A/N: I somewhat apologize for the long chapter, but hey... what can you do? :)
Just so we're clear, however, this will be the final CHAPTER. Whether there will be an Epilogue... you will find out in due time. ;)
(Near P.O.V)
The whole world seemed quiet now. Even the rain had stopped. There was no air in the room to breathe. I admit, I was worried for a few moments. But the cold feeling on my shoulder hadn't left since Yagami uttered those words. Keeping my confidence up.
He hadn't won anything.
Soon, everyone realized the reality of the situation.
"We're… still alive." Said the younger man from across the room. "It's been over a minute and… we haven't died."
Mikami looked puzzled. Everything they had planned had failed, and he didn't understand why. But of course, I knew the truth.
The look on Yagami's was priceless, but I kept my composure.
"Didn't I already tell you all that nobody was going to die?"
Mikami started panicking. "But... why? Why won't they die?!" He looked straight at Light. "God! I did everything you told me…!"
"Rester, Gevanni! Take him now!" I commanded. Before he could run, Mikami had been restrained and held. The notebook was now in our possession.
When Gevanni handed me the notebook, I showed everyone in the room the names that were written. I even confirmed that these were, in fact, the real names of the SPK members.
The only name not there, was Light Yagami's.
When silence was followed afterwards, I worried for a moment about what Yagami would do to get out of this. Of course, as always, the guilty always try to defend themselves.
"IT'S A TRAP! THIS WHOLE THING IS A SET UP!" He cried. "THIS IS ALL PART OF NEAR'S PLAN TO FRAME ME! Isn't it a little odd that no one died after having their name written in the notebook!? THIS PROVES IT'S A TRAP!"
"I believe I already told you that no one would die because I modified the notebook."
Yagami fumbled on his words. "No- I- … That can't be…"
He looked over at Mikami then.
"This is a set up! I don't know this guy!"
Mikami looked shattered then. I suppose following your 'god', only to have them turn on you, would make anyone heartbroken.
Mr. Aizawa stepped in. "Light, t's too late to deny it. You know Near has won. Just a moment ago you were saying you had just won. How much more of a confession do we need?"
The younger man at their service fell to his knees. He seemed to be most bothered by this. I could understand. They all followed a man so blindly because he was good at hiding everything he'd done. Not only that, but the mass amount of murders he managed to get away with, including L's and the Deputy Director…
Even I felt a bit sorry for them.
As Mogi went to cuff him, Yagami made a mad dash to one of the walls. He was still fighting, even knowing that there was no escape from this.
"Light Yagami…" I spoke. "L…" I seethed, knowing he did not deserve that name. "Kira… it's over. You've lost the game."
'If you can't win the game… if you can't solve the puzzle… you're nothing but a loser.' I thought bitterly. Remembering that it was Mello who truly solved this case. 'What I wouldn't give for him to be here instead of me. He deserves this recognition so much more than I do.'
"Just a moment ago you proclaimed your victory, expecting us all to die. To tell the truth, you might have actually won, and I would have lost.
"We ended up doing exactly what you expected us to and altered the fake notebook in Mikami's possession. However, when I said before that I'd modified the notebook, I was in fact referring to the real notebook as well as the fake. We only switched part of the fake notebook. But as for the real one… we replaced the entire thing." I dug into my shirt and pulled out the real notebook. "This notebook here is the real one."
Light's eyes' went wide with worry. "No! That's impossible!"
I explained that we used the same type of pen and ink that Mikami used and how Gevanni was able to accomplish this task in one night.
I then let the secret slip.
"Of course, since I touched the notebook before coming, I've been able to see the shinigami as well." The shinigami looked impressed. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Shinigami. My name's Near."
The shinigami laughed. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Ryuk."
Ryuk. What an interesting name it was.
I was able to confirm that writing on even a scrap of the notebook caused the same effects. Of course Kira would use this to his advantage. To kill people even under the radar of others. How easy it was for him to fool everyone.
