Monsters Who Always Tell Lies

Summary: Light Yagami's adventures had he won in the Yellow Box situation. A dramatic continuation of the controversial series Death Note. Contains violence and language.

Rated: T for violence and language.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DEATH NOTE OR IT'S CHARACTERS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY PERSONAL IDEAS AS A WRITER. Everything probably belongs to Ohba and Obata. Or Shonen Jump. Or... whatever.

Additional Notes: I love Death Note! This picks up just before Matsuda shoots Light in the hand... yeah, I got a little messed up, but you know, I'm human. _ I hate it when people call Light "Raito" because that's how the Japanese pronounce "Light." It's just wrong, people! Don't hate, and I'll love you for foreveh. This was originally going to be a REEEAALLY long series... but I've decided to end it in one chapter. Just know that he leaves Misa, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Everything prior to this has happened as normal. Misa is in whatever hotel she's in, Takada and Mello are dead, blah blah blah... Enjoy my first Death Note fanfic. It includes a Near quote that was in the manga that I really wished had been in the anime, just to hear how it sounded.

0o0o0o0o0

"Matsuda! You idiot! Who the hell do you think you're shooting at? I could have you killed! Don't screw with me!"

Matsuda's finger wavered over the trigger.

"What the hell did your Dad die for?"

"He died because he got in the way! People thought him a fool! Do you want a world like that, where people of justice are foolish?"

"Your father is dead... and now you call him a fool?"

"You were a fool, too! You were all fools! All of you!" Light screamed at the whole world, everyone who had ever denied his existence or gave him ill will. "But, you could have supported me. You all say that you work for justice, but you don't, and you know it. You never got anything accomplished. Not like I did!"

Everyone in the room paused and took a pained heartbeat. By now, with Light as their established L, it would have been no different a feeling had Ryuzaki been Kira.

"None of you did what I did! You were simple Interpol! I do good things in this world! Something so beautiful that none of you grasped it!" Light's voice was dry and raspy - it cried for something to wet it, but right now, Light doubted if he could get the time of day.

"Matsuda!" Light's volume lowered, speaking sweetly to Matsuda, almost begging. Almost. "You were the only one who ever thought that I just might be right, you were the only one, ever, who questioned the whole task force. For that, I applaud you. You seem to have some sense in what is right and what is wrong." Light bowed quite low. As he came back up, he noticed that everyone except for Matsuda and Near had taken a step forward,

"Matsuda." Light spoke slowly.

Near spoke up from across the room. "Nobody can tell what is right and what is wrong, Light Yagami. Even if there is a God and I had his teachings before me, I would think it through and decide if it was right or wrong myself."

Matsuda looked at Light, feeling betrayal. But, maybe he had been right all along. He never got the feeling that Light was a bad person. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Light saw where he could get through to Matsuda, how to get what he wanted. He knew how to push buttons.

"Matsuda, he was my father." Light was pleading. Falsely, but Matsuda didn't know that. "What happened, happened. There was no turning point for him, and I didn't really want him to die. Everything you saw in that room was real. I loved him. Never doubt that."

Those seemed to be the magic words. Never doubt that... Matsuda cracked.

Tears streamed endlessly from his chocolate eyes. Hair stuck to his face, where it was wet with sweat. His hands trembled with fright, anger, shock, confusion.

Aizawa saw what was happening, but he was too late.

"I'll kill them!"

Aizawa jumped or Matsuda, thinking he heard "him" instead of "them," not knowing that it would seal his fate as the first to die.

Matsuda swung around and shot Aizawa in the chest. He had only been a few feet from him.

Aizawa stopped with a pained expression, falling to the ground with a rustling noise. His face scrunched up, and he grabbed at his neck, like he was suffocating. In fact, a few dribbles of blood ran from his mouth.

"Matsuda... don't let him win." The sound was so quiet, you wouldn't have hardly known he had made a sound, but he had. Matsuda didn't hear him, his mind was elsewhere. But Light heard him. Mikami heard him. Those words brought back hope to their hearts. Matsuda was the key to this whole plan.

After a few seconds, Aizawa's eyes crossed, then closed.

Mogi yelled, "Matsuda!"

But that was the last thing he'd ever say. Matsuda shot down the Japanese task force one by one. Before, he would have cared. But Matsuda had cracked like an egg; his brain was lost in a haze.

Near and Matsuda wore the same cold expression. They stared into each others' eyes, and Matsuda seemed to return to a time before craziness.

It was that day that they had all met Ryuzaki...

