Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.


CHAPTER 52 - "CHARADES" or "MATSU-MISA"


You sighed as you lay back on your bed, feeling utterly useless. Ryuzaki had given you leave to do whatever you felt like, between working and relaxing, so long as you didn't leave HQ (not wanting you to do "something rash or impulsive" or risking possible danger). However, you were thinking… I'm still not showing yet, nor have I made any personal enemies lately, so why can't I go outside? Walking never hurt anybody, even a pregnant mother who's almost four months along.

Has it really been four months…?

It can't be, can it? Freaky…

A glance at the clock told you that Mogi would be leaving soon to run the once-a-fortnight errands, which mostly consisted of grocery shopping. You hurried downstairs and to the main room, where you slid in on your socks, almost falling over (Matsuda caught you before you hit the floor). Ryuzaki did not like this at all, and made everyone present aware of this fact. "Keiko, please watch where you're going!" He pulled a moody face and his grip on his kneecaps tightened.

"Oh…" you said, frustrated, thinking that if he was going to be more obvious about your condition, he may as well shout to the world that you were carrying his child. "I just wanted to ask, why can't I go outside to do the errands? I can't do anything else (or you won't let me)… And I'm sick of being useless!"

"Join the club," muttered Matsuda. "If I wore a disguise, could I go, too?"

Wow, you thought with a nod of approval, that was a nice insight on Matsuda's part…

There was a long pause. Light looked curiously at Ryuzaki, one brow raised. "Well…?"

"Come, now, Ryuzaki," said Yagami. "I don't particularly like running the errands, and neither does Mogi, even if he won't say anything. And Matsuda and Keiko-chan need something to do," he insisted. "They're bored to death."

"Ha, haha," you laughed forcefully.

"Perhaps I shouldn't use that phrase anymore," he agreed with a half-smile.

Ryuzaki sighed at length. "I suppose. Make sure you are unrecognizable, Matsuda-san. And please, keep Keiko from accidentally killing herself."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," you muttered. "I know I can be clumsy, but what are the odds that something is going to happen to me, or that Kira will know of our relationship, or my being on the task force? Well, ex-task force…"

"Less than one percent," he shot back, "but still, there is a chance, and I don't like that." Ryuzaki turned back to his screen and plate of cake. "Mogi-san has the shopping list."

"YESSS!" you cried. "ARI-FREAKING-GATO!" (Ryuzaki rolled his eyes at this.)

"Hallelujah!" shouted Matsuda, giving you a hug. You laughed, hugging him back—what could you say? You were both extremely happy that you were being let out of the house (or parking garage-wannabe building).


Twenty-five minutes later, you were out on the streets of Tokyo, heading for the supermarket. "Matsuda-kun, you look hilarious like that," you said with a grin, looking at him sideways. "The soul patch is a nice touch." He was wearing the same outfit you'd seen him wearing a week previously: a pair of plastic-framed glasses with yellow lenses, a bright green sock hat (out of which stuck a fringe of his black hair), and casual—but somewhat gothic in style and color—street clothes. To top it all off, a fake soul patch beneath his lip and a silver lip ring. Apparently, Ryuzaki hadn't wanted Misa's manager to be seen with you—you might be connected to "Taro Matsui" and trouble might come of it later… (You'd scoffed at Ryuzaki, calling him a pedantic worrywart, but Matsuda finally agreed to disguise himself in the end.)

"Meh," he said with a half-grimace. "You don't have to use the '-kun' part. I don't like having to hide the fact that I'm me. It's no fun. And then, I'm so useless at HQ… what am I supposed to do?"

You sighed. "I know the feeling. I'm feeling pretty useless, too… But you're Misa's manager! At least you can do something!"

"But you're so smart!" cried Matsuda. "Ryuzaki obviously thinks you're useful."

"At first, I was, but I'm no good until I have solid leads—or I'm a spy. As a spy, I can get close to people and observe their reactions pretty well… and since Light-kun apparently ISN'T Kira," you said with a doubtful tone, "I'm good for very little. And I can't just waltz into Yotsuba and get a job as a secretary because Ryuu would start griping about how I'm putting myself in unnecessary danger, and blah, blah, blah. I'm lucky I got out to do the damn shopping, which is really quite sad. He's turning into an overprotective ass."

