Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

This chapter is icky and I'm sorry for making everyone wait so very long for it. I promise to try and make the next one better. I've just been having a lot of issues with this story and what's going to happen. I already know how it's going to end, hell I could write the last few chapters in a matter of hours, but it's the in between stuff I'm having problems with. Go figure.

Chapter 37

Prove Me Right

Stealth wasn't something Noriko was too good with, she was too clumsy, even if she was a bit different now, it seemed grace still wasn't something she often possessed. Currently, she was pressed against a bare white wall, trying to not make a single sound in the very quiet hospital as a nurse made her way up the hall, and away from her, to check on something. Once she could no longer hear the woman's shoes clicking quietly against the cold, white and gray tile, Noriko slipped from her spot and bit her lip, tip toeing her way down to the empty nurse's station that was only a few more yards away.

She sighed in relief when she reached her destination and looked around the small desk for some type of room roster so that she could find out where Reiji was. When she had woken up about an hour before she had asked the nurse who had come to check on her when she had pushed the little red button on the control for the bed if she knew anything about Reiji. Unfortunately, the woman wouldn't answer her question, saying it was against hospital policy to give out information on their patients and blah blah blah. Now she was sneaking around dimly lit hospital hallways in a hospital gown and a blue robe she had found in the closet. Her right hand was bandaged and she had a piece of tape on her left wrist to keep the I.V needle in place, it just so happened that Noriko was aware that the I.V fluid tube could be separated from the needle part in her arm. It hadn't been easy, but she had managed to unhook the tube, now she just had to hope that she could get the darn thing back into the part stuck in her wrist later.

"Hah," she cheered, looking around to make sure the nurse wasn't coming back and that no one heard her when she picked up a clipboard that had the names and rooms of the patients in that part of the hospital. She scanned the list, her finger running over the names, she moved her weight from foot to foot, the tile was pretty cold and she was barefoot. "Found you," she whispered, sliding her finger over to find the room number.

Setting the clipboard back down, Noriko started to head back the way she had come from. 'He's only a few doors down from me...Two-thirty-eight, I'm in two-thirty. Well that...crap,' Noriko broke her thoughts short when the sound of footsteps approaching caught her attention.

She looked back the way she had came and chewed on her lip, in order to get back to the hall she had come from she would have to walk past the hall the nurse was walking down to return to the nurse's station that Noriko just so happened to still be standing a few feet from. Her head cocked to the side when the footsteps stopped. Creeping toward the hall quietly as she could, Noriko peaked an eye around the corner and pulled back instantly. The nurse was three doors down, checking a file on a clipboard in front of her.

Noriko sighed in relief when she heard the person turn around and walk in the other direction. With one more glance down the hall to be certain that she was safe to run across the opening, Noriko sprinted back to the hall she had come from and started checking numbers on the doors. She knew which room was hers, it was in the center of the hall, but she wasn't sure which direction the numbers went, up or down.

It didn't take her long to find the right room, it was the corner room, putting him close to the nurse's station. The door was closed and Noriko tried to make not even a single sound as she depressed the cold metal handle and let herself into the dark room. Shutting the door was a little harder, the click as the pieces fell into place sounded deafening to her and she froze for a moment before turning towards the bed in the center of the room.

The machines around the person's still form gave an eerie glow to the already pale face on the pillow. Their noises were comforting though, telling her that the man on the bed was alive, even if it didn't seem like it.

Her bare feet didn't make a single sound as she approached the bed and breathed out the breath she had unconsciously been holding in since she had opened the door. She reached her left hand out and placed it against the sleeping man's cheek, her body seemed to deflate then, all her tension leaving her by simply being able to touch the person and know that this was real and not a dream.

"I'm sorry I couldn't fully protect you, but I kept my promise. You're still alive," Noriko whispered as she sat on the edge of the bed and held Reiji's hand in her own. "And to think it was all just a dream to me."

She didn't want to leave even though she knew she shouldn't be there, he needed to rest undisturbed, but she just couldn't bring herself to move from his side. With a sigh, she rested her head on her left arm, keeping a firm grip on Reiji's hand, staring at his face and the monitors around him. It didn't take long until the rhythmic sounds of his breathing and the machines lulled her off to a peaceful sleep.

