6:00 AM
Watari's day started at this time period.
Discipline was shaped by his training in MI6 and the espionage field. There was no moment of sleeping in for him, even in the cold winter when most would prefer to stay tucked in their sheets. But not the old inventor.
He checked the time by taking a glimpse of the clock on the wall, remembering he went to bed quite early last night, around midnight. Reaching his mid-sixties, he envisioned his need gradually diminishing.
Perhaps down to four hours in the future, he thought.
In the old days, when he was active in intelligence, sleeping for a few hours, even minutes, and conserving energy with little sleep was the norm. It continued to some extent to this day, occasionally for urgent cases or when L was deeply immersed in his work and didn't sleep for over two days. On such occasions, Watari would be on call long hours whenever L needed him. But for most of the days, six hours was plenty.
He got up, quickly folded the duvet, made the bed as he always did, and stepped into the bathroom in his room for a quick shower.
6:20 AM
Watari examined himself in the closet mirror as he buttoned up his shirt and put on his suit. He always does.
He could wear something more casual, but he liked to be ready for any occasion. When in charge of the orphanage, several tasks needed to be done in person, and he had to contact people outside the institution face-to-face. Going back and forth from outdoors to the orphanage, a suit was suitable for various situations, whether indoors, outdoors, or during online conferences—nearly all situations where a suit would not be inappropriate.
6:30 AM
He would call his current location the 'living room,' although he was the only one actively using the room. Living in that space. The armchair he occupied was beside the window, with a round table stand nearby. On the table, there was a cup of hot Earl Grey tea, which was the kind he preferred, along with a plate of biscuits and some jam. Today, he ate rather simply, not in the mood for a full breakfast.
Sipping his tea. Without sugar. This may be the time of day when he has the least contact with sugar. Watari himself does not indulge in many sweets, only a few pastries when having tea or coffee. Mostly tea.
He watched the steam rising from his cup. The current liquid might be the only common ground between him and L. At least L drinks tea and coffee. Chugs coffee. Relentlessly. With different sweetness levels.
Not that he hadn't tried to stop him before, but Watari soon learned that it was impossible to do so. Impossible for L to literally follow any suggestions regarding eating habits. It was a miracle that his body could withstand how much sugar and caffeine he consumed, all becoming fuel for the brain and mind without any side effects.
Geniuses not only have brilliant minds but also possess brilliant physical health.
7:00 AM
Morning routines include tidying and cleaning. Another thing that Watari had in common with L was cleanliness. He disliked dirty rooms. Where L stayed was quite easy to clean compared to Wammy's House, packed with children and open windows for air flow. And dust. Not here in L's house, as he hardly opened his windows and curtains, unless Watari insisted the room was too stuffy.
He would start from the corridors, the living room, his own bedroom, the kitchen, and lastly, L's room. Cleaning was not a big deal for him, as he had invented a machine to help him with sweeping and mopping, though it still needed some adjustments.
Watari pressed the robotic vacuum, and with a soft hum, it went into action. It was a machine that he bought out of interest in the latest appliances when he paid a visit to the invention exhibition. But it wasn't 'smart' enough—frequent problems with colliding with objects and an inability to detect furniture accurately, and the problem that Watari couldn't stand the most—small areas left uncleaned.
Technical barrier. He had to make some modifications himself. But, of course, it wouldn't be able to be commercialized, as he himself didn't take costs into account. With his modification, he made the robot able to scan and detect where needed to be vacuumed and mopped, and then it met his needs.
As the machine hummed in the background, Watari continued to dust the furniture and wipe clean the windows.
Maybe in the future, it could integrate with a computer or some sort of artificial intelligence, Watari thought.
But for now, with assignments and cases from all around the world, and as L's caretaker, he does not have the time to research or look into that.
8:00 AM
Eight in the morning. Watari finished other rooms, and all that was left was L's room. The boy should be up by now, he thought, as he strolled past the corridors. Or hasn't slept yet?
He still occasionally calls the 179 cm teen "the boy" in his mind. Why wouldn't he? Seventeen, on the brink of teenage and almost an adult, his behavior was far from that of a grown man.
Watari doubted whether he would ever grow up. Maybe he's Peter Pan from Neverland.
He chuckled at this thought while strolling through the corridor.
8:15 AM
After cleaning L's room, Watari recalled the words that Roger told him.
"Then you can't spoil him like you do now, Quillsh. Time to make him learn how to take care of himself."
