A/N: And Near makes his appearance. As does Kousei…who took on a larger role than I originally meant him to. I also got the feeling from the anime that Near is quite arrogant (most of what he explained seemed to be for others' benefits), and like L, had an intellectual rival to keep him closer to earth. With Mello dead thanks to Light, Near is now lacking that so don't take everything he says at face value. He also looks up to the original L, like in the case with C-Kira (he was acting how he expected the original L to act).

This chapter is also for the 5,10,20,50,70,100 fandom challenge to cover fandom 20 (Death Note).

Blank Note

11. Glasses

'Well,' Near said, slowly stirring a spoon of sugar into his milk. 'This is interesting.'

The rest of the surviving members of the SPK weren't as calm.

'Kira must have escaped somehow!' Stephan exclaimed, remembering the risks and losses they had taken to catch him the first time.

'No,' the 3rd L responded. 'I believe we have already been over this, but I'll explain again. The original Kira, Light Yagami, was man quite confident in both his intellect and his definition of justice. Indeed, he believed Kirawas justice and most of his actions centred around upholding that belief and carrying out actions to further benefit it. Killing criminals is one example; killing those who got too close to his trial is another. Therefore if we were dealing with this Kira again, the first thing he would do is eliminate those who know his true identity.' He took a sip of his artificially sweetened beverage. 'After that, it wouldn't be difficult for a person with his genius and ruthlessness to track down all existing records that would incriminate him and dispose of them, thus leaving him safely anonymous before he makes his next move.'

'You make it sound as though it was a mistake…'

Near held up a hand. 'No,' he said evenly. 'We were and still are quite sure that Light Yagami is dead, and so are all others save us and the remaining Task Force members who came into contact with the Death Note.' He frowned a little. 'It is not impossible that Light Yagami had a back-up plan that would see the return of Kira to our civilisation, however I believe he was confident that he would reign victorious and did not think to make additional plans should he happen to die. Also, if that were the case, then the MO of our current victims would show a closer correlation to Kira and his ideals; rather, it seems to me this new Kira is simply somebody who has the Death Note, has used it once without believing it, and is now trying to cover it up.'

'By killing other people.' The blonde, Halle, frowned. 'In a twisted way, it makes sense, using a river to cover a few drops. It seems like a child's mistake, for an adult knows it is futile.'

'Indeed.' Near reached towards the second glass, the steel spoon tapping it and letting the tune ring before fading into the air. He tapped it a few more times contemplatively, before adding two spoons of sugar into the contents and slowly stirring. 'I wonder which is more dangerous: someone who does not see his way or one who sees it too clearly?' He let a slow smile grace his face. 'I haven't had an interesting case like this in a while.'

12. Delete

'What in the world am I doing?' Kouji muttered to himself. The Death Note was weighing on every corner of his mind, and everywhere he went he saw possibilities for using it. Luckily, for the most part, the more reasonable voice in his mind yelled itself hoarse to remind him how morally wrong it all was, but that had the down-side in bringing about a new wave of head-vs-heart debates.

As a result, everybody in the house noted his distracted behaviour, and while Kouichi didn't comment on it (except apparently giving up the presumption that the younger twin was coming down with a fever), his father and stepmother demonstrated their concerns.

He brushed them, but it was near impossible to convince parents that one was "all right".

Still, he threw the Death Note at Ryuk for his suggestion. And then hurriedly hid it under the bed when his father came in to see what the matter was.

The matter, of course, was the Death Note. Or more importantly, the power it possessed and the paranoia it bred.

Because could he really kill his parents if it came to that as Ryuk said?

The previous Kira had, after all, led his father to his death and shown no remorse for it.

13. Phone

Kousei frowned at the phone, although it was hardly the instrument's fault that his vacation had been rescheduled again.

'Isn't there anyone else available?' he asked.

'I'm afraid not,' came the smooth voice from the other line. 'You've been working as the prosecution for the NPA, and particularly for our subdivision. And L's not really someone you can say no to.'

'True enough,' Kousei sighed. 'Is this about the recent murders Chief?'

'Yes it is,' Aizawa said regretfully. 'Naturally, I can't disclose any details until you meet with us tomorrow. L will be sending a representative.'

'In person?

That demonstrated the seriousness of the case, which honestly baffled the lawyer as serial killers weren't unusual in Tokyo. What was unusual of course was the rumours surrounding their MO, but shouldn't it be natural to expect others to use Kira's killing methods once discovered.

He had a feeling he was going to suddenly find out a lot more about the original Kira than he would like.

14. Replace

Aizawa still felt uncomfortable in the Chief's chair; to him, it was always Soichiro Yagami's. The man was however dead and buried and had been so for many years, so the thought was purely sentimental. Still, it was easy to feel insecure in the role with another Kira on the loose.

Especially since this Kira was very different to the one they had known, if L's assumption was correct. And it probably was, for hadn't the first L been right as to Kira's identity, and hadn't they all payed the price for doubting him?

But when the symbol "L" appeared on the screen, he pushed those doubts aside.

15. Quit

Kousei had never thought being a lawyer could be so dangerous, but he was starting to rethink his choice of profession as the former CIA and SPK agent handed him a new ID.

'But - but this is illegal,' he protested.

'It's necessary,' the young albino man who had introduced himself as the new L cut in, before anyone else could comment. 'Kira's method of killing involves a face and a name, and in this case we can be fairy certain he has no current ties to the police. This is, therefore, a fairly effective means to protect the identities of my team, the NPA and any outside assistors...unless Kira is known to one of you. And I would not honestly be surprised if that were the case.'

They all knew better than to protest; it was, after all, what had happened the last time.

'Although,' L continued. 'We will need to establish a relationship of trust to be able to apprehend this new killer.'

Kousei couldn't help but notice that, being one of the few faces in the room that weren't involved in the hunt for the original killer (there were also a few more recent NPA members), a lot of this scrutiny was on him.