Disclaimer: I don't have any legal rights to Death Note.

EDITED!! NOW IN 3rd PERSON POV!!

CHAPTER 36 - À L'HÔPITAL

The first thing Keiko saw was a pair of brown eyes, then a black, silky mane of hair that obscured her vision. A pair of arms squeezed her tightly, and a loud cry sounded. "Kei-kei!!"

"ACH!" Keiko croaked, startled into total wakefulness. "Mom!? Lemme go!"

"OH, I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY!!"

"Chikako," her father, Hideyoshi, said gently. "Let her breathe."

She complied, and backed off. "Geez," Keiko muttered. "Good thing I'm not on life support or anything…"

"But my baby's been shot!" Chikako wailed. "And you're too skinny! You've not been eating properly… Don't you get paid enough to eat properly!? And you definitely are not getting enough sleep! Who's your boss? I want to speak to him—he's overworking you!! Oh, I knew a job as a police officer was too dangerous! And just who is this ragamuffin boy!?" She pointed to Ryuzaki, who was asleep in the chair beside the bed, still sitting with his knees up to his chest. He stirred slightly and uttered some incoherent noise, then fell back into his fitful slumber. Keiko couldn't help but smile at this; he probably hadn't slept in four days and thus had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion.

Mizuki rolled her eyes and groaned. "Mom, I told you, that's Hideki Ryuga-san, Keiko's boyfriend. He called me to tell us what happened."

Chikako scowled. "That's not possible!! Keiko, I want to know who he is!"

Keiko smiled and blushed faintly. "He's really my boyfriend, Mom."

"Your… boyfriend!?" Chikako whispered, scandalized, as though she was just now getting the concept. "And he stayed with you ALL NIGHT?!"

"Chikako, it's not that big a deal," Hideyoshi said calmly. "I'm sure nothing happened."

"Like the nurse would've let us if we tried anything," Keiko muttered, snorting with laughter. "She practically yelled at him for talking. It was quite comical. But beyond that, Ryu-chan would never take advantage of me." At least physically, he wouldn't… although he might try to finagle ways for me to end up performing some ridiculous task for him in the Kira case…

Mizuki giggled as she surveyed Ryuzaki's sleeping form. "You're right; he's very kawaii."

Keiko's smile grew wider and her cheeks redder.

"What's he do for a living?" Noburu, Keiko's grandfather, wanted to know.

"He's a detective," Keiko explained simply. Mizuki had to stifle her laughter.

"Something you'd like to add, Mizuki?" Noburu asked with a suspicious look.

"Nothing," she said with a giggle. "I just think it's funny how she fell for a detective, herself. I must not have inherited the love-of-law-enforcement gene."

"Back on the subject of you," Hideyoshi said to Keiko, a little sternly, "how did this happen?"

"Oh." She sighed heavily. "I was helping to catch the Black Viper, but I got shot in the process. We captured them, though…"

"That's the case that L was in charge of!" Noburu exclaimed quickly, sitting up straighter. He absolutely idolized L, a fact which gave you no end of amusement. "Someday, I'd like to shake that man's hand!" (You and Mizuki had to work to keep from laughing—he said that all the time.) "What's he like, Keiko?"

"Who, L?" Keiko shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, you could just ask him…" Noburu frowned, as did Hideyoshi. Keiko wordlessly pointed to Ryuzaki, then raised her index finger to her lips in an indication of silence. "Don't tell anyone. I wasn't really supposed to tell you, but… I figured you'd have to meet sooner or later. Now, watch this…" She reached over in an effort to poke him, but as he was on her left side, she couldn't reach him very well. "Mizuki, wake him up and whisper 'L' in his ear. See what he does."

She did so, and Ryuzaki stirred again. "Mm… no… s'posed to call… me… 'Ryuzaki'… for safety… Watari… choc'late gateau for breakfast… please…" He finally opened his eyes and looked at Keiko blearily, blinking at the flourescent lighting of the hospital.

"Hey, sleepyhead," she said cheerily, smiling at him. He blinked again, this time in mild surprise at having been caught sleeping. "My family's here."