Therefore, instead of pulling off L's clothes and changing for him (which happened from time to time when L was too lazy to change his clothes on his own), Watari insisted that he do it himself, resulting in a grumpy teenager making a fuss about "I don't care about clothes."
But L upheld cleanliness, too. He eventually gave in, obeyed, and pulled off his clothes and put on the new ones that Watari handed him.
8:20 AM
Laundry. A whole basket of white long-sleeved shirts and jeans. More were hung on the ceiling drying rack, featuring a system built by Watari. Unlike normal automatic drying racks, it resembled more of an assembly line. With a press of a button, hangers glided down from the ceiling, allowing Watari to hang the clothes on them. Without stopping, they would then ascend automatically, take the clothes back to the ceiling, and arrange them neatly. In the event of a power outage, manually rolling the pulley would also do the job. Yet another creation by Watari's invention.
White long-sleeved shirts and baggy jeans. That's all L wanted to wear. On the day he met L, he was in that attire and continued to wear the same outfit to this day. There was a time when Watari wanted to change his outfits back at Wammy's House, asking L if he wanted to wear something else that he had bought for him. However, most results were L pulling off all of them and throwing them on the floor and would rather be naked than wearing clothes other than a white t-shirt and jeans.
He said other clothes stung him. Watari had no clue why they did but still gave up on changing L's attire. At least white shirts and jeans were fine. And winter coats and scarf.
Watari tossed the clothes into the washing machine. His own would be done separately, as L dislikes any other clothing washed with his. Suits would be sent out for washing.
When he reached for the detergent, he remembered another tantrum that L had. Recently, he stated that he dislikes the smell of detergent. Watari had told him he would buy new ones when the current one used up. L threw another tantrum about this.
Young boys, Watari thought.
I thought he liked lavender.
9:00 AM
The kitchen would be the place that Watari spends several times in one day. Walking back and forth from the kitchen, and L's room.
Watari opened the cabinet and took out several jars of different types of candies. Should it be called the kitchen? More of a candy storage. L likes to work while eating, eating while working. Using tongs, Watari retrieved some sweets from the jars, one by one. After putting the jars back, he then manually skewered marshmallows, fudges, brownies, and any sweets onto a stick for L to hold without his fingers touching the treats.
10:00 AM
When Watari could finally sit down to work in front of his computer, located in another room used as a study, he was surrounded by copies of documents and some original documents that he brought from the orphanage. They were all organized neatly on bookshelves on both sides of the room. With sunlight streaming down on his wooden office desk, the first thing on his list was to check the emails of the Wammy's House Organization.
Reports from current programs in Wammy, sent by numerous PIs and not limited only to England, but to all branches of Wammy's House Organization worldwide. Most of the reports would be handled and supervised by Roger, but Watari still took part in decision-making for the most critical programs. Other administrative matters that Roger didn't have the authority to approve, such as taking in gifted children, a few governmental-related matters, and significant financial judgments and decisions.
Decide whether the child was suitable to take in, what resources he or she might need, and what road the child would take, considering what they could contribute to the world.
All to make the world a better place.
Watari had faith in these gifted children to have a positive impact on the world.
Like those who were previously given a code name.
Like L.
11:00 AM
Time to make lunch. Outside of Wammy's House, with only the two of them, everything falls on their shoulders—mostly Watari's. Naturally, he handles the cooking and household chores. He doesn't expect much contribution from L beyond being immersed in crime investigations.
L does express interest in other areas. Basic knowledge of each field that he had learned when he was young in Wammy's House (although compared to his peers, none of what he knew was basic). He learns quickly, utilizing online resources and requesting books on specific subjects, primarily for the purpose of solving crimes. Such as mechanics and assembling gadgets he needs. Sometimes, it's a custom appliance made for the investigation team, with a brief design instruction, and if necessary, the first one made by him as a sample. The rest was then carried out by technicians trusted by Watari. These custom tools were sent out for investigations, ensuring the secrecy of L. Investigators have no possible way to know the identity of their commander aside from his intelligence.
However, aside from these initiatives, L showed no interest in anything else. He was mostly locked away in his room, seated in front of the computer with several screens shining before him. His room is spacious enough for a twin-size bed, a wide desk, a wall of documents and folders organized by time and alphabetical order, and another wall filled with books that he can flip through if he needs to look into something. In the same room there equipped his own bathroom that was big enough for a bathtub and a separate shower area, along with the human washing machine that he frequently used. As long as Watari was close, he could live forever in his room without going out.
