Near Death
Chapter one
The new L
All my life I had been living in his shadow it was much like an artist painting on a canvas, one which had already been placed in a magnificent frame. In order to surpass him I was expected to be no less than perfect, no less than a masterpiece. My name is Nate Rivers but you can call me Near.
Near sat motionless in what would appear to be an uncomfortable position Which was now practiced out of sheer impulse. One leg placed on his chair, bent in such a way that it jabbed into his stomach. Multiple studies have shown this unattractive posture to actually stimulate the brain and allow the thought process to be active and fluent. As he sat he stared at an empty Monitor Which covered one of the four walls that supported the ceiling. Three weeks is how long it has been since a new case was even considered to be sent to the new and promising L.
Three long weeks since Near had been able to stare at blown up images of autopsy or forensic reports. Like a surgeon has the nearly non-stop urge to perform surgery so does a detective have a similar urge to detect. Of course only the seemingly impossible cases are even sent in for trial to be considered "L" worthy. With that being said it would not be that hard to believe that Near, L, the greatest detective known to man was not exactly the busiest person in the world. It was quite the opposite.
Adding onto the comment made earlier, I must contrast by saying that unlike surgeons it should be made apparent that the more skilled a detective you are the less you are given the opportunity to do that which you have become so advanced in. Of course Near knew this but even with a logical mind such as his he still acquired a childish trait of hope. This was something that the current and the previous L had in common. In fact the previous L and the current L had a few things in common. Probably the most recognizable would be their posture, Always slouched and of course the way they sat.
Although that might have differed slightly seeing that the previous L Brought both knees up and placed his body in a kind of fetal position. But of course I mustn't linger on this subject for you see the previous L's character arc isn't one that needs to be developed. In fact, the only thing about the previous L that needs to be made known is that which made him previous. The previous L was killed by the most infamous serial killer ever to exist, Light Yagami, but most commonly known as Kira. Kira is the name of a goddess of birth who was lost to insanity and later became the goddess of death.
However, the name Kira is more often referring to the angel and messenger of the devil. And he was indeed worthy of the name. By the time he himself was killed thousands had died at his hands. He need only a face, name, and pen to do this. He wielded the most powerful murder weapon known to ever exist. The Death Note.
Near could not help but think about this on a day-to-day basis it was something not only he but the entire world should be afraid of. After all it happened once, and even though the chances are slim, it could happen again. But it wasn't just that, he had other reasons, more personal reasons as to why he thought about it every day. Although he would never admit to it or talk about it, he lost someone very special to him. someone he loved that was taken away from him by Kira, that was why he couldn't forget, why he never spoke to anyone about anything that didn't involve work, how could he.
At that moment someone interrupted the silence as they opened the door and called in a hushed voice "Nate?".He looked to the door and saw Halle Lidner one of his many agents and co-workers. Out in the field Halle was a cold, serious and almost unfeeling person, but not around Near, the relationship they shared was a strange one, one that allowed both of them to open up. But opening up doesn't always mean they enjoyed one another's company, in fact Near almost always rebelled against Halle's innocent attempts to comfort him. "I thought I made it clear the last time you barged into my office that I would appreciate it if you knocked, and don't call me by my first name". Halle ignored the harshness in his voice, rushed to the side of his chair, and said in a happy-go-lucky tone, "come on Nate It's just me besides I thought you might need some cheering up". She lifted up a small tray, which held a decadent tea set consisting of one pot and two small tea cups with gold trim.
"What would make you think I need cheering up" he asked impolitely. "Well you've just been acting a little off lately and I thought you might like some herbal tea to cool things off". "Well I'm fine don't bother yourself with my emotions" Near said staring at the floor with a blank expression. "You know... I miss him too Nate" she said looking at him with sympathy. Nears eyes narrowed as he sat up straight.
"Get out!" he shouted. This was completely out of character for Near, he was always so quiet and calm."I didn't mean to offend you I Just-"he cut her off in mid- sentence "I said get out!". She placed the tray on a table and walked out the door. "it wasn't her place, she has no idea what I went through, she had no right" he thought to himself. He bit his lip trying to fight back the tears but they could not be held in.
Suddenly the silhouette of a man appeared on the massive monitor in front of him "L we are in need of your services" he quickly pulled himself together and wiped his eyes. "Finally another case" he thought. A page opened onto the screen with the information collected on the case. He read the first line and was surprised. "This is a suicide case it would appear to me this puzzle has already been solved" Near said to the dark figure. "We don't make mistakes sir, I assure you this is worth further investigation". He scanned through the files and something caught his eye. The name of the jumper was "Misa Amane".
Authors Notes:
I promise there will be more dialogue in future chapters. Please review and critique Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of the not at all cheesily name "Near Death" series.