Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or Inuyasha!
A/N: Ohkay, one quick question: Has anyone noticed that Mogi disappears for like half the anime? I just realized this while rewatching Death Note and found that he is, indeed, gone most of the time. He's barely, if at all, in the 'investigation room' when L had Watari torture Misa and watch over Light and Soichiro. It was strange to me, is all. Another thing: Why the hell is there so many spellings for Inuyasha's sword? I swear there's Tetsusaiga, Tetsaiga, Tessaiga, etc etc. I tried finding out the real Japanese spelling, but I kept getting various answers, so I'm going to use the spelling Tessaiga, ohkay? Also, this is the longest chapter I put up so far! Hurray!
Playlist: Alexander Rybak (not bothering with listing song titles since I practically listened to everything he had to offer), Hiatus by Asking Alexandria, Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes and Adam Levine, First of the Year (Equinox) by Skrillex, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (The Juggernaut Remix) by Skrillex.
Special thanks to: AnimeFreakAmanda, Sugar0o, Izno, , snooze2010, and Mers Bug! Thanks for reviewing!
On with the main attraction!:
Kagome walked into the investigation room alone. It was about 5 in the morning, and as expected, L was still awake. None of the Task Force was there, excluding a passed out Aizawa sitting at the table and currently drooling over a bunch of newspapers. He had fallen asleep while trying to track down any Kira activity.
Ayame was back at Kagome's, Inuyasha's and Kouga's hotel room, sleeping and totally unaware of her missing friend. As of now, Inuyasha and Kouga were resting in their bodies and recuperating lost energy now that Ryuk did not stray from Light's side in the jail cell. Kagome was going to send Inuyasha out to retrieve the hidden Death Note, since he was itching for some sort of action, and he was to do it once he finished resting.
Sapphire orbs fell upon wild black hair and she sighed, "L, I fear you have walked into a trap."
"I know," L responded casually without looking at her.
Kagome's temper flared. "Then why did you do it? Don't you understand we all have a lot riding on this?"
"I understand. However, in order to best Light, we will have to go along with his plot."
The miko grit her teeth and emitted an impressive growl. "And if he takes you by surprise?" she demanded. "Light is no fool. He is a brilliant mass murderer that will do everything he can to kill you. Falling into his trap willingly is not your best idea, L."
"I will not allow him to kill me," L said, turning to meet her angered gaze. "I will see to Kira's arrest, Kagome. I have no intentions of giving up and allowing Kira to rule over humanity."
Kagome silenced herself, her expression that of worry. "Of course. Please, excuse my rudeness. I should not have confronted you so aggressively." L saw the remorse swimming in the miko's expression and nodded his forgiveness. "However," Kagome continued, irritation marring her features. "You should have told me before hand about what you planned to do. I would like the Great L to survive this mission unscathed and continue his legendary legacy."
"Unscathed..." L repeated, his eyes roving over to the monitor, grey eyes speculating Light's sleeping form on the bed. Truthfully, the detective didn't know if he was going to survive Kira's onslaught. He planned ahead, and he knew more than half a chance led to his demise.
Imprisonment: Day One
Kagome's sapphire eyes stared into the screen intensely, refusing to look away for even a moment. Behind her, Matsuda and Aizawa was standing, talking quietly amongst themselves.
For the past two hours, Light sat on his plain bed, eyes never moving from their place on the floor. Ryuk had settled himself between the toilet and the foot of the bed, looking bored. "I'm gonna be stuck with no apples to eat again?" he whined at Light, who didn't even blink to confirm he heard the shinigami.
L glanced between the dual images on screen: Amane Misa and Yagami Light, the two people accused of being the mass murderers Kira and Second Kira.
Soichiro walked in without knocking, which didn't surprise Kagome or L. The Task Force no longer really knocked upon entering. "Ryuzaki, I want you to remove me from the investigation," Soichiro demanded.
"Chief!" Aizawa and Matsuda protested simultaneously.
"The one currently imprisoned under suspicion of being Kira is my own son. I have no right to be here. Even when we were discussing his imprisonment, I tried to prevent it due to my own personal feelings," Soichiro continued.
"That's right," L agreed. "You shouldn't let your personal feelings get involved."
"I-If it turns out that my son is Kira, I don't know what I would do."
Kagome glanced over at the elder man with sympathetic eyes. She certainly didn't know how it must feel to have your son being accused of being a murderer. She could only think that it would be immensely... difficult.
