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Chapter 10: Simulatus

Mayaru let out a long cat-like yawn as she rested on Light's bed in her feline form. Light had taken her home with him, he told his family Kagome asked him to care for her cat while she was away for an indefinite amount of time. His explanation was Kagome had a sudden relapse in her health and was out of the city for medical attention. Kagome's family confirmed the story when his mother called to check on Kagome's situation; Light suspected false illnesses were the most likely explanation for Kagome's repeat absences and would assume she told Light that she was ill while she was away. To deter suspicion from Kagome's family, Light even called in with Kagome's mother for regular reports on Kagome's recovery.

The life of a common house cat bring petted and coddled while watching television dramas was definitely boring one, but Mayaru had to grin and bear it for now. She snuck out at night for a quick run around the city or to the nearby park to take a break from it and keep herself sane.

'Better me than Mimirou,' Mayaru thought, 'She would have leveled a few buildings by now.'

"Look who's gotten comfortable," Ryuk said while hovering above Mayaru's head with a snicker. If Ryuk was here, that meant Light was home from classes for the day. Mayaru stood on her hind legs and swatted at Ryuk with her paws. He liked to tease her especially when she was in her feline form. It was like his own way of playing with her.

"Someone's a little frisky," he said with a chuckle and reached from one of her tails. Mayaru growled and snapped her jaws at him before he could touch it. She was jumping about on Light's bed trying to scratch the shinigami when Sayu walked into the room.

"There you are, kitty!" she said cheerfully, "Looks like you got a little bored up here all by yourself." Sayu scooped the cream colored kitten in her arms and headed downstairs to the living room. She passed Light in the hallway as she walked by.

"Be careful with her Sayu," Light said, "Kagome won't like it if you're too rough with her."

"Oh please! We're just going to watch TV!" Sayu exclaimed, "Don't worry; I'd never do anything to make Kagome-chan break up with you."

Mayaru inwardly groaned; everyone in this house and Kagome's seemed to be talking about Kagome and Light's relationship in one way or another. She honestly had no clue what to make of it. Kagome was an open book; there was no doubt she was beginning to develop legitimate feelings for Light, but, due to the nature of their relationship, she was emotionally and morally conflicted and confused. Light was nearly unreadable, although, Mayaru tell that he was growing more and more sincere with his affections.

'Just like Mimirou said,' she thought, 'It is all one big headache.' Sayu plopped down on the couch in the living room with Mayaru in her lap and turned on the TV.

"Let's see what's on," Sayu said. She flipped a few channels before stopping on the Sakura TV Station channel. It wasn't her favorite channel to watch, but it killed time until her soaps came on. On the television screen, there was a man dressed in a suit, most likely a reporter, sitting next to a monitor reading "A Message from Kira: Four Terrifying Videos."

"Are they serious?" Sayu said out loud with a slight laugh in her voice, "This might actually be good for a laugh." In her lap, Mayaru lifted her head and focused more of her attention on the screen.

"In other words, we are practically reporting this news as hostages of Kira himself," the man said, "At the same time; we at Sakura TV feel that it is our professional duty to report these videos to the public. I repeat that this is not a prank or a hoax perpetrated by our network for the purposes of sensationalism." The image on the screen changed to the four cassette tapes arranged in a row. The reporter gestured to each of the tapes displayed with his hands.

"There is no doubt that these four cassettes mailed to the director of this show were sent by Kira," the reporter said. The camera zoomed in on one of the tapes at the end of the row.

"In the first tape, the voice recorded on it predicted the death of two arrested criminals: Seichi Machiba and Seiji Machiba. Later, as indicated by Kira in the tape, they died of heart failure at 7:00 last night. Only Kira is capable of doing such a deed, thus, we are certain that these are truly sent from Kira."

"Wow, it's the real deal," Sayu whispered softly and was instantly absorbed into the story. Mayaru on the other hand was not as convinced as she was.

'It is true that Light would be able to do something like that using the death note, but what would be his purpose of doing so?' Mayaru thought, 'This is not the way he operates.'

