Birthday Massacre


Grey orbs peered out from under snowy strands of hair. It had been a month.

The Kira case was closed on February 28th, the day Light Yagami had died. His body had been discovered by his former colleagues, people who had tried to help solve the Kira case. He had a private funeral, to which only them, him, and the members of his family were invited. Most of the invites were ignored, and the only three people that ended up attending were Sayu Yagami - Light's younger sister, Matsuda, and Near himself.

It was only later that Near had checked through Light's records, and found out he had died exactly a month before his birthday. He wasn't sure what to do with this information, but when the month passed, Near found himself alone in what was the SPK headquarters. The members of the SPK themselves were on a break since the Kira case had been closed. He was seated at a table in a room that resembled a kitchen, on a wing that was many floors below where he had worked on cases. Before him, placed onto the table was a small birthday cake, one candle on it. The lights were off, Near not having bothered to turn them on in the first place.

Distantly he wondered why he was doing this. He didn't like Light Yagami. He respected him as a person, maybe, because there was just something about him that reminded him of...

...But that was beyond the point. Light was Kira, and Near knew this. Yet still, there he was, celebrating the deceased Light Yagami's birthday. He stared down at the cake, frosted over with black icing. It was red velvet cake. He wasn't sure why he had gotten that kind, but Light had seemed like a person who appreciated the color red. Near himself hated the hue. He thought it was ugly. Still, he blew out the candle and began to eat.

It tastes alright, I suppose. Near thought within the confines of his head. Once more, he wondered why exactly he was doing this. He was Nate River, N, the new L, and liked to tell himself that he was 100% in control of his own actions. Yet still, the reasoning behind those very actions were fuzzy, even to him.

Halfway through the miniature cake, Near became aware of the fact that because he had blown out the candle, he was now shrouded in darkness. He ignored this detail, determined to finish the sweet, as it was the only thing he would have eaten in the last two days. But as time began to pass, an eerie feeling came over the small albino, one he rarely felt. It was as though there was something behind him, a cold rush of air passing through his body and sending shivers up his spine. He recognized this as some sort of fear.

Even so, Near couldn't fathom a reason behind the disturbing emotion, and decided it was better to ignore it. There were times he felt this way in the past, even if there was no reason for it. It wasn't usually so... Intense, but it was something he could get past if he thought about other things.

He began to contemplate the reasoning behind Light's actions, why he had been corrupted, as he ate the cake, when the feeling still lingered. Annoyed that it refused to dissipate, Near made attempts to completely distract himself. It involved reciting the digits of Pi in his mind (though he didn't get far as the number itself had never truly interested him), thinking of the mechanics behind his new toy train without looking at it or taking it apart, wondering how cake was made, wondering if L liked cake.

The fear remained.

Near quickly finished the cake, now deciding it was better to get to bed. He had been having difficulty sleeping lately, anyway. He placed the dish in the sink, something he would have one of the SPK members clean later. He shuffled across the floor, going straight for the hallway. But before he could even leave the room, something made him completely freeze.

Near looked over to the sink in confusion. His plate had clattered to the floor, shattering upon impact. He hadn't placed it in a precarious position where it could have fallen on it's own; it had been insideof the sink. So how...

Movement in his peripheral vision caught his eye, and Near looked over to the corner of the room where he could have sworn he had seen something dash across his vision. It was almost pitch black, save for the blue moonlight sifting in through the window just above the sink, and Near looked around in surprise.

Either there was someone else in the room with him, or he was hallucinating. He knew it could have only been the latter, as when he had walked into the room there was no one else there, as well as no one else in the entire building, and he would have noticed if someone had entered. Is my lack of sleep getting to me that much?

Suspicious, though telling himself it was a hallucination, Near turned to leave once more. He had only gotten a few steps more, however, before this time he was stopped in shock as the fear that had slowly faded smacked him full force.

Laughter.

High, cackling laughter, throaty giggles that came from some corner of the room.

Near spun around. The laughter stopped suddenly, and once more there was quick movement from the corner of his eyes.

Lack of sleep, lack of sleep.

Though when he turned to leave once more, this time far more shaken, Near felt two impossibly cold arms wrap around his waist and pull him back. Panic rose in Near's throat as he struggled, eyes wide. He was facing away from his captor and could not see them. The giggles were back, though this time directly in his ear.