All of the task force was leaving, and Watari had just left the room. Ryuzaki looked over at the door Watari had disappeared into, then straight at Matsuda.

Before they knew it, it was a show down - who can last longest? Don't blink, it's a sign of weakness...

Matsuda felt L staring deep into him, to his very soul, but L wouldn't give up anything of himself. Seconds seemed to be hours. Matsuda probed L with his eyes. Where will I find what I want? Reveal your secrets, L, I want, no, need -

"Matsuda."

The voice had originally been the deep growl of Soichiro Yagami, who he looked up to. But now it was Halle, with golden eyes and American hair. He had never realized how much Near and Ryuzaki had seemed alike.

Then that man was coming, with the burly body and combed-back hair, leaving Gevanni to a squirming Teru Mikami. Rester.

Without the slightest remorse or thought, as if his arm did it on his own, it raised to fire a bullet that seemed to dance, gracefully, and turn ugly, drilling a hole through his thick, American head. He collapsed.

Halle screamed. It was the first time Matsuda had seen her frightened - she had seemed quite stoic.

Through all of this, Light Yagami is suppressing laughter, just standing where he was talking to Matsuda a few minutes ago. He squeezed his left hand; it bled profusely.

Then, another gunshot, and that bitch quits screaming. Light was glad that it was Matsuda that confronted him, not Aizawa or Mogi, or Ide. Matsuda was stupid and pathetic and would be easy to dispose of.

"Drop your weapon!" Gevvani raised a pistol, keeping Mikami close to him. Mikami cried in frustration as he tried to pull away from him. Instead, he landed a 10-point-oh face-plant.

Matsuda took the opportunity to shoot at Gevvani, but only managed to shoot his leg. He stumbled, tripped, caught himself, and attempted to get back up.

Mikami had recovered from breaking his fall with his face and worked his way towards God. He examined each dead body on the way, to ensure each really was dead.

"God!" Mikami knelt before God, and Light felt pity. He looked like a lost puppy.

"Get up, Mikami!" Light hissed. He felt like kicking him, but he had already been through enough. He realized that it was his mistake - he had told Mikami that he couldn't act on his own. But he also shouldn't have led his tail to the real notebook... imagine what they learned! Had they told someone as an insurance policy, it would be the end of them...

Mikami had stood up, but he stared at his feet sheepishly. "I'm sorry, God."

Light rolled his eyes. "Don't be. You see Near?"

Mikami turned around to see Near glaring at the two men. He hadn't moved since they got here. "Yes, God."

"Mikami... what emotion do you think that is?"

"I think that's envy."

They both grinned. They knew that this would push Near's buttons - he had grown up in a boohoo sob story orphanage.

"You do?"

"Yes, I do, God."

"What would Near not have that we do?"

Matsuda, after finishing Gevvani, took off Mikami's handcuffs hastily, then began stalking over to where Near sat. Mikami screamed at him, "God does not want him dead yet!"

Matsuda shrank back, partially in fear, partially in realization; he had received orders, so he followed them.

Mikami turned to Light, resuming the sly expression he wore on his face. "We have friendship and loyalty. We trust each other. Near trusts no one; all he swims in is suspicion and death amongst his 'friends.'" Mikami spat in the general direction of Near, fixing him with a dirty look.

Light turned to face Near, the boy just sitting there, struggling to hold himself together. "Is that what it is, Near? Is it envy? Or is it jealousy? ...Loneliness...?" He drew out the word "loneliness," making Near taste the bitterness.

Near's face remained stoic.

Don't give in, you're a Wammy kid, bluff like you've never bluffed before, just don't let him him!

"It's none of those, Light Yagami. It's pity that I feel for you." Near shifted to begin twirling his snowy hair between his thumb and forefinger.

"Pity?" Light's voice was eerily calm. "Don't lie to me, Near. What are you feeling? What are your emotions?"

Near swallowed. He couldn't fight anymore. He knew that he'd lost.

"If you can't solve the puzzle..." He dumped the puzzle pieces to the floor. "You're just a loser."

Near was no loser. He had solved the puzzle. It's just that... emotions. Damn, emotions.

But, Near had lost. He swallowed what little pride he had left, and showed Kira and his Servants was he was feeling.

"Fear. Fear is my emotion."

A silence consumed the brains of the two men and the small child. Matsuda didn't even care. All three that were paying attention managed to digest this detail. Light seemed to turn the fact over and over in his brain, thinking it through, what the hell that would do for him. How amazing it was, that finally, finally, he had scared someone to go from stoic to scared out of their own shit!