"Furthermore, Kira instructed us to broadcast the second tape today at exactly 5:59 PM," the reporter said holding the tape out in front of the camera, "We have not watched the tape ourselves, but not only should this tape validate that all of the tapes were sent in by Kira, it will serve as his message to the entire world." A young woman came from off screen and the reporter handed her the tape.

"It is now 5:59 PM and we begin showing the video," the reporter said. The image on the screen changed to an entirely white background with "Kira" displayed across it in all black capital letters.

"Looks like the same font L used back when he challenged Kira on TV," Sayu said absently. Mayaru wrinkled her nose; she didn't know much about technology, but she could tell that the fuzzy image on the screen was not the type of thing Light would produce.

'No doubt it was cheaply made,' she thought but continued to watch the broadcast with Sayu.

"I am Kira," a voice said clearly using a voice changing device, "If this tape was aired at 5:59 PM on April 18th, it should be 5:59:38 right now…39 seconds…40…Please change the channel to Taiyou TV. The new anchor, Hibima Kazuhiko-san will die of heart failure at exactly 6:00 PM." Sayu grabbed the remote and flipped to the Taiyou TV station. She gasped and dropped the remote when the news anchor sitting at a table on screen has his face down on the table with his co-workers surrounding trying to resuscitate him. Unable to take much more of the gruesome displays, she left the couch and fled to her room leaving Mayaru downstairs. Curious about what had just transpired; Mayaru pressed her paw down on the remote and returned to the previous channel.

"Hibima-san constantly referred to Kira as "evil" and for that he was punished," the Kira voice on the television said, "But surely one demonstration is not absolute proof of my identity, so I take another sacrifice. The next target is a commentator for the same network who has also repeatedly condemned me…"

Using her paws again, Mayaru changed the TV to 24, the station specified by Kira in the video to see if this person would also die. Once she changed the channel, yet another person was shown dead on the screen. Mayaru flipped back to Sakura TV after the confirmation.

"I now trust that you truly believe that I am Kira," the voice continued, "Please listen to me carefully. I don't want to kill innocent people. I hate evil and defend justice. The police do not have to be my enemies. They can be my allies in my fight against evil."

Mayaru snorted; this clearly wasn't Light. This person was even more of a child than he was. She hopped off of the couch and headed towards the window. Someone else using the powers of a shinigami was definitely good enough cause to investigate even if it was to sate her own curiosity. Sakura TV shouldn't be too hard to find. She had a pretty good idea of the downtown area after going to the university with Kagome and with everything that has transpired there was no doubt the police would be rushing over to the building to stop the broadcast. If she got a good vantage point, Mayaru could easily follow them to the scene. Once she reached the window in the front of the house, Mayaru shifted into her human form just long enough to open it to a crack just large enough for her to slip out. She returned to her feline form and caught a bit more of the broadcast before she left.

"I wish to rid the world of evil and create a just society," the Kira voice said, "This could be easily accomplished if all of you would work with me. As long as no one tries to oppose me, no innocent people will die."

'I can't listen to any more of that. What a fool,' Mayaru thought and slipped into the city streets heading towards downtown and barely picking up the sound of a siren in the distance. It was only a single car speeding towards the downtown area.

'Only one police officer?' Mayaru thought, but decided to follow him anyway. His car screeched to a stop in front of a large building with "Sakura TV" above the entrance. Mayaru waited behind some other vehicles parked nearby. The man jumped out of the vehicle and ran to the door. He tried to pry it open but it wouldn't budge.

"Police! Open up!" he shouted through the entrance while banging on the door, but the security guard inside did not comply. Desperately, the police officer reached for his gun and pointed it at the glass. Before he could fire, he collapsed onto the ground. It didn't take long for some people from inside the building to take his body away from the entrance.

'A heart attack,' Mayaru thought, 'Whoever sent those tapes is watching the area to kill anyone who tries to enter. There is not much I can do if he is watching.'

Before Mayaru could begin to contemplate heading back, a large armored vehicle sped towards the building without any signs of slowing down. She leapt from her hiding spot to avoid being hit. The vehicle crashed into the building and didn't stop until it was completely inside causing massive amounts of debris and broken glass to fly into the air.

