Chapter 10: Closer

"What's the situation?"

'The whole place's cold. The occupants are long gone,' the lead agent replied. 'Sir, what should we do?'

Lester sighed. He looked at L, and waited for a reply. The boy merely nodded. He neither looked annoyed nor dismayed about the current development of this little detour. Whatever it was he thought, it didn't show. The older man pressed the radio button once again. "Search the area. Find anything that may give us an indication of who were in there."

'Yes, sir!'

Shutting the radio off, the man turned to L. "What do we do now?"

Near sat down quietly and considered his options. He looked at the video feed and watched as the group of agents investigated the abandoned base. It was an empty apartment, naturally. There was nothing from the ordinary. Unfortunately, there was nobody there too.

This would complicate things. The plan would have been simpler if they had found the people who were spying on the NPA. Why? What was their aim? He didn't know… there were too many possibilities. What if… it was Kira himself? What if he was looking for more information about the investigation?

No… That can't be right… If the new Kira wanted to look for more information about the case, why would he go to the NPA? As far as the world knows, Kira could be anywhere. How would Kira know that he chose to work with the NPA in Japan? The only people who were told of Kira's possible location were the president of the US, his team and the NPA members themselves. No, the spy is not Kira.

'Sir, I think we've found something.'

"What is it?" Lester asked, hope slowly creeping back into him.

'Hair. And it seems like there are a few traces of blood here as well.'

"Good job," he replied. "Call a team of forensics. Keep me posted."

'Yes, sir.'

"Well, that's a start. What do you think L?"

"We'll continue as planned."

"What? But what about the spy?"

"The spy will be dealt with by the NPA," the boy answered, determined, "while we will deal with the NPA members ourselves."

---

That morning…

"You've got to be kidding me," Ide shook his head in annoyance. He walked across the room to get a closer inspection. Shattered glass covered the floor underneath and near the broken windows of the office. Amidst the shards, there were a couple of rocks. One of them in particular was wrapped in a piece of paper. "Can you believe this?!"

Matsuda tiptoed towards his friend, avoiding as much glass as he could. He said, "Yeah… You'd think they'd be a bit more reasonable by now…" He watched as his friend unwrap the object on the floor. "Kira followers, huh?"

"Yeah," Ide nodded, showing his friend what was written on the sheet. It said: Those who oppose Kira shall be killed. You guys are next.

Matsuda almost laughed at the irony. He sighed. Well, at least he knew that it was an empty threat. Unless it was the second Kira… "Should we report this to Aizawa?"

"Nah, we expected something like this to happen anyway. And besides… he's already got his hands full," Ide placed the stone back on the ground. Luckily, this wasn't the main office. It'd be such a pain if they had to put up with stuff like these where they worked. He looked around and said, "Well, at least everything else's still intact."

Matsuda walked closer to the broken window, his back turned to his co-worker. He looked down at the mess and grimaced. This is horrible... This wasn't what he wanted. How could they think that this was all he was about? He wouldn't kill a person even if they tried to catch him. He made a promise. He only wanted to eliminate the criminals, after all. Why can't anyone understand?

RIIIING!!!

Ide immediately searched his pocket. "Hello? What is it Aizawa?"

There was a moment of silence as Matsuda waited.

"What? How did—huh? Oh… When?... Ok… All of us?… Yeah. Ok, I'll see you there." The man switched his phone off and faced Matsuda. "L wants to meet with us in an hour."

Pause.

"By meet, did you mean… like a video conference…. right?"

"No," Ide replied. "Actually, he's going to be there in person."

"Well, well… Isn't this interesting?" Ryuk suddenly commented. "It's about time he showed up, if you ask me."

Nooooooo… No, no, no, no! Dammit! Great… As if the second Kira wasn't bad enough…

"Remember that building where you guys used to work in? The one made by the previous L? Well, he asked us specifically to meet there."

