Chapter One: New Beginning

"I sentence you to death" he said as he wrote the evil-doers name down. In forty seconds Higachi Tomoa would die of a heart attack. That was his punishment for murdering his whole family. If you were to ask him, this punishment was merciful on his part; compared to the pain he could cause the scum.

He closed the notebook, that was the last name for tonight. He walked to the plain looking wall opposite of the bullet proof window. He tapped rhythmically on the wall; one, two three…. one, two…. one, two, three. An inch to the right of where he was tapping the wall slid open to reveal a safe. It was state of the art and could not be cracked.

He punched in a seven digit number, and then scanned his thumb and retina before the safe opened. It was empty inside, except for a picture on the far wall, which left plenty of room for his prized possession. Before putting the notebook into the safe he held it an inch from his face and marveled at it.

Death Note, it said on the cover. He flipped it to the back and read the instructions; the human whose name is written in this notebook shall die.

A half smile creped on his lips as he realized, again, that he now had the power of Kira. He had the responsibility of bringing justice to those who do not deserve to live.

As he placed the notebook inside, he saw the picture in the safe. His eyes narrowed in hate. He kept that picture there to remind him what his true goal was. The picture was of a boy around 17, calm and insightful eyes.

"Near," he said in contempt, "you think you're safe? You couldn't be more wrong. I will find you, and you will pay for what you have done!"

A knock on the door distracted him. He put the notebook away, locked it, and tapped on the wall so it would close.

"Its open," he said looking out into the Kanto skyline.

The door opened and in came a trouble young girl. At first glance she seemed normal, happy. But she had a dark secret.

"Sayu Yagami, how are you today?" he asked in English.

"I'm fine, and you," she answered perfectly.

"Wonderful now that you're here," he answered with a half smile on his lips. He was one of the only people who knew what she was hiding. In fact he has been attempting to get her see it as good rather than evil.

"I've finished packing," she said switching to Japanese.

"Good," he switched to Japanese as well not wanting to make her uncomfortable, "we are leaving tomorrow."

"Gage, what is Los Angeles like?" she asked him.

Gage looked at her. He knew she has been to LA before but it was because she had been kidnapped. He felt slightly guilty for making her move there, but it was his home and he wanted her to be with him. That was why he was teaching her English.

"I'll let it be a surprise," Gage answered.

The next day they made their way to the airport. The entire way Near's face was plastered up. There were two kinds of posters, one that read "Our Savior" and another that read "Wanted Dead or Alive".

Near, you are idiotic and cocky.

Gage thought back to the terrible day. A year ago, today, Light Yagami was killed. It was the end of Kira, or so everyone thought.

Gage remembered exactly what happened, and how cocky Near got, just because he had surpassed L and found the original Kira. Two days after Light's death, Near went public.

The letter N popped up on every screen and a masked voice said "Citizens of the world, you may now rest peacefully. The mass murderer that has terrorized us for the past six years has been caught. He is dead." Gage remembered watching as everyone gasped and some cried, while a select few rejoiced. "To prove to you how certain I am that Kira is gone from this world, I will show who I am," the screen fuzzed out an in came a clear image of Near. Gage was certain this was him because he saw him the same day Kira was killed. "I believe I owe you, the people of the world an explanation of what happened," Near continued, "I suppose I'll start with this, L is dead," more gasps from the crowed, "As many of you know L was the greatest detective of our time and was after Kira. Kira actually found a way to infiltrate a task force spearheaded by L. When L was murdered, Kira stepped in as the second L. But I am L's true replacement. I, along with my team and the task force, was able to find and eliminate Kira. The world is safe once again. Kira is no more."

I can't believe how stupid Near was, Gage thought, immediately crime rates increased drastically and Kira supporters put a hit on Near's head. Of course Near was expecting this, but he knew the only way to convince the public of Kira's death was to show how certain he was. It was common knowledge that Kira needed only a face and name to kill, sometimes just a face.

Just you wait Near, Gage smiled as he thought, I'm coming for you.

"Gage," Sayu said. And that was all she said. Gage knew what she was thinking. After all, he was the only one outside the task force or her family that knew that her brother, Light Yagami, was Kira. She cried on his shoulder. She had a war inside, the little girl missing her big brother and yet humiliated that he was a mass murderer.

Gage was open with the fact that he was a Kira supporter and so always tried convincing Sayu that her brother was a hero. Also, Gage was aware that Light was Kira for a long time. Before he met his demise, Gage began following him. Light was never suspicions of him though. After all, he was dating his sister at that time.

This was how Gage was able to discover Light's secret. Gage is an American handpicked for an exchange student program. In the beginning gage feared Kira. But as he grew older he learned that Kira was just and right. With his interest in the Kira case he began investigating himself. Gage specialized with computers so he easily hacked into Touta Matsuda's home computer, where he recklessly kept information as to the whereabouts of the Kira investigation team. Gage than began to watch the hotel in which he knew the team was holding headquarters. He watched as, in the waiting room, Light told his girlfriend, Misa Amane, to continue killing as Kira. Though Gage was out of hearing range, he had some binoculars and read Lights lips.

Now certain of who Kira was, he followed Misa home, and when she left shopping, quickly snuck in and placed a camera. This was how he discovered the existence of the Death Note.

When curiosity got the better of him, he snuck in and studied the Death Note himself.

He chuckled in the airport bathroom.

"What is it?" Ryuk the Shinigami, God of Death, asked.

Gage looked back at Ryuk and chuckled again, "I'm just thinking about the first time I saw you, scared me senseless."

"I should scare you," Ryuk said seriously, "I should be back to the Shinigami world by now."

"Yeah? Well think of it this way, because of me you can still have more apples," he pulled one out of his jacket and tossed it to him.

"Still, I don't understand how you were able to take my Death Note from me."

"I will explain everything in due time," Gage said, "Trust me Ryuk, Light was just the beginning of this tale."

Someone walked in so Gage had to be quiet. He didn't have to worry about him seeing Ryuk, only those who have touched a Shinigami's Death Note could see and hear that Shinigami. He looked into the mirror as he finished washing his hands. He smiled as he looked over to the man now washing his hands right beside him.

Look at how clueless they are, he thought, this man is innocent, but he has no idea I could kill him by just asking his name. Kira is believed to be dead, but he will live on as long as a select few have a sense of justice. Light, our God, our savior, was killed. And now I have been passed the responsibility to complete his work. Near, you have better be careful. It would be no fun to just kill you; I hope you still have some fight left. Justice will prevail and you know that. I will finish Kira's work and bring peace to this God forsaken world. I will win.