Leaving the Nest

"Siri, darling," Aria said stiffly while staring at her son, aghast.

"Yes, mother?" Sirius responded with a passive expression.

"What are you wearing?" she asked with a tight smile.

"I'm covering my face," Sirius replied simply, head tilted to one side as though he could not understand what his mother was trying to say.

"You can't even see!" she exclaimed, finally snapping as her patience wore thin.

The eight-year-old was not bothered by his mother's words of protest. He was wearing simple and comfortable clothes no different from those that he wore at home. A white button-up with a black hooded jacket and pants paired with a pair of black sneakers. His clothes were all tailored but they seemed so commonplace that no one would give them a second glance. This, however, was not what had so concerned his mother.

It was the fact that the top half of his face was covered by a black silken sash.

Sirius had blindfolded himself.

"That is of little consequence," Sirius answered without hesitation.

Aria sighed, massaging her temples.

This was the first time Sirius had been so stubborn about anything besides not using a pen and, to be honest, she had no idea how to deal with it.

"At least cover the lower half of your mouth instead?" Aria suggested persuasively.

However, Sirius only shook his head in response. His mind was not swayed in the least. It was as though he had not even listened to his mother's words.

"Well," Aria finally spoke after a moment of consideration, "I will permit it if you manage to get to Oxford while blindfolded without any trouble. Your father will be following you."

Sirius rolled his eyes beneath his blindfold but did not protest.

Although he did not have any trouble walking around with the loss of one of his senses, his eyes allowed him to see through any reflective surface and the smooth surface of his necklace would suffice. When his Kagami no Me were activated, he would be able to link his vision to any mirror. He used to just look out of his mirror dimension, having had no reason to watch from outside his personal space anyway. It was only after coming to this world that Sirius had found the need for the ability to connect two mirrors.

"Let's go, then," Sirius grumbled, head turned in the direction of where Vince was hiding behind a corner.

The man in question raised an eyebrow, wondering how his son could have noticed him there. It was not like the boy could have seen him, what with him hiding out of the boy's line of sight and the blindfold that covered Sirius' eyes. Moreover, he was a trained agent and an investigator that was incredibly skilled at stake-outs and stealth missions. There was no reason for a child to have the ability to notice him when other trained agents had difficulty doing so.

Little did he know, Sirius' senses were just that sharp.

The boy was incredibly perceptive, taking notice of every little detail. It was a habit from his days of training to become an expert shinobi. In a way, Sirius could be said to have greater expertise in the area of Vince's speciality than his father. After all, even if he had not stayed long enough to receive his result, there was no doubt that he would have graduated as a superb shinobi. Passing the next Chūnin Exam and being promoted to the next tier would not have been difficult and his potential assured that he would either find a place in ANBU or return to his home in Iwagakure. A man who was not equipped with the skills of assassination that all shinobi had to master had no way of comparing with a young genius in this area.

Without even having to rely on his eyes, he stepped out of the Ebon house for the first time in nine years.

"Father," Sirius spoke as he paused at the gate, "let's stop by the zoo afterwards. You have today off, right?"

"Weren't we going to go with your mother?" Vince asked, confused.

Sirius shrugged.

He was not quite sure why but something within him knew that this would be his only chance to have this outing with his father. Although Sirius could see his father's natural lifespan and knew that his father should have had a long life ahead of him, the feeling still plagued him. He had not felt such a foreboding feeling before.

Later, he would lament that he had not done more to protect his father.

💣

"Hey," a youth with messy brown hair and brown eyes addressed the odd boy who sat near the front of the lecture hall after the bell rang.

The boy in question did not turn around to face the speaker but paused in his packing, waiting to hear what the youth had to say.

"Aren't you awful short?" the dark-eyed youth asked with a frown.

"How observant of you," Sirius said wryly, turning around to face the other boy as he placed his folder into his bag.

"You can't see?" the youth uttered in surprise as he noticed the blindfold.

"Not now, as you can see," Sirius replied sarcastically.

He honestly could not tell what his classmate could want. They had been in the same lectures for the entire day and while many people had been gossiping about his oddities, this youth had been the only one to approach him about it. He had no idea if this fellow was just a little bit too straightforward or if he was socially awkward.

"I'm Anthony Andrews," the brunet spoke while holding out a hand to the nine-year-old — though arguably, the boy was fourteen now.

