Chapter 13: Toy Shop Madness

Carter took them to the penthouse. L and Light really weren't surprised. Even though Near wouldn't appreciate the room, it certainly suited someone of his rank. Carter worried the entire elevator ride, asking repeatedly, "You're sure he'll know who you are? I could be in serious trouble…"

"It's all right." Light said. "We knew him when he was younger. We haven't been in touch in a long time."

"I seriously doubt he's forgotten us." L added. "We had too much of an impact on him to allow him to forget." He and Light shared a glance, remembering everything that both of them had contributed to Near's life. Goals and loss. Challenge and victory.

Carter looked puzzled. "May I ask how you met Near?"

L shook his head. "Let us see him first. If he wants to, he can explain everything."

They reached the top floor, and Carter knocked on the door to the multi-room suite. An affirmation reached their ears, and Carter opened the door.

"I'm back!" he called, pulling the trenchcoat out of his bag and hanging it up with the hat. He had taken the coat off in the car, to avoid being recognized as Watari. Light and L trailed after him uncertainly. He went around the corner into the living area.

"How did it go?" Near asked. L suppressed the urge to gasp. Near sounded just the same. He could close his eyes and easily imagine that when he walked around the corner he would see the same eighteen-year-old he had watched orchestrate Light's downfall. He reached for Light's hand, holding on tightly as they walked around the corner. Near's back was to them, as he built a house of cards on the kitchen table. In that regard, apparently he hadn't changed much.

"It went fine. Interpol's worried about the new killings, obviously. They've requested your help, since you've worked on this case before." Carter said.

Near sighed, his eyes still on his cards. "They should have anticipated that someone as powerful as Kira would not go away forever. I believe I warned them of that after the original Kira was killed."

Carter glanced back at Light and L. "Near, umm…" he began hesitantly. "There were some people who wanted to speak to you…"

Near stiffened. "Who?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but they seem like I can trust them."

"Are they here?"

"…Yes."

Near turned around in the swivel chair he was sitting in. "Carter, it was entirely foolish to…" He trailed off as he saw Light and L standing in the doorway. The card he was holding in his hand dropped to the floor, forgotten. "Carter?"

"Yeah, Near?"

"Could you leave for a while, please?"

Carter nodded, completely confused. He left the room, and Near stared at them in shock.

Near looked remarkably similar to how he had looked seventeen years ago. He was one of those people who don't change much as they get older. His hair was slightly longer, fluffed up almost to the beginnings of being curly. He still dressed in white, but his clothing looked less like pajamas and more like normal clothes. His eyes were as intense as both remembered, a flat onyx that seemed to want to draw you in, like a black hole. Those eyes were currently wide, subtle confusion filling them to the point of spilling over.

"L…?" he whispered, half to himself. His eyes drifted from L to Light, and narrowed. "Light Yagami… Kira…" Turning back to the table, he hit the tabletop sharply with one hand. The card castle collapsed on itself, forming an almost-neat pile. "What's going on?" he muttered.

"Near…" L said. "We–"

"L." Near interrupted. He turned back around, and Light was astonished to see that cold, emotionless Near seemed almost upset. Anger glinted faintly in his eyes. "If this is a gift, then I'll say my piece now. You don't know how long I've wanted to talk to you, since you died." He paused. "You showed yourself to him, when you knew that he would kill you if he got the chance. Why did you do that? Why did you leave me and Mello to cope by ourselves?"

"I didn't mean to die, Near. I thought I could beat him before he killed me." L said. "This is my friend, Light Kagayaki. We're not L and Light Yagami. We're their reincarnations." Near watched them, his face giving away nothing. L decided to continue, saying quietly, "We're here about the new Kiras."

Near took a deep breath, walking over into the small kitchen. He retrieved a chocolate bar from the cabinet, returning to stand back in front of the table. He unwrapped it before taking a bite from the corner. L watched the entire series of events before saying a confused voice, "But, Near… You don't like chocolate." Ever since he could remember, Near had never been fond of chocolate. Smarties, Necco wafers, things like that were okay. But never chocolate. He claimed it was too sweet for his tastes.

Near smiled bitterly. "I don't like strawberry shortcake either, but I eat it anyway, sometimes." L's eyes widened, and even Light could understand where he was coming from on this account. Near pulled out his chair, sitting down and taking another bite of chocolate. He motioned to the chairs on the other side of the table. "Sit, please."

When L and Light were seated, he was silent a long moment, seemingly trying to think of what to say. Light chanced speaking up to ask, "You believe us when we say that we were reincarnated?"

"I've seen enough things that I can believe that. Shinigami exist, after all, as well as murder notebooks." Near replied. "Honestly, I might believe just about anything now." He glanced at L, who looked deep in thought. "L… Should I call you L? Or is that me, now?"

"I go by L as a nickname, short for my real name, Lawliet." L explained. "You can call me L."

"L, then…" Near said. "You have no idea, really. How important you and Mello and Matt were to me. After Mello died… Really, I had nobody left that I cared about. I would never show it, but I was broken. It took almost a year for me to come to terms with what had happened. During that time, I played L. I solved the cases, I caught the criminals. When it finally, finally sunk in that none of you were coming back, I started to get over it. But I still eat chocolate now and then, and strawberry shortcake, for both Mello and you. And I have people to care about again."

