Blood and Sugar

THIS CHAPTER IS VERY LONG. I'm just letting you know right now. Lots of dialogue from volume 12. It's thirteen pages. Hope you packed a lunch.
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Chapter XIV: Janurary 28th, the Year of Our Lord 2010

It was eleven o'clock. I was in a hotel room with Near, two hours before the meeting. He was sitting amongst his giant pile of toys, but not touching any of them. Instead, he was twiddling his white-blonde hair around his finger. His pale blue eyes were locked onto me. He looked like a ghost; his skin was extremely pale, he always wore white.
"Near," I said. "Are you a true albino? I was just wondering, you certainly look like one."
"Yes," he said. "I like it." He smiled childishly.
"You look like a ghost," I said. "It's like you're glowing."
"And you look like a shadow," he said. "You're dark, and soft. I want to touch you."
"Thanks, I guess," I said nervously. "What are we doing here?"
"In an hour we'll be moving to the sight of the meeting. I just wanted you in safe hands until then," he said.
"I was in safe hands," I said, suspicious. "I was with Mello. He would die for me."
"Why do you always stay on the opposite end of the room from me?" He asked. "Come here. I won't hurt you."
I got up, and sat down near him like he wanted me to. I felt nervous with those eyes so close to me.
"Where did those cuts and bruises come from?" he asked. "Did Mello do this?"
"No," I said angrily. "He would never do that."
"Then who thrashed you like that?" he asked.
"Raito Yagami," I said. "I was doing some undercover work, and he caught me."
"Oh," Near said curiously. "What did he do, exactly?"
"He hit me with his belt," I said quietly. Near reached up and started stroking one of the scratches on my face lightly with his thumb. I flinched a little bit, keeping my eyes locked on his hand.
"What else?" he asked. "Did he force himself on you?"
"Yes," I said even quieter.

And then, one hand became two, and his lips were on mine. I immediately pulled away, starting to tremble.
"Near," I said, in an almost terrified tone. "Don't."
"It's okay," He whispered into my ear. I felt completely disarmed, stripped of any power or control. He kissed me again, tenderly and slowly. I started shivering with the chill of his lips and hands. He leaned over on me, pushing me down onto the floor. His lips were holding me captive in his phantasmic spell. He broke the kiss for a second, staring right into my eyes, and those hands started unbuttoning my shirt. My stomach dropped at the realization of his intentions.
"I can't do this with you, Near," I said, truly scared. "You're only fifteen. You don't know what you're doing."
"I know exactly what I'm doing," he said. "I've been thinking about this for a long time."
He pushed me into another chilling kiss, sucking my bottom lip. He ran his hands through my hair for a moment, and then resumed taking my shirt off. I closed my eyes. I wanted this, but I didn't want to want it. I couldn't will myself to stop it. I was just too high on my own lust. I was losing control of myself. I shivered as his hands ran down my chest and stomach. His hands reached under my bra, teasing with his fingers. I moaned against his lips. Ecstasy poured into my veins, intoxicating and conquering my brain. I was also suddenly glad I had taken out the piece of notebook before leaving.

He reached around my back and started unhooking my bra. He pulled it off and tossed it aside. I trembled as his lips descended on my left breast. I shuddered with pleasure as he teased me with his tongue. His hands moved down and started unbuttoning my pants as he moved to the right. He leaned up for a moment to pull my pants off, and leaned back down and kissed me again. This time, I kissed back with full force. I had given up. I had surrendered to him. He had gotten what he wanted out of me. My eyes rolled back in my head as one of his hands started rubbing me through my underwear. I moaned loudly against his lips, my body completely filled with pleasure. I grasped at his neck with my nails, digging deeper with the increasing pleasure.

He moved his other hand down, and pulled off my underwear. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a condom, still in its wrapping. I knew he had planned for this, but it was too late. I was already wasted with pleasure. He leaned back up, and balanced the condom in his teeth. He unbuttoned his pants. I closed my eyes, waiting for the final consummation. I heard the sound of the condom wrapper being torn. After another minute, he leaned back down on me. I wrapped my legs around him, and braced myself. He entered me slowly, and I could hear him take a sharp breath as he did. He moved in and out slowly at first, but slowly gaining speed. I panted and moaned as he rubbed against my g-spot, bringing me closer to orgasm with every push. He didn't last long, understandable since it was his first time. But I wasn't there yet, he was still hard, and I wanted more.
"Don't stop," I begged. "I'm not there yet."
He kept going, as fast as he could, until finally I cried out and shuddered with pleasure.
"Near," I said quietly.
"Nate," he corrected. "My name is Nate."
"Oh," I said, breathless.
"Say it," he said. "Please. In your soft little voice."
"Nate," I gave in.

I only stared at the wall while getting dressed. The whole thing had felt like a dream. Like it wasn't real, and no one but I existed. I could hardly being to think a boy that young would know how to do things like that, but Near was not an ordinary boy. Somehow, I felt disgusted. I didn't want to ever have to see his face again. But I knew that wasn't going to be an option. But soon my disgust was replaced with a sense of fear.
"We have to go, Morgan," Near said. "Nobody is going to die today, so don't be afraid. We've taken precautions."
"Okay," I said quietly.
"I need you to stay hidden until I tell you to come out," he added. "I cannot allow Kira to see you until the timing is right."
We walked out the door, walking slowly down the silent hotel hallway. Lidner, Gevanni and a man named Rester followed behind us. We exited the hotel through the front entrance, silent and stiff as ghosts. We piled into the black car that had picked me up the same morning. The mood in the vehicle was one of uncertainty, except for Near, who remained calm and composed. His emotionless facade was almost frightening. I chewed my lip, although it was bloody and sore. It wasn't the idea of possibly being killed by Raito, it was the fact I would be in the same room with him, and have to tell the people around me what he did to me. I felt like I was going to lose my lunch all over Gevanni's shoes.
"Try not to eat your lip when we're confronting Yagami," Near said. "Or look at your shoes. It's a dead give away to when you're feeling uncomfortable or scared. Plus, it's going to get infected at the rate you're going."
I nodded silently, and I looked up out of the window and saw we were near our destination. The sun was high in the sky at this point. I couldn't help but wonder how long this would take.
"Near," I started. "I have a flight to catch at around nine tonight. Do you think this will be over by then?"
"Probably," Near said. "Where are you going?"
"Mello and I are flying back to England for Matt's funeral."

