Disclaimer: Fanfic is written by those who do NOT own Death Note--hence the term FAN-fic. This here is a fanfic... therefore I own no part of Death Note.

EDITED!! NOW IN 3rd PERSON POV!!

CHAPTER 10 - CANDID CAMERA

Keiko removed her purse and coat at the door before entering the hotel suite. " 'Lucy, I'm home,'" she called jokingly in a Ricky Ricardo sort of accent as she joined Yagami and Ryuzaki in the living room before the surveillance TVs, handing the former a cup of coffee and the latter a heavily iced cinnamon bun (she had, in fact, just returned from a quick break to the coffee shop down the street). "Find anything?"

"Nothing," murmured Ryuzaki, taking a huge bite of his cinnamon roll. Keiko noticed that all the screens were showing Yagami's house, and all were void of any movement or people.

"Wow… fascinating job, huh?" she said quietly, taking a seat on the floor and leaning up against the sofa. Immediately to her right, she noted with amusement, were Ryuzaki's feet at eye-level. (Unlike some people, feet didn't gross her out too much, so she was rather unperturbed by this.)

A faint "ka-chak" sounded from the speakers, and Keiko looked up to see Light stepping through the door of the Yagami household, a package marked "Books" under one arm. "Holy crow, he's grown up!" she exclaimed. "I mean… whoa!" It would've killed her to admit it, but Light, she saw, was rather… handsome! Not that it meant anything to her; a) he was too young, b) she still preferred Ryuzaki's endearingly disheveled look, and c) she'd always think of him as her little Light-o, and never potential dating material.

The trio stared silently at the screens as Light Yagami headed directly up the stairs to his bedroom—all without even passing Go or collecting 200 dollars. It was almost like he wanted to get up there quickly without anyone having noticed him, like he was doing something secret, urgent… He only stopped to replace the slip of paper in his doorframe, which made Keiko snort with laughter. "Oh, wow—how very like Light-o!"

"I never realized my son went to such lengths…" Yagami murmured in amazement.

"It's only normal," Ryuzaki said with a shrug. "When I was his age, I used to do things like that for no reason at all."

"And simply because you did that, Ryu-chan," Keiko teased, "makes it completely normal." He ignored her.

Light flopped down on his bed and opened the brown paper wrapping on the package, revealing… swimsuit magazines.

"Wha-a-a-at?!" Keiko exclaimed as Light flipped open one and began to stare at the pictures of a girl in a scanty bikini.

The look on Yagami's face was one of complete and utter shock. "This… is the last thing I ever imagined my son doing…" he said softly.

"True that," Keiko practically breathed in agreement. "I thought he was such a good kid!"

"He's 17," Ryuzaki pointed out calmly, almost as though he were defending Light's actions. "It's only normal. But to me… it looks like he's making a show of saying 'I was checking my room because I have books like this stashed inside.'"

"Well, that would be a very plausible reason, don't you think?" Keiko retorted dully. "Look, if I was hiding almost-porn in my room, I'd check for intruders, too! Especially with the possibility of a mom or dad having been inside." But silently, she had to agree with him—not that she truly had any experience with such stuff, but if a guy was trying to get a rush by looking at scantily clad girls, Keiko reasoned that he'd probably, well, simulate a girl's presence by touching himself and whatnot… wouldn't he? It was at this realization that she thought about teasing Ryuzaki by saying that of course he'd seen through Light's act because he'd looked at porn himself, but thought better of it, mostly because of Yagami. He'd only scold her and insist that young ladies didn't say things of that nature. That was the last thing Keiko wanted—a reprimand in front of her crush and ultimate superior…

"Ryuzaki," said Yagami slowly, turning to the black-haired detective. "Don't tell me… that my son is a suspect…?"

"Yes, he is." Keiko frowned at Ryuzaki's sanguine attitude about the whole thing. Couldn't he at least be a bit more sensitive? Then again, he'd never been one to really pander to people's emotions. "I've placed cameras and bugs in your house and the deputy-chief's because everyone in both homes is a suspect."

