I awoke slowly, feeling sluggish. I sat up slowly, trying to work out where I was. It was pitch black all around, and the floor was covered in a thin layer of straw. I stood very slowly and took step forward. Reaching out, I felt cool stone at my finger tips. I pressed my ear against the wall and listened for anything. Nothing. I slowly felt my way along the wall until I reached a corner. The stone ended here, and it was replaced by iron bars. I followed them, slowly mapping out the room. The room was small to say the least, about the size of a lift. I sat down again and thought hard. I don't remember anything about my kidnapping, but I could still try and to work about who would have done this. Suddenly a light switched on above my head. I blinked and shielded my eyes. The light was too bright. I heard heavy footsteps. I removed my hands and looked up blinking. I gave a small gasp at what I saw.

Mello was standing on the other side of the iron bars looking down at me, his mouth twisted into a cruel smirk. I met his gaze, my mind spinning with one word: Why? Mello slipped a long brass key out his pocket and unlocked the cell door. The door slid to the side and Mello stepped in the room. I pulled away from him, fear and confusing quickly mounting up. Mello just pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket and slowly unwrapped it. I swollen hard and spoke up "Mello, what are you doing?" he froze. Suddenly his eyes narrowed he threw the chocolate bar down onto the cell floor and reached down grabbing a fistful of my hair. I gave a small cry as he pulled me to my feet, and yanked my head back. I stared into his eyes, praying he wouldn't hurt me. His eyes narrowed and he raised his other hand. My pulse quicken as I saw what he was holding. A switchblade. I struggled a little as he flipped it open and brought it close to my forehead. He growled "You don't deserve to look at me" as he pressed the blade into my flesh. I whimpered as the thin blade cut deep into forehead. Sharp pain coursed through my head as blood flowed down my face, into my eyes blinding me. I grabbed Mello's wrist to try and make him stop, but he was stronger than me. I couldn't do anything but whimper in pain as he cut my forehead open. Suddenly he let me go and I fell to the floor, clutching my head. Mello grabbed my hair and started to drag me. I couldn't see where he was taking me because of all the blood in my eyes. I kicked out and clawed at Mello's hands but I couldn't make Mello release me. He was much stronger than me, and didn't seem to even notice my struggling. After a few seconds I felt Mello lift me completely off the floor and throw me down. I hit something hard. As soon as Mello let go of my wrists I wiped some of the blood out my eyes. I realized I was lying on a wooden table. Mello grabbed my left wrist and pulled it to the side. I tried to pull it back but Mello stopped and leapt onto the table, so he was crouching over me. He held the blade close to my face, and whispered "Don't even struggle. Or I will make this ten times more painful than I mean it to." I froze and stared into Mello's eyes.

"Mello, plea-," But before I could finish Mello grabbed my wrist again and restrained it to the table. I struggled weakly for a second but Mello's threat rang round my skull "Than I mean it to." What was he going to do? Why does he want to hurt me? After he had restrained my wrists and ankles he slid off the table. I followed him with my eyes and he crossed the room to a small steel trolley. He calmly pushed it over, next to the table. I had guessed what was on the trolley, but it still chilled my insides when I saw it for myself. Set on a steel tray were a set of surgical equipment. Mello calmly picked up a scalpel, and tore through my shirt. He positioned the scalpel on my chest and slowly cut a long deep line down the middle of my chest. I yelped in pain and struggled agastist my restraints. Mello pulled back and watched me struggle with a small smile. He carefully put the scalpel down and climbed back onto the table again. He placed his hands by the cut, and then slowly slid his fingers into the wound. I hissed in pain. Then I realized what he was doing. "Mello NO!" but it was too late. I felt him curl his fingers and tear the skin away from my chest. I screamed in agony, arching my back. Mello waited patiently until my screams had faded to whimpers, then he said "Hay Near" I looked up at him, and immediately wished I hadn't. He was holding a piece of my skin. The skin he had tore from my chest. He smirked at my shocked expression, and then slapped me hard round the face with the skin, leaving a bloody smear. I couldn't handle the pain and the stench of blood and I felt the world fade away.

