A/N: I've been gone for too long but inspiration hit me. Well, gently floated down on me at first before pummeling me in the face with the help of a sharp wind. That inspiration is called a snowstorm and the date is April 16. The Hell I live in is called Minnesota.
Once again, I don't own Soul Eater. Wow... it's been awhile since I wrote that...
19: Captivated Olives and La Kama
They Say the Weather is a Phenomenon
"Father?"
"What is it, Kiddo?" Death hummed, turning and bending down to look into the little reaper's curious, gold eyes.
"I keep hearing some of the other meisters and weapons talking about how there's some sort of phenomenon going on outside," the young child explained, uncrossing his legs from where he was seated in the tall, somewhat gawky throne positioned just in front of Death's mirror.
"A very good word, Kid," Death praised, gently patting the boy on the head. "What kind of phenomenon are they all talking about?"
"Something about snow," Kid answered, frowning as he tried to picture the word in his head. "They say it's not at all often we get snow."
"Mmm," Death murmured, looking up at the high windows within the ceiling's sky-like appearance. Like is son was saying, fat flakes of white spun around on the glass outside, striking every so often and dripping down the thick panes. "They're right. That is indeed odd."
"What is it, Father? Snow, I mean. I've seen pictures in books and read about it but..."
Death looked over at Kid, the eyeholes of his mask narrowing slightly in consideration. His son was very young and had lived in Death City ever since he'd come into the world. The desert rarely got snow, so when he thought about it, he realized Kid had never truly experienced the cold weather.
"Well, Kiddo," the Shinigami began, bobbing from side to side as he pondered the question. "Snow is... cold. And somewhat unpleasant, though that's just my opinion. Too chilly for my liking. I prefer scorching weather with a blazing sun overhead."
Kid nodded once, thinking it over before turning his attention to the faraway windows and the weather outside. "Can I go see it?"
"The snow?" Death inquired, raising a large gloved hand to indicate the window panes. "Outside in the cold, you mean?"
The young Grim Reaper nodded, a very enthusiastic smile spreading across his features before he attempted regaining composure, folding his hands in his lap and smothering the ecstatic grin to a slight smirk.
"I dunno..." Death raised a finger, tapping the side of his mask skeptically. "You really should finish your work. Remember, I wanted you to read chapter seven in Soul Wavelength Studies?"
"But what if it stops?" Kid demanded. It wasn't often he talked back to his father, but the conditions outside had him very much intrigued. Besides, he always new chapter seven inSoul Wavelength Studies would remain in the book next to his chair whereas he'd read the snow outside could melt almost instantly depending on the weather.
Death was at a loss, not seeing the harm in heading outside, but he himself couldn't take the boy. Maduvu Carter was about to call on his mirror so they could discuss a very befuddling situation that had rose up in South America. He couldn't afford to miss the Death Scythe's call, but Kid looked so hopeful...
"I can't go with you, and I would let you go by yourself, but I've stated a few times before that the thought of you alone makes me... uncomfortable," Death began in a quiet voice, raising both hands when Kid appeared ready to protest. "How about this? You read your chapter of Soul Wavelength Studies while I talk to Maduvu, and then maybe I-"
"Excuse me, Lord Death."
Death looked up from his son, and the young reaper jumped up on his throne, looking over the high back to see who had entered the Death Room. The older teen in front of them was one Kid saw rarely. From what he could tell, he appeared to be somewhat of a loner, keeping to himself, and the earbuds jammed firmly within his ears discouraged any conversation starters.
"Ah, hello, Justin. What brings you here?" Death asked, swaying past Kid to address the student.
The blond blinked large, blue eyes at the death god, face expressionless.
Kid glanced back at his father who gave a nearly inaudible 'Hmmm...' of concern. He turned back to Justin who remained silent, watching the two Shinigami with an unwavering gaze.
"He's not going to hear a word I say unless he takes out those earphones," Death hummed softly, shifting back and forth. "Oh, what to do, what to do... Justin has always been a master of one-sided conversations..."