We arrived at an old abandoned warehouse. The January air was freezing on my skin, and it was silent, aside from the distant sound of waves crashing. There was a potent smell in the air; low tide. The warehouse was not heated. It was deathly cold, and silent as a corpse aside from the creak of the fan. Near pulled some figurines out of his pocket; One for each person attending the meeting. He also put on a mask that resembled the face of L. It was rather cartoon-looking, but it was an obvious caricature of L. I took my place in the back of the warehouse, shrouded by the dark. At last I heard tires pull up on gravel. I heard car doors open and close, and the shreeking sound of the metal being pulled open. I recognized Raito leading the three men at his side. The men had been in the building the day I was arrested and badly wounded. Aizawa, Ide, and Matsuda.
"L," Aizawa started in a heavy Japanese accent. "Those four are the SPK, and the one with the mask is Near. I'm sure of it."
"Yes," Mogi answered. "I was with Near before he put the mask on, so I assure you, it's him."
"Aizawa, Mogi," Raito said arrogantly. "Whether this is the real Near or not is of no interest to me."
"Wait a moment," Matsuda injected nervously. "I don't care who he accuses of being Kira, but that mask proves that he's only trying to protect himself."
"Matsuda," Raito said, still emotionless. "Near thinks I'm Kira, so it can't be helped."
"But he talked so much about seeing you face to face," Matsuda said. "It doesn't seem fair."
"I'm telling you," Raito said, annoyed. "Near has his own ideas about what's going on here, so it's not going to help if we complain about it. Let's just get on with it."
"This mask," Near said. "Is just insurance."
"Insurance?" Matsuda asked.
"I am confident that both Kira and the person ordered to do the killings, x-kira, do not know my face," Near explained. By x-kira, I assumed he meant Mikami.
"But there is a possibility that everybody else's face is known to these individuals in question," Near continued. "Of course, this is assuming L is Kira, so since the place and time of our meeting was decided upon three days ago, there is a chance that everybody's name excluding mine may already be written down in the notebook to be killed." Near knocked down all the figurines, except his and the Kira figurine. "If that were to happen, only Kira and I would be left, and all Kira would have to do is write my name down in the notebook that Aizawa has with him right now, though it is my hypothesis that the Kira here does not have the ability to kill just from looking at our faces. So please, give me an hour; no, thirty minutes to be sure that no one here is already marked to die by the notebook."
"What?" Matsuda choked nervously. "So you're waiting to see if we die?"
"That's okay," Raito said. "We'll let Near do what he likes, if not, we won't be able to clear things up." Raito looked over to Near. "Near, I believe that you are, in fact, the real Near, and I care little about the face behind the mask. What I would like to see is what you were going to show me pertaining to the Kira case."
"That can only be revealed to you after I take my mask off," Near said.
"You can't show the evidence to us unless you take the mask off," Matsuda said. "But you're not going to take it off. Aren't you contradicting yourself?"
"He means that he's going to take it off once he males sure that everybody remains alive," Raito explained.
"Yes," Near confirmed.

The next few minutes passed in silence, silence that seems so deathly slow. I wondered when I would be allowed to come out.
"Near," Matsuda said. "It's been more than thirty minutes now, and nothing's happened."
"Very well," Near surrendered. "It seems that that you are all safe. I'll go ahead and take the mask off." Near reached up and slipped the mask off over his head, revealing his face, at last.
"Young lady," he said, looking at me. "You may come out and reveal yourself now, if you wish."
My legs felt like rubber as I stepped into the light. The members of the Japanese taskforces' faces lit up with shock to see me. Raito's face remained motionless, but his eyes were screaming. Screaming for me to die.
"Does this look familiar to you, L?" Near asked, his faced splayed in a childish grin.
"That is the girl we arrested as an accomplice to Mello," Raito said. "But other than that, no."
"Okay," Matsuda interjected. "Now that you've taken the mask off, are you going to show us?"
"Matsuda," Ide said, trying to calm Matsuda's nerves. "Don't rush him."
"I'm sorry," Near said. "But you are going to have to wait again."
"Wait again?" Ide asked. "What are we waiting for?"
"For the one who'll solve everything," Near said.
"The one who'll solve everything?" Ide asked.
"I assure you that this person will come," Near said. "So we must wait. This building is completely sealed. The only way to look inside is to open that door right there. Therefore, this very important person will come through that door. Or at least, try to peek through it."
"Who's going to come?" Matsuda asked nervously.
"This meeting was kept a secret from everybody except those who are here right now," Near said. "That's right. So the person coming is x-kira, Kira's loyal follower, who learned about our location from none other than Kira himself." Near turned his attention to Aizawa.
"Mr. Aizawa," Near said. "You kept an eye on L even after Takada died, right?"
"Yeah," Aizawa answered.
"Then x-kira will come. Kira used Takada to contact Kira," Near explained. "The night we decided where and when to meet, L met Takada, and Takada relayed the information to x-kira. I am completely sure of this. But Mello's kidnapping of Takada was a surprise for both L and myself. With Takada dead, L could no longer contact x-kira, and was unable to call his plan off." Near thought for a moment. "No, it would be meaningless for him to call everything off. The thought would have never crossed him mind, because he did not want to interfere with his plan or mine."
"Why do you assume that L is Kira?" Matsuda asked.
"Yeah," Aizawa added. "If a third party is really going to show up here, isn't it more likely that you're the one behind it all?"
"No," Near said. "Because the person we're waiting for is the only person currently in charge of carrying out Kira's judgments. So obviously, this person is coming under Kira's orders.
"Hey, wait a minute," Matsuda said, "If this person is the one doing the killings, do you mean to say they're going to bring the notebook?"
"Yes," Near said. "This person will bring the notebook for sure. And then, after looking at my face, will write my name down."
"So you're going to prove that this person is Kira's henchman by being killed?" Matsuda asked.
"No," Near corrected. "Rather by having him to try to kill me."
"Wait a minute, Near," Aizawa interjected. "If x-kira is going to kill you, then he or she would need to kill everybody here, since we all know about the notebook."
"That's right," Near confirmed. "It would be the perfect victory for Kira, not to mention the sole reason Kira agreed to this meeting in the first place."

