I don't own Death Note nor Inuyasha

" What a beautiful night. " said Kagome. She was laying on the grass in a park in Tokyo and staring at the stars and the dark sky above her. " This is definitely a perfect spot for stargazing. No lights and a large open space."

After a few more minutes, Kagome looked at her watch : it was already near midnight.

" I should go now, if I want to sleep a few hours before going to work. "

With a sigh, the young girl stood up and went to leave the park. On her way, she noticed a silhouette on a bench. She first thought it was a late wanderer or an insomniac like her, but as she moved closer she noticed two things : the person was a young man, and he was slightly transparent !

Great, a ghost. Just what I needed. Now I know for sure I won't get any sleep tonight. He looks almost solid, he should not have been dead for very long.

She kept on walking until she was facing the man and said : " Hey ! What are you still doing here ? "

The ghost jumped, either not expecting her to talk to him or too desperate to have noticed her presence before. " What ? You... err... You can see me ? "

Kagome rolled her eyes and answered : " Of course not ! I was talking to that tree behind you ! "

The ghost looked stunned for a moment then smiled sadly. " Got it, stupid question." Then, with a distant look in his eyes : " My fiancee hates it when I ask stupid questions "

Kagome smiled gently and sat on the bench, next to the man. "Do you stay in this world because of her ? "

The man looked away : " No, she... she's already dead. "

" Then why do you want to stay here ? "

The ghost's eyes watered as he told Kagome : " I don't want to stay here but I can't go ! "

The miko frowned and asked, confused : " What do you mean ? "

Now tears were flowing on the young man's face as he explained : " When I died, I felt as if I was weightless. I didn't understand until I saw myself on the floor and people around me. Someone said I was dead. No one could see me, I mean my spirit... or soul. And then I got this... this weird feeling, like I had to go somewhere. It's really hard to explain, I never felt something like this before. Anyways, I followed that feeling and I saw a couple. I think the woman was dead too, I could see through her and she had blood on her clothes. She took the hand of the man and they disappeared. I somehow knew I had to wait, and a minute later, the man was back, alone. When he saw me he glared at me and said he couldn't take me to the afterlife. "

By now the ghost was sobbing incontrollably, his face in his hands. Kagome looked sympathetically at him : no wonder he was breaking down, he just died and was told he couldn't go to the afterlife ! She was also confused by his story : she had never met a ghost who couldn't leave this world if he wanted to. Quite the contrary, all the troublesome ghosts she had had to deal with were spirits who refused to go. When the man seemed somewhat calmer, she asked him gently :

" Did this man say why you weren't allowed to go ? "

He sniffed and answered : " Yes, but I didn't understand his explanation. He said I used a Death Note, but I... "

" A Death Note ? " Kagome interrupted sharply. " You found a Death Note and wrote a name in it, despite... "

As soon as she had pronounced those words, the ghost became angry and yelled : " I don't even know what a Death Note is ! "

Kagome was even more confused now, she just wanted to go home and sleep, but at the same time a part of her wanted, no needed to understand what was going on to find a way to help. Normally, if he had found a Death Note, there should have been at least a indication of his power and a warning that whoever used it could never go to Heaven nor Hell. I know the Shinigami King imposed this measure, but this man doesn't seem to know that. Kaede told me the people who had relinquished their ownership of the Death Note lost their memories of it, but remember everything after their death. Maybe something went wrong with him. Or it could be a trick to go to the afterlife anyway, how can I know if I can trust him ?

Staring intently into the man's eyes and looking very serious, she asked him : " Are you sure you never used a Death Note intentionally ? "

Hearing the seriousness in her voice, the ghost, who was previously staring at his hands, looked up and looked her in the eyes. " I can swear I absolutely don't know what this Death Note is, and I never used one. Hell, I didn't even hear that term before my death ! "

He watched as the girl in front of him seemed to ponder his declaration. After a moment of silence, he found himself panicking. What if she doesn't believe me ? And if she does, will she be able to help me ? She may be able to convince the man to take me to the afterlife, but what if she can't ? Will I have to stay in this world forever ? Then the part of his mind who hated not understanding something took over. What is a Death Note ? It seems to be an unforgivable sin to use one, but I'm sure I didn't do anything wrong enough to deserve not being allowed to quit this world !

Suddenly, the girl stood up and faced him. A smile appeared on her face as she said : " My name is Kagome, and you are ? "

" Ray Penber " the ghost answered mechanically, not understanding why she was smiling.

" Okay, Ray Penber, I've decided to help you. Get up ! "

To stunned to move, he asked : " Why ? "

Kagome grinned even more. " Because we have to find a ferryman ! "

AN : I think I have to make some explanations :

- in this universe, Heaven and Hell do exist. A mortal who used a Death Note can't leave Earth and has to remain a ghost forever.

- ferrymen are not shinigamis : shinigamis are the gods of death described in Death Note, whereas the ferrymen have to take the souls of the deceased to the afterlife.

Well, this was the first chapter of my first fanfiction ever, so tell me honestly what you think please ! And there are certainly a lot of grammatical errors in that chapter, but bear with me : English is not my first language (not even my second in fact), so if anyone is interested (and not too scared) in being my beta, I'm looking for one. And if someone has a better idea for the title (an idea in itself would be nice in fact, because I had none and this one is just completely unoriginal) please tell me !

I don't know when I will be updating, but I'll try to make it quick ! I can't promise anything though.

Please review !