This was no hallucination.

A disgusting smell, one that was sweet and sour at the same time and altogether fermented hit Near's nose, bile rising in his throat. The hands attached to the arms that were wrapped around him began to claw at his stomach, shredding his shirt in some places. Near struggled more, gasping slightly. His captor giggled all the while, a laugh that sounded terribly familiar... But Near had little time to dwell on such things.

The person – or thing – holding him grasped Near's neck with one grimy, bone-prominent hand. It's clutch was tight, so tight that it cut of Near's air circulation and he let out a choked gasp in one last attempt to breathe. The albino winced painfully as saliva dripped from his mouth. He closed his eyes, and with what he could, Near elbowed his captor as hard as what was possible for the small albino. The giggles stopped for a moment, arms slackening, and Near took this chance to escape.

The small guffaws that had at first been in his ear returned once again, though this time from back in the kitchen. They faded as he got farther away, though still kept ringing throughout his mind.

He hadn't run in what felt like years (probably because it had been), but as quick as his ridiculously weak legs could carry him, Near dashed into the hallway. Momentarily, he considered taking the stairs, as having to wait for the elevator to open could have been fatal, but dismissed this idea the moment it had arrived. Near was no athlete; even walking two feet could put him out of breath at times. Climbing up the stairs to safety, where he could contact a member of the SPK, would be an incredibly stupid idea. Not only would he run out of breath and perhaps collapse before making it up the first flight, but this intruder(?) would be able to easily catch him, were there no boundaries.

So the moment he was at the elevator, he pressed the up button. It took several moments to open, to which Near panted heavily, eyes narrowed and darting from place to place. For whatever reason it was, the thing that had clawed apart his shirt and giggled in his ear like a mad-man had not pursued him. With a cheerful ding, the two metal doors slid open, and Near stepped in quickly. As he did so, however, loud and frightening thuds echoed from the hallway and before the doors could close, a slimy hand slipped through the area between them. It was a pale, impossibly white type colored, long, jaundice nails that were curled at the tips, and altogether it smelled indescribably horrid.

Near's first reaction was to gasp (while simultaneously bringing his sleeve up to cover his nose). But the hand turned ever so slightly and began to push the doors apart. He closed his eyes, and with the remaining strength that he could muster, Near brought down a forceful kick on the hand. It retracted, a low moan of what seemed to be defeat in the distance, the doors shutting without hindrance afterwards.

The small detective slid down the wall of the elevator, taking the moment to regain his breath. He was barely able to think straight, simply taking it upon himself to curl up into a ball and shudder uncontrollably. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened; some other-worldly being, perhaps, had attacked him? Or an incredibly deformed human that had managed to enter the headquarters without his knowledge? Either way, he knew that as soon as the elevator got up to the eleventh floor, he would have to contact one of the... No, all of the SPK members. He refused to take a chance, and the thought of being alone at all with this attacker made him uncomfortable.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that the thing had waited until he had gotten in the elevator to strike; it was as though whatever it was, was intelligent enough to know that it had to trap Near and then attack. Whatever he was dealing with wasn't stupid, and Near would have to be wary. Even though this intimidating thought resonated through his brain, Near still fought to get control over his body and to stop trembling.

He had never before been so close to death.

The elevator chimed in indication that Near had reached his desired floor. The moment he stepped out, it dawned upon him that none of the lights here seemed to be turned on either. The only illumination originated from the elevator, and with this fact in mind, at first he was hesitant to leave. But he quickly reassured himself that there was no way that his attacker could have made it up the stairs in such a small amount of time. Regardless, he had a terrible feeling. It was disturbingly similar to the one he had just before he was attacked.

Near walked into the designated room where he could contact the SPK members, fear still in mind, when suddenly the room seemed to... Tip? It felt like this until the ground met with his face that he realized he had actually tripped. Pain smacked him in the face (literally), and Near winced.

What could I have even tripped over? Near thought in annoyance, recalling how Lidner had scolded him about not cleaning up his toys, and swiveled his head far enough back to see. Instantly, his eyes widened and a lump formed in Near's throat.

