Near- dabble in painting on the side
Title: dabble in painting on the side
Author: Sky_Melody
Claim: Near (Character)
Rating: PG, PG-13 if you squint half asleep, maybe
Notes: Ditto on the orphanage thing, written at 1-2 am with minimal editing, so pardon my mistakes. Spoilers for Near's real name, volume seven. *Edited*
20_Notes
Near (Character)
1. Near’s real name was Nate River. American through and through. However, his dad was a Japanese-American; his mum was from Britain. Two countries that had been enemies to America at one point. Interesting.
2. However, it didn’t matter where his loyalties lay; he was whisked away when he was six after both of his parents died in a plane crash. That was all he was told, and later, all he could figure out. Near knows that his parents must’ve been important in some way for the incident to be so concealed.
3. Near had a sister- Isabella. However, everyone called her Isi because she said that Isabella was too long for her short body. The last time he saw her, she was fourteen and 4’8”.
4. When he was accepted to a select (whatever that meant) orphanage, Isi was adopted by a family in New York. As the black car drove away to the airport, Near silently cried for the first time since his parent’s death. His parents had never been home, but Isi had always been there. She had been the one who cleaned his cuts, cooled his fevers, and believed him when he said he knew something that kids twice his age wouldn’t know. And in the black car, Isi cried too. She cried for the loss of parents she remembered, the loss of her home, the fear of the airplane, and, overall, for the separation of her and her brother.
5. Near traveled by boat, as they though it unwise to put him on a plane so soon after his parent’s death. He was seasick the first day, but got used to the waves quickly. They were oddly comforting in a way, just like the seagulls overhead and the endless expanse of blue-green.
6. The first thing Near received at the orphanage was the name Near. Next were his roommate and his bed. He accepted all of them, though was a bit curious about the name change. It only bugged him for the first couple of days. He didn’t really want to be Nate anyways.
7. Near started classes with warnings that it could be very overwhelming. He didn’t see why they were so worried. The class work, though harder than hat he had been doing, was still easily within his capability. They soon realized that, and moved him up a couple levels. The one thing that Near noticed was that the levels all had children with a variety of ages. The first time he was in the middle; now he was the youngest.
8. Now that he was with the older kids, he started hearing more of the inner workings of the orphanage. One person who was constantly talked about was L, the great detective, and how everyone wanted to be the next L. Apparently no one knew what he looked like, where he was, or even his real name. Near ran his own searches, and came up nothing but the cases he had been involved with.
9. Near soon realized the purpose of the orphanage. It seemed that many of the other kids didn’t, for all the other kids studied when they had to, then when to play and complain as soon as they were released. Near, on the other hand, realized that the lesson plans the teacher was following worked on increasing world knowledge and logic skills. That, and all the talk about L, meant that they were most likely studying to be another L. Why else would you concentrate as many great minds as possible in one place, unless you were planning a war? He started studying enough to be moved to another level.
10. His roommate was in his level. A strawberry blonde who had ignored him up until now. But, he had usurped the blonde’s place by becoming one of the two youngest, plus beating him in grades. His name was Mello. It was as if the names were the person’s opposite. As Near soon found out, Mello was not very mellow, and Near wasn’t so near himself.
11. It wasn’t until after the first project that Near realized how true his thoughts were, His project sported a big 102%, Mello’s was a 98%. 4 points away, which showed how well the teachers encouraged competition. That night, he yelled at Near, and punched him hard in the arm, Near sat passively, letting him rage. But as Near tried to go to sleep, he couldn’t help but wish for Isi to hold ice on the bruise and promise him a sweet, even though she knew that he never ate them.
12. As time passed, Near became a master at guarding his emotions. He had even heard a younger girl wonder if he was a robot. He was so good that when Mello told him that L had come for a visit, he only nodded.
13. On the visit, L took them to an ice cream parlor. He ordered a large sundae with every sweet imaginable on it. Mello got a banana split. Near toyed with the idea of getting nothing because he didn’t particularly like sweets, but ended up ordering mochi ice cream. They talked, Mello dominating the conversation; L speaking occasionally, observing the two boys, while Near poked the ice cream and observed L. Before L left, he gave Mello chocolate, and Near a blank puzzle. It was rare to see Mello without a chocolate bar after that day.
