Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

Chapter 43

Another Beginning

There was no time to think, no time to do anything except for act. And that's exactly what Matt did. It didn't take a genius to know that something had gone horribly wrong on the bridge. The amount of debris falling into the river and the size of the chunks were enough to tell him that despite all the precautions they had taken to ensure Noriko's safety, they had failed. The bridge wasn't as sturdy as they had thought and now it was falling apart. Quickly.

When Noriko's body slammed through the surface of the disturbed waters of the river, Matt wasted no time in swimming to her side. Avoiding the falling debris proved rather difficult and he had no idea how none of it ever hit them, but he silently thanked the higher powers that it didn't. It wasn't all that easy to to get a breathing canister over Noriko's mouth since she was unconscious, but he managed and hauled her body through the water and to where the scooters where anchored and waiting a few yards away.

Given Noriko's state of unconsciousness, Matt wasn't sure he should wait for Mello to join them. The auburn haired girl needed medical attention, he wasn't sure what had happened and though he didn't see any external damage he wondered if there was internal damage and just how bad it may be. Preparing one of the scooters with one arm wrapped around Noriko's thin waist wasn't simple, he was having quite a bit of trouble actually and breathed in relief when Mello appeared beside him and helped him to turn the device on.

Without waiting for his blond haired friend who was now going to have to use the two remaining scooters, which he figured would be fairly interesting, Matt let the scooter pull he and Noriko down the river. Not wanting to keep Noriko under the surface for long, he lifted the both of them above the water's surface around a curve in the bed to be sure that there was no way they could be seen from the bridge. If it was even still standing at that point.

Pulling Noriko out of the water, he laid her down on the bank of the river and pulled a waterproof cellphone from his pocket. He didn't even have to do more than flip the phone open, an incoming call was making the caller id light up and the object to vibrate in his palm.

The phone barely made it to his ear before a voice poured through the speaker. "Matt, where is Noriko? Did she-"

"Calm down, L. Noriko's right here, but she is unconscious. I don't know what happened, but I can't take her down the river like this. We need to get her to a hospital asap," Matt cut in, leaning down to check that Noriko was in fact still breathing and had a pulse. She was breathing shallowly and her heart beat was weak, but she was still alive.

L sighed, a tired almost dead sound. "I'm afraid that's out of the question," he said monotonously.

Matt's green eyes widened at the statement. "But..She's.."

"I understand that Noriko has been injured, but you must understand that if we were to take her to a hospital now the entire point of our plan will have been meaningless. There will be no easy way to keep her survival a secret."

"That's true, but we can't just leave her like this," Matt pointed out, looking down at the pale face of the girl on the ground.

"I'm afraid I have no other option," L said before telling Matt his plans.

The copper haired boy could only listen with his eyes wide and his jaw hanging slightly agape, but when the speaking on the other end of the line finished, he frowned. He remained silent even though a part of him wanted to speak up and tell the world famous detective that this time he wasn't right, that he had other options then the one he had just told him. It would have done him no good though and he knew it, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Watari will be there shortly, please take care of Noriko until then," L said before the line went dead.

Matt sighed and frowned at the phone in his hand, snapping it shut and shoving it back into his pocket before turning around to see Mello clambering out of the river.

"Plans have changed, Mel," Matt told him grimly.

Pushing his blond hair from his face, Mello let his narrowed blue eyes meet the concerned gaze of his best friend. Having known each other for years, Mello could easily tell that something was bothering the copper headed game addict. "What's wrong?"

"Watari will be here shortly to get Noriko and take us back to the headquarters, after that we're on our own."

"On our own," Mello repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, 'fraid so."

"How bad?" L asked Watari as the old man examined Noriko.

The elderly man remained silent for a moment, but when he spoke again his voice was grim. "It's really hard to say. Her wrist is broken and there appears to be damage to her ribs as well as to her spine which I assume was caused when she fell into the water. Her back took the brunt of the impact. It's hard to say whether there is any internal damage or not without the proper equipment, I suggest we take her to a hospital."

"Then I suggest we get going."

Watari nodded in understanding. "I'll prepare for our departure immediately."

~One Week Later~

"This can't be happening," Light murmured, his eyes were distant and bruised from lack of sleep and his face was pale. He stood beside his father as if in a daze, his eyes staring ahead of him blankly.