It was the same hand that had interrupted his ascent earlier, the appendage having obstructed his path. The bony fingers belonging to said hand wrapped around Near's clothed ankle as if it were on cue to him seeing it.

At the drop of a hat, Near came to life again, once more struggling as it dawned upon him that his life was in danger. But it was no use; the grip was like iron, and even as Near attempted to scrape it off with his other foot, sitting up for better leverage, he was once again stunned motionless.

An impossibly long arm came into his view, as did it's owner. Near's trembling eyes came to meet the body of none other than what looked to be an undead being; skin pale and cracked, clothes stained with blood, ivory flesh covered with a thin layer of sweat, and far too skinny. When the face of this creature came into view, an involuntary gasp escaped Near's mouth (more like an exhale than an intake of breath), and he felt the strong urge to vomit.

"Li-ght Yagami..." He whispered the forbidden name, voice faltering.

The arm folded into itself just as a wicked and very haunting smile curled over Light's face, exposing sharpened teeth. His grip on Near's ankle remained, though the albino was far too shocked to even do so much as defend himself as Light wrenched the boy towards him; a painful searing into his skin as Light's nails dug in.

Once more, Near regained control over his body and began to struggle. He rarely, if ever, exerted physical energy (if the running incident weren't indication of that enough), so it went without saying that he made little impact with his resistance. Light giggled innocently at this, despite his horribly disfigured body that made him look demonic. His face was more pale than Near's own, the skin around his eyes cracked and wrinkled, darkened upon a sleepless pain. The eyes themselves were almost completely black, each an endless abyss straight to a Hell of nothingness, as though Light had been stripped of his soul.

"HapPy bIrtHDay tO MeEE..." Light sang, voice hoarse and cracked, slurring erratically.

He twisted his hand and Near gasped, sweat collecting on his brow as he cringed in a jolt of pain. He heard a sickening crack!, and looked down to see his ankle twisted at an impossible angle, his own toes pressed against his calf. Part of his bone protruded from the wound, blood seeping out. Near whimpered and let out a dry heave, the room becoming dizzy. He felt a surge of nausea rush through him and for a moment he thought he'd faint, but once again Light's voice rendered him wide awake.

"HapPy bIrtHdaY tOOo MEeEEe..." He whispered once more in a sing-song voice, sounding quite cheerful yet bitter simultaneously.

Near shut his eyes, wincing as he let out another involuntary whimper. He wanted to fight, to struggle, but the impossible pain spreading throughout his body from his leg made it sickening to move. He could not feel his foot, and Near thought that this must have been true torture. But Light Yagami – or what had at one point been Light Yagami – was not finished with him.

Snap!

At this point, Near was not so restrained, letting out a shriek as his other foot became subjected to the same treatment. He shook his head violently, the support his arms had been supplying gave out, allowing him to hit the floor.

"Please, stop..." Near quivered, and somewhere in his mind it occurred to him that he had never before imagined himself making such a voice, never imagined himself saying those words.

"HaaPy bIiiRthDaaAAaY, LiiIiIIghT YaaAGamIIiiI..."

His arm this time – Light had tore it almost clean off, yet still it hung by fragments of skin and bits of flesh. Near cried out once more, eyes shimmering as tears began to form at their rims. Reality sank in. There was no escape from this – he was going to die. Yet still, human nature forced him to plead desperately.

"Stop, please – please sto-p..." Near whimpered, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"HaAPy bIRtHDaY..." Light grinned as he made Near's left arm congruent to his right, ripping it out of it's socket with a wet peeling noise.

Near was shaking violently, convulsing, a sheen of sweat over his skin. "N-no, no, no no no... Stop... Please, please Li-ight, stop i-it..."

"TOooOoo..."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, just stop- stop it! Please, I'm so sorry..." Near sobbed. Light paid no heed as his cold hand wrapped around Near's throat. He shut his eyes. This was the end. He was done. Nate River was finished.

"Me!"

The last thing Near registered before his life ended was the clock in the corner of the room – it read 11:59 PM. If he had waited one more minute, then maybe...


HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIGHT YAGAMI! AAAH!

Sorry. But today is his last birthday alive, since he dies next year :(

I hope you guys liked it. I don't particularly like making Near suffer, since I like him, but consider it early revenge for what Near does to Light in my other story.