Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note, someone else does. Lucky them...

Chapter 19

The Aftermath

Light sat in a chair in the whitewashed hospital room looking at the frail form covered by soft blue blankets. Several tubes and wires were attached to the pale, bruised girl that lay lifelessly in the bed, her hands resting limply by her sides. The tubes and wires connected to many different machines, their different noises filled the room with an eerie humming, as well as a constant rhythmic beeping that signified the girl in the bed had a heart beat.

Noriko's face was bruised and puffy, there where a few cuts that were covered with bandages. What wasn't bruised was unnaturally pale and she looked as if she were dead. The white and blue hospital gown clung loosely to her frame and the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed could barely be noticed.

An oxygen mask was placed securely over her nose and mouth to insure that the girl continued to breath and the oxygen was able to flow into her bloodstream.

The door to the white room opened with a quiet creak. Light looked back to see that Ryuga was shuffling inside. After having shut the door, the black haired man sat in a chair beside Light and drew his legs up to his chest.

"What do you want, Ryuga," Light asked bitterly.

"So she's going to live," Ryuga stated.

"Yes, the doctors were able to stabilize her," Light replied.

"She died on the way here, didn't she," Ryuga asked.

"Yeah," Light sighed as he looked back at the pale form on the bed. "The doctors were able to resuscitate her though. Thankfully."

"Good."

"Ryuga, why are you here," Light asked.

"I'm visiting," the man answered, his tone implying that should have been obvious.

Light sighed in annoyance. "You know what I mean. Why are you trying to involve Noriko in something that doesn't concern her. Your problem is with me, right?"

"I believe you are Kira and I plan on proving it."

Light glared at the man. "By using my fiance? I don't think that's appropriate, and I don't like it."

"She's one of the few good people in the world, she's innocent. Do you really think she would stay with you if she knew you were Kira?"

"I am not Kira, Ryuga," Light snapped.

"Yes well the possibility of you being Kira is only about one percent, but I've never been wrong before," Ryuga replied, nibbling on his thumb and staring at Light.

"Well, you're wrong now," Light said.

"She's been asleep for two days, do you think she'll wake up soon," Ryuga asked as his gaze shifted from the angry brown haired Light to the bruised and pale auburn haired girl that lay unconscious before them.

"The doctors aren't sure how long she'll be asleep. She lost a lot of blood, died, was brought back to life, and is now stable. She was beaten and shot, who knows," Light said, his voice was lined with worry and traces of tiredness.

"Hm, I see."

"I want to-"

"Noriko," a voice called.

Noriko's eyes shot open and she sucked in a deep breath.

"Remember," she whispered quietly.

"Noriko, are you all right?"

The voice was familiar, caring, and worried. Turning her head slowly, Noriko's bright eyes met Light's brown eyes that were filled with worry and relief now that her eyes had opened.

She blinked up at him, her mind was still foggy and she wasn't sure what was going on. She took in the white hospital room and the many tubes that were attached to her.

It was then that everything came rushing back to her in a disorienting whirlwind. Katsuo's escape, staying at the hotel, meeting Namikawa, going to school and meeting Katsuo and her mother. Gun shots.

'Was I shot,' she thought to herself.

"Noriko, can you hear me," Light asked, a little worried by the lack of response he was getting from her.

She nodded her head once, slowly. It was then she realized that there was another person in the room watching them with big dark eyes, as if studying their interaction.

"Ah!" a soft cry escaped her lips. She clenched her eyes shut and tilted her head back slightly. Her hands balled into fists clutching at the blanket that was draped over her body.

The monitor following her heart beat began to beep erratically as her small body arched up from the pain.

'What is going on,' she thought frantically as visions of a dark, dusty warehouse began to fly through her head.

'You have to choose...' a voice said.

'Light Yagami, you are Kira,' another said.

A vision of her, Light and Ryuga suddenly swam into focus. She was reaching for Ryuga's face but her hand was suddenly yanked aside by Light.

She cried out not only in her mind, but in the hospital room. The door of the room burst open and a nurse came running in with a doctor just behind her.

Light and Ryuga were shoved out of the room by the nurse who ignored Light's questions and shut the door in their faces.

'Release her, Light Yagami,' Ryuga ordered.

