Near woke up unsure of where he was. The room was dark, the bed unfamiliar. What happened last night? Where was he? He rolled over in the bed and looked out from under the covers.
L sat on the floor, tapping away at his computer.
"Ryuuzaki?"
L looked up from his work. "Oh, you're awake."
"I had fun yesterday."
"So did I."
Near rubbed his eyes, trying to further wake himself when his stomach growled.
L cracked a smile. "Hungry?"
Near smiled back sheepishly. "Yeah,"
L held out a small plate of cookies. Near took on and started to nibble absentmindedly on it, his mind on other things.
"You should probably go back soon."
Near's heart sank. He had wanted something to happen between him and L. He wanted a confession of love, a kiss, something.
He looked down at the cookie in his hands. L was right, he should probably go back soon, but not without asking a question that had been on his mind for a while.
"Ryuuzaki? May I ask you something?"
"I can't assure that you will get an answer."
Near swallowed. Did he even want an answer? "How old are you?"
L stopped typing. The whole room became silent. Slowly, L turned. His eyes met Nears.
Near breathed in sharply. L's eyes held a tint of pain, regret, sorrow. The ghost of an emotion flickered to life in his charcoal eyes. It was shocking to Near, to see even a hint of such a strong feeling.
He was also scared.
Slowly, L blinked, the emotion gone when his eyes opened again. "Too old." He replied.
Near wasn't sure what he meant. Too old for what? Did L know about Near's feelings, that the boy felt more than admiration for him?
"How old?" Near repeated himself, seeming to ignore L's vague answer.
"I'm 20 years old, Near."
A shudder ran through Near's body. 20? Near knew that L was significantly older than him, but a whole ten years? Near had assumed, by L's boyish appearance and fondness for sugar, that he was young-- 16, 17 maybe. Still much too old to have a romantic relationship with a 10 year old. But Near had comforted himself with the thought that L might not yet be an adult. That Near could be a teenager when L was of drinking age. That it would take less than ten years for their relationship to be legal.
Legal.
Anything that happened between them would be wrong, sick. Frowned upon by society. Illegal.
His choke clenched, Near finally finding it hard to breathe. "There's no chance..." He muttered, another wave of emotion sweeping over his body now that the words were spoken aloud. Never mind that now L was looking at him oddly, with almost a look of pity in his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but decided against it. Near rose to his feet, the nibbled cookie falling from his limp fingers and onto the floor, breaking. He walked to the door, letting himself out without looking back.
Had he looked back, however, he would have seen a look of sad understanding, of L's shining with a mist of tears.
L watched the boy leave, and wished he could have said what was poised on his tongue.
"There is a chance." He admitted to the thick wood. "Please, don't give up."
- - -
Near was going to give up. Ten years? Ten years. The new information still shocked him, settling heavily in his chest, his stomach upset. Dizziness plagued him, causing his vision to swim. He stumbled, fell into the wall, and slumped to the floor.
"I should just forget about this. Forget about my feelings, my wanting. Forget about everything."
His mind made up, he let his eyes sink closed, and fell into a fitful sleep.
- - -
"Near, Near wake up."
"Nng?" Near mumbled, batting the person away.
"Oh that was intelligent. Come on wake up."
"Wait, that voice sounded familiar."
"Eh... L?"
Laughter.
"No, you moron. Matt."
Near opened his eyes.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."
"It's just you." Near said, yawing. Matt pouted.
"You sound excited about seeing me."
Near began to rub his eyes. "What do you want?" He asked.
Matt smiled. "I want your love."
Near stopped his vigorous rubbing and moved his fist slightly to give Matt an annoyed, quizzical look, his eye red.
"I'm serious. I need you to love me."
"Matt, I can not even grasp an idea that would make you say that to me. The only thing I can think of is that Mello dared you, or you have gone crazy."
Matt smiled one of his mischievous smiles. "Neither. Can we talk in you're room?"