'Well I did need a way inside,' Mayaru thought and dashed into the opening. A man had exited the vehicle with a jacket over his head demanding the location of the studio the Kira videos were being broadcasted in. After getting his answer, he sped up the stairs towards the studio. Mayaru followed behind him without being seen. The man threw open the door and shouted at its occupants.

"This is the police!" he shouted, "Stop this broadcast immediately and give me those tapes!"

"Who the hell are you?" the larger man with glasses said before approaching the police officer, "Listen, we don't have much of a choice here. If we stop this video, then we'll all be killed." The police officer pulled out a gun from his coat and pointed it at the man.

"You're going to get killed right here and now if you don't give those tapes to me!" he shouted, "An innocent man was killed because of you!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" the man shouted in fright, "You're crazy!"

"This is happening because you put Kira on your network and treated him like some kind of damn celebrity!" the officer shouted, "This is exactly what you deserve! I want every single copy of those tapes you have and I won't ask you again!" The man backed away and grabbed the tapes from a black bag.

"Okay, I'll give you the tapes" the man said and handed the officer the tapes, "Just stop waving that gun around!"

'He is rather bold for a human,' Mayaru thought. She had slipped underneath on of the desks and was well out of sight not that anyone would notice a stray kitten while being held at gunpoint. After the officer received the tapes along with all the original packaging and written instructions they were mailed with, he took out his cell phone and rapidly dialed.

"I need to speak with Ryuzaki!" he said as soon as the phone picked up. He paused while the person on the other end of the line spoke. Through the cell phone receiver, Mayaru heard Ryuzaki address the officer as "Chief Yagami".

'Yagami?' Mayaru thought, 'This must be Light's father. It seems like it was good idea to come here.'

"That's right," he replied after Ryuzaki spoke to him, "I couldn't just sit back and watch. I have confiscated all of the tapes from Sakura TV."

"I'm feeling better than I ever have," Chief Yagami said, "How should I leave the building? I could always use the police van again." The officer was silent and waited for instructions on the cell phone.

"You want me to exit at the front entrance?" Chief Yagami said. He waited a few minutes before he hung up his phone and headed downstairs with everything he confiscated in the black bag. Mayaru left from her hiding spot and followed at his heels; he seemed too preoccupied to notice she was there. Outside there was a line of other police officers holding wearing helmets and holding shields to hide Chief Yagami's entire body. A car was also waiting for him behind the line of police shields. Content that all she had discovered, Mayaru left from behind the line of officers and made her way back to the Yagami household.

-O0o0O-

"So that is it?" Mimirou asked as she watched Kagome hold the nearly completed jewel in her hands. After the group confirmed the death of Naraku with the disappearance of Miroku's wind tunnel, they went in search of the large portion of the Shikon no Tama he had in his possession. It didn't take long to find it or rather it didn't take long for it to find them. A tribe of rouge low level youkai managed to obtain the jewel shard from Naraku's destroyed hideout and was on the search for the few remaining shards. Even though the Shikon drastically increased the power of the youkai, they were not much of a challenge for the shard hunting group.

"Almost," Kagome said, "We need to find the shard embedded in Kohaku's back and retrieve the shards in Kouga's legs for it to be complete."

"It is troubling that we have not seen Kohaku in what remained of Naraku's stronghold," Miroku commented causing Sango to grow a bit distressed. She had become increasingly worried when they could not find him.

"He's got to be around here somewhere," Kagome said reassuringly and tried to lift her friend's spirit, "and we'll find him."

"I suppose," Sango said with a small bitter smile, "but other than him, there is someone else should also make an appearance soon."

"Indeed," Miroku said, "I'm certain Kikyo has heard of Naraku's demise by now. She followed him as closely as we did." Sango and Miroku looked hesitantly in Kagome's direction for any sign of a reaction to Kikyo's name; it was no secret that the triangular relationship between her, the undead priestess, and InuYasha took a toll on the girl. However, this time, there were no outward signs of her distress or discomfort.

"Do you thing something is wrong with her?" Sango whispered to Miroku, "Usually Kagome has a reaction by now."

