As Light entered the room, he stopped and breathed in deeply, before smiling and continuing. He could see the layout of the room, and the faces of everyone present. This put him at ease, as he now had an idea of what the trial was going to be like. It was a vague knowledge, but it was better than nothing.
Light saw the desk he and Mikami would be sitting at, and the seat for a witness. He wondered who would be called forward to give testimony. The seat for the prosecutor was already filled by one, but the seat for a defence lawyer was curiously empty.
Light noted the absence; he would make a point about it later. What was important was analysing the looks of the jury, while some seemed angry with his presence, others seemed sympathetic or indifferent. It could be summed up easily, each mood towards him had a third of the jury backing it. In other words, a third was angry, a third was indifferent, and a third was sympathetic. He would have to bring the indifferent ones to his side at some point in the entirety of the trial.
Light was guided to his seat by Matsuda and, after quietly thanking Touta, he sat himself down. He kept himself serious for the moment, smiling would do little to help, and elected to wait for Mikami to arrive. The trial wouldn't proceed until the former prosecutor was brought here.
Fortunately for Light, it didn't take long for the erstwhile civil servant to make an appearance. He was being carted along by Agent Hall, who was frowning, while Teru himself seemed very indifferent.
After Agent Hall brought Mikami up to the defendants' stand, Teru uncharacteristically thanked her, before sitting himself down. He sat very still, and observed the faces of every person in the trial. Light assumed it was in case he needed to speak to someone.
The Judge already looked weary, and the trial had yet to begin. Light didn't blame him, it was unlikely he had ever tackled such a massive case, and he had certainly never had one where no one was sure whether the defendants were right or wrong to kill so many people.
"All rise for the honourable Judge Bailey." said the Bailiff.
Out of courtesy Light stood, as did the jury, as well as all of the S.P.K agents who had come to spectate. Even Near stood up showing his respect. Teru however sat firmly in his seat, staring blankly at a wall.
"Defendant Teru Mikami, your refusal to stand is in contempt of the court. Please stand!" said the Bailiff frowning at the Fourth Kira.
Teru looked up "I don't recognise this court's authority, and refuse to stand in front of anyone but God."
Light noted Teru's determination, before deciding that his stubbornness would do more to harm the perception of Kira than help it. The last thing he needed was Teru's fanaticism throwing a spanner in the works.
Light leaned down and whispered "Stand for me then."
Teru was inwardly enraged by the audacity of Light to still claim he was God, but he hid it well. He didn't need Light interfering with what he was planning to do, and so he stood up.
The Bailiff nodded "Very well, I will hand over to the Judge."
"Thank you, we have brought the defendants here today to try them for the murders of approximately," the Judge looked down at a record before looking up "fifty thousand people."
Light watched impassively and waited for the Judge to continue.
"We also have brought you here, to incriminate you as the entity known as Kira."
Light nodded slowly, waiting for the Judge to continue once more, to be honest he was just spewing useless verbatim introductions. The man was still trying to treat this as a normal case.
"And finally we have brought you here, to see whether you were wrong to kill the people you did."
Teru still stared impassively at the wall; he seemed have no interest in the trial.
"Light Yagami, you stand here with the charge of the causing the deaths of forty thousand people, how do you plead?"
"Guilty." said Light, to the shock of the jury.
"You also stand here with the charge of being Kira, how do you plead?"
"Guilty, I am Kira." said Light, with little hesitation.
"Finally, you have been charged with killing forty thousand people unlawfully and without justification, how do you plead?"
"Not guilty." said Light, before sitting down.
Judge Bailey nodded before looking to Mikami "Teru Mikami, you are charged with helping with the murders of approximately ten thousand people. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty, I didn't murder them." said Teru, to the confusion of the court.
"So you are saying you didn't kill ten thousand people?" asked the Judge, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
"No, I plead guilty to killing ten thousand criminals, not to murdering ten thousand people." explained Teru, standing tall and looking at the court with contempt.
"Very well, you also are char-" began the Judge.
"Where are our defence lawyers?" asked Teru irritably, pointing out something Light had noticed as well.
