Okay, I am back after over a month! Sorry about that, but a couple of my other stories were calling me last month. And then I had finals. But, I am OFFICIALLY on summer break. And I have one month before my Hawaii trip, so I have time to work on this story.

I meant to have this out back last Saturday to mark the fact that this story is a year old now! But things didn't work out that way, so this is a few days late.

Okay, we are officially in Japan. This…..is where the real suspense begins.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. I do own June.

Chapter 36

A couple of weeks had passed since Mello, June, and Matt came to Japan. A couple of pretty uneventful weeks for the trio.

They took the time to scout out the city and NHN, which was surrounded by a ridiculous amount of security. Honestly, why would people want to defend such a person? Why would people agree with someone like Kira?

The whole thing made June sick. Everyone there came across to her as a mindless goon if they didn't get how atrocious and arrogant Kira was. June thought Kira was nothing more than a bastard who needed to learn that creating order and a so-called "perfect world" through killing NEVER works out. It had never worked out so well for multiple people throughout history. There was no way it was going to work out now.

That was June's reasoning.

But, she fought down the feelings because she couldn't afford to ruin her cover now.

She forgot what day it was, but she knew that it was sometime in December.

She was hoping that Near was making more progress than they had because she was starting to cut it close now.

They were back in the hotel now. Mello opted for a hotel near NHN in order to keep track of Takada's movements better. June thought that it didn't matter much because anyone could guess where she was going with the size of her posse surrounding her. The woman had more security than any celebrity and the President of the United States combined.

Mello and Matt were mulling over their computers at the moment. June sat on the chair listening to her iPod.

Suddenly, Matt spoke up.

"Hey guys. Near wants to talk to us."

June walked over to Matt's side of the couch to see the icon that indicated that someone was trying to reach them through a video feed.

Mello didn't want anything to do with Near at the moment and was tempted to tell Matt to disconnect, but June had beaten him to the punch. Not by literally punching him, but by smacking him upside the head when she saw where his train of thought was going. He needed to work on his poker face.

"Let him talk, then."

Mello was glaring at June when Near's face showed up on the screen.

June blinked.

"Hey Near, I didn't expect you to be showing your face to anyone anytime soon."

This is a secured channel, so there is no need to worry about hackers. Besides, none of you here are Kira, so there isn't much of a point in hiding my face here.

June just shrugged.

Nice to see that you've finally decided to join the investigation. You're a hard person to track.

"What can I say? It's not that hard to stay hidden when there aren't any records of you."

Apparently she didn't know about the file that Near had, but Mello chose not to say anything for now.

Anyway, this is not what I want to discuss. I have some information that I want to share with you about my side of the investigation.

"Doesn't surprise me that the two of you are trying to solve the same case separately, but, as you were saying…."

Also, I would like it if I could talk to June alone.

Near stared pointedly at Mello. Mello glared back at him. He didn't like the guy in the first place, but now Near was telling him to get lost. Why that –

"Mello, just do it. Otherwise we'll be here until New Year's with your staring contest."

Mello reluctantly complied, but mainly so that June wouldn't get the idea to actually throw him out of the room. Matt followed him into the bedroom and shut the door behind them.

June returned her attention to the albino on the screen.

Before I tell you what I have, would you tell me what you know so I can be up to speed on your progress?

June went ahead and told Near what she knew about Light Yagami, Misa Amane, and the Death Note and shinigami in general. She also reported about her time tailing Misa. She did not say anything about her bet, her deadline, or the fact that her name couldn't be seen by shinigami eyes in the first place.

Near said nothing as she spoke. When she finished, he waited a moment to take in what she said before speaking.

I see. You should probably know that I have spoken with Mello before he caught up with you and after your encounter with the mafia. He said that your name can't be seen by shinigami eyes.

Mello didn't say anything about that. She wondered if there was anything else he had mentioned.

He didn't know the circumstances of your lack of name, and I don't know what they are either….

That was what she wanted to know.

…..but I also went ahead and took advantage of the fact. I let this fact be known to the Task Force. I have let them in on the fact that you were from Wammy's and had connections to L. I didn't tell them your alias, your description, or your real relation to L. However, you should know that, if they figure out your identity from Wammy's, they would probably try to find you for questioning. My reason for this is to draw Kira out into the open. Since the Death Note can't kill you, Kira would have to be more direct about killing you.

Technically, he didn't even have to do that to see her dead. He just had to draw things out long enough.

While June wasn't overly happy about people talking about her and giving out information without her consent, she could see Near's reasoning. Without knowing the circumstances of her nameless status, Kira would assume that she wouldn't just drop dead and would have to be dealt with more directly. Unless he manipulated someone else to kill her, but that would be difficult to do without knowing her location or who she was with.

"I understand, and I kind of agree with you on that, but I do wish that people wouldn't just so casually give away information about me without consulting me first."

I understand.

"Although, I would also like to know how you know of my relation to L. Who told you and Mello about that?"

Roger. He was given directions from L…..your brother…..to tell his successors of your real identity so that you could be consulted about cases. Plus, there's that inheritance that you have yet to claim.

She should have known that L would have done that. Although she didn't know that Near had to tell Mello that because he had walked out before receiving this information. But he didn't think that she needed to know that.

"The inheritance business can wait until after the case. Also, I was never told that his successor would have been my babysitter. No doubt another attempt at trying to get me to reconsider about whether or not to claim his title."

