Keiko’s POV:

“Ryuzaki-san,” Light called out the detective’s alias as soon as he and Keiko stepped into the hotel room, “we’re here.”

“Perfect, come on in. I was just about to start, ” L replied, spinning his chair around to face the two of them as they walked in.

Aside from Ryuzaki, there was also Light’s father, Aizawa, and Matsuda present. Keiko and Light sat down on the couches next to them. Once they were settled in, they focused their attention towards the raven haired detective.

“As I said on the phone earlier, we received another message from the Second Kira. It actually arrived not too long before I called you all here...I believe that it could also very well be the Second Kira’s last message to us...well, just take a look for yourselves…” L popped a strawberry into his mouth as he turned on the hotel room’s television.

Once again, the familiar gothic K.I.R.A. lettering flickered onto the screen. Keiko bit her lip, waiting for the message to begin.

“I have decided to stop searching for Kira,” the Second Kira started off saying, which earned a gasp from both the Chief and Matsuda. Keiko was just as surprised, but she didn’t show it on the outside.

“And I’d like to thank the police department for their advice...however, I still plan on helping Kira with his mission, and I hope that in time, he will come to see me as an ally. I will start by punishing criminals that Kira has yet to judge. Also I will share my power with others that I feel are worthy...and I will encourage them to do the same. Together, we will make this world a better place.”

No way...there’s no way the Second Kira would say this, it’s not like him...it has to be scripted somehow...

The room was filled with static as the tape ended. L turned off the T.V. and faced the Task Force once more, carefully looking over each and every one of them. He spent extra time looking over both Light and Keiko, who shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze.

“After watching this message I can only conclude that Kira and the Second Kira have made contact with each other,” L said after a while, pressing his thumb to the side of his mouth.

I have to admit, that actually makes the most sense...and if that happened, then I have no doubt in my mind that Kira told the Second Kira to send this message to us.

“What makes you say that?” Light asked, and Keiko shot a confused glance at her boyfriend. She didn’t know why Light hadn’t gotten the same vibe she did, because for the most part, the two of them were on the same wavelength. It was part of the reason why Keiko really fell for him, the two of them seemed to understand each other, and they were at the same level intellectually.

“Oh come on, didn’t you sense it?” L started. “I was sure you’d come to the same conclusion I did after watching it...you see...” the detective trailed off, Keiko figured it was probably for added dramatic effect.

Keiko saw her opportunity, and took her chance to interrupt the detective before he could go on, “well, first of all, Light-kun, consider how determined the Second Kira was to meet him...so why is there this sudden change in attitude? And the fact that he also wants to punish criminals that Kira hasn’t, just because he wants Kira to see him as an ally? It just begs the question...why didn’t the Second Kira do this from the start? That means, if the two got in contact with each other, then Kira told the Second Kira to say this.”

Hah. This is payback for interrupting me last time, Ryuzaki...I bet you thought I forgot about that, well you were wrong, Keiko thought to herself, a smug look on her face as she glanced at the detective. As she suspected, L was looking at her.

However, it appeared to Keiko that, rather than being annoyed at being interrupted, like she had been last time, he just looked amused, perhaps almost impressed.

“Exactly,” L added, glancing over at Keiko, matching her look with a smug look of his own, “and Kira probably also told him specifically which criminals he’d be allowed to judge. I suspect that the purpose of this message was to hide the fact that they met.”

Light slowly nodded, “I see, that makes sense...but what I find really strange is that it’s unlike Kira to be so careless.”

“That’s true,” L remarked, “but are we really to believe that Kira made a mistake? Or...is this just his way of letting us know that they made contact on purpose? I can’t rule out the possibility that this could be some sort of scare tactic; the idea of their union is very threatening...however, this is also one less reason for me to suspect that Light is Kira.”

Light’s father looked up at the detective, his eyebrows furrowed, “and what do you exactly mean by that, Ryuzaki-san?”

