A/N: Sorry for the bit of a wait. Considering it's so close to going back to school, I've been getting ready to go back to university. But yeah, here's the next chapter. I edited it as best I could while being a bit distracted, so please forgive any errors. Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed! You can't even begin to imagine how happy I am knowing that despite the two year wait, people are still willing to come back to this story with me. I really appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters used in this story, except Isaiah.

Chapter 6

The more time that passed the easier it became to handle Isaiah. Even if Isaiah continued to be a troublemaker who refused to follow a basic schedule, somehow even his non-compliant tendencies found their way perfectly fitted into the daily routine. The more exposure Near had to him, the more he found it easier to work around Isaiah's constant need to complicate his and Mello's lives. Near was beginning to feel as though he was slowly developing his own equation for determining what Isaiah wanted when he cried.

Mello called it 'instinct', but Near found that to be a complicated word to use. Instinct implied that Near had developed an innate, unconscious knowing for what Isaiah wanted. Near called it an equation; it was a simple process of elimination he could use based on the events of the rest of the day. It wasn't a perfect system, but it was a start.

Speaking of the blonde, the situation between himself and Mello seemed to be ever shaky at best. There were times Near was led to believe they were making progress working as a team, but as if to counter Near's previous thought, Mello would then snap at him; throw them right back to their original position. Things were more or less fine when Isaiah was around -the greater good always outweighing competition. It was the moment they left him which continued to make them each become volatile.

Four weeks since receiving Isaiah. It felt like four months. Each day brought with it something new. A new challenge, or a new factor of Isaiah's complicated schedule to deal with. Isaiah was learning new things every day; it was interesting to watch the little wheels in his head beginning to make the connections to the world around him. He was learning what each of his toys did, and learning new sound to make at people to get their attention.

As Near sat in class, barely paying attention to what the teacher was instructing them on, he couldn't help wondering if any of this with Isaiah was going to be worth it, in the end. Would the ends for Isaiah justify the means that Near and Mello were investing in?

What if Isaiah grew up wanting nothing to do with this organization, or taking over the L title? Would Mello and himself be able to support that? Would they even get to make that decision? Would it make all of their years of devotion completely worthless? All of this was assuming, of course, that they could even last that long together.

But then there was always that other looming question, as well. The one even Near tried not to plan for. What would the two of them do if something happened and one of them had to become L? Would one of them take the role? Would they both be forced into the role in order to continue teaching Isaiah? That wasn't an ideal situation for either himself and Mello as a developing team, or for Isaiah.

"Well… I guess we'll leave it there, for today." The teacher said with a smile, drawing Near out of his thoughts as she put her book down on the desk at the front of the room. "Don't forget to study for the test next week!" She called, as the students began gathering their stuff and exiting the room with fervor.

Near exited silently while trying to stay out of the crowds of people and allowing his thoughts to take him again. He mechanically made his way through the orphanage halls, towards the stairs to go up and get Isaiah from what should, in theory, be a nap. Though given the boy's terroristic nature, he doubted it'd go so smoothly. It rarely ever did.

"What're you thinking?" Came a familiar voice from beside him.

He looked over. Mello had his hands shoved deep in his pockets; there was a slight bend to his posture, Near noted for the first time interestingly. Those piercingly icy eyes refused to look at him, as if it would acknowledge to the other children around them that he was degrading himself down significantly by talking to Near. The younger successor was able to see past any opinions the children may have regarding them and this experiment, but it was obvious Mello's pride couldn't.

"Nothing in particular." Near finally answered, looking ahead of him.

"You know what I'm thinking?"

"Not at this moment, Mello, no."

Mello's jaw locked in annoyance, but attempted to keep his temper subdued. "Shut up." He spat out. "I was thinking about what you said a few weeks ago." He explained vaguely as they began up the stairs, effectively leaving many of the other orphans behind.

"I've said a lot of things, Mello."

"You know, the thing about 'Isaiah' just being an alias for whatever his real name used to be. He has a past that he'll never remember… I want to know more." Mello finally explained. "I was thinking we should do our own little investigation."

"We?" Near asked, giving him a confused glance. "You're implying we work together on this, Mello? I'm sure Roger and L alike would be proud."

"Yeah 'we'. Shut up about it, or I'll change my mind and just do it without you." Mello sneered at him. "Look, I just think we should try to find out about Isaiah's case, and try to learn more about what happened." He finally explained.

"I hardly see how it matters, Mello, or how you even consider that an investigation of any sort. We could simply ask L to send us Isaiah's case file. I'm sure L has already solved the case and has extensive notes on it."

