Keiko’s POV

After a while of running, Keiko was very much out of breath. She swore that she had never ran that far before in her entire life. All she had been thinking that entire time was that she had to get away from the situation at hand. She felt like she had to escape, so she did, letting her feet take her far away from her cheating friend and cheating boyfriend.

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to run any farther, Keiko finally stopped, attempting to catch her breath. She glanced around her, taking a moment to soak up her surroundings. When she spotted the cherry blossom trees swaying about in the wind beside her, she knew exactly where she had ended up.

Much to Keiko’s dismay, without even realizing it, she had ended up in the nature park where Light had first asked her out.

Wonderful...my subconsciousness must hate me, she thought bitterly, tears threatening her eyes once more, why else would my feet lead me here?

It also dawned on her that her body now felt fairly sore. In fact, her legs and feet were crying, begging her to rest. Keiko sighed, now realizing the situation she was in. It wasn’t like she particularly wanted to stay in the park any longer, surrounded by the memories of a much better time, but she didn’t have the stamina necessary at that moment to move.

Seeing no other option, she gave in and sat down on one of the benches. Keiko purposely picked a bench that she knew she hadn’t sat on with Light while on a date before, sniffling pitifully as she did so.

Keiko sat there to rest for a while, watching the trees dance about in the wind. She supposed that if she hadn’t witnessed her boyfriend kissing another girl, she would have thought that the trees looked rather beautiful. However, at that moment in time, the trees almost looked like they were taunting her, laughing at the predicament that she was currently in.

Keiko ran a hand through her hair, feeling just how mussed up it had gotten when she sprinted towards the park. She thought back to the last time she had sat with Light while at the park, recalling the comment that her boyfriend had made that day about the cherry blossoms being in full bloom.

“Well, of course...but I was just thinking. You see, I feel that it’s a little unfair that the cherry blossoms are never in full bloom for long. They spend all that time preparing, but when they finally turn into something great, it’s soon taken away from them...it’s quite a shame, especially because people care the most about them when they’re in full bloom.”

She bit her lip, deep in thought. While she had soon dismissed his comment back then, looking back on it made it sound more ominous. There was no way that Light could have predicted the future, predicted that he would have cheated on her with Misa Amane only a little while later. However, the fact that Keiko could relate his comment to the current situation felt rather unsettling to her.

Was our whole relationship sort of like the lifespan of a cherry blossom? Being classmates for years, we had a rather slow build up. It actually all sort of started with running into him at that convenience store months ago, and from there the situation with my ex, and our first almost date...we dated for a long time before we officially became a couple. I was starting to fall for him, slowly but surely. It was a long process, and even after we became a couple, it took awhile for me to fully fall for him. In fact, it wasn’t until pretty recently that I could say I totally fell for him, that our relationship finally hit full bloom. I knew that he could feel it too...and after that...well.

She bitterly kicked an innocent rock that had been sitting nearby her foot, and watched as it took off into the air, landing a few feet away.

After that, it didn’t take very long for things to go downhill…it all started when the two of us first met Misa…ugh she had been openly flirting with Light from the start...how could I have been so stupid as to give her a second chance and trust her? I should have went along with my gut feeling, my intuition. I had a bad feeling about her from the beginning, and I didn’t listen...instead I let her willingly take my boyfriend away from me.

Keiko hung her head and she couldn’t stop the tears as they flowed down her face.

Somehow, even though Daicho personally introduced me to the girl he was cheating on me for months with, this hurts way, way more. Light and I just recently met Misa...and for him to fall for her this fast, to let her in, to kiss her…

Keiko shivered as she suddenly heard a tree branch snap in the wind, which had gotten stronger, and watched as it hit the ground around her.

Great...the trees must have been listening in on us back then...that’s why they’re judging me so much now...how pathetic I must look to them…it’s sad when even trees have more foresight than I do. Wait, what am I doing? Why am I talking about the cherry blossom trees so much like this? I must be crazy…

Through her tears, Keiko fought a laugh as she realized how insane she must have looked to the passerbyers around her. She resolved to get up and just head home, to the comforts of her bedroom.

Keiko no longer had the strength at the moment to visit her father’s grave. In fact, she didn’t feel like she had the strength at the moment to do much of anything. All of her excitement, all of her motivation had left her the moment she had seen Misa and Light together.

L’s POV:

“Thank you for all your hard work so far,” L said to Mogi after he had given him another report on Light, “you’ve been quite helpful...”

“Yes, and I realized that there was no way I could openly hide outside in the neighborhood, so I was extra careful and parked a car nearby...one of Light’s neighbors had a couple people over, it didn’t look weird for an extra car to be there...so I wouldn’t worry about being caught either,” Mogi replied, eyeing the detective. “I was absolutely cautious and careful.”