L popped another strawberry into his mouth, a thoughtful look on his face, “if Light were Kira, I don’t think this would be the message that he would have the Second Kira send us, it doesn’t fit. He would have made the Second Kira go through with his original plan to have me appear on T.V., then he would deny that they ever made contact with each other, therefore letting the Second Kira shoulder the blame for my death. He’d made him say something like...hmmm.”

He paused a moment, and picked up another strawberry and carefully inspected it, “‘although I originally agreed not to go through with this, I have come to realize that it was not Kira’s true intention that I stop. I am positive that the real Kira would want L to die.’”

This has to be another test for Light, I’m sure...he’s right, there’s no way Light would send this particular message on T.V. if he were Kira...ugh I can’t believe I just thought that! But still, it’s true, if Light were Kira, there’s no way that would have been the message he’d send. However, Light also wouldn’t send the message that L just came up with either, after all, I know my boyfriend...

“Ryuzaki-san,” Light crossed his arms, “I think you’re mistaken...if I were Kira, I would never do that.”

“And why not?” L questioned, looking over at Keiko’s boyfriend.

“Well, if you’re L and I’m Kira, then I’d already know your personality pretty well; L would never agree to appear on T.V., no matter what threat he was facing...the L I know would find some way to escape the situation.”

“So you figured it out, huh?” L gave Light a slight smirk.

I knew it, it was another test...since Light passed L’s test, does this mean my boyfriend’s not actually Kira? I really hope so…at this point, there’s no going back, I’ve fallen for him...there’s no taking that back now. If he were actually Kira...well, I wouldn’t even need to suffer a heart attack, I’d feel the same way without one. It’d feel like death.

Mr. Yagami gave an uncomfortable cough, “look, Light, please stop saying things like that...I don’t like hearing you say ‘if I were Kira’, even if it’s only hypothetically.”

“Oh, I’m sorry dad...I just wanted to let Ryuzaki-san know exactly what I was thinking, and I posted that scenario because I want to solve this case. It’s the only chance I have at clearing my name. Besides, the only reason I feel comfortable saying things like that is because I’m not actually Kira,” Light replied, laughing a little as he gave his father a smile.

Keiko watched as L ate another strawberry and studied Light a moment.

“That’s a good point; you’re not Kira. That is, it would be a problem if you were Kira...because...I feel that you and Kagami-san are the first and only friends I have ever had…”

Keiko swore that her heart almost skipped a beat at the detective’s words, and she let out a barely audible gasp as the blood rushed to her face. She felt as though her ears were playing a trick on her.

W-what…? F-friend? Did I hear that correctly? Ryuzaki considers Light and I to be his friends…? Is he serious?

Keiko’s gaze snapped over to where L was sitting in his chair, and she bit her lip, deep in thought as she scrutinized him. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular, just a clue, any sort of clue, as to what he was thinking. L must have sensed that he had an audience, because his dark eyes soon met Keiko’s.

Oh great, he caught me…

“R-Ryuzaki-san,” she stuttered out, swallowing hard. There was nothing else she could say; the words wouldn’t come out.

He carefully looked her over a moment, not saying anything as he gave her a small but friendly smirk before turning his attention over to Light. Keiko could feel herself turning pink again, and she attempted to ignore the momentary flutter she had gotten in her stomach when he had glanced at her.

Why am I having such a strong reaction towards him? He didn’t do anything spectacular; all he did was call me his friend...but if he seriously considers me to be one of his friends, then why does he always act so cold and emotionless? He’s always acted so weird around me, especially lately...as always, he’s so frustrating...

All of the sudden, L continued on, breaking Keiko from her thoughts, “but while I can comfortably and confidently say that Keiko-chan isn’t Kira, there’s still reason to suspect you, Light-kun…”

“I know you won’t take my word for it,” Light replied, giving Ryuzaki a soft smile, “but I’m not Kira. I want to prove that to you once and for all someday...because I also consider you a friend, Ryuzaki-san, and I know Keiko-chan considers you to be a friend as well.”

Do I…? I have to admit, I never quite thought about it until now. I suppose in some strange way, I could see that. However…shouldn’t friends have a good understanding of each other? He’s always so hard to figure out, and half the time, one could forget that he’s even human...he seems to lock the human side of him away, all I manage to get are quick glimpses...

