Part X

Encounter

For the next week I didn't see much of Ryuzaki, and I was feeling remorse for the end of our last conversation. When I confronted Watari about the detective's absence, he merely replied, "L is preparing to depart on a case, and I must soon join him. I do hope you will help Roger keep things in order with the successors while I'm gone?" Then he placed a hand upon my shoulder and smiled as he left the room.

I decided to visit the city of Winchester before the two departed in order to satisfy my curiosity. Magnificent medieval buildings dotted a few of the streets; people shot me fleeting glances as they passed, probably leery at the sight of a foreigner.

My first visit was uneventful, but my second trip to Winchester changed my new life entirely. I entered a small coffee house not far from an elaborate medieval building, and noticed someone from my past, all too familiar. "Kita?" Brandon Sakir stared at me in awe. "What are you doing here?"

I hesitated, unsure of what to say. "Visiting friends of my parents." I told him a partial lie casually. "You?"

Brandon was silent momentarily, and he lowered his eyes away from mine. "I'm here as a foreign exchange student. It was still early in the year, so they allowed me to transfer."

"I see," I replied and sat down across from him.

"So how come Sharon was telling everyone you moved over here?" I hesitated, caught off guard once more. Brandon slowly stood. "What's going on, Kita? There's something you're not telling me."

"I-I still didn't decide if I'm moving over here with them or not…I have to take some time to think about it and figure out if I will like it or not," I replied briskly.

"I see," was his response. Whew, I thought with relief, he believed me. "Well, I need to get going. School stuff, you know?" Brandon's smile was like that of an angel as he wrote down his cell phone number for me. In return, I handed him mine and left the coffee shop that day with mixed feelings: happiness because my life was somewhat returning to the way it was before, and apprehension… he couldn't find out the real reason that I was in England.

...

I arrived at the orphanage around 7 that evening. Upon entering the massive building, I was greeted by loud shouts and crying. Near ran through the entrance hall from a side door in tears and Mello came after him shortly in a rage. "It's my turn to take a shower, Near, Watari's schedule said so!" Near sat upon the large Victorian rug in the center of the floor and continued to sob. Taking a closer look, I noticed a bruise upon his cheek.

"Hey!" My shout caused the feuding boys to spin around quickly; Mello gazed, frightened, in my direction. "What is going on?" The anger in my voice silenced what ever Mello had been planning to say.

"I couldn't find Mr. Wammy's schedule saying who got into the shower first so I decided that I was going to get in because I'm tired, when Mello came in and started to scream at me. When I told him I was ready to get in, he tried to shove me aside. I tried to fight back but he punched me in the eye," Near mumbled slowly.

"Is this true, Mello?" He was about to speak, but he stopped and refused to look me in the eye. "Near, go and get in the shower… Mello… go to your room until I go find Roger."

The two boys obeyed, and I went upstairs to Watari's office to look for the caretaker. The chair was empty since the departure of Ryuzaki and Watari the night before, but I had expected to see Roger there anyhow. I searched the desk for the phone number the orphanage's founder had told me to call if a problem should occur, but instead found a note:

Kita,

Keep an eye on the boys. I had to go into London on business, so

I will not be returning for at least a week. Ryuzaki has

delayed his departure on the recent case in order to await my return.

He should be in the orphanage most of the day; check in his room,

at the computer.

Signed,

Watari

Wow, I thought, I wonder what happened… Below the note I found that it was, in fact, Mello's turn to shower first. Whether Near had known this or not, I am still unsure of to this day.

...

Within a few moments I had handled the problem between Mello and Near, and set off to find Ryuzaki, who was supposed to be watching them in the first place. I followed Watari's advice and checked the detective's room first. "Ryuzaki," I said as I peeked in, "where…" I paused when I noticed that the computer was on, but he was not seated in his chair.

When I walked in I saw that Ryuzaki was lying on his large bed, tightly wrapped in the covers. His eyes were closed as if he were asleep. Wait a second, I thought, Watari told me that L never sleeps. Something must be wrong. My heart pounded as I quietly walked over to sit by his side. A small amount of sweat was collected on his brow, so I placed my hand upon it.

Ryuzaki stirred restlessly in his sleep, burning with fever. His eyes opened upon my touch. "Kita? Heh… long time, no speak," he said quietly.

"Are you all right?"

He gave me a small, fake smile. "Just a bit of a fever, that's all," he replied nonchalantly with a wave of his hand.

"I'll get you some Tylenol," I said with finality as he began to protest. So, I returned from an excavation under the futon with the medication. "Now let's see," I said aloud as I pulled myself from beneath my sleeping place, "Ryuzaki, are you under 12 years of age?"

The detective smiled quizzically at me and replied, "No, I told you last week I was 21."

"I know," I giggled as I handed him a water bottle, and the two pills.

Still smiling a little, Ryuzaki placed his hot and shaky hand upon mine in a friendly gesture. "Why are you doing this for me after I've treated you so rudely?"

I rolled my eyes. "Watari told me to take care of things while he was gone. That included you, I assume."

"Thank you," he whispered as he rolled over onto his side and shortly afterward, fell asleep.

...

After a boring half-hour of watching Ryuzaki sleep, I decided to take a peek at the computer. Many messages popped up as I watched the screen in silence, and my curiosity was about to get the better of me once more. Of course, all my curiosity had done so far was get me into trouble. However, at the time I didn't think of this.

Cautiously, I read some of the messages.

I've hacked into your computer at last, L, said one.

What's the matter? Are you afraid of me? Afraid your black curtain is no longer enough to hide you? The sender continued to make threats.

I'm going to find your location and personally dispose of you. Just a bit more hacking, and you're done for.

L hadn't responded to any of these, though I was almost certain he had seen them, and the messages infuriated me… unfortunately, the sender had no screen name.

End Part X