Stripes
Chapter 4 - Father
Ice-Puppet
Warning: SPOILERS!!!! L's real name, and Near's real name. I think that's it?
Everyone's eyes lifted to the door of the hotel room as it opened on its own. Raito turned and stood as a blonde haired boy, no older than fifteen, entered.
"My name is M," he informed voice stern. "I am L's successor."
"L-L's… s-successor…?" Matsuda breathed, eyes wide.
"Yes," M informed. "Who is the head of this investigation?"
"Chef Yamagi," Raito informed, his eyes narrowing greatly as he stood. "He is absent at the moment. I am here in his place."
"You are his son, I presume?" M asked.
"Yes," Raito informed. "Yamagi Raito."
M snorted, closing his eyes. He let out a breath, and addressed the room once more. "I am not L, do not mistake me for him. We have very different ways of solving crimes. Mine includes me, myself, and I. Although L trusted all of you, I do not, as it obviously led to his death." He stepped in further, a redheaded boy possibly the same age although a bit taller entering after him. "This is Matt. He will be my 'Watari', so to speak. If you need to speak to me, you will contact him."
"But-" Matsuda started.
M narrowed his eyes. "I will repeat myself once more. I am not L. Therefore, whatever you are about to say will not matter to me."
Matsuda sighed and looked down.
They filed out of the room, one at a time.
"Raito," M caught the boy's attention. His eyes narrowed dangerously, as if reading Raito's very soul. "I assure you, I will find L's killer. And when I do, jail will seem like heaven to him."
Raito glared back, exiting the room. Matt closed the door behind him.
Mello approached the computer, seating himself in front of it. It appeared Raito had tried to hack back into L's deleted files. He snorted, beginning the message that L left in case of his death.
"If you are reading this message, I am d-" Mello cut the message short, typing in three letters. L. M. N.
"Mello," L's voice came over the speakers. Matt nearly jumped. Mello blinked in surprise. "Don't act so surprised," L's voice said. "Roger informed me of Near's disinterest with becoming my successor when I put him under room arrest." Matt turned away from the screen. "Matt," L continued, causing the redhead to jump again. "I'm assuming you are there. Despite your hatred of what Mello did, I know you have been best friends since childhood and you would not abandon him so easily."
"Man's a fuckin' genius," Matt muttered.
"Matt," L's recording continued. "I know the possibility of you hating me is so close to 100 that it scares me, but if what Mello told me that night was true, then what I did was just. The two of you, no matter how much you hate to hear it, are to young to be rushing into a relationship of that size. At your age, I made the same mistake, and the consequences of my actions still haunt me to this day.
"I realize that it is possible that you truly love Near. And if, after four weeks of no contact with him, you still feel strongly for him, then please contact Roger and inform him that Lawliet releases the hold on you two. He will know what you mean.
"Now, on to my current case. Or, rather, yours. If I am dead, which I must be if you are hearing this, then Kira is Yamagi Raito. The killing method, as hard as it is to believe, is a black notebook referred to as the 'Death Note'. I am not sure how, but when a human's name is written into the book, they will die. However, the pages are erased, so a handwriting sample to Yamagi Raito's will be impossible. You will have to find some other way to bring justice to him.
"I will not just leave it at this, however. Matt, I know you wanted to find your brother. I have information on him and the family he is with under the password protect. Also, you wanted to find Near's real father." L paused, his voice breaking slightly. Matt and Mello shared a confused look. "The information I'm about to share with you will be shocking, but I assure you, it is the truth.
"Near was told his mother was raped when she became pregnant, but this is not the truth. In reality, she was young and thought she was in love, but after becoming pregnant her world began to crash around her. The depression caved in, and when he was only two months old, she attempted suicide. Near was taken from her care, and given to her father. She was placed in a mental institute. The location is under password protect."
L paused again, letting out a deep sigh. Matt began to chew on his fingernails nervously. L knew who Near's real father was? Why did he never tell him?!
"Near's father, like his mother, was young… he worked a twenty four hour job, one that would not allow him to take care of a child. He was scared, and unsure of his future. Having the child with him would be unsafe for the boy, as well as himself."
He paused once more, the pieces started coming together. Matt let out a hiss, falling back into a chair. "No way…" he breathed, his eyes tearing up.
"You must understand," L whispered, and they swore they heard tears in his voice. "It's not that I didn't love him. But letting him know the truth was unsafe, and the last thing I wanted was his death over some criminal with a grudge."