“Thank you,” the detective replied, glancing between the two of them. His eyes landed on Keiko’s once more, and she felt like he was trying to reading her mind. She figured that he probably could’ve, he seemed to have a knack for reading people, especially her, much to her annoyance.

However, someday, she wanted to be able to read him as well, to find the emotion hidden behind his cold exterior. She figured, the sooner she could do that, the better. Then perhaps he wouldn’t affect her so much, since they’d be on an equal playing field for once, rather than him being two or three steps ahead.

/timeskip/

Light’s POV:

“So he’s a friend, huh?” Ryuk gave a little laugh, “it’s a good thing that he considers you his friend, right? That means that he at least wants to trust you, doesn’t it?”

Light sighed, once again Ryuk didn’t get it, “friend? Heh, that’s almost laughable. Knowing him, this is probably just another one of his tests...and that damn Ryuzaki had no problem figuring out that Kira and the Second Kira had made contact with each other...as soon as I get the chance, I’ve got to eliminate him.”

“Hyuk, I see,” Ryuk replied, munching on an apple that Light had tossed him earlier, “and you’re going to do that by using Misa’s eyes?”

“Just keep watching, you’ll see,” Light replied, an evil glint in his eyes.

Heh, and on that note, I suspect she’ll be arriving soon. Good, there are a few things I need to discuss with her.

A moment later, Light heard the ding of the doorbell from below, confirming that he was right. He smirked before he headed down the stairs, taking them two at a time, listening as his sister opened the door for his guest.

“Oh,” Sayu grumbled, “it’s you again.”

“Sayu-chan, is that any way for you to treat my guest?” Light responded, finally reaching the doorway. He placed a hand on his younger sister’s shoulder, “be friendly...and don’t go getting any ideas again; she’s only here so that I can continue where I left off in tutoring her.”

Sayu sighed warily, carefully pointing her finger over at Misa, “whatever, if you say so. But again...don’t let her seduce you with that tacky outfit of hers!”

With that, she stalked off, leaving Light alone with the blonde girl, who had crossed her arms defensively over her chest and a scowl on her face.

“What’s wrong with my outfit?” Misa huffed, looking down at her short, gothic styled black dress, “I think that it looks rather cute on me...”

Light chuckled, keeping a pleasant expression on his face, even though he was already tired of the girl.

It had been difficult for him to ‘accidentally on purpose’ run into her the other day, but he still did it anyway. Light knew it had been necessary to ensure that Misa didn’t become suspected of being the Second Kira. He had perfectly timed their interaction so that when he was eating lunch with Misa and his girlfriend, the Task Force got their final message from the Second Kira. That way, both Misa and Light had an alibi if L were to ask about it later on.

Not only that, but if anyone had been tailing him again, they could also confirm Light and Misa’s whereabouts during that time. He just had to count on the fact that L wouldn’t be able to see through his charade. However, even if L did see through his plans, Light was confident that he didn’t have enough evidence to hold Misa or him under strong suspicion.

Light hadn’t wanted to see Misa again so soon afterward, but it was still very necessary.

“Yes, while your outfit might be cute to you, to a middle schooler, it’s pretty scandalous...anyway, come on in,” Light replied, motioning for Misa to step inside the house, “and don’t worry...as I said, she’ll warm up to you eventually. She’s just gotten used to Keiko-chan coming over, that’s all. And because Keiko’s the first girl I’ve brought home, I guess Sayu-chan’s just being a bit protective of her.”

Misa gave a slight hmph at the mention of Light’s girlfriend as she stepped inside, following him up the stairs to his bedroom. Rem was following close behind her.

“And anyway,” Misa added as the two of them reached the top of the stairs, “if my outfit seduces you, then that means it’s doing a great job, because that’s just what I wanted it to do.”

Light stifled an attempt to roll his eyes at the blonde haired girl, motioning for her to step into the bedroom. When she was finally inside his room, he closed the door behind them, not wanting for anyone to be able to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Misa made a beeline for his bed, making herself at home in it once again. Light opted to sit at his desk.

