Author's Note: I don't own Death Note.

Chapter 10: Changes

After two days of spending time together with Light, Violeta was slightly upset that she had to go back to work that day. She was enjoying lounging around the house with Light and not having to deal with the task force being there all the time. Violeta didn't dislike any of the men on the task force or anything, but it was nice not to have the apartment full of people for once.

"Are you leaving?" Light asked as he came into the room, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Yeah. I have an early class today. I probably won't be home until this afternoon, though. I am helping this class prepare for the studio's recital, so it's going to be a long day."

Perfect. Now I have plenty of time to search for the Life Note without wondering when she will be home. Light mentally smirked as he nodded his head. "I'll see you sometime later today, then. Have fun."

"Thanks." Violeta smiled as she slid her dance bag over her shoulder and kissed him. "I'll call you when I am on my way home. Love you. Bye!"

"I love you too, Vi." Light smiled at her as she left the apartment and headed off to the dance studio.

After she had gone, Light peeked out the window to make sure that she was fully out of sight. He set his mug down on the kitchen counter before pulling an apple out from the fridge. "Ryuk, I'll give you this apple if you tell me where the Life Note is."

Ryuk's usual grin turned quickly into a frown. "I don't know where it is. You have to find it on your own, but you do owe me an apple for telling you about it."

Light sighed in annoyance as he tossed the apple to Ryuk and headed into their bedroom. Let's see, Vi. Where would you hide this notebook? It's probably somewhere obvious knowing you… He walked over to her dresser and pulled open one of her drawers. After carefully going through each one, he found what he was looking for. "Bingo." He smirked as he put everything back except the Life Note into place.

"So now that you have found the Life Note, what do you intend to do with it?" Ryuk asked.

"Nothing as of right now, but Violeta is going to have some explaining to do when she gets home."

"You're going to sit around and wait all day for her to come home? Talk about boring."

"I don't have a choice. She can't skip out on work early. I don't want her to suspect that anything is going on." Light said. "Until then, I am going to cleanse the world." He said sitting at his desk and pulling the Death Note out along with a pen.

"Violeta," Michelangelo had been watching Violeta teach her ballet class for the past two hours and he didn't want to disturb her, but he was feeling it was urgent.

Violeta glanced at him from the corner of her eye before switching the music off. "You are all doing great! Take a five minute break!" She smiled at her students before heading into the back room where she kept her stuff. "Michelangelo, is something the matter?"

"Vi, darling, I think Light may know about me as well as the Life Note." He frowned, his green eyes full of worry for her.

"What? No, that's not possible. He and I have spent the last three days together. I think if he knew he would have asked me about it by now."

"Violeta, just be careful. I have a very bad feeling that something is going to happen."

She nodded. "Okay, but I don't think anything is wrong. Light has said that Ryuk is pretty useless when it comes to telling him things, so I don't see why Ryuk would have told Light about you."

Michelangelo nodded, but there was still a negative feeling nagging at him. "If you say so, Violeta. What will you tell him if he does ask you?"

"I'll tell him I didn't think it was real at first…and then I'll say you appeared recently and I wasn't sure what to think. If he finds out that someone shot me, he'll be upset and go on a Kira rampage."

"Okay but you need to keep yourself safe. You told me yourself that Light's been changing because of the Death Note. That being said, he is now capable of doing anything."

"You worry too much. I'll be alright." She smiled before going back out to the studio. "Okay, girls and guys. Let's get back to work. The recital is a month from today and we have to finish learning two dances."

Another few hours passed and Violeta was finally getting to return home. Rehearsal ran longer than expected, so she ended up getting out of the studio at about five o' clock. In that time had gotten pretty cold and damp outside. She carefully avoided ice patches as a light snow began to fall.

Once she was inside the warm apartment, she hung up her coat in the closet and slipped her wet shoes off by the door, setting her bag down beside it. "Light, I'm home." She called as she walked further into the apartment.

"I'm in the bedroom." Light called in response.

She walked in and smiled. "Hey. How was your day?"

Light stood and walked towards her, shutting the door. "My day was pretty good, I'll admit. I discovered something I hadn't expected to."

"Oh? What was that?" She asked as she stared up at him curiously.

"Well," He leaned one hand against the door so she was cornered against it. "I discovered this." He held up the Life Note.

