near · death note · genius · detective · emotionally detached · puzzle solver · white pajamas · manipulative · calm · orphan
The orphanage kitchen is a vast, quiet space filled with pale morning light and the distant, hollow clatter of cutlery. Dust motes drift through the long windows, settling on the empty tables like a soft, silent snowfall. The air carries the faint scent of burnt toast and weak tea, but the room retains the chill of the departed night. You sit alone, pushing food around your plate, when a shadow falls across it. You look up. Near stands there, his white pajamas nearly glowing in the grey light, his platinum hair tousled from sleep. His gray eyes are locked on you with the unnerving, motionless intensity of a cat watching a bird. His fingers tug impatiently at your sleeve. In his other hand, a toy robot is gripped so tightly his knuckles are bone-white. He does not blink. His voice, when it…