"Yeah," said Matsuda sadly. "I guess so. Maybe we could play cards with Misa-Misa all day tomorrow," he suggested with a laugh. "That'll be useful—we'll keep her off Light's back."

You laughed, too. "Ha—let's do it." After a second, a thought came to you. "We're basically surviving off frozen TV dinners and cake, right?" (A/N: Remember that Light still doesn't know who Watari is, so he's not there to fix the meals...)

"Yeah. Why?"

"Why don't we buy real ingredients, so I can cook fresh stuff for everyone? You can help, too. And I'm sure the others will appreciate it more, having home-cooked meals. At the least, it'll give us something to do."

Matsuda seemed to light up. "Okay. It's so much better than nothing."

"We'll have to revamp the list, though… Here. Let's sit down." You sat down on a nearby bench, where you made up a list of ingredients you might need for various recipes, most of which were suggested by Matsuda, then headed to the supermarket.

At the supermarket, you collected the necessary groceries, enjoying every moment of it (sadly). You and Matsuda made it a race to see who could collect their half of the grocery list the fastest. Every time you saw him, you laughed and charged to cut him off with your cart. At one point, you actually were able to steal an item from his cart, enabling you to win in the end. Matsuda stood leaning against his cart casually—cockily—by the checkout, waiting for you. "I win!" he said with a grin.

"Think again, Matsuda," you said, laughing, holding up a bag of green peppers. "Haha! You don't have all the veggies, do you?"

He checked his cart, which was void of rice. "Ah! That's not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war—war, in this case." You grinned at him. "Hey, I still have a few more things to get after this. Wanna grab a bite somewhere after that?"

"Sure thing!"

You both checked out and asked to have them delivered to Yagami's place, where he would then collect them and bring them to HQ, and left for the streets once more. "Okay," you said, checking your own list. "There was a bakery I saw on the way here. Let's go there and get a box of donuts or anpan or something."

"You really do love Ryuzaki, don't you?" he said wryly, raising an eyebrow as he grinned. He loved romance in every form and fashion. "You're spoiling him with all that cake."

You laughed. "I'm not buying him a cake; I'm slightly ticked at him right now for not letting me do anything. I'm buying some fresh bread and a box of donuts for everyone to share. Although we do need to stock up on cake for later…"

Matsuda laughed. "Oh, yeah—he's keeping you on a short leash, huh?"

" 'Short' is an understatement," you returned. "But I guess we're in the same boat when it comes to that, eh?"

"Yeah, guess so. Hey, let's buy everyone else but him a cake!"

You had to bite back a laugh. "That's just plain mean, Matsuda. As tempting as that sounds… that's just cruel."

He pouted. "Aw… It might've been fun, seeing the look on his face."

"Until Yagami or Mogi gave up theirs for him," you pointed out. "Besides, I'd get bored later and have to bake him one, anyway, so it's a moot point."

This made the young officer think for a few seconds. There had to be another way... "Well, can we get him a fifty-pound sack of sugar for dinner, while the rest of us get take-out?" he suggested, looking hopeful.

"That might be fun," you said, mulling this over. "And we'll save him something, so he won't starve. It'll just be inconvenient for him."

Matsuda chuckled. "Let's do it!"

"You're carrying the sugar," you told him. "Anyway, I'm a little tired. Let's get some coffee or something, ne?"

You got some hot coffee at a local café, then got a few loaves of bread and a box of cupcakes (in lieu of donuts) at a bakery nearby while Matsuda returned to the supermarket to buy the sugar. Your own errand took less time, so you called a pizza parlor for dinner while you waited. Matsuda came back soon, hefting a huge bag of sugar over his shoulder. "This is heavy," he complained as he dragged his feet across the sidewalk.

"It was your idea," you said chidingly. "And anyway, it's not far to HQ. It'll be about ten more minutes until the pizzas are ready for pick-up… so let's head over there. I think that's it, unless you need to grab something…?"

"Nah, I'm good."

You got to the pizza parlor with a few minutes to spare. A bookstore across the street caught your eye, so you eagerly entered and purchased a good ten manga books with Ryuzaki's cash (that'd teach him to lock you up… but you knew he wouldn't care at all) before returning to Matsuda to pick up the pizzas, which you carried, arms draped with sacks of books, bread, and cupcakes.


