[A/N: Thank you so much for the follows/favorites/reviews so far! It means a lot that there are people reading this! I appreciate it so much! - D]

When Akemi awoke again later that afternoon, she yawned and stretched her arms, then waited to hear if anyone was around. From what she could tell, the front room was quiet and it didn't sound like anybody was there. Akemi wanted to do something other than lie in bed and sleep all day but she wasn't quite well enough to leave the hotel and go outside. Plus, she knew she couldn't go anywhere alone anyway so she had no choice but to remain there.

Akemi was feeling a little lonely and wanted to talk to someone at the moment. She remembered L had given her a cell phone and she had left it right beside her on the bed so she picked it up and opened it. Her eyes browsed through the names and numbers stored in the contacts list. She knew she couldn't call any of them unless it was an emergency so she didn't bother. Then, she wondered if she could try to call her father and see if she could find him. Akemi's fingers started to dial his number but she stopped halfway and then closed the phone. As badly as she missed her father, she knew she couldn't do that. If she tried contacting anyone behind Ryuzaki's back, she knew it could possibly backfire on her. She just decided to put the phone in her pocket and do something else.

Slowly, Akemi sat up in her bed and glanced around for the remote for the tv. When her eyes scanned toward the bedside cabinet next to her, she saw there was a pile of books that had been left there for her that she hadn't noticed before. She didn't know when they appeared or who left them but she picked one of them up and looked at it. In her hands was a fantasy book she had been wanting to read and now, she had in her grasp. She was extremely confused but happy someone must have thought of her.

Akemi spent the next few hours reading quietly in her room. Throughout the day, a few of the task force members had dropped by to check on her like L had promised and they made sure she had food and fluids and no sign of a high fever. It wasn't until later that evening when Watari and L finally returned.

Akemi heard three soft knocks at her door and then set the book she was reading down beside her. "Come in," she permitted.

The door opened and L stepped inside, hunched over and hands in his pockets like usual. Akemi smiled upon seeing him. "Oh. Hi, Ryuzaki."

"Good evening, Miss Yoru," he replied and approached her bedside, glancing at her IV bags and oxygen levels. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine, thanks," she sighed. "Just tired."

"My apologies for being so late but one of our officers was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack," L told her as he read her stats, his voice remarkably composed while sharing such serious news.

Akemi did not expect to hear that. "What? No one told me anything about that. Who was it? Is he going to be okay?"

"It happened only a few hours ago," L explained. "It was Mister Asahi." He used Soichiro Yagami's alias just to be cautious. "And yes, he will be fine. He just needs rest. I suppose no one told you so you wouldn't be worried and stress yourself before we knew more about his condition. There's no use in your health worsening either."

Akemi didn't know Chief Yagami very well yet but through the few brief times she had spoken with him, she could tell he seemed like an altruistic man that the other officers looked up to. And even though she wasn't close to him, she could already tell his absence would definitely leave an impact on everyone. "Well, I hope he gets better. I think he has a family, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does."

Akemi didn't know them but her heart ached for what they must have been feeling right now. She knew she'd be devastated if something like that happened to her own father.

Watari came in to give Akemi her scheduled injection and then checked her stats and concluded she was well enough to forgo the IV's and oxygen tubes. It didn't take long for him to remove them. "There…" Watari said, placing gauze and a bandage on her hand where her IV needle had been. "You should be alright now but we'll still keep an eye on you."

Akemi wanted to hang out with L in the main room so after he left, she got up and followed him. She walked slowly and cautiously and once she made it, she glanced around the room. There were multiple tv's and monitors all around the room and L was sitting at a desk the way he usually did, peering at his computer screen.

"May I see the cell phone I gave you, Miss Yoru?" L asked her, turning his chair in her direction when he had sensed her presence in the room. There was no time for any small talk, he just jumped right into the question.

Akemi wasn't sure why he would need it other than to check it to see what calls she might have made on it. She suddenly felt nervous even though she hadn't done anything wrong. "Why?"

He just held out his hand toward her, waiting for her to set it in his palm. "The phone, Miss Yoru, if you please."

She approached him and pulled the phone out of her pocket and gave it to him without any more hesitation. "You don't trust me, do you?"

L stared at her for a moment but then turned his chair forward to face his computer screen. "I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to…"

There were a few things he could confess to her but he wasn't sure if this was the right time for that. He set the cell phone down on his desk and then reached for a half eaten chocolate bar that was beside it. "You shouldn't make assumptions, Miss Yoru. I figured you of all people would know that."

His statement puzzled her. "What do you mean?"

"From what I have come to gather since meeting you, I've concluded that you don't seem to be the type of person who usually makes uneducated guesses or takes everything at face value," he explained, breaking a piece off of his chocolate bar and then stuck it into his mouth. "I haven't known you long but you definitely strike me as a person who tries to find the truth before assuming things about others."

Akemi silently thought about everything he had just said. "Well…I guess you're right. So…" She smiled as she took a seat in another chair and rolled up beside him. "Does this mean you trust me?"

