Chapter 51
After getting Takada safely back home after her "dinner" with Misa, Lindner made her report to Near.
"About Takada's meeting with Amane, they just talked about Light Yagami," she reported, "If you read between the lines, they were arguing over which one of them is actually his lover." Rester turned to Near.
"Your thoughts?" he asked him.
"All I can determine is this," Near started holding up three figures, one for each of the players, "Light Yagami is popular with the ladies and we know that both Takada and Amane adore him."
"Near, please be serious about this." Rester cautioned.
"He is being serious if both of them love him." Lindner interjected.
"Yes and they will not easily betray him, in fact they will likely do whatever he asks." Near finished staring at the L-Kira doll.
"Near, Mikami's just taken out a notebook!" Gevanni's voice suddenly interrupted. He's writing something in it, could this be it?" Near turned his attention to Gevanni's report, hiding the sudden racing of his pulse.
"He's getting off the train," Gevanni added and then all of them heard the scream in the background. "A man that had been harassing a woman on the train just collapsed to the floor; it all happened half a minute after he wrote something in the notebook." Near looked at Rester and then back at the figures in his hand. Was Mikami being just a little too obvious? It wasn't like him to be that careless.
"Well now we know for sure." Rester observed.
"Yes, and now we need to get as close to Mikami as possible. But before we rush in blindly there is one thing we need to be careful of and that is the being known as the shinigami. The shinigami will be loyal to Mikami and will warn him if he's being followed."
"But the shinigami can only be seen by those who have touched the notebook," Rester reminded Near," It's gonna be pretty difficult to be careful of something we can't even see."
"We're going to try no matter how difficult." Near answered, not even looking at Rester.
"Right, understood sir." Gevanni answered with a sigh…
Christine couldn't help but still be disturbed by Mello's reaction to her lunch with Geoffrey. He had noticed it too, how quiet she had been, and she couldn't really tell him why. She put it off to being tired, teaching the class was a bit more strenuous than she had imagined.
A lot of it was because she was spending so much time in L's apartment. She had found a huge amount of large binders in a closet next to the bathroom when she had been searching for any notes he might have had on his cases. They were filled with just that, one for each case. She had found more in Watari's apartment. She hadn't been in there since his death and it felt wrong but she needed information if she was going to do this properly. She had cried though when she found his last bottle of sherry sitting by a very comfortable chair, the glass waiting for him next to it. She had been amazed at all the monitors and electronics she had found, and realized that there was so much she never knew about the sweet, gentle man she had known.
Now she once again found herself in L's apartment making notes of her own for her class, once again dwelling on Mello and her own insecurities about the situation. She really didn't want a relationship with Geoffrey anymore than what it was. Before L she hadn't had a relationship in years, hadn't wanted one. She looked towards the bedroom; she certainly couldn't see herself sleeping with Geoffrey, even after six years she could only think of L in that way. Not to mention L would be a hard act to follow in THAT department as well. She giggled to herself as she remembered incredible moments with him and then cut them off before she completely lost herself.
She knew she had to move on, she knew it wasn't healthy. She hadn't been married to him after all, but the hold he continued to have over her simply wouldn't go away. She almost felt she needed permission…she shook her head, how ridiculous. She knew that if he were alive, things would be as they had been, their relationship just as much fun as it had always been and she knew that was the reason for her doubt. Holding on to what could have been, what would have been. Put someone else in L's place and it would be gone, and she wasn't sure she wanted it gone; not yet anyway. Not until Kira was dead could she truly move on, she knew that now. She reached out and grabbed the king from the chess set, almost caressing it with her fingers. She could also admit to herself just how much she truly loved L. She could never have tolerated living with him, but the wonderful things about him couldn't be denied, and so she had loved him in a very real and special way.
Now all that was finally on the table, she took a deep breath and got back to work. After Kira she would finally let L go. She would never, could never forget him, but she could release the hold he had over her life right now and go forward; she smiled again as she stared at the piece; maybe anyway…I
The plan in Near's head began to take a more solid, stable state. There were many things he had to put into play before he actually could get it done. First, he had to make sure that there was no shinigami, if there was he'd have to change his plans. He really didn't thinks so and if he was right, it would mean the shinigami that brought Mikami the notebook was the same one that was with L2 with the task force. They all could see him so he couldn't be seen hanging around someone else. If he was wrong, then most likely he would Gevanni once he realized he could be seen. But that was a chance that had to be taken. Then he had to get the original second Kira out of the way. He knew she would be performing on New Year's celebration concert. That would be where he would pick her and Mogi up.
But right now he had something else to work on. Aizawa was on his way to SPK headquarters. He had called, demanding to see and talk to Near right away, apparently he had found something important and he wanted to see Near now. Near had allowed it, and now he was walking in the door.
"Mr. Aizawa, it's been a while. It's a pleasure to meet you." Near told him, turning away from his toys to look at him. He was still blindfolded to keep him from knowing where their location was.
"That's all very nice but it's hard to accept while I'm still blindfolded." He answered. Near turned away from him and back to his toys.
"He doesn't have any weapons or cameras on him." Rester informed him.
"In that case you are free to take off your blindfold." Near told him and he did. It was obvious he was surprised by what he was looking at, an apparent white haired child in what looked like white pajamas.
"Near, I believe what you said earlier," Aizawa finally said, "L's been meeting Takada almost every night. '
"I know." Near answered, clearly surprising Aizawa with his answer.
"Well how about this, they've been passing notes, I confirmed it!" Near was quiet for a moment before speaking again.
"Mr. Aizawa, please don't take any unnecessary actions on your own."
"Unnecessary actions…"
"This not the point where we bring up evidence against Kira and confront him. I must corner him in a dead end in a plan that will guarantee his defeat. This is the only way to stop him for good. Mr. Aizawa I will be blunt with you, you and the rest of the task force are already out of the picture. However, if you still want to help catch Kira you can. All I want you to do is keep an eye on him as you've been doing." Aizawa, stunned by what he'd been just told, barely found his voice.
"That's it, just watch him?"
"Yes," Near answered, " ofcourse there is a reason for watching over L, I've already incorporated it into my plan. That's why I'm hoping you can help me in this respect, by watching him. I will need that to win against him." Near turned slightly so he could see Aizawa, who backed up a bit when being hit with the intensity of Near's eyes, so much like L's he remembered.
"And after that, I want you to be a witness to the end of Kira."
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