I do not own any of the recognisable works here. Yu Yu Hakusho is written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. Death Note is created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and manga artist Takeshi Obata. Terms: Kitsune: Fox, or in this case a "fox demon".
Kasha: Mythological figures in the form of cats that collect the dead bodies of the wicked. They are said to ride flaming chariots. Cats that steal souls/bodies after a person has died.
"Oh! Kasha, Kasha...!" You chant to yourself; the words like a familiar song. It was rather unusual to find a fox such as yourself calling for the 'death' cats; however, it had been years since you last saw one, and there was a particular kitty you'd like to question. You know two things that remain the same for any death cat:
They almost always travel by fire chariot (showy...).
Kasha (they) retrieve the fresh corpse of a sinful human to take their souls to hell.
This means you need to find a body. A bell chimed repeatedly in the distance. Your (h/c) fox ears perk before you rise on all fours and stretch cat-like. Your tongue curls in a yawn and you straighten to get to the sound's source. Most of the people you pass seem not to notice your presence. The busy humans clatter noisily on the city's darkened streets as you weave between their suited legs and heeled shoes. With every hop or tiny pad towards the sound you contemplate your situation. There was a terrible shift in Reikai about a week ago. The three worlds (Makai, Reikai, Ningenkai) reacted violently to the change. Makai, where you were, shook terribly. Honestly you believed it to be an earthquake until a small black hole twisted the ground in several places.
There was a pause in memory as you reach a two-story home. The bell's chime came from a pre-teen female leaning out of her kitchen window to whisper (unsuccessfully), "Miki-chan!"
"Stop calling me that!" You hiss in your mind. Ever since you arrived in this strange human world she called you this. The last few steps to the window are slow, and you yip quietly to gain only her attention.
"You came back!" The girl was grinning happily. She had auburn hair and inviting brown eyes. Even so, the annoyingly kind soul was not very quiet, so her brother knew of you since day two.
Here is your story: After the black holes appeared in Makai you were swept into one by a fray of frantic low-level demons. Quickly you came to the realization that they were not black holes, but portals of a kind. Your tiny fox-body was tossed around uncontrollably until you landed right where you stood now. In a new world.
The girl, who later introduced herself (to a fox, no less!) as Sayu, was washing dishes by this window when she heard you land roughly. It's not a good idea to get close to a wild animal, so she peered from her window and down. The dark night sky made it difficult to tell you were a fox, and Sayu believes you to be a cat. Wary of a stray she grabbed an apple (her brother buys a lot, she mumbled) and tossed it carefully to wake you.
Now a week later you make your daily visit to her. Sayu disappeared back into the house for a moment before tossing leftovers out the window. She leans back out to watch you nibble silently. A door shuts somewhere upstairs and Sayu slips back inside in time to face her brother. You hear them converse.
"You're up late again," he states. Sayu pouts childishly.
"I don't have bedtime, Light... And Miki-chan came back again! Look!" You lick your lips to clean your face as their footsteps head to the back door. Light cracks the door and it takes him a minute to find you under the dim moonlight. He closes the door and continues to talk.
"Dad isn't home. He's with the task force still, but Mom went to pick him up. It's almost ten." They pause and you start to turn to leave to find a place to sleep again.
"Why did Mom have to get him?" Sayu asks.
Dishes clink, and you know she's routinely putting them away for the night as Light replies. "It's not smart to drive when you're tired. Mom wanted to make sure he'd be safe since he's been working long hours... But that's not what I wanted to say-"
"Miki!" Fuck. You halt and look over your shoulder. The kind girl is looking worriedly to your blind spot on the right. A large dog is walking towards you. It seems not to have noticed yet. Sayu must have been trying to see if you were still there when she noticed it. Of course you make mistakes, but this is ridiculous! How could you not have noticed the dog? Stupid mutt! "Light! Help her!"
He gives her a mildly incredulous stare, "How do you know 'Miki' is a girl?"
The dog barks after seeing you and you are fully prepared to fight the mortal dog. Light listens anyway just as the dog charges at full speed at you. The mutt rushes more as the back door opens. Light jogs over and picks you up with a sigh, and shoos the dog. He comments on your non-cattish structure. Now that he's close he can feel that you aren't a feline as his sister had thought. "You're trouble..." He mumbles as he steps back into the house. Leaving you would only bring the dog back. Sayu squeaks after a look. You wriggle in her brother's grasp.
"What is that? I thought Miki-chan was a cat!" The kitchen light was too bright, she was too loud, and you were increasingly uncomfortable with this position. A proud fox demon in the arms of a human? How dare they!
"...a fox." You stop struggling as Light speaks.
You glance up at your captor and snap your teeth once. He ignores it. A bad feeling enters his stomach after meeting your (e/c) eyes. A car door slams outside and the siblings share a look. Putting you outside would cause a fight if the dog were around... Sayu starts pushing Light upstairs, "Dad's home! We have to hide Miki-chan or he'll leave her outside with the rabid dog!"
"It wasn't rabid, Sayu..." But he continues up the stairs with your tiny body in his arms and Sayu behind him as the door opens.