Watari was genuinely worried about this.
12:00 Noon
With the effort put in by Watari, accompanied by plenty of struggles and challenges, at least L had balanced, normal meals on time. Otherwise, he might search for candies and anything sweet when he felt hungry or needed sugar. While the human body cannot function solely on sugar and caffeine (even if L insisted that he could, to some extent implying that he was immortal and immune to disease), Watari had to admit that L's body could handle high blood sugar without any health issues or cavities.
Not only "normal genius children" were taken into Wammy's House. Those who had quirks and unusual talents that could not be accepted totally or fit in. Those whose talent lacked sufficient resources to fully unleash their gifts, and that ordinary institutions could not afford.
Among them, L was much more exceptional. However, some behaviors and traits observed by Watari were still quite common and typical of younger children and those of the same age as L.
Today's lunch: a sandwich with ham, rocket leaves, mayo, and egg. Served in L's room, placed right in front of him.
The boy picked up the bread and selected out the rocket leaves one by one.
"Greens are equally vital for health, L," said Watari, watching him picking out the greens.
"Rocket leaves should be banned," mumbled L, not affected by Watari's words, as he would not be satisfied unless he finished picking them all out.
2:00 PM
A short break from investigations. A quick game of Chinese chequers.
For the seventh time, the boy insisted on having another round. It was a relatively simple board game for them without needing to take much time to think, and the game always ended fairly fast- one round would end within 5 minutes, as they both took their steps following as soon as the other one finished.
Watari glimpsed at the boy before him while he made his move. They played in silence, with only the faint tick sound that when they moved and placed the chequers on the board. Out of ten games, Watari would manage to win four, relying on a mix of luck and significant effort.
I'm getting old, he sighed inside. Meanwhile, L had already made his move and urged Watari to respond. He made his final move, but L's chequers were already back into home, signaling another victory for him.
"Well played," said Watari.
"Another round," replied L, turning the board.
"All right. This has to be the last round."
"Then switch to chess."
He is still in the mind zone of playing. "That'll take up too much time."
"I will beat you this time."
Watari smiled. The boy still hated to lose. But he knew that winning easily didn't give him the satisfaction that he needed, either. He pulled out the chess set from the drawer nearby and together they set the board. It would be a tough game, as he was barely managing to win L nowadays.
I look forward to the day he wins me.
3:30 PM
Strange things that teenagers would do. Watari had seen many and was quite accustomed to L's behaviors.
"What are you doing?" Watari walked into the room and saw L doing a handstand by the wall, with papers scattered on the floor.
"I want to read the words without any hesitation even when I'm doing a handstand, even if the words are upside down."
Perfectly normal. "Suit yourself," said Watari, placing afternoon tea and dessert on the desk.
4:00 PM
Continue to answer emails and case requests. L, Deneuve, Eraldo Coil, three detectives but, in fact, all the same person. With a strict cybersecurity network, they used different emails and domains as contact information, ensuring that others could only contact through the provided method and not find out anything about their identity.
L specialized in the criminal investigation field. Deneuve was an information gatherer and dealer. Eraldo Coil was the top in locating people and would take any job as long as the money was good. Three identities, three different images presented to the world, yet all the same one person.
Watari scrolled through the emails. Most of the subjects were typical.
He then paused his scrolling at one email, reading the subject. A mail sent to Eraldo Coil. He clicked opened. The money was good, a very substantial amount and the request was one that he highly expected that L would be interested in.
Cases were selected and filtered to meet L's standards accordingly before they entered L's view, and then L would pick out the ones that he wasn't interested in. Minor cases. Trivial cases that could be left for other detectives. Money that wasn't good enough. And some cases which would be a threat to Wammy's House and discovering L's identity.
Ｔｏ：Ｗａｍｍｙ'ｓ Ｏｒｇａｎｉｚａｔｉｏｎ, ｗａｔａｒｉ＠ｗａｍｍｙ．ｃｏｍ
Ｆｒｏｍ：Ｙａｍａｓａｋｉ Ｉｎｔｅｒｎａｔｉｏｎａｌ Ｉｎｓｕｒａｎｃｅ Ｃｏ．, ＳｈｉｙｕｎＳａｇａｗａ＠ｙａｍａｓａｋｉｉｎｔ．ｃｏｍ
Ｓｕｂｊｅｃｔ：Ｒｅｑｕｅｓｔ ｆｏｒ Ａｓｓｉｓｔａｎｃｅ ｏｎ Ｎａｎａｍｉ Ｆａｍｉｌｙ Ｆｉｒｅ Ｉｎｃｉｄｅｎｔ Ｉｎｖｅｓｔｉｇａｔｉｏｎ
Ａｔｔａｃｈｍｅｎｔ：Ｙａｍａｓａｋｉ＿Ｎａｎａｍｉ．ｐｄｆ
Some cases were irrelevant to L. Not all cases would be in L's hands.
