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Chapter 8: Commisceo
The trio sat at a booth in an isolated corner of the café Light had taken them to and each ordered a cup of coffee that arrived rather quickly. Ryuga, who was seated opposite Light and Kagome, was rapidly depositing sugar cubes in his drink. Light rested his arms on the table while Kagome held Mayaru in her lap under the table so she would appear to be a neko plushie doll.
"This is one of my favorite coffee shops in the area," Light said to break the silence, "and sitting here, no one will be able to hear us."
"I see," Ryuga said, "You really picked a perfect place for this."
"Of course," Light answered, "and back here no one will stare at you for the way you sit and Kagome can keep her kitten out of sight."
Ryuga seemed to scoff quietly before explaining, "I can't sit in anyway other than this. If I do, my deductive reasoning ability will drop approximately forty percent." Ryuga paused and directed his attention to Kagome.
"Speaking of kitten, there was a piece of cat hair in the desserts you gave me," Ryuga said to her, "I am to assume that is the culprit sitting on your lap."
Kagome began to giggle nervously before replying, "Sorry about that. This girl here isn't my only cat, so I'm usually more careful about things like that." Ryuga nodded his head and took a sip of his sugary coffee.
'It was definitely Mimirou,' Kagome thought, 'You can bet on that. Ryuga definitely made an enemy of her by taking her ice cream like that.'
"Other than that everything was quite enjoyable. Now that that's aside," Ryuga said, "Yagami-kun, you have some questions for me?"
"I do," Light said, "but that can wait once you're sure I'm not Kira. You can start, Ryuga."
"Fair enough," Ryuga said and lifted his thumb to slip it into his mouth, "This should be interesting."
Mayaru snorted and crawled out of Kagome's arms to rest on the booth. Although it would be useful to obtain further information on Ryuga, she had no desire to watch Light and Ryuga clash wits with each other. Unlike Ryuk, she didn't like being the spectator.
Kagome watched Light take a sip from his coffee cup; he seemed completely calm. She on the other hand was a little nervous, but she and Light had gone over everything beforehand so that the two of them would be prepared for such an event.
-O0o0O-
Kagome sat on Light's bed after he and Mimirou had calmed down from their earlier outbursts. After he had phoned her about his intentions concerning Hideki Ryuga, he told her to come over as soon as she could. In order for his plans to work, he needed her to be completely informed every step of the way and fully prepared for anything Ryuga could send her way.
'Hopefully, this one doesn't involve me just using my womanly assets,' Kagome thought. That was all Light seemed to need her for and, even though she did not condone his actions; she was used to a little more excitement.
'Of course being stalked by L and being thrust into this odd relationship with Light were not exactly easy,' Kagome thought.
"So Ryuga wants to involve me into the Kira investigation as well?" Kagome asked after Light informed her of what Ryuga said while she was in the kitchen. He was sitting in his desk chair across from her much like the time they had first met in his room.
"Yes," Light answered curtly, "I'm confident L still suspects me to be Kira whether he is Ryuga or not. However, I do know that this confrontation means that he has no solid evidence. I also believe he wants to find out your exact relation to me. Not that I doubt your abilities, but I did let Ryuga know that I do not like the idea of you assisting the special task force."
"Somehow, I don't see Ryuga giving up just because of that," Kagome mentioned softly. To be honest, she could tell Ryuga was interested in her too. Before Light came to the house, he was analyzing her with those dark, round eyes with unwavering scrutiny.
"Exactly," Light said. He reached over to his desk and picked up several files. He handed them over to Kagome. Her eyes widened at the amount of material sitting in her lap.
"What exactly is all this?" she asked.
"That's all the information pertaining to the Kira case that was released to the media," Light explained, "Ryuga wants to determine our reasoning abilities, but I suspect it is also a method to get me to slip up and release some information that wasn't released in the media that only Kira would know. If that is the case, it wouldn't do us any good if we don't demonstrate any skills at all. That could make me look even more suspicious. I've already gone over this information thoroughly and I want you to as well. If it is discovered, I'll just say I was keeping a record of Kira's activities. When we don't need them anymore, I'll burn them just to be safe."
