The four member's eyes slightly widened in shock. Him? He was the new L? Their thoughts buzzed with questions, but they remained silent, most thought the answers would come in due time. Matsuda's, on the other hand, curiosity got the better of him. He opened his mouth and spoke what was tugging at his mind, "If you're the new L…then what happened to Near?" He asked, indubitable inquisitiveness in his voice and a slightly perplexed expression on his face.
The entrancing smile on the man vanished at the mention of Near, "Well, we were going to have to get to that anyway," He said and he inhaled deeply, "Three days ago, at 8:45 P.M., a bomb went off on the secluded shore in mid-southern Japan in a secret underground facility. The bomb's blast was powerful, estimated to be as strong as 100 kilograms of pure nitroglycerin exploding. It killed everyone inside instantly, leaving no traces of that place ever existing. Near was inside that building when the explosives detonated," He finished, a solemn expression on his delicate face as he looked upon the group and told them the truth.
A silence fell over the group. It seemed unfathomable to even consider Near dying. He was their ace card and now he was gone? Just like that? The question as to why rang in everyone's head.
"What was this building exactly?" Asked Aizawa as the others listened intently as L brought his eyes down towards the rolls in front of him. "That question will be answered shortly." Said L as his hand lifted slightly, chopsticks still balanced between the boney fingers that seemed to move flawlessly as he reached to the right of him, picking up a roll from another plate.
"I brought you all here because the circumstances of this case are perhaps more disturbing then any of you may know," Said L as he placed the roll in the air, balancing it in between the wooden sticks; his hand tightening while some of his veins seemed to bulge to the surface. His hands seemed like the most masculine part in his appearance besides his voice. "I ask that you leave questions and any comments till the ending of my explanation. I don't like to be interrupted." Said L as he looked away from the roll and passed everyone a stern glance.
"Exactly a year and three days ago you all should remember the event that happened in the warehouse. The capture of Teru Mikami, the death of Light Yagami, and the end of Kira's reign. It came to Near's attention only ten days afterwards that the man that died in that warehouse was in fact not Light Yagami, but instead a different man who was used to impersonate Light. Meaning that-" L was quickly cut off as Matsuda blurted out, "You mean Light is alive?! He's not dead?!"
L furrowed his brows as Matsuda opened his mouth about to continue with his shouting, but came to a stop as L shoved the roll inside Matsuda's mouth. L replied sternly, "I said, no interruptions."
L pulled his hand away as Matsuda's mouth remained stuffed with the roll. The hazel eyed beauty smirked at the sight and replied, "It's nice to see your mouth put to better use."
Matsuda instantly looked down and blushed from embarrassment. He slowly moved his jaw chewing the, what he found to be Hosomaki with tuna, sushi. It was simple, but he enjoyed the taste and savored it a little before swallowing and raising his head to meet the amused hazel eyes of L. Matsuda's cheeks were still a minor pink, but it started to fade as the eyes left his and returned to the group.
L seemed content that Matsuda would no longer interrupt him and picked up another piece of this time, Nigiri, sushi. He brought the sushi up slightly and balanced it gracefully with his chopsticks before returning to his point, "Yes, which means that Light Yagami is still alive and well. There is another thing you should know. The last Death Note, contrary to what you all believe, was never destroyed. It was kept inside that underground facility, where Teru Mikami also was being held." He said. Matsuda opened his mouth as if to say something, but L glanced over at him, making eye contact, and Matsuda instantly shut his mouth, deciding not to interrupt the dazzling man.
L glanced around the table at the others as he continued, "I know all of you must feel the sense of betrayal, knowing that Near kept all of this from you, but you must keep in mind at the safety issues Near and his group had to consider. Mikami was held as a captive for questioning, we assumed he knew where Light was...So, we kept him around, hoping to get it out of him one day. To make a long story short, when the explosion happened we had no way of knowing who had all been killed because of how massive the explosion was. Bodies were hard to come by and many were ashes and dust before we could get anything from them. We had hoped both the Death Note and Mikami had been destroyed in the process."
L paused as he placed the Nigiri roll on top of his three roll tower and continued, "But now that these sudden deaths are happening, all within the United States, I find it easy to assume that Mikami escaped along with the notebook. The question is...How?"
