[A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to update! I was originally going to make this chapter even longer but I decided to just post this now and finish the next part as a separate chapter. 12 shouldn't take near as long to post. - d]
"Okay, Ryuzaki, here's a new list of names and information of criminal's who've died recently," Matsuda announced and passed a file of papers to L who was sitting in the main room, discussing case matters with all available task force members. "We're not sure how many could be tied to Kira yet, we still have more research to do, but those are the details we have at the moment."
"Thank you," L replied and then started reading the list. "I think, for our next move, we'll-"
L was interrupted by sounds coming from Akemi's room. Everyone else went quiet, taking a few seconds to listen. It sounded like upbeat pop music. And Akemi was singing along with it, loudly and mostly out of key. L actually had to force himself to hold back a laugh. He wasn't even sure why he found it so funny. Normally, hearing people interrupting him, especially in a way like that, would irritate him. But unlike him, Aizawa and Ukita weren't so amused.
"Urgh..." Aizawa growled in annoyance, "does she have to do this right now? We're working here!"
"Someone should tell her to turn it down..." Ukita agreed, but then Matsuda started tapping his toes and snapping his fingers to the beat. "This is a catchy song though," Matsuda said, smiling brightly. "Miss Yoru sure has good taste in music..."
"Oh great, now don't you start singing too," Aizawa warned him with an irritated glare. "Could someone please put an end to that noise? I can't hear myself think right now."
Watari stepped into the room and announced, "I'll ask the young lady to keep it down." He started to approach her door but then stopped when he heard L address him.
"There's no need for that, Watari," L told him as he rose up from his chair. "I'll speak with her. The rest of you, please carry on." L knocked on Akemi's door but she didn't hear him so he tried again with a bit more force. Still no answer. He tried a third time and decided if she didn't respond after this, he'd have to just open the door himself if it was unlocked. But that wasn't necessary.
When her door finally opened, L's ears were greeted with the music nearly at full blast and he saw Akemi smiling brightly when she noticed it was him. "Ryuzaki! Come on in!"
"Your music is really loud!" he yelled over it as he stepped inside. "Don't you have any ear phones?"
"Yes, but they're broken!" she replied, bouncing along to the music and singing out of key again.
L couldn't believe how much energy this girl had. She wasn't acting like this the last time he saw her not even an hour ago. "How many more doughnuts did you eat after we got back this morning?" he asked her.
"Uh..." she uttered as she continued to dance around the room, "Maybe four?"
'I guess she wasn't kidding when she told me sugar has a hyperactive effect on her...' he thought to himself before wondering if it was the sugar itself making her act this way or if it could be an entirely different reason. "We're trying to work in the other room! Could you turn this off for the time being?"
"Oh, okay, sure! Can I finish this song first?"
"I suppose..."
"Come on, Ryuzaki, dance with me!" Akemi insisted and reached for his wrist and tried to pull him to the middle of the room but he didn't budge.
"I'd rather not," he muttered showing no enthusiasm whatsoever.
"No one's gonna see us, you don't have to be embarrassed," she laughed, still tugging on his arm. He still refused to move.
"I already told you, I don't-"
"-you don't get embarrassed, yeah, yeah," she finished for him and then chuckled as she looked at his annoyed expression on his face. "I won't tell anyone if you loosen up just this once and boogie down with me."
"I have never boogied down in my entire life and I do not intent to start now," he muttered grumpily and slipped his arm out of Akemi's grasp.
"Goodness, you're grouchy," Akemi observed, still smiling at him as she turned the music down. "Do you need some candy?"
"Why, do you have any?" he asked, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.
Akemi laughed again. "Let me check." She stepped over to her dresser and fumbled around in one of the drawers she kept random things in and then took a chocolate bar out of it. "Yep!"
"Where did you get this?" L asked as she handed it to him and then sat down on her bed.
"Well, when you give me chocolate bars, I don't always eat them right away," she answered. "Sometimes I keep them for later. Not everyone eats junk food the second it gets handed to them, you know."
L sat on the chair that was next to her bed and asked, "So, are you into a lot of American culture?"
She didn't understand his question at first. "What do you mean?"
"The song you were listening to was by an American artist," he reminded her as he unwrapped his candy bar and broke off a piece with two fingers then popped it into his mouth. "But it was a popular song that charted in several countries the 1980's."