"I wonder how many time's you've deceived us with this trick." I spoke my mind, thinking about my brothers. "Light Yagami… you are Kira."
Silence. He was trying to think of a way out of this. He thought was tricking him… I could see it in his eyes.
I picked up my Mello puppet, and the cold feeling grew just a tad warmer.
'I doubt very much you are truly here, Mello. But if you are, you deserve this recognition.'
"This was all thanks… to Mello." At his curious glance, I continued. "I believe if I explain this much, you'll begin to understand." I opened the notebook and inquired a certain name on the page that didn't seem to fit.
Kiyomi Takada.
When he realized the severity of this mistake, he looked right at Mikami in full out anger.
"G-god. You told me you couldn't move freely. I had to make sure that Takada was taken care of."
From there we explained how Gevanni had found the real notebook because Mikami had made an error in his rather methodical day to day life. Mikami moved without Light's consent and thus led us to the real notebook.
Kira had killed Takada with a note clipping, but thanks to Mello's efforts we were led straight to the real notebook.
Like he'd planned.
'If only you didn't have to die for this information.'
"I bet Mello knew in his heart, that working by ourselves neither of us would be able to obtain our goal. And surpass our mentor, L. But together…" a cold wind hit me almost immediately. "Together we can surpass L!" I exclaimed, holding up the puppet of myself and Mello over L. "And now, acting as one, we face the Kira that defeated L, and with solid evidence, beat him at his own game!" The wind died and the coldness in my shoulder returned. "Let's see you talk your way out of this one… if you can."
Silence filled the room for an ungodly amount of time. It seemed to me that Light had finally given up…
Until.
The giggling began… then turned into a chuckle. I hated this sound. It was… inhuman. Cold, with the loss of sanity. Only when it turned into a full on laugh to the heavens above sis I feel my skin crawl at the very mention of it.
Even to this day, when I remember that laugh, I have to do breathing exercises to relieve myself of the anxiety it creates.
Finally, he stopped. "That's right. I am Kira." He looked at me then, causing the coldness around me to increase. "And what can you do? Kill me right here?"
I could swear I heard low growling next to me, and it took all my strength no to look towards it.
"Then know this…" he continued. "I'm not only Kira." His eyes narrowed and my stomach churned. "I am also God of the new world."
Everything seemed to stand still now. The more he spoke, the more I began to fear him.
"Kira has become law in the world we now live. He is the one maintaining order. I have become justice! The only hope for mankind! Kill me? Is that really the right thing to do? Since Kira's appearance six years ago, wars have stopped, and global crime rates have been reduced by over seventy percent! But it's not enough, this world is still rotten! With too many rotten people. Somebody has to do this, and when I first got that notebook all those years ago, I knew I had to do it… no! I was the only one who could! I understood that killing people was a crime, but there was no other way! The world had to be fixed! A purpose given to me! Only I could do it… WHO ELSE COULD HAVE DONE IT AND HAVE COME THIS FAR!? WOULD THEY HAVE KEPT GOING!?"
He paused to look at everyone, and I felt my stomach lurch forward a bit from fear. I wished then more than ever that Mello was with me to protect me.
"In the end… the only one to create a new world… was me…" He finished.
I suddenly remembered their deaths. My family's death.
L…
Watari…
Matt…
Mello.
Enough was enough.
"NO." I said angrily. Fueled by my anger and sadness. "You're just a murderer, Light Yagami. And this Notebook is the deadliest weapon of mass murder in the history of mankind." I brought up my Kira puppet now, squeezing its head in frustration. "You yielded to the power of the shinigami and the notebook, and confused yourself with a god. In the end, you're nothing more than a crazy serial killer. That's all you are… nothing more… nothing less."
The coldness had left my shoulder completely now. And for a few moments, I felt at a loss. Like something was supposed to be there, but wasn't. It almost made me sad.
Finally, after a long silence, Yagami spoke again. "Near. Here's some food for thought. That notebook you have, and the one that Aizawa brought from the Japanese task force headquarters… are they both real?"
'What? Is he bluffing?'
