One: Enter– Light "Kira Kurama" Yagami, the Kyuubi no Kitsune


He was dying. Dying. He was dying!

He couldn't be dying! This wasn't supposed to happen! He was Kira!

Light staggered against the wall, injured and bloody. He had lost, he had LOST.

The wall was rough and painful against him as he slumped against it. It agitated his wounds and he sucked in a breath. Even on his deathday, he was too proud to cry out. He let out a bitter chuckle.

Everything, everything he had done was for nothing. It was true, the Death Note did bring nothing but misery. He had lived for this one goal, waiting for the day he could become God of his perfect, wonderful, crime free world and was humiliatingly defeated.

When was the last time he was happy? When was the last time he had lived for himself? When was the last time he had relaxed and stopped pushing himself?

Light collapsed weakly onto his knees, struggling to turn and rest his back against the stone wall. A trail of blood connected him to the entrance of the abandoned warehouse. His head lolled to the side as he watched Ryuk come into view, just putting away a pen.

He was going to die.

Odd. The only time he could think of being happy was with L. L was the only ever person who saw threw him, who could provoke a reaction from him, who could be a true equal.

L must be laughing at him beyond the grave. Or perhaps he was pouting at not being the one to execute Light himself. Perhaps he was pouting at being beaten by Light only for Light to be given such an end.

The Great Kira, sunken this low.

He let out a laugh that became a cough.

"Hyuk, hyuk," Ryuk caught Light's attention and his eyes moved to look over at Ryuk. "Goodbye, Light-o."

Light's eyes closed and he faded.


You… You're an amusing human aren't you?

Wanting to become god? Godlike?

Wanting power to change the world?

Hyahya! How nice…

I'll give you it. I'll give you it. I'll give you it all! Power! Immortality!

This will be… very entertaining.

Hyahyahyahya!

You'll do well in entertaining me, human! So I'll give you new life!

Oh, yes, you WILL entertain me greatly, human… Or should I say… Kitsune.

Hyahyahyahya!


Light.

Why was there Light?

Light, ha! That's his name… right?

Wait, but didn't he… die?

So why was there Light? Why did he still exist?

He blinked his eyes open, orienting himself in his environment. He was standing on four limbs and he could see grass, trees, sky. He could feel it and hear it and smell it.

Odd, that.

There were also some weird creatures in similar positions to him, all in a circle, with a man in the middle of them.

He was alive…

But why was he standing on four limbs?

"Holy crap…" Light murmured quietly, looking down at his body. "I'm a fox. A freaking fox."

Oddly enough, he felt only slight confusion at that. No panic, no anger, no wtf. It was like his emotions and thoughts and memories were coming in through a filter. Now why was he confused to be a fox?

It came back to him slowly, sluggishly. A thought… He was human, right? Or he used to be human at least. Light Yagami was his name. So was… Kira… No, Kira was a title, yes, that's it.

The Death Note. He had used the Death Note and payed for it with his miserable ending and then… a voice. There had been a voice telling him of godlike powers and immortality to be granted to him.

Then he woke up like this.

So this was his second chance at life? As a fox? Some sort of dulled emotion – excitement or panic perhaps – flitted in him.

Then the man opened his eyes as did the other weird creatures. Then the man spoke, and thus began Light's life as the Kyuubi no Kitsune, AKA Kira Kurama.


Two: Exeunt – Naruto Uzumaki


Being a god was infinitely boring, Light soon found out. His original excitement had puttered out to almost nothing. Immortality was boring and so was godhood.

He was a Biju, the most powerful Biju if the legends of Kitsune were to be trusted, Kyuubi.

Hagoromo was a great man and Light, now Kira Kurama, the Kyuubi no Kitsune (some great alliteration, if he may say so himself), admired him greatly. It was through the tale of the man's mother, Kaguya, that he had eventually realized and accepted his own faults. Well, that and the some hundred years he had been alive for.

Kaguya was a scary thought, not because of her power though. Light was not afraid of her. Light was afraid of the idea that he may have become something like her had Near not beaten him.

Warped by power, despite originally wanting peace. As the saying goes, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Kaguya had been corrupted absolutely.

At first, Kira had wanted to carry out and accomplish Hagoromo's dream with vigor. He and his siblings, the other Biju, had loved the loved the man, despite not being with him for long, and had wished to accomplish his dream. But they soon found the humans to be rotten and corrupted and, slowly, they changed as well. They lost faith in the humans, and the humans lost faith in them. In the end, Kira was the only one left, the most naïve and determined, the least warped by aggression and war.

