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Near remembered the day the letter came in the mail. Just like it was supposed to, it arrived on his 18th birthday.
He didn't really understand why a magical soulmate letter would come in the mail, but that was just how it went. He didn't really believe in soulmates, at least not in the conventional way. He believed it slightly more when he got his letter, but he convinced himself it was just because a life could now be saved by him. It had nothing to do with the fact that the life on the line was his soulmate.
He honestly waited a lot longer than anyone else would to open the letter. A part of him didn't want to know. Besides, he has to focus on the Kira investigation right now. He was so close to the end, just waiting to see if Gevanni would die. Surely his soulmate could wait a couple more weeks before needing to be saved.
"Near… May I ask you a question?" Rester asked later that night. At Near's nod, he continued: "Why haven't you opened it yet?" Near paused. It was just the two of them, thankfully. Rester was the one he trusted the most in the SPK, seeing as Lidner was working with Mello, and Gevanni may or may not be controlled by Kira at the moment.
"I'm not too worried about it," Near mumbled, not looking up from the puppets he was making. He had to make sure they looked like their human counterparts, and that required concentration, "We are so close to taking Kira down, I can read the letter after,"
"Near…" Rester paused, debating whether or not he should voice his thoughts aloud.
"What is it, Rester? You think I should open it now?"
"Yes. You never know, Near. What if your soulmate dies before we defeat Kira? What if your soulmate is a part of the investigation? Or maybe something in the letter can help us catch Kira,"
Near fought back a laugh at the thought. It was practically impossible for his soulmate to be working on the Kira investigation, most of the people investigating were at least a decade older than him. The only people who were even close to his age were Mello and Matt, and maybe some of the people in the Task Force. The chances of his soulmate being any of them were so slim that it was pointless to think about.
"I doubt it will help us…" Near trailed off, looking at the letter. He felt compelled to open it. His gut was screaming at him to open it from the moment it arrived, and yet…
In truth, he didn't want to. Not now, not ever. There were too many factors involved. Too many people realized too late. Too many people ended up with their soulmates dead, something completely avoidable if they had just figured the clues out faster. If his soulmate did end up dying, he wanted it to happen because he didn't know, not because he wasn't good enough to save them.
"The worst that will happen is that it doesn't help us… You should open it, Near, but it's up to you," Rester told Near softly, turning back to his computer. Near couldn't take his eyes off the envelope. Rester was right, the worst that would happen…
Near quickly grabbed the envelope off of the table, noticing that there was no return address. He had often wondered where the envelopes came from, but he should have known it wouldn't be that easy to find out.
He slowly pulled the paper out of the envelope. There weren't many words on it, though Near wasn't surprised by that. He was more stunned by what it said. It was just a list of words, keywords that should theoretically tell Near when his soulmate would die, though there was no way for him to find out before it happened.
"Soon…" He whispered, looking at the first word in the list. Rester turned in his chair towards him at that, looking slightly shocked that Near had actually opened it.
"What does it say?" Near paused at Rester's question, trying to collect his thoughts, before responding.
"Soon. Smoke. Motorcycle. Kidnapping. Page. Heart attack," Near mumbled. He hadn't realized that these notes were allowed to give a time frame, though he was glad. He didn't know when soon was, but he had a feeling Rester was right in saying that his soulmate would die before Kira…
"I didn't realize it would tell me a time frame,"
"It usually doesn't," Rester explained, looking significantly more upset than he had before, "It only does if it has already happened, or if it is about to happen…"
The two sat in silence as Near read the words on the letter over and over again.
"I wonder if Kira can kill with just a single page…" Near muttered, putting the note aside in favor of his puppets. He needed to finish painting them before they confronted Kira.
"Why do you say that?" Rester asked, and Near sighed. He hated having to explain these things constantly. He missed being in Wammy's, where even if he was sometimes ahead of all of the others, they at least wouldn't always need an explanation for every little thing he said. Anyone in Wammy's would have immediately understood why he asked, they probably would've asked it themselves, but he couldn't expect everyone he talked with to be like that.
"Well, it says it will happen 'soon', 'page' and 'heart attack'. It would only make sense that it would be Kira. Or, I could be wrong. Still, it's interesting to consider…" Near trailed off, ignoring the look on Rester's face. Most of the SPK didn't fully trust him to be competent enough to take on Kira, though Near would like to think that he had proved himself enough by now.
"We should take extra precautions to look into any kidnappings that may come up…" Near paused, considering something, "Rester?" The man hummed in response, "Don't mention this to the others, please. Just tell them to pay attention to any prominent kidnappings, and nothing more," Rester looked at him, shocked for a moment. It wasn't very often that he said please. He nodded, turning back to his computer. Near tucked the letter underneath one of his many toy boxes. He could move it safely to his room later that night, when there was no chance of anyone else coming into the headquarters.
He ignored the rising sense of dread that was building in his gut. As long as he monitored any kidnappings, things would be fine. And if they weren't, then Near would have to live with the knowledge that he did everything he could, and that was that.
- - -
The note had said "soon", but Near was surprised at how quickly the day arrived.
It had only been a couple of days since his birthday. Only a couple of days. If he had waited, like he wanted to, his soulmate would have died.
Near was just finishing his Mello puppet (a bit ironic, if you asked him) when suddenly Lidner was calling. He nodded at Rester to answer it, and quickly Lidner's face popped up on the screen. She was in her car, looking down at her laptop, which confused Near. She was watching Miss Takada, surely there wasn't time for her to contact them like this.
"It's Mello," Lidner started, and Near perked up instantly.
She explained that as she was escorting Takada into the NHN building, a man in a red car had suddenly pulled up, firing a smoke bomb at them before driving off. Then she told them that Mello pulled up in a motorcycle, taking Miss Takada away.
Kidnapping. Soon. Motorcycle. Smoke. It was all adding up too well for Near's liking.
"Do not let Mello out of your sight. I want you personally following him," Near ordered, trying not to show the fear pooling in his gut.
