Chapter fifteen:
"Mello!" Matt's voice comes through the cellphone. "L has sent reinforcements. They're on their way! Just try to not get killed before they arrive!"
"Don't worry Matt. I know that me and Mello can handle this until those reinforcements manage to arrive." Near speaks clearly having heard the red head calling to the blonde.
Mello briefly glances to Near at this before turning back to the man. He is a little surprised that Near truly has so much faith in his abilities.
The man charges towards them with a battle cry.
Mello is quick to notice that the man is specifically going for Near despite that he drops the cellphone that he had been holding. He uses his body to push the other out of the way causing the punch the man tried to swing to miss. He spins his body slamming a kick into the man's stomach who is knocked sideways to the ground with a gasp. He leaps onto the man who tries to throw the blonde off of him. He takes a punch to the jaw though luckily there isn't enough force behind said punch to be able to do too much damage to the blonde. He is knocked off of the man who slams the blonde down onto his back on the ground.
The man pulls back a fist to punch Mello. He doesn't get a chance as Near slams into the man hard enough to send said man falling sideways off of Mello.
Near lands on top of the man who tries to grab him as he tries to move backwards.
Mello hurriedly gets up, used to fighting as he has gotten into fights at the orphanage before, and grabs onto the man to stop him from hitting Near. He starts to realize that despite the creature using the man to do this horrible deed the man isn't that strong. He gets elbowed in the chest then the stomach. His grip loosens enough for the man to be able to get away from him. He gets up to his feet as does Near as they face the man.
The man goes for the gun however Mello rushes forward managing to grab it first.
Mello swings the weapon's handle at the man using it for what the man clearly planned to use it. He hits the man in the side of the head causing said man to fall to the floor. He leaps onto the man who seems to be stunned. He straddles the others hips so he cannot be kicked off.
The man tries to raise his hands to prepare to attack Mello with them.
Near quickly hurries over and grabs the man's wrists pushing them down to the ground.
Mello puts both of his hands onto the shoulders of the man to help keep him down.
"You'll regret this!" The creatures voice comes from the mans mouth in a powerful shout that manages to send invisible shockwaves through the two orphans.
The two refuse to let go of the man despite feeling those shockwaves from the shout.
"You're not going anywhere." Mello hisses to the man as together they keep the man from forcing his way up to attack them.
Suddenly a black mist rises from the man who falls unconscious or at least into some kind of dazed unresponsive state. It fades away with a laughter clearly not done with them.
Suddenly the whole basement begins to shake like some kind of earthquake is going through the land.
Mello glances up to the roof above them to which he sees that cracks are forming right above them. "Near! Move!" He calls to the other before leaping out of the way.
Near grabs the man's hand dragging him away just in time as the stove falls from above right down to where they just were.
The man suddenly scrambles up to his feet to try to get away. He however is hit by a shadowy figure knocking him back to the ground.
Mello sees the shadow heading for Near who tries to escape only to be cornered by said shadow. "Near!" He races towards the other as the shadow moves closer to him. He stumbles due to the shaking home though the tries to grab the shadow. He finds himself going right through it. He uses this moment to grab Near pulling him away from the shadow. He leads Near away as the shaking slows to a stop.
The shadow hisses before chasing after the two of them. It slams into them now being a more solid object.
Mello and Near are thrown to the ground from being hit so hard from behind.
Mello then remembers something that he has in his pocket. He grabs the necklace that his mother had given him before she had passed. He rolls onto his back and holds out the necklace with the cross on it out to hold it before the creature.
The shadow stops with a loud hiss as it moves away from the cross making Mello relieved that it is working. It doesn't seem to dare to approach them. It then glances to the ceiling only for a part above Near and Mello to break.
Mello grabs Near while still holding out his cross necklace. He pulls the other close as the two close their eyes tightly waiting for the impact that they doesn't have time to dodge. He can hear the object flying through the air towards them. He hears a bang just above them to which he cracks open an eye to glance. He spots a shield of light around them as the table that was going to hit them instead falls to pieces on the floor.
Near even peeks just as the shield of light fades away.
Mello swears that for a moment he had felt a divine presence close to them. He also swears that for a brief moment he feels his mother close to him again before the feeling vanishes. He swears that fading words are briefly spoken in his head before the feeling of his mother being close vanishes.
'I will do my best to protect you along with the ruler of the afterlife. We can't hold it back forever though.'
