Before you begin, if you haven't do so already, please go to my profile page. I've received some questions that will be cleared up if you just take a look. If you still have questions then go ahead and PM me and I'll help you sort it out. I don't want there to be any misconceptions.
Other than that, read on!
Finding Linda hadn't taken as long as Near had originally predicted. She had stayed in California, but in the Sacramento area instead of Los Angeles. She ran a small crafts shop and held art classes over the weekend for young children. She was doing pretty well for herself.
When Near called her, she hung up the second she heard his voice. Near wasn't very surprised. The next day, around noon, she called back with a rough apology, still mad at him. Linda had kept tabs on the Kira investigation, despite her pretense otherwise, and she knew that Matt and Mello were dead.
"I wish to hold a proper funeral for them," Near had said.
He'd been unable to get Matt's body repossessed and Mello had burned to ashes. However, he was able to claim the orange goggles and Halle had managed to find the partially melted crucifix from Mello's rosary.
"I'll catch the next flight to London," Linda had replied, "Leave the organization up to me."
That had been the extent of their conversation.
Near sat in the terminal waiting area, staring at his favorite robot. Usually, it was appealing, acting out a scenario from an old case or something similar. But on this particular day, Near saw only a shaped hunk of metal and plastic. Rester and Halle sat on either side of him, Gevanni was still getting his passport checked over by the woman at the counter.
Linda had emailed him a brief overview for the joint funeral. Holding it at Wammy's was a given, and she'd planned for them to be buried in the same clearing that A had been buried in all those years ago. Near wasn't sure how Linda knew that particular fact, but he suspected that she harassed Roger until he told her. He remembered A, it was a hazy memory but nevertheless, Near remembered A being incredibly kind.
When it came time to board the plane, Near pushed himself up to his feet and shuffled alongside Halle. Walking really was a pain, he'd inherited a physical ailment from his mother that, apparently it ran in the family. His knees would often swell up because the bones didn't fit together very well. He could manage the short walk to the plane, that didn't mean he enjoyed it though.
There were no words traded amongst the former SPK members during the flight. Halle kept herself occupied with a book while Gevanni slept and Rester listened to some opera soundtrack. Near kept his window shade up, staring blankly at the world below him.
Things were different now.
Kira was gone, the task force found his bleeding body on some warehouse staircase. The SPK, though disbanded at the time, was no longer needed. Though it wasn't public knowledge that Kira was dead, once people realized that criminals had stopped dying, the crime rate was slowly rising all over the world. There was no one left now. Kira was dead. Mello was dead. Matt was dead.
L was dead.
Had Near really won then? Was being the last one standing really worth it if it meant he was truly alone? Of course, he had Halle and Rester and Gevanni, but they were subordinates, they were not the people that Near spent his childhood with.
While his fond memories of Mello had diminished as the years dragged on, he could still remember, quite clearly, a time when Mello actively sought out his company for games like chess or poker. Matt had always been cordial with him, giving him a friendly pat on the back or shoulder if he happened to walk by. They both matched him intellectually and Near had long suspected that, of the three of them, Matt was actually the most intelligent. He just never applied himself enough. Either that or the red head wanted to keep his relation with Mello and didn't want to jeopardize that by stealing the coveted first place.
But the two were gone now and Near sat atop a throne that didn't fit him, a legacy that wasn't his. The Legacy of l. It was certainly not his to claim. L had never chosen a successor. His working with Mello would have benefitted all involved. Hell, the only reason Near had been able to end Kira's rein was because Mello and Matt. He was nothing without those who had died to bring Kira down.
The road before would certainly be a lonely one.
Linda picked him up from the hotel. Halle, Rester and Gevanni would be staying behind. As it hard as it might be to believe, even Near held Wammy's in special regards to his heart and knew it would be inexcusable to bring in outsiders.
After helping Near into a black suit, Linda offered to piggy back him to the clearing. The offer was accepted without hesitation seeing as it was quite a walk and he wasn't sure if his legs would be able to make it. Near tried to avoid thinking how strange it was that he, an almost twenty year old man, was accepting a piggy back ride.
It had been previously agreed that only Linda and Near would be in attendance. Wammy's House was dwindling in child prodigies now, and those that were currently there, hardly knew Matt or Mello. The ones that had were in the wind and Near didn't want to share something like this with them.
The grave was small, as it only had to hold two tiny boxes. Near handed over what remained of Wammy's second and third. Linda placed Matt's goggles into their designated black box and Near placed the crucifix into the red one. Together, they buried the boxes and smoothed the grave over until it looked neat. Linda pulled a stone from her pocket and placed it at the head. 'Mello and Matt' were painted in neat black letters.
"I don't need to say my goodbyes to a grave, they already know how I feel," Linda rested a hand on his shoulder, "I'll wait by the tree line until you're done."
Near waited until Linda was out of sight before he turned to the grave.
"I'm sorry," he said, hating the monotonous way his voice sounded. Taking a slow breath, he continued.
"I would have liked to work with you, the both of you in fact, but now I realize that no matter what, that will never be an option. For what it's worth, your sacrifice was not in vain. Kira is gone, that's due mostly to the two of you. Truly, I am very sorry for the fact that it cost you two your lives."
Near wanted to say more, but he couldn't bring the words to his lips so he resolved to stare silently at the ground.
Linda approached a few minutes later and crouched down so he could get onto her back. The return trip was made in silence. Near refused to reenter Wammy's House so Linda sat with him on the side of the main road until Rester arrived.
"Goodbye, Near," her tone made it clear that she expected to never see or hear from him ever again.
She had every right to wish that.
