Alright, so I want to thank you all for reading this fiction. This is the last chapter, and I have to apologize in advance for it... But I'll save it for later.

My final thoughts on this story: It's my very first Death Note fanfiction, and the first story I've finished in years. I'm very glad that I've been able to share it with you all, and you all have been so encouraging!

And I'll save the rest for the end. Without further ado, Je vous presente: Forever Rest.

January 26, 2020, London, Near's HQ. Working four cases at once has never usually been a problem for me, not even when Oliver is yapping on and on about one of his. The poor kid; ever since we had found him and had selected him as my successor, his excitement has never seemed to wear off. This isn't a problem, but it gives me a headache sometimes.

"... and so I thought that the one guy might have been responsible, but one little piece didn't fit, and then I realized he'd been framed! I couldn't believe that, but when I looked into it further, he hadn't been framed, but had set it up to look like he'd been framed! Well, now, that I should have seen coming 'cuz I never really liked the guy in the first place, oh, what was his name?"

"Oliver," I interrupt. "Quiet, please."

The boy's narrow eyes widened. "Oh, sorry!" he whispered, spinning the chair he was sitting on around with a leg, shuffling over closer to me, mostly closing the twenty foot gap between us. "Is something wrong, L? L seems distracted."

I stare at the screens in front of me as I fiddle with the rosary beads at my waist. "No, everything is normal," I answer slowly, shuffling my weight on the patch of ground that I'm currently stationed on. "But, yes, I am quite distracted."

Oliver spins his chair around to lean over the back. "Why is L distracted?"

I look over to him, narrowing my eyes in thought. "Do you have any recollection of Raine?" I ask simply.

Oliver's eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah, Raine went missing last month, didn't he? That explains why L hasn't been himself all month. Hmm…" he trails off, thinking. "Perhaps some food would cheer up L?"

"No thank you, I'm not hungry." I look back at the screens when something catches my attention and I shuffle over to the offending monitor.

"Oh, okay... Would L be okay if I went and got some, then?"

I shrug in response, and I shortly hear his footsteps leaving the room and then the sound of the door opening and shutting behind him.

January 26th is my least favorite day; it is the tenth anniversary of his death. Add to that that Raine's gone missing. He'd run away in the commotion of New Year's Eve, despite his being unwell as of recently. By not well, I mean mentally; ever since five years ago, he's slowly been changing and not for the better. Now as an eighteen-year-old, fully developed and brilliant, I know he would have no trouble supporting himself, but I can't help but be worried, especially because of the last five years.

What happened five years ago? Not only had Oliver been chosen as successor, but also the rest of the children who had been old enough to leave had left. Raine had been thirteen at the time, so he had stayed behind but all of those who might be deemed his friends had left him behind without so much as a goodbye. At that time, I had been unable to visit for an extended period.

The new principal of Wammy's House, Charlene, had informed me that he had been holing himself up in his room and that his hobbies had turned from inventing and schoolwork to the more macabre side of life; dissecting small birds and animals he'd found around the grounds, reading novels that had a strong smell of violence and gore.

These signs alone should have tipped the woman off. Charlene was smart enough, but she had left him alone to tend to more pressing matters in the orphanage.

Then, December 31st, he'd disappeared. The final time I'd visited the orphanage with him there had been just about six months previously, and I could tell that he was just not the same. Mello's spitting image of a brother was slowly losing his mind and I had begun making arrangements for him to be transferred to a rehabilitation center. The best facility had a long waiting list of about a year, but for L, they would make sure to get my charge in as soon as they could.

When we'd received word that they finally could have him come in on January 3rd, 2020, I had made sure that Charlene let him know about a week before so he could start the process of packing up and saying goodbye. However, I'd heard from the woman that he hadn't enjoyed that news at all and had broken every mirror and window in his room with his bare hands. And then he'd run away, leaving no trace or hint as to his destination.

I glance at the clock which shows 3:12 PM. Deborah and Mihail are due for a visit at 3:30, and Oliver's snack breaks can be quite lengthy, upwards of an hour so I know I'll be alone for a while, at least twenty minutes. I pick up one of the robots scattered around me and begin to play some form of super hero charade.

A few moments pass when the door opens and someone comes in, Oliver assumedly, but I don't turn to look. Instead I continue with my toys. Footsteps slowly walk over closer to me, and I realize that this isn't Oliver. This isn't Deborah, Watari, Mihail, Rester, Lidner or Gevanni.

I hear a small laugh come from the intruder. "You're L?" the voice snakes slowly, chilling in tone. I recognize that tone, and my eyes widen as my body freezes. "Should have guessed."

I slowly put down the toys and stand to my feet, back still towards him. "Raine," I respond, hearing my voice remain expressionless, "where the hell have you been?"

