Dear Diary,
I'm in class, so i'm writing in you to look like i'm actually taking notes.
So there we were, walking down a street in Death City, arguing over where this 'Gallow's Mansion' was.
I stared at the address, then the map, then back to the address. "I am so confused," I groaned.
"That's because your map reading skills suck," Yang pointed out, walking beside me, scanning the houses. "There sure are a lot of white houses around here."
My head began to throb. But it was quickly gone.
"Um, I think I found it," Yang said, looking up at a house.
"I doubt it," I said, glaring at her. Then I saw the house. "Oh." Yeah, pretty sure that was Gallow's Mansion. The house was huge, with large red doors and candles on the sides of the walkway. The trees were all dead, with nooses hanging from their branches. The yard was green grass, but it had a dead look to it. It was Kid's perfect house. "Okay, maybe it is," I said, walking through the pointed gates and up to the large doors. "But we can never be certain!" I knocked on the door, only to be smacked in the face and sent flying into the yard by Patti-san.
"Hi Yangy-chan!" she yelled at my partner. "Wheres Kiachi-chan?"
Kid walked up beside her, scanning the yard. When he saw me, he yelled, "I told you to stop doing that, Patti!" He ran over and looked at me, obviously worried. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah," I said, sitting up and rubbing my head. "Just think my head is cracked."
"I'm so sorry about that," he said, helping me to stand up. "Patti acts more childish than her age."
"I noticed," I said with a smile. He smiled back.
"At least your alright." Kid didn't let go of my hand, and instead led me inside the mansion. "Shall I show you around?"
"Sure!" I said with a smile. "Maybe then I won't get lost in six months." Kid chuckled.
"That would be nice for the both of us."
"Wow," I said, looking around at the huge house. It looked like I'd walked into a ballroom, converted into a living room. Paintings hung the walls perfectly, symmetrically. A staircase was in the center of the room, going up and splitting at the second floor to two different hallways. "The whole house is beautiful, and," I smiled at him, "symmetrical."
Kid smiled happily, I could tell he was trying to keep his cool. "Thank you, it takes a lot of work to maintain."
I don't know how, but I knew him so well, after less than a day with him.
"Isn't your room down this hallway?" I asked, looking down a hallway with a lot of doors, just like any other hallway.
Kid looked shocked. "Yes, how did you know?"
"Uh," I said, trying to figure out an explanation, because I didn't know how I knew or why I would know because I know nothing as Yang tells me. "It was… the eighth hallway?"
Kid blinked, then said, "I suppose that would make sense." He looked down the hallway. "The girls rooms are also down that way. Most of the mansion is made up of empty guest rooms, living rooms we rarely use, and a handful of dining rooms."
"It sounds so empty," I said, my sympathies finding their way to the handsome reaper.
"I have the girls," Kid said flatly. "I've learned how to live alone."
I was quiet, there wasn't really anything to say.
"Of corse," he said, with a small smile down at me, "I'll have to adjust again soon."
I smiled encouragingly at him. "You won't even know i'm here!" I promised.
"I'll believe it when I see it," Kid chuckled.
I hugged him. I was about three inches smaller than him, and my head fit comfortably in the crook of his neck.
I must say, I don't think anyone has ever touched him like this. No one ever really took the time to just… love on him. Touch seemed so foreign to him, even though this was the grim reaper who traveled the world in his father's name to collect the souls of the world. What must he think? Did he even want someone to love him?
I pulled away. "Is something wrong?" I asked him, seeing as he hadn't hugged me back.
Kid just looked shocked. He was just quiet.
"Kid?" I asked. "Did no one ever really just hug you?" Kid just looked ashamed, turning his head from me.
"No."
I was quiet, then I wrapped my arms around him again. "I'm sorry."
After a minute, I felt him put his hand on my head, as he really wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. I seriously thought everyone knew how to hug. I mean, do I have to write up a 'How to Hug' paper? You wrap your arms around the person and they do it back. I'm pretty sure its more complicated to put together his suit than to hug someone.
I looked up at him. He was looking a bit scared, unsure of himself.
"Just wrap your arms around me," I told him gently. I smiled at him. "It's called a 'hug'."