"But won't that blow my cover?"
"I don't care. And no one else will. You are her bodyguard, it would make sense for you to follow," Near snapped. Well, he couldn't say snapped, it hardly seemed like anything had changed from his normal demeanor, but he could feel his mask slowly slipping down with every second that passed. They needed to get Mello's whereabouts, and fast.
Lidner went to disconnect the call when Near stopped her.
"Wait. Don't disconnect," Near commanded, stopping Lidner a second before she ended the call, "Just in case something comes up," He ignored Rester's look at him. The man might not be as smart as Near was, but he was still fairly smart. It would take an idiot not to be able to put the two together.
"Don't lose sight of Mello," Near continues, ignoring Lidner's protests. He wasn't an idiot, it was obvious that she had already lost sight of him, but he needed her to find him again.
"Rester…" Near paused, trying to get his thoughts in order, "Do you think you can go out and follow the red car? Just in case," Near wasn't sure, but he had a guess about who was driving, and Mello would never forgive himself or Near if he died.
"Yes," Rester said, quickly leaving soon after. Near anxiously watched the news reports, though none of them were following the one he really wanted to see.
"Lidner, have you found him?"
"No. Apparently his motorcycle went into a truck, though I have the license plate number. Would you like it?"
"No, that won't be necessary. Just find the truck," Near sighed. Of course Mello would have a plan to make him hard to follow. He ignored Lidner's annoyed sigh. He didn't know why she was so upset about chasing after Mello, she had been working with him for months now. Surely she didn't want him to die, "You really don't have any tracking devices on Takada?"
"No. We were specifically told not to. Orders from Kira, apparently. I'm tracking her phone right now, though. I'm not supposed to, and I'll likely lose my job-" Lidner was clearly annoyed, but Near was put slightly at peace that there was at least some way to track Mello.
"It's alright. It won't be necessary for you to keep track of Takada much longer. We are about to beat Kira, as I am sure you remember," Lidner nodded in response, and the two fell into tense silence.
"I think I found the truck," She said after a while. Near fought down the relief that filled him. Just because she had found Mello doesn't mean he would be fine.
"Is there any way you can stop it?" He asked, knowing that the chances were slim.
"Not without causing an accident," Near stopped, thinking for a moment. His letter had said that his soulmate would die from the Death Note. They may not have the time to waste and wait for them to get to their destination.
There was little doubt in his mind that Takada knew Mello's name by now. Mello wouldn't have been so desperate for his picture if Kira didn't know his name by now… He didn't think that Mello would show his face to Kira's spokesperson, but Mello didn't know that he was about to die.
"Lidner…"
"Why is it so important to stop him, Near? I understand that it is wrong to kidnap anyone, even if she is the spokesperson of Kira, but causing an accident? Why are you so worried about it? It's not like you,"
Near paused. He didn't want to answer but… if it saved Mello…
"I got my letter a little bit ago…" Near hoped that she would be able to understand without him explaining further, but clearly she didn't, "I have reason to believe that my soulmate may die in this incident, so I would appreciate it if we didn't allow any casualties," He snapped passive-aggressively. He doubted she really noticed, and he was once again thankful for his monotone voice.
"Oh…" She paused, "If I pulled in front of them, I could try and slam on my breaks and cause them to hit me… Mello and Takada went in the back of the truck, so I don't think it would be very safe for me to hit them, so causing them to hit me would cause the least amount of deaths. But trying to make them hit me would be very difficult…"
"Try to make them hit you first, and if that doesn't work… Well, we'll figure it out from there,"
- - -
Mello was halfway through taking his helmet off when the truck lurched, sending him flying forward embarrassingly, his helmet falling back onto his head. He noticed… disappointment? In Takada's eyes as the helmet fell back over his face, though he didn't focus on that for now. He fought down the rage boiling in his blood, though some of it leaked into his voice when he yelled at the driver.
"What the fuck? What happened?"
"I don't- It just appeared out of nowhere!" The driver exclaimed, trying to defend his stupidity.
"Oh my fucking god," He muttered, ignoring Takada, "So you just what, decided to hit them?" Mello said as he looked out the little window connecting the front to the back, seeing a car. The damages for either didn't seem too terrible, but he didn't know much about cars.
"Well, pull around them and keep going, dumbass,"
"But-"
"What's worse, getting arrested for kidnapping or a hit and run?" He almost missed working with the mafia during times like this. At least then, he could make sure that there were actually competent people doing shit for him.
"Can't you just leave on your motorcycle or something?"
Mello was about to tell the driver how fucking stupid that was when he saw the other driver getting out of the car. He paused.
"Watch Takada. I'll… I'll be right back," Mello quickly left the truck, making sure no one could see Takada inside the car. He left his helmet on, just in case Kira was behind this. Did Lidner betray him to Kira somehow?
"What the actual fuck are you doing, Lidner?" He demanded as he came around to her, cars rushing past them.
"Mello… I-" She paused, "Bring Takada and come with me,"
"What? Lidner, I already have it all planned, what the fuck are you trying to do here?"
"If you don't listen to me, you're going to die, Mello," That made Mello pause, thinking back to Takada. He remembered Takada's disappointment when he didn't take his helmet off. She couldn't kill him, could she?
"Fine…" He muttered, "But you better explain… and be ready to get the fuck out of here," Lidner nodded, and Mello quickly went back to the truck. He was about to bring Takada out of the truck when he thought of something.
He put his gun against her head, ignoring her surprised gasp. She should've seen this coming from the start.
"Where is it?" He demanded, and Takada shook with fear.
"What?" She whispered, looking up at him with panic. Now that Mello was looking for it, however, it was obvious that she was waiting for something.
"You've got the notebook… Or maybe a page, if you're so confident that you can kill me. Give it to me," She didn't say anything, just looked at him with tears welling in her eyes, "What, you think Kira will kill you if you don't kill me?" He moved the gun from the side of her face to right in between her eyes, "I'll kill you right now if you don't listen to me, so take your pick,"
She hesitated for a long time, clearly debating what to do. Mello just waited. He was confident that she would give into him, he just needed to wait.