Yet he, too, had eventually given up. He had never let the Chakra that made up his body define him though, and that was where he and his siblings differed. They loved each other, but after what they had gone through, with the changes in the others, his own stubbornness, his arrogance and humanity, they had left each other on bad terms.

Eventually, he had been captured by humans and sealed and lost his faith.

Yes, there were plenty of good people in this world, and his hosts weren't bad, but none of them felt right. None of them treated him as anything more than a powerful beast. Mito did respect him to an extent, and Kushina accepted his existence almost like he was a gigantic volatile battery. And Minato…? Well, he wasn't sure what the other half of his body thought about Minato, since they were kind of separated right now.

His own views and morals had warped overtime due to his treatment and a sickening boredom had overtaken him. The only times in his life he had felt true emotion was with his siblings and the anger of being controlled by Madara Uchiha… twice. As well as the Shinigami King. That meeting had been quite a bit entertaining. Though it would be nice if he could have the other half of his body back.

Being a tailed beast and a sort-of chakra construct was incredibly weird.

He growled in remembrance, but didn't move from his lazy position behind the bars of his cage.

Kira had long since thrown away the masks he once wore. They were useless unless he was in a humanoid form. What use did a gigantic nine tailed fox have for petty masks of perfection anyways? He entertained himself by scaring children and destroying things nowadays.

Huffing, Kira rested his head on his hand/paw and turned on his side.

He felt sorry for his new host, he really did, for being born into a world of idiots and rotten people (though that probably had something to do with killing the boy's parents as well. To be fair, they were trying to imprison him unjustly, suceeded, and thought him a beast with no feelings). Honestly, if they couldn't tell the difference between a container and what it contained, then they really were stupid. He was surprised they didn't eat their shopping bags, mistaking the bag for the food inside. To actually think that he, the great Kyuubi no Kitsune, could be naïve this three year old brat.

It was so boring.

Then, all of a sudden, the place began to shake. Kira looked up, wondering if something interesting was happening.

Oh dear. His host was injured and dying.

His host, three years old and playing with kunai, had gotten his throat slit after tripping while being chased by an angry villager.

Growling softly, Kira fed his chakra through the cracks of the seal to help his host heal. The water around him turned red like blood as he did.

Disgusting. Why the hell was this place a sewer again?

He could think of many answers to that question, but he wasn't going to complain too much. It was sure better than being staked to a round stone like in his last host.

A clang of metal made him frown as the pipes above began creaking and falling. Something was wrong. The body of his host was healing but his soul was escaping. The environment was fading, becoming an empty white space with a seal floating in mid-air in front of him.

Kira snarled. Oh no. He refused to be imprisoned in a soulless body. That would be absolutely terrible! He couldn't even take over, thanks to the seal, but the body wouldn't die, thanks to his presence. He wouldn't be released.

He would not let that happen. Not only would it be infinitely boring, but he would be imprisoned, alone, without freedom until someone killed his miserable host or he was extracted.

Throwing out his considerable power, Kira used his Chakra and intent and pulled, latching onto the first soul he could find.

There was a disorientating moment as he became weightless before gravity returned abruptly.

With an oomph, Kira thudded into place behind the bars of his new cage. All around him, lights flickered on. No, not lights, monitors, computer screens. Something he hadn't seen in ages. And there was a figure, the soul of his new host, crouched in a chair.

The entire room brightened abruptly as his new roommate, so to speak, opened his eyes.

Kira's breath caught.

"L… Lawliet?"


Three: Enter – L Lawliet


The last thing he saw was Light and that victorious smile. He was dying, he knew it, Light had outsmarted him and somehow killed him and Watari.

He had lost the most intense, risky and thrilling game in his life.

He could barely believe it, but he had lost.

That was his last thought before everything went black.

He was dead.

He no longer existed.

He was without a body or thoughts.

Except that he wasn't, because he felt something tug at him, pull at him, dragging his awareness away until he was dumped, harshly, in what appeared to be a chair. Suddenly, he wasn't dead or formless or in the dark. Suddenly, he had a body and limbs and everything and it just blew his mind. Suddenly he could feel, if only vaguely, the chair under him and see the dull lights that penetrated his eyelids. Suddenly he could hear and move.

He needed a moment to reorientate himself and gather his thoughts because he suddenly had thoughts again.

He came to a conclusion then.

L Lawliet was alive (or in heaven or hell, but he was leaning towards alive).

His eyes snapped open and the first thing he saw was a gigantic, red, nine-tailed fox staring him down from behind bars.

