A/N:
Whoo! I'm actually uploading a chapter story for once! Enjoy!
Snow was the bright, happy, unpredictable thing everyone looked forward to at Wammy's House. Even Near ventured out in his soft white coat and cute snow-hat for the event. I watched as big, white flakes fluttered down and landed into his hair, blending in with the pale grey curls. He beamed up at the sky, marveling at the flurries. I helped Matt as he began building a snowman. His green eyes sparkled behind the orange goggles, and he laughed as a snowball hit the back of my blonde head. I whirled around to face Near's mischievous grin and smiling grey eyes. I grinned back and threw a snowball back at him, purposely missing his delicate frame.
The snow fell in thick blankets, and we hadn't noticed in our amusement that we had ventured out beyond the brick fence that surrounded the orphanage. I always wonder if I could've changed what happened next. As we tossed snowballs at each other, we didn't notice the headlights shining through the heavy snow. These last moments will always haunt my memories. The speeding car crashed through the chain-link fence separating Wammy's House from the line of graceful shops behind the orphanage. Matt and I were faced towards the fence. Near was faced away. His innocent sterling grey eyes widened as he heard the crash of metal on concrete. I screamed and tried to jump in the path, tried to tackle Near and keep him safe.
"Near!" My shriek alerted the small boy. He quickly maneuvered out of the way as the car came to a screeching halt outside the busy street. His eyes were wide, panicked. I sighed in relief.
Suddenly, a truck, fog lights off even in the thick snow, came barreling down the lane. It hit Near as he lay, panting and frightened, full on. My shout came to late. His wide grey eyes stared unseeingly into the sky. Pools of crimson stained the perfect snow. And through it all, the snow never stopped tumbling down, covering everything with its cold, unfeeling touch. I ran to his side, howling in anguish, tears streaming down my cheeks.
And somewhere, locked away in his Kanto, Japan home, Kira had just written down the name of the thief who, forty seconds later, crashed his car, clutching at his chest, as his partner tried to control the wheel, sending the metal box of a car down a seemingly deserted alley. Kira hadn't known that he had somehow, in my mind, been connected to Near's death.
I wake up sweating and trembling. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is scarlet staining flawless white, a reverie turned into a nightmare. As I close my eyes and lay back, I see the flawless white in his true form. Near, I think to myself, why'd you have to leave? Four years had flown by, four years soaked in bloodshed of criminals and civilians alike, all the work of Kira. He had taken two things that had meant the most to me. Near had been killed from his idle stroke of his pen. L had been taken from me by the same hand, only with a different tool.
Holding the file of Kira in my hand, I stand up and watch the world, so blind and clueless, wander around in their meaningless lives. No, they would never know that a person who had watched as something so close and dear to him had been killed before his eyes was going to murder the one they called their god. They wouldn't, but I would. I sit at the computer to work on the Kira case. But first, I open a notepad and begin to type words I couldn't verbalize out loud, for fear that they would slip away.
Dear Near,
I miss you.
-Mello