"How does anyone talk to him, then? How does he attend class?" Kid murmured dubiously, raising an eyebrow at his father.
"He reads lips. He's gotten very good at it over the years," Death explained. "But seeing as I have this mask, Justin can't really do that..."
"What do you need, Mr. Justin?" Kid piped up, raising himself on his tiptoes as he enunciated each word to the weapon before them.
"I wanted to tell you, Lord Death, that the mission I was on went quite well. Both kishin souls were obtained, and I believe the town will rest easier each night from now on," Justin replied instantly, bowing deeply and smiling.
"Ah, thank you, Justin," Death exclaimed, dipping his head in appreciation.
"Thank you," Kid repeated, grinning back at the blond.
"If that is all, I should be getting to class." The young man turned and began heading off again, stepping a little faster than usual as he followed the beat vibrating from his earphones.
The Grim Reaper child watched him as he departed, looked back at his father and quickly jumped from his seat, hitting the floor and pursuing the weapon. "Wait!"
"Kiddo!" Death called after his son with some confusion, but he had a hunch of what the boy was planning.
"Wait, please!" Kid skidded to a halt in front of Justin, raising both hands as if to create a barrier to hold the blue eyed student back.
"What is it, Little Death?" Justin murmured, kneeling down in front of the child to see eye to eye.
Kid straightened, looking over Justin's shoulder at his father who remained motionless for a second or two before waving a hand in a 'go on, then' gesture. Seeing this, the young reaper announced, "I want to go outside."
Justin Law tilted his head to one side, the cord of his earbuds swaying with the motion. "Outside?" he echoed, narrowing his eyes as though he was trying to read the boy's mind. "It's rather cold."
"Exactly." Kid smiled softly. "I want to see the snow."
Justin rose again, looking over his shoulder at Lord Death who repeated the same dismissive wave, and the guillotine weapon turned back to the shorter Shinigami standing in his path. "Very well, then."
-/-\-|-/-\-
The walk to the front of the Academy with Justin was quiet. Kid couldn't really say much that would get him a reply. The only way to get a two way conversation going would be to stand in front of the taller student and walk backwards so the weapon could read his lips. However, that sounded somewhat tedious, so Kid settled for a peaceful quiet with the occasional funky drum solo from Justin's earbuds that came a little louder during a song.
Kid could feel the chilled air as they approached the magnificent skull structures positioned at the front of the school like mighty sphinxes. When a frigid breeze brushed across his face, bringing with it the lightest touches of snow, the young reaper quickened his pace, passing through the DWMA's entrance and stopping.
It was bright all around, and it took his eyes a moment or two to adjust. When they finally did, Kid's pulse throbbed faster as he took in the sights. The once golden land of Death City had been turned alabaster; the tops of buildings appeared to be dusted with flour, ice glittered in the streets, and miniature flakes swirled down to greet his joyous face, melting with ease against his skin.
"So what does the young Shinigami think?" Justin inquired as he came to stand beside Kid, raising a hand to catch a few lone fragments of falling snow on his fingertips. "Did you imagine this is what it'd be like?" The weapon had to look down at Kid's face in order to catch whatever answer came forth from his mouth and to his surprise, the small Grim Reaper was frowning, looking over everything with an almost calculating look.
Justin knelt down and rested both hands in the snow to balance himself, barely noticing the cold pin pricks that assaulted his fingers. "Are you alright, Little Death?"
Kid's eyes narrowed at the white dusting over the land before them and turned to Justin with a solemn expression that put his usual serene countenance to shame. "Do you think..." he began very slowly, running the toe of his shoe in the snow and creating a long line. "...with enough snow, all the black from my hair could be covered so it was only white? I can't dye the lines in my hair black, so why not accept the white and go albino?"
Justin Law blinked, staring at the Grim Reaper dumbfounded. Then, very quietly he began to laugh, sitting back in the snow and ignoring the coolness seeping through his clothes. "I'm not sure about that," he admitted, running a hand through his own blond hair, damp from the falling snow. "It may last for a few moments, but not long."
Kid looked down in discouragement. "Oh."
