𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄

十四 | 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍
𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒

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Another week.

Then another.

It was almost like clockwork now for everyone at Task Force Headquarters.

Until the morning of the first Saturday of June arrived, the cold having seeped into warmth long ago, that Matsuda rushed into the building with a newspaper in hand, not noticing everyone else already looking over same paper.

"This is crazy!" He announced, making all members look up save Near who was concentrating on a race track, a multitude of different toy cars also surrounding him. "It's been three weeks since the last Kira killings and now several criminals have all died from heart attacks at seven A.M. on the dot!"

"Yes, it's quite intriguing," Near spoke, his cheek propped against his knee as his thin finger slid a rather colorful car across the track.

"I just... can't believe Kira's Successor was merely waiting to kill all these criminals just because of an announcement that you made believing that they were a student," Matsuda sighed, collapsing onto the couch next to Aizawa. "I don't understand it since it's only made them look that much more suspicious."

"That's probably what they wanted," Near announced without looking up.

"Huh?"

"They wanted us to be confused," he restated, finally glancing up so his eyes met Matsuda's, his hand twirling a strand of his short white hair. "Kira's Successor probably thought of something along the lines like, 'While L observes Japan's students, it wouldn't be the right choice to deviate from the times that I chose to kill. To confuse him, let's just stop killing all together. Since I am going to kill you, it'll be fun to play around with you. Now, try and find me.'"

"So... they only waited to... to toy with us?" Aizawa muttered in disbelief, rubbing a hand down his course features. "Unbelievable."

Their attention was soon drawn to the clicking of shoes against floor, the sound belonging to Commander Rester who urgently stalked over to the Near, announcing, "L, this just came in from local prisons. I suggest you take a look."

Grabbing the two pieces of paper, Near skimmed what first was a picture, and then a letter from an inmate who was saying goodbye to his family. However, what made him stop reading was the father intriguing top line:

L, I wonder...

Near frowned.

'L, I wonder?'

What is Kira-S thinking?

Sending me a letter like this after all those criminals died... was it experimentation?

No.

That's not what Kira-S was doing.

It's most likely that they wanted to imprint that they weren't gone, and that they're merely toying with me since they find pleasure in doing so.

Hm.

Look at that.

This Kira is highly sadistic in ways Light was not.

I just wonder by how much?

"So, what do you make of this, L?" Agent Gevanni questioned, having been informed of what was inlaid in the documents.

"I honestly don't know," Near murmured, staring down blankly at the photograph and letter. "Honestly, Kira-S has been an enigma. They don't want to be found, yet they pull something like this. They say they stand for justice, yet they kill just like someone who has a twisted sense of the word. They're apathetic, sadistic, judgmental... they act as if they're better than most people and know it as well. All in all... it's disgusting."

"Then the letter...?" Commander Rester started.

"Useless," Near sighed, tossing the paper away. "I'm sure the only thing Kira-S is hoping to achieve is my attention being diverted somewhere else."

"But why is Kira's Successor killing criminals by making them write a letter before hand if they're pointless?" Agent Lidner inquired, brushing a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear. "Wouldn't that reveal more information on where he is and what his motives might be?"

"They're just doing it for fun," Aizawa sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "It's all a game to them."

"'A... game?'" Matsuda quoted in obvious horror.

"Kira-S is most likely going to be sending another letter soon, so keep an eye out, Commander Rester," Near stated, the man giving a curt nod of acknowledgement at his words. "For now, let's keep our focus on identifying students most likely to be Kira's Successor. There's a high probability that they are residing in one of these high schools or colleges, so let us be vigilant."

All nodded, and all got back to work.

Near, however, stared at the floor.

I'm going to find you, Kira-S.

No matter the cost, no matter what the price of this game will be, I will.

I will find you.

As Near continued his sweep across the Kanto region and its schools, (Y/N) very much was enjoying what her devise had entailed.

As I thought...

L still thinks Kira's Successor is a student.

While he's not wrong, he only will have problems with such a theory. Sooner or later, people are going to want to see results, if L keeps investigating schools, it'll reveal nothing.

He'll find nothing but a dead end.

"Don't you seem confident?" Edu above her chuckled, his club grinding against the ground as he drug it across the concrete. "Isn't L continuing to search through schools to find you a bad thing?"

"Not particularly."

"And why not?"

"He'll be focusing on what I and the original Kira's similarities and differences will be along with that little note I sent him," she laughed softly, opening the gate to her house before also opening the front door, slipping her shoes off and looking for her mother. "So, his attention will be diverted."

Her brows then rose when finding only a small note in the kitchen. After reading it, seeing that her mother went out to buy groceries, she merely shrugged, folded up the note, and slipped it into her pocket. Ascending the stairs, shoving Edu out of her room so she could change, she then re opened the door to let him back in after she was done. Unfortunately, just as she did so, she heard the front door opening as well.

"(Y/N)," Wayne's voice drifted from below. "Come down here, now."

Her eyes narrowed.

Why is he home so early?

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To be continued...