Hello everyone! I must say a special thank you here for those readers who reviewed, but I had no way of getting back to them to thank them for taking the time. So, to Selene Ruby Red Snape, thank you soooo much!

Chapter 48

"Near, they have new representative for Kira, her name is Kiyomi Takada and she's on NHN. But that isn't the most interesting thing." Near finished aligning his rubber ducks in his mini pool and turned towards the screen.

"She was a former classmate of Light Yagami's in college, an excellent student, and apparently they had a close relationship."

"What do you mean by close?" Near asked him.

"Ofcourse I can't assume anything but the people I talked to seemed to think they were a lot more than friends."

"But his relationship with Amane started while he was in college as well." Gevanni added.

Near thought a moment. It would be silly for Yagami to get someone he already knew who could be traced back to him to be his spokesperson. It may be easier for him to contact her as they were old friends, but Aizawa would have contacted me if he noticed Yagami contacting someone. So….perhaps the person now using the notebook did the actual selection, and perhaps Yagami can't get in contact with this person because he knows he's being watched. Then what would he do in this scenario…

"Rester, can you get close to Takada?" he asked.

"I can give it a try but she is even more protected that Demegawa was. If Kira is their god, then she is their goddess. She doesn't seem to be displeased about this, a wannabe queen."

"You said she was an excellent student but that was only her grades, she herself is downright stupid." Near sneered, "It's almost certain that the person who has the notebook right now is in Japan, based on the current deaths and the fact that the chosen spokesperson works at NHN. He's going to make a move soon; we'll be settling this in Japan. Gevanni, Lindner – would you like to go to Japan too?"

Mello stood at a different position today, just in case one of the idiots actually took a look around outside and saw a familiar face. He knew they wouldn't, but it would be just his luck that they did just this once. He snapped the bar in his hand just as Amane came out of the building, pushing several suitcases; he stopped mid bite as she jumped into a waiting taxi, the driver getting out and putting her bags in the trunk. He ran and jumped on his motorcycle gunning it into life and into traffic several cars behind the taxi. As he suspected they went to the airport and went past the taxi as it pulled into the taxi bay, parking his bike a few cars up in the drop off area. He followed her into the terminal and was surprised by who was waiting for her.

"Mogi? But Matt didn't call me, he's supposed to be keeping an eye on them!" he whispered to himself as he hid around a pillar. He pulled out his cell phone and beeped Matt.

"What the hell are you doing, Matt? Mogi's at LAX!"

"DAMN! They got me! They must have paid that delivery guy to pull his truck in front of the door so they could get out without me seeing. I should have known something was up when he pulled up today. I even went over and questioned him when I saw him walk out with a wad of money. but they must have already gone. I had all the cameras on but the truck is parked in the perfect spot."

"That's why I told you to keep an eye on them!" Matt yelled into the phone and then double checked to make sure he hadn't been heard.

"I'm sorry, Mello." Matt said quietly, not knowing what else he could say.

"Look, they're going to Japan so I'm going to follow them right now. You follow me as soon as you can get here."

"Japan? Right now?"

"Right now Matt." Mello growled into the phone and shut it off. Matt stared at his phone and sighed deeply, he wondered how he was going to have to do to pay for this. He sighed again and began to pack up his equipment.

Near watched the transmission of Takada's show in slight disbelief. She wasn't just reporting Kira's word, she was also questioning Kira, demanding he let himself be known, what his wishes were so they could follow, but also questioning some of the things he has said. Didn't she know how dangerous it was for her to show her face and talk back to Kira? What a stupid woman, he thought. According to Rester's report she had a secret meeting with someone last night. He wondered if that meeting had something to do with what she was saying now. She was now saying she was waiting for word from Kira about how he should give orders to the army and police and tell them how they should act. That meant something he was sure, how the police should act, really? Is that her idea or someone else's...

"Rester, find out who Takada saw last night, whatever it takes." He ordered

"I'll do what I can, but Near you have to realize how unbelievably well she's guarded. Some reporter who tried to get into the meeting last night was caught and charged with breaking and entering and was killed by Kira on the 4:00 news. Near sighed.

"Gevanni and Linder should be there soon. Please get near her any way you can."

"Near, she just went into the Perin Hotel. No one is allowed to leave or go in until she leaves."

"You're just going to have to find a way to get into her service, Commander Rester. One of you should be able to accomplish it." Rester sighed in slight frustration. He knew from the beginning that working with this genius child would not be easy, because he set the bar so high he naturally thinks we can all jump over it, bur he doesn't realize what it takes, he's never been out here. He sighed again, knowing he would dance in fire if it would get the proper results for Near. First of all, it was his job; secondly, the idea of disappointing Near was not something he wanted to be on the receiving end of. There was just something a bit unsettling about Near, that he couldn't put his finger on; almost as if this whole quiet, toy playing, childlike persona was hiding a creature he didn't particularly want to see. He'd wait for the other two to show up, they'd figure out something.