When I came round, Mello was standing next to the table, glaring at me. "Good to see you decided to wake up Near" He spat. He turned round and picked up a spray bottle. He turned back to me and stood next to the table. He was smirking again. "Do you want to know what's in here Near?" he said quietly, leaning towards me. I shook my head slowly. Suddenly Mello pulled the trigger on the spray bottle, and a clear liquid landed on the hole in my chest. I yelled in pain as the wound burned. At first I thought Mello had poured some kind of acid on me, but then I smelt the strong smell of salt and I realized it was salt water. Mello smirked again and sprayed more salt water on my chest. I whimpered again and fought my restraints, willing them to disappear. But even if they did, I couldn't stop Mello. He's much bigger, stronger and faster than me. I forced myself to calm down a little bit, to not cry, not to give Mello the satisfaction of hearing my cries of pain. I closed my eyes, blanked my expression and cleared my mind. When I opened my eyes again I was calm. But Mello wasn't. He brought his face close to mine and growled "Cry damn you." He ripped off the top to the spray bottle and poured half of it into the hole into the wound. I gritted my teeth to hold back the yells of agony. It hurt. It hurt so much but I wasn't going to cry. Not here in front of Mello. He growled again and poured the reminding salt water into my eyes. I gasped, caught off guard. My eyes stung so much. I shook my head, trying to get it out my eyes. Tears slowly flowed from my eyes at the pain, and the questions running round my head. I opened my eyes and stared at Mello, who had been laughing from the moment I started crying. I took a deep breath. "Why are you doing this Mello?" He froze and brought his face back to mine

"Because Near" he spat "you are number one. You're the one who's going to succeed L. And I deserve that fame! You always take the limelight, and I've had enough of it! I'll kill you, and then I will be the best!"

"You think killing me is going to make you better?" I yell at him, "It's just going to make even more of a monster than you already are!" Mello's eyes narrowed and he raised his fist. Before I could even move he slammed the fist into my face so hard, I saw white flashes in front of my eyes. He didn't even let me recover before he hit me again, even harder than before. I don't know how long he went on hitting me for. I was knocked out after a few blows.

When I woke up I was back in my cell. The lights were still on and I could see a thick smear of blood where I had been dragged back in here. I sat up and pushed myself against the wall. I lowered my gaze to my chest. I whimpered at the sight. The wound was worst than I thought, the blood still flowing. I felt tears come to my eyes again and this time I let them flow. I reached up and touched my face, feeling cuts and bruises. Mello had done a lot of damage to me in his fit of rage. I remembered the fury in Mello's eyes as he was punching me, the hate. I had never like Mello much, but I had never wanted him to hate me like that. I just wanted to go back in time and make right whatever I did so wrong to make Mello do this to me. I sniffed. I felt tired all of a sudden. So tired. I curled up into a ball and let my tears soak into the reminds of my shirt. But sleep wouldn't come and relive me of the pain. The room was so cold, the floor so hard. I cried even more. I was so cold, so alone and so…hungry.

"There's a huge gaping hole in your chest and your thinking about food?" It took me a moment to realize I had just said that aloud. I smiled at myself and glanced around the room. My eyes rested on the chocolate bar Mello had dropped. "Bingo" I whispered and I crawled over to it. I slide the wrapper off and took a small bite. It helped me to start thinking clearly again. I needed to bandage my wounds; if I didn't then I would bleed to death. Even though I knew Mello would hurt me again, I wasn't going to give up. I wasn't going to just lie down and die here. I took a deep breath and put down the chocolate bar. I took off what's left of my shirt and tore a long, thick strip away from it. I tied the make-shift bandage round my chest, tying it at the back. I looked down at my handiwork. The blood was already soaking through, so I made a second one and tied that round my chest too. I looked at my shirt. It was only a few white tatters now, so I tie one strip round the cut on my forehead and I put the rest round my shoulders. I felt better now I wasn't bleeding as much. I took a few more small bites from the chocolate bar before I made a quick bed from the straw and tried to sleep. But sleep still wouldn't come. It was still too cold.

Mello POV

I watched as Near try in vain to shake the salt water out his eyes. It felt good hurting him, watching him cry. I imagined the pain I was causing, and I felt excitement rising inside me. I threw my head back and laughed the sound echoing round the room. I felt so powerful, with Near crying below me twisting in his restraints. Suddenly he stopped and looked at me through bloodshot eyes. "Why are you doing this Mello?" I stopped laughing, and brought my face close to his again. I breathed in the stench of blood and tears, and hissed at him

"Because Near" I spat "you are number one. You're the one who's going to succeed L. And I deserve that fame! You always take the limelight, and I've had enough of it! I'll kill you, and then I will be the best!"

