Chapter two:

The rest of the day at Whammy's house was uneventful really.

Near didn't show up for any classes though.

Of course the others brushed it off as maybe Near isn't feeling well.

Mello worries though since he was the only one to actually see that something was and probably still is bugging Near. He decides to pay Near's room a visit once classes are done as the sun begins to set casting an orangish glow onto the orphanage that leaks through the clearness that makes up the glass of the windows. He knocks once only to have the door creak open. He pushes it open more and peers inside glancing around for Near. He spots the other laying on the bed overtop of the blankets with his back kind of facing to the room so Near's front is facing the one side of the wall the one side of the bed is pressed against. He wonders if Near's asleep but decides to check anyways. He closes the door mostly then he moves towards Near's bed trying to be quiet in case Near is actually asleep. He can only hope that Near talked to someone about what was bugging him.

Near is laying there with his eyes closed possibly in a light sleep or trying to sleep.

Mello hesitates on trying to wake him but in the end he decides to leave Near to rest. He leaves the room closing the door behind himself. He walks away and heads to the library for a little bit to do some reading.

"Man. This really is big news." The librarian gasps reading a newspaper.

Mello pauses and turns to her. "What is?" He questions.

The librarian turns to him. "Well you see I found some old newspapers and turns out there is a young prince who went missing." She says. "He just vanished without a trace years ago." She, who looks like a librarian in a movie, turns to her computer and searches more into the disappearance that is known. "No sign of struggle and no one saw anything." She pauses and looks surprised. "To this day the kingdom is still sending out many guard patrols looking for the prince. They continue to end up empty handed."

"Weird." Mello says. "A prince gone for years…"

"It's unheard of." The librarian agrees.

"Did they ever release a picture?" Mello asks.

"Not that I have found." The librarian says with a small shake of her head. "They say they were sure enough people knew what he looked like and they feared of him getting hurt if they did."

"Ah I see." Mello says. "Would it be ok if I read the article?"

The librarian nods and hands Mello the newspaper.

Mello leans against her desk as he begins to read it. He checks the date.

The official disappearance was when he was new to Whammy's and Near would soon be arriving not long after with Matt arriving in the time in between.

Interesting.

"It's scary to think that it seems someone managed to take the prince then to this day still not be caught or to even leave a trace." The librarian says.

"Humans are more capable of things than we can't believe someone would do." Mello responds handing the newspaper back. "Like for someone to rape then murder or leave someone to die." He pushes away from the desk only to go deeper into the library to find something to read maybe to get his thoughts off of Near who is in his head more than normal. He finds something to read but he can't stop but just think of what could be bothering Near…. Before he knows when or how he is at the end of the book and he doesn't remember anything about it.

It's getting dark outside so Mello puts the book away and heads back to where the rooms are only to pause at Near's door.

Should he check?

He glances around.

Empty hall right now.

He opens the door heading inside.

Near still seems to be sleeping so Mello once again leaves this time heading to his own room to try to get some sleep.

He didn't get a wink of sleep that night.

…

"Where should we start?" One asks the other.

"I say we do some research." The other responds. "Let's look for any places that are well hidden. If that doesn't work he might be hiding in plain sight in a way that makes us look over him possibly done by whoever took him."

The one nods. "Sounds good." He agrees.

So they head to do some research.

…

The next day Mello gets up earlier than usual since he didn't sleep.

He has a feeling he should head to Near's room. He does and knocks before going in.

Near is up and at the window.

Mello closes the door behind himself before heading over to Near standing beside him.

Near glances to Mello. "Mello." He says.

"What is it?" Mello asks wondering if he's finally going to get answers.

Near glances back outside. "Is it ok for someone to be selfish? Is it bad?"

Mello blinks as he didn't expect this. "Well sure too much of it is bad but everyone is selfish from time to time." He responds and glances outside to the rising sun. "So it's ok to get a little selfish from time to time."

Near sighs turning away from the window so only one hand is on the window sill slightly behind him and his back to Mello. "Then why does it feel so wrong?" He asks then walks away from the window.

Mello turns and follows Near who stops at about the middle of the room looking down at the floor. "Well sometimes it feels wrong even though being a little selfish is in human nature." He says.

Near lowers his head till his chin is against his chest. "But… What if something really bad happens?"

"Near look." Mello says. "What are you feeling selfish about?" He asks. "Not every selfishness is bad remember?"

Near shakes his head. "Forget about it Mello." He responds. "Maybe it's just me."

Mello growls in frustration. He isn't getting anywhere with Near. "Well maybe it is maybe it isn't." He says.

Near shakes his head. "I think I need to clear my head."

With that Near leaves the room.

"Damn it." Mello growls to himself. "Why does he have to be such a twit about this!" He then leaves too murmuring to himself but he stops when he realizes he can't see Near as he looks down both ways to go.

Though Near's room is kind of close to a turn to head to the stairs set between the girls and the guys rooming areas. He heads to the stairs going down them.

Maybe if he can find Near he can eavesdrop for answers.

Off he goes.

…

"I think I found something!"

…..

Mello can't find Near.

But then again everyone knows that if Near doesn't want to be found then it is close to impossible to find him.

No one has ever found him when he doesn't want to be found.

So Mello heads away to do some research until Near shows up again.

He asks the librarian for the old newspapers which he reads to see the old news for the hell of it. He finds some weird news like the illegalizing of fishing while riding a Giraffe. "Some people's mental health needs to be checked." He sighs and keeps reading.

….

"Then lets go. Times a wasting."

AN:

The being illegal to fish while riding a Giraffe is an actual law in a city in Idaho. I found out thanks to Danger Dolan in his video 50 Dumbest Laws From American States. I recommend him if you are looking for a new youtube person to check out.

Anyways I hope you review but flamers are used to make cake!

Mello.