Kid was still for a moment, then he complied, resting his chin on top of my head, while I rested my head on his shoulder.
And that was his first hug.
Kid's heart was fluttering in his chest. I could hear it. A gentle thumping. I'm sure mine was doing the same thing. Honestly, it had been a long time since someone had loved on me. Yang was claustrophobic, and didn't like people touching her. I loved on her, I mean, she was like a sister to me. But she rarely ever hugged me back. The feeling of loving someone was just coming back to me. It was like I hadn't walked in years, and I was having to learn again. And Lord knows, I wasn't taking it a step at a time. I was practically jumping over rivers, trying to learn this again.
When I pulled away, he had a shy, unsure smile on his face.
"Now, I suppose we should go see if dinners ready," I said with a grin. I kissed his cheek, then ran down the hallway like a child, feeling happy and free.
I took the stairs two or three at a time. I remember once Yang said skipping the last step was for luck, and I skipped that and the step before it. I skidded into the kitchen. "Syrup?" I asked happily, seeing Liz-san and Patti-san.
"'Syrup'?" Liz-san asked, looking confused.
"She says 'syrup' instead of 'sup'," Yang explained to her.
Kid walked in behind me, looking as serious as ever. "Is dinner ready?" he asked his weapons.
"Yeah," Liz-san said, sitting down at the table.
Kid walked over and sat at the end of the table. I walked over and sat at his right, with Yang by my side. Liz-san and Patti-san sat across from us.
"Do you sit there for symmetry?" I asked Kid with a small smile on my face.
"Yes," he said, quite seriously. "Symmetry is key, everything must be aesthetically pleasing."
"Oh God," Liz-san whined. "Not this again!"
"Yeah!" Patti-san said, throwing a napkin in Kid's face. "You gotta be nice for your fiance!"
Kid and I exchanged a glance, a blush brightening our cheeks.
"Speaking of which," Liz-san said with a wink, "Didn't you want to give her something."
I slid back into my seat. "I just came for dinner," I muttered.
"Its Valentine's Day though," Yang fake whined.
Kid stood up, straightening the front of his jacket. "Excuse me for a minute," he said politely before leaving the room.
"Oh," Liz-san said, looking at me and Yang. "I almost forgot. Please just call me and Patty by our names, no endings needed."
"Alright, Liz," I said with a smile. I grabbed a fork. There was chicken with gravy, ham, mashed potatoes, and corn, some of my favorite things. "Thank you for supper!" I exclaimed, before trying my best to neatly cut my chicken like a lady, which, trust me, was not an easy task for me.
"Anytime!" Liz said happily, as everyone else began eating.
"My gods, Liz," I exclaimed after swallowing, "Your cooking is amazing."
"I agree," Yang chimed in.
"Thank you!" Liz said happily. "I used to work in a fine restaurant, so I picked up some cooking skills from there."
"Sisters the best!" Patti cheered, throwing her fists in the air.
"Thank you, Patti," Liz said with a smile.
Kid finally came back into the room, sat down, and began eating his food without a word.
It was quiet, then Patti said, "Hey, isn't Black*Star and Tsubaki planning on taking us all to Tsubaki's parent's beach house?"
"Yeah, I think so Patti," Liz said. "It's supposed to be really nice."
"Kiachi and Yang did a good job shooting Black*Star today!" Patti said, laughing.
"Yeah!" Liz said, laughing. "He deserved it too! He almost screamed out, 'Kid, you can do better than that!' Tsubaki muffled him just in time."
Both Kid and I blushed furiously. We just tried focusing on our food.
"That was probably one of our best shots," Yang said. "Azura gave us some pointers when we were in West Asia, so we had a good teacher."
"Impressive," Liz said. "We could have used you in the battle of the Kiishin."
"Kiachi was severely injured before the battle by a group of rowdy kiishin eggs, so we couldn't participate," Yang explained.
"That sucks," Liz said. "What do you guys do in your freetime?"
"I like playing the piano," I chimed in. "Guitar too, though I had to sell both of mine when we started traveling. I sing a bit, though I'm really not good. Drawing too! Cats are my favorite to draw."
"Wow," Liz said. "What about you, Yang?"