Kagome nodded and began leafing through the files. The one of the most recent file was coverage on the traffic accident that occurred on the day she began studying with Light. Mimirou told her when she returned home that she had caused the explosion. She had been very upset by the hanyou's task to say the least.
"You want me to study this?" Kagome asked, "It's being treated as a terrorist attack. Do you believe L will think this is related to Kira?"
"I'm not sure, but it's better to be prepared especially since the incident was broadcasted on the news several times," Light answered, "Although there were innocent harmed because of the incident and it's not Kira's usual m.o., it did occur while my house was under surveillance and, concerning you, it worked in my favor."
"Right," Kagome replied and closed the file, "I'm already so accustomed to cramming with you, so looking over all this will be easy."
Light smirked and began speaking with a smug expression on his face.
"Of course it will be," he said confidently, "I taught you well, didn't I?" Kagome nodded before standing up and grabbing the files. Light stood up as well and the two began walking out of the door towards the stairs.
-O0o0O-
'Of course,' Kagome thought, 'Light did let me know that even helping me with my study skills was only for his personal gain all along.'
"So," Ryuga began, "does the fact I told you that I am L tell you anything, Yagami-kun?"
Light put down his coffee cup and closed his eyes in thought for a few moments before speaking.
"Well," Light began, "it tells me you have some confidence in my abilities to help you solve the case. In addition to that…you deduced that even if you tell someone you suspect to be Kira that you are L, you won't be killed or that you have taken precautions to ensure that you wouldn't be killed. The media has reported that Kira needs to know someone's face to kill, but maybe he needs something else as well." Light paused before continuing. "Based on this situation, I assume that that something else would be the person's name. From that I can conclude that while you already have the alias L, you use the name Hideki Ryuga, a well known pop idol in Japan, to further protect yourself."
"That is correct," Ryuga said.
"I also think that the probability that you are really L is low," Light said.
"Interesting," Ryuga said, "Why do you think that?"
"Anyone calling themselves L would knowingly be put in danger especially if they are speaking with someone L suspects to be Kira," Light explained, "Using an imposter to keep L safe would be more practical. In fact, it is also likely that there are more people calling themselves L."
"I see," Ryuga responded, "It would be very stupid for the real L to put himself in the open like that." Ryuga turned his attention to Kagome.
"What do you think, Kagome-chan?" Ryuga asked, "Do you think that I am really L?"
"Umm…" Kagome began softly; she wasn't really expecting to be questioned so soon after Light.
"It's alright," Ryuga said softly, "Take your time."
"No, I'm ready," Kagome said quickly, "I think you could actually be L."
"And what does that mean?" Ryuga asked.
"Well, you seem like a person the most people wouldn't expect to be L," Kagome explained, "In fact, you look like you could obviously be a fake."
"I see what you mean," Light commented, "Most people would expect L to be much older and more detective like. Then again it could be that L had that in mind when he selected you as an imposter."
Kagome sighed exasperatedly and said, "If we keep second guessing ourselves like this, we'll be going on forever."
"Well then," Ryuga said, "Let's continue." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a printed spreadsheet and three photographs.
"Yagami-kun," Ryuga said as he spread the papers on the table, "This is information involving the Kira case that was never released to the media. This is a list of the twelve FBI agents who were murdered by Kira in the order they received the file and the order that they died. These photographs are of notes written by prisoners who were killed by Kira; we believe that they wrote them because they were under Kira's control before he killed them. Take a look at the list first and tell me what you think."
Light picked up the list and examined it for a few moments.
'Is he really serious?' he thought as he looked over the information, 'He doesn't give Kira enough credit.'
"What's the file that they all received?" Light asked, "If I don't know that, then I can't make any sense of this."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Ryuga apologized and answered, "The file contained the names and corresponding photographs of each of the FBI agents so they could know who the others were in Japan. The day they received the file, they died."
"In that case," Light began, "Kira needs to know what someone looks like and possibly their name as well in order to kill them. Because the file contained the agent's names and photos, I would have to say that there is a possibility Kira used this file to kill the agents."
