The gang took a detour to Kid's home, but couldn't help but cross paths with the DWMA first. As they wandered the streets and came into view of the academy, Salix suddenly stopped in her tracks. The building towered above them by several stories, and it's candles flickered and swayed, casting light to be led by the adolescent warriors attending. The academy-bound girl gazed up at the splendorous gothic building, and excitement flooded her veins.

"Wow! Look at this place! It's more extravagant then I imagined!". Salix rushed up the steps. Once she reached the top, she gave a twirl, taking it all in. She stopped and clasped her hands together in front of her chin. "I absolutely adore the architecture. It's beautiful. I can't wait for my first day at school." She turns to the group. "Where do I go to get registered?".

Liz and Party gave each other a confused look before the elder sighed. "Hold your horses girl. You can't go get registered looking like that". Kid took a step forward and gave an agreement. "She's right. No offense, but you look filthy". Kid truly hoped he didn't offend Salix, but she gave a look that said Haha, yeah I know and scratched her scalp. Kid, now confident, continued his assessment. "You have dirt peppered all over you. You even have a smudge on your cheek, or perhaps that is a bruise. You're dressed in a shirt that is obviously too big for you and your bottoms are raggedy. Not to mention that you aren't wearing any shoes." He pointed out each and every flaw to her.

Salix gave a forced smile and raised one eyebrow. "You don't hold back, do ya?". Kid ignored this remark and continued on. "Although, there is one thing I have been meaning to ask you." He took a few steps closer to Salix and he leaned over, his face mere inches away from hers. He gazed down towards her woah woah WOAH. What's this guy doing!? Salix face went crimson red. "Excuse you! What are you looking at?!". Kid, unfazed, replied, "I'm studying your necklace".

Salix instantly put a hand to her clavicle, shielding her necklace from his gaze and suddenly very defensive. "It was my mother's. Why are you so interested in it?". She turned her body away to the side as if she feared one of them would snatch it. Kid was baffled at her sudden coldness. He could tell that this item was very important to her. He couldn't know the pain of losing your mother. He grew up without one. He reassured her, "I'm not going to take it. I was just wondering what a homeless person was doing with fine jewelry." Salix frowned.

"I'm sorry. It does seem suspicious huh?"

"Do not worry. I'm sorry if I brought back any bad memories of your family"

"Don't worry about it. . ." Salix looked down at the pavement, both in shame and grief. Kid looked at her. He wished to change the subject so his new friend may not look so gloomy.

"How about this? Liz and Patty will take you to my home to get you freshened up while I get you registered. Then later you can meet my father."

"Will he be alright with all of this? I'm still a stranger after all."

Kid suddenly looked a little worried. "We'll find out. . . You two go ahead. I'll catch up with you."

Liz, Patty, and Salix departed. It was an awkward walk to say the least. Patty made airplane noises as they walked around, but that is not what bothered Salix. It was that there was next to no conversation between her and Liz. There was something about Salix and Liz that just didn't click. Her childish imagination and creativity sparked an interest in Patty, and her appreciation for art and philosophy matched well with Kid's longing for balance and perfection. But with the girly big sister. . .nothing.

They arrived to Gallows Manor. Salix was even more amazed by the mansion than she was with the school, not because it was a painstakingly beautiful piece of architecture (well, it was, but not as much as the school in her opinion), but because she arrived with the knowledge that somebody lives there. Standing outside the door, she craned her head back, eyes wide, and counted the stories by the windows. 1. . .2. . . 3? Was that a third, or was that an attic? Well, whether it has one story or ten, this place was still at least 10,000 square feet, and therefore ginormous. It was a construction of white marble and alabaster brick. And it was breathtaking.

"Wow", Salix gasped, "What ever Kid's dad does, it sure does a lot more than just pay the bills"

Liz was taken aback. "Woah, wait. Did we forget to tell you who Kid's father is?"

Patty came from behind her big sis and put her hands on her shoulder as leverage to jump. Patty chirped, "Kid's talking to him now at the DWMA".