Matsuda watched as the man sat his chopsticks down, finally breaking away from them. L then leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table as he rested his chin in the palm of his propped up arm. The man's middle finger traced his bottom lip, massaging it back and forth for a moment as he replied, "Mikami couldn't have done it alone because if he had, he would have done it long ago instead of waiting a year in confinement...Which brings me to the conclusion that someone from the outside helped bring down that building and get both Mikami and the notebook out of the building before the explosives went off."
L smiled at the others, it was an amused one and his beauty seemed to just jump out to everyone when his lips curled into the small delicate smile. "Meaning Light finally made his move."
L was silent after that and sat up straight, and his hands folded elegantly in his lap. The four men all looked at the striking man, waiting to see if he would continue, which he did, "I gathered you all here today because you have all dealt with the Kira case, which has now been reopened. I will enjoy working with all of you to catch him. " He said and took a pause as he gazed at the group. He was silent, and the men listened intently, curious to know if he had anything more to say. After a few moments of nothing being said, L spoke, "Any questions?" he asked, looking specifically at Matsuda and giving a miniscule smirk.
Matsuda felt as if he was being challenged, almost persuaded to say something. The young agent remained silent for a slight moment before asking, "Umm, I have one question." Said Matsuda as L nodded his head, his smirk turning into an innocent smile.
"Proceed." Said L as Matsuda nodded his head and fell back into his usual personality. "Is there any actual evidence that Light is alive? And on top of that...How did he survive after the shinigami wrote down his name in the Death Note? I mean, how do you hide from a name?"
"Well, let me start off by saying that I honestly do not have any hard core evidence to convince anyone that Light Yagami is still alive, though I do have my reasons to assume. As for the name situation, Near checked up on every document and file that existed on Light after he found out that the corpse in the warehouse was in fact someone else. He found everything in place except one thing, his birth certificate." L focused on the group as a whole as he raised one of his hands out in front of him, to use it as he made gestures while he spoke.
"It seems like Light found a way area the Death Note. You change your name on your original birth certificate, you change the name that is required to be written in for you to die by the Death Note. I do have to give him an applaud on that discovery, but it does not change the fact that this man is highly dangerous, deceptive, and intelligent." L paused as Ide decided to continue the question. "So, if Light changed his name and got a man to impersonate him...Why did he die when Light's name was written in the Death Note?"
"Because Light changed that man's legal name to Light Yagami. Like I said before...Light has an intelligence that keeps him one step ahead of the game...Until now. I will match his steps and be sure that he receives a punishment worth the crimes he has committed." L narrowed his eyes as he gazed down at the food on the table as he finished, "I will finish what my brother could not."
***
Light pressed the four-digit code into the security system before the front door unlocked allowing him to enter his large pent house. As Light walked into the room he caught sight of his laptop resting on his desk, completely shut; the Death Note inside no doubt. Evening had already come and Light was exhausted from the days work he had just gone through. All he wanted to do now was turn on the news and see if mass pandemonium had abrupt just yet and if people were beginning to admit that Kira's reign had returned.
Light sat himself down, noticing Teru wasn't in the room, and turned on the television. The television was already set to the news and Light listened intently for any Kira news.
"In other news," The female reporter started, "Bizarre deaths have occurred everywhere in the world. Top wanted criminals have died of sudden heart attacks. It was stated that all of the attacks were sudden, since most of the men were in perfect or good health. Is this some sort of weird coincidence or, as many think, has the person known as "Kira" returned?" The reporter continued and Light smirked. Kira was going to make a full comeback. He would return into people's lives and become the god of the new world.
Light heard a soft crunching sound, which slightly interrupted his thinking, and turned in the direction it was coming from. He found Mikami walking out of the kitchen, apple in one hand, and a book in the other. His long hair was placed in a high pony-tail above his head and his contacts were removed for the day; he wore his black rimmed glassed. They were perched perfectly upon his nose as he looked down at the book, so engrossed in it that he still hadn't noticed Light yet. He chewed thoughtfully and swallowed, and brought the apple back to his lips to take another bite, as he walked slowly over to where Light was in the living room.
Light was sitting near an arm of the couch as he leaned just slightly, letting the side of his head be supported by his propped up arm. Mikami was something rare to Light. A devoted follower that would die just for him and do his duty until his last breath. Light smirked at the thought, it just may have to come to that. Right now though Light could not afford to lose Mikami, he was his eyes and his devoted follower.
