Near knew that Rester was annoyed with him. He could understand the reasoning – the man had just flown in from Japan and he was already leading Near back to the airport. Near supposed that he should have given the man time to sleep but he wanted to get to Japan as soon as possible.

He supposed he could have tried to fly on his own.

But, truthfully, he didn't want to.

Rester had grumbled under his breath from the time they left headquarters to the time they had taken their seats on the plane. Near should probably say something to him but he wanted to observe the man and see how long it took for him to give up and calm himself down. Near would admit, he was pretty impressed by how long he had managed to keep it up. He did not think anyone beyond Mello had that type of tenacity. Near continued to play with his finger puppets, pretending that he was ignoring the man when he was actually listening, amused, to the ramblings.

He should probably tell Rester to get some sleep. It appeared that he needed it.

After a long and very amusing plane ride, Near stepped foot in Japan for the first time. "We are in the process of setting up a base," Rester said. He was in a much better mood than he had been a few hours ago, most likely because Near had finally told the man to get that much needed sleep, and he was walking right in front of Near as they moved toward the waiting car. "Gevanni is-"

"Near."

Near's head snapped to the side as Rester's hand instantly went to where his gun was hidden under his coat. Mello was standing on the side of the building, mostly in the shadows, wearing a pair of sunglasses and a dark hood. "Why is Mello here?" Near questioned, his voice low in case of listening ears. Mello stood fully and tossed the helmet toward the smaller boy. Near reacted on years of instinct. This wasn't the first time that Mello had thrown something at him. He grasped the helmet toward his chest and frowned at the older boy.

"Come on."

Near tilted his head, confused. "Excuse me?"

"Come on," he said yet again, walking away from the shadows and stepping up beside Near. He reached out, lightly grasping Near's wrist and pulling him slightly toward a waiting motorcycle.

"Unhand him," Rester growled, beginning to draw his gun.

Near held up his hand, freezing the man instantly. "Where is Mello taking me?" Near questioned as he took a step toward the blonde.

"I know where your 'secret base' is located," Mello said with a wry smirk. "Tell your bodyguard to stand down and meet us there. You and I need to talk."

Rester began to grumble yet again and Mello sneered at the older man. Near merely sighed and shuffled forward, walking past Mello. Mello, who was still holding onto Near's wrist, turned to follow him. "Mello will take me to headquarters. Commander Rester will meet us there."

"Near-"

Near didn't respond, he merely lifted the helmet and placed it on his head. He scrunched up his nose at the uncomfortable feeling and stepped up beside the motorcycle. He frowned as he stared at it. It was very tall. Near was unsure if he would be able to slide…did you slide?...onto it. He heard a chuckle from beside him and then he felt Mello let go of his wrist. He felt a brief moment of loss before he was spun around. Azure eyes stared down at him and then Mello lifted his hands and fastened the strap on the helmet. Near swallowed hard as rough fingers brushed against his chin. Then Mello turned and sat on the motorcycle. He grasped Near's hand and led him to the seat behind him. Near sat, extremely uncomfortable, and placed his hands on his knees. "Do you want to die?" Mello grumbled, reached behind him to grab Near's hands. He pulled the younger boy forward and placed his hands around Mello's waist. "Hold me – tight. I don't need your minions coming after me if you die on the way there."

Near rolled his eyes and gripped Mello tightly. He tried to ignore the way the blond was pressed against his chest.

And then they were moving.

Near closed his eyes tightly as Mello moved throughout traffic. What was he thinking? He knew the statistics of riding these contraptions. He remembered the lecture Mello had gotten when they were young and Mello had stated he wanted a motorcycle. Near had told himself he would never get on one after that. And yet…

How had he forgotten that just because Mello had shown up and wanted him to?

Thinking of that made Near wonder just how Mello knew he was going to arrive in Japan at that time. Had he just figured out the times and then… or had he had confirmation?

Near's arms tightened and his hands slid into Mello's open coat. He felt the other boy shiver slightly as Near's hands rested on his bare skin. Near shuddered as he pressed more firmly against the warm skin under his hands. How could Mello continue to wear that vest when it was this cold and he was driving this thing? Near wished he had a coat.

Finally, Mello pulled to a stop in a dark alley. The two stayed where they were on the bike neither attempting to move. Near sighed and leaned forward, resting the helmet against Mello's shoulder. "Why did Mello come?"

"Why the hell did Rester return to New York just to get you?" Mello growled out. He let go of the handles and placed his hands on Nears. Near wanted to tighten his grip, to refuse to move, but Mello didn't attempt to make him let go. Instead, he just pressed down on Near's hands and left them there. "Did you seriously make him come get you? You should have told me if you were that afraid."

Near furrowed his brows. "I was not afraid. And why would I tell Mello? Would Mello have come to get me?"

Mello snorted. "Like hell," he muttered before letting out a sigh. "I'd have told you to grow the fuck up and get on the plane," he said loudly before his hands dropped and he slid off the bike. Near's lips twisted into a pout as his hands dropped to his sides. The pout quickly twisted into a frown as he began to swing his own leg over in an attempt to get down without falling. He then yelped in surprise as Mello's arms wrapped around him and pulled him to the ground. "Can you stand?" Mello asked when Near found his feet. Near almost said no. He was here, wrapped in Mello's arms, his back against Mello's chest…

…Mello was warm.

But Near firmly pushed those thoughts away and nodded his head. Near almost whimpered when the warmth left and he was once again standing in the cold. "Get inside, Near," Mello said, eyeing the younger boy as he shifted. "Your two underlings are inside."

Near frowned as Mello moved back toward the motorcycle. "Did Mello not want to speak with me about something?"