"Read," Yang said flatly.
I set my fork down on my empty plate. "Thank you for the meal," I said with a slight bow.
"You are the honored guest," Liz said.
"Oh, please don't," Kid begged Liz, already knowing what she was going to do.
"Kid revolved the whole night trying to make everything perfect for you," Liz said, smirking at the furiously red reaper.
"Liz," Kid warned.
"He doesn't want to admit it," Liz said, dragging on, "But he really has fallen fo-"
"Liz!" Kid exploded, slamming his silverware down so hard on his plate that the plate completely cracked. A deathly silence settled over the room.
After a minute, I stood up. "Excuse me please, I'm going to use the restroom," I said quietly, plastering a fake smile onto my face. I took the opportunity to leave the room.
Thats when I saw it. Tucked away into the living room/office just a door before the restroom was a piano.
I knew I shouldn't have, but I pushed my way into the office and sat down at the bench. I let my fingers brush the keys, then I pushed down onto middle C. I started playing a song that I thought could have been my theme song. It was White Houses by Vanessa Carlton.
Crashed on the floor when I moved in
This little bungalow with some strange new friends
Stay up too late, and I'm too thin
We promised each other it's till the end
Now I was really comfortable with this, singing out with my voice that was complimented by some, hated by others.
Now were spinning empty bottles
Its the five of us
With pretty eyed boys girls die to trust
I can't resist the day,
No I can't resist the day
Jenny screams out and its no pose
Cause when she dances she goes and goes
Beer through the nose on an inside joke
And I'm so excited I haven't spoken
Suddenly, I totally, completely lost myself in the music, not even remembering where I was. I didn't even realize I was singing or playing. The song meant so much to me. The song talked about how she lost her "White Houses", or innocence. And I felt like I'd already lost that, even if I was still clean and pure.
The song ended so soon, I didn't realize it was done. I just sat at the piano, my fingers twitching over the keys, like they were supposed to play something more.
I heard a creak behind me. I looked around to see Kid standing in the doorway. "You're really talented," he said, walking up to me.
"Thank you," I said with a blush, looking down at the ground.
Kid looked down at me, while I stared at the piano.
Then, "Play me something more." I looked down at the keys, trying to figure out what to play now. Then my fingers moved on their own, pulling words from my throat.
Just a day just an ordinary day
Just trying to get by
Just a boy just an ordinary boy
But he was looking to the sky
I sat there, playing and singing to this new figure in my life, who I know will have a powerful impact on my life. I hadn't figured out by then, how he could have loved me. I hadn't figured out why I loved him, how I did. I knew there was something so much more, but I was too caught up in this beautiful moment to care. I just wanted to sing to him, to show him something that most people wouldn't be able to see. Most people would just see me playing the piano. He would see me really playing the piano.
And sadly, I had to pull away when this song ended.
Kid reached in front of me, and shut the piano lid. Then he rested his chin on top of my head. I closed my eyes, feeling a wild bliss come over me, as my heart rocketed. He smelled like fresh linen and some type of cologne, and the scent filled my nostrils, the memory being stored in my mind. The sound of his heart beat was more comforting than the sound of the rain on my rooftop. It sounded more like a lullaby than any I've heard. His arms wrapped around me, something I used to think of as impossible, became a heavenly reality.
My dear book, I've spent so many years watching and reading romance stories, reading things I used to say didn't happen. Yang and I talked about it all the time. For years, I kneeled beside my bed, just praying to God that I'd be so lucky as to have the best romance story of the world. Not for the fact of fame or anything, just for myself. I wanted someone to be mine, and someone to call at midnight, just so that they'd be the first to say 'I love you' that day. I told myself numerous times that I was just being a silly child, that I shouldn't pray for fantasies I knew wouldn't happen. But, I just found out, they did.
Part of me felt like I'd played this all before.
I heard Liz speaking down the hallway, her voice growing louder, and Kid straightened up, letting his hands rest on my shoulders as we looked towards the door.
"…and Tsubaki said there was a volleyball court," was all we heard.
I let out a scream, grabbing onto my head, as Kid grabbed onto his. A tremendous pain pulsed through our heads. I fell backwards with the piano bench, and Kid looked down at me, his eyes wide and scared.
