Authoress' Notes: Heh heh, I can't believe what happened… ALL of my fics were deleted from my flash drive… I mean wiped CLEAN! I couldn't find them in my recycle bin or any where on my computer… That includes Shaman King chapter 4 and chapter 2 of this! I only had a few more pages for chapter 2 too… I had to start over from the frickin' beginning! Grr… I can't remember everything I wrote, and worse, the BEST parts I can't remember… But I guess that doesn't matter to you guys, as long as I update. (sweat drop) Don't kill me! That was a joke.

Summary: She was there with him when he found the notebook of the dead. She was there when he wrote the first name in it, making his first kill in the death notebook. She was weighed with guilt as she realized that he was actually taking the lives of human beings. Can she save him from falling while keeping herself from telling the truth to the detectives without falling in love with both the lead oddball detective and her beloved friend?

Pairings: L/Kagome/Light; one-sided Light/Misa

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Death Note. I do own this fanfic though. That's about it.

Coming to the Light

Chapter 2:

Challenges

'I wonder what Light-kun is doing now…' Kagome thought absentmindedly. It was a Wednesday afternoon and school had let out early due to a dangerous chemical spill in one of the science labs. A few of Kagome's girl friends had invited her out to a shopping trip at the local mall.

Kagome had politely declined but her friends insisted on her accompanying them… If they were not her friends, Kagome would have considered herself kidnapped.

(An Hour Earlier)

Kagome was going to take advantage of how Light's schedule had been thrown off due to the accident in one of the science labs. They had been let out of school three hours early. Ryuk looked as if he was going to do a happy dance. He hated school. It was boring. As soon as the announcement to evacuate the school was announced, Kagome grabbed her bag and locked arms with Light. Hordes of screaming students and teachers were scrambling towards the nearest exits. Light tried saying something but Kagome could not hear him; it was too loud.

"I don't think all of this running is necessary," Light finally said once they were down the block and away from the crowd of students. "We're already a safe distance from the school." Kagome looked over her shoulder to make sure Ryuk was still following them. Of course he was.

"I just wanted to get as far away as possible," Kagome lied. She began leading him in a direction that was different than the one they took when they walked home. She hoped Light didn't notice.

"And where do you think you're going?" Light asked calmly. He was not angry, not annoyed… maybe a bit peeved at Kagome's actions.

"Well since school let out early, I thought that we could eat lunch at that new restaurant." Kagome said with a smile. Light immediately stopped walking, Kagome had been unlinked their arms.

"Iie, I'm going to take advantage of the extra hours and get to work," Light replied. Kagome almost frowned, she knew what work Light was speaking of, and it was definitely not studying.

Ryuk chuckled and teased Light, "All work and no play makes Light a dull boy."

Kagome placed her hands on Light's shoulders, trying to shake him, but could not. "Come on! It would be dumb if you did that as soon as you get home!" Kagome looked around to make sure no one was around to hear their conversation.

Light sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I know what you're thinking," he stated. "The police do not even suspect that someone is the cause of all of the sudden deaths of criminals. They are far from suspecting that I could be a student."

"Light-kun! It's just a matter of time before the police begins investigating you!" Kagome yelled. "The public already knows about you! Remember what Maki-chan showed us on her cell phone this morning?!"

Light nodded and responded, "Of course I do. People all around the world know me as Kira… Which is good, people are beginning to notice that someone out there is placing divine judgment over them! There are tons of websites that support Kira." He closed his eyes. "I can't say that I like how Kira is derived from the English word killer though."

Kagome sighed and closed the distance between them. She placed her hands on his chest and leaned her head in so that her head rested under his chin. "You don't see my point," she whispered. "Police will begin to notice and investigate… If they come to suspect that Kira is a student that lives around here, they'll have a free hint on what school the student goes to…"

"I know what you're saying," Light whispered back. "You're trying to say that if I use these few extra hours to write names in the Death Note, the police will know that Kira is a student that goes to our school."

"Exactly."

"But you give the police too much credit," Light suddenly stated icily. Kagome pulled away a bit to look at Light's red eyes but her hands were still flat against his chest. "They do not even know about Kira yet, it would take a miracle for them to narrow the search down to a student that goes to our school so quickly. By the time they suspect that Kira is a student, the chemical spill in our school will be a thing of the past, old news. No one will remember something so small compared to killings by Kira."

Kagome swallowed a lump that formed in her throat. Every time she came up with a reason for Light to stop using the Death Note, he always had a quick, witty response.

"Light-kun! You're so-!" Kagome's sentence was cut short when four familiar, feminine voices called out.

"Kagome-chan!" the voice cried in unison. Light looked up from Kagome's face and Kagome turned around to see who was calling her. She paled inwardly; it just had to be them!

'Out of all the people!' Kagome screamed in her head. 'Why them?! Light-kun always has luck on his side!'

"Ah konnichiwa," Light faked a friendly smile at the girls that caught up with them. He looked at each other and said their names to acknowledge them. First was the short haired, brown eyed girl, "Maki-chan," next was the curly-red-haired girl with yellow contacts, "Ran-chan," after Ran was a blond with green eyes, "Aya-chan," and last was a girl with black hair and hazel eyes, "Pokka-chan."

"Konnichiwa Light-kun," the four of them replied in unison.