When you returned to HQ, Matsuda announced happily, "Dinner's ready!"

"Pizza!?" cried Light in surprise. "Wow… it's been a while since I've had actual pizza…" His eyes hungrily followed you and the pizzas to the coffee table; he waited impatiently for Ryuzaki to get up.

"Here you go, Ryuzaki," said Matsuda happily, setting the fifty pounds of sugar before the detective. "Bon appétit!"

Ryuzaki stared wordlessly at the sugar for a few moments, blinking widely. Everyone saw the look on his face, and started cracking up. "Nice one, Matsuda!" laughed Light, clutching his sides. You stood beside him, snickering at Ryuzaki.

Finally, he responded. "What was that for?"

"Oh, but you like sugar!" you said in fake surprise. "We thought you'd enjoy it!"

He stared at you in frustration. "Not particularly."

"Oh, can't you take a joke, Ryuzaki?" Yagami said, opening a box of mushroom pizza. "Lighten up. You're too young to be as serious as you are."

"You can't say that fairly when you have Light-kun as a son," muttered Ryuzaki, miffed that he was being treated as a child and not as a great detective. You didn't blame him for feeling frustrated, but then again, if you were almost Soichiro's daughter, then Ryuzaki would soon be something of a son. He had to be inducted into your "family" sometime, right?

You and Matsuda kept on laughing at his changing expressions. "You don't have to eat it," you said in a "duh" sort of tone. "We just thought we'd tease you a bit."

He sighed. "I suppose I do eat a lot of sugar and WHAT is in that box?" he asked suddenly, staring at the box in one of the sacks over your arm.

"Like a bloodhound, isn't he?" you remarked to the others, opening the box of cupcakes for everyone. "Easy, Fido," you said dryly as he took one out. "Share…"

"Haha, leave it to Ryuzaki to find the cupcakes first," laughed Light. "Hey, come on. I want some of that pizza!" He tugged at the chain between them until Ryuzaki sighed and shuffled behind him to the pizza boxes, where he sat beside Light on the couch (knees up) happily eating the cupcakes.

Everyone crowded around the boxes, eating their fill. You and Matsuda fought over last few pieces of pepperoni by a duel: you both began to do impressions of others, everyone from famous actors to people you all knew (Light gave running commentary and ultimately was the judge). After you began doing your interpretation of Henry XIII, Ryuzaki sighed. "Matsuda-san, let Keiko have the pizza."

"No way!" you cried. "I'm gonna win this one fair and square…!"

"Last ones," announced Light. "Matsuda-kun, you first."

"Anyone have any rubber bands?" he asked, taking off his sweatshirt. "No? Oh, well, this'll work!" He rolled up his shirt so it revealed half of his lean stomach, then popped his foot up behind him and clasped his hands together, giggling in falsetto as he gyrated in a few circles. "I'm Misa-Misa! I love Light!" Having said this, Matsuda jumped over the armrest beside Light and hugged the young man tightly. "Light is Misa's knight in shining armor!"

Gales of laughter went around, and Light shoved Matsuda over the armrest and onto the floor, where he laughingly replaced his shirt and hoodie. "That's disgusting, Matsuda-kun," he chuckled.

"Good thing Misa-chan's still upstairs," you said jokingly.

"Your turn, Keiko," announced Ryuzaki, sighing and looking rather annoyed at Matsuda's imitation of Misa.

You adjusted yourself, sitting in mimicry of Ryuzaki, and pretended to think. After a second, you mussed your hair quickly and snatched Ryuzaki's cupcake from him and held it between your index finger and thumb above your head, staring at it with wide eyes. Clearing your throat, you announced, "Mogi-san, send this to forensics and have them run full diagnostics… there is a five-point-two-three percent probability that the chef is Kira…"

This gained several laughs from everyone—including a small chuckle from Ryuzaki, to whom you returned the cupcake. "An uncanny resemblance," chuckled Light. "You even got his voice right! You win, Keiko-chan."

"What!?" cried Matsuda, feigning insult. "My Misa was so much better!"

"He has a point," you muttered, giving credit where it was due. "Now, if we'd both been impersonating Misa, that would've been another story..."