'I'll do as I please, Ryuzaki,' Light snapped back.

'His name isn't Ryuzaki it's Ryuga,' Noriko said to Light who still had a grip on her wrist.

'No it isn't,' Ryuga said.

'So it's Ryuzaki then,' Noriko asked, confused.

The man just shrugged in response.

Noriko felt anger which was shortly replaced by fear when she looked up into Light's eyes.

She cried out again as the images began to swirl and change again, all the dreams she had been having now rushing back to her, fighting to be seen and remembered.

There was a sudden feeling of calm, like the tide of the ocean that washed over Noriko and she could feel her body grow heavy as her muscles began to relax.

As the drugs that had been given to her began to do their work tears began to slip down her pale face from her closed eyes, and soon all was forgotten again as she drifted back into unconsciousness.

The very last thought that went through her mind was what she was suppose to do with the information she had and the things she knew. After all, it would be odd to just call Ryuga a liar and tell him she knew who he was, and she highly doubted that Light would be pleased with her if she straight out asked him if he really was Kira.

When she finally awoke the next day, there was no one in the small white room with her, and the curtains were drawn over the single window so she had no idea as to what time it was. There were vague outlines of flowers that sat on a table under the window but she couldn't fully see them.

She blinked a few times to clear the sleep from her eyes and to try to emerge from the fog that had settled over her mind.

She remembered everything. All of it. Katsuo's escape, her being shot, and most of all the dreams.

Every single detail was fresh in her mind.

Lying in the bed she let her mind wander over everything that had been revealed to her. 'Ryuga is quite possibly L. He believes that Light is Kira, so why would he be friendly towards me,' she thought. 'Oh, I see... To use me. He thinks that I may have some information he needs to confirm his suspicions against Light.'

The door creaked open and a small shaft of light illuminated the room as a brown haired nurse poked her head inside the door.

"Oh, you're awake," the nurse said quietly.

Noriko nodded in reply.

The nurse walked into the room and approached the bed. She checked over the different monitors and felt Noriko's forehead.

"How are you feeling, are you comfortable," she asked.

Again, Noriko only nodded in response. The nurse frowned slightly at the fact that she wasn't trying to respond verbally.

"I'll be in to check on you again in a few hours. If you need anything just push this button here," the nurse explained while pointing to a red button that was on a remote like object beside the bed, "Until then just rest as much as you can and I'll make sure a doctor comes by and sees you in the morning."

'So it's night,' Noriko thought after the nurse left the room.

"How are you feeling, Noriko," someone asked from the shadows near the window.

She sighed, knowing the voice belonged to her father. Watching him as he stepped out of the shadows to stand beside the bed, she remained blank and distant.

"I understand that everything is probably very overwhelming for you right now, but I am here if you want to talk," her father told her. His eyes were full of love and concern for his only daughter.

Noriko nodded and turned her eyes to the ceiling. She had no desire to talk. She had no idea what to even say if she did.

"Get some more sleep little one," her father whispered quietly.

Noriko sighed, but closed her eyes. She didn't think that sleep would be able to find her, but she thought it was worth a try, after all it wasn't like she could go for a walk.

"The nurse said she woke up early this morning, right?"

"Yeah, apparently she seemed pretty alert, but she didn't talk at all."

"Light-kun should go see his father now."

"I don't need you telling me what to do, Ryuga."

"Hmm, yes, of course not."

Noriko stirred as the voices broke through her peaceful slumber. Blinking her eyes open and letting them adjust slowly, she saw that Light and Ryuga were sitting in the two chairs to the left of her bed.

"Noriko," Light said upon noticing that her eyes had opened. He stood from his chair and walked over to the bedside.

She cringed involuntarily when he grabbed her hand in his, something that didn't go unnoticed by either one of the people in the room.

"How are you feeling," Light asked her. Brushing some of her hair from her face, he studied her and waited for her to answer.

'Do you really care,' she thought bitterly, staring up at him.

"Nori," Light pleaded quietly.

"Leave," she whispered hoarsely as she turned her head away from him. The thoughts in her head were too much for her. She didn't want to believe that Light was Kira, and it wasn't a sure thing he was, but she just couldn't sort out her thoughts while she was drugged up on pain killers and trying to come to terms with having actually died.