Pokka asked straightforwardly, "Alright buddy," she said, roughly poking Light's chest. "Are you two about to go on a date or something?!"

Kagome blushed and replied, "N-no! We were not about to go on a date!" Though it did not sound like a bad idea to her…

Light gently removed Pokka's hand and was about to make up some smooth lie but he was interrupted by Aya's statement. "Did you see how they were all cuddled up?! I bet Light-kun was just about to ask Kagome-chan to be his girlfriend!"

"If that's the case then I don't really care then!" Ran yelled. "Light-kun is always keeping Kagome-chan to himself! They might as well live together!" Kagome stiffened, only Light noticed. Only the principals and faculty knew about their living situation…

"You're right, Ran-chan!" The other three girls agreed, nodding their heads. "We never spend time with Kagome-chan!"

"So it's decided…" Ran said. Kagome blinked when suddenly Aya and Pokka locked their arms with hers. She tried pulling away-

"Kagome-chan is coming with us!" they said. The five of them began speeding away with Kagome digging her heels into the ground. "Ja ne, Light-kun!" Kagome had her arm extended towards Light, who was fading away in the distance.

"You jerk!" Kagome cried out to him. She could see him smirking and waving goodbye to her…

(Present Time)

They were now taking a lunch break in the food court at the mall, which was named Kutaku-Rota after the man who founded it, but it was known as Kuro among adolescents. It had been a while since she went anywhere with the girls, but she just could not stop thinking about Light… It made her antsy and anxious to go home! She was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not notice how her friends were now looking at her with suspicious and annoyed expressions. 'I should at least try to enjoy myself…' Kagome told herself. She then looked up from her half eaten cheeseburger and almost jumped from the looks her friends were giving her.

Aya, Ran, Pokka, and Maki reminded her of her high school friends from her old school; Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi. They were sweet and had good intentions, yet they were snoops and sometimes annoyingly nosy. "Nani?" she asked innocently.

"Don't nani us!" Ran said. "Could you stop thinking about Light-kun for once and just have fun with us?!" Kagome sighed; everyone knew that Ran used to hate Light's guts because he was so smart. But it turned out that Ran began to hate him so much that she began to like him too…

"I wasn't thinking about him!" Kagome countered with a glare that matched the one Ran was giving her.

"Then what were you thinking about?" Aya asked, raising her eyebrow. No one believed Kagome's lie.

"I was thinking about if I should apply to To-Oh University or not!"

"Isn't that the college that Light-kun is aiming for?" Maki asked.

"It is!" Pokka replied. "How cute! They should get together soon!"

Maki checked her watch and said, "guys, it's 6 o' clock. We should get going," she said. The other four girls nodded in agreement and stood up. They worked together to clear their table and put all the trash onto their tray. Kagome took the tray and dumped the trash into the nearest garbage bin. They exited the mall and headed out into downtown, where they would walk together for about twenty minutes until they went their separate ways. However, the moment they walked past one of the giant televisions outside, they were stopped dead in their tracks. A normal program was being interrupted for a special, live, worldwide newsflash.

"I wonder what that could be about?" Aya asked curiously. Kagome bit her lip, feeling that something bad was about to happen. Human curiosity and teenage nosiness made the five of them come to an unspoken, unanimous decision to stay and watch the newsflash.

The screen flashed to a pale man with medium-length black hair sitting behind a desk with a small stack of paper in his hands. In front of him, on top of the desk was his name Lind L Tailor. "I am the one who is able to mobilize police forces all around the world. My name is Lind L Tailor, commonly known as L."

"Well, this L guy may be old and boring looking," Pokka stated. "But he's a real hottie!" she exclaimed, giggling. Kagome, Ran, Aya, and Maki shrunk away from Pokka…

"I'm sure the public has already begun to notice, but we have noticed also. A serial killer is killing off criminals. Although they are criminals, this act is the most atrocious crime recorded in history. I will not rest until the person or persons responsible are brought to justice." L stated calmly. No one noticed how Kagome paled at the man's words. This man did not know what he was getting himself into!

"Maki-chan-!" Kagome said quickly. She latched onto Maki's portable television and smiled the biggest phony smile she had ever smiled, "I'm in a rush, but I want to see this report. Let me borrow this, I'll give it back ASAP!" Maki nodded dumbly, not really caring and turned back to the screen after Kagome sped away with her TV.

Although it was a twenty-minute walk to get home from the mall, if Kagome ran, she could make it there in less than half the time. She glanced down at the television every few moments and decided to turn up the volume to the loudest setting. Her travels in the past built up her endurance and her body, especially her legs were stronger than ever. 'Light-kun can kill this guy whenever he wanted…' Kagome thought to herself.

"Kira," the man said the name icily and with a hint of disgust. "I guarantee that I will find you," L said. "And when I do, you will be executed." Kagome shook her head and turned a corner. She was almost there!

Kagome frowned; she could picture Light's cocky smirk and remarks about L and how he would never be able to find him. "Kira, I think I know what you're trying to accomplish and what you hope to achieve." Kagome only had two more blocks to go! "However, what you're doing right now is evil."

Kagome could almost feel her blood run cold. "Iie." she whispered. This guy was definitely in for it. She could feel it, a strong rage and malice coming from the Yagami's house. "I'm almost there," she told herself confidently. Within thirty seconds, Kagome ran through the front door, which was usually unlocked when people were home. She did not take off her shoes before entering or even greet Sayu and Sachiko as she went by.

