I was lacking inspiration, but it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I was just tossing ideas around in my head when I was in bed yesterday morning (I don't get up for at least an hour after I wake up), and this is what popped out from almost nowhere. Hope you like it.
Third
Motion
Hope had fallen asleep surprisingly fast despite her buzzing thoughts, but they woke her long before she was willing to get up. She was lying on her stomach on the bed, one arm off the edge and both of her feet dangling over the bottom. She had somehow become ensnared in her sheets and had shuffled down the bed in her sleep. The pillow had dropped to the floor. She groaned in irritation as she turned her head to look at the clock. It was three in the morning. Knowing she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep right away, Hope peeled the sheets from her body and dragged herself out the door.
Near glanced up from setting up his racing car set. Hope bit back a giggle. A full-grown man in his early twenties was playing with a racing car set by himself at three o'clock.
Lidner was asleep on the couch, but Rester wasn't there. He was probably sleeping in the other room.
"Restless night?" Near guessed, his whisper giving Hope goosebumps.
"Yeah."
The two held each other's gaze. Hope tried to say something or at least look away, but those large eyes were gripping her so tightly. She felt her cheeks glowing at Near's stare. He wasn't looking away either. The thing to finally break the tension was a sharp knock at the door.
"Who's there?" Lidner instantly sprung to her feet with her fists up at the ready as if she had been laying awake and waiting for that sound.
The knock came again. One may not be able to tell much just from a knock, but Hope could sense an unfriendliness about it. Near appeared a little suspicious, too, and he shuffled towards the kitchen so he wouldn't be able to be seen from the doorway, not that anyone could tell who he was.
Lidner cautiously made her way over to the door. She reached out and slowly turned the handle. Before anyone could even blink, the door burst open. A boy who couldn't have been a day over fifteen flew in and lunged at Lidner with a knife. Lidner dodged to the side without a second to spare.
Near didn't seem outwardly affected, but he moved a little further into the dark corner and tried to stay hidden.
The attacker spun around and slashed at Lidner again and again. Lidner weaved out of each swing. She ducked down low and kicked upwards between the boy's legs. He flew up into the air slightly before dropping to his knees. Lidner attempted to snatch the blade away, but the boy had already recovered and tumbled under her legs. He slammed his knee into her tailbone before sprinting towards Near.
Near watched the boy's movements, calculating each step. He looked like he didn't even notice what was happening, but he was waiting for just the right moment. Just as he was about to make a move, Hope seemingly jumped out of nowhere and shielded him from the oncoming blow. She took the knife in the shoulder with a wince. Near grabbed her and spun in front of her, delivering a kick into the attacker's chin. The boy glared spitefully before turning the knife to himself. Lidner tried to stop him, but she couldn't reach in time. The boy stabbed himself in the heart and died silently.
Rester had entered by this time, and was positively stunned at the sight of what had just happened.
Near sat back down with Hope in his arms. The wound was pretty deep, and she was shaking with fright. Her breathing was an awkward mix of panting a sobbing. Near wiped away her tears. "I don't want you to be sad."
Hope almost snickered, but it hurt too much. She smiled, clutching her shoulder in pain.
"This is one of the missing kids from Wammy's House," Lidner observed, still staring at the motionless body on the floor.
"Call for an ambulance," Near ordered, not really worrying about the one that was already dead.
"I'm fine," Hope croaked stubbornly.
"Don't argue. It's pointless."
Hope retreated and decided to stop talking.
Rester was already on the phone to the emergency services.
"What will we tell them about the body?" Lidner asked.
"We'll have to get the police in on this with us," Near sighed. "We may be in a little bit of trouble otherwise."
Hope could feel the blood seeping through her fingers. The excessive bleeding wasn't stopping. It burned tortuously, and she cringed to try and keep herself from crying again.
"Lidner," said Near. "I want you to find out which student this was, and when he left Wammy's House." Near could easily have done it himself, but he didn't seem willing to move from his current position.
"Of course." Lidner sat down at the computer and looked through the files. When Rester was off the phone, he leaned on the chair and watched the screen over her shoulder. "He went by the name of West. He was the last of the three disappearances twenty days ago."
Twenty days ago. How convenient. Near knew that the Death Note could control its victims for twenty-one days before their death. The first disappearance was thirty-four days ago. The second was twenty-seven days ago. It was almost like Kira didn't know when they were going to die. Kira chose a new victim every week until... Until what? What happened between twenty days ago and thirteen days ago?
The ambulance soon came, and Lidner and Rester took care of the business with the police. They could tell that Near was in a place where he was not to be disturbed. He was lost in thought. Twenty days ago, when West went missing, was when Near took notice of what was happening at Wammy's House. A few hours later, Roger died. Were the disappearances just to get his attention? Then why would only one of them have been commanded to attack. Also, why bother making them attack at all. It was impossible to kill indirectly with the Death Note... or was it? Near ran his car back and forth on the tracks. It went nowhere, just like his thoughts. Wait, maybe the killer didn't know about the twenty-one day rule. Maybe the disappearances were tests to see how long they could control their victims... but then why stop at three? Something must have changed to make them stop, but the only thing that changed was Near. So, maybe they were just experimenting until Near came along? No, Kira wasn't trying to do as much as possible before Near caught on. Kira was bold enough to send a mocking letter. No, Kira had been waiting for Near. Of course, that raised an entirely new question. How did Kira know when Near began investigating? The question still remained as to why there were three disappearances. Three...
