Keiko’s POV:

There were only a couple more days left until the day of To-Oh’s entrance exams. This was one of the reasons that Keiko had been on edge lately. The last couple of nights, Keiko and Light had been cramming together at his house, going through his To-Oh entrance exam study guide. While she knew that she was one of the top in her class, she also knew that To-Oh University was extremely selective with their prospective students.

The other reason she was so stressed? The fact that she was almost certain that she was being followed. Of course, she had no proof of this. However, as she walked home side-by-side with Light, she just felt like she had an unwanted audience.

Keiko actually had this feeling for the last few days, and made sure to be extra cautious when she was walking around and doing anything outside. When she was inside, she made sure that she kept the curtains in her mother’s house closed.

She stopped dead in her tracks the second she swore she had seen something lurking around in the shadows behind her. However, when she looked back, there was no one there. Aside from Keiko and Light, the street appeared to be empty.

No. Someone had to be there that time, I heard the footsteps as well. There’s no way I’m just imagining things...

“What’s wrong?” Light asked. He had finally noticed that Keiko had stopped, as she was no longer right next to him, but behind him. He turned around, watching as Keiko’s face drained of its color, “are you okay? You look a little pale.”

Keiko knew that there was no way she could tell Light, not without sounding crazy, so she just shook her head, “I-I’m okay.” She forced a laugh.

While she knew Light didn’t fully believe her, he also didn’t push the matter further, which she was grateful for. Instead, he started to walk forward again, motioning for Keiko to follow.

“Let’s keep going, don’t worry, you’re safe here with me,” Light said, and she hoped that he was right.

Keiko fell in step with Light once more, staying a little closer to him than she had before, and tried to ignore the bad feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. Luckily, they were almost to Keiko’s house, so the rest of the walk home didn’t take long.

Before she went inside, Light gave her a quick kiss on the cheek goodbye. While the two hadn’t made anything official yet, it was clear to Keiko that they were a little more than just friends but not quite girlfriend and boyfriend. She had to admit, she rather enjoyed his company. Keiko hadn’t bothered to get to know Light before. While the two were friendly at school, they hadn’t talked much outside of school related topics. After hanging out with him so often, she realized they had much more in common than she originally thought.

As soon as Keiko was safely inside of her room, she quickly went to her windows and closed all of her curtains. Afterwards, wanting the day to be over, she went straight to bed.

Light’s POV:

“Hyuk, hyuk, so this girl is being followed now too,” Ryuk commented as he and Light were walking home after dropping off Keiko, “L doesn’t suspect her of being Kira as well, does he? Oh boy, this is so interesting! ...now that I think about it, are you going to kill whoever is investigating her, like you killed Raye and the other FBI agents?”

Light said nothing and walked on, he was lost in his thoughts, determined to do a little research once he got home. He was glad that there were no longer any cameras or wiretaps in his house, as double checked by a thoroughly exhausted Ryuk the other day. Light knew that there was no way L could frame Light of being Kira now when there was no evidence for it, so he was safe there.

However, why is L now investigating Keiko? Is it because she’s close to me? I wouldn’t think that L would go that far unless...is Keiko herself that significant?

When Light got home, he went straight for his laptop, searching up Keiko’s name. A few hits popped up, including records of academic achievements and school photos, but what stuck out to Light was the newspaper article. It appeared to be some sort of special obituary in one of the local newspapers from a few years ago.

He clicked on it, his eyes quickly scanning through the article, the wheels turning in his head.

Hm.. so Keiko’s father was some hot shot investigator back in the day. Come to think of it, I think she’s mentioned before she wants to become a detective herself…is this why L’s investigating her? Wait, he doesn’t want her to become a part of the Task Force, does he? He must be making sure that she isn’t Kira first before letting her in. Did I make a mistake in getting close to her? If she starts investigating the Kira case with L and the rest of the Task Force, what if she starts to suspect me? Should I break things off with her? No, no I can’t. If I suddenly stopped seeing her, that would make me look even more suspicious...

Light read on, and pondered for a couple more minutes. He had to carefully consider his options before making a solid decision. What course of action would benefit him the most while being the least suspicious?

He could hear Ryuk laughing behind him. “Well, well, well, the plot thickens. Looks like you need to watch your step even more,” he commented.

Ryuk does have a point but...wait...no, I shouldn’t be thinking so negatively. I’ve clearly been given a great opportunity here. If I can gain her trust, and make her really fall for me…I know that so far she has some interest in me, otherwise she wouldn’t have kissed me back before. I still have a chance.

