“Near-chan!” Soji said happily running up to Near with the baby cat in her arms. Near sat in a chair wearing his pajamas and twisting around his hair. He looked paler that Soji had remembered, but it was probably because of all his work.
“Soji, you haven’t changed. What is with the cat though?” Near asked calmly as Soji stopped a few feet in front of him.
“Oh this is kitty-chan, she is my new friend!” Soji said holding out the cat.
“I see, this kitten was what slowed you. Hmmm I will get to the point then. As I believe you know, the Kira case is over, but there are still killers out there.”
“So you finished Kira once and for all,” Soji interrupted.
‘Yes, I have avenged L and stopped the killings,” Near answered.
That is good. I heard about Mello and Matt,” Soji started.
“Without Mello, I could not have finished the case,” Near replied.
“I’m glad that he managed to die doing what he felt was right,” Soji sighed, “Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to bring back the past. What did you need Near?”
“A killer with the code name Xero has appeared as head of a large gang devoted to violence and the like and has killed many innocent people. I believe it is Ryuza.”
“Ryuza! No! Near you are wrong! Ryuza would never do something like that!” Soji argued trying to hold back the anger at the accusation.
“As I thought, you are going against this. Let me put it this way then, I want you to prove me wrong. There is a 13.23 percent chance that he is Xero, but I want you to infiltrate this gang and find out for yourself,” Near answered.
“Why don’t you have your people do it?” Soji asked calmer now.
“Xero’s men know the faces of my men due to a confrontation, and you are the most capable person that I trust. Soji do this for me,” Near said calmly and then he smiled. It was L’s smile, and Soji had been captivated by it from the second she laid eyes on it so long ago.
“Fine Near, but if I do this, you have to promise that if I find that it is Ryuza, you will let me do things my way and only my way,” Soji answered her green hair shielding her tears from Near’s eyes.
“As I expected,” Near replied.
“And you have to promise that you will take care of Kitty-chan until I get back ok?” Soji said smiling now.
“I will have Matsuda take fine care of it,” Near promised.
“No, you Near only you Near,” Soji answered.
“Fine,” Near replied.
“Wow you two know a lot about each other’s minds,” Isica said.
Soji who had forgotten that Isica was there nearly jumped.
“Something wrong Soji?” Near asked.
“No, I will get going as soon as possible. Here, take Kitty-chan now,” Soji smiled.
As she walked away, Soji felt the pain of the mission that had appeared to her.
Sorry I'm stalling people!
Soji got on the plane somberly. It was a private jet that would soon land her near the origin. The origin Near referred to was obvious to those that knew. It was the origin of L-sama as well as all the children that could become successors; it was the Wammy House.
The plane landed at three in the afternoon, and Soji grabbed her one bag and walked off by herself down the street that would lead her home. The streets had changed tremendously in five years. It seemed that everything about it had suffered some sort of destruction.
“So this is the Wammy House area that I have heard you talk about. It looks pretty run down if you ask me,” Isica said.
“I didn’t ask you Isica,” Soji replied.
The shinigami sighed and followed the green haired girl down the street where the terrors of pain and blook were prominent. Soji passed her once favorite book store and felt horror clash with wonder. The front window pane was cracked and in shambles the books Soji had once held sacred were shredded and lay in tiny confetti on the hard wooden floor. The main door was broken open and forced on its hinges. Soji walked dismally inside. My books Soji thought my precious books. My lovely precious books are gone. I leave for five years, and this is what welcomes me when I return.
Suddenly a ruffling scratchy noise exploded from inside. Soji instinctively reached for her forty-four millimeter gun given to her as a safety precaution by the C.I.A. Backing up to the hinges of the door, Soji pushed her way through with her gun aimed at anything that might breathe.
“Who is there?” Soji barked. The years in the C.I.A. had turned her childish voice into a weapon of anger far greater than a gun.
A hiss was the response.
“Looks like you have a feline in your mitts Soji,” Isica answered.
“A cat?” Soji said aloud. She lowered her gun and proceeded towards the area the sound came from. Sure enough, there was a mother cat protecting what appeared to be her last kitten. She seemed starved and walked tediously around hissing at Soji, daring her to come any closer.
Soji bent down to the cat’s level. The cat was white and auburn on one ear, but her eyes were crystal blue. Soji remained frozen in her place five feet from the cat for what seemed like hours.
“What do you plan to do Soji. Aren’t you supposed to go see Near soon?” Isica asked. Soji did not respond to her but talked to the cat.
