Light’s POV:

“Hyuk, so what exactly are you thinking of doing, Light? It looks like you’ve been going through an awful lot of trouble the last couple days...so you must have cooked up a rather elaborate plan,” Ryuk commented as Light walked towards the current Task Force headquarters, “...that has to be it, otherwise you wouldn’t have given up one of the death notes earlier today...and you say it’s only a matter of time before you will be forced to give up mine…”

“Hmm...as always, you’ll just have to wait and see, Ryuk,” Light responded, “I spent the last few days reviewing the death note rules, just to be sure, and I think I have everything figured out. Just do what I asked you to do earlier when the time is right, and everything should run smoothly.”

“Secretive, as always,” Ryuk responded, “I hope whatever you have in mind works out, because I don’t want my poor extra death note to be rotting in the ground for forever...it deserves a better life than that!”

Light chuckled at Ryuk’s words, “oh don’t you worry about that...I’ll be getting it back eventually...as I said, my plan should be flawless...I know myself well, and I know exactly what I have to do.”

He faced forward, and there was an evil glint in his eyes.

As I said before, the real battle is only just beginning...I’ll play my part well, I’m certain of that...I’ll see you soon, L.

Keiko’s POV:

“Ryuzaki-san,” Light announced as soon as he stepped into the hotel room, “...like I said over the phone...I think I could possibly...be Kira.”

Keiko’s could feel her heart drop into her stomach at Light’s words. She felt as though she just had the wind knocked out of her.

She called L’s words from months ago, “...well, Keiko-chan, to be blunt, while you've been cleared of suspicion, there's still a chance that Light Yagami is Kira.”

Keiko had known from the very beginning, from the very moment she had agreed to work alongside L, that there was a strong possibility that the man she had feelings for was actually Kira. Not only that, L gave her periodical reminders to suspect her boyfriend of actually being Kira.

She thought back to the last warning that the detective had given her, “...you’re back on guard a little more now, aren’t you?...that’s good, I’m glad. I thought I almost lost you there for a moment. As I said the other night, your boyfriend is still a Kira suspect. I know you hold strong feelings for him, but you cannot forget that fact. After all...it’d be a shame if you were to get hurt, Keiko-chan…”

While Keiko knew that she had been warned the whole time, she also knew that she hadn’t wanted to believe it. The more she fell for Light Yagami, the more she had ignored L’s warnings. Up until recently, things with Light had been going well. His kisses were sweet, and he had never failed to make her feel good.

Therefore, hearing Light actually say out loud that there was a strong chance he was Kira shattered her. It hurt almost as bad as when she saw Light and Misa kissing each other a few days ago. Despite how much Light had hurt her, like L had warned her he would, despite how much he had broken her heart, she still truly cared for him, and hoped that he wasn’t actually Kira.

The chief frantically ran over to his son upon hearing his words. He grabbed Light’s shoulders and gave them a gentle shake, “no, Light! What are you even talking about?! Why would you say something like that? Why?!”

Keiko watched as the scene unfolded in front of her. She studied her ex-boyfriend’s face carefully. It seemed as though he genuinely believed what he had just said. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that L was also staring at Light, and she was sure that he was scrutinizing his every move.

“Look, dad...if Ryuzaki-san is L, then it’s pretty safe to say that he’s the greatest detective the world’s ever seen...and right now he seems pretty positive that I am Kira,” Light said, sparing a quick glance at L before focusing his attention back to his father, “and we know that L has never been wrong in his deductions before...therefore I think he has to also be right about this...I have to be Kira.”

Mr. Yagami’s face crumbled, it was clear that his son’s response only made him even more emotional. He shook his son’s shoulders once more, “w-what are you saying, Light?! Please, stop talking like this! I don’t like it!”

Light removed his father’s hands from his shoulders, and closed his eyes a moment, deep in thought, “what about that FBI agent, Raye Penber? If you recall, it was me he was investigating immediately before he died…”

Upon hearing Raye Penber’s name, Keiko could feel her blood run cold. She was momentarily transported back to the first date she was supposed to have with Light Yagami, remembering how that criminal had hijacked the bus she and Light were on. She remembered how she and Light just happened to sit right in front of the FBI agent.

Keiko also recalled one of the statements that L had made during her first meeting with him, “...I had the FBI investigate the police force and their family members, I was tailing them, much like I had Matsuda tail you this last week. However, as you can see, all of the FBI agents I had investigating ended up being murdered by Kira. This led me to deduce that someone I was investigating had to be Kira. While I realize I have no solid proof of this, the one I suspected the most out of those suspected with Light Yagami. He was one of the last people to be tailed before they were all murdered, actually.”

In other words, if Light is actually Kira, then there’s no way that was just an accident...which means, he had to have planned that bus jacking out in advance. He had to think of a way for Raye Penber to reveal his name to him, so that he could get rid of him. That also means...Light had to have been using me.

Even though the hotel room wasn’t exactly that cold, Keiko shivered. At the time, she hadn’t thought too much of the situation, but in retrospect, it seemed way too suspicious to be ignored.

