~{Y/N}'s POV~

I knelt beside B's body, checking to see if he was breathing. I'd been curious as to if someone could die while being in MU, but B was breathing. I knew how Matt was, and that all he wanted was to protect me. However, I knew that B had something important to set straight.

"Don't go near him, {Y/N}!!" Matt warned, and I ignored him as Mello calmed him down.

"B," I called, "B, can you hear me?"

"Fuck," he swore, and I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God. Are you okay? Can you stand?" I asked, and he groaned, stretching is arms above his head.

"Honey, I'm a serial killer. I've taken on more than your friend there," he snarled, and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, you haven't even seen the real deal, you asshole," Matt yelled, and I crossed my arms, standing in a scolding manner.

"Come on, Matt, I'll let you loose on him after we hear what this is all about, okay?"

When he remained quiet, I took the chance to help B up and start questioning him. "Why're you here, B?"

"I told you already, I'm here because A lied to us. We can all go back to the normal world. And I know, I hurt you when I believed him and actually fell for his stupid act, but I'm telling the truth."

This a big decision...

"I'm even willing to go with you. But I'm sure that A's following me, so if we're doing this, we have to act fast."

To trust or not to trust...

"Mello, what do you think?" I asked, glancing over at him to look into his blue eyes, that at the time, were the only comfort I had in that room other than Matt's overprotective aura.

"It's your choice, babe," he said, "You've always been the better judge of character."

"Kid. I love the guy. But you and your husband have got something that A and I never had. An unbreakable trust."

I looked at B and his eyes, and all I saw was vulnerability. He looked so uncertain of himself and it reminded me of myself. I sighed, and then looked at Matt. Everything in his expression was screaming at me not to trust B, to let ourselves find a way home, that he was tricking us for ulterior motives.

"Matt," I said, "what do you think?"

Matt's eyes went slightly wider, surprised that I'd even considered asking him, and he clicked his tongue. "Not my baby, {Y/N}. All I want is for you to be happy. But if you three going, I'm going with you. and so are L and Light."

I stared at Mello and Matt, the two men in my life that meant the absolute most to me, and I knew that I had to trust my gut. letting them down was as bad as death for me, and I'd already experienced it once, so I hadn't wanted to experience again.

"Okay, B," I agreed, "We're going back to the Shinigami Realm. Mells, Matt, go get L and Light."

They left, leaving me alone with B. Somehow, my stomach felt unsettled, and I studied B's expression. He looked genuinely concerned, but something at the back of my head kept telling me that this was a mistake.

I did the right thing... I hope.

~Lawliet's POV~

Ah, I'm ready to burst out -- catch every part of me! Ah, with both your hands, catch me for me.

"Lawliet, stop listening to depressing Vocaloid and come on," Hikaru urged, pulling my headphones off my ears, "They're going to release the exam results in a minute!"

"I don't care," I replied, attempting to put the headphones back on before Hikaru smacked my hand away. "Ugh, what do you want, Yagami?"

"For you to grow up and live!" He exclaimed, "You're so boring all the time! Like Tsukishima Kei without the angst, sexiness and volleyball!

"Oh, fine, shut up, I'll go with you!" I yelled, pausing my music and grunting out of frustration and annoyance.

Hikaru grinned and led me to a giant board, covered completely in papers from the most recent exams. "This one counts for the L position. Whoever gets this is probably gonna get Near's spot." He grinned, "God, I hope it's me."

I chuckled. "You are smart, so I wouldn't be surprised."

"I know right. But you're smart too. Just lazy."

That's true, I guess.

People crowded around the board as Roger blocked the way. "Okay, everyone. Before we unveil your exam results, Near wants to have a quick word with all of you."

A TV with the letter N on it was wheeled in and placed in front of the board. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm N. Or as you know me, Near. Now, I know that the person who achieves the highest mark on these exams is most likely my runner up. However, you all did amazing, and I'm very proud to see the fifth generation of Wammy's House Letters growing up to be such fine members of society."

"Near, would you like to do the honours of telling everyone who scored highest on this exam?" Roger asked, and a quiet hum came from the TV.

I looked over at Hikaru. We'd always been tied for marks. But he had motivation. He had something he wanted. Near's position.

"The only person with a full score of 100% is," Near said calmly, "Lawliet Keehl."

...huh?

"What?" I gasped, and Hikaru looked up at me with a mix of emotions.

Disappointment. Sadness. Betrayal. But there was a small amount of happiness. "Listen, Hikaru," I began, but he shook his head.

"It's okay, Keehl," he dismissed. "It's not set in stone yet. Besides, it's not like I wasn't prepared to lose."

He's hurt. Really hurt. But...

"Lawliet. If you could please go into the main office. We have to speak with you." Roger said, and I nodded, watching Hikaru walk to the board with less excitement than he should have had.