Light was stunned by the single word that she had spoken and it was obvious by the look on his face, even Ryuga seemed a little surprised and tilted his head slightly to study at her.

"Noriko, what's wrong," Light asked her worriedly.

"Leave, both of you," she whispered.

"Noriko-"

"Please, Light, just go," she said quietly.

"Look at me, Noriko," Light ordered her, he was confused and angry by her indifference to him and he wanted to know what had caused it. He had spent so much of the past three days worrying for her and then his father had collapsed the previous day from a heart attack brought on by stress. Not only that but he had to deal with Ryuga trying to get him to reveal himself as Kira. So he wasn't exactly in a good mood, he wanted answers from the girl he had so nearly lost. He loved her and it angered him that she was being so distant. He would do anything for her and he would make sure she stayed with him forever.

When Noriko made no sign of moving her head to look at him, Light sighed and turned to Ryuga, "Would you excuse us please, I'd like to be alone with her."

"Yes, of course," Ryuga agreed as he unfolded himself from the chair and slowly sauntered out of the room.

"Noriko."

The green eyed girl remained silent.

With another sigh, Light reached over and placed a hand under her chin, gently tilting her head so that she was facing him. She wouldn't look at him though her eyes stared up unemotionally at the ceiling.

"Noriko, what's wrong? Why do you want me to leave," Light asked, his voice was concerned but demanding as well.

"You lied to me," she answered quietly.

"What are you talking about," he asked, entirely lost by her response.

"Both of you, you lied to me. I trusted you and you lied. Were you just trying to use me too?"

"Noriko, what the hell are talking about," Light asked urgently.

But she wouldn't answer him, he tried for another few minutes to get her to talk, but she refused. So with a defeated sigh, Light squeezed her hand and leaned over to kiss her softly on her forehead.

"I love you, Noriko," he said to her as he released her hand and left the room.

"Is everything alright," Ryuga asked when Light shut the door to the room and stepped into the brightly lit hall.

"She wouldn't say anything aside from that we had lied to her," Light replied with a sigh.

"We," Ryuga asked, his shoulder slumped forward and one hand stuffed in a pocket while the other scratched at the back of his upturned head.

"Yes, we."

"Hmm, why would she say that," Ryuga mused.

"I don't know, she wouldn't talk anymore after that," Light answered.

"Odd."

"I'm going to visit my father now, are you coming," Light asked.

"Yes," Ryuga sighed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans and slouched alongside Light.

For the next week Noriko was confined to her bed in the hospital. Light visited her daily and Mrs Yagami and Sayu would stop in occasionally as well since Mr Yagami was in the same hospital as her, just in a different wing, recovering from his heart attack. Ryuga would stop in with Light sometimes, but there was never any sign of Watari and Noriko didn't feel like asking about the kind old man because it would require her to speak, something she hadn't done since she had spoken with Light a few days before.

Light was frustrated with her for her silence, but was trying to be patient and wait for her to open up and talk to him, he knew she was probably still dealing with the fact that she had nearly died. On top of that she now had a very uncertain future. Katsuo and her mother had both been killed, Katsuo by the police after he had shot Noriko and her mother had committed suicide the following day. She had no home anymore, she was seventeen which by all means made her an adult, but she had very little money and she wasn't supposed to receive any of the inheritance left by her father until she was eighteen, in two more months.

Mrs Yagami had already told her she was welcome to come and stay with them for the time being, but she had just smiled and shaken her head.

Her bruised and swollen cheek had healed almost completely in the week she had been at the hospital. It was still slightly swollen and tinged a pale yellow, with a hint of purple on her cheekbone. Her ribs felt much better as well, they had been bruised by the harsh blow and kick Katsuo had graced her with. The gunshot wound to her side was healing nicely, it hurt still and she had to move carefully so that it wouldn't reopen. She was still fairly weak from the loss of blood and the damage her body had received as well as the emotional stress of all the events that had occurred.

'In those dreams Ryuga was L and he suspected that Light was Kira. He was trying to use me to get information on Light. But Light can't be Kira, I've been with him when some of those deaths have occurred, so its just not possible,' Noriko thought.

It was mid-morning and she was lying in her bed, her hands resting at her sides as she stared blankly out the window. There really wasn't anything to see except the clouds that floated lazily through the clear blue sky and the occasional bird that would flit passed.