It took her a mere fifteen seconds to make it up to Light's room. She tried twisting the knob, but it was (unsurprisingly) locked. Kagome's eyes widened and she began to bang on the door. "Light-kun!" she screamed. "Let me in!" There was no answer.

Kagome heard Ryuk cackle from the other side of the door, "Looks Kagome was a bit too late." A sinking feeling of defeat and guilt washed over her when she gazed down at Maki's TV screen. Lind L Tailor was already having a heart attack. "He's…dead." L was slumped motionlessly over his desk. Two men came and emotionlessly picked up his body and carried it away.

"Kagome-chan!" Sachiko called, coming up the stairs. "Honey, are you alright?" Kagome swallowed a lump in her throat. Light's mother was coming up the stairs to check on her up because she made such a racket coming inside. She could hear Light's insanely amused laughter at his accomplishment. Kagome sighed and quickly went to block Sachiko from coming up far enough to hear Light's rant and laughter.

"H-Hai," Kagome began shakily. "I'm fine. You know me," she smiled, "Always energetic."

"Yes but you didn't acknowledge anyone when you came in…" Sachiko said, insisting that something was wrong. "You can tell me if something's wrong… Is there someone bothering you? Did they follow you home?"

Kagome smiled sweetly and shook her head, "Iie… It's just… I have to go really bad…" She added emphasis to her lie by reaching down between her legs, but stopped herself. "…Really bad." She had left Maki's television at Light's doorway and flipped it so that the speakers were facing the floor so no sound came out.

Sachiko nodded slowly and replied, "I'm sorry, that must be embarrassing to admit. But if you have to go that bad, remember, you can always use the downstairs bathroom."

"Arigato." Kagome smiled and nodded. "I'll just… go now." Sachiko nodded too and went back downstairs. She released a breath that she did not know she was holding, "that Light-kun…" she whispered. Kagome reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out her key to Light's room. She unlocked the door and picked up Maki's TV.

"Light-kun, I-" she began to say but stopped short in her sentence. Light and Ryuk were fixed to the television screen. There was a big capital English L letterin the center in front of a dull gray background. She quietly shut the door and locked it behind her.

A robotic voice was speaking, "But I assure you, L is real. I do exist. Now, try to kill me." Kagome did not know what to think. Lind L Tailor was not the real L? Part of her was relieved that Light could not kill this L, but another part was worried that there was someone out there that Light could not kill…

"That… That bastard," Light whispered angrily.

The voice was deadly calm yet at same time challenging, "Kill me. What are you waiting for? Do it. Kill me." Kagome placed the mini TV on Light's desk and went to stand by her friend. She calmly placed her hand on his shoulder, which was quite tense. "…Well Kira, it looks like you can't kill me after all." Ryuk laughed at this, thinking L would make staying with Light a lot more interesting. "So there are some people that you can't kill, you've given me a useful hint. To return the favor, I'll tell you something interesting. Although this broadcast was announced to be worldwide, it was only aired in the Kantou region of Japan."

Kagome looked at Light's face, which was a bit surprised but almost enthralled by everything that was happening. "I was planning on broadcasting this from region to region separately until I found you. Now it is unnecessary, I already know where you are… Your first killing was a minor one, but the report about him was only aired in Shinjuku. From the information you've given me I've deducted that you are in Japan and that you have not been killing for very long."

Kagome could feel the anger bubbling beneath Light's skin… "It won't be long until I sentence you to death, Kira." L ended the broadcast by requesting that he and Kira "meet" again soon.

"Really?" Light asked. "He's going to sentence me to death?" He placed a hand over his face. Kagome quickly removed the hand and cupped Light's cheeks with both her hands.

"Hai," Kagome said. "That's what he claims but… If you stop this now, you won't have to have a shadow hanging over your head!" Light looked down at her sternly and removed her hands.

With a smile on his face Light told her, "I keep telling you, you don't have to worry about a thing, Kagome-chan." He walked over his television and turned it off. "I accept L's challenge."

"Nani?! You're not listening to me!"

"Anyone who stands in God's way is evil. And I will not back down." Light told her. "I am justice!"

(The Next Night)

Kagome sighed for the umpteenth time that night. Light was tutoring Sayu on quadratic equations, which she still did not get. Ryuk was lounging on Light's bed so she just sat on the edge and discreetly feed Ryuk apples. "Sayu-chan, maybe I want to be tutored too?" Kagome asked.

This caught Sayu's attention since she had a short attention span. She turned around in her chair to face Kagome. "Hey!" Light said. "Pay attention, Sayu or you may never get it."

"Yeah, just a sec." Sayu said dismissively. She smiled at Kagome and teased, "Gomen nasai, onee-san. I don't mean to take away from your lovey-dovey time!" She made a kissy face at Kagome and giggled.

"Just what do you mean by that?!" Kagome asked, standing up and walking towards the brown haired girl. She grabbed Sayu's cheek and pinched it, making the younger teen squeak painfully.

"Mou…" Sayu complained, rubbing a redden cheek. "Kagome-neesan is moody when she misses out on her good o Light-Lovin." Kagome's face flushed but before she could do anything else, the doorbell rang. Sayu stood up and said excitedly, "it sounds like Dad and Koichi-san are home! They're home early!" She raced out of the room, forgetting about her homework and tutoring.

