Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. I really wish I did.
"I didn't come here to kill you, I just want the picture."
"I know." Near turned and glanced at the face of his rival. Mello glared at him and bit off a piece of chocolate.
Mello looked older, taller, and there was something more sinister about him.
Perhaps it was the scar on the left side of his face.
Near tried to look indifferent.
He avoided Mello's face and instead kept his eyes on the trains circling around him.
Toys helped him think.
He then wordlessly handed Mello the picture.
Mello studied the picture, and then, with what seemed like reluctance, he lazily pivoted and made his way to the door. Suddenly a message came over the screen.
" It's L." Commander Rester looked excited and nervous. Mello stopped and turned back around. He walked back to where Near was sitting and stood, pretending he wasn't listening interestedly. Near pressed a key.
"Hello Kira." There was an awkward silence.
"Oh, sorry, I meant L. Do forgive my slight error." Near smirked and Mello snickered behind him, biting off another piece of chocolate.
" Near, I know I am not Kira. My father proved that when he saw my lifespan before he died. And, I was kept in confinement for more than 13 days. You have no prove to back up that theory-"
Near cut off Light Yagami with a simple blunt question. "Do you believe in the existence of Shinigami?"
There was a pause.
Then Light sighed heavily. "Yes, Near, it's true they do exist. I did not want to reveal that to you until I was sure you were trustworthy. Where did you find this information?"
"Oh, Mello stopped by." Near said casually.
"Mello did WHAT?" Light seemed agitated.
"He gave us lots of extremely useful information. But then he escaped." Near twirled a lock of hair and looked amused.
"Did he really escape? Or did you let him go?" Light seemed suspicious.
" Oh no." Near said airily. "He was too quick for us." Mello grinned and paced back and forth behind the computer.
"Is there a shinigami there with you, right now?" Near asked.
There was another pause.
"Yes, there is." Light sounded defeated.
"Do you mind if I ask him some questions?"
"Nah. I'm not in the mood for that." Ryuk barked. Light translated.
"Fine." "Mello also told me that the 13 day rule is a fake. Is that true?"
"No, all the rules are true." Light again spoke for the Shinigami.
" Just as expected." Near grinned. " So Kira is in that room, and is making the shinigami lie. What if I tested the 13 day rule, to see if it was true? I could kill Mello with the death note, and then if I died thirteen days after, Kira wins."
Mello glared at Near and hit him with the chocolate bar. Near stifled a cry of pain.
" We just discussed your proposal with the taskforce, and we don't agree with your proposal." Light said. "Very well as expected." Near was interrupted by Mello tapping him. " Call him back, this is important." Mello whispered. Near narrowed his eyes and looked suspicious. Mello widened his eyes and looked at Near with the perfect image of innocence. Near sighed and ended the connection.
"What is it Mello?" Mello seemed anxious. The chocolate bar hung loosely in his hands, and he seemed to nervous to eat.
" I would never work with you on this case, or be anything but rivals…" Mello said gruffly.
"But I have a great idea and it can only work if you do something." Mello abruptly sat down at a drawing board a few feet away. "We know that Kira and the other Kira are using Takada as a middle man. However, Kira and the other Kira have no connection to each other, and Kira is in a position where he can't directly give orders to the other one."
"Right…" Near picked up his robot and looked deep in thought. "When X-Kira killed Demegawa, he did not get orders from Kira. And when X-Kira told Takada to say things on the nine-o-clock news like, lazy people should die and people who atoned for their sins or already served in prison should die, those were things Kira would never say.
"Right." Mello nodded. "So what we do is we kidnap Takada. Then Kira and the other Kira have no go between. They will also try to kill Takada as quickly as possible. If we're lucky, both Mikami and Kira will write Takada's name down." "And then?" Near stopped twirling his hair and stared at Mello. " Come on Near, I thought you were smarter than this! You'll never be good enough to be L's successor at this rate!" Mello jeered. "Look who's talking. I'm not the one who blew up a building while I was still in it." Near commented dryly.
"…Shut up." Mello glared. " Anyway, that's all I'm going to say right now. Figure the rest out yourself." Mello stood up and began to walk away.
"Near."
"Mello."