Choices

AN: ... There is one sentence, comprised of eleven words, that is my absolute favorite out of this entire chapter. Can anyone find it?

Suggested Listening: Thnks Fr Th Mmrs by Fall out Boy

Chapter One: Roommate

Matt stared blankly out the window of the car and into the rainy, wet and dreary scenery of Winchester, England. He was rather tired after his flight as well as uncomfortable, though he didn't show either.

He was currently en-route to Whammys, being driven there after being personally picked up practically from the scene of his 'parents' deaths.

Matt had to hold back a smirk at that. Whammy certainly worked quickly when it came to finding genii, just as Light had said. Though the response had actually impressed Light, which was rather hard to do.

But it worked out better this way, as he was still in his bloody clothing. Matt almost frowned at that. His background had been decided for him, personalized especially for him. He'd been correct when he'd assumed that he had no real choice in the matter when it came to accepting the assignment.

He was supposed to be an abused teen whose father had finally gone off the deep end and killed his mother and almost himself. The only problem was that he had to look the part in case Whammys did a physical. Light had no problem having someone kick the shit out of him for that to work out. Though it was also a warning; fuck up the job and expect more.

He so loved his boss.

So at the moment he was covered in cuts and bruises, wearing bloody clothing and pretty much hurting all over. So he looked the part. But that also meant he couldn't exactly act like himself. Well he could, just sans the usually sarcastic remarks.

At least for a while…

He wasn't all that social to begin with, and living with criminals did nothing for him in that respect either. So he wouldn't have to fake being awkward in some situations, since he probably would actually be feeling it. Though showing it was another matter... but that's what he got paid for so he would accomplish it somehow.

He nearly smirks, though it wouldn't fit his new image, as he thinks to all the items that he had been allotted for the mission.

He had been given the ok for most of the equipment he'd wanted. Most. Light had said that he could get himself a laptop while here; that having one, since he would be hard pressed to hide something that big, would have seemed odd with his history. And he sort of agreed with that.

If his imaginary father had been abusing him, he doubted he would have been given something like a laptop for himself to enjoy. Though it still sucked that he'd have to wait to get a new one.

However, the thought of his indulgences made him happy. He's gotten Light to ok a carton or two of cigarettes. Which was good because he'd been almost out of them and had spent his last paycheck on a new Nintendo DS and games for it.

So he was more than slightly addicted to games, sue him.

The tiny camera's and other equipment alike had been rather hard to hide since he didn't actually have many places to hide them. He hadn't needed to worry at the airports because Light knew the right people and he was waved passed security. And again with Whammy.

His backpack, as the only thing he had with him, didn’t have many hidden pockets to hide things in leaving him to find alternatives.

He even had a few of them in his pockets at the moment. Which was kind of hard since his jeans pockets were a little too tight, kind of like the rest of the fabric, and made stuffing cameras in there a little hard.

There was no hope of hiding anything in his boots either. And his shirt didn't have pockets, though he wouldn't have hidden anything in there since it was torn and covered with his blood.

His hair was a mess and the goggles he wore were torn on one side. Really... Light just had to have them mess up his goggles didn't he?

At least he knew they would be replaced. Or that he could at least ask for a new pair. Whammy, upon picking him up, had stated that all of his clothing would be replaced and that the orphans of Whammys wanted for nothing.

Though he'd been told that the main conversation would take place once they were actually there.

And as Matt's eyes swam across the slowing scenery he figured they had finally arrived.

The place really was quite large, and obviously a lot of money had gone into it. Once he'd read over the mission papers completely he'd found out that Whammy was an inventor and had made god knew how much money from everything. As he looked at the multi storied orphanage Matt had to wonder just how many children and teens were actually there.

They exited the car silently and he followed Whammy into the orphanage. With the place being so large, it was going to make monitoring anything a bitch. Hell, he didn't even know if there were places they were restricted from entering, which would make his job just a tiny bit harder.

Not that it would really stop him; he wasn't one of the best for nothing.

They stopped just outside two large doors, where Whammy knocked and only entered once the person inside ok'd it. Matt assumed that it was Rodger, the man who managed the place while Whammy was off doing things.

Whammy had explained that to him during the ride there. Not that he hadn't already known that. Light knew a lot about Whammys, just not everything, which was why Matt was here.

As they entered the room an aging man stood up from behind a desk and came to greet them. Matt forced himself to slightly flinch away from Rodger's outstretched hand, like the good abuse victim he was supposed to be.

