Persona
Fiction always finds its roots in reality . . .
Near was lying on his side, playing with one of his toy robots with a bored expression on his face. The rest of the SPK had already left, leaving Near to his own devices in the large room. Near sighed and dropped the robot, bored out of his mind.
I'm a genius, the successor to L, I should be able to entertain myself, Near scoffed. He decided to think about his love, Nat. Near sighed contentedly. Nat was perfect for him.
She was much more of a sore loser than Near, but was very calm under pressure. Sometimes she would act like she was better than him, but she knew she really wasn't. She would listen to him, even if it was a bit reluctantly. She wasn't exactly sweet; she showed her affection very bluntly, randomly hugging Near or playing with him. She thought that his toys were childish, but he knew that she secretly played with dress up dolls when she thought she was alone.
Near remembered happy times at Whammy's, where they had grown up together, keeping each other company when Near was ignored, and building a friendship. That friendship had grown into affection, which had matured into love. Near remembered that first kiss they had shared, when Near had been chosen to succeed L. Nat had been angry that she wasn't chosen, because she was just as good as Near. They had both calmed down, and Near had finally made his move, kissing Nat for the first time.
Near remembered the awkwardness, not knowing what to do, and Nat eventually taking the lead and teaching Near. There had been many other kisses after that, as Near's affections grew. He remembered stroking her long blond hair, and pulling her athletic body into his frail one for precious moments of alone time.
Then there had been the bad times. Near bit his lip, remembering the last time he had seen Nat.
"I may love you, Nate, but you are not the greatest there is. I'll show you who can capture Kira first!" Nat had yelled after a fight, and stormed out the door. Now all that remained were her ashes.
Near let a tear run down his cheek. He could replay the memories in his mind, relive his life with Nat, but he could never make her real.
He was too old for imagination, even if Nat's persona had been conceived in truth and reality. Nat's death had coincided with two events, two events that Near never wanted to relive.
The first was the death of his imagination, the realization that his fantasies could never come true, that he needed to stay rooted in reality to finish the Kira case, not stuck in a fantasy world. The death of his fantasy had been both a blessing and a curse.
Nat's death also coincided with another event.
That was the death of Mihael Keehl.
(A/N – Yes, you'll probably need to read this again to get it. I'll wait.
Explaining . . . Nat was a figment of Near's imagination. Near does seem to be slightly insane in this oneshot, having such vivid memories of an imaginary friend. Er . . . girlfriend.
Nat was Near's way of dealing with his feelings for Mello. He created a perfect Mello, that just happened to be female, because Near was having trouble accepting that he was gay, and that he had a crush on Mello.
It is your choice to believe that Near's memories with Nat were made up, or were actual memories that Near shared with Mello.
I'm sorry if this sucks, I'm not into MelloxNear, but this idea just came to me . . .)
