Day 10 of Surveillance

Keiko’s POV:

Keiko’s hand hovered over the door handle that led to the current task force headquarters. She definitely didn’t want to face the great detective, especially not after what nearly happened last time. Her face flamed whenever she thought about their almost kiss. It would be totally embarrassing if she let L see the effect he had on her.

The logical side of her knew that, if she wanted to continue working on the investigation, she had no choice; she would have to face him. She would just have to try and get over her nerves and act like nothing was bothering her. However, her emotional side was screaming at her to run back to her hotel room and dive back into the comforts of her bed.

Keiko had to admit, it was a rather tempting thought, pulling the covers over her head and ignoring all of her current problems. She also knew that, if she did, it would only be a matter of time until someone from the task force went looking for her, meaning that she would have to L sooner or later.

Keiko sighed, letting a little curse escape her mouth. Normally she would never be caught dead swearing but, given her situation, she figured it was okay. This was because it appeared that, no matter what, she just couldn’t win. No matter what path she chose, she would end up having to face L at some point.

However, given the choice, she decided would rather face the detective sooner rather than later. After all, it was always easier to peel off a band aid quickly, because there was no point in delaying the inevitable.

With that thought in mind, Keiko let the logical side of her brain win. She reached a hand out, reluctantly opening the door in front of her and stepping into the hotel room. Upon seeing L, Keiko could feel her heartbeat quickening in her chest. As usual he was sitting in front of the surveillance monitor, wearing his signature white t-shirt and worn-looking blue jeans. This caused her heart, which was already beating fast, to beat even faster.

Keiko attempted to assure herself that everything was going to be okay. She scurried past the detective’s chair with the intention of sitting down. However, L must have sensed her presence because he swiveled his own chair around to face her. His dark eyes and slightly tousled raven hair made her freeze up and she was unable to properly think.

“Ah, Kagami-san, it’s good that you’re here,” the detective announced, an amused look on his face. He stood up and walked forward until the two of them were face to face, “after all, I was waiting for you to arrive…”

Keiko’s eyes widened and she took a step back, feeling uncomfortable with how close L was to her. She could feel the butterflies slowly starting to attack her stomach. The little confidence she had garnered was slipping away and all she wanted to do was run back to her hotel room.

Unfortunately for her, L stepped forward and closed the gap between them once again. This caused Keiko to take another step backwards. However, for every step backwards that she took, L took another step forwards, his gaze never leaving hers.

“W-what’s g-going on-ouch!” Keiko flinched as she felt the impact of her head hitting something solid behind her. It took her a moment to realize that it was the wall of the hotel room, meaning that the detective had literally backed her up against the wall.

Keiko let out an angry growl as she rubbed the back of her head. Keiko’s eyes narrowed as she realized L must have planned this. He had to have been teasing her on purpose in order to spark a reaction from her.

The corner’s of L’s mouth turned upwards and his dark eyes stared intently at her own. The little smirk on his face let Keiko knew that she had been right in her assumption.

“W-what are you-”

Keiko was cut off by the detective leaning forward. He was close, so close Keiko could feel his face tickling hers. Her heart, which had been racing before, went into complete overdrive. There was no stopping the blush that slowly crept over her face as she realized that, the last time she and L had been this close, the two had almost kissed. As her face turned red, she realized that she had probably given L the reaction he had wanted, causing her to mentally curse herself for being so stupid.

The sound of L’s voice snapped her out of her reverie, it was time to face reality. There was definitely no hiding now.

“Keiko-chan, by chance...did you think about what I said last time?”

Keiko paused a moment to recall the detective’s words from the other night, ‘I guess what I’m getting at, Keiko-chan, is...will you let your feelings for Light-kun get in the way of things again? Or will you finally be strong enough to get over him?’

Of course she had been thinking about it. In fact, she had been more than thinking about it, as the thought refused to leave her mind. It was rather frustrating.

Although she didn’t speak, she figured that the detective knew what she was thinking, because as much as she hated to admit it, he was far too good at reading her. He had gotten under her skin once again.

“Good,” she heard L whisper quietly after a moment of silence had passed. “I figured that you would...after all, there was a 99.9% chance that you would, meaning that it was pretty much guaranteed…”

Keiko stayed silent. She was almost certain that, even if she attempted to make a comeback, no words would be able to come out.