"Don't interrup-" began the Bailiff, only for himself to be cut off.
"Do not interrupt me Bailiff John Cox, I will repeat my question, where are our defence lawyers?" asked Teru, shooting a look of anger at the Bailiff.
The Judge regained his bearings "You are not entitled to one."
"Why not?"
"This is a special case; it doesn't follow regular court proceedings."
"Why? The Nazis on trial at Nuremburg received defence attorneys."
"This case is different to the Nuremburg Trials."
"That may be so, but that doesn't change that this trial is unfair. In its current iteration, this is nothing less than a Kangaroo Court which is deliberately making it unfair for the defendants."
"That's enough, this trial wi-" the Judge tried to regain his momentum, but he was once again stopped.
"Are you willing to risk the backlash trying us unfairly will generate? All it takes is for one member of the jury to even vaguely sympathise with us, for everything you hope to achieve to go to hell."
Light stood up as well "He is right. If even one person leaks to the internet that we are being tried here, which we all know will happen, you will have to deal with protestors outside. How can you trust them to remain civil? The protest will very quickly become violent unless we are represented fairly."
The Judge frowned, rubbing his head, before speaking "Very well, I will leave it to the deliberation of the Jury. If they find it necessary, then you will get your defence, this court is adjourned for thirty minutes to allow this discussion.
With that, the Jury left the room, having gone to discuss in private. Light was growing impatient with this farce, he honestly couldn't believe this. He had spent a large amount of time preparing for the trial of the century, and he was stuck with a barely functioning court which was in shambles.
He looked to the spectators' seating, he could see a few of Near's S.P.K task force agents there, along with the child detective himself. It was odd to see the boy looking somewhat presentable; he was even in some form of suit.
Light began impatiently tapping his foot, thirty minutes was ridiculous, and he had spent so much time waiting for this trial. What was the result? The result was the imbeciles talking about the weather for twenty five minutes, then discussing whether or not he was entitled to a defence for five minutes.
Still, he was grateful for Mikami bringing it up, it saved him the effort. The former prosecutor had a way of stating things bluntly, it was incredibly useful. Sometimes it was refreshing to see someone who didn't bother themselves with unnecessary mannerisms.
"Teru?" asked Light, smiling lazily, "Could you answer a few questions for me?"
Mikami nodded "Very well, what do you want to know? God?"
"Why are there so many S.P.K agents? Last time I talked with Near about it, he said there were only four members including himself." asked Light, he could already guess the answer, it was just idle conversation to pass the time.
"From what I can discern, the S.P.K we know is in fact a task force. Near's S.P.K task force are a select group of individuals Near has probably picked himself. However, the S.P.K either is similar in size to the CIA and F.B.I, or it has the ability to draw members from each of those organisations."
Light nodded, before leaning back in his chair "That would explain things; I wish the trial had taken place in Japan. It is too cold here, besides that, the amount of protestors will be smaller than if we were in Tokyo."
Mikami scanned the room, there were several windows spread throughout the place. They were small, and high off the ground, but it would seem that a decent shot could throw rocks through them.
"If you feel my opinion is necessary, I think the protestors will show up in reasonable amounts. It is the trial of the century, news channels and other forms of media will certainly sensationalise the event. They have probably managed to keep the trial quiet by only telling everyone where it will take place today, but tomorrow the news will probably have broken loose."
Mikami blinked, before turning to the large wooden doors that allowed entrance into the court, they were hardly reinforced. Apart from two agents standing by the door, there was very little to prevent a forced entry.
"What do you think Teru? Do you think we will make it through the trial?" said Light, searching Mikami's eyes.
"Of course we will make it through God, how could we not? Your divine power ensures that our righteous cause will be sympathised with." answered Teru, playing his fanatical accomplice card.
"False idol."
"Ah, I suppose you are right, I like to be as realistic as possible about these situations. I suppose I needn't tell you what's at stake here if we do lose."
"You need not, I am aware that the consequences of an unfair verdict will be… dire."
"Teru, I will reward you for your loyalty. Once we return to our work, you and I will rule unopposed. You will be my most loyal disciple, at the right hand of his God. You would be my Archangel; no one would share the power you would have. Only you will have the ear of a God."