"Near," Rester broke into Near's buzzing mental state, "there were several more deaths at Wammy's House, all within two minute's of West committing suicide."
"How many?"
"Thirty-three."
Three... Thirty-three... Hope couldn't be so stupid as to send such blatant signals, could she? Were they signals at all? Perhaps they were just a coincidence. No, that would be too simple. Could someone be trying to frame Hope? But there was no one within Wammy's House that would have a grudge against her. Well, Near didn't know anyone who did. He decided to ask her if she knew of anyone who might do such a thing when he next saw her. Then again, it could just be someone trying to shift any suspicion from themselves, but Near would have had Hope as his first suspect even if it wasn't for the constant occurrence of the number three. Nothing seemed to fit together.
Hope was back by lunch time the next day. Mikhail called again, but she told him that she was still out of town, even though she didn't actually know where she was. Giovanni soon returned, too. The killings were suddenly very consistent, three on every hour. Near didn't like that, but he wasn't sure why. Hope wanted to help and be out with the others in case she saw something that they didn't, but she was ordered to stay in bed for the rest of the day.
Near eventually got tired of watching the same thing happen over and over, so he went to check on Hope and left the rest to the others. Hope was sitting up in bed with a sudoku.
"Is that what you call resting?"
"It's not exactly physical labour."
Near had no comeback. He sat in his usual manner at the foot of the bed. He glanced at Hope's bandaged shoulder. "Thank you," he said quietly.
"You're welcome," Hope chuckled as if he had made some kind of joke.
"I was meaning to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"Is there anyone at Wammy's House that would want to hurt you?"
Hope frowned thoughtfully. She noticed something and excitedly filled in one of the boxes in her puzzle before returning to the question. "No, I don't think so. The only people I really talked to were you, Mello, and my room mate."
"Dare?"
"Yeah."
"And L, of course."
"Well, yes, but I doubt he'd be out to get me. Why do you ask?"
It was Near's turn to think. Why was he asking? He didn't want Hope to be Kira, but why? He was supposed to be logical and impartial to the suspect, but that seemed so impossible.
"I wonder if any of the others knew who he was," Hope thought aloud, seemingly forgetting her own question.
"Who L was?"
"Yeah, he always came to see us, but hardly any of the others even spoke to him."
"You," Near corrected.
"Pardon?"
"He came to see you. Mello and I were just always around you at the time. You may have been third, but you were his special one."
Hope bit back a smile and buried herself in her number puzzle. Near felt something in his stomach. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't like it.
Near then realised something. "It was you. The thing that changed was you."
"What?"
Near explained his thoughts about the three disappearances, but only one attacked. "The others couldn't have attacked because you weren't here yet. That's what Kira was waiting for. When I started investigating, they knew I'd suspect you, so they felt safe to stop controlling students to attack."
"But the first two should have attacked anyway," Hope argued. "You can't write for the victim to attack if Hope is present... Can you?"
"No, writing your name in the Death Note would kill you, too."
"It's not like they knew the exact date I'd be here. The fact that there were three students missing proves that."
"No, but maybe you don't need a date."
"What do you mean?"
Near smirked. He finally had something. "What if it doesn't have to be a date, just a point in time? What if they said that when an even takes place, this person dies or does this and then dies?"
"Then why didn't West attack when I first arrived?" Hope asked, getting a little frustrated. "Why did it take so long?"
Near stopped himself from replying. Only one thing had happened around that time, and he wasn't even entirely sure of what it was yet, but he was positive that it was the event Kira had been waiting for. Kira was toying with him. This made it harder. Any number of people in Wammy's House could want to be rid of Near, especially if they hated the entire program.
Hope was visibly growing impatient, but she didn't ask again.
"Kira's mocking me."
"How so?"
Near remained unresponsive. Hope could tell that it was something that had gotten to him, which was strange. Near was normally so mellow, ironically.
"All this game playing," Hope sighed, "could just be a distraction."
"A distraction?" Near echoed.
"If it is, it's working."
Near spun his hair through his fingers. A distraction... He had to ignore what Kira had first made him think and consider the matter further. The only person who could possibly know or even guess that such an event would take place was Hope, and that made it even worse. Had she intentionally given him such a clue, or was she innocent? Her behaviour indicated the latter, but the evidence was against her, so maybe...
"Hope, have you ever had resentment towards my becoming L?" Hope slowly sunk beneath the covers. Near would normally leave her be, but this was business, and he needed an answer despite who he was talking to. "Hope, I need you to tell me."
"I wouldn't call it resentment," Hope mumbled, still staying hidden. "I just... I don't know."
"You feel like you can relate to the killer."
Hope came back up, looking rather surprised. "Yeah, I think I can."
Near stood and left without a word. He was almost positive that he had figured it out.
"It's about to happen," he said quietly, more to himself than to the others in the room.
"What is it?" Rester asked.
"It's either just the beginning, or the end is right around the corner."
No one knew what that meant, but they didn't dare ask. Rester, Lidner, and Giovanni stood staring at Near. Near was still leaning against the door, his eyes on the floor. Everything remained still like that for a few agonisingly long moments. Near was waiting, but for what?
There was a knock at the door. With each piercing sound, Near's stomach churned. Lidner went to see who it was, her legs spread apart in preparation to kick them if they tried anything funny. She swung the door open, but there was no one there. She looked down at the black notebook on the floor—a Death Note.
Near's blank eyes noticed nothing besides that book anymore. He already knew what to do. He had a test for Hope, but it was also a test for himself. They had to pass. He didn't want to fail.
Fear not, my friends. All will be explained...
