A/N: I hope there are still people out there reading Death Note fics! I fell back into the fandom and I have missed it so very much... If anyone enjoys this, please review and let me know!

The first mark showed up in ancient times. No one was sure what it meant, not until the young man fell in love with a woman years after the odd mark had appeared on his skin. A woman that had the same mark as him, in the same place. As the years went on, the soul mark, as it came to be called, was said to have come from many different places. Some believe it was a gift from God. Some thought it was evolution. Some believed it wasn't anything, that the history was just a way for people to believe there was someone in this world they were meant to be with, a fantasy.

Near was among the last group. The group that believed the "soul mark" was nothing of importance. That the mark on his skin wasn't anything to be concerned about or anything to put any thought into. He knew others at Wammy's had different opinions on the mark. Linda believed in them fully, though Near wasn't sure if it was because of God or some other reason. Mello fully believed the mark was a gift from God. Near had never heard Matt's thoughts on the mark, but Near noticed that Matt never really argued with Mello when it came to… well, anything. He was certainly not going to argue about something that was so important to Mello.

The only reason the marks were on Near's mind at the moment was because of one person. L. L had been in Japan, trying to catch Kira. L had a mark on his left wrist. L had found the person with a matching mark. He had put it in his report. The report that was sent out after he had died.

Near believed that he now knew who Kira was. He had read through L's reports and studied each and every word. He had listened to every bit of information that Wammy had sent before he was killed. He knew Light Yagami was Kira.

Light Yagami killed L.

But there was one piece that didn't fit. Light Yagami's mark matched L's. There had never been a report of a match killing its pair. No matter what you believed in, or even if you didn't, you did not kill your match.

And yet Near was convinced Yagami was Kira. And Yagami had L's mark on his wrist. But Kira killed L.

Near believed he needed more information. He knew the basics of soul marks, but had never looked into it in depth. He had never wanted to. He had not believed the information would ever be relevant to his cases. He had not wanted to know more than the basics.

If he did, he would have to admit that he knew who is match was. And he had successfully blocked that information out of his mind for the last six years.

Near broke out of his thoughts as he heard his mobile begin to ring. His dark eyes flickered around, waiting for Giovani or one of the other SPK members to pick it up, before setting down his robot and picking it up himself. He glanced down at the ID before closing his eyes in resignation. "Mello."

"We need to talk," Mello's smooth voice reached his ears. "I'll be by tonight."

Near did not answer, just turned off the phone and picked up his Mello finger puppet. Mello would wait until headquarters was empty before coming in, the same as he had every time before. Near would open the doors and listen to whatever it was Mello had to tell him, and then Mello would leave. And that would be it.

Near stared at the Mello puppet, placing it next to the Matt puppet and then placing his own puppet on his other hand. The three of them were involved in this case. Mello should have been working with him since the beginning. L had not chosen an heir. Mello was second. Near had been first. Roger had said they should work together. Near knew Mello believed he had not been listening. He had. He had known, even back then, that the decision would be Mello's. Mello did not like him. Mello would not work with him. Even if it was to avenge the one person they had both cared about.

Near would not admit how much the news Mello had left Wammy's upset him. He was well aware that those around him thought he was an "emotionless robot". There was one person that noticed Near was not as emotionless as he seemed.

It must have been later than he believed. The remaining SPK members had emptied out and Geovani had informed him that he was leaving. Looking up at the clock, Near turned his attention to the monitors, knowing he would be seeing Mello shortly.

Sure enough, a figure dressed in black with blonde hair came into the lobby and walked toward the elevator. Near granted him access to his floor and sat back to await his arrival.

"We need to talk," Mello said, stepping out of the elevator and staring down at Near with blue eyes.

Near let his eyes flicker up to the blonde before looking back down quickly. "What does Mello need?"

"I don't need anything," Mello snapped, taking a few steps forward. "I came here because I have some information that you might want."

Near let his puppets fall to the floor as he looked up, "And what is this information?"

"It doesn't work like that," Mello sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll tell you what I know if you tell me what you know."

Near frowned, mind racing frantically. "This does not seem like Mello. Mello does not trade information."

Mello glared, "If you don't want-"

"What does Mello know of soul marks?"

Silence. Mello blinked frantically, his arms falling to his sides as he stared at Near. Near stared at him, unblinking. "Why are you asking me about soul marks?" Mello questioned, his right hand traveling up to land on his left shoulder, where Near knew his soul mark rested.

"Light Yagami has a soul mark on his wrist. It matches the one L had."

Mello slowly shook his head, "That's impossible. Yagami is Kira. He couldn't have been L's match."

"Which is why Mello needs to tell me about marks," Near commented, pulling one knee up and resting his chin against it as his other stretched out in front of him.

"You know about marks," Mello commented, though for the first time he didn't sound irritated. Contemplative. Distracted. But not irritated. "We took a class at Wammy's."

Near inwardly winced, knowing Mello would not like the next sentence. "If Mello would please tell me about soul marks. The information I have does not explain how Kira could murder L."

Mello's eyes narrowed as he studied the boy in front of him. "Near, why don't you know about soul marks?"

"Soul marks were first discovered in-"

"Near."

Near stared at Mello with cold eyes. "At the time, I did not find the information to be important."

Mello's eyebrows rose. "Near, are you telling me you didn't pay attention in that class? And you still got a higher score on the exam than I did?"

