DEATH NOTE - 4 YEAR TIME SKIP (IC)

[ILKSie]

Mello shut Roger's office door behind him. He had enough of this place. Always disappointment, always having to be compared with this... this albino freak. He couldn't believe that he even let him be named L's successor... at least for now. It made him sick. Many of the Wammy children were returning from outside now, all exhausted from gaming. Usually he would respond to almost everyone's greeting, even if he was ranked second, he was admired. But now, he headed straight for his room like everything else was muted. It was him and his frustrated thoughts. He packed up everything quickly, everything that he thought was necessary at the moment. Finally, he grabbed his coat and left his bedroom, heading for the exit. His friends kept asking questions and tried to stop him for the answer, but he ignored every single one of them. His eyes caught Near leaving Roger's office right before he exited the building for the main gates. Their eyes met for a second, then Mello disappeared.

[Maddiieeee]

Lilli was playing with a puzzle when she heard the silence break with a door shutting. All the kids were either at lunch or working on homework and she wanted to relax for once. But today they were coming from outside. Really the work was fine, but she loved leisure time, who didn't? She stood up from the floor wondering what the disturbance was, and opened her door just a crack. Oh that's right, she had heard about the meeting with the sheep boy and the chocolate lover, they never got along but she wasn't exactly sure why. A small frown appeared on Lilli's face when she saw Mello storming through the hallway and she immediately went into stealthmode. When Mello made his way to the gates she had followed and did everything in her power not to yell at him to stop. That didn't work. "Mello! Don't leave!" She whined, and kept from crying about her inspiration leaving. There would be chances to meet with him again, she was sure of it. There just had to be, so she had done the same. All she did was pack some clothes and water with some puzzles, and headed briefly for the gates, leaving Wammy's after her rolemodel.

[Gaius Quintin]

Echo was just outside and near the door, sitting in a meditative position and with a laptop in front of him, an earphone attached to his left ear. He was chewing a tiny strip of flesh from his left-hand thumb, as he seemed to be looking for information about a certain subject.
The screen of the laptop showed an "E" in the top right corner, standing over all the other opened windows: a game of chess, another of solitaire, two games of hangman, a survey, and an IQ test, all floating around a larger window showing the latest information released to the press regarding the Kantou Kira, or "K", as Echo nicknamed the seemingly multiple killers. All while reading, he paid attention to the surrounding activities as well, playing the games and absently fulfilling the two forms. The timers on each game kept moving, and from time to time each timer flashed red, reminding him that he's taking too long to think before another move.
As Mello went out, Echo paid little attention to it, but instinctively pressed the shortcut for a voiceover message, as it was sent through the laptop's main speakers: "Hello, M.".
A few moments afterward, his instinct kicked in to press another shortcut, the speakers letting out a registered "Hello, Li.", as before, registered with a voice different from his own.
After seven minutes and thirty-two seconds, he won the Chess and Solitaire games, and solved 63 hangman games. To keep himself occupied, he found three crossword games to complete. He took out his cellphone and made a call to someone, his voice modified by the built-in software.
Echo: "This is E. The murderer is Nikole Kempinski. She wanted to cover a crime that the victim had discovered knowledge of. The case was closed, but it could be re-opened with the proof that the victim had access to. The actual killer is a hitman nicknamed Dragunov, after the weapon. Hired for 985,000 rubles. His real name is Yi Huang, born in Laos and raised by a single parent, his father. He usually resides in Beijing, China, and uses a fake name, "Lon-Yin Wang". I have sent you the file with my observations, deductions and proof, it should be knocking at your door soon."
The other person, through the phone, with a heavy Russian accent:"Thank you for the help comrade, we all appreciate it. We will, have to look through your work before making the-.."
Echo: "I don't care what you do. My job is done, and I expect the promised compensation. Goodbye."
He closes the call and makes another.
Echo: "This is E. I accept the case. Send the information so far gathered as well as anything seemingly irrelevant, to "ragnar@OK.com.es". Do not bother tracing the IP of the user who accesses the address later, it goes through enough filters to make you lose the trail."
He closes this call as well, and turns the phone off, placing it inside a pocket on his vest.
While he had been conversing on the telephone, he managed to solve two out of the three crossword "puzzles" and receive the results of the IQ.
He raised an eyebrow.
They actually make such deductions from this kind of test? No wonder some people are considered geniuses.
He minimized the Kira file and opened his real e-mail address, receiving the forwarded files on the case he had recently accepted to help with.
He brought up a few more games to the background to keep himself occupied, and started gathering the information he needed, ever continuing to keep his mind occupied, but eating so much of the flesh on his fingertips that the top of his left hand was already filled with a thin coat of blood.

[Sloth]

Near

Near's face remained expressionless as Mello made his way out of Roger's office, although in truth his mind was racing. Why is he so stubborn? was the only thing that popped into the young boy's mind as he continued the almost entirely white puzzle had strewn on the ground, reaching behind him for a piece of it which found itself on his strewn out leg. He put a few more pieces in place before the now awkward silence was broken by Roger Ruvie. "Erm.....Near..." Near could feel his gaze on him, and simply continued his puzzle. "I'll ensure the files Watari and L managed to send back are transferred to your personal computer." Near sighed and twirled a strand of his hair with his right hand after completing the puzzle, life was about to get much tougher. "Very well, I shall analyze them immediately, although I'd like you to do one more thing for me." his voice was monotone as he rose from his awkward sitting position. "And that is?" Roger looked to the boy curiously.

