Disclaimer: As far as ownership goes, my rights extend only to Keiko and my OCs. I don't own Death Note.

EDITED!! NOW IN 3rd PERSON POV!!

CHAPTER 38 - MEMORIES IN THE RAIN

A few days later…

Keiko wasn't happy. Well, that stood to reason. She was in the process of eviction, after all… But another contributing factor to her unhappiness was Amy. Oooh, Amy… The little (okay, not so little…) jerk-face who kept trying to steal Ryuzaki's attentions! Didn't she understand anything? Keiko loved Ryuzaki and he loved her back, and there was no room for a third party. The concept didn't seem to be able to penetrate her brain.

Finally, whilst the guys were all moving Keiko's things (and Ryuzaki was back at his hotel monitoring the Kira suspects), Keiko and Amy were alone in the near-empty apartment. The question had been gnawing at Keiko for days, and she had to get it off your chest. She turned to her sometime-friend and asked her, "Hey, Amy-chan, I know this might seem really… insensitive, but I have to know. What is your relationship with Ryuzaki?"

Amy blinked at her and tilted her head askance. "Whatever do you mean?"

Keiko stared at her big, innocent-seeming eyes, refusing to be fooled. "Oh, stop beating around the bush! Ever since I met you, you've been trying to steal Ryuzaki from me, flirting around him and all… Frankly, it's annoying."

She snorted. "That's putting it mildly, I must say."

Keiko's jaw dropped. "What!? Why do you do it, then? If you've noticed my irritation, why do… Ugh! Okay—what do you want him to be to you, perhaps? Answer me that."

At this, the young thief softened. "I really do like him, and I know we could probably never be anything, but… there's the dream of it. He's so CUTE!! I love his little quirks, his messy hair, and the way he talks… And it never ceases to amaze me how smart he is… And he's always polite to me… He always has been. He's been my friend for a very long time, now…"

Keiko glanced at her sideways. "How long is 'long'?"

She grinned. "Since we were in that orphanage in Hokkaido together. A year later, we were both admitted to Wammy's House… And for a few months, we were the only ones who'd even speak to one another. The kids at Wammy's might be smart, but they aren't always the most socially inclined. I've kind of had a crush on him since I was ten or eleven," she admitted softly, staring at the wood floor. "And… a year after that, he left to become the famous detective L. I was devastated… but I learned to live with it. After all," she added with a touch of bitterness, "he was seventeen and I was twelve. And three years later, I ran away. With no money and no family, I was forced to live on the streets or go back to the orphanage, and I didn't want to be back there. Kids would make fun of me for the color of my hair, or how I always seemed depressed since L left. They teased me about liking him, which didn't help matters any…"

Keiko stopped her. "Hold up a second—your hair color? Red's not that unnatural…"

Amy smirked bitterly. "My real hair color's white. My eyes are red. What you see are just contacts and hair dye…"

Keiko raised her eyebrows. "Are you albino or something?"

She nodded. "And colored lotions help with my skin color, too, so I don't look like such a ghost."

I'll bet she'd look even more stunning as her normal self, Keiko thought silently. And… I recognize in her the same need for acceptance that I have… Maybe if I can convince her to stop hiding behind a mask, she'll see herself better, and the others will accept her, too…

But that made her pause. Was this the sort of thing Ryuzaki had been trying to tell her all along, that she was special and should try to stop hiding behind a mask? The thought made Keiko's head spin. That can't be right. Amy's obviously very talented and beautiful and… well… so freaking perfect!! WHY does my competition have to be so danged FLAWLESS!?

Don't you dare let Ryuzaki catch you thinking that way. He'd have a cow.

I'll deal with you later, stupid other half of me!! It dawned on Keiko then how utterly absurd her thoughts were…

"Anyway," Amy continued, "about a year after I ran away, I got caught up in a huge drug ring scandal. I got hired by some guy to steal a porcelain doll from someone, and I just assumed that it was a very valuable doll, like something made in the 19th century or something. But no, the doll was stuffed with packets of heroin and cocaine, and the police caught me with it. But… that's when L came and 'saved' me, if you could call it that. Since I pointed to the culprits of the drug ring, I was offered amnesty, and Watari took me to L. He talked to me, told me he was disappointed in me… Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't say more than he did, but I think he understood what I was thinking. I was desperate. I didn't want to go back and be teased so much, and I'd finally found a home on the streets of London, with a bunch of other street rats like myself. Soon, I was the leader of my own gang of sorts, but we'd only steal from people who could afford it, and only when we needed it. That's where I met Juro. His real name's Percy, if you'll believe it."