Near mentally sighed. Of course it was going to come back to that. "Logically, Professor Winda would base the exam around the known information, which includes the discovery of the marks and the most well-known cases, as well as the most basic information. Any data that was unconfirmed or up for debate would be inconsequential."

"Not so inconsequential now, is it Near?" Mello snapped, his mouth twisting into a menacing snarl as his eyes narrowed into a dark glare. "Considering you need me to help you."

Near sighed out loud, mostly just to see Mello's eye twitch in irritation. "I can ask another person if needed. However, I am aware of your own…interest in the subject and we have a mutual interest in this topic because of our former mentor."

Mello's head tilted and he gazed at Near sharply. Near forced himself to meet the blonde's eyes. He always felt uncomfortable with eye contact but he knew the best way for Mello to see his intentions were true was to let the older have access. Unlike Near who thought the eyes didn't tell you anything important, Mello took the saying "eyes are windows to the soul" completely seriously. And, much to Near's confusion, he was usually correct. After many hours of considering the subject, Near believed that Mello was able to read body language the same way Near could find intention and guilt in records.

Mello would be very upset to know that Near thought such things.

"Soulmates are chosen by God." Near forced himself not to roll his eyes. "They are like pieces of one of those puzzles you love so much. The characteristics one person is missing will be filled in by the other but at the same time they will be compatible. They will understand one another in a way no one else can. They will challenge each other the way no one else can." Near stared at Mello as he spoke, the words washing over him. He wanted to say that it was all romantic drivel, something he could understand Mello believing. He was quite idealistic himself, though he would refuse such a suggestion. However, he couldn't help but correlate his own situation with the tale Mello was spinning. How many times had he been told that he and his own…markmate were complete opposites? How many times had he thought that he was the only person that could challenge him?

Kind of how L had found his own closest person in Yagami Light.

Interesting.

"Has there ever been an instance where someone killed another person whose mark matched their own?" Near questioned, bringing the subject back to the forefront. Mello shook his head instantly, his eyes staring past Near.

"No. That's impossible. Maybe Yagami isn't Kira…" Mello muttered. Near sent him a sharp look and Mello winced. He instantly disguised it by scowling and crossing his arms over his leather clad chest. "If you're right about the two of them being soulmates-"

"I am."

"-then there is no way that Yagami killed Light."

Near's brows furrowed as his mind began to flick from one piece of the puzzle to the other, trying to find the pieces that fit together. He had no doubt in his mind that Yagami was Kira. However, if Mello was correct about markmates not being able to kill one another… "Why?"

Mello's eyebrows shot up and he reached into his pocket to pull out a fresh chocolate bar. Near scrunched up his nose as Mello tore off the top of the wrapped and bit off the corner of the chocolate. "Why what, Near?"

"Why can a person not kill someone who has a mark on their skin that matches the other person?" Near elaborated, a bit confused as to why Mello was having such a hard time following his train of thought. It was the only logical follow up question. Mello should have known what he was asking without him having to detail it further.

Mello growled and snapped off another piece of chocolate. "Because they can't, Near! Soulmates have a connection. Yagami would have felt L dying. He would have felt the pain and the utter betrayal L had to have felt. No one could possibly be able to stand that. You know what happened to B after A killed himself. He lost his mind."

"Beyond was a sociopath," Near disagreed.

"Beyond was completely in love with his soulmate, who slowly lost himself to the pressure of Wammy house and having to deal with someone that lacked a moral compass," Mello snapped back. "Can you imagine that? Being connected to someone, being able to feel them slowly dying and having no idea what he needed to do to make things better? And then he felt A die. He felt the pain as A slit his wrists and bled out, Near. A waited until B was gone from Wammy's, waited until he knew that his soulmate wouldn't be able to stop him, and then he put his soulmate through unimaginable pain because he was weak-"

"But if A was able to put his markmate through such pain, what is to stop someone from killing the other person? If they can withstand the pain until the other person is deceased-"

"B went completely mad, Near! You would be ripping a piece of your soul out-"

"I do not believe in souls."

"Fine! But even L thought that something in B broke that day! You know that! For Yagami to willingly put himself through that pain-"

"What if Yagami didn't feel the pain?" Near asked, the pieces finally clicking into place. Mello's mouth snapped shut and his hand fell toward his hip, toward where Near knew his gun was placed. Maybe he was pushing the blond a little too hard…but he did not believe that Mello would actually shoot him. Even if he pulled the gun and placed it to Near's head, Near trusted him enough not to pull the trigger.

Maybe he was a little mad as well.

Maybe everyone from Wammy's House was.

"What the hell are you talking about now?"

"If L's deductions regarding Yagami are correct," Near started slowly as the picture began to form in his mind. "Then it is entirely possible that Yagami and Kira are two separate entities. L was close to Yagami. Yagami was the one that bore his mark. Kira was an enemy. Kira was the one that planned and executed L's murder. When Kira killed L-"

"-he could have killed whatever remained of Yagami as well," Mello breathed. He stared at Near with something close to awe, or what Near thought was awe, before the emotion was replaced by annoyance and a flash of rage. "Damn it, Near!" He snarled, turning on his heel and stomping toward the door. Near's brows pulled into a frown.

"Mello was here for a reason. Mello was going to-"

"Shut up, Near! It doesn't matter anymore!"

Near could only twirl his hair between his fingers as Mello disappeared from Headquarters.