"Good morning Han-chan." A friendly gaze met mine as I approached the newspaper rack located in front of the hotel.
"Hello Hiroshi-san." It was almost routine for me, the past few days, to run over to the rack soon as the mail man stepped through the door. I smiled at him before quickly snatching one of the papers. I immediately frowned upon reading the headline. "Twenty-nine more deaths." I said shaking my head. I leaned my back against the cool, smoothly plastered wall and sighed.
"Say, what's got you so intrigued about the Kira case anyway?" He asked me, stacking the newspapers neatly.
"Mm," I replied, flipping the page. "Well, it's a case anyone would be curious about. I mean, the man can kill practically anyone he wants, and no one knows how."
"Yes I suppose it is." Said Hiroshi. "Scary to think not even the police can identify him."
"It is indeed." I said, folding up the news paper. "They'll find him eventually. I heard they've even got L on the case."
"Well, I find it hard to believe that the police put so much trust in him when they don't even know the guys face, or even his real name for that matter."
"You saw what happened to the man on t.v. I think he's smart to keep his identity a secret."
"I suppose ..." Hiroshi brought his wrist up to check the time and brushed out his neatly ironed mailman uniform. "Well, I've gotta run Han-chan, I'm afraid I'm already behind schedule and I don-"
"Alright I understand. I'll see you tomorrow Hiroshi!" I waved him off and he grinned as he exited, pushing open the glass door. A small breeze flew in as the door slowly pulled shut, and I leaned off the wall. Back to work, I thought. As I walked, my new shoes made a click-click-click noise that droned out the sound of the other employees, rushing to satisfy the guests. For a moment, I felt almost content with the fact that nothing was going on in my life.
"What room number did he say L was in again?"
"207. Hush! Be more careful about what you say , we don't want anyone to know he's here!"
"R-right. Sorry Chief."
I yawned, and looked up to see what seemed to be a rather disorientated group of men, all dressed formally in suits and ties. They looked like a huddle of penguins, confused as to which direction they should go to find food.
"L?" I whispered to myself. "It couldn't be…" I shook my head, thinking I had most likely heard wrong. It had to be about eleven o'clock. One more hour and I could be home sweet home.
"Maybe you should ask the lady at the front desk where it is…" Said the one who seemed to be the youngest of the group.
"I know where it is! It's a hotel, how hard could it be to locate a room number?" Said a man with a thick, scratchy looking mustache on his face.
"W-well yes sir I know…" He looked down in shame ask if he was a little boy again, who'd just admitted to stealing the cookies. I decided I couldn't take the curiosity any longer.
"Excuse me, do you gentleman need some help?" I said in my most professional hotel-voice. The younger one quickly looked to the chief and back at me.
"Er… Could you tell us which floor room 207 is on?" The older man said, his mustache twitching with each word. I noticed a police badge on his chest and cleared my throat.
"Yes of course. Second floor. The hallway to your left." I pointed the way. "You can take the elevator."
"Thank you very much," He replied, and I watched as the group all disappeared into the elevator, quietly whispering to themselves and scowling at the youngest one.
L… He's at this hotel? Which one was he? I thought to myself, trying to remember the faces of all the guests who'd checked in the past few days. Maybe he was this one… No… How could I even make assumptions on such little ground. Maybe I could pretend to be room service until I found- No… I shook my head, realizing I was too tired to think of a plan anyway. I had probably heard wrong anywho, being as my hearing did tend to give out when I was really tired. Then again though, they were a part of the police, and it wouldn't' be unlikely that L would chose a location like this for them to meet. After much thought, I decided that after my shift was over, I'd give the second floor a quick skim, and if I didn't see anything suspicious I'd go straight home and sleep. After all, who could give up an opportunity like this?
My chin hit the desk with a loud thud and my head flung up in reaction to the impact. Apparently I had fallen asleep sometime after my conversation with the policemen and lucky for me, none of the other employees had taken notice. I checked my cellphone for the time and was relieved to see my shift had just ended. Before anyone could see me, I dashed into the elevator and pressed the button for the second floor. As the metal doors slowly pulled shut, I turned my head away from the camera. Just walk by, what harm could that do? It's not like I'm getting involved in the case or anything. The elevator made a ding noise as I arrived on the second floor.
200. 201. 202. The numbers were nothing but golden blurs as they passed by me one by one. I could feel adrenaline rushing throughout my veins and the tips of my fingers felt tingly. Though I didn't know exactly where this sensation was coming form, it felt good to be excited. Even if for no reason at all. Maybe it was because I had a slight chance of seeing the infamous L. Or maybe it was simply because it was already 12 o'clock a.m. and even finding a penny on the floor would get me hyped up. Whatever this feeling was, I liked it.
Upon reaching room 207, I paused in front of the door. I could hear some muffled voices having some sort of heated discussion on the other side. I began leaning my ear into the door before stopping myself. What am I doing? Eavesdropping? I said I'd just walk by, didn't I? Before I could lean away , I heard the doorknob begin to jiggle. My heart almost skipped a beat as I dashed towards the end of the hallway and hid behind the wall.
"Thank you, err, Ryuuzaki. You've been a great help. We all have complete trust in you to help us solve this case." I recognized this to be the chief's voice as he spoke.
"You all go home and rest now. And don't forget anything I've said, for it is all vital to our success and safety while solving this investigation."
"Right... Good night." The sound of the mens' shuffling feet coming closer made shivers run up my spine, as I dashed down the stairs. The feeling of adrenaline rushed throughout my body and had my heart beating almost out of my chest. Funny how a little change in a night routine could get someone so flustered. As soon as I heard the footsteps enter the elevator , I allowed myself to walk back up the stairs to check one last time for any sign of L before going home, just to satisfy my curiosity.
Quietly and stealthily, I tip-toed up the stairs , each step creating a little creaky noise.
"Hello." I gasped as I caught glimpse of a pair of large, black, round eyes before losing my balance.
Hello ~
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's sort of an intro so yeah its a bit short.
However, I just meant for this to introduce how the two met and soon the next chapter will show how everything unravels
Enjoy! ~ And reviews are greatly appreciated =D