"H-He…" Mello gaped.
"Mello," L concluded. "Please bring Yamagi Raito to justice. However you see fit."
The recording cut off, leaving both boys staring at the computer screen.
Mello was the first to speak, his voice shaking. "Matt," he breathed. "Bring me Yamagi."
Matt nodded numbly, searching through Watari's phone and dialing the number.
--
"You kick me out, and half an hour later you want me back?" Raito inquired as he entered the hotel room, noting the quiet nature of both boys.
"We have some business with you," M informed as Matt closed and locked the door.
"What kind of business, M?" Raito asked, looking at Matt for a moment.
"Call me Mello," Mello brushed off, before motioning for Raito to sit and doing the same.
"Raito, if I may call you that," Mello began off-handedly. "The real reason I asked you here, which you may have already known, is the fact that I know you are Kira." Raito's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. Mello hummed. "This death note of yours, its quite an interesting item. However, it was fairly obvious to me that the rules in the back were made up, as you are still very much alive." He motioned to Matt, who handed him the booklet. "You see, L was not as stupid as you assumed. He let you hack into his computer and view his files, but in order to view his most secretive items, you had to have a certain password."
Mello leaned forward, tapping the black notebook against his knee. "This password is only known by three people. Myself, Matt, and a third person." His eyes sparkled. "The third person is L's only son."
Raito's eyes widened.
"Being Kira, I don't expect you to care much," Mello mumbled, leaning back, laying the Death Note across his lap. "But yes, L had a son. I, in fact, had no idea until I viewed the files past his password. Sadly, his son has no idea as well. He had always believed himself to be an orphan." He grinned slightly. "You know, the wonderful thing about this notebook is the fact that the writing disappears. Therefore, that idea in your head that you can find his son because his real name was written is insane."
Raito snorted, sitting back. "How are you going to prove I'm Kira, then, if the writing disappears?"
"Oh, I don't need to prove it." Mello placed the notebook on the table, and opened it to the front page. "You see, Yamagi Raito, I am not L. L's sense if justice is placing his enemy in jail, and letting the legal system take care of them. My sense of justice is torturing the enemy to a point I think they deserve. Read the lines there, if you will, my good sir."
Raito narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. His eyes widened when he read the words.
Yamagi Raito
Traffic accident
Raito enters the Skyline Hotel at 5:15 pm when called by an acquaintance.
He enters the acquaintance's hotel room on the seventh floor, has a chat, and then leaves.
As soon as Raito exits the hotel, a car pulling in to check in hits him and he is killed instantly.
"You'll notice," Mello went on, voice high. "That the time of death is not placed. Meaning, whenever you decide to leave this hotel, for any reason, through any doorway, you will be hit by a car and killed. Now, this can easily be solved… you could never leave this hotel. But what about your life? Your family? Can you really live here, as a hermit, until the day that your insanity literally kills you?"
Raito's eyes narrowed and he stood up, fists clenched. "You bastard…"
"I'm a bastard?" Mello inquired, closing the Death Note. "You killed the father of a young boy who, before today, thought he was an orphan, and I'm the bastard?" his eyes narrowed. "Kira, the holy god, who only judges those who oppose what he thinks is just. But tell me, Raito… what did L do? He never killed a soul. He never raped anyone. He never stole anything. L's only mistake throughout his entire life was never telling his son who his father was. You murdered an innocent, Kira. Doesn't sound much like a god to me."
Teeth clenching, Raito stood and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Mello stood, walking over to the phone. He picked it up and dialed a number as if by memory, before holding it to his ear.
Matt removed the Death Note from the table and watched the blonde make the call, his eyes narrowed.
Mello turned to Matt, staring at him for a moment. When the person on the other end of the phone picked up, he handed it to the redhead.
"What?" Matt questioned, frowning.
"You heard what he said," Mello responded. "If you love him, even after all that time, then say it."
"Mello…"
"You were right." Mello crossed his arms. "I had plenty of chances to say it, and I didn't. It's my own damn fault. Now say it or hang up the fucking phone."
Sighing, Matt placed the phone against his mouth. "Roger?"
"Matt?" Roger questioned. "What's wrong?"
"L wanted me to tell you something. He said to tell you that, if I am still in love with Near, even after being away from him for four weeks, to release us from the no contact." He paused. "He said Lawliet."