When Reiji stirred about an hour later, his brows furrowed. He had no idea where he was, but he could feel a familiar presence beside him and he blinked his dark eyes open to gaze at Noriko's peaceful face. She was sleeping quietly, her head on the edge of his bed, pillowed by her arm. It took his eyes a moment longer to fully adjust to the darkness of the hospital room, when they did he noticed that the small hand that gripped his was bandaged and there were dark bruises under her eyes. He placed his free hand on her head, smoothing her hair gently. She fidgeted slightly, but didn't wake.

Of course it had to be at that moment that a nurse came walking in to check on him, the young woman's eyes blinked at the sleeping Noriko and a frown crossed her rather plain features.

"It's nice to see you're awake, but she shouldn't be in here," the woman said authoritatively and snobbishly.

"Noriko is a good friend of mine, why exactly is she here if you don't mind my asking," Reiji asked the nurse, flashing her a sweet smile.

The nurse blushed and if Noriko had been awake she would have had to force herself not to start laughing at the way women reacted to a smile from the handsome man she had once dated. Not that she could blame the woman, Reiji could be quite charming when he wanted to.

"Well, she cut her hand and needed some stitches, but she fainted outside. She's pretty underweight, the doctor thinks she may have an eating disorder of some kind," the nurse told him, her voice taking a giddier tone as if she were gossiping and back in high school.

"Noriko, an eating disorder, that's highly unlikely. She's quite fond of food," Reiji replied jovially. "Anyways, I don't mind that she's in here and she has trouble sleeping alone, can't you make an exception for now?" Reiji asked, flashing the nurse another small smile.

"W-well...you both need to be resting and she was on a special I.V drip for the night..."

"How about until you finish your rounds? You can come back then and I'll wake her, but she looks so peaceful right now, which is rare for her," Reiji sighed. "I really don't want to wake her yet."

"Alright, but only until my rounds are done. You've got about a half an hour," the nurse said, turning to leave.

The door clicking shut roused Noriko from her sleep and she took in a deep breath, her eyes fluttering open tiredly.

"You're awake," she mumbled sleepily, lifting her head from her arm to yawn and rub at her eyes, she didn't realize immediately that Reiji was frowning at her. Well not at her, but at the ring finger of her left hand. "Ah," she chuckled nervously, tucking her hand into her lap and smiling weakly.

"You're engaged to him, again?"

The disapproval was apparent in Reiji's clipped tone, Noriko winced and looked away from his scrutinizing gaze.

"Um, yeah about that..."

"You don't need to explain anything to me," he cut in dismissively.

"I know, but...He's been there for me and he's changed...Or that's what I'd like to believe anyways," Noriko replied, bowing her head. "Right now, I'm not so sure what to believe. The fact that you and the others were targeted when only a handful of people knew of your involvement with Higuchi when he was acting as Kira is hard to ignore. I'm beginning to think that I may have seriously underestimated him."

"I already told you that if you ever needed a place to go, you would have one."

"You did, but I don't think that I can without endangering you again."

"That's right," Reiji whispered in what Noriko could only explain as awe. "It was you."

"What?" She asked, confused.

"You were there, you were the one in my dream. Or at least I thought that's what it was, but it wasn't was it? You stopped all of us from being killed by Kira, didn't you?"

All she could manage was a shake of her head as her eyes widened. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she could force out any coherent words. "You did see me."

"You were beautiful," he told her, his hand brushing over her cheek as she stared in shock at him.

"Even I thought it was just a dream until I saw you being wheeled into the hospital. I know that in the dream you seemed to see me, but I never thought it was possible for you to actually remember it. You weren't supposed to see any of that," Noriko explained shakily.

"What are you?"

"I...I.." She sighed, hanging her head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she uttered quietly, looking down at the floor.

"Try me," he challenged.

"Well alright, but you're going to think I'm insane," Noriko said.

"Right now the only reason I think you're insane is because you're wearing that ring again, but why don't you let me decide for myself?"

"Fine," Noriko replied shortly. "Do you remember me telling you, Shimura and Mido about the story my dad used to tell me?" She paused and took a breath that she let out slowly when he nodded. She scooted back in the chair she was in, crossing her legs in front of her and resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her palms. "Ok, well there's more to it the story than that. Although, to be honest, I don't know if I'm really allowed to be telling people this, but oh well. I suppose I should start by telling you that the Shinigami kill with a notebook called a Death Note, it's simple, they only need to see you to know your name like I've told you, they then write it down and you die and the Shinigami that killed you gets what was left of your lifespan. The Death Note should kill every person whose name is written in it, but you and I are both proof that that isn't always true as is everyone else that was in that room. Anyways, moving on. I told you a bit about the war my dad said the Shinigami started, but I didn't tell you about the family that tried to protect the humans the Shinigami were killing with no reason other than jealousy and envy."

