sheep on the rox: After their meal, the two boys sat trying to figure out what to do

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Chapter 3
The Mall
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After their meal, the two boys sat trying to figure out what to do. L wasn't quite sure what boys B's age were interested in, or what activities the liked to take part in. L was never a normal child and was taken away at age nine to be a detective, "Do...do you have any toys?" he asked awkwardly,
"I mean...we could go buy some...do you want some new clothes or something? A haircut?"

"No, I don't have any toys," B pondered (he wasn't counting the ones he'd stolen, of course), and pulled at his hair a bit. He hadn't had a haircut in almost a year.. "Okay!" he grinned. "That'll be fun." He looked up at L; today was starting to get really fun. "I haven't, umm.. 'shopped' in years."

"That's alright," L said, standing, "We can go to the mall and wander around...get you some toys and clothes...Watari let me get a master card now that I have so much money in my bank account..." he dug around under the bed and pulled out a pair of sneakers that had only been used once, and that's when Watari had made him try them on, "You're lucky I'm taking you. Normally I wouldn't dream of wearing shoes."

"So you're rich," B mumbled in awe, watching as L pulled the sneakers out from under the bed. He looked down at his own shabby shoes; him and L were opposite in that, as B never liked to take his off. "Thanks, then," he said, still staring at his shoes. He looked over at his glasses momentarily, but decided that it was probably best to leave them. "What's a mall?"

"Oh, a mall?" L said, "It's a big shopping centre with many small stores. You can find nearly anything there as long as you look in the right store. From what I've heard, many teenagers my age go there for recreational purposes. I've only ever been once or twice, though."

"Ohh," B said, nodding. "Sounds like fun. I wanna go.." In his mind, he saw a palace filled with stores and teenagers; that was a mall, essentially, but a mall wasn't exactly as extravagant. Excited, he hopped off of the bed. "Shopping adventure!" he said loudly as he landed, grinning ear-to-ear. Everyone at The House would be so jealous.. not that he planned on telling them of his day with L, of course.
And so, the two set off for the mall, which wasn't very far from the hotel they were at, which was downtown. They walked for a good 20 minutes before arriving. As they walked hand and hand into the building, B thought about how anyone other than themselves would probably think that they were brothers.