"You, Mello, and I are some of the few people that know of L's status as all three of the world's greatest detectives, from Eraldo Coil to Deneuve." Roger nodded, "If Watari and L were smart enough, they would've no doubt deleted all traces of Eraldo Coil and Deneuve as well, you can't have all three of those detectives just mysteriously disappearing, right?" Near had no doubt in his mind that the first L thought that far ahead, after all, his predecessor had never failed a single case, at least, that he knew of. "I know that garnering support for the new investigation will be quite difficult, seeing as I'm only twelve years old, they will surely doubt my abilities." Near tightened his hand around the hair strand he was twirling before letting it go. "I'd like you to reestablish as much of Deneuve and Eraldo Coil as possible, and use either of them that you wish to contact the I.C.P.O. on my behalf." Near rose his finger to his mouth, dragging his lip down a bit. "No doubt the task force my predecessor was working with will either tell them of his death, or....maybe..." Near removed his gaze from the window he was staring through "create a new L to avoid confusion....no, they wouldn't....none of them could pull it off...that was silly of me." at that point the boy was simply thinking aloud. "Erm, yes, I'll get started on it immediately." Roger opened the small laptop in front of him. Near got the cue and picked up his puzzle, beginning to walk out of the building himself.

Just as he made his way outside, Near could feel a number of his fellow orphans staring at him, he had emerged some time after Mello, and that no doubt caused suspicion. Near couldn't help but once more begin to twirl his hair, this time in his right hand. As he walked to his designated building with the puzzle under his left arm, he almost ran into Mello, and, rather than stop him, Near simply looked into his eyes for a split second before beginning his ascent up the large stairway to the bedrooms. He found his way into his rather dark room and locked the door behind him, hitting the light switch. The light revealed an abundance of toys laying everywhere in the boy's living space, from on his bed, to neatly placed on the windowsill, to the recently used ones he let lay flat on the ground. "Well then, let's see if we can crack this Kira case." he said as he took a seat at his desk. "One thing is certain..." Near flicked the nearby robot that was facing him, the mechanical toy skid across the desk and came to a stop near the end of it. Near moved his mouse with his right hand, allowing the screen to come out of sleep mode, revealing a small download manager which showed the abundance of files that were pouring into Near's computer, the vast majority of them labeled "Kira Case Files", a small smile appearing on the boy's face.

"I will find you."

[ILKSie]

There was chaos in the hallway, causing Roger to step out of his office. Couple of housekeepers were collecting the children in groups and tried to calm down the situation but everyone was chatting and trying to find answers to what just happened.
"Did you see how he left?"
"Is he going to be back??"
"And that girl, you know, Lilli! She ran after him! Isn't she supposed to get permission first? At 12 too!!"
"I don't think she will manage to stay out of this place for too long, it's not allowed to pass the gates..."
"Then Mello should be back as well before dinner time!"
Roger's eyes widened. "Where is Lilli?"
One of the housekeepers pointed at the exit door. "Apparently she was last seen running after Mello. I believe she was stopped at the gates..."
Roger nodded, "I will have a word with her."
He exited the building and headed to the gates where the blond girl was unsuccessfully fighting to break away from the guards' grasp.

Mello had walked for quite a while now. He was passing through the park that lead to the town centre, heading towards one of the roads he knew taxis were parked. He brought the bag infront of his chest, taking out a chocolate bar. He rested on the closest bench and started taking big bites from the chocolate bar. He stared at the ground, his eyes widened from the deep thoughts his mind was going through
"I have to get away from Winchester... and preferably away from England as soon as possible."
He took out his wallet from his bag. He somehow knew that a situation like this would someday happen. All of his savings counted down to just 2 month's living for food and shelter, and a plane ticket no return. He took another piece from the bar.
"A job, definitely. Preferably online, anonymously..."
He needed to fly away, he wanted to forget. He was going to live on his own way.
"Maybe Germany... or Holland... You will see, Near."

[Sloth]

Matt

Matt was sleeping heavily when he heard his room's door open, no doubt it was Mello returning from another one of his regular meetings with the orphanage's headmaster, Roger. Something was odd this time around, Matt could hear the rushed nature of Mello's actions, he was in and out of the room in a matter of minutes. Well, that was quick... Matt couldn't help but attempt to fall back asleep, to moderate success, considering the amount of noise Mello was making as he made his way downstairs.

His nap was shattered completely when he finally heard the sound of shouts coming from outside his building, and he finally thrust himself up from the bed, taking a look out the window, "Can't a guy get some damn sleep around here?" he thought aloud as he rubbed his eyes. However, he soon removed them when he heard the shouts. "Lilli.....Mello? What's going on here...." Matt threw on his red and black striped shirt, a pair of wool black gloves, and a pair of jeans, not even bothering with his signature goggles as he threw on his sneakers.

