A/N: Sorry for taking so long to upload, I was distracted by school and NaNo. Hopefully my updates will be more regular from now on. :D
Also, thanks to WolfishMoon, I accidently uploaded the wrong chapter. This is the actual chapter six. Enjoy!
And Lawlietlover, for helping me correct the names of Near's assistants. I always seem to butcher their names. :P
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, though I wish I did.
Chapter 6- Invitation
Near's POV
I was browsing lethargically through the lists of murders that the FBI had sent off, looking for anything that seemed abnormal, anything that would link the murder to Kira.
Though if Kira had a Death Note, then he could kill in almost anyway. I twirled my hair listlessly, annoyed by the fact that nothing stuck out at me. L was doing the same job though, but he seemed to be having more luck than me by the number of cases he looked over closely, but none seemed to be the one murder we were looking for. "L…"
"Yes?" The boy in the chair beside me turned to look at me with his deep black eyes.
"Does Kira know my name?"
"Probably."
"Then why hasn't he killed me yet?" I heard my assistants stiffen at my last few words. "If he knows my name, and hates me as much as you say, then why am I not dead yet?"
"Because Kira knows I'm alive as well. If he killed you, then it would become almost impossible to find me, as he knows that with no connections, I would have to come to you. So he won't kill you until he kills me." L said despondently, stirring sugar cubes into his coffee.
"I see. So he wants to force me into action, then." I murmured, going back to scrolling through the list of murders. It had already been a week, and we had no success. I suddenly heard a sharp intake of breath, and I whipped my head around to look at its source, L.
"I found our murder. An Adam Ringer had been killed in the town of Enterprise, Nevada. A large 'N' had been carved into his stomach, and then, before dying, the man used the blood to write out a message. 'Good day, N and L. I hope you are finding yourselves well, as I am having a splendid time myself. Now, do not be alarmed, as are my other punishments, this one was done on someone who was in fact, a criminal. I am sure you have the resources necessary to research this. You may be wondering why I am not calling on you directly, a fact for which Stephen Geovanni, Halle Linder, and Anthony Rester are probably thankful for. Though I do this simply because if I had given you a message via one of them, you would have hidden the murder, and the world wouldn't know that I am back, that I, Kira, have returned to dispense righteous judgment upon the evils of this world." L took a deep breath before continuing, "N and L, as Kira, I would like you to reconsider your actions. I am bringing about a change in this world, a change for the better. And I know that these written words are hardly as effective as I need to be, so I propose we meet. I have already set up a location, the Church of Kira in Columbus, Ohio, the one on Bradford Street. How about a week from now? The 18th, at 10:00 pm. If you have the need for details, or have something scheduled, you know how to contact me."
"He means by television broadcast, I presume." I said, slowly stacking dice. "L?" I turned, slightly confused by his lack of response. "L, what's wrong?" I asked, extremely worried by the expression on his face. He didn't usually show his emotions, so for him to have a look of outright horror on his face meant something was disturbing him deeply.
"How- how did he know?" He stuttered, his hands trembling slightly.
"How did he know what?"
"The church of Kira, the one in Ohio- it's the one my parents had joined- no, still are members of." As he said the last few words, realization struck me. L had said he had been reincarnated, he had been reborn- he had parents, he had a childhood, he had a whole different past.
"L…" I said hesitantly, not sure how to deal with this information.
"Do not worry Near; I have no lingering attachment for the ones who raised me." L said quietly, stirring more sugar cubes into the coffee.
"So what do we do about Kira's invitation? It seems so very out of his style, what with how forward it is."
L chuckled humorlessly. "Well, I guess he's learned a bit from last time; sometimes you have to take chances."
"Are you referring to the time you went to Light's school and introduced yourself as L?" I watched him carefully, looking for the slight tension of his body whenever Light's name was said. He had hid it pretty well, but I could see it was still there. Something about Light's name, but not Kira's, bothered L. "But with a reversal of the roles, him walking up to you and introducing himself as Kira?" I continued on with my earlier topic, as I didn't see the whole Light and Kira name subject to be as important as finding Kira.
"Yes, exactly that. It would be the only real way to find out who Kira is, and what he looks like."
"So we're going." I said, not really wanting an answer that I already knew. "Then let me call the FBI, we're going to need more support." I looked at L for approval; old habits died hard. He nodded, and I pulled out my phone and began to dial.