"We probably look pretty cute, huh?" he stopped for a moment and looked at his shoes, "Can we get my shoes first?" L smiled slightly,
"We probably are, aren't we?" He looked down at the boys tattered sneakers, his toes involuntarily curling in his own, "Uhm..." L didn't like shoes. Or socks for that matter. But he saw that B did need shoes, "I suppose...Oh, and Backup? While we're here at the mall, I'm going to have to ask you to call me by a different name, alright? I can't have people knowing who I am...it's very important that no one finds out my real identity. I suppose you can pick for yourself what you'd like to call me, so you can remember easier."
"A new name?" B mumbled. It would be hard calling him a different name.. and what if he messed up? He'd have to think of an eccentric name, one that fit L so perfectly that he wouldn't forget. "Po.. ko.. yo." He thought for a moment, before grinning.
"Can I call you Pokoyo?" (in no way related to Piyoko) he asked, trying not to laugh. For some reason it seemed to be the best name for L, made up of random syllables he'd thought up in his head. As if ignoring the subject, he looked around at his surroundings. A mall was obviously a very important place, and going around calling a teenager "Pokoyo" would probably seem pretty odd.
Not that he cared, of course.
L blinked,
"Well...I might not answer to that on accident..." he mumbled, "Why don't you just call me 'brother'? Hm? We look enough alike, don't we? We can pretend to be brothers for an afternoon." he gave a little smile and ruffled B's hair. "Then if you get in trouble or anything and someone asks who I am, I'll just say that I'm your big brother and that I'm taking care of you for the day, okay?"
B rolled his eyes.
"It's not as good as Pokoyo.. but I guess I can call you 'brother.'" He sighed as if apathetic, but couldn't keep the act up for long. The idea of L being his brother wasn't bad a bad one at all..
He cleared his throat, "Well, brother," he said, smiling, "What are we going to do first? I'm excited."
"Well...you wanted new shoes, didn't you? I suppose we could go get those real quick so you can walk around in you're new shoes as we go through the mall, hm?" he looked around, "It seems that the shoe store is way down there..." he pointed, "Let's get going; maybe we can find some other stores we want to visit when we're done."
"Yeah," B said, and looked down at his shoes once more. "That would be good.." He bounced on his heel slightly, smiling. "And then we can throw these ones out." He looked around at the various stores and people around him. He hadn't been outside of the house for years, and the real world seemed so much different than what he remembered. It didn't seem as big or overwhelming, and not for a moment did he fear getting lost.
L nodded,
"That's right...let's go then." he held the boy's hand and started walking, well aware of all the people staring at them. L was used to being stared at, seeings how hunched over he was, his hair, eyes, and even his overly-plain manner of dress stuck out in the sea of teenagers with perfect, complicated outfits. Then of course, there was B, with his shoulder-length black hair and red eyes.
B practically skipped along with L, uncaring of how many stares they got. This was his day with his "brother," and he would not let anyone ruin it. He'd even heard a few people laughing, but it was probably because they were jealous, anyway..
"Oh, and thankyou," he said, still strolling along happily. "I apprectaite this all a lot.."
L smiled, not looking down,
"It's nothing," he said, "If you're going to be with me all day, we might as well go do something fun, hm?" When they got to the shoe store, L let go of B's hand,
"Now, where do you think we should look? I think there's kids shoes over there..." he said. As they wandered through the isles he said, "Now, you can get any pair of shoes you want, don't worry about the price, alright?"
B looked up at L once more as he leg go of his hands, but the thought soon faded from his mind as he looked around the store. It smelled funny, kind of like rubber, but it wasn't exactly a bad smell.
"Smells like new oppurtunities," he mumbled to himself before picking up a shoe to examine it. The shoe wasn't exactly his gender preference, though, so he set it back down quickly. Any brand would be fine, really, as long as they could handle a lot of damage and markers. He picked up a box of black canvas shoes, with rubber soles and more rubber on the front. He didn't expect to find the right shoe so soon, of course, but they looked so friggin' cool..
"I wanna try these on," he said, turning around and holding the box up to show L. "I like them."
L gave an odd little smile at the boy's comment about the shoe smell, then nodded when he picked up the box, "Those looks like good shoes..." he said, "Here, we can go sit over here and try them on..." He pointed to a bench, and just as they sat down, a woman came over,
"Would you like to try these on?" she asked B politely.
B nodded. Carrying the shoes, he ran over to the bench and sat down. He bounced softly on the seat, and when a woman walked up he didn't even care to stop.
"Yes," he answered in the same manner she asked, and held up the shoes for her. "Oh.. wait." He stopped bouncing for a moment to take off his own shoe, and turned it over to look on the bottom. Setting the shoe son the bench, he held up his own shoe instead. Amidst gum and dirt stains, there was a small number on the bottom.
"Do you know what that number says?" he asked, a bit embarassed. "I don't know what size my foot is.." He looked down at his foot, and wiggled his toes in their striped socks (he stole them from another kid at The House, of course). "I don't think it's a very high number.."
"Sure, dear..." the woman looked at the bottom of his shoe, "It's a 31 and a half...These shoes are a 33, but that's alright. You can tighten them up, and you still have some growing to do." She smiled at him and started to put on the black converse. L gave a small smile as he put his thumb to his lips; he was actually starting to appreciate the boy's company, which wasn't what he'd been planning.
"Oh, okay," B smiled. "That's fine.." He looked up at L, and then help up one foot to look at his new shoes. He waiting for the woman to put both of the shoes on, and stood up. After taking a few hard steps and jumping a bit, he turned to look at the woman and L.
"They're perfect."
L nodded,
"I see that..." he looked up at the woman, "Is there anything you can do with his old shoes? I think we're just going to pay and he can wear them out." The woman nodded,
"Yes, there's a bin in the back..." she put the old sneakers into the converse box, leading them to the front desk. L took out his master card and handed it to her, getting a slightly suspicious look.
B followed the two happily, looking down at his new shoes as soon as they got to the desk. They were ten times better than his old ones, for sure, and he was excited to run around in them. He smiled at the woman (which probably would have looked creepy to someone who'd never seen him before) who helped him try on the shoes, as if that counted as a thanks.
"Thank you, brother," he said after L had finished paying, and took his hand again.
L couldn't help but smile,
"You're welcome..." though he knew very well that he had no siblings, he couldn't help but feel happy when B called him 'brother'. "What would you like to do next, Backup? It's up to you, since I decided we should get you shoes first."
"I don't mind," B said quietly, "I'm up for anything really.." He looked around, immediately spotting a pet store. "OH MY GOD! I WANT TO GO IN THERE!" he yelled, pointing at it and looking frantically up at L for approval. "I.. I don't want to buy anything, but.."
L thought of everything that could go wrong with B in a pet store. The boy was so hyperactive and unpredictable that it might not be a good idea...Then he also remembered what Watari had told him, 'He's been 'innocently terrorizing' the other children at the orphanage.' He took a deep breath,
"I suppose...but look at me...you need to listen to everything I say, alright? No misbehaving."
B nodded.
"Okay, I'll behave," he grinned sweetly (the only sweet smile possible in B's case), "I've never been in a pet store before.." For good reason, maybe, but it was true; the only animals at Wammy's House, in fact, were crows, bugs, and the occasional stray cat. There wasn't much wildlife to be seen. "I wonder if there will be fish!"
"I'm sure they have fish..." L said, "I've not been in a pet store before either..." He thought back to when he was about B's age, "I wanted to once, but Watari said that he was allergic to pet dander...I was quite sad..." He held tightly onto B's hand as they went in, making sure that he kept him in his sight at all times. He didn't want something horribly bad to happen.
"Ohh.. that must suck," B said, acknowledging L's feelings at the time. "My mom was allergic to cats--" He paused immediately, gasping. "Look at all the dogs!" He was practically pressed against the glass, gaping at a poodle that was in a cage at his eye-level.
"Cute.." A few of the dogs barked, and he backed away to look at them all. "I wish we could have pets. That would be so awesome." The thought of B with a pet wasn't very welcoming to most people, though.
As they continued walking, L had a thought,
"Backup," he said very quietly so only the boy would hear him, "Is it possible for you to see the remaining life span of the animals?" he asked. He'd known that B had Shinigami eyes since the day he'd met him. It had been in his file at Whammy's, which he'd been made to look over to approve of him being next in line after poor A.
B was silent for a moment. He considered answering, but pointed at one of the dogs and murmured a string of numbers.
"...I can," he said quietly, glancing at L. How did he even know? "But it doesn't really matter.." He looked down for a moment, before brightening. "Hey, do they have cats here? Cats are my favorite."
"Oh, I'm sure they do..." L said, thinking over the fact that B could even see the remaining lifespan of animals, "Here's a pen of kittens over here, I believe..." he led B to the small pen filled with all different sorts of kittens. Like B, he too, liked cats. They were majestic, clean, smart creatures that didn't do much movement, much like himself.
B looked down at all of the kittens; some were sleeping, others were crawling over the sleeping ones, and a few were playing.
"How cute," he mumbled, and reached out to one of the awake ones. It looked up at him curiously, and he smiled. "I've always thought that cats were better than dogs.. they're cuddlier." He took his hand out of the pen, and resorted to clutching the edge of it instead. "You should get a cat, brother."
L smiled,
"I would if it wasn't for Watari...don't want him sneezing all the time, now do we?" after a moment, he slowly reached out with his free hand and pet a calico kitten softly on the head, "I do wish I could have one though..." he looked at B, "Maybe for Christmas I can talk to Roger and persuade him to let you have a kitten if you keep it in your room so the other children won't see. If he says it's okay, I'll let you pick one out."
"Oh, right.." B stared at a few of the sleeping kittens, laughing as one stepped on another. "I'd really like that," he said, and considered hugging L for a split second. He instead continued staring at the cats, going over its numbers in his head. It was a bit depressing, really, but he ignored it.
Could we go look at something else now?" he asked softly, looking up at L.
"Of course...how about we go look at those fish you were talking about, hm?" he led him into a back room filled with tanks full of exotic fish. L thought that fish were nice to look at, but really had no use other than that. They were not smart creatures that could provide comfort, protection, love...they only had a fifteen second memory. Who wanted a pet that couldn't even remember who you are?
"Okay!" B followed L happily, as if forgetting all about the cats that they were around just a few seconds ago. He looked into a tank of some gold-red fish, watching as they all swam in a group. A few were swimming around a plant. "That's not real, right?" He asked, noting the plastic vine. "It's too green.."
L nodded,
"That's right...chlorophyl wouldn't make a plant that green. I'm guessing that it's made of some sort of plastic or rubber..." he looked around until he saw an anemone, "Do you see that plant-like thing? That's actually an animal, it's alive as well."
"I thought so," B mumbled, turning to look at what L was talking about. "Really? Woww.." It really did look like a plant.. maybe a plant from space, but it didn't look like an animal or fish. "What's it called? I've never seen one before." He stared at is for a moment, before turning his attention to the other fish in the tank. It was a large tank, and there were quite a few different species. Some were hiding behind decorations, while some swam around freely. It was quite the display.

