At 2:00 in the morning, I found myself yawning loudly in the Task Force Headquarters. The only sound in the shallow-lit room was Matsuda's snoring from the couch. Besides me, Ryuzaki was the only one awake. I glanced over at the silent detective, who was crouched in the usual chair. L stared blankly at the computer screens, watching a security tape, the blue glow shining in his obsidian panda eyes.
And then suddenly his expression changed. His eyes, if even possible, grew wider and brighter. His nose scrunched up and the corner of his mouth twitched. The teacup hanging loosely in his hand slipped from his grip and bounced off the counter, and then shattered on the floor.
"Ryuzaki?" I said nervously. He didn't respond, much less acknowledge me. I stood and slowly approached him, the handcuff chain between us rustling and clanking. "Ryuzaki, what's wrong?"
The Task Force members had stood and gathered in an anxious circle around his chair, woken up from the broken teacup. Murmurs and whispers broke out among them as I froze.
L didn't do this. Only if something went terribly wrong, or terribly right. I felt a cold shiver of fear run down my spine.
"AAAAAAAAAAACHOOOOOO!"
An explosion of saliva and particles blew from Ryuzaki's mouth and nose, sending him back in his chair and spraying all over the screens. I instinctively covered my face from flying debris.
It was the biggest sneeze I'd ever seen.
After a few moments in silence, L spun the chair around, to face the Task Force members. He observed the broken teacup on the floor, and then looked up at the members. "My apologies, I appear to have caught a cold." He spun around, meeting eyes with me and then giving all his attention to the security tape. "Matsuda, please clean up this mess."