The detective must have not minded the silence, because he continued on, “now, I know that you’ve been struggling to get over Light-kun, so I thought that perhaps I could be of some assistance to you...after all, I’m confident that my method of helping you would be 100% effective…”

Before Keiko could even register what was going on, L’s lips lightly brushed over her cheek, causing her to freeze.

“Shall I do a test run, just to make sure, Keiko-chan?” the detective asked as his lips went slowly went lower. Just like the other day, his lips were now dangerously close to her own.

Keiko gulped, closing her eyes to avoid his gaze, as his eyes still hadn’t left hers. Her hands were balled up into fists beside her. She wished that he would just stop with his teasing, it was almost becoming too much for her to bear.

His lips lightly brushed over her own and Keiko felt her heart skip a beat. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach threatening to escape. However, she had little time to recover, because a moment later, she felt the pressure from him firmly planting his lips on her own.

As if on cue, there was a loud siren sound that suddenly burst through her ears, interrupting her kiss with the world’s greatest detective.

This caused Keiko’s eyes to quickly snap open. She glanced around the hotel room, looking around for any sign of L.

W-what the-?!

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion when, instead of seeing the detective’s smug face in front of her, she was greeted with the hotel room’s tacky flower wallpaper. Then there was also the annoying sound that was still blaring, which Keiko realized wasn’t a siren, but was the sound of her alarm clock.

Still slightly in a daze, Keiko slowly lifted her head off the pillow, letting her hand instinctively reach towards her alarm clock in an attempt to turn it off. She then drew in a shaky breath, lightly touching her lips with her other hand.

Her mind was still reeling as she recalled the contents of dream. The way that L had looked at her, the way that L had touched her face, the way that he had softly kissed her lips...Keiko could feel her face flushing; it was all just too much for her to handle.

Breathe, Keiko… and try to relax, it was just a dream...but it felt so real...too real for my taste, though perhaps when I think about it, there’s no way L would really act like that...there’s no way he would really...kiss me...would he?

It appeared that her subconsciousness was still freaking out about what had happened the night before. Keiko had to admit, her conscious was also still freaking out about it. After all, what had happened, or rather, what had nearly happened, had been quite intense. Not only that, it had struck a chord deep within her, and just like in her dream, the thought of having to face L after their near kiss was terrifying.

Unfortunately, just like in her dream again, she knew she would have to face him if she wanted to continue working on the investigation. Keiko sighed, running a hand through her tangled bed head. It appeared that her dream had done the number on her hair.

She let out a soft whine, why can’t I just stay here in my warm and comfortable bed until the end of time?

There was only one thing that gave her slight comfort. It was the fact that, unlike in her dream, there would be others at the task force headquarters. That meant she wouldn't have to face the detective alone, the other members of the investigation would be right there with her, at least during the day.

However, Keiko bit her lip in thought, I hope that Matsuda doesn’t ask anymore questions about what was going on last night...it was awkward enough when he interrupted us...but, even if he hadn’t barged through the door, was L seriously about to kiss me? Or was he just messing with me again?

Keiko honestly wasn’t sure how she would have reacted if the detective, had Matsuda not interrupted them, would have actually kissed her for real. In the heat of the moment she had been rather curious as to how L’s lips would have felt against her own, but would she have really kissed him back?

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After all, she had just recently suffered so much heartbreak with Light. When she considered that then kissing the detective somehow didn’t seem like the best idea. It would only lead to even more trouble. It was just crazy, and aside from the fact that he was the world’s greatest detective and had an impressive had a sweet tooth, she knew next to nothing about him.

Besides, what if the detective had only been leading her on?

I have to admit, even if he had only been leading me on, he still looked rather kissable....ugh, wait, what am I even saying?!

Keiko sighed and picked up her hairbrush at the side of her bed. For some reason her bed head was even worse than usual this morning. She blamed that on her dream featuring the world’s greatest detective.

Keiko Kagami, you’re so hopeless.

Once Keiko had finished attempting to comb through the mess that was her hair, she somehow found the strength to get out of bed and change into her pajamas. She was lost in thought the whole time, attempting to analyze the great detective and his motives. Attempting to get inside the mind of the world’s greatest detective.

But, when I think about it properly, I seriously wouldn’t put it past L to do that on purpose just to rile me up; it appears that’s one of his favorite pastimes...but, if that’s the case, then he must have been doing it to see how I would react to someone other than Light kissing me...if that’s true, then it might have been an attempt to gauge if I had any...lingering feelings...for him. I must admit, I still foolishly hold a soft spot for him, but I’m doing my best to combat that. After all, not only did he cheat on me with Misa, but there’s now also significant evidence that points to him being Kira...and if he truly is Kira, whether he was conscious of it or not, then I was in love with a monster…

Keiko let out an involuntary shudder as she thought about the fact that, since Light had been contained, no new criminals had been killed. That still unnerved her. After a moment, she refocused her attention back on the mysterious detective; she didn’t want to waste any more thoughts on her ex-boyfriend.