Noriko ran through the now all too familiar story of her family's past, her eyes locked on Reiji's almost the entire time to see just how insane he thought she was. She was relieved to see that there was no suspicion in his eyes as she finished her tale and let out a long sigh.

"I don't quite know how this all works yet, I'm still adjusting to all of this myself. I know that I can't always save people whose names have been written. My friend, Ryuga, he died in my arms and there wasn't anything I could about it, Watari died too," Noriko said sadly, her head drooping under an invisible weight.

"It's not your fault, Noriko. You're only human and you have limitations like we all do."

"I know, but it's still hard to accept. Especially now that I know I'm capable of saving people, I can't help but wonder why they had to die."

Neither one of them said anything after that, Noriko was letting in the information sink in and Reiji was trying to understand everything she had told him. The logical side of him wanted to deny that anything she said was possible, but the rest of him was all to aware of the fact that he knew it wasn't.

"These notebooks are being used to commit the Kira killings, aren't they?" Reiji asked.

"Yes, if the Shinigami happens to drop their notebook and it's picked up by a human, it becomes the property of that human until they return ownership to the Shinigami the notebook belongs to since the Shinigami has to stay with that human or they die," Noriko answered.

"How many notebooks are there?"

"In total, who knows," she shrugged. "It's impossible to tell. In our world right now, I know that there are at least two. One in the possession of someone acting as Kira and they're close too, for awhile I could only sense them as if they were hidden behind a really thick stone wall or something, but not anymore. The other was the one that Higuchi had, Light is technically the owner of that one now, but his father has hidden it and not told anyone where it's at so he doesn't have access to it. I think there's another, one in the possession of a Shinigami because I can sense something, not threatening, mind you, but something. It's probably the Shinigami that is following the current Kira around. The other Shinigami disappeared, the one that owned Higuchi's notebook."

"So what's L doing to catch Kira this time?" Reiji asked.

Noriko jolted slightly, her breath catching in her throat as she blinked up at him in confusion. It took her a minute, but when she noticed the odd, concerned look Reiji was giving her she shook her head. "Sorry, um, he's doing everything he can, but nothing is standing out so far. I'm not really privy to the information anymore, not since I sort of tried to burn one of the Death Notes while everyone was under the impression that if it was destroyed then everyone who had touched it would die. Kind of made myself enemies with that...and then getting drunk and attacking Light with Ry...Ryuga didn't help much," Noriko said, chuckling wanly.

"Sounds like the past few months have been quite interesting for you," Reiji observed wryly.

She shrugged noncommittally, opening her mouth to reply, but being cut off as the door opened and the nurse that had promised to come back after her rounds walked in, throwing a disapproving glare at Noriko and a bright smile at Reiji.

"I guess I should be going," Noriko said slowly, pointing at the door and standing from the chair she had made herself comfortable in.

"Wait, you haven't kept in contact with Lisa or I, how can I get a hold of you," Reiji inquired.

"Um, honestly it would be best if you didn't, but if you really need to... I spend Thursday afternoons, between my classes, so usually from about 1 to 3, in this little coffee shop just south of campus. The Little Latte or something like that. Saturdays I run errands and stop in this family owned bakery just down the street from my apartment at about 9 in the morning, I don't know the name of it, but it's on 22nd and Fuji, right on the corner."

"Well I guess I'll see you around then, Noriko," Reiji smirked.

She smiled and nodded before leaving the room, the nurse following after her to make sure she actually went back to her own room.

"Your hand should be fine, the stitches are dissolving stitches so unless you have any problems there is no need to come back and have them removed," the gray haired and rather round doctor told a very uninterested Noriko who was staring out the window and Light who was listening intently. "I am quite concerned however about her weight and over all health," the doctor said to Light when it was obvious that Noriko wasn't paying any attention.

"What do you mean," Light asked cautiously.

