Disclaimer: We are not the owners of Death Note. It belongs entirely to the rightful author herself.
DEATH NOTE
Love's Ambition
By: Brett and Johnny Wolff
CHAPTER ONE – Sudden Illness
In the lobby of the hospital, Matt is sitting in silence with his elbows propped on his knees and his head down in his hands. On the verge of panic, his mind drifts off to her. Her bright, enchanting smile. Her warm, contagious laughter. Her beautiful, swirling jade green eyes. A single tear slowly trails down his cheek and drips off his chin. Yet somehow, through the chaos of torturous fears racing through his mind, her soft, calming voice shines through the darkness. Everything will be okay, Matt. Be strong.He wipes his eyes on his sleeve and takes a deep breath, then exhales. He then looks around for a no smoking sign. Not finding one, he pulls out a cigarette and lights it. After a long drag, he holds the cigarette between his fingers, his hand shaking slightly.
Then at last, just as his cigarette burns out, the doctor turns the corner and walks into the lobby. A cold chill surges through Matt's body, and he fears the worst as the doctor approaches. His heart skips a few beats, and he closes his eyes. Please don't tell me she's dead…The doctor then sits down next to him and puts his hand on his shoulder.
"What's your name, son?"
"Matt."
"This girl… what's your relation to her?"
"She's my girlfriend."
"Does she have any relatives that I should inform of this?"
"No. Both of her parents died a while back, so she lives with me now. She does have an older brother, but he doesn't live here in L.A."
The doctor smiles compassionately.
"Well Matt, your girlfriend is fine."
The color in Matt's face returns again and he smiles weakly in relief, however his relief is short lived.
"For now."
Matt looks back over at him.
"What do you mean for now?"
The doctor tightens his grip on Matt's shoulder.
"I'm sorry Matt, but… we ran some tests, and unfortunately the diagnosis showed that she has a fatal lung disease. And although she survived this time, she is dying."
The color in Matt's face drains away again, and he feels his heart drop into his stomach. He tightly closes his eyes and clenches his fists.
"I'm sorry, Matt. Really I am."
Matt opens his eyes again after cursing the situation in his head.
"When can I see her?"
"Now, if you'd like. We believe she's stable now. Just take it easy and try not to wrack her nerves, just in case she goes haywire again."
Matt nods, and the doctor leads him to the ER. When Matt walks through the door, he sees her lying in the hospital bed, motionless, with tubes in her wrists and an oxygen mask on, eyes closed. He sits down in the booth next to her and grabs her hand. The heart monitor beeps slowly in tune with her heart, and he watches her with sympathy in his eyes, seeing that she has to breathe through a machine because she can't breathe on her own. Seeing the slightest expression of pain on her face, his eyes water slightly.
Matt sits and waits silently, watching her anxiously for any signs of her stirring. Then at last, his eyes light up with relief as she slowly opens her eyes and weakly looks over at him. Matt smiles at her, worriedly.
"Ryu…" he breathes, relieved. "You're okay…"
Ryu weakly smiles back, but her smile fades again after it drains away the little strength that she has.
"Hey, Matt." she weakly replies.
"How are you feeling?" Matt holds Ryu's hand tightly. "Speak to me…"
"I'm fine, Matt." Ryu nods. But sadly, she can tell by the tone in Matt's voice that he knows. "They told you, didn't they. That I don't have much time left."
Matt tries to hide his pained expression, trying not to show her the hurt he feels inside.
"Yeah." he says, calmly.
However, Ryu can see through Matt's fake calm expression and sees him tearing up ever so slightly, and guiltily closes her eyes.
"Matt… I'm so sorry I scared you like that…"
"Ryu, you probably scared yourself too. This whole thing came out of nowhere, and there isn't any part of that that's your fault."
"I'm still sorry, Matt…"
Matt gently strokes her cheek.
"Ryu, it's okay. I'm just happy that you're alive. That I didn't lose you."
Ryu blushes at Matt's gentle touch. Then, while his hand is still on her cheek, she weakly places her hand over his.
"Matt, this is going to be too hard for us now."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm gonna let you go."
Matt's heart then sinks and almost stops beating, and his expression now displays sadness and confusion.
"But… why?" he asks, deeply hurt.
"I don't want you to have to go through this with me. I just can't do that to you."
"Ryu no, I won't leave you… we've been through everything together, what makes this any different?"
"I just can't put you through this, Matt. I have to let you go."
Matt's voice slightly cracks.
"Ryu, you know I'd go through anything with you."
"Matt, please… you shouldn't have to watch this. I don't want you to watch me suffer." Ryu starts coughing, struggling for air, trying to gather the strength to speak. "I don't want you to suffer with me, it's not fair for you."
"And it's not fair for you to suffer alone! I don't care if I suffer too, I won't let you do this alone!" Matt protests, though with a soft voice, not wanting to stress her out and cause her to get sick again.
Ryu looks at him with confusion in her eyes. "Why…?"
"Why what?" Matt asks, softly.
"Why would you want to go through all that pain with me?"
"Because…" Matt looks into Ryu's deep green eyes pleadingly. Because I love you,he says in his mind, though for some reason can't find the words to confess that to her in that moment. "You need me…"
"Matt…" Ryu closes her eyes, stress apparent in her expression. Her heart rate speeds up in reaction, and the heart monitor begins to beep irregularly. "I can't make you go through the grief of all of this… I just can't. Please try to understand."
Matt lowers his head, and his bangs fall over his eyes. Ryu can feel him shaking while he holds her hand even tighter, and the guilt inside her grows heavier. Matt softly pleads with her, almost too quiet for her to hear.
"Please don't do this to me Ryu… please…"
"I'm sorry Matt, but it's for your own good." Ryu replies sadly, a single tear dripping down her cheek.
Ryu's heart rate then dangerously accelerates as both her stress and guilt overwhelm her, and she starts coughing fiercely, spraying several small blood droplets on the inside of her oxygen mask, and unable to breathe as she coughs uncontrollably, she then blacks out with one last gruesome cough and desperate but unsuccessful gasp for air. Matt's vision blurs with tears, and the pain in his throat throbs while he helplessly watches her cough and gasp for air until it makes her pass out. She then lays there, eyes closed and motionless. Swallowing, Matt gently brushes Ryu's hair out of her sweat covered face, and traces her cheek tenderly. Then he goes and gets the doctor and tells him what happened, and the doctor and some nurses rush back in to aid her.
Matt looks back at Ryu one last time from the doorway, then lets out a small sniffle and walks away.
The characters that we made up in this story include: Ryu, her older brother Roderick, her mother, her stepfather, her real father, her pet fox Todd, and ourselves. That's right, Johnny and I put ourselves, and on occasion our other brother Seth and our sister June, in all of our stories. It's our own personal touch which we agreed upon. We pop in at random times, so keep an eye out for us! =P
As our disclaimer, all we own is both the story plot and our own made up characters, while everything else belongs solely to the rightful author of Death Note herself, Tsugumi Ohba. And by the way, in case you didn't know, Ryu's name is pronounced as "ree-you", not "rai-you".
The time it takes for new chapters to be uploaded all depends on the number of reviews by the readers. We value your opinions, constructive criticism included, however flames are prohibited. Anyways, the more reviews we get the faster we will upload. So tell us what you think and the next chapter will be up soon! =P
- Brett & Johnny