The younger man subconsciously frowned at the news, his mind slowly going into panic mode. Ide noticed this, but mistook it as something else.

"C'mon, he's not that bad."

"Right…" Matsuda replied, trying to keep calm. Hopefully, Ide didn't notice. His friend stifled a laugh.

"Well then, I guess we should have this sorted out before we get going."

"Yeah, wouldn't want to be late," Matsuda replied sarcastically.

---

Aizawa didn't know whether this was a turn for the better, or the worse. On one hand, L was able to uncover the fact that someone's been spying on them. He even found a few leads to the person responsible. On the other hand, if L kept on investigating this "spy", it might jeopardize the safety of his family.

He wasn't exactly sure whether this spy and his family's kidnapper were one and the same person, but somehow, it looked like there was a high possibility for that. So now, the real question was: Should he tell L or not?

He didn't know what to do.

Aizawa leaned on one of the tables as L continued the discussion. He couldn't believe that they were in this same building again, working on the Kira case of all things. It seemed so long ago since the time that the previous L had died.

Shoving his hand inside his pockets, he let his gaze wander a bit, glancing occasionally at what his team's reactions were. Everyone seemed to be focused enough. Even Matsuda was listening intently. The younger officer was sitting on a chair, elbows on the table, his head propped up with his hand.

"From now on," Near continued, "this building will be the base of our operations. Everything connected to the Kira case will be investigated and dealt with here. Lester, Gevanni, Lidner and I will live here. However, it is not advisable for any of you to do the same since this might alert the spy."

"What about the rest of the investigation group?" Yamamoto asked. "Don't tell me we're the only ones investigating."

"There are a couple of groups and a Special Forces team who are willing to support us—but only if the need arises," the boy answered. "Other than that, there will be no other people joining this case."

"What? Why?"

"From past experience, and I believe that most people in this room would agree with me, I found that it was best to keep the investigation group small when it came to cases like these," Near explained. "A huge group would only slow the investigation down, cause information leak and even make us more vulnerable to attacks."

Yamamoto looked at the others for confirmation. Aizawa nodded.

"Any other questions?" The boy waited a bit. When he was sure that no one was going to say anything, he continued. "Good. Now, let's begin."

Revealing a list, he began assigning everyone with a task for the day. The SPK—well, ex-SPK—members, and the NPA members were separated into groups. Gevanni and Mogi were assigned to the building's security and were told to check if everything was in working order—especially now that they knew that there was a spy. Yamamoto and Lidner were assigned to handling the problem about said spy. Lester, Aizawa and Ide were assigned to sort through the information they've collected about Kira so far.

---

"Uh… What about me…?" Matsuda asked, feeling the strongest sense of Déjà vu. "What can I do to help?"

He looked at Near, and for a moment, he thought he could see L, the raven haired detective who had died in this very same room years ago. It unnerved him a bit. Sure, some time ago, it wouldn't have bothered him so much; being in this same building with L—the new L, while working on the Kira case once again. However, the circumstances have changed. It was very unsettling… to see history repeating itself once again— only this time, he was one of the major players. He was Kira.

Snapping back to the present, he held the young boy's gaze and tried as much as he could to look… well, normal. Okay, that was probably not the right word. What Matsuda meant was that he tried to act like his normal self as much as he could, especially since Near was staring at him in deep thought. It reminded him too much of L—when he was scrutinizing every single move that Light had made. Does he already know?

"Matsuda-san," the boy said, "I'd like you to help me unload some of my belongings. Lester finished transporting them upstairs. I just need your help with the unpacking."

"Uh, ok…?" The officer was caught off guard with the odd request, but decided to just go along with it. He followed Near, as the boy led him to another room on the same floor. "So you're going to live here?"

"Yes."

Silence.

"Are you sure it's safe? I mean, what if we get attacked?" The man asked. "Wouldn't it be safer if you moved hotels, like what L used to do?"