"Is he a teacher or something?"

"Not exactly". Liz sighed. Patty perkily clarified, "He's the headmaster!"

The world stopped. Salix did not seem to comprehend what they were saying at first. She made a move to correct them. "No, Lord Death is the-" and then it hit her. Wait. . . No! It can't be! Could it?

"Are you telling me that Kid is Lord Death's son!?".

Patty cheered, "Yep-o-roony!" Salix was dumbstruck. "Wow. To think that I met a reaper and didn't even know it. He wasn't what I expected. . .at all"

Liz laughed under her breath. "He wasn't what we expected either when we met him. But you get used to him after a while."

"I know! I expected him to be some spoiled rich brat, I mean, that's what everyone has told me. But he's actually so intelligent and funny! He appreciates art and philosophy. What are the odds, right?". It was a long train ride. Her and Kid had plenty of time to talk.

Patty started to laugh uncontrollably. Over the giggles, Liz thought. Intelligent? Funny? Fun to laugh at, not laugh with. Kid is a spoiled brat. Liz has said so herself at some point. But how can this girl not see it? "I think you are gravely mistaken", Liz grumbled.

It has been years since Salix has seen a real bathroom. True, she has been in public restrooms and bathed occasionally in library showers, but she can't remember when she last had a resident's lavatory to herself. The sisters had assured her that she could take as long as she needed to to make herself presentable. Liz had left a razor for her to shave her legs and under her arms and also an outfit to change into.

Once Salix was alone, she stripped herself of her clothes and took a moment to stare in the mirror. She stared at the dirty film covering her all too lean form and the light bruise grazing her cheek. She remembered how she would claw though the garbage, looking for scraps to call dinner. She remembered those few days when people would give her enough money to buy some real food, just to have it stolen or eaten too fast she would vomit. She remembered how she got here. She would take rides from complete strangers, sneak into cargo trucks, and participate in street fights to earn money for a train ticket. She has struggled, been outcasted, been beaten, been famished, but she smiled through it all. Then she luckily met the reaper and his weapons. Now, she hopes that when she smiles, it will be from pure joy and not from a feeble attempt to seem strong.

Salix felt pampered in the warm water drizzling down from the shower head. She washed the luxurious shampoo through her short hair twice. Then she conditioned her hair, not once, not twice, but three times. Not until her hair was free of all filth and shined. She bathed and scrubbed her skin until it glowed red from the abuse. It wasn't until she shaved and clipped her nails that she finally started to feel less like an animal struggling for survival and more like a woman being introduced to the world for the first time.

She dressed, emerged from the bathroom and walked down the white-lit hall. She felt the carpet's red hairs slip between her toes as she walked towards the spiral staircase that lead her down to the foyer. The house had a bright minimalist interior with touches of crimson in appropriate places; not something you'd expect from the house of Lord Death, but still very pleasing to the eye. She walked towards the dining room which was towards her left and through the double doors.

That is were Kid and Liz resided. Kid sat in his chair with perfect posture and squared shoulders,looking at his laptop. Meanwhile Liz stood, towering over the table looking at a newspaper. The two took turns looking for part time jobs and cheap apartments for rent.

Kid kept muttering to himself, "That's too expensive. . .that doesn't pay enough. . .I can't see her flipping burgers. . ." Etc. Patty was about to walk into the room herself when she nearly bumped into Salix standing hesitantly at the doors. Patty was quick to question her action (or lack thereof).

"Hey! Why aren't you going inside?". Not only Salix, but those who have been separated by the concrete walls froze at Patty's voluble voice breaking the tranquil silence. Salix suddenly became aware of the attention of the people in the other room and blushed furiously. She turned to Patty.

"Sh Sh Sh! Patty!", she whispered, "They are probably busy. We don't want to disturb-". The door opened. Salix paled. Kid looked out, unamused. Well. . .this is awkward.