The three sat in silence for a vast majority of the time, watching Light's behavior (and Sachiko's and Sayu's, when they arrived home—at which time Light heard the door and immediately hid the dirty magazines on his bookshelf). Keiko, predictably, was the main conversationalist, occasionally pointing out things like "Oh, Sayu's gotten so pretty! I've not seen her for a while…" or, "Geez, doesn't Sachiko ever stop cleaning?"

Needless to say, neither Ryuzaki nor Yagami really wanted to talk much.

Once the Yagamis began eating supper, Keiko decided that she wanted some food of her own, and ordered a bowl of macaroni and cheese from room service. As Ryuzaki was lodging in a five-star hotel, the staff member manning the phone was a little puzzled at first, but he finally consented—it was all about the guests, after all… even if it was a lowly bowl of good ol' mac'n cheese.

While she awaited the stuff, Keiko plopped back down in front of the TV. "Your son is very intelligent," Ryuzaki commented to Yagami with a sort of pleased smile. He bit his nail, eyes glued to the screen.

"Hm?" said Yagami, turning to Ryuzaki. "Yes… well…"

"Of course he is," Keiko said bracingly. "He's Light Yagami. He's the number one student in Japan at the moment," she finished proudly, as though she could take any measure of credit for his brilliance. And she could, in fact, and didn't hesitate to say so. "And I used to help him with his algebra!"

Yagami gave a short chuckle at the memory. A few minutes passed as Sayu, Sachiko, and Light ate their meal. Light was the first to finish. He put his dishes in the sink and grabbed a bag of barbeque potato chips from a cabinet and made a mug of fresh coffee before going upstairs. "No way, Light," protested Sayu. "You're eating potato chips right after dinner? You're gonna get fat, you know…"

"It's for later," explained Light patiently. "I'm studying till late." With that, he ambled up the stairs with a sigh, looking resigned to his homework.

"Geez," Keiko muttered. "How much studying can he take?"

"Didn't you ever study?" Ryuzaki asked, giving her a funny look.

She shook her head truthfully. "Very rarely. I guess remembering things just came naturally… but I don't think I ever studied but once or twice. And Light's smarter than me… he should logically be the same way, unless he's really paranoid about staying number one or something…" she shrugged. "I don't get it. Uncle Soichiro—I mean, Yagami-san, do you know why?"

He shook his head. "I haven't the foggiest—save that I know he wants to do well." He leaned back leisurely. "He's got a good, hard work ethic. He's a smart kid and I'm proud of him."

"As you should be," Keiko agreed quickly.

After another ten minutes, there was a knock at the hotel suite's door. "Room service."

"Yahoo!" Keiko jumped up and dashed for the door and eagerly snatched her mac'n cheese from beneath the silver dome held by the hotel employee. "Food for the gods!"

"You didn't order any cake…" Ryuzaki said sadly, looking plaintively—pitifully—down at her as she shoveled forkfuls of the cheesy goodness into her mouth.

"Get your own cake," she slurred playfully around a mouthful, giving him a disapproving look. "You're a big boy… you can handle it."

The rest of the night passed in a similar fashion (when Sachiko took a bathroom break, Ryuzaki got up to order a parfait via room service; Keiko made him order three so that she and Yagami could have some, too). Eventually, Light opened his bag of potato chips. Keiko thought he took a little long in searching for chips, even noting his odd behavior as he looked into the bag each time. "I wonder why he's doing that…"

"Don't you look before you eat chips?" asked Yagami. "I look so I can eat the most flavor-covered chips first…"

Keiko stared at him for a few seconds, spoon clinking in the glass parfait bowl. "Um… No. That's weird. You look after you pick up a chip, so you can be forewarned at how big a flavor punch you're gonna get. Looking in first… I don't do that."