Near, still looking at the older boy like he was on something, nodded and got to his feet, a little surprised by how close he was to his
room. He shut the door behind him, eying Matt, who had already jumped on his bed. Near sat at his desk.
"Explain what you mean."
"I should probably start from the beginning. I know someone who likes you."
"If you're talking about Kinoko, then I already--"
"No. Someone else. Someone who I want to like me, not you. So you're going to pretend to like me."
Near looked at Matt like he was insane.
"That makes so sense." Near said, shaking his head slightly.
"It makes perfect sense! If they think you like me, they'll stop liking you because they can't have you!"
"Human emotion doesn't work like that. You don't stop liking someone because you can't have them."
"Doesn't that hit close to home?" Near thought, wincing slightly as a wave of despair swept over him.
Matt blinked, but turned his deep blue eyes soft with understanding.
"But it's worth a try, right?"
Near began twirling his hair. "What makes you think they'll like you after they stop liking me?"
Matt just smiled. His eyes twinkled, like he already had a plan. "Please?" He begged, clasping his hands together and giving Near puppy dog eyes.
Near coughed. "I don't even know who I'm stealing you from!"
Matt just jumped up and clapped his hands together happily. He took Nears face in his hands. Near tried to jerk away, but Matt placed a peck on his cheek before he could escape.
Matt giggled, giggled, and darted out the door, turning to blow Near a kiss. "Thanks, sweetie, you're such a doll." Then he wiggled his fingers and skipped down the hallway.
Near glared at the door, an unwanted blush tinting his cheeks. Then he cracked into a smile and laughed.
TOKYO, JAPAN
Yagami Raito sat in his dark room, the only light was emitted from the T.V. He was scribbling down the names that were mentioned on the news furiously in his death note. He smirked down at the black note book. Behind him, a ghastly creature cackled.
"You done for the night?" It asked.
"Yeah."
Outside his window, he heard a car pull into his driveway. The front door opened. His dad was home. Raito quickly hid the death note in the drawer he'd designed and pulled his math book closer. He heard his dad climb the stairs, trying to be quiet and failing.
His father knocked lightly on his door.
"Dad? Come in." Raito replied, stepping into his "Innocent, perfect child" persona.
"Raito? Wat are you still doing up?" His dad exhaustion and lack of sleep was evident in the deep lines and bags under his eyes. Raito felt a small pang of guilt, but quashed it. "I'm sorry Dad, I was studying. I must have lost track of time."
His dad gave a tired smile. "Alright. Well, go to bed, okay?"
Raito nodded. "Good night, Dad."
"Goodnight Son."
Soichirou shut the door. Raito sighed and stretched. He got up and changed before turning off the light and climbing into bed.
The murderous teen was soon asleep. Ryuk watched him as he slumbered. He looked peaceful, content.
Totally at ease with killing hundreds of people each week.
Ryuk floated over to the window, looking out onto that busy street. It took a sick person to sleep so soundly after what he'd done.
- - -
Their break was over. Time to return to the classrooms. The AC was on, chilling Near to the bone, his whole body shivered as he attempted, in vain, to write. He clenched his teeth from chattering. He could barely focus.
He had dropped his pencil and was hugging himself in a desperate attempt to retain some of his warmth when a crumpled piece of paper flew onto his desk. He blinked down at it and realized some had scribbled "open" on it. Tentatively he reached out one hand and opened it, painfully aware of the loud crinkling song it made when unwrinkled.
Inside, Matt's unmistakable scrawl was "Flirt with me after class"
Near stared down at the note. Flirt?! He didn't know how to flirt! He was a supposedly emotionless, slightly anti-social, 10 year old boy trying to get over his first crush! He had no idea how to flirt.
He shoved the paper into his backpack, another shiver racing down his spine, whether it was from the cold, or those five words, he didn't know. Forgetting about the English assignments, Near now worried about keeping his word after class.
20 minutes later, the class was dismissed. Near was freaking out. He saw Matt flash those royal blue eyes at him, and knew there was no way out of this.
He was going to regret this later.