“Now, Light Yagami, tell me, what is this about?” Rem questioned. Light could tell from the look on her face that she didn’t quite trust him.

“I called Misa over here because there’s something important that I wish to discuss with her...well, a couple important things actually,” Light replied, looking over at the shinigami who was floating around by Ryuk.

“Hmm? What is it, Light-kun?” Misa perked up, and she positioned herself so that her head was resting on one of Light’s pillows.

Light pondered a moment. He was trying to figure out a way to put the topic lightly, “well. First of all, while our little plan the other day went pretty well, it still wasn’t entirely a success...”

“And why not?” Misa asked, tilting her head a little, “I got to eat lunch with Kira, so I’d say that’s a success.”

She really doesn’t get it, huh? Misa’s way too careless. Unless she befriends my girlfriend now, it’s unfortunately only a matter of time before she’d slip up and Keiko would start to suspect her...and no matter how much she likes me or how careful I’m being, and she’d go straight to L if I’m being suspicious… and there’s no way I could kill Keiko, she’s way too involved in this investigation! Even if I kill L before getting to her, the others on the Task Force would immediately suspect that I’m Kira because it wouldn’t make sense for her to die. That...and...perhaps...there’s a chance I honestly...might like he-no, I can’t be weak, that’s what! And Misa’s a weakness as well; I have to get her to be careful too.

Light sighed, “well, while Keiko-chan shouldn’t be suspicious of you now, considering how we met was an accident with us running into each other, the whole point of you meeting my girlfriend in the first place and us going out to lunch together was so that you could fully gain her trust...I should have thought it would have been obvious, but it looks like I’ll have to spell it out for you; if you want to gain her trust, like I want you to, then you’ll have to become her friend, Misa-chan. While she isn’t suspicious at the moment, who’s to say she won’t become suspicious later on? Being her friend is the only way to avoid that.”

Luckily for Misa, Keiko is pretty trusting of those with good intentions. All Misa would have to do is make Keiko think she genuinely wants to become friends with her...I figure that would take the two of them hanging out a few times together one on one. After all, it only took me about a week of study dates to make Keiko like me enough to go out with me.

Misa’s face turned sour, “w-what?! Are you crazy, Light-kun?! You didn’t mention that last time! You just told me to bump into you on the street, and drop my lunch so that we could all eat together...I didn’t realize that becoming her f-friend was in the job description!”

“I didn’t mention it because I thought it was obvious! How else do you gain someone’s trust? You have to become their friend. You know that my girlfriend is working with L, if she starts to suspect you for any reason, then it could be all over for us-”

Misa jumped off of the bed, crossing her arms, “no way! I don’t want to! I don’t want to become friends with the girl who stole you away from me! I already told you before, I don’t like sharing you, Light-kun! I want to make you happy, but that’s asking way too much of me!”

I was mentally preparing myself all day for dealing with her, but even that’s not enough...she’s really getting on my nerves.

Light rubbed his temple, he could feel his blood pressure slowly rising, “I met her first, so she didn’t steal me, Misa-chan-”

“I don’t care!” Misa cried, interrupting him once again, “you’re Kira, and I’m the Second Kira, so you’re mine! It makes sense that way!”

No matter how hard he tried, Light couldn’t contain his annoyance any longer, “just shut up and listen to me for a moment, Misa-chan! If you want me to remain Kira, and if you want to remain as the Second Kira, then you’ll do as I say and you will make a friend and an ally out of my girlfriend! Didn’t you say that you wanted to be useful to me?! That you wanted me to see how useful you were and fall for you?!”

That got her attention, Misa’s arms slowly uncrossed, and she looked over at him, her eyes wide.

“Look, L already suspects that Kira and the Second Kira made contact with each other! If we make any false move now, we’ll easily get caught! I was hoping I wouldn’t have to say this...but if you mess things up for me, no matter how useful you might be...I might just have to kill you!” Light snarled out, an evil gleam now in his eyes.