"I'm so sorry, Light," his father offered quietly. The man put a hand on his son's shoulder and gave it a brief reassuring squeeze.

"None of this feels real. It's like a nightmare."

A soft wind brought the scent of rain and Light looked up at the cloudy sky, it would rain soon, but he thought it was fitting on such a sad day. It would be as if the skies themselves were weeping in response to the loss of the woman he had loved so dearly. Sighing emptily, Light let his dull brown eyes travel from the darkening sky to the white stone in front of him.

There were two names on that stone: Kiyoshi Mori and beside it Noriko Mori. Her name had been etched into the stone along with her birth and death date. The spot where Noriko's name had gone was supposed to have gone to her mother, but her mother had instead been buried with Katsuo. Knowing that the bond between Kiyoshi and Noriko had been strong, Light had decided to put Noriko's name with her father's. It was all he could do anyway, there was no body to cremate or bury.

His jaw clenched tightly and he lowered his head to hide not only the tears building up in his eyes, but the rage that was in them. He would find the person responsible for Noriko's death and he would make sure that they died the most painful death imaginable.

"We should go before it begins to rain," Mr Yagami suggested, glancing up into the rapidly darkening sky.

"Yeah, of course, sorry," Light replied distractedly.

"I know it's hard, Light, especially given the circumstances, but try not to dwell too much on it. Noriko is in a better place now and has been reunited with the father she loved so much. You may not think it possible, but you will go on to live a happy life without her. It's what she would have wanted."

Light didn't respond, he merely cast a last long glance at the stone which bore Noriko's name and followed after his father. 'I will avenge you. I promise, Noriko. The people who did this to you will be punished by Kira,' he thought.

Not once did he stop to think about how Noriko would feel should Light continue to kill for her or because of her. The fact that Noriko didn't agree with Kira's goals and actions was something he didn't bother to consider, he didn't see the point. She was dead and she had died by the hands of a criminal, a criminal that even she would agree deserved to be punished.

His face was tucked partially into the warmth of his coat and his eyes were hidden by his hair and he was so lost in his thoughts of revenge that he didn't notice the man and woman that walked by him.

"So it's true then? Noriko is really... she's really...dead." The voice that spoke was that of a female. It was shaky and full of sadness.

"It would seem so." Her companion replied.

She turned her head to look over at the black haired man and sniffled. He may not be crying like she was, but he was staring intently at the name on the tombstone she had knelt in front of. There was a sense of loss lingering in his dark eyes and his posture told her he wasn't as composed as he was trying to appear.

"I know she was a klutz, but to have fallen into the river? It doesn't make a lot of sense," the woman said quietly.

"No, it doesn't it," the man agreed.

"Mr. Namikawa," the woman questioned, her brows furrowing as she glanced back at the handsome man again. He was still not looking at her, but at the name on the stone and he appeared to be deep in thought. She frowned, she had had the sense that there was a deeper meaning behind his words.

"I'm sorry, Lisa, I'm not feeling very well, perhaps we should leave before the rain arrives," he suggested, tearing his eyes from the name on the stone and waiting for his assistant to rise before turning and leaving the cemetery.

It was a strange feeling. Noriko's body felt heavy, but at the same time it felt almost nonexistent. It was warm, she noticed, her brows furrowing in confusion when she tried to shift and get more comfortable in her bed only to find the bed she was in was much too small to allow her to move much. There was also the fact that her limbs felt like the were weighted down and were hard to move.

Squirming and groaning in discomfort due to her inability to move, Noriko tried to open her eyes, but they too felt like they were much too heavy. Confused about what was going on, but also too tired to question it, she attempted to go back to sleep. It was as she was lulling off that she felt someone poke her right arm. She ignored them and let sleep tug at her consciousness.

There was another poke, followed by another and then another. They were becoming more frequent now and she could feel her teeth clench and her brow begin to twitch.

Finally forcing her heavy eyelids to open, she smacked at the hand that was poking her, realizing with much confusion that it was not an easy thing for her to do.

"What?!" She snapped. Her eyes widened at the sound of her own voice, it was harsh and thick, as if she hadn't spoken in some time. A hand rose to her throat and her tired, gritty eyes noted that the hand was shaking badly.

Blinking and starting when a hand was laid over hers, Noriko looked up to meet the green eyes of her father. "D..Dad?" She asked, her voice a rough whisper.