Near took a deep breath and trotted over to where Mello and Matt were standing, Matt digging around in his bag for something. When he got closer he heard Mello complaining.
"Come on, Matt, borrow another one."
"But that was my favorite pencil!" Matt replied, unzipping another pocket to search it.
When Near came to a stop at the desk, he could feel Mello's scrutinizing eyes on him, but whether he was pleased, shocked, or appalled, Near didn't know. His cheeks burning, he refused to look either boy in the eye.
"What do you want?" Mello asked, the tone in his voice indistinguishable.
"I, uhmm... Matt? I over heard that you needed some help with you're... geography... last class..."
He dared to look up then. Matt was smiling. "Yeah." he said with a sigh.
"I you want, I can help you."
"Sure. Can I come up to your room tonight?"
He ran through a list of responses that would work for this situation. Quickly, he decided what he should do. He walked to the side of Matt, so that the were almost shoulder to shoulder (More like shoulder to bicep-- everyone on Earth was taller than Near). Near placed his hand on Matt's arm and looked up at him.
"I look forward to seeing you there." He said, smiled slightly, and walked over.
He kept walking without looking back, not even when he heard Mello say "What the hell was that about?"
He ducked into the nearest bathroom, and gripped the sink. Looking into the mirror, he saw his childish face. He looked young, cute. Not sexy at all.
But behind those pale eyes and innocent smile, was a boy aged well beyond his years. Sometimes he forgot that he was only 10. The only thing keeping him tied to this age group was the fact that his body was 10. He sighed, and pressed his forehead to the cold glass. Oh what he would give to be older!
Near realized suddenly that he had been in there for a while. He grabbed his stuff and rushed out the door.
- - -
L sat in his room, staring at the computer. He was thoroughly annoyed at Kira, and his continuous murders. The Japanese police force had little to offer, barely anything at all, but L had finally come to the conclusion that Kira lived in Japan. He had already devised a plan and was merely waiting for the right time to put it in action.
L was sure that Kira needed a face to kill. He had only been able to kill criminals whose faces and names were broad casted, whether on the Internet, News, or the paper, they were introduced to the public. So unless Kira was a mind reader living in England, L was safe.
Unless Kira was only making it seem he needed a name and a face, and could actually kill anyone he pleased.
And that was the reason L hadn't initiated his plan, or even told the police force. It was the only time in his career that he out himself in immediate danger. By challenging Kira, he was standing up and saying "Kill me!"
L sighed and laid back, his back cracking several times as he stretched across the floor, straightening it fully for the first time in days.
If he found Kira in Japan, and wasn't dead, he was going to have to move everything there, set up headquarters, and cut off almost all contact with the outside world until Kira was captured.
Meaning he would barely talk to Mello and Near until this was over.
L covered his eyes, rubbing them gently. He wasn't really sure what he should do about the boy. It was dangerous, all though he was sure he could get away with it. And whoever said the relationship would be immediately sexually? Or even romantic? Couldn't he just have the boy in his presence, working by his side until he was legal? And even when Near was old enough, that didn't mean they had to consummate the relationship that night.
But he knew he was being selfish.
Near was a 10 year old boy. L was his first crush, and merely that. Nothing said that the boy's feelings wouldn't change in eight years. In fact, the odds were strongly against L. Near would probably find a cute girl, or maybe even another boy. He'd find someone else.
That was, of course, if Near was a normal boy.
And he wasn't a normal boy.
He was a freaking genius! A genius that was showing many of the same signs of L. Chances are, he didn't like people who didn't match up to him mentally.
Meaning that he would have a hard time finding someone with his intelligence.
He also exhibited symptoms of being anti-social. He's not going to like someone who drapes themselves over him, talks for hours, or takes personal offense to his bluntness and indifference.
L was blunt and indifferent.
L didn't care much for being touched.
L wasn't one for chit-chat.
L was perfect.
If only he wasn't a whole decade older than Near.
He groaned and rolled over, curling into a ball on the floor.
