Chapter Three – Call me Kid

Sai Summers

I closed the door behind me and looked at the closest bed. Without his all-black ensemble and having his head wrapped make Shinigami-sama's son look frail and almost weak. I couldn't help but wonder about that saying "clothes do making the man."

I leaned over the edge of the bed and looked down at him. He appeared to be sleeping, but the nurse had confirmed him awake. His bed had been raised to half-sitting position, likely to keep him elevated in case he was in pain.

"Um," I whispered. "Shinigami-san?"

His eyes snapped open and his gold eyes were filed with confusion. He turned and looked directly at me. "What did you just say?"

I jumped back slightly, and shrunk back. "Um, am I supposed to call you 'sama' too? I didn't know, sorry. I didn't mean to insult you. I'm still getting these terms down. It's not like that where I'm from."

He turned away and chortled, trying to not insult. "No. Umm…" He sighed and smiled slightly. "Soul told you you had to call me that, right?"

I relaxed slightly. "Yes, why?"

He looked back at me, his expression softer. "You can call me Kid. Everyone else does. I'm not any different than any other student here. And I don't want to be."

"Then…." I started. Then I realized it. "That's why they were laughing at me. He did that on purpose! And Spirit was in on it. He's just a big kid." I couldn't help but scowl.

Kid's eyebrows lifted. "Spirit? Maka's dad?"

I took a slight gasp. "He's her dad? Poor Maka." I tried to stifle a laugh.

"Agreed, poor Maka." He laughed lightly, but abruptly cringed and put his right hand to his left side. "Ahh."

"Oh man, I'm so sorry about what happened. I didn't think about anyone getting hurt." I sat down on the edge of the bed, and put my hand on top of his instinctively. He turned away, and screwed his eyes shut, almost in fear.

I stood up and backed away from the bed. "Okay, I'm making things worse."

Kid recovered quickly. "It's not you. I'm not particularly good at the basic human interactions." He looked down at his arm, still lying across his chest. "Those ones."

"Do you want me to step out, let someone else in?"

His eyes got large. "Don't let them in yet. I can't handle all of that yet." Kid shook his head slightly. "Being around that group is sometimes like being at the circus. Or in a circus...bunch of clowns…" His voice trailed off.

I smiled. "Trust me; I know how much of a clown my cousin is."

He chortled. "Heh. True. It's more about the amount of noise they make."

"Ahh." I paused. "Hmm, well then we could stall them, I guess..." I scanned the room quickly, and located an extra wooden chair at an empty nurses' station. I stepped over there quietly, but the nurse who had let me in took notice. She looked up. "You can take it."

I smiled back at her. "Thanks."

I swung the chair up with one hang, and hung it over my left shoulder without a thought. That thought caught up with me quickly when I realized Kid was watching. I walked over to the bed and set the chair down, feeling sheepish. "I guess this looks a little odd."

He shut his eyes lightly. "I could already tell. I can see your soul."

"Oh." I sat down in the chair and it squeaked. "I suppose that shouldn't have surprised me. What's it look like?"

Kid reopened his eyes and looked back at me. He seemed tired but was attempting to hide it. "It swirls in two different colors. A light blue and magenta." He took a pause and looked to the side. "Only those who can be both Meister and Weapon appear to have two colors."

"Huh. I never knew that." I replied, solidly in my own thoughts for a moment.

"And it has its hair tied back in pigtails." He chuckled.

I feigned annoyance and pulled out my hair bands. "It does not!"

He attempted to keep a straight face. "Does too."

I scowled at him. "Liar."

Kid gave up and sighed. "Okay, I made that part up." He paused. "You do have a very large soul though. I see why you're here. You must have massive potential. Did my father drag you kicking and screaming here?"

I shifted in my seat. "No, my family – Soul's side of the line – insisted I enroll. Wanted to make sure I used my 'potential'…" I made quotation marks with my hands in the air. "For good and not evil. Or some such nonsense." I shook my head. "I've never been a bad person, so I'm not sure where it's coming from."

Kid sighed. "Parents can be strange sometimes. I'd have more experience, but I barely see my father." He started to stare off in the distance.

"Well, um, what about you?" I asked, trying to direct the conversation back to a safer topic. "You're a death god, why do you need a weapon? Can't you manifest whatever you want?"

He directed his attention back towards me. "Yes, I can. Like I said though, I want to be like everyone else. I'll never be the same as everyone, but I can at least try to relate." The thought seemed to leave a simple smile on his face. Kid shut his eyes and lay back against his pillow.

"So…" My thoughts began to congeal. "You're the Meister without a Weapon, and I'm the Weapon without a Meister? Interesting." A laugh couldn't help but escape me.

He seemed too polite to ask me to leave, but too tired to stay awake any longer. I rose from the chair and pushed it to the foot of the bed. I walked back and pulled the bed's blankets up higher on him. Kid was already lightly snoring, having simply passed out in the middle of our conversation.

The nurse came up behind me and gave a little sigh. I now realized she wore a crisp white uniform, but also a black eye-patch over her right eye. "The sleep is probably good for him. He spends a far amount of time stressed out according to Shinigami-sama." She put her arm around me and directed me from the bed, towards the door.

"Makes sense. He's trying to both be himself and be what his father wants. It would be tough." I put my hand on the door knob and turned back to her. "You'll make sure he's undisturbed the rest of the day?"

"Of course."

"Thanks." I told her with a smile, trying to be polite.

I opened the door, and squeezed out, having to push Spirit out of the way.