Light was frowning and glaring at Kagome. "She'll never understand if you keep distracting her," Light said. He sighed and mumbled just loud enough for her to hear, "There might be someone who is more of a math idiot than you."

Kagome frowned and glared back at Light. "Who are you calling a math idiot?!"

"Kagome-chan! Light! It's dinner time!" Sachiko called from downstairs. "And your fathers are home! Come eat with us!"

"Hhaaaiii/Hai!" Kagome and Light called back.

"Koichi-san, Dad, you should know that just now, Mom interrupted my genius onii-san and future onee-san getting lovey-dovey!" Sayu exclaimed, giggling at Kagome's expense.

"Ahhhhh! Sayu-chan, you little brat!" Kagome screamed before stomping downstairs. Light laughed and watched her go before he got up himself and slowly walked after her. Ryuk was close in tow.

"Tutoring you sister and fooling around with Kagome?" the shinigami asked. "You seem awfully relaxed for one who is being hunted."

"Of course, I already have a plan set out for the police and L."

(Dinner Time)

Tonight's dinner turned out to be sukiyaki, not Kagome's favorite but she did not complain. At least it was a kind of nabe dish like oden. Dinner started out quiet while everyone filled their bellies enough to not be hungry, but not enough to be full. Ryuk watched the family scene with his big yellow eyes and amused grin. Kagome could feel his eyes on them as they ate in silence. The table was set up so that three people could eat on each (long) side. On one side from left to right were Sayu, Light, and then Kagome and on the other side was Sachiko, Soichiro, and then Koichi.

"So Light," Soichiro began a conversation. "Tell me how your studies is going."

Light, who found the subject uninteresting, replied, "Hmm? They're okay, I guess." Kagome's eyebrow twitched because she knew that everyone would mistake his uninterested for modesty.

Sayu laughed and added in, "whatever! Light is just being humble! He's number one in his class again! My onii-san is a genius!" She grinned and looked Kagome's way, "unlike my onee-san-"

Kagome stiffened when Koichi suddenly looked up at her with a stern, deadly serious look in his eyes. 'Damn you Sayu-chan!' she thought, sweating a bit under her father's gaze. 'You had to put the spotlight on me!' She scratched her cheek and looked down at her bowl. She used her chopsticks and put a thin slice of beef into her mouth. She decided not to dip it into the egg before eating it.

"Kagome," Koichi said. "Look at me when I speak to you."

"Hai, Papa?" Kagome asked, being obedient and looking up at her father's face. His stormy-blue eyes were the same color as hers yet his jet-black hair was beginning to lose its luster. 'He's getting old.'

"Tell me your class rank," Koichi stated straightforwardly. "You better have improved from the last time I asked you." Kagome scratched her cheek again and lowered her head so that her bangs were covering her eyes. "Don't give me that. You won't get off so easily this time."

Sachiko and Sayu decided that now was a good time to be quiet and finish emptying their bowls while Soichiro side-glanced his deputy. "U-Um… Actually…" Kagome whispered. She was kind of proud of her current class rank. However, she did not know if her father would accept it. Koichi was usually not too hard on her, but he liked pushing her to be the best… He wanted her to be a good comparison to Light, Soichiro's son. "I'm-"

"Number three," Light stated out of the blue, surprising everyone. "Kagome-chan has been doing extremely well these days. She still slacks off when it comes to math, but I can tell that she's very intelligent and dedicated to her studies." Light smiled Kagome's way when she lifted her head and looked at him with awe on her face. Kagome could not help but smile back-.

"Ahem," Koichi cleared his throat to get Kagome's attention. "That is very good, Kagome. Next time, aim for number two." Kagome nodded and smiled more; she felt so happy on the inside.

"Yeah, onee-san," Sayu said. "You really should aim for second place." Kagome nodded again and was about to thank her before stopped short because of Sayu's next statement. "Then you can rightfully stand by onii-san's side, as his woman."

Light and Sachiko laughed at this but Kagome blushed and scratched her cheek when her father began looking between Kagome and Light. "Sayu-chan, don't say such embarrassing things!" Kagome said.

"…Well…" Light said while he dipped a slice of beef into the raw egg. "Sayu's idea does not sound so bad to me." Kagome's face flushed even more. Oohhhhhhh, he was doing this on purpose! And the way he said it- each word came so smoothly from his mouth that you'd think that he was innocent. Kagome wanted to glare to Light for setting her up, but she was too focused on a finding a way out of the mess.

Koichi was not like Light's parents, Sachiko and Soichiro. "Kagome… Answer me truthfully and don't think I'm weird for asking this." Although he was caring, he was a straightforward and down-to-business sort of man, so sometimes he came off as insensitive. Kagome almost fell out of her chair at her father's sudden question, "Are you sleeping with Light-kun?"

Kagome began tugging at her hair as she ranted, "Mou! Why does everyone keep asking that?! Do I look like that sort of girl?! And Light-kun is my best friend!! I would never-" Kagome paused. 'Well… I don't know about never but…' she thought absent-mindedly.

Seeing Kagome beginning to wonder off somewhere in outer space, Light filled in for her. "Koichi-san, Kagome-chan and I are close but we are not lovers, merely best friends." he explained professionally.

"But Koichi-san," Sachiko said. "You've got to admit, they would be a good match."