"Yes, I've taken that into account," Near replied as they entered the room. "However, I believe that that would be a waste of time. Besides, we've upgraded the security system. The only way someone could attack us, is that if we let them."

Matsuda gave up arguing with him. He focused at the task at hand and surveyed the stacks of boxes that were neatly piled in the room. "So uh… which box first?"

"This one." Near pointed at the nearest box and looked at him. "Be very careful. Make sure you handle the contents with great care."

The man nodded. He then opened the first box—and paused in confusion.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"Nea—I mean L, this box… is filled with toys…"

---

A few hours before the meeting with the NPA members…

"They are a close group, hence why I cannot have a one-on-one interview with each of them. It might arouse their suspicions," Near explained. "The best course of action is for us to investigate the NPA through observation."

"So, who do you have in mind first?" Lidner asked.

Near looked at them blankly and said, "No one in particular, to tell you the truth. I have, however, compiled a list of tasks that will allow each of us to have at least one subject to observe."

---

Near watched as his first subject, Matsuda Touta, carefully unpacked his belongings. The man carefully opened the first box—and looked hesitantly at the contents inside.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"Nea—I mean L, this box… is filled with toys…"

"Yes," the boy answered, not sure what the problem was. Matsuda stared at him for a moment longer, looking like he wanted to say something—then shrugged. The officer decided to concentrate on what he was told to do, no questions asked. Near, however, decided to use this as an opportunity to open a conversation. "Why? Do you find it strange?"

"What?" the man asked. He faced Near, then looked at the toys, and then shrugged again. He gave a friendly smile. "Well, not really… In a way, I guess it sorta makes sense."

"Is that so?"

"Well, y'know what I mean," Matsuda explained. "L, well the previous one, was very fond of sweets, and I thought it sorta made sense why you, the new L, love toys… and… umm… ah, nevermind." The man's voiced trailed off unsurely. He then gave Near an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I'm not making any sense, am I?"

"On the contrary," the white haired boy answered. "I believe you do have a point there, Mr. Matsuda."

"Oh." The man stopped. He seemed surprised with the boy's answer, and was waiting for an explanation. However, nothing came.

---

Matsuda had no idea where this conversation was going. He had no idea at all. It seemed too weird and unnatural for the boy to eagerly keep it up, unless… maybe he was being observed?

Yeah, probably…

Though he shouldn't let it bother him.

Or maybe I'm being paranoid. It was a possibility that Near was actually as talkative as this when he's around his team… but what were the chances of that? Besides, it's better to be safe than sorry.

"Hey."

The officer almost jumped from shock. Luckily, he was able to suppress it… Unfortunately, though, that didn't save the toy robot he was holding at that moment. He had accidentally dropped it when Ryuk suddenly decided to speak.

"Aw, crap… Bad timing, huh?" The shinigami scratched its head.

Y'think? Matsuda wanted to glare at the thing, but one false move, one suspicious thing could give him away—

"Matsuda-san, was I not clear?" Near said, scowling. There was a sudden, yet subtle change in his mood. "If not, then let me repeat myself again. Please handle my belongings with care."

"I—I'm sorry Nea—L," the man replied, swiftly scooping the toy off the ground. He tried as much as he could to focus on the task, instead of worrying about his mistake. The damn creature was making it harder though.

"Matsuda, I know that you're in a very sticky situation right now. And that you're probably wishing that I'd shut up," the death god started. "But, you've got another bigger problem."

Matsuda didn't seem to react, but the shinigami continued anyways.

"There are a group of men outside this building," it stated. "I think they're looking for you. I heard one of them say your name… Ah…. I think they're planning to kidnap you, but I couldn't really tell."

"You've got to be kidding me," Matsuda said—out loud, before he even realized what he'd just done.

To be continued…

Author's note: Yes. I'm continuing it. ^_^ Sorry for the delay. The source of the problem? One word: COLLEGE. _