Near stared at me. "You think killing me is going to make you better?" He yelled at me "It's just going to make even more of a monster than you already are!"

I froze then narrowed my eyes. He didn't have the right to speak to me like that. Not after what he's done to me. I felt anger boil deep inside me, and I raised my fist and slammed it hard into Near's face. I pulled back so I was kneeling over him again and punched him again. I kept punching him, not caring if I killed him. I wanted him to feel pain; I wanted him to regret meeting me, to regret ever being born. After I punched him a few times he fell still, but I kept punching him, wanting him to never wake up. Slowly the rage died down a little and I stopped punching him. I looked down at him. His face was covered in blood. Anger rose inside me again, but this time it was aimed at myself. I slowly lowered my hand and felt Near's neck for a pulse. I located it quickly, due to the speed it was going at. He was alive. I undid his restraints and slid off the table. Grabbing his ankle, I started to drag him roughly back to his cell.

After I had dumped Near back in his cell, I wondered down the dirty, white corridor until I reached my bedroom. It was simple, with a small bed tucked into the corner, a kitchen area and a door lead to a small bathroom. I grabbed a chocolate bar from a cupboard and slumped down on the bed. I lay back and unwrapped the chocolate. I cursed myself. I hadn't followed the plan; I had gone way too far. I could have killed Near. Not that I didn't want him dead, but if I had killed him today it would have been too soon. I wanted Near to suffer much more pain before I killed him. I looked down at I bloody knuckles wondering how much damage I had done to Near's face. My mouth twisted into a cruel smile just imaging the pain and suffering Near was enduring. I slid off the bed and headed through to the bathroom. I twisted the hot water tap, and waited for the water to warm up. I looked at my bloody knuckles, bringing them close to my face, smelling the blood. Near's blood. Without thinking, my tongue flicked out and I licked some of the crimson liquid off my knuckle. I froze, wondering why I had done that. But I knew. If Near is better than me, then killing him won't really make me better, just take Near out the picture, leaving room for me to take his place as number one. But if I became Near…

I span round and sped back to my torture room. I searched around, until I found what I was looking for; the skin and flesh I had torn from Near's chest. I held it up. I raised it quickly to my mouth and took a bite. I chewed slowly. I smiled. It tasted like pork.

Before I left the room, I spotted something by the door. I took it off the rack it was resting on, a cruel smile growing on my face.

I stopped outside Near's cell, hoping to see him crying himself to sleep, but instead he was sitting in the corner, deep in thought. I stopped and stared at him with all the hate I had inside me. He had torn his shirt to make bandages, and had piled the straw into a corner to make a sort of bed. He raised his head and met my eyes, his face completely expressionless. I felt my blood boil and adrenaline rush through my veins. I slowly slide the cell key out my pocket and unlocked the door. I watched Near's face for even a flicker of emotion, but he kept his expression blank. The anger building inside me grew as I slid the door open. Get ready Near, it's time for round two.

