"These are the words but the words aren't coming out
They burn 'cause they are hard to say.
For every failing sun, there's a morning after
Though i'm empty when you go...
I just wanted you to know"
-My Chemical Romance, The World is Ugly

Disbelief was painted over both Matt and Butterfly's faces as that comment reached their ears. Not sure how to respond, they stared at their friend with mouths agape slightly, like they weren't sure what words could be said in this situation; how were they supposed to react? Not only was L, their hero, their light, their leader, everything they strived to be, dead and gone, but now Mello, their friend, their brother was leaving them. It was a double whammy (no pun intended) no matter which way they looked at it.

"What do you mean you're leaving?" Matt asked first, his voice empty of emotion at the current moment. Butterfly could tell that he was upset, however.

Mello didn't answer them, he just gave them both a solemn look, a sad look that did not belong on Mello's usually scowling face. It was out of place, a taboo, that sadness in those deep eyes sparked something in Matt. It wasn't much of a spark, but it was a memory. That's how he looked the day his parents died... The hopelessness in Mello, the stronger one of the duo of boys, made Matt also feel the same feelings, the sadness, the hurt, the betrayal, the fear. Instead of an explanation, Mello exhaled roughly so that it was similar to the sound an animal would make. The sound a desperate animal would make. Looking around the room and over the two now saddened faces of his friends for a second, Mello appeared as if he were looking for an answer somewhere in this clutter of a room he called his. But there were no answers here for him, there were never any answers at Wammy's, there were only questions. Questions that just kept getting harder and harder to answer. Answers Mello had to go out and find on his own.

He dashed over to the drawer where he kept his clothes and yanked it wide open exposing the black and occasionally red or blue clothing that was stored inside. Not bothering to look at the clothing he was pulling out, he tossed it onto his unmade bed, his teeth grinding together like saws.

"Mello!" Matt almost yelled, the emotions finally leaking into his voice. "You can't leave me!"

That emotional statement made Mello stop his actions and look over at his best friend with crazed confused eyes. Even Butterfly was surprised
by the tones of hurt and anger in Matt's voice.

"Matt..." she murmured softly, the volume too soft to hear. Matt's lower lips trembled a bit, his goggles up on his head, those bright blue eyes watery.

"Mello... C'mon... just calm down and come here..."

The blond sighed and walked over to Matt and did something Butterfly had never seen him do before: he wrapped his arms around Matt and pulled him into a tight hug. It wasn't a romantic embrace or even a quick "bro" hug. No, this was a "you're my best friend" hug.

"Matt... I can't stay here..." Mello grumbled, his voice starting to thicken, tears in his own eyes that refused to pool over. "I can't let that big headed twit win..."

Butterfly's brain clicked at that moment. Near... how is he taking this?

"Mello, where are you gonna go, huh?" Matt questioned. "You'll get killed out there! You're a kid!"

"Matt!" Mello snapped. "I am not a child! Maybe by my age but I am not a child and will not tolerate being called one, you hear me?!" Matt closed his mouth and didn't speak. Gently, Mello escaped from the hug without difficulty and walked back over to the bed. Matt didn't move, he just sat there on his knees for a moment, watching Mello's every move.

A strong longing to touch and comfort Matt rushed through Butterfly, but she could not will herself to move. She didn't know how to comfort him, or herself for that matter. The blond was now reaching under his bed and pulling out a duffle bag, his only means of packing.

"Mello..."

Mello grunted, ignoring the sound Butterfly had created with her lips. Instead he began to take the clothes he had thrown out and began to pile them into the bag in a sloppy fashion. Once the clothes were in, he yanked open his sock drawer and pulled out a handful of bills and a plastic sandwich bag full of coins which he tossed into the disarray of clothing. Also, bars of chocolate that he had been hoarding were added to his meager collection of supplies. Mello didn't have much that he could rely on to protect him other than his wits. Though, Mello's wits could usually get him through anything.

"Are you sure about this...?" Matt said softly, his words strangled. "You can stay for the night..."

Mello shook his head, not even bothering to speak what he was trying to say.

"I'll... call when I need you, Matt," Mello said coldly, pulling his shoes on and slipping a jacket over his form. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he walked passed his best friend, not even giving him one last passing glance. For a moment, he hesitated when he got near Butterfly, which surprised her a bit.

"Butterfly..." he whispered as his eyes met hers. "Take care of him..."