"Yeah!" Sayu agreed immediately. The two Yagami women began discussing reasons why Kagome and Light should get together.

"Nonetheless, Kagome has no time for relationships, she's focusing on her college entrance exams." Koichi interrupted.

"I agree with you, Koichi-san," Soichiro added solemnly. The females' sweat dropped, thinking the same thing. Men.

"By the way, Dad," Light said. "You and Koichi-san looked tired. Is work draining you?"

Koichi nodded and replied, "Yes, the new case we're working on is a real tough one day."

"I'm afraid that's all we can tell you," Soichiro stated.

"I understand," Light responded respectfully. Kagome looked up at Light when he gently brushed his leg against hers under the table. She nodded slightly, understanding what Light was trying to point out to her.

'Papa and Soichiro-san are working on the Kira case.'

(After Dinner)

Light made everything look so easy. Kagome watched Light hack into Soichiro's computer to copy and paste the files onto his own. He was keeping track of their investigation. "Ryuk," Kagome said to the shinigami.

"Yes? What is it?" Ryuk asked, turning around to face her.

Kagome smiled and pulled a shiny red apple from behind her back. "I got you a snack!" she said sweetly. "I found the biggest and juiciest look apple in the fridge and I thought of you, so-" She extended her hand with the apple in it out the shinigami. "Here!"

"Why Kagome, you're so kind," Ryuk replied. He grabbed the apple from her hands and shoved the entire thing into his mouth. He chewed it and made happy noises as if he had not eaten the treat in ages… When in reality, Kagome feed him two every few hours.

"Oh!" She said, remembering something. "Do shinigami get thirsty? Cause I bought this for Light from the vending machine at school earlier." Kagome reached into Light's school bag and pulled out an apple-juice box. "But nnoooo, he didn't drink it!" Kagome glared in Light's direction, but he did not care or notice, he was too busy researching.

Ryuk looked at the small box in the priestess's hand and scratched his head confusedly. "What exactly is this?" he asked. He cautiously picked up the box by holding it between two clawed fingers.

Kagome blinked, surprised Ryuk did not know what it was. "It's a juice box full of apple juice. You always say how you like juicy apples, then I thought you'd like to try apple juice!" She explained. Kagome grabbed the box from Ryuk's hand and demonstrated how to use it. "Watch. You remove the tiny straw from the box and take it out of the plastic. Then you puncture this little circle using the end of the straw." She handed it back to the shinigami.

"I don't see the point."

"Put the straw in your mouth and suck on it."

"Eh? Is this supposed to be some kind of erotic human fantasy?"

Kagome deadpanned, "Just do it." The shinigami did as he was told and Kagome could see the gold-orangey colored juice rise up from the box, through the straw, and into Ryuk's mouth…

The first sip the shinigami took pushed him to the edge. Ryuk suddenly began to fly and dance around the room while sucking the box dry. "Is that… a happy dance?" Kagome wondered aloud. She then sweat dropped when the clown faced shinigami did a handstand and then spun around on his head.

It ended as soon as it started. The box was empty, much to Ryuk's dismay. He crushed the box within his large hands and walked over to Kagome. "I never tasted apple juice without eating an apple before." He dropped the empty juice box into the small wastebasket. "The human world sure is amazing! Kagome, I need you to buy more of those juice boxes. The juice is so sweet, apply, and…juicy." He needed to brush up on his vocabulary.

Kagome laughed and nodded happily, "Okay, I'm glad you liked it. I'll buy you a juice box every day!"

"You're a kind human!"

Light, who was finally finished looking through Soichiro's files, turned around in his chair. "Kagome, you shouldn't spoil him. He already receives enough for doing hardly anything but flying around and cracking jokes."

Ryuk looked at Light and asked, "Eh? Hardly anything? If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be able to create that perfect world you've been dreaming about, Light."

Light smiled and replied, "Calm down. I was only joking, Ryuk."

"Heh heh," Ryuk chuckled. "I couldn't tell."

"And Kagome…" Light said. "I just found out something very interesting… Something that will provide Ryuk with a lot more entertainment."

"Hmm…"

Kagome went to bed with a lot of her mind as usual. Light planned on using the Death Note to plan his victim's time of death. A prisoner somewhere would die, one every hour. But that was not all. He purposely changed the pacing of the killings to let L know that he had access to police information. Doing this, L would become suspicious of the police and would begin investigating them… And naturally, in return, the police would become suspicious of L as well. Light was going to use the tension between the police and L to find him… The police would do the tracking and Light would take the information.

The raven-haired girl turned over to her side and sighed. 'Light-kun is smart but… What if his plan backfires? What if the police already suspect him to be Kira? What should I do?' She turned over to her other side. 'I vowed to bring Light back to good side without betraying him. But how do I do that? He already made it clear that I can't persuade him with logic…' Her feelings were beginning to contradict themselves… Part of Kagome was happy because the emptiness in Light's eyes was gone… Yet another part was guilty because she knew that emptiness was gone because he was filled with darkness now…

'I'll show him… somehow…' she thought before drifting off into a light slumber. Little did she know, the chance that she need was coming up soon… But in the form of the school's cultural festival…

(The Next Day-At School)

"Good afternoon, everyone," Light greeted his class from the podium at the front of the classroom. It was time for homeroom and being the class president, Light was the one who made the daily announcements.