Near's POV

I watched as Mello entered my cell, and focused on keeping my expression blank. I didn't want Mello to see me scared. Not again. Mello stopped just in front of me, and I realized he was holding something behind his back. He very slowly pulled a long, black whip from behind him. The four tails were tipped with thin sliver spikes. I tensed from fear, but I kept my expression blank. Mello's smile grew a little more and he stepped back a little. The fear grew a little inside me, and I covered my eyes as Mello raised the whip. I didn't want those spikes hitting my eyes. I heard the crack before I felt the pain. I felt the spikes stab at my head, breaking the skin of my scalp. I yelped a little in pain and fell back. It had hurt a lot more than I had expected. Mello grabbed my arm and threw me on the floor. I rolled and tried to pull away but, he grabbed me and twisted me over, exposing my back. He quickly put his foot on my back, holding me down. He laughed as I struggled in vain; before I could react I felt more pain stab through my back. I cried out again, but held back tears. Mello whipped my back again, the spikes tearing through the skin. Mello aimed the whip tails right at my spine, and I felt the skin tear and blood flow out. He repeated the action again and again, until my back was a bloody mess. I screamed in pain until my voice was horse. He stopped and grabbed my hair pulling my head back and crouched next to me. I opened my eyes and looked in his eyes. I wasn't going to cower in fear of him. He's human after all, and people don't scare me. Anger clouded his face when he saw my dry cheek and he yanked me up into a sitting position, slamming my body into the wall as he did so. I was winded and my arms fell limp as I gasp for air. Mello's eyes light up suddenly, and he grabbed my hand. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my hand. In my little finger. I looked down and saw Mello was biting my finger. I yelled in shock and tried to pull back but Mello yanked his head back, twisting at the same time. I screamed in pain as he tore my finger from the base. He release me and pulled back smiling at me. I saw blood on his teeth. I sat there, too shocked to move as Mello chewed up my finger. I heard the crunching of bone, and a little blood trickled from Mello's lips. He laughed and spat some of the mixture in my eyes. I gave a strange animal like yell and shrank against the wall and tried to wipe my flesh, my own blood out of my eyes. When I looked up Mello was standing above me. I couldn't believe what had happened. I stared up at him, into his crazed eyes. He crouched again, bringing his face close to mine. I couldn't look away, from fear he would hurt me as soon as I looked away. Suddenly he lunched at me and I felt his jaws round my neck. I yelled and started punching and kicking his for all I was worth. But Mello just pushed me to the side, down on the floor. He climbed on top of me, holding me down and he slowly crushed my windpipe, like a wolf with it's pray. I couldn't breathe. I was sure I was going to have my throat crushed by a crazed Mello. My arms went limp. Blood was spilling from my neck too now but I barely noticed. I felt my eyelids grow heavy and I let them close. Suddenly I felt Mello's jaws leave my neck. I breathed in the air greedily. Even the musty air of the cell tasted sweet in that moment. I opened my eyes slowly, and stared up at Mello. He was grinning down at me, with blood round his mouth and on his teeth. He got up slowly, and placed his boot on my neck. I whimpered as he leant down, putting pressure on the bite. "Sleep well Near," he hissed before pushing away and heading for the cell door. "I know I will!" he yelled over his shoulder.

I don't know how long I lay there for, breathing hard. I was in total shock. I couldn't believe Mello. He had bitten off my finger, eaten it, then tore a chunk out my neck like a crazy animal. I took a deep breath and slowly sat up. My head span and I felt sick, but I sat against the wall and breathed deeply. I let my eyes close but suddenly snapped them open. I couldn't fall asleep; I would bleed to death in my sleep. I looked round cell, and spotted a white towel by the door. I blinked. That hadn't been there before. I slowly crawled over to it, and picked it up. It was a little bigger than a hand towel, and a small piece of paper fell out from between the folds of fabric. I picked it up. "Don't bleed to death. That would be boring" was written on the paper, in Mello's handwriting. I shuddered and took a deep breath again and picked up the towel. I held it against my neck, then tied it round to stop the blood flow. I tore a thin strip of fabric off the bottom of my trousers. I raised my hand slowly and examined the remains of my finger. Mello had ripped through the flesh and tore the bone from the socket. I felt a tear slide down my check as I tied the fabric round the stump. I didn't want to think, to remember Mello's eyes, the blood on his face. I crawled to the corner, where I had piled the straw to make a bed. The straw was very bloody, but I didn't care. I just pulled myself onto the straw and lent against the wall. I closed my eyes but as soon as I did, Mello's face appeared in my mind, his teeth covered in blood, his hands reaching for me. I screamed and snapped my eyes open. When I saw the cell, I curled up and sobbed loudly. The reality of the situation was crushing me. Mello was crazy. He was going to tear me apart and eat me. I could hear his laugh, echoing round the cell. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" I screamed again and again but he just laughed loader. I covered my ears and let the tears fall from my eyes. Suddenly the laughing stopped, and it was replaced by footsteps. I looked up and saw Mello; standing above, knife in hand. I sobbed and curled up into a ball and squeezed my eyes shut. "Please don't hurt me again Mello," I whispered.

After a while I stopped sobbing, and realized the cell was silent. I sat up slowly, and looked around. Mello was gone. I smiled, hope building; he hadn't hurt me. Maybe he was going to leave me alone, not kill me after all. Of course he didn't hurt you. A voice hissed in my head; he wasn't there. My blood chilled and my hope was crushed as the reality dawned on me. I had been seeing things. I had been screaming at nothing but my own imagination. I breathed deeply and lent my head against the cool, stone wall. I thought hard, about Mello, why he was doing this. I shook my head. There was nothing of the old Mello left. Something had taken over. Jealousy? Greed? Whatever it was, it had driven Mello crazy. He would show no mercy, and he would torture me until he got bored. Then he would kill me. I had to face theses facts; I couldn't hide away from them. Because if I understood what would happen if I didn't act, then I would be more motivated to act. I studied the iron bars, and planned my escape.