Akemi raised a curious eyebrow at him and smiled. "How do you know so much about music? You don't really seem like the music loving type to me, but..."
L didn't even answer her question and just replied with, "I was only making conversation."
"Yeah, okay..." Akemi just let him be mysterious like usual and brushed the subject aside and went on to explain how she discovered that particular song. "It was on the radio just now but I know that song from a playlist my mother made when she traveled a lot for her job. She went to many different countries and recorded songs she heard off of the radio in all kinds of languages and gave the tapes to me when I was little but old enough to operate a cassette player. It's been a long time since I've listened to them but I still have them. I guess I was feeling nostalgic."
"Are they at your house?" L asked, his mouth full of chocolate again.
Akemi nodded. "Mhmm."
"Do you want them?"
"What?"
"I asked you if you wanted your tapes," L elaborated. "Or anything else from your house?"
Akemi smiled a little. "Why, are you planning on going there, breaking in, getting random things and bringing them here?"
"I could get someone to do that if that is what you want," he told her seriously. "We will be changing hotels later today and it's possible for us to fill your new room with some of your own belongings."
"Oh...it's okay..." Akemi's gaze lowered to her lap. "I mean, that would be great but-"
"Then it's settled," L declared and stood up from his seat and started to walk out of the room. "I'll make the arrangements..."
Akemi jumped up from the bed and hurried after him to stop him. "Ryuzaki, wait!" She was able to catch him by the arm just before he left.
"Yes, Akemi?" His dark eyes peered at her curiously.
"You don't have to go out of your way to do anything for me," she assured him. "Really, it's okay."
L took a few steps closer to her and then stared at her for a long moment. His tired, black eyes gazed strongly into hers and it didn't take him long to tell exactly what she was thinking. "You're concerned that there might be people watching your house due to your father being involved in the embezzlement crimes and you're worried if someone goes there, they might not come back. Is that right?"
Akemi felt her face turn slightly red. He was entirely correct. "I...I just want everyone to be safe."
"Please don't worry, Akemi. I have many contacts, none of them will be caught, let alone seen, by anyone who may be watching your home."
"So, you wouldn't be going there yourself?" she asked.
"Don't concern yourself with me," he insisted. "You have enough to worry about."
"Ryuzaki, I told you not to go out of your way for me," she reminded him and then let go of his arm. "You really don't have to do this."
Once again, his eyes stared right into hers. The room fell quiet for a moment until he asked, "Where is your mother, Akemi?"
A long silence filled the room again. She had been dreading that question since she had brought the subject up. Regret started to consume her. She wished she had never mentioned her mother to begin with. "I'm surprised you don't know," was all she said. "You did so much research on me and my father..."
"I did look her up to see if she had any links to the case on your father but I couldn't find much information on her," L admitted. "Can you tell me what happened to her?"
The light suddenly dimmed from Akemi's eyes. She felt her heart sink as she let painful memories from the past resurface. "I don't want to talk about it..."
L instantly understood and left it at that. "I see. My apologies, Akemi. I didn't intend to upset you with my questions." He waited for her to respond but she didn't. She just sat down on her bed and kept her gaze lowered and didn't say a word. Her silence concerned him. "Are you alright, Akemi?"
Not having the strength to speak without breaking, Akemi just nodded yes, her eyes still down to avoid his. L didn't believe her but he didn't want to force her to talk about it either. He wanted to help but he wasn't sure how. Akemi didn't want to lie to him and she did want to tell him everything. It was just difficult for her to say, let alone think about. It was unclear to L what she expected him to do so he just left her alone.
"Hey, Ryuzaki, I was just wondering-" Matsuda approached L who was sitting on his chair, watching a video on his laptop. It didn't look like anything in relation to their cases so Matsuda was surprised to see it. "Are you...Ryuzaki, are you watching dance instructional videos?"
L quickly closed his laptop and then faced Matsuda and said, "I was not doing anything of the sort, Matsui. Now, what do you need?"
Matsuda just couldn't get over what he had just seen and refused to drop the subject. "But, I just saw you-"
"I was strictly doing research and that is all you need to know," L growled and then hopped up from his chair and then began to look out one of the room's windows. He was grateful that the conversation ended as soon as Aizawa and Ukita started talking to him.