“Quillish, are you certain this boy is the right material?” Matt loved how Rodger spoke about him like he wasn't standing right there. “Yes, his scores are quite good. He may even manage to overtake some of the top spots.” Whammy turned to him and smiled.

Rodger sighed heavily. “Well, take a seat then. We have things to discuss. I suppose clothing will be first?” the man eases himself back into the chair and Matt wonders if he has back problems or something. It might be good to know for future reference. It was always good to know everything one could about ones subjects.

And everyone in that orphanage was his subjects. Though the main one had yet to show himself. Or herself. Though Light was certain it was a man.

“I believe we spoke briefly about this when I picked you up.” Matt nodded but made sure not to say anything just yet. “You will be allowed to choose your own clothing. We encourage individuality here, within limits of course.” Yes, Matt supposed he had to say that. Imagine if someone wanted to express their individuality by walking around naked?

He was sure that wouldn’t go over too well.

His answer had confused Whammy momentarily, when he'd motioned to the things he was wearing.

“You want more of the same?” Matt nodded while trying to hide his smirk. It was rather amusing, the entire situation actually. Well perhaps not the getting beaten up part of it. But it wasn't like it was the first time he'd had to do something of the sort for a mission. Really, the frequency of things like that made him wonder if Light just liked seeing him in pain.

The man was rather twisted.

“Alright, since that is... settled, we will move on. You will need a new name if you are to stay here.” he made a show of being confused by Rodger's words. Rodger sighed again, looking wholly annoyed with the entire situation, as he began to explain what Whammys was for.

Matt tuned Rodger out at that point, all he was really doing was explaining that this place was set up to train the next L. And that no one went by their real names, not that it really bothered him as he lived using an alias.

And that also brought about the main reason for this mission. L. The mysterious letter that had Light Yagami, also known as Kira in the underground, obsessed to the point of scary.

Light always got what he wanted. And the fact that he couldn't find out anything on the world's greatest detective... well it pissed him off to put it bluntly. Matt could understand that. Kind of like in his video games where only part of the secret was revealed and you found out you needed to level up another fifteen times before finding out the rest.

His orders were to find out as much as he could about L, obviously things they didn't know. And that included who his potential successors were. It was known that there were three of them, but no names or faces were given.

And Matt doubted he would get the successors names from the actual people, so as soon as he got a laptop and installed his custom programs again, he had some hacking to do. Well… make that after all the electronics were up and running.

“Do you have anything in mind?” Matt only barely registered the question but knew it pertained to getting a new 'name'. A code name actually. An alias.

And he knew exactly what he was going to choose. It was perfect really, all things considered. He pretended to think on it for a few moments before speaking.

“Matt.”

“So the boy can speak.” at this point in time, Matt was rather beginning to dislike Rodger. So he made a mental note to cause as much trouble for this man as he can without getting caught; which wouldn't be a problem for him.

They asked him a few more things, or rather Whammy did, about what he liked. He didn't really answer, acting completely introverted and nodding or shaking his head. At least until Whammy said that it was to make sure that each child, or teen in his case, was kept comfortable provided it was within the law.

Matt bit his lip and just when it looked like Rodger might interrupt he spoke. “Cigarettes, technology, games.” which was of course completely truthful. Rodger sighed again and produced a paper and pen.

“If you insist on being so very vague when actually speaking, then I suggest that you write a list instead.” Matt inwardly smirked. Jackpot. He could now get his laptop as well as his games, that Light had forbidden him to bring.

And more of his unhealthy addiction.

He wrote down the brand of his cigarettes, his goggles, as well as stating that any new handheld game would be fine as long as it had a few games for it. As for the computer he was a bit more specific.

And while it would have looked odd had he gone to Whammys with his own computer, knowing about them wasn't odd as his scores were highest in technology. So he was expected to know those types of things.

He was finished quickly and handed the paper and pen back to Rodger, who looked rather surprised at his detailed requests though he didn't say anything. Rodger then went on to explain the rules that were in place as well as the rankings system, with Whammy adding things in here and there.

Already there were things that hadn't been previously known. Light had never had an idea of how L was even beginning to choose his successors. But the rankings made everything come together. It would make sense to take the top three in the orphanage.

So it looked like he would be doing a few tests. Though it remained to be seen if he would actually have to try or not. He hoped not, it would be a pain to have to monitor as well as keep a certain spot.

Though it would be amusing if he, the new kid, suddenly took the top spot. Unlikely though with his utter lack of motivation.

He wasn't sure how long they'd been there, but he was rather relieved when Rodger said they were finished and that Whammy would be showing him to his room. And that he would have a roommate. Wasn't that lovely?