"I have him hook line and sinker."
Mikami bowed his head "I would be unworthy of such an honour God, but if you see fit to bestow it upon me, I have no reason to argue."
"I bow to no one but God, Light Yagami, you are no God!"
Light relaxed back into his seat, glancing at the clock on the wall. After seeing the time he frowned "Shouldn't they be back by now, the weather can't be that interesting."
Mikami replied "They are coming now my Lord."
In cue with the prosecutor's words, the jury entered through the large doors, before taking their place back in the stand. The Judge expectantly stared at them, awaiting an answer. Although he tried to hide it nervousness and fear were present on his face.
A member of the Jury stood up; he spoke clearly but with slight distain. He was probably one of the anti-Kira members. "We of the Jury agree that defendants Light Yagami and Teru Mikami should be entitled to a lawyer and thus defence against unfair accusations. The Jury would also like to express its disgust with the current state of proceedings; this is clearly a result of outside government interference in the trial's fairness. We, however, feel that the hearing can be continued for the sake of bail allocation and other such matters."
The Judge swallowed before nodding "Noted, the motion is agreed then, by the next hearing the defendants will have a defence attorney."
The Bailiff turned to face the Kiras "Are these terms acceptable?"
Light smiled calmly and pleasantly "If they are acceptable for the Jury, then they are acceptable for me."
Teru frowned "I would prefer to have a defence now, but I will accept these terms, do not try to prosecute us however."
The Judge nodded, before turning to the Prosecutor. He nodded, motioning the Prosecutor to make his case for who was most suitable to be allowed bail, although it was likely he would try to make sure none of them got bail, he was in an untenable situation.
The Prosecutor stood up bowing his head respectfully before the Judge "Your honour it would be in the best interests of the court to make sure that neither one of these men is granted bail, but as we already know, that won't happen."
The Judge nodded before motioning for the prosecutor to continue.
"I will try to make a case for why neither man should be given bail; you may select which one you find less dangerous or feel is a preferable alternative to the other."
The Prosecutor turned to Light, who was smiling in a pleasant manner "First we have defendant Light Yagami, while a pleasant and very calm individual, he is by all accounts a schemer. According to the testimony of the head of the S.P.K, Near, Light Yagami is an incredibly intelligent and persuasive man. Letting him out to the public could be dangerous."
The Judge nodded, stroking his beard pensively "Could this Near confirm this?"
The Prosecutor nodded "He has agreed to become a witness; I would call Near to the stand to give testimony."
Light leaned forward in interest, with a small interested smile on his face. He watched the young detective walk his way up to the stand, like a raptor such as an eagle watches its prey. As this hearing only dictated who would be given bail, he really didn't care about the outcome anymore, he was more interested in what the boy would say.
The Judge looked at Near with surprise, but kept quiet, he had probably been informed he was a child. Regardless of his age, Near was a capable individual.
Once Near had seated himself, he looked to the Prosecutor for permission to speak. He found his approval.
Near cleared his throat "The defendant Light Yagami is a very dangerous man. My team and I had long been aware of his ability to scheme and plot. In fact, it would be a gross under exaggeration to call this man anything less than a genius; he is also a superb liar. Even under S.P.K watch, I cannot guarantee we could rein him in."
The Prosecutor nodded "Could you give us examples of his ability to scheme?"
The child prodigy nodded as wekk "Yes, one of the best examples of Light's scheming is none other than him assuming the mantle of L. As he has already admitted, he is indeed Kira, and he assumed to role of L in order to remain incognito. He purposely made little progress, in order to disguise his own crimes. In fact, he was so inefficient, that conspiracy theorists believed he was Kira, this made it harder for the S.P.K to put this forward as a credible theory."
Light smiled slightly, it was an effective disguise, and certainly helped him remain safe from suspicion.
The Judge nodded, "Thank you, I will take this into consideration. What else is threatening about Light Yagami?"
The prosecutor gestured for Near to continue.
