I went on a vacation trip around Macau, Hong Kong, and some parts of China. It was really fun. Here's the much-awaited ninth chapter of Opposing Destiny. Enjoy.

Chapter Nine

Stimulation

"I am L."

Higuchi paused and stared at his phone fearfully as if it had just sprouted claws and started scratching at him. He stiffened, looking around to make sure that no one was close enough to be able to hear his conversation and replied quietly, "L? Seriously? Is this the type of prank call teenagers do these days?"

The person on the other line insisted, "I really am L and I am as sure of it as you are about being Kyosuke Higuchi."

He gasped. This person could actually be L! However, any stranger could have gotten hold of his number and identity, anyway. It would be wise to make sure. "I still don't believe you."

"Oh?" the voice said testily. "What if I told you that I know about you being the third Kira and that you are using your Death Note to kill all Yotsuba's enemies? It was quite easy to find out, you know. Also, what if I told you that I'm about to ask your work partners in Yotsuba to call the police this very moment? They might even have evidence and witness to your guilt as the committer of these crimes. The police would be very relieved to have caught-"

"What the fuck do you want me to do, then?" Higuchi interrupted, swiftly making his way to his car.

"Surrender," was the simple answer.

He laughed. "Fuck you." He ended the call and put back his phone in his pack. He opened his bag and tried to find his car keys, occasionally glancing left and right to make sure that he wasn't being watched. It was the perfect time to be paranoid. Surely, L would have his eyes on him all the time.

He had to go to the Yotsuba building and prevent anything bad from happening.

It took a whole minute for Higuchi to actually find the car keys. He quickly retrieved them and unlocked his car, his bag still in his left hand- until a blur of black and yellow snatched it away.

He turned, extremely alarmed, to find that his bag was snatched by a blond teen wearing black, who was grinning and holding up the bag like a prize. Higuchi roared in frustration and ran to catch the boy, who started running off as well. A wild goose chase began.

The blond crossed the road and went down the main street, way past the shopping square. The bag contained not only Higuchi's personal items, but also the Death Note. The teen unknowingly had access to the most dangerous and powerful weapon any human being could have- and he stole it right out of Higuchi's hands.

"Fuck you! Come back! You thief!" the man growled angrily as he chased the boy.

The boy took no notice and turned to an alley, jumping on a big black motorcycle and starting it up. The engine roaring like a signal for Higuchi to catch up if he could. The motorcycle sped off downtown, right out of sight.

Higuchi growled and ran back to the parking lot as fast as he could, using his car keys to unlock the car and getting inside in a rush. He hastily drove away from the square and followed the road going downtown, where he had last seen the kid on his motorcycle.

Mello slowed down the bike and retrieved his phone from his pocket, dialing the only number available in his contacts. After a few seconds of ringing, the person on the other line finally picked up.

"Have you succeeded?"

"Yeah, I'm on my bike right now! I'm positive he went back to get his car and he's possibly trying to trace where he last saw me," the blond muttered, scanning the street warily, "Near, I have his damn Death Note, though! It's in his bag and I'm holding it right now and-"

Near interrupted tonelessly, "Don't get too excited. You only have one piece of evidence. We need his confession."

"Well, that's your job," Mello answered, rolling his eyes, "You're watching and listening to him from the hidden camera and bugs installed in his car, right? Just make sure you're paying attention to whatever he says. He might slip up cursing and mention stuff."

"Yes. I was afraid he wouldn't believe my phone call about being L, though," the albino replied softly.

"He did, you sheep. That's why he's chasing me right now. I'm sure we'll catch him by the end of tonight," he said confidently, catching a glimpse of the front of Higuchi's car speeding towards him, "He managed to catch up with me. I'm going to drive away now."

"Be careful," Near said, ending the call with the press of a button.

Near twirled a strand of his white hair and watched the screens closely. Higuchi was in a rage, driving as fast as he could in pursuit of Mello on his black motorbike. It was obvious that he was desperate as his face was red and his driving was the most reckless ever.

The vehicle picked up speed as they entered the highway. Near could imagine Mello howling gleefully at his own illegal underage driving and living the moment. In fact, the blond had only learned how to ride the bike earlier that morning and he had already gotten the hang of it in only a whole afternoon.

Suddenly, Near noticed a sudden motion that could only mean swerving. Higuchi went wild on the steering wheel, veering to the left and yelling at the dashboard (most probably Mello), "You got that right, bastard child! I'm not going on easy on you just 'cause you're a kid! Wait, aren't you too young to be riding a bike? Fuck, I bet he doesn't even have a driver's license!"