“Wonderful,” L smirked, “anyway, if Light had noticed, I doubt the events that took place earlier this afternoon would have actually occurred. He’s far too careful, this had to have caught him off guard. However, from his behavior afterwards, he thinks the coast was still clear. I was waiting for something like this to happen...I knew it wouldn’t take very long. After all, this past week things were a little too quiet…”

Mogi shifted in his spot on the couch, it was clear to L that he was feeling a little uncomfortable, “with all due respect, Ryuzaki-san, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that you had a feeling that Light would cheat on Kagami-san?”

L raised his thumb to his lip thoughtfully, “well, not cheating in particular, though there was a small possibility of that happening in my mind. I just had a feeling that somehow Light and Misa Amane would make public contact with each other again…”

“Right...I see,” Mogi sighed, repositioning himself once again, and L could sense the moral dilemma that was about to come.

“Ryuzaki-san, don’t you think…” he started, “that I should tell Kagami-san I saw what happened as well...perhaps I should leave out the fact that I saw her...as she witnessed it, and watched her as she ran away but...still, just let her know? It doesn’t feel right keeping that a secret from her, it’ll just eat away at me…and what about Light’s father, for that matter? Shouldn’t he know that his own son is a cheater? That he cheated on Kagami-san? While I don’t want him blaming himself for the way his son turned out, I feel like...given the fact that he is working closely on this investigation with his son and his son’s girlfriend, it would be even more awkward if he was unaware of the situation. This isn’t something he should be kept in the dark about.”

L shook his head, “no, I’m afraid you can’t tell anyone. No matter what, for the time being, this must remain a secret. I understand that you are experiencing emotional turmoil over this, but please, brush that aside for the moment. I do not want to make any sudden moves...let’s just see how things play out over the course of the next few days first. Please continue to keep an eye on Light, and report to me if anything else this...interesting...occurs.”

Mogi’s fists were balled up, and L could tell that the policemen was rather irritated with the cold manner in which he had responded. However, Mogi didn’t say another word.

Knowing that the conversation was over, Mogi just quietly stood up and exited the hotel room, leaving the detective alone with his thoughts.

Have patience, Mogi, patience, the detective thought to himself. All will be revealed soon enough...and anyway, I knew that it was only a matter of time before something of interest happened...this past week was quiet, far too quiet.

While criminals were still steadily being killed off, there hadn’t been any new evidence that could link Light Yagami to being Kira, and the girl, Misa Amane, to being the Second Kira. That was, up until Mogi reported to him, there had been nothing.

L’s eyes had gone wide when he first heard the news, but he then held a sudden smirk on his face as Mogi had continued on. To L, it was his equivalent of Christmas.

While I suspected from the very beginning that there was a chance Misa Amane was the Second Kira, I had no evidence. Of course, Light cheating on Keiko with Misa still isn’t quite evidence, but it was enough for my suspicion of her to grow to about 30% from the original 18%. After all, Light had only known Misa for a very brief time before he cheated with her. She almost appeared out of nowhere, and the way that they met, the way that Light just had to repay her for knocking over her lunch box…

L’s eyes closed, he was deep in thought.

It’s almost as if it was planned. Planned so that neither Keiko nor I would be able to suspect them...which means, if Light is in fact Kira, and Misa is the Second Kira, then the two of them had to have been in contact for at least a few days before then. This also makes sense because when the three of them were bonding and eating lunch together, that was when we got the final message from the Second Kira. That message had to have been planned by the two of them, and planned that it would arrive while they were eating. The three of them eating lunch together out in public...Light and Misa probably thought that it would be the perfect alibi for them.

While he knew that he could have come to that conclusion only because Light was the only person he strongly suspected of being Kira, L was certain that his logic was correct. However, L also knew that this sudden development, which was a large step forward in his investigation of Light, came at a rather heavy cost.

Keiko’s heart.

L knew that Keiko’s heart had to have been shattered into a million pieces. While at first she had been on her guard it became apparent that, the more she fell for Light Yagami, the more careless she got. Her feelings for Light had gotten in the way. Her feelings for Light had made her blind.

While at headquarters, there were a few instances that Light was acting a little strange...I had rather hoped that Keiko also took notice...however, whenever I would look over for her reaction, it was clear to me that she just brushed it off. The more she fell, the more unwilling she became to believe that her boyfriend could actually be Kira. Whether she realized it or not, she stopped being cautious because the longer she was with him, the less notice she took of his suspicious behavior. In other words, if Light Yagami is Kira, the more she let him fool her.