"I see," Ryuga said, "Now take a look at these photographs. What do you make of them?"
Light picked up the photos and mentally scoffed at Ryuga's other attempt.
'This is child's play,' Light thought, 'These pictures have print numbers on the back.'
"These are pretty interesting," Light said, "If Kira can control the actions of others before he kills them, then he must have a purpose for 'dictating' the notes of these criminals." Light arranged the photos so that the first letter of every line was in a specific sequence.
"In the first letter of every line there is a hidden message to L," Light explained, "If you arrange the notes in this order, it reads 'L do you know gods of death love apples?' But there are print numbers on the back." Light rearranged the notes according to the print numbers.
"Now it reads 'L do you know love apples? Gods of death'," Light said, "It doesn't make any sense reading the message in this order so I do not believe that Kira wanted L to read the message that way."
"That is incorrect," Ryuga said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another photo.
"There is a fourth note," he said and placed it on the table, "When you add this to the sequence, the message reads 'L do you know love apples? Gods of death have red hands.'"
'I never had a prisoner write this note,' Light thought, 'What is he expecting with happen by showing me a fake note?'
"Okay," Light said, "but if there were only three notes, my reasoning is flawless."
"Actually, it isn't," Ryuga countered, "If you had figured out that there were actually four notes, your reasoning would have been flawless. You decided that there could only be three notes and did not even consider the possibility that there was another."
'I see now,' Light thought, 'He wants to observe my reaction by challenging what I said. Kira knows that there were only three notes written and presenting him with a fourth one he knows is a fake would insult him. I have to keep a level head.'
"Alright," Light said, "I didn't think of the possibility there would be another note. Regardless, I don't think that this will get you any closer to catching Kira. Besides gods of death do not exist."
"Right," Ryuga said and reached into his pocket again. In his hand, he held more photos.
"Now I would like for you to look at these, Kagome-chan," Ryuga said, "These are photographs of a traffic accident that occurred when a tanker truck containing compressed natural gas exploded. It was announced to the public that the incident is being treated as a domestic terrorist attack and is under the jurisdiction of the Special Assault Team under the NPA. In actuality, we believe the incident is related to the Kira case."
"So what do you want me to tell you?" Kagome asked.
"Just look at the photos and tell me what you think," Ryuga said, "Take all the time you need."
Kagome picked up the first photograph; it depicted the tanker truck after the explosion. The remains were completely charred but easy to make out the details of the image. She looked at it for a few moments furrowing her brows in confusion.
"That area right there," Kagome said in a small, hesitant voice as she pointed to a semi diagonal indentation in the truck, "It looks like that's the area where the natural gas ignited somehow and exploded." She picked up another photo, an enhanced image of the same area.
"It looks like the explosion occurred because of a reaction that happened inside of the truck because the indentation marks are outward away from the inside of the truck," Kagome said, "but if you look at the far edge of the indentation in this picture, you can see that the indentation is inward instead of outward like something punctured the tank. How enhanced is this picture?"
"Hmm," Ryuga began, "several hundred times and it has been reduced to fit the size of a normal photograph. Normal enhancements conducted by the SAT did not detect that irregularity. This picture was produced by the Kira Task Force and has not been reported to the SAT. Very clever, Kagome-chan. What do you believe this has to do with Kira?" Kagome sighed and took a few minutes to think about her answer.
"Well," Kagome said, her voice was much louder and confident than before, "the intention in this area indicates that something the tank was punctured and the same thing used to puncture it was brought upwards so that it would appear the reaction occurred inside the tank without any outside interference." Kagome paused and took a deep breath before continuing.
"Kira has the ability to kill people by knowing what they look like and possibly their name. Also, you said that Kira can control the actions of others to a certain extent before they die," Kagome said, "so it wouldn't be that far out of a guess to say that Kira has other abilities as well or was able to control someone with the ability to do this. This person could have either been controlled before death or there is a possibility that he acted of his own will in support of Kira. So this incident was either a test of Kira's powers or a test of loyalty to Kira."
