Mello's hatred for Near originated at the orphanage where they both had lived as children. This story takes place there, at the Wammy house.
Mello was walking slowly down the hall, where a silent Near had been sitting on the floor, completing a white puzzle with the letter L printed in the bottom-right corner. Matt followed Mello like a puppy, matching every turn or swerve Mello made in his unusually slow pace. Near looked up at Mello, and Mello down to Near, but Mello immediately turned up his nose to ignore Near's existence.
"Hey, Mello!" Near shouted at him as he walked past. Mello stopped, almost making Matt crash into him.
"What, twerp?" Mello asked without turning around to face his adversary. Matt did turn around, however, only to see Near putting the final piece of his puzzle into place.
"I need to talk to you. Alone." Near told Mello. Matt took the hint and ran off down the hall to his room, closing the door once inside. Mello stared into Near's eyes, as if he could see into Near's soul if he looked hard enough.
"You do know you don't have x-ray vision...right, Mello?" Near calmly asked. Mello clenched his fists, trying to contain his anger. It didn't work for long, however, and soon he grabbed the puzzle and threw it against the wall. As soon as the pieces of his puzzle fell one by one to the tiled floor in a rain of white, Near began to pick them up again.
"Stop it!" Mello exclaimed, "Just stop it, you, you...!" Mello stopped as Near wrapped his arms around Mello's legs, hugging him from his location on the floor.
"I know what you think." Near told his captive, "I know you think you're always...second-best."
"Why you...you don't know anything!" Mello yelled in frustration. "You couldn't ever understand!" Near pulled himself up using Mello's hips for support.
"You're right...I may never know, I may never understand. But I can assure you, Mello; you were never number two to me." Near replied. Mello's angry expression changed to a more compassionate one as Near continued to speak.
"I never felt like I was number one, Mello. No matter how many contests I won, no matter how many people told me how smart I am, I always have this...hollow feeling inside. Please, Mello...don't hate me..."
Tears spilled from Near's eyes onto the floor until there was a puddle of them around Mello's feet.
"I...I don't hate you, Near. That couldn't be further from the truth." Mello told the boy. The tears that pooled from Near's eyes slowly disappeared and he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
"Then...what is the truth?"
Matt slowly stuck his head out from the doorway of his room to see what was taking Mello so long, only to find that his best friend had been trapped by his rival, and he could not get away. Near noticed Matt's presence, and swiftly let go of Mello's waist.
"Never mind, Mello." said Near in his now stoic expression. As Mello ran off to talk to Matt, Near began to gather the pieces of his white puzzle.
"L should be here soon. I wonder why he hasn't been here for so long." Matt said as they walked around the corner. Mello seemed to ignore his friend's words, unable to think of anything but Near. It frustrated him to no end, knowing that despite Near's kind words, he would always be number two in the eyes of everyone else.