"Yes... It's not unimaginable that you may think to kill your son and then yourself." L picked up a silver fork and stared down at his strange cantaloupe and fish concoction. The tines of his utensil picked up a piece of thin fish, salmon, Kagome thought it was, and used his index and thumb fingers to lift a rather large slice of melon to his mouth. "I agree, it's better that you aren't here." L placed the fruit into his mouth and chewed thoroughly before swallowing. No one said anything for a few moments.
"Ryuzaki, I'd like you to imprison me as well," Soichiro finally replied, voice firm. "Right now, I'm calm. But I have no idea what I might do due to feelings for my son."
L crouched lower to his plate, pushing over another slice of fish and picking up another triangular shaped melon piece. "I thought you might say something like this, so I've asked Watari to make the necessary arrangements." He stuffed the piece into his mouth, blank eyes still on the monitors. Once he swallowed, he elaborated on the 'necessary arrangements'. "But, though you will be imprisoned, you will have your cell phone turned on, now and again as usual, and will continue to communicate with your family and the outside world. Light-kun won't be informed of this, and if he talks to you, we need him to think that you're still part of this investigation. Even while you are imprisoned, you will be kept up to date with the investigation at all times. Is that fine with you?"
"I owe you one, Ryuzaki," Soichiro said thankfully.
Imprisonment: Day Three
L's monitor displayed three people under his and Watari's watch. Light's father, Soichiro, sat in a metal fold out chair, ignoring the bed and everything around him. His suit jacket was resting on the back of his chair and his usually crisp white dress shirt was now crumpled. His gaze was set on the dull green tile floors, and didn't move for quite some time.
"Stalker-san?" L's coal grey eyes went to Misa's visage on the monitor. "Stalker-san, I want to take a bath. I'm guessing you know where I live anyway... fetch me a change of clothes."
"Things are getting crazy around here again..." Aizawa murmured to Matsuda.
Matsuda replied, "I just feel bad for the Chief."
The hunched over detective pressed his index finger to his lower lip in thought, ignoring Misa and locked eyes with Light, who stared directly into the camera from his place at the edge of his bed. "Ryuzaki, how is it going? Were there any reports of new criminals that were likely to be targeted by Kira yesterday of the day before? And if they were reported, have they been killed by Kira?"
Kagome frowned when she saw and heard the false hope coming from Light. After so many years analyzing stubborn yokai, the miko became more in tune with detecting lies.
L leaned forward, pressing the button on Light's microphone. "There have been reports of some likely criminals, but ever since you were imprisoned, not a single criminal has been killed."
Kagome's phone began vibrating, signaling that she was receiving a call. Knowing that no one but the people working the Kira Case knew her number, she answered without looking at the caller id.
"I'm on my way out to retrieve the Death Note," Inuyasha's voice said. "I'll be back with it soon."
"They stopped being killed? Really?" Light asked, eyes widening.
The miko's eyes narrowed at his reaction before saying slowly, "Act quick."
"Yes," L answered calmly.
"When have I not?" the inu hayou questioned before hanging up, and Kagome snorted, shutting her phone. She could name off quite a few times.
L watched as Kagome moved from her usual spot on the love seat she shared with, a currently sleeping, Ayame, and kneeled beside him, whispering, "The puppy is retrieving the note book." At that, the detective nodded and looked to the screen once more.
Kagome's sapphire eyes followed L's example and let out a frustrated sound when Ryuk was not in the jail cell with Light any longer. As quickly as she could, she dialed Inuyasha's number, trying to reach the hanyou and clenched her teeth when she realized he must've already passed out and went out as an ikiryo.
Kagome went back to her spot and shook Ayame awake, whispering the instructions to find Ryuk. The okami yokai merely nodded and drifted back into a placid state before separating part of her soul and floated off, seeking the troublesome shinigami.
Inuyasha followed Kouga's directions exactly and found the area in which the Death Note was buried. At the foot of a rather large, yet dying tree, the earth looked altered and mussed. 'Is this the place? It looks like something is buried under there, so it has to be...' he thought as his ikiryo form's feet gently landed on the foggy ground and stooped down to dig up the hidden Death Note with his bare hands.
Finding a metal box of sorts a foot under the dense soggy ground, the white haired hanyou grinned, opening it and seeing the tell tale black leather bound note book with 'Death Note' in silver lettering inscribed on it's front cover.
White dog ears flicked back when Inuyasha heard a deep and dark chuckle that vaguely reminded him of Naraku.
"Doing the dirty work for a miko, Hanyou?" Ryuk asked with an amused grin.