The albino sat up straight, feeling that there was more to come. He was right. "THERE'S NO WAY I'M LETTING A POOR KID LIKE YOU LAY HIS DIRTY HANDS ON MY NOTEBOOK!" Ah. So close yet so far. Near bit his lip.

Apparently, the highway had ended and they were now in downtown. Only a few blocks away was the Yotsuba building. They were almost there and Higuchi could possibly and finally be arrested for being the third Kira. The phone rang.

"Mello? What's going on?"

"You know, I just realized that since I touched the Death Note, I should be seeing a Shinigami by now. What was the name in the manga? Ram? Rex?"

"Rem," the younger boy answered instantly with a spark of realization in his eyes. "You're right. Perhaps you can't see clearly from there? Looking in his car behind you while driving on a motorbike isn't-"

Mello interrupted impatiently, "No. I can see really clearly from here. Besides, I've mastered all kinds of riding on a bike. Backwards, sitting sideways, on a handstand… I really can't see Rem."

"That's strange. Death gods have no ability to turn invisible and they usually are required to stay close to their masters. It should be there somewhere."

"Well, it's not. By the way, have you caught some evidence over there?"

Near frowned. "No. He only mentioned the word notebook, so it's still vague. You have to stimulate some more reaction from him. It is essential that we acquire more evidence than the Death Note in your hands."

"Got it," the blond replied loudly over the sound of the engine. He ended the call.

The albino, once again, looked up at the screens and strained his ears to catch anything that would come out of Kyosuke Higuchi's mouth. For now, he was silently driving in fury. The car turned a corner and now, it was extremely obvious that they were heading towards the Yotsuba building. Mello had only approximately a minute to stimulate some kind of reaction from the man.

"This is close to my workplace…" he mumbled, confused, "And where the fuck is Rem? Just when all this happened…"

That was strange. Even he didn't know where the Shinigami had gone. Near tilted his head to the right, thinking that maybe Rem had escaped- but where? And why? A loud screeching of brakes was heard as an unmistakable motorbike had suddenly collided with the left side of the car. The left rearview mirror was broken. Higuchi screamed. "DAMN YOU! No one destroys my car and gets away with it, you little shit. I'm going to kill you- as soon as I get my hands on my Death Note again!"

Near sighed, relieved. He saved the file of the voice recorder and mentally thanked Wedy for her help with installing the bugs in Higuchi's car. They finally had evidence. Now, it was time for Mello to make it to the Yotsuba building safe and sound- with Higuchi right behind him.

Mello grinned, speeding off towards the parking lot of the Yotsuba building, where several police cars were waiting. He looked behind him and laughed out loud at seeing Higuchi's face. It was official- they had caught the third Kira.

He veered to the right, blocking Higuchi's road to escape. The effect was instantaneous. Higuchi hit the brakes and tried to go left at the same time, causing his vehicle to crash right into a police car at the parking lot. Smoke arose from the engine.

The blond stopped and got down from his bike. The head police officer ran towards him.

"Are you L's assistant? We were told that you were coming."

He nodded. "Kyosuke Higuchi is the third Kira. A voice file that proves his guilt will be sent to your systems in a few minutes. It is enough proof, anyway, that he chased me and wants to kill me. He should be arrested as soon as possible. That is all." He walked off and the police officer had said a quick thanks and goodbye.

Mello thought of calling Near about their victory but decided against it. They could celebrate when he got back to their apartment. He paused for a while, watching Higuchi being handcuffed and dragged towards a police car. The Kira had taken notice of him and growled. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! I WILL KILL YOU!"

He laughed, shaking his head and turning back towards his bike.

"It's crazy, Steve! Who thought catching two Kiras would be possible?"

"Yeah, the actress earlier this morning and now this businessman tonight- L really is amazing, Tony."

Mello scowled and made his way towards the two policemen having the conversation, feeling his blue eyes widen in suspicion. Were they talking about the case or something? "I heard you both talking about Kira and L. I'm the guy L sent here- the one you should be thanking for making your jobs easier, you know. Anyway, would you mind repeating to me what you were saying?"

They both bowed respectfully. "Well, our other colleagues in the police department said that they had caught Misa Amane earlier this morning because she was the second Kira. L did that. And now, obviously, L also-"

"Okay, thanks," he interrupted, nodding to them in appreciation. L had apprehended Misa. He and Near had apprehended Higuchi. It was time. They had no other choice but to join their mentor and help him arrest the original Kira once and for all. He absolutely had to call Near about this.