After what felt like years, she reached a shaky hand into her shirt, messing around with something before pulling a piece of paper out of her shirt. Mello smirked underneath the helmet, grabbing the page.
"After writing my name, what were you supposed to do?"
"I- Why? I don't need to tell you anything!"
"You do if you want to live,"
"I- He told me to call him… To call him and tell him I could move freely… and then…" She trailed off, but Mello understood.
"Wait here," He told her, quickly leaving the van. He went to Lidner's car, looking in through the window and seeing an open laptop in her passenger seat.
"Near. Of course," He muttered angrily. Of fucking course Near was behind this. But if his life was on the line, he was willing to be another pawn in Near's game, just this once. He just hoped that Matt was ok. "Lidner. I'm gonna need a minute, Takada needs to take care of something with Kira. We'll be out in a minute," He ignored both Lidner and Near's protests, going back to the van and climbing in.
Takada had moved to the floor, now sobbing openly.
"Call him. Make sure I can hear the conversation," Mello demanded, ignoring her sobs. If she had broken down, it was probably a good thing for him. If she was openly crying, that meant she had run out of options. It meant she, and therefore Kira, had lost this battle.
"What? You want me to…"
"Yeah. Call him, and if he asks, you killed me. Got it?" He put the gun against her head again, silently daring her to disobey him. Not taking her eyes off of him, she pulled out her phone, holding it out so that both of them could hear.
"Light? Light! Please save me!" She cried, and Mello raised his eyebrows. He had suspected that Light could have been Kira, it just made sense, but he couldn't ignore the surprise that Light had avoided being caught all this time.
"Where are you, Miss Takada?" Light's voice was quiet, barely audible through the shitty phone speakers and the sound of traffic right outside the truck.
"I, I don't know," Takada sobbed, and Mello nodded. Good, she was actually going to listen to Mello, "I was put into a truck, which was locked from the outside,"
"Tell him you saw a sign for Nagano," He leaned over and whispered in her ear, quiet enough that Light wouldn't be able to hear him.
"But… But I did see a sign on the freeway, saying we were headed towards Nagano… We're stopped right now, but I don't know where," He nodded, waiting for Light's response.
"Miss Takada, you are Kira's spokesperson. You know there are going to be people who wish to hurt you for this reason. Do you remember what I told you to do, should such a situation arise?"
"Y- yes…" She stuttered, looking at Mello again.
"Did you do it?" Mello nodded.
"Yes. I did it. I did what you asked me to, Light!"
"Do you remember what else I'd asked you to do?" Takada gasped slightly, and Mello raised his eyebrow. He could assume what Light had asked her to do, since she had a whole page of the notebook, but Takada's shock surprised him. Didn't she realize that this would have been the plan all along?
"Yes, I'll do it," She took a breath before yelling, "Please save me! Please just come and save me Light!"
"I will," He answered, before hanging up.
"What did he tell you to do?" Mello demanded as she dropped her phone. She looked up, fear dancing in her eyes, though this time it was… different. She seemed to realize, and now accept, that there was no way she could get out of this situation alive.
Mello fought down the sympathy he felt. This woman was working with Kira. She was going to kill him. He had to remember that.
"He… I need to write down as many names as I can…" She whispered, looking back at her phone.
"Go ahead," Mello told her, handing her the paper. She looked at him in confusion, "We can't let Light realize anything went wrong in his plan, now can we?" He asked, rhetorically. She shakily took the paper, looking around for something to write with.
Helpless He thought, How was she gonna write my name without a pen?
"Jesus Christ, I'll be right back," He said, running back out to Lidner's car. Hopefully no one had stayed after the initial accident, otherwise everything might be ruined.
"Give me a pen," He said as he reached Lidner's car window. She was saying something to Near, probably about what was taking so long.
"Why?" Both she and Near asked.
"Because. Just give me one," Lidner hesitated before complying.
"I'll be back," He fought back a laugh at Lidner's complaints, going back to the truck.
"Man, why'd Kira pick-" He trailed off as he looked at Takada. There was something written on the paper.
Mihael Keehl. Written in her own blood. The window between the driver's seat and the back of the truck was smashed, yet she didn't try to escape. The driver had apparently left at some point when Mello wasn't paying attention, but he couldn't find it in him to care, not when he might be dead in the next 40 seconds. She hadn't seen enough of his face to kill him, right?
The two of them sat in silence, Mello counting down the seconds.
Once he had counted to a minute, he laughed.
"God, you really are dumb. First you forget a damn pen, then you honestly thought that you'd be able to kill me without seeing my face?" He burst out laughing again, "Let me guess, you saw a sketch or something? I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to get someone from Wammy's to describe my face. You honestly thought that would be enough?"
"I- Well I-"
"I- I- I-" Mello mocked, silencing her excuse with his laughter, "Oh, man, that was good. Here," He threw the pen at her, "Write your names or whatever,"
"You still want me to?"
"Just write the damn names," Mello didn't feel like explaining himself again, not to the woman who just tried to kill him. Besides, he had already told her they had to pretend that Light's plan worked.
"Mikami. Send me the list of names. My email is…" She rattled off her email, and Mello made sure to remember the name. Mikami… I wonder who the hell that is.
"Well? Hurry up," He said once he saw her receive the email. They didn't have time to waste.
He had to give it to this Mikami guy. He somehow had planned enough names to perfectly fill the paper, front and back. Once she was done, she looked at him. Or, more exactly, his gun, which was still pointed at her.
"Give me the paper," She held it out shakily, handing it to Mello, who folded it up and put it in his pockets, finally taking his helmet off.
"Come on," He commanded, smirking at the shock on her face, pretending that he didn't notice the disgust on her face as she saw his scar, "What? We've still got places to be,"
She slowly stood, flinching as Mello grabbed her wrists.