After the shield vanishes the sounds of a whole group of sirens can be heard coming from outside.
This scares off the shadow for now as it disappears off elsewhere.
Mello does feel relief to know that the reinforcements truly did arrive in a quick manner. He lowers his hand with his cross necklace before him and Near get to their feet.
Hurried footsteps enter the home as one of the doors is heard being busted into.
"Down here!" Mello calls and soon enough officers surround as well as aiming their guns at the man.
Another officer goes over to Mello and Near to help protect them just in case.
The man is handcuffed as the two orphans watch them as the man is taken away.
Mello sees his cellphone only to realize that it is broken from falling onto the hard floor. He picks it up with a small sigh.
Near comes over to glance to it. "We'll fix it." Near mentions to the other like a promise.
"I know it'll be fixed." Mello assures Near to which the two are called by an officer only to be lead out of the home through the busted in front door.
The two are only slightly surprised to see L and Watari standing by a black car as if waiting for them. They approach them to which L gives the two a smile.
"It is good to see you two are alright." L tells the two of them gently checking Mello's cheek that no doubt is starting to bruise.
"I'm okay." Mello assures the raven haired man who both he and Near idolize like basically anyone in the orphanage.
L nods softly after checking it over himself. "I will take down your statements for the record in order to make sure that this man will be charged with everything that he has done."
Mello and Near nod softly to this both knowing that they will tell him about things excluding the parts of the creature that curses Near as well as the choking. Once they give their statements they are brought into the car with L to which they begin to head back to the safety of the orphanage.
L is sitting across from the two, typing on a laptop probably getting some work done along the way.
There isn't really much to say now that Mello and Near are okay not to mention alive.
Mello turns to Near seeing the other staring at the floor of the car by the seat across from him. He inches closer causing the other to turn to him.
Near gives him a clear look saying that Mello doesn't have to say anything. He silently assures the other that he will understand no matter what Mello decides to do from here on out.
Honestly Mello isn't really sure if he wants things to go back to how they were before. He takes his cross necklace that is still in his hand. He puts it around Near's neck to it sits on his chest. "For good luck against that thing." He whispers so only Near can hear him. He gets a warm appreciative look from the other who looks like he'll treasure the necklace for however long he has it. He turns to look out the window as they arrive to the orphanage.
Watari opens the door for them to which the two orphans along with L enter into the orphanages building.
Orphans turn in curiosity and surprise to see the three standing together.
Matt comes running from the direction of where the bedrooms are clearly having heard the car arrive or perhaps was sent a message by L while in the car. He hurries over to Mello and Near throwing an arm around both of them. "It is so good to see the both of you safe and sound." He admits with deep relief being heard in his tone. He pulls away letting go of the two.
"It is good to be back." Mello admits to the red head. "Sorry we lost contact during that whole thing. It kind of broke when it hit the floor." He doesn't want to admit what it is in front of everyone so he keeps his words spoken softly.
"What matters is that you guys made it back alive." Matt assures him with a smile. He turns to Near to talk a little with him.
Mello turns not paying attention to what the two of them are talking about. He spots Linda hanging at the back of the crowd. He notices how she is glaring their way. His eye catches hers to which he gives her a warning glare to back off if she can't accept that Near isn't only friends with her.
Linda's eyes slightly widen in surprise before she wheels herself away disappearing from view.
Mello turns away at this to turn to Matt and Near. He sees them turn to glance to him. He offers a small smile deciding that it doesn't matter whether or not Matt and Near are friends. He can live with it. "I'll join you two if you don't mind." He adds to which Matt grins at the idea.
Near hides his emotions being around others though Mello almost swears that he sees a smile on the others face.
"Of course!" Matt confirms to the blonde. "You're welcome to join us!"
Mello is glad. He will still try to beat Near score wise though he thinks that he can live with having more friendly interactions with the other. He now feels like he isn't being left out of Matt's time since he now has both of them to be able to spend time with.
L smiles softly pleased at seeing them get along.
A few days later…
Mello, Matt and Near arrive to the location during the night where the group that will help get rid of the curse are. They've been waiting for this as everyday they worry that something will happen to one of them because of the curse.
Mello believes that his necklace has been helping to keep the curse at bay. He just knows that there is no way for it to work forever so he hopes that this will finally get rid of the darkness looming over them. He had been waiting for the day that the necklace would fail allowing something bad to happen to them.