The blue eyed weapon gently pulled both earbuds from his ears, tucking them into the folds of his coat. Reaching out in front of him, he grabbed a handful of the fresh powdered snow, plopping it onto Kid's mop of hair.
The Grim Reaper jumped, crying out in surprise and shaking his head to dislodge the cold flakes. When he tilted his head back, he froze immediately, and Justin got the impression he just received his first experience of what snow felt like traveling down a bare spine. He smiled gently when the young child began jumping around like a kernel of corn on a hot surface, pulling at the ends of his shirt.
"How's the snow?" the weapon inquired, mushing a snowball between his palms.
"C-Cold!" Kid answered, settling down once the last of the icy slush dripped from his back. "I can see why father prefers warm weather, but I like it. It's something different."
"Funny, the small child who believes in Order appreciates something 'new' that potentially disrupts the balance of our always hot temperature and frequent sandstorms," Justin mused, handing Kid the snowball he'd created. "Roll it in the snow."
Kid took the snowball and did as he was told, watching as it began collecting more of the fallen fakes, growing fatter and fatter. "From what I've read, the snow won't last here for long, therefore it doesn't disrupt anything too drastically. Besides, although it's something new that imposes on the 'Order' of the desert, at least we're doing an okay job accepting it and going with it, right?"
Justin smiled, creating another frozen sphere in his hands and rolling it in the snow around him, making it a medium size before resting it on the impressive mound Kid had accumulated. "Get one more for a head."
"Head?" Kid frowned at the two blobs stacked on one another before brightening and creating another, resting it on top. "Is it a person?"
"A snowman," Justin agreed with a nod. "Very regal looking, isn't he?"
Kid made a displeased noise in the back of his throat. "He's not symmetrical. How dare he choose to look so sophisticated and smug when he's not balanced! His middle is clearly lacking the round characteristics the bottom has!"
Justin opened his mouth to say something, just beginning to remember what he'd read from the lips of a few people whenever the topic of Lord Death's son came up. The little reaper had an affinity for symmetrical things...
"Why don't we fix him? Make him precise and neat?" Justin offered.
Kid nodded sternly, already beginning to shave off bits of snow from the figure's middle. "Precise and neat," he murmured to himself. "I like that. Precise and neat..."
With another grin, Justin crouched down next to the boy and the snowman, brushing off larger chunks to help it obtain perfect symmetry.
-/-\-|-/-\-
It took awhile to get the snowman the way Kid wanted and by the time they finally did, it was half its original size. The young Grim Reaper probably could have stayed out there longer, but seeing as his usually pale face was beginning to get hints of blue around his mouth, Justin quickly convinced him to join him back inside the warm school.
They walked back down the hallway to the Death Room, both quiet like before even though Justin hadn't returned his earphones back to their usually spots on either side of his head. When he noticed Kid's teeth chattering faster than usual, he gently threw his coat over the boy's small shoulders, sighing, "Don't get sick. I don't think your father would be too happy about that."
"I can't get sick," Kid argued, sneezing once. "I don't think Grim Reapers can."
"That's a good belief," Justin murmured. "Did you get your fill of snow for the day, Little Death?"
The young Shinigami beamed up at Justin from beneath the high collar of the weapon's coat. "I did. Thanks for coming with me outside and helping me straighten up the disgraceful snowman."
Justin smirked. "It was my pleasure."
-/-\-|-/-\-
A/N: Cute little friendship right there. I decided if seething at the snowstorm outside just isn't good enough, write about it plaguing those in Death City's sweltering temperatures. It was either this or a death-fic for Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians, just to see if that would make the snow go away... I like this one-shot better... ^^
Also, Maduvu Carter was a quick OC I threw in. His first name, Maduvu, is a type of weapon from India, usually used like a dagger for stabbing. His last name, Carter, is a character from H.P. Lovecraft's story The Statement of Randolph Carter. Atsushi Okubo uses quite a few references from H.P. Lovecraft's work, and I like to do the same. Thanks for reading, I know it's been awhile!