I wanted to update this yesterday, but I was a bit occupied. Thankfully, I finished every writing assignment, for the week, ahead of schedule.

I was happy to see so many reviews and comments, on the last chapter. Some of them gave me a few interesting ideas and allowed me to think of things I had not thought of before. Thank you all, so much! As always, I appreciate the comments and everyone for giving this story a chance. I had no idea this story would get such a positive response, but I am more then happy to see that people seem to like it.

The last chapter "Fear and Faith" obviously describes Near's fear and everyone else's faith. Near was chased by a mountain lion, and was able to escape it, but now L, Light, Matt, and Mello don't have the slightest idea where to look for him. Still, they will have to have faith and cannot give up. Also, because of L's testimony, Light is now beginning to doubt the Death Note he has used.

Will he regret using it later?

Disclaimer - I do not own "Death Note" or any of its characters.

Chapter 10

On Track

"L, we sill have no sign of Near," Mello reported through his communicator, "How about you?"

"No, nothing," the great detective responded. "Light and I will now turn around and head back to the campsite."

"Why? Do you think he found his way back?"

"... There's a fifty percent chance, but I would rather be certain than sorry."

"Okay," Mello agreed, "Matt and I will keep searching."

"Take a bit of time to rest," L added. "I don't want either of you to tier yourselves out."

"Don't worry about us," Mello exchanged a glance with Matt, "I don't think either of us can slow down. If he isn't at the campsite, we'll work even harder to find him."

He heard L chuckle lightly over the speaker, "All right then boys. Please don't hesitate to call me for help."

"Sure, L. Bye," the blond switched off the small device.

"So, Mels," said Matt, observing the forest, "where do we go now? I can hardly tell which way is which!"

"Yeah, it's a good thing L gave us a copy of the map," Mello held it up to his face and traced his finger along the paper. "But still, this map has a limit to how far it spreads out and I hope that Near hasn't gone beyond that yet."

"Yeah..." Matt gazed up through the trees. The signs of dawn were approaching. "Hey... we've been at this all night, Mels."

Mello's eyes widened in brief surprise. "Oh... we have."

"Gee," Matt sighed sadly, collapsing down onto the leaf covered ground, "I wonder what Near's night was like."

If he's still alive that is, Mello thought grimly. He joined his friend on the ground. Matt took off his goggles and rubbed his eyes sleepily. "I hope he's not in danger."

There was a short moment of silence before Mello spoke again. "If anything does happen to Near... I'll never be able to forgive myself."

"Mels-"

"No, Matt," the blond teen interrupted, "I was wrong. It's my fault... all my fault."

Mello had been angry with himself throughout the entire night. He had realized that it had been a stupid idea to leave Near behind a little too late, and was now kicking himself for it. It's weird though, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind one ear, it feels a lot easier to not hate Near... Why is that?

"Mello?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, Matt?"

"Just... please don't beat yourself up, for this," the brunette's cerulean orbs focused on his friend's icy, blue ones. "It was your fault, but it's not worth dwelling on now. What you can do, is make up for that mistake... and you have been."

Mello broke the gaze. "I... I-I know, but I can do better." He buried his face in the palms of his hands and mumbled something that was unidentifiable to Matt.

"What did you say, buddy?" Matt leaned closer to his friend.

Mello slowly tore away from his hand and sighed. He looked Matt in the eye and surprised him with his next question. "Would Near even forgive me for this?"

He was serious. Matt knew he was serious, and it was so unlike Mello to feel this way, or say something like that. He didn't know what was going on his best friend's head or heart, but he liked the new change. He grinned unexpectedly, much to Mello's confusion.

"W-What is it, Matt? Why the weird face?"

Matt's eyes brightened. "Because... Mello... you really care."

"Matt?" Mello blinked, "What the heck are you on? Of course, I care! I-I don't want him to hate me... even though I'm sure he does now, if not before."

The striped clad boy laughed. "Nope, not true."

"... H-How do you know?" Is he serious?

"I talked with him the other night... Mels, he never hated you, and I'm more than sure he doesn't now. In fact, I think he looks up to you in a way."

He was taken aback. I've always been harsh towards him. There's no way he could think highly of me! Huh... Matt seemed like he wanted to say more, Mello couldn't help but notice. He looks like he wants to say something else.

" ... He, Near I mean," Matt continued nervously, fidgeting with the loose straps on his backpack, "... prays for you."

So that's what it was. "For... me?"

The brunette nodded. "Yeah, I heard him the other night."

Wow, I am the biggest jerk in the world! He had had enough. Mello did not want to sit there any longer and hurriedly hopped to his feet.

"M-Mello," Matt stared up at him in concern, "what are you doing?"

"I can't stay here any longer, Matt," Mello replied quickly, slinging his own backpack over his shoulder, "Near's waiting for us. The faster we are, the sooner we'll find him."

Near stiffly made his way through the thick forest. He had fallen asleep and had, miraculously, stayed perfectly balanced in a tree all night, but his joints were now cramped and sore. At least it's morning... I can see what's around me.

