A/N: You know, it's actually been so long since I updated this story that I really don't remember where our two bunny-searching orphans are. Wow! I guess we shall find out! Anyway, thank you to everyone who has been reviewing thus far! This is doing very well so far, and hopefully everyone will like where this chapter takes us as well as where it ends up going in later chapters! Quite honestly, I think you will. It's a nice ride.
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters used in this story.
Chapter 7
Mello looked away from the pouting Near who was sitting not too far away from him. He didn't like dealing with unhappy kids, but there wasn't really anything he could do right now to fix things.
Instead, Mello thought that maybe looking around at their surroundings a bit, and taking in the sites of the rather colourful marketplace would be a nice way to get his mind off of everything that had been happening.
First, his eyes darted to the people that were walking by them, staring straight ahead, completely oblivious to the children seated on the street curb below. They all seemed so preoccupied in their own lives to notice.
Then, his eyes moved again, to the different advertising signs that were set around the area. They were, of course, appealing to the eye, and he admired the designs and logos on each one.
His gaze then sunk to the street once again, and fell to an open sewer gate set into the curb right by them. Normally, the open gap in them was fairly wide, in order to allow debris to be washed into the sewer, but this one seemed to have been broken open at some point –which made the opening even more pronounced. Mello knew he'd be able to see inside, and perhaps even fit into it, if he really wanted to.
Curiously, the blonde lent over slightly so he could peer into the darkness that lay inside.
"Hm…" He inched a bit closer, all the while looking down into the dark grate as he listened to the sound of the dirty water rushing below. Something caught his eye.
"What's that?" He said aloud, to himself.
When he moved closer to the opening, he could see it a bit better. There was something hanging limply from one of the pipes just below the surface of the ground.
It looked like fur, and at first Mello recoiled in disgust, fearing it was some sort of dead animal, but then, when he looked back, he noticed it couldn't be alive at all –considering he could see stitching on it. It was just a slightly stained, white rabbit toy dangling over the darkness.
"Hey!" He exclaimed loudly. "The bunny!"
He got down on the knees and crawled over to the large sewer opening to get a better look. "I see your bunny, Near! It's down there." He pointed in towards it.
Near instantly shot up; his eyes wide when the words reached him. He looked over and found Mello by the sewer opening, which he hadn't even noticed being there before. "My bunny?" He asked, hopefully.
"Yeah! I think that's it, do you see?" Mello asked, leaning slightly and pointing at the bit of fluff hanging from the pole.
Near moved closer to where Mello was peering into the broken sewer opening. After a moment of letting his eyes adjust to the darkness he was looking at, he saw the white that Mello had been talking about. "My bunny, Mero! Dat's my bunny!" He exclaimed happily. "But how does we get it?"
"Uh…" Mello inched towards the opening and leant in, reaching desperately for the white bunny.
At first he thought he may have nicked the fabric, but no matter how far he reached, he couldn't quite grab it. Mello frowned as he tried once again. "It must've… been washed down here…" He groaned, straining slightly as he reached further and nearly teetered off the edge of the pavement now. "When it rained." He finished.
He strained his reach again, almost catching the fur in his hands. It was a close miss.
"Stupid thing." He said to himself. "I'm almost there…"
"Don fall, Mero." Near said worriedly as he grabbed onto the end of Mello's shirt. He knew that if Mello was to fall, that this wouldn't do much. But he wasn't sure what else to do, for he didn't want to impede upon Mello's ability to get his bunny back.
His heart was beating hard in his chest, both from the worry about what Mello was doing, and for the nervousness he felt about his poor bunny that was in there –just out of reach.
"I won't…" He growled, leaning in more, throwing off the controlled balance he had for just a second as he reached out one more for the elusive toy.
Then, in a split second, Mello's knee slipped from the edge of the open grate, and he lost his balance completely; tumbling down into the grate.
"Ah!" Mello screamed as he quickly caught himself on the same pole Near's rabbit was hanging from. His small legs were dangling over the rushing sewer water below.
He looked down, eyes wide and fearful, as if he were afraid the dingy brown river might suck him under with it. He was so frightened, and the pole was slippery.
"Nia!" Mello called up to the other boy as he struggled hard to hold on. "Help me!" He cried, the terror evident in his voice.
Near'd felt Mello fall from his grasp; all of it happening too quick for him to catch. He looked desperately through the grate, his hands shaking. "I-I'll get somemun to help!" He tried to tell him, pulling back to look around at all the people.