"Just because you don't do it doesn't mean it's uncommon," Ryuzaki pointed out with a long-suffering sigh. "There is nothing truly suspicious about this."

"Maybe I'm just reading too much into this," she relented with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to jump to conclusions about Light-o, Uncle Soichiro."

"That's all right," he said a little stiffly. It was his son they were talking about…

Twelve past ten o'clock… "Your son hasn't turned on his TV or his computer since dinner," Ryuzaki pointed out. "He's studying really hard."

"Well, his entrance exams are in less than ten days…" Yagami pointed out.

"Ten days…?" Keiko repeated with a yawn. "That's a ways off. Good grief… he really is dedicated. Good ol' Light."

Yagami smiled in a fatherly manner. "Yes… good old Light."

She wearily leaned back against the couch, blinking hard to stay awake. "Um… man, am I tired."

"Sh—" said Ryuzaki quickly; Light was moving.

There was a crackling sound as he crumpled his empty potato chip bag into a ball and tossed it into the trash. He stretched his arms above his head and sighed heavily. "Okay! Just a few more to go…"

They all stared expectantly at the screen. "Well… that was eventful," Keiko said sarcastically. "C'mon. He's not doing anything."

"Does your son typically watch the news?" Ryuzaki asked Yagami.

"Well… I'm not sure. He's always up-to-date on current events, so I suppose he does." There was a pause as Yagami pondered this. "I don't really monitor him so much anymore. He's fairly independent."

"Yes, I see," Ryuzaki mused quietly. The gears turning in his head were so obvious they were almost audible.

"Ryuzaki," came Watari's voice as he marched into the room quickly.

"What is it, Watari?"

"A bank employee being questioned for suspected embezzlement and a purse snatcher being held in detention both just died of heart attacks. The nine o'clock news tonight was the first time either cases were reported," he finished matter-of-factly, almost coldly.

"It's Kira!" Yagami cried in alarm.

Watari continued solemnly. "Deputy Chief Kitamura's wife and eldest daughter watched those news reports."

Ryuzaki mulled over this. "Yagami-san's wife and daughter were watching a drama at that time…" he said slowly, absently, "after the drama ended, they turned off the TV and never turned it back on… His son Light started studying at seven-thirty or so, and has been doing nothing else all night…" He stroked his chin contemplatively. "Kira needs to know someone's name and face to kill them. So anyone who didn't see those broadcasts can't be Kira…"

"That means my family's innocent!" Yagami said triumphantly, standing up quickly.

Keiko shook her head slowly, sadly—something didn't fit. "A purse snatcher and an embezzler, eh…?"

"Kira's victims today were killed right away for extremely minor crimes," Ryuzaki voiced thoughtfully. "And even though the cameras were just installed, the Yagami family's behavior today was so clean it was almost funny…"

The look on Yagami's face made Keiko wince. He was shocked by Ryuzaki's still-doubtful attitude, but she couldn't fault him for that. She'd had the same impression… it was as though they were purposefully trying to avoid the news so that of course none of them could be Kira…

"We'll know soon, Uncle Soi—ah, Yagami-san," she said reassuringly. "It's only once. I'm sure it's just a coincidence. It'll all blow over soon."

"I certainly hope so," he muttered into his hand, eyes wide with the shocked horror of the possibility of Kira being under his roof.

The night dragged on with nary a sign of suspicious activity from the Yagamis. Keiko was so... bored... And it didn't take long for her to fall asleep on the floor before Ryuzaki's couch, head resting in the crook of her arm. A tiny puddle of drool pooled on the floor as she breathed softly, almost inaudibly, slipping into the world of dreams…

…Keiko laughed at a ten-year-old Light playing at the local playground as he persisted in giving her advice on what qualities she should look for in a boyfriend. She chuckled as she scuffed her feet in the dirt, sitting placidly in one of the vacant swings. "Why are you trying to tell me what a boyfriend should be like?" she asked him, grinning. She didn't have much interest in finding a new one, anyway, with as little romantic luck as she had.