It looked as though Light’s father wanted to say something, but Light continued on before he had a chance to speak, “it isn’t just that...think about it...I have a strong sense of justice...I have access to private police records...and I was in Aoyama on May 22nd...therefore, it only makes sense that I could be Kira.”

“Oh, Light…” the chief quitely murmured, looking sadly at his son.

Light swallowed hard, “...if I were L, I would have come to the same conclusion...you see, subconsciously I could be Kira...and if that’s the case, that means I could be him and not even know it.”

Keiko took a moment to glance at the detective sitting beside her. She saw that his eyes were narrowed in Light’s direction, and he had a serious expression on his face. It was apparent that the wheels in his head were turning. Whatever it was he was thinking thinking, there was no way it was good.

“R-right now, I’m not sure of anything anymore,” Light admitted, “and while I know I’d never consciously kill someone...who knows what I’m capable of while unconscious...another me could be killing people as I sleep…”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” L spoke up, his dark eyes yes meeting Light’s.

“N-not possible? What exactly do you mean by that, Ryuzaki-san?” Light questioned, a puzzled expression on his face.

L shoved his hands in his pockets, “well...I never mentioned this to you, but at one point I had hidden surveillance cameras installed in your bedroom...I watched you for about ten days.”

Keiko closed her eyes a moment, remembering L’s original theory that Light had only been using her to appear more normal, and be less suspicious to those that were investigationing him.

“...a couple days after things were set in place, Light had you over for the first time to study with him. He also had you over a couple other nights while we were investigating him.”

“C-cameras?” Light’s voice brought Keiko back from her thoughts.

L nodded, “yes...and during that time, you slept normally at night...also criminals whose names were publicly broadcasted were still dying, even when you did not have access to them...but this didn’t prove your innocence to me at all...instead, it only proved to me that, if you were Kira, no amount of camera surveillance would reveal that fact...also, it was during that time that you had Keiko come over for study dates, a fact that I cannot overlook.”

Keiko had to admit that L’s theory would have fit. After all, Light was the one who had originally came up with the idea for them to study together during that period of time, “...hmm, I know this maybe wouldn't count as a proper date, but perhaps you'd like to come over to study with me sometime? I mean, I was the one who asked you out originally, so that you could repay me. I think a study date sounds like a good way to do that, and there's no way someone could try and hijack my house.”

Her heart raced slightly as she thought about her kiss with Light that first night she had come over. While it wasn’t her first kiss with him, it was the first time she had wanted to kiss him, and it was from that point on that she truly started to have feelings for him. If Light were actually Kira, then Keiko agreeing to study with Light that night had basically sealed her fate to becoming his girlfriend.

“I guess what I’m saying is...Keiko Kagami, would you like to make things official by saying you’ll be my girlfriend?”

Keiko’s mind fast then forwarded to the first warning that L had given her after she had started dating Light, “please remember, although you are a lot less suspicious of him, there’s still a 5 or 6% chance in my mind that Light Yagami is Kira. And, if Light Yagami actually is Kira, like I suspect him to be then...then please don’t let him fool you any longer, Keiko-chan. After all, you deserve so much better than to be with a mass murderer.”

If that’s true then I didn’t become his girlfriend at that time...if Light is Kira, then I just became his puppet…

Keiko could feel Light looking over in her direction, making her heart skip a beat. She bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself from tearing up. She knew that becoming an emotional wreck right now wouldn’t do her any good. It wouldn't change the past.

Stay strong, Keiko Kagami.

“I see...well, that’s fair enough, Ryuzaki-san,” Light finally replied. “If I were Kira, then that side of me would have no qualms about using people...but, Keiko-chan,” he walked towards where she was sitting next to L, focusing all of his attention on her, “trust me when I say that the fact I had you come over when I was under surveillance was entirely a coincidence...while all other evidence against me might end up to be true, I swear that one isn’t true...because it’s not actually evidence. I wanted you over because I truly enjoyed your company, not to appear less suspicious to L…”

He trailed off, and gently placed his hand on top of hers. Keiko knew she probably should have slapped his hand away, but somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Light stared straight into her eyes, and continued on, “I know that it makes no difference for me to say now, but...I want you to realize that I truly care for you, Kagami-san, and I meant what I said the other day about Misa being the one to kiss me without my consent...if I am Kira, then she had to have found that out right after we ran into her that day somehow, and that must have been why she liked me so much, because I am Kira and it appears that there is a lot of evidence to convict her of being the Second Kira…”

Upon mentioning Misa, Keiko recalled the first time Misa had hung out with her without Light around. Specifically, she recalled Misa’s words, “r-right, a fresh start...so that means there’s a lot more to come...heheh.”

‘A lot more to come’...Misa could have been referring to the fact that it would be revealed that Light could he Kira, and she the Second Kira, though she refuses to admit it...

Light brought Keiko out of her reverie when he started to lightly squeeze her hand, his eyes still refusing to leave hers, “that being said, I’m sorry about how things turned out.”