She was trying to think of him as a suspect and only as a suspect, as it would do her no good to torture herself thinking about her past memories with him. That would only weaken her, and she was tired of being weak. Being weak had cost her a lot; it had cost her her trust, her heart, her normal life.

On the off chance that it hadn’t just been an act, does this mean that L might possibly...have feelings...for me?

After a moment she shook her head, waving that thought away, no...there’s no way...after all, being the world’s greatest detective, I’m sure that someone would have to be quite extraordinary in order to catch his attention...and I’m just plain old Keiko Kagami. Aside from the fact that I was once at the top of my class and got a perfect score on To-Oh’s entrance exam, there’s really nothing special about me...and on second thought, I don’t even know if I can count my perfect score as being an accomplishment, because Light was probably the sole reason why I got a hundred percent that day...

Keiko then looked in the full length mirror provided in the bathroom of her hotel suite, studying her body carefully. She took a strand of her chestnut colored hair and rubbed it between her fingers as she thought.

She made a sour face as she continued to look at herself in the mirror, there’s not even anything special about my appearance. Long light brown hair paired up with matching light brown eyes isn’t exactly unique...in fact, by Japanese standards, I’m pretty average…

Deciding that she had had enough with depressing self torture, Keiko exited the bathroom. She headed towards the door that led out of her rooms. There was a little hallway outside of the door that connected her suite with L’s.

Keiko walked through the hallway, nearing the door that led into the task force headquarters. She was only seconds away from being face to face with the frustrating detective.

While she was physically dressed and ready to investigate, emotionally she was nowhere near as prepared. However, she knew that the longer she hid out in her hotel room, the more tempted she would be to never leave said room.

I guess it’s show time…she thought, her hand lingering over the door handle, well...here goes nothing.

Keiko slowly turned the doorknob, attempting to put on a normal face before finally stepping off into the dark and foreboding unknown.

L’s POV:

The detective let out a soft sigh, narrowing his eyes slightly at the monitors. Despite the fact that he had been staring at the surveillance camera footage for hours, not much work had been done. It was a first for him, but L found that his mind was elsewhere for once. He had been focusing all of his attention on something else.

Or rather someone else.

In particular, Light Yagami’s ex-girlfriend, Keiko Kagami.

L let his gaze wander over towards the door when she stepped into the hotel room. The faraway look in her eyes told him that her mind was elsewhere. He had no doubt that she had been obsessing over what happened between the two of them the other night.

Or rather, what had almost happened between them; a kiss.

Keiko’s face flushed when she realized he had been looking over at her, which confirmed to him that he had been right in his assumption. She then shyly ducked her head as she made her way over towards the chair sitting next to his.

“Good morning, Keiko-chan!” the detective heard Matsuda cheerfully call out from his position on the couch. The young policeman gave a friendly wave in Keiko’s direction.

“G-good morning to you as well, Matsuda-san, you too, Aizawa-san, and…” Keiko trailed off, giving an uncertain look in his direction, “y-you...R-Ryuzaki-san.”

After stuttering out his current alias, Keiko’s face started turning bright red once again. It it were any normal day, L would have been rather amused at getting such a strong reaction out of her, but today was different.

L had only meant to rile up Keiko enough to get her to forget about her feelings for Light Yagami. After all, if Light really was Kira, it would be far better if Keiko no longer had any feelings for him. He wanted to gauge her reaction, to see if it was working, but he had gotten far too lost in the moment. He had gotten far too careless. In fact, he had been almost glad for Matsuda’s intrusion.

Almost.

If Matsuda hadn’t suddenly appeared, well, L wasn’t really sure for sure what would have happened. It wasn’t like he had planned on kissing her, but at the time, he concluded that it was over 50% possible that he would’ve.

It was abundantly clear that she had stirred something deep within him.

He had started to feel the unwanted symptoms coming on once again as soon as Keiko stepped into the hotel room. The first thing he noticed that his heart rate had increased ever so slightly. He also noticed he felt almost a little dizzy in a way, a little disoriented. L concluded that he didn’t like the way he was feeling; it made him feel weak, almost vulnerable even, which was something he absolutely refused to feel.

