Chapter 2:

Ryuuzaki sat in the softest armchair of the sitting room, a teacup just barely in the grip of his fingers. His eyes were half-lidded in the early morning light as he sipped his over sweetened tea. He was not awake yet. He could pull all-nighters, he could work for days without rest, but when it came to waking up at a decent time…

This was to be his second day at the Wammy's House, and he still had a bit short of four weeks to go. Judging by how things went the day before, however, he couldn't help but feel that all was going well.

Near was a very intelligent child. Only four years old, he was already reading police reports and was more articulate than most people three times his age. Not only that, but Ryuuzaki couldn't help feel that Near suspected him of having ulterior motives, if not being L…

And his sister.

The teacup stopped halfway up its ascent to his lips. His eyes widened a fraction of an inch more as he mulled the thought in his mind for a minute. She was… pleasant. Usually people who smiled so much got on his nerves, but he found himself happy to be around her agreeable attitude. He remembered watching her take care of Near, wiping his face and carrying him on his back…

If mothers were meant to act a certain way, they should act like her.

He sighed, his eyelids drooping once more with sleep. His nocturnal hours wouldn't work if he wanted to spend time with the children.

He sipped his tea in silence, watching the shadows grow and the noise swell within the house. Soon he could hear the thumping of feet on the wooden floors as the children prepared for the day accordingly. Voices traveled across the hall as people made their way to breakfast, and he vaguely noted how unusual it was for him to hear so many people around him so early in the morning and in the same house. He sighed.

He was really a loner by heart.

He heard approaching footsteps, and soon he found himself gazing at Near over the brim of his cup. He lowered the teacup, giving Near a sleepy look. Near seemed wide awake, his large eyes as inquisitive as ever.

"Can I have one?" he asked.

"One what?" Ryuuzaki said.

"A sugar cube."

Ryuuzaki shrugged, "Help yourself." Near happily took a handful of cubes and popped them in his mouth. He sucked happily, watching something behind Ryuuzaki's chair.

"What're you doing?" a different approaching voice said. Near didn't reply, sucking on his sugar cubes with an indifferent expression. Ryuuzaki realized someone was standing by him. He lowered his cup once more and shifted his head slightly to the left to see a blonde boy staring back at him haughtily.

"Who're you?" the boy asked, his voice annoyingly authoritative. Ryuuzaki sighed, shifting his head back. It really was too early for this…

"He's Ryuuzaki," Near said simply. The boy narrowed his eyes at the white haired child, then looked back at Ryuuzaki.

"You're kinda funny looking," the boy said critically.

Ryuuzaki decided he needed more sugar.

"And what, Mellow? You're not?" a different voice pitched in. Ryuuzaki looked up in surprise to see Lara looking down at him as she leaned on the back of his chair.

She grinned at him, then looked back to the other boy as she leaned her head forward slightly, her hair falling down from her shoulders.

"I'm not funny lookin'," Mellow mumbled, frowning at the girl.

"I never said it was a bad thing," she shrugged, "Right, Ryuuzaki?" She flashed a quick smirk at him. He wasn't sure if she was implying that he really was funny looking, so he opted for taking another sip from his cup instead.

"Hey, Neats," she said, leaning forward so she was hovering over Ryuuzaki, her hand outstretched, "Share the love, love." Ryuuzaki found himself looking upwards, a purple pajama top brushing the tips of his hair as he realized just what was under the relatively thin layer of fabric. He turned his head back down, his eyes now as wide as ever.

Near smiled, then dropped a few sugar cubes into Lara's outstretched hand. She quickly retracted herself, settling back against the chair comfortably as she popped them into her mouth. She walked around the chair and towards Near, stepping into Ryuuzaki's line of vision.

"Come on, Neats, time for breakfast," she was saying. Her hair was longer than he thought, reaching mid back in thick brown curls. He probably hadn't noticed because it was in a braid the night before. He cocked his head to the side, enjoying how it glinted in the early morning light

"Keep staring like that and your eyes'll pop out," a voice by his ear said. He turned to see the boy named Mellow giving him a very sly grin. He continued in an even quieter tone, "If you want, I can get you some decent pictures. I've got a connection with this girl upstairs who can easily slip into the girl's bathroom one morning and…"

"Mellow, what on earth are you telling him?" Lara frowned, noting the rather flustered looking Ryuuzaki. A tint of red was even visible on his ghostly skin as he frowned and attempted to hide his face behind his teacup, gulping down the final sugary dregs.