Looks of panic grew across the faces of the Japanese taskforce, aside from Raito. Raito remained composed, still as a statue, emotionless. Apathetic.
"I don't get it," Matsida said. "What are you talking about? That third party is going to bring the notebook here to kill us?"
"And you're asking us to just stand here and watch?" Ide added.
"That's right," Near confirmed.
"That's ridiculous!" Ide shouted. "Then you'll be playing right into Kira's hands. We're going to lose no matter what we do."
"No," Near said. "We will win. If you do as I say, we will win without a doubt." Near propped up his figurine. "So if x-kira enters through that door, I want you all to let him in. And if that door opens, however slightly, I want you all to pretend not to notice it."
"This is ridiculous," Ide mumbled.
"Near, you're making it sound as if you're actually Kira," Aizawa said. "You're the one who proposed the idea that we all meet here, and now, you're asking everybody to have their names written down in the notebook. It's only natural for us to think that. But, I'll do as you say."
"Hey Aizawa," Matsuda said. "What do you mean? I don't get it."
"I'm with Aizawa," Mogi said.
"Mogi," Ide said, surprised.
"He's already here," Near said.
Our faces froze, trying not to look at Mikami. I strengthened my resolve, and held faith in Near's plan. Near's face lit up with glee.
"I can't just watch," Matsuda said, panicked. He pulled out his handgun. "If this person is really writing our names down, then,"
"Don't move," Gevanni warned. Rester and Gevanni had their guns aimed at Matsuda.
"Are you kidding me?" Matsuda said frenetically.
"Don't worry," Near assured. "You won't die. Please just be still. Kira's identity will be revealed."
"How can you be so sure we won't die, Near?" Aizawa asked.
"I've tampered with the Notebook," Near said. "We managed to get it into our possesion, and replaced the pages. The person behind the door, the one in charge of the actual killing, has been filling up one page every day, so I just calculated which page would correspond to today's date, and replaced all the subsequent pages."
"Replaced?" Matsuda asked.
"You got a hold of it? You actually did that?" Aizawa said, trembling.
"The person writing the names down outside will eventually look inside to see if we have died," Near explained. "At which point, we'll seize him and the individual whose name is not written down will inevitably be Kira."
"You're right," Aizawa surrendered. "The person whose name isn't written down would be Kira."

I noticed how Near failed to mention one key detail, but I didn't say anything about it. It was his show, and I decided to let him run it. Raito's face curled into an arrogant grin.
"To the one outside," he said. "Did you write the names down in the notebook?"
"Yes," came a frantic voice. "I did."
"That's strange," Near observed. "Why would he reply in earnes, 'Yes, I did,' when you asked him if he wrote the names down."
"Who knoes?" Raito weaseled. "Maybe he's honest, or confident for some reason. It may even be that he knows your plan."
"Huh?" Matsuda panicked. "Then that means we're all doomed."
"Teru Mikami," Near said. "Why don't you come in here?"
"Teru Mikami?" Raito asked. "That's right. Stop hiding and come in here."
"Teru Mikami, I know that you're in charge of carrying out Kira's killing right now," Near said. "You've already written the names down, so there's nothing to be afraid of. Please come in. Or did Kira order you not to come in?"
The door creaked open, blasting a fresh wave of freezing air on to us. A young man, with long, black, frenetically messy hair stood in the doorway with a truly maddened grin on his face.
"Your wish is my command," he said, looking at Raito. "God."
"How many seconds has it been since you wrote the first name down?" Ratio asked.
"35," Mikami counted. "36, 37..."
Raito's face grew into an evil grin.
"38," Mikami continued. "39."
"I win," Raito said. "Near."
I closed my eyes, as everybody's faced crumpled into fear and anticipation. I wouldn't be surprised if Matsuda had pissed his pants. But nobody died. Nobody clutched their chests, screaming. Nobody collapsed on the floor. Nobody's eyes rolled back into their head. Nobody lost their lives.
"We're not dead," Ide said, trembling. "It's already been about a minute, and we're not dead!"
"Why?!" Mikami screamed. "Why won't they die?!"
Raito's face grew into a coutenance of pure shock.
"God," Mikami said, addressing Raito. "I did as you told me!"
"Rester, Gevanni," Near said, still frighteningly calm as ever. "Get Mikami."
"God!" Mikami cried out, as the two men seized him into a headlock.
"Gevanni, get the notebook," Near instructed.
Gevanni picked up the notebook, and handed it to Near.
"See for yourselves," Near said as he showed everyone the page. Indeed, our names were all listed.
'Nate River, Anthony Carter, Stephen Loud, Halle Bullock, Morgan Keehl, Konzo Mogi, Touta Matsuda, Hideki Ide, Shuichi Aizawa.'