"It's obvious from looking at her that she's not eating properly or getting enough rest. I'm also worried about how detached she seems to be-"

"I'm not detached," Noriko cut in blandly. "I'm bored and I hate hospitals, so can I go?"

"It comes down to this, she needs to start eating and taking better care of herself. If things continue like this, it is your responsibility as her fiancé to make sure she gets proper treatment for her problems."

"Treatment? There's nothing wrong with me," Noriko argued heatedly.

"Noriko," Light sighed.

"What, Light?" She snapped. "I don't have an eating disorder and you know it."

"Denial is quite common-"

Noriko let out an annoyed cry and threw her hands up in the air. "I'm not denying anything that shouldn't be denied. If you two want to talk about eating disorders I don't have, go ahead. I'll be outside with the rest of the world, denying you exist!"

"Sorry about that," Light chuckled apologetically after Noriko stormed from the room. "The last few months have been hard on her, two of her good friends died and she's juggling school and trying to plan a wedding."

"Yes, understandable. In my opinion you should watch her closely, it sounds as if she may be depressed or suffering from some sort of anxiety disorder. If things get worse you should make sure she gets proper psychiatric help. It might be a good idea for her to consider it anyway, something is keeping her from taking proper care of herself."

"I'll talk to her, thank you doctor."

Noriko spent most of the car ride staring out the window, glaring at everything as she rested her forehead against the cool glass.

"Are you just going to be ignoring me, Nori?" Light asked.

She scowled at his reflection in the glass as he turned to look at her. "Last night Kira tried to kill the members of the Yotsuba Corporation that were involved in the meetings of death. I stopped them from being killed, I had thought it was all just a dream until I saw Reiji on that stretcher," she replied accusingly. "I managed to talk to him for a little while last night and do you know what? He saw me in the meeting room last night, saw me protect the others from the thing that was trying to kill them and saw me as I kept his heart from bursting from his chest."

"I don't understand, how could he see you?"

"I don't know, but he did. That's not what bothers me, Light," she replied bitterly. "The only ones to know about Yotsuba's involvement with Kira are few and all but one of them are people we see on a daily basis."

"Misa?" Light stated grimly. "You think Kira is Misa?"

"It would make sense, who else would try to kill all those men at the same time?"

"It could have just been a coincidence, Noriko."

"No, Light it couldn't have been. The odds of a new Kira targeting them, especially when this one doesn't seem to be doing anything other than killing criminals, is very small and you know it."

"I admit it's unlikely, but Misa gave up her notebook and I don't really think she's bright enough to think about planning out a way to get it back," Light replied.

"Maybe it wasn't her plan," Noriko pointed out smugly.

"What are you...Oh, I see. You think it was me? You think I somehow arranged for Misa to get the notebook back again."

"I don't know, Light, but I promise you this, if you don't find Kira, I will and I'll make sure they pay."

"I thought you trusted me, Noriko," Light said with a sad shake of his head as he pulled her keys from her ignition after parking the car in the garage of their apartment complex. "I made you a promise, remember? Why would I break that promise when it would mean losing you?"

Noriko turned her green eyes to stare into his brown, guilt washed over her at the look of hurt he was giving her, but she brushed it aside. "I hope you're telling the truth, Light. I want you to be, but you have to understand how this looks to me."

"It is suspicious, Nori, I know that, but there has to be another explanation and I'll find it. I promise, ok," he asked, leaning across the seat to cup her cheek in his hand and rest his forehead on hers as he kept their eyes locked.

"Alright," she sighed, smiling half heartedly when he kissed her.

As the end of June drew closer and July was just around the corner, Noriko found herself growing very nervous. Not only were finals fast approaching, but so was her wedding date.

Ever since she had told Light she had suspicions that Misa was Kira again, he had attacked the case full force, eager to prove to her that he had nothing to do with what was going on even if it turned out that Misa did. He had everyone combing through all the old files on the case, charting all the deaths in Japan and marking anything that appeared suspicious in anyway so that they could investigate and see if there were any leads. So far every lead he followed came up empty.

He was working himself to the bone, coming to bed late every night, putting off his school work until the last minute which in its self made Noriko think that he really was trying to prove himself to her. The Light she knew would never neglect his education, he was dead set on joining the N.P.A so that he could provide for her and the family he wanted to start with her and to see him putting off such important work made her doubt that he had any connection to the current Kira, even if it was Misa.