"Yeah, but what do you think the chances are he'd actually give it to us, even if he has solved it? He's not just going to let that information go. I'm sure it's considered confidential. Besides, the case itself is only part of what I want to find." Mello continued to explain.

"You want to know all of the personal information."

"Isaiah had a life, and a family a month ago. Now all of that is gone. That doesn't bother you at all?"

"So you think it's your responsibility to be able to tell him anything about that past someday. Not just about what happened to his parents, but who they were as people, as well." Near concluded as they stopped outside Isaiah's door, turning to face each other.

"He deserves to be able to know something. Kids figure things out, and they ask questions. He's going to want to know."

"But that's not your judgment to make, Mello. He's growing up in an orphanage. An orphanage with kids who don't ever talk about what happened to them. It's natural for children to want to conform to the people around them." Near told him, watching the blonde's reactions with interest. There seemed to be a personal investment backing this 'investigation' Mello spoke of, but Near couldn't quite place what exactly it was that drove him past just being able to tell Isaiah.

"Wouldn't you want to know, if you were in his place?"

"No, I wouldn't." Near answered honestly, leaving the atmosphere between them suddenly thick and tense -harboring the potential to release sparks of electricity between the two conductors. The younger finally exhaled, attempting to dissipate the tension. "Mello, it's not our place to go looking for answers that, for all we know, may not even be there. That's not our job."

"There are always answers, Near. You of all people know that."

Near turned, finally opening the infant's door to enter the cool, dark room. "Yes, there are answers. Yes, Isaiah has a past, and he had a family, but that doesn't make it our judgment to make for him. If he wants to know, we can help him find the answers when that time comes." He explained, watching the blonde go over to the crib and pull out the five-month-old.

"Isa, you weren't even sleeping." Mello chided him, then looking to Near. "So you're not curious or at all interested in knowing where this little bundle of trouble comes from?"

Near's look hardened on him, reaching up to twirl a lock of hair. "I don't remember saying that."

"Good, then it's settled. The investigation starts immediately." Mello stated, moving closer to him, those sharp blue eyes staring straight into Near's soul -past all his walls that made up his cold and robotic exterior.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" He asked, unfazed by the blonde's proximity and burning stare; accepting that no matter what he said it would never change Mello's mind on this case.

"I know some people who might be able to help." The older successor said with a knowing smirk before letting his stare fall to Isaiah in his arms as he moved to exit the room.

Near followed behind him, "I'm not sure if Matt count as 'knowing some people', Mello." He couldn't help commenting.

"Well I am sure it counts. You haven't seen the sort of things Matt's been able to do with technology, recently." Mello commented, a sense of pride hidden somewhere in his tone. Though, Near couldn't be certain if it was a pride for Matt's skills, or pride in himself for having connections to people who were of good practical use in such situations.

"I can only imagine…"

Mello opened the door to the bedroom he shared with Matt. The room itself was a wreck -wires and clothes scattered everywhere on the floor, making it hard to discern what color carpet there was. The beds were both a mess with blankets and clothes all mixed together, items were knocked over, there were bottles sitting empty on dressers and desks which Near didn't even want to try and figure out how long they'd been there.

Near could practically feel his nerves shoot through the roof from being in his old proclaimed rival's bedroom and instinctively reached up to twirl a lock of hair in an attempt to find any sort of relief. As odd as it sounded now, considering their situation, being in Mello and Matt's room made him feel uneasy and out of place; as if being here suddenly took away all his control.

"Matt!" Mello called to the gamer who was lounging on his bed with a portable game in his hands. "We have some business to attend to."

The gamer shot a glance at his best friend through the orange lenses of his goggle before sitting up and pulling them up onto his forehead. "What kind of business, Mels?" He asked hesitantly, looking between the two successors.

Mello went to his own bed, sitting on the side and putting Isaiah down on his back on the mattress, letting him wriggle around a bit as he contentedly babbled nonsense to himself. "I want you to find me whatever information you can on Isaiah and his case."

Matt gave him an incredulous look, "What?"

"You heard me. I want you to find out whatever you can about him. Where's he from? Who were his parents? What's his real name? What happened to his family exactly? Anything you can find." Mello explained easily, as if it didn't even register why the task seemed so precarious to both Matt and Near.

"And how would you like me to go about doing that, Mels?" Matt asked, "I wouldn't even know where to begin." He put his game to the side to give his blonde friend his total attention, though quickly shot a look over to Near, looking him up and down suspiciously, silently asking why he was even there.

