For this chapter: Purity Ring – Dust Hymn
\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/
Chapter 4: Helplessness (Attacked)
Kid goes skateboarding one day and things violently spiral out of control.
\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/
Grass crunched under Kid's shoes as he made his way through the graveyard, his backpack rattling when he had to jump over small gaps between gravestones and the occasional fallen branch.
With the setting sun and the lack of any funerals, the cemetery was mostly empty. Even the occasional elderly people that, upon encountering the young Grim Reaper, would pat him on the head and give him hard candy were absent as well. Its only inhabitants were a family of crows perched high up on a leafless tree, letting out irregular caws.
Kid walked by the dead trees and graves absentmindedly. He had taken this route many times before. His trip through the graveyard quieter shortcut and as a way for Kid to reach his destination without having to encounter many people, students of a nearby elementary school in particular.
Kid didn't think he had an aversion to interacting with people but sometimes there were things Kid wanted to do without being distracted, while at other times he simply preferred having some privacy.
As Kid approached the graveyard's stone-pillared exit, the sun's last rays began to disappear over the horizon. Being careful not to make any noise, Kid walked by one of the partially-crumbled stone pillars and looked over at his target.
The skatepark.
A small designated area, set at the outer reaches of Death City, bordering Father's soul. Years ago, it had been an empty plot of land, bordered by a few houses in dire need of renovation and, further down from the road that bordered the land, one of Death City's elementary schools.
Last year though, most of the land had been made into an outdoor basketball field, while the rest of it had been repurposed into a skatepark created from salvaged material, apparently being built by students as a part of a school 'beautify our surroundings' program.
The resulting creation was a sprawling mess of ramps, halfpipes, rails and other structures Kid couldn't identify. The first time Kid had visited, he had spent the better part of the day muttering to himself in frustration at the seemingly nonsensical planning. In later visits, he simply tried to ignore the chaotic layout, to moderate success.
A yell distracted Kid from his thoughts, coming from a group of children on the park. Other groups of kids were there as well, spread throughout the structures. 'Peers' was technically the right word for them, the children being around Kid's age and going to the elementary close to the park.
However, the word 'peers' implied that Kid could get along with them but that quickly turned out to be a bad idea. That one time Kid had attempted to talk to them ended up in making one of the children cry. Kid had no idea if this was his fault, and in his defense, the boy was the first one to bring up his sick grandpa. Kid had only explained that it was mostly likely the boy's grandpa would die, the boy had started crying saying he didn't want his grandpa to die, in which point Kid, wanting to reassure the boy, had said that everyone, boy included, would eventually die and everything had gone downhill from there.
Not wanting to make any of his 'peers' cry again, Kid had decided to keep away and use the skatepark during the evening when it was empty.
So, Kid sat by the stone plinth and waited. The sun had already set, so it wouldn't be long now.
A few minutes passed. One of the children called out to her peers that she had to go back home and was soon joined in by others as they left the park. In a couple of more minutes the last group had left the park and the area was empty.
After confirming that the skatepark was indeed devoid of people with his Soul Perception, Kid exited the graveyard and made his way through the park. He sat down next to a half-pipe, unzipped his backpack and took out his skateboard, the one gifted to him by Father roughly a year ago.
Kid smiled at the recollection. Despite how much Kid had liked the skateboard, his first thought had been how this wasn't supposed to be something that he should be doing in the first place. Yet Father had been more than happy, even getting Kid his own skateboard and saying they were happy that Kid had some hobbies. Kid still couldn't understand fully why Father had said that, but surely they knew better, so Kid had been more than happy to indulge his newfound hobby.
So, Kid had been coming here for the past year after his lessons with Father were over. After quickly coming to grips with how a skateboard operated, he had even started trying out tricks. He liked aerial ones the most.
Letting his skateboard besides him, Kid retrieved a few more items from his backpack, a helmet, knee, elbow and wrist pads.