"I want to be able to say 'I told you so' later on, when you do find one!" He gave her a crooked smile as he flew past, back and forth, back and forth. "And of course, he should be taller than you," he announced matter-of-factly. Keiko grinned at his incorrigibility. "And smart. He'd have to be smart. Dumb guys aren't worth being with."

She laughed aloud. "Well, if I was the smarter one, how could he be interesting?" she wondered.

"Besides that, you couldn't respect him," Light pointed out. "And he should have black hair… and heavy bags under his eyes."

It was then that Keiko stopped. "Huh?"

Light slowed himself by dragging his feet in the dirt as he swung; clouds of dirt came billowing up, choking the air with dust. "And he should be a detective. The world's greatest, in fact…"

"What makes you say that?" Was he talking about L? How would he know about L at age ten?

Light stopped swinging and looked gravely at Keiko. "If he's the world's greatest detective, I can surpass him…"

"Light-o…"

His eyes glowed orange, evilly glinting at you. He pulled out a black notebook. "Tell me, what's L's real name…?"

"I—I don't know that, Light-o!" She gave a nervous laugh. This kid wasn't Light-o anymore… he was scary… "What are you talking about?"

"I am Kira," he said softly.

Keiko gasped, eyes widening in horror as she was suddenly unable to move from his freezing gaze.

"What's the matter, Keiko-chan?" he asked. "I'm righteous…" He began writing something down… and a few seconds later, he turned the notebook to her. In it was her name, written boldly so that it stared at her piercingly. Something wasn't right… "Don't worry… you'll have some peace soon…"

A sharp pain lanced through her chest—she couldn't breathe! Keiko fell off the swing-set, but didn't hit the dirt—instead, she fell into a dark abyss, but there was nothing to check her fall. She just kept falling… falling…

Falling…

"Huwaaaugh!" Keiko cried, jerking awake and scrambling futilely on the slick, wood floor.

Ryuzaki and Yagami looked down at her with concern.

"Are you all right, Keiko-chan?" Ryuzaki asked slowly. "You're rather pale."

It took a second to catch her breath. "Y—yeah… Ah… bad dream. Sorry." She chuckled rather self-consciously and sat up. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Close to midnight."

"Oh… um…" Needless to say, Keiko felt incredibly stupid. Warmth blossomed in her cheeks as she stood. "Wow. Perhaps I should go home…"

"You're helping us monitor the Yagamis," Ryuzaki reminded her calmly. "Do you need to get some rest? I can take over for you and sleep later…"

"Um… yeah… yeah, thanks… Sorry, I guess all this extra work is starting to get to me…" Keiko desperately needed time to clear her head. What was she even thinking? Light-o wasn't Kira…

"You can take my bedroom," Ryuzaki said flatly, keeping his eyes fixated on the screens. Sachiko and Sayu were asleep, but Light was studying… still.

"Come get me in four, five hours," she said absently. "Whenever." The room was the first on the right down the hall, she discovered quickly, and gratefully flopped down on the bed. What is the matter with you?! Keiko demanded of herself. Geez… way to make them wonder about your sanity.

I couldn't help it! How am I supposed to tell myself what I can and cannot dream?

Well… what you can do is keep from doing is yelling when you wake up…

Good point.

Just… just go to sleep. And don't dream about Light-o, about Kira, about Ryuzaki… about anyone. Just freaking… sleep.

Sure… yeah. I'll just order my subconscious to turn off those possible dream options, like toggle switches. Yup…

A long time passed before Keiko found the courage to fall back asleep. The digital clock read 2:40 AM… Finally, she resigned herself to the fact that she was just being paranoid. With a sigh, she burrowed under the covers. "Oh… why am I so complicated?" she whispered aloud as she drifted off to sleep…

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