Keiko laughed at that. "Juro!? Oh, geez, I can't even imagine him being a Percy!"

Amy giggled. "It gets worse—Percy Fitzhugh Rollins."

At this, Keiko couldn't help but gawk. "No freaking way!!"

She, too, was grinning. "Yeah! And he's a natural albino… perhaps that's why we grew so close. We both understood the ridicule the other had experienced, and we vowed to protect one another for as long as we were together."

Could it be possible that she's got feelings for Juro, but doesn't realize it yet? Keiko wondered. I mean, look at how devoted they are to one another… But she didn't say a word about this aloud. "Wow… How long have you known him?"

"Over three years," she said with a shrug. "He's like my older brother… He's twenty-one, you know."

Keiko nodded, but smirked inwardly. Sounds to me like she's almost pointing out that of COURSE she could never be with him, cuz he's too old for her! Ha, and L's three years older than Juro... But Juro's only two years her senior, and they're so close already…

Dang, if only Amy knew how defensive she sounded, pointing out his age!

And it sounds more like she's in love with the IDEA of Ryuzaki rather than Ryuzaki himself, someone smarter, protective, and quirky… And an old friend she already knows…

Funny thing is, Juro's got many of the same qualities. He's very smart, he's protective (at least, of Amy), and he's got quirks of his own—like the way he'll move his head about and lick his lips when he's off in his own world, or how he's got a tendency to chew on the inside of his cheek when he's thinking, or the way he crosses his arms and shuffles his feet around when he's trying to pretend he's not mad… The way he always tosses his hair from his face… Tell me those aren't quirks!! Just… not as pronounced as Ryuzaki's.

And Juro's more apt to fully understand Amy—to fully WANT to understand her—than Ryuzaki ever will be. She and Juro have gone through the same hardships together, and survived. Ryuzaki… can't ever understand that. Not to the extent that Amy or Juro can. And Juro already accepts her… Ryuzaki is justice personified, even if he is practically a kid. And Juro… he's like fairness personified. He sees need and takes action. Ryuzaki sees deeds and takes action. Emotion versus fact; family versus society. Juro may be nobler, but L is bound to be unbiased, unlike Juro. That's why Amy can't ever be with L…

Amy sighed slowly and echoed Keiko's thoughts. "But I guess Ryuzaki and I can never be…"

Keiko shook her head resolutely. "Not as long as he's with me, you can't. I may not mind sharing some things, but Ryuzaki is not one of them."

Amy smirked at that. "I guess you're right…"

Composing herself, Keiko looked at Amy and smiled faintly. "Thanks for telling me. Now, can I ask you something else? A favor…?"

Amy raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Will you PLEASE stop hitting on my boyfriend?"

The thief smirked. "Sure… I guess."

Keiko scowled. "And I realize that his reactions—or lack thereof—are hilarious, but that is no excuse! If you flirt with Ryuzaki, I will flirt with Juro-kun. End of story. Not happy, call our 24-hour comments hotline: 1-800-I-DON'T-GIVE-A-CRAP."

Amy rolled her eyes carelessly, but Keiko caught a quick second of wary panic in her eyes… Operation Matchmaker—Phase One complete.

Just across Tokyo...

L sat at his computer unblinkingly, unseeingly. His mind was in a completely different world, one where it was just him and Keiko and Watari, the only other people for whom he had any real affection in this world… well, excepting Sarah, but in a sense, she didn't exist anymore. That was long ago… like his parents. That very night, Keiko would be coming to stay at the hotel with him. There had been some unspoken agreement between them that this was to be rather close to the time a few months prior, wherein Keiko had stayed with him after her electricity had been shut off. (Being the antisocial being he was, the concept of moving in together, unlike the definition of it for the rest of the world, didn't have the slightest sexual ring to it. He'd just assumed that Keiko would now sleep in his unused bed and that he would be with her almost all hours of the day.)

But that morning, Matsuda had made some comment that had confused him...

.:FLASHBACK:.

"Sooo, Ryuzaki," Matsuda grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "You and Keiko are moving in together."

L stared back at him blankly for several seconds before finally responding with, "You seem to wish to say something else in conjunction with the matter."

Matsuda frowned at him. "So doesn't that mean that you're... gonna... y'know..."