Hours later, I heard heavy footsteps coming towards my cell. I sat up and readied myself. I saw Mello stop outside the cell. I tensed. He was holding something behind his back. He was unlocking the door. I got ready. I had to wait for the right moment. Too early or too late, and I would be caught. As he slid the door open, I dived at the gap between Mello and the cell bars. I leaded outside the cell in a crouched pose, and I pivoted round quickly. I saw I was in a corridor, with a ladder at the end. I leaped from my crouch and sprinted for the ladder. I heard Mello yell in surprised and take off after me. Even though I was running on nothing but adrenalin I had never ran so fast in my life. I leaped at the ladder and landed neatly about half way up. I looked up and saw there was a trapdoor. Please if there is a god who ever you are please, please, PLEASE! Let that be unlocked. I started to climb quickly up. Mello stopped at the ladder. I reached the trapdoor, pushing it open. I curled my hand round the frame, and started pulling myself up. I could smell fresh air, and I thought I could even hear birds tweeting. I was almost free.

Suddenly, Mello's hand grabbed my ankle. I cried "NO" and kicked out but he had a firm grasp. Without a word he pulled back, ripping me from the ladder. I fell down and landed at Mello's feet. I looked up, at the light from the trap door. Mello signed, and stepping on the second rogue of the ladder, reached up and closed the trap door. I tried to stand up but Mello pushed me back down with his foot. "No Near. Stay down." His voice was expressionless. I cried bitterly. I was so close to being free. It wasn't fair. Mello crouched down next to me, holding me down with one hand. I struggled but I knew it was hopeless. I had lost. Mello had caught me, and now he was going to hurt me again. Tears were running down my cheek "Please let me go," I let me head fall to the side, tears falling to the ground. "I just want to go home" Mello lowered his hand and I realized he was holding a syringe. "I know" he said blankly, pressing the syringe into my neck. "Go to sleep" I didn't even try and fight. There was no point. I felt the world turning black around me, and before my eyes fell closed, I saw a cruel, twisted grin spread across Mello's face.

I woke up slowly, and quickly realized I was tied to the table again. Mello was standing next to the table, hold a scalpel. His eyes were open wide, and were incredibly bloodshot. It was so disturbing. I tried pulling away from him, but the restrains only let me move my head. "Good to see you're finally awake." Mello said, leaning towards me as he spoke. I struggled even more. I was scared of Mello. In this state he could do anything and not feel any remorse. Mello made his way round the table, scalpel at the ready. Without warning he stabbed my arm. My whole arm felt like it was on fire, and I screamed out in pain. Mello smirked and dragged the knife along my arm, carving into my flesh. He pulled the blade out and angled it carefully. I whimpered then howled as he stabbed the blade into my arm again, cutting a triangle from my arm. He carefully removed the flesh, blood spraying from the wound. My cries died down to a whimper, and tears flowed down my face again. I couldn't help it anymore. The pain was just too much to bear. I felt the world start to fade again and I embraced it, longing for relief from the horrible pain. But Mello had other plans. Before I could pass out, he growled "No you don't" and stabbed my neck with another syringe. The fading feeling was gone, and I was wide awake. I whimpered. Mello wouldn't even allow me the blessing of sleep as he killed me. Mello's lips formed a twisted grin again and he walked down to my feet. He smiled then hacked at my toes with the scalpel. I screamed in pain again but Mello stopped after a few blows, and straightened up, staring at the scalpel. "The fuck am I doing?" he muttered as he threw it down and picked up a large meat clever. He quickly slammed it down on my foot, cutting all the toes off in one blow. I felt numb at first, but quickly pain shot through me and I screamed in pain, throwing my head back and squeezing my eyes shut. When my scream died down to a whimper again, I heard Mello state in an impatient tone "Come on Near I'm done with that" I opened my eyes and looked down. The front of my right foot had been chopped off, and blood was squirting out the wound. "It wasn't nearly as interesting as I thought it would be," I turned my attraction to Mello, whose shirt was covered in blood. He ran his finger up the clever and licked the blood off. He smiled and picked up his scalpel again, dropping the clever back on the tray. He picked up the flesh he had tore from my arm and set it down on a sliver plate, set next to the tray with all his devices of torture on. He carefully cut a bite sized piece off and stabbed it with a fork. He popped it in his mouth like it was the most normal thing in the world. His eyes rolled back as he chewed slowly. When he swallowed it, he licked his lips and said "You know I never thought human meat would taste nice, but this is god damn lovely. I mean I would pay for this" he stated, poking the flesh with the fork. "I would pay good money for it." He cut another piece off and said "You should try it"