Mikami spoke harshly. "All of your friends are dead, God has complete power over you!" Mikami hissed in delight. "And, I might have a bit of say over what happens to you, bastard, because I make friends, excellent friends, and I serve them well. But friends, friends, you have none. Doesn't it feel awful to be analyzed completely, over and over again, being forced to reveal what you hate about yourself, your weaknesses?"

Near sat, twirling his hair, refusing to look at them. He stared at the ground, doing what he'd done for so long, yet, he seemed unable to hold it in. He was truly an emotional person, but he'd held it in. He held it in.

"Answer him." Light demanded. "How does it feel to be me? To have as much scrutiny placed upon you that it seems you don't even have the slightest chance? Doesn't it feel awful? Don't you just hate it? Have a feeling that scraping your nails over a chalkboard would be a better alternative to even speaking, with all the thought you have to put into your every gesture, facial expression, every single moment?" Light spat at Near as well. "I had to deal with that shit every single moment of my life for six fucking years! I had to lie to my dad, my friends, who are now all dead except for Matsuda. I had to lie to Ryuzaki, I had to defeat the untouchable one!

"You've only had to deal with it for a few minutes. You compare six years to a few minutes." He paused. "Now, you better answer that damn question. Or I swear to God, I'll do worse to you than what happened to L!

"Do you want to know what the last thing L told me was? No? Well, I'll tell you anyway. He told me that it would be lonely because the investigation was coming to an end. But then, he died, and all of the data was deleted. And do you want to know what I saw on his face a he died? He knew that it was me, he knew that I had arranged it. He couldn't believe how I had done it. His last look at me was surprise. And betrayal. He actually thought of me as a friend! And yet, his sense of 'justice' was higher..."

Near doubled over in emotional pain. He didn't hear Light tell Mikami to give him a good battering. He didn't feel the sting of Mikami's fist against his vulnerable cheek bone. He couldn't feel his own warmth as Mikami slashed his face with a blade. Near was numb, just as numb as Matsuda now felt.

Matsuda had crept up against the metal wall, finally seeing all of the dead Japanese police. He sat in a fetal position, similar to how Ryuzaki would sit, staring at the gun he placed on the floor. He couldn't see it when he held it - his hands were shaking uncontrollably. He seemed aged; he was a young man, and yet, he'd seen a lifetime of death just a few moments ago.

"Mikami, that's enough!" Light cried, seeing Mikami pull a blade to Near's face.

Mikami sighed. "Yes, God." He pulled away from Near's body.

"Now, Near." Light stepped forward, holding his hand, step, drip, step, drip... "Are you ready to tell us how it feels to be me?"

Don't give in, don't give in, show power, you can make it! Do it for Halle, Gevanni, do it for Rester and Roger, do it for yourself! Do it for Mello! ... Oh, god, Mello!

At the very thought, Near started bawling. The wails this tiny boy emitted were the answer Light was hoping for.

Through sobs, Near gurgled, "Mello, he always hated me! He always thought that I was better than him because of my grades and awards and all the other crap I got! He was overemotional, and I was under-emotional... No, I had no emotions at all! Matt, I didn't even know Matt, good Lord, and... now... I want a do-over!" Near continued to gurgle out random nonsense, and all three men continued to stare at this sudden spout of emotional conflict.

After a few minutes, Light's head began to pulse. "Kill him, I've got a headache from all of his..." He looked over at Near again. "Whatever that could be categorized as. And make him squirm." Since Matsuda didn't move, he touched Mikami on the shoulder.

Mikami nodded. He ignored Matsuda's trembling figure as he snatched up the gun from the ground. You could tell that he disliked Matsuda, he took away from the fact that Mikami was God's favorite. God's only favorite.

He stood over the boy with white hair. Should he carve his face with the knife? A stream of blood already ran continuously from the corner of his mouth. Maybe cut off his fingers and then shoot him between the eyes?

No... I know how to please God.

His arm rose in the same manner as Matsuda's had, but he didn't fire just yet. "Lay down, bastard, like this." Mikami waved his arms in the air, then waved the gun at Near to do as he said.

Near was still a mess of crying and babbling. "Oh, you're going to kill me, you're going to kill me now... I'm only a kid, not right, not right..."

Mikami shot Near's left arm, and he squealed.

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Mikami boomed, and his voice echoed throughout the Yellow Box, freezing even Matsuda. Light was glad that Mikami had that kind of a temper.