"She does, although the change in character isn't entirely unwelcome," Miroku replied.

"Maybe she's getting over him," Shippo suggested quietly, "Mimirou did mention her having another suitor in her world. Maybe she's fonder of him than InuYasha."

"Everyone can hear you," Mimirou said drily in the direction of the gossiping trio. The three jumped into the air and broke apart. Mimirou was standing next to Kagome while InuYasha was looking at them with a harsh glare. He was always on edge whenever the Kikyo was brought up. Kagome didn't seem to hear or care about their conversation with the nearly completed jewel clutched tightly in her hands.

"We apologize," Miroku said and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "We usually wait until your attention is diverted to have such discussions." InuYasha huffed and turned towards the path they were traveling on; he took a few delicate sniffs of the air around them.

"There's a village not too far from here," InuYasha said, "We can rest there for the night."

"It'll be a good change," Miroku said being the diplomat as always, "We have yet to celebrate our victory." He pulled the cloth from his palm and revealed the skin of his pale hand; the only solid testament they had to Naraku's defeat other than the jewel shards.

"Naraku is truly vanquished," Miroku continued, "by all means at our disposal."

"Miroku's right," Kagome said, "We should be happy." Sango and Shippo both nodded, happy to see the Kagome was getting back into her usual spirits. InuYasha grunted and began walking in the direction of the village.

"Whatever the hell you wanna do, hurry up because I'm leaving you!" InuYasha shouted without turning to look at the group. Everyone followed behind with little hesitation.

-O0o0O-

Mayaru shuffled up the wall of Light's home to the balcony leading into his bedroom using her claws. The window she had intentionally left open was locked when she returned.

'How annoying,' Mayaru thought and heaved her lithe feline body to the top. As soon as she settled on the balcony, the door was opened for her. She looked up to see Light walking away from the opened window towards his desk.

"Close the door when you come in," he said as he took a seat at his desk and returned to his work. Mayaru snorted softly before shifting into her human form and closed the window.

"You are not going to ask me where I went," Mayaru stated rather than asked. She had a feeling Light didn't feel he needed to know or didn't really care.

'Or maybe he already knows,' Mayaru thought and shifted her eyes from Light to Ryuk but neither gave anything away.

"It's best that I don't know any details now," Light explained, "I'll find out soon enough." Mayaru nodded slightly even though Light wasn't looking in her direction. She shifted into her feline form and settled into a small corner of Light's room. She let out a large cat-like yawn before closing her eyes and drifting into a light slumber.

-O0o0O-

Kagome giggled when she watched highly intoxicated Miroku and Sango hang off of each other babbling and singing incoherently to each other. After Miroku briefly "explained" who the group was when they arrived to the village, the village leader eagerly allowed them to stay in one of the finest taverns in the village with anything they needed at their disposal. InuYasha, unable to take the scent of excess food and alcohol, retreated to the trees outside and none of the others have heard from him since then. Shippo was passed out on the floor with a belly full of food and desserts compliments of the village with Kirara snoozing next to him. Mimirou was seated just outside the opened shoji screen sharpening her sword and looking out into the tavern's surroundings. Seeing as Miroku and Sango were preoccupied with each other and their drunken babble, Kagome approached her and took a seat by her side.

"How are you holding up?" Kagome asked the silent nekomata, "The smell isn't bothering you, is it?"

"I am fine," Mimirou answered and kept her attention outside. Behind the two of them, Miroku and Sango collapsed into a drunken pile of human limbs. She paused for a few minutes before she spoke again.

"InuYasha has left us," Mimirou said.

"Are you sure?" Kagome asked, "I thought he was just keeping out of range of the smells." Mimirou sighed before flicking her sharp pupils up towards the sky. Kagome looked up as well and saw several slivers of silver streaking across the night sky.

"Soul collectors," Kagome whispered.

"Yes," Mimirou said, "InuYasha followed them a while ago." Out of the corner of her eye, Mimirou saw Kagome's eyes drift towards the ground and felt a small pang of guilt at her heart. However, she would have felt worse if she didn't tell her what she had seen.