Oh goodness, I could fall into his eyes right now if I’m not careful, Keiko thought, but...as much as I want to believe what he’s saying, to accept it as the truth, I cannot allow myself to be swayed by him right now. No matter what the truth actually is, it wouldn’t change the fact that even he suspects that he could be Kira at this point, and if he is Kira, then the last thing I want to do is willingly get myself involved with him again.

“Y-you’re changing the topic, Light-kun,” Keiko quietly murmured, no longer meeting Light’s intense gaze. Somehow, she also found the strength to remove his hand from its current place on top of hers. She could have sworn that, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the corners of L’s mouth slightly curl upwards before returning back to their normal position.

“I-I guess you’re right, Keiko-chan…” Light replied, “again, I’m sorry...anyway, I didn’t know that I was being watched, Ryuzaki-san…and I don’t know, even if you didn’t see anything of interest happen while I was under surveillance, I still think I could be Kira...because, I have to admit, I have found myself thinking before that some criminals deserve to die...if I can think like Kira, then how can I be sure that I’m not actually him?”

“Hold on, Light-kun!” Matsuda suddenly interrupted. He turned to face Light, “I feel the exact same way...I, too, have found myself thinking that some people would be better off dead, as they don’t play by society’s rules...but still, that doesn’t mean that we are going to go out and kill people, am I right? Besides, as Ryuzaki-san said earlier, criminals were still being killed even when you had no knowledge of them...I mean the surveillance cameras proved your innocence, didn’t they?”

“Well, no…” Aizawa cut in, “to be honest, we were short of investigators at that time...so we were only able to observe Light Yagami while he was at home. The truth is, we weren’t able to watch him every hour of the day...and when we got Kagami-san on board to investigate with us, she was only able to keep an eye on him while the two of them were together...but of course, if Light is actually Kira, there’s no way he would have wanted to reveal himself to her. So it’s possible that he could have killed criminals while not at home, and not while with her.”

“Honestly, I don’t like the way that this is going at all,” L admitted, entering back into the conversation, “...but at this point, what choice do I have? It is clear that I now need to have Light Yagami fully restrained...he will be placed in solitary confinement under the suspicion that he is Kira.”

“What?! Ryuzaki-san, you can’t!” Light’s father boomed. He sighed deeply, “there has to be some other way…”

“You seriously want us to confine him?” Matsuda questioned.

Keiko bit her lip. While she knew that confining Light was probably the best option at the moment, she also knew that it meant she would then have to keep watch over him. Keep watch over her ex-boyfriend.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, she worried that perhaps she wouldn’t be strong enough to handle it. However, she also knew that she wouldn’t be unable to rest until she was able to confirm, once and for all, that Light Yagami was or wasn’t actually Kira.

“If we are going to do this, then it has to happen immediately,” L commented. He glanced over at Light, “from this point on, you can’t be allowed to go anywhere where I, or another member of the Task Force, can’t see you.”

“This is crazy!” Mr. Yagami bellowed out, “there’s no way that my son could be Kira...I know that he’s just not capable of it! You have to trust my judgement!”

Light gave a soft sigh, “it’s okay, dad…”

“Please, just...stop this, Light,” his father said to him, “you have to know how much it hurts me to hear you accuse yourself of being a mass murderer.”

“Listen, dad...something has to be done about this...as long as I’m having these kinds of doubts, I can’t work with you or the rest of the Task Force to catch Kira,” Light responded. He then turned towards L, a serious expression on his face, “Ryuzaki-san, please promise me something...until you can say with absolute certainty that I'm not Kira, you cannot set me free from my confinement, no matter what I might say, or what condition I might be in…”

L nodded, “ of course, I understand, Light Yagami...you have my word.”

“I-I can’t believe this,” the chief muttered.

The detective turned towards him, “Yagami-san, could you please come up with some sort of excuse for Light’s absence? Something believable that you can tell your family. This has to be done as soon as possible.”

“W-what, you have to understand, this is all so sudden, Ryuzaki-san…” the chief gave a sigh, “I have no idea what I could say…and I still see no reason why he should even be imprisoned.”

“Please,” Light said softly, “let it go, dad...you have to understand, if I don’t do this, I won’t be able to live with myself.”

Light’s father gave a small gasp, “b-but son, do you really mean that?”

Light nodded, “yeah, I do...I believe that, by giving up my personal freedoms, I will be able to defeat this fear that Kira somehow lurks within me…”

“Well, now, Yagami-san, since you’ve heard Light say it himself,” L responded, “surely now you won’t oppose us detaining him…”

“I-I suppose I can’t at this point,” Mr. Yagami commented, “do what you feel you have to do, Ryuzaki-san.”

“Alright...then it’s been settled...Aizawa-san, please take him away,” L commanded, pointing a finger in Aizawa’s direction, “Watari-san will then meet you outside of the hotel, and he will take Light-kun from there…”

“Right…” the man gave a grunt, and handcuffed Light’s hands. He then escorted him outside of the hotel room.

When the doors closed behind Aizawa and Light, Keiko let out a breath she didn’t even know she had been holding. Just like that, Light Yagami, her ex-boyfriend, would be taken under surveillance.