Chapter 22 – Heart of a Child

Sai Summers

Since the issue with Justin hadn't taken nearly as long as I expected, I was suddenly left with a half-day of free time.

And Kid planned to take advantage of it. He insisted we go out.

Kid insisted I looked fine, but I decided to change my clothes anyway. To be honest I just wanted to put on something that I considered easier to move in. The leather skirt was somewhat confining. I opted for a light cotton-terry cloth tube dress with a white ribbon and a butterfly. I decided I was too lazy to change my shoes, and luckly I remembered to grab a small black clutch bag to keep my wallet and house keys in, this time.

Kid stared at me when I returned from my bedroom. "You're going to get cold if you wear just that."

I mocked him. "Then you'll just have to lend me your coat."

He looked at me in genuine confusion.

"What? I'm serious." I eyed him in suspicion.

Then I had a thought. "Do you even get cold?"

Kid snorted a laugh. "Of course I get cold. Would I bother wearing a wool coat if I didn't?"

I raised my shoulders. "Well, I don't know! I was thinking maybe you just wear it for the look."

He held his chin with his right hand, and appeared to be contemplating that fact. "Well…that is a good point. It is a nice look on me…" Kid's mind appeared to wander away.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Eh, forget I asked."

***

We took turns trying to decide on an activity that involved neither counting the number of turns we took, or running into people we associated with. As a result we were left with few options. We eventually settled on a walk through the city square. After only a few minutes of walking we arrived at one of the city's fountain courtyards. The courtyard was circular and done in dark grey paving stones. In the center was a red and black fountain pool that was supplied water from a model of Shinigami-sama with his hands raised. It looked to be a complicated entanglement of pipes, but I assumed most of them were for sure. I was also glad it was even on both sides. After dealing with Justin, the last thing I could handle was Kid making a scene in the fountain.

The sound of water was missing though, as at least two dozen people languished on and around the various black wrought iron benches encircling the quad.

There was an ice cream stand to the left of one of the benches. I looked up at Kid. "Ooh, I'm in the mood for ice cream."

"Eh, okay. You need money?" He started to dig in his right pants pocket.

"Oh, no, it's fine. I remembered my wallet this time." I paused. "You want one?"

"No thank you." Kid shrugged. "I don't eat ice cream."

I was busy pulling out my wallet, so my answer was unfocused. "Oh? Sorry, didn't know."

He wasn't fazed. "Not a problem."

I purchased a bar of vanilla sherbet, and was handed a white and blue wrapper. I unwrapped the bar, and dropped the wrapper into the waste receptacle at the stand's right.

I couldn't help but giggle. It was white with black gumball eyes, and shaped like Shinigami-sama's mask, except with a wooden stick extending out from the bottom. "He really is everywhere, isn't he?" I stated aloud, turning over the bar to look at it.

Kid appeared less than amused by my realization.

I eyed him in suspicion. "What's the matter?"

He took a solid look around the circular courtyard, and then looked at me briefly. "Look around us." He quietly instructed.

I took a bite of the ice cream Shinigami-sama and noticed that several groups of people were obviously watching us. A few people looked at us over their shoulders and then chose to leave the courtyard.

"It's kinda like being a celebrity, isn't it, being his son?" I asked Kid, looking up at his stressed expression. I was trying to be thoughtful, but I appeared to be failing.

I watched Kid's brow furrow. "No; and let's go somewhere quieter." He stated flatly and started off to his right. His walk was brisk, and he appeared anxious to be away from the prying eyes of the citizens. Within a few strides he was across the courtyard and through a line of trees to my right.

The ice cream was no longer of interest to me, and I allowed it to join the wrapper in the trashcan. As it did I debated if I should give Kid a few moments to himself. I attempted to follow the path he had taken across the courtyard and up a nearby hill, but I realized I had lost sight of Kid after only a few moments.

***

After ten minutes of wandering around in the light forest, I decided I would just wait for Kid to find me. I located a hill overlooking the southeast end of the city and sat down. I unclipped my circular, glass necklace, and left it in the grass to my right. I laid down in the grass, and watched a cloud pass by overhead.

I heard footsteps in the grass behind me, and when I looked up Kid was standing above me upside down.

"There you are." He looked somewhat alarmed, but was gradually calming. "You want to lie on the grass?"

I blinked, and shielded my eyes from the sun with my right hand. "Yeah, it's dry, so why not?" I asked him.

There was obvious discomfort in Kid's face.

I shifted my hand and watched him. "Why are you making that face?"

He looked nervous, and scratched the back of his head. "Eh…you know, lying on the ground; it's not the cleanest place."

I bit my lip and sighed. "Fine, then." I offered my backwards. "Give me a hand then."

Kid leaned over and offered his hand.

