Hasigami- Thanks for the tip! I rushed that chapter and I personally wasn't too happy with it, so I'm going to go back and redo it.
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"L is dead."
Click.
Mello gasped and leaned over Roger's desk, screeching unintelligibly to Near as he focused solely on his puzzle.
Click.
"M-Mello!" Roger and Cade's voice faded into each other.
Clatter.
He dumped his completed puzzle, his eyes downcast. He could feel three pairs of eyes on him and he let his hair hide his face as he restarted his puzzle.
"If you can't win the game," Click, "if you can't solve the puzzle," Click, "then you're just a loser." Click.
He knew how Mello would react, an angry flinch before turning his attention back to Roger. He was more interested in Cade's reaction. She had been quiet for the most part. He looked through his bangs to see how she was handling his words. She bit her lip as though holding back words and her gray eyes, so much like L's, darkened as she glowered at him. He had angered her.
Near didn't hate Cade. In fact, one might even say he liked her, but she was emotionally withdrawn. He liked poking her with a stick, so to speak. Ever since he discovered her relation with L, he began to poke her harder. He even tempted L, but the man seemed to have endless patience when dealing with his successors. Their personalities were the same, though Cade had a much shorter fuse than her brother, and their physical resemblance was uncanny. Near wondered if Mello even made the connection.
"So between me and Near, who did L choose?" His ears forced him back into the conversation.
He already knows the answer, what is the point of asking? He thought.
"He didn't choose...Mello, Near, why don't you two work together?" Roger asked warily.
"Sounds good." Near answered, not even looking up from his puzzle. He had always wanted to work with Mello and he hadn't had an opportunity since that day in the playroom.
"It'll never work, Roger! You know Near and I don't get along. We've always competed against each other...always." Mello insisted.
Near frowned at his puzzle. He wanted to correct Mello and say their "rivalry" was one-sided. Perhaps if Mello didn't try so hard, he may even surpass Near. However, he held his tongue, knowing it would make the situation worse.
"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 its a game or a puzzle." Mello spat.
Near raised his head slightly, a white eyebrow raised. He never dreamed of hearing Mello giving up his aspiration of being L. Cade was staring out the window, her bottom lip quivering ever so slightly. Then, she turned her head and shot Mello a bemused look. He completed his puzzle a second time.
"As for me, I'm leaving this institution." A pair of jeans stormed past Near's crouched body.
His hand paused and he glared at his puzzle. How ungrateful. It was the first time he had ever felt resentment toward the blond. How could he call this place an "institution" as though he hadn't been raised there? As though he hadn't grown up here? Near didn't know what Mello's previous life had been, but he could very well picture him being the spoiled son of some big shot. He always had had a streak of thanklessness, but this, to Near, was unexcusable.
"Wait, Mello!" Once again, Roger and Cade protested in unison.
Mello didn't turn around. "Save your breath! I'm almost fifteen; it's time I started living life my own way."
He closed the door behind him and Roger made Near and Cade leave. They walked out together and Near made his knowledge of her known.
"You should be the one to succeed L; you are his blood after all."
She stared at him and he shuffled past her, heading to his room. He passed Mello's room, hearing Matt shouting at him. Their voices were muffled and he didn't care enough to stand there to eavesdrop.
He heard rain hitting the roof and looked out the window to watch the droplets slide down the glass. He stood uncertainly in the center of his room, an odd feeling of restlessness coming over him. He scratched his wrist. He suddenly felt itchy. He looked at his clothes in disdain, wondering when was the last time he changed them and irately realized his distracted mind wouldn't remind him. He took them off and decided to take a bath. He went into his bathroom, not bothering to close the door since he was the only one in there, and turned the bath knob.
"He doesn't even know how to dress himself properly, let alone start a bath!" Mello's jeering voice filtered through his head.
Near didn't bother setting the record straight. What other people thought of him was no concern of him. He slid into the warm water, hugging his knees to his chest. He half heartedly pushed a yellow rubber duck in the water before deciding to wash up. His skin turned a sweet shade of pink from the heat of the water. From the other side of the wall, he heard someone storm down the hallway and another set of footsteps running. He quickly finished washing up and got changed into a fresh pair of pajamas, the cotton cool against his flesh.
Near poked his head out into the hallway just in time to see Matt round the corner, disappearing out of sight. His pounding footsteps faded out of earshot and Near chose to follow, gripping his sleeves between his fingers. As he walked, he noticed how silent the orphanage seemed that day. No children screaming, no idle conversations slipping out from beneath closed doors or corners. For a moment, he wondered if there had been a field trip or something and he, Matt, Mello, and Cade missed it. A boy a couple years younger than himself, Net, ran past him, shouting for his friends. The other orphans weren't gone; just playing hide and seek. It bothered him. The others didn't know their idol was dead, but he felt they had no right to know. After all, none of them could even hope to surpass him. Everything in his studies when it came to succeeding L were perfect. The rest of them were foolish fodder; copycats with no other purpose in life except to attempt to succeed L. Thunder cracked and the rain began to pour down harder than before. He paused at that last thought.
What was Near? He knew he was now L. Mello had given up his succession rights and Matt had no interest in being L. That left Near. He thought morosely, Twelve years old and already I am to be the world's greatest detective. He had hoped he would succeed the original L when he was older. He began to walk again and didn't stop until he came to the foyer.
Matt was standing a few feet back from the front door, his back facing Near. He seemed to be wringing his hands, a nervous habit Near had noticed once before, and paced like a caged animal. The front door suddenly opened and in stepped a completely drenched Cade. Her clothes were plastered to her body, revealing just how skinny she really was, and her hair was dripping water onto the hardwood. She looked...lost. She looked over her shoulder as though hoping someone would follow her in. Matt stopped pacing and walked over to her.
"Where's Mello?" He asked anxiously.
Cade looked at him with a blank expression and murmured, "Gone."
She walked past him and Near hid in a closet, watching as she stumbled by. When she was halfway down the hall, he followed her until she was to her room. He pressed his ear to the door. For a few minutes, there was no sound, then he heard it. A heartbreaking sob. A hiccup and a miserable whimper. Near pulled back from her door and went to his room. He wouldn't intrude on her mourning over her brother and Mello.
He returned to his room and laid on his bed, staring out the window. He wasn't tired, but he didn't feel like playing with his toys. He couldn't get Cade's cry out of his head, the sound stuck on repeat.
"I hope you know what you are doing, Mello." He whispered to the dark. "Because if you don't, I'm going to be pissed at you for hurting Cade this much."
He was well aware of the feelings Mello held for Cade. That was why he could not understand how he could leave her and Matt- his supposed best friend- just like that. He knew Mello was selfish and vain, but he never thought he would be willing to leave behind the two people who care about him most in this world. Yet another reason Near was grateful he wasn't close to anyone, even if it was lonely at times. He, too, was selfish. He would rather sacrifice the chance to be close with someone than to entrust someone with his heart only to have them betray him.
Emotions were nothing more than detriments to his long term goal and he refused to be dragged into that.
That night, he dreamed of his mother, the killer, and his father, the undertaker.
