"We were given: Two hands to hold. Two legs to walk. Two eyes to see. Two ears to listen. But why only one heart? Because the other was given to someone else. For us to find."

Where could he have gone? Light thought rapidly, panic-stricken. He and his parents hadn't been talking for long. He couldn't have gone far... right?

There was only one thing to do. Light was reluctant about it, but he knew that there weren't many options at this point. If he really wanted to find his brother, and he did, then he'd need to follow Ryuzaki's exact steps.

Determination struck him like lightning. He placed his hands on the windowsill and stuck his head out of the frame. The roof didn't look flat enough to walk on, which worried him. But he decided that it was worth a shot. He pushed his way out the window, nervously planting one of his hands on the roof. It felt stable, but still, it was on a slant, which would make walking difficult.

But he couldn't give up now. His other hand placed itself upon the roof as well, and soon enough, his whole body was all the way out the window. He sat on his hands and knees on the roof, frozen, his body trembling as it attempted to keep him balanced. A gust of wind nipped at his face. He shivered and raised himself up.

Adrenaline pumped through his body as he slowly sat up. When he was finally sitting normally on the roof, his legs hanging off the edge as if it was a chair, he breathed a long sigh of relief. Now was the part where he jumped down.

He forced himself to look down at the ground, where orange, yellow, red, and brown leaves dappled the half-straw-yellow, half-leaf-green ground. As beautiful as it looked from above, he knew that the leaves weren't enough to break his fall. So how did Ryuzaki get down?`

Light glanced around desperately. A-ha! He declared inwardly, spotting a tree nearby. One of its branches stretched out towards the roof of his house, the tip just barely touching the bricks. It was farther down along the roof, near the window to his parent's room. He hesitated very briefly before unsteadily starting towards the tree on his hands and knees.

As he crawled along the roof, adrenaline rushing through his veins, keeping him from stopping, he could've sworn he heard a small noise come from underneath the house. He paused. Yes, there was a noise, he was sure. He pinpointed it; it came from below the tree he was edging towards.

He continued towards the branch, trying to be more quiet this time. The closer he got to the branch, the louder the noise became. He strained to figure out what it was, and it didn't take long for him to recognize it. It was Ryuzaki. And he was crying.

Concerned, Light quickened his pace. He soon reached the branch. He dug his fingernails into the bark, struggling to get a grip. He cautiously pulled his whole body forward so that his feet were no longer on the roof. His legs wrapped themselves around the branch and he heaved himself forward. It didn't take long before he had arrived at the trunk. He clambered onto it and used his feet to push himself down instead of his hands.

And then he was at the bottom. He was nothing but relieved when his feet were finally on solid ground. He silently tip-toed around the tree until Ryuzaki was right there, sitting under the tree, hands on his face, sobbing. "...Ryuzaki?" Light called softly. The boy's head snapped up and he looked over at Light in alarm. He hastily wiped his tears on his sleeve.

"W-w-what?" He stammered, his voice shaky from crying. Light sat down beside him, observing him closely.

"What's the matter?" Light asked, sincere concern flooding his auburn gaze.

"I-I..." Ryuzaki took a deep, shaky breath, before continuing, "h-heard you guys t-t-talking."

Light bit his lip. His parents had said some rude stuff, he recalled. "How much did you hear?"

"I stopped listening when your dad said that y-you were going to take me b-back," Sniffled the boy. "I was g-going to try to escape, b-but I was tired s-so I just sat here to rest for a while, a-and then I didn't want to move a-and I started to cry."

The tears were really hitting a nerve in Light. He hated it when people cried. Especially when little children cried. He remembered hugging his little sister every time she burst out crying. That memory brought him to wrap his arms around Ryuzaki and hold him close, hoping to comfort the boy this way.

He felt Ryuzaki press his face against his chest, muffling his small, feeble sobs. After a moment, Light decided to tell him the good news. "Well," he began, watching his new brother pull his head away so that he could hear Light clearly, "You're not going back. In fact, you get to stay here."

"...R-really?" His ebony eyes were shining, and not from the tears.

"Yup." Light grinned. "You're pretty much my younger brother now." Ryuzaki beamed, which was kind of adorable when mixed with the tears. But Light still didn't like the tears. He wiped them away with his dusty-brown sleeve, for which Ryuzaki looked grateful. "So, do you know how we can adopt you? That way you won't be hiding here illegally?" Light asked.

"You can't," Ryuzaki answered simply.

"I... can't? Why not?" Light asked, puzzled.

"Because the orphanage is for intelligent children who are being taught to be the top detectives and lawyers and professors and such, and they don't want to waste our talent," He explained, absentmindedly tugging strands of grass out of the ground.

"That... doesn't sound too bad... Why'd you leave?" Curiosity sparked in Light's thoughts, forcing him to ask that question.