L knew what she wanted to hear yet he didn't want to answer her directly. "It means I'm a detective and I should always question every single detail."

"Okay, but, you do trust me," Akemi stated confidently, but also teasing him and hoping to get a sincere reaction from him. "And I trust you after you practically saved my life, so we're even." She didn't mean to pry but she couldn't help glancing at his computer screen. "So, what are you doing? Have you been able to find out anything about my father and the people who are after me?"

"I'm gathering information on recently reported criminal deaths and I'm going to see if any of them are linked to the cases I am currently working on," L replied, his mouth full of chocolate again.

"How many cases are you working on?" Akemi wondered.

"That's classified," L retorted, hoping she would just drop all the questions about his work.

"You can't just give me a number?" she asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's nothing of importance."

Akemi didn't buy that. "If it wasn't important, then you could just tell me."

L gave up. "Okay, then…"

Akemi braced herself since she had a feeling she was going to be impressed.

L made her wait for a few more seconds and then finally said, "Several."

That left her disappointed and he knew it. "Oh, that's funny," she smirked.

"I thought so."

"Several isn't a number," she informed him as if he wasn't already aware of that.

"It is in this case." He finished the chocolate bar he'd been eating and then picked up another one from a pile he had lying on his desk. He wasted no time tearing it open.

"You know, it seems every time I see you, you're eating sweets," Akemi pointed out as she watched him unwrap the candy bar. "Lollipops, pastries, chocolate…Are you hypoglycemic or something?"

"No, sugar provides energy to the brain and I need it to solve these cases," he replied then bit into the candy.

"I'll try to remember that next time I have an exam," Akemi joked. "Maybe I'll take a big box of Pocky to class…"

"I have work to do, Miss Yoru," L reminded her as his eyes remained glued to his computer screen. "Don't you have some new books you could read?"

"Wait…" She hadn't mentioned anything about the books to anyone and they had been the only ones there other than Watari since they had returned to the hotel. It suddenly hit her. "Were you the one who left those books for me?"

"I sent out for them, yes," L answered, still staring at the screen while he picked up his cup of a beverage that was probably made up of more sugar than coffee and then took a sip from it.

"How did you know those were the kind of books I liked?" she inquired.

"I'm a detective," he replied bluntly as he set his cup back down on his desk. "I know everything."

Akemi laughed softly. "You didn't answer my question."

"Get used to that," he sassed and she just laughed again.

"Okay, but, really…Thank you," Akemi said sincerely. "I appreciate that you thought of me…again." She remembered when he had given her a pastry from that morning and this time it was books. She wondered what might possibly be awaiting for her the next time he was feeling generous.

"I simply recalled you saying you liked to read and how you said school was a dreary concept to you now," L finally told her. "So, I concluded that you probably like fantasy books since they're nothing like the reading materials your professors assign you to overanalyze."

"Well, it was a lucky guess," Akemi grinned.

"It wasn't a guess, it was a perfectly calculated deduction," he corrected.

"Mmhm. Whatever you say, Sherlock," Akemi teased, earning a confused stare from L. It just made her laugh. Even though L was focused on his work, she still attempted to talk to him. "I'm just glad that you appear to be supportive of my love for reading. Unlike Doran…" Just saying his name aloud irritated her.

"I gave you books to help you pass the time," L declared. "But…I suppose you could say that. I see nothing wrong with doing something you enjoy."

Between missing her father, being afraid for her life and thinking about Doran, Akemi wasn't sure if she could keep it all inside much longer. The bitter feelings she had inside were overwhelming her and she couldn't stop herself from venting them. "Yeah, well, some people believe that I shouldn't read for fun and that I should only read what's required and then devote the rest of my life to a relationship with them, even if it's not what I want…"

L heard the change of emotion in her voice and turned his chair a bit so he could look at her. He noticed her smile was gone now and that she appeared to be genuinely upset about this.

Akemi was sitting in her chair with her arms folded, facing the wall in front of them and she was looking down at her feet while she thought about everything but then her mind focused on Doran and his attitude toward her. "It's like…some people would rather use you instead of treating you like a human being with your own thoughts and feelings…It's like how you feel doesn't even matter to them at all…You're just a conquest…You're not even a person anymore…You just become a thing…And it makes you feel like nothing…"

On the verge of tears, Akemi suddenly felt something lightly nudge her shoulder. She lifted her head and turned to L and saw him holding another book and an unwrapped chocolate bar for her to take. Akemi took the objects from him and then he said, "Somehow, this one didn't make it to your room earlier. Please enjoy it." Akemi looked at the small gifts he'd placed in her hands and smiled again. She wondered if it was actually a mistake or if he had kept that book himself to give to her at the right moment. Either way, she thought it was sweet. She didn't feel like crying anymore. "Thank you, Ryuzaki."

His eyes were again focused on his computer screen. "You're welcome, Miss Yoru." They just sat there eating chocolates together, silently appreciating the other's company.