Hidden Faces – a Death Note fanfic

He walked leisurely through the darkening streets, the decay of humanity around him. The sunset was hidden behind the skyscrapers, symbolic, he thought, of the fall of Man, covered up by progress. He smiled in the dark, a winning smile that bespoke innocence and virtue. No one was around to see him. Perhaps it was best that way.

The police, he had often mused, were slightly less effective than they needed to be. Criminals were sentenced as revenge for their crimes instead of as a preventative measure. Kira had the right idea – once you realized you could steal, you were bound to do it again, but kill the thief and his dishonest hands were stilled.

As car passed by, waking him from his reverie. Its tires threw up a wall of water from a puddle nearby, and it nearly soaked him. He wrapped his coat around himself as he arrived at another deserted crosswalk. Recognizing the sign, he turned right and made his way to the headquarters. They were expecting him.

The police force was fraught with hypocrisy in addition to being clueless. He hadn't told anyone when Aizawa had started having an affair, but that had worked itself out when Kira killed that snake of a woman. He had watched, silently, as Ide embezzled from the police force. Mogi – he chuckled – put on his emotionless persona and carried out his duties without question. No one asked what happened when he went home and drunk himself into a stupor. The only decent people on the task force were the Chief and Ukita, but Ukita went and got himself killed and the Chief had sacrificed himself to take down Mello. All they had left were cowards who would not be able to catch Kira if their lives depended on it, which they did. They put on false faces and strove for a goal they wanted to reach without sacrifice.

The man entered the hotel room, hanging his trench coat on the rack next to the door.

"Matsuda, come look at this," called Light from his computer terminal.

Matsuda walked over to the screen, assuming his expected expression of clueless goodwill. All Light had to show him was more useless information, information that he hoped would lead the team away from the truth. Of course Light Yagami was Kira. Matsuda had guessed the instant the arrogant narcissist had shown up at headquarters. It would have been too easy to expose him, but unlike L, Matsuda didn't want Kira gone. For L, it was a contest, regardless of consequences to humanity. Matsuda wasn't so short-sighted. Those two were only focused on each other, loners who styled themselves the only ones in the world – and had been thrust upon each other. It had been a chess game, the world their playing-field and all of humanity their pawns.

Then L had lost.

Light had been derailed. Life for him wasn't a challenge anymore. Only the thought of his upcoming world domination must have kept him going, but it certainly wasn't fun for him anymore.

Near had come along, and Light had been so sunken into his despair that he didn't treat Near with enough caution. Now he agreed to walk into Near's obvious trap. Whatever Near had prepared would turn Mogi and Aizawa against Light. Light would try to move his right-hand man against Near at the warehouse and find that Near had – what, replaced the notebook or something? That wouldn't be enough. Matsuda would have all of their names afterwards. Then he could take the notebook . . .

L had seen through him at once. Matsuda was grateful that he had played along with the act. He could see L's face now, hear his voice – "Matsuda! More coffee!" Matsuda was invincible now, now that the only person Light respected had mocked him in this manner. Light wouldn't think twice about him up until he wrote the last name in the notebook.

Would Near live up to L's legacy? No. Not a chance. His tactics were not absolute. He was too concerned with trying to be like L. As such, he didn't care about humanity either. Taking down Kira was only his coming-of-age ritual.

Not much depended on Kira's current pair of eyes, the fanatic to whom he trusted the notebook. Light would give him instructions and that would be the end of it. No, what mattered was that Light was walking into a trap and that Near was prepared for Light's countermeasure. His ridiculous devotion to L suggested it. Light couldn't know that Near had nothing on him besides the hunch of a long-dead sociopath. Matsuda had watched carefully; no one was more diligent than Light. Light should have been able to see this coming. But he grew slightly more hysterical each day, his virtuous mask visibly strained at times.

Matsuda would have liked to help him, but Light was totally dedicated to his future conquest. Matsuda would only be killed when he least expected it. No, better to let Near finish him. Then Near would present little challenge to Matsuda's coming wrath. If only Light were less arrogant and self-centered!

The only threat inherent in the current situation was a pre-emptive elimination of the task force. In his deteriorating mental state, Light might make that mistake. Then all would be lost.

L's plan for dealing with the Yotsuba group would never have worked. He was moving too slowly. L moved cautiously, making sure there was no possibility of failure. They would have solved nothing. No, it was Matsuda's job to shake things up and force L to stay on his toes. The looks they gave him afterwards prompted him to act cowed and penitent, but he rejoiced inside. L finally gave him some well-deserved praise – of course he knew what Matsuda had done. Most importantly, he was removed from the manager position. Forced to put up with Misa any longer, he might have jumped out of an apartment without having to be told.

