Chapter 7 – Stand in Your Sun

Sai Summers

"Oh no you don't, I'm not going to let you control me like that." I retorted, pulling my left arm free of Soul's grasp.

We were still standing in the middle of the hallway outside of the Crescent Moon lecture hall, and several students pushed around us trying to get into the next lecture, or out of the one we had come from. Some politely asked us to move; some just shoved other students out of the way to get by us.

Soul dropped his shoulders and watched the floor. "Maybe someone should be." He muttered, and I picked up a touch of anger in his voice.

I felt my eyebrows rise and I stared him down. "Excuse me? What's with the sudden attitude? You were fine like ten minutes ago." I gesticulated to emphasize my annoyance.

He crossed his arms across his chest, and his ruby eyes narrowed. "My attitude is stemming from the fact that you have to spend a lot of time apologizing. Maybe if you watched what you were saying to begin with…"

I was in no mood for his argument. "We all can't be experts at hiding what we're feeling, Soul." I interrupted.

He raised his voice slightly. "And you should consider what you say to my friends."

That was it, they were his friends. And his friends were being hurt or inconvenienced by me. They had been all day, from the moment I had arrived. I was the problem he had.

I was silent for a moment. I shuddered, and was freezing cold again. "I get it now. They're your friends." I told him quietly, with a nod. "I should have just kept my mouth shut today."

Soul's gaze softened. "Sai…"

I stared down at the floor, crossing my arms across my chest. "No, forget it. I get your point. And I'm sorry if I upset you or Kid, or anybody else today." I created a waving motion with my right hand, and tuned away from him. "I will meet you at the apartment later. I'm not ready to go home yet."

In a mere minute, it felt like the gains of the day had been a wash.

I wandered down the lecture hall's hallway, wondering what I was going to do with myself the next several hours now that I had made it clear I didn't feel like going home. I wandered down to the hallway with the assignment board, and found Kid leaning against the opposing wall with his arms across his chest. He seemed more relaxed than the least time I'd seen him, but not free from agitation.

I wasn't sure I was ready to handle an apology so soon, but I was sure he had already seen me. His gaze seemed to be at the opposing wall, but was unfocused. "I don't remember the last time I saw Soul so agitated." He commented quietly.

I sighed and wandered up to him. I leaned my right shoulder against the wall, then turned and faced the opposing wall myself. "Angering my cousin is apparently one of my many social talents." I paused. "Or social faux pas."

He gave a light snort. "Heh. Well, no one would accuse you of hiding your feelings, at least."

I looked over at him, eyeing him wearily. "I take it you heard our little dispute."

"Yes, I was trying to get out of the room, and you two were blocking the doorway."

Embarrassment set in. "Eh. Sorry about that." I paused. "And I'm sorry about what I said before, it was out of line." I could feel a chill coming on, and I rubbed my arms, trying to heat them with friction.

He inhaled and exhaled noisily. "I wasn't upset; just stunned. I don't remember the last time someone was so candid with my faults. Including myself."

I bit my lip. "Don't worry; I admit my faults enough for three people."

He chortled, and the serious face he wore broke. "You're so much more honest than the rest of them. It's quite a change of pace."

I stared at him, feigning incredulity. "Oh my, he might actually have a real sense of humor, folks."

Kid sniffed in humor. "There's an old saying that states if you can't laugh about life, it'll make you cry."

I thought back, and played the joke calmly. "Well, I was about to cry at the idea that my soul had pigtails. Pitiful image, I must say." I pulled out the hair ties holding my own hair back and used other to pull all of my hair back into a single ponytail.

He finally laughed openly and turned to me. "Alright, you've gotten me to laugh. Do you feel like you've accomplished something today?" Even his golden eyes seemed to smile.

"Accomplished something? Of course!" I spread open my hands, palms up. "I got to throw Soul into group of unsuspecting students; of course I accomplished something today!" I announced with false pride.
Kid gave a bass-level laugh, and gave a slight bow. "You win. I concede defeat on trying to keep a straight face though this conversation."