"Keh, what's it to you, Shinigami?" Inuyasha growled, putting the book into the top of his robe of the fire rat and drawing Tessaiga from it's old and battered sheath.
The black clad shinigami's grin widened when he saw the legendary sword being pulled. "Tessaiga..." he murmured in awe before cackling. "Your old pops fang is as powerful as the legends say, Hanyou. It's a shame it is wasted on a half breed like you."
Inuyasha bore his teeth at the infuriating death god, the insult striking something within himself. "You'll pay for that!" he snarled, charging.
"I doubt that," Ryuk responded, spreading his wings and taking flight.
Inuyasha jumped into the air after his target. "Come back here and fight!" he demanded angrily.
Ryuk brought his large inky hands in front of him, capturing the fang blade easily between his palms as the white haired hanyou attempted to strike him. Inuyasha growled, bringing his claws downs towards the shinigami's face, but failed to wound him as the creature of death kicked him in the gut, sending the half blooded demon to earth onto his back, effectively knocking the air out of his lungs.
Gasping for breath and trying to blink away the dark spots dancing in his vision, he failed to see the shinigami shout in pain as the fang rejected him as it did Sesshoumaru all those years ago.
"Damn sword!" Ryuk hissed, releasing his hold on the blade. Tessaiga dropped to the ground beside its fallen owner, who currently began to recover.
Inuyasha staggered to his feet, glaring at Ryuk as he landed gracefully, hands still smoking from its most recent burns. "I wouldn't usually get involved with ningen affairs or put any effort into keeping a humans plan going, but you and that miko makes it worth being so meddlesome. You could say that my boredom is almost relieved, all thanks to you."
Inuyasha clenched his jaw, picking up Tessaiga from the ground with a jerk and readied himself for his old technique. Ryuk cackled at the aggressive half demon and rushed forward. Inuyasha thrust his blades tip to the ground in a swift movement, shouting, "Wind scar!"
An enormous swell of gold power surged through the air, moving the very earth it came into contact with. Surprised, the shinigami darted to the sky, successfully dodging the powerful attack that ripped through the ground and struck down massive trees.
Ryuk dipped down towards Inuyasha just as he recovered from the shocking attack, and drove a black clawed hand deeply into the hanyou's abdomen, disturbing the flow of energy keeping Inuyasha's soul earth bound.
Inuyasha grunted and swung a blade between them to distance himself with the shinigami. But it was too late. Ryuk grinned as he stole back what belonged to him, his usually blank and emotionless stare now alight in amusement. The shinigami held the Death Note gingerly as he took to the air once again, narrowly missing the last attack Inuyasha attempted. Inuyasha winced, feeling his injured soul yearn to return to its body. He could not go after the Death Note... If he didn't get back to his body soon, he may lose his life completely.
With one last glare sent towards the retreating form of Ryuk, Inuyasha turned away, rushing towards his awaiting body in the safety of his hotel room.
Kagome bit her lip when she got a call from Inuyasha, "I'm sorry Kags... He got it."
She hung up, clenching the little cellular device in a tight fist. 'Damn it... Damn it!' she thought angrily.
Fury ripped through her tiny frame upon seeing Ryuk reenter the jail cell and turned to Light, his back facing the camera. He was no fool, he knew if he talked low enough and hid his mouth, Kagome couldn't understand or hear him. Ryuk took advantage of the moment, whispering something, probably the newest location of the Death Note, to his human, leaving Kagome to watch helplessly. "L," she murmured down to the detective. L gazed up, seeing faint defeat in her eyes. "He has it back. Inuyasha was not able to succeed in retrieving the Note."
Ayame came to from her 'slumber', looking apologetic and joined the pair, crouching to meet L's coal grey eyes with her emerald before she whispered, "We will get him. We may have lost this battle, but we have not lost the war."
The miko nodded absently, seeing Light look into the camera with hidden triumph. He knew he had won this round.
Imprisonment: Day 5
Light sat silently on his bed leaning forward, his brown-red gaze fixed upon the bars keeping him from his freedom. He blatantly ignored the writhing shinigami to his right, uncaring for the twisting and crunching body of the very thing assisting him with creating a newer and 'cleaner' world.
"It's no good Light!" Ryuk shouted, grabbing at his own neck. "If I don't eat an apple soon-" The shinigami's back twisted in the oddest of angles, leaving Kagome and Ayame tilting their heads with a questionable look on their faces.
"Stalker-san... you won't be able to sell a video of me just sitting down," Misa tried persuading, voice sounding hopeful.