After all, being a world renowned detective, he couldn’t afford to feel such an emotion. It would only hinder his detective work. And yet, here he was feeling exactly that sort of way because of Keiko Kagami.

He had to admit it, for some reason, he was far too interested in her. It bothered him because he was unsure why she intrigued him so much, why she was able to make him feel this way. It was almost a little frustrating for him.

The one case he couldn’t quite solve yet.

L drew in a quiet but shaky breath, looking back towards the computer monitors. He watched as her ex-boyfriend lay on the dingy bed in his small cell, there’s just something about her...but what?

Was he interested in her because of who her father had been? He supposed that it was possible. After all, despite the fact that he had only been a local investigator, Hiro Kagami made quite a good name for himself when he was alive. Not only that, but L had been given an extra incentive to add her to the task force after realizing who her father had been. After learning a little bit about Keiko, he had counted on the fact that she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps, and L hadn’t been disappointed.

L watched as Light’s eyes fluttered closed on the monitor. It appeared that his number one suspect had grown tired of trying to convince him he was innocent for the time being and decided to take a mid morning nap.

Light Yagami…

Perhaps, was it because of her close relationship with him? He supposed that was also a possibility. In fact, it was an even larger possibility. The sole reason he had noticed her in the first place was because of Light’s personal interest in her.

L had no doubt that, despite who her father had been, or the fact that she wanted to become a detective herself, he wouldn’t have been nearly as interested in her if she and Light hadn’t been seriously involved with each other.

In fact, even if Keiko had no desire to become a detective, he would have still recruited her to spy on her boyfriend after noticing how cozy the two of them had been during his surveillance of the Yagami household.

I have to admit, that makes sense…a large part of why I became interested in Keiko in the first place was because of Light…but somehow, that doesn’t seem to be the truth now. It appears that I’m interested in her for different reasons...but why?

He supposed that her personality was another important aspect to consider. After all, her personality had almost surprised him in a way. Despite the fact that she had been one of the smartest in her class, she let her emotions, rather than logic, control her actions. That made her weak, that made her naive.

That made her easy for L to figure out.

Heh...well, it’s pretty simple to guess what one’s thinking when they have their emotions written all over their face…however, I usually find such people to be quite tiresome...

The detective lazily glanced over at Matsuda, who was in the middle of a quiet but heated discussion with Aizawa. He wasn’t quite sure what it was about, but he was certain that it was unimportant.

Ah, yes, exhibit A...must he really go on and on about small things that don’t really matter?

He rolled his eyes a little, munching on the strawberry cake that Watari had given him for breakfast. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Keiko shift in her seat a little. It appeared that, with nothing to really do at the moment, she had decided to join Aizawa and Matsuda on the couch.

L also supposed that she had moved because she felt uncomfortable sitting next to him, that would only make sense after the events of the other night.

As if to support this conclusion, Keiko glanced behind her, looking in his direction. Upon seeing that he had been staring at her, she quickly turned her head away again. L didn’t miss the color that had faintly appeared on her cheeks.

He also didn’t miss the slight tug he felt in his chest.

Again, there’s no way that this could be a heart attack, that’s just not possible… so what is this? Why am so interested in her?

There was one other possible explanation for the way that he was feeling. The detective rested his thumb on his lip.

Before the other night, I hadn’t ever seriously considered this to be possible, but...could I truly be...attracted to her?

In general, he had made it a rule to not get emotionally involved or attached to anyone, as that would only distract or hinder him from his work. Therefore he had never experienced such emotions before. He had never expected to experience anything like this before, either. It simply wasn’t an option for him.

However, he knew that it was rather common for people to develop romantic feelings for people that they considered attractive or that they enjoyed having around. He also knew that those with crushes often felt physical symptoms similar to the ones he was currently feeling. Those symptoms were enough to drive anyone wild. But he wasn’t just anyone, he was the world renowned L.

The detective watched as Keiko repositioned herself on the couch. As she did so, her leg slightly brushed up against Matsuda’s. He felt the panging in his chest once more at the contact between the two of them.

Make that very similar symptoms he was suddenly having. L slightly shifted in his chair, not liking the direction this was going.

Given the current situation, it’s a very real possibility that I cannot rule out. However, if it does turn out to be true, I absolutely cannot allow myself to get distracted from my work…this case has to come first. I can’t let my emotions get to me, that’d be dangerous...