Law and Right

Warnings for this chapter: Angst, fluff, WIP.
SPOILERS: All manga, all anime, L's true name.

Important terms & names
Sakura -- Cherry blossoms.
Sakura season -- The short period of time when cherry trees flower in spring.
Daisuke -- a name meaning "great help," Matsuda's alias.
Hayate -- a name meaning "smooth," Mogi's alias.
Isamu -- a name meaning "courage" or "bravery," Aizawa's alias.
Kenshin -- a name meaning "modest truth," Soichiro's alias.

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Law and Right

Chapter 20: Confinement

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Sakura season was one of the best times of year, in Light's opinion. It was the one time of year when people literally stopped to smell the flowers. It was a bit strange, but he enjoyed the soft scent that carried, the small petals that flowed on the wind.

When the season neared its end, the streets would be filled with tiny, shriveled pink petals, looking more like a madman's work with a hole punch, instead of the soft, pink snow that it would look like when the petals were still fresh and smooth as silk.

Like Ryuzaki's skin. The strange thought brought a soft smile to his lips as he looked at the cherry trees that had been added to the rooftop sometime in the last week. He wasn't quite sure when they'd been put up there, but he was happy to have them, to feel the cool wind of the rooftop, the little petals flurrying around them.

Everyone had been brought up for a Sakura viewing, and Light found himself touched by the thought. He knew it wasn't a gift to make him happy, but the mere idea that Ryuzaki had considered the feelings of those around him was enough.

They stood there, Light and Ryuzaki between the two sakura trees, the rest of the men gathered around. Only near had refused the invitation, wishing to remain under complete surveillance until he was cleared of all suspicion.

Under the falling petals, Light drew near to Ryuzaki, sliding his hands into the other's standing close and intimate. He loved the roof, loved the way he felt so relaxed, so calm when he was there. It was the taste of freedom that kept him sane.

As they sipped at beer or sake or tea, ate onigiri, cake or oranges, a camera's shutter fluttered, so far away that it still remained undetected.

Time passed, the death toll mounted, passed the thousand mark within just a few short weeks. Near had a variety of toys brought in and began creating a dice fortress on the main floor, right in the middle of the room.

The hunt for Mello continued, but no more information was uncovered, and Ryuzaki seemed to take that as a good sign, so Light didn't concern himself with it. Instead, he was busy examining the deaths, shuffling data as if he'd studied Information Technology rather than Criminal Justice.

Then, they caught a strange, lucky break on the morning news. The television had been on, but no one paid it much mind until Matsuda let out an odd gasp and pointed dramatically.

There was Ryuk, or rather, the upper half of Ryuk sticking out of a flashy little sports car. Seconds after the shinigami left the screen, the camera panned to catch an accident on screen, the sports car had wound up beneath a truck carrying bottles of liquor, which had spilled out onto the road. Ryuk hovered above, body shaking with laughter as a spark ignited the alcohol fumes and the whole thing went up in flames.

Then he looked up towards the camera with a wide grin.

"What station is that?" Light snapped out.

"Ah... it's... it's NHN," Matsuda stuttered.

"Then we will look at their employees next," Ryuzaki replied with a smirk, thumb pressing to his lips. "This is a challenge, Toshio-kun."

Light grinned. "Yeah it is. Let's see who the best and brightest of NHN is."

"It may not be a member of NHN at all," Near pointed out from his place on the floor, stacking another die on a small tower. "But rather a red herring, intended to draw you away from the actual suspect. It would be a simple thing to learn the routine, to know when and where cameras are scheduled to film, especially traffic cameras."

"Be that as it may, Near-kun, we now have a substantial lead that may prove to lead us closer, red herring or not. Obviously, Kira had a reason for choosing this station. However, it also implies that Kira knows what news channels we watch and when."

Near's gaze was dry. "They are all on, constantly."

"Yes, but we give them the most attention in the mornings," Ryuzaki counted.

"Just like the rest of the country," Light added. "He has a point, but a lead is a lead and loose ends lead to free criminals. We should compile a list of names that we can cross reference with other potential leads."

For a long moment, Light and Near eyed each other, before Near gave a small shrug. "Do as you like. I am not in charge of this investigation," and he turned his gaze back to his dice, adding another to the tower before moving on to begin a new one.

"If Ryuk was with the victim when they died, and he was with the one who delivered the note, it's safe to assume that he's going on errands for the human he's haunting," Light spoke up as he began hacking. "It may be good to see if we can't find any bulk purchases of apples by individuals."

"Perhaps, but it may be that they purchase from a small farm that doesn't keep proper records," Ryuzaki replied.

"What have apples got to do with anything?" Near asked.