He continued. "At the moment, only I know where the real notebook is. If you truly want to defeat Kira, as well as test the notebook…" He had turned away from me then, walking in the other direction. "I guess you're gonna have to write down either my name…or Mikami's." He looked at his wristwatch. "It's the only way to tell if it's real… or fake!"
The world started to spiral out of control now. There was a scream, and gunshots, and before I knew it, Yagami was on the floor bleeding to death. Or at least, from my point of view, it looked like that.
It would seem that the younger man from the task force, a Mr. Matsuda, had shot Yagami when he tried to write down my name with a notebook clipping. I hadn't seen any of this, to be honest with all of you. It was like I'd been blinded for the few minutes that involved bloodshed. I don't even remember Mikami screaming as he died in the same room as us.
Yagami began to cry, and I could suddenly feel the coldness surround me once again. I felt faint… cold… and empty.
It was over.
Kira was gone now… and L's soul could rest in peace.
I thought back to when A had died so very long ago. How Mello had tried to make me release my emotions. He told me it wasn't healthy to bottle up emotions like I had been doing. But I didn't listen to him.
I'm half glad that I didn't.
Yagami had been taken away… or rather, his body had been taken away. And for the first time in years, an incredible weight had been lifted off my chest.
Mikami had died as well, but I can't remember what from. I was too focussed on the surrounding cold to really care. Everything was over now, anyway. What did I care about a few dead bodies?
But… what if it had been Matt or Mello in Yagami's shoes.
It almost was.
Mello himself had gone crazy with the power of the notebook, almost killing Matt and myself in the process. He was lucky to have been taken away from it when he had. But Light? He'd held onto this power for so long. He was too weak of will to ignore the powers of a shinigami. And Mello… he was just desperate for power.
Me?
I found no use for an object like the Death Note. So I had it destroyed.
But that all came later.
When I had gotten home to Wammy's – Lidner, Rester, and Gevanni off on a well-deserved vacation – I broke the news to everyone about Mello and Matt. Roger and the other adults seemed mortified, but the kids that knew the two personally, even Torrik, were in tears. Linda tried to get me to talk about it, but I kept my emotions to myself.
As requested of Lidner, before I left for Wammy's, I went back to Matt and Mello's apartment to pick up their things. I found many writings of Mello's, and some from Matt. They had their goodbyes and apologies, and left the Wammy house with a small history of L's other two successors.
I decided to have it all written down in a novel. One half Matt's, the other half was Mello's. One novel was written by the blonde about L's past and how he first began, and it now stands in the library. Right beside Matt and Mello's.
I funded the publishing of L's story around the Los Angeles BB Murder case, and it turned out well. Some people asked about the author, to which I informed them that the author was unable to make an appearance.
I was happy to see Mello get the recognition he deserved.
Matt's body was released to my custody after it had been fully autopsied. I didn't bother to go see him though. I simply got a casket, the finest I could get, and he was soon buried right beside L's grave.
Mello's body was burnt too badly to be recovered. However, Lidner had found his rosary for me and I made sure that it was buried right beside Matt's corpse. Some people asked why I got a casket for a small trinket like that, to which I replied, "It was a part of Mello, and Mello has to be buried beside Matt. It's always been that way. Matt and Mello, Mello and Matt. I can't disturb that order."
And so it was done.
The three were buried with each other, and I would be buried alongside them someday. L, Matt, and Mello. In years to come, I would join them.
Things returned to a relatively normal state once more. People enjoyed reading about the life of the two successors who died for their mentor L. The especially enjoyed Matt's stories about the mischief he and Mello got into when they were young. More than a few girls at the Wammy house loved the stories about them ending up together.
There was a time when another Kira popped up, but I couldn't be bothered with it. I even named him C-Kira. 'C' for 'Cheap'. No one was a better Kira than Light Yagami. Even I have to respect his ingenious. Too bad he lost to a few kids.