"You're awake," he cooed enthusiastically, smiling brightly. "I'm so glad."

She would have pointed out that he had made it nearly impossible for her to do anything other than wake up with how he had been incessantly poking her, but she settled instead for glaring at him. When she noticed that she was in an unfamiliar room, her glare was replaced by a frown and her eyes roamed over the interior of the room.

It appeared to be a hospital room, but it was decorated in a way that it felt much more homey and less suffocating and boring. The walls weren't white, but a soft, sandy beige. There were several pictures hung about the room of what Noriko thought was a European countryside, because she was certain that she had never seen anything like the scenery in the photos in Japan. Wooden furniture gave the room a more homey feel and the wooden shutters over the windows made her feel like she were in an English manor instead of a hospital. It was pretty obvious however that she was in a hospital room. The monitors beeping around her, the I.V in her arm made that fact clear.

She also knew that she wasn't in any old hospital, never before

"Where...Where am I?" She asked, her head spinning when she attempted to sit up.

"You should try not to move too much," her father advised, ignoring her inquiry about just where they were.

Frown deepening, Noriko eyed her father skeptically. "Where are we?" She asked again.

"Are you feeling alright? Are you comfortable?"

"Dad."

"Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"Dad."

"How about some ice cream?"

"Dad," she growled tiredly, rolling her eyes wearily.

"Hm? Yes, dear," he asked while innocently blinking down at her.

"Where are we?" She repeated.

He blinked at her again, this time like her question had been asked out of nowhere and for no reason. "Isn't that obvious, dear? We're in a room."

If she could have lifted her arm with enough force, she would have punched her father. Not that it would have done her much good, he probably would have allowed her fist to pass right through him. She also figured that with the little strength she cold muster, it would do her little good to try and hit him, it's not like he would have noticed even if was solid when her fist connected.

"And where is this room?"

"In a building."

"And where is the building?"

"In a place."

"Where is that place?"

"Well would you look at the time," he chirped, glancing down at his watchless wrist before grinning back up at her. "You should really get some more rest, Nori, you'll never get to enjoy England if you don't heal quickly."

"Eng-" Noriko was cut off before she could ask what her father meant about enjoying England when a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her. Before she could even register what was going on, her world had faded to black and she drifted into a deep unconsciousness.

Sighing, Kiyoshi plopped his chin into his palm and stared at his now sleeping daughter. She had lost several pounds in the past week and the bruises that she had received during the episode on the bridge were fading slowly. Her skin was riddled with yellow, black and blue marks that were very noticeable on her already pale and getting paler skinner.

"Sorry, kiddo, but I think it's best you get some rest. I know how stubborn you can be, but right now you need to heal. So sleep little one, until your body is well again."

The sound of the door caused Kiyoshi to look away from Noriko and behind himself to see the raven haired L slouching into the room, one hand in his pocket and the other scratching at his head.

"I thought I heard Noriko's voice," L explained, stepping up onto a chocolate brown armchair and lowering himself into a crouch. Not a moment later his thumb was resting on his lower lip as he chewed on the tip of the digit while his dark onyx eyes roamed over the sleeping body in the bed.

Kiyoshi sighed, turning his attention back to his daughter. "She woke up, but I didn't think it a good idea to let her stay that way. She needs as much rest as possible, but with how persistent and stubborn she is it wouldn't be long before she figured out where we are and what that means. She'd be furious, I hope you are aware of that."

L nodded, his eyes never leaving the face of the woman that had changed his life in many ways. "I am. Noriko will be angry, but I'm prepared for that. I had no other choice, her health and safety comes first."

Laughing quietly to himself, Kiyoshi smiled at the reply. "Maybe so, but she won't agree with that. She's such a stubborn child."

"Nori-san can be stubborn all she'd like. I have already made my decision."

Kiyoshi chuckled, but didn't speak again. Instead he kept his thoughts to himself. He figured there was no point in trying to warn L any further about Noriko's most likely reaction to the fact that they were in England and L in no way planned on letting her out of his sight. Ever. There was all also the fact that the Kira case had been essentially abandoned by him and that was where he figured things would go awry with Noriko.

For almost six months, Noriko was kept in an almost constant state of unconscious by her father and with the help of the drugs given to her to help with the pain and healing process.