Mello had moved as planned. Now he had paid the price for being a pawn in this game. Takada, too, had perished. It was foolish of them to expect anything less. It would be almost certainly correct to assume that the active Kira was impotent, his notebook compromised by Near. Light was finished.

They drove to the warehouse. There was absolute silence until they got there. Light spoke up with a calmness that was clearly false, saying, "It looks like Near and the others have already arrived."

"Yeah," responded Matsuda, allowing equally false nervousness to enter his voice, "this is really it."

Light sent him and Aizawa in first, allegedly to check for recording equipment. The first thing that struck Matsuda was the ridiculous L mask Near was wearing. It took all of his self-control not to burst out laughing. Near was insecure enough in his own plan that he wore a mask while his companions stood there unprotected? What a fool! What a coward! Of course he would claim that it was a psychological attack, but that was only rationalization. Defeating Near after the day's events would be simple.

"Please don't tell Light," Near said. "Let him see for himself. His reaction will be further proof."

The . . . child could have come up with something better. Matsuda certainly could. When they went back to report, he almost gave away the secret just to spite the arrogant brat. Well, both of them. Light didn't seem to notice, submerged as he was in his own head. He was so nervous, and yet so triumphant! He hadn't even found yet that Near had beaten him!

It was this mental paradigm that subdued whatever response he had to the L mask. Matsuda did not have the opportunity to observe L's face because the megalomaniac just had to walk out in front. Near . . . had no right to the image of L. Light and Near stared at each other's impassive masks, the two contesting disciples of L. One, a genius who had surpassed the legendary detective and had fallen far. The other, a wannabe brat who never should have left the protective custody of Wammy's house. Oh, for the glory days of the Kira case! Matsuda felt a shared emotion with Ryuk, laughing in the corner. It had been more interesting when L was alive, transfixing your soul with his unblinking stare and gobbling up a mountain of sugar.

Matsuda's nostalgia turned to rage. How dare this upstart pipsqueak stick his nose into the mission of Kira! Taking care not to act out of character, for Near would pay close attention to him in the months following, he exposed as simply as possible Near's cowardice. Light quickly backed him up. Of course Near wouldn't be able to stand it.

Yes, kid, show us the depth of your insecurity, Matsuda thought.

As predicted, Near went on a rant about his intellectual superiority and his willingness to sacrifice all the members of the Kira force to make a one-on-one, blah blah blah yada yada and a cow's left foot. The works. It culminated with a request to wait for people to be manipulated and die. What idiocy! The squirt sat here with L's face and L's posture, ticking off all the loose ends in front of them! He hadn't the decency to come up with a plan that could work quickly, one that didn't involve giving his opponent extra time to think through his response! Matsuda let another barb fly. Near probably twitched under the mask and Light tried to pretend he wasn't laughing.

Eventually, Near was satisfied, and he took off the mask with an idiotic grin. Matsuda realized that, to stay in character, he needed to keep up the raging. He did so, but grudgingly. Near wasn't worthy of such upset.

Near explained how Light had sent orders to the right-hand man ("X-Kira," he called him – did the brat grow up on bad television?), faltering a little at points, and concluded that neither of them could afford changes because of the unforeseen kidnapping. Why didn't he tell them that he had engineered that as well? Perhaps because it would out Light on his guard again.

Near continued explaining his plot. He was like a bad movie villain, unveiling his plan before the heroes so they could shove a wrench in it. But Light was powerless now. Near was just gloating. Soon, the hysterics spread to the rest of the group as they realized they were going to die by this plan. Matsuda continued his act, but internally it confirmed his suspicions about Near's tampering with the notebook. Paranoia from Aizawa. Silence from Ide and Mogi. And from Light, only quiet self-assurance.

Then "X-Kira" arrived and wrote down the names of everyone present. Matsuda began to feel fear. If the notebook were actually intact, then there would be an impasse. Matsuda's name would go down there with the others, and the results would be unfortunate, to say the least.

Matsuda made a harmless attempt at botching the plan by drawing his firearm, but the SPK drew on him. He was stuck. Well, if death came for them all . . . it would all work out in the end.

Ryuk chuckled and kept on chuckling.

Near resumed his monologue, detailing the process that led to Light's defeat.

Light confirmed that the names were written. Time slowed.

Twenty seconds.

Fifteen seconds.

Near piped up again, didn't have the patience to shut his imbecilic mouth. "X-Kira" turned out to be Teru Mikami and he entered the warehouse.

Five seconds.

The world seemed to implode. Light, Kira, was the center of the universe. He smiled, growing taller as he reveled in the power of the Shinigami, and he declared, "Near, victory is mine!" The words rang in the warehouse, every syllable the slam of a coffin lid, every word the chuckle of a Shinigami. It was an absolute statement of fact, and if reality contradicted it, then it was reality that must have read the wrong line . . .