'What's confusing though is that in those dreams Light would tell me that the other people who showed up were our enemies, but I didn't get that feeling from any of them. Then there's that Shinigami thing he was always hanging around too, maybe he's Kira. He does have the power to kill people with just their name and face my dad said. What is his connection to Light though, it seemed that he would either be alone or not show up unless it was around Light...Maybe the shinigami thing is using him somehow and he doesn't know it... Then again the dreams could be absolutely meaningless, dad said some of the things were true which really could mean that Ryuga lied about who he is, I wouldn't be entirely surprised, he has the same name as a pop idol for crying out loud. Maybe he just wants Light's help and doesn't suspect him... I'm over thinking this, I need to calm down and think rationally...'

She heard the sound of the door opening, but didn't bother to turn to acknowledge the person entering her room. It was most likely the doctor or nurse coming to check in on her and she didn't really care.

The sound of someone clearing their throat softly finally got her attention and she looked over to see that the person in her room wasn't a doctor or a nurse, but a familiar long haired man in a business suit.

Noriko blinked at Reiji Namikawa in confusion, not really sure what to do, she hadn't exactly expected to see him again, especially in the hospital to visit her.

"I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of stopping in to see you," he said to her.

Noriko shook her head slowly, she was still a little confused by his visit.

"So what the nurse said was true then? You aren't speaking to anyone?"

Noriko shook her head again and smiled apologetically.

"I see, is that you can't talk," he paused here to allow here a moment to answer, and she did so by shaking her head once again. "So you can talk?"

She nodded.

"Then why do you choose not to, if I might ask?"

Noriko frowned at him.

"You know that really isn't fair," she stated after a few moments of silence. "By asking that question you knew that in order for me to answer I would have to do more than nod or shake my head and since not answering would be rude seeing as how you came to visit me, I have no choice but to say something."

"You didn't answer the question," he pointed out in amusement.

"I chose not to talk because I haven't felt the need to."

"I see."

"So..Not to be rude or anything but...What are you doing here," she inquired with interest.

"I had heard about the shooting at the college and just wanted to see how you were recovering," he answered.

"Oh... Not to be rude again, but why," she asked, she was really curious as to why this man she had only spoken with on two occasions, granted very interesting occasions, would feel the need to see how she was doing.

"To be honest with you, I enjoyed your company. It is rather selfish of me, but I was hoping that once you've recovered you would agree to join me for dinner again."

Ok, so she hadn't expected that. This man, who was obviously wealthy, smart, and could get any woman he wanted with a snap of his fingers, had just told her he had enjoyed her company and wanted to take her out to dinner, again. Did he mean like a date though, because that wouldn't work, she was engaged to Light even if she hadn't spoken to him in a week and was still slightly suspicious of him.

"I know you're engaged, I'm asking as a friend, nothing more," Namikawa said when he say the uncertainty in her eyes.

She smiled and chuckled at his statement. "Well, I'd love to, but..."

"But?"

"I don't know if that would be possible for awhile. Unfortunately, I have no job, which means no money until I receive my inheritance in June and technically no place to live until then. On top of that, I was withdrawn from this semester at To-Oh and now the scholarship I had is no good so I have to figure out how I'm going to pay for school. Not to mention I'm not sure that Light is going to let me out of his sight once I actually get out of this boring hell hole."

Namikawa looked at her for a moment and she blushed when she realized she probably sounded like a lunatic with all the ranting she had just done.

"So you need a job," he asked, apparently unaffected by her raving.

"Yeah," she answered slowly.

"Then you're hired."

"Ehhhh... huh?"

"You do remember me mentioning the Yotsuba corporation, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"I'm the Vice President of Sales."

"Oh," Noriko hummed, realizing just how powerful a man he really was.

"I'm sure I can find you a suitable position within the department, if you're interested of course."

"Yes, very."

Namikawa then reached into a pocket on the interior of his black blazer and handed her a gray business card.

She took the card with a smile, the tubes attached to her wrists clinking softly against the bed post.

"My cell phone number is listed at the bottom. When you have recovered, please call me and we'll discuss you working for me."