A loud beeping sound could be heard from his night-table, and Matt sighed as he reached his bare hand for the small metallic device. It seemed his pocket pet needed to be fed. This is why I'm never going to have kids. Matt turned the device off and tossed it onto his unmade bed. One thing Matt couldn't bring himself to be without was his signature, heavily modified white Nintendo DS, which he dropped into his right hand pocket. One last thing Matt got was his packet of cigarettes which laid on the duo's shared desk. He slid a cigarette into his mouth while reaching into his left pocket, bringing out the lighter he had stolen from Roger's office some months ago, which he always left in his favorite pair of jeans.

After lightning the cigarette, Matt turned for the door, although, as he motioned his hand to turn the knob, he heard the slightest of sounds as he stepped onto the welcome mat. Looking down, Matt saw a small piece of notebook paper. Curious, the lad picked it up, leaning onto the door with his right arm as he read the paper.

Matt, you refused to wake the hell up when I came back to the room, so I decided I'd just leave you this note. I've decided to leave the institution known as Wammy's House, I'm tired of being second-best, anyway, as you're no doubt sick of me complaining about my rivalry with Near.

Boy ain't that the truth... he thought before continuing the letter.

There's one thing I'd like to make abundantly clear in this message, you're pretty much the only person in within the confines of that orphanage that I'd like to think I can trust wholeheartedly, so, I'd like your assistance. If you find yourself willing to help me in the Kira case, set up an untraceable phone link wherever you can and contact me as soon as possible, I know you have the skills, and you know my number, I look forward to your call.

- Mello.

P.S. Burn this message as soon as you're done reading it, for obvious reasons.

Matt simply exhaled a moderate amount of smoke through his nostrils, was Mello really asking him to abandon the place they had been raised? Sure, It was annoying always being compared to that snout-nosed little shit Near, but was it that bad? Matt raised his lighter to the piece of paper and let it burn, tossing it into the nearby trashcan. "Well, the least I can do is give him a call." a smile appeared on his face as he removed the cigarette from his mouth, putting it out on the desk before tossing it into the trash as well. "It seems Pokemon's going to have to wait." Matt went into his personal closet and opened the small hatch leading into the attic of the building, a rather quaint place Matt and Mello had discovered in their childhood, and refused to tell anyone about. Truly, the best of Matt's accumulated technology was stored in this room, including the devices Mello was no doubt implying Matt should use for the not-so first time.

After setting up the rather unorthodox looking device, which had numerous wires running through the wall and down towards Matt's computer by the time he was done setting it up (after all, one way to ensure noone knew you were calling someone was to send it through a web server that you and your friend had made nigh-unhackable.), Matt simply picked it up and pushed the Mello's number into the spare computer keyboard he now used for a dial pad.

After a few seconds of Mello's ringtone, a familiar voice answered the phone.

"Is this Mello?"

[ILKSie]

Mello was still sitting on the bench thinking of his destination and future plans. For now, he had to find shelter and a job. After this was done, he could begin investigating on Kira. The idea of Near already working on the case made his stomach twitch. He had to act fast. Squishing the tin foil into a small ball and throwing it to the litter box next to him, he stood up and started walking faster than previously. He had only taken a couple of steps when his phone started ringing.
"About time..." he took the device out of his pocket and pushed the green button. "Finally awake? No need to ask questions, it's as written on the paper. But, just to make things clearer for you... L has died. I think you understand the rest. Don't you dare spread the word. I need your help... I'm going to be flying most possibly today, away from England. My whereabouts need to be censored, I am aware that you can give me advice as to how this can be done. And I need a job on the net that is completely anonymous, anything will be taken."

[Maddiieeee]

Lilli was kicking and screaming, and she looked savage as the guards tried to keep stopping her. She needed to help Mello, she needed to make sure he was okay. For a few more minutes she tried to bite the guards until she spotted Roger. Shit..He had obviously heard. "It's not fair! Let me go! What if something happens!!?" Lilli shouted, panting and calming down. Her energy was nearly used up, but she refused to give up so quickly. Mello was gone Mello was gone. He was a successor, he had to stay he had to help. Why did he get so mad? Why did he even think of leaving? Why?! Lilli's head clouded with questions as she tried to understand anything and everything that had happened. This wasn't supposed to happen like this, Near and Mello were supposed to work together.

[ILKSie]

Roger approached the guard. "It's ok, I will take it from here...". He patted Lilli on the head and kneeled down to her level.
"Lilli... Some things have happened lately that unfortunately I cannot share with you. Right now, we need your understanding. You are a young girl, but you are smart, and we all know that. You are too young to leave this place though, not just yet. Work hard, and be patient..."

[Maddiieeee]

"But why is Mello leaving!? Didn't he work hard!? If he worked so hard why would he leave!" Lilli said, trying to keep herself from showing any tears. He left..there was obviously a reason. Didn't he have a friend? So he left his friend too? It was just so confusing...For a moment Lilli was quiet. "FINE." She hissed, her face remaining blank.