~Near's POV

The Death Note burned before my eyes as I held the worn leather between my fingers. Small, bright sparks took to the air and vanished suddenly, like two boys I used to know. It was all very nostalgic, and I wasn't one to dwell too much on the past; however, this was different. The sparks were gone, and so were the friends of mine; if you could really call them friends. Time bound us together, and roots. Hatred, as well, but that was so unpleasant.

Mello was an unpleasant person, really. Always very quick to anger and to place the blame and save himself. I feel bad for Matt. We never really talked, but he was a good person when you set aside his bad taste in friends.

Or love? I'll never really know if my suspicions of the two were real, or just that: suspicions. They were close, but they were all the other had. Like brothers. Or like lovers? Is it even important? Not unless I was going to investigate their deaths, which I'm not. No one ever will. I never want to know anything else.

I let the last of the Death Note fall from as the dying embers ate the last inch of it. A small mountain formed, made of the ash of a notebook that had taken more lives than the three most famous serial killers combined.

I twisted a lock of white hair betwixt my fingers as a light breeze followed by a strong gust of wind nearly pushed me into the chalky substance. The ashes of the notebook took to the sky; the small particles fought the wind before scattering and vanishing out of my sight.

I stood. My knees and toes were stained green and brown from the grass and dirt.

"Let's go," I told the rest of the SPK.

I beat Mello. I won. So what am I? Am I L?

I suppose I am. But I don't feel right, not without Mello. I never really believed I'd see the day where he wasn't competing against me. I always knew he'd die before me, even before he made the announcement he was leaving Wammy's. I always knew that his reckless personality would drive him to martyrdom. He'd die for his belief- the belief that he was, in fact, better than me. I knew he'd let himself be killed, although I never thought he'd bring Matt with him.

No, that's not right. It was an obvious accident. With that strong testosterone flow of him, Mello must have thought he was Superman, and that Matt's presence in the plot would be temporary. He must have thought, "I'll die, Matt'll get away, and that'll be that."

I'm sure that was his thought process.

Or, did he think, "I love Matt, and I want us to die together"? No, Mello wouldn't ever put Matt in danger. Or was this an exception? Yes, this was an exception. But I'm sure you didn't get him killed on purpose. You would never do that. I wonder if Matt knew that he would die?

It takes a true fool to be such a martyr. Secretly, I admire Mello for being that fool, similarly to how I secretly admired L. Not that I'd ever let anyone know that. I may not have the obnoxiously overflowing pride of Mello, but I've never been humble.

In the end, I won against Mello. He killed off over half of the SPK, and I still won. Mello got himself killed and unknowingly laid down the path to catch Kira.

Had it been unconsciously?

The SPK waited for me to move, but my legs refused to walk as my brain sorted out Mello's true motives.

Mello wasn't an idiot. Intelligence-wise, at least. He wasn't stupid; even I could say that with ease. He had a high IQ, and, although he was so ambitious and arbitrary, L had seriously considered him as second. Here I am, patronizing him. Had he suspected Light Yagami? Mello, just how much did you know?

"Near?" Giovanni called lightly. I didn't react.

Did you put the pieces together for me, so that I could convict Light? Of course you did. Otherwise, you wouldn't have risked your life so carelessly. You knew, you just didn't know how to go about it.

That was very unMello-like. The idea of him being so sure of anything didn't fit his personality.

No, you didn't know what you were doing. You weren't one hundred percent sure that your actions would lead me to Kira, and so I don't think you suspected Light. Had you suspected him, you would have just killed him. Also, you would have gloated if you did. Or, had you kept the glory to yourself? Did you mature, Mello?

That was false, as well.

No, I refuse to believe that, after you pulled your gun on me that time. You didn't know that you help me catch Kira, but you hoped it would. And you also weren't planning Matt's or your own deaths, although you were willing to take the chance. I believe that much. You went with your instinct. You put yourself in danger and passed the baton to me. I know I would have never had the ability to convict Light without you.

In retrospect, I wonder if it was really I that won.

The End.

Hope you liked it! Look out for more of my MattxMello stories! I have a few more up, so you can go read them. x33 ILY GUYSSS.