"To be your friend was all I ever wanted; to be your lover was all I ever dreamed."

"Mom," Light called, dragging Ryuzaki into the house with him. He had decided that he was going to take this orphan in. It was the least he could do for accusing him of stealing and scaring him. Besides, he was sure that Ryuzaki had nowhere to go. He wasn't going to leave the 11-year-old alone, on the streets.

"Yes, dear?" A kind-looking, semi-old woman walked into the hallway. She gasped in surprise when she noticed the child that was accompanying her son. "My, my, what have we here?"

"This is my new friend, Ryuzaki," Light lied easily, gently nudging the boy forward. Ryuzaki timidly bowed toward the woman.

"N-nice to m-meet you," He stammered politely.

"Nice to meet you too." Light's mother smiled softly. "So tell me, Ryuzaki, where do you live?"

"He's from that orphanage not far from here. Y'know, Wammy's?" Light explained, saving Ryuzaki from having to answer.

"Oh, the one for the gifted?" Sachiko looked genuinely surprised. "That must mean you're really intelligent, huh?" She turned towards the younger boy again, who modestly shrugged, his face turning a light tint of red.

"Oh yeah, didn't think of that." Light rubbed his chin thoughtfully. So this kid was supposedly smart? Well, he'd just have to test his intelligence, then. "What's the square root of pi?" Light challenged Ryuzaki spontaneously.

"1.7725," The child answered monotonously, though he still had that look of panic etched in his expression. "H-how many s-sides are there t-t-to a nonagon?" He shot back, stumbling over his words, which unfortunately made him appear less intellectual than he actually was. Light's chocolate eyes narrowed and the corner of his lips tugged upward in a slight smirk. It was a competition now? Fine. Light could play hard ball.

"Nine. When did-" Light began, but he was cut off by his mother.

"Light, that's enough. You can test him later," Sachiko said sternly. The brunette merely rolled his eyes. "So, what school do you go to?" She asked Ryuzaki, instantly friendly again.

"O-oh, w-well... they sort of home-school us," He answered uneasily, lowering his gaze towards the floor.

"Is that so? Then how did you and Light meet?"

"I saw him standing by the railroad tracks and stopped him to talk to him. I... kind of accused him of stealing," Light awkwardly told his mother. He then realized that he had yet to apologize for that incident. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to apologize," He said out loud, turning to face Ryuzaki. He dropped down to his knees so that he was at eye-level with him. "I'm... sorry for calling you a thief," He said as sincerely as possible.

"T-that's okay!" Ryuzaki blurted out, eyes wide, as if he felt guilty for being apologized to. Which Light didn't get, since he deserved the apology.

"No, it's not," Light argued, shaking his head stubbornly. "I was in the wrong for just randomly grabbing you like that and yelling at you for stealing, when you didn't. So... I'm sorry," He repeated. He felt like a broken record, but he just wanted to make sure that his apology was hammered into the raven's head.

"...That's okay," Ryuzaki said again, quieter this time, awed into near-silence by Light's persistence.

"Are you sure? If you think I owe you something, I'll do you a favor. Any favor you want," Light offered.

"Oh, n-no. No, no." Ryuzaki was the one to stubbornly shake his head this time. "You don't owe me anything. It's not like I did something for you."

"But-" Light was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him. The brunette got to his feet, and he and Ryuzaki both whirled around so that they were facing the door they had entered about 10 minutes ago, only to come face-to-face with Light's father. Or, well, it was more like Light was face-to-chest with his father and Ryuzaki was face-to-waist with him.

"Light," Soichiro said with a curt nod toward his son.

"Dad," Light answered in the same exact tone.

"Who is this fine gentleman?" His father asked gruffly, gesturing towards the messy, raven-haired child, who shrank back slightly, intimidated by this man's appearance. He was in a police uniform and had a scruffy mustache. He wore glasses with oval-shaped lenses, and he was tall and bulky.