Roger was silent for a moment, before he let out a small sigh. "I will retrieve Near."
The phone line went dead silent for a moment. Mello stood and left the room without a word, both to leave Matt to his privacy and to not have to hear the rest of the conversation.
"Near," came a soft voice on the other end of the line. Matt fell back onto the sofa with a sigh.
"It's Matt…" he whispered, closing his eyes.
"How is the investigation going?" Near inquired, his voice showing he barely cared.
"Mello gave the bastard a taste of his own murder weapon…" Matt reported. He sighed, lifting a hand to his head. "Near, what I said to you before… I thought Roger was for sure going to keep us away from each other. I was lying… I didn't want them to lock us away anymore."
Near gave a slow sigh. "Matt, if you wanted to protect my heart, breaking it was not the way to do it."
Matt's eyes closed. "That… that was an error on my part."
"Stop talking to me like a detective," Near breathed. "Talk to me like a human being."
A sigh fell from his lips once more. "I'm sorry, I just… I love you so much, and I don't want to end up hurting you again."
"Everyone makes mistakes, Matt. All relationships have flaws. It's human nature. No two people can get along perfectly, it would put the world out of balance." Near paused. "Even though we might be young, and we may not know what exactly we're doing, I love you. And I trust in that."
"I'm so glad…" Matt breathed, a smile crossing his face.
Near paused. "Matt?"
"Yeah?"
"Why did Mello try to sabotage us?"
Matt snorted. "He… liked you."
"…What an odd way of showing it."
The happy moment suddenly turning into a silent one, Matt swallowed the lump in his throat. "L found my brother."
He could almost feel Near smile. "That's wonderful."
Matt clenched his eyes shut tightly. "He… also found your father."
Near breathed heavily into the phone. "Oh?" He questioned, his voice cracking a little.
"Near… this is gonna sound really strange for me to say, but…" lifting a hand to his note, Matt pinched it slightly in an attempt to stop his oncoming headache. "L… L was your dad."
"Hu-huh?" That was the first time he'd ever heard Near sound so completely off-guard. He'd shocked the boy before, but near sounded as if fifteen years of genius had suddenly jumped out the window, and his IQ dropped below forty.
"It's true," Matt whispered. "L told us so in a message he left for Mello and I… he's your father, Near."
"No…" Near whispered. "That… that can't be true…"
Matt wasn't sure what to say. Was Near upset because L was his father, or because now that he knew it was to late? He wished more than anything he could be there to comfort the crying boy, silently cursing himself for coming along with Mello.
"Near…" Matt breathed, trying to offer an comfort he could over the phone.
"I…" Near sniffled lightly on the other end. "I need to think. I'll call you back in a little while… Watari's phone, right?"
Matt nodded, although Near couldn't see it. "Yeah, that's right."
"Okay." Then a dial tone.
Matt sighed and hung the phone up, staring at the item quietly.
"I have your bother's number," Mello stated, entering the room once he heard the phone hang up. "And the institute where Near's mother is."
Matt turned to him, a question in his eyes.
Mello closed L's laptop and turned to the redhead. "You and I have some investigating to do."
--
Getting information out of a mental institute was not an easy task, however with a few whispers of L's name they were in to the records almost instantly.
Near's mother's name was Nadine River. They found her current address, in a small city in America, and took one of L's jets. The entire flight, Matt couldn't help but stare at Watari's cell phone. Although it was powered down, he expected it to ring at any moment. Near had said he would call him back… he just hoped that he was being honest.
"Calm down," Mello told him after a few hours. "You freaking out will not help Near in any way."
"I'm just worried," Matt admitted.
"Try to think about something else. Or, if you have to think about Near, focus on the positive." Mello's advice was good, and Matt closed his eyes, trying to follow it.
"Do you want to play a videogame?" Matt asked one afternoon, the sun slipping past his curtains and the yelps of children outside doing nothing to catch his attention.
"I've never played one," Near admitted as he entered Matt's room, the taller boy closing the door behind him.
"Really?" Matt gasped. When Near nodded, he shook his head. "Videogames are ten times better then reality. Depending on which one you're playing, you can be anything you want to be." Thinking for a moment, Matt 'ah-ha!'ed and rushed over to his collection. He pulled out a game and placed it in his play station, before motioning for Near to sit beside him.
"This game is called Metal Gear Solid," Matt explained. "In it, you get to be a detective called Solid Snake. He's mysterious, like L. No one really knows his true identify."