"Now, when we get out there, we're gonna run to the car waiting in front of us. If you even try to escape, I will not hesitate to shoot you, got it?" Takada nodded at him, and then they were jumping out of the van and sprinting towards Lidner's car.
He shoved Takada unceremoniously into the back seat, climbing in next to her.
"Lidner? What-" Takada's confusion was ignored and quickly interrupted.
"You took your helmet off?" Near asked though to anyone else it probably would've seemed like a statement. Mello still knew how to read the other like an open book, despite the fact that it's been years since they were together. He could also hear the slight panic in his monotone voice, though he couldn't understand why he was so worried.
"Yeah, it's fine. She can't kill me," Mello said, not explaining how he knew. He didn't owe Near any explanations. If anyone owes anyone anything here, it was Near. But first…
"Matt. Is he alright?"
"Yes. I sent one of my members to make sure of it. He nearly got cornered, but he is safe here at headquarters. You can talk to him when you arrive,"
"He's at- Wait, we're going to your headquarters? You do realize I have Takada with me, right? Besides, I've told you, I don't wanna fucking work with you. Why-"
"Lidner, I trust you can handle this from here. I will see you when you arrive," Near disconnected without answering a single one of his questions.
"Jesus fucking Christ. How the hell can you stand to work with him, Lidner?" Lidner laughed but didn't answer, which was an answer in and of itself.
"It will be a bit of a long ride. Here, put these on Miss Takada, please," Lidner handed Mello a blindfold and some handcuffs. Smart, probably something Mello should have thought about during all of the trips from the van to the car, but oh well.
"Kinky," Mello joked, turning to Takada.
"Lidner, were you behind this?" Takada demanded, seeming to gain some of her confidence back at the sight of the restraints.
"No, dumbass. If she was working with us, I wouldn't have had her hit the car. Though she was spying on you," Mello put the handcuffs and blindfold on, though that didn't stop her complaining.
"God, do you have a gag or something? I'm not gonna be able to listen to her whining for this whole trip," He asked as he climbed into the front seat. He didn't need to watch her so closely if her hands were cuffed together.
Lidner laughed, "No, I don't. She never was that much of a talker, though I guess that would change in this situation,"
"Once Kira realizes that you have me, he'll-" Takada suddenly stopped her rant, groaning in obvious pain and thrashing around in the seat.
"Takada? You… You alright?" Mello asked, slightly confused. Right as he spoke, she stopped moving, falling back against the seat.
"Shit," He muttered, reaching back to check her pulse, "Fuck, she's dead,"
"You don't think…"
"Yeah. Has to be Kira,"
"I… I should tell Near, then," Lidner looked at Mello apprehensively, but he just nodded. If Near was taking them to his headquarters, then he should know that Takada is dead.
The two rode in silence for the rest of the car ride.
- - -
"So you're serious. He's your-" Matt was saying as the others entered the room. Apparently Near had somehow missed them on the security cameras, if his slight shock was anything to go by.
The two went dead silent as they looked at Mello.
"Near. Why'd you bring us here?" Mello demanded after an uncomfortably long silence. It was weird that no one was saying anything. Everyone was just… watching him. Like they knew something he didn't.
"Mello…" Matt muttered, taking a drag from his cigarette and looking at Mello like he was a bomb that was about to go off.
"What?"
"I'm glad you're alive, Mells," Matt whispered as he walked over to embrace him.
"I'm glad you are too," He whispered back. He was worried about his best friend the whole car ride here, the only thing keeping him sane being that Near had told him that Matt was fine.
"Would you all leave us, please," Near's voice cut off whatever Matt was going to say. Matt and Lidner nodded.
"Near, what the fuck is going on?" Mello was unable to stop the rage from bleeding into his voice, but he hated this. He hated when Near acted like he was so far above him. He hated when everyone knew something except for him. He hated being left in the dark.
"Mello, you received your soul letter, right?" That threw Mello off. He never thought he'd see the day where he had this conversation with Near.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Read this," Near handed him a letter, and Mello once again fought down his anger toward Near. He wasn't surprised that Near avoided his question, but it still pissed him off whenever he did it.
After Near handed him the letter, he sat down by his stupid toys, twirling a finger in his hair and looking anywhere but at Mello. Mello didn't understand what was going on. What did soul letters have to do with any of this?
(And if he ignored the glaringly obvious and only reason this conversation was happening the way it was? Well, no one had to know but him.)
He quickly pulled out the letter, reading the words on the page.
Soon. Smoke. Motorcycle. Kidnapping. Page. Heart attack.
"Near, what does this even mean?"
"We both know I don't need to explain it to you," Is all Near said as Mello read over the words again and again.
"I… Near, what the fuck?" He exclaimed, and Near finally looked up at him.
"It would seem that my soul letter detailed the events of your death, if we had not prevented it, of course,"
Mello didn't know what to say. He had known that he was probably gonna die doing this, just like he knew that Near had turned 18 sometime recently, but never in a million years did he expect Near to do anything about it.
"I think you and Matt should rest. I can have Rester prepare a space for you both to sleep. Or, if you want, someone can get you something to eat," Near muttered, looking away from Mello again, "I would appreciate if you stayed in the morning, I need to discuss some things about the case with you," Before Mello could say anything in response, Near was calling in the rest of his staff.
"Come on, Mells," Matt said softly behind him, "Let's get something to eat and lay down, ok?"
"So that's what you both were talking about when we got here," Mello asked Matt, who nodded.
"Yeah. I didn't believe him 'till he showed it to me… He asked me how he should tell you. Said he didn't want you to take it the wrong way,"
"Why would I ever-'' he stopped his rebuttal at the look on Matt's face, "Ok, maybe I've reacted a bit strongly to things in the past… but this…"
"Let's just take a break for tonight, ok? You can think about all this in the morning, but right now you need to relax," Matt suggested as they arrived at the room they were apparently staying the night in. Mello nodded his thanks to Lidner, who quickly left him and Matt alone.
"It's not that simple, Matt. I can't just. Not think about my soulmate,"
"Then do you wanna talk about it?"