Warm, morning light shone down on the white haired boy's face. It was a simple, yet comforting pleasure that made him feel more than grateful to be alive. Standing still in the warm spot, he intertwined his fingers and stretched his arms over his head. I wonder how long I've been walking, this morning.

Near finished his stretch and continued to walk again. It was already bright when he had awoken and when he had stepped onto the grass, a minimal amount of wetness greeted his socked feet. Bright sun, not much dew... It has to be at least- an uncomfortable rumbling interrupted his thoughts.

Great, now I'm hungry. Near sighed thoughtfully, wondering if he could somehow find the berry grove again. That's what he had been trying to do ever since he had awoken, but everything around him appeared to look the same. Still, he wasn't about to quit that easily.

Suddenly, he felt an abrupt irritation stinging his left ankle. When Near bent down to investigate, he noticed a portion of the bottom, left part of his pajama pants had been torn off. Traces of dried blood stained the white color around the tear. Definitely from last night,' he decided. 'It's odd that I notice this now.

Lifting the remaining fabric, he found a semi-deep cut around the side of his ankle. The blood that came from it had completely hardened around the area and part of his sock.

… That's not exactly how I pictured this to look. What bothered Near was that the cut was swelling. While it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it could still become worse. If I don't clean and treat this soon, an infection will start... I have to find that grove!

It was now mid morning and Matt and Mello still had nothing to determine Near's whereabouts. They had called his name dozens of times, but no response ever came in return.

The whole situation was getting more and more frustrating for Mello the longer they were out there. As much as he wished he could, he could not change what had been done.

Just a sign, the blond prayed, just one sign to give us a clue, as to where Near might be. Please, God, there has to be something that will-

"Hey… Mello, I see something!" Matt ran ahead towards a brier bush and crouched in front of it.

"Matt, what is it?" Mello curiously asked. I don't know if Matt found something that's related to Near, but that was fast!

"M-Mello…" Matt tried to answer, "Mello… I can't believe it! Look… look!"

The blond held his breath. Matt's tone of voice sounded... excited, maybe? He sprinted over to where his friend was kneeling and anxiously peered over his shoulder.

There, stuck within the thorns, was a piece of white fabric.

Matt carefully unhooked the white cloth and stood to his full height. "This has to be Near's! Not only is the color white, but its condition is perfect. He's been here!"

"I know... This is a great find," Mello responded, looking intently at the torn material. "Hey is that," Mello took it from Matt's hands, "blood?" Little spots of red could be seen on one of its torn edges.

"Matt, you don't think-"

"No, remember what L said? We shouldn't jump to that conclusion," Matt reminded him.

"Yeah, I know... but he might be hurt!" He folded the white fabric and stuffed it into his jeans' front pocket. "Well, at least we know he came through here. Now we just need to figure out which direction he went..."

Matt's eyes slightly narrowed. "Just a thought, but when I found it," referring to the torn fabric, "the thorns seemed to be leaning to the left... as if it had been forced in that direction."

"I see," Mello responded, his eyes lighting up, "He could've been running that way… and the hem of his pants got caught in the briers!" He side glanced at the briers and then at the direction they pointed. "Good thinking, Matt! We'll head east, but let's call L first. He'll be happy to hear we found a clue!"

"All right, I've got the communicator," Matt dug into his pocket to retrieve the wireless device. "Should I tell him, or would you like too?"

"You go ahead and tell him," Mello answered, "I'll listen."

"Okay," the goggled teen switched it on and held it to his mouth. "L, are you there?"

"Yes, Matt, I'm here," the great detective responded.

The brunette smiled, thinking about the new hint to Near's possible whereabouts. "Good. Where are you and Light?"

"We are searching west of the berry grove. As you know, Near was not at the campsite, so we came back around here..." Matt could hear the depression in L's tone. It was really hurting him. "I really should have known better, Matt."

"It's all right, L," Matt comforted, "We didn't know this would happen, but... Mello and I did, however, find a clue as to where Near might be."

"What? Really, Matt!" L enthusiastically questioned, "Tell me, what is it?"

Matt then filled L in on what they had found and where they would go next. The detective told him that he and Light would find out where their current location was, and follow as quickly as they could.

"Light," L addressed, switching the communicator off, "can you believe it? A clue!"

"That's great," Light agreed, smiling outwardly. "Things are starting to look up."

"Yes," L nodded, "I couldn't be prouder of those two... especially Mello."

"Ryuzaki, if I may ask... why does, or did,Mello hate Near so much?" He had been curious ever since he had arrived in England. It just never seemed to make any sense…

"Well," the detective sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "I'll explain, as we travel. Come now, we must be quick if we want to find Near sooner."

I hope this was a chapter worth waiting for.

I cannot reveal what will happen in future chapters, but there will come a time when I ask a certain question of opinions. I don't think I should ask now, because it would only fill everyone's heads with a few, possible scenarios... What type of scenarios, I will not say.

Thank you, for reading.