Your vision began to blur, but you refused to cry in front of everyone. Crouching down in front of your grandmother, you avoided her eyes and stared down at the ground. "Ren-chan…" your grandmother started, her voice sounding pained.
Looking up, you saw that her arms were stretched out towards you. You bit your lip as you decided what to do. Voice cracking from stress, you whispered, "I did the right thing didn't I? You were a hostage weren't you?"
Nodding, she told you that she would tell you the details later, when she felt she could talk again. Finally believing your grandmother, you moved into her frail arms, hugging her with every ounce of energy you had left in your drained body. As you were embracing her, Higuchi was quickly handcuffed and dragged off to a waiting vehicle. "Ahiru-san, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Ryuuzaki needs to talk with your grandmother."
Feeling a hand place itself on your shoulder, you released your grandmother and looked up into the kind face of Watari. You glanced back at the helicopter to see L staring in your direction. Looking closer, you realised that his eyes were locked onto your grandmother. Frowning, you wondered if he was still suspicious of her. 'Then again…he still suspects Light-kun after all this time…I suppose he's got more reason to be wary of my grandmother…'
Tilting your head back to talk to Watari, you realised that your grandmother had already started to walk over to the helicopter. "Oh…"
A hand presented itself to you and you smiled as you realised that it belonged to Aizawa. You grasped it firmly and pulled yourself up, straight into his welcoming arms. "Aizawa-san…"
"Ahiru-chan…I'm sorry I didn't wait to say goodbye…I was just so angry at Ryuuzaki-san that I didn't think of waiting…"
"No…it's alright. I'm just glad that you came when we needed you…no matter how much you hated Ryu-kun…" you mumbled, feeling happy that everything had worked itself out in the end.
"Of course. When we were told what was going on, nothing was going to stop us from helping," Aizawa laughed, stepping away.
"Well I'm glad you came!" you grinned in response.
"We are all glad you came, Aizawa-san," called a soft voice from behind the ex-investigator.
He turned and you saw L standing there, holding out his hand. Hesitantly, Aizawa grasped it and with that, the bonds between the two seemed to mend slightly. "Ahiru-chan, I have finished talking to Mrs. Aoyami. She is waiting for you."
You nodded and quickly rushed past them both, impatient to ask your grandmother the details of the crisis.
"What do you mean you're too tired?" you raged, annoyed at being thwarted yet again by the truth.
"I'm sorry, Ren…I just can't bear to tell it again tonight…" you grandmother apologised, embracing you once before walking towards the vehicle waiting to take her home.
You sighed in defeat. "I understand. But…I can come over tomorrow, can't I?"
She smiled and nodded, "Why don't we go out for the day?"
"Where to?" you asked, excited by the prospect.
"How about that fair nearby?" she suggested, "Why don't you bring your boss and his friend with you? They seem nice, although I didn't like the look on that brown-haired one's face when he got ahold of that wretched book…"
Her comment surprised you. 'What? They've already been examining the notebook Higuchi was killing with? And wait…she can't really still believe that L is my boss…can she?'
"Ok, sure. Ryuuzaki-san would enjoy the chance to speak more with you, I'm sure," you said in all honesty, "But what did you mean by the look on Yagami-kun's face?"
Your grandmother glanced towards the helicopter and then back at you. "I'll let you know tomorrow, Ren-chan."
Wondering over what she could mean, you watched as she climbed into the car and drove off back to her small apartment. Turning on the balls of your feet, you marched up to the first person you saw, determined to finally be told the entire situation. "Tell me what happened!" you demanded, tugging on a white sleeve.
"Not right now, Ahiru-chan. I need to examine this notebook," L replied, not even turning to face you.
"No, you listen to me! No one has told me the entire story. My grandmother point blank refused to tell me and you're the only person who knows what's really going on! So you tell me or so god help me I'll-"
"You'll what?" L challenged, deciding to pay you the respect of actually turning to face you.
"Well…" you spluttered, "How about I never finish that computer?"
L bit his thumb in contemplation, before mumbling, "Mrs. Aoyami told me that Higuchi knocked on her door and then forced himself in when she answered it. He threatened to kill her if she hadn't called you and pretended to be working for him. Apparently he was under the impression that you would do the task mentioned if you held the belief that your grandmother would kill you if you refused."
You nodded, waiting for him to continue his story.
"In fact, Higuchi had no way of killing you as he had not seen your features prior. Your grandmother refused to show him your face and so he took her hostage and forced her with him, making it obvious that if she tried to escape, she would be…disposed of. They eventually made it to this highway, and you know of the rest from there," L concluded, watching your expression for your reaction.