Kagome glanced at Soichiro, seeing his listless gaze settled on the ceiling, his eyes heavy from lack of sleep and a 5 o'clock shadow dusted his cheeks.
"Yagami-san seems to be in a much worse condition than Light-kun or Amane," L stated blandly.
"Well of course!" Matsuda answered. "During the five days Light-kun has been imprisoned, not a single reported criminal has died. In this situation, it's harder on the parent than the suspect."
Kagome frowned at his logic, but shook her head and refrained from saying anything. "As a result, this has pretty much decided that Light-kun is Kira," Aizawa added.
L leaned forward and pressed the button on Soichiro's microphone. "Yagami-san..." he called.
Soichiro jumps in his seat, startled. "What is it?" the chief asked in hope, looking into the camera. "Is it good or bad news?"
Aizawa's and Matsuda's lips tightened at their superior's reaction. "Umm, no. I think it would be much better if you don't think too much about this. No matter what you're thinking as you sit there, it won't affect the end results. Why don't you rest in a more relaxing environment?" L suggested.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Soichiro snapped, abruptly standing and sending his metal fold out chair to the floor. "There is no such thing as a 'relaxing environment' in my current circumstances! This is the most relaxing place for me now!" The elder man started towards the camera, rage set in his features. "No matter what the result is, when I leave here, it will be with my son!"
L stared owlishly. "I understand."
Imprisonment: Day 7
Kagome watched Light intently as he sat there on the floor. He looked ragged and worn, so unlike the usually composed and pristine teen she knew before. "Light-kun, it's only been a week but you look exhausted. Are you ok?" L asked.
Light closed his eyes momentarily before opening them and lifting his head to stare at the camera. "Yeah. Even I can't say that I look too good at the moment," he admitted with a slight smile, as if it were a joke. "But such meaningless pride... I'll discard it."
Ryuk, who was upside down, arms and legs twisted beyond belief, slowly unwound himself when he realized the hidden command. He righted himself and said, "Alright."
Kagome's and Ayame's eyes narrowed in suspicion, not quite understanding what was happening. The shinigami raised his right clawed hand and stared at the teen below him. Ryuk turned away to the furthest back wall, slowly making his exit and bid Light a, "See ya." before melting through the solid pale walls.
Light blinked several times, looking around in confusion. "Kami," Kagome breathed, clenching her jaw in anger. "What has he planned now?"
L glanced at Kagome, having heard her reaction and returned to the screen, pressing his thumb to his lip. The differences between the Light here and the Light 5 minutes ago were... astounding. This Light seemed less... forced, and more believable. L didn't know what was happening, but this Light looked... innocent.
"Ryuzaki!" Light called, standing defiantly. "I know I chose to be imprisoned and go through with this, but I've just realized, there's no point in doing this!" Aizawa backed a step, and Matsuda gasped. "Because I am not Kira! Hurry up and let me out if here!"
L answered through Light's microphone, "I can't do that. Until I am sure whether you're Kira or not, no matter what you say, I won't release you. That was the promise."
"There was something wrong with me that time!" Light yelled. "Do you actually believe that it's possible to do what Kira does and not be aware of it? I am not conscious of being Kira, therefore I am not Kira!"
"I also believe that Kira can not be unaware of who they are, but if you are Kira, then it all adds up. As soon as we imprisoned you, the killings stopped," L said simply.
"Listen carefully, Ryuzaki, there's no way I'm lying. I'm not Kira!" Light insisted through a grimace, and shook his head in denial. "I can only imagine that I've been set up!" L glared, eyes full of outright fury, into the monitor, gripping his knees in frustration, lips tight in anger. "Let me out! This is a waste of time!"
"No. I can't let you out," the detective responded icily.
"Damn it! How did it turn out like this...?" Light wondered softly, fists balled up and shaking.
"What's going on? This isn't like Light-kun. He's contradicting himself and isn't being logical at all," Aizawa said, frowning.
"Now that the murdering of criminals has stopped, there's no way we can release him. Even I have realized that much," Matsuda sighed. "Well, no matter what anyone says, at this rate, Yagami Light will be confirmed as Kira. We can close the case, and everyone will be happy."
'Not quite,' Kagome thought grimly, biting the inside of her cheek.
Imprisonment: Day 15
From the investigative room, Ayame could hear the clumsy running footsteps of a certain young Task Force member as he ran down the hall to join them. 'Oh boy, what now,' she thought, rolling her eyes.