Opening his eyes, he shifted in his chair, moving so that he could take a bite of the strawberry cake that Watari had laid out for him earlier.

While Light cheating on Keiko for Misa doesn’t automatically mean he’s Kira, or that Misa is the Second Kira, given the circumstances, it does still strengthen my argument for it. However, the chance of Light cheating on Kagami-san with Misa Amane was quite slim, only 2-3%...it almost doesn’t make sense that it happened, even though it did. Why would Light cheat on Keiko with Misa? Misa isn’t the type of girl that Light Yagami is into.

L took a few more bites, finishing the pastry.

Even though it’s possible that Light was only acting like he was interested in Keiko, she is still more of Light’s type than Misa is. And, from what I could tell, Light did seem at genuinely attracted to Keiko...to me, there are only a few reasons why that make sense. The first one being that Mogi misread the situation, and Light was an unwilling participant, after all he was in a car parked a little ways away at his neighbor’s house, in order to not be seen by Light. Or, if they really are Kira and the Second Kira, then perhaps the only way for Light to ensure that Misa would keep her mouth shut was to kiss her. That also is pretty probable, seeing how popular Light is with the ladies. The last one is the least probable to me, which is Light and Misa only kissed in the heat of the moment. Light doesn’t seem to let his emotions get to him, so I doubt that is likely...

It didn’t quite matter what the true reason was for the two of them kissing, they all would have resulted with the same thing; Keiko getting hurt. It was obvious to L that Light had no idea she was on her way over to his house, so he could easily deduce that Keiko had been coming over to surprise him.

L’s lips slightly quivered as he thought about the irony of the situation.

Keiko had been coming over to surprise Light, but...in the end, she was the one who ended up surprised….while I knew that there was only a slim chance of Light cheating on her, I knew that it would only be a matter of time before she somehow got hurt by him in some way. And now it’s finally happened...well, I can’t say that I didn’t warn her. She had it coming, she was too careless, too naive.

L pressed his thumb up against his mouth again. Even though he had known that Keiko would end up hurt, now that the time had actually come, he almost felt...sympathetic towards her in a way. That and perhaps a little but of concern. He also felt a little of what he identified as disgust or anger towards Light, for his part in hurting her. The detective supposed he was feeling this way because he considered Keiko to be his friend. If he considered that fact, then him feeling that way would only be a natural response for him.

However, he wasn’t used to having such emotions.

To him, being empathetic would be a waste. It only weakened people, it made them unable to think clearly. It would be useless anyway because there was no going back in time, no stopping what had happened. Besides, he couldn’t let his own personal emotions get in the way of the Kira investigation. So he just brushed his feelings aside, something he had grown quite used to doing his whole entire life. The facts would have to come first in the Kira case, not feelings, despite the slight pull he was feeling towards her.

L thought’s traced back over to the investigation, he didn’t want to act just yet. He figured that he would give it two to three days, just to see if any new developments occurred. The detective was mostly waiting to see what Keiko would do in response to Light’s cheating.

I have to admit, I’m quite curious as to what her response to this will be. After all, she had such strong feelings for Light Yagami. Will she confront him about it? If she does and he denies anything occurred, then will she break up with him? Her ex broke her heart by cheating on her so there’s a good chance she will break up with him, probably about 42%. However, if Light doesn’t deny the kiss happened and attempts to reason with her in any way, this percentage will decrease by a lot. After all, he does have a hold on her emotionally...and if he does this, there’s a chance she will cave in and stay with him...but if she doesn’t end things with him soon, then she’s an even bigger fool than I thought…but somehow, I feel like this could be the end of things.

He shifted in his chair a little.

Oh...and on the slim off chance that Kagami-san doesn’t take any particular course of action after three days, I will intervene...I can’t let what happened go to waste. After all, it was like hitting a gold mine.

Keiko’s POV:

The first thing that Keiko had done when she arrived home that day was fling herself on her bed. She had exhausted herself from all that unexpected tears and exercise she had gotten throughout the course of the day. Sleep quickly overcame her and for a few blissful hours, she was sacked out on her comfortable mattress, dreaming that what happened today had just been an awful nightmare. That it didn’t happen, that Light didn’t cheat on her.

Unfortunately, the moment she woke up she became painfully aware of reality; her boyfriend had cheated on her. This got her heart aching and her tears flowing once more.

Light cheating on her hurt a hell of a lot more than Daicho cheating on her. If she had been a little more careful with Daicho, she would have noticed the signs, like the fact he had never brought her home with him to meet his family, like the fact that he didn’t spend too much time with her to begin with. There was also the fact that when he was with her, he never used her name, and opted for pet names instead. Looking back, Keiko realized it was only to ensure that he didn’t call Keiko by the wrong name.