He started to laugh, causing Ryuk to stare at him. “What’s so funny?” he asked, biting into an apple.

“Think about it, Ryuk, really think about it,” Light replied, “L has to be investigating her because, in the end, he wants to recruit her for the Task Force. However, he’s keeping an eye on her first to one, make sure that she isn’t Kira, and two, he’s making sure that he would be making the right choice in recruiting her. He knows that her father was a talented investigator and by tailing her, he is trying to gauge how good her own investigative skills are. She knew she was being followed tonight, and by the looks of it, she knew that she’s been followed for at least a few days now. I have no doubt in my mind that he will end up trying to recruit her, which is another bonus for him as he knows that she and I have a close relationship.”

“So...how does this help you at all?” Ryuk asked, laying down on Light’s bed.

“I was just getting to that,” Light smirked, “you see, me having a close relationship with her is the advantage. I’m already gaining her trust, and making her fall for me, so if I continue to gain her trust and make an ally of her, there’s no way she would suspect me of being Kira. Of course, I also have to be careful not to make any sort of slip ups that would make it obvious that I am Kira, but so far, I’ve managed to be careful. As long as I continue to be careful, I don’t really see that being an issue. Even L had to end his investigation here because there’s no evidence that I’m anything more than just your ordinary teenage boy. If Keiko trusts me and she’s working on the Task Force, then she would defend my name as long as there was no hard evidence. Also, how could I, her loving boyfriend, be Kira?”

“Hyuk, hyuk, so you admit you’re dating her?”

Light chuckled, “well, the way things are looking, I might as well make it official soon, maybe sometime after the entrance exams. It appears it would be in my best interest to do so. Although, I need to be careful that I don’t start actually falling for her myself. That would make things a lot more complicated on my end, I can’t let myself have any weaknesses.”

Ryuk gave another low chuckle, “I see, hyuk, you humans sure are pretty complicated.”

Keiko’s POV:

As promised, Light was there right on time to pick up Keiko. Today was the day the both of them had been waiting for, the day of the dreaded To-Oh entrance exams.

While Keiko was mostly confident, there was still a small part of her that was freaking out. She was silently going over the review in her head on the way there.

As if Light could sense her nerves, he said, “Keiko-chan, please don’t tell me that you’re nervous. I have no doubt that you’ll make it. You are, after all, one of Japan’s best and brightest, as am I. The two of us have nothing to worry about.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Keiko replied, flashing a smile at him, “thanks, Light-kun.”

The two of them soon entered the classroom that they would be testing in. There didn’t look to be any particular seating arrangement, so Keiko took a seat next to Light, who took a seat at the end of the first row. She watched as the rest of the students poured into the testing center, noting one girl in particular giving her a dirty look as she passed.

It took her a moment to realize that the girl was probably jealous that she was sitting next to Light, and watched as many other girls stared at Light as they were walking in.

I knew that he was popular but this is just ridiculous. On the off chance that Light properly asks me out, will these girls despise me just for being his girlfriend? I wouldn't put it past them.

She was torn away from her thoughts when the proctor announced that the testing was about to commence. He was passing out exams face down to everyone in the room.

“You may begin right...now!” The proctor, a stern looking middle aged man, called out once he passed out the final exam.

Keiko soon found herself immersed in the exam. She finished the first page of the exam in only a couple minutes, earning her a few stares when she was one of the first people in the room to flip her exam over to the second page.

It’s much easier than I thought it would be. If the rest of the test is this easy, then I’m sure I will get into To-Oh easily. Light was right, I shouldn’t have worried so much.

“Hey, you there,” the proctor called out a few minutes into the exam, “student number 162, please sit in your seat properly.”

Startled by the sudden voice, Keiko slightly turned around in her seat, catching sight of the student that was being called out. He was sitting near the back of the testing center, his seat aligned with Light’s row.

He wasn’t even sitting at all, instead he was crouched in his chair, with his thumb in his mouth. To top that off, he was dressed in saggy blue jeans complete with a plain white t-shirt. Keiko also noticed that he wasn’t wearing any shoes, they were sitting untouched underneath his desk, revealing his bare feet. Instead of focusing on his exam, he was gazing somewhere else in the room, Keiko followed his gaze only to realize that he was staring at Light.

As if realizing that he now had an audience, he glanced over at Keiko, whose eyes widened as he gave her a lazy grin before focusing his attention back on Light. Keiko had to admit, while he clearly had weird habits, he wasn’t that bad looking, sporting messy black hair and matching captivating dark eyes. He also didn’t look more than a few years older than her.