"That would be called an anemone," L replied, "A-n-e-m-o-n-e." he decided to spell it for him, as it was quite a confusing word, especially for someone his age. After watching the fish for a little longer, L started to get bored. He was trying to think of where they could go next in the mall before heading back to the hotel. He looked down at B, seeing that his hair was pretty long, "Backup, how about we get you a haircut here at the mall and then go back? You're hair's getting quite long."
B tugged at his hair.
"Oh, I guess it is.." His hair went slightly past his shoulders, and his bangs would hang in his eyes if he didn't push them to the side. "A haircut would be good." He looked around at the fish one last time, trying to get a lasting impression on them so he wouldn't forget. Never had he seen such colorful animals, and if he forgot them, he'd be very sad. Then again, if he didn't get a haircut soon enough, he'd probably be mistaken for a girl.. which was like a nightmare to a boy.
"Alright," L said with a smile, squeezing his hand. As they walked out of the pet store, he decided that the boy probably deserved some praise for behaving so well in the store, "You were a good boy, Backup," he said, "I'm glad that you didn't cause any trouble...I've heard you're quite a mischievious boy...If you don't make a fuss about getting your hair cut, we can get ice cream on the way home." And with that, they made their way towards the hair salon.
"I'm not that mischevious," B mumbled, but grinned. "it's just for fun, anyway.. but I'll be good.." He'd not dare to misbehave (well, not misbehave badly) in front of L, anyway. He was enjoying his time too much to do something bad. "For icecream. I'd be bad otherwise."

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Yaaay! Another chapter is finished!
This one is pretty long.
Sorry I didn't update as quite as I'd hoped.

The next one: B gets a haircut! :O