"I'm Simeon Noir," Sirius replied, introducing himself by the alias that his father had arranged for him — the man's own was Avery Noir — as he shook the hand of the older male.

"Rumour was that you were mute," Anthony spoke after a moment.

"Not true, as you can hear," Sirius answered the brunet while looking thoroughly unimpressed.

Anthony Andrews did not notice this, merely laughing as he waved goodbye to the blond.

"See you tomorrow, Noir," he called over his shoulder.

Sirius scowled slightly.

It seemed that their first lectures were truly the same — he noticed Anthony sneaking a glance at his schedule, which he had yet to pack away.

"You too, Andrews," Sirius responded reluctantly.

💣

"You made it," Vince congratulated his son as he slid into the backseat.

"Barely," Sirius huffed, recalling the pushy brunet from before.

"Make any friends?" Vince asked, knowing that it had been the only reason why his wife had been so insistent on Sirius going to school.

"No," Sirius replied with a shake of his head while ignoring Cairn who made fun of him for being antisocial, "but there was this annoying boy who pestered me about being short and blind."

Vince snorted, "If only he knew you were nine."

Naruto mouthed an insult to his only friend at the moment, finding his thoughts straying to the other boy that Watari had spoken about before — L.

He was curious about what sort of person this L could be.

Perhaps they could be friends.

"Say, father, what do you think is the greatest sin a human can commit?" Sirius asked out of the blue.

Vince stilled as he watched his son through the rearview mirror — oddly, the blindfold did not look nearly as strange as it should have.

Suddenly, the man found himself questioning his sense of justice.

"I suppose it will have to be senseless murder," Vince finally said after a moment's pause.

"How will you define senseless? Is it right to kill all criminals, then?" Sirius asked, genuinely curious.

He had never cared much for the world. All that mattered to him were his family and friends. If it were a stranger, he would not even care even if their lives were completely ruined. As long as the ones he held dear were not affected, he would not feel the slightest ounce of sympathy. Even so, Watari's words had gotten him thinking. Why did he have to be that way? Many other things in the world mattered to someone else, even if it was not him. Watari had wanted the world to become a better place. Sirius, too, found himself starting to reach towards that ideal. As such, he had begun to wonder.

What defined better? Would a world devoid of crime suffice? Was it where everyone cared about everyone else? Perhaps a utopia where people did not age, where everyone would enjoy deaths that were peaceful and painless?

He did not understand what he wanted. What was good? What was bad?

He had never questioned this before. To be philosophical had not been in his nature. It had been Watari who caused this change in Sirius.

Naruto had thought that the world could burn as long as those he cared for were safe.

Yet that was no longer him. Though he had not gone to the extent of hurting anyone and had not wished upon others the suffering that had been inflicted upon himself, Naruto had been entirely aloof to the matters of others. He had never concerned himself with the problems of others. Him having been raised as a shinobi only ever served to exacerbate that. The fate of a world rested on his shoulders and he had always detached himself from that responsibility. He knew prophecies often came true, but he had chosen to ignore them in the hope that it would not affect his precious people.

Naruto had been selfish.

What about Sirius? Sirius had changed. Even though he was not quite sure why he was thinking about all this, he knew he wanted to make a difference in this new world. Watari's words stirred him, inspiring him to do more for the world.

In this world, what Sirius did would not matter. Here, he was insignificant. With those creatures which were able to kill anyone with a single glance running amok, his actions often seemed to be of little consequence. Even if he could use those same abilities, he had not done so again. He had not touched the notebook since he had completed his experimentations and had never felt compelled to write in it again. Now that he thought of it, that had been the first time he had ever killed. It had not been a monumental occurrence. Even now, he felt as though it was altogether too underwhelming to just watch someone drop dead after he wrote their name in a book. If he ever had to kill anyone, he would rather do it through other means.

He had never considered himself a human back when he had been Naruto yet as Sirius, he often caught himself thinking of humanity with himself as a part of the collective.

Was Sirius selfless? No, he knew he was not. He was still a greedy and selfish person who, above all, wanted to keep his own loved ones safe. Even so, he had started to think about others and it was a start.

"Well," Vince's voice broke Sirius out of his thoughts, "I would think that killing an innocent who did not have a choice in the matter is wrong. It is all about human rights. Sometimes, sacrifices will have to be made to save the lives of even more people. However, that still does not make it right."

Sirius looked up and realised that his father's eyes seemed to have glazed over with memories.