"Thank you," Noriko replied, she really was grateful for the kindness he was showing her even if she did find it a little odd.

"My pleasure, I should leave you to rest," he said as he gave her a small bow.

"Of course, thank you again, it was kind of you stop by."

"Like I said it was my pleasure. I hope to hear from you soon."

"Yes, talk to you soon." She stared at the gray business card for a moment before setting it on to the nightstand and returning to gazing out the window.

A few seconds later the door once again creaked open and she again, ignored whoever had entered the room.

"Noriko, who was that man that was just in here?"

'It's Light, how nice,' Noriko thought sarcastically.

She didn't answer or acknowledge him any way.

"Yotsuba Corporation, Vice Preside-"

Light was cut off when the business card he had picked up off her nightstand was quite suddenly ripped from his hands by a rather angry looking Noriko.

"None of your damn business," she snapped.

"Well at least you're finally talking to me," Light replied his voice dripping with sarcasm as he pulled one of the two chairs closer to the bed.

Noriko glared at him for a moment before letting the anger slip away from her with a soft sigh. "I'm sorry Light. I'm just a little stressed out and I'm not handling it very well. I was shot for crying out loud. I have no home, I have nothing, I don't know what to do anymore and I can't think straight."

"It's alright Noriko, but you should have just talked to me. It's been hard for me to have you ignoring me like that, you know," Light said.

"Sorry," she replied with a small sad smile.

"You know you can come and live with my family and I for now, until we can figure something else out."

"I know."

"So who was that man," Light asked.

"A friend. I had dinner with him both nights I was at the hotel. He's very nice, he offered me a job with the company he works for," Noriko answered.

Light raised an eyebrow at her, she could see the suspicion behind his eyes.

Noriko sighed and rolled her eyes. "You don't trust me, do you?"

"Of course I do," Light replied.

"Then stop looking at me as though I did something wrong," Noriko snapped at him.

"Sorry, I guess I get a little possessive sometimes," he answered with a chuckle.

"Sometimes," Noriko teased.

"Well, you are mine," he said with a smile.

"I know."

"I'm glad you're talking to me again," Light said with a content sigh.

'Well, it's pointless to not talk to you. But it's also pointless to ask you straight out if you're Kira. You'll deny it either way, obviously, so there's no way for me to be sure if you are or you aren't. Then there's Ryuga, he wants to use me to get to you, and you know, I think I might just let him. It's the only way I'll get answers, ' she thought as she smiled at him. 'I want to know why he suspects you, especially since I had suspected you at one point too. I know you better than him though, and I really don't think you would kill people like Kira is doing, but still you had been acting strange for a little while. That could have just been the anxiety from the coming exams though, I know I felt it too. If you are Kira though Light, I don't know what I'll do, but I'd rather not think about that. You can't be Kira. For now though I'm just going to sit back and watch and listen, I want to know what's really going on.'

"I like it when you smile, I can't stand to see you sad," Light said to her.

"So where is Ryuga today," she asked casually.

"He wasn't at school so I'm not sure," Light answered.

"Oh, so you two get along now, huh?"

"Well you are friends with him and I thought it would be worth it to get to know him also. He felt the same. We played tennis the other day," Light said.

"Let me guess, you won, right?"

"It was close but I did," Light replied with a chuckle. "Ryuga is quite good. Apparently he was the junior British champ."

"That's rather interesting, he doesn't seem like the athletic type."

"No he doesn't."

"How is your dad by the way," Noriko asked.

"He's doing better. He's resting. The Kira investigation was taking a lot out of him."

"I bet, I haven't been following the news, is there any new information on the case," she asked.

"No, nothing."

"So even the world's best detective can't figure this one out, huh?"

"It would seem that way, but he isn't the world's best detective for nothing," Light answered.

"True."

"So how are you feeling," Light asked.

"Like I've been shot, oddly enough," Noriko replied.

"You look a lot better. You were so pale, I was pretty worried. Especially after they had told us that you had actually died on the way to the hospital. You had lost so much blood," Light said his voice was caring and warm.

"It still hurts like hell, but I don't feel as weak as I did at first. My ribs and face feel a lot better though."

"Good, I'm glad. I'd really like to get you out of here. It's so lonely here," Light said.

"Yeah, and very white," Noriko replied.

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