Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I got a job, so my time for writing has been cut short. I had time to write when I was on the road lately, so I was able to get this chapter together fairly quickly. I would again like to thank Author of Scifi for co-authoring/editing (coauthoring for The Near Dialogue.) Without her, I would never be able to get this done. Please review, I love to know my readers' opinions! Enjoy!

The setting sun cast down it's light upon the two figures standing in the grass, casting eerie shadows across the orchard. Of course, the thing across from Karen could not be seen by humans, and nor could it's shadow. The two figures had been staring at each other for over an hour. Karen was nowhere near keeping her inner fears away from her outward appearance. As a matter of fact, she looked a nervous wreck. "A... Shinigami? Those are a Japanese myth. You could not really be a Shinigami... No. You aren't. I am just imagining you. You are a figment of my overstuffed mind. Kind of like Marley's ghost was in Ebenezer Scrooge's. Karen, you really need to stop the reasearch of the Kira murders. They're really getting to you. SHINIGAMI DON'T EXIST!"

"Well, I'm standing right in front of you, aren't I?"

Karen looked up, startled that this thing... this thing that was supposedly a figment of her imagination was talking to her. "So you... your species really is real?"

"Yeah, we're real. Are you some kind of idiot or something?"

"I am no idiot. I am in college much earlier than normal kids, and in honors - Does this Deathnote thing really work?"

"I swear upon my eyes."

"...Upon your eyes?"

"Look, kid, it's a long story. Trust me, it works."

"Okay." Karen thought for a moment, then said, "Can anyone else see you?"

"Only the people who touch that Deathnote."

"Alright. Now... I'm assuming that they can't hear you either, right?"

"Nope."

"Karen," her mother called from the house, "dinner!"

Karen yelled over her shoulder. "Coming!"

"Ummm..." Ryuk said, "do you mind if I have some apples before I come along?"

Karen turned as she nodded. "Sure, but only a few. Dad would be suspicious if he started noticing all the apples dissapearing off of his trees. He would be on guard, and that wouldn't be good if you'd want any more."

"Gotcha."

Karen began to walk towards the house. Could I test this thing? On a known criminal? And what if Mom, Dad, or Mark finds this thing? What could I do to hide it from them?

-_-_-

The toy soldier fell from Near's hand. How could the Deathnote have been stolen? It had been under Japan's newest and best security system, and heavily guarded. "It was the Shinaigami. The Shinigami stole it. He got bored. He stole it so he could find someone else to give it to. The idiot! How could this thing do something like this? He knew how much the groups set out to catch Kira had suffered. There is no telling what this new Kira could do."

"This could be bad." Matsuda dumbly stated.

Near lifted his hand and started twirling his hair, his eyes narrowed slightly, ignoring the idiotic statement Matsuda had just made. He had been a lot more solemn and more reflective after he had snapped and shot Light almost dead (the autopsy showed he died from a sudden heart attack, rather than excessive bleeding or damage caused by bullets), but he was still... well... Matsuda.

"But the chances of finding another Kira, one as meticulous and brilliant as Light, not to mention one as twisted, would be difficult. But if that Shinigami does somehow manage to find an individual similar to Light..." Near stopped twirling the strand of his white hair and sighed. "Well, I won't be able to handle him alone."

Matsuda appeared stunned at the statement. "What? But you're... you're...L."

"As much as I would like to accept that title..." Near said as he started rearranging his toy soldiers, "I am not good enough to become L. I never was, frankly, and it was only with the help of Mello, who is dead, that I ever succeeded the first time, and also that Kira's guard was down last time when I first started, considering that L had just died. This Kira, if indeed a new one emerges, will be on full alert the whole time. I need help. Unfortunately."

"From who? Wammy's kids aren't trained enough yet, are they?" After the demise of Kira, Near had told all of the inner circle of the SPK about Wammy's to a great extent so they would know what to do in case of Near's untimely demise.

Near started twirling his hair again and shuddered slightly. "The new ones, no..." His voice trailed off. Preposterous! How can I even think such a thing? Besides, it would take as much manpower to look for him as it would to look for Kira!

...but otherwise, we might not catch Kira in the first place....

Near groaned slightly and ceased the twirling of his hair and sat still, contemplating. He'd be a great help... he was a lot smarter than any of the Wammy boys, but the problem is his mental stability... and the question is 'would he even help us?'. The answer to that is probably a resounding 'no' but...

"Near? What's up?" Matsuda asked, a worried note coloring his voice.

Near glanced at Matsuda. "I have a job for you. And for the rest of the inner circle of the SPK."