I do not own Naruto or Death Note. Oh, and EQ is like IQ, except its knowledge in emotions and feelings (or something like that).

~Near's PoV~

When she first came into our lives, she had been a quiet sort of person. The kind that was overlooked easily and wouldn't say a word about it. She was that kind of person. It wasn't that she was a special person. Often, she got one of the lowest scores and when she tried to talk to someone, usually they would ignore or avoid her; after all, all of the worst were always avoided. What made her stand out though, was because she failed those tests.

Perhaps it was just my thought at first. I always noticed how she would try her best to contribute things to discussions that no other had thought of, though she was overlooked no matter how amazing the fact. When she was by herself, she always was keeping her hands busy, twirling a strand of hair or turning the pages of the book, which she always carried with her.

Everyday, every hour, it would change. Once I happened to be in the library at the time and watched her, climb up a ladder to the exact shelf in the exact place and place it back, grabbing the next book. She clamored down in a graceful way that almost made me hold my breath. She left then, her head buried in the book.

It was well-known that she had a unique eye disorder (which was why she had no eye color) and heart problems, like how L also had a different disease. No one seemed to care if she fell into a fit of coughs, however. More often than not, she seemed healthy, or calm at the very least.

Then, one day, Mello kept her close. It almost seemed as if he didn't know why either, but he kept her close anyways. Whenever I saw him, she would be with him. He would be eating some type of sweets and talking or he would be laying in her lap asleep while she was reading. Sometimes, Matt would join them, also supplying conversation. Occasionally, he would sleep next to Mello, but usually he would talk with them. One thing was for sure. Mello and Matt were calmer, less rash.

One afternoon, Mello was laying in her lap under the tree in the backyard. I sat down next to her. She glanced at me, so I knew that she had seen me, but otherwise, she did not react. I sat there for a while, just observing the surroundings and faintly, I could smell flowers amongst the smell of candy that Mello had been eating. It was unknown how, but I fell asleep. I dreamt of a field of flowers and a peaceful place.

She awoke me calmly, her voice like a cool glass of water. I opened my eyes, pulling my head off her shoulder. Mello grunted as she awoke him as well. For some time, I continued to join them. She would listen to the two of us, though her face was buried in her book. Often, Matt would join us. Mello inevitably ended up falling asleep on her lap, and most of the conversation also slept with him. It was a peaceful silence though. If Matt was there, he would be the next to fall asleep, beside Mello. Then, slowly, I would end up on her shoulder. The calm aura that surrounded her was hard to ignore, and not something one would want to ignore.

Though he did it grudgingly, it almost seemed as though Mello had accepted my presence with them from then on, though he had his fair share of complaints about me. We talked about her constantly, between the three of us, Mello, Matt, and I. We would give her code names. Smile, flower, mother, etc. The one we used most was S.A. It stood for special angel, which she was to us.

Days passed and slowly, though surely, she smiled more. Her grades increased and her hair grew longer. Nearly a year since we had all become friends, she stood, scowling at the board that told of test grades. She had reached the top ten for the first time. She stared at hers for a while, not answering us. The next test, she utterly failed and surprisingly, she seemed to be in a good mood.

It was at that time that everyone spoke to L for the first time. L was watching us through a camera though we could only hear his voice. He answered all of our questions one by one. He answered us simply and honestly. Then, a voice that usually was not heard was called on.

"Ano…Do you really distrust us all that much?" she asked. "I mean, though some would be rather envious, as gifted children, we would all abide by your decisions of the heir and would never tell on you." There was a short chuckle from him.

"Truly, you are amazing. I am afraid that my EQ is not that high. Trust issues number well in my book. Perhaps though, having a high EQ is just as important as a high IQ. Well, I must be going now. Until next time," L said before the computer screen went blank. Slowly, eyes turned to her and the questioning look spelled the nervousness she held on her face. After what seemed like hours, they all left slowly, but she did not move an inch, as though moving a single bit would cause death.

From that day onward, her opinion was heard more, but some also disagreed more. I stand corrected; many disagreed. They argued and tried their best to down her in arguments, as if it would give them more favor from L. At the same time, a fear rose about. Fellow roommates would also be more aware, as though she were to rise up and slit their throats at any given moment. It was almost as if they had realized she was there for the first time.