"It will still be wrong. You will be taking the lives of the innocent. I often think that every time I'm forced to make such a decision, I walk one step closer towards hell," Vince whispered lowly.

Sirius closed his eyes, feeling the car reverse as his father absently parked the car in an empty lot.

"Anyway, are you sure you want to visit the zoo when you cannot even see the animals in front of you?" Vince sighed as he turned around in his seat so that he could look at his son properly.

Sirius hesitated slightly but shook his head eventually.

"It's fine like this, papa," he spoke quietly.

Vince shook his head although the corners of his lips were tilting up into a smile.

"I prefer it when you call me papa. Stop trying to sound like a grown-up. You're only nine years old," Vince chided lightly.

Sirius smiled.

"Just for today," Sirius informed his father, "I will call you papa. However, until we get home, I will be Simeon."

Vince stared at his son wide-eyed.

Sometimes it was difficult to tell who was the parent with the two of them. His son had always been so mature that it seemed like Sirius was the one giving in to Vince's wants most of the time. It would have been insulting, had he not already gotten so used to it. Ever since Sirius had been a baby, he had been playing the role of mediator between him and his wife whenever they got into a squabble.

Yet it did not prevent him from being glad for this opportunity to spoil his son.

Sirius was growing up too quickly. He was already nine, for goodness sake! If Vince did not grasp what chances presented themselves as they came, Sirius would already be flying out of the nest to a place too far away for him to reach. Sirius' talents were undeniable and it was almost certain that their son would become a formidable figure in the world. He had the feeling that he already knew what his son wanted to be. With him so staunchly concealing his identity — sometimes to even greater lengths than his father — it was fairly obvious.

"Let's get some snacks now that your momma isn't here," Vince said after a moment.

"Okay, papa," Sirius agreed as he allowed his father to open the door for him and lead him out of the parking lot by the hand.

All that needed to be known was that Sirius had felt his horizons broaden after his trip around all the zoos in the vicinity. After their trip around all the zoos and wildlife parks in Oxford, Sirius felt like he had learned a lot more about the animals than he ever did from seeing their pictures in books. Even so, he still did not like how the pitiful animals were often not free to roam. It was much easier to visit a few spots instead of search across the world to find them in their natural habitats but it did not make him happy to see them trapped in enclosures by humans.

Perhaps, in this world, the way to better it was to eliminate the human population.

Sirius had seriously contemplated that thought for a second before shaking it away. A world like that would be unbelievably dull. For the world to continue without humans with the selfishness they have and the cruelty of the wars they wage would indeed be more peaceful. Even so, there would still be violence. The law of the jungle applied everywhere. Animals will still engage in the struggles of life even without humanity.

Watari was right.

One cannot change the world alone.

Even if Sirius expended all of his efforts, he would not be able to change the foundation of the world without working with at least one other person in this world.

As such, Cairn did not count.

After all, the kitsune was just as apathetic about these matters as Sirius used to be.

💣

Sirius had received degrees for every undergraduate course offered in Oxford. This was a fact that stunned both his parents despite them already knowing just how talented their son was. When one considered the factor which was Sirius' age, the entire situation only seemed to be even more absurd. After completing the courses that he was interested in within record time, he had proceeded to study everything else. His professors had nothing but praise for him but no doubt speaking with the young genius always tired them out. He had questioned things that they took for granted and sometimes even sent them on long research sprees of their own with his essays and reports.

As such, within five years — less than what others needed to achieve qualifications in Medicine alone — Sirius managed to learn everything Oxford had to offer. They would have insisted he finish the courses but, when he reached a level where he became even more advanced than even the most knowledgeable of professors, they could only let him continue without. Most impressive of all was how he allocated his time. Some of the other students could have sworn that they saw him in two places at once, too.

It was not only in theory, either. Sirius had completed whatever practical modules there were as well, being all too flexible with his time frame and shortening their durations to the absolute limit. Even the professors could not understand how he moved so swiftly and precisely. It was as though Sirius was already an expert and that the motions were practised to the extent of being ingrained into muscle memory.

Currently, he was working on securing his PhDs.

Two years already passed since Sirius had attained all his degrees and he was simultaneously working on several subjects.

He had applied for Doctor of Business Administration, Doctor of Engineering, Doctor of Education, Doctor of Social Science, Doctor of Professional Studies, Doctor of Architecture, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Theology and Doctor of Science after graduating. All of these were subjects that did not exactly pique his interest, but he had signed up for them anyway with the help of his parents' influence and wealth. Somehow, he ended up getting all of them. He had to work unbelievably hard on them, cheating a little — or a lot — with a shadow clone army in his mirror dimension to speed things up. He had completed them somehow, almost losing his sanity in the process, in these past two years.

