Anchor's Away
Summary: Kagome was the top ranked Anchor of Sakura TV before Kiyomi Takada let herself be felt up the ladder and into her seat. Now, being placed on the streets as a News Reporter, Kagome gets a firsthand chance at witnessing the true terrors of Kira, and after being offered a job on Yue TV as the Head Anchor, she becomes L's very own Queen of Media. She never expected him to get in contact with her...
Anime/Manga: InuYasha/Death Note
Pairing: Kagome/L
Genre: Romance/Angst/Mystery
Rated: M for Mature Content
A/N: Doesn't follow the timeline completely. A lot of it still happens, just...not quite in order.
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The Interview
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After introductions had settled down, Kagome had pulled out a notepad and pen. "Is it alright if I take down some notes? You can go over whatever I write and cross out what you'd like kept underwraps. However, I'm always looking for an opportunity to ruffle up Kira's feathers."
"Ruffling up Kira's feathers? That analogy is pleasing to the ear. I'm open to an Interview, as I think I could use it to my benefit. Still, the idea that you might be placing yourself in danger...is a bit unsettling."
"Kira can kiss my ass; I honestly don't give one flying―"
"Kagome-Chaaaaan!" Misa cut her off and smiled, "it's weird when Kagome-Chan swears, don't do it!"
Kagome blushed, "...yeah, sorry." She pressed the button of her pen and hovered her hand over her paper. "Let's start with an easy question. When I go through the unveiling of this interview, I'll need a name for the public. What should I give them?"
"You can tell them honestly that you interviewed L, or you can tell them that an insider had a sit down with you. I'm impartial, however, your answer could put you in a dangerous situation."
"L it is. Well, L, a lot of debate has been recently spurred on just what "Justice" is. Naturally, those who have been easily conditioned and robbed of their most basics of morality, believe that Kira is the embodiment of "Justice". Then there are those who find that you are much closer to such a personification, me included. How do you feel about being called "Justice"?"
L tugged on his sleeve while Light stared at him. "It's not with a sense of Justice that I pursue Kira."
"Oh?" Kagome let her pen move across the page as she finished writing down the question, "care to elaborate?"
"If I were to explain it...hm, figuring out difficult cases is my hobby. If you measured good and evil deeds by current laws, I too would be responsible for many crimes. I recently said this to some...impressionable minds...but, in the same way that all of you enjoy solving mysteries and riddles or clearing video games more quickly. For me too, it's simply prolonging something I enjoy doing. Therefore, you will find that I only take on cases that pique my interest." He dropped his eyes and looked at the cup of tea that Watari had just sat down before him, "so you see, it's not Justice at all. To be honest, if it means being able to solve a case, and to put a murderer behind bars, I won't play fair. If I were to describe myself properly to the masses, I'd say that I am quite a dishonest, cheating human being who childishly hates to lose."
"Alright, what does a case need to entail to pique the Great Detective L's interest?" She asked curiously.
"...mn, at minimum, ten people should be victimized by said case, or have over one million dollars involved."
"Was there ever a case that you took in which those guidelines were not met?"
"...yes."
"How many?"
"One."
"I won't dig into that case, as I am sure it was quite important to you if you broke your own rules to take it on."
He nodded as he suddenly felt a bit nerve wracked.
"Despite your self-critiquing, do you believe that there's been a moment that you've acted for anything other than the Betterment of Society?"
"That's an interesting question, Higurashi-San. What does it me, the Betterment of Society? What is better for one, isn't always better for another. I do what's necessary for the case. This feels like the ends justify the means or the means justify the ends, debate. When I think of myself, I certainly do side more with Justice, still, the underlying emotion and driving force for most of my actions is usually confined to two words; selfishness and self-gratification."
"One second," she scribbled neatly his answer and took it in with a small amount of surprise. "You certainly don't hold punches, even with yourself."
"Well, there's not much point in denying the facts. The world can be deluded to who I am or open their eyes and realize that I am just as flawed as they are."
"Well put. Let's move onto the Kira investigation. More specifically, why not elucidate us with your thoughts on Kira, or, as I said it earlier, the being behind the name."
"The being behind the name...I'm still interested in this wording. May I ask a question first before giving my answer?"
"Absolutely!" She grinned, "what's your question?"
"Why do you use the word "being"?"
"Well, to me...Kira is an existence, he's alive, but I don't consider him human. To be human...is to exhibit human traits such as kindness and compassion, which Kira does not. Perhaps he did once, but as Kira, he no longer holds the ability to honestly show such positive human traits."
Nodding as he listened to her, he was intrigued by how she said things, how emotionally in depth she was with the investigation despite not really being part of it. She understood Kira, in a way that no one outside the Task Force did. Probably better than even Kira did. He glanced curiously at Light, "what do you think of her answer, Light?"
"Well, I think Higurashi-San has a very pure outlook on humans, and I only hope to live up to it." Light laughed, "but honestly, she's not wrong, it seems. You've stated before that Kira is childish, but he's also cruel and calculating, these traits don't mesh well with kind and compassionate. Sure, to the public it looks like he's taken up the role of a God, removing the evil from the world, calling him names like the Savior Kira or Messenger from Hell. He's sure to have quite the ego on him too. This kind of person, he's pure evil, and the sooner he's caught, the safer I think the world would be."
L "hummed" to himself, 'such a by-the-book answer. What happened to honesty? Oh, wait, that's right. He knows I suspect he's Kira, he can't be too honest, or does he truly acknowledge that he's narcissistic, childish and a murderer?' L chuckled, "nicely put, that raises the percentage to 21."