"Nothing!" Mellow smiled innocently. With a final knowing glance at Ryuuzaki he turned and ran towards the dining room. Ryuuzaki finally had no choice but to put the empty cup down, although Mellow's offer was still bouncing around his head and his face hadn't completely settled back into its usual pallid shade.

"Pfft, don't listen to whatever he says," she said, rolling her eyes. Near was staring at him, still sucking on the final bits of sugar cube in his mouth, and Ryuuzaki couldn't help feeling he was more aware than he let on. Lara smiled at Ryuuzaki, "Wanna join us for breakfast?"

"No, thank you," he answered, pouring himself another cup of tea, "I'll be fine like this." She couldn't help chuckling to herself as she watched him pop a sugar cube into the murky liquid, then another, then another, then another…

"I suppose we'll see you later then," she grinned. She took hold of Near's hand and led him away towards the dining room.

Ryuuzaki dropped one cube after another into his tea absentmindedly, regardless of the fact that the little blocks were making a small mountain in the middle of his cup. It irked him that he lost his composure so easily. So much for acting like a world-class detective. He flicked the top cubes off the mountain and into the tea, then picked up a spoon and began mixing carefully, sure to keep the tea and sugar from spilling.

There really was no need to get so flustered.

He sipped his sugar loaded tea, eyes half shut, content with the conclusion he had reached.

-

Breakfast had ended and Lara was busy taking a shower. Near wandered the halls absentmindedly, a toy robot in his hands. He decided to go to the game room and finish a quick puzzle while she finished.

He turned to enter the ample blue room, but stopped at the doorway. Ryuuzaki was standing by one of the three large ceiling high windows, his back towards Near and apparently deep in thought.

After a pause, Near stepped through the doorway and towards one of the shelves. He dropped his robot as he pulled out a puzzle from the shelf. Setting the puzzle down on the floor as he sat down, Near opened the box and dumped out the pieces.

"Do you enjoy puzzles, little Near?" he heard Ryuuzaki say from across the room. He looked up at the wide black eyes, then shrugged and began sorting out the pieces. He could feel Ryuuzaki watching him as he clicked the pieces together one by one, building the frame of the puzzle and then working his way into the middle. Neither of them said a word as the clicking of cardboard continued and the shouts of children playing outside filtered through the windows.

Ten minutes later, a picture of a large waterfall with an assortment of tropical wildlife teeming around it was complete before Near. He looked at the finished product for a moment, studying each of the colorful birds and small mammals briefly.

"How many times have you completed that puzzle?" Ryuuzaki asked him as he walked towards the young boy.

"This is my first time," Near answered as he began to pick apart the picture, dropping the pieces into the box once more.

"Ah," Ryuuzaki said, a smile curling his lips. He turned to the shelf that was overflowing with puzzles, his hand gliding over them until it landed on a box. He pulled the puzzle out of the shelf and showed it to Near.

"Have you ever done this one?" he asked, still grinning slightly. Near looked up at him silently as his hands dropped the last pieces into the box and covered it with the lid.

"No," he admitted, getting up and replacing the box back into the shelf.

"Would you like to?" Ryuuzaki asked. Near shrugged, but he sat down in front of Ryuuzaki expectantly.

Ryuuzaki's smile widened as he sat down on his haunches before the boy and dumped out the pieces of the puzzle.

They worked in silence, the pieces clicking together quickly as their fingers set them in their place.

After a few minutes, Ryuuzaki spoke, "Your sister is very careful in what she says about your future. It seems she doesn't want to commit you to the goals of this orphanage. I've heard what she thinks about the matter, but little Near has yet to voice his opinion."

Near remained silent, his eyes focused on the task before him. Finally, he responded with a shrug of his small shoulders, "I don't really think about it. I guess it wouldn't be so bad to replace that L guy."

Ryuuzaki nodded, but before he could say something the child continued, "Still, if I turn into the next L, I think Lali will worry about me too much."

Ryuuzaki thought for a minute in silence, then said, "True, miss Lara would probably prefer if you became something else—maybe a dentist? But in the end all that matters are little Near's wishes, and Miss Lara's opinion becomes irrelevant."

Near frowned, eyes narrowing as they looked up at Ryuuzaki, his hands still moving, "My sister's not irrelevant." Ryuuzaki rested his hands on his knees as he studied the child quietly for a minute, the sound of pieces coming together still clicking in the room as Near continued with the puzzle.

