Stray Shadows (A Death Note Fanfiction) *HIATUS*

Paralogue: Why In The Hell Is It Me?

~Four Years Prior~

*S' POV*
"What is it, Roger?" Mello, Near and I were in Roger's office. Roger was kind of like the head of Wammy's. He took care of the important stuff, had a big fancy office and could give anyone such a look that they would automatically sit up ramrod straight and call him sir.

But at the moment, Roger didn't look so authoritarian. He was frowning, his old face etched into a picture of... Was that grief? Yes, I was sure of it, because I've always been extremely capable of reading emotions, even Near, one of the most stoic people to ever walk the earth.

"It's L... He's dead."

The silence was deafening. I could hear Mello catch his breath, and the tip of his fingers twitched, like he wanted to clench his fists but was still deciding on wether or not he should.

I felt my eyes widen a couple inches. A wave of nausea went over me and left lightheadedness as a side-effect. No... It couldn't be true. I had seen L only a few months before, when he came to tell Mello, Near and I that he was going to take on the Kira Case. I had warned him that he shouldn't do this, and that it was suicide; but he calmly informed me that, should anything happen to him, one of us three would carry on the name of L.

"So... A successor?" I had asked. Lawliet had given me a small smile, ruffled my hair. "You always were the smart one." He mumbled. "I wouldn't call it smart, just the ability to point out the complete obvious." Near noted.

I had narrowed my eyes at him, but didn't say anything.

"What did you say? He's dead?!" Mello's voice was slowly getting louder. I bit my lip to keep from clamping my hands over my ears. I didn't like it when Mello yelled. "Did Kira kill him?!"

I sighed, unintentionally drawing everyone's attention to me. "It's a little obvious, isn't it?" I shrugged, glancing down at the floor, saying nothing more."He said he was going to bring Kira to justice and now he's gone?!" He continued his angry antics.

"Mello!" My head snapped up to see Mello grabbing Roger by the shoulders and pulling him over his desk. We were all distracted as Near dumped his puzzle on the floor; a plain white one with lots of pieces and an L in the corner. "If you can't win the game; if you can't solve the puzzle, then you're just a loser." Mello stayed frozen for a second for a second, then let go and stepped back. "So which one of us is it? Me, Stray or Near?"

The grieved expression appeared again on Roger's face. "He hadn't chosen yet." Mello growled a little bit and I wondered if he was going to break something. I could tell he wanted to.

"Listen, Mello, you too, Near." I raised my eyebrow at him, and he cleared his throat. "And of course, Stray. Can't you three just work together?"

"Alright, sounds good." Near agreed, as he started putting his puzzle back together. I wrinkled my nose a little, I prefer to work alone. "If I must." I shrugged and tried to appear indifferent.

"You know that'll never work, Roger. You know I don't get along with Near. We've always competed. He just sees this as a game, like it's all just a puzzle." Just as he said that, Near snapped in the last piece.

"You know what? Forget it. Near and Stray should be the ones to succeed L. As for me, I'm leaving this institution" Mello turned on his heel. "Mello!" Roger called after him. "Save your breath. I'm almost 15 years old. I should be able to make my own life decisions." And with that, he slammed the door, making me jump.

"I-I gotta stop him." I muttered, staggering to my feet and running out the door. "Mello!" I yelled. "Mello, stop!"
I ran up to him and tugged on his sleeve. "Where the do you think you're going?!"