"Outstanding," Ryuga said, "No one in the task force was able to draw those conclusions when L announced that the incident was related to Kira."
"Very impressive, Kagome," Light said with a smile directed at Kagome.
'It's not like it was hard,' Kagome thought as she forced herself to return Light's smile, 'I know what actually happened.'
"Indeed," Ryuga said, "In fact, I have to tell you that I suspect you to be someone that is employed by Kira in such a way." Kagome gasped slightly at the accusation; Light had told her Ryuga might suspect her of working with Kira, but it was much different hearing it spoken by someone who called himself L and very frightening. Mayaru returned to her lap to sooth her and Light reached over and placed his arm around Kagome's shoulders and pulled her closer to him. Despite being troubled by what Ryuga said, Kagome didn't worry about her reaction too much. Light had told her it would be okay if she were to make some sort of response during the confrontation with Ryuga; it would be more suspicious if the two of them were completely calm and, furthermore, that persona wasn't in her character.
"Of course, I doubt you would have been to do such a thing as puncture through a carbon steel tank truck and I only suspect you because of your association with Light," Ryuga quickly said.
Kagome nodded and said, "It's alright; I understand. You just caught me off guard."
"You should be more careful when you are accusing people, Ryuga," Light said firmly and tightened his hold on Kagome in a protective manner.
"You're right," Ryuga said, "I apologize. If you're ready, Yagami-kun, I have one more question for you."
"Okay, Ryuga," Light said, "Go for it."
"Alright," Ryuga began, "Suppose that you are L. If you came face to face with someone who might be Kira, how would you try to determine his guilt or innocence?"
Light took another sip of his coffee before answering.
"I'd try to make him say things that haven't been reported in the news," Light answered, "Something that only Kira would know. Just like you're doing right now, Ryuga."
"Truly amazing," Ryuga said, "I've already asked that question to a number of investigators and it took them a few minutes to think about it. Also a majority of their answers were silly and involved something along the lines of baiting Kira with a well known criminal and watching to see whether he will die or not from a hidden location. But you immediately thought of a scenario where the investigator is talking to Kira directly. I have to say that you're quite brilliant, Yagami-kun."
Light chuckled and said, "Thanks but I assume the more brilliant I sound, the more you will suspect me."
"Indeed," Ryuga responded, "My suspicion has increased to three percent." Ryuga paused before speaking again, "However, my desire to involve you in the investigation has also increased and that goes for Kagome-chan as well. In my position, even if you are Kira, it would be beneficial for the both of you to work along side us in this case."
"Understandable," Light said, "If I'm not Kira, the addition of the both of us will help the investigation move forward. If I am Kira, there is a chance that Kagome and I could slip up and reveal something." Light paused and took a deep breath.
"Don't get me wrong," Light began again, "I am interested in the Kira case and detective work is certainly a hobby of mine, but I am not Kira and I sure as hell don't want to get killed by him. I also don't want to put Kagome in any position like that as well. Besides you haven't given me any proof that you aren't Kira. It hardly seems fair for only Kagome and I to be investigated, wouldn't you say? At this point neither of us has enough evidence to be certain that the other isn't Kira. However, if you are in fact L, I don't imagine it would be that hard for you to prove it. I think I'd be convinced if, for instance, my father or someone else from the task force was able to confirm your identity. If you can't do that much, I don't think we'll be able to help."
'You sure do talk a lot, Light,' Ryuga thought, 'Typical of someone who doesn't like to lose. I believe it has increased to seven percent now. Could you really be him?' Ryuga shifted his eyes to Kagome. She was still pressed against Light's side.
'What to make of you, Kagome?' Ryuga thought, 'If Light is Kira, there is no doubt that you are assisting him in someway but how? And if you are working with Kira, do you play the role of an innocent victim forced to aid a mass murderer or a willing participant who shares the same goals and ideals? I believe that it is the former, that you are indeed a victim. Or rather…' Ryuga halted his thoughts and pictured all the images of Kagome he had seen in the Yagami household via the surveillance cameras. Her beauty, her intelligence, her compassion and kindness, and now meeting her in person for the first time…Ryuga watched Kagome stroke the fur of the kitten in her lap with a soft smile on her face.