He had once again applied for a slew of subjects, though this time they were all research-based — at times like these, he had to hate his eidetic memory for making it impossible to forget.

It was while he was lamenting his fate that his father had approached his study, carefully side-stepping the neat stacks of books and the folders of research papers that were strewn across the floor.

Sirius did not look nearly as haggard as he felt. With his shadow clones around to divide the work, it was natural. Even so, there was no doubt that he was feeling very mentally drained. Those subjects had not even interested him from the start. There was no reason why two long years studying dull topics which only bored him — though admittedly education was fairly interesting even if it was strange considering how the topic of discussion included himself.

"You alright there? You have been running on fumes near the end," Vince asked in concern as he reached the desk on the other side of the room.

Sirius smiled tiredly.

"I'm fine, father," he assured while stretching as he stood.

Already fifteen years have passed since Sirius had first entered this household. Now, he reached the chin of the father who had looked so tall at first. Sirius stood at 165cm now. Vince, who was of average height and stood at 177cm, did not look so tall anymore.

"How about you go and engage in some physical activity while they process your application?" the father suggested.

"I go running every morning though?" Sirius responded, not understanding why his father would suggest such a thing.

"You're a teenager, Siri," Vince sighed, "and yet you haven't once played any sports."

Sirius opened his mouth to protest but nothing came out.

It was true that he had never tried playing sports, after all.

Sirius sighed as he shut down his desktop computer and turned back to face his father.

"Fine," he grumbled, "but what do you suggest?"

Vince grinned, proud of the victory that he had earned.

"Tennis," he replied with relish.

"Tennis?" Sirius echoed numbly.

"It's your father's speciality," Vince informed his son with pride. "Back in my heyday, I was champion of the England Junior Cup for tennis!"

Sirius only blinked at his father's boast.

"Right," Vince huffed, his eyes narrowed, "so you don't believe me."

Sirius looked away a little guiltily.

"I'll give you an hour to go through the rules and familiarise yourself with the equipment and the court. I'll meet you downstairs for a match once the time is up," Vince decided on his own.

"Father, you have a meeting tonight," Sirius reminded his father in disapproval.

"I will make it," Vince replied flippantly.

Sirius' eye twitched.

Was his father looking down on him that much?

An hour later, father and son met on the tennis court in the house.

Sirius had memorised the rules — read: he just had to go through it once — and had served the ball towards the wall several times as well to familiarise himself with the angle, trajectory and speed of the ball. He took his father's words as a challenge for himself. He was determined to well and truly defeat his father on his playing field. With it being Sirius' first time playing any form of sport, Vince would have no excuses if and when he lost.

Sirius knew he would probably throw the first few matches but he was determined to win at least once by the end of the day. He would feel even better if his father wound up late for that meeting because he had cajoled the teenager out to play. He had been planning to start on his preparations for the interview and testing required to qualify when he was interrupted by Vince with his talk of playing tennis.

In the first two matches, Sirius lost to his father's sheer experience. Although he reacted quickly and almost always struck the bright yellow ball with his tennis racket, he was not used to the force required in each hit and was unable to control the direction of the ball. However, by the time they began the third round, Sirius had started to get the hang of it and even managed to keep the match going twice as long. He lost the fourth match as well but succeeded to turn the match around in the fifth round and squarely defeated his father with a bit of struggle.

Sirius laughed despite the sweat dripping from his brow. The last time he had struggled so much to win was back in the Academy during his graduation test where he had fought Uchiha Itachi. It was, honestly, rather refreshing. He had missed this feeling of adrenaline coursing through him.

"I win!" he shouted triumphantly.

That was when he heard clapping off to the side.

Both males turned around simultaneously to see Aria standing beside the court and clapping for them.

"A good match. If I did not know any better, I would have thought Siri was a professional player," Aria praised with a proud smile.

"I don't regret," Sirius said simply.

His parents smiled at him, but they did not truly know what those words meant.

Cairn knew.

Sirius did not regret coming here and becoming the Ebon couple's son.

Cairn smiled while shaking his head and commenting in English, "How sappy of you, Sirius."

Suppressing his urge to roll his eyes, Sirius replied in sign language behind his back, "As if. Anyway, don't call me that."