He took his mind off of the idea of romancing Near, and on to the subject of which of the two boys, Mello and Near, should succeed him. He came down to th same conclusion he always did: Mello was too emotional, too irrational. But he was bright, and the impulses of his often proved fruitful. Near was too passive, too emotionless. But he was the smarter of the two. He needed a mixture of the two. A person who was impulsive, but knew when that was a bad decision. Someone grounded, but ready to roll. He needed Mello and Near to work together.
L shut his eyes and started cracking his knuckles, one by one. There was a third person. Matt. He was smart, but didn't apply himself fully. He had nimble fingers, and eye for detail, and could watch multiple screens at a time with little to no difficulty. All things he'd learned, he'd learned from video games. L coughed, kind of a chuckle but not really.
"It'd be amusing to see the look on the others faces when it was neither of them; if it was someone who no one even knew was a candidate."
But he pushed the thought out of his head. He needed someone with a freakish amount intelligence, and Near was practically a little clone of himself.
L sighed. "Better get back to the case." He thought, and with that he sat up and resumed typing.
- - -
"L?" Matsuda asked. "Whats that, Chief?"
"Oh, that's right. This is your first Interpol meeting." Soichirou Yagami smiled slightly. "Nobody knows his real name, whereabouts, or even what he looks like. But he can solve any case, no matter what it is. I suppose you could call him a sleuth... No-- well anyway,
nobody knows who he is, but he has solved countless unsolved cases so far. You might say he's our trump card, our ace in the whole. Something like that."
Matsuda stared at Yagami-san in awe. "Wow? Really? That's amazing..."
Around them, the other representatives talked, argued was more like it, about L and the heart attacks.
"L is already on the case."
That one voice rang out over all the others. The room became silent, the dark figure in the front of the room setting up a computer.
"L will now speak." He announced.
The screen beamed to life, a decorative black "L" was framed against a white screen.
"Good afternoon." The garbled, mechanical-esque voice said, void of emotion. "This is L."
- - -
After classes were over, Near sat at his desk, waiting for Matt to show up. He heard a knock on the door, and yelled a weak "Come in."
The door opened, and Matts smiling face came into view. "Wha's up?" He asked, slipping his backpack off his shoulder and throwing it at the bed.
"Nothing much," Near said, twirling his hair.
Matt made a sound of recognition and unzipped his bag. He then dumped out a PlayStation2 and all the wires and controllers needed to operate it.
Near looked at it oddly. "I thought we were going to study." He said, a statement not a question.
"Nah. Geography is one of my best subjects." Matt explained, plugging the multi-colored wires into the T.V.
Near stared at him, taken aback.
"You wanna play a racing game, a fighting game, or an RPG?"
Near sighed and rubbed his temples. "A RPG. Definitely."
- - -
"'Kira'..." Raito said to Ryuk. "I don't like how it is obviously derived from 'killer', but this is what people all over the world know me as. People know. They wont say it openly, but they know someone is killing off the criminals. Those with clean conscience are cheering Kira on in their hearts." His eyes gleamed. "This is great. This is going exactly as I planned."
"We are interrupting the program to bring you a live, globally televised broadcast from Interpol, With Japanese voice over done by interpreter Yoshio Anderson."
Raito's eye shot to the T.V. There sat a young man. He had longish black hair, and was dressed in a nice suit. The name plate in front of him read "Lind L. Tailor"
"I am Lind L. Tailor, more commonly known as "L"-- the sole person able to mobilize police in every country worldwide."
"W-What the Hell?!" Raito gasped, looking wide eyed at the T.V.
"Criminals have been the target of a killing spree, which has turned into the biggest mass murder case in history." Tailor continued. "This monstrous crime must be stopped at all costs. 'Kira', as the perpetrator is commonly known, will be caught. I guarantee it!"
"He guarantees you'll be caught, hyuk hyuk." Ryuk said, eyes trained on the T.V. As well. He glanced down at Raito.
The boy was shocked, eyes wide, scared.
