A/N: More canonverse? :O

xX~100 Eternal Moments~Xx

Set 5 – Unbreakable Chains

78 – Read

By default Vanitas figured all little kids were idiots, but this particular little kid had to be especially idiotic. The first time Vanitas saw him, he was just standing in one of Radiant Garden's streets, staring quizzically at a twitching cluster of Floods. Some old scientist with brittle blond hair had scolded the boy and dragged him away before the Floods had a chance to tear him apart. The second time the boy had perched on a ledge overlooking the Fountain Court – how he got up there, Vanitas had no idea – and had scribbled in a leather-bound notebook as he watched several Tank Topplers down below. The third time – this time – he was wading in the shallows below the Fountains, neck craned up at the glowing purple Prize Pods floating above his head.

Nobody was supposed to find his Prize Pods.

Vanitas was about to drop from the ledge above, but something stopped him: the Prize Pods weren't fleeing. He had specifically designed his treat-producing Unversed to flee after a certain amount of time in the presence of a living creature, so that Vanitas himself would have enough time to harvest their desserts, but no one else would. But these Prize Pods were just floating contentedly, even when the slate-haired boy reached up to touch their spherical bodies. The particular Pod he touched dropped a Nebula Nectar into his hand.

Vanitas couldn't just kill him now. He had to know what this idiotic kid could do to make his Unversed act so… tame.

He dropped from the ledge, landing in the shallows with a splash. The boy didn't seem to notice.

"Hey," Vanitas called, hoping to draw his attention. When all the kid did was collect a couple of Rocket Sodas, Vanitas called louder, "Hey, idiot. I'm talking to you."

He finally turned around, bearing a 'What do you want, idiot?' expression. Vanitas would know. He was quite used to making it himself.

"Get your hands off my Prize Pods," he ordered. At the sound of their master's voice, said Prize Pods began to flutter frantically, some dropping a few extra treats before vanishing into thin air. "Great, there goes my ice cream…"

The little boy crossed his arms, shooting Vanitas a glare through his long bangs. Who did the imp think he was, staring down a scary masked stranger? Didn't his parents teach him better? And parents probably wouldn't let their kid chase after monsters, even ones that gave them candy. Not that Vanitas knew much about parents.

"Look, idiot." Vanitas summoned his keyblade. "I could kill you right now."

The kid didn't look impressed. In fact, he might have even raised an eyebrow; it was hard to tell under his hair.

Vanitas laughed. "What are you going to do, stare me to death?"

The boy shrugged.

"Are you mute or something?"

Another shrug.

"Well you better tell me something about what you did to my Prize Pods, or I'm going to kill you."

Despite Vanitas's threat, the boy reached into the pocket of his white lab coat with no urgency and pulled out a leather-bound notebook. Vanitas briefly glimpsed his Unversed symbol etched into the cover before the boy flipped to a page with a well-drawn diagram of a Prize Pod.

"What is it?" Vanitas asked.

The boy rolled his eyes as if to say, 'You can read, can't you?'

Rolling his eyes in return – not that the boy could see – Vanitas snatched the notebook. Unfortunately he couldn't read the tiny handwriting through the dark tint of his mask. What did he care if some kid saw his face, anyway? After dissolving his mask, he could read the notes the boy had kept:

'These creatures are different from the others. They smell sweet. They don't like it when that red-haired boy chases them. They only appear in the corner by the Fountains, behind the stairs. Through many experiments, I have observed that they are friendly if I approach them slowly and give them something sweet. They drop treats when I pet them. I have learned how to mix them together to create different flavors of ice cream.'

"…You write too fancy for a kid," Vanitas said, glancing up at the boy. Or down. He was really short. It made Vanitas feel tall for once. "What's your name?"

Taking the book back, he flipped to a blank page, took a pencil from his pocket and wrote, 'My name is Ienzo.'

"Alright, Een-zo," Vanitas tried to pronounce, "you're not as dumb a kid as you look. So how about you making me some ice cream?"

After considering a moment, Ienzo wrote, 'As long as you tell me the names of these creatures.'

Eh, it was easier than threatening him.

"Deal."