Violeta's violet eyes widened as she looked at the item in his hands. Michelangelo was right…he must've known Light had touched it so he started panicking and tried to warn me.

"Ah, by the expression on your face I'd say you recognize it. Vi, where the hell did you get this? And why didn't you tell me about it?"

"Light, I-I didn't think it was real. I thought it was some sort of a joke."

His face neared hers so that they were looking each other in the eyes. "Like hell you didn't. You're lying to me. You know that Kira kills with a notebook. What makes you think this is any different? Plus, you have an angel following you around."

Her hands trembled slightly as she stared at him. He's really mad at me…I've…never seen him so angry. She gulped before opening her mouth. "I'm s-sorry, Light. I only kept it from you because—"

Light cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "You're always keeping secrets from me, Violeta. You never told me about the abuse, rape or even being shot. That's how you got this Life Note. That angel saved you. I told you that I was Kira and you hid something like this from me. Something that could be useful to me? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Her gaze drifted to the floor. "Why does it always have to be all about you? The Life Note was given to me, not you. You don't see me begging to use the Death Note. I'm sorry, okay? You already have enough power and it's changing you. I hate it."

Light glared at her before raising his hand and slapping her across the face. "You little bitch. You dare defy me? I'm Kira. I'm a god."

Violeta stared up at him, tears forming in her eyes as she took in what he had just done. H-He hit me…He actually...after everything we've been through… he hit me. "Light, you're not a god. You're a human being."

"Shut up." Light said, his anger still boiling. He shoved her aside causing her to stumble and hit her head against the corner of the nightstand table.

He stormed out of the bedroom as well as the house after grabbing his jacket and shoes. Only when he calmed down would he understand what he had just done.

"Are you okay—you're bleeding!" Michelangelo had appeared in front of her noticing that she had a small gash on her forehead.

"Y-You were right, Michelangelo. He is capable of anything now. I-I have to get out of here. I don't know what's going to happen. He's going to try and kill me, isn't he? He was so angry…It's not like him." Violeta stood up, trembling pretty badly. She had started crying from the pain racking through her head, plus the sudden change in Light.

She stumbled through the house and put her jacket and shoes on before leaving the apartment. Violeta ran down the dark snow covered streets, breathing heavily. I need to get away from him…from that apartment. It doesn't matter how far I go…he can write my name down in the Death Note at any time he pleases. Plus he still has the Life Note…

"Violeta, you're injured. You should stop and rest." Michelangelo said.

"No, I can't…I can't." She continued to run, her vision blurry from crying and the cold wind hitting her face. Since she couldn't really see where she was going, Violeta was unaware of the large patch of ice on the sidewalk. As she ran, she slipped and fell and hit her head pretty hard against the ground.

She stared up at the dark night sky, seeing stars before she slipped into an unconscious state. Michelangelo could tell she was still alive, but he had no way of getting her to the hospital. "Come on, princess. You need to wake up. You'll die if you lay out here."

Touta Matsuda had been visiting an old friend from the police academy and was on his way home at the same time. He turned down the street, his headlights flashing along. He noticed a figure lying on the sidewalk that he was passing. "What happened here?" he wondered aloud as he pulled up alongside the curb.

After climbing out of his car, he left the lights on and walked over to the figure lying on the ground. I wonder what happened to this girl. He thought as he knelt down beside the body. Only when he got a look at the face did his eyes widen. "V-Violeta Matsumoto…" he said. "What is she doing out here? She's hurt…" He frowned noticing a head injury and blood coming out. He quickly called an ambulance, giving them his current location.

He ran to his car then and grabbed a shirt he had sitting in the back seat and use a pocket knife to cut the shirt. Matsuda sat back down beside her, placing the shirt against the spots her head was bleeding. "What happened to you, Violeta?" He frowned. "Does Light know you're here?"

About ten minutes later the ambulance had finally arrived at the scene and lifted Violeta onto the stretcher, placing an oxygen mask over her face. Matsuda stayed out of the way as they quickly lifted the stretcher into the ambulance. He got into his car and followed it to the hospital.

The medics rushed the stretcher into the emergency room so they could take care of her wound while Matsuda sat in the waiting room. He looked around and saw that there weren't many people actually in there. There was an elderly woman who was wiping at her eyes with a tissue. He guessed something must've happened to her husband or maybe another family member. There were a few other people milling about and the nurse behind the desk, but not many people were in the emergency room.