“Mama,” Soji soothed to the cat, “Mama, you have had to suffer so much haven’t you Mama? Just like my Mama. You have become starved, thin, and weak, but still you try to protect the thing that means most to you. Even in your weak state, you protect. I couldn’t protect anyone….not my mother…not my father….and not L or Matt or Mello. I saw what happened to them all and couldn’t do a thing about it. I couldn’t even hold onto Ryuza. He’s probably off somewhere working for the police. I couldn’t make him stay, but you Mama; you are protecting your baby. You are a good mama.”
“So that is why you refuse to use the Death Note is it Soji. You feel that everything is worth trying to protect, but the more you try the harder it becomes,” Isica said somberly.
The cat stared at Soji softly now, and she moved closer until she was right up next to the cat. Behind the mother was her last baby still too young to open its eyes mewing for milk and the like. Soji sat down and crossed her legs. The mother turned around and grabbed her baby by the scruff. Then she placed the baby in Soji’s lap.
“Thank you Mama Cat, thank you for letting me hold the thing you find most precious,” Soji smiled.
The cat stared at Soji for a long time before she stood and walked away into the darkness.
“Mama?” Soji asked looking around.
The mother cat never returned, and Soji was left with the baby kitten.
“Maybe there is hope for a perfect world baby,” Soji spoke softly to the kitten.
“hehehehehehe, she may use the Death Note soon,” Isica chuckled to herself.
Soji stood with the kitten in her arms and walked on to the Wammy Hose. As she pushed open the door, her eyes caught sight of the virtually forever young boy, Near.
This is the first story that I am going to make into a chapter story. This is just the beginning, but I hope you enjoy it. After the Kira case was officially closed. It has been less than two weeks, and people still believe that Kira is continuing punishment.
“Hmm so Soji, what are you going to do with the Death Note I gave you?” Isica asked.
The green haired girl looked up at the shinigami intently. Isica was a shinigami completely composed of ice crystals and through some of the clear crystal white bones could be seen. Her face was ice as well and blue icicles were her hair.
“What do you mean Isica? I’m going to keep it and not use it. I’m not like that Kira who killed L-sama, and you knew that from the beginning. I even told you I was supposed to be one of the successors and am working for the C.I.A., and yet you still give me a note. What do you expect me to do with it?” Soji asked tying her sandals tighter.
“Hmmm, just as I though, worthy of Ryuk’s book,” Isica answered.
“And who is this Ryuk person that you keep talking about?” Soji asked.
“I’ve already told you that Ryuk was the shinigami that gave Kira his Note. Near burned the books, but what he didn’t know was that a book can never be destroyed. It merely reappears in a different form somewhere where a human is burning something. That book is Ryuk’s, but since it was burned, it is now reversed in color,” Isica explained.
“And why did you give it to me again?” Soji asked.
“I was hoping that since you were part of the Wammy House, you would do something interesting with it. I was hoping that you could have fun as well.”
“Sorry, I find no joy in ending people’s lives,” Soji answered. She blocked out whatever Isica said after that and worked to retie her sandals.
Soji was the odd one of the C.I.A even though she was technically the head of it. Being the youngest, many of the older members refused to acknowledge her, but Soji was fine with that. She was who she was and that was that. Soji refused to change her green hair color or wear anything but what could only be described as a school uniform. She was also the only one in the C.I.A. who refused to wear regular shoes and wore tie-up sandals.
“Soji-san,” a voice brought up her eyes, “Are you busy? A man named Near called asking for you. It takes a lot to get through to the C.I.A., but this Near guy said that he knew you personally as well as your real name. Is this true?”
“Near…I will talk with him Aaron. No worries! No one knows my real name, not even Kira. Near is an old friend. Please let me speak to him privately.”
“If you weren’t the head hear, I would call you a child for thinking that way, but I know who you are …yes I will establish a private connection with him.”
“A friend of yours Soji?” Isica asked quietly.
“You could say that,” Soji whispered back.
The memories of the Wammy House entered Soji, but she was reluctant to smile on them. Those days were filled with childish times, but the only reason Near would be calling would be to tell her he need her to work on a case. Near was like L in that way.
“Hello, Near,” Soji said picking up a phone to the left of her. She opened a book on psychology and sat cross-legged placing her feet on the desk in front of her leaning the chair as far back as it would go. She had read the psychology book many times, but it was more a force of habit that when she worked, she would read half brained.
“Soji, I believe you are alone?” Near asked.
