December 5, 2007

Roger got the text, later, after already hearing of his old friend, Watari's passing. The news was expected to follow, and he was not surprised when it came. The small screen of the cell phone was blank, except for three words-three words that meant sure tragedy.

"L is dead."

Mello and Near, L's two top candidates to become his successor, were before him, inside of his spacious office, Near kneeling on the ground, ressembling and dissasembling a blank white puzzle, currently in the proccess of reassembling, while Mello stood tall on the left. He had called them here to tell them of the news.

"What is it, Roger?" Mello asked, seeing the grim, crestfallen look on the old man's face, as he sat there in the chair in front of them, with his hands clasped in front of his face.

"It's L. He's dead."

Mello just stared. His brain could not comprehend what his ears had just heard. "-What was that?! Roger-What did you just say?!" he then exclaimed, not believing it. Roger again repeated the news, his voice more faint.

"I'm afraid L is dead."

The blonde teenagers eyes went wide, a gasp escaping him.

"L is dead?" He repeated, leaning forward onto the desk urgently. "But-but how?!" He was in denial. How could this be? How?! He put both hands on the smooth oak surface, leaning foward further, demanding "Was it Kira? Did Kira kill him? Come on Roger, you've got to tell me!"

"...Probably." Roger answered sadly.

Mello reached fowad and grabbed the elder's rich brown coat, pulling him foward, abandoning all self-control.

"But he promised me he'd find Kira and execute him! And now you're telling me-that he's been killed?"

"Mello!" Roger exlaimed, at the boy's unrestrained outrage. Mello's grip loosened, then dropped, when albino boy behind him turned the puzzle upside down again, over his head, and he heard its peices crashing to the floor. Mello turned to look at him, uttering a small noise of startlement. What was he-?

Near held the board over his head, his pale fingers on either side of the edges of the rectangular board. Then, with both Roger's and Mello's eyes on him, he commented blatantly in his smooth, quiet voice,

"If you can't win the game..." He said, putting the first two white peices back onto the board, in the top left corner, as the blonde watched him. "If you can't solve the puzzle..." He placed two more pieces onto the board. "Then you're just a looser."

Mello stared at him, bitter feelings and hatred stirring within him, as they always did whenever he looked at the albino freak. Then, he let out a tense breath. He turned back to Roger, fisting his hand onto the desk determinedly.

"So-which of us did L pick? me, or Near?" He asked urgently. Roger answered, after a few beats,

"He hadn't chosen yet. And now that he's gone, I'm afraid he won't be able to." Mello stared at him, dreading. He let out a breath.

"Mello, listen." Roger said. "You too, Near. -Can't the two of you work together?" He asked.

Near answered, almost immediately, "Alright, sounds good." Mello clenched his teeth.

"It'll never work, Roger." He contradicted, with bitter dissent. "We can't do this together. You know I don't get along with Near. We've always competed against each other. Always."

A silence fell upon them. The distant wind blew softly outside, it's quiet howl faintly heard from within the office. Roger sat there, knowing there was no convincing Mello to work with his rival. The boy was much too stubborn, and headstrong to listen. After the long moment of silence, Mello said,

"You know what? It's fine. Near should be the one to succeed L. He's not like me. He never gets emotional. He just uses his head. Like it's a game, or a puzzle." Near just finished putting together the blank puzzle again, placing the last peice onto the board, listening to Mello.

"And as for me, I'm leaving this institution." Mello said, and turned, to walk out.

Roger stood- "Wait, Mello-!" He exclaimed in objection.

"Don't waste your breath." The blonde said, walking past Near. "I'm almost 15 years old. It's time I start living my own life." He walked out, the door shutting starkly behind him.

Matt watched his friend packing his stuff up into one large, simple suitcase, with an unlit ciggerette in his mouth, in his usual get-up.

"What's going on? Whatcha doin?" He asked casually, confused at the sight.

Mello stopped packing for a moment, and looked over at him.

"Matt..." He said, as the other waited for him to answer his question. He answered it bluntly. "I'm leaving the orphanage." He said, and resumed his packing, throwing leather pants and belts into the suitcase.

"Huh?"

"L is dead." He deadpanned, sadly.

Matt stared at Mello, shocked, but knowing that his friend wasn't lying. Mello would never lie about something like this.

"He's dead?" He repeated. "I didn't see that one coming." Matt leaned against the doorway. "So who'd he pick? You or Near?"

"He hadn't chosen." Mello answered. "But Near is the obvious choice to assume his title. As for me, I'm going to catch Kira on my own. There is no way I'm gonna let Near be better than me. I'm going to do whatever it takes to beat him."

"And that is?"

Mello sighed. "I'm going to start my own investigation. I can't tell you where it's going to be. You don't need to know."

"Oh yeah?" Matt said, not really caring that it had to be a 'secret'. Mello stopped to look at him.

"Yes." He said, returning to his packing.

Matt knew there was no stopping Mello, not know. He was set on his goal. And he would do anything to achieve it.

"What about Sun?" He asked.

"What about her?" Mello replied bluntly. Matt didn't answer him. Obviously, Mello wasn't going to even say goodbye to her. That was a terrible way to end things, with a gal like her. She would hate him forever. But he didn't say anything. It was Mello's problem, not his. If he wanted to just blow her off like that, then fine. He could deal with the consequences on his own.

Matt knew that the two had been really tense lately, but he didn't have a clue why. And it looked like there was nothing he could do to fix it. So, he just left it...It was none of his business. Matt looked at the blonde again, as he placed boxes of chocolate on top of his meager stack of clothes. It was kind of hard to believe that his best friend was just leaving like this, after growing up in the orhanage alongside him...

"Guess this is good-bye, then." Matt said.

"Yeah." Mello replied tersely.

I'm going to be the one to catch Kira. Whatever it takes. I will avenge L's death. He was completely blind to the fact that he was abandoning his friends, and leaving them in the dark. Like he didn't care.

Later, at nearly 9:00pm, dark outside and in the hallway. Mello went down the hall, knowing that Sun was in her room, because he had seen her go in it a while ago. He paused at her door, then stuck the paper into the crack, slipping it with care in between the door and the frame. His eyes were tinged with unadmitted reluctance to leave her this way. He paused, standing there for a while, a long time.

Then he took off the rosary that he wore around his neck, and hung it on the doorknob, then left, without a word, carrying only a suitcase filled with his belongings with him, heading towards the goal that he would stop at nothing to achieve, and leaving his past behind.

I'm sorry. Goodbye.

-Mello