What the…? He’s not even dressed like a university student… and why’s he so fixated on Light? Who is this guy? Ugh, wait no, I don’t have time to think about this right now, I have an entrance exam to focus on...mind your own business, Keiko. At least until after the exam is over.

Keiko attempted to stay focused on her exam, but in the background of her mind, she was still curious about a lot of things.

First of all, why was someone tailing her? Did they know she was keeping track of the Kira investigation? Also, what exactly was her relationship with Light? They were close, but still, labeless. Finally, who was that student sitting weirdly in the back, and what was his deal? She hoped that she would at least have one of these questions answered soon.

/timeskip/

“That was a piece of cake,” Light told Keiko as the two walked out of the testing center together, “you thought it was just as easy, right?”

Keiko nodded, “yeah, you were right, I shouldn’t have worried so much.”

She was distracted, catching sight of a man in a loosely fitted black suit loitering near one of the busier hallways of the university. He looked like he was trying way too hard to fit in, which only garnered him more attention.

“We should celebrate, don’t you think?” Light continued on, “how about we go out and grab a bite to eat soon? Or perhaps we could get some coffee together? We can make a date of it.”

“Mmm, sure, that sounds good,” Keiko replied, admittedly only half listening to Light. Her gut feeling was telling her that she needed to investigate this man. He stuck out like a sore thumb against the crowd in his suit, and he didn’t look like a student. He looked more like he could have been some sort of student teacher, but there were no classes currently in session.

“Are you heading back home now?” Light asked, gesturing towards the bus station on the other side of the campus.

Sorry, Light, there is something I have to do right now. I can’t be going home quite yet.

She shook her head, “no, you go on without me. I think I’ll stick around a while longer and explore the campus a bit more.”

“Oh, alright then,” Light gave her hand a gentle squeeze and planted a quick goodbye kiss on her cheek, much to the dismay of a couple female students who had been staring at them.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Keiko responded, waving to Light as he walked on towards the bus station.

Once he disappeared into the throng of people, Keiko turned her attention back to the task at hand. She tried to make it look like she was just exploring the area when her real agenda was to get close to the guy in the suit.

He must have sensed this, because as soon as she was in the same hallway he was, he tried to make a run for it. However, it appeared he wasn’t that graceful, and he ended up accidentally tripping over his own feet. Luckily for Keiko, she had more than enough time to catch up to where he was. When he finally stood up again, the two were face to face.

“You there, we need to talk. Are you the one that’s been following me the past few days?” as she spoke, she could see the color drain from his face.

Before he could work up a reply, his phone started to ring. “I-I’m sorry, just a moment, please,” he stuttered out, reaching into his pockets and answering the phone, “hello, Ryuzaki-san?”

Keiko put her hands on her hips, watching the man’s every move while he was on the phone. He seemed rather nervous, as if bracing himself for whomever was on the other end. There was a bead of sweat around the edge of his hairline, threatening to run down his forehead.

He looks like he’s about to get chewed out. Is it because I caught onto him? He wasn’t being very sneaky, it’s the middle of the day and he’s in a suit. Anyway, who is this guy?

A look of relief crossed over the man’s face, “yes, sir. I understand.”

After a few more seconds, the phone call was over.

Hmm. Looks like whatever the guy was bracing himself for didn’t happen. Also this definitely has to be the man that was following me. He’s just way too suspicious. I can’t let him go today without an explanation.

Turning his attention back to Keiko, the man said, “looks like you caught me. I, uh, I didn’t quite expect our first meeting to be like this.”

He gave a nervous laugh, and continued on, “I’m Taro Matsui, I’m a member of the Japanese police force,” he took out his badge, letting Keiko take a good look at it.

If it’s a fake, it’s a rather good one. However, this man doesn’t seem to be lying to me. From what I’ve seen so far, he displays his emotions way too clearly. It’s obvious I caught him off guard as well. But it still begs the question...

“Why is there a member of the police following me?” Keiko asked, squinting her eyes at him. There were so many thoughts reeling around in her mind.

The man, Taro Matsui, gave a little sigh, “look, about that, we need to talk. But it can’t be here, obviously. And don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. Just follow me, I will take you to a secure location where we can talk easily in private.”

She bit her lip a moment, but she decided, overall, it was in her best interest to go with him. So, she followed him into the car that was parked a little ways away.

Keiko knew that it was dumb to go off with a stranger, it was like practically asking for a death wish. Although, she knew if she didn’t go, she would regret it. Also, if this man really was who he said he was, then Keiko didn’t have to worry about her safety.

All she knew was that she wanted answers, and she was willing to do just about anything in that moment to get them.