For a brief moment I debated about not doing it, but I decided I must be a glutton for punishment. I grabbed his hand and yanked him forward. Kid fell forward, but it looked like a controlled fall, and his clothes never hit the grass.

I narrowed my eyes, feeling disappointed. "Darn, you were expecting that."

He sat on his feet and heels, and then smiled. "Yeah, I've started to realize if you want something you tend to not give up so easily. Though why you want to get dirty, I'm not so sure."

I was feeling dejected. "Oh, be quiet." I sat up and pulled my knees half-way up, leaving my back to him.

I heard him chuckle. "I figured you'd know by now that's one of my issues."

There was a moment of silence between us, and I began to feel foolish. "I don't mean to pout. I'm just being childish." I looked over my left shoulder at him.

Kid exhaled noisily. "Considering the way you handled Justin earlier, you're hardly in the position to call yourself childish." He paused, and looked down. "You hit him when even I couldn't. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."

I looked back over the hillside. "After being told you're weak for so long, you start to believe it, I guess." I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes. "Even if you don't want to."

There was shuffling in the grass behind me. I could feel Kid kneel down at my back, and the warmth of the wool coat's right sleeve wound around my bare shoulders. With his left hand he unclipped the ribbon I had on my left side and held onto it behind my back. His hair brushed against my temple and I could feel his warm breath against my outer ear. "If you're weak, then what am I?" He asked quietly. His velvet voice was anything but hopeful sounding.

I was in mild shock; no one had ever treated me this way. I was the proverbial 'putty in his hands' at that moment. Sadly, I had no answer for his question, so I simply held onto his arm with both hands.

Kid abruptly pulled away and stood up; and I tried to turn to my left. Kid held my head still, preventing me from seeing what he was contemplating. All I could tell was that he was bent at the waist and intently examining the left side of my head.

I tried to eye him. "Uh, what're you doing?"

Still bent over, he released my head and stepped to his left; this left him in front of me. He pushed on the top of my head with his right hand, preventing me from turning in place again. He then did a full circle around me and then returned to face me head-on. Without looking back, he took a step back and put his hands up in front of my face in the shape of the letter "L."

"Kid…" I started. "I'm not a model…"

"Ha! Found it." He announced. He reached into his right jacket pocket and pulled out the hair ribbon he had removed from my hair; he clipped it back to my head. He stood upright and wiped his hands against each other with a smacking sound. "Perfect."

I raised an eyebrow and watched him in silence. I couldn't come up with a good response.

A heavy wind blew over the hill and I shuddered.

"Here." Kid pulled off his wool over coat, flapped it out and over my head, and pulled it around my shoulders. With my arms crossed I pulled it around myself. The material was strangely soft for wool, and had the faint smell of the musk that I had started to equate with him.

He bent down, brushed off a section of the ground at my right, and sat down in the grass. "So what are your plans for the rest of the weekend?" Kid asked, looking at me briefly.

"I have to meet Stein here tomorrow. It's one of the reasons I wanted to come out here. I didn't know how to get here from the apartment, and I figured if I asked Soul tomorrow he'd just tag along for the session."

Kid seemed surprised. "You don't want him here during your training?"

I bit my lip. "It's not just him. I don't think I want anyone here. Self-consciousness, I guess."

His head bobbed. "Ah."

"What?"

He ran his right hand through his hair, smoothing it against his head. "I had contemplated coming by; but if it'll make you uncomfortable, I won't."

"I appreciate that." I paused. "It's nothing personal."

There was a moment of silence between us, and the wind kicked up for a moment. I didn't notice it nearly as much with his jacket on. I watched the wind blow his hair around his face, but Kid seemed stoic compared to the lightness I was feeling inside.

"Hey, Kid?" I asked gently.

His gaze remained straight ahead. "Hmm?"

I watched the grass. "Are you upset that I didn't want you to come to watch?"

He cocked his head to the right. "You know, I'm not sure, actually. I was contemplating about that though."

I looked up at him in confusion. "Uh, what?"

He rolled his head to his left and watched me. "Maybe I just like being around you. So that felt like a rejection, I suppose. I'm not particularly used to that."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Shinigami-kun gets whatever he wants, hmm?"

Kid rolled his eyes.

"Besides, I'll tell you how badly beaten I was by the professor on Monday. He already told me he won't go easy on me." I told him, stretching out my right arm over my head.

He sat up straighter and adjusted his pure white tie. "Hmm. I might not want to see that after all. The last time I had to watch Professor Stein pummel someone, I ended up a Shibusen-enrolled student."

"Yeah, Soul told me about that." I told him with a nod.

Kid eyed me. "Should I inquire as to what else he's said about me?"

I straightened the edge of my dress and looked down, trying to hide a smile. "Probably not."