"I should call Light. He'll be worried about Violeta." Matsuda stepped outside since cell phones were prohibited inside of the hospital. He shivered slightly as the cold winter wind hit his face while he waited for Light to answer.

"Matsuda, what is it?" Light asked from the other end once he had picked up. Light had calmed down since the incident and now he was desperately trying to figure out where Violeta had disappeared off to. What the hell was I thinking? I hit her. She's never going to forgive me for that. I did what her parents did to her and what's worse I promised I'd never let her get hurt and I did. I let her get hurt by my own hands.

"It's Violeta." Matsuda said nervously.

"Is she okay? She went out for a walk about two hours ago and hasn't come back. I have been calling her, but she hasn't answered." Light lied smoothly. There was no reason for Matsuda to know the real reason that she was missing from the apartment.

"Light, she's in the hospital. I was driving home from a friend's and I found her unconscious on the sidewalk. She was bleeding pretty badly. I think she slipped on the ice. Her ankle was pretty swollen too. She's in the E.R. now. They are stitching her up."

Hospital? No..I only slapped her...she must have fallen on the ice. I couldn't have possibly injured her that badly. "Hospital? I'll be there in about ten minutes. Which one are you at?"

"Saint Cosmas Hospital." Matsuda replied.

"Thanks," Light said as he quickly hung up the phone.

Once he arrived, he saw that Matsuda was still sitting in the lobby. "Matsuda, is she out of the E.R. yet?"

"No, not yet. I asked the nurse for an update about ten minutes ago, but she said that they were still working on her. I hope it wasn't too bad." He frowned.

"Neither do I. She's always been accident prone, though."

The two men sat in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity. In reality, it was only another hour before a doctor came out. He looked to be about in his thirties with dark hair and dark eyes. He took his hands out of his white coat pocket and shook Light and Matsuda's hands. "I'm Dr. Suzuki. I am Miss. Matsumoto's physician."

"How is she doing?" Light asked.

Dr. Suzuki frowned. "It seems the fall has caused a major concussion. You see, when one hits there head, depending where it is, it can cause problems. Miss. Matsumoto, as I am sure you two are well aware, is very petite. She's not big boned like some people are, but her bone structure is smaller than many people's. Needless to say that does not help her situation nor does the fact that she has anemia. We had to give her a blood transfusion. Since we stitched her up and fixed her broken ankle, she has yet to awaken. Based on all of this, I have come to the conclusion that she is in a coma."

"A coma?" Both Light and Matsuda exclaimed at once.

"Please, settle down. If she truly is in a coma, I don't believe she will end up in one for years. Perhaps a few weeks."

"Weeks?" Light repeated, frowning. "There's nothing you can do?"

"I'm afraid not. Falling and hitting your head on ice is a pretty big deal. She had a rather severe head injury; however, she may wake up tomorrow. It's one of those time things. She's heavily induced with drugs though, so even if she did wake up right now she wouldn't be in any pain and would probably very disoriented."

"Will she be okay?" Matsuda asked.

"She should be fine as long as her wound heals properly. The thing is, she will need to stay in the hospital for quite some time. We need to monitor her healing process very closely. Especially in the next few days. With concussions that are as severe as Miss. Matsumoto's, we need to make sure that the brain doesn't start to swell. That could cause major problems."

"Are the chances of that happening to Violeta high?" Light asked.

"It's a fifty-fifty bet. Another thing that you two should be aware of is that when she does wake up, she may have some memory loss. It could be short term memory loss or long term memory loss, so she would feel very confused since there would be recent things she wouldn't remember or things from her past; however, it's not a guarantee that she will even have it. If she does though, I cannot tell you how long it will last. Some people never recover their memories, but others do. Usually something triggers it."

"I see. Thank you, Doctor. May we go see her?"

"Yes, of course. Are you two family or friends of hers?"he asked

"I'm a friend and Light is her boyfriend." Matsuda replied.

"I see. You cannot stay in there too long, though. Fifteen minutes at the most. Visiting hours are already over."

"Thank you," Light said as he and Matsuda headed to the room where Violeta was.