"Ryuzaki, we've been thinking, and, do you think maybe it's time to give Miss Yoru her own separate hotel room instead of letting her continue to use the bedroom here?" Aizawa suggested. "The rest of us think that some extra space might be good for her."
"The idea had already crossed my mind, honestly," L replied as he stared out the window in deep thought. "Days ago, in fact."
"Why didn't you just do that in the first place after she recovered from her illness?" Ukita inquired. "If she didn't have to be here with us, then why did you let her stay?"
L honestly wasn't exactly sure what to say. There were multiple reasons but he didn't know which one to give them. True, she hadn't exactly needed them for a while now and she would have been fine going about her daily activities on her own. Yet, L still worried about her. As distracting as she was sometimes, he also liked having her around, even if he wouldn't admit it to them. It had been difficult enough admitting it to himself. "I suppose it kept slipping my mind. But I do agree, moving her would be beneficial for everyone. After we move to the next hotel, she will get her own separate suite entirely."
"Wait, Ryuzaki," Matsuda spoke up, "wouldn't moving her to her own room go against your agreement with her? Didn't she promise to stay with us? And do you trust her to not run away if she's on her own?"
"Technically, no, it wouldn't go against our agreement," L answered. "And, yes, I trust her not to run away. I don't think she would do that."
"How do you know for sure?" Aizawa asked. He knew how suspicious L was of everyone and wondered why it seemed like Akemi was some kind of exception.
"Yeah, I mean, Miss Yoru seems nice and I don't mind her being here and I'm glad I helped her in the first place, but we haven't known her that long and I don't-"
"Mr. Matsui, I assure you, Miss Yoru won't violate our agreement and if she does, she would more than likely have a good reason to do so," L promised. He knew Akemi better than they did and he trusted her to keep her word. "Watari..."
A moment later, Watari stepped into the room. "Yes, Ryuzaki?"
"Please make arrangements for Miss Yoru to have her own separate suite," L instructed. "It would be best to have her nearby just in case she needs us for anything, so keeping her on the same floor would be preferred. Also, please install the necessary surveillance cameras and security system once her room is booked."
"Consider it done." Watari then went on his way to fulfill L's requests.
Ukita, Aizawa and Matsuda didn't like the sound of L's last sentence regarding the cameras. "Surveillance, Ryuzaki?"
"How are you even considering doing this again?"
"Yeah, is that really necessary? You just said you trust her..."
L had expected them to say something about the subject and oppose to it. So, he explained his intentions. "Yes, it is necessary. But it's not to watch her, there's no need for that. There will only be cameras at her room's main entrance and balcony door so we can make sure no one suspicious tries to get inside and harm her. It will be similar to the security we use for our rooms and Miss Yoru will be aware of it once she moves in. It's strictly a precaution. I'm sure she'll understand and won't protest." His explanation seemed to satisfy them and they didn't question it any further.
A few hours passed. The time for them to switch hotels had arrived. L let Akemi ride in his limo with him but she didn't feel like talking or even looking at him. It wasn't that she was mad at him. She just looked out her window quietly and thought about whether she should open up to him. It was obvious he wanted to know more about her and was trying to put forth the effort to get to know her and she felt guilty for hiding certain things since his trust meant everything to her. But sometimes, she couldn't tell if he genuinely wanted to know her or if he was just subtly interrogating her for his investigations.
Once everyone had met in the task force's main room, L approached Akemi, who was sitting on one of the couches thinking to herself, and said, "Akemi, this is your key for this room as this door will always be locked. Please do not lose it." He presented a key to her, dangling from his first two fingers, and she accepted it without question.
Matsuda couldn't help overhearing when he walked in and smirked at them. "Ooh, her own room key, huh? Almost sounds like when a couple starts dating and gives each other keys to their apartments after things get serious-"
"I heard that, Matsui..." L grumbled with a piercing glare in his eyes. "Put an end to that nonsense immediately."
Matsuda laughed awkwardly and then gave a nervous tug at his shirt collar. "I-I was just joking, Ryuzaki...heh heh..."
L just tried to ignore him and then said, "Come on, Akemi, I'll show you where your room is..." She stood up and followed him out into the hallway.
All of this just confused Akemi. No one had even told her she was going to stay in an entirely separate room.
