You didn’t like Near very much, that was certain. In fact — out of all of L’s successors, the most tolerable was Matt. Mello was a pain in his own right, enough said.

Of course, you weren’t going to make your dislike known by everyone else at the orphanage. You were a perfect little angel in the eyes of the rest of the Wammy’s population because your standing as the great L’s sibling gave you a little legroom despite the ridiculous expectations set for you. With your status, you were able to effectively make use of your charm and wit to wrap everyone around your little finger.

But not Near and Mello. They saw right through you. Did you care? No. So what? Everyone would sooner believe you in a heartbeat over the blond but it was a bit difficult when pitted against Near since the sheep was Roger’s darling.

Things only got worse for you with those two ever since your results of the necessary aptitude testing and other basic exams Wammy’s conducted for new orphans came out. You’d finished at exactly the same the same time as your older brother at an hour and thirteen minutes when other students who tried took four hours (the longest recorded being seven) and your score was perfect, making you an immediate threat.

War was waged when Near was bumped down to second place and Mello third for weekly ranking after tests based on the week’s work every Friday on your first week, thus disturbing the carefully crafted ecosystem.

Many had never thought they’d see the day when Near and Mello would join forces.