Near smiled lightly. Matt read his mind – when he had said 'anything you want to be', the first thing that came to his mind was L.
"Here, I'll show you how to play," Matt chirped, handing the controller to Near. He wrapped his arms around the albino boy from behind, laying his hands over Near's and moving his fingers to the buttons. "This is how you move, this is how you fire your weapon, this is how you contact people, and this is how you dodge-roll. If you go up to a wall and press this button, you can sneak against it."
When Matt moved to pull away, Near grabbed his hand. "Wait," he said, eyes dancing mysteriously. "Show me again."
Matt smirked slightly, and wrapped his arms back around Near. "Roger that, N."
--
They reached the city with ease, the flight long but not unenjoyable. Matt had trouble sleeping, wishing he could be back at the orphanage once more, but once they set out their mission they intended to finish it.
The address they had been given was a little house with a fenced back yard and a small picket fence in front. It looked well taken care of, and from the two cars in the front yard, they knew she was not living alone.
Swallowing the lumps in their throats, Matt and Mello approached the front door. Mello raised a shaking fist and knocked lightly, removing it when a woman called out, 'Coming!' in a happy voice.
She opened the door and looked them both over, as they did to her.
Her face was almost an identical copy of Near's, although more womanly. She had dark colored hair and fairly tanned skin, which could throw anyone off. However, being albino, it wasn't unlikely that Near's parents had both been dark haired.
"Are you Nadine River?" Mello questioned, watching the woman's face.
"Nadine Wilson, now," she informed. "But I was once Nadine River…" her eyes looked over both boys. "What is this about…?"
Matt cleared his throat as Mello continued. "We're… friend's of your son."
Nadine gripped the door handle tightly. "You… you boys… know Nate?" When both of them nodded, she frowned. "Do you know Law-" she cut herself off. "L?"
"My name is Mello," Mello began. "I am L's successor. L… is dead."
Nadine placed a hand over her mouth in shock. After a moment, she asked, "It was that Kira case, wasn't it?" When they both nodded, she sighed. "Somehow, I knew it…" Suddenly she placed a hand on her forehead. "Oh, how rude of me! Come in, come in!"
She ushered them inside and sat them down on the living room sofa. Both boys noticed baby toys scattered around the living room.
"Who is it, dear?" A man asked, entering from the kitchen, a baby girl in his arms.
"These are friend's of Nate," Nadine explained. "Mello, and…?"
"Matt," Matt introduced.
"Mello and Matt," she concluded. "This is my husband, Jeffrey."
"You haven't come to tell us Nate is dead, have you?" Jeffrey asked with a frown. When they both shook their heads he sighed in relief. "I'm am glad to hear that." He left them to their privacy, cooing to the baby in his arms.
"How is Nate doing?" Nadine asked, frowning softly. "I hope his father's death hasn't torn him up too dearly."
Matt and Mello glanced at each other. "Well, in all honesty…" Matt breathed. "Near… or, Nate, rather, didn't even know L was his father until L's death."
"What a thing to keep from your son…" Nadine breathed.
"He said it was to protect him," Mello explained. "He didn't want any criminals with grudges going after Near… sorry, Nate, and killing him just because."
"I can see how that makes sense," Nadine agreed with a small nod. "But still, I'm sure that tore Nate apart." She shook her head and frowned softly. "I've wanted for fifteen years to apologize to him, and to explain myself. I was so young… I was only fifteen myself when I conceived. And Lawliet was on his way to becoming a huge detective, secretive and what not… he could pay for our house but he would never be home, never be around to help me raise Nate." She looked up, tears filling her eyes. "I was so overwhelmed, my depression got the better of me and I tried to end it all. I never meant to hurt Nate, I loved him from the bottom of my heart."
"Near never doubted you," Matt explained. "He only spoke of good things about you. He's never hated you for what happened, never blamed you."
Nadine smiled warmly. "Would it be okay for me to see him, one of these days? I would love to get to know him, and I'm sure his baby sister would love to have an elder brother in her life…"
Matt nodded. "It may take him some time. He was very ruffled by L's death. L had always been his roll model, and he just found out he was his father. But I'm sure he'd love to meet you, and his sister."
"Thank you for coming all this way…" Nadine breathed, eyes tearing up again. "Nate must mean a lot to you."
"He does," Matt breathed. "He means the world to me."
--