"Then Simeon," Cairn corrected with a snicker — the teenage boy had taught him the language after much suffering on both their parts.

Sirius almost scowled at the kitsune's audacity. The only people who knew him as Simeon were his Oxford University year mates. Either way, he did not like being referred to by either name. For Sirius, it was because he did not like the thought of others knowing his name — though it partly was because of the existence of the creatures that killed people whose names they knew. Even if he would not die, he did not like the thought that his name could be written on the notebooks of those hideous creatures.

"Call me Es," Sirius signed back forcefully.

"Call me C," Cairn replied mockingly.

Sirius' eye twitched.

"Don't like the name I gave you?" Sirius signed the question threateningly.

Cairn paled a little, backing away with his hands raised in surrender.

"Fine," he relented while moving backwards, "I'll call you Es-sama."

Sirius fought the urge to roll his eyes once more.

The kitsune was insufferable sometimes.

That was when Vince spoke once more, "Why don't you join the Tennis England Junior Cup?"

Sirius stared at his father in betrayal.

He had only just won the match. Did his father want to force him to go through with this? He did not think it would be interesting to participate in the England Junior Cup. It sounded like an utter chore, to be honest.

When his mother made her thoughts known on the matter, however, Sirius knew that his fate was sealed.

Though Sirius could refuse Aria, he always felt bad doing so.

The blue-eyed woman had said, "That's a great idea! You'll make it for the preliminaries if you sign up straight away!"

Sirius sighed.

Troublesome woman, he thought, unwittingly causing a certain snoozing spiky ponytailed boy in another world to sneeze.

💣

Sirius stayed put in his seat even when his father opened the door on the passenger side.

Vince spoke lowly, "Siri, we've been through this."

"Why can't I wear my sash?" Sirius protested.

"We agreed on this before," Vince reminded. "As long as you join as Es, you will obediently take off that blindfold."

Sirius scowled at his father's words but got off the car anyway.

As soon as he stepped into the light, he felt his jaw drop.

"Watari?" he whispered to himself in disbelief.

Before Vince could figure out what was going on, Sirius was gone.

He had seen Watari and was determined to find the man.

Sirius managed to reach the side of the man whose hair had mostly turned grey at this point.

It was undoubtedly him.

"Quillsh Wammy," Sirius whispered up into the man's ear.

When Watari turned to face him with his eyes a little wider than usual but his usual congenial smile in place, Sirius grinned triumphantly.

"I did my homework, see?" the blond said cheekily while taking a step back.

Watari laughed.

"I have heard, Es," Watari responded warmly.

"It's good to see you again, Watari," Sirius greeted cheerily.

"You too," Watari said.

"Why are you here?" Sirius asked curiously.

"I have accompanied someone here," Watari replied simply.

"Is it L?" Sirius, ever perceptive, guessed immediately.

Watari only chuckled in response, but Sirius had known the man long enough to recognise that as an affirmative.

"I see," Sirius murmured, now thrilled about the matches ahead of him.

"I take that you are here as a participant?" Watari asked expectantly.

Sirius nodded with a sigh, admitting to his former tutor, "Father taught me to play not too long ago and mother made me come."

"You don't sound too disappointed about that, Es," Watari pointed out with a faint smile.

"Indeed. I'm glad I came," Sirius answered with a smirk.

"Excited, are we?" Watari teased in good humour.

"Very much so. I've been hoping to meet your little genius since you first mentioned him to me twelve years ago," Sirius replied sincerely.

Watari smiled fondly down at the blond before him.

"Remembering everything I've ever said, are you?" he spoke rhetorically.

"Always," Sirius informed with a smirk.

"Even the bad parts?" Watari sighed in mock-disappointment.

"Naturally," Sirius replied with mock-seriousness.

"Alright," Watari spoke while shooing the blond off, "you will have to get going now if you want to make it for your matches. You did not win the preliminaries just to be disqualified for being late, now did you?"

"When will I meet him?" Sirius asked, refusing to budge.

Watari rolled his eyes uncharacteristically.

"He is a seeded player, Es. You will see him at the finals."

"Right. That is all the motivation I will need to win then."

Vince caught the blond in a chokehold — the teen had seen it coming but had chosen not to dodge.

"Getting cocky now?" Vince teased.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Never, father."

"Well, we have to get going. Bye, Watari!" Vince called over his shoulder while dragging his son off.