“But of course Near-chan. How is the Kira case going? That is it isn’t it.”
“I need you help on a case I am working on.”
“That is nice….How do you feel about the psychology of the extinct bird the dodo?”
“I see…you are reading, and you know as well as I that I do not care for your obsession with books. We both know that I prefer to learn as I go. Are you going to help me out or not?”
“Sure, I’ll help you out. Where should we meet?”
“At the origin,” Near answered and hung up the phone. He must believe that people are listening in on our conversation. Very perceptive Near. I knew it from the beginning. Yes, I will meet you at the origin.
Soji grabbed up a messenger bad left on the floor and stuffed with papers of finished cases. She dumped the papers out and began to put her favorite book in it. Aaron knocked on the door.
“Come in!” Soji laughed.
“Soji…..what are you doing? I heard banging.”
“I’m going to be gone for a few days. Is that ok?” Soji asked like a little child asking to go over to a friend’s house to play.
“May I ask where you are going?”
“No.”
“You are the head of this organization. What would they think if you left?”
“I honestly don’t care.”
“You should! If you disappear, someone will probably take your job here, and you will never be able to come back. Or worse, they will have you hunted down because you know so much. You are the head. Stay here.”
“No, Aaron. The C.I.A. asked me to be their head because they were getting their feet back under them after it collapsed due to Kira’s killings. My contract was that I could leave whenever I wanted. I only asked if it was ok with you because your opinion means a bit to me. And I don’t plan on coming back. No please leave me to pack.”
“Fine.”
“Is that wise Soji?” Isica asked, “Does this Near person really mean something to you? Don’t forget to take the Death Note.”
“He mean something…and I will take the Note because I know that if I don’t, you will just take it and give it to someone who will use it to harm. I will never use that Note, but I must keep it from the rest of the world.”
“You are so….hm what would the human word be….self righteous. Someday you will use the Note; I can feel it. And then I will get a marvelous show.”
“No, I am not Kira.”
This was when Light gave up his memories to help L catch Higuchi and get himself freed. L fans please don’t kill me.
“Hey L,” Light said leaning back in his chair. They had just gone through a large amount of information about Yotsuba, and the information had taken its toll. “What keeps you going like that. I am so tired.”
“If you are tired Light-kun then you should sleep. I can process the rest of this information on my own,” L answered.
“No that is fine,” Light answered, “logic says that it is all the high calorie sweets that you constantly eat. If I ate like you, I would be fat.”
“Light-kun, where is this going?” L asked.
“No where I guess I am just becoming delusional. I will go take a nap if that is fine with you,” Light answered.
Light stood and walked off pulling his end of the chain with him. The chain was just long enough for Light to reach a couch and lay down comfortably. In a few minutes Light’s slow and relaxed breathing entered L’s ears. Could I have really made a mistake thinking that Light-kun is Kira? Hmmm and where was he going with that sweet question? Speaking of sweets, I need Watari to get me some more strawberries.
In that moment, visions of a past once begged to be laid to rest resurfaced. Back to L’s childhood they went. Back to pain that L himself had to block out of his consciousness. The feeling of the cold and snow and the bells came into full focus. Feelings long buried were being forced to the surface. The feelings of cold, the feeling of pain, and the feeling of hunger were once again alive.
“Mommy, I’m hungry,” L complained to a woman as the snow fell slowly around them. L himself was in oversized clothes handed out generously from the shelters. L was only five at the time and could not understand why he was always so hungry. It was late in the day, and street lights were already starting to come on. The snow reflected the street lights as they came down in shimmering flakes. Any other human being would have considered this a beautiful sight, but L hated it. Snow meant cold and cold meant it was harder for his mother to get a job, and cold meant there was no food.
“I’m sorry baby,” L’s mother nearly cried.
She was a poor woman with barely a single yen to her name. A husband gave her a child but then died in a car accident. Now this quiet woman was struggling to raise a child who learned at a very early age what hunger was. All she could say was ‘I’m sorry’ over and over again as her child asked why there was no food. What this woman could not conceive was that her child was a genius or the fact that he thought her beautiful. All she focused on was getting enough food to survive in the cold of Japan.
“Mommy, it’s alright. Don’t cry Mommy. I’ll protect you. Don’t cry,” L repeated over and over again, but the woman continued to cry in the ice of the winter.
L grasped his mother’s hand and slowly walked her down the sidewalk. His hair too long jumped in front of him and blocked his vision, but L proceeded forward. There was nowhere to go, no house to find, no family to see, but there was pavement to walk and small joys to watch from afar.