"Would you like to follow?" Mimirou asked after Kagome didn't say anything for a while, "Even though Kikyo came to see InuYasha, I imagine she would want to see you as well considering the circumstances."

"If Kikyo really wants to see me, she'll let me know," Kagome said somberly. Mimirou nodded and turned her attention back to her sword once more. It didn't seem much longer until before a pair of soul collectors circled the sky flying considerably lower than they were before. They descended lower until they had reached eye level.

"I suppose that is her calling," Mimirou commented. The soul collectors circled a few my times before retreating slowly beyond the trees leaving luminescent trails of silver and white behind them. Kagome stood to her feet and started walking in the direction they disappeared in. Just before she entered the trees, she heard Mimirou stand up and begin to follow her. Kagome paused for a moment before uttering one word.

"Kneel," she whispered without looking back. She knew Mimirou wasn't going to come after her once the spell wore off. It seemed she followed the faint white threads for ages before Kagome reached a clearing where more soul collectors hovered around each other and their master.

"You came alone," Kikyo said in her low, monotone drawl. One of the snake-like creatures flew towards her and circled her clay body.

"Yes," Kagome said simply, "You called for me, didn't you?"

"I did," Kikyo answered, "InuYasha told me that Naraku has been vanquished and his jewel shards are now in your possession."

"That's true," Kagome said, choosing to keep her answers and responses as short and to the point as possible. Interacting with her had always been awkward and Kagome couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated especially considering their relationship with InuYasha. However, it didn't seem like it mattered as much anymore after everything that's happened, but InuYasha was still one of her dearest friends.

"He told me that you didn't kill him directly," Kikyo said with a slight hint of mocking in her tone as though she could have ended him without taking those kinds of measures, "You procured other means from your world."

"Naraku had to be stopped no matter what the cost," Kagome said strongly, "It might not have been the great battle that everyone expected‒"

"That is not what I am referring to," Kikyo said and cut Kagome off, "You made a pact with a shinigami? You foolish girl! It is clear you have become corrupted by the human he possesses."

"Corrupted?" Kagome repeated quietly.

"He lays claim to your soul just as I lay claim to InuYasha's," Kikyo continued, "As long as the human boy remains alive, you and InuYasha cannot be."

"You can't just claim InuYasha's life like that!" Kagome shouted with anger coating her voice, "His life is his own!" Kikyo's blank eyes widened slightly at Kagome's declaration; she said nothing of her connection to the possessed human from her world. Kikyo studied the composure of her reincarnation more closely; her emotions were not as tightly restrained as hers. Kikyo smiled bitterly in her direction when she realized something. InuYasha spoke of his suspicions concerning her reincarnation and the possessed human and now they were confirmed.

"So you have fallen for him, the shinigami possessed human," Kikyo said causing Kagome to gasp. Kikyo turned towards the woods and began to leave with her soul collectors following after her.

"I will come for InuYasha when the jewel has been completed," Kikyo said without turning in Kagome's direction. Kagome stood watching her with clenched fists before turning sharply and heading towards the village tavern. She took a straight path back and returned in little time. Everything was just as she left it; Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirara were all sleeping inside and Mimirou was seated outside the shoji screen.

"InuYasha returned but left shortly after when he found you were not here," Mimirou said once Kagome had gotten close enough. Kagome nodded and once again took a seat next to the neko.

"We should go back to the well as soon as we can," Kagome said, "Mayaru must be bored out of her mind by now."

"I would imagine so and I do miss her," Mimirou admitted, "I also can't help but wonder what Yagami has done in our absence or if L has made any moves to implicate him further." Mimirou noticed how Kagome reacted out of the corner of her eye at the mention of Yagami's name. Pink slowly rose to her cheeks and slight brightness grew in her eyes.

"If we hurry we can be back by tomorrow," Kagome said and stood to her feet, "I'm headed to bed. Are you coming in?" Mimirou snorted lightly before heading towards the surround fauna.

"I will stay outside," she answered, "Sleep well. I will rejoin you in the morning." She disappeared before Kagome could reply to her. Kagome sighed before heading towards her backpack and taking out her sleeping bag.

'It must be true then if Kikyo can notice it,' Kagome thought before crawling into in and falling into a slightly troubled sleep.