The last and closest encounter the police officers could possibly have with any relation to L was the blond speeding away on his black motorbike, cellphone in hand.

Ever since L had arrested Misa Amane the other day, the headquarters was extremely quiet and the atmosphere was never happy. Besides, it came as a shock to all members of the task force to find out that L was right and that the sweet and talented Misa really was the second Kira.

Light was probably the most affected. He hadn't really loved his girlfriend the way other guys did but her arrest was another angle to his possible guilt. There was a sort of feeling deep in his chest and some faint spark at the back of his mind that made him cringe every time he'd think about Kira. It was getting darker each second and L's eyes were always watching him- always, without fail, and he knew he'd never escape them.

L calmly ate his cake, facing his computer. The news had broken out all over the world that Quillish Wammy, owner of several orphanages for special and advanced children, had died. It was on the papers. It was on the internet. However, L made sure that the news about Misa's capture was to be contained.

He would only proclaim Kira truly dead if Light Yagami himself was arrested.

"Ryuzaki! I have urgent news," Soichiro Yagami said, clearly alarmed as he walked over to L, phone in hand. "A colleague of mine from the downtown police department said that they had apprehended a certain Kyosuke Higuchi, now known as the third Kira."

L could barely contain his surprise. "Are you quite sure about this?"

The older man nodded. Everyone else in the room was now paying close attention to their conversation. "The weird thing about it all is that they said L and a few of his assistants had helped them."

"They're impostors, of course! We have to research this Higuchi person, though. What if they had caught the wrong guy?" Light immediately sat down next to L and typed away on his computer, about to find information on the apprehended man. "Ryuzaki, aren't you worried about this? There are people running around out there pretending to be you and- wait."

He paused and eyed the dark-haired man beside him suspiciously. "Did you call them? Are they your accomplices or something?"

The detective shook his head. He didn't call for them. They had found the Death Note manga volumes that revealed something about L's and Kira's fate, therefore causing them to escape Wammy's House and come to Japan themselves. He didn't exactly call for them. "No. However, I may have an idea… I know some people who have the capability to assume my identity and want to help. I didn't expect-"

"Bullshit! They're here to help you arrest me, aren't they?" Light stood up, angered.

"Of course not, Light. I wouldn't stoop so low as to call in reinforcements just to arrest you. I have the ability to do that myself," L explained softly, eyes focused on the computer screen. "Higuchi is part of the seven members of Yotsuba Company, which is a leading group in business and sales. They're extremely well off and rich. Ah- they have several enemies in the field such as…"

Matsuda stepped forward, concerned. "What is it, Ryuzaki?"

L scowled. "It's strange. All their enemies are either in ruin, bankrupt, or closed down. Let me see… The leader of this company died earlier last month. This one passed away from a heart attack while on vacation. Death is all over the place. I can now see why the fake L had arrested Higuchi."

Soichiro spoke up, "Well, there's seven members, right? How did they know it was Higuchi and not any of the others?"

"I've got it. I entered the system files of the police department. Aha! There's a voice recording here…" Aizawa said triumphantly, clicking away on his computer on Light's other side. The voice of a furious man cursing and vowing to kill some boy was heard on the speaker.

"Judging by the smooth sounds in the background, the man, Higuchi perhaps, was in a car. It is safe to say that he must have been driving- in pursuit of someone or being the one in pursuit of? He mentioned a notebook…" L muttered. Everyone was silent. "The fake L had apprehend the true third Kira, it seems." He frowned. Could Higuchi possibly be the master of the Shinigami Rem that had died the other day?

Light said stiffly, his brown eyes narrowing in contemplation, "Well, now that we know the fake L is actually useful and that they seem to be on our side, what should we do with them? It's not like they'll be against us as soon as we contact them, right?"

L tuned out the rest of the conversation, uninterested in taking part and knowing perfectly well that he wanted the "fake L" to join them. Besides, there was a ninety-eight point nine percent chance that it was actually Near and Mello behind it. It was pleasing to think that the two genius teenagers were working together and that could actually benefit the world in such a time when the true L himself would die.

However, there was still Kira to think about and L knew deep in his heart that Near and Mello, who had in their possession the remaining Death Note manga volumes plus their intelligence and skills, were essential in the battle for justice.

Soon, he would have to meet up with them.

IKR. L, Near, and Mello can finally join forces to defeat Light once and for all! Or can they? ;)

By the way, did anyone else notice the names I made for the random policemen Mello talked to? YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. I'M A MAJOR FAN OF THE MOVIE. IT WAS AWESOME.