Ryuuzaki then asked, "What happened to your parents?" Near's hand stalled for a second, hovering over a puzzle piece he was about to grab.

As he took the piece and fitted it into its rightful spot, he said, "They died, obviously."

"People can die in many different ways, little Near," Ryuuzaki pointed out.

Near was quiet, his eyes hidden by his white bangs while his hands finished the puzzle.

"There you are!" a voice said from the doorway. Lara walked into the play room, striding over to the two boys. Her hair was wet and a towel was draped over her shoulders as she bent over to look at the puzzle.

She whistled in awe, "Five hundred pieces, impressive. That's a big puzzle, and a nice picture." The puzzle featured a busy central street of 19th century London. "Did you do it all yourself, Neats?"

"…Ryuuzaki helped a little," her little brother mumbled in reply.

"No, little Near did most of the work," Ryuuzaki said, looking up at Lara. "I mostly just watched."

"I see," Lara smiled. She turned to Near, "What do you wanna do today, Neats?"

He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, then back to his sister, "Go to the park."

"All right, go get dressed then," she said. Near got up and trotted out of the room, his white pajamas and hair disappearing through the door.

"You'll be going out today?" Ryuuzaki asked as he began to pick apart the street on the puzzle.

"Yeah," she grinned, "Sundays are my only days off, so I always go out with Neats so we can spend the day together."

"I see," Ryuuzaki said, shutting the lid of the box. He picked it up and put it back on the shelf, then stood up straight as he scratched one foot with the other and turned to look at Lara. She arched her eyebrows in mild surprise at his height.

"Honestly now, if you stood up straight all the time you'd hit every doorframe you'd walk through," she said, an amused look on her face. "You're sure you're Japanese?"

"Pretty sure," Ryuuzaki replied, running his fingers through his hair lazily as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Anyways, what are your plans for the day?"

"Hmm," he said, "Nothing really, besides wandering around the orphanage a bit more."

Lara grinned at him, "In that case, you're welcome to join us at the park. I can't say it's more thrilling than the orphanage, but at least it's a change of venue."

Ryuuzaki was silent for a minute, once again thrown off by the offer. After a pause, he looked down at Lara with a light grin, "All right."

A bit later they were walking down the road, Near on Lara's back and Ryuuzaki shuffling along beside her in his untied tennis shoes with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Near, now dressed in a plain-white long sleeve shirt and a pair of rather large worn out pants for his size, pushed Lara's curls out of the way so that they fell from her shoulders. She flipped her hair from her eyes as she shifted Near's weight on her back.

"Hey, don't be too much of a bother back there, Neats," she said, winking at Ryuuzaki.

"I'm not," Near grumbled, latching on to the strap of her blue tank-top with one hand as he curled his hair with the other. He looked around him absent mindedly, watching the wooden fence to their left slowly pass by with each step.

"Do you go to the park often, Ms Lara?" Ryuuzaki asked as he glanced at the girl.

"I guess," she replied. "Near stays inside too much, the only time he's willing to play outside is when he's with me at the park, so I'm always willing to go. Of course, I have to lather him with sunscreen before we do; poor child burns too readily."

"The see-saw's the best ride," Near pointed out, ignoring the comment on his skin as he kept his eyes on the passing scenery.

"True that, love," Lara smiled. She looked at Ryuuzaki, "Did you go to the park often when you were small?"

Ryuuzaki shrugged, "I tended to stay inside, but I did play a few sports when I was a kid."

Near turned to Ryuuzaki abruptly, "Lali's really good at football." He just as quickly turned his head back as Ryuuzaki stared at him. Was it just him, or did that sound like a challenge…?

"That was a long time ago, Neats," Lara laughed breezily. "And I wasn't that great."

"Ms Lara played football?" Ryuuzaki asked, turning to look at Lara.

She nodded, "All through elementary and middle school, but then we moved here and I was too busy with…" She trailed off, and for a minute the only sound was the crunching dirt under their feet as they marched on.

"I was a decent player myself, perhaps we could have a match sometimes soon?" Ryuuzaki said pleasantly.

Lara turned to look at Ryuuzaki, and he saw a spark of competition in her eye, "Sure, there's a field at the park. We can play if we get a ball from somewhere." By then they had come upon the local park, a creaky set of faded swings coming into view, then the slide, see-saw, and merry-go-round.

Lara set down Near and watched him run to the swing set and hop on. She went over and started pushing him as he kicked his legs in and out with the momentum. Soon he was going high enough that Lara could step out of the way and leave him be. She walked back to Ryuuzaki, but saw that he was watching something else.