-O0o0O-

"All you do is sleep," Ryuk commented and roughly pulled at one of Mayaru's tails. The feline growled and tried to bite the blue shinigami's large hands. Ryuk pulled away causing Mayaru to jump about on Light's bed to reach him.

"Can't the two of you settle down a bit?" Light scolded the two inhuman beings. Mayaru snorted but curled back into her original position on Light's bed. Ryuk chose to hover above Light who was watching TV; the channel was currently on commercial. The image on the screen changed to the same grainy and low resolution logo that displayed when the Kira incident aired.

'I thought Yagami's father confiscated all of those tapes,' Mayaru mused, 'I wonder why this one was returned.'

"I find it regretful that the answer to my offer for police cooperation is no," the same voice said, "However, if the criminal reports are stopped, I will be forced to execute not only the police, but those involved in the media as well. But since the police oppose me, this alone will no longer be enough. As a penalty, I will take the life of the director of the NPA, who has formed a task force to find and capture me or, the life of the one who is leading the investigation, the one who goes by the alias, 'L'. Either the director or L. You have four days to decide who will be sacrificed for the loss of a peaceful world."

'A sacrifice, eh?' Mayaru thought and her opinion of the false Kira lowered even more. She turned her attention to Light and noticed he didn't seem surprised by the current broadcast. He knew more than he had let on before.

"As I know the director's face, there are no special requirements should he be chosen to be sacrificed," the Kira voice continued, "However, if L is chosen, he must appear on Sakura TV's six o' clock news and give a ten minute speech. During this time, I will judge if this person is truly L. If I determine that this person is not L, I will take the lives of several police chiefs worldwide as compensation. Lying to me will cost you dearly. I do not want to kill those who are without sin. You have four days to think about your decision." When the broadcast ended, Light promptly turned off the TV set.

"I told you before the gods were on my side," Light said smugly, "or more specifically a shinigami."

"Seems that way," Ryuk said with a slight chuckle. It seemed he was excited to the new addition to Kira investigation.

"Another shinigami as descended to the human world," Light mused aloud, "and the current owner of his death note is someone who supports Kira. There's no question about that. And I'm the only one who knows he's a fake."

"So what are you going to do now?" Ryuk asked.

"What needs to be determined is if this new death note owner is my ally or my enemy," Light explained, "I can use him to my advantage if he truly believes in Kira's ideals. The death of the cop on the Sakura TV live broadcast assures that he has the shinigami eyes. This means that this fake Kira has greater powers than me. Even so, I can use his abilities to prove my innocence and get rid of L. On the other hand, I can't let him run wild for too much longer. Sending out low quality video tapes to a trash TV network and using innocent people as sacrifices damages Kira's reputation. And if this new Kira messes up L can find out about the existence of the death notes. The best solution for me would be to enter the task force so I can keep tabs on L and the fake Kira and I can find a way to contact the fake Kira." Light turned his attention back to the feline on his bed.

"I need Kagome here," Light said to the feline, "Go to the shrine and see if she and your sister have returned. If not, wait for them. As soon as you reach her, tell her to contact me and we'll meet outside of my house. You can tell her what's going on but be discreet; I will give her all the details she needs," Mayaru nodded once before rising out of her relaxed position and stretching. She walked towards Light's opened window and jumped into the streets. Ryuk chuckled while Light watched Mayaru dashed down the streets almost invisible to human sight.

"You actually miss her?" Ryuk asked but received no immediate answer. Undeterred, Ryuk pressed on.

"Kira can't be growing to care for someone, could he?" Ryuk continued. Light looked at Ryuk with an unreadable expression on his face.

"She's kind, innocent, and pure. Kagome is the kind of person that deserves the true paradise I can create," Light answered and said nothing more.

-O0o0O-

punkish furball – Well that is a wrap! Kagome and Light reunite (hehe that rhymes!) in the next chapter and guess who else shows up. :p

Remember: Any Questions? Comments? Words of Wisdom? Contact me!

Simulatus – "To pretend", "To counterfeit", or "To fake"

(edited 03.21.2011)