She had lost a considerable amount of weight and had paled quite a bit, but she was still in decent health thanks to the superb medical attention she was receiving. Her injuries, which had consisted of several broken bones in her wrist and ribs as well as a some minor damage to her spinal cord due to the fall she had taken into the river were, healing nicely an it was doubtful that they would cause her any long term pain. She wasn't coming away completely unscathed, however, she had had burns ranging from minor to severe on her arms and fingers from having tried to shield herself from the intense heat of the bombs as she fell. They were healing nicely, but there would be some scarring along her forearms.

When her wounds had healed to a point that keeping her in a state of sleep would be rather unnecessary, her father finally let up on keeping her asleep and waited for her to awake on her own. It hadn't taken her long, only a matter of hours after he had stopped interfering, she had begun to stir.

At first, she just fidgeted in her bed, her brows furrowed and a frown on her face at the sensation of once again being able to fight her way out of the blackness that had claimed her entire being for almost half a year. When her eyes finally fluttered open, her green eyes looked around in confusion before landing on the man crouched in the chair beside her bed.

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it and smiled at the sight of L asleep in his usual crouch, his head resting crookedly on his knee. Unable to stop herself, she reached towards him and brushed a stray strand of hair out of his face. Her fingers lightly grazed his cool forehead and the messy haired detective started, his eyes snapping open as he instinctively backed away from the touch.

Noriko smiled wanly when L blinked over at her and laid her hand over her stomach. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she offered. "What are you doing sleeping like that in here anyway?"

"I was waiting for you to wake up," he replied tiredly, scratching lazily at his mane of unruly hair.

"And just how long have you been waiting?"

"This time only five weeks and three days."

Blinking at the answer, Noriko cocked her head to the side and asked. "How long have I been out altogether?"

"Five months, three weeks and six days," L answered automatically.

She blinked again. "Almost six months?"

L bobbed his head in reply and watched Noriko closely. Her face pulled into a frown and her eyes glazed over a bit as she stared down at her hands silently thinking to herself.

It was hard to believe that so much time had passed and if she was doing her math right, she had woken up in a completely different year. She was also recalling the few times she had woken up and the hazy conversations she had had with her father and L. There wasn't a lot she could remember, but with a quick glance up, her eyes came to rest on a photo of a beautiful green hillside.

"England," she murmured to herself. "Dad said something about England."

"Yes," L spoke up, grabbing Noriko's attention and locking his eyes with her bright green orbs when she turned to him in confusion. "We're no longer in Japan, we're in England."

"Why are we in England? Is the Kira case closed? What-"

"The Kira case is not closed. Though we know who is responsible for the crimes, we have no way of proving it or stopping him at this point."

Noriko's brow furrowed and she looked back down at her hands trying to comprehend what was going on. Her mind was still a bit fuzzy and it made it hard to think clearly. "I don't understand... If the case isn't finished then why are we in England?"

L sighed, he knew what was coming and he in no way looked forward to it. He had grown used to the peace quiet that had settled over the house and wasn't ready for that to be shattered by Noriko's shouting. Especially since she would be shouting at him and he couldn't very well ignore her when she was being that loud.

"We are in England because it was the best option at the time. You were seriously injured and needed medical attention, if we were to keep Light under the impression that you had died I couldn't risk taking you to a local hospital. Watari-"

"You flew me to England for medical attention?! Are you insane?! How are you supposed to get the notebooks if we're in England?!"

"Actually we flew you to China first. Watari knows a great doctor-"

"Does it matter where you flew me first? What happened with the Kira case?" Noriko demanded, ignoring the twitch of annoyance she could see in L's eyes from her having interrupted him two times in a row.

It didn't appear as if L wanted to answer her question and after a few seconds of silence, Noriko spoke up again. Her voice was quiet now, her eyes had lost some of their luster and she wouldn't look up at L. "You abandoned the case, didn't you? You left the world at the mercy of Light and his insatiable need to create his own perfect world for him to rule over like a God. Why? Why would you abandon the case after everything that's happened? You know what he's capable of and you know that he will never stop. I thought you hated to lose, L, so why would you willingly forfeit?"

He hadn't expected Noriko to be happy over his decision to leave Japan and to leave behind the Kira case, but he had come to learn that sometimes there were things more important than winning.