Supposedly, these items were protective gear, their purpose being to prevent injuries. Initially, Kid had thought little of them, knowing that any injuries he did sustain -if he fell off his skateboard in the first place- would be healed instantly. However, from what little Kid knew about 'proper skateboarding' one was supposed to wear these things at all times. There was even a big sign by the park that said he had to wear protective gear. So, even if Kid still saw little purpose in wearing these things, rules were rules.
Kid spent about an hour practicing some basic tricks until he eventually grew bored. Surely he could try out some more advanced things by now. Worst case scenario, he had the protective gear and everything.
Kid walked towards the very edge of the park, bordering Father's soul, where the edges of Death City and the skatepark were marked with a brand-new metal fence.
Two new structures stood adjacent to the fence, a big ramp that lead to a halfpipe. A bright blue gym mattress had been placed at the gap between the two, and already looked like it had been put to use.
Kid tried out the ramp a few times, but, frustratingly enough, always found himself landing on the mattress.
Kid walked to the highest point of the ramp for what felt like the umpteenth time. The young Grim Reaper could surely do this trick.
Maybe his error was a lack of speed; Kid erred on the side of caution when it came to new tricks -it wouldn't do if he broke his skateboard- but frustration welled inside him.
He got up on the skateboard again, leaned over the ramp, and pushed, hard. He went down the ramp faster than he had ever had before, and as the ground began to even and ascend-
Something collided with the wheels, rattling the whole skateboard as it veered off course, towards the side of the fence.
Kid thought about getting off the skateboard, already too close to the fence and likely to drop off the side of the ramp. However, that would mean that the skateboard would fly off, upon which it could either land beyond Death City where Kid couldn't go get it, or maybe it would collide with the edge of the halfpipe and beak -the wheels were dangerously rattling and the wood creaked-
Maybe if Kid made the jump and landed at the halfpipe he could come to a safe stop there, and not risk a broken skateboard-
The edge came up before Kid was ready and he lost his balance, the skateboard taking off the ramp as he and it went flying over the fence.
Kid's side hit the hard ground, raising up a small cloud of dust and sand. The air had been pushed out of his lungs, his sides hurt as if they'd been smashed in with a hammer and he tasted dirt.
Kid gingerly picked himself up. Despite his awkward fall, the only major injury was where he'd landed with his ribs, and even then, the limited pain Kid felt made him think the bones were most likely bruised than cracked. His helmet tilted sideways, the strap having snapped during the fall, and Kid took it off, smoothing down his hair and looked around.
His hand fell helplessly to his side when he took in the desert landscape around him, abruptly cut off from the concrete of Death City, the difference punctuated by a metal fence.
Kid was outside of Death City.
He quickly got to his feet, ready to dart back into Father's soul when a metallic gleam a few feet away from him and opposite of the direction he wanted to go caught his eye.
His skateboard! He couldn't lose it, Father had gotten it for him-
But he was outside Death City, outside Father's soul, and he wasn't supposed to even stray close to the edge-
But Father's gift-!
Kid looked between Father's soul and the banged-up skateboard, turned upside down, its metal wheels uselessly spinning. It would take less than a minute and the skateboard wasn't completely ruined, so Kid could just pick it up and then head back immediately.
As Kid reached down for his skateboard, the ground exploded.
For a second time this day, Kid tasted dirt. At least his skateboard was now safely held in his hands.
A low growl made Kid bring himself up and glare at whatever was making that noise. An animal would have enough self-preservation instincts to not approach a Grim Reaper in the first place, crows being the only exception, but they were smart enough to approach when said Grim Reaper was in good spirits. So, that should make the suspect a human, albeit a rather rude one.
Yet what stared back was anything but human, because Kid knew typical humans did not have a dozen hands with claw-like fingers, stretched green skin, beady eyes and rows of sharp teeth.
Most importantly, typical human souls were not red with scab-like patches.
Kishin Egg. The term echoed in Kid's head like a scream in a cave, as his muscles tensed yet remained still.