'I want to believe it,' Ryuga thought.
"I don't remember saying that you couldn't met anyone from Task Force Headquarters to verify my identity," Ryuga said, "I'm currently working directly with your father and other members of the task force. Am I correct in saying that if I bring you to Task Force Headquarters, that you will help us in the investigation?"
Before any of the trio could say anymore, Ryuga's cell phone rang and then Light's did at the same time. Ryuga reached into his in his pocket for his phone and Light removed his arm from around Kagome to answer his. Kagome let out a deep breath and continued to stroke Mayaru's fur. As Kagome watched the two of them; they both had obviously gotten some bad news.
"Yagami-kun, it's your father," Ryuga said.
"He had a heart attack," Light said. Kagome gasped and Mayaru immediately opened her bright red eyes.
-O0o0O-
Light, Ryuga and Kagome arrived at the hospital and sat at Yagami Soichiro's bedside with Light's mother, Sachiko. Kagome sat next to Sachiko and the woman held her hand for reassurance and comfort. Mayaru was being held in at the front desk; pets were not allowed passed a certain point. Ryuga offered to have a ride home arranged for Kagome, but Kagome adamantly refused. She was very worried for Yagami-san's wellbeing even though she was never introduced to the man.
'Kaede told me during my training that miko energy did not have to be directly transmitted to someone to improve their physical condition,' Kagome thought, 'She said if I concentrate, my aura will radiate with my energy and at least make Yagami-san feel better.' She glanced over at Ryuk, who didn't seem to be affected by the spike in her energy.
'It must not be able to affect shinigami,' Kagome thought and filed that information away for later.
"Are you sure that this was brought on by stress?" Light asked his father.
"What are you trying to say, Light?" his mother asked with worried coating her voice.
"It's not that hard to make a connection," Light said, "Every one of Kira's victims died because of a heart attack."
"To be honest," Soichiro began, "that thought crossed my mind when I first collapsed." He noticed his wife was growing concern and practically constricting Kagome's hand.
"You are the head of the task force," Ryuga said, "It is likely that you have been targeted by Kira; we can't rule him out completely."
"Sachiko," he said, "since Light is here and I'm alright, you can go home now. Don't tell Sayu I'm in the hospital; I wouldn't want to worry her."
Sachiko nodded and collected her purse and other belongings from the floor.
"Alright," she said, "I'll be back tomorrow to bring by some of your things." She stood in from of Light and Kagome and addressed the two.
"Thank you both for coming," she said, "Kagome, I can take you home if want; you really didn't have to come out here."
"That's okay," Kagome said reassuringly, "I would feel better if you went home and got some rest right away. Taking me home would be too much of a side trip."
"I'll make sure Kagome gets home after I leave," Light said.
"Alright. The two of you take care of him until visiting hours are over and be sure to go straight home," Sachiko said and left the room, shutting the door behind her.
"You must be the girl that Light has been tutoring," Soichiro began, "My wife mention you; I'm glad to have finally met you, although, I wish it was under better circumstances. It seems that Light is rather taken with you."
Kagome blushed at the words Yagami-san said then began to laugh softly when Light said something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "dad".
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Kagome said with a smile that immediately won Soichiro over.
"Anyway," Soichiro said, "I do not believe that Kira is responsible for this. Now that I think about it, considering all the pressure I've been under and the fear that Kira might kill me, I haven't gotten a decent night's sleep in months. I must have been pushing myself a bit too hard lately."
"Having your own son under suspicion of being Kira must have also contributed to your emotional stress," Ryuga added. Soichiro looked in Kagome's direction as soon as he said this.
"You actually told my father that?" Light asked after whipping his head in Ryuga's direction.
"Yes," Ryuga answered, "I've told your father everything concerning this case including the fact that I am L. And you do not have to worry, Yagami-san, Kagome-chan has also been well informed on this case so there is no need to censor anything in front of her."