Apparently, Matsuda had yet to realize that L was not clairvoyant, merely highly intelligent. L, with his good intentions, had not even thought of the possibility of deepening his physical relationship with Keiko through something like sex. "Matsuda, if you are going to continue to dance around the subject, then I'm afraid you will be disappointed in my responses. What, precisely, are you trying to insinuate?"

Of course, it may not have been simply a lack of social skills as a lack of knowledge about the ways of the world.

Matsuda's eyes widened for a moment and he scratched the back of his head. "Uh... aren't you two sleeping together?"

"Mm, not exactly. Tell me, do my eyes look like those of a man's who typically spends time sleeping...?"

"No, no... I mean... well..." Matsuda cleared his throat and flushed just faintly pink. He'd thought that L would've been at least more knowledgeable about common colloquialisms than this! It wouldn't have been so embarrassing if he hadn't had to spell it out for one of the most brilliant minds on the planet. However, L's piercing gaze and haughty demeanor left poor Matsuda no room to gloat over knowing something that L didn't. "Aren't you guys... having sex?"

L froze up. His eyes grew just slightly wider as he stared at the television monitor displaying Light, Misa, and Yagami. A long silence ensued before he finally had the nerve to lift his teacup to his lips to consume some of the comforting liquid. "If we were, do you think that I would be likely to give that information away? However, to clear up this little suspicion, no, we are not. By our moving in together, I am providing Keiko with shelter and food; that is all."

"Oh..." Matsuda looked rather disappointed, but that could've been the result of conversation itself and not its content—after all, L was not the easiest person to talk to, not if he didn't want to talk, anyway. "Sorry... I, ah... I guess... never mind. Sorry!" Matsuda was gone in a hurry.

If L was prone to showing his emotions, he would've frowned deeply. As it was, his face remained impassive as he continued to monitor the Kira suspects. His thoughts remained on his conversation with Matsuda. Am I supposed to... sleep with, have sex with, Keiko? Is this some kind of social expectation that she has? Does Keiko expect me to have sex with her now that we're moving in together?

He wasn't sure. But he knew there was one person he could ask about it...

.:END FLASHBACK:.

L sighed. "Watari," he said softly, "answer me something?"

Watari looked over from the other side of the room. He'd been filing papers and organizing the mess L had left. "Yes, sir?"

"Why is there such a thing as love in this world?" The detective sighed. "It's infuriating, knowing that now, if anything happened to Keiko, I won't function properly for months—perhaps for life. Why is her smile the most important thing to me? Why is my mind wandering to her all the time? It's completely irrational. It's as though I'm no longer L, or Coil, or Deneuve… I'm just L Lawliet… And suddenly, that's all I've ever wanted to be."

Watari patiently heard all of L's speech, listening to the distinct note of solemnity in his voice, mulling over the words of his young charge in his head. "I'm sure you've learned that fame and fortune bring no happiness."

"I care not for those things, Watari. I am L because I solve cases."

Watari nodded. "Yes. My point is that only other humans can truly bring any sort of joy that lasts longer than a few minutes. If you wonder why you love her smile, it's because you want to see her happiness above your own. It's because you love her. She makes you happy, and that is also why you strive to merely be yourself around her, rather than a famous detective."

"I feel as though I would jump off of the Empire State Building if she gave the slightest implication that doing so would please her," L said quietly, furiously biting down on his thumbnail. "It's so irrational! It's maddening… and simultaneously the best thing that's ever happened to me… Why can't I figure this out?"

"Because it's impossible," Watari said simply. He slowly walked over to face L and sat down on the couch across from him. "L, no man has ever figured out why we humans love anything at all, so when two people love each other, it becomes even more unpredictable. We find ourselves wondering more about what the other person would like rather than attempting to satisfy our own desires." Watari gave the ghost of a smile, making L tilt his head and bite his thumb furiously.

For several moments, neither said anything. Finally, as Watari was about to stand and leave, L began to speak again. "Is there a typical expectation hinged onto the concept of moving in together?"

Watari blinked and paused to try and explain in a dignified manner. Trust L to be completely nonchalant about the topic of sex, at least, as an abstract concept. "If by expectation you mean... sexual intercourse... then, yes, there is that implication. I am not sure about any expectation unless it has already been discussed by the two parties concerned." It was obvious that the young detective's thoughts were centered on Keiko and what she might think.

"Mm."

"May I ask why this crossed your mind?"

L tilted his head back to stare with disinterest at the ceiling as he tugged at his lower lip. "Something Matsuda-san said."