"Light Yagami is extremely intelligent, and it is hard to put into words just how smart he is. Simply put, he is easily at the same level of the first L, and surpasses myself in several regards. Light uses his intellect to great effect; he is capable of making several plans and seeing ahead of all his opponents."
The true Second L looked to Light "It is assumed that Light made use of the Death Note's ability to take away the memory of someone if they give up ownership, to eventually defeat L. This theory is backed up by several members of the original Japanese Task Force, who believe that Light acted differently for about a month. This put him in an excellent position to defeat L, as well as erase any suspicion regarding his motives."
The Judge nodded before turning to Light "The full workings of this "Death Note" will have to be discussed at a later hearing. Defendant Light Yagami, is what Near says true?"
Light smirked slightly "I refuse to say anything without a lawyer."
The Judge frowned "Very well, I will take this theory into consideration as well, what of the other defendant? Who will testify against him?"
Agent Gevanni raised his hand "I will testify, if the court is alright with it?"
The Prosecutor looked to the Judge, who gestured for Gevanni to come to the stand, while Near began walking back to where he had been sitting originally.
The Prosecutor looked up "Would you introduce yourself to the court?"
"Yeah, my name is Stephen Gevanni, and I…" began Gevanni only to be interrupted.
"Loud."
The Prosecutor turned to Mikami "What?"
"His real name is Stephen Loud, Gevanni is an alias."
The Prosecutor blinked in confusion "How do you know that, and come to think of it how did you know the name of the Bailiff, he didn't introduce himself?"
"I know the names of everyone in this room Thomas Fitzpatrick, including your own." said Teru, with an expressionless look on his face.
The Prosecutor began to look unnerved "There is no way you could know that."
Light looked at Mikami with interest, it seemed that he was trying to unnerve the man, but he didn't know why.
"Just what are you doing Teru?"
Teru pointed to the Jury "Let's start with the Jury: Jeremy Harris, Rudy Martinez, Melinda Stokes, Dianne Zimmerman, Sabrina Williamson, Annette French, Josh Mason, Alvin Haynes, Velma Long, Misty Hayes, Annie Smith, Brenda Hodges, Kristine Ruiz, Roberta Bridges, Rachel Tran, Pat Griffith, Roland Howard, Genevieve Clayton, Shaun Ross, Edward Lee. Those are just a few of the names of the Jury, do you believe me now?"
After seeing the Jury looking in shock at Teru, Prosecutor Fitzpatrick turned to the Judge. "You honour, this man is clearly insane, and this alone should prove he is not eligible for bail."
"Nate River."
Near seized up, he had been messing around with some small figurines, but the mentioning of his name had brought him back to reality.
The Judge looked towards Teru "What, who is that?"
"That is the name of the child who gave testimony. The one you called Near."
The Judge looked to Near, who was looking at Mikami with confusion. The Judge once again rubbed his head wearily before speaking. He was clearly overstressed by the trial, and it was just the initial hearing.
"So, you know the names of every person in this room?" asked the Judge, with a slightly curious look on his face.
Mikami scanned the room, before turning back to the Judge "Now I do. However, I feel that I would much rather hear the reasons for myself being suitable or unsuitable for bail."
The Judge nodded "That is acceptable, Mr Gevanni or Loud, if you could continue."
"Ok, well as I was saying, I am probably one of the best people to testify against Mikami. Simply put, I was in charge of tailing him while we were trying to figure out where he was hiding the Death Note."
Prosecutor Fitzpatrick nodded "So, what did you find out about him in that time?"
Agent Gevanni pursed his lips slightly, before speaking "Teru is an absolute schedule fanatic, he does things in the exact same way every day. I have never seen someone act as robotically as he does, in fact, I don't think there is another person on this planet that is quite like him."
The Prosecutor nodded "So what is your point?"
"Well, I would say he would probably be the better option to allow on bail. While Mikami is quite self-sufficient, he is in unknown territory at the moment, so it is probably going to far easier to keep him under control." explained Agent Gevanni.
"Is there anything we need to be wary of?" asked the Prosecutor.
"He can be… violent." warned Gevanni, with a grimace on his face.
Mikami snarled quietly in irritation, he regretted doing that now, he hadn't thought about it at the time.