“I would never allow you to do such a thing, Light Yagami!” a voice boomed from the corner of the bedroom. Light looked over and saw Misa’s shinigami giving him a piercing glare.

Once Rem had his attention, she continued on, “mark my words, Light Yagami, if you do anything that results in this girl’s death...the first thing I’ll do is write your name in my death note. In other words, I will kill you. I’m sure you realize that I can see her lifespan, if she happens to die before that date, I will know that it was you who killed her.”

Dammit! W-what is this?!

Light’s eyes narrowed at the shinigami, “but if you used your death note to save her, wouldn’t that mean that you would be sacrificing yourself in the process?”

“That’s right!” Misa commented, looking over with concern at her shinigami, “Rem, if you tried to avenge me, then you’d die too!”

“Yes, you are correct,” Rem replied. She stared straight into Light’s eyes, “but I’m quite willing to accept that outcome...you see, like Gelus, I’ve seen her many times from the shinigami realm and...certain events have also made me develop feelings for Misa. So if it came down to it, I would be willing to die for her.”

Is this shinigami serious?! This is crazy!

Ryuk chuckled, shaking his head at Rem, “hyuk, feelings? Heh, but you’re a shinigami!”

Light inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself down. He closed his eyes a moment, attempting to formulate a new course of action.

If I can’t safely kill off Misa if needed...then I suppose this is the best thing I could do in order to ensure neither of us get caught by L for the time being. Hopefully I will be able to kill L soon but at the moment I can’t safely kill him. But...maybe...with this shinigami’s help...

“Okay, fine,” he responded after a moment, opening his eyes again. “I won’t kill Misa-chan. I suppose I can work with that...now Rem, from what I’m hearing, you’re Misa’s ally, correct?”

Rem glanced at Misa, “yes, I suppose you could say it like that. I definitely don’t want her to suffer.”

Light smirked a little, “so, if Misa’s happy, then you will also be happy, is this also correct?”

“Yes,” was the shinigami’s short reply.

“Alright...well, as you know,” Light paused a moment to grab Misa’s hand, “me being happy will make Misa happy. So if you want Misa to be happy, then it stands to reason that I have to be happy first. What will make me happy is Misa being my girlfriend’s friend. With L hot on our trail, we need to be cautious. We can’t act suspicious, and Keiko will be suspicious of us if we don’t gain her trust. If she’s suspicious, then she will go straight to L...that’s why Misa can’t mess this up for us, do you understand?”

“Yes, I do,” Rem sighed deeply, “but Misa said very explicitly that she doesn’t like the idea of being this girl’s friend.”

“I-I guess, if it’s for Light-kun, I can do it,” Misa murmured, staring up at Light. Light suspected that his decision to hold her hand had something to do with her sudden change of heart.

“Thank you, Misa-chan,” Light replied. He looked back over at Rem, “now, Rem, Misa-chan only has to play nice with my girlfriend until I know for sure that neither she or L will suspect us…it’s mainly L that I’m worried about, I know that if we play our cards right, we can gain Keiko’s trust pretty easily, after all, I’ve managed to fool her for so long....so, on the off chance that I can’t convince L of my innocence and he ends up suspecting even more that I’m Kira and that Misa is the Second Kira…no, even if he doesn’t suspect us, the sooner he’s gone, the better...so can I ask a favor of you?”

“What is it?” Rem asked, casting a weary glance at Light.

I have to make Rem an offer she can’t refuse…something believable.

“If it came down to it, could I ask you to kill L? After all, killing him would make me happy, and by extension, it would make Misa happy. If you kill L, then perhaps I could even break up with Keiko-chan, meaning Misa-chan and I could also be happy together as boyfriend and girlfriend.”

He heard Ryuk laughing, “well, well, what an interesting development...so what’ll it be?”

Rem glanced over at Misa, who was giving her puppy dog eyes, “please, Rem? If you do it, then there’s a chance I could be Light’s girlfriend, that would make me that happiest person in the whole world! I’d be forever grateful to you!”