Not when Watari was in charge.
5:00 PM
Routine walks to the nearby park for a breath of fresh air.
By five in the afternoon, the laughter and play of children in the playground would have ceased, parents hand in hand with their children heading home, leaving the area mostly deserted.
L's favorite spot was the swings. He mentioned it once, Watari remembered. He liked the feeling of balance when he squatted on the swing seat but did not enjoy swinging itself, saying that it was too much. Most of the time, he would just squat on the swings, watching the clouds disperse in the sky with the wind. Crouching on the swing might have been considered dangerous for anyone, but he did it perfectly fine and balanced. Watari would have been more concerned if L ever chose to sit properly.
Sometimes he still plays tennis, although there wasn't an opponent for him. He would just serve, again and again. Powerful servings, they were. It would be interesting to be his player on the other side. Sadly, Watari did not know how to play tennis; therefore, he could not play with him. Maybe he would meet another person someday to play against him. Maybe he would meet someone who could beat him.
Watari continued to observe as L gazed up at the skies.
I do hope one day he will meet someone like that.
6:00 PM
Supper.
Tablecloth, cutlery, napkin, glass. And fresh flowers in a small vase, of course. All were chosen with his own preference of style- Watari's, of course, as L never required or cared about such things. But it was still nice to see aestheticism and sophistication in everyday objects- delicate teacups with decorative designs. If Watari ever had a collection display sale of the objects that he chooses, it sure would be one of the best select shops in England. Maybe he should open one after he retires.
But that wasn't the thing that he was concerned about currently. The man paused, steak knife in hand, and furrowed his brow at L's proposal.
"Phone calls with Meri?" Watari inquired, surprised. It wasn't something L typically engaged in. It had been so long since he could recall L willingly communicating with someone for reasons other than investigation. Giving Meredith a cellphone seemed more like an expression of family affection or perhaps a sign of a close relationship. But not for the purpose of what L was going to do.
"Yes," L replied bluntly, his mouth full as usual.
"Take your time," Watari reminded him, concerned that L might hastily consume the food without properly chewing.
Watari resumed his steak, casually asking, "I thought the password was not urgent."
Although it was crucial, there was other evidence that should be gathered while they could get an expert to crack the code or unlock the safe without triggering the self-explosive mechanism.
"There's no reason to procrastinate if I could have had the answer figured out earlier. I should have just called Meri for assistance," said L after swallowing his food.
"Then it has already been figured out. Is it necessary to call her?"
L mumbled a short: "Yes."
The boy always tells lies. He lies through his teeth; telling a lie is like the act of breathing. It was that easy. Watari had seen it countless times while standing by L during investigations. Despite that, Watari could usually discern between truth and deceit, at least most of the time.
Recently, it had gotten harder as the boy mastered the skill of deception more as he aged.
"You're not seeking permission; you're stating your intentions, aren't you?"
He knew the boy too well. The tone certainly was not asking for permission but actually an order.
"Correct. I want to change things and establish new rules."
"I see," sighed Watari, "then make sure your call fits her schedule."
As long as he didn't receive complaints from Meredith about L bothering her (which rarely happened, though it occurred occasionally when they were younger and L would distract Meredith from her academic studies, and then he had to step in), Watari assumed everything would be fine.
8:00 PM
Sometimes Watari would wonder what was happening in L's mind, even if he was the closest person to L. One cannot fully understand another. Therefore, people have to make efforts to attempt to understand to the fullest extent possible.
Does he ever feel empty inside? Does he feel lonely? Watari was certain that despite his dead-fish eyes that concealed emotional waves, in the depth of the young detective's mind, there was life. Not dead but alive. And that was why Watari made the decision to take him in when he first met L. If not one single spark of flame remained in the ashes, then there was no possible way to bring the fire back.
You need flames to carry on a painful past and be able to face suffering in the future.