Mello sighed and held out his hand. Near eyed it. "Helmet," Mello finally snapped.

Oh. Near fumbled with the strap for a moment before he managed to unsnap it. He slid the helmet off his head and handed it to Mello. "Did Mello want to speak with me?" Near asked yet again. And, again he was ignored.

"Go inside, Near," Mello said as he started the motorcycle.

But Near stayed where he was. "Did Mello come to make sure I got here safely?"

Mello's head snapped to the side. "What?!" he yelled. "Have you lost your mind?!"

"Why else was Mello there?" Near questioned. "Has Mello changed his mind about working with me?"

There was a moment of silence and Mello stared at Near. His hand reached into his coat and pulled out a familiar bar of chocolate. Mello continued to stare at Near as he snapped a piece off with his teeth and began to chew. "No," he finally said, after a few moments of complete silence. "I haven't changed my mind."

"But Mello-"

"I agree to share information," Mello cut him off, glaring at him. "All information. It's still a game but let's get back on an even playing field. No more secrets. Of any kind."

Isn't that the same as working together? Near wondered but he didn't say the words out loud – he was sure if he did, Mello would be furious and whatever offer this was would suddenly disappear. So he just nodded his head.

"Fine. Get inside before they think I killed you."

Near glanced around the alley in confusion. He did not actually know where their new headquarters were. Mello let out a loud sigh and gestured toward a door across the street. Near slowly padded across the street (making sure to look both ways) and then toward the door. It opened before he got there.

Lidner was standing there, her hand on her gun as she scanned the street. Her eyes landed, briefly, on the alley before she stepped aside and let Near enter. Near looked over his shoulder just in time to see the motorcycle disappear.

"Commander Rester informed us you were coming," Lidner said, her voice judgingly irritating. "He should be here shortly. I will show you what we have set up." Near wanted to smirk at the woman's obvious irritation, but instead he just nodded and allowed her to show him around. It was much, much smaller than what they were used to and there wasn't near enough security.

They would need to be careful.

Rester arrived almost twenty minutes later and he shook his head disapprovingly at Near. "What did he want?"

Near ignored the question and continued to build his match Eiffel Tower. "Now that we are all here," Near fought back a smile at the glare he was given, "Gevanni, do we have a connection to L?"

"We do," Gevanni responded, "Would you like me to contact him?"

No, I merely asked for my own amusement. "Please do."

It took only a few minutes for the connection to be answered. "It is Near. I would like to talk to L."

"Near, this is L speaking."

"L, it's been awhile…" Near smirked, wishing he was in the actual room to see how the man took his news. "Thank you for keeping the connection open."

"Near, what do you want?"

Well, that was rude. "I am in Japan right now in order to capture Kira. The best way to investigate Kira is to start with Kiyomi Takada," what will you do now, L? "Therefore, I have decided to come to Japan and investigate."

"I'm in Japan already, doing just that. If you'd like to cooperate, I'm willing to do so as well. But, since you're suspicious of me, I guess that's not possible."

Did he just… "Did you just say I?" Near questioned. Surely that didn't mean the rest of the taskforce had allowed Yagami to investigate Takada alone? They would not be that incompetent.

"I have personally gotten in contact with Takada and am making headway in the investigation."

Ah. He's at taskforce headquarters. He's admitting this so he can get the other members confidence. Clever.

"And we've gone as far as to have our investigator, Mogi, be able to enter NHN."

Oh, he was growing very irritating. Now, even if Near was able to prove he was in contact with Amane or Takada, he could just claim that it was part of the investigation. "L, we'll find a way to get into NHN as well, but there's one thing. You said that you have personally contacted Takada and investigated her."

"…yes?"

"Then please tell Takada, however you can. That the members of the SPK who escaped from the Kira worshippers in New York have entered Japan to capture Kira. Judging from the current world situation and her position, that is the type of news that she is going to have to report. You can even have her say that there are only four members of the group, including Near, the leader. The three other members are people Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Mogi met at SPK. This is not a lie, so it will be a true report." Near's eyes shifted toward the screen. "If Mr. Aizawa or Mr. Mogi see them near NHN, please feel free to tell L. We don't want to get in the way of your investigation. But please don't show their faces as members of the SPK on television or other media outlits. This report is for luring Kira. Including me, there's only four of us. There's no way that Kira is going to run away. I am sure that Kira will make a move to try and kill us. And that is where I intend to counter strike and defeat Kira."

There was silence and Near wondered if Yagami had figured it out. Near was initiating a challenge to Kira. Would Kira respond to it?

"…Near there are four members altogether in Japan…is that it for the message?"

"Yes," Near responded. It was true, there were only four members of the SPK. Mello and Matt were not members, so they did not count. Kira may suspect that Mello is in Japan but he should be unaware of Matt. That gave them the advantage. "I had gathered people who could work under me, but now that the situation has changed, numbers are not important. I am in Japan."

"…I, too, am in Japan."

Near's lips quirked and he began to twirl his hair between his fingers. Yes, Yagami understood what he was saying. "We may come face to face."

"That's true."

"That will be something to look forward to."

"yes."

"We'll ring Kira to an end once and for all," Near threatened.

"I agree."

Amusement flashed through Near's body. "The only way to restore the world now is to get rid of Kira and he existing notebooks. If we succeed in ridding the world of Kira and the notebooks, we win. If we die, Kira wins. This battle is no longer – no, even from the start, this battle was not about an arrest or something measured by the laws of this world… it has always been a one on one battle to prove who is on top."

And I'll be the one to win. Whether it's against you or Mello, I will win.