Almost a minute had passed, and Rem was still silent. Light dropped Misa’s hand, causing the girl to unhappily pout. He was about to speak again when Rem interrupted him.

“Fine,” Rem spat out, “as you wish Light Yagami, but understand this; I do not like you. This will not kill me even if it ends up lengthening your life. I will kill L for you...it really makes no difference, after all, he’s just another human to me.”

“Hooray!” Misa shouted, and she ran over to hug Rem, “thank you, thank you so much! I knew I could count on you!”

Light was also happy, because now, after all this time, he had a plan that could get rid of L once and for all.

Keiko’s POV:

Keiko sighed in frustration, slamming her criminology textbook shut. It was unlike her to be having trouble with schoolwork, but with the investigation looming over her head, she found that it was getting increasingly harder to focus. All of her thoughts wandered over to the Kira investigation rather than her class material. To be fair, it was hard to read through textbook examples when she had the real thing right in front of her.

That, and there was the fact that she was starting to really miss her father. She was certain that, if he was still alive, he would have definitely been working alongside L to help solve the Kira case. Perhaps, with him alive, the task force would have been further along with their investigation. After all, he had been pretty damn good at what he did.

Dad, I will make you proud, I promise. Even though you aren’t with me here in person, you’re with me in spirit…

Keiko smiled to herself, and made a mental note to visit her father’s grave sometime within the next couple weeks. As she stood up from her desk and walked towards her bed, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She fished it out, seeing she had a new text message from Light’s little sister, Sayu.

To: Keiko Kagami

From: Sayu-chan:3

Hey, Keiko-chan! It’s Sayu. I was wondering if you had a moment, there’s something important I wanted to talk to you about.

Keiko’s eyebrows furrowed, Light’s sister usually only ever texted her to fangirl over a celebrity, or to ask her for help with her homework. It was quite out of the ordinary for her to text Keiko like this.

This must be pretty serious, Keiko thought.

To: Sayu-chan:3

From: Keiko Kagami

Oh, sure, I have a moment. What’s up, Sayu-chan?

Keiko sat down on her bed, waiting for Sayu’s response. She didn’t have to wait long; less than a minute later, she got it.

To: Keiko Kagami

From: Sayu-chan:3

I wanted to talk to you about Light-kun. It might just be nothing, but I thought I should tell you that Light’s had a girl come over twice this week. He told me he’s tutoring her, but he’s never brought home a female student he’s tutoring before...did he mention anything to you about this?

Keiko bit her lip, thinking about the best way to respond. No, Light hadn’t mentioned anything to her, but she trusted him. Anyway, Light tutoring someone wasn’t out of the ordinary, boy or girl. Even in university, their classmates specifically sought Light out for help.

To: Sayu-chan:3

From: Keiko Kagami

No, your brother didn’t mention anything to me...but to be fair, we’ve both been pretty busy lately. I trust Light-kun, so should you. Have faith in your older brother.

To: Keiko Kagami

From: Sayu-chan:3

Well, to be honest, it’s not really Light I’m worried about, but the girl he’s tutoring, what if she tries to seduce him?

Keiko paused for a moment, considering. She didn’t think that Light would be the type to cheat on her, not even if the girl made a move on him first. After all, he wasn’t like her ex boyfriend, he wasn’t like Daicho. Keiko was sure, as long as Light wasn’t actually Kira, he wouldn’t be capable of breaking her heart.

To: Sayu-chan:3

From: Keiko Kagami

Even if that happens, don’t worry. Light’s loyal to me.

To: Keiko Kagami

From: Sayu-chan:3

I suppose you’re right, Keiko-chan...well it’s getting late, so I should go to bed. Goodnight! If anything else happens, I’ll keep you posted.

Keiko typed up a goodnight message to Light’s little sister, and then dropped her phone on her desk before heading back to lie down on her bed. All she wanted to do was turn off her mind for a moment and sleep.

[A/N: if the format of Keiko and Sayu’s texting is formatted weirdly let me know so I can fix it! I just wanted to make it clear who was texting who]