A/N: I don't own the chapter title "All the Lonely People", it's a Beatles song. I figured it perfectly pertained to this chapter.
Enjoy!

After A died, I'd grown accustomed to the isolation. He taught me to never seek comfort in another. But I couldn't stop myself when I met Lawliet. He let me do whatever I wanted, whatever I needed. He rarely looked me in the eyes. Barriers surrounded his heart and I was determined to tear them down. I had tried for years, but nothing seemed to work. Not love, affection, anger. Now I know his walls never crumbled because he didn't want to let me in. He started digging his grave the moment he left me; his mistake, not mine.

I tossed my feet up on the table, leaning back in my chair. The solitude would have comforted me before I met my Lawliet. Now it just taunts me. I scooped a spoonful of jam, bringing the tangy treat to my lips. There was a sudden knock on the door.

"Coming," I called. With one hand ready by my hostler, I opened the door. Two melancholy blue eyes met mine and immediately shifted from my gaze.

"Welcome, Mello," I grinned. "It's been a while. What happened to your face?"

"Fuck off," he growled, turning his left cheek from my sight. "I need your help."

"Well, now, you can't just curse at me then ask for a favor," I chuckled, opening the door wider. "Come in, sit down. We'll talk."

I led him to the kitchen, where he immediately slumped into a chair and stared mindlessly at the surface. I hadn't seen Mello since he was nine years old, but his face hadn't changed much besides the nasty scar. He was still moody and profane, but there was something different in his aura. I couldn't quite tell yet, but I was determined to find out.

"Want some jam?"

"You know I hate that shit. It's bad for you," he said as he pulled a chocolate bar from his breast pocket.

"Whatever you say," I chuckled.

After a few minutes of silence, he began to tell me what happened. I was immediately sucked in; the mysterious, indifferent boy reminded my of my Lawliet. Although, after my Lawliet went soft, I know he wouldn't be able to do what the mysterious boy did. At the end of the story, Mello asked me to help him find the mysterious boy.

"Why do you want to find him?"

"I'll kill'im for what he did to me."

"Alright. I love challenges. And finding this boy without knowledge of his identity will be quite challenging. But, I'm sure we can do it. Now, do you know anything about him?"

He told me about the boy's reason for appearing in their middle of nowhere town. How tragic. I found myself laughing at the boy's awful luck. Certainly this would be enjoyable. We began to plan how to figure out where and who he was. We decided to ask around, tell his story, and see if it struck anyone's memory.

Months went by with absolutely no luck. But escaping from the lonely house drove me to search across the desert. Besides, I constantly kept searching for Lawliet. The more towns we went to, the more chances I had to find him. We never slept in a bed. Mello stuck by my side, his anxiety obviously getting worse.

The reason I met Mello was because I'd kidnapped him. But, when I discovered he was thankful for it, I was intrigued. So, I taught him as A had taught me. I never touched him, not like I touched my Lawliet, but he was affectionate. He was rebellious, feisty, profane...habitually passionate. When he was angry, he was furious. And when he was happy, he was jubilant. When he met Matt, he left me and I told him I'd help him if he ever needed it.

This Mello was conspicuously different from the Mello I had known. He was quiet and filled with hate. There was a certain anger that lingered in his eyes. It wasn't the passionate kind, no...it was the vengeful type. The kind that drove men crazy. But, I let him feed his anger. It wasn't my concern. Besides, this new Mello still had hints of the old Mello I knew, like his conviction to achieve his goal.

We reached Saisho, the sun beating on the napes of our necks. I raised the brim of my hat, glancing around. The benefit of having an alias was no one knew who I was. I could walk freely through any town, introduce myself with my real name, and no one would have a clue who I was. "Beyond Birthday" didn't have a face; a known one, at least. It was my name that made everyone quiver. And Lord, how fun it was to watch them sob when I told them who I was.

Higuchi wasn't difficult to find; he was in the saloon, as always. Mello and I walked through the door and Higuchi immediately recognized me. A greedy smile flashed across his face.

"Good afternoon, Higuchi," I smirked and sat down next to him. Mello followed, silent. "I have a question."

"Anythin' fer yew," he laughed hoarsely. "First, lemme get y'all drinks."

After our glasses filled with whiskey, I began to tell him the story of the mysterious boy. When I finished, he asked me, "What kinder pay will I get?" I handed him some money and he immediately snatched it, tucking it in his pocket. "Aw'right, I know the boy. I was the one who shot at'im, y'see."

Mello immediately leaned across the table. "Who is he?"

"Well, I ain't gonna tell yew that fer free."

He grumbled as he pulled some money from his pocket.

"Boy's name's Light. Can't tell yew his last name 'cause I ain't even sure what it is. But he's married to Misa Amane. She moved somewhere only three days journey from here. Couldn't tell yew the name of the town, but I reckon yew could ask the bartender or the ol' maid upstairs. She might know. Lemme know when you find out."

"You lyin' to me?" Mello asked, his eyes suddenly dead serious. "If I find out your lyin', I'll slit your throat."

I placed my hand on Mello's shoulder. "Higuchi knows what he's talking about," I promised. "He wouldn't do anything to hurt me, right Higuchi?"

"Yer, nothin' at all," he grinned. "Yew got my word that he's married to Misa Amane."

It wasn't hard to get the information from the landlord's wife. I just told her I was Misa's brother and I was coming to visit since she wrote that she'd gotten married. She immediately told me where to find her and the name of her husband. Light Yagami-An unbelievable coincidence.

Not only was Light Yagami probably related to Soichiro Yagami, the man who hanged A, but he apparently lived in the town that Lawliet grew up in. So this Light may have been the same Light who Lawliet used to mumble about in his sleep. Jealousy pricked at my skin when I thought about my Lawliet saying another man's name in my bed. I know he wasn't conscious, but it still disgusted me. He was mine.

I repeated the information back to Higuchi and Mello. "I'm afraid I have to ask you one more favor, Higuchi."

"If there's pay, y'know I'm your man."

"I need you to kill Misa. But make sure Light doesn't die."

"What?" Mello hissed. "What the fuck are you talkin' bout?"

"His time will come," I promised Mello. "But, until then, we can tear his world apart."

A malevolent smile danced across Mello's lips. It was the first time I'd seen him smile since he'd appeared at my door.

That night, we slept on a bed for the first time in months. Higuchi offered his house (which, apparently, he rarely used) to us, since I promised to pay him splendidly. Mello told me he couldn't sleep, he was too antsy. He couldn't wait to watch Light bleed. His new thirst for blood reminded me of my own. I hadn't killed anyone in three months. Suddenly, I was antsy, too. We sat, facing each other, talking about anything and everything. When a brief silence occured, I found myself drifting back to memories of my Lawliet lying in bed, staring at the ceiling as he listened to me.

Mello laughed when I spoke of Lawliet. He told me he understood the emptiness. He told me about Matt, how he loved him, how he'd hit him. How Matt had begged him not to go, but he'd abandoned him anyway.

"I feel all sorts-a sorry," he mumbled. "But I can't go back to him, not yet. I think I'll keep blamin' him for my face. I know it ain't his fault, but I just can't look at him right now."

"Why?"

"Because he convinced me not to kill Light originally."

He fell silent. His loneliness became mine. I cupped his hands and kissed them softly. His fingers reeked of chocolate. When I glanced up at him, he was gazing at me longingly.