Scroll 2 { Concrete Angel }

I remained on the bench, resting my eyes.

It was already 3:30 in the afternoon and I had absolutely nothing to do. I had already accomplished what I had first came to Tokyo for and I was pretty much free at the moment. I didn't know where I should go, or what I should do. Should I make a move out of here? Or should I just remain in the city for the time being?

I let my head fall backwards and I narrowed my eyebrows at the slightest prickle of frustration. One of the few things that disturbed me the most was not doing anything for a certain period of time. It causes me to be immensely bored. And when I was bored, I felt lazy. And laziness was not one of my top priorities. I was not one who liked to slow down and take a break.

Just then, deeply lost in my thoughts, I almost didn't notice my cellphone beeping away frantically.

Casually, I reopened my eyes and reached into my pocket and fished out my sleek, black cellphone and flipped it open.

Caller ID: Feather.

"I wonder what she wants this time..." I mumbled to myself before placing the device next to my ear.

"Yes?" I spoke into the cellphone calmly.

"Ah, Lady Hope!" the voice of my assistant chimed away cheerfully. And also a bit too loudly for my liking. "I was wondering when you would pick up!"

"Yes, what is it that you want, Feather?" I responded dully towards her overly-bubbly chatter.

I heard the sound of papers rustling on the other end of the line. I could tell that she was letting her excitement get the better of her. The girl probably forgot how to speak.

"Control yourself, Feather." I reminded her in the same dead tone. So far, I was plainly and painfully uninterested.

"Y-yes, Mam." Feather shuttered, trying to control her emotions. The sound of her inhaling deeply could be heard. Then exhaling. "You wouldn't believe what just got faxed to me!" she exclaimed.

"Shoot me." I said, crossing my legs.

"I just received a faxed invitation letter! They want you to assist in a HUGE case, my lady!!" she gushed, her excitement peeking again.

As so did my interest.

"Finally, something to do instead of exploring every corner and examining every single crack in this damned city." I said, mainly to myself. "What are the details of the case?"

"This is the best part yet!" She squeaked happily. "This isn't just any HUGE case, my lady, this is currently the most difficult and most infamous case Japan has ever faced!"

"Well, spit it out already." I said in a bored tone, even though my hidden anxiety was probably detected.

She took a second gulp of air before squealing like a crazy fan girl who just got to shake her favourite rock star's hand.

"It's the Kira case, Mam! THE KIRA CASE! THEY WANT YOU TO ASSIST THEM IN SOLVING IT!"

I blinked blankly.

.....

Kira case?

My interest abruptly went down the drain.

"Mam?"

"Mmm...."

I took a momentary pause. Then I spoke again.

"I have never heard of it." I said dryly, my voice as bored as ever.

"W-What?" I could hear the previous excitement from before already dropping down a notch. She probably expected me to be... happier. Well, not that I ever was most of the time anyway.

Then, she started to sound surprised - or should I say, more of skeptical - and almost shouted into the phone.

"YOU MEAN YOU HAVE NOT HEARD OF THE KIRA CASE YET?!?!"

I carefully held the phone a good distance away from my ear and waited for her to calm down before making sure it was safe to put next to my head again.

"Please do not shout into my ear. And regarding your question, no, I have not heard of this... 'Kira case'."

"I'm sorry Mam," Feather apologized nervously. "But I was just a bit shocked that, you, of all people, would still be kept in the dark about this amazing case!"

"Do not forget that I have only been in Tokyo for one week." I reminded her, a bit irritably.

"Still! Even so, you should have at least heard of it! The news is all over Japan! Even on the internet! Like I said before, it is practically the most BIGGEST and most DANGEROUS case Japan has ever faced!"

"Yes, I remembered that part." I sighed into the speaker, running a hand through my hair.

"It's terrible! Outrageous! A mass murderer gone by the name of Kira has been killing off criminals off one by one! And the numbers are getting larger every time! No one knows who this mysterious Kira person is, nor do they know the whereabouts or even how he looks like! It's not even confirmed if it is a He or She!"

"Mmmm." I gazed down at my finger nails, half listening to her ranting, half lost in my thoughts once again.

"The worst thing is that it appears that Kira can kill without contact. It really is a tough situation.. Even the current world-famous Detective L is still hard at work chasing him down... The police are rendered helpless at this critical timing too... I--"

"Wait," I interrupted, pressing the phone harder against my ear. Something had caught my attention once more. I uncrossed my legs and sat up straight.

Did I just misheard her?

"Did you say... L?"

"Yes, mam."

"L...? As in THAT L? Japan's number one detective? The one that no one has never seen the real face of? The one that solved several of the toughest cases ever?" I asked slowly, just to make sure.

"Yes, mam. It seems that his personal assistant, Watari, himself faxed the invitation to me. He seemed to have heard about you from somewhere and decided to try and reach you to see if you're willing to lend a helping hand."

"You should have said so earlier, Feather." I said. "Please accept the invitation. Send a reply fax at once. Tell Watari that I would be more than happy to try and help out in anyway I can."

"W-why the sudden interest?" my assistant asked, surprised again at my sudden change of mind.

I bent over, putting my elbows on my knees and shut my eyes tight, not wishing to talk anymore.

"Just do as I say." I simply said, regaining back my dull and bored tone.

"Y-Yes, my lady! I'll get to it at once! Leave it to me!" Feather chirped. She put down the phone and the line went dead.


Click.

I flipped my phone shut and stuffed it back into my pocket again before putting both of my arms behind the back of the bench I was resting on.

I gazed up at the clear blue sky, illuminated by the bright, white sunlight filtering through the clouds. That was when I knew where to make my next move forward in life.

"Detective L, huh..." I said outloud quietly, not taking my eyes off the ceiling of blue.

"Well, it seems like fate wants to make my oh-so-boring life a little less oh-so-boring..."

A small, barely noticeable smirk formed on my lips and I let out a tiny chuckle of amusement.

"We'll see."