Raito threw into a frantic tantrum, sweat coating his face, despite the freezing temperatures. For the first time, Raito Yagami utterly stank of guilt.
"A trap!" He cried. "This is a trap! Near set this whole thing up to frame me! It's impossible that nobody's dead even after their names are written in the notebook. That proves it's a trap!"
"What?" Matsuda said, shocked.
"But I told you nobody would die because I replaced the pages," Near said.
"Well...you," Raito stammered. "It can't be. It's impossible!" Raito then pointed at Mikami.
"This is a setup," he said. "I don't know this man!"
Mikami's face shriveled into absolute terror and betrayal. But it was clear that nobody was buying Raito's story anymore. He was completely washed up. Sold out. Defeated. Their faces all were stone frozen with disbelief. Unable to comprehend the situation.
"Raito," Aizawa coaxed. "It's too late. Near wins. A second ago, you said, 'I win.' That's as good a confession as any.
"Raito," Matsuda said, barely audible. He sank to his knees. "Why?"
Mogi stepped forward, clutching a pair of handcuffs. He stepped over to Raito. But Raito smacked the cuffs from Mogi's hands, and tried to run for door.
"Stop it!" he screamed, stumbling and falling to the floor.
"Raito Yagami," Near said. "L, Kira. You lose.You claimed your victory a moment ago." Raito scrambled up against the wall, breathless and scattered.
"And to tell you the the truth," Near continued. "You might actually have one, and I might have lost. You had Mikami use a fake notebook, and had him carry it around in front of us do we'd believe that it was the real thing. You even went so far as to suspect that I would replace the pages in the fake notebook, so that I wouldn't die even if my name was written in it. Things turned out exactly as you had expected, and we replaced the pages in the fake notebook. That indeed was the plan I had in mind as well. I replaced the pages of the notebook that happened to be a fake. and you had Mikami bring the real notebook out for the first time to kill all of us. That was your plan. But when I said, 'I replaced the pages in the notebook,' I meant in the real one as well. Meaning that I tampered with both the fake and the real notebook. I replaced only a part of the fake notebook, and I replaced the pages of the real notebook completely." Near reached into his baggy white shirt, and he withdrew a black, worn, ominous black notebook. The Deathnote.
"This is the real notebook," he revealed. "Gevanni did it overnight, whether he was able to replace all of it or not was the key to this plan. He did replace a part of the fake notebook with ease, but it was quite difficult to make a forged copy of the entire real one." Near set the two notebooks side by side. The two notebooks, indeed, looked exactly identical. The victims' names were written perfectly, completely verbatim.
"Gevanni promised me, however, that it could be done. He used the same pen that Mikami used, copied Mikami's handwriting to perfection, and even made a perfect copy of the cover in addition to the interior pages. And since I had already touched the notebook beforehand..." Near looked right beside Raito, as thought staring at something.
"I could see the shinigami from the moment you entered this warehouse. Mr. Shinigami, nice to meet you, I'm Near."
I watched and waited for something to answer, but I heard and saw nothing.
"Ryuk," Near adressed the phantom. "Until today, I always believed that shinigami had skulls for faces and carried sickles."
Once again, I didn't see nor hear anything. I figured the notebook that Mello obtained, the one where the piece I had used to evade the police came from must have belonged to Sidoh, who was long gone now.
"Near," I said. "If it would be alright, could I touch the notebook?"
He nodded, and held the notebook up to me. I touched a couple of fingers to it.

There, standing beside Raito, was a very tall human-like creature. It had pale, basically white skin, a very wide mouth, large, round glowing eyes.
"Well," I said to Ryuk. "You're a lot more attractive than Sidoh, at least."
"Damning me with faint praise, girl?" he responded in a deep, hissy voice.
"I looked through this notebook and found some pages were clipped out," Near said. "Can it be that people die even if you write names on pages that have been cut out?"
"Yeah," Ryuk replied in complete earnest. "They'll die."
Raito's face twisted with anger and panic. It would appear that shinigami were only on the side of those who profited them the most, as it was proven from Sidoh's betrayal of Mello and I.
"That was how that reporter died," I confessed. "The one at the scene of Matt's death. I didn't want to have to use the wretched thing, but I had to in order not to gunned down, and save Mello's life."
"Understandable," Near said simply. "Do you have the piece with you now?"
"No," I said. "I left it behind. I didn't feel that I would need to use it. I will destroy it."
"I'll take your word for it," Near said. "Even pieces are effective. I'm sure there must have been many uses for that. I can't even begin to think of how many people were killed and deceived because of that."
Near turned to Raito, and looked him directly in the eye.
"Raito Yagami," Near declared. "You are Kira."
Raito remained utterly silent. He was obviously confused as to how his seemingly perfect plan went so horribly wrong.
"I owe this to Mello and Morgan," Near said. "I'm sure you understand what I mean by that."
Near turned back to the page right before the page our names had been written on.
"Look at the page before the page I just turned to. This is the fake notebook we created, but it is exactly the same as the real one. The first line, if the page on the left."
'Kiyomi Takada, suicide. Burns to death by setting fire to everything around her, including what she wrote on. January 24th, 7:33 PM.'
"If Takada is in a situation like that," Mikami quivered. "Then it's my job to.."
"When Morgan tailed you at the hotel, she didn't lose to you," Near said. "She collected the information that lead Mello straight to Takada, and lead us to the notebook. That's right. When Mello kidnapped Takada, Mikami took out the real notebook. The one he had hidden in a safe deposit box at the bank. And he wrote Takada's name down."
"After Takada's kidnapping was announced on the news," Gevanni explained. "Mikami headed for the bank. October 25th was a Sunday, so he went on the 246th. But my research shows that in August, September, November, and December, he went to the bank on the 25th. So Mikami went to the bank on January 25th, but also on the 24th, when Takada was kidnapped. It was surely a strange move for Mikami, who was extremely methodical. As I entered the bank to get closer to him, I saw Mikami enter the safe deposit room. And for the first time, Mikami seemed to be nervous about having a tail on him."
"Mikami lives a completely fixed life," Near said. "But just as Takada was kidnapped, he suddenly goes to the bank two days in a row. To be honest, I only thought of the possibility of the notebook being a fake after Gevanni told me about this. Come to think of it, we should have suspected when Mikami used the notebook in public, and talked to himself about 'not having a shinigami.' The fact that we found out about Mikami so quickly actually worked against us. Until then, we were completely tricked by you, Takada, and Mikami, and replaced the pages in the fake book. So we actually would have lost if I hadn't found out. When Mello kidnapped Takada, you were no longer able to get in contact with Mikami. But Mikami still made his move for you, to perfection, in his role and Kira's stand-in. His overt adoration, sense of responsibility and perfection, and his intelligence worked against him this time. It wasn't difficult for us to sneak into the safe deposit room to crack it. It was an old fashioned safe at a local bank. Also, since you allowed us to look through Mikami's bag when he was at the gym, we already had made copies of all his keys and cards."
"That's right," Gevanni added. "It was an easy task to open that safe."
"This is very interesting," Near said. "In the fake notebook, the one we replaced the of first, one page was filled with names every day. But the real one jumps from November 25th to January 24th, when Takada's name was written down. That means that you had Mikami walk around with the fake notebook starting two months in advance to trick us. Before January 24th, the time of death wasn't specified, same as in the fake notebook. But after Takada's name was written down, all the judgements for January 24th were set to the early hours of the 25th, and the judgments for the 25th were set to the early hours of the 26th. In the fake notebook that Mikami made, Takada's name is probably written like this. But the rest of the page is only names, with no times written down to set the time of death. This means that when Mikami wrote Takada's name in the real notebook on the 24th, he also wrote the names of those people who were to be brought to justice on the 24th and 25th. Mikami could have killed people using the scraps from the notebook, but if he wrote on them in his house, assuming we had installed a camera, we might have found out about the fake notebook, and the fact that you can kill people even with just a piece of the notebook. In order to make Mikami's fake notebook look real, you probably cut the pages out of the real one and handed them to Takada, and had her actually do all the killings."
"A doppleganger for a doppleganger," I said. "Even before I had collected the notes from the hotel room, I had already thought that he had others doing his dirty work, and maybe even had sleepercell notes and writers around. But frankly, Near, I'm beginning to doubt Raito has anymore goons to call upon."
"That is an interesting thought, Morgan," Near said. "But your sleepercell theory will reveal itself to be true or false very soon."