I walked to Roger's office and he led me to a room. "Hold on one moment," he pleaded, pushing a file cabinet to reveal a hatch. "You'll be going down there."

Are you serious?

"Uh, no, Roger, I'm sorry, but..." I stammered, "W-what is this?"

"I'm afraid I can't explain. Please just go downstairs."

Wammy's House would never do anything bad to its orphans.

I nodded and went down the stairs, which lead to a large dark room, with scattered papers all over the floor, and a bunch of computers around the room. There was a huddled person in the centre of the room, with a bunch of files and a laptop perched in front of him. "U-um, I'm sorry to bother you," I started, "But what is this? Why did Roger send me down here?"

The figure turned around to reveal a albino boy. "Hey, Lawliet. It's been a while."

No way... Near?? He's supposed to be in the US right now!!

"N-N-Near?" I exclaimed, "Why're you here? Aren't you stationed in the United States right now?"

He held a finger to his lips. "Keep quiet, Lawliet. This is a secret between you and I, okay?"

I nodded in agreement and he smiled. "Your father would've killed to see this, you know."

My... father?

"Near," I said, "You personally knew my dad?"

"I knew your mom, too. We all grew up here. I know, I've told you stories about what I thought your parents were, but I knew them well. Your dad, Mihael Keehl, was given the letter M, and his Wammy's House name was Mello. Your mom was never given a letter, but she was a genius all the same. She loved to write."

Mom... and Dad.

"Your mom's name was {Y/N} {L/N}. Her and your dad were best friends. I'm sure you've heard of L, and the fourth generation. We all knew L personally, and your father and I were constantly competing for the right to be L's successor," he sighed and stared fondly at me. "To see you becoming my successor would mean the absolute world to him."

"Dad would've been proud of me?" I asked, genuinely shocked. "Wait, why are you telling me this now?"

"Because you're old enough, and you've secured a potential spot as my successor. You deserve the truth. Are you ready?"

I'm about to hear about mom and dad.

The parents that I thought would've taken me for granted.

"Yes, Near," I agreed, "I wanna hear the truth."

"Back when we were around 15 years old, there was a criminal case that L looked into. The Kira case. I know you've studied it with me, so I won't go into depth, but it ended with L being killed by Kira. Your father and I would've had to share the successor position, so he gave it to me and left Wammy's House. Your mother, and a close friend of theirs, Matt, left shortly after to find him."

Matt... I've heard that somewhere.

"They stayed away from Wammy's House and joined the mafia. For 3 years, we communicated with little to no contact, and then something miraculous happened. Her and Mello were a couple, and she was pregnant. With a special boy named Lawliet. They named you after L. It's his last name."

I'm named after L?

"Anyways. Matt had loved your mother very much. He was as in love with your mom as Mello was. But he had a girlfriend named Mina. And when you were a few months old, after your parents' wedding, Mello and Matt had to leave on a mission. An accident happened, and your father had half of his body burnt in an explosion. We were all fighting against Kira. Mello, Matt and {Y/N} with the mafia. And I with the SPK. {Y/N} went to work with Mello and Matt, leaving you with Mina. They planned one last mission to ultimately destroy Kira. In all honesty, I thought that it would work. That day was one of the scariest days of my life. Matt was shot several times, and left for dead by the police. Mello and {Y/N} suffered heart attacks and their bodies burnt down in a church somewhere in Nagano."

Tears were flowing from my eyes. "There's no gravesite, is there?"

"No, not for your parents. I had one made for Matt. Your mother's last request was for you to be trained under me. She wanted you to have the life your father always wanted. It's the only reason he had for everything. All he ever wanted was to be in first place. He was always second to me, and he developed a inferiority complex because of it."

"...wanna go... gravesite."

"Pardon?" Near questioned.

"I want to go to Uncle Matt's gravesite," I repeated. "It's the last reminisce of them that I have."

Near softened and placed his hand on my head, smiling at me. "Such a good kid. You take after your mother."

Tears escaped my eyes but I tried to wipe them away before Near could see, and he chuckled. "It's okay to cry, I understand. I kept this a secret from you for 13 whole years. But you're old enough and smart enough to handle it."

Near pulled a locket out of his pocket and gave it to me. "Here, your mom would've wanted you to have this. Their wedding rings were saved from the fire, too, but I'll give those to you once you turn 18."

I held the heart-shaped locket in my hands. There was a giant M on it, and inside there was a picture of a boy and girl. The boy was wearing black and he had blond hair, with blue eyes. He was grinning, with an arm wrapped around the girl. The girl had {H/C} hair and {E/C} eyes, and she was wearing a black jacket over a {F/C} dress.

In the background, there was a boy with red hair and eyes that were covered by orange-tinted goggles, smoking a cigarette and playing on a DS, not paying much attention to the picture.

