History & Personality
PERSONALITY
Quiet, detached, and reserved, Near is definitely not one to go out of his way to socialize with others unless it’s completely necessary. Human interaction and contact is not something he desires at all, becoming rather uncomfortable if he’s touched by others, even if the touch is normally what one would consider a friendly gesture. (For example a small pat on the back.) Aside from not enjoying human company, Near finds most people idiotic and below him and therefore refuses to speak to most individuals. He will, however, pay attention if it’s in his best interest or if the person sparks his curious side.
Certain decisions or comments he makes may seem offencive to some but Near is just blunt and truthful. He will not lie about something unless lying is something he must do to get ahead or it is in his best interests to do so. He is very distrustful of others, trusting no one other than himself and perhaps the few agents he had with him in the SPK back when he was alive.
He rarely expresses anything, keeping his feelings and thoughts tucked away completely, making it very difficult for people to understand or read him. Although he may come off as cold and robotic there is more to Near than just his shell and the protective wall he has built around himself. Near does, like every other human, have emotions; he is just very good at hiding them. Whether this is because he finds them bothersome, or just does not now how to express them properly - or maybe it’s a bit of both - whatever the case is, Near will not show weakness in the form of feelings unless he allows himself to.
Also a small form of safety for the albino is the neurotic quirk of twirling his hair between his fingers. Not only does it help him calm down if he’s feeling slightly nervous but it helps him think clearly.
Although Near has always been cognitively ahead of everyone he is still very childlike socially and adores to play with toys such as trains, robots, and puzzles. He also enjoys mind games, maybe just a bit too much. He is not one who likes venturing outside and much prefers to stay inside and work on a puzzle rather than play any kind of physical game. This is due to not only his aversion to people but also his sensitivity to the sun.
HISTORY
Want an equation for success? One detached genius, plus a mind programmed like clockwork, subtract emotional responses and multiply your difference by a frail, but pristine white appearance.
What’s your answer, you may ask? Why, that should be blatantly obvious by this point.
His name suggests closeness and yet, in a cruel move of irony, he’s probably as distant as humanly possible. But it’s always been that way; even before he was endowed with such a cynical nickname.
Histories, pasts - none of these things are rather relevant any longer. Everything degrades with time, including memories. But none of this really matters to Near. Memories are choppy, full of holes and unreliable, and, to the best of his knowledge, unreliability is something one can always do without.
It’s best not to dwell on the past, nothing good comes about from doing so. Yet perhaps sometimes one can’t help but revisit hazy memories, despite the secrets they may hold. After all, sometimes we find that in our memories lay the keys to the answers we’ve been searching for all along.
The rest of his past before he was brought to Wammy’s remained blurry, only fragments of the memories leading up to his arrival still intact. All that is left is the vague recollection of staying briefly at another orphanage, and said stay being horribly dull. The work they gave to complete he had finished in a matter of minutes, the tests sickeningly easy.
It was evident to every staff member of the institution that a young mind was going to waste.
However, a phone call was made to the small, rundown building. A man who went by the name of “L” invited him to come to Wammy’s House, where Nate would, he insisted, find a challenge.
Placidly Nate agreed. After all, nothing could be more mind numbing than his current predicament.
Wammy’s did prove to be more of a challenge but the challenge was embraced without complaint, along with the abolishment of his former name. The petite child who had gone by the name of Nate was no longer.
It was now Near who existed.
Study, play, eat, sleep (although barely). A rather regular and consistent routine Near had growing up at Wammy’s House. The only inconsistency would be a certain blond from his past. And, like always, Mello had a tendency to screw up his neatly planned schedule with his irrationality and predictable unpredictability.
So how was one, like Near, supposed to respond when his idol was murdered by a “God”? When he was pulled into an office along with his hotheaded rival? Or what was one to do when said rival stormed out of the room, leaving the orphanage forever, the job of “L” falling to him?
Nothing - except quietly and calmly solve the puzzle.
Like he always did.
Years past and the search for L’s murderer, Kira, was furiously set into action, both Near and his past rival Mello entwined in a dangerous race to see who could catch the criminal first.
The two were head to head for many days, in a desperate struggle, Mello managing to get his hands on a Death Note, only to blow himself to kingdom come when his possession of the weapon was jeopardized.
Mello was irrational and hot tempered, a complete contrast to Near’s cool exterior and mentality. But the pale prodigy knew they would have to work together, even if they wouldn’t call it such (to do so would be degrading) and the best way to lure Mello to visit him was with a photo of the blond boy himself.
He’d picked up the picture, the possession having been carelessly left behind so many years ago, half knowing that not only was he inadvertently protecting Mello from the chance Kira might happen upon it, (which would spell disaster for the both of them) but also that it would be his ticket to coaxing Mello to see him once more, despite the convict’s innate hatred for the white haired boy.
The meeting didn’t go as planned, but that was to be expected - Mello was never one to follow a pattern, although Near knew he’d be irrational and off the wall. Such an assumption was proven true, Mello storming into the SPK headquarters, retrieving his photograph, “Dear Mello” scrawled on the back in neat print. (Oh how Near wished he could have had the courage to turn and get a glimpse of the criminal’s expression at his little message.) But he kept his back to his rival, even as he was held at gunpoint, Mello furiously lashing out - rejecting the half truth that he was a pawn for Near to move at will - a piece in the boy’s blank puzzle.
Sure, it was true that Mello was a tool in the grander scheme of things - but they all were, including Near himself.
And that heated, tension filled meeting would be the first and last time he’d see Mello alive. Such a pity it was.
How ironic, was it that out of all the things Mello could had beaten Near in to become first, it was his own death that he beat his rival to.
Things that go up must surely come down, and the God finally fell off his pedestal - but such a victory wasn’t without loss. There had been many losses and though he rather act like a stubborn kid, pretend that it had all been just a scenario mapped out with his toys, they had to be accepted. To not do so would be rude and mocking.
Completely disrespectful.
So Kira was destroyed, and he became the new “L” - life went on - But, despite being first, in the end, he was left the last one standing.