Her smile grew dim as they began to purposely ignore or attack her. She was not, however, alone. Matt and Mello did their best to scare attackers off and tried to accompany her nearly everywhere. I dissuaded people from bothering her. (What good would it do them?) Once again, they ignored her. The three of us were unsatisfied. By now, we had pieced something together.

First off, she was smarter than the score on the test. (The time she got into the top ten was proof.) Also, she seemed to want to keep it a secret no matter what, even going so far as purposely failing. Next, for some odd reason, she almost seemed used to being treated unfairly. Finally, no one knew about her.

She had come only a few years earlier, and yet, no caretaker or other person knew of where she came from or for what reason. Mello, Matt, and I were not to be deterred. We were going find the causes of this mystery. So, we did so, though the answers did not please us at all. With our lips pursed and with the guilt weighing with every single one of her tears, we stuck together, a small, intelligent, happy group…with a hiding guilt hovering behind us. We were the cause of those tears, for making her say what never should have been revealed to people like us, un-empathetic people.

The day that L died came inevitably. Over the years since that single day, L had stayed in contact with her, asking her questions to answer with her high EQ. The only other person who knew of all the details of the case with Kira was she. Though others tried to persuade her to spill the details, promising data of their own conclusions, her mouth was sealed even to us. Despite the drastic measures that some would take, she would continue smiling and it did not take a genius to know that talking with L had given her confidence that she needed. As time had passed, she no longer held back her intellect and scored high. She never once strayed from her fourth place though we knew that if given the chance, she could have surpassed even I. When asked by us three, she would softly smile and whisper a single question that would stop all protest.

The day that L died came suddenly and inevitably. The four of us were sent to the office, excluding her. She had been hospitalized from a sudden heart attack. The heart disease she had was no longer a threat, a hanging nightmare; it had become reality. The offer that the four of us, including the absent girl, work together was dubious. Mello and I really stood at knifepoint together, but for her we would do so. When we told the news to her, she sobbed, tears once again falling from her cheeks. This time, there was no guilt. There was fury at the one who had caused the sparkling jewels to fall from her eyes, Kira.

The road to catch Kira was difficult. Mello and I continuously wracked our brains apart, arguing and agreeing. Matt was constantly out, reconnaissance. It was she that kept us together. We pretended to work separately, trying to fool everyone, hopefully including Kira himself. Every night, without fail, the three of us, Matt, Mello, and I, would fall asleep at the table, papers scattered. Also inevitably, she would cover the three of us with a blanket, clean up the papers, add her own facts and opinions, and fall asleep next to us, on my shoulder specifically, much to the fury of Mello and amusement of Matt.

The day that she died also came suddenly and inevitably, a pair with L. That night, we, the three males, had fallen asleep a little earlier than usual. She had stayed up later than usual, shown by the broken clock, which had fallen off the table, most likely around the time she died. Her head was against the desk, her eyes closed, and pen broken on the floor. A quick X-ray revealed that her heart had finally died on her.

It had been a hopeless case from the start or so the doctors said. She had lived longer than expectations. To us though, it wasn't hopeless. It was she who kept us hopeful. The calm aura around her had disappeared and left us to try and get along on our own.

Somehow, it was obvious that she had found out who Kira was. On the paper, her writing was scribbled, as though she was desperate to write it, almost as if she had known her time was up. The paper had been some old bills, paid and unneeded. It seemed unusual that she chose such a discarded paper to write such an important message on.

"Kira is L's previous suspect, L-" was all she had been able to write for her conclusion. Above that large, unfinished statement, her thought process was written out. That was the last clue we had from her, Kira's name began with an L and was L's previous suspect as well as her thought process. With those clues, however, the mystery came to an end. The judges couldn't argue at all against her thoughts and though there were many sacrifices, Mello, Matt, and I had survived at the cost of our most precious person.

"Here she lays. May she forever be in our hearts and…" The man droned on, but I paid no heed. I stared only at the coffin, drenched in my best suit by the rain. One by one, everyone left except us three. We plopped ourselves down in front of the gravestone, ignoring the mud sure to stain our clothes, and cried. I read her short and simple, but meaningful gravestone over and over again, burning it into my memory.

Here Lay

The Special Angel

The One Who Holds Our Hearts

Hinata Hyuga.

Well, I just read Death Note and wanted to write this. Hope you liked it!