Disclaimer: I do not own anything involved with this series.
She was a pretty little thing.
That was true enough.
He wasn't going to pretend otherwise. And, if asked, he certainly wasn't going to deny that he noticed.
Of course, he wasn't going to be asked anything of the sort. He knew that.
Why would anyone ask him? It was plain enough to see for yourself, and thinking of Kimiko... that way, in a not strictly friendly way... well. Don't reckon that Clay Bailey is going to come up in that train of thought, is he? And thank heavens for that. He didn't want to be involved.
Clay might not have been the brightest fellow around, but he never was a fool.
Say what you want about him, but he knew his shortcomings as well as he knew anything. He could tell you about every fight he'd lost, list a thousand things that he wished he hadn't said. And he knew his strengths, as well. The Bird of Paradise had told him, hadn't she?
Strength, she said.
'Course, it didn't take much of a genius to figure that. He'd known it for as long as he'd been alive, it seemed. Always was the pride of his father – he had brute force like no other. It did come in mighty handy, these days. Had gotten them all out of many a tight spot.
Still, looking back, he had to admit that it was a mite bit disappointing to hear that it was his greatest power.
Seemed a little bit obvious.
Guess not everybody can be a mystery, though. He was a firm believer in straight-forward honesty, anyway. He had nothing to hide.
Mostly.
Really, he was lucky to count her as a friend. Goodness knows that he'd never had a friend quite like her before – someone who'd get all fired up (that way she does, he muses) in his defense. And really, it was only natural that he'd harbor some feelings for her, yeah? She was the only female type around, and as lovely as anything.
But what would a pretty little lady like her want to do with a guy like him? It just didn't make sense.
When she and Rai began going out on dates and what-have-you, he was genuinely happy for them. They made a fine looking couple. And they were both really happy. He would've been a fool to feel at all disappointed, and he knew it.
('Course, he still wasn't the brightest fellow around.)