The blond laughs harshly as I turn to look at him. He still looks like himself except for the few bruises up his exposed arms. Despite its being January, he still wears his shorts and long blue t-shirt. I note a small red stain on the corner of his shirt. "I've been around, looking for L," he explains quietly, grinning. "And I finally found him." He comes closer to me until he's a foot away from my face and I note the colourless skin and blood-shot eyes. "It took a little doing, but I finally found you my dear predecessor." His breaths are quick and labored, and I can tell that he's nervous. Either that or he's excited.

"Raine," I don't know what he wants here, but I have to at least calm him down. "What's going on?"

Suddenly a hand grabs the front of my shirt, forcing me forward. He's grown so much that he's quite a tall individual so my eyes stare at his shoulders and his lips are at my ear. "I'll tell you what's going on; today is L's last day on earth. Ten years after his death, the one truly responsible for it will die."

My eyes widen and dart to look at him as best I can. I feel my body begin to tense and shake very slightly, almost undetectable and I try to speak, but my voice fails. I hear the swoosh of a knife come out of Raine's pocket and unsheathe itself.

"Can't we talk about this, first, Raine?" I whisper after a moment, almost sensing that knife coming closer and closer to me.

The boy laughs hysterically. "Talk! Talk he says!" He pushes me onto the floor roughly and I hit my head, dizzying my sight. I feel him lean over me on his knees and I catch a glint of silver hovering over my face. "The time for talk is done," he spits.

He grabs my shirt again and throws me again and throws me against the desk planted on a wall where my head is hit once again. The pain is overwhelming and confusing. I can barely think as the intense pain saturates my mind. He leaves me to squirm for a moment, and some thinking ability returns to me when I realize that he's thrown me near a panic button. In the event that one of my enemies found me, I had installed ten panic buttons in this room, all an arm span apart. And so, with all the pain it's hard to move at all, but I force myself to slam into that button and an alarm sounds within the building.

Raine swears loudly as he slams his fist into my face again, making my world spin and knocking me to the ground. I feel the wetness of blood in my mouth and I spit it out, trying to roll onto all fours but Raine presses my body to the floor with a knee. I lay on my back, looking into those eyes that mirror Mello's, and then I feel the intense heat of pain of a knife somewhere in my torso, and again, and again.

And my vision goes black, though my consciousness hasn't fled. The pain mutes my voice and slowly I feel my limbs go numb, though the pain in my chest is still so sharp. Time passes in a flash and I am alone, though I can hardly tell.

Suddenly, I hear a shriek. "NEAR!" Hands grip me and hold me. "Near, Near!"

I can recognize that voice. "D-d-"

Deborah holds me with one arm, and I can feel her fingers on my face, trying to keep me focused on her, trying to get me to look at her, not that I can see anything at all. "Shh, Near, it's going to okay, okay? Mihail! Mihail! Call 911! Get Roger!"

"Mom?" I hear the boy's voice from just outside the door.

"Don't come in here, honey, just go get Roger and call 911 right now!"

"Is Near okay?"

"Mihail Matthew Jeevas, just do what I ask! Now!"

I labor breaths, shallow and quick. It becomes harder and harder. "Deb," I manage to squeeze out, and her grip on me tightens.

"Near, oh shit, please, just don't give up."

I feel a warm drop of liquid drip onto my face from above. Some of my vision returns and I see Deborah's face, covered in blood and tears, her wide eyes staring. With what little strength I have, I lift a hand to wipe some of the tears away, though I leave a trail of blood in their place.

My hand drops and my body completely numbs. "This is best," I croak out, beginning to slow my breath.

"No! Near! Don't give up!" She begins to shriek, but my brain slowly begins to shut off.

The last little bit of strength I've got leaves as I wrap my hand in that rosary.

And I breathe my last as I go to meet Mello.

Mu awaits. Everlasting rest for the everlastingly restless mind.

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I'm sorry, but please DON'T KILL ME.

That out of the way, thank you for reading! I really appreciate all of the support! Please be sure to watch for more fics. I plan on writing a few one-shots before I get onto my next fic which is more BB centered.

Thanks especially to my reviewers! 0mohni0, Raine Ishida, TUL Angel, K-Danuve, nataree, ItsukoLawliet, Josephine Falnor, and everyone else - THANK YOU I LOVE YOU FOREVER.

And as one last request~! For everyone who read the entire story, I would like some constructive feedback. I'll make it easy - Please rate out of five: Grammar/Spelling, Originality, Characters, and Tone, as well as an Overall Rating out of 10.

By the bye, my girlfriend and I did a Deborah Cosplay Photoshoot - it'll be going up on my Deviantart account soon (the link is on my profile as my website), so be sure to check that soon!

I love you guys so much! I'm so glad that you read to the end, including this rant of an Author's Note!