She followed his line of sight to see a group of kids playing football on the field. She arched her eyebrows, knowing exactly what Ryuuzaki was thinking.

"Just how good of a player are you?" she asked, turning to him with a grin.

He returned the smile, "I may not look it, but I do enjoy sports." Her grin widened as she turned to Near.

"Hey, Neats!" she yelled. He looked at her as he swung up and down, his white hair flitting around his ears. "Mind if I play a game of football with Ryuuzaki?" He shook his head "no," and she waved a thanks before walking to the kids. Ryuuzaki followed, and they stood at the sidelines watching them play until the goalie caught the ball and finally stopped to see what the spectators wanted.

"D'you mind if we join in?" Lara asked the boy who was holding the ball.

"Ehh," he replied, bouncing it on the palms of his hands as he looked at his companions still in the field. They noticed the silent entreaty and ran up to him quickly, huddling together.

"What do they want?" another boy asked.

"They wanna play with us," he answered.

"Ehh?" all the kids said, darting looks at the teens.

"But that guy looks so… scrawny."

"And she's a girl!"

"Oi!" the one girl in the group exclaimed. "I'm a girl, too!"

"Yeah, well, you don't count," another snorted.

"What? Sod off!"

"Guys!" the ball-holder butted in, "What're we gonna do about them, then?"

"She comes to the park all the time with that little white haired boy," the girl noted, glancing at Lara. "If she was miffed at us it could make things awkward." There was a grumbled agreement throughout the group.

The ball-holder ran up to Lara, "Just one match, alright?"

Lara shrugged with a smile, "Sure, that'll be fine."

Minutes later Ryuuzaki and Lara were facing each other, waiting for the game to begin as two of the kids stood at the center of the field. The boy from Lara's team managed to get the ball away from the other, and so the game began as he ran down the field.

The ball passed to another child as the first was blocked off. He was making progress to the goal, but was soon headed off as well. He looked around frantically for a teammate to pass to, but only Lara was open.

He hoped for the best and kicked it to her. She grinned as she took the ball and began to dribble it towards the goal once more. Ryuuzaki headed her off, bare-feet and all, but she was too quick for him and swiftly tucked it out of his reach. She shuffled away quickly, then kicked the ball.

It flew towards the goal, so fast that it was already gone by the time the goalie had realized what had happened. He blinked dumbly, then ran quickly to fetch the ball.

Ryuuzaki and Lara's eyes met. They grinned, then headed back to their spots on the field as another round began.

The ball went to Lara's team once again as a boy dribbled it down the field. He was getting blocked off by the other children and passed the ball, but it was intercepted by the girl on the opposite team. She grinned, running with the ball as the boys from Lara's team chased her, but was quickly blocked off. She managed to twist the ball out of their reach soon enough to be able to pass it to the only open member of her team.

Ryuuzaki gladly took the ball, and soon enough Lara was there, both their feet twisting around the others' in an attempt to snatch the ball for themselves. Ryuuzaki finally slipped it nimbly out of her reach, his face set in a grin with excitement. Lara had a similar expression on her face as she ran after him…

And so the game went on. The other children learned to stay out of the way of the teens when they went head on. It was easier to follow, and it was fun to watch; who would've known such an unlikely pair would be this good? Of course, Ryuuzaki and Lara eased up when dealing with the kids, but there was a silent agreement that all gloves were off when either of them had the ball. The intense competition with them was fierce, but the happy grins on their faces showed that it was all in friendliness.

Near watched from the sidelines, his face unreadable as he twirled his hair idly with one finger. He had never seen his sister play football before, and he hadn't expected her to be this good. Not only that, but he hadn't expected to see her look so… happy.

He settled down in the shade of a tree, his large eyes following the movement on the field as idly picked at the grass around him.

Nearly an hour later, Ryuuzaki and Lara huffed off the field, both feeling sweaty and worn out as the kids eagerly asked if they would play another game.

"No thanks," Lara replied, heading towards Near. "Maybe some other time, alright?"

"I'll have to pass on the offer as well," Ryuuzaki said with a small smile as he grabbed his tennis shoes and followed her. The kids nodded happily, then returned to another game.

"You're a very good player," Ryuuzaki said as he approached Lara who was sitting down by Near.

"Thanks," she said brightly, catching her breath, "You're not so bad yourself. I haven't played a game like that in a long time."

Ryuuzaki nodded, "Neither have I. It was quite the enjoyable experience, perhaps we can play another time?"