"I had no choice," he replied in answer to her multiple questions.

"That's a lie," she countered tersely. "You had several other choices. You could have had me treated in Japan, you could have taken me outside of Japan for treatment and then returned to Japan, but you didn't. You left Japan and left the world to deal with Kira on its own."

"Matt and Mello are still working on the case, but in their own way."

She turned her head to stare wide eyed at L. "You expect two teenage boys to finish a case that even you, the great L, couldn't solve," she asked, a hint of bitter sarcasm in her voice.

"Mello was in line to be my successor along with a few others should anything have ever happened to me. He's capable-"

"I don't give a damn what he's capable of, L," Noriko cut in, her eyes narrowing and her voice taking on a new, sharp edge. "You were the one that said you would catch Kira, that you would bring him to justice no matter what. You. Not Mello or Matt. You."

"Would it make you angry if I said that you're being extremely difficult?" L grumbled, turning his head away when Noriko glared at him.

"Why? I want an explanation and I think I deserve one seeing as how my dad has been keeping unconscious for the last few months."

"So you knew, hm?" A new voice asked embarrassedly, chuckling quietly.

Letting her eyes move from L's crouched figure to the figure behind him, Noriko scowled. "It's not hard to figure out seeing as how I feel perfectly fine. A little weaker than usual, but otherwise fine."

"Sorry, dear, but I didn't want you throwing a tantrum and hurting yourself," her father replied.

Noriko growled stubbornly and looked away with a soft grunt. "I'll show you a tantrum, I haven't even gotten started yet."

"Before you do that, why not hear what the young detective has to say, no?" Her father asked, grinning broadly at her.

Refusing to look at either one of them, she nodded stiffly and folded her arms over her chest. She listened intently to L speak and though he didn't say much, she found herself stuck between being angry and understanding. He had done what he thought was right by leaving Japan with her. He had wanted to protect her and to keep her out of Light's grasp and to do that he wanted her as far away from him as possible. England had seemed like the best answer at the time given the amount of contacts that both he and Watari had there. Not to mention all of the people that were at their disposal there would be able to make sure that no one ever knew Noriko was there.

She could understand his reasoning for leaving Japan and why he felt that it was the only way to protect her, but what made her angry was that he had only thought of her wellbeing. He hadn't considered the wellbeing of the families and friends that Light would destroy. It was this fact that upset her the most because with L no longer focusing on the case, there was no telling what would happen. Matt and Mello may have his trust, but even he had to know that the two of them would be no match for Light. They didn't know him the way they did, they had no idea what he was really capable of and the idea of the two boys fighting a battle against him made Noriko worry for them.

"It's not that I can't understand why we had to leave Japan, it's that you did it because of me. You should have stayed and continued to work on the case. The world needs you more than I do, L. You should be stopping Light, not sitting here with me," Noriko spoke up after L had finished explaining himself and they had fallen into silence.

"That wouldn't have been possible," he replied, causing her to look up from her hands and lock eyes with him. "I am no longer able to remain focused on the case."

"Why not?"

"I've become too distracted."

Noriko's eyes widened. She thought back to the day that L had told her she was a distraction, that her presence made it hard for him to think clearly on the case. It didn't take her long after that to recall him kissing her in the hallway and for her to flush in response to the memory. His few words explained everything and she finally fully understood his reasons for leaving Japan with her to keep her as far away from Light as possible. Though she realized what it meant, she refused to acknowledge it.

"I take it you understand now, Noriko," L said. "I can't focus on the case any longer because my feelings for you have become hard to ignore."

~A/N~

Hello again!

Sorry about the long wait. I got a bit distracted over the last little while. I spent most of the last two weeks trying to get back into school and finally succeeded in registering for classes on Friday night. Not even an hour after that I found out that I was being given a promotion. One that would make it difficult to go to school since I am now on call 24/7 and am in charge of the entire front desk operations at the hotel I work at. Needless to say, I've been doing a bit of juggling with my time to get prepared for my new position and try to go to school, unfortunately I had to drop my classes until the next semester. So sorry about the wait, but from here on out I'm going to try and update all of my stories once a month at least. This is on it's way to being completed with some help from Kotoko Kurasawa, thank you again by the way! I'd say there are at the most five chapters left of Of Death and Love. I promise to try my best to make them great!

Thank you, please review!