(Near P.O.V)

It had been an eventful day, to say the least. There was no mistaking it, either. Light Yagami was L, and Kira. Mello had been correct to suspect him.

After I initially spoke with L, it wasn't too long after that before Aizawa gave me a call. He spoke with me about how L had taken two people into custody and confinement for over fifty days. Learning that one of them had gone and offered to be confined, was just the tip of the iceberg. I had asked who the two were, but wasn't told. However, since the deputy director had been given orders by L to kill Kira, then himself, I could only confirm that was indeed Light Yagami behind the task force now.

I was also stunned to figure out that Shinigami were able to see a person's name, and were able to grant that power to a human being. I suppose that's how they knew Mello's name to begin with, but it was also helping Kira's assistant in killing people without being there.

With all this, I had planned to have Gevanni take a look into Mr. Yagami's personal life.

Until Matt contacted me.

We had just gotten his apartment address, when the monitors started beeping. It was the only monitor I had set up where I'd be able to video conference with someone.

I clicked open the window and the red-head appeared. Mello appeared to be napping on a couch in the background.

"Matt? Why are you…?"

"You were way too close to being caught, Near." He interrupted. "Seriously, are you guys alright?"

I began playing with my hair. "So you saw what happened then. I guess I should be glad that you decided to contact me and not Mello. I detest being treated like a child."

"You are a child!" The blonde yelled from behind Matt. "You're lucky I'm too tired to find you and beat the shit out of you for being stupid!"

Matt sighed. "At any rate, we're in Japan now so we're gonna start looking for that Yagami guy."

"No need. I'm already working on this. I've found his apartment building, and records show that he has a roommate. Care to take guess on who it might be?"

"Girlfriend?" The gamer replied knowingly.

"Secret gay lover?" The blonde answered.

I rolled my eyes, trying to chase the grin away. "Though you would think with his fashion choice, no. In fact it is a girlfriend. A Miss Amane, if you will."

"Misa Amane?!" Matt exclaimed. "Dude! That chick's famous here!"

"Slutty," Mello added, "but famous."

"Says the female-esque blonde with the uncanny obsession of tight leather." I muttered.

I admit, when I was around those two, I allowed my guard to be dropped down so I could have a bit of fun.

I jumped back a bit when a shoe hit Matt's screen causing it to fall back. "Say that again, freak! I dare you!"

I grinned a bit, looking over at Gevanni to see his scared expression at the blonde's outburst. Rester had been out gathering information, but Halle was grinning along with me. I suppose she didn't really see the threat with Mello like everyone else did.

On the thought of Mello's – rather odd – leather fetish, I came up with a plan.

"Matt," I spoke once the camera was fixed. "Are you and Mello willing to listen to me?"

The blonde was now sitting by Matt's side, biting into a chocolate bar. "That depends." He replied, swallowing the bit he chewed off. "I'm not exactly your friend…"

"No, but we're both looking for the same foe. L continuously worked with people he wanted nothing to do with, because it was the smart thing to do."

Mello only rolled his eyes. "Whatever. What do you want?"

"I know you two are stealthy enough for the job, plus Mello's attire would help him greatly," a growl echoed from the blonde, which I ignored. "So, instead of having Gevanni go out and monitor Miss Amane, I would sooner see if you two were interested in this job."

"Why her and not her boyfriend?" The gamer asked.

"We'll handle Yagami. The true foe is whoever has the notebook right now. I have suspicions that it may be Misa Amane."

"What? No way, not her." Matt defended. "She's like… the nicest person on earth…"

"…who has an undying loyalty to Light Yagami," I finished. "I mean, she must have. The records show that they've been living together for years now, yet he isn't always home."

"Secret gay lover," Mello added. "I'm tellin' ya."

"Or being L on the side."

Mello shrugged. "Could be both."

I rolled my eyes yet again. "Still, I'd like you two to monitor Amane. See what you can find out about her. If you're interested, that is."

"But why suspect her?" Matt asked.

"Because I was informed that two people were taken into custody on the suspicion of being Kira. One of these people had offered to be detained. Along with this, one of the fake rules of the notebook, the 'thirteen day' one, would have allowed them to prove their innocence in only thirteen days. My guess is, Light Yagami was the one to offer his detainment, and Misa had been taken in by our predecessor. Why Kira cared about her freedom enough to make fake rules in the notebook, is beyond me."

"Still, this is Misa we're talking about." Matt continued. "The girl's a walking cupcake!"

I almost chuckled when I saw the shiver run down Mello's spine. "Matt, remember the last girl that was a 'cupcake'? Do you remember how bat-shit crazy she was too?!"

There was a silence between them for a moment, and all they did was stare at each other. The thought of Stephanie would never be fully erased from Mello's memory.

After their silent conversation, Matt caved. "Alright, we'll do it. We'll start shadowing Amane, but I doubt she's the second Kira."

"Good. Now, as for my own location, I'll be heading to Japan soon so I'll want to meet with you two personally when I arrive."

"Why's that?" Mello asked defensively, biting into his chocolate.

I leaned on my elbow then, still playing with my hair. "Well, last time we met I was almost shot in the head. Or do you not remember?"

"How do you know I won't shoot you when we meet?"

I shifted my gaze to his eyes. "Because I trust you."

A long, uncomfortable silence drew out. The way the blonde looked at me made everything go still. It was almost as if someone had walked into the room and sucked all the air out, leaving nothing but an empty husk. It was unnerving.

He leaned back then. "You really shouldn't."

I stilled my hand. "Then I am more like L then I thought. Trusting someone I shouldn't be trusting."

Mello bit off another piece of his chocolate. "Just send us that bastard's address. I want to get this over with."

"Of course. I'll leave you two to work now. I'll have Lidner email you all the information you'll need, and when I arrive in Japan I'll be sure to give you notice."

The blonde soon took his leave. "Whatever."

He was out of sight when Matt spoke up. He'd remained quiet until this point.

"I'm sorry, Near. You know how he is. Especially with his birthday coming up so quickly…"

"His birthday?" I interrupted. "How'd you find out when his birthday was?"

"Got him to spill it before he left the Wammy house. It's made a lot of sense, actually. He's always acted out in anger on that specific day, almost every year. He hates his birthday, but he won't say why."

"Hmm… I suppose my initial plan to meet up with you two was well thought out. Tell me, what day is his birthday?"

"Why do you want to know?"

I took a pause to look at my favourite gift. The small robot I took with me wherever I went. I'd even saved it during the raid on my previous headquarters. Something inside me just couldn't part with it, no matter how old it was, or how old I was. It was like letting go of a part of my childhood. The best part of my childhood. When I was loved.

I looked back at Matt. "I believe I owe him a present for all the missed years."