Then it went black.
I blinked open my eyes, a bright light shining into them. A tremendous heat beat on me, it was so hot. I felt something soft under me. I looked down, digging my hand into it to pull it up. "Sand?" I said, confused as the tiny grains slipped through my fingers.
I looked a bit farther from me, and saw Kid struggling to sit up. "Kid!" I said, crawling over to him.
"Kiachi," he said, squinting at me, letting his eyes adjust to the light. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah," I said, "But where are we?"
The sound of people and water entered our ears as we looked around. To our right was a large expanse of water, most likely an ocean. There was a volleyball court with a full-blown game going on a few feet in front of us to our left.
Kid stood up, then helped me up. We looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.
Suddenly, he began choking on words. "M-m-mom? M-MOM!" He yelled at a passing lady. Her hair was short and black, and her eyes were olive-green. She wore a sundress and glasses. There was a little girl on her left arm, and a little boy on the right.
"Thats me!" Kid exclaimed, pointing at the little boy. I had no doubts. They had the same hair and eyes. The little Kid wore black swim shorts.
"But, Kid," I said, pointing at the little girl, "Thats me."
And sure enough, that was me holding onto the woman's left hand. I had blonde hair down to my shoulders, and it was curly, with bangs. But my eyes were still blue, just lighter. I wore a cute little sundress that was orange with little yellow suns on it. I wore yellow sandals, and it looked like I had a blue swimsuit on under it. "Thats your mom?" I asked him.
"Yeah," Kid said. "She died in a freak accident when I was ten. I lost my memory in the accident."
"But," I said, looking towards him, "I'm with you two."
Kid looked at me, then realized what was happening. "Did you lose your memory?" he asked.
"When I was eight, yeah," I said.
"Thats the same time I lost my memory, with you being two years younger than me." He looked back at Mrs. Death and us. "We knew each other?"
"It looks like we were pretty close," I commented, as I went and began chasing Kid down the beach. He squealed happily, then ran away. Kid headed straight towards me, and before I could move, he ran straight through me, with little me following.
"Kaitlynn! Kid!" Mrs. Death called out, laughing.
"Kaitlynn?" Kid asked, turning towards me. "Did that used to be your first name?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," I said, watching our younger selves.
Kid was quiet, then watched his younger self get chased by younger me.
"I wonder how we both got stuck in the same memory," I murmured.
Suddenly, everything began to dim. I blinked my eyes open to see the office again. I felt a tremendous pain in my head. Yang stood over me, yelling at me to wake up.
"Ok ok, I'm up," I said groggily, sitting up while holding my head.
Kid was sitting up next to me, also holding his head. We exchanged a glance, silently agreeing not to tell.
"There was some noise," Kid said, trying to reassure his worried weapons. "It might have just been a passing pre-kiishin."
"Alright," Liz said, still looking worried.
Patti was just playing random keys on the keyboard.
Kid stood up, then helped me up.
I sighed, closing my eyes.
"Are you alright?" Kid asked, pulling me close.
And I kid you not, I could hear Liz and Patti's jaw drop. Yang, as usual, didn't care, and just watched the scene pull itself out.
"My head just hurts." I pulled away and began walking towards the door. "We should probably head home, I'll be fine after some sleep, alright?"
"I suppose," Kid said, his headache probably gone. Darn him and his shinigami-ness. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, alright? Call me if you need anything."
"Alright," I said, giving him a smile. "I'll see you." I turned and walked out, giving a two fingered salute while walking away. "Love ya!"
As we walked out of the house, I heard squealing. Yang raised her eyebrows at me. "Well then," she said. "Didn't realize you two were really that close."
I blushed. "I didn't either," I admitted. "It's like we unconsciously click."
"Thats interesting, it's like love at first sight really exists."
"Maybe," I said with a grin.
I don't know why I wrote in you that night. I fell asleep for a bit, then I just couldn't go back. So whatever.
Well, looks like class still won't be over for a bit, so I'll write about what happened yesterday. I really hope I can catch up soon. But I'll move onto another entry, just to give you a break between pages.