As I grew older in years I noticed a few things off about my life. For one, that incredible cold I had felt the day Kira had been destroyed, had not once left my side. I found comfort in this cold unlike any other. Before I knew it, the cold had intensified after burying Matt and Mello together. I couldn't count this as a mere coincidence, and I began to speak with the cold.
Children at the Wammy house thought I was losing my mind. They'd find me talking to nothing in particular, and say I was going senile. I wasn't even in my thirties yet, either.
Time passed and I knew I would have to find a successor of my own. It was the way of things, after all. But who I chose would greatly impact on the new L.
Fortunately… my successor found me.
I had been talking to them again. Finding comfort in just telling them about my day, when a certain seven-year-old ran into my room, hiding behind the door. Before long, a few of the elder kids ran past shouting to find a kid named 'Ink'.
When he came out of hiding to see if the coast was clear, I got a good look at him.
It was Ink. A small boy with a hair-raising temper to make any adult tear their hair out in frustration. I remembered the day he arrived. Poor thing lost his parents in a plane crash. He had been brought to Wammy's because he seemed to have more intelligence than first let on.
He called himself Ink because his father had been a novelist, and his mother and illustrator. Not only that, but he had jet black hair that almost looked like ink itself.
He looked at me. "Who are you talking to?"
I exhaled my humour. "If you can believe it, I am speaking to some old friends."
"Like… on the computer?"
"Nope. They are in the room with us."
"Oh." He said, rather curiously. "What are their names?"
I decided not to hide it from the lad. "Matt and Mello…"
"L's successors!" He said excitedly. "But I thought they were dead!"
"Their spirits sure aren't."
As if to make my point, a stack of my books had fallen to the floor. Some people thought it would just be a coincidence… but I always knew better.
"Whoa. That's so cool! So you like… talk to them? Can you tell Mello I loved the Beyond book!? Oh! And Matt, how come you wore goggles when you fell asleep…?"
Ink went on with a myriad of questions, but not to make fun of me like the others had. He was truly happy to think that Mello and Matt were alright.
From that day, I had my successor.
This child had a temper to match Mello's. However, he had the mind of a complete and utter genius. I knew he would be the perfect one to succeed me. The other adults didn't agree, but I ignored them. Ink would do perfectly. He just needed someone to believe in him.
As L believed in us.
Soon enough, I passed down my torch to Ink, who had mellowed out in time and had become a fine young man. The coldness hadn't left me yet, and I doubted that it ever would. Ink still believed me when I told him my brothers were always beside me. He even expressed how much he wished he'd had a chance to know them.
I told him Matt would have liked him, but Mello may have given him a beating or two to straighten him out.
Roger soon passed and a new Watari was found afterwards for Ink. He did well as the new L, and was soon solving crimes just as quickly as the original. I was even a bit jealous by his prowess.
On one of his rest days, he had found a file left by Roger and had given it to me out of excitement. Of course, being as old as I was, I had Ink read it to me.
Apparently, Roger had kept more secrets than he let on.
It turns out, on the day of his death, the very first L had made his choice of a successor, but had told Roger to keep it from us. He had to keep it secret so Mello and I would have no choice but to work together.
So the Kira case would end quicker.
The results were unsurprising to me, and I told Ink to hide it away for another time. For when the Wammy house was ready for a secret this big to be revealed.
Well now, this is turning out to take more time than I'd like. So let me just end this with a few words.
Although I know some of you are wondering who L chose for his successor, I can only tell you this much. He had made the correct choice from the beginning. And had it gone the way he initially planned, Mello would have been around to enjoy the victory along with me.
Unfortunately, he is in another place. One where he shouldn't be. He should be alive along with Matt and having the time of his life.
I still wish, to this day, that it had been me instead.
But the fact remains that I lived. That I helped to tell the story. The story of L's successors. From the very beginning, to the very end. And, despite all the hardships we went through. Despite the losses, and the pain. Despite being genius orphans in a world that didn't need us…
We had a good life.
Truly, it was a past to remember.
Farewell my readers. I hoped you've enjoyed what little I've had to offer.