Slowly, Raito's face fell lower and lower. Perhaps he was coming to terms with defeat, or had already hatched a plan to escape.
"All Mikami had to do was send a list of people to be killed via cell phone or computer, and then delete the data," Near continued. "For the deaths on the 24th and 25th, you might have had him send a list of people to Takada after she was kidnapped, but just in case, Mikami wrote those names down too when he wrote Takada's name. As for the 28th, today's killings would be at your leisure, since it would have been after you killed us. So, though it's nothing I would have taken notice of under normal circumstances, if you look closely, there aren't any killings of new criminals of the 26th or 27th, and that was because Mikami was not allowed to take the notebook out again until today. Well...according to your plan. Raito Yagami, Mikami shouldn't have taken the notebook out until today no matter what. And though I don't know who is first, this means that you killed Takada, too. If the scraps of then notebook can be used to kill people, it is hard to believe that you wouldn't have had one on you." Near promptly knocked down Takada's figurine.
"Because you killed her too, the announcement of Takada's death was reported on the news quickly. And since Mikami also know of her death, you wouldn't have assumed that Mikami made a move on his own." Near dropped the notebook. It fluttered to the ground and landed with a soft thud.
"Too bad," he said, almost apologetically. "When Mello kidnapped Takada, Mikami wrote her name down in the real notebook too."
"God," Mikami cried out, like a frightened child. And Near still kept that frightening, unwavering calm. No, at this point his spirits were up. Raito's handle on his calm seemed to be slipping gradually. That oh-so-cool and arrogant facade was dissolving before us.
"For both you and me," Near said. "Having Mikami write our names down on the page on the right was the plan. We had to do that, if not, we wouldn't have been able to capture Mikami, get the notebook from him, or take a look at the notebook. Whether the page on the left was filled or not, it had to be the page on the right. And you tried to kill us by having us replace the pages of a fake notebook, and have Mikami bring the real one here. But we went a step beyond you by having Mikami being a fake version of the real notebook. It's a lot harder to find out that the notebook has been switched if you replace the whole notebook rather then just a part of it. Of course, this is in large part due to Gevanni and Rester, who duplicated it in one day. But the biggest thanks goes to the ones who created this situation; Morgan and Mello. Mello always said he was going to be number one, that he was going to be better than me or L, but I always knew that I would never be able to surpass L. It could be that I lack the action and he lacked the calm. And even though we couldn't surpass the one we admired on our own," Near balanced his figurine and Mello's on two of his fingers, and held L's in the other three.
"Together, we can stand with L. Together we can surpass L. Not to mention," Near glanced at me.
"He completely underestimated the power and intelligence of his own girlfriend." I felt suddenly very flattered at Near's compliment.
"And now," he continued. "We are facing Kira, whom L could find no proof against, the very kira who L was defeated by. Facing Kira with solid evidence before his very eyes."
"Raito," I said firmly. "Look at me, you arrogant pillock."
Slowly, Raito's maddened gaze met mine. I got pleasure out of my power. It was revenge, justice, and accomplishment wrapped up in one package.
"You," I hissed. "Are just a crumpled heap of wasted humanity."