Near whimpered, but did not babble. Tears streamed down his face, mixing with blood, and he couldn't feel his arm anymore. The one thing he said was, "I'm glad Mello never saw you, Kira."

Mikami replied by shooting him in his right thigh, and he couldn't feel the leg. He whimpered again.

"Don't try anything, bastard!"

"Does it look like I can?"

"Shut up!"

Another shot rang through eight ears, and Near began to scream.

"Just kill me! Please, shoot me! In the head! The lower half of my body is numb, and what I feel on the top half is unbearable pain! Kill me! Please!" Near sobbed even harder. "My dignity flew out the window the moment Mr. Aizawa died. I pissed myself, for God's sake. Please, have pity! Have pity! Please end this!"

Mikami grinned a bloodthirsty smile. He spoke slowly. "I can't hear you."

"Mikami, leave some bullets in there." Light called from across the floor.

Mikami stared down at the gun to see how many were left in it. At that moment, Matsuda sprang from his spot on the floor and tackled Mikami, flinging him to the ground. Mikami easily flipped over. It had paid off that he had been going to the gym.

"Thought you could jump me, stupid?" He punched Matsuda in the face. He pulled the gun and stuck it in his face, right in his mouth. "This is for shooting God!" He pulled the trigger, and Near had begun to babble again. Gracefully, Mikami pulled himself up.

He gave the gun to Light. "There's only one left, but we can use Gevanni's gun."

"That's good." Light shot Mikami in the forehead. Mikami fell to his knees, and when he died, Light realized that he had the same expression that L had worn as he died. Mikami was a liability. And the only criminal could be Kira, even if you were a criminal for Kira. He would have killed him soon enough.

"Please have pity on me, Kira!"

Light looked down at Near emotionlessly. He yanked Gevanni's gun from his hand as he noticed it seemed that Gevanni had been crawling towards Halle. Then he claimed the last limb to be taken by liquid fire.

He saw how Near squirmed. Near wailed, crying bloody murder. Next, to end the show, he crouched beside his head.

"Nate River."

"Light Yagami."

"Before you die, I want you to know that the part of me that is still human, it cried, violently. When L died. We had a passionate moment, where I realized that he cared for me, and the facade I put up told him that I cared for him. He slipped me a single secret, and told me to keep it between us. I've respected his wish until now. That single secret... was that he was terrified, of me, of this investigation, of his entire existence. He said that he knew this investigation would be the end of him if it turned out it was me, because he would be fighting himself, the way we both lied carelessly and cunningly. I was the one monster that he couldn't beat, the greatest detective on this entire planet couldn't solve himself. What does that tell you?"

Near thought for a moment.

"It tells me that he hated himself and feared himself so much that he refused to dig deep down to predict your next move. He refused to accept the idea that if he was in your position, he would do the same thing you did. And you killed him."

"Yes. I did." Light held up the gun. "Goodbye, Near. You were close. But the emotion of man stands on the tip of a knife, and it has tipped in my direction once again." Slowly, he placed the gun to Near's temple, watching him grimace as the cold metal touched his pale skin. He pulled the trigger.

And it was over.

He ran from the Yellow Box, flew to a foreign country. People always tried to conquer Kira, but in the end, he always defeated them. It was all emotion, and they always favored Kira. With the woman he ran off with, he had a child, and he passed on the duties to him.

Light Yagami lived a ripe life, he lived until he was 90 years of age. After that, his child, Ryo Yagami, was discovered after 15 years reigning as Kira. He had no children. The line was broken, and Ryuk returned to the Shinigami World.

And so, everything ends. Even after 98 years of Kira, the world returned to normal. Society always does, they will always flex, but not break. The era of Kira ended, and the world returned to normal. A few others posed as Kiras, but as Light Yagami said, only he could do it for that long. Humans like Light Yagami don't have the emotional function to not care that they killed, even if it is a criminal.

0o0o0o0o0

"Something I'm scared of? ... Well, I suppose monsters. ... There are many types of monsters in this world. Monsters who will not show themselves, and who cause trouble. Monsters who abduct children, monsters who devour dreams. Monsters who suck blood, and monsters who always tell lies. Lying monsters are a real nuisance. They are much more cunning than other monsters. They pose as humans, even though they have no understanding of the human heart. They eat, even though they've never experienced hunger. They study, even though they have no interest in academics. They seek friendship, even though they know not how to love. If I were encountered by such a monster, I would likely be eaten by it, because, in truth, I am that monster."

- L, Death Note Rewrite 2: L's Successors

0o0o0o0o0

Fin.