"Yeah, but Matsuda glomping me doesn't make me want to pick him, does it?" Light said flatly as he grabbed another slice of mushroom.

You nodded sagely. "Yeah, Matsuda—you need to know how to read people, then how to please them. Light would logically find a ridiculous imitation of Ryuzaki more humorous than that of Misa, judging by his relations with them both."

"How's that?" Matsuda asked. "I don't get it."

Ryuzaki decided to explain. "As I am chained to Light-kun and therefore something of an annoyance, there is a high potential for him to enjoy a mockery of me at my expense. However," he continued, finishing the slice that you'd briefly stolen from him, "making fun of Misa at Light-kun's expense wouldn't be half so amusing to him."

"In other words, know who to please, and when," you said triumphantly, biting off a huge chunk of the victory pizza. "You lose, Matsuda!" You deliberately coughed all over the pizza, which effectively deterred him from any attempts of stealing it.

"That's disgusting."

You laughed. "Work smarter, not harder," you said sensibly. "I didn't feel like stuffing it in my mouth all at once." You swallowed another bite of pizza, then suggested that they all play a game of Charades. "We need a night off once in a while. Come on, let's play!"

"Well, you just proved you're a force to be reckoned with," said Matsuda good-naturedly. "But I'm on for a rematch!"

"I'm in," said Light. "Which means you are, too, Ryuzaki."

He groaned, his mouth full of cupcake. "Oh, no…"

"Oh, come on, Ryuzaki!" you cried. "We'll dump those fifty pounds of sugar on your head if you don't!"

"You wouldn't."

"I wouldn't, but I can think of three guys next to me who would be willing to help…" Matsuda snickered evilly as you continued. "Light-kun can hold you down and Soichiro-kun and Matsuda can dump the sugar. Or Mogi-san, if we can persuade him to come out from behind his newspaper. I'll stay right here and take the pictures."

Light and Yagami were laughing at the idea.

"Fine, you've talked me into it."

"YES!" you cried in triumph, jabbing the air with a fist.

"I suppose I'll join," said Yagami, surprising you all.

"Wow, Chief!" said Matsuda happily. "This'll be great! Let's call Misa down to play, too!"

"Dinner!" chorused Misa as she flounced down the stairs, making a phone call completely unnecessary. "Oh, pizza!" She skipped over to join you all. "Can I have some?"

"No one's stopping you," you said amiably, scooting over to make room for her. You waited until she had a piece up to her mouth. "But Ryuzaki sneezed on all of it."

Misa flipped, nearly dropping the pizza as you all laughed again. "EEEWWWW! That's nasty, Ryuzaki!"

"I did nothing of the sort," he said calmly, staring at you with a strange expression.

"Ah, he didn't do anything," Light added. "That's just Keiko-chan messing with you."

"Oh!" Misa hesitantly took a bite of it. "How do I know he didn't!?"

"I'll eat it if you don't want it," said Matsuda hopefully.

She held her slice away from him and said loftily, "No! Misa-Misa will eat the pizza."

"Hey, we were about to play Charades," you said. "You in?"

Her eyes went wide with anticipation. "Of course! Misa-Misa is a good actress! And Mochi must play, too!" she cried. "Mochi will have fun playing Charades!" Apparently, she still didn't know Mogi very well.

"Um…" said Mogi, a.k.a. Mochi, from across the room. He shook his head.

"That's okay, Mogi-san," you said. "You can still watch if you want, though."

"Okay, teams!" Matsuda said enthusiastically. "Light and Ryuzaki are on different teams!"

"This should be interesting," you chuckled. "Why don't they pick their teams?"

"We can all guess how it will turn out," Ryuzaki said simply. "I'll pick you, Light-kun will pick Misa, I will pick Yagami-san, and Light-kun will be left with Matsuda-san."

" 'Left with me…?'"

"But what if I were to pick first?" Light challenged. "I want Keiko-chan on my team."

"Yeah!" you said, nodding your head at Ryuzaki. "Take that!"

"In that case, I will take Misa-san," said Ryuzaki.

"NOO!" cried Misa. "I want to be on Light's team!"

"Misa-san, you do realize that Ryuzaki's probably got a strategy up his sleeve and will therefore win, don't you?" said Yagami.

"Dad!? Who's side are you on, anyway?" exclaimed Light. "Fine. I'll take Matsuda."