However, Light was different. Light was sweet, caring, considerate. He had a way of making Keiko want more of him whenever she saw him, which was why she fell for him, why she had let her guard down. She had trusted Light.

There were none of the warning signs that she had found with Daicho. Light brought her home before they were officially even dating, and after they started dating, her visits to his house became even more frequent. Frequent enough that she was able to develop a good relationship with both his mother and his younger sister, Sayu. While Light had to spend a lot of time with her, because they were in the same classes, and working on the investigation together, the two of them seemed to hang out pretty often outside of those things. He had never even glanced at anyone else since the two of them became a couple. It had been pretty clear to Keiko that Light felt the same way she did, or so she thought.

Keiko never had any reason to suspect that he would cheat on her. Keiko concluded that it was all because of Misa Amane. Within the past few days, Misa somehow grabbed a hold of Light’s heart, that had to be it. She had been stupid enough to stand by, give her a second chance, and let it happen.

I can’t believe I was such a fool...I let it happen right under my nose...after all, I knew from the very beginning that Misa was interested in Light...I just thought that she was harmless because I mistakenly thought there was no way Light would be interested in a girl like her. Well, that’s a mistake I won’t be making ever again.

Her phone suddenly vibrated, breaking her away from her thoughts. She reached towards her nightstand and grabbed it, noticing that she had texts from both Akito and Maki, but Sayu was the person that had most recently texted her.

Keiko ignored the texts from her friends, she knew that it was them asking how today went with Light, if he had said yes to visiting her father’s grave with her. She wasn’t ready to tell them that things didn’t work out quite how she expected them. That would mean explaining to them that Light Yagami had cheated on her, and there was no way she could easily type that, she was still unwilling to believe it herself.

Instead, she went straight for Sayu’s text, wondering what exactly Light’s little sister had to say. She wondered if perhaps she had also seen Misa and Light together.

It’s a slim chance, because I think Sayu said she was going to be busy today, but still, it’s worth checking...

To: Keiko Kagami

From: Sayu-chan:3

Hi, Keiko-chan! It’s Sayu again…I hope your friends don’t mind me saying this, but when I ran into them earlier, they told me that you had plans to surprise Light-kun today. They also said that the two of you would probably be gone almost all day, but when I got home from shopping later in the evening, Light was home. He told me he hadn’t seen you at all when I asked. Did something urgent suddenly come up?

Keiko’s lips slightly wavered as she read Sayu’s text and her eyes became blurry once more. Her heart slowly sank into her stomach.

Yeah, something came up...no someone came up...Misa Amane…ugh, but there’s no way I could tell Sayu that. It’d break her heart to hear that her older brother cheated on me...I know she how much she looks up to him.

Keiko stared at the text a while, considering how best to respond her.

To: Sayu-chan:3

From: Keiko Kagami

Yeah...something came up...but don’t worry, Sayu-chan...

It was the best that Keiko was able to muster up. Although, she couldn’t help but feel hypocritical in telling her not to worry. Keiko sighed, trying to calm herself through her tears. She knew that crying now wasn’t going to help her.

Now that it had happened, there was nothing she could do to stop it. There was no going back in time and erasing her mistake to trust Misa. Anyway, she had to face the facts. If Light could throw away his relationship with her that easily, without batting an eyelash, then she had no choice. There was no other logical left option but to break up with him.

Keiko didn’t want to, even though Light had hurt her, but she knew she had to. It would hurt like hell, but it was like ripping off a band. The more you wait to pull it off, the stickier it gets, so it’s better to just rip it off in one fast, swift motion. She had learned that with Daicho. He had led her on for so long, but thinking back, she would have preferred if things ended quickly. She wouldn’t make that mistake twice.

Therefore, even though Keiko didn’t want to, she decided that it would be best to break up with Light as soon as possible. That way, she would hurt less in the long run.

Her phone vibrated once more.

To: Keiko Kagami

From: Sayu-chan:3

Ah, I see...well, whatever happened, good luck! I know you’ll make it through~!

When Keiko read Sayu’s response, she attempted a smile, but it turned out to look more sad than anything else. Poor Sayu was blissfully unaware that she was cheering Keiko on through her decision to break up with her older brother. However, even though she was unaware, Keiko was still rather touched.

To: Sayu-chan:3

From: Keiko Kagami

Thank you, Sayu-chan...I appreciate it.

With that, Keiko placed her phone on her nightstand, and tried to push all thoughts of Misa Amane and Light Yagami together out of her head. All she wanted was to forget everything she had seen for a while.