"That's right," Soichiro said, "This is L. We refer to him as 'Ryuzaki' to protect his identity, but this is definitely L."
'So this is the real L,' Light thought, 'My father wouldn't lie to me. At the very least, this is the L who has been giving orders to the police. If I get rid of him and the rest of the task force…' Light mentally shook his head at that idea.
'No,' he thought, 'I don't need to hurry things along like that. I have more than enough time. Right now, I'm a son concerned for my father's wellbeing.'
"So, Ryuzaki," Soichiro began, "is my son cleared of any suspicion of being Kira?"
"No," Ryuga said, "In all honesty, after gauging Light's reasoning skills, I have reason to further suspect him. But know that that suspicion is only on a very small factor. Allow me to explain. Kira killed the twelve FBI agents that entered Japan. All twelve died on December 27th after receiving files that included their names and photos. It is safe to assume that Kira has at least an indirect access to certain sources of information. Although we don't know exactly how Kira is able to obtain this information, we do know that there are a number of weaknesses in the security of the task force computers. Therefore, it is very likely that Kira has a direct link to one of the members of the investigation. It is interesting to note that, even though all twelve agents died, none of the Japanese investigators were targeted. Thus, it is very likely that Kira has close ties with his source in the task force—possibly a family member. Of course, Kira could still be capable of murdering his family members. He just chose not to at present."
"I see," Light said and motioned Ryuga to continue.
"One of the FBI agents, Raye Penber, exhibited particularly noteworthy behavior. In addition to that, his fiancé, a former FBI agent, disappeared," Ryuga continued, "He was investigating the Kitamura family and the Yagami family."
"So based on Raye Penber's behavior," Light began, "you were able to narrow your focus to the Kitamura family and my own."
"Correct," Ryuga said.
"Based on the information that Kira is operating in the Kanto region of Japan, it would probably be safe to say that Kira is opposed to killing innocent Japanese citizens," Light said, "I also agree that if the FBI agents were killed while investigating members of the task force, then there is a good chance that Kira is somehow related to its members. Additionally, I was one of the people being invested by the FBI, so it is inevitable that I would be a suspect. Or rather, I'm the only suspect. You also suspect Kagome of being Kira's accomplice if I am Kira. Kagome and I met after the deaths of the FBI agents were released to the media. Thus, the task force employed other means of investigation almost immediately after the agents were killed."
"Outstanding, Yagami-kun," Ryuga commented, "Very precise conjectures."
"I will help you in your investigation, Ryuga," Light announced, "I trust my father's credibility to your identity. Then I am going to arrest Kira to prove that I am not him."
"I see," Ryuga said, "Would it be safe to say that you will join the investigation as well, Kagome-chan? It's perfectly okay if you say no."
Kagome chewed on her lip before replying to Ryuga's question.
"I'm not entirely sure," Kagome said, "but if there is anything I can do, I would be more than happy to help."
"Light, you and Kagome should be concentrating on your studies," Soichiro said, immediately protesting the idea, "You can join the investigation after you graduate."
"What are you talking about, dad?" Light said, "I won't graduate for years! Plus I already made a promise. If anything happened to you, I am going to personally bring Kira to justice and see to his execution. Right now it is at least indirectly because of Kira that you are in this condition. So if I can help the investigation by joining the team, then I'm all for it. As for Kagome, I admit I do not want her involved, but now that I am sure Ryuga is L, I'm certain that the task force and I will be enough to protect her." Light reached over and grabbed Kagome's hand that rested in her lap. Kagome had her gaze directed at their conjoined hands; she was truly moved by what Light had said.
'Even though there is no way for Light to truly be concern about my wellbeing alone,' Kagome thought, 'If I'm discovered, then so is he.'
'Is this all an act?' Ryuga thought, 'if it is, it is far too corny.'
"Light, we can all agree that Kira is pure evil; there is no denying that," Soichiro said, "but lately I've been thinking about that. The true evil is the power to kill people not the person who has it. Anyone that possesses this power is truly cursed. No matter how it is used, any happiness achieved by murdering people can never be true happiness."