He slowly turned his head toward the Shintaro family, noting their stares of shock and confusion. "Oh, yes… I called you last night, Mizuki-san…"

"Technically, it was this morning," she said with a shrug. "But, yeah. Thank you, by the way!"

"Not at all." He silently stared at Keiko's family, taking them all in.

After a bit, Keiko rolled her eyes at their prolonged silence. "Sorry. That's my father, Hideyoshi; my mother, Chikako; and my grandfather, Noburu. And you already know Mizuki, my sister." Chikako and Mizuki were the only ones who smiled and acknowledged him, though Chikako's expression was a little miffed. Hideyoshi and Noburu were both in shock. "Snap out of it," Keiko told them both softly. "It's not nice to goggle."

Ryuzaki attempted to stifle a yawn, to Keiko's amusement. It was obvious that he'd caught onto the notion that Keiko had told them of his true identity. "I thought you promised not to tell anyone…" he mumbled, but the conviction in his voice trailed off. It seemed that the inevitability of it all was starting to click with him. They would've found out sooner or later, anyway. "Well, I suppose it's of no consequence. Please, call me Ryuzaki," he said balefully.

"Oh, lighten up, Ryuu," Keiko said brightly. "I think they might be actually in awe of your lack of detective-y appearance. And lack of footwear."

Ryuzaki sighed.

"L…?" Noburu said then, shocked. "The L!?"

"Yes," he said simply, chewing on his thumbnail.

"How do you know it's L?" Gramps asked Keiko suspiciously.

She frowned, but Ryuzaki looked pleased, despite the lack of smile. "I like him already," he said to Keiko, a little more happily.

"Trust you to like someone who doesn't trust anyone, either…" she retorted. "I've known him for almost four years, Gramps. And Watari. And worked with him on multiple cases. I think I'd know if he wasn't L."

"Ask me whatever you wish," Ryuzaki said to Noburu. Obviously, he trusted Noburu to not ask anything ridiculous or out-of-the-question, such as his name (but he never said he'd answer truthfully, or even at all...).

Ryuzaki was greeted with a squinting stare. "Why do you sit like that?"

"If I don't, it decreases my reasoning ability by 40 percent," he answered calmly, unruffled.

"Do you expect us to believe that L is a kid?"

"Um…" Keiko and Mizuki said slowly.

"If I wasn't L," Ryuzaki answered, "I wouldn't bother to impersonate him, because it seems so ridiculous."

"Is there some way you could prove that you are L?"

Ryuzaki thought about this for a few moments. "Would a confirmation by Mr. Soichiro Yagami be satisfactory?"

It was a good suggestion, though it made Keiko cringe inwardly to say such a thing whilst he was imprisoned of his own accord. Nevertheless, the idea was acceptible to Noburu and Hideyoshi both. Ryuzaki pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed detective superintendent's number before switching to speaker phone. "Yagami here."

"Yes, hello, Yagami-san."

"Ryuzaki?"

"Hi, Uncle Soichiro!" Keiko said cheerily. "Gramps is wondering who Ryuzaki is."

"Noburu?!" Yagami blurted out, a little surprised that Ryuzaki had bothered to venture out into the open.

"Soichiro! How are things?"

There was a pause. "They've been better. My current case is… taking a lot out of me."

"Who is this 'Ryuzaki'?" Noburu asked (or rather, demanded), then.

"He actually wants you to confirm that, if you can believe it, Uncle Soichiro," Keiko added in a mildly surprised tone.

"Mm, yes," Ryuzaki said slowly. "Who am I?"

"Well, if that's the case, then he truly is... who he says he is. There's no doubt about that." Keiko and Ryuzaki were both relieved that he'd had the sense to not say L's identity aloud.

Noburu began laughing boisterously. "Ha! Wonderful! It looks like you've snagged a good one, Keiko!"

"Gramps, please," she protested quietly, blushing to such a degree that she wondered her face didn't catch on fire. "I haven't snagged anything." Ryuzaki matched Keiko's deep shade of red.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Yagami asked.