Often, Watari wondered about those questions when he was beside him. When they took a trip to the art gallery, watching L tilt his head to have a better look at the painting, as if changing the angle of the view would reveal something different. When he played tennis alone on the court. When he sat in silence, the screen lights shining on his profile. L was not talkative when he was a boy. Even in Wammy's House, if he encountered peers in the common area, in the hallways, not even a greeting, nor a small "hi" when passing by others, would come out of his mouth.
Companions were few, maybe only Meri.
Will he find a person who could know what was happening in his mind? Will he find another being with whom he could communicate on the same intelligence level?
Watari wondered.
10:00 PM
"Watari."
Watari raised his focus from the book that he was reading. "Yes?"
"This person," L began, picking up a pile of documents that had a man's profile, while Watari closed his book and walked to L's side. "Finance his family and bail him out. I see that he would be a great investigation partner."
Watari took the folder from L and read the files. Thierry Morrello.
"A professional con-man?"
Contacts with the underworld were as crucial as cooperating with the police, and Watari saw such contacts as no big deal. However, in most cases, L would not go so far as financing one's family. Perhaps it was an attempt to win over this person to work for him, but it was surely an exception. Usually, they would exchange information or money to have access to underworld resources. With the reputation of L and the abilities of his other identities, cooperation with him was valuable enough for the underworld.
"Yes. I see his profession could aid us in investigations," replied L before taking a sip of his tea.
Of course. Watari scanned the files, checking everything he needed to know. The offenses ranged from minor instances like honey traps to major ones that could almost impact the political status of a country, along with numerous other crimes. It was enough to ensure that Morrello would serve a lifetime in prison.
"While the evidence indicates that submitting it would result in a lifelong sentence for him…Initially he was apprehended due to internal conflicts within the New York mafia. Betrayal by his associates," L muttered, scribbling with a pencil on a blank piece of paper. "Imprisoning him would not only be a waste of his time and skills but also a missed opportunity to utilize his capabilities."
Redemption? "It's hard to believe a professional conman would end up in the hands of the prosecutor due to betrayal in the mafia," commented Watari, placing the file back on the desk.
"Maybe he isn't as bright as I initially thought," L smiled wryly. "I suppose that working for us might help him become brighter."
He then added, "And from now on, I will refer to him as 'Aiber'."
Watari remained silent. There was a peculiar feeling, a feeling that occurred occasionally. It was akin to observing something rare, something so uncommon that it contradicted what others might expect. He had heard numerous remarks about how others perceived the detective before him, particularly in the realm of investigation and police work.
A cold-hearted armchair detective, many were envious of his talent or achievements in the detective field. The realm of investigation seemed to attribute all credit solely to him, overshadowing some embittered investigators. The name of L was too great, stealing away the attention.
Watari didn't pay much attention to these labels, and L didn't care about them either; none of them truly defined him.
To Watari, L was more like the paintings they observed in the art gallery. Strange, bizarre, yet fascinating. Like a hedgehog, challenging to approach, but, just like a hedgehog, with a soft, tender, and warm interior. It wasn't something that showed often, even to Watari.
"Now, if you may excuse me, I will now make the call to Meri."
It seems that this peculiar feeling has occurred more frequently recently, as if the boy were learning from another being, softening his cool demeanor and seeing the world more gently. Watari doubted whether it had anything to do with L's recent unusual behaviors and requests, but most seemed harmless and not a big deal. Describing the subtle transformation he was witnessing was challenging, and even harder was predicting what L would become.
Watari remembered those who lacked any life in their hearts, their hollow eyes revealing no soul inside. He would refer to them as robots, machines, moving corpses, or, in a fictional way, monsters. Many of those remarks were also made by others, commenting L.
But L was obviously not like that. L was undeniably human. And a soft and gentle one at that.
That tenderness allowed him to face and witness the pain and suffering in the world and deal with complicated cases, saving thousands of lives and families, even though he himself did not have one.
Watari wanted to do his best to preserve that.
Deep in his heart, he wished that aside from him, another being could guard L's tenderness toward the world, enabling him to preserve that conserved kindness.
Watari nodded and exited L's room.
Just one more person. Just one more.
A/N:
FFnet does not seem to accept email forms and .pdf words, so I had to change the form...If you wanted to have a better view, you could visit the fic on Ao3.
Finally finished my finals... Updating once a month is my ideal pace, but I also equally wanted to make things move faster (arrggghh)
Thank you so much for reading this fic in 2023, I hope to see you around in 2024 (wave)