Silence 01

Ryuzaki stood in front of Watari, silent. He remembered his time at several orphanages, and his time at the Wammy House. And when he came to Tokyo, and that café, a long time ago.

"What's the matter, Ryuzaki?" Watari looked calmly at the boy, almost a man. He was standing there, silent, head lowed.

"What is it?" Watari asked again. No answer.

-Flashback-

Ryuzaki looked around. The café he usually went to was overcrowded today. He was wet from the rain outside, his hands shaking and teeth clattering. He held tightly onto his cup of cappuccino, trying to spot an empty seat. He walked around a little, but still with no luck. Then he heard a voice rising in the noise from the other customers.

"Hey, mister, you can sit over here if you want to!" At the same time, a man, probably in his thirties, rose from his seat. Ryuzaki nodded as a "thanks", and sat in the now empty seat. He took a sip of his cappuccino, and noticed, that someone else was there. A girl, probably around 13 years old, was sitting in front of him nose deep in some books. Ryuzaki couldn't help but looking secretly at them – the books, of course.

It's math books… But it's summer vacation…

Suddenly, the girl looked straight at him. They were face-to-face, and now Ryuzaki looked closely at the girl. She had shoulder length, black hair tied in a ponytail, but the hair in front of her forehead looked even longer than Ryuzaki's. Maybe because Ryuzaki's was messy, while the girls hair was straight. Her brown-green eyes looked directly into his black-grey. She was a little tanned, more than Ryuzaki anyway.

"Hi." the girl said, not looking happy, or angry. Just bored.

"Hello." Ryuzaki said, his voice trembling a little, he didn't know the girl after all.

"Ah, I know! Maybe you can help me?" the girl said, padding the math book. "You look smart, so you should be able to help me!" then, she froze. "I mean… if you don't mind." She said, looking down.

"What is it?" Ryuzaki asked. The girl quickly looked up at him again. Ryuzaki smiled. The girl sighed, relieved that he would help her. She handed him the book.

"It's problem number 10. I don't get it. Would you explain it to me?" the girl asked nervously. Ryuzaki read the problem, solved it in no time, and then explained it to the girl.

"Oh, now I get it! Thanks!" For the first time, the girl smiled. "Then, I'm done for today." She closed the book, and put it in her bag.

"I'm Alexandra, by the way. Alexandra Maria Tsukasa." The girl gave Ryuzaki her hand. "And you are…?"

"Ryuzaki. Just Ryuzaki." he said, shaking Alexandra's hand.

"Ya know, you're really good at math! Unlike me, I really suck at it!" Alexandra said, laughing.

"Oh, I see." Ryuzaki said, also laughing.

Soon, he learned that Alexandra had studied at the café all summer vacation. That was 2 weeks. She only had 4 weeks left, until she had to go back to school, which meant she had to get better at math and P.E. The girl was physically fit, but, as she explained, she was still the weakest in her class when they had P.E.

"It's bugging me, y'know. I always lose when we have a race, and because of such stupid things, they won't really let me do anything when we're playing soccer or something like that." she said, sighing. "But what about you, Ryuzaki? All I know about you is your name! Tell me a little bit about yourself!" Ryuzaki thought really hard. He couldn't tell her that he was "L", the great detective.

"Well, I've won some championships in tennis, and I hardly ever go to school, because I already know everything they teach." he told.

"Wow! So you're a kind of a prodigy, or what?" Alexandra asked. Ryuzaki nodded.

"That's so cool! But then, what are you doing when you don't go to school?" she asked.

Then I'm solving mysteries… Ryuzaki thought.

"Then I'm playing tennis, going to town, or reading. Such things." he said.

"But, don't you get bored?"

"Nope."

"Then, don't you ever get lonely?"

"Well, a little, sometimes." Ryuzaki murmured.

"Hey, I know! You don't have any plans for this summer, do you?" Alexandra asked.

I just solved a case, so no, I've got some time…

"No, I don't have plans. Why?" he asked.

"Then we could play tennis together!" Alexandra stated. "And you could help me with the math, if you don't mind."

"Why not?" Ryuzaki smiled. Alexandra let out a small "yay!".

"Then, when do we meet?" she asked.

"What about right here, tomorrow at 12 o'clock?" Ryuzaki asked.

"Sure! That sounds great!" Alexandra said. Then, she looked at her watch.

"Oh, my. It's already a quarter past 5! I've gotta hurry, or I'll miss the subway!" she said, looking out of the window.

"I can call Watari, then we can drive to the station. Then you won't get soaked because of the rain."

"Who's Watari?"

"The guy who's taking care of me and such stuff, like cooking and cleaning."

"That would be great, Ryuzaki!" Alexandra said. Ryuzaki nodded, pulling out a small cell phone. He talked with Watari for about a minute, and then hung up.

"He's coming." he said, rising from his seat.

"Nee, Ryuzaki." Alexandra said, taking her bag. "Could I have your phone number? Just in case, y'know." She smiled cheerfully.

"OK. Hand me your phone." Ryuzaki got Alexandra's phone. It was red, and a little scratched. He soon retuned it to her.

"Thanks." she said, smiling even more. They got outside of the café, just as a black car arrived.

"Take a seat." Ryuzaki smiled. Alexandra nodded. It was a huge car, like a limousine. An elderly man was at the drivers seat.

"I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Watari." the man said.

"I'm Alexandra. A pleasure to meet you, Watari-san."