Stray Shadows (A Death Note Fanfiction) *HIATUS*

Paralogue: Why In The Hell Is It Me?

He turned and look at me with pity, like I was a child who would never understand anything. "Somewhere." He replied vaguely. "Haha. Hilarious. You can't just go join the mafia!" He tried to pull my hand off his sleeve, but I held on tighter. "You can't leave. You can't just leave me here." I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. I wiped them away with my free hand.

Mello sighed. "What the hell do you want me to do, Stray?"
"Take me with you!" I begged, tugging again on his sleeve. "I don't even need to go pack, we can leave right now!" I cried determinedly.

But Mello just shook his head sadly. "No. Stray, you have to stay here. Keep an eye on Near, alright?" I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "That has to be the stupidest excuse I've ever heard. You don't even like Near."

He lifted an eyebrow at me. "I want you to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't beat you." I froze. "Wh-what?"

"Think about it, L hadn't chosen yet, an now he's dead. So, the one to catch Kira should be the one to succeed L, right?" It did make sense, but how the hell was I supposed to beat Near?! He could do freaking calculus in his sleep.

"I-I'll try." I heard myself stutter out. Mello gave me a smile. Not his usual, mocking smirk, but a genuine one. Before I could try to say something to convince him to stay, he kissed my forehead and left.

I stood there for what felt like hours but was probably only a minute or two, before it hit me in the chest like a sledgehammer. Mello was leaving. The same Mello who had found, and saved me, along with Matt, on that stormy cold night four years ago.

My breathing shallow, I wiped my blurry eyes and did the only thing I knew how to do in a situation like this.

I ran.

I sprinted up sets of stairs and down hallways. The wind in my hair and my lungs on fire. And I didn't until I ended up somewhere familiar. My room.

Of course, my room wasn't very far from the office, if you know shortcuts like I do, you can get there in no time. But considering the state I was in, I might have ran all over the orphanage before getting there.

It wasn't very fancy; white walls, faded slightly from all the times either Nadia or I (Mostly me) spilled something or brushed against the wall after coming inside, dirty from a football game. I wrinkled my nose as I spied a mosquito crushed into the wall, it's guts making unpleasant colors against the white. Those weren't exactly mementos from my childhood.

Taking a deep breath, I collapsed on my bed, feeling like a cavity was burying itself into my heart. It hurt too much. "I had a feeling you'd be here. It's not to often I see you anywhere else." I rolled over to see Near standing in the doorway; one hand raised chest-level, gripping his too-long sleeve, the other twirling a snow-white curl of hair by his ear. I lifted an eyebrow at him, but laid on my back and stared back up at my ceiling. "Well, it is my room, after all."

There was a silence, and I sighed. "Why are you here, Near?" I asked without looking at him. "May I come in?" I lifted an eyebrow at him, but shrugged and nodded.

The mattress sunk a little as he sat down where my ankles were crossed. "Mello's gone. I don't know where. He wouldn't take me with him." I bit my lip, shutting my eyes and taking a deep breath. "I really don't want to talk about this."

"I understand. It is a pity, though, that he couldn't stay and help us catch Kira." I lifted an eyebrow. "Us?" Near looked at me with his stormy gray eyes. They were pretty dark, and nice to look at. 'Wait, what am I saying? I don't like Near, we've never really had a real conversation until now.'

"Yes. You and I will have to catch Kira ourselves. You would be quite the asset to our investigation." I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "I think you have me confused with Nadia." The most I'd ever be able to contribute to the case was my artistic skills. And even those were verging on mediocre.

"L and Roger had already reviewed your credentials while making a list of the top five that were most likely to succeed L. You were on that list, Stray." I sat up, intrigued. "Where'd you hear that?"

He smirked, his eyes glinting mischievously. "I have acute hearing. There's also May Parker in the floor below who just so happens to have finished developing her audio wires. Five dollars and three tootsie pops and she'll do whatever you want."

I chuckled slightly at that. I had to admit, even for Near, that was pretty sneaky. "Nice. So, about that list-"

Just then, Nadia burst through the door, her eyes red. "It's Matt." She said, her voice hoarse. "He's gone." It wasn't often that I saw her like this, and I knew in any other circumstance she would've hated for anyone to see her like this, so I silently crossed the room and gave her a hug.

I could tell she was trying hard not to cry, and the effort it took to restrain her sobs was shaking her. "It's alright." I said in a soothing voice, rubbing her back.

"I know I shouldn't be like this." She muttered. "But the stupid bastard promised me he'd never leave. Not without me." I nodded, understanding as she pulled away. Nadia and Matt had been the closest friends ever since I can remember. "Mello's gone too." I bit my lip as the pain in my heart resurfaced.

"Oh, shit, really?" She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "That's gotta be rough." I shrugged, but my throat closed up and I wanted to start crying.

"So, um, what's he doing here?" She gestured with her head to Near. "To talk." I replied. My voice sounded horrible, so I cleared my throat and started again. "I think... You want to hang out here for a while, Near?"

"No, thank you, it's getting late. I should go." I glanced quickly at my clock on the bedside table. It read 6:30 p.m. If that was his idea of late... "Okay, thanks for coming, then." I called as he got up to leave. He turned before exiting, and nodded at me. "Goodbye, Stray. I look forward to working with you."

For the strangest reason, I felt my cheeks flare up. "O-okay, me too." I cursed myself inwardly. I never stuttered. Ever. Sure, I'm kind of quiet most days, but when I speak, it's articulate, and nothing like the stuttering ninny voice that had just left my lips.

A quick blink, another nod, and he left. Nadia waited a minute before raising an eyebrow at me. "What the hell was that?"

I was still staring where Near had been standing. "No freaking idea."