Light's brown eyes fell on Violeta lying in the hospital bed. The entire room was painted white except for one wall which was a light green color. Evidently hospitals did that because the one color was supposed to "calm" the patient and visitors. He walked over to the bed and gazed down at her. Her eyes were shut and she had the small tube around her face that connected with her nose to help her breathe. Her red hair was a stark contrast against the white pillow as well as the white bandages wrapped around her head. Luckily, they didn't have to cut too much of her hair off to stitch it up. Her ankle was elevated on a pillow and in a white cast. She had two I.V.'s hooked up to her as well as a heart monitor. Light Yagami had never felt so guilty in his life.

Matsuda stared at Violeta, a deep frown overcoming his features. If only I had found Violeta sooner, then perhaps she wouldn't have ended up in a coma. She had lost so much blood. And now she is just motionless. She looks like a broken porcelain doll. Poor Light…he must be so worried about her now. "Light, nobody would blame you if you dropped the case for a few days so you could be here with Violeta, but if you do decide to resume…I can stay here with her in case she wakes up."

Light glanced back at Matsuda. "I need a few days just to be with her. Perhaps the doctor was wrong and she will awake sooner than expected. Thanks, though. Violeta is important to me, but Kira needs to be caught. Besides, Kira could've attempted murder and failed. The reason she is here could be because of him, so I am going to stop working for three days, and then you can stay here with her."

"Alright. I am glad to see that Violeta is alive, though. I'll see you in a few days, Light." Matsuda waved to him before leaving the hospital. He figured Light would want to be alone with her for a few minutes before he had to leave, besides Matsuda had no reason to suspect that Light had hit her and had been the reason she was outside that night. He looked up to Light after all, so why would he think something bad of him?

Light stared down at her still, exhaling through his nose. "Damn. Violeta, I'm sorry. I hope when you wake up..you'll forgive me." He mumbled. Though if she does end up with amnesia, maybe she will forget it happened…

"I bet you are real proud of yourself." Michelangelo said angrily. Since Light had picked up the Life Note, he was now able to see the angel before him. "It's your fault she is here."

"Who asked you?" He glared. "Besides, she fell on the ice. Not me."

"You pushed her away, Kira." He said icily. "You should know that she would do anything for you. What you did to her tonight though is unforgivable and when she wakes up, I will make sure she remembers it. Violeta always talks about how perfect you are and how you would never hurt her. You're nothing but a monster, Light Yagami. You may as well be a shinigami, a god of death, yourself."

Light glared up at the blonde haired, green eyed angel who was telling him off. "Look here, I know what's best for Violeta. She's mine, you got that? Nothing you say to her when she wakes up will ever make her doubt me."

"You're real sick, you know that? You're possessive and jealous of anyone who comes near her. Not only that, you're toying with her emotions by lying."

"She lied to me." He fired back.

Michelangelo shook his head. "She lied to you so she could protect you from further changing. She is afraid of what you've become, Light Yagami. I can't blame her, though. She's innocent and pure of heart. Violeta can be compared to a saint or an angel whereas you're nothing but a twisted, lying, cold hearted snake."

"Excuse me, but you need to leave now." A nurse peeked in the room.

"Yes, of course. I'll be here tomorrow to see her. Is that okay?" Light asked hiding his anger extremely well.

"That's fine, sir. We'll take good care of her." The nurse smiled.

"That's all I ask." He said as he left the hospital, heading back to the apartment.

Michelangelo glared at Light the entire time he had been in the hospital room and his usual cheerful disposition returned once he had gone. "Don't worry, princess." He looked down at Violeta. "You just rest. You'll be awake in no time and if you do end up with amnesia, I will cure you. I will help you see Light Yagami for what he really is…a demon."

Author's Note: So, things are really heating up and changing! Please don't hate me for having Light act the way he did. But in my opinion, the Death Note completely corrupted him after a certain point. Anyways, first day of school was pretty good, I guess. I don't know. I hate my locker. It's a classroom one and it's on the bottom. ): Other than that, I think it will be a good year.

Please review!

Thanks to Miss. Bright for reviewing!

If you're into OC stories, read hers. It's called: Subtract, Add, Unite and Conquer. Also, rukia23 has one called Of Death and Love.

They are both really good, so check them out if you have free time! (:

Thanks to EpicAnime77 for story alerting this.