The blonde smirked at him, "You'll need to hack into L's database and get the file on his case."

Matt's jaw fell open and he was rendered speechless; even Near, standing awkwardly between the two was taken aback by Mello's proposition. He had expected something of the sort considering there was no other way to really gain any information on the small child, but actually asking something like that from Matt was on a whole other level.

"You want me to do what?" Matt practically shouted at the blonde, earning a glare and a quick check to Isaiah to make sure he wasn't frightened by the loud noise. "I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood you, Mello. How do you want me to get you this kind of info?"

"You heard me." Mello shot at him, attempting to leave no room for questioning, "I want you to hack into L's systems and get us the files on the case involving Isaiah."

"Why do you… Why should I even be helping you?" Matt stuttered out, still recovering from the shock from the magnitude of the request.

"Because if you don't, I'll tell Roger you have cameras set up in his office." He threatened, though his exterior wasn't fazed in the slightest to Matt's reaction.

"You told me to put them there!"

"Doesn't matter. That's just he-said-she-said at that point. The fact is that they're there, and you're the only one who would've been able to install them."

Matt took a heavy inhale through his nose, then exhaled through his mouth. "Why do you care, Mello? Why don't you just ask L what he knows and do it that way! Why do you always have to get us into trouble?"

"Disregarding the fact of just how impossible it is to get into contact with L, he wouldn't tell us anything, anyway. If he wanted us to know anything else about him, he would have told us when he left Isa here to begin with." He explained. "The fact is, everyone in this room knows where they came from except Isaiah, and that's not right."

"You're just interested in knowing his back story for your own gain." Near finally chimed in, looking out a side window as he spoke, still twirling the same lock of white hair; he could feel the glare he received from the blonde genius.

Matt sighed again, bringing all attention back onto him before Mello could fire off at Near, "Mello do you even understand what you're asking me to attempt? This isn't just anyone. This is L. Not only would his system be next to impossible to break through, but what do you think he'd do to me if I got caught!"

"Then don't get caught." Mello said simply, his eyes locking with Matt's.

Matt rolled his eyes, standing up. "Oh, 'don't get caught', he says…" He went over to the computer at one of the desks, sitting down and pulling his goggles down over his eyes again. "'Just hack the system,' he says, 'it's just L,' he says…" Matt muttered as Mello smirked.

"You'll be fine, Matt." The blonde told him. "No one's security has ever stopped you before."

"Did I mention before that this is L we're talking about? This isn't just any security we're trying to get past. I think you seriously overestimate my abilities, Mels." He announced, looking back at his friend one more time. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"

The blonde quickly looked from Matt, down to Isaiah, over to Near, then back to Matt, nodding. "Yeah… it's important to figure out what happened to him and his family." He reiterated seriously.

Matt visibly swallowed and nodded, turning back to his screen. "Alright, Mels, you are going to seriously owe me for this, regardless of if I can even get anywhere close to that information. I hope you know what you're getting me into, here…" He said with a sigh, beginning to type away at the computer. Everything went silent within the room except for Isaiah's cooing and Matt's typing on the keyboard.

After a moment, Matt stopped. "I need time, Mello. Lots of it. And space." His once carefree voice had transformed into one which was hard, focused, and fixed on his task at hand. As if his puzzle had, in that moment, swallowed his mind and soul into the virtual task. Near had never heard such a tone come from the redhead.

Mello stood up, bringing Isaiah with him. "Take your time, Matt. I trust you." He told him, grasping his shoulder tightly, then just as quickly as he had come, moving and exiting the room, pushing Near along and closing the door behind them.

"How long do you think it'll take him?" Near asked, his eyes trailing after the blonde.

"Hard to say. Maybe a few days, at the earliest. Maybe a week or two. It is L… so he'll have to be very cautious not to get caught or even noticed going in and out. Otherwise… who knows what might happen, what L might do." He explained. "Regardless," he added, "It'll get done. Even if he has to steal the files and run, Matt will get it done. I told you, he's good at these sorts of things."

"Right…" Near offered, still unsure. "I suppose we'll see what happens."

A/N: Again I apologize for any errors in this. There might not be that many, but it feels like it to me. Ah well. This is the last chapter I had pre-written so next chapter will be fresh written and edited. I guess we'll see if I can get it done quick enough, and if Matt will be able to turn up anything about Isaiah! Please let me know what you think! Any thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated, as always!

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-Forbiddensoul562