"Well, you know we're an item," Keiko told him. "But the family only just found out." She sighed to herself and wished immediately that she hadn't explained that much. Aw, crap. Now he's gonna ask why…

"So this is 'meet the parents' night?" wondered Yagami, sounding much better than he had earlier. Keiko supposed it was because he liked to know what was going on outside the jail cell every once in a while… and because he was happy for his Kei-Kei.

Without skipping a beat, Keiko nodded in affirmation. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"We're in the hospital!" Chikako wailed. "Kei-kei got SHOT!!"

"SHOT!?"

"Calm down, Uncle, please," Keiko said in a flat tone. "I'm perfectly fine. I just took a bullet to the leg—it's merely a graze. I'll be fine in a few weeks."

"Then why are you in the hospital!?"

Keiko cringed at the volume and handed the phone over to Ryuzaki, who was now frowning his displeasure at the situation. "Because it isn't a mere graze; the muscle and nervous structures of her leg were partially obliterated."

"WHAT!?"

"Objection!" Keiko cried.

"Overruled," Ryuzaki returned flatly, if a little more sharply than necessary.

Keiko crossed her arms belligerently. "He exaggerates."

"She understates."

"Gimme that!" Mizuki snapped, leaning over Keiko to snatching the phone away. "Neither of them are right. Keiko just got a smallish, clean wound and it's healing at a good pace, but she'll be hospitalized for a week, and then have crutches for a few weeks after. The doctors say she'll heal completely, given time."

Keiko stuck her tongue out at Ryuzaki. "Fussbudget."

"Masochist," he whispered back testily.

They were both jerked out of their side conversation by Noburu's boisterous tone. "Indeed. Say hello to Sachiko and the kids for me, will ya?" he asked—or rather, bellowed—at the phone.

Again, there was a pause on Yagami's part. "Yes, I will."

"Thank you, Yagami-san," Ryuzaki said calmly.

"We'll see you later," Keiko said, falsely happy.

"Yes, good-bye."

Ryuzaki pocketed his phone. "Is that ample evidence, Ojiisan?"

Noburu was now smiling fit to burst. "Yes!" Keiko idly wondered why he was more willing to believe Soichiro Yagami than her, especially as Keiko obviously had more experience working with L, but she said nothing about this.

But after analyzing the expression on her grandfather's face, Keiko beckoned Mizuki forward and whispered to her, "Bet you ¥5,000 he wants to shake his hand."

He stepped forward to Ryuzaki, hand extended. "May I shake your hand?"

Keiko and Mizuki practically fell over, laughing uproariously. "I told you!" Keiko howled as Noburu and Ryuzaki shook hands.

"Mizuki, you don't seem at all surprised at this," Hideyoshi observed in a highly suspicious tone as he pointed at Keiko and Ryuzaki.

"Keiko told me when she last visited," she said, nonplused.

"What can I say? She drilled me," Keiko explained, "and I didn't have the heart to lie to my little sister when she guessed it. And since I was sworn to secrecy, I thought I probably shouldn't tell you all, since you didn't ask… but now that you're here, I figured that it was as good a time to learn as any."

Ryuzaki turned his face a few degrees toward the floor and looked a little miffed. "You could have told them."

Keiko didn't know what to think, at first, while gazing at his strange expression. She'd never seen Ryuzaki act like this before... but perhaps that was what it was: an act. It would explain things. And yet, the expression looked so real... She doubted her family would've noticed. Most of Ryuzaki's expressions looked the same, anyway. But Keiko gave a soft sigh and shrugged helplessly. "What was I to think? I promised five years ago I wouldn't, and again back in January."

A pause ensued, and finally, Hideyoshi broke the ice by looking up at Ryuzaki. "I must say, Ryuzaki-sama, it's an honor."

Keiko attempted to hide her smile with one hand as Ryuzaki, Hideyoshi, and Noburu began engaging in "detective-talk." They all stood and slowly meandered to the other side of the room to leave the women to talk amongst themselves. Chikako shook her head, smiling, and took Ryuzaki's vacated chair by her daughter's bedside. "Well, at least they like him," she said softly.

