Characters: Halle Lidner and Near. When: This morning, February 20th. Where: Halle's current hideout. Rating: PG-15, for cursing and Hal snapping. Rating may be raised. Summary: Halle and Near need to talk.
Near made his way up to Halle silently, arms tightly wrapped around a black cat plushie. Near hadn't really thanked Oliver for giving it back, but for some reason, he felt as though he wouldn't have a chance to have his own cat so close for a rather long time. Last time, it had taken months.
He was insecure about meeting up with Halle, but swallowed his unease and finally looking up in an attempt to meet Halle's eyes.
"Halle, he missed something when he was tailing him. Isn't that obvious from the fact that he obviously has his real Note hidden somewhere?"
Halle was now utterly confusing him. What was more was that he knew she'd be trying to trick him again: she'd named herself, Gevanni, and Rester, but never once named a fourth member, as she'd implied before...
That simply made no sense. His deductions regarding Mikami having fooled Gevanni with a fake Note had been absolutely flawless, and he was positive about that fact. Gevanni, Near's informant, had been tailing Mikami, Light's tool, for signs of Kira's actions. Mikami must have fooled Gevanni; that was the only possibility that made any sense. Mello dying in a desperate attempt to save Near's life was further proof of that. If Near had gone through with his plan to have his name written in a fake Notebook, but the Notebook wasn't fake...
He shook his head and sighed, annoyed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Lidner."
"... you would have spoken up on several matters if you had known the truth about them. You would have known the truth about various matters, and corrected me."
Halle paused, carefully trying to figure out what to do next, breathing slowed.
"Either you are Near from an earlier time, and are trying to fake knowledge, which explains the questions. Or, you are not Near, and need to become him and trick others into thinking you are him to hurt others."
"Have you never once stopped to consider the fact that I am not all-knowing? That I cannot make connections with my evidence before me, or that I am unable to fully concentrate while in such a situation?"
Halle was going through emotional vertigo, feeling rather sick and disgusted at herself, but they were instincts and she needed to follow them.
"If that was true- and it is, Near is brilliant, brilliant enough to do something like this, and I admire him more than anything, which is why I'm worried- he'd still point out my mistakes."
Near just stared at her, his eyes dark and dead, as though he was torn between being proud of her and being disappointed in her. She was loyal. That said a lot, for a spy.
"You did everything right, Near," Her voice cracked a bit at this point, she was stressed, and tired of mind games and worried for both of them- all of them, each and every one from their world. "If anyone was impersonating you anywhere, at any time, controlling you with the Death Note or pretending to be you, we had to be able to act, and know you."
"Near... the truth, that is all I want." She leaned against the walls, her breathing slowed, she was obviously distressed. "Both of you play mind games, tricking all of those who care about you- and it hurts us. Trust goes both ways, Near."
Near felt as though he'd been slapped, and his heart ached. For the first time, part of him wanted to crawl across the room and into Halle's arms, like a child seeking comfort, but for many reasons he disregarded this instinct. His eyes betrayed no emotion as he stared at her.
"Perhaps my own insecurities remain my own, Halle, so I can keep myself from troubling you. It's how we are."
"Haven't I worked hard enough to prove I can be trusted? Everything I have done- I've risked my life for both of you, and I have nothing left. Near, if it's a secret, I can keep it. If it's Mello-related, you can trust me, I won't tell him." Halle had almost given up by this point, but still stood strong, having calmed down a bit.
"It's not that simple. The dread that rests in my mind can only be passed on, not diluted. I won't force you to suffer with me; my silence will only benefit you in the long run. If I can truly trust you, you will accept that."
Near turned away finally, at a loss for words. Halle was somewhere between a mother, an ally, a friend, and a big sister; he settled on sister. If she couldn't take the mind games, he wasn't sure what he could do with her.
If he told her the truth, he wasn't sure what he could have done with himself.
He was insecure about meeting up with Halle, but swallowed his unease and finally looking up in an attempt to meet Halle's eyes.
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Halle was now utterly confusing him. What was more was that he knew she'd be trying to trick him again: she'd named herself, Gevanni, and Rester, but never once named a fourth member, as she'd implied before...
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"You are making mistakes- simple mistakes, you fail each little test, each bluff, but you know my name. ... who are you?"
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He shook his head and sighed, annoyed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Lidner."
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Halle paused, carefully trying to figure out what to do next, breathing slowed.
"Either you are Near from an earlier time, and are trying to fake knowledge, which explains the questions. Or, you are not Near, and need to become him and trick others into thinking you are him to hurt others."
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"Have you never once stopped to consider the fact that I am not all-knowing? That I cannot make connections with my evidence before me, or that I am unable to fully concentrate while in such a situation?"
She was annoying him. That was bad.
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"If that was true- and it is, Near is brilliant, brilliant enough to do something like this, and I admire him more than anything, which is why I'm worried- he'd still point out my mistakes."
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"Where did I go wrong?" he asked finally.
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"Ms. Lidner," he said calmly. Then, more gently:
"Halle. Please calm down. You're letting your emotions cause you to act irrationally."
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She leaned against the walls, her breathing slowed, she was obviously distressed.
"Both of you play mind games, tricking all of those who care about you- and it hurts us. Trust goes both ways, Near."
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"Perhaps my own insecurities remain my own, Halle, so I can keep myself from troubling you. It's how we are."
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Halle had almost given up by this point, but still stood strong, having calmed down a bit.
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Near continued to stare at her unblinkingly.
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"There we go again with the mind games."
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If he told her the truth, he wasn't sure what he could have done with himself.
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