MeroNia

Meronia is the slash ship between Mello and Near from the Death Note fandom.

History
Mello and Near were raised at Wammy's House - an orphanage for gifted children in Winchester, England. They were resigned to being L's successors and after his death, Roger (the orphanage manager) communicates Mello and Near about L's death, telling the boys that L had not chosen a successor. So Roger suggested that Mello and Near work together, but Mello refuses to work with Near. Mello leaves Wammy's House with the goal of finding Kira in her own way. Some time after leaving the orphanage, Mello goes to America, where it joins forces with the Mafia. Near also leaves the orphanage and goes to America, becoming head of the SPK (Special Provision for Kira).

Almost four years after L's death, Mello learns about the Death Note thanks to a member of the newly formed SPK who, under the leadership of Near, began his own quest for Kira. This member keeps Mello informed of SPK's plans. After some confrontations involving Mello and the second L, Near suspects that there may be a spy inside the SPK, because of this, he plans to find out who the spy is leaking information to Mello. Shortly thereafter, Mello asks a mafia member to write down the names of almost all SPK members in the Death Note, not only to severely hamper Near's investigation and reduce the number of his resources, but also to kill the spy within the SPK. After this occurred, Near and the second L agree to share information, causing the defeat of Mello.

A while later Mello and Near meet briefly for the first time after years, each one promises ironically to the other that the race is to see who meets Kira first. In the end Mello is killed after his name was written on a piece of Death Note sheet. During the final confrontation Near gives the credits to Mello as the most important person to expose the plans of the second L (Light Yagami/Kira) and, thus bringing its later defeat. Near talks that he and Mello together have managed not only to match his idol, the original L, but also overcome it and avenge his death by getting the evidence leading to Kira's downfall. After overthrowing Kira, Near officially becomes the new L. He is later shown eating a bar of chocolate, paying tribute to Mello with his favorite snack.

Rivalry
Both in the anime and in the manga Mello and Near are represented having a rivalry, it is not known the origin of the rivalry of both, but by what is portrayed Mello wants at all costs to overcome Near. The relationship of the characters is unilateral, the hatred that Mello feels for Near is not reciprocal, since Near does not see Mello as an enemy, on the contrary, Near likes Mello. At the end of the manga, Near is shown eating chocolate in honor of his late rival.

Fanon
Just as L and Light, Mello and Near are rivals, so this ends up attracting the attention of some people who like the "enemies to love" relationship, this is the main reason of this ship being shipped.

After Near delivering a photography to Mello at the time he was a child, behind the photography is written with Near's handwriting "Dear Mello", this is a fact that intrigues the fans.

In many fanfictions, the relation of Mello and Near in the second arc of the original work is portrayed more profoundly. It has been confirmed and it is evident that Near likes Mello and does not see him as a rival, so this unilateral relationship between them is greatly explored. Both characters have strong and unique personalities which is useful in developing different plots in fanfictions.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Near/Mello on FanFiction.Net

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * "Mello" in Japanese is "Mero" and "Near" in Japanese is "Nia." This is why the ship has received this name.