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"Please state your name for the record."
"Nate River. I am also known as Near." The gray-haired boy smiled slightly at the jury, pausing, before saying, "I am one of the successors of L."
The courtroom gasped on cue, and the media buzzed noisily while the judge called for order.
Mikami rolled his eyes. It was all so predictable. It was barely a week into the stupid trial, and he was already sick to death of it. Almost literally.
He had gotten a fair bit of amusement out of the first witness, Matsuda something-or-other, a bumbling idiot whom Kira had used from the very beginning. He detailed the beginning of the investigation from the start, the joining with L, the suspicion of Raito Yagami and Misa Amane, the catching of the Yotsuba group and the discovery of the death note to the death of L.
Mikami had felt a surge of pride at that. He had enjoyed hearing the story of his god, knowing he would triumph over his opponent in the end.
Matsuda then went on to detail the involvement of Near and Mello and the turn the investigation had taken, the kidnapping of Sayu, Chief Yagami's death, the turn of events with Takada (this, Mikami recognized) and finally, the sequence of events leading up to the 28th.
His lawyer had parried with Matsuda for a few hours, asking him questions about dates, motives, his faith in Raito Yagami, who was now proven to be Kira, and other things, succeeding in making Matsuda look like a bumbling fool. It had blown a cloud of haziness over his testimony, but the core facts remained.
Mikami glanced up at Near, who was detailing his involvement with the SPK and how he came to believe Mikami and Raito were acting as Kira, with the prodding of the prosecutor. He listened for a moment, before turning away again.
The next witness had been a scientist, one who had examined the Death Note they had confiscated from him, that Near had tricked him out of. He recited the rules for the court, read from the inside in English, the universal language of science, then translated. He then identified which rule (the thirteen day one) was a fake, and that the notebook was made with no known substance known to mankind.
At Mikami's insistence, though to the befuddlement of his lawyer, the defense asked the scientist one question: did the notebook mention anything about a deal with a shinigami within it? The scientist responded in the negative, and Mikami was satisfied.
After all, he still had ownership of the Death Note, and the eyes that he kept with it, though the others didn't know that.
Mikami slouched slightly, his head propped up on his hand as he watched Near testify, detailing how he had outwitted Raito Yagami, Kira, and gotten to the warehouse and gotten him to admit he was Kira, and how his remaining SPK officers had arrested Mikami. The prosecutor thanked him and sat down.
Mikami couldn't help but smirk. It was obvious that he had been told not to journey past that particular event. Not many knew what had happened in the warehouse, but Mikami, having been there, knew all too well.
Standing up, Mikami straightened his tie, and the prosecutor bolted to his feet.
"Objection!"
"Approach."
The judge scowled down at them as the prosecutor scrambled to gather his bearings.
"Your Honor, this is a clear attempt to intimidate the witness!" the prosecutor said quickly. "He has threatened Near's life in person more than once! This is a clear intimidation attempt that the court should not allow!"
"Have I not the right to confront my accuser?" Mikami drawled. "And the right to assist in my own defense? I am an attorney myself, and I know the limits set before me, your Honor."
The judge looked down his nose skeptically at Mikami, who withstood his gaze coolly, and then at the prosecutor, who was sweating anxiously.
"I'm sorry, but I am forced to agree with Teru-san on this one," the judge admitted to the prosecutor, before fixing Mikami with a stern glare. "You say you know your limits. Be sure you stay within them, Teru."
"Yes, your Honor."
Defeated, the prosecutor slumped back to his seat, while Mikami took his time striding over to the witness stand, letting the media whisper and gossip about his victory in the back.
Mikami smirked as Near stiffened visibly as he neared, the small triumph showing coldly in his eyes.
"Near," he said. "You say you outwitted Kira-"
"You mean Raito Yagami," Near interjected.
"I will refer to him as Kira," Mikami continued smoothly. "Yet, can you explain then how it is that you are persecuting me, whom you claim you deduced was the 4th Kira, a pawn of Kira, and not the real Kira?"
Near scowled. He glared at him and muttered something venomously, the hateful expression looking odd on his normally passive face. The media leaned forward.
"Sorry. I didn't catch that."
"I said he escaped," Near said loudly.
There was a gasp from the jury, and Mikami's lips curled.
"Oh?" he said innocently. "I thought you said you outwitted Kira. Are you lying on the stand?"
"I said I outwitted Kira with the fake notebook," Near objected. "I never said-"
"So Kira outwitted you in the end?"
Near scowled again. "That's being judgmental toward-"
"Perhaps you should tell us exactly what happened after my arrest, Near."
Near bit down on his teeth hard, obviously trying not to grit them together.
"Certainly," he said, his voice strained. "After arresting you, I explained how Mello's sacrifice had led you to reveal the location of the real Death Note, effectively ruining Raito's plan. Raito Yagami then explained his purpose as Kira to all those present. When he realized that we planned on arresting him regardless-"
Mikami smirked. "Yes?"
"He asked if he could have a minute of silence to himself before his arrest. Seeing no immediate harm in it, I consented," Near said grudgingly. "Raito then thanked me, thanked Matsuda, and thanked you, before kneeling on the ground and closing his eyes.
"And then?"
"Thirty seconds later, Raito whipped a smoke grenade from his pocket and hurled it at us," Near said curtly. "As we were all coughing, the all the police Raito had come with except Matsuda died of heart attacks, there was a female yell of, "Raito-kun!" from the doorway, and Raito ran out while we were still doubled over, coughing, and has not been seen since."
"Kira escaped." Mikami paused to let this sink in. "So, Kira did outwit you in the end."
"I didn't know he would resurrect Misa Amane to help him in case anything went wrong!" Near yelled, insulted. "He had been working through you for months! He had no idea that you had messed up his plan! I didn't know he'd have a plan B like that!"
"Why didn't you know?" Mikami countered.
"I thought he trusted you!" Near said viciously. His eyes narrowed. "Why didn't he trust you, anyway? I thought you were his devout follower who could do know wrong. Why'd he need a plan B with you around?"
"I am the attorney here, so I will be asking the questions," Mikami informed him curtly. He paused. "However, I will answer yours."
The judge raised his eyebrows at the unusual turn of events, though it was not unheard of. The media gossiped, and the jury leaned forward.
"I am Kira's loyal servant, this is true," Mikami said, "and I would never purposely betray Kira. However, Kira is god, and I am only human, and, as all humans, I err, so there was need to cover in case I erred and failed god." Mikami turned.
But Near was not finished.
"But Kira's not god!" Near yelled. "You've met him now! You know who he is! He's a kid, practically! He was seventeen when he started killing criminals! He's human just like you! How can you still have such faith! Kira's no god, just an immature person playing at it!"
Mikami whirled around. "Have you managed to restore the world to the purity it once was?"Mikami snarled, his eyes flashing viciously. "Have you rooted out the unrighteous, judged the people, and created a utopia? He is a god in every sense of the word, and I will serve him until the end of my life."
Mikami's cold eyes bore into Near's hard grey, and the silence in the room was defeaning.
"No further questions."
Mikami turned around and returned to his seat.
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