Watari

Opening the door, Harry blinked, wondering what he was doing here. "Yes?"

It was an old gentleman, but Harry got the distinct feeling that there was a hidden strength within the elderly body. After a few moments spent observing the gentleman and taking in the trench coat and hat, Harry smiled. "I'm afraid the shop's closed sir, unless…is it an order you are wishing to place?"

The older man kindly smiled back. "I do apologize, my boy. My charge had said that you made the most delicious cakes, and insisted that I come here the next time I was on a cake run. You might, perhaps, know him; Ryuzaki?"

Harry- Haruhi he kept telling himself- smiled widely at the mention of his new friend before opening the door wider for the gentleman. "Yes, he helped me out of a bit of a situation when we first met. How is he today, sir?"

Smiling gratefully, the gentleman stepped into the building and removed his hat and coat. "You may call me Watari, lad. Ryuzaki is quite well; though he finished off the cake you made for him last night," Watari's eyes crinkled with amusement, "he was quite insistent that I purchase another cake today regardless of the fact that you were closed."

Haruhi covered his mouth, politely trying, and failing, to hide the small chuckle. "For some reason, I can easily imagine him doing that, Watari."

Watari smiled kindly, already liking the young man who managed to befriend his charge. Most who met Ryuzaki always thought him odd and having some sort of autism like Asperger's Syndrome. No one ever took the time to really know Ryuzaki and, though it kept L's cover safe during cases, one of Watari's greatest regrets was the fact that L never got the chance to make true friends. It took a lot for L to become interested in a person and, as is usually the case, the person in question was usually the killer.

In other words, L never held any interest in someone unless he knew he could arrest them.

So, hearing that L had made a genuine friendship with the young man before him warmed him greatly. Actually, seeing L gain a friend made him feel more relieved than ever. If he were willing to admit to himself, he was getting up there in age, and he hated to think of what might happen to L if there was no other human being who genuinely cared for him.

He could easily see L wasting away in front of the computer, forgetting to eat (even if it was just cake and sweets), and, and Watari dreaded this part, possibly dying during a case; worse yet, L dying on a case with no one to remember him as a human being. Oh, people would remember the famous, or infamous, detective L, but no one would ever mourn for the person behind the gothic letter. He would do anything to help his charge and if Haruhi made L happy, then he would help in any way he could to strengthen their friendship.

Watari shook his head, forcing himself in the present rather than thinking of future possibilities as Harry led him to the counter where the cake book was placed. It was an elegant book, thick parchment-like pages with gild-edging and leather binding. The writing, instead of typed, was written by hand in elegant calligraphy beside detailed pictures of cakes. If it weren't for the fact that the book was on cakes, Watari would have thought that this was the kind of book some mythical being, like a sorcerer, might own.

Haruhi noticed Watari examining the book and smiled wistfully, "That book was given to me by a woman I considered to be my own mother. She had one just like it for her own recipes and, when she discovered my love of cooking, immediately had one made so that I might have a place to write my own recipes."

Watari gave Haruhi a kind smile, "I'm sure she loved you very much."

Haruhi just smiled back once more- this time a thankful smile- before changing the subject. "So, did you decide which cake you wanted yet, Watari?"

Looking down at the book again, Watari turned the book so it was facing Haruhi. "I am thinking Ryuzaki might enjoy the caramel cake, what do you think?" Watari asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Amused, Haruhi nodded, "Yes, I think he might like it, as well. I can have it ready in a couple of hours, if you are needed elsewhere."

"You do not mind if I keep you company, do you?" Watari asked, and Haruhi shook his head.

"No, I don't. If you want, you can bring a chair around to the back, and keep me company as I work."

At those words, Watari smiled and quickly found a chair and place he could sit in while Haruhi gather his ingredients.

The rest of the afternoon flew by with Watari asking questions, and Haruhi answering him. And the more Watari knew of the young man known as Haruhi, the more firm he was on his decision to help Ryuzaki win Haruhi's friendship.

By the time it became time for Watari to leave with a freshly baked cake in hand, he had managed to extract a promise from Haruhi to go on an outing with him and Ryuzaki next Sunday.

~x~

"Hey, 'mione. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing new really. My business has been a huge success so far, and I met some interesting people."

Harry smiled as he listened to the voice on the phone, badgering him for information about Japan and the people he met.

"Japan is still wonderful, and I'm starting to learn the language. The people I met? I met a kindly old man named Watari, and a young man named Light. But, perhaps, the most striking individual I've met so far is a man called Ryuzaki."

~x~

Meanwhile, in Wakkanai, a young girl watched as a man- an ex-convict who had gone to jail for a crime he did not commit and just recently got paroled- died of a heart attack in the middle of a street. Screams burst through the air as women looked on in fright, some covering the eyes of their children while men hurried their wives away, as police and emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.

The only one not frightened was the girl.

A young girl, with silver-eyes gifted with the sight of the moon; seeing and unseeing the past, the present, and the possibilities of things to come. A girl who, in that moment and in moments yet to come, was somber as fear tainted the hearts and minds of those around her.

Turning her back on the scene, the somber girl hurried away from the scene of evil, all the while praying for the safety of Harry- dear, sweet Harry, who would soon become a key player in the events yet to come.

Author's Note: A short chapter and I apologize for that. I also apologize profusely for the extreme lateness of said chapter. However, as my last two years of college came, I found myself concentrating more on my senior recital and studies than fanfiction, only coming on here to read when I got a chance. Then, with the end of college and graduation, I found myself with a massive writer's block, and unable to put pen to paper.

So I consider this chapter to be more of a test drive with training wheels to hopefully get myself out of this funk- and hopefully with longer chapters next time.

Hope you enjoyed this somewhat poor chapter, and I'll try to get chapters out sooner!

Catzi