"I see you did what I asked, the deaths have already made it to the news," Said Light as Teru stopped merely a few feet away from him. He was headed towards the couch in the first place, but the realization that God was there and watching him. It made him freeze.
"My Lord..." Teru whispered as he wiped his lips quickly, embarrassed of the lack of formality in his appearance at the moment. "Forgive me, I-" Teru was cut off as Light smirked at Teru's nervous antics and replied, "Forgive you for what? You've done nothing wrong, Mikami."
Mikami gave off a nervous grin at his god. It was kind of awkward, he felt as if he should be doing something…productive in this situation, and yet, here he was, eating an apple and reading an American book called "1984". Yet God was saying that it was okay; that nothing was wrong, but he still couldn't help the feeling that emerged. Teru continued to walk towards the couch as Light's eyes followed, watching his every move.
Mikami sat on the opposite end of the couch from Light. He was a little uncomfortable at first, and met God's eyes as he lifted his feet to the couch, as if asking Light permission if it was okay. Light did not object, he just continued to watch Teru. Mikami turned his body forward, so that one leg was on top of the other, his knees bent so as to not touch Light. His book was placed on the arm of the couch and he held it open in the center, his other hand with the apple slightly propped up.
Teru glanced over at Light one more time before composing himself fully and looking back down at the pages of his book. He slowly fell back into it and lifted his apple every once in a while, biting off a piece of it and chewing it; subconsciously licking his lips every now and then to keep the juice form escaping.
"Do you mind if I ask what you're reading?" Asked Light, watching Mikami with an amused smile. Noticing something Mikami did not. Teru's mind quickly jotted away from the book as he looked at Light in slight confusion; Shocked that God was making small talk with him and not quite sure if he had heard Light's question correctly.
"I'm sorry?" Asked Mikami, cursing himself for making his God repeat himself.
"I asked what book you were reading." Said Light, focusing on Mikami's delicate face. Light's eyes seemed to be eyeing Mikami like a predator would do to it's prey. Teru was stunned for a moment, noticing Light's fierce eyes gaze upon him. The look appeared darker then it was due to the way his bangs framed his face.
"Oh...Uhh, It's called 1984. It's rather good so far." Said Mikami as Light smiled somewhat innocently as he replied, "The ending is even better." Mikami smiled in a nervous manner and asked, "You've read it before?"
Light nodded his head as he replied, motioning his free hand with simple gestures. "I had to read it back in high school. It was one of my favorite books, surprisingly by an American author."
Mikami smiled delicately, admiring the fact that God once used to be human. Used to be just like him. A mortal stuck in a God forsaken world full of filth and crime...Until Light became Kira and Kira became God.
Light let out a soft groan as he stood up from the couch and stretched his back before letting out a tired yawn. "Well, it's been a long day. Work and everything else...I'm just glad I have you here now to help me clean up this world." Teru felt a leap in his heart, God was happy that he was at his side. God did need him, no...God wanted him by his side. He chose him after all, out of everyone, he chose him.
"Though, before I get cleaned up." Said Light as he walked towards Mikami and stood tall, a mischievous grin on the young God's face as Mikami looked up at him in silence. "Perhaps you should clean yourself." Light finished as he brought his hand forward and rested his index finger on Mikami's lower lip, slowly grazing it across the pink skin until he pulled away.
Teru was empty on words and air supply as he watched a small piece of apple rest on Light's finger and slowly make it's way into his own mouth, savoring the flavor of the apple. With one last smirk Light walked away, getting ready to clean up and settle for the night.
Teru released the breath that he had not realized he had been holding once Light left the room. He let go of the, already marked, page of his book and traced it over his bottom lip gingerly. Did God…God…really just do that? Teru couldn't help but be skeptic. Mikami's eyes seemed to widen slightly and an exceptionally light pink coloring covered his pale cheeks. He was blushing? Teru never blushed, it was amazing what God could do to you…how he could make you feel. But Mikami stopped his thought process, not permitting it to go any further.
Mikami sighed as he looked at the apple in his hand. It seemed he had lost his appetite, and so, he got up from his comfortable position from the couch and grabbed his book. He headed into the kitchen and threw away his apple. Teru exited the kitchen, turning off that light and the one to the living room, and made his way to his room, his finger still grazing over his bottom lip every now and then.