Light sighed, "of course it does?"
"Percentage?"
"Nothing, Higurashi-San. To answer your question, as Light already commented, I find Kira to be childish. The being behind the name, that is. He is young and thinks he's a God. Charismatic, popular, someone who could easily manipulate young and impressionable minds, like innocent Misa here."
Kagome shook her head, "Misa is a smart cookie. I'll admit that she makes questionable decisions sometimes, but in the end, when all is said and done, Misa knows right from wrong. She's a good girl, and I'm sure she wouldn't be so easily led astray, not even by Kira."
L beamed, "that's interesting. I find that Kira's power of persuasion is strong enough to do exactly that. To be honest, Higurashi-San, the term Psychopath strongly comes to mind."
Lights head snapped up at that, he chuckled a bit, "L, or, Ryuzaki-San, saying something like this in an interview could cause mass panic."
"You think?"
Kagome shook her head, "I think it's good for people to hear this kind of bluntness from a professional, but with that being said, are you a professional in Psychology, L?"
L smiled, "I have the knowledge to back what I'm saying, feel free to bring in a Psychologist and ask him his thoughts, I'm sure they won't be too far off, if at all."
She nodded, "then please, continue."
"Glib, Charming, Charismatic, this is the first trait that one looks for when identifying a Psychopath. A Psychopath is all about falsifying trust. Pretending to trust someone, as well as gaining someone's trust through pretty words of deception. However, discerning what is real and what is a lie is always quite difficult. You see, they are so good at charming people, they can fool most anyone. Family, close friends, police, a girlfriend...absolutely anyone."
She gave a nod, "so we can assume that Kira is charming?"
"Quite charming, I'd say. Disarmingly so."
"That seems rather dangerous."
"They are also Narcissists, and like Light mentioned a moment ago, Kira is sure to have an Ego. The longer this case goes on, the more it grows, the more people talk about him, the more power he holds. He feels an inflated sense of self-worth and importance, as the God of a "New World"." He quoted with his fingers in exasperation, "along with hearing debate teams praise his intelligence, cleverness and skill...he's absolutely a Narcissist. Truly, an Intelligent, Charmingly Manipulative, Unremorseful and Nonempathetic, Narcissist of a Murderer."
"...that's scary." Kagome muttered; a feeling of dread fell over her at the idea. "He could be some attractive college student who's got a hobby for killing, and we'd be none the wiser."
L smiled, "a college student, certainly would fit the Kira I'm looking for."
Misa silently set her head on Kagome's chest as Kagome put an arm around her unconsciously while she continued writing down all that had been said.
"With one last question, we'll end our interview," she looked up at L, "concerning the odds of capturing Kira, and how close you feel you are to doing so."
"The odds of capturing and containing Kira are very high, however, I'm not as close to catching Kira as I wish I were. Close will never be close enough until he's handcuffed and tried for murder. However, even if I didn't manage to catch Kira. Even if I were to die by Kira's hands. There will always be someone to bring him down. I've made sure of it. If it's not me, then one of them will be there to bring him to Justice."
Kagome nodded, "you said "one of them", who are you speaking of?"
L smiled, "that might be discovered later, but for now, I need to keep it to myself. If I'm the only one who knows about them, then Kira will never be able to find out."
"I see, then we will end here. If anything comes up in the investigation, I hope you'll reach out to me for more coverage. Thank you for your time, L."
"You are quite welcome."
Misa yawned, "let's go sleep if you're done,"
Kagome nodded, "alright, let me send this to my boss first so I can go on air immediately with this tomorrow afternoon."
Misa nodded and let Kagome go as she made her way to Watari who held her phone out to her so she could take a photo of and send her interview over to Sesshoumaru. She wouldn't even mention his name. She knew he was like family to Kagome, so it was bad enough that Kagome was using her full birth name, but she dreaded the thought of Kagome being hurt by Kira emotionally too. She would be if he took her family. Misa looked thoughtfully at the tower of sugar cubes in front of her, "Misa misses her family..." she sighed, drooping backwards in the couch as she closed her eyes.
"Misa is my family. Though, I know I won't ever replace your mother and father, you've always been like a little sister to me." Holding her hand out, Misa took it and led her out of the main investigation room and up to her bedroom. Kagome was a mix of work mode and giddy teen, taking in the blondes' bedroom and large bed. She sighed as she melted back into normalcy, letting Kira and his murders slip off her shoulders and from her mind, all she let herself think of was her childhood friend, Misa Amane.
"Here, Kagome-Chan can go into the bathroom to change. L had cameras in all the rooms, so don't dress in here."
"Camera's?"
"He's not the type to trust easily, so if you gain his trust, like I think you have, you should treasure it and protect it."
Kagome grinned, "well, he seems like a good guy, despite his own opinion of himself. I'll be right back!"
Misa smiled and watched Kagome go into the bathroom, 'Misa is going to do her absolute best to protect you, since you are all that Misa has left now.' She glanced over to Rem, "lets both work hard to protect...Kagome and L."
Rem's eyes widened at her bold declaration, but she said nothing to it. It would seem, that Misa Amane...had woken up.
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Me: Here is chapter 4 of Anchors Away. I already wrote a later scene which...uhg...never mind, I'll cross that nightmare when I get there. For now, Merry Christmas to All and to All a Goodnight~! Check my Profile frequently to see when my next BBB update is~!