"W-wait, I don't understand," Akemi said sadly as they stopped outside of her room's door. "Is there a reason I'm so far from you guys? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, you didn't," he replied and then handed her another key without elaborating an answer for her concerns. "This is your room key. Please don't lose this one either. All of us will have spares just in case an emergency occurs. I also hope that it's alright with you that we set up some surveillance cameras at the front entrance and by the balcony just to monitor who goes in and out of the room." He gestured at the tiny camera that was stationed above them. Akemi spotted it but it was only noticeable if you were looking for it.
"Yeah, that's okay," she replied, lowering her gaze down to the floor. She still couldn't get her mind off of certain things and now, it felt like the task force was trying to push her away from them. "Thank you..."
Her voice sounded so soft and sad. L could easily tell she was still upset. "Akemi, are you alright?" he asked.
Refusing to make eye contact with him, she uttered, "Yes, I'm fine..."
Again, he didn't believe her and wondered if she was only avoiding every opportunity to talk everything through with him. "But I can tell something is wrong."
"There isn't," she denied.
"You asked me to talk about things with you and never keep things from you," he reminded her.
"Yes, I know, but-"
"Then why are you keeping things from me and lying to me?"
Akemi felt like he was suffocating her with all of these questions. "I'm not..."
"You are. I can tell you are."
"But, I'm not-"
"Is this about your mother, Akemi?"
"N-no..."
"Do you need to talk about it?"
"Well, I-"
"Maybe I could help."
"No, I don't think-"
"Why don't you start from the beginning and tell me what happened?"
Akemi couldn't take it anymore. "God, Ryuzaki! Why do you have to keep asking me about my mom? Why do you have to treat everything like you're trying to get information about a case? You want me to talk but you're not even listening to me! Just stop it!" The words just flew out of her mouth before she could stop them. Once she realized she had raised her voice to him, she forced herself to calm down and speak to him with much more civility. "I told you, I don't want to talk about it...Please just drop it.."
Akemi turned away from him slowly and faced her door since she didn't want to end up crying in front of him. She felt even worse now after yelling at him. The hallway became awkwardly silent as Akemi hoped he would read her mind like he usually could and somehow pick up the hint that she wanted him to hold her, but he hesitated to approach her. It was clear to L that Akemi had become more disheartened and was in need some kind of consolation. He moved closer to her so that he was right behind her and slowly raised his hand up to her shoulder so he could turn her around and hug her but, then, he paused. His hand hovered just a few inches away from her for a long moment as his mind debated whether or not he should actually console her. After thinking it over, he retracted his hand and let it fall to his side. Even though she wanted him to, it didn't seem like the right time to him. Not only did he consider the possibility that she'd get even more angry and reject his attempt, he also didn't think he was ready to be that close with another person. He was able to deal with holding her hand, sitting beside her and carrying her, but initiating an embrace with someone when they were emotional wasn't something he could bring himself to do just yet. So, to Akemi's disappointment, he decided to just leave her alone. "I'm sorry," he said softly and sincerely. "I hope you like your room, Akemi." L had wanted to see her reaction to it but he thought it would be best to leave her alone again and give her some space. She stood there frozen with guilt and listened as he walked down the hallway and returned to his room.
Akemi gathered the strength to unlock her room's door and went inside. Her eyes stayed mostly on her feet until she turned one of the lamps on. She took a second glance at it and then realized that was the same lamp she had in her bedroom at home. 'No...' Akemi thought to herself, 'this has to be a coincidence, right?' Taking a further look around, she saw some of her pillows, stuffed animals and photos placed around the suite and even the blankets and sheets on the bed were her own. She noticed something familiar resting on top of the dresser and approached it. There, right in front of her, was her old cassette player and the tapes her mother had given her. A sudden soft laugh escaped her and then she lifted her hands to her face in surprise. Warm tears formed in her eyes and she did her best to fight them. She noticed there was already a tape inside and pushed down on the play button and let the song start. It was an old piano ballad she hadn't heard in years. Hearing it gave her a lot of mixed emotions.
"I told him not to do this..." she whispered aloud to herself but then realized L still did all of this even though she had opposed to it just to help her and make her happy. Akemi didn't have the heart to be mad about that. She sat on her bed, picked up the framed photo of her family off of the bed side table and then hugged it as she listened to the song play. A small, content smile gradually formed on her face and she let herself feel even just a little contentment. Her new room was starting to feel more like home already.