"Violent?" asked the Prosecutor, gesturing for the agent to continue.
"Well, when we brought him back to our headquarters in Tokyo, we found out very quickly that he isn't a pushover. While I tailed him, I noticed Mikami goes to the gym every day for an hour, and he focuses on nothing but muscle training. So he is more than capable of holding his own in a fight."
"How did you find out?" pushed the Prosecutor.
"Well, he fought with an F.B.I agent who was serving with the S.P.K for a while; we like to make use of CIA and F.B.I agents to bloat our numbers. Anyways the agent made the mistake of getting angered by Teru, and so the two fought each other."
"Who was the agent who fought him?" asked the Prosecutor with interest.
"His name was Bill Tager, he was a hulk of a man to be honest, about six foot one and weighed around eighty kilos. Much bigger than Mikami over there anyways, unfortunately Tager was always kind of a loose cannon, he had a short temper."
"How did the fight start?"
"From what his partner told me, Mikami insulted his father or something, and Tager lost it. Wasn't long before the two were going at each other, Mikami wasn't fit to be attacking him though; he was just out of hospital. And he had been attacked by Tager earlier. Regardless, one of the agents ran off to get help, and that was when all hell broke loose." said Gevanni with a frown.
"What do you mean?"
"We aren't entirely sure what exactly happened, one of our cameras was destroyed, but somehow Teru got a hold of one of the pair of handcuffs we had meant to put on him and Light. When the agent returned with backup, it was too late; Mikami had strangled Tager with the handcuffs."
Mikami's hand clenched, he knew this wasn't particularly good for him; it was not very likely that the Judge would allow a killer out on bail.
The Prosecutor dismissed the witness "That is quite enough, thank you Agent Gevanni."
Mikami stood up, he would have to be bold in order to defend himself "I only did it in self-defence; the man was going to kill me. What was I supposed to have done? Let him kill me?"
The Prosecutor turned around "I will accept your statement of self-defence, it someone could collaborate it. Is there anyone who can do so?"
Mikami desperately scanned the room, his plans would be ruined if someone didn't confirm his side of the story, and perhaps later it would be revealed that he did do it in self-defence. But he needed bail now, not later!
A hand rose, "I will back up the defendant's statement."
Mikami focused in on the woman who had done so. He couldn't believe it, Agent Hall? Why would she defend him?
The Prosecutor nodded "Very well, please come to the stand and testify."
Agent Hall nodded, before walking her way to the witnesses' stand. After seating herself she spoke.
"Let me get this straight, I have no love for Teru Mikami or Light Yagami, both of them are mass murdering psychopaths in my honest opinion. However, I worry more about Light than I do Mikami; simply put Mikami is the lesser of two evils. It is better that he get bail, than say Light."
The Prosecutor nodded "The terms of the bail are simple, that particular individual will be allowed to roam outside in England for a week, with S.P.K overwatch of course."
Mikami grimaced, this was a small setback, but he had despite his hopes expected this. He would have much preferred to get to Japan to reclaim the Death Note pages he had removed, but that was a pipe dream at best.
Fortunately for him, it was one of the first times he had ever devised a back-up plan by himself, now he could only pray that it would work. It would require oversight, blunders, and a large amount of luck. But he had God on his side, God required him to succeed, and if it required it Teru would die trying.
Agent Hall continued "Like most of the S.P.K agents present in this room, I am an auxiliary member. In other words, we are drafted from the F.B.I or CIA, in my case the F.B.I. We are basically grunts; we carry out the heavy lifting tasks that the S.P.K requires. Near drafted a lot of us in when he captured those two, he was afraid that the Japanese police would free the two or turn against the S.P.K"
Light, who had been listening intently, sat up slightly. He really didn't care who got bail, his plan wasn't to acquire bail anyways. It was useless to do so; he couldn't go back to Japan to retrieve the pages Mikami had, so in effect he was sitting this one out. He didn't know if Teru wanted bail, or wanted to defend himself.