With that Mello left the room, no words anyone could say would change his mind.

Mihael Keehl was on his own.

-

Butterfly couldn't bare to leave Matt that night. All she could do was hold and try to comfort him with soft words that she knew wouldn't do anything to help him. Mello was was like Matt's brother. Ever since both of their families perished during the same bloody night, the two boys knew that they had to stick together and could only trust each other. She had never seen Matt cry before, yet for some reason all he really did was sniffle and wipe his tears away frantically. He also kept apologizing over and over again to his female companion, almost as if he was embarrassed by the water that ran down his boyish face from his beautiful blue eyes.

But she didn't care if he was crying, all she wanted was to hold him, all she wanted was for him to know how much she loved him, even if he didn't love her as much as she loved him. Matt was normally never this affected by things, but this was something that devastated him. Could she really blame him though? Could she blame Matt for feeling? It was almost as if he was releasing all those pent up feelings from all his indifferent years of thinking. All his emotions were pouring out of him in the form of tears. The boy clung onto her in a desperate way, almost as if he was scared that if he let her go, she would disappear.

"Don't leave me..." he whispered into her chest where he was lying his head as she held him. "Please... don't leave me too..."

"I won't..." she whispered into his reddish brown locks as she stroked them, whispering reassuringly into his scalp. "I promise..."

Matt was silent for a moment, his ears picking up the thump of her heart beating in her chest. It was a nice sound, a sound that calmed him down a bit, allowing him to stop the heaving sobs in his chest. Nuzzling a bit closer, he closed his eyes, listening to the beat. A thin, fragile smile appeared on the blue-eyed girl's lips as she realized she succeeded in calming her lover down.

"You're lying."

-

Near paced the length of his room, looking down at the domino he held in his hand. His eyes judged it, registering the number of dots on it, the small lines of wear, the discolored white patches in certain areas. The dark-eyed boy wasn't one to be easily thrown off by something, in fact he wasn't a fan of L as a person, as a goal, however, he was perfect. L was a goal, that was all. Near knew it was a caring way of viewing the man whom he owed plenty, but Near wasn't really bothered by it. L was dead, he lost the game. Sure, the man named by a letter left a legacy, a challenge, and a game. A game Near was confident he could win if he was clever enough. It wasn't a game of knowledge, it was a game of wit and fox-like stealth. All he had to be careful with was how he moved his pieces with perfect precision, mistakes would result in failure. Maybe not death, but they would end in failure which was something that Near would not tolerate. Drained of emotion, the boy tossed the domino aside, hearing it clack against the floor as it fell. Gripping a lock of his snowy-white hair, Near thought. Mello was gone, he had heard the blond's parting words to one of children who wanted to know where he was going.

For now, Mello was out of the picture, making him a bigger threat. Or was he a threat? That thought bugged Near yet intrigued him as well. Perhaps Mello was not a threat, in fact, perhaps he was a tool, a piece on a chessboard that would unconsciously do his bidding. But in order to achieve that, Near would have to make sure that he always kept an eye on the unpredictability that was Mello. For that, he needed more resources.

Well, Mello wasn't the only person Near could use to solve this case. No, he had Matt, Mello's dear friend. Butterfly would be of much use as well with her deductive skills. In fact, they still had a promise that they would work together.

Time to cash in a promise... and a favor... he thought, holding up three fingers to represent his chess pieces. Wiggling one finger, the pointer, he visualized face of Mello, stern and prideful. My rook... he thought. Mello was unpredictable, yet that could lean in Near's favor if he was unpredictable at the right times. However, Mello was also very predictable in the ways that he was unpredictable, no matter how much of an oxymoron that was. It's only natural that Mello would do whatever it takes to beat me, that much is obvious.

He wiggled his middle finger, visualizing the expressions that Butterfly wore on her face: laughing, sometimes scolding, but familiar nonetheless. My bishop... he thought, a bit amused. Butterfly would be a reliable piece, one that he knew he could count on for some time. She'll cooperate for the time being, we are friends... he told himself. Also, she can help me keep my eyes on Mello...