"Ha, yeah!" Keiko laughed. "That's an awfully nice bonus."

Mizuki giggled and leaned on the back of her mother's chair, brushing a lock of her long, silky hair behind an ear. "It's so exciting!! Have you moved in with him yet?"

Chikako balked at this statement. "Mizuki!"

Keiko giggled at this, however. "No, no. It's a bit early for anything like that…"

Mizuki looked slightly disappointed, to Keiko's extreme amusement. "Nothing's happened, huh? I'll give it a week once you're outta here," she mumbled.

"How long have you been dating?" Chikako asked, eyes wide with interest and accusation, no doubt sparked by Keiko's recent mention of things being "too early."

"Um… you're gonna hate this," Keiko said softly. "Four days shy of a month. But we've known each other for close to four years, we're with each other for at least eight hours a day, and we've been officially 'interested' since mid-April, though unofficially, that's been going on since… a year ago."

Chikako frowned at the description given, which sounded much more like a defensive statement than anything. "How… specific of you."

Keiko smiled. "Oh, it gets better. Ask Ryuu when we officially became a couple… and if you're really curious, ask him how. It's a funny story."

"Can't we ask you?" Mizuki queried, sitting on the bed next to her. "He's kind of occupied right now…"

Indeed, he was. A glance over showed him deep in conversation with Hideyoshi and Noburu, explaining something to them (but there was a telltale gleam in his eye that told Keiko he was playing his signature game of testing). "Hey, play nice, Ryuu!" she called to him. "Don't test them too much."

His invisible brows disappeared further into his shaggy hair. For a few seconds, he stared silently, unblinkingly, at Keiko, obviously a little thrown that she managed to uncover his ploy. She'd not been paying attention, a moment ago! "Do shut up," he finally said in a miffed tone as he chewed on his index fingernail.

Noburu didn't even try to hide his amusement, and bellowed, "Oh, that's my Keiko! Sharp as a tack."

"Yes, she is," Ryuzaki said with a strange look in her direction that made Keiko blush.

Mizuki giggled at that. "Oooh! Keiko's in lo-o-o-ove!" she sang softly, so that only Chikako and Keiko. "I've never seen you this taken with anyone before!"

"Just be careful," Chikako said in her worrying tone. "You've only been dating him for a month—not even! I don't want you to get hurt again."

Keiko fought to keep from cringing, instead, forcing her face to show only neutrality. Oh, dammit, Mom! Don't bring that up again…

.:FLASHBACK:.

Kenichi had been the best thing that had happened to Keiko. They'd been dating for almost two years and were now entering To-oh University together as the first and second-best students in the university and the nation. It was just before the start of freshman year… Keiko couldn't keep from smiling. Can things get any better? she wondered silently. I've got a steady, SMART boyfriend, I just graduated valedictorian of my high school, I'm going to a prestigious college… Things are looking good.

Until after the freshman orientation…

Keiko skipped out of the hall and into the bright sunlight, eyes scanning for the familiar, tall figure of her boyfriend. At last, she spotted him and trotted up behind him. "That was a great speech, Ken-chan!" she said with a big grin, but then, she stopped. Kenichi's arms were wrapped around the waist of another girl—Ayako-something, one of the top ten of Keiko's graduating class. "Ken…!?" she blurted out in surprise.

Kenichi turned to look down at his so-called girlfriend, and the look in his eyes was far from repentant. He didn't even try to lie his way out of it. He just glared down at her with cold condescension and a smug smirk. "Keiko, you're such a dumb bitch."

Kenichi, as it turned out, had been cheating on her for four months with this Ayako girl.

The shock was too much to bear in the moment—and in full public, no less! Keiko completely shattered right there. No rage was felt—only a blank, numb, incomprehension. "Oh… Forgive me, Kenichi." She bowed to him and walked away, like it was entirely her own fault. For the next few months, Keiko persisted in thinking that it was, of course, her fault! She was sixteen; he was eighteen. Was it because she was too young? Too immature? Not smart enough…? Not shapely enough…? Not feminine enough…? Not a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, like Ayako? Keiko was unable to place it.