Near didn't bring up the fact that he was not her primary caretaker as specified all those years ago. The fact was no longer prudent, since she was a young woman now and therefore able to take care of herself.

Instead, he decided to go straight to discussing his side of the investigation.

I have come to the conclusion that the best way to investigate Kira is through Takada. So, I have come to Japan myself.

June raised an eyebrow. It sounded like he was right where they were at in the investigation.

Near went on to explain his theory about L-Kira and X-Kira and how they were communicating through Takada. He explained about how he was planting Hal Lidner as Takada's bodyguard. He also explained about how he planned to get proof that L is Kira.

Since your name is not visible, it is not possible for you to be the attempted victim. He currently considers me the bigger threat at the moment, so it is only logical to try to catch him writing my name in the notebook.

June frowned.

"That is a pretty big gamble there Near. Do you know who X-Kira is?"

I have a lead. I'll let you know once I've confirmed it. In the meantime, you are free to investigate as you please. Just be careful around the Task Force and Takada. I would also like for you to refrain from telling Mello the exact details of my plan. Just tell him only what is necessary. If you find anything, you can contact me with the number I'm going to give you.

"…Okay." She knew that Mello was going to bitch and moan if he figured out that she was holding information from him, but some things just weren't necessary for him to know. After Near gave her the number, she asked a question she couldn't help but ask.

"Any idea on how close you are to closing this case?"

Near looked back up at her while twirling his finger in his hair. Why would she ask such an unnecessary question? The case would be solved as soon as they got evidence. She should know this. For what reason would she be worried about how long a case was going to take?

We are getting closer to the end. We just need to wait for a confirmation on X-Kira's identity and we'll be able to close in on L-Kira.

June nodded. It was the best she could hope for.

"Well, if that is all, is there something you need to discuss with Mello or Matt?"

Yes, there is. I would like to talk to Mello.

"Hey! Mello! Near wants a word with you!"

Mello came out, looking a bit suspicious about what Near wanted to talk to him about.

June walked past him and into the bedroom, where Matt was engrossed in another video game. Once the door had shut behind her, Mello sat on the couch in front of the computer screen.

"Well, what is it?"

I only have one question for you.

Mello frowned at the sheep in front of him.

Is there any reason that June has for worrying about how much longer the case might take?

His reaction was immediate and he wasn't able to hide it from Near. His eyes widened and shock was written on his face for about a second. He knew now that June's time was almost up. There wouldn't be any point in asking if she had made the bet recently. The only problem was that he didn't know how much longer she had.

Well?

Near knew now that there was and Mello knew what it was, too.

Mello closed his eyes as he calmed down.

"….There is a reason, but you don't need to know it." There was no point in lying. He knew that Near would have figured out that he knew what June was hiding just from his reaction.

Why not?

"It'll only serve as a distraction from the case. You don't need to know."

Near frowned at him. What was June hiding? It had to be something serious in order for Mello to be covering for her like that. But, odds were that Mello was right. Whatever she was hiding would distract him from the Kira case. It would be best just to focus on solving the case and then get back to June's issue.

Fine. That was all I wanted to ask. I will talk to you at another time.

With that, Near vanished from the computer screen.

Mello contemplated on what to do.

It was evident that they were running out of time. Near didn't know so he couldn't just speed up the investigation. Kira was too smart for that, anyway.

He had a feeling that if he asked June about what Near had talked to her about, she wouldn't tell him everything that they did discuss. He could also get his information from Hal later instead.

They had to be close to the end here. The was only one question.

Whose end will come first?

…

It was the day after Christmas (yes, she did check the date on the first newspaper she saw that day). The past few days had been uneventful on their end.

Although, it was understood that Near was able to confirm X-Kira as Teru Mikami. Now he was just trying to figure out how to get to his Death Note.

There was something nagging at the back of June's head, but she just couldn't figure out what it was. There had to be something more to this case.

June was walking around town, just mindlessly wandering around and listening to Paramore. Nobody in her group had really celebrated Christmas this year. Everyone was too busy thinking and analyzing what they had for the case. She knew that things wouldn't calm down until Kira was gone. For now, everyone's mind was occupied.

She stopped in front of a store window that was showing the evening news. Takada was doing her usual announcements about what Kira wanted and blah, blah, blah.

Suddenly, she had an idea. One that she would need to enact soon. She just needed some things first.

She ran into a nearby store that looked like it had all that she needed.

…..

Mello was sitting on the couch, tapping his foot and snapping off a piece of chocolate with his teeth.

What was taking June so long? She went out on a walk over an hour ago. He hoped that she didn't get into trouble.

Suddenly, Near popped up on his computer screen.

Mello, what is June planning?

Oh shit, this couldn't be good.

"What are you talking about?"

I'm talking about the fact that she called me, asking to confirm the fact that Takada and Kira meet every night at the Teito Hotel. What is she thinking?

Mello's stomach dropped.

"I don't know. This is the first time I'm hearing about this. She's probably doing something on impulse again."

Find out what she is doing. We can't afford for her to be killed by Takada's security.

As if he needed to tell Mello twice. Near disconnected the feed and Mello was left staring at a blank computer screen.

He pulled out his cell phone and brought up June's number.

Just what was she up to this time?

What is June planning? You will know….in the next chapter.

Hopefully, since I do know how to go about the next chapter, that'll be up pretty soon.

But until then, review and let me know what you think. I hope this has been another good chapter.

Later!