𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄

三十三 | 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄

_________________

_________________

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄
𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄

_________________

__________________________________

"L!" Matsuda burst through the doors at a breakneck speed that startled everyone in the room, his expression grim from having even grimmer news, however when looking at everyone else in the room, he knew that they were already informed. "So... you know?"

"Yes," Near threw down the report in front of him, his brow twitching.

This doesn't make sense.

Why would this man have any need to kill Rester? And why do it in such a sloppy way that it'd get him caught?

Unless...

Was he hired?

No.

Looking through his contacts, there was no one that could possibly hold power over him, or have connections to this investigations. Was he trying to rob Rester and things went sideways?

I feel as if I'm missing something...

"Gevanni," Near glanced up at the man, a bit of sympathy creasing his expression when seeing just how guilty the other looked. "Listen... Mr. Rester's death was not your fault. Please, do not put anymore blame on yourself. He knew the risks of this operation, and decided to investigate anyway. We're all risking our lives because of Kira's Successors, and we all know the risks, yet we keep pushing forward because in the end... it'll help everyone else."

"I understand, L, it's just..." Gevanni trailed off, his mind flashing with memories of Rester just before they parted ways. "I should have been there."

"It's alright," Near turned away. "Now, you've typed up the report concerning Hayato, yes?"

"Yes."

"Could you please email a copy to me? And... detain the man that killed Rester here," he commanded, pinching a lock of hair between his pointer finger and his thumb as his eyes traced the patterns on the tile floor. "I have more... persuasive means to find out why he killed him, and if anyone ordered him to do it."

"Ordered... him?" Matsuda's head shot up, paling at the words.

"Yes," Near nodded. "See, Kira's Successors have probably already figured out that we, or more specifically the government, hold a Death Note. That means that they'll have to resort to more... creative means if they don't want to get caught." Flipping open the file that contained the information of his two suspects, most notably of (Y/N), he continued, "And hiring a hit man is the most easiest way to do it. See, if that hit man was expendable and gets caught—in this man's case—wouldn't most people assume that this wasn't the Successors' work? Why kill someone with another if they can do that anytime if they have that someone's name and face? But of course, there is also an explanation for that as well. See, Rester has never given his true name out here in Japan, so how would these Successors know what it is? Well, why try and find that out?" With that, he snapped his fingers, meeting each and every one of the agents eyes as he did so, uttering, "They don't. They can just hire someone to do it for them and then have that person take the fall. They don't rely on this notebook. Rather, they're just using it to instill fear in the world that Kira—or more reasonably his Successors—is back. And that... is exactly what they want."

Near exhaled softly, tapping the edges of the file.

"So how the hell do we stop them?" Aizawa grunted as he folded his arms over his chest.

"We just have to be one step ahead of them," Near glanced up at him with a smile.

As soon as those words left his lips, as if on cue, Gevanni walked in with a struggling man who had a bag over his face, frustrated grunts escaping him when he couldn't free himself from the cuffs chaining his hands behind his back or the other leading him to what he assumed was his death.

He hated this.

He hated having to cower before a boy.

However, this was a boy who had more than enough power to kill his family, and he would choose them over his own life any day. He just wished that they wouldn't see him like this.

It would break his heart.

"His name wasn't released publicly, yes?" He heard a voice ask, along with an affirmation in answer. "Good. Please remove both the blind and cuffs. We won't be needing them."

"Yes, sir."

In an instant, the man flinched from the sudden blinding lights that invaded his vision, rubbing his wrists as he tried to make sense of where he was. He flinched at the sound of a chair being drug against the ground, soon seeing that the cause of this noise was a young man. His cold eyes and white hair made the man think of winter.

"You're Noguchi Hanzou, yes?" Near questioned.

The man nodded.

"Noguchi-san... I've read some interesting things about you," he began, Gevanni handing him a file that had his name printed on the front. "A small business owner, is married, has two young girls; ages five and six, and a recovering alcoholic and smoker. But, I don't see anything here that suggests you would suddenly murder a person."

The man bit back anything he was going to say, knowing that if he did his wife and children would pay the price.

"Tell me..." Near's eyes bored into his own. "Were you hired to kill the man you murdered?"

"No," his hoarse voice rang out, a blatant lie that he could tell Near had caught.

"I see," Near seemed disappointed. "Agent Lidner, if you could?"

A beautiful woman with golden hair and blue eyes approached the man, and while he thought she could be an Angel, he quickly realized he was mistaken when he jolted in his seat violently from the currents of electricity that ripped through his body at her touch—or more specifically, the machine's touch that she had hooked him into.

"I ask you again... did someone hire you?" Near continued to press.

"I'll say it again... no one did," he breathed out, his hands shaking from the shock. "I killed that man because I wanted to."

"A very ill thought of excuse. Again."

Each time Hanzou refused to answer Near's question, each time he was given another bout of electricity that ran through his body, unfortunately only with the voltage increasing each time. Finally, he could take it no longer, screaming in pain for him to stop, Near holding his hand up to halt Agent Lidner's actions.

"I-I'll tell you!" The man finally cried, tears streaking down his face.

I'm sorry, Yuuki.

I'm sorry, Aina, Chōko...

I should've been a better husband... a better father.

I'm sorry.

"The one who made me do it was—" he cut himself off, his pupils dilating and his jaw slackened.

Then, without further ado, he stood up and ran to the nearest window before prying it open by sheer force. Before anyone could do anything, the man leapt onto the edge and jumped.

__________________________________

To be continued...