The door to the apartment opened, and a loud voice called, "Near, I got the information from the Japanese police that you asked for…" Stephen Loud came around the corner, brandishing a flash drive triumphantly. He definitely looked older, reflecting the fact that he was now forty. But his blue eyes still held the same fire they did when they were chasing X-Kira.

"Good work, Gevanni." Near said. "Thank you."

"No probl– Oh my god!" Gevanni stopped dead at the sight of Light and L. He had no clue who L was, but Light was someone he recognized for sure. "Near… Wha… What the hell is going on?"

"Gevanni, please calm down." Near requested quietly. Gevanni took a deep breath, his eyes on Light. "This is Light Kagayaki and Lawliet…"

"Corbeau." L supplied.

"Lawliet Corbeau." Near continued, not missing a beat. "They are the reincarnations of Light Yagami and L, and they are here, I believe, with information about Kira." Gevanni looked slightly dumbfounded, but nodded faintly.

"How do we know he's not Kira?" he muttered to himself. Light didn't hear. L did, but chose not to comment. If Near heard, he ignored it.

Light glanced at Near, smiling wryly. "Kept the SPK, did you?"

Near blinked at him, as if debating whether to acknowledge him, and then nodded. "Gevanni, Halle, and Commander Rester agreed to stay on and work for me after the Kira incident. I… would not have made it this far without their support."

Gevanni smiled. "Near pays well, and the things we get to do with him are far more interesting than the FBI or CIA could offer."

Near nodded, then looked to L and Light. "All right. What can you tell us about Kira?"

"Well," L began, "There's a boy in Tokyo with a Death Note. His name is Taro Kagami. From what we heard, he appears to be Teru Mikami's nephew. There's also another person that we are less sure of, called Emi. Taro mentioned her during the time that we met him. We're not sure how many people there are, but we know that with killings on this scale, it has to be more than one or two people."

Near nodded. "I already determined that it was multiple people. But I didn't know any names."

"He's only a child. We're not entirely sure what his circumstances are." Light said. Near nodded thoughtfully.

"I shall have to call Interpol back. They won't be happy, but even L needs authorization to go into a country with his own people." He spoke almost ruefully, as if he wished that Interpol would let him do as he pleased. L knew the feeling. The feeling of I'm the best damn detective on the planet and you all would fail without me now let me do what I want! Near shook his head slightly, then asked, "Are you staying nearby?"

"We were staying at my parents' house, but we have a plane back to Japan tomorrow at one o'clock." L replied. Near nodded, and pulled out a scrap of paper, scribbling down numbers quickly.

"This is my private phone number. It's a secure line, so call me if you find anything else."

L nodded. "Thank you, Near."

Near looked over at Gevanni. "Will you drive them where they need to go?" As Gevanni went to get a jacket, he looked back at the two boys, younger than him and yet older. "I forgive you." he said quietly. "Light, I forgive you for Kira, because I think I finally understand why you did it. It took seventeen years, but I finally understand. And L… I forgive you for dying on me."

L blinked. "Near…"

"No, honestly. You don't know how many times I blamed you for dying, for leaving me and Mello to do it all, and for Mello sacrificing himself for my life, so that I could win. I blamed you for all of it, for the longest time. I hated you, even, for a while. But it wasn't your fault." He paused. "That's why your finger puppets were ugly. You and Kira, the two people I hated most at that point."

L didn't say anything, but walked over and embraced Near. Near hugged him back tightly, and for a moment Light could see the old L, holding the child-Near he had known. Then L turned back to Light, saying only, "We'll keep in touch."

Near nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

As they walked down to the car, trailing behind Gevanni, Light glanced at L.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly in Japanese.

L looked at him, his wide eyes puzzled. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean… Near was… Near was important to you, right?"

L looked at the ground. "Near was always the most similar to me. Him, and Mello, and Matt… I loved them all equally, but Near reminded me of myself. It hurts to know that Mello and I getting killed hurt him so much. Light-kun could understand that, yes?"

Light nodded. "Yeah. Probably how I felt after Rem killed you. I don't think I've ever hurt so badly. Like I told you, Kira was thrilled, but my heart was broken."

Gevanni turned around to stare at them, and Light suddenly remembered that the blue-eyed man could speak Japanese. But Gevanni said nothing, continuing towards the car. Light glanced at L, going back to English, which they had been speaking with Near. "Near seems a lot different than he was when I met him."

Gevanni spoke up from in front of them. "Near opened up to us a lot after the case was over, about L's death and a lot of other things. His past, Mello and Matt… He's learned not to hide things from us, and he's more open with people he knows. Like you." He paused. "He learned he cannot survive alone."

L smiled. "I'm glad. He needed people. I always thought so, but Wammy's policy was to let us be how we would, so I never said anything to him." He glanced at Light. "I'm glad he's doing well."

As they reached the car, Light said, "So, we're heading home?"

"Yes, tomorrow." L replied. "Hopefully the state of things in Japan hasn't gotten worse for our absence." He looked up at Light. "I guess we'll have to see what we can do when we get there."

Light nodded, and they climbed in the car. Giving Gevanni directions to L's parents' house, it was a quiet ride for the entirety of the way there. When they arrived, they thanked Gevanni, and promised to call Near if they found anything. They also wished them luck with Interpol, because the representatives were sure to bitch at being called back again. Then they went inside to pack for the trip home, knowing that upon the return to Japan, the game would be taken to the next level.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

No comment. All I can do is repeat: 17 years. Enjoy your nice thing. :)