A child begged his mother for a toy not far away, but the mother continued to protest telling the boy that Christmas was coming, and he should wait to receive gifts rather that beg like a child. L knew too well that there were not going to be Christmas presents. There never were and there never would be. That was how things were. L clasped his mother’s hand tighter as she began to weep at seeing a normal child and then looking at her child not being able to give him the simplest of gifts- food and shelter from the ice.
“It’s alright Mommy,” L smiled. Already he had learned the soft smile that made his mother smile back, “We’ll be okay Mommy. We always are. Don’t cry.”
Just then, a man appeared on the street. L froze as his eyes caught the look the man was giving his mother. They were devilish eyes that wanted to harm, to crush, to kill. It seemed as though everyone on the street had vanished into the ice and snow.
“Hello there, pretty lady. Why don’t you ditch the kid and come talk with me about your payments,” the man cooed. The stench of sake was so pungent that even from the few feet away he stood, L could smell it. L felt his mother’s hand tighten around his.
“No,” L said, trying to sound as fierce as he felt inside. No one was going to hurt his mother.
“Ah, the brat has fangs. Sorry laddie, but I have a bit of business with your mom here,” the man chuckled.
“I don’t have the money,” L’s mother said flatly, “I will try to pay you back as soon as I can. I need more time.”
“Time…I have given you six months. Isn’t that enough time? Well, time's up. If I can’t get my money, you will pay with your deaths,” the man said and held up a gun.
The fear that shook his mother traveled into L himself. She tried to hide it, but when she became afraid, L’s mother shook. It was as if the ice outside was entering him, trying to freeze him to death. He felt the ice freeze inside his eyes and bury down creating what would be later in life dark circles. L’s mother moved in front of her child instinctively. L clung to her hand tighter, but she had stopped shaking.
“God spare my child,” she whispered.
“Stop!” a voice boomed angrily.
L looked to his left and saw a police officer running towards them.
“Dam!” the man cursed. He aimed the gun and pulled the trigger before the police officer could stop it.
The bang was only the first part. More bangs erupted from the police officer’s gun as twelve bullets entered the man that had wanted to harm, but the damage was already done. L’s mother fell backwards onto L who was splashed with her blood. The snow absorbed the blood like a sponge and became bright pink. L felt he could move, but the pure terror froze him. His mother was breathing slowly now as more blood pooled onto L’s oversized clothes.
“My baby,” was the last words L’s mother said as she left the world of the living.
“Mommy,” L cried from beneath his mother. He managed to move out from under her and placed her head in his lap. Tears froze into ice as they streamed down the crying boy’s eyes. He could not move. Even when the officer came and placed his arm around the boy, L did not move.
“Are you alright?” the officer asked softly.
“Mommy, my mommy is….” L cried and buried his head into the officer’s jacket. The officer placed his arms around the sobbing child and picked him slowly up. He had already called an ambulance and other officers to the scene, and as people rushed around trying to understand what happened and this, that, and the other, the officer held l close to him.
Doctors confirmed that L was fine but that the man and woman later identified by people whose names and faces L would never know were dead. It was later learned why the shooting had occurred, but the officer did not let anyone near the child. L stayed in the officer’s arms as he was taken to the police headquarters.
“My mommy, my mommy…she was killed. My mommy was killed,” L sobbed into a blue jacket. The officer had no words that he could find that would make it any better, so he remained silent and sat down in a swivel chair. He rocked L until the child had fallen asleep. Even then, L did not release the officer’s jacket, so the officer sat with him for what seemed like an eternity.
L awakened in a warm bed with the smell of strawberries and cinnamon rolls waiting for him on a desk to his right. He was still in the police headquarters, and the officer that had rescued him the night before was asleep in the swivel chair only a few feet away. Someone had changed L into soft pajamas, and as L’s feet hit the floor, the officer looked up from his sleep.
“Hello,” the officer said calmly, “I am Officer Soichiro Yagami. Do you want to tell me your name?”
L remained silent, but the officer did not press him any further.
“I had sweets ordered in for you. You seem thin. Eat as much as you want. If you need anything, feel free to let me know,” Soichiro said as he stood and walked a few feet away. He turned and looked back to the boy, “Are you going to be okay?”
L shook his head, and Soichiro walked back to him.
“Then I’ll stay with you. How does that sound?”