Matsuda burst in panting, his eyes wide. "What's going on? Two weeks worth of criminals were taken out in one shot yesterday!"
Kagome rubbed her temples as she felt a headache threatening to overcome her. 'Honestly, what more can go wrong?' she hissed in her mind. 'Not only did we lose another Death Note, but Ryuk found a new human to play with?' Her eyes settled on the angry looking teen on his bed, obviously unhappy with his containment. 'And him... What did he plan? He wouldn't have given up! That isn't like Yagami Light... That isn't Kira's personality!'
"Yeah," Aizawa answered lamely. "Kira... is back."
"Have you told the cheif?" Matsuda asked excitedly.
"No, not yet."
Matsuda immediatly went to L's side, taking Soichiro's microphone and spoke into it urgently. "Chief! Kira is on the move!"
"What?" Soichiro jolted, eyes wide at the news.
"Kira was just resting. The judgment of criminals have begun again!"
"I-Is this true Matsuda? So my son... I can't say I'm happy that the killings have started again, but this means the suspicions around my son... no, I know Ryuzaki won't say he's completely 'white'..." Soichiro trailed off, running a hand through his disheveled grey hair nervously.
L glances at the pair of Task Force members looking to him hopefully, then to the pair of Western warriors who frowned, and compromised. "Let's go with 'grey' then."
This still did not make Kagome nor Ayame happy, but they both understood why he had to say that. They had no physical evidence Yagami Light was Kira, and they couldn't possibly keep insisting they were 100% sure that he is. "'Grey'... is a fine color," Kagome agreed grimly. Ayame just nodded.
"Hear that Chief?" Matsuda asked, grinning.
"Yes. So he was mainly 'black' before... Thank goodness," the elderly man mumbled.
"I'm sure that 'grey' is nearly indistinguishable from 'white'. Next we should tell Light-kun-" L smacked Matsuda's hand away when the young Task Force Member reached for Light's microphone.
"Matsuda!" L shouted, but realized his mistake on honorifics and lowered his voice to his usual tone. "I mean, Matsuda-san. Please stop."
"Matsuda?" Matsuda asked softly, rubbing his slightly reddening hand.
"Please don't tell Light-kun."
"W-Why?"
L ignored the question, opting to talk to Light. "Light-kun," he called.
"What is it Ryuzaki?" Light asked in a bored demeanor.
"No criminal have been judged for over the past two weeks now. Why don't you admit you are Kira?" L pressed.
"You're being stupid, Ryuzaki," the teen replied. "You're wrong. I'm not surprised you think I'm Kira by the way the investigation is going, but this is a trap! I'm not Kira! Use the zoom and look closely into my eyes. Are these the eyes of someone lying?"
Unconvinced, L moved on to Misa. "Amane, are you sure you don't know who Kira is?"
"This again?" Misa complained. "Misa would like to know that herself. Kira is a superhero that killed the criminal who murdered Misa's parents."
L leaned forward, staring dubiously at the screen. 'At this point, I... I don't know how to continue the investigation...'
"Ryuzaki," Ayame said.
L looked away from the monitor and to Ayame, his thoughts whirling around in his mind. "Yes Amaya?"
"Rin and I will broaden our search immediately. We will be back before night fall." It wasn't a request, nor a demand. Ayame grabbed Kagome's limp wrist and half dragged her out of the room.
Once they were safely away from human hearing, Kagome turned to Ayame and said, "Kouga, you and I will search the city. Look for anything suspicious. Let's just hope Ryuk isn't good at covering his tracks or his aura."
"Understood. Hopefully Lady Luck will be kind to us."
Unfortunately for them, Lady Luck was not on their side.
A/N: Alright, hope you enjoyed! Sorry for the lateness, but you know. School and I just came down with a cold. And when I get colds, I get them for like a week and a half (they kick my ass). Hmm, lemme ask y'all a quick question. How do you spell Inuyasha's sword? I just wanna know how you all spell it... Oh, and Sango's weapon. I saw so many spellings for her weapon too! So, if you got an answer for those two questions, please review it or PM it to me. Also, I'm not so good in action scenes. You be the judge if I did ohkay. Hopefully I did ;)) Sorry for any mistakes!
Please review your thoughts and concerns. Tell me how I'm doing or what I need to fix :)) Ja ne
-KiriKatana
[P.S.: Hurray! I have Friday off school! So I'll be spending it writing up another chapter. Whether or not I finish it, that's the problem. So hopefully it'll be ready by next week!]