"Konnichiwa Yagami-kun/Light-kun!" the class greeted back.

"As you know, the school's cultural festival is coming up in two weeks." Light stated. "Does anyone have any ideas on what we should do for this year's festival?" The students then turned their attention from Light to the people around to them exchange ideas.

A male with thick glasses and long red hair finally raised his hand, "I have an idea, Yagami-kun!"

"Please share it with us then, Harada-kun," Light replied politely with a smile on his face.

"Hai!" Harada Ranmaru said lowly as he stood up. "I think we should open a maid café with the girls cosplaying as French maids on roller-skates and the boys cooking and cleaning."

"Iie!" Harada Ran, Ranmaru's twin sister interjected while standing up. She slammed her hands flat onto her desk. "Our class already did a maid café last year! It started out fun but many girls ended up sexually harassed and publicly humiliated! It's a terrible idea, and it's already been done! I don't want our class to do anything cliché!" She glared at Light, daring him to challenge her opinion.

"I agree with Ran-chan." Light said, surprising Ran. "A maid café would be cliché and rather troublesome."

"But this year we'll have something new and make things a lot better than the maid café from last year!" Ranmaru insisted. He suddenly turned around and grabbed Kagome's arm and pulled her to her feet.

"Hey! What the big idea Ranmaru-kun?!" Kagome yelled. She looked at Light and blushed when she found that he was already looking at her. Light then turned back to Ranmaru.

"Kagome-chan here is very popular with the boys at this school! If we have her dressed up as a maid, then I'm sure we'll be the most popular attraction at the festival!"

"Naaaannnnniiiiiiiiiii?!" Kagome and all of the other girls chorused outrageously in unison.

"Yagami-kun," Ranmaru whispered seriously while pushing his glasses up onto his nose more. "You're a guy too… You should understand. I don't really know if you're attracted to Kagome-chan here but-" Suddenly Ranmaru had his arms around two random girl's shoulders. "The girls would be so hot in maid uniforms!"

"We object!" the girls in the class yelled at Ranmaru.

Kagome scratched her cheek a bit. 'Things are getting a little bit out of hand…' she thought. She sighed and walked up to the podium. Light stepped aside so Kagome was standing his rightful spot. "Listen. If winning this year's Culture Fest Activity Contest matters to you all, last night I thought of something that'll really attract people."

"Well, what is it?" a short-tempered boy named Keiji asked.

"I was thinking that our class can put on a play," Kagome stated.

"A PLAY?!" the class asked back.

"Not just any old play," Kagome told them. "I was thinking about something like this- The True Justice! Kira versus L!"

Light was taken aback at Kagome's idea. He had not expected anything like that. His surprise was only visible for a split second, then his face was calm and ready again. 'Kagome… What are you thinking…?' he thought.

Ryuk was grinning behind them, "Ha ha, it seems like she's got Kira on the brain."

Kagome blushed and scratched her cheek when the entire class stood up and crowded around her. Both boys and girls were praising her for her idea. "Sugoi! You're amazing, Higurashi! I wouldn't have thought of that in a million years!"

"Alright everyone, homeroom will be over in ten minutes so get back to your seats so we can continue discussing the play." Light told everyone. Once everyone, including Kagome, was back in their seats, the real discussion began.

"First, we're going to need a playwright and a director," Light told everyone. "Does anyone have any nominations?"

Pokka stood up and announced, "I nominate Maki-chan! Last year she won a script contest and received 40000 yen! And everyone knows how resourceful she is."

"Good idea!" the rest of the class replied.

"Alright, so Maki-chan will be writing the script," Light stated, writing down notes in a notebook. For once, they were ordinary notes in an ordinary notebook. "Now… Who shall the director be?" he asked.

"Kagome-chan should be the director since it was her idea," Ranmaru suggested. No one disagreed or object to his idea. Light nodded and wrote down more notes. Kagome smiled a small smile; somehow, she saw that coming.

Light closed his notebook and announced, "Well, we'll have to wait for Maki-chan to complete the script before Kagome can cast the characters…" He looked from Kagome to Maki, who was grinning like an imp. "Maki-chan, since the festival is in only two weeks, we'll have to hustle so we'll be ready to perform. How long do you think it'll take for you to complete the script?"

Maki counted on her fingers and looked up, as if she was doing calculations in her head. "I think I can have the complete script in about three days…"

'Just three…?' Kagome thought. '…Well, Maki-chan is a good writer.' "Well, I'm sure I can cast the characters in a day," Kagome told everyone.

"That'll leave nine days for the actors to rehearse and memorize their parts," Light said. "Very good. Let's do our best everyone."

"Hai!"

"That is all," Light said. "Everyone, rise." The students in the class rose. "Bow." They all bowed.

(7:10 p.m.)

"Huh?" Ryuk suddenly said, standing up front from his squatting position beside Light's desk. Without saying anything to Light, the shinigami walked towards the windows of the classroom and looked outside. Ryuk noticed him quite a while ago, but it was now that he thought, 'This is getting a little bit out of hand.' He looked across the room at Light and decided to fill him in on the little piece of information. He was not on Light or L's side, but this certain human was really starting to bug him!

A man wearing a thick buttoned up overcoat with a high collar and a brown hat to cover the upper part of his head was standing not too far away. His hiding was not so great because he was standing beside a thin light pole. While Ryuk stood in front of the window to watch the human that was watching Light, Light, himself, was feeling anxious to get out of school. Through out the entire course he had been thinking about Kagome and her culture fest idea.