Agent Hall paused to take a breath before speaking again "Tager was in the F.B.I with me, in fact he and I were partners at one point, we never really liked each other. But whether I liked him or not doesn't matter, I care for all my partners as if they were my brothers or sisters. I hate Mikami for killing him, but I don't doubt for a damn second that Tager didn't start the fight. He was always quick to raise his fists and jump to blows, this time though, he got into a fight he didn't win."
The Judge nodded, mentally noting this down, before turning to the defendants "Thank you, I have made my decision, but I would like to hear your own opinions. This question is directed to both of you do you want bail?"
Light lazily shook his head, confusing Near and several other agents "No, it would be artificial freedom, like a fish swimming around in a bowl. I would much rather stay here, besides I am sure that I will find something to entertain myself."
The Judge nodded "What about you Mikami? Do you want bail?"
Teru nodded slowly "I grow weary of these confined spaces, I haven't been able to walk in ages, and if I had bail I could relax and calm myself."
The Judge nodded "Very well, Defendant Teru Mikami will be allowed bail for the period of a week; this gives him free reign to go places. Some scenarios will not be allowed, the Defendant will not be allowed to leave Hampshire. So he is confined to Winchester, as well as its outlying villages and towns."
The Judge looked to Near "He will be under the watch of a handler, whom I presume has already been selected?"
Near nodded "I have already selected someone to watch over him."
"Who would that be?" asked the Judge "I would like to make note of it."
"A CIA member serving with the S.P.K at the moment, Agent Barnes will be his handler." answered Near, before looking to the agent in question. Barnes nodded, affirming that he would do as ordered.
Mikami was inwardly relieved; his first stroke of luck had manifested itself in the form of Barnes. A Kira sympathiser was the best person to be his handler, while he would not delude himself into believing he would be watched by only one person, he was allowed a significantly higher amount of freedom with the handler selected.
The Judge turned to Mikami "Is this acceptable?"
Mikami hesitated, before nodding; it would be suspicious for him to nod immediately "These conditions are satisfactory."
The Judge breathed a sigh of relief "Very well, then the court is adjourned. I would remember and enjoy the silence of this hearing, because I am certain we won't be alone next time. I guarantee that the protestors and the police will be very noisy."
There was a quiet chuckle amongst the members of the jury, before the court did as it was asked. The members of the Jury were the first to excuse themselves from the courtroom, arising in mass, before exiting.
The next to leave were the nonessential members of the S.P.K, who also left the room. The Judge and Bailiff also made to leave with the Prosecutor.
Light stood up and stretched, it was obvious just how laid back he was. Once finished he flashed a small smile at Near, before brazenly walking his way towards the child prodigy. He sat himself beside the boy, before leaning towards him.
"Say Near, how about we have that chess rematch?" asked Light, his eyes twinkling with mirth and amusement.
Near kept a straight face but waved the question off "You needn't worry Light, you and I were always going to have that rematch, regardless of whether you got your bail or not."
Light grinned like a Cheshire cat "I suppose you were always the competitive type?"
Near nodded "You don't become L's successor by being satisfied with second place, if you can't win you are a loser."
At the mention of L, Light became quiet, before asking a question "Did you ever meet L?"
By this point Lidner and Gevanni had handcuffed Light, waiting for Near to give them orders as to what their next move should be.
Near looked to Lidner and Gevanni "Go get Mikami, bring him to Barnes, I want to talk alone to Light for a while."
Lidner spoke up "But Nea-"
"Don't worry, Light isn't the violent type, besides he is handcuffed. What will he do? He has no interest in killing me at the moment; he wants to win this trial that much is obvious. If he wants to win, he needs the heart of the people, how can he have that if he kills a child?" dismissed Near with a wave of his hand.
"Observant as ever Near." Light complimented, with a small wry smile.
The agents nodded, before going to escort Mikami out of the room, who was dully looking at the ceiling.
Near turned to Light and got up "Come with me, we can talk in my room."
The First Kira nodded before following the child to his room. Once they reached it, he was beckoned it and took a seat. The first thing he noticed was that the room reflected his owner in every way; it was full of toys and television screens. Childish yet observant, just like Near was.
Light eased into his seat "So, are you looking for a chess board?"