14. On the other hand, Near considered his puzzle simply something interesting to solve. He sat day after day piecing it together. One day, Linda was sitting near by practicing for a French speaking test while Near worked away. The next morning, he realized that he remembered exactly what Linda had been practicing. From then on, he always carried around something that he could play and visualize with. The puzzle was the most prized item.
15. L continued to visit yearly, spending a day with his successors. Near admired the fact that he had presence in both the mental and physical realms. He could play soccer with Mello just as easily as he played chess with Near.
16. Near and Mello grew close during this time. Both were at the top, and only they knew about L and his visits. Mello came inside to talk and perhaps play a game, before dragging Near outside to where he was taught soccer and kickball, and baseball. The other kids left Near alone because of Mello’s protection. However, he soon reluctantly made a name for himself on the soccer field where his small size was an asset, and his speed and wit allowed him to move the ball around almost any opponent. It was either that or get bombarded by the other players.
17. When Roger told Mello and Near that L had died, Near stood quietly, his emotionless mask perfected long ago. He accepted his new role with a blank face, though inside he was sad. He had imagined the occasion as a happy one. But his mind had cheerfully ignored the fact that to become L, the original would have to go.
18. Near settled into his new identity as N easily as he was too busy to be sad. In this game, if he wasn’t fast enough, he was dead. But it was easier than it looked, and Near won quicker than expected. For you, L.
19. Nothing was as exciting as the initial game of cat and mouse. In all the cases they gave him, it always seemed like the mouse was always too big to go anywhere.
20. People kept asking him what he was going to do with his life. After all, he was twenty on the outside. I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done, Near would reply, and people would shake their heads. Some people never grow up, they must think. The question made him think did he really want to be a detective for the rest of his life? But, he was doing it to keep people safe. What higher cause was there? Besides, he could always dabble in painting on the side, if he wanted.
Author: Sky_Melody
Claim: Near (Character)
Rating: PG, PG-13 if you squint half asleep, maybe
Notes: Ditto on the orphanage thing, written at 1-2 am with minimal editing, so pardon my mistakes. Spoilers for Near's real name, volume seven. *Edited*
20_Notes
Near (Character)
1. Near’s real name was Nate River. American through and through. However, his dad was a Japanese-American; his mum was from Britain. Two countries that had been enemies to America at one point. Interesting.
2. However, it didn’t matter where his loyalties lay; he was whisked away when he was six after both of his parents died in a plane crash. That was all he was told, and later, all he could figure out. Near knows that his parents must’ve been important in some way for the incident to be so concealed.
3. Near had a sister- Isabella. However, everyone called her Isi because she said that Isabella was too long for her short body. The last time he saw her, she was fourteen and 4’8”.
4. When he was accepted to a select (whatever that meant) orphanage, Isi was adopted by a family in New York. As the black car drove away to the airport, Near silently cried for the first time since his parent’s death. His parents had never been home, but Isi had always been there. She had been the one who cleaned his cuts, cooled his fevers, and believed him when he said he knew something that kids twice his age wouldn’t know. And in the black car, Isi cried too. She cried for the loss of parents she remembered, the loss of her home, the fear of the airplane, and, overall, for the separation of her and her brother.
5. Near traveled by boat, as they though it unwise to put him on a plane so soon after his parent’s death. He was seasick the first day, but got used to the waves quickly. They were oddly comforting in a way, just like the seagulls overhead and the endless expanse of blue-green.
6. The first thing Near received at the orphanage was the name Near. Next were his roommate and his bed. He accepted all of them, though was a bit curious about the name change. It only bugged him for the first couple of days. He didn’t really want to be Nate anyways.
7. Near started classes with warnings that it could be very overwhelming. He didn’t see why they were so worried. The class work, though harder than hat he had been doing, was still easily within his capability. They soon realized that, and moved him up a couple levels. The one thing that Near noticed was that the levels all had children with a variety of ages. The first time he was in the middle; now he was the youngest.