She was almost frustrating! Light could not help but think that Kagome was not simply suggesting something interesting to do for the culture fest, and that there was something else she was trying to get at. On the other hand, Light also thought that there was the possibility that Kagome was just being Kagome and had no alterative motive. 'Maybe I'm looking too much into this…' he thought to himself. He did not get the chance to ask Kagome about her idea after school because once again, Maki and the others quickly made off with her.

Light quietly gathered his belongings and placed them all inside of his schoolbag. The day before when there was a chemical spill in the school, he was tempted to write in the Death Note like crazy. But instead, he used to extra hours to study until it came to around the time for him and Kagome to get home on a regular school day. He then skipped studying and used that time to write down more names in the Death Note.

"I wonder if Kagome is waiting for us today," Ryuk said aloud, knowing that Light could not respond to him in public. "You know…" Ryuk whispered, leaning into Light's ear as he flew behind him. "I've noticed how fond you two are of each other."

Light sighed inwardly and pulled the collar of his jacket up so that his mouth was covered. Obviously Ryuk was baiting him to ask. Just to shut the shinigami up, Light took the bait. "Alright, Ryuk, what are you getting at?"

"Well…" Ryuk began. "I was just wondering how long it would take before you killed her."

Light suddenly stopped in his stride, his eyes widening at the statement. It felt like his heart skipped a beat then sped up at that moment. 'K-Kill… Kagome-chan?' he thought while sweating a bit. 'Why?'

Ryuk laughed and said, "Don't look so upset! I was only kidding!"

"Yeah right…" Light mumbled before starting back up from where he left off. He did not want to keep Kagome waiting outside by herself too long. Kira knows how much of a trouble-magnet Kagome was!

Meanwhile Kagome was nervously waiting for Light and Ryuk to come outside. She looked left and right… There was definitely someone watching her… 'Well,' she thought. 'Light and I to be exact.'

"A-Ah!" Kagome smiled when she spotted the dirty blond and the clown-faced shinigami. "Light-kun! I'm over here!" she called, cupping one hand by one side of her mouth while waving with another arm. Light waved back and walked towards her.

"So how'd it go?" Kagome asked, creating small talk while they were in public. She would wait until they were walking through their secluded neighborhood before talking about the serious things. Throughout the conversation, Light watched and studied Kagome's face as she stared up at him with her stormy blue eyes.

'Iie.' he thought. 'I could never harm someone as pure as Kagome…' Light said to himself. 'If anything, I'm creating the new world for people like her.'

"Light-kun!" Kagome suddenly screamed. She was standing in front of him with hands placed firmly on her hips. "Are you even listening to me?!" she snapped.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Humph, I was telling you that… We have a stalker."

"Heh heh, looks like Kagome beat me to it," Ryuk stated. "I was going to tell you that as well."

Light almost wanted to look over his shoulder to check. Instead, he kept walking, gently grabbing Kagome's arm as he walked by her. "Keep close to me so we can whisper to each other." he said softly to her. Kagome looked up at him and blushing, nodding silently.

"I had sensed his presence a few days ago but I wasn't able to spot him until I was at Kuro with the girls today…" Kagome told him. "It was so creepy. He followed me everywhere until I got home, that's when he went off in the direction of your prep school."

"Well, this could pose as a problem for me, now wouldn't it?" Light asked, smirking a bit. "I'll have to get rid of him as soon as possible." The night had been a long one for Kagome, she tried staying up with Light and Ryuk but she failed… Kagome had fallen asleep while Ryuk explained the deal of the shinigami eyes to Light.

(Three Days Later)

"Maki-chan! You're awesome!" Kagome said aloud as she skimmed through the script for the class play. It was typed and ready for action! Maki's mother also worked at a bookstore and she was able to make over thirty copies of the script so the entire class could have individuals copies for themselves. "This script is amazing, nee, Light-kun?" asked Kagome. She smiled up at Light, who finished skimming through the script for about the twentieth time.

Light closed his copy and placed it onto his desk. "It is well written," he admitted. Maki then clapped her hands together and cheered happily with Kagome.

"Thank you for the compliment, Light-kun!"

"Yeah! A script is just a script if Light-kun thinks so!"

"…Uh…what does that mean?"

"…I don't really know…" Kagome said before she and Maki shared a laugh.

"So Miss Director, have you thought about the roles yet?" Maki asked hopefully. "I know you just read the script but there are only two major roles, Kira and L! You must have some idea about it!"

"Actually I do…" Kagome said. "And I know you know what I'm going to say-"

"Hai!"

"LIGHT-KUN AS KIRA AND KAGOME-CHAN AS L!" Ran and Aya cheered in unison.

(Cultural Festival)

At first Light thought it had been a bad idea that he played the role of Kira since there was obviously someone investigating the police already. High school cultural festivals were often open to the public so people of all ages and from different schools were allowed to enter and enjoy the festivities. But he and Kagome concluded that any o high schooler could play the role of Kira, but it did not automatically mean that the person was Kira. It could simply mean that they were a good actor. Rehearsing also did not interfere with Light's studies and Death Note time since Kagome spent a lot of time with him.