"Hmpf." He said, letting a smile adorn his lips. "That moron! Like Hell I'll be caught! I've got the Death Note, See?! Without this note book, you don't have any proof-- none! There's no way you can catch me!"
- - -
Near woke up, thirst clawing at his throat. He reached blindly for his glass of water, and instead felt an envelope. Confused, he grabbed it and threw back the covers, stumbling to the light switch. He winced, his eyes shutting tight against the flood of bright light. He made his way back to his bed and sunk onto it, blinking rapidly, trying to make his eyes adjust. The envelope was addressed to him in neat writing.
Ungracefully, he ripped off the top, and pulled the letter from within. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, the light reflecting painfully off of the white paper.
Dear Near,
Tonight I am doing something very dangerous. I may be killed. I'm writing this letter to say goodbye, just in case.
I have gathered that Kira is located in Japan, and I am going to broadcast Lind L. Tailor into every region of Japan at different times, challenging him. Which ever broadcast he is killed during, will be where I will be traveling.
I am doing this assuming that Kira will not be able to kill me. He might.
I do not have a successor yet; I'm sorry. I'm hoping that I live to choose one of you.
Near, promise me that you will never give up. I know that you will be a great detective someday, and I want you to be the best you can. Make me proud.
L
Near stared down at the letter. Without thinking, he got off his bed and rushed out the door, tears streaming down his face. He ran down that hall, determined to get to L and tell him how he feels.
Down the hall, Mello was walking quickly towards Near, but he didn't register it. Not until Mello's arm shot out and grabbed Near around the waist, turning and bringing him to his chest. He wrapped his arms around Near, burying his face in the messy white hair.
"He told us not to go up there." He whispered into the tangled white locks.
Near clutched onto Mellos shirt, the soft black fabric soaking up his un-ebbing flow of tears.
"B-But he's in danger!" Near cried. Mello held him closer.
"I know Near, but theres nothing we can do."
At those word, Near crumbled. He went limp in Mellos arms, the only thing that had any strength were the paling fingers that clawed at the back of Mellos shirt.
Mello slowly lowered Near down, enveloping him in a hug. He didn't know what to say, do he was silent and just let Near cry.
Matt peered from the crack in the door. He had half a mind to storm out there and scream, "Near likes L! I like you, you idiot!"
But he didn't.
Instead, he quietly shut the door and tip-toed to his desk. He clicked in a reading lamp and slid open a drawer. He took out a worn leather bound book and flipped through the dog eared pages.
"Continuation--
Mellos just as stupid as always. He doesn't see that Near love L. He doesn't see that I like him.
I'm jealous as hell.
But I can see why everyone would like that little freak. He's cute.
But he's stealing my boy. And that is unforgivable.
Whatever. I'll work harder to get Mello.
Later."
Matt sighed, chewing on his pen.
"Screw it, I'm going to bed."
- - -
"Come with me, to my room."
Near nodded and followed Mello through his tears. He was vaguely aware that he was being vulnerable in front of his rival, but he didn't care. He was too scared, to raw to dam the flood now.
When they reached Mellos room, Near caught a glimpse of the letter left opened in Mello's messy bed. Mello snatched it up and shoved it quickly into a drawer, but not before a new wave of tears sprung to Nears eyes.
Mello straightened up the bed. He gave Near a gentle push towards it.
"Quit your crying." He said with a smirk. "You're sleeping with me tonight, and I don't want you getting snot on my pillows."
Near sniffled and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, but he did what his was told. He climbed under the covers, and was soon bathed in darkness as Mello switched the light off. He felt the other boy climb in beside him, and soon arms encircled his body and held him close.
Blushing slightly, Near let himself be held. He envisioned that everything was safe, as long as Mello embraced him. That everything was fine.
- - -
"Kira, I think I've got a pretty good idea of why you're doing this." Lind L. Tailor announced. "But what you're doing..."
Raito waited for the next part with bated breath.
"Is evil!"
First, a look of shock raced across Raitos face, followed by a look of pure hatred.