Near nodded "Yes, I know I have one somewhere." The child continued rummaging through a box, which seemed to be full of board games "No."
Despite not being clear on what exactly he was saying, Light knew he was answering the question he had asked a few minutes ago "So, you didn't know him? I suspected as much, L was a very secretive person, even when you met him it was like he wasn't really there sometimes."
Near nodded before pulling out a chess board, as he began to set it up he asked another question "What was L like?"
Light laughed "Unique, he really was one of a kind, I haven't met anyone like him since. Although, you could say he was similar to you in many regards, he had a very monotonous voice. He rarely showed emotions, and was quite socially awkward. He never tried to hide that he was childish; he was very like you in a way. He hated losing, and had a massive sweet tooth."
"I see, Mello had a sweet tooth as well I suppose, he always liked chocolate bars." commented Near, having finished laying out the board.
"Mello was like him as well in a couple of ways, namely his strategies. L liked to put his opponents under pressure, so that they would slip up. Mello was the same; he liked to put his opponents under pressure as well."
"What about my strategies? Did he ever do things the way I did?"
"Hard to say, I never saw how you made your deductions, but I would say you share some similarities."
Near nodded, before moving his white pawn forward. After making his move, he curled his hair slightly.
"Were you really friends with him?" asked Near, curiosity dripping from his voice.
Light smiled melancholically "Ryuzaki was friends with Light Yagami yes."
Near raised his eyebrow "What do you mean by that?"
"L went by the alias Ryuzaki whilst he worked with the Japanese Task Force, that is what he told us to call him." explained Light.
Near nodded "So you were friends with him then?"
"No, like I said Light Yagami was friends with Ryuzaki. I am not Light Yagami remember? I am Kira, God of the New World, and I was enemies with L."
Near widened his eyes slightly before realising what Light meant "So you were friends, but you knew it couldn't remain that way."
"Yes, L called me his first friend. He could be a really deceptive bastard though, so I never was sure whether or not he was telling the truth. When I lost my memories, I became great friends with him, or at least I think I did." said Light, before slowly moving his own pawn forward.
"Do you regret killing him?" asked Nate, cocking his head slightly.
"I regret killing Ryuzaki, not L, you understand?"
"Yes, I think I do."
Light started chuckling sadly "You know, when I look at you, I see him. Originally it was just the bad parts, his intelligence, his ability to screw over my plans. But over these last few days, I can see some of the good things about him in you too. This makes it a shame that we are on different sides."
"Yes opposing fronts you might say?" Near agreed.
"Yeah, natural enemies I suppose. Kira and L always must fight each other; you and I are probably destined to do this forever you know?"
"Forever?"
Light nodded affirmatively "Forever."
Light moved forward his queen "Checkmate Near."
Near nodded vaguely "Another match?"
Light smiled "Of course, what else would I do?"
"Light, for what it is worth, you could have made a great L." said Near, smiling slightly. He cleared the board, setting all the pieces out again.
"What do you mean Nate? Why are you going so out of character like that?" said Light in confusion.
"What I mean is, if you hadn't got that Death Note, you could have easily become a great detective. You could have been on L's calibre, if not even better."
Near moved forward his white pawn again, the game had commenced once more.
"Maybe so, but for better or worse, that notebook changed my life irreversibly."
Light moved forward a knight, whilst the two conversed, the game continued in earnest.
"Do you regret it?" asked Near, not really minding whether or not he did, he was more so interested in just hearing his answer.
Light paused, taking a moment to consider his answer before replying "No, I regret some of the things I did with the notebook, but I will never regret what I have brought about."
Near spoke slowly "I think you have been deceived by the Light."
Light looked at Near in shock, before regaining his bearings "What do you mean by that?"
"You know what I mean." said Near, with a small frown.
Light frowned as well "Yeah, I suppose I do know what you mean; I don't think you are right though."
"Light?"
"Yes?"
Near moved forward his knight "Checkmate."
Light's mouth twitched slightly, before turning into a grin "Another match Near?"
The child nodded "Another match."
The boy set out the board again before speaking "Forever?"
Light looked at him for a moment before answering "Forever."