Salix turned to the doorway, looking ashamed. She wasn't eavesdropping or anything of the sort, she was just shy about showing them how she looked. Did she look silly? Did she look ugly? She certainly didn't look like herself anymore. Little did she know that under the rags and filth, she was truly astonishing. And boy, were Kid and Liz astonished. Liz straightened at her spot by the table and Kid gave a small smile.

"You clean up well", he spoke.

Patty squealed, "I know right? She's so pretty!". Her sister was quick to follow with a "Yeah, you look great". Salix blushed deeply and rung her hands, not knowing how to respond. Kid continued to praise her.

"Yes, yes. Absolutely-". Uh oh. Kid's glance at her sock covered feet became an odd stare. His own face started to grow red, but not the pleasant rosiness that filled Salix's cheeks, but that of fury and irritation. He pointed at her toes, and in a passive-aggressive voice he asked, "What. . .are. . .those?". It was at that moment Patty started giggling uncontrollably for some unknown reason. Liz sweatdropped. Salix was about to respond with an innocent, "They're socks Kid", but was cut off by an "Of course they're socks Salix! What I meant was what aren't those!". She parted her lips in confusion.

"Well they aren't a lot of things-"

"Shoes! You aren't wearing shoes!" Kid was stomping his foot.

"The ones Liz gave me were too small-"

"And you still have that bruise on your cheek! Didn't you think to cover it up?" he stomped his foot harder.

"I don't have any-"

"And what about that-!"

"SHUT UP". The sheer force and volume of her words knocked Kid down to the ground. Salix just couldn't take the criticism anymore. "I know I'm asymmetrical! I know I'm imperfect, but it doesn't matter!"

"It does matter! Perfection and symmetry is everything!" He shouted. The two shouted over each other while the sisters stood helplessly by. Patty has finished laughing, and was currently drying her tears while Liz stared blankly at Kid and Salix's comical performance. It went on for about five straight minutes, which doesn't sound like a lot but when one is actually supposed to sit through five minutes of yelling, debating, and sarcasm, one becomes exasperated. Or amused if you're Patty.

Salix audibly added, "You were just complimenting me a second ago, how did it turn into this?"

Kid leaned forward, hands on his hips. "A certain lady, who claims to appreciate perfection, hasn't even bothered to achieve it herself. How can you claim to adore symmetry when you yourself aren't symmetrical?".

Salix paused, and put her hands to her face. Her shoulders started to shake and small gasps and whimpers threatened to escape from her mouth. The spectators looked on in disgust.

"Now you've done it Kid!", Liz called. Patty echoed her. "Yeah now you've done it!". Kid looked at the girl in front of him, ashamed of his actions. This what OCD leads to. It leads to fits and fusses and yelling, but it has never led to somebody crying (other than Kid himself). He reached his hand out to put his hand on her shoulder, but she lightly swatted it away with her left hand, revealing half of her face.

She wasn't crying.

She looked at him with a triumphant smile. Why on earth was she smiling? Wasn't she just crying a moment ago? "You seriously thought I would cry over what someone thought about me?", she questioned heartily. YES. YES HE DID. "But it could seriously offend someone else. Your lack of courtesy could lead to emotional spills and arguments. Of course, I'm not one for either of those, so I simply demonstrated what could have happened".

And queue the blinding silence.

.

.

.

Even the narrator doesn't have much to say to this. Also the narrator refers to herself in third person. She wasn't crying. She was smiling. She was laughing. What the duck?! Kid felt the same as the narrator.

"Are you kidding!? You were only pretending to cry?", Kid screeched.

Liz monotonously added, "She also mentioned not being one to fight, so does that mean she was faking that too?"

"Yeah! Were you faking that too?", Patty chimed.

Salix gave a knowing smirk and chuckle. Kid used both his hands to scratch his head and ruffle his hair in irritation. He fumed and yelled out some unintelligible nonsense in his attempt to vent his frustration. Salix just laughed. She laughed at the absurdity of it all. How could Kid accuse her of such things when he wasn't symmetrical either? She was wise, however, to take the topic of the three stripes in his hair lightly.