Today was the day of the festival and their class was the first one up to use the auditorium since many people booked in to see their performances. They would also perform once more as the finishing act at the end of the day. The entire class turned out to be passionate about their play.

Everyone volunteered any way they could and were enthusiastic about staying after school to help setting up the background images and props. Aya and Ran did a good job designing costumes. Almost the entire class had a part in the live performance. Maki wrote that Kira killed a lot of criminals and policemen to find L. All in all, the story was good and logical. It would see realistic to anyone who was not involved in the actual Kira case. That was what made it so good. The Quirky Quintet, a name that Kagome and the others came to be called, even went as far as to advertise their play to the public by setting up and passing out flyers to people on the street.

"Light-kun," Kagome said, emerging from one of the dressing rooms. "We're on in five."

"Eh? She's starting to sound like a real director," Ryuk pointed out. Light only made a small humming noise to confirm that his agreement. Light's costume a very expensive looking, red business suit that Ranmaru donated and his hair was not neatly combed in the fashion it usually was. For some reason, Aya and Ran decided that Kira was a nut with messy, unmanageable hair.

"Action."

The curtains let up and revealed Light sitting at a small office booth alone. In the play, it was after work hours and he was the only person left… The performance went well and three entire scenes went by until L made her appearance. She had her hair in a neat bun and was wearing a blue Chinese draw. Light was secretly proud of Kagome as she performed everything so smoothly yet at the same time, dramatically.

At one point, the lights went out so Kagome could exit the stage. It was time for Light to have a monologue about his plans to kill L in a direct confrontation… Meanwhile Kagome was standing to the side, discreetly peering at the audience to see the look on their faces. Many were in awe at how L turned out to a girl and others were so thrilled about seeing the struggle between Kira and L that they forgot that they were watching a high school play. The play came to be a part of Light's plan to find out their stalkers identity.

It was very detailed and complicated but Kagome would do it… She would help Light this once. The first thing she had to do was use her powers to pinpoint the stalker in the audience. It did not take long. He was sitting in the middle of the second to back row on the left side of the auditorium. He seemed to be discussing something with a younger man, sitting next to him… Kagome blinked and immediately thought, 'What a weirdo.' From where she was standing Kagome could see that the man had messy dark hair and was wearing a plain white, long-sleeved shirt and jeans. His eyes must have been a dark color because she could not even see them.

The man was sitting in the oddest slouching position with his knees hugged against his chest. Suddenly he looked up and stared directly at her. That was when Kagome noticed that he was wearing shades. Whoever he was, his thumb was placed between his teeth… And he smiled a weird smile at her… 'What's with this guy?!' Kagome almost missed her cue! She went back onto stage to perform the final scene with Light… The direct confrontation.

The final scene included the shooting of fake guns and a lot of dialogue between Light and Kagome. It ended with L shooting Kira directly in his heart, like a professional. Kagome blew on the tip of her gun and smiled at the audience. The play ended with the line, "L is Love!" The audience erupted into applause and cheers. Class 1-A's plays Justice! Kira vs. L was a smash hit! As they walked home from school together, Kagome continued to chat about how great they were and that their play would surely win the popularity contest this year.

She knew that Light did not like how the play ended with L defeating Kira so just for fun, out of the blue, she pretended to shoot something in the sky and exclaimed, "L is Love!!"

Chapter 2: Challenges

(!ENDS!)

Authoress' Notes: Damn… There's a lot of stuff that I should have put in this chapter that I'll have to put in chapter 3! I had forgotten a lot of things but just remembered them as I finished up this chapter! Grr… oh well. I actually wanted to write in Light and Kagome's experiences with Ray Penbar and Naomi Misora in this chapter, but then it would go over my chapter limit. I want each chapter to be approximately 21 pages.

Anyway, I should have update both this story AND Shaman King but nnoooo- Someone decides that they hate me so much that they'd delete everything in my Fics folder on my flash drive. --' Damn them…

But anyway, I restarted on this first because I got so many lovely reviews for chapter one alone!! I hope you guys liked this chapter too… There will be more Death Notey action in the next chapter and you get to see some major trickery! I guess this chapter was pretty light… Hmm…

My first chapter 2 was WAY more tense than this one. I hope you guys liked this chapter…

I mean seriously, once again, I busted my ass to post this… Pardon my language. So please review and tell me what you think. The good, the bad, the sexy, ALL that good stuff please. Last time you broke my record, 44 reviews for ONE chapter! Please make me happy again!

Oh yeah! A few more things… Ha ha, L's small cameo in this chapter was just a teaser for everyone who said they couldn't wait for L to make his appearance. (grins) Hee hee. And WhiteDemoness11 described Kagome and Light's relationship better than I could. XD I think that's bad thing… And someone mentioned lemons… (blush) I guess lemons make stories a lot more interesting for some people but somehow… I don't see it happening… Well… I couldn't write it myself.

Heh heh, for Sakuma-chan is a 15-year-old virgin herself- And uh- (sweat drop) Not that I'm dumb or anything but… Uh… Yeah… . . . I'm not saying lemons won't happen… But it would be embarrassing to ask someone else to write such a thing for me. But if its lemons my readers want, lemons are what my readers get!

And just for the sake of curiosity, two small votes that might matter but then again- might not matter.

Vote 1) Lemon or No Lemon?

Vote 2) Happy or Sad Ending?

All right, that's all for now everyone! I hope you liked it!