There was an awkward silence.

"We . . . We didn't . . . die . . ." Matsuda breathed, determined not to drop the act even when under this kind of pressure.

Mikami lost it. Light was finished. Near displayed the names, slowly, triumphantly.

Nate River. I have you now, Matsuda thought. All he needed was the notebook.

Light realized his defeat. All his hopes, his dreams, crushed by this amateur who could never measure up to L. His ambition curbed by a simple mistake from a subordinate. He went hysterical. His mind must have sprung a proverbial gasket under the pressure. He ran, tripping and sprawling across the floor and scrabbling his way up the wall like a drowning animal and looking fearfully over his shoulder like a hunted one.

"Yagami Light, Kira," said Near, determined to break his soul, "you lost."

He didn't even have the decency to spare him another monologue. Light's eye twitched noticeably.

Near proved his machinations by addressing Ryuk. Ryuk just kept laughing.

"Light Yagami, you are Kira."

He couldn't escape. They had gotten to him.

Light rose from the wall, hunched over and shaking. His perfect composure had broken, and now he stood like a lesser version of L. Matsuda was vividly reminded of the words of Shakespeare: "What a noble mind is here o'erthrown!"

Then Near revealed Mello's part in his victory. Mikami tried to justify his mistake, digging Light's grave a little deeper. Near kept on monologuing, trying to fill the void with more and more superiority. Matsuda wanted to scream at him, "Can't you see he's finished? Do you have no respect for your opponent, for L's opponent? You've won, don't dwell on it any more!"

Of course, he could never say it, and Near wouldn't listen anyways.

Then he decided that, together with Mello, he had surpassed L. Right. Like luck equaled skill. Near had gotten lucky and had known how to manipulate an emotionally unstable fool. He had the benefit of incompetence from the underlings. And from that he deduced, as he sat their monologuing and disrespecting the memory of his mentor, that he had surpassed the legend. For that, Matsuda would make him suffer.

"If you can talk your way out of this, by all means please do."

One last challenge, when both of them knew the game was up.

Light's eye twitched again. Then he exploded.

When going up against mad scientists and other evil villains, the first thing you want to look out for is an eye twitch. This had already happened. But second-most on the watchlist is the maniacal laugh, the hallmark and trademark (copyright Society of Evil Villains, 2010) of evildoers everywhere.

Matsuda watched sadly as Light lost it.

He's going to go for the piece in his watch, he thought. And he's going to kill Near. Then, when they realize what happened, they're going to gun him down with Mikami. After that, they're going to burn the notebooks. And there will be no more L – no even halfway-competent one, at least. And no more Kira, unless I can convince Ryuk to send more notebooks. I will have nothing to build up from.

Light confessed. Matsuda barely remembered to take on a shocked expression as his mind worked madly. No, if Light died here, then Ryuk would leave immediately. Matsuda could not even talk to him without raising suspicion.

Meanwhile, Light started a monologue of his own. His composure was back, but the long-suppressed fire of madness shone brightly in his countenance. His face was set, stubborn, declarative. It was no longer Yagami Light's face. It was the face of Kira. Light revealed all, his mission, the need for Kira, the nature of justice – everything. Then, in a few sentences, he explained the root of evil. It was almost too simple.

Matsuda had to ensure the survival of at least one notebook. Near had probably destroyed the one he had tampered with, leaving the replacement. That left the Shinigami Rem's notebook, which had been brought here.

Light and Near began to argue in melodramatic terms. Some hidden sense of theater rose unbidden inside Matsuda. He pushed it aside.

Light was going to go for the watch. Near was going to die. Light would be shot. Ryuk would leave. The notebooks would be destroyed–

The sequence ran through his mind, repeating endlessly, as he searched for a way to salvage the situation. He needed a way to get the notebook, and, loathe the prospect though he did, he needed to save Nate River.

Near shoved the argument onto the bystanders, asking about their definitions of justice. Matsuda mentally sneered. It wasn't about justice, it was about restraining the darkness of the human soul . . . it was a study of teleology, things done from fear of punishment.

Watch trick used. Death of Near. Light shot. Ryuk left. Note burned. Watch opened. Near dies. Light is shot. Ryuk leaves. Death Note destroyed. Light goes for watch. Wirites Near's name. SPK shoots Light. Shinigami leaves. Notebook destroyed. Notebook destroyed. Notebook destroyed! There must be a solution! The watch! The name! Light, Ryuk, notebook! Watch, Near, Light, Ryuk, notebook! Four clicks, Nate River . . . Wait.

The watch.

When he starts clicking the watch, I have to stop him. I can't tell them about it now, so I have to wait until he begins writing. I have a very small time frame.

Nate River.

He won't react. He'll be counting on us. With Light out of the way, he'll survive.