"Whoo, I win!" I exclaimed. "Something else accomplished on a day I managed to miss most of my lectures and spend time in the infirmary."

A moment passed and I shivered again. I held my arms.

"For goodness sake, here." Kid's movements were sharp and deliberate, showing off his dexterity. He stood up from the wall and brushed his coat down with his hands. He quickly moved his thin hands over the two square white buttons holding his suit coat shut and unfastened them. He pulled the coat off with a single swift movement and held it out to me with his left arm. "I know you've been cold."

My mind wanted me to stand there and look confused and perhaps surprised, but the rest of me was simply too cold. I took the coat and pull it on, letting it hang open. It was a little too big around the chest, and the sleeves were a tad too long, but it fit well enough. It hung to the edge of my ruffles. I rubbed my hands over the sleeves and noticed the coat was made of a material resembling high-grade wool. Or at least it was some material I could not afford on my own. It also had a faint smell of musk.

Kid had had a starched white shirt under the coat and a white tie, and it played in high-contrast with his dark hair. On most people it would have been too stark of a contrast, but I couldn't see him wearing anything other than black and white. The colors were just too fitting for him.

He folded his arms across his chest. Then put his right hand to his chin and looking over the coat in consideration. A second passed; he took down his hand and waved it in the air. "Button it up; otherwise the buttons are only on one side."

I realized the coat wasn't symmetrical hanging open, but instead of making a fuss, I simply obliged him and fastened the buttons shut.

He seemed pleased at my lack of rebuttal, and smiled. "See how perfectly that coat fits into my frame of mind when it's buttoned?"

I bit my tongue. His frame of mind was going to take some getting used to.

Voices came from down the hall from the direction I had come from. I half-turned – looking over my left shoulder - when I realized on of them was Soul, likely looking for me. I didn't have time to react beyond that, as Kid grasped my right wrist firmly with his left hand, and starting dragging me farther down the hallway.

"Hey, what are you doing…?" I started.

He shushed me with a noise through his teeth. Kid pushed against a wooden door, giving the doorknob a quick clockwise turn with his right hand. He pushed it open with his right shoulder. Kid pulled me inside and quickly, yet quietly, shut the door behind us. It was difficult to see, but I caught him making a motion of silence by putting his right index finger to his lips for a moment. Still holding onto my wrist, he put his left ear to the door, listening until he seemed satisfied that no one had followed us in the hallway. He gave a quick nod.

As my eyes began to adjust I realized the door lead not into a closed room, but led off into a stone-lined hallway. There was a significantly bright light at the other end, and I could feel the heat from the sun radiating even from where we stood.

"Hey, can you let go now?" I wiggled my wrist against his iron grasp.

"Ah, sorry." He released my arm and put both of his hands in his pants pockets.

I couldn't help but rub my right wrist with my left hand.

Kid took a few steps away from me. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

I followed him down the corridor, which opened into a round balcony some twenty feet wide. The paving stones were a simple grey, and it was rimmed with a dark red brick. It felt intensely warm outside. Warmer than anywhere else I had been inside of Shibusen. It also provided a view of much of the city, and it seemed secluded from much of the campus.

Kid walked to the edge, and inhaled deeply. He exhaled with noise, as if trying to expel the cold he felt in his own chest. "The sun shines here most of the day, so it's always quite warm here. It's a nice change of pace from the cold building. This is a restricted area though, so most people don't know about it."

I walked to the edge of the balcony and stood up on the ledge next to Kid. Despite standing on an elevation, I was not that much taller than him.

The sun was not as intense as it would be outside of Death City, but it was close enough. This Nevada sun still warmed me from the inside out. The wind kicked up and I pulled the hair ties down once again, letting my fair hair spin around my face.

I shut my eyes and I could feel the sun on my face, and it reminded me of why I came. I needed to shed the cold wind I had been carrying inside for so long.