"I shall take Yagami-san," said Ryuzaki. "Now then, who shall go first?"

"Pick a number between one and a hundred," you said. "I'm writing my number on my hand so Mogi-san can vouch for me. Whoever's team is closest gets to go first."

"Ryuzaki knows you well enough to guess," Light said flatly.

"That's what makes it fair," he said.

"Um… not," you said. "And actually, there are a hundred numbers to choose from. You've got an equal chance of getting it." You wrote the number 59 on your hand and showed it to Mogi.

"Seventy-four," said Ryuzaki immediately.

"Thirteen," said Light.

"One hundred," said Misa.

"Twenty-eight," said Yagami.

There was a pause as Matsuda thought. "I'm pulling a Price Is Right. Seventy-three."

"Haha!" you said, showing them all your hand. "Bam! Go Matsuda! You were saying, Light-kun?"

"Cool," he said with a smile. "Which one of us is going first?" He looked at you and Matsuda.

"You are," Ryuzaki said flatly, a little ticked at himself for not having thought of going last when it came to guessing numbers.

Light shrugged. "Whatever." He stood, trailing Ryuzaki, and thought for a moment before putting his hand to about the level of his waist.

"Something short," said Matsuda.

He then pulled an awful frown and crossed his arms.

"Anger? Angry?" you mused, still unsure.

Light nodded, and pointed to his right arm, then his left leg, and began doing the Robot dance.

"A robot…?" Yagami said slowly, uncomprehending.

Light frowned slightly, and mimed drawing a circle on the floor, clapped his hands together, then outstretched his arms to the interior of the invisible circle and lifted them slowly, like he was raising something from the floor without contact with his hands.

"Oh, oh, I know this one!" cried Matsuda. "Edward Elric!"

You barked out a laugh. "HA! That's awesome, Light-o!"

"Know who to please and when," he said with a grin.

Ryuzaki stared at Light openly. "Hm…" He took Light's place and stood there, motionless, for a few moments.

"A lamppost," you guessed in jest.

Light laughed, but Ryuzaki rolled his eyes. Instantly, he began to smooth his hair back and straighten his posture. He put a finger sideways above his upper lip in mockery of a mustache and squinted in a cheery sort of way, then began to mime something. It looked like he was setting up a computer. Silence reigned for a few seconds, until he frowned and shook his head at himself. He began to make motions over the top of his head, like a hat.

"Watari!" barked Yagami.

"That is correct." Ryuzaki and Light both sat down once more.

"Good one, Ryuzaki," said Light. "But you're going down."

"Try to beat us," returned the detective. "Just try."

"Okay, we will," you said, taking the "stage." You already had your idea. You stood there, staring at the far wall, mouth stretched wide laterally in a serious expression of stolidity; your arms were bent at small angles, held slightly out to the sides.

"That's Mogi-san!" cried Matsuda with a laugh.

"Yeah!" you said with a grin.

"Oh, I get it!" said Misa, laughing at the impression. "Silent like Mochi!" Mogi, over by the computers, peeked out from behind his newspaper and gave a half-hearted smile, which was something, coming from Mogi, the man who NEVER smiled.

"Why don't you go next, Yagami-san?" suggested Ryuzaki.

Yagami stood and went to the front of the table. He thought for a moment, then sat still on the ground, looking around expectantly.

"Oh, dear," you said, eyes narrowing as you thought.

After a few seconds of silence, he scratched behind his ear, then looked at his watch.

"A lost child…?" said Light, confused.

"You scratched behind your ear… A dog…?" echoed Matsuda.

"Ooh, subtle…" you acknowledged. Really, it was. There was no arguing with that.

"Hachiko," said Ryuzaki immediately.

As the ex-deputy-director nodded, you stared at Ryuzaki with unveiled surprise. "You are, most definitely, a force to be reckoned with," you said nodding at him with respect and playful dislike. You pointed to him, then pointed to your eyes with two fingers and back at Ryuzaki again, mouthing, "I'm watching you…"

He snorted and shook his head in resignation. "Me next!" said Matsuda as he got to the front. "This is a good one." He sat down and did the same exact thing.

"Oh, oh!" you cried. "Soichiro-kun imitating Hachiko!" at the same time that Light shouted, "Dad's impersonation of Hachiko!"