Not wanting him to know how you truly felt, you nodded in acknowledgement and turned to mask your face. Beginning to walk away, you stopped as you heard his voice calling your name. "Yes?" you asked, turning your head to the side.
"I will be blunt. Although I wish to believe your grandmother, I do not trust so blindly. I believe that you will see the logic in my reasoning. You should not visit your grandmother unless either myself or one of the investigation members accompanies you."
On the inside, you felt as though this was an intrusion on your rights, however, outwardly you displayed no surprise. "Of course, Ryu-kun," you grinned, realising you could use this to your advantage, "In that case, I guess you and Light-kun are coming with us to the fair tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is inconvenient…perhaps Matsuda-"
"Grandma also mentioned that she wished to talk with you…perhaps about something…secret?" you suggested, inwardly wanting them to come with you.
L sighed, possibly in defeat, and murmured, "You win, Ahiru-chan. However, I do not believe that Misa-san will be so willing to allow Light to spend the day away."
You pursued the problem. 'Misa is so attached to Light-kun…maybe she should come along as well? I mean…I bet she could probably use a day off from all of this…'
"We'll bring her too," you decided, coming to the most logical decision.
L nodded in acceptance. "I shall have to inform Light-kun and Misa-san. You should return back to the hotel. Watari will take you."
"Ok…well make sure you tell me everything you find tomorrow, and I'll see you in the morning, Ryu-kun," you said, smiling.
"Good night, Ahiru-chan."
Leaving the detective to his investigation, you made your way to Watari. "Watari-san…please take me home…" you murmured, suddenly feeling deathly tired.
"Right this way, Ahiru-san," he said, motioning towards an open car door.
Dragging yourself inside the vehicle, you were asleep by the time your head reached the headrest. 'I guess all that stress tired her out,' Watari thought, fastening your seatbelt before moving to the driver's seat.
The car pulled away and the rumbling of the engine helped to lull you further into your dream state. As you reached L's hotel, Watari drove inside and carefully picked you up and carried you to your room. All the while, you remained asleep, mentally and physically exhausted by the night's ordeals.
"Good morning, Ahiru-chan! Are you excited about today? Misa is!" a cheerful voice called out from your doorway.
You groaned half-heartedly and rolled over, still feeling exhausted. "Come back later, Misa-chan…I'll talk to you then…"
"No, you have to get up now! We're all waiting on you! Have you forgotten? You invited Misa and the others to the fair today!" said the bubbly voice.
It took a while for the information to sink in, and when it finally did, you scrambled to escape from the iron grip of your blankets.
Thump!
You groaned more in annoyance than pain. You heard giggling behind you and you managed to growl, "Tell anyone that I fell out of bed, Misa-chan and I'll put cotton candy in your hair."
Misa gasped, half in fake horror, and half in actual horror. "You wouldn't, would you, Ahiru-chan?"
You grinned, and threw off your blankets before turning to face her. "Don't discount it, Misa-chan!"
Suddenly feeling immature, you ran towards her, raising your hands above your head as though you were actually going to ruin her beautiful, preened hair. She squealed and turned to run. Sprinting after her down the hall, you were giggling loudly, almost manically. Misa disappeared around a corner and you heard her shout out in surprise. "Light-kun!"
Reaching the corner, you saw that Misa had run straight into Light and was currently sheltering herself behind him. "Ahh, you're cheating, Misa-chan!" you called out.
"Misa doesn't remember any rules being set!" she retaliated, poking her tongue out at you.
You pouted as you realised that she was right. It was then you realised that your hair was a mess and that both L and Light were staring at you in surprise. Not wanting them to think you vain, you casually pivoted and strolled back down the hall. As soon as you were out of their line of vision, you ran back to your room and frantically searched for your hairbrush. Quickly brushing your hair, you decided that the clothes you were wearing were fine and you exited the room. Rushing back to meet them, you felt annoyed as you saw L's mouth curl up in amusement. You strode past them in irritation. As you passed, L murmured, "It doesn't matter how you look, Ahiru-chan, you don't need to impress anyone."
You continued walking, mulling over his words. 'Does he mean that he doesn't see me as more than a friend…or does he mean that I've already impressed him so I don't need to try anymore?'
Shaking it off as a passing comment, you turned and said to them all, "Well guys, let's have fun today!"
In reply, Light nodded, Misa cheered and punched the air, and the emotionless L stared blankly at you, obviously not amused about the situation at all. You grinned; today was going to be fun!