Lara nodded, then turned to Near, "Hallo, Neats, what's up?" He didn't reply as he continued twirling his hair, looking away vaguely. She looked concerned for a moment, but the next second she stood up and scooped him up.

With a victorious laugh she ran to the merry-go-round, placing a surprised Near on it as she pushed it, running alongside it. Near held on to one of the poles, his eyes wide as they picked up speed. Soon she hopped on as well, grinning widely as she watched him. They slowly came to a halt as the momentum let up, and Lara giggled as she and Near staggered off the ride.

Near's head was spinning as he took awkward steps, feeling as if the ground was shifting beside him. He tripped on his feet and fell on his bottom, but that only made him laugh along with Lara. When the vertigo died down, she helped him up and took him by the hand, leading him off to play on the see-saw. She glanced at Ryuuzaki, winking with a grin.

Ryuu sat beneath a tree, his toes curling around the grass, as he watched the siblings play together. Lara looked genuinely happy as she fooled around with Near, and the child looked more carefree than ever before. He was smiling brightly, looking more like the four year old he was than the child prodigy.

A while later, Lara left Near playing in the shady sandbox. She headed to where Ryuuzaki was seated, settling down beside him with her legs crossed.

"Really now, I'm tired," she said, exhaling the large breath she had taken. She watched Near build a sandcastle around himself fondly, "He looks happy, doesn't he?"

Ryuuzaki chewed on his thumbnail, glancing at Lara before replying, "Yes, he does. You've done a good job with little Near."

She grinned broadly as she lay down, her arms crossed behind her head and her legs kicking out then plopping on the grass, "Good lord, I hope so."

She closed her eyes, letting the wind brush over her skin, cooling the sweat and refreshing her. Ryuuzaki watched her with his round eyes, watching how her chest rose and fell, how her hair had splayed around her head in large brown curls, and how the shadows from the tree's leaves flickered across her face.

"What's the matter?" she asked, and he realized she was now looking at him. He looked back, noticing just how dark her own eyes were, a deep and heavy brown that seemed black in Near's pale face.

He turned his head back, then stated simply as he gazed upwards, "Ms Lara is an attractive young woman."

Her face took on a shade of pink as she sat up abruptly. "What?" she said automatically.

"I was just making an observation," Ryuuzaki replied quietly, "You're a very attractive young woman." His gaze shifted onto her, "Have you been told differently?"

"Not really, um, th-thank you," she faltered, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. No one had ever told her she was attractive like that before. She had been called good-looking, but never in such a matter-of-fact way.

She couldn't help smiling warmly at him as he remained silent, chewing on his thumbnail nervously with his legs drawn up to his chest. There was something comforting in his vaguely indifferent, straightforward, demeanor.

"Hey, Ryuuzaki," she said, still smiling. He turned to look at her, his eyes round.

"Yes?" he asked.

"You're… you're a lot of fun to be around, y'know? Thanks." He stared at her, his eyes as wide as usual, but her happy expression didn't falter. His face finally flickered into a content smile, his thumb still by his lips, then turned his head back, his eyes watching the lazy white clouds roll over the sky.

-

"That was fun, wasn't it, Neats?" Lara said happily as she took off her sweat stained clothes. Near toyed with a small truck in his hands, silent as she changed into clean clothes.

She sat down beside him, brushing his hair gently with her fingers as she smiled contentedly down at him.

"Hey, Lali?" he asked, his eyes looking the opposite direction of his sister. "Why don't you play football anymore?"

She sighed, still playing with his hair, "Oh, I don't know, Neats, I just stopped."

"You looked really happy," he said, the truck turning in his hands. She was silent for a moment, looking down at her brother thoughtfully.

"I guess I just had better things to do," she finally said, lifting him onto her lap and hugging him. "Why play football when I can play with you, instead?"

He smiled happily at her warm gesture, letting himself rest comfortably against her body. They sat together, Lara watching Near toy with the truck, her fingers playing with his hair, as the sounds of the orphanage lay muffled on the other side of the door.

Notes: So, this is the second chapter.

Um, yeah... what did you think...?

I got some awesome reviews for my last one! I want to thank all of you! Talk about the case of warm fuzzies, I was giddy all over!

Ah, so many exclamation points... In any case, please leave another review, they make me so very happy and I want to hear any constructive criticism you guys may have. I'm trying my hardest to live up to yours and mine expectations, so, really, if you feel the need to point anything out then please do :)