"See you, Watari," Sirius managed to say.

The middle-aged man smiled while waving.

"I look forward to seeing the finals," Watari murmured.

It was the first time the two supreme geniuses that he had taught would meet.

💣

Sirius truly won so easily that he had all the spectators' eyes on him.

He was very motivated to reach the finals and did not even care about what the commentators said about him.

Es was a black horse in the England World Cup. No one had seen him before — academics knew the name of the rising prodigy who had written a few books already as Simeon Noir. Not even his certificates had his true name. No one had even heard of such a player. Even so, it was simply so implausible that he was new to the sport that no one even suggested the possibility.

He had some difficulty in the quarter-finals, being faced against an unorthodox tennis player who had come in second place in the year prior. The fellow's skills were so strange that Sirius took some time getting used to them. It was perhaps his unfamiliarity with the sport that saved him. Sirius did not play by any style himself and instead based his play on taijutsu styles that he was familiar with and kept within the confines of the rules. Though on the surface it made him appear like a pro, they were not even kenjutsu styles and hence were not even optimised for swinging something like a racket around. He managed to win, but with a little more effort than planned.

Finally, Es stood on the court opposite another teenager who had a hunched figure.

"Llyod Simons" was the name that the person had registered himself as.

He had pitch-black hair and deep grey eyes which were attentive and focused as they surveyed his competitor. His skin was pale, almost unhealthily so, and he was slim, almost skinny. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes. The teen was an insomniac, his medical and psychological knowledge informed Sirius.

However, what Es focused on was the red writing above this person's head.

L Lawliet.

An interesting name indeed. Even so, it was proof that the person before him was indeed L. This insomniac teenager was the genius that Watari had been so proud of. Likely, L's mind was nearly as brilliant as Sirius' own.

"I'm S," Sirius introduced himself with a nod.

"You are Watari's..." L murmured in realisation before a competitive glint reached his eyes.

"Let's have a fun match, L," Es spoke with a smirk.

Both readied themselves.

The referee tossed the coin.

Es must have been in luck because it landed on heads, which meant it was L's serve.

Though it could also be said that Sirius was unlucky since the one who got the first serve could control how the game went from there, the person in question was glad for this.

He liked watching things play out first before countering it in the best way possible.

It always entertained him most when he made what may have seemed impossible happen. The reactions that he always got were the most satisfying and, in this situation, it greatly benefitted him. He would lull his opponent into the misconception that they held the upper hand while he familiarised himself with his opponent's playing style. This was how he had always won against his professors at chess — a very long story.

💣

In that match, the unchallenged champion of four years lost to someone that no one knew the identity of.

It was a close match that had reached a deuce before the final victor was determined, but the result was all that mattered to the spectators.

The undefeated Llyod had been beaten by a dark horse by the name of Es.

💣

Sirius bent down next to the other teen who had fallen while trying to catch the last shot which had been all the blond had needed to win the match.

He smiled at the black-haired boy who seemed to be about eighteen years old, like Sirius would be had he not reverted his physical age to that of a baby's thirteen years ago, holding out his hand to help him up.

L stared at the hand that the other had offered for a moment as though unsure what he should do with it before he noticed Watari smile at him encouragingly from the stands. As though that was all the confirmation he needed, L accepted the gesture. He took the proffered hand, letting himself be pulled to his feet by his competitor.

"It was fun," Sirius told the black-haired teen with a chuckle, alluding to their conversation at the start of the match.

L stared at Sirius for a moment before nodding in agreement as he answered quietly, "I had fun too."

Sirius grinned as he suggested, "Let's play again sometime."

L shook his head slowly as he admitted, "This is my last year. Besides, I'm leaving England."

Sirius tilted his head slightly at this information, but his smile did not falter in the least.

"It does not have to be tennis," Sirius told the other boy with a smirk.

L never noticed how his own lips curved into a small smile of his own.

"Very well," L accepted. "I will await that day."

They shook hands and separated, heading toward their respective ways and never looking back.

Their words hung between them, a silent promise to meet again linking the two geniuses.

Watari tipped his hat in the direction of the Ebon father and son before leaving to receive his ward.

💣

Sirius read a news report about how an impossible case was solved by a certain young rising detective and smiled.

"Father," Sirius vocalised his thoughts, "I want to be a detective."

Both parents choked on their food.

Why oh why did their son so enjoy announcing these things at breakfast?

Aria could not help but think this ruefully.