planning on keeping that thing?! And what about Roger? If he-"

"Calm down!" Anna snaps, and its only then Mello realizes they are heading down the hallway towards the boys side of the orphanage and to Mello and Matt's room. Immediately the blond forces them to halt, jumping in front of them.

His eyes narrow angrily, "I don't want the fucking cat in our room! It'll piss everywhere and start its wailing in the middle of the night!"

"Too bad!" Anna hisses back, and suddenly the ball of fluff is shoved into Mello's arms forcefully, "Look, it's 10:00, and no girls are supposed to be around here after 8:30. We need to take care of it! It's all alone, and..."

"Why can't YOU take it?"

"Because Danielle is allergic to cats!"

"Like hell she is!"

"Stop!" Matt reaches over, grabbing the bundle by the scruff quickly and setting it in his own arms, "Just go Anna, I'll shut him up somehow." Matt grins teasingly at his friend. Mello lifts up his fist.

The two boys quickly hurry into their room, closing and locking the door silently behind them. Mello immediately goes over and sits on the side of his bed, his narrowed gaze never leaving the tiny feline as it pads around the room on clumsy paws, trotting over to Mello to sniff him. The blond growls and shoves the kitten away, sommersaulting back towards Matt.

"Hey!" the redhead picks up the striped kitten once more, stroking it's tiny head, "Don't treat Pikachu like that!"

Mello's jaw drops.

"Are you serious? Nuh-uh, hell no. We aren't naming the little bastard fucking Pikachu, you queer."

"But look!" Matt insists, bringing the little cat closer and showing Mello each side of it's cheeks. Two black stripes streak down the sides of it's face, the markings similliar to lightning bolts. Mello arches an eyebrow at him.

"So?"

"He's kinda like Pikachu with the lightning bolts and stuff."

Mello sighs, "Well, he isn't yellow, and we don't even know if it's a male or a female. Maybe its both, I don't know." He suddenly grins, "Go ahead, Matt. Check."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Boys?"

"GAH!"

As soon as they hear Roger's voice, Mello dives underneath the covers, pretending to be asleep, leaving Matt to hide the kitten on his own. Cursing under his breath, he streaks across the room, looking around. Then he sees a cabinet, and of course, locks the cat up inside of it.

"Yeah?" Matt calls from inside the room as he quickly dives into his own bed. There's a hesitation, before the door opens a crack.

"Are you two alright? I thought I heard you yelling.." the old man trails off, waiting for him to answer. Mello snores in response.

"Nope," Matt yawns, stretching and turning his back to the door, "We're going to sleep. G'night, Roger."

"..." The door closes without a word, and Matt listens as his footsteps fade down the hall. When they disapear, he quickly jumps up again, letting the kitten out of the cabinet and allowing it to roam around the room once more.

"Mello? Mello, we-" He stops when he realizes the blond really is sleeping, and he sighs slightly. In the dark, the kitten's glassy gaze flashes at him expectantly. Sighing, he heads over to the side of the room by the counter and the sink, getting out a small dish and filling it up with tap water and setting it on the ground. Then he trudges back over to his bed, and nearly as fast as Mello did, he falls asleep.

Mello doesn't wake once during the night, even when a tiny bundle of kitten jumps up onto the bed and nuzzles itself beneath his chin and falls asleep.

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(A/N: Awwwwwh! Kitten fluff XD
Anyways, I don't have much to say...besides the fact that Matt wants to name the cat freakin' Pikachu. Henh xD)

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