'Somemun…' He thought, but his fear and terror held back his voice. 'Somemun help Mero!' He couldn't bring himself to even move as he searched for anyone that might be able to help the blonde.
"Nia! No-ah!" Mello cried as he tried to kick up from the water, so he could get closer to the opening, where Near sat, and the light was pouring in. "Reach, Near!" Mello demanded, extending a wobbly hand toward the boy.
Mello's cry made Near's dark, and frightened eyes turn back to him, and spotting the hand that was extended towards him.
He went back to the opening and extended his hand out to Mello. "I can't ge'chu, Mero! You gonna pull me in, too!" He moved his hand further, and could hear the fault in his voice, brought on from the fear of Mello falling and being swept away.
What would he do if that happened? The thought scarred him.
Mello didn't know how to respond. He didn't want to pull Near in, but he was so scared of falling. Instead, he just whimpered softly, as tears began to run down his cheeks. "I can… almost…" He sobbed again, reaching for the ledge where Near was.
He managed to swing his knee back up unto the pole, and thankfully he reached the ledge. Breathing a sigh of relief, he started to crawl back up again.
Then, he remembered the bunny toy.
He nodded grimly and reached back down for it.
But suddenly, his knee slipped and Mello yelped –having to jump for the ledge at the last moment so he wouldn't fall to the water below. He hit his head on the steel grate as he reached the ledge this time.
Despite the stinging in his head, Mello managed to pull himself back up unto the street; his breathing now heavy. He cast one last glance down into the darkness. He could see his backpack, which must have fallen from his back at some point in his fall, now quickly disappearing under the water below.
The bunny was slipping from the pole as well.
"The bunny!" Mello was actually considering going back for it when the little limp toy finally slipped off and fell into the water below –quickly being carried away by the current.
Mello sighed and collapsed in front of Near, on the pavement. "I… I'm sorry…" One of Mello's hands went to the top of his head, where a large bump was forming. It stung, but what stung worse was the defeat –the fact that he'd come so close and had still lost Near's bunny.
Near was silent as he felt the sadness fill him while he watched his bunny being carried away from them. They'd come so close. It had been right there in front of them.
Somehow, he pushed that thought away and moved himself forward –hugging Mello tight. "I'z okay." He said, "I glad you didn fall."
Mello sighed, mostly out of relief that Near wasn't going to throw a tantrum. That was the last thing Mello wanted right now, with his head already stinging.
He took a few quick, heavy breaths and lay there for another moment. "That was so scary." He sat up and grinned. "I gotta tell Matt about how I almost died!" He said loudly. "Ugh, my head…" One hand returned to his head as the pain flooded to the sore area on his crown.
Near looked to where Mello's hand went. "You hit yow head." He stated, quite unnecessarily. "It hurt?" He asked innocently, looking worriedly at Mello.
Mello nodded, wincing. "A bit. Is it bleeding?" He looked quickly at his hands, checking for any blood.
Near moved from where he had been hugging Mello, when he lowered his head, so he could look at the area that he'd hit. "I don't tink so, Mero." He said; then leaned closer so he could kiss the sore spot –all the while making sure to be as gentle as he could.
Mello blushed a little as he sat up, eyeing the boy. "You're like a mom. Moms kiss owies, right?" He asked, still blushing a bit.
"I jus kiss it to make it feel beddow." He said, offering a smile.
"Oh…" Mello nodded, smiling a little, and then he looked around uncomfortably. "I… That's good." He looked down at his hands and frowned. "Ah! What a mess! My hands are so gross!" He explained, quickly wiping the grime from the pole onto his pants
He sighed. "I'm sorry I lost your bunny, Nia. I dunno how we could find it now…"
Near sighed, stepping back and looking down at his inward-pointed feet. The sadness over the loss of his bunny was flooding back into him once more. But he was trying not to lose hope just yet. "Maybe… we follow the dwain somehow?"
"Where do you think it goes?" Mello asked, standing up and continuing to brush off his hands of the grime from the pole he'd held on so desperately to.
"I… not sure." Near admitted, letting his eyes follow the sidewalk all the way that he could see. He knew, in the least, that the water was flowing in that direction; which meant that that was the way his bunny was headed.
Mello frowned. The odds were definitely against them now. Even Mello knew there was an even smaller chance of finding the bunny now then there had been before.
A/N: I told you all no one would be able to guess where the bunny ended up being! But what's this?! The bunny is still being elusive! Will they be able to find it now that it's been carried away? Or, what will they do if they can't? Let me know what you think, or any comments you might have!
Please review!
-Forbiddensoul562