Part of him screeched at Kid to lunge at the creature and kill it, yet another one cried that he should head back and that he had already wasted enough precious seconds-
For a moment, Kid stood in place, body torn between following two competing urges.
A moment was all it took.
The creature swiped with its talon-like fingers, and Kid was shoved back from the impact.
He coughed and this time the dirt was mixed with blood.
Kid tried to get up but found himself on his knees, again and again. Looking down, he saw the lower part of his jacket torn and his shirt drenched in blood.
He was hurt. Badly.
The creature let out an animalistic cry and Kid pushed himself away from a swipe at his neck.
And promptly collapsed.
His wounds throbbed. This wasn't like any injury Kid had ever had, and it hurt, it hurt a lot-
The creature lunged again, and Kid barely dodged a set of claws that would have run him through.
The movement only caused more pain, and Kid couldn't help but actually look down at the wound. Surely it would have healed by now?
The experience was surreal, and for a moment Kid felt like he was looking at a stranger's body. There were multiple gashes on his torso the top ones shallower than the rest. The top-most one had caught him on the chest, while the bottom-most wound was on his abdomen-
Kid felt his vision blur and his balance turn precarious. He was losing a lot of blood, he had to bring his free hand to his belly because stuff -solid stuff- almost spilled out of the wound-
The creature lunged once more and Kid fell backwards, barely missing the claws again.
He scrambled upright, legs barely responding as Kid ran to the fence, the screaming creature using half of its hands to drag itself after him.
Kid reached the fence and used it as support to jump over a swipe of claws, quickly finding himself on the ground as the part of the fence he was holding on to was cut off.
Throwing the now-useless metal bars at the creature's face, Kid used the precious few seconds he'd earned trying and failing to cross over the fence, collapsing when the base of the metal bars gave way. His skateboard, which he had been absent-mindedly holding on to, still span its wheels uselessly.
The creature cried in pain as one of the bars embedded itself on its forehead, before following after the Grim Reaper, ripping the metal fence apart. Multiple sets of its hands descended on Kid, and had barely brought up his skateboard as its talons dug into the wood, their edges inches away from Kid's eyes.
The creature swiped its hands, talons retracting, and Kid was left with two useless broken pieces.
Kid looked up as new sets of claws were raised, about to skewer him. Father's soul was so close, all Kid had to do was get up but his body was heavy…
Kid could only bring himself to roll away, and the maneuver turned out less than successful when one of the claws caught him in the upper shoulder. A scream escaped Kid's throat, and they realized they couldn't breathe, the steady thrum of his heart was gone, his innards were showing and the creature loomed above.
An ancient instinct screamed and a heavy haze fell over Kid's mind as he grabbed the creature's wrist and snapped the appendage in two, shards of the sharp bone fractures embedded into his palm like splinters.
The creature reeled back in pain, claws retracting from Kid's frame, while the young Grim Reaper was barely holding on to consciousness. An approaching yell causes his ears to hurt, as once again the Kishin Egg chased after him. Disregarding the wailing creature, Kid's already bloody nails dug into the sand, as he propelled himself forwards, lading on the cold concrete of the skatepark.
Father's Wavelength washed over him. Kid felt his body go fully numb, yet his soul was as sharp as ever, and there was a resonance-
Kid found himself blocked off and he inadvertently choked. Why was the connection blocked off, surely Father-?
Through blurred vision, the creature's frame was split in half. Thick drops of liquid fell on Kid -blood?
A gentle, familiar set of arms, carefully picked him, and Kid's world went black.
\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/
Death couldn't feel fear, but what they were experiencing right now had an uncanny resemblance to it.
They had been worried enough where there was a resonance, something they had last encountered when Kid could be considered a toddler, the resonance a last-ditch attempt at merging back with the main soul. For Kid nowadays, his soul as stable as they came, to initiate one willingly or not and with all the dangers it presented…
Well, Death had been prepared for the worst.
They had been promptly corrected when they found Kid, his son's body bloody and mangled, as a Kishin Egg loomed above it.
