Beneath the Underneath

Summary: A middle aged man enters Yuko's store with a wish: to see his family. This simple wish is the beginning of a journey, a journey in which the supernatural and the detection of it collide. Can Yuko aid the Kira investigation? Is there more at work that a Death Note?

AN: This occurred to me today after watching the xxxHolic debut episode, in which Yuuko states, " Of course it's just an alias; Never give a total stranger your real name!" or something to the effect. I watched some more Death Note, and this fusion occurred to me. I've never written a cross-over before, and I don't plan on any pairings, unless insisted upon by readers, I suppose.

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note or xxxHolic. If I did, I would consider myself a genius.

Prologue

Entrance exams were fast approaching, and Watanuki was spending more time at school. These changing seasons left Yuko, Mokona, Maru, and Moro alone to fend for themselves in all things culinary. They were unusually busy with customers, most wishing for safety from a being called Kira. "Hide your name from strangers," Yuko warned. She knew little about Kira then, but felt the supernatural at work.

Each day she heard of more and more people passing on. The usually spastic Watanuki brought it up on several occassions, insisting that he be let home before dark. Yuko merely laughed at him, counteracting his argument with the notice that Kira never personally attacked the victims mentioned in news reports and newspaper articles.

That snowy day brought promise; Yuko could feel it in the air. An inevitable meeting was coming.

That was when he came around the corner. A worn our, middle-aged man stopped in front of the shop, blankly looking ahead of himself. Like all of Yuko's other customers, he didn't mean to be there. He didn't have time for a stops, with the investigation and all. Soichiro Yagami sighed, finding it impossible to avoid stepping in the red doors only to be greeted by a pair of strange girls.

"A customer, a customer!" They cried in unison, swooping down into the sand in order to steal the man away and into the house.

Soichiro blinked. In any other state, he may have objected. He didn't know why he was there. He didn't understand this at all. The girls led him into a large room, spinning as they left him standing before a woman, lounging upon a grand futon. She looked up at him through her bangs, and spoke softly.

"Welcome to my shop. What is your wish?"

"Wish?" Soichiro questioned.

Truth was that he had many wishes. He wished that Kira would be caught. He wished that he could see his family, just once a week even. The Kira case had consumed all of his time, and he hadn't even been home in a few nights. That's what he missed most about the days before all of these killings: his family.

"Yes. You see, I grant wishes in this shop. You wouldn't be here if you didn't have a wish.. But I do require proper compensation."

"I want to see my family."

Before Kira, he might have been suspicious of the woman. In as little as two weeks, he had watched people die from heart attacks, somehow induced by man that they never saw or even knew. He was beginning to believe in things he might not have before then, and he was taking it all into consideration as the woman sat up to address him.

"And what is it that keeps you from seeing your family?" She inquired.

"Work," the detective answered simply.

"Ask for time. Surely you don't need to be on the case twenty-four-seven."

How could he explain to her? His case was more important than she might have surmised. Something in her eyes told him that all these questions had a reason, as if she could deduce how to help him through his answers. Then it registered; how did she know he was a detective?

"How did you know I was a detective?"

"You look like one," She grinned at him," Perhaps you will find the time to take away from your job. Certainly, it should fall quiet soon.."

"Who are you?" Soichiro asked, almost without thinking.

Yes, he couldn't quite control the words. She was an enigma to him, perhaps the most mystical character that had ever walked into his life.

"Look beneath the underneath, Soichiro Yagami, and things will become clear in time. All your wishes revolve around the other, and it is only through your effort that these things will mend. My services are not needed, yet," She waved him off as she reached for her pipe," but do come by again if you need anything else."

Soichiro blinked, but did not question. Rather than stay in the presence of the mysterious woman, he stood and left without another word. What was to come now? Did the supernatural things he once never believed in truly exist? She knew his name without asking, saw through him without more than a prod. Lucky guesses, he tried to convince himself. Simply lucky guesses.

AN: Just a quick prologue, to see if it goes down well. I think it would be an interesting way to look at Death Note through Yuko and Watanuki's eyes.