Couldn't he have just told her before he'd started seeing Ayako? Maybe then, it wouldn't have been so crushing… at least Keiko wouldn't have been living a lie. Why did he have to break her heart…?

.:END FLASHBACK:.

Keiko winced inwardly at the memory but smiled at Chikako bracingly. "Mom, it'll be fine." Her tone was soft, reminded of her vow to never overestimate herself again. Quickly, she did a mental rundown of all her recent actions and words. Had she been too cocky, too confident lately?

Probably...

Keiko gulped back the bile that rose in her throat and stared down at her hands, twisting and twiddling restlessly in her lap.

"And if I'm any judge of character and behavior," Mizuki interjected, steering clear of dangerous waters, "he's as much in love with her as she is with him…"

"Howya figure?" Keiko asked. She couldn't resist the opportunity for proof of Ryuzaki's feelings from an outside source.

"Oh, just the way he sounded on the phone," she said lightly.

Keiko raised an eyebrow at her. "An act?"

"Are you kidding? He couldn't act to save his life." She straightened her posture a little self-importantly, and gave a tiny "hmph!" of arrogance. "I could tell after I talked with him last month on that oh-so-cute cell of yours."

Keiko grinned. "You are right." That is, when someone's really paying attention to HIM.

"Toldja so."

It was late in the afternoon. Keiko slept on her luxurious cot, dozing in a patch of sunlight that came from the window. Ryuzaki squatted on his chair, staring at her motionlessly. She looked so beautiful to him, lying there peacefully, despite her injury…

All afternoon, her family had been coming and going, talking with some of the other visitors that came, going down to the cafeteria every once in a while to get something to eat or drink… Currently, the only ones occupying the room were Keiko (who was asleep), Mizuki (who was engrossed in a magazine), and Ryuzaki, who was left to his own thoughts and devices. But Ryuzaki's mind was wandering... When will Keiko open up to me, willingly? Presently, she will only tell me anything if I pressure her, or if the object or circumstance in question is inconsequential.

Not that you have room to talk.

I have an excuse. If she, too, has one, then she has yet to explain it.

Hmm... you could manipulate or blackmail her into saying certain things, if you wished.

I'd rather not. Keiko would not agree to that, and it might discourage her from continuing our relationship.

God, she's beautiful...

"Ryuzaki-kun," Mizuki said slowly, jerking him out of his reverie, "you seem pensive, lost in your thoughts."

Ryuzaki adjusted himself. "M'yes, I suppose I am."

"Care to enlighten me?"

He paused. Was he going to tell her that he was completely head-over-heels for her sister? That he wished to know more about Keiko, but was unsure of how to go about doing so?

Finally, he relented. "Mizuki-chan… I am in need of advice. I admit that I do not know much about Keiko yet. I find myself wanting to know more about her." Her childhood, her favorite school subject, whom she admires most, her favorite food, favorite place to be—

"Get her daffodils. Yellow and orange daffodils and some champagne."

Ryuzaki treated her to a blank look that prompted her to explain.

Mizuki giggled at her. "Oh, geez, you're so easy to read! Are you kidding me?" She laughed again, and he tilted his head, slightly perturbed at her reaction to his expression. Just like Keiko… "You obviously want to get closer to her, but don't know how. Am I right?"

"Yes…"

Mizuki tossed her head to remove a few strands of hair from her line of vision. "Okay. Keiko can be an idiot sometimes. She tries to think of herself as unimportant, but at the same time, she wants to make people happy, make them laugh, and so she knows she's got some kind of purpose in the world. However, she doesn't like opening up to people because she's afraid of being rejected. She's been rejected before, you know. Back in college, there was this one jerk…" Mizuki sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. Her expression grew dark at the memory. "He broke her heart. And it's kind of been ever since then that she's struggled with liking herself, or rather, believing that others beyond our family actually like her. That's kind of why she hates opening up, and why she likes being independent. If she's self-sufficient, she tells herself, then she's okay. She doesn't need anyone's love, and no one has to feel compelled to love her back or take care of her, either. She can't be abandoned or lied to, that way."