Death couldn't exactly recall what their thought process had been then -maybe for the best- as they made quick work of the Kishin Egg and brought Kid to the Academy's hospital wing, but they did recall a worrying faint red haze clouding their vision.
Death shook their head. They could think about such things later. What they had to focus on now was…
Kid was neatly laid on the hospital bed, with a gown and a thin plastic-like blanket on him. His nastiest wound, the wide gash at his belly, had mostly mended itself, with only parts of the wound still being open. Bandages had been liberally applied to keep the wound together for easier healing.
His son's eyes were open, though he quickly averted his gaze.
Death tilted their head. Was he avoiding them? "Kid?"
Kid kept looking away. His hands clutched tightly at the blanket as he brought it up higher, almost covering his face.
Well, this was clearly avoidance and it wouldn't do.
"Kiddo?" Death leaned closer to Kid, making sure to make their frame as small and as harmless as possible. "How you doin'?" They casually asked, forgoing any proper grammar for a nonchalant, jovial tone.
"…Fine," came a muffled response a few moments later.
Death's didn't even need to use their Soul Perception to detect the lie, evident from when Kid tried to get up but flinched before falling back down. "Are you sure?"
"…Hurts. Only a bit though," the Grim Reaper quickly added the last part, before grimacing and hugging the area where the bandages had been applied.
Death couldn't help but frown, an expression that had become somewhat standard ever since they had Kid. Had they given Kid too low of a dose of painkillers? Had the doctor or nurse in charge not considered the Grim Reaper's innate resistance to toxins? Death wouldn't be surprised, the staff here had even tried hooking Kid to a useless heartbeat monitor. Surely if Death looked around the room, they could find a bottle or two-
Kid shirked away from Death's frown, as if it'd been directed at him. "Sorry."
Death abandoned their futile search for painkillers and tilted their head at Kid. "For what?" Kid buried himself under the blanket again, and Death's frame deflated. "Kiddo…"
No response.
"Son." Death's voice settled on a more comfortable low tone. They placed a hand on Kid's shoulder, careful not to disturb the wounds. Kid still didn't meet their gaze but also didn't pull away. It wasn't perfect, but it was progress.
"I'm the one who should be sorry," Death continued. "I should have kept a closer eye on you."
More than that, it was Death's fault they couldn't help in the first place. Their fault they couldn't leave this damned plot of land, and all for a bag of flesh Death couldn't even fully dispose of.
It was all rather… frustrating.
If Kid was convinced by Death's words, he didn't let it show, still avoiding eye contact.
"I broke the skateboard," his son said after a few moments of silence.
Death's first instinct had been to ask 'who cares?', which was quickly squashed it upon realizing Kid cared enough to tell them so. The broken skateboard did matter to Kid and Death's response, though from a place of good-will, would come out as flippant.
Huh, maybe Death was getting better at this whole parenting thing.
Still, there was still the matter of what Death should say. Kid really liked his skateboard. Maybe they could get a replacement? Death doubted that'd improve Kid's mood.
An idea, a brilliant yet silly idea -the best of both worlds really- popped into their mind and Death was glad they didn't have a mouth because they doubted they could hold back a grin.
"In that case..." Death cryptically began and Kid sank further into his bed. No, this reaction wouldn't do…
"Close your eyes~!" Death continued in the friendliest voice they could muster.
Kid gave them a frown but obeyed anyways, not only cling his eyes but also pressing his palms above them for extra closure. Death found the gesture adorable.
Still facing their son -because they knew Kid wouldn't peak, Death summoned their Wavelength, careful to change the menacing cackles into more child-friendly balloon-twisting sounds.
Now, Death hadn't created an object out of their Wavelength for a very long time, not really needing to, but it wasn't something one could forget. Kid needed a skateboard… so Death would make them skateboard!
As Death put the finishing touches on the objects, they leaned back and admired their work. It looked like a skateboard, so it should function like a skateboard. Plus, they had added a few more features, firstly because it was Kid's skateboard, and secondly, because why not?
