Danny blinked into consciousness. He was lying on his back on a mattress and had no idea where he was. Then he remembered what had transpired, and sat bolt upright. Was he in prison? Was he injured in any way? He felt… lighter, somehow, but couldn't find the words to describe why. Otherwise, he felt sore, but unharmed.
"Ah, so you're awake," a jolly-sounding voice greeted him. "Welcome, ghost boy, to Death City!"
Danny looked up to see a shockingly odd figure staring down at him. He appeared to be something like a bizarre white skeleton wearing spiky black robes and a hat. Although Danny couldn't tell what his expression would have been had he had one, his voice seemed kind enough. "What happened? Why am I here? Where's… that Death the Kid boy?"
The skeleton figure laughed. "I'm Shinigami, the head of Death City. Don't worry about my son. He tends to be melodramatic, and overreacts to things sometimes."
"That's… your son?" Danny had to refrain from making a rude comment about the incongruity of that image. "But…he tried to kill me!"
Shinigami laughed. "He was merely under the impression that you were a malicious spirit attacking our city, and attacking you was a precaution."
Danny was a little confused. "Well, sort of…he was going to let me off, but then he went on some rant about symmetry and how perfection was the most important thing in the world…"
More laughter. "I'm sorry for the trouble, but that's just his character. He brought me to you so I could determine whether or not your soul was evil, and if he should dispose of you. It's obvious you're just a little lost and confused, though, so you're off the hook, and I made sure to give you proper protection in the city from now on."
Relieved, Danny stood up. "Thank you so much." Then, after an awkward silence, "Do you mind if I ask…?"
"Ask away," Shinigami interrupted him. "You're obviously new here and I wouldn't be surprised if you were baffled."
He nodded. "Yeah, I was wondering… so, you guys can see souls…?"
"With some practice, anyone can sense the souls of others," Shinigami replied. "Even you could someday. Which nicely segues to my next point of discussion. Since you do not seem to know anything about Death City, I have assigned Kid to be your escort for the time being. He can take you to Shibusen, a school where he is currently enrolled, along with other kids of around your age, and explain how it works to you so you can participate in the city's activities during your visit."
Unable to decipher any of that, Danny asked helplessly, "…Kid's going to be my escort…?"
To Danny, Shinigami's response made it sound like he was grinning. "He won't attack you again, I promise. Actually, he's waiting for you outside now, in the lobby. Oh, but first – I'd suggest going down the hall and taking the first door on the left. There's a spare outfit for you in there, and my son told me that if you did not change into it, he refused to escort you through the city."
"…Okay," Danny responded nervously. Shinigami sounded far more cheerful than Danny himself felt at the moment, but he would have to trust Kid's father for the time being. "Thank you so much," he added. "I think without you I'd be dead somewhere right now."
Shinigami chuckled. "Actually, you'd probably be… well, Kid had other plans. But you're very welcome! Tata!"
Other plans? Danny mentally cringed as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Shaking it off, he traversed the hallway until he came to the room Shinigami had told him about. When he opened the door, he found that the room was empty save for a bed, a white suit-like uniform, and a mirror. While walking past the mirror in order to pick up the clothes from the bed, Danny gasped as he glimpsed his reflection, and swiveled around violently to face it. No wonder he felt lighter – his hair had been cut and styled to lay flat on both equal-length sides.
"Apparently he did fix my hair after all," Danny muttered to himself. "Well, this is weird." He then proceeded to put on the uniform that Kid had set out for him, despite that it made him feel extremely stiff. However, being stuck in his human form still made him feel rather vulnerable, so he morphed, experiencing yet another surprise when the white suit changed to black along with the transformation. "…This is weird," he repeated.
Danny left the room and proceeded to poke around the mansion until he found the lobby where Kid was. The absolute symmetry of the place was unnerving, and he found himself shying away from walls and furniture in fear that he'd brush against something and it would move a millimeter to the right or left.
Eventually, he found the front door, as well as Kid himself, who was sitting motionlessly in the center of a sofa with his arms resting on his evenly-parted legs. On either side of him were two blonde girls in cowboy hats which Danny presumed to be the guns from the day before. One was staring into a handheld mirror looking discontent with something, while the other was drawing miscellaneous shapes in the air with her finger and occasionally giggling. When Kid saw Danny, he stood up gracefully, and both girls stood up in unison a second later, the long-haired one closing her mirror with a loud snap.
"Greetings," Kid stated, holding out his hand for Danny to take. "I apologize for the misunderstanding earlier. You will be happy to know that I think your appearance is much improved today. I see you are in your inhuman form again, which means you have probably rested quite enough. Now, come, or we will be even later to school than we are now."
What a non-apology, Danny grumbled in his head. To Kid, he asked, "Why, how late are we now?"
"An hour and a half," Kid replied emotionlessly.
"Oh, sorry about that," Danny said. "You must have been waiting for me to wake up…"
"Actually, I was busy straightening a painting in one of the guest rooms. That on its own took a little more than an hour in itself. It was skewed almost an inch to the right, you see. You'll be pleased to know that it looks much better now." Kid nodded as the long-haired twin rolled her eyes next to him. "Now, come with me, and you can pay everyone a visit Shibusen."
Dumbfounded, Danny could only comply.
"Don't worry," Liz said to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you think Kid is weird, just wait until you meet the rest of them."
Danny glanced up at her. "And this is supposed to make me feel better how?"