L drew in a sharp breath, brain scrambling to process this, but otherwise didn't react as the fox regarded him with what appeared to be a hint of surprise. He held his breath until the odd fox's lips quirked into a half smile and it spoke.

"L… Lawliet?"

The words came out in a deep growl. The tone was masculine and there was an obvious Japanese accent to them. It was, unmistakably, his name though.

"I can't believe it. Of all the souls I could have pulled into here, it was yours! Though you are rather late… by a few hundred years," the fox continued, still staring. It – he? – let out a chuckle and L stared back in incomprehension. (He vaguely noted in the back of his mind that the fox used 'washi' to refer to itself)

First shinigami and now giant talking nine-tailed foxes?

The fox watched him for a moment before its smile fell. "You… really don't recognize me?" Its voice had changed, subtly. It was less deep and growling than it had been a moment ago. It was also using 'boku' to refer to itself now.

"… No," L eventually managed, gaining back his bearings, "I do not. What are you?"

"That's rude," the fox responded, more amused than irritated. "I am a tailed beast, the most powerful of them all, Kyuubi no Kitsune." It looked thoughtful for a moment. "But perhaps you know me better like this…" The fox made an odd hand gesture with its clawed hands and a puff of smoke engulfed it. L blinked rapidly in surprise as the smoke cleared.

The fox was gone, but in its place stood Light Yagami.

"Hello, Ryuuzaki."

Perfect features, perfect clothing, perfect hair. Golden eyes and an impeccable posture. It was, without a doubt, his prime Kira suspect. The only thing that had changed was the smile that held much less malice and insincerity and much more mischief and amusement. The curl of his lips was not a lie and the crinkle of the corners of his eyes was more pronounced.

"Light-kun?"

"Yes, that's right, though I prefer to be called Kira now."

"Ah, so I was right about Light-kun being Kira," L brought his thumb up to his mouth out of habit, "Though I had never thought that Light-kun would ever admit it without prompting."

Light smiled further, not annoyed at all, which was odd. Light usually became a little exasperated and irritated when L accused him of being Kira.

"There really isn't much of point to all that anymore, Ryuuzaki. We aren't in that world anymore. We both died… and now we both have another chance at life," Light explained, folding his arms. "Though you are a bit late, considering that I came into this world some hundreds of years before you arrived here."

L blinked in surprise at the information, eyes widening slightly. Some hundred years? "What is Light-kun talking about?"

"I am a Biju, Ryuuzaki. A being of immense power that roams this world," Light smirked. "You already saw my original form. I'm a Kitsune, a fox demon, I suppose you could call it. And you… you are my new host. I've been imprisoned in your body. We are currently in your mind."

That did not make sense at all. "… What?"

Light grinned at seeing L so dumbstruck. "I suppose explanations are in order then. This world is very different from the world you and I once knew, Ryuuzaki…" Light proceeded to give L a basic understanding of the way the world worked, its history, Chakra, Biju and who L was now. He left out a lot though. L could easily figure things out if needed and Light didn't want to bother with explaining basic things. Behind L, the monitors were filling up with the new information L had obtained and processed. L was, as expected, taking it all in fast, if with a hint of skepticism.

"Perhaps it would be better if you were to go ahead and explore this new world on your own. I'll be here in your head all the time, so don't worry about me," Light suggested when L began looking suspicious and restless and the monitors started gaining question marks.

"How?"

"You're a genius, figure it out," Light remarked, sprawling out on the floor of his cell casually. L found this action exceptionally odd from the auburn-haired genius who was obsessed with his image, but nodded.

He turned to look out of the room and at the hallway beyond. The monitors here seemed to reflect what was on the forefront of his mind. Perhaps he could walk out?

L approached the doorway and exited hesitantly.

"No need to be so cautious. This is your mind, after all, what happens here is under your control," Light's voice called out. A moment later, a startled Light was next to him, chained to him by a handcuff around his wrist. The seal that had been on the bars was now on the chain that connected them. Light blinked rapidly. "Wow, was that really necessary? You know if I transform back you can't stop me, right?"

"It was just an experiment to see if I could alter the terms of Light-kun's imprisonment," L admitted and Light, disgruntled, was back behind the bars. "It appears I cannot maintain it."

"Whatever. No matter where in your mind you go, I'll still be able to talk to you. I can talk to you even when you aren't in your mind." Light stretched and, with a puff of smoke, returned to his fox form. "Get exploring, gaki. I'm taking a nap."

Gaki!? L felt his eye twitch in annoyance. What right does he have to call me that?

"Of course I have a right, since I'm hundreds of years older than you," Light sounded smug and L glared at him before glancing at the monitors. As excepted, the monitors really were representative of his thoughts.