"... No" Mello mumbled, ignoring Matt's triumphant smirk.
"Exactly. So let's just eat something and then shower and then sleep, yeah?"
At that moment, Rester came into the room, holding two plates. Mello didn't pay attention to what it was. It wasn't chocolate, so he didn't really care, and his mind was racing too much to focus either way.
"So, what happened to you after we split up?" Mello asked through bites of food. It was surprisingly good for something made at the last minute.
"Nobody told you?" Matt asked, and Mello shook his head.
"Well… Everything was going great, I had almost lost the people chasing me, but she has- had more guards than we thought. Some of them circled around, cutting me off… They actually had me surrounded for a second there, and right before I left the car, Rester came crashing through. He caused enough of a distraction that I could get away, and apparently he got out of there too,"
"You almost left the car? Dumbass," Mello mocked him, secretly very relieved that he hadn't died.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. There wasn't anything else I could do, they were pointing guns at the car,"
"And you still tried to get out?"
"Yeah, yeah, this is why I'm number 3, dude. But it's cool, we both lived, so," Matt paused to shovel more food into his mouth sloppily, "But what happened to you? I got here right after you and Takada got in the car. How'd Lidner find you?"
"She fucking caused an accident," Matt laughed loudly at that, Mello joining in after a minute.
"Jesus, that's- I can't believe she would do that,"
"Right? I was so fucking pissed. It was a good thing, though. Takada had a piece of the notebook on her, and we hit Lidner right as I was about to take my helmet off,"
"Oh so you can show your face to Kira's spokesperson, but I try and get out of a car when people are pointing guns at me, and I'm the dumbass?" Mello burst out laughing, tears forming in his eyes as he laughed with Matt. It wasn’t even that funny, but Mello was relieved that he was able to do this again, to laugh and talk with his best friend, like he never left. Like he hadn’t just sent him on what was essentially a suicide mission for his soulmate.
"Listen, listen," He said through his laughter, Matt wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, try and defend this one,"
Matt and Mello continued to joke and laugh as Mello recounted what had happened in the past couple of hours. Mello always secretly thought this was the best part of any success they had. The relief from pulling it off always gave them a high that they couldn't get any other way, and the pure euphoria Mello felt when they won was addicting.
After they ate, they took turns showering. It had been a long time since Mello had such a good shower, probably since Wammy's if he was being honest with himself.
Mello lay across the bed as Matt showered, thinking. A lot had happened today, and just about none of it was according to his plan.
Although, if things had gone according to his plan, he (and probably Matt) would have died.
He still couldn't wrap his head around that. They both would have died. If it wasn't for Near, he wouldn't be here anymore.
"I'll be back, Matt,"
Mello wandered around the headquarters, hoping he didn't get lost.
Near was right where he thought he would be, the main room, playing with his toys and thinking about something.
"Mello,"
"Near,"
"You should be resting,"
"Can't,"
"Why'd you save me?" Mello asked. Near finally looked up at him. He seemed surprised, but Mello didn't understand why. It had been the one question in his mind since he found out Near was rescuing him.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"It doesn't benefit the investigation at all to keep me alive. So why? Why go through all the trouble to save me and Matt when it doesn't do shit for you?"
"Not everything I do has to do with the Kira investigation," Near muttered.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that I couldn't just sit back and watch my soulmate die!" Near snapped, shocking Mello into silence.
"But… still… You risked the lives of everyone here… on the chance that we were soulmates. Why?" Near seemed to be getting annoyed at him asking the same question again, but Mello still didn't understand. He didn't have to save him, even if they were soulmates. He could have said it was too dangerous to help him, or that it was impossible. He definitely didn't have to risk the lives of the last remaining members of the SPK, just to save him.
"I do not understand why you are playing dumb, Mello," Near muttered, turning back to his toys in annoyance.
"I'm not playing dumb! You're the one who's not making sense, Near. We've always hated each other. This shouldn't change anything!" Mello lied. He knew this changed everything, just like he knew he never really hated Near.
"If you do not want it to, it does not have to change anything. You and Matt are free to leave, no one is forcing you to be here. I asked that you stay until the morning, but if you really wish to leave, you may. You can go on hating me, and I will catch Kira. But just because you hate me does not mean I could sit back and watch you die when I could prevent it,"
"God, Near!" Mello snapped as annoyance raced through his veins. This was good, he was used to feeling this around Near. He could handle this, not whatever emotion that was threatening to suffocate him moments earlier.
"I've told you again and again that I don't want to be a stupid fucking piece in your games,"
"You were never just a piece in my games, Mello. At least, not intentionally,"
God, Mello wanted to hit him. He wished he had his gun on him, so he could shoot him in the head and finally get him to shut up. He couldn't stand Near. He always just. Dropped this shit on him, shifted the entire way he saw the world, like it was nothing.
"What the fuck does that mean?" He sneered, glaring at the back of Near's head.
"Obviously I had to account for your actions whenever I planned to stop Kira, but you were never just a piece in the game, Mello,"
"That is such fucking bullshit, Near!"
"If it was, I would not have saved you. Your move to kidnap Miss Takada led us to very important information. I would have died if it were not for your actions. If you were just a piece in my games, I would have let you die and taken all of the credit for myself,"
"I know you would have died, dumbass!" Mello snapped, "You think you were the only one who could figure out what your letter meant?" Near's head snapped towards him, eyes wide with shock.
"You… You figured out what your letter meant?"
"Obviously. I wasn't almost L's successor for nothing," He muttered, the rage slowly dissipating.
"What… What did it say?
"Fake. Replacement. Outsmarted. 28. God. Heart attack." Mello rattled off, the words having been ingrained in his brain from the second he read them.
"Oh," Near's surprised gasp caught them both off guard.
"Yeah. Once Lidner told me…" Mello paused at the look on Near's face. Apparently, Near hadn't told Lidner to tell him their plans, "Once she told me that you were going to be a dumbass and confront Kira without even testing the notebook, I knew,"
"And you were willing to die for that?"