"In other words," Ryuga began, "If Kira received that power as a normal person, then he is also doomed by that power."
Ryuk, who had been obediently silent for the majority of the time, began to laugh loudly.
"Ryuzaki," Soichiro said, "I'm sorry for all this trouble, but I will return to work as soon as the doctors release me."
A nurse making rounds came into the room with a clipboard in her hands.
"The visiting hours were over ten minutes ago," she said in a stern voice, "and, miss, your kitten is still at the front desk."
"Oh, I didn't realize it was so late," Kagome said. She jumped up and ran towards the door.
"I hope you get better soon!" Kagome said over her shoulder before she disappeared into the hall. Soichiro and Light chuckled when they heard the nurse telling Kagome not to run in the hallway.
"She's a very charming girl, Light," Soichiro commented, "Pretty too. You take good care of her."
"I will," Light said; at this point he and Ryuga where both standing and headed towards the door.
"Take care, dad. I'll try to come visit you tomorrow," Light said before leaving the room. He and Ryuga walked together in silence. By the time they reached the exit, Kagome was walking away from the front desk with her kitten sleeping in her arms. She joined them and the walked outside together. Ryuga already had a car outside waiting for him.
"Ryuga," Light said. Ryuga turned to Light and gave him his complete attention.
"Isn't there something I can do to prove to you that I am not Kira?" Light asked earnestly.
"If you aren't Kira, then that won't be necessary," Ryuga answered.
"Stop yanking me around, Ryuga!" Light said, "How do you think it feels to be accused of being Kira?"
Ryuga paused for a moment and looked towards the sky for a moment.
"It was one of the worst feelings in the world," Ryuga answered.
"How about you lock me up in a place where I can't access news broadcasts or any other contact with the outside world for a month and see what happens. If nothing changes and criminals continue to die, I'm not Kira. Also if nothing happens, Kagome will be cleared by association."
"I can't do that no matter how desperately you want to prove your innocence," Ryuga said, "I can't deprive you of your basic human rights. Besides, what sense does it make for the investigator to take advice from a suspect?" Ryuga opened the back door to the car and got settled in the front seat.
"I understand," Light said in a somewhat depressed tone.
"If you truly aren't Kira and Kagome is not involved with Kira, we will know soon enough," Ryuga said, "I can honestly say that after watching you with your father today, I am beginning to think that you are not Kira. Anyway, the both of you take care of Yagami-san and yourselves."
"Oh, before you go," Light said before Ryuga closed the door to the car, "I will only be able to help on the investigation after my father recovers."
"I understand," Ryuga said and closed the door but lowered the window, "Kagome-chan, you are welcome to come to the task force at anytime, but I'll assume you will be assisting with Yagami-san's recovery as well. Good night."
Light and Kagome stood on the sidewalk until the car was well out of sight. They turned in the opposite direction and began walking to the bus station.
"Ryuk, Kagome," Light said, "I don't think that picking up the death note has brought me any misfortune. In fact, it is the best thing that ever happened to me."
"I don't care whether you think finding the death note is fortunate or not," Ryuk said, "However, it is generally bad luck for a person to be followed by a shinigami and they experience nothing but misfortune."
"I don't really care either," Kagome said, "I am helping you by force after all."
"I see," Light said, "and I did honestly mean what I said before."
"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked.
"I'm going to protect you no matter what," Light said. Kagome immediately halted in her steps.
"Is something wrong?" Light asked, looking back at the frozen girl.
"No, nothing at all," Kagome said, "I got a chill." Kagome began walking at Light's side again and felt something heavy being draped over her shoulders. It was Light's tennis jacket.
'There's just no way,' Kagome thought, 'Nothing good can come from falling for Kira.'
-O0o0O-
punkish furball—Yay! I really liked this chapter; it was really one of my favorites so far. I guess we all know who shows up in the next chapter!
Remember: Questions? Comments? Words of Wisdom? Contact Me!
-Commisceo – "To intermingle", "To join", or "To mix"
L83R, DUD35!
(edited 08.07.2010)