Watari stood and silently resumed his organizing, leaving L to just sit there and stew.

Finally, he had an idea. His hands hovered over the keyboard… but he stopped. No, she'd like a hand-written note better, he thought to himself, and got up to search for a notepad. Who knew that there was none to be had? Grumbling about how he had untold piles of cash and not a single notepad to his name, he made do with a sheet of blank printer paper and began to write with a simple ink pen.

Close to an hour later, he folded up his work and wrote Keiko's name on it in his jerky, staccato hand. He would leave it for her to find it somewhere—somewhere where he wouldn't have to watch her reaction. He didn't think he could stand it…

The next day, June 17, 2004

…

Keiko awoke on her own, as usual, but beneath the covers of a hotel bed. Her apartment was entirely abandoned by this point, and she was now comfortably lodged in L's expansive suite.

As Keiko flipped over to switch off the alarm clock, her fingers met paper instead of plastic. She frowned and groped for the clock itself. SHUT UP, you piece of junk!! Finally, she succeeded in unplugging the clock (as the button was unable to be located) and grabbed the paper. "What's this…?" she mumbled hoarsely as she opened it.

Keiko—

I love you. It occurred to me that, as the object of my affection, you are entitled to share this knowledge.

Please enjoy the cake. I checked all the expiration dates on the ingredients; therefore, nothing should go amiss in the way of food poisoning.

—L

Keiko smiled broadly at the letter—it was so sweet!! Suddenly, she was over the moon, and the day had hardly started! If things kept on like this, it was going to be the best birthday ever.

Oh, cake! Keiko looked up at the desk and saw a large, chocolated-iced cake sitting beside her laptop, which was open and on. But she'd not left it on… Curiously, she levered herself out of bed with her crutches and hopped over to jiggle the mouse. The screen saver disappeared, revealing a new background on her desktop done in MS Paint (rather sloppily created, she noticed). However, the gesture was truly adorable. It read "Happy Birthday, Keiko!" in bright kanji letters, adorned with spray paint effects and what appeared to be balloons. THAT'S SO KAWAII!! Keiko squealed in her mind. But her attention turned to the cake. A fork lay nearby, with which she could consume said confection. A single bite told her that it was delicious. The strawberry flavor filled her mouth with its mild taste, and the smooth chocolate icing was a nice compliment.

Happily, Keiko abandoned her cake and letter to enter the bathroom, where she showered and performed her typical morning routine with considerably more cheer than normal; after this, she dressed, carefully picked up the cake, and hobbled out to the main room without the aid of the crutches. Ryuzaki was waiting on the couch, perched at his laptop, working away. He was talking to someone as L, so Keiko remained silent, making sure not to disturb him. He saw her and acknowledged her presence with a small flick of his hand as he continued to speak into his microphone without missing a beat. Keiko rolled her eyes and stood there, eating forkfuls of cake. In a few short minutes, however, he wrapped up his conversation with whomever he'd been speaking, and turned to her. "Happy birthday," he said with his adorable, rare smile. "I would mention your obvious lack of crutches, but you would not use them if I asked, anyway."

"Not right now, no." Keiko practically beamed at him. "I don't even know what to say! Thank you, Ryuzaki!"

"You're entirely welcome," came the response, and he shuffled over to properly greet her. "Does the cake taste all right?"

"It's delicious," she informed him as he removed his hands from his pockets to wrap his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Have a bite." She shoveled a liberal amount onto her fork and offered it to him. He craned his head across her shoulder and ate it, mmming with evident approval.

"Are… you really going to eat it all?" he wondered hesitantly.

Keiko laughed out loud. "No, probably not… Get another fork and we'll share it."

"Arigato," he whispered in her ear before disappearing to retrieve another fork.

"Isn't making cake a little out of character for you?" Keiko called to him.

He tilted his head askance. "Perhaps… However, it is a birthday present, so ignore the fact that it is out of character and just accept it."

They both sat down on the couch and proceeded to share the cake. While not fancy, it was good… and apparently, it met Ryuzaki's own standards, which said a lot. Keiko had seen him throw out cakes before because he claimed that they didn't taste right.

After a while, Keiko began to wonder why the task force wasn't present. "I told them to take the day off," Ryuzaki responded, making her stare at him in open surprise. "It is a holiday," he said simply.

Keiko rolled her eyes. "Geez, Ryuzaki! I doubt that the Japanese government would really make my birthday a holiday."