Light is shot.

I have to be the one to shoot him. I won't make it fatal. That way, he can survive, giving me the opportunity to talk with Ryuk.

Ryuk.

He'll stay with Light. I can get more notebooks this way, in case these ones are burned.

Notebook is destroyed.

I can destroy the notebook myself, saying I feel responsible. Then I'll hide it. Kira will live again.

Light began to walk away from the group, trying one last bluff. Aizawa was noticeably affected, but there was no real effect.

"A piece in the watch!" cried one of the SPK. Matsuda, jolted into action, whipped his revolver around and blasted the pen out of Light's hand.

Sorry, Light, but this way you live, he thought.

Light collapsed, moaning. His blood mingled with the ink. Then he screamed at Matsuda, who merely bowed his head.

You did not surpass L either, he thought.

Light was beyond pity now. No, now it was time to play up the melodrama to throw Near off the scent. So he began to play a rage born of betrayal, bringing up Kira's father and making him squirm even further. Light seethed at him, pure hatred radiating from his once-perfect face.

Wait. Damn it! I forgot the ownership rules. If they execute him, the Notebook has no owner. Or . . . No! No time to think! I have to kill him!

Light was still trying to kill Near. Matsuda took advantage of the situation to unload the rest of his clip with a contrived scream. He nearly finished the fallen god, who had been reduced to a quivering heap on the warehouse floor, but the hesitation demanded by Matsuda's façade allowed his compatriots to haul him away.

Even Mikami turned on the once-influential Light. Then the task force decided to arrest him. Matsuda noticed with pride that Aizawa passed over him when proposing the arrest.

Light grasped at straws, ignoring reality, writhing in a pool of his own blood. All of his pawns had been captured. He was powerless.

"S-someone . . . kill these guys . . . " he moaned.

Then he laid eyes on the Shinigami, with his clownish, impassive visage and his unforgiving, laughing eyes. Near couldn't resist another chance to monologue.

When Ryuk decided to write, chuckling, Matsuda knew that they were safe. He was going to write the name of the God of the New World. Light was finished.

So he needed to ensure the survival of the notebook. He opened fire on the Shinigami for the look of the thing, knowing it was useless, while Light crowed about how he had won. He hadn't, of course.

Light Yagami was about to die.

Matsuda needed to establish his guilt early.

"Light-kun . . . " he said sorrowfully, contorting his face into a veneer of regret.

"Are you feeling sorry for him now?" asked Aizawa. Idiot. What did it look like?

Then Light died.

Kyrie Eleison

Later, Matsuda did his best to turn the task force against Near. Near had given him the notebook to destroy, but certainly he had kept the pages that he had taken from the Death Note. Otherwise his childish ploy in the warehouse would have never worked.

Near had allowed Matsuda to burn the notebook. He had used slight-of-hand to replace it with a replica and burned that instead. The notebook was now in a hidden safe in his house.

Matsuda also tried to tell the task force about Near's manipulation of Mello. They were never certain about it. This was the bad side of ensuring no one took any notice of you.

One day (the anniversary of Light's defeat), Ide asked him, "You liked Light, didn't you?"

No. He supported Kira. Light was a fool in his operation. He had managed to beat L because he knew more of the rules. And Near was able to beat him because Near's pawns were more competent. Matsuda had liked Light, but he would have sacrificed Light for the vision of a future utopia. The world had been given a taste of Kira's dominion. Now Kira was on leave.

Christe Eleison

Ultimately, they rejected him because they realized they would have died if not for Near. But Near, Nate River, did not care for them. They were pawns. And at that moment in the warehouse, they had been pawns with guns.

Near had made the warehouse into an office. It was another childish sign of victory. Now, whenever people needed to contact him, they would visit the site of his victory over Kira. What an arrogant buffoon.

Matsuda arrived home late that day, placing his briefcase carefully on the edge of the table. His eyes moved automatically to the section of the wall that hid the safe. Undisturbed.

Shuichi Aizawa, Kanzo Mogi, Hideki Ide, Anthony Lester, Stephen Loud, Halle Bullock, Nate River. One day, they would face death, just like Kira. And Kira would rise again, a phoenix from the ashes of the new world.

Kyrie Eleison

Remember, if you can type, then you are obligated to write a review. Because otherwise Matsuda will come for you. Think that's funny? JUST YOU WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. YOU GET TO STAR IN IT AS THE GUY WHO DOES THE THING AND THEN THAT THING HAPPENS AND THE ... ahem. I'll be here all week. But seriously, folks, write me lots of reviews. Otherwise the things that bug you will never get fixed. And it will haunt you forever. You won't be able to sleep for weeks. So just write the review. Fun fact: you're supposed to repeat things three times to get people to remember them, so now I'm done.