He sat on the staircase catching his breath and smiled to himself. So far, so good. Still panting a bit, he held up a hand to interrupt the Shinigami. "Put that away. I'm fine. I'm only out of breath, and this isn't over."

"You were shot several times. Normal humans can't-"

Light held a hand up to stop him again. "You can see my lifespan. Look for yourself. Besides, it's about to get way more... interesting, as you like to say."

Ryuk shrugged and put away his Death Note. He could wait. Either way, he would be the one to kill Light Yagami when the time came. There was no rush. He nodded his assent, and Light sat up. Someone was coming.

To say that Light was nervous upon hearing those footsteps would've been an understatement. His heart was pounding, knowing that it could only be one of a very few. Everything depended on this...

A few agonizing seconds later, a head peeked around the corner, followed by a soft voice. "You deserve an award for that acting back there."

Light relaxed instantly. "The Death Note?" he murmured, and the notebook was thrown to him. He chuckled darkly, turning to the last page containing writing where, as promised, all the names of the SPK had been written. All but one. Well, two, if you wanted to get technical. "Thank you for leaving the honors to me." His fingers deftly found the pen in his pocket and he quickly scrawled the name of the traitor who'd turned on and shot him, with intent to kill. Touta Matsuda. Some friend.

Task accomplished, he set the book aside and waved the newcomer over. "I've waited a long time for this," He said softly, looking him over in a new light. "He should be here any minute." He removed the bulletproof vest from beneath his shirt, tossing it aside as well. Pulling the young man into his lap, he checked his watch. 20 more seconds, and the master plan would be complete. Light breathed in the scent of the white locks on the young man's head, sighing blissfully. "It's almost over, Near."

As if on cue, Matsuda turned the corner. "Near, there you a-..." He stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. Light smirked and drew the pale form close for a kiss to confirm Matsuda's suspicions. "...What... Near, you and... but how...?"

Near broke the kiss and turned his grey-eyed gaze toward Matsuda. "It wasn't exactly difficult," he murmured, twirling white hair around his finger. "Especially with you lot."

"Mm," Light agreed, wrapping an arm around Near's waist. "You all made it pretty easy. It's too bad you had to shoot me, Matsuda. I almost liked you." He looked at his watch again, face splitting into a demented grin. "Now, goodbye."

Matsuda's expression filled with realization, then horror, and finally pain as the heart attack hit him. Light watched with a sort of twisted glee, while Near watched expressionlessly, until Matsuda's body went limp.

Pressing a kiss to Near's hair, Light sighed softly. He felt a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Still, there was work to be done. "It's a shame Mikami couldn't be here for this." Near nodded, leaning back into him. "But you're L, and I'm Kira. It shouldn't be much of a problem breaking him out to join up with us, hm?"

Near leaned his head back, looking at Light upside-down. "You mean /we're/ L. And /we're/ Kira. That was the deal. But you're right. It won't be a problem. The world is ours."

Light smiled again, kissing the neck he'd been aching to kiss for so long now. "Exactly as planned."