Light couldn't help smirking. "L, do you know? Gods of death love apples."

"That's not funny, Toshio-kun," Ryuzaki replied with a mild glare, but it softened when Light chuckled.

Light turned his gaze to Near. "Like I said, Shinigami love apples, and they can be bribed with the promise of a fresh apple for good work."

"And you know this because?" Near's eyes narrowed.

Ryuzaki kept his gaze on the screen. "I received the information in a coded message from the original Kira near the beginning of my involvement in the case. I have shared all information on that case with Toshio-kun, and he has a sadistic sense of humor."

Near didn't buy that one for half a second.

"And I was haunted by a shinigami prior to the close of the Kira case," Ryuzaki added, putting a cherry into his mouth, sucking the juice from it. He chewed, swallowed, knotted the stem and set it on a pile of knotted stems. "Information was traded for apples."

A soft grunt came from Near's dice fortress as he went back to the slow, careful assembly.

"We found no suspicious apple purchases," Aizawa announced some time later, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. "Everything we checked was ordered by businesses that appear to be legitimate. Any luck with the NHN list?"

"We've got some promising young minds, but nothing solid," Light replied absently, gazing boredly at the lists of deaths again, giving a weak sigh. "We've got leads, but they're all scattering in different directions. One way points European, but the names we've got on NHN are all Japanese. The criminals going down are primarily Japanese or were reported on in the Japanese language."

"And we've got the new Kira using the shinigami like pawns," Ryuzaki said softly, glancing at Light. "It is the most distressing thing of all."

"Maybe, but we still don't know how much this Kira knows about shinigami, and even if they knew everything we do, Ryuk isn't that gullible," Light gave a lopsided smile. "He's in it for the amusement."

"Yes, but the question remains, how much of this work is his, and how much is Kira's?" Ryuzaki pressed his thumb to his lips, his free hand resting on the top of his knee.

"I'd bet that he's being made an errand boy for Kira, in exchange for apples. The active role would amuse him more, the greater the involvement the greater the interest, wouldn't you say? He's not smart enough to come up with this stuff," Light sighed, leaning back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling.

"You seem to know a great deal about shinigami, Toshio-kun," Near observed.

"Shut up, Near," Ryuzaki replied blandly.

"I'm being kept in the dark about information pertinent to the investigation," Near argued.

"Would you prefer to be confined and monitored under surveillance with no information at all until you're cleared?" It was a threat.

"Would it help solve the case?" Near shot back.

"It might just break the case," Ryuzaki turned his head just enough to look at Near from the corner of his eye.

"Then do it," Near placed another dice on the tower.

"Kenshin-san, would you see to the arrangements, please?" Ryuzaki turned his gaze to Soichiro.

He nodded, fetched a pair of handcuffs and restrained Near. A few moments later he was confined in the same small prison Light had been in so many months ago.

"Do you really think it's him?" Light asked quietly, looking at the monitor rather uneasily.

"No," Ryuzaki sighed, wiggling his toes and folding one foot over the other. "Not at all. There is a reason I don't stay at the orphanage."

"That's not a very good reason for imprisoning someone," Aizawa pointed out, but he didn't argue against it.

"No, it's not, but he agreed to it," Ryuzaki shrugged. "We will see what happens," then he contacted Watari and told him that Near's handler was to be kept informed.

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A/N: And so we reach the end of another chapter, with many twists and turns! I hope the suspense is building! =3

Yuneek: I get all excited when I check AFFN and find reviews, so thank you again for taking the time to leave me feedback! The question about Near is a good one, and I suppose I should have put a bit more detail in about that, but here's how he was able to do it! The computers in that place are just everywhere. It only makes sense that bedrooms would come equipped with one, if you're that tech-addicted, and because Near is so smart, he'd easily be able to hack security. (Especially since his computer would be on the same network. L is able to check the cameras from any computer in the building, and the one in Near's bedroom would be no exception. Near would simply have to hack the setup for his user account, which is probably more tech-talk than you wanted, but it is what it is. ^^;) I have to admit, I hate Near myself, but I couldn't very well write this stage of the story without him. Especially since I want Mello and Matt involved. =3 Yes, L thinks it's either Mello or Near, and I'm glad you liked the explanation! It was the only solid one I could come up with. (I mean, really, who would name a kid L without being able to blame it on someone else? XD And I figured having L's mom die in childbirth would be the easiest way to do it. Maybe she was trying to name him Liam or Elroy or something.)

Also, a tidbit you may find interesting: Roger Ruvie is not Near's Watari. Near selected his own Watari when he 'graduated' from Wammy's House a few months prior to leaving.