Near had returned the necklace to the blonde on their way to here with a thanks for letting it to help fight against the creature.
"Come." Coral invites to Near gesturing where she wants him to be.
Mello stays back with Matt where the two watch. He knows that he needs to believe that this will work. Which isn't that hard as the blonde wants it to work so he won't have to worry that something bad will happen to any of them for being close to Near.
Near stands with the group surrounding him with candles held in their hands.
Coral glances to Mello and Matt. "Hold onto your belief in this working and your care for him. It will help in allowing the ritual to be successful. Let your care for him be shown by putting that emotion in the forefront so it can be felt in your auras." She gets a nod from the two then she turns back to focus. She leads the start of a chant as all of the group members close their eyes including Near who doesn't chant as he wasn't told to do so.
"Come forth and tear this demon from this undeserving human! Set him free from the curse haunting his step! We call to you for your divine assistance! So mote it be."
After a few moments of this the candle flames begin to shift around as if a breeze is hitting them one way then another before the flames start to grow. The flames stop and stand still as if frozen to which the flames seem to turn into balls of light.
Beams of light come from some stars in the sky landing to become a part of the balls of light.
Then the moon begins glowing sending it's beam down onto Near surrounding him in a glow of pale grey light that is only transparent enough to see him.
Near is lifted slightly into the air to which he is turned to his back with his arms and legs dangling down. He is only lifted up enough to be just above the groups heads.
A dark mist surrounds him before it begins to be sucked out of him as the chanting continues on without missing a beat. It cries out as it is pulled from the orphan boy. "No! Stop it! You can't do this to me!" It's voice starts to become sounding more like an adult male that sounds all too human instead of like some sort of being.
Near gasps almost as if recognizing that voice.
"He sacrificed his life to bring me into existence! Let him have his justice! Stop calling upon you almighty Gods and Goddesses to tear me away from my only reason to exist!" The creature tries to plead with the group who remain unfazed as they just keep chanting. He lets out a scream as he is fully pulled from Near before a flash of light shoots around the field.
Mello and Matt cover their eyes to try to not be blinded by the blast. They lower their hands once it is gone to find that the group have gone silent.
The candles are no longer lit and the lights coming from the night sky is also gone.
Near is laying on the ground on the middle of the circle. He shifts sitting up to glance around before getting to his feet.
The group move away and open their eyes to look to Near with smiles.
"It is done. The curse has been lifted." Coral announces to which Mello and Matt hurry over to Near happy to hear that they don't have to worry about the curse anymore.
"That voice was a man who used to be friends with my parents. However he was caught stealing at my fathers work by my father. He fled because my father had told the authorities. We didn't see him after that but I guess he did some kind of ritual to sacrifice himself to curse my family for what we had done. I barely got lucky to survive for as long as I have." Near explains to the two who listen to what he has to say.
"Well either way I am just glad that it is all over." Mello admits to which Matt nods his head to this. He smiles softly only to nudge Matt closer to Near. He gives an encouraging look to the other who turns to him. He feels more comfortable with allowing this to happen now that there isn't worry of the curse's retaliation for the red head getting this close to the other.
Matt takes a breath before turning back to look to Near again. "Near. Will you go out with me?" He inquires to which instead of giving a verbal response the white haired boy cups his cheeks. He is pulled into a kiss by the other as he stares at Near's closed eyes. He allows his own eyes to close and he brings his arms around the other while they kiss.
Mello is happy to see them together. He didn't think that he would though now that he's allowed himself to be close to the both of them this just feels right.
The group that helped get rid of the curse cheer causing the two to pull away blushing a little.
Mello can't help a warm chuckle from coming out of him at the sight of this.
A year later…
Mello, Matt and Near walk together through the orphanage. A tight group that no one dares to mess with.
Linda has been keeping her distance from them and actually found her own group of friends. She doesn't even try to be close to Near anymore which Mello is glad for. She is far too annoying for the blonde.
The three stop just outside of Rogers office. They glance to each other before turning to where they are going as they enter into the office. They pause to find L sitting in Rogers seat with Watari and Roger nowhere to be seen.
L smiles in greeting to them as the three approach further into the room. "Good to see you three again." He greets them as they stop just in front of the desk. "Listen. I was wondering if you would join me in on a case that I am working on."
The three glance to each other sharing smiles before turning back to L.
"We'd be happy to join and help however we can." Mello speaks for them all to which L seems pleased.
"Great to hear."
The end.