"Because I hate it there," Ryuzaki said gloomily. "My parents died when I was little, and I have always wanted parents ever since. I guess I'm the only one, because no one else tried to escape. They're too proud of their gifts to want to."

Light became speechless for a moment, before quietly saying, "Well... we're your family now."

"But you can't adop-" Ryuzaki started.

"I don't care. I just won't tell my parents, and we'll keep you here illegally. It's risky, but we can handle it." Light smiled and gave his brother a small, reassuring squeeze.

"Are you sure?" He asked, shooting a guilty glance skywards, towards Light.

"Positive. So," Light said, trailing off awkwardly as he contemplated something to talk about. "...Ryuzaki." The boy stared at him blankly, as if wondering why all he said was his name. "Do you have a last name or something?"

Ryuzaki faltered, before explaining, "Well... Ryuzaki isn't exactly my real name."

"Oh? Then what is your real name?"

"...If I tell you, you can't tell anyone else."

"You have my word."

"...My real name..." Ryuzaki leaned in, so that his mouth was next to Light's ear. He whispered, "is L Lawliet." Then he shifted back so that he was no longer so close to Light.

"...That's a nice name," Light lied, casting a polite smile towards L, while inwardly he was wondering why anyone in their right mind would name their child after the 12th letter of the alphabet.

"Thanks. But you have to keep calling me by my fake name," L ordered. His all-too-serious expression made Light chuckle a bit.

"Yes, sir," He said, pretending to salute. Ryuzaki smiled ever-so-slightly, looking amused.

"What about you?" L asked.

"...What about me?" Light asked right back, unsure of what L meant. If he was talking about real names, then there wasn't much to say, considering Light really was his name.

"Tell me more about yourself." Mild curiousity sparked in L's eyes as he propped himself up on his elbows; his elbows were digging into Light's thighs, since he was still sitting in Light's lap. Not that Light minded. His younger brother was too frail to inflict much pain.

"Well... I'm majoring in law in college."

"You already told me that. Multiple times."

"Really?"

"Well, no, you only told me once, but still... tell me something else."

"Like what?"

"College can't be the only thing interesting about you," Ryuzaki insisted, his voice filled with disbelief.

"...Well... truth is... I don't want to be a policeman. Or a lawyer," Light admitted, averting his gaze from L.

"You... don't? Then why are you majoring in law?"

"I want to make my dad proud."

"So the only way he'd be proud of you is if you became a policeman or lawyer?"

"Pretty much."

A short, awkward silence hung in the air, before Ryuzaki broke it. "What do you want to be?"

"A teacher," Light answered immediately.

"Is there a specific subject you wanted to teach?"

"Probably law."

"Well that would certainly put your years of college to good use," Ryuzaki commented. He became silent for a couple of seconds, before he muttered, "You should be what you want to be. Don't let your parents tell you what to do."

"It's not that simple." Light was convinced that L just didn't understand. He'd never had parents before, so he probably assumed that they didn't have as much control over their children as they really did.

"...Well... why do you want to be a teacher?" L continued, quickly moving away from the subject of parents.

"Because... I've always wanted to be the one to spread my knowledge. I'm usually studying and learning from others to become smarter... and the thought that I can make someone else smarter... or, well, about a hundred children a year smarter... it's just an amazing thought." Light sighed dreamily, lost in his own world.

Ryuzaki respectfully waited for Light to snap out of his daze. When his older brother finally blinked and turned his attention back towards L, he said, "That's a great reason. Most people wouldn't know why. But you... you know exactly why." Admiration drowned his words and expression. Light was flattered.

"Well, yeah. I've had plenty of time to think about it, after all," He pointed out. "So, do you know what you want to be?" L shook his head, looking a little downcast. "Well, hey, don't worry about it. You have plenty of time to think about that. After all, you're only... how old are you?"

"Eleven."

"Wow, eleven? You look much younger than you really are... b-but anyways, you're still young. So, seriously, don't worry about it." Light smiled reassuringly.

"I guess," L agreed.

Another awkward silence, this one much longer and more relaxed. The chirping of birds were able to fill in the silence, and the two watched the sun creep lower towards the ground, turning the blue sky a vivid pink. The clouds were torched a light pink as well.

"Sayu's probably home by now," Light muttered, mostly to himself.

"Who's Sayu?" Ryuzaki asked.

"My younger sister. Or, well, our sister, although she's older than you," Light answered. "Want to go meet her?"

"Sure," Ryuzaki eagerly replied, on his feet in an instant, allowing Light to stand up. The two headed towards the front door.

Light instinctively grabbed ahold of L's hand. The younger one looked surprised at first, but then Light sent a warm smile towards him and he smiled right back, no longer caring. In fact, he even felt an odd burst of bliss at the fact that they were holding hands.

Both of them did.