Frankly, I've been struck with much boredom since the Kira case was solved. I remain here in the SPK building with my toys as I have nowhere else to go. The other members of our group have been solving a new case which I take no interest in, and thus, I don't take part in.
I've been doing nothing all day but stacking dice in the shape of Wammy's House on the table. I had stopped when Rester came in the room and handed me an object. "It's a tape sent to you from Winchester, England," he said briefly before leaving the room to get back to work on his current case. The moment he named the place, I knew immediately that it was from Wammy's House.
"To Near" was written on the side of the tape. With the tape in my hand, I glanced at the Wammy's House I had created using my dice and decided to leave it. I got up from my leather chair and walked towards the VHS machine below the multitude of screens. I wasn't sure what to expect of the tape, really, considering that it came from Wammy's House, a place which I haven't been affiliated with for years now. After taking a breath, I took out the tape from its cardboard sleeve and slipped it into the machine in front of me.
A familiar sight came out of the screens as soon as the taped played. A familiar sound also came out of the speakers. It was a voice; a voice I haven't heard in the longest time. It was L's voice. The letter "L" in front of a white background flashed through the screens, partially illuminating the room.
"Mr. Nate River," he addressed me formally.
"I hope you aren't busy as of the moment. I gave orders to Wammy's House to give this to you only when they are certain that you aren't occupied."
Sending me a personal message isn't like him at all. But as his successor, I was intrigued as to what he wanted to tell me, especially now that he's gone. I stood there silently as I listened on.
"I trust you're a detective like me now. I know your intelligence would be very useful for this field of work. And if my calculations are correct, you've just successfully solved a case, in which case, I congratulate you."
I could hear him smiling during the last sentence. The tone of his soft voice noticeably went somber afterwards.
"The bells sound incredibly noisy today... Oh, I'm sorry, I was only thinking aloud."
Though I didn't know exactly what he meant, I somehow understood that something wasn't quite right during the moment he was recording his message for me.
"Anyway, by the time you play this tape, I must probably be dead, which only means I can't help bring justice to the world anymore. I'm glad you still can."
"I know you're smart enough to know this, but I just wanted to take this time to tell you to keep playing the game, keep solving the puzzle to win."
"I know you'll win. My river flows in you, Near."
The screen immediately went blank. I found myself standing alone in a dark, silent room once again.
"...Near." His final word repeated in my head. That's what he decided to call me the day we met. I will never forget that day. It was as if I had been lost at sea for years and was found and rescued by L.
Before I knew it, I felt a tear rolling down my cheek. I haven't felt like this since I lost the only other two people who mattered as much to me as L did.