Ryuzaki mulled this over. That made several things fall into place. He began chewing his thumbnail. "No one has to feel compelled to love her back or take care of her." Keiko, what if I want to? She hasn't stopped to think about that…

At that moment, Keiko stirred. Ryuzaki momentarily tensed up, not wanting her to hear the content of the tête-à-tête between himself and her sister, but when she didn't move further, he relaxed. Mizuki smiled at her sleeping sister. "It's good she's getting some rest. She never gets enough sleep. Of course," she said, looking over at Ryuzaki, "neither do you, by the looks of things…"

When Ryuzaki didn't say anything, Mizuki continued. "I also heard about the whole lie detector episode…" That explained a lot. "That was a good start on your part. You've made her feel unconsciously closer to you. But you're rushing in too quickly. You both know how to read one another's basic thoughts, but you don't know much about each other's personal histories, why you've come to be the way you are. And of course that would be a pressing problem for you: getting to know her better… especially with Keiko being Keiko. But I suggest you ask her, not me. She wouldn't like it if you just knew things out of the blue. I'll just tell you how to soften her up a tad."

A minimal frown crossed his features and he shifted in his chair. "Daffodils and champagne, you say?"

Mizuki nodded. "Daffodils are her favorite flower, and you probably know that she likes alcohol, but she also likes fancy things. She'd probably never tell you that out loud for fear of sounding too frivolous and too… girly. She hates being classified as girly."

"I've noticed that," Ryuzaki admitted with a hint of vague amusement. "Then… how should I approach her about this?"

"I'll leave that to you," she said. Ryuzaki blinked again. "She's your girlfriend, and if you can't figure out how to ask her a few simple questions, then you're not fit to be with her."

Well, Mizuki was right about that. "Thank you, Mizuki-chan."

"No prob."

Meanwhile, Keiko fought to keep a straight face. Ryuzaki is so cute! she thought to herself. A part of her wanted to make things difficult by not answering anything he asked and playing hard-to-get, but Keiko decided that was a bit too cruel. Ryuzaki wasn't such a romantic, and he really was starting to actually worry about how he appeared to her, unlike the old, uncaring Ryuzaki she used to know—the one who didn't give a whit as to how others, including Keiko, viewed him and his opinions. But now… he was trying to impress her, trying to find out more about her...? Slightly out of left field, but adorable, nonetheless.

And then, Keiko had to wonder if Mizuki knew she wasn't asleep and was telling Ryuzaki to "find out for himself" because of that. Mizuki would've spilled a few details, at least, if Keiko wasn't around at all. Ha, she knows me so well.

Keiko weighed her options. Well, I suppose I could spare Ryuu the trouble… So she rolled over and looked at him, smiling crookedly. "My favorite subject in school was lunch, if you wanna know." Even though he probably could care less…

YOU IDIOT!! Don't start that again! You just heard him, didn't you? Aren't you just scared to believe that someone might actually want to be with you? The guy freaking loves you!

He… loves… Do I dare hope that?

YES!! He cares!! Just believe it! We're not dealing with Kenichi, here… just let it go. It's in the past.

…All right. Carefully… I don't want… to be rejected… again…

Ryuzaki froze and stared at Keiko, but he composed himself, and comprehension dawned on him as he realized that Mizuki had, in a way, set this up. Then, he frowned. "Lunch does not count as an official subject."

Keiko grinned. "French class, then."

"Much better."

Mizuki fought to hide her smile and stood up. "Oh, gosh—I'm getting a text. I'll see you guys."

Keiko's gaze followed her. " 'Liar, liar, plants for hire.'"

She turned around to grin at her sister. " 'It's "pants on fire," Patrick.'"

" 'You would know… liar.'" (1)

She laughed and shut the door behind her. "Later."

(1—I love Spongebob. X3)

All right, so this chapter was a bit more sappy and angsty. I couldn't help it. It just makes sense. Next chapter continues the non-DN storyline, but it's during the 50 days!! Gimme a break!! I've got BIG things planned, and most of them before the 50 days of Light's confinement are up...