He screamed. He grasped at his hair, thrashing like a small child having a tantrum. He screamed like he was being slowly burned to death. It was becoming very clear to us that Raito Yagami was defeated, and had never suffered a defeat like this before. The fabric of his plans were unravelling into tiny, insignifgant, useless threads. His legacy, his kingdom, his pride laid in shreds before him, scattered by the winds of reality. Raito had been thrust into the real world. He was not a king, a god, or emporer. He was just a sad, evil man, wasted by the very thing that had given him such pride. He fell to his knees, screaming, scratching at the cold, hard ground.
"Bitch," he sobbed. "Whore."
I knew these insults were aimed at me. I could tell that Raito Yagami hated me more than anyone else there. Again and again I had eluded his grasp. I side-stepped every bullet he shot at me, I wrapped his lies and manipulation in my own lies and manipulation. But then, it seemed the center of Raito's mind tipped off-balance. It shook and quivered, and he was thrown deep into a bottomless abyss of madness. He began to laugh through his choking tears. He cackled as he was falling deeper into the hole of insanity that had been kept in a discreet pocket of his mind. All the lines and barriers had been breeched. There was no other place to go but insane. Slowly, he shook and staggered to his feet, smiling, absolutely high on his new found madness. His blurring of reality gave him comfort. His lunacy inspired euphoria. He laughed, dizzy with derangement.
"That's right," he giggled. "I'm Kira."
The others' faces turned to shock, except Near's. He had acknowledged the sudden sickness that encroached on Raito's poisoned mind. Near's face curled into a childish grin, his whole body seemed to glow with victory. Raito's eyes seared intensely with white-hot hate for both Near and myself.
"So now what?" Raito said, through a purely sickened grin. "Are you going to kill me right here?" Raito's hands gestured in the ghost of his once prized charisma, now corroded by the dementia.
"Listen," he hissed posionously. "I'm Kira...and...the GOD of this new world. In this world, I am the law, and I am the one maintaining order. THAT is the truth. Now, I am justice. The world's, only hope. Are you going to kill me? Is that really the right thing to do? To capture Kira...that may have been the just thing to do in the past. But now, it's obviously evil. The mentality of this world has changed! Are you sure you want to capture Kira for your OWN satisfaction?" He took a breath of the freezing air, throwing out his arms in a valiant facade of righteousness.
"It's been six years since Kira appeared. War is a thing of the past. Most of the criminals have died, and the world's crime rate has gone down by seventy percent...but..." Raito's eyes began to utterly boil with passion.
"This world is still rotten. There are too many rotten people, so we must get rid of them. This is no accident. It is inevitable as long as those rotten people are alive. From the moment I got a hold of that notebook, NO! Even before that..." his voice dropped, hissing and spitting. A great inward shadow seemed to consume Raito.
"The world had fallen as far as it could fall, and humans had rotted as much as they could rot. It all boils down to those who interfere with people's pursuit of happiness or those who do not. Those who are worthy of living...and those who are not. Evil only gives birth to evil. And if those wicked people sins and run wild, then the weak will learn to commit crimes, and even try to justify their actions in the end. The evil people...the ROTTEN people...must be done away with."
Raito stared straight into oblivion. The roots of mental sickness seemed to grasp tighter at his mind, crushing it, suffocating it.
"But rotten people do not equal death. Evil people who are beyond saving have no choice but to die. Justice will be brought upon evil people. Justice will also be brought upon those who harm others. They'll start realizing the right way to live as a human being. The right to be happy, that is something that everybody has equal claim too. It must be so. But that is not something you get by harming, deceiving, or even killing other people. To pursue your happiness without getting in the way of others, while respecting others, that is the way humans should lead their lives. That is all you have to do to change people's way of thinking. So I must cut deeply into the root evil that has shaped the world into what it is today. Once the world changes, people begin to change. They become kinder. But those who still commit sins even after that are failures. Under ordinary circumstances, humans should have continues to evolve as the greatest creatures upon this Earth. But we are actually regressing. A rotten world; politics, law, education...was there anybody around who had the ability to correct this world? But...someone had to do it. From the moment I got a hold of the notebook, I knew I had to do it. I knew I was the only one capable of doing it. I knew that killing people was a crime, but that was the only way to correct this world, and one day, people will accept that as being righteous. I had to take the role of Kira and do it. This was a mission that was entrusted to me. I was chosen to make amends for this rotten world, and to create a truly safe and ideal world." Raito through himself back into the attention of the others, yelling and gesturing wildly.
"With this notebook," he shouted. "Would anybody else have been able to do this?! Come this far?! AND CONTINUE DOING IT?! Would anybody else have been able to use just one notebook and lead this world to the right path? There are only those stupid people of low caliber, who would have used it for personal interests and selfish motives. I NEVER thought of making any profit from this. I am not like those crooks who make money by forcing deals upon the weak. Those are the type of people who harm this world." He took a shaky breath.
"That's right," he breathed. "Only I can do it...I am the only one who can create a new world, be on top of it, and guide it correctly...think about it."

I stepped forward, for the first time completely unafraid of the weak man in front of me. I no longer feared him. He could not touch me, he could not kill me. I was over him.
"That was a real nice speech, Raito," I started. "But you are not justice. You don't provide happiness or peace to anyone. I told you this, the first time I met you. Those people in the world...you make them toil in fear and misery, you take away their right to have their own beliefs. The people of this world live in fear of a selfish, evil, weak wannabe demigod. By your own definition, you deserve to die a thousand times over. What gives you the authority to take away people's lives? What gives you the right to dictate their lives? What you fail to see, is that everybody is a little bit rotten. That is human nature, It can't be changed, especially not by the efforts of you. If this is true...then you are the most rotten human in the entire world. I do pity you, Raito. I do believe you are severely mentally ill, and to some people, that might be a justification..." I took a sharp breath, and looked him directly in the eye. "But as far I am concerned, even someone vastly more mentally diseased than you could have chosen a different path. I believe you could have chosen to live peacefully. But you did not. And that, in my eyes, is what makes you evil. It's time to wake the fuck up Raito, because now you are just lying to yourself." I stepped a little closer to him.
"Do you know why so many people believe in the teachings of Jesus? Because Jesus did not try to cleanse the world through hate and death. Rather, he preached of love, compassion, forgiveness, and understanding. You have no right to compare yourself to God."
"Morgan," he hissed. "You foolish little woman. There is no god, or Jesus. But I would expect you to believe in such things, after all...you are just a woman. But you could have renounced your love for L. You could have chosen the path to righteousness."