"That's them?" I asked, and Near nodded.

"It was on Mello's birthday. I took the picture for them. I know that all you ever wanted was a family, and that Kira took that away from you. But I'm still your guardian. I'm the closest thing you have to a family."

It's true. All I ever wanted in life was a family, and I don't even have that.

"It's funny, to think that Kira's and Mello's sons would be competing to be my successor."

What.

"W-wait, Kira's son??" I demanded. "Who's Kira's son?"

"Hikaru Yagami. I'm surprised you didn't connect the dots, having had studied the Kira case with me."

Yagami's Kira's son?!

"S-should I be worried?"

"No, he's not crazy like his father. We raised him well. But you can't tell him. He never studied that case. We purposely kept him away from it because we knew that Light Yagami's son could very well be the next Kira. He has the brains."

This has to be kept from Hikaru.

"Okay. I understand. Thanks, Near," I managed, and he pulled me in for a hug.

"I'm not the type to believe in God or Heaven or anything. But your parents did, and I just wanna tell you that they'd be super proud if they saw you here today. I know I am."

More tears flowed out my eyes, and I made no attempt to stop them. I squeezed Near's body closer to mine, letting myself break down.

"It's okay, Lawliet. I know, it's hard. You're stressed. You can take the next week off to just think about all this. Your parents loved you very much. I love you, too. I consider you to be the son I never had. I'm never going to let any harm come to you. You don't deserve to suffer like we did." He soothed, and I nodded, pulling away from him and wiping my eyes on my shirt sleeve.

"I'm gonna go into town later tonight," I said, "Where's Uncle Matt's grave?"

~TIME SKIP~

I stared in the mirror of my room at Wammy's House, looking at my feature. I had Mello- no, Dad's blue eyes, and Mom's {H/C} hair. Near had said that I have Mom's personality, but I know that I get my attitude from Dad.

Would they really be proud to see me?

"Since Uncle Matt was a gamer boy, then..." I whispered to myself, "I should take something fitting to the grave with me."

I went into my drawer of classic gaming merchandise and found a copy of New Super Mario Brothers. "This was the first game I ever got."

Written on the inside was an small inscription, in pen on the gaming manual. To Lawliet Keehl. From Uncle Matt (Mail Jeevas). Your Mom and Dad have no taste in videogames. Keep this. My cute little genius nephew!

"See, I knew I'd heard Matt somewhere before," I exclaimed, and I smiled fondly at the game.

Matt gave this game to me. He left it for me.

I grabbed a bag and some money and left Wammy's House, getting on the bus. I stopped at the mall to buy some flowers and a new DS cartridge, and went on my way to the gravesite.

The emotions on that second bus trip were indescribable. I felt so antsy and horribly nervous that I sat there, terrified, until the bus hit my stop. I went to the grave with Mail "Matt" Jeevas engraved on it, and stood at it's feet.

"Hey, Uncle Matt, its Law. Sorry I haven't visited until now," I began, "But I'm here now. You know, I never thought I'd be here. I didn't think that I actually had a family somewhere out there. But it turns out, the only reason I don't is because of Kira. Without him, everything would've been perfect. You, Mom, Dad, even L, you'd all be here."

With me.

"I hope you're with Mom and Dad. And I hope you're still chasing after Mom, because from what Uncle Near said, you love her. A lot. And Dad knows that, but he loves her too. I'm sorry I couldn't save any of you. I'd trade just about anything in the world to have you guys here. To see me grow up, to see me becoming the man that I hope you want me to be."

I paused to let myself regain my breath, as I was already choking, holding back tears.

"I'm sorry you all went through this. Tell Mom and Dad that I said hi, and that I love them, okay? I know they probably feel like crap about leaving me behind, but I'm okay. And Dad, I'm going to be Number One. No matter what it takes, I'm gonna reach the top, and I'm gonna fulfill your dreams. Uncle Matt, take care of Mom and Dad for me."

I placed the two objects on the grave and stared for a minute, taking in the sight. Then I turned on my heel and began to walk away, leaving behind a bouquet of flowers with a in it, and a game cartridge.

I took the slow ride back to Wammy's House, my heart feeling slightly more completed. As I walked to the entrance, I saw Near standing there, his arms crossed across his chest and a smile across his face. "Lawliet," he said, "Come here, we found something we'd like to show you."

I followed closely behind him to the office, where there was a garbage bag full of papers and pictures. "What is this?" I asked, and he chuckled.

"We went to the house your parents lived in while they were alive. These were all found there. I thought that the team that investigated hadn't found anything but Roger begged to differ. And we got ahold of this."

I tore into the bag and pulled out a photo of my Mom holding me as I was asleep. She was smiling wide. I flipped the photo over and bit my lip when I saw a small note there.

"{Y/N} and Lawliet Keehl, the two most important people in this world."