"Commander Rester.." he was suddenly being called.

"Yes, Near?"

"I need you to come to come back to New York immediately after you have met the others and brought them up to speed."

"Right now?"

"Yes, I'm intending to go to Japan myself. "

"Alright, so you would like me to stay in New York while you're gone?"

"Not at all." Near answered.

"Well then what's the point of me coming there?" Rester asked, a little frustration coloring his voice.

"Truth is, "Near said twirling his hair, "I've never made travel arrangements or boarded a plane by myself before. That's why I need you to come back so you can escort me."

Rester smiled and all the frustration drained away.

"Understood." He said simply and began making the plans to go back to New York…

Christine was walking back to her office when her cell phone went off. She grabbed it without looking hoping to hear one of the voices she missed hearing.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Thompson." She heard Near's soft voice and she relaxed a little.

"I thought I should let you know that I am going to Japan. The case has progressed far enough and well enough that I believe it is nearly showdown time." She felt her stomach lurch at the thought, but this was the reason he was there anyway.

"And Mello and Matt?"

"I would be quite surprised if they weren't on their way as well, our information is pretty equal and Mello was number two after all." She smiled at the phone.

"Yes and only by a small margin remember." She heard Near snort in the phone and she burst out laughing.

"Near, please be careful. I know I sound ridiculous saying it but.."

"I know what L did that led him to getting himself killed, and I won't do that until I'm 100% sure that I can make it work for me. His main problem being that gang of stooges he was saddled with that kept tying his hands so that he had to do really dangerous things to get some kind of lead on what was going on. He allowed them to see his face, Dr. Thompson, he thought it was the only way he could lure Kira out into the open, much like what he did on television. He was virtually alone facing not only Kira but the idiots on the police force that wouldn't listen to him, without the protection of anonymity. I know that now. The people with me are quite the opposite, they are brilliant and do what I ask. There is always the possibility I could miss something and Kira is very brilliant and waiting for any opening, and that could be my downfall. But rest assured Dr. Thompson, I will do everything possible to make sure it's his head on a plate by the end of this." She nodded at the phone, realizing he couldn't see it, but doing it anyway.

"Good, I trust you Near to do just that. I have a perfect place on my desk for it."

"Dr. Thompson, that will frighten the children." Near said and she could hear the laugh in his voice.

"True. But I'll think of something." She laughed back and then shook her head of the vision she had of something like that sitting on her desk.

"I must go, my assistant has arrived. When we are settled and things are in motion, I will contact you again. Good-bye Doctor." He had hung up before she could say good-bye, probably afraid she'd say be careful again. Now if only Mello or Matt would call her..she burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of that thought. But at least she knew they were alright, Near said as much.

She looked ahead and could see three students standing by her office door, one was holding his arm in obvious pain and by the angle it was dangling she knew she had a trip to the hospital on her agenda. She sighed and plowed ahead.

Near walked into the fully function new headquarters with Rester, showing no signs of jet lag or tiredness at all. He first found a place for him to pile his toys, sat down amongst them and then turned to Gevanni.

"Set up communications with L" he said and picked up the Light puppet. As soon as L2 had answered he began.

"This is Near, I want to speak to L."

"This is L," came the answer, which never failed to nearly make Near sick, "What is it you want from us?"

"I'm following through with my plan to arrest Kira, and that's why I'm in Japan now. I assume you have already contacted Takada for the purposes of your investigation?" he smiled at the sounds of gasps coming from the others.

"That's right, L2 answered, "In fact I'm doing the investigating myself."

"It's obvious that if we want to get any closer to Kira we need to keep an eye on Takada and NHN in general. I want you to pass on a message," he added, "Tell her that as of now, several members of the SPK are in Japan to try and arrest Kira. "

"But why do that?" L2 sounded totally surprised.

"To lure Kira out of hiding. I also want you to mention the following to her, so she will relate it to Kira. In total, there are only 4 active members of the SPK, myself included. Kira won't be able to resist so instead of running he will try to get close. That's where I will beat him at his own game." The smirk on Near's face was one of knowing exactly what the reaction of L/Kira was on the other side of that microphone.

"I am in Japan as we speak." He reiterated

"I am also in Japan." L2 answered.

"We're close to each other, who knows perhaps we may get a chance to meet face to face." Near challenged.

"I hope so." L2 challenged back.

"Well, that gives us something to look forward to."

"Yes.." Near could hear the dangerous tone L2's voice suddenly took,

"When that time comes, we will finish this Kira matter once and for all."

"Definitively" L2 shot right back. Near closed the connection. This is no longer about justice, he thought. Actually, it was always a one on one situation, before it was L against Kira, now it was Kira against his heirs. L had lost the first round, Near refused to lose the last one.