Raito approached me, still staring sickeningly. But I did not tremble, quiver or quake. I stood my ground, and stared right back. I kept my unwavering gaze into the eyes of evil, even as his sinister hand petted my cheek, smiling evilly.
"Morgan," he whispered posionously. "You could repent. You could destroy these stupid, pitiful fools. Together, we can create a utopia. Don't be another wasted life. Give into me. Now, tell me you believe in god. Tell me you believe in the correct god. The one standing before you, who so mercifully offered a second chance."
"I believe in god," I said strongly.
Raito moved in for a kiss, but his lips didn't reach my lips. I turned all the way around, fist drawn. I felt my knuckles collide with soft, rubbery flesh. Raito stumbled back, a little blood issuing from his nose.
"I believe in god, and it's definitely not you."
He got control of the blood flowing from his nostrils.
"Then you have chosen the rotten path," he said. "Stupid girl. If you think that arresting me is going to avenge L's death, then you are so greatly mistaken. Because, what you see before you is Kira, but also the god of this new world."
"No," Near said quietly. "You..." he began to crush his Kira figurine. "Are just a murderer. And this notebook here is the worst murder weapon in the history of mankind. If you had been a normal person, and used this notebook once out of curiosity, you would have been surprised and scared of what had happened, regretted what you had done, and never used this notebook again. To speak of extremes...I can actually understand those who would use this notebook for their personal interests and kill a couple of people, and even think that they're normal." Near continued crushing Kira's figurine.
"But you have yielded to the power of the notebook and shinigami and have confused yourself with a god. You're just a crazy mass murderer." Near discarded the crushed figure of Kira. "Nothing more. Nothing less."
"Near," Raito said. "You're wrong. I'm the icon of justice now."
"You may be right," Near said. "Nobody can tell what is right and what is wrong, what is righteous and what is evil. Even if there is a god, and I had his teachings before me, I would think it through, and decide if that was right or wrong myself. I'm not different than you."
When Near said this, though I knew it's not what he meant, I knew that Near was a little mentally sick himself. But somehow, Near used it to solve the Kira case. He chose a different path from Raito.
"I believe in what I think is right, and believe to be righteous. You are no god. And I feel that the whole of you setting the path for all the people to follow is neither peaceful nor righteous, and anybody who claims to be god and kills people from left to right is definitely evil by my standards...but what do the other people here, besides you and me, feel is righteous?"
Nobody said anything. I could tell they had a lot to consider, and it was a subject left to the eye of the beholder.
"Near," Raito said suddenly. "You first thought the notebook made by Mikami was the real one, and replaced the pages in it. And Mikami had the fake notebook that you made. In other words, both notebooks turned out to be fake, when both sides believed them to be real. And the mistake made by both sides was that they didn't test the notebook to see if it was real or not...so, how can you be sure that the notebooks here are real?"

Raito was bluffing. And I knew why; he had found an opportunity to get away, or kill. I knew without a doubt that he was bluffing. Raito doesn't give away pieces of his plots like this, or negotiates. There was something sinister brewing in his twisted head at the moment.
"The notebook you have with you right now," he said. "And the notebook Aizawa brought down from the Japanese headquarters. Are they real? That's right, if you really want to defeat Kira, then you should write my name or Mikami's name in Aizawa's notebook to see if that notebook is real."
"Raito Yagami...Kira," Near said. "I have no plans to kill you. I really don't care if the notebook is real or not anymore. From the very beginning, my goal was to capture Kira. All I want is for everything to become clear and for Kira to be captured. You're as good as arrested now, and I'll confiscate the notebook Mr. Aizawa has. That is enough for now. And I will not announce Kira's arrest or the existence of the notebook to the public. I believe everybody here can keep that secret. I'll take full responsibility for locking you up in a place where nobody will find you until you die. As for the notebook, the two rules that were written on the back cover; the thirteen day rule and the rule about how everybody who touched the notebook will die if the notebook is burnt were probably added by you later."
"That's true," I said. "Mello and I discovered this from another shinigami."
"The most important thing now," Near said to Raito. "Is to capture you."
"Well," Raito said, once again using his false-charisma. "Whether it's real or fake, don't you think it's a good idea just to take a look at it?"
I noticed it. Fingers on the side of his watch. I knew what his plan was now.
"If that notebook is real..." He said, twisting something on his watch.
"Or fake." A false bottom on the watch popped open.
"He's got a note hidden on him!" Rester called.
Raito was quickly writing something down, frantic and eager.
But Raito's plan was quickly interrupted by gunfire. Matsuda had shot the pen right out of Raito's hand. Blood exploded out of Raito's wrist.
"You idiot!" Raito screamed. "Who do you think you're shooting, Matsuda?! DAMN YOU! If you're going to shoot someone, shoot the others! What do you think you're doing?! Matsuda! I thought you were the only person who understood me. Kira is righteous! Kira is NEEDED!"
"What was it all for?" Matsuda choked through tears. "Chie-no...Deputy Director Yagami...he was your father. What did your father die for?"
"Dad?" Raito hissed. "Are you talking about Soichiro Yagami? That's right, Matsuda. Overly earnest people with a strong sense of justice like him always end up the loser." Raito struggled to his feet, blood pouring from his wrist.
"Do you want a world where people like him are always made fools of?!" Raito yelled.
"You drove your father to his death," Matsuda said, his voice faltering. "And now, you're trying to change the subject by telling me he was made a fool."
"A society," Raito yelled. "A world where people like my father will never have to be made a fool...Soichiro Yagami died to create that. I'm telling you to kill the others so that his death was not in vain! Can't you understand me?!"

Blood. The very essence of life. The thing that keeps people alive, that allows hearts to beat, lives to occur...the very foundation of ourselves. He was using it to kill. He was now attempting to write down the name with his own blood.
"He's using his blood!" Aizawa cried.
Matsuda shot him, several times. None were fatal shots, but Raito Yagami was without a doubt critically wounded.
"I HAVE TO KILL HIM!" Matsuda screamed. "THIS GUY HAS GOT TO DIE!"
Aizawa and Ide protested, but Matsuda fired anyway. He barely missed Raito's throat, but instead had put a hole in the floor. Mogi, Ide and Aizawa caught the hysterical man, taking his gun away. Raito lay a bleeding mess on the floor.
"Mikami!" he cried. "What are you doing? Help me! Write their names down. Kill them! Kill them...that's your job...what are you doing?!"
"How could I write their names down...in a situation like this. And with a fake notebook..." Mikami choked through his own hysteria. "You're not god! What the hell is this? Look what you've gotten me into. You're no god...you're just...scum."
"Damn you!" Raito cried in anger.
"Since he had that piece carefully hidden in his watch, he probably doesn't have anymore," Near said. "Mogi, Ide, help me arrest Kira, Raito Yagami, the mass murderer."
The two men moved to arrest him, however Raito through himself into another tantrum.
"Stop it!" he screamed. "Don't come near me!" He started to feebly attempt to crawl away.
"Misa! Where's Misa?! Misa, kill them...kill these guys..."
"Misa Amane is at the Teito Hotel right now," Near said.
"Hotel?!" He cried. "What is that idiot doing at a time like this?! Takada...where's Takada?! Kill them...write their names down..."
"Kiyomi Takada is dead," Near said.
"Dead?!" He screamed. "Somebody...anybody..."
"Near," Rester said. "It's over at last."
"Yes," Near agreed.
"Somebody..." Raito moaned. "Kill these guys.."