Now came the time for the ring finger to be wiggled. Matt's indifferent guise danced in Near's mind's eye as he realized that Matt would be of plenty of use too, even if he was a lazy character. Matt was the bridge between Mello and Butterfly: two opposing forces. His neutral facade did prevent him from achieving much of what he was more than capable of doing.However, his emotional hardness could make him a decent knight... the perfect balance between offense and defense if I do say so myself... Satisfied with his newfound pieces, he dropped his fingers and sat himself on the floor and began to formulate how he would break the news to his dear friend.

Three months later

"Ah, good morning, Near," Butterfly greeted her roommate as she ran a comb through her tangled black locks in an insensitive manner, almost as if she could not feel it. It was rough but she didn't seem to be bothered by the pulling sensation, or perhaps she was just good at ignoring her own pain.

"Morning," Near responded in a bland way, moving a toy car over the surface of the floor, making low sound effects under his breath. Butterfly cocked an eyebrow at him as she peered over at him from her bed. It was Sunday, classes would start in the morning tomorrow but she was going to spend the rest of the day with Matt, like usual.

Three months had passed since Mello had departed and life was starting to get back to its usual slow way of going by. Near seemed to be thoughtful, which wasn't unusual, but Butterfly could tell something was off about the boy. "Near?" she asked, "Is everything okay...?"

"Yes, why are you asking?" he questioned in return, a mock innocence in his voice.

"Your posture is a bit off today," she responded, her own tone mimicking his. Near let a small, mischievous smile spread across his lips, causing Butterfly to chuckle.

"I never knew you cared so much about my posture; you must be watching it very closely to notice things like this." His tone now held a small hint of joking.

"Of course I worry about your posture," she chuckled, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Interesting... so you wouldn't mind working with me?"

Well, that came out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?" she questioned, confusion alive in her eyes. Where is he coming from..?

"Simple, I will be leaving soon to conduct my own investigation on Kira, naturally, I would require some assistance in the operation," Near explained with a rather serious yet confident tone.

"So soon?" Were the only words Butterfly could push out.

"Yes," Near's tone went back to being bland in emotion. "The sooner the better, we must recover all the information left behind from L."

L... of course... he was investigating Kira when he died... if we can get all of his research we'll have a jumpstart... A jumpstart on who? That question bugged her because she didn't have an answer.

"I've already made arrangements with Roger and things are being taken care of, in fact, we should be able to leave by noon tomorrow. You have time to pack."

Tomorrow? So soon? Sudden Butterfly's calm brain was swimming in chaos. Tomorrow she would be leaving Wammy's; her home for so long. Tomorrow she would begin a long search -or hunt, for a mass murderer that no one could catch. Perhaps even the very person that killed L. No, Butterfly did not doubt it. L had been killed by Kira. Butterfly wanted nothing more than to hunt down the killer, but would be she be ready by tomorrow?

And what about Matt?

"Matt...?"Butterfly managed to whisper softly.

"Would be staying here until he decides to leave on his own accord. He wouldn't be of much use to me."

"Right..." Butterfly said, her throat tightening up. "I just can't leave Matt like that... you know that, Near..."

"Actually, you can leave, your personal feelings just seem to be getting in the way," Near stated the obvious like usual. "But no one will be forcing you to go."

"No, I want to but..."

"You feel responsible for Matt."

"That's not all of it..." Butterfly pressed, her arms crossing over her chest loosely.

"Attraction."

Butterfly let out a strangled sigh. "No, love Near, I love Matt, that's why."

"So it is attraction," Near mused, twirling that lock of his hair. Butterfly sighed knew near wouldn't understand the emotional aspects because love was a chemical thing. Perhaps that's all it was, but she highly doubted Near would fully be able to comprehend a chemical romance, it was something even she had troubles comprehending.

"Nonetheless," Near continued speaking. "I won't make you choose between this case and Matt, it would be morally incorrect of."

"Morals?" Butterfly scoffed at the word. "Near, moral correctness and political correctness were something you would never waste your energy on."

"Yes," Near replied simply, which irritated her. "But I must ask you to make a decision." With her head throbbing, Butterfly thought hard about this. Matt or avenging L? Matt or assisting Near? A promise or a promise... Swallowing the lump in her throat, her brain travelled back to her promise to Matt.

"Don't leave me..Please, don't leave me too…"

"I won't. I promise."

"You're lying."

The last words Matt said on that subject made her chest tighten even more.

"Of course Near, I promise that we'll tackle the greatest cases in the world together."

After a moment of hesitation, Butterfly spoke.

"Okay... I'll go with you, Near..."