In the time since she had seen Reiji in the hospital she had run into him on several occasions while having coffee between classes or stopping for a quick bite to eat before doing her errands every Saturday. It was obvious to her that Reiji was worried about her and none too pleased that she was staying with Light even though she had been suspicious of him and knew what he had done. He liked to remind her of the way she had felt towards him while she had been staying with him, how she had said she would never forgive him, he was curious as to why she would chose to go against her own words. All she could ever tell him was that she loved him and wanted to believe that he had changed, but for some reason the more time she spent around Reiji the harder it was to convince herself of this.

It was a Saturday morning and Noriko was preparing to run her errands for the day, with it being the end of the month she had a few more than usual to do so she was currently gathering up all of her lists and bills and piling them into her purse along with her checkbook. Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was getting close to 9 and she needed to be going, Reiji had talked her into meeting him for a real breakfast downtown since all of their conversations until now seemed hurried and not very personal. The fact that she was doing something behind Light's back didn't even bother her as she hurried to get ready.

"Hey Light, is there anything else you need done, anything you want me to pick up while I'm out?" She called down the hall since he was in the bedroom getting dressed.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm meeting Kenta for lunch later so if I need anything I'll get it then," he answered.

"I thought you normally met Kenta for lunch on Fridays since I'm in class all day," Noriko replied, when he came out of the room a moment later.

"Yeah, but he needs a little extra help with psychology so I told him I'd help him out. I don't think I'll be long, is that alright?"

"Fine, it's the end of the month so I'll probably be gone all day. If you need me, call me, I'll have my phone on. I need to get going though I want to make sure I get to the bakery before they run out of that really good banana nut bread, they sold the last piece just before I got there the last two weekends in a row," Noriko said hurriedly, kissing Light and grabbing her things.

"Can't have you not getting your banana nut fix, get going, I'll be studying all day so if you want to just pick something up for dinner that would probably be nice," Light called after her as she hopped to the door as she slipped on a pair of black shoes.

"Alright, love you Light."

"Love you too," he laughed and shook his head after she had left. "Well at least I know she's got her appetite back."

Breakfast had been nice, she had been rushing around so much lately that she was only eating whatever she could put straight into her mouth. Meaning lots of fast food and even more onigiri. Her and Reiji talked about everything but the Kira case, mainly her upcoming exams and the fact that she planned on trying to find a job over the summer. The subject of her marriage was conveniently not mentioned throughout the entire meal.

When they were getting ready to leave, she was surprised to realize that it was later than she had thought, it was nearing noon and she still hadn't even started on her errands. She was glad that she was already in the downtown area though, most of her stops were only a short walk from the restaurant.

"Thank you for breakfast, it's the first real meal I've eaten in awhile," Noriko said as her and Reiji exited the restaurant and walked into the crowds of people outside.

"At least you've put some weight back on, I thought it was a bit amusing that the doctor thought you might have an eating disorder. Shows how much he knows you," Reiji replied.

"Hey, I like food, but I can be forgetful alright."

"You forgetting to eat sounds so..wrong," he teased.

"You are being snotty," Noriko snorted stiffly, turning her head away stubbornly as they waked down the street towards the parking garage where Noriko and Reiji had both parked. She had left her stack of bills and random lists in the car so she didn't accidentally knock someone over with a purse the size of a log.

"Is something wrong," Reiji asked, noticing how Noriko was slowing down, her face thoughtful and distant.

"Uh, no...It's just..." She came to a full stop on the sidewalk and looked around in confusion, her eyes scanning the crowds. There was nothing out of the ordinary though so she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Sorry, I just felt like I was being watched by something." She continued walking her eyes darting around the sea of faces before she stopped again, Reiji had to pull her out of the middle of the sidewalk to avoid being trampled by a group of teenagers that weren't paying any attention.

"What's wrong?"

She lifted her hand and pointed across the street where a blond girl in pig tails was giggling childishly as a brown haired boy that looked less than amused, opened the door leading into a small cafe open for her. He didn't know it, but what she was really pointing at was the tall, bony leather clad figure floating in the air behind the blond girl.

"Isn't that Misa Amane?" Reiji inquired as he looked at the girl.

"Yes, with my fiance and a shinigami," Noriko replied, her face hard and her eyes glinting coldly as the three entered the small cafe.

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