Death Note: The Next Kira

Chapter 68: A Visit from Halle and Near

FEBRUARY 20, 2006

TOKYO, JAPAN

AT 1:45 PM 

                                                                           MARIE 

I was on the floor with Near as Christy and Halle continued to talk to each other. We were done putting up the groceries and Christy didn't know why I bought a cake. She knew that my birthday was only eight days away, but the cake was supposed to go old on the 26th. It was two days before mine and Light's birthday. "What's with the cake?" Near asked. "Just felt like buying a cake," I answered as I helped Near place his puzzle together. "Okay," Near let out. "Anyway, I didn't ask you when your birthday is." I chuckled. "It's not my favorite day of the year," I told Near. "How come?" he asked. I shrugged. "A lot of reasons," I answered. "I don't think I could just name one reason." Near paused for a moment and curled his hair. "Well," he began. "If you had to name one, what would it be?" I stayed silent for a little bit as I lowered my head. "It's the same day that Light Yagami was born," I answered. 

Near stayed silent for a little bit. "That's understandable," he told me. "I didn't expect the files to leak out." "Do you know who did it?" I asked. Near shook his head. "No," he answered. "Chief Matsuda and Commander Aizawa don't know who leaked them, but when they were leaked, the whole world would soon know that Light Yagami was Kira." I placed a piece of the puzzle close to Near's hand. "I feel bad for Sachiko and Sayu," I told Near. "Sachiko almost got into a fight with Dr. Phil on The Dr. Phil Show." "I don't remember that," Near commented. "But I do remember that she was upset with Oprah not long before she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She was mad at her for saying all of that stuff about Light. And because of that, I'm surprised that she even offered to promote her book." "I'm surprised that they moved to Seattle," I blurted out pretending like I didn't know anything about Light's family in Seattle. "I didn't know that she had family up there." "Yep," Near said which surprised me. "Did I ever mention that Light Yagami was on America's Most Funniest Videos?" I was a bit surprised once I heard that. "I'm afraid that's the first time anyone's ever told me that," I answered. 

"He was the kid that accidentally stuck a lollipop in his aunt's hair," Near informed me. "They won a million-dollar award. The scene with him on AFV was featured on a documentary that came out a few weeks before Sachiko released her book." I continued to help Near with his puzzle. "I feel bad for the Yagami family," I commented. "Yep," Near agreed with me. "They've been through a lot." Near and I went silent after that as we tried to finish the puzzle. We all knew what happened after the public discovered that Light was Kira. Of course, I wasn't surprised since I figured it out soon after he died. I never told anyone that Light Yagami was Kira. Neither did I need to. Months later, the whole world would know that Light Yagami was the man behind the mask. Sachiko would become very angry and very confused. However, she never stopped fighting for her son's innocence. She believed that her son was innocent. Her daughter, Sayu believed that her son was innocent. I was certain that everyone in Sachiko's family believed in Light's innocence. I couldn't imagine what it'd be like if the whole world would come to know if one of my family members turned out to be a serial killer. 

I've never heard what happened to Higuchi's mother, sister, or niece. If I had to guess, they had to still be alive. I felt very bad for his father the most. Especially since he died almost a year after his son did. Jiro was lucky since he didn't get to discover the fact that his son was the third Kira. I never liked Kyosuke Higuchi and since he was a pervert, I don't think I ever will. Yeah, the only girls that would love him would be his mother, sister, and niece. (Mostly, his mother.) I wanted to ask Near what Higuchi's mother's name was along with his sister's and his niece's, but I was scared that he wouldn't know. "Have you ever seen Kyosuke Higuchi's mother or sister on TV?" I asked. "No," Near answered. "I never seen them on TV." "They must care a lot about their privacy," I commented. "Yeah," Near agreed. "They do. I feel bad for his father." "How did he die?" I asked him. "Alcohol poisoning," Near answered. "Some people even said that he overdosed or that he killed himself." I didn't understand why some people would think that. "Why would some people think that?" I asked. Near shrugged. "I don't know," I answered. "He died a couple of weeks before the first anniversary of his son's death. I guessed that he accidentally overdosed. Jiro became an alcoholic after Kyosuke died. His wife didn't like that and begged him to stop, but he didn't listen."