"Listen. Kid, hun, it's okay to like perfection and symmetry. It's a beautiful thing. You can be obsessed with it, but you can't be obsessed of its absence".

"You don't understand. . ."

Her voice softened. "Yes. I do". Kid glared back at her, stubborn with his decision that this girl was foolish to think she could discern him. Salix didn't notice, however. She looked up at the ceiling, as if searching for answers up towards the light.

"When I was younger", she reminisced, "I hated this world. I would think to myself, 'Gee, when I'm older, I'm going to fix this place. There will be no more crime or sadness. Just wait and see'. But I had to accept the fact that good couldn't exist without bad. The world couldn't be flawless. It just didn't work that way. So since then, I didn't strive to create perfection, but balance and justness". She looked back at Kid. "You're like the world in a way. You strive towards perfection, but the universe needs a way to make you balanced, so it makes your obsession your downfall. If you really want to be perfect, let yourself have flaws."

Kid squinted his eyes. "Oh so this is about me now?". Salix nodded.

Kid sighed. "But. . .who would want such garbage as myself?" He was no longer furious, but distraught. Liz was very impressed with Kid's behavior. It wasn't like him to act this calm while discussing his infatuation. And yes, when it concerns Kid, this is indeed calm. He has been stubborn throughout most of the conversation (a very interesting one at that), but at that very moment he was miraculously willing to listen to the opinion of another person.

"Well, it's obvious that Liz and Patty want and appreciate you". Speak of the devil. She says this, but her eyes keep shifting from Kid to something in the dining room. She was sincere in what she said, do not be mistaken. She was merely interested in what she found on the easel. Kid took notice.

"What are you looking at?", he asked as he glanced behind him.

"I'm sorry", she said flustered. "I got distracted by that graphite drawing". She looked at a picture of Liz, guidelines for the face still there and extra detail applied to the eyebrows. "I'm pretty sure I have ADD" she added.

"I have ADHD!" Patty cheered. Neither were paying attention to her though. Kid gestured towards that drawing and said, "That's just a blueprint I drew".

Saxil didn't see how a picture of a face qualified as a blueprint, but that didn't distract her from her amazement.

"You drew that?". She just assumed they hired someone to do portraits and had to leave before it was finished. Kid just saw the floor, looking back on his previous conversation and still unhappy.

"You've gotta be kidding me", Salix screeched. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Da Vinci drew this!". That was an exaggeration of course, but she truly did believe that his drawing was realistic. It seemed alive to her. When Kid drew Liz three years ago, he exaggerated and put the lines of Liz's face in the wrong places and made her eyes too wide horizontally. Kid's artistry has improved greatly and it shows. It felt as if Liz would emerge from the picture and take its model's place.

"This is what I mean! Before I thought you were only smart and funny, and you can get Liz to back me up, but now I see you're also talented". Kid blushed and rubbed behind his head, not used the rush of compliments Salix gave out freely.

Patty decided to join in on the encouraging conversation. "You should see him in a fight Salix! It's epic!".

Liz followed suit. "Not to mention he saved Patty and I from the streets"

"See?". Kid's low self-esteem was beyond Salix's comprehension. "Humorous, intelligent, gifted, artistic, generous. . .I know all this and I met you today. I can only imagine how much of a great person you'll seem to me after a year. You seem like a really well-rounded person. And I'm sure you have flaws, but you have so many good qualities to make up for that. You'd be perfectly balanced if you would stop beating yourself up. Why would you try to improve what's already pretty incredible?"

Kid looked down.

His face was covered in the shadows casted by his bangs.

He lifted his hand. . .

. . .and put in on Salix's shoulder.

". . .Thank you"

Salix smiled. "How about this?", she hummed. "You'll teach me how to draw like that", she pointed at the drawing, "and I'll try to teach you to keep things in balance. Deal?"

". . .Deal"