Raito kept pathetically dragging himself across the floor. His blood was everywhere; it stained our shoes, or in Near's case, socks, deep red. His cries of pain echoed through out the building.
"Raito," Mogi said. "It's over. If you don't give up, you're going to bleed to death."
Raito kept dragging his broken body, until he reached Ryuk's feet.
"Ryuk," he groaned. "I know! Ryuk, you can write the names down...write their names down into your notebook."
I knew that Raito was about to die. Ryuk would never help Raito. And I all I could do is watch the sick man's demise.
"Write it Ryuk!" Raito yelled. "Hurry!"
"Don't do it Ryuk!" Aizawa cried, as he and Ide withdrew their guns.
"If that shinigami is willing to write our names down when asked, that's all Kira had to do from the start; so it means that Ryuk does not assist Kira in those ways."
"Shinigami only do what's beneficial to them," I added. "I doubt killing us will be all that beneficial to him anyway."
"Please...Ryuk," Raito moaned. "You're all I have left to rely on! Please write the names down!"
"Sure," Ryuk said in a sinister manner. "I'll write it."
Everybody except Near and I threw into a panic, attempting to stop Ryuk by shooting him and yelling at him.
"Sorry," he said. "I'm a shinigami, so you can't kill me with those things, and stuff in the human world can't touch my notebook unless I allow it." Raito began cackling loudly.
"SUCKS TO BE YOU, NEAR!" He yelled. "The only choice you had was to kill me right away! But now that Ryuk's decided to write your names down, nobody can stop him! It's too late, you're all going to die!"
"No, Raito," Ryuk said. "The one who's going to die is you."

Exactly as I had predicted. Ryuk had written Raito's name down in the deathnote. Somehow, it felt as though some cycle had just been completed.
"Ryuk, you..." Raito moaned. Ryuk continued writing. Raito flopped with his last bit of strength, but it was useless. He fell right through Ryuk.
"No matter how I look at it, you've lost, Raito," Ryuk said. "I was kind of expecting to see you get out of this one, but if I'm your last resort, you're really done for. You've eased my boredom for quite a long time, haven't you?" Ryuk revealed the page to Raito. And indeed, written on it was 'Raito Yagami.'
"It was a lot of fun," he said.
"Am I going to die?!" Raito cried. "I'm going to die!"
"That's right, in fourty seconds," Ryuk said. "You'll have a heart attack. It's already been decided upon."
"I'm going to die," Raito moaned. "No...I don't want to die...I don't want to die, damn it! Stop it! I don't want to die!"
"You sound so undignified," Ryuk said. "It's not like you, Raito. I told you in the very beginning that I would be the one writing your name in the notebook when you die. That is the rule between the shinigami who brings the notebook into the human realm and the first human who picks up the notebook. If they put you in prison, who knows when you'll die? I don't want to just lie around waiting for you to die. So it's all over. You should die right here."
"No!" Raito cried. "I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to go to prison either! Do something! I know there's a way out of it, Ryuk!"
"Once a name is written down in the deathnote, you can't do anything about it. You more than anybody else here should know that," Ryuk said. "Goodbye, Raito Yagami,"

The next few seconds felt very long. Raito clung to Ryuk, screaming, begging for mercy. He could not accept that his time had come at long last. But then Raito fell silent, crumpled to the floor. He was motionless, dark and lifeless. Raito Yagami...Kira...was no more.

About an hour later, I sat there, in the warehouse, with Near. The others were taking care of Raito's corpse, filing papers, dealing with the general beauracracy.
"I like your maiden name better," Near said. "But I think your name would sound best with my last name."
"Near...Nate," I started. "I do care a lot for you. But what happened this morning...was just a one time thing."
"I doubt that," Near said. "Because I won't stop until you belong to me."
"I'm leaving this place," I said. "I'm going home to England, and I'm not coming back. I am done with this country, with Kira, all of that bullshit. I don't want anymore adventures for a long time, unless they involve lying on a beach in Bora Bora."
"I know what you mean," he said. "I could use a rest."
"I feel like I need to sleep for the next three weeks or so," I said. "So, I guess you're L now?"
"Yes," he said. "But you will always know me as Nate."
"That I will," I said. "It's getting late, I need to go."
"Well then," Near said. "I guess this is goodbye."
"'Til next we meet," I said softly. "Nate River."
"It won't be long," he said. "I will see you soon, I know it...but please...just call me jackass one more time."
"...Jackass."

He pulled me into one last chilling kiss, caressing the side of my face with his thumb. It was a long, passionate kiss. His lips were dry, but soft on mine. I savoured the way his tongue curled around mine just so. At long last, the kiss ended. I was left reeling, maybe a little empty.
"Bye," he said simply.
He walked out of the warehouse, and I was left alone in the cold. I hunched my knees against my chest, shivering from the freezing temperatures. I felt hot tears starting out of my eyes. But immediately, they started freezing against my cheeks. I was emotionally taxed. I could not believe that I helped catch a mass murderer, who physically and sexually abused me, and then died right before my eyes. And most of all, I couldn't grasp that there was a life after it. I was afraid. Life with L was not always great, but it was all I knew. Everything I ever knew was dead. Destroyed. And now I had to build a new everything.
"Are you ready to go?" was all I heard behind me. I turned, and against the fading sunlight, I saw Mihael, blonde hair obscuring his saturnine face.
I staggered to my feet, walking slowly towards him. And yet, I felt farther than ever from him. But still, I grasped him in a longing embrace. My body greatly welcomed the heat radiating off him. And we walked on, into the sunset, two boats on the ocean ready to drift homeward.

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THIRTEEN FUCKING PAGES. That's as long as a chapter in a novel. But I didn't want to spend much more time on Kira. Kira is gone, but Morgan's story is still going on. Remember that dream? Mhm. And you KNOW Near will be back >___> (I personally don't like Near, but whatever. It works for the story, so I'll suck it up. I find him to be...a jackass.)
Yeah. No more Raito :DDD My neck hurts. I've been working on this 5 and a half hours straight tonight, I did around that much yesterday. It's around 4 chapters worth right here. Hope you enjoyed.