Months had passed Near was already the number one in all their classes...mello and him always bicker especially when mello disturbs him when he's trying to finish his puzzles
Near was currently inside the playroom building a house made of cards silently but then mello came in before he could even speak near spoke first "mello" near said glancing at the boy mello was a bit shocked because how the heck did he know mello was there "near" he answered taking a bite of his chocolate
"What do you want?" Near asked twirling his hair while stacking the cards gently
"I'm looking for matt is he here?" Mello said near stopped what he was doing and mentally rolled his eyes then turned and looked at mello then he pointed all over the room "do you see him?" He asked mello blushed a bit then looked down "n-n-no" mello whispered "why are you really here I can tell you were lying the first time" near pointed out mello sighed and glared at near "fine I was suppose to ruin what you were doing"
Near snickered at him "you know I'm a great guesser but I still can't guess what you achieve on doing that"
"It entertains me...it feels nice to see the prodigy of this orphanage getting annoyed because of his rival who will surely be ahead of him next time!" Mello explained taking out a chocolate bar and took a bite on it "well instead of annoying me why not try to improve more...you know" near said then took a card and placed it gently with the others "when you try to improve your skills more you'll become more strong but.. " he took another card and flicked it on the stack of cards and it all fell "if you just let your emotions get the best of you ...it will take full control over what you do and make you weak"
"So you're saying that I'm weak?!" Mello asked furious
Near glanced at him "that wasn't what I was implying but since you said it...yes your actions make you weak...isn't that why you're so insecure? Because you think I'm stronger and you're weak"
Mello clenched his fist "I Will grow stronger than you!! You'll see! I'll be the strong contender!"
"Well then the race to being L's successor is on" near said twirling his hair mello looked at him and took a bite of his chocolate "i guess it is!" He yelled then went out
Near sighed "finally I got him to stop ruining what im doing...lets see how this goes" he mumbled to himself
--
L was currently doing some research on Near's parents and who could have been the one who killed them watari then came in "L aren't you gonna take a break on that?"
L glanced at him "no..I need to bring whoever killed near's parents to justice it's not just because I'm fond of him its also because its my job watari"watari nodded "speaking of near how is he and mello?" L asked "well I heard him and mello had been having a few bickering and mello had been annoying near lately and well near is number one on all his classes" watari told him "really now interesting looks like mello is being competitive...is there any other news?"
"No, there are no more news" watari said scratching the back of his neck
L stood up and looked at him "I can tell that you're lying to me watari...tell me what you are not telling" he said getting some strawberry cake and started eating it "well I heard that near had been crying every night the passed few months roger said he hears near everytime roger checks the children if they are asleep...looks like he's been having nightmares"
"Hmm that is quite sad" L said looking down
"And there are times were teachers and caretakers report that they see him getting bullied but he keeps telling them not to tell roger or you" watari told him
"Set up a connection to the orphanage immediately" L ordered setting his cake down "why?" Watari asked
"I just wanna have a little chat with the children"
--
Near was now in his room reading a book about sherlock holmes then he heard a knock on his door "come in" he said not looking up from his book matt then came in with mello "near roger is calling for all the children right now in the activity area" matt said near glanced at them then set down his book and stood up
"Okay..do you know why?" He asked
"All I know is L's contacting the orphanage to talk to the children" mello said not looking at near, near's face then lit up by the sound of L's name "well then lets go!" Near exclaimed walking out of his room and straight to the activity area matt and mello looked at him weirdly "h-h-hey wait up!" Matt yelled
Once they all got to the activity area near saw jake and piere those two were the ones who keep bullying him physically and emotionally but he doesn't mind the two stared at near and near stared back with no emotions as always mello saw what was happening even though near was his rival and they bicker a lot but that doesn't mean he's gonna let people bully him so he took near by the arm and dragged him at the back and matt followed them then they all sat there
"What did you do that for?" Near asked mello
Mello snickered "if you kept that up they'll end up bullying again..we wouldn't want that now would we?"
Near just stayed quiet then look at the laptop that was in front the letter L appeared on the screen "hello everyone I called just to deliver a short message...you see I heard that there are few bullies inside the orphanage " he said I froze a bit because...near was sure this was about him but how did he know
"Hey near did you tattle on piere and jake?" Matt whispered to near, near shook his head
"No" he answered
"Now I want all of you to know that me and watari don't tolerate such behaviors...bullying is almost a crime and it hurts people bullies are far more worst than monsters they are horrible creatures who walk in our world I'm pretty sure that I catch monsters like those so I suggest you stop before you get punished....as for near and mello I heard you two have been bickering a lot I know you two are rivals but I want you to get along okay?..be good everyone because it's not a crime to get along with people " L said then the laptop closed
Everyone was whispering and near glanced at jake and piere they were already looking at near and was glaring at him
..this won't be good he thought to himself
--
Once they were all dismissed matt and mello went somewhere to play games but before they go "hey near.."
"Yes mello" near said looking at him
"I'll try to get along with you but that doesn't mean we're friends"
"I understand..."
Near then went to the bathroom to wash his hands jake and piere came in angry
"How dare you tell L about us!" Piere yelled near did not look at them
"I didn't I never told anyone..I'm a bit shocked that he found out as well"
Jake held on near and piere punched him on the stomach "liar!"
The older guy beat near up he kicked him he punched him he slapped him over and over until he was bleeding jake then slam him on the ground "thats what you get for being a tattle tale!" Jake yelled then him and piere walked away near slowly stood up groaning in pain he sighed then limped his way to his room but he fell on the ground again once he got out of the bathroom he felt dizzy and he was about to pass out
"Near!" He heard someone yell then everything went black
--
Roger was walking down the halls but he saw two boys jake and piere laughing while walking out of the bathroom he was curious then a few moments later he saw near limping he gasped a bit then when near fell on the ground
"Near!" He yelled then ran over to the boy and carried him and brought him to the infirmary
Once he got there he let the nurse take care of near then he took out his phone and called L
"Hello?" He heard L say to the phone
"L! Something bad happened two boys beat up near and now he's passed out he's bleeding bad"
He heard L gasp "I'll try to go there but I can't promise anything I am pretty busy"
"Okay" roger said
"Just tell Near to stay strong okay?"
"Yes okay"
--
Near woke up after 5 hours his body in pain
"Hello near are you alright?" Roger asked near looked at him "my body is in pain but yes im alright"
"Don't worry i can assure you that there will be huge punishment for what they done to you ...now L said to stay strong near what ever happens just continue to stay strong" Roger told him near felt happy "L?..is he coming over?"
Roger nodded "yes now get some rest im just gonna go some where" he said then stood up and went outside near sighed and looked at the ceiling "heeey near" matt said coming in with mello following him "hi" near mumbled "heard what happened...why didn't you just fight back? Look at you and you said i was weak" mello told him
Near sighed "there is no point of fighting back it will only get worst and besides...there were two of them and only one of me"
"Pathetic how can you be L's successor if you can't even fight for yourself!" Mello yelled at him matt and near looked at him weirdly "why are you so affected anyways it wasn't you who was beaten up" near mumbled mello froze then looked down and didn't speak again
"Awkward" matt mumbled then they all just stared at each other
--
a week later near was a bit better but upset because L had not come to visit him he waited for l he was disappointed he didn't know why but he was..
He was in his room finishing his puzzles because he think that if he finishes all his puzzles L would show up but he was wrong.