Matt had just passed the threshold of the office when he heard Rodger asking Whammy 'if it was really a good idea to room him with Mello'.

“You know that it is the only option at the moment unless Mello proves too unruly again.” Whammy spoke quietly and Matt made sure to appear oblivious to the conversation.

“I give the boy three days to a week before he asks to be moved. And that is being generous.” Matt turned his head so that his smirk won’t be seen.

Three days to a week? That sounded like a challenge to him. It sounded like this 'Mello' liked to cause problems. Matt wondered just how bad the boy was if they were expecting him to change rooms so soon.

He followed silently down the hallways, careful to mentally map out everything in his head since he would need to know his way around. He was tired of carrying his backpack with him. It wasn't that it was heavy... he just didn't like hauling it around everywhere.

They stopped three hallways and up one flight of stairs later, right in front of a very ordinary looking door. And a quick glance down the hallway he counted at least another seven like it. Though he knew it couldn’t be the only hallway devoted to rooms.

Whammy knocked politely on the door and a gruff 'come in' was shouted from the other side. The door was opened Matt took one look at the short blonde hair, black leather and blue eyes and has to force himself not to laugh outright.

His roommate looked like something out of a gay mafia centerfold.

And he would have said so under normal circumstances, however it seemed his fun would have to be derailed in favor of the mission. Since he was supposed to be, you know, traumatized by his previous life. Or at least enough where he isn’t being a wiseass.

Stepping into the room after Whammy, he immediately deposits his backpack on the unused bed opposite of 'Mello'. Matt has a felling Mello is anything but mellow.

“Mello this is your new roommate, Matt.” Whammy leaves it at that, though there seemed to be some sort of unspoken conversation between the two because Mello looks away, and seemed rather annoyed.

“Though we hadn't covered it before, each room has its own bathroom so you won’t need to worry about showering with anyone else.” he can feel Mello's gaze as Whammy says this. Matt thinks that the way Whammy worded that makes it look like his situation was much more than just abuse.

Or had they thought it had been more? Just what had Light put in the police report?

After a moment Matt rolls his eyes at himself; it wasn't as though he had actually been 'in' that situation. Though some parts of it were similar…

“Now if you will excuse me, I will leave you to unpack.” Whammy excused himself and Matt wondered if he was going to meet L. Whammy was after all, Watari.

The door was shut and he was alone with Mello. He makes sure to keep his distance from the other boy. It made him seem a little skittish, and each person would draw their own conclusion from his actions. He had to wonder though, what was going on behind those piercing blue eyes.

It was a bit more than obvious that he was going to be taking a shower, seeing the state his clothes were in. But it only took once glance back at Mello to make Matt haul the backpack with him into the bathroom.

He watched, as he closes the door, as Mello raises an eyebrow while smirking and snapping of a piece of chocolate from a bar that had appeared out of nowhere.

Matt doesn’t really care what the blonde thinks, he just knows that look. Mello would have gone through his things had he left them. And it most certainly would not have taken a genius to find all his hidden techs.

He was going to have to find a good place to hide them, the look in those blue eyes spoke of high intelligence, even for this place. Or that’s what Matt felt at any rate.

Making sure to lock the door, as he wasn't certain what the blonde might do if he left it unlocked, he began to strip out of his clothes. Really, it was nice to be out of those things. He had been in them for entirely too long.

He only had one spare pair of clothing so he hoped that all the new stuff would be in soon. And knowing this place, it would be. He grinned; he couldn't wait for that laptop. It would also mean the real start of his mission.

Well, he had to place the microphones and mini cams first, but that was child’s play. Provided he could slip away from everyone long enough to actually get things set up. All the data recorded would be sent to the laptop, after he had made sure it was secure. Well parts of it.

Someone like L had to be allowed to hack into it, though he wasn't sure why L would need to look through a student’s laptop, just in case. That wasn't to say he couldn't make it a challenge. He was supposed to be good at technology.

Turning on the water, and making sure it was nice and hot, he stepped under the spray. Hissing as open cuts began to throb he made sure to be careful when washing. The bathroom was rather large, well at least bigger than what he had back at HQ.

And the temperature didn't fluctuate either.

The bathroom was completely steamed up as he stepped, dripping wet, from the shower. It felt good to him so he didn't care. He found a towel in the small closet off to the corner and dried himself.

As he was changing into new clothes, Matt looks at his bruised form in the mirror and smirks. Yes, this was certainly shaping up to be an interesting assignment already.

-End Roommate-

AN: Haha, I wrote this in one go. Too bad I didn’t edit then too… *falls over*