"NO!" I scream as he brought the meat close to my mouth. I turned my head away and gritted my teeth together. "Come on Near" He said, poking my lips with the flesh. It was warm and soft, and I shuddered at the feel. "You haven't lived until you try this" I shook my head, and kept my mouth firmly closed. He pulled away slightly "What's the problem?" he asked.

"I don't want to! That's from me!" I yelled, opening my mouth as little as possible.

"Oh right. Understandable" Mello said and pulled away, eating the meat for himself .I relaxed a little, but then I saw what he was doing. He had picked up the scalpel and was cutting a piece of flesh from his arm. I realized too late what he was doing and he pushed the meat into my mouth. I gagged and tried to spit it out, but Mello had clamped his hand over my mouth. He smiled, then pinched my nose, cutting off all air flow. I struggled but Mello was too strong. "Near until you swallow the tasty food I have given you, I will not let you breathe. I think I'm being quite nice here" I looked up at Mello, silently pleading him to stop this madness, but he just continued smiling his cruel twisted smile. I felt a fresh tear slide down my face as I swallowed. Mello smiled and released me. I breathed heavily, and Mello picked up the scalpel again. "Right, tea break over" he said chuckling.

"Please Mello. No more," my voice was barely a whisper, but Mello heard. "Just kill me now." I was done with this. I didn't want to be tortured anymore. Death was welcome now. Mello looked at me with almost pitiful eyes. He lowered his hand and stroked my cheek gently with the scalpel. "Is that really what you want?" he asked quietly. I nodded.

Mello's POV

I smiled and slashed into Near's wrists, first the right one, then the left. I sat down next to him as the blood flowed out. I looked him in the eyes "You know Near, I'm glad I'm the one to kill you." I reached down and twirled his hair. It was soaked in blood, some dry and some fresh. "Don't worry; your body won't go to waste. Even if someone comes down here they will only find your bones," I reached down again and undid his restraints, knowing he was too weak to try and escape. He met my gaze and spoke up

"Mello, whatever I did, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. We may not have been friends but I always cared about you. I never wanted to hurt you this bad." He reached up and gently touched my hand. I opened my palm and he slid his hand into mine. "If killing me is going to right my wrong, then I'm happy to die by your hand" A sad smile crossed his lips and he closed eyes.

His breathing slowed, then stopped.

His small, white hand dropped from mine.

Near was dead.

I stared at Near's body for what seemed like hours, just sitting in shock. I stood up slowly and walked across the room, to a mirror set on the wall. I stared at my refection. "I'm so sorry" The words rang round my head. The reality of what I had done crashed down on me, and I felt my stomach lurch. I bent over and threw up the contents of my stomach. All my anger at Near, all the rage and hatred flowed out too, leaving nothing but fear, guilt and horror. I looked back at Near. He looked so peaceful. Almost like he was sleeping. Maybe that was it. Hope filled me, and I stumbled back to the table. I shook Near's small shoulders and cried "Near wake up." He didn't move. I climbed on the table and shook him harder, begging him to wake up, to make everything alright. I hugged him to me, and sobbed into his hair "Please Near. Wake up." But he didn't wake up. He wouldn't ever wake up again. His face was frozen in that sad smile, and would be forever. I felt tears stream down my face as I hugged him close, one thought running round my head What have I done? I could only think of one thing to do. It wouldn't make things right, but it would be a start. I picked up the scalpel, and pressed the blade into my wrist, cutting deep. Pain coursed through my arm, the same pain Near must have felt. I did the same to the other wrist, then hugged Near close again. As the world started to fade around me, I remembered the few good times me and Near had, the times we had shared a smile, a laugh. The times when me, Matt and Near would play together. The times when succeeding L wasn't really important to us. I smiled as I felt myself grow weak, and then fade altogether.

Mello was dead