"My new friend, Ryuzaki, who ran away from his 'home', which is actually an orphanage for intelligent children, and now needs a place to stay, so I was thinking that he could stay here," Light explained in one breath.

"What?" Sachiko and Soichiro's eyes practically popped out of their heads. Ryuzaki hadn't said anything, but his eyes widened too; he clearly hadn't known of Light's intentions.

"Er... Ryuzaki, is it?... Why don't you go upstairs for a bit? You can play around with Light's old toys, if he has any," Sachiko suggested. "Light's room is easy to find; it looks like a study. Think you'll be alright finding it by yourself?"

Ryuzaki nodded, silent as a mouse. He cautiously shuffled towards the staircase, hesitating for a split second before obediently heading up the stairs. The three older ones watched him, as if he was an animal on display at the zoo. Looking flustered, he sped up a fraction of a second more, and disappeared at the top of the staircase. Light's parents instantly turned on him.

"You didn't tell me you wanted us to keep him here," Sachiko exploded.

"But, Mom-" Light began. As usual, someone interrupted him. He felt irritation boil up inside him; his parents never let him speak his thoughts. It seemed that in their eyes, his opinion didn't matter. Why, because he was younger than them?

"No buts," Was what his interrupting father said. Light seethed silently. Now they were talking to him like he was as old as Ryuzaki. "We can't afford to take care of another child right now."

"Dad, you're a police officer!" Light snapped. "You're willing to let a little kid starve on the streets and die?"

"No. He's not going to starve on the streets. We'll just take him back where he came from," Soichiro said, seeming to think this was the most reasonable thing to do.

"Oh, so he can just escape again? Or, or better yet, so that he can get punished brutally?" Light snarled. Soichiro opened his mouth to protest, but Light hastily continued, "He ran away, so it must be a horrible place. I'm sure he wouldn't run away if he was having the time of his life there."

"...He's right, you know," Sachiko spoke up. A bewildered expression crossed Soichiro's face.

"Wha- So you're taking his side?" Soichiro yelled exasperatedly at his wife.

"Having another son wouldn't be half bad," She mused. "In fact, he doesn't look like he requires much maintenance. And he seemed so sweet and smart. And he could really use the help right now. Even if it's only temporary, I think it would be a good idea to take him in."

"But... but..." Soichiro glanced from his wife to his son a couple of times, before hanging his head with a sigh. "Oh, alright."

Light couldn't help but feel a little shocked. His father gave in? That was so... unlike him. But then again, he usually wasn't against both Light and his mother. Light smiled a bit; he'd have to get his mother to side with him more often.

"So he can stay?" Light asked stupidly, acting oblivious on purpose just so his parents could confirm his hopes.

"Yes," Soichiro said simply. He massaged his temples and grudgingly headed to the kitchen, muttering to himself. The two watched him depart, an awkward contentedness lingering in the air.

"Why don't you go and tell your new brother the good news?" Suggested Sachiko, a hearty smile playing across her face.

"Good idea." Light sprinted up the stairs. He couldn't help but wonder what Ryuzaki was doing up there; it wasn't like Light had a lot of stuff to do in his room. He hoped it had been enough to keep his new brother busy while they had their conversation, which was more like an argument when he thought back to it.

"Ryuzaki, you're allowed to stay," Light announced as he entered his room. But no one was there. Confusion glinted in his caramel eyes, and he scoured the room, wondering if maybe, just maybe, Ryuzaki was only hiding. Yeah, that was it. It was a game. Children loved games. Light assured himself with this thought. "Ryuzaki?" He called again, half expecting the boy to leap out from behind something and greet him with a loud 'Surprise!'

But still, no one answered, and nothing stirred.

Then something caught Light's attention. It was something normal, something most people wouldn't notice. It was wind. The slight breeze rushed noiselessly into the room, pushing playfully against the blanket on his bed, causing it to rustle. Light's attention was immediately drawn towards the window. It was open, as was the screen behind the window. That could only mean one thing.

He escaped!