8. Now that he was with the older kids, he started hearing more of the inner workings of the orphanage. One person who was constantly talked about was L, the great detective, and how everyone wanted to be the next L. Apparently no one knew what he looked like, where he was, or even his real name. Near ran his own searches, and came up nothing but the cases he had been involved with.
9. Near soon realized the purpose of the orphanage. It seemed that many of the other kids didn’t, for all the other kids studied when they had to, then when to play and complain as soon as they were released. Near, on the other hand, realized that the lesson plans the teacher was following worked on increasing world knowledge and logic skills. That, and all the talk about L, meant that they were most likely studying to be another L. Why else would you concentrate as many great minds as possible in one place, unless you were planning a war? He started studying enough to be moved to another level.
10. His roommate was in his level. A strawberry blonde who had ignored him up until now. But, he had usurped the blonde’s place by becoming one of the two youngest, plus beating him in grades. His name was Mello. It was as if the names were the person’s opposite. As Near soon found out, Mello was not very mellow, and Near wasn’t so near himself.
11. It wasn’t until after the first project that Near realized how true his thoughts were, His project sported a big 102%, Mello’s was a 98%. 4 points away, which showed how well the teachers encouraged competition. That night, he yelled at Near, and punched him hard in the arm, Near sat passively, letting him rage. But as Near tried to go to sleep, he couldn’t help but wish for Isi to hold ice on the bruise and promise him a sweet, even though she knew that he never ate them.
12. As time passed, Near became a master at guarding his emotions. He had even heard a younger girl wonder if he was a robot. He was so good that when Mello told him that L had come for a visit, he only nodded.
13. On the visit, L took them to an ice cream parlor. He ordered a large sundae with every sweet imaginable on it. Mello got a banana split. Near toyed with the idea of getting nothing because he didn’t particularly like sweets, but ended up ordering mochi ice cream. They talked, Mello dominating the conversation; L speaking occasionally, observing the two boys, while Near poked the ice cream and observed L. Before L left, he gave Mello chocolate, and Near a blank puzzle. It was rare to see Mello without a chocolate bar after that day.
14. On the other hand, Near considered his puzzle simply something interesting to solve. He sat day after day piecing it together. One day, Linda was sitting near by practicing for a French speaking test while Near worked away. The next morning, he realized that he remembered exactly what Linda had been practicing. From then on, he always carried around something that he could play and visualize with. The puzzle was the most prized item.
15. L continued to visit yearly, spending a day with his successors. Near admired the fact that he had presence in both the mental and physical realms. He could play soccer with Mello just as easily as he played chess with Near.
16. Near and Mello grew close during this time. Both were at the top, and only they knew about L and his visits. Mello came inside to talk and perhaps play a game, before dragging Near outside to where he was taught soccer and kickball, and baseball. The other kids left Near alone because of Mello’s protection. However, he soon reluctantly made a name for himself on the soccer field where his small size was an asset, and his speed and wit allowed him to move the ball around almost any opponent. It was either that or get bombarded by the other players.
17. When Roger told Mello and Near that L had died, Near stood quietly, his emotionless mask perfected long ago. He accepted his new role with a blank face, though inside he was sad. He had imagined the occasion as a happy one. But his mind had cheerfully ignored the fact that to become L, the original would have to go.
18. Near settled into his new identity as N easily as he was too busy to be sad. In this game, if he wasn’t fast enough, he was dead. But it was easier than it looked, and Near won quicker than expected. For you, L.
19. Nothing was as exciting as the initial game of cat and mouse. In all the cases they gave him, it always seemed like the mouse was always too big to go anywhere.
20. People kept asking him what he was going to do with his life. After all, he was twenty on the outside. I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done, Near would reply, and people would shake their heads. Some people never grow up, they must think. The question made him think did he really want to be a detective for the rest of his life? But, he was doing it to keep people safe. What higher cause was there? Besides, he could always dabble in painting on the side, if he wanted.