"Mm, no… but I might declare it a holiday in my own book."

"You do that," Keiko said dryly, laughing mirthlessly around a bite of cake. "I doubt too many people would care."

There was a knock on the door.

"I take it that means that someone cares—besides me," Ryuzaki said then. "It's open," he called.

Her curiosity rose. It's already open? So, he'd been expecting someone, had he…? Hm…

At the door was Amy. She came bounding in and hugged Keiko tightly. "Oh, happy birthday, Keiko-chan!" she cried with a squeal. "Come on! Let's go shopping!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold your horses, Amy-chan!" Keiko laughed, pulling back. "Slow down and explain, please."

She sat down in the armchair across from them, totally ignoring Ryuzaki. That made Keiko smile inwardly, as it meant she was sticking to her word. "Okay, it's your birthday," she said, slowing her voice wa-a-a-ay down, "so I'm going to take you on a shopping spree. Is that okay?"

Keiko turned her gaze to Ryuzaki, who gave an infinitesimal nod, indicating that he had not planned anything in particular that would conflict with such an outing. Keiko turned back to Amy and shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Awesome! Another girls' day out!"

Keiko grinned and stood. "Here, let me change into something more presentable. I don't want to look like a total frump."

"Could've fooled me," Ryuzaki muttered for her benefit.

Keiko smacked his arm playfully. "Shut up! Just for that, I think I'll really dress up."

"That's the spirit!" Amy cheered. "Here, let me help!"

Amy helped Keiko pick out some clothes and fix her hair, and Keiko swiftly applied a few touches of eye liner, mascara, and lip gloss before heading out into the living room. Her ensemble consisted of a pair of ripped jeans, a form-fitting black tank top under an army-green denim jacket, a pair of dangly old-gold earrings and a set of matching bracelets. Keiko grinned broadly as Ryuzaki's eyes surveyed her form with utmost interest. He swallowed his cake and stood to bid her a proper goodbye.

"See you later, Ryuu," she said, giving him a quick kiss.

"One moment," he said, stopping her. His voice dropped to a low whisper. "The task force has planned a birthday party for you at six, so be back by then." He gave her another quick kiss on the cheek.

"Sure thing," Keiko returned with a smile, grabbing her purse as she headed for the door.

"Have a good day, tenshi," he added belatedly, sitting down on the couch to finish up the cake.

So Keiko and Amy went out shopping at Shinjuku (taking it slow, due to Keiko's still-present and still-painful injury—she was still on crutches, after all). Their first destination was a Starbucks, where they could sit down, relax for a moment with some coffee, and come up with a game plan for the day. However, upon paying for her iced mocha latte, Keiko discovered a rather foreign credit card amongst her own plastic. She frowned after handing the cashier a five thousand yen bill, and scrutinized the small Post-It flag that was attached. "Happy b-day. ¥5,000,000 limit on card; have fun. –L" (1)

Keiko was nothing short of astonished. "Holy gee-whiz! He doesn't think I'll really spend that much, does he?" she gasped aloud.

"What?" Amy asked, stepping over to peer at the card. "NO WAY!! Oh my gosh, you're so lucky to have a rich boyfriend…"

"I guess so…" Keiko was thrown. She had never expected such a move on his part… not that it bothered her; it was just… surprising! She'd never mentioned anything about Ryuzaki's money, mostly because she really didn't care… Ryuzaki would've meant the world to her even if he was dirt poor, though she couldn't have teased him so much about expensive tea-cakes and high-class hotel suites.

So the next five or six hours were spent by Keiko and Amy running all over Tokyo, buying things that struck their fancy without regard to price. What did it matter when they had five million yen? Their purchases were ordered to be shipped back to the hotel for Keiko (and Amy's apartment, in her case). Both felt rich and important—on top of the world. They even went to an arcade later on, and blew a few thousand yen there on ski-ball, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Whack-A-Mole, and the like (Keiko was disappointed about the lack of DDR due to her injury, but said nothing). It was a fine time, and both wer laughing up a storm at each other's carefree jokes and hilarious antics. Around four-thirty, Keiko began to grow rather tired, and they both decided to call it a day…

But Amy wanted to show her something else.

"Come with me!" she said happily. "I want to show you my apartment!"

Keiko stopped. "I don't know, Amy-chan. I mean, I'm not sure we can make it back to the hotel in time for the party…"

"Oh, it's your birthday," she insisted. "They'll be obliged to put up with whatever the heck you want. Who cares if you're a few minutes late? Besides, I can lend you that really cute jacket you wanted to borrow… And I have a present for you back there! Ple-e-e-e-ease?"