"You can open your eyes now, Kiddo~"
Kid did as told, his gaze drawn by the object at Death's hands.
He blinked once, then twice. "Is that-?"
"For you!" Death excitedly said as they shoved the skateboard into Kid's hands, unable to contain themselves. Yes, the object had turned out much better than expected, with an elegant black dark green deck and red wheels for contrast. "It can fly too."
That functionality had been a priority of Death's. Jets and wings could be used to fly by function, whereas Death hadn't encountered any normal skateboards with that capability yet.
Kid's eyes widened as he looked at the skateboard from every angle. "How…?"
"It's a construct! An object created from one's Wavelength!" Death explained as Kid's confused look gave way to an awed one. "You'll learn how to make such things as well! And best of all…"
Death gently took hold of Kid's hand and placed it on the tip of the skateboard's deck. "Close your eyes and try to resonate with it!"
Normally, a person would only be able to interact with constructs created by their individual Soul Wavelength, assuming they could create a construct in the first place. In the Grim Reapers' cases though, such restrictions didn't exist, due to the simple fact that their Wavelengths were, at a basic level, completely identical.
Kid did as told, and gasped when the skateboard broke apart into thick tendril-like smoke before being absorbed into his palm.
Death was about to tell them how to summon the construct back when Kid extended his hand and unfurled his fists. His Wavelength, identical yet weaker than Death's, cackled under the skin, eventually coalescing into the skateboard.
The skateboard landed onto Kid's legs, and he quickly picked up the object, mouth slightly agape. Death look at Kid in surprise at the unprompted action. Their son was a fast learner.
"I can summon it," Kid stated, expression somewhat between confusion and joy.
"Sure you can! And that's not all! For example…" Now to think of something simple Kid could do... Well, Death hadn't bothered with the details too much, not knowing what was proper for a skateboard… "You can add decorations, like images and things! The board is awfully bland…"
And this wasn't the only thing Kid would need to work on. If Death had learned anything today, it was that they wouldn't -couldn't- always be by Kid's side. It didn't even have to do with Kid accidentally getting out of their soul's reach; as Kid grew older, he would take up more responsibilities of a Grim Reaper, including hunting Kishin Eggs and Witches.
Death had noticed that one of the Kishin Egg's hands was smashed at the wrist and wondered how much Kid had responsible for it. It was encouraging to know their son could already fight back, but he still needed to be trained…
"And we should start looking for a Weapon partner for you Kiddo~" Death casually mentioned, trying not to sound too urgent. "For practice."
Kid's face briefly fell, eyes darting to his bandages. The expression was gone a moment later, replaced by a blank look as Kid nodded. Then the younger Grim Reaper turned his full attention back to the skateboard, fawning over it as if it was an irreplaceable treasure.
Death mentally patted themselves on the back. Job well done. A+ parenting.
"Um, Father?"
"Yes?"
Kid grabbed the wheels and pulled. They remained stationary, the bolts fused at the metal. "The wheels are supposed to roll."
There was a small pause. "Oh."
Dammit, how could Death have forgotten that the round things were supposed to be wheels? Making the skateboard capable of flight must have taken up too much of their focus…
Oh dear, would Kid misunderstand Death's error that as a hint that they didn't care? Oh no-
"It's on purpose!" Death quickly said, their voice more high-pitched than usual. "Like the designs, it's to help you practice altering not just the looks, but finer details such as smaller parts of its structure!"
Whelp, that was the worst line Death had ever come up with, and that included an utterly thoughtless remark when an acquaintance was giving birth and Death had promised not to attend. Also, it sounded a bit too much like homework, and the skateboard was supposed to be a hobby, one wasn't supposed to study so they could practice their hobby-
There were sparkles in Kid's eyes and he immediately shifted his entire focus to the skateboard. Death doubted waving their hand in front of their son's face would break their concentration.
The older Grim Reaper silent sighed in relief. They really were helpless when it came to such things.
\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/
Feedback is appreciated.