"Me... evil?" Raito asked the T.V. "I am righteous! I'm the hero is liberating people from fear! I'm the savior who's going to be like a
god to this new, perfect world!"
Raito flipped open the death note, grabbing a pen off his desk. "Those who try to fight me, they're the evil ones! You are too damn stupid, L. If you'd been smarter, this could've gotten interesting." He wrote Ls name into the death note, glaring at the television.
"Now we'll see what happens to those who offend lord Kira. The whole world's watching, L..." Raito laughed. Holding his watch close, he only to his eyes off the T.V. To check how many seconds had passed. L went on talking, but Raito wasn't listening anymore. All he could hear was the ticking of his watch as the valuable seconds went by.
"Three... two... one... zero." L screamed, clutching his chest. His whole body convulsed, spasms wracking him. He hit the table, dead.
Raito laughed, his first opponent dead.
"I... I don't believe it..." A new voice, garbled by a machine, said. Raito's eyes widened in confusion.
"This was an experiment to test a hunch I had, but I never really thought... Kira... you can actually kill people without direct contact." Raito could swear he heard the emotionless voice hold a hint of astonishment to it. "So, my hunch was right. I couldn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes, but you can... you'd have to, of course. It didn't make sense otherwise.
"Listen to me, Kira. If you just killed Lind L. Tailor, the man you saw on T.V., he was a condemned criminal scheduled to die today, at this hour. He wasn't me. His arrest and conviction were kept a secret from the media, and went unreported, even on the Internet. Even you had no way of knowing about him it seems...
"But I, L, do in fact exist. So, come on, kill me if you can!" the image on the T.V. Changed to an old English style "L."
"What are you waiting for?! Come on! Go ahead and kill me. I'm still here. Can't do it, Kira?" When nothing happened, L continued. "Evidently, you aren't able to kill me. So there are people you can't kill. That's a valuable clue.
"Now I'll give you some information, in return. Although it was announced that this was being televised globally, actually, it was only in the Kanto region around Tokyo. The plan was to broadcast live to other areas in turn, but that's no longer necessary. You are in the Kanto region of Japan. Now, I dare say, it may not be so long before I send you to die.
"Kira, it would interest me greatly to know how you carry out your murders... but that's something I can find out after I catch you!"
Raito stood over his desk, a look of angry shock on his face. "Send me to die he said..." He whispered hoarsely.
"L..."
"Kira..."
"I'm going to find you and dispose of you, if it's the last thing I do!"
"I'm..."
"I'm..."
"Righteous!"
Gack.
This took forever and a day to get out.
But I needed a break to crawl from the depths of writers block, and to work on other stuff, so my time away wasn't just slacking off.
Anyway, about this chapter: I decided to have the Near and L realize all the things wrong with their relationship, thus throwing a rock into their plans. I just want people to know that the only reason I'm writing this is because this is like, the cutest couple ever, and not because I want to molest the little boy next door.
I hated the last part. I had to hold the book open with one hand, and type with the other. I was like "GRAAH!! THE SLOWNESS!!" But whatever. It's done. FINALLY.
I've decided to throw in a little of every pairing I can. The MattxNear is inspired by, and dedicated, to Ice Puppet. If you like this pairing, check out some of his stuffs, 'cause it's home of some of the cutest MattxNear stories EVER.
And... anything else I wanted to say? Oh yeah. I didn't really typo check it. I've had enough of this chapter. I'm like "Go awaaaay chapter 12. I don't like yoooooou." It also would have been out sooner, but I though I had it all written down, just not typed. I sit down, open the note book and realize not even HALF is written out. I'm like "O.O" So yeah. -is shot-
Whoo. Long authors note. To end it, I would like to say thank you for all the loving reviews and kind words, even if at times it is poorly written and filled with typos that make me cringe. If I could huggle you all personally, I would. But I can't. So here's a universal glomp for making my feel loved. -Glomps reviewers- And not just the reviewers, everyone who's taken the time to read this and not flame me. It makes me insanely happy.
Love,
-Hybrid