Keiko thought about it for a while. "Yeah, I guess… just give me a second; I'll have to call Ryuzaki and tell him I'll be late." She whipped out her familiar green cell phone and called Ryuzaki, who answered on the second ring. "Hey, Ryuu!" she greeted cheerily.

"Are you having a good time?"

"Oh, yeah," Keiko assured him. "A blast. Thank you so much, by the way, for the credit card! You're freaking crazy, you know that?"

"Well, I prefer to think of it as merely extreme, but I'll make allowances, since it is a holiday."

Keiko rolled her eyes. "There you go with that 'holiday' thing again. Well, since you said you'd make allowances, perhaps you could make one more…?"

"And what is that?"

"Well, Amy-chan wants to take me over to her apartment for a bit so I can borrow some stuff and she says she's got something for me over there, and I might not be able to get back until a little bit after six… Is that okay? I'll probably only be ten or fifteen minutes late; she only lives in Ichigaya." (2)

There was a slight pause and Keiko thought she heard something vague in the background, but that may have been Ryuzaki tugging at his lip. "Things won't go drastically awry, no…"

"You sure?"

"One hundred percent positive."

"Thank you, Ryuu!" Keiko said happily. "I'll be there as soon as I can be! I love you."

"Yes, I love you, tenshi."

Keiko grinned irrepressibly and blushed like a tomato. "Bye!"

"Goodbye."

She hung up and turned back to Amy, who asked if everything was okay, that Keiko looked kind of weird.

"Well, for a moment," Keiko mused, "I thought Ryuzaki wasn't alone, and I wondered if someone else was there, but then, he called me 'tenshi,' which he only ever does if no one else can hear, so…" She shook her head. "It's probably only Watari or something."

Amy scoffed. "You can't think Ryuzaki would be dumb enough to invite some other girl over, and on your birthday, no less?"

"I wasn't even thinking of that."

Amy grinned. "Come on. It's fine. Maybe it's one of the task-force members putting up balloons or something ahead of time."

"Yeah, you're right." Keiko smiled slightly and nodded. "I'm just paranoid. He sounded kind of funny, was all."

It took two different trains to get to Amy's district, and finally, they got in the elevator to her fifth floor apartment that she shared with Juro (with two distinctly separate and sacred bedrooms, of course). The place wasn't junky, but neither was it Buckingham Palace. It was, well, a happy medium.

Amy opened the door for Keiko, who swung herself in on her crutches. "Hey, make yourself at home."

The door shut behind her, and as Keiko turned to see the apartment itself, she was met with a few loud shouts of "Surprise!!"

Keiko practically jumped and gave a yelp as she lost her balance and fell back into Amy. "GEEZ!! What the heck...!?"

Amy helped Keiko right herself and Mizuki ran over to hug her sister tightly. "Happy birthday, Keiko!"

But Keiko's heart was still pounding as she saw all who were present. There was Mizuki, Matsuda, Aizawa, Mogi, Kohaku Mizushima, Sayu Yagami, Juro, her parents and grandfather, and… Keiko looked over in the corner and saw the perpetrator, Ryuzaki, standing there, hunched over, hands shoved into his pockets, as usual. "Oh my gosh…" Keiko murmured, laughing. "This is the first time anyone's ever given me a surprise party…!"

"Blame Ryuzaki-kun," said Juro with a grin and a shrug, gesturing to the slouching detective. "It was his idea."

"But Amy-chan did most of the work," Ryuzaki said quietly, shuffling his feet. He obviously didn't like the direct limelight.

"Well, gosh, thank you all!" Keiko said with a grin as she exchanged hugs with her family. "This is great…"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get all sappy on us, Psycho-chan," said Kohaku. Keiko looked at him and grinned. This was her old buddy Kohaku, not the strange guy who'd attempted to romance her.

"Nice to see you back, Kohaku-kun," she greeted him with a big smile, punching him playfully in the shoulder (balanced precariously on one foot).

His returning grin lit up his face. "Good to be back, Psycho."

(1—¥5,000,000 is very roughly equal to $50,000.)

(2—Ichigaya is one of the "cities" within the Shinjuku district of Tokyo.)

Some more fluff-tastic goodness. And yes, Kohaku is back!! He'll be making more appearances throughout the story, as will Mizuki. Well, anyway, I hope you all liked!!