Huffing softly in irritation, L walked out in his casual slouch to return to the waking world.


Four: Reenter – "L", the Genius Detective


Uchiha Fugaku stared.

There was another one and boy was he glad for it.

As the chief of the Konoha Military Police, the Uchiha-run police force, he was in charge of maintaining law and order in Konohagakure. However, they weren't all-knowing. They had limits and, while strong enough to bring any shinobi to justice, some cases just weren't solvable.

Until he appeared. (or, at least, they think it's a he. It might be a she though. The use of 'watashi' made it unclear)

He did not appear in person, but, rather in the form of cards that lacked fingerprints or Chakra signatures. They were characterized by the odd, stylized symbol 'L' on the back, read as 'eru' apparently.* They always contained hints and solutions for solving a particularly hard case and Fugaku was, for one, grateful.

He would never admit that out loud though.

This person, this L, was very intelligent and though Fugaku was disgruntled at needing help, L had made it so there wasn't a single case unsolved ever since he appeared four years ago.

Resigning himself to using L's help once again, Fugaku picked up the card and turned it over to read. He sure did want to meet this person. He wished he could. Then L could join the police force and actually collaborate properly with them.

Little did Fugaku know that a couple of days later he would die, prompting L to join what would be his first year at the ninja academy.


L had never actually thought of going to the academy.

He had never thought it a viable opinion.

He didn't want or need to become a ninja.

He didn't need money, the Hokage gave him money. Light, of all people (demons? Kitsune? Beings?), taught him life skills. This world without advanced technology was inconvenient in that he actually had to eat healthy because their medication wasn't good enough for him to continue his pure sugar diet without repercussions. It was also inconvenient in that he had no computer to work on. It was even more inconvenient that he now had to sleep.

Fighting wasn't exactly his thing either. Sure, L was a master of martial arts, capoeira in particular, using his previous experiences and this new world to his advantage. He estimated his Taijutsu, as they called it here, to be at low Chunin level, perhaps higher if you considered how unique his style was in this world and how many different forms of martial arts he knew. This new world with Chakra also made it easy to train his body far above his previous level.

Every Ninjutsu and Genjutsu he had tried so far was also easy to master. He had to grudgingly thank Light for that though, since Light had a lot of experience and gave him plenty of advice. He also had to thank Light for giving him the ability to do an actual transformation rather than the usual Henge that most shinobi did. He even used it to buy groceries since everyone here seemed to, as Light said, be short-sighted idiots. He wasn't too interested in either of them though and had only learned the useful ones, no matter how advanced they were. He had even created few or modified them to suit his purposes, with Light's guidance and help, including one that would erase his Chakra signature.

Even Fuuinjutsu was relatively simple. In fact, it was probably the easiest of all of them. Fuuinjutsu required the most intelligence, which both L and Light had in spades. L had asked why Light couldn't undo the seal before if Light had long since unraveled the mystery of Fuuinjutsu. Light had said, disgruntled, that he couldn't touch the seal. L had decided to leave the seal be, much to Light's annoyance, since he didn't fully trust the ex-mass murderer.

Still, L had never desired to become a ninja. He liked being a detective. It challenged his mind, especially in this new world where certain limits were blown away and others were put on. He still occasionally became amazed at some of things that were possible in this world and reached for an electronic device that wasn't there.

However, to be a detective, to enforce justice properly, they needed a police force. ANBU weren't good enough. ANBU was a special organization, a secret service, almost, and they could not become the face of justice. Black ops as they face of justice? No way. The I&T division wouldn't do, either. The people could not look up to them and they did not patrol the streets or enforce the law.

L would become the face of justice, but he would need more than just him. He needed the backing of law enforcement. With the slaughter of the Uchiha clan, the Konoha Military Police was in shambles and L had to give his hints directly to the hokage, which was a pain to do anonymously. The Transformation technique came in handy though.

L would rebuild and head the police force and to do that he needed to become a shinobi.

Light had been supportive, though he had reacted to his decision in that distinctly un-Light "Kira" Yagami way he had taken to. He had smiled secretively and said, "You're right, L. That's a great idea. Justice will prevail." It had irritated L to no end, but he was content that he had the now-ancient powerful fox backing him.

And so that was why he found himself walking into the academy building.

Unfortunately, this would require him to socialize. It wasn't like he hated it, he just wasn't good at it.

He wondered if Light could teach him. He should really build a rapport and that required good social skills.

This was so… troublesome.


AN: *Since they only have Japanese there, I'm guessing that the English alphabet, do not exist.