It was the opening ceremony of Todai university, and the room was bustling with excitement. Cherry blossom petals wafted through the sky, and the sun glinted offwindows and plastic signposts. Lux closed her eyes, and promised herself that she would treasure this moment for the rest of her life. It was a new page,a new opportunity to thrive. She knew all too well that this experience would open doors to countless other people, places professions... Lux scolded herself. Being a top detective was difficult, of course, especially in her situation, but the world needed her help, L needed her help. It was her duty to continue. On the side, she was welcome to live a normal life, but due to her unnaturally impressive logic and memory, she would almost be committing a crime if she didn't put her talents to good use.
A hush fell upon the room as the master began his speech.
"We look forward to this new year... we now welcome to the stage our freshman representatives."
Glancing around the room, Lux noticed two other teenagers making their way to the stage. Her heart began to pump in the way it always does when the prospect of embarrassing oneself is on the table - she had heard that there would be multiple representatives this year, but three? The idea of
style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 17pt;"all of them having scored the same mark seemed too much of a coincidence. Perhaps there had been a mistake, and she wasn't needed - no. She needed to pull herself together. Straightening her shoulders, Lux marched up to the stage and took her place
at the lectern with the two boys.
The hushed whispers of the audience made it hard to listen properly to the speeches that the representatives gave. The confusion shared by everyone in the room rang clearly across the auditorium. "Three of them? Wow." "Ryuuga hideki? Like the idol? No that can't be him." "The girl doesn't look like your classic elite student - did they rig the system because Toudai has never had a female freshman's representative before?" "Could you have chosen more differing candidates! The one on the right seems like a classic genius - well bred and intelligent, but the one on the left looks almost feral."
Lux couldn't help agreeing. She felt awkward, sandwiched between such polar opposites, and also indignant as to how unseriously she was being taken by theaudience in comparison to the boys either side of her.
As the trio made there way down from the stage, Lux could her a murmuring from behind her. She wondered if her peers were talking about her - perhaps they already knew each other, and were angry that she had stolen their spotlight? Calm down. It was unlikely they were talking about her, or anything important. Lux sat down, and the better groomed of the two boys - light yagami - took his seat next to her. She smiled at him but he seemed more interested in Ryuuga, who had decided, even in a formal ceremony, to sit on the edge of his chair like a bird perched on a branch. Lux shook her head. Hopefully the other students would be more polite and respectful than these two. Lux's train of thought was interrupted by a low murmur from the boys next to her.
"I am L."
Time seemed to stop. This was a sentence she had been yearning to hear all her life - ever since she started working with L at 10, she had dreamed of hearing him speak in person, without the crackly voice distorter that always came with their conversations. And it was a sentence she had never expected to hear. She glanced over to the boys. It was Ryuuga who had said it - she nearly laughed at the prospect of such a disheveled teenager being the world's greatest detective. She felt a pang of disappointment in her stomach. Consistently getting her hopes up was one of Lux's greatest flaws. She had got her hopes up about being the single freshman's representative, she had got her hopes up about the possibility of changing profession. She regularly got her hopes up about what she would be able to achieve if she was only allowed to work independently of L - she knew full well she was competent enough.
Perhaps it was just a desire to escape from disappointment for just a little while longer that made Lux think twice aboutwhether Ryuuga wasperhaps L after all. Perhaps it was a determinationto be seen by someone, at least, as a genuine, important, it was, it was the best decision she had ever made in her life.