L nodded and walked towards the food. He had never eaten anything that looked and smelled this good before. It seemed like a dream, but as he picked up the cinnamon roll and placed it in his mouth, L felt the sugar buzz through him. It was as if he had missed something he knew nothing of all his life. He ate more and more. Soichiro went away for a few minutes and brought back more sweets. L ate and ate until he felt his stomach was full. It was an awkward feeling, but it was good.
“Thank you,” L said softly.
“You’re welcome, and I am sorry. I see in your face that you know what happened,” Soichiro started, “I was too late, and your mother died. I am sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” L answered. He did not hate this officer. This officer had saved his life and tried to save his mother’s.
“You know, when I joined the Japanese police, I head a friend say that justice would always prevail. I don’t think that I can bring your mother back, but the man that shot her is now dead and will never harm anyone again. So in a way, justice did prevail. I’m sorry that it cost your mother though,” Soichiro said quietly.
The good guys always win, L thought.
After that, L ate more and found that sweets gave him an outlet for all the fear and pain that he needed to lock up. He refused to talk to any psychiatrists or the like, and instead focused on bidding the pain from himself. The sweet taste fought the pain and suffering and pushed them far back into the corner of L’s mind where it would stay. The sugar also gave him energy to study and become a genius. L was placed in foster care where his intellect was noticed by Watari who took him in. L studied and became an excellent detective and solved the unsolvable cases. The words that the good guys always win gave him the strength to go beyond and become the best detective in the world.
L picked up a piece of cake and was about to take a bite when he heard Light stir.
“L….” Light said dazedly, “can I have some cake?”
“I thought sweets would make you fat Light,” L answered.
“I was having bad dreams. Please, can I have some cake?”
“Fine,” L answered. Kira, enjoy your sweets. Justice will always prevail, and I will prove that you are Kira soon enough. You are Kira and act like a god. You are not. And I will catch you.
Ya, this was started by one of my friends who likes Light. She asked me to write it and make it pretty so...ya.
This was when Light got his memories back, but before L let him off the chain.
“L….L, I don’t feel good,” Light moaned waking up from his sleep on a couch. His head pounded and his body ached. It was as if someone hit him with a truck.
L looked over at Light obscurely following the chain that attached them together with his eyes. Light had been sleeping soundlessly on the couch, but now he seemed to be in pain almost. It was around seven in the morning, but L had been up for hours. Cake surrounded him, and he was wheeling in his swivel chair when Light awoke.
“You are not feeling good Light?” L asked picking up a fork and diving it into a piece of strawberry cake.
“Not at all,” Light moaned. This is not good. If I say something while I’m in this dazed state, L could use it against me later. Dam, why do I have to be sick? *Ugh* my stomach!
Light leaned over and threw up in a flower pot Misa had brought over to liven the place up. An awful taste was the after effect. Light moved his hand to wipe his mouth, but found that his muscles were tight and disorganized to where he could barely move.
“Light, “L started, “You look terrible. You must have a cold or something. I’ll call Watari and have him bring more blankets and soup. Which do you prefer chicken noodle or tomato? I prefer sugar soop. Hmm.” L walked slowly over and put his hand on Light’s head. “You have a fever.”
L called Watari and explained the situation. The couch was turned into a flat bed and sealed off from the rest of the headquarters by a plastic sheet. Against Light’s protests, Watari forced him to eat.
“I don’t think I can keep it down. Just let me sleep,” Light moaned.
“You need food to give you energy. At least drink some water Light,” Watari answered.
Light drank very little and ate about the same amount. His whole body was at war, and his mind was caught in the crossfire. Ryuk, Light thought, where is that blasted shinigami? I need him to get Misa. She can say that she needs to take care of me and then take a look at L’s name. *Ugh*
“Poor Light,” Matsuda said from behind the plastic sheet. Watari had forced the entire Task Force member to stay back away from Light. There was no reason to spread the illness around.
“Matsu…da, get me some…*cough* water please,” Light begged. Things were becoming out of focus now and his head begged the illness for mercy.
Finally Light went to sleep, but his pain did not stop there. It seemed that the spirits of all those that he had killed were back to haunt him. Fear gripped him, and he found himself screaming. Naomi Misora asked again and again why her fiancé had to die, and many other posed their own questions angrily. This must be hell. Light thought. Ryuk must have put my name in his Note and killed me. Dam him!
Later that day, Light’s fever broke, and he awoke. I fell asleep! Light thought. Did I say anything to give me away? What happened? I missed a whole day. This is bad! Light looked around and found that L was in a bed next to him.
“Light….” L said dazedly, “You gave me you illness. I hate you.”
