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Alice quickly rode her bike through the 4 inch snow, carrying her backpack, two overnight bags, and her purse. She stopped at the front gate of the orphanage and saw L and the old man standing there. She stepped off her bike and sat her bags down. L looked at her then at a clock tower. “4:30 am,” he said, his hands in his pockets, “I didn’t think you’d be here so quickly.” Alice smiled, “Well, when it comes to children, I’m always fast.”

“I see. Watari will give you a list of emergency numbers and some important information about the three children.”

“Watari?” Alice asked as the old man smiled and handed her two pieces of paper. “If you feel the need to call, please keep in mind the different time zones. Noon here is roughly 8 am in America.” Alice nodded as Watari handed her a set of keys and a black car drove up to them. “You can count on me. I promise I won’t let anything happen to them.” Alice said, picking up her bags as Watari and L get inside the car. “Oh, one more thing,” L said, “We never know how long these investigations will last. I’ll call you two days in advance if it looks like we’re done.” As the car drove away, Alice walked up to the door and opened it slowly. She placed her bike behind the door and placed her bags on the floor next to a couch. She sat in front of the lit fireplace and sighed. She looked down at the papers in her hand and started reading them to herself. For two pages, front and back, they sure left detailed instructions and information. Alice pulled out a blueberry muffin from her backpack and started eating, still looking over the information. She laughed to herself as she came across two bits of information: The oldest of the three loves chocolate and will eat that over real food, while the youngest may not eat anything at all. Very fussy eater.

She sighed as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. The young woman turned her head to see the youngest of the three, holding onto his robot in one hand while wiping his eyes with the other.

“What are you doing up so early, Near?” Alice whispered as she noticed that he was crying, “Did you have a nightmare?” He walked over to her and laid his head on her lap. Alice smiled softly as she rubbed his head. “There, there… it was only a dream. It won’t hurt you.” Before she knew it, Near had fallen asleep with a small smile on his face. She giggled to herself and covered him with her jacket. She wrapped the rest of her muffin up, putting it back in her backpack, and started to drift to sleep as well when her watch started beeping. She sleepily looked at it and sighed. “5 already?” She turned the alarm off and rested her head on a couch cushion behind her and drifted to sleep.

A few hours later, Alice woke up and looked around. The sun was shining through the windows and Alice covered her eyes. She looked down and saw Near still sleeping in her lap. She smiled and looked at her watch, “7:15. Time to start breakfast.” Alice gently picked up Near and headed up the stairs. As she got to the second floor, she heard a lot of noise coming from behind two of the doors. Careful not to wake Near, she opened one of the doors to see Matt playing a game system in his pajamas. “Good morning, Matt,” she said as the child looked over at her.

“Huh? You’re that lady…” he said as she pulled out a striped shirt and a pair of jeans.

“Get dressed, okay? No more ninjas.”

“Where’s big brother?”

Alice sighed, “Big brother went on a trip to stop some bad people. I’m going to need your help with breakfast so hurry up, ok?” Matt nodded and began changing his clothes as Alice walked to the other door and opened it. She saw the oldest child jumping on his bed with a dart gun in one hand and an empty chocolate bar wrapper in the other. “Good morning, Mello,” Alice said, smiling as Mello shot a dart at her forehead.

“You’re dead,” he laughed as Alice took the dart off her head and pulled out a long-sleeve black shirt and pants for him. “Get dressed. Breakfast will be ready soon.” The child gave her a cold glare before jumping down from his bed and pulling off his pajamas. Alice closed the door and headed for a room with the door cracked open. As she stepped in, she stepped on a small building block and flinched. She carefully stepped over all the toys and placed Near on a bed on the other side of the room. She gently shook Near’s shoulder as he yawned and opened his eyes.

“Good morning, Near,” she whispered as he sat up, “Are you hungry?” Near nodded as Alice took him by the hand and led him down the stairs.

Alice pulled down 3 different bowls down from the cabinet and some milk from the refrigerator, as well as 3 different boxes of cereal. She looked over at Near, who sat on the floor, playing with his hair, as Matt and Mello walked up to her. Alice filled the first bowl and poured some milk in as well. She handed the bowl to Mello, “Chocolate blasters with marshmallows for Mello.” Matt walked over to her, playing a hand-held game. Alice took the game away and handed him a bowl as well, “Crunchy French toast bits for little Matt.” Matt followed Mello to the table as Alice pours some cereal in the last bowl and walked over to Near. She kneeled in front of him and smiled. “And Strawberries crunch for Near.” Near looked up at her, took the bowl and started eating. She stood up, walked over to the cabinet, and pulled down 4 cups. Alice opened the refrigerator, placed the milk back and pulled out some orange juice. She poured an equal amount in each cup and handed Matt and Mello their cups. She handed Near his cup as she sat at the table and took a sip of her juice.

“So…when is big brother coming back?” Mello asked as Alice sighed.

“He said he’ll call when he’s on his way back home. He doesn’t know when.”

“Okay… So what do we call you then?”

“Well, my name is Alice, but you can call me Ali if you want… or even ‘big sister’.”

Mello scoffed and continued eating as Matt placed his empty bowl and cup in the dishwasher. He walked over to Alice, his hand held out. “Hmm?” She looked at him then smiled. Alice pulled his game and handed it to him, “There you go, Matt. Enjoy.” Matt grinned, nodded and walked into the living room as Near tugged on her shirt. Alice looked down and nodded again. “Okay, Near. You can leave.” He nodded back and walked away as Mello tosses his things in the dishwasher as well. As he walked into the living room, he mumbled, “No way am I calling you big sister…”