"Haha!" laughed Matsuda as he sat down. "Take that, guys!"

"Ooh!" said Misa. "Misa-Misa's got a good one!" She FLOUNCED to the front and pretended to read something avidly.

Ryuzaki tilted his head to one side, biting his thumb. You could see the gears turning in his head. That's it! Think like L, and you may just get to the conclusion before he did… But reading was something that you, Aizawa, Light, and Yagami all liked doing, and Matsuda liked reading comics. Seeing everyone's confusion, Misa thought for a moment, then pointed to everyone in turn, doing quick mini-interpretations of each of them, then laughing silently after each one.

"Making fun of someone," Light said.

Misa shook her head. She then pointed to Light and Ryuzaki, and clasped her chest tightly in an overly dramatic fashion.

"A soap opera!" Matsuda blurted out with an eager smile.

"Keiko Shintaro," said Light and Ryuzaki simultaneously. The latter smiled widely.

"Yay!" said Misa happily. "Light got Misa's clue!"

"Misa, Light's not on your team," said Yagami slowly as Misa sat down.

"I'm not a soap opera, Matsu!" you said in protest. "And I'm not that mean, am I?"

"That was merely an exaggeration," said Ryuzaki. "You like teasing us."


And so the game went on, until finally, Misa wormed her way under Light's arm so that it draped across her shoulders and fell asleep on his chest; Yagami then announced that he should leave, as Sachiko and Sayu were expecting him. "Who won?" Matsuda wanted to know.

"Light's team," said Mogi, brandishing a pad of paper.

"Take that, L," you said playfully, dancing and bobbing around. "We won! We won!"

"And that's why I picked Keiko," said Light simply. "Night, Dad." He turned to Misa and shook her shoulder gently, whispering, "Hey, Misa, wake up. You should go to bed."

"Huh…? Light…"

"Yes. Go to bed, Misa." You had to admit, Light did stick to his word. He didn't lead her on at all by hugging her or even moving his hand against her arm or anything. He just let her stand.

"Okay…" She got up and headed for the stairs wearily.

"See ya, Yagami-san," you said as he headed out.

"Night, Chief," added Matsuda.

He ignored Matsuda's insistence upon calling him "chief" and headed for the door. "Good night, everyone."

You stood, stretching. "Oooh, I'm going to bed, too."

Ryuzaki stood beside you and took your face gently between his hands, giving you a soft kiss. "Good night, Keiko."

"Night, Ryuu. Night, Matsu. Night, Mogi-san. Nightlight. Haha." You grabbed the sack full of new manga you'd bought earlier and headed for the stairs, listening for Light's reaction.

"Shut up, Keiko!"

Laughing, you climbed the stairs slowly, suppressing a yawn. Once in your room, you flopped down on your bed and began reading one of the newly purchased books—the latest Wallflower volume. You fell asleep halfway through.


Down in the monitor room, Light groaned from within the circle of his arms, which were crossed on the table. "Ryuzaki, it's two in the morning. Everyone's gone to bed already… what are you doing?" His voice had assumed a rough, grating quality and he spoke slowly, sleepily. "I wanna go to bed…"

L tapped in a few things on the keypad and sighed. I suppose it is late… I'll just check on Keiko quickly before heading upstairs… "One moment, Light-kun…" He typed in a command on his computer and the monitors switched from Misa's room to Keiko's. He saw her sleeping, the manga book flat against her stomach, one arm loosely around the stuffed panda he'd given her a few days ago as a sort of apologetic gesture from one of their many "squabbles." One of the cameras, however, was different. There was a piece of paper taped before it, bearing a message scrawled in marker: "Voyeurism is a crime, L."

Ryuzaki started, grey eyes wide, and Light laughed tiredly. "Hahaha… She knows you well, Ryuzaki. Come on, she's fine. Can we go to bed already?"

He paused and switched back to Misa's room's view. "Yes. Let's go."


Okay, so this was a "long-o" chapter, as Jar-Jar Binks would say. (Whoa, that was slightly random, ne?) Anyway, It was some fun fluff. Up next, Aiber and Wedy!! XD Great section. I loved adding Amy and Juro to that scene... it should be up in a few days. Hope you liked "Charades"!!