"Of course," Mello felt heat rise to his face at the admission, "I mean… Obviously I didn't want to die, but…"
"Well… I guess we both saved each other, then,"
"So you're gonna test the notebook?"
"That won't be necessary," Near turned away, playing with his toys again, "Mikami made a move. The notebook that we had been investigating was a fake. He had the real one hidden in his safe deposit box…" Near trailed off, standing and pressing some buttons on the monitors, and a moment later the screens were filled with a gothic L. Why was Near calling him?
"Hello, L" Near greeted lightly, raising a finger to his lips to stop the argument Mello was about to start.
"Yes?"
"I don't mean to keep bothering you but," Mello fought back a laugh at how sarcastic that sounded. He wondered if L realized the sarcasm behind the statement or not, "With regards to our meeting…" Near paused. Mello was secretly glad that Near had called L. Now he could move the date, to make sure that Near wouldn't die like his soul letter said he would.
"I wanted to confirm that we are still set for the 28th at 1 p.m. All right?" Mello's heart stopped.
"Yes,"
"Very well. The 28th, the day after tomorrow,"
"Right," And just like that, the conversation was over.
"What the hell, Near?" Mello shouted as soon as the call ended, "Why didn't you reschedule it?"
"If I rescheduled, Light would know that I knew that the notebook was fake. And giving him any opportunity to try and contact Mikami would be a mistake. Now, we can guarantee that he thinks he will win," Near pressed some more buttons on one of the laptops.
"Gevanni?"
"Yes, Near," Gevanni sounded annoyed at Near's call. Mello was surprised, he had thought the SPK members (besides maybe Lidner) worshiped the ground Near walked on, and yet most of them seemed… annoyed by his presence.
"Will you have the time to make a new notebook?"
What the fuck is he thinking, Mello asked himself.
"Yes, but I won't be able to start working on it until tomorrow,"
"Thank you. Please get it done as quickly as you can, and be ready to confront Kira the day after tomorrow," Near ended the call.
"Near, you don't seriously think this plan is going to work, do you?" Mello asked. There was no way in hell Gevanni would be able to replace the whole notebook in two days while trailing Mikami. It seemed impossible.
"I believe it is completely within Gevanni's power to create a fake notebook. Not only does he have experience, but it will be easier to replace the whole thing instead of just a part of it. He won't have to worry as much about making a mistake now, because Mikami likely hasn't seen the original in a while, and it is much harder to notice changes when the whole thing is replaced, as opposed to just a part of it," Near looked at Mello, his face… changing.
"Do not worry, Mello. I will be fine. However, you are not allowed to come with,"
"What? Why the hell not?" Mello demanded. After all he had done, risking his life and Matt's, and he wasn't even allowed to be there when Kira was finally beaten?
"I have already informed Kira that there are only 4 members of the SPK. If you and Matt come as well, then Kira will immediately know something is wrong, and will probably try to escape before Mikami can write down our names. We need to pretend that we have fallen for his trap. Besides, you are supposed to be dead,"
"Just because we're there doesn't mean Light will know that we've beaten him! Besides, you can just tell him now that two more people will be there, he doesn't have to know that it's us!"
"No, Mello. If you and Matt come, we will all just meet the same fate as L. You may watch from somewhere, I don't know how or where, but other than that I cannot allow you to be there,"
"Near? Is everything alright?" Rester and Lidner entered the room then, seemingly surprised that he and Mello were both together, alone, and alive.
"Yes. I have confirmed with the second L that we are still meeting on the 28th. I expect you both to be ready. Gevanni is currently replacing the real notebook. There is not a doubt in my mind that we will beat Kira. Now, we have to-" Mello walked out of the room. He had no intention of listening in on plans that he wouldn't be a part of.
"Hey, welcome back-"
"We're apparently not allowed to go with when they stop Kira," Mello announced as he kicked open the door, interrupting Matt by accident.
"Oh… I mean I guess that makes sense," Matt said slowly, breathing out cigarette smoke.
"What? No, it doesn't fucking make sense, Matt. We just fucking saved Near's life, we should be there-"
"If we go, then we might all die anyways, Mello. We know that Kira is smart, if he realizes that something's gone wrong, then-"
"God, I know, Matt. I get it, ok?" Mello interrupted again, flopping down on the bed in defeat, "Just because I get it doesn't mean I like it," He grumbled as Matt joined him on the bed.
"Is that all you and Near talked about, then?" Matt asked in the least subtle way possible as he awkwardly took a drag from his cigarette, finishing it at putting it in the ashtray. Mello hit him in the back of the head as he laughed.
"God, could you be any less subtle?"
"Maybe I wasn't trying to be subtle," Matt grumbled, shoving Mello away.
"Yeah, we talked about it, but there wasn't a whole lot to really say…" Mello finally answered, looking at the bookshelf so that he didn't have to look at Matt.
"What do you mean there wasn't a whole lot to say?" Matt demanded, "You guys are soulmates,"
"Yeah, but I mean… After he showed me the letter, there wasn't much to talk about. Besides, it's not like I didn't know-"
"God you both are hopeless," Matt muttered, but before Mello could ask what that meant, Matt continued, "Did you tell him about your letter?"
"Obviously. As soon as he said he was still gonna go through his fucking suicidal plan-"
"I really don't think you're one to talk about suicidal plans, Mells," Matt joked, though he quickly became serious again at the look on Mello's face, "Hey, don't worry, man. They were able to figure out where the real notebook was thanks to you. Nobody's gonna die, and if things get dicey, we'll be there to help them. I'm assuming we're gonna be spying on them, right?"
"Yeah, obviously, but…" The events of the day had finally caught up to him. He had almost died, he would have died if it wasn't for Near, his fucking soulmate. Matt probably would've died too, all because of his plan-
"Dude, I can fucking feel the self-hatred radiating off of you. Everything's ok. Your plan worked out, it doesn't matter what could have happened because it didn't happen. You, me and Near are all alive, and we're gonna stay that way for a long ass time,"
Mello laughed softly. His friend always knew just what to say.
"Thanks, man,"
"Of course. Now, we gotta plan how we're gonna spy on them. I think we should-"
- - -
The 28th came in a flurry of work and stressed-out subordinates. Near wished he was better at interacting with people, to try and ease their stress, but he didn't know how. It wasn't as if they were being irrational, either. It only made sense that they were nervous, they could all lose their lives today.
Near and Mello hadn't spoken since Near told Mello that he was not allowed to join them. Near wasn't surprised with Mello's reaction, though he had hoped that the information that they were soulmates would change how they interacted…
"Near? We should be leaving soon. Gevanni is on his way, and Lidner went ahead of us to take Mogi and to ensure there were no bugs or other devices around the place," Near laughed slightly.
"Right. Well, it seems as if Mello and Matt figured out how they were going to spy on us. Yes, we can go now," Near ignored Rester's look, collecting his puppets and his mask.
Rester and Near stayed silent for the entire car ride, Near playing with his puppets in the backseat. He ignored Rester telling him he should buckle in. If anything, Mello's letter confirmed that if he was going to die today, it would be from Kira, not a car accident. Besides, he hated the feeling of the seatbelt.
When they arrived, Lidner was talking to Gevanni, who had just arrived. Near put on his mask as he stepped out of the car, quickly entering the building. The sun was too bright, and he didn't like being outside when he could easily be killed by Kira at any moment. Just because Mello prevented the death that was written in his letter didn't mean that he wouldn't die some other way during the confrontation.
He sat down on the floor in the warehouse, spreading his puppets around. He set all of the puppets up where they would stand when everyone came, the Mello and Matt puppets off to the side. He hoped the Task Force wouldn't realize why their puppets were there, though Near was sure that was just the anxiety talking. Even if they did, he would just say that would be explained once he revealed who Kira was, which it technically would.
The others talked to each other while they waited, and after a little bit Aizawa walked into the warehouse.
"Aizawa," The others greeted, though Near stayed silent, watching from behind the mask.
"Near," Aizawa ignored the others' greetings, fully facing the boy on the floor, "Are you sure L is Kira?" Near thought that would have been obvious, but he humored the other.
"Yes. I am 99% sure of it,"
"Then if anyone asks, I didn't find any bugs," Aizawa walked out without a word. Near tilted his head in slight amusement. Aizawa sure was an interesting man. Near would love to get the chance to pick his brain sometime.
The rest of the Task Force came in quickly after Aizawa left, and despite some anger at Near for making them wait for so long, the whole meeting went according to plan.
Well, he hadn't planned for Light to try and bluff his way to escape, not after he was caught red-handed. As soon as he started writing Near's name, however, Near felt his chest seize up and his breathing stop. Any second now, Light would finish writing his name. Any minute now, he would die-
His ears rang as the gunshot echoed. Matsuda's face had tears streaming down it, his voice wavering as he shouted.
He had mostly zoned out at their yelling. It didn't concern him, he had no personal standing in this, though he supposed it made sense that the other's would be upset that Light was Kira. He wondered if Aizawa reacted the same way when he found out, screaming and crying in anger. He didn't even have the time to react to Light trying to write his name with his own blood before he was shot again, fatally this time.
Near was honestly surprised that Mikami killed himself. He wondered if that was by his own choice, or if someone (Mello) had used the notebook. He also didn't expect the Task Force to chase after Light. He didn't think that they would have any sympathy for the mass murderer, Near knew he didn't, but maybe working with him for years made a difference?
"Near?" Rester asked hesitantly, and Near looked up at him, "Are you all right?"
"Yes. Everything went just as planned. Once we can confirm Light's death, we can head back to headquarters,"
"Do you want us to look for him?" Gevanni asked, and Near just shrugged in response. He really didn't care if they went after him or not. He didn't see the point, but if they wanted to, then he had no reason to stop him.
"I do not care. If you want to search for him, feel free. I am going to stay here," Near didn't understand why they all glanced at each other the way that they did, however all of them but Lidner left.
"Do you… Need any help with anything?" She asked awkwardly, looking around the warehouse. Her eyes kept flittering to certain areas, and Near deduced that she must be looking back and forth between the cameras Mello was likely watching them from.
"No, thank you," Near responded passively as he picked up his puppets. He didn't have much of a reason to stay right now, but everyone else was searching for Light, and for some reason it didn't feel… right. He felt like he should stay, make sure that it was actually over. God, he couldn't believe that it was finally over.
"Near!" Matt shouted as the door squealed open loudly, running into the room and over to Near. Mello followed closely behind, and Near couldn't even begin to interpret the rush of emotions that crossed Mello's face as they made eye contact.
"You two should not be here-"
"Oh fuck off, it's fine," Mello interrupted as he walked over to him and Matt, "Yagami's gotta be dead, or dying, and even if he wasn't it's too late for him. It doesn't matter anymore if any of them know we're alive,”
Near couldn't shake the nervousness in his bones. He wanted to take Mello and Matt far away from here, from where they all could have died. They needed to be safe, and the best way to make sure they stayed safe was to keep them far, far away from here-
"Open," Mello suddenly interrupted his thoughts, holding his clenched fist softly, greatly juxtaposing the tone of his voice.
Near was confused, but he complied, opening his fist and letting the tiny piece of notebook paper flutter out of his hand. He hadn't even realized he was holding it.
"Nate Rive" It read. One more letter and Near would have died. If Matsuda hadn't shot him…
"God, you dumbass," Mello muttered, looking at the paper, "You are one lucky son of a bitch, you know that?" Near shrugged. He didn't feel lucky.
"I think we should get out of here," Matt said, "We can leave everyone else to wrap up here, right?"
"I don't know-"
"No, Matt's right, you all should leave. We can take care of everything here. You all deserve a break," Lidner interrupted, and Near ignored the annoyance that he felt. She should know by now not to interrupt her, should know better than to treat him like a little kid, but she did have a point. Besides, Near couldn't ignore his instincts screaming at him to get Mello and Matt far away from here.
"Alright. Let's go," Near eventually agreed, hoping that Matt wasn't going to be the one driving.
"Sick. Good thing we came in my car," Matt said, and Near sighed. Hopefully Matt actually knew how to drive, and not just get chased by a bunch of cops and bodyguards.
Near was once again in the back seat, spreading his puppets around, though he didn't do anything with them. He only really used them when he needed to plan something. He didn't really play with his toys, at least not in the way that everyone seemed to think he did. He couldn't describe it, but to him it didn't feel like playing. It felt the same as if someone made a list to plan for something. He just did it a bit differently.
"Buckle in," Mello interrupted his thoughts. Near ignored him, hoping he would drop it, but he clearly wasn't going to, "Near,"
"It's fine, let's just go," Mello sighed at Near's response before leaning over to him and buckling him in before Near could react.
"Don't you dare unbuckle that. You've seen how Matt drives, and I'm not gonna let you go through all that shit to beat Kira just to die in a car crash immediately after,"
"Hey, I'm a good driver!" Matt argued as he pulled out of the mini parking area.
The drive to the SPK headquarters wasn't very long, only a little over an hour. Matt and Mello talked about something in the front seat, though Near didn't focus on it. Between the stress of the confrontation, the way Matt was driving (it wasn't actually as bad as Near thought, though he still wasn't exactly a safe driver), and the feeling of the seat belt constricting him, Near couldn't find it in him to contribute to their conversation, so he just listened.
Near always found it interesting how close Matt and Mello were. It's not that he was jealous, he honestly didn't mind his lack of friends, but he never really understood how two people could be so close. It especially intrigued him now; After Mello left Wammy's, Matt was a wreck. He only really played video games, slept, and did just enough work to keep his rank. It was a struggle just to get the boy to eat (something Near had to fight him on many times). Near and Matt grew closer after Mello left, but Matt was never the same.
Maybe that was why they were able to seamlessly fall back into place, now that they were back together. Still, Near didn't fully understand how Matt could forgive Mello so easily after everything. But, in the end, Near knew that forgiving Mello wasn't his choice to make, it was Matt's. He was pretty sure he knew Matt well enough to know that he wouldn't accept Mello back without a damn good apology, and that was enough for Near.
"Hey, sheep," Mello interrupted his thoughts (again). Near ignored whatever feeling he felt flutter in his chest at the old nickname. "We're here," Near looked out of the window to realize that they were, in fact, back at the SPK headquarters. He quickly unbuckled, glad that he could finally breathe properly again, before quickly gathering his puppets and carrying them inside.
He wasn't used to the headquarters being so… empty. It was strange to get there when no one else was there. He hadn't left the headquarters for the entire investigation, and while there were times that Near was there by himself while the other members were away, it had never felt so… deserted.
"Man, I am tired. I think I'm gonna go shower real quick, I'll see you both later," Matt said as soon as he walked in, going towards their shared bedroom without so much of a glance towards the other two.
Near was suddenly very aware of Mello and how close he was to Near. For the first time since they revealed to each other they were soulmates, they were alone.
"Do you uh… Need any help with those?" Mello asked awkwardly, gesturing to the puppets that Near was still holding. Near didn't need help, and was about to say so when he realized that there may be some hidden message behind Mello's question. If Near had to guess, it seemed like Mello was asking the question as some sort of opening… like a way to see if he should stay with Near or not. He had never been very good at telling when people were doing that, he found it much more practical to just say what you meant outright, but…
"If you would like to, then sure," Near hesitantly agreed, hoping he read the signals right.
Mello nodded, silently taking half of the puppets. As they went to put them away in one of the many toy chests, Mello stopped and inspected one of them. Near fought back embarrassment as he realized that it was the Mello puppet.
"How long did it take you to make these?"
"Hmm… I am not sure… I started them about a week before-" A week before I got my letter, Near was about to say, quickly stopping himself, "Probably a week and a half ago? Maybe two weeks?" He finished, praying Mello didn't notice his slip-up.
"A week before what?"
"A week before my birthday," Near finally answered, looking anywhere but at Mello.
"Oh… I didn't realize that uh… well, I didn't realize that your birthday was so recent…" Near simply nodded in response, not knowing what to say in response to Mello.
"I almost didn't open it," Near cringed slightly as the words left his mouth without his control, but it was too late now.
"Really?" Mello whispered, and Near nodded.
"I didn't think… I didn't think that it would be so soon… I didn't think it was… I didn't think it was a lot of things,"
"I didn't open mine for a while either…" Mello whispered, and Near looked up at him in shock. He was even more surprised to see Mello staring straight at him, but Mello had always appreciated eye contact more than Near.
"Why'd you decide to open yours?" Mello asked as he made eye contact with Near.
"Why did you decide to open yours?"
"I asked first,"
"I asked second," Near stated. In truth, he didn't really want to answer the question. He was surprised that Mello hadn't gotten upset that Near had wanted to wait. After all, if he had waited, then Mello would have died.
"Fine, I opened mine because… the people I was staying with wouldn't leave me alone about it… and I was curious…" Mello muttered something that sounded suspiciously like and I felt bad, but Near let it slide.
"The people you were staying with? You mean the Mafia-"
"Yes," Mello hissed. Near tilted his head at the reaction, wondering why Mello reacted so strongly. It wasn't exactly a secret that Mello had worked in the Mafia, but Near let it go. It was clearly a sore subject for Mello, and Near didn't want to ruin the small peace they had found with his questions.
"Now you answer the question," Mello said after a moment, and Near sighed.
"Rester convinced me to… I was going to wait until after we wrapped up the Kira case, because I assumed that it wouldn't say anything that I needed to know right away but…" Near trailed off, leaving Mello to connect the dots.
"So we had the same ideas, huh? Damn, I guess we really were made for each other, huh?" Mello joked, before seeming embarrassed at the admission.
"I guess we were," Near replied softly, looking up at Mello and smiling.