"Sayu! Light! We're home!" A woman's voice calls.
Sayu responds hurriedly from the top of the stairs, "Light's helping me with homework! We might not be down for a while." The door to Light's bedroom shuts and he puts you on the floor. An uneasy feeling races down your spine and fluffs your fur until you shake it back in place. Sayu sits on Light's bed and stares at you with wide, childlike eyes. Her brother is seated in a desk chair. Both are silent as you stare back cautiously.
"We can't keep her in here." This line starts a back-and-forth between them. Sayu objects immediately.
"Dad will put her with the mean dog! What if she gets cold or hungry?"
"Sayu, Dad would call someone to pick her up. Maybe Animal Control. They'd probably set her free somewhere she was safer."
"Probably? We can't do that! What if... Can we please keep her? For now?" Light shakes his head and glances at you. You pace just in front of his bedroom door with annoyance. This is getting you nowhere. How were you to get home now? The Kasha would be able to give you some information, but you weren't so sure you were even in Ningenkai. So many questions circled your mind. What happened to the worlds? Would the Spirit Detectives be sent after you in a different (for lack of a better term) realm? After all, you did illegally enter the human world; well, a human world. King Enma is probably going mad from the problems everywhere. Black holes, earthquakes, demons running in confusion. The ningen most likely are, too. A cold chill sweeps around as your hear the end of their conversation.
"People don't keep foxes, Sayu. We'll have to tell Dad and Mom tomorrow. For now, 'Miki' may stay in my room." His sister squeals happily and hugs him.
She bends to your level and smiles, "Waaah! You're kind, brother! Miki-chan says she won't cause trouble! See? She isn't just a wild animal, Light." Sayu bids you both a good night and leaves for her room.
"Gotta get out, gotta get out..!" The moon is starting to give way to the sun now. Barely any light is peeking in, but you know it won't be good when the human wakes. From part of their conversation last night, you understood that you'd be sent away. Where? Why? They most certainly didn-
"Hyuk, hyuk..." An obnoxious chuckle sounded above you. Pointed ears poised back, you turn to face the creature with a strange laugh. For the first time in so long, you are mildly afraid. The one standing before you is a clown-like ghost. There is no other way to describe him. His aura is not demon, nor ningen. His permanently wide, red eyes stare down at you with amusement. The thing's gruesome smile bared sharp teeth, and you felt your lips curl menacingly on instinct. "What have we here: a little fox?" Its head tilted unnaturally; you took a few steps back. Fur bristled and a low growl erupted from your throat. The clown chuckled again and produced an apple from nowhere. It was gone in one large bite.
"Don't try anything, Clown." He looked pleased and mildly surprised when you spoke.
"Ah. I was right, then. Light doesn't know what he's gotten himself into! Hyuk." Light was still sleeping; you could hear his slow, even breathing. You were going to explode from all of these questions recently. What was this? Whatever he is, he doesn't appear hostile. You're a three-tailed fox! Not exactly nine, but still powerful enough to handle this thing.
Your fur settles and you calm to regain control of the situation after a slight pause. "Answers."
He extends a clawed finger, "Ryuk." You snap at him and he snatches his hand back with another laugh. This 'Ryuk' tilts his head and waits for your name.
"(f/n). I have no intention of giving you my full name," You bark out. He simply cackles loudly after a glance above you. Light shifts in his sleep and mumbles incoherently.
"Well, (f/n)," his use of your name makes you want to hiss, "I'll give you an answer for an answer." And as he floats there, just above the ground, you know something is definitely wrong with the worlds.
"Are there Kasha in this world?" You know for a fact they all report to the Spirit World. One is bound to give you satiable answers to this change. Ryuk simply hovers for a moment contemplating an answer as well as his question.
"It's not a habit of mine to stick around the dead; but I have seen two in my time.." He hums.
You force calm and swallow an insult, "Two is a small number." The clown simply hums and moves on to ask his question.
"What's a kitsune doing out of the Makai?"
Your ears perk, nose twitching with excitement, "You know of it?"
"I asked first, (f/n)." He scolds you playfully.
You growl but answer, "Reikai is failing to do their job. There is an imbalance and the Makai is in chaos. Damn King Enma. Damn Koenma and his detectives!" Ryuk mulls this over for a moment before answering your question in return.
"I am a shinigami. Before the Shinigami Realm, we inhabited Reikai. Of course, there were complications when the Notebook was created... I don't know much of it." He suddenly shrugs. Ryuk then slowly leans a bit closer, "But this human world is separate from the one you know. Reikai does not protect this land." He grinned eerily, sharp teeth menacing in the moonlight as he proceeds to cackle. Now you are intrigued and mildly confused with this information. He wasn't what you were expecting when hearing about Shinigami. The game of Q&A is forgotten as you skip his turn with a final question.
"Tell